ready to rumble. president biden and former president donald trump agree to debate, but not like ever before. the taunts and jabs already flying. we're live with how the candidates are shaking up the formula this election season. breaking overnight. china's red carpet welcome for russian president vladimir

putin. we're live with what his summit with xi jinping could mean on the world stage. a barge strike as bridge in galveston, texas, sending oil spewing into the bay and cutting off one community island. consumer prices finally easing up in april. what it could mean for your wallet. and we don't know who he is, but we know where you can find his art. the new banksy exhibit bringing the works of the secretive street artist under one roof. it's thursday, may 16. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm frances rivera. the stage is set for a presidential showdown. president biden and former president trump agreeing to two debates. one next month and another in september. nbc's brie jackson joins us now from d.c. hi, brie, there is a lot of anticipation for this face-off, now that it's set. >> reporter: that's right, kborng, frances.

and both candidates seem to be hyping up this confrontation. for weeks, the trump campaign has been pressuring president biden to debate. president biden accepted the challenge in this social media video, and he even teased mr. trump for being in court all week except on wednesdays. >> donald trump lost two debates to me in 2020. since then, he hadn't shown up for debates. now he's acting like he wants to debate me again. well, make my day, pal, i'll even do it twice. let's pick the dates, donald. i hear you're free on wednesdays. >> reporter: mr. trump quickly accepted, saying he is willing to debate at the two proposed times in june and september ending his message with "let's get ready to rumble". trump also said this on the hugh hewitt show. >> i really think he has to debate. he might as well get it over with. probably should do it early, so that he can, you know, he's not going to get any better. >> june and september is great. >> a down factor for him.

>> reporter: and cnn will host the first debate on june 27th in atlanta, but there will be no audience. the second will be hosted by abc on september 10th. no details have been released about the location or format for that debate. frances? >> a lot of preparation until then. brie, thank you. meantime, donald trump will be back in court today. where his defense team will try to hammer away at michael cohen's credibility. a source with direct knowledge tells nbc news, trump's lawyers plan to focus on cohen's previous lies under oath during today's cross examination. meanwhile, senator mitt romney, who is often a fierce critic of mr. trump told nbc's stephanie ruhle that president biden should have issued a pardon. >> i would have immediately pardoned him. i would have pardoned president trump. why? because it makes me, president biden, the big guy. and the person i pardon the little guy. >> romney also suggested the president should have pressured new york prosecutors to drop the

hush money charges that mr. trump faces in court today. opening statements kicked off in the corruption trial of senator bob menendez. the new jersey democrat is accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, with prosecutors saying menendez put greed over country. jonathan dienst reports. >> reporter: new jersey democratic senator bob menendez walking into federal court where prosecutors allege he put his own greed ahead of his country. in opening statements, calling him corrupt. accusing him of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in payoffs, including gold bars, a mercedes convertible and other items as part of a widespread bri bribery scheme. for years, he has betrayed the people he was supposed to serve by taking bribes, the prosecutor told the jury. among the charges, they allege he acted as a foreign agent, accepting payoffs to help egypt get more military aid, and abusing his position as the chair of the senate foreign relations committee by allegedly

helping a new jersey han man ge multi-million dollar deal. this wasn't politics as usual, this was politics for profit, the prosecutors said. menendez has pleaded not guilty. his attorney saying he was not an agent of the egyptian government but an american patriot who took no bribes. he says the money they found was just money he took out of the bank over 30 years. >> i have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings account, which i have kept for emergencies and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in cuba. >> reporter: and the menendez defense suggesting his wife nadine was responsible for the gold bars found in their home, saying they were in her closet. he didn't have a key to the closet and did not know of the gold bars in that closet the defense attorney said. >> our thanks to jonathan dienst for that report. new this morning, another

twist in the battle over voting in louisiana. the supreme court is allowing the state to use a new congressional map that has a second-majority black district. they blocked a lower court ruling that had invalidated the new map. the federal court ordered louisiana to redraw their map in 2022, deciding that with only one majority-black district, the state was likely diluting the power of black voters. turning to europe now where the prime minister of slovakia was shot and seriously wounded in an assassination attempt. it happened in a town where he was gunned down after a political event. a local tv crew captured the moment of the shooting. and a warning, some may find the video disturbingo di. he was struck twice. he was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent surgery for five hours. he is now in critical but stable condition, according to doctors. a man was wrestled to the ground

