and good wednesday to you. coming up on "early today" on the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, tensions run high around the world as president obama lays out his plan for syria in cooperation with russia. signs of 2016, hillary clinton with jeb bush, focused on iowa d new hampshire. outrageous. did a governor delay a death row execution because of a political fund-raiser? plus oprah winfry on why balloons threaten the heck out of her. this steamy video on the internet. and a one-way ticket to mars. thousands have applied. "early today" starts now. this is "early today" for

wednesday, september 11. good morning. i'm richard lui. a military strike is on hold and diplomacy taking center stage in the crisis in syria. in an address to the nation late tuesday, the president said the u.s. would work with russia, china and u.s. allies to force syria to hand over the chemical weapons it allegedly used on its own people. tracie potts is in washington for us this morning. good morning to you. how much fraction does this possible solution have right now in washington? >> well, it's actually, richard, raising a lot of questions here in washington, including with president obama who addressed this in his speech last night, saying that while there's promise here, and there's hope, there's also a track record with both syria and russia and that our military needs to stay ready while we wait to see if this solution will work. president obama says he may still send missiles to destroy syria's chemical weapon capability if russia's plan to get rid of them doesn't work. >> sometimes resolutions and

statements of condemnation are simply not enough. >> reporter: russia is blocking a united nations resolution that leaves open the possibility of a military strike. >> the russians and the syrians don't have a great track record with following through. >> we need to really make it happen. >> reporter: the president argues military force affects our own security because chemical weapons not destroyed could be used on our allies and even u.s. troops. >> other tyrants will have no reason to think twice about acquiring poison gas and using them. >> reporter: republicans criticize the u.s. response as haphazard and embarrassing. >> we fail to see national security interest in a war between a leader who gases his own citizens. >> reporter: others say they'll vote no if the president pushes for air strikes. >> the support is just not there. that means we have to find other options. >> brand new this morning, united nations report that details atrocities that have

been going on, not just chemical attacks, but other atrocities going on within syria. it blames both the rebels and the government and says a political solution here is the only way for peace in that country. richard? >> tracie, thank you very much for that update there. secretary of state john kerry is traveling to russia. keir simmons joins us now. how much of this meeting hinges on the meeting specifically? >> reporter: an awful lot of it hinges on that meeting and an awful lot of it on the detail that the russians present at that meeting. here in moscow, behind closed doors, they will be working hard on that detail because whatever you think of russia's motivation in this and what diplomacy might be involved, clearly, they are allies of the assad regime in syria. the simple idea of trying to put syrian chemical weapons on the

international control is very difficult of itself because, of course, there is a civil war happening there. so simply how you do it will be a question they'll be trying to resolve. and then there are clearly hurdles still between russia and the united states. the president suggesteding last night aggressive force would still be on the table. not just suggesting it. russia saying we want that threat off the table before we can come to an agreement. >> keir simmons, thank you so much. live in moscow for us. shared stage for hillary clinton and jeb bush in california. former secretary of state was awarded a medal for her lifelong service. there's speculation that both may run for president in 2016. they put politics aside here to talk about this issue that we've been talking about, syria. >> that violates a universal norm at the heart of our global order and it demands a strong response from the international community led by the united

states. this debate is good for our democracy. >> and while bush didn't directly address syria, the former florida governor did pay tribute to the 12th anniversary of 9/11. >> we were all tested that day, but we never lost our enduring loyalty to the constitution, its protections and its freedoms. america has undergone many chapters, many trials, things the founders could have never imagined, and yet the constitution remains as relevant as ever and brings clarity to the complexity of modern america. talking about races, the race to lead the nation's largest city went to voters on tuesday. surprise, surprise here. new york will not be in the hands of anthony weiner. this morning it is unclear if it will be enough to avoid a runoff. republican joe lhoda won the republican nomination. two politicians looking for

redemption did not get that. weiner finished a distant fifth in his race for mayor and eliot spitzer lost his bid for city co comptroller. voters in colorado went to the polls to throw two lawmakers out of office. this morning those votes have succeeded. senate president john morse and senator angela gerren have been recalled. the two democrats provided crucial support for a package of state laws strengthening gun control. the outcome will not affect those measures or their enforcement. it also does not change control of the general assembly. google's street view vehicles can collect a lot more data than just pictures. a judge has ordered had they stop doing it. the internet giant had vehicles collect e-mails, passwords and other internet data while photographing neighborhoods. after the loss in court, google agreed to stop collecting the data, but still claims what it

