this morning on "early today" -- tragedy in colorado. the 24-year-old suspect in friday's deadly movie theater shooting heads to court to face dozens of charges. out with the old. 400 pounds of explosives bring down a 60-year-old landmark in the big easy. and leap of faith. scores of russian parachuters attempt a record jump. >> announcer: this is "early today" for monday, july 23, 2012. hello and very good morning to you. i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with remembering the victims.

more than 10,000 people gathered in aurora, colorado, last night to pay tribute to and honor the 12 dead and dozens others injured in the theater shooting that happened early friday morning. president obama was also in aurora sunday. all this as the community prepares for its first glimpse of the 24-year-old shooting suspect since the attack in a hearing in just a few hours from now. nbc's jay gray reports from aurora. ♪ >> reporter: shattered city. struggles to begin picking up the pieces. >> the pain is still raw and the healing has yet to begin. >> reporter: thousands gathered for a citywide memorial in aurora, united for the first time since the massacre. >> tonight is also a time to honor those who died as heroes.

>> reporter: bound together by the tragedy -- >> john blunk. >> we all will remember. >> jesse childress. >> we will all remember. >> reporter: but the strength comes in numbers, not nearly enough to overcome the pain and raw emotions from so much and so many lost. earlier in the day president obama shared the sorrows and compassion of the nation with survivors and families of the victims. >> i had a chance to give folks some hugs and to shed some tears. >> reporter: it has been difficult for aurora police as well. including the officer who tried unsuccessfully to save the youngest victim, 6-year-old veronica moser. >> i've met with that officer. we're all coping with this. >> reporter: as they continue to try and work through the investigation. agents have finished gathering and processing evidence inside james holmes' apartment. the 24-year-old suspect will be seen in public for the first

time since the attack when he stands before a judge. the start of what will likely be a long and difficult legal case. >> we will convict him. >> reporter: confidence and ultimately a conviction, this reeling community desperately needs. jay gray, nbc news, aurora, colorado. poverty in america is reportedly increasing to levels not seen in the last 50 years. u.s. census data for 2011 to be released during the fall peak of the presidential campaign is expected to show official poverty rising to the highest rate since 1965, erasing gains from the war on poverty that created medicaid, medicare and other social welfare programs. the weak economy is being blamed, especially long-term unemployment during the recession, as is reduced aid from the government. authorities say 11 people were killed and another 12 injured all in one pickup when it went off the road and slammed

into two trees in rural south texas. the cause of the accident is being investigated but a trooper at the scene said a blown out tire may be to blame. witnesses claim the truck's cab and bed were packed with illegal immigrants but that's yet to be confirmed. u.s. immigrations and customs enforcement is taking part in the investigation. here's a look at stories making news in america. in new orleans a 17 story building came crashing down on purpose. crews imploded the old palace hotel, also known as grand palace, to make room for a new medical center. in florida a hospital that stood for 40 years met its own demise. the seven-story facility was turned to rubble in less than ten seconds after closing its doors two years ago. also in florida, big trouble on a small runway when a massive c-17 military cargo jet landed at the wrong airport and nearly ran out of runway.

the pilot thought he was arriving at mcdifficult mcdill air force base but that's four miles away. the crew was able to later successfully take off. in massachusetts a woman fought back with mangos. after seeing two men stealing money from the cash register of her son-in-law's market. one of the armed robbers appears to are hit the woman's head with his gun. the thieves were later captured and the mango-throwing mother-in-law is a-okay. finally in new york, what better way to spend a day than at the beach. the shoreline was turned into art during a 22nd annual sandcastle contest along the famed coney island. if you think you could come up with something so elaborate, the pros say, you're right. it takes a bit of water, some time, patience, practice. i don't know about that. for a look at your national

