this morning on "early today," breakthrough in libya. a sudden turn of events for rebels six months into the country's exhaustive civil war. case dismissed? news that the sex assault charges against former imf chief dominique strauss-kahn may soon be dropped. and kansas city crash. spectators watch in horror as an air show comes to a tragic and spectators watch in horror as an air show comes to a tragic and fiery end. 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.

and today we begin with a fight for freedom. there has been heavy fighting this morning near the compound of libyan leader moammar gadhafi as government forces wage a counterattack against rebel fighters who advanced into the capital last night. meanwhile, gadhafi's whereabouts are still unknown. nbc's jim maceda is live for us following all the latest developments. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. well, rebels swept into the capital and quickly controlled about 80, even 90% of the city. but as you say, the fighting isn't over yet. the gadhafi tanks are firing, according to some rebels, indiscriminately outside his tripoli port. one rebel fighting saying that -- and i quote him -- there is gunfire everywhere. rebels are trying to move house to house looking for those pro gadhafi snipers who are hitting them with great effect. now there's reports that the son

and commander of the brigade in charge of trip ole, that he's moving his force into central tripoli to take on the rebels. while all this heavy resistance is happening, celebrations are taking place, mostly by residents. and in what used to be the green square, the heart of gadhafi support, which has been renamed liberty square. one report is that he's being treated in a hospital in east tripoli. one of my sours say that he's still in the capital, that was several hours ago. >> jim maceda there for us in london. thanks so much. president obama is on vacation with his family in martha's vineyard where he's being kept up to date on the situation in libya as it unfolds. brian mooar joins us from washington with those details. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. the president has been getting regular briefings on the situation. last night he released a statement in which he said that libya has reached a tipping point.

and the president is calling on the libyan people to replace a city of conflict with a season of peace. outside the white house last night, there was an impromptu celebration of libyan americans, people dancing in the streets saying god is great and singing songs. one woman said she was there to savor the taste of freedom. one young boy, too young to remember a libya before there was a moammar gadhafi, said, he lie, he kills our people. it is time for him to step down. >> brian mooar for us in washington. thank you. as gadhafi's regime crumbles, syrian president bashar assad said that his government will not meet a similar fate. they continue to resist mounting international pressure to step down and warn against any military intervention in that

country. this as protesters have been killed in the month-long crackdown by his regime. tropical storm irene was upgraded to a hurricane last night. ñhour. there are reports of widespread tree and power line damage with hundreds of thousands of homes left in the character. irene is expected to hit the dominican republic and the bahamas before making its way to the southeastern portions of the united states. meteorologist bill karins is watching this storm very closely. he's going to have an update on that shortly. but first, let's take a look at some of the other stories making news early today in america. a shocking end to one pilot's weekend. the pilot spiraled downward after attempting an maneuver. unable to pull up, he crashed the aircraft which burst into flames upon impact. the pilot was killed in the accident. spectators at an air show in

michigan also watched as a performer stunt went horribly wrong. home video captured images just before a wing walker fell 200 feet to his death as he attempted to climb from a plane to a helicopter. the performer was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead on arrival. and on a much lighter note, in california, it was a show of might for a good cause. 31 teams competed in a plane pull competition to benefit the special olympics. with the plane weighing in at approximately 200,000 pounds, the competing crews had their work cut out for them. each team attempted to pull the jet 12 feet in the shortest amount of time. well, now for a look at our national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> irene, first real hurricane threat to our country in three years. that's when hurricane ike hit the houston area. this storm does threaten much of the eastern seaboard as we go

throughout th end ofbñllyg&

up in the northwest, things have changed. cold front is moving in. puget sound also a chance of some showers. many other areas that were still very warm today including boise and medford. but that's cooler air and clouds for the northwest. >> but the big story is we have summer final until the pacific northwest. first 90-degree temperatures. >> breaking news. >> summer was one weekend. that was it. tr(t&háhp &hc& with that? investors on edge. verizon workers head back to work. and rumors of a new iphone. early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus a look at a tough weekend at the box office as four newcomers fell flat.

and inside the park home run, an unlikely walkoff and plaxico burress soars in his jets debut. &

