this morning on "early today," mystery solved. the remains of a u.s. naval pilot shot down during the first gulf war are finally located. out of catch. the obama administration puts the pressure on congress for more funding for its cash for clunker program. and dynamite bust. efforts to implode a building in and dynamite bust. efforts to implode a building in turkey go horribly wrong. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning,

everyone. i'm dan kloeffler. and today we begin with finding captain speicher. after nearly two decades of promising leads and crushing rumors, the u.s. military has identified the remains of the u.s. pilot listed as the first u.s. casualty of the persian gulf war. nbc's gina kim reports. >> reporter: his plane was shot down in iraq on january 17th, 1991. the very first night of the first gulf war. >> tre's been a single american aircraft lost. >> reporter: for nearly 20 years, neither his family nor the military knew what happened to navy pilot captain michael "scott" ut on sunday came bn o sunday came closure. speicherns raive haem finally been found in the iraqi desert near the wreckage of hispl han thanks to an iraqi citizen who led american officials tohis buried body. the military initially declared speicher killed, but the lack of remains led the pentagon to change his status to missing in

action, and ssing captured when investigators discovered what looked like the initials m.s.s. scratched into the wall of an iraqi prison. but it now appears speicher died in the crash. it also appears iraqis discovered his remains and gave him a burial not far from this f/a-18 pilot. he was a -year-old lieutenant commander with a wife and two talked hers. now his rank is captain and his children are college-ageded. in his hometown of jacksonville, fl foreman, the action was bittersweet. >> i'm just glad this is over and that they will be able to rest. >> reporter: florida senator bill nelson kept pressure on the navy over the years to ctinue the search. >> that pilot knows for sure that if he has to eject there's a seven and rescue mission that's coming after him. and sadly, that did not occur in

the case of scott speicher. >>reporter: michael "scott" speich speicher, mia for 18 years, now the first american casualty of the gulf war. gina kim, nbc news. the government's cash for clunkers auto rebate program is headed for a breakdown. that is unless the senate can provide billions of dollars in additional funding. that was the message yesterday from transportation secretary ray lahood, who said the obama administration will suspend that cash for clunkers program unless the senate provides $2 billion more for the incentive. it provides trade-in money for older, gas-guzzling vehicles blew through its budget in days. the administration is pressing the senate now to follow suit before summer vacation at the end of the week. the u.s. is calling on th heiss government to help with release of three americans t iranian custody. the three strayed across the

iranian border while hiking in northern iraq on friday. shawn bower, sarah shourd and josh pa tal were hiking, while a fourth stayed behind. they have not releaseded any further information. now here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. a philadelphia teenager is lucky to be alive after driving his father's car off a parking deck. the 13-year-old tried to take the car out for a joyride but instead crashed through a concrete barricade and foul four stories. the man who rescued that teen from an suv filmed this video. t empty car that he landed on helped cushion the fall and probably saved his life. in iowa, it was not exactly routine flight for an f-16 when the brakes went out. the pilot told air traffic controllers he lost his brakes t they employed a cable across the

highway to catch a hook on the aircraft d bring the plane to a safe stop. in pennsylvania, police arrested 26 people and seized drugs health at a concert at a church. they found marijuana, lsd, and that lose genic mushrooms all bei sano ldedd used at this event. the church claims its music event are religious services. in maine, a warship was cystened in the name of a heroic soldier who died in iraq. jason dunham was the first to receive a immediately of honor after he jumped on a grenade to protect two fellow marines. his mother broke the ceremonial bottle of champagne on the bough of the boat. good monday morning to you. >> mother looked pretty proud.

that was nice. let's talk a little bit about what happened yesterday. we saw showers, thunderstorms rolling through the big city. d.c. early in the day. philadelphia had a little bit of rain. and new england got nailed with more rain. today it's going to sta to feel like summer again. we have three days until this next cold front kicks through wednesday. it's going to be a good taste of summer in the ohio valley the next two days. and monday, tuesday, wednesday for the eastern seaboard. south, typical summer weather. scattered showers. humidity a little bit higher. this high pressure system behind this initial cold front is going to give low humidity today to the ohio valley. once this cold front goes through, that's the next chance of rain. in other words, taste of chicago, one of the warmer days of your summer. d.c., 88. scattered storms in the sooempt. overall, looks like a pretty good monday. that's your national forecast. now a look at the weather

outside your window. albany, new york, 83 with sunshine today. ttsburgh, pennsylvania, nice day, beautiful actually, 83. louisville getting a little warmer, up to 88. and enjoy your day in charlotte. dan, overall i'd say a good start to our monday. i think we could see 90s in some areas that haven't seen them. that could be the hottest day of the week. >> we'll take that for a good start anyway. thank you, bill, appreciate it. oil surges, ford crows, and what to expect from the upcoming week in business. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, a funny thing happened to funny people at the box office this weekend. we'll explain. golf fans go crazy for tiger woods like you've never seen before. a yankee makes history. but micel phelps and team usa shatter a record. you're watching "early today."

