Finally help firefighters get the upper hand . And breaking up is good to do. Just months after their very public parting, golfer rory mcilroy and tennis star Caroline Wozniacki wake up champions. Monday, july 21st, 2014. From nbc news this is today with matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to today on a monday morning. Gangs all here. Carsons in for matt. Watching those pictures out of ukraine break your heart after everything the victims have gone through now to have to just wonder whats happened to their loved ones. Quickly turned to outrage. And i think it is really an International Disgrace this morning. Its our top story. Vladimir putin, of course, now pushing back against his critics. Well hear what hes saying in a moment, but lets begin with the crash scene in ukraine. More bodies recovered overnight but what will come of them. Keir simmons has the latest on that. Keir, good morning to you. Reporter good morning. A Forensic Team is here now and say they should be able to move the bodies from a train station today. Even as they arrived, more fighting broke out at another train station nearby. Youll have to wonder how theyll examine debris like this in such a vol tatile area. The victims have been taken to a train station. They will be able to move them today. Four full days after the crash, huge pieces of aircraft metal are still unguarded. These are luggage compartments. Nearby peoples bags appear to have been opened. This morning the International Outrage is growing. It is an absolutely shambolic situation. It does look more like a cleanup than a forensic investigation. Reporter from the scenes weve witnessed, what recovery there is is just basic. A car and rope theyre trying to haul some wreckage out of the water. They bring an old fire truck and the only crane. Most of the bodies have been recovered. This man from minnesota lost his brother and sisterinlaw. Very outgoing and aded adventurous. Reporter he speaks of forgiveness. Everything does happen for a reason. So thats again why we feel we can forgive those that did this. Reporter the prorussian rebels accused by some of shooting down the plane seized the black box. They will hand it over, they say. Two miles away at another crash site are family photographs found in the wreckage alongside teddy bears. Belongings of a grieving relative in the world somewhere might want. Locals said grief like this should bring people together. Instead the prorussian rebels and the Ukrainian Government is accusing each other of disrupting the investigation. And you really think every day clues that might be here may be going missing. Keir simmons, what a scene in ukraine for us this morning. Thank you. And the tragedy is spurring the already tense relationship between the United States and russia. Overnight putin responded. Foreign correspondent Andrea Mitchell has the latest. Good morning. Reporter good morning. The downing of mh17 has dealt another severe blow between the United States and russia. As they say there is evidence that implicates russia that they provided the missile and trained the rebels who used it. The Propaganda Machine of Vladimir Putin has been firing back at the u. S. Issuing a video statement saying russias sported separatists should provide access to the crash site. It comes amid the leader to do more to help the investigation. This is a moment of truth for mr. Putin and for russia. Reporter on meet the press, secretary of state john kerry ratcheted up the pressure on Vladimir Putin saying intelligence picked up convoys carrying heavy weapons crossing into ukraine in recent weeks. We picked up the imagery of this launch. We know the trajectory. We know where it came from. We know the timing. And it was exactly at the time that this aircraft disappeared from the radar. Reporter kerry blasted putins government for not cracking down on the separatists. There is drunken separatists piling bodies into trucks. Its about the entire International Community demanding that the proper access to this site is made available. Reporter putins henchmen have denied any involvement and the powerful Propaganda Machine shifted into high gear with russia blaming ukraines military for the jets destruction. One even sniped at the u. S. On twitter. Quote, the white house has found guilt before any investigation. Just like Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction. So now we have promises from putin this morning, but he has made promises before for peace in ukraine. Whether he delivers this time remains to be scene and whether europe will stand up to him is the big question. Andrea mitchell, thank you so much. David remnick is the editor of the new yorker and has covered russia extensively. Good to see you. We heard Vladimir Putin overnight saying to separatists let the investigators into the scene. Cant he do more than that . Doesnt he have control over them . Could he end this right now. Of course he has control over them. And weve gone through a situation now where the scene has already been violated. Bodies taken to a train station for some reason. All kinds of violations. And hes saying the right things now, but quite late. And now people have to act on them. Look, the horrible thing has already happened. This is a horrendous, horrendous incident that could lead to further violence and we hope that it doesnt. Putin is the singular actor and he has to act now to set things right and has to stop this aggression in ukraine. U. S. Officials are saying this is putins moment of truth. But whats he likely to do . This is somebody you watch very closely. Is he going to dig . Or will he distance himself from the separatists . I think in some ways he set off this frenzy. Remember that his annexation of crimea caused his ratings to go through the roof. In russia. But hes in politician in russia. His ideology has gotten increasingly conservative. Hes released a nationalist fervor. Its up to him to rein it in and up to his media to rein it in. I think you cant imagine what you see on Russian