this morning a billionaire with ties to some of the world's most powerful people will face a judge in connection with charges related to sex trafficking and girls as young as 15 >> iran is one step closer to developing a nuclear weapon, as president trump issues a new warning. >> california residents remain rattled after annx aty-filled weekend following a major earthquake and aftershocks that have left many with ptsd >> the u.s. women are the champions of the world, as the ladies bring home the cup ahead ofay wednesd ticker tape parade through manhattan's canyon of heroes >> and putting your camping gear

to the ultimate test "early today" starts right now >> good morning to you i'm dara broung. >> and i'm marlie hall a billionaire who rubbed elbows withome of theorld's most powerful people is due in court today. jeffrey epstein is expected to face federal sex trafficking charges after he was arrested in new york on saturday law enforcement officials say he is alleged to have abused dozens of girls somes young as 14. nbc's kathy park has more. >> reporter: jeffrey epstein made his millions on wall street counting among his high-powered friends britn's prince andrew. former president bill clinton. even rubbing shoulders in the '90s with donald trump law enforcement officials say epstein is expected to be charged with two federal counts related to sex trafficking his alleged crimes taking place from 2002 to 25 against dozens of under-age girls at his ne york city and palm beach, florida, homes

>> these young girls who were 13, 14 and 15 thought essentially they were going to be goingt there to geid to give him a massage and instead what he did was he pressed them further and furthechr time to have sexual and intimate relations withim and, by the way, with other people >> reporter: epstein's attorney declined to comment. the iami herald" has reported in-depth on the case with some of epstein's alleged victims going on the record. >> i'm really, really sad that t brought her girls my age and even younger into a world that they should have never been introduced to. >> reporter: epstein avoided federal sex trafficking charges and a possible life sentence after a controversial 2008 plea deal instead, he served 13 months and registered as seoffender after pleading guilty in state court to soliciting a single under aged victim. that deapul wat together by epstein's lawyers and former miami u.s. attorney alexander accosta who is now president

trump's labor secretary and has previously defended his decision secretary accosta has not responded to nbc news inquiries. to the department of justice, which had no comment thr-e 66-yead epstein is expected to appear in federal court. >> a diplomat sp is brewing rk between the u.s. and one of its oldest allies. this morning they confird the authenticity of leaked documents showing the british ambassador to the. u.slled president trump inept and incompetent. nbc's hans nichols has more. >> reporter: the leak first published by the daily mail and nbc news may cause diplomatic difficulty because of president trump dating back to 2017 up to present day the united kingdom ambassador suggested that president trump mighbe in debt to dodgy russians he warned that president trump was, quote, inept, and insecure.

hasn't explicitly confirmed the coent of these cables, but they are trying to disnce themselves from them and they have confirmed to nbc news that there is an investigation that will be initiated. present trump weighed in on the controversy. >> the ambassador has not served the u.k. well. i can tell you that. we're not defending that man >> reporter: before leaving new jerseythe president also congratulated the u.s. women's national team for their world cup victory. ra >> hans, thank you >> good news for president trump as the race for 2020 heats up. a new poll shows the president at his highest approval ratings ever thanks to a booming economy. however, over half of americans still disapprove of his performance. and that same poll shows he could be in for a serious heght in t upcoming election nbc's tracie potts joins us live now fromhe d.c. with t latest. tracie, good morning >> reporter: hi there, marlie.

good morning, everyone in that poll we saw that while people are increasingly approving of president trump, they also don't always like the way he behaves, unpresidential according to 65% in that pol but take a look at this. the head to head match ups between president trump and several top democrats show that several would either tie with or beat president trump, including a 10% lead by joe biden. now, joe biden's got problems of his own. the former vicpresident this weekend apologizing for his comments about working with >> now, was i wrong a few weeks ago to somehow give the impression topo pe that i was praising those men we successfully opposed time and again? yes, i was iregrett. and i'm sorry for any of the pain oaymisconception that m have caused anybody.au [ ap ] >> reporter: so biden

