this morning on "early today," crash landing. an airliner goes down in pakistan killing everyone on board. countdown in arizona. arizona braces for controversy as supporters and opponents of its immigration law descend on the state one day before it goes into effect. and what a find. a california man snaps up a luy garage sale buy worth a california man snaps up a luy garage sale buy worth hundreds of millions of dollars. 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 tragedy in pakistan.

early this morning a passenger jet crashed near that nation's capital. the airblue plane flying from karachi to islamabad and was carrying 152 passengers as well as six crew members. an nbc producer near the crash has been told by a pakistani official there are no survivors. the cause of the crash is not yet known. that plane was attempting to land in severe weather. elsewhere last night the house approved a measure that handed president obama a $33 billion boost for the troop surge in afghanistan. the measure made it through, despite democrats divided on the stripped down version and a recent top-secret leak exposing classified details about the controversial war. nbc's brian mooar has our report. >> reporter: despite a stalled economy, a growing budget gap, and a looming election, members of congress wrote another big check to pay for the war in

afghanistan, but not without some public hammering at first. >> i cannot look my constituents in the eye and say that this operation will hurt our enemies more than it hurts us. >> reporter: a war that's now being cast in an even more unflattering light with the online leak of more than 91,000 pages of raw intelligence. president obama is playing it down. >> the fact is these documents don't reveal any issues that haven't already informed our public debate on afghanistan. >> reporter: but the pentagon says it's still assessing the damage. >> are there any things in there that could jeopardize our operations or our nation's security? we just don't know at this point. >> reporter: the man who published the papers say it's a true picture of the war. >> it is the most significant history of a war to have ever been released during a war. i -- at the time where it can make some difference and shape policy outcomes. >> reporter: meanwhile the pentagon is calls pfc bradley manning, a 22-year-old intelligence officer, a person

of interest. he's being held in kuwait on suspicion of a separate leak. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. senate republicans have blocked legislation requiring fuller disclosure of the money behind political campaigning. yesterday's vote, which fell three short of the 60 needed to advance the bill, helps pave the way for corporations to spend as much as they want on attack ads during this year's midterm elections. democrats said the bill was needed to force special interest groups to disclose their donors, but republicans maintained it would violate the right to free speech. an audit of the defense department finds the pentagon can't account for nearly $9 billion belonging to the iraqi government. that fund, which was meant to go to iraqi reconstruction efforts, was set up in 2004 with oil and gas revenues seized from the ousted regime of saddam hussein. according to the audit, defense agencies that received the money, failed to properly track and manage the funds.

although the report accused the defense department of lax oversight and weak controls, it said there is no apparent evidence of fraud. arizona's controversial new immigration law is set to take effect tomorrow. however the obama administration is seeking an injunction to stop the measure so its lawsuit against the state of arizona can play out. joining us live now with the very latest from washington is nbc's kristen dahlgren. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning, lynn. this has been a lightning rod and could all come to a head today. the arizona immigration law has it gives the right to check immigration status during traffic stop if there is reasonable cause to believe they are undocumented. opponents say that will read to racial profiling while supporters say it's the only way to shore up a secure border. now the fate of this law appears to rest for now at least in the hands of a federal judge.

we could hear her decision today. the aclu and other civil rights group filed in court to say it's unconstitutional to have a state law superseding federal law. meanwhile mass protests planned tomorrow if the law does go into effect. legal experts say whatever the judge does decide, it's likely this will eventually end up in the supreme court. >> kristin dahlgren there for us in washington, d.c. kristen, thanks. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. officials in oklahoma are trying to determine what caused a gas line to rupture, sending flames shooting into the air. no one was hurt, but one farmer did lose his truck due to the intense heat. homeowners in alaska captured a daring rescue on tape when a young black bear got caught in a net. the plan was to hook the net to a truck, drag it away from the mama bear, and free the cub. but the mother would not leave the cub's side, and eventually

she was able to rip through the net and drag her baby back into the woods. and a california man who spent $45 on some glass negatives at a garage sale is certainly seeing the fruits of his investment. it turned out the negatives were the work of iconic photographer ansel adams and could be worth more than $200 million. why doesn't that ever happen to us? 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. >> with our luck, we would have been the ones selling them for $50. >> we can't get ahold of that guy. i think he's out looking for whoever bought those negatives, tracking them down. >> imagine that. maybe they won't find out. maybe they will never know. they will be better off. let's talk about the weather. it's been hot summer. there's no doubt about it. only areas of exception is the pacific northwest, yesterday cool in seattle at 78, san francisco 71. right along the coast, very cool. the weather pattern is changing

