well, excuse me. little swig of water to wash it all down. how's your coffee going? i'm robin meade. morning, sunshine, and here's what's going on today. some concerns have been raised as the first batches of the swine flu vaccine have been given. find out why health experts say you should still get your vaccine. last night david letterman apologized to his wife for having sexual relationships with some of his staffers. that happened on air. that supposedly happened before they got married but find out how it still directly affects her. a balloon came down fast and it hit the ground really hard

and a pilot actually did this on purpose. it's an incredible piece of tape so we'll share that with you. you and the h1n1 vaccinations. well, the h1n1 vaccinations have kicked off already, but some health care workers started getting the nasal mist version in three states yesterday and officials want high-risk groups to start lining up soon as well. 28 pregnant women and 60 children have died from the flu since h1n1 was discovered in the spring. you should be able to get in the vaccine line in the next couple weeks. dr. oz tells our sister network cnn that you may have concerns, ask they a and they are valid, but he strongly recommends that you still get the vaccine. >> with regard to risks, there is no question, campbell, it would be dishonest to say we know for sure the vaccine will be safe for everybody. you give the vaccine to a couple hundred people, there will be problems. we don't even know if the problems will be related to the vaccine. but to be fair for millions of

americans who might be concerned, there will probably be some concerns related to the vaccine, but we think they'll be exceedingly rare. >> you're going to hear more about the h1n1 vaccines and why pregnant women may be at a higher risk of getting that virus. we'll have the ins and outs of the pros or cons of getting the vaccine or not getting it. coming up in about ten minutes. news this morning, a public apology from david letterman. the late night host said he only wanted to talk to staffers about it one time. but last night he apologized to coworkers and his wife. he said the affairs happened before he married regina lasko in march. they've been a couple, though, since 1986. >> the other thing, my wife, regina, has been horribly hurt by my behavior. something like that, if you hurt a person, then it's your responsibility, you try to fix

it. at that point, one of two things will happen. you'll either get it fixed or you'll fall short of getting it fixed. i got my work cut out for me. >> joe halderman is accused of black mailing letterman about his affairs with female staffers. he pleaded not guilty on friday but cbs has suspended him from his job. halderman tells nbc today that halderman's version isn't the only side to the events. >> david letterman didn't give you his side of the story, he gave the side that he wanted the public to know. he's a master at manipulating audiences. that's what he does for a living. so to think david letterman gave the entire story and there's nothing more to be said is simply wrong. >> letterman did give his audience some humor last night. you're going to hear the jokes he cracked about himself in the next half hour and you'll hear their reactions.

will president obama send troops in harm's way in afghanistan? he meets with congressional leader to talk about what's become a major debate. they want as much as 40,000 more troops. they say the taliban is gaining strength but others say the u.s. can fight the war with more aircraft and special forces teams. >> you have to start where you are, not where you wish you were. and the reality is that because of our inability and the inability, frankly, of our allies to put enough troops into afghanistan, the taliban do have the momentum right now, it seems. >> several hundred people protested the war yesterday outside the white house. it was a peaceful demonstration, but park police said 61 people were arrested when they refused to move back from the sidewalk. they were given tickets and released. we're given details on why a newborn who was kidnapped in

tennessee was placed in foster care soon after reuniting with his mom. local media cite court documents that say a family member tried to sell the baby. it's unclear whether that's related to the kidnapping case and the stabbing of the baby's mom. a hearing is scheduled for this afternoon. the mom tells cnbc that the parents of the baby deny any wrong doing. a 70-acre fire is now 30% contained. a spokeswoman for the fire service says it's not expected to spread unless strong winds develop. most of the people living in the area have evacuated. officials don't know what caused the fire. okay, who has got the joyful morning rush of rain? five minutes after the hour. meteorologist bob van dillen. good morning. >> good morning, robin.

it's not only rain, big time thunderstorms developing. the cold front itself is still back across basically kansas and oklahoma, but right ahead of that, it's a low-level jet stream coming out of the south and bringing humidity with it. you can see thunderstorms developing right now. that rain goes up towards the north and turnds at minneapolis at the hour, too. you have that severe thunderstorm watch. this whole area shaded in yellow. it's south of oklahoma city, north of dallas in the ft. worth area, but a mean line of thunderstorms has developed in the pre-dawn areas right before the sun komsz up. we're going to see this stuff last for the next couple hours. that watch actually goes to about noon central time, but watch these showers racing in through missouri, in through st. louis. it is whipping over toward the east at about 50 miles per hour, and within the next half hour, watch that squall line go over the top of you. it's not severe, but there's heavy rain out there, no doubt about that. the rain turns into snow to the

north and the west. we'll talk about that in just a little bit. >> thank you. is it your birthday today? you celebrate it with elizabeth shue. she's 46 now. and you share your birthday with bobby. >> elizabeth shue is a jersey girl. >> is she? she's lovely. >> she's very lovely. she's a little older than me, but whatever. >> you're ageless. are you ready to get some great deals this holiday season? the retailers apparently are expected to pull out all the stops to get you in the store. i think that's good news in a bad economy, don't you?

it is time right now to salute the troops. today's salute is to army specialist phil mumkin who has already deployed to afghanistan.

his fiancee is heart broke enmissiebroken missing him. >> we got married before he left, and i'm so proud of him serving the country he loves. >> if you have somebody in the service, it would be our honor to help you salute him. you might be waking up this morning wondering, do i get the h1n1 vaccine or do i not? the cbc set to inoculate millions of americans. the vaccine is becoming more available. >> right. remind us who gets it first because it's not everybody. >> health care workers number one, you got pregnant women also need to take a look at this. people ages six months to 21 years old, and also people with health risks.

it may also depend on where you live. this shows you on cnn.com how h1n1 has spread so far in the united states. in the south you see those darker colors, robin. that means it's spread to a greater degree. as the colors get whiter and lighter as you go north, it's spread less. we'll tell you later why, if you're in that group, there might still be some concern. >> you know what's interesting on that map you showed us? >> right. >> there's only like two states in white. >> ilt's everywhere. >> the pregnant women worry about should they get the vaccine, what's good for the baby? >> their immune system may be compromised even a little bit and that will make it more difficult to fight off common illnesses like the flu. h1n1 vaccines given to pregnant women also give immunity for a

few months to a newborn because it reaches the fetus. they have vaccinated dozens of pregnant women during the study, and so far no reports of serious side effects from that. >> great, thank you. get ready for big time discounts at the mall when the holiday season rolls around. jennifer westhoven has the story. they're trying to get us in there. >> in a way, this is a really good time to try to be a consumer, it's just a lot of people doane want to be spending right now. but one analyst says even this early, even at halloween, he's seeing 5% discounts. that's good for families trying to make ends meet, trying to figure out, how am i going to afford christmas this year. so the forecast just starting to shape up, and it looks like the shopping is going to be flat like last year, and this is a huge part of the economy. holiday spending is a big deal. but last year was the worst

record in malls and department stores. some say the focus this year is going to be on the practical. that means impractical, you may see big time savings on them, like jewelry and sports vacations. i'm going to guess that black friday, the day after thanksgiving, there will be a whole lot of sales that day. we'll keep up on that. here's an interesting story if you're a frequent flyer or if you fly with your family, with small children. instead of getting hit with the bag feces every time you fly, most of the airlines do it, at united you could pay about $250 once, an annual flat fee, you could pay that to united and then you could check two bags every time you fly. it also covers up to eight people traveling with you. now, i think that most people it wouldn't affect, but if you fly a lot with strollers or car seats, it could, or if you fly in a big group with a lot of gear. i'm thinking golf trip, ski trip might add up over time. maybe if you're flying this

morning, you're wondering, hey, what's happening out there, am i going to get stuck waiting? bob, you're saying in atlanta there is a little bit of a wait. >> you're right. we had the low clouds here in atlanta and it's really slowing us down. it's only 22 minutes away right now but that's obviously going to grow. look at the tower cam. this is the way it looks. it's going to be like this basically the next couple hours. i think it will end in thunderstorms later this afternoon, but we do have a line of thunderstorms heading to st. louis. you can see it in o'hare and chicago. watch for the rain delays there. an hour or more. charlotte, atlanta, cleveland, storms later today. detroit and cincinnati. those in detroit and cincy will be late this afternoon. memphis and dallas, it will be morning fog just about a half hour from now. brett favre going up against

the green bay packers. it was strange to see but turned out to be a night to be remembered. also, a hot air balloon came down fast, and that was the safest part of this trip.

