Im paige hopkins. While many of us are preparing for the weekend, firefighters in Northern California are battling a rapidly growing wildfire near Yosemite National park. Its called the rim fire and it grew exponentially overnight now covering about 54,000 acres up from 16,000. And just 24 hours earlier, highway 120 year yosemite was shut down but the park itself remains open and mostly smokefree. On thursday, governor jerry brown issued a state of emergency and that declaration frees up money and resources for the 1800 firefighters on the ground. So far nine structures have been damaged. 2500 remain threatened. Now overseas to syria where more horrific images are emerging of what Syrian Rebels are calling a mass chemical attack. But the claims still not verified. If these reports are true it would be an outrageous and flagrant escalation of use of chemical weapons by the regime. So our focus is on nailing down the facts. The vicious civil war is now in its third year. More than 100,000 are dead and nearly 2 million refugees. Nbcs ayman moyhedin joins us from cairo. What are the latest developments. If you thought the situation in syria couldnt get any worse, today the country has reached another sad milestone. According to unicef, more than half of the countrys refugees are children. That means out of the 2 Million People who have escaped that countrys fighting nearly 1 million are children. And on top of that, out of the 100,000 that have been killed in that conflict, 7,000 are children. So it gives you a sense of how dire the situation has become for many children and families in syria. Against that backdrop, the International Community remains divided over what to do regarding alleged use of chemical weapons that have emerged in recent days. Russia and china are blocking measures to try and punish the Syrian Regime or sanction the Syrian Regime but the United Nations says it is time for the Syrian Government to allow inspectors that are already on the ground inside syria to visit this location where the alleged chemical weapons attack took place. Meanwhile, here in egypt, it is friday. The Muslim Brotherhood which have come under tremendous amount of pressure in recent weeks with so many of their Senior Leaders being arrested, killed or on the run, are calling for a nationwide protest. Today will be a major test for that group to see whether or not it still has any kind of street momentum if it can bring out the large crowds it used to bring out in the past. That is all going to be a major test for the group and a test for the Security Services who in the past have demonstrated a zero tolerance approach to the kind of civil disopedeience or protest that have crippled this country in the past two years since the militarybacked government here declared emergency law. Ayman, thanks. San diego mayor bob filners fate is sealed in a tentative agreement and hell reported the resign although thats not confirmed until a City Council Closed Door meeting this afternoon. It comes after three days of mediation for a Sexual Harassment lawsuit brought by a former aide. At least 17 women have come forward to accuse the mayor of inappropriate contact. Filner has admitted to disrespecting and at times intimidating women. He recently finished a twoweek stint in therapy. Just one year after Christian Bale finished his role as the caped crusader, a new actor has been cast in the part. Ben affleck has been chosen to play batman in the upcoming man of steel sequel. Its not the first time affleck will be putting on superhero tights. He starred in the 2003 bomb daredevil and played superman in a 2006 film hollywoodland. While we wait for that picture we have some incredible images to show you from arizona this morning. A massive dust storm swept across yuma on thursday. The storm was part of a larger system in that area. That system brought down power lines leaving some 12,000 homes in the dark. Meteorologist bill karins joins us now. If you watch it it gets darker, too. Theres a big brunt of it. It just goes pitch black. Is it just like sand pouring down on you. Winds come out of the thunderstorms as they die and they move along the ground and just pick up all the dust and particles. Its just literally the gust front of the winds coming at you. Pretty cool. Some interesting stuff in the forecast. The Desert Southwest is getting a lot more moisture and more rain flooding likely by the end of the weekend. Even a lot of areas of rain and wet weather through the rockies. Heres a picture from colorado. This is near littleton. Thats a car stuck in the hail. Literally hail was covering the ground. The snow plow had to come to get that vehicle out. Pretty incredible. Lets talk about the rain. Needles, california. Mojave desert. One of the driest places. Picked up an inch of rain last night. Doesnt sound like much to a lot of people around the country. But that is literally about 25 of their annual rainfall. This is one of the driest places there is. Significant rains in that region. We could have more coming your way. That rain is dispalting as it heads into areas of nevada and utah today. Still the moisture funneling to the north. Now a tropical depression down there in the pacific. And all that moisture is going to move up into sunday, monday into areas of arizona, possibly Southern California with possibilities of significant rains in areas that dont get a lot. Thats a look at story, is the and the wet weather headed your way. Ill take a closer look at that weekend forecast coming up. But they dont get a lot of rain in those areas. Its a big deal when it happens. Thanks, bill. Its been 50 years since dr. Martin luther king jr. Delivered his i have a dream speech. Yet americans remain deeply divided over just how color blind our country is today. Details next. Heading into the fifty anniversary of martin luthening king jr. s i have a dream speech, the majority of white americans believe weve become a color blind society. But only 20 of africanamericans say we are color blind. Nbcs rehema ellis reports on the impact of dr. Kings legacy and what it means to young people today. At the city pool in cincinnati, ohio, these kids will tell you, they are living part of dr. Kings dream. We can all play together and drink the same water, go to the same water fountain. Without him, we would never be able to do that. We really hope that one day that everybody can just be treated equally and fairly and no discrimination. You three are . On a hot summer day we got nine Young Students age 12 to 16 years old to talk about a way of life in america that theyve never known. A time when hundreds of thousands marched on washington for jobs and freedom. And Martin Luther king jr. Rallied the nation to change peacefully. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plain of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protests to degenerate into physical violence. Reporter 50 years later, dr. Kings i have a dream speech resonates with these kids, and it forms the bulk of what they know about him. Even though none of them has heard the whole speech or studied his life in depth, they still have strong opinions about the man and his legacy. On restraint. He was a nonviolent leader. And that took a lot out of him to be physically hit and touched and not to react in a way. And i dont think i would be able to do that. I would want to know how he could take all that punishment and all the anger people took out on him and how he could keep going. Reporter and why dr. King is important. I never experienced a racial incident. Ive never been through that. He made it possible for me to go to a privileged school. Reporter on equality. Do you think everybody is equal and treated the same . Sometimes. Sometimes not. Depends on where they are. Reporter if dr. King were here today, what would you say to him . I would just say thank you. Because i appreciate all the things he has done for us. I would say thank you as well because one of my best friends is an africanamerican and without his help, it wouldnt have been possible. I would just love to hear him speak. Free at last, free at last, thank god almighty, we are free at last. Love to see him in action and participate in what hes doing. And to support that. Reporter a new century of dreamers living what dr. King hoped. That 1963 would not be an end, but a beginning. Rehema ellis, nbc news, cincinnati. Other stories in the news this friday morning nbc news has confirmed that George Zimmerman visited a florida gun manufacturer on thursday. In this photo, zimmerman is reportedly in the cal Tech Assembly plant. Its the merchandiser of the gun he used to kill Trayvon Martin last year. Thursday morning Bradley Manning announced he wants to live as a woman known as chelsea manning. He intends on beginning hormone therapy while in prison. That may be a difficult task, though. A spokesperson for the military prison says the army does not provide hormone therapy. Antoinette tuff, the woman who calmed down a gunman received a call from president obama to thank him. I got something back. The best president in the world. No, thats me. You cant get any better when you have a great leader in front of you. And two people were arrested after beating up and pistol whipping a Dunkin Donuts employee who got their order wrong. Other employees were able to jump in and break up that fight. We turn to cnbcs courtney reagan. Good morning, paige. The s. E. C. s chairman plans to meet with the heads of the New York Stock Exchange in the wake of the trading glitch that shut down trading at the nasdaq on thursday. Nasdaq ceo tells the wall street journal markets need to be held to higher standards. This is just the latest glitch thats undermined Investor Confidence in the final markets. In football season hasnt started yet, unfortunately, but were already thinking about the super bowl. Fox says it sold 85 of the ads for the game. 30second spots are going for more than 4 million. And treasury secretary jack lew is urging congress to raise the debt ceiling. Lawmakers cant afford to wait until the last minute again. The u. S. Is expected to hit the Borrowing Limit this fall. According to bloomberg, more americans brew folgers at home than any other coffee bround. Rounding out the top brands are Maxwell House at number two followed by Green Mountain and starbucks. Country singer luke bryan is cashing in big time with his latest album soaring to the top of the billboard 200 and 527,000 sold in its first week. Katy perry hitting pay dirt scoring her biggest digital song debut of her career with roar. Perry will perform at sundays mtv video music awards. Straight ahead, your friday sports highlights are next. Now lets get the latest in sports. How about some thursday night football . The new England Patriots get an old fashion beating by the detroit lions. Tom brady passes and its a fumble. Detroit snatches the ball close to the five. In the second quarter, brady throws a pick straight to chris houston. Lions win, 409. Yikes. To the ravens and panthers. Check out this incredible punt return for the 54yard touchdown. Ted ginn jr. Then joe flacco throws, oops, interception, for a touchdown. Panthers win, 3427. You see that shirt rg3 is wearing . It cost him 10 ground. Griffin was fined during warmups for apparel violation. They are required to wear approved apparel for their respective teams. And in baseball, Milwaukee Brewers ryan braun released a statement apologizing for using banned substances. He admits taking performance enhancing drugs during his 2011 National League mvp season. On to the rockies and phillies. Impressive catch by philadelphias darryn rush. Check out that focus and athleticism. Phillies win, 54. In pga golf, the barclays tournament, so something you definitely dont get to see every day. Scott browns ball bounces off a bridge and rolls onto the green for a tapin eagle. A very lucky shot or is he just that good . Oh, the trials and tribulations of being an over 7 feet tall nba star. Roy hibbard shared this video of him struggling in an airplane bathroom. While this is bizarre, bill cower, the broadcaster and super bowl winning coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers is featured in his girlfriend queen v. s music video. It appears hes wearing some eye makeup and standing by her side during a heated chess match wearing tattered clothes. Looking