this morning on "early today," front and center. republican presidential hopefuls gear up for tonight's debate showdown. texas torching. wildfires in the lone star state burn through hundreds of homes. and please step through. an airport security change that's guaranteed to be a an airport security change that's guaranteed to be a shoo-in with air travellers. captions paid for by nbc-universatelevision hello, and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with game on. republican presidential hopefuls are set to go head-to-head tonight in a high stakes debate

where the nation's ailing economy is sure to take center stage. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with a preview. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. here's what you want to look out for at that debate tonight. first of all, texas governor rick perry jumped into the race, becomes the front-runner. now his first debate since then. we're told despite touring the wildfire damage in texas, he is still expected to attend the debate in california tonight. fighting him or trying to fight tore that top position, mitt romney, who had been the front-run are. he recently released his economic plan promising 11.5 million jobs by, in part, lowering the corporate tax rate 10%. he also wants to get tough on china. then keep an eye out for michele bachmann and jon huntsman. analysts say they really need to prove that they are still in this race. and so we're likely to hear the republicans turning more on each other than on president obama. of course, all of this just a day before the president comes

to capitol hill to release his own jobs plan. republicans now want to sit down with him before he does that. by the way, there's a superpac that's putting $55 million behind rick perry, although they say that figure may be outdated. no word on whether it's more or less. lynn? >> tracey potts there for us from washington. thank you. two more people have died in texas in one of the most devastating wildfire outbreaks in that state's history. a total of four have died. more than a thousand homes have been destroyed. and several thousand residents have been forced to evacuate. kurt gregory has more. >> reporter: as the raging flames continue, a team of more than 1,200 firefighters is hoping another day with light winds will help them stop a massive wildfire in bastrop county that's 18 miles long, five miles wide, and growing. >> the fire jumped all over the place. so we're doing a little firing

to get it back on our terms. >> reporter: the bastrop fire burning just outside austin has already destroyed more than 500 homes. more than 5,000 people are living in shelters. many watching the fire from a distance and wondering. >> looking at the fire right now and i'm thinking, gosh, that could be my property that just went up in smoke. >> reporter: evacuees huddle around sheriff's deputies and local officials looking for information and answers. >> we don't know if we've got a house to go home to. we don't know anything. we can't find the information. >> reporter: and while fire crews battle the flames around the clock, the fire continues to shift and turn across the parched texas landscape. kurt gregory, nbc news. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. a cell phone captured raging flames erupting at an orlando gas station after a minivan crashed into the pump.

the monday morning accident occurred when the driver lost control of her minivan, plowing through traffic signs and bushes before slamming into the station. the driver and her son escaped with only minor injuries. firefighters in arkansas clash with a massive inferno that is expected to put hundreds of people out of work. billowing smoke from the copper plant blaze could be seen for miles as multiple crews battle back flames. officials say the building has been totally destroyed. with the job status of plant employees unknown at this time. finally, it may only be september, but one wisconsin couple got their christmas gift early. the schroeders learned the white house will do its yule time tree shopping right on their farm. the couple received the honor after winning a contest sponsored by the national christmas tree association. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. fresh off a little vacation. joining us your weather channel forecast. >> 97 yesterday in l.a. and

we're bringing them christmas stories. >> they're used to it, though. it's 75 and sunny every day about? so christmas day will be the same. >> i have a theory that mother nature tends to even herself out. all summer long we talked about it was going to be cloudy, it was cool. we didn't have the warm temperatures at all in the west. now we've had near record heat nor the last week or so. 84 in seattle yesterday. kids are returning to school. now some of the hottest temperatures of the summer. this is finally when you can enjoy the beach or the lake or the pool and now you can't because we've got kids in schools. 107 in phoenix. 97 in l.a. a very extreme jet stream that dips all the way up into canada. this was 98 yesterday in medford, 97 in vegas. widespread. san francisco, you were the only ones caught in the cool air near the ocean. temperatures are mild just about everywhere. look at l.a. at 70 this morning.

