today," method to their madness. after months of rising tensions, north korea suddenly hints it's after direct nuclear talks with the united states. out of office. sarah palin steps down as governor and step into who knows what. and jump gone wrong. a man plunges hundreds of feet to the ground and lives to tell to the ground and lives to tell the tale. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning, everyone. i'm dan kloeffler. and today we begin with a stunning about-face. just months after its provacative nuclear exercises and reckless diplomat talk rattled the world, north korea now hears to be calling for direct dialogue with the united states. according to pyongyang's foreign ministry, they are open to,

quote, new dialogue over the weapons program. the communist regime did not make a direct call for talks at the u.s. but has made it clear it will not return to the six-nation talks with china, japan, two koreas and the u.s. a nuclear test and a series of banned missile talks with the u.s. on one-on-one talks. this morning the state of alaska has a new governor. sarah palin stepped down as alaska's leader. she has her sights on the white house once again but this time as a president chal contender. nbc's leanne gregg reports. >> reporter: after a weekend of good-byes from sarah palin came the official moment, the swearing in of a new governor of alaska. the former lieutenant governor will take over the remaining

year and a half of palin's term. >> it is my honor to speak to all alaskans, to our alaskan families this time as your governor. >> reporter: in palin's final address as governor, a tribute to her state. >> in alaska, it is not easy living but it is a good living. and here it is impossible to lose your way. >> reporter: with palin's path still undetermined, many speculate. >> i would like for her to run for president. >> reporter: whether that's in palin's plan is still uncertain. the sendoff started friday in her hometown of wasilla where they served food at one of three picnics she attended across the state. instead, words of gratitude. >> i do want to tell you sincerely that i love you, i appreciate you and your support sglb unknown on the national stage until john mccain picked

her as his running mate, palin burst onto the political scene. but mounting legal fees and dwindling popularity have plagued her. >> more than nine lives in american politics. and she's only on her first. so i think there's a lot potentially in her future. >> god bless alaska and god bless america. >> reporter: surrounded by family and sparts, most agreed palin's good-bye as governor looked nothing like a final political farewell. leigh-ann directing, nbc news. this morning the space shuttle "endeavour" is breathing a little easier thanks to fast work by nasa engineers. the air purifier at the international space station unheated making it unable to operate automatically. within hours they devised a system to operate it manual. it removes carbon dioxide from the air. cassady and marshburn will take

the fifth and final space walk of this mission before "endeavour" undocks on tuesday. now, here's a look at other stories making news "early today" in america. security cameras captured a bizarre robbery in massachusetts of a hammer-wielding bandit. he was able to get $100 from the register. his getaway car was waiting outside, but cops did arrest him at a nearby intersection. they discovered the suspect's brother is mayor of the neighboring town. some beachside residents in florida got an up-close view of a large water spout there. viewers sent in this video of this twisting funnel cloud. a separate tornado swept through the area causing major damage to over 60 homes. a colorado resident is lucky to be alive after a base jump that nearly killed hill. he has jumped over 200 times but in his last attempt last week he

waited too long to open his chute. remarkably he did survive without breaking any bones. the thrill seeker said he definitely plans to continue base jumping even after that. and in boston this may be the first six foot baby you've ever seen. just 5 days old, he stands tall at 6'4" inches. he has two sisters autumn and socks but the zoo holding a naming for this not so small monster. maybe fenway or green monster. here's bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, good morning. >> let the peel name the animals. and the sister's name is sox. this one's name will be patriots. >> but autumn. >> that was before they let the public. >> more than likely. >> good morning to you, dan, and everybody else out there. hope you had a beautiful summer weekend. it felt like summer. it was warm, humid.

