morgan radford, nbc news. >>> turning to climate change. global trends this summer have scientists all over the world starting to sound the alarm. nbc's matt bradley has more. >> reporter: in germany, fish are drowning. in switzerland, thirsty cows are getting air lifts of water. in southern australia, one of the worst droughts in history during their winter. >> this is unchartered waters. it's not a record we are happy about. >> reporter: the summer's global heat wave has seen topsy-turvy weather. drawing new attention to the hot, thirsty elephant in the room -- climate change. the past four years have been the hottest ever recorded. it has only been a year since president trump withdrew from the paris agreement on climate change. >> the paris accord would undermine our economy, hamstring our workers, weaken our sovereignty. >> reporter: but withdrawing won't trump a scientific consensus. researchers almost all agree human activity is causing the earth to warm. they cite this summer as evidence. >> this year will obviously go down in the r

morgan radford tonight on how he went above and beyond. >> for ken parker, this harmony didn't always exist. this time last year, he was immersed in hate. >> white power. >> reporter: ken joined the kkk in 2012. you would wear this burning crosses? >> yes, ma'am. >> reporter: but still, he wanted more. >> klan wasn't hateful enough for me so i decided to become a nazi. >> reporter: ken was there in charlottesville. all the things you could have picked to say i want to be part of this group and i want this to be part of my identity, why whiteness? >> i got out of the navy and it was hard to get a job and it's really easy to blame it on somebody else. we have people with dark erskine in our country, you know, taking my job. >> reporter: but just seven months after that rally, he bumped into a man who made an offer that would change his life. >> he invited me and my fiancee to go to church. i said well, it's worth a shot. >> reporter: that man was a black pastor. >> i just asked him to share his testimonies. >> reporter: so you've got a 70-person congregation that are all black and three

nbc's morgan radford has the story. >> i don't know exactly what happened. sandy hook is inconclusive. >> reporter: for years alex jones was behind the conspiracy theory that the sandy hook shooting was a massive hoax. >> they have one shot leaves blowing. you see the leaves blowing, they glitch. they're recycling a green screen behind them. >> reporter: a theory that they say turned their lives upside down. their 6-year-old son noah was killed during the mass shooting in 2012. ever since, they say they have been harassed. the abuse so bad they've had to move seven times. now they're suing jones for the judge. to dismiss the case. she spoke to cnn about the lawsuit in april. >> if there is a choice that's made over a relentless period of years to peddle falsehoods and to profit from them, then there has to be a day of reckoning. >> reporter: in the lawsuit, de la rosa and poseener say he has disrupted their daily routine and caused a high degree of psychological pain. jones discussed his controversial views with megyn kelly last year. >> what do you do when

. >> morgan radford is with us as well.we learned from charlottesville, eddie glaude. >> we learned that the the current of hate still runs strong in this country. and then we learned a couple of things as well and that's one that roy corn was afendoffended terrorists than donald trump walking around -- just last week or so we had the patriots prayer in oregon where violence vanderpujumped off. we have seen the extraordinary documentary on pbs documenting "hate," where we see the growth of these organizations. what we have learned cra, craig the end of the day that we are standing at the press of this. the country is experiencing a kind of racial situation that we have to result and confront immediately. >> morgan, you spent with a guy who was there, spent some time at the protest in charlottesville but since then had a change of heart. >> absolutely, today he expresses a lot of regret for the fear that he says he single handedly spread throughout all his community. most interestingly, he said there are a lot of others like

nbc's morgan radford has that story. >> reporter: ken parker went to charlottesville ready for a racet. >> it was thinly veiled to save our monuments, but we knew when we went in there that it was going to turn into a racially heated situation. >> reporter: he was a neo-nazi and a member of the kkk. >> so you would actually wear this when you all were burning crosses. >> yes, ma'am. >> and that's an actual cross burning behind you? >> yes. >> reporter: like hundreds of others that day, ken was fueled by anger. >> of all the things you could have picked to say i want to be a part of this group and i want this to be part of my identity, why whiteness? >> i had gotten out of the navy. it was really hard to get a job. it's really easy to blame it on somebody else. you know, we have people with darker skin in our country, you know, taking my jobs. >> do you think this is a growing movement? >> i think the more extreme people become, they were the ones that came in under obama. a vast majority of the recruiting calls had something to do with having a black man in the white house. >> so obam

