[ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today," bold strike. a fresh round of attacks in iraq just as u.s. combat troops are pulling out. passing the time. how trapped chilean miners will be keeping busy until they're rescued. and breaking their silence. tiger woods and his ex-wife both open up about their messy divorce. 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 a deadly wave. less than a week before u.s. troops are set to formally end combat operations in iraq, insurgents have unleashed a

series of attacks. today, six people died in an ambush outside baghdad. it came just hours after coordinated attacks that killed at least 56 people yesterday. police say the more than two dozen bombings and shootings targeted security forces throughout the country, shaking confidence in their ability to take over responsibility for iraq and weaken al qaeda. meanwhile, president obama will deliver a prime time speech from the oval office next tuesday to mark the official end of u.s. combat operations in iraq. the address will take place after the president visits with troops in ft. bliss, texas. alaska senator lisa murkowski is struggling to avoid becoming the seventh congressional incumbent to be pushed out of office this year. with all precincts reporting, murkowski is trailing challenger joe miller by nearly 1,700 votes, although some 7,600 absentee ballots have yet to be counted. the relatively unknown miller, who's on the verge of pulling off a stunning upset, has been

fueled by the high-powered endorsement of former governor sarah palin and the tea party. still, murkowski is hoping she'll eke out a victory. counting of those absentee ballots could take at least another week. more fuel for an already tense muslim community in new york city after a college student was taken into custody for allegedly attacking a muslim cab driver. police say the 21-year-old student was charged with a hate crime and attempted murder after slashing the 43-year-old driver on his face and neck. katy tur from nbc station wnbc 4 new york has more. >> don't know what i did. >> reporter: ahmed sharif didn't even have time to stop the cab before he says his fare, 21-year-old mike enright, who police describe as extremely intoxicated, tried to slit his throat. >> in this time, i saw the knife coming to my neck right here. then i move a little bit, then

the skin here is very deep, but it almost got my bone in there. >> reporter: his throat partially slashed, a cut on his lip and a gash on his arm. his alleged attacker, who just returned from afghanistan, is now charged with not only a hate crime, but attempted murder. >> i have to put it on. >> reporter: enright pictured here with an afghan child recently spent six weeks embedded with the marine corps in helmand province, afghanistan, documenting the story of a childhood friend as he was deployed. this comes amid escalating disorder over the proposed islamic center and mosque near ground zero, which many muslims say has them on edge. >> meanwhile, that controversial mosque and islamic center slated to be built just blocks from the site of the former world trade center got an unexpected boost yesterday. new york neighbors for values, a group of supporters that include families of victims of the september 11th attacks, rallied for the first time in favor of the mosque, calling for religious freedom.

and now here's a look at other stories making news today early in america. in wisconsin, how a thief is caught is worth 1,000 words. look at this. a family stopped to take a vacation photo, and within seconds, their bag was stolen. well, after a quick look through their photos, they found the man and showed police. minutes later, the man was in custody. officials in hawaii have decided to incinerate 40 million pounds of smoldering garbage that's been sitting in an industrial park for five months. the trash was originally supposed to be sent to washington state, but that plan fell through. honolulu produces almost 2 million pounds of trash a year. in upstate new york, dairyville 2020 is on display at the new york state fair. the 800-pound butter sculpture depicts the future of farming and how technology helps provide for a greener community. atlantic city is celebrating the 75th anniversary of an iconic board game. mr. monopoly was there for the

occasion, parachuting in in his trademark bow tie and top hat. most of the streets that made up the game in 1935 still remain, though you would be hard-pressed to rent or lease property for what is listed on the cards. and in alabama, there's one gimmick that really never gets old, does it? a monkey riding a dog. the charging duo of bobo the monkey and red the dog were promoting the alabama state fair, and they're also there to perform. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. road trip to alabama. i'm going to that state fair. >> i thought the racing pigs was always the highlight. now we've upped the ante. >> exactly. we're just going to play it over and over and over again, because i have a feeling that, you know, people like it. >> yeah, a lot of people go to the fair just to see that. let's chat about what happened yesterday in the west with our weather, because it was hot. interior valley california, record high sacramento. on the coast it was a little

cooler, in the 80s, but almost everywhere in interior california was in the 100s. it was 105 in phoenix yesterday, but there was areas in oregon that were even hotter than that. officially, the high yesterday was 105 in medford. vegas was 107. this pink ribbon, that's 100-degree heat, and that extended all the way up here into all interior areas of california. the heat is going to shift a little bit today, more or less into the rockies. we're getting a little cooler of a weather pattern up here in the pacific northwest. temperatures will be dramatically cooler today than they were yesterday. doesn't look like much, but there is a little bit of a cold front that snuck onshore, and that's going to make an onshore flow instead of this hot ring of high pressure that is going to send temperatures near 100 today up there in montana. so cooler on the coast is the rule as the heat backs off. only 71 in san francisco today. notice portland and seattle, chance of showers and your high's only in the 60s and 70s, so, that's much cooler. but look at these temperatures. this has been a ridiculously hot summer in areas like salt l

