today," tax burden. mitt romney pushes back after calls from the obama campaign and prominent republicans to disclose more of his tax returns. going down. a vehicle plunges into the elevator shaft of a parking garage. and crack up. an iceberg twice the size of manhattan lifts off from a greenland glacier. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with a taxing situation. presumptive republican

presidential candidate romney has been under pressure. now he's even dismissing calls within his own party. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. tracie, good morning to you. >> hi, lynn. good morning, everyone. it's not just democrats who want to see what romney has earned but prominent republicans as well. haley barbour, bentley also calling on him to release those returns. no word yet on the romney camp that any further release is on the way. and they are not alone. texas governor rick perry, a former republican rival says that romney should be as open as possible. meantime on the other side we've got republicans criticizing the obama campaign for what they're saying about mitt romney. john mccain calls the campaign disgraceful for targeting those tax returns and targeting romney's time with bain. hi calls it chicago style and

sleazy. meantime former new hampshire governor says that he shouldn't have said that president obama learns to be an american. what he really meant is he needs to learn the american formula for business. lynn? >> tracie potts for us in washington. tracie, thanks so much. to utah where a southwest airlines pilot wanted in connection with a colorado murder attempted to steal an empty plain from a small airport. the man then killed himself after he couldn't get the plane off the ground. nbc's kurt gregory has the details. >> reporter: a sky west pilot's plans to steal a plane was thwarted. the 40-year-old had parked his motorcycle, jumped a fence to the airport, gained access to a sky westjet and started its engines. according to officials he backed the plane up, then moved it forward clipping the terminal.

he was not able to get the plane airborne and instead crashed into several empty cars in the parking lot. a police officer patrolling the area noticed a motorcycle with the engine still warm and shortly thereafter discovered the plane. >> he immediately notified sky west that they had plane in the parking lot with the engines running. they had a person here who was able to come out and shut down the plane. >> reporter: officers arrived on the scene and found him dead with a self-infliction to the head. he was wanted in colorado springs in connection with the death of his girlfriend. >> we took every precaution we felt we needed to take based on believing he was the suspect. >> reporter: hedgeland had been on the run for the last several days. it's not clear why he ended up in utah, but officials are still investigating. kurt gregory, nbc news. elsewhere, a suspect is in custody in alabama after a

shooting spree at a crowded bar that injured 17 people. the bullets flew at the cooper top bar in tuscaloosa yesterday sending glass flying and patrons running for cover. five of the victims are still hospitalize and 12 were treated and leased. the alleged gunman seen on surveillance video with an assault rifle entering the bar near university of alabama. he surrendered to police about ten hours after the shooting. he's also suspected of being involved yesterday in another shooting in an arson case in a city about 17 miles east of tuscaloosa. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in new york, a car plummeted down a five-story elevator shaft. it happened at a parking garage where an attendant drove the vehicle into the elevator thinking the lift was there waiting for him. well, it wasn't and the car fell some 40 feet, trapping the driver and a co-worker who were pinned inside the wreckage and

had to be freed by the firefighters. south carolina is all too familiar with the destruction of hurricanes and a test was done where it could show what would happen if buildings aren't reinforced against heavy winds. a group that works with insurance companies put the building through 130-mile-an-hour gusts. in california a man was arrested for building a secret house. the problem is he did it in a county park and tried to hide it with camouflage. but sheriff's deputies say they were impressed with how much work he put into the small cabin installing bunk beds and medicine cabinets and book shelf bus they weren't so thrilled with the large marijuana plants they say he was raising right there on the appropriate. and finally in indiana the grass is always greener, especially when you take a shortcut. one man painted his lawn green after he says he got so tired of seeing all the yards in his neighborhood looking brown from this summer's drought. that's a good neighbor to have.

and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. bill, can we paint corn out there? would that work? >> it works until it finally does rain. then what happens? >> when is that going to happen? >> hopefully the next two days. that's the best shot in indiana. the forecast, the record highs continue to pop up all over the place. yesterday, how impressive was 101 degrees in syracuse, new york. syracuse is always known as one of the coldest snowiest cities in the country. yesterday they came close to their all-time record high. 102. st. louis, kansas city, des moines, iowa, all hit triple digits. this morning, just a brutal morning. new york city feels like 88 degrees when you walk outside this morning. the only location hotter than that, st. louis feels like 91. and st. louis has probably been the poster child this summer for the heat wave and how extreme it's been. we're not looking for much relief, at least not yet.

