coming up next, emmy nominated this morning on "early today," brewing battle. as president obama promotes his jobs proposal, the republicans plan to launch a plan of their own. the next giant leap. nasa rolls out blueprints to take astronauts to the moon and beyond. and look out. a car goes barreling through a and look out. a car goes barreling through a california bike shop. 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 vinita nair. today we begin with an economic emergency.

during a campaign-style push for his $447 billion jobs plan yesterday, president obama declared the nation's need for jobs a, quote, national emergency. the ramped up rhetoric will likely set the tone in washington today when house speaker john boehner lays out his own plan. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more. good morning, tracie. >> reporter: good morning. we'll pay close attention to what john boehner says in the speech here in washington later today. because if he endorses key elements of the president's plan, like the payroll tax cuts, for example, it could indicate cooperation here as opposed to gridlock last summer. and analysts say there's a good reason why republicans may want to cooperate. the approval rating for congress is twice as bad as it is for president obama. plus, there are 60 house members, republicans, running in districts where president obama ran and won last time around. so there may be some

vulnerability there. meantime, president obama is going to be talking on monday about how to pay for all this, not only the jobs, but also that big jobs bill here, deficit reduction. the president said the super committee should go big and look at $2 trillion. he's going to outline that coming up on monday. a newly released government report on the massive gulf oil spill finds bp ultimately responsible for the events and problems leading up to the rig explosion and spill. this particular report by the coast guard and offshore oil regulator puts more blame on bp than any previous investigation. nbc's michelle franzen reports. >> reporter: the final government report blames bp for the bulk of events that triggered last year's explosion at the deepwater horizon oil rig, killing 11 workers and resulting in the worst offshore oil spill in u.s. history. the key findings determined bp

made critical errors surrounding the cement seal at macondo exploratory well violating federal regulations. when the company realized those mistakes, did not immediately notify its partners or the u.s. government. energy risk experts say it shows the deadly incident could have been avoided. >> the cement wasn't sufficient. it wasn't tested. and bp ignored industry standards which called for redundancy with the cement casings. >> reporter: bp responded with a statement saying it agreed with the report's core conclusion, the deepwater horizon accident was the result of multiple causes involving multiple parties. other reports have spread the blame to bp partners transocean and haliburton and sperry sun, contractors for the cement steel. the report says they bear some blame but bp was ultimately responsible for conducting operations at macondo in a way that ensured the safety of

personnel, equipment, natural resources and the environment. nearly 5 million barrels of oil spewed into the gulf and caused billion of dollars in damages. >> it reminds us that we have to do everything possible to make sure nothing like this ever happens again in the gulf of mexico or anywhere else. >> reporter: damages and costs that are still being tallied up and down the gulf coast. michelle franzen, nbc news. and now here's a look at some of the other stories making news "early today" in america. in california customers inside a bike shop are lucky to be alive after a car came crashing through the store. the car mowed down everything in its path, narrowly missing two people who managed to jump out of the way. no word on whether charges will be filed against the elderly driver. a rhode island surveillance camera captured one customer's deed after she found a misplaced wallet on the store counter.

the mystery woman turned robbery suspect pulled $200 from the wallet before leaving with her purchases. police were called after the wallet's owner returned and store employees viewed the tape. a colorado cat missing for the past five years has turned up on the streets of new york. vets said the pet shelter learned the cat's backstory after scanning a microchip embedded in its neck. plans are in the works to fly it back to its colorado family. in new york city, the guinness world record holder for the woman with the longest nails was in town and she let her fingers do all the talking. she says she's been growing them for the past 18 years. and with both hands combined her nails measure 19'9". now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. if you have a problem with biting your nails, you would not do well in that situation. >> i don't know how you clean them. you can't use your own hands to clean your nails. gross.

good morning, everyone. we are dealing with an interesting weather pattern across the country. fall has arrived. we went from the heart of summer to, like, middle to end of fall with the snap of a finger. look at the temperature in minneapolis this morning. 37 degrees. 42 in chicago, or 43 in chicago, 42 in kansas city. dallas had one of the hottest summers ever. they are getting relief, too. some area is going back to colorado and idaho, but we are not going to see it get into areas of arizona or california for that matter. temperatures this morning in seattle, a little cool at 58. we are still pretty mild for phoenix through the desert area. 63 in l.a. this morning. all the rainfall that we had in the mountainous area, especially the northern rim of arizona, the flagstaff area, presscott, a pretty dry forecast. the storm system coming up is bringing clouds and showers to the pacific northwest. so i wouldn't rule out a little built of a drizzle or shower in

