good morning. danger zones. severe storms and flooding in the nation's midsection. a mudslide in washington state. dangerously hot weather across the south and now a tropical disturbance swirling in the caribbean could be set to take aim at the u.s. we are tracking it all. police misconduct. two officers involved in policing the protest in ferguson, missouri suspended over something they said as the community tries to come together in the wake of the michael brown shooting. and field of dreams. las vegas squaring off in the little league world series as the boys put it on the line. we take you there live for all the excite maryland, today, saturday 23rd, 2014.

announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with lester holt and erica hill. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a saturday morning. i'm lester holt. >> i'm alongside jenna wolfe. we have precious cargo on this set. >> we do. >> we do. who is the precious cargo. >> i was like are you pregnant? yeah. >> what are you trying to do to me. >> you have five children? >> three, you have two. >> i have two. >> i'm going to bring up the rear with one. i am expecting my second. thank you very much. we are not doing that. she is guesting here. she has no idea what she's talking about. it's wonderful news, we are so,

so excited. >> we are going talk more about it later. coming up, we have been keeping a close eye on a high profile murder case in texas. the man who killed his two sons. emotions are running high on all sides of the case. we'll have the latest. >> we are going switch gears. two small businesses were weeks away from going out of business. we brought in an expert to try to turn things around. how are they doing now, this morning? we'll get the answer. we want to begin with the severe weather threat facing a huge section of this country. maria is watching it all. good morning. >> good morning. a lot is happening. itis been an intense 24 hours. this is the scene in kansas. the clouds showed residents that storm was coming, bringing with it the heavy rain, major, major flooding. this is cheyenne county,

colorado. many contending to hail that came down very, very quickly. check out the scene in north central washington state. mudslide after rains in that area. one home knocked off its foundation. still incredibly active now. let's start with that. we have the same area, they are calling it with ring of fire. above the ridge of high pressure, a string of storms. that is going to continue. a lot of lightning and heavy rainfall. on top of that, it is on the move. we are going to continue to see a rain producer. can we talk about the snow on the map? winter weather advisories for montana. three to six inches of snowfall 6,500 feet. it's a problem for campers. we have three to six inches of rain expected. lester? >> thanks, we'll get the rest of the forecast in a moment. now, the latest in ferguson, missouri. the town torn apart after the

shooting death of a teenager. they tried to come together with the starlet of a high school football season. two officers in the area are now in trouble themselves for alleged bad conduct. ron allen has more on that, good morning. >> good morning to you, lester. the streets where there have been so much violence, but once again quiet overnight. today, two officers have been suspended because of a comment they made related to the protest as the community tries to move past two traumatic weeks. the north stars determined to win under friday night lights. >> get your head in the game. >> reporter: the team from ferguson that struggled to practice, their season in doubt because of the unrest. >> i'm hoping it's the first -- >> reporter: now, in the aftermath of the protest, two police officers find themselves in trouble. dan page on duty in ferguson for

making comments in 2012 that appeared on youtube that the department found offensive, including referring to his military service. >> i have killed a lot. if i need to, i'll kill a bunch more. >> the chief suspended the officer and apologized. nearby, the officer is accused of making these comments on facebook. i'm sick of the protesters, you are a burden on and great, thugs all in one place. >> it was concerning, shocking to us. we would have never thought one of our police officers would have made such posts. >> reporter: earlier, an officer was suspended after pointing a semi-automatic at protesters. they will determine weather he faces charges for shooting and killing michael brown and investigators looking into whether civil rights were

violated. ferguson hopes it has turned a page. volunteers set up open air markets under a blistering sun. >> you got it? >> reporter: food, water, essential items. >> they bring this stuff here. it's way too crazy. i don't want to leave. >> reporter: some boarded up businesses are coming back to life. at red's barbecue, they moved the grill outside. >> we might be down, but not out. >> reporter: something of a campaign to show the world there's more here than anger and rage. this morning, police say they made zero arrests. everyone knows the investigations will take time and there are many challenging and emotional days ahead, especially monday when the brown family lays their son to rest. lester? >> ron allen, thank you. now, the battle to the isis terror group in the wake of the

murder of journalist james foley. president obama weighs whether to widen the campaign. covering the developments, kristin welker is traveling with the president. good morning. >> andrea, good morning to you. international anger mounts over the death of james foley. the obama administration is considering expanding military operations from iraq to neighboring syria. while the u.s. continues the campaign of air strikes in iraq aimed at slowing isis militants, the white house says the execution of james foley was a direct hit against america. >> it's a terrorist attack against our country. >> reporter: isis has grown stronger in recent months. u.s. officials are saying they may expand the military campaign in syria where isis is thriving.

