this morning on "early today," la preimera, soap ya sotomayor is the first hispanic supreme court justice. and health care reform spiral out of control. and high wire hangup. an unlucky ram gets hung up in and high wire hangup. an unlucky ram gets hung up in the hills of norway. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning,

everyone. i'm dan kloeffler. today we begin with confirmation and more cash. eager to make their summer break for the nation's capital, senators made quick work of two important issues yesterday. they voted for more funding to keep the popular cash for clunkers program alive, and they also voted to confirm sonia sotomayor as the first hispanic as supreme court justice. >> yeas are 68, nas 31. >> reporter: confirmed as supreme court justice, sonia sotomayor, 57, raised poor in new york, parents from puerto ri rico, prosecutor, federal judge for 17 years. every democrat heaped on praise. >> at the end of the day, grace, ethnicity and class aren't supposed to predetmine anything. >> reporter: nine republicans voted yes. >> judge sotomayor's decisions, while not always the decision i would render, are not outside the legal mainstream.

>> reporter: but most republicans worry sotomayor has a liberal bias. >> we name judges to uphold the rights of all, not just some. >> reporter: after his nominee, one confirmation, president obama at the white house. >> this is a wonderful day for judge sotomayor and her family, but i also think it's a wonderful day for america. >> reporter: a good day, too, for car buyers. >> the bill is passed. >> reporter: the senate pumped $2 billion more into the cash for clunkers program. >> helping to save and create jobs and really get our automobile sector moving forward again. >> reporter: but moving the whole nation forward is what sotomayor's backers say her confirmation accomplished. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, capitol hill. after celebrating victories on those two issues, president obama will return his attention to the issue of health care. there is more focus on the organized increasingly mob-like criticism by conservative opponents. the latest flash point was in

florida last night where a town hall meeting broke out into chaos. hundreds of people shouting the word tyranny drowned out comments by a strong supporter of the proposal. backers also got involved, shoving, leaving one man with a torn shirt and visible scratches on his chest. incidents like this have been playing out with increasing frequency at town hall meetings all across the country with reports of death threats and lynchings against several members of congress supporting this health care reform. the white house blames conservative interest groups who it says organizes and buses in people the drown out the debe. protesters, though, they reject those claims. now here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. at a concert wednesday night in south dakota, aerosmith singer steven tyler was injured when he fell backward off the stage. when a sound system broke in one of the songs, they entertained

the crowd while dancing. he misstepped, fell into the crod, breaking his shoulder. he also needed stitches for cuts on his head and neck. a house exploded in texas as an elderly couple was sleeping inside. this 83-year-old woman said she woke up to the ceiling collapsing on her. firefighters did manage to pull oth the woman andhudan fr husband from the rubble with only minor injuries. a natural gas leak may have caused that explosion. a minnesota town is improving race relations one sign at a time. they started posting signs in english and a language spoken on three native american reservations nearby. they hope the signs educatepeo ocpeople about local culture an make native americans feel more welcome. and the world's largest matza ball was unveiled in new york. a jewish soup dumpling weighed

in at over 200 pounds. that's a lot of matza. the chef used 1,000 eggs, 800 pounds of marjarine. it was located to a local soup kitchen. now for a look at the national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, i'm making matza for breakfast. >> good friday. we made it! the weekend is just about here. good morning to everyone out there. temperatures very comfortable yesterday in the great lakes through new england. we got a little mini heat wave for the mid atlantic states. warm in tlant, new orleans and orlando. everything typical this morning. everything is very quiet out there. not a lot of bad weather. 61 in cincinnati. that's cool and refreshing. windows open, ac off. you'll need to crank the ac by the time sunday and monday arrives. a little bit of light rain jt off the west coast of south florida. otherwise, high pressure is in control as this junk exits.

