coming up on early today a fourth night of violence in ferguson, missouri, as police unleash tear gas and smoke bombs on people protesting the shooting death of an unarmed black teen. >> the bright lights of broadway go dim for robin williams as authorities come underfire for saying too much. plus a new eye on the sky. the sharpest ever. a texas teen makes himself at home in walmart and a new michael jackson music video launched on twitter. it's thursday, august 14th. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm dara brown. another violent night in ferguson missouri where attempts to deescalate protests only ratcheted up clashes between

police and protestors. take a look at this incredible footage of tear began canisters exploding on the street close to the cameras of our st. louis affiliate. a digital radio station captured similar footage using night vision. you can see huge waves of tear gas and there's reports that demonstrators threw malitaf cocktails at police, which prompted them to fire smoke bombs and tear gas. a reporter for msnbc.com became trapped by the gas and explained the situation and described the situation to lawrence o'donnell last night. >> my entire face from my nose and my lips and my eyes it's all burning. feels like it's on fire. that's why i can't imagine what people in it feel and i'm pretty far back at this point. >> governor nixon who has been criticized for staying quiet on this situation released this statement overnight saying, "the worsening situation in ferguson

is deeply troubling. i ask the members of the community demonstrate patience and calm while the investigation continues. and i urge the law enforcement agencies to keep the peace and respect the rights of the people and the press at this time." here's more from ferguson. >> reporter: for a fourth straight day protests in ferguson, missouri. over the police shooting of unarmed teenager michael brown. after several protests turned violent over the last few nights zoo must continue in a peaceful manner. >> reporter: a show of force and numbers from the police as many, including protesters themselves, urge for calm. >> i know everybody is angry about a lot of stuff. but we need to do it peacefully. >> reporter: the fbi and the department of justice launched their own investigations into the shooting. each running parallel with st. louis county. >> we'll do a full, complete investigation into this. nothing will be untouched.

>> reporter: clr conflicting reports about what led up to the shooting saturday. eyewitnesss are denying claims by police that there was a physical confrontation between brown and the officer before brown was shot in the street. the violent protests have led the school district to postpone the start of classes this week, and after days of unrest the teenagers' parents, student leaders are asking for calm as well as answers. mroo we're asking people to be peaceful and that we are actively working to resolve this situation to get the truth and to get justice. >> reporter: answers that cannot come soon enough for the community and the family of michael brown. nbc news in ferguson, missouri. meantime a st. louis lawmaker attending last night's demonstration was arrested and charged with unlawful assembly. he has been credited with using social media to document the aftermath of this weekend's deadly shooting of 18-year-old michael brown, and two reporters covering the story, ryan riley

from the huffington post and wesley lawy wesley lowrie were arrested while sitting at a mcdonald's not too far from the demonstrations. they were let go a short time later and not charged with any crime. they each smoke with chris hays last night and described their interaction with police officers. >> i was told to stop resisting despite the fact that i had gone limp, and my arms were limp. on the way out of the mcdonald's my head was purposefully slammed into the glass door, and the officer sashgsticily remarked that he was sorry. >> he threw me up against the soda machine, and i put my hands behind my back, and i said i'm not resisting. they said you are resisting. stop resisting. and i said i'm not resisting. we were standing outside and they refused to give us any information. tell us what we're being held on. >> nbc news reached out to the ferguson police department but they have not gotten back to us.

u.s. troops have returned from iraq with encouraging news. the number of refugees trapped by isis is smaller than feared. chuck hagel says it is now less likely that a major rescue operation will take place. nbc's richard jordan joins us live from the nation's capital. good morning, richard. can you tell us, what does this mean for u.s. troops there? >> well, dara, it looks like the u.s. will not be as involved as first thought. about 20 military members went to the top of that mountain in northwest iraq to assess the situation. they say they found the people trapped there doing better than anticipated, and it looked like the steps taken so far have been successful. >> reporter: u.s. special forces atop sinjar mountain found fewer yaziti refugees than expected. humanitarian food and water drops are helping to keep the refugees alive. the u.s. conducted its seventh

airdrop last night, and air strikes pushed isis militants back. >> air strikes, i think, are appropriate given the limited mission the president has discussed. >> reporter: the white house considered airlifting refugees trapped on the mountain, but now u.s. officials say rescue operations are less likely and so are boots on the ground. >> you look at different ways to move people who are in a very dangerous place on that mountain to a safer position, and that's exactly what our team is doing on the ground now in iraq. >> reporter: yazitis' relatives fear there is no safe way out. >> they can't move freely, like with 60 or 70 people, as usual. >> reporter: isis remains committed to terrorizing the country's religious minority. >> we cannot lose sight of the fact that this is the greatest terrorist threat we've ever had. >> reporter: a threat that requires u.s. and international involvement. >> just this morning britain announced it will be sending special forces to iraq, much like the u.s. support team that

is already there. france will be providing weapons to those kurdish fighters taking on the isis militants, and germany has promised to send over supplies as well. >> richard reporting from d.c. thank you so much, richard. more and more memorials are taking place across the world for comedian and actor robin williams. the broadway community paid tribute to him on wednesday night by giving the marquee to the theater in new york city. the director of the emmy awards announced that this year's ceremony will include several tributes to williams rsh it will air on august 25th. the release of detailed information concerning williams' death has sparked a backlash. the county sheriff department is defending itself by saying, "all that information is considered public information." it sounded like a hollywood movie, but this was real. a texas runaway hid out and camped out in a wall mart. he built two secret rooms. one behind rolls of toilet paper. the second by the baby products.

