his morning on "early today" -- judgment day. the senate begins a week of confirmation hearings for president obama's nominee for the u.s. supreme court. and even some republicans are predicting she'll prevail. deeper in debt. for the first time ever, the federal budget deficit tops a staggering $1 trillion. calls for alarm. a commercial jet liner is forced to make an emergency landing after a hole is found in the fuselage. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning.

i'm kristen welker. today we begin with judging the nominee. judge sonia sotomayor will be on capitol hill this morning fielding the first questions from senators considering her nomination to the u.s. supreme court. it follows a day of introductions and the opening swing by her supporters and skeptics. nbc's steve handleson reports. >> reporter: finally, it was sotomayor's turn to argue her own case. after introducing family members in the grand and packed senate hearing room -- >> my mom, selena -- >> reporter: the appeals judge, who would be the first hispanic on the high court, laid out her legal philosophy. >> fidelity to the law. the task of a judge is not to make law. it is to apply the law. in each case, i have heard, i have applied the law to the facts at hand. my personal and professional experienceselped me to listen and understand.

with the law always commanding the result in every case. >> reporter: democrats say sotomayor's record prove she's impartial. >> she has ruled for the government in 92% of criminal cases. she has denied race claims in 83 % of the cases. >> reporter: sotomayoro biggest problems is the remarks she made, that a weiss latino would reach a better conclusion than a white male. some republicans called that disqualifying. >> such an approach to judging, means that the umpire calling the game is not neutral, but instead fuels empowered to favor one team over another. call it empathy, call it privile prejudice or sympathy, but whatever it is,is not leave. >> what has been a brilliant judicial career. >> reporter: republicans admit sotomayor looks like a shoo-in. but first the focus will be on

the nominee's 17-yearecord as a judge and on her controversial speeches. nbc news, capitol hill. >> in a separate presential nomination, dr. regina benjamin has been tapped as the nation's next surgeon general. she is known for her efforts to rebuild her alabama medical clinic following hurricane katrina and a subsequent fire. the 51-year-old physician who holds a masterers degree in business administration is the first black woman elected to the american board of medical association. president obama said she'll add critical insight to health care. authorities in florida say up to eight people may have been involved in the heart-breaking shooting of the wealthy couple known for adopting disabled children. a fourth person was arrested, a third-year-old man. surveillance video showing three armed men in masks was reased.

several of the couple's 16 children witnessed the break-in. police say there were several motives though robbery is the only one mentioned. once again, weather concerns forced nasa to scrub liftoff of the space shuttle "endeavour." nearby storms grounded the crew of seven. it was the fifth attempt to launch "endeavour" on a mission to deliver a japanese-made naatform to the space station. sa will tryto launch again tomorrow evening. here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a football-sized hole forced a southwest airlines flight to make an emergency landing in west virginia. the one-square foot hole caused the cabin to lse pressure. passengers took photos showing what the opening looked like from the inside. investigators are still determining what caused the hole. in oregon, a brawl outside a

bar. one ms ptollu out a gun and fires at the ground. fortunately no one was charged. the gunman was charged with discharging a weapon in the city. residents in san francisco were treated to a brilliant sight as a massive mexican naval ship sailed into port. the 220-foot vessel made its way beneath the golden gate bridge. the tall ship, which isll used r training mexico's officer cadets is wrapping up a world tower and will welcome visitors while docked. the iconic welcome to fabulous las vegas sign got unwelcome attention. vandals scro graffiti on the sign in red marker. the sign was entered into the national register of historic places last may. approximate. for a look at your weather, here's meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning to you. >> good morning to you. good to see you.

