our matt bradley has the details. >>> 53-year-old actress anne heche was taken off life support late sunday after donor recipients were identified >>> elon musk reportedly trying to cut this horrible habit from his morning routine. do you do it too a busy start to your week here "early today" starts right now good morning i'm cori coffin. >> and i'm phillip mena. breaking news out of illinois. three people were shot and injured outside the six flags great america amusement park in gur gur guarinee north of chicago. two people were taken to the hospital for evaluation while the third victim refused treatment. fearful visitors hid before police evacuated the park, which closed for the day the shooting is under investigation. gurnee is in lake county, roughly 20 miles north of highland park where a gunman murdered seven people during a fourth of july parade. >>> federal agencies are stepping up security for their own officials. the fbi and dhs issued a new warning that threats to law enforcement and federal law enforcement specifically have spiked ever since the search of dru donald tru

matt bradley starts us off tonight with the very latest. >> reporter: tonight, an upscale hotel, under siege in somalia. gunfire still being heard more than 24 hours into a hostage standoff that killed at least 20 and wounded more than 40, including children dr. adan, who spent hours transporting victims to the nearby hospital, recalled the terror group haphazardly opening fire the attack has already been claimed by al shabaab, an al qaeda-linked terror group that has been terrorizing the region for more than 15 years. its goal, to establish a fundamentalist islamic state in somalia. the assaults started with explosions late friday afternoon, which appear to be shown in this video. then, an unknown number of militants stormed the building, grabbing guests and staff as hostages. witnesses fleeing for their lives. just two years ago, al shabaab stormed another mogadishu hotel, killing 16, but this latest attack comes just as the u.s. increases its presence in the area. since june 3rd, the biden administration has carried out six air strikes against the terror group the u.s. embassy conde

it comes at a time of more and more tension between israelis and palestinians matt bradley has the story. >> reporter: a hail of bullets leaving eight injured including five americans after palestinian gunman opened fire on a bus four of the five injured americans came from the same new york family this new yorker was visiting israel. he spoke to channel 24 >> i heard a gunshot, and i looked and i saw the window, like, shattered. so i quickly ducked and i saw it had like blood everywhere over here >> reporter: among the injured, a pregnant woman shot in the stomach, according to hospital staff after an emergency c-section, her baby remains in serious condition. the bus was parked near jerusalem's western wall, waiting to carry pilgrims back from prayers israeli police on a manhunt for the gunman in israel's old city hours later, the shooter turned himself in one his relatives has also been arrested today's shooting comes just a week after the israelis and palestinians agreed to a ceasefire, after israel pounded the gaza strip with missiles last weekend. the palestinian islamic jihad grou

nbc's matt bradley has more. >> reporter: wild fires raging across europe.many, portugal and france among some of the countries seeing the most devastation from historic fires this summer southwestern france, video shows the sky tinted with the fiery red. as wild fires burn through the region and across the country, including a monster wild fire near the city of bordeaux known for its wine, being fought by more than 1,000 firefighters [speaking foreign language >> reporter: officials say nine aircraft and two helicopters have been deployed as well so far, more than 10,000 people have been evacuated, at least 17 homes destroyed and a major highway closed [speaking foreign language the country caught in its worst scenario, unprecedented drought met with historic heat wave. the fourth one this summer alone. temperatures breaking 100 degrees. more than 6,200 hectares burned in this region in the latest wild fire. the region known for its pine forests was already ravaged by flames last month. 39,000 people were forced to evacuate now farmers and fishermen are fac

joining me now with more is nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley. of the reasons boris johnson was forced to step down as uk's prime minister. could this partying scandal impact the political future of finland's pm? >> reporter: yeah, you know, joe, i don't really know a lot of these things, it's hard to see how they pan out in the end. a lot of it has to do with how popular the prime minister is to begin with. marin is popular. my guess is this won't hurt her at all, in many ways this might actually help her. she has gotten out in front of the issue, she immediately took a drug test. the only drugs involved in this were that some media outlets said that they thought they could hear in the finnish language a veiled reference to drugs mentioned on some of these videos. so it's not as though they're seeing people doing drugs or the prime minister herself seen doing drugs. it's kind of hard to see how this would really stick to her especially since as we said she's already gotten out way in front of this, but you mentioned the prime minister here boris

matt. >> bradley blackburn here in new york. thank you. >>> some new developments in the investigation of possible election interference in georgia. prosecutors told lawyers for rudy giuliani he's a target of their criminal probe. the personal lawyer for former president trump is scheduled to testify before a special grand jury tomorrow. the investigation is looking into whether trump and his allies looked to overturn the state's 2020 election presidential results. >>> tonight one of the most closely watched elections takes place in wyoming with harriet hageman by about 30 points. cheney is about one of the most outspoken critics against president trump. if she loses, she would be the eighth house republican who could be leaving congress. there but there is also speculation she could run in the 2024 presidential election. >>> two police officers in george floyd's kill having rejected a state plea deal. kueng and thao turned down a deal. under that they would have served three years to serve concurrently with their federal senten