morgan radford has the latest. >> reporter: this morning the queen of soul, arethank fran said to be gravely ill. a source confirming she's surrounded by faep amily and friend >> friends and loved ones are with her in her home in the detroit area and hoping and praying that her situation improves. ♪s >> of franklin's failing health leading to an out pouring of support. fans at the beyonce and jay-z concert singingespect before the show. the cartersin dedicat the show to franklin. stephen tyler telling tmz. >> god bless you. big prayers for you. love you. >> reporter: praying for the queen of soul. franklin's career has spanned over half a century with massive hits like "respect," "natural woman" and "chain of fools." she sharesec herret to staying on stage. >> i think it's the love of the, busine the industry. >> reporter: 18 grammys. a presidential medal of freedom. the first woman inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. in recent years she's struggled with her health. it's part of her life she's tried to shield from the spotlight. first uer going an unspecified surgery in 201

morgan radford has more. >> i believe he knew. he chose to hp the abuser. >> reporter:mi courtney sth says for years her ex-husband physically abused her and believes his boss knew abo it and did nothing. he put on paid leave after text messages and photos surface raising the possibility that he knew about the domestic violence accusation three years ago and didn report them. smith seays she filed multiple police report, including one in 2009 that reads the defendant grabbed the victim by her t-shi t-shirt, picked her up and threw her into the wall. the victim is pregnant with smith's child. she didn't press charges. she spoke with watchstadium.com earlier this week. >> i was pressured by his family and irwin's attorney. i was told if you don't drop the char charges he's never going to coach again. he's never hit you before. >> reporter: in 2015, she texted photos of her bruised and bloodied body to mieier's wife who wrote back just want you to be safe. do you have restraining orders. you should tell her. >> reporter: college foot

morgan radford, thank you for that happy story.ck after this quick break with a check of the markets. you're watching msnbc. but on the inside, i feel chronic, widespread pain. fibromyalgia may be invisible to others, but my pain is real. fibromyalgia is thought to be caused by overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i'm glad my doctor prescribed lyrica. for some, lyrica delivers effective relief from moderate to even severe fibromyalgia pain, and improves function. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions, suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worse depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects: dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who've had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely t

. >> morgan radford is joining us from that story. president trump is getting out of d.c.week so we decided to go with him in somerville, new jersey. these feet... ...raised a good sport... ...and became a second-generation firefighter. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. so i talked to my doctor, and he prescribed lyrica. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions, suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worse depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects: dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. now i have less diabetic nerve pain. ask your doctor about lyrica. about medicare and supplemental insurance. medicare is great, but it doesn't cover everything - onl

nbc's morgan radford has that story. >> i don't know exactly what happened. sandy hook is inconclusive. >> reporter: for years, alex jones was the most powerful voice behind a disturbing conspiracy theory, that the sandy hook shooting was a massachuset massive hoax. >> you see the leaves bloke, they glitch. there's a recycling of a green scene behind them. >> reporter: a theory that this couple says turn their lives upside down. their 6-year-old son noah was killed in the shooting in 2012. they say they've been harassed so badly that they've had to move seven times. de la rosa spoke to cnn about the lawsuit in april. >> if there's a choice made over a relentless period of years to peddle falsehoods and to profit from them, then there has to be a day of reckoning. >> reporter: in the lawsuit, de laro rosea and an said they had suffered mental is >> i'veed thend i looks like a drill. >> reporter: jones says he now believes sandy hook did happen but argues his comments are protected by the first amend. today spotify pulled multiple episodes of his podcast for vi

