[ male announcer ] ask your veterinarian about k9 advantix ii. want to start the day with something heart healthy and delicious? you're a talking bee... this morning on "early today," wet and wild. extreme heat, heavy flooding, and fire continue to wreak havoc on large portions of the u.s. back in time. disturbing new numbers show just how the great recession has shrunk american wealth. >> and crowning glory. the l.a. kings beat the new jersey devils to clinch their first ever stanley cup championship. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with fire and rain. dangerous conditions are growing today from wild fires in the far west to heavy rain and flooding

on the gulf and east coasts. and even though the official start to summer is more than a week away, hot temperatures are baking parts of the country. nbc's jay gray has more. >> reporter: from flooding to wildfires across the country extreme conditions are making it a difficult and very dangerous start to the summer season. >> it's a very aggressive fire. it's fuel driven, wind drink, and so the conditions have not been favorable. >> we have good reason to believe there are 100-plus structures within that area that are damaged or destroyed. >> reporter: this massive 20,000-acre blaze in the colorado mountains is consuming everything in its path. >> my house is gone. i know i'm not going to have a home, and i have no place to go. >> reporter: hundreds fear for their homes in new mexico as well. >> it's real scary. it's heartbreaking. >> reporter: the little bear wildfire stretches across

another 10,000 acres and continues to groix. one of a dozen wildfires burning across the u.s. right now, putting a strain on crews and equipment. >> we're definitely competing for resources whether it's new mexico or other locations. it's difficult to get resources at this point. >> reporter: it's relief that's difficult to get along the gulf coast. driving rain a foot and a half in pensacola, soaked and in many areas shut down the city while in alabama two inches an hour washed away roads around forced thousands to scramble to higher ground and even as the water slowly begins to recede now, it's clear that the damage like the wildfire is widespread and devastating. while in the west extreme heat is of concern. while in philadelphia schools close at noon because of the dangerous kchbs there. jay gray, nbc throughs. elsewhere, day one in in the

trial of jerry sandusky. sachb does ski is charged with 52 counts of sexual abuse over 15 years, all of which he denies. nbc's brian mooarreports. >> reporter: in opening statements of the jerry sandusky sex abuse trial, two profiles. he was described by the prosecution as a serial predator and by his defense as a father figure who is being victimized. the first witness was 13 when he met sandusky and described a relationship that began with showers and escalated into physical acts. publicly the witness said sandusky would act like his father but when they were alone, quote, basically like i was his girlfriend. in graphic detail he described an inappropriate physical relationship and so-called love letters, but he also recalled lavish gifts, trips, and inside

access to penn state's legendary football team all, he said, made him fear he'd lose everything. he said that and shame kept him from telling anyone. >> he said he recalled that he regretted not coming forward earlier because he felt guilty that maybe he was responsible for these other victims having been molested. >> reporter: the defense attorney says his client admits to showering with young boys but said that was simply part of the football culture, not a kriechlt he pointed out that at least six of the accusers have their own civil attorneys and add financial interest in the outcome of this case. brian mooar, nbc news, bellefonte, pennsylvania. what many are calling the most exciting stanley cup playoffs in recent memories came to a conclusion last night right here on nbc with the most hallowed trophy going to a first-time winner. here's nbc's mario solis. >> good morning from the stanley cup final from los angeles where the kings have been crowned. the kings dominating from start

to finish, scoring three power-play goals in the first period and never looking back. they beat the devils 6-1. they win their first ever stanley cup final. we'll have a lot more from los angeles plus postgame reaction coming up in sports. for now, let's go back to you. >> thanks very much. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. a florida woman is fight for her life after she was set on fire by the father of her child. she attempted to flee after being doused with gasoline. the suspect dragged the woman from the store before ig night her clothes. the woman was able to pat out the fire but suffered severe burns. her attacker was later arrested by police. frustrated by a string of locker room thefts, a washington, d.c., gym manager set up the perfect ruse to snag him. after opening the locker the suspect was doused with flour.

