good morning. as you get the coffee maker going today, good morning, sunshine. i'm robin meade. here's what's making news today. the wait is over. michael jackson's new song, "this is it" is officially out. you'll hear a couple -- you'll get to hear some of that in a couple minutes here. plus -- >> i will end don't ask, don't tell. that's my commitment to you. >> president obama assures gays that he'll keep a promise to them. why not everyone is convinced

though. and -- a night at the bar ends with a violent shootout and it was caught on tape. you won't believe this incredible video because that's not all of it. at least 41 people died when a bomb exploded near a busy market today. that number keeps going up. authorities in pakistan say dozens more were injured in what appears to be a suicide car bombing targeting a military vehicle near the swat valley where the pakistani army has been battling the taliban for control. thousands of gay rights supporters say they want equality in marriage and an end to the military's don't ask, don't tell policy. they're saying they want action on president obama's pledge to end the policy that bans openly gay men and lesbians from the military. one says he gets calls from

military members who say they are fine with it but the president says it is time for change. >> we are moving ahead on don't ask, don't tell. we should not -- we should not be punishing patriotic americans who have stepped forward to serve this country. we should be celebrating their willingness to show such courage and selflessness on behalf of their fellow citizens especially when we're fighting two wars. >> some gay rights supporters say that it will be difficult to get rid of don't ask, don't tell and that president obama is not doing enough. you'll hear from two people on both sides of the issue who may have the power to change it or not in about ten minutes. new this morning a new michael jackson song is out. take a listen to "this is it." ♪ this is it ♪ here i stand

♪ i am the light of the world >> it was released on jackson's website at midnight. his brothers are singing the backup vocals. it will be featured in the upcoming film about jackson's tour rehearsals before his death and part of a double cd coming out at the end of the month. rush limbaugh is trying to buy an nfl team and the players association is responding today. here's rafer with more on that. how are they responding? >> not positively. this man once said the nfl looks like a game between the bloods and crypts referring to rival gains. his group is one of six bidding to buy a part of the st. louis rams. they asked players to speak out against it. a few players have said they wouldn't play for a team owned by limbaugh. that's only a small amount of them. some players obviously will. either way, we're taking your

thoughts on this. we want to know. unanimous viewer sent in a text saying i personally can't stand limbaugh but i don't think it's fair to tell someone they can't buy into an nfl team so long as they have money. kevin wrote on our facebook page -- if you agree or disagree, give us your thoughts. >> we have opinions on both sides here. people say you can't stop anybody from owning and people say why should he be stopped? horrific new details about last week's inursurgent attack a base in afghanistan. a chopper pilots describes getting the initial call for help. >> my initial impressions were we got no response and everybody was gone. we could hear it was going to

hell. we knew it was a pretty intense situation that they were facing. >> can't imagine. it was a deadliest insurgent attack on u.s. forces in more than a year. 100 militants were also killed in the 12-hour battle. an accused hijacker is under arrest 40 years after the hijacking of pan am flight 281. a 66 year old surrendered to authorities at jfk airport. in 1968 four hijackers forced the plan to go to havana. two suspects pleaded guilty in the '70s. there's snow in the midwest. what? >> yes. >> here is meteorologist bob van dillen with more on that. >> the game was postponed because of the freezing stuff. the cold air is still out there. look at the white here across the midwest is all snow. advisories up there.

i'll show them to you in just a couple seconds. had heaviest rain across the deep south pushing toward the mid-atlantic and it will be here for a while. all day long. waves and waves of heavy rain coming out of northern louisiana and arkansas and they stretch in toward western tennessee and kentucky and northern mississippi, alabama, and north georgia getting into the carolinas. heaviest rain around atlanta metro. this is the entire region that got flooded out a couple weeks ago. alabama got flooded out as well. more rain today. 3 to 5 inches total between now and wednesday. something we're watching. the flash flood watches are out there as areas shaded in dark green, light shaded green flooding already occurring. flood warnings in those counties you see shaded in bright green. as for the rest of the region, here's where the rain will hit in toward north georgia over the next 48 hours hours. red shades you see there is 5 inches of rain. computer models thinking that's pretty much right online. cold temperatures out there. freeze warnings in areas shaded in purple. all of the temperatures below freezing here for the catskills

and poconos and alleghenies and northern parts of the country down to omaha back in toward south dakota stretching in toward minneapolis and there are advisories for the morning good for an additional 1 to 2 inches of snow. i don't think it will accumulate on the roads but the first winter type weather you've had in a long time. >> thank you. snow. >> good monday morning to you. a woman led police on a scary high-speed chase with a child in the back seat. at one point she crashed. that's whether things got even crazier.

