this morning on "early today," tale of the tape. the department of agriculture rethinks the controversy over what appears to be racist remarks captured on video. hot on the heels. newly released video shows a bizarre and vicious attack with a stiletto shoe. and when donkeys fly. russian authorities look into animal cruelty charges in an ad russian authorities look into animal cruelty charges in an ad campaign gone awry. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning.

welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with not so fast. the usda will reconsider the firing of an employee amid allegations shirley sherrod made racist remarks at an naacp event earlier this year. agriculture secretary tom vilsack released a statement early this morning saying he will, quote, conduct a thorough review and consider additional facts. nbc news white house correspondent savannah guthrie has the story. >> reporter: it's the video that became an overnight cable and internet sensation. posted on a conservative website, it shows shirley sherrod, a georgia-based official with the u.s. department of agriculture and obama administration appointee, at a naacp dinner in march of this year describing her initial reluctance to help a white farmer who came for aid. >> i was struggling with the fact that so many black people

had lost their farmland, and here i was faced with having to help a white person save their land. so i didn't give him the full force of what i could do. >> reporter: sherrod says the incident she was describing occurred more than 20 years ago, before she worked for the usda, a story she told as an example of overcoming her own prejudices. >> that's when it was revealed to me that it's about poor versus the people who have. >> and telling that story, how i changed while working with him, i used that to help others to see it's not about race. >> reporter: but the reaction was swift and certain. the usda asked her to resign. sherrod said she was driving when she got the call from an agriculture official in washington. >> she said, well, they want you to pull over to the side of the road and submit your resignation. it was just unbelievable, you know. it was just unbelievable.

>> and that was nbc savanna guthrie reporting. meanwhile the ncaap initially called sherrod's actions, quote, shameful, but have since backtracked, saying they were, quote, snookered by fox news and the conservative blogger who first published the video. well, english prime minister david cameron says he understands american anger over the gulf oil crisis and said it's bp's responsibility to clean it up. at a joint news conference with president obama yesterday, cameron also insisted bp had no role in the controversial release of the lockerbie bomber. brushing off calls for an investigation, cameron cautioned, quote, let us not confuse the oil spill with the libyan bomber. meanwhile, bp has acknowledged it posted an altered photo on its website that exaggerates the activity at its houston command center. a spokesman says there was no ill-intent and the company has since put up the original photo. secretary of state hillary clinton was in south korea today

to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the korean war. secretary clinton and defense secretary robert gates visited the infamous demilitarized zone, the armed border that has divided the korean peninsula for the past 60 years, followed by a moment of silence at the korean war memorial. while there, the two also paid tribute to 46 south korean sailors killed during a naval attack back in march that has been blamed on north korea. and just this morning following high-level talks in the region, secretary clinton announced the u.s. will impose new sanctions specifically designed to target assets of north korea's leadership. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in ohio, newly released video shows a good samaritan being attacked by a group of women with their high heels. police say the man was just trying to help one of those

women who he thought was being assaulted by a male companion, but she apparently misunderstand the gesture. now family members say the assault could cause permanent damage to the victim's eye, and he may lose his sight. a new york police officer is facing assault and reckless driving charges in connection with a hit-and-run accident with a cyclist. video shows the cop's cruiser slamming into the biker after driving the wrong way down a one-way street. the accident was never reported, and the victim said he was only offered tissues for his broken nose. in california a few drops of ice cream did the trick to get t fox out of a sticky situation. he was stuck in a fence, but was able to pull himself out after being spoon fed by a concerned ice cream shop owner. always works for me. while billboards are supposed to capture your attention, but one in virginia is doing it for all the wrong reasons.

a group of goats has made the roadside sign their favorite place to hang out. the animals' owner says there's no need to worry about their safety since goats are adventurous and natural climbers. they look like they enjoy it. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc's meteorologist bill karins with your weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. >> lynn, were you a little hungry when you chose those stories, the ice cream and pancakes. let's chat about the hot weather. good morning, everyone. temperatures continue to be well above average, the entire southern half of the country, 90s in the red once again. widespread. we should be in the 90s in some areas. but it's relentless, day after day after day. humidity relatively high in the west where temperatures continue to soar. along the coast, not the case, especially in the northwest, it wasn't the case either. it's interior sections, all of nevada, utah and arizona is just baking in the heat. death valley has been extremely hot lately, too. vegas yesterday was 110. as far as we're going to go

today, there's no big storms heading this way. the weather pattern is really not going to change. cool along the coast and interior sections will be hot once again. there's going to be another dip in the jet stream in the northwest tomorrow that could bring showers but not for today. temperatures are going to be about 80 in portland, 75sco wasa little steamy, astoria oregon, another story. clouds and cool at 66. enough moisture late in the day and evening for showers and thunderstorms over arizona. as i mentioned some showers and storms could be on the way thursday. we'll talk about who will have a chance finally for some wet weather. >> bill, thanks. well, apple shines, yahoo! stumbles, and the social networking facebook falls into dubious company. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead.