finally a new wave of yoga classes. the popularity of paddle board yoga is growing at a rapid rate in seattle. students say the class is challenging and a great way to clear their mind of life's everday struggles. if only it were that easy. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. paddle board yoga? who would have thought. >> you're the yoga expert. >> i am? >> you do it in a sauna where it's a thousand degrees. >> it's extreme yoga. >> what's it called? >> hot yoga. good morning, everyone. we had an amazing wind event rolling through the country down to the gulf coast. this is the radar during the last 24 hours. when i started on tv yesterday with the storms around kansas city and then they just plowed their way through the memphis area, and now they've made it all the way down to southern louisiana, and along this line, we had a lot of damaging wind

reports out there. about 300 or so. all the blue dots are where wind damage was reported. we had over a thousand without power yesterday in alabama. memphis, northern mississippi, everyone was affected by that storm. now we're seeing a development of just a large area of thunderstorms, torrential rains in areas of arkansas, the northeast corner near texarcana in texas and all of southern and southeastern portions of oklahoma. this is a lightning strikes counter. 37,000 lightning strikes in the last hour in this region. so just incredible stuff. that's definitely the travel trouble spot out there today and the storms will drift through louisiana as we go throughout the morning on the east coast. bring the umbrella all the way up to new york city. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. so today was a very humid air mass in place along the southeast coast heading up to the mid-atlantic. showers and storms will be possible. we had light rain from

pittsburgh to buffalo. later this afternoon some of those showers and storms toward d.c. not a lot of tornados but wind and flooding damage. coming up euro jitters repeat, apple gets a hoe hum from investors and what's in a name? just wait until we tell your. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, was she or wasn't she? she may have been behind the wheel in the big truck crash after all. you're watching "early today." >> announcer: "early today" is brought do you by the makers of centrum, your maker's most complete.

plus, was she or wasn't she?

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. commerce secretary john bryson is taking a medical leave of absence. bryson will have tests done after suffering a seizure in connection with a series of

traffic accidents in the los angeles area. the federal reserve reports the wealth of american families plunged by almost 40% in just three years due to the recession and housing crisis. the average family's net worth dropped from over $126,000 in 2007 to only $77,000 in 2010. according to the fbi, for the fifth year in a row, violent crime fell in the u.s. last year. all violent crimes dropped 4% and murdered fell to the lowest number in more than 40 years. and be careful what you say in middle breaux, massachusetts. to cut down on profanity residents have proposed to impose fines for using foul language in public. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. tl dow opened at 12,411 after plunging 142.

the s&p sank. in tokyo the nikkei skidded 788 windchill in hong kong the hang sang sank 81. reality over spain's bank predicted. stocks surged early on news spain agreed to $125 billion bank rescue fund, but win hours worries about italy, greece, and whether the loan terms would cripple spain's struggling economy. overseas this morning asian markets followed suit, reversing most of yesterday's gains. news of slowing steel demand in china added to global economic fears, dragginging steel makers here at home sharply lower. oil prices retreated settling down 65 dlenlts near $83 a barrel. apple dipped after they showed updated software, laptops and new mapping service at its annual developers conference. google slid 2% on news its

maps will no longer be built in to most new iphones and ipads. "the wall street journal" reports some higher ups at jpmorgan chase were aware of risky business practices by london traders two years before its multi million dollar trading loss. humana and aetd na have built in plans to keep some reform benefits even if the supreme court strikes down the entire health care law. warren buffett is buying more jets for under $10 billion. elsewhere in big news glenn beck signed a five-year $100 million deal to continue his morning radio show. and so much for dinner discounts. get this. groupon is apparently now offering to sell you a so-called exclusive baby name for 1,000 bucks. the name? clembough. that's right. you have to pay them for that

name. i wonder how much william is worth. coming up, an 189-hour delay after a washout at the freb. open that only postponed what seemed like the inevitable outcome. plus more on the hockey's first time stanley cup k40i7. your sports headlines are straight along. torrential rains. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." of course, as we mentioned earlier, the stanley cup has gone hollywood. here's nbc's mario sew lee lease with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> hi, there, good morning again from los angeles where the kings have made hockey history beating the devils to capture their first ever stanley cup championship. pick it up in the first seven minutes. steve bernier crushing ross behind the net. scuderi remains out for several minutes. bloody and dazed he left the ice under his own power. kings wasting no time taking advantage of the power play, drew doughty's shot tipped in by dustin brown. 1-0, l.a. moments later he takes a shot. in the blink of an eye, the

