good wednesday morning. coming up on "early today," overnight unrest. disea dozens killed in egypt. a hostage standoff ends in fire just hours ago. a huge buy. pl jesse jackson jr. sentenced to prison. back from sexual harassment therapy. office locks changed and everybody loved a winner. we'll show you 16 of them. "early today" starts right now. this is "early today" for wednesday, august 14th. we begin with breaking news out of alabama this hour. moments ago, word a large cargo

plane has crashed east of birmingham near the international airport there. initial reports say the plane was registered to international carrier ups. three explosions were reported in the aftermath. causalities and damages not known. again, just in. also, this morning egyptian forces moving in to try and clear camps held by supporters of ousted president mohamed morsi. dozens have been reported killed in the clashes and thousands injured, as well. live in cairo this morning, aman, good morning to you and where does the violence stand? >> reporter: good morning, richard. it's an ongoing operation, but there are reports of clashes spreading out in other parts of cairo and more importantly, other cities outside the capital here. the operation began this morning at 7:30 a.m. when police moved to try to break up these two major sit-in protests. one has been completely clear, the other one is where most of

the causalities and reports of violence have broken out. each side is using live ammunition to attack the other and that's what's leading to the fatali fatalities. the government puts the death toll at 15, five egyptian police officers have been killed. the muslim brotherhood says more than 300 of it supporters have been killed. it's hard to verify the numbers, but we'll get a more accurate picture of what has happened. more importantly, the egyptian military on a heightened state of alert across the country. they've restricted people moving in and out of the capital and there are reports supporters of mohamed morsi have clashed in other major cities, leading to the type of violence many were afraid was going to happen if, in fact, police did what they did this morning, that is storm these two sit-in protests. richard? >> thank you, early there, 1:02 in the afternoon. appreciate it. this morning, a proposed merger in the skies has been put

in a holding pattern. american airlines and us airways agreed to become one company, creating the world's largest airline. danielle lee is live in washington. good morning to you and why has this deal been halted? >> reporter: richard, good morning. the concern is under this merger there would be a decrease in competition and, therefore, an increase in prices. just take reagan national airport just outside of washington, d.c. where i am, for example, under this merger, the new airline would control 69% of takeoffs and also landings. plans for us airways and american airlines to fly under a new american logo could be permanently grounded. the justice department, along with six states and washington, d.c. are suing to stop the merger. >> they tend to contract the market, so you have less routes, less choices, higher prices. >> reporter: the airlines are vowing to fight back, saying blocking this pro competitor

merger will deny customers to a broader airline network that gives them more choices. for months they've been advertising this deal as a big win for consumers. >> not only become a bigger airline, but also something so much greater. >> reporter: the deal would have been the latest airline megamerger, following united and continental. northwest and delta, southwest and both air tran and ata and us airways and america west. >> this industry has a track record of too many planes and too many players and unless they can tighten up capacity, it's going to be a badly damaged industry. >> reporter: but at airports around the country, passengers have been worried. >> when northwest and delta merged, it cut down on the availability of flights. >> meanwhile, airfare to be affordable. >> reporter: travelers have been paying more for luggage, even leg room. the lawsuit came before a bankruptcy judge was expected to approve the merger as part of american's turn around plan.

the company will be stuck in bankruptcy for at least a few more months. richard? >> thank you so much. also a violent end to a bank hostage situation. police shooting and killing the suspect after he shot two hostages. one of those hostages is dead, the other is in critical condition. a third hostage was released late tuesday, nine hours into the ordeal in rural louisiana. during negotiations, officials saying the 20 year old said he was going to kill the hostages, that's when police stormed the building. ahmed's family owns a store across the street. ahmed took three bank employees hostage tuesday afternoon. hopeful news for a teen in dire need of a heart transplant. it has made 15-year-old anthony stokes a candidate for a donor heart. anthony was initially denied a spot on a transplant list because of what they called noncompliance. his mother believes he was being

punished for having poor grades and a run-in with the law. san diego mayor bob filner is vowing to fight amid sexual harassment claims. in a written statement responding to the demands for a recall, he touted the city's progress during his term. filner just returned from a two-week stint in therapy. now he's facing more problems. political reports the locks in his office have been changed. and four san diego hooters restaurants are boycotting filner, saying he will not be served. more than a dozen women are accusing the san diego mayor of sexual harassment. new york mayor cory booker coasted to victory in new jersey's special primary. the democrat beat his closest opponent by some 40 points. the seat is that of the late senator frank lautenberg. after his victory, booker spoke to hundreds of supporters. >> i want to make sure you know

if i am your united states senator, the direction i will be most concerned with will not be right or left, it will be with going forward. >> former mayor steve lonagan won the republican primary. the special general election is set for october 15th. 18 sailors trapped and some killed aboard a submarine. indian news station says a loud explosion was heard and flames could be seen from a distance. after the fire, the russian-made submarine sank. only the top of the vessel is visible right now. some crew members aboard had died but no further details on that. hundreds evacuated as a wildfire in utah expands to nearly 4,000 acres. the fire has claimed at least a dozen structures. officials are using two blackhawk helicopters to fight the blaze. more than 250 homes are estimated to be in danger. the fire is just 5% contained.

