time zone. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with final good-byes. as colorado shooting suspect james holmes sits in solitary confinement this morning, relatives of those killed in last friday's theater massacre have begun the grim task of planning their funerals with the first one being held today. nbc's jay gray reports from aurora. >> reporter: the focus on aurora today turned back to the suspect's apartment. prosecutors and james holmes' state-appointed defenders getting their first look inside, while back at the crime scene, a chain link fence went up around the theater, evidence teams continuing their search as mourners in this grieving city search for some comfort in the wake of the tragedy. >> it's just a feeling of sadness and such loss. such loss for all the families. >> reporter: families like the teves. >> he was one of the best sons any man could ever have, and i've been honored to know him. >> reporter: when the shooting

started, 24-year-old alex teves threw his mom and girlfriend to the floor and died, shielding them from the bullets. >> god sent me an angel, not just that night, but for two and a half years. he sent me an angel. >> reporter: emotions continue to spill over at makeshift memorials outside the theater. >> it just really hits home. it becomes really real. i'm overwhelmed by the tragedy of all of it and the senselessness of all of it. >> reporter: they draw strength from hugs and being together, hope from the stories of the heroes like alex and from survivors still fighting for their lives. jay gray, nbc news, aurora, colorado. and since the colorado shootings, gun control advocates from around the country have called for more restrictions on sales of assault weapons and large amounts of ammunition either in person or on the internet. however, in colorado gun sales have increased since the shootings with people seeking background checks to purchase

weapons up by more than 40%. elsewhere, the increasingly combative tone on the campaign trail has taken a toll on president obama and mitt romney. this is all according to a new nbc news/wall street journal poll that saw both candidates' negative ratings hit an all-time high. nbc's brian mooar joins us from washington with those details. brian, good morning to you. >> good morning, lynn. the campaign has taken a negative turn. so have the poll numbers from both candidates. mitt romney accused the obama white house of leaking classified information for political gain. >> this conduct is contemptible. it betrays our national interest. >> president obama's accusing romney of being less than honest. >> he's been twisting my words around to suggest i don't value small business. >> the mud-slinging in this presidential campaign has been early and often. and the latest nbc news/wall street journal poll shows both candidates are taking a hit. president obama's seen negatively by 43% of voters.

that's his second lowest number. romney faired slightly worse at 40%. his poorest number yet. ♪ america america >> voters see the obama campaign as slightly more negative. >> he tried. you tried. it's okay to make a change. >> 46% of voters say they don't like mitt romney personally. only 31% say the same about the president. that's even though romney is seen as the best to improve the economy by a seven-point margin. both campaigns have eased back on their attacks, but it is still early on in the campaign. the conventions are just over a month away. lynn? >> all right. brian mooar there for us in washington. brian, thanks so much. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in arizona they don't call them flash floods for nothing. a couple near tucson captured these images as the rushing waters overtook a creek bed in just seconds.

recent wildfires have wiped out a good chunk of the land that would normally control the runoff there. in oklahoma, police had to use a robot to move and then blow up explosives found in a home in tulsa. officers stumbled upon a cache after a routine traffic stop. they also found a cannon along with more than a dozen firearms and drugs. two people have been arrested. ? california a killer whale is attacking a trainer. the trainer did survive, but it shows the man fighting for eight minutes, at times struggling with the whale underwater. despite numerous injuries, people believe that that trainer is still working for sea world. wow. and finally in massachusetts, this is one big, bad lobster. the 21 pound crustacean was caught off the coast of cape

cod. don't even think about putting on a bib. the big guy is going for a new life at the new england aquarium in boston. the super sized sea creature won't be breaking any records. the aquarium once had a 35 pounder known as lobzilla. this is junior. here's nbc meteorologist bill kairns. he has your weather channel forecast. >> i had a three pound lobster. i don't think i've had anything bigger than that. >> i don't know if they make them for restaurants. >> the heat wave has been the big story. i'm hoping today is the last day of this really intense peak heat. i want to show everyone what we're dealing with today in the middle of the country. these are temperatures that we deal with in many areas of the desert areas of nevada, california, arizona. 106. 100 from oklahoma city to wichita. this is day seven or eight in a row. we'd love to get a little bit of warmth. a nice little summer period with an offshore wind.

unfortunately we're continuing with the southwest flow all over the open waters of the pacific right onto the coastal areas. we'll call that an onshore flow. that means the cooler air dominates the coastal areas. you'll get afternoon sunshine. that's keeping us very cool. this weather pattern does not look to change any time soon. that's why coastal areas like san francisco all the way down through the beaches here near san diego, l.a., everyone struggling with a cool, cool 8 throughout much of the northwest. updated thursday forecast coming up. >> bill, thanks.

coming up, apple sours, netflix flops, and like it or not, same-sex marriage is good for business. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, reports all is not well with hollywood's vampire couple. more late-inning heroics, and philly plus the dream team makes a statement in their final exhibition game before the olympics. you're watching "early today." >> announcer: "early today" is brought to you by new preparation h totables.

