good morning. coming up on "early today," botched execution. it takes almost two hours for a condemned man to die in arizona. new overnight, air space open. the faa lifts the flight ban for commercial flights to tel aviv. details of the worldwide criminal enterprise of the stub hub ticket scandal is mind-blowing. plus, a rough night in the bronx. a memorable moment at the stock exchange. much, much more. it's thursday, july 24th. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm richard lui. we begin with breaking news involving a missing plane. the air algi re ri polite has

110 passengers and six crew members on board. this plane went off radar 50 minutes after takeoff. it was headed to algeria, but it was supposed to have landed a little after 5:00 a.m. local time. air algeri has begun a search for the missing jetliner. here's the latest on this breaking story. another prisoner execution gone wrong. media witnesses say arizona inmate joseph wood snorted and gasped for air up to 600 times according to one account before he died. an hour into that procedure his lawyer filed an emergency motion to stop the execution because the 55-year-old convicted killer appeared to be alive. now an investigation is underway this morning. kurt gregory has more. >> reporter: witnesses say condemned inmate joseph rudolph wood gasped for more that an hour and a half during his execution wednesday night in arizona. he was finally pronounced dead almost two hours after it began.

>> it's like if you catch a fish and throw it on the shore and the fish opens and closes it's mouth. >> he was struggling for breath. that's atypical. usually an execution takes 10, 11 minutes, and you see virtually nothing. >> reporter: it was the first time such a drug combination had been used in arizona but it was the same combo used in ohio in january where dennis mcquire took nearly 25 minutes to die. back in arizona governor january brewer is promising a full review. wood was sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of his girlfriend debra dietz and her father. the victim's family said the focus should be on the crimes, not his death. >> what's excruciating is seeing your dad lying there in a pool of blood, your sister lying there in a pool of blood. that's excruciating. >> to me it looked like he was sleeping. he was snoring. that's what i saw and then he passed away. so how is that suffering? >> reporter: another

controversial execution. one sure to add to the growing scrutiny over lethal injections across the country. kurt gregory, nbc news. breaking overnight the faa lifted it's 36 hour ban on air travel to and from tel aviv for american carriers. less than a day after secretary of state john kerry met with leaders of both sides and says progress towards the cease-fire has been made. an israeli cabinet member said he didn't see a truce in the coming days. he added that the israeli army would continue hunting down the tunnels used by gaza fighters. among the demands here, ham whereas is calling for the opening of gauze why's borders and a end to the more than blockade on the palestinian strip. 16 days into the conflict so far the death toll continues to rise on both sides. 700 palestinians, 32 israeli soldiers, and three civilians have been killed so far. another vivid picture of the fighting.

this time it came from space. an astronaut on board the international space station tweeting this picture showing explosions and rockets flying over gaza into israel. that picture taken from above. >> it has been a week since the shoot down of malaysia airlines flight 17 and the victims are slowly being returned to their homes. today experts begin studying flight recorder data. the black boxes appear to have suffered some damage but don't show any sign of being tampered with. i'm joined now by tracie potts in washington d.c. good morning to you. where does the discussion stand on sanctions for russia? >> well, here on capitol hill lawmakers are pushing for strength in the e.u. against the financial industry. possibly even an arms embargo, which is something the europeans have shied away from. there is new video unconfirmed about why russia may have been

involved. >> reporter: nbc news has not authenticated this youtube video. in it you can see the flaming wreckage of two ukrainian fighter jets shot down wednesday and what's believed to be russian separatists claiming responsibility. ukraine says the pilots ejected safely. it's the third incident in a week. >> who put their finger on the trigger? we still need to find that out. responsibility lays at the seat of president putin. >> lawmakers want tougher sanctions on russia. >> we need to be targeting their energy sector. >> once you publicly state to the european people this is what vladimir putin did you'll see a groundswell of support. >> we're willing to be engaged here. >> investigators are getting better access at the crash site of malaysia flight 17. up to 100 victims may still be missing. malaysia says it could be months before they're recovered.

>> yes, i'm angry, and i want full access. >> reporter: in the netherlands 40 wood coffins arrived. thousands lined the route across the dutch country side. the youngest victim was just 8 years old. of course now those families will have to wait for the bodies to be identified. also today the black boxes. officials say they look like they're in good shape, and they do not look like they've been tampered with. >> thank you so much, tracie potts, in washington d.c. a state department computer crash is causing huge headaches this morning for anyone trying to get a u.s. passport or visa. millions worldwide are feeling the effects of the data base meltdown. apparently the problem was first discovered on saturday. the state department is now scrambling to fix it. it seems the hackers behind that stub hub attack loved broadway and some baseball. 1600 customers were hit. the alleged cyber thieves were part of an international ring

and bought up to 3500 tickets to broadway shows like book of mormon and yankee games and jay-z concerts. >> the tickets were resold and the proceeds were laundered through a global network in the united states, united kingdom, russia, and canada. stub hub says that all the customers hit have gotten their money back. growing concerns over the safety of cruise ships has made its way to capitol hill. lawmakers there are pushing for better protection for passengers. in recent years trip advisory turned into headline-making nightmares. you've seen them. in 2013 an indycar stranded carnival triumph with 4,200 on board. 2006 a california woman said she was raped by a ship employee. here's what she told lawmakers. >> i am a cruise ship rape victim. i did not know what to do. i did not know who to turn to. there were no police on the ship. i was hesitant to call and

