this morning on "early today," done deal. with a debt bill signed, president obama and lawmakers turn their attention to the next front in the budget battle. military might. a lithuanian official sends a crushing message over illegal parking. and flight of fancy. an escaped peacock causes quite and flight of fancy. an escaped peacock causes quite a commotion in new york city. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and very good morning to you. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific

time zone. i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with crisis averted. president obama signed lawmakers' pain staking budget bill keeping the u.s. out of default for now. tracy poths is live for us this morning on capitol hill. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. lawmakers were so wrapped up in recent weeks dealing with this debt crisis that they did not deal with the budget for the faa and, as a result, thousands of workers may be left without paychecks. after signing a deal to extend america's credit, president obama told congress to deal with the faa. >> congress needs to break that impasse now. >> reporter: nearly 250 airport construction projects are on hold. funding ran out last friday leaving 70,000 construction workers and 4,000 federal employees with no pay. >> i'm concerned with whether or not i'm going to be able to pay

my mortgage. >> this is their bread and butter. to have 70,000 of these workers off is not fair. >> reporter: at issue is whether to cut thousands of dollars the government gives to 13 rural airports. >> all we're trying to do is end these wasteful subsidies, some as high as 3,700 a ticket. >> reporter: the senate's top democrat calls it extreme. >> i do my best to protect the state, but sometimes you have to be reasonable, i think. >> reporter: the house passed a bill and left town. >> they passed a bill and said to the united states senate, either you take it our way or it will be no runway. >> reporter: during the shutdown, the government cannot tax airline tickets. it's losing $200 million a week. so you may think, great, i'll save a few dollars if i book a ticket now, don't have to pay that tax. not necessarily the case. some airlines raised their prices as a result, but some now, veronica, are saying they'll refund those fees to

customers. >> tracy potts in washington. hosni mubarak is in cairo for the start of his trial. partly because of the uprising that resulted in him being ousted from power. he's accused of corruption and ordering the killing of protesters, both of which he denies. the leader was flown in by helicopter and arrived at the site of his trial in a hospital bed. surrounded by heavy security inside a specially constructed metal cage. outside the courtroom clashes broke out between his supporters and opponents. a new report has identified a massive hacking attack on 70 corporations and government organizations including the united nations and the u.s. energy lab. mcafee says the infiltration took place over several months. intruders were after data on sensitive u.s. military systems. mcafee believes one culprit is probably to blame but declined to identify the suspect.

one cybersecurity expert says china is the like lly candidate. one texas driver received quite a scare when he couldn't take his car out of cruise control. with his brakes lock and unable to stop, the driver barreled down the road at 60 miles an hour. the horrifying ordeal came to an end when a manufacture managed to get in front of the out of control vehicle and slow it down. the u.s. coast guard's discovery of a drug smuggling submarine netted a whale of a narcotics bust. 200 bales of cocaine. the street value of the bust is estimated to be worth $180 million. a severe drought has uncovered a major find in lake nacogdoches. nasa confirms the global-shaped structure found in the dried-up lake is part of the ill-fated space shuttle "columbia" mission.

it is part of 18 fuel tanks that fell to earth when the shuttle disintegrated on re-entry. efforts are being made to return the piece to nasa. finally in chicago, a symbol of hollywood royalty in america's pastime is scheduled to hit the auction block. a baseball kissed by marilyn monroe and signed by yankee ledge ends like joe dimaggio and mickey mantle will go to the highest bidder tomorrow. the ball is expected to fetch $20,000 if not higher. now for a look at your weather here's bill carons with a weather channel forecast. what would you pay for that snncht the bidding has already started. it's going up. my bid's already been passed. >> which is what? >> not much. i would like to have that, though. let's talk about what's happening in the weather world. yesterday very hot in the middle of the country. almost as hot as the deserts in the american southwest. it was 113 in phoenix yesterday.

and it's hard to believe that as hot as that is, it was almost as hot in tulsa, oklahoma, with 112. dallas with 110. we were up to 107 in kansas city. these are some of the hottest temperatures that the middle of the country have seen in a long, long time. the heat warnings continue throughout much of the deep south. we have excessive heat warnings from yuma back to phoenix today. we're expecting 114. as far as anywhere else on the west coast, weather pattern doesn't change, hasn't changed. little weak lows continue to move to the pacific northwest up into canada. they drag the front through, then it warms up, then cools off. right now sunny conditions through much of the region during the day today once the sun does come up. coastal clouds lingering here in california. san francisco, you'll keep it down about 68. really nice once you move inland. l.a. 79. portland at 79.