apologizing, he still has a lead mpover president tru, but that lead is narrowing. also some political analysts, marlie, wondering if former vice-president joe biden needs to get ahead of what could be the next big disconnect with democrats, his vote on the iraq war. >> all right, tracie, thank you. >> well, president trump issued a new warning to irandlate su after officials there told the world they have taken a major step that could bring iran closer to developing auc nar weapon nbc's ali a arusi got rare access to brings us this report. >> reporter: good morning. iran announced they arlee raisi thl of enriched uranium above what was agreein the 2015 nuclear deal with the united state it's a relatively big step away from the agreement, dea al the united states pulled out of just over a year ago. at a pressre cone, iran's deputy foreign minister

said they will enrich uranium to whatever levels they wanact and those levels before the end of the day iran said they need the increase to run civilian nuclear power plants the u.s. and allies say it puts them o step closer to a nuclear bomb president trump warning teheran again. >> teheran better be caryoul because u enrich for one reason and i won't tell you what that reason is, but it's no good >> reporter: the pentagon have already mod an additional thousand troops to the region, and it was just two weeks ago that president trump ordered, then canceled a limited strike on iran in response to their downing of a u.s. drone. on the streets of teheran, there is a real fear of war. we are veraby worriet war and the future looks very bleak, this man says and also real anxiety as a result of crippling sanctions. not even drugstores have bee immune from the effect of sanctions. >> there is lack of medications,

all sorts of medicine. and even if they find it, the price is very expensive. people areuffering and dying >> reporter: but, dara, iran says it's willing to return to the negotiating table if all sanctions are dropped. but there are no signs that the trump administration is willing to do that >> nbc's ali arouzi, thank you >> residents of southern california are trying to focus on recovery. but as the ground rattles over and over again, many are anxious that more disaster could be aroundhe corner. for the latest on how the community is coping, we're joined by nbc's miguel almaguer. miguel, good morning >> reporter: darlie, dara, good morning. you can see thtee afrshocks, the damage it continues to do to buildings likehis one. it certainly isn't helping any rattl rattled nerves seismologists confirmed some 4,000 earthquakes have rocked

the region near ridgecrest after friday 7.1 tremor, and thursday's 6.4 sizeable aftershocks are rattling nerves, leaving many on edge >> out here we feel a little bit safer. >> reporter: bridget cunningham's family won't sleep under theiroof instead, living in a tent. >> it's more scary to think about the roof caving in on us and not being able to make it out or even make it to our kids. >> reporter:ith the governor declaring a state of emergency in the area. >> you have to go over the huge, like cracks and crevices in the road >> reporter: april rodriguez has left tke zone. but today she returned t forhe first time to piece together her life >> it will never feel the same again. i don't know if any of us will ever feel safe here again. >> reporter: with the large tremors cutting power to thousands, sparking fires and buckling se homes, many are now rebuilding what they can the big worry here i infrastructure while cracks like these can be repaired in a few days, it's what d engineers't see that

worries them most. at the four square church, the foundationge is too dato hold sunday services >> it's just a building. you know, the real church is the peoplete >> reporr: so in the church parking lot, a sermon in giving. free food anwater for those in need >> any time that we can, you know, go throughnd a 7.1 earthquake a not report a fatality, mai r injury, nt to say that's a blessing and miracle. >> reporter: the road to recovery >> oh, my god. >> reporter: while many are still living in fear >> oh, my god! >> reporter: of at could come next over the next several hours, building inspectors will be out here tthinspect some of damage it's not just the ceilings that they're worried about, but also the foundations. all of those aftershocks certainly aren't helping guys, back t o you.>> miguel, thank you body cam outside atlanta, t on firefighters formed a human ladder to get inside thibus rning home and pull a man through a window to safety the man was taken to the hospital and police say he has

made a full recovery two officers suffered minor injuries >> bill karins is here tracking some flooding for us go morning >>ell, good morning. we still have flash flood warnings that affect areas near hagerstown, that section of west virgin got 2 to 3 inches of rain overnight the rain continues but it's starting to get a little weaker. baltimore got light rainar s of eastern pennsylvania. as we go throughout the morning, this rain will be ending and then this afternoon everything kind of shifts further to th south.so as we go throughout th afternoon, the heaviest rains will be coastal areas of south carolina, north carolina, hit and miss storms around roanoke and very scattered storms throughout the rest of the mid-atlantic region. the forecast will continue to watch regions in texas and gulf coast. we'll be dodging storms as we do every afternoon this time of that's a look at the beather story of the day now here's a closer look at your day ahead. you can see texas is starting to get a little toasty. san antonio up to 97 same for you in houston. even new orleans, too. and it's very humid, too

