this morning on "early today," high alert. u.s. officials chase a possible terror threat timed coincide with this weekend's 9/11 anniversary. passionate pitch. president obama lays out his highly anticipated jobs stimulus plan to congress. and moose in a muddle. what happens when you mix fermented apples and antlers? 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 a credible threat. just days before the nation marks the tenth anniversary of

the 9/11 terror attacks, u.s. officials say they are investigating what's being called a credible but unconfirmed terror threat targeting new york city and the nation's capital. nbc's tracie potts has more from ground zero in lower manhattan. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. good morning, everyone. we have learned that new york is stepping up security. it was already on a heightened state of alert as a result of this threat that they say is specific, but they just don't know if the source of the threat is credible. what we do know is it's believed to include possible car bombs or truck balls. possibly targeting new york or washington. perhaps involving three men who may have traveled from overseas into the united states in connection with this. but again, it is not believed to be credible. here's what new york's mayor had to say about it late last night. >> now the threat at this moment has not been corroborated. i want to stress that. it is credible, but it has not

been corroborated. but we do live in a world where we must take these threats seriously, and we certainly will. >> reporter: now, none of the plans for the 9/11 memorial here in new york have been canceled or delayed or changed, we're told, as a result of this latest threat, but they're watching it. the mayor said we are on a heightened state of alert, but people here should not be in a heightened state of fear. in fact, he said he will be taking the subway this morning. >> tracy poth there's in lower manhattan for us. well, in a passionate speech to congress last night president obama rolled out his new plan to jolt america's stalled economy and create jobs. it is a $450 billion proposal that the president challenged congress, particularly skeptical republicans, to act on now. nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: it was president obama who wanted a joint session of congress to make a big deal of his urgent jobs proposal. >> it will provide a jolt to an

economy that is stalled and give companies confidence that if they invest and if they hire, there will be customers for their products and services. you should pass this jobs plan right away. >> reporter: to please republicans, there's a big payroll tax cut. 50%, $240 billion for small businesses and workers. states would get $85 billion. >> it will lead to new jobs for construction workers, for teachers, for veterans, first responders, young people. >> reporter: federal funds to rebuild roads, rehire police, firefighters and teachers and to modernize schools. >> this is america. every child deserves a great school, and we can give it to them if we act now. >> reporter: republican leaders did not say no. >> we believe in small business tax relief to create middle class jobs. in all of that i believe there is some common ground. we can set aside the things we

disagree on and come together on the commonality. >> reporter: democrats saw the passionate obama many had missed. >> the next election is 14 months away, and the people who sent us here, the people who hired us to work for them, they don't have the luxury of waiting 14 months. this plan is the right thing to do right now. you should pass it. and i intend to take that message to every corner of this country. >> reporter: that's a vow to both sides that barack obama means to resell himself. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, capitol hill. >> and now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. an abundance of rainfall has turned parts of pennsylvania into one big waterway. tens of thousands were forced to abandon their homes as the susquehanna river rose to almost 40 feet, the second highest level ever recorded there. major flooding has put 20,000 upstate new york residents out on the street. remnants of tropical storm lee drenched the region forcing

mandatory evacuations as well as a declaration of a state of emergency by president obama. five inches of rain in six hours was too much for west hartford's drainage system to withstand. roads were turned into rivers leaving numerous streets closed and several motorists stranded. two days of rainfall also did major damage in virginia. six inches of rain wreaked havoc on a commuter parking lot. several cars were submerged in water as high as four feet. elsewhere, a wildfire in washington has scorched 2,000 acres and counting. so far the blaze has destroyed 18 structures and forced the evacuation of approximately 300 homes. given the dry conditions, firefighters are expected to fight an uphill battle containing that blaze. finally, although 400 miles off shore, hurricane katia was still making waves on north carolina beaches. when they weren't wiping out, surfers took advantage of the unusually high waves. and loving every minute, i bet.

now for a look at your national and regional weather, let's check in with meteorologist bill karins. >> enough of these extremes. >> that's what everybody is saying. >> the fall days and the nice quiet weather. just hasn't happened. we've been watching one thing after another. one natural disaster, it seems, all summer long, from the tornados in the spring, to flooding. this is where approximately 100,000 people were evacuated. we hit an all-time record crest in binghamton, new york. in wilkes-barre a crest. but a lot of people are out of their homes. they're wondering how bad the flooding damage is. from some of the pictures we've been showing, it looks like another billion dollar disaster and fema will probably be asked to help out. yesterday in the west, the extreme weather continues. it is hot and sunny.

