[ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today," here we go again. yet another setback in efforts to seal off the gulf's leaking oil well. judgment day. charlie sheen admits to doing the crime, but will he serve the time? plus, party on. which college got an a-plus when plus, party on. which college got an a-plus when it comes to having a good time? 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. and today we begin with another delay. bp had hoped to begin testing its plan to pump massive amounts of mud into the blown out well

in the gulf of mexico, but now frustration is mounting as the so-called static kill, a plan bp hopes will seal the stopped up well for good, is on hold again. for more on this, we go to nbc's kristen dahlgren in venice, louisiana. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning, lynn. at this point we were supposed to at least be close to the start of that so-called static kill, but they found a hydraulic leak as they were about to do that last key test, so now they have to fix that before they can move forward with the kill. one mile beneath the surface, one more delay. crews hope to fix a hydraulic leak today to get back to the business of sealing the well. if they're able to do that and complete one more key test, heavy mud will begin pumping through the blowout preventer, choking the macondo well from the top down. >> what you want is the pressure to slowly decrease until it becomes zero in the well. that means the amount of mud is equal to the pressure being pushed up. >> reporter: if it works, it could be all that's needed, and

a relief well would only be used to verify that and give an extra measure of mud and cement from the bottom. but an end to the well is hardly an end to the story. government scientists now estimate the crude flowed at a rate of 62,000 barrels a day initially, down to 53,000 barrels a day when it was capped july 15. a total of some 4.9 million barrels, oil that locals worry is still out there, if not on the surface, then somewhere below. >> and the pelicans and birds continue to dive and lose their life because we weren't on top of it in open water. we were told there was no oil out there that day. >> we're going to put divers in the water in all different depths, looking for that mystical oil monster. >> reporter: a monster that so many here still fear, even as officials get ready to go in for the kill.

>> so it's still unclear just how long fixing that hydraulic leak will take. they do hope to have it fixed sometime today. meanwhile we have learned about the dispersant that's been such a concern to so many here. the epa has released the latest test results on that dispersant concluding the chemical used is no less toxic than the oil is alone. >> kristen dahlgren, thanks. well, president obama is vowing to keep his word by ending the u.s. combat mission in iraq by the end of this month, despite the ongoing instability there. yesterday in atlanta the president told the disabled american veterans group that his plan to begin bringing u.s. troops home from iraq is on schedule, but the president's speech comes amid uncertainty in the war-torn country. july saw an uptick in deadly attacks as iraqi leaders remain stuck at a political impasse. on capitol hill congresswoman maxine waters faces a house trial this fall on three charges of ethical wrongdoing. yesterday a congressional panel

charged that the california democrat sought federal help for a bank where her husband owns stock and served on the board of directors. waters, the number three democrat on the financial services committee, vehemently denies any wrongdoing. the accusations come as democrat charles rangel, another prominent member of the congressional black caucus, faces a trial on 13 ethics violations. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. a pilot in massachusetts says he was having engine trouble when he decided to ditch his single-engine plane into the waters off cape cod. fortunately both the pilot and passengers were able to escape the aircraft with just minor injuries and swim ashore. kentucky police are searching for a brazen robber who stole electronics from a church during sunday's services. surveillance video shows the man shuffling around the church office before stuffing a laptop into his backpack. the pastor says the thief was able to walk right into the office because doors are unlocked during services.

in florida, newly released night vision video shows dozens of baby sea turtles being released into the wild. the newborns were moved to beaches affected by the gulf oil crisis to safer waters on florida's east coast. the release was done at night since hatchlings are sensitive to light. and crowds in texas were in for a real treat when dozens of hot air balloons lit up the sky. it was all part of an annual balloon glow that takes place every summer. organizers say longview was the first city to hold a balloon glow, which is now a common event at festivals around the world. can you see why. and now for a look at your national and your regional weather, here's nbc's meteorologist bill karins with your weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. >> lynn, for your next birthday, i want to take you on a hot air balloon ride. >> you know how well that would go over. >> you wouldn't go with me. >> we know my complex when it comes to heights. unfortunately not even a hot air balloon ride with bill karins. >> will get you in the air.

i'll keep working on you. a lot of big weather stories today. start with the first one, tropical storm colin formed in the atlantic. this storm is a close call to areas here in the leeward islands, virgin islands and then it should go somewhere off the southeast coastline as we go through the upcoming weekend. not expected to grow into a monster big storm, just a tropical storm, weaker, lower end hurricane. nonetheless, we'll be watching that closely as we go towards the end of the weekend and into the beginning of next week. what's probably a bigger storm than colin forming, 104 in dallas yesterday, new orleans 100, a dangerous heat wave continues there. hotter there than in the desert southwest. arizona was only 102. vegas was 104. today in kansas, it could hit 110. so very impressive. we're still extremely cool on the coast. san francisco another day in the 60s. you don't even need the shorts and t-shirts this summer.

