it's too long and syracuse is your national champion. >> a few days after the karaoke night, the syracuse area celebrated the end of college basketball's march madness with a national championship. it had been a long time coming, and syracuse wanted its moment in the national spotlight. little did anyone know that the moment was about to be eclipsed by a different kind of madness. on april 8th, the day after the basketball victory, the odd couple from freddy's karaoke night was out running errands. while stopped at this bottle recycling center, the young girl slipped away and called her sister. "an old man is holding me against my will," she said. the sister in turn called police, who found the couple a few minutes later at this car dealership. as soon as the police pulled up, the 16-year-old leapt out of a rusty mercury comet, almost identical to the one jennifer spalding reported to detectives two years earlier. the girl told police the old man had kidnapped her, raped her and held her prisoner in a basement dungeon. the old guy looked harmless, but the police decided to arrest him anyway an

as far as the rain goes today, areas from syracuse to rochester, light rain moving in, moving throughnd areas of central p.a. in the northeast, most of you are starting dry from boston to d.c. but rain is in the forecast this afternoon and the worst of it by far, lynn, this morning, our friends in arkansas and louisiana, a lot of big thunderstorms for them. >> coming up, nude photos leaked of former boyfriend blackmailed and the simmering pop diva feud. was she or wasn't she. reports say lindsay lohan may have been behind the wheel in the big truck crash after all. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. ors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering. support team usa and show our olympic spirit right in our own backyard. so we comb

syracuse. as ron said, these grants we are making now go to different areas than places like hartford and syracuse. there are a number of communities in california that will receive grants. so, the one thing i think we want is we would like to have all 50 states pass laws. that would send a good message. we would like for congress to consider passing a law. so, we are going to continue to work with our friends in the states. we have just applauded governor k for signing what we believe is a good bill in ohio, making them the 39th state. it took 20 years to get 84% of us to buckle up. we have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. nobody, nobody was talking about distracted driving before we started the discussion three and a half years ago, and only 18 states have laws. we feel like we have made progress, but we still have more to do, i e the blueprint. let me go back here to date and then don't. dave and then joan. >> are you still of a position that you would endorse a ban on all hands free calls? >> i am glad ntsb has taken this on. the more the merrier, we are happy they are invo

areas in the nation. baltimore at 98 degrees bwi marshall. 95 in syracuse, new york. it is not kaline of very fast. still 91 degrees in downtown baltimore -- not cooling-off very fast. the good news is there is some heat relief. we will talk about that with the forecast coming up in a few minutes. >> cooling centers throughout the city will remain open to marc for those seeking air- conditioning relief. the centers will also provide free water to anyone who needs a cold drink. you can follow the forecast on our new apps. they are like a woman with a special session held on mcganey expansion issue in maryland, at least for now. governor o'malley and -- appointed workers to agree. >> the work request trying to come up with a consensus on whether or not to expand gambling in the state of maryland. governor o'malley says he is frustrated but indicated the session may not be over yet. >> it was proposed as a world- class casino, not just a casino but a destination, a 13-acre facility with four thousand slots and 250 table games. now a sixth casino in maryland is not likely. >> for some reason, suddenly

the other areas with wet weather this morning, we do have light rain out in western new york from rochester to syracuse down to buffalo and even down to pittsburgh and state college, pennsylvania. later today we will see some of that wet weather moving into the big cities of the northeast. >> bill, thanks so much. coming up, euro jitters repeat, apple gets ho huchl from investors, and what's in a name? just wait until we tell you. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. >>> plus was she or wasn't she. reports say lindsay lohan may have been behind the wheel of the that big truck crash after all. you're watching "early today." >> announcer: "early today" is brought to you by centrum, your maker's most complete. >>> 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 familie

areas. if you are getting reao leave your house from new jersey, greater new york city, connecticut, baltimore, philadelphia, thunderstorms are rolling through this morning. even a few in update new york. from syracuseust got hit, now heading for albany and upstate. as far as we are going to deal with the worst of it appears to be down around philadelphia and baltimore. we see severe thunderstorm warnings all over the delaware valley. looks like the strongest of those storms is rolling through downtown philadelphia. they will roll through pretty quickly. it looks like baltimore, you have just avoided the worst of it in the downtown area. north of the city is where we are seeing a stronger storm. as far as the new york city area goes, we are not looking at severe storms. a pretty strong line of storms is going to roll through. it looks like it is intensifying as it is over stat continue island. if you are traveling anywhere from new york city north wards including çconnecticut, it loo like over the next half hour, these storms will roll through and the rest of the morning commute should be just fine. another line up here near utica, new york. those will head around interstate 88, albany area. the he

areas. 75 this afternoon with low humidity, keep the windows open. near 90 by sunday with added humidity. the real heat is not in the northeast. 270 in syracuse, 57 in boston for the high temperature. -- 70 in syracuse. of passover, 99 later on today. a few thunderstorms from the great plains and northern plains, parts of kansas all the way into texas. in terms of airport delays, nothing to worry about. looks good all across the eastern half of the united states, so that looks good. now the latest on the roads with lisa baden. lisa? >> she is deep in thought trying to pull up the latest delays. my now it is 6:11, 56 degrees outside. >> of to a nice start. wait until you hear what a child was served when his mother ordered him and orange juice. >> and a d.c. council member went after a wtop reporter. >> experts say that you may not need an advanced degree to get ahead. well the kids wanted a puppy but they can be really expensive. so to save money i just found them a possum. dad, i think he's dead. probably just playin' possum. sfx: possum hisses there he is. there's an easier way to save. geico. fifteen nunutes could save you fifteen percent

area beaches and pools. >> trying to keep cool. i wanted to bring her out and not be in the house all day. >> reporter: cities as far north as boston and syracuseected to bake in extreme heat. new york, philadelphia, and baltimore will also receive a blistering summer welcome as the the mercury could hit mid to upper 90s. >> that is our plan to head north and get out of the city. >> reporter: the high heat has been delivering searing temperatures in the west where at least 17 wildfires are still burning out of control. in colorado, firefighters are working 16-hour shifts and the danger from heat stress is extreme. the corn crop has already been completely wiped out in parts of illinois suffering a severe drought. farmers are just holding out hope that rain may save at least part of the soybean crop. >> if we don't get a rain by the end of june, you can, you can just basically say you are going to mow the corn down -- it's over. >> reporter: here in the east the heat wave is only expected to be a two-day event with temperatures then expected to drop below normal for a prolonged stretch. t.j. winick, abc news, in central park, new york. >> t.j.,

areas of northeast. showers cutting in from rochester and syracuse and down toward new york city. you are fine. baltimore, d.c. you are looking good. here is very heavy rain down across areas of the central gulf and pars of florida. some of that rain may be three or four inches today by the time we get to say monday we might be talking 8 or 9 inches in a spot. flooding concerns there of course, we have drowted so that's also going to help with that texas, you are looking very very warm but sunny. a few possible thunderstorms moving across areas of the dakotas. for the most part we will see quite a bit of sunshine and warm temperatures. temps into the 80's and 90's all across areas of the central and northern plains. out across the west. that's where we have a big front moving through. and it means very breezy conditions across the four corners. fired -- fire threat will continue all around areas of the four corners. still breezy. in across the northern plains we have some snow. snow unbelievable in june. all right. dave and clayton, send it over to you. >> ♪ ♪ >> the guys are a li