thanks for watching, have a good night. i hope to see you tomorrow. bye! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ [ this morning on "early today" executive bash. republican presidential hopefuls take the stage for a debate in new hampshire targeting president obama. downstream disaster. an iowa town is threatened after the swollen missouri river punches a massive hole in a levee.

squared off in the first major debate of the campaign season. nbc's steve handelsman reports from new hampshire. >> reporter: six of the republicans debated with an eye on the seventh, mitt romney, the frontrunner in the polls. his focus was barack obama. >> he didn't create the recession, but he made it worse and longer. >> reporter: the debate was carried live. hundreds of reporters in manchester. tim pawlenty, why did you coin the term obamni care to attack romney?

>> it was that he designed it on the romney care in massachusetts. >> asked what worked and what didn't. i would have told you, mr. president, what you are doing will not work. >> militia bachman defended the tea party to a republican. >> there are people that simply want to take the country back. they want the country to work again. >> reporter: businessman herman cane, would you put a muslim in your cabinet? >> i would not be comfortable because you have peaceful muslims and militant muslims, those that are trying to kill us. >> reporter: what about banning same-sex marriage? >> constitutional amendment, get the government out of it. >> reporter: how about illegal immigration? >> take half of the current department of homeland security bureaucracy in washington, transplant it to texas, arizona, and new mexico. you'll have more than enough people to control the border. >> reporter: talk fest. mostly polite. >> we had a great field of candidates. i was very impressed. >> reporter: eight months until the new hampshire primary. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, manchester. while those politicians thrust themselves into the

spotlight in new hampshire, in washington troubled congressman anthony weiner was nowhere to be seen. for the latest reaction on capitol hill to the new york democrat scandal we go to brian mooar. >> reporter: as the house reconvened on monday. >> the house will be in order. >> reporter: embattled congressman anthony weiner was a no show at his capitol hill office, but his over exposure on the internet has left his political future in doubt. for now he is seeking a paid leave of absence to deal with his problems, which are mounting. over the weekend tmz.com released a new batch of photos reportedly taken in a congressional gym. president obama in an exclusive interview with "the today show's" ann curry, weighed in for the first time. >> ultimately there's going to be a decision for him and his constituents. i can tell you that if it was me, i would resign. >> reporter: other top democrats, including nancy pelosi, want the congressman and his problems gone. without his party behind him,

his prospects are dim. >> you can survive. you cannot be effective. they can -- the democratic leadership can take away his committee assignments and make life difficult for him. >> reporter: the congressman was last seen in new york on saturday dropping off his dirty laundry. >> i have to redeem myself, and i'm going to try to get back to work. >> reporter: the congressman himself says any career decisions will have to wait until his pregnant wife, a top state department aide, returns from an overseas trip with secretary of state hillary clinton. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. be sure to catch ann curry's exclusive interview with president obama. that's later this morning on "today" right here on this nbc station. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. the rising missouri river is wreaking havoc in southwestern iowa. two levees have failed to contain the river causing flooding in rural farmland and

concern over the floodwaters washing over nearby towns. the u.s. army corps of engineers is monitoring the situation and say they're prepared if any other levees are breached. an explosion in missouri in california a helium-filled aircraft is off the drawing board and in the first stage of construction. the football field size flying machine's three moveable propellers makes it capable of vertical takeoffs and landings. the department of defense is funding the process for military uses, but engineers working on the prototype also see the aircraft as a floating cruise ship and possibilities for luxury travel. somethg to look forward to

there. finally, in south dakota an '80s baby just celebrated its 130th birthday. born in 1881, a giant tortuous getting some very special treats for reaching that milestone. zookeepers expect to celebrate many more birthdays with the 500 pound animal saying it could reach the ripe old age of 150. now for a look at your national and regional weather. here's meteorologist bill karins. i'll have what he is having. good morning. yesterday, 100 degrees in dallas, so that was a big thank you to the championship team who is keeping it nice and hot hoping for the parade. it won't be that bad. 98 in san antonio.