report the crime. >> lawmakers want cruise lines to be up front when it comes to rights and ship's safety. >> now to taiwan where a desperate emergency landing turned deadly. bad weather brought down the turbo prop plane. it was trying to land during the tail end of the typhoon. 13 were on board when it crashed. the impact was so intense the plane shattered. 48 were killed. 11 were hurt. it was taiwan's first fatal air accident in 12 years. still sxhot dry in the drought-stricken west. the weather there in taiwan, and also the weather of the other player in algeri. >> in the vicinity of where it was lost on radar. doesn't mean it was necessarily the cause, but one of the candidates. then the plane there in taiwan, the weather was horrible when they landed. planes have no business landing in that, and the results -- more details as we get them in the days ahead.

talking about the west, we had rain where we needed it, but not enough of it. boise didn't get much. salt lake city didn't. we have seen rain in the last couple of days portland to seattle. that storm, look at the spin just below the word satellite now heading over to british columbia. it did bring the rain. we'll still be left with showers throughout the day today. more of a steady soaking rain from belling ham. we need the rain in central portions of washington. that's where the fires are burning. we didn't see a lot of it. it's been cooler and cloudy. the fire hasn't been spreading rapidly, but it looks like the warmth will return. yesterday there was 103 in salt lake city. vegas was 112. pretty intense heat. it will be cooler today in areas like salt lake city, but billings still near 100 today. thatoler.

today 83. chance of storms in flagstaff. i mentioned that, unfortunately, it's going to be hot and dry in the extended forecast. another extreme pattern heading your way. >> tough to breathe weather is what it is. just so warm. bill karins, thanks so much. emergency teams continue to battle an oil refinery blaze overnight. nine people were injured while authorities evacuated people living nearby. it's the third accident site this year. you're watching "early today." a to pitch in for an industrial-sized smoker. before earning 1% cash back everywhere, every time. and 2% back at the grocery store. even before he got 3% back on gas. all with no hoops to jump through. norm used his bankamericard cash rewards credit card to enter the bbq masters invitational. where he smoked 40 pounds of ribs and the competition.

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there's no cure for the virus. they were trying to fly around the world in 30 days and now a 17-year-old is dead and his passenger father is missing after their single engine plane crashed off american somoa. they were trying to raise money to build schools in pakistan. renewed outrage over another police choke hold video. it reportedly shows an officer choking a new york fair. he is subduing him. another man died in a separate incident last week. >> a minneapolis man is kicked off a plane. the reason, a tweet. he took to social media after a run in with what he called the rudest agent in denver. that employee found out and called him a security risk. after he boarded he and his two children were asked to leave unless he took the tweet down. watson was later allowed to return. superheroes taking time off to give a hospital's windows a

good scrubbing. scrubbing and wide eye kid waving through that newly clean glass. lifting spirits, must be a super power. quarterly profits more than doubled. those account for two-thirds of all ad revenue. facebook has more than three billion active users. it has a market of $190 billion. the same as ibm. melt in your mouth, not in your hand, and they're going to cost you more. candy prices is rising by 7%. it's to offset the higher cost of cocoa. americans prefer a cold one over a glass of wine or whiskey. people say they drink beer versus 31% who prefer wine and 23% liquor. in june the number of breweries in the u.s. topped 3,000 for the first time since before prohibition. back to you, richard. >> a beer. interesting. it wasn't stocks that got

everyone's attention at the closing bell of the new york stock exchange. it was congressional medal of honor recipient staffer sergeant ryan gibbs banging the gavel. apparently he didn't know his own strength. he broke the gavel and surprised all those around. i love his face. that entire thing, oh, my god, i don't know -- a big announcement from steven colbert, and a video that reportedly has north korea's leader very, very upset. curing a yeast infection can take days. relieving the itch.... can happen instantly.

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this morning today takes off to cooperstown, new york. natalie and jenna catch up with some of major league baseball's biggest legends as they get inducted into the baseball hall of fame. that's all ahead on "today." >> now we want to get to sport . seattle new york mets game. top of the fifth, tejada getting beamed by a pitch to the head by a 90 plus miles per hour fastball. he's able to walk off and leave the game later. doctors clearing him to fly home but the mets manager saying it makes sense to take a day off for him. mets win 3-2. to the bronx, a massive storm hitting in the 5th end of the game. it rained so hard the tarp was too heavy to pull it over the field. after a two hour delay, field ruled unsafe. game was called there. yankees win the rain shortened game 2-1. >> in the nfl sidney rice retiring due to concussion concerns we're hearing.

