today," the heat is on. president obama and mitt romney spar over energy policy and key battleground states. texas barnstormer. a fast-moving storm sends an entire structure crashing to the ground. and starstruck. an annual meteor shower puts on a dazzling display of lights. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with an energized states. the president and his number two traded jabs with team romney/ryan. they're 12 weeks to go until

november and all the big issues are fair game to energy and jobs to wall street. nbc's steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: they clashed over energy, barack obama in wa,io mitt romney in ohio with coal miners slamming t president for toughening regulations. >> if you don't believe in coal or independence for america, then say it. >> reporter: wind is one alternative the president pushed. >> the wind industry now supports 7,000 jobs here in iowa. that's worth fighting for. that's what's at stake right now. >> reporter: an election about big choices. that was the president's theme on his iowa tour, and the challengers, romney raised med carry in a new ad. >> now that you need it, obama has cut $716 billion from medicare. >> reporter: that's a cut to doctors and hospitals, not seniors. romney's running mate, paul ryan's medicare plan would keep those cuts and in ten years

would make private coverage an option. he was in iowa. >> to create jobs and get our spending and debt under control. >> reporter: in virginia vice president biden dropped romney would drop tough new rules on big banks. >> unchain wall street. they're going to put you all back in chains. >> reporter: staffers quickly clarified. biden meant key regulation would hurt the middle class. elsewhere, the results are in from three republican primaries. linda mcman won the senate nomination in connecticut. she spent $61 million combined in the primary in her failed senate run in 2010. in wisconsin, former gop governor tommy thompson fought off three rivals for the senate nomination, and in florida, long-time republican congressman

john mica beat a tea party congresswoman to win the nomination in a newly formed district. well, authorities in central washington state say a fast-moving wildfire has destroyed at least 70 homes there. a fire commander says a 40-mile blaze on the eastern slope of the cascade mountains is now just 10% contained. at least 900 people have been evacuated. meanwhile, as higher temperatures and a lack of rain continue to plague much of the nation, u.s. farmers are still struggling to cope with the covet drought in 50 years. nbc's jay gray visited one missouri farming community. >> reporter: for many in missouri and across the midwest, it's never been as difficult as this year. >> this year it's the intense heat we've had with the lack of rain. we've had two miserable rains since april 30th here at our dairy. >> reporter: burned out fields and crack and broken earth while

restrictions are in place because of low water. >> the drought has been in place for several weeks. it's not just that we've had 100-degree temperatures but that they started so early. >> reporter: all 114 counties in missouri have been declared disaster areas. 93% of the state is suffering through extreme drought conditions. it's the worst the family has seen in more than 50 years of dairy farming. their ponds have dried up, their pastures haven't produced any hay to graze, so they have to pay for feed, costs that will be passed on to consumers. >> this is something that's the beginning. it's not going to be good for everybody because you're going to start feeling this in a few months at the grocery stores. >> reporter: until some substantial rain comes down. jay gray, nbc news, polk county, missouri. and all day today nbc news will have in-depth coverage of the drought of to 2012, how it's

affecting everything you pay a the market. here's other stories making news early today in america. look at this. a powerful storm blew through northern texas and a homeowner ended up documenting the destruction of his own barn. a home security camera shows the roof being ripped way by winds reaching nearly 70 miles an hour. unreal. the storm damaged several other homes and knocked out power to hundreds. >> in nashville, a ground collision between two planes left one on top of the other. big oops there. the faa says the bigger plane, a gulfstream jet was being towed when it broke loose and ran into the twin-engine prop jet which had been sitting parked. luckily no one was hurt. in colorado a bear decided to hang out in downtown aspen. the cub was spotted wandering along the ledge of a condo complex just hanging out before making his way to a tree during his escapade. it is one of three area bear sightings in three days.

