[ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today," plan of attack. president obama unveils a plan to jump start the economy and comes out swinging at republicans. colorado inferno. a wildfire tears through a home, sending hundreds fleeing. and new record holder. a colombian man takes the title and new record holder. a colombian man takes the title as the world's shortest man. 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. today we begin with dwindling support. this morning a fresh report card is out on washington. for the white house the numbers are not looking good. with just weeks to go before the midterm elections. in a new nbc news "wall street journal" poll, almost half of americans now disapprove of president obama and six out of ten think the company is headed in the wrong direction. meanwhile democrats in congress have some hurdles to overcome as well. right now among likely voters, almost half prefer republicans. those new numbers come just as president obama unveiled his plan yesterday to use the infrastructure to put americans on track and back to work building rail ways and roads. they wasted no time blasting the

proposal as the gop blamed the president for putting the country in reverse. tracie potts joins us from washington. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the poll numbers show we're not satisfied with the economy, not satisfied with the president who is trying to fix it. president obama says he has a new plan that will put americans back to work. the white house says it's not a stimulus but the idea is similar, $50 billion for infrastructure, fixing 150,000 miles of roads, 4,000 miles of rail, 150 miles of runways and building a new air traffic control system. >> anybody want more delays at airports? >> no! >> no, i didn't think so. >> president obama says it will create jobs and won't cost a dime of borrowed money. >> this is a plan that will be fully paid for. it will not add to the deficit over time. >> republicans attacked saying americans are skeptical about more spending. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell says they're still looking for the shovel-ready

jobs they were promised more than a year ago. all this as democrats are under attack headed into november's elections. republicans picked their first target, an indiana democrat. >> and now joe donnelly wants us to believe he's independent? >> analysts say ads and promises will only go so far. this election voters are only looking at one thing -- results. >> the economy simply is not going to improve before the election. there's nothing that barack obama can do about that. >> in fact, these infrastructure projects that the president is proposing, those jobs won't be generated until next year. lynn? >> tracie potts for us in washington. tracie, thank you. well, general david petraeus is condemning one florida church's plans to mark the anniversary of 9/11 by burning copies of the koran. in today's "wall street journal," the top u.s. commander of the war in afghanistan warns the lives of u.s. troops could be endangered if the dove world outreach center goes through

with its planned protest against what it calls, quote, the evil of islam. hundreds of afghans turned out yesterday to protest the plans. petraeus further cautioned that torching islam's holy writings would be a propaganda coup for the taliban in afghanistan and stoke anti-u.s. sentiment across the muslim world. well, this morning's "usa today" reports that the u.s. military's new armored trucks are significantly reducing troop deaths in afghanistan. last year nearly 80% of insurgent bombings on humvees resulted in occupants being killed, but according to the new data, that figure dropped to 15% for attacks on the all-terrain vehicles known as mrap. the trucks, which are tailor-made for afghanistan's rugged terrain, are designed to shield people from roadside bomb blasts. humvees, the one-time workhorse vehicle of the military, have now been confined to bases in afghanistan in recent months. and now here's a look at some other stories making news

early today in america. in nevada one person is dead and three others were severely injured after the small plane they were in crashed on a residential street in suburban las vegas. the plane, unable to gain altitude after taking off, went down two miles from a nearby airport. the cause of the accident is under investigation. in georgia, amazing video of a sheriff's deputy's dash cam of a daring rescue. deputies responded just in time to pull a driver from his vehicle after it became engulfed in flames. deputies desperately tried to control the flames but were challenged by several explosions and flare-ups. the cause of the one-vehicle accident is now being investigated. in california, a real life spider-man was seen climbing up a skyscraper. using only suction cups, ropes, and no net, the man scaled up 50 stories up san francisco's

millennium tower. when he ran out of wall to scale, waiting police officers took him into custody. he's been cited on two misdemeanor charges. and in texas the state fair's big tex choice awards are all about fabulous fattening fried foods, almost anything you can think of deep fried. the prize for the most healthy? a club salad rolled in a spinach wrap and fried to flakey perfection. but the crowd favorite -- fried beer, a deep fried pretzel dough filled with warm beer, which can brilliantly double as a dipping sauce. got to love that. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's weather channel meteorologist scott williams with the forecast. what a way to start out your morning. >> i wonder how much is beer and how much is grease. >> either way, both of them are fabulous. you can't lose. >> we do have some weather to