Television which is how everybody gets their information in russia. He has unleashed this and its up to him to tap it down, to settle things down. What would motivate him to do so . Its really europe that has been reluctant to go hard after russia in terms of whats happening in ukraine. Well, whats incumbent is in the World Economy his growth rate is now zero. Its almost zero. And its almost as if he has stirred up this fervor as a way to cover this over. I mean, his popularity in the old days was based on enormous rates of economic growth. He doesnt have that anymore. If he wants to be integrated into the World Economy, he has to start behaving like an actor on the world scene. Always good to get your perspective. Thank you very much. Send it over to carson. Thank you. Now to the ongoing violence between israel and hamas. Two americans are among the dead on the israeli side. And secretary of state john kerry is heading to the region to push for a ceasefire. Nbcs Richard Engel is in gaza city. Good morning to you. Reporter good morning, carson. Secretary kerry is headed to cairo to try to revive an egyptian ceasefire after the deadliest day yet. Over 110 palestinians killed. At least 13 Israeli Soldiers killed. Two of them u. S. Citizens. The Bloodiest Day of the twoweek conflict started when israeli troops in gaza ran into trouble. Several soldiers were killed when the vehicle was destroyed. Israel pushed deeper in gaza, but lost two troops. Palestinians say israel then unleashed hell. Pounding an eastern neighborhood with artillery. Palestinians describe a massacre. Bodies in the streets, a journalist killed, a medical worker too. His colleagues grieved in gaza citys main hospital where the morgue quickly filled up. Palestinians say israels fire was indiscriminate. More than 70 palestinians killed in one neighborhood alone. Thousands of civilians have fled the area and many came here to the hospital to check on loved ones, but it is too dangerous to go back to the neighborhood so they sleep in the parking lot. Both sides bury their dead in a conflict that shows no signs of letting up. Also overnight, israel bombed the house of a palestinian militant killing him and at least 27 members of his extended family. That happened in the Southern Gaza strip. Savannah and carson, back to you. All right. Richard engel reporting in gaza city this morning. Be safe, you and your crew. Meantime lets turn to natalie. Huge fire in washington theyre dealing with. Massive fire. And fire crews are hoping cooler temperatures in Washington State and calmer winds might help them get a handle on that massive wildfire. Nbcs jacob rascon is there with the latest in alta lake. Good morning. Reporter natalie, good morning. Conditions today are better than they have been for a week and the fire is now burning in an area where there are no more homes. But that is the good news in a week the governor called unprecedented in Washington State. The largest wildfire in Washington State history has now devoured 300,000 acres of the cascade mountains. Destroying more than 150 homes leaving entire neighborhoods desolate. On the front lines, hot shot crews struggle to gain control. Erratic winds only making conditions worse. Sometimes itll pick up and get some pretty heavy gusts. Sometimes itll just die down to nothing. This was the basement. Reporter in alta lake a power outage forced the smith family to quickly evacuate hoping to return when electricity was restored. We never believed it was going to jump the river and come over here and do this. Reporter in the town of pateros, this church is one of the only buildings left on the block. Just up the road, Corner Stone Church doubled as a shelter for some members. Some like tom handcox, now homeless. I tried to save it. Reporter an emotional journey for scores of families including many here in alta lake. They wont have water or power for at least a month. Fire crews look ahead to rain in the forecast later in the week. Thatll be good news and welcome there. Jacob rascon in Washington State, thank you. A small plane crashed near sedona, arizona, sunday killing four people and sparking a brush fire. Hikers reported seeing the plane crash, but it took fire crews a couple of hours to reach the scene because of the rugged terrain in the canyon. The fire has burned at least 25 acres has not been contained. Another weekend of deadly violence in chicago. At least 40 people were shot, 4 killed including an 11yearold girl who was shot by a stray bullet inside a chicago home on friday. Shmiya adams was at a sleepover with six other kids when that bullet came through the bedroom window. Police are still searching for a suspect. More than a hundred homes are evacuated in wisconsin sunday after a Freight Train derailed. Officials said about 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled from the engine as the train came off the tracks. Hazmat crews were called to the scene. Two were taken to the hospital but are expected to be okay. Its not easy to say im sorry, but a dog named charlie sure has found a unique way to do it. It all started when charlie stole a stuffed animal from his human sibling. Then the baby starts to cry. And charlie has a guilty conscience. Not only did he bring that toy back but about every other toy he could find in the entire house. Including a video game controller. There you go. Charlie even gave the little baby a kiss. Lets not smother the baby, charlie. Next up hes going to bring a plate of bacon or something. Yeah all the bones hes buried. Dad has him well trained. Thank you. Hello, mr. Roker, back from your adventure. Thats right. Weve got a lot of heat to talk about. Its been kind of cool for parts of the plains, but that is changing rather quickly. Were looking at all this warm, moist air that is funneling up into the plains. Behind it weve got cooler drier air. You know when you put those two together, that is not good news. First of all weve got heat advisories for minneapolis. This entire area, eight states the heat