[ cheers and applause ] [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on "early "today," abrupt halt -- boehner fails to drum up enough republican support for his debt ceiling measure. tragedy averted. a soldier was plotting another attack on the already shaken fort hood military base. and clean-up in aisle three. a teenager accidentally drives through a convenience storefront a teenager accidentally drives through a convenience storefront in colorado. 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 amara sohn. today we begin with vote

failure. house speaker john boehner has been dealt a major blow from his own party with the clock ticking on the looming default of the nation. yesterday boehner was unable to coral enough support to bring his debt ceiling bill to a vote. tracie potts has the latest details from washington. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: at this hour, amara, good morning. the americans are nervous. the white house is concerned. lawmakers here on capitol hill frustrated. some of them furious at the tea party. one lawmaker called it pretty scary. >> what's going on in the house is crazy. is a disgrace. it is an outrage. >> the republicans are holding hostage the credit of the united states of america. >> do you have the votes? >> reporter: he didn't. it may come up again today, but speaker john boehner had to postpone a vote on his $1 trillion deficit plan because he couldn't get enough votes from his own party. >> the last thing we need to do is be playing around with august the 2nd. tea party conservatives blocked it.

>> i can't vote for a bill that only cuts $1 trillion. >> this is the only proposal on the table that accomplishes the goals we set out to do. >> reporter: boehner meets with republicans again this morning. he is not giving up. >> we need to try to find a way to pay the nation's bills and do it in a responsible way. >> reporter: what's next? today the treasury department may include an emergency plan. some lawmakers say it's time to abandon deficit reduction and focus only on extending america's borrowing. >> a clean debt ceiling vote and then continuing on with this conversation or, failing thatpark the other option is what's in front of us. >> reporter: the 14th amendment says that the president can protect america's debt. it does not specifically say it can raise the debt ceiling on its own, and the white house is reluctant to do this.

amara? >> tracie potts for us in washington. tracie, thank you for that report. in texas, a haunting reminder of the 2009 massacre at fort hood. police say an awol army soldier was planning a terror attack on military personnel at the base. private first class jason abda was interrupted after suspected bomb making materials were found in his hotel room just outside fort hood. an employee of a gun store where he had bought ammunition alerted police. they got a warrant on a separate charge of child pornography. according to "the new york times," a homeland security department internal report concludes 27 people with terrorist connections were wrongly issued licenses as pilots and aircraft mechanics. those licenses were later canceled. the report also reveals that the transportation security administration could not confirm the identities of thousands to have received licenses. part of the problem is that the federal aviation administration

can't require a social security number from applicants. the report was requested two years ago after it was determined that the man convicted in the bombing of pan am flight 103 still held an faa license along with others who should not have happened. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a couple of of aspiring robbers failed to close a deal at an ohio gas station. the suspect did plenty of break, but it was the entering part that wasn't successful. they quit trying to hammer their way in, and they were arrested soon after leaving the scene. a rash of smash and grab robberies continue to spread in los angeles last week. recently it released video of the latest incident to show a trio of criminals inside a jewelry store using mace and hammers to carry out the crime. the thieves got away with $7,000 worth of merchandise. police say seven similar robberies have occurred since the beginning of summer. surveillance video captured

a terrifying moment inside a colorado 7-eleven. a teen driver accidentally drove into a convenience store, mowing down everything in her path. no one was hurt in the accident. the teen said she mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brake. also, in colorado a hot dog with some staying power. yes, that's a hot dog. the weaner has been on richard's antenna for the past ten years. his nephews put it on as a joke, but a decade later and with wildlife wanting no part of it, the hot dog has managed to stay put. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning on that note, bill. isn't food supposed to be edible? biodegradeable. i don't like when it lasts that long. >> yeah. >> what's in our hotdogs. well, good morning, everyone, let's take a lookat

what's happening with tropical storm don. this was the storm that developed in the middle of the week. it's still a storm, it's got a little rainfall and thunderstorms with it. it doesn't look like it's going to have a chance to become a hurricane. the problem with this storm is it's headed too far south. it hasn't moved far enough north to give texas their needed rainfall. just scattered showers today on the coast. the only areas that will get the heavy rain, possibly from brownsville, maybe up to corpus christi. that's a maybe and over to laredo. there's the forecast path. instead of going up here like this, we need it to head up to corpus christi and go to the middle of texas. unfortunately it's going to head to mexico to the high mountains, which will tear it apart. the forecast for the west, everything is relatively calm, although we did have a pretty good batch of showers and storms rolling through southern new mexico and southern arizona, there's still a fau showers left. a lot of them have dried up. up in the rim countries outside the cities of arizona, there are some showers, possibly driving from prescott to flagstaff,