we have a few thunderstorms heading for northwest/central michigan and in south dakota. last night we had a few storms go through vermont and the burlington area. near 100 from d.c. to richland and back to st. louis and missouri and kansas, it's a brutally hot day. that's a look at your national forecast. here's a look at the weather outside your window. thorps will bring some relief today, especially some areas in the ohio valley. but we're going to have a threat of strong storms, cleveland, detroit, down into areas of pittsburgh too. so we're going to get some leaf today, lynn, but thunderstorms will be a problem late sneer bill, thanks so much. coming up, big ben boosts stocks, barbie moves business, and a divorced mother of two tries to boost her chances of selling her house. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead.

plus, this brand is apparently back on the market. coming up return of an ace, revenge at fenway and a mascot hits the skids. you're watching "early today." >> announcer: "early today" is brought to you by caltrate.

back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. during a recent construction, an estimated $8 billion has been waited. they say the exact amounts lost to fraud and abuse could never be known because of bad record-keeping by the pentagon and other agencies of the u.s. government. the boy scouts of america is reaffirming its policy of banning gays after a two-year review. the group's controversial exclusion of gays were strongly criticized by gay rights activists. >> penn state could have its

football program shut down by the ncaa due to the school's action to the jerry sandusky sex abuse case. the department of education is also investigating whether penn state violated federal campus safety law. the food and drug administration has approve add new weight loss drug. the fda cleared cue sim ya for adults who have high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol. and an iceberg twice the size of manhattan has sep rated from a glassier in greenland reportedly due to warmer ocean temperatures. the 48-mile chunk of ice is a second major piece of the glacier to split off in the past three years. and now here is an early look at how wall street's going to kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,805 after rising 78 points yesterday. the s&p gained 10. the nasdaq added 13. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei was down 28 points, while in hong kong the hang seng

tumbled 215. well, stocks rose tuesday after fed chair ben bernanke told congress the central bank would consider ways to stimulate growth if the economy further weakens. bernanke's lack of specifics before the senate committee drove stocks lower in early trade. he did thing it clear the economy's suffering but just the fact, the fed chief, policy makers would consider arriving at tools to consider stimulus growth led to optimism it would happen sooner than late jeer also helping stocks, the dreaded fall of quarterly earnings has not materialized despite it falling 12%. goldman sachs still imagined to beat forecasts. coca-cola also beat expectations rising over 1.5%. though earnings season so far, 72% of companies have beaten estimates. fertilizer company mosaic also beat the street and rose over

5%. despite johnson & johnson rose, it climbed to its highest level in more than three years. mattel jumping thanks to better barbie sales. not all news is good. excitement over yahoo!'s new ceo initially drove shares higher but by day's end they slipped lower. intel, the chip maker reduced its growth forecast after the bell. and, finally, a recently divorced oregon woman with two children is using unusual marketing to sell her home. a "for sale" sign in her front yard reads, husband left us for a 22-year-old. house for sale by scorned, slightly bitter, newly single owner. as for buyers, she only has one criteria. the sign also reads, no adult ters need not apply. coming up the white sox strike back, an injured hurler makes a full recovery, and why mascots should stick to cheering. plus, one oriole crashes and

tumbles in a good way. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in the great lakes and the northeast get some relief from the heat wave at the expense of some very strong thunderstorms. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports they often say in baseball it comes down to one pitch, and last night it did between the new york mets and the washington nationals. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. you know they said good teams find a way to win, and that's exactly what the nationals did last night, taking on the mets in washington. after they forced the ninth, they took the lead back in the tenth. josh thole with an rbi and the mets were up, 4-3. bryce harsher, he delivered, a triple over the head of scott hairston. in came the tying run. then with two down and the sacks full, pedro was brought in to end the inning. instead he did this. a wild pitch. in came a winning run, the nats beat the mets. out of boston, david ortiz

