this morning on "early today" exit strategy. president obama set to make a major speech detailing his military drawdown plan in afghanistan. they follow a series of powerful twisters in nebraska. bump in the road. police dash cam video captures a hit and run with a black bear cub. this is "early today" for tuesday, june 21st, 2011. hello, and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. today we begin with the next

step. a decade into the war in afghanistan we'll soon find out what exactly president obama has planned in terms of winding down america's involvement there. the president is expected to make that much anticipated announcement tomorrow. for more on all this we go to nbc tracy potts in washington for you. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the white house says the president will say two things in this speech. first of all lay out a long-term goal for getting out of this war, and also talk about how many troops he'll start to bring home in july. that was his self-imposed deadline. a couple of options he's considering after talking last week with david petraeus our top commander on the ground, possibly bringing home 5,000 this year or maybe as many as 30,000, the entire surge for a couple of years ago or perhaps not announcing a number at all but a final date this year to get those troops home. on sunday secretary of defense robert gates said we've opened preliminary talks with the

taliban trying to prevent the violence and wind down this war, but he says don't expect a lot of progress for several months. the word is that they don't seem to have the ability or want to negotiate right now. that could take some time. lynn. >> thanks so much. the monument fire maybe 40% contained, but the agonizing waiting continues for evacuated residents wondering whether the wildfires have burned down their home. chris clack couple reports. >> reporter: unlike sunday, winds subsided monday in arizona's devastating wildfires, but not the emotions of victims caught in the middle. >> i just want to know if my house burnt down. i thought maybe they would know. >> reporter: 12,000 people evacuated from just the area around sierra vista in southeastern arizona could only watch and wonder.

>> what do you need from your house? >> what did i leave? >> what do you need? >> i need money and clothes. >> reporter: residents wanting to return were turned back by law enforcement. fuel for these fires is this. dried-up brush, easily combustible in arizona's triple-digit heat that has left hundreds of square miles scorched, but firefighters are optimistic they're getting the upper hand. >> what we're looking at is lower temperatures, higher humidities today, which is very good. >> reporter: nbc news. meanwhile, arizona's senator john mccain is trying to extinguish a political inferno after saying this weekend there was, quote, substantial evidence that those crossing the border illegally were partly responsible for arizona's fires. yesterday he defended those comments saying in a joint statement with two fellow republicans that a senior forest

service official told him some fires in arizona are caused by drug smugglers and illegal immigrants. while officials say three major blazes are the result of human activity, whether illegal i immigrants were involved is unknown. here's a look at other stories making news. storm chasers in nebraska had a very busy monday. several tornadoes across the state caused the public to clear the streets and even emptied the stands at the college world series. damage discovered in the wake of the violent storms included overturned rail cars, toppled power lines and uprooted trees, though thankfully no serious injuries have been reported. a tennessee deputy's first night run-in with a black bear was recorded on dash cam. the bear cub ran onto the road and rear-ended. it was knocked several feet down

the road. officials police the animal is in the vints. a series of explosions reduced a florida landmark to rubble. the 300-foot twin smokestacks came crashing down, creating a cloud of dust from 18,000 tons of debris. once the cleanup project is complete, construction will begin on a new $1.3 billion oil and natural gas plant. and finally if you are looking for romance on the rails, a popular website has named the vienna fairfax station na virginia the most romantic subway station in the country. the label was attached to the station because it was mentioned in the most ads placed by commuters hoping to get in contact with a fellow passenger they shared a glance with. for a look at the national and regional weather. here's your weather channel forecast. >> the amazing pictures of the tornado, but in the west it's all about summertime because it

beginning officials will this afternoon. the temperatures have warmed up along with the calendar. we have excessive heat warnings issued for areas of arizona. not today, but for tomorrow and into thursday. the heat will build. the high pressure is now pushing into the west, and that's going to cause temperatures to soar. it was 103 in phoenix, 77 in l.a. and more influence from the ocean. san francisco was 90 degrees, medford was 90, many interior areas were into the 90s. today nothing has changed. the jet stream continues to do a nice little ridge here over areas of the west. that provides hot conditions in the desert southwest and warm conditions about everybody else. the forecast today? tons of sunshine. grab the sunscreen for the little kids if you're outdoors. medford at 95, phoenix 109, still a little cooler in l.a., maybe we'll get you to 80.

