's "meet the press." it's monday, august 3rd. coming up on "early today," more than 12,000 people have been ordered to evacuate after 21 make california wild fires destroy dozens of buildings and homes. president obama will reveal major plans that he hopes will wake up the world, shake up the country and rock the republican presidential field. a second american doctor has now been accused of illegally killing another lion during a big game hunt. plus severe weather in the midwest kills one and injures more than a dozen. what is facebook doing with the enormous drones? that and much, much more as we kick off a busy week ahead. "early today" starts right now. i'm melissa rehberger.

wildfires are burning in several western states with california taking the brunt of the danger. right now, there are 21 major fires burning in the golden state alone. an army of firefighters are fanning out to try to contain the growing blazes in the drought-stricken state. over 5,000 homes are at risk and more than 12,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate. >> there is veteran firefighters out there. 30 plus-year veteran firefighters are saying they have never seen fire behavior like this opinion it's beyond extreme. >> to make matters worse, lightning strikes are setting off new fires daily. a manhunt is under way right now following the shooting death after police officer in memphis, tennessee. 33-year-old officer shawn bolton was shot several times while making a traffic stop. despite a bulletproof vest he was announced dead at the hospital. police believe shooter is wilburn. the police officer on the scene called for help frantically.

>> a warrant for first-degree murder has been issued for wilburn's arrest. he is considered armed and dangerous. a 9-year-old bat boy who was hit in the head by a player taking a swing has died. kaiser carlile was retrieving a bat from home plate when he was accidentally hit in the head by a batter taking practice swings in the on-deck circle. kaiser was wearing a helmet at the time and it happened during warm-up for the national world series congress baseball game on saturday. the bj's team of southwest kansas announced his death. they learned of kaiser's death after their game on sunday. president obama is calling it the biggest important step we have taken to combat climate change. he will unveil his plan today. it's an initiative aimed at

limiting the amount of carbon that power plants cough up during the year and the white house released this video. >> power plants are are the biggest single source of the harmful pollution that contributes to climate change but as of now no amount of how much that plant dumps into the air. think about it. >> the senator and presidential candidate ted cruz railed against the decision yesterday. speaking before conservatives headed up by industrialists and charles and david koch. he down plaidyed the president's warning on climate change. >> senator cruz, is the president exaggerating? >> is there a different word than exaggerating that i might use. here are the facts. if you look it the satellite data in the last 18 years, there's been zero recorded warming. >> just two weeks ago being, the

american meteorologists said this is the second warmest year on global warming. growing speculation this morning that vice president joe biden could be eyeing a presidential bid. there's reports that his late son beau was encouraging his dad to run for president before he died of brain cancer. now josh alcorn will play the groundwork for a potential presidential bid as the biggest week for the 2016 so far gets started tomorrow night with a republican debate. tracie potts is with us now. it is crunch time and a lot of jockeying for the last few spots. >> reporter: no question about it. we have the poll numbers showing that three out of four latinos do not like donald trump. he's at the top of the polls. on the other side you're right,

it looks like another big name the vice president could be eyes a presidential run. >> reporter: the new york times reports that joe biden is quietly testing the waters and could decide whether to run for president by accept -- september. donald trump said he's not wared about that. >> i'm looking to discuss the issues. >> reporter: including former texas governor rick perry. they've been going at it. trump tops the latest wall street journal poll with 19% followed by scott walker and jeb bush. and the latest national average perry is just outside the top ten. he's fight for the last two spots with ohio governor john kasich and new jersey governor chris christie. >> we'll see what happens. >> once you get on the stage it doesn't matter. >> i was at 1% in the national polls four years ago. >> reporter: only the top ten

will be on stage thursday night. that was tracie potts reporting. one person dead after tent was uprooted in chicago. rescuers cut holes to free people underneath. investigators are calling it a tragic accident. there is new outrage over a big game hunting. another american big game hunter is accused of illegally killing a lion in zimbabwe. wildlife officials are accusing pennsylvania doctor and bow hunter jan seski of illegally killing another lion back in april saying his guide, quote, hunted without a quota and a permit. nbc news has not been able to reach seski for comment. meanwhile, zimbabwe's government is seeking to extradite water palmer the dentist who killed cecil, the lion. it's unclear whether they will demand the same of dr. seski.