109 in phoenix. 92 in downtown l.a. 98 in medford. portland you're at 89. everyone is in the 60s except in san francisco. it was pretty much a good deal of ample sunshine. no reason we won't heat it up again today just like yesterday. 9p in medford. in the desert areas 100 to 105. details on your weekend forecast coming right up. >> bill, thanks so much. also coming up, no help from big ben sends stocks reeling. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, this weekend at the box office, the world is at risk,

and according to the experts, so are the current top films. coming up, peyton manning goes back under the knife. andy roddick cracked at the u.s. open, and the nfl opener comes down to the final play.

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. officials say yesterday's power outage to nearly six million in the american southwest and mexico was probably caused by a utility employee doing work near yuma, arizona. san diego gas and electric says power has been restored to over half a million customers. in texas crews believe they have turned the corner on a wildfire that's burned almost 1,400 homes. today they plan to use a converted dc-10 jetliner to drop retardant. meanwhile t national weather service says texas just finished the nation's hottest ever june through august period. the associated press reports

the obama administration is considering stationing u.s. troops in kuwait next year. times to coincide with the u.s. withdrawal from iraq. a book compiled from newly released interviews with jackie kennedy says president john f. kennedy was fiercely opposed to lyndon johnson ever becoming president and even talked with brother robert about preventing it from happening. johnson was sworn in after jfk's assassination. and in sweden, you don't see this every day. a drunk moose got stuck in a tree after eating too many fermented apples. apparently it's not uncommon there. after some branches were sawed off to help the moose, it eventually sobered up, got back up and returned to the woods. happy ending there. now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,295 after falling 119 points yesterday. the s&p was down 12 points. the nasdaq lost 19. taking a look at overseas

trading this morning, the nikkei dipped 55 points. while in hong kong, the hang seng shed 46. when the fed chairman speaks, wall street listens, and yesterday investors didn't like what they didn't hear. stocks tumbled after fed chief ben bernanke delivered an economic outlook which included no indications of new stimulus measures. investors had been hoping for some kind of cash injection to boost the flagging economy. a rise in weekly jobless claims added to yesterday's gloom. today we'll see what investors think about president obama's jobs package. europe's debt crisis will be on wall street's radar today as g-7 finance ministers meet in france. u.s. banks led losses yesterday after notching big gains wednesday. jp morgan fell nearly 4%. bank of america lost nearly as much on a report restructuring could lead to the elimination of some 40,000 jobs over several years. on the up side yahoo! climbed 6%

after a major shareholder demanded an overhaul of its board. in deal news, google gobbled up the gap, considered the guru of restaurant guidebooks for an undisclosed sum. a littles raided the california headquarters of solyndra was raided after they filed for bankruptcy and laid off all its workers despite receiving $535 million of federal stimulus. finally, in a sobering sign of the times next month walmart will revive its layaway plans to help cash-strapped consumers this holiday shopping season. andy gets grumpy at the open. payton sits after surgery. and the orioles walk away with a win in new york. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and the weather for the weekend will not be even half as dramatic as the flood and heat wave stuff we've been dealing with this summer.

good morning. if are you just waking up, this is "early today." in sports we have liftoff or, more accurately, kickoff. the nfl season has officially begun. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning.

the wait is finally over. the nfl season kicked off with a shoot-out between the saints and super bowl champion packers. off to green bay. the teams combined for ten touchdowns. none better than this. packer rookie randall cobb tied an nfl record with an 108 yard kickoff return. should have been tackled a couple of times, but he stayed on his feet and in for the touchdown. welcome to the league. pack up 35-20. the saints made it interesting. down eight. seconds left. drew brees threw to the end zone. incomplete. wait a minute. pass interference. new orleans had a last shot. from the 1. and the pack brought the house. stopping mark ingram, what a way to start the season. green bay won it 42-34. the season has started for the nfl, but it's likely over for peyton manning. the colts quarterback had another surgery on his neck yesterday. recovery time two to three months. that means the only place you'll see peyton this season is in commercials. college football. oklahoma state showed everybody why they're the ninth ranked team in the country with a

good old-fashioned beatdown on arizona. joseph randall scored twice, and the cowboys rolled 37-14. baseball, they say it's important to get in a good stretch before every game. i think stretching is for the birds. orioles were nice and loose against the yanks. robert andino, a walkoff homer in the 10th. baltimore won it 5-4. the u.s. open re-resumed. after a couple of wet days in new york. serena williams advanced to the semis. rafael nadal, roger federer and novak djokovic also moved on. andy roddick put up a fight before his match even started. listen to this. >> i told you it's going to keep coming up. it's from underneath, and i'm really starting to get pissed off. you just said right there it came up. why are we out here right now? >> roddick was livid about a crack in the court that was leaking water. officials finally gave in and moved the match to another court. roddick took his frustration and won it in four sets. up next rafael nadal. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin. >> early today sports is brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some gray, never all. three times a chance.