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. israeli forces and palestinian militants continue to exchange fire despite a cease-fire agreement that reportedly went into effect sunday. a recent flare-up in violence began last week with a deadly attack on israelis near the country's border with egypt. wnbc-4 new york is reporting prosecutors will likely dismiss all charges in the dominique strauss-kahn sexual assault case tomorrow. the accuser, a woman whose credibility has been questioned, is due to meet with prosecutors today. her lawyers expect to get an explanation on why the case is being dropped. laid off workers and aging baby boomers are pushing the

financially strapped social security system towards the brink of insolvency. new congressional estimates say the trust fund that supports social security disability will run out of money by 2017. and scientists claim they've earth. australian and british geologists have discovered fossilized single cell organisms they say are 3.4 billion years old. they were found in a rock formation in australia. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the dow opens at 10,817, after losing 172 points on friday. the s&p fell 17 points. the nasdaq dipped 38. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei went down 91 points. but in hong kong the hang seng b=dded 86. europe's debt and shaky u.s. data could make for more market volatility this week as

investors wait on word from the fed. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke will be in wyoming for the annual jackson hole symposium where wall street will be listening to what he has to say about the struggling economy and what, if anything, the fed plans to do about it. markets will also keep an eye on europe, where finance ministers of france and germany meet tomorrow to hammer out a plan to address europe's sovereign debt crisis. elsewhere, crude prices are expected to fall amid the developments in libya. back at home, traders will be tuned in to friday's revisedx reading on this spring's gross ó domestic product. the economy is expected to show growth at an anemic 1.3%. updates on the housing market this week will include sales of new homes in july and the prices on those homes. the latest on consumer sentiment for august is also ahead. along with earnings from retail heavy hitters williams-sonoma,

american eagle and upscale jeweler tiffany. unions at verizon ended their 15-day strike and will head back to work this evening as contract negotiations continue. in deal news, skype is buying group messaging start-up groupme, while dollar thrifty has set an october deadline for final offers from rival suitors hertz and avis. and according to an online report, an at&t exec warned employees to expect things to get really, really busy in the next 35 to 50 days. further fueling speculation that the new iphone 5 will be out in early october. an qunconventional win for the washington nationals and a home run robbing catch in anaheim. plus fresh from prison, plaxico burress shows he hasn't missed a beat. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >> the record heat continues in the middle of the country.

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, it was a dramatic end to the indians/tigers series with the game coming down to a crucial play at home plate. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> hi there, good morning.

the tigers !7÷.ávvalverde has a astonishing. -game save streak. chalk up his latest to center fielder austin jackson. valverde up one with two on. jackson guns him down for the final out. valverde for the save with the dramatic 8-7 win over the indians. nationals and phillies tied in the tenth when pitcher brad ñikr lidge makes a huge mistake. hits johnny gomez with the bases loaded. and that forces in the game-winning run and they win 5-4. the yankees curtis granderson is having an mvp-type season. leads new york in home runs, but having to kick it into high gear against the twins, hits a wall banger into the gap and he's off to the races. gets the green light to come home. the throw to the plate, inside the park home run for his 35th of the year. yankees win 3-0. football,f"iñ plaxico ber e impressive in his debut. over the shoulder touchdown in his first game in nearly three

years. they beat the bengals 27-7. it may only be preseason but that didn't stop the cowboys' philip tanner from giving it all. has his helmet ripped off, spins out of the tackle and runs into the end zone. that is old school football for you. unfortunately, today's game has new school rules. the play was over once tanner lost his lid. too bad for the cowboys, they could have used that touchdown, chargers win 20-7. finally the angels tory hunter recently took his good friend, the orioles adam jones to dinner and gave him some tips on playing in the outfield. yesterday that advice came back to haunt him. tracks it down and makes the leaping catch at the wall. robs him of the home run. all hunter can do is smile. i have a feeling that's the last time hunter picks up the tab for dinner. that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. brought to you by just for men hair color. one film has it made as it reaches the top spot at the box

office. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, it's whatever floats your boat at one competition in florida. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. here's a look at your forecast on this monday. hope you had a wonderful weekend. most locations saw a pretty hot week, one of the hottest ones of the summer.