the 14-year-old even wore diapers to avoid being seen in the bathroom. >> you got to give the kid credit. he is thinking. who would have thought of that? >> the teen who has a history of running away was eventually busted when an employee caught him, but he likely won't face any charges. now it's time for a look at your thursday weather, and here's nbc's meteorologist bill karins. good morning. >> how long could you last? >> in awe wal-mart? i wouldn't take that chance. >> people will try to copy it now. curious details to look at the diaper aisle, a little extra. >> rainfall in the northwest is becoming a problem. especially in areas that had the fires. we have what we call burn scars out there, and when we get thunderstorms and heavy rains over wrarz that have had these fires, the muddy conditions, we can get mud flows and debris flows at the highway. we do have flash flood warnings out there, and we're mostly concerned with areas of central washington state. you can see the little white dots on that. that's actually lightning strikes along with this too.

we have downpours and lightning strikes there. we'll watch these storms, and no reports for bad mud. as we see the rain threat shifting now more towards northern washington state and northern portions of idaho, the rest of the weather forecasts out today, more moisture down there. new mexico and colorado under a flash flood watch. we could see heavy rain there in the mountainous areas. the only reel really heavy rain expected is the northern portions of the rockies up there. possibility of one to two inches. still some showers likely. should be a dry day today in portland, but we'll have to watch for debris flow and mud flow by getting pictures and details. i'll bring them to you. that's your n the rim you could see a shower or two. expecting a dry day today.

phoenix area. we continue with some active weather for the west for this time of year. a lot more moisture available than typical. >> now they have to do cleanup, and that's coming up next. >> you don't want to scrape mud off a road. it's not a fun job. >> no fun at all. thank you, bill. still ahead, jody arias changes her mind about her upcoming sentencing. there it goes. what experts are hoping to learn from this latest rocket launch. you're watching "early today." h? ♪ you can start with the syrup, pour it on top, maybe not ♪ ♪ apple chunks and cinnamon and honey if you got ♪ ♪ bring on the chocolate spread ♪ ♪ somethin' green, somethin' blue, somethin' orange, somethin' red ♪ ♪ ham and egg, tomato sandwich ♪ cut it nice and do some damage ♪ ♪ cream cheese, pomegranate ♪ make it look like jack or janet ♪ ♪ x's and o's and a tic tac toe ♪ ♪ you can fill in the holes, let the syrup flow, yeah ♪ ♪ stack it, snack it, maybe you can bend it ♪ ♪ you can slice it up and dice it up ♪ ♪ and big it up and friend it [ female announcer ] there are millions of ways to eggo! try one of our fun recipes on facebook... and eggo your way! ♪ just l'eggo my eggo and eggo your way!

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lawyers to represent her, but she wants the other one to quit. the first papal visit in 25 years. north korea fired three short-range rockets into the sea just an hour before the pope arrived. over to indonesia where police found a half naked body stuffed in a suitcase at an island resort. 262-year-old sheila von weiss of chicago was badly beaten. now police have arrested her 19-year-old daughter and the girl's boyfriend. the two suspects are requesting a lawyer from the u.s. check this out. it's called world view 3, and it saz high resolution pictures of stuff hang on earth. we're talking really hi-res. one of the project's leaders said from 400 miles we can see home plate of a baseball stadium. this will provide images to private customers. let's go to sima modi for business. >> futures lower after stocks --

investors reacting to news germany's economy failed to grow this spring. today look for data on unemployment earnings from wal-mart. tech giant cisco plans to cut 6,000 jobs, or 8% of its work force, as it struggles in emerging markets, such as china and india. there are no specifics on the timing of the cuts. cisco did plan to add staff for software of security. burger king is dropping its low cal fries less than a year after launching them. they use a different type of batter so they don't absorb as much oil cost more than regular fries. burger king has been suffering from weaker sales. dara. >> thanks. just ahead, the nba schedule is out, and there is a huge matchup christmas day. plus, what got white sox skipper robert ventura all riled up?

