good tuesday morning. coming up on "early today" -- the west continues to be a tinderbox as crews battle on. caroline kennedy's personal financial records get released for the first time as she gets closer to becoming ambassador. james dimaggio leaves life insurance money tonah anderson's family. legendary dick van dyke survives an accident. david beckham gets back to business and one marine gets the ncaa to bend. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for tuesday, august 20th. good morning. i'm richard lui. firefighters report progress in the massive and still growing wildfire in central idaho. but now the flames are

threatening at least three communities forcing thousands to flee. nbc's jay gray reports from near the fire line in hailey, idaho. >> reporter: the fight against the beaver creek wildfire continues for a 13th day this morning in the idaho mountains. the massive blaze fanning out in several directions right now. pushed by strong winds and with no shortage of dried out brush for fuel. >> we're just in extended drought. it's been hot. it's been dry. the vegetation here is extremely dry. it's the perfect firestorm. >> reporter: 2300 families have been evacuated and more than 7,000 now told to pack and be ready to leave at a moment's notice. >> a little unnerving. it's a little unsettling. >> reporter: an uneasy feeling thousands are dealing with across the west right now where more than 40 wildfires are burning out of control. more than 30 of those sparked by lightning in a region where they've seen at least 600 strikes in the last 24 hours. >> the concerns are certainly

just the erratic conditions out here and the erratic fire behavior. >> reporter: unpredictable conditions, crews in the air and along the front lines. around the clock. jay gray, nbc news, hailey, idaho. >> adding to jay's report we should add here, thunderstorms are forecasted for later today. however, officials are warning those storms could trigger floods in the area already hit hard by the fire. we'll have more from bill karins shortly. some republicans are trying to ramp up national support to defund obama care. it's a $500,000 campaign with town halls in at least nine states. melissa mollet is live in washington for us. how real is this effort being undertaken here? >> nice to see you this morning. big question whether this is a real effort or not. at this point we're not seeing a whole lot of support by republicans, only about ten really backing this plan. many of them perhaps wondering if the tour is headed in the right direction.

>> this is an urgent time to stop what we think is a very destructive law. >> reporter: after a kickoff last night in arkansas, the town hall road show rolls on this morning. next stop? dallas. >> and there is no more important regulatory reform that we can do than to repeal every single word of obama care. >> reporter: senator cruz and the heritage foundation hoping to whip up enough support to gut president obama's affordable care act. >> the one unifying principle in the republican party at the moment is making sure that 30 million people don't have health care. >> reporter: this as a potential government shutdown looms. the sticking point? whether government funding and health care funding should be linked. the question is, will these town halls help republicans gain momentum. >> we're here. we're loud. we're proud and we're going to fight tooth and nail to make sure congress stops this foolishness. >> reporter: two progressive groups are planning counterprotests outside the town halls while other groups are

spreading the word in tv ads like this one. >> we ended up getting a $350 rebate from our insurance company. >> reporter: fears, though, even among some republicans that this could backfire. losing support for a republican party trying to rebuild itself. >> shutdowns are not a good move at all. i think most americans are center right like we are and want limited government. >> reporter: now richard, after dallas, which happens this evening, we know that the tour will basically stay in the eastern part of the country. pretty much going up the east coast, wrapping up thursday in wilmington, delaware. >> melissa mollet thank you in washington d.c. for us. egypt's jailed ex-president could soon be fear. clearing hosni mubarak in a corruption case and ordering his release. it's unclear when or if he would be set free after two years in detention. mubarak was ousted from power in the february 2011 revolution. he was found guilty last year for failing to stop the killing of some 900 protesters in the 18-day uprising.

he has secured a retrial. as the death count reaches almost 1,000 people since last week, another development. the muslim brotherhood's leader muhammad badet was arrested. chuck hagel says the u.s. is reviewing every aspect of the relationship with egypt. >> our ability to influence the outcome in egypt is limited. it's up to the egyptian people, and they are a large, great sovereign nation. an unprecedented move in pakistan. the former military director is facing murder charges. it stems from the 2007 assassination of prime minister benazir bhutto. prosecutors say pervez musharraf committed trim by aiding in bhutto's killing. he's pleaded not guilty to murder, conspiracy to murder and facilitation of murder charges. bhutto was killed during a gun and a bomb attack at a rally. prosecutors say musharraf failed to prevent her assassination. dick van dyke survives a

very close call after his jaguar burst into flames in los angeles. the 87-year-old actor was reportedly slumped over the steering wheel when a passerby pulled him from the burning car. california highway patrol was called to the scene and concluded van dyke sustained no injuries here. an l.a. fire department spokesperson said it's possible a flat tire may have ignited and caused that huge blaze. van dyke showed his trademark sense of humor about the entire situation. he tweeted a photo saying, used jag for sale real cheap. real classy guy he remains to be. a new top dog at the white house to tell you about. president obama and family adopted this portuguese water dog named sonny. we're told because of her cheerful personality. the white house says she's already running around and playing with fellow first dog beau. >> we have two water dogs. a male and a female. >> but beau has been -- >> yeah. >> neutered. >> well, there's always hope, i

