coming up on "early today" hundreds have been killed and thousands are suffering under intense circumstances in the middle east. could a humanitarian truce be far off? also, a doctor pulls out his own firearm to fend off a psychiatric patient shooting inside a pennsylvania hospital. cold war part two. escalation of violence changes the equation between russia and the united states. plus a deadly tornado kills two with little warning. a scandal rocks one of the country's most successful marching bands and much, much more for this last friday in july. "early today" starts right now.

a good friday to you. the latest and deadly attacks against the u.s. is intensifying u.s.-led efforts towards a new truce. a new poll shows americans are reacting. americans are split on their view of israel's actions toward hamas while a majority feel hamas's actions against israel are unjustified. secretary of state john kerry and other diplomats are working on a humanitarian pause which could begin sunday. the muslim holy month of ram ramadan comes to a close. meantime muslims are marching in solidarity with palestinians today against israel's actions and right now it remains unclear exactly which side is responsible for the attack on that u.n. school which left 16

dead and more than 100 wounded. it was being used as a shelter by palestinian families fleeing the crisis. richard engel has more. >> reporter: five explosions tore through this u.n. run school in northern gaza. the playground took a direct hit. an outdoor class was soaked in blood. at a nearby hospital, ambulance after ambulance brought in the injured, mostly children before going back for more. this six month old had shrapnel in his back. doctors with little time? few supplies removed the sharp metal without anesthetics. nearby akhmed's father described the moment when his six children were blown away, he says, like scraps of paper. the hospital was overwhelmed by the flow of injured. none of them accept israel's claim that it does it's best to

spare the innocent. >> they are responsible. they took out the children. the old women. what? >> robert turner is the director of the u.n. agency that operates the school in gaza. >> do you know who struck this facility? >> we can't say with certainty. the initial indication is it came from israeli forces. >> kate snow spoke with the israeli military's spokes man. >> there's a possibility there was a loose mortar that was shot. >> if you knew that there were women and children staying in this shelter, why not just avoid that area? >> a terrorist does not determine where they met. >> were militants operating inside this school? >> no, we are very, very strict about the neutrality of our installation. it's just civilians. >> that was nbc's richard engle.

the jaits top military commander joint chief chairman dempsey says vladimir putin might be lighting a fire he cannot control. referring to russia's military assault on ukraine forces this week, dempsey says, "there's a rising tide of nationalism in europe right now that has been created in many ways by the russian activities." meanwhile, it's been more than a week, and human remains continue to be found near the crash site of mh-17. some remains may never been found unless security around the area is tightened. australian and russian diplomats to secure the sight. it's been controlled by pro-russian rebels. leaders will be meeting in montreal next week to talk about safety and security issues following the downing of that airliner. and adding to the discord, the prime minister of ukraine has announced his resignation. leaders say this creates annen certainty about the government in kiev as it continues to fight

against pro-russian rebels. back here president obama talks about the downing of mh 17 in an exclusive interview with cnbc. he discussed partnerships with europe and how they could be affected by the airliner crash. >> sadly, tragically, the shooting done on this malaysian airliner and the recognition that it is likely it was shot down and it is also likely that it was conducted by non-state actors that were provided incredibly powerful weapons by the russian government, all that i think may stiffen the spine of our european partners moving forward. the man who allegedly shot up a philadelphia psych ward remains in critical condition. the suspect is richard plot, an outpatient at the hospital. police say he pulled out a gun during an argument with his case worker and doctor. the case worker was shot dead.

the doctor who was just grazed managed to pull out his own gun and fired back. >> i seen multiple cops coming here and ambulance, and i was scared. >> at this point police say they have no motive, but the doctor could face some trouble of his own. that's because it's against hospital policy for anyone other than security to carry weapons. also new this morning, one of the black boxes belonging to that downed air algerie flight has been found. it was found in mali late thursday. 116 were on board. there were no survivors. the plane was headed for algiers when it fell off the radar 50 minutes after leaving. storms were in the flight's path. the crash itself is the third aviation disaster in a week. there's a scandal now rocking ohio state university's famed marching band.

♪ their director was fired thursday. the buckeyes president said he ignored "serious problems within the band" like sexual harassment. questionable conduct included a hazy tradition which students marched across the field in their underwear. waters had led that band since 2012. his halftime shows were considered revolutionary and they've drawn millions of hits on youtube. let's turn to the weather now. the mercury topped out at 116 in phoenix thursday. a new record. >> dry heat. it's a dry heat. >> i don't know how dry. >> doesn't matter, right? >> bill karins is here. that's saying a lot. to beat a record in phoenix, that's hot. >> i remember 118. i remember swimming in the pool, and i was sweating as i was swimming. it was that hot. it was just gross. you can't walk on the pavement either. we're going to be a little bit cooler today, but, i mean, yesterday was, you know, just blistering. all the way from the phoenix area northward.

