i'm jim cramer. see you tomorrow. this morning on "early today" closing ranks. republican congressman todd akin vows not to quit the race in the wake of a growing firestorm. out of harm's way. russian cosmonauts protect the international space station against of ever-growing threat of space junk. funny lady. remembering the life of trailblazing comedian phyllis remembering the life of trailblazing comedian phyllis diller. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with mounting pressure. despite more prominent republicans criticizing him congressman todd akin says he will not drop out of the u.s. senate race in missouri, but

after his comments about what he called legitimate rape, akin is facing louder calls from gop officials for him to step aside. steve handelsman has the story. >> reporter: the issue of abortion rights for the victims of rape is posing possible damage to the ryan romney presidential campaign with women voters. they mostly back president obama, who weighed in. >> his comments were offensive. rape is rape. >> reporter: it was republican congressman todd akin running for a senate seat in missouri who set off the firestorm. he was arguing against abortion rights for sexual assault victims. >> it seems to me, first of all, from what i understand from doctors, that's really rare. if it's legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. >> reporter: senate democrat claire mccaskill had been trailing in polls. >> this is jaw-dropping and stunning.

>> reporter: akin claimed he misspoke and has deep sympathy for women who are raped and apologized on the radio. >> rape is never legitimate. it's an evil act. >> reporter: mitt romney called akin's original statement inexcusable, but like akin, paul ryan recently opposed abortion rights for rape victims. the uproar is a double problem for republicans. >> one with women voters specifically and second with the agenda, putting it back on social issues when republicans don't want to be this year. they want to be on the economy. >> reporter: and president obama claimed obama care helped stop male politicians making decisions about women's health. >> for qualifying forcible rape versus non-forcible rape, i think those are broader issues, and that is the significant difference in the approach between me and the other party. >> reporter: todd akin, he says he won't quit the missouri senate race. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. despite earlier reports, fbi

officials tell "the l.a. times" they are not investigating any criminal wrongdoings by members of congress who were involved in an unusual late night swim in israel last summer. republican congressman kevin yoder of kansas admitted in a radio interview that he went skinny-dipping in the sea of galilee. he said he was sorry, calling it a "regrettable incident." he was the only person in the congressional delegation who went in without clothing. a portion of alabama's tough immigration law has been thrown out by a federal court. the appeals court ruling rejected the part of the state law that ordered public schools to check the citizenship status of new students, but the court decision says police in alabama can continue checking immigration documents for people they stop. meanwhile, in another federal court ruling, a judge says the vatican is not the employer of catholic priests who have molested children, and this ruling could become a legal

milestone and possibly shield the vatican from suits for monetary damages. hollywood is mourning the loss of a comedic legend. phyllis diller died at her home in los angeles at the age of 95. the pioneering comedian with the cackling laugh and outrageous wardrobe broke into show business in the 1950s at the urging of her husband. the act was all her own. transcending generations and serving as inspiration for future stars from joan rivers to ellen degeneres. barbara streisand said, i adore her. >> here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. video of a feeding frenzy about 50 yards off a new jersey shoreline has gone viral. dozens of sharks were feasting on fish creating quite a sight that's never been seen in the waters off the popular tourist area. officials believe the carnage was created by black-tip or spinner sharks.

close to 100 boats are stuck in a traffic jam along the 11 mile stretch in the mississippi river. a historic heat wave and drought has caused water levels to plummet, shutting down traffic on the river. the army corps of engineers has started dredging the area to deepen the channel. new york city's famed lincoln center is the latest to get flash mobbed. about 3,000 people all dressed in white descended on the pavilion for a flash mob feast. participants arrived with their own chairs, table, and food. similar organized events are expected later this week in philadelphia and chicago. and, finally, an assortment of hot wheels have been sold for historically high prices at a california auction. "tonight show" host jay leno sold one of his classic cars for close to $400,000, but that was a small figure compared to the $10.7 million shelled out for a rare 1936 mercedes benz.

