good morning. coming up on "early today" in ferguson, missouri, a new face of law and order. a night of peaceful protest. a very different scene from the night before. new revelations about the health battle that robin williams was facing in his final days. president obama says air strikes on isis targets in iraq will continue as the country's embattled prime minister announces will he step down. plus, baby northwest starts earning her keep. the most expensive used car ever and a major historical flub at downtown abbey. it's friday, august 15th. "early today" starts right now. good morning.

i'm dara brown. breaking overnight, our st. louis affiliate ksdk is reporting the ferguson police department could release the name of the officer who fatally shot 18-year-old michael brown as soon as today. what a difference 24 hours makes. this was the scene last night in ferguson missouri. cars finally able to drive-thru the streets as demonstrators chanted and marched along side them and for the first time since protests began this weekend there's fewer police and no tear gas, barricades or tanks. throughout the country supporters held vigils and rallies in cities including portland, chicago, miami, and here in new york city. nbc's jay gray has the latest from ferguson for us. jay, good morning. >> hi, good morning, dara. maybe it was a hang in strategy and leadership by police on the ground, or maybe the pleas for an end to the violence from the governor and president yesterday. whatever the case, it was much

different here overnight. >> reporter: for the first time this week ferguson was calm overnight. calm. but by no means quiet. hundreds of protesters still spilled out into the streets, and police still stood guard, but this time it was a march. not the melee that played out for four nights before. >> there is a different feel. there is not as much tension, but i feel a very positive force that's in the air. there's a lot of hope here. >> reporter: hope, it seems, for the first time since michael brown, unarmed teenager, was shot and killed during a confrontation with police. the gas masks and riot gear now gone, and state troopers walking with angry residents in a show of unity. >> i was extremely excited, almost emotional to the point of tears because the unity wean the people regardless of the race, everybody holding hands, lifting up their hands. >> reporter: a sense of relief.

>> hands up. >> don't shoot. >> hands up. >> don't shoot. >> reporter: and relief for this community led by one of their own. >> brother jackson. >> yes. >> reporter: state highway patrol capital ron swron son, a ferguson resident, assigned by the governor to take control of security in the city. >> hopefully they'll go home and say, you know what, this is going to be all right. we gain a sense of trust rsh. >> reporter: trust that doesn't come easy. still angry and grieving. of course, still one night, marching away from the violence that has defined their city in these protests and instead now taking a step towards healing. >> both protesters and police seem to understand it's just one step in what is sure to be a very long and difficult journey here. in ferguson, missouri, i'm jay gray. dara, back to you. >> thank you, jay. a sad and new twist in the death of robin williams. the oscar winner went to his death sober, but carrying a

secret. nbc's joe pryor with the latest. >> reporter: robin williams was fighting many internal foes. according to a statement from his wife, susan snyder, robin's sobriety was intact, and he was brave as he struggled with his own battles of depression, anxiety, as well as early stages of parkinson's disease, which he was not yet ready to share publicly. >> it made some sense to me actually because most people with parkinson's will suffer from depression at some point of the disease, often early on. >> reporter: the institute of mental health says each symptoms can make symptoms of the other worse, but it's unclear if parkinson's can be linked to williams' suicide. he had been candidly battling depression before the parkinson's diagnosis. he returned to rehab to maintain his sobriety. long-time friend steven pearl saw williams last month and thought he looked frail and seemed detached. >> it was an uncomfortable sad

vibe. he wasn't all there. >> reporter: parkinson's is a brain disorder that leads to tremors and can affect walk and movement. the centers for disease control says parkinson's is the 14th leading cause of death in the united states. as many as one million americans live with the disease and about 60,000 americans are diagnosed each year. men are one and a half times more likely to have parkinson's than women. celebrities with the disease include michael j. fox, boxing great mohammed ali and singer linda ronstadt. fox tweeted "stunned to learn robin had p.d. pretty sure his support for our foundation predated his diagnosis. a true friend. i wish him peace." joe pryor, nbc news, los angeles. right now a democratic transeggs of power is taking place in iraq. this following the announcement by prime minister nuri al-maliki that he is stepping down. susan rice hopes the shift in power helps iraq unite its people against islamic militants. nbc's richard jordan joins me

