♪ this morning on "early today," deadly inferno, an explosion rocks a san francisco area neighborhood, sending flames tearing through dozens of homes. good samaritan to the rescue. a man tackles a bank robbery suspect in wisconsin. and most giving. which countries are the most and most giving. which countries are the most generous. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with chaos in california.

the explosion of a natural gas pipeline in a san francisco suburb last night triggered a massive fire leaving one person dead and 53 homes destroyed. that blaze continues to burn this morning. nbc bay area news has more. >> reporter: a san bruno neighborhood erupts in flames in a matter of seconds create a confusing and dangerous scene. >> i had to go look for my 80-year-old father in the house. they said he's gone. they said he's not there. >> reporter: families sitting down for dinner say it shook them to the core. >> a huge fire and smoke everywhere. we just ran for our life. >> reporter: eight months pregnant, betty ran her three kids and ran to safety. >> we just ran. we didn't have any shoes. the kids were -- we had to borrow this from our neighbor.

>> reporter: neighbors towed kids and pets. a relentless wall of flames. retired firefighter said he never felt such a hot fire. by the time he reacted his car was already on fire. >> i had trouble getting out. the car was in the driveway -- i had a car in the driveway but it was burning already. this car was in the garage. i was able to get in it. i had to lift the garage door manually and jump in and ride through the fire. it kind of melted the taillights a little bit. >> reporter: he's pretty sure he lost everything and barely escaped with his life. >> that was nbc bay area news reporti reporting. an emotional roller coaster yesterday regarding controversial plans by a florida pastor to burn copies of the koran on the anniversary of 9/11. it was initially reported that the planned protest was canceled as part of a deal that would also include moving the location of a highly publicized islamic center in new york city.

but now that deal is being denied. we go to nbc's tracie potts in washington for the lace it. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. a protest over this particular incident has been shut, this incident having interim implications. what's unclear is what was talked about behind closed doors with the pastor and make muslim leader. it seems this attempt to diffuse the situation may have made it worse. after a call from the pentagon and talks with muslim leaders, florida pastor terry jones said he'd call off saturday's koran burning. >> we have agreed to cancel our event on saturday. >> but hours later jones accused the muslim leader standing next to him of lying about whether a mosque two blocks from ground zero would be moved. so now jones says the event may be back on. >> but we're a little bit back to square one. >> the florida imam says he

agreed to ask new york investors to move the mosque, but never promised it was a done deal. >> he clearly understood that there were no cut deals over there in new york. >> the new york team says they never agreed. now the white house may get involved. a white house spokesman accused jones of seeking publicity. >> this is a desperate man seeking the attention of the better part of the world. >> complicating things, donald trump offered to buy the new york mosque site for 25% more than investors paid. they turned him down. here in washington, federal authorities say it's not clear there's anything they can do to stop this event. lynn? >> tracie potts in washington. tracie, thanks. well, a federal judge in california is planning to issue an injunction to stop the government from enforcing a ban on opening gay service members in the military. yesterday the judge declared the "don't ask, don't tell" policy

unconstitutional, saying it violates the right to free speech and due process of gays and lesbians. in her ruling, the judge added that the policy doesn't help military readiness and instead has a, quote, direct and deleterious effect on the nation's armed service. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in wisconsin police are looking for an armed masked robber who charged in and attempted to hold up a local bank. unfortunately for the suspect, a customer sprung into action and tackled him from behind. the suspect ran out of the bank without any cash. fortunately no one was hurt. an illinois bank got an unexpected deposit, an 80,000-pound semi. the truck driver swerved off the road, plowed through the walls and 25 feet into a building after he was cut off by a car. while he did manage to avoid that near-fatal collision, the truck clipped a parked suv before crashing into the bank.

fortunately the bank was closed, and no one was seriously injured. and in illinois, there's a new ice skating rink way up in the sky. it won't open until january. but some young guests took a spin on the 94th floor rink more than 1,000 feet up on the top of the john hancock center. some say it could be the world's highest ice skating rink. i think that would probably be accurate. for a look at national weather, here is michelle grossman with the national forecast. michelle, good morning. >> good morning, lynn. we're looking good across the nation to end this workweek. we're looking at wet weather. most contained to the middle of the nation. a cold front through parts of the northern plains. we could see strong storms out ahead of this front. moisture moving through the mississippi and tennessee valleys associated with what is left over from tropical storm hermine bringing wet weather to those parts. taking a look at the forecast for the rest of the nation,

we're looking pretty good. high pressure building into the northeast. temperatures feeling fall-like in some spots. 78 in new york city, 78 in washington. you can see lots of sunshine. a mixture of sun and clouds throughout new england. down in the southeast we are looking very summer like, 92 in new orleans and 93 in san antonio. back to the west we are feeling very normal for this time of year. 80 in los angeles. salem, oregon, fallon, nevada, 78. sacramento, california, 58 and 81 in santa rosa, california. that was your friday forecast. back to you, lynn. >> michelle, thank you. well, optimism hits the street, mortgage rates start to rise, and a tax on witches. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead.

