this morning on "early today," it's not over yet. another awful day on wall street brought on by fears of another credit downgrade. this one overseas. long arm of the law. a cross-country search for three siblings on a crime spree ends after a high speed chase. and no love lost. who has been voted the most hated person in the united who has been voted the most hated person in the united states? captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, and good morning. welcome to viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone.

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with market mayhem. stocks took another nauseating nosedive on wednesday as investors worry france could become the latest casualty of europe's debt problems. adding fuel to fears of a global economic crisis. losses were limited overnight in asia, but experts warn the roller coaster ride is not over yet. nbc's kristen dahlgren reports. >> reporter: the celebration short-lived on wall street. >> just another blood bathbath day. that's the only way to put it. >> reporter: the dow erasing tuesday's gains but finishing down 520, another huge point drop. >> this isn't about what the fed did. this is about europe again. this is where the concern is. >> reporter: investors once again worried that italy and spain may be unable to repay their debt and that france could be the next country stripped of its triple-a credit rating. back in washington more calls for congress to return to deal with the deficit. four house democrats sent this letter to speaker boehner urging them to end their summer recess.

the white house says the president has no plans to order lawmakers back or cancel his own upcoming family vacation. >> i don't think it's what the american people are looking for. they're looking for leadership. i think they're looking for focus on economic growth and job creation. >> reporter: after lunch with volunteers, the president met with fed chairman ben bernanke and treasury secretary tim geithner, while congressional leaders have now released nine out of 12 picks for the so-called super committee charged with finding another $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction. >> we need america to do what americans did in the old times. they got together. they didn't scapegoat. they rolled up their sleeves. they were open-minded. >> reporter: the diverse group of republicans and democrats about to have wall street and the world watching their work. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, washington. as kristen just mentioned, republicans have named their appointment to the so-called congressional super committee, tasked with slashing the

nation's deficit. mitch mcconnell chose senators john kyl of arizona, rob portman and pat toomey of pennsylvania. kyl and toomey are considered to be the most conservative members in congress and rarely vote with democrats on issues that divide the party. house speaker john boehner selected jeb letterling of texas, dave camp and fred upton, both from michigan. all six gop picks for the 12-member bipartisan panel are conservative and all oppose tax increases. house minority leader nancy pelosi is required to name her three members by next week. meanwhile, a new poll this morning suggests an overwhelming majority of americans have little or no confidence in washington's ability to fix the country's economic problem. that number is 73% according to the washington post poll. that's up from 52% last fall.

as for the s&p downgrade that led to this week's volatility, 52% said it's a fair assessment of the u.s. financial situation. so who is to blame for the downgrade? well, according to the polls, 36% point the finger at republicans, while 31% blame president obama and the democrats. elsewhere this morning, the u.s. military says international forces have killed the taliban fighters responsible for last weekend's deadly helicopter crash in afghanistan that left 30 american servicemen dead. during a pentagon news conference yesterday marine corporal general john allen said the taliban leader and insurgents who fired that rocket-propelled grenade at the helicopter were both taken out in a coalition strike on monday. however, the military is still looking for the top taliban leader who was the original target of saturday's mission. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. life on the lamb for three fugitive siblings.

it finally flatlined in colorado. shoot-outs out with police, the two brothers and a sister quickly landed on america's most wanted list. in the end the trio, dubbed the dougherty gang, were captured after crashing their getaway car during a high-speed police chase. all three were arrested and hospitalized with what were described as non-life-threatening injuries. a kentucky landlord recently needed some special assistance to evict his former tenant's creepy roommates. he was cleaning up and discovered a rattlesnake, three tarantulas and a scorpion left behind inside the vacant apartment. he has had them removed, but not sure about any further things adding to the price. a sweet touch to summer vacation. campers here learn all about chocolate and how to create the smorgasbord of treats.