now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc he has your weather channel forecast. >> i always wanted to be a car guy. didn't happen. >> you don't have $10.7 million. that would be why. >> that's a whole different topic. >> whole another ball game. >> good morning, everyone. lots to talk about in the weather outside the united states. we have a tropical system that's in the atlantic that will affect many areas as we go throughout the next week or so. right now it's spin being harmlessly over the open waters. it has its eyes set on the u.s. east coast, especially florida. the forecast path takes us south of puerto rico near the doe min anything can republic and possibly near cuba. if it stays away from the mountains and land area, it could be a strong hurricane. all eyes on that especially from florida northwards up the u.s. east coast. as far as the west coast goes, warm weather continues. fire threat continues with the dry based thunderstorms

especially in the northern rockies. yesterday was in the 90s. in the hundreds in the desert. all the way back. marine layer looks like it moved on shore in l.a. this morning and san francisco. you will be dealing with some of those low clouds earlier today. this afternoon will burn it off. try to get you some sunshine. l.a. not bad. stuck in the gloom with san francisco with a high in the uppers. possibility of thunderstorms. we don't like to see that especially with the threat of fire storms. dry-based storms with the lightening strikes that cause the problem. >> bill, thanks so much.

also coming up, a good day for apple. a facebook insider unloads. and nike ups the antti on its sneaker line. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, things get serious for comedian rosie o'donnell after a recent brush with death. coming up, historic data for augusta national, another injury for michael vick, and the little leaguer with a big game. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here's some of your top headlines this morning. in afghanistan militants fired rockets into a u.s. base. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, they say the general was nowhere near the plane. president obama is warning syria he would consider using force if the assad regime uses or even moves chemical weapons around. the president said it could be enormous consequences. nasa is moving ahead with plans to send another robot to

mars in 2016. the $4250 million insight lander will drill into the crust. it will study how other planets were formed. cosmonauts did some home improvement monday. they performed a space walk to install shielding on the side of the orbiter to protect against space junk. the american side already has protection built in. well, now here's a look at how wall street is going to kick off the day. the dow opens at 13,271 after losing three points yesterday. both the s&p and the nasdaq were down a fraction, and taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei fell 14 points, while in hong kong the hang seng lost four. wall street couldn't find a cure for the summertime blues monday. traders were either on vacation or worried about the euro debt crisis coming back on the radar. one place not so quiet, apple, which is now the most valuable company in history at $624 billion, shattering the record once set by microsoft.

today a jury could get the case in apple's lawsuit against samsung, which is accused of stealing ipad and iphone technology. one of facebook's top executives dumped most of his shares in the company monday. peter teal sold a stake worth about $400 million, despite the nearly 50% drop in its initial value. two of the biggest names in travel, expedia and marriott, are among those named in a lawsuit accusing them of price fixing on hotel rooms. they allegedly cut off business to smaller on-line retailers. lowe's is having trouble building a profit, lowering its 2012 forecast. changes in merchandise and pricing are doing little to help lowe's keep up with home depot. best buy has named a new ceo. yet, its stocks slid more than 10% as talks reportedly broke down between the electronics giant and its founder who wants to take the company private. dreamworks animation is moving. the studio signed a new five-year distribution deal with

20th century fox, ending a six-year run at paramount. proving the house doesn't always win, the new rebel casino in atlantic city needs a $100 million line of credit after losing $35 million since opening less than six months ago. and, finally, the "wall street journal" reports nike will test the wallets of lebron james fans offering the new lebron x sneaker at a record $315 a pair. i don't know how that will go over in cleveland. coming up, a costly error in extras, and golf's most exclusive club opens its doors. plus, a hard-hit knocks philadelphia's starting qb out of play. your early morning headlines are straight ahead. all eyes are on florida because of the tropical threat coming in the days ahead, and also the heavy rain today. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you are just waking up, this is "early today." in sports the chicago white sox halted a losing skid after rallying past the yankees in the first of a three-game series.

here's fred roggin with an early look at your sports headlines. good morning. it was a battle of first pce teams out of chicago. yanks and white sox picking up in the seventh. tied 6-6. alexi ramirez stepped in and stepped out. a two-run shot. the white sox took the lead and beat the yanks 9-6. rays and nats need extra. chad tracy got it right and they bobble the ball and in came the winning run. everybody was safe. a wild finish in d.c. nats win is 5-4 in 13. just imagine if ryan howard was healthy? returning from a torn achilles, he belted his eighth home run yesterday. they won 12-5. jonathan lukeroy with a shot to left. hit the top of the wall. started to spin around the bases. look at his reaction. is it out? is it out? it's out, jonathan. his first of two home runs. brewers won it 9-5. augusta national is no longer an all boys club after 80 years. the home of the masters is accepting female members. former secretary of state condoleezza rice and south carolina businesswoman darla