plus, another "resident evil" zombie thriller, this one in 3-d, has a clear path to number one this weekend. the super bowl champs picked up where they left off, and one crazy day for tom brady. you're watching "early today." depression is a serious medical condition that can take so much out of you. i feel like i have to wind myself up just to get out of bed. then...well, i have to keep winding myself up to deal with the sadness, the loss of interest, the trouble concentrating, the lack of energy. [ male announcer ] if depression is taking so much out of you, ask your doctor about pristiq®. pristiq is a prescription medicine proven to treat depression. pristiq is thought to work by affecting the levels of two chemicals in the brain, serotonin and norepinephrine. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens or you have unusual changes in mood, behavior, or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children, teens and young adults. pristiq is not approved for children under 18. do not take pristiq with maois.

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good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. early this morning washington state carried out its first execution since 2001, putting to death convicted killer cal coburn brown. the 57-year-old died by lethal injection for the 1991 rape, torture and murder of a 21-year-old woman. authorities in colorado are warning residents in boulder to be ready just in case high winds push a raging wildfire into city limits. so far 170 homes have been destroyed by what state officials say is the most

destructive wildfire in colorado's history. the crew of a german-owned ship that was seized by pirates off the coast of somalia is free this morning, after being rescued by the u.s. marines. navy officials say the marines seized control of the vessel and captured the alleged pirates without firing a single shot. no one was hurt, partly because the crew had managed to kill the ship's engines before locking themselves in a panic room-style chamber. a new gallop ranking says the united states is fifth most generous country on earth. the dow opens at 10,015 after gaining, the nasdaq rose 7. in overseas, in tokyo nikkei

claimed 140 points, in hong kong the hang scene up 90. with wall street still looking for a momentum of its own, stocks rose thursday, thanks to upbeat data that lifted hopes that the economic recovery may be resuming. early on the s&p 500 touched a one-month high after data showed new claims for unemployment insurance fell to their lowest level in two months last week. trading was also fueled by data showing the u.s. trade deficit narrowed sharply in july, reflecting big gains in sales of u.s.-made airplanes and other manufactured goods while imports declined. as expected, volume was light and trading volatile with many traders off for the jewish new year. treasuries in gold fell as investor found more appetite for risk. but stocks slid in the afternoon after a report came out saying deutsche bank is considering raising new money through a stock sale, another troubling sign from european banks. still, financials hit hard in the august downturn were among top gainers. jpmorgan chase rose 2.5%.

adobe systems jumped more than 12% after apple said it will ease restrictions for iphone and ipad apps, a move that should help adobe's flash software. don't look now, but record-low mortgage rates are inching higher. freddie mac pegged the average rate for a 30-year fixed loan at 4.35%, the first weekly rise since mid-june. various reports say later this morning president barack obama will name longtime economic adviser austan goolsbee as chairman of his council of economic advisers, replacing christina romer, who left the administration last week to return to teaching. >> and, finally, a disappointed romanian lawmaker, who drafted a proposal to tax witches and fortune tellers, claims lawmakers were frightened into rejecting the tax because they were afraid of being cursed. you don't hear that every day. well, tom brady takes a hit, home run leaders add to their totals, and a rare steal of home. plus, the saints come

marching into the new nfl season with a win over the vikings. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and we're watching some rain for the weekend. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." for those of us who have lactose intolerance, let's raise a glass to cookies just out of the oven. to the morning bowl of cereal. and to lactaid® milk. easy to digest and with all the calcium and vitamin d of regular milk. [ female announcer ] lactaid®. the original lactose-free milk.

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if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports the nfl season got off to a scintillating start in the big easy as the super bowl champs hosted brett favre and the vikings. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. after a long summer, the nfl kicked off another season last night, and the defending super bowl champs wasted no time getting the party started. here we go, saints and vikes, rematch of the nfc championship game. first possession, drew brees made it look easy in the big easy. hit devery henderson for the score. saints needed just five plays to grab a 7-0 lead. we go to the second when brett favre found his groove, connected with visanthe shiancoe over the middle, and the vikes were up, 9-7. stayed that way until the third. pierre thomas punched it in from a yard out. saints picked up where they left off last season. they won it, 14-9. new england patriots had a scare yesterday when tom brady was involved in a two-car accident near his boston home. according to reports, brady t-boned a minivan that ran a red light. the all-pro quarterback walked away from the accident, denied

