this morning on "early today" -- under the gun. the obama administration fails to meet its deadline for deciding what to do with terror detainees at guantanamo bay. casualties of war. u.s. forces suffer their deadliest month in afghanistan since that war began. and ruling the roost. england's queen participates in an annual tradition dating back to the 12th century.

good morning. i'm dan kloeffler. we begin with the complications of war. as much as president obama wants the attention to be on health care reform, this morning's top stories are about the fight against terror. there are big questions and lingering doubts today over the administration's plans to shut down the u.s.-run prison at guantanamo bay. officials say they will not meet today's self-imposed deadline to review interrogation and detention policies. much of the day focuses on the status of dozens of detainees. many considered too dangerous to release, but too difficult to try in civilian or military courts. although the white house said it's committed to throwsiclosin facility by january, the delay threatens the president's timeline. the war in afghanistan continues to take an increasingly heavy toll on american forces. the deaths of four more u.s. troops on mondays makes july the single t adesh limontof the now eight-year war.

at least 30 american service members have died this month. that includes those killed yesterday by a roadside bomb in the eastern part of the country. just three weeks into the month of july, the number of deaths already surpasses the figure for all of june 2008. that's when 28 were killed. the death toll for all coalition forces, that includes british and canadian troops, is at 55 this month. that is also a new high. although foreign policy largely dominates the headlines today, president obama continues to push health care reform here at home. and it comes in spite of signals that his august deadline for congress to act may come and go all without action. on monday, the president said his calls for initial legislation to be passed before next month's senate recess may, quote, spill-over. still, the president said he wants something enacted soon. that's adding thatithout pressure in his words, nothing gets done. despite the large democratic

majority, lawmakers are hesitant to tack em the sweeping reform proposal and its estimated 1 trillion dollars price tag. on the fourthth anniversary of man's first walk on the moon, two astronauts stepped out for a walk on their own. they put in a full's day work, nearly seven hours in all, carefully attaching parts from the space shuttle "endeavour." one was a six-foot wide dish antenna. also, you're dealing with bulky gloves. meanwhile, much to the releaf of the 13 people aboard the space station, the toilet that was broken is now back intmof oerrd entire day. now for look at other stories making news "early today" in america. an eight-foot boa constrictor was captured weeks after escaping from its owner's home. two girls spotted it slithering two houses down from where it

escaped in illinois.o aboanthe boa and the owner has been citeded for failing to register the snake and not reporting it missing. the prime suspect in a mysterious burglary in texas is a primeat. surveillance video at a plant nursery captured what appears to be a eymonktngea sli what appears to be hundreds of flowers. police are still investigating this bizarre burglary. a pilot was injured when she made an emergency landing beside a busy new jersey highway. mechanical problems forced the pilot to bring down the aircraft. a local hospital is treating the woman for lacerations to her face and leg. no one on the grounds was hurt. a montana resident holds the title of world's oldest man. born in 1896, he remembers his grandfather talking about fighting in the civil war. he cast his first presidential vote for woodrow wilson and now, 112 years old, he said his key

to his health, staying active in both his mind and his body. pretty good too. now for a look at the national and the regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karinswith the weather channel forecast. good morning. >> if you're smart enough to train a monkey to steal something, are you going to have it steal plants? >> if you were going to do that, start off small with plants and then move on to the banks. i think you've got to build it up. that's a progression. >> safe-cracking monkey. let's talk about the forecast today. good morning to you. if you enjoyed the great weather for four or five days in a row in new england, it's over. it's raining. the moisture connection comes up the coast. the southeast, drier today. still kind of nice. the temperatures will be a little warmer. the humidity is up a tad. considerg you're still probably below average, enjoy it. big complex of storms rocking through oklahoma currently. also, that's heading for texas. you can see the moisture connection coming up from the south here. it is going to rain. and probably rain for a good

portion of the day in new england. the heaviest rains are off the off the del marva. and that's moved into providence and through the boston area. light rain now breaking out. anywhere from rhode island and eastern mass, the heaviest rain this morning. later today, i think this connection down to the south is just starting to fill in off of atlantic city. that will come straight up over new york and into connecticut. some areas could pick up 1 to 2 inches of rain. so the heaviest rains today, really new york city through glue england. the southeast, not bad. temperatures in the mid-80s. a sun and cloud mix. here's a lk at the wther outside your window. that heavy rain should move into hartford sometime probably mid-morning to late morning and then continue during the afternoon. definitely bring your umbrella today anywhere in new england. areas to the south look dry. dan, another cool day for

areas from chicago to new york. this july is starting to feel like the year without a summer. >> but yu know what? we're going to get hit in august, september, october, right? >> we'll see. >> right? all right, no guarantees. thank you, bill. hopeful signs spark stocks, gas prices plummet and bellies and baball. your early morning business headlines straight ahead. plus, her agent made her out to be a victim in her contract snit with "american idol" producers. but are diva demands really to blame? high drama in the yankees' game. can anybody beat the phils? and cup runneth over with beer. you're watching "early today."