today will be maybe a couple of degrees better, at least into the low 70s. if you're interior sections just like yesterday on the coast, just like yesterday, probably be about 70 in san francisco, 83 los angeles, seattle air still cool, too, at 73. july, you're already starting off chilly. 86 in roseburg, oregon. yakima washington, 90, nice and toasty. we'll take a look at the wednesday forecast coming right up. well, upbeat on the street, a kindle price cut pays off, and what we spend a third of our time doing. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, will a sorry from charlie be enough to keep him out of the big house? a gruesome injury in the red sox game, and one of the wildest basketball shots you'll ever see. 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. tragedy in louisiana where officials say six teenagers who were playing in the red river drowned yesterday. it's believed the victims, ages 13 to 18, were from two families. none apparently knew how to swim. one child, a 14-year-old, was rescued from the water. according to a new study, each time u.s. or nato forces accidently kill afghan civilians, insurgents and their sympathizers typically retaliate with six additional assaults over the next six weeks. researchers also found that attacks on foreign forces increase slightly even when insurgents are to blame for the civilian deaths. dramatic video out of russia where four volunteers became trapped in the middle of a wildfire. they'd been trying to help residents protect their homes

from the flames. fortunately they were able to make it to safety. at least 40 people have been killed as firefighters struggle to contain about 600 wildfires across the country. and there's a new top dog when it comes to party colleges. the university of georgia has been named top party school by the princeton review for the first time followed by ohio university and penn state. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,674 after gaining 208 points yesterday. the s&p went up 24, and the nasdaq rose 40 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei added 123, while in hong kong the hang seng gained 44 points. august got off to a stellar start yesterday, thanks to some welcome news on the economy here at home and overseas. investors were upbeat early on after data out of china showed

manufacturing levels there are cooling off. that should prevent china's government from laying down new laws to keep its rapidly growing economy from overheating. back on the street the dow closed at its highest level in three months, thanks to news that manufacturing here at home is on the rise. industrials like 3m and ge, the current owner of this network, shot up after the government reports showed that production is picking up as are new hires. the prospect of increased demand pushed oil prices 3% higher. meanwhile, anadarko surge on word that western gas is buying some of its colorado pipeline assets for nearly $500 million. drugmaker sanofi-aventis is reportedly in pursuit of biotech company genzyme. an $18 billion bid is said to be on the table. in the wake of the nation's widespread mortgage meltdown, countrywide financial has agreed to pay $600 million in class-action lawsuits. amazon's price cuts for its

kindle e-reader are apparently paying off. the online retailer says it sold out of two new models priced at under $200. and, finally, think social networking is just a fad? think again. the latest nielsen survey found americans spend one-third of their time online tweeting, facebooking, and watching clips on youtube, and it's not just for kids. it turns out twice as many americans over 50 visited social networking sites this year than kids under 18. well, a-rod gets another shot at a baseball milestone, and some rookie hazing in the nfl. plus, a trick shot you have to see to believe. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. well, your tuesday forecast, the heat wave continues. we also are seeing activity in the tropics. 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, last night the atlanta braves took an early lead and ran with it against the new york mets. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. the atlanta braves have the best home record in the bigs, and last night they proved why against the new york mets.

the braves jumped on johan santana in the first. rick ankiel making his turner field debut. a shot past second. in came two runs. atlanta up, 3-0 after one. let's go to the seventh. it's chipper jones took santana 13 deep. rays improved, a 35-13 at home with a 4-1 win. yanks and blue jays. another five at-bats, but no home runs for alex rodriguez. he's been to the plate 48 times since hitting 599. nick switzer had no problem hitting the long ball. he hit two. unfortunately they weren't enough, and the blue jays won it, 8-6. to tampa, rookie jeremy hellickson made his major league debut. it was a good one. jason kubel, thanks for playing, take a seat. then he made the veteran jim thome look like a minor leaguer. hellickson struck out six over seven. to the fifth now, matt joyce, an rbi double off the wall. rays won it, 4-2. they're now tied for first place in the a.l. east with the yankees. red sox and indians, if you're squeamish, you may want to turn your head. a single to right. a play at the plate. and catcher carlos santana got the worst of it. these are not supposed to have

been like that. he remained down for over ten minutes and was carted off the field. he'll have an mri today. the indians won it, 6-5. check this out from birmingham, alabama. being called the farthest basketball shot ever made, this guy heaved a ball from atop a city monument. nothing but net. real or fake, well, you be the judge. another view, certainly wouldn't want to play him in a game of horse. finally, rookie hazing is an nfl training camp tradition, but give dolphin linebacker travis ivey some credit for creativity. when asked to carry his teammates' shoulder pads, instead of picking them up, he put them on, all of them. now ivey is a long shot to make the dolphins' final roster, but given his youthfulness, perhaps he can help out his team as equipment manager. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. well, randy jackson addresses the latest "american idol" rumors. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, talk about keeping you on your toes. we'll tell you about a world record attempt not for the faint of heart. you're watching early today.