in the days ahead. the eastern half will cool off a little bit while the heat will continue to build in the four-corners region, the rockies and interior valleys. yesterday was only 81 even in sacramento but 104 in vegas. salt lake city was hot along with boise. even medford got into the act with a high of 97. here is how the weather pattern looks today. there's a general flow, everything sliding to the north still. we're watching the trough off the coast, which will keep the coastal clouds in those areas. in the mornings will be the worst and the afternoon will break out a bit of sunshine. a few sprinkles and showers at the high elevations in utah and nevada. overall a pretty dry forecast, looks a lot like yesterday. continue with those coastal clouds, keeping you and san francisco at 69. l.a. try to get you more sunshine at 77. medford is going to be warm and of course we'll be above 100 in the desert. that's a quick lonice.

high country of arizona and also elko, nevada. well, it's going to change sooner or later. at least this weather pattern doesn't look like it's here to stay. i'll show you what thursday looks like coming up. well, consumers cringe, home sales rise, and office depot rises on its fall. your early morning business headlines straight 'head. >> plus, bob barker finally gives his review on how his successor is doing on "the price is right." stephen strasburg is shut down, t.o. joins ochocinco, and a whale of a soccer celebration. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. 100 days into the gulf oil disaster, and a hearing on the

controversial release of the lockerbie bomber has been postponed after what one senator called, quote, stonewalling by bp and the english and scottish governments. bp is in the hot seat over its alleged involvement in helping to release the infamous libyan bomber in return for a $900 million oil deal with libya. jury deliberations begin today in the corruption case against former illinois governor rod blagojevich. among other charges, blagojevich is accused of trying to profit from his power to appoint a successor to barack obama's former senate seat. and one woman in egypt has a lot of diaper changing to do after giving birth to sextuplets monday. amazingly the six babies were conceived without fertility drugs. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,537 after gaining 12 points yesterday. the s&p lost a point and the nasdaq dropped 8 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo

the nikkei rose 256 points, while in hong kong the hang seng added 117. stocks were mixed tuesday after a survey on the nation's confidence in the economy showed job worries and anemic wage growth have americans worried. the consumer confidence index came in with a steeper than expected decline for july and now stands at the lowest point since february. housing market news was somewhat more upbeat. home prices rose in may for the second straight month as federal tax incentives pulled in more buyers. however, the report also warned those tax credits have expired, so the gains aren't likely to last. chemical maker dupont was up more than 3% after reporting net income nearly tripled in the second quarter as revenue surged in most of its businesses. steel makers were less rosy. a.k. steel lost almost 5% after announcing it was cutting production in response to weak demand.

u.s. steel tumbled more than 6% after reporting in that loss that missed wall street's expectations. not bad was okay for office depot, reporting a smaller than expected quarterly loss, sending its shares shooting up 8%. they're down to penny stocks but fannie mae and freddie mac jumped after the administration said it's organizing a conference on housing finance in august. elsewhere general electric, the current owner of this network, will pay $23.4 million to settle federal charges some subsidiaries paid illegal kickbacks to the iraqi government to win contracts under a u.n. program. and, finally, at australia's jenolan caves, once the site of an out-of-this-world location shoot for "star trek," staffers have added an eighth language for conducting tours. the "star trek" language of klingon. how about that? well, the rangers walk off happy, a-rod comes up empty on his birthday, and t.o. has a new home.

plus, a little circus action helps the blue jays put away the o's. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. a strong cold front's going to bring relief to the heat for some. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, the cincinnati bengals already feature one brash superstar, so what happens when you add another to the mix? here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. after an off season hounded by the paparazzi and appearances on reality shows, terrell owens has finally found a place to play football. the outspoken wide receiver signed a one-year deal with the cincinnati bengals. he'll be paired up with close friend chad ochocinco to form one of the most flamboyant duos in league history. and some sad news out of the nfl. former raider defensive back jack tatum passed away yesterday after suffering a heart attack. nicknamed the assassin, the three-time pro bowler will be forever linked with the patriots' darryl stingley after a paralyzing hit in 1978. jack tatum was 61 years old. baseball nationals' stephen strasburg experienced boos for the first time in his pro career. he was scratched just minutes before starting against the braves with stiffness in his pitching arm. that didn't sit well with a sellout crowd.

