this morning on "early today," from the classroom to the capitol, coming off his speech to the nation's schools, president obama readies for his health care address to congress. what was he thinking? a deputy in florida is caught in the act using a taser on a friend at a party. . and americans love their cars, but this is ridiculous. a south carolina man is laid to cars, but this is ridiculous. a south carolina man is laid to rest in his cherished vehicle.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm christina brown. today we begin with making his case. in a rare primetime address to congress this evening, president obama will lay out his prescription to over haul the nation's health care system. it is seen as the president's last best chance to regain control of the contentious issue. nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> some memory of our friend and departed colleague, late senator edward kennedy. >> reporter: back in session for the health care fight, the senate remembered ted kennedy. he would have led the push for optional government health insurance. outside the white house, demonstrators urged president obama not to give up on that. >> and any health reform that does not have the public option is not change we can believe in. >> reporter: house speaker

pelosi said her bill, at least the first version will have it. >> as far as our house members are concerned, the overwhelming majority of them support a public option. >> reporter: but aides are warning allies, like the afl-cio that president obama will not insist on government insurance in his address to congre in part because of blue dog conservative democrats like mike ross. last month, ross said okay to government insurance. then caught hell at his town halls in arkansas. ross has changed his mind. he and other democrats will vote no if the public option is included. republicans say, start over. >> the american people don't want another speech on health care. they want another plan on health care. >> american people are asking us to start over. they want reforms but they want the right reforms. not some grand scheme. >> we're not starting over. >> reporter: the white house fired back. >> the president is going to pull the strands together and move this process forward and get something done this year.

>> reporter: but wi it have a public option? i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, capitol hill. from the halls of congress to the classrooms of the nation's public schools, tonight's address isn't the only presidential speech making waves across the nation. nbc's brian mooar reports. >> reporter: after days of controversy, president obama delivered a 16-minute pep talk to the nation's schoolchildren. aired in classrooms coast to coast. >> you cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job. you've got to train for it and work for it and learn for it. >> reporter: his focuspersonal responsibility. >> here in america you write your own destiny. you make your own future. >> reporter: the message, learn now, succeed later. >> what's your contribution going to be? what problems are you going to solve? >> reporter: conservative critics believed it would be too political and didn't want a

president playing parrot. >> tell how you can help president obama. that's just not appropriate sfwlr in the end, this speech wasn't exactly propaganda. >> i hope all of you are washing your hands a lot. >> reporter: many wrestled with the decision whether to show the speech, and many didn't show it. though the president's words didn't seem to resonate with everyone, some found inspiration. >> i like the fact that he took it out of his time to come talk to us as students and l us know what we need to start doing. >> you're not going to listen to your mom or dad but if you hear the president telling you to stay in school you're going to listen. >reporter: a speech and a controversy turned civics lesson for america's youth. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a los angeles sinkhole nearly engulfed a 22-ton fire truck while responding to a water main break, firefighters approached the rising floodwaters and suddenly the

road gave way beneath them. the firefighterstab or their truck, safelyapscee, but itid take hours to finally pull that massive vehicle from the muddy hole. a camera captured a dangerous scene on the water in florida. a runaway boat tore through the water after a large swale knocked passengers overbroader. the boat then collided wittjendc ttyje sending bheheoat airborne. the three passengers were picked up safely and fortunately no one along the busy shoreline was injured a florida deputy is in hot water this morning after bringing his taser gun to a party. now take a look. video surfaced of the off duty lawman. he was down a minute before joining in on the laughter. the deputy now faces possible dismissal over his lack of judgment because, well, his boss says,hey, someone could have been injured. a south carolina man is looking to break a very bizarre world record. arming his friends with a

massive slingshot, she's trying to claim the title for long distance catching grapes with one's mouth. the current recordholder is actually over 100 yards. and practicing since he was a kid, the fruit frenzied competitor hope, well, skies the limit. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. i guess we all have your goals, right? >> yes. . just not all quite as talented. >> apparently. >> let's talk a little bit about the weather. virginia coastline, maryland, delaware coastline, our coastal storm weakened a little bit and moved further to the north. so the weather will be improved at least slightly today. outer banks up here through the delmarva and chesapeake bay. still cloudy and gloomy in many areas, including southern new england, philadelphia, d.c. do not wount on really any sunshine today. the best weather will be down

here in the southeast. here's some of that wet weather outon long island. it's not a lot of it. it's not heavy like it was the last couple days. maybe just some drizzle. forecast today, cloudy. low 70s for new england south wards down to the mid atlantic. if you really want to get the summer warmth go to atlanta, tallahassee, savannah. maybe storm or two today in miami. that's your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. showers and storms also in the ohio valley. i know in cleveland we've got a couple showers out there this morning. lat this morning in columbus and cincinnati, a chance of a pop-up storm. also atlantic city, new jersey, probably the best chance of being the wettest area around. well, christina, we will continue to watch this gloomy pattern in new england. we got punished. we had such beautiful weather. now it's eh. >> all right. thanks so much, anyway, bill. wall street has a sweet tooth. gold jumps. and oil gushes. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, george clooney unveils

his latest lady friend on the red carpet. a home run derby in wa with. yankees have a flare for the dramatic. and another big upset at the u.s. open. your watching "early today."

