one of the most spectacular finishes in soccer history today. finishes in soccer history today. monday, july 11th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this monday morning. i'm ann curry. >> good morning. i'm savannah guthrie. i'm in for matt. talk about taking it to the last possible minute with that header to save the game, basically tying it up. they pulled it out. >> go women. in fact, she says the history of the team is that they never give up. they're called now team destiny. we've got other news this morning. >> we're all about the ladies this morning, aren't we? talking about down to the wire. president obama scheduled a news conference later this morning to address the high stakes debt and budget negotiation. >> lawmakers are facing an august 2nd deadline to prevent the country defaulting on loans for the first time ever. on sunday the president said if that's going to happen an agreement needs to be in place in just ten days. is there any chance that will happen? we'll get the latest from the white house. also ahead, william and catherine wrapped up their north american tour with a visit to california over the weekend. we'll have the highlights including exclusive behind the scenes luncheon. she even met the prince. we're going to talk to her about her experience. plus, a warning to parents. backyard trampolines are becoming very popular but they also come with big safety concerns. coming up, one family shares their cautionary story. we're going to meet a newborn so big doctors have already given him a nickname, the moose. at more than 16 pounds, jamichael brown could be the largest baby ever born in texas. everything is bigger in texas. he's going to join us along with his proud parents. let's begin this morning with our top story. the debt ceiling standoff in washington. kristen, good morning. >> good morning to you, ann. president obama met with congressional leaders on sunday to try to get a deal done. that didn't happen. in fact, one official with knowledge of the discussion tells me it was a bit tense. lawmakers are hoping to get a deal done within the next ten days so it can be processed by that august 2nd deadline. their ties were off but the heat was on as the president and congressional leaders met sunday for a second time in less than a week to try to salvage the deal to raise the debt limit. when a reporter asked if a deal could be reached in ten days, president obama was quick to respond. >> we need to. >> we need to, said mr. obama, but can they? the same group met last thursday and it seemed both sides were considering a big deal, which would mean roughly $4 trillion in deficit reductions over the next decade. the president was offering to put social security and medicare on the table in exchange for increasing tax revenue. but saturday night speaker boehner pulled the plug on the deal. gop sources say house republicans won't go for tax hikes. boehner is now calling for a package about half the size. in sunday's meeting, sources say, the president continued to push for a grand deal, but the two sides left as divided as ever. after the talks baner released a statement reiterating, no tax hikes. senate majority leader harry reid fired back saying, the stakes are too high for republicans to keep taking the easy way out. >> we're going to try to get the biggest deal possible. >> reporter: on "meet the press" sunday treasury secretary timothy geithner warned if congress doesn't raise the nation's borrowing limit by august 2nd the u.s. will default on its loans for the first time in history. >> and if that happens, you're going to see catastrophic damage across the american economy and across the global economy. it's not something we -- failure is not an option. >> reporter: the international monetary fund's new chief echoed those concerns. >> nasty consequences, not just for the united states but for the entire global economy. >> reporter: senate minority leader mitch mcconnell held the line. >> to get a big package would require big tax increases in the middle of an economic situation that's extraordinarily difficult with 9.2% unemployment. it's a terrible idea. it's a job killer. >> reporter: president obama will speak about the issue later on this morning. white house officials tell me he will continue to push for a big deal. he's going to meet with congressional leaders again this afternoon. it seems like the one thing all sides can agree on, they do want to get a deal done soon. >> ann? >> kristen welker, thank you so much. jim demint of south carolina is the author of a new book called "the great american awakening". two years that changed america, washington. good morning. >> ann, it's good to be with you. >> the clock is ticking, senator. what do you think the chances are of a deal in ten days? >> well, it's been frustrating. the president has been talking about this for six months. he agreed six months ago that we couldn't raise taxes on the down economy. now suddenly he says in order to have any cuts, we're going to have to raise taxes. and he still has not given us a proposal that we can accept or reject. it's been frustrating -- >> are you saying here that the chances are very slim? what are you saying here about whether it can be done in ten days, senator? >> ann, i think what you're going to see this week is an absent of a president's proposal is -- you'll see republicans in the house and the senate supporting a new bill that will give the president the increase in the debt limit he wants in return for some reasonable cuts next year, some caps on spending over ten years with the stakes to ratify. this is the kind of thing that doesn't cut social security or medicare. it gives the states a chance to decide whether or not we need to live within our means. and it gives us time over the next several years to do the reforms in our tax codes, social security, and medicare that we need to do. so last year's election, ann, was about getting control of our debt and we'll never do it if we don't stop spending more than we're bringing? >> you over the weekend on this topic called secretary geithner's warning, which of course we just heard in this last piece, of a potential economic catastrophe. you called it irresponsible saying he's playing chicken little here. are you questioning his expertise or his motivation, senator? >> i'm questioning what he's saying because we are not going to default. we've got enough tax revenue to pay our bills. it certainly are be disruptive if we continue on the track we're going right now. but we have enough assets and social security, medicare trust fund to pay