>> we are not going to be restricted by borders. we have shown time and again if there's a counterterrorism threat, we'll take action as necessary. >> reporter: the military options as the pressure mounts on the president. lawmakers, including some democrats are calling for air strikes in syria. >> can they be defeated without addressing that part of their organization? the answer is no. >> reporter: mr. obama who vowed to end the wars in iraq and afghanistan has been criticized for not launching air strikes in syria where a war is raging. many americans don't the appetite to engage in foreign conflict. isis headquarters is based in syria. as long as that stands, the terrorist group will continue to grow. >> we might not be attacked today or tomorrow. the threat is there in the future.

>> reporter: u.s. officials say they are reaching out to their european allies and partners in the region. in a washington post op-ed they said it's up to them to form a coalition. this is a fight in iraq with the help from america and the world can and must win. we have a stake in empowering a terrorist state from taking root in the middle east. back to you. >> kristin welker, traveling with the president, thank you. the man seen killing james foley in the haunting video, he might be british. ke keir simmons is follow thag story. >> reporter: they are narrowing down the list of suspects as they work to identify the man. the voice on the tape highlighting european nationals are fighting with syria and iraq. people who could easily travel

to the u.s. isis has many thousands of fighters. british and american intelligence. the man who holds a knife in his left hand and appears to have a british accent, james foley's killer. experts will be analyzing his voice. >> security searches have data bases of voices of people they believe to be working in this area. >> reporter: one british newspaper claims to know who he might be. another says they raged the plan. lawmakers want to tackle the british jihadists. >> he thought it was necessary to leave this country and go fight in iraq and syria. >> reporter: more than 500 british citizens are zest mated to have joined isis. many more from europe. recruitment in the uk.

>> there's something wrong with our society. >> reporter: the vast majority of muslims oppose isis, a message repeated at friday prayer. isis videos reveal fighters who traveled to syria and iraq from the uk. >> the muslim community here needs to come out and, in many ways, rise up against these people. >> reporter: leaving questions about why they don't and why british authorities seem unable to stop them. there have been many attempts to stop the radicalization of young, british muslims. the question is why it hasn't worked well enough or effectively enough, lester, to prevent the killer of james foley being a british extremist. lester? >> thanks. adam ship is a member of the

house committee and evans a terrorist analyst for the department of defense and fbi. good morning to both of you, thanks for coming on. >> congressman, when the u.s. began air strikes in iraq, it was for humanitarian needs, to protect u.s. interest and critical infrastructure in iraq. if the air strikes expand into syria, does it essentially change the mission of the u.s. and the goal? >> it would change the mission. the mission is changing a bit already. the president originally articulated a couple goals protecting personnel as well as the genocide on the mountain top. we are now watching air strikes around the mosul dam beyond the two objectives. expanding into syria is a broadening of the mission. i don't think that's going to happen. i think he's going hear out the military commanders and what the

recommendations and options are. we don't have the same capabilities on the ground. we don't have a government to work with in syria. we don't have the same intelligence assets in syria. air strikes alone, without coordination on the ground would be limited. i think the president is unlikely to go there in the near term. >> let me go to evan about the dangers isis represents. is it in the middle east or does the u.s. need to engage them because they are a direct threat to the homeland? >> there is absolute evidence showing that isis fighters are trained in syria and coming back to europe and other western countries with the idea of carrying out terrorist attacks. we have seen one attack in brussels, an individual that shot up a jewish museum. we have seen other individuals traveling back to europe from syria, calling isis saying we want to build a bomb, how do we

build a bomb, what kind of target should we go after? very much thrks is a national security threat for the united states. for europe, it's no longer about iraq. it's important to understand this. this is not like the previous iraq war, where we chose to go into it. we have no choice if we want to defend ourselves in the long run. >> do you see isis as a national security threat beyond the borders of iraq, something we need to be concerned about? >> i do. i agree with that. the presence of all the foreign fighters, the will to come home and strike us makes us a grave risk, the most prominent since 9/11. whether the introduction of armed forces or air strikes is going to help us deal with that. without a partner on the ground, it's going to be a limited effect. so, i think we have to be careful not to be provoked by the ghastly murder of james

foley into doing things that are not productive. there are a lot of productive things we can do like getting turkey to close the border. dry up some external funding for the groups. getting friends and allies to provide humanitarian assistance. pushing isis out of iraq and containing in syria one till the dynamic on the ground changes there. these are things we can productively do. this is a threat to us on the homeland certainly in the midterm, if not the near term. >> before we close, evan, is the u.s. behind in this effort? >> before 9/11, we learned a lesson about what happens when you let a country become a haven for terrorist organizations. back then, we didn't have the resources. we didn't have resources on the ground. we didn't want to get involved. al qaeda established a base, trained people and carried out brutal attacks. right now, we have let syria

lapse into the exact same situation. right now, we know a dangerous terrorist group that is training people, heavily armed and training western, foreign fighters including on how to build explosives. to allow the situation to continue to mushroom, not just in iraq, but syria, a clear and present danger. if we leave syria alone, it's a big problem. evan, congressman, thank you. jenna is here with a look at the top stories. >> hi, everyone. trucks from a russian convoy are making their way out of ukraine after crossing the border without permission. 200 trucks rolled into eastern ukraine where fighting continues and pro-russian rebels. western countries, including the u.s. joined kiev in calling for the trucks to be removed. they were smuggling supplies to rebel fighters. russia insists they were carrying humanitarian aid.