can "the help" hold on to its title at the box office this weekend? your are early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, a new spin on the old patchwork quilt helps ease the pain of those suffering great loss. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this friday. here's a look at your weekend forecast. and lots of sunshine, lots of

warmth. a little cooler today in salt lake city. 83 degrees will be nice. denver at 76. vegas had 100. san francisco at 66. but everybody else will be dealing with midsummer-like temperatures. even as we head into the weekend, look at seattle on saturday. 86 degrees. we should be in the low to mid-90s in portland. a little bit of moisture down in arizona. that's why you have a chance of thunderstorms. it looks pretty good on the west coast. if you're watching us on kmtr, eugene, oregon, see woven blankets that hold spiritual power at the museum of natural and cultural history. that's your pacific event of the day. >> well done, bill karins. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. after a relatively quiet but long run for one film at the box office champion, this weekend a new king will be crowned. "contagion" about the global

outbreak of a deadly virus directed by steven soderbergh. the reviews have been good. its all-star cast includes matt damon, jude law, kate winslet and gwyneth paltrow. experts say the pg-13 thriller is a sure thing to take top spot with about $25 million. three-time champ "the help" fast approaching $140 million overall will still be a spoiler for others battling for second with roughly $10 million. the good news for the debuting "warrior" is nick nolte and tom hardy have earned great reviews, even oscar talk. the problem is it's about two brothers facing off in a martial arts tournament. not exactly broad appeal. experts see it smacks potential of about $8 million. finally helen mirren's spy thriller "the debt" surprised in second last week, but experts see it fading fast this weekend. i hope we didn't offend any martial arts fans out there. >> there's a lot of them. >> there are. maybe you guys will all go see

it. >> not too many of their wives or girlfriends will be with them. >> i bet not. probably good point. this comes to us from wichita, kansas. where in nearby jersey one couple is helping families give police officers cope with grief by giving them something to hold on to. the kemps used their free time and fabric to create a unique memorial dedicated to fallen officers. these comfort quilts, as they call them, provide more than just warmth. the couple incorporates officer's uniforms into the quilt providing family members with a lasting memento of their loved one that they can always cling to. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

in greenland one american artist takes his frustration out on the ice. he recreated leonardo da vinci's work on the sheet of ice in the arctic sea. he says this latest masterpiece highlights the need for action concerning climate change. the figure is outlined with giant sheets of copper and measures the length of four olympic pools. moving one of the largest reptiles is not an easy task. as can you see, sadly, the park this croc called home for years is shutting down, so a cautious group of men struggled to move the beast, using ropes, sticks, even a flat bed trailer. they moved the saltwater croc

to its new home, a wilderness refuge in northern australia. at one restaurant in china you decide how expensive the meal will be. inside this cozy little breakfast joint the owner operates on the honor system. that means you pay what you want, dropping cash into a money box leaving a few bucks on the table or even paying later. while it may sound crazy, it's actually worked for over 20 year. and that may be bill, because most of the patrons are loyal friends and neighbors. they may get quite a reputation if they leave just 50 cents on the counter. >> all you can eat for a dollar. >> that sounds like a good idea. i don't know about for breakfast if you want to go with all you can eat. >> if i only paid a dollar. >> just for the record. time now for an early look at some of the stories that we'll be following throughout the day here on nbc. ahead of this weekend's anniversary of the september 11th attacks, in washington a concert to honor will be held for 9/11 victims and survivors and service members who have lost their lives in the middle east.

a classical musical performance will follow remarks by secretary of defense leon panetta. broadway stars will sing "new york new york" in times square just as they did in the aftermath of september 11th ten years ago. workers who were lost that day will be on hand for today's closing bell. all day long you can stay top of the very latest developments on those stories and others as they break on msnbc. 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. ten years later matt lauer is live at ground zero, and rudy vice president joe biden and rudy giuliani speak out live about the anniversary of 9/11. in a live interview the mother of a murdered yale student explains why she's suing the university for wrongful death. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early

today" just the first stop of the day today on your nbc station.