[ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today" -- diplomatic scramble. president obama heads to the united nations with a potential crisis over palestinian statehood looming. open service. the ban on gays and lesbians in the u.s. military officially becomes history. and rotten in denmark? thieves swipe a gold necklace found in the wreckagof the thieves swipe a gold necklace found in the wreckagof the titanic. 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. today we begin with delicate diplomacy.

palestinian president mahmoud abbas is not backing down on plans to make a controversial bid for full united nations statehood this as president obama addresses the u.n. general assembly with hopes of convincing the palestinians to take a different path to recognition. nbc's tracie potts joins us with more on this. >> reporter: good morning. 18 years of failed negotiations. so now he is petitioning. but the white house says that the white house will veto, will block that effort. president obama is set to sit down with benjamin netanyahu but the white house says there's no plans to meet with the palestinian president abbas.

the white house is saying there is only one two-stay solution here and it is through peace negotiations that have broken do down. there was some encouragement by the arab uprising. to get those peace talks started again. >> thanks. yesterday in a direct challenge to the gop, president obama laid out his plan to balance the budget. taking aim at america's richest. republicans made it clear his proposal won't get any support from them. nbc's steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: president obama chat challenging republicans. >> this is not class warfare. it's math. >> reporter: to reduce the deficit, $3 trillion, the president would cut $580 billion

from medicare and medicaid, not social security. save $1 trillion in iraq and afghanistan. and hike taxes $1.5 trillion, using the warren buffett rule, tax the rich. >> if we made spending cuts, many we wouldn't make if we weren't facing such large budget deficits, then it's only right we ask everyone to pay their fair share. >> reporter: the well off would go back to mid-1990's rates and lose some deductions. >> it is a modest change in revenues. if you do it sensibly through tax revenue, you'll make growth in the united states stronger. >> reporter: house speaker boehner said, no way. >> tax the rich, tax the rich. it's not going to get our economy going again. it's not going to put people back to work. >> reporter: boehner and the president almost agreed to tax hikes in july. the grand bargain. but many democrats want a grand battle.

>> best manner we can -- >> reporter: the president is on the high side of public opinion. what he hasn't been able to do so far is make that work for him in congress. now he's trying to go over the heads of lawmakers and force them to go along with him. >> it's time to do what's right. >> reporter: this was step one. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. here's a look at other stories making news in america. a driver in indianapolis nearly drove his dump truck off an elevated section of interstate 65. witnesses say the driver lost control, rolling up and over a cement barrier before coming to a stop with the front end dangling. the driver was unhurt and a cause has yet to be determined. police in michigan suspect a crash that ended the lives of two people was due to drag racing. the two people killed were passengers inside a truck that smashed into a building. the driver survived and is expected to be charged in connection with the deaths.

big one that got away is a fishing story one florida teen will not have to tell. look at that. with the help of a friend, the 19-year-old captured a 12-foot long 300 -pound alligator. he was able to reel in the massive animal by pulling it on his boat with a fishing rod and killing it with a 44 caliber bang stick and harpoon. and finally, the 25th annual harvest and herb festival is getting a lot of attention with a competitive event. it's the pumpkin chunkin' competition. they use a medieval apparatus to launch pumpkins and the team able to launch the furthest wins. now for a look at your national and regional weather let's check in with ryan phillips. i'm from ohio. i know how the state fairs go. >> who needs a contraption and

what do you win? another contraption? we have quite the variety. yesterday was outstanding. 104 in phoenix. lots of sunshine in the bay area with temperatures in the upper 80s. yesterday was a little cooler. we're into the 50s. and we're into the lower 60s for an francisco and los angeles. a huge ridge of high pressure in place. that's keeping conditions very dry. the month of september has been very dry for sure. only a trace of precipitation there in los angeles. with that ridge in place, the sunshine stays and the shower chances are non-existent. oregon.

and arizona is a little cooler. so this pattern will continue. need a little bit of rain, though. >> thanks so much. italy is downgraded. apple is bumped up and another flub by net flix. plus, fired for behaving badly, charlie sheen is about to enjoy a very good lawsuit settlement. coming up, a save for the record books. hands down, the best touchdown catch of the season. you're watching "early today."

