this morning on early today, signs of hope. battered california firefighters may finally be getting some relief from mother nature. baton beating. dash cam video captures police officers pounding away at a suspect pulled over in texas. and firedp. the daring hit the streets of el salvador, tossing fireballs in a the daring hit the streets of el salvador, tossing fireballs in a decades old tradition. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i m christina brown. today we begin with beating the heat. with the help of cooler temperatures and higher humidity, firefighters made significant progress against the massive wildfire raging near los angeles. still, despite making headway, fire officials warn the fight is still far from over. nbc s jay gray has the latest. reporter: this morning begins better than any of the last nine for teams battling the massive station wildfire. and we have a substantial increase in containment. we will show tod