the exceptions were along the coast. san francisco if year lucky upper 60s. seattle showers and a cold front. temperatures only in the low 70s. still hot in the intermountain west. boise today 97. we try to cool you off tomorrow at 93. but salt lake city,úúz vegas to phoenix looksñi likbnp.>jtmsma coming up. if you're watching us on knbc 4 in los angeles, see political art from fae male perspective. i guess i wound understand. it's the personal is political. >> you never do, bill. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. as expected "the help" cleaned up at the box office this weekend. despite going upja9mq2uáh new releases. positive word of mouth helped catapult the 1960's civil rights drama into the top spot in its

second weekend with $20.5 million. at number two, "rise of the planet of the apes" pulled in $16.3 million in its third weekend. and as for the rest of the box office results, unfortunately, they weren't pretty. "spy kids: all the time in the world in 4d" debuted in third ñi place with just $12 million.xd far below the $33 million the last spy kids film made at its opening. and in fourth, "conan the barbarian" took in only $10 million. just a fraction of the $90 million it reportedly cost to make.(ix that's got to hurt. and in fifth, "fright night" starring colin farrell scared up a meager $8.3 million even with decent reviews. and the weekend's fourth new release, the romantic drama "one day" starring anne hathaway t$ñ floundered in ninth place with just $5.2 million. >> the way tickets are, that's embarrassing. >> maybe it's that nice weather going on in the pacific northwest. they're like, we're$/4z not goio the movies.

>> did you see 90 million to make conan? how much for a guy to run around with no shirt and a sword. >> did you see those curls? >> yes. this from key largo, florida, where competitors in one wacky race used everything but the kitchen sink to keep their heads above water. over the weekend teams from across the country took part in the annual anything floats regatta. skippers and their crews navigated the half-mile course using homemade vessels made of anything that can stay afloat on the open sea. a team of two women was the first to cross the finish line using a combination of empty chlorine bottles and girl power. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

one man is at the top of his game. 1100 feet on top, to be exact. in germany, a swiss tightrope artist walked up a mountain on a two inch thick cable, without the help of a harness or balancing pole. in 1 hour 20 minutes he walked over a half a mile to complete his mission. he plans to submit his feat for a world record. next step, cable crossing with a bike. well, a controversial bid to keep the tradition of bull fighting alive has teenagers entering the ring. that's right. young matadors ages 14 to 16 face off against bulls weighing over 600 pounds at a famous arena in mexico. it is the first time such young

fighters were allowed to take part, and organizers say it's a restaurant has a menu that may make your skin crawl. people with unusual appetites gathered to indulge in what's considered a delicacy in mexico. insects. dishes like pancakes and scrambled eggs contain mosquitoes and ants. while the prospect may creep you out, there are over 1,000 species of edible insects, and experts say they're actually quite nutritious. dñ i would stick to something like that. >> i would do the ants. mosquitoes, that's just gross. >> neither. not even for -- >> you heard of chocolate covered ants, right? i've never seen them, but i've heard of them. >> yeah, i don't want to see them. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in the nation's capital the new martin luther king jr. memorial on the national mall opens to the public. the official dedication ceremony won't take place until this

coming weekend on the anniversary of king's 1963 "i have a dream" speech. vice president joe biden arrives in tokyo on the final leg of his nearly week-long asian tour. he'll speak with japan's prime minister before heading to the m tsunami-hit city of sendai to meet with those who helped with the relief effort there. and happy birthday to "saturday night live's" kristen wiig who turns 38. all day long you can stay on top of the latest developments on those stories and others as they break on nbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." finally here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. the very latest from tripoli as libyan rebels overtake the capital. and get the inside scoop on kim kardashian's lavish star-studded nuptials from "today's" own wedding guest, kathie lee gifford. and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry.ñi thanks for watching "early today." just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com yeah. sure. sure. what's the number-one killer of women ? well, you're still here, so that rules out crankiness. and track suits. heart disease. what, that's a joke ? no, it's an absolute fact, but the american heart association says you can save lives by passing it along to five women you love. awww. awww ! so i'm starting with three i tolerate. that's a joke ! find out more at goredforwomen.org.