the camp is designed to introduce kids to different kinds of chocolate and gives them the ability to correct area their own chocolate snack. now for a look at the national and regional weather, bill karins is here with the weather channel forecast. >> good morning. i bet nap time doesn't go so well. the kids are running around. on the west coast, the quiet weather pattern continues. if you like sunshine and mild temperatures, this is quite a stretch we have had. on the coastal areas, we are dealing with colder area in the clouds. hot in the desert, 106 in phoenix. very typical this time of the year. the low 90s for a while now for salt lake city and northern nevada, also through southern portions of idaho. portland, 78 yesterday. still cooler than we would like than in seattle at 71. the trend continues this morning. 55 in seattle and in san francisco. l.a. is 55 to start the morning. a weak storm system is heading

up now to southern canada dragging the cold front down through idaho. there's still moisture here, so we'll see a lot of sunshine. just coastal clouds to burn off this morning in areas near southern california. eventually it will warm into the 70s interior, but once you are in the valleys, nice and popped up in new mexico yesterday. a few in arizona, but most areas remain dry. >> thank you, bill. one company that despite yesterday's lows ended up the day's big winner. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, speaking of winning, who is the highest paid tv actor? coming up, the yankees have

a rookie and a wild finish you have got to see. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. in syria activists say government forces have killed 15 civilians normal a western city despite international calls for an end to its bloody crackdown. pressure on the regime, the obama administration slashed sanctions on syria's largest commercial bank and cell phone operator. in what is being called a sensational potential breakthrough in the treatment of leukemia, researchers at the university of pennsylvania say they've genetically modified white blood cells in three patients to attack and kill tumors within their own body. one year after the treatment, two of the patients appear to be cancer-free. the national park service

scene the statue of liberty will be closed for one year beginning in october for a $27 million renovation aimed at making its impeerinterior safer and more accessible. the that chew was closed from 2001 to 2009 following the 9/11 attacks. the nasa rover opportunity has beamed back new images of a 14-mile wide crater on mars where it will study rock samples. it took the solar powered rover nearly three years to drive from a smaller crater just 13 miles away. and in new polls, casey anthony, who was acquitted of killing her 2-year-old daughter, caylee, as the most hated person in america, beating out o.j. simpson, paris hilton, and so-called octo-home, nadya suleman. now here's an early look at how wall street will hobble into trade today. the dow opens at 10,719 after plunging 519 points yesterday. the s&p tumbled 51 points.

the nasdaq staggered down 101. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo the nikkei fell 56 points, while in hong kong the hang seng lost 188. as we reported earlier, worried the chain reaction of european debt quakes could steam roll american finances. stocks were sent tumbling once again wednesday. wall street's focus shifted overseas on new concerns france might follow the u.s., becoming the next country to lose its triple-a rating. france's president nicolas sarkozy came back from his rivera vacation for an emergency meeting. shares in france's biggest bank plunged almost 15%. top banks in england, italy, and germany were also hammered. europe matters to the u.s., because about 29% of foreign sales for s&p 500 companies last year came from there. no surprise financial stocks led markets lower here as well.

bank of america, citigroup, and goldman sachs each lost more than 10% of their market value. safe haven gold rose above $1,800 an ounce for the first time ever. another safe harbor, the ten-year treasury note rose sharply, while its yield tumbled. the dow has now lost more than 2,000 points in less than three weeks. yesterday's volatility was heightened by wild swings of heavy volume set off by computer trading programs. almost double the year's daily average were treated on wednesday. walt disney dropped overnight a day after posting quarterly results. on the up side, cisco shares soared after its results edged past the street's expectations. and finally, apple closed as america's number one company by market value wednesday, passing exxonmobil. finishing the day worth a total of $337 billion.

exxon had held the top spot since 2005. well, making up for a miscue, beating up on a beginner, and the hit streak continues. we'll have the on the field enthusiasm of america's new soccer coach. the early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. millions of americans have experienced a break from the heat and humidity. unfortunately, our friends in dallas, not you. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

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good morning. if you are just waking up, this is "early today." in sports the good news you're pitching your first major league game. the bad news, it's against the bronx bombers at yankee stadium. here's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. a day after giving up the game winning homer in the ninth inning the yanks regrouped nicely. we go to the bronx. curtis granderson took advantage making his major league debut. a three-run shot in the first inning. not the way richards imaged his first major league start. yanks won it 9-3. boston lost. yankees now a game and a half back of the red sox in the al east. indians hosting the tigers and jiminez making his home debut, and it was a good one. jiminez going wide.

