good morning. coming up on "early today." guns blazing as murderous bank robbers take hostages, and police on a 45-minute chase. three people are dead. israeli air strikes target a beach where palestinian kids are in the line of fire instead of hamas militants. incredible advancements in the world of robots. an incredible night in the espys and much, much more. "early today" starts right now. good morning to you. i'm richard lui.

>> three people are dead after a standoff. it happened yesterday afternoon an hour and a half east of san francisco. police spotted three men taking three female hostages from a stockton, california, bank at gunpoint. the suspects stole an suv and led police on a 45-minute chase. two of the hostages were thrown from the suv. both with gunshot wounds. >> during the entire pursuit police officers were constantly fired upon by the assailants with high-powered assault rifles. the suspects had mass amounts of ammunition, either taped to or strapped to their bodies. the gunfire on our officers was relentless. >> they had a lot of guns. they had an ak on the shoulder, and they were not afraid. these poor women were screaming. they were just so distraught, they were so scared. it just gave me chills down my back. >> 14 police cars and a number of homes were peppered with gunshots along the way. the chase ended with a shoot-out after police disabled the vehicle. the remaining hostage and one of

the robbers were found dead in the suv. the other two suspects were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds. all of them later died. the question this hour is whether a cease-fire is on or off in the middle east. israel and hamas had agreed a humanitarian cease-fire that would end at 5:00 a.m. pacific, but just hours ago mortars were fired from gaza, says israel. the plan was four five hours the violence would stop and civilians would be allowed to stock up on food, water, and other necessities. the cease-fire is the first to be agreed upon by both sides on this tenth day of israel's latest military push. just before the temporary truce started, air strikes continued for both sides. israeli aircraft is said to have struck several homes, including those of two known hamas leaders. chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in tel aviv, israel. >> reporter: our camera recorded the shots.

an israeli shell smashing into a port. >> it wasn't the precision war israel says it's fighting. a group of boys, cousins, playing on the beach. now they were running for their lives. then the second. another shell casing. i says rail claimed it was firing on hamas militants at the port, but the dead were four young boys. several others from the same extended family were wounded, including this boy. he managed to crawl up the beach to a nearby hotel. medics rushed the boy to a hospital. parents started to arrive. unsure what happened, but expecting the worst. a mother asks where is my son? where is my love? then her worst fear came true.

pray for your son. pray for your son, a relative told her. he is now a martyr. as word spread, the other boy's family arrives. what were the boys doing, a father asks. they didn't have any rockets. he was my only son, said another. inside the hospital nbc's ahman spoke with the wounded boy. he could barely talk, shaking and bleeding. we were playing, he said. i was with my cousins. then they died. >> nbc's richard engel reporting. the israeli military says the incident on the beach is being investigated but also blame hamas for fighting from urban areas. following recent violence, a brazen attack to tell you about on kabul international airport today. the attack lasted about

four hours. the associated press said the taliban claimed responsibility. four militants armed with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled fwren aids opened fire on the airport from the roof of a nearby building. all four of them died. the airport attack coincides here with the beginning of a month-long audit of a recent presidential election there. world leaders are reacting to president obama's announcement of new economic sanctions on russia. russia's president vladimir putin says the latest round of sanctions is hurting not only russians but also u.s. interests and businesses. after announcing the new sakes, president obama also mentioned using diplomatic resources to help end the violence between israel and hamas. we're joined by brian moore. there's a lot of focus, of course, as we've been saying in the last five minutes, on foreign affairs. >> absolutely, richard. on israel and ukraine, the president says there are no easy solutions. however, he is stressing the need for u.s. leadership.

>> reporter: russian president vladimir putin today shows no signs of backing away from ukraine despite a new round of sanctions by the united states and european union. talking to reporters in brazil putin says the only damage the sanctions will cause will be to u.s.-russian relations. racheting up the pressure, president obama sounded more hopeful than tough. >> what we are expecting is that the russian leadership will see once again that its actions in ukraine have consequences. >> reporter: those fall far short than -- the latest actions in the influential companies and individuals. >> they're very small. they're not very meaningful, but they're better than what they've been doing for the last several months, which is nothing. >> reporter: the president also spoke out in defense of israel and its latest showdown with ham whereas militants in gaza. >> there's no country on earth that can be expected to live under a daily barrage of

rockets. >> reporter: he says we will keep pressing for peace and a diplomatic solution. the president is calling for a return to the 2012 cease-fire beginning with that deal that israel accepted and hamas rejected just two days ago. richard. >> thank you very much. nbc's brian moore us in washington d.c. a high-priced prostitute has pleaded not guilty. alex tichelman injected forest hayes with a fatal dose of heroin before leaving him to die on his yacht last november, allegedly. here's her attorney. >> this case is about two adults who engaged in mutual, consensual drug usage in the context of a sexual encounter initiated and encouraged by mr. hayes. there was no intent to harm or injure, much less kill, mr. hayes. why would she?

