jimmy fallon happening right this morning on "early today," scheduling spat. the president bows to the house speaker forcing his much anticipated economic speech to compete with the opening of the nfl season. still waiting. nearly two million remain without power on the east coast as the water finally begins to recede. and wildfire outbreak. flames destroy dozens of homes in parts of drought-stricken texas and oklahoma. 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. today we begin with a very public battle of wills. president obama has agreed to move back the date when he will present his economic package to congress next week after his first offer was rejected by house speaker john boehner. nbc's tracie potts is joining us from washington with all the details. tracie, good morning to you. >> good morning, lynn. president obama wanted to come here to capitol hill to address both houses of congress next wednesday, the first night they'll be together after their break. he wants to talk about jobs and job creation. he sent that request to house speaker john boehner and the republican speaker said no. no he says he was only given 15 minutes to decide. the white house called him earlier and he didn't seem to have rejections, but that's the night of the republican presidential candidates debate out in california. three members of congress will be part of that debate, so boehner counters with another

offer thursday. the white house says that's the first night of nfl football, the season opener. now the big question, will the president go head-to-head with football, just who might win? >> tracie potts, thank you. the president will head to new jersey on sunday to survey the flooding and damage left behind behind hurricane irene. the storm's death toll continues to climb with at least 41 deaths now blamed on the storm. about two million people are still without power. nbc's jay gray has more. >> reporter: the aftermath of hurricane irene continues to wreak havoc. >> havoc, tragedy, and any other adjective you can put into devastation. >> reporter: in paterson, new jersey, roads still look like rivers. >> we have seen the water recede quite a bit in one day. still have a long way to go, as you can see. >> reporter: irene triggered historic flooding across the

northeast, including land locked vermont where roads and bridges have been washed away. >> it's surreal. i look up and i can see the road. it's just gone. >> reporter: the national guard airlifting supplies to those cut off by the floods. and while crews rush to rebuild the infrastructure, homes across new england are digging out and cleaning up. >> it's a little discouraging. we finally got the water pumped out of the basement. >> reporter: others dealing with the reality of having to rebuild. >> the waves are just coming right through. you could just see it from the road, which was very devastating. >> reporter: irene swept away the connecticut house of adalay and bob, their home for more than 30 years. >> just precious things that some friends had given us before they had passed away, and i have no idea where everything is. >> reporter: gifts and memories gone with the storm, but not that new england determination. >> the river is receding, so the water level is going down. the sun is out. the birds are going to start chirping again.

we'll come back, and we're going to come back stronger and better. >> reporter: a comeback that began the minute irene left. jay gray, nbc news. a massive fire in north texas has made this year's wildfire season one for the record books. officials are calling it the worst in state history. so far the fire in possum kingdom lake has destroyed 39 homes and over 6,000 acres fueled by dry brush and windy conditions. the wildfire has spread quickly, forcing firefighters to attack the blaze from both the ground and the air. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. wildfires are also eating away at oklahoma's landscape. a combination of drought conditions and high winds have caused fires in several areas of the state forcing residents to flee their homes. approximately 250 firefighters along with national guard air support are engaging in an

intense battle with the fires that already destroyed 22 homes and one church. thanks to storms in new zealand, hawaii beaches became a surfer's paradise. the announcement of a high surf warning was music to the ears of surfers who braved the big waves. officials estimate the size of the waves measured 10 to 15 feet high. and the outcome of the great pumpkin weigh-off at the alaska state fair ended on a shocking technicality, at least for one pumpkin farmer. the largest pumpkin tipping the scales at over 1,700 pounds went home empty handed after a puncture was discovered. what? according to the rules, that opened the door for a smaller competitor taking home the win despite weighing about 500 pounds less. we are all up in arms over this. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has something to say about it. >> the great pump kin, charlie brown. >> you are fired up.

