i'm jim cramer. see you tomorrow. this morning on "early today," going to extremes. the first day of summer brings record-setting heat across the nation. no offense on defense. the man at the center of the child sex abuse scandal that rocked penn state decides not to take the stand. and major milestone, what england's prince william will be and major milestone, what england's prince william will be celebrating today. 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 summer scorcher. it may only have been the first day of the summer scorcher, but across the country it already feels like the middle of a long

hot summer. nbc's jay gray has more. >> reporter: a heat wave continues to sweep across much of the country right now. >> it's sticky is how i'd describe it. >> reporter: sticky, stifling, and likely to stay around for a while. >> record heat on the way for the city of boston. >> mostly windy, sunny, and hot again this afternoon. >> reporter: so hot even forecasters are looking for a little relief. the more traditional dunk in detroit is at community swimming pools, and charlotte water parks are packed while outside of boston hundreds are hoping to beat the heat at the beach. >> it's kind of crazy. >> it's great. >> whoo! >> reporter: it's anything but a day at the beach for those that have to work in the blazing sun. whether it's laying bricks or cutting lawns, crews battling near 100-degree temperatures have to take plenty of breaks and stay hydrated. >> keep my water and my gatorade, and i'm all set for the day. >> reporter: in philadelphia, free ice cream is helping to

keep things cool, but in the end on the first day of summer, these kids seem to have figured out the best way to beat the heat. jay gray, nbc news. a republican led house committee voted to cite eric holder for contempt. this after president obama invoked executive privilege to withhold documents the committee was seeking on the controversial fast and furious operation that allowed mexican gangs to obtain guns. the white house charged the committee is engaging in a taxpayer funded election year fishing expedition. despite holder giving republicans over 7,000 represented documents, that wasn't enough to stop the committee's action. steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: all 23 republicans on the committee voted for contempt. all 17 democrats were opposed. >> the ayes have it. >> reporter: u.s. attorney general eric holder possibly

headed to a contempt vote on the house floor. president obama tried to prevent it, invoking executive privilege, denying house republicans internal documents on "fast and furious," the kind used in criminal cases and often withheld from congress. everyone agrees that gun-running sting went bad, letting mexican gangs walk away with 2,000 assault weapons. >> who knew about "fast and furious," when did they know about it, and how high up did it go? >> reporter: house republicans had suspected holder knew and covered up. now they say they suspect president obama. >> and what in the world is he exerting executive privilege for? he's either part of it or he's not. >> reporter: democrats charge it's not about guns or guts or cover-up. >> it's politics. >> it shouldn't be a political witch hunt against the attorney general of our country and our president in an election year. >> reporter: but the battle rages on.

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, capitol hill. well, after just seven days of testimony, closing arguments are set for today in the child sex abuse trial of former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky. despite suggestions by his lawyer that he might testify, the defense rested wednesday without calling sandusky to the stand to dispute 51 criminal charges of the alleged abuse of ten boys over a 15-year period. now, if convicted the 68-year-old former defensive coordinator could be sent to state prison for the rest of his life. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in tennessee a traffic camera captured a bicyclist being run down by an suv whose driver just kept on going. the cyclist was thrown some 30 feet as the driver just took off. the victim had to be airlifted to the hospital and is now recovering. police are still looking for the driver. in san francisco flames

ripped through the roof of a large pier along the city's famed waterfront. the fire caused part of the front of the building to tear away and crash right to the ground. that pier was undergoing construction and was set to be the home base for the america's cup next year. no one was hurt. and, finally, in nebraska, they're the tiniest of rodeo riders. about 80 kids did their best to hang on in the mutton bustin' competition. they traded in their cowboy hats for some safety helmets as they rode lambs for as long as they could. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. you've been busy today. is anyone going on in the weather department? >> a little heat, floods, maybe something tropical forming in the gulf. but yesterday the big weather story was the heat. but the big local weather story, only hit a small part in northern minnesota was extreme

flooding. they had about anyone inches and the zoo even got flooded out. it did take the lives of a few of the animals. the heats has been the story in the middle of the country. and of course the heat continues in the desert southwest. everywhere in the pink from vegas to phoenix, above 100. portland hit 81 and seattle was pretty nice yesterday, too. today a beautiful cool more than. desert southwest warm. the real cutoff of the really warm air and cooler air is right through northern arizona up near the rim. and so that's where the hot air conditions. that cool air won't make it down to you. in the northwest, today is the last day of really beautiful weather you'll see. you'll see this upper level low off the coast bringing you showers and clouds and cooler weather as we head towards the weekend. season joy today. another gorgeous day in many areas of the

