today the world cup champion u.s. women's soccer team will be with ticker tape parade through nye ca of heroes they may also be one step closeu to e pay with the men's team new fallout from the well-connected billionaire financier jeffrey epsteiepstein. and mounting pressure on the trump administration newly released video shows the tragic moment of impact when a tour helicopter collides with a small plane over the italian alps th morning increasing questions about safety in the tourist industry from "the larry sanders show" to "men in black" he'll look back at t incredible career of rip torn, one of hollywood's biggest hell raisers. and serena williams opens up about one of her toughest

moments ever early today starts right now good morning i'm marlie hall. >> and i'm frances river glad to join you once again. new york is transforming into soccer city as we speak. preparations a under way for a ticker tape parade to honor the u.s. women's national team all 1900 tickets to the cityon hall ceremy that follows were snapped up within minutes. meanwhile, on the heels of the world cup victory senatojoe manchin has proposed a bill that would block federal funding for the men's team until the women receive equal pay. co-captain megan rapinoe emphased last night while talking to rachel maddow that it's time to move forward. >> i think everyon it's like okay, it's time for the next step. it's time to work together to get this to a better place, be collaborative. the conversation is not about equal pay anymore. >> the women's national team has proven themselves time and again. they've won the world cup four times, including in 2015

when the last ticker tape parade was held in their honor. hollywood is paying tribute to rip torn this morning the actor's publicist confirming that torn died tuesday at his home in connecticut. the texas-born entertainer was known for his roles in "men in black" and "dodgeball. he also won an emmy fohis work on "the larry sanders show." >> son, i think you screwed the yogurt but that's all right everyone screws up the yogurt. i used to screw it up backit wh as ice cream and my car smelled like rotten milk >> look, he's doing fine >> nepotism is always bad. just look at kiefer sutherland >> containment may be a moot pot, o friend. it continues looks like the party's over and the last one to leavgets stuck with the check well, you sorry little ingrate >> if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball >> what? ow >> seth macfaredne react to the news saying "rip torn always made mlaugh.

and former co-star rob schneider said "they don't make them like rip anymore. rip torn dead at the age of 88 there is a growing political storm surrounding accused sex trafficker jeffrey epstein this morning.pa of presidents, trump and themselves from the ionaire ance financier. both were in epstein's orbit at the time prosecutors say he was procuring underage girls for sex. and the newly unsealed indictment against him is drawinisg fresh criticm from democrats. nbc's stephanie gosk has more. >> reporter: after pleading not charges, jeffrey epstein sits in a manhattan jail cell. a far cry from parties like this one in mar-a-lago. alongside donald trump in 2000 president trump distanced himself from the billionaire socialite. >> well, i knew him like everybody else in palm beach knew him people in palm beach knew him. he was a fixture in palm beach lli had a g out with him a long time ago. i don't think i've spoken for 15 years

i wasn't a fan >> reporter: this is what the president told "new york" magazine in 2002 "i've known jeff for 15 years. terrific guy he's a lot of fun to be with it is even said that hlie s beautiful women as much as i do and many of them are on the younger side." epstein, who made his fortg e investinrich people's money, moved in powerful circles, connected to more than one president. bill clinton's office reased its own statement on monday. "president clinton knows nothing about the terrible crimes jeffrey epstein pleaded guilty to in florida some years ago or those with which he has been recently charged in new york." adding that clinton hasn't spoken to epstein in over a decade but did fly on his plane for trips connected with the clinton foundation in 2002 and 2003 president clinton to o a totalf four trips on jeffrey epstein's airplane, one to europe, one to asia, and two to aica. during that time federal prosecutors say epstein watis cr a network of underaged

girls who he sexually assaulted in his florida and new york city homeuntil 2005 democrats turned their attention to labor secretary alex acosta, with calls for his resignation predator and serial sex trafficker of children, acosta chose to let him off easy. >> reporter: acosta, a former florida ors. attney, cut a widely criticized plea deal with epstein in 2008. epstein avoided federal prosecution by pleadin to state charges including solicing prostitution from a minor. he registered as a sex offender and spent 13onths in jail but had permission to leave six days a week and work from a local office acosta commenting for the first time since epstein's new york arrest the crimes committed by epstein are horrific with the evidence available more than a decade agfederal prosecutors insisted that epstein go to jail, register as a sex offender now the new evidencd

additional testimony is available, the new york prosecution offe an important opportunity to more fully bring him to justice but an attorney who says he struck financial settlements with epstein for three alleged victims holds acosta personally responsible for what he calls an awful deal >> m acosta's office categorically kept us in the dark they failed to inform any of my clients what deal that they were attempting to cut. >> reporter: his clients, he said, felt they re taken advantage of twice, by a predator and a broken system >> thanks to stephanie gosk for that report. caught at the center of the litical firestorm is labor secretary alexander acosta with democrats demanding his resignation, president trump was nocommittal about acosta's future with the administration nbc's sarah dallof has the latest frod.c. sarah, the president said he feels very badly for acosta but left the door open on s role in the administration. >> reporter: yeah, that's exactly it, marlie the president really giving?

