this morning on "early today." road to charlotte. president obama stops off in ohio and new orleans before tomorrow's dnc kickoff. mystery ship. isaac's pounding surf washes up what could be a civil war-era vessel. and, royal seat. england's prince andrew goes to great heights for a good cause. >> this is "early today" for monday, september 3rd, 2012. >> hello and very good morning to you. i'm veronica de la cruz. we begin with labor day on the campaign trail. while much of the country has the day off, president obama will be hard at work before heading to the democratic national convention tomorrow.

nbc's tracie potts joins us live from charlotte with the details. traci, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. i'm standing in front of the stadium where we will see president obama speak here in charlotte later in the week. today he'll be in ohio and storm-ravaged louisiana. but first, take a look. the president in boulder, colorado, on sunday talking about the republicans' convention last week. as the president put it, there were hard truths but nobody told us what they were. and while mitt romney was in new

hampshire, but his running mate paul ryan was out there talking about the president, talking about president obama's claim that republicans are running on empty. a lot of democratic supporters already in town eager to tell their side of the story after tampa last week. but also a lot of protesters here. we saw hundreds of them here in charlotte yesterday. keep in mind this is the big bank capital of the south. they were protesting lack of regulation on banks, on wall street, and for the environment. later today in louisiana, the president will tour saint john's parrish. veronica? >> tracie potts in charlotte, thank you. followers are mourning the death of the reverend sun myung moon at the age of 92 in korea. he made his unification church a worldwide religious and business phenomenon in the 1970s. he was the self-proclaimed messiah of a religion that was regarded by some as a cult that used brainwashing.

he was best known for mass weddings of thousands of his followers who were referred to by many as moonies. six days as isaac ravaged the state, more than 100,000 people across louisiana are still without power this morning. while some residents in hard-hit plaquemines parish say they're cleaning up for the last time, others are questioning whether post-katrina upgreats for new orleans hurt surrounding areas. >> reporter: the flooding is slowly receding across southern louisiana. the threat of high water has some neighborhoods still on high alert. st. tampany parish officials are monitoring a breach at a lock on pearl river, and considering evacuations of 5,000 homes. >> we don't do this lightly because we don't want people out of their homes. but safety is first. >> reporter: as power crews work to restore electricity to the more than 200,000 still in the dark, the rebuilding in the bayou has begun.

but for many residents, losing everything again -- >> second time around. >> reporter: -- is making them think twice about staying. >> we're thinking about moving on. >> reporter: diane has decided not to rebuild her plaquemines parish home. >> maybe if i was inside the levee system down this way, not so bad. but no, i have no plans on returning. >> reporter: it's that levee system, credited with protecting new orleans, that now has some residents concerned. >> you're going to put this flood system up, which is a good thing, it's a good thing. it stopped the city from flooding, it's a good thing. but you're not going to worry about where you're pushing the water. >> we would not have built a system that would have induced flooding in other places. >> reporter: the army corps of engineers will study the impacts of isaac and investigate if the new protection system ended up harming surrounding areas. >> and we will take this storm and run it through our models and see what lessons we learn. >> reporter: lessons that

residents hope will lessen the destruction when the next storm comes. frances koe, nbc news. here's a look at other stories making news in america. in oregon a five-alarm fire destroyed several buildings at a hotel complex. the hotel had been vacant for years and no one was hurt. some 200 firefighters had to be called in to knock down the flames. >> in alabama, it may be the most unusual result of hurricane isaac. the wreckage of a mystery ship that may be from the civil war era has been discovered along the beach due to all of the erosion from the storm. but even more amazing, the ship has been spotted before when the beach washed away in past hurricanes like ivan in 2004. finally, where else but buffalo would you hold the national buffalo wing festival. and the mandatory chicken wing-eating contest. taking top honors, the man with the indestructible appetite, joey chestnut. the perennial hot dog-eating

champ set a world recording, downing 191 wings in 12 minutes. oh my goodness. now for a look at your national and regional weather, bill karins with the weather channel forecast. it's lady, shouldn't they be ribs? >> wings are good anytime. >> how are you ordering them? hot, mild, super spicy? >> barbecued for sure. >> no, that is not me. >> well, good morning. let's take a look at your forecast. a lot of people with the dry forecast in the west. it has been a hot period here as we are going into september. still highs in the 80s and we are looking at 100s in the deserts. it has still been dry and the forest fire danger continues high in the west. even san francisco jumped into a