now live from washington d.c. good morning, richard. what can we expect from this change in leadership? >> hi, dara, good morning. the new prime minister is moderate, not polarizing like nuri al-maliki. now, maliki seemed determined to stay in power, but pressure from the u.s., iran, and even from some in his own party ultimately led to his resignation. >> reporter: iraqi prime minister nuri al-maliki steps down. he went on television to announce he would give up his post and his legal challenge against his successor who stood next to him during his national address. most iraqi leaders feel a new government is critical to unite the country and president obama agrees. >> we are urging iraqis to come together to turn the tide against isis. >> yazidi citizens threatened by genocide are evacuating a mountain refuge with the help of kurdish forces. the u.s. plans to continue air strikes targeting terrorists on the ground. northeast of erbil three armed

isis vehicles were destroyed yesterday. >> i think we're going to keep hitting them for a long period of time unless and until they get sufficiently trained alone to fight against these guys. >> reporter: u.s. military advisors will come home in a few days, even though isis remains a dangerous enemy. >> threats are not over. it's not like we're sitting here just breathing a sigh of relief now because everything is better or things look to be better. >> reporter: a better outlook, but no end in sight yet. >> and the next prime minister has 30 days to set up a new government. maliki remains in control of iraq's military until then. dara. >> richard, reporting from d.c. thank you for the update. a new flare-up between u.s. and israel. this one over missiles. looks like israel won't be getting any hell fire missiles any time soon. missiles were shipped in during the gaza conflict without proper approval.

now any ammo requests need to be signed off by the white house and the state department. tensions between the u.s. and israel have increased over the number of civilian casualties. now it is time for a look at your friday weather, and here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with that. >> weekend forecast looking nice in many areas. especially after the week. we had rain to deal with. especially in the northwest. loudz and cooler weather. now the weekend is looking all right. yesterday one of the cooler days we've had in this very hot summer, and all of the west. 83, nice in l.a. still warm in the desert southwest, but actually a little below average, and that 70 in seattle is kind of cool. as far as this morning goes, really no problems with your temperatures. as we look towards the rainfall, it's starting to move out. yesterday we did pick up about .15 of an inch. medford got a soaking. about a half inch of rain. there was hit and miss range, especially in the intermountain west and the rockies. now that pesky storm is still spinning itself right over the border of washington state, oregon, and there's still some showers with it, but it's not as suicide spread as yesterday. looks like the new downpours

just to the west there in spokane. if you are driving 90 through the mountainous areas, you will have wet weather here and there. we should be dealing with the flooding that we had yesterday and also the debris and mudslides. as far as your friday forecast goes, a little warmer today. about six degrees warmer in seattle than yesterday, and then the desert southwest, looks like widespread east of the cascades. as we head to southern california, pretty nice. more typical summer-like conditions for the weekend coming up. i'll show you the forecast. >> thank you, bill. looks like a great weekend to be outside. >> three weeks away from labor day. >> don't go there. then school starts. >> started a lot of places already in the country. >> very true. thank you, bill. still ahead, could boko

haram be responsible for a new round of kidnappings. an emotional good-bye for an american hero. you're watching "early today." early today is broad 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. now what if i told youok a hotel you can save up to 60%,me first. but you couldn't know the name until after you book? did i say never? i didn't mean it. ♪ don't be envious. be envied! new revlon colorstay gel envy™ in just two steps, i get what i want. base coat and color in one. then, diamond top coat for gorgeous, life-resistant wear. in 30 easy-to-remove shades revlon

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geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. welcome back. what do the russians have in those white trucks? that's what the use action newsian government wants to know. right now they're inspecting all 200 of them parked at the border. russia says the convoy is an aid shipment, but ukraine is worried they could be used by the military. terrorist group boko haram kidnapped about 100 boys and young men from a nigerian town. that's according to bloomberg. they're the same militants that abducted more than 200 school girls in april. in the states full military honor for gerald green at arlington national cemetery. shot by an afghan soldier, he was the highest ranking army officer killed in combat since the vietnam war. upstate new york, services