mixed messages as he spoke to reporters, saying that he does feel very badly for his labor secretary but also suggesting that it's possible to find career mistakeif one is to look back 10, 12, 20 years within anye's career however, the president did say plea deal a closer look.at 2008 >> what i do know is he's been a great -- reacry great seary of labor the rest of it we'll have look at. we'll have to look at it very carefully. but it was a long time ago and it was a decision made i think not by him but by a lot of peop so we're going to look at it very carefully >> reporter: and in the past tht president has on other embattled cabinet secretaries including ben karson and betsy devos. one thing he does have wor fng in hisor right now as to his future, the president genuinely seems to like him. maarie >> sah, thank you.

and coming up on the "today" show savannah guthrie will sit down for an exclusive interview with one of jeffrey epstein's accusers shocking footage shows the final moments of a helicopter after it collided with a tourist plane. the mounted gopro cameracas ptut killed seven people overt italian alps tom costello has more on the growing concerns over safety in the tourist industry >> reporter: it was a beautiful chopper ride over the alps that suddenly turned deadly a tourist plane carrying three pilots learning alpine flying crashing midir into the helicopter that had just lifted off. the chopper coming apart and crashing to the ground fi on board the chopper dead two on board the plane also killed the video just released by the search and rescue team it comes amid a string of accides involving tourist aircraft six passengers killed when two tour planes collided in alaska two chopper crashes in hawaii, three dead five tourists killed in new york when their chopper went down in the east river >> this is really buyer beware

you as the customer have to do your research to determine the safety level of this company because they don't operate at the same more consistent robust standards as a major sirline >> reporter:rch google or the faa and the nt websites. is the operator certified as an r taxi e the pilots licensed to the minimum standard or required to have more experience n accidents?ee if so, what happened and if it doesn't sound safe, don't go tom costello, nbc news, washington the gulf coast is bracing for a possible tropical storm that could mak te landfallhis week louisiana is at risk and the state is stocking up on sandbags and implementing emergency pumps in areas that are already prone to flooding. this storm could become dangerous over the next 48 hours. karinse's nbc meteorologist bill he's tracking it and telling us more about the threat here >> we have about three days to watch this storm system. every hour that goes by that it doesn't get more organized is better because that gives it

less time over the water to get stronger right now it's stillre disorganized but thes a cluster of thunderstorms near that red x and that's where the hurricane center's kind of saying where the center's going to try to consolidate. i want to show our european computer model from the overnight. this actuallely has it deving during the day today, becoming a tropical depression, maybe a storm by tomorrow morning at this time. you can sethe just s of new orleans. and then it takes it kind of parallel to louisiana coastline and then northward by the time we get to friday into saturday the european computer model actually has it going up te o hurricanstrength anything from depression to a low-end hurricane istill possible for anywhere in the northern gulf coast. we'll keep an eye on it. that's a look at b the weather story of the day now here's a closer look at the day ahead. we're going to continue to watch the heavy rain threat in areas of the southeast some of it tropical moisture some of it just your typical afternoon storms in areas like florida and areas where it's not raining it's btally hot in texas. one thing we know for sure is we're going to get some heavy

rain regardless of the intensity of the storm system. so that'll be a problem no matter what. >> a lot to watch for. bill, thank you. >> thanks, bill. there's no denying rapper kanye west has some out of the box ideas and now the grammy winner is using the force to help combat homelessness in the august to2019 cover s for "forbes" magazine the rapper says he is building low income using inspired by "star wars." west says the units will be replicas of luke skywalker's infamous tatooine home from the hit movie "star wars new hope. no word on when they'rset to open taill ahead some great summer geway deals to look at and we'll look bac incredible life of billionaire and presidential candidate ross perot. it has three times the cleaning power of the leading spray to dissolve kitchen grease on contact. and it's great for bathrooms! just keep pumping the power nozzle to release a continuous burst of mist and make quick work of big jobs. itven works on stainless eel. it cuts through 100% of dirt, grease and grime.

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from texarkana >> the party's over and it's time for the cleanup crew. >> reporter: henry ross perot foded electronic data systems in 1962 with a $1,000 check. later selling the company to general motors and becing an early tech billionaire in 1992 he catapulted into nation>> politics. if you want to register me in 50 states, number one, i promise you this, between now and the convention we'llet both parties' head straight >> the most successful third party candide since teddy roosevelt in 1912 to this day bush and clinton supporters debate who perot hurt more in 1992 >> you don'tt care abouanything but making money, there will be a giant sucking sound going r:south. >> reportet a time when public trust in government was lower than during watergate, perot appealed to a group of disenchaoned voters one issue. the deficit. selling his message with folksy charisma >> as i've said before, it'sme ti to take out the trash and clean out the barn >> reporter: tv appear>>ces --

