this morning on "early today," shutting down the shield. the obama white house scraps bush administration plans to build a controversial missile defense system in europe. zeroing in. police in connecticut say they are on the verge of an arrest in connection with the murder of a yale university graduate student. and justice mambo. the nation's newest supreme court member shows off some the nation's newest supreme court member shows off some moves on the dance floor. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

hello and good morning. i'm christina brown. today we begin with reassessing the threat. according to this morning's wall street journal, the obama administration is putting off plans to build a missile defense shield in eastern europe. in a sharp reversal of the bush administration, the decision reflects new findings that indicate iran's military technology is developing more slowly than anticipated. although experts disagree as to the maturity of the iranian program, analysts also say the threat posed to the u.s. and europe by that program may not be as significant as once estimated. the move will likely be chaired by russian officials who saw the proposed missile defense system in poland and the czech republic as a potential threat. officials say the u.s. will shift towards the development of regional missile defenses to help comfort nervous european allies. nbc news has confirmed fbi agents have seized potential

evidence at the colorado home of a man who has suspected ties with al qaeda. wednesday's search follows a similar raid on several new york city apartments this week after the man, a 25-year-old afghan, visited the area. he was taken in for questioning in denver where he provided a dna sample and information about his recent travels. despite earlier media reports, nbc news justice correspondent pete williams reports officials are waiving off claims they discovered a large quantity of potential bomb-making materials. meanwhile, reports say connecticut police expect to make an arrest later this morning in the case of murdered yale graduate student annie le. according to police, 24-year-old raymond clark was detained and questioned until 3:00 in the morning, while authorities carried out a seven of his apartment tuesday night before releasing him into his attorney's custody. a second search of clark's apartment and car was conducted late wednesday, the same day a

coroner's report said le was strangled to death. according to police, they are now preparing clark's dna with evidence found at the scene. officers have surrounded clark's hotel in cromwell, connecticut while they await the results of those tests. new haven police will hold a news conference later this morning. today afghan president karzai is insisting he firmly bags the integrity of last month's presidential election despite widespread allegations of fraud. it follows yesterday's release of the full preliminary results which give the incumbent 54.6% of the vote. although that would be enough to avoid a potential runoff, experts say the final results are expected to change reflecting the review and rejection of fraudulent ballots. european election monitors say fraud is indicated in more than a million votes. now here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. there is nothing short of a very fishy situation in one north

carolina river. an estimated 50 million fish have gone belly up in the moose river. officials say it's not over yet. scientists are still trying to determine the cause but say the large kill is likely related to low levels of oxygen in the water. there were several clues that led a dui suspect in florida to the attention of police. first, he was riding his motorcycle completely naked. police report he couldn't say where he was coming from and had a blood alcohol level at twice the legal limit. he eventually put on a towel and failed numerous sobriety tests. in california, a multimillion dollar house went up in flames along with a priceless art collection inside. fire ripped through the hollywood hills mansion as firefighters fought to keep it caped. among other items, the oer says the blaze destroyed a fab jay egg and art originally commissioned by napoleon bon

part. we now know the answer to the burning question, can supreme court justice sonia sotomayor do the mambo? sure, she can. they pulled sonia sotomayor out on the dance floor at a gala for the national hispanic foundation for the arts. the court's first latino member clearly had no trouble showing off some of her fancy moves. now for a loot you're national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. hopefully you have a forecast we can all dance to. >> a little bit. can you dance, christina. >> a little bit. but not by any means can i do the ma'am about. the salsa. >> let's talk a little bit about your forecast. good morning, everyone. stagnant weather pattern. nothing is changing. today will be a lot like yesterday. showers, storms, clouds. the beautiful weather still from

