i'm dan kloeffler. >>> and today we begin with a staggering storm. parts of asia are just swamped in rain this morning just hours after a powerful typhoon ripped across that region. there are widespread reports of both damage and death. hundreds of people are missing in taiwan, which saw its worst flood anything 50 years. local media there say hundreds of home were simply buried in a landslide as swollen rivers devoured entire communities. in mainland china, many people were forced to evacuate the coast. it's a similar story in japan as well where a different typhoon caused 12 people to be killed in raging floodwaters. at least 10 people are missing there. >>> there is another dark situation unfold anything india today as police and volunteers seven for the bodies on a scene of a devastating landslide. at least 43 people were killed when heavy rains triggered this slide in remote villages. searchers are having a tough time finding the remaining victims because of poor conditions there. >>> closer to hom

i'm dan kloeffler. >>> this morning we begin with paying tribute to ted y. after decades of public service, thousands of people gathered in massachusetts thursday to spend just a passing moment in the presence of their late senator. edward moore teddy kennedy. nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: hour after hour, they came by the thousands to the kennedy library not far from downtown boston. ordinary americans who wanted to pay their last respects to the senator they called teddy. many visibly moved as they filed by senator kennedy's coffin. >> well, i was completely overwhelmed, actually. >> civil rights and, you know, minimum wage and he really was a voice of the poor. and, you know, the common person. >> reporter: the line of waiting mourners stretched into the night. suddenly along the line came senator kennedy's widow, hugging and kissing, even though she had never met, returning their affection for teddy. >> we're so honored they came out to pay tribute to my husband. >> reporter: the sena

i'm dan kloeffler. today we begin with confirmation and more cash. eager to make their summer break for the nation's capital, senators made quick work of two important issues yesterday. they voted for more funding to keep the popular cash for clunkers program alive, and they also voted to confirm sonia sotomayor as the first hispanic as supreme court justice. >> yeas are 68, nas 31. >> reporter: confirmed as supreme court justice, sonia sotomayor, 57, raised poor in new york, parents from puerto ri rico, prosecutor, federal judge for 17 years. every democrat heaped on praise. >> at the end of the day, grace, ethnicity and class aren't supposed to predetermine anything. >> reporter: nine republicans voted yes. >> judge sotomayor's decisions, while not always the decision i would render, are not outside the legal mainstream. >> reporter: but most republicans worry sotomayor has a liberal bias. >> we name judges to uphold the rights of all, not just some. >> reporter: after his nominee, one confirmation, p

i'm dan kloeffler. and today we begin with a new spotlight. according to this morning's "new york times," there are new recommendations coming down from the justice department to reopen several cases of detainee abuse at the hands of the cia and private contractors. the move not only reverses the bush administration but also exposes those interrogators to potential prosecution. although president obama has leaned away from any new investigations, attorney general eric holder is learning detainees died in u.s. custody. sourcing a person personally briefed, the move would almost certainly call for the appointment of a prosecutor and the potential for a renewed criminal investigation. >>> meanwhile, this morning's "washington post" as part of its effort to revamp policy, the white house has approved a new plan to create an elite group of interrogators to question terror suspects in u.s. custody. a move that shifts control away from an embattled cia. new guidelines call for an end to tough interrogation met

i'm dan kloeffler. and today we begin with seeing red. in what he calls a dramatic and inconceivable event, former homeland security secretary tom ridge says he was pressured by top bush administration officials to raise the nation's terror alert level just ahead of the 2004 presidential election. it was, according to ridge, an apparent effort to influence the vote. in a new book, ridge said he resisted that move despite being urged by donald rumsfeld and john ashcroft. the administration manipulated the terror alert level for political reasons. ridge said the event reinforced his decision to resign. however, other bush insiders are insisting there was no intent to a little bit size national security. >>> he was convicted of killing 270 people in a devastating terrorist attack back in 1998 -- excuse me, 1988. but now after serving just eight years of his life sentence, a former libyan agent is a freeman. scottish officials released him on compassionate grounds. the 5-year-old has terminal cancer. his ea

good morning, i'm dan kloeffler. today we begin with a credit caper. it is being called the largest case of cyber crime prosecuted in u.s. history. 130 million credit and debit cards stolen over a two-year period. according to police, it was all master-minded by a one-time government innorchlant. 28-year-old albert gonzalez, along with two unnamed accomplices hacked into the databases to steal private customer information. that data was allegedly sold online. gonzalez is already charged in another credit cyber crime and has been in federal custody since 2008. >>> although it was years ago, he cut a deal with the secret service to track down fellow hackers. prosecutors say he returned to that criminal activity, spear-heading that latest online crime spree. >>> after nearly 20 years in a georgia prison, a death row inmate could be given a new day in court. that's after a rare intervention by the u.s. supreme court. in an unusual move, the high court interrupted its summer recess to order a new hearing into the case of troy anthony davis. davis was convic