rice only 27 spent 7 seasons in the league. he plans to expand a restaurant business he currently owns. an all pro-running back jamal charles gets a two year extension for $18 million with the kansas city chiefs. >> my dad's going to beat you up guaranteed. >> ilgts smack talk from the daughter of ufc fighter john "bones" jones. the 27-year-old is set to fight in september. he's ranked number two behind bones jones. jones tweeting out this is the fight i wanted in the first place. nothing like fresh meat. just ahead, another polar invasion. we'll tell you where and when. plus, weird al's biggest year ever. next. you have time to shop for car insurance today? yeah. i heard about progressive's "name your price" tool? i guess you can tell them how much you want to pay and it gives you a range of options to choose from.

huh? i'm looking at it right now. oh, yeah? yeah. what's the... guest room situation? the "name your price" tool, making the world a little more progressive. ten hut! you up for the challenge suds-maker? i'm gonna need more than that to get through the rest of these dishes! i want more suds! dawn? you won't last. [ female announcer ] a drop of dawn has active suds that stay stronger longer, so you can clean 2x more greasy dishes. to get the job done. you're full of suds after all. now drop and give me twenty spaghetti bowls! [ female announcer ] dawn does more. [ sponge ] so it's not a chore. this is mike. his long race day starts with back pain... ...and a choice. take 4 advil in a day which is 2 aleve...

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new revlon colorstay gel envy™ 30 vibrant, easy-to-remove shades revlon welcome back. let's push the repeat button. last week we dealt with the polar invasion coming down from the north. next week it looks look we're in the same weather pattern all over again where we're going to see this huge ridge of high pressure bring record highs to the intermountain west and to the west. there's a big cold dip of air coming through the great lakes where they're complaining that they're not even having a summer this year. highs in chicago have been unusually chilly. here's how it looks. today we have showers in the northwest, and as that ridge builds and gets hotter in the west, we clear it out. we have 72 today in portland to

upper 80s through the weekend. summer will return. >> really? a tale of two countries still, huh? >> people like to say it's a pattern change. we've been in this pattern. it's winter, it seems. >> now for entertainment news. the singe of song parody. ♪ i made this hat from aluminum foil ♪ ♪ foil ♪ wear a hat that's foil-lined in case alien is inclined ♪ >> his weird al parody videos includes "royals," as you heard there. it's number one on the billboard album charts. that's the first time in his three decade career. >> marketing is incredible with this. he deserved it. 30 years of this. >> let's talk about colbert. he said he is going to keep his

show right here in new york city. britney fears has fulfilled her fantasy. now fulfilling hers. she made one of the top ten celebrity perfumes. she's now getting intimate. intimate britney spears is her new lingerie line, and it will launch in august. now the last song ever -- >> nothing to say about that. ♪ always look on the bright side of life ♪ >> for almost 50 years monty pyth python. 200 thousand people tuning in to watch them sing their last song. i'm richard lui. we hope this is just your first stop of the day here on nbc. ♪ ♪

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151 people are quarantined. 30,000 residents are not being allowed to leave the city. police set roadblocks and are telling motorists to find alternative routes. nasa says first humans to set foot on mars are walking the earth today. nasa is using the _#next giant leap to promote plans to send a manned mission to mars by 2030. it's going to be quite a trip, though. this morning a wild carjacking in denver after two people crashed a car they allegedly stole. the woman was nabbed, but her rufl-toting partner got away. he then tried to steal a truck and failed. he then broke into a garage and stole an suv. he didn't get far. he got stuck.

he then hopped out and tried to stop cars on the highway. that's when cops moved in. take it down. that's what north korea is reportedly asking china to do with this video. a south korean newspaper says leader kim jung un is furious about the video that's gotten millions of views, but china is saying we're not going to remove it. not at least yet. there's president obama there. never ask a woman if she's pregnant, but a 4-year-old got banned from his favorite bakery for doing just that. now the manager will not let justin o'terrell come back. here's his take. >> i asked her if she was pregnant, so he got mad because he is really not really nice. >> i don't know about that, mr. bill karins. >> a little kid. give him a break. >> 4-year-old kid. what things did you used to say when you were 4 years old that would ban you from many places of business?

>> i don't even remember when i was 4 years old. >> exactly. hundreds of clowns gathered for annual march in mexico city on wednesday. the clowns attended a mass at the end of the parade where the performers asked the saint to watch over their families started 30 years ago. this parade is a serious tradition. obviously there's no clowning around. at 5:00 p.m. eastern, 2:00 p.m. steven leaseman sits down exclusively with president obama for a hard-hitting discussion on the economy. from talks of patriotism to the minimum wage and much more. 45 years ago today apollo 11 splashing down safely in the pacific ocean. the command module landed wrup side down, but was righted within ten minutes by floatation bags triggered by the astronauts. the mission landed the first on the middle school moon. happy birthday to j. lo, 45, wonder woman, 63, michael richards, who is 65. this is "early today." have a great day.

lots to get to this morning, let's check the forecast with christina loren, nice start. yeah, nice and mild out there, good morning to you, laura, scott, everybody at home. we are getting so close to that weekend at this point. it's going to hot there today. we're going to stay warm the weekend. mild to start, temperatures today jumping by five to ten degrees. we'll drive in in a -- dive in in a minute. mike has the day off. i'm pulling double duty. everything as per usual. we have a couple construction zones that could slow you down. this one might catch you