Not the smartest, definitely not the cutest, just the most unattractive. We reveal the ugliest dog competition today, saturday, june 21st, 2014. Announcer from nbc news, this is today with lester holt and erica hill. Live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Welcome to today. Im erica hill. Im Peter Alexander filling in for lester holt. Big shoes to fill in, i know, because im using his office. Nice to have you with us, though. Always nice to have you here. It is the First Official day of summer. No one more excited about that than dylan dreyer. Soak it all in. It feels really good, i have to say. Just in nine minutes. Enjoy every second. One way to enjoy them, spend them with us as we talk exclusively to this lady, lucy li who has taken the world by storm. She competed in the u. S. Womens open tournament. We are excited to talk to her. Shes known not just for her fun outfits and stellar golf, but eating ice cream. Shes 11. Go for it. I fully endorse and encourage it. We are going catch up with a 12yearold on the rold to recover three months after a life saving surgery for a rare disease. Right now, we begin with the top stories developing situation in iraq. Secretary of state john kerry traveling to the middle east to be facetoface with other World Leaders about solutions to the crisis in iraq. We are seeing new video alleged to be from isis militants where English Speaking men are seen encouraging others to join the igt. Good morning to you. Reporter good morning, peter. Overnight, militants captured a crossing point between syria and iraq that many fear will be used to bring more weapons into the battlefield. This comes as the United States sets up an engagement in iraq to help the Iraqi Government sending john kerry to the region. Will it be enough . A global call to join the fight in iraq, made by English Speaking isis fighters, many with european passports. Its part of a video as they make a steady and deadly push into baghdad. Iraqs military is getting fresh recruits, thousands of shia men entering the calls to join the fight. The army is also getting outside help in the form of american soldiers. 300 American Special forces advisers are being ployed to work with the army sharing intelligence, advising brigades and calling air strikes. All to help give the Iraqi Military the upper hand after it lost parts of iraq to isis fighters. Even with american help, defeating them might not be enough. Calls are growing on Nuri Al Maliki to resign, even from the top shiite cleric. If you had a chance to speak to the prime minister, what would you say . It will not be stopped through military, the only solution is political solution. Reporter isis take over of the cities has created a fear over the country. Lines to gas stations are long. Hundreds of refugees are away from home, too afraid to return because of a fight that looks to be intensifying. Now, kurdish officials tell nbc news they have been warning the u. S. About the presence of isis for months. They are, along with other iraqis too little too late for the u. S. To send futures and not send out more robust activity. Thank you. General good morning. Nice to see you again. Morning, good to be on the air with you. We know that 300 u. S. Military advisers, as they are described are on their way to the region, through iraq where they are going to train, consult and share intelligence with Iraqi Security forces with the officers there right now. They are also facing a growing insurgency. Is 300 advisers enough to have a tangible impact or do we need to send more to do that . They can certainly have an impact. What they are going to do is establish themselves in the operational centers. Reinforce the chain of command. Two things have to happen to make this work. One, there has to be a political solution coming out of parliament about who is in charge in iraqs government. That person has to be acceptable to the sunni side. That is the only way that we are going to have any hope of stopping this, not just the movement, but the pressure of the tectonic plate. The u. S. , they are not combat troops, but the advisers will be working on the brigade level, breaking up in groups of 12 working alongside iraqis in the country. If they are not combat troops, what real dangers do they face . First of all, the special forces trained to the mission. This is in their primary play book and the type of thing they have to be ready to do in a moments notice. The people there are extremely qualified. To have this work, the headquarters they are going to has to be responsible for their safety. They have to have built into their plan and their operation ways of extracting themselves when necessary. I want to get a sense from you since you have overseen combat there in iraq during the golf war, desert storm, bosnia and vietnam war. Give us a sense as you analyze this situation taking place in iraq, how does this compare . This is more dangerous because of its international implication. This is more dangerous . Its more dangerous because you are sending people into a situation where everything is sort of out of control. In desert storm and vietnam, we had much more control over the environment where we were for conventional forces. They have sufficiently robust in their locations. They were attacked, but rarely were they overrun. This is more dangerous because the whole situation is changing so dynamically on a daytoday basis. General montgomery joining us this morning. General, good to see you. We appreciate your time. Good to be on the air with you. We are learning more about the anthrax scare at the center for Disease Control in atlanta. More people may have been exposed to the deadly strain than thought. The president briefed on it on friday. Government investigators are trying to determine what went wrong. Tom costello is covering it for us. Good morning. Hi, erica, good morning. The cdc says more employees than first believed may have been exposed to the anthrax bacteria. The cdc is seeding control of the investigation to the usda to avoid conflict of interest. At the cdc, an all out investigation under way in a major break