it is time to salute our troops. cassandra wants to send a salute

to her boyfriend. he's marine lance corporal and he's one of the most respectable and caring people that she knows. he will be deployed to afghanistan at the end of the month. she says that both of their families love him and appreciate him for the work that he does. if you have someone in the service, go to cnn.com/robin so we can salute them. the space clown has landed and is safely back on earth after a trip to the international space station. people call him the first clown in space because he wore a big spongy nose during the trip. that trip cost him $35 million. if you got it, spend it, i guess. this weekend president obama vowed again to end the military's don't ask, don't tell policy allowing gays and lesbi n lesbians to serve in the military if they don't reveal their sexual orientation. how might the policy be ended?

>> one option here is to push a bill through congress which does not exist. the chair of the committee that's key to such a bill says getting military support here is crucial. >> i think he will and he can. it has to be done in the right way which is to get a buy in from the military which is now possible. other militaries in the west, british and other western armies ended this discriminatory policy. it ought to be done with thoughtfulness and care and with a buy in from the military. >> some pro-gay right activists accuse president obama of putting gay rights issues on the back burner. when he repeated the promise on saturday, the president did not mention a specific timetable. >> what about people that propose ending the ban? what do we hear from them this morning? >> some say the military is just fine with don't ask, don't tell policy. the best thing to do is just leave it alone. take a listen to another member

of the senate armed services committee. >> we have a program that's working within the military. it's been very effective. very accommodating for about 15, 16 years now. it's worked well. i think there's no reason to change it. i get calls from military personnel on a regular basis every time this issue gets stirred up and this is not a popular discussion within the military i can assure you. >> also popping in committee member lindsey graham saying the policy should not be ended because of the president's campaign pledge and wants the military to weigh in on this policy. in 15 minutes we'll hear from retired military leaders on whether they think the time is right to end don't ask, don't tell. stick around for that. you got some important decisions to make this year on open enrollment. that's coming around at work, is that right? >> that's right. thank you, richard. this is the kind of thing that

can be very important. it impacts your paycheck every week or every two weeks and what it's going cost you when you go to the doctor's office. you'll see the envelope coming soon. consumer directed, what does that mean? it means you pay more. it does mean less out of your paycheck but more if you go to the doctor's office. it does mean lower premiums. they can be 20% lower. you'll keep more in your paycheck but at the doctor's office the deductibles can be up to $10,000 for a family. that's a lot more. the insurance company hopes that if you're involved in some of the costs upfront you won't take on costly treatments unless you think you need them. a million people that use side kick phones may lose everything that's in those phones. pictures, date lobook and phone numbers.

if the battery goes dead, it's gone. t-mobile says it's been working around the clock to try to recover the data but they say we don't think anything will happen. microsoft says they hope to have an update today for people who lost all of their info over the weekend. if you are traveling this morning, you have your coat, more coats stuffed into the bins as it cools off. >> you talk about minneapolis right now. minneapolis-st.paul, snow out there. you'll see delays out of that. it will be about a half hour. just a morning event for you. let me show you heavy rain coming out of alabama. here's huntsville toward atlanta. planes coming in and coming out. notice heavy rain. it's out there. it's going to be out there for the entire day. one hour or more. no delays yet. anticipate that to start in just about 15 minutes. charlotte and memphis, 30-minute

to one-hour delays. and then looking at snow out there minneapolis-st.paul looking at about an hour or so. denver, san francisco, morning fog. full details on that coming up in just a bit. a look at one of the hottest pieces of real estate in the country right now. this house is about location. but hopefully you won't mind all of the secret service agents nearby. also ahead, why the cdc is worried about you if you're worried about getting the swine flu vaccine.

