good wednesday morning. coming up on "early today," new deta details about killer aaron alexis' mental state are emerging, as are the details of the 12 victims who were gunned down. president obama speaks out on gun control measures. but does the senate have the votes to make any changes? two former defense secretaries offer conflicting advice on the crisis in syria. plus the latest from colorado's devastating floods. what happened to this guy who tried to jump from a cop car? and the life save before our very eyes as a hero emerges. "early today" starts right now. this is "early today" for wednesday september 18. very good morning to you. i'm richard lui. we're getting a better

psychological picture of navy yard killer aaron alexis. one is of voices inside his head, another picture, vibrations of microwaves to send him messages. police say this information may explain why alexis's gunned down 12 people on monday. nbc's tracy pots joins us. what's the latest? >> authorities also know he was arrested at least three times, but not prosecuted, never convicted on those arrests. at least two of them were gun related. that's raising a lot of questions here on capitol hill and across the country. should aaron alexis still had clearance to get on that base and should he have been able to buy a gun? as washington remembers the victims -- >> it's a hole that will never be filled. >> reporter: the fbi is tracking every move aaron alexis made.

>> how did he carry out and plan this attack, how did he get access to the weapons. >> it was a lawful purchase of a shotgun made in virginia. >> reporter: legal, even though the veterans administration was treating him for mental illness. less than a month ago, he reported hearing voices. >> i don't know how in the world he got a clearance to be able to get into the navy yard with those weapoweapons. >> reporter: he got them because it's illegal for the va to report treatment. as a contractor he had a ten-year security clearance. >> it's not that difficult to get a security clearance if you do not have major red flags in your background. >> reporter: the incident is raising more talk about gun control. >> we do not have a firm enough background check system. >> we're going to move this up as quickly as we can. and the shooting is raising questions about security. lawmakers want more answers on a pentagon report, places like

washington navy yard at risk. and as a result of all that, there will be a lot of eyes object this now, richard. the president has ordered a review of all federal facilities. secretary hagel wants a review of the clearances. the husband of one of the 12 victims says he now has a hole that will never be filled. nbc's tom costello has more on those whose lives were stolen. >> reporter: taps at the navy memorial for the 12 men and women who came from all walks of life, gunned down in a place supposed to be safe. among them 53-year-old sylvia frasier. >> my sister was a person who was very giving and loving. give you, truly, her shirt off her back. >> reporter: 46-year-old bernard proctor leaves two teenage boys.

his ex-wife says he loved them dearly. martin bodrog was 54. he is survived by his wife of 23 years and three daughters. 59-year-old michael arnold had been married for 30 years with two sons. >> i am so proud of him. he has been a really, really wonderful son, and a wonderful father and a wonderful husband. i'm just proud of him. >> reporter: 62-year-old kathy gaarde was a financial analyst, married for 38 years, her two children are grown. john johnson was 73. he leaves his wife and four grown daughters. >> he is such a man of joy. everywhere he goes, he brings joy. >> reporter: there is also 51-year-old mary frances knight, 52-year-old richard ridgell, 50-year-old frank kohler, 5-year-old arthur

daniels, who had five children and nine grandchildren, 58-year-old gerald read and 61-year-old employee vishnu pandit. >> he loved the navy and devoted his life to the navy for years. >> the search for those missing has become more desperate as the hours pass in colorado. hundreds of people are still unaccounted for in what's been the worst flooding to hit the boulder area in decades. the death toll has been lowered from eight to six, now classifying two of those reported dead as missing. more today, first responders will be making their way into numerous towns that have been cut off by the waters. nbc meteorologist bill karins, as we look at those picture there is -- >> we'll keep looking at them. >> and hoping there's no more rain. >> no, they're fine. they're dried out. also the denver post, the big newspaper in the city, has 120 aerial images from all over the reason.

you sit there clicking and can't believe it. that it's the same spot. it's different town after town. it will be a long recovery. as far as we're dealing with out there, any more troublesome weather? not much. extreme temperatures in areas of arizona. one degree off your record high in phoenix, 108 record high was 109. desert areas are still very warm. northwest has been cooler. in the 50s this morning. heavy rain moved through areas of washington, northeast corner of washington state and northern idaho last night. some areas reported almost like tropical downpours. that is moving now into montana, passing up into canada again today. as that storm moves out, we're looking good behind it. high pressure is moving into the coast. we will see a noticeable warm-up in the pacific northwest before that next storm will come in as we approach friday and into saturday. as far as all the troublesome weather goes, it's ended for denver and colorado and most areas of the west will see a dry day, just our friends in montana with a few showers and storms.