treatment at the scene, and fully participated in the team's practice yesterday. a good thing he showed up. he signed a four-year/$72 million contract extension, making him the highest played player in nfl history. now he's got some money to buy a new car. baseball, cards and braves. albert pujols, one swing, one more home run. nl best, 37th of the year. st. louis, up 7-3 after four. teammate colby rasmus must have been taking notes. hit a pair of homers himself. the cards won it, 11-4. pujols leads the nl, and the blue jays' jose bautista leads all of baseball. hit his 44th against the rangers. unfortunately for toronto, not enough. texas won it, 4-2. we go to denver. colorado rallied from five runs down against cincinnati. troy tulowitzki, his third homer in two days tied it at five in the eighth. moments later, runners on first and third. nick masset on the mound, took a look at second, and chris nelson stole home. here it is again. masset knew something was up. he just didn't know what. rockies took the lead on a gutsy

heads-up play by nelson. they beat the first-place reds, 6-5. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin. well, james franco sets the record straight about himself. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, one special delivery that gives hope to anyone who's ever lost something in the mail. you're watching "early today."

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and welcome back to "early today" on this friday. we have moisture through the mississippi valley and northern plains. otherwise high pressure building into the northeast. 77 in washington. we're looking warm in the southeast. temperature in the 90s. that will be the story once again on saturday. we are looking at 92 in atlanta. parts of the upper midwest could see rain falling for saturday, 72 degrees. and if you're watching us ktv news channel 21 in oregon, explore new cultures at foreign film friday at coos bay library. that's your pa secific event ofe day. sounds good.

>>worth for our headlines this morning. at the box office, the first of the fall season, there was one favorite and no competition. "resident evil: afterlife" is the only major debut this weekend, the fourth film in the zombie franchise that just won't die. in fact, each film that comes out tops the others. so that's expected again this time, particularly with the added draw and added dollars of 3-d. most experts predict it will make around $25 million, head and shoulders above the holdovers. elsewhere britney spears is denying allegations made by a bodyguard in a sexual harassment lawsuit. spears said charges in the lawsuit that she harmed her children have already been investigated and found unsubstantiated by authorities. and, finally, franco has addressed rumors about himself in an interview with "the advocate." not that there's anything wrong with it, franco says, but he's not gay. he just likes unusual roles. and, no, he's not a stoner just because he occasionally plays those roles.

for the record, he does not smoke marijuana. take that to the bank. random. >> very. i never thought of those two subjects with him. >> no. i've got to say i can sleep better knowing britney spears has gone on the record about all of this business. we reported it yesterday. so she's gone on the record. this comes to us from wlw tv, channel 5 in cincinnati, ohio, where one piece of snail mail took 23 years to arrive. jean didn't immediately realize that this letter sent by her sister, along what photo, was a blast from the past until she got to the end and read the date, february 25th, 1987. the post office says it probably got caught in old equipment that was recently disassembled. however long it took, she's just as happy that she finally got it. i'm lynn isis ly ear this is early today, just your first stop of the day today on

your nbc station. ♪ your favorites, in pieces. until the combination of three good probiotics in phillips' colon health defended against the bad gas, diarrhea and constipation. ...and? it helped balance her colon. oh, now that's the best part. i love your work. [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health.

one man in russia won't let the off season affect his passion for skiing. instead he has designed floating skis and umbrella-like poles so he can practice cross-country- style skiing long after the snow has melted. it's complete with a fin on the bottom of each ski to help with stability, though he admits after seeing novices try it out, there is some room for improvement. there's a new addition at the new england zoo definitely living up to his name. the newborn rhino named ajang, which means "enormous" in nepalese, tipped the scales at 183 pounds at birth, making him the biggest calf at the zoo.

visitors will see him to grow about the size of his mom on a strict diet of fruits and veggies. well, a fisherman in denmark reeled in the catch of a lifetime, but it wasn't a fish. it was this gold bracelet dating back to the viking age between 800 and 900 a.d. the shiny treasure caught his eye, and he was able to use his hook to fish it out. a local museum is now offering a $1,700 reward for the rare find, which, michelle, is funny. the guy said, eh, i'm going to go back to catching fish. they give a little bit more of a fright when you're trying to reel them in. i thought, really? $1700. >> i was going to say, i'm not much of a fisherman, but if i have a potential of catching a gold bracelet, what are you doing this weekend? >> exactly. we're heading out together. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. this morning former heads of the 9/11 commission will hold a press conference to release an updated report on the current state of the terrorist threat against the united states.

transportation secretary ray lahood will announce new regulations on pilot fatigue. the new guidelines are expected to restrict the number of hours a pilot can fly without sleep during a 24-hour period. and an impressive list of celebrities will unite, joining hosts brian williams, katie couric, and diane sawyer in this year's "stand up to cancer" telethon. and you can watch it the hour long fund-raiser, commercial-free right here on your nbc station. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. burning question. will a florida pastor stick with canceling plans to burn the koran? and "today's" first jobs, al roker gives his first gig another try. and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

have a good one.