down in safety protocols after 80 employees were exposed to deadly anthrax. We talked to the cdc deputy director. This is the cdc, the most respected body we have that deals with these type of pathogens. How could this happen . We wish we knew that. We are in the process of finding out how the decisions were made. Reporter it happened earlier this month, the Rapid Response unit was preparing a dangerous strain of anthrax for other cdc labs. They thought they killed the bacteria. Rather than waiting 48 hours to be sure, they transferred the samples after 24 hours. The workers in the other labs werent wearing protective clothing. None of the workers show symptoms of anthrax, they have been offered antibiotics. Experts are not overly concerned. The risk is really low to the exposed people and essentially nil to the surrounding community. Reporter multiple investigations raised concerns about how well the cdc safeguards deadly substances like anthrax. The cdc has been investigated for years because of safety protocols with the labs, whats happening here . Any lab has incidents, people cut corners, things malfunction. We have been very diligent and aggressive in identifying what caused those problems. Reporter now, with a serious breach involving deadly anthrax, the cdc says disciplinary action is a possibility. No one outside the cdc is at risk, not even family members of those who have been exposed and some of the employees exposed are electing not to take antibiotics at all. Tom, thank you. Dr. January si snyderman is here. Good morning. Good morning, erica. Just to clarify, the threat and concern here is because this is the most dangerous type of anthrax. That is the inhaled kind, correct . Right. I think we also remember back to 2001 when five people died because they inhaled anthrax mailed in letters throughout the United States. We have a recent history of how bad this can be. There are three ways to get it, inject, through your skin or inhale it. The idea the Laboratory Workers could have inhaled it is a real concern. Once you get the bacteria in your body, it can take two weeks for it to release spores. The spores can have toxins. Its the toxins that cause the problems. In this case, it looks like flu with aches and pains and can be deadly. One covered. We are hearing friends and families around the people are not at risk. When you talk about the spores and how long it takes to develop, we know some of them are already on antibiotics. Is it enough to stop it and what about the people who are not . The cdc know what is strain it is, how toxic it is and how much it was killed of nullified. They know exactly what they are dealing with. Whether they take antibiotics for a week, the fkt that its not considered a threat to the lab workers and not necessarily to the people beyond them is a big thing. Anthrax is everywhere, its in the soil, around livestock, little cases pop up here and there. Its the bioterrorism part that scares everyone. When you have a lab as dignified or smart as the cdc and have an error like this, you have to go back to the sloppiness, find out what wednesday wrong, who made the mistake and fix it so mistakes like this dont happen in the future. Theres a real concern, Health Concern for the workers and families . No. Its a wake up call for labs everywhere. When you deal with substances like this, you cant be too careful. A lot of people waiting for answers. Dr. Nancy, always nice to have ewe here. Thanks. Unprecedented rain caused a hill to give way on the mississippi river. Anne thompson is here with the latest. Good morning. Reporter good morning, jenna. They are forecasting a warm, sunny saturday for minneapolis. Boy do the people here need it. Behind me, you can see the visual evidence the damage drenching rains can do. On thursday, more than six inches of rain fell within an eighthour period in the twin cities area. By thursday night, that caused a piece of this block, about a football field long to give way and come crashing down, piling six to eight feet of debris on a road that is popular with joggers and bikers in minneapolis. The two buildings that sit on top of the bluff belong to the university of minnesota medical center. Both buildings are said not to be endangered. Engineers inspected them and they are said to be structurally sound and not endangered by the mudslide. The mudslide was the most recent of a series of events caused by an extraordinarily rainy june here in minnesota. Farmlands, homes and floods or parks have all flooded. In fact, minnesota is within an inch of having the rainiest june on record. Minnesotas governor has declared a state of emergency because of those rains in nearly half of the counties here. Jenna . Anne thompson, thank you very much. A small plane crashed. Police say two people aboard the single engine plane were killed. One person was inside the home at the time but was able to escape through a window. One person is dead and at least seven others are recovering from minor injuries after a tractor trailer hauling cars slammed into a restaurant. It caused it to collapse forcing authorities to evacuate the entire block. Comedian tracy morgan has been moved from the hospital to a rehab facility. His publicist released a statement saying hes showing signs of improvement and faces a long road to recovery. He was critically injured when a truck slammed into the limo bus he was riding in. The federal government is pushing to expand warning labels on testosterone products. Fda says they need to include a general label about the increased risk of blood clots. Patients with abnormal increase in red blood cells. They received reports clots are occurring in patients who dont have this complication. This morning, it is that time of year again. It is time to crown the worlds ugliest dog because dogs understand what thats all about. The dog, a 2yearold mutt named peanut won it at the annual contest. Who wouldnt think this dog is hideously adorable . The bulging eyes, protruding teeth. It has everything it takes to win an award like this. Wondering what the other dogs look like . Peanuts competition . Well have more on