immediately after the shooting. the suspect has been identified by local ymedia as a left-wing poet in his 70s. authorities believe the motive was political. the controversial pro-russian won his fourth term as prime minister in october and ran on the platform of ending military assistance to neighboring ukraine. russian president vladimir putin is in china this morning, meeting with xi jinping, as part of a two-day state visit. the two allies greeted each other in front of the great hall of the people in tee beijing. let's go live to beijing and janis mackey frayer. good morning. tell us what's on the agenda for this visit? >> reporter: frances, this is a key visit for vladimir putin. his first foreign trip since securing another six years in power. and, it was a grand welcome, with red carpets, pageantry and a military band. russia's no-limits partnership

with china and putin's personal ties with xi jinping are arguably among his most important. they've met over 40 times already. and the timing of this visit is significant, as moscow is intensifying its war in ukraine, and the u.s. is intensifying pressure on china to try to do more to stop it. the two leaders here are marking the 75th anniversary of china-russia ties. xi told putin that these are relations that need to be, quote, cherished and nurtured. n in thi in their remarks they talked about the need to resolve hot issues like the israel-gaza issue. already, the u.s. has sanctioned some chinese companies for the sale of so-called dual use goods to russian companies, thins like machine tools, electronics and

semi-conductors. according to u.s. officials, those are then in turn being manufactured into tanks and other weaponry for use in the war in ukraine. these are allegations that china has denied. but the biden administration is said to be considering sanctions on some chinese banks. that would be a huge setback here. but it's also a predicament that doesn't appear to be undermining the show of solidarity on display. frances? >> thank you. back leehere at home. scary moments in texas when a barge slam flood a bridge. the barge spilling oil into the water. priscilla thompson has the details. >> reporter: another scary scene on america's waters. >> a possible, they hit the bridge, a power line down and maybe fuel in the water. >> reporter: a barge crashing into a bridge. this time in galveston, texas, closing the only road to a small

island community and causing an oil spill. >> our emergency management is requesting fire department hazmat. they're advising there's fuel oil leaking into the water. >> reporter: the barge holds about 30,000 gallons. officials say it's unknown hough ohow much oil has leaked. it broke loose from its tow and drifted into the bridge. the accident comes after the dali cargo shim crashed into the francis scott key bridge in march, plunging the bridge into the water killing six. the ntsb chair on capitol hill. >> yesterday, we released our preliminary report, which shows that the dali experienced four total power outages. >> reporter: investigators finding the pilots lost control of the massive vessel right before the collision. the recent rash of barge-bridge accidents, including pennsylvania and iowa all raising safety concerns. the ntsb now warning states to examine their infrastructure

before it's too late. >> we keep reiterating this. if you own a bridge, if your state owns a bridge or other entity owns a bridge, look at the current structure, do a risk assessment. can you do that now. >> reporter: cleanup is ongoing as the ntsb and coast guard continue to investigate. >> priscilla, thank you. so the south can't catch a break from these storms. michelle grossman is tracking another messy commute. when are they going to get that break? >> good morning, frances. we have several days of a very slow-moving system that's going to bring heavy rain. the chance for flooding, flash flooding. we're going to watch rivers, streams, creeks. radar showing that we're looking at heavy rain falling early this morning. we have brighter colors showing us where the heavier rain is falling. seeing lightning and hearing thunder, especially in the panhandle of texas. as we go throughout the day, we'll see the rain falling. 17 million people impacted by flood watches, from dallas to

waco, alexandria, jackson, mississippi. that will be the story through the next couple days. a flash flood risk is also a concern especially where you see brighter pink color, bryan to lufkin, alexandria. we're going to see anywhere from 3 to 5 inches of rain. could see over 6 inches over the next several days in some spots. that's the first part of the story. the second part, a severe weather threat into the nighttime hours. 18 million people at risk. of course we're going to see heavy rain, but also looking at the chance for large, damaging hail. winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour and a few tornados are possible from abilene, waco, houston, dallas could see strong storms as well that. will be a concern as we go throughout the later part of today. then tomorrow we'll see the risk move a little further to the east. 8 million people at risk on friday for damaging hail, 2 inches or larger. winds gusting to 60 miles per hour. could see a few tornados. where you see thyellow ie s g s

storms and heavy rain in the south. we're looking at temperatures in the 70s and 80s. all right. that's your thursday forecast. >> thanks so much, michelle. "early today" is back in a minute with a promising new inflation report. and adam sandler tees up the sequel to a comedy classic. sequel to a comedy classic. eze] ♪♪ this is not just a stop for allergy meds. ♪♪ this is a great price on what you need... to survive the season. ♪♪ quick question. backed by an expert. ♪♪ okay. this is value. right in your neighborhood. thanks so much. walgreens. ♪♪

