good wednesday morning. coming on "early today," historic decisions. world leaders are gathering with their closest advisers to decide what military retaliation will be taken against syria for using chemical weapons. a bird's-eye view, california's out-of-control wildfire and the massive air and ground assault to put it out. 50 years ago today, dr. martin luther king jr. delivered one of the world's most memorable messages. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for wednesday, august 28th. good morning, everybody. i'm richard louie. senior u.s. officials tell nbc news a u.s.-led military strike against syria could be launched as early as tomorrow. momentum for action against the alleged chemical attacks appears

to be building globally. british prime minister david cameron called his parliament back to debate a response. an emergency vote will be held thursday. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says israel will respond with force if syria does anything to harm israel. the arab league is blaming the syrian government, demanding international trials. but venezuela president nicolas madura, a close ally of syria's president assad, says military action could essentially be the beginning of a great international firestorm. nbc's aymman joins us now. >> reporter: washington says this is not about regime change, that the united states doesn't want to get involved in syria's civil war. a tweet was sent out saying we are we've always said we want

the u.n. security council to live up to its responsibilities." it's expected to authorize in no specific terms to protect civilians inside syria. a lot of people say that is the interpretation or the legal authorization to allow the international community led by the u.s. and uk and others to carry out strikes inside syria. all indications are the russian government will block this which probably means there won't be any international legal authorization for this type of military response against the syrian government. already some u.n. senior leaders including the special envoy on syria said any military action inside syria would require international authorization. so it will be all about the u.n. today and whether or not the u.s. and its allies can get those votes for that authorization. >> ayman, thank you. we're getting a new vantage

point of that massive wildfire near yosemite and it has grown overnight. nbc's miguel almaguer is near the foreign line. he spent much of tuesday with crews fighting the flames through the air. >> reporter: this fire is roughly 230 square miles bigger than the city of chicago and all along the ridges we can see more spot fires. no doubt this is growing. it's certainly quickly on the move and you can see from the fuel load down here there are hundreds of thousands of acres that could still burn. we're going to make our way down to the south side. this fire has been burning for about a week and a half, no doubt this could burn for weeks longer. crews may not be able to access so much of this terrain down there. it is fairly rugged. very rocky below and from the air you get that unique perspective. you can understand why they can't drop firefighters into the burn zone. they put crews down on the ground down there. there's nowhere they would be

able to run. there are no escape routes so on this part of the fire they have to attack it from the air. the dc-101 one of the biggest as sets crews have on the ground. it can drop nearly 12,000 gallons of fire retard apartment and stop flames dead in its track. you can see how hot it is firing. behind the smoke and ash in the air you can see there are hot spots. there are flames towering hundreds of feet in the air and it's very active, still burning quickly and, of course, very, very dangerous. >> and miguel telling us yesterday because of all that smoke and ash it was difficult to get the helicopter off the ground. miguel almaguer reporting for us. 50 years ago today, dr. martin luther king jr. delivered his iconic "i have a dream" speech. today, president obama plans to honor the man and his legacy. nbc's tracie potts is on the national mall. any early arrivers you've seen this yet.

>> reporter: richard, good morning. on the national mall to show you where everything is happening today, president obama delivering a speech on the same steps of the lincoln memorial where dr. king delivered his "i have a dream" speech. thousands moving to the memorial for that and on the tom joyner radio program the president talked about what he is go to say "when it comes to the economy, when it comes to inequality, whether it comes to wealth when, it comes to, you know, the challenges that inner cities experience, he would say that we have not made as much progress as the civil and social progress that we've made and that it's not enough just to have a black president". >> reporter: and take a look at this. the bell from the 16th street baptist church in birmingham has been brought in to be part of the program. it's the bell that rung back in 1963, the morning that church

was bombed and four little girls there were killed. also being remembered today, emmett till, the 14-year-old who was murdered. he was accused of flirting with a white woman back then. he was found murdered on this day 58 years ago. lots of history here, richard. >> all right, thank you so much tracie potts there on the mall. an act of honesty caught on tape. buddy's small lots was closed. surveillance video showing four teens entering the store but instead of making off with batteries and earphone, they leave cash on the counter including sales tax. >> i think it's terrific that there are still people out there that have more character not to do the wrong thing and they easily could. >> seems a malfunctioning door lock is to blame after employees had gone home. the owners went looking for the teens to give them gift certificates. four william patter son footbal

players who thanked their parents. >> everything pays off, good parenting and showing me the ups and downs of things and, you know, they showed me the right way to go. >> you can say that again. wouldn't you say it dylan dreyer. >> good stuff. >> as far as the weather is concerned, hottest temperatures once again in the middle of the country, not just on the thermometer but whether you factor in the humidity it's going to be brutally uncomfortable. dew points yesterday in minneapolis were at 77 degrees and to put that in perspective for you a dew point of 780 feels hot and oppressive like the air is hot, but 77 degrees. that is really excessive heat and because of that we do have once ben excessive heat warnings through the upper midwest. out west we are seeing much more comfortable temperatures and starting off the day in the 60s except in the desert southwest. 8 in phoenix.

