[ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today," earl arrives. the hurricane brushes north carolina just in time to ruin labor day plans. again a massive fire erupted at another oil platform sending workers into the sea. that's got to hurt. a motorcyclist is sent somersaulting by a pickup truck a motorcyclist is sent somersaulting by a pickup truck in iowa. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> hello. good morning.

welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with storm surge. the carolina coast is riding out the effects of hurricane earl this morning while folks in the northeast are on the watch for hurricane and tropical storm-force winds. early, a category two storm, is threatening to whip up dangerous waves and threatening rip tides all along the east coast all throughout the day. kristin dahlgren is in north carolina outer banks with the latest. kristen, good morning. good morning, lynn. things have really been picking up along the outer banks. take a look. can you see the wind and rain continuing to wsh apounding. rain was sideways as mountains of surf piled up and took their chances riding out the storm could only hope they made the right decision. while the center of earl has so

far stayed offshore, the glancing blow was enough to send many packing earlier in the day. cars and roads filled with hundreds threading off the thin strip of land off carolina's coast. as officials ordered mandatory evacuations for all visitors. >> they have asked us to leave. so we're going to have to cut our vacation short this year. >> to the north of new england, many were making that same decision. ferries filled with vacationers headed out or emergency vehicles headed onto vulnerable islands as last-minute preparations kicked into high gear. >> once it starts, you could sit here and watch and the boats are bouncing and breaking loose. you can't get at them. >> reporter: knowing that north carolina is just the storm's first stop. >> it's going to be a very close call for much of the east coast. >> reporter: and earl may be far from done with its destruction. as we get more light now officials say they are going to be going out doing damage assessments, also the coast

guard going to be doing fly-overs. the coast guard has search and rescue choppers ready to go if needed. >> kristen, thanks. in a minute, much more on earl from meteorologist bill karins. meanwhile an oil platform fire right off the louisiana coast sparked fears of another oil disaster in the gulf. thirteen workers initially reported an explosion on board sparked the blaze. however, the platform owner said it was simply a fire and not an explosion. the coast guard reported a mile long oil slick has begun and had begun to spread. hours later they were not able to find any spill. elsewhere in the gulf, engineers removed a temporary cap from bp's blownout well. next, they will retrieve the well's failed blowout preventer to help investigators find the

cause for the deadly explosion in april. here's stories making news. in iowa, police dash cam captured dramatic video of a head-on collision. a local college football player was riding his motorcycle through an intersection when a truck attempting to turn smashed right into him. now amazingly, the motorcyclist who wasn't wearing a helmet, got up and walked away. the driver was cited with failure to yield. and in texas, police are looking for a group of well-coordinated robbers who used a stolen pickup truck to crash into a store and steal an atm machine. police say the band of thieves got away with a couple hundred dollars using another stolen vehicle to smash into the machine. unfortunately, damage done to the store is worth more than the money and the machine combined. also in texas, police seized nearly 20,000 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $10 million. police say the mature, 4 to 12

foot plants were found in a densely forced area outfitted with an irrigation system. and lookout, platforms, no arrests have been made. and in florida, a miami dolphin training session came to a complete stand still when defensive end kendall langford lost his 2.5 carat, $50,000 earrings. he forgot to remove his jewelry before practice and ended up losing one. the entire offensive line surged field but to no avail. now for a look at your national and regional weather, we check in with bill karins good morning. we all want to know where this storm is headed to next. >> everyone wants to know how bad the damage will be. we'll see more pictures as the sun comes up on the east coast. the winds have been gusting anywhere from 70, maybe 75 miles an hour at worst around the outer banks.

for them, that's not all that bad. they are used to storms, it's like a big nor'easter up the coast. cape cod could get clipped by stronger winds. the storm is looking kind of ragged this morning. it weakened rapidly yesterday evening and that spared eastern north carolina. now the question is how strong will it be and how strong will be winds be around the cape. also beach erosion around the eastern seaboard. it's forecasted close to cape cod as a category one around midnight, then the storm is gone for the labor day weekend. forecast around the country, it's going to be interesting. the west coast, you're still baking in summer, while the rest of the nation is going to be cooling off. look at phoenix today, 111 degrees. seattle around 80. nice on the coastal areas but still hot in the interior sections of california. you notice into saturday, cooler in san