guess. >> there will be no litter. there's been two litters in the white house history. >> so we won't see one this time. >> when they're both bad, sunny and beau -- >> sunny bono. al roker told me, give it away. but it's a good joke. it's yours. >> throwing it back to me. some interesting things happened yesterday off the coast of california. especially near san francisco. but the first thing i want to do is show you the update on the fire conditions there. it's a huge fire. almost 12 -- let's see, now up to almost 1700 fire personnel on the ground. that's like a little army trying to fight this blaze in the mountains there. 83 today. yesterday 95. the wind will be lighter today. humidity up. the firefighters are actually looking ford the days ahead. they think they can get a good grip on this blaze. you see the spin off the california coast? fascinating last night just off the coastline of san francisco. thunderstorms erupted. this is a map from the national weather service there from the bay area. all those little red and orange

and green dots are light ning strikes off the coast of san francisco. there's a lot of fantastic lightning photos going around on the internet there. jeff ranieri there has a couple on his site. pretty crazy stuff. a lot of them offshore but made for fantastic show. today's forecast, could see much of the same. the storm lingering around. maybe you can get some beaarm i too. 90 in eugene. so as far as that storm goes, didn't produce a lot of rain but made for beautiful lightning at night. >> idaho floods, big concern you think? >> you get some flash flooding if you get a thunderstorm there but, no, i don't think it's

going to be a big deal. >> good. we don't want a double whammy for them. man found dead from gunshot wound at olivia newton-john's home. the latest on the royal family. a man helped by an airlift and the saudi king. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. a rally took place in san diego on monday. participants argued the embattled mayor is being denied his due process. 16 women have accused filner of sexual harassment. the city council is calling for his resignation. gloria allred said the two sides met on monday to talk about a possible settlement. an unidentified man was found dead inside the south florida home of olivia newton-john and hospital john easterling. initial reports say the man appears to have been killed by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. newton-john and her husband are

currently out of town. prince harry travelled to the african country of angola last week. he visited towns still littered with live land mines. harry followed in the footsteps of his late mother, princess diana. she visited the same area in 1997. prince william and duchess kate released the first family portraits on monday. take a look there. gives us a look at a sweet sleeping prince george. something william says is a rarity. >> he's a little bit of a rascal, we'll put it that way. he's a little fighter. he wiggles around a lot and doesn't want to sleep that much, which is a little bit of a problem. >> they don't like to do that much. a 1300 man in saudi arabia had to be airlifted to a hospital for treatment. a forklift removed him from his home right before and a special reinforced ambulance took him to the airport. the saudi king paid for all of it. a bizarre money meets crime story. it's about james dimaggio. the fugitive who died in a shootout with the fbi after kidnapping hannah anderson. he evidently left $112,000 in

life insurance to hannah's grandmother. all right. for business, cnbc's seema mody. good morning. >> richard, futures right now are lower after stocks fell for a fourth straight day. treasury bond yields hit a two-year high undercutting stocks on rising concerns, higher borrowing costs if and when the fed raises interest rates could hurt the economy. and as college costs rise, so do the number of students receiving financial aid. a new report shows 71% of all undergrads got some type of aid in the 2011-2012 school year up from 66% four years earlier. more than 40% are receiving federal loans and grants. the new iphone may be worth its weight in gold. apple will offer a gold tone version of the next iphone which is expected to be unveiled next month. it's a first new color for the device in years which currently comes in just black and white. richard, back to you. >> new phones.

i hear galaxy is also coming out with a bigger phone. bear attacks are on the rise around america. plus all your sports highlights. you're watching "early today."

a 12-year-old michigan girl is among a streak of bear attack victims injured in the last week alone. abby weatherall is

just one of seven attacked by bears in five states this week. bears attacked hikers, campers and hunters. also in list well, wyoming, colorado and idaho. by the way, abby is thankfully okay but has visible facial injuries. she was jogging last week when the bear attacked. officials there shot and killed a bear this weekend and now they are waiting for dna results to see if it's the same one. let's get the latest in sports for you. a bittersweet win for the redskins. the sweet first. steelers qb roethlisberger with this interception throw. washington's ryan kerrigan grabs it after he makes it into the -- hey, why not? i'll dunk it on the crossbar. later this one-hander by the redskins. now for the bitter. the redskins backup qb gets injured. washington wins, 24-13. rockies at phillies. dollar dog night. what a bargain. hey, why not? i'll get 12 or 13. maybe not. well, make that three says john mayberry from philadelphia. a three-run homer.

