this morning on "early today," tax burden. mitt romney pushes back after calls from the obama campaign and prominent republicans to disclose more of his tax returns. going down. a vehicle plunges into the elevator shaft of a parking garage. and crack up. an iceberg twice the size of manhattan splits off from a greenland glacier. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with a taxing situation. presumptive republican

presidential candidate mitt romney has been under increasing pressure from the obama campaign to lease additional years of tax returns. now romney is even dismissing calls from within his own party. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. tracie, good morning to you. >> hi, lynn. good morning, everyone. it's not just democrats as you mentioned who want to see more of what romney has earned in recent years but now prominent republicans as well. mississippi's governor and alabama's govern calling on him to release those returns. no word from the romney camp that any further release is on the way, and they are not alone. texas governor rick perry, a former republican rival says that romney should be as open as possible. meantime on the other side we've got republicans criticizing the obama campaign for what they're saying about mitt romney. john mccain calls the campaign disgraceful for targeting those

tax returns and romney's time with bain. he calls it chicago-style sleazy campaigning and saying the focus should be on the $5 trillion added to the deficit. meantime former new hampshire governor says that he shouldn't have said that president obama needs to learn to be an american. what he really meant is he needs to learn the american formula for business. lynn? >> all right, tracie, thanks so much. to utah where a southwest airlines pilot wanted in connection with a colorado murder attempted to steal an empty plain from a small airport. the man then killed himself after he couldn't get the plane off the ground. nbc's kurt gregory has the details. >> reporter: a skywest pilot's plans to steal a plane tuesday at the st. george municipal airport were thwarted. 40-year-old brian joseph hedglin had parked his motorcycle, jumped a fence to the airport, gain access to a skywest jet and started its engines.

according to officials he backed the plane up, then moved it forward clipping the terminal. he was not able to get the plane airborne and instead crashed into several empty cars in the parking lot. a police officer patrolling the area noticed a motorcycle with its engine still warm and shortly thereafter discovered the plane. >> he immediately notified skywest that they had a plane in the parking lot with the engines running. they had a person here who was able to come out and shut down the plane. >> reporter: officers arrived on the scene, entered the plane, and found hedglin dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. he was wanted in colorado springs in connection with the death of his girlfriend. >> we took every precaution we felt we needed to take based on believing that he was the suspect. >> reporter: hedglin had been on the run for the last several days. it's not clear why he ended up in utah, but officials are still investigating. kurt gregory, nbc news.

well, elsewhere, a suspect is in custody in blame after a shooting spree at a crowded bar that injured 17 people. the bullets flew at the coppertop bar in tuscaloosa yesterday, sending glass flying and patrons running for cover. five of the victims are still hospitalize and 12 were treated and leased. the alleged gunman nathan van wilkins seen on surveillance video with an assault rifle entering the bar near university of alabama. he surrendered to police about ten hours after the shooting. he's also suspected of being involved yesterday in another shooting in an arson case in a city about 17 miles east of tuscaloosa. well, now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in new york, a car plummeted down a five-story elevator shaft. now, this happened at a parking garage where an attendant drove the vehicle into the elevator,

thinking the lift was waitling for him. well, it wasn't. the car fell some 40 feet, trapping the driver and the co-worker who were pinned inside the wreckage and had to be freed by firefighters. well, in south carolina, it was all too familiar to see the destruction of hurricanes, and this is a test that was done there to show what can happen if buildings aren't reinforced against the heavy winds. a group that works with insurance companies put the building through 130-mile-an-hour gusts. in california a man was arrested for building a secret house. the problem is he did it in a county park and tried to hide it with camouflage. but sheriff's deputies say they were impressed with how much work he put into the small cabin, installing bunk beds and medicine cabinets and bookshelves. but they weren't so thrilled with the large marijuana plants they say he was raising right there on the property. minor details. and, finally, in indiana,

