jimmy fallon happening right this morning on "early today." super tuesday, voters in five states head to the polls to decide key primary races. it's official, golf's superstar tiger woods' divorce is final ending nine months of turmoil. freeway drama. police dash-cam capture an ohio freeway drama. police dash-cam capture an ohio teen's car going airborne. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning to you. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm veronica de la cruz.

we begin with primary day. voters will head to the polls in several states today to cast their votes in hotly contested elections. old names on the ballot are shelling out big bucks trying to take the races and move on to the midterms. tracy potts joins us for the latest from washington, d.c. good morning, tracy. >> good morning. on the e. coli, polls are now starting to open. we'll see that later along the west coast. basically what we expect to see today is whether republican incumbents and party favorites will be able to hold onto those seats amid a massive challenge from the tea party. arizona's john mccain is in a tough senate fight against former congressman j.d. hayworth. >> we're going to pull a huge upset. >> mccain admits today's votes may be mostly anti-washington. >> people say, look, you're a great guy, john mccain, i'm proud to vote for you and i think we ought to throw everybody out. oh, thanks.

>> reporter: in alaska, tea party and sarah palin favorite joe miller claim lisa murkowski isn't conservative enough. vermont has a race, a five-way democratic race for governor. florida votes for governor, republicans choose between attorney general bill mccallum and health care millionaire, rick scott. but the strangest race is florida's senate primary. >> democrats want a candidate that can win in november. i am that candidate. >> it's clear that he has no chance whatsoever of winning this general election. >> reporter: incumbent kendrick but analysts say democrats may be quietly rooting for his challenger jeff green. why? because the best ally in washington could actually be former governor charlie crist who left the republican party to run as an independent. so we won't really know which party is ahead until the polls close tonight. we do know who is ahead when it

comes to fund-raising. last month they raised twice as much as the republican party. going into elections, democrats overall seem to be about $20 million ahead. >> $20 million, all right. tracie potts, live in washington. tracie, thanks so much. in a setback for the obama admission, they have blocked funding for human embryonic stem cell research. the judge said the research involved the destruction of embryos which congress outlawed. last month, president oh bah a ma signed an executive order reversing a ban put in place by the bush administration in 2001. after that, the national institutes of health issued new guidelines permitting research on certain stem cell lines that had already been created. a spokesman for the justice department said the agency is now reviewing yesterday's decision. philippine police admitted shortcomings today in the handling of the hostage situation that left eight hong kong tourists dead. earlier yesterday, authorities

said a former policeman who hijacked a bus full of tourists was cooperating. but as the crisis continued, commandos decided to storm the vehicle, firing dozens of bullets into the bus. for over an hour afterwards, the hijacker used the captives as human shields until a gunman shot the tourist in the head. eight of the tourists on the bus had been killed. >> other news today in america. chilling video of a car going airborne and smashing into a pillar of an overpass. the incident was recorded by a the pontiac firebird speeds into the culvert, takes to the air, exploding and disintegrated on impact. the driver of the car is alive but in critical condition. an unexpected visitor was found lurking in the chicago river, a three-to five-foot long alligator. that's the second time in a few weeks locals spotted one in the river. experts say it was abandoned by the owner.

they set traps baited with chicken drum sticks and rats in hopes of capturing the gator. unveiled cocaine with a street value of $80 million. the coast card intercepted the stash en route from miami to the caribbean. officials say they are pushing operations away from the border. a group of hondurans have been detained. the department of homeland security is investigating. and in texas -- it was dog-apoolooza for a group of dogs that beat the heat with a big swim and splash. the doggie pool fun was a reward for owners who registered for vaccination updates. now for a look at national and regional weather, here is bill karins with the weather channel forecast. how do you like that dog palooza. >> that's a good name for it. vaccinations and cooled off all

at once. san francisco -- >> always cool there. >> record high temperature, 92 degrees. officially 92 at the airport in san francisco. people were at the beach for the first time in weeks. this was the warmest day by a long shot look. at these temperatures. even dallas yesterday was 107. phoenix 109. right through the desert southwest into the california is where the heat spread. 97 in sacramento, l.a. at 98 degrees. there hasn't been really many hot summer days like this, especially along the coastal areas. this is it. today, looks like equally hot, could break more record highs. temperatures that cooled off as you expect, hot in the deserts, 50s and 60s in most locations. we have clear skies. high pressure is cresting over the region. that means you have one more day of this summer heat. so if you really haven't been able to go to the beach and you wanted to, today is the day to do it because of offshore flow, marine layer out to sea.