you know, we have incredible surveillance video of a suicide bombing at the u.n. food agencies compound in pakistan. watch the red circle. it shows a suspended suicide bomber walking in. he got in asking the guards to use the restroom. then you can see the blast. five u.n. workers were killed yesterday. the taliban claims responsibility and threatens more attacks. a man who fell out of a hot air balloon is in serious condition this morning. this is the video. it happened in albuquerque, new mexico. down he goes. the balloon's gondola hit a tent and the man fell down and smacked the ground. the 70-year-old has a dislocated hip now. >> we saw the man cartwheel out at about 30, 35 feet. he didn't hit the tent. what he did was he landed, it looks like, right on the asphalt. >> the balloon rose quickly then with a passenger in the basket,

there was a lighter weight, then the pilot brought it down fast to check on the passenger, and she was a little banged up from that hard landing. it's frightening, all those people around, too. brett favre was playing against his old team, and gosh, it's like he never looked better. larry has a little bit more, too, and watch for the piece of tape on how he responded to his former team after. it was a human moment. >> yeah, that was really great. it lets you know, too, things are said, but they're friends, they know each other, there is a lot of respect when brett favre so that field. he turns 40 years old on saturday, and he admitted after the game he was about as nervous as he's ever been in his career entering a game, and keep in mind, he's played in two super bowls. his new team the vikings versus the team he played 16 years for. he's known as a green bay packer but he just abused the packers last night. three touchdown passes. what a night for brett favre and what a season he's off to. minnesota 4-0.

getting pumped up, he becomes the first quarterback ever to beat every single nfl team in his career. as robin mentioned, the shot of him hugging his former teammates in mid-field. favre beats the packers. a bit of a feud brewing between two of the biggest sports stars. the cavaliers is calling browns pioneer edwards childish after edwards punched a friend of lebron's. this is the latest in a long list of off-field issues. the girl who caught a milestone home run ball three months ago finally owns the ball. jennifer rodriguez said she felt pressure to give up ryan edwards' 200th home run ball. he family contacted an attorney who threatened to file a lawsuit, and that's when the

ball was returned by the team. the attorney estimates it's worth 10 to $15,000. glad she's got it back. >> our producers made a good point. why wouldn't the team just give her the money so they could have the ball? >> well, because the money, you don't know if that's really what it's worth, but if she would auction it, a memorabilia collector might pay that amount of money. the joe behar show airs every night at 9:00 p.m. eastern every night here on hln. here's a big taste. it's her nothing for nothing commentary. >> you know, i have to be honest here. i never thought of david letterman as a sexual being. he was always kind of a witty mr. rogers to me. so when he married his long-time girlfriend, it seemed sweet, really. not only had they been dating for 23 years, but the kid was almost in high school by the time he married her. so you can imagine my surprise

to find out that dave turns out to be hugh hefner without the pajamas. now, i wasn't born yesterday, and i know that powerful men like to screw around. clinton had lewinsky, jfk had maryland, thomas jefferson had sex with a slave. listen to this. there's even talk that the great abe lincoln may have found sexual freedom outside of marriage in the arms of -- a man. to which i say, so long ago, who cares and good for her. i don't think this letterman think would be such a thing if the women involved weren't dave's employees but rather his peers, like oprah, though i don't see that happening, truthful truthfully. or ellen. i don't see that happening at all. women shouldn't have to sleep with the boss to get ahead in the company. they should have the right to advance their careers like everyone else in showbiz by

stabbing people in the back. so i say if you're going to canoodle with someone in the office, don't do it with a subordinate, do it with an equal. okay? by the way, is regis philbin still around? i saw him in the green room, he's looking really hot. but that's just me.

the 19-year-old man accused of plotting to blow up a dallas building made a video message for al qaeda leader osama bin laden? that's what an fbi agent testified yesterday in court. he says undercover operatives helped him record the video. he is being held without bail. they're talking about whether to send more troops to afghanistan. top generals say more troops are needed because the taliban is getting stronger, but others say the war can be fought with unmanned drones and special forces. the supreme court considers

today whether to make videos of dog fights illegal. now, the white house wants them banned, but critics say the videos are protected under free speech. the last time the high court made such a ruling, it was about child pornography in 1982. i would give anything to be hiking on the appalachian trail. i got into the car this morning and the navigation lady wasn't speaking to me. >> david letterman uses his own scandal as material for his monologue last night, but he also apologized on air to his wife and coworkers. he thanked them to be supportive and said that he would try to repair his relationship with his wife. those are the headlines. good morning. there goes the alarm clock. i'm robin meade. thanks for joining us. h1n1 flu vaccinations are under way right now, and many moms and dads may be wondering, do i get the kids vaccinated against the h1n1 virus?

what do the parents need to know about the pros and cons here? >> the cdc, robin, are saying that kids may be more likely to have serious complications if they get swine flu. last week the cdc also saying it had received reports of 60 deaths of children related to the h1n1 flu since april. 11 of those deaths were reported last week. the first bout of vaccine trials in women showed reviews that so far, robin, the h1n1 vaccine reacts in children just like those vaccines for seasonal flu, so good news. >> many of you may not be at high risk for the h1n1, so it's not like they can just go up and get in line and get it. now, they also might be wondering should i even be board to get vaccinated if i'm not high risk. >> right, we're talking about healthy people 28 to 49. the cdc says they may face the lowest possibility of getting

swine flu than young people. but the same group may face a higher death rate if they get the h1n1 virus. the cdc studied hospital records of about 260 patients hospitalized with novel h1n1 flu early on during the outbreak, and see here, 41% of the cases of the deaths there were that same group, 45 to 69. a lab tech accused of killing a yale grad student will be in court today. he has not entered a plea yet. he worked in the same building as the victim. she was found strangled to death behind a wall in a lab last month. the motive is not known, but police are treating it as workplace violence. you can't blame some iowa convenience work ersz to be jumpy. they had been robbed twice in the last month. so when a guy came in with his hands in his pockets and started

rambling, the clerk just kind of threw money in a bag and threw it at him. he walked out without the cash. well, he wasn't a robber, he was just drunk. >> all i wanted was a bottle of booze and now i got a whole bag of cash. you don't know me. good morning to you. >> good morning, bob. >> moving right through the plains states into the gulf coast. look at that line of thunderstorms that developed in the pre-dawn hours and it's still which you cchuging along . south of oklahoma city, north of ft. worth and dallas. rain itself is heavy at times stretching into lower wisconsin, stretching into minnesota and past minnesota in north dakota and south dakota parts there, too. cold air is definitely behind it, and cold air in the mid-level parts of the atmosphere, watch these thunderstorms attached to them

and we could see some hail makers out there from now till noon. heavy rain going through missouri. remember about three hours ago, it wasn't even on the screen. now it's blazing past st. louis. thunderstorm delays out there for the morning. at least at the airport today, and then more showers develop this afternoon around that front again. chicago, look at the rain all around you. that's all moving in here in the next hour, so watch for racin t affect you, especially in that morning commute. severe thurtsz, we're going to have them today as well, then up to the north, it's all snow. you can see there all the white. we had some advisories out there in bismarck. watch for it to finally taper off early this morning. earlier we had a lot of snow in wyoming and montana as well. look at the video coming in from northern wyoming. a foot, foot and a half in that neck of the woods and they had about 20 inches north of there

in southern montana. you talk about a heavy type of storm. temperatures right around freezing so you have a lot of water in that snow. definitely heavy and tough to shovel. there it is. more on that, robin, in a half hour. >> the produce errs say, i love snow, especially on tv. you've got to give credit to former congressman tom delay. look at this. i have to say, dancing the samba is hard enough, but he was injured there. is it just me or does he do hip rolls a little better? check out his groove thang. >> the red pants really showing, too, huh? >> it's the point tg makes me a

little uncomfortable. anyway, he had stress fractures on both feet and he performed against the advice of doctors. he still danced a good score, 15 out of 30. he's still on the show, so there. >> looking good. looking good. so is he. >> yeah, she is beautiful. look atd that figure. there's a lot of pointing in his routine. there's me and there's you. did you see that? >> oh, yeah. a 14-year-old stole his mom's credit card number to book a cross-country flight. how he managed to get through security at the airport with a ticket that had her name on it.

a vaccine could help people

fight their cocaine addiction. the shot causes the immune system to produce anti bodies that keep the drug from reaching the brain. 30 people who got the shot and not a placebo built a reduction to the drug's high. a 14-year-old boy made it through airport security using a ticket with his mom's name on it. his mom said he used her credit card to book an airport shuttle and a one-way flight to chicago. when security questioned him, he said, hey, my name is virginia, and they said okay. other passengers at the portland airport were surprised. >> i think they need to see more security. >> i think there should be some type of i.d. required for that, because if you don't have that proof, how can they prove it to you. >> people under the age of 18, dunn you don't need an i.d. to board a plane, so the agents

followed procedure. police tracked the boy to chicago using the gps on his cell phone. i think somebody is grounded. check your credit card statement. has your minimum payment suddenly shot up recently? our money expert jennifer westhoven is looking out for you. credit card companies are playing dirty. >> yeah, and i think they just want people to be aware of what they can get away with right now, and it stinks. it absolutely stinks, but they can do that until february when the rules change. it does seem like on some level they're just getting in their last licks. so chuck told cnn's jessica yellin that even though they never missed a payment, they jacked up their payment from 370 a month to more than 911 dollar

a month. >> we've laid off 30% of our work force, i just took a 10% pay cut this morning and this is what you're going to do to us? >> how do you suddenly come up with hundreds of dollars more every month, and it's happening to many people. j.p. morgan confirmed this is one bank that it doubled minimum payments for a million card holders. that's a lot of people who suddenly have to scramble for more money. the bank says they want to make sure they get their money paid back, quote, in a reasonable period of time. if you've been saving into a 401(k), you know the beating your money took last year when stocks plunged. now new money puts it in dollar terms. most of us have recouped our money since then because stocks have come back, so if you saved in this type of account, some of it has come back. but look at that. last year you would have lost on average $20,000 of your

hard-earned savings. the average balance, about $45,000 at the end of last year. the stock market has recuperated a lot, so that's something that helps, and if you are betting the stock market is going to be keep rising, keep in mind, sell high, buy low. buy low is good. that's what you're doing right now. >> good advice. thank you. the joy behar show airs every night now. last night she was chatting up regis philbin about "who wants to be a millionaire." >> do you think you actually saved the network? >> i absolutely do. the year the show came on, abc was desperate, more desperate than they are today, and that's saying a lot. so anyway, yes, i went on there, and bang, the show was an enormous hit. >> kathy said -- or was it kelly? >> kathy lee and then kathy -- i mean, kelly. >> so now you like kelly the best? >> do i like kelly the best?

