this morning on "early today," decision day. afghan voters brave violence and threats from the taliban as they choose their next president. going free. the only man convicted of the pan-am bombing over lockerbie, scotland isbout to be released from prison. the producer who practically invented television news loses the producer who practically invented television news loses his battle with cancer. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm christina brown. today we begin with bailouts, ballots and bullets. voters in afghanistan are at the polls this morning in a presidential election that highlights both the promise and perils of a fledgling democracy. so far turnout appears to be

low. apparently reflecting concern over taliban threats of attacks. while there are reports of violence, local media has been ordered not to cover it. today's vote is seen as a test for president karzai's government which has criticized for the inability to stamp out corruption. there are reports this morning that in 2004, the cia hired private contractors from blackwater usa as part of the then secret program to train hit squads to kill top members of al qaeda. that program was exposed to congress just last june after cia corrector leon panetta learned outside contractors has been tapped. they have been criticized for its very heavy handed tactics in iraq. although the program was cammed, before missions were carried out the contractor was awarded millions of dollars for weapons and training. powerful storms tore through

four mid-western states yesterday toppling trees and downing power lines. there were reports of at least half a dozen suspected tornados as the weather system moved through minnesota, wisconsin, iowa and illinois. the storms shattered windows and in some regions even leveled houses. six people were treated at hospitals in illinois but those injuries do not appear to be life threatening. well, the man arguably most responsible for the invention of television news died yesterday. although veteran producer donahue wit of cbs news will no doubt be remembered for 60 minutes, he was legacy as a true pioneer in the business of television will be so for quite some time to come. >> everybody who works with me is smarter than i am. >> reporter: you may not know him by sight but for his famous

invention. donahue wit died in bridgehampton, new york, wednesday of the pancreatic cancer that had him looking so frail at walter cronkite's funeral just three weeks ago. >> call and ask him to page hugh of cbs. >> reporter: after joining the network in 1948. his tenure there included a decade of work with the legendary everett r. merle. he produced for all three networks, the very first presidential debate between nixon and kennedy. it was in 1968 that hewitt's 60 minutes debuted and established a faithful following of millions that still tune in every sunday. >> the formula is similar. it's four words every kid in the world knows, tell me a story.

it's that easy. >> reporter: in a statement about his death, cbs said hewitt was recognized as the father of modern television news. having worked on his prized possession well into his 80s, before retiring five years ago. chris clacken, nbc news. now here's a look at some to stories making news "early today" in america. take a look. investigators found six fields cultivating pot plants near chicago. the street value was around $2.5 million. officials torched nearly 6,000 illegal plants. well, cleanup efforts continue in kentucky after heavy flood two weeks ago. as water damaged is repaired at the kentucky derby museum, staff removed 85 historic trophies from their display cases. the prized possessions were carried with white gloves through the courtyard and into

the churchill downs vault for safekeeping. meanwhile, in colorado a young entrepreneur is hoping for sweet success. the 8-year-old founded his own candy company with a sugary twist with sushi. miles has his own website and 200 orders already in the books. a group in pennsylvania is sifting through famous junk. they are ping through 600 boxes of andy warhol's possessions. the late pop artist carried around the boxes and would send them to himself once they were fall. discoveries include the mundane like chocolate and fan mail to extraordinary finds like drawings, $17,000 in cash, and personal polaroids of the rich and famous. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist todd

santos with the weather channel forecast. good morning, todd. thankfully you have more than a polaroid to give us a snapshot of what's going on weatherwise. >> we'll go with a movie. pretty substantial at this point. major hurricane bill with winds 135 mrps. caribbean, extending out to the lesser antilles, moving to the northwest at a pretty good clip. i mentioned this first, a very substantial storm. the latest came in a minute or so. 125. but at least to give you an idea, still, there's bermuda, east coast of the united states, expected to bring this north basically into saturday, sunday time frame. it has slowed down a little bit. still expected to be a major hurricane off the coastline. primary inpact, waves will be the biggest issue as far as rip currents. very dangerous at the beaches. very significant thunderstorm activity. we will see a chance towards

d.c., new york city by late this afternoon. something to keep in mind as far as you head out the door is concerned, mild air mass in place. the only reason we won't see 90s will be the chances for showers. there's a look at the region. let's check out your local forecast. portland, maine, coming in on the sunny side of things, # 0 degrees. however, a few other areas, grand rapids, michigan, 81 degrees. again, a good opportunity for thunderstorms. same story in philly by later on today. so, christina, lots more to determine as far as the path of hurricane bill. we'll talk about the finish of the week coming up. looking forward to that, thanks todd. oil spurts, bj's get a bump. plus, the death of michael jackson is apparently having no effect for his brothers's plans for a comeback.