and, finally, in new york, if you can believe it, it is christmas in august. the radio city rockettes took over the street right in front of our studios here at rockefeller center and they gave the crowd a preview of their 2012 christmas show spectacular. santa claus even braved the less than wintry weather to help the ladies kick off their new season. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has that forecast. bill, good morning to you. >> good morning to you. we saw the pictures of the drought in missouri and that's the big topic here on nbc. this is what we call the drought monitor. this is the map of the united states and what category of drought areas are in. the brighter the colors, the worst of the drought. notice much of the eastern seaboard doesn't really have much of a drought problem except central georgia. but you notice the bull years eye from colorado to indiana to north texas and oklahoma. is the worth of it. this is where the heart of the

drought has been. here's what you need to know of the drought so far of 2012. we're watching the most severe drought since 1956. for the farmer's crops it's the worst condition the crops have been in since 1988. an estimated $10 billion is going to the crops. it's a big dollar sign. not for the prices you find in the super markets but the prices we're going to have to pay for all the losses. as far as the rain goes, we've had a little bit of rye leaf heading down through north texas. just a little bit of relief, especially through southern arkansas. not, enough, of course, and it's a little too late for a lot of the crops but once the drought goes to the south. a lot of thunderstorms, though, especially up there in new england. that's a look at the national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. chance of thunderstorms with a cold front and area of cost moving up through new england today. chance of some heavy downpours. down in florida, a chance of

storms also. also a very strong cold front going through the northern plains. a big weather story heading into the coming weekend. a lot cooler air heading into the middle of the country. coming um, retailers rise, housing data on deck and the overcharge that gives power failure a whole new meaning. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus rumors of more fallout from kristin stewart's cheating scandal and whether they're true. coming up, an unsung hero, mutiny in the red sox clubhouse, and charlie sheen. you've got to stay tuned for that. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. the former prime minister of syria who defected last week said it's collapsing and the government forces now control

only 30% of syria. oklahoma death row inmate michael hooper was executed by lethal injection last night for the killings of his former girlfriend and her two young children. the u.s. supreme court refused to challenge oklahoma's method of execution. they've upheld the toughest law on cigarette packaging. starting in december company logos will be replaced by graphic health warnings and images of cancer-riddled body parts. the annual perseid meteor shower lit up the skies over ahh. actually tiny pieces of the comet that's been seen each summer for more than 2,000 years. and now here's an early look at how wall street's going to kick off the day. the dow opens at 13,172 after adding two points. the s&p was down a fraction. the nasdaq lost five. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo

the nikkei fell 4 points while in hong kong the hang seng plummeted 239. light volume and mixed data proved to be a losing combination for wall street tuesday. investors bought early on news that retail spending hit a five-month high in july, hoping a slumping economy may rebound later this year. however, selling set in after a slowdown and restocking and production signaling companies do not believe that spend willing continue. among individual retailers, home depot got a boost after a healthy jump in quarterly income and a higher outlook. we'll see if that translates to good news for housing related reports due out today. earnings from beauty brand estee lauder looks good sending shares up 9%. meanwhile michael kors with an upbeat forecast. on the downside groupon shed a quarter of its growth after questions were raised about its

future. england's standard chartered bank has agreed to pay $340 million in civil penalties over an alleged money laundering scream with iran's government. elsewhere ncr maker. a suspect has been charged and arrested with stealing more than $60,000 worth of computers and personal items from the northern california homes of the late steve jobs. >> and, finally, imagine this. a connecticut woman recently found out she'd been paying the electricity bill for the street lamp outside of her house for the last 25 years. fort senately the power company paid her back with interest in the amount of $10,500. kind of makes you want to check your bill, though, double it. coming, the reds walk-off, double whammies by 1-0 and the yanks' japanese starter tosses a two hitter, plus the wild thing

makes his return to the mound. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and this cold front coming down through the northern plains means business. we're going to have some thunderstorms and a lot cooler air behind it. that's coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this

is "early today," and in sports a southbound full of bad relations between red sox players and manager bobby valentine has turned ugg eed ug. here's fred roggin with all of your sports headlines. good morning. we all know when it rains, it pours. the rox are having a dismal year and they have told ownership they no longer want to play for bobby valentine but the games must go on. mark reynolds hit a pair of homer, capped off a five-run sixth with the second of the game. orioles had their way with the sox. they won it, 7-1. the yanks apz hiroki can rhoda had a complete game. nick swisher belted a home run for the second straight night and new york led it 2-0. mark teixeira followed it up with his own. yavgs shut out the rangers, 3-0. charlie sheen threw out the