and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. did you see the turt snl. >> some of it looked okay. >> you weren't impressed? can you do okay, is the question? >> i'll leave it at being buried in the sand. nice and simple. hopefully everyone enjoyed your weekend. maybe you were at the pool, lake, beach, we're in that season where everyone is trying to get a break from the heat. it's been relentless through the middle of the country. what we'll see happening this week is a couple of cold fronts trying to come down from the north. one in two days and one toward the end of the weekend. it will ifshlg the jet stream to the south, get our heat dome and push it to the south and el elongate it. heat advisories, in the yellow. the orange, excessive heat warnings from des moines, kansas city, topeka and where illinois, missouri, and kentucky meet,

numerous exsessions ive heat warnings today. the humidity is up a little there which makes it dangerous. today, easily 100 through nebraska, kansas, much of missouri, all the way down through oklahoma. notice the cold front will bring thunderstorms, chicago, detroit, you'll be very hot but then those thunderstorms will cool you off later today. kansas city has been one of the worst spots over the last week. you don't get cooled down until thursday, when the front will make it towards you. also watch out in new england today, some heavy rain and thunderstorms for you. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. in washington, d.c., same as areas like baltimore, philadelphia and new york, afternoon thunderstorms will be hit and miss around the region. some of those storms could be on the strong side. slight risk of severe weather today much of the great lakes through new england. v a slow process of getting rid of the heat wave. it's summer, so it's okay. >> for now. earnings to look out for

this week, a big energy acquisition and a motivational mishap. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, the response from hollywood to early friday morning's tragedy in colorado. a monumental collapse at the british open. a close call for the dream team. and the newest member of the 300 club. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. a syrian opposition group says it launched an offensive operation to capture aleppo, but syrian army forces have been fighting to recap take neighborhoods in the capital of damascus. in china, at least 37 people have died in the heaviest rain storm to hit beijing in morning

more than 60 years. large areas of the capital were swamped and dozens of other storm-related deaths are reported elsewhere in china. penn state football faces corrective and punitive sanctions today from the ncaa due to allegations officials concealed the jerry sandusky sex abuse scandal. yesterday the statue of the late football coach joe paterno was removed and put in storage. in england, 17-year-old amelia hempleman-adams held the olympic flame high as she rode on top one of the london eye's viewing capsules as it slowly rotate. the torch will be used to open the games on friday. and 88 female russian parachute jumpers set a world record on saturday, forming the shape of a red, white and blue lotus flower while floating thousands of feet in the air. they held the amazing airborne formation for seven seconds. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,822 after

sinking 120 points friday. the s&p tumbled 13. the nasdaq plunged 40. taking a look at overseas trading in tokyo the nikkei shot down 161 points, while in hong kong the hang seng plummeted 587. so far earnings season has been much better than expected, but this week reports from three big companies will put that trend to the test. apple reports tomorrow and expectations are high. a strong showing could not only lift techs but the markets as a whole and give traders something to focus on other than euro debt. wednesday's focus will be on the dow and results from caterpillar, a crucial blue chip and economic bellwether. thursday facebook posts first results following disastrous ipo debut. a big earnings miss could be costly. facebook closed friday at $28 and change. its original price was $38 a share. in asia this morning, the euro fell to a near 12-year low against the yen and all-time low

versus australian dollar under intense pressures fears spain will eventually need a bigger bailout. in deal news, nrg energy struck a deal to buy gen on energy forming the nation's largest independent power producer. rupert murdoch resigned from the boards of several news corp. newspapers. the company claims it's a formality ahead of news corp. splitting in two -- one publishing company and one media company. the worldwide life federation ranks vietnam as the worst wildlife crime country of all asian and africa nations it studied. china finished a close second. at an event called unleash the power from within, hosted by motivational speaker tony robbins, fire officials report 21 people suffered second and third-degree burns walking across hot kohl's. a tour de france first. a major league milestone, and an old school look for the new dream team.

