today," dysfunctional democrats. senate leaders retreat from a preelection vote on extending tax cuts. oregon outrage, a bus driver is firedafter 's videotaped reading while driving on the inter state. and end of an era, hollywood actor eddie fisher is dead at and end of an era, hollywood actor eddie fisher is dead at the age of 82. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm amara sohn. yesterday, divided democrats punted on a serve to move to after november. good morning, tracie potts. >> reporter: good mornin the senate has confirmed what the housesaid, that this is not going to happen before you go to

the polls in november. senate democrats got together, but could notagree on how to move forward. the iss is whether or not to preserve the bush tax cuts for everyone or just for the middle class and let taxes go up on the wealthy. it is a political hot potato headed into november, not one that the democrats now say they want to touch before you go to the polls. however, what they did back, a small business bill, $30 billion, a new fund to help small businesses get loans. this was mainly a democratic issue. the idea here is that if businesses have more cash, they'll hire people, buy equipment, expand and help pull this economy out of a slump. the gop called it a bailout. their plan is their new pledge to america. a government that's too big is someing they say they want to get rid of if they are elected in november. they also want to expand tax cuts and several other measures

that they say when they are elected, if they are elected in november, they will implement. amara. >> tracie, thank you. once agai the iranian president ahmadinejad put on quite a show yesterday at the united nations. yesterday he put on assertions that prompted leaders to walk out in protest. >> reporter: unr increasing fire for his nuclear program and facing something he dressed, the possibilityof peace between the palestinians and israel, iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad dropped his bomb at the u.n. most people, he claimed, believe american officials staged 9/11. >> translator: that some segments within the u.s. government orchestrated the attack to reverse the american

economy and its gripn the middle east in order to save this regime. >> reporter: u.s. diplomates and others walked out. rudy giuliani, new york's mayor on 9/11, called ahmadinejad insane or giving a great imitation. irn, giuliani said, must get get nuclear weapons. that was china's goal, who is pressuring iran. an arab/israeli peace deal is hoped to be completed next year. >> we can have a new agreement, an independent sovereign state of palestine living in peace with israel. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in california, workers fom sea world tried asising a sea lion with a spear stuck in its

back, but to no avail. officials don't know how the animal got speared, but say if it was done on purpose, it would be a pearl offense. in oregon, a bus driver is out of a job after a passenger got videoof that driv reading an e-book while driving down the highway. he was eventually fired for posing a threat to public safety? in florida, this time a sheriff deputy was the one accused of distracted driving. photos show the deputy onis cell phone while reading in track at 5 miles per hour. an investigation stated it's not a safety concern for an officer to briefly checkis cell phone while riding. in louisiana, two vermont bunesses raised money for charity and attempted to cook up

a world record while cooking up 200 pounds of gooey macaroni and cheese. guinness hasn't weighed in yet. now for a look at your national and regional wlr, here is bill karins with your national and regional forecast. >> we're looking forward to the weekend. we are dealing with a tropical storm out there. a lot of people wondering will this ever affect the united states. it's possible. but it would at least be 7 to 10 days from now. this is tropical storm matthew. you notice it heads up to here to belize and affects the yucan areas from cancun through southern mexico into tuesday. so we've got a -- this is going to be a very slow moving storm through upcoming weekend. after this point, it's unsure if it would move into the gulf or dissipate over land here.

that's tropical storm matthew. the big story here in the states has been the heat. it was 90 degree heat. you can see it from dallas almost to chicago. d.c. was 93 yesterday. everywhere in red, the whole southeast and tennessee valley was in the 90s yesterday and today is going to be just as warm because that front shedding through st. louis and chicago. we have at least one more warm day before the cooler air arrives behind this cold front. there's the hot air, the heat pump with that high pressure all the way up the eastern sboard. on that front, we have rain for u this morning going into columbia, missouri, chicago, you will have morning rain for your commute, also. so the forecast for today, very warm in the eastern seaboard. d.c., near 95 degrees. but cooler for you in dallas, kansas city and chicago as that cool, fa air finally arrives. that's a look at your national forecast. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. temperature in atlanta once agai in the 90s. what else is new? same for you in nashville. look at milwaukee, wisconsin.

the cold front has gone through, temperatures are plummetin high today of only 66 degrees. we've returned to sweater weather. of course, the weekend forecast is coming up. >> all right, bill. thank you. unexpected unemployment, the rent a car war continues and the crocodile conundrum. your early morninbusiness headlines are straight ahead. plus, more than 20 years later, can wall street's gordon gekko hit records again? one hand, one interception. you're watching "early today."

>> good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm amara sohn. here are some of your top headlines this morning. for the first time in nearly a century, the state of virginia has carried out an execution on a woman.

last night, 41-year-old teresa lewis was put to death by lethal injection for arranging the deaths of her husband and stepson to collect a $250,000 insurance policy. a nicaraguan diplomate was found with his throat slashed in his new york apartment yesterday. his body was discovered by his driver hours before he was scheduled to attend the united nations general assembly annual meeting. a pakistani scientist known as lady al qaeda has been sentenced to 86 years in prison for trying to kill u.s. soldiers and intelligence officers in afghanistan. startling findings from a government study that finds one in five gay and bisexual men in the united states, 20% have the hiv virus. nearly half of those do not know they're infected. that compares to an overall hiv

rate of 0.5%. eddie fisher who sparked one of the greatest showbiz scandals of the 20th century when he left his wife for elizabeth taylor has died. he died due to complications from recent hip surgery. eddie fisher was 82. >> and now here's a look at w wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,662 after falling 76 points yesterday. the s&p lost 9 points and the nasdaq dipped 7. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei dropped 94 points. but in hong kong, the hang seng was up 71. expertsay be saying the recession is over, but until ininvestors see improvement on the jobs front, markets are likely to remain unsteady. initial jobless claims rose for the first time in five weeks. investors saw that as a red

