. good morning. coming up on "early today" -- billionaire michael bloomberg balks at america's flight ban to israel as he flies to tel aviv while overnight shelling and drone strikes continued. new developments this morning in the mysterious brooklyn bridge white flag security breach. plus, the latest on the investigation of malaysia flight 17. clippers donald sterling fights on with another lawsuit. digging in the sand proved deadly for one beach goer. it's wednesday, july 23rd. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm dara brown. secretary of state john kerry has arrived in tel aviv to begin cease-fire talks.

calling the current faa flight restriction a mistake, billionaire and former mayor michael bloomberg is on his way to tel aviv. he says his visit is meant to show solidarity with israel and travel to the war-torn region is saif. he's flying on the israeli national carrier. the faa will decide whether to lift it's 24 hour ban. several european airlines have cancelled flights to the main airport and overnight new reports of the deaths of two more israeli soldiers. joining us now is martin fletcher. he's live from tel aviv. good morning, martin. what is the latest over there? >> good morning. there's real anger here among the israeli government at the closure or the ban of flights to israel. it sends to isolate israel. israel's only international airport so when the faa told american airlines not to fly here there was a quick domino effect among european airlines and israel saw that as a failure that was a success of hamas, which has been threatening the

airport. israel said it's completely safe. actually, as a matter of fact, there have been fewer rockets fired at israel, about 20 today, that's about half the number of the last of the earlier days in the fighting, so there's actually danger of ending to the airport. that rocket yesterday fell within a mile of the airport and spooked the airlines and not surprisingly given what's happened in the ukraine. to the background of that, the cease-fire talks with negotiations are in serious gear in israel. the u.s. secretary of state john kerry is here, secretary general of the united nations is here trying to bring israel and hamas closer together to find a way to stop the fighting. they're aiming at what they call a humanitarian cease-fire, a break, a short-term break of about 48 hours, they're hoping to build into a longer term cease-fire. for the time being both sides it continuing the fighting and if anything intensifying it. >> martin, thank you so much for that report.

this morning the first planes carrying victims of malaysian airlines flight mh-17 are expected to arrive in the netherlands. the world is demanding answers. u.s. intelligence officials believe the downing of the aircraft was an accident but planes shot down by rebels ill trained when it comes to using deadly weapons given to them by russia. i'm joined by tracie potts in washington, d.c. good morning. >> good morning they believe it but they cannot prove it yet even though the u.s. says there's lots of evidence pointing that way and in reaction this morning we've had heard from a russian official who says essentially told you , the u.s. has no proof that russia or its supporters in ukraine were behind this. as the dutch prepare to accept 200 bodies today, the u.s. insists rebels shot down mh-17 with a missile from russia and bragged about it on-line. >> there were ample social media accounts to indicate that an

sa-11 system was being transported back across the border from ukraine to russia. # there were also social media accounts of separatists talking about shooting down an airplane. >> but the u.s. thinks the rebels thought it was a transport plane. law makers in washington want to put the pressure on moscow. >> stop transferring missiles across boarders and handing them to separatists or terrorist organizations. >> reporter: investigators saw the six miles of debris field for the first time tuesday. international monitors say there's no security and it appears some of the debris was moved or altered. >> it appeared that again that big cone section had been more or less split into two and there could have been changes to the tail fin as well. >> president obama signed a condolence book at the embassy of the netherlands. >> this is an opportunity for me to extend, on behalf of all the american people, our deepest

condolences. >> today the dutch begin the gruelling process of identifying those who have been recovered. keep in mind there were 298 people on that plane. 200 body bags delivered on the way to the netherlands. there could be families without answers today. >> tracie, thank you so much for that. new york man who died of an apparent chokehold at the hands of police officers will be laid to rest today. >> when, now. >> what? the funeral for 43-year-old eric garner comes one year after a vigil was held in his honor. supporters chanting and holding signs reading it ends today. a phrase the father of six said to police officers said during his arrest attempt. nearly one week after the incident, new york, police commissioner bill bratton said every police officer will be retrained on the use of force. while he says race is not a

factor, he expects the fbi who began investigating the incident. spike lee posted a video he edited like the footage from the cell phone video with one from the final seasons of his 1989 film "do the right thing" showing a similar incident. well it rattled new yorkers. cash is being offered up for information tied to a stunning security scare. a pack of vandals scaled the brooklyn bridge tuesday morning. they used cooking pans to cover the bridge's light. once at the top they bleached two american flags. cops were left scratching their heads. a $5,000 reward could bring in some answersp. one thing the nypd already know is -- >> there's some indication of some good deal of preoperational planning. perhaps some indication that they have experience climbing in construction or in bridge work. >> the 131-year-old bridge has around-the-clock patrol cars on both ends and a number of security cameras. and i guess two court cases aren't enough for donald

