"jimmy fallon" happening right this morning on "early today" an overwhelming clean-up. east coast residents deal with the misery left behind by hurricane irene as the death toll from the storm climbs. sicilian shake-up. mount etna gives off fresh bursts of lava and ash. drivers snatch up money that spilled out of the back of a drivers snatch up money that spilled out of the back of a truck inhe netherlands. captions paid for by nbc-universal television this is "early today" for august 30th, 2011. hello and good morning, welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone.

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with irene's widening wake. she may not have been the damaging hurricane that many had feared, but with the death toll that's risen to at least 40 and record breaking floods not seen in nearly 100 years, irene's impact will surely be remembered for years to come. nbc's jay gray filed this report yesterday. >> reporter: the clean-up continues and so does the water. after ripping a path through the outer banks of north carolina's coast, the legacy of hurricane irene may be historic flooding. >> we have seen record flooding in vermont, record flooding in new york. we still have rivers that have yet to crest, so the extent of impacts we still won't know. >> reporter: rivers hundreds of miles from the coast turned into rapids. roads were washed away. homes turned into islands. rescuers were not immune. firefighters in new jersey spent the day trying to salvage what they could from their flooded fire station. millions remain without power. thousands unable to return to their homes, still threatened by rising floodwaters. >> it's not done yet.

a lot of people don't have power, and the water is still coming up. >> reporter: early estimates that irene's wrath hit $7 billion in damages, but it's the human toll that thousands are now forced to deal with. >> we have people that have been impacted by this tragedy, so it's -- it's disheartening to watch. >> reporter: an impact that will last far longer than the storm. jay gray, nbc news, fairfield, connecticut. there are new developments in the ongoing battle for libya. the wife and three children of libyan leader muammar gadhafi have fled to neighboring algeria. the exit of gadhafi's immediate family is the latest and surest sign that the embattled leader has lost control of the country. a spokesman for libyan rebels say that they consider algeria's harboring of gadhafi's family a "act of aggression," vowing to pursue their extradition.

rebel forces have closed in on gadhafi's hometown and they claim gadhafi's son was killed in battle over the weekend. the location and condition of gadhafi himself are still unknown. after last week's crash of a russian soyuz rocket, nasa officials say flights to the international space station are now on hold, and that's put the future of the isf and its six crew members on board in jeopardy. nbc's dan billow has more from the kennedy space center. >> we don't have soyuz flying by the middle of november 16th or so, the normal landing time for the last crew, then we would have to deem in isf at that point. >> reporter: the rocket blasted off with supplies for the space station. after the rocket went out of sight, its third stage engines failed, and it crashed and

burned several hundred miles away. here's the problem. this is the same kind of rocket that takes people to the space station and when there's a problem with a rocket, they can't fly another one until they figure out what went wrong and make sure it can't happen again. that means there's no way to get to the space station right now. the space shuttles are retired, and the russian soyuz ships are temporarily grounded. american ron garon am seen here, was deemed ready to come home next week, but now that the replacement crew can't be launched, the return will be delayed. but it can't be delayed long. all six crew members have to be home by mid-november because the batteries in their return capsules won't last beyond that time, and so the magnificent $100 billion station could soon become temporarily a collection of empty unused labs, and we would be at greater risk of losing it completely with no astronauts on board to fix any problems. >> there is a greater risk of

losing the iss when it's unmanned, than if it were manned. >> and that was dan billow report reporting from florida. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a spectacular water show took center stage at miami beach monday morning. the waterspout stretched from the cloudy sky right down to the atlantic. thankfully, no injuries or damage was reported. boaters followed officials' instructions to stay away. well, a student pilot monday afternoon took a sole yes flight. ended horribly in a southern california back yard. the pilot was attempting to land when he lost control before crashing into a cinder block wall. witnesses say the cessna came in at high speeds, clipping trees before smashing into the wall. the pilot was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. and, finally, in upstate new york one squirrel threatened to take over a woman's professional soccer championship game.