flag. a slight improvement of isting home sales in august sailed to fuel concerns that recent european austerity measures may not be enough. the food and dug administration is putting new restrictions on the diabetes drug avandia after i was banned in europe due to reported heart risk. on capitol hill, the house voted to repeal exemptions given to the securities and exchange commission that kept a lid on government data about the nation's financial firm pop. for the first time in several years, the federal trade communication is opening up air waves to make high speed wireless broadband access more widely available. back on the street, the battle for tlifty car rental continues a week before shareholrs were to vote on a d fromhertz. avis has upped its offer to $1.5

billion. keep eye on nike today, up 1.5% after the bell thanks to better than expected earnings. finally, talk about adding insult to injury, residents in the mexican state of veracruz are being warned that at least 280 crocodiles are on the loose in the area after escaping during the storm. it's not a-okay for cc. an interception and major league milestones. plus, major actions off the field as oneoronto fan goes too far ting to catch a foul ball. your early morning sports headlines are just ahead. we have big changes ming this weekend as cool, fall air rushes across the country. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports last night, the tampa bay rays trounced the yankees leaving their race to the division title a sprint to the finish line. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. it was a chance for either the yanks or rays to pull away i the a.l. east. yet after four games, we're back to where we started after a

split. rays were up, 4-3. it was frustrating for the yanks. in the venth, vasquez hit not one, not two, but three straight batters. the ra won it big, 10-3. in toronto, batista continues to hit the cover off the ball, becoming just the 26th player to his the 25th home run of the year. a single in the fifth game him 200 hits for the 10th straight season. first player ever to do it. in the seventh, thought he had a chance to make the grab. instead, he took a tumble and head over heels and on to the field. that's embarrassed. blue jays won it, 1-0. ribaeot the runs going and capped things off with a grand slam. first player to hit two home runs in one inning tis season.

giants won, 13-0. they're in first place in the west. albert pujols hit a pair of homers against the pirates. finally, great college football. miami and pittsburg the hurricanes jacoby puts it up. spectacular interception by a sophomore. miami rolls, 31-3. that's your early look at ports on "early today." have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin. can an animated 3d feature about outlines take the box office crown this weekend? your early morning entertainment headlines are straht ahead. plus, one girl's trip to the land of make believe proves dreams can come true. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this friday. let me take you through the weekend forecast. the cold front is going to move across the country and that's going bring changes. the cool air in the plains. minneapolis, kansas city, chicago. hot air out ahead of it to the east coast. saturday, still in the mid 80s along the mid-atlantic. thunderstorms in florid you'll see only 63 on satday in chicago. very cool weekend for you. by the time we get to sunday, finally, the front pushes off the eas coast. areas like atlanta, you can take

a big sigh of relief. it will be much cooler in washington, d.c. overall, a dry weekend forecast. well, if you're watching us on who13, des moines, iowa, check out the state's largest arts and crafts fair at the iowa state fairgrounds. that's yo "early today" event of the day. i'm going to my last fair, my last funnel cake of the summer. it's a sad, but enjoyable event. >> yummy. i love those deep fried foods. >> deep fried oros. >> and twinkies. on the silver screen this weekend, look for a razor close finish. the obvious, "wall street was one of the iconic movies of the '80s. michael douglas is featured as

gordon gekko. interest is predictably high among older movie goers, but only so-so with the ynger crowd. it is only the experts luke warm favorite to take the number one spot with about $20 million. at firstglance, "legend of the guardians outlines of gahoul" may not seem lik a contender. it's base odd a popular book series and there haven't been many family options in theaters ately. most see it finishing second, but a few experts have gone out of a limb and suggested it will be this weekend's upset winner. bill, i was going to ask you if you're doing the movie this weekend. >> i probably will not be outdoors, but i didn't see the original "wall street." i'll have to rent that first. and this comes to us from philadelphia, pennsylvania, where dreams did come true after

one girl's trip to the magic kingdom. kiera thought she had forever lost her autograph book, but not only did a couple find her book, but they sent it back to her with a note and their picture tucked inside. perfect storybook ending. i'm amara sohn, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. [ male announcer ] it's sunday afternoon.

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4:28 is your time now. it is 72 degrees. muggy start to your morning after a couple summer like days. good morning. i'm eun yang. >> good morning. i'm joe krebs. it is the 24th day of ptember, 2010. the fire described three homes in the 8300 block of tillup loop in manassas. jane has more. >> reporter: eight homes were damaged or destroyed as strong winds whipped the massive blaze through a row of single-family homes. yann upscale neighborhood turns into a fiery infern as strong winds cause fles to jump from roof to roof. amateur video shows a fast-moving blaze as firefighters struggle to get control and neighbors start to

panic. >> it was only ten minutes before all of these went up. it was really, reallyhorrific. i knew how close we were and seeing how close they were. it was pretty bad. >> reporter: witnesses say the fire broke out in the back of 8355 tillup loop. the heat from the fire caused vinyl sding on three homes to melt. one neighbor ran door to door to make sure everyone made it out okay. >> i ran to the guy's house. and he was in the house. like a teenager of some sort. he was in a panic. i told him, you have to get out of the house. i went through the garage, the whole back of the house was on fire already. >> reporter: 100 firefighters battled the three-alarm blaze. miraculously, no one was severely hurt. the red cross was brought in to help homeless families,