>> they cheated. >> they did? >> yes. >> we decided. >> i don't know if they cheated by 500 pound, but it is ridiculous. good morning, everyone. we'll talk about the atlantic far away from the west coast, but this is the second hurricane of the season. we know the first one was irene. this is katia. the hurricane center as of this point says it is no threat to land area within the next five days, but as we take it along the path to the atlantic, it does become a major hurricane. then it would come near 120 miles per hour five days from now. that would be north of puerto rico and somewhere near bermuda and the dominican republic. right now it is not an immeant threat to the east coast, but it is still a week away. by the way, we just got a report back that august was the hottest month, the hottest august that phoenix has ever had. that's a very impressive record for the desert area there with 103 yesterday in vegas. not a lot today to stop it from heating up again with plenty of

sunshine. there were thunderstorms late last night, but those were all falling apart. and the clouds will be gone by the peak heating of the day. the forecast for today, 112 in the desert once again. this whole week will be like this, unfortunately. not a great start to september. nice weather through much of california, including salt lake city. a little cool in the northwest. portland, 75 degrees, already feeling like fall there. same for yakima. friday is getaway day. the forecast is coming up. >> thank you. the dow finishes up its wild august continuing a rally. and babs tops the beatles. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, after turning down millions, you won't believe what

she got in her separation settlement with mel gibson. coming up, venus williams unexpectedly pulls out of the u.s. open. a 16 inning marathon, and a home run that comes up short. 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. the "new york times" reports a top official of libya's new government says rebels believe they have cornered muammar gadhafi in a desert town south of tripoli. one of gadhafi's sons denies that, however, and promises to fight on day and night. condoleezza rice is disputing claims that former vice president dick cheney's memoir in a reuters interview. the former secretary of state rejects his statement that she tearfully admitted the bush administration should not have apologized for a claim of iraq's supposed search for uranium. she said, "it certainly doesn't

sound like me, now does it?" 140 elementary schools in acapulco, mexico, closed this week due to teacher fears over extortion threats and kidnapping by drug gangs. two teachers and at least four of their piers have been kidnapped outside acapulco recently. a babysitter service would force those who hire domestic employees, such as nannies and housekeepers, to give them mandatory lunch breaks and time cards and provide workers compensation. and the streets of spain were painted red for the annual tomatina festival. participants joined in for the hour-long street fight in which harvested surplus tomatoes are wildly tossed, leaving behind a sea of red mush. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,613 after gaining 53 points yesterday. the s&p added five points. the nasdaq was up three.

taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei rose 105 points, while in hong kong the hang seng inched up 50. a day of hard fought gains despite chilly economic data, was overshadowed wednesday by the government slamming the brakes on america's biggest ever corporate acquisition. telecoms were the day's big losers on wall street after the obama administration blocked at&t's $39 billion acquisition of t-mobile usa due to anti-competitive concerns. at&t slumped almost 4%. the dow's biggest decliner. the s&p's telecom index dropped more than 1.5%. by far the biggest loser among s&p sectors. now to the last stock close-out. the worst up and down month in more than a year wednesday with the dow back in positive territory for 2011. during august, the dow swung a staggering 1,400 points.

wednesday's data shows signs of weakening economic growth, but investors chose to focus on the positive. midwest factory activity slipped to its lowest level in almost two years, but still pointed to some growth. private sector hiring slowed in august for a second straight month, but did rise despite wall street's roller coaster turmoil. traders were most encouraged by new orders for factory goods surging in july. aluminum maker alcoa rose more than 3.5%. mining equipment maker joy global rose on a 46% jump in earnings. and, finally, speaking of earnings, barbara streisand's new album "what matters most" is the legendary diva's 31st top ten album, edging the beatles for third place all-time. she now trails only frank sinatra and all-time top sellers, the rolling stones. well, coming up, cliff lee powers the phillies. a walk-off winner in cleveland.

yes, every once in a while a pitcher still smacks a home run. . plus, venus williams forced to bow out of the u.s. open. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and in weather someone front forgot to tell mother nature it's september. 100 degree heat widespread. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if are you just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, appropriately, it was a seesaw battle of round two of the yankee-red sox series in boston. here's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. the yankees had a chance to move into first place, but could not hold the lead at fenway taking on the sox. after jason varitak tied with an rbi double, jacoby ellsbury had a shot into the monster seats to the left. he added insurance in the eighth. red sox increase their lead in the a.l. east with a 9-5 win. phils and reds. cliff lee a great pitcher. rounded out to second, and watch lee. he didn't even run to first. then he kind of gives the gesture like, ah, you can have it. that was the only thing lee was giving up last night. struck out seven over eight in two-thirds. the phils head off the reds,

3-0. a's and indians played into the wee hours of the morning. two for jack hannahan. it was saved by the slimmest of margins. indians won 4-3. they're in second place. rays pitcher derek lowe has done a lot over his career, threw a no-hitter. won the world series. pitched a no-hitter. but he never hit a home run. time to update that wikipedia page. venus williams has a rare auto immune disease that forced her to pull out of the u.s. open. there's no timetable for her return to tennis. finally, back to baseball. the brewers ryan braun hit a shot deep to center. took a wild bounce off the wall, and that's when braun kicked it into high gear. a chance for an inside the park home run. got the green light to come home. rounded third. oh, no. he either stumbled about 30 feet too early. when he tried to get up, it was too late. caught in a rundown. all he could do is smile and think about what could have been. 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. justin bieber gets teens' hearts racing, and it turns out he may have been doing some racing of his own. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, with a little help from his friends, this high school senior hopes to be just fine. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this thursday. the incredible heat will continue to in areas of the southwest. that heat has not spread to the north. it is confined down to new mexico, especially in the desert areas of arizona, tucson, phoenix, back to vegas. l.a., 80 degrees. interior sections of california nice and mild. san francisco, not a bad day, 72. a peek at tomorrow keeps it kind of cool in seattle. looks like you are stuck in the low 70s for a little while here. if you are watching us on kntr in eugene, oregon oregon, head to the bond of a group of women enduring life's twists and turns. that's steel magnolias, tissues please. >> thank you, bill. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. mel gibson and his settlement details are out. while they both lost in the ugly dispute, she lost more at least financially.

instead of the $15 million offer she refused last summer, she is only going to get $750,000. they'll share joint custody of their child, with gibson making support payments. also under the deal they cannot publicly discuss or write books about each other or their relationship. elsewhere, alyssa milano gave birth to a son named milo. robert downey jr. and his wife are expecting their first child. he has a 17-year-old son from a previous marriage. and, finally, tuesday's minor traffic accident involving teen star justin bieber and his super expensive ferrari got a little bit more interesting. the rapper everlast tweeted he was street racing bieber at the time and a fedex truck got in the way causing bieber's fender-bender with a honda civic. but minor details, there's a report out that this fender-bender happened in a

parking garage. so everlast has some explaining to do. >> street racing in a parking garage. there are spinning turns. >> and donuts, right? this comes to us from channel 2 in orlando, florida, where in nearby sanford clatsz mates made the first day for one classmate extra special. matt, a star baseball pitcher, is fighting bone cancer. so 600 fellow students organized an opening day pep rally in his honor. he wears the mask because his immune system has been battered by surgeries and chemo. but with the support of his friends matt hopes to be back in school full-time in october and back on the mound next spring. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today" just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

as part of an annual festival in tibet, equestrians gathered to show off their riding skills with a beautiful himalayan backdrop. there were horse races, freestyle riding, and other competitions. it's all part of the festival dating back to the 11th century which has remained popular with the t ish betan people and the tourists alike. an unlikely customer was spotted at a sporting goods store. laura, the cow, wandered away from her home in the alps and walked right into a clothing store in a nearby village. after checking out some merchandise, she left without a fuss. she returned home on her own and even made it in time for her afternoon milking. >> with a shiny new belt. finally, who said royalty is

exempt from dirty work? meet jules. dish washer by day. king by night. he was forced to flee his country back in the '90s and became king after the passing of his father. when he is not keeping things clean at a restaurant in germany, he is manning the business of his west african tribe via telephone. it's very 2011. >> that's like me being king of my own house doing dishes. >> i have no doubt that you are. no doubt. well, time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. with safety nets installed, part of washington's national cathedral will open to reporters for a look at the damage from last week's earthquake. the cathedral is expected to reopen next week for events commemorating the tenth anniversary of september 11th. nasa will host a news conference to discuss the progress of its mars rover. opportunity reached a massive crater last month to unveil

geological clues into the red planet's past. world war ii began on this day in 1939 when nazi germany's adolf hitler ordered an invasion of poland. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as 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 on the "today" show. the dispute between president obama and john boehner over the president's jobs speech. plus, gop presidential contender john huntsman unveils his own jobs plan. and get the inside details on mel gibson's settlement in his bitter custody battle with his ex-lover. 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. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com