look out george bush, here comes h. rospet! >> reporter: and infomercials. >> that's what we could have done with $4 trillion if we hadn't wasted it >> reporter: perot could be combative. >> you he said thatpart of your -- >> i've also told you -- >> is $180 billion ma yes i finish >> may i snsh it was a simple question >> you've already finished it'sour program you can doing in you want to >> reporr: but his message stuck. he won nearly 20 million votes and became a pop culture phenomenon >> the deficit is like a crazy ant down in the basement no one paying any attention to her. and she is just getting ornerier and stinkier yocatch me >> reporter: although heh finished third bot 1992 and 1996, perot's ability to appeal to political outsiders, his personal wealth, and populist campaign, particularly on the issue of trade, was a forerunn to donald trump. >> i'm putting up my own money i don't know if it's ever happened

i guess ross perot put up his money.>> reporter: a graduatof e naval academy perot was honored with the medal for distinctive puic service for hisork on behalf of p.o.w.s. >> these men have great value to their wiefrz, their children and their parents. >> reporter: his life inspired by winston churchill >> never give in never give in. never, never, neorr! >> repter: and his love for the lone star state. >> i was texas born, texas bred, and texarkana raised and when i die i'll be texas dead >> reporter: chuck todd, nbc news >> ross perot, dead thege of 89. up next, we've got great insights into finding those fantastic vacation deals ume plus, the best of th league baseball all-star game. next be in this geico commercial? let's do the eyebrows first, just tease it a little. slather it all over, don't hold back. well, the squirrels followed me nil the way out to califor and there's a very strange badger staring at me... no, i can't believe how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars on my car insurance with geico.

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during the mlb all-star game the sport's biggest stars paidd tribute to indians pitcher carlos carrasco, who was cently diagnosed with leukemia it was his fellow cleveland pitcher shane bieber who helped n ad the americaague to its seventh straight all-star game victory. bieber struck t five in the fifth earning mvp honors the n.l. takes down the a.l. once again 4-3 summer may be under way but it doesn't mean you can't get a great deal on a summer getaway morgan chesky is here with some tips that could save you a bundle >> reporter: if you're still searching for an aordable summ getaway the savings can be significant

travel experts say one-stop shopping could pay off bigan >> yout to look for inclusive packages where you get the most bang for your buck. >> reporter: if you're looking for more tn just a beach getaway you don't have to settle for an old-fashioned road trip you know where to look, some of the best deals out there are just across the pond according to kayak, bargain hunters can still find summer airfare to iceland, spain, ireland, and lonn all under 800 bucks round-ip one of the lowest fares we found, a round-trip ticket from boston to paris r less than 400 bucks. europe is in a right oldmess economically. starting with london, where thanks to the collapsing pound you'll get great vue >> reporter: elsewhere across the globe your dollars will stretch the most in places like canada, argentina, even vietnam. but some of the best deals will come if you're wilng to bend a little >> flexibility's going to be the key. you want to look at alternate airports you want to be prepared to go

somewhere that's a trifrk offer. and if you can be flexible that's how you stretch your buc bucks. >> reporter: getaway deals easy on the wallet.an morg chesky, nbc news. >> a lot of us are getting major fomo seeing everybody posting their pictures of vacations. now's your time to do it >> and be adventurous. go somewhere you've never been before stildeahead ils on that summer sizzle in the south plus a meghan markle meltdown. why the duchess of sussex isn't getting a whole lot of love at wimbledoar you're watching "e today."

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welcome back day after day we're just rinse and repeat yesterday was about 111 in tulsa. today we're going to be just as hot in many areas. 29 million people included in the heat advisory for much of texas, arkansas, louisiana, and mississippi, alabama and even portions of tennessee and kentucky and here's how hot it will feel this afternoon the -- the number to the left is thwhactual temperature you factor in humidity it's the number to the right. tulsa 111. memphis at 110 new orans at 103 we're going to stay warm throughout much of the country right even into the upcoming weekend. with widespread temperatures in the 90s. even new york city getting into the act with the heat wave too.tay cool out there and safe stl ahead, barbie makes one giant leap for dollkind. and hoing ldurcot. serena williams opens up about the aftermath of a controversy

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good morning, everyone i'm eun yang. >> i'm aaron in the news for today, the long road to recovery. we hear from the participants of the little girl who was shocked at mgm harbor one year ago. chuck, how abouer the weath today? >> another nice quiet weather day for today, but we are tracking an increasing chance e tracking an increasing chance e for som thunderstorms th

z3d2uz z16fz y3d2uy y16fy fallout from a violent arrest. a montgomery county police arficer faces cges and now a community wtschanges. gun control over that never happened. virginia lawmakers abruptly ended a special session just

hours after convening.ak we bre down what happened in richmond. and embattled d.c. council member loses a powerful chairmanship. we're following the latest developments regding jake evans. >> announcer: "news 4 today" starts now. it is 4:00 a.m., good er morning, evybody i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm eun yang. it's wednesday, july 10th, 19. let's get a look at your weather off.traffic to start things >> melissa mollet is standing by in first 4 traffic. we begin with meteorologist chuck bell a not a whole lot to talk about for you, right? >> on to you, melissa. >> that's at good ng. >> relatively quiet weather day today, much like yesterday. plenty of sunshine, skies are clear here this morning. temperatures not too terribly bad. 69 at dulles airport. 73 washington now. 75 in annapolis. not quite as cool and comfortable as yesterday morning, but thekies are clear and there's a littl t less fog