>> yeah. >> i love them all. they're all my girls, you know? >> catch the joe behar show at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on hln. you might be able to turn the thermostat up a couple deeg degrees this winter and not have to take out a loan to pay for it.

there's going to be a somber ceremony today for at least four u.s. troops killed in afghanistan. the military says their coffins will arrive at dover air force base and their bodies will be handed over to their families. the military is still investigating what happened. a girl's parents will be sentenced today for praying instead of calling for help while she died from undiagnosed diabetes. prosecutors say the 11-year-old girl couldn't walk, talk, eat or drink, and she died while people surrounded her, praying. someone did finally call 911, but she had already stopped breathing. her parents plan to appeal their conviction.

the man accused of shooting a popular high school football coach in iowa this summer will stand trial. larry smith is in for rafer and he has the update on that case for us. >> good morning to you. this sent shock waves around the state of iowa. this guy was really a popular figure, also in the sports world in general. ed thomas was a high school coaching legend, named high school coach of the year back in 2005. he was allegedly gunned down in the school's weight room by 24-year-old mark becker, a former player who a judge has ruled is mentally competent to stand trial. becker has sufficient ability to recall pertinent events, including the events of june 24, the day of the shooting. perhaps the biggest game of brett favre's career. all that pink part of breast cancer awareness month, and his wife deanna a breast cancer survivor. brett favre leading the vikings to a 4-0 start this season, and beating the packers, now the only quarterback ever to beat

every other team in the nfl. three touchdown passes. his former teammate later hugged him. the former mvp player admitted to having butterflies. >> i was about as nervous as i've ever been going into a game. i didn't feel like i would be. as the week progressed, i felt fine, but when i got to the hotel yesterday, it kind of dawned on me. >> yeah, early 40th birthday present come saturday. canines out numbered players on saturday. the doggies were dressed accordingly. they found out the team they wanted and then dressed them. >> cutis. it may cost you a lot less

to stay warmth winter, especially if you heat with natural gas. prices have dropped because of the recession. the government releases its forecast today and a sharp price drop is also expected for propane. say you use electric heat. you could see a slight decrease as well. four people went fishing off the coast of miami, and they came back with a 750-pound shark. they spotted it circling a dead swordfish. they used the fish as bait, and after they hooked the shark, they say it took three hours to haul it onto the boat. but now they have enough shark steaks to last a long time. great piece of video that's circulating. a kid doing incredible stuff on the accordion. look how fast, like a h hummingbird playing it here.

what do you want to do? i want to rock! we dug it up for you on break.com. i like it because he does it >> craw. he's into it. it reminds me of the far side. the one panel said, welcome to heaven. here's your harp. one said, welcome to haidys. here's your accordion. atlanta, a 22-minute delay. you can see the low hanging clouds in downtown atlanta. it looks just like that down by the airport. 22 minutes is surprisingly short compared to what we see on the picture. watch for it to grow. in about ten minutes you'll see a delay in minneapolis for construction. that will be a two-hour delay, lasts from 11:00 your time this

morning. you can see the rest of the them out there, too. more in a half hour. cameras will be watching engineers on metro link trains in l.a. officials decided to install the cameras after a deadly crash over a year ago. the engineer was texting, remember, while driving the train? >> if you knew that you you had a second pair of eyes watching, would you be texting while driving a train with all of those people on it? the answer i think is no. >> the union representing the engineers tells "the l.a. times" that the cameras are an invasion of privacy and it will take legal action to remove them. we have new details on a mom who police say was stabbed and her baby kidnapped. remember after their reunion the state took the baby away? now we know why.

okay. time for you to rise and shine, even though the bed feels so good right now. morning, sunshine. i'm robin meade. how are you? you know, the first h1n1 flu vaccines have hit the market. we have the answers about whether you should be among those who get one. david letterman is saying sorry about the sexual relationships that he had with staffers. you're going to hear what he had to say about his wife on air or to her. plus, scientists say that they can disprove the story about the ancient shroud of turin. why they say there's no way jesus ever touched that shroud.

an interesting one. first, our top story. a new chapter in the fight against the h1n1 has started now. yesterday some health care workers in three states got their first doses of the swine flu vaccine. right now just the nasal mist version is out. officials want high-risk groups to start lining up soon. 28 pregnant women and 60 children have died from the swine flu since the h1n1 was discovered in the spring. now, you should be able to get the vaccine in the next couple of weeks. dr. memette oz tells our sister network cnn that there are risks to taking it but it's the best thing for you and your community. >> we probably have to get about 45% to 50% of the population inoculated to have any meaningful slowdown of the rate of virus transmission. remember part of the reason you want people to get the vaccine is not just for you but you it could slow down permission to others. >> in about 1315 minutes, drdr.

dr. sanjay gupta will join us to answer your questions about the virus and vaccine and hoping to dispel some of the myths. new this morning, a public apology from david letterman, originally the late-night host said he only wanted to talk about his sexual relationships with staffers one time. but last night he apologized on air to his co-workers and to his wife. letterman's production company says that the affairses happened before he married regina lasko in march, but they had been a couple since 1986. >> the other thing is, my wife regina, she has been horribly hurt by my behavior. and when something happens like that, if you hurt a person, then it's your responsibility, you try to fix it. at that point there's only two things that can happen. either you're going to make progressed and get it fixed or you'll fall short and perhaps not get it fixed. let me tell you, folks, i've got my work cut out for me.

>> cbs producer joe halderman is accused of blackmailing letterman about his affairs with female staffers. he pleaded not guilty friday, but cbs suspended him from his job. haulderman's lawyer tells "today" we haven't heard the whole story yet. >> david letterman didn't give his side of the story. david letterman gave what he wanted the public to know. he wanted to get out shaed ahead of the story, exactly what he did. he's a master at manipulated audiences. that's what he does for a living. to believe he gave the entire story and there's nothing nothing more to be said is simply wrong. >> letterman did give his audience self-deprecating humor, though. he cracked jokes about himself. in the next half hour,ing we'll show you that. will president obama send more troops in harm's way in afghanistan? he meets with congressional leaders today to talk about that. top military leaders want as many as 40,000 more troops, but others say the u.s. can fight the war with more unmanned drones and special forces teals.

administration officials say the main thing is the united states will not back away. >> there should be no uncertainty in terms of our determination to remain in afghanistan and to continue to build relation psha relationshi partnership and trust with the pakistanis. that's long term. >> i think what we're going through in asking ourselves, okay, we know what the goal is, is what we're doing most likely to achieve that goal, is what a very decisive and intelligent commander in chief would do. so we're going to come up with what we think is the best approach, but the goal remains the same. >> several hundred people protested the war yesterday outside the white house. it was a peaceful none straigs, but park police said that 61 people were arrested when they refused to move back from the sidewalk. they were given tickets and

released. we're getting new details on why a newborn who police say was kidnapped in tennessee was placed in foster care soon after reuniting with its mom. local media cite court documents and sources as saying the department of children services believes that a family member tried to sell the baby. it is unclear if that is related to the kidnapping case and a stabbing of the baby's mother. a custody hearing is xscheduled for this afternoon. the mom's cousin tells the tennesseen the babies parents are denying wrongdoing. we're learning that general david petraeus was treated for cancer. it says he was diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer in february. the radiation treatment is considered successful. his office says that it didn't affect his work schedule very much, that he kept it private, but the key administration officials knew about it. it is not a very pleasant

morning rush for those of you watching from st. louis. here's bob to show you the mab map of why it's so noisy. >> good morning. in st. louis it's all the way down to just south of oklahoma city, too. look at this map right now, a three-hour loop. look how far the thunderstorms have moved in just three hours. basically across the entire state of missouri, now stretching into lower illinois, getting into indiana, too. the jet stream, upper level belt of air is going basically from west to east without any dips in this area. it's pushing everything quickly to the east, but down to the south it's hanging up a little farther. severe weather breaking out in the oklahoma area, will move into arkansas later today. more in a second. look at the heavy rain shield into chicago, central wisconsin. then wraps around into minnesota, minneapolis heavy rain turns into snow. central north dakota, that's what you're tealing with. thunderstorm watch box, lightnings. no warnings, good news.