the hot weather in texas is going to expand over the next couple days. it's going to be really the first full-fledged heat wave in many areas of the east by the time we get to the end of this weekend. for today, 90s in the southeast. dry, sunny. sunglasses needed. a cooler but mild 80s from d.c. to boston. chicago is the one stormy area. maybe a slight chance of a storm in orlando. we'll take a look at the weekend forecast a little bit later. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. beautiful day in albany, new york after a cool, crisp night, 78 degrees. louisville will be about 86. we finally dried out after that record rainfall three days ago. charlotte, north carolina, you're going toet really hot the next couple days today, 91. well, dan, if you like summer heat, stay tuned for this extended weekend forecast. >> if not, at least the company -- exactly. thank you, bill. unemployment looms, retail

sales slide, and the bailout beat goes on for fannie mae. your early morning business headlinesre straight ahead. plus, it may be so bad the studio won't let critics see it. still, those same critics expect it to be the number one film this weekend. lee makes his philly debut. a ball girl takes a pill. and muhammad ali makes an appearance at yankees stadium. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today," everyone. i'm dan kloeffler. and here are some o your top headlines this morning. pakistani intelligence says that country's taliban chief was killed in a cia missile strike in south waziristan, pakistan. he helped plan suicide attacks against pakistani officials and is suspected of involvement in the killing of the country's

former prime minister bhutto. in north carolina, ex mistress of john edwards was spotted entering a fedl courthouse where a grand jury was meeting discuss. edwards denies he is the father of hunter's baby. john hughes, writer and director of several teen flicks in the '80s and '90s died of a heart attack. john hughes, 59 years old. and a ram in norway was left to dry when it got caught in a wire. he somehow slipped off a nearby mountain and got stuck 20 feet in the air. fortunately nearby tourists were able to rescue the animal and he just went on his way. so there you go. now here's an early look how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens 9,256.

s&p lost 5. nasdaq dropped as well 19 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 24 points, but in hong kong the hang seng plummeted 523 points. for many americans, it just doesn't add up. the economy is showing signs of recovery but job losses only continue to grow. today investors hope to get a better idea of which direction we're headed. government data is expected to show another 320,000 jobs were lost in the month of july. hard to imagine but that's actually an improvement from the month of june and the slowest pace for job losses in almost year. despite the slowdown and layoffs, the unemployment rate will likely reach 9.6%, the highest level in 26 years. despite that statistic, though, investors are doing their best not to let job worries overshad dote markets recent gains. investors held their collective breaths for the job numbers, it

lost just 24 points. still, without some improvement on the employment front, retail tales continue. 50 retailers showed sales fell 5% from this time last year. that points to a tough back to school shopping sector. mortgage giant fannie mae plans to tack $11 billion in new government aid after posting another huge quarterly loss. fannie has been under government control since last september when its near collapse helped trigger the financial crisis. insurer aig. that is set to report its second quarter results today. the company, now 80% government-owned, has received more than $182 billion in taxpayer support. we'll find out exactly how our investment is paying off. now we've heard a lot about the cash for clunkers lately, but this, this is in a whole other league. russian meej ya reports four

fuselages of fighter jets were illegally sold to fake companies r as little as, get this, $5. even though they're worth nearly 4 million each. investors find out about the seal after reports of corruption and bribery. 5 bucks, russia, gets you a plane. cy young winner makes his national league debut. plus, the greatest, the only person who could draw attention away from sports's greatest rivalry. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. your friday weather headlines feature severe storms in the plains and gorgeous weather up and down the eastern seaboard. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning, everyone. i'm barbara harrison. >> i'm keith garvin. straight ahead on "news 4 today," after a massive fire destroyed a well-known washingtonians home, investigators are now learning what may have caused the flames

to spread so quickly. >> plus, their job is to serve and protect. the crimes a local firefighters is accused of committing against a child. >> an annual tradition of back to school shopping. the deep discounts being offered this weekend, depending where an good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, it's august and one team is in first place. the other, close behind in second. sounds like the perfect place for the new york yankees and the boston red sox to resume their famed rivalry. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. yankees lost eight straight this season to the red sox. last night they showed why they are the first place team in the east. the greatest fighter of all time