sterling. the nba pariah has filed a new civil suit, this one against his wife shelly, the l.a. clippers and nba commissioner adam silver. the suit argues since family trust was revoked sterling he mains the sole owner of the team. meanwhile clippers coach doc rivers says if sterling it stays he will, quote, cquit the team. it's kept steve balmer from buying the team for $2 billion. after a tough runoff campaign, businessman david perdue has won georgia's republican senate nomination beating out jack kingston. they were locked in a tight vote count throughout the evening until perdue edged forward. perdue held a lead of less than 2% of the vote. the win means perdue will face democrat michele nunn in this fall's election. a man is dead and two other people are seriously hurt after being struck by lightning tuesday at fort myer's beach. prior to tuesday, 14 people in the u.s. had been killed by

lightning this year. five of those deaths were in florida. i'm joined by meteorologist bill karins. good morning, bill. these lightning strikes are devastating. >> good reason why florida is known as the lightning capital of the world. usually they lead the u.s. easily as far as states with lightning fatalities. a lot of people outdoors and thunderstorms and no exception this year. let's look at this weather pattern as we head into the day today. we have a lot of hot weather across the country, especially in the intermountain west but we have a new storm to deal with in the northwest, brought some rain yesterday to portland area and it is going to be the wettest day in the northwest to areas of seattle included. we probably seen in the last two months. it's kind of a welcomed rainfall for the fire fighting efforts, but the interior heat continues from central and other portions of california all the way up through idaho. it's not going to change any time soon. as far as the rainfall goes, all of that green is a light soaking rain. this is beautiful stuff falling from the sky for all of the firefighters out there. of course we need a little push,

a little more of that in central portions of oregon and washington state where blazes are burning. a chance of thunderstorms too and occasionally those unfortunately can spark additional fires. that's a look at your national forecast. and l.a. will be very similar. >> we also have rainy and cool weather for our friends in alaska. we'll take a look at that coming up. >> sounds good. thank you, bill. >> the billionaire kok brothers controversial $25 million donation. a warning from the irs you need to hear about, next. ere. ever since we launched snapshot, my life has been positively cray-cray. what's snapshot, you ask? only a revolutionary tool that can save you big-time. just plug it in, and the better you drive,

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but this morning crews are urgently making progress on the massive wildfire in the pacific northwest. the largest in washington's history. a california plan is dead after being buried in sand. dozens of people frantically searched with hands and shovels after adam pie was intomed in a hole he was digging. they freed his head in five minutes but rescuers could not revive him. >> america's historically black universities are struggling for funds. the republican party is trying to attract african-american voters. the conservative cokoch brother are donating $25 million to the united knee grow college fund. it's already going to students in need. >> and sarah palin pulled over by the police. now a $154 speeding ticket. she told tmz she was listening to sammy hey garr's "i can't drive 55." her toyota tundra was going 63 in a 45. in health news, a new kind of condom capable of killing sexually transmitted disease has been approved by australian regulators.

the company that created them says while most condoms protect against the spread of stds these would be the first that actively kills them. an anti-viral gel reportedly deactivates a range of stds including herpies and hpv. >> early today is brought to you by vagisil. let's get down to business with see ma mowedy. good morning, seema. >> chrysler recalls 792,000 older model jeep suvs for ignition switch problems. the engine can shut off if a driver's knee bumps the switch out of the on position. it affects the 2005 to 2007 group grand cherokee and 2006 and 2007 jeep commander. stub hub says hackers got access to more than 1,000 customer accounts and then bought tickets for events. authorities will hold a news conference later today and arrests are expected.

stub hub says it's issued refunds to customers. fears of a possible listeria contamination has led to the recall of peaches and other fruit packed by a california company. no illnesses have been reported but costco, walmart, kroger and trader joe's have pulled the fruit from their stores. the fda has posted info on its website. dara? >> thank you. in other business news a new warning from the irs this morning. they say scammers are duping people out of millions of dollars in a past due tax scam. investigators have tracked more than 60,000 calls telling people they missed filing their taxes and owe the government money and must pay or risk arrest. up next, it will make your skin crawl. a u.s. bug invasion so big, you can see it on a weather radar. plus, a new royal scandal. this one involving the queen, drugs and a horse. you're watching "early today." curing a yeast infection can take days. relieving the itch.... can happen instantly. vagisil max strength anti-itch wipes

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let's take you to sports. long-time denver broncos owner pat bollen has stepped down to battle al time errors. his broncos have won six super bowls winning in 1997 and 1998. mobs recently reached last year super bowl under peyton manning. team president joe ellis will assume control. queen elizabeth racehorse failed a drug test following a recent race.

the bha announced that five morphine positives were detected including the queen's horse estimate. initial indications the positive result came from contaminated feed product. super bowl adrian peterson tied the knot with ashley brown. they attended a gala recently wearing wedding rings when ashley was asked her last name she responded peterson. denver wide out wes welker took a wild ride in the sky aboard an f-16 thunder birds. he admitted there were times he wanted to reach for the barf bag. luckily he didn't to use it. >> oh! a san francisco 49ers fan eats pavement while attempting to cover seahawks mascot blitz on a passing route. check out the bounce and landing. that's got to hurt. kayakers in argentina had a

close encounter with a family of whales. how close? one whale swam underneath them. the whale came up under their kayak lifting them on its back while the other whales swam nearby. wow. that's a once-in-a-lifetime there. just ahead, big news for sherri shepherd, one of her two custody battles is now over. will the former "view" co-host keep her son? what snoop dog claims he did in a white house bathroom when no one was looking. [ female announcer ] hands were made for playing. legs, for crossing. feet...splashing. better things than the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. if you're trying to manage your ra, now may be the time to ask about xeljanz. xeljanz (tofacitinib) is a small pill, not an injection or infusion, for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis.

