♪ this morning on "early today," no backing down. a florida pastor sticks to his plans to burn the koran, despite worldwide condemnation. texas thrashing. the remnants of hermine spawns tornadoes and strands drivers in high waters. and got some moves? a new study on what women like to see in men on the dance floor. 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 burning heat.

a problematic pastor in florida is defying the nation's highest ranking authorities, saying he will burn copies of the koran on september 11th. with the anniversary of the infamous terror attacks just days away, the church leader's planned protest against what he calls the evil of islam has become a lightning-rod topic worldwide. nbc's leanne gregg has more. >> reporter: outrageous, disgraceful, but constitutionally legal. those are some descriptions of pastor terry jones' plans to pile up korans, the muslim holy book, and burn them in commemoration of september 11th. despite pleas, the pastor of a small church in gainesville, florida, refuses to call it off. >> we are not convinced that backing down is the right thing. >> reporter: jones says his actions are from a message from god. in jakarta, indonesia, protesters call it a symbol of hate, asking the u.s. government to step in and for muslims to

stay calm. military, political, and religious leaders are among those urging the pastor to cancel the event. >> this act would only call for new hate and violence. >> i am heartened by the clear unequivocal condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act that has come from american religious leaders of all faiths. >> reporter: jones and the dove world outreach center congregation have received hundreds of death threats, and church leaders now carry weapons. >> it's a smith & wesson .40 caliber. >> reporter: and isolated protests launching international concerns of widespread ramifications. leanne gregg, nbc news. well, in ohio yesterday president obama turned up the heat on the republican party, continuing his assault on the gop policies that he says put the economy in a rut in the first place. the president also talked up his own economic plan to prop up the middle class by raising taxes on

the wealthy. nbc's steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: in the election-year fight over taxes, president obama needs voters to know whose taxes democrats would hike and whose they would cut. >> we are ready this week, if they want, to give tax cuts to every american making $250,000 or less. >> reporter: of all the income tax filings last year, 3% were for those making more than $200,000. >> for any income over this amount, the tax rates would just go back to what they were under president clinton. >> reporter: most small businesses pay individual rates. they say a tax hike would cost jobs. the president proposed more help for small business -- $200 billion in business tax write-offs, $50 billion in new infrastructure spending, $100 billion for a research-and-development tax credit. to make his proposal, the

president picked cleveland, home of his top republican critic, house gop leader john boehner. >> well, i don't think the american people want any more stimulus spending coming out of washington. this is not their short-term spending measure. >> reporter: the president went after the republican by name. >> so, let me be clear to mr. boehner and everybody else. we should not hold middle-class tax cuts hostage any longer. >> reporter: republican tax cuts for millionaires, said mr. obama, is part of what led to the mess we're in. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in california, an armed fugitive wanted in washington engaged police in a dramatic two-hour standoff, forcing the evacuation of nearby buildings. the suicidal man even spoke to authorities on his cell phone throughout the whole ordeal while sitting in a car. the suspect eventually

surrendered after tear gas was fired. he's being held on suspicion of robbery, possession of a firearm, an outstanding warrant, and parole violation. more nasty weather in texas brought on by tropical storm hermine caused a dangerous tornado to develop and touch ground. the violent spiraling funnel took down power lines, damaged several industrial buildings, even sent a semi slamming into a building. no associated deaths or injuries have been reported. also in texas, new video shows the dramatic rescue of a woman who became stranded in her car on a highway surrounded by gushing floodwaters. a rescue crew used a ladder to get to the car to pull the woman through the sunroof and then lift her to safety. and in south carolina, a nervous dad gave his little girl the surprise of a lifetime. just back from a five-month extended tour in the middle

east, master sergeant waited in the school hallway until a very surprised 8-year-old turned the corner and sprung into her dad's arms, crying, but of course, happy to once again be daddy's little girl. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's your nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, good morning. >> good morning, lynn. she turned that tough guy into a nervous wreck. >> and all of us. i mean, you watch those -- i mean, we've seen them before, but it's such a powerful moment when you see that. >> we love it. let's talk about what we also love, the end of the heat in some areas. now, much of the country has been an incredibly hot summer. the exception was on the west coast, and that, fortunately, you still remain cool. what has changed is that some areas of the east have cooled off. now, summer weather continues down along the gulf into texas. even the desert areas aren't as hot as it was. so, here's how what we're going to be dealing with throughout the next couple days. temperatures for the most part are going to continue to be on the cooler side with our trough here in the west. heavy rain event. flooding is going to continue today up through the ozarks.

