[ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today," choosing sides. the senate's top democrat breaks with president obama over the ground zero mosque controversy. collision course. a murder suspect crashes head on during a high-speed chase in texas. and facebook faux pas. online photo of an israeli soldier posing with bound online photo of an israeli soldier posing with bound palestinians sparks outrage. 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 taking a stand. the disputed plan over the plans to build a mosque near ground zero has politicianings fired up in washington with lawmakers in both parties taking sides, and for president obama, who's hitting the campaign trail hard ahead of the midterm elections, it's been an issue he's unable to shake. for more now, we go to nbc's kristen dahlgren in washington. kristen, good morning. >> good morning, lynn. and now the senate's top democrat harry reid has come out against the proposed mosque plan a clear move away from the president on this controversial issue. reed is in a tight re-election bid in nevada and the mosque controversy is quickly becoming a hot issue as we move into the elections. reid said he respects freedom of religion but thinks the mosque should be built somewhere else. on a trip to miesque yesterday,

the president continued to be dogged by questions about his stand on the mosque. aides and the president have spent the past four days trying to explain his position on the issue. he said he believes freedom of religion includes building a place of worship on private property. now, he clarified that a bit on saturday saying he wasn't talking about the wisdom of building in that particular location but just about the principles this country was founded on. yesterday a spokesman for the white house said the president felt it was his obligation as president to address this. lynn? >> kristen dahlgren for us in washington. kristen, thank you. well, same-sex weddings will not resume in california this week. yesterday a federal appeals court blocked the unions while it considers the constitutionality of the state's gay marriage ban known as proposition 8. the decision trumps a lower court judge's order last week that would have allowed county clerks to begin issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples

tomorrow. the appeals court will hear arguments in the case in december. defense secretary robert gates has announced he's planning to leave his post next year. in an interview with "foreign policy magazine" yesterday, gates said retiring from his pentagon post in 2011 makes sense since he will know by then if the war strategy in afghanistan is working. plus, he said waiting till 2012 would be a mistake since, quote, this is not the kind of job you want to fill in an election year. officials on a colombian resort island are calling it a miracle and praising a pilot's skill for saving the lives of 130 passengers onboard a plane that crash-landed in bad weather yesterday. amazingly only one passenger was killed when the boeing 737 jetliner broke apart as it slid down the runway yesterday. authorities are now investigating whether a

downdraft may have shaken the plane as it neared the island off the east coast of nicaragua or if it was hit by lightning. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. denver's mayor has called for a federal investigation after newly released video showed a police officer beating a bystander. the incident happened a year ago when the man talking on the cell phone was taken down and beaten by police. an independent investigation had recommended the officers be fired for fabricating a report on the incident, but both officers were only suspended. in texas a police helicopter camera captured a dramatic end to a wild escape of a murder suspect. the police attempted to disable the suv with spikes, but the suspect swerved. then the suspect made a u-turn and within seconds drove head on into a police cruiser. the officer was rescued before his vehicle burst into flames. the suspect faces charges of capital murder and aggravated assault.

in south carolina one person is dead after a tanker truck collided with another vehicle, then caught fire. spilled gasoline ignited, sending flames shooting up through a storm drain, shutting down traffic in both directions. and neighbors in one new mexico neighborhood got up close and personal with a wandering female black bear. wildlife officials tranquilized the bear who had climbed up into a tree. she then came crashing down to the ground but was not hurt. officials are expecting to tag and release the bear back into nearby mountains. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc's meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. >> i'm glad you said the bear was okay. they could have used a sheet or trampoline or something. >> and lived happily ever after, though. you have to pay attention to that part. >> boo boo of.

>> good morning, everyone. it was a beautiful summer-like day in many areas. in the red it was in the 90s. 91 in seattle. we were much hotter in the south. portland 96, medford almost a record high 105 yesterday. the record, by the way, was 107. even boise had a warm day, salt lake city. all the exceptions down the immediate california coast where the clouds prohibited the warm-up and still remained in the 60s. today is not going to be any different. there's still an upper-level low spinning off the coast. going to keep the on-shore flow over southern california. interior sections will be warm. we could see pop-up thunderstorms around medford and areas here in the southern oregon, northern california as that moves on shore in the afternoon. temperatures warm, holding some of that heat from yesterday. today is going to be another summer-like day with the exception of the immediate coast. upper 80s at 90, red bluff a

