this morning on "early today" -- selling a plan. president obama hits the road after laying out his massive jobs package. highway heroics. a group of bystanders launch a dramatic rescue in utah. and financial flesh-eaters. why zombie bankers have taken over a business district in why zombie bankers have taken over a business district in london. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with hitting home.

president obama kicks off a high-profile road trip today drumming up support for his new jobs bill from americans who need it most. republicans want to know how much it will cost and how many jobs it will create. tracy has more on all of this. good morning. >> reporter: they also want to know how the president plans to pay for this $447 billion package. that could start a big fight here. >> this is the bill we need to pass. >> reporter: president obama is expected to reiterate what he said about his jobs bill. >> it is fully paid for. it will not add a dime to the deficit. >> reporter: mostly by limiting charitable contributions and closing loopholes that affect

the wealthy. republicans are already speaking out against tax increases. republican candidates of last night's debate questioned whether the stimulus will work. >> i can do the math on that one. >> it is suggested that maybe the president doesn't need to pay for the payroll tax cut. >> when you give people their money back it's their money. you don't have to pay for it. >> and the big question is how many jobs will this create. >> this package will help the economy by 2%. could mean an additional 2 million jobs. >> republicans say they want to see the numbers. the democratic party is backing the president and running ads

supporting the jobs package in key states. >> tracy, thank you. and as you heard tracy mention, republican presidential candidates were at it again last night, this one in florida. it was an aggressive face off with rick perry at the center of attacks. >> reporter: in their second debate in less than a week, the republican presidential candidates spared no punches, while zeroing in on current front-runner, texas governor rick perry. >> under ann richards, job growth was 2.5% a year. george bush was 3% a year. rick perry, 1% a year. >> the fact is, the state of texas has led the nation. >> reporter: on the issue of social security -- >> does governor perry continue to believe that social security

should not be a federal program, that it's unconstitutional and it should be returned to the state or is he going to retreat from that view? >> reporter: governor perry defended past comment calling social security a ponzi scheme. >> rather than trying to scare seniors, it's time to have a legitimate conversation in this country. >> the term ponzi scheme is what scared seniors. >> reporter: it was on perry to mandate for young girls to have rpv vaccine to prevent cervical cancer which drew the most fire. >> this was about trying to stop a cancer. i am always going to err on the side of life. >> reporter: as political rivals saw an opening and went on the attack. >> the question, is it about life or about millions of dollars in potentially billions for drug companies? >> if you're saying i can be bought for 5,000, i'm offended. >> this is big government run amuck. it is bad policy. and it should not have been done. >> reporter: and no holds barred presidential debate with nearly five months until the first primary voters go to the polls.

nbc news. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. unbelievable video. a dramatic rescue played out in utah after a fiery wreck. a rescue team of construction workers and students lifted a burning car long enough for a trapped man to be pulled to safety. the man became wedged under the vehicle after he crashed his bike into it. he suffered several broken bones but listed in stable condition. bipartisan bickering over government spending and job creation was all put on pause for a moment monday. as scores of lawmakers joined in song for a display of post-9/11 patriotism on the steps of capitol hill. the 20-minute ceremony to mark the tenth anniversary of the attacks culminated with a rendition of "god bless america" shortly after lawmakers did after the attacks in 2001.

finally, on a much funnier note, phillies pete orr milwaukee brewers sausage race looked more like spain's running of the bulls. the player was almost trampled. a disaster on the diamond was avoided, thanks to orr's quick moves. hopefully that translated to the game as well. here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with your weather forecast. good morning. >> the running of the sausage -- >> it always gets you. >> a sausage running down a baseball field. >> good morning. let's look at the weather. a little fther zoomed out. the top is alaska. alaska is dealing with a formidable storm as we head towards the end of the summer we typically get these stronger storms like this. it is going to be a rainy day. and along the coast they will do

okay but they will see some rain. anchorage is going to get soaked. when alaska has got active weather, much of the west coast is usually quiet. it will be a decent day today. a little bit of rain in arizona to keep temperatures down a little bit. mild air. a little cooler at the coast. summer is barely holding on. arizona, if they do not see rain today. wednesday forecast come oing up. >> thanks. wall street rallies. bank of america gets out the act. and it pays to be warren buffets

lunch buddy. and madonna takes on the issue of her hate for a certain flower. >> you with watching early today.

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry and here are some of your top headlines. iranian president tells ann curry two american hikers jailed in iran since 2009 will be released, quote, in two days on humanitarian grounds. the two were recently sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of illegally entering the country and espionage and we'll have much more with an exclusive interview with the iranian leader coming up on "today." >> in after zban, insurgents

fired in the direction of the u.s. embassy right in the heart of the capitol. so far there are reports of at least four people wounded. at least 75 people died monday in kenya after a leaking gasoline pipeline exploded in an a nairobi slum. before the blast, some had been scooping up fuel. the cause is not yet known. >> and the family of a 9/11 victim tells wnbc that their loved one's name was miss spelled on the memorial. officials are working to fix the spelling of the name. now here is an early look at how wall street will open the day. the dow opens at 11061 after gaining 68 points yesterday. s&p inched up 8 points. the nasdaq rose 27. taking a look at overseas trading, in tokyo the nikkei was up 80 point.

in hong kong the hang seng was closed for a holiday. a glimmer of hope for one of europe's ailing economies. the dow was down by 167 point but stocks staged a major comeback thanks in part to a report china is considering a significant purchase of italian government bonds. meanwhile, the possibility of a greek default dragged france's biggest banks down as much as 12%. treasury secretary timothy geithner is making a last-minute trip to europe this week for an unprecedented appearance at a euro finance meeting. bank of america inched up on cost-cutting plans to slash $5 billion in annual costs and cut a staggering 30,000 jobs.