as far as the forecast goes, also good. a lot of areas looking perfect today. a beautiful start for you here in areas of the east. the stormy weather from yesterday, all the showers and storms pushed further to the south. of course, the shuttle launch got scrubbed again because of the storms in florida. wednesday's forecast looks a little better. as far as the storms in canada, it will keep you cool in the great lakes and new england. cool is okay as long as it's not raining. it shouldn't in many areas. high pressure should be building in. we'll call it mild out there. this front separates the humid airrom the dry air. you really have to appreciate a nice nonhumid air mass this time of year. you know sooner or later, the heat will increase in the east. it hasn't yet in many areas. florida, those showers and storms yesterday that caused a delay of the shuttle are long gone. we're dry in almost all areas. a couple of showers northward there in the swampy areas in the north gulf.

tallahassee today, 92. there are hot spots. nashville, 92. atlanta, sunny and nice at 89. cincinnati will be beautiful. up through new england, not a bad day. upper 70s to low 80s. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. a lot of sunshine today. sunglasses needed. maybe a little sun screen. richmond, virginia, 87. cincinnati will be gorgeous. baltimore, fantastic. great day to go to the beach too if you can get away with it as we go throughout the week. kristen, after that rainy, wet miserable june, july is turning out pretty nice in many areas. >> sounds nice. if you can make it to the beach, not a bad place to be. thanks, bill. another schemer gets sent to the big house. it's not just kids crying the back to school blues. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, reality doesn't always bite. ask "american idol" host rya

seacre seacrest. >> wait till you see how far a ball went at the american derby and an incredible stunt here on "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." here are some of the top headlines this morning. for the first time ever, the federal deficit hit $1 trillion. it's expected to go even higher. the obama administration forecasts that the gap for the entire year will top out at 1.8 trillion. president obama is promising to veto a $680 billion military spending bill if lawmakers set aside funding for more f-22 warplanes. that the defense department requested. president obama said the planes are not needed. some lawmakers, including those who have f-22 contractors in their home states are opposing the move. disgraced financer bernard

madoff has been moved out of a new york prison and is heading for a north carolina facility, where he'll be serving his 150-year sentence for bilking thousands of investors out of millions of dollars in a massive ponzi scheme. four people hurt on the eighth day of spain's running of the bulls. this wraps up the festival which had its first death in nearly 250 years. two people remain in intensive care. now here's an early look at how far wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 8331 after rising 185 points on monday. the s&p jumped 21 and the nasdaq added 37 points. taking a look at overseas trading, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 211 points. the hang seng soared 631 points. it was the financial sector that took center stage on wall street monday with a rally reflecting a positiv outlook for one of the nation's biggest

banks. for memory on that and all your early business headlines, we're joined by steve sedgwick from cnbc's london headquarters. >> good morning. very good rally. the dow jones was up 185 points. it has to be said in relatively thin volume. goldman sachs got a shot in the arm from meredith whitney, who has been quite bearish on the financials for a while. she's pretty positive on the earnings which come out of the group in the session. cnbc also heard from meredith whitney personally, who said that bank of america looks inexpensive given the assets on its book. elsewhere, johnson & johnson, intel, they'll all be reporting. other data, producer price index and business inventors as well. ahead of the session, the asian markets managed a very good performance. the nikkei in japan was up 2%, that's 184 points. not all good news though.

elsewhere, cit, the number one lender to small and museum-sized businesses is holding talks about receiving emergency federal assistance. parents are spending less money on back to school gear this year according to a recent survey. the average family with children in kindergarten through 12th grade is expected to spend $548. that is down 7.7% on last year. disgraced lawyer mark dryer was sentenced to prison after stealing fake promissory notes. if you're a french holdmaker, pierre et vacances and frank loch are giving you holiday insurance if it rains on your holiday. that can't be bad. >> we'll have the story on major league baseball's all-star game. and a death defying motorcycle stunt that towers above the rest. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead.

