this morning on "early today," final push. president obama lays into republicans for holding up middle class tax cuts. grave situation, the army discovers at least two people buried in wrong spots at arlington national cemetery. and beast of burden. oregon firefighters race to rescue a camel stuck in a oregon firefighters race to rescue a camel stuck in a sinkhole. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with getting down to business.

primaries are over. midterm elections are just weeks away. and now president obama is slamming republicans for holding up his tax plan to prop up small businesses and the middle class nbc's tracie potts joins us for more. >> increasingly, democrats disagree with him over taxes and republicans are digging in, not good sign for a compromise seven weeks before an election. how to win a tax fight and an election? first, solidify the base. >> don't forget who is standing with you and who is standing against you. >> reporter: then put pressure on your opponent. >> we simply don't have time any more to play games. >> reporter: extending tax cuts to americans earning over $250,000 has become the lightning rod for a nasty partisan fight heading into november. republicans aren't wavering.

>> republicans are united. no tax increases on nobody. >> reporter: even house leader john boehner who suggested sunday he might support the president is now backing off. >> if that is your only option as you said sunday, would you vote -- >> i want to extend all of the current tax rates -- >> reporter: tuesday's primary appears to have excluded both sides. analysts say tea party wins could back fire on republicans. >> seems like it was a sense of voter nullification, like we're not listening to you. we, the republican party, we're not listening. that's inherently the problem. >> reporter: it could be a problem for democrats, too. a new poll puts their disapproval rating at 58%. >> and it's 68% for republicans, even higher overall. bottom line in that poll, most americans said they want most of washington out. lynn. >> tracy potts there for us in washington. trayy, thank you.

well, families who believe their loved ones were in their final resting places at arlington national cemetery have just learned that is not the case. the army has discovered at least two people who were buried in the wrong place. remains have been exhumed from the graves. a recent army report detailed mismanagement that led to the handling of graves. a later senate report put that number up to 6,600. since the army's findings, defense officials have received about 1,100 calls from worried families. in an nbc news exclusive, chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell was granted an interview inside the presidential palace in tehran wednesday with iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad. they talked about the fate of the american hikers held in iran. ahmadinejad wanted people to know that sarah shourd had been released on passionate grounds. but when it came to information

on the other hiker hes held in jail, ahmadinejad remained defiant. be sure to watch andrea mitchell one-on-one later this morning on "today." now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. >> texas police released dash cam of an alleged beating of a motorcyclist who was pursued after he allegedly rode down a sidewalk. officers approach the man and deliver several blows. one of the 22 officers involved in the case, one has been fired and along with two others faces possible felony charges. three are on restricted duty for the duation of the investigation. in michigan, police are looking for a suspect they say is the world's dumbest criminal. the man walks into a convenience store and, in plain sight of a security camera, dawns a darth vader mask. though the dark lord got away with an undisclosed amount of cash during the fearsome heist,

he's now in hot pursuit of the police force. oregon firefighters were called in for an unusual rescue. a privately owned 1200 pound camel stuck in a sinkhole. the rescue team used ropes and straps to pull up the distressed animal to safety. so far, it seems to be doing okay. and in new york, guinness world record promoted the release of their 2011 book with a play date with one of its biggest and smallest stars. giant george, the world's tallest living dog, and booboo, the smallest. booboo needed a boost to meet george, but there was an instant connection. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. >> there was a lot of drama when they were rescuing that animal. >> i know. that video was pretty amazing. >> eventually, they got over the hump, though. and then got it out. >> really, bill? you're going to start out the morning with a bad joke? >> that's how we're doing it.