waich for winds, heavy rain and lightning and small hail. rain showers moving all the way through missouri towards st. louis metro. here's the st. louis radar. you had it breeze right on by 15 minutes ago. rain still out there, but the thunderstorm is passing mississippi moving to the east. up to the north a little farther, northern illinois, light rain getting into chicago, heavier in wisconsin. you pull the picture out a little farther, we are going to see the severe weather refire this afternoon in the vicinity of this cold front as it braces past dallas toward houston, memphis, maybe nashville tonight. rain will make it to the mid-atlantic. live to washington, d.c. here's the capitol. a decent day, 72 degrees. rain won't affect you until after midnight tonight. clouds will increase especially this afternoon as that cold front barrels to the east. a quick mover. talk about that in a little bit. where is the severe weather going? eastward. more in about a half hour. >> thank you. look at this incredible video. it does not look like a good way to land.

i'll show you. but this balloon's pilot says that's exactly how she meant to do it. ooh. smoo .

let's salute our troops. today's salute is to phil lumpkin already deployed to afghan tan stan. this is from his fiancee. >> i want to salute my fiance. we got engaged less than 24 hours before he deployed to afghanistan. i want to tell him i love him and miss him more than words can say. he's been so upbeat and positive about his deployment even when tais are rough. i'm so proud of him for serving the country he loves. >> if you have somebody in the service and you want to salute them, we're honored to help you. cnn.com/robin. a secret video has been revealed in the trial of two men accused of trying to exhort john

travolta after his son died. travolta's lawyer testified the video showed his meeting with one of defendants. the two men are accused of demanding $25 million from travolta. both have pleaded not guilty. get ready for some big discounts at the mall this holiday season. when it comes around. our money expert jennifer westhoven has a little bit more on that. the stores first of all have got you in the store because some of us are used to not shopping, period. >> yeah. i know it's really early and some people may think, come on, i don't necessarily want to think about this this early, but i want to make sure you get some of the best deals. even this early one analyst says he sees 5% more discounts than last year. that is good news in a bad economy. a lot of analysts say that that pour 10s there will be a lot of sales. christmas shopping is expected to be about flat with last year, one of the worst holiday shopping seasons on record at the malls and department stores. so some analysts say there are

going to be a lot of sauls sales, especially with the focus on practical things. impractical things you could see big sales on, jewelry, sports equipment and vacations. now, if you love food and some of the food magazines, i had friends crying on facebook, gourmet magazine is closing. gourmet had nearly a million subscribers but was losing too much money because of the falloff in ads. the "new york times" said "gourmet" was to food what "vogue" was to fashion. it was almost biblical in the food industry. they had these lavish pages, photography with cooking and travel. they had been doing it since 1941. a big loss in terms of a magazine for many people. they'll cut four magazines in all and put their efforts on "bone te appetit." >> little more tangible. >> some say this is a sign of

the shift that spending power is not those big luxury companies anymore. it's not with the rich. it's with the middle class. >> shutting down "modern bride." i've seen that on the table when i go get my hair done. not that -- it's natural chestnut brown. >> i think the brides like those magazines but weren't making enough to cover the cost. >> there interesting. they won't do an online version of these things? >> they may try to keep the brand alive online but nothing like it was. >> thank you. "the joy behar show" airs every night at 9:00 on hln. here is a quick taste. this is her "not for nothing" commentary. >> you know, i have to be honest here. i never thought of david letterman as a sexual being. he was always kind of a witty mr. rogers to me. so when he married his longtime girlfriend, it seemed sweet really. not only had they been dating

for 23 years, but the kid was almost in high school by the time he married her. so you can imagine my surprise to find out that dave turns out to be hugh hefner without the pajamas. now, i wasn't born yesterday and i know that powerful men like to screw around. clinton had lewinsky. jfk had marilyn. thomas jefferson had sex with a slave. there's even talk -- listen to this -- that the great emancipator abe lincoln may have found sexual freedom outside of marriage in the arms of a man, to which i say it's so long ago, who cares, good for her. i don't think this would be such a thing if the women involved weren't dave's employees but rather his peers like oprah. though i don't see that happening, truth fully. or ellen. i don't see that happening at all. women shouldn't have to sleep with the boss to get ahead in the company. they should have the right to

advance their careers like everyone else in showbiz, by stabbing other people in the back. so i say if you're going to ka noodle with somebody in the office, don't do it with a subordinate. do it with an equal. okay? by the way, is regis philbin still around? i saw him in the greenroom. he's looking really hot. but that's just me. >> you can catch joy behar at 9 picture eastern. no duty doubt you still have questions about h1n1 and the swine flu vaccine. dr. sanjay gupta will join us to talk about the myths, a misconceptions. yes, it is a nasal mist if you're wondering what they're doing.

the campaign to vaccinate you against h1n1 is just beginning. doctors and patients have some mythses and misconceptions to deal with here. we have, though, chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta

to clear things up. not to worry! we have some comments from twitter that viewerses have tweeted in. >> sure. >> i want to start with those. this person says, urgh! the guy across from me is coughing like he has h1n1. i'm expecting him to grow a snout at any moment. can you get the virus from your co-worker coughing? >> that is exactly how the virus is transmitted. people cost cough, sneeze, the viergs gets out into the air. couple of things. there is a safety zone, if you will, three to six feet. if you're staying that far away from you, if the person who tweeted is three to six feet away from the guy with a snout, you're okay. a lot of times viruses can live on surfaces, a dor knob or atm machine. >> for how long? >> for this virus tshgs doesn't seem to last that long. still watch your hands, but the more important thing is stay away from people who are coughing or sneezing on you and

encourage them to take time off. stay home from work. >> how are you? you survived the swine flu. you had this in afghanistan. >> yeah. i actually feel 100%. i was pretty sick for a couple of days, just sort of knocks you down. then i stayed a few days home, which you'll be happy to know i didn't komt come in to work to everybody sick. >> glad you're better. this is from maryland. cat writes, is it possible to get swine flu or regular flu twice in the same season? >> i thought about this personally and professionally. i got a tough vaccination by actually getting the disease. more for the most part, i want get h1n1 again. but the caveat is the virus can mutate. >> every season it changes a little bit. >> it does. and it can change between the time the vaccine is created and the time the fall season really hits. so that's something they're always a little worried about. there's always swine flu parties, i don't know if you've heard about them. somebody with swine flu goes and

gets everybody else infected so they think they don't get it again. >> no! that is absurd. >> bad idea. >> you're kidding me people are actually doing that. >> no. if somebody at high risk, a pregnant person or child gets it, it can be much more of a problem. >> that sounds crazy. this one, can everybody get the mist? oh, this person says, i'm voting yes on the vaccine. they have a mist you can inhale if you don't like the shots. that's the only video we have, of the mist. >> that's really all that's out there so far. the difrference is the mist hasa 10 waited virus. the flu shot has a dead virus. you cannot get the flu from the shot, but you could potentially get it from the mist. people who are sick, have asthma, diabetes, young children under the age of 2 should not get the mist. it's not a good thing for them. it could make them worse off. >> dr. sanjay gupta, who better to get your medical news from than a guy who had it.

>> thanks, robin. >> thank you. well, it was brett favre's night last night. the minnesota vikings, his new team, taking on his old team, the green bay packers. look at favre, three touchdown passes, this is a game he wanted in the worst way because the packers released him, let him go, issue instead of keeping him when he decided to unretire couple of years ago. one year with the jets, now with the vikings, 4-0. at the end of of the game, lots of love from his former teammates. they beat the packers. a bit of a feud brewing between two of cleveland's biggest sports star. lebron james of the cavaliers is calling brown's wide receiver edwards childish after edwards allegedly punched a friend of lebr lebron's at a nightclub. edwards hasn't commented. he faces possible punishment from the nfl. a girl who caught a milestone home run ball three months ago finally owns that ball. she said she was pressured to

give up ryan howard's 200th home run ball, making him the youngest ever to reach that milestone. her family contacted an attorney, who threatened a lawsuit, that's when the team returns the ball. it's worth $10,000 to 15,000s to a memorabilia collector. that's a look at sports.

whether to send more troops to after began stan. top generals say that more troops are needed because the taliban is getting stronger. others say the war can be fought with unmanned drones and special forces. firefighters are gaining ground against a wildfire outside l.a. thanks to cooler weather. the more than 7800-acre fire is 38% contained and a spokeswoman for the u.s. forrest service says it's not expected to spread unless strong winds develop. three scientists share this year's noble prize in physics. they're being honored for their breakthroughs involving the

transmission of light and fiberoptics. all three have american 8 zenship, one also a british citizen and one is canadian. they'll share the $1.4 million prize. good morning. tuesday. i know it's only tuesday! morning, sunshine. i'm robin meade. thanks for having us in. the 19-year-old man accused of plotting the blowup a dallas building made a video message for. >> bill: undercover operatives helped him recorded video. smadi is held without bail, faces life in prison if convicted. david letterman apol xriezed to his wife on air last night for having sexual relationships with staffers in the past. it was the first taping since the scandal broke, and he couldn't resist cracking a few jokes about himself in the monolog. >> it's fall here in new york city, and i spent the whole weekend raking my hate mail.