>> into the northwest, we warm it up and we'll cool it back down. enjoy. >> they're crossing their fingers saying indian summer, please be two months long. >> yeah, right. direct message from starbucks ceo to gun owners. also has sex stopped selling? true to life death-defying rescue. details in two minutes.

a neighborhood is praising three heroes who risked life and limb to rescue a man trapped by an apartment fire.

lorenzo lopez sprang to action when he heard cries for help. a man was balancing on a window screen you see there. lopez and two building workers grabbed a ladder, traveled up and extended the ladder to a fourth floor window. one of the rescuers crossed the gap, helped lower the victim to the ladder and walked back across to safety. i think there will be a lorenzo lopez day in new york city. other stories making news on this hump day. two of president obama's former defense secretaries have come out against his strategy for dealing with syria. speaking at a college forum, both robert gates and leon panetta say they would have told the president not to seek approval from congress for a military strike. gates opposes a military strike, likening it to throwing gasoline on a fire. panetta says obama must follow through on his words. >> my view would have been that once the president came to that

conclusion, that he should have directed limited action going after assad to make very clear to the world that when we draw a line and we give our word, damn it, we back it up. a federal judge has ordered a new trial for five new orleans police officers who were convicted of civil rights violations after shooting and killing two unarmed people shortly after hurricane katrina. the judge cited quote grotesque misconduct arguing that prosecutors unfairly altered the case. some experts are blaming hurricane katrina for allowing a dangerous brain-eating amoeba into local tap water systems. water fountains have been shut off and officials are trying to kill the parasite with chlorine. a house in connecticut was completely destroyed after exploding late tuesday. the cause is unknown but no injuries have been reported. talk about the great escape, or at least the great attempt. a man under arrest in ohio attempting to flee police custody just by jumping out of a

moving cruiser. it didn't work out in the end too well. he tried. starbucks is asking customers to leave their guns athe home. the move is a result of increase in starbucks appreciation days where gun rights advocates show up at stores with firearms. starbucks is stopping short of a full ban. walgreens plans to shift thousands of workers to private insurance exchanges starting next year. drugstore joint will provide payments to employees so they can buy their own coverage. and tesla motor sincere getting into the driverless car game. ceo musk says they're working to produce a vehicle that runs on autopilot within the next three years. exciting. richard, back to you. >> because their stock prices aren't doing quite well enough. if you would like to get rich the old fashioned way -- no, not inheritance, lottery,

the jackpot is worth $400 million. sex sell, right? at least it used to. penthouse has filed for bankruptcy protection, liability up to $1 billion and assets less than $10 million. southeast florida mansion where versace was shot dead has sold for $4.5 million at auction. new owners are a group that includes the family behind jordache jeans. super storm sandy boardwalk blaze, investigators are blaming flooding from sandy to causing damage to electrical wire and equipment that sparked the blaze be neath the candy store. officials warn others in the area to have wiring inspected to make sure that wiring is not endangering their places as well. sports is next.

now let's get the latest in sports for you. remembering the victims in washington, d.c. is where we start. a moment of silence at washington nationals park a mile from navy yard. the color guard presenting flags. both teams honoring the 12 people killed in monday's shooting as well.

now to orioles/red sox. tied 2-2. orioles triples. he later scores. he stopped the red sox pitcher's 37 consecutive outs. baltimore 3-2. two games back of the wild-card leaders. cincinnati and houston. astros singled. he tries to double his money on the single. cincinnati tagged him out backwards. slides into brandon phillips, his back side. so did astros losing 10-0. what are you looking at? washington's alex ovechkin chases a puck. so much strength there they break the glass in two. perhaps here because there is a little hole there. you can see the videographer right in the middle. prices for some tickets for super bowl xlviii will be way up. expected to double the price. middle tier up 50%, but the cheapest tickets down 25% to

$500. division three college ball. tries a quarterback sneak. tries is the word here. on the 1 yard line. they are piled up. he fumbles. stevenson university defender grabs it. stevenson, 28-14. let's do high school football. a blocked field goal. the defense starts celebrating. the ball left on the field. that ball is still alive. the victory. 83.13 miles per hour. he rode his high-tech recumbent bicycle -- yes, in that bubble you see there, furiously pedalling like a hamster. it's more aerodynamic than a bullet. just ahead, zac effron out of

rehab. plus fallon and timberlake on timberlake tuesday.