red bluff, california, another day in the hundreds for you. tucson easy into the hundreds, 104, sacramento, upper 90s. we'll take a look at the complete weekend forecast coming up. >> all right. bill karins, thank you. wall street waits on job numbers, retailers score in august, and the number two burger chain is sold. early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, will a machete wielding assassin win the hearts of moviegoers this weekend at the box office. >> college fot first.upse ll we have our first upset. you're watching "early today." ou

good morning, everyone. welcome back to "early today," i'm lynn berry. here are your top headlines this morning. after more than five hours of direct negotiations in

washington yesterday, israeli and palestinian leaders have agreed on a framework for further talks. benjamin netanyahu and mahmoud abbas will now meet every two weeks in an effort to broker a mideast peace agreement. dramatic video out of germany shows a hostage situation unfolding outside a gas station this week. police say the suspect threatened several people there before holding a knife to one hostage and trying to make his escape. the officer managed to subdue him with a taser. no one was seriously hurt. the spectacular's motive is still unclear. a washington state woman was recovering after suffering severe burns when a stranger threw acid in her face. the 28-year-old held a press conference yesterday after undergoing the first of what are expected to be several surgeries. last night, police released a picture of a suspect described as an african-american woman with slicked back hair. and a reminder to be careful

about what you write on facebook. after posting the defendant was going to be found guilty before the verdict was read in court, a detroit woman was removed from a jury. she was also ordered to a pay a $250 fine and write a five-page essay about the constitutional right to a fair trial. now, an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,320 after gaining 50 points yesterday. the s&p rose nine points and the nasdaq climbed 23. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei added 51 points, while in congress congress the hang seng rose 102. so far, every day has been a winner on wall street in the month of september. but depending on today's job numbers that all could change very quickly. as with wednesday's gains, yesterday's advances came thanks to positive data. trading was light as investors nervously await the all-important august report on

employment. economists expect the monthly report will show the job market remains weak with a slight uptick in unemployment since july. a separate report ahead of today's august figures showed new claims for unemployment fell for a second straight week, slightly below forecast, but well above levels that indicate a healthy economy. data from the national association of realtors shows that pending home sales rose unexpectedly in july, boosting stock in home builders like hovnanian which climbed more than 5%. chip maker shares rose for a second day with broadcom leading the way up over 9% in that session. that's the best two-day stretch in over a year. back-to-school season was good for retailers as that sector posted better than expected august sales. shares in nordstrom jumped over 8%. burger king agreed to sell itself to 3g capital for $3.25

billion, sci rocketing shares up more than 25%. and the bidding war is over for the data storage company 3par. hewlett packard raised its buyout offer to $33 a share, just over $2 billion total. topping an earlier bid from dell, forcing dell to bow out of the bidding. finally, on the heels of discovering dozens of bottles of 200-year-old ship wrecked champagne, divers in the baltic sea discovered the world's oldest drinkable beer, also over 200 years old. vintage booze for everyone. the red sox rocked the orioles, the phillies slammed the rockies and college football returns, including number two ohio state kicking off with a bang against marshall. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. when hurricane earl exits up into canada as we go throughout the weekend, nice cool canadian air will be rushing in. relief! your weekend forecast is coming up.

good morning, if you're just waking up on "early today," in sports, a busy night on the gridiron as college football season opened up to a full slate of games.

here's fred roggin with a early look at your sports headline. good morning, kicking off the football season with 25 teams in action. 13th ranked miami hurricanes blew away a&m. jacoby harris making an early bid for the heisman trophy. 13 is a lucky number for miami. they won big, 45-0. one heisman hopeful. to another. terrell pryor led number two, ohio state in a win over marshall. like harris, he also threw three touchdowns, capped off the first half of the 65-yard strike. buckeyes rule 45-7. game of the night in salt lake, 15th ranked pittsburgh down 11 in the fourth quarter when they mounted a comeback. john baldwin, a 44-yard touchdown reception. utah up by three. dan hutchins with the tie and he missed. wait a minute, utah called time-out right before he kicked it. hutchins with another shot to tie the game. he nailed it. pittsburgh rally forces overtime. however, in the extra period, utah's joe phillips hits the chip shot for the win.