we had a lot of afternoon thunderstorms popping up. strong ones around new york city yesterday afternoon. we still have areas of showers and storms out there even this morning. so a few spots. you will need your umbrella. it's not going to be coverage like we had yesterday for the storms today but there will be storms out there. the air mass is ahead of the cold front. it will trigger more storms later today, especially here in the southeast. we're into a more typical weather pattern now. here's early morning showers and storms exiting richmond. across the delmarva, chesapeake bay, southern maryland, pretty big-sized storms. they will roll through areas of oceanside. temperatures in the 70s. later this afternoon numerous locations you'll get the typical afternoon storms. that's your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. well, in northern areas of vermont we will see a chance of a stray thunderstorm today. further to the south in georgia, a chance of a storm or two

during the day today but the majority of the morning will be dry. dan, this looks very much like a summer like pattern. looks like we finally have shifted into the warmth. >> good news. good way to start off the week, bill. thank you, sir. stocks slipped to earnings for more steam, price fall at the pump and big ben thinks something smells bad. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, what do you get if you combine mission impossible with a group of guinea pigs? one big box office winner. baseball hall of fame inductions, a speeding ticket on the nascar track, and we'll show you how lance armstrong finished at the tour de france. you're watching "early today."

good morning, everyone, and welcome back to "early today." i'm dan kloeffler. and here are some of your top

headlines this monday morning. french president nicolas sarkozy was hospitalized. he was running during 80-degree heat and suffered a minor fainting spell. tests have found nothing wrong. this weekend the police chief of alexandria, virginia was arrested on charges of drunk driving. he got into a car accident with another vehicle, sending that driver to the hospital. baker, who had a blood alcohol level more than twice the league limit, is now on administrative leave. outside new york city, eight people were killed when a mini van packeded with children went down the wrong way of a highway and slammed into two vehicles. among those killed, 36-year-old mother driving that mini van along with her daughter, three nieces between the ages of 2 and 9. the woman's son did survive that accident. and a pistol that once belonged to the infamous bank robber john dilger has been auctioned off for more than

$95,000. that gun sold for more than double what was expected. it was said to be found in one of dillinger's socks 75 years ago. now, here's an early look how wall street will kick off the day today. the dow opens 9,023. the s&p added 2 points. the nasdaq lost 7. in hong kong, the hang seng jumped 268 points. the markets are looking to stay hot after surprise earnings reports kept up a major rally last week in wall street. invest ovrs will try to keep that rally going when major companies like visa, exxon mobil will were unveil their second quarter earnings. there is still plenty of concern hanging over the street. many companies are beating expectations by slashing expenses. that's not something they can continue to boost their profit. meanwhile, fed chair ben

bernanke is admitting he had a tough time swallowing last year's financial basis. he said he had to hold his nose while pushing through the rescues. the global recession will be at the top of the agenda when u.s. and chinese officials sit down today. officials are expected to stress that china cannot rely on american consumers to pull the global economy out of recession. the cost of self-serve regular gasoline down 7 cents a gallon the past two weeks, according to a recent survey. the national average stands at $2.49 a gallon, a dollar and a half cheaper than this time last year. europe avenues low-cost airline scored itself a major coup. irish airline ryanair had a 550% rise in profits thanks to a large reduction in fuel costs. they are calling the result, a

robust performance in a deep recession. many of our competitors were reporting increased losses. and finally a british reporter apologizing to jean elizabeth. it comes after the queen demanded to know why nobody had anticipated the credit crunch. the queen asks, you better have answers. going too fast in auto racing. baseball's newest members of the hall. and traj strikes the boxing world. plus, he had champagne in paris before but this time it's not quite the same. in weather, it's a hot and sticky monday. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, believe it or not it is possible to be too fast and too furious in nascar racing. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. nascar is all about speed. the faster you goshgs the better. but even nascar has speed limits. indianapolis, brick yard 400. montoya was dominating. had a five-second lead. that is an ee terpt on the track

but was flagged for going too fast on pit road. he finished 11th. talk about a costly ticket. jo tour de france, final stage in the streets of paris. seven-time tour winner lance armstrong saluting his teammate, contador. dominating performance, won by four minutes. armstrong finished in third. he's the second oldest rider to reach the podium. tragic news from boxing. two-time winner was shot and killed saturday night in atlanta. he reportedly chased two men after trying to steal his jaguar. forest was 38. now to baseball. they took two different paths, two different outfielders inducted into the hall of fame yesterday. elected in his first year of