nbc's morgan radford has that story. >> so this is your district and this is yours? >> that's my district. >> reporter: with just hours until the election, monica sparks and jessica ann tyson are competing for county commissioner. same position, different parties with one big thing in common. they're twins. >> do you think president trump is doing a good job? >> i do. i do. i wish i could just cross my eyes on that. no! >> for monica, it's a primary race for kent county's 12th district running as a democrat. >> can i get your vote august 7th? >> jessica is running in the 13th district as a republican. >> monica was always there for me. she was the only one that i had. >> we are the people that call each other every morning. >> you're so used to being on the same team that it's hard being on different teams. >> being born to a mom addicted to heroin, they suffered abuse in the foster care system before they were adopted by a loving family at age 8. >> i remember eating out of trash cans, trying to find food. that's why i know there are issues because i dealt with thos

i'm joined by morgan radford. what is in here?t are they thinking about when they talk about 3,000 deaths over a period of three months? >> there are three highlights in this report. one we know 2,975 deaths happened between september and february, but two, we found out that this hurricane maria hit all parts of the island. but interestingly, it hit the poor areas and the elderly the most. also, ali, the backstory is pretty fascinating. initially the government came out to say there were 64 people who died. certainly a tragic number, but not as high as anticipated. but then independent researchers said that doesn't sound right considering the amount of damage. they went in and are slamming both the president and the government of puerto rico saying you did not do enough to adequately prepare people to handle this response. if we can, i want to ask the control room to bring up a live shot. this is just happening now, the governor is speaking in puerto rye coast -- rico, he's delivering this in spanish. we don't have to put the soun

nbc's morgan radford has that story. >> i don'twhat happened. ndy hook is inconclusive. >> reporter: for s years, alex jos the most powerful voice behind a disturbing conspiracy theory that the sandy hook shooting s a ssive hoax. >> they got in one shot leaves blowing and flowers that are out and you see the aves blowing and they go -- they glitch. they are recycling a green screen behind them. >> reporter: a theory they say turned their lives upside down. their 6-year-old son noah was killed during the mass shooting in 2012. ever since, they say they have been harassed, the abuse so bad they have had to move seven. now they are suing jones for defamation. his lawyers are asking the judge to dismiss the case. del la rosa spoke to cnn in april. >> if there is a relentless period of years to peddle falsehoods and profit erfrom them, then has to be a day of reckoning. >> reporter: in the lawsuit, they say the comments caused themve degree of mental stress and anguish that disrupted their daily routine and caused a high degree of psychological pain.

morgan radford, nbc news, florida. >> good to it's possible for people to come together. >>> we appreciateg part of your evening with us. that is nbc news for this friday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. year, am sorry about that. [music playing] he (vo) progress is inursuit. audi wit month's lease paent on select models during summer of audi sales event. >>> you've sosl faup and powerfully said george bush doesn't care about black people. >> kanye is calling out bush but supporting trump. we unpackmm kiel's interview. >> do you think it's a good idea. >> how do

morgan radford has the story. >> reporter: this morning the distraught parents of timothy piaza are speaking out. >> it's never easy. it's never easy because you just constantly reminded of what you lost. >> it's the first step in some level of justice for tim being d ki >> reporter: ryan burke sentenced to three monthsf house arrest, 27 months of probation and 100 hours of community service. >> our hearts go out to the family but it's important to unde tand that ryanburke is not the cause. >> reporter: played a role.ay h the 21-year-old pleaded guilty in juneo misdemeanor alcohol charges. he said i'm very sorry for the loss, he said. i'm here tod to accept responsibility for my actions. iay hope one d to be able to be forgiven. jim has questioned burke's remorse. >> hs remorseful he's in the n. situatio >> reporter: prosecutors say burke is seen carrying burke's limp body upstairs. the defendant appeared unconcerned. he's seen playfully hoisting a girl over his shoulders jumping on the sofa next to him and rolling over him as he's seen getting up before leaving the room. prosecutors say no

