this morning on "early today" front and center. republican presidential hopefuls gear up for tonight's debate showdown. texas torching. wildfires in the lone star state burn through hundreds of homes. and please step through. an airport security change that's guaranteed to be a shoe-in with air travellers. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with game on. republican presidential hopefuls are set to go head-to-head tonight in a high stakes debate where the nation's ailing economy is sure to take center stage. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with a preview. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. it's going to be an interesting debate because this is the first one since texas governor rick

perry took frontrunner status among the republicans, so all eyes will be on him tonight and on mitt romney who is trying to reclaim frontrunner status. he released his economic plan promising 11 million jobs, including lowering corporate tax rates. he says corporations are people, and people like employees and shareholders and customers end up paying more when the tax rates are not lowered. his plan came out two days before president obama's. republicans here on the hill want to know if there's anything new on that plan, and, in fact, they're requesting a meeting with the president before his speech on thursday to preview those ideas. the white house seems to indicate that is unlikely. speaking of that debate tonight where huntsman and bachmann will be trying to prove that they are still legitimate in this gop race, also this new super p.a.t.

that is backing rick perry is promising social media and mailers to try to keep him on top. >> tracie potts there in washington. thank you so much. two more people have died in texas in one of the most devastating wildfire outbreaks in that state's history. a total of four have died. more than 1,000 homes have been destroyed. several thousand residents have been forced to evacuate. nbc's curt gregory has more. >> reporter: as the raging flames continue, a team of more than 1,200 firefighters is hoping another day with light winds will help them stop a massive wildfire in bastrop county that's 18 miles long, five miles wide, and growing. >> the fire jumped all over the place so, we're doing a little firing to get it back on our terms. >> reporter: the bastrop fire burning just outside austin has already destroyed more than 500 homes. more than 5,000 people are living in shelters.

many watching the fire from a distance and wondering. >> looking at the fire right now, and i'm thinking, gosh, that could be my property that just went up in smoke. >> reporter: evacuees huddle around sheriff's deputies and local officials looking for information and answers. >> we don't know if we've got a house to go home to. we don't know anything. we can't find the information. >> reporter: and while fire crews battle the flames around the clock, the fire continues to shift and turn across the parched texas landscape. kurt gregory, nbc news. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. a cell phone captured raging flames erupting in an orlando gas station after a minivan crashed into the pump. the monday morning accident occurred when the driver lost control of her minivan, plowing through traffic signs and bushes before slamming into the station. the driver and her son escaped with only minor injuries. firefighters in arkansas clash with a massive inferno

that is expected to put hundreds out of work. billowing smoke from the copper plant blaze could be seen for miles as multiple crews battle that flame. officials say the building has been totally destroyed. the job status of plant employees unknown at this time. finally, it may only be september, but one wisconsin couple got their christmas gift early. the schroeders learned the white house will do its yule time tree shopping right on their farm. the couple received the honor after winning a contest sponsored by national christmas tree association. it's that time. i can't believe it. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. good to see you back. >> i don't have anything good to tell anyone. >> all right. then get out. come on. >> we have record heat on the west coast. we have the texas drought and the fires. we have the flooding in the northeast. i think it's the northern plains that's really the only spot that had some beautiful, tranquil, quiet and peaceful weather out

there. flash flood warnings this morning. skranton, wilkes-barre area, that's where we've had two inches of rain overnight and it's going to be worse throughout the day today. we're expecting more major flooding on the rirz just outside of new york city right around the pasaic river. all the counties in green is where we have flood warnings in effect. it's more rain today that's expected. still raining hard in central pennsylvania. starting to lighten up from new york city. just drizzle expected through your morning commute there. same with philadelphia. heavier showers will go near d.c. our computers are estimating that the worst of the rain today will be in central pennsylvania. this red and yellow and purple colors over the next 48 hours, that's four to six inches of rain, so we can expect more flooding on the rivers here. maybe another inch around new york city. don't expect a lot of sunshine in that area, and hurricane katia, this one will send big waves along and near the east coast as it travels safely away from bermuda and the east coast. at least that's a tiny piece of good news. that's a look at your national

forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. today in boston, cloudy, cool, drizzle. that's the same forecast for much of new england and new york city and the jersey shore. there is some beautiful weather out there. look at minneapolis today. chicago is going to be great. kansas city. st. louis. very nice. as far as texas goes, the winds will be light. no rain in the forecast, though, for at least the next week, so that's not going to help. >> a little bit of good news. all right, bill. >> one day. well, coming up, stocks dive. yahoo sacks its ceo, and most expensive car in america to insure. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll show you lady gaga as you have never seen her before, and believe it or not, it has nothing to do with a strange wardrobe or hairstyle. coming up, steven straussburg makes his return to the mound, and rain, rain, and more rain. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. a gunman opened fire on national guard members at a nevada ihop yesterday killing four feel, including three troops and a civilian. authorities say the gunman then shot and killed himself. his motive is not clear, but family members say he had mental issues. in west virginia officials say a man shot and killed five people, including a pregnant woman at a home. he then ran down an elderly woman and opened fire on a gas station, wounding one person. after a pursuit by a deputy, he shot and killed himself. police believe they know the motive, but they have not yet revealed it. michigan governor rick snyder has signed into law controversial four-year lifetime limit on cash welfare benefits. advocates for the poor warn that nearly 30,000 children will be without cash assistance starting

october 1st. the republican governor says there will be exceptions, including for those who are disabled and can't work. there may be light at the end of the tunnel for air travellers. homeland security secretary janet napolitano says you will eventually be able to keep your shoes on while passing through security. no specific date was given. she add thad restrictions on carrying liquid will continue for some time. and in poland residents are cleaning up from a storm that brought massive chunks of hail. the hail stones shattered windows and damaged over 100 houses. and now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. a new study suggests if taken early in pregnancy, calming anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen may increase the chance of miscarriage. studying the records of nearly 50,000 canadian women, researchers found the risk of

miscarriage more than doubled in women that took such anti-inflammatory drugs during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. more information on this and other health stories, you can check out the health page on msnbc.com. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,139 after falling 100 points yesterday. the s&p was down eight points. the nasdaq lost six. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo the nikkei climbed 172 points, while in hong kong the hang seng rose 337. well, september is traditionally wall street's weakest month, and if tuesday was any indication, this year will be no different. a wave of uncertainty over europe's debt problems swept over traders returning from the holiday with the dow down by as much as 300 points. not even two hours into trade. investors skurried out of stocks and into traditional safe

havens. the ten-year treasury yield fell to a 1.97%. one of the lowest rates since daily records started being kept. the price of gold jumped to a new record high. wall street's so-called volatility index, or fear factor, climbed over 9%. major banks were the big losers on fears of their exposure to future economic problems and bad mortgage security from the past. jp morgan chase and bank of america both fell more than 3%. on the plus side, the service sector, which employed nearly 90% of america's work force, brew for the first time in four months. packaging company temple inland climbed after international paper agreed buy it for $3.7 billion. i.p. rose almost 9%. sunoco was up almost 5% on its plans to get out of refining and instead focus on logistics. carole barts was fired as

yahoo's ceo, during a turnaround that failed to fully materialize. at an average of just over $3,500 a year, it is the 12 cylinder mercedes xl 65 amg that's the most expensive to insure. the four-door six cylinder chrysler town & country minivan at just under $1,100 a year is the cheapest wresh. coming up, jimmie johnson doesn't win. the mets go extra innings, and the yankees go an extra day. plus, the washington nationals can't miss kid makes his long-awaited comeback from a major injury. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather enough of all these extremes. hopefully i'll give you a quiet thursday forecast. that's coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you are just waking up, this is "early today." in sports after a tragic setback the career of one of the brightest careers has finally resumed. here's fred roggin with a look at all your sports headlines. steven straussburg made his much anticipated return to the majors. the kid lived up to the hype. he took the mound for the first time since undergoing tommy johns surgery. he allowed just two hits and

struck out four. the nats taking it slow with their young ace. unfortunately for washington he is really all they've got. l.a. rallied to tie, and then after a short rain delay, robert gave the rbi double. a 7-3 win. sdmrirchlgt red sox found out tuesday that pitcher josh beckett will miss a week with a sprained ankle. then the sox took out their first rags on the blue jays. scoring four in the first inning and matching a season high 20 hits. 14-0 was the score. you thought the yankees-orioles game was rained out. first pitch was shortly after 11:00 in new york. it rain most of the game, and the yanks went to the seventh. francisco and gardner hit back to back homers. new york won it. they'll play again this afternoon. just 11 hours after wrapping this one up. now to miami. mets and marlens got a late start because of the rain. they didn't want to stop. needed extra innings. nick evans singled in the go-ahead run in the 12th. mets added a couple more and went on to win 7-4 in 12.