that mean us are going to have another warm if not hot day. clear skies just about anywhere here. portland will be 97 degrees. record heat in many areas or at least close to it. crank the ac. with the kids stuck in school with no ac, i apologiz >> it's hot. did i say that? did i emphasize that at all? >> that's the moral of that story. all right, bill, thanks so much. well, coming up, stocks dive. yahoo! sacks its ceo. and the most expensive car in america to insure. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll show you lady gaga as you have never seen her before, and believe it or not,

it has nothing to do with a strange wardrobe or hairstyle. coming up, stephen strasburg makes his return to the mound, and rain, rain, and more rain. 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. a gunman opened fire on national guard members at a nevada ihop yesterday killing four people, including three troops and a civilian. authorities say the gunman then shot and killed himself. his motive is not clear, but family members say he had mental issues. in west virginia officials say a man shot and killed five people, including a pregnant woman at a home. he then ran down an elderly woman and opened fire on a gas station, wounding one person. after a pursuit by a deputy, he shot and killed himself. police believe they know the motive, but they have not yet revealed it.

michigan governor rick snyder has signed into law a controversial four-year lifetime limit on cash welfare benefits. advocates for the poor warn that tens of thousands including nearly 30,000 children will be without cash assistance starting october 1st. the republican governor says there will be exemptions including for those who are disabled and can't work. there may be light at the tunnel or end of the tunnel for air travelers. homeland security secretary janet napolitano said that you will be able to keep your shoes on when passing through airport security. no specific date was given. she added that restrictions on carrying liquid will continue for some time. and in poland residents are cleaning up from a storm that brought massive chunks of hail. the hailstones shattered windows and damaged over 100 houses. and now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com.

a new study suggests if taken early in pregnancy, calming -- common anti-inflammatory drugs such as abu profen and naproxen may increase the chance of miscarriage. studying the records of nearly 50,000 canadian women, researchers found the risk of miscarriage more than doubled in women who took such anti-inflammatory drugs during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. more information on this and other health stories, you can check out the health page on msnbc.com. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,139 after falling 100 points yesterday. the s&p was down eight points. the nasdaq lost six. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei climbed 172 points, while in hong kong the hang seng rose 337. well, september is traditionally wall street's weakest month, and if tuesday was any indication, this year will be no different.

a wave of uncertainty over europe's debt problems swept over traders returning from the holiday with the dow down by as much as 300 points not even two hours into trade. investors scurried out of stocks and into traditional safe havens. the ten-year treasury yield fell to a 1.97%. one of the lowest rates since daily records started being kept. the price of gold jumped to a new record high. wall street's so-called volatility index, or fear factor, climbed over 9%. major banks were the big losers on fears of their exposure to future economic problems and bad mortgage security from the past. jp morgan chase and bank of america both fell more than 3%. on the plus side, the service sector, which employed nearly 90% of america's work force, grew for the first time in four months. packaging company temple inland jumped 25% after international

paper agreed to buy it for $3.7 million. i.p. rose almost 9%. sunoco was up almost 5% on its plans to get out of refining and instead focus on logistics. carole barts was fired as yahoo!'s ceo nearly three years into a turnaround that failed to fully materialize. finally america's most expensive car to insurance. at just over $3500 a year, it's the 12 cylinder mercedes sl 65 am dwrks. and the cheapest, the four-door six cylinder chrysler town and country minivan at just under $1100 a year. coming up, jimmie johnson doesn't win, the mets go extra innings and the yankees go an extra day. plus the washington nationals' can't-miss kid makes his long awaited comeback from injury. your early morning sports headlines are ahead. hopefully i'll give aw quiet

thursday forecast.

good morning. if you are just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, after a tragic setback, the career of one of baseball's brightest young pitchers to come along in years has finally resumed. here's fred roggin with a look at all your sports headlines.

>> good morning. the nationals stephen strasburg made his much anticipated return to the majors. the kid lived up to the hype. he took the mound for the first time since undergoing tommy john surgery last august. he looked sharp against the dodgers. he allowed just two hits and struck out four. the nats taking it slow with their young ace. pulled him after five scoreless innings. unfortunately for washington, he is really all they've got. l.a. rallied to tie, and then after a short rain delay, robert gave them an rbi double. a 7-3 win. red sox found out tuesday that pitcher josh beckett will miss a week with a sprained ankle. then the sox took out their frustration on the blue jays scoring four in the first inning and matching a season high 20 hits. went on to win it 14-0. if you thought the yankees/orioles game was rained out, think again. first pitch was shortly after 11:00 in new york. it rained most of the game, and the yanks poured on some runs in the seventh. new york won it 5-3. there's no rest for the weary.