here's nbc's morgan radford. >> i believe he knew and instead chose to help the abuser. >> reporter:ourtney says for years her ex-husband physically abused her and believed his boss legend air head coach urban meyer knew about it and did nothing. meyer put on paid leave an text messages and photos surfaced raising the possibility he knew about the domestic violence accusation three years ago and didn't report them. smith said she filed multiple police reports including one in 2009 that reads in part, the defendant grabbed the victim by her t-shirt picked her up and threw her into the bedroom ball. the victim was pregnant with the defendant's child. she spoke earlier in the week. >> pressured by his family and urban meyer's attorney. i was basically told, if you don't drop the charges, he's never going to coach again, and he's never hit you before flrt 2015, smith said she texting photos of her bruised and bloodied body to meyers' wife shelly, wrote back, just want you to be safe. do you have a restraining order? he scares me. >> she said she would have to tell urban. i said, that's f

nbc's morgan radford reports. ♪ . >> reporter: this morning, the queen of soul aretha franklin said togravely ill. a source close to the singer confirming she is surrounded by family and friends. >> friends and loved ones are with aretha franklin at her home in the detroit area. and are hoping and praying that her situation improves. ♪ >> reporter: news of franklin's failing health leading to an outpouring of support. fans of the beyonce and jay-z concert hometown of detroit overnight singing "respect" before the show. the carters dedicating the show to franklin. >> god bless you and everyone. on their minds. big prayers to you. love you, aretha. >> reporter: mariah carey tweeting, praying for the queen of soul. ♪ franklin's legendary career spanned over half a century. ♪ as massive hits like "respect," "natural woman" and "chain of fools." ♪ the powerhouse artist sharing her secret to staying on stage with today in 2014. >> i think just love of the business, the industry. >> reporter: 18 grammys, a presidential medal of freedom, the first woman inducted into the rock n roll hall of fa

morgan radford is joining me now with, morgan, what is such a fascinating story.on guy, former neo-nazi and you had some frank conversations. >> we did. frankly he has lots of regret not just for going to charlottesville that day but also for the year he says he single handedly spread throughout his own community. but most interestingly he said there are a lot of others like him who are still in the white supremacist movement, part in fact of a growing new generation. but the reason why he thinks they're joining now might shock you. ken parker went to charlottesville ready for a race riot. >> it was a thinly veiled to save our monuments but we knew when we went in there that it was going to turn into a racially, heated situation. >> he was a neo-nazi and a member of the kkk. >> white power. >> so you would actually wear this when you all were burning crosses? >> yes, ma'am. >> and that's an actual cross burning behind you? >> yes. >> reporter: like hundreds of others that day, ken was fueled by anger. >> of all the things you could have picked to say i want to be

morgan n radford, news. >> from hot air to raintorms, let's toss it over -- >> could have said much worse. >> i was trying to restrain myself. >> being nice. good morning, everyone. we are watching the flood threat continuing today. it wasn't too bad out there yesterday. we have an area of red out there. some of th higher elevations at most risk through the spine of the appalachians inclus anoke and nashville. the ground is alrea saturated. more thunderstorms are expected. anywhere in the blue could be isolate the, t and that goes for the northern portions of the gulf all the way to timing of it 8:00 a.m. this morning, numerous areas of rain but it spreads out by the we get to thursday this afternoon notice most of it is in the east of atlanta. hit and mis around washington, d.c. and then by the time we get to friday morning, still dealing with this area of moisture. then by friday afterno it arts to sneak a little further to the north. again, it's going to be wiarspread. just that umbrella and hopefully you can avoid some of the flash flooding. that's a look at the big wea der story of t