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good morning. >> gosh good morning good m >> good morning, frances. t it's in line with expectation and the readings come after three months of inflation coming higher than anticipated. so core inflation stripping away food prices and energy prices coming in at 3.6%, the lowest reading since april 2011. the markets cheered the inflation number with higher hopes that the federal reserve might start cutting interest rates later this year. and one way some consumers have been coping with higher prices, by relying more on their credit cards. a report showed that nearly one fifth of credit card borrowers are using at least 90% of their credit and younger consumers are the most likely to max out.

it's reaching the highest level since 2011. and overall, the nation's collective credit card balance is $1.12 trillion, near a record high. and the average credit carries an interest rate of 21.6%. and that is also an all-time high, frances. >> got to be painful getting those statements and seeing that balance. still to come, we return to oz and a new look at the "wicked" movie. and happy gilmore. the details on the long-awaited sequel. ils on the long-awaited sequel.

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something bad is happening in oz. >> the best way to bring folks together? is to give them a real good enemy. ♪ ♪ >> you have no real power. >> that's why i need you.

>> don't let her get away! >> this wicked witch. >> the land of oz is about to be changed for good. cynthia erivo is in the latest trailer for wicked. the first part flies from the western skies into theaters this thanksgiving. start learning those songs right now so you can sing along when it comes out. it has taken nearly 30 years, but the world is finally ready for happy gilmore's comeback tour. >> time to go home there, ball. son of a [ bleep ] ball, request do why don't you go home? are you too good for your home? >> sandler, who has had an overwhelming or overall deal with the streamer since 2015 is.

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and netflix will stream two nfl games on christmas day. and oreo just announced new "star wars" cookies. each will feature either dark or light side, with red or blue icing, but you won't know what side of the force you're on until you open them. rce you're until you open them. just like i was. dryness and frizz could be damaged hair that can't retain moisture. new pantene miracle rescue deep conditioner, with first-of-its-kind melting pro-v pearls... locks in moisture to repair 6 months of damage in one wash, without weigh down. guaranteed or your money back! for resilient, healthy-looking hair... if you know, you know it's pantene. [sneeze] ♪♪ this is not just a stop for allergy meds. ♪♪ this is a great price on what you need...

to survive the season. ♪♪ quick question. backed by an expert. ♪♪ okay. this is value. right in your neighborhood. thanks so much. walgreens. ♪♪ two-time national champion in florida, and all the success he's had. and there's another steal by horford. jayson tatum! >> it's all done in boston. the celtics took care of business against an undermanned cavaliers squad to book their third straight trip to the eastern conference finals. boston now gets to sit back and

relax before taking on either the knicks or pacers in the r p r penultimate round. dallas broke their tied series against the thunder. a win would send the mavs to the conference finals. the work of the artist banksy is usually seen on city streets, but now you can see it all in one place. gus rosendale takes us to the manhattan museum. >> reporter: banksy usually uses the urban street scape for a canvas. a street artist painting on walls that aren't his to share messages he thinks we all might share, like here in brooklyn a few year ago. >> banksy is a world-renowned artist that nobody knows what his face looks like. >> reporter: now inside this canal street store front, the art settles down. >> who is banksy? >> i hope it's not one of us. >> reporter: it's a mystery.

>> i think it's someone who is very, very clever. >> reporter: at the's the official opening of the banksy museum in new york city. the world's largest collection of reproductions of his work. >> you can see in the way that he did them originally. >> reporter: 160 pieces by the anonymous artist are reproduced as most have been dismantled, stolen o stolen or simply painted oefb. what's also unique here is that these pieces are the same size as would you have found in their original form. visitors to the museum are immersed in the artist's work which feels more like a walk in the city than a stroll through a fancy gallery. >> banksy made a revolution of art. completely. he changed the scene. we have to do the same for the exhibition or the museum. >> reporter: work that satirizes every part of society.

>> he's an activist. he's an artistic activist. >> reporter: now open on canal street near broadway. >> seeing it all under one roof, but even more amazing to see one in person if you have that opportunity. our thanks to gus rosendale for that report. and we thank you for kicking off your day on a thursday with "early today." hope it's a good one for you, and hope all is well for you to wake up early friday morning to join us again. see you then. see you then. on the way. s on th.

president biden and donald trump ready to go toe to toe. when they're taking the stage and how the debate is blowing up traditional debates as we knee it. a shocking assassination attempt. europe on edge after a man walked up to slovakia's prime minist