reliever miguel batista picked up the slack. allowed just three hits and struck out six. ian desmond provided the offense, rbi single in the second, scored a pair. the nats won it, 3-0. strasburg is day to day. now to cleveland, alex rodriguez hoped to celebrate his 35th birthday with a 600th home run. ninth inning, down three with two aboard. rodriguez, a chance to be the hero, and he grounds out to end the game. indians won it, 4-1. walk-off anybody? the rangers' nelson cruz sent everybody home with a towering two-run bomb against the a's. they won it, 3-1. great play to show you by the blue jays' yunel escobar. the orioles' jake fox, a shot up the middle. escobar made the stop, flipped it behind his back, and got the runner at second. it doesn't get any better than that. jays won it, 8-2. finally, check out this soccer celebration from iceland. after scoring a penalty kick, a player cast out his line, and he reeled in a live one. there's great fishing up in iceland. then he and his teammates posed for a picture with their prized catch. at least he won't hear stories

about how the big one got away. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. well, what's the one thing in the world penelope cruz would change? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, how will these high school grads feel about each other 75 years from now? you're watching "early today."

well, welcome back.

if there's one location in the country you don't have to worry about a sunburn, it would be our friends in alaska. a lot of clouds lingering, showers in nome. anchorage, 60 for the high. days are shorter and it's cool. paradise, hawaii, beautiful again. not many issues. upper 80s to near 90 in honolulu. as far as the west coast, the heat continues in medford, warm in deserts of nevada, arizona and california. not bad in l.a. once we burn those clouds off, should get a sunny afternoon. if you're watching us on kteu, news 2 in alaska, the kids will enjoy learning about animals as they get the chance to touch and feed new furry friends at the petting zoo at the alaska zoo. that's your pacific event of the day. wonder if they get to feed penguins. >> always a fun trip. that would be fun. >> it would and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in

entertainment. it's been three years since daytime tv icon bob barker turned over the reins of "the price is right" to drew carey. so how does he think drew carey is doing? well, barker told tmz in a not- so-complimentary way that he and carey do the show differently, saying, quote, i try to make the show exciting, and he doesn't do that. he just plays the games. ouch. well, penelope cruz tells england's "u magazine" that if she could, she would shut down all the teen magazines that encourage young girls to diet, adding, quote, who says to be pretty, you have to be thin? and on the other hand, world renowned chef gordon ramsey says he eats like a horse, six or seven times a day. the foul-mouthed former professional soccer player still looks great because he says he works out and eats small portions. and highlights his hair. >> rumor has it, you think you could do pretty well on his show. you think you're a pretty good little chef. >> master chef there. exactly. >> interesting. maybe i'll have to contact him and give you a tryout. >> if he's listening in los

angeles. and this comes to us from kvjr in duluth, minnesota, where nine former classmates still have the old school spirit decades after graduating. this week the class of 1935 gathered at a local country club to celebrate their 75th high school reunion. although they're in their 90s, not much has changed since they were tweens. the valedictorian still reads a lot, and the most athletic became a phys ed teacher. so what's their advice to today's teens? learn to get along and be friendly with everybody. did you ever go to a high school reunion. >> i have not. thankfully i don't plan on it. because facebook is great. you don't have to anymore. >> you stay connected. i have a college reunion coming up. i'm not going to say what year? >> your second year anniversary. >> i wish, bill karins, that would be fantastic. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

on the cute scale, this little one is off the charts. a baby rhino named hannah is melting hearts at a zoo in switzerland. the 4-day-old girl has been curiously walking around the encloser to get to know the territory with her mama close by. the family is drawing quite a crowd since their breed of rhino is considered endangered. it may not be a pot of gold, but it is quite a find. archaeologists stumbled upon four ancient shipwrecks off the coast of italy. trading vessels dating back as far as the first century b.c. were detected with sonar scanners 500 feet below the mediterranean sea. video reveals mint-condition

cargoes of wine and an oil vase. in brazil two formula truck drivers are lucky to be alive after this incredible crash. video captured the moment one truck goes airborne, barreling in and ripping off the cockpit of a competitor's vehicle. the driver who lost his brakes on the fourth lap of the high-speed race walked away unharmed while the other driver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. bill, it always amazes me when you hear that. you see the video like that, and they walk away unharmed. >> only minor. you see the ones in nascar in our country flipping around and the guys are like thumbs up. >> see you later. time now for a look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the natural resources defense council will release its annual water quality report for the nation's beaches. in addition to the pollution readings for more than 3,000 beaches, the report also includes a five-star rating chart for the country's top 200 sandy destinations.

>> the national urban league holds a conference at the nation's capitol focusing on the challenges facing the nation's minority communities. this evening's highlight include a presentation by maya angelou followed by a performance by john legend. and the 2010 major league soccer all-star game kicks off in texas. the mls all-stars take on england's powerhouse, manchester united. 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. war file secrets. did the wikileaks founder put soldiers at risk? he talks live with meredith. and where's kyron? police say they're making progress in the case of missing 7-year-old kyron horman. 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. have a good one.