>> in your weather, all the bad stuch in the middle of the country. heat waves and regional storms are coming up. you're watching shoel. xxx

well, good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm kimberly suiters. straight ahead on "news 4 today," new recommendations following that deadly metro crash. what federal investigators say needs to be done to keep you safe when riding the rails. >> plus, a scare in the skies for a flight bound for bwi marshall. what went wrong that caused an emergency landing hundreds of miles from baltimore. >> we will also have your weather and traffic on the 1 good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, events for the major league all-star game got off to

a smashing start as some of the game's heavy hitters took center stage. here's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. with baseball's all-star break upon us, eight of the power league's hitters slugged it out. albert pujols, the logical crowd favorite. eliminateded in the second round. despite his early departure, the crowd still witnessing a great show. in fact, they had to love this shot by milwaukee's prince fielder. the ball sails 503 feet. the longest of the night. fielder advancing to the finals against rangers' nelson cruz. the texas outfielder hitting five home runs in the last round. fielder surpasses that with ease. the brewers' first baseman sends the winning homer deep to center. at the age of 25, fielder captures his first home run derby crowd, leading all hitters

with twoe bombs. roy hal day and tim lincecum will be tonight's starters. the national league has not won since '96. but the players know it's all about having a good time. >> it's a tremendous honor to be among some of the best players in the game. something to have a good time with and i enjoy. i try to learn as much as i can while i'm here. >> the game is the most fun for all of us. things are hectic early on. once you get here, you have the media. you have to work out. you have the parade. and then finally when you get on the field, that's when you have the most fun. >> london's tower bridge was the scene for a spectacular stunt where freestyle motor cross star robbie madison back-flipped over the river thames. he becomes the first rider in history to judge the bridge on a motorcycle. afterwards, he said it was weird seeing the famous bridge upside down. that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis.

just unbelievable. miss sixteen candles welcomes a pair of future entertainers. plus, very special people who make personal sacrifices for those who made the ultimate sacrifice. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this tuesday

morning. nice quiet, easy forecast for me today. cool temperatures to start out. detroit, chicago, boston at 62. warm in the southeast. not going to be a lot of rain today. just a chance of some storms in savannah and orlando. low 90s, upper 80s in the southeast. beautiful, dry weather, 70s and 80s from theohio vley right through the mid-atlantic through new england. a lot of nice weather out there for all your travels and activities. if you're watching us on whec news 10 nbc, that's rochester, new york. immerse yourself in out of world technology of satellites. that's the museum of science center exhibit. that's your event of the day. >> thanks. here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. michael jackson fans were planning to attend the hoping night of his london concert this week. instead, hundreds laid flowers and candy outside the arena where the king of pop was supposedto perform.

his tour was set to kick off on monday. molly ringwald just gave birth to twins. she gave birth to a girl and boy, who are no doubt pretty in pink. >> it wasn't a happy birthday for jessica simpson. according to people magazine, her boyfriend, cowboys' quarterback, tony romo, broke up with her the night before her 29th birthday. ryan seacrest may no longer want for anything. thanks to a new $45 million contract, sea crest has become the highest paid tv reality host ever. sea crest said he's appreciative of being part of the show. appreciative is one word. >> he's on the top show for the last couple of years and he's the host. if anyone deserves it --

>> that's true. i'm trying to wrap my head around it and what i would do with it. >> he works hard. he has four or fivedifferent jobs. >> you're right. he is working all the time. >> he'll retire at 40. >> here's a story about people who don't want get paid to work. this comes from the nation's capital where hundreds of landscapers answered the call to honor our nation's fallen soldiers. 400 volunteers arrived at arlington national cemetery at dawn to beautify the grounds. the project has donated $2 million in work over the last 13 trees, from cabling trees with lightning protection to mulching and fertilizing. they gave all they can to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. that's great. i'm kristen welker. this is "early today." your first stop of the day, today on your nbc statio