did there was not illegal. flood waters in arizona have some residents maneuvering through treacherous floodwaters using canoes. more storming is predicted throughout the day today. bill karins, whenever you see canoes like that -- >> how about just canoes in arizona? how many canoes are in the desert in arizona? >> how many own canoes? >> that's what i'm wondering. >> we have very good camera people. >> i know we do. i've done rafting in some rivers there. i don't know about canoeing. let's talk about the heat that's on board for the midwest today. today will be another very warm day. we do have excessive heat, a few spots there. we have heat advisories, late summer heat advisories along i-5, eugene, salem up to portland, 90 to 95. we have a little bit of rain left over in arizona, spinning around there just outside of las vegas this morning.

and a few showers up there around salt lake city. it won't be a lot of wet weather, but still watching that monsoonal flow, upper level low spin in there, near vegas. that will spark showers and storms there. the heat, incredible late summer heat. not record high, but still very, very warm this time of year. that's y big ones today, but with temperatures this warm and humidity levels pretty low. it does look like there's an end in sight. pacific northwest cannot continue this warm for long. >> they've had a great summer. they can take every day they like mplt. police are trying to recover video footage george zimmerman's wife used to record confrontation between she and

her husband. the ipad was smashed.

today marks the 1-year anniversary since the september 11 attacks. in shanksville, pennsylvania, there was a groundbreaking ceremony for a permanent visitor center at the flight 93 memorial. ceremonies are also planned in new york. nbc's danielle lee is live there for us in manhattan at the world trade center site. danielle, good morning. >> reporter: richard, good morning. standing on the corner, just outside of the world trade center site, we can see the hustle and bustle of people going about their daily lives. for the families and friends of the victims this is a cherished time and a time they pause and remember every single year. they go back to now that two-year-old memorial plaza marking the names of the victims. it is here where they will gather to read those names aloud

today. they will be pausing in silence to remember each of the attacks. not just here in new york city, but also at the pentagon and in shanksville, pennsylvania. no politicians will be speaking here. new york city mayor michael bloomberg has made it a point to keep the city focused on the victims and the families. i'm danielle lee. richard, back to you. >> danielle, thank you so much for that. florida attorney general pam bondi is in some hot water after delaying an execution because it conflictd with a political fund-raiser. the execution of convicted murderer marshall lee gore had been stayed twice. now bondi is apologizing for delaying it a third time. the two prison guards who were on duty when aerial castro was found hanged in his prison cell, have been plasd on administrative leave. he had been checked every 30 minutes but had recently been taken off that status.

trooper crashed into a motorcycle at a dangerous high speed. the couple on that motorcycle surprised that collision. it's surprising to see this. they're reportedly not doing well, with one still suffering from a concussion. a black bear in tennessee was just a little bit lost over the weekend, shall we say, in that video you see. the bear runs down the street, uses the crosswalk and then disappears down an alley. maybe he was shopping? i don't know. in health, potential breakthrough for the treatment of early stage breast cancer according to a new fda review, women who received the roche drug perjeta had significantly fewer tumors than those who received older drug combinations. they are recommending accelerating approval of the drug. let's take you to business. apple getting fancy and frugal at the same time, introducing two versions of the newest iphones, including a cheaper version made of plastic and

pricier model that reads your fingerprint. co-founder of the boston beer company that makes samuel adams has now been classified as a billionaire. cook and his co-founders started boston beer in 1984. u.s. income inequality reached a record last year, 19% of the household income, in 2012 that is the largest share in irs records going back one century. motorola, producing the first smart phone to be assembled in the united states. the new facility in ft. worth, texas, is creating over 2,000 new tech jobs. and according to the huffington post, detroit fast food burger joint will be paying fast food workers $15 an hour, starting october 1st. moo cluck moo. all your sports highlights, straight ahead. stick around for that.

now the late northwest sports for you. the tenth time could be a charm here. team u.s.a. headed to the world cup in brazil. eddie johnson scoring on a header against mexico. 30 minutes after that landon donovan, kicking in a goal. team u.s.a. clinching the seventh in a row despite being short two players.

