this morning on "early today," mile high inferno. tens of thousands are ordered to evacuate as massive wildfires move toward colorado springs. remembering nora efron, the fill 'em maker behind sleepless in seattle has died. and name challenge. lawmakers want everyone to call i coin big ben by a new name. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry, and today we begin with up in smoke. searing record-setting heat

across the interior west is fueling worsening wildfires all throughout the region and forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee from their homes. in colorado alone firefighters are struggling to stop blazes across the state. in cog springs sheriff's officials have ordered an estimated 30,000 people to evacuate. more than 2,100 residents with told to leave a nearby air force academy as a number of homes have been torched in that area. nearly a week of 100-degree-plus days and low humidity have sapped all the moisture and that's creating punishing conditions for firefighters. officials say it's only 5% contained. elsewhere forecasters say the lingering storm debby, now a tropical depression, will bring more rain and flooding to water logged florida today. after sitting off the coast for

days, debby finally came ashore and could head out to sea later today. n nbc's jay gray reports from florida. >> reporter: for the last two days the large but mostly unorganized system has pour md more than 21 inches of rain in the state and forecasters say it could dump another 8 to 10 inches as it crosses peninsula. >> in eight years i've never seen it this high, even with a hurricane, a real hurricane. >> reporter: high water that's causing some real problems. >> people have lived their all their lives. they've never seen water p up across the road right here. >> reporter: dozen of roads have be washed out including state 10 making evacuation different and in the hardest hit areas almost possible. >> got about 2 1/2 feet and decided not to go any further. we're just not going to make it. >> reporter: countless families are struggling to stay ahead and above the floodwater, but in some areas that's an impossible

task. >> we had over 7 inches of rain through the evening and the night and as a result the creeks were overflowing. >> reporter: in the tiny town of cedar key the rising tide is too much for the seawall to handle. most of the residented here have moved to higher ground. jay gray, nbc news, cedar key, florida. to politics now where not surprisingly mitt romney was the overwhelming winner of the year's last republican primary in utah. also in utah senator orrin hatch fought off a primary challenge fra a tea party backed candidate. romney got a boost when he said he would need him in the senate if he wins the presidency. and 82-year-old congress manns charles wrangrang els who stature was diminished wi as igtices issue won a 2 27bd term

beating four challengers. this morning hollywood is mourning the loss of a legend. nora ephron died last night in new york after a six-year battle with leukemia. a highly successful screen writer, drukter, produce and author she was best known for her two hits sleepless in seattle and when harry met sally. before making it big on the big screen ephron started out as a journalist. her second marriage was to watergate journalist carl bernstein that she turned into a move with meryl strep. she was praised as, quote, deflectively feminine and funny with sharpness of mind, softened and smoothed by genuine charm. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america.

in cal a big rig and 18 other vehicles were involved in a massive pile-up in los angeles. 15 paem were injured. one victim said he felt a tremendous impact followed by three. a drive e was going too fast around a curve and couldn't stop in time. to new jersey, don't tell snooki, everyone, but there's a boardwalk where bikinis and bathing suits are banned. it's been on the books since 1958. everyone ignores it because it's right by the beach but a former city council member wants to enforce the rule which carries a fine of up to $2,000 and up to 90 days in jail. officials are going to try to repeal it. finally in washington as the fourth of july nears, officials keep doing their annual demonstration of what can go horribly wrong when people are

careless with fireworks. last year alone four people died and nearly 10,000 others were injured. now let's get a check of your national and regional weather because it's a busy day with nbc's meteorologist bill karins. he has your weather forecast. good morning, bill. the temperatures are not just uncomfortable. >> let's get this straight. out of control wild fires and epic rainfall and a heat wiv across the country. it can't get any more stream than this. the waldo canyon fire with 30,000-plus evacuation, lots and lots of beautiful homes burned to the ground last night. this is colorado springs. this is as you head up to the mountains. the air force academy is located where my finger was. the fire was burning a mile from the academy. the winds will be a little lighter today and the temperatures will be down just a little bit. no rain's really in sight for that location so it's going to continue to burn and coto be a big problem. tropical depression debby now

finally exiting florida. just a little bit of light rain left over. it's weakened considerably. i think our major picture and problems with that storm are pretty much over with. now for the epic heat wave this the middle of the country that produce another 105-degree day in denver, it's on the move. today the heat will be in kansas city at 100. 90 spreading to st. louis and indianapolis and look what happens tomorrow. all the 100 degree heat arrives in the ohio valley. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look outside your window. so today's the transition day as that hot air blows into areas like indianapolis, getting up to 91. tomorrow you'll be near 100. even in areas near wisconsin will be getting very warm and toasty too. mach today up to 95. so except for the fire, lynn, the winds woeft be as gusty but still in the highs. >> thanks so much. coming up, stocks rebound,

europe still looms and yet another misstep by facebook. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus they have a special team to make sure her material isn't left behind. coming up, a controversial catch. the bcf's playoff bomb and somersault. you're watching "early today." >> announcer: "early today" is brought do you by advil. make the switch to advil now.

good morning and back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. a new poll shows him leading mitt romney. president obama's job approval rating slipped while mitt romney's personal negative rating is at an all-time high. turkey is warning syrian forces to stay away from their

border or risk attack. and president bashir all assad says they're add war. a federal 'peels court has sighted with the environmental protection agency. they found they were unambiguously correct that the clean air act requires the federal government to impose limits on green house gas emissions that are causing harm. in london, despite public opposition the house of commons has voted to remain the clock tower known around the world as big ben the elizabeth tower in honor of the queen's diamond jubilee. and amateur treasure hunters have dug up roman gold and silver coins buried about 2,000 years ago. the coins were found with metal detectors on the islands of jersey between england and france and they're estimated to be between more than $15 million. not bad.