good morning, everyoneand welcome back to "early today." i'm dan kloeffler. and here are some of your top headlines this morning. a new fourth strain of the virus that causes aids has been detected in a woman from cameroon. a researcher say it may have jumped the species barrier from gorilla to humans. until now all strains have been linked to the chimpanzee. this morning's "new york times" reports that despite repeated denial from hugo chavez, they believe material captured from rels high-ranking officials have been aiding farc. chavez recently froze diplomatic relatio relations. iraq's former deputy prime minister has been sentenced to seven years in jail for helping

forced displacement of kurds from an oil-rich region in iraq. he's already been given a 15-year sentence for crimes against humanity. in turkey, i demolition project went terribly wrong had a building didn't go down quite as planned. it rolled right over and almost into a nearby building. fortunately, though, no reports of any injuries. and this weekend, a pianist played two pieces by mozart. now here's an early look how wall street will kick off the day today. the dow opens 9,171 after gaining 17 points friday. the s&p was up a fraction. but the nasdaq, though, that slipped 5 points. . taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei slid 4 points. but in hong kong, the hang seng added 233 points.

can a rally continue? that is the question of course on the minds of investors this week who hope the markets's recent momentum won't lose any stream. asian investors showed signs they were hopeful the economy was on its way to a recovery. stocks inched up to an 11-high monday. and $70 expectations. all week wall street will be eagerly awaiting fresh economic data due out to friday. the percentage of out of work americans is expected to rise from 9.5% to 9.7%. on the plus side, economists expect to see 100,000 fewer jobs lost in the month of july compared to the month of june. from the institute fore supply management, reports on the health of the manufacturing industry monday. and a report card on the service sector release odd wednesday. construction spending on pending home sales figures due out this week will shed light on whether the real estate will maintain

some of the recent signs of recover. earnings season will continue with consumer spending habits in focus as the heavy hitters proctor & gamble and kraft foods release their numbers. stock could be undervalued by as much as 30%. according to executives at ford, the cash for clunkers program has driven that company to its first monthly sales increase in two years. now, that makes ford the first of the nation's large of automakers to report a gain since the economic crisis last year. finally, after giving finding a job a good old college try, one graduate from the bronx, new york is suing her alma matter for $70,000 in tuition. she said the money spent on her education was a waste and blames the office of career advancement for failing to help her find work. i guess lawsuits, that's one way to make money, i suppose. tiger on the prowl.

more success in the pool, and using a cycle in baseball. plus, what's up with these rabid standin shouting golf fans? your early morning sports headlines straight ahead. your monday weatr headline, is the heat returning to texas? the drought is only going to get worse this week. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." c

good morning, everyone. i'm barbara harrison. >> and i'm kg. straight ahead on news 4 today, another week of delays on metro. what you need to know and how it will affect your commute. >> plus, students are pulling out the books and pens. in some kids are heading back to class. >> what most job seekers don't know that could help them make

and good morning, everyone. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, after a rare stretch of doubt and disappointment, tiger woods reminded his fans of just how good he really is. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. the words rauk us and golf don't usually go together but they sure did yesterday at the buick open. outside flint, michigan, does that look like golf to you? a man in a neon green body suit. crazy day at the buick. on 4, a long putt for bird. nailed it. nothing dramatic on sunday. tiger simply got it done. three-shot on 18. looked good. no matter, tiger won the buick

by three, his 69th career victory. baseball in chicago, yanks and white sox. he was just getting started. fourth inning, cabrera struck again. deep to right over jermaine dye. innocent double. here's why it mattered. he singled in the fifth. in the ninth he needed a triple for the cycle. he was on his horse. he hustled around the bases all the way to third. safe with a triple to complete the cycle. first yank in 14 years to do that. cincinnati reds and rockies. scary moment in the seventh. jason marquis to rolen in the head with a fastball. rockies beat the reds, 6-4. finally, to rome.

the men's u.s. 4x100 put on quite a show. michael phelps swam the third leg. u.s. finished the world in style. for phelps, his fifth goal of the championships. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> thank you, fred. she's an expert at biting the hands that feed her. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, it's the kind of sight that when you see it you would be excused for rubbing your eyes in disbelief. you're watching y da"

welcome back on this monday morning. hope you had a nice weekend. you can leave that umbrella at home, give it a rest for the day. from boston, new york, d.c., philly, baltimore, chicago and detroit, you should be dry during the day today. the areas that have the brella, tallahassee, savannah, orlando. everybody in the deep south. tuesday, two good summer days in a row. most locations very warm. well, if you're watchi channel 3 in cleveland, ohio, discover how human beings have adapted and continue to evolve at the cleveland museum of natural history exhibit, surviving the body of evidence. that's me on the right, dan on the left. that's your eastern event of the

day. >> good job. thank you for that, bill. now an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. hollywood may be the only place you can win but lose badly all at the same time. funny people was number one at the box office with a little more than $23 million. but funny people was the lowest earning number one film of the year, adam sand her's lowest in five years. it did not score well with the critics. add to that it cost $75 billion to make. it's being greeted as the winner that was the loser. the family comedy aliens in the attic opened fifth with a $7.8 million. they expected double-digit millions for this. remember katherine heigl's loud complaints about a 17-hour workday on her first day back of grey's anatomy. a website i'm obsessed reports what heigl forgot to mention was producers scheduled that long workday for her benefit.

