♪ this morning on "early today" hot zone. thousands of residents are told to flee as a wildfire nears the los alamos nuclear facility. a jury finds former illinois governor rod blagojevich guilty of corruption. and dubious distinction. which u.s. city has been named and dubious distinction. which u.s. city has been named the nation's most sedentary? 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 a recipe for disaster.

as if crews in the southwest don't have enough of a challenge battling fierce wildfires burning across the region, now they're in a race to keep those flames from approaching a nuclear weapons facility in new mexico. nbc's curt gregory has more. >> reporter: a fast-moving fire continues to burn less than a mile from the los alamos national laboratory. a mandatory evacuation was ordered for the city of 44,000. >> kind of makes you nervous with all this nuclear stuff around. >> reporter: the secretive nuclear lab has been shut down. for now all hazardous and radioactive materials are protected. fire crews are working nonstop. >> i will not say -- we're doing our best to keep it off the laboratory. >> reporter: los alamos is famous, home of the manhattan project where scientists developed the first atomic bomb. it's spread out over 36 square miles.

>> obviously, our priority is to protect the national asset here, protect the facility, but also we're concerned about the welfare of our 10,000 plus employees. >> reporter: fire officials warn the blaze could double or triple in size. curt gregory, nbc news. and with mother nature also meddling with nuclear facilities in nebraska, the situation there the nation's top nuclear power regulator says that nebraska's nuclear power plants are safe. despite two being swamped by missouri river floodwaters. fort calhoun has been the biggest concern. it's surrounded by at least two feet of floodwater, forcing workers to use catwalks to get to the facility. some has seeped into the building, but the plant manager says all radioactive material is dry. flooding is a problem all along the missouri due to releases of water from upstream reservoirs. with news president obama has entered high level budget talks, white house officials say

they are confident a significant deal can be reached to prevent the nation from defaulting on its debt for the first time in history. however, it remains unclear how the deal will get done with republicans continuing to reject the administration's insist ens that higher taxes are a necessary reality to raise the debt ceiling. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with all the details. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. in fact they insisted again on the no tax hikes right before walking into a meeting last night with president obama. keep in mind, this happened after republicans walked out of >> the president, vice president and senate minority leader, mitch mcconnell sat down to sit down to discuss how they could reach a breakthrough. after the meeting, the white house said they are still confident that some sort of a significant compromise can be

reached. but republicans don't seem to be budging when it comes to not raising taxes. the white house emphasizing we're not talking about taxes for the middle class here, we're talking about taxes for big corporations like big oil companies that are making record profits. and the richest americans. senate majority leader, harry reid, also in a meeting with the president yesterday. that one lasting about 30 minutes. he focused on jobs, said without creating more jobs, we can't balance the budget. lynn? >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a massive fire in florida near a tourist hotel and ended vacation plans for dozens. the inferno destroyed the hotel sunday night located near popular amusement parks. flames quickly ripped through the massive complex, reducing it to a charred shell. over 100 firefighters battled the fire until dawn before putting it out. an investigation is expected to begin today. a pilot was forced to turn a

crowded florida beach into a landing strip yesterday. the pilot was returning from the bahamas when engine failure forced him to set the aircraft down quickly. the pilot flew over beach goers to make a successful and safe landing in the sand. no one on the ground, including the pilot and his passenger, were injured. finally, in hawaii a maui man has paddled himself into the record books. he became the first ever to complete the 300 mile trek between the big island and kuai on a stand-up paddleboard. it took him 215,000 paddle strokes, over five days and nights. he said the most difficult part was being out on the open sea alone. really? a look at your national and regional weather here's bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. good morning to you. >> i would like to see the

sharks as they circle you. >> can you imagine? >> no, i can't. >> put me on a boat. >> a paddle board. good morning, everyone. yesterday in phoenix, arizona, if you thought it was hot, it was, we had 115 degrees, and that was the hottest temperature in the last two years. so that was a significant day. now, as far as what's going on out there on the west coast, rain. this is very unusual. the storm like this, upper-level lows dropped down from alaska and now it is bringing rainfall. widespread across coastal northern california and southern portions of oregon. and the rainy pattern will stay with us for a day or two. the storm system will not get down here to the deep south, all the way to the desert southwest, still very hot once again today. but definitely cooler weather up there with the clouds in the northwest. and the green on the map is the rain. the yellow is the moderate rainfall. you notice it's tracking from the south to the north. right up interstate 5, it's a wet ride north of redding and especially up to eugene.

