today," fil push. president obama lays into republicans who are holding up middle class tax cuts. grave situatio 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 jones us for more. >> increasingly, docrats

disagree with him over taxes and republans are digging in, not good sign for a compromise seven weeks before an election. w do 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. >> 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 accuracies on nobody. >> reporter: even house leader john boehner who suggested sunday he might support the president is backing off. >> would you vote for -- >> 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 backire 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 68%. >> and it's 68% for republicans, even higher overall. bottom line in that approximately, most americans said they want most of washington out. lynn. >> tracy potts there for us in washington. tracie, thank you. well, families who believe their loved ones were in their final resting places at arlington national cemetery, well, that is not the case. at least two bodies were in the wrong place. a recent army report detailed mismanagement that led to the handling of graves.

a later senate report put that b number up to 6,600. since the army's findings, defense officials have received about 1100 calles from worried families. in an nbc news schusive, andrea mitchell was granted an interview inside the iranian presidential palace wednesday. they talked about the fate of the american hikers held in iran. ahmadinejad wanted people to know that sarah had been released on passionate grounds. but en it came to infoation on thether hiker hes held in jail, ahmadinejad remained defiant. be sure to watch andrea mitchell later on this morning on "today." >> now here's a look at other stories making ns early today in america. >> texas police releas dash

cam of a man who was beat down after being run down on a sidewalk. 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 due for the duration of the inveigation. police in michigan are looking for a suspect they say is the world's dumbest criminal. e man walks into a convenience store and while on camera dawns a darth vader mask. 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. they used ropes and straps to pull up the 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. bobo needed a boost to meet george, the smallest and tllest dogs in the world to make th connection. now for a look at your national and local weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> there was a lot of drama when they were rescuing that animal. >> i know. it w amazing. >> eventually, they got over the hump, though. >> really, bill? you're going to start out the morning with a bad joke? >> that's how wee doing it. we had karl out there yesterday and now it's t into the gulf of mexic 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 vastating of a storm for our friend down south. the other storm out there is igor not only is it strong, but it's a monster storm. it's very, very large. this storm is just large itself. this still s its eyes on bermuda. 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. you're going to be anywhere in wisconsin or michigan today one 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, showers and storms. this afternoon will be warm and 95.

lynnwe'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 busines headlines are straight ahead. plus, it's the list everyone wants to make. "people" magazine's best dressed. a gave saving catch, a high flying football player and who will get reggie's heisman?

>> good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of youtop headlines this morning. israeli prime minister and the 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 hillarylinton for two hours and agreed to continue negotiations, but there was no word on when they would meet again. form 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 saggering $119 million. the nbc family is mourning the loss of edwin newman, a correspondent and host for the network for over 30 years. newman's family says the 91-year-old died o pneumonia in england last month. they delayed the announcement to grief. the chance to fly into space on a commercia rocket that is developing. the spacecraft, which could 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 snoop. 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 gained three points and the nasdaq 11. yesterday in tokyo, the nikkei fell 7 points, while in hong ko the hang seng lost 34. investors, look on the bright side of mixed economic data for the proof that predicting wre the market is heading these days is a tricky business. traders set aside weak manufacturing data out of new york state,ocusing instead on a second straight month of growth in u.s. industrial production. this afternoon, investors will have an eye on earnings with records due out from oracle and

research i 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 se sector was dealt a blow by a downgrade to chipmaker mi cron technology. micron shareshed 4.5%. meefrt while, mastercard shares shotp 5% after the company predicted 20% rise in income fo2010. elsewhere, a healthy earnings outlook from kraft foodspushed s 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 aviation rights which gave airbus similar violations back in april. goldman sachs is facing a gender bias suit from three former female employees. 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 punches. 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. >> good morning.

the first two games went to extra innings and the season finale lived up to its. 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. granderson hit auto home run. stan johnson hit his second home run of the night. now to e ninth, tom run on first, alex rodriguez hit the plate and he struck out swinging. rays take over first place with a 4-3win. it's a four-hour race, troy tulowitzki hit a homer against the padres. ckies won, 9-6. they're just 2 1/2 behind the first place padres. great finish in cincinnati. diamondbacks down two.

adam la roche hit it deep. jay hustled to the wall and robbed him of a homer. rays win in dramatic fashion, 7-5. the heisman trust has decided who will receive the trophy reggie bush gave back. and the trophy goes to -- no one. a heisman cou be in this kid's future. watch him jump over the defender on his way to the end zone for a touchdow lowery is expected to become a st in college and after seeing that play, we know why. another look, another angle. you can only imagine what the defender was thinking. loweryfinished with three touchdowns, so i guess you can say the sky is the limit for that high plier. at's your early look at sports on "early today." 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'sove. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this thursday morning. the forecast in the great lakes is going to be wet today, especially wisconsin through michigan. much of the eastern seaboard will be dry today, but rain

later tonight. in new england, middle of the couny, still hot back into the gulf and into texas. friday, 90s continue through the deep south. the cooler air is up here in the northern plains from montana back into areas around minnesota. if you're watchin us on wave 3 in louisville, kentucky, join the celebration in nearby jeffersontown at the 41st ans gaslight festival parade with entertainment for the entire family at the jeffersontown commons shopping center. that's your "early today" event of the day. >>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. "starr" quoted a woman ciming

to have had an affair with ashton kutcher. michael jackson's mother and his children are suing aeg live saying they were negligent in hiring dr. conrad murray. finally, "people" is out with its best dressed list. zoe delgana is the red carpet queen. reanna is the diva. olivia palmero is the uptown girl. jessica alba is the mix master. jennifer annisn, the american classic. richel ellston, the dem darling and kate miln, the princess in waiting. bill, do you agree? >> they're all okay, but let's be honest, it's much more on heest when we're tearingpeople apart and saying who is worst dressed. >> it's much more fun to be

mean? come on. and this comes to us from wlv tv 3 in jackson, mississippi, where one cat just might 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 cat and according to the owner purees, too. this is "early today" on your nbc station.

well, this is what it looks like at this hour here in the nation's capital. 66 degrees. delightful feel out there this morning as we begin another work day. good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang. we're following breaking news out of prince george's county. three people are dead after an suv collidedwith an ambulance in district heights. the acdent happened at around midnight in the 5600 block of marlboro pike. investigators say the ambulance was en route to a call when it swerved to aid the suv, which police say was dring on the wrong side of the road. the suv side swiped the ambulance before hitting a brick wall and a utility pole. all three men inside were killed. two ambulance workers were taken to the hospital. joining us now on e phone is mark bray from prince george's county fire and ems.

>> good morning to you. >> tell us what you can about exactly how this accident occurred. i understand the suv looked like a chevy suburban, is that correct, driving on the wrong side of the road? >> that's correct. a full-size suv. and the informationhat we gathered mostly came from the dash cam on board the ambulance, which video documented everything that occurred. it had been dispatched on an overdose call from the district heights area. it was only about two blocks from the districteights station, heading in an eabound direction on marlboro heights when they noticed a car approaching at an extremely fast rate of speed, approaching directly head-on towards them. our driver of the ambulance took a very defensive move to swerve the ambulance over to the left, avoiding a head-on collision but it wasn't far enough that the suv side-swip our ambulance, and just totally took off the side of the ambulance.