he was a lucrative source of income for her. >> georgia has reopened an investigation into the september 2013 overdose death of tichelman's former boyfriend. right now parts of texas, oklahoma dealing with some severe flooding. nbc meteorologist bill karins has more on that. >> they're getting epic floods. north of the dallas area in denton. one rain gauge, a weather reporter out there, nine inches of rain since midnight last night. now, i-35 is closed in both directions, and that's where the police enforcement are saying some really bad flooding is occurring on the roads. they are going to have to do water rescue to get north to the denton area where that thunderstorm complex has lingered for much of the evening. out in the west how about that? pasco, washington, with 109 temperatures yesterday. it was warmer there than wraen where in the desert southwest. vegas and phoenix at 107.

i know we have tied and broke heat records in interior washington state. we have pretty much dried things out in arizona, so we're not expecting any rainfall during the day today. we'll still be very warm. 108 in phoenix. 106 in vegas. this is about where we should be for this time of we're. notice medford still pretty warm, and we haven't seen any signs of that warmth in coastal, california. they continue to be rather cool july. only any he's late storms they could occur places leak tahoe. it's amazing one area in texas has nine inches of rain since midnight. there are areas in california that haven't seen nine inches of rain in two years. >> very different water conditions at the moment. thank you so much. the justice department investigates the irs. plus, road rage taken to a whole

new level. marvel moving into new territory. we'll tell you what that's about. you're watching "early today." >> early today is brought to you by advil p.m. for a healing night's sleep. helping you fall asleep and stay asleep so your body can heal as you rest. advil pm. for a healing night's sleep. and these little angels build in strength. and that little angel says, "weeeeeeeee!" 60% more sheets than charmin. everything you want and the value you love. angel soft. looki prefer today.eeks? clairol age defy color collection. with our best breakthrough gray coverage. lustruous, radiant color that looks 10 years younger. today. age defy color from clairol.

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and it certainly didn't go toward that ring. am i right? [ laughs ] [ dance music playing ] so visit progressive.com today. i call this one "the robox." welcome back. 18 years in federal prison. that's a sense for the texas woman who sent ricin-laced letters to president obama and former new york city mayor michael bloomberg. shannon richardson apologized saying "i never intended this for anybody to be hurt." this video circulated for days. a 15-year-old palestinian-american boy allegedly beaten by israeli cops two weeks ago. late yesterday he came home to the u.s. saying, "no child, whether they are palestinian or israeli, deserves to die." facing one of the worst droughts in history, this is what nevada's lake meade used to look like. today it's only 39% full. you should see the water marks around the edges there.

the lake supply is drinking water to millions of people, including almost the entire city of las vegas. a near miss in florida. a helicopter camera crew filming a charity run in may when they saw a lit-up drone in the distance. it quickly approached on a collision course only narrowly missing below. the pilot said if it had hit the rotor, he could have crashed on to 2,000 people below. drones like this one are still largely unregulated. talk about road rage. a man decides to confront the driver behind him. on his way back, the driver accelerates and hits him. the white car's driver then gets out, examines his bmw, gets back, gets -- rather, gets back into his car and pulls away. police are still looking for that driver. time to get down to business now. the "wall street journal" reporting a justice department investigation into the loss of irs e-mails in connection with the agency's treatment of conservative groups. deputy attorney general james cole testified today before a

house oversight committee on the matter. on the smoking front there's been a 34% drop in cigarettes sold in the u.s. since 1999. global sales have risen 10%. starbucks just opened the first of 50 planned coffee shops in the country of columbia over the next five years. honda has approved its humanoid robot. the new bot can run about five and a half miles per hour, can open a bottle and pour a drink, and can even follow multiple people speaking at the same time and tell their voices apart. that's amazing. employees at microsoft prepare for a major round of layoffs today. the purge is expected to be much larger than the previous largest layoffs in 2009 when over 5,800 people were let go. a british teenager used 20,000 rubber bands to fashion this dress which has sold, incredibly, for almost $300,000 in an on-line auction. yesterday marvel announced

authorize would become a woman, and today another blockbuster. there is a new captain america, and it's african-american sam wilson, formerly known as falcon. all right. just ahead, it was awards night in the sports world. we'll tell you who came away with the hardware, and in ten irks in a place you would not expect. that and the rest of your sports headlines on this thursday morning. on car insurance? no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance? no problem. you want to find a place to park all these things? fuggedaboud it. this is new york. hey little guy, wake up! aw, come off it mate! geico. saving people money on more than just car insurance.