sacramento, that 94 will be about ten degrees cooler than yesterday. lynn, seems like the heat wave's always in one spot or another, and temperatures are going to cool off in the west, though. so, that may have been it for our really, really hot summer weather. >> all right, bill. thank you. were stocks finally able to end their losing streak? and think your taxes are bad? how about a $172 million bill? your early-morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, heidi montag is desperate to be normal. question is, what is her normal? tiger woods talks about his failed marriage, and a nine-run lead sure isn't safe anymore. 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. chilean officials have assigned daily tasks and planned entertainment, such as games and singing, to keep the 33 trapped miners mentally healthy and trim. the challenge is that the miners will have to be slim enough to fit through a 26-inch escape tunnel once it's drilled. meanwhile, there are conflicting reports as to whether the miners know they could be trapped until christmas. some reports say the news has been broken to them and they took it calmly. in mexico, 72 bodies have been discovered in what may be the biggest massacre in mexico's drug war. the corpses were found at a ranch near the texas border. according to a man who survived the incident, the victims were u.s.-bound migrants killed by a drug gang. a high-profile republican says he's gay. ken mehlman, who was once the

republican party chairman and president george w. bush's campaign manager, tells "the atlantic" magazine he came out publicly in part because he wants to be an advocate for same-sex marriage. and the empire state building is on its way to face some competition just two blocks away. yesterday the new york city council voted in favor of plans for a nearly 1,200-foot tower about 200 feet shorter than the manhattan icon. it was passed despite rejections from the empire state building's owner, who says the tower would ruin the view of the landmark. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,060 after gaining 19 points yesterday. the s&p added three points. the nasdaq rose 17. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei jumped 61 points, but in hong kong, the hang seng lost 22. bargain hunting investors helped markets bounce back yesterday, despite another blow to the economy.

americans bought new homes at the slowest pace in nearly half a century last month, sending the dow in a downward spiral early in the day. but stocks recovered later on with the health care sector leading the way. meanwhile, toll brothers reported its first quarterly profit in three years, giving homebuilders a much-needed boost. apple helped the nasdaq stay out of the red, adding 1 passion on anticipation it will unveil a revamped ipod september 1st. elsewhere, google is giving skype a run for its money with a new feature that will let g-mail users make phone calls from their e-mail inbox. walmart has asked the supreme court to weigh in on whether a wage discrimination suit involving more than a million female workers can proceed. if allowed, walmart could face an estimated $1 billion in damages. germany's government has proposed a new law that would restrict employers from using social networking sites like facebook as a means to screen potential new hires.

aaa says more americans will get away for the labor day weekend this year. the average traveler will spend an estimated $697 over the holiday, up 50 bucks from last year. and finally, need incentive to file your taxes? get this, the irs recently issued a staggering $172 million tax bill to a spanish man who worked as a day trader in his tiny new york city apartment in 2006. after he failed to file a return, a tax expert believes uncle sam assumed the man had raked in $500 million based on the number of trades he made instead of his actual profit. i'm sure he would have loved $500 million. well, tiger woods opens up about his divorce and so does his ex-wife, elin. and extra innings in san francisco after the reds blow a nine-run lead. your early-morning sports headlines are straight ahead. with the exception of

florida, it is going to be sunny and dry from coast to coast, a really nice thursday. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, tiger woods is back on the course and trying to

get his life back on track after his divorce became official. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. it's safe to say tiger woods has a lot on his mind these days. he tees off for the barclays in new jersey just after 7:00 a.m. eastern time. this comes less than a week after his divorce to elin nordegren was finalized. so naturally, the press wanted to talk to tiger about his failed marriage. >> i wish her the best in everything. you know, it's a sad time in our lives. you don't ever go into a marriage looking to get divorced. you know, that's the thing. that's why it is sad. >> do you have any regrets? >> well, my actions certainly led us to this decision, and you know, i've certainly made a lot of errors in my life, and that's something i'm going to have to live with. >> ironically, his now ex-wife broke her silence yesterday to "people" magazine. she said she never had any inkling of tiger's infidelity, never hit him with a golf club and that her hair has started to fall out because of the stress. baseball and colorado. rockies trail 10-1 to the braves