the u.s. open was rained out. it's going to be a busy wednesday. they'll try to play ten matches today, but there's more rain on the horizon, which will likely move all the action to later in the week. the rain also affected a nascar race. jeff gordon and jimmie johnson slip sliding around to take the final ten laps. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> early today sports is brought to you by touch of gray, get rid of some gray, never all. the envelope, please. the host of this year's oscars is announced. your "early morning" entertainment headlines are straight ahead. we'll show you one man's unique way to paying tribute to those that were lost on 9/11. you're watching "early today."

well, welcome back. hurricane katia is not going to directly affect the east coast with wind or rain. huge waves just off the north carolina coast at 13 feet right along the shore already eight-foot waves arriving. in f anyone is going to be near the beach, dangerous rip currents. be careful. beautiful in the middle of the country. boston down to washington d.c. still soggy. on and off rain. especially pennsylvania will see the worst of it. then the forecast for your thursday, kind of looks similar for today, doesn't it?

the worst of the weather definitely up in the mid-atlantic up into new england. it's continuing very cloudy and cool. well, if you are watching us on wfla see artist expressions about the way people communicate at syntax text and symbol forces a new generation, at the tampa museum of art. that's your early today event of the day. >> all right, bill. thanks so much. we told you earlier this week about a big job possibility for eddie murphy and this morning he got the job. murphy will host this year's 84th academy awards show. a program bei the emphasis on comedy will be a big departure from recent years in which the academy focused on elaborate song and dance numbers. elsewhere one-time kid star miley cyrus is dramatically reworking her image in the current issue of asia's

"prestige magazine." she says she doesn't miss doing hannah montana where she became bored doing the same thing every day. and talk about an image change. check out lady gaga in the latest harpary's bazaar magazine cover. she wouldn't call it natural saying whether i'm wearing lots of make-up or no make-up, i'm always the same person inside. >> just as much a beautiful camille yon. >> she looks really closely -- i am convinced there's a little foundation powder and lip gloss going on. look closely. it's there. and this comes to us from knbc, nbc 4 in los angeles, california where in nearby glendale memories of september 11th have been etched on a unique memorial. they're called his angel cars, and they pay tribute to those killed in the 9/11 attacks. the names of each person is inscribed on five cars. the fleet of memorial cars are

touring the east coast stopping in the nation's capital, finally to new york providing a fitting tribute on 9/11's tenth anniversary on liberty island along side the statue of liberty. you know, each car is dedicated to one car are the men and women that gave their lives, the firefighters, the police. the other one are those lost in the airplane. >> it's very personal for a lot of people, and it's next week that's going to be -- >> a lot of tributes. bill, have a good day, and to all of you as well. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

our time right now is 4:28. 64 degrees. look at that, mist and rain. looks kind of miserable out there this morning as we try to see the u.s. capitol dome on this wednesday morning. good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang. it is wednesday, september 7th, 2011. we begin this morning with what has become the worst outbreak of wildfires in texas history. >> four people have died in the blazes, and more than 1,000 homes have been destroyed. nbc's kirk gregory has more on the fires that threaten the state's capital. >> reporter: as the raging flames continue, a team of more than 1,200 firefighters is hoping another day with light winds will help them stop a

massive wildfire that's 18 miles long, 5 miles wide, and growing. >> fire jumped all over the place, so we're doing a little firing to get it back on our terms. >> reporter: the fire burning just outside austin has already destroyed more than 500 homes. more than 5,000 people are living in shelters, many watching the fire from a distance and wondering. >> i'm looking at the fire right now and thinking, gosh, that could be my property that just went up in smoke. >> reporter: evacuees huddle around sheriff's deputies and local officials, looking for information and answers. >> we don't know if we've got a house to go home to. we don't know anything. we can't find any information. >> reporter: while fire crews battle the flames around the clock, the fire continues to shift and turn across the parched texas landscape. kurt gregory, nbc news. >> that looks awful. i guess they got no benefit from