muhammad ali making an appearance at the stadium. yanks down early but got back in it in a hurry. cabrera, three-run homer into the jet stream in right. yanks put up eight in the inning. they led 9-3 after four. they crushed the red sox, 13-6. not roy halladay but they have to be happy with the way cliff lee has been pitching. the cy young winner put on quite a show. first start in philadelphia, struck out 9 over 7 innings against the rockies. lee improved to 2-0 and the new club. phillies beat the rockies, 3-1. quite a day against the marlins. perfect 4 for 4, double shot in the cycle, but belting his 23rd homer of the year. great day for zimmerman but not so good for the ball girl. she tried to make a play on a grounder and fell right on her rear. to make matters worse, the ball was fair. no harm, no foul. the mistake didn't factor into the game. nationals won it 12-8. turns out performance-enhancing drugs aren't just a problem in baseball. orlando magic lewis tested positive for elevated testosterone level. he's been suspended for the first 10 games of the season.

lewis said in a statement he took an over the counter supplement and didn't realize it had been banned by the league. ernie els from the fringe on one. lofted the ball onto the green. took a fortunate bounce and rolled right toward the pin and in. that was good enough for an eagle. els finished seven strokes behind clubhouse leader harrington. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin. >> thank you, fred. handicapping this weekend at the box office. your early morning entertainment adlines straight ahead. plus, this is either a good idea or proof we are taking this germ thing way too far. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this friday morning. let me take you to your forecast, friday through sunday. high temperatures. watch out for thunderstorms in chicago. also stray storm tampa to orlando. by the time we get to saturday, we will be watching a couple more clouds up here in new england. but the heat is going to begin to build. d.c., back up near 90. chicago, 92 degrees for you. by the time we get to sunday,

look at the heat. chicago, 97. 93 detroit. in washington, d.c. could be 97 on sunday. get ready. sunday is going to be hot. if you're watching nbc 6, beautiful miami, florida, enjoy a star show and laser light show featuring the music of the doors, pink floyd or led zeppelin at the fabulous fist fridays. that's your eastern event of the day, dan. at first i thought we were talking about a south beach nightclub. >> cue up stairway to heaven. we're going to learn about stars today. thank you, bill. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. usually when a studio won't let critics see a film that means it stinks. what is unusual is one opening as sure-fire number one movie. g.i. joe will lean on a core audience of action stars of young males. it is expected to take in 45 to 50 million whether the critics like it or not.

well-tarlthed counter opening will help julie and julia. last weekend funny people was the number one film. it at or abouted, though, way below expectations if the adam sandler seth rogan can miss fire it will take third place. and a perfect getaway not to make it out of the single digit millions. >> not the g.i. joe. there's too much action. that's why it's not going to do well. one after the other. >> if you're not letting it get reviews how can it get any reviews. this from wtwo in indiana where one grocery store is going

to what some might call a ridiculous extent to keep its customers healthy. the supermarket installed the state's first shopping cart washing machine. they saw a report claiming that shopping carts have more bacteria than public barmes. the owner opted for this cart sanitizer which kills 99% of potential germs. the washer won't fix that squeaky wheel but at least the carts will be rolling out squeaky clean. i say do it. >> that is the smartest thing. >> i agree. >> why didn't you think of that? >> because then i would make so much money i wouldn't be here and we wouldn't be able to have this moment. that's a brilliant idea. >> whenever i go my wife wants to put her purse down. she never wants to put it where the seat is so we have to put the thing up. >> the kid sneezing, everybody is touching. no. i'm dan kloeffler. this is "early today," just your