in the third, but no problem. instead of packing it in, the rockies made a historical comeback. in the eighth, troy tulowitzki single in the go-ahead run. colorado came from nine back, matching their biggest rally in team history. they won it 12-10. that keeps their wild card hopes alive. to san francisco where the giants almost pulled off the same magic trick against the reds. they were down 10-1. they forced extra innings. but mvp candidate joey votto had other plans, singled in a go-ahead run in the top of the 12th after ripping a pair of homers. reds held on to win it, 12-11. finally, the wnba playoffs tipped off last night. top-seeded washington hosting atlanta. angel mccoughtry poured in 28 points as the dream upset the mystics 95-90. atlanta leads 1-0 in the best-of-three eastern conference semis. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. lindsay lohan may be going from the big house to the small airwaves. your early-morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, ever want to toss your phone out a window? well, one tech addict went a

different route. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. after over a dozen record highs yesterday, many areas of the west are slowly going to cool it off over the next two days. still hot in the desert areas into interior california. on the coast, much cooler and also cooler in much of oregon and washington state. medford, your temperature's going to be about 20 degrees

cooler today than it was yesterday. as we take a sneak peek and look at what's going to happen into friday, beginning to cool off back into idaho, much of nevada, areas of interior california should go back down to normal levels on friday. not much wet weather over the northwest few days, just showers today up in the pacific northwest. if you're watching us on ksnv, my news 3, las vegas, nevada, head to the treasures of egypt exhibit. that's at the natural history museum. you can explore king tut's tomb, a mummy and more. that's your "pacific event of the day," lynn. and your mummy always watches, right? >> she does, yes, every day. thanks, bill. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. heidi montag admits she has regrets. where do we begin? apparently, with her drastic transformation, including ten plastic surgery procedures in one day. the soon-to-be ex-wife of spencer pratt says she's "desperate to get back to

normal," which apparently includes removing her massive breast implants. mel gibson's fate is now in the l.a. district attorney's hands. reports say the police have turned over their investigation into domestic violence allegations, and now prosecutors will decide whether any charges will be filed. mariah carey is reportedly expecting. according to radaronline, the singer is four months along. no confirmation from husband nick cannon, who said on his radio show, "when my wife feels like talking about whatever she wants to talk about, you'll hear it directly from her." and finally, lindsay lohan may be free from rehab, but her next move could be pricey. reports say that lohan has been offered $1 million to host a radio talk show with her mom, dina. she may have trouble fitting that into her busy court-ordered schedule, which includes weekly therapy and drug testing. it's always tough to juggle all those things. >> it would probably do well, you know? as crazy as it sounds. >> yeah. i don't know if dina lohan is

like the best person to be out there -- >> they could give advice. how perfect would that be? >> -- giving the mother-daughter -- >> they could take normal people and give them advice and screw their lives up. >> it's like bizarro world. all right, this comes to us from wnbc 4 new york, where one man is going through some pretty extreme measures to fight his technology addiction. he's been couped up living in his bathroom for the past five days. the self-described internet iphone social media junkie said he felt like he was losing control and needed to do something extreme to kick the habit. i think he took care of that. but don't feel bad for him because he has all of the essentials stashed right there in his medicine cabinet. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

if you think babies are cute, check out this new addition making waves at a german zoo. the yet-to-be-named hippo and his mom spend most of the day together hanging out in the water and relaxing. but don't be fooled by their lazy attitude. these territorial mammals are very protective of their offspring, so zookeepers are sure to keep their distance. many believe a full moon brings on strange happenings, but this is probably not one of them. a french hairdresser snipped away under a full moon because he believes it strengthens hair and helps it grow three times faster. the theory may be disputed by scientists, but his clients aren't skeptical. the stylist stayed open all night to trim under the moonlight. tomato-tomato. let's just throw them at each other. that's the idea at the tomatina

festival in spain. thousands packed together, pelt each other with 100 tons of tomatoes. the normally quiet town has gone crazy once a year since the '40s, a tradition that began when a group of friends began throwing lunch at each other and returned yearly to relive the fun. and they use the term fun loosely. >> all right, lynn, you like to cook, so what tomato would be the biggest waste? what would you be most upset about if we were just throwing them and tossing them? >> waste. >> yeah. >> i think cherry tomatoes. i'm not a big fan of cherry tomatoes. >> that's not nice at all because you know that's my favorite. >> just giving you a hard time. well, time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in chicago, there will be a hearing on the details of former illinois governor rod blagojevich's retrial. last week he was found guilty of lying to federal agents. however, the jury deadlocked on 23 other charges, including trying to sell president obama's old senate seat. the world honors the late

mother teresa, who would have been 100 today. skyscrapers and landmarks, including the "uss intrepid" sea, air and space museum will be lit up in blue and white in her honor. and the m.j. fanvention kicks off in indiana. the michael jackson tribute runs through sunday, which would have been his 52nd birthday. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments on 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. cnbc's maria bartiromo breaks down the latest dismal economic numbers. and learn what tiger woods is saying about his divorce along with advice for dealing with a breakup. 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.

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