this morning on "early today," congressional disrespect. a lawmaker heckles president obama as he delivers his critical address on health care reform. terror on the tarmac. more than 100 people in mexico are held on a plane by aman claiming to have a bomb. and space speck qaa cal. a revamped hubbell telescope beams back stunning images from a revamped hubbell telescope beams back stunning images from outer space. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm christina brown. today we begin with fighting back. faced with the greatest

challenge of his young presidency, barack obama took to the highest stage last night in a joint session of congress. he laid out his plan for an overhaul of the nation's health care system. confronting his critics and call for compromise, the president addressed not only policy but also public perception. nbc's steve handelsman joins us with the latestment steve, good morning. >> reporter: christina, thanks. good morning. he couldn't end the partisanship with a single speech even with such a setting. and the president even got heckled at one point. but he made his case and he hopes restarted this debate. >> the president of the united states. >> reporter: barack obama came to address a joint session of congress to grab the attention of those watching on tv. or live on facebook. americans concerned that he's reaching too far on health care reform. >> i believe it makes more sense to build on what works and fix what doesn't rather than trying

to build an entirely new system from scratch. >> reporter: the president said americans have been scared by bogus claims and lies. >> well, the time for bickering is over. the time for games has passed. >> reporter: to people with health coverage he promised no change of plan or doctors. >> what this plan will do is make the insurance you have work better for you. we will place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses. because in the united states of mesh, no one should go broke because they get sick. >> reporter: he pushed public option to force down private insurance costs but disagreed with democrats. >> the public option is only a means to that end. and we should remain open to other ideas that accomplish our ultimate goal. and to my republican friends, i say that rather than making wild claims about a government takeover of health care, we should work together to address any legitimate concerns you may have. >> good evening.

>> reporter: still, this was the gop response. >> the president had a chance tonight to take the government-run health care off the table. unfortunately, he didn't do it. >> reporter: but mr. obama, unlike some democrats, says he still wants to work with republicans. republican joe wilson of south carolina, the house member who heckled, shouting at one point, you lie, later a pal jized. the president, trying to take the high road, quoted the late senator ted kennedy, who said, what's at stake in this health care fight is the character of our country. from capitol hill, i'm steve handelsman, nbc news. christina, back to you. well, following that unprecedented outburst, representative wilson called the white house to apologize for demonstrating by his own admission, a lack of civility. the congressman's behavior, which he may face punishment for, caps months of raucous debate which most have been seen

in town hall meetings. senior white house adviser david axelrod reacted to the outburst. >> well, it was certainly an unexpected moment. i'll let congressman wilson describe what he had in mind there. i've never seen it before in a presidential address. and it was unfortunate, but i think the president soldiered on. he was undeterred by that. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. surveillance cameras captured an arsonist dangerously at work. a restaurant security system shows the man igniting a dumpster, which was just 10 feet from an apartment complex. the man repeatedly walks by toen sure it lights and is seen leaving just as calmly as he arrived as it explodes into flames. fortunately the fire was contained to the dumpster. maryland police, however,

are searching for a suspect wanted in a string of school robberies. in one incident the suspect is seen taking a crowbar to a vending machine. at least 11 schools in the area have been broken into and have money stolen from the vending machines. authorities are now hoping someone will recognize this man in the hall way heist. a lightning-fast cheetah in ohio is uncatchable by any other land mammal at least. the 8-year-old fee medical named sarah broke the world record for the 100 meter dash. chasing a fluffy toy attached to a fishing line, sarah clocked in at 6.13 seconds. a south african cheetah previously held the record. four bears were caught out to lunch in california. they were seen raiding a garage behind a burger restaurant. now, it didn't look like it was the most comfortable place, this garbage dumpster, but they all

