this morning on "early today," supreme request. the obama administration takes its case over the president's health care law to the nation's highest court. final minutes. those around michael jackson at the time of his death revealed chilling details about the day he died. and bird's-eye view. the unique perspective of crews asssing earthquake damage to the washington monument. 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 the high-stakes appeal. the obama administration has asked the supreme court to review the president's landmark legislation requiring almost every american to have health insurance. if the court agrees to hear the case, a constitutional ruling would likely arrive in the thick of the 2012 campaign. nbc's tracie potts joins us with more from washington. tracie, good morning. >> hey, lynn, good morning. neither side wants to see that, so both the obama administration and the 26 states and small businesses that oppose this law have all asked the u.s. supreme court to speed up their decision early 2012 instead of later as might be typical for a big she decision like this to put it too close to the election. at issue as you mentioned is the individual mandate, everyone, almost everyone, having to buy health insurance by 2014 or you face a penalty. but those 26 states who oppose are now asking the court not only to strike down the mandate

but the entire law. three federal courts have made three different rules, one thing is constitutional, one saying it is not, one saying it is too early to make a decision. now the entire issue has been put in the laps of the u.s. supreme court. we'll find out what they'll say and how soon they may make that ruling. lynn? >> traciepotts in washington, thank you. a 26-year-old man is behind bars this morning after federal agents uncovered what they call a home-grown terror plot to attack federal buildings with remote controlled model airplanes. fbi agents searched the home of rezwan ferdaus yesterday in a sting operation in which undercover agents posed as al qaeda operatives and recovered

machine guns and c-4 explosives. according to federal documents the plan was to pack model planes similar to the one seen here with explosives and target the pentagon and u.s. capitol building in a jihad-style attack. los angeles, day three of michael jackson's attorney of conrad murray gets under way. murray stands charge of invroman involuntary manslaughter. yesterday we learned more about jackson's final moments from his personal assistant and chief of security. nbc's stephanie stanton has more. >> reporter: day two of this high-profile celebrity trial. jackson family members expressed gratitude to the support of fans outside the courthouse. >> shall be the truth, the whole truth -- >> reporter: inside the courtroom, jackson's personal assistant michael williams testified about those critical minutes when dr. murray first realized jackson wasn't breathing and the frantic phone calls between the two. >> he said, get here right away. mr. jackson had a bad reaction. >> reporter: he described the scene in the bedroom. >> he appeared to be

administering cpr. he appeared very nervous. >> reporter: he also talked about the reaction of jackson's children. >> paris was on the ground, balled up crying. >> reporter: on tuesday, the prosecution played a chilling audiotape of what sounded like an incoherent jackson. >> when people leave my show -- >> reporter: after court murray 's defense offered an explanation. >> when don't know what he took or what he was doing, but when michael jackson didn't have a doctor near him, he self-medicated. >> reporter: a claim that jackson family members have strongly denied. stephanie stanton, nbc news, los angeles. and now here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. beginning with a video our viewers may find disturbing. a horrific shooting on a crowded new york city street nearly took the life of one teen on tuesday. the shooting stemmed from an earlier argument between the victim and his attacker.

although shot multiple times, the victim is listed in critical but stable condition. no arrests have been made. bank robbers in michigan barrelled down the road, attempting to avoid police in a rental truck. the suspects weaved through traffic, tossing money from the truck as police pursued. officers retrieved some of the cash before ending the chase and arresting two men. in the nation's capital in what looked like a scene from a hollywood action movie a team of specialists repelled down the washington monument wednesday to i spect the damage done to the 550-foot marble structure by last month's earthquake. they hope to announce a timetable by mid-october for repairing and reopening the monument. and finally, in maryland, two pot-pellied pigs are no longer free to roam. the former house pets were collared in a park by animal control officers who feared the pigs were malnourished and in danger of being hurt. the animals are now living in a

shelter until someone comes forward to adopt them. for a look at your national and regional weather domenica davis from wnbc 4 new york. she has your forecast. good morning to you, domenica. >> good morning to you. the beat or heat goes on in the east. it is quiet weather out to the west. not much happening once again. we are looking at pretty comfortable temperatures here as well. here's a look at the radar, no systems coming into the picture. we have a few clouds around the coast tomorrow, other than that it is a pretty quiet picture for at least, really, right into the weekend. so not much happening. here's a look at your thursday forecast. pretty quiet in san francisco, 75. plenty of sunshine along the coast, to the northwest, seattle, 72. 94 in medford. 82 in portland. and then you can see temperatures up throw the mountains stay in the upper 60s. we'll get a touch warmer for friday, so we'll see temperatures along the coast get a little bit cooler.