it's cold, too. i mean, chilly outside my house, chilly inside my house. i got into the car this morning and the navigation lady wasn't speaking to me. >> letterman also thanked his co-workers for being support irive. h run n 1 flu vaccinations are under way. many mothers and fathers may be wondering, do i get the children vaccinated? richard lui joins us. the children would be the first, wouldn't they, after the front line people? >> that's right. the cdc saying kids like other high priority groups may be lore more likely to have serious complications if they do get the swine flu. last week the cdc said it had received reports of some 60 deaths of children related to the h1n1 flu since april. 11 of those deaths were reported last week, the first data from

h1n1 vaccine trials in children revealed positive news last month. it showed so far the h1n1 vaccine reacts in children just like those vaccines robin for seasonal flu. >> you know, richard, one group that is not at high risk are people who are young or middle aged, but there are still concerns here. i seem to remember that that was the group that seemed to be hardest hit. >> well, robin, actually those who are 25 to 49 have the highest rate of death for h1n1, 4 in 10 swine flu deaths are from that group according to the cdc. this is where the irony is. the same study shows that 25 to 49 age group is also the least likely to even be hospitalized with the virus. you see at the center there. the cdc stud countried hospital records of about 260 patients hospitalized with h1n1 flu early on during the outbreak. >> richard, thank you for update. a lab technician accused of killing a yale university grad

student will be in court today. raymond clark iii has not entered a plea yet. he worked in the same building as the victim annie le. investigators say she was found strangled to death behind a wall in the lab last month. the motive is not known, but police are treating it as workplace violence. 34 minutes past the hour. okay, so we're well into october, but for a lot of us it still feels like a wet spring. here's meteorologist bob van dillen. >> morning. it's funny you say that because springtime it's severe weather, really the main severe weather season. but fall also has a severe weather season and we're getting a taste of that right now as colder air drops down out of the plains. there's a sharp cold front moving toward the mid-mississippi valley. look at the rain in oklahoma, arkansas, really develops across northern texas. but the rain and clouds all go through the great lakes and ultimately into the northeast. let me take you live to new york city. here's what it looks like, traveling in or out of the big city area, including newark, i

think you'll be just fine. clouds increase later this afternoon, some producing heavy downpours overnight tonight. watch for thunderstorms tonight nyc, dropping the temperature by tomorrow. look at the maps, where is the strong weather? rice right around oklahoma, south of oklahoma city, north of dallas and the ft. worth metro. the ryan shield itself is rocketing in towards indiana, getting in towards michigan, stretching into north dakota where it's turning back into snow. that snow is heavy at times this morning, faitds apart later today. an inch or two more the morning. oklahoma city, line of showers to the south. severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until noon. no warnings until now. heavy rain, small hail, gusty winds out of that as well. rain just blasting through missouri now, right past st. louis. rain showers still over the city, but the severe weather, the strongest stuff stuff, is over to the east. no warnings right now, good news. there were a couple earlier this morning. they're falling apart. chicago metro, look at the rain overhead on the white side. the winds pick up later today

and severe thunderstorms are possible in spots that i've put in red. more in just about a half hour. >> looks busy for the day for sure. you've got to give credit to former house majority leader tom delay. did you see him count? i saw him count. it's the pointing that makes me a little weirded out. dancing te ing samba is hard en but he's injured. he has stress fractures in his feet and performed against the advice of his doctors. but here comes another point. i know it. he's going to point at him sx. it's coming up. he danced away with a score of 15 out of 30. >> is that good for that show? >> no. halfway there. but he's injured, and it really doesn't matter i don't think what people -- what the judges say, right? it's all about people voting for him. >> nobody's looking at him, right? >> she's lovely. >> he's looking good, looking smith. >> look.

he's getting loose with the hips there. see? pointing at me. it's me. it's you. >> i hope i'm that spry when i'm that old. >> he's only 36. just joking. gwen might look like she is a doll. she. but the $95 toy is supposed to be homeless, and it is the source of a little controversy.

a suicide bombing at the u.n. food agency's compound in pakistan. see the red circle? keep your eye on that. it shows the suspected bomber walking in dressed as a security officer. he got inside by asking the guards to use the bathroom. then you see the blast.

five u.n. workers killed yesterday. the taliban claims responsibility and threatens more attacks. the newest addition to the american girm dollline is stirring up controversy. gwen's back-story is she's homeless. is a $95 doll the right way to teach your kids about poverty? last night mike galanos spoke about this. >> what proceeds may go to the homeless charity or something. the answer is nothing so far. the issue is, and there's this irony pointed out saying, hey, you have this $95 doll, obviously a homeless will person could not afford that for their child, but the issue from the company is saying, you know what? we're promoting the message of compassion and tolerance through the stories that come along with dolls like this, like gwen. her backstory is her parents following on hard times, a lot of kids could appreciate that

and empathize with that. >> get the latest on the story on "prime news" 5:00 p.m. eastern right here on hln. check your credit card statement. has your minimum payment shot up suddenly? our money expert jennifer westhoven is looking out for you. some say the credit card companies are not playing fair right now. good morning, jen. >> good morning. yeah, a lot of anger toward the credit card companies, and it seems to many people like with the moves they're making they're getting their last licks in before the new rules take effect in february. here's chuck and jean telling jessica yellin that even though they never missed a payment, chase jacked up their monthly payments from $370 to more than $900! >> i told them this was the worst economic times in history practically. i work for a small company. we've laid off 30% of our work force. i just took a 10% pay cut this morning. and this is what you're going to

do to us? >> it's the same story across the country. for a million card holders they say they want to get the money paid back in a reasonable period of time. so you read a product review you on the internet, but how do you know if it's impartial? basically, there are some new rules coming up, the government is going to put new rules on blogs saying, look, if you write a blog and you take a bunch of free stuff, you've got to say that you take a bunch of free stuff. ut can't just stay all that stuff and say, oh, this is the greatest thing ever. violations could bring fines of up to $11,000. robin, back to you. trying to put some trust into the blogosphere. >> thank you. "the joy behar show" is airing every night at 9:00 p.m. last night she was chatting with regis philbin about "who wants to be a millionaire". >> do you think that you actually saved the network like they say?

>> i absolutely did. abc was desperate, more desperate than they are today. that's saying a lot. so, anyway, yes, i went on there and, bang, the show was an enormous hit. >> kathie lee or -- >> it was kelly lee and then kelly. >> so now you like kelly the best? >> do i like kelly best? i love them all. they're all my fwirl girls, you? >> kind of donged that one. catch joy 9:00 p.m. a siberian tiger mauled a man at a zoo. they're saying the tiger did nothing wrong. why they're leaving the tiger there in its exhibit.

good job mixing in rockers like american ride with some songs that also show off his softer side. some scientists claim that the cloth that supposedly covered jesus after his death is manmade. the so-called shroud of turin is also believed to bear jesus' image but scientists in italy now say they were able to reproduce it using techniques from the 14th century. some earlier tests suggested the shroud was forged around that time. a siberia tiger attacked a man who apparently breek into a zoo in canada yesterday. officials say that after midnight the man and his friend climbed the zoo's barbed wire

fence abdomen a safety fence, then went up to the tiger's cage. that's when the tiger hooked his claws into the man and pulled him into the cage and mauled it. >> the tiger can't reach out of the enclosure. they would actually have to be right up against the fence and make contact with the fence for any sort of way of catching anything to touch it. >> the man is badly hurt. he is expected to survive. the zoo says the 2-year-old tiger acted normally to protect itself so it will stay in the exhibit. this afternoon, a girl's parents will be sentenced for praying instead of calling for help while she died from undiagnosed diabetes. prosecutors say that the 11-year-old girl could not walk, talk, eat, or drink, and she died while people surrounded her praying. someone did finally call 911, but she had already stopped breathing. her parents plan to appeal their conviction. cameras will be watching train engineers on l.a.'s metro link trains, unveiled yesterday.

officials decided to install the cameras after a deadly crash over a year ago. investigators determined that the engineer was texting while driving. >> if you knew that you you had a second pair of eyes watching, would you be texting while driving a train with all of those people on it? the answer i think is no. >> well, the union representing the engineers tells "the l.a. times" that the cameras are an invasion of privacy and that it will take legal action to remove them. how are you doing time-wise? it's 48 minutes past the hour. an iowa community still reeling from a summer tragedy hopes an upcoming trial will help them heal somehow. har larry smith is here with the story, an update to a story we've been following. >> we've been talking about since it happened back in june. ed thomas a local high school football coach was an icon in the state and area. the man accused of killing him has been determined fit to stand

trial. he was allegedly gunned down in the school's weight room back on june 24th by mark becker, a former high school player of his who a judge ruled is mentally competent to stand trial. the judge says becker has sufficient ability to recall events pertinent to his defense, including the events of the day of the shooting. purple and pink looking great together last night in minneapolis. the minnesota vikings wearing purple and with the pink part of the breast cancer awareness month. and the nfl taking part in that. brett favre's wife a breast cancer survivor, this night has special meaning for him, not to mention he played his formaler team the green bay packers. he played 16 seasons for them, threw three touchdown passes, vikings ub defeated. he admitted he had the butter apply flies for this one. >> i'm about as nervous as i've ever been before a game going into this one. i didn't think i would be, as the week progressed i felt fine.