seattle or anywhere in coastal washington, especially early this morning. and also for the western slopes there we are dealing with a little bit of shower activity. today's forecast in boise, we could get a sparked shower or storm. same for seattle. it will be hit and miss. not a lot of people will see significant weather today. portland, not bad, a little cool for you. much of california will be partly cloudy. temperatures pretty seasonable this time of the year. vegas, 91. phoenix, 96 degrees. you, 89 and cloudy. nice day in salem, oregon, 70 degrees. the transition has started. fall is arriving. >> i'm always envious of the west coast when it comes to temperatures. >> it doesn't change a lot. >> all right, bill, thank you. euro fears easy, oil tumbles

and a childhood favorite gets a makeover. the early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, scarlett johansson is the latest victim in a string of celebrity hackings. coming up, the phillies clench and seek revenge. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm vanita nair and here are your top headlines this morning. the lawyer for a pair of hikers detained in iran tells nbc news he's making bail arrangements for their release. but it is still unclear when that will happen. at a house hearing republicans pressed obama officials on a $535 million loan given to solyndra. a recently bankrupted solar panel manufacturer once channeled by the president. e-mails suggest the administration was in a hurry to provide taxpayer money despite

red flags about their viability. administration officials insist the deal was handled properly. hundreds of people on board a cruise ship off norway's coast have been evacuated after a fire broke out in the ship's engine room. at least two people have been killed and they have received unconfirmed reports of four still missing. a new report shows s.a.t. reading scores for the class of 2011 were the lowest on record combined reading and math scores also fell to their lowest level since 1995. and nasa has unveiled plans for the world's most powerful rocket aimed at launching the first crew of astronauts by 2021. the program's price tag -- $35 billion. and now here is an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,246 after rising 140 points yesterday. the s&p nudged up 15 points and the nasdaq climbed 40. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 150 points,

while in hong kong the hang seng added 136. optimism over europe's deepening debt crisis pushed markets higher again on wednesday. traders were encouraged by news that a common eurozone bond is still a possibility for the debt-ridden region. this as greece appears to be on track to stick to its austerity plan, one of the key conditions to secure the necessary aid to avoid default. industrials led the dow gains once again while investors shrugged off flat retail sales last month. fears americans doing less shopping, will use less fuel helped push oil prices down, more than $1 a barrel. on the nasdaq chip makers and scene disk helped the nasdaq rise for a third day. stock buyback programs were big as well. dell shares rose 3% and staples got a boost as well. in ipo news, groupon is back on track with initial offering plans and could go public as early as late october.

meanwhile, facebook's public debut has been reportedly pushed back to late 2012. the securities and exchange commission is under review over allegations documents from early investigations into several major banks and convicted ponzi schemer bernard madoff were illegally destroyed. s.e.c. officials say the former policy that allowed staffers to discard documents has since been revised. finally, say good-bye to brownies baked under a bulb. energy efficiency has sparked a modern makeover for the easy-bake oven. the old school 100-watt incondescent bulb has been replaced with a heating element like you'll find in a grown-up stove. mariano rivera's pursuit of the major league saves record is put on hold. apparently it wasn't time to forgive and forget at last night's dodgers/diamondbacks game. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and our well-advertised taste of fall is moving into the eastern half of the country.

your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you are just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the mlb playoffs are just starting to take form with the phillies clinching the first postseason berth. here's nbc's fred roggin with an

early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. no celebration, no champagne party in the locker room, just business as usual as the phils clinched another playoff berth. started to be old hat for the phillies. made the playoffs for the fifth year in a row. polanco singled in the only run. the only run in the first inning. roy holliday struck out seven for a complete game shutout. the phillies can sit back and wait for october after the 1-0 win. now to the a.l. west, angels got a win against the a's. trumbo gave them a lead with a two-run shot. the angels may not make the playoffs, but trumbo could likely win the rookie of the year award. could angels make up ground on the rangers? texas had their way with cleveland. hamilton with a eighth run fourth with a grand slam. they had a 9-1 win. the yankees and mariners needed extras and rodriguez ended it with a big swing.