a chinese warplane came dangerously close to a navy jet forcing them to complain to the chinese government. the jet was on the routine mission over the south china sea, about 135 miles east of the chinese island of hainan. one was less than 100 feet of separation. a wyoming police officer pleaded not guilty to an animal cruelty charge after being accused of leaving his canine partner in a hot car. he left the lab in the car more than six hours. the car was running, but the air-conditioning was off and reached 86 degrees outside. miller has been removed from active duty an the department suspended the canine program. warning more than 1,000 retailers their cash registers could be infected with malicious software. scan your systems for software known as back off.

it could cause them to steal customer information. it was identified in october but no anti-virus program until this month. mark from "saved by the bell" turned 40. hoda turned 50 and al turned 60. we have another birthday. remember bao bao? she turned 1 today. she came into the world at 4.5 ounces at the washington zoo, made a public debut. now at 40 pounds, age 1, bao bao is loving life. that is 40 pounds at age 1. that is a big baby. >> 1 is the new 6 months. >> exactly. maria la rosa is back with a check of the forecast. >> all eyes in the caribbean right now. the atlantic has been quiet with the tropics.

nothing deemed official. no tropical depression or named storm. you can see plenty of rain is happening and could be a problem with flooding. the next question is, where is it going to be headed next? the models are starting to look at it by the bahamas. the gulf or atlantic b good saturday morning, everyone. i am tedd florendo. look for cloudy skies throughout the day today and some sun breaks here and there, and there's a slight chance of showers off and on for the day today, and it won't be an entire washout, and temperatures are going to be cool, 76 for the high and that's definitely not what we get this time of the year. going to be nice for tomorrow. back to sunshine. we will warm up to the upper 80s by the end of the week. and that's a look at your weather. andrea, back to you. >> thanks. if you have a cell phone,

you might cringe when the bill arrives next month. peter alexander tells us, wireless carriers are battling for your business. you might be able to grab a great deal on your next phone. >> reporter: welcome to the wild woorld of wireless. they are at war for your business. in washington, d.c., jordan smith's cell phone contract expires today. he'll shop around for a new and better deal. chances are, he'll find one. nice to be fought over? >> every day. i wish more people would fight over me. >> reporter: sprint is offering unlimited minutes, text and data for 60 bucks. the same plan on t-mobile is $80. several carriers are offering to cover the cost to switch companies and no contracts. the challenge is simple. everyone who needs a phone has one. that leaves them with one option to grow, luring customers from rivals. that's good news for your

wallet. >> my plan as low as $40. consumer reports says the average customer is paying half of what they did five years ago from 100 buck as month to 50. how does it work? >> one, they are driving prices down. two, they are making the bills easier to decipher because they separated the phone from the service and three, the contracts are disappearing. >> reporter: you need to think before you sign up. customers can keep the same number, but you may have to pay for a new phone. you have to do your homework. they make it hard to compareson shop. >> reporter: make sure the carrier has good service where you love. after all, if you can't hear me now, what good is a cheaper plan? peter alexander, nbc news, washington. the girl who wouldn't admit

to eating a sweet treat. first, this is "today" on nbc.

you know the saying, caught red handed? have you heard this one? caught chocolate mouthed? >> it's funny when kids deny doing something wrong. i do it with shopping. especially when the evidence is on their faces. jenna is in the orange room with a doughnut denial that's gone viral. >> my kid can't talk yet, much less lie about doing something, but i am fully prepared for it. this sweetheart denies she ate a chocolate doughnut even when her mom flat out asks her, did you eat a chocolate doughnut? >> i did not. >> you did not eat what? >> not a chocolate doughnut.

>> you did not eat a chocolate doughnut? >> yeah. >> are you sure? >> no. >> did you eat a chocolate doughnut? >> yeah, i love it. >> you love it? but did emma eat one? >> she goes on to blame her brother. she blames her brother, right? i guess ben pushed it in my mouth. i believe her, that's the thing. i guess ben pushed it in her mouth. >> jenna, did you eat it? >> she said she's eating a doughnut. we don't eat them in the morning. i totally, 100% believe her. if you got busted or busted your kid in the act, send in your videos. i don't know what this was about. nobody did anything wrong between emma and myself. i thought i would tell you that. >> i can't ever imagine you eating a doughnut. the fact you licked some of

that. >> come back to me. bring the camera here. let me show you what happened. look who' good morning, everyone. 7:26 on your saturday. let's get straight to your forecast with tedd florendo. we have rain in the area? >> that's right, seeing it in the north and west suburbs and it's slowly starting to drift in the region right now. a few rain drops as we look off in the horizon. look at the cloudy skies and not too many sun breaks for the day today. radar shows showers slowly drifting to the southeast and most areas will start to see rain drops here, and we are seeing the rain drops coming down in berks county and lehigh. 76 degrees and mostly cloud we with a chance of showers in the afternoon. a philadelphia man is still in the hospital this morning after being shot by his 78-year-old mother.