the grass is always greener, especially when you take a shortcut. one man painted his lawn green after he says he got so tired of seeing all the yards in his neighborhood looking brown from this summer's drought. it looks pretty real. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. >> that's sad when you have to paint us. >> paint us some rain. >> we have it over the next two days and then another dry spell. it's a long summer and it's going to be a bad one. as we're dealing with the drought and the heat wave, the temperatures day after day almost become mind-numbing, just another 103 day in st. louis. just an endless streak here. but you start to see areas that don't typically get this hot, it really shows how large this heat dome is and how intense this heat wave is. it was 101 in syracuse yesterday and 102 in detroit. those are two states not known for getting very hot. this morning look in boston. 87 degrees. one of the warmest spots in the

country. boston. notice the only warmer spot is st. louis where the heat index right now is 91. we have some thunderstorms to deal with, a few there in south dakota, minneapolis has some showers and storms right through wisconsin and then down through central michigan. this front as it sinks to the south and sags to the south today will be the focus of additional thunderstorms around pittsburgh, buffalo, detroit, also a possibility in columbus. but back here from indianapolis to st. louis, the storms will not head your way today. look at the hot weather continuing right across the midwest. that's a look at the national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. well, many areas will get cooled off by the storms today. chicago being one of them. it will be some welcomed clouds and rain for you. oklahoma city, all of a sudden, kansas, oklahoma, and even north texas getting very hot and very dry. it's not like the heat wave's going to end. it's just going to shift a little bit to the west. bill, thanks so much. coming up, big ben boosts stocks, barbie boosts business,

and a divorced mother of two tries to boost her chances of selling her house. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, this brand is apparently back on the market. coming up, the return of an ace, revenge at fenway, and a mascot hits the skids. you're watching "early today." >> announcer: "early today" is brought to you by caltrate.

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. during a reconstruction of iraq, an estimated $68 billion has been wasted. an inspector general reese report says the exact amount lost to fraud and abuse can never be known because of bad record keeping by the pentagon and other agencies of the u.s. government. the boy scouts of america is reaffirming its policy of banning gays after a two-year

review. the group's controversial exclusion of gays was strongly criticized by gay rights activists. >> penn state could have its football program shut down by the ncaa due to the school's action in the jerry sandusky sex abuse case. the department of education is also investigating whether penn state violated federal campus safety law. the food and drug administration has approved a new weight loss drug. the fda cleared cue sim ya for adults who are obese and have high blood pressure, diabetes, or cholesterol. and an iceberg twice the size of manhattan has separated from a glacier in greenland reportedly due to warmer ocean temperatures. the 48-mile chunk of ice is a second major piece of the glacier to split off in the past three years. well, now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,805 after rising 78 points yesterday. the s&p gained 10.

apz the nasdaq added 13. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei was down 28 points, while in hong kong the hang seng tumbled 215. well, stocks rose tuesday after fed chair ben bernanke told congress the central bank would consider ways to stimulate growth if the economy further weakens. bernanke's lack of specifics before the senate committee drove stocks lower in early trade. he did think it clear the economy's suffering, but just the fact the fed chief policymaker would consider arriving at tools to consider stimulus growth led to optimism it would happen sooner than later. also helping stocks, the dreaded fall of quarterly earnings has not materialized despite it falling 12%. goldman sachs still imagined to beat forecasts. coca-cola also beat expectations rising over 1.5%. though earnings season so far, 72% of companies have beaten estimates.

fertilizer company mosaic also beat the street and rose over 5%. despite johnson & johnson cuts its full year forecast, it climbed to its highest level in more than three years. mattel jumping thanks to better barbie sales. not all news is good. excitement over yahoo!'s new ceo initially drove shares higher but by day's end ya lue slipped lower. watch intel today. the chip maker reduced its growth forecast after the bell. and, finally, a recently divorced oregon woman with two children is using unusual marketing to sell her home. a "for sale" sign in her front yard reads, husband left us for a 22-year-old. house for sale by scorned, slightly bitter, newly single owner. as for buyers, she only has one criteria. the sign also reads, no adulterers need not apply.

