this morning on "early today," mile high inferno. tens of thousands are ordered to evacuate as massive wildfires move toward colorado springs. remembering nora ephron, the filmmaker behind romantic comedy classics such as "when harry met sally" and "sleepless in seattle" has died. and name change. lawmakers want everyone to call london's iconic big ben by a lawmakers want everyone to call london's iconic big ben by a different new name. 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 up in smoke. searing record-setting heat across the interior west is fueling worsening wildfires all throughout the region and

forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee from their homes. in colorado alone firefighters are struggling to contain eight separate blazes burning across the rocky mountain state. near colorado springs, sheriff's officials have ordered an estimated 32,000 people to evacuate. more than 2,100 residents were told to leave a nearby u.s. air force academy as an unknown number of homes have been torched in that area. nearly a week of 100-degree-plus days and low humidity have sapped all the moisture from timber and grass, and that's creating punishing conditions for firefighters. officials say the waldo canyon fire is only 5% contained. and elsewhere forecasters say the lingering storm debby, now a tropical depression, will bring more rain and flooding to waterlogged florida today. after sitting off the coast for days, debby finally came ashore and could head out to sea later today. nbc's jay gray reports from florida.

>> reporter: for the last two days the large but mostly unorganized system has poured more than 20 inches of rain in parts of the state, and forecasters say it could dump another 8 to 10 inches as it crosses the peninsula. >> in 58 years i've never seen it this high, even with a hurricane, a real hurricane. >> reporter: high water that's causing some real problems. >> people who have lived here all their lives, they have never seen water up across the road right here. >> reporter: dozens of roads have been washed out, including interstate 10, making evacuations difficult and in the hardest hit areas almost impossible. >> got about 2 1/2 feet and decided not to go any further. that just -- we just weren't going to make it. >> reporter: countless families are struggling to stay ahead and above the floodwaters, but in some areas that's an impossible task. >> we had over 7 inches of rain in the evening and through the night, and as a result, the creeks were overflowing, the ground was saturated, and the

runoff has just been a little more than it could handle. >> reporter: in the tiny town of cedar key, the rising tide is now too much for the seawall to handle. most of the 750 residents here have moved to higher ground. jay gray, nbc news, cedar key, florida. well, to politics now where not surprisingly mitt romney was the overwhelming winner of this year's last republican primary in utah. also in utah senator orrin hatch fought off a primary challenge from a tea party-backed candidate. hatch got a boost when mitt romney said he would need him in the senate if he wins the presidency. and 82-year-old new york congressman charles rangel, whose stature was diminished by an ethics scandal, survived one of the toughest re-election fights of his career. he won the democratic nomination for a 22nd term, beating four challengers. this morning hollywood is mourning the loss of a legend. 71-year-old nora ephron, the prolific writer and humorist

whose talents span stage, page, and screen, died last night in new york after a six-year battle with leukemia. a highly successful screenwriter, director, producer, and author, ephron was best known for her comedic hits, "sleepless in seattle" and "when harry met sally," both of which won her oscar nominations. the daughter of hollywood screenwriters, writing was in ephron's blood. before making it big on the big screen, ephron started out as a journalist. her second marriage was to watergate journalist carl bernstein, a relationship she turned into a novel and movie, "heartburn" starring meryl streep. and upon the news of ephron's death, streep released a statement, praising ephron as, quote, deflectively feminine and funny with sharpness of mind, softened and smoothed by genuine charm. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in california a big rig and 18 other vehicles were involved in a massive freeway pile-up north of los angeles. 15 people were injured.

one victim said he felt a tremendous impact followed by three more crashes. officials say the driver of the big rig was going too fast around a curve and couldn't stop in time. well, to new jersey, don't tell snooki, anyone, but there's a boardwalk on the jersey shore where bikinis and bathing suits are banned. it's a law that's been on the books since 1958, and everyone pretty much ignores it because it's right by the beach, but a former city council member wants to start enforcing the rule, which carries a fine of up to $2,000 and 90 days in jail. instead city officials say they are going to try and repeal it. and, finally, in washington as the fourth of july nears, its dramatic lesson taught many times over and yet some still don't pay attention. that's why officials keep doing their annual demonstration of what can go horribly wrong when people are careless with fireworks. last year alone four people died and nearly 10,000 others were injured. now let's get a check of your national and regional weather because it's a busy day with nbc's meteorologist bill

karins. he's tracking a number of stories especially these fires. >> the fires in the west, it's been so hot and dry. we've been talking about it since the spring. there's no end in sight. if we get lucky, we'll get lower temperatures. here's where the big fire is located outside of colorado springs and outside of the u.s. air force academy. it's near pike's peak. now as far as the containment goes, not going to get much better than this. we still have a red flag warning. winds gusting out of the southwest. 25 miles per hour. there may be a few thunderstorms late in the afternoon. could be good if it rapes on ine storm. but it could cause more fires in the area if we get lightening. as far as the middle of the country goes, record heat wave here. all-time heat wave in kansas and nebraska. the jet stream is flattening out. that storm system is exiting. we get a one day little break here where high pressure builds