utah with the first upset of the season knocked off 15, pittsburgh, 27-24 in o.t. usc can't go to a bowl game, but they started the season with the trip to hawaii. the trojans wasted no time. scored in their first possession. matt barkley, david ausberry. usc won big on the big island. baseball red sox to win their best to stay in the wild card hunt, adrian bell tray gets a solo shot to the left. the red sox beat the orioles, 6-4. big inning for the sox, bigger for phils, nine runs in the seventh against colorado. chase utley led the way with a grand slam. philadelphia won it 12-11. they have a two-game lead in the nl wild card race. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a terrific weekend. i'm fred roggin. does george clooney have a shot at number one at the box office this weekend? the "early morning" entertainment headlines are ahead. plus, what are all these folks standing in line for? stick around, we'll tell you. you're watching "early today."

a long time since i can get a map from l.a., denver, everywhere in town. warm, sunshine, not feeling like the fall in the west, not yet. on saturday, clouds drop in the pacific northwest. the heat returns, salt lake city

95. vegas 108, phoenix 109, l.a. should be 92 on saturday. so we're talking beach weather. by the time we get to sunday, that's when the cooler air will return for the coastal areas. still a little heat left in the interior sections. so overall, looks like a good start to your holiday weekend. if you're watching us on kenv channel 10 in elko, nevada, there's something for everyone at the 88th edition of the elko county fair. competitions will be held in horse and lifestyle classes as well as crafts. that's your pacific event of the day. you're 4h, right? >> i did grow up in ohio. i do have that credibility. all right, bill. thanks. here's a look at the morning headlines in entertainment. at the box office this labor day weekend, three different films will battle it out for number one. the r-rated thriller, request it machete" features quentin tarantino and ensemble cast,

including robert de niro, jessica alba, and lindsey lohan. 2007 similar festival of gore "grind house" did disappoint. experts are divided on this. some see it taking number one with over $15 million. others see it back of the pack with $10 million. next, the romantic comedy "going the distance" features on again off, again real-life couple. their box office records are modest but with no other definite date movie or chick flick to compete with, "going the distance" could sneak in to the number one spot with $15 million. finally, the george clooney thriller, "the american" opens wednesday to so-so reviews and so-so interest at the box office. most experts feel it will have trouble passing $10 million. and this comes to us from wthr channel 13 in indianapolis, indiana, where football fans got in on a tweet treat. listen to this.

cincinnati bengals wide receiver chad ochocinco treated dozens of fans to a fancy, free dinner. fans were lined around the block minutes after the nfl star announced via twitter that the first 64 people to show up would get a free meal. not everyone got to break bread with number 85 and teammate terrell owens but just a chance to catch a glimpse or shake hands seems to be enough. so, bill, any guess on what the bill was? >> oh, for that many people? >> 65 people. >> if you know you're eating for free, you're ordering the most expensive stuff. i'm going to go with probably maybe six, seven grand. >> did somebody give you the answer to that? >> they did not. >> seven grand. i know. i'd do the same thing, i want the lobster and the champagne. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

here is one meal you won't need to supersize. two chefs set out to create the world's largest hamburger pattia during a festival in serbia. 112 pounds of ground beef, a 64 pound bun and a whole lot of manpower to flip the monstrosity. no word if it tipped any records but it did a number on the scales there. to reel in the big one in japan, you're going to need to get down and dirty. that's where fishermen cast their rods into the mud hoping to catch a peculiar fish, the mud skipper. it uses the fins to walk on the

land. the messy tradition dates back hundreds of years and is passed down from generation to generation. here's a creative way to satisfy your sweet tooth. the world's first edible art exhibit in london. featuring delicious displays including hamburger cakes, a stag's head made of margin, even an homage to brangelina. and even sweeter, proceeds went to a children's charity. i'd have a lot more culture in my life if i could eat the art. i'd go to museums all the time. >> you do? >> no, i would. >> oh, you would. >> more than i eat now. >> you do finger foods usually. >> cocktail party, but not so much. time for an early look at some of the stories we're going to follow throughout the day on nbc. before a long holiday weekend on capitol hill, kathleen sebelius will kick off a new program she hopes to bring health insurance

to 5 million children over the next five years. officials in san francisco's bay area are asking residents to cut down on driving and avoid strenuous outdoor exercise due to high levels of smog. today marks the third friday a so-called spare the air alert has been issued in the bay area. and the commissioner will decide whether to reduce ben rothlisberger's six-game suspicion pension. for violating the league's personal conduct policy. all day long, you can follow those stories and others as they break on nbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." finally here is a look at what's coming up later on the "today" show. hurricane watch, live reports from the east coast, including al roker with the forecast. and acid attack, a stranger tosses acid in the face of a young woman, hear what the victim has to say. keep it on this channel for continued local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry, thanks for watching "early today," your

first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com