a spekts spect -- spectacular looking super cell was reported in iowa yesterday. it destroyed a few farms in the path. bill karins is here. >> you see how beautiful it was? i don't know if you had a chance to look at it. >> unless you're under it. >> not many people were in the way of it. the lightening was as good as it gets. a nice treat for those that got to see it. it's a treat because it didn't do any damage. as far as the west goes we saw how much the fires have exploded. for two reasons, a couple that started of human causes but dry-based thunderstorms and lightning that caused the fire. that added to the woes here not just california but other areas. 21 large fires burning in california. today we have red flag warnings not as large as the last couple of days. we're starting to see the temperatures drop in the west.

we've had the extreme heat. as far as the humidity today it looks like 30 to 40% through the late afternoon. when we get the hot days and low relative humidity is the most dangerous for firefighters. hot conditions for one or two more days. not as hot for the next few days. there's a little bit of relief coming here for the west for the firefighters that may need it after the stretch they've h where the heat should be for this time of year. that's wheres it. good news it looks like we're not going get very hot any time soon. temperatures at average or below

in the west. >> thank you very much bill. one of the summer's most popular food is being recalled. triple crown winner american pharoah wows them in new jersey. did tom cruise deliver at the box office? you're watching "early today."

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a natural way to power down. with melatonin plus vitamin c and other antioxidants. to work their magic while you sleep. don't just sleep, revitalize. new emergen-zzzz power down to power up. a florida man is facing charges this morning even though he tried to hide his identity from sheriff's deputies. video from inside of a patrol car caught the 20-year-old man trying to chew off his fingerprint! he was arrested for allegedly driving a stolen mercedes but a fingerprint scanner was still able to identify the man despite his desperate attempt. a russian pilot was killed after a helicopter crashed at an air show on sunday. the chopper was performing stunts when it suddenly started falling and spinning out of control and crashing to the ground. the cause of that accident is under investigation. so it's grilling season, right? but before you fire up your next cheeseburger, kraft is recalling 36,000 cases of american cheese singles.

a piece of the thin plastic wrapper has a chance of sticking to the cheese and creating a choking hazards. the facebook engineers are experimenting with enormous solar powered drones and lay zors to deliver broadbanded internet to people who have no access. the drones there have a 100 foot wingspan and designed to fly for three months at 11 miles above earth. a united states marine who lost both legs in combat has biked more than 3,000 miles across the united states. he started in california and finished in arlington, virginia. >> you go through the small towns and big cities and really just to see the patriotism warmed my heart. >> the journey helped raise money for other injured marines. a bride and groom are reliving their memories after a car crash wiped away some memories. nineteen days after the wedding, the bride was in a bad accident and lost five days of her memory

including her memory day so the couple started over. with donations, they had another ceremony almost the same as the first. let's get down to business with landon dowdy. good morning. could be a big week for the markets. jobs report could be a key indicator whether the fed will raise interest rates. they sell on friday look for economic data on income and spending and manufacturing. automakers report july sales sufficients and pickup trucks are expected to drive demands with saemsles estimated to top 17 million for the third straight month. that's something we haven't seen in 15 years. at&t rolls out a new offer days after closing the take over of direct tv. for $200 a month customers can get high definition tv and dvr service for up to four rooms and unlimited talk and text and 4 g

of data tap. the savings are only good for the first year. >> thank you. just ahedad comedian bill murray has a memorable american pharoah moment. it was a heart stopping nascar close call at pocono. we have details in sports as "early today" continues. lemen. you look well. what's new, flo? well, a name your price tool went missing last week. name your what, now? it gives you coverage options based on your budget. i just hope whoever stole it knows that it only works at progressive.com. so, you can't use it to just buy stuff? no. i'm sorry, gustav. we have to go back to the pet store. [ gustav squawks ] he's gonna meet us there. the name your price tool. still only at progressive.com. just about anywhere you use sugar, you can use splenda®... ...no calorie sweetener. splenda® lets you experience... ...the joy of sugar... ...without all the calories. think sugar, say splenda®

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this morning, on "today" actress jessica alba is feeling

the heat. her parents are complaining that the all natural sunscreen created by her company does not work. the controversy this morning on "today." now for the latest in sports i'll send it to betty nguyen. the nationals have won 18 of their last 21 games and started with these two fans dressed as umpires who had fun mimicking the home plate um. it was a tough third inning for the nats. jordan zimmerman n gave up three home runs in the span of five pitches. the mets won 5-2 to complete their first three-game sweep of the washington nationals since may of 2009. gentlemen! we are burning daylight! riders up! >> actor comedian bill murray calling the horses to the paddock yesterday at the haskell invitational. when it came down to the stretch --