that sets up the phillies win, 5-4. five years in the marines. now all steven rhodes wants is to play college football. the middle tennessee state freshman was ineligible because he played in the marine corps. only it was just a recreational league. now the ncaa says he will maintain full eligibility for four years. go rhodes. here's more military bravely. a shoulder jumps 217 feet from the liberty memorial. this was a tribute to the upcoming world war i centennial. then there's colombian diver orlando duke. he leaps 75 feet from a helicopter into new york harbor. not sure how he smelled after. and he did this to promote the cliff diving world series which should be fun. don't tell these 195 flyers fans hockey season is over. oh, no you don't. they were in philadelphia to watch logos on the ice get painted over. they had some time. they want to break a record for the most people watching paint dry. it's never been attempted before

evidently. why, oh, why did barry sanders retire? >> well, guys, the real reason i retired is because i want -- >> the pepsi max commercial says sanders will appear in a new video game. the upcoming ea sports madden nfl 25. he is coming back. just ahead, details behind the death of a disney kids star. and then david beckham gets down to the business of briefs. this is "early today" for your tuesday.

i was mentioning all the lightning strikes. this happened during the newscast last night in san francisco when jeff ranieri, the chief meteorologist was on tv and he retweeted this. there's tons of gorgeous pictures out there from last night. most of them were off the shore and no one got hurt or injured. still a chance of a few storms in the california area. the storm is still located off shore. very hot in the desert. still warm in the northwest. looks like we'll go back up into almost the hot range in portland. wednesday, 89 degrees and sunny. >> beautiful picture there from ranieri. if you are in a plane coming into san francisco, beautiful shots. >> gorgeous last night. in entertainment news, the life of lee thompson young has come to a tragic end. the former disney star apparently ended his life with a self-inflicted gunshot. he was best known for his lead role in the famous jet jackson and more recently his work on

tnt's "rizzoli & isles." he was only 29 years old. legendary wrestler hulk hogan thinks only one man can pull off hulkamania on the big screen. bill karins! >> i'm a hulk maniac. >> no, it's not you, bill. >> he says it's thor. he wants chris helmsworth to play him in a proposed biopic. director j.j. abrahams is forcing the entertainment world to play a guessing game after releasing a puzzling promo for his nbc series "believe." >> erased and reborn. >> yeah, i'll sleep well tonight. according to an "access hollywood" poll, lindsay lohan's rehab stint was not an act. 67% think she is on the road to recovery. 38% think she'll return to her

old ways. daifd beckham has stripped down once again. h & m released these snapshots of the retired soccer player. his bodyworks collection launches in the fall. are we best friends? >> only if i can get a kiss on my cheek. >> okay. >> come on, come on, come on, kid president. thank you. >> cute stuff there. kid president picking up another exclusive interview. that guy, doggone it. his chat with megastar beyonce was part of a campaign for world humanitarian day. he continues to do a lot. i'm richard lui and this is "early today." we hope it's just your first stop of the day on nbc.

leading the news in politico, ted cruz discovers, rejects canadian citizenship. the texas center learned that being born in calgary gives him canadian citizenship. he'll renounce his canadian citizenship arguing that he was a u.s. citizen at birth. in the "boston globe," caroline kennedy's fortune as high as $275 million. caroline kennedy, daughter of president john f. kennedy, has revealed financial information for the first time. it's for her nomination to be ambassador to japan. kennedy filed documents that show her personal fort nun the hundreds of millions of dollars. topping our news, the editor of british newspaper "the guardian" said the paper had the hard drives destroyed after publishing revelations from edward snowden. it was in an apparent attempt to

keep details safe from chinese spies. glen greenwald says he will, quote, write much more aggressively than before about government snooping. that's after his partner david miranda was held for nine hours at london's heathrow airport on sunday. he went on to say, quote, i think they'll regret what they've done. and justice antonin scalia says the u.s. supreme court is making decisions that should be left to congress or the people from wiretapping to, quote, inventing new classes of minorities. though we find it hard to believe here, certainly, sometimes even anchors are not so perfect. on a morning show in australia, grumpy cat made a special appearance and the anchor could not keep it together after staring at the cat's annoyed response. watch. [ laughter ] look at that cat. look at that cat. it's like jaba the hut. >> but he always has the same

look. >> do you think the cat is that funny? like would it crack you up? >> maybe for the first 15 seconds but that's about it. maybe because he tried to crack a joke and he went to grumpy cat, which is often the look i get. jury selection and sentencing staff sergeant robert bales. army prosecutors playing a recording of bales and his wife laughing about charges of murdering 16 afghan civilians. president obama welcomes the 1972 miami dolphins today. coach don shula and the players on the only undefeated team in nfl history will finally be honored. happy birthday to demi lovato who is 21. led zeppelin singer robert plant is 65 and today show weatherman al roker 59. >> happy birthday, al. here's what's coming up later on the "today" show. a report about people who do work in your home. some have criminal records and you wouldn't even know it. keep it here for more news, weather and sports. i'm richard lui, along with bill

karins. have a good one.

breaking news, a triple shooting at a restaurant in san jose turns deadly overnight. we just talked to san jose police. what they're telling us next. plus a local child hides under the coffers as robbers break into his home and attack his mother. we'll let you know what we're learning from overnight. an oakland man making new claims saying city workers assaulted him right outside city hall. what the city is saying this morning. right now a live look outside at a foggy golden gate bridge. we can tell you the bay area right now under a red flag warning this morning after thousands of lightning strikes all over the bay. christina has a look at your weather.