plus, no more denial as lindsay lohan faces the inevitable, her stay-behind bars. usc cleans house, lou piniella called it quits, and no deal for the devils. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. a final senate vote is expected today to advance a bill that would restore jobless benefits to more than 2 million out-of-work americans. senate democrats were able to end a two-month republican filibuster yesterday, thanks to newly sworn-in west virginia senator, democrat carte goodwin. a united airlines flight headed to los angeles from washington, d.c. made an emergency landing in denver last night after violent turbulence rocked the plane injuring some 30

passengers, one critically. authorities in russia are investigating a suspected case of animal cruelty after startling video emerged of a donkey. that's right. that's a donkey launched above the sea strapped to a parasail. local media reported the donkey midair for half an hour for the promotional stunt was terrified and pulled out of the water, quote, half alive. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,229 after gaining 75 points yesterday. the s&p added 12, and the nasdaq went up 24. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei lost 21 points, but in hong kong the hang seng rose 222. wall street was up again yesterday, thanks to some of the companies that have been beaten up the worst by hard times. early in the day traders were selling goldman sachs fast after

the investment giant reported a steeper than forecast tumble in quarterly earnings. later investors had a change of heart, focusing on goldman sachs' future. shares ended up over 2%. traders also ignored worse than expected june housing starts data, focusing instead on applications for building permits, a measure of future activity, which unexpectedly rose. beaten but still standing, construction-related businesses all performed strongly. today look for apple to drive the markets. after the bell, apple blew past expectations, thanks largely to its hot-selling ipad tablets and new iphones. earnings news was not good yesterday. ibm fell a day after reporting quarterly revenues that missed estimates and was the dow's top drag. texas instruments also fell after missing revenue expectations. also johnson & johnson's earnings came in below expectations. the company blames several recent recalls of popular nonprescription medicines and

announced those recalls are the subject of a federal criminal investigation. after the bell, yahoo! dropped sharply after weak advertising led the internet company to miss net revenue expectations. as expected, bp announced it's selling various assets to the apache corporation for $7 billion to help pay for oil clean-up spill costs. nokia siemens won an eight-year u.s. contract worth more than $7 billion, what some say could be the largest cell phone order ever. and, finally, a new poll shows in terms of customer satisfaction, thanks to constant changes and privacy concerns, facebook is despised by consumers as much as airlines and cable companies, two of the most perennially low-scoring industries. the usc trojans react to ncaa violations, the nhl says no way to the devils, and the first lady takes in a little baseball.

plus, the cubs' third baseman launches missiles at wrigley. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather our exceptionally warm july continues with much of the country experiencing above-average temperatures. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the university of southern california is trying to scrub away the tarnish of ncaa rule violations by its football program. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. nearly a month after the ncaa dropped the hammer on the usc athletic program, the trojans have cleaned house. athletic director mike garrett is out and will be replaced by pat haden, a former sc quarterback and football analyst for nbc sports. summer cleaning didn't stop there. usc took down all murals featuring reggie bush and also returned his 2005 heisman trophy in an effort to repair the school's reputation after last month's severe sanctions. yesterday i posed the question, how long is too long for a pro contract. after the new jersey devils signed ilya kovalchuk to a 17-year deal, well, according to the nhl, that's too long. the league rejected the offer because it circumvents the salary cap.

the devils will now have to renegotiate the deal if they want to keep him. baseball, first lady michelle obama in baltimore to promote the "let's move" campaign to end children obesity. orioles were living high off the hog in the second inning against the rays. luke scott, ty wigginton, and adam jones with back-to-back-to back home runs, and baltimore led it, 3-0. this one went into extra innings, and in the 13th, julio lugo ended it with an rbi single down the line. the orioles put on a show for the first lady. they won it, 11-10. the chicago cubs' manager lou piniella announced this will be his final season. aramis ramirez kicked off loser time, hitting three home runs against the astros. if he keeps hitting like this, piniella may want to reconsider. cubbies rallied from six down to win it, 14-7. and pittsburgh pirates and brewers, first inning, pedro alvarez, a shot down the line. if it's fair, it's a grand slam. and there it goes. pirates with nine in the first, and they needed all of them. they won it, 11-9. and, finally, this fan proposed to his girlfriend at the marlins game. she said yes, and then came the fireworks. talk about your perfect game.