first pitch. charlie was wild and so with the blue jays. they tried to pick off that runner at first and that didn't work. white sox were winning. they beat the jays, 3-2. with guys lime kemp you would expect this. three hits, three rbi. dodgers won it big, 11-0. angels need something if they're going to get back in the al west race. maybe this is it. albert pujols, a 3-1 blast against the indians. they win 9-6 and snap a three-game skid. in miami, jim ya recall lynx scored. that was it. from a home run to start a game to a home run that ended the game the reds apz jay bruce with a walk--off shot against the mets. sin they won their fourth straight,

3-0. that's your early look at sports. i'm fred roggin an olympic gold medalist goes hollywood and which ex is taylor swift singing about now? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. if you ever wanted to own a piece of history now's your chase. you're watching "early today."

welcome ba to "early today." here's what you need to know leaving the door this morning.

if you're anywhere from d.c. to baltimore to d.c. to boston there is a chance of thunderstorms today. also a strong cold front coming through montana today. temperatures were near 100 today. today only in the 60s. that will be the front we'll watch moving across the country from today all the way through saturday. tomorrow that cold front will cool you off from minnesota in the northern plains but spark thunderstorms from kansas city to chicago. well if you're watching us on kark in little rock, arizona, if you ever wondered how video games are made or roller coasters are built, now's your chance to find out at design zone at the museum of discovery. and that's your early "today" event of the day, lynn. >> thanks so much. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. rumors surfaced tuesday that kristin stewart lost major role due to reports of her cheating role. they were quickly countered by the studio which in cysted stewart's snow white could still

be a character in the sequel. as for ex robert pattinson he's landed a role in "queen of the desert." he's doing fine. elsewhere, five-time gold medalist ryan lochte will play himself on an episode of "90210." the animal rights organization peta sent an open letter to lady gaga calling her a turn coat for wearing fur. bobby brown has entered treatment for alcohol addiction. and finally let the guessing games begin. taylor swift has released another song about an ex-boyfriend. you'd think that guys would pick up on this. formers, john mayor, jake jillen har and others are the subject of titles that we are never,

ever getting back together just in case the never didn't work out. >> i am so sorry. >> i am so, so sorry. it's not you, it's me, i swear. and this comes to us from gary owe when, montana, where an entire town can be yours. gary owen is the site of the battle of little bighorn also known as general cust ter's last stand and it's up for auction. it was made famous after the seventh cavalry was made. the tourist spot has a museum, a gas station and a sandwich shop. it's sitting on about seven acres. bidding for the town starts at about $250,000. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

4:28 is your time. 72 degrees right now on this wednesday morning. good morning to you. i'm eun yang. >> good morning. i'm aaron gilchrist. welcome to "news4 today" on this wednesday, august 15th. we begin with some breaking news we're following this morning out of syria where there are reports a bomb exploded just outside of damascus hotel where u.n. observers are staying. three people were hurt. none are believed to be a u.n. worker. we'll keep an eye on this story and bring you more details as they come into this newsroom. a fire injuries one man in

prince george's county if fire broke out just after midnight in the 11,000 block of chapel wood lane in capitol heights. the man was taken to the hospital. no word on his injuries. police and firefighters are looking into the fire. also new this morning. a separate fire displaced one family in northeast washington. a fire happened in the 3,000 block of franklin street northeast. investigators say the fire started in the basement and quickly spread through the house and into the attic. the red cross is helping the family. the cause of the fire remains under investigation. coming up on 4:30 now on this wednesday morning. and veronica johnson is in for tom kierein this morning. your tweet this morning said, still a stormy tale for some. >> areas along east of i-95 could see storms later today. ith it's quiet right now. the storms that we had last night rolled through here and ended just after midnight. we're at 75