morgan radford joins us with more. morning. >> we all know her for her signature power and passion.reatest singers of all time. a source close to the 76-year-old says her health has taken a turn for the worse. those who know her best asking fans f their prayers. this morning the queen of soul, aretha fnklin said to be gravely ill. a source close to the singer confirming she is surrounded by family and friends. >> friends and loved ones are with aretha franklin at her home in the detroit area and are hoping and praying that her tuation improves. ♪ ♪ >> news of franklin's failing health leading to an outpouring of support. fans at the beyonce and jay z concert in franklin's hometown of detroit overpass singing "respect before the show. the carters dedicating to franklin.sm aeith's steve bann wil aerosmith'steven tyler tmz. >> praying for you, aretha. >> fran legendary career spanned over half a century with massive hits like "respect." ♪ you make me feel like a natural woman ♪ >> and "chain of fools." >> the powerhouse artisthe sharg secret to staying on stage with "today" in 2014. >>

c's morgan radford on that one this morning. good mornin >> good morning., that lawsuit has thousands of pet owners worried aftert claims the dog food contains a chemical used in the well-known weed killer round the country that makes noutrish denies it. she markets i as natural inspired by her own recipes with meat, fish, vegetable. no by-products. >> real recipes, real r ingredients,eal good. >> reporter: a newn $5 mill class action lawsuit is challenging that, claiming noutri uses chemical used in round up. the suit was filed by this man here seen with his dog aria. onsumers were deceived thinking it was natural, instead not natural. instead, the products contain possibleen carcin according to complaints, tests conducted by an independent laboratory revealed the chemical. >> the scientific evidence in this case will be critical because it will go to the of whether or not the compa made false or misleading representations. >> rachael ray has often said there's nothing in the dog food she wouldn't eat. >> i literally eat the food myself to show them there

nbc's morgan radford is on the columbus campus for us this morning. rning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning. ohio state coach urban meyer is a legend among these college football circles but this morning is he in hot water after university trustees appointed an independent board to find out whether, one, he knew about the abuse allegations facing his assistant coach, zach smith, and two, whether he did anything about it. >> i do believe he knew, and instead, he chose to help the abuser. >> reporter: courtney smith says for years, her ex-husband, ohio state assistant football coach, zach smith, physically abused her, and believes his boss, legendary head coach, urban meyer, knew about it and did nothing. meyer, put on paid leave, after text messages and photos surfaced, raising the possibility that he knew about the domestic violence accusations three years ago and didn't report them. smith says she filed multiple police reports, including one in 2009 that reads in part "the defendant grabbed the victim by her t-shirt, picked her up and threw her into th

nbc's morgan radford is here. good morning to you. >> good morning.ania attorney general was seeking jail time for the first and the only former penn state fraternity t memb plead guilty to charges related to the death of tim piazza. in the end the judge spared them defendant f jail and we're hearing from the parents. this morning the distraught parents of timothy piazza are speaking out about the first legal punishment in connection to tth hazing d of their son. >> it's never easy. it's never easy. you're just constantly reminded lowhat you >> the first step in some level of justice for tim being killed. >> ryan burk, the execruitment chair sentenced to three months of house arrest, 27 months of obation, and 100 hours of community service. >> our hearts go out to the piazza tmily. i think it's important that everybody understand that ryan the is certainly not cause. >> prosecutors say he certainly played a role. the 21-year-old pleaded in june to misdemeanor alcohol and hazing charges. he briefly apologized tuesday in open court. i am very sorry for

morgan radford with that. good morning. >> good morning. her since. now the 74-year-old dad is taking to the sayre ways saying he feels locked out of the palace and fears he will never see his daughter again. meghan markle's father thomas markle hitting back saying he hung up on prince harry during a heated phone call last may. the prince reprimanded himuring did the phone call. he told me i should never go to the press, they would eat me alive and it would end up in tears. mr. markle admitting the prince was the right but was upset by harry's rude comments while he was recovering from a heart procedure days before the wedding last may. the fallout after mr. markle caused a media firestorm which he posed for paparazzi pictures before the wedding which he didn't attend. >> royals don't like that. >> another scandalous interview saying he hasn't spoken to his daughter in months and fears he won't see her again. >> the reaction to thomas markle's latest interview is more bewilderment. he doesn't want to stop speaking. >> meghan putting on a br