still warm in areas of arizona. no relief in sight for tucson. >> all right, bill, thanks so much. well, coming up, big ben gives but not enough for wall street, bad news for mcdonald's, and what one multi-millionaire ceo bought to indulge himself. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, alec baldwin goes on the comedy offensive in the wake of his dust-up with a new york photographer. a record-setting night at yankee stadium, and college football takes another step toward a playoff system. 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. egyptians are protesting the delayed announcement of the winner in the presidential vote, while allegations of election abuse are investigated. that could affect whether an islamic candidate or a former military officer becomes the country's next leader. in sanford, florida, bill lee has been fired as police chief for his initial handling of the shooting of unarmed black teenager trayvon martin by neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman. the city manager said they need a police chief all citizens can support. painter leroy neiman, best known for his quick impressionistic paintings of famed athletes and sporting events has died at age 91. and england's prince william is celebrating his 30th birthday privately today. turning 30 also means that william inherits almost $15 million from the trust fund of his mother, princess diana. well, now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com.

a new study finds up to eight alcoholic drinks per week during pregnancy may be okay. children of mothers who had up to eight drinks did not have any higher risk of attention or iq deficits than children of women who drank no alcohol. however, mothers who did have more than eight drinks were linked to an increased risk of attention problems in their children. and for more information on this and other health stories, you can check out the health page at msnbc.com. >> announcer: "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil wash with odor block, the confident clean. and now here's an early look at how wall street's going to kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,824 after losing 12 points yesterday. the s&p was down 2. the nasdaq was up a fraction. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei rose 71 points, but in hong kong the hang sang sank 253. well, stocks barely budged wednesday as a largely symbolic

move by the fed failed to impress investors. after slashing its forecast through 2014, ben bernanke announced the fed will extend operation twist, which seeks to lower borrowing costs through securities purchases by the fed through year's end, but wall street was disappointed that more action such as another bond buying program would have to wait. concerns about weakening demand deepened with procter & gamble lowering its quarterly growth forecast, sending it down 3%. another weak outlook came from bed bath & beyond. the retailer tumbled 10% in late trade. tech stocks were the day's biggest gainers. jabil circuit soared 7%. meanwhile adobe systems slid 3% after slashing its revenue outlook. an illinois woman is hoping to cash in with a class action lawsuit over linkedin's recent security breach. burger king rose 3% after returning to the big board

wednesday. the world's number two burger chain last traded as a public company back in 2010. meanwhile mcdonald's, the number one fast food chain, ranked last in customer satisfaction, according to a new national poll. crude prices dropped near eight-month lows, just above $80 a barrel this morning. yesterday the government's first offshore oil lease auction near the location of the gulf oil disaster brought in $1.7 billion. and, finally, oracle's ceo larry ellison is buying himself an island. but not just any island. he's shelling out an estimated $500 million to $600 million for 98% of the hawaiian island of lanai. must be nice. well, coming up, the phils catch a break, big papi goes yard, and an inside-the-park home run. plus, known as the site of plenty of home runs, still new york yankee stadium has never seen a home run derby like this one. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather as we head toward

the upcoming weekend, our temperatures are going to return to where they should be. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports after years of complaints about how college football crowns its national champion, yesterday a solution may have emerged.

here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. hi, there. good morning. we'll start with the big news out of college football. the bcs conferences have agreed to a 14-playoff system. a committee will decide which teams qualify, based on conference championship and strength of schedule. if approved by the bcs presidential committee, the playoff will begin in 2014. now to the diamond where the yankees and braves set a new yankee stadium record, combining for nine home runs. jason hayward left the yard twice. braves win the home run derby, 10-5. nine homers there. how about eight between the mariners and diamondbacks. ryan roberts with the toughest one of them all. fly ball takes a crazy bounce off the wall. miguel montero scores. roberts says i'm going to score too. hustles around third. the throw to the plate is there,but the catcher can't handle it. an inside-the-park home run. d'backs win a barn burner, 14-10. there's no way david ortiz is going to hit an inside-the-

park home run, but he can do this. a grand slam for big papi. red sox have their way with the marlins. they win it, 15-5. rockies and phillies. tied at five in the ninth. two outs with the bases loads. placido polanco with a grounder. marco scutaro hauls it in, but his throw to first pulls todd helton off the bag. polanco is safe, and the winning run scores. not pretty, but the phils will take it. they win this one, 6-5. and, finally, hockey's best were in las vegas yesterday. no, not to see celine dion, but for the nhl awards. some notable winners, the rangers' henrik lundqvist won the vezina trophy. for the league's top goalie, senators' erik karlsson took home the norris trophy for top defensemen, and the penguins' sniper evgeni malkin won his first mvp award. soak it up, hockey fans. this could be the last time you see these guys for a while. there's a real threat of a lockout next season. and that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. >> reporter: "early today" sports is brought to you by just for men moustache and beard. keep your beard.