it happened on mcmahon street in germantown. the 35-year-old man was shot in the stomach. there was some type of altercation between mom and son that lived together and they believe the son may have pulled a gun first because she fired a gun of her own. a rally will be held today calling for justice in the case of a man murdered outside the dell music center earlier this month. he was gunned down outside the music center that was holding a concert for peace at the time. police are looking for the man in this surveillance photo. it's taken from a camera outside the music center. they are calling him a person of interest in the case. and then today a gun buyback. you get $10 for bb guns or air guns, and it begins at 10:00

a.m. we will be back with another update in half an hour. now back to the "today" show.

we are back on a saturday morning, it's august 23rd, 2014. the crowd pick add good morning to join us. it's supposed to be a beautiful weekend here in new york. when haven't we had a beautiful weekend? thanks to them for waking up this morning. they almost make the sport look easy. we'll talk to the stars of the little league series including las vegas and chicago. they are total rock stars. pat o'brien had a successful career in television for decades. he also battled drugs and alcohol. he will tell us about that and how he finally overcame his demons. it's been six months since we met the owners of two small

businesses struggling to stay open. we are going to check in with them. let's begin with an emotional criminal trial playing out in a texas courtroom. a father accused of murdering the drunk driver who killed his two young sons. it's drawing a big reaction on social media. >> reporter: an emotional woman watched every moment of her husband's murder trial from the front row of this texas courtroom. their two young sons were killed in 2012 when a drunk driver plowed into a truck on the side of the road. >> i still blow them kisses. i can't let them go. >> reporter: prosecutors say minutes after the crash, david shot and killed the man behind the wheel. his mother, maria, has been in court every day. >> i want justice for my son.

>> reporter: he deserved to be punished for what he did, but should not have been executed. >> hope you get justice and we get peace of mind. david has thousands of people rushing to his defense on social media. one comments i stand with david because i would have done the same thing. he denies being the shooter, pleading not guilty. the family arguing he was desperately trying to save his children, not go after the killer. cindy is relying on faith and compassion. >> there's no love like a mother's love. that's why i can feel for the other family. there's no bringing back. we have all lost. the only thing we can do is move forward. you know? find peace. >> reporter: no matter the outcome here, neither family can claim victory, only unimaginable loss. for "today," halle jackson, nbc news, alvin, texas. >> thank you.

let's get a check of the weather maria la rosa is in for dylan this morning on the plaza with the forecast. >> it's humid out here, but we have a great crowd. it's hot in texas right now. >> it is hot. >> it's a big story we are following across the country. let's get you prepared for today and the weekend. one big story on top of that heat, the severe weather, the flooding, the rain. the plains and the rockies. you are not seeing things, three to six inches of snow above 6,500 feet in portions of montana. heads up for campers there. talk about summer, we would love a break from the heat. these are actual temperatures. 100s. the heat index 105 to 110. the northeast, below average. keeping pittsburgh and new york cloudy. high temperatures into the 60s and 70s. down to the south, still another day of heat. tomorrow, also heads up across

the california beaches. high surf because of lowell, a tropical system could be looking at waves from 10 to 15 feet. heads up to the surfers out there. good sat morning. i am meteorologist, tedd florendo. look for khoudy skies for the day today and some breaks of sun here and there, and there's a slight chance of showers off and on for the day today but not an entire washout, and temperatures are going to be cool. 76 degrees for the high. that's definitely not what we get this time of year. we will warm up to the upper 80s by the end of the week. . and everybody this is andrea. andrea, back to you. >> hello, so glad you are here today. maria, thank you. just ahead, pat o'brien and

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nearly every make and model all in one place. carmax. start here. we're back on a saturday morning with a man who on the surface seemed to have it all. pat o'brien had a family, successful career and access to some of the biggest names in hollywood. his struggle with alcohol nearly caused him to lose everything. now, six years sober, he's written about the ups and downs of his life. we wrote a memoir called "i'll be back after this." >> thank you. i didn't lose it all. i got it back. you and i traveled across the world together. >> you and i go back. here is the one thing that struck me. i picked up the book thinking it's going to be about your journey and struggle with alcohol and drugs. there's this guy that's had incredible life. you bring name dropping to a new

level. golf with tiger woods. >> right. frank sinatra told me never to name drop. so, but, when you are around this long, you are going to meet some people and i try to put as many really good stories in there. by the way, the book is the history of sports, politics and there's a lot of stuff in there. there's a lot of good stories in there. >> you write a lot about the alcohol addiction. you were too grandiose to believe it could happen to you. you were in denial. when did the denial begin? >> shut up, i wasn't grandiose. alcoholics are the biggest health problem in the country. when you are an alcoholic, a full-blown alcoholic, you lie to yourself. you drank with me, he's fine, by the way. you lie to yourself and say i can keep drinking. that's what i did. it's a disease. you tend to lie. you tend to not be honest.