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the pirates. in san francisco an overturned call at the plate, and it sent robin ventura into a tantrum. he repeatedly kicked dirt and went off on the umps. dirtying the plate right there. ochado placed on a disabled list because of a light knee sprain during monday night's game. all-star shortstop troy chul owi tski has surgery for a torn labrum. lebron james and the cavaliers will face his former team, the miami heat, in a christmas day matchup. the thunder and spurs will face off for the first time since the spurs eliminated them in the postseason. the knicks will open their season hosting the bulls with a return of derek rose on october 29th. tiger woods has withdrawn his name from rider cup after

poor performances in four tournaments since returning from back surgery. woods said, "i've been told by my doctors and trainer that my back muscles need to be rehabilitated and healed. they've advised me not to play or practice now." meantime, earlier this week jimmy fallon targeted some of golf's best with some comical superlatives. >> next up is pga champion rory mcilroy who was voted the most likely to be in a golf boy band called hole in one direction. good idea. >> well, the pga tour fired back with one of their own. they tweeted a young photo of fallon with the superlative, most likely to be turned down by a cart girl. ouch. dara, back to you. >> a total burn there. thanks, todd. just ahead, the health crisis that has celine dion going into seclusion. plus, it sounds crazy, but we'll tell you how you can collect millions from o.j. simpson. you're watching "early today." goes through in a day. but what's even more surprising is that brushing alone isn't

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good. in the desert southwest where it's been cooler, dara, we'll return to the east. we're heading up to 105, 110 in the desert southwest. >> sounds like a nice weekend coming up. >> very typical. very summer-like, so enjoy. >> thank you. now time for some entertainment news here. we now know when it's morphing time. lions gate has given the new power rangers film a release date of july 22nd, 2016. i know you are waiting for that one, bill. you all remember this madonna video, right? >> i'll be forced watch that one. >> each of the 16 hollywood icons mentioned in the "vogue" video have sadly pass the away. some call those mentioned in the video the golden age of hollywood. >> guardians of the gal ax where i has -- the entire with songs from the 1960s and 1970s. going to have to see that movie.

now celine dion has canceled her asia tour indefinitely because of her husband's ongoing battle with cancer. abc will announce a behind the scenes special on the making of "frozen." expect interviews with kristen bell, john lassiter, and many more. >> you'll be watching in your household. >> absolutely. you won't have a choice. >> we'll have to dvr that one. even though he has been gone for a few years michael jackson's twitter has released a new music video featuring never released footage of the man himself. the pop single is called "a place with no name." this is early today. we hope it's just your first stop of the day on nbc. these little angels build in softness. and these little angels build in strength. and that little angel says, "weeeeeeeee!" 60% more sheets than charmin.

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pregnant man can get a divorce. he was born a female and underwent gender reassignment surgery made headlines when he gave burst to his first child in 2008. in march 2013 an arizona judge refused to grant a divorce saying his marriage was between two women. from the bbc news pilot's artificial arm became detached while planneding plane. there were 46 people on board the passenger plane when the pilot lost control at city airport. no one was hurt, but the highlight says he will be more cautious about checking in the future. some other stories we're following today. the mother of ronald goldman has waited 17 years for o.j. simpson to pay up in a wrongful death suit, but she's not waiting any

longer. on judgment marketplace, which is basically ebay for court judgments, she's auctioning off her right to cash. you can now bid for about $26.5 million in debt. instead of owing her, o.j. simpson would now owe you. the risk? whether or not he will ever be able to pay. and school is still a few weeks away in texas, but one student couldn't wait. yep, that's an alligator. it wandered around a junior high until police wrangled it up. this is not exactly the perfect getaway. police in north carolina arrest a man they found dragging a safe from the back of the car. they say he broke into a bank and then drove right by the cop. what's killer is there's nothing in the safe sfwloosh they got the safe and couldn't lift it up, so they dragged it, and nothing. >> all that for nothing. this story up next will make you feel warm and fuzzy. a vet believes that this dog couldn't have any babies, but she surprised her owner. not only a pregnancy, but with a

litter of 18 puppies. >> that would surprise mommy. >> that is more than double the average litter size for her breed. the family is nursing all the healthy puppies, while the dog recovers from a successful c-section. 18 puppies. >> you know how long that would take to bottle feed 18 puppies? >> that is an all day affair. >> give mommy a break. >> they'll grow up quickly, though. the 1938 comic that introduced superman to the world is now up for auction. it was widely regarded as the holy grail of comic books. there are believed to be as few as 50 copies. number one still in existence. one sold for a record $2.1 million in 2011. a portion of the proceeds from the auction will benefit the christopher and dana reeves foundation. happy birthday to halle barry who turns 48. magic johnson turns 55 and steve marchedin turns 69. have a great thursday, everybody.

from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay." well good morning everyone, it is 4:30 on a thursday, i'm scott mcgrew. >> and i'm laura garcia-cannon. big welcome to school to the students returning to class this morning. it includes those in the jefferson union high school cricket, morgan hill unified, and students in st. francis high school. >> speaking of san jose, let's look outside this morning. it is going to be a great day, great day for a first or possibly second day of school. rob mayeda joins us with a look at your forecast. >> it looks good around daly city this morning. you have to look out for low clouds and fog. temperatures in the upper 60s ro