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. the nonpartisan congressional budget office reports president obama's health care law will reduce rather than increase the nation's huge federal deficit over the next decade, and it says republican legislation to repeal the overhaul would increase budget deficits. >> monsignor william lynn, the first u.s. catholic church official convicted of covering

up sex abuse claims against priests has been sentenced to three to six years in prison. the judge says lynn, quote, enabled monsters in clerical garb to destroy the souls of children. sherman helmsley, the actor who played george jefferson in tv's "the jeffersons" has died at age 74. police in texas says he was found in his home. there's no word yet on his cause of death. actor chad everett, the star of the '70s tv series "medical center" has died in los angeles at the age of 75 of lung cancer. and italian archaeologists say they may have found the remains of the woman commonly thought to be the model for the mona lisa, the masterpiece by leonardo da vinci. experts may be able to reconstruct the face to compare it with the one leonardo painted about 500 years ago. and now here is an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dough opens at 12,716 after

stumbling 104 points yesterday. the s&p dropped 12. the nasdaq sank 27. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei shot down 122 points, while in hong kong the hang seng lost 25. well, bad news from apple after the bell was a fitting end to a dreary tuesday. apple tumbled in late trade after reporting a rare earnings and revenue slip, some of which was tied to pending sales of the new iphone 5 but could still weigh down tech stocks today. weak manufacturing data and more troubles for europe added to the day's cautious tone. corporate reports from heavy hitters ups, at&t, and whirlpool all missed expectations. more layoffs at cisco drove the dow's straight triple-digit loss. meanwhile, weak enrollment is forcing job cuts at devry. the education company pledged 25% on the news. netflix spiraled after warning it may have trouble reaching year-end goals for new customers. on the bright side, wall

street welcomed austin's tex-mex restaurant chain chuy's to the nasdaq. the stock surged nearly 16% in the first day of trade. overseas japan reported a record $37 billion trade deficit for the first half of the year. meanwhile toyota says it sold just shy of 5 million vehicles in the first half of 2012, which could put it on track to retake its title of world's top automaker from general motors. state farm insurance has pulled its ad dollars from broadcasts of penn state home football games in the wake of the sandusky sex abuse scandal. in a sad sign of the times, after more than a century of publication, scholastic is discontinuing separate issues of "weekly reader." and, finally, it appears same-sex marriage has sparked an economic boom for new york city. tourism officials say the big apple has raked in $259 million from one year of same-sex

marriages. >> well, coming, up the red sox stop a skid, the indians squeeze by, and an early look at olympic gold. plus, the 2012 dream team sends a message to the world's second ranked team. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and after today, we're slowly going to end our amazing heat wave in the middle of the country. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, for two nights in a row, the philadelphia phillies have come back to win against the brewers after trailing late by three or more runs. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> hi, there. good morning. the first half of the philly season was a major disappointment, but for the second straight night, they've given their fans a reason to smile. another game, another late-inning comeback in philadelphia. rallied from four runs down on monday and five runs down yesterday. carlos ruiz with a bases-loaded double. that clears the bases and ties the game at 6-6. next batter, hunter pence with a flare over rickie weeks' head. in comes ruiz. phillies put up six in the eighth and down the brewers, 7-6. rangers and red sox tied at 1-1. texas was an out and an inch

away from getting out in the ninth. alex aviles with a bloop single. gets past elvis andrus by the slimmest margin. in comes a go-ahead run. boston wins it, 2-1. it's one of the most exciting plays in baseball. runner on third, and the indians pull off the squeeze. aaron cunningham lays down the perfect bunt. lou marson is safe at the plate. that's the difference. indians cage the tigers, 3-2. to chicago where the twins' josh williamson hit not one but two home runs against the white sox. unfortunately he was the only minnesota player that did anything. sox win big, 11-4. to london where team usa played their final exhibition game before the olympics. got off to another slow start against spain. but carmelo anthony sparks the offense late in the first half, knocking down five three-pointers and finishing with 27 points. the americans pull away in the third quarter off the turnover. lebron james flies in for the dunk. the dream team wins, 100-78. their first game of the olympics is sunday versus france. and here's what they'll be playing for.