so we do have some heat advisories in effect throughout that region. we are dry and hot in the desert southwt as you'd expect. we also have a chance of something tropical developing in the gulf we'll give you some details about that coming up >> thank you, bill >> thanks, bill. well, there is a very close call off the coasof venice. it was all caught on camera. this is the nail-biting mome that a cruise liner almost crashed into a dock and an outdoor cafe during the powerful storm. the spokeswoman said the shi s planned destination. towards >> just ahead, team usa taking a trip through t canyon of heroes in store for the women's world cup champs you're watching "early today." a new rangof innovatis with no hey perfumes that you can feel good about using in your home to deliver a light, natural-smelling freshness. febreze one neutslizes stale, stuffy odor

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rose lavelle delivered the money shotbeing the netherlands 2-nil. cheers erupted in the stadium as the team claimed their fourth championship megan rapinoe, she burst into the locker room as the team popped champagne kelley cobiella has the details. >> u.s. wins their fourth world cu >> reporter: the u.s. women's socceream is the best in the world. another victory, and they had to fight for >> lost in the circle. >> reporter: not a single goal in the first half against the under dogs from the netherlands. then nearly an hour in, a penalty on alex morgan megan rapinoe with a roaring goal >> goal! reporter: not long after, rose lavelle through two defenders. the red, white and blue drowning out the bright orange atch in sold-out stadium of nearly 60,000 in the u.s., fans across the country cheering the 2-0 win an emotional megan rapinoe won

player of the match, golden boot fo sthe most goalscored and golden ball for the best player of the tournament. >>e can't do anything more to impress more, to be better ambassadors, to take on more, to play better, to do anything. it's time to move that conversation forward to the next step >> reporter: as the players dancedes, prent trump tweeted congratulations, great and exciting play. l.erica is proud of you al >> usa, usa. y >> reporter:ng fans in awe >> they're so good at what they do, and they just help open girls eyes to world problems all around the world. >> p equal, equal pay. >> reporter: now that the world cup is over, another battle gins the women's team will start mediation after suing u.s. soccer for equal payre fifa is aly promising more investment, but that's a fight for anotr day. the team and their fans are celebrating this htory-making

win. and new york is already planning a ticker tape parade down the canyon of heroes>> wednesday kelley, thank you >> well, the u.s. women's team weren't the only ones going for a repeat championship. the men's squad had their own chance to go back to back. they were in chicago taking on mexico in the finals of the ld cup. the americans have a great opportunity early in the game. josie goes one on one with the goalie, but rolls the ball wide. the mistake would prove costly xico scores the only goal in the match, as jonathan dos santos goes up top in the 73rd minute e u.s. men can't follow the women's lead they lose 1-nil. >> well, just ahead, a bear takes an accidental joy ride in colorado but first, a hard-hit at home plate in the astros game reignites the debate for catcher safety you're watching "early tod." woo!

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a sacrifice fly turns into a scary moment at home plate during an angels/astros baseball game astros outfielder jake marisnik races to score and collides with jonathan lucroy at the plate lucroy stays down several minutes before being carted off the field. the angels tweeted an update that lucroy was on his way to the hospital to be checked out for a possible concussion and hope he's okay >> yes well, 20-year-old matthew wolff is taking the pga tour by storm.

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good morning. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> >> eun yang. next, starbucre under find we will expln why the #dump starbucks was trending over the holiy weekend. >> pockets of heavy rain and thunderstorms this morning. promises to be a rainy monday for

breaking news. five people shot overnight in washington, d.c. police are investigating attack in two different parts of the city. >> one person was shot in northwest. four people shot in southeast.

we have a crew headed to that scene and we will bring you more details in a few minutes. it is 4:00. good morning, everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm eun yang. a lot to catch you up over the holiday week. on top of that breaking news, it is a weher alert day. >> we start with meteorogist uck bell, whose name i have forgotten. t'es been five of us are back together again. the four of us. >> it's the togetherness! it's not how !ny there are >> exactly. unfortunately, a lot of us have to deal with rain on a mondayea period of hvy rain overnight have left area of high water and standing water across nohern maryland. flood watch continues here until 6:00 in the morning with localized warnings up here ar across p of northern loudoun county and maryland and cal