>> it was a $100,000 play. detroit star suh with a fine. he plans to appeal. he was fined for the same offense last year after kicking houston's qb in the groin. did clint boyar intend to spin out? his racing team michael waltrip racing getting fined for just that, $300,000. officials say that changed saturday's sprint race outcome. boyer says it was not intentional. allegedly recei $25,000 or more annually from state boosters and others. allegations span over ten years, involving sex, drugs and academic misconduct. the school says it's launched an investigation and notified the ncaa. there are four more parts to this sports illustrated investigation. after the controversy over signing autographs, johnny manziel may feel like a pinata.

one bar thinks so. that's a pinata. next to it? a sharpie and wad of cash. watch the trainer in black pants. he blocks two shots that would have beaten his team. on his back, he kick it is. opposing team runs after him. he picks up his bag, runs over. then he turns around, throws the bag at him and gets out of there. that really happened in brazil. just ahead, late night with jimmy fallon just got more interesting with timberlake on tuesdays. next.

grab the sunscreen for the kids if they're going to be outside today and also maybe a fan. sitting in the shade is even going to be warm. 92 in boise, mid 90s in oregon today. showers and storms in the midwest. as we go into thursday, heat continues, cooler in portland at 89. it's not until sunday that we start to get a pattern change in the next cold front and storm system will come on shore. sunday, next chance for coolish type weather in portland. >> like that view of the weather. >> miley cyrus proving her 15 minutes of fame are far from over. take a look. ♪ i put you high up in the sky ♪ and now you're not coming down ♪ >> so "wrecking ball qug as the video is called, was watched 19 million times, shattering the

record for most views in a 24-hour period. over time, my eyes opened and i could no longer be affiliated with the organization and my family felt the same. so we left. >> leah rear remini has finally broken her silence to ellen. she says she's lost friends. unfavorable articles on hollywood's a-listers. "late night with jimmy fallon" kicked off timberlake tuesday, by paying homage to the art of touchdown dancing. have you got any there? the duo performed classics. there were few routines that would likely ever make it to an end zone celebration. these two are always hilarious.

esquire magazine is commemorating its 80th edition, celebrating the american man. this edition features photo essays and in-depth profiles on accomplished fellows, such as president barack obama. and finally this one is hard to believe but oprah fans are in for a huge surprise when they learn what terrifies the media mogul in next month's "o" magazine. >> a lot of people don't know this, but i really don't like balloons. i don't like balloons. >> winfrey goes on to say she doesn't like them because they remind her of gunfire. i'm richard lui and we hope this is just your first stop of the day on nbc.

leading the news on time.com, bride charged with pushing groom off a cliff. the article says that accelerating the till death do us part clause in her marriage vow, the newlywed allegedly shoved her husband off a cliff a week after they tied the knot. on slate.com, want to live and die on mars? these 200,000 people do. the mars one project says six teams will get a one-way ticket to the red planet on 2023 to be space pioneers on a settlement. how do they get back here? topping our news right now, in an address to the nation late tuesday, a military strike on hold and diplomacy taking center stage. handing over the chemical weapons it allegedly used on its own people.

secretary of state john kerry is expected to travel to geneva to meet with russia's foreign minister about that possible solution. two prison guards on paid leave after as ariel castro was found hanged in his prison cell. we remember the nearly 3,000 people lost in the 9/11 attacks 12 years ago. the new freedom tower is expected to be completed early next year. foul ball. >> in the glove, too? >> at the colorado rockies, san francisco giants game. >> she had the glove on. >> doing the victory dance. there we go. she celebrated here. smith is her name. she had a little bit of a dance there. hugged nearby friends and family. the ball was hit by rockies todd helton at the bottom of the ninth. smith is a mother of nine, grandmother of 16. great grandmother of 15. >> wow! >> showing them all -- >> not an ease you one either.

looked like a pretty good line shot. >> she got it. she had the right glove. she was ready for this, too. i want to see one more time. time now for a look ahead and a look back. one year ago today, the benghli embassy in benghazi was attacked. ordered stepped up security at u.s. embassies in africa, asia and the middle east. happy birthday to actor and rapper ludicrus, harry connick jr. turns 46 and maria bartiromo is also 46. i'm richard lui. for bill karins, you're watching "early today." have a very good wednesday.

. . a new attack in benghazi overnight exactly one year after the attack that killed u.s. ambassador, christopher stephens. we will have details plus the new developments into the investigation into last year's consul at attack next as the nation and the bay area get ready to remember 9/11, a new local memorial in the works to remember bay area victims police looking for the person that took advantage of the men and women fighting the fire in mt. diablo. what some firefighters found when they returned home. a live look outside. that is from san francisco. you can see this, the palace of fine arts in the distance, getting us rolling on this wednesday, september 11th. this is "today in the bay."