the animal's impromptu performance delayed the game for eight minutes and actually led for a twitter account in his honor. the game eventually did continue after officials escorted the animal off the field in a cardboard box. now with a look at your national and regional weather, here's michelle. grossman with your weather channel forecast. good morning to you, michelle. >> good morning to you. i see a request coming my way in a about 20 minutes. we'll see. in terms of weather on the west coast, you're looking pretty good today. most of the west coast is dry. we had some wet weather move in overnight and some parts may see some wet weather. some showers falling from the sky. a we go throughout the day. for the most part we're looking dry. here's a look at your pacific northwest. you can see a few clouds building into seattle and also portland. that may be the place you need the showers. you look further south in california, we're dry, hot, hot, hot, in the southwest once again. phoenix near 111 as we go throughout the afternoon. temperatures hot, 91 in vegas

right now. at this hour, 91. 60 degrees in seattle. 96 in phoenix. 113 in phoenix. you need to hydrate. 108 will be your high in las vegas. up to the north, we'll keep it rain-cooled. the showers should be on the light side, 67 in seattle. washington. san diego, we'll build in more cloud cover, 76 and flagstaff, 82. looking pretty good there. it's been so, so hot in the southwest. >> they know well. they may be a little cooler in the future. i'll let you know in a few minutes. >> they've been waiting for that for a few weeks. all we needed to do was have bill take the day off and have michelle come in. well coming up wall street

whips up big gains, bank of america wheels and deals and an italian village says fuggedaboudid. plus, "dancing with the stars's" most interesting cast members. thumb's down for alex rodriguez and a shot of the day for the u.s. open. 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. an alaska woman convicted of punishing her adopted russian son by squirting hot sauce into his mouth and sending a tape to the dr. phil show. has been spared jail time. she was sentenced to probation. she did receive a jail sentence and fine, but both were suspended. prosecutors say the woman did it to get on the show. in china 22 coal miners who were trapped underground for a week were rescued today.

three others were pulled from the mine over the weekend. one miner did not survive. in sicily the rumbling mount aetna volcano is at it once again. just over a week after the last eruption. yesterday, again, stepping up its explosion of lava and ash. there are no reports of injuries. and money was falling from the sky in the netherlands after it apparently fell off the back of a vehicle transporting cash. people started scooping it up off the roadway. people who took the money are being asked to return it. too good to be true there. now here's an early look at how wall street is going to kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,539 after jumping 254 points yesterday. the s&p hiked up 33 points, and the nasdaq soared 82. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei gained 102 points, while in hong kong the hang seng

rose 339. with spotty service from new york's transit systems after irene, monday many wall street traders stayed home, but those that made it into work were optimistic buyers. the dow down more than 7% for the year. just three weeks ago. it's now virtually eased. for 2011 after monday's broad rally. only five s&p 500 stocks ended down. and wall street's feared index fell a whopping 9%. fueling investor optimism, july's consumer spending reported its largest increase in five months. also, home sales. while july contracts fell, the drop matched forecasts and topped last year's levels. financials were wall street's top gainers after two major greek banks merged, creating new hope for one of the euro debt crisis's most battered countries. bank of america jumped over

8% on news it's selling half its stake in china's construction bank in its latest effort to boost capital. insurers also rose sharply with irene's property damage. less than feared. hartford financial services spiked 13%. allstate jumped more than 8%. travellers more than 5%. ldk solar rose almost 6% on a bright third quarter revenue forecast. three executives are out in a lowe's management shake-up. larger rival home depot has beaten out lowe's in same store sales for nine straight quarters. finally, a small town in italy being forced to merge with a nearby village to save money has instead declared itself an independent principality, and printed its own money with the mayor's picture on it. coming up, the home run derby heat up and michael vick

cashes in. plus, with this kind of shot on the first day of the u.s. open, imagine what the rest of the tournament will be like, your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and the northeast is finally starting to dry up. we're watching more rain. your local forecast is up next. you're watching "early today."

good morning, if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, the yankees had major star power last night, and that gave others the chance to step up. here's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. after missing six weeks with a knee injury, alex rodriguez back on the shelf. this time with a thumb. thankfully for the yanks, their $198 million roster has more than enough to pick up the slack. derek jeter sat this one out as well. he was day to day with a bruised knee. nick swisher ready to go. belted a two-run shot to give new york the lead. they beat the orioles 3-2. now trail boston by a game and a half in the east. home run of the night goes to the blue jays jose batista. towering shot off the deck in left field. 38th homer of the year. that ties him with the yank's curtis granderson with the most in the bigs. toronto beat tampa 7-3. phils and reds. cole hamill returned from the dl, and he looked pretty good.