let's talk about the tropics, lynn. we had karl out there yesterday and now it's out into the gulf of mexico. every now and then, these storms go up to the yucatan and veer to the north. not this one, though. this one is steered more or less back towards mexico for a second landfall as we go through friday night. here is the forecast track. tropical storm at the current time karl, it could become a hurricane as we go probably into friday. so a little bit of intensifying here. but it shouldn't be too devastating of a storm for our friends down south. the other storm out there is igor. this is just a huge storm. not only is it strong, but it's a monster storm. it's very, very large. you can see it's the size of florida, which is huge, and now this storm is just large itself. this still has its eyes on bermuda. but the good news for about her mu da is it's going to weaken by the time it gets there. so we're talking more or less probably a category 2 hurricane that they're going to have to deal with. the weather back home in the u.s. mainland, not too much problems. just heavier rains working there way up through the great lakes. if you're going to be anywhere in wisconsin or michigan today

you definitely need the umbrella. most of the big cities are looking just fine. that's a look at your wednesday forecast. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. plenty of sunshine today. warm conditions in arizona. you've been very hot in phoenix. no exception today. 106. oklahoma city will be warm, too, at 90. memphis, maybe early morning showers and storms. this afternoon will be warm and 95. lynn, we'll have the forecast coming up and no more cheesy jokes. >> okay. i was going to add that in there. thanks. stocks boost on earnings. more trouble for goldman sachs. and what's in a name? maybe trademark infringement. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, it's the list everyone wants to make. "people" magazine's best dressed. a game saving catch, a high flying football player and who will get reggie's heisman? you're watching "early today."

>> good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. israeli prime minister benjamin netyanhu and palestinian president mahmoud abbas are still divided on the latest issues after ending their recent round of peace talks yesterday. the leaders met with secretary of state hillary clinton for two hours and agreed to continue negotiations, but there was no word on when they would meet again. former ebay ceo meg whitman, the republican candidate for governor of california, now holds the record for personal spending on an election. earlier this week, she added another $15 million of her own money to her war chest, bricking her own total campaign donations to a staggering $119 million.ki her own total campaign donations to a staggering $119 millioing her own total campaign donations to a staggering $119 millioning her own total campaign donations to a staggering $119 million. the nbc family is mourning the loss of edwin newman, a

fellow anchor, commentator, correspondent and host for the network for over 30 years. newman's family says the 91-year-old died of pneumonia in england last month. they delayed the announcement to spend time privately grieving. boeing says it's planning to offer private citizens a chance to supply into space on a commercial rocket that is developing. the spacecraft, which can carry up to seven people, is expected to be ready in five years, although boeing has not named an exact price. experts estimate that one round trip ticket to the international space station could easily cost $25 million. for one person. what recession? now here is a look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opened at 10,572 after gaining 46 points yesterday. the s&p added 3 points. the nasdaq climbed 11. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei fell 7 points. while in hong kong, the hang seng lost 34. investors, look on the bright side of mixed economic

data yesterday for the proof that predicting where the markets are heading these days is a tracky business. traders set aside weak manufacturing data out of new york state, focusing instead on a second straight month of growth in u.s. industrial production. this afternoon, investors will have an eye on earnings with reports due out from oracle and research in motion. overseas, japanese officials did not step in to keep its currency trading lower for a second day. the bank of japan's surprise intervention wednesday drove the yen sharply lower and the u.s. dollar more than 3% higher. here in the u.s., the semi sector was dealt a blow by a downgrade to chipmaker micron technology. micron shares shed 4.5%. meanwhile, mastercard shares shot up 5% after the company predicted a 20% rise in income for 2010. elsewhere, a healthy earnings

outlook from kraft foods pushed its shares to a new high for the year. the world trade organization is condemning the u.s. for paying, quote, massive subsidies to boeing that violate international rules which gave it an unfair advantage over its european rival, airbus. the wto's preliminary finding is the latest on an ongoing battle over global i've age rights, which found airbus guilty of similar violations back in april. goldman sachs is facing a gender bias suit from three former female employees. who claim the firm is ruled by a, quote, outdated corporate culture which underpays and fails to promote women. and finally, praise the lord and pass the pancakes? well, if you're talking about the international house of prayer in southern kansas, just don't call it an ihop. the famed pancake house is suing the house of prayer for trademark dilution and infringement. the rays reclaim first home

runs in bunches. and no heisman for vince young. plus, a game saving catch in cincinnati leaves diamondback fans seeing red. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. today's weather trouble spot will be the great lakes with heavy rain. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, another unsung hero came up big last night in the race for first place between the yankees and the rays in the american league east. here is nbc fred roggin with a look at your sports headlines. >> good morning. the first two games went to extra innings and the season finale lived up to its hype. the ball hit the butt end of jeter's bat. the manager came out to argue the case and he was sent for an early shower. wouldn't you know it. next batter, curtis granderson hit his 18th homer of the year. stan johnson hit his second home ripped his second two-run homer of the night. the rays were up, 4-3. now to the ninth, tying run on third.