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welcome back. when i think of alaska in the summertime i think of mosquitos and this is a mosquito growing weather out there. upper 50s right now, and it's going to be a rainy day. the storm system is kicking through, kind of cloudy and drizzly type day out there. from anchorage to fairbanks mid to upper 60s. not great tourist weather. a great time to see the whales and everything else. not ideal weather for alaska today but you know it could be worse, the middle of the winter. >> it's cool but not snowing so that's always good. thank you, bill. for entertainment news, for over 50 years, he has been more than just the piano man. ♪ and they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar and say man what are you doing here ♪ >> billy joel is the 6th top selling artist of all time. the library of congress will award him the prize for popular song this november.

stevie wonder and sir paul mccartney are among past recipients of the award. a tearful mom sherri sheppard rejoiced on twitter. god is good. victory. a judge ruled she could remain physical custody of her 9-year-old son jeffrey over her ex-husband. another custody battle continues of her unborn child. the host is not pregnant but her surrogate. the father is her other ex, lamar sally. parent company nbc universal held the special premiere of the new james brown biopic "get on up." at d.c.'s newseum. a mix of hollywood and congressional reporters were in attendance. director tate taylor thanked senator roger wit ker for his southern hospitality. what if you only had six seconds to prove yourself? ♪ get this through i'm not good at a one night stand ♪ >> that was 15-year-old shawn

mendez on vine. 300,000 fans praised his six seconds. his single "life of the party" has made the top 100 and he has 2.8 million vine followers. >> just by doing that. you did a lot of auditions in your day. >> yeah. >> how long do you get? >> 16 bars. >> that's it? >> that's it. but this is six seconds, all these followers and you want to hear more when you hear him sing. >> some people have the gift. >> exactly. >> that it factor i guess. >> and we didn't have youtube and vine back in those days. >> no. >> amazing. that's how justin bieber got started too, right? i'm dara brown. this is "early today." we hope it's just your first stop of the day on nbc. you fifteen percent or more on huh, fiftcar insurance.uld save yeah, everybody knows that. well, did you know that playing cards with kenny rogers gets old pretty fast?

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leading the news in "usa today," friend of boston marathon suspect indicted. 21-year-old steven silva has been arrested on charges of supplying a gun that was the same model as the one that killed an m.i.t. police officer in the aftermath of the boston bombings. >> and from wired they're here. massive mayfly emergence in wisconsin. mayflies show up annually in wisconsin. how many appeared this week? >> that's them taking off and flying. >> it's enough to show up on a weather radar. over a three and a half hour period the time showing. the mayflies have been blamed for causing car accidents when they show up. >> like a thunderstorm. must be millions of them. they don't bite. that's good. >> but still, can you imagine? >> they cover everything.

>> by a swarm of mayflies, can't get enough of that one. also in the news, while standing in shallow water an 8-year-old is startled when a shark knocked him down a bit. when asked he said, quote, i'm probably not going to go back for a couple years. police on a kentucky/tennessee border asked drivers to stay away from this. a tipped over truck that used to be full of bees. responders were stung multiple times. snoop dog makes a confession on the internet on this internet show. the question from guest jimmy kimmel. >> have you ever smoked at the white house? >> in the bathroom. >> you did? in the white house? >> in the bathroom. >> wow. >> not in the white house, but in the bathroom. >> there is no proof yet of this ever happening or whether he actually inhaled. >> obviously he considers the bathroom different than being in the house you're actually in? >> exactly. even though it is still part of the white house. >> your own personal space, do whatever you want.

>> we're not sure if it's true. no evidence. snoop dog talking, you never know. we'll find out. is it really christmas in july in copenhagen? known to some as the santa claus conference, thousands of santas gather annually to meet each other, spread good cheer and discuss the traditions of santa from around the world. santa's march into town is a santa parade bringing a new meaning to santa claus is coming to town. now for a look ahead. the wreck of the "costa concordia" has begun its final village. it's being towed to italy. once there it will be broken down and used for scrap. 32 died. the price tag was $1.5 billion. happy birthday to harry potter actor daniel radcliffe, 25, former guns and roses rocker slash is 49 and woody harrelson is 53. now keep it here for more news, weather and sports. i'm dara brown. thanks for watching "early

today." have a good one. from nbc ba

"today in the bay". >> good morning, everyone. 4:30. i'm scott mcgrew. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. lots to get to. first, check the forecast with meteorologist christina loren. good morning. >> good morning. a live look at san jose. what a pretty start to the day here. it is going to be phenomenal out there today. getting rid of the monsoonal moisture, humidity's going to drop off. our temperatures will remain below average. but between today and tomorrow, those numbers spike. we'll take you to full forecast in a moment. want to say good morning, it's wednesday. hi, mike. >> good morning. it is wednesday. it is typical to have construction eastbound, road crews show up in the