well, coming up the white sox strike back, an injured hurler makes a full recovery, and why mascots should stick to cheering. plus, one oriole crashes and tumbles in a good way. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and the great lakes and the northeast get some relief from this heat wave, but at the expense of very strong thunderstorms. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

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good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports they often say in baseball it comes down to one pitch, and last night it did between the new york mets and the washington nationals. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. you know, they say good teams find a way to win and that's exactly what the nationals did last night, taking on the mets in washington. after they forced the ninth, new york took the lead in the tenth. josh thole with an rbi and the mets were up, 4-3. bryce harsher, he delivered, a triple over the head of scott hairston. in came the tying run. then with two down and the sacks full, pedro was brought in to end the inning. instead he did this. a wild pitch.

in came the winning run, the gnats rallied twice to beat the mets, 5-4 in ten. out of boston, david ortiz wearing a boot on his right foot. he's out a week with a strained achilles. nothing wrong with kevin youkilis. here's his first as a member of the white sox. a three-run shot into the monster seats. chicago won it, 7-5. jays' jose bautista's out with an injured wrist. cc sabathia returned and was lights out. struck out the first three hitters he faced. andruw jones provided all the offense cc needed. a three-run homer in the second. the yanks get back their ace and win it easily, 6-1. great grab at the twins/orioles game. he went head over heels. reynolds put his body on the line, tumbled over the wall. but it was all for naught. orioles lost it, 6-4. finally, it's a trick this mascot has performed thousands

of times, but on this occasion, riptide wiped out. lost control of his atv. and there he goes. hit the dirt, slammed into the wall. that didn't stop old riptide. popped up, hopped back on the four-wheeler. the life of a mascot isn't always glamorous, but it's always funny. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. katz hudson wishes she hadn't gone there, and jackie chen wishes he could take it all back. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus for centuries horses have inspired artists but today art inspires one horse. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." thorps will cool us off. we'll get storms after a very hot and steamy morning. no such luck kansas city to st. louis. those at risk for the severe storms anywhere from here in the yellow, ohio, pittsburgh, d.c. up toward southern new england watch out if the strong storms this afternoon. well, if you're watching us on nbc 5, dallas-ft. worth, in dallas, texas, take the day to meet some of the state's great native wildlife including cougars, horned liz dards at texas treasures at the dallas zoo. and that's your "early today" event of the day, lynn. all right, bill. thanks so much. and now here's an early look

at this morning's headlines in entertainment. russell brand is apparently following the lead of his ex, katy perry and he's dating again. he's dating brewster, the youngest sister of georgia na brewster. yes, tom cruise arrived in new york to visit suri. but today's tom and katy split is about kate hudson. tmz reports she unwittingly walked by the hotel that cruise was staying in and was suddenly swamped by paparazzi. it's really sad when you see pictures of her hiding from the paparazzi. speaking of paparazzi, tmz also reported authorities recommend the ring leader who chased justin bieber down the l.a. freeway be the first person prosecuted to keep the paparazzi from endangering people. bob dylan will mark 50 years as a recording artist by releasing his 35th studio album "tempest" in september. and, finally, chill out

jackie chen fans. despite recently saying he was going to quit action films to become, quote, the asian robert din're rowe, he has already had a change of heart. and this comes to us from columbus, indiana, where one is champing at the bit to show off his talents. the horse, justin, now a painter using his mouth to guide the brush. his owner says he was going to be a show jumper. he clearly didn't jump that hurdle but then showed a creative side by using the owner's whip to draw shapes in the sand. his collections also include shores shoe prints. it's not just horseplay. justin's work goes for hundreds of dollars. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. it will be another hot day. yesterday it was unbearable at times. 100 degrees at the airport. the record yesterday was 101 and that record still stands. there's a heat advisory for portions of the state. the heat index up near 105 later today. 87 downtown.

we'll talk about just how hot it will get today when we come back. >> 4:57. 80 degrees on tv hill. >> a water main break in downtown baltimore will affect traffic for weeks. >> the boy is gone down because of the clothes he was wearing. >> still some closures in effect >> still some closures in effect because of the water main break

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> it