this morning on "early today," after the apology. congressman anthony weiner faces mounting calls to resign in the wake of his twitter scandal. lightning round, a powerful storm makes for a powerful storm in toronto. and swirling lava at one of the world's most active volcanos. the world's most active volcanos. the captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with truth and

consequences. representative anthony weiner's political career hangs in the balance this morning as a number of women are claiming to have had online relationships with him. this as fellow democrats fail to come to the new york congressman's aid while republicans call for his resignation. nbc's kristin dahlgren reports. >> reporter: one day after representative anthony weiner's shocking mia culpa -- >> i've exchanged photos of an explicit nature with about six women over the last six years. >> democratic leader nancy pelosi was calling for an ethics investigation to see if rules were broken. we have a code of conduct that we have to -- that we have to follow. so it's a much higher standard than people realize. house majority leader eric cantor was among republicans calling for even more. >> i don't condone his activity.

i think he should resign. >> reporter: but the new york congressman has vowed to stay in office. >> i don't see i did that violated any rules of the house. >> reporter: still, the photo fallout may have had an impact. weiner wanted to run for mayor of new york next. >> i think this has all but certainly killed his mayoral campaign. >> conservative mroger with who broke the scandal says he has another x-rated picture he's not releasing. >> if he wants to open himself to an investigation, there are a lot of women. >> reporter: voters, some unwilling to forgive or forget. >> something about these politicians, they feel that they're entitled to do whatever 24e79. >> reporter: while others -- >> i don't think we should be wasting our time and energy on this when we've got 9.1% of the public not working right now. >> reporter: -- wonder why the scandal is taking up any more time. kristin dahlgren, nbc news,

washington. elsewhere last night in the white house, it was all about elegance at a state dinner for angela merkel. she games one of the few dignitaries to receive the prtal award for freedom. prior to the low key dinner, the president tack eled more seriou issues, including bad news on the economy. steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: president obama was on the defensive in a news korns with german chancellor angela merkel. >> the recovery that we're on is not producing jobs as quickly as i wanted to -- to happen. >> reporter: he says the biggest problem now is high fuel prices. the labor department reported private sector hiring dropped almost 5% in april. it leaves him open to attack by republican candidates like tim pawlenty. >> the president wrongly thought the stimulus, the bailout were

working. >> reporter: president obama takes credit for avert ago disaster and for future hiring. >> we have set a path that will lead us to long-term economic growth. and so our task is to not panic, not overreact pb. >> reporter: a plea for reporters to hang in, even though the recovery has stalled. steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. the night sky over northern rhode island turned orange after an eight alarm fire erupted inside a historic mill. rhode island and massachusetts fire companies were on the scene as the inferno deputied the factory once used to make world war ii attack boats. the massive fire on the seven acre site caused power outages and forced officials to evacuate the area before it was brought under control. the warship connected to the burial of osama bin lad sn back in american waters. the uss carl vincent docked in

u.s. waters receiving a hero's welcome from about 100 greeters after its historic mission. trillion ship refused to release any details, but did say the mission was conducted in a manner that brings pride to the nation. the u.s. geological survey has received new video of a fresh lava spilling into a lake. this new activity doesn't pose any danger to hawaii's big island, but scientists say it is causing disruption with the volcano's crust. unbelievable pictures there. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. a lot of folks around the country will feel like they're sunning right there at the base of that volcano. >> the lava was very appropriate. when you think of minneapolis, st. paul, what do you think of?

