combat in iraq. he thanked americans for paying a "huge price" for the war. he says it's time to move forward without closing the book on the future of iraq. tr tracie potts in washington with more. >>. >> reporter: president obama made it clear, the next big mission is right here at home. >> the american combat mission in iraq has ended. >> reporter: with combat troops out of iraq, president obama announced a new task. >> millions of americans who lost their jobs need to go back to work. >> reporter: he blamed massive deficits on a decade of war with borrowed money. he promised the pullout in afghanistan will begin next summer. >> open-ended war serves neither our interests or the afghan people. >> reporter: he criticized the president for the surge. >> some leaders who opposed, criticized and fought tooth and nail to stop the surge strategy, now proudly claim credit for the results. >> reporter: today's focus? the middle east. >> we pledge to do all we can, always, to protect and defend the state of israel. >> reporter: today, president obama meets with israeli prime minister netanyahu and palestinian president abbas before formal talks begin in washington tomorrow. the goal of the summit is to resume direct talks between israelis and palestinians, on hold now for almost two years. >> tracie, thank you. no stranger to powerful storms, folks in north carolina on the watch this morning as hurricane earl winds its way toward the east coast of the u.s. evacuations begin today in the state where residents and tourists are bracing for the worst. nbc's jay gray has the latest from the outer banks. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. everyone here along the eastern seaboard watching and waiting to see exactly what earl may do next. seas not nearly as rough as they were expected to be in the next 24 to 48 hours here as the storm will likely brush the east coast, bringing severe winds, heavy rain, and the possibility that it could actually continue to jog to the west and make landfall at some point. everyone hoping that is not the case. but preparing as if it may be. preparations will continue through the weekend. that's the very latest from here. along the outer banks, i'm jay gray. lynn, back to up. >> jay, thank you. a look at other stories making news early today in america. in florida, three people taken to the hospital when the car they were in ended at the bottom of the swimming pool. a 73-year-old lost control of a cadillac seville hitting a van before smashing through the fence of a nearby home. one passenger remains in serious condition. this newly released surveillance video is hoped to help catch a brazen thief. a woman entered manhattan purse and swiped an unattended purse, right in the middle of services. she is wanted on charges of grand lars. drivers on the heavily traveled interstate 277 might get a little confused, heading for independence boulevard. that's because of a sign that transposes the "d" and the "n" in the street name. oops. the red-faced officials at the department of transportation say the huge misspelling mistake is the manufacturer's fault. but they didn't comment on why workers didn't notice the mistake before the sign went up. here is nbc meteorologist bill karins, tracking hurricane earl. good morning. >> good morning. as we were talking about yesterday and the day before that, this storm right on schedule. overnight, not a lot changes with the forecast path or the intensity. monster category 4. the eye had -- the eye wall replacement cycle. falls apart and comes back together. that's why it disappears and comes back again. let's talk about the storm. here it is now. if you went due north from where the storm is, you would be up although cape cod. this storm is closer and closer to the eastern seaboard. up to the hurricane center, up the coast, not a direct landfall, sometime later in the day thursday to thursday night as a major hurricane. it should weaken slightly to a category 2 just south of new england, and, again, rake right along the coast and go parallel to the coast. as of now, it does not look like a direct hit. that could easily change. just a little -- maybe 100 miles to the left and this is -- the forecast shifts. we're talking about a hurricane that rakes the coast with probably billions of dollars of damage, or a little further off the coast, a swing and a miss. toughest ones to forecast. the ones that parallel the coast. here's how it looks broken down. 125-mile-per-hour winds. 100 miles off the coast of the carolinas. friday, during the day and evening, is when it's worst for new england and mid-atlantic this is something to watch ever so closely in the next couple of days. that's a look at your national forecast. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. besides earl, an incredible heat wave from boston to the carolinas. yesterday, in the mid 90s most locations. even bangor, maine, 97 degrees yesterday. today will be just as hot. lynn, i'll give you any updates on earl later on in the show. wall street says good-bye to august. tech stops stumble and why you can't call champagne champagne. early morning business headlines straight ahead. plus, these actors are not hollywood's most profitable. we'll tell you who is. and electrifying debut for a reds' rookie. and manny speaks, but did anyone understand him? you're watching "early today." good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. president obama opens a two-day summit in washington aimed at brokering an israeli/palestinian peace agreement. he will hold individual meetings with israeli prime minister netanyahu and palestinian president abbas. negotiations will be formally relaunched, the first direct talks in two years. the white house is appealing to both sides to not let yesterday's deadly shooting of four israeli shooters in the west bank to derail negotiations. hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. a full week after alaska's primary, senator lisa murkowski has conceded to challenger joe miller. murkowski, over 1,500 votes behind, after election officials counted absentee ballots, told supporters "i don't see a scenario where we could win." miller was supported by the tea party movement and former governor sarah palin. and president obama gave his speech from a newly renovated oval office with new striped wallpaper, new light brown sofas and a custom made rug. it was paid for by the inaugural committee, not the taxpayers. an early look at one of your top health headlines. new research suggests surgery to remove healthy ovaries gives a triple benefit to high-risk women, lowering breast and ovarian cancer and boosting hopes for longer life. the largest study recommending surgery for certain gene mutations that leaves them higher risk for cancer. for more information on this and other health stories, check out the health page at msnbc.com. an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. dow opens at 10,014 after gaining four points yesterday. the s & p up a fraction, and nasdaq