i'm dan kloeffler. >>> and today we begin with work before play. the senate is set to begin its august break tomorrow, but first lawmakers are planning to vote on a pair of high profile issues. more than two months before she was nominated to supreme court, the senate will hold a confirmation vote for sonia sotomayor. she is expected to win easy confirmation. with another two republicans announcing their support for her yesterday. meanwhile, lawmakers have agreed to vote on a plan to add another $2 billion to the so-called cash for clunkers program. it follows some intense negotiations between party leaders who were sharply split on the incentives. drivers will have until september to trade in their gas guzzlers for more fuel-efficient vehicles. >>> a former louisiana congressman is facing more than 20 years in prison after being found guilty in a bribery and racketeering case. infamous for bundles of cash found stuffed inside the congressman's freezer. prosecutors say william jefferson sought out hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from com

i'm dan kloeffler. >>> and today we begin with finding captain speicher. after nearly two decades of promising leads and crushing rumors, the u.s. military has identified the remains of the u.s. pilot listed as the first u.s. casualty of the persian gulf war. nbc's gina kim reports. >> reporter: his plane was shot down in iraq on january 17th, 1991. the very first night of the first gulf war. >> there's been a single american aircraft lost. >> reporter: for nearly 20 years, neither his family nor the military knew what happened to navy pilot captain michael "scott" speicher. but on sunday came closure. speicher's remains have finally been found in the iraqi desert near the wreckage of his plane, thanks to an iraqi citizen who led american officials to his buried body. the military initially declared speicher killed, but the lack of remains led the pentagon to change his status to missing in action, and missing captured when investigators discovered what looked like the initials m.s.s. scratched into the

i'm dan kloeffler. . >>> and today we begin with a wildfire burning in all directions. over 2,000 firefighters from across california have converged around this deadly blaze known as the station fire. it's a raging inferno that is very much out of control this morning. as nbc's jay gray reports, a significant change in the weather is unfortunately not expected for several days. >> reporter: this morning things are a bit tougher for crews in the foothills of los angeles. now fighting not only the flames but the emotions that come with losing two of their own, two los angeles county firefighters have died battling the station fire as it continues to grow. fueled by a seemingly endless supply of dried out brush and timber. the blaze has already scorched more than 35,000 acres. the flames swallowing more than two dozen structures and closing in on as many as 12,000 more. >> it was just red all over. all you could see was a black mountain and red flames. >> reporter: fire teams struggle to protect what they

i'm dan kloeffler and this is "early today." your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.% >>> good morning. our time is now 4:55, 77 degrees here in the nation's capital. dark skies out there as we begin a tuesday here, august the 18th, 2009. good morning. welcome to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm barba harrison. we're glad you're up with us this morning. we want to begin things, as we always do, with a look at traffic and weather. let's talk about the weather first. here's tom kierein with his forecast. good morning. >> it's still humidnd we've got a few clouds around this morning as we take a look at pr showers tere inaruce thodpring a few shnseraintodounsai iut o gh leal oen in ut alleghenyyonths owe'shthe aer ere's the shower there, a ra seryth steam morning. .miitwald i 77washgtn oninin.. in the low 7 i0sn prince george's montgomery rico es montgomery counties. in the 60sromo tundhe blue ridnh ndhelartecno nndrnk aey maland, northern neck andry t t eastern shore in the 70s now. the dew points are in th

i'm dan kloeffler. this is "early today." just your first stop of the day, >>> our time right now is 4:54, 71 degrees. looks like clear skies out there this morning as we begin another nice day, end of summer here in the nation's capital. good morng. i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang in for barbara harrison today. we want to start things off as we always do with a look at weather and traffic this morning. >> here's meteorologist tom kierein. he joins news the sued yoe. >> andlrtoota s a fresh and cool startn ohis second bto dayooacch sl.k l. temperatures in the region 60s gh0. hipe moretuura near more of the same tomorrow.ecas or hllave your forecast for the weekend coming up at 5:01. stay tuned. >> all right. thank you, tom. >> thanks very much. let's go to jerry edwards now and the news 4 traffic network, get an early look at the roads. >> good morning. we'll start over on the capital beltway inner loop as you head from tysons corner on up toward river road, overnight road work in the process of being wrapped up. wilson br