the great lakes. a little bit into the northeast. not everywhere. areas along the coast are unfortunately dealing with the low level flow from boston to new york. it's kind of cloudy and murky. interior areas will be a lot nicer. you can see the spin here on the radar. that's where the storm is. and we're continuing to see showers out there. widespread. we've got flooding in nashville. other areas of tennessee aren't too bad. atlanta you're dry currently. showers in augusta and savannah, hilton head. even around the charlotte area, a sprinkle or two. it's nothing horrible. it's just going to be a rain event. then it will dry. then it will rain again. just kind of the weather pattern. chilly here in detroit, 52. northern new england in the 40s. more wet weather in the deep south. dry great lakes to the northeast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. some areas with a chance of some of those downpours today will include florida, georgia, south carolina, alabama, mississippi,

and the charlotte area sprinkles here or there. cool. only in the 70s. cool also in northern new england. well, christinchristina, that's at your thursday forecast. >> all right. thanks so much, bill. big blue bounces, gold shines, and waiting for fedex. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, singer chris browns performs on a vry different type of stage. also, things are grand for the phillies and late inning here rockies by the yankees and red sox. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early tod." i'm christina brown. and here are some of your top headlines this morning. this summer was a record setter not necessarily in a good way for the world's oceans. the national oceanic and atmospheric administration said the worldwide ocean surface

temperature in august was 62.4 degrees. that's the warmest august on record ever, 1.03 degrees above the norm. mary traverse have the 1960s peter paul and mary has died. part of a group known for such hits as puff the magic dragon and if i had a hammer. she died wednesday after a long battle with leukemia. she was 27. kate winslet is among hollywood celebrities of top "people" magazine's 10 best women of 2009. michelle obama and reese witherspoon also made the unranked list. and fresh off her win at the mtv video music awards, teen singer taylor swift got honors for best sparkle. after months of duelling over health care reform, president obama got into an actual duel yesterday. the southfield was filled with olympians and pair olympians

trying to drum up support for chicago's bid to host the 2016 summer olympic games. now here's an early look how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens 9,791 after jumping 108 points on wednesday. the s&p rose 16. the nasdaq gained 30 points. taking a look at overseas trading in tokyo, the nikkei leapt 173 points, while in hong kong the hang seng spiked 365 points. just one day after fed chairman ben bernanke declared the recession very likely over, wall street rallied on another round of encouraging economic news. the nation's central bank reported wednesday that u.s. industrial production was up again in august and that july's advances were actually double initial estimates. that news sparked a surge in markets across the board. the s&p ticked 1.5% higher, adding to its ovell gains of 58% since march. big blue, ibm, rose 2%, helping the dow to a 1% higher

close, making it eight out of the last nine days on the plus side. >> g.e., the parent company of this network, moved 6% higher, erasing its losses for the entire year. g.e. will hold a meeting this morning to update analysts on the company. december gold futures hit their highest level in a year and a half, closing at $1,020 an ounce. investors sold off the llar and stocked up on the precious metal on hopes of higher wholesale and retail prices in the months ahead. beazer homes got a 14% boost following a report that confidence in the home building industry was up for the third straight month. that sector could see more action today as fresh data on housing starts will be released this morning. oracle may weigh down tech stocks today following its after the bell earnings. the world's number three software maker reported sales below wall street expectations. keep an eye on shares of fedex today. the shipping giant often looked

to as an economic bellwether will report quarterly earnings before the bell. finally, don't get any ideas from one man in spain who recently won a lawsuit against his boss who fired the man for cursing at him. a judge in barcelona ruled that the man should either get his job back or be given $9,400. the judge found, hey, the foul phrase that was actually used is used pretty commonly in arguments in that country. well, the penalties are in for those base brawlers. and we have the highlights from all of last night's action on the field, including mark teixeira of the yankees whose glove is as mighty as his bat. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. our thursday weather headline is the storm that will not go away. it is still sitting over the deep south providing many with a soggy day. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. i'm keith garvin. >> and i'm barbara harrison. straight ahead on "news 4 today," president obama takes his health care message to a local college. we're live with the preparations and a preview of the big event. >> plus, candidates for governor go face toace for a heated debate. what a new poll is saying about who is leading the race. >> then, local merchants offering deep discounts for products but this collective buying comes with a catch. join us at 4:55 a.m. good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the new york yankees faced the blue jays last night one day after a nasty bench-clearing brawl between the two clubs. and last night they fought it out again on the field, but this time without their fists.