talk about this morning. we're watching tropical storm hermine continuing to pack a punch here bringing torrential rainfall, flash flooding and also a threat for some tornadoes as all of this moisture continues to rotate inland here. corpus christi, victoria, san antonio next in line for heavy rainfall. meantime, denver, 82 for today, portland, seattle, cool, a few showers and storms there. las vegas, 101 degrees for today. and as we take a look at los angeles. northeast taking a look at temperatures toward 90 degrees in new york city. scattered showers and storms continuing for you in southern sections of florida.as we look

california forecast, mostly cloudy a high of 64 degrees. that's a look at your latest weather. lynn? >> all right, scott. thanks so much. well, an executive comeback, a strong arm takeover bid, and money can buy you happiness up to a point. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, onetime haitian presidential hopeful wyclef jean strikes back at sean penn in a very undiplomatic manner. also the magic continues for boise state. and forget about catching a ball. catching a letter is a new souvenir at the ballpark. you're watching "early today." angeles los angeles los angelba"

i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. a new "washington post" abc news poll shows republicans making gains against democrats in the final weeks before the midterm elections. 47% of voters surveyed said they would back the republican candidate in their congressional district if elections were held today compared to 45% who would vote for the democrat. polling also found a majority of americans, 52%, disapprove of the job barack obama is doing as president. 46% gave him positive marks. protesters contend the man was not dangerous and should have been subdued with nonlethal force. firefighters in colorado are battling a wind-driven wildfire that spread across more than five square miles yesterday. officials say it destroyed an unknown number of homes and triggered the evacuation of 1,000 others. guinness officials have certified a columbian man who stands 2'3" as the world's shortest living man. the 24-year-old who works part time as a dancer says he's very

happy with his height because it makes him unique. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day after closing friday for the long holiday weekend. the dow opens at 10,447 after adding 127 points on friday. the s&p gained 14, and the nasdaq climbed 33. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei dropped 75 points, but in hong kong the hang seng rose 46. a business all-star who recently fell from grace over sexual misconduct allegations and accounting irregularities has resurfaced at a competitor. oracle has hired former hewlett-packard ceo mark hurd as its co-president to help lead the database software maker in its efforts to muscle in on more of hp's turf. oracle and hp had been long-time partners, but with last year's $7.5 billion purchase of sun microsystems, the company became direct competitors in computing hardware.

in other executive news, 13-year abc news president david westin, tv's longest serving network news chief, told his staff monday he is resigning and will leave by the end of the year. elsewhere air products and chemicals said monday it has boosted its offer to buy airgas to almost $5.5 billion, but the company said it will walk away if airgas shareholders don't elect its board slate and approve its bylaw proposals. a french report said the world trade organization will issue its long awaited opinion on europe's challenge to american government subsidies for boeing next week. it is the latest chapter in a long running dispute between boeing and european rival airbus over multibillion-dollar government subsidies. both sides have filed complaints with the wto. and the euro is back in play and falling after a "wall street journal" report stoked fears about the viability of european banks, highlighting weak results

from recent bank stress tests. >> and, finally, it turns out money really can buy you happiness, at least to a point. researchers have found people's happiness increases, along with their income, up to $75,000. for those making more than $75,000, their feeling of success or well being may improve, but not necessarily their happiness. so there you go. well, a top ten battle in college football, tiger continues his comeback, and who's up at the u.s. open? plus, unique foul ball action for one fan in toronto. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and i'm meteorologist scott williams. back to work and school for many after labor day. get your tuesday regional weather forecast ahead. you're watching "early today."

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good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports last night in the nation's capital, in college football's biggest opening match-up, boise state battled virginia tech. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> hey, there. good morning. for years, non-bcs teams like third ranked boise state have wanted some respect. well, after last night's game against number ten, virginia tech, the broncos may have

finally gotten it. it was the first game of the season, but it felt like a bowl game. after trailing 17-0 in the first quarter, the hokies regrouped. tyrod taylor to jarrett boykin. 28 yard score. virginia tech up, 27-26. but the broncos would not be denied. under two minutes to play, kellen moore finds austin pettis in the end zone. boise state holds on to win, 33-30. fourth round of the u.s. open at flushing meadows, alex rodriguez watching second seat roger federer take on number 13, jurgen meltzer. match point, federer just too much for meltzer, the super swiss moves on to the quarterfinals, winning in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6, 63. final round of the deutsche bank championship, tiger woods with a nice flop shot on 18 sets up a birdie. tiger ends the tournament, tied for 11th. good chance he'll be selected for the ryder cup team with the announcement coming today at the new york stock exchange. what a round for charley hoffman, who was on fire. watch his tee shot on 11. hits the flag stick. nearly in for an ace. he'd make that for birdie.