today in many areas, there's 104 in phoenix, 101 in vegas, 76 in l.a., even as warm as 80 in me uncomfortable. spokane, washington, 71 and partly cloudy. a nice day today, and i think i got another one in store for tomorrow, forecast coming up. and also coming up, deals

distract the street -- google goes for even more and miami's painful ad blender, your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, thought he'd never get another shot at mainstream tv? he may have another surprise in store. a classy move by mavs owner, mark cuban, and there's no place like home for the boston bruins, you're watching "early today." me

good morning. welcome back to "early today." a congressional auditor tells "the l.a. times" as much as $6.6 billion of iraq reconstruction funds remain unaccounted for and may have been stolen potentially making it the largest theft of funds in national history. the money, which came from the sale of iraqi oil, was part of $20 billion shipped to iraq

between 2003 and 2004. iraqi officials say they may sue the u.s. to reclaim the lost money. some progress in eastern arizona where officials say more than 700 square mile wildfire is now 18% contained. crews are clearing brush and lighting backfires to stop it from spreading into new mexico. amateur video captured a horrific scene in germany as a good year blimp burst into flames, killing the pilot. three passengers managed to escape unharmed. no word on the cause. and a public relations nightmare for mcdonald's. a photo being circulated on-line falsely claims the fast food chain is charging african-americans an extra fee due to a recent string of robberies. mcdonald's called the photo a "senseless and ignorant hoax." now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,952 after

inching up a point yesterday. the s&p added a fraction, but the nasdaq dipped four. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo the nikkei gained 99 points, but in hong kong the hang seng shed 12. well, deal news helped wall street pretty much break even on monday distracting trade fears of the economic recovery and the possibility it may have stalled. vf corp., the owner of north face clothing is buying timberland, known for its hiking boots, for $2 billion. vf climbed 10%, and timberland surged 44%. square burgers and roast beef are divorcing. wendy's, arby's group, is selling control of arby's to rorke capital group. a private equity firm that owns several fast-food franchises. google struck a beat to buy advisor. ad meld. reports put the price at $400

million. google's total ad revenue is expected to surpass $30 billion, more than the entire newspaper industry combined. elsewhere u.s. airlines collected $3.4 billion for checked luggage last year, up 24% from 2009. the main reason the industry made money after three years of losses. standard & poor's cut greece's credit rating monday to two notches above default. oil tumbled to its lowest level in nearly a month settling at $97.30 a barrel. cnbc reports facebook is preparing for a initial public offering that could value the site at more than $100 billion. finally, adding insult to the injury of the miami heat's loss in the nba finals, a full page ad ran in monday's miami herald reading congratulations, miami. next to photos of heat championship t-shirts and hats, all from macy's. a macy's spokeswoman apologized to heat fans.

whoops. coming up, an owner pays for the parade. a captain pulls up lame. the tigers walk off winners. plus, the bruins shell shock the canucks, forcing game seven for the stanley cup. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather we continue very hot. the southern half of the country. the northern half, a little cool and we're stormy in the middle. your forecast coming up. you're watching "early today." 2

good morning. if you are just waking up, this is "early today." in sports facing elimination on their home ice, last night the boston bruins flattened the vancouver canucks, forcing game seven in the stanley cup final. here's nbc's fred rogan with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. there is something about home ice advantage in these stanley cup finals. the canucks win all three games in vancouver, and now the bruins have held serve and forced a game seven with another win in boston. didn't take long for the bruins to get on the board. brad marchand picked the corner, five minutes into the game. perfect shot over roberto luongo. boston up 1-0. lucic beat luongo. boston was rocking, while in vancouver, crickets. the bruins were up 2-0. andrew joined the onslaught a

couple of minutes later. that was it for luongo. it's been a tale of two cities for the goalie. he has given up 15 goals in three games. just two in three games in vancouver. bruins won it 5-2. game seven in vancouver tomorrow night on nbc. the mavs outspoken owner mark cuban let his team do the talking. now the mavs are world champs, and cuban's actions continue to speak louder than words. after a night of partying, the mavs returned home yesterday, and cuban announced he will pay for thursday's championship parade in downtown dallas. he said it's not right for a city in a budget crunch to worry about the expense. last year's championship parade for the lakers cost the team and the city about $2 million. yankees may be throwing a parade for derek jeter in the next few years. he needs just three more hits. for 3,000 in his career. got another one yesterday against the indians. it wasn't all good news for the captain. left the game in the fifth with a right calf strain. he is a day to day. indians won it 1-0. finally, jeter walked off in the bronx, and so did the tigers in detroit. tied at 1-1 in the tenth.