red sox enjoy a holiday, cliff lee remains perfect, and a basketball shot you've got to see to believe. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome ba backto "early today." i'm christina brown. and here are some of your top headlines. the scottish government is expected to announce today they are releasing the only man convicted of the 1988 pan-am bombing over lockerbie, scotland on compassionate grounds. he is dying from terminal prostate cancer and will return to libya to die. he was convicted of a bombing that killed 270 people. after a meeting wednesday with north korean diplomats, new mexico governor bill richardson says that country is now ready to have a dialogue with the u.s. richardson told msnbc, quote, that the temperature has really cooled down in the relationship between the two countries since former president bill clinton's

visit to pyongyang to release two american journlts. a study finds 40 years after woodstock, middle-aged baby boomers are still turning to illegal drugs. in fact, the rates of people aged 50 to 59 who admit using drugs nearly doubled to 9.4% in 2007. while all other age groups decreased or stayed the same. no surprise, parental contenders, harvard and princeton share the top spot in the latest edition of the u.s. news and world report and ranking. the dow opens at 9,279 after jumping 61 points on thursday. s&p rose 6. and the nasdaq rose 13 points. in tokyo, the nikkei climbed 179 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng surged 374 points. on wall street wednesday,

stocks erased early losses after a big drop in oil inventories. fuel hopes means we're on the road to recovery. oil inventories are down, sending oil prices and stocks higher. exxon mobil and chevron both got a boost leading gainers on the dow. the health care sector got a shot in the arm when a federal judge ruled in favor of drug maker merck in a patent dispute over its top-selling asthma drug, singulair. an israeli company was told it cannot market a generic version until merck's patent runs out in 2012. john deere saw its sales slashed by 25% last quarter but managed to beat expectations by cutting costs. cash-strapped customers forced the world's largest maker of farm equipment to trim yearly sales forecast predicting its steepest decline in 50 years. the retail sector saw another disappointed when limited

reported a 27% plunge in profits. but wholesaler bj's managed to beat analysts's expectations seconding shares up 2% on the day. credit card holders will get a break as new federal guidelines go into effect. some of the changes, bills have to be in the mail three weeks before the due date and customers now have the right to dispute interest rates. keep an eye on shares of barnes & noble and the gap. all report second quarter results today. finally, if you're in the market for a new appliance, you may want to hold off. a federal program to debut this fall, set aside $300 million for energy-efficient dishwashers, refrigerators and washers. but unlike the cash for clunkers program, you will not need to turn in your old one. well, a veteran pitcher signs on with the cardinals. and ivan rodriguez proves you

can go home after all. plus, cliff lee makes the indians wish they had it. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. it was stormy weather in the east and the heat in the west. we'll have more to talk about to finish your week coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. ifyou're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the boston red sox's strategy in the al wild card race seems to be very simple, hit lots of home runs. good morning. the red sox offense has been firing on all cylinders. not even roy halladay could stop the home run barrage. david ortiz riding a recent hot streak got things started in the second with a solo blast. jason bay added to his misery. two-run home tore left. halladay lasted five innings. down in minnesota, twins and rangers. fans wondering if brett favre with throw a baseball. ivan rodriguez rips a double to right. kinsler came around to score. texas up 4-0. twins wore it back in the sixth. cabrera blew through the center. play at the plate.

rodriguez couldn't handle the throw. they beat the rangers 5-4. that loss drops texas one game back to boston in the a.l. wild card. cliff lee has been a perfect fit in philadelphia. he took a no-hitter into the sixth. improved to 4-0 with his new club. back-to-back home runs in the fifth. phils won seven of their last eight. after being dismissed in atlanta and cut by the red sox, cardinals signed john smoltz. they hope the 42-year-old can serve as their fifth starter or provide some relief in the bull pen. finally, check this out from college basketball. clement turned in a shot you have to see to believe. off the scoreboard, off the floor. nothing but net. a shot that certainly reminds us of the old larry bird, michael

jordan commercials. no word on how many times it cook him to make it. but he's a definitely ringer in a game of horse. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. billy joel has millions of reasons not to feel too bad over the breakup of his third marriage. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, it's as american as apple pie. well, sort of anyway. it's one woman's celebration of food on a stick. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." another day with pretty good chance of showers and thunderstorms across much of the east, especially west of the appalachians. chicago, good chance of thunderstorms. a very good chance actually. pretty much likely. upwards 83 degree high temperature. good opportunity for pretty potent thunderstorms through the ohio valley. the trough will help sweep hurricane bill off the coastline. if you're watching tv 2 in charleston, south carolina, get ready to rock and support a good cause when your admission is donated to charity at the battles of the bands. that is your eastern event of the day. >> thanks so much, todd. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in

entertainment. a&e network is moving forward with a reality series starring michael jackson's brothers. before he died, his brothers formed a pilot they hoped would include a reunion performance with michael. now a&e plans to go ahead with the series chronicalling his lives. >> he plans to donate half a million dollars in earnings from a five-day music festival to the boston symphony orchestra. finally, it's nice to have something to fall become on, right? rock legend billy joel is selling a pair of homes on eastern long island in the wake of the split for his new wife. he bought one for his wife in 2004 and then purchased a bungalow next door. the overall price for the hamptons property, a mere 35

million big ones. from who channel 13 in des moines, iowa, one woman is getting the most out of this year's state fair. she's attempting to eat her way through all 54 food on a stick offerings. from hot baloney to chocolate cake on a stick, she's targeting it all. it will not be cheap on the wallet or body, costing $300 and about 1,400 calories. well, i'm christina brown. 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 thursday morning to you. we hope your doing well with this act of weather pattern. the more intense storm activity is still to our west. it will not make it through here until sunday morning. we will be tracking this warm, moist tropical air mass. we will see chances of scattered showers and storms each and every afternoon. right now it is 76 degrees downtown. 81 degrees in ocean city. a 7 degrees-92 degrees throughout the day. -- 87 degrees-92 degrees throughout the day. i have more with an update on hurricane bill coming up.

>> see you in a bit. here is a look ahead to 11 news today. >> students returning to syracuse university -- we have the subject of our watercooler question of the day. >> we have a truck fire coming in.

>> good morning. >> thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> will get to the big stories in just a moment. first we will talk with sandra shaw about her event yesterday. >> i am afraid to jump on the at