shares of netlogic microsystems shot up 50% after wireless chip maker broad com agreed to buy the company for $3.7 billion. mcgraw-hill rose 4% on news it's splitting into two separate companies. tenet health care tumbled 10% after cautioning its earnings will take a hit next quarter. warren buffett landed himself an interesting new portfolio manager. apparently the two hit it off over the course of two charity auction lunches. the he won with buffet for a price of $5.3 million. protesters in england acted out their anger over taxpayer subsidies for bankers by dressing up in ghoulish get-ups pretending to suck the blood out of the public sector. that's one way of getting attention. well, serena gets a slap on the wrist. the yankees keep rolling. and the raiders try to tame the broncos. plus, tom brady and the pats beat up on the fish. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. texas and oklahoma continue

to have record heat, we are watching cooler air coming down from canada. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the new england patriots' tom brady opened up

his nfl season last night with an impressive display that emphasized why so many say he's the best quarterback in the game. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. michael vick may have the $100 million contract but no doubt tom brady is the best money quarterback can buy. career night against the dolphins, one touchdown in the first half but got things rolling in the third. connected with wes welker. pats up 21-14 and lead the rest of the way. last year's mvp capped it off in style with his back against the wall. he went to welker, it went for 99 yards. brady set a new mark with 517 yards through the air and four touchdown passes. patriots head their way with the dolphins 38-24. record in miami and also one in denver. raiders janikowski lined up one up, the longest field goal in league history. raiders led 16-3 at half. mcfadden, 150 yards on the

ground. this long run set up the game-winning touchdown. raiders overcame 15 penalties and beat the broncos 23-20. yankees increase their lead in the a. l. east. teixeira took hernandez deep. yanks have a four-game lead over the red sox. manny ramirez hit a new low. was arrested and charged with battery after a domestic dispute at his home. according to reports he slapped his wife in the face. she called police in fear that the situation would escalate. ramirez was booked and held overnight. serena williams fined 2 grand for her outbreak. that's a small price to pay since she made 1.4 million for her runner up finish. men, a rare monday final because of the are rain last week in new york. djokovic knocked off the defending champ, beating nadal in four sets. n he is now 62-4 this season

after winning his first u.s. open. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> announcer: early today sports is brought by touch of gray. get rid of some gray, never all. which original star wars cast member has a gripe about not making more from the film's marketing success? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. >> plus when it comes to proudly flying the flag we will introduce you to three women whose credentials are hard to top. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this tuesday. temperatures are really in the forecast today. today's going to be a lot like yesterday. some showers hit and miss in the late afternoon. a little cooler today in boise. definitely cooler in seattle. yesterday you hit 68, today about 67. not much in the way of changes out there. dry in the rest. if you are watching us in seattle, see an exhibit about travel and escaping routine at the arts museum. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. madonna still hates hydrangeas, breaking news, but at least she's showing a sense of humor about it. after being caught at the venice film festival saying how much she loathed the flower, madonna

released a youtube response including a heart-felt apology to one of the flowers only to eventually throw it to the floor, stomp on it and reaffirm her dislike for it. >> carrie fishers portrayal of princess leah in the star wars franchise may have earned her cinema mortality but not in her possibility book. she complained to "newsweek" she hasn't earned a dime from the merchandise on sale because there were no contract clauses covering merchandise back when she signed on for the films. and finally, last night in brazil, miss angola, 25-year-old leila lopes became the 60th woman to win the coveted crown of miss universe. she has three tips for beauty. ready? are you ready, bill? she says, you get lots of sleep, use sun block and drink lots of water.

>> what about alcohol? >> wine in a box? >> in moderation? this comes to us from wch news center 6 in portland, maine, where in freeport a weekly ritual has transformed three friends into porter -- poster children for patriotism. they have become better known as the flag ladies. after the 9/11 attacks, they vowed to be out with their flags every tuesday for a year. only they never stopped. coming out every tuesday for the last ten years. they invite anyone to join them any tuesday, including today, lifting spirits and showing lots of american pride. good for them. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

in china festivities continue. thousands of lanterns were released in the night sky to celebrate the mid-autumn festival. it's thought to bring good luck, success and happiness and that has many taking part, some sending 2,000 lotus shaped lanterns into the river. themes of the night included harvesting, meditation and bamboo. >> who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? at the annual frisbee championships in the czech republic, dog owners have taken the traditional game of fetch and added a few twists. each owner and their dog have two minutes to impress the judges with leaps, twists and bounds. of course, the dog has to

actually catch the frisbee, too. minor detail. how's this for back to school gear? controversy is swirling around forever 21's new t-shirt with allergic to algebra printed on the front. it's not the first time an anti-education message has made headlines. a few weeks ago jcpenney pulled shirts reading "i'm too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me" and they pulled those shirts after angry phone calls from parents. like what are you doing? >> saying no to homework is fine, but allergic to algebra is totally fine. when is the last time you used that? >> i'm very happy about the graduation from algebra. >> use your quadratic equation and i'll be impressed. it's time for an early look at stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. in washington george w. bush and secretary of state hillary clinton will launch the pink ribbon red ribbon partnership as

part of the summit to save lives. it aims to expand viability of vital cancer screenings. first lady michelle obama will host a luncheon at the white house. the awards recognize designers across fields including architecture, fashion and interior design. >> and happy birthday to sing er fiona apple, who turns 34. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on nbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." here's a look at what's coming up later on the "today" show. hear more of the newly surfaced audiotapes of jacqueline kennedy including a plea to her husband during the cuban missile crisis. lady antebellum performs live in the studio. keep it on this channel for more on news, weather and sports.

thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day on your nbc station. have a good one.