we'll give you an updated forecast on thursday coming up. >> a gorgeous day on the west coast, as usual. disappointing earnings and worry all over wall street. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plans for "two and a half men" showing that charlie sheen will definitely never be back. a grudge match between the brewers and cardinals. kevin durant finds a new place to play. he may be little, but he has a big voice.

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. the activist who recently

hit rupert murdoch with a pie made of shaving foam has received a six-week sentence. he's pleaded guilty to assaulting murdoch who was testifying about the hacking scandal and his paper "news of the world." newly released documents show that ted kennedy faced threats after the murders of his brothers. one reportedly called in by the son of the late mobster al capone. during the 2001 anthrax scare his office received an envelope of white powder which tested negative for anthrax. in uganda, scientists have found the 20 million-year-old fossilized remains on a tree climbing ape. and in a stunt filmed for a european tv show, the mayor of lithuania's capital allegedly fed up with illegally parked cars crushed a mercedes with an armored vehicle. the mayor has long advocated his

citizens take up cycling as alternative transportation. and now here's an early look at one of your top health headli headlines. women who take fish oil supplements during pregnancy may boost their baby's immune systems and help protect them against colds during their first year of life. mothers who were given an omega 3 fatty acid got sick less often and for a shorter period of time than mothers who didn't take that supplement. for information on this and other health stories check out the health page at msnbc.com. "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil. bring yourself back. the dow opened at 11866 after dropping 265 points. the s&p sank 32, the nasdaq lost 75. taking a look at overseas

trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei slipped 207 points while in hong kong, the hang seng tumbled 428. weak economic data and poor earnings negated whatever debt bill relief there was on wall street tuesday and spurred fresh concern about the economy's health. they cut spending for the first time in nearly two years. coming a day after weak manufacturing data and after last friday's chilling government figures showing the economy growing at the slowest pace since the recession, the street's mood has suddenly become grim. all 30 dow stocks fell, all but 13 of 500 on the s&p fell. wall street is in its longest losing streak since october 2008. . ten-year treasury yield fell to its 2011 low as investors sought save havens. gold was up about 1 1/2%. general electric and home depot

led stocks lower with losses of 4% or more. pfizer's second quarter profit, expectations and forecast was bright, nevertheless, shares fell over 4 1/2%. archer daniels midland dropped after promising expectations. coach lost 7% after reporting a loss in profits. also adding to the bleakness july auto sales rose only slightly, threatening to derail that industry's fragile recovery. european markets hit their lowest close in 11 months on more bank worries linked to greece's debt woes. finally after a six-week investigation police in new jersey arrested a 29-year-old woman who took breaks on the night shift at dunkin' doughnuts to provide sexual services to customers in their cars. tempers flare in milwaukee, the sox beat the tribe and a bad throw with a fake steal. kevin durant on the court in

harlem. for the lucky few, thunderstorms will cool you off from this amazing heat. your forecast is coming up.

well, good morning. if you're just waking up, this

is "early today." in sports for both the mets and the marlins it's been the kind of season that makes it not too surprising that the most noteworthy part of last night's game didn't take place on the field. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. hi there. good morning. many kids dream of playing in the major leagues, but for 11-year-old jacob resnick, he dreams of calling the game. yesterday he got the opportunity of a lifetime. take a listen. >> here's the first pitch in hand, and reyes swings it. back it goes. it's gone! a home run for jose reyes, and the mets tie the game! >> great call by the young jacob resnick. remember that name. he's got a future in this business. to the ninth inning where the mets literally throw this one away. up one. grounder to justin turner, and he airmails the toss. marlins take the lead and beat the mets 4-3. wild one between the brewers and cardinals.

