today," deadly rampage. a gunman opened fire on a pennsylvania health club, killing three people. mission accomplished. former president bill clinton secured the release of two american journalists held by north korea. and holy land leaked. a tourist camera captures a horse galloping over a car in a tourist camera captures a horse galloping over a car in northern israel.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a sudden burst of gunfire. this morning police are trying to piece together what compelled a gunman to open fire on a pittsburgh area fitness club last night, killing four people including himself. officials say the suspect calmly entered the fitness super in bridgeville before releasing a barrage of gunfire. at least 10 people were injured in the attack. panicked crowds scrambled for cover before the gunman apparently took his own life. the investigation is just unfolding this morning. so far no motive for the shooting has been revealed. elsewhere, the families of laura ling and euna lee are filled with joy this morning. the two journalists freed from captivity are on their way home

from thanks to a visit from a prominent visit. george lewis is at bob hope airport where their plane is expected to arrive later this morning. george, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. it should be quite a reception as former president bill clinton brings them home. they're expected to arrive at 5:30 this morning. the release of the two journals came at the end of a 20-hour visit by former president clinton. while in the north korean capital, mr. clinton met with top officials, including north korea leader kim jong-il. wednesday morning korean time, they had been pardoned for crossing the border for crossing into north korea illegally. they had been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. elated is lee's father and her aunt. >> i'm looking forward to seeing her. we waited five months now.

>> what i just watched on the news was the first pictures i've seen of laura. and to me she looks fabulous. i don't know if she's lost weight. i just see that she's up walking, smiling. and so that's good enough for me. >> reporter: the clinton visit to north korea that led to the release of the two journals came at the end of intense negotiations, possibly involving clinton's wife, the secretary of state hillary clinton. feather in the cap for u.s. diplomacy as these two women come home. back to you. >> george, thanks so much. and this morning russia is flexing its military muscle with a highly unusual exercise far closer to washington than to moscow. in a scene straight out of the cold war, the u.s. military sent for days a pair of nuclear submarines have been patrolling over the u.s. earn seaboard.

officials say the attacks have not entered u.s. waters or provoked american ships, this activity signals a more aggressive military stance by moscow. experts say it's likely an effort to display its naval strength which has been dramatically diminished since the soviet union's collapse. now here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. three shocks from a taser were no match for one tennessee suspect. the 300-pound man appeared unphased after an officer tasered him for resisting arrest. he got up and started walking oo away, so another cop shot a taser at him. that didn't phase him either. despite the man pulling off probes, police eventually took down the suspect and arrested him. fireballs erupted for hours from a burning michigan fuel storage facility. the fire sent sploiding oil barrels high into the air,

forcing firefighters to retreat the blaze and residents to evacuate for miles. officials say only an unmanned track shooting flame-retardant foam could be used. torrential rains caused major flooding in kentucky and left a parking lot of churchill downs, home to the kentucky derby, looking more like a marina. the main library is under three and a half feet of standing water. some residents are stranded in their homes and thousands have lost power. president obama celebrated his 48th birthday in washington, d.c. but he didn't party alone. the commander in chief surprised veteran white house reporter helen thomas with a birthday cake. celebrating her 89th birthday, the long-time white house reporter has covered ever president since john f. kennedy. >> now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill

karins with the cl channel forecast. he will be singing happy birthday to the president and to helen thomas. take it away. >> marilyn monroe did it very well. >> we'll leave it to that. >> let's talk about your forecast after today. good morning. that rain in louisville was so impressive. we had four inches in two hours. just too much rain in too short a time. a one in 500 year event there in the louisville area. this morning you're cloudy, light showers around. no more flooding rain like we saw yesterday. here's the setup for today. we have a storm system trying to move through, this front. we have high pressure in the gulf. a funnel of warm, humid air is riding all the way you want earn seaboard into new england. we will have scattered storms later today from lake placid to burlington, vermont. we could see scattered storms just about anywhere. very muggy. 75 in new york.

75 in d.c. along that front later this afternoon with the heat and humidity, we will spark some storms in the big cities. but warm in most areas. a lot of areas up there in the mid-90s in the mid atlantic states. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look outside your window. atlantic city, new jersey, 91. slight chance of a storm. richmond, hot, 93. columbia, south carolina, the hottest on the east coast with 97. lynn, one more day of heat and humidity. this cold front will cool us off. i'll give you the details coming up. bill, thanks so much. cat pillar struts, pepsi purchases and the taxi that lets you pay your way. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, she was always at the heart of the train wreck. now that she's gone will "american idol" fans keep

watching. albert pujols in the big apple and one of the wackiest plays you'll ever see. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. and here are some of your top headlines. senate majority leader harry reid said he has the votes to pass the $2 billion cash for clunkers voucher. it gives drivers financial incentives for trade anything gas-guzzling vehicles. mcconnell predicts the passage as well. in iran, mahmoud ahmadinejad was sworn as the country's president for a second term. meanwhile, a top iranian lawmaker says they are to bring spy charges against three americans. a panel of federal judges is ordering the california prison

system to slash its inmate population by 27%. about 40,000 inmates within two years. they say it's the only way to change what they call an unconstitutional prison health care system that causes one unnecessary death each week. new satellite imagery shows the amazon rain forest in june was four times worse than just a month before. 223 square miles were lost, an area about half the size of los angeles. and in israel, tourists captured incredible video of horses running with a car. fortunately the vehicle slowed down before the impact. both the driver and the horse escaped with minor injuries. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 9,320 after rising 33 points on tuesday. the s&p nudged up 3. the nasdaq was up 2 points. taking a look at overseas

trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei fell 122 points, while in hong kong the hang seng tumbled 301 points. after a full throttle rally for the last few weeks on wall street, investors shifted into lower gear on tuesday. the wait and see attitude of investors didn't cut into recent gains. by the closing bell, mashlths inched up enough to local new naerl highs across the board. the dow and s&p nudged up. the nasdaq saw its up. shares of the heavy equipment maker 6.1%. shares in pepsi jumped 5% after the second largest soft drink maker agreed to buy the bottling group in a deal worth $7.8

billion, seeking to cut cost sps boost profits in north america. shares of pepsi bottling were up 8.5%. a rise in consumer spending and pending home sales reflected signs of life in the lagging economy. despite numbers showing americans shed out more in june, personal income reports reminded investors workers are still bringing home less. keep an eye on shares of kraft. they beat earnings estimates after the bell tuesday, reporting 11% rise in profit. soaring food costs took a bite out of the second quarter revenue sending shares down 2% in after-hours trading. finally, a vermont taxi driver is taking the high road during this recession s. the 46-year-old cabby takes his customers for a ride and the fare is up to them. most pay in cash but he has received a cd and grocery gift

card. something is better than nothing. a walk-off for the rays and the christmas present for nba fans. plus, albert pujols makes a grand statement against the mets. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. the wednesday weather features features a heat wave in texas and storms brewing in the east. 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, the new york yankees stormed into toronto last night leaving the blue jays and their all-star hurler in the dumpt here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. what a difference a week makes for the blue jays's roy halladay. today he's recovering from his second straight loss. halladay making his first start since the trade deadline. a tough one against the yanks. gave up back-to-back home runs. yanks remain in first place in the east with a 5-3 win. the braves longoria had other ideas. not one but two home runs. second two-run walk-off in the 13th.

4-2. a day after teammate reynolds hit a pair against the mets, roberts did the same thing. knocked two off zach duke. diamondbacks won their third in a row, 6-0 over the pirates. just give the mvp trophy to albert pujols right now. he outdid himself by smashing a grand slam in the 10th. a pair of homers and rbi. 12-7 in extra innings. season begins october 27th with the caps themselves. and eggnog with kobe, shaq and la bron on christmas day. love will be in the air at the annual all-star game on valentine's day. finally, back to new york for a wild play by the mets. molina with a shot up the middle. santa that with a foot on it.

crazy play. kick save and a beaut by santana. bare hand the ball. that is definitely teamwork. that is your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. is brad pitt quitting the movies? your early morning entertainment headlines straight ahead. plus, we all know it's what cops and firefighters do bust, save little ducklings. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this wednesday. here's a recap of your forecast. nice and dry today chicago, detroit, cincinnati and louisville area. you deserve it after yesterday. the storms, though, from d.c., new york, to boston. not everyone is going to get hit. but it's so humid there will be a few strong storms. and also hot and humid in the southeast with scattered storms out there from orlando to atlanta. everybody by the time thursday arrives, a much dryer forecast and a more enjoyable air mass. the humidity will be knocked down a notch. if you're watching channel 10, columbia, south carolina, discover the science behind natural disasters through hands-on activities at the south carolina state museum exhibit "powers of nature." that's your eastern event of the day. >> sounds like the power of nature. thanks so much, bill.

now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. imagine yoet i love lucy" without lucy and "american idol" without paula abdul. she said with sadness in my heart, i have sbided not to return to idol. many speculate producers were forced to take her out, with a low contract offer, forcing her to quit. she was offered a guess judge spot on so you think you can dance. now maybe that offer becomes more permanent. brad pitt hints he may retire from movies because he thinks most roles are written for younger actors. a life-sized statue of angelina jolie pregnant and nursing two bothers in honor of world breast feeding week. finally, while it's expected g.i. joe the rise of cobra may

have the biggest opening it's definitely not a good sign paramount has refused to screen the blockbuster for critics beforehand. i don't know. a lot of people are still speculating about this paula abdul thing. say it ain't. so she'll come back. just give her a little bit of money. but seems like it's a done deal. >> yeah. this could be serious. i'm trying to figure out how the show will do without her. i know i'm going to miss her. >> how will it go on? and this comes from weau 13 in eau claire, wisconsin, in nearby altoona, two police officers came to the rescue of five feathered friends. the ducklings were trapped after falling into a road side drain. with crowds watching, police fished into the sewer and reached each of them to safety. it was clear there was a whole lot of luck surrounding these five little ducks. i'm lynn berry.

this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> top of this wednesday morning to you. we are going to be quite warm and humid today. we will see some showers and thunderstorms this evening. intense, severe weather in tennessee valley this morning. over the ohio valley yesterday, some major flash flooding. 6 inches of rain fell in one hour. most of that will be going to

our satz -- south. the front is to our north. it will be getting here later this afternoon and pushing through overnight. we will have scattered showers and storms. 71 degrees at the airport this morning. 87-91 degrees today. thunderstorms late this afternoon and evening and perhaps overnight. the showers will stay around thursday morning. a high-pressure bills in. i will tell you what that means coming up in a bit. >> here is a look ahead at "11 news today." >> i am nikole killion in washington with more on the homecoming of journalists from north korea. that story coming up. >> governor o'malley announces major plans to expand the light rail in maryland. the details are straight hair. -- straight ahead. >> i will update you on the paris for expressway. paris for expressway.