with a boot. he's out for a week with strained achilles. nothing wrong with kevin youkilis. here's his first as a member of the white sox. chicago won it, 7-5. jays jose bautistas out with an injured wrist. cc sabathia returned and was lights out. andruw jones provided all the offense cc needed. a 3-run homer in the eighth. they win it easily, f 461. great grab at the twins/orioles game. he went head over heels. reynolds put his body on the line, tumbled over the wall. it was all for naught. orioles lost it, 6-4. finally it's a trick this mascot has performed thousands of times, but on this occasion, writtened out. lost control of his atv. hit the dirt, slammed into the

wall. that didn't stop riptide. popped up, hopped back on the four-wheeler. it's not always glamorous, but it's always funny. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. katz hudson wishes she hadn't gone there and jacky chen wishes he could take it all back. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. for centuries horses have inspired art, but today in indiana art is inspiring one horse. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." thunderstorms threat continues this morning from mins back into areas of south dakota. later today we're going to see strong storms arriving in areas of the northeast. it's going to be very hot from new york to boston, philly to d.c. and during the afternoon hours the storms will bubble up. from pennsylvania back to pittsburgh, strong storms with the threat of wind and hail damage. could deal with power outages later today. well, if you're watching us on nc 5, dallas-ft. worth, in dallas, texas, take the day to meet some of the state's great native wild lyre including cougars and horned lizards. and that's your "early today" event of the day, lynn. all right, bill. thanks so much. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. russell brand is apparently following the lead of ex- katy

perry and is dating again. brewster, the youngest sister of georgianna brewster. yes, tom cruise arrived in new york to visit suri. but today's tom and katy split is about kate hudson. tmz reports she unwittingly walked by the hotel tom was staying in and was suddenly swamped by paparazzi. speaking of paparazzi, tmz also reported that they recommended the ring leader who chased justin bieber who chased him down the freeway be the first person under the law to not endanger people. bob dylan will mark 50 years as a recording artist by releasing his 35th studio album "tempest" in september. finally, relax, jacky chen fans, despite saying recently he

was going to quit films to become the asian robert denier rowe, he has already had a change of heart. sigh of relief from the other side of the table. and this comes to us from columbus, indiana, where one is champing at the bit to show off his talents. the horse, justin, now a painter uses his brush to guide him. his owner says he was going to be a show jumper. he didn't clear that hurdle but then showed a creative side by using the owner's whip to draw shapes in the sand. his collections also include hoard shoe prints. it's not just horse pay. justin's work goes for hundreds of dollars. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. hey, there's barely a line at space mountain.

you there ! i am looking for someone, hair black as night, skin white as snow ! yeah, yeah, i got that ! she is at the castle. dad ! honey ! but she's on the move. disney mobile magic, on verizon. you wouldn't happen to have an apple ? find characters, access wait times for the park you're in, and enjoy premium features when you download disney mobile magic, powered by verizon.

means more humidity, more possible storms and heat indices well above 100 degrees. first good morning p i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm angie goff. welcome to "news4 today" on this wednesday, july 18th. as aaron mentioned, we are bracing for that extreme heat. temperatures are once again expected to approach triple digits today. much of our area will be under a heat advisory. this could be the sixth day this month we hit 100 degrees. several d.c. pools will remain open late. trash will be picked up an hour earlier than usual. now, the heat was enough to keep

many people off the national mall last night. tom kierein will join news a few minutes with details about when we'll finally be able to cool off. meanwhile, the hot weather could make your trip to work a little longer than usual, especially if you take metro. today's speed restrictions could be in place again. trains could only go 35 miles per hour when they were above ground during daylight hours yesterday. metro will allow you to bring water on board today as well to help keep yourself cool and hydrated. overnight crews removed a huge 40-ton tree that fell on a car killing the driver. right now they're cutting down another tree to prevent a similar accident from happening again. it fell last night along georgetown pike in great falls, virginia. it fell on a mercedes coup without warning. >> i just saw gridlock traffic going up georgetown pike because this is the way everyone goes home. then you heard a cracking, like a tree wasip