in, sunshine, dry air, warmer temperatures and then the next storm will move into the northwest tomorrow or at least try to. more clouds and showers. it's not a big storm but it will be cooler. today's high temperature, a little nicer. 84 in medford, seattle. many ot in phoenix and tucson areas of washington and oregon. portland, oregon, a nice 76. thursday forecast, just a few showers. not too bad. >> bill, thanks so much. well, coming up, stocks rebound, europe still looms, and yet another misstep by facebook. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, the material girl reportedly has a special team to make sure her material isn't left behind. we'll explain. coming up, a controversial

catch, the bcs's playoff bombed, and somersaults. you're watching "early today." >> announcer: "early today" is brought do you by advil. make the switch to advil now.

good morning and back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. a new nbc news/wall street journal poll shows a tight race for the white house with president obama leading mitt romney, 47% to 44%. president obama's job approval rating slipped while mitt romney's personal negative rating is at an all-time high. turkey is warning syrian forces to stay away from their border or risk attack. and syrian president bashir al assad says his country is at war without directly specifying just who the country is at war with. in an unusually strongly worded decision, the federal appeals court has sided with the environmental protection agency. the judges found the epa was,

quote, unambiguously correct that the clean air act requires the federal government to impose limits on greenhouse gas emissions that are causing harm. in london, despite public opposition, the house of commons has voted to rename the clock tower known around the world as big ben the elizabeth tower in honor of the queen's diamond jubilee. and amateur treasure hunters have dug up roman gold and silver coins buried about 2,000 years ago. the coins were found with metal detectors on the island of jersey between england and france, and they're estimated to be worth more than $15 million. not bad. well, now here is an early look at how wall street's going to kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,534 after adding 32 points yesterday. the s&p was up 6. the nasdaq gained 17. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei nudged up 66 points, while in hong kong the hang sang climbed 195. well, home builders led a

rebound on tuesday, but worries about europe were never far off. news that home prices rose for the first time in seven months renewed investors' optimism and gave builders pulte group and lennar a healthy boost. meanwhile, more worries out of europe kept u.s. markets in check after a pair of debt auctions sent spain's borrowing costs higher. more sobering news. consumer confidence fell in june for the fourth straight month as economic worries outweighed lower gas prices. news corp. shares shot up 8% after "the wall street journal" reported its parent company is considering splitting up its publishing and media arms. the parent company of the university of phoenix online was another big market mover, soaring 10% on a better than expected quarterly earnings. best buy's founder, who resigned from the company's board earlier this month, is reportedly working on a deal to take the retailer private. fbi agents said yesterday 24 suspected hackers have been

arrested as a result of a two-year sting operation targeting stolen credit cards and bank information. a u.s. judge has granted apple's bid to stop samsung from selling its galaxy tablet as part of a patent lawsuit filed by the ipad maker. after mediation with its creditors failed, stockton, california, is set to earn the dubious distinction as the biggest u.s. city to declare bankruptcy. and if you missed launch of facebook's "find friends nearby" app on monday, you're not alone. the so-called stalker app, which lets you track friends in your area, was pulled just hours after launch. anything with the word "stalker" in it sort of makes you a little queasy. well, coming up, a red flips out, a hole-in-one, and, hockey greats, welcome to the hall. plus, a yankee outfielder fools the ump. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and i still have that app. i still know exactly where you are all the time, lynn. your forecast is coming up, everyone. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports a 14-playoff system has finally been approved to decide college football's national championship. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all of your sports headlines.

good morning. and, college football fans, you have spoke, and the bcs has finally listened. it is official. the bcs approved the 14-playoff system starting in 2014. the teams will be chosen by a selection committee. semifinals will be held at the current bcf bowl sites followed by a championship game. the new deal runs through 2025. the nba draft is tomorrow, and the houston rockets are preparing to make a big splash. they traded chase budinger to the timberwolves for the 18th overall pick. houston now has three first round picks, and according to reports they're trying to acquire as many assets as possible to make a trade for dwight howard. one thing's for sure. the rockets are not done dealing. one guy who was dealing last night was the reds' aroldis chapman. struck out three in the ninth to close out the brewers. if you thought his pitching was good, look at the celebration. a pair of somersaults. he's ready for the gymnastics team, and off to london he'll go. reds won it, 4-3. but a controversy in the yankees/indians games. foul ball down the line. dewayne wise jumped into the stands and made a grab. or did he?.