but when i got to the hotel yesterday, it kind of dawned on me. >> looking good. 40 years old come saturday. at a local pooch spot, vikingss spot vikings dogs outnumbered packers k-9s 2-1. the dogs didn't pick out the clothes themselves. owners were asked who they root for and doggies were dressed accordingly. packers fans would say their team has gone to the dogs. their team is number one in the division. >> those were elaborate outfits. how would you get the poor doggies in those. >> i feel bad for the dogs. titanic. 100 years after the famed ocean liner sank. a travel agency is setting up a memorial cruise. one week later the ship will arrive at the spot where the titanic hit an iceberg.

prices for the trip start at $3,900. no thank you. >> i don't think so. if history dictates anything, that's not going to be a good trip. >> forget it. >> forget about it. there's icebergs up there, right? all right. anyway, if -- >> just my opinion. >> i'm just saying. we're going to see delays popping up. a 22 minute delay right now in atlanta. that's it. probably increases over the clouds coming in. i think the lengthiest ones we're going to find will be out of chicago. the tower cam out of atlanta. one hour or more delays is what we're going to find towards chicago. rain and then wind this afternoon. i think st. louis, you're going to get it, too. atlanta, half hour delay. we'll see that popping up to an hour later on. st. louis with the rain headed in, half hour delay. cleveland, late today, more like this evening, short delays because of the rain heading into your region. a mom reported her 14-year-old son was missing.

and she then found out he was on a cross country flight. you have to hear the high-tech way that police tracked him down.

all righty. good morning and welcome. it's 9:00 eastern straight up. morning, sunshine. i'm robin meade. let's get right to the headlines. the first h1n1 flu vaccines are on the market. and we have the answers about whether you should be among the first to get one. david letterman is apologizing for the sexual relationships he had with staffers. you're going to hear him, hear what he had to say to his wife. plus, this hot air balloon may look like it made a crash landing. it was actually on purpose. you're going to find out why the pilot was in such a hurry to get down. first or top story. the h1n1 flu vaccine is out.

you probably cannot get it just yet. yesterday some health care workers in three states received the first doses. right now it's just the nasal mist version that is out. that's what you're seeing them do here. officials want high-risk groups to start lining up soon. 28 pregnant woman and 60 children have died from the flu since h1n1 was discovered in the spring. you should be able to get the vaccine in the next couple of weeks. dr. oz tells our sister network, cnn, you may have concerns, and they're valid. but he strongly recommends you get the vaccine. >> with regard to risks, there is no question, campbell. it would be dishonest to say we know for sure the vaccine is going to be safe for everybody. if you give a vaccine to a couple hundred million people there are going to be problems. we won't know if the problems are going to be related to the vaccine. we think the problems are going to be exceedingly rare. >> a lot of you are comments about the story on our facebook page. wendy writes, i'm a flight attendant with an 11-month-old at home.

it's scary. i feel i need to get it to protect both of us. nancy says, i'm not getting the swine flu vaccine. shot or not. it sounds too experimental. stephanie says, i'm waiting. tell us what you think. go to cnn.com/robin. there's a little facebook link. click on it, it'll take you there. you're going to hear more about the h1n1 vaccinations and why pregnant women may face a higher risk of getting the virus. our correspondent richard lui will have that in about 15 minutes. will president obama send troops into harm's way, or more of them, in afghanistan? he meets with congressional leaders today to talk about what has become a major debate. top military leaders want as many as 40,000 more troops. they say the taliban is gaining strength. others say the u.s. can fight the war with unmanned drones and special forces teams. >> you have to start where you are. not where you wish you were. and the reality is that because

of our inability and the inability, frankly, of our allies to put enough troops into afghanistan, the taliban do have the momentum right now, it seems. >> several hundred people protested the war yesterday outside the white house. it was a peaceful demonstration. park police say that 61 people were arrested when they refused to move back from a sidewalk. they were given tickets and released. in just in. director roman polanski is going to have to stay in a swiss jail while authorities decide whether he can be extradited to the united states. polanski was trying to persuade a swiss judge to free him in the meantime. but the prosecutors say that he might flee. remember, he was initially charged with raping a 13-year-old girl, but he pleaded guilty in 1978 to a lesser charge and later fled the united states. that's new. brand-new just in. new this morning also, a public apology from david letterman. originally the late night host said he would only talk about his sexual relationship with

staffers one time. but last night he apologized on air to his coworkers and to his wife. letterman's production company says the affairs happened before he married his wife in march. they've been a couple, though, since 1986. >> the other thing is my wife, regina, she has been horribly hurt by my behavior. when something happens like that, if you hurt a person and it's your responsibility, you try to fix it. and at that point there's only two things that can happen. either you're going to make some progress and get it fixed or you're going to fall short and perhaps not get it fixed. so let me tell you, folks. i got my work cut out for me. >> cbs producer joe halderman is accused of blackmails letterman about his affairs with female staffers. he pleaded not guilty friday. but cbs has suspended him from his job. halderman's lawyer tells nbc's "today" that we have not heard the whole story.

>> david letterman didn't give his side of the story. david letterman gave what he wanted the public to know. he wanted to get out ahead of the story, and that's exactly what he did. he's a master at manipulating audiences. that's what he does for a living. so to think david letterman gave the entire story and there's nothing more to be said is simply wrong. >> letterman did give his audience some self-deprecating humor last night. you'll hear the jokes he cracked about himself later on in this hour. firefighters are gaining ground against a wildfire outside l.a. thanks to some cooler weather. the more than 7,800 acre fire is now 30% contained. a spokeswoman for the u.s. forest service says it's not expected to spread unless strong winds develop. most of the people who live in the area have evacuated. officials still don't know what caused the fire. three scientists share this year's nobel prize in physics. they're being honored for their breakthroughs involving the transmission of light and

fiberopticses. all three have american citizenship. one is also a british citizen and another is canadian. they'll share a $1.4 million prize. we're getting new details on why a newborn who police say was kidnapped in tennessee was then placed in foster care soon after it was reunited with its mom. local media cite court documents and sources as saying the department of children services believes that a family member tried to sell the baby. it is unclear if that's related to the kidnapping case and the stabbing of the baby's mom. a custody hearing is scheduled for this afternoon. the mom's cousin tells the newspaper that the baby's parpts deny any wrong doing. time check. it's six minutes after the hour. how you doing on time as you're scurrying around, getting the coffee, getting the kids out the door? it's almost like it's spring out right now. we have a big storm system moving through st. louis. but it stretches everywhere. >> it does. >> not everywhere. many places. >> it's a long one. it's really a cold front. it's a sharp one, too.

this time of year you start seeing stronger cold fronts develop and breeze on down towards the south. low pressure region, it's right around iowa. there's the cold front. look at all the activity ahead of that frontal boundary. later today these storms are going to start turning severe on the south id of this. for basically central texas back in towards arkansas and louisiana, mississippi, parts of alabama, western tennessee, severe thunderstorms are a possibility. but right now it's rocking just around the oklahoma area. you can see it here stretching in towards arkansas. here's oklahoma city. the cold front just about past you. the winds have picked up. let me show you the tower cam. here's live in ok city. the camera jostled around a bit. most of the weather is down to your south. i think you're going to be dry for most of the day. severe thunderstorms developing south of that region pushing in towards dallas and then ultimately louisiana later today. here's that oklahoma city radar. see as the sweep goes by, picking up a lot of rain, a lot

of thunderstorm action. all drifting to the east and that yellow watch box. severe thunderstorm watch until noon. conditions are ripe for large hail maker. rain stretches in towards st. louis, already past you. now moving in towards indiana, too. more on that in a little bit. if it is your birthday today, did you know you celebrate it with elizabeth shue? she's from "the adventures of babysitting" and "leaving las vegas." and meteorologist bob van dillen. has be only man i know who got married on his birthday so he'd remember his anniversary. >> happy birthday, elizabeth. another jersey girl. nice. nice. >> it's something we did not expect in the case of a vh-1 reality con tis tant accused of killing his wife. turns out he left a suicide note. what police are saying now.

if you've been agonizing over what to do about your holiday shopping. well, you must start early. we've got some help. big discounts.

