this morning on "early today," damage assessment. the aftermath of a storm that battered some and never really appeared for others. stealing the spotlight. beyonce glows at the video music awards and makes a surprise announcement. and snakes on a bus. a seven-foot boa constrictor is found catching a ride in a seven-foot boa constrictor is found catching a ride in colombia. 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 irene's aftermath. as cleanup from hurricane irene continues along the east coast

this morning, federal officials say severe flooding is the biggest concern in the wake of the storm that has already left at least 23 dead. here in new york city, it is expected to be a frustrating morning commute as the rails, the roads and the runways slowly reopen. nbc's jay gray joins us from new york city's times square. jay, good morning to you. much different scene than this time yesterday. >> reporter: yeah, no question about that. you're absolutely right about the commute this morning, lynn. there is going to be some frustration, no doubt. look, irene may be gone, but the devastation from this huge storm will linger for quite some time, from here all the way through the outer banks. a flood of people filled times square overnight, not the rain and wind so many had worried about over the weekend. >> it wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be. >> reporter: trains, buses and airports will all come back

online throughout the day today in new york. and tunnels and bridges are now open to traffic. >> nobody likes to shut down the economy of the city. nobody likes to inconvenience people, but human lives are much more important. >> reporter: that's the reason the mayor ordered the first-ever evacuation of coastal neighborhoods. more than 300,000 new yorkers moved to higher ground. >> i think the mayor did the very best thing he could. he acted prudently, and i applaud him and all the work he's done. >> reporter: while it was not the storm most expected, irene did cause problems in the city. >> when i looked out my heart sank because all of a sudden the water was up to the level of the cars. >> reporter: firefighters pulled more than 60 people from the floodwaters on staten island. while seawater filled the streets in bay head, new jersey. >> we new about 11:30, 12:00 we made a mistake by stay but we couldn't go anywhere. ing. we were stuck. >> reporter: driving rains overwhelmed areas of upstate new york and vermont, the water

ripping away this 141-year-old bridge. route 12 was washed away along the carolina coast. rivers pushed to their banks, streets turned into waterways all along the atlantic seaboard. trees snapped and power lines tossed to the ground. hundreds of thousands are still without electricity this morning, and in some of the hardest-hit areas, it could be more than a week before the power is restored. well, of course, the lights are still on here in times square. they say new york is the city that never sleep, but this area and the entire eastern seaboard got a rude wake-up call this weekend from irene. that's the very latest live from times square. jay gray in new york. >> jay, thank you so much. as irene battered the east coast, it was former vice president dick cheney's new memoir that whipped up a storm of controversy with former secretary of state colin powell. in a sunday tv interview powell called criticisms made in his former bush administration colleague's new book, quote,

cheap shots. in an earlier nbc interview cheney predicted his memoir, set to be released tomorrow, would cause, quote, heads to explode in washington. a description powell said he expected from a supermarket tabloid, not a former vice president. stirring up more controversy in that same, exclusive interview, the former vice president answered questions from nbc's jamie gangel about his views on waterboarding. >> in your view, we should still be using enhanced interrogation? >> yes. >> no regrets? >> no regrets. >> should we still be waterboarding terror suspects? >> i would strongly support using it again if circumstances arose where we had a high-value detainee and that was the only way we could get him to talk. >> even though so many people have condemned it, people call it torture, you think it should still be a tool? >> yes. >> and you can catch jamie gangel's sole interview with

former vice president dick cheney tonight on a special "dateline" at 10:00 p.m. eastern time right here on your nbc station. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. the california wildfire ignited from an exploding propane tank continues to spread outside yosemite national park over the weekend. evacuation orders have kept nearby residents out on the streets as firefighters battle to increase containment of the fire. so far the fire has scorched 4700 acres and is only 35% contained. in chicago, graffiti was discovered scrawled on one of the legs of a giant 26-foot statue despikting marilyn monroe's iconic pose from the film "the seven year itch." the black markings appear to be the modern equivalent of a couple's name carved into a tree. no arrests have been made. tributes to the king of pop kicked off a day before his birthday in hollywood. for the second year in a row, a

flash mob surprised bystanders with a choreographed performance to michael jackson's songs, "thriller" there included. jackson would have turned 53 today. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc's meteorologist jeff ranieri with the weather channel forecast. all those folkses in san francisco seeing that. good to have you. >> thank you so much. i definitely up a lot earlier than i am in san francisco. but a big hello to the bay area this morning. it is early. took me a couple extra cups of coffee to get me up today. let's look at the forecast. we are seeing what was hurricane irene has now pushed out. however, there will be residual travel delays here in the northeast as those airports get up and going. if you are heading that way, you definitely want to check the airports ahead of time. otherwise, we're looking at heavier rainfall from the rockies all the way down into the southern plains. nice and clear here across california with plenty of sunny weather. the warm spot on the map this