>> not 100 degree temperatures. >> yesterday, it was 103 in minneapolis, st. paul. one of the hottest temperatures you've ever seen, period, and the second hottest you've ever seen in june. i think it was in 1937 or so you were 104. that was how incredible this heat wave is. 103. chicago was 96. everywhere in the red was in the 90s. roughly half the country had a temperature of 90 degrees or hotter. how do we look today? ever so slowly, this heat continues to push to the east. that means the heat is now expanding into areas of the midwest and new england and with it the humidity. we're getting cooler. our jet stream will sink a little bit. the northern rockies and noerch plains will be the first to return to normal. there's not a lot of rain to cool anyone off. how hot are we going to be on this wednesday? we're going to see 98 in d.c., 96 in new york city and no

relief in chicago. you get the picture. the heat wave continues. that's a look at your national forecast. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. temperatures in the 90s through the carolinas. raleigh today will be steamy, 95 with a heat index in the upper 90s at least. minneapolis, you're one of the first big cities to get your relief. today, down to 78 degrees. thunderstorms possible around salt lake city. so for areas of the mid-atlantic and the northeast, you've got a picture. the kids are still in school with the teachers, some don't have ac. it will be a rough two days. >> bill, thanks so much. big ben bumps out the street, a big win for nbc and a woman whose facebook friends really are forever. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, surprises are in store later this morning as "today" stays farewell to mayor death. coming up, tiger woods limps away from golf and game four of the nabz finals comes down to

the final shot. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. arizona's mammoth wildfire has chased thousands from their homes, burned ten structures and 486 square miles. no one has injured by the blaze, which was captured by a massive satellite along with another major fire burning in the state. loud explosions have been rocking tripoli amid a sudden spike in nato air strikes. parts of libyan ruler moammar gadhafi's compound have been flattened. despite the assault, he is vowing to fight to the end. mother nature put on a show in canada yesterday. lightning lit up the skies of toronto striking the city's sea end tower. the bolts were created by storms rolling through ontario.

and one missouri ice cream shop is getting bugged for serving an untraditional flavor. health officials have told it to sop serving secada flavored ice cream. that's right, secada. the first batch of the cold treat was sold out within hours. >> and now here's an early look at one of your health headlines. the government reports largely due to salmonella, more victims fell to food poisoning last year. salmonella cases haven't dropped in 15 years and they've risen over the last few years by 10%. for more information on this and other health stories, check out the health page at msnbc.com. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day.

the dow opens at 12,070 after losing 19 points yesterday. the s&p dipped 1 point. the nasdaq shed 1. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei inched up 6 points, but in hong kong, the hang seng dropped 207. worries about the struggling economy dragged the blue chips into the red for a fifth straight day yesterday. stocks gave up early gains after fed chair ben bernanke blamed high gas prices and japan's disasters for what he called a frustratingly slow pace of economic growth. predicting the rate will pick up in the months to come, bernanke offered no new stimulus measures, which came as a disappointment to some. adding to those woes, the labor department report businesses posted about 100,000 fewer jobs in april than they did in march. after the bell, home builder hovnanian reported quarterly losses that dragged its shares

lower. in deal news, international paper's hostile takeover bid for rival temple-inland drove that company 40% higher and raised speculation that rival warehouses would make a play for international paper. nbc won a bidding war for the rights to broadcast the olympic games through 2020. comcast, the parent company of this network, plans to spread the olympic coverage across its cable and digital outlets. nintendo unveiled its new gaming season in l.a. featured hd graphics and a six inch monitor built into the handheld controller. check your facebook settings. the site has enabled its new recognition technology which allows you to tag photos of your friends. it will be difficult for one woman to unfriend anyone on

facebook after she had all 152 of them tattooed on her arm. pretty good tattoos, too. the red sox and yankees square off, tigers dropped out and the nhl throws the book at a cheap shotter. plus, dirk and the mavs end up their final matchup with the heat. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. our impressive early season heat wave is spreading into the mid-atlantic and the northeast. it's your turn. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, dallas match rick dirk nowitzki fought off both the miami heat and illness last night the even up the nba finals. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. despite a temperature of 102, dirk nowitzki once again led the mavs to another comeback win in the nba finalses. game four in dallas. lebron james to dwyane wade, alley-oop. wade had 32. miami up by as much as 7 in the fourth. the mavs dug deep and found a way to win. dirk found the energy to put the mavs up three with 14 seconds left. heat had a final shot. wade mishandled the ball, somehow got it to mike miller