we always salute our troops. today's salute is to army specialist phil limpkin employed to afghanistan. h fiance is heartbroken he's away now. >> i want to salute my fiance specialist phil lumpkin. i want to tell him i love him and miss him more than words can say. he was so positive about his deployment, even when days are rough. i'm so proud of him for serving the country he loves. >> do you have somebody in the service and you want to salute them? we would be so honored. cnn.com/robin. thank you to that fiance. the vh-1 reality tv

contestant accused of killing his wife and then hanging himself apparently left a suicide note. police now say it was on ryan jenkins' laptop. he says jasmine fzsmine fiore w love of his life but he thought he was cheating. it did not mention her death. sometimes you just can't win. a research group says some of the most healthy foods in your diet are also the most likely to make you sick. find out why. new for you in the next 30 minutes. okay. you ready for some big discounts once holiday time rolls around? money expert jennifer westhoven is here. how soon are the stores supposed to be really slashing their prices to get us inside? >> you could start to see it. one analyst says he's already seeg it. 5% more discounts than he did last year. that's only expected to pick up as we head into the holidays. good news in a bad economy. the forecasts are just starting to shape up that christmas shopping could be about flat

with what we saw last year. and that was one of the worst on record at malls and department stores. so some analysts say, you know, in addition to all the sales were going to get, what you can expect to see coming up soon, since the focus is on the practical these days, anything impractical is going to be on sale. jewelry, if you're thinking about a gift for your wife, sports equipment for somebody else, and vacations. if you love food, you probably already heard this. it's a death in the magazine world. conde nast is going to close "gourmet" magazine. it was losing too much money because of the falloff in ads. "new york times" says "gourmet" was to food what "vogue" is to fashion. almost biblical. they said they celebrated cooking and travel in their lavish pages since 1941. they're going to cut four magazines in all including "elegant bride." i grabbed one. think it's going to be one of

the last ones. they are going to keep their food efforts in "bonapetite." if you're traveling this morning, check in with our birthday man. >> thank you. i tell you, it's going to be -- >> what's happening? >> southeast, clouds. talking about atlanta through charlotte. atlanta 22 minute delay. not bad. charlotte a ground stop until 9:30. may get extended. a two-hour construction delay at msp, minneapolis. rain from illinois in towards indiana. big thunderstorms here. it's going to slow you down in places like st. louis, chicago later today. chicago metro's rain and then wind, see the rest of them down there because of the foul weather. more on that in a bit. you may be wondering about the h1n1 vaccine. pregnant women probably have a lot of questions about it as well. we'll see how it may protect their babies after they're born.

you might be wondering whether you should get the h1n1 flu vaccine for yourself or for your family. the national campaign to

inoculate tens of millions of americans has now started. correspondent richard lui has more. now, it's not like we're going to go to the pharmacy and there's going to be someone standing there with the stuff. not everybody can get it right now. >> that's right, robin. that's because you and i are healthy and between the ages of 25 and 54. so we are not considered necessarily high risk in this particular situation of the h1n1 virus. here are other groups who will be vaccinated first. first of all, health care workers, pregnant women, people ages 6 months to 24 years old, and people with health risks. here's a map showing the spread of the h1n1 flu. as we were showing this to our viewers about a month or two ago, again, when you take a look at the south, that is where you have widespread at this point, at least, concerns about the h1n1 cases. as you go farther north, less of a concern there, robin. >> richard, many pregnant women are worried about whether they should be getting the vaccine. why are they more vulnerable to getting the virus? what do they need to know?

>> it has to do with their immune systems. they may be compromised. even a little bit. that could affect their ability to fight off even fairly common illnesses such as the flu. that's from a doctor at ucla. a study showing h1n1 vaccines given to pregnant women also give immunity to a newborn for at least a few months. because antibodies cross the placenta and reach the fetus. the national institute of health has vak say nated dozens of pregnant women during a study. so far no reports of serious side effects. good thing. we have surveillance video of a suicide bombing at the u.n.'s food agency compound in pakistan. see the red circle? watch that. it shows the suspected bomber walking in dressed as a security officer. he got inside by asking the guards to use the restroom. and then you can see the blast. five u.n. workers were killed yesterday. the taliban claims responsibility and threatens more attacks.

fans in china will get to see the michael jackson documentary. china only allows 20 imported movies each year. but a rep for sony pictures tells the associated press that the movie got the approval from government sensors. "this is it" premieres around the world october 28th. it features footage from jackson's final concert rehearsals before he died. brett favre turns 40 on saturday. and he gave all of us an early birthday present, except if you're a green bay packer fan, by showing he still has it. he also hugged his former teammates. >> they collided in a big way. his number is 4. you could just put a question mark right there on his uniform. you never know what's going to happen. he's retired. he's unretired. he underwent surgery. will he be healthy or won't he. all he does is win. this was one he wanted in the worst way. a victory over the packers. a team he played 16 seasons for.

they cut him loose when he first changed his mind about retirement. brett favre was in vintage form. three touchdown passes. a 33-20 final. the gram re the game really wasn't that close. his team now 4-0. look at him, pumped up. he turns 40 on saturday. after the game some of his former teammates showing him love. a lot of respect for brett favre. his team 4-0. november 1st is when he will play at green bay. can't wait for that one. a bit of a feud between two of cleveland's biggest sports stars. yep. seems like it's brewing. nba super star lebron james of the cavaliers is calling brown's wide receiver edwards childish after he reportedly punched one of lebron's friend. this the latest in a long list of off field issue since he entered the league in 2005. a girl who caught a milestone home run ball three

months ago in miami finally owns the ball. she says she was pressured to give up ryan howard's 200th home run ball which made him the youngest ever to reach that milestone. her family contacted an attorney who threatened to file a lawsuit. that's when the ball was returned. attorneys estimate the ball was worth $10,000 to $15,000. i would never try this. i would kill myself. extreme kayaking in austria this weekend. not for the weak of heart nor for the weak. >> some people are adrenaline junkies. >> these guys certainly fit the bill. >> if you overturn them can you get out of your kayak quickly? >> i don't know. that's why i'm not trying it. >> thank you. the 19-year-old man accused of plotting to blow up a dallas building made a video message for osama bin laden. that's what an fbi agent told the judge yesterday. the agent says undercover operatives helped smadi record the video. he's being held without bail and

could face life in prison if convicted. a siberian tiger sank his claws into a man at the zoo. the animals not in the least bit of trouble. why zoo officials are defending what the tiger did.

the new york stock exchange just opened for business. there is a live picture. the dow closed up 112 points yesterday. today's futures are also up. some doctors, nurses and other health care workers are starting to get the first doses of the h1n1 vaccine. they're getting it first because they're on the front lines, so to speak. but two states have actually earmarked their first batches for students instead. because of widespread flu outbreaks in the schools. firefighters are gaining ground against a wildfire outside l.a. thanks to cooler weather, the more than 7,800 acre fire is now 30% contained. that's an improvement even from earlier today.

a spokeswoman for the u.s. forest service says it's not expected to spread unless strong winds develop. president obama meets with congressional leaders today to talk about whether to send more troops to afghanistan. top generals say that more troops are needed because the taliban's getting stronger. but others say the war can be fought with unmanned drones and special forces. want to pause and say good morning. come on in the room and spend some time if you're just waking up. 31 minutes past the hour. david letterman apologized to his wife on air last night for having sexual relationships with staffers in the past. it was the first taping since the scandal broke. and he could not resist cracking jokes about himself in the monologue. >> don't kid yourself. things are still pretty bad. there's a possibility that i'll be the first talk show host impeached. >> letterman also thanked his coworkers for being supportive. a man who fell out of a hot air balloon is now in serious

condition. but we have the tape. this happened in albuquerque, new mexico, yesterday. out he went. this is what happened. the balloon's gondala hit a tent. the 70-year-old has a dislocated hip. >> we saw the man cart wheel out at about 35 feet. didn't hit the tent. what he did was he landed, it looks like, right on the asphalt. >> the balloon rose quickly then after all that weight was out and the passenger out of the basket. then the pilot brought it down fast so she could get on the ground and check on the passenger. she was a little banged up, too, from that hard landing. a lab technician accused of killing a yale university grad student will be in court today. ray mondmond clark iii has not entered a plea yet. annie le was found strangled to death behind a wall in the lab last month. the motive is not known.

a secret video was revealed in the trial of two men accused of trying to extort john travolta after his son died. travolta's lawyer testified that the video showed his meeting with one of the defendants as part of a police sting. the two men are accused of demanding $25 million from travolta. both have pleaded not guilty. a lot of you are commenting about the h1n1 vaccine story on our facebook page. you are welcome. we love to see it. keo writes i am surrounded daily but small kids. it is not worst the risk. we are all getting the vaccine and the seasonal flu vaccine as well. libby says it's way too new. i will not get it! austin says i already got my flu shot pip don't really want to pay for a swine flu one, even if it is nasal. present says i'm just going to kiet a piece of broccoli and hope for the best. you tell us what you think. go to cnn.com/robin. there's a little icon for facebook. it's your link. it'll take you there.