kings were up, 2-0. trevor lewis caps off an amazing power play. staples center was absolutely rocking. kings up, 3-0, thanks to three power-play goals the cup was within reach and the kings could taste the champagne. a remark run with a 6-1 win, nobody saw this coming when they entered the playoffs as an a.c. they're crowned stanley cup championsh champions for the first time in stanley cup history. >> this is where we should be. we worked hard -- we worked hard to get here. it's just an unbelievable feeling. >> seeing them so happy and the work that you go through, you know, the first thing you think about as a coach is you're young enough to try it again. >> from the kingses on the ice to the kings of clay. novak djokovic answered with a double fought. nadal avoids losing to djokovic

for the fourth skek tib time in grand slam final with a his tore is win at roland garros. that's a look at sports. i'm mario solis. >> announcer: "early today" sports is wrought to you by aqua vel sla. men get it. new photos leaked. a former boyfriend blackmail and a simmering feud. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, from the walls of montezuma. why are the marines invading cleveland? you're watching "early today."

welcome black to "early today." the big early morning weather concern, if you're heading out into areas of arkansas, northern louisiana, near texarcana around the northeastern corner of texas, large thunderstorms, slow moving storms, too, with plenty of storms. the sieft will have a chance of showers and storms along with the east coast. and then your wednesday looks kind of cloudy and cool to start with rain early in the day from new york to boston, well if you're watching us on ksnt kansas, first news in topeka, kansas, that's where i started my first tv king, bring the kids and blaine it and enjoy stories and songs in the frontier park. that's your earth event of the day. i pulled up in a farmer's soy field. >> and you made it to the big time, bill. look at you.

and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. lindy lohan is once again in very hot legal water. after a friday crash with an 18-wheeler lohan told police her assistant was driving but that assistant later told police lindsay was driving. people who arrived on the scene offered cash not to report the accident and wanted to take lohan away before police arrived. bill's very upset about this. if lohan lied to police, her probation could be revoked. we'll have plenty more to talk about and she could face new charges. tmz also reports kris humphries lawyers handed over evidence to the fbi allegedly proving a former girlfriend blackmailed him. >> you can't stand kris humphries. >> no comment, no comment. >> i know. when will they learn. self-taken nude photos of snooki have been leaked online. that's enough to say about that. >> you can watch the show. >> true. at least tt's blurred. lady gaga says he won't get

into it with her criticism of the hit "born this way" then she did. she mocked her then to make herself feel bet jeer finally is the biebs going ma donna on us. in london he did an entire radio interview using a london accent. this comes to us from wkyc channel 3 news in cleveland, ohio, where an invasion of weather necks kicked off a special week for the marine corps to take over the world's rock 'n' roll capital began with an aerial assault. they swooped down to kick off the fourth annual marine week. dozens of events are scheduled to show case accomplishments and sacrifices of past and present servicemen. a fitting thing, i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

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the rain is starting to come down in our area at 69 degrees, 4:28. more on the forecast in a moment. >> welcome to news 4 today on tuesday, june 12th. new this morning, prince georges county police are investigating a shooting in upper marlboro, shots rang out just before 11:00 last night around marlboro pike. one person taken to the hospital. that person's name and condition has not been leased. police are not saying anything else about that case at this time. police are looking for

information about a deadly stabbing. a man was stabbed in a parking lot and taken to the hospital, where he later died. his name has not been released. no arrests have been made. john bryson is taking medical leave, days after he was involved in a pair of bizarre accidents. he rear ended a car saturday afternoon in southern california. got out, spoke to the other driver and then took off. he rammed into another vehicle a few minutes later. police found him unconscious in his car at the scene of the second crash. the commerce department says bryson had a seizure and doesn't remember much about what happened. the white house says he'll undergo a series of medical tests. this is a pivotal day in decision 2012. voters in virginia go to the polls for primaries. george allen is the front-runner and is poised to run the gop nomination in the senate rhys. he is up for three lesser known challengers for the seat he lost in 2006. if he