this morning on "early today" -- cyber swindle. three men are indicted in what the justice department calls the biggest case of hacking and identity theft in u.s. history. brute force. disturbing police dash cam video in minneapolis prompts a federal investigation. and contaminated currency. you won't believe what researchers found on up to 90% of u.s. paper money. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

this is "early today" for tuesday, aun 18th, 2009. good morning, i'm dan kloeffler. today we begin with a credit caper. it is being called the largest case of cyber crime prosecuted in u.s. history. 130 million credit and debit cards stolen over a two-year period. according to police, it was all master-minded by a one-time government innorchlant. 28-year-old albert gonzalez, along with two unnamed accomplices hacked into the databases to steal private customer information. that data was allegedly sold online. gonzalez is already charged in another credit cyber crime and has been in federal custody since 2008. although it was years ago, he cut a deal with the secret service to track down fellow hackers. prosecutors say he returned to that criminal activity, spear-heading that latest online

crime spree. after nearly 20 years in a georgia prison, a death row inmate could be given a new day in court. that's after a rare intervention by the u.s. supreme court. in an unusual move, the high court interrupted its summer recess to order a new hearing into the case of troy anthony davis. davis was convicted of killing an off-duty police officer in 1989. davis' attorneys say new evidence could prove he was misidentified as the killer. the supreme court's intervention now just the latest twist in this high-profile case. it's been mentioned by former president jimmy carter and pope benedict and used as a rallying cry for death row opponents. new developments kreeszing the numerous legal ramifications left in the wake of the untimely death of singer michael jackson. as leanne gregg reports, one issue dealt with the sale of products in the singer's image and another involved the more

serious questions of how the pop icon died. >> reporter: this attorney, representing the pop star's mother, said she might file a wrongful death lawsuit because of the circumstances surrounding her son's demise. one possible defendant, dr. conrad murray, the singer's personal physician. >> dr. murray's name has been floated because he is under criminal investigation. >> reporter: that investigation focused on the possibility murray may have improperly given jackson a powerful anesthetic, usually only administered in a hospital. police are also looking into actions of other doctors and the role prescription drugs may have played inis death. in a development relating to the estate, a judge on monday approved a deal between the c co-executors of the will and a marketing group in charge of his

image. the judge heard objections from katherine jackson's attorney about objections of the exhibit. >> there may be allegations of the money we have lost because of the delay of ms. jackson's allegations. >> reporter: earlier this year the judge approved a deal between jackson's estate and aeg entertainment for concert orotage, a deal expected tola df th lion of dollars for the state. >> here is a look at other stories making news early today in america. the fbi will investigate the videotaped beating of a minneapolis man by several police officers. one officer is seen tackling this driver he pulled over after that man stood up to take out his wallet. backup officers arrived and punched and kicked and tasered that subdued maef chi said t police chief said the initial officer acted appropriately, but he has concerns about the way the other

officers behaved. california residents stumbled upon a shocking surprise in his backyard. an 11-foot python made its way on to the property and couldn't find its way home. it took four animal control officers to handle is 50-pound snake. police believe that wayward python is an escaped pet. let's hope so. elsewhere in california, sticker shock for auctiongoers. a vintagear ferri hauling in fe more than $5 million. the winner bidder of the 1962 of course always remains anonymous. in one town in nebraska, every dog had its day. a possible pool opened its gates to four-legged friends looking to cool off. it drew 70 dogs eager for a summer dog. and the annual cardboard

boat races were held on hastings lake. most of the boats qualifying for one trophy, the most spectacular sinking award. always wear your life vest and double-sided tape. now for a look at the national and regional weather, here's rafael. good morning. >> good morning, dan. we are still watching the tropics on this tuesday. hurricane bill the big story. ana has diminished over the caribbean and claudette is no more. all eyes on bill. the forecast takes the storm to the northwest over the next few days. bermuda will be watching out for this one. not looking for direct impact in the united states. mainly looking for rough seas over the weekend. as we get closer to home, the satellite quiet across the east for the time being. high dew points mean it's going to be a muggy day east of the mississippi. you can see things generally quiet in the northeast. a front draped across the gulf.

that will spell storms later this afternoon. it is a muggy morning in new york city, 76 already. in boston, another hot afternoon. the heat continues in the big cities in the northeast. heat indices and warnings in effect for the northeast. now for your local weather. going for the heat once again in concord, new hampshire. 95 degrees, steamy there. the same for atlantic city, 92. watch out for storms around the great lakes and around cincinnati, ohio and tampa, florida. temperatures in the 90s. back to you, dan. >> all right. hot here in the northeast. >> oh, yeah. >> again. again. >> air conditioning. >> it's all good. we shouldn't be surprised about this. september, october, we'll come knocking on your door though. >> i'll be ready. >> asia rattles wall street and low expectations rattles lowe's.

your early morning business headlines straight ahead. plus, is brad pitt being brought in by producers to rescue the new sherlock holmes movie? >> the yankees look to stay hot and a wild finish you have to see to believe from the nfl. you're watching "early today."