morning. 17 minutes past the hour. the yale graduate student who was killed just days before her wedding will be remembered on campus today. the university will hold a memorial service for annie le this evening. the 24 year old was found five days after she vanished last month. her body was discovered hidden behind a wall of a basement lab. a former lab tech is charged

with her killing. it took a massive gun battle to free dozens of hostages in pakistan yesterday. militants held them for almost a day threatening to blow up a building. five militants, some wearing explosive vests, seized control of what's pakistan's version of the pentagon this weekend. a military official says the taliban claimed responsibility. several soldiers and three civilian hostages died during the standoff. a 19th century priest is now a saint. he was among five people that pope benedict xvi cannonized yesterday. thousands attended a special mass at the vatican. performing a miracle is a requirement for sainthood. the house next door to president obama is for sale. in just three weeks, they had 75,000 hits on the realtors website and worldwide inquires

including from a saudi prince. the owner tells cnn's alina cho why he's selling. >> it's expensive to live here. and then there's this thing, the realtors are calling the obama factor. >> beautiful, beautiful home. a little bit of a fixer upper. >> fixer upper. the basement is a disaster. >> you're an honest man. >> well, i think i'm selling location and not my basement so i can afford to be honest. >> just to look at that house, you need at least 1.5 million bucks in the bank. couples whose marriages are on the rocks can get a second honeymoon for free. a state government in malaysia says that couples can spend two nights at the state's scenic island or beach resorts. one state official says they want to create models of families. couples who enroll in the program also have to get counseling. a team rallied around a

coach whose wife died a few days earlier and they pulled off an amazing victory in the final seconds. here's rafer with more on that. it's a touching story. >> i have no idea how this man had the ability to do this. zimmer came home thursday and found his wife dead unexpectedly. no word on the cause. sunday he joined his team against the ravens and players said seeing him there lifted his spirits and his players were underdogs in this game but held down ravens' potent offense to well below the average. carson palmer hits caldwell for the go ahead score for cincinnati. first place in their division after a horrible year last year. zimmer had an emotional moment with his team afterwards. >> let me say one thing, my wife loves all of you. she's proud of you. win or lose, she's proud of you. i just appreciate all your

effort. >> afterwards he was given the game ball. brett favre went from the big 4-0 to 5-0. brett and vikings routed the rams making him 5-0 for the first time in his career. that's the best start he's ever had and vikings best start in six years and i'm just eating my words on brett favre. >> me too. i'm there with you. he's showing me up. teacher against student. the pupil best of the master. broncos wearing ugliest uniforms ever put on a stunning win. 5-0 which no one expected. and lastly, the chase for the sprint cup has a new leader but not before dramatics. jimmy johnson was the last man

standing. he takes a spot ahead of mark martin. >> coming down to the wire for those two. thank you. they said it would never last.

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it's the longest-lasting plugins ever. get freshness that won't fade away for 60 days. ahhh! with plugins lasting impressions. and yes, it's glade. s.c. johnson, a family company. ♪ ♪ i'm the light of the world ♪ >> you are listening to the brand new michael jackson song called "this is it." it was officially released at midnight on his website. the song will be in the new jackson movie and a new double cd coming out this month. the brother -- his brothers are singing the backup vocals. an explosion near a marketplace killed at least 41 people today. pakistan authorities say that the attack appeared to target a military vehicle about 45 people were injured. this was in northwest pakistan where the army has been locked

in heavy fighting against the taliban. the insurance industry is releasing a report today that slams the senate's health care reform plan. it says that by the year 2019 a typical family premium will be $4,000 more than under the current system. the white house is criticizing the report. the senate finance committee votes on the plan tomorrow. vince vaughn's "couples retreat" was the number one movie over the weekend. the animated film "cloudy with a chance of meatballs" came in third with 12 million. a bright monday to you. i'm robin meade. good morning, sunshine. a top health official says you're better off with the swine flu vaccine than without it. a doctor from the cdc warns that risks from not getting the vaccine are higher than any potential risk linked to it.

>> a lot of people are saying it's new but it's important to know that the seasonal flu vaccine is made exactly the same way as this h1n1 vaccine. 100 million people including a lot of children get the seasonal flu vaccine every year and it has a really good safety record. so i think parents are wondering is it new, has it been fully tested? everything we know that right now suggests a very good safety profile for the vaccines. >> it's okay to get swine flu and the regular flu shot on the same day. the vaccines. for the first time, a woman has won what was considered the nobel prize for economics. she's a professor at indiana university. she's sharing it with professor oliver williamson from the university of california berkeley. they won for their analysis of economic transactions outside the markets. over the weekend president obama again promised to end the military's controversial don't ask, don't tell policy.