plus, one tricky spot at golf's british open had tiger taking a shot from his knees. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. our amazingly hot summer continues for the middle of the country. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

very good morning to you. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, up by 4 strokes, four holes to go, adam scott blew his shot to claim the oldest trophy in golf yesterday. here's nbc's bill seward with a look at all your sports headlines. a very good morning to you. the british open was adam scott's to lose, and that's exactly what he did. to england we go. tiger woods in the hunt and then he got lost in bunkers. never a good sign when you're swinging from your knees. finally got out. but the damage was done. a triple bogey, finished 4 back, tied for third. no collapse was bigger than adam scott's. the leader coming into sunday. bad approach on 15. he'll need a shovel from there. he bogeys the hole. ernie els was chugging along. rolling in a birdie on 18, finished with a 68, 7 under. he watches from the clubhouse as scott falls apart. bogeys the final four holes, needing this to force a playoff. not going to happen.

els wins his second british open and fourth major. from the british open to the first brit to ever win the tour de france. bradley wiggins, a leisurely ride, final stage. more ceremony than anything else. he wins cycling's greatest race. yankees with a lead and a's clawed back. seth smith tied it in the ninth with a bomb to straightaway center. ask then in the 12th, how about some coco, tastes like victory. coco crisp with the rbi single. a's walk off with a 5-4 win. cabrera belted his 299th career home run and then two innings later, number 300. tigers beat the white sox 6-4. team usa sporting the throwback dream team jerseys for an exhibition against argentina. looks a lot like magic and jordan here. lebron james to kevin durant. americans win 86-80. they'll have one more game before the olympics. that's your early look at sports

on "early today." i'm bill seward. the jackson family feuding continues. duh, winners at the teen choice awards. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, looking like a famous writer may not get you much in most places but in key west it could make you a king. you're watching "early today."

good monday morning. welcome back to "early today." forecastwise to get you out the door, what you need to know. pack the umbrella if you're up there in new england down through pennsylvania, even the big cities late in the day. and back through the ohio valley. that's where the cold front will spark off some showers and numerous tlorm numerous thunderstorms late today. the dangerous heat continues in the middle of the country. we're watching thunderstorms from minneapolis to chicago along that front. if you're watching us on 2 news in dayton, ohio, one of the most prehistoric looking creatures on early, that's the alligator snapping turtle at crunch. that's your early event of the day. >> alligator snapping turtle? >> i bet he could snap your finger. >> i bet you're right about that. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines and entertainment news. following the tragedy in colorado, hollywood studios have joined together. warner brothers, which

distributes "dark knight rises" has been joined by other studios in withholding this weekend box office numbers until later today. estimated box office earnings are normally released sunday with studios itching to claim bragging rights come monday morning. after feuding jackson family members reported catherine jackson missing. she was reported safe and with a family member in that state. kyle glover, the 11-year-old stepson of grammy award winning pop star usher died over the weekend, two weeks after being critically injured in a boati accident. finally big winners last night at teen choice awards were predictable. justin bieber, taylor swift, "the hunger games" and, of course, the twilight saga. >> i'm ready for the next thing. like swift and biebs -- >> together? >> oh, that would be news, too.

but i'm ready for the next little star -- >> i don't think selena gomez would like that too much. this comes from key west, florida, where one can only imagine the reaction ernest hemingway would have knowing this is part of his legacy. witness the annual running of the hemingways, part of a weekend celebration honoring the author who was born 113 years ago sunday. the winner of the hemingway look alike contest is a north carolina man who says that he paid close attention to, get this, the length of his beard and also the timing of his haircuts. i'm veronica de la cruz. 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. we're off to a quiet start. a couple of sprinkles in a few neighborhoods. 71 at the airport. 70 in westminster. you'll notice the humidity. a mixture of sun and clouds. a chance for a shower or maybe a thunderstorm later this afternoon. high temperature close to 90. we will check the seven-day forecast going all the way into the weekend. >> 4:57. 70 degrees on tv hill. >> words of comfort after a

tragedy in colorado. the president's message. >> the lieutenant governor is speaking out about gun control after the colorado shooting. >> continued closures in effect in the city.

[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 will be warmisnh? >> it did not get out of the 60's on saturday. >> that was refreshing. >> it will get back up to 90 >> it will get back up to 90