Monday, august 5th, 2013. From nbc news, this is today with matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. And good morning. Welcome to today on a monday morning. Im matt lauer. Im Savannah Guthrie along side natalie morales. Clearly the u. S. Intelligence officials are taking these threats very, very seriously. This morning were learning more about where theyre coming from. Lets get right to Richard Engle in cairo for us this morning. Richard, good morning to you. Reporter good morning, savannah. The u. S. Embassy behind me is closed today like so many embassies in this part of the world because of this Terror Threat which is described as specific enough to be credible yet too vague to know exactly where an attack might take place. The u. S. Has extended the closures of 15 diplomatic posts and added four more. All to remain shut, at least until the weekend. Until the muslim holy month of ramadan is over. The announcement itself may also be designed to interrupt al qaeda planning to put them off stride and put them off the bat foot and let them know were on to a portion of the plot line. Reporter intercepts credited about al qaeda militants have been discussing what a senior u. S. Officials described as a single significant event or a series of simultaneous attacks. Most likely in the middle east. No specific threat to the United States but officials couldnt rule one out either. President obama gathered his National Security team. Congressional leaders given classified briefings. Theres been a lot of chatter out there. Chatter means conversation among terrorists about the planning thats going on. Very reminiscent of what we saw pre9 11. This specific threat that we have been briefed on over and over again has reached a new level. Reporter Senior IntelligenceOfficials Say the plot originates with yemen with al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, the same group that mailed explosives in a printer to chicago. The group has a uniquely skilled bombmaker and is seeking revenge after its commander was killed last month in a drone strike. The groups leader was once bin ladens secretary and is well connected to al qaedas top leadership. In many ways its more dangerous. Now we have 2. 0 or 3. 0 which is widely dispersed a Younger Generation coming up with new ideas. Not necessarily repeating what they did in the past. Reporter among those new ideas and new tactics, savannah, we are told that al qaeda militants in yemen have been experimenting with surgically implanting explosives inside a bombers body to try and avoid airport security. Richard engle with the latest in cairo. Thank you. Lets turn to the former cia Deputy Director of Counter Terrorism and National Security at the fbi. Good morning to you. Good morning. I think the New York Times had a good way of describing it, they said its a threat that appears to be specifically and maddeningly vague. You understand what it means when the u. S. Government said something is specific and credible enough to warrant the closings yet we dont know what, when or where. You have to look at both the information. Does it give you information on time, place, and the source. I would focus more on the source. Is the source an intercept, an informant in the organization credible. If the source is credible, regardless of whether the information is vague youll take it seriously. But now what . This was gotten from an nsa intercept. Wouldnt those folks who are planning this kind of operation then go underground . I think theres a possibility they will. Look, the only resolution to a threat like this is taking the operatives off the battlefield. We may throw them off their game. Maybe theyll delay for a month or a year but as long as terrorists like this started a plot, they will conclude it at some point unless theyre taken off the battlefield. Im sure of it. Do you assume at this point that operatives may be in place for whatever is being planned . I wouldnt assume that. I would assume, though, if the operation is underway, theyre at least thinking about putting people in places like, lets say cairo or jordan but i wouldnt assume theyre there yet. Some lawmakers on the sunday shows yesterday said this intelligence information reminds them of the situation prior to 9 11. You were there. What do you make of the comparison. I think we ought to settle down a little bit. We have been at this 12 years. We faced a major plot in the summer of 2006 when we had operatives in britain trying to explode planes over u. S. Cities, we had major plots in new york city well publicized. I havent seen the intelligence on this but we developed a lot of expertise in 12 years. Lets handle it and settle down. Always good to get your perspective. Thank you. Now heres matt. All right. Savannah, thanks very much. Alex rodriguez, after weeks of build up Major League Baseball is set to suspend the yankee slugger in a matter of hours over his alleged use of performance enhancing drugs. A lot of other players involved in this as well. Nbcs ron mott is at yankee stadium. Good morning to you. Reporter good morning. The yankees return home here friday night, but its a mystery whether a. Rod will be in the lineup as his future is still up in the air today. Reporter on a day when baseballs Top Executive is set to suspend the games all time top earner, sources tell nbc sports, a potential 35 million strike a fly ball and the ball is up and gone. Reporter Alex Rodriguez is expected ironically to make his yankee season debut tonight in chicago. The no big deal approach of his manager and star teammate sunday hes in there. Im going to play him. Looking forward to seeing him. Reporter