but, in a position of recovery, you learn how to deal with that. alcoholism. the ism part is the hard part, getting rid of the resentment, fear, shame and remorse. >> did you draw lines? i don't recall thinking you were drunk at the time. >> i never drank when i worked. when i was cleared, you know the feeling, i keep trying to drag him into this. you are fine. when they said you are clear, i would drink. i drank because, you know, to me, it was medicine. that's what alcoholics do, they medicate themselves. >> you write about it in 2008. before you went to the fourth time in rehab, you flew to your beach house in nantucket. you write i told myself i was going to relax. i think about my future and how to make amends for my past. i was going there to die. do you consider yourself lucky to be alive? >> i wasn't intending to die, i

drank 12 or 13 bottles of wine in one day. fell flat on my face in my own house and was rushed at near death. that's what happens. in alcoholism and recovery, tough find that desperation. you have to stop listening to the voices in your head and fall in love with recovery. i was near death, i was. >> in this book, you single out a lot of people that helped you along the way and single out people in the business you don't have great stories about. was there something about letting it all come out, those you love, those you hate, your struggl struggles? >> our friend matt lauer said nobody would have the guts to write this book. i wrote about people in the entertainment business. we all spent our careers destroying people's lives. every thing we pick up on and make it bigger. i pick on a few people. you pinch them and they get more

angry. >> we'll hear from them. >> i have heard from them, they are fine. >> great to see you. six years sober? >> six years, yeah. >> the book is "i'll be right back after this." up next, we check in with two small businesses who were once on the brink of shutting down. how are they i guess i never really gave much thought to the acidity in any foods. never thought about the coffee i was drinking having acids. it never dawned on me that it could hurt your teeth. my dentist has told me your enamel is wearing away, and that sounded really scary to me, and i was like well can you fix it, can you paint it back on, and he explained that it was not something that grows back, it's kind of a one-time shot and you have to care for it. he told me to use pronamel. it's gonna help protect the enamel in your teeth. it allows me to continue to drink my coffee and to eat healthier, and it was a real easy switch to make.

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this morning on "today's" main street make over, we are checking in with two small businesses that were struggling to make ends meet. they were both weeks away from closing for good until our expert came in and made big changes for them. now, six months later, their futures are looking a lot brighter. erica has the update. >> reporter: in just six months, veach's toy station has come a long way.

>> people remark every day how much more open it is. the shelves are lower. they can see their children in another aisle. >> reporter: gone are the jam packed shelves and dingy walls that defined this main street staple. >> i thought oh my gosh. it's one big mess. >> reporter: replaced with bright, engaging displayed and hands-on experience. >> bring the play mobile to the front, the books in the back and create a story with the displays. >> reporter: part of the plan to rescue the 75-year-old business, which had been struggling for years. change is never easy. >> has it been stressful? >> yes. overwhelming. >> reporter: the change is paying off. sales are up more than 10%. getting there has forced the veach's to make tough decisions. >> we cut areas that we weren't making money in. hard to let go of the train department. we are not downsizing, we are

right sizing it. >> first of all, they had to engage the community. secondly, telling great stories inside the store and third, they are buying the right product. >> reporter: you were worried about the future. >> there's a clear vision on where we are taking it. that's exciting. >> reporter: big things are happening in nashville, too. sales at the food truck are on fire. success that has shifted carl and sarah's dreams of a restaurant into high gear. six months ago, you didn't know if you were going to make it six weeks. now we are on the patio of your future restaurant. >> overwhelming and amazing. >> very humbling to think where we have come in a short amount of time. we are going to carry it -- >> reporter: it is set to open this fall promising the soul of their food truck. >> you are not selling food.

you are selling -- >> reporter: after meeting with martin, they tweaked the menu and made the mobile eatery a fixed destination adding brunch with local flavor. >> the best advice was define who we were. 30% above where we were last year at this time and working half as hard as we did. >> that spirit they had in their minds into the service. >> reporter: this is it. a fear they are determined to share six days a week. for "today," erica hill, nashville. >> martin, who we saw in that piece and author of "buy-ology," great to see you. you have to listen, listen, listen. >> absolutely. that's what we did here. >> you are the tough love guy. they had to listen to you. what are the biggest changes and what made the biggest impact?