the dow opens at 12,534 after add 3g 2. the s&p once 6. the naz dan gained 17. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo the nikkei nudged up 6 f while in hong kong the hang kaing sank 25. worries about europe were never far off. news that home prizes rose for the first time in seven months renewed investors' optimism and gave builders a boost. meanwhile more worries out of europe kept u.s. markets in check after a pair of debt auctions sent spain's borrowing costs higher. more sobering news. consumer confidence fell in june for the fourth straight months as economic worries outwag gas prices. news corp. shares shot up 8% after "the wall street journal" reported its parent company is considering splitting up its publishing and media arms. the company of university of

phoenix online was a big market mover. best buy's founder who resigned from the company's board earlier this month is reportedly working on a deal to take the retailer private. fbi agents said yesterday 24 suspected hackers have been arrested as a result of a two-year sting operation tar getting stolen credit cards and bank information. a u.s. judge has granted apple's bid to stop samsung from selling its galaxy tablet as part of a lawsuit filed by the ipad make jeer after mediation with its creditors maker, stoxx in california is set to earn the dubious distinction as the u.s. biggest city to declare bankruptcy. if you missed launch of facebook's fine frensd app on monday, you're not aloned. the so called zaccer app which let use track friends was pulled. anything with stalker makes you

feel crazy. coming up a red flipped out. hole in one. welcome to the greats. plus a yankee outfielder fools the ump. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and i still have that app. i still know exactly where you are all the time, lynn. your forecast is coming up, everyone. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports a 14-playoff system has finally been approved to decide college football's championship. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all of your sports headlines. good morning, college football fans yochl u have spoken. it is official. the bcs approved the 14-game commission. the semifinals will be held at the current bcf bowl sites followed by a championship game. the new deal runs through 2025. the nba draft is tomorrow and the houston rockets plan to make a big splash. they traded chase to the timberwolves. houston now has three first round picks and according to reports th're trying to acquire as many assets as possible to make a trade for dwight howard. one guy who was dealing was chapman who struck out three in the ninth to close out the

brewers. if you thought the celebrations were good, look at the sommer saults. off to london he'll go. reds won it, 4-3. quite a kroers in the reds/indians games. -wise jumped into the stands and grabbed it. take a look. he made a grab but the ball fell from the glove it. was called an out. the yanks got a gift on derek jeter's birthday. they won it. oates was named head coach of the capitals. and finally matt doumit leads the pga tournament. with two shouts out made a turn and found its way to the bottom of the cup. that's a hole in one and he didn't even know it. who, me? yes, you. matt will be cruising the links in style this weekend.

that shot won him a new golf cart. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'd fred roggin. >> announcer: "early today" sports is brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some gray, never all. whose life story is headed to broadway, and the spice girls reunite in london. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. another heart-warmering tale of a family pet coming through in a clutch. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." there's a choppy river. before and after pictures amazing. this is a river located down just south of tallahassee. look at that house before, and then after 20 inches of rain, water through the living room of this house. and that was just one example of many of the amazing flooding pictures from northern florida. thankfully debby is leaving us. it has weakened significantly. one more day of rain down there. and then the storm moving across. get ready. town valley. you're ready. if you're watching us, report a lobster boat and much more. our town children's mooum and theater of maine. and that's your "early today" event of the day, lynn. >> bill, thanks so much. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. rapper 50 cent was involved in a

serious crash. the 36-year-older, a passenger in a chevy suburban rear-ended by a truck was briefly hospitalized with back and neck injuries but is now said to be doing just fine. cher will write and star in a biographical broadway show. the musical will cover three stages of her life, the "sonny & cher" era, her start and finally cher today looking back. cher has won an oscar, emmy, and grammy, but never a tony. we'll see. all five spice girls, scary, sporty, ginnier and posh, remember them? it's based on their song "viva forever." and finally england's daily mirror reports on her current tour, madonna demands no one enter her dressing room until after a show and until a tracement team removes all aspect of her dna and everyone

must modify fake ceilings and walls so no one can hide cameras. really? i know. this comes to us from w.o.o.d., 24 hour news in grand rapids, michigan, where man's best friend became a little boy's life save e. 4-year-old stanley fell into the family pool. his mother says she lost sight of him for just a moment, found him in the water appearing to be floating but their lab named bear had used his own back to prop up stab stanly and keep him above the surface. stanley was rushed to the hospital and is now okay and the family now gives credit to bear. good guy to have around. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

hello, everyone. it's another refreshing start to our morning. it looks like it's going to be a cool and comfortable start, at least. i think we're in for a repeat. good morning. i'm angie goff. eun continues to have her time off. >> i'm aaron gilchrist, it is wednesday, june 27th. right now police in prince george's county is asking for your help to find a ft. washington teenager. this is 17-year-old erica williams. she was last seen at her murray hill drive house. that was around 5:00 last night. she spoke to her case worker

around 9:00 and then disappeared. her case worker says she has the mental capacity of a 12-year-old. if you know anything about shatima williams, call police. teenager is in the hospital after being stabbed near the howard theater. 16-year-old boy was stabbed along 7th street in northwest around 8:30 last night. at the time the howard theater was packed with people for blues guitarist jimmy vaughn. concert goers say they was shocked to see an active crime scene after the show. >> it makes us feel like uncomfortable with the new improvements in the area you would think that things are changing. people were coming here for their first time, it makes you stand off wondering what's going on, is this place even safe to frequent this neighborhood. >> police arrested two men and a woman for the crime. we're told the victim is listed in serious condition. after 28 hours a standoff