>> good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm christina brown. here are some of your top headlines this morning. a u.n. backed commission is ordering a i partial recount of suspect ballots in afghanistan after finding, quote, convincing evidence of fraud in last month's presidential election. also yesterday, afghan officials released new returns that give president karzai 54% of the vote with nearly all ballots tallied. that's enough to avoid a runoff unless large numbers of the tainted ballots are ultimately thrown out. a white house panel of independent space experts says due to costs, nasa's plan to

return to the moon; quote, unachievable. instead, the panel favors a steppingstone approach aimed at reaching mars without setting any goal for completion. a south carolina man certainly does not subscribe to the notion that you can't take it with you. on tuesday, the 90-year-old was buried in his favorite car, a classic green 1973 pontiac catalina. friends say, hey, it was no surprise for a man who want aid unique burial as his dying wish. and if you're a fan of the number 9, get ready to fall in love. today is 9-9-09, a calendar quirk that has dozens of couples flocking to los angeles to get married. today marks the last of this decade's set of repeating single digit dates. we won't see them again for almost another century. >> and now here's a look at how wall street will kick off the day. the cow ope 9,497 after gaining 56 points on tuesday. the s&p was up 8 points.

and the nasdaq added 18 points. tig a look at overseas trading, in cokeeo, the nikkei dropped 81 points, while in hong song, the hang seng sank 218 points. chocolate may be good for your health, but is it good for the health of the economy? wall street investors seem to think so as they went back to work tuesday all fired upver a massive possible takeover. kraft is weighing the cost of upping its $16 billion bid for the british candy maker cadbury. cadbury shares up 38% this week, but by holding out for a sweeter deeshl deal, cadbury risks losing money in the long run. kraft, america's largest food maker, is looking to cut $300 million in annual costs by consolidating its supplier base. kraft was down 6% on tuesday. rival chocolate maker hershey gained 1%, speculation of a possible bidding wr for cadbury.

worry over stimulus fueled inlagz sparked a surge in commodities. gold prices hit the highest value in six months. alcoa rose 3.5%. crude, which had been lingering around the $68 mark, shot up 3% tuesday, closing at $71 a barrel. that pumped shares of chevron and exxon mobil 2% higher. analysts upgrade energized ge, the parent company of this network, during tuesday's trading. ge gained 4.5%. apple sent shares up 2.6%. finally, some cash-strapped california couples are getting a helping hand from a 99 cents store making the most of today's 9-9-09 date. nine couples will pay just 99 cents to say i do at the discount store. then afterwards the newlywedding will be taken to an undisclosed romantic spot with $99.99 in

hand. congratulations. well, another open upset. big papi hits a record breaker. and who's on top in college football? plus, who says nick swisher can't hit home runs at yankees stadium? your early morning sports headlines are just ahead. we have some active weather around the country. rain in three different locations. your regial forecasts coming up. you're wa today.".

good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. >> i'm eun yang. straight ahead, a woman is found dead outside a montgomery county apartment complex. we're live at the crime scene with the latest on the investigation. a burglar on trohewl p ta a homnero i t estdiri.di why police response timecall in edin llntthqu>>estion. the tiage-old game of oberop is going gl . gopty g ier oisglng.obal version of monopoly that ne f os your neighborhood rt

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." while the new york yankees as a team never looked better, the yankee captain, who is pursuing a major team record, has ground to a statistical halt. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. nearly a packed house on hand to see derek jeter pass lou gehrig on the all time hit list but it was nick swisher who stole the show. he remains four hits behind gehrig. his first a solo shot to left. yanks up 1-0 after two. more on swisher in ate bit. damon tried to bunt his way on. picked up the ball with his glove and scooped it to first. got damon by the slimmest of margins. an inning later it is swisher again. ending with a walk-off homer

into the jet stream in the right. rays have dropped seven straight. let's go to baltimore. red sox and orioles. the game a blowout. david ortiz hit a milestone. that tied him with frank thomas for the most all time. red sox 10-0. home run derby in washington between the phils and nationals. jason wirth career-high 32nd homer. tied it at two. ban yes, sir, that's gone. back to back for the phils. champs had five homers in all, two by a ban yes, sir. cards and brewers now. trevor hoffman blown two saves all year. make that three. matt holliday blasted a two-run homer in the ninth. oklahoma dropped from third to 13th. byu who beat the sooners jumped to ninth. florida remains the number one team in the nation. yesterday's quarterfinals no different. she won in straight sets.