portland, light showers right now, they should continue on and off for today. and the 115 in phoenix yesterday, 107 in vegas. today, just as hot, but the coastal areas, that's an weather. sacramento, a brief period of rain and most locations in california will dry out by tomorrow. talk more about the storm coming up. >> coming up, traders shrug off spending stats. new strict crib rule goes into effect and what might be responsible for your higher electric bill. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, updates on charlie sheen's old show, his reported new show and his domestic situation. a tough day for the williams sisters, a new law for the dodgers and who knew tarzan

could pitch? you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. former illinois governor rod blagojevich has been convicted of 16 of 20 counts against hem, including trying to sell the former senate seat once held by president obama. he is virtually certain to receive a significant prison term. experts say up to 15 years. the supreme court struck down a california law yesterday banning the sale of violent video games to children. writing for the majority justice scalia said the games were subject to full first amendment protection. the international criminal court has issued an arrest warrant for moammar gadhafi, his son and a key aide, accusing them of crime s against humanity of killing civilians during the uprising.

celebrations erupted in the rebel-held cities of misrata and benghazi after the decision. nato alliance members also approved. the daughter of a 95-year-old woman boarding a florida flight says her sick mother had to remove her wet diaper so she could be patted down by security screeners. the tsa denies forcing the woman to take off her diaper, claiming proper procedure was followed. and lexington, kentucky, a town known for its horses, has a new distinction. the nation's most sedentary city, according to a ranking by "men's health." taking the top spot for most active city seattle. now, here's an early look at how wall street kicks off the day. the dow opens at 12,043 after rising 108 points yesterday. the s&p gained 11 points. the nasdaq climbed 35. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei was up 70 points, while in hong kong the hang seng inched up 20.

signs of hope in greece's ongoing debt saga drove markets higher monday. french banks agreed to give greece more time to pay back loans, easing default fears. still, greece's fate remains uncertain as parliament debates strict austerity measures, despite fierce opposition from striking public workers. bank stocks also boosted markets, after a global regulators allowed lower reserve levels than some had feared. investors shrugged off news consumer spending fell last month, hoping falling gas prices will drive increased spending down the road. on-line retailer amazon shot up 4% thanks to an analyst upgrade. microsoft rose abuzz over its new cloud-based software, expected to be announced today. sweeping new federal guidelines for cribs go into effect today, banning the production, sale, and resale, including yard sales, of drop-side cribs, blamed for

numerous deaths. new cribs must have four fixed sides and undergo tougher safety testing. the supreme court agreed to hear a case on whether the federal communication commission's policy banning nudity and swearing on tv violates the first amendment. former citigroup employee gary foster, arrested and charged with allegedly embezzling more than $19 million from the bank, has pleaded not guilty. after the bell, nike rose on better than expected quarterly earnings. finally, a stunning new report claims new hd dvr cable boxes eat up more power than some refrigerators. the electricity to operate 160 million cable boxes in the u.s. equals the annual household electricity consumption of the entire state of maryland. who would have thought that? well, coming up, the dodgers break out swinging on the same day they file for bankruptcy. the tigers manager claws at the umps, and huge upsets at wimbledon.

plus, what do you get when you mix cirque du soleil and baseball? your early morning sports headlines straight ahead. >> that looked cool. the weather highlights today. severe storms in the southeast, and an unusual storm for the west coast. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you are just waking up, this is "early today," and in sports one of america's oldest and most famous sports franchises has filed for bankruptcy protection. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. with the clock ticking until thursday ae payroll deadline, l.a. dodger owner frank mccourt played one of the final cards in his hands, bankruptcy. he filed for bankruptcy protection in an effort to keep major league baseball from seizing the team, and he secured yet another loan. $150 million, and it's up to the bankruptcy court to approve that financing, so he can make payroll. he owes about $40 million by thursday. the team's financial status is up in the air, but that didn't affect their play on the field. the dodgers put in an offensive clinic in minnesota, combined for a season high 24 hits. matt kemp led the way with four including his 22nd homer. he may not get paid. the dodgers are cashing in runs, winning 15-0. tiger manager jim leyland got his money's worth went toe