vegas was 111. the desert area, palm springs was extremely hot. sacramento got to 96 yesterday. it was a very hot day by anyone's standards in the desert southwest. unfortunately, we had a bunch of new fires reported yesterday too. now, 35 uncontained large fires, and 18 of those are in oregon state alone. central and north-central and western oregon state are by far the areas that are seeing the worst fire weather right now. we saw that big huge one, the carlton complex fire in washington state. it's cooler up there, and the last couple of days have been good for firefighters, but that is quickly changing as the heat is returning. we're 91 in medford today. 85 in boise. as i mentioned, over the weekend the hot air expands into the intermountain west. of california.

much of the state still in extreme conditions. heat, drought, fires. repeat. >> heat, drought -- yeah, august. august. >> august doesn't look much better. looks hot too. >> that's right. >> i'm starting to cover up for you. >> wow. it is probably one of the scariest botched surgeries that any guy can think of. plus, superkala -- while kristen bell is channelling her inner mary poppins next. have diabetic nerve pain. it's progressive pain. first that feeling of numbness. then hot pins. almost like lightning bolts, hot strikes into my feet. so my doctor prescribed lyrica. the pain has been reduced and i feel better than i did before. [ male announcer ] it's known that diabetes damages nerves. lyrica is fda-approved to treat diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these,

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visine®. get back to normal. from crest 3d white, new brilliance toothpaste and boost. after brushing, our exclusive boost polishes your smile and whitens with 3x the stain lifting ingredient for a smile that dazzles. new crest 3d white brilliance. welcome back. a deadly tornado with 100-mile-an-hour winds ripped through a virginia campground yesterday. two people are dead. 35 are injured. dozens of trailors just scattered about. 60,000 homes are still in the dark this morning. 3-d images showing that storm some 50,000 feet high.

an alabama man claims a hospital did a big mistake. this guy says he went in for a circumcision, but he awoke from surgery to find his entire member had been removed. the hospital insists those claims are without merit. the man has filed a lawsuit. the sudan ease woman spared a death sentence for refusing to recant her christianity met the pope yesterday. a spokesman says he thanked her for her faith and her courage. mary poppins? ♪ make a living wage ♪ i don't catch these birds for free ♪ >> that's actress kristen bell making her case as the world's most famous nanny for hire. minimum wage. the mary poppins spinoff was on funny or die. it's received a million views since wednesday. let's get down to business on a friday.

sima, good morning to you. >> craig, stocks ended most unchanged on thursday. the s&p 500 index hit another record high. investors weighing up the earnings from ford and facebook, and mixed economic data. look for data today on demands for big ticket durable goods. and watch shares of amazon. they fell 10% in after hours trade as the on-line retailer posted a big loss in the latest quarter. amazon continues to spend heavily on new investments, including digital content and consumer electronics. the new amazon fire phone goes on sale today. fast food workers will gather in chicago this weekend to discuss how to step up their campaign for higher wages and the right to unionize. industry officials say $15 an hour a wage will only hurt jobs and the solution is better education and job training. craig. >> all right. sima, thank you. just ahead, why jenny mccarthy's son called the cops on her. plus, the ravens ray rice allegedly slugged his wife. was it enough? you're watching "early today."

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♪ i've been losing sleep ♪ ♪ dreaming about the things that we could be ♪ ♪ baby, i've been >> this morning on "today" they've got all the right moves. they've lived a good life. now they're counting stars. one republic takes over the plaza in a live summer concert. that's straight ahead on

"today." in sports this morning nfl commissioner roj goodell faced a fair amount of backlash. rice was handed a two-game suspension following a fight with his then fiance, which was caught on tape. the league facing major criticism for what some are calling the leniency considering the seriousness of the physical altercation. suspended jaguars wade receiver justin blackman is in trouble again. he was pulled over for blocking traffic and arrested after allegedly admitting to smoking marijuana while driving. he is already under an indefinite nfl suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy. for a defense gus bradley admits this "creates more conversation to cut blackman." seattle star running ban marchand lynch will not be participating in today's opening day of training camp. lynch is looking for a raise from the $5 million he would

earn this season. he will, instead, be receiving a $30,000 fine for every day that he misses of camp. and he is just your typical tv bomb by a teenage mutant ninja turtle. that's rafael. during an mlb interview. he showed off dance moves before revealing himself as brewers outfielder carlos. >> i would play basketball. i was a kid from northeast ohio. >> you will not find anything funnier on the internet today. comedian frank caliendo with a pretty spot on morgan freeman impression. that was actually morgan freeman reading lebron james' letter announcing his return to cleveland on mike and mike yesterday on espn. just ahead here, the cute baby dolls that have parents freaking out and calling the cops all

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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. let's get to the good stuff. your weekend forecast. as we go through saturday and subpoenaed, after a little bit of a stormy weather pattern in the northwest, it is gone, and the heat is going to be turned up. especially in the intermountain west. you notice 100 where. 90 in boise.