beautiful country there, you may get a few raindrops. we'll do it again with more showers and storms later today. 107 in phoenix. a beautiful day in some areas, a little toasty in thunderstorm a. nice day in san diego, nice to be rid of the clouds, nice afternoon. it's been a quiet west forecast during the week, weekend, coming up. stocks sag on the debt debate. high pump prices boost profit, and a new way to get your pet to mellow out. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, will the reigning box office champ "captain america" meet its match this weekend? coming up, carlos beltran, giants debut, the fielder moment of the week, and hey, ladies.

the pacers have found a way to make tom brady look even better. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm amara sohn. here are some of your top headlines this morning. memorial services being held in norway to mark the one-week anniversary of the bombing and shooting spree in oslo that left 76 people dead, the 32-year-old man who confessed to the attack is facing his second interrogation by police today. a report into the 2010 plane crash in russia that killed the polish president and 95 others concludes that russian air traffic controllers gave incorrect landing instructions to the pilot and it pointed to poor visibility and failure by polish officials. republican presidential candidate michelle bachmann says she is running for president, not her husband. at the national press club the minnesota congresswoman refused

to answer questions about her husband's christian counseling clinic which attempts to convert gay patients and has accepted government funding. a delaware man convicted of killing a woman with an axe was executed this morning. robert jackson was put to det by lethal injection. and the skeletal remains of a man missing for 27 years were discovered in the chimney of a bank in louisiana, during renovations. joseph schneider vanished before a court appearance on charges of stealing a car. how he got there, how he got stuck there remain as mystery. and now, here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opened up 12,240 after losing 62 points thursday. the s&p fell four points. the nasdaq was up one. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei tumble ed 68 points, while in hong kong

the hang seng dropped 130. a sell-off late in the game yesterday had the dow tallying its fifth straight day of losses. stocks reverse course on late development over the ongoing debt stalemate. earlier on the markets had been getting a boost on some positive economic data, including weekly jobless claims. the labor department reported claims for unemployment benefits declined more than expected. they dropped below 400,000, a key level for the first time since early april. big oil continued to make big money in the second quarter. exxonmobil reported a 41% jump in profits as gas prices hit three-year highs. results were still short of analysts' expectations. shares of the texas giant ended up more than 2%. on the flip side royal dutch shell had the help of higher fuel prices. the oil company nearly doubled its profit to $8.6 billion. speaking of oil, because of tropical storm don, gulf of

mexico producers reduced oil and natural gas output and evacuated some platform workers, but analysts don't expect any prolonged production outages. back on the street, we had several other companies beating expectations on thursday. they included starbucks, dupont, metlife, and colgate palmolive. pet owners may have a way to keep their pups happy. we're not talking about dog bones and cat nip. a seattle lab is developing a medical marijuana patch for pets. the purpose is to help ailing animals that suffer everything from arthritis to cancer. developers hope to have the patch ready by the end of the year. what we do for our pets. the nfl trade you'll be talking about today, and a an yelling match erupts at the tigers game. plus an emotional moment for one young red sox fan. your early morning sports

headlines are straight ahead. all the attention is on tropical storm don and how much rain it will bring to texas. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you are just waking up, this is "early today." in sports from ending a four-month lockout the nfl is

kicking things off with big name trades. here's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. the season hasn't even started, and the new england patriots are already big winners. they traded for a pair of pro bowlers. chad ocho cinco will try to fill the spot by randy moss. chad may need to change his name again. and on defense they traded a fifth round to the redskins for albert hanesworth. he is one of the best in the game when he is motivated and in shape. if anybody can get these two guys to check their egos at the door, it will be bill belichick. reggie bush will be taking his talents to south beach. after five seasons in new orleans, the saints have traded him to the dolphins. baseball, carlos beltran didn't do much with the giants. pablo sandoval did. he decided put it together to beat the phils 4-1. no beltran.

no problem for the mets. they swept the reds for their fourth straight win in cincinnati. jason bay scored three with a base-clearing double in the fifth. you can't tell that they don't have a playoff spot by the way they're playing. to detroit, where frustration boiled over for the tigers chad penny. he got into it with victor martinez. i don't think they're discussing dinner plans. petty unhappy about the way martinez was playing the game. they both were wrong. tigers lost 12-7. time for the red sox-royals game. josh beckett handed the ball to a young fan, and he was overcome with emotion. moments like these make going to the ballpark a unique experience. we all know krs there craig in baseball, but we'll let this one fly. slide. that was truly a special scene in boston. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin. can an all-star cast pull in all-star numbers at the box office? your entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, ever wonder how tv magic is made? we'll tell you one place where

students are making their dreams a reality. you're watching "early today."