held for kevin ward jr., the race car driver killed when he was struck by nascar driver tony stewart. the investigation is ongoing. meantime, stewart has announced he has withdrawn from a sprint cup race this weekend. and last night san francisco said good-bye to legendary candlestick park. sir paul mccartney brought down the house, which was fitting, because this is where the beatles played their last live concert. plenty of great sports memories there too. the 49ers and baseball giants once called this home. let's get down to business now with cnbc's sima modi. good morning. stocks rose again on thursday as geopolitical tennings appear to be easing. the markets are on pace for their best weekly gain in more than a month. look for data today on inflation. industrial production and consumer sentiment. coke gets a boost in energy drink maker -- foster is the dominant player controlling 42% of the energy drink market.

coke is looking for growth in other areas as it faces a decline in soft drink sales. jc penney turnaround efforts. they're reporting a smaller quarterly loss as sales beat analyst forecasts on demand for home goods and jewelry. it's the third straight quarter of sales growth following two years of decline. dara. >> thanks so much. coming up just ahead, there is a new man in charge of major league baseball. we've got the highlights from last night's nfl action. plus, he stripped his clothes, so they stripped his medal. a lesson what not to do at the end of a race. up next. so this board gives me rates on progressive direct and other car insurance companies? yes. but you're progressive and they're them. -yes. -but they're here. -yes. -are you... -there? -yes. -no. -are you them? i'm me. but the lowest rate is from them. -yes. -so them's best rate is... here. so where are them? -aren't them here? -i already asked you that. -when? -feels like a while ago. want to take it from the top?

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mcdonald's dollar menu and more. it's economnomnomcial. ♪ nom...nom...nom... ♪ ♪ i want some more ♪ what are you waiting for >> this morning on "today" the neon trees light up the plaza with a live performance of some of their biggest hits in the today summer concert series. now, let's get to the latest in sports. my friend todd pyro. good morning to you, todd. >> thanks, dara. major league baseball electing its new commissioner last night in baltimore. >> mr. rod manford has been elected the tenth commissioner of baseball. in the end the vote was unanimous. 30-0. >> current mlb commissioner bud selig announcing his successor. it is baseball chief operating officer ron manford elected in a unanimous decision by mlb owners following a pretty tense meeting over the pick. he'll begin his terminix

january. in boston the four new inductes into the red sox hall of fame were inducted before the game. pedro martinez. nomar. and joe -- one day after rocky shortstop -- the rockies lose another star. outfielder carlos gonzalez will have season-ending surgery on his left knee on monday. the little league world series is well underway in pennsylvania. pierce jones hit not one, not two, but three homers to help lift his team to a 12-2 victory. they'll face the winner of sunday's west-midwest game. the nfl preseason continues. bears taking on the jaguars, and the jags got off to a pretty good start, and rookie quarterback blake shined. he threw for 160 yards, but the bears rally in the fourth and win it 20-19.

and here's why early celebration is not recommended. a runner stripped of his gold medal during a men's 3,000 meter steeple chase at the european championships for this, stripping off his shirt during the last 100 meters. dara, let that be a lesson to everybody. keep the shirt on when you are finishing the race. now back to you. >> great advice, todd. coming up just ahead, time travel at downtown abbey? the revealing photo. up next. plus, he is pretty powerful, so why was john kerry forced to fly commercial? you're watching "early today." completely unbelievabowl... totally delectabowl. real silky smooth or creamy broths. everything she's been waiting for. carefully crafted with real seafood, real veggies, and never any by-products or fillers. wow! being a cat just got more enjoyabowl.

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at the corner of happy and healthy. welcome back. the summer weekend kicking off quickly now. looking at a nice friday. should be a good saturday too. look at the beautiful weather. that's summer weather for you. boise to salt lake city. vegas and phoenix. even interior california. en the excessive heat. should be typical, average type weekend. we'll take 83 in portland. that's a good weekend. by the pool and 58 on sunday. it's a dry weekend and sunshine and warm. who knows? could be one of the warmest weekends we have for a while. what's in store past the weekend, really no complaints. even into seattle, next chance of rain doesn't evolve until tuesday. shaping up for a nice stretch. snoo thank you very much, bill. new to entertainment news. at the box office this weekend it looks like the heroes in a half shell will stay top. teenage mutant ninja turtles