as far as the wet weather in the west goes, there's not a lot of it. northern nevada up through the northern rockies has some wet weather. what caught my attention was at the high peaks, right outside of alcove, we're mixing in with some snow this morning. that's how cold it is at the high elevations, but on interstate 80, you should be just fine. also, showers continue near yakima and interstate 90 may see a shower or two. temperatures are chilly in the 50s. and for daytime highs today, we're only going to do 60s and 70s in many locations. that'son to a little bit of the heat, 97 and sunny. and showers and 59 in elko, nevada. friday forecast coming up. >> bill, thank you. well, more jobs open, people are spending less, and why the cost of your morning coffee keeps going up. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, snooki faces the music

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good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. a federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit, challenging a controversial cia program known as "extraordinary rendition" that flew terror suspects to overseas prisons for interrogation. the complaint was filed by five foreign men arrested shortly after the 9/11 terror attacks who claim they were tortured in captivity. yesterday's ruling agreed with the obama administration that state secrets would be put at risk if legal action were allowed to proceed. in a rare interview with an american journalist, former cuban leader fidel castro reportedly admits that the

communist economic model he put in place half a century ago no longer works for cuba. in the same interview, which castro himself requested, the 84-year-old also criticized iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad for what he called his anti-semitic attitudes in denying the holocaust. new figures show the number of people dying on the nation's roads has fallen to its lowest level in six decades, thanks to a combination of seat belts, safer cars, and tougher enforcement of drunk driving laws. and a new study claims to have pinpointed which male dancing moves are most likely to attract women. listen up, guys. the researchers who created animations showing supposed good and bad moves concluded that the best dancers tended to move their necks and trunks, while the bad only moved their arms and legs. but if you're asking me, both of them look pretty brutal. well, now here's an early look at how wall street will

kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,387 after gaining 46 points yesterday. the s&p rose 7 points and the nasdaq climbed 19. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei added 73 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng was up 78. the markets were modestly higher yesterday on wall street where the only thing for sure these days is no one seems to know which way the wind is blowing. that was the latest in a string of low-volume sessions, suggesting little confidence in what's ahead. positive banking news out of european allowed most banks here to recover from tuesday's losses. today and tomorrow, the jewish new year will likely lead to more low volume and the potential for exaggerated swings. the fed's beige book, its snapshot of the nation's economy, confirmed the recovery has slowed down over the summer. on the brighter side, job openings rose in july after two months of declines, a hint

companies could be stepping up hiring. but consumer borrowing fell again in july with households cutting back on credit card use for a 23rd consecutive month. bp rose more than 3% after the company issued its internal report on the gulf oil spill. partners on that rig, transocean and halliburton, both gained over 1%. "the new york times" soared almost 8% in heavy trade on rumors a mexican billionaire may increase his holdings in the newspaper giant. california is seeking fines of just under $10 billion from a unit of health insurer united health group, alleging pacificare violated state law nearly a million times from 2006 to 2008. coffee hit a 13-year high with a price up about 43% in just the past three months. and, finally, a clever german farmer has opened up a milk filling station. open 24 hours a day, seven days

a week, customers insert money, put a container under the nozzle, press a button, and you get fresh milk straight from the cow. poor cows. well, multiple homers, a walk-off homer, and a fan who makes the catch but can't hold on. plus, michael brantley saves the day for the tribe, at least temporarily. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. the big story on this thursday, the heavy rain in the middle of the country. your national forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." my name is vonetta, and i suffer from allergies. [ male announcer ] we asked zyrtec® users what they love about their allergy relief, and what it lets them do. the thing i love most about zyrtec® is that it allows me to be outside. [ male announcer ] we bet you'll love zyrtec®, too -- or it's free. [ vonetta ] it is countdown to marshmallow time. [ woman laughs ] close. whadaya think?ntdown to marshmallow time. i gowhat insurance is that yogi? aflac! the one you really need to have. if you dont have it. thats why you need it.

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good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, yesterday the yankees were facing a sweep at the hands of the lowly orioles, but as yogi berra once said, "it ain't over till it's over." here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. hi, there, good morning. the yankees have the best record in baseball, so there's no way the modest orioles could sweep them at home. well, thanks to nick swisher, the bronx bombers were able to salvage the series in dramatic fashion. to the big apple, yanks, 2-1 in the ninth. nick swisher steps up and steps out. a two-run walk-off homer for the swisher king. yankees avoid the sweep with a 3-2 win. the rays dropped 2 1/2 games back in the east with a lopsided loss to the red sox. boston's marco scutaro hits not one but two homers into the monster seats.

red sox hit five home runs in all. they beat the rays, 11-5. out west, angels and indians needing extra innings. their shot to center. if it's out, game over. but michael brantley's not having it. leaping catch to rob a walk-off homer. it doesn't get any better than that. from exciting to routine, 16th inning, jeff mathis ends it with a sac fly that scores torii hunter. angels win, 4-3 in 16. to denver where troy tulowitzki, riding a rocky mountain high, hits a towering home run in the third inning to give colorado a 5-1 lead against the reds. fifth inning -- and this is not a replay -- tulo with another bomb. rockies beat the reds, 9-2. and, finally, funny moment. from oakland, coco crisp with a home run to left. and check out the fan as he tries to make the catch and goes head over heels. the ball drops into the camera well, so he gets up and reaches in to get it. he finally has it in his hands, but look closely. as he gets up, he drops it again, and the ball falls back down beyond the fence.