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

morning. the military's ban on gays serving openly ended at 12:01 a.m. eastern time today. the lifting of don't ask, don't tell means an end to all pending investigations and discharges that began under the law. in yemen protesters and military detectors seized a base of the elite republican guards signaling what could be the start of the collapse of the regime of yemen's president. at least 50 people have been killed in a flareup of violence that started last weekend. several english media outlets are reporting news corps's english publishing unit is offering $4.7 million to settle the phone-hacking case with the family of murdered teen milly dowler. it's the largest offer yet to "news of the world's" phone hacking. the fbi says violent crimes dropped 6% last year marking the fourth consecutive year of declines. robbery's posted the biggest

drop, down 10%. and a necklace recovered from the wreckage of the titanic has been stolen from an exhibit in denmark. the nearly $19,000 piece, taken without any alarms sounding, likely belonged to a woman who survived the 1912 sinking. can and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11401 after falling 108 points yesterday. the s&p dropped 11 point. the nasdaq lost 9. taking a look at overseas trading this morning n tokyo the nikkei sank 142 points but in hong kong the hang seng nudged up 96. once again, worries about what will happen if greece defaults on its debt took a toll on markets yesterday. fortunately, a late day rally helped stocks recover most of the day's losses. investors were encouraged after what one greek official called a productive conference call with european lenders but there may

be more volatility today. asian markets were mostly lower on news that s&p has now downgraded italy's debt rating. speaking of downgrades, the security and exchange commission subpoenaed several firms on possible insider trading ahead of the recent historic downgrade of this country's credit rating. else wear, the head of the house judiciary committee says an outside investigator is needed to determine whether politics played a role in a $528 million federal loan for bankrupt solyndra. a weakening outlook from u.s. home builders did little to help stocks yesterday. however, home builder lanard got a boost from stronger than expected earnings. apple hit a record high price to unseat exxonmobil.

goodrich was pushed up 16%. tyco's plans to split into three separate companies drove its stock 2% higher. shares of former market darling netflix tumbled on plans to spin off its dvd division into a separate service called qwikster. if that's not bad enough, the twitter handle qwikster, whose guy's avatar is a pot-smoking elmo. he says he is willing to sell, but that would violate twitter policy. can't catch a break there. tony stewart draws first blood, one step forward, one step back for the red sox. and a record-setting save for mo. plus, a new york giant's juggling act mesmerizes the rams. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. rains moving east. sunshine dominating the west. a look at your regional forecast is still to come. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today". in sports, for years now the new york yankees successfully closing a game with rivera has become as inevitable as death and taxes. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. he's a 12-time all-star, five time world series champ and now the yankees' mariano rivera is the best closer to play the

game. to the bronx, pitching a perfect ninth inning for save 602. passed trevor hoffman for the most saves, fitting he did it in new york. rivera etches his names in the record books. the red sox dropped the first of a doubleheader with the orioles. andino smashing a home run in the fourth. baltimore won 6-5. however, the sox not only won game two, they did it in decisive fashion. jacoby ellsbury with a shot to center. the ball took a bounce off the wall and that's all he needed. kick it into high gear. outfielders were chasing, jacoby was flying. got the green light to come home

and was safe standing up. inside-the-park home run. red sox remain two games ahead of the rays with an 18-9 win. now to miami. it's not a dolphins game. that's just their logo behind second base. marlins get little respect in south beach. maybe this will help. a walkoff homer against the braves. marlins did something dolphins can't do, they won 6-4. nascar after a 24-hour rain delay, the chase for the cup began in chicago. tony stewart took the checkered flag, seven points now behind kevin harvick. finally one play you have to see from monday night football. giants against the rams. eli manning airing it out. domenik hixon came up with the juggling grab for a score. hixon bobbled it not once but twice before hauling it in and falling to the ground. it's only week to. but that is the touchdown catch of the season. giants won it 28-16. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> announcer: "early today" sports is brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some gray never all. a new arrival rocking the show biz world. well, at least our little world here at 30 rock. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, a daring proposal to

an unaware girlfriend on the job. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." we're inching closer to the start of fall, our days are getting shorter and don't we ever know that in alaska. some shower chances in the cards for you. sunshine in abundance.