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natalie morales live in colorado this morning for the series "today takes off." don't miss natalie and jenna bush hager as they take the ride of their life. look at that one. oh. that's all ahead on "today." in sports the annual espy awards breaking out the stars. the host was full of jokes both bad and good. >> put your face up. >> yeah. a spin on the infamous lance stevens ear blow during the playoffs. there were emotional speeches. the first openly gay nfl players michael sams was award the arthur ashe courage award. >> the way i see it, my responsibility at this moment in history is to stand up for everybody out there who wants nothing more than to be themselves openly. >> top of the ninth's big winner richard sherman wins best break-through athlete. best moment went to usa versus

ghana, and best male athlete, kevin durant, and best female athlete, fighter rhonda rousey. the gift bags, some of the items included in it, a breathalyzer, shower head with a wireless speaker, a vacuum, and a various trip and membership packages. reported value there? $23,000 big ones. a chocolate-sponsored tennis match two miles above sea level on the largest glacier in the swiss alps. as you see olympians here lindsey von versus roger federer. von says federer was surprised how good she was. this is why you should not bare hand a ball hit by a professional baseball player. swreeo carlos stanton, the slugger who hit the 500 plus football during the mlb home run derby, as you might remember, hit it. stanton tweeted back and said "sorry you had to bear this pain." i think he meant bare.

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future, maybe a slow warmup towards the end of the weekend. we're still kind of stuck here in the pattern with a lot of clouds, especially early in the morning. afternoons in the upper 70s. it's not horrible, but it's not exactly -- doesn't make you want to rush to the beach. >> it's lower than what they're seeing so far this year, but, heck, we'll take 70s and 80s out this way. entertainment news, ron howard is direct agnew documentary on the beatles released next year. it will have a lot of 1960s concert footage, cooperating with the project, paul mccartney, ringo starr, and yoko ohno and owe live wra harrison. in discussing the band, howard says "their impact on popular culture and the human experience cannot be exaggerated." drake hosted the espy awards, recognizing sports achievements last night. the rapper showed off his comedic skills. in his opening monologue and sketch called "drake versus blake." >> someone sent you a twerk-o-gram. >> let's get to twerking.

what's up. >> i thought this was a -- >> look at the horizon. look at your career. look what you've become. >> well, chris brown also made an appearance in the sketch too. jerry seinfeld went to facebook to promote his web series "comedians in cars getting coffee." wraer is here and answering your questions now. ask below. a fan asked if he would consider doing another sit com. he replied with one word. no. season five of game of thrones will be using almost all new directors. among them the directorors of "breaking bad" and "entourage." identify richard lui. this is "early today." we hope this is your first stop of the day here on nbc. two medium cappuccinos! let's show 'em what a breakfast with whole grain fiber can do. one coffee with room, one large mocha latte, medium macchiato, a light hot chocolate hold the whip, two espressos. make one a double.

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leading the news in the bbc. biological pacemaker tested in lab. scientists are using specialized cells in a minimally invasive procedure to create a pacemaker that supports the demands of daily life. hmm. in usa today giant crater found in siberia near the end of the world. when you look at that, it kind of does look like the end of the world, right? yeah, really. the hole is 260 feet wide. it's still a mystery as to what caused it. some scientists have ruled out a meteor strike, while others believe it may have been caused by melting permafrost and natural gas released much like a champagne cork effect. never the less, such a nice clean circle. also in the news a federal judge has ruled california's death penalty is unconstitutional. he says delays makes the system

dysfunctional and arbitrary. since the current law was adopted 35 years ago, more than 900 people have been sentenced to death, but only 13 executed, and none since 2006. police in north carolina are looking for this young couple. museum security footage shows one of them climbing over a divider to steal a baby dinosaur replica. it's worth $10,000. that makes it a felony. really. of all the ways to get rid of an itsy bitsy spider, stay away from this one. a seattle man created a makeshift blowtorch with a can of spray paint and a lighter. the spider went up a wall, and he went after it. the man was fine, but not his house. as you can see here, $16,000 in fire damage. bill, what's the question? >> did the spider survive? >> did he get the spider or didn't he? that was bill karins' question. in poland these people are enjoying the summer, or at least the sand. over 500 tons of sand was used to create childhood favorites

that will be on display for the rest of the summer. the simpsons, snow white, and the seven dwarves were there and even shrek and fiona. >> what about your highlandhood? >> i just try to build a castle. what about you? >> a castle? >> what would i build? i would build like hulk hogan. >> oh, come on. all right. >> now look ahead and a look back. general motors ceo mary barra makes her fourth appearance on capitol hill. she'll talk about gm recalling millions of cars with defective ignition switches and other problems. it comes one day after a bill was introduced that would make it a crime for corporate officers to conceal dangers. disneyland in anaheim, california. construction took one year and one day to complete at a cost of $17 million. happy birthday to the hoff, david hasselhoff. veteran actor donald sutherland,

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from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay." well good morning everyone, 4:30, it's a thursday, i'm scott mcgrew. >> and i'm laura garcia-cannon. first let's check the forecast with meteorologist christina loren. >> good morning to you. really mild out there to start the day. temperatures this afternoon, very comfortable. coolest day of the week ahead. right now the 53 degrees to start in oakland. 59 in half-moon bay and 61 degrees here in san jose where we are only going to top out at about 79 degrees. we have a great looking weekend coming your way as well. we'll show you your forecast in moments. right now though, let's greet mike inouye. good morning, it's thursday. >> good morning, thursday morning. look at dublin over here, westbound