ramon santiago went shopping at the gap and the tigers got a win. detroit is tied for cleveland after beating the braves 2-1 in extras. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred rogan. a reality star crashes and blames a paparazzi. your entertainment headlines are straight ahead. >> a high-tech version of mother and child helps train doctors and nurses of the future. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this tuesday morning. deserts are heating up into the low 100s, central valley of california, easily up into the 90s today, 76 in l.a., 74 in san francisco, temperatures up in the northwest, we're working on it. still more clouds, so we'll keep you down into the 60s in most cases, tomorrow, a slight chance of showers, no big storms coming through. just kind of a murky, 77 in medford, and spokane to boise, should see a decent wednesday and notice the deserts, we get to 108 for your forecast high tomorrow, so i guess the heat is on. if you're watching us on kntv, nbc, in california's bay area. learn all about sharks that swim through local waters, through hands-on presentation at shark talk, at the aquarium of the bay. bill, thanks so much. now, here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment.

tori spelling watt in a fender-bender at her kid's school on monday. an accident she claims was caused by a photographer chasing her. she said she was shaken up, but said she and her two kids are just fine. she is currently pregnant with a third. an assist nlt said tori was trying to get away from a photographer. and said after the accident, the shutterbug got out of his car to try to get more pictures. the kardashians scored a big victory, successfully fending off a lawsuit, saying kim and courtney were to blame for the collapse of a credit card company when they soured on a deal after the card came under fire for high fees. and finally, he's back. maybe. sources tell tmz charlie sheen is in final negotiations for a deal which could be announced by the end of the week, for a show

written just for him on a broadcast network. and this comes to us from wmaq, nbc 5 in chicago, illinois. where in nearby addison nursing students are getting a crash course in how to save lives, robotic patients are helping future nurses prepare for real-life situations. instructors create emergency medical scenarios with the help of man kins, including pregnancy kpli complications, along with a robo baby. officials say teaching life-saving lessons in life-like situations, makes it more than worth it. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

people were dancing in the streets in portugal this weekend for fun, and to show off some pretty impress he have movers. during an annual festival celebrating their patron saint, folks compete to see who is the best dancer. they come from all around the city dressed in elaborate matching costume tobz judged on choreography, music choice, and skill. meanwhile, another competition in china took to the water. teams of water skiers from around the world gathered to see who could work the waves the best. speed wasn't the deciding factor here for the judges. instead, the teams were judged on who had the most style. the american team beat out china and australia for their flips, twirls, and balancing acts.

well, if you have never heard of penny farthing, this may be why. in london penny farthing bikes, the ones with the huge front wheels, made a resurgence. in their first race in 100 years, huge crowds came out curious to see the bikes once popular in the 1800s. they race at around 20 miles per hour, but one down side, though, trying to get down. minor detail. you get up there, but it's sort of waivering. >> you really didn't show me one person falling off of that. >> i tried to find something. >> i guess maybe they're safer than they thought. >> i see the video, and i think -- >> how do you get up on it? >> well, boost. a buddy over there. >> you think i would need the boost? >> never. >> time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. president obama visits puerto rico and is scheduled to visit the governor's mansion. this marks the first official presidential visit to the island since president kennedy's in 1961. a reworked version of

"spider-man turn off the dark" the most expensive broadway production in history opens in new york. it has been delayed multiple times with cast injuries making headlines. on this day in 1775, the continent al army considered the forerunner of the u.s. army was formed to fight the english during the revolutionary war. all day long you can stay on top of the latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc, and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with nbc nightly news. finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on "the today show". the parents of 20-year-old missing college student, lauren speier speak out about her disappearance, and hear from parents of an 11-year-old girl who fell to her death from an amusement park ferris wheel. keep it here for weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today" just yourself first stop

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