this morning on "early today" crisis management president obama makes a public appeal in the high stakes showdown over the nation's debt. tax grab. big airlines decide not to pass on savings from a temporary government tax halt to consumers. and sticker shock. a japanese department store offers one of the most expensive a japanese department store offers one of the most expensive box lunches ever. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, and good morning. i'm amara sohn. today we begin with dueling over the debt.

president obama and house speaker john boehner escalated the battle over the debt limit last night. they both appealed to american television viewers in speeches that reflect the two sides being farther apart than ever on the issue. nbc's tracie potts has more from washington. >> reporter: we're now one week away from this possible default deadline and it looks like the white house and congress are no closer to a deal today. >> this is no way to run the greatest country on earth. it's a dangerous game that we've never played before and we can't afford to play it now. >> reporter: president obama is taking his behind-closed-doors fight public to pressure republicans into. >> the president wanted a blank check six months ago and he wants a blank check today. this is just not going to happen. >> reporter: boehner, who

insists i gave it my all before negotiations broke down, argues the crisis isn't in congress, it's in the oval office. president obama refuses to sign his six-month temporary plan to raise the debt ceiling, reaction from capitol hill is all over the place. >> we can't continue on this trajectory, this president has spent $7.3 trillion. >> how do you negotiate with a group of people who have closed the door, mochd the goal posts, thrown these temper tantrums. >> reporter: eem some lawmakers who typically vote democratic, aren't happy with the president's plan. >> the president has been much to aggressive. >> reporter: to end fighting and gridlock one week before the default deadline. even though the president insists he needs to raise taxes on the wealthy to get this to balance, he said at this point he will back the senate's back-up plan, which would cut about two-thirds of what he wants without raising any taxes.

amara? >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. the man suspected in friday's bombing and shooting in norway claims that two other cells in clob ratdors stood ready to join his must rouse campaign to rid europe of muslim domination. he has admitted to massacres and entered a plea of not guilty yesterday. while police believe he acted alone, they have not ruled out he had accomplices. breivik is now in solitary confinement. he says he never expects to be released. in norway the maximum sentence a judge can give is 21 years, although with a special sentence can be handed to a prisoner deemed a danger to society. meanwhile, thousands of norwegians gather in oslo yesterday to mourn the 76 victims. the death toll was 93, but it was lowered yesterday. well, since the weekend, air travellers should be facing lower fares because they haven't had to pay federal taxes on plane tickets. those taxes have been temporarily dropped. that's because on friday

congress failed to re-authorize the federal aviation administration's operating authority resulting in the partial shutdown of the agency, but it turns out instead of passing the savings on to customers, airlines have been pocketing that difference by quietly raising fares in recent days. meanwhile, because of congress's failure to act, construction has stopped at aircraft infrastructure projects across the u.s. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. a scare in the air over dallas led to an emergency landing for one american airlines flight. an engine fire indicator forced pilots to dump fuel shortly after taking off. pilots made a rough landing blowing several tires upon touching down. crew members and passengers walked away without injuries, and officials are currently investigating the engine fire. high calories were the least concern for customers inside one philadelphia fast food restaurant. seven people were injured when a car crashed into the restaurant's dining area.

witnesses say the driver and 85-year-old man exited a nearby parking lot before smashing through the brick and glass exterior. the cause of the crash is under investigation. and finally, in iowa there is one bike where it may take you a while to get back on if you fall off. the 32-foot-long and 18-foot-high design is a creation of a local welder who began working on the titanic two-wheeler to coincide with the cross-state bike trip. right now the bike is just for sightseeing, but the goal is to make it fully functional. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. >> i heard the seat is a little uncomfortable. >> and reaching the pedals might be impossible, you think? >> slightly. >> well, good morning, everyone, yesterday in dallas, texas, their incredible summer continues. can you imagine what 106 feels

like in dallas? because it's not like a dry heat, either. they have a little bit of humidity in the air there, also. they were hotter than most areas of arizona, hotter than vegas, it's almost like the desert has shifted to central texas where the worst of the drought is. seattle was cool, interior california was warm. but right along the coast, especially san francisco, they kept their temperatures around 66. vegas tied dallas at 106 yesterday. nice day yesterday in los angeles. and for downtown l.a., the next five, six days looks to be mid 80s and sunny, so a very enjoyable summer forecast. the cold front has cooled us off in the northwest. you see the gray here, the gray in the map shows you where the clouds are, that's why we have a little bit of drizzle in coastal washington state. and that's why in seattle the forecast today, about 70, the sun will come out later in the day after we burn off some of the clouds and everywhere else looks pretty dry. but thunderstorms possible in much of arizona and utah.orms.