nbc correspondent matt bradley joins us this morning. matt, what was said in the courtroom today?, the wnba star, but we did hear from her attorneys and we did hear kind of as you mentioned sort of dual testimony. one from the government lawyer, who -- or government expert who was testifying about the hashish oil that was found inside those vape canisters that were found with brittney griner at the moscow airport back in february when she was first detained. and then an opposing expert called by the defense who disputed the sort of of chemical analysis that was presented by the state. but really, you know, jose, the real issue here and the one that everybody is looking forward to is what the verdict will be and what the sentencing will be. we know that the verdict is going to be guilty on some level because of course brittney griner has already pled guilty. the big question is going to be what is the sentencing? she faces a maximum of ten years. again, this is for less than a gram of hashish oil that was found inside some of those vape cartridges in her luggage. but she does also

nbc's matt bradley is in london with that story. e've got the rivers in germany drying up for passage today, matt. i mean what else -- what's coming next? there's no -- there's natural gas prices soaring we all wonder where this is headed. >> reporter: yeah, it really is an environmental catastrophe but it's something europe and especially here in britain, they have gotten used to it this isn't so much of a sproiz bec surprise because three weeks ago we saw record-breaking temperatures here in london, going past 104 fahrenheit. that was really surprising but folks here, they're getting used to this, and they should because according to scientists and other climate experts, this is the new normal. you can see behind me there's lot of people out here now in greenwich, enjoying the warm weather, which is unseasonably hot. behind me as you can see, normally this is a lovely green. now it's just yellow and that's the situation that we're seeing across europe as we see unseasonably hot temperatures we've been watching all this reporting fr

matt bradley has more on other ancient items being revealed across the world by extreme drought. >> it long, hot summer. and not just in the states. droughts and heat waves just spread across entire continents worldwide. killing crops, drying up rivers, and raising worries about our planet's future. even as they reveal tantalizing glimpses of the past, normally hidden from view. like in ornate 17th century garden in england. laid bear by record setting heat and most revealed by falling water levels like this island in china on the buddhist statutes believed to be 600 years old. i'm worried this local man said. i feel like the environment has become quite bad. i think it is a warning to us. >> in spain, a dried out reservoir displayed a village swallowed when the dam was built. >> the feeling is nostalgic as people see someone re-emerge said the town's mayor. some date back to prehistory in texas, a dinosaur left these 113 million-year-old tracks. other water ways expose the scars of the history's world trials. like this bomb from world war 2 destroyed by the italian army. and in serbia

>> matt bradley for us thank you for that >>> 8:07, would you like a morning boost? made it. >> hi. >> mommy her grandmothers went with her because her mom lives out of town and she got a surprise when she stepped out of the fitting room. >> hey, i made it. >> hi. >> mommy >> so cute >> you look so beautiful >> oh. by the way, when you say mommy it's like you know -- devin said she wants to have the perfect wedding next year. it's off to a great, great start. >> good thursday boost still ahead. who doesn't love "a christmas story" it's a classic. get ready to enjoy a brand new adventure for ralph and his friends. carson has the details on that. >> first, harry smith is here with a potential solution to break the cycle of addiction that might raise some eyebrows >> it could be a game changer. we'll have that story right after this with powerful claritin-d. so you can breathe better. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. claritin - d. alright, the reason your dishes aren't as clean as you'd like... isn't your dishwasher, it's the detergen

these aren't just happening in las vegas, matt bradley reports there are lots of long lost artifacts dinosaur -- 113 million year old tracks. a they're waterways expose the scars of history's worst trials. like this bomb from world war ii destroyed by the italian army. and in serbia, aggrieved yard for sunken nazi warships emerged. other rivers convey urgent warnings about what is to come. in german tradition, these hunger stones mark the water levels that preceded famines. the oldest one from 16 16 means, if you see me, weep. if you see me, weep. in china is suffering from the worst drought in it's measured history right now. the washington post reporting, quote, the unprecedented heat wave that has engulfed china the summer has dried up river, 's wilted crops and sparked forest fires. it has grounded, ships caused hydro power shortages, and forced major cities to dim lights. this is peel mueller, the largest freshwater lake in china. right now the lake has shrunk a court of his usual size. usually summer flooding covers the foundation of the pagoda on this island. now, it is fully