to toe with not one, but two umpires. spent a couple of minutes giving the first base ump a piece of his mind. after he blew up a bang-bang play at the bag. leyland was ejected. then on his way out he gave the nobody was safe, leyland went on a tear, johnny peralta, a shot to the right, batista couldn't make the play. in came the go-ahead run. tigers beat the blue jays 4-2. great catch by the rays sam full. fred lewis, a drive to left, and fulls got a late start, and made a shoulder grab before falling into the wall. shades of willie mays, unfortunately not enough. reds won it 5-0. for the first time since 2006 there will not be a williams sister in the quarterfinals at wimbledon. they both lost their fourth round matches. finally back to the diamond for the wildest first pitch you will ever see. here's a wind-up, and, oh, my, a spinning back flip and toss to home plate. never seen that. one more time. the flip was incredible. then he threw a perfect strike

to the catcher. sign tarzan up. he can pitch. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> pretty impressive. well, lady gaga is accused of having sticky fingers over her bracelet sales. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, to most people their dogs are just like their children, smart and beautiful. we'll introduce you to one woman whose proud to call her dog the world's ugliest. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this tuesday morning. forecast-wise for today, hot weather continues in the desert southwest. salt lake city, 97, casper at 94, boise at 92. the other storm we're dealing with out here is moving along the coastline, showers and thunderstorms possible from seattle to portland to medford. and even into wednesday, some will linger, especially in the northern rockies, boise, changeses of thunderstorms and chances for showers tomorrow in the northwest. if you're watching us on knrv, news 4, reno, nevada. wheels that look more like works of art than they do vehicles, at quirky rides at the national automobile museum. now here's an early look at entertainment headlines. with the new tv season fast approaching, news of charlie

sheen's small screen future is heating up. radar on-line reports sheen signed a deal for a new show with lionsgate television which, in turn, is negotiating with cable outlets with tbs as the frontrunner. cable is preferred because sheen's show will apparently be racier. sheen will make less up front, but more of a percentage, meaning he could make more than he did at cbs. meanwhile, sources tell tmz "two and a half men" producer chuck laurie says he plans to make sure that sheen can never return to his show, by kill off sheen's character, having him drive off a cliff. yeah, that will do it. and natalie kenly, the last of sheen's so-called goddesses, has moved out, and sheen is apparently not so happy about it. he reportedly demanded she return a mercedes he bought for her. finally, business insider reports a class action lawsuit has been filed against lady gaga for allegedly pocketing some of the proceeds from the we pray

for japan bracelet that she's been selling to fans. >> and this comes to us from kc 24 in fresno, california and one hideous hounds that going from rags to riches. yoda was recently crowned the world's ugliest dog, but coolest name. the baldy mini mutt with bulging eyes beat out fierce and frightening competition to take the title. the pint-sized pooch was found 14 years ago wrapped in a garbage bag. yoda's owner initially thought she was a rat, but decided to take her in, anyway. leading to her current status as a treasured family member. i don't know how that could look like a rat. but it's like they're so ugly, they're adorable. >> oh, ugly i say you are? >> that's your best yoda? i'm lynn berry and this is "early today." your first stop today on your nbc station.

one festival in china had a glowing debut. a lantern festival was open for visitors. the two-month-long event includes illuminated lantern that is come in all shapes and sizes from butterflies to pirate ships. the colorful creations are centered around an over the top lotus flower display that includes 56 different lanterns. the art of building sand castles is much more than a favorite summer pastime. at least in the netherlands where the competition was as fierce as the structures. forget moats and blocks. these pros carved incredible works of art. most not even castles. nearby some kids got in on the

action building a massive structure to resemble the tower of babylon. here's one competition that will definitely keep you on your toes. locals in one english town gathered for their annual world toe wrestling championship, a tradition there for over 30 years. just like arm wrestling, but competitors have to lock feet instead of wrists. athletes even gave themselves catchy nicknames like preda-toe and twinkle toes. i don't know why that completely grosses me out. something about feet and other people's feet. i don't know. >> nasty toe won. no one would go against him. >> well, it's time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the international monetary fund's executive board meets to begin the final selection of a new managing director. former chief dominique strauss kahn stepped down after he was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a hotel worker.

french finance minister, christi christine legarde is expected to be selected. nasa is going to launch a satellite to be used by the department of defense. special sensors will aid the military in surveillance operations. happy birthday to mel brooks who turns 85. all day long you can stay on the top of the latest developments of those stories and others. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with nbc nightly news, and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later today on "the today show". republican congresswoman, michele bachmann is now officially running for president, and today she goes one-on-one with matt lauer. and shia labeouf talks about his latest action adventure "transformers 3." 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