good morning, everyone. welcome back to "early today." i'm dan kloeffler. here are some of the top headlines this morning. defense secretary robert gates

announced yesterday that the army will boost its size by 22,000 soldiers for three years. gates said the increase, aimed at easing strains from the wars in iraq and afghanistan, would bring the total number to 569,000 troops. after months of wrangling, california governor schwarzenegger and top lawmakers have agreed on a deal to close that state's more than $26 billion budget deficit. that plan does not include a tax increase. it does contain $15 billion in spending cuts. the full legislature could vote on that proposal this week. it appears that jupiter has been hit by some type of object, possibly a comet. a giant scar was spotted on the planet by an amateur astronomer. ironically the likely impact occurred exactly 15 years after the giant planet was hit multiple fritimes from a comet t broke up in its gravitational

pull. queen elizabeth was on hand for the annual counting of her swans. the custom, known as swan upping, started in the 12th century, when the british crown claimed all the unowned mute swans in england. while the queen theoretically has rights over all the swans, the ceremony continues mostly for conservation purposes. for an early look at how wall street will kick off, the dow opens at 8848. the s&p irchbd up ten. the nasdaq gained 22 points. looking at overseas trading, the nikkei surged 256 points. the hang seng was down a fraction. signs of economic recovery led the dow to a sixth straight day of gains monday. can it pull off day seven today? for more on that, andll your early business headlines, we're joined by louisa bojesen at the

london h eadquarters of cnbc. >> that is the question. the dow closing higher by just over 1%. the longest set of gains since april of 2007. texas instruments numbers out afterhours. stronger than respond. we're focusing on coca-cola and apple. cit confirming it secured $3 billion in bailout. it doesn't mean it can avoid bankruptcy altogether though. an index of leading economic indicators rose by a stronger than expected 0.7 falling january. this is the third straight month of gains. the average price of gasoline fell to $2.46 a gallon. the lowest level in eight weeks. regular unleaded dropping by 6.5 cents over the past week and

down by 1.60 from a year ago. halliburton saw profits falling for the second straight quarter. primarily from a drop in natural gas production in north america. the group offering little hope of an uptick in drilling before the end of the year. transformers are not just titans at the box office, they're flying off toy shelves. hasbro said sales of these helped second quarter profits rise above expectations. an unusual warm-up for a new york minor league baseball time. they offered a la maz class in center field before sunday night's game. there was a theme night termed bellies and baseball. a salute to pregnancy. you saw a lot of women waddling from base to base. there was a craving station as well. >> great. there's some kind a joke about the seventh inning stretch and stretch marks. we'll leave it right there. >> ha, ha.

i'm sure women will find funny. >> twitter invads the world of golf. can anyone stop the foil phllies? a pie in the respect isface is respect for the new york yankees. >> storms in the middle othe country. gomr regional forisasecin ct up. you'al watching "early today."

good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang. breaking news first. a group of local students has been quarantined overseas. >> plus, no rest for the weary. what you'll see fewer of along several major interstates in virginia. >> on the auction block. a local landmark bearing the name of a political scandal is up for sale >> a hazard behind the wheel. the warnings in a new r

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, last night the ed hot new york yankees not only enjoyed yet another walk-off victory, they grabbed a share of first place as well. here's nbc's fred rogan with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. the streaking yankees enjoyed the second half of their season. last night they won the fourth straight in dramatic fashion. at the new stadium, andy pettitte pitching his best game against the orioles. one run in 7 1/3. tied at one. matsui ripped one high to right. yanks won it 2-1. the celebration didn't stop there. after the game, matsui received shaving cream in the face thanks to a.j. burnett. the yanks are tied for first in the east with the red sox.

boston was burned by the long ball in texas. smoltz gave up back to back home runs. smoltz allowed five runs in 6 2/3. the phils are the hottest seball. thvebaseball. they've won nine straight. ibanez belted his 25th homer and howard his 24th. they won, 10-1. michael vick released from federal custody yesterday. the suspended quarterback is free to talk with any nfl team. for him to blessing of the blessing of the commissioner. stuart cink is a huge twitter fan. he showed pictures of himself holding the jug with the caption, onboard back to the states with one more carry-on that i had over. he won the open on sunday at

turnberry. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred rogan. >> thank you, fred. hey, photographer guys, forget about it. how they deal with paparazzi in new york. your "early today" highlights straight ahead. plus, an apollo astronaut enjoys a unique tribute due to fine art tribute in e american midwest. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this tuesday morning. there are other areas of rain. i know we talked about new england rain. we've got showers through western pennsylvania, including the pittsburgh area, especially north of there, along 80. erie has heavy rain this morning along the lake shore. from cleveland northward to buffalo, expect on and off wet weather during your day today. the forecast does call for the wet weather. the worst of it, the heavy rains, pretty much the boston area, hartford, providence, also a chance of stormsoday in miami. if you're watching us on wzir-tv, nbc 29, charlottesville, virginia. take your kids on a journey comparing habitats in the four corners of the world. >> keep minds active in the summer months. an early look at headlines in entertainment. hollywood celebrities who whine abouthe paparazzi may want to