it's kind of my husband's answer for everything, too. eat some broccoli. >> you'll be fine. >> yeah. >> it's a natural defense. you'll be fine. >> for everything, apparently. >> let me show you the big scenario for today. a major cold front now driving through the plain states into the mid atlantic states. ahead of that it's extremely warm, it's moist and unstable. look how fast the line of thunderstorms is moving to the east. all the way through missouri stretching into ki ki, indiana, ohio, too. here's d.c. i want to take you live to nation's capital. here's the white house. it's going to be dry for the morning. the beltway looks fine now. lots of sunshine. winds will pick up later this afternoon. the clouds will begin to thicken and lower. overnight tonight, showers and thunderstorms from the midwest will make its way into the mid-atlantic. heavy rain overnight tonight lasting through tomorrow for washington. what about severe weather chances? we have those as well this

afternoon. it's going to fall right around eastern texas, parts of louisiana, arkansas, now stretches into towards western tennessee, northern alabama. the kicker is going to be this cold front as it knives its way down to the south in the unstable atmosphere. hail makers. that's what we're going to find. large hail producing thunderstorms a possibility later this afternoon. as for the action right now, still have the severe thunderstorm watch till noon. most of oklahoma down to the south. goes across the state line in towards arkansas. the rain itself extends all the way through chicago, now in towards michigan. it's made its way in towards minneapolis. the strongest stuff is on the tail end of that cold front down to the south. more comie ining up in a little stocks on wall street bounced back yesterday, and today the rally is circling the globe. susan lisovicz right there is at the new york stock exchange with a look at what's putting the investors in a buying mood. >> good morning, robin. stocks are moving higher because of some momentum from down under. australia's central bank, the first major central bank to

raise interest rates, it adds to the belief that world governments think the global economy is near a recovery. not so sure we're feeling it right here right now. the national retail federation says it expects holiday sales to fall 1% this year. the decline, of course, not as bad as last year. but the two-month period can account for as much as half of retailers' annual profit. sales declines likely mean shoppers will find big bargains, though. it also means retailers won't be hiring. mgm mirage is cutting prices at new condos by 30% at its city center development in las vegas. the move intended to address a backlash for many folks who fined contracts on the condos before the vegas real estate bubble burst. finally, united airlines launching a new checked bag pass for 250 bucks a year passengers can check two bags for flight without paying extra. based on curb fees the pass

would pay for itself after five trips. a family of four traveling under the same confirmation number could cover the cost in one trip. pay it up front. then travel without any of the nickel and diming you experience at the airport or online, robin. that's the theory. >> it has to do with the math. if your family's big enough if it's going to make a difference for you. what started as a peaceful demonstration wound up getting dangerous when windows started shattering. the riot police came out. a man's in the hospital after a tiger attacked him. but the zoo officials don't blame the animal at all.

look at this video. police are cracking down on

protesters in turkey. police had launched pepper gas and hosed the crowds down with water. some protesters broke store windows before taking cover. they were a couple blocks from the meeting of the international monetary fund and the world bank in istanbul. they're talking about the global economic collapse which has hit turkey especially hard. we're learning that the top u.s. commander in the middle east was treated for cancer. that's what the office of general david petraeus is saying. it says he was diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer back in february. the radiation treatment is considered successful. his office says it did not affect his work schedule much and he kept it private, but that cue administration officials knew about it. richard is here. if you're staying around for the next hour, so is he. i understand the economy is hammering the one industry that everyone thinks is recession proof. >> that's right. but not anymore, robin! we're talking about the adult sex industry. it is feeling the pain now. the next hour, we'll look at

where we can see the downturn there and what is still selling in the sex industry. plus a strategy in florida when a little boy asks his mom if he can take the wheel. what happens there. it is a catastrophe there. plus if jon and kate gosselin saga just got a little nastier. stick around for the latest in the fight that just won't quit. >> i always thought the one recession proof industry was alcohol. >> that may still be right now. not the sex industry anymore. >> thank you. a siberian tiger attacked a man who apparently broke into a zoo in canada yesterday. zoo officials say that after midnight the man and his friend climbed the zoo's barbed wire fence and a safety fence. what's wrong with people? they then went up to the tiger cage. that's when zoo officials say the tiger hooked his claws into the man, pulled his arm inside the cash and mauled zbl eed it. >> the tiger reached out of the

enclosure. you'd actually have to be right up to the fence and make contact with the fence for any sort of way of catching anything that touches that fence. >> the man is badly hurt but is expected to survive. the zoo says the 2-year-old tiger acted normally to protect itself. so he will stay in the exhibit. some banks are letting you spend as much as you want. you know that there's a catch. hln money expert clark howard says it will end up costing you way more than you are willing to pay. >> a lot of people, because they've been burned by credit cards, have switched in recent years to debit cards. that's where it has a visa or mastercard logo on it. but when you use it, it takes money directly from your checking account. well, get this. do you know that most banks will allow you to use your debit card even when it will cause you to overdraw your account? why would they do that? because they want you to overdraw your account so that they can hit you with massive

overage charges. what should you do? ask your bank or credit union to not permit overages. where you can't get hit with an overage if you would overdraw your account. the other thing? if you can't track your balance, do everything with cash instead. i'm clark howard. for more ways for you to keep your wallet shipshape, go to cnn.com/clarkhoward. >> clark will teach you to save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off. catch him at noon eastern on saturdays and sundays right here on hln. four people went fishing off the coast of miami. they came back with a 750-pound shark. they spotted it circling a dead sword fish so they used the fish as bait. after they hooked the shark, they say that it took three hours to haul it on to the boat. three hours. it's huge. a 14-year-old stole his mom's credit card number to book a cross country flight. how he managed to get through security at the airport with the ticket that had her name on it.

new this morning, director roman polanski is going to have to stay in a swiss jail while authorities decide whether he can be extradited to the united states. polanski was trying to persuade a swiss judge to free him in the meantime. prosecutors say he might flee. remember, he was initially charged with raping a 13-year-old girl. but he pleaded guilty in 1978 to a lesser charge and later fled the united states. a 14-year-old boy made it through airport security using a ticket with his mom's name on it. his mom says that he used her credit card to book an airport shuttle and a one-way flight to chicago. when security questioned him, he said his name was virginia, and they let him go. other passengers at the portland airport were surprised. >> i think there needs to be more security. >> i think there should probably

be some type of id required for that. because if you don't have that proof, how can they prove it's you? >> people under the age of 18, though, do not need an id to board a plane. so the tsa says its agents followed procedure. police tracked the boy to the chicago airport using the gps on his cell phone. "the joe behar show" is airing every night at 9:00 p.m. eastern here on hln. last night she chatted with regis about "who wants to be a millionaire?" >> do you think you saved the network? >> i absolutely did. in the years when the show came on, abc was desperate. more desperate than they are today. that's saying a lot. i went on there and, bang, the e show was an enormous hit. >> was it kathie lee or kelly -- >> it was kelly lee. i mean kathie lee.

then kelly. >> do you like kelly the best? >> love them all. they're all my girls, you know. >> notice he didn't answer. catch "the joe behar show" at 9:00 p.m. eastern on hln. can i call your attention to the fact that the market is up 105 points and we've only been in trading for, what, 20 minutes now? not even that. just wanted to call your attention. an update maybe in store. the man accused of shooting a popular high school football coach in iowa this summer will stand trial. an update to a story we've been following for you. >> ed thomas was a high school coaching legend. named the national high school football coach of the year back in 2005. he was allegedly gunned down in the school's weight room by 24-year-old mark becker, a former player of his who a judge has ruled is mentally competent to stand trial. a judge writes that becker has sufficient ability to recall events pertinent to his defense, including the events of june 24th, the day of the shooting. purple and pink going

together well last night at minneapolis. breast cancer awareness month is october. nfl doing its part. brett favre, the vikings quarterback, his wife a breast cancer survivor. special for him because of that and because he was taking on his former team the green bay packers. 16 seasons he spent with the pack. three touchdowns last night. his team is 4-0. still gets love from his exteammates even though he beat them. he admits that he had butterflies. >> i was about as nervous as i've ever been before a game going into this one. i didn't think i would be. as the week progressed, i felt fine. but when i got to the hotel yesterday, it kind of dawned on me. >> and a happy early 40th birthday for him on saturday. first quarterback to beat every're team in the nfl. a local pooch spots, vikings dogs outnumbers packers canines. it was in minneapolis. owners were asked who they were rooting for and doggies were

dressed aaccordingly. packers fines i'm sure saying favre's gone to the dogs. that's bad. that's the best i can come up with. sorry. >> dogs are patient while we put all this used to this because i don't see them fighting at this point. this is what my stupid owner does. >> outhumor you. >> i can't take it off. >> thank you. >> all right, no problem. ten minutes to the hour. whenever i put anything on my dog, he just rips it right off. german shepherds don't need to get dressed. >> they don't need to get dolled up. major hub, obviously, a lot of otraffic in and out, busiest airport in the country. low clouds hanging in there be there for another hour but the delays are gone. good news for atlanta. rain and wind in chicago. chicago metros you're looking at o'hare and midway and could see an hour or more delay because of

the wind especially. showers towards atlanta and half hour delay and st. louis rain and thunderstorms passing by and wind out there now and half hour delays and cleveland rain and thunderstorms late this afternoon and could affect your afternoon push. more on that, robin, in a little bit. you have to give credit to former house majority leader, tom delay. my favorite piece of video, even though it makes me go. >> thank goodness he has a good-looking partner. that's all i have to say. i saw him counting. there's tom delay dancing the samba is hard enough, but he did it with an injury. he has stress fractures in both feet and his doctors advise him not to dance and he did it anyway and got a score of 15 out of 30. >> i'm getting used to seeing

him dance but when he points it makes me uncomfortable. >> look at those red pants, man. he's flashing it out there. >> he's losing hips there. watch yourself! >> i just can't say anything after that.