this morning on "early today," mother nature's wrath. a powerful weather system soaks the south and fans wildfires in texas. rare strike. a twister barrels through a state not used to tornado touchdowns. and a happy ending. a wayward penguin is sent back home after washing ashore. 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 wet, miserable holiday weather. after drenching and, in some

areas, a damaging landfall in the gulf coast this weekend, tropical storm lee has been weakening this hour. forecasters are warning that lee could stir up more damage for several days to come. nbc's frances coe has more. >> reporter: lee kicked up waves as the slow-moving system made landfall and dumped as much as a foot of rain on the gulf coast. from alabama and mississippi -- >> we're talking about four to sick inches in the house last time. we need to put it at the back doors and stuff. you know? >> reporter: to the bayous of louisiana, swamping parts of the small shrimping community of lafitte. >> the levees are sealed off. so all the water is coming to us. >> reporter: as the storm passed overhead in new orleans the city's pump and levee systems held firm. >> the movement of rain water it's been right up there with the hurricane. and that's been the challenge. >> reporter: a big sigh of

relief for the big easy. but forecasters warn that tornadoes and flash flooding could spread across the tennessee valley into the appalachians. lee packing enough punch to bring heavy rain and winds across the entire southeast. frances coe, nbc news. elsewhere, water would have been welcome in drought-stricken texas, this weekend, but instead it was lee's powerful winds that fueled wildfires burning across the state. over the weekend, crews battled parched conditions and up to 40-mile-per-hour wind gusts from what was tropical storm lee. one of the fires killed a 20-year-old woman and her 18-month-old daughter trapped inside their home. officials say thousands have been evacuated and an estimated 300 homes have been destroyed. elsewhere, president obama paid a visit to water-weary new jersey yesterday visiting parts of the state hit hard last week

by hurricane irene's devastating floods. today the president will be marking labor day speaking to a group of union workers in detroit just days before presenting a sweeping economic proposal to congress. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. tracie, good morning to you. >> hey, lynn, good morning. on this labor day. labor unions used to be the shoo-in vote for democrats but not any more. donation down 40%. unioning frustrated that they say president obama has not followed through on his jobs agenda, for example, raising the minimum wage. over the weekend, the afl/cio president said the president needs to make a stronger challenge to big businesses to hire more workers. now, what we will see from president obama this week is that speech here on capitol hill on thursday outline iing his jo plan. he also over the weekend pressed congress to pass a highlight

bill that at the end of september it will expire then. he says by renewing that, they could save a million jobs. the president expected to talk about those infrastructure projects building roads and bridges to create more jobs. lynn? >> tracey potts for us in washington. thank you. now here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. a tornado carved a path of destruction through upstate new york, leaving decimated homes and damaged landscape in its wake. national weather service officials confirmed the touchdown but have not yet determined its classification. ground crews are expected to conduct surveys, which will help estimate the strength of the tornado. two people died in a plane crash that ignited a fast-moving brush fire in the hills of eastern california. according to officials, the fire quickly spread only moments after the cessna single-engine plane went down, triggering the evacuation of at least 100 homes. the fire has already charred nearly 4,000 acres and still rages out of control.

and finally, in north carolina, a new fitness class is replacing a good sweat with getting a little shut-eye. sounds good to me. participants in what is being called air napping, climb into a hammock and lie in a suspended position for 30 minutes where they're able to recharge and get rejuvenated. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's meteorologist todd santos. he has your weather channel forecast. good morning. >> anybody on a treadmill watching the show has to laugh and say, that's a fitness routine? >> i don't know if it will eliminate the waistline, but it will help with the rest. >> especially on your monday morning. a few areas actually looking for showers across portions of the southwest. actually, i want to bring you in to the radar in the southeast, especially the gulf, where we still have, as lion ntmened earlier, the potential for flooding. you see that red box, especially

in that last frame, that's a tornado watch in effect until 4:00 p.m. today. with some of the bands rotating on shore, you may see these firing up, but also big time flooding over jackson, mi mississip mississippi. those numbers really starting to rack up especially across portions of the southeast. hurricane katia, that's heading in toward the coastline. not expected to be a big landfall threat at the moment. we have to keep a close eye on it. by thursday we're talking about a major hurricane. right now max sustained winds around 100 miles per hour. so likely a bigger surf producer than much else. still one we have to keep a close eye on. there's a look at the mess in the east. get down to the southwest, especially down through death valley, a chance for some showers today. some of those showers may get to lake havasu. keep that in mind.