the lights of the city on a friday morning. get ready. 65 degrees, really pleasant start to the day, august 7th, 2009. good morning, everyone. welcome. i'm barbara harrison. >> and i'm keith garvin sitting in for joe krebs. we want to start things off this morning with a look at weather and traffic. >> guess who's here, tom kierein sitting next to me to tell bus the weather for today and the rest of the weekend. >> ah, it turned less humid. yesterday afternoon, overnight, winds shifted into the northwest. th have high pressure building is morning which is for the most pared carle our sky ra witr ar s a ng ar not showing any a co t's a ests ablore 65 i orwashington.6n e co counties. in the upp 5os0sescr as much of grnhe txcept near the bay, mid and upper0w points in the 50s. that is delightful. 56 dew point in washington, 60s

on the eastern shore, 50s in the mountains. off to a mostly lear start. a f higtlh clouds over the mountains and the s nandoah valley temperatures should reach the mid-80s today with lots of sunshine. a look at the weekend, that will be coming up in five minutes. >> okay, tom. thank you. >> thanks, tom. jerry edwards is in the news 4 traffic network. jerry, it's friday, it's early. how's it looking so far? >> good morning. happy friday. a little bit later on we're all going to do our happy friday dance four. maybe. we'll see. top side of the capital beltway as we get going, smooth sailing, clear, dry road surfaces. nothing to worry about from i-95 to 355. inner loop moving okay. south of town, any overnight road work wrapping up at the wilson bridge, 95 northbound and southbound okay. going down to the ocean, looking good so far this morning. barbara and keith, back to you. >> all right, jerry, thank you. here's a look at four big stories happening today. new details will be released a a news conference surrounding the investigation of a fire that destroyed a well-known washingtonians home. last week, flames engulfed former schooloard president

peggy cooper cafritz's house on cambridge road in northwest washington. news 4 has learned that washington area sewer authority found in problem with water pressure in the area. this was believed to have played a role in the firefighters' response time for extinguish the flames. >> virginia kicks off its annual back to school holiday tax-free day. walmart stores are also absorbing the sales tax on electronics. the deals last through sunday. >> secretary of state hillary clinton has arrived in the south african capital of johannesburg south africa is the second stop of clinton's african tour. she traveled to johannesburg from kenya where she me with the embattled president of somalia on thursday. she pledged strong support for somalia. >> the labor department is set to release its july unemployment report today. last week the number of laid-off workers seeking jobless benefits

fell. it's a sign the job market is making gradual improvements. economists are expecting job losses to slow in the coming months. >> okay, coffee lovers, stop what you're doing and pay close attention to this. as you brew that pot of coffee this morning, have you ever stopped and wondered just how healthy that cup of joe is for you? >> the debate has raged for years. now the national institute of health is weighing in on the subject. diana gonzalez takes a closer look. >> reporter: cup in hand, whether you drink espresso or american, could our favorite stimulant actually be good for the heart? >> there's some suggestion, and maybe women maybe a little bit cardio protective but i don't think anyone should have coffee thinking they're getting a benefit out of the buzz they get from the coffee or getting up in the morning and getting their day going. >> reporter: but it does increase our heart rate, which can be a problem for some. >> in some peopl who are susceptible to arrhythmias, which is another term for abnormal heartbeat, the coffee can trigger their abnormal

rhythms and rates so some people who have the arrhythmias already may need to stay away from cough fear. >> reporter: that recommendation goes for pregnant women as well. here's another thing to consider. >> caffeine can block the absorption of calcium, so when you block the absorption of calcium if you're drinking a lot of coffee, what's going to happen is your bones are going to get weaker. >> reporter: but for most of us, a couple of cups a day pose no real health risk. coffee has been the focus of a lot of recent research. >> cough phone beans are seeds so they have a protective coating on them, so just like they protect their coating, they contain antioxidants and they're finding now that it could potentially protect dna. >> reporter: which might explain some possible coffee benefits which include reducing the risk of liver cancer, type ii diabetes and parkinson's disease. while coffee might help keep blood sugar more stable, it can also lead to a rise in ldl cholesterol.