this next trough will push in. that will return you to that june gloom weather pattern in the bay area especially. one more day. how hot will it be? temperature 96 is the forecast high in san francisco. that would shatter the pendleton, oregon, 87. look at the valley areas of california, a little too hot, 104 to 103. only a two-day heat wave, veronica, that means it will cool off tomorrow. i'll give you details coming up. >> 96, do you have the numbers backwards? is that right for san francisco? >> people were shocked in san francisco. they were blinded by the sun, it's been so cloudy. computer giants do battle, aig pays a little back.

smelling like texas, your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus meet the new miss universe and wait until you hear her prize package. a no-hitter in the ninth, tiger and elin make it official and going, going, gone. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. among the dead, six members of parliament, a militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack. former president jimmy carter is reportedly heading to north korea to try to gain the freedom of an american imprisoned for illegally entering the communist nation. the associated press reports north korea has agreed to release the boston man who was

sentenced to eight years in prison after his january arrest. a u.s. official says carter is not representing the u.s. government. sea world has been fined $75,000 for safety violations after last year's death of an animal trainer attacked by a killer whale. the occupational safety and health administration's investigation found despite a history of dangerous incidents, sea world, quote, failed to make meaningful safety improvements. sea world plans to appeal the findings. the next time you are in a traffic jam, just think of these drivers in china. they were stuck in traffic for, get this, nine days. the congestion involved 10,000 vehicles. chinese state media says today things are back to normal. now here is an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,174 after losing 39 points yesterday. the s&p fell four points. and the nasdaq dropped 20. taking a look at overseas trading this morning.

in tokyo, the nikkei went down 121 points while in hong kong the hang seng plunged 230. so how do you know when things are looking bleak on wall street? when not even a fresh round of corporate deal making can keep a rally going. a high-tech tug-of-war between hewlett packard and dell sparked some buying early in the day but it fizzled out fast. they are battling over 3par in an effort to get their profit base beyond computers. it sent 3par shares up 45%. investors shrugged off news that hsbc has begun talks to pick up a majority stake in nedbank's south africa's fourth largest bank. >> also failing to impressive investors, a board at potash corp. rejected bhp's $39.5 billion hostile takeover bid citing talks with third party suitors. dow component 3 m managed to

close higher after the ceo doubled the estimate on how the companies will settle acquisitions to some $2 billion. recall from johnson & johnson, the ninth so far this year, could take a toll on the bottom line. acuvue single use contact lenses are being recalled across asia and europe. aig said monday it is paying back $3.9 million of the proceeds of the tax sales to pay off a debt via the federal reserve bank of new york. including interest, aig only owns uncle sam approximately $21 billion. later this morning, the investors can be in for disappointing data on existing home sales. economists expect july sales to decline 14%. finally a unisex scent called "texas," comes in a lone star bottle with red, white, blue frosty crystals and carries the floral, vanilla and leather scent. you can own one of 400 limited edition bottles for $360.

a bizarre almost no-hitter, the yanks go head hunting, and golf like you have never seen it before. plus, a shattering experience at the little league world series. your "early today" morning sports headlines are straight ahead. the big change in our summer weather pattern continues today. record highs on the west coast. it feels like fall in new england. the regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

well, good morning to you. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, things got a little testy between the blue jays and yankees in toronto where the home run leader let his bat do the talking. here is nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning, the new york yankees may have the best team in baseball. but, this season's home run king plays for the toronto blue jays. we go to trobt toronto. jose bautista blasted 39 against the yanks. two-run bomb puts jays up 2-1. batista wasn't going to get another chance. nova throws it at his head, they clear the benches, cooler heads prevail. tied at two, bautista smashed another homer in the eighth. the solo shot gives him an even 40. jays won it 3-2. the rangers rich hardin, no hit

the twins for 6 2/3 before turning it over to the bull pen. they did their job until the ninth. joe mauer broke a single. it goes down as a one-hit shutout. the rangers will take it. they won 4-0. the little league world series. mexico and puerto rico. here is the pitch. look out. talk about money ball. that's about a $20,000 camera lens. the umpire was stunned. then again, it's probably the only game he called that needed a tv camera. one more time, hope that kid has a good paper route to pay for it. just about everybody saw this coming. yesterday was made official. tiger woods and eli finalize their divorce. no financial terms released. elin likely will receive a nine-figure sum, far less than the $750 million that was once reported. four players on the tour were put to the test. show how accurate they can be to their clubs, trying to hit a gong 200 yards from shore. try as they might, they were unsuccessful in their first dozen attempts.