here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. good mornin yankees poe sa da and carlson have both been find and suspended for three against for wednesday's bench-clearing brawl in the bronx. no fight in this one. just good old-fashioned baseball. eighth inning, down 8-2. one swing of the bat. two-run jet into the jet stream. they complete the come back in the ninth. francisco rips a single to left. garner scores. check out the rookie. i don't know if that's a look of happiness or fright as the entire team runs after him. yankees win 5-4. a see-saw battle. abreu with none bigger than this one. shawn puts them on top. two outs with bases loaded. and brian fuentes walks on a 3-2 count. game tying run crosses the plate

and we're even at eight. next batter, newest member of the red sox, adrian gonzalez with a blooper into left. j.d. drew scores. red sox win a wild one, 9-8. what has gotten into the twins. they lose their best player for the season but they continue to win. taking on the indian, michael cuddyer had a homer, walked in three runs. they are 4 1/2 games back of the tigers a.l. central. phillies and nationals. sacks full. jayson werth clears with a swing of the bat. his 34th of the homer is a grand slam. 6-1. huge card with wild card implications rockies and giants. ian stewart, good-bye. he trainings matt cain deep to center. rocks win. they have a 3 1/2 game lead on the giants in the n.l. wild card. a that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. we'll tell you which

celebrity ran more than 1,000 miles for charity. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, stick around. you're not going to believe where this patch of green is located. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this thursday morning. rain in the forecast today.

once again, you need the umbrella tennessee through alabama, mississippi, georgia. even up into the carolinas, especially around the charlotte area. a chance of showers. also columbus, south carolina. d.c. today a sprinkle or two. it's not going to downpour. just a little a annoying cool rain. look at the temperatures in the big cities from boston to new york city. you'll be lucky to be, you know, in the 60s. that's it. 60s. well, if you're watching wncn nbc 17 in raleigh, north carolina, emerse yourself in chocolate from the raw rain forest material to the luscious treats in a box at the north carolina museum of natural sciences. that's your eastern event of the day, christina. of course the cocoa bean. >> all right. thanks so much, bill. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. a few days ago jessica simpson's dog was snatched away by a coyote. now the singer is responding to people who are making fun of her desperate search for the pet. skeptics say she should be

realistic. instead of hiring an expensive pet search service, simpson fired back saying her dog daisy is fast so maybe, just maybe she got away. after two days on the oprah couch, we now know whitney houston did indeed use crack but considered her real drug former husband singer bobby brown. while brown never physically abused houston, she said he did cheat on her and paint evil eyes in their bedroom. as for brown, his manager/girlfriend says he's not talking. she reportedly said, and we assume without laughing, quote, he's totally taking the high road. 179 days to go of labor for singer chris brown after he began his community service yesterday there in richmond. finally, in london, yesterday, emmy-award winning actor eddie izard finished an 1,100 mile run through three

countries and all of this for charity. and looking pretty good. i'd be exhausted. >> i've never heard of races that long. >> yeah. this was for a sports relief charity. so hey. where there's a will there's clearly a way, right? this cams from kare 11 in minneapolis where one basketball complex has taken very big steps towards reducing its carbon footpri footprint. check it out. the home of the minnesota timber wolves has a secret garden on the roof and it stretches for two and a half acres. take a look at this. completed just this week, the green roof is actually the 10th largest in the world. that secret garden keeps about 1 million gallons of contaminated storm water from entering the mississippi river each year and slashes energy costs by insulating the building. pretty good idea. i'm christina brown. this is