it bans gays and lesbians serving in the military to reveal their sexual orientation. >> current military leaders are not saying whether they want to end don't ask, don't tell specifically but some retired military leaders, prom nept ones, weighed in on this issue yesterday. they had different views on this. take a listen. >> gays can serve in the military. you can't serve openly. they do and there's lots of them and we're the beneficiary of all of that. i will leave it to the current folks to decide whether it's time or not. >> no question it's time to change the policy. the key to it isn't buying from the military. it's for congress to change the law. they ought to do so. i'm confident the military will move ahead on it. >> more than 600 people were discharged from the military yesterday due to their sexual orientation. >> we hear that one group is

more likely to be kicked out of the military under this policy. which group is that? >> women. they are more likely than men to be kicked out. more than a third of people discharged last year because of sexual orientation was female but women only account for 15% of all military members. homosexuality is more common in the service among females than males. >> thank you. our conversation about that will continue later on this morning. idaho police are trying to figure out why a bus carrying a high school band veered off the highway. a band instructor died on saturday and 34 students were injured. the head director said the driver slumped over just before the crash and the instructor grabbed the wheel. this band played at a presidential inauguration and a macy's thanksgiving day parade. a dramatic shootout caught

on tape. look at this unbelievable surveillance video. it seems to go on forever. it's what happened after a fistfight turned into a gun fight at a bar in toledo, ohio. people already scrambled out the door. i can't believe this tape. shortly after this a second camera captured people outside firing into the bar. amazingly, no one was hit even though police found at least 17 shell casings. they're still looking for the gunman. once you're outside, just leave. here's one way not to go home after a night of drinking. a man stole an ambulance because he didn't have another way to get home from the bar. it was parked nearby because paramedics were responding to an emergency. police arrested the 21 year old

after a short case. he's facing theft and dui charges. you don't know me. >> at least if i crash i've got the supplies right here. what's wrong with people? >> what a bonehead move. >> let me show you the weather pattern. i don't care for it. i know you don't either. here's what it looks like. same thing as yesterday. zonal flow means everything moving from west to east with not much of a dip or a change. look at heavy rain streaming from arkansas down the frontal boundary into a wedge situation between the carolinas and georgia. winds coming out of the east. high pressure dominating the region with low pressure areas trying to come in. ending up as heavy rain. that's what it looks like right now. pull the picture out farther. look at the know coming down from nebraska, south dakota, northwestern part of iowa, lower minnesota. minneapolis right now has a three-hour weather delay because of low clouds and snow. that's what it looks like at

their airport. heavy rain marching thereonon through northern alabama. squall line developing around the stateline with alabama and georgia. it will be for the entire day. squall coming out of birmingham headed in toward georgia. more rain today. 3 to 5 in areas shaded in dark green. flash flood watches here. warnings are counties shade in bright green which means flooding already occurring. next couple days. 48-hour rain totals coming in between 3 and 5 where you see yellow shaded areas. it's out there. more rain coming in but it's evaporating before it does so. freeze warnings are around. back across the midwest, plains here come the snow. northern parts of nebraska in toward lower parts of south dakota. 1 to 2 inches for today stretching in toward minneapolis. advisories are out there live to atlanta if you are trying to travel in or out on a busy monday morning, that's the situation. low clouds. heavy rain. that's hard to get through.

we already have a ground stop until 8:30 that will get extended. full details of air travel in 15 minutes. this weather brought to you by tylenol. thought i would mention that. more in just a bit. rush limbaugh wants to buy a football team. find out who is not happy about his plan to become an nfl owner. a firefighting demonstration does not go exactly as planned because nobody planned for the firefighters to catch on fire.

top senators are split on whether to send more u.s. troops to afghanistan. republican john mccain says anything less than 40,000 would be an error of historic proportions. that's what the top u.s. commander in afghanistan is requesting. democrat dianne feinstein says president obama should take his general's advice. the armed services committee chairman says he wants to focus on strengthening afghanistan security forces. you might think you don't want stuff growing in your walls, yeah. but if you do it right, it is the latest in environmental friendly building design. a pittsburgh company just installed a so-called green wall on its headquarters. the 15,000 ferns and other plants will remove pollution and offer insulation. the company says that the temperature on the inside will be 25% cooler during the summer. rush limbaugh is trying to buy an nfl team and head of the

players union is speaking out against it. here's rafer with more on that. he's not going to be the only owner. part of a team. >> that's right. he would definitely be the most visible because limbaugh has a huge following however his comments in the past have upset some in the nfl community. for instance, when he said eagles quarterback donovan mcnabb was overrated because of his skin color partially. limbaugh's group is one of six trying to buy a majority in the st. louis rams. head of the players union sent out an e-mail to other union executives encouraging players to speak out against this saying sports are supposed to be unifying and limbaugh is too divisive. we want to know your comments on this. tristan says -- kenneth also look on our facebook page -- do you agree or disagree?