happily dove head first into the feeding frenzy. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc's meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. >> you like that story? >> we've got a lot of animals today. but i think the cutest is probably the dumpster divers, the bears. >> dumpster diver padding ton the bear. let's talk a little bit about the forecast. good morning to you on this thursday. we have wet weather to talk about. thankfully yesterday we got wet weather in the hard-hit drought region of texas. rain in the last couple days in south florida. hasn't been the best weather in miami or the keys. that's going to continue today. the big story, area of low pressure just off the coast. high pressure northern new england. large waves, a raw day for the mid atlantic region once again. and it's going to rain pretty good in the delmarva, up into southern jersey. northern new england, the high pressure will keep you clear, but it's a chilly morning out there. so here's that wet weather. some in jersey, some off

virginia beach. this is going to continue, and if anything, get worse later today. be careful any boats along the coast. 56 in boston. we have 40s up there in northern maine. here's your forecast today. rain expected florida, jackson, mississippi, also from d.c. here especially over towards the coast. it's not going to be pretty. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. showers and storms, they'll be plentiful today in florida. we'll warm it up a little bit, to the upper 80s. should be good downpours later. all the areas expecting perfect sunshine, northern new england with the high pressure in there, low 70s. well, christina, that's a look at your stormy thursday forecast. >> all right. thanks so much, bill. stocks jump, a foreclosure's fall, and the return of steve jobs. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, already a sitcom and talk show success, ellen

degeneres looks to add another jewel to her crown. pew polls downs the brewers and derek jeter ties a yankee great. you're watching "early today."

>> good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm christina brown. here are some of your top headlines this morning. a bow live yann religious fanatic is under arrest this morning after trying to highjack a plan from cancun as it landed in mexico city. police say the 44-year-old used a juice can he claimed was a bomb to hold 103 sxaernlgs crew on the tarmac for more than an hour wednesday. fortunately everyone was released unharmed. investigators say the highjacker was motivated by the date, 9-9-09, which he believed had divine significance. a suspected serial killer in

milwaukee linked to the slayings of nine women since 1986 is being held on $1 million bond after an initial court appearance wednesday. so far walter ellis faces two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, but more charges are expected. summer storms in florida may threaten tonight's scheduled landing of the space shuttle "discovery" and its crew of seven. if the schultz cannot return tonight, nasa will consider a landing but not only friday at the latest. and the refurbished hubbell space telescope is back in action and showing spectacular new images. thanks to a billion dollar repair mission, we're now able to see crystal clear images of stars light years away. >> and now here's a look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 9,547 after climbing 49 points on wednesday. the s&p inched up 7 points.

and the nasdaq rose 22 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei spiked 201 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng zoomed up 218 points. wall street was up for its fourth straight day wednesday after investors heard some good but not entirely unexpected news from the fed. the nation's central bank released its so-called beige book findings on wednesday. overall, while not every region is out of the woods, the economy is definitely stabilizing. but the labor market is still struggling and retailers have yet to see an increase in sales. the dow had its second highest close of the year. industrials led with cat piller shares up 3%. broader s&p had its best day of the year. boeing saw its shares soar 2% after a company executive said its air cargo traffic should

pick up next year. tech stocks also jumped wednesday. ebay got a 4% boost after an analyst upgrade saw improvement in online auctions and used auto sales. apple ceo steve jobs made his first public appearance in months since recovering from a liver transplant. however, shares well 1% following continued condition over the state of his health. keep an eye on texas instruments today. they raised their third quarter forecast after stock went 1% higher. monthly foreclosure filings were down slightly in august, a sign that efforts to help struggling homeowners may be paying off. finally, a south african company got fed up with his snail-paced internet service and decided to demonstrate how slow its connection is by sending a file to one of its branch offices by e-mail and carrier pigeon. the pigeon won.