those benefits for several years, if necessary. it's not ideal but we don't need to panic and rush into a deal. and the president is actually been burning the clock with these secret negotiations, pushing us up against a deadline so he can create this panic. we need to keep calm and if the president will work with us on some reasonable cuts, we'll work with him on giving him an increase on the debt limit. but now is not the time to panic and do something else that's going to make our economy worse and cost us more jobs. >> it's interesting you say not to panic because we also heard the head of the imf saying there will be global consequence it is this is not done very quickly. what makes you so confident that there's enough money to pay these bills, including the social security checks? >> ann, we need to listen to what they're saying. geithner and the head of the imf are saying if we default it will be catastrophic. we're not going to default. we've got the money. the only way we will default is if secretary geithner and the president choose to default. they're required by law to pay our bills. they're also required by law to pay social security and medicare. so we don't need to panic. we would like to get this deal done. we will give the president an increase in the debt limit, but only if the democrats help us send to the states an opportunity to ratify a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. >> i want to ask you a question about your new book with little time left, but you write in your book the 2012 elections, quote, could be our last chance to rescue america from disaster. if that is true why do you say you're not considering run for president, senator? >> wel i still don't see a president in the mirror, ann. but i do believe 201 could be our last chance because, as a businessman, i understand that the weight this president is taking is going to continue to hurt our economy and cost us jobs. we need a president who understands the urgency of the hour in returning the first principles, those principles that made america exceptional. what this president is doing, growing the government, expanding the debt, we cannot take another four years. >> all right. on that note we need to leave it. senator jim demint, thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> thanks, ann. nbc news will have live coverage of the president's news conference today at 11:00 in the morning eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific time, here on nbc. all right. let's get a check now of the rest of the morning's top stories from natalie morales over at in news desk this morning. >> good morning, everyone. new defense secretary leon panetta is in baghdad this morning in pentagon as rocket strikes pound the green zone this morning. our correspondent jim miklaszewski is there. >> three of four rockets hit the green zone this morning. they're saying this is clearly a welcome shot for secretary panetta who told us in an interview just a few minutes ago that iraqi extremists that are being armed by iran with sophisticated weapons are targeting and killing americans. 15 american soldiers were killed just last month. and one soldier told us this morning they're coming after us. now, in our interview with secretary panetta he said that he's demanding that iran back off, and that the iraqi security forces step up to protect the americans. but if that doesn't happen he says that he has the authority to order the u.s. military into action. and that could mean preemptive combat strikes against those extremists. the problem, however, is that as the american military starts to withdraw from iraq, they're all supposed to be out by the end of this year, those attacks against u.s. forces are only expected to rise. natalie? >> jim miklaszewski in baghdad for us this morning. thanks so much, jim. in russia, hope of finding survivors is fading this morning after an old soviet era tourist cruise ship sank sunday. more than a dozen people have been confirmed dead so far and more than 100 other passengers are feared dead, as well. emergency officials say the boat was carrying more than its licensed capacity. a firefighter who died at a texas rangers baseball game last week will be remembered today. shannon stone fell to his death while trying to catch ball for his 6-year-old son who was seated beside him in the stands. the funeral will be held today in the hometown of brownwood, texas. it's monday. off to work for the shuttle "atlantis" astronauts who are delivering a year's worth of food, clothes and otherwise to the space station. they're monitoring a piece of space junk that could come too close to the joints on tuesday. and as you saw here earlier, a major comeback for team usa in germany battling soccer great brazil. abbey wamba tied up the game with a header, 2-2, keeping team and their goalie saved the day blocking a penalty kick for the game. team usa won 5-3 with penalty kicks. they take on france in the semifinals on wednesday. ann, you said it, all calling them team destiny. they were down a person after suffering a red card. >> played a player down. >> natalie, thank you so much. good point. wow. that was really fun. exciting, wasn't it? >> great. >> apparently they got a bad play -- a call early on that they didn't like and came back and had the best game of their life. >> that's the thing. you face adversity and that's but, boy, that is -- it's so exciting. anyway, what's also exciting is we have mr. roker back from vacation time. >> exciting. >> no, right up there though. >> thank you very much. i'm about to do a header right off this set. let's show yo a header right off here. let's show you what we've got. we are talking about the heat, boston, new york city, washington, d.c. today, we are talking about temperatures near 90 degrees or above. look at these heat indexes back to the midwest from chicago down to new orleans. it's going to feel like it's over 110 degrees in some sections. we're going to continue that heat. a risk of strong storms from the montana, from billings, montana, all the way back to cleveland, possibility of tornadoes, look back there. talking about three to five inches of rain in some of these thunderstorms. country, here is what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. it's mild and getting increasingly muggy. temperatures around the region now in the low- to mid-70s. now 77 at reagan national. it is becoming increasingly humid, a steamy afternoon in the mid-90s with hazy sunshine. then tomorrow even hotter up near 100 degrees by mid to late afternoon on tuesday. there is a chance of a