. welcome back on this friday morning, an enjoyable weather pattern continue, it should be about 80 degrees in portland, still mid 70s in seattle. still hot in the intermountain west, boise up to 99 degrees. not a lot of rainfall, in

arizona, the chance of more showers early this morning and later this afternoon, some thunderstorms. and tomorrow, we'll add more tropical moisture. phoenix to albuquerque and salt lake city, that's where the moisture flow continues on the coast of washington state, 74 in seattle. portland, around 79 and sunday's forecast, not a lot changes. it looks like a little warmer air mass for some areas. but overall, what you see is what you get into the weekend. if you're watching us on kntv, nbc 11 in california's bay area, head to nearby mountain view, for the little ones, for a children's production of the "wish peddler." at mountain view center for the performing arts. bill, thank you. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment.cc1: with three new releases crowding theaters this weekend, it's safe to say there's something for everyone at the box office. harrison ford and daniel craig saddle up in the sci-fi western "cowboys and aliens." an 1800s town invaded by aliens.

the movie's big name talent should be a big draw for the movie goers to the tune of an expected $42 million. everyone's favorite blue creatures are back and now on the big screen in "the smurfs." the live action animation hybrid that stars neil patrick harris has been getting abismal reviews. nostalgia will likely send ticket sales over the $30 million mark. analysts believe that "crazy stupid love" starring ryan gosling and emma stone might suffer the effects of fatigue after a long string of adult comedies. it's expected to debut in fifth place behind "captain america" and "harry potter" with just $17 million. bill, you seem like the sci-fi guy. >> i've had my moments. but i'm going to see "cowboys and aliens." "captain american" -- i think

i'll pass. >> i think i'll pass on that. and this comes to us from wvit connecticut where a group of students are making the grade by being the class clown. it's lights, camera, and comedy at one local university. the week-long course teaches the tools to break into tv sitcoms. people from all walks of life take the course, and they're getting more than a few laughs. by week's end students will have written, produced, and started in their own pilot, putting them one step closer to tickling america's funny bone. i'm amara sohn, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

it's a good thing cats have nine lives. in scotland an 8-week-old kitten is alive and well after her owner accidentally put her in the washing machine with a load of laundry. she had no idea princess was curled up in the clothing. it wasn't until the cycle was finished that the cat was discovered clinging to a pair of jeans, but was otherwise just fine. now from one durable kitty to some resourceful gold fish. they may be the smallest survivors of last february's devastating earthquake in new zealand. the fish spent four and a half months trapped in their tank without food, and in part of the city that's off limits. experts think they survived by eating algae. though, three of they are companions have vanished.

at this camp site, the visitors are definiteny not roughing. a campground in france offers all the amenities one might see at a resort. there's a spa, sauna, and aerobics classes just to name a few. if you don't feel like cooking over a campfire, well, there are three restaurants to choose from. with all these luxuries, it's no wonder it costs $1,400 for a week. that is not camping. >> yeah, but you get to -- you are still kind of cool because you can tell everyone at work i went camp this weekend. >> i went to camp. i was at the sauna. i got a massage. time for an early look at some of the stories we're following throughout the day here on nbc. president obama will announce new fuel economy standards for cars and light-duty trucks. the administration has reached a compromise with automakers to boost fuel efficiency by 2025 where fleets will have to average 54.5 miles per gallon. supporters of two american

hikers detained in iran will hold a rally in new york to demand their release. it comes two days before the duo's final hearing in an iranian court on charges of espionage. a third hiker was released last september. and on this day in 1958 president eisenhower signed a national aeronautics and space into law. creating nasa. today we'll stay on top of the developments as they break on nbc, and tonight be sure to watch brian williams on "nbc nightly news". finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. the great white shark that we've never seen them before shooting straight out of the ocean and coming face-to-face with explorers. and iconic 1980s band journey returns to the plaza for the summer concert series. keep it here for continuing news, weather, sports, and more. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of

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