is -- >> another chance to go long. >> yes. >> marvel, guardians of the galaxy, should stay in second place. >> we could see the double feature. >> sure. >> and get the expendables 3 with the 17 stars expected to gross $22 million. i wonder how many of them -- >> i guess it's never too early to care about fashion, and northwest, daughter of kim kardashian and kanye west, made her modelling debut. >> she has her ears pierced? some people do pierce the baby's ears. >> might be the diamond earrings. get this, she has a purse valued at close to $3,000. >> that's nothing. mommy probably has 30 of those. >> she's starting early. and more kardashian news, a new york waitress is claiming after she denied 18-year-old kendall jenner alcohol, jenner tried to skip out on her bill and with the food she then threw in the waitress's fate. tmz is threatening that the reality star is threatening to sue the witness saying the story is not true.

>> probably a little truth in both sides. >> well, we'll find that out. as the fifth season of downtown abbey starts this week, overseas this promotional picture was released and then quickly taken down. >> ah. got you. >> that very modern water bottle sitting on the mantle. in the 1920s show. hmm. >> you know with some of the eating and they cut away and come back and the food was there and then not there and there again. >> continuity issues. why is the sweater on this shoulder and then on that shoulder. >> i tried. >> i pay attention to that. my skills are not great with that. >> we'll check it out with the teenage mutant ninja story, right? i'm dara brown. this is early today. we hope it's just your first stop of the day on nbc. something happens when you giveair.r hair... you get a natural look without the gray.

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in the "new york times" lack of photos hunt for two amish sisters epdz with their safe return. police have a sketch of one of the girls to work with. the family didn't have any pictures because the amish don't use cameras. fortunately, both girls were found more than a day after they went missing. and from the huffington post, canada, pastafarian argues religious right to wear -- the man an ordained minister with the church of the flying spaghetti monster, where he, he says it's his religious freedom to wear the collander, but they don't agree. imagine sitting next to secretary of state on an airplane. well, john kerry had to hitch a

ride on a commercial flight yesterday after his air force plane broke down. he was returning to washington after a long international trip. but that's nothing compared to what some ukrainian officials go through. check this out. in the lobby of their parliament the party leader in that red tie accuses a deputy of ignoring soldiers in eastern ukraine, and he punches him in the face. fights like this break out often in kiev parliament. a 52-year-old ferrari just smashed the record for the most expensive car ever sold at auction. the 1952 250 gto sold for $38.1 million. they're widely considered the -- the 250 gto's are considered the hole where i grail of vintage cars. only 36 of them were made. that is a beautiful car. and now to the ride of your life. and a mermaid. an annual pig rodeo took place in a japanese pig farming town at an annual summer festival. the winner -- >> there's a lot wrong with

that. >> there's a lot wrong with this picture. the winner was a 280 pound porker for 5.13 seconds. i think i would last about two seconds on the back of a pig like that. a little mermaid is now part of your world at the paris aquarium. a scuba diver sport aing fish tail swimz with the fish. she holds her breath for long periods of time under the sea. >> ah, there you go. >> you under the sea. >> nice reference, ariel. >> you had to do that. looks like fun. don't try that either. >> fantastic for a 3, 4-year-old girl. >> now for a look ahead. even though marijuana is legal in washington state, the seattle hemp fest opens today. it's the world's largest marijuana legalization rally. it has two lounges where adults can obey the law and smoke pot legally. sflirchlts happy birthday to jennifer lawrence. she turns 24. batman, ben affleck is 42, and debra messing is 46. i'm dara brown. thanks for watching "early today." have a great friday.

from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay." good friday morning, it is 4:30 right now, i'm kris sanchez. >> and i'm laura garcia-cannon. lots to get to, let's check the forecast and meteorologist rob mayeda, how are we looking? >> looking great, foggy in parts of the bay area. san francisco over towards the peninsula. that's the view inside at&t park. sea breeze right now, and later on today on nbc bay area get to the giants and phillies coming up at 7:15. mid-60s around game time there at at&t park. temperatures today, mid-80s around san jose, upper 60s closer to san francisco around the north bay mid-80s. san rafael, 90re