warmer temperature 74 degrees. 54 in san francisco, and in the 50s in the northwest. it is cool in the west and warm in the deserts of course. there is nothing out there that is going to cause us concerns in the west. high pressure dominates the pressure here and we are going to watch a stationary front here. we will see the clouds lingering in the coast. warm in medford, vegas to phoenix still very warm. for seattle, another dry day for you. it has been since july 20th was diego.st time you saw

warm late summer day. i would say looks like barbecue weather in the west. >> your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. this weekend, this movie set a record at the box office. the kind of record you don't want to set. maurice jones-drew straps on the pads. a pair of walkoffs on the diamonds. and a catch that will make you flip out. you are watching "early toe day".

welcome back to "early today."

here are some of your top headlines this morning. the death toll in syria last week was put at 1,600 people killed, the largest weekly figure of the rebellion according to the united nations children's fund. rebel groups say they plan to start targeting civil airports in damascus and aleppo tomorrow. in mexico police arrested a drug cartel leader known as the devil commander. he was wanted in a series of killings and was infamous for having some victims hanged from bridges. in egypt the country's first news anchor wearing a head scarf since 2002 appeared on state tv. the rule change on wearing a head scarf was made by the new information minister, a member of the muslim brotherhood. england's prince andrew and others jumped off the 87th floor of europe's tallest structure and rappelled more than 1,000 feet. the charity stunt was to raise money for the outbard bound trust.

prince andrew is the trust chairman. here's an "early look" at how wall street finished friday ahead of the holiday weekend. the dow closed at 13,090 after climbing 90 points friday. the s&p gained 7. the nasdaq rose 18. looking at overseas trading in tokyo, the nikkei dropped 56 points. in hong kong, the hang seng added 76. september is historically the worst month for stocks but there's reason to think this september may be different. friday ben bernanke gave his long-awaited jackson, wyoming, speech and hinted another round of economic stimulus to stimulate the recovery is on the way. the fed's next meeting will be on september 12th and 13th. given bernanke's clear signals, until then markets will be likely riding a wave of anticipation and optimism. this week, investors will also be looking ahead to another central bank meeting on thursday where it's expected the ecb may announce its own stimulus plan,

buying spanish and italian bonds helping take pressure off those indebted countries. all eyes on august employment report out friday. economists expect about 120,000 jobs were added in august. the "new york times" reports new york's attorney general is investigating tax strategies as some of the nation's largest private equity firms, including bain capital, founded by republican presidential nominee mitt romney. finally, officials in canada have discovered an undisclosed but significant amount of maple syrup was stolen, siphoned out of a warehouse in quebec. why maple syrup? at last year's baseline price, a barrel of maple syrup is worth more than 15 times what a barrel of oil is worth. the nfl's leading rusher gets back in action, and a tennis great keeps his career alive.

a home run-robbing catch that sends one minor leaguer over the wall. your "early morning" sports headlines are straight ahead. a recap of your labor day forecast. no one wants it but your back to work and school forecast too.

good morning. if you're just waking up this is "early today." in sports the atlanta braves capped off a ninth-inning rally against the philadelphia phillies with a three-run walkoff homer. here's nbc's mario solis and a look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. the chipper jones farewell tour keeps getting better and better. playing the phillies for the last time in atlanta and chipper goes out in style. a three-run walkoff homer in the ninth. braves win 8-7. things haven't gone exactly as planned for the dodgers since their trade last week. maybe this will start turning things around. down one in the ninth to arizona, adrian gonzales ripped a double into the corner. in come two. dodgers walk off with a 5-4 win. orioles' marc reynolds hit a pair of home runs against the yanks. balimore trail new york by two games for first place in the a.l. east. tigers moved into a tie for first with the white sox. delmon young's homer in the sixth is the difference.