then that cloud cover starts to come in, but we'll stay rain-free. some isolated showers and thunderstorms in parts of phoenix. that's mainly through the western part of phoenix and then through the mountains we'll see temperatures warm up into the 80s. that's a look at your regional fallon, nevada. red bluffs, temperatures nice there as well, 97 degrees. >> all right. thank you so much. well, stocks go into reverse, amazon stands tall, and the fight over who's going to pay for your 3-d movie glasses. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll tell you who dared to trash the singing ability of lady gaga.

a walkoff, a blowout and two collapses for the record books. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry and here are some of your top headlines this morning. health officials warn more deaths may be linked to the deadly outbreak of listeria from cantaloupes in the coming weeks. so far 13 deaths have been confirmed and three more are being investigated. officials say the tainted fruit is out of stores but suggests consumers who have cantaloupe at home throw them out to be safe. meanwhile, tyson is recalling 130,000 pounds of ground beef due to e. coli contamination. the meat sickened four ohio children. a new pew center report says hispanics make up the largest group of u.s. children living in poverty. with over 6 million kids, it's the first time white children have been outnumbered by another race or ethnicity living in

poverty. in brazil a jaguar fleeing a wildfire was rescued from a tree. the animal was tranquilized and brought down safely. it will be taken to a sanctuary that rehabilitates wild animals. now here's an early look at how wall street will kickoff the day. the dow opens at 11,010 after tumbling 179 points yesterday. the s&p fell 24 points. the nasdaq dropped 55. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo the nikkei grew 85 points, but in hong kong the hang seng lost 119. tuesday's winners were wednesday's losers on wall street where until europe gets its house in order, trade is expected to ebb and flow with developments across the atlantic. renewed concern over european debt led to stiff drops in energy and metals which both zoomed higher tuesday. gold fell and copper tumbled as

did shares in freeport copper and gold. shares in coal producer alpha natural plummeted 11%. oil was off $3 a barrel sending energy stocks falling. the dow jumped higher after opening on a report august orders for manufacturer goods fell less than expected. but news and rumors from across the pond darkened the mood with international auditors slated to pass judgment on new loans for greece today. new disagreements broke out over greece's bailout. and germany's angela merkel, a strong supporter of expanding europe's bailout fund, fought off a revolt on her own government on the issue. still there were bright spots. amazon rose after unveiling its new touchscreen tablet, kindle fire. price tag? only $199. jabil soared on earnings that beat expectations. and reebok will pay $25 million

onsetling charges saying easy-tone shoes strengthen leg, thigh and buttock muscles. as if there's not enough drama at the movies. now fema owners are up in arms after sony's decision to stop paying for 3-d glasses next may, a cost ultimately passed on to movie goers. the theater association wrote an angry letter calling the move insensitive during these tough economic times. can they write a letter about how expensive popcorn is? coming up, spills, chills and thrills on the last day of baseball's regular season, including a dramatic ninth inning, two-out game-tying home run for the rays ahead of even more drama to come. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. quiet in the west and still dealing with wet weather in the east. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, wow, that's really the only way to describe it. baseball's final playoff spots may have been decided last night but this morning, some fans are probably still out of breath. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. it was the kind of night that will go down in baseball history. red sox and rays tied in the

a.l., cards and braves tied in the national league. let's get right to it. let's start in the american league. rays down 7-0 when they start a remarkable comeback. manufacturing three runs to start the eighth. then evan longoria gives them three more, a home run to left, and the yanks on to the ninth inning race down to the final out. would you believe it? pinch-hitter dan johnson rips a solo home run that barely clears the wall. tampa rallies to score seven runs and force extra innings. meantime in baltimore, the red sox were on their way to a 3-2 win when they completely collapsed. nolan reimold ties it with a ground-rule double. in comes kyle hudson, andino with a shot to left. carl crawford can't make the catch. reimold hustling to score the winning run. red sox fall apart one final time. they lose 4-3. now back to tampa, literally three minutes after the boston collapse, this happens. evan longoria with a walk-off home run to send the rays into the playoffs. what a finish, what a turn of events. tampa punching their ticket to