strikeout seven over six innings of work. shane had a go ahead home neither eighth. phil did not lose back to back games since may. they won it 3-2. football, 18 months ago, michael vick, fresh out of jail, and a second string quarterback looking for playing time. the six-year, $100 million deal, and $40 million guaranteed. in battle for new york, jets and giants, mark sanchez, split the defenders, found santonio holmes in the back field. jets took the lead. they had preseason bragging rights with a 17-3 win. finally, u.s. open got underway yesterday. there are already two shots that had the tournament abuzz. american mardy fish with the widow maker. wee get the point and advance to a straight set win. if you don't know who sergei sorkovski is, you do now. he had a similar shot, no-look behind-the-back return, that dropped for the cross-court winner. he ended up losing the match, but led the u.s. open with the shot of the tournament.

that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> early today sports is brought to you by just for men hair color. live forward. >> what is the most watched show ever for viewers age 12 to 34? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, when it comes to cleaning up after hurricane irene, one crew from florida is giving assistance instead of seeking it. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today," we're looking at mainly dry day in the pacific northwest. but we're looking warm, hot once again in phoenix, 111 by the end of the day, 105 in las vegas. that sunshine really helping to heat us up. we're going to see some showers in the pacific northwest. seattle, portland, but they will be on the lighter side. as we look towards hawaii, a nice place to be, honolulu looking at 88 degrees and kahului, 81 degrees and on see 16 of the world's most luxurious cars made between the '30s and the '60s. your pacific event of the day, lynn. i couldn't get the word out. >> i mess it up all the time, too. >> and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. well, first it was music videos. then reality shows. mtv's all-time ratings come from an awards show.

sunday night video music awards scored the biggest audience in mtv history. 12.4 million people. perhaps even more surprising 8.5 million were aged 12 to 34, making it that age group's most watched telecast of all time. tmz reports matthew fox was handcuffed and briefly detained by police over the weekend after allegedly punch ing the female driver of a party bus who blocked his entry because he wasn't a guest. the driver got off her own punch as well, giving fox a bloody lip. fox, who the bus driver claims was drunk, was not formally arrested. and, finally, this season's "dancing with the stars" cast has been revealed, and as always, there are some surprises. that's an understatement. actor david arquette will be in there along with george clooney's ex, headline news legal eagle nancy grace. los angeles laker, ron art

evident, and chaz bono, just to name a view. this comes to us from wtvj, where a hurricane recovery specialist travels up the east coast to help thousands devastated by hurricane irene. the volunteer crew is doing its part to get lights back on for their neighbors up north. they'll assist washington d.c.-based crews are restoring power. a great way to give back for those crew members who so many times have been on the receiving end of aid and assistance. in florida, of course, a place no stranger to hurricanes. good for them. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

a russian pole vaulter's hopes of gold were snapped in half, quite literally, at one competition in south korea. the athlete's pole broke completely in two when he was airborne sending him tumbling to the mat. he wasn't able to continue in the competition. amazingly the sail same thing happened to another pole-vaulter later that day. check your pole there's. it might not be an extreme sport, but it is definitely an extremely unusual one. competitors gathered for the world's bog snorkeling championship in england. the goal is it swim through cold, murky waters in the best time. many upped the stakes while wearing a costume. the challenge is not only seeing in muddy waters, but breathing through the tiny tube during the race.

finally, proof even our furry friends can use help finding love. zoo keepers in argentina played matchmaker for two love sick chimps. one a widow, and the other rejected by his group. the blind date was carefully thought out. first introducing the female to her perspective match, and then uniting the two. the result? success. who needs match.com? you just need zookeepers. >> right. everyone should do that. >> good to know that you just need to smell the scent first, so any time you start dating somebody, let me just get your t-shirt first. time for an early look at stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. the trial is scheduled to begin for a man accused of stowing away on a flight to los angeles international airport and using a fake identity to enter a secure area there. last month, the nigerian american pleaded not guilty to

the charges, which could send him to prison for 15 years. amnesty international will hold a demonstration in washington d.c. outside the justice department to urge attorney general eric holder to open a criminal investigation into the role former president bush and former vice president cheney played in the use of torture. and happy birthday today to cameron diaz who turns 39. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others ae they break on msnbc, 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. matt lauer's exclusive live interview with former vice president dick cheney, whose memoir is out this week. and al roker conquers the great outdoors on his alaskan adventure. 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. the day today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com