81, and even in the pacific northwest we're warming up every so slowly. doesn't get much better for the first day of summer. get to the pool if you can. >> thanks so much. the replacement of dot com. new labels warn about lighting up, and airline creativity when it comes to new fees. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead, plus wondering why sthees out of the new "transformers" movie? we have some answers for you. coming up bad news for the dodgers and worse news for albert pujols and proof you're never too old to attend your first baseball game. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. the supreme court has

blocked a class action lawsuit filed by up to 1.6 million women against walmart. the nation's largest private employer. the high court said the women did not have enough in common to justify lumping all their claims in the discrimination into one massive lawsuit. in northwestern russia a passenger jet crashed while trying to land in heavy fog kills 44 people. authorities say high intensity runway lights should have been deployed but weren't. eight people that survived are in critical condition. a new u.n. report says the oceans are facing an unpreced t unprecedented catastrophic loss of species in the near future comparable to the extinction of dinosaurs. the report blames pollution, overfishing and global warming. in england thousands gathered at stonehedge this morning to usher in the summer solstice. the overcast skies didn't dampen

the mood with drum circumstance ams and dancing. a new study has found theed sound of whine sg more distracting to people than any other noise people typically find annoying. it didn't matter whether someone was a parent or not. people asked by researchers to do subtraction problems made more mistakes when listening to whining than any other speech pattern or noise. for more information on this and other health stories check out the health page at msnbc.com. now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off. it opens at 12080. the s&p inched up 6 points and the nasdaq add 13. looking at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei climbed 105 points while in hong

kong if rose 251. a lack of bad news and progress in greece's debt struggle helped stocks notch modest gains on monday. facing mid-july default, euro finance ministers gave greece two weeks to approve strict austerity measures in return for billions more in emergency loans. that helped the s&p 500 record its third straight plus day, the lodge e longest win sfrik in streak in a month. the internet's global coordinates approved website addresses names for a huge shake-up in how the web wit operate. the nation's credit union regulator filed lawsuits against jpmorgan. government approval of a tamper resistant pain drug sent

acu acura jumping 17%. on the first day of paris' air show the airbus bagged over $14 bill won in orders yoet selling boeing 9 billion. later today the government will release nine new cigarette warnings labels depicting the health effects of smoking. last year spirit airlines gave us the $45 carry-on bag fee. now it will charge $5 if a gate agent prints your boarding pass. next year spirit will charge a dollar for airport kiosk printing. remember paul the predicting octopus? well eight new contestants will compete during the women's world cup to see which will become paul's worthy successor. the yanks jump on the reds early. a brave pitcher does it all, and it's never too late to make your very first trip to the ballpark.

plus, white sox manager ozzie guillen gets the heave-ho in the battle of the windy city. your early morning sports are straight ahead. in weather severe thunderstorms in the middle of the country, and a beautiful forecast on the west coast. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up this is "early today." in sports the uncertainty hanging over the los angeles dodgers just got even murkier. here's fred roggin with an early look at sports headlines. >> good morning. ju just when you thought it it couldn't get worse for frank mccourt, it did. major league baseball rejected a $3 billion tv contract with fox. they're concerned the up-front money would not go to the team but used to pay off debt and divorce expenses. the next move from mcxourt will be to sue major league baseball other sell the teams. albert pew joeldz will miss four to six weeks with a broken forearm. initially they thought it was a sprained wrist, but an mri revealed the worst. cubs and white sox tied at three. carlos pena left the yard in a