little toasty, 96. fallon, nevada, could hit the century mark and salem, oregon, sunny and 91. lynn, yesterday we mentioned alaska and anchorage's streak of rain keeps going and going. i'm going to update that for you coming up a little later. >> all right, bill. thank you. also coming up, gloomy data on wall street, dell sparks the nasdaq, and the next step for general motors. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, news that hollywood headliner michael douglas is fighting a new health problem. a pitcher's duel between the rays and the rangers, jets draw first blood, and the mets lose their closer for good. 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. there's been a deadly blast in baghdad this morning. at least 60 people have been killed in a suicide attack. a bomber blew himself up in a crowd of army recruits near a military headquarters. >> a former israeli soldier is under fire for facebook photos showing her in uniform, smiling beside blindfolded palestinian prisoners. both israeli military and palestinian officials are criticizing the images. it's not yet clear whether the army could punish her because she has finished her military service. in south carolina, the bodies of two toddlers have been pulled from a car in a river. their mother has been arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident. authorities are looking into whether their deaths were accidental. in california, a man who

spent 13 years behind bars for trying to steal food from a church has been ordered released. in 1997 gregory taylor had received a 25-year sentence under california's three strikes law. his other two strikes were robberies. neither were violent, and no weapons was used. the judge who ordered gregory's release said the three strikes law has often yielded disproportionate sentences. and progress with a repair job at the international space station. yesterday astronauts completed urgent fixes on a cooling system. so far tests show the ammonia pump is working well. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,302 after losing a point yesterday. the s&p went up a fraction. the nasdaq rose 8 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo,

the nikkei dropped 34 points, but in hong kong the hang seng gained 25 points. you might say investors have a case of the summertime blues. and right now it's easy to see why so many are sitting on the sidelines. disappointing economic data continued to pile up yesterday with homebuilder confidence dipping for the third straight month, thanks to the weak economy and a flood of bargain basement foreclosed properties. an index of new manufacturing orders in new york state didn't bode well for things picking up any time soon either. gold prices hit a six-week high as investors sought out safer bets in metals and mining companies. u.s. steel and freeport-mcmoran both added nearly 1%. on the earnings front, skittish consumer spending forced lows to wave a warning flag ahead of a weak full year forecast. still a spike in summer sales boosted second quarter results. the nasdaq managed to make it

out of the red monday, thanks in part to dell's decision to buy storage tech firm 3par for $18 a share. news of the deal sent 3par stock skyrocketing 86%. keep an eye on gm today as the once beleaguered automaker will likely file what's expected to be one of the largest ipos ever. general motors is expected to raise between $15 billion and $20 billion from the stock offering. and, finally, despite the tempting bait, you'd have to be a fool to fall for this one. a billionaire in england is offering $1 million to anyone stupid enough to strip naked in front of president obama while shouting the name of his website and sporting it on their bare chest. sadly i have a feeling someone is stupid enough to do something like that. let's hope not. well, a brave comeback, johnny damon returns to new york, and strikeouts don't always mean wins. plus, both nfl teams from new york start preseason off

with a nasty head-to-head battle. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. our weather high lights on this tuesday, our heat wave continues in texas and tropical downpours in the gulf coast. 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 after a wild game in tampa, the rays are fit to be tied, tied with the yankees, that is, atop the american league east. here's nbc's bill seward with an early look at all your sports headlines. hi, everybody. a possible playoff preview in tampa as the rays hosted the first-place rangers pitchers' duel. cliff lee getting it done early. b.j. upton morphs into b.j. up no more. lee with ten strikeouts. david price, not too shabby. boggs down, brandon boggs, eight punchouts over six. rays get to lee in the eighth. carlos pena with an rbi single to center. here comes carl crawford. rays up, 5-4, win it, 6-4. lee saddled with the loss. yankees and tigers. johnny damon returning to new york for the first time since signing with detroit. first inning, johnny with a shot right to the pitcher. johnny 0-for. can't say the same for ryan raburn.

got all of that one in the second. two-run bomb. tigers win, 3-1. loss moves the yanks into a tie with the rays for first in the east. the dodgers continue their late season implosion. ninth inning, 3-2 against the braves. bases loaded for melky cabrera, and melky does a body good. a single to left to score two. atlanta's won 20 games in its final at-bat. braves rally, 4-3. almost a week after mets' closer franke rodriguez got into it with his girlfriend's father at citifield, he'll now need surgery to repair a thumb ligament that tore during the altercation. k-rod will miss the rest of the season. the mets may try to void the remainder of his $29 million contract. things going much better for new york's football team. jets and giants opening up the new $1.6 billion stadium, and then the jets open up eli manning. giants' quarterback hit in the backfield. his helmet comes flying off. we've got a bleeder. manning cuts his forehead. left the game to get 12 stitches.

giants earn bragging rights in this one, 31-16. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm bill seward. well, more troubles for mel gibson. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, a combination of determination and love for baseball makes one man an example for us all. you're watching "early today." well, welcome back.