>> they were petrified of losing business. what we have to do is focus. that's what they did. that focus makes them so focused on what they are saying they get the concept. >> the biscuit love food truck is spreading the love, literally. they are going to expand with a restaurant. do you think they are moving too quickly or is this a good move? >> i'm sure proud of what i'm seeing. it's amazing stuff. but, they should not skip the food truck. spread it, sprinkle it across the new restaurant so you feel the spirit of that truck when you are in the restaurant. >> they are pursuing their dreams, though. all the best to them for that. >> absolutely. >> do you think they really listened to everything you said? do you think they have done it? >> not really.

i think the veach's tried to do it. it was so hard for them. they had a mind set with so much in the past. you have to change the way of thinking. i think they got it in the end. biscuits got it right away. the sales are up 30%. >> thank you so much for helping them. what a wonderful thing that happened for them. they head to baltimore to see how one man's business is being given a second chance thanks to his hard work and passion of the community. still to come, should pregnant women stay away from eating tuna? first, this is "today" on nbc.

still ahead, a lot of folks singing "take me out to the ball game." we go live as chicago and vegas get ready for the biggest games

of their lives. plus, somebody catch that dog. the woman that a

good morning, everyone. almost 8:00 on your saturday morning. will be be a soggy saturday morning. >> soggy conditions right now for some areas, not all areas. in fact, the shore looking dry right now. but over philadelphia, getting a few rain drops passing through the region. most of the rain as you can see on the radar has been up in the lehigh valley. you are still seeing rain and now we are starting to see rain drops move into philadelphia. temperatures for the day today, cool 76 degrees with, again, a chance of showers throughout the day today. a memorial service will be held in philadelphia for a brother and sister who died of

ebola in africa. she lived in liberia, and her brother was doing work in africa and he rushed to her side and nobody knew she had ebola. and then a four-day course begins today in atlantic city teaching people how to grow marijuana. that course will be taught at bally's. the california-based company is the ones putting on the seminar. they will be using basin and rosemary to teach the course since only medical marijuana is legal in new jersey and it's $1,000 a pop. everybody that takes the course has to be at least 18. here is a breakdown of the current marijuana laws in the region. medical marijuana is legal in new jersey and delaware, and marijuana is not approved for medical purposes in

pennsylvania. we are back in half an hour with a full hour of news. we will see you then.

good morning. it's saturday, august 23, 2014. here is a look at today's top stories. danger zones. severe weather alerts for millions of people from severe storms and flooding in the middle of the country a oppressive heat in the south. we are tracking it all. police misconduct? new developments in ferguson, missouri as two police officers involved in the protest are suspended for allegedly making offensive comments. this, as community members come together to move past the protest in the wake of michael brown's shooting death. a field of dreams. a big day for the players about to go head-to-head in the little league world series. chicago and las vegas about to face-off with a chance to make

it to the final game as the nation rallies behind them all. good morning. welcome to "today." nice to have you here. >> i'm so glad to be here. i'm here for erica who is enjoying the morning off. i'm having a great time. thank you for having me. >> they all came to welcome you. >> thank you. >> anyway, we have a lot to get to. we begin with the wild weather affecting a lot of people from the south to the midwest. maria is inside tracking it all for us. >> it is a lot, guys. good morning, the severe weather expected to continue throughout the weekend. bringing with it, much more of this. heavy rain brought the flash flooding to parts of illinois. people trying to stay off the streets and out of harms way. meantime, heavy rain dropping over much of colorado. check out these storm clouds in kansas. ominous scene. that sent people inside. this was the scene in washington state when flash floods caused a huge mudslide. a home falling off its foundation and several cars

mixed up in all of that as well. the set up is there for a lot of areas to continue to see rain. we are tracking it here. you have it moving through the northern plains. billings hit hard with rain. bismarck is to the south. the set up is there. low pressure helping to lift the air. produce more rainfall. as we go through the day, bismarck to minneapolis, getting a round of storms for the overnight hours. also, yes, some snow going to be piling up, three to six inches in portions of montana. the rain is piling up. you are talking anywhere from three, four, locally more than that inches of rainfall with the thunderstorms. all to the south, that incredible, incredible heat where you have the heat advisories, that is where the heat and the combination of humidity is going to send the heat index to 105, 110 in spots. 97 in st. louis. on the thermometer. heat index at times at 108. that is unfortunately going to continue for a few days.

no sign of anything here to cut the heat short to at least early to mid next week, except if you are in athens or atlanta. yes, the advisories are in place. a cold front is going to come down. monday, into tuesday, out of the 90s. a lot of spots are able to get into the 80s. intense heat into the central plains. lester? andrea? >> as soon as we get off the air, i am going on vacation to an island. do you know where it is? >> no. >> it's next to martha's vineyard. a tiny island with one store, no restaurants. time now to go back to jenna for a look at the top stories of the day. >> good morning. hi, everyone. the streets of ferguson, missouri remain peaceful as details emerge about the grand jury in the shooting death of unarmed teen, michael brown.