take another look. the ball hit his glove, but he couldn't hold on as he fell into the bleachers. it was called an out, even though the guy in red was holding the ball. the yankees got a gift on derek jeter's birthday. they won it, 6-4. hockey pavel bure, mats sundin, joe sakic, and adam oates were voted into the hockey hall of fame. it only got better for oates. he was also named head coach of the capitals. and you thought you had a good day. and, finally, matt dobyns leads the pga national championship, thanks to shots like this. from 200 yards out, the ball hit the green, made a left turn, and found its way to the bottom of the cup. that's a hole-in-one, and he didn't even know it. look at his reaction. who, me? yes, you. matt will be cruising the links in style this weekend. that shot won him a new golf cart. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'd fred roggin. >> announcer: "early today" sports is brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some gray, never all. well, whose life story is headed to broadway, and the

spice girls reunite in london. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, yet another heart-warming tale of the family pet coming through in a clutch. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." forecast as you head out the door for any of you're vents or to school, you are looking very simple, very dry.

no umbrellas needed anywhere in the west. temperatures very comfortable. much of identify da who through washington state back to normal where you should be this time of year. california looks pretty good. coastal areas still remaining on the cooler side. phoenix today very hot. tomorrow it will change as more clouds in the northwest. we'll bring a chance of showers especially to coastal areas of washington state during the day. if you're watching us on kntr news, eugene, oregon, with the summer games fast approaching, learn about jim thorpe, one of america's greatest athletes in olympics history. at the museum of natural history. well tied in. >> yes. synergy. thanks so much. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. rapper 50 cent was involved in a serious crash monday night on a new york expressway. the 36-year-old, a passenger in a chevy suburban, rear-ended by a mack truck was briefly hospitalized with back and neck injuries but is now said to be doing just fine. cher will write and star in

an autobiographical broadway show. the musical will cover three stages of her life, "the sonny & cher" era, her solo stardom days, and finally cher today looking back. cher has won an oscar, emmy, and grammy, but never a tony. all five spice girls, scary, sporty, ginger, baby, and posh, all reunited in london tuesday. they announced a new musical by the creator of "mamma mia!." seriously it's based on their song "viva forever." and, finally, england's "daily mirror" reports on her current tour, madonna demands no one enter her dressing room until after a show and until her sterilization team removes any and traces of her dna. the tabloid also says her team must modify every dressing room with fake ceilings and walls so no one can hide cameras. zpl i applied for her dna team. >> you did? >> the sweep. i didn't get the job. >> why not? >> i left a couple skin cells on the countertop.

>> tainted the sample? yeah. i hate it when that happens. this comes to us from w.o.o.d., "24 hour news 8" in grand rapids, michigan, where man's best friend became one little boy's lifesaver. 14-month-old stanley fell into the family pool. his mother says she lost sight of him for just a moment before finding him in the water appearing to be floating, but their dog, a lab named bear, had used his own back to prop up stanley and keep him above the surface. stanley was rushed to the hospital but is now okay, and the family gives all the credit to bear. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

the water was set ablaze during an ancient festival in china, setting a new guinness world record. over 10,000 lanterns were released onto the water in under 10 minutes. lanterns of all shapes and sizes were sent floating down the water, some depicting certain chinese themes. the festival is a local custom dating back to the 1600s. in hong kong, troopers are taking the plunge. members of a paratroop brigade in china's air force rehearsed their parachute jumping performance, all of this in celebration of the 15th anniversary of hong kong's return to china. once every five years the paratroopers impress spectators by leaping out of the helicopter with a display of ribbons, smoke, and flags. and, finally, one super fan in germany is geared up for the euro 2012 soccer tournament. the dedicated supporter of the

german soccer team has dedicated his entire house in the team's colors. he said it all started with a few flags in 2002, but the collection has now grown to value over $2,500. this fanatic now awaits germany to take on italy in the semifinals, and as our resident soccer expert over here can tell us -- >> spain and portugal, and then tomorrow we're going germany/italy. >> really. >> and the two favorites are going to be most likely germany versus spain. >> did you know i was going to do this story? >> i did not. >> you are faking being a soccer expert. he's faking it. >> self-appointed renaissance man. >> self-appointed for sure. it's time for now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. facebook may be facing some frank criticism today. the 40-day quiet period that bars bank analysts involved in facebook's initial public offering from publishing reports on the stock has expired. that means they will be allowed to release their initial research on the company and chime in on its prospects. today is national hiv testing day.

federal health officials are reminding everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 they should get tested for hiv at least once a year as part of routine health care. and happy birthday to former spider-man actor tobey maguire who turns 37. 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. a live-up date on the colorado wildfires and how they will affect the state's tourism this season. and actor channing tatum stops by to talk about his racy role as a male stripper in the movie "magic mike." 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