4:54 is the time right now, 67 degrees. looks like a pretty day again as we get a little early dawn light on this tuesday morning, the 14th of july. good morning. welcome to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm kimberly suiters in for barbara harrison. we want to start things off this morning, as we always do, with a look at weather and traffic. >> here's tom kierein for our first forecast. tom? > it is fresh and olco,co low humidity still in place. d-.lyjumie it for hooafgofnn i t iounheerth s ati prepitaon arnd tht hour. the sumr ctistla aelsonre eami inhe edprnaw sky. tf wur oesur it't' a cloo rn an enshdoah valley into the s.enonmos inlyun ihe t 5 omhtt ig rfrea t nrhe blu e t torihe western orbbu sus, n stjurea 60eg desre beslo cser to the beltway in the-6 cid m0sd pper 60s in washingtonnd right near the bay. eastern shoreid-60s. out of the ta mounghins,outh, it's in the 40s. quitl aouoo cara t for oojuly morning.fo ande'ff oreo aarrt cta sle ell. we'll have lots of sunshine today.

details on the forecast in five minutes at 5:01. >> thank you, tom. >> let's go to jerry edwards and get an early look at the roadways. jerry, good morning. >> hey, good morning. as we get under way for a tuesday we're doing fine, nothing too exciting to worry about. moving along quite nicely along 395 to and across the 14th street bridge. there's the gw parkway as it passes under 395. no worries between old town alex an dry a and the merle bridge. making a trip to the wilson bridge, incident free 270 southbound lanes are open. the overnight road work northbound has been picked up. >> thank you. here's a look at four big stories that are happening today. the u.s. house of representatives holds its hearing on last month's deadly metro crash today. it will focus on the progress of the investigation and safety measures implemented since the crash. the accident on metro's red line killed 9 people and injured nearly 80 others. >> the first hispanic supreme court nominee in history will be back again today before the senate judiciary committee.

yesterday, judge sonia sotomayor told lawmakers she'll always remain loyal to the -- quoting now -- impartiality of our justice system. another day of hearings are expected to continue tomorrow on capitol hill. >> the head of the gop addresses america's oldest civil rights organization. republican national committee chair michael teal addresses convention ear today. >> new airline kicks off later today on a wuff and a prayer. pet airways takes to the skies for its first passenger flight. the airline only flies pets to several destinations across the country. >> well, in this tough economy, the life of a renter is getting even tougher these days. it's making some landlords nervous about theirfuture. that means renters are feeling the pain. >> bob hanson has some helpful tips for renters before they sign on that dotted line. >> reporter: finding a place to rent isn't always easy,

especially if you are worried about the financial health of the landlord. >> as a tenant, you're relying on the landlord to make the bills, to pay them, to pay the insurance, to pay the taxes, get everything done. you're blind because you don't know what they can do and what they can't do. >> reporter: kathleen austin rent as home in ocean side. she says she can't get her deposit back from her last rental. part of the problem -- the economy. >> it makes it harder because they don't have money either right now. >> in the old days, the landlord was always checking the tenant's credit. today, the tenant needs to do a little bit of checking on the landlord's tenant. >> reporter: how do you know if your landlord is having financial difficulties? take a look at the home or apartment before you give them a deposit. >> some landlords are saying, i see there are problems here. don't worry about it. i'll take care of it after you move in. the tenant moves in, figuring the problems will be cared for and they're not. >> no chips in the floor. e ceiling isn't cracked. these are things landlords would normally fix right away. if they're not fixed, that means there could be financial

problems behind it. >> reporter: so today renters have to worry about their own finances and the finances of the person who owns their home, condo or apartment. >> a little bit harder than it was. a little bit harder because everybody's scared. >> they're innocent, they're paying the rent, they're doing their job, they're being good tenants. the next thing you know, the bank's knocking at the door, telling them it's time to go. >> reporter: bob hansen. >> so before you hand over a big deposit it might be worth while to check with the count to see whether the property has a notice of default and see whether the landlord will put your deposit in an escrow account. as for moving out, it's recommended you hire a cleaning service. that increases your chances of getting a security deposit back. >> stay with us, everyone. "news 4 today" continues now at 5:00 a.m.