welcome back. cool weather on the coast. a dead record we'd like to throw out the window and smash. weather hasn't been there for us down the california coast one of the coolest summers on memory

for people living here. interior areas hot, salt lake city, boise on the warm side as we go throughout wednesday. 105 in phoenix, after a break from your summer heat, back on wednesday, 107 for you. as far as the rain goes, not much of it as we go throughout the rest of the week. if you're watching on ksn v las vegas, nevada, in earth your inner archaeologist, discover memorialies and artifacts at treasures of egypt as las vegas natural history museum. lose all your money and go to the museum. >> great idea. now here's an early morning look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. no jail time for charlie sheen. the "two and a half men" star will avoid the slammer and face lesser charges after pleading guilty monday to assaulting his wife brooke mueller during a christmas day argument. instead it will be 30 days of rehab and anger management classes.

well, dina lohan is speaking out for the first time since her daughter's release yesterday morning, telling radaronline lindsay is doing well and is in very good hands at a ucla rehab center. tweens everywhere can rejoice. you can no get a little closer to justin bieber. paramount has acquired the rights to the pop star's life story and is now planning a 3-d movie starring bieber himself. who's in and who's out on "american idol?" well, randy jackson didn't say much to answer that question, telling "e!" quote, the only thing for sure is ryan. and, finally, pamela anderson is taking the gulf oil disaster into her own hands by adopting two dogs affected by the massive spill. the long-time peta activist has also been actively working to relocate dozens of more pups. always great to hear, isn't it, bill? >> a nice story. pam is still looking great. >> i knew you'd throw that in there. enough about the dogs, how about pam?

this comes from wnbc 4 new york, where balance rin as endured a little pain. for a lot of gain. over 200 ballerinas gathered in central park to break the world record for most ballerinas on point. the lean-legged beauties endured a toe-crippling one minute and seven seconds. guinness still has to certify the achievement is a great one, because the dancers can take comfort in knowing they raised much needed funds for a local boys and girls club performing arts program. >> so we know you're afraid of heights. we know you're not a great athlete or into sports. >> wait. no one said i wasn't a good athlete, just that i wasn't in sports. i was actually a pretty good athlete. >> did you ever dance and do ballet? >> i didn't. i was actually an athlete. i'm lynn berry. that's confusing, isn't it? i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

normally a country wouldn't celebrate being invaded. normally. but that's the tradition in spain where this annual festival marks the many viking invasions of the spanish coast between the 9th and 11th centuries. thousands dressed as vikings recreate the conflict using wine to symbolize the bloodshed, and when it's all over, everyone makes nice over a feast fit for warriors. well, one group is taking their soapbox derby to the next level. local boy scouts in portugal squared off in some out-of-the- box creations. drivers turned their cars into bathtubs, helicopters, and one even sported a flintstone theme. the riders aren't allowed to have motors and can only be propelled by gravity, but

working brakes are a must, thankfully. well, one water sport isn't as much about winning as it is making a splash, and it was mission accomplished in the czech republic where competitors look for wacky ways to cross a local footbridge. wheelbarrow or bicycle, it all usually ends the same. the wetter the better is usually the idea here. there is no competition. it's just a good time and a way to entertain the crowds. and, bill, this fully supports my theory if we had a dunk tank to put you in, our audience would be so much happier. >> if you were throwing, i wouldn't have to worry about anything. i would be high and dry. >> this is true. i'll have to work on that. time now for a look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. voters in three states head to the polls to make their picks for candidates in november's general election. today primary races are being held in kansas, michigan, and missouri. president obama will host young african leaders at a white house forum today. 115 future leaders from 47

sub-saharan african nations have been invited to the event focusing on youth empowerment, good governance, and economic opportunity. and today marks the anniversary of the start of christopher columbus's journey to the new world. on this day in 1492 the italian explorer set sail from spain on a voyage that would take him to the americas. 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. an exclusive interview with a woman who says she found out on facebook that her husband was married to another woman. and meet the dugger family's 19th child, 8-month-old daughter josie. 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.