meteorologist bill karins as we look at winds and temperatures, how's it look for the day? >> every day we're getting a new fire in the west. yesterday was utah. nothing is changing, dangerous, breezy afternoon winds and high temperatures and no really rain in sight with 95 in salt lake city yesterday. today will be just as warm. let's talk about what is changing a little bit. this last storm out in the pacific just under the weather channel logo there dipped down, tried to clip the northwest. this storm is heading more northeasterly direction, dragging some showers into the northwest, but not a lot of rain. here's our expected rainfall totals. >> a lot of eggs, man, a lot of eggs. >> a lot of eggs, in other words, there will be some clouds, little cooler, may be a sprinkle or two, but not a lot of wet weather. wednesday forecast calls for 82 in seattle, 85 in portland. where we showed you the

pictures, another very hot day today, about 97 in salt lake city. that's your awhile. spokane, washington, 94. we continue in this pattern. it's in the 40s this morning in northern michigan. we haven't had any -- >> 40s? thanks a lot, bill karins. major announcement expected from the pentagon coming out today. we've got the details on that. plus, could this be the $60 million man?

welcome back. stories making news right now, a new quinnipiac university poll says the race for new york city mayor has a new leader. bill de blasio with 30%,

christine quinn with 24%, and anthony weiner 10%. over half the people polled say the candidate has little or no moral character. ex-congressman jesse jackson jr. awaits sentencing today. it involves the misuse of $750,000 in campaign money. he admitted using those funds to buy a rolex, mink capes, and other items. prosecutors want a four-year sentence. later this morning, the pentagon is to announce if same-sex members of military members will be eligible for military benefits, health care, housing, and ten days of marriage leave. a detroit police chief is apologizing after accidently sending out the bra sizes of some female police officers. he says the information was used for measuring bullet proof vests and was an unfortunate clerical error and not done maliciously. the group of powerball

winners from oceans county, new jersey, have claimed their share of that jackpot. each will get about $3.8 million after taxes. got to have that hat on, too, when you claim it, right? more and more celebrities are turning to surrogacy in order to become parents. a study released this week by the centers of disease control show infertility rates have not changed in the last 20 years, still affecting 1 in 6 couples. surrogacy has helped people like jimmy fallon live their dream of becoming parents. >> announcer: early today health brought by vagisil. okay, now to business. >> richard, apple stock had its second best day of the year, up 5% after carl icon tweeted he's bought a sizable stake in the iphone maker. i con says he had a friendly chat with tim cook, urging him

to return more of the company's cash to shareholders. hyundai is recalling suvs in the u.s. and canada. the automaker says the vehicle could lose power if one of the axels fails. the recall affects the sante fe with front wheel drive. coca-cola is running ads defending the safety of artificial sweeteners. the news comes as sales of diet sodas are falling down 3% last year. richard, back to you. >> thank you so much. ford wants you to focus on this, the focus is now the world's top selling car with sales in china raising 153% from january to march. on the rumor mill, the sun newspaper is reporting warner bros. will offer christian bale $65 million to return. that movie, 2015's batman versus superman. still ahead, two rare pairs of home runs in your sports

highlights. you're watching "early today."

all great songs. let's get the latest in sports for you this hour. followed with last night's game in st. petersburg, home run, then zobrist does the same thing, then miller again in the fifth. zobrist answers with another.

that makes four. it's only the third time since 1916 two lead-off hitters both hit two homers in the same game. seattle beats tampa 5-4, fun stuff. the red sox are the season's comeback kids. 28 times after last night after trailing six innings, boston ties it with toronto. then in the 11th inning, shane victorino singles, two runs come in. boston, 4-2, fist pump, yeah. the nfl players' association and the league have tentatively agreed to 40 blood tests each week during the season. samples taken will determine penalty levels. positive testing gets you a four-game suspension. everything is bigger in texas, it is said. the nfl's houston texans unveiled that, the world east largest indoor video screen. 53 feet high, 277 feet long. put that in the man cave, right? the cost, though, $16 million smackers. 15,000 square feet is what it gets you, though, of screen.