tigers beat the sox 4-2. nfl, if you drafted maurice jones-drew in your fantasy football league, he ended his 38-day holdout. mjd did not get a new contract but he's back on the field. andy roddick beat fabio to advance to the fourth round of the u.s. open. the shot of the match, chasing down the lob shot and returning it between his legs. roddick would win the point but favio won over the crowd. it's not enough, roddick moves on. >> denny hamlin took the checkered flag in atlanta, it's his second straight win. a great catch in the minor leagues. aaa teams for the yanks and red sox. bases loaded, it's high, it's deep, it's gone. and so is the left fielder. jason repko makes the catch and flies over the wall, robbing fukudome of the grand slam head over heels.

that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. russell crowe loses his way. and kim kardashian is not getting something she wants. your "early morning" entertainment headlines are straight ahead. you can debate whether it's a sport but there's no question it's really, really fast.

welcome back on this labor day. temperatures warm in the desert and hot. mild and it hasn't rained in seattle for a while. well if you are watching us on knbc in los angeles, peer into some of the world's largest extremes. here's a look at this morning's headlines and entertainment news. at the box office this weekend, fear ruled. the horror film "the possession" took advantage of the holiday weekend. not much competition. and a pg-rating. to grab the top spot with $17.7 million.

and this one is bill's favorite film. "oogie love". that's not for you? >> no. >> how about this one? as expected, the big balloon venture earned the worst wide release opening ever, averaging just $207 a theater. >> you can do the math at $10 a ticket, 20 people average in every theater. >> elsewhere, oscar-winner russell crowe and a friend had to be rescued by a u.s. coast guard boat after they lost their way kayaking in the waters off new york's long island. oops. where's the compass? finally, check this out. hollywood's walk of fame is one place you won't be finding the ubiquitous kim kardashian. all saying she wanted her own star, winning the award is part of the criteria for being selected and a career in business or acting for five years or more. i wonder if that isn't true and

they just said that to her? wtwo, nbc news in terra haute, indiana, in nearby bloomington, watch closely. we did not speed up the video you are about to see. it shows 7-year-old austin who's shattering records for stacking cups. the second grader has been known to do it in less than 2 seconds. he got his start months ago after seeing videos of the so-called sports stacking online. >> you didn't speed that up? >> no, this is regular speed. austin says he feels like "the fastest in the whole universe." pretty fast. he has skills. >> he is the fastest in the world. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today," the first stop of the day today on your nbc stations.

on parade in poland. in the 18th annual sausage dog parade, owners and their pups strutted their stuff for hundreds of spectators. a fancy dress competition, in outfit was off-limits. although a pair of astronauts and then these two little guys also got hot dog you just saw, they were the crowd favorites. the top prize went to this guy, a sombrero-wearing pup. all right. at one festival in the netherlands redheads rule. 1,400 redheads from 52 countries gathered for the annual festival celebrating all things red. despite the fact that only 2% of the population has red hair, at this event redheads were not in the minority. the festival included a parade, a fashion show, and art exhibits. in croatia, baristas whipped up a coffee that would probably

keep you up for days. 1,000 baristas operating 22 coffee machines set the guinness record for the world's largest cup of cappuccino. individual portions were made with one part espresso, one part milk, one part foam, then they poured it into that giant cup you're looking at. the 531-gallon brew took just over three hours to make, that was it. >> that's great. on our shifts, working during the overnight, people think how much coffee do you drink, i've never had a cappuccino in my life. >> really? >> not even one. i don't drink coffee. >> we need a communal one right here in the studio. >> some days you feel like you need it. time for an early look at some of the stories we're following. a festival in charlotte, north carolina, will kick off the democratic national convention. the convention officially starts tomorrow. today the carolina fest outdoor party welcomes delegates and visitors. james taylor will be among the event's live performers.

in los angeles, actress, comedienne and talk show host ellen degeneris will get her own star on hollywood's walk of fame. the producer of walk of fame ceremonies promises in a nod to ellen's trademark move there will be dancing during today's ceremonies. a happy birthday to actor charlie sheen. he turns 47. stay on top of the latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." here's a look at what's coming up on the "today" show. do the scientologists interview potential wives for tom cruise? and rock the plaza with a special labor day concert. keep it on this channel for continuing local weather, sports and much more. i'm veronica de la cruz. "early today," just your first stop of the day on your nbc station. enjoy your labor day.