then on 13, hoffman showing off his magic touch. from the bunker, looking good, looking good, looking great! one of his 11 birdies, hoffman shot a 62 to take the deutsche bank, his first win in three years. and, finally, weird moment in toronto, blue jays and rangers. jose bautista, foul ball into the stands, but this is no regular foul ball. it takes out the "b" on the jackie robinson sign. the letter fell and hit a fan. fortunately he was okay. and not only was he all right, he got himself a souvenir. he may never catch a foul ball in his life, but on this day he caught the letter "b" proving it pays to be aware at the ballpark. and that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. >> there you go. words to live by. well, the travoltas choose to close a chapter in their lives. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, a new york city marathon hopeful who is already a winner. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back in to "early today." i'm meteorologist scott williams. tracking the doppler radar, look at all the moisture associated with hermine, bringing flash flooding and a threat for tornadoes in the lone star state. in colorado, temperatures in the 60s, 82 in denver, 101 in las

vegas. if you're watching us in kndu, channel 25, washington, whether shakespeare or starting out, try your hand at a poetry open mike night at the university near richland. that's your pacific event of the day. >> here is an early look at headlines in entertainment. with a new baby on the way, hollywood couple john travolta and kelly preston have decided to move on rather than once again relive the death of their son jett. at the family's request, a judge in the bahamas has dropped the charges in an extortion case involving two defendants charged with trying to extort millions from travolta in return for keeping an ambulance waiver secret on the day jett died. their first trial in which travolta testified resulted in a mistrial. elsewhere, "gawker" reports, still stinging from his rejected bid to run for president of haiti, at a recent show wyclef jean hit back at sean penn for questioning his ability to

handle the job by singing of penn, quote, maybe he ain't seen me in haiti because he was too busy sniffing cocaine. and, finally, it's official, confounding the so-called experts. george clooney's, "the american" took number one at the box office this labor day weekend with $16 million. and this comes to us from wtvj news channel 6 in miami, florida, where one athlete stands out from the rest. lance is training to compete with thousands expected to participate in this year's new york city marathon in november, but not having legs is the least of his worries. the 17-time marathon participant says all he's focused on is harnessing his strength to adapt to life's challenges, and hopefully with his skateboard and hockey gloves he'll inspire a few people along the way. i think he will. i'm lynn berry, this is "today," just your first stop of the day

today on your nbc station.

there are some things you just don't see every day, and this is one of them. a flying train. thousands in austria watched as a train traveled through the sky, all part of an annual music festival. physicists staged the live event to showcase what they believe is the train of the future. seems straight out of a movie? well, it is. the event turned out to be a realtime film. why wait until winter when you can ski without the white stuff, at least in iran where grass skiing is taking off. the country's alpine team hit the slopes with specially made roller skis that helped them cut some pretty mean corners. the team hopes this extra

practice will help their chances to compete in the 2014 winter olympics. one college has rolled into the record books. student volunteers and chefs unofficially broke the record for the longest sushi roll at umass in amherst. 200 pounds of rice, cucumber, and crab meat were assembled on a line of bamboo sheets to make one continuous california roll. it measured 422 feet long, which scored the previous record of 343 feet set by uc berkeley last year. scott, are you a sushi guy? >> yeah, i like sushi, but my only question is does it have enough soy sauce. >> and the wasabi. never forget the wasabi. it's time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. we'll get an update from a team of nasa experts who have been working with officials in chile to expedite the rescue of 33 miners trapped underground for more than a month. in a new york city courtroom, now infamous former flight attendant steven slater

is set to face charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, and trespassing. slater allegedly exited a jetblue plane from the emergency chute after an altercation with a passenger. and at the white house, first lady michelle obama will host a dance performance to honor the work of judith jamison, renowned artistic director for the alvin ailey dance theater. 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. a "today" exclusive. an interview with the family lawyer of missing teen natalee holloway as suspect joran van der sloot speaks out. and "today's" first jobs, what matt, meredith, al, and ann did before bringing you the news. 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. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com