the medals of the 2012 olympic games were unveiled yesterday. there will be about 2,100 medals awarded, each with the emblem of the london games. of course, the olympics starts this friday with the opening ceremony on nbc. and that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. well, the latest rumors on "american idol" judges. and kate gosselin ready for love and a new tv show. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, a week ago he was on the red carpet for the premiere of his latest film. well, yesterday christian bale had a whole new set of priorities. you're watching "early today."

interior sections will be very toasty. 107 in vegas. we have showers and storms yesterday. little less concentrated today. we heat it up too. boise from 97 today, 101 tomorrow. many areas enjoying a nice warm period of summer in the inner mountain west. if you're watching us on kntv bay area news in california's bay area. in san francisco, see kangaroos from down under at australian walkabout at the san francisco zoo. that's your pacific event of the day. >> thanks so much, bill.

all right. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. now that "american idol" has filled its diva chair, could the show's next judge have some country flavor? well, reports say the show is considering brad paisley who has performed on the show and recorded with "idol's" most successful winner to date, carrie underwood. other reports say producers now lean toward keeping last original judge randy jackson and going back to a four-judge panel. >> no. >> yeah, i know. "e! online" reports reality tv veteran kate gosselin has signed up to look for the new love of her line on a tv dating series. >> i would pay money to watch that show. >> i will not take your money. and, finally, the blogosphere is burning up with talk of the end of "twilight" couple kristin stewart and robert pattinson. this is due, of course, to her carrying on an alleged affair. this doesn't help. according to "us weekly," the 22-year-old stewart was caught in compromising photos with the married 41-year-old director of

"snow white and the huntsman" rupert sanders. a stewart source denied the affair, calling the incident, quote, just a fleeting moment that shouldn't have happened. and this comes to us from kusa 9 news in denver, colorado, where in nearby aurora the survivors of the theater shootings received some much needed unexpected support from one of the stars they had actually gone to see. actor christian bale made unannounced visits to the hospitals, meeting with the wounded and thanking medical teams caring for them. bale also brought flowers to the memorial crosses created for the 12 killed. many there either didn't recognize bale or simply gave him some space to share in the grieving. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

well, a zoo in mexico now has some vary rare inhabitants. two white lion cubs were recently born, each weighing close to three pounds. they do look like little lambs. good observation, bill. zookeepers have been taking care of the cubs, making sure to feed them a special formula throughout the day. one zookeeper says the cubs have distinct personalities with one more rambunctious than the other who prefers to relax. kind of like you and i. well, the olympic torch is making its way through london and has made an interesting pit stop. the british tv soap opera titled "eastenders" included a live scene where one of its characters carried the famous

olympic icon through the streets. hundreds of extras were brought in for the televised event, which was captured on 19 cameras on the set. pretty cool there. and, finally, in china one extreme sportsman tackled some steep terrain. a 42-year-old used his 34-wheeled roller suit to skate down a mountain in about 20 minutes. that's pretty cool. reaching speeds of about 50 miles per hour at certain points the daredevil used his body to change directions and adjust velocity. the entire ride covered a distance of almost seven miles. he almost looks like a transformer, doesn't he. >> yeah. i was thinking robocop. >> robocop. that's another good one. that's blast from the past, isn't it. it's time for now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. a pennsylvania court will take up a lawsuit seeking to prevent the state's new voter i.d. law from taking effect. the law requires voters to show a photo i.d. at the polls.

critics say it's an effort by republicans to suppress voter turnout and gain advantage in an election year. scientists at nasa's jet propulsion lab plan to test engineering models of the curiosity rover in a mars-like environment. the real rover is already on its way to mars and is scheduled to arrive august 5th. and though the opening ceremonies for the olyics isn't until friday, the first competition is being held in london in women's soccer. 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. olympic medalists michael phelps and missy franklin stop by to join the "today" show team live from london, and meredith vieira goes one on one with soccer superstar david beckham. 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

. two people shot while driving late last night on highway 80 east end hercules and seek help at a gas station. we spoke with the person who tried to help the victim. that's coming up in a live report. >> the star of "the dark knight rises" visit people who were hurt while watching him on the screen. >> it's not hot outside just yet but this is do you feel. live look outside. like the gloss