but then david howe found success. skips on the water. going, going, gone. never has there been so much excitement for hitting it into the water. that's an early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. could today be the day lindsey lohan regains her freedom? your early morning headlines are straight ahead. and the president is on a well-deserved vacation. no media allowed. that didn't stop one connecticut family from getting video and memories to last a lifetime. you're watching "early today."

welcome back this tuesday morning. a two-day heat wave in san jose and san francisco, then the cooler air returns tomorrow. record heat today, 96. that's as hot as it gets in san francisco. 98 in l.a. all of california is going to roast today. the desert is hot as usual. even up here to much of oregon we're going to be very warm. i mention things change, high pressure begins to move out. that's going to begin to return the on-shore flow. still hot in l.a. in san francisco you'll be back down there in the 70s. if you're watching knda channel 23 in yakima washington, if you've been spinning your wheels head to the bicycle eclectic exhibit and view portraits of vike lists at the yakima museum. that's your pacific event of the day. >> cool. here is an early look at this morning's headlines in

entertainment. the announcement came after lohan's lawyer made a surprise appearance yesterday inside the judge's chambers. lohan will reportedly earn $1 million from "okay magazine" for her first interview. miranda married to orlando bloom is four months pregnant all all it took for the producers of piranha 3d will be making a sequel. and finally, 22-year-old mexican jimena navarette was crowned miss universe. she gets a salary, a luxury new york apartment, living expenses, a one-year scholarship to the

new york film academy, jewelry, clothes, and, of course, shoes. oh, the shoes. did you watch it last night, bill? >> i did not. my wife was up watching it. i did not. i'll make sure i see her when she comes to new york. they do that and she's on the "today" show. i'll make sure i'm there? >> why? >> i just don't want to be sick that day. >> okay. well, mark your calendar. don't forget. this comes from wvit in connecticut. one family captured a rare vacation run-in they won't be forgetting any time soon. their camping trip in martha's vineyard became extraordinary when they met and spoke with the president and first family at a local bookstore. the president even toot time to sign his book for the boy and he's actually started reading it. and for her back-to-school essay "i met the president and his family". that is very cool. >> i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

more than 400 couples have descended on argentina hoping to be crowned the king and queen of the world's most dramatic dances. the world championships of tango are held in buenos aires, the birth place of the dance. although tango originated in latin america, its influence spans the globe. in fact, the reigning world champions this year are a japanese couple. if you're a fan of sightseeing, we have a whale of a story for you. in australia, a giant humpback whale came and gave an amazing show. the giant mammal jumped out of the water and flipped over several times. perhaps the reason for this

frisky behavior is it's prime mating season for the humpbacks. the nba boston celtics have a player nicknamed "big baby" but he has got nothing on one toddler in china. a 10-month-old there tips the scales at a whopping 44 pounds. wow, that's as much as the average 6-year-old. the boy was born a normal size, so he's undergoing tests to see what's caused him to gain so much weight. oh, my goodness. he just looks uncomfortable. >> maybe he wants to be a sumo wrestler. >> okay. >> he's a big baby. >> how much did you weigh when you were born? >> me? >> oh, about seven pounds something -- pretty average. not 44. >> not 44 pounds. thanks, bill. time now for an early look at some of the stories we're going to be following throughout the day right here on nbc. as we head to november's much-anticipated midterm elections, it's primary day in alaska, florida and vermont. there will be a primary runoff in oklahoma. a pentagon task force will

release recommendations aimed at preventing suicides by members of the armed forces. a recent army report found there were a record 160 suicides last year in the army, a friend fueled in part by a rise in risky behavior such as drunken driving and drug abuse. and here at nbc, congratulations are in order for "meet the press" moderator david gregory who celebrates his 40th birthday. happy birthday. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments and those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight, be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." and finally, here is a look coming up later on the "today" show, the investigation of a nationwide egg recall. and the look at tiger woods' marriage and whether he can repair his tarnished image. keep it on this channel for news, weather, sports, and much more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thank you so much for watching "early today," just your first

stop of the day today on your nbc station. stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a terrific tuesday. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com