this morning on "early today," supreme decision. today senators will vote on whether the nation will have its first hispanic supreme court judge. following the money. an ex-congressman is caught with a suitcase full of cash. and what was he thinking? a murder suspect in ohio pleads not guilty, then spits at the a murder suspect in ohio pleads not guilty, then spits at the judge presiding over his case.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning, everyone. i'm dan kloeffler. and today we begin with work before play. the senate is set to begin its august break tomorrow, but first lawmakers are planning to vote on a pair of high profile issues. more than two months before she was nominated to supreme court, the senate will hold a confirmation vote for sonia sotomayor. she is expected to win easy confirmation. with another two republicans announcing their support for her yesterday. meanwhile, lawmakers have agreed to vote on a plan to add another $2 billion to the so-called cash for clunkers program. it follows some intense negotiations between party leaders who were sharply split on the incentives. drivers will have until september to trade in their gas guzzlers for more fuel-efficient vehicles. a former louisiana congressman is facing more than

20 years in prison after being found guilty in a bribery and racketeering case. infamous for bundles of cash found stuffed inside the congressman's freezer. prosecutors say william jefferson sought out hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from companies involved in projects in africa. he then used his position in congress to promote those businesses without disclosing his personal stake in the deals. surveillance video showed jefferson moving briefcases in and out of the trunk of his car before federal agents raided his home. that's where they found $90,000 wrapped in his freezer. american journalist laura ling and euna lee received a very emotional homecoming yesterday thanks to the former u.s. president who traveled halfway around the world to rescue them. after spending months in north korean captivity, wondering if they would ever see their families again, the two finally got to sleep in their own beds last night.

nbc's jay gray has the story. >> reporter: as euna lee and laura ling stepped off the plane and back into freedom, they carried with them the emotions of nearly five months in captivity. >> the past 140 days have been the most difficult, heart-wrenching time in our lives. >> reporter: her voice quivering, ling talked about the moment the women realized they were finally going home. >> we feared that at any moment we could be sent to a hard labor camp. >> reporter: instead, communist officials took the american journalists to a different location. >> when we walked through the doors we saw standing before us president bill clinton. we were shocked, but we knew instantly in our hearts that the

nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end. >> reporter: the former president made the trip to california, where he was greeted by his vice president, al gore, who founded current tv, the network the women were working for when they were taken into custody. >> it speaks well of our country that when two american citizens are in harm's way that so many people would just put things aside and just go to work to make sure that this has had a happy ending. >> reporter: president obama shared in the joy from the white house. >> we are obviously extraordinarily relieved. >> reporter: but this day it isn't about the fanfare or politicians. it's about two families that are finally whole again. >> to be able to look into her eyes and her little face today was absolutely indescribable. >> reporter: a vision they had been hoping and waiting for for

almost five months now. jay gray, nbc news, los angeles. >> big relief for those families. now here's a look at some other news "early today" in america. one man didn't have enough trouble on his hands. during a hearing in which he pled guilty, the defendant spat in the judge's face. deputies escorted the man out of the courtroom. so far no additional charges have been filed for that spitting. >> electrifying video from an lightning striking a tower. fortunately, it had a camera rolling at its base. the structure is grounded so it didn't cause any damage. one powerful storm in indiana did cause plenty of devastating destruction there. a dozen homes were damaged or demolished. entire roofs were just ripped from some of these homes. the national weather service is still trying to determine if that storm qualifies as a

tornado or heavy winds. fortunately, no injuries have been reported. a mississippi organization is hoping a melon that could feed an army will help raise a chunk of money for veterans. the local american legion post will auction off this 158-pound watermelon donated by one of its auctions were proceeds will go to supporting veteran causes in the area. and now for a look at the national and the regional weather, here's nbc's meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. hey, bill, good morning. >> good morning. as far as what we're looking at, the hottest weather today will be down here in texas where the heat will continue easily 100. we'll call it low 90s down through the southeast. but a lot of other areas are now a little bit cooler. a cold front has pushed through some locations of new england, also some areas of the ohio valley. so it's going to keep it nice and relatively cool today from the great lakes back through new england. that's where the dewpoints are