first, alex rodriguez hit the plate and he struck out swinging. rays take over first place with a 4-3 win. it's a three-horse race, troy tulowitzki hit a homer against the padres. rockies won, 9-6. they're just 2 1/2 behind the first place padres. great finish in cincinnati. diamondbacks down two. two outs in the ninth. adam la roche hit one high. he hit it deep. if it's out, it ties the game. jay hustled to the wall and robbed him of a homer. what a way to win it. rays win in dramatic fashion, 7-5. the heisman trust has decided who will receive the 2005 trophy that reggie bush gave back on wednesday. and the trophy goes to -- no one. a heisman could be in this kid's future. high schooler ashley lowery in kentucky. picked up the loose ball. watch him jump over the defender on his way to the end zone for a touchdown. lowery is expected to become a star in college and after seeing that play, we know why. another look, another angle. you can only imagine what the

defender was thinking. lowery finished with three touchdowns, so i guess you can say the sky is the limit for that phi flyer. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i am fred roggin. >> that's one way to go. an actor is fighting mad over rumors he cheated on his wife. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, a story you won't want to miss about a mother's love. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this thursday morning. we are watching hot conditions continuing down along the gulf coast. 93 today in dallas. we're going to be all the way up around the 93 mark from miami to tampa to orlando. cooler up in new england today. there would be rain moving through the great lakes into new england later today. should be exiting boston as we go throughout friday morning. but for the most part, rather tranquil weather out there through much of the country. if you're watching us on wave 3 in louisville, kentucky, join the celebration in nearby jeffersontown at the 41st annual gaslight festival parade with entertainment for the entire family at the jeffersontown commons shopping center. that's your "early today" event of the day. i think we have the wrong picture. i think that was your facebook page picture that we have. >> my profile pic?

>> yeah. >> looks family. you might be right. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. has "star" magazine gone too far with yet another he's cheating on her story? one hollywood heavyweight says yes. "star" printed a story quoting a woman claiming to have had an affair with ashton kutcher. now he's claiming to take them to court saying, quote, you don't get to stand behind freedom of the press when you are writing fiction. michael jackson's mother and his children are suing aeg live claiming the company breached its agreement to provide physical care for jackson and was negligent in hiring dr. conrad murray. finally, "people" is out with its best dressed list. zoe saldana is the red carpet queen. again stefani is the hip mom. rihanna is the runway.

olivia palermo is the up town girl. jessica alba is the mix master. jennifer anniston, the american classic. rachel e bilson is the denim darling. kate middleton, the princess in waiting. in mississippi, one cat might just win the mother of the year award. emmy, the cat, welcomed a squirrel to her brood when the abandon creditor fell from its nest and was too strong to climb back up. now, the squirrel is part of emmy's kittens. but the only problem is, now the adaptive squirrel thinks it's a cat and according to the owner purrs like one, too. this is "early today" on your nbc station.

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today in hd. >> top office thursday morning. it is pretty mild outside. -- top of this thursday morning. right now on tv hill, 64 degrees. we can see showers moving in. it will take until tonight until we see some scattered showers. we could see some gusty showers. we have about 830% chance that will materialize.

details on the seven day just ahead. >> thank you. here's a look ahead to 11 news today. >> the city state's attorney race is still undecided. details are next. >> democrats defecting, joining the gop in the fight over tax cuts. >> sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. major roadways in great shape. [ male announcer ] the new subway $2.50 breakfast combo!

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[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today in hd. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. >> and i am stan stovall. thank you for joining us this morning. sandra shaw has a quick look at the forecast. it feels nice this morning. >> it will get cool again by tomorrow. we will have sunshine early on and increasing