that later in the show. We have ugly dog breeders right now. I should school that dog in ug mug. They are trying to breed with that dog. Thats a hashtag in the making, ug mug. A forecast is ugly in some places. In some places, but we are going to see a good amount of sunshine. Iowa, you cant catch a break. More showers and storms expected. The showers and storms across nebraska are weakening now. They will redevelop later on this afternoon. Further north, we have flood watches. All the yellow spots is where we have the flood warnings. We are looking at the rivers in major flooding states across northern parts of iowa. We are going to see more severe storms develop later today. A couple areas in the southeast good morning to you, bay wa area. We have an absolutely Beautiful Day ahead, and, yeah, welcome to the official start of summer, 80 degrees in the south bay, and 65 degrees in San Fransisco with the cool Summer Breeze coming in out of the west. As we head through the next couple days, we dont have any major changes coming your way, hitting the sweet summer stride and sticking with it through the midsection of next week and warming up at the end of the week. Forecast. Peter . Thank you. It was an incredible site at the start of the world cup, a paralyzed man using bionic legs to make the First Official kick of the tournament. In the u. S. , researchers are working on helping people with partial paralysis to standup and move their lel legs again. Tom costello visited the institute to see how its changing lives. Reporter you might call 26yearold Ryan Flanigan a 21st century bionic man. The motorized wind you hear is the sound of hope that one day hell be able to take his first steps on his own. I dont have a lot of sensation back there, but i can feel my hips moving. His back, his entire posture, really, is held together with rods and screws. Two years ago, an atv accident left him with a severed spinal cord. He was told he would never walk again. I spent a lot of time, at first, denying it and hoping it would all go away. Paralysis rarely goes away. An avid outdoorsman, he wanted his life back. He was soon driving again using special hand controls for the gas and break. Exactly the kind of determination that made him a candidate to strap into new technology. And youre up. Its called the rewalk. A Battery Powered walker at the university of maryland he habilitation institute that holds him up straight pushing his hips and legs forward. This is the first chance to start walking again. Absolutely. Whats it like . Its great. Im 64, so im used to looking down on people, staring over the crowd. Being in a wheelchair is a lot different looking up to everybody. Reporter there are no electrical impulses, nothing connected to his nerves or muscles. The suit is being tested for use by u. S. Disabled war veterans. Keeping the body upright is critical to maintaining the health of or gans, gi tract and something else. Psychologically, to get up again is a big deal. Reporter theres no cure for a spinal cord injury, but there is hope. Trying to keep my torso, my head straight up and looking forward. Reporter hope that one day, if there is a cure for spinal cord injuries, brian and others like him will be ready to take those first steps on their own. Good to see him walking. Still to come, honoring a d day hero. First, this is today on nbc. This morning, we are remembering a u. S. War hero, a remarkable man you introduced us to earlier this month. You were in france celebrating the anniversary of dday. He was a highly decorated member of the 82nd airborne, a paratrooper. 70 years ago, he was the last man out of the c47 transport plane before it crashed into flames. He escaped being picked up by the nazis three times. He took me back to a street named in his honor. All my comrades have died and some in action. They are not here to get the same type of honor. It is very honoring for me on behalf of these people. They appreciate what the americans did. We appreciate you. Thank you. We learned this week that jack saved his last energy to make that trip. He died back home in up state new york. He was 90 years old. His daughter tells us, as much as it hurts to lose him, this last dday celebration in france fulfilled his life and he was at peace. Even in the small town, he is a big hero. What an amazing man. What an honor to spend time with him. So happy you could bring that story to us. It good saturday morning to you. Time now is 5 26. Youre looking at the sun coming up over the bay bridge there. Hello, we have a look at the weekend forecast, lets check in with her. Hi, vicki, its a special day we are spending together, the longest day of the year. Welcome to the official start of summer time in the bay area, and we, my friends, are going to be the envy of the entire nation. Wait until i flip this over to show you where we are headed today. Temperatures in the 50s across the bay area, upper 50s at that, brisk, comfortable out there now, and we have a great day shaping up for you. The peninsula, for example, at 75 degrees today, 65 meanwhile in San Fransisco, 86 in the north bay, and south bay is 80 degrees straight up. In oakland, clear conditions, high clouds streaming into San Fransisco with low cloud cover, enough there to keep the temperatures really comfortable for today, as we head throughout your saturday, onshore flow strengthens, and what that means is temperatures are going to drop off by about five to ten degrees from yesterdays highs, and you know what . We hit that sweet summer stride, and were actually going to keep it going all the way through wednesday of next week. Some changes come in. Well talk about those coming up. Right now, back to you and the rest of the top stories of the day. Thank you. A twostory triplex destroyed after a fast moving fire this morning. Now ten people are out of a home. It took firefighters an hour to bring the fire under control. They dont know what sparked the flames, but no one was hurt, and it cost 300,000 in damage, and the American Red Cross is providing help to the ten people who lost their homes. More on this story at 7 00. Meanwhile, hot s