the panel will determine whether he will face criminal charges in brown's death. the family is hopeful calmer nights lead to answers. >> michael brown's family is relieved the protests are peaceful and calm so we can focus on what happened to michael and focus on how we prevent it from happening in the future. >> we also learned two officers involved have been suspended from departments. dan paige was put on administrative leave after video showing him ranting about muslims. in glendale, he called protesters thugs and white trash on facebook. the killing of james foley by isis militants has the president weighing on whether to take future military action. kristin welker that has story for us. good morning. >> reporter: jenna, good morning to you.

the white house says the execution of james foley is a terrorist attack against the united states. now, it seems the u.s. calculus in the region could be changing. the administration said friday isis has grown stronger over the past six months. air strikes in seyria are a possibility. the pressure is mounting on president obama. lawmakers, including some democrats are calling for military action in syria. the president is reluctant to engage. the majority of americans don't have the appetite to engage in foreign conflict. british forces are closing in, narrowing their field of suspects in the hunt to find james foley's killer. jenna? >> thank you very much. in other news, experts are trying to find out what cause add rocket to burt into flames friday. a spokesman says the company was

testing an unmanned commercial rocket. they detected a problem and the rocket self-destructed. no injuries on the ground. if you want to take part in the ice bucket challenge, you don't want to get wet, you are pregnant and can't spike your heart rate, but you did it anyway and you were challenged by dylan, if that's your scenario, check this out. it is the ice bucket challenge halloween costume. a bucket with ice coupe embellishments and a tray. the creator said for every one sold, the profit goes toward the als. >> i was going to call it silly but, it's okay. thank you jenna. now to the warning for pregnant women when it comes to eating tuna. for years, expectant mothers were told a small amount of canned tuna is part of a healthy diet.

consumer reports says moms-to-be should skip it all together. >> reporter: they say you are what you eat, which leaves expectant moms with a lot to consider. the waters may have gotten murkier. consumer reports is going against fda and saying moms-to-be should skip canned tuna. >> don't bother. the chances of you getting a can or even a piece of tuna that is high in mercury is there. >> reporter: for years, pregnant women were told to avoid high mercury fish bike swordfish and mackerel. they considered tuna okay. even important, two to three time as week. consumer reports says they used the fda to look at the fish they consider safe in limited quantities based on average mercury levels. >> in the case of chunk-like tuna, it's concerning.

one out of five cans is twice that level. >> the national fishery institute says the magazine is doing pregnant women a disservice. in a statement, the fda says, in part, the consumer report analysis is limited and focuses exclusively on the mercury levels without the known positive benefits. both sides agree fish can be an important part of a pregnant woman's diet. >> women should not stop eating fish or seafood. there is an abundance of low mercury fish including salmon, shrimp, pollock, soul and they are safe. >> reporter: when it comes to talking tuna, there's no common ground. for "today," kristin dahlgren, nbc news, new york. >> so many things. >> i have think list. raw fish, alcohol and caffeine. most people, that's their diet.

>> i remember eating first child, a massive tuna sandwich. i was like i don't know. i did have more. the first one, i remember thinking i should check up on that. then i never ate tuna again. >> my mom ate everything on this list. not good. salmon, i think is good once a week. it's really good for the baby. >> anyway, the debate continues. lester, over to you. >> thanks. everything is on the line for two little league teams going head-to-head for the u.s. title in the little league world series. christian from wmaq is with us this morning. good morning. >> good morning, lester. this started with eight teams. two remain, chicago and las vegas. this is a rematch with las vegas winning the first showdown, 13-2. it's still anybody's game. excitement is at a fever pitch in pennsylvania. two little league teams get set for the big time, playing today

for the u.s. title with the winner advancing to tomorrow's championship. >> i think they are really good baseball players. i wish i could be like that. >> reporter: las vegas' mountain ridge, the first to play in the series. >> las vegas, so we can't wait. >> reporter: versus chicago, jackie robinson west who last made it this far 30 years ago. with his son on the team, the coach could not be more proud of this milestone. >> i'll be able to cherish it the rest of my life. >> reporter: it was the team from the windy city that held off philadelphia thursday night. the dragons featuring the most paulked about player, 13-year-old mo'ne davis with her 70-mile-per-hour fastball on the spot of sports illustrated, a first for any little leaguer. these two teams from stars of their own. chicago's 13-year-old pierce jones leads with four home runs.