moore will become the first women to wear the coveted green jacket. football, the most important thing about preseason, stay healthy. michael vick, didn't get the memo. hurt his thumb last week and yesterday drilled by the patriots germane cunningham and left the game with bruised ribs. x-rays were negative. the eagles did just fine without him. nick folles tossed a pair of touchdowns. eagles won it 27-17. finally, back to baseball for a little leaguer who had a big game. will lucas pitched a no hitter in indiana. struck out 13 over six innings. the 12-year-old entered the game in dramatic fashion with another strike-out. immediately dog piled by his teammates. connecticut won 4-0. they're a win away from playing the u.s. championship. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred rogin. worlds collide as charlie sheen's exes put on show of solidarity. plus, they're not called man's best friend for nothing. we'll show you one dog who is riding a wave of goodwill. you're watching "early today."

joo welcome back to earle ri today. the best chance for showers will be in the inner moun tape woes. boise and northward. very scattered storms. you have a much better chance of being missed than hit. little cooler in seattle at 70

degrees. l.a. 82. even as we go into wednesday, we'll add more monsoonal moisture. that's why we'll see the increased chance of showers and storms. temperatures coming down from vegas to the desert of arizona. if you're watching us on king 5 news, seattle washington, get up close and personal with sea creatures that dwell in the tide pools of the washington state coast. life on the edge at the seattle aquarium. that's your pacific event of the day. here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. rosie o'donnell says it's a miracle she's still alive. the 50-year-old comedian revealed on her blog that she suffered a heart attack last week. after feeling symptoms, she took aspirin, called 911, and had to have a stint inserted into an artery that was 99% blocked. she's you recovering at home. tmz revealed that tony scott, who jumped to his death from an l.a. bridge sunday, did not have brain cancer. results from his autopsy won't

be released for several weeks. reports say nicki minaj is in talks to join mariah carey on "the american idol" judges panel. and nbc has announced michael j. fox's new show will be part of its fall line-up. the sit comwill be loosely based on the 51-year-old's battle with parkinson's disease. apparently there are no hard feelings among charlie sheen's exes. ex-wife number two, denise richards said she threw ex-wife number three, brook mueller, a birthday bash at her house. charlie sheen was in attendance. i bet that makes everyone feel a little bit of pressure. maybe you have to be friends with ex-wife number 2, 3, 4, 5. >> it is just a pr thing. their publicist was if you all get together, it will help control the damage. >> would it help or does it make it look a little weird. >> i'm a little cynical. >> really? >> just a smidge.

this comes to us from knsd nbc 7 san diego where a paralyzed teen reunited with his canine surfing buddy. he has been catching a few waves. ricochet and patrick did what they do best to celebrate their tandem surfing team. they began performing to raise funds for patrick's physical therapy. three years later the disabled 17-year-old and the world's only surfing aid dog are inspiring others to strive past their limitations. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

a canadian teen will have quite the story about what she did on herve case. 15-year-old anna lecarr made the swim across lake ontario in just 27 hours. she is the youngest person ever to make the swim and was cheered on by hundreds of supporters. rough weather was not enough to keep carr from reaching the shore and raising other than $70,000 for charity. good for her. one bike race in england is for the average commuter. over 750 cyclists squared off in the folding bike championships. cyclists dressed in shirts, ties, and blazers as if heading to work. instead each unfold their bikes and take off on an eight-mile course. in a very british twist, organizers banned spandex saying all racers had to dress "smartly." finally, in russia can you appreciate the arts while in the john. that's right. a small town has opened an art

museum in its only public bathroom. paintings hang on walls above urinals aiming to educate local residents. the so-called toilet museum received full support from the mayor's office. one entry ticket costs about 30 cents. that's a smart way to make a little bit of money when it would be strange to charge to use the rest room. >> yeah. i wanted a flat screen tv, and i want like the xbox hooked up. >> wow. that is a disturbing mental image. >> i know of a celebrity who has that and will go unnamed. >> thankfully for them. time for an early look at the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. according to missouri election lay congressman todd akin has until 5:00 p.m. today to withdraw from the race for u.s. senate without having to obtain a court order. as we reported earlier, akin is refusing tdrop out despite increasing pressure from his fellow republicans to do so over his recent comment that "legitimate rape" rarely leads

to pregnancy. the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention will begin a three-day national cancer conference in washington d.c. and today country music star kenny rogers turns 74. 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. women can learn from rosie o'donnell's recent health scare and what she did and didn't do, and the inspiring story of a kentucky man whose dying wish was to pass out $500 tips to waiters and waitresses. 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