i want to in matt bradley, who's been following this for us. matt, good to talk to.rd names before, wet new information to have on the current discussions and where they stand? >> well, of course, a lot of the speculation around this is focused on viktor bout, live notorious arms dealer because he sold weapons he thought he was going to columbian fighters that would be used against u.s. older -- soldiers. that's why he has such a long conviction. he's being put up as an exchange for griner and whelan. that is seen as a very lopsided exchange. because victor bout, a notorious arms dealer, and now there are also, according to cnn, and according to some other news agency, they're interested in another name. a man who's a murder conviction in germany who's thought to be a former colonel in russian intelligence. that is considered by the u.s. to be not such a serious offer, especially since it was made through back channels. according to cnn, but this means that this deal is something that is in the mix, but it's something that could be slowed by these russian bands that

let's bring in nbc,'s matt bradley, to talk about it in london. matt, talk us through this. back to a few days ago and how it started. >> it all started back on friday, when the israeli government announced that they were going to launch what was a preeminent attack to what they said was going to avert an attack, an imminent attack, by palestinian islamic jihad. it's an iran-backed group that is active. they are not ruling, but they're very active in the gaza strip. it is actually dominated by arrival militant group called hamas. palestinian al-islah mick jihad responded with hundreds of rockets over friday night, as israel continued to pummel the gaza strip all weekend long. now we've seen the death toll actually rise up to 36 with 311 people injured. that is the latest from the gaza health authority. here is our report. s our report the gaza strip teeters on the edge of all outpour's. an exchange of missiles between israel and the palestinian islamic jihad group escalate. it is the worst fighting the gaza strip has seen in more than a year. the israeli military is claiming

matt bradley is live from london with more.t's 90 here. this is the same temperature in london is the same as mar-a-lago. that's freakish for people in london seeing florida-type temperatures. it doesn't happen here. not regularly. british people are getting used to it. this is only three weeks ago they had really those eye-popping headlines, maximum record breaking temperatures in london. over 104 degrees fahrenheit for the first time ever since records have been kept. we're not seeing those same superlatives now. think about it. for the last couple of months, we have seen unseasonably warm temperatures here in london combined with the fact that there haven't been rainstorms or real precipitation. that's why here behind me, you have a view of the city of london. if you look down below the river here, you can see this yellowness. normally, this park would be such a lovely, beautiful green. now like everywhere in britain, it's parched and yellow. that's something that is the fact of the matter. a lot of people in the country are

bradley. >> reporter: hey, matt. this is a very difficult situation for people in jackson. it's not just that the water could be unsafe, it's that nothing is coming out of the tap at all, and that means people are looking for water wherever they can find it. residents of jackson lined up for bottled water as taps ran dry in parts of mississippi's capital. flooding that overwhelmed the pearl river worsened longtime problems at one of the city's aging water treatment plants. jackson had already been under a boil water advisory for a month, but now water pressure is so low, residents are having a hard time showering and flushing. >> this is a very different situation from a boil water notice which is also a serious situation which residents of jackson have become tragically numb to. until it is fixed, it means we do not have reliable running water at scale. >> reporter: tuesday, mississippi governor tate reeves issued a state of emergency for jackson's water system. president biden also approved an emergency declaration freeing up federal assistance and disaster relief funds.

opened fire on a bus there yesterday injuring at least eight people, including five americans matt bradley joins us with the latest on this good morning >> reporter: good morning. some of those injured americans were tourists and relatives caught in the middle of violence between israelis and palestinians that's worsened over the past few weeks. today the holy land is recovering from a hail of bullets that injured eight people, including five americans. three of those americans are still in hospitals recovering after police say a palestinian gunman opened fire on a bus sunday it had been parked near to the western wall according to israeli media four of the five injured americans came from the same new york family one father reportedly injured while shielding his children from the bullets he was visiting israel and spoke to channel i-24. >> i heard a gun shot and looked and saw the window like shattered. so i quickly ducked and saw it had like blood everywhere over here. >> reporter: ang the injured, a pregnant woman shot in the stomach. after an emergency c section her baby remains in ser

matt bradley has a look at why russian tanks have become sitting ducks for ukrainian attacks.anks under the many, many mistakes that the russians have made in their assault on ukraine. i was one of those people who came out in the early days of this fight and said -- or before the fight started i said the russians were going to trounce the ukrainians. we badly underestimated the ukrainians and overestimated the russians, and the tanks have shocked the world. here is our report from ukraine. these case, parts of ukraine's countryside look like tank graveyards. but so many of these russian tanks died the same grisly deaths. they were decapitated, turrets blown completely off. it's because of the jack in the box defect that has turned the banks into hearses. just look at this crater. this tank was hit, but what ultimately destroyed it was the explosion of its own ammunition. like in a t-72, which the soviet union built by the tens of thousands beginning in the '70s. it's built for a head of on attack, but the sides and turret are vulnerable. they're sitting on an exposed ammuniti