>> they come to the wire and it is a rousing return for a living legend, american pharoah who wins by three! >> the triple crown winner won by two and a quarter links returning $2.20 for a $2 win bet. but it was a 1.1 million dollar payday for american pharoah and his earnings have soared to 5.5 million. the a terrifying scene at pocono brad keselowski missed his mark during a pit stop and hitting two of his own crew members. one of the tires went flying causing keselowski to serve a penalty for an uncontrolled fire and fortunately, no one was injured. he finished second despite that penalty. wow. dez bryant and tyler patmon get into a little skirmish yesterday during training camp. it happened during a drill. words were exchanged and punches were thrown! helmets were taken off! both players said, they got a little overheated.

d.c. shoe company released a video of surfing on a motor bike. did you know that was possible? for nearly two years he focussed on surfing on a motor bike. two things i never thought would mesh. i'm trying to figure out how he did that. back to you, melissa. squlnchts who made big bucks at the box office this weekend? plus, the next look at the next zoo zoolander. you're watching early "today."

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of two bottles of this other liquid. you still got it, romeo. a drop of dawn and grease is gone. all eyes every the weekend a hurricane by the time it got to the hawaiian islands. thankfully the storm has started to fall apart. it's been noticed with the center is anymore. it's quickly heading toward tropical storm status if it isn't already. winds will be about 40 miles per hour. so gusty with hit and miss rain. doesn't look like a big impact. it is the box office, "mission impossible" number one earning 56 million opinion "vacation" bringing in under 15 million and ant-man was in third

place. snoop dogg was carrying over 400,000 in cash while board ago private plane and he was stopped. the maximum amount a person can travel with undeclared in the eu is just under 11,000. italian police received about half of that money and snoop dogg was later allowed to proceed to britain and his lawyer called it an administrative infraction and said the rapper will have to pay a fine. my guess he can pay the fine easily. controversy for the funeral service for bobbi kristina brown. brown's sister left as whitney houston's sister began speaking. there is a feud between the houston and the browns. >> it has just begun. it's going to be a long drawn out thing. bobbi kristina will be laid to rest later today in new jersey.

norman lear spoke about a remake of "country day at a time." it will center around three generations of latino women. steven hawking tried to help derek understand sequel title in "zoolander." >> no, "zoolander ii." no "zoolander ii" but with roman numerals. >> i'm guessing your a "zoolander" fan? >> no. i'm not. >> i've never seen it. melissa rehberger. you're watching "early today." ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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leading the news on bbcnews.com harman crisis and army rescues 178 people. the nigerian captured and cleared several camps in the northern state. of those three, 101 were children and 67 were women. according to amnesty international at least 2,000 girls were kidnapped by boko haram since the start of 2004. lamborghini is a regular site in this neighborhood. but residents complain their drivers make too much noise especially at night. they plan to introduce a public space protection order and prevent the revving of engines and loud music.

fun if you're driving a car. not fun if you're a neighbor. other stories we're following today. secretary of state john kerry is in qatar with talks with official from the persian gulf whose countries are suspicious about a nuclear deal with iran. it comes on the heels of meetings kerry had with officials on sunday in egypt. the international olympics committee said it will order testing for the waters in brazil where athletes will complete in next year's olympics games. it comes after sewage and waste were reported in the water where the events are scheduled to take place. explosions at two churches rocked the community of las cruz, new mexico, over the weekend. they say an improvised explosive device exploded just after 8:00 a.m. sunday at this church and

another went off another church three miles away went off. the police and atf are all investigating. a florida man has quite a tale. after reeling in a 400 pound fish. ben chancesy was on a paddle board when he made the huge catch. he spent 20 minutes wrestling with the seven foot goliath grouper before he was able to measure it and release it. chancy told nbc news he had never even been on a paddle board before this day. i don't believe it. i can't even stand on a paddle board. president obama will address the mandela washington fellowships which is a flagship program of the president's young african leaders initiative. i'm melissa rehberger.

thank you for watching "early today" have a great one.

the latest on the suspect and an officer rushed to the hospital. =laura/vo= california on fire. thousdof firefighters on tront lines btling fb breaking news, a a police shootout in the streets of oakland. the latest on the suspect. california on fire. . thousands of firefighters on the front lines battling flames burning across california. the biggest, the rocky fire north of the bay area. and another mystery on a bay area beach. a a third dead whale in the last few months. scientists are trying to figure out why. good morning. thank you for joining us. >> i'm laura