for las vegas, dallan cave and brad stone played as well. >> all the boys worked so hard and sacrificed so much to get here. we couldn't be more proud of them. >> reporter: later today, they will square off on this little league field of dreams. >> they are loving it. 12 and 13-year-old boys. they are soaking it all up. >> reporter: now, both of these teams are already considered hometown heroes, win or lose from the game and their perspective cities will hold parades for them. the winner of the game will play in the little league world series against south korea or japan sunday. >> the chicago team from the south side. tell me what the reaction has been back home to their success. >> reporter: lester, every time this team plays here in willi s williamsport, they come out for it. the mayor has come out for the

games as well. chicago mayor, rahm emanuel. they are planning a parade because they are already heroes. christian, thanks for being with us. your guy is a little too young for little league. >> my two older girls from done t ball. the best part is they hit the ball. instead of running the bases, they run into the field. it's like herding cats. come back. come back. run around the bases. >> maria la rosa is back with a check of the rest of the country's forecast. >> absolutely. a lot of eyes right now on this. this is not named. nothing official tropically speaking. take a look at it. right now, a lot of flash flooding concerns over hispanola. it's coming together early on. as we go through time, toward the early part of middle next week, it' wide here.

maybe the gulf of mexico into the atlantic. widespread here. time frame wise and strengthening wise, it will be named later today or tomorrow. we'll keep an eye on this for the southeast coast. meanwhile, the rest of the country, baking in the heat under the dome of high pressure. dallas at 100, but feeling like 105 plus. on the northern fringe, the risk of flooding and severe weather. that area in red toward the dakotas. in the northeast, no sign of heat as at all. keeping things cloudy from pittsburgh to norfolk and charlotte. atlanta feeling the heat. dry, 94 with the heat good saturday morning, everyone. i am meteorologist, tedd florendo. look for mostly cloudy skies for the day today and still sun breaks here and there. there's a slight chance of showers on and off for the day today, but won't be an entire washout. temperatures are going to be

cool. 76 degrees for the high. that is definitely not what we get this time of the year. going to be nice for tomorrow. back to sunshine. it should stay that way all week. we will warm up to the upper 80s by the end of the week. and that's a look at your weather. >> maria, thanks. still to come, a run away dog in the busy of a california freeway, we'll hear from the woman who helped bring it to (door knock!love it...say bounty paper towels are the best?... they're a must.

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we are back with a real dog tale this saturday morning. we are used to the california freeway chases. this is a little unusual. >> it was, indeed. this morning, we are hearing from the hero who helped chase down the dog and get her to safety. here is nbc's joe friar. >> reporter: in a place known for televised chases, this one has truly gone to the dogs. >> everyone is doing a great job of trying to coral the dog. >> reporter: boundless energy, a panicked pooch weaved through traffic. a motorcycle lured her to the shoulder of the freeway. this pub pursuit would not end so easily. >> here we go, this might be the moment where the dog -- nope. so close.

>> reporter: tract became congested. eventually, andie ditched her car all together. >> get to her before another car hits her. >> reporter: her human touch did the trick. >> wow, that is the dog whisperer there. >> reporter: she saved the dog and took her to animal services. the result of a successful chase. they will say, we always get our man, or in this case, man's best friend. for "today," joe friar, nbc news, los angeles. >> okay, train that woman for the olympic team. >> she was high tailing down the freeway. who would believe it. of course i would have made that into a fitness story, the benefits of running. >> chasing dogs on freeways, right? >> it all ended well. fantastic. we'll be right back.

first, this is "today" on nbc.

all right, that does it for us on this saturday morning. tomorrow, a much needed make over for a corner store in baltimore. the impact not only on the store, fwu community. in the meantime, a preview of tvs biggest night. we will see you then. i'll be back here tonight for nbc "nightly news." until then, so long. we'll start looking for an suv... "fire' by firenze" "sir?" start your search online with over 35,000 carmax

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talk to your doctor and visit humira.com this is humira at work good morning, just ahead, police are investigating why a 78-year-old philadelphia woman shot her son. we are tracking showers this morning, but will those rain drops be around all day for your saturday.

i will let you know coming up. plus, grow your own. a seminar in atlantic city on how to grow your own marijuana could make serious money this weekend. if you put together angry people and plastic chairs, this is what you get. we will hear what led to this big chair battle. those stories and much more coming up next on nbc "10 nbc news today" at 8:30.

starting with this, the police are investigating an apparent gunfight between a 78-year-old woman and her son. the son is in the hospital with a gunshot wound to the stomach. this is camel beach in the poconos. they had showers move through not long ago and those showers are hanging around with mostly cloudy skies, but won't be a washout. don't cancel those saturday plans yet.

just about 8:30 on this saturday morning. let's get an explanation on the rain now with meteorologist, tedd florendo. hopefully the rain is not with us all day. >> no, it will not be. in fact we are tracking the showers right now, chris, but like you just mentioned we are not looking for heavy rain all day today, nor were we expecting any severe thunderstorms, too. that's the good news. down to cape may, it's a beautiful morning. know tuls the clouds off in the horizon, and the clouds are going to be around through much of our saturday. but we are tracking the rainfall and it has been around throughout much of the morning. let's zoom in right now to philadelphia. we are getting light rain north of the city and up north towards glenn side all the way towards burlington county, of course. light rain for you also in trenton. it has been raining all morning in the lehigh valley. it has been really coming down in portions of berks county