they'll play again this afternoon just 11 hours after wrapping this one up. now to miami. mets and marlins got a late start because of the rain. when they did begin to play, they didn't want to stop. needed extra innings. nick evans singled in the go-ahead run in the 12th. mets added a couple more and went on to win 7-4 in 12. tennis. the u.s. open was rained out yesterday. that means it will be a busy wednesday at flushing med oes. they'll try to play ten matches today, but there's more rain on the horizon, which will likely move all the action to later in the week. the wet weather also affected the nascar race in atlanta. also postponed from sunday. jeff gordon and jimmie johnson slip sliding around to take the final ten laps. gordon held on to take the checkered flag. he's now in third place on the all-time wins list. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. "early today" sports is brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some gray, never all. the envelope, please. the host of this year's oscars is announced. your early morning

entertainment headlines are straight ahead. we'll show you one man's unique way to paying tribute to those we lost on september 11th.

welcome back. here's a look at your updated forecast. we'll see plenty of sunshine. temperatures just about as hot as they get for this time of

year. at the coast probably closer to the mid-80s. this is beach weather and middle of the summer weather. looks like the heat will continue. look at thursday. nothing really changes. blistering sun in so many spots. if you want cool, you have to head to the immediate coast or head up to the mountains. summer arrives in just the last two weeks. if you're watching us in california's bay area, in albany, make music with the family at a work shop. sing both classics and new tunes at family sing-along at the albany library. >> sounds like fun. all right, bill. thanks so much. here is a look at the headlines in entertainment. we told you earlier this week about a big job possibility for ed murphy? well, apparently he got the job. murphy will host this year's 84th academy awards show. the program being held by action comedy director brett rattner who murphy just finished a film with. murphy's emphasis on comedy will

be a departure from recent years in which the academy focused on elaborate song and dance numbers and hosts with dramatic backgrou backgrounds. >> how did that go. >> ouch, bill, below the belt. elsewhere one-time kid star miley cyrus is dramatically reworking her image. in the current issue of asia's "prestige magazine." she says she doesn't miss doing "hannah montana" where she became bored doing the same thing every day. and talk about an image change. check out lady gaga in the latest "harper's bazaar." no wake-up, no wig, no wardrobe. she wouldn't call it au naturel. saying whether i'm wearing lots of make-up or no make-up, i'm always the same person inside. i feel like there should be slow music. >> she really has long hair like that? that's her real hair? no extensions, no -- >> that i don't know. i would assume it's extensions. >> what everyone does in

hollywood nowadays. >> in the entertainment, they use "natural" a little loosely. extensions may be an exception. >> natural extensions maybe? >> exactly. it's real hair maybe. this comes to us from knbc nbc 4 in los angeles, california, where in nearby glendale memories of september 11th have been etched on a unique memorial. howard calls them his angel cars. they pay tribute to those killed in the 9/11 attacks. the names of each person is inscribed on five cars. the fleet of memorial cars are touring the east coast stopping in the nation's capital, finally in new york, providing a fitting tribute on 9/11's tenth anniversary on liberty island right there alongside the statue of liberty. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

a pair of giraffes are a welcome addition to one zoo in jerusalem. owen and jasmine were born a few months apart, but the babies have become fast friends. the african giraffe don't exactly look like newborns, and they've actually got lots of growing to do. they'll eventually tower at 19 feet tall and weigh in at 4,400 pounds. the pair joined four other giraffes in their new home. well, spectacular new images show the wonder of space travel. nasa's spacecraft circling the moon has captured the sharpest photos ever seen of past apollo missions. taken from about 15 miles away, one can still see astronaut's tracks from moon walks.

experts were even able to identify backpacks and other trash left behind on visits from 1969 to 1972. and in china the sounds of violinists plucking away at their instruments have folks scratching their head. take a listen. ♪ the musicians are actually rare singing frogs whose croaks sound like musical notes. there are about 100 of them nestled in a forest area. now nearby residents are trying to protect them. can't you just picture a guy with a violin in the back saying i've got them all fooled. >> i'm sure that's an enjoyable early morning sound. >> i'm going to set my alarm to that. >> smash it. time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. a hearing will be held in the case of a maryland man detained in aruba in connection with a disappearance of his travel companion. judges will decide whether he

can be released or must remain behind bars as the case develops. nasa will discuss recent findings on how solar flares can impact communication and navigation systems. a spacecraft launched last year has been providing scientists with new data and images that will help them better understand the sun blasts. the national zoo will celebrate the first birthday of seven lion cubs feeding them blood-cicles. frozen treats made of blood and bones. all day long you can stay on top of the 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 what's coming up later on this morning on the "today" show, michael bloomberg talks about where the city stands today. and oscar winner matt damon is live in studio to talk about his new thriller "contagion." 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. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com