the postseason. to the national league, no drama between the cards and astros. albert pujols getting things done with an rbi single. st. louis scores five in the first inning. from there it was all chris carpenter, a complete game shutout. cards do their job. they win 8-0. so can atlanta win and force a one-game playoff with st. louis? unfortunately for them, no. phillies forcing extra innings with a sac fly in the ninth. then in the 13th, hunter pence singles in the go-ahead run. phillies up 4-3. they beat the braves. cardinals can celebrate. they're in the playoffs. like boston and atlanta with an epic september collapse. if this is how the postseason is going to play out, we're in for a wild ride. that's a look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. which tv actresses make the most money and who just bought an $18 million long island mansion? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, a lot of time, effort and technology go into crime fighting. but sometimes all it takes is a grandmother and a skillet. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." i'm domenica davis. 72 in seattle right now. temperatures are quiet with plenty of sunshine. a little bit on the warm side. a few clouds moving down to the south. inland we have the cooler temperatures. that changes tomorrow, though. the warmer air starts to travel

east and we'll get a little bit of a cool down here around the coast with some cloud moving into the picture as well. not too bad, san francisco, you'll keep the clouds, 69 degrees. 82 in los angeles. could see a few isolated thunderstorms in parts of arizona with a high of 104 degrees. 100 for the high in vegas as we head into the weekend. if you're watching us on kcra-3 in sacramento, california, see betty white and barbara streisand and many more at the california hall of fame. it is at the california museum. that's your pacific event of the day. lynn? >> thanks so much. now, here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. according to forbes there's no reason why any of tv's "desperate housewives" should be that desperate. eva longoria sits tied atop the magazine's list of top paid female actresses taking in $13 million for the year ending in may. longoria at 36 was also youngest on the list.

tina fey tied for number one also at $13 million. wisteria lane's marcia cross tied with second place for marg helgenberger taking in $10 million. housewife felicity huffman with $9 million. jennifer lopez has plunked down $18 million for two acre, seven bedroom estate in new york's hamptons. and finally, the notoriously tough judge of musical talent simon cowell has lived up to his reputation telling england's mirror that lady gaga is, quote, the most boring singer in the world. and for good measure he quickly added beyonce or katy perry. i wouldn't say boring. >> sometimes he says things to

say things. >> he has to make noise. and this comes to us from wfmj in youngstown, ohio, where in nearby warren one grandmother showed age is nothing but a number when it comes to protecting your family. 74-year-old flossie didn't flinch when she discovered two teenage thieves inside her son's home. when one pulled a knife, the former bounty hunter shielded her grandson and picked up a skillet to threaten the suspects with. she sent them both scurrying out of the house with their lives intact and a lesson they won't soon forget. i'm lynn berry, this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

for competitors winning a race in china this week was an uphill battle. motorcyclists gathered to race up a staircase over 4500 feet long. the track was fitted with a special pavement for the event and was wide enough for two competitors at a time. one racer said the challenge wasn't riding up the slope but maintaining speed on the bumpy stairs. this next competition was no small feat. a long jumper preparing for next year's olympics made the very big leap over three parked mini coopers. the jumper made it across two platforms with the cars lined up below. he said the distance wasn't the biggest challenge but getting into the right mindset.

finally, time to throw away the stain remover in the name of fashion, at least according to starbucks. the coffee giant teamed up with a top designer to create this, a t-shirt with a fake large coffee stain that drips over it. messy fashion comes at a price, though. 85 bucks, or in barrista language, 17 carmel frappuccinos. i love this because i can have coffee all over my shirt and i can say it's a new fashion trend. that's what all the kid are doing these days. >> exactly. but i don't know if the kid will be paying $85. that's a steep price. some will do it, though. some will do it. >> i guess it's a big designer maybe? >> starbucks, a big designer? >> no, the designer they teamed up with. maybe that would be a justification, i can't tell. it's time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. nasa will discuss new data from mercury obtained by its messenger spacecraft helping unravel the planet's history and evolution.

the spacecraft captured a historic image last march. the first take in orbiting the inner-most planet. there will be a status hearing in the case of the long-time girlfriend of reputed gangster whitey bulger. she has pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to harbor a fugitive for allegedly helping bulger evade capture for more than 16 years. prosecutors plan on bringing additional charges. and pioneer rocker jerry lee lewis turns 76. all day long you can stay on top of the very 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 a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. witnesses recount michael jackson's final hours during day two of the trial of jackson's doctor. and matt lauer reports live from italy where amanda knox's sisters talk about how their family has dealt with the international scandal. and now 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. have a good one.