temperatures nice in california, on the comfortable side, enjoy. >> very quiet, beautiful forecast for much of the west, details coming up. >> thank you, bill. >> markets fall on debt deal pressure. netflix is wall street's darling no more. and the lunch to buy the person who has just about everything else you can imagine. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, late-breaking allegations from across the pond that amy winehouse was a phone-hacking victim as well. coming up, the mariners continue to sink, a giant visitor at the white house, and the wait is finally over. you're watching "early today."

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good morning. welcome back to "early today." here are some of your top headlines this morning. a new report shows that amid the recession the wealth gap between whites and minorities has widened to unprecedented levels. an analysis by the pew research center finds the median net worth of whites is 20 times greater than that of blacks and 18 times more than that of hispanics. a whistle blower lawsuit says one of the nation's largest providers of kidney dialysis deliberately wasted medicine in order to reap hundreds of millions of dollars from medicare payments. the suit claims davita used larger than necessary vials knowing that medicare would pay for it if it was assumed unavoidable waste. it was denied. the israel orchestra plans to perform a composition by richard wagner, breaking an

israeli taboo against playing the german anti-semitic composer's music. it will be played at a festival for the composer. he was a composer revered by adolf hitler and the nazis. the pioneer of cryonics, freezing the dead in the hope that science will enable them to live again, has died. robert edinger died at 82. his body is to be stored in a cryonic institute which he founded in 1976. now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,592 after losing 88 points yesterday. the s&p fell seven points, and the nasdaq dipped 16. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo the nikkei was up 47 points, while in hong kong the hang seng climbed 278. wall street was down monday as jitters heightened over the

prospect of default with no progress toward a debt ceiling deal. the evidence said it could have been even worse. volume was light, even by summer standards, suggesting many sat on the sidelines, while overall losses were moderate, the amount of falling stocks outpaced advances. the fear index jumped 10%. the debt stalemate offered a flight to gold and another record high. the dollar fell to a record low against the swiss franc, a traditional safe haven currency. earnings, a steady bright spot were no help monday. kimberly-clark dropped 2% on a doubtful profit forecast. hospital operator hca tumbled 19% after reporting short of expectations. newport cigarette maker lorillard fell after a poor forecast. research in motion fell more than 4% after announcing a cut of about 2,000 jobs. e-trade jumped 6% on a report rival td ameritrade made a bid for the company.

netflix dropped steeply on short revenue and subscriber concerns. texas instruments rose after closing because despite citing slow orders, its outlook wasn't as bad as many feared. also late, despite turning a quarterly profit for the first time since 2008, u.s. steel fell on a sales drop and a pessimistic forecast. finally, one japanese department store is selling a box lunch for $229,000. the meal is just meat, fish, and root vegetables, but it comes in a three-tier 18-karat three-kilogram gold box. just a wooden box is fine with me. well, football will soon be flying. baseball, giants visits the white house, and the padres field home. plus, it wouldn't be a dream reception in the nfl or fantasy alley-oop in the nba. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather, it's not just

the heat today. possible tornadoes in the forecast. that's coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you are just waking up, this is "early today." many in sports negotiators could do worse than use the nfls an

example, with the deadline approaching for cancelling significant portions of the upcoming season, the owners and players settle the lockout. in a deal that not only saves the season, but lasts for ten years. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. break out that giant foam feng, dust off your mini-barbecue and join a fantasy football league because the lockout is finally over for the nfl. >> it's been a long time coming, and football is back, and that's the great news for everybody. i want to thank all of the players for their leadership and for securing the long-term future of the game. having a ten-year agreement is extraordinarily great for our game, but most importantly, our fans. free agency begins on friday. camp starts later this week. the first game thursday, september 8th, between the packers and saints on nbc. baseball, you want to -- you got to pull out all the stops. the padre did just that. runners on the corners, lee,