seattle's luis rodriguez, a so low shot to right. mariners walked off with a 2-1 win in 12. finally, the dodgers won't make the playoffs but they're making the final weeks of the season pretty entertaining. we'll take you back to tuesday night against arizona. hong-chih kuo almost took girardo parra's head off, wasn't happy, stared kuo down. a few pitches later he did this, a solo home run. parra watched the ball go over the wall and that didn't sit well with the dodger dugout. clayton kershaw gave him an earful as he crossed home plate. we fast forward to last night when kershaw did more than just talk. in the sixth, parra at the plate and clayton exacted his revenge, hit him on the elbow. that was it for kershaw, he was immediately tossed. don mattingly came out to defend his pitcher. he was tossed too. all in all, not a bad night for kershaw. he got his man, earned his 19th win of the year and, more importantly, made our show. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. which legendary sitcom star is getting a royal title? your early morning entertainment

headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll show you a group of determined senior citizens who put their intelligence to the test. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this thursday. the update on your forecast today. we are looking at umbrellas for

areas of northern idaho. it won't rain all that much, though. in seattle you could deal with some drizzle, especially the coastal areas, as the front comes onshore with the clouds. portland, you should be dry. metford, same for you. all areas there in california look dry today. and arizona, after a couple days with hit-and-miss storms, including the vegas area, a dry day today. a peek at the tomorrow forecast, not a lot of changes with temperatures similar. we are still dealing with showers in the inner mountain west. well, if you are watching us on kgtv in bakersfield, california, see masks and swords at an exhibit featuring all things warrior at lethal beauty samurai weapons and armor. that's your pacific event of the day. here is an early look at this morning's entertainment headlines. the on again/off again romance between cameron diaz and alex rodriguez is reportedly caput. a source close to a-rod tells

"us weekly" they broke up because the actress is too busy with her career and the yankee slugger wants to focus on his game. scarlett johansson appears to be the latest victim of a nude photo hacking after multiple naked cell phone pics of the actress showed up on various websites wednesday. an fbi spokeswoman tells e news the agency is on the case. former "happy days" stars henry winkler is getting royal recognition. queen elizabeth has given him title of honorary excellence of the british empire for his work with children. and finally, remember the white house gate crashers, the salahis? tareq reported his wife michaele a member of "the real housewives of d.c." missing on tuesday. turns out she was in memphis with a guitarist for the band journey and didn't want her husband to know her whereabouts. they are still married, but there are reports by tmz that says she could be dating the

guit guitarist. >> maybe he was hoping not to find her. >> they are so not scandalous. >> enough already. >> exactly. this comes to us from wtvj, nbc miami in florida, where in nearby pembrook pines seniors in a battle of brain power and big words. >> frank, your word is injunction. >> injection? >> injunction. >> injunction? >> injunction. >> contestants ranging in age from 68 to 92 showcased their spelling skills at their community center's first annual spelling bee, proving even in retirement their wisdom is well beyond their years. i'm vinita nair and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

in china four die-hard giant panda lovers have landed their dream job. after several rounds of competition, the so-called pan-bassadors were chosen out of over 60,000 contestants. the prize? a chance to conduct research at a panda-breeding base. it aims to bring light to the serious threat of the panda's long-term survival. one turtle in florida is lucky to be alive and swimming once again. a sea turtle was rescued by locals last month after it was found swimming with a four-foot fishing spear embedded in its head. a surgeon carefully removed the spear after about five weeks of recuperation it was released back into the wild.

the guinness world record announced its picks for 2012. then they were asked to go to london. a few of the turnouts, the most elastic woman fitting herself into a tennis racket. and the most pierced man with, get this, 453 piercings in all. the longest line of jump roping dogs showed off their skills and the fastest wedding chapel on wheels was there. that used to be a fire truck, so it's about 62 miles an hour. it is pretty fast. >> you can go to vegas now and just not stop and go straight through. >> one more great decision, right? it is time for an early look at some of the stories we'll be following throughout the day here on nbc. at the white house, former u.s. marine dakota meyer will receive the medal of honor, the military's highest award for saving the lives of 13 u.s. service members along with afghan soldiers two years ago. he's the first living marine to be recognized for his actions in

afghanistan or iraq. the postmaster general will announce a plan that could save the postal service billions of dollars annually by eliminating mail processing facilities and pressing suppliers to cut costs. and today actor tommy lee jones turns 65. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." finally, here is a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. ann curry reports live from iran on conflicting reports about the release of the jailed american hikers. will they finally get their freedom? and singer/songwriter gavin degraw performs live in the studio. keep it on this channel for continuing local news, sports, weather and more. i'm vinita nair. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.

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