he struck out six. eight innings of work. indians won it 10-3. they trail the tigers by two at the al central. off to baltimore. the white sox needed ten to decide a winner. no worries, nolan came to the rescue with the walk-off two-run homer in the baht of the bottom of the tenth. orioles won it 6-4. the streak continues. a base hit in 31 straight times. atlanta over florida 6-2. to soccer is and the u.s. facing rival mexico in a friendly. u.s. coach making his debut for team usa. down 1-0. roger scored late to tie it 1-1. the americans had a chance to take the lead, but watch what happens. rogers pulled down by a player from mexico on the breakaway. a yellow card was issued. perhaps it should have been a red. tough break for the men with the game ending in a 1-1 tie. wild finish. down one in the ninth. tampa bay ripped it off the wall and scored the tying run.

it gets better. cole was motoring his way to third. the ball bounced past the third baseman. cole took off for home. here's the play at the plate, he is safe. and that's the ball game. rays scored five and one in dramatic fashion, 8-7. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. sometimes going viral isn't everything it's hacked up to be. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, there's no such thing as an american flag that isn't special. but some are more special than others. you're watching "early today."

on this thursday morning, welcome back to "early today." no umbrellas are needed in the west. billings, montana, maybe a shower or storm. also, southern arizona and the portion of new mexico, an isolated shower. so everybody else is going to have a good deal of sunshine once we get rid of the coastal clouds getting into the 70s yesterday, like san fran and l.a. not much change for florida. warmer in portland, 81 degrees. if you are watching us on kntr news source 16, eugene, oregon, many styles of dance are featured in america. a tribute shall we dance is your pacific event of the day. if you want to do a little swing dancing, i cans to you around a

bit. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. it turns out being an overnight teen sensation does have its drawbacks. rebecca black says she had so much teasing at her anaheim high school, her mom pulled her out of school and is now home schooling her. a petition on change.org is calling on pgs to say better and ernie are gay. finally, tv guide reports ashton kutcher taking over for charlie sheen on "two and a half men" is the highest paid actor. tmz says it's $800,000 to $900,000. regardless, that's still behind sheen's former salary of $1.2 million an episode. and they're all making peanuts compared to simon cowell who owns and appears on "the x

factor." he's laughing all the way to the bank. >> it all kind of makes sense to me. better and ernie did share a room together. this comes to us from news center 1 in rapid city, south dakota. where at mount rushmore a few locals took part in patriotic patchwork. a momento from one of america's darkest days recently arrived at the mount rushmore national memorial. the damaged flag is on a nationwide restoration tour. volunteers sfich together a selection of the flag adding their contribution to a symbolic repair job. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

a group of actors in hungary are really dedicated to their craft. preparing for an upcoming show, they're practicing horseback archery skills using real arrows. donning costumes worn by ancient tribesmen. while the actors aren't professionals, they seem to be learning pretty quick here. it is elvis week in memphis, and the spirit of the king of rock 'n' roll is alive and well. to celebrate the upcoming 35th anniversary of elvis presley's death, tribute artists competed in a pick-up basketball game. the memphis grizzlies mascot and

dance team were there. it draws thousands of fans each year. some will do anything for love, and that includes dressing up as a giant carrot. to propose to his girlfriend whose favorite color is orange, one man in china had 48 of his friends dress up as dancing carrots hoping for a yes. and as onlookers shouted "marry him," the embarrassed girlfriend did just that with a good old big hug and a kiss. you might be distracted by the 48 dancing carrots. >> off the charts originality. >> originality, yes. awkward, a little. you don't think? >> the karat diamond. >> put it together. way to go. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in maryland the national naval medical center will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark completion of its new wounded warrior barracks.

with 153 suites, it will accommodate patients transferring from walter reed army medical center that officially closes next month. nasa's dawn spacecraft will begin its first intensive orbit of vesta. it is one of the largest asteroids in it's a ride belt. it is scheduled to complete four orbits to collect data 114 million miles away. on this day until 1929 in cleveland babe ruth became the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs. all day long you can check out the latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc, and 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. the so-called dougherty gang are finally caught. officials involved in the arrest speak out. and she narrowly survived a vicious chimp attack. two years and multiple surgeries later, charla nash's new face is finally revealed. now for continuing local news,

weather, sports, and more, keep it here. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.