scattered showers and storms especially in the pacific northwest although california really could use some help from mother nature but it is just too far to the north bringing some pockets of steady rain in and around seattle and it is going to continue off and on throughout the morning. temperatures through theday should be upper 70s. 9 onto 100 in phoenix and vegas and that will continue in the middle of the country and spread eastward as we go into tomorrow. that's a look at the weather across thefallon, we will see smoke from the wildfires. so speaking about the smoke from the fire, it is starting to spread hundreds of miles and affect air quality in and around the area. >> even in san francisco and mother nature not helping out. >> not at all. >> okay, thanks so much, dylan.

if you're competing for a job with an equally qualified candidate we'll tell you the one quality hiring managers say makes the difference. that one thing next.

in the news this morning, ft. hood gunman nadal hasan rested his case tuesday. he didn't call a single witness during the penalty phase. the jury of 13 army officers will start deliberating hasan's sentence, which could lead to the death penalty. a former high school teacher in montana who pleaded guilty to raping a 14-year-old girl who later killed herself has been sentenced to 30 days in jail. yes, just 30 days. the judge claimed the student was, quote, as much in control of the situation as the teacher. and a new interview, lieutenant general michelle johnson, the first woman to lead the air force academy, says she faced resistance and sexual harassment as she rose through the ranks. this comes at a time when sexual harassment and assault in the military is under increased scrutiny by congress.

and a californiaman underwent the first of three operations to remove a 200-pound tumor from his body. that tumor has been growing since 1999. only recently the man found a doctor who would perform the surgery. turning now to health news, some of the biggest changes to the new school year are in the lunchroom. after just one year, many school districts are cutting ties with the national school lunch program. it's an $11 billion program that reimburses schools for healthier meals. however, some schools say students were turned off by whole grains, vegetables and fruits. in turn, they began bringing lunch or in some cases actually going hungry. "early today" health brow to you by vagisil. >> good morning to seema mody. investors worldwide continue to keep a wary eye on the situation in syria. the electronic army, a hacker

group that supports the assad regime is claiming responsibility. the times quickly set up alternate sites to publish stories and twitter never lost service. groupon is eyeing a network of warehouses to ship goods from its physical goods which sells memory foam pillows and appliances. nissan wants you to sit back and relax. the japanese automaker plans to begin selling self-driving cars by 2020 for what it says are realistic prices. hmm, richard, back to you. >> i will take that i'm a pretty lazy person. investors continue to keep an eye on the situation in syria. according to societe generale, oil prices could spike to $150 a barrel if military action is taken against syria and supply disruptions occur. burger ki burger king will offer a french

f fryburger for a dollar septembers september 1st. bk employees will only have to add four french fries on top of the beef pattis and will bring the burger in at 360 calories with 19 grams of fat. mm-mm. job seekers, you better listen up. careerbuilder did a survey of hiring managers and were asked who they would hire if they found two equally qualified candidates. the one who got the job was the one with the better sense of humor. straight ahead, the longest homer of the year. some wicked cool b.a.s.e. jumping and the rest of your sports highlights.

i don't see los angeles on that list. the latest in sports. roger federer as an underdog? he's seeded the lowest in over a decade this time around. ace percentage down five points. that didn't stop him on day two. he went 6-3, 6-3, 7-2 against -- who cares. now tori duval against samantha stosur. she wins that. her mother told her to have fun. let's talk splitsville and

tennis darling caroline wozniacki. no splits on set. just as important for her here, no split wes golfer boyfriend rory mcilroy. he's not spoiling that much. they were trying to put aside some breakup rumors. that's why we bring that up. robinson cano, hit in the hand. that 90-mile-per-hour fastball gives fans a bit of a square. x-rays negative. later, soriano joins the 400 club with two homers. hunter pence with this hulking home run, 476 feet. he beats the league's longest this season. that beats the old record by a foot. the giants win that game. red bull air force team jumping off a denver hotel. 45 stories down to the parking lot. funds go to the colorado scholarship coalition. they're doing 50 stunts like this a year. there's better ways to spend your afternoon.