she will take on kim clijsters. murray was nursing a sore left wrist and it showed. selig, 35 winners, 10 of them aces. rafael nadal also advanced. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. an enduring hollywood heavyweight passes away. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, one of those wacky american traditions that has stood the test tf oime. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this wednesday morning. here's a look at your forecast. umbrella needed today from cleveland to cincinnati. it's not going to rain all day. maybe some showers here or there. if you want to stay drive just in days. miami, showers and storms around you this morning and the this afternoon. maybe some light drizzle and some rain jersey coastline, especially near the atlantic city area. new york to philly, most of your day will remain dry. well, if you're watching us on wbal tv 11 in baltimore, study babe ruth's life off the field. how the home run king hit it out of the park as a husband, a father, and a friend. that's at the babe ruth birth place museum. that's your eastern event of the day, christina. >> all right. thanks so much, bill. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. army arnold charred, one of hollywood's most powerful and

lasting figures of the last half century has died at the age of 87. his daily column and variety ran for 52 years. he continued to blog for the paper right up until this past july. he had been the official greeters for the stars outside the academy awards for more than 50 years. had he written his column it no doubt would have included hollywood heartthrob george clooney strolling hand in hand with italian tv host at the venice film festival. it was the first public appearance for the couple who reportedly has been dating since they met early this year. finally, also in venice, matt damon to promote his new film, the informant, for which hehe gained 30 pounds, his secr, mcdonald's and doritos, which he called absolute heaven. he now refers to himself as the sexiest man alive's chunky

cousin. i'm sure there's probably a few people out there who still consider him sexy 30 pounds heavier or not. >> a lot of people want to put on 30 pounds just for the fun of it. this comes from wkyc channel tv 3 in cleveland, ohio, where 15 teams tested their traction in a messy time-honored tradition. for 95 years, groups of five have competed in the greasy pole contest. now each team actually tries to climb a top a slick 40-foot pole, which is obviously much easier said than done. just take a look. last year's champs have climbed together for decades and have already won eight titles. expertly using each other like ladder rungs. once again they claim their full and filthy bragging rights. imagine even training for this. >> you know why we do dumb things? because we can. >> because we can. that's right. why not? well, i'm christina brown, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

4:54 is our time. 67 degrees outside right now. live look at the u.s. capitol on this 9th day of the 9th month of the 9th year. >> go play the lottery. >> good morning. i'm joe krebs. >> i'm eun yang in for barbara harrison today. we'll start with a look at weather and me meteorologist tom kierein joins us for the weather. >>'mou on cld nine. as we start this morning, we have the clouds over us. they are producing a few sprinkles where you see the patches of n blue. a few sprinesbl in fairfax and prilin w camycentlisou a well as loudoun and howard co .unty prince george's county,prer maryland around the bay is dry this point. urte troll athtsd giunree on, low to mid 60ons. 67 in washington. out of the mountains it's

ly ilch, only in the low and mid 50s now. over the last six hours we've seen some of the showers coming from this coastal low. for the morning bus stop forecast, you eel maybe need an umbrella, temperatures in the 60s. look at the forecast for the rest of the week. that will be coming up at 5:01. stay tuned. let's go to jerry edwards for a first look at the roadways. >> good morning. i'm wearing my nine-inch platform shoes. let's see how we're doing. so far, so good. american legion bridge, the road work has been wrapped up. wilson bridge is quiet. bay bridge is fine. 66, no worries so far. joe and eun, back to you. >> here is a look at some of the top stories happening today. an investigation is under way after a woman is found dead outside an apartment complex in silver spring. police discovered the woman overnight in the 14,000 block of castle boulevard.

residents say they heard gunshots. police have not confirmed that. no suspects or motive at this time. president obama will address health care reformhen he speaks to a joint session of congress tonight. his plan for overhauling the nation's health care system has stalled largely due to disagreement over a government-run insurance option that would compete with private insurers. you can watch the president's speech tonight at 8:00 right here on nbc4. today an fda advisory committee will discuss to recommend whether boys and young men should get the vaccine to prevent him an papilloma virus. the vaccine would protect against two strains that cause most genital warts and some cancers in males. apples is expected to make a major announcement today. speculation ranges from a redesign ipod to a tablet-sized computer. a lot of us spend more time surfing the internet than yes

should. choosing facebook over cleaning or even sleeping in some cases. >> experts say you can actually be addicted to the internet and video games. now the first inpatient treatment center has opened up. jane mccarthy reports. >> reporter: ben alexander is a long way from his home in iowa city. here a restart internet addiction recovery program in fall city he feels a world away from his gaming addiction. >> my game of choice was "world of war craft". >> reporter: ben became so addicted he neglected his school work and eventually withdrew from college. >> i would play until i fell asleep on my keyboard. >> reporter: restart is believed to be the first treatment center of its kind in the u.s. co-founder cozette raid saw the need in her job as a social worker. >> concern that their children would be gaming 16, 17 hours a day, they stopped bathing. they would just eat at the

computer. >> reporter: ray launched the six-bed facility with dr. hillary cash who specializes in internet addiction. the 45-day program works to launch tech-addicted people back into the real world. >> what are they using the computer to numb out for? >> reporter: ben is interested in biology and animals. the staff is working to reconnect him with that along with cross-country running, something he used to enjoy pregaming. ben knows the internet will likely be part of life down the road, but he believes he's finally found a balance here in falls city. >> i'm not going to be able to say that i'm never going to be online again or anything like that. but at this point i'm not really worried about it. >> that was jane mccarthy reporting. the restart center offers individualized plans to treat a number of ternet issues. the program, you might guess, is not covered by insurance and runs about $14,500 for 45