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good morning. welcome back to "early today," everyone. i'm dan kloeffler. here are some of your top headlines this morning. anti-war activists at the university of california-berkeley are calling for the firing of law professor john yu. the former bush administration official cowrote legal memos that critics say were used to justify the torture of suspected terrorists. the highest-ranking criminal judge in texas is on trial facing allegations of professional misconduct. all for refusing to hear a last-minute appeal from a prisoner on death row. according to reports, an appeal

was headed for judge sharon keller's office near closing time, but she refused to stay late. that prisoner was put to death that same evening. journalism, dangerous work perform that's if you ask one cameraman in taiwan. he was covering last week's typhoon when he was swept away by strong currents. fortunately, nearby locals were able to catch him and get him back safely on his feet and someone else caught the video. new research finds traces of cocaine our present on up to 90% of paper money in the u.s. that's the highest rate among five countries studied. thas up 20% from a similar study done just two years ago. researchers are speculating the stunning increase may be because of an increase in drug use following the global economic downturn. here's an early look at how wall street will kick off. the dow opens at 9,135. the s&p lost 2004.

the nasdaq fell 54 points. looking at overseas trading. in tokyo, the nikkei up 56 points. the hang seng jumped 168 points. wall street will be taking its cue from overseas markets after a widespread sell-off yesterday in asia. in it rolled like a tsunami in american markets. stocks suffered their worst lock in seven weeks. japan showing that nation's economy out of recession but growing at a slower pace than expected and it's hurting hopes here. also driving stocks down, lowe's. its third quarter earnings below expansions. that killed some of the optimism from investors and lowe's stock dropped a whopping 10%. the mood was cautious among asian markets today, among fear

that asia's economy may be stalling. the hang seng at one point following to a two-year low. this monday, the u.s. government is trip ling the work force to get through the backlog of cash for clunkers vouchers. people will go to work pumping out repayments owed to dealers across the country. retailers may get a boost from the national federation retail report. the study found the average american family has just started that back to school shopping. the majority though of those purchases still yet to be made. data on housing starts comes out this morning. yesterday, investors learned u.s. home builders sentiment in august rose to its highest level in over a year. adding to evidence that the housing market is leveling out. a cross-section of retailers including home depot, target, all set to report their earnings today. here is a shocker, tongue in

cheek. a market company found that of six possible categories in news, spasm and pass-along value, 40% of tweets are pointless babble. if you're tired and hungry, you're just a statistic. plus, whatever it might not have, preseason football still his quirky plays. your early morning sports headlines straight ahead. >> still sizzling in t northeast. you're watching "early today." 

good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm barbara harrison. straight ahead on "news 4 today," gunfire erupts in a southeast washington neighborhood. how police say a teenager was

shot inside her own home. >> plus, easing traffic congestion in northern virginia. why a multi-million dollar project to do just that is being put on hold. >> it's already back to the books for many kids in our area. how good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the san francisco giants were anything but sympathetic last night against the injury-riddled new york mets. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. it is often said injuries are part of the game. what the mets are going through is unexplainable. new york, with four stars on the dl, including david wright, after getting hit in the head on

saturday. they pummeled new york, 10-1. to los angeles, big match-up, cards and dodgers. fourth inning, pujols sent that into the left field stands. st. louis won it 3-2. texas sits atop the a.l. wildcard after the rangers beat the twins. two-run score. texas won 8-5. yanks visiting the a's. doing all their damage in the fourth. capped a three-run inning with a double. the yanks suffer the second lost in seven games. oakland won it, 3-0. how about this? with the college football season set to kick off i less than a month, syracuse named greg paulus as their starting quarterback. he hasn't played football since high school. the giants and panthers preseason. carolina's fourth string quarterback cantwell setting up for the hail mary, but the

prayer is answered for the other team. there he goes. 18 yards as time expired. it may be the preseason, but no doubt a bizarre finish. giants won it 24-17. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred rogue in. >> when is a hollywood couple not separated but not together? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, what possible cosmic forces could make teens and teachers voluntarily show up for school in the suer? you're watching "early today."

hello. welcome back to "early today." we're still tracking hurricane bill way out in the eastern atlantic. thousands of miles away from the u.s. current stats show the winds up to 100 miles per hour, gusting at 121. a powerful storm. this storm has the potential to be a major hurricane. we'll watch it closely over the weekend. for today, heat is the big story in the northeast. 94 in boston. 92 in new york city. we're adding in the humidity as well. watch out for some strong thunderstorms all the way from the great lakes down to the gulf coast. 89 degrees with storms in miami. if you're watching us on wcmh, numbers-4 in columbus, ohio, posters and artifacts celebrating the history of the circus at the columbus historical society's art of the