morning, this is unbelievable. look at this. 88 in las vegas, 90 in phoenix for those current temperatures. a nice crisp 56 in san francisco. in my home town of san francisco for those bay area viewers, 74 today and partly cloudy skies. and that's a look at your national forecast. we'll have a little more of a west coast view here coming up in just a few minutes. >> jeff, thank you so much. also coming up, wall street seeks business as usual after irene. asia likes what it hears from big ben. and an amazing example of someone giving back to their community. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus one of the year's

highlights in music and showbiz. the video music awards. another milestone for derek jeter. reds and nationals in 14. and the thrilling finish to the little league world series. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. nbc news has learned that the man convicted of the 1988 lockerbie airline bombing, that his father is in a coma at their tripoli home in very critical condition. he claims that no doctor will treat him, that his father's medicine was stolen when their home was looted and that they're without water and electricity. iraq yesterday, a suicide bomber attacked baghdad's largest sunni mosque, killing at least 29 people. the bombing happened while worshippers were praying. so far no group has claimed

responsibility. in pennsylvania, as law enforcement was dealing with the hurricane yesterday, they were also hunting for an army officer suspected of killing four people in pennsylvania and virginia. at one point, the 37-year-old opened fire on police, wounding two. he was later found dead in a wooded area in pennsylvania. the police chief said he was leaving it to the coroner to determine whether the suspect's wound was self-inflicted. among the victims, according to officials, his former wife, her boyfriend and the boyfriend's young son. and in colombia, an unwanted passenger was caught hitching a ride in the back of a bus. a seven-foot boa constrictor was found in a box. nobody came forward to claim the snake, which had its mouth taped. it was eventually released into the wild. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,284 after

gaining 134 points on friday. the s&p grew 17 points. the nasdaq rose 60. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei was up 53 points. while in hong kong, the hang seng climbed 282. wall street will definitely be open for business today. the real question is how many traders will be there to trade. with the new york subway system sputtering to a start this morning and commuter rail service into the city still suspended after hurricane irene, even the most willing investor might have a hard time getting around. the new york stock exchange and the nasdaq will definitely be open because most transactions today are electronic, the major exchanges said even if the storm's impact had been more severe, they were prepared. the new york mercantile exchange where, among other thing, oil futures are traded, just a few blocks from the new york stock exchange, will be open. big trading firms such as citigroup and knight capital are prepared to start the day normally. but bank of america was waiting

for word on new york's public transit. asian markets started off the day higher, thanks to friday's prediction of long-term u.s. economic growth by fed chief ben bernanke. an independent survey out yesterday showed hiring by small businesses slowed in august, suggesting recent stock market turmoil may have hampered job creation. that may not bode well for this week's biggest economic data. friday's august jobs report. most analysts find it hard to imagine the nation's jobless rate of 9.1% dramatically improved. and finally, in a region with some of the nation's highest unemployment, fresno, california, county school superintendent larry powell is givinging back in a big way. going without his next three years' salary, over $800,000. remarkable there. coming up, curtis granderson grabs the major league home run lead. a ray racks up the ks and the saints march against the raiders. plus a thrilling battle between

california and japan in the little league world series. that's your early morning sports headlines straight ahead. >> and good morning, i'm jeff ranieri. as hurricane irene heads out of the northeast, what we're going to be tracking is some major heat in the central u.s. we'll have details coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning, if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, it's a pretty sure sign you've done something right in your baseball career if you break a record set by mickey mantle. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> hi there, good morning. add another accomplishment to derek jeter's resume. in the first game of a doubleheader, the captain surpassed mickey mantle for the most games played in pinstripes. then in the nightcap his teammate curtis granderson took over the major league lead in home runs. taking on the orioles, granderson hit a pair of home runs. his first giving the yankees a 3-2 lead. he now has 38 this season. the rest of the team must have learned something from granderson because in the sixth inning, robinson cano, nick swisher and andruw jones hit back-to-back-to-back jacks. yankees split their doubleheader with an 8-3 win. like the weather in texas, a race in the american league west is red hot. raiders and angels go back and -- rangers and angels go back

and forth nm the seventh inning. josh hamilton with the go ahead rbi, they now have a three-game lead in the west. speaking of hot. you can't get much hotter than the rays' david price striking out a franchise record 14 over 7 innings. he set off the blue jays 12-0. nationals down one in the ninth. alonzo ties it with a cee lo shot. and we're off to extra innings. to the 14th joey votto knows how to hit home runs. he also knows how to empty a stadium. a walkoff homer. jason campbell throws to third, hagen gloves it and gets the green light to come home. 37-yard home run, i mean touchdown. unfortunately, not enough. saints pull away late to double up the raiders 40-20. and finally, congratulations to the little leaguers from california. they beat japan in dramatic fashion to win the little league world series. nick pratto hit the walkoff sing well the bases loaded in the sixth. they win a thriller 2-1. couldn't ask for a better finish to cap off a great tournament in williamsport, pennsylvania.