eligibility. meantime, jim wright finally inducted in his last year of eligibility. he said it didn't matter. the call came 15 years late as long as he got in.the call came long as he got in. indy racing. tony kanaan in the pit when his car caught fire. sparking a blaze inside the cockpit. crew members from another scene rushed to his car to put out the flames. he suffered second-degree burns on his hands and face but he was okay. whether they were from his team or not, good to see guys out there helping somebody in danger. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> thank you, fred. the boy wizards fizzles not sizzles pe box office. your early morning enter statement headlines straight ahead. plus, they're back where they belong soaring high in the sky. you're watching "early today."

well, good monday morning. we showed you the storms earlier off the delmarva. we have a few storms in northern and central new hampshire, portland, auburn, maine and bangor area. wet weather possible today just about anywhere in the eastern seaboard. humid air mass. we'll get the sunshine early and showers popping up later this

afternoon. typical storms in the southeast. nothing too severe. isolated wind gusts and small hail that. should be about it. we should be dry in chicago. if you're watching wave 3 in louisville, kentucky, investigate unique sounds from mammals, birds and insects and learn how they make those sounds at the louisville science center exhibit, wild music. that's your eastern event of the day, dan. i still don't know how crickets do it. i hope they explain. >> they do a rubbing of the legs. it's their mating call. and the female it's the male afterwards. i don't know. >> now, an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. where at the box office guinea pigs pulled off one very major upset. the 3-d mixture of computer animation and live action, g-force was the upset winner this weekend opening with a way better than expected $32 million. what a difference a week can make. last week's number one, harry potter and the half-blood prince

finished with 30 million. the sixth potter film 61% over its $80 million last weekend. despite terrible reviews, the battles of the sexes romantic comedy the ugly truth took in 27 million for third place. horror debut orphan about a couple who doopts a not so nice little girl, finished fourth beating analyst's predictions with 13 million. transformers revenge of the fallen is the 10th highest grossing film of all time after making 8 million this weekend. did you see any films? >> i saw orphan, the number four flick. it's more suspense creepy. you know when you see a horror film and you go home and you're scared. it's not like that. this comes from wrc tv 4 in

washington, d.c. where in nearby lore ton, virginia, three bald eagles took to the sky againment they had been treated at a local wildlife center in the last month, including one with a broken wing. it was the first time the center ever released three at the same time. nearby residents of course getting the chance to see them proudly soaring through the sky. beautiful. i'm dan kloeffler, and this is nbc "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> a very good monday morning to you. we saw some strong to severe storms last night, damaging winds and torrential downpours, lightning. still more action this morning as all of this humid continues to percolate ahead of a cold front to our west. so the strong showers to the south of annapolis down into southern maryland, ocean city area. i'll expand the view. you can see there's even more activity as we zoom in closer. these strong lines are the red cells you see. actually, last night rotation was detected on h.d. doppler on h.d. doppler but nothing was indicated as far as the national weather service. but there was damage due to high winds. let's take a look at what we can expect today. very, very steamy outside. 75 to begin things. your forecast today gives us a high of 87 to 92. the front approaches to us and stalls out over the i-95 corridor. more on your seven-day summer time forecast in a little bit.

>> see you then. 4:57. here's a look ahead to 11 news today. >> a sunday cookout turns violent in east baltimore when a gunman opens fire, injuring a dozen people. details are next. >> can lawmakers strike a deal on health reform? i'm tracy potts in washington where the ?az has given up its deadline but the house is still working on it. >> and now that the storm is passing we do have several problem spots as a result of it. downed trees in many areas blocking lanes. we'll update you coming up.

[captioning made possible by constellation energy] captioned by the national captioning institute -- www.ncicap.org -- >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. you all right? >> takes me about a week to get back in the swing of things. >> welcome back. >> thank you very much. all choked up about it. >> welcome back to