>> your tuesday forecast a lot like the west coast, much of the california interior warm, the coast dealing with pesky clouds. some clouds will keep it slightly cooler in phoenix. yesterday we mentioned anchorage had broken their records for consecutive days with precip. a month straight with at least a trace of rain every day. today showers in the forecast, a high of 60 degrees. that's not a record we want to keep adding to. if you're watching on kiem channel 2 in eureka, california, see the world's only trained turkeys make a mad dash for turkey treats in the wild dash turkey stampede at the humboldt county fair. that's the pacific event of the day. i love county fairs. >> i do, too.

where else do you find turkey trot dash. and don't forget fried twinkies. >> i've never gone there. here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. oscar-winning actor/producer michael douglas is battling a tumor in his throat. "people" reports douglas will undergo eight weeks of radiation and chemotherapy. douglas says he is, quote, very optimistic, and his doctors expect a full recovery. tmz reports mel gibson lost control of his mazerati sunday in malibu and crashed into a rocky hillside. gibson, who was unhurt, told officers he has no idea how he ran off the road and denied using his cell phone. dui is not suspected. england's "daily telegraph" reports angelina jolie will play marilyn monroe in a film following the last two years of her life through the eyes of her maltese terrier given to her by frank sinatra. kind of interesting there. and, finally, two wrongs may not make a right. it's revenge for justin bieber.

"gawker" reports the pop star hit back at a teen who hacked into his friend's twitter account by publishing the kid's phone number to millions of online followers. bieber quickly removed the post, but not before the hacker's line was jammed. and this comes to us from wlwt-tv channel 5 in cincinnati, ohio, where one man is inspiring baseball fans and just plain folks all across the nation. tom was born without arms, but that hasn't stopped him from stepping up to the mound and throwing out the first pitch with his feet. he always wanted to play baseball, so he found his own way to do it. this summer at various stadiums, he's been inspiring people to value what's most important for people with disabilities -- their abilities. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

while these cubs are cute, they could land one zookeeper in hot water. a private zoo in taiwan debuted their first ligers, a crossbreed between a male lion and a female tiger. now the practice is illegal there, and now the owner is being investigated. despite the controversy, the zookeeper claims the parents have lived together since they were small and were not bred intentionally. what's old is new again in italy, which is unfortunate for these jockeys. thousands came out for the bareback no-holds-barred horse race. surrounding neighborhoods saddle up or don't saddle up to

tear through the city square. the race without any rules, which dates back to the 15th century, is mostly for local bragging rights, and luckily only lasts about a minute and a half. if the point of hand gliding is to fly, this event definitely misses the mark. at the international birdman competition in england, wannabe gliders took off 50 feet from the water. sadly the only thing they had going for them were some wacky costumes. these homemade flying machines didn't make it very far. in fact, no one managed to glide the 300 feet to take top prize, but it makes for a pretty good blooper reel. >> i don't think they were trying. the theme was birds, right? >> yes. >> so a big bird costume would work, i guess. >> apparently they didn't take that advice, but they looked pretty funny. >> i don't think you'd swim too well in a big bird costume now that i think about it. >> true. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the public is invited to attend

funeral services for former alaskan senator ted stevens. he'll lie in repose at an anchorage church. stevens died in a plane crash last week along with four others. voters will continue to fill in the slots for the upcoming fall midterm elections. primary races are being held in washington and wyoming. and today marks the 41st anniversary of hurricane camille. on this day in 1969 camille slammed into mississippi as a category 5 storm. the hurricane was blamed for 256 deaths. 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 american man and his pregnant wife who survive a colombia plane crash tell their story. and former national skating champion nicole bobeck talks about her fall from grace. 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. the day, today on your nbc station. have a good one. [ water runs ] [ female announcer ] new chef boyardee whole grain beefaroni. [ whispering ] now with whole grain pasta. shh.