the rockies continue to roll. the impossible dream comes to an end. plus, with the big bats the st. louis boast. they made big plays with the glove. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. fall weather settled into the east while it still feels like summer in the west. 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, new york yankees captain derek jeter is chasing history. and last night he took one step closer to being crowned hit king of the famous franchise. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. after being held hitless for three games, derek jeter finally pulled even with lou gehrig on the yanks's all time hit list. three hits against the rays. tied gehrig's all time mark with a single to right. gehrig held the record for more than 70 years. he now shares it with one of the classiest players in the game. don juan jorge posada a three-run homer in the eighth. jeter's next chance to break the mark is tomorrow night against the orioles. rockies and reds, ninth inning.

scott row land put cincinnati on top. reds up 3-2. but the rockies came right back. sacks full. seth smith a shot to second. phillips couldn't handle it. two came in to score in extra ball game. 5-4. four-game lead in the n.l. wild card. to milwaukee. cards and brewers. pujols continued his mvp campaign with a pair of homers. numbers 46 and 47 if you're counting at home. adam wainwright, what a year he's leaving. league-leading victory p. cards swept the brewers, 5-1. nba coming up, the worst year of his career. iverson agreed to a one-year contract with the memphis grizzlies. $3.4 million, far less than the $21 million he made last season. a 1-0 win against trinidad & tobago. clark with a lone goal the 61st minute. americans lead their qualifying group after mexico beat

honduras. for the first time in the tournament, the 17-year-old came out flat. dropped the first 14 of 18 points, never recovered and lost in straight sets. men's side, roger fedor advanced. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. we'll tell you why grey's anatomy star katherine heigl is taking time off from complaining. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, a lot of people around the world chose yesterday, 9-9-09, to get married, but not the way these two did. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this thursday. rain linger anything south florida. a little thunder shower moving on shore between ft. lauderdale and miami. a little wet weather to start your morning. other areas with wet weather today possibly all through the florida peninsula. the worst of it will be right along the coast between a wedge of high pressure and a storm off the coast from norfolk just about to atlantic city, new jersey. rough conditions today and wet. well, if you're watching wdiv local 4 in detroit, see a&experience detroit 100 years ago through a series of photographs and newspaper articles and images from the past. that's at the detroit historical society. that's your eastern event of the day, christina.

>> all right. thanks so much. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. the show's producers have responded with a bold and surprising move. talk show queen, comedian ellen degeneres has been named the show's fourth judge. she dances daily on her talk show, which she will continue. nevertheless, admits to having no musical background. the move ends speculation that the show's producers plan to bring abdul back using the controversy surrounding her contract dispute to refire interest in the show. elsewhere, paris hilton's former b.f.f., nicole richie, has given birth to her second child, a boy named sparrow. katherine heigl and husband josh kelly are adopting. radar online reports it will be a 10-month-old little girl from korea. robert de niro, bruce

springsteen and mel brooks will be celebrated at this year's kennedy city honors. and "playboy's" hugh nephher is finally getting around to divorcing kimberly conrad for whom he's been separateded since 1998. and this comes from wmaq nbc 5 in chicago, where one couple took their love of heights to a whole new level. the rock climbing enthusiasts tied the knot while standing on a pane of place 1,300 feet in the air. the lofty ceremony took place on the ledge. a sky deck in the willis tower, formerly known as the sears tower. for the high altitude lovers, it seems only fitting to walk down the aisle 103 stories above the ground. i'm christina brown, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> not much has changed in the weather. it is still cloudy and cool. we still have the threat of rain over our head. most of what we are experiencing across the area is a little bit of drizzle. the storm is still sitting offshore. it will get closer today. the rain chances will increase, with more significant rain across the area. we'll be talking about in our forecast. bring along your umbrella. i will have all the details coming up. >> here is a look ahead to 11 news today. >> in washington, critics react

to president obama's health care speech on capitol hill. could a republican heckler get punished? that story is coming up. >> and local health program attracts the attention of the rest of the country. we will have details on how that plan is working. >> and we will have details on your morning commute. your morning commute. some closures in the

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[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> good morning and welcome to 11 news today. >> thanks for joining us. >> we will get to our big story in just a minute. thus check on the forecast first. -- let's check on the forecast first. >> we have ha