lower and it doesn't feel feel as humid. clouds and showers to areas like washington, d.c. where we're already seeing some light rain. baltimore has got some light rain. just one thunderstorm complex over the delmarva, over the chesapeake, into delaware. we have scattered storms and showers along areas of north carolina and virginia. is so in that area you probably need your umbrella. it's only a little bit of rain. that will move up into new jersey later today. temperatures, as i mentioned, will be warm in the southeast but enjoyable to the north. that's your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. well, coolest weather will be in the great lakes and northern new england. burlington, vermont, only 75 today. cleveland, beautiful, 79 and sunny. the humidity is still there, though, in the southeast. that will spark shows from wilmington to f. myers. dan, that's a look at your

thursday thoeshg. thank you, sir. appreciate it. wall street wobbles, auto supplier, and sisco symptom bells. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, paula abdul's seat isn't even cold yet but reports say "american idol" producers have already found her replacement. eli manning hits the jackpot, the mets lose a pitcher and somebody let the cat out of the bag in kansas city. you're watching "early today."

good morning, everyone and welcome back to "early today." i'm dan kloeffler. san online journal by george sodini, a man who shot to death three women at a fitness center shows he was lonely. he prepared that for nine months, even making practice runs to the fitness center.

american psychological association declared wednesday that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments. instead, the organization urged therapists to consider other options to help clients whose sexual orientation conflicts with their religion. in a somewhat surprising turn in college rankings, the u.s. military academy at west top sits a top "forbes" magazine of best universities. based on quality of education, student experience and student achievement saw princeton fall to number two, california institute of technology third, harvard in fifth. and an unemployed mother, pregnant with her seventh child, is turning to ebay to help earn a little money. the mom is selling the rights to name the baby she's about to have. bidding starts at $150. it's up to well over $2,000. now here's an early look how

wall street will kick off the day today. the dow opens 9,280 after stumbling 39 points on wednesday. the s&p was down 2. the nasdaq fell 18 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning or, in tokyo, the nikkei jumped 135 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng surged 404 points. there's been plenty of numbers pouring in this week from wall street, but it's a report due friday that really has investors's attention. with the dow enjoying 14% spike in just 18 days, stocks took a slight hit yesterday on more disappointing earnings. in a testament to the recent rally however, the biggest point drop since july 7th. still, investors are playing it cautious with all eyes fix odd tomorrow's jobs report. that reading could have lasting impressions and set the tone for the economic recovery. analysts say the jobless rate likely rose to 9.6% with another 320,000 jobs being slashed for the month of july.

that may sound bad, but it would be actually about 150,000 less than the month before. wednesday's stock drop also prompted by a disappointing report on the service industry. a closely watched index showed the sector shrank for the 10th straight month shedding 0.6% from june. fortunately, it is hard to talk about a down day in the markets without talking about the auto industry. the senate will be providing more cash for the cash for clunkers program auto suppliers are still in deep trouble. a $288 million loss due to the drawn-out shutdowns of g.m. and chrysler. another company feeling the heat, sysco systems. earnings fell 46% but profits still beat expectations. still shares fell 3%. and in a seattle tiny mistake put out big consequences. a contractor contracted to dig a ditch ended up making it a

little too narrow. the.02 inch difference, the size of a dime, meant a cable line couldn't fit. the project was delayed two months and the company could face a bill of a million dollars. the whole measure twice, cut once, that's overrated. another hurler won't be hurling for the mets. die-hard fans show their meddle in houston. plus, both teams had nine men on the field last night in kansas city. the surprise addition did not help out the home team. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. thursday weather, cooler conditions from the northwest to the northern plains and even now new england. 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, last night was a bittersweet one for the new york mets. they managed to pummel the st. louis cardinals but they also managed to add two more players to their already swollen list of injured players. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. you could argue that the new york mets are more of a mass unit than a baseball team. yesterday they lost two more players to injuries. rookie pitcher jonathon niese hurt his right leg while covering first base on a double play. it looked painful.