toss to first. chris is gone. stole home. padres went on to win it 5-4. the mariners almost caught a break last night. loses 15 straight. they almost didn't play the yankees because of rain. but after a two-hour delay, they made time for another loss. mark teixeira hit his 27th homer of the year. yanks won it 10-3. mariners are sinking fast. they have lost 16 in a row. busy day for the president before he addressed the nation, he welcomed the world series championship san francisco giants to the white house. the great willie mays presented the commander in chief with a number 44 jersey. the president wished the giants luck the rest of the season. unless of course they play his beloved white sox in the series. and finally, we're a little over a month away from seeing great catches in the nfl. how about one from australian football. a tremendous catch by andrew walker. it's head and shoulders above the rest. he climbed the defender like a stepladder and pulled in the ball. it's called a mark in aussie rule football, and the coach called it the best mark he had ever seen. we'll go on with that because it's the only mark we've ever

seen. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> early today sports is brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some gray. never all. a famous skin art couple is a couple no more. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, in new york for major league soccer's all-star game, beckham and pell take time to break a world record. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this tuesday morning. the weather pattern is tranquil and quiet on the west coast. not much in the way of rain. a little drizzle early in washington state, maybe around seattle. you sun should come out later in the day. portland, 72 today. l.a. looks nice, towards the coast, you'll be in the 70s. inland, in the 80s. and the warm, beautiful weather continues into wednesday. no problems along the interior. just along the coast, a little bit cool. if you're watching us in l.a., california, indulge in a sweet afternoon. learning all about the history and science behind a favorite treat at chocolate, the exhibition at the event of the day. dark chocolate for me. and you make it sound so appetizing, bill, thank you. now here's an early look at

this morning's headlines in entertainment. add the late amy winehouse to those whose phones were hacked. the sunday mail claims tabloids also accessed winehouse's medical records and phone-hacked her parents, brother, and one-team husband. meanwhile, police say autopsy results haven't established winehouse's cause of death. further toxicology tests are needed with results expected in two to four weeks. according to her family, the singer will be laid to rest in a small private ceremony today. elsewhere people report the tattooed twosome slated to be married this summer, jesse james and kat vondee have called it off and ended their relationship. this kind of casting could be proof the apocalypse is nearing. britney spears for her femme fatale tour has hired pauly d as a performer, from the "jersey

shore." after join after concluding "jersey shore's" fourth season. this comes to us from new york city where some of the world's greatest soccer players joined from just plain joes to break a world record. amid the hustle and bustle of the big apple, an attempt to break the record for the most consecutive penalty kicks by major league soccer all stars. the l.a. galaxy david beckham and future stars took part in the penalty kick bonanza. tourists and even midtown execs helped break the record putting the world's game on the world's biggest stage. i think a lot of women turned out just do see david beckham in action in person. >> and of course, you know, sad note, that's how the u.s. women lost their match in the world cup. they could have used some of those penalty kicks. >> i agree. i'm amara sohn, and this is "early today," just your first stop of date today your nbc station.

reached record-breaking depths. they successfully reached a depth of over three miles below sea level. this means the vessel is capable of reaching over 70% of earth's sea bed. the next test drive for the submarine named for a mythical sea dragon will be an almost three and a half mile dive. to some it's the world's first extreme daredevil sport. the cliff diving world series travelled to italy with a castle serving as back drop. competitors dove from a platform over 80 feet high. they were judged on flips and twirls while gravity did the rest.

about 13,000 spectators watched from boats in the water and the rocky shore below. well, one summer camp in south korea is anything but fun in the sun. it's a four-day boot camp run by retired marines. for more than 200 kids it's eight hours a day of all sorts of grueling exercises and challenges designed test their physical and mental endurance. one trainer says the tough training pushes the students to someday become global leaders. wow. my summers were never that rough. always relaxing. >> i thought it was -- >> we're kids. >> it's perfect. kids, they can go away for four days and -- >> i guess there's nothing wrong with a little discipline for the summer. time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day on here on nbc. the u.s. postal service is expected to release a list of over 3,600 post office that is could be shut down due to budget concerns. the cash-strapped agency lost $8 billion last year alone. the potential closings mostly

targeted rural areas could save $200 million. a mom whose young son died in a hit-and-run accident when she was jaywalking will be sentenced and could face three years in prison. in a case that sparked controversy, she's been charged with second degree vehicular homicide for illegally crossing the road. and happy 47th birthday to sandra bullock. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest development in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. 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. with the budget deadline looming, two new backup plans emerged. the latest live from washington. and hollywood stars steve correll and julian moore are life in studio to talk about their new romantic comedy "crazy, stupid love." now, keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm amara sohn. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop

today on your nbc station. today," just your first stop today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com