>> so lots going on weather wise across the country, especially considering we're deal with a day off, lynn. but we'll talk more about tomorrow's forecast. >> not for you, though, todd, unfortunately. coming up, jobs, jobs, jobs. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, were sharks in 3-d able to take a bite out of the reigning box office champs? controversy between the phillies and martins. concerning news for peyton manning and rafael nadal meets his match at the u.s. open. you're watching "early today." nt

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning.

in libya, a rebel spokesman says negotiations over the surrender of one of moammar gadhafi's remaining strongholds have collapsed. meanwhile, "the new york times" reports earlier this summer chinese-state companies offered to sell gadhafi's government $200 million in weapons, despite bans of such sales. this is according to officials with libya's transitional government who cite documents found by a canadian journalist. israeli media say over the weekend more than 400,000 israelis turned out for protests over the nation's high cost of living. this was the eighth week in a row protesters have taken to the streets. in japan at least 26 people have been killed by a powerful typhoon. the storm is believed to be japan's worst since 2004, when 98 were killed or reported missing. in mexico, a former teacher and a math tutor face possible 30-year prison sentences over their tweets. they're accused of causing chaos in a southern mexican town after tweeting rumors about children being kidnapped from school.

they claim that they were just relaying messages from others. and a penguin from antarctica that washed up on a beach far from home in new zealand has been returned to the ocean. the penguin, nicknamed happy feet, came ashore two months ago and had been nursed back to health. happy feet has been fitted with a gps tracker and his movements will be monitored. never make the same mistake twice. now here's your first look at how wall street finished friday, heading into the holiday weekend. the dow closed at 11,240, after sinking 253 points. the s&p lost 30 points. the nasdaq plunged 65. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei dropped 166 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng shot down 596. ironically, as we celebrate labor day, it's unemployment that's dogging wall street, the economy and the president.

stocks tumbled over 2% friday, after the government's monthly jobs report showed hiring had unexpectedly ground to a halt in august. also revised downward, showing tens of thousands fewer jobs, work figures for june and july. in a kind of rally that means bad news for stocks, the bond market was busy friday. after goldman sachs and other prime treasury dealers said, due to the poor job figures, they expect the fed to start buying treasuries after its meeting later this month. in fact, according to a reuters poll friday, wall street sees an 80% chance the federal reserve will buy into bonds once again to boost the sagging economy. a third round of quantitative easing or qe-3. asian markets opened with a thud this morning following friday's u.s. jobs report with virtually every major index in the region down early at least 2%. this week ahead stocks here could be impacted as europe faces a string of political and

legal tests that could hamper efforts to resolve its debt crisis. of course, nothing this week tops president obama's address to a joint session of congress thursday to lay out his plan to create jobs, boost economic growth and lower the deficit. and finally, according to 24/7 wall street, the jobs that will pay the best and be in the highest demand over the next decade will be management analysts, accountants and auditors, and number one, registered nurses. well, a fan gets in the way. a top nfl quarterback looks to start the season on the sidelines. and drama off the court in u.s. open tennis. plus a wild warm-up in the baltimore grand prix. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and kind of a wet and wild forecast for your labor day. at least in a few areas we'll take a look at today and tomorrow coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, on the eve of their nfl season opener the news is not good for peyton manning and the indianapolis colts. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> hey there, good morning. we start with news from the nfl. colts quarterback peyton manning is recovering slower than expected from off-season neck

surgery and, according to sources, could need another procedure. in essence, he's out indefinitely. to the diamond controversy between the phillies and marlins. hunter pence is there with the shot to right. peterson said he's interfered with, and he's right. a fan reaches over the wall to grab the baseball. umpires review it and call the out on fan interference. to the 14th, tied at four. bases loaded and david herndon walks in the winning run. nothing going right for the phils. fish win it 5-4. sad news to report. two days after suffering a stroke hall of famer lee roy selmon passed away yesterday. the first overall pick by the tampa bay buccaneers in 1976 he was a defensive end with the oklahoma sooners. lee roy selmon was 56 years old. wild scene at the baltimore grand prix. on board with helio castroneves during morning warm-ups. all is going well when the car comes flying over castroneves, hits the ground and crashes into the tire barriers.