late morning or perhaps passing afternoon storm. then lower humidity with cooler weather moving in wednesday, thursday, friday, satu savannah? >> thanks. william and catherine are back home in england today following their whirlwind weekend in california. the duke and duchess did not disappoint their legions of fans in the golden state. nbc's peter alexander covered the royal visit and he's in los angeles this morning with the details. >> everyone would agree this was a near flawless trip. all said and done they were on the ground here in the u.s. for barely 48 hours. finding a delicate balance between business and pleasure. in the process making a pretty good first impression on their american hosts. a picture perfect finale to william and kate's first american tour. the duke and duchess for cambridge saving their most meaningful stops for last. >> thank you for coming! >> reporter: visiting underprivileged children at this inner city arts program. ♪ the newlyweds seemed at ease enjoying their creative side putting their hands together in slabs of clay. later the royals showed their support at a job fair for american veterans. >> enormous that they're here. they are a military family and they are the most celebrated military family in the world. >> reporter: the couple began sunday minkling with the likes of reese witherspoon at 1a luncheon protecting wildlife. then a black tie affair. kate stunning the alexander the queen, earrings on loan from queen elizabeth hess. and there for the only time in america, they pause to greet a few fans. among the celebrities rubbing elbows with the future king and queen of england, tom hanks, barbra streisand, and nicole kidman. >> when they get together magic happens. >> reporter: saturday morning the couple helicoptered into santa barbara for a charity polo match, breezing down the red carpet. >> my father, the prince of wales, and my brother harry, were green as the grass outside when i told them i would be here today. >> reporter: the prince put on a show, scoring four goals to lead his team to victory. his reward, a rare public kiss. their admirers were schmidt ten. >> i get goose bumps. >> my breath was taken away, for sure. >> why are americans fascinated by your royalty? >> because they're untouchable, exclusive. whenever they come to america they sprinkle fairy dust. >> reporter: the royal couple charmed crowds during their entire tour. kate's effortless style on display at every stop. and on their final day, the duchess so, returned it to their host, calling the farewell performance, beautiful. and for their trans atlantic flight home william and kate did not take a private jet. instead they flew commercial, british airways, of course, to present themselves as a thoroughly modern royal couple. nbc news royal contributor covered william and catherine's trip to north america. robert, good morning. >> good morping. >> i think i knee the answer to this question but based on what you saw, how were they received in california? >> i think it was a fantastic reception. they really did a great performance and dit themselves proud. after all, this was their first ever royal tour together. i thought catherine in particular was fantastic. >> i know william really impressed you with some of the remarks he made during this visit. >> i think william himself is showing that he's growing into this role. he did actually say to me when i met him in canada that he can't wait to get home because he wants to lie down in a darkened room in his farm house in north wales. fantastic on this trip. he has shown that he's a class about. >> aobviously had the spotlight on them for days now. this was kate's first visit to the united states. she's never even been to new york. does she seem to be adjusting to the spotlight as well as she appears to? >> i think she in public certainly looks very, very poised and exceptionally good at what she does. in private when i met her back in canada she was a little more nervous, a little bit more hesitant about what she was doing. i think she's going to grow into the role and they're going to be a star team together. >> one of the things william and kate did was visit an art kids in l.a.'s skid row. why was this important to them? >> this is very important. it goes back to the days of diana when william was a little boy and diana took him to these down and out centers in london and he met people living on the streets. he's never forgotten that. he wants to make sure that it's not all about glitz and glamour, that you're highlighting the needy dacauses, too. >> i notice they flew commercial back to england. i guess that's part of that approach. obviously they have the glamour that the royalty has but want to keep in touch with the everyday people. >> that goes back to diana. she stuarted flying economy whih was upset to the royals because they had to start doing it itself. >> kate reflected that into her fashions. how did her look go over in california? >> i think she looked extremely beautiful, very poised. she's clever the way she picks all of these out fitses. when she was in canada she was wearing canadian designers, in america, she wore an american designer, too. >> thank you. >> pleasure. speaking of the royal weekend in california, coming up, we have exclusive access to her luncheon for william and catherine. plus, casey anthony prepares for life on the outside. where will she go now? will she have any contact with her family? we'll talk exclusively to a member of her defense pound baby who could be the biggest ever born in texas. >> we'll meet him live. good morning. it's 7:26 on this monday the 11th of july. i'm joe krebs. in "news 4 today," petco tops the list on the most disliked companies in america. the american satisfaction group indexed the list. hi prices the reason, the only company in the top ten that does not serve customers nationally. we'll take a break now and come we'll take a break now and come back and somebody help! [ gasps ] my hero! anyone can be a hero with the new captain america cherry coolatta from dunkin'. get yours for a limited time only. america runs on dunkin'. hurry in today for your first avenger tri-cup while supplies last. good morning. in the low and mid-70s, later today with hazy sunshine, hot in the mid-90s, humidity and sunshine. tomorrow hot and humid again up near 100 in the afternoon. might get a late morning or afternoon storm. danella, how is traffic? >> delay on the marc train 878, new brunswick east line. duke, you're delayed, starting at the beltway and continuing to the 14th street bridge. joe, back to you. >> thanks very [ chil