while making matters worse, he collapsed to the ground. diagnosis, a completely torn hamstring. he's done for the season. replaced niese on the mound helped his cause in the double to soar after ankiel's glove. that scored a pair. mets lost two players but won the game, 9-0. on a team with hamilton, you wouldn't think j.a. would be the one to pitch a game shutout but that's exactly what happened with the rockies. allowed four hits and struck out a career-high 10. pedro feliz, rollins and werth all hit homers. defending champs smashed the rockies, 7-0. no team happier about the rockies loss to the giants. they moved a half game ahead of colorado in the wild card thanks to this grand slam by white. a grand slam is always impressive but check out the fan who caught the ball. he launched the ball all the way past third base. sign him up. he's got a cannon. from a guy who can throw to a feline on the go. somebody let the cat on the bag

during the royals/mariners game. ground crew corralled the kitty in the bull pen avoiding a catastrophe. eli manning agreed to a six-year, $97 million contract extension that will make him among the highest paid in the nfl. annual salary, over $15 million. great catch to show you, the pirates/diamondbacks. parra, shot to the gap. salazar left his feet and made a diving grab. all parra could do was tip his cap. salazar airborne to make the play. arizona won it 4-3. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> well, thank you fred. jon and kate separate. and the viewers change the channel. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, are three bear cubs more fun than a barrel of monkeys?

you're watching "early today."

welcome back. here's another look at the radar. the yirs of rain this morning down through the mid atlantic up into the washington, d.c. area, have had some light rain. moderate rain passing the chesapeake, over towards dover with one thunderstorm. a lot of that intended for southern new jersey.

it should clip the philadelphia area with showers. everywhere else this morning you look dry. well, if you're watching wavy tv 10, norfolk, virginia, learn about the inhabitants of the chesapeake bay and meet some of them face to face at the jordan-newby library, down by the bay. >> thank you, bill. now, here's another look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. the shine and the glare of the spotlight past for "jon & kate plus 8". when the reality show couple's marriage hung in the balance the season premiere notched 110 million viewers. tuesday's half-hour return episodes drew only about 4 million. find a replacement for paula abdul won't be easy but england sun reports producers are already negotiating with victoria beckham, former posh spice. finally, what has gotten

into joan rivers? first, she blasted jay leno's new 10:00 show, saying it will help america fall asleep earlier. then she accused brooke shields of exploiting michael jackson's memorial service for face time. she's ripped into john gosselin saying, quote, i'm disgusted by him. here's a guy about eight kids who runs off to find himself. well, he should have found himself a condom. no holding back. this comes from kusa 9 news in denver where in nearby colorado springs three baby bears have found a favorite backyard. this is the third time this tri o of bear cubs dropped by, causing a little mischief. the damage is pretty minimal. she also remembered never to get too close especially since mama bear is never too far away. makes some great pictures anyway. i'm dan kloeffler, and this is "early today," just your fist 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-- >> we are going to be cooler than normal and mostly cloudy thanks to the slow moving front. it has not gone through the area yet. we have some showers around the area this morning. is significant amount of lightning on the eastern shore. it looks like we will remain

unsettled this morning. some grain may pick up later this afternoon. temperatures -- summer rain may pick up later this afternoon. los 70's on the eastern shore. we will be up to 78 degrees-83 days -- 83 degrees in baltimore today. cooler than normal. enjoy it while you can. we are on a weather rollercoaster. we will hit the name -- 90's by the weekend. i will have more in a bit. >> here is a look ahead at "11 news today. wel>> confirmation for judge soa sotomayor in cash for clunkers as on the agenda today in the house and senate. >> and an accident as well as