contrast the drama in the baseball world. In his final games over the weekend he leveled what some saw as a swipe at the leagues front office and more clearly yankees on the hook for nearly 100 million on his contract. When all the stuff is going on in the background and people are finding creative ways to cancel your contract and stuff like that, thats concerning for me. Reporter rodriguez and other players stand to lose mightily. For a. Rod, the stakes are enormous. For his fragile baseball legacy for the role model, he plans to stay at home. I plan to set my girls down and were going to have a lengthy conversation and ill have an opportunity to tell it all at some point. Ill have that platform and when the time is right ill tell my full story. Thanks, ed. Reporter an announcement from Major League Baseball is expected to come down about noon eastern time today, matt. All right. Ron, thank you very much. Were joined by bob costas of nbc sports. Bob, good morning to you. Its like watching an accident in slow motion over the last couple of weeks. You know when the event is over somebody is going to be hurt, and you dont know if its just arod, the yankees, Major League Baseball or all of the above. Whats the most likely scenario today . First of all i think baseball made a wise move because they took the distractions off the table. It was widely assumed by all of us that bud selig would suspend arod under the terms of the joint drug agreement and the collective Bargaining Agreement through the integrity of the game clause. It will close the possibility of an appeal and that would have created sympathy for arod because his camp would claim he s treated unfairly and being denied due process. Now he takes himself out of it as a distraction. He removes the criticism that this is all about the contract and the yankees recooping as much of the money as possible. He says, look, go ahead and play. Well try to expedite this and get it in front of an arbitrator as soon as possible and youll get a fair hearing. Its possible that they could drag it out. That arods side could drag out the preparations long enough that he could play in the 50 or so games in this season and the arbitrator would decide in the off season to uphold the suspension for 2014. That seems like the most likely outcome. Since this term best interest of baseball is being thrown around so much, look at the scenario. Arod stays on the field and plays during an appeals process, but, bob, what happens every time he takes the field in every city around the league and what happens when they put microphones in his face after every game . Isnt all the talk going to be about steroid scandal and arod . Theres no question about that but baseball didnt want to open up the possibility of being sued outside their own disciplinary process which includes an arbitrator and proceedings in front of an arbitrator are confidential. Lets say if arods camp declares an allout war and they might have an appeal, it gets messy, and arod, if he is smart about this, his comments are going to be as conciliatory as possible and hell keep saying well let the appeal play itself out. Ill tell my side of the story during the appeal and that will, hopefully, at least from his standpoint take some of the circus atmosphere down a notch. You already answered my question about the response you expect tonight in chicago when he takes the field. A wild booing. When Major League Baseball announces the suspensions today will they also be asked to reveal some of the evidence against arod is other players . They did not in the case of ryan brawn. If the other players do what ryan brawn did which is accept the penalty rather than appealing, baseball will not reveal the evidence, at least not at this time. And theyre not required to even if theres an arbitration hearing. Even if there is an appeal theyre not required to reveal that information. So what they have said is that they have what they believe is a that includes not only his use of performanceenhancing drugs, but he tried to recruit some other players to biogenesis and for all those reasons his penalty will be more severe than the others expected to get 50 game which is is the remainder of the season at this point. Well know a lot more by the end of the day. Bob, good to see you. Thank you so much. We have new information this morning on a deadly accident at the venice beach boardwalk over the weekend. A man is now in custody accused of intentionally driving into a crowd killing one woman and injuring nearly a dozen others. Miguel almaguer has details on the story. Good morning. Reporter good morning. The venice beach boardwalk is one of the most popular tourists destinations in southern california. Over the weekend it was packed when the car plowed through a group of people. Reporter the moment of impact caught on tape. Look again at the top of your screen. A car plows through an unsuspecting crowd. Moments earlier, the driver was seen entering the car and speeding away. I heard the noise and screams. Reporter pedestrians jumped for their lives and a dozen people were hurt. There was a blue car coming straight for us. Reporter witnesses say the driver was targeting the crowd accelerating swerving directly into the group. He was speeding and pushing more guests and hit a couple of people. Reporter a 32yearold italian woman celebrating her honeymoon was killed. I saw a girl go over his roof and another girl ended up over there who passed away. Never going to forget the moment but im thankful that we are still alive and surviving. Reporter hours later the dented sedan was found abandoned. A 35yearold man turned himself into police. Detectives