consider new york where folks don't put up with that stuff. at a local play ground recently, friends and neighbors of heidi klum first politely asked photographers to leave. they didn't. then when they didn't, they have provided to pelt them with water balloons. in a two-minute video statement yesterday, chris brown issued s first full public apology for assaulting his then-girlfriend rihanna,na, describing his loss of control as unacceptable and asking for forgiveness. brown will be sentenceded to five years probation in august. yesterday, not only fans but fellow castmates leaped to the defense of paula abdul, who believes she is being cast adrift from the program. as always, there are two sides to the story. radar online said the real reason she has not resigned is she is demanding $20 million a year, twice as much as producers

want to pay her. >> i think the show created this program. like with "friends" they decided they're each getting $5 million a show. >> this generates the popularity of the show. you wonder if backstage everyone is saying, i'll be there, no problem. this comes to us from wlio in lima, ohio, where nearby one tribute may have outdone a visit to the white house. yesterday, president obama honored the crew of apollo 11, the first men to set foot on the moon. that dont drop a efficient one member's home town. they had a life-size tribute of

4:54 is the time right now, 72 degrees. looks like some clouds out there early this morning, this 21st day of july 2009. good morning and welcome to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> i'm eun yang. we have breaking news off the top this morning. nbc news has confirmed a group of american students has been quarantined in a hospital in beijing, china, because of swine flu fears. we're told the students are from walter johnson high school in bethesda, maryland. we will bring you more details in a live report in just a few minutes. >> right now let's get a check on our weather and traffic. we'll start with meteorologist tom kierein for our first forecast. >> now it's feeling like july. >> certainly is. etting more humid overnight. we do have the clouds around. on radar at this nghour, we do have a shower inn southern ndma larynder northlan st. mary co ugortyroth .ountyhthrough central calverttn ay m b county. , at may be drifting to the rt details on our forecast for today, that will be coming up at 5:01. stay tuned. >> we will. thanks, tom.

>> let's go to jerry edwards and the news 4 traffic network. >> good morning. we'll start inside the capital beltway as we get under way for a tuesday. interstate 66 near the west falls church metro station, nothing to worry about. so far very light volume of traffic. very, very light as a matter of fact. elsewhere, check out the drive across the wilson bridge, we're okay. i-270 from frederick to rockville uncomplicated and the lanes are open. good news there. joe and eun, back to you. >> thank you very much, jerry. here now is a look at four big stories happening today. roadside bomb has killed four american troops in afghanistan. that pushes the july death toll for u.s. forces to at least 30. a new monthly high for american deaths in afghanistan. the previous high was back in june of 2008. >> virginia has closed half of its interstate rest areas. the closures stem from a $2.6 billion shortfall in the transportation budget. the rest area on interstate 95 in dale city is closed for cars, but remains open to trucks. the rest area on eastbound i-66 in manassas will close to cars

and trucks oneptember 16th. >> today loudoun county will vote on a proposal to build a 5,500-seat minor league baseball stadium. it will be part of a develop. . hall of fame legend brooks robinson supports the effort to bring minor league baseball to the area and is urging other supporters of baseball to join him as well. >> the watergate hotel will be auctioned today. auctioneers will take bids from buyers who have the capital tell inn investigate not the building. the hotel is part of the complex of six buildings that was made famous by the 1972 burglary that led to president richard nixon's resignation in 1974. >> well, millions ofmericans play poker on the internet every day, but most are blocked from paying to play. now some big-name companies are trying to get congress to change an antigambling law. >> they claim that playing online is a matter of freedom.

>> reporter: what you play on your computer and how much you pay is your business, right? >> the last time i checked the constitution is supposed to protect your right to do what you want. >> reporter: poker champion annie duke has been fighting for this so-called freedom for years. she tuned in to a congressional panel promoting online gambling. that's dr. perry aftertab, an author and attorney defending online gaming. she says parents can use technology to protect children. that's paul matthews who operating online casinos in europe where the system is heavily regulated. they want the u.s. to deal the same hand and argue this country's losing out on a jackpot. $3 billion a year in revenue from state and federal taxes. but gambling opponents say the deck is stacked against players who can't quit. >> you legalize it, it just means more people will gamble. more become addicted. that's been the case with every type of gambling in every

community, in every state. >> reporter: the head of another antigambling outfit says the for-profit predatory gambling business model is based on addicts and heavily indebted people. what they want is to bring las vegas into every home in america 24/7. and addicted and indebted people, he says, are not free. kimberly suiters, news 4. >> the poker industry hopes to have the law repealed some time this year. >> stay with us. we'll be right back. "news 4 today" continues now at 5:00 a.m. breaking news this morning. there are more questions than answers. why a group of local students is quarantined overseas. >> the highest bidder bears the name of