you can text us or e-mail us also. robin? >> all right. thank you very much. our facebook page is blown up with this. people have something to say. if you want to see more of what your fellow viewers are saying, there you go. your boss might give you a financial incentive to get off the sofa and get on the treadmill. jennifer westhoven is here. bosses are getting serious about wellness programs. >> it's just a way for them. they're trying to curb the way that costs are growing up but this is more personal than you might be used to. if you want health insurance, more companies are going to require that you take this risk assessment test. that's according to this morning's "l.a. times." what the test does is they look right at you measuring you, weighing you, asking all kinds of questions. and the point is once they know more about you and your health, they may know that you are risky. you may need costly treatment and then they are going to say you have to do something about it or you may have to pay more. you may have to lose weight or quit smoking and if you do those

things, you could get lower premiums. get a discount at the gym. if you don't, you may pay higher deductibles than other people at work deemed healthier. >> boss would know how much you weigh and stuff? >> it's more like the wellness department and they're not supposed to share. i don't think your boss is going to know your exact number. it would be embarrassing. that's one number. here's the other magic number if you want to own a home. 620. fannie mae says 620 is the new minimum fica score if you want a mortgage. aim for 720 if you want a great score. halloween is coming. if someone dressed as a businessman rings your doorbell, hide your loot it could be bernie madoff. apparently he's one of the popular costumes this halloween along with a lot of dead celebrities. if you dress like this, we were joking it could be like, give me

one kancandy bar and i'll give 15 after i canvas the neighborhood. the real madoff is in jail for cheating thousands of people out of millions of dollars. back to you. >> dead celebrities are the big -- he's not dead but they are the big thing this year. >> they are the big thing. >> other than bernie madoff. >> people may see that guy and say who's that? it's bernie madoff. a 95-year-old man is safe and sound. look at his car. you wouldn't believe who was at the right place at the right time to come to his rescue.

an off-duty firefighters saved a man who was in a sinking car. police came with a kayak to get them. a woman in the car got out on her own. >> i was able to get my hands around the female in the driver's seat. she was on her way out of the water up and out of the vehicle. i got my arms around her and pulled her up onshore to safety.

>> police are still investigating how the crash happened. for fans of barbara streisad this auction is like butter. memorabilia including items from movies like "funny girl" will be on the auction block next week. >> if you can't really use something anymore, even though it belonged to you for a long time and you loved it, it's great to pass it on. >> items range in price from the hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars. all of the money raised is going to charity. >> what about the boxings gloves from the main event? >> i wonder and the shorts. >> angels in the outfield as they rally around a fallen teammate. >> it's been a bittersweet story following these angels. it's been their rallying cry all postseason long and seemingly inspiring them to excel.

we're talking about the los angeles angels former pitcher killed by an alleged drunk driver. his jersey hanging in the dugout this postseason. they were down two runs facing two outs and one strike away from losing game three to boston. managed a comeback to sweep the sox. they get yankees starting on friday. this is proof the baseball season is too long. the phillies playing in colorado 35 degrees at game time. it was delayed 24 hours because of snow. that ties a record for the coldest temp for a baseball game ever. phils won 6-5. we're just getting started here with baseball. it will go until november. there's this football thing going on. the brothers manning greatest quarterback duo ever. the raiders embarrassed so badly

that eli didn't finish the first half of the game. if you're eating. look away. a pregame ritual gone too far. owen schmidt bangs himself in the head until that happens to psych himself up. trainers had to tend to his cut before he bangs himself up. the seahawks pounded jacksonville 46-0. >> that's stupid. i don't know if this is stupid or this is funny. it's hard work either way. it is the american wife carrying championships. >> there's a special hold that you have to do, apparently. >> that's right. you've got to go through the mud holes and over the log and look at the switch there! there she goes, she's carrying her man! >> wow. >> the winner -- ow. that's got to cause a fight. dave and lacy castro won lacy's weight in beer and five times her weight in cash. we're not going to tell you that figure. never tell a lady's weight. >> looks pretty tiny to me. a common strags to show how

effective fire sprinklers are got more exciting than anyone planned. look at this tape. >> let's get the firefighter extinguished quickly. help him, help him, help him, help him, help him. they're on fire, chief. let's get a hose line. >> they were still on fire. one firefighter spent the night in the hospital with burns on his cheeks and hand. apparently no one remembered there was a plastic sign above the practice fire. still the man is on fire. it melted and dropped burning plastic on the firefighters. finally. the whole time i was doing the story, the poor guy was still burning. >> yeah. he didn't even feel it. he's just out there putting it out. couple delays right now. one's a long one, three hours in minneapolis because of the low clouds and the snow. mid-october already. there you go. a ground stop in atlanta for the next 25 minutes.

