good thursday morning. three americans are wang winners of the $448 million powerball. a massive and frightening wildfire continues to plow through parts of california forcing more evacuations. edward snowden has single-handedly sparked a new chapter in america's coldar with the russians. plus, lingerie for the wealthiest 1%. the house of horrors is no more. and how did a four-foot shark end up on a new york city subway. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for thursday, august 8th. >> good morning, everyone. i'm betty ngyuen. so they hit the jackpot. lottery officials say three people won powerball's third

biggest pot ever. two tickets in new jersey and one in minnesota matched all six numbers beating the 1 in 175 million odds. so grab your tickets right now because we'll give you those winning numbers. 5, 25, 30, 58, 59 and 32. the jackpot was originally $425 million, but at the drawing, officials said it spiked to a whopping $448 million. however, the lump sum option slices that almost in half and three winners will end up splitting about $258 million before taxes. still not bad. wednesday's windfall comes over three months after the biggest powerball jackpot in history. $590 million won by one person in florida. a fast-moving wildfire in california has already destroyed close to 6,000 acres. fire officials say the blaze grew in size from 2500 acres to

5,000 in just an hour. mountainside homes had been engulfed in flames as dozens of families have had to actually evacuate. close to 500 firefighters are on the scene. as of late wednesday, the flames were 0% contained. two firefighters and one civilian have been injured in those fires. turning to washington and the snub heard around the world. president obama abruptly canceling next month's planned meet with russian president vladimir putin. while it's not a complete return to the cold war, there is a chill in the air between the u.s. and russia. nbc's trace iie potts joins me m washington. the president's snub has many wondering, what happens now? >> reporter: next, betty, we wait to see what russia's response is. we'll have two officials right here in washington tomorrow. we'll monitor that for you. here on capitol hill, democrats and republicans are supporting the president's decision. >> and the first impression they get --

>> reporter: secretary of state john kerry and defense secretary chuck hagel are still set to meet their russian counterparts in washington tomorrow. even though president obama canceled his moscow summit with russian president vladimir putin. >> we were not at the point in our progress on a number of these issues where a summit at the presidential level was the most constructive step. >> reporter: there are disagreements over arms control and human rights but the last straw was russia giving whistleblower edward snowden asylum for a year. on jay leno tuesday, president obama said this relationship has been on thin ice for years. >> they slipped back into cold war thinking. and a cold war mentality. and what i consistently say to them and what i say to president putin is that's the past. >> reporter: analysts say russia's putin isn't happy either. >> they are sort of the rodney dangerfield of europe that they can't get no respect. and i think president putin says, no, we'll be respected. >> reporter: president obama

will still travel to the g-20 summit in st. petersburg russia next month. he's not stopping in moscow. he's going to replace the moscow stop with a trip to sweden. betty? >> thank you tracie. do appreciate that. on wednesday, president obama alluded to an even bigger international crisis while at camp pendleton. the commander in chief arrived to the cheers some of 3,000 marines and sailors. he vowed to fight across the board budget cuts and said crimes of sexual assault in the military must end. and mr. obama talked about that recent terror threat in the middle east. >> we don't get terrorized. we're going to keep standing up for our interests. we're going to keep standing up for the security of our citizens. and like generations before us, the united states of america is going to remain the greatest force for freedom that the world has ever known. >> reporter: after a two-day swing out west, the president is back in washington today. and as you heard from the president at camp pendleton, he

mentioned that terror plot that's closed numerous u.s. bases. this morning authorities in yemen say they've successfully thwarted an al qaeda plot aimed directly at foreign embassies. intelligence officials say the plan was to fire missiles at embassies inside the capital. it also reportedly included attacking naval forces in the red sea. the u.s. embassy in yemen remains closed today, and the country does remain on high alert. president obama says the united states wants to help the millions of displaced syrian refugees, so he is pledging an additional $195 million in humanitarian and food aid to the civil war-torn country. that brings the total u.s. aid in syria to more than a billion dollars since the two-year war began. the u.n. said last month nearly 7 million syrians require urgent humanitarian aid. these new satellite images show the toll the civil war is take on aleppo. amnesty international says these before and after images indicate

hundreds of damaged or destroyed homes and more than 1,000 road blocks. let's talk about some flooding this morning. since monday in missouri it's killed one child and a woman believed to be his mother still missing. the governor has dispatched national guard troops to help rescue those trapped in houses, on rooftops and pinned to trees by the force of this flood. that is some force. want you to take a look at the national forecast now with bill kari karins. when they bring out the national guard, it is serious business. >> and they do it for policing. a lot of people have to evacuate. they want to make sure their houses and homes are still protected. so as far as the today threat goes, it's a little bit south, just a little bit to where we just saw those pictures. the rolla area is right near where those flooding pictures were and most of the heavy, torrential rains have been just south of there over northern

arkansas and extreme southern missouri. it's heading that way. rain is in the forecast for that reason and the flooding threat continues. missouri will have a lot of cleanup to do by the time this is all said and done. high pressure can dominate the four-corner region. temperatures continue to be warm, not crazy hot, but definitely on the warm side. there's a few showers up there in kind of near the portland area but it's very light. i don't think it's going to cause many travel issues. temperatures are still warm where they should be in the deserts and everyone else is seasonable for this time of the year. as far as the highs later on today, mid-90s from boise through salt lake city. deserts in the low 100s, which is actually a bit below average and another nice day in the pacific. maybe a slight chance of a shower or two portland to medford but not

there. but again, more miss than hit. we have been keeping track of fairbanks, alaska, and how many 80-degree days they've had. >> how hot is it? >> i'll let you know if they hit 80 again today coming up. jackie robinson defaced. plus, the ft. hood shooter working toward his own execution. also, the best and worst performing small cars when it comes to the crash test. "early today" is back in two.

welcome back. here some are stories making news. the house in cleveland where ariel castro held three women captive for more than ten years was demolished wednesday. this time lapse video shows workers tearing down the house of horrors. even google did their part by wiping the house off their virtual map. police continue their search for the two california children who have been missing since sunday. amber alerts have been issued in both oregon and washington as authorities widen the search for

james lee dimaggio. he's the man suspected of abducting the children after killing their mother. dimaggio is believed to be heading toward the canadian border in a blue 2013 nissan versa. absolutely shocking video out of china. look at that. one person is unfortunately dead after a bus full of passengers was rear-ended by a semitrailer. the impact was so severe the bus driver flew out the side window. you saw that right there. just shocking. the ft. hood trial took another turn on wednesday. court was dismissed before any testimony even began. a standby attorney for na tall hassan told the judge he believes the defendant is trying to work toward the death penalty. hassan disagreed with the notion objecting to his own lawyer in court. a jackie robinson statue in new york was vandalized with a racial slur and a swastika on wednesday. workers began to remove the vandalism as police scan surveillance cameras for a lead.

and it wasn't viral marketing for shark week. actually no one knows how a dead four-foot long sand shark got aboard the n train in new york. perhaps the syfy channel had an idea for a sharknado spin-off? we turn to cnbc's bertha coombs for your first look at business. >> toyota is recalling 342,000 tacoma pickup trucks to fix a seat belt issue. it affects models made between 2004 and 2011. no injuries have been reported. the salsburger family says "the new york times" is not for sale. that declaration comes after the graham family decided to sell t"the washington post" to amazo founder jeff bezos. the social networking company is testing a trending topics feature with a small group of users on its mobile website. so far i haven't seen any so i

guess i'm not in the elite group. back to you. >> you'll be trending soon enough, bertha. thank you. first up, sexy lingerie for the 1%. new designs are made with, get this, 24 karat gold thread. i didn't even know they made that. each bra and panties starts out with between 10 and 20 grams of gold and prices range from $1500 to a whopping 6,000 bucks. and new crash test out this morning by the insurance institute for highway safety found the honda civic to be the best performer among small cars. the nissan centra, kia soul and kia fort to be the worst. beyonce drops a bombshell on instagram. plus, darth vader, a-rod and the rest of your sports highlights here on "early today."

let's get the latest in sports now. we start with some baseball. the new york yankees lose a tough one. just 12 hours after a-rod's appeal is filed by the players association, in chicago, a game-winning triple to help rally the sox to a 6-5 win. the yanks have lost 14 of their last 20 games. jets quarterback mark sanchez cannot catch a break. first, coach rex ryan asked fans to be nice earlier this week.

and now sanchez is getting flack because he will be starting for the jets preseason opener against the detroit lions on friday. sanchez takes the high road after getting this very rude tweet which reads f you. hope you tear your acl on friday. that is disgusting. sanchez responded with a tweet saying, thanks for your support, man. #classy. yeah, that's how you do it. kill them with kindness. in pittsburgh, a very special night for center fielder andrew mccutchen. not only did his mother, you see her right there, sing the national anthem. he got his 16th home run of the season. and the pirates went on to beat miami, 4-2. and you can tell mama looked very proud. to big plays in the little league. jacob garza and his corpus christi texas team win a spot in the little league world series. garza was pitch perfect and did not give up a single hit during the game. then hit a home run that give his team a 6-0 lead over new mexico.

that kid is one to watch. in st. louis, a gangnam-style dance-off that went intergalactic. during "star wars" night fans dressed as darth vader and storm troopers showing, yeah, the force is strong with those wielding a light sabre. hear that? detroit bankrupt. that's what they were yelling. check out these fans at the detroit tigers and cleveland indians game. tied at the top of the ninth, let's go tigers cheers, they could not overcome the chants of detroit bankrupt. what a low blow. but detroit got the last laugh. oh, yeah, winning the game in the 14th inning, 6-5. good for them. check this out -- most of us have athletes we admire, but usually from the sidelines. well, at a chelsea/real madrid game it was interrupted by a fan who ran on the field to hug and kiss cristiano ronaldo.

the superstar was surprisingly calm and even hugged back before the fans took her away. it's kind of illegal. he is pretty good looking, though. gaga lets loose. and one of the original 90210 stars is telling all about just what went on behind the scenes on that popular show.

so yesterday in fairbanks, we were looking at highs in the 80s once again. we broke the record high for the day which was 84.

got all the way up to 85 degrees. and many people consider one of the coldest spots in our country, of course, barrow was 45. juneau was 74. today we'll be close, but doesn't look like we'll probably get there. going to be a couple more clouds around moving from the south later in the day. anchorage, chance of showers for you. still another well above average day in fairbanks. everyone in the west looking pretty good. slight chance of showers in oregon today but that's about it. >> oh, so close to that 80-degree mark. >> we'll be close today. in entertainment news, music superstar usher recently broke his silence following the near drowning of his 5-year-old son. in a statement he thanked his family, medical staff and the two men he called heroes for rescuing his son from the family's pool. usher's son is expected to make a full recovery, but the singer is in for another rough patch. now that his ex-wife tameka foster has filed for temporary custody of the former couple's two sons. a million dollars is what apparently caused bruce willis

to be dropped from the "expendables 3." sources for the "hollywood reporter" says willis wanted $4 million to film four days instead of the $3 million sylvester stallone and producers were offering. >> isn't that silly? >> we are in the wrong business. that's what that tells me. and beyonce released a bombshell on instagram. she posted new photos of her sporting -- >> looks fantastic. >> a pixie cut after clipping her signature glamorous locks. jason priestley is writing a memoir about the time he played brandon walsh on "90210." they can expect him to dish behind the delicious details behind one of the most popular shows. one of the last surviving "wizard of oz" cast members is no longer with us. margaret pell greenny played a flower pot munchkin in the classic film. you're killing me, smalls.

>> tom gidry best known as smalls in "the sandlot" was arrested for assault on police inside houston's bush international airport. he allegedly tussled with police after united airlines banned him from his flight for intoxication. and finally, lady gaga is pushing the envelope yet again with her latest video. look at that. bares all wearing odd clothing and yells as she performs an exercise to heighten physical and mental awareness. interesting stuff there. i'm betty ngyuen. this is "early today." we hope it's just your first stop of the day on nbc.

leading the news in the "miami herald," teen graffiti artist dies after tasering by miami beach cops. it happened when 18-year-old israel hernandez ran from police after he was seen spraying graffiti. police say he ignored officers' commands to stop. and on space.com, sun's magnetic field flip won't doom earth, scientists say. thank goodness. the change which is happening in the coming months occurs every 11 years so chances are you've already experienced a major one in your lifetime. here on earth, the magnetic swath may produce some climate affects and cool auroras. topping our news, beating the 1 in 175 million odds, three people did it with those winning lottery tickets. the third largest powerball jackpot in history.

two in new jersey and one in minnesota. so check your tickets. here are those numbers just in case you haven't had a chance to do it -- 5, 25, 30, 58, 59 and the powerball number, 32. >> i had 30. that was it. >> i got 32. at least i get my 4 bucks back. president obama abruptly canceled a planned meeting in moscow with vladimir putin. it's a duplicatic snub amid tensions over self-professed nsa leaker edward snowden. president obama still plans to attend the main g-20 summit. and drama in the whitey bulger deliberations. jurors asked the judge a series of questions as they mulled the reputed mob boss' fate. prosecutors and bulger's attorneys, meanwhile, met privately with the judge. neither side would comment on what they were hashing out. you have to see this next story. a bear in alaska found a much quicker way to find fish than swimming upstream. he saw a jet ski on the dock

and, yeah, decided to climb aboard. who wouldn't. the local guide service snapped these photos. they believe the baby bear climbed aboard -- >> he's trying to start it. >> that would have been great video. he was trying to get closer to his mother who was sitting in the water. though he didn't take off in the jet ski it did make for quite a sight. can you imagine stumbling upon that? >> no. if he started putting the life jacket on, then i would have started being suspicious. >> driving off on the jet ski. time for a look ahead. a spokesman for george w. bush says he plans to return to his normal schedule today. he was released from a dallas hospital on wednesday after undergoing surgery to place a stint in a blocked heart artery. the national oceanic and atmospheric administration released an updated forecast for the 2013 atlantic hurricane season. and also happy birthday to roger federer who turns 32. connie stevens, 75. and oscar winner dustin hoffman turns 76.

keep

. we are following breaking news a. shooting rampage in the dallas area involving at least two different locations. we're learning children are among the victims. we'll have all the datest details next. the head of one south bay school district under scrutiny accused of skroewing test resul. a library sitting without any books. it could stay that way for some time. what's stopping one south bay city for opening its newest library. let's take a camera shot outside. this is a live look. attempting in the darkness to see your golden gate bridge. want to talk about smooth-flowing traffic? it doesn't