circus exhibit. that's your eastern event of the day. dan? >> thank you very much, sir. he's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. this morning, at least two former friends are dying to get back together. lisa kudrow is lobbying to guest on courtney cox's new show. she thinks the show about older women chasing younger lovers will be a hit. she said i saw the pilot and courtney is fantastic. in a stranger casting call, jennifer aniston will be singing in her next movie about a 1940s prison country group. producers of guy ritchie's new sherlock homes film have been furiously denying brad pitt has been hired to rescue the film. british table likewise say the film is a dud. perez hilton reporting that people are in talks wit with ro

downey jr. to replace tom cruise as le stat in interview with a vampire. robert wrightenn said she and sean penn are no longer seeking official separation but the couple will not get back together. working out differences. he took time off from some movies. >> looks like they tried but no luck. >> we don't know that for certain. but at this point, you're right. it would seem as if they would lean that way. this comes to us from wkkl, iowa's news channel in waterloo, where students and teachers went to school for a day in the summer with a smile on their faces. a massive twist demolished their school last summer. since then, students and teachers met together to restore it. eager volunteers happy to trade november a day of freedom to get their new digs set up. i'm dan kloeffler and this is

"early today." your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.% good morning. our time is now 4:55, 77 degrees here in the nation's capital. dark skies out there as we begin a tuesday here, august the 18th, 2009. good morning. welcome to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm barba harrison. we're glad you're up with us this morning. we want to begin things, as we always do, with a look at traffic and weather. let's talk about the weather first. here's tom kierein with his forecast. good morning. >> it's still humidnd we've got a few clouds around this morning as we take a look at pr showers tere inaruce thodpring a few shnseraintodounsai iut o gh leal oen in ut alleghenyyonths owe'shthe aer ere's the shower there, a ra seryth steam morning. .miitwald i 77washgtn oninin.. in the low 7 i0sn prince george's montgomery rico es montgomery counties. in the 60sromo tundhe blue ridnh ndhelartecno nndrnk aey maland, northern neck andry t t

eastern shore in the 70s now. the dew points are in the mid and upper 60s. that is rather humid. temperatures eastern shore low 70s. we have a few clouds coming through this morning. we'll have a partly cloudy day with highs reaching the l 9ow0s. and then a bitrs. clerut b more humid on wednesday, thursday, into friday and a chanceut of passing thundershowers each of those days. a look at the weekend. that will be coming up in a couple of minutes. >> all right, tom, thank you. >> now let's go to jerry edwards. he's keeping a very early eye on the very early roadways. good morning. >> good morning. let's head out and see how tuesday's treating us. that looks like it's going to be the inbound side of the 14th street bridge. it many cfera did you have jour this morning. so far, so good headed for downtown, no worries there. a lot of overnight road work. hopefully we'll show you some of that later on over the american legion bridge as well as i-270 for those of you headed south, no worries at the wilson bridge. back to you. >> nice to hear. >> thank you, jerry. here's a look a what's happening today.

a plan to cstruonct so-called h.o.t. lanes is on i i virginia. that stands, of course, for high occupancy toll lanes. they would have run from the pentagon to mass a upon i can in spotsylvania county. but state leaders are pumping the brakes fearing there may not have been enough money for the construction. this will not affect construction of h.o.t. lanes, however. >> the nationals signed top pick to stephen strasburg about 75 seconds before the midnight dead line. he is a hard-throwing right hander who put up great numbers in college and he will make record money for a draft pick, netting a guaranteed $15 million. >> president obama is back in washington just in time for a visit from africa. today the president welcomes egyptian president hosni us e. >> a n ashouse.ho >> nasaus lders gheringoday the kennedy space have updating the status of their

next launch. the shuttle "discovery" is set to blast off this coming monday. nasa will likely provide an update on diss "discovery's" massive fuel tank. they ordered tests on the foam tanks last week to make sure it can launch. >> it seems everyone is on twitter thes days. everyone has something to say, i guess. >> but now organizations like the nfl and the military are starting to crack down on what its members are able to tweet. michelle franzen has more. >> reporter: it has made its impact as the latest talking tool of the social networking scene, and now twitter has gone corporate. many corporations and businesses are using twitter as a communication and advertising engine. the chevy bolt has its own twitter page for the electric car that has yet to hit the market. but not all are fans. many storied institutions, including the national football league, the white house and the proud, the few, the marines, are trying to limit or ban the use

of twitter. >> it's all about trying to control information flow, right? all these big, old organizations want to figure out what to do with this new tool and how to manage when all of their employees can suddenly talk to the world. >> reporter: talk to the world in an instance, about business, trade secrets and strategies. the nfl is looking to include twitter in its game-day policy that already bans teams and personnel from using cell phones and electronic devices on the sidelines and locker rooms. some football teams have already put their own policies into practice. in miami, the dolphins' ban goes beyond the team. the media can only tweet for the first 20 minutes of training camp and fans entering the practice field, no tweeting, blogging or texting at all. >> that's probably a little much. i think they need to relax it a little bit. if they want to endorse that over the players, that's probably cool. >> reporter: from the playing field to the real battlefield, th