83 in portland. by the time we get to sunday, we crank it up to 100 in memphis. 97 in boise. now you start to think about the thousands of the fire crews out there. the hot shot crews out in the wilderness with the tie temperatures in the upper 100s. low humidity returning. that's when we start to get into dangerous stuff. sacramento, not exactly a chilly forecast either the next two days. easily right around 100. >> man. thank you, sir. do appreciate you, bill karins. let's turn to entertainment news. double action taking place at the movie theater in weekend. lucy, a sci-fi action movie with stellar special effects. projected to open at number one. meanwhile, also opening "hercules." >> you just missed the role. i heard you were close. >> the greek mythology featuring duane swron son "the rock" has a budget. that movie is expected to be number two at $24 million. johnson held a surprise

screening at comicon. catch that one. swooping into comicon's gothic city, the mayor of san diego on a zip line. the opening of the international festival. interstellar debut with a surprise appearance from matthew mcconaughey, and also director -- >> never thought -- >> zip lining? once. it's scary. it's scary. >> 75 years of batman. ben affleck embodies the superhero in the newly released image from zach snyder, director of batman versus superman, dawn of justice. celebrities, directors encouraged to carpool for monday, august 25th. >> that's not happening. >> the annual emmy awards. it was moved to monday to accommodate the nfl preseason game. a number of car dropoffs have been limited due to downtown los angeles work traffic.

>> ride a bike. >> you can't have the -- >> i know. jenny mccarthy was sitting in the car when she heard her 12-year-old son on the phone with the cops. he said, "my mom is text and driving right now." guilty of the crime, jenny says that she threw the phone out the car window to avoid the police. >> all right. now, this -- that story sounded like, wow, a craze where i story, and then i hear she's starting her new job with a new radio show, and then you start to wonder -- >> whether it might have been just for publicity. like a publicity stunt? >> i wouldn't accuse anyone of that. >> use her child? >> i wouldn't -- no. >> bill karins. >> so wrong. >> we hope it's just your first stop of the day on nbc.

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a tragic story leading the news in the wichita eagle this morning. child dies after being left in car in south wichita. >> another one? >> the 10-month-old girl had been in the car for about two hours. she was being cared for by foster parents with multiple foster children. foster parents are being questioned by police. in the golden mail, oh, canada. 1,000 liters of canadian water to bankrupt detroit in protest. detroit's utility company has shut off water to more than 7,000 homes and businesses since march over unpaid bills. also in the news this morning, arizona's attorney general has called a halt on executions there. it's a result of wednesday's nearly two-hour ordeal where

witnesses say convicted killer joseph wood gasped for air more than 600 times. senator john mccain also weighed in calling botched executions like that "torture." in california it had parents really freaked out. someone was apparently leaving dolls on porches. the creepy part here? the dolls all look like kids who live in the homes. >> stay off my porch. >> turns out a neighborhood woman was behind them. she said she meant no harm. she thought the dolls would make nice gifts. >> give them to them during the daylight hours. >> right. just in time for the weekend red bull impresses us once again with this one. watch as divers plunge almost 90 feet into the atlantic ocean on the fifth stop of the 2014 red bull cliff diving world series. yikes. to reach the platform, the

divers have to do some rock climbing. look at that fwi. >> first off, you have to wear the red bull speedo, and secondly, you have to climb the rocks in the -- >> yeah. you're not doing that, are you? >> i would maybe jump off of it. not climb. >> they're not -- >> well, they had the rescue swimmers just in case. >> oh, do they? >> they do. there's a guy with the fins. >> i thought those were just folks hanging out down there. >> no. >> i guess ewe right. there is some room for error there. >> you have to be smooth, too. >> now a look ahead and a look back. america's oldest living female is being honored for her service to the country. lucy will be flown from texas to d.c. to see the world war ii memorial. she served in the women's auxiliary corps, and she holds two bronze stars for her service in the pacific. happy birthday to american hustle actress aim where i adams. she's 40. matt leblanc, 47. iman, aka mrs. david bowie, turns 59. i'm craig melvin.

thanks for watching "early today." have a great weekend.

from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay." well good morning everyone, happy friday, 4:30 i'm scott mcgrew. >> and i'm laura garcia-cannon. let's get started with a look out your door this morning, san jose, san francisco, the big story of the day is the heat. we are talking triple digit temperatures, even downtown san francisco will see the mid-80s. for more, let's bring in meteorologist christina loren. >> it is going to be the hottest day of 2014 so far. we're starting out really mild out there, it's hard to believe we actually had significant rainfall earlier on this week. we'll talk about that heat coming up. and i want to make sure you prepare yourself for a hot day ahead. lots of water today and don't overdo it outdoors