he ladles one for albert pujols' head. time for payback. jason mott hits ryan braun. no ejections, just warnings for each. this one goes extra. lance brookman puts them on top with an rbi single. boston red sox and indians. tied in the ninth. els bury laces one to center. saltalamacchia just beats the tag at the plate. funny moment between the cubs and pirates. watch andrew mccutchen on first. giovany soto comes up. and no one is guarding the bag. soto would have the last laugh. cubbies go on to rout the pirates 11-6. finally nba players are locked out and some are going overseas to play basketball. kevin durant has taken his game to the blacktop. durant put on a show at the legendary rutger park in harlem dazzling the crowd after hitting

three in in the fourth quarter. he finishes for the staggering 56 points. if the nba lockout ended today, i have a feeling that durant would be ready to go. that's a look at sports on "early today." we know one person that cher is not voting for. your entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus the big apple grinds to a standstill over the man deny hunt for a peacock.

welcome back to "early today" on this wednesday morning. leave the umbrella at home. it is probably getting a lot of dust covering it at this time. the intermountain west with the monsoonal flow through to mexico up to salt lake city including denver. everywhere on the west coast we'll be dry today. just depends on your elevation or location for temperatures. interior will be warm, along the coast slightly cooler. today no rainfall at all. temperatures look very nice, especially the pacific northwest. if you're watching us on krnv news 4 in reno, see hand carved frames made of various material including 22 karat gold. at the triumph of craftsmanship. >> did somebody say gold? or was it diamonds? >> no, no diamonds. just gold. don't be greedy. here's an early look at this morning's headlines in

entertainment, in case you had any doubt remaining that charlie sheen will never return to "2 and a half men" this should put it to it. the character sheen played on the show is not only dead the episode will revolve around the funeral being held for him. talk about beatles reunion or at least paul mccartney at the opening ceremonies in london has been premature at best. a rep for sir paul says there have been discussions but there is no deal. the 4700-square-foot home that was host to the anna nicole smith show could be yours. finally following cher on twitter is anything but boring. she let loose with a nasty tweet stream after receiving a fund-raising letter from michele bachmann making it painfully clear she will not be helping bachmann's run for the

presidency. all right. this now comes to us from wnbc 4 new york in new york city where one bird has forsaken its nest for some fun in the big city. a male peacock has become the latest escapee from a city zoo. since he went awol he's been spotted per wered on a fifth avenue apartment window led. he has spawned two twitter accounts as well. they do hope the colorful character will eventually tire of the hustle and bustle of big city life. look at him up there. >> a tourist attraction. >> he looks a little too comfortable. >> he's away from the people. >> how do they get up there? >> i guess they fly. who knew? >> i'm veronica de la cruz, just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

archaeologists have found a different type of buried treasure off the coast of panama. it may be the remains of a ship belonging to captain morgan. the infamous pirate and privateer. there's a side of a wooden hull, unopened boxes and chests buried just below the sea bed. five ships including morgan's flagship sank after a raid on panama. frustration with indonesia's health care system and lack of education has many there turning to a dangerous pseudo medical treatment. believers believe lying on electrified railroad tracks cures everything from high blood pressure to diabetes much better

than traditional treatments. they come despite a police crackdown and threats of a fine or jail time. there is a new way for daredevils to live on the edge. check this out. they can actually walk out on it. visitors to toronto's cn tower can now walk along the edge of the top of the structure 116 stories above the ground. groups of six at a time are attached to an overhead safety rail via a trolley and a harness system. yeah, the 30-minute thrill doesn't come cheap, though. 180 buck, bill karins. you would have to pay me 180 bucks. >> if you're a thrill seeker, that's pretty cool. where else can you do that? maybe statue of liberty. >> i wouldn't do it anywhere. >> chicago sears tower? >> no thank you. time for a look at some of the stories we follow here on nbc. a senate committee holds a hearing on the drought in the horn of africa.

people are at risk for starvation in ethiopia and kenya. marvel will publish its first comic featuring a new spider-man named miles morales. the half black, half hispanic superhero takes over where peter parker left off before he was killed in the comic series last june. martha stewart turns 70 years old today. those stories break on msnbc. and be sure to watch brian williams with nbc nightly news. finally a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. ordered by a judge to return to florida for probation, will casey anthony come out of hiding today? her attorney jose baez speaks to matt lauer. jason bateman and ryan reynolds are in studio to talk about their new movie "the

change-up." thank you so much for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a terrific wednesday.