who hoisted a three, air ball. mavs came back and evened the series with an 86-83 win. the puck drops for tonight's game for the stanley cup fierns, aaron rome will be on the sidelines. he's suspended for the rest of the series for blind siding horton. horton will miss the rest of the season with a concussion. for months, tiger woods said he would be ready for the u.s. open and guess what? he's not. baseball, mark teschera hit by a fastball by the red sox. he limped off the field. x-rays negative. he's got a bruised kneecap. carlos beltran with a shot to center. gomez tracked it down and made a leaping grab. thievery. unfortunately, not enough. brewers lost it, 2-1.

congratulations to the national softball team. it's the sun devils' second title in four years and for coach clint myers, you're never too old to get a pie in the face. congrats, coach. now shower off. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. the price paid for one newspaper for hacking a star's phone. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll introduce you to one little girl who proves heros come in all shapes and sizes. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this wednesday morning. the forecast continues to be very hot. there's not much else you can say. everywhere in red will be in the 90s. a few spots have a chance of hitting 100. d.c., 98 for you. new york city and philadelphia, 96 to 98. we're still very who hot in the southern half of the country. thursday, it's warmer than in the middle of the country. a pair the of 98s in new york and d.c. if you're watching us in norfolk, virginia, bring your bicycles and pedal through 12 miles of the garden pathways at bike night at the norfolk botanical garden. that's your "early today" event of the day. >> bill, thanks so much. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. i'm lynn berry, and this is

one starlet has apparently scored hollywood's hottest new bachelor and it has his perks. "us weekly" reports through venice and the french riviera, leonardo dicaprio and blake lively took in a trip to disneyland. once source told the magazine, quote, i've never seen him like this with a girl. see anna miller has settled phone hacking claims against news of the world, an english tabloid run by rupert murdock's news corporation for over $160,000. miller accepted damages. her legal costs and an unconditional admission of liability by the paper. finally, meredith vieira's nearly five years as coanchor of "today" comes to an end as she leaves the show to spend more time with her family. a very special sendoff is planned for this morning. one you're not going to want to

miss. it's all coming up right here on this nbc station. apparently the staff has surprises for meredith today. >> and matt is famous for his pranks, too. >> so is she, too, so i wouldn't be surprised if she pulls something out, as well. this comes to us from jacksonville, florida, the home of a very different kind of hero, one of the cover of a cereal box. haley received and recently won a two-year battle with bone cancer to commemorate her big victory, she's been given access to a very exclusive club. the 10-year-old's picture and story will be placed on boxes of cereal and breakfast treats. haley appreciates the honor, but she's even happier than her story will give other cancer patients something to believe in. absolutely right, haley. good for you. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

72 degrees already at 4:28 this morning. and that's just the beginning. good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. >> i'm eun yang. welcome to news 4 for this june 7, 2011. we begin with breaking news off the beltway in bethesda. the exit from the inner loop to river road is closed for a serious motorcycle accident. tracee, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, eun. we just spoke with maryland state highway officials who are

saying this is a double fatal accident. two people died early this morning here on the beltway. as you can see here, this is the ramp onto river road here. this is blocked for now as they investigate exactly what led to this accident. one motorcycle. two people on the motorcycle killed in this accident that happened at 2:52 a.m. for now the route to river road inner loop is closed as they continue with this motorcycle investigation. you can see here again this ramp is closed off. they have plenty of officials trying to figure out exactly what led to this accident. we don't have the genders of the folks who were involved. when we have more information, we'll bring it to you. live to you in the studio. >> tracee, thank you. this could add a messy commute to our morning. jerry edwards has the latest on how to get around it. >> indeed. not only will the ramp be closed but backing up onto the inner loop. tkpwrpbgs inner loop to g