well, jim carrey says no, and you won't believe who gets trashed by their kissing co-stars. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, a long lost wedding ring makes a happy return. you're watching "early today."

what a beautiful day in the west before washington state, oregon looking betwegood. boise looking good. salt lake city, the heat beginning to return, but nothing like the desert who will bake near 110 degrees. want to show you seattle's forecast. enjoy today. 76. it will get cool and cloudy and back to a dreary weather pattern this weekend. if you're watching us on kgw news 8 in portland, learn all about the pollination process, what it takes to become a beekeeper and even check out an actual beehive at the oregon zoo. that's your pacific event of the day. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. clearly in a better mood last night than he was the day before, alec baldwin tried to make light of his run-in with the paparazzi. after dropping his pants on "late night with david letterman" to prove he recently lost weight, baldwin addressed

the incident, again denying he punched the photographer. and then he joked about wednesday's "daily news" cover saying, i think you can see i'm forming the letter "f" with my mouth. and what i'm saying is what "f" stop are you on with the camera? elsewhere jim carrey frustrated by lack of enthusiasm from the two studios behind it is out of the sequel to "dumb & dumber." that's a smart and smarter move. so you wouldn't think kissing angelina jolie would be a chore, but style bistro's hollywood's worst kissers quotes james mcavoy, her co-star in the film "wanted," saying kissing her was awkward, sweaty, and not very nice. >> probably never see him again. >> then, thandie newton did not enjoy kissing tom cruise in "mission: impossible 2" back in 2000. newton said, quote, kissing tom cruise was slightly icky and sort of wet.

don't kiss and tell, guys. you get paid must have money. and this comes to us from krca-3 reports in sacramento, california, where a husband and wife made a discovery of a lifetime for another former bride. the couple found a 14-karat gold wedding ring buried under the seat of a used car that they bought. well, it was inscribed with the wedding date from 1961. for weeks they didn't know who it belonged to. but after going through car repair records, they tracked down the owner, a 79-year-old widow. it was her late husband's ring, and it will now be given to their son. great ending there. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

stonehenge has some stiff competition in london. it's called city henge, a sculpture that took a self-taught artist three months and 18 scrap cars to create. the stonehenge replica was unveiled to mark the recent summer solstice. the structure, which had to be hauled in with a crane weighs in at 72,000 pounds and can withstand hurricane-force winds. well, poland is taking on italy for the euro 2012 tournament. but not in the soccer field. they're doing it in the kitchen. in honor of the italian soccer team standing nearby, one restaurant has made what they're saying is the world's biggest lasagna. weighing just under 15,700 pounds, the giant lasagna took ten hours to cook and was sliced into 10,000 portions. and, finally, in times square hot yoga took on new

meaning. despite the over 90-degree heat, about 14,000 enthusiasts gathered for a massive yoga class in new york city's busiest tourist spot to mark the summer solstice. it's billed as mind over madness. the event aimed to challenge participants to still their thoughts in a chaotic environment. you know what's chaotic? the traffic around times square. do you know what happens when it shuts down? people don't know the effects. >> you would think people wouldn't want to drive, and they do. >> and then they're stuck in traffic. it's time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. over 100 leaders gather in rio de janeiro for the u.n. conference on sustainable development. they'll discuss environmental protection and reducing poverty. in washington, secretaries duncan and sebelius and ambassador rice are expected to join in a basketball game with players from the wnba and local colleges. they're commemorating the 40th

anniversary of title xi, a law against discrimination and activities based on sex. and happy birthday to meredith baxter and michael gross who played the parents on "family ties." ironically they both turn 65 today. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and more as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. after losing her parents and three daughters in a tragic fire, madonna badger opens up for the first time in a "today" exclusive. and actor steve carell is out of the office and in the studio to discuss his upcoming film, "seeking a friend for the end of the word." 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. the day, today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com