that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. >> "early today" sports is brought to you by just for men hair color. live forward. who's set to top the box office this monday morning? your entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus we'll show you what happens when bees don't want to go where a beekeeper wants them to go. you're watching "early today."

good morning. and welcome back to "early today." i'm meteorologist jeff ranieri. a pretty calm day here for most of california and washington. portland 78. denver thunderstorms and 84. albuquerque 93. san francisco 70 degrees for all my bay area viewers. if you're watching us in yakima, washington, see over 700 pairs of high fashion shoes. ooh-la-la. from the late 1800s to today. at head over heels. one collector's love affair with shoes at the yakima valley museum. and that's your pacific event of the day. that's going to be a lot of shoes to have a whole collection. >> i can attest to what that is nice. >> very nice. we need the shoe cam. >> it's approved. thank you, jeff. now here's an early look at this

morning's headlines in entertainment. at the box office this weekend, there was no stopping "the help." on a slow, late summer weekend with even more sluggish business thanks to irene, "the help" managed to take the top spot with just over $14 million. finishing in surprising second was zoe saldana's action tale "columbiana" with a little more than $10 million. elsewhere in los angeles at the always crazy video music awards, lady gaga opened the show performing as her leather jacketed male alter-ego. and britney spears captured the night's first award for best pop video, and she was later honored with an mtv video vanguard award. katy perry, who had ten nominations, came away with three trophies. including video of the year in that creative hat. and the night's biggest news came from beyonce, who announced she and husband jay-z were expecting. after performing beyonce ended the number by taking off her jacket and giving her belly a little rub there.

that got a big cheer from the audience including her hubby, jay-z there, who looked like a proud papa. you got to love that. this comes to us from wpsd local 6 in paducah, kentucky. while the entire east coast was preparing for hurricane irene, in kentucky, they were dealing with another form of mother nature's chaos. a swarm of bees changed their travel plans on the way to florida. some queen bees escaped at a truck stop, quickly followed by other hive members who now call the bluegrass state home. a beekeeper was able to round up some, but many escaped, which will no doubt keep the area buzzing for years to come. unwelcome guests, i'm sure. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today." just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

a record number of people raised their glasses in spain this weekend. over 7,000 people gathered for a massive cider pour. a strange choice, perhaps, but it's become sort of a tradition dating back to the first pour in 1999 when 2,000 people set a world record. the town now tries to up the stakes each year, while enjoying a picnic lunch to go with the drink. why not, right? why not? and it looks like the penguin nicknamed happy feet may get a happy ending. the penguin became an overnight sensation after landing 2500 miles from home on a new zealand beach. since june, officials have been nursing the little guy back to health.

he'll spend a few days aboard a research vessel before officials send him off on his own to find his way back to antarctica. >> oh. >> and finally, one man's unusual trait comes in handy. most of the time. hernandez has become quite an attraction in cuba, not just for his tree climbing skills but for his digits. look closely there, 24 of them to be exact. that's right, six perfectly formed fingers and toes, giving him a leg up on work. it's his job to collect coconuts. he's also become popular with tourists who are actually asking him for pictures. he's encouraging people that have an extra finger or toe. something bizarre. >> he was climbing up the tree pretty good with all those. >> it was kind of an optical illusion. you can't really tell. >> unusual. >> well it's time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. it is the sixth anniversary of hurricane katrina. the costliest natural disaster in u.s. history hit the gulf coast in 2005, bringing floods that devastated new orleans. the hurricane and its aftermath

claimed more than 1800 lives. the u.s. open tennis championship kicks off in new york, despite minimal damage to the site from hurricane irene. matches on day one's schedule include roger federer in his final chance to win a grand slam title, heading into the year's last major tournament. and on this day in 1966, the beatles performed their final public concert at san francisco's candlestick park. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments 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. cleanup begins on the east coast after record flooding and power outages in the aftermath of hurricane irene. and more from former vice president dick cheney on his explosive new book in an exclusive interview. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. 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.

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