good, bill. Just ahead, Jimmy Buffett reels in a big one. And one of the most bizarre john lennon stories weve heard in a very long time. Youre watching early today. Time for your weekend forecast. The most interesting weather is going to be taking place down here in the baja of california and moving up into arizona. A lot of moisture. The most weve seen throughout this monsoonal season will be heading northwards. Should have a flash flooding potential. A little on saturday. But i think sunday is probably the target date. Sunday, sunday night, into monday. Could sneak some of that into california, too. Maybe even all the way as far as to san diego. Some chances of rain in your forecast sunday into monday. So well watch that. These areas need a little bit of wet weather. They are in a longterm drought. We just dont like to get the flooding along with it. In entertainment news, there arent any sure bets at the box office, but Focus Features could have a sleeper hit on its hand. The team behind shawn of the dead and hot buzz are hoping for another cult classic with the scifi comedy, the worlds end. Who would have ever imagined this. A john lennon tooth sold at an auction for 30,000 could be a stepping stone to cloning the rock icon. Yes you heard me correctly. The molar was once a family heirloom belonging to a housekeeper. But now the new owner hopes a combination of Genetic Technology and dna can bring back the beatles front man. We can bring back worse people. Youre right. Good point. Jennifer lopezs east Hampton Estate was broken into. The pop star wasnt home at the time. The accused stalker stayed in her pool house for six days. He was arrested after grounds workers finally called police. Thank goodness. A kentucky movie owner is refusing to serve up lee daniels the butler to moviegoers. Jane fonda appears in it movie as nancy reagan. He calls her a traitor and has never forgiven her antivietnam war campaign which included a visit to the vietcong and hanoi. Jimmy buffett didnt let the big one get away. The rocker reeled in a 350pound, 74inch tuna. While fishing off the waters near nantucket. Its fitting for buffett since hes also producing the Broadway Musical big fish. I dont know. This is sketchy now. How . Its helping to promote his show. I didnt even think of that. I didnt even think of that. Jimmy buffett wouldnt do that to us, would he . Im not sure but speaking of performers, one direction, Biggest Group now. They are performing in the plaza right here at rockefeller center. Bill, this is what you have to look ford when your girls hit 13, 14. Theyve all been lined up since yesterday. I can barely get in the building this morning at 30 a. M. Biggest crowd of the summer for the concert series. Easily. Amazing. Amazing. They are white hot. That is for sure. I guess your girls are too young to be into i have about four or five more years until i get into that. Enjoy it. Ill be the dad with the one direction shirt with the girls on the shoulders. This is early today. We hope its just your first stop on the day on nbc. Leading the news in this mornings chicago tribune, chicago settles a 100,000 parking ticket case for less than 4,500. A womans exparked her car where fines grew and theeal was worked out. In the new york times, in hamptons again, clintons get to work on their vacation. Between relaxing and meeting the locals, Hillary Clinton gets down to work writing her memoir as secretary of state. And topping our news, more horrific images of what could be the latest violence in claims of deadly Chemical Attacks in syria. This these u. N. Says the amount of child refugees has topped 1 million. 75 under the age of 11. Here at home, president obama kicks off the second day of his College Affordable tour. He explained his ratings system that would allow congress to tie student aid to school value. There arent a lot of things more important than making sure people get a good education. That is key to upward mobility. That is key to a growing economy. That is key to a strong middle class. And the president thursday called antoinette tuff to thank her for talking down a gunman at an atlanta Area Elementary School earlier this week. She is being hailed as a hero. Apparently you really can race anything because a group of people from all around algeria came together and raced one of the most prized possessions, the camel. That race allows owners to gauge camels from different regions. The top 15 finishers received prizes. But the winner said his real wealth is really his camel. I didnt see them gallup. I thought they just moved slowly across the desert. Youve been on a camel, right . Have you ever been on a camel . Just at a fair. Thats more than i can say. Time for a look ahead. I actually believed you. You need to get out more. The redeem the dream summit in the Nations Capital today. Congressman max ooeine waters a Jesse Jackson will remember the march on washington. And the u. S. Postal Service Releases a new stamp today. Well have to wait and see the stamp image chosen to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic civil rights march. Happy birthday to kobe bryant. Hes 35. Singer Rick Springfield turns 64. Cant believe that. And barbara eden of i dream of genie is 82. Heres whats coming up on the today show. A today exclusive as matt lauer talks with Nancy Kerrigan about the infamous attack that changed her life. And a hugely popular band one direction performs live on the plaza. Dont miss it. Keep it right here for more news, weather and sports. Im paige hopkins. Thanks for watching early today. Have a good one. Scary. Another day of people being forced from their homes in yosemite as the rim fire continues to spread out of control. We have the latest on the conditions now. Three attacks in one month. Well have the latest on a Sexual Assault that has Police Questioning if there is a connection. Remembering the dream. As we approach the 50th anniversary of dr. Martin luther king, juniors historic speech, a bay area woman recalls what it was like to see it firsthand. A live look over san francisco. You can see the bay bridge there dancing in the early morning
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