welcome back. why can't we save a day like this for the weekend? beautiful in most spots. san francisco, 73. gorgeous for lunchout doors. little hot in phoenix, still. as we go into your thursday, notice the warm-up in the northwest. summer trying to --

>> let's talk miley cyrus. >> i love miley. >> it's been at least 18 minutes since we talked about that. the educational world is feeling the effects here. grand valley state university in michigan took down their pendulum statue tuesday. why? because students were using the artwork to imitate the music video. >> of course they were. >> the university released a statement saying the statue was removed for safety reasons. >> sanitary reasons. >> yeah, we heard there were students posing naked on it. snoop dogg posted a pretty incriminating photo. the rapper posed with a pound of marijuana. he said his friend had won it for him over the weekend. how do you win a pound of marijuana? i have to ask. patrick steward found fun ways to spend down time. while working on two broadway

shows together. yesterday they took in views from the empire state building. looks scared. >> interesting. zac efron is spending time focusing solely on his career now. reports have it that he had a brief stint in rehab five months ago. not many people thought about that. alicia keys had a party, but she says she was confused when she and the entourage were eating and drinking in a neighbor's kitchen. how do you do that? >> whoops. they knew. >> yeah. >> fully stocked kitchen. jimmy fallon reminisced about the first time he met timberlake. the two shared camp and a duet. ♪ you like to laugh at me when we look at other girls ♪ ♪ sometimes i'm crazy and you wonder why ♪ ♪ i'm such a baby because the dolphins make me cry ♪

♪ but there's nothing i can do ♪ i only want to be with you >> so, bill, you and i, no matter how much we try to do that -- >> they did it with retainers in their mouths, too. >> on top of that, i bet they never practiced it, they just did it. >> they obviously have chemistry. they like to do -- abbott and costello? hope we never get tired of it, that it gets old. >> this ends at the end of this month. timberlake, his new album comes out. this, as well as the evolution of end zone dancing, good stuff. i'm richard lui. this is "early today." we hope it's just the first stop of your day today on nbc.

leading the news in virginia daily press, shoe leads family to missing crash victim. the injured man spent nearly a week in the woods following a motorcycle accident. he was rescued after a family friend spotted a shoe along side a road near his home. on nbcnews.com cold wet cases. oklahoma troopers stumble on six bodies in two cars at the bottom of the lake. the vehicle was spotted by divers who were conducting sonar training. police are looking at a 1970 case involving missing teens and a couple who disappeared in the early 1960s. top story we're following, naacp is calling for a charge greater than involuntary manslaughter for charlotte police officer randall kerrick, accused of shooting and killing

unarmed 24-year-old jonathan farral, a former florida football player, seeking help after a car crash. officials say he was shot ten times. tropical storm manuel and hurricane ingrid are creating flooding havoc in mexico. officials say 27 have been killed in one state alone. certainly wish them the best. and al franken is urging facebook to reconsider the facial recognition program. the program helps to recognize you and tag you in photos. now facebook wants to enroll users who are not tagged but have public profile photos. franken said it has profound implications for consumer privacy. a british woman's candid moment all caught on tape has opened a door to a whole new career for her. ellie cole was spending time at a bus stop getting into a groove to her favorite song when a spectator across the street

started rolling on this. good moves there. some people may be upset about their private moment uploaded to youtube. cole, doing the happy dance. she's been offered a part in a musical. >> she has a whole routine, though. >> she does. >> not a bad dancer. are you like a shower singer? >> i can't hold a tune if you hold a gun to my head. >> that doesn't mean you can't do it. >> you do one and i'll tape you while you don't know it. an interest rate announcement today. fed chief ben bernanke will announce whether interest rates will stay at their record lows or start rising. first lady michelle obama will host a let's move event focused on ways that food is marketed to children. happy birthday to jason sudakis who is 38. actress jada pinkett smith turns 42. keep it here for more news, weather and sports. i'm richard lui along with bill karins.

thanks for watching "early today."

new images just in of an overnight fire in the south bay. one person taken to the hospital. details next. also, we'll tell you about what we're learning about the man behind that mass shooting at the washington navy yard. new pictures just released of a man police say is connected to a string of burglaries on the peninsula. >> right now, we'll take you live outside. that is o dwe dotco. this is "today in the bay."