index is going to feel like its between 100 and 110 this afternoon. Add to that the slight risk of storms from minot to minneapolis. But within that there is a moderate risk for very strong storms from bismarck, fargo, aberdeen. Could see tornadoes out of this. And a lot of rain anywhere from 1 to 3 inches of rain. So there is the potential for flash flooding from the dakotas into northern minnesota. Well get to your local forecast in the next 30 seconds. Hey. Im ted and this is rudy. Say hi rudy. [ barks ] [ chuckles ] id do anything to keep this guy happy and healthy. Thats why im so excited about these new milkbone brushing chews. Whoa, im not the only one. Its a brilliant new way to take care of his teeth. Clinically proven as effective as brushing. Ok, here you go. Have you ever seen a dog brush his own teeth . The twist design cleans all the way down to the gum line, even reaching the back teeth. They taste like a treat, but they clean like a toothbrush. Nothing says you care like a milkbone brushing chew. [ barks ] good morning to you, 7 16 now, maybe you want to take the dog for a walk this morning. Yeah, you know what, great conditions to do so. Areas south of the golden gate bridge. We have a little bit of shower activity, mostly concentrated that the point up in sanoma county. Just about here in loren county, one cell moving to the north. Throughout the day today, we are going to see an overcast sky to start. Thats a story in ocean beach, san jose. Throughout the day, temperatures will be comfortable as a result. Low 80s inland for this afternoon. And thats your latest weather. Al, thank you very much. More tributes pouring in for wellloved actor james garner. He died at the age of 86. His career spanned six decades and he amassed countless fans along the way. My name is brett maverick. I sometimes try my hand at a game of whisk or even poker. Actor james garner got his big start in a western tv show maverick. From there he transitioned from the small to big screen alongside people like clint eastwood, steve mcqueen, doris day and julie andrews. This is jim rockford. Reporter but it was his role as jim rockford in the rockford files that earned him five emmy nominations and one win. He parlayed that popularity as a role as a pitchman for polaroid cameras. Their chemistry so convincing many believed they were a reallife couple. You made it to the top. The camera did, i just went along for the ride. Im not a lifeguard. Im not your dutch uncle. Reporter he played opposite sally field in murphys romance and was nominated for an academy award. The oklahoma native was a veteran of the korean war before he took up acting. He told today back in 1991 my goal as an actor when i started out was never stardom or anything like that. It was to make a career of it and longevity. Reporter garner achieved his goal, gaining new fans from 8 simple rules and the movie the notebook. I know you feel lost right now, but dont worry. Nothing is ever lost or can be lost. Reporter nicklas sparks author of the notebook tweeted sunday, r. I. P. To a legend. Its harder to make people smile. Garners survived by his wife lois. They were married almost 60 years. They met and like a week later they got married. Thats one of the great movies, steve mcqueen. I just love how his career has span sod many generations. So many know him from the notebook nowadays. You came in this morning playing the rockford files sound track. There it is. Carson filling in for matt. Dylan is doing orange room duty. Good morning. I dont have to do the weather today. Is there anything you were really good at at 25 years old besides sleeping till noon . Well, rory mcilroy was so good at golf he won the british open yesterday at just 25 years old. He walks away with 1. 6 million. Rory is not the only winner out of yesterdays championship win. His dad jerry also walked away with a ton of money. Heres why. Check this out. Ten years ago his dad jerry placed a bet that rory would win the british open before he was 26 years old. Those are 5001 odds. Obviously lots of hugs all around, not just for the win but because of all the money they are going to take in. And ladbrokes tweeted, congratulations, rory, were paying out 180,000 to rorys dad and pals. There will be a party at the mcilroys tonight. Who knows whos picking up that tab. All in all with his buddies they placed an additional bet after they saw he was good at the golf thing, it ends up totaling 350,000. The other winner was rorys ex, Caroline Wozniacki. She won her first major tight until tennis, the istanbul cup. She says she was happy to win. Not winners in love but winners in sports. I guess when youre not planning a wedding you have more free time to focus more. Focus. Breaking up is good to do, i guess. In this case. Thank you so much, dylan. A massive new sink hole opens up in florida, forcing several homes to evacuate. Well take you there, live. Plus on a rossen report, are you making a dangerous mistake every time you light your barbecue . Is today on nbc. For the freshest produce you want to be close to the people who are close to the land. Thats why safeway works with over 150 local growers. The folks whose hands are in the soil. Planting and nurturing the kind of delicious produce that gets delivered daily to safeway. So theres more local produce to love. Like this week, locally grown g s farms sweet corn is just 8 for 2. 00. Safeway, ingredients for life. Some old friends. Coming up, why the new girl so good to be back. To check out our new breakfast burrito. Wow. Mmm, mmm, mmm. This is legit. Its grilled. Its even pretty. We just say its good down in louisiana. [laughter] would you get a burrito from a burger place . You dont go to a sushi bar and order spaghetti. Good point, ronald. Stick with the people who know burritos. Taco bells new grilled breakfast burritos, bacon, sausage or potato for 1. 29 each. [bong ] ganncr we took care of your back pain. You make him the mvp. Tylenol is clinically proven to provide strong, fast pain relief. But for ev