in my division have booked Nathan Campbell for a murder that took place. Bail is 1 million. Reporter this morning campbell remains in custody. The boardwalk is reopened but police have no motive for this deadly collision. No reason why. This story is making headlines not just here in the United States but all over the world. The 32yearold newly wed that lost her life here was the daughter of a wellknown executive. Her family arrived here in los angeles late last night. Miguel, thank you. Natalie is here now with new developments tied to the crash of Asiana Airlines fight 214. Good morning to you. Good morning everyone. Dramatic new pictures surfaced showing the moments following that crash of Asiana Airlines fight 214 in San Francisco last month. It sheds new light on the death of one of the passengers. They come from a video camera mounted on the helmet of a battalion chief. According to the San Francisco chronical, the citys Fire Department was not alerted by firefighters on scene that a 16yearold girl was found lying near the plane. She was alive covered with foam when she was then run over by a foam spraying rig. The video was turned over to investigators. Well, the man that was the face of iran and all its hostility toward the United States was officially replaced sunday by a new president who is talking about more dialogue with the west. Ann curry is in iran with more on the shift in power. Reporter those men smile for the cameras. In the market its clear much is expected of him. The pressure of sanctions has the economy in shambles. Prices for food out of control. That and deep unemployment is devastating for the young in a country where nearly 70 are under 30. Many like miriam are dissolutioned. How much hope do you have for the new president . Nothing. No hope . No hope. Reporter still they voted and because of them iran has a moderate president promising sweeping change. Right now my people i can see happiness. Reporter she is a pharmacist. It is compromise between iran and the u. S. The compromise to have a better life than having nuclear power. Reporter a student supports the call to end sensorship of the internet saying we built the republic to get out of the dictatorship. This country should be different from north korea. Were meant to have freedom. Would you like to see the president s meet . Its a good idea, yeah. The u. S. And iran. Reporter but as high as the hopes are in this moment in this country the odds against real change are even higher. Ann curry, nbc news, teheran. And now to wall street and what is moving the markets on this monday. Mary thompson joins with us the latest. Good morning. An index tracking activity in the Industries Rise from more than a threeyear low in june. Two guns topped the Weekend Box Office and the Powerball Jackpot stands at 200 million given there were no winners over the weekend. Thank you. Prince william got out of diaper changing duties for a few hours yesterday to play in a charity polo match with his brother, prince harry. He was presented with a minipolo mallot for his son. He needs to pick up diapers on his way home. Make it seem like he was on an errand. I can see him entering the piggly wiggly. Nappies. Thank you. Good to see you. Today did a good job this weekend responsible for all the great weather. I dont answer. Whats wrong with kansas . Why did you make it rain so much . Thats mean. I love kansas. Its bills fault. Not al. Just mine. Just shifted it right away. They picked up 5 to 10 inches of rain, and the rain is not over with, and we are stuck in the weather pattern, if its hot where you are, its staying hot, and if its raining it will keep raining. We are expecting another 3 to 4 inches of rain in the next 72 hours in the same exact spot, and it has not been pretty there in the central plains. Thats your national forecast. Good monday morning to you. Im meteorologist Christina Loren. Mostly cloudy conditions here over the golden gate bridge. Flight delays out of sfo at about 1 15. You want to check ahead. We should see those lifted by about 11 00 a. M. When we expect the fog to burn off. 75 in san jose today and 59 degrees in San Francisco. A little cool in the city and the big news in the Weather Department is temperatures drop off as we head deeper into the week. Then we warm up as we get into the upcoming weekend. And matt, loo and matt, looks like forecast across the country this week is more of the same. All right, bill, thank you very much. Coming up, the Fishing Tournament taking a new approach to deal with a serious problem facing sharks. And well remember our dear friend and long time today news anchor john palmer. Theyre here to share their memories, but first, this is today on nbc. Coming up, would you sink your teeth into it . Meet the man behind the worlds first testtube burger. Its being tried today. And the guy tries to open that water bottle. But first, your local news and weather. [ female announcer ] one day it will hit you. By replacing one sugared beverage a day with a bottle of nestle pure life water, you can cut 50,000 calories a year from his diet. Nestle pure life. Join the hydration movement. You can cut 50,000 calories a year from his diet. Here we honor the proud accomplishments of our students and alums. People like, maria salazar, an executive director at american red cross. Or garlin smith, video account director at yahoo. And for every garlin, thousands more are hired by hundreds of top companies. Each expanding the influence of our proud university of phoenix network. Thats right, university of phoenix. Enroll now. Weve got a frame waiting for you. 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