well, on this thursday morning, a shot of the capitol dome way in the background. lots of clouds. right now 65 degrees at 4:55. good morning. i'm keith garvin sitting in for joe krebs. >> i'm barbara harrison. we have some wet pavement to deal with out there this morning. let's start things off, as we always do, we have tom sitting here to tell us what we can expect from the weather. anymore rain? i guess we had some overnight. >> yes, we do have more coming through. where you see the moving color, that is rain just about to come into washington. it's raining across much of northern virginia right now. it's heading off to the northeast and will be with us for the next couple of hours. i'll show you the forecast for the rest of the day, that will be coming up in a couple of minutes at 5:01. stay tuned. >> all right, tom. thank you. >> let's get an early check on the roadways with jerry edwards. happy thursday to you. most friday. >> pretty close. i can see friday. >> right there on the horizon. >> it is, indeed.

good morning. doing okay so far, but as tom mentiond with the rain moving, in could be one of those days. 395 northbound toward edsel road, everything is looking fine. toward the wilson bridge, no early concerns. travel lanes are open. okay at the bay bridge. quiet on 270. back to you. >> all right. thank you. >> thanks, jerry. here is a look at some of the top stories happening today. president obama's taking his plan for health insurance reform to college park today. he will be hoeding a rally at the university of maryland at 11:00 a.m. the event is at the university's comcast center and it is free and open to the public. seating will be first come, first serve. >> the candidates for the next virginia governor face off today. the debate featuring democrat creigh deeds and republican bob mcdonnell will take place this afternoon in mclean. recent polls show mcdonnell with a slight lead. today's debate will be moderated by david gregory, host of the "meet the press." >> police in new haven, connecticut, will hold a news conference this morning to announce the latest details in

the murder of annie le. her body was found last weekend stuffed in a wall in a medical research building on campus. police are searching the apartment of a university lab technician whose name is raymond clark and he has been named a person of interest. >> first lady michelle obama will attend the opening of a new farmers market here in the district today. the fresh farm market will be set up on vermont avenue between h and i streets northwest. local residents and federal employees will be able to buy fresh vegetables and cheese as well as milk and baked goods. >> bees plus-size and fashionable don't always go hand in hand. >> but an alexandria woman is trying to change that. she's started a line of tailored clothing that's striking a clothe with women of larger shapes and sizes. jane watrel has the story. >> reporter: it's the rallying cry of fuller-figure females around the country as they shop for clothes. >> we want to look good, so stop throwing the moomoos north dakota the dusters and the big

shirts at us. >> reporter: being plus size and looking stylish often ds not go hand in hand. >> when you're curvy, you encounter problems in the marketplace. things don't fit so right. things don't look as good as you want them to look. if i'm having this problems, other women must also be having these problems. >> reporter: so frasier rodriguez set out to make a change in the plus-size world. the former journalist with a passion for fashion launched kingly and posh, a clothing line she designed for women sizes 14 to 22. >> don't use the theory just add fabric and your clothing, a larger -- larger size. i don't believe in that. we believe in quality clothing that's tailored to fit and to flow. no matter what size. how does it feel? >> it feels nice. i really like it. >> reporter: rodriguez spent months talking to fuller-figure women and doing extensive market research before starting her alexandria business last year. it's now in 20 bouties and is

doing a healthy business online. not surprising to this plus-size model. >> there's not anybody else that i really know of that has this type of style, that's in the plus industry so i think it's definitely a great mix. >> reporter: so far, rodriguez appears to have tapped into an underserved market. >> i didn't want to contribute tee shirts and throw them out there. i wanted to make something matters, that people can kind of embrace. and i think -- i think i hit the nail on t head because people really are embracing the line at this point. >> frazier rodriguez is already working on her spring collection with a sizable audience waiting in the wings. over half of american women are size 14 and up. jane watrel, news 4. >> and right now rodriguez has five different clothing designs on her website. prices range from $75 to $150. you can get more details on nbcwashington.com. >> big, small, short, tall, everyone