hurry, a 3-run bomb. bottom of the inning, ramirez hit one in front of home plate. he thought it was foul and ramirez was tagged out. ozzie guillen, didn't take long for him to get lost. he lost the argument and the game. braves tim hudson singled handedly beat the blue jays. in the seventh put atlanta on the board with a two-run homer. the braves won it 2-0. they wasted no time against the reds. alex rodriguez sparked a four-run in the first. chris with a shot to third, and bhil running down the line slipped on his own bat. the yanks took down the reds 5-3. finally elita smith proved you're never too old to attend your first baseball game. she celebrated her 94th birthday with her first trip to the ball

game. she said after the game she wanted to go dancing. good for you forever young at 94. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> that's great. who is going and staying on "glee." your earning morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. military family reunions are emotional enough, but make it a surprise, and you've really got emotions flowing. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this tuesday morning. sunglasses, sunscreen ashgs summ. a sum day in many places in the west. vegas is 104, phoenix 109, interior valleys of california are up into the 90s, 95 in medford. by the time we get to wednesday, this is when we have the dangerous heat. phoenix is 113, vegas is 109, and excessive heat warnings issued already for tomorrow. if you're watching us on channel 2, anchorage, alaska, experience the alaskan set to the original musical score at the alaska center for the performing arts. that's your pacific event. i want to see it one day. it's beautiful. here's a look at headlines in enter famt. apparenting the creator of "glee" meant it when elhe said

was going to keep it high school real. he confirmed with ryan seacrest at the end of next season, want student cast members will graduate and no longer be on the show. gasp. some sad news to report. 34-year-old cast member ryan dunn died in a car crash early monday morning. police believe speed was a factor and friends with him sunday night say he was drinking. if you're curious why megan fox won't be in the third "transformers" movie, director michael bay says it was because she was unfocused, in a different world, always on her blackberry, and then the final straw was that comment she made in an interview comparing michael bay on the set to hitler. according to bay, after hearing that, executive producer steven

spielberg said, quote, fire her right now. not a good idea there. this comes to us from king 5 news in seattle, washington, where in nearby tacoma a father's day dinner turned into the perfect setup for a little surprise for one dad's little girl. crystal thought she was just at a restaurant to celebrate father's day with her family until she heard a familiar voice. it was her boyfriend home one day early from iraq, and he followed up that surprise with another, popping the question giving dad, daughter, and future son-in-law all a father's day to remember. that is for sure. way to go. major points on that one. >> going to give the poor girl a heart attack. that's a lot for one meal. >> that's a one-two punch. guys don't feel pressure there. i'm lynn berry, this is "early today," your first stop today on your nbc station.

one fest central fest central in london made a cultural splash. an annual dragon boat drew a crowd of participants. 40 teams from around the country used the large boat to race one another. along with riverside action were art displays and traditional dancing lions. it was meant to celebrate different aspects of chinese culture. you've heard of pop-up amplt what about pop-up pianos. 88 pianos are being installed for the public to try their hands at the keys. it's a way to bring music to the people and display unique artwork. the festival offers over 1,000

free musical performances for those passing by. one little girl's bucket list has gone viral. after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, alice made a list of dreams and posted them online. she had global attention with katy perry following her on twitter. on the lirs everything from entering her dog in a show to swimming with sharks. some of which she's already gotten done, but you know what's number one on the list? she wants as many people as possible whoever can to be a bone marrow donor. hopefully her life-changing experience can save someone else's. time for an early look for stories we'll follow on nbc. in washington secretary of state hillary clinton will host the 2011 world food prize ceremony where this year's winner will be announced. it recognizes individuals who

have improved the quality, quantity and availability of food around the world. it's summer solstice in the northern hemisphere, the official beginning on the summer season when the sun reaches its further point north of the equato equator. unlike older formats, the lp could hold a complete symphony without the need to flip the record. all day long you can stay on top of the latest developments in those stories and others on msnbc, and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. hear reaction from john mccain about the firestorm he caused tieing illegal immigration to the devastating wildfires. singer la toya jackson opens up about her famous family and her brother's sudden death. keep it on this channel

continuing local news, weather, sports and more. thanks for watching