all so she could travel and promote her new movie. there you go. 17 hours is 17 hours either way you slice it. >> yeah. katherine heigl, whatever. >> i feel sort of the same way as she's counting her numbers. th comes from knbc nbc 4 in los angeles. in anaheim, it was a pretty big day for small dogs. 300 chihuahuas turned out. onlookers cheered as they scampered down the 30-foot track. only occasionally staying in their lane. the winning dog and owner received a free trip to new york for the chihuahua racing nationals. yes, there is such a thing. i'm dan kloeffler, and this is " a live look outside at the dark sky.

are there clouds in that sky? we'll fd out in just a moment. find out what kind of day it's going to be. good morning, e one. i'm barbara harrison. >> i'm keith garvin sitting in for joe krebs. we want to start things off this morning with a look at weather and traffic. >> we have tom kierein back with us this morning. welcome back, tom. >> good to be back. good to see you. welcome, keith. >> thank you. >> here we go this monday morning off to work andmeum s um school this morning under a clear sky. es lhumies huovernight. radar n. 73 in washington. mid-70s southerno t mid-70s s ma heattchers reporting in f rn oio of eporting in virginiaar tnd ndhelugee ride in the low and r mid-60s shenandoah valley in the 60s enandoah valley in the 60s to near 70. the mid-60s in then are sh 0ne7. should be a great day at the beaches and around the bay. a wonderf ummehe the way. low dew points in place, too. lower humidity moving in. we're off to a mostly clear start. forecast for today coming up in a couple of minutes.

>> great. thank you, tom. >> time for a check on the roadways. >> hey, jerry. hope you had a good weekend. >> i did. hope you had one, too. now it's back to the al world. as we get going along 395, close in, everything' moving along nicely. no early worries. travel lanes are open. let's check what else is happening this morning. 270 is okay. off to a quiet start along interstate 66. back to you. >> okay. thank you. >> thank you, sir. >> here's a look at four big stories happening today. students in northern virginia are heading back to school today. two schools in alexandria run on a modified calendar which puts kids back in classroom already. at least seven elementary schools in fairfax county are also on a modified schedule. these students are in class nine weeks. then they have a break of about three weeks. the fate of the cash for communicate kearse program will be decided as the senate meets for a final week before the summer break. the house of representatives gave the green light to add $2

billion to the basically broke program. the administration will have to suspend the wildly popular rebates unless the senate now goes along with it. >> a judge will rule on who gains permanent custody of michael jackson's three children today. a custody agreement has been reached between jackson's mother katherine and deborah rowe. under the agreement, jackson's mother would be the permanent guardian. rowe would retain her parental rights and get supervised visitation. iran's supreme leader ayatoll ayatollah khamenei will formally endorse mahmoud ahmadinejad today. the opposition maintains ahmadinejad stole the vote from mir hussein mousavi through massive fraud. >> if you think it's costing more to fill up your gas tank these days you're probably

right. the prices at the pump are going up. >> aaa says this is the most heavily traveled month of the year. news 4's darcy spencer has more. >> reporter: gas prices in the d.c. area have been creeping back up recently. just over the past week they climbed 5 cents per gallon in the metro area. the national average is $2.52 a gallon, a three-cent gain. some drivers are struggling to fill their tanks every week. >> i can't fill up because if i fill up my tank now, i will be out on 15 or 20. you know -- >> reporter: aaa report that's gas prices are fairly stable compared to earlier this summer. they predict there won't be any dramatic price spikes this summer. >> it's not bad. i saw the 46. i believe it. i said, let me stop by. but i did have to cut off -- i did have to buy a new -- a

smaller vehicle. because filling one of these guys up is about 110 last year prices. >> reporter: this time last year, drivers in the d.c. area were paying about $4 a gallon. aaa officials say with five weeks remaining in the summer driving season, gas prices are likely to remain about the same. that means more motorists could plan last-minute, end of season vacations. >> kind of guess over two, three-year period, when the gas went up to almost $4 a gallon, like two, three years ago, but it's still kind of high. but i guess we're going to have to live with it. >> reporter: darcy spencer, "news 4 today." >> aaa officials say prices should stay around $2.50 a gallon the rest of this summer. >> that's better than $3.50. >> that's a good way to look at it. stay with us, everyone. "news 4 today" continues now at 5:00 a.m.