probably get extended because of rain. so watch for hour or more around atlanta, charlotte, half our or more, memphis, dallas, same things. your e-mail password might not be as private as you think. how people could actually buy their way into your inbox and get access to some of your info.

good morning, time for you to rise and shine. it is 8:00 eastern. i'm robin meade. i hope you had a great weekend. here's what's going on this morning. thousands of gay rights supporters marched on d.c. they protested against the don't ask, don't tell policy. what president obama is planning to do about it. more than three months after michael jackson's death, a new song is out, and you're going to recognize the voices singing backup as well. plus, a scary scene at a fire demonstration. the firefighters ended up on

fire. yikes. first, at least 41 people died when a bomb exploded near a busy market today. authorities in pakistan say that dozens more were injured in what appeared to be a suicide car bombing targeting a military vehicle. this happened near the swat valley. that is a region where the pakistani army has been battling the taliban for control. ♪ that's the cast of "hair" joining the push for equality in marriage and ending the military's don't ask, don't tell policy. thousands of gay rights supporters marched yesterday in washington, d.c. one lieutenant who is facing discharge under the don't ask, don't tell policy said it is time for change. >> i'm here because we're marching for equality. i march for many different

things. we fought for many things. but there are people that are discriminated against in our country. it is our responsibility to step up for them. >> some of the military support the ban. one republican member of the senate armed services committee says he frequently gets calls from military members upset about possibly changing it. but the president says he wants the ban repealed. >> my commitment to you is unwavering even as we wrestle with these enormous problems. and while progress may be taking longer than you'd like, do not doubt the direction we are headed, and the destination we will reach. >> some gay rights supporters say that it'll be difficult to get rid of don't ask, don't tell and that president obama isn't doing enough. you're going to hear from two people on both sides of the issue who may have the power to change it or not. that is in about ten minutes. new this morning, a brand-new michael jackson song is out. here is a little listen to "this

is it." ♪ this is it, here i stand, i'm the light of the world, i feel grand ♪ ♪ this is love, i can feel, and i know for sure it is real ♪ >> you didn't hear it there, but his brothers were singing the backup vocals. this was released on jackson's website at midnight. "this is it" will be featured in the upcoming film about jackson's tour rehearsals before his death. it will also be part of a double cd coming out at the end of the month. rush limbaugh is trying to buy an nfl team. the players association has something to say about that to a man that has a lot to say. >> yeah, robin. some of the things he has said is causing a bit of a negative reaction. limbaugh is part of a group trying to buy a majority of the st. louis rams. they're one of six groups trying to buy a stake in the team. the head of the players union

sent out an e-mail to other union execs urging players to speak out against it. some of his comments have upset some in the nfl community. at one time he said the game resembled a battle between the crypts and the bloods, referring to rival gangs. it m ultimately it will be up to the owner. an anonymous viewer texted us, we have freedom of speech, but rish limbaugh's hateful messages further divide this country along racial lines. meanwhile, tim says if he has a money and the current owner accepts his offer, what is the big deal? this is a free country and he has the right to do what he wants with his money. do you agree? disagree? cnn.com/robin. we've also got a facebook page. >> the facebook page is very, very busy with comments about that this morning. an accused hijacker is under arrest 40 years after the hijacking of pan am flight 281. this story is getting a lot of

your attention on cnn.com. the 66-year-old surrendered to federal authorities at jfk airport. he returned there from cuba yesterday. in 1968 four hijackers forced the plane to go to havana. two suspects pleaded guilty in the '70s. a top health official says you're going to be better off with the swine flu vaccine than without it. a doctor of the cdc warns the risks from not getting that vaccine are higher than any potential risks linked to it. >> a lot of people are saying it's new, but it's important to know that the seasonal flu vaccine is made exactly the same way as this h1n1 vaccine. 100 million people, including a lot of children, get the seasonal flu vaccine every year. and it has a really good safety record. so i think parents are wondering, is this something new? has it been fully tested? what i can say is that everything we know right now suggests a very good safety profile for the vaccines. >> she also says it's okay to get swine flu and the regular flu shot on the same day. swine flu has killed 76 kids in

the united states so far. i've had so many people ask me this weekend, are you going to get the swine flu or swine flu shot? are you going to wait? different people answer different ways. >> