s by going below the enamel surface. and, they whiten 25 times better than a leading whitening toothpaste. crest whitestrips. life opens up when you do. this morning on "early today," opening day. first lady michelle obama gets set for center stage at the democratic national convention. gentle giant. hollywood mourns the loss of oscar-nominated actor michael clarke duncan. >> and naughty no more. england's prince harry steps up out for the very first time since his naked romp in vegas. captions paid for by nbc-universal television captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with convention kick-off. the democratic national convention officially begins in charlotte tonight where first lady michelle obama will take the stage and try to convince

undecided voters that her husband deserves a second term. nbc's tracie potts joins us live there. she has the details from charlotte. tracie, good morning. >> hi, lynn. behind the stage where it all gets started tonight, the stage where we'll see michelle obama, but not where we'll see the president. he's going to be a few blocks away at the bank of america stadium, one more day of campaigning for him before he arrives to make his case here in charlotte. last night president obama told hurricane victims -- >> nobody's a democrat or a republican. we're all just americans. >> but not in charlotte this week. he'll accept the democratic nomination for president on thursday. >> on thursday night i'm going to offer you what i believe is a better path forward. >> tonight we hear from michelle obama. she checked out the stage monday. >> she's going to talk about the

president she knows, the husband she married, and, of course, the father to her children. >> maryland's governor and san antonio's mayor julian castro also speak tonight. castro is the first latino to give a keynote address, the same spot possible had in 2004. >> the first lady, i'm sure, is going to deliver a very positive message. governor o'malley and mine is an optimistic message as well. >> paul ryan told a packed crowd all those features will avoid a key question. >> here's the kind of words we're not going to hear. we're not going to hear evidence and facts how people are better off. >> vice president biden says we are and here's why. >> osama bin laden is dead and general motors is alive. >> biden arrives in charlotte today. meantime mitt romney is relaxing with family in new england rehearsing for october's debate. and in addition to the speeches, especially the keynote speeches, delegates here today will also vote on the democratic party's platform which includes higher taxes for the wealthy.

lynn? >> all right. tracie potts for us in charlotte. tracie, thanks so much. according to the latest gallup poll they asked last week, scored a record low with americans. only 38% of americans surveyed rated romney's speech as excellent or good. that's the lowest of any speeches gallup tested since bob dole's accepted gop speech in 1966. 16% rated the romney address as poor or terrible. elsewhere, it has been one week since isaac slammed into the gulf coast, and still tens of thousands are in the dark. while crews have been working around the clock to restore electricity, utilities report more than 100,000 customers are powerless in louisiana, mississippi, and arkansas. in louisiana, some low-lying areas are still under water. and now a triple-digit forecast could make app already difficult clean-up even more miserable. well, now here's a look at some other stories making news

early today in america. in california, take a look at these dramatic pictures of what's being called a fire tornado. more than 4,000 acres have burned in the angeles national forest and wildfires like this one are known to create their own wind conditions. a thousand campers and other visitors were evacuated since the fire grew, breaking out on sunday. in mississippi, hurricane isaac has caused more than 5,000 dead rodents to wash up along the gulf coast, and that number could actually double. the dead swamp rats are not only an eyesore -- pretty gross -- they could even create a health hazard, so now local officials are asking the state to help in the clean-up. and, finally, california's world-renowned muscle beach lived up to its name as men and women who have clearly spent more time weight lifting than most of us ever will strutted their stuff for judges.

more than 100 hard bodies competed in categories ranging from teenagers to seniors, all in a spot made famous by arnold schwarzenegger. i think if you look real closely in that video you may see bill karins. he was off for the weekend. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is -- show them your guns, bill -- nbc meteorologist bill karins. show them your guns, bill. >> i ran out of the oil i usually soak myself in. >> i hate when that happens. >> good morning, everyone. we have leslie to talk about which should become a pretty good-sized hurricane in the days ahead and also just tropical humidity throughout the eastern half of the country. yesterday we needed umbrellas in many areas of the carolinas down through georgia and virginia. we're going to do it again today and we'll also include areas in the mid-atlantic. a little front trying to stall itself out here. some showers right around kansas city and also thunderstorms this morning going through southern portions of alabama. looks like it should miss areas around louisiana and mississippi. if you're heading out to baltimore to redding to

philadelphia, especially here in central new jersey, some really heavy downpours and those are trying to drift up here toward long island. so areas around new york city k during your morning come mute, you may deal with some heavy downpour. then we're dealing with leslie. it is still a tropical storm but it has strengthened a little bit. looks like possibly a category 2 hurricane by saturday. if it does we'll have pretty good upcoming waves and the rip current will be very high along the eastern seaboard. surfers are going to love it but it will be a little dangerous for anyone going to the beaches. showers along the areas. look how hot it is still in texas. we'd like to get rid of those 100s. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. today in chicago, 87 degrees. the front is kind of stalling out just to your south. you'll be okay. memphis still very warm at 95. look at oklahoma city, 103.

we really haven't gotten any rain in a long time. so the heat in the middle of the country still with the drought conditions are very severe. >> unfortunately. all right, bill, thank you. coming up, eight on the way for spain and italy, everyone wants a piece of american airlines, and the current economic conditions for the tooth fairy. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, justin bieber has a new tattoo. what is it? how many does he have? >> oh, boy. >> and what was his first? so many questions, so little time. stay tuned. another milestone for tiger woods, a pair of walk-offs out west, and a thrilling end to the first weekend of the college football season. you're watching "early today." football season. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. "the new york times" reports the

u.s. is close to an economic deal with egypt's new government to eliminate $1 billion of egypt's debt to help make the transition to democracy. syrian president bashar al assad says there will be no dying log with the army before they impose security throughout the country. meanwhile the opposition group says they're bulldozing homes in damascus, a suburb there, allegedly because the owners sheltered rebel fighters. in colombia a woman known as the godmother of cocaine was killed by an assassin on a motorcycle. she spent nearly 20 years in prison in the u.s. for drug trafficking and murder. actor michael clarke duncan has died at age 54, almost two months after a heart attack. he was best known for his oscar-nominated role in "the green mile." and england's prince harry made his first public appearance since naked photos appeared on the internet. he met with critically ill children and their parents

yesterday in london. he was actually tipped off by someone that one of the kids he was meeting with wanted to joke about that photo scandal. harry playfully warned him, quote, not to sake something cheeky. now here's a look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. a new study finds organic produce and meat is no better for you when it comes to vitamin nutrient content, but the organic options can lower resista resistant-bacteria. the report reviewed data from more than 200 studies from nutrient and contaminant levels in both types of foods and for more information on this and other health stories you can check out the health page at msnbc.com. and now here's an early look at how wall street's going to kick off the day. the dow closed ahead of the holiday weekend at 13,090 after rising 90 points. the s&p added 7. the nasdaq gained 18. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei lost 18 points while

in hong kong the hang seng dropped 129. on the heels of last friday's hints of more stimulus from fed chief ben bernanke today traders will also be pondering stimulus from another central bank. optimism grew yesterday that the european central bank will announce a spanish and italian bond purchasing plan at its meeting next thursday after european president mario draghi told european lawmakers if the bank purchased sovereign bonds it would not breach the eurozone economies. still not all euro news was good. moody's put the european union on notice. its aaa rating is at risk of downgrade due to the continent's ongoing debt crisis. nevertheless even after moody's changed its outlook on the eve to negative the euro held its granges thanks to high hopes that the region's tackling the

debt crisis is about to emerge. elsewhere valiant pharmaceuticals agreed to buy medicis for $2.6 billion to expand its products. british airways and iag are looking to buy a stake in american airlines. they're already in talks with u.s. airways. >> cabin crews say they're striking today for eight hours in frankfurt and berlin in a dispute over pay and conditions. hyundai has reached an agreement with its union workers to end the costliest strike in the company's history. and, finally, you know it's bad when this happens. inflation is hitting the tooth fairy. but it's good for the kids. they found the kids found an average of $3 per tooth this year under their pillow. that's up 15% from last year. coming up, extra innings walk-off, tiger makes bank and players head to the u.s. open tennis quarterfinals.

plus, a college football matchup goes down to the wire and beyond. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and the weather map doesn't look much like september. very hot in the middle of the country with tropical humidity in the east. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." i'm done!

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good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports in college football last night 16th ranked virginia tech relied on their kicker to come from behind and then sealed the deal in overtime. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. the opening weekend of the college football season ended with a thrilling battle in blacksburg. 16th ranked virginia tech got all it could handle from georgia tech. pick it up in the final minute. jackets down four. kevin washington finds hill. georgia tech takes the lead with 44 seconds left. that is enough time for the hokeys to get it to field goal range. cody journell from 40 yards out. he championed one from 38. doesn't miss this one. ties the game as time expires and forces overtime. after a v.a. tech interception it's journell again. this time a chip for the win. no doubt about it. number 16 virginia tech gets a

scare but pulls out the win, 20-17 in o.t. tennis american marty fish pulled out of the open because of health concerns. on the women's side there was an upset. serena williams won in straight sets. golf, final round of the deutsche bank championship. tiger woods was in the hunt until the end. he finished third place and with it to become the third golfer to pass the $100 million mark in career earnings. the day belonged to rory mcilroy. long birdie attempt on 18. rory stalls it at the cup. he would tap into the deutsche bank championship. baseball, a pair of walk-offs out west, dodgers and padres tied at 3-3 in the 111th. two on for ellis and he delivers. slaps an rba to right. dodgers win it 4-3 in 11. and finally to san francisco where giants were using the force against the diamondbacks. down one in the ninth. then in the tenth, marco

scutaro, same spot, same result. giants score five in the final four innings to beat arizona, 9-8 in ten, and that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. sir paul notches another honor, and bobby brown is out and says he's clean. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, what kind of daring fried food can you expect to see this year at the texas state fair? you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this tuesday. hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend. for a lot of people it's time go back to work. we are seeing temperatures in the northern half of the country still very warm today hot in texas all the way through oklahoma and the eastern half of the country, the humid is way up. we have a chance of thunderstorms not just today but even as we go into your wednesday. not a lot changes in your country. weather pattern remains the same. well, if you're watching us on on channel 2 news in buffalo, new york, learn about the notable land mark at architecture exposed at the burchfield penney art center. 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. you can add yet another honor to one former beatles' long list. already sir paul mccartney, this coming weekend french president

francois hollande will decorate him with the heist public distinction. elsewhere a canadian power cupping is taking shape as toronto's captain dion phaneuf and his long-time girlfriend/actress elizabeth shubert became engaged over the word. tmz reports bobby brown is out of rehab, denies he left early and writes he's 20 days early. the 57-year-old actor was considering legal architect from apple because he wants to leave his digital music collection to his daughters. and finally last week bieber released this photo of his new tattoo. the crown marks the 18-year-old's seventh tattoo. the pop star got his first, which was a tribute to jonathan livingston seagull with his dad on thiz 16th birthday. you follow him. >> i actually stopped following him because he was tweeting too

much. you can't do that. >> i mean that's gold right there though. you missed it. >> i don't even have to leave my day job to find out. this comes to us from kxas 5 in dallas where as they say everything big in texas is in dallas including bell yaiks. the state fair held its fried food cook-offs. they entered their favorite, fried cake, cinnamon roles and deep fried pork rinds. >> how about the cinnamon rolls. >> with rinds? deep fried jambalaya. i'm lynn berry, this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> good morning. we had some heavy rain again last night in some neighborhoods. we have some drizzle and light rain note showers. the heaviest stuff is in pennsylvania. we have some light rain showers and sprinkles in carroll county. there could be some late rain to start the day. the humidity is in the uncomfortable range. scattered showers and thunderstorms will we develop later this afternoon.

we will check the seven-day forecast coming up in just a few minutes. >> 4:57. coming up on 11 news today -- >> a pair of doubles shootings this morning. >> members of the gay community in charlotte talk about changes to the democratic platform. some of different perspectives on the game marriage debate. >> we have some debris causing >> we have some debris causing with resolve deep clean powder. the moist powder removes three times more dirt than vacuuming alone while neutralizing odors for a clean you can see, smell and really enjoy.

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> is there more rain in the forecast? >> we had some rain lastht