his brakes went out and he had no other option but to hit castroneves. thankfully the two brazilian drivers were okay but it could have been much worse. finally rafael nadal cruising through his third round match at the u.s. open and then collapsed. it didn't happen on the court. he was overcome by pain during his press conference. he couldn't overcome the agony. at one point rafa had to duck under the table and laid on the floor. it took about ten minutes for him to work out the pain. but the second ranked player in the world says that won't cramp his style. he'll be ready to play tomorrow. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. >> "early today" sports is brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some gray, never all. a report of a new front-runner to host this year's oscars. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, forget the tractor pull or the livestock show. this year's biggest attraction at the texas state fair is the latest food they dared to fry. you're watching "early today."

welcome back in to "early today." a few areas starting off with cool temperatures. 86 in vegas with the potential for showers and thunderstorms today. even down to los angeles certainly can't write those off. a few areas of the southwest including phoenix with the potential for passing thunderstorms. get up towards portland and make a run at the mid-80s by later on

this afternoon. look at tomorrow, pretty decent as more people head back to work. we'll be talking about through the coastline. at that point, isolated thunderstorms in the intermountain portions including around denver. quiet also around the hawaiian islands. if you are watching us in seattle, washington, learn about pacific rim cultures at pacific voices at the burke mu sum of natural history and culture. that's your pacific event of the day. todd, thanks so much. now a look at the morning's headlines in entertainment. chalk up another win at the box office for the film that seems like it just can't lose. for the third straight week "the help" finished as top film, this time with just under $15 million. after four weeks out, it's fast approaching an impressive overall total of close to $120 million. the helen mirren thriller, "the debt" debuted slightly better than expected just off $10 million to take the second spot. "apollo 18" disappointed,

opening well below expectations taking in under $9 million for third. also under-performing "shark night 3-d" at just over 8.5 million for fourth. and eddie murphy's comeback may be going from soler powered to nuclear powered. already starring with ben stiller in "power heist" due in november, deadline.com reports the director also is directing the oscars wants murphy to host this year's show and murphy is said to be interested. i bet he is. >> i mean, just to dig back in on talent that everyone's known about forever. especially since "nutty professor," where they played one character. >> and they tried to go young last year and that might not have gone so well. this one comes to us from kxas,

nbc-5 in dallas, texas, where the trynd and true texas tradition of frying up anything and then serving it at the fair, may have gone too far. following in the footsteps of fried twinkies and fried candy bars, this year fried bubble gum makes its first appearance at the texas state fair. that's right, fried bubblegum. made up of pink batter, marshmallow and gum extract, it's generating big buzz around big "d" and its creator hopes later today judges will choose it as the most creative fried food. ij they will. >> that's mild compare fod the fried butter. >> fried butter is genius. that sounds amazing. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today." just your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

this weekend in lisbon there was a need for speed. and imagination. people came from all over portugal to witness the spectacle that is the crazy carts race. with the prize going to the fastest and most creative cart, participants went all out. crowd favorites were dancing ghostbusters and the smurfs-mobile, complete with a house and cast of characters. hundreds in mexico danced their way into the record books this weekend. over 450 folk dancers gathered to traditional routines and set the guinness record for the most people on the dance floor at the same time. there were 300 musicians on the sidelines to provide live music. organizers said the event was a

great way to promote mexican culture. and finally, man's best friends strutted their stuff in poland. the annual dachshund march brings out the famous long-bodied pooches and their owners. the traditional pounding of the pavement has pups dressed in khaki costumes, competing for most creative outfit. ironically, though, todd, we don't see any dressed as a hot dog. that may be a little too on the nose. >> maybe too obvious. i don't know. most dogs seem embarrassed when you put costumes on them. so i don't know how that works. >> it's like there's an instinct. like really? you're going to do this? >> come on, mom, with the hat? >> well, it's time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the trial of former egyptian president hosni mubarak is scheduled to resume in cairo after a judge ordered the proceedings not to be broadcast on television. mubarak previously pleaded not guilty to charges that he ordered the killings of hundreds of protesters during the uprising that drove him from power earlier this year.

amanda knox's appeal trial will continue in italy after a summer recess. the american student is serving a 26-year sentence in an italian prison for the murder of her college roommate for which she was convicted in 2009. and happy birthday to raquel welch who turns 71. 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." and finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. tropical depression lee drenches the gulf states and spawns several tornadoes. and there's still more to come. and "the real housewives of beverly hills" premieres tonight. after a suicide involving one of its stars, the cast and shows producers speaks out. and 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.

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