that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. well, jennifer aniston has a scary admirer. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, which came first, the wedding cake or the groom? you're watching "early today."

here is a look at forecast for wednesday. dry everywhere in the west. it will be hot once again in nevada. areas of desert locations involve arizona and california. not a bad day in the pacific northwest. tomorrow a little bit of a change. cooler weather will drop down. shower activity, medford south to the coast, even wednesday a warm day. salt lake city at 93. if you're watching on kmir, that's channel 6 in palm springs, california, children can become pizza chefs making pies from synthetic materials in the "today i want to be" exhibit in the children's discovery museum of the desert. that's your pacific event for the day. that wouldn't work for you. if you make pizza, you'd want to eat it. >> i want to be in palm springs, california. >> this comes to us from our headlines in entertainment. as we speak, lindsay lohan is behind bars.

as anticipated, lohan's surrender yesterday in beverly hills courthouse was mobbed by the media, and the circus atmosphere was even punctuated by somebody showering the 24-year-old with confetti as she passed by. the actress was handcuffed after a brief hearing and transported to jail. meanwhile reports say sheriff's officials insist that due to overcrowding, lohan will only serve about two weeks in jail out of her 90-day sentence. in lohan's latest mugshot taken moments after she arrived at the lynwood correctional facility, she remained relatively calm and resigned to her fate. and for the record, lohan checked in at 5'6", weighing 118 pounds. and, finally, tmz reports that jennifer aniston has obtained a restraining order against a man with a history of violence and mental problems who was arrested after prowling around a place she frequents. the man was carrying a sharp object, duct tape, and had carved into the side of his car, "i love you jennifer aniston."

well, this comes to us from kxas nbc 5 in dallas-ft. worth, where one woman has picked a wedding date, booked a venue. the only thing missing is a groom. that's right. the 35-year-old single musician has started an online quest to find her soulmate in the next seven months called project husband. so far she's been on 46 dates, all the while planning for her big day. the clock's ticking. she's determined to walk down the aisle on february 15th, the same day her grandparents were married. so bill, tell me, if you were on a date with this woman, what would you do? >> i'd be wondering if she was going to lower her standards, where i was on the scale. the closer to the date, she may get a little more desperate. >> like hey, buddy, i've got five more months. come with me. that's right. good luck to her. well, i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

it's not unusual to take a dip during the hot summer months, but in japan there's a deeper purpose. 600 female divers took to the water with torches to honor an ancient japanese tradition. the women dived deep below the water's surface to gather various shellfish to make a living. the ritual is believed to bring safety and good harvest for the year to come. so what do santas from all around the world do in the off season? meet up to talk shop. over a hundred gathered in denmark for a santa conference. important issues on the table, networking and, of course, to

discuss who's naughty or nice. the christmas-in-july celebration wraps up with a parade through town for all the kids to remember santa is keeping tabs all year round. well, three norwegian daredevils made their mark in the pristine mountaintops of greenland. the thrill-seekers traveled from norway to execute several high-flying jumps. helmet cams captured the gut wrenching free fall, some almost 6,000 feet. the group says getting to the top was a challenge, but the ride down was well worth it. bill, you know how i feel about that video. >> i know. they call those bird suits, by the way. it's not like free falling. it lets you glide a little. you can turn and maneuver. >> it looks cool, but it's terrifying. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. on capitol hill ben bernanke kicks off back-to-back meetings for his twice a year economic

update. the head of the federal reserve is expected to take a reassuring tone amid worries the slowing recovery could fall into a double-dip recession. in louisiana tens of thousands are ready to rally against a government ban on deepwater drilling in the gulf of mexico. attendees at the rally for economic survival fear the federal moratorium will stunt the gulf region's economic growth. and in washington the first lady michelle obama will honor recipients of the smithsonian's prestigious cooper-hewitt design award. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. usda official shirley sherrod speaks out about being forced to resign after being accused of racist remarks. and the latest on how lindsay lohan's jail time could

change the tarnished star. and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. how was school today? [ girls ] good. ♪ ♪ thank you! ♪ phew! [ ernie ] we make our cookies the way only keebler elves can: with a little something extra. so every bite can be uncommonly good.