you have to stack here if you had all that square feet, 1400 60-inch tvs to get what you see there. jason dufner on the top of the world after winning the pga championship. he took his trophy to the empire state building. dufner's wife instagramed this. so much for people saying he was not very emotional. just ahead for you, the life and times of the legendary ron burgundy will soon be revealed to all.

welcome back on this wednesday morning. if you're heading out the door, looks like your drive will be clear of any troublesome weather. we are going to look for clear skies. if you're driving near the fires, drive through some smoke, but that would be about it. 97, salt lake city, 82 in seattle. tomorrow, i mentioned the storm goes to the north, tries to drag through the front, couple clouds, showers, not a lot of wet weather out there. don't worry, the gloom isn't returning, towards the weekend, perfection returns. >> perfection, mild weather, get out there and enjoy it. entertainment news for you now, hollywood actresses put their star power behind an antipaparazzi bill to back legislation aimed at imposing stricter penalties at celebrity photographers and adding

restrictions on photographing celeb children. ♪ yeah, that's her new hit, lady gaga trying reverse psychology. >> scary. >> bill karins might be screaming in his sleep after that. doing reverse psychology on her video "applause." she was telling fans not to buy the song. the singer is also giving artsy makeovers during her promotional tour and even gave one to ryan seacrest. >> didn't even recognize him. kendrick lamar ignited a tsunami wave of support on twitter and facebook for the words he's using here. he trashes other well known artists like drake, big sean, and dre cole. ron burgundy plans to stay classy with a tell-all book. the memoir of the fictional

newsman will be released at the same time as the sequel "the legend continues." the business of writing books has been good to e.l. james. the "fifty shades of grey" topped forbes list with a whopping $94 million. comedy central, haven't roasted anyone so good looking. don't speak. >> this promo ad shows actor james franco comparing for the hot seat he'll be in during his comedy central roast next month. finally, adam levine gave an 11-year-old girl a memorable birthday gift. the singer surprised the birthday girl by giving her his guitar. good stuff. i'm richard lui, this is "early today," hope it's just your first stop of the day on nbc.

the lead story this morning in usa today, women move into law enforcement's highest ranks. women head up six of the nation's biggest jobs, including the drug enforcement administration, secret service, and the fbi's washington field office. and in the l.a. times, feinstein and durbin, how to close gitmo. the two high ranking senators write an op-ed saying it's not america's military that's failed, it's our policy makers. topping our news, breaking news in alabama to update you on, a large cargo plane crashing just an hour ago while on approach to the birmingham airport. wvtm reporting the plane is burning after two explosions. it was coming from louisville, kentucky. no explanation how many were onboard the air bus plane or if

there were any injuries. also, benefits are dividing the town of yarnell, arizona, where 19 hotshot firefighters were killed battling a june wildfire. because of 13 of them were considered temporary employees, their families are not entitled to full survivors benefits. the difference lies in families getting health insurance and increased life insurance payment and the men's annual salaries. a 12-year-old florida boy is fighting for his life after he went swimming and ended up with a brain-eating ameba. he's infected with a very rare condition but found in fresh water lakes, ponds, and rivers. paddleboard enthusiasts have found a way to get people to adopt, taking dogs out on the water. it's a monthly event raising money for pet rescue and adoptions. these dogs go into the water with potential owners and ride the waves there in hopes they have found their lifelong

paddleboard companions. if you're a paddleboarder, great way to get some exercise. >> if you want to adopt a dog, take him out on the paddleboard, doesn't want to go, get another one. time now for a look ahead. arraignment today for two reality tv stars. theresa giudice and her husband face 39 counts of bank and mail fraud on loan applications. debby rowe, mother of jackson's children, will take the stand in the king of pop's wrongful death trial. happy birthday to mila kunis, magic johnson turns 54, and comedian steve martin is 68. i can't believe how old he is. here's what's coming up later on the "today" show, allegations a michigan doctor said he had cancer when they did not and treated them for the money. and more on the talk with jay leno and bruce springsteen. keep it here for more news, weather, and happening now, s

in egypt between security forces and supporters of the country's ousted president. more than a dozen people killed, and almost 200 injured. we'll have the latest developments next. coming to a close. trial of accused serial killer moving into a new phase this morning. and why one of the big vt community colleges in california could get to keep it's accreditation. a live look from the south bay. get ready, everybody, students in san jose unified heading back to school this morning. class is in session. it is wednesday, august 14th. this is "today in the bay."