3,000 gallons of gravy there. and they're all dressed up. contestants get dressed up. superman, yorkshire pudding. the oxford online dictionary has just added the phrase twerk. we guess that miley cyrus might be partially to blame for this. they define it as dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance. entertainment news is up next.

good morning, welcome back. starting off on the cooler side in seattle. 68 degrees where rain is coming down. on and off rain throughout the day. elsewhere, though, we could use rain in california but it is going to stay dry. smoke is spreading in that area so keep this mind air quality will be fairly poor especially across northern california then tomorrow more rain across the pacific northwest. 70 in san francisco and comfortable in l.a. >> that sounds great for san francisco. >> with the sun shining. thank you so much. now for entertainment news for you, president obama spoke with tom joyner and civil wilkes about his experience watching "the butler." take a listen. >> you know, i did see the butler and i did tear up. i teared up just thinking about not just the butlers who worked

here in the white house, but, you know, an entire generation of people who were talented and skilled, but because of jim crow, because of discrimination, there was only so far they could go. miley cyrus has taken tons of criticism for her performance at the vmas, but a number of celebs are coming to her defense, including fellow disney alum justin timberlake saying, quote, she's letting everybody knows she's growing up. timberlake has some experience with controversy as you might know dating back to his wardrobe malfunction with janet jackson. that goes back a couple of year, doesn't it? meanwhile, miley's dad said, quote, she's still my little girl. all right. robin thicke is out with his new video "give it to you" and it features rappers and sexy women. instead of sex with women, we get to see his 3-year-old son julian. very different than his other video. check out the trailer from matthew mcconaughey's film.

"texas buyers club." the sex symbol lost 47 pounds in three months for the role. very, very scrawny. sentenced to 270 days in jail for assault and nations to michael buble and his wife who welcomed baby boy noah into the world. got to be a crooner. >> can you imagine the lullabies that baby is going to get sung. >> with the family. >> oh, for sure. >> i'm richard lui and we remember the 50th anniversary of the "i have a dream" speech on the washington mall there at the martin luther king memorial.

leading the news, the "new york times" has a great story for james harris, a dream fulfilled. he was 16 years old when watched dr. king's speech on tv. harris went on to become the nfl's first full time starting quarterback. and in the "wall street journal," jitters over syria hit markets again. stock markets are taking a major hit around the world in anticipation of potential action in siria. topping our news today, speaking of action, senior u.s. officials tell nbc news a three-day u.s.-led military strike against syria could be launched as early as tomorrow. the officials say the attack would be meant to send a message to syrian president bashar al assad not to topple him or to cripple his military. the syrian electronic army, a hacker group favorable to assad's regime, claimed credit for hacking the websites of some

major media companies on tuesday. "boston" magazine released new gripping photos of the manhunt for boston marathon bomber for dzhokhar tsarnaev. the most gripping show him emerge from the boat, bloodied and defeated. some police officers in the uk certainly have some skills, shall we say. take a look at this right. the video shows the cops getting down at the nottingham carnival. the crowd loved it, dylan, and apparently so does the internet. they got some moves. >> they do. >> i hope those -- you think they're real cops -- they got to be real cops. >> i think they have to be. i don't think it's legal to dress up and pretend to be a cop. >> reached 500,000 hits. the carnival is the largest street celebration in europe. they say hundreds of thousands sometimes show up to that. they're saying a million, some reports according to "the guardian." >> good moves. i didn't know -- the row boat, i didn't know that was a move.

>> do the sprinkler. all right, whatever. a hearing for three members of the naval football team. testimony is scheduled for a naval academy midshipman who says she was sexually assaulted by three athletes. and a reunion in indiana today, 6-year-old nathan wayner who was rescued from sand last month will help honor his rescuers. happy birthday to actor jack black, 44, jason priestly, 44, and consultant singer shania twain who is 38. coming up on the "today" show -- the dream lives on and al roker is live in washington for the anniversary of martin luther king jr.'s speech. and pride and fiberglass? the statue surfaces in a london lake. that's interesting. now keep it right here for more news, weather and sports. i'm richard lui along with dylan dreyer. thanks for watching "early today." have a good one ahead.

as the rim fire burns out of control this morning, local crews are forced to deal with a new fire in the bay area. multiple homes burned after a grass fire threat. the latest details next. we are hours away from the bay bridge closure. what you need to know to get around. plus, the bay area city that says milk does not do your body good, now it wants to ban it from city events. live to the south bay. a live look at san jose. look at the cloud cover. checking the forecast with meteorologist christina loren on wednesday, august 28th. this is "today in the bay."