this guy can't get a break. but at least he didn't break his neck. a's won this one, 4-3. and that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. >> poor guy. well, a female pop star faces sexual harassment charges. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, the first lady takes her health campaign for kids down louisiana way. you're watching "early today." rheumatoid arthritis going? they're discovering the first self-injectable ra medicine you take just once a month. it's simponi™, and taken with methotrexate, it helps relieve the pain, stiffness, and swelling of ra with one dose a month. visit 4simponi.com to see if you qualify for a full year of cost support. simponi™ can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious and sometimes fatal events can occur, such as infections, cancer in children and adults,

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welcome back on this thursday morning. forecast still very cool just about everywhere, from seattle down the coast. at least it's not going to be raining today, but we'll try to get you just a little bit of sunshine. shower activity today in nevada, moving through boise and also through idaho. salt lake city's going to have a little bit of rain to deal with. still going to be mild in the desert, but 86 by vegas standards is kind of chilly, especially after the hot summer you've had. 95 in phoenix. by the time we get to tomorrow's forecast, it's a little nicer. we get a little more sunshine out there. temperatures also begin to warm up in the pacific northwest. well, if you're watching us on knvn nbc 4 chico, california. if you're looking to start your day with some fresh air, how about some stretching and a little sun? head over to the one mile pool for yoga in the park. and that's your "pacific event of the day," lynn. >> all right, thanks, bill. well, now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. the britney spears bodyguard whose been threatening a sexual harassment lawsuit has finally

filed his papers. the suit alleges that spears made repeated unwanted sexual advances and repeatedly exposed herself in front of him. spears also allegedly mistreated her children in front of him, once demanding his belt so she could "savagely hit" her youngest child. elsewhere, "dancing with the stars" participants will not meet bristol palin's ex, levi johnston. "popeater" reports expecting the worst, palin has banned johnston from the set. a family friend told the website, "the only person that loves the press more than palin is levi himself." "jersey shores'" snooki pleaded guilty yesterday to annoying others in a drunken july beach incident, and she was sentenced to two days' community service and a $533 fine. but here's the worst part. the judge scolded her and called her a "lindsay lohan wanna be." well, of course, lindsay's mom,

dina lohan, expressed her disappointment to tmz that "a judge would say that in a court of law." and this comes to us from slidell, louisiana, where the first lady taught a lesson in healthy habits and showed off her moves with the pigskin as well. michelle obama and nfl commissioner roger goodell displayed some quick footwork in nfl-style drills with a group of very lucky kids. it was all part of the first lady's "let's move" program to fight childhood obesity and encourage an active and healthy lifestyle. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today your nbc station. fal...all over again.or...

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why say "i do" when you can say "we do"? in taiwan, 163 couples tied the knot on september 9th or 9-9. in the chinese language, the word "nine" and "longlasting" are the same, which inspired the mass nuptials. for extra luck, they even exchanged rings crowded together at exactly, you guessed it, nine minutes after 9:00. well, it was off to the races for a set of wheels you don't see everyday. 80 cyclists from around the world hit the road in a rare antique bike race in england. classic penny farthings from the 18th century were the fan favorites, proof that they don't make them like they used to.

the winners rode a 200-year-old original. well, in this economy, lots of people are downsizing, but this is ridiculous. capsule apartments are springing up in beijing. they're designed to help people deal with sky-high costs of housing, and they are tiny 8' x 5'spaces, just enough to hold a single bed, dressing table and tv. but tenants rest easy knowing monthly rent will only set them back about 55 bucks. that's like new york city-style apartments. >> that's easily double the size of my place. >> my first apartment in new york city, 400 square feet. >> not bad. >> so, it felt a little bit like that. >> even if you have to share a common bathroom. >> it wasn't 55 bucks either. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in washington, education secretary arne duncan announces the winners of the blue ribbon school awards for elementary,

middle and high school, performing at high levels under difficult circumstances. and the national football league teams up with united way, rebuilding homes in new orleans. the "no place like home" initiative will help families who are still struggling to recover from hurricane katrina. and new orleans residents will have a home field advantage tonight when the super bowl champion saints take on the minnesota vikings to kick off the nfl season. and you can catch that game right here on your nbc station. 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. islam under fire. a florida pastor refuses to give up his controversial plan to burn the koran. and "today" kicks off "matt now" live in the crescent city as the super bowl champion new orleans saints gear up for tonight's season opener. 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.