temperatures here ranging from the 90s to 100s still in the desert southwest in phoenix. more of the same, lots of sun. salt lake city at 83. denver mostly cloudy and 65. back to alaska we go. if you are watching us on ktuu, channel 2, learn more about elephants' primitive cousins through games and life sized displays. very interesting. >> i like that picture, too. thank you so much. and now here is an early show even if charlie sheen never finds a network he definitely won't be suffering. sheen and warner brothers, the producer, are said to be close to settling sheen's $100 million

wrongful termination lawsuit. he will receive an initial payment of $25 million and over the next ten years, $100 million in syndication. well, dolores hope, bob hope's wife of 69 years, died yesterday of natural causes at the age of 102. for decades hope accompanied her husband, singing on christmas tours, actress and friend cheryl channing said of hope, they didn't come any more patriotic, caring or talented than dolores. and finally, a new star is born. arriving sunday afternoon. weighing in at an even 7 pounds. her name is taylor baye karins, brand new daughter of bill karins and his wife. she is beautiful already. we congratulate them and wish them the best. he is probably up with us already. >> she is adorable and cute

already. >> already has a little smile there. we will bring her in here and get her a cameo as soon as we can. this comes to us from kdlt tv in sioux falls, south dakota, where the newscast was interrupted by one anchor's boyfriend with some breaking news of his own. jennifer was left speechless after learning her boyfriend had enlisted her co-anchor to help him propose on live tv. >> will you marry me? >> oh, my god. yes! >> it would have been awkward if she said no. we're sure that this time she is pretty happy to make some of her own news. congratulations to her. well, i'm lynn berry and this is "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

the primate family tree just got a little bigger. a skull estimated to be 20 million years old was unearthed beneath a volcano in uganda. archaeologists showed off the fossil saying it's the most complete of its kind, classified as a new species, thought to be a male around 10 years old with teeth intact, helping paint a better picture of ancient diets and brain size. here's proof farming can be fun and whacky. the fifth annual cultivator races in croatia. cultivators, tractors and plows. while the race pits farmer against farmer, the toughest competitor there proved to be the mud and hills.

but kept things interesting. well, diamonds may be a girl's best friend. this next gem could be a close second. the world's first gold and jewel encrusted car was unveiled in mumbai on monday. the bedazzled ride was made of 170 pounds of gold, 33 pounds of silver and a slew of assorted jewels. although it's not yet for sale, it's said to be worth $4.6 million. it needs like theme music as you're driving along, doesn't it? it's just too flashy. >> spend a ton of money on the car but save a ton of money on gas. >> a smart car. they're thinking there, right? time for an early look at stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the postal service issues its new save vanishing species stamp featuring the image of a tiger cub. the stamps will sell for 55 cents each with proceeds going to help save threatened species, including tigers, elephants and marine turtles.

former california governor arnold schwarzenegger will address the united nations about climate change. he plans to encourage international leaders to explore the benefits of clean energy and appeal to the private sector to build, quote, better nations through sustainable investments. and happy birthday to sophia loren, who turns 77. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on nbc. tonight watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. the author of a controversial new book on president obama's handling of the economy speaks out live. paula abdul is live in studio to talk about her highly anticipated reunion with simon cowell on "the x-factor." keeping it on this channel for continuing weather, sports and news. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching today. just your first stop of the day on your nbc station. have a good one.

[ man ] it's big. responds in a moment's notice. supports in times of need. same with aladdin. aladdin became the biggest in bail by treating people right. no one has lower prices, is faster or more professional than aladdin. that's why more people turn to aladdin than anyone. aladdin bail bonds. bigger because we're better.