fell five points. overseas trading, in tokyo, the nikkei climbed 102 points. hang seng rose 87. stocks finished tuesday flat, ending a month on wall street, most investors would rather forget. positive data surprises had stocks up most of the day, but damage in the tech sector eventually erased those gains. the s & p 500 went through its worst day since 2001 since the dot-com bubble burst. prices of single-family homes gained more than expect in june. also hopeful? fdic says problem loans fell for the first time in four years. downside, minutes of the federal reserve latest policy meeting suggests the economy would have to deteriorate "aappreciabl"aap for new stimulus from the bank. intel fell 1.5%, that led one semiconductor index to close at its lowest level in almost ten months. research in motion lost 6% after a brokerage cut its price point on the stock. monsanto fell 6%. s saks surge 20% after a report that there may be a bid for the luxury store operator. and exelon will pay $20 million for the wind energy assets of deere & company. and australia winemakers can no longer use the words champagne, port, or sherry for their champagne, port, or sherry. a game-winning play at the plate, a game-ending wild pitch, and a rookie first game that's a thriller. plus blue jays knock the rays, rocking them out of a first-place tie. one more calm day on the east coast before earl begins its impact. and it will be hot. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." as a career prosecutor i made decisions on facts not politics. in washington, i'm trying to do the same. that's why i voted to crackdown on wall street and protect the bay. and why i voted against the $3 trillion budget, the big bank bailout, and against the health care bill. you see for me it's not about democrats or republicans it's about common sense and doing what's best for our families. maybe that's why i'm ranked one of the most independent members of congress. i'm frank kratovil and i approve this message. good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." manny ramirez has joined the chicago white sox and is already making things interesting. here is fred rogan with an early look at sports headlines. good morning, yes or no here? always something with manny ramirez. he joined the white sox yesterday, held a news conference, answered every question the media ask, but with a catch. everything in spanish with an interpreter, even though he speaks flute englis s fluent en. manny ramirez on deck and would have made his debut. no need nfor manny. sox hold on to win. teixeira helps the yanks take over the first place in the east. and if you thought 30 homers were impressive, how about 43 for batista. and ninth inning, tied 9-9 against the rangers. in comes willie bloomquist. a walkoff wild pitch. 19 runs, and that's the way it ends, 10-9. walkoff by the marlins, scoreless in the tenth. and green light from second. play at the plate, ramirez under the tag. marlins beat the nationals 1-0. reds, uraldis chapman made his major league debut. he topped the century mark four times against the brewers. not a bad start for the kid who defected from cuba. an inning of work. a couple of defensive gems. votto with a stop at first. incredible offbalance throw to second. and then scott roland's turn. reds running away with the central, won it 8-4. that's the early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred rogan. should reality tv shows be allowed to shoot at ground zero? early morning entertainment headlines straight ahead. plus, one man facing the battle of his life gets to see his ultimate dream come true. you're watching "early today." welcome back. i twas looking at wave heights being produced by earl. a buoy that went through the center of the storm practically, reporting 45-foot high waves. 19-foot high waves well from the center. a sign of things to come for the east coast. the wave action will be incredible as the storm parallels the coastline as we go from thursday night into friday. again, it does not appear at this time to be a direct hit. but it could be very, very close. if you're watching on wlbz 10 on bangor, maine, get ready for west african rhythm. inst in stonington. in stonington, every house is white. >> and not stone? >> no. i walked right into that. thank you. >> we appreciate those from you, bill. brightens our morning. an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. michael douglas is optimistic he will recover from throat cancer. last night on david letterman, he said he finished his first week of chemo and radiation. with all of the controversy surrounding ground zero, many were surprised that dr. drew and rachel uchitel were allowed to tape at the site. her fiance was killed at the twin towers. who is the most profitable actor? it's shia lebouff. for every dollar spent, a studio gets back 81 cents. not surprisingly, or most surprisingly, on a list including or not including angelina jolie and brad pitt, jennifer aniston, with more of her fair share of recent clunkers at the box office, somehow came in seventh did you get that, bill? >> she came in seventh, because my wife makes me watch all of her movies. >> you are the one guy that is supporting that. >> she just make a lot of money off rentals. one man has fulfilled a dream that took a lifetime. personal sacrifice and an aggressive bout with cancer forced roy to put his dreams on hold, until now. the correction officer who dreamed of rising to the ranks of sheriff's deputy was awarded his own badge. his family hopes this will give him the strength to continue to fight for his life. i'm lynn berry. this is the first stop of the day on your nbc station. >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today in hd. >> good morning, everyone. the weather is not going to change much from yesterday. it will be hot and dry. the temperatures, the upper 60's and low 70's. 69 in randallstown. mostly sunny and hot today with a high temperature in the mid 90's. things will change for us as we head into the weekend. for now, to the news desk. >> thank you. 70 degrees on tv hill. here's a look ahead to 11 news today. >> police all looking for a man they say rate an elderly woman. >> the president says the war in iraq is over and it is time to focus on problems at home. the oval office address to the nation. >> sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. your morning commute. we will let you know if we f hoo really save you 15% or more on car insurance? did the little piggy cry wee wee wee all the way home? piggy: weeeeeee, weeeeeee, weeeeeee, weeeee weeeeeeee. mom: max. ...maxwell! piggy: yeah? mom: you're home. piggy: oh,cool, thanks mrs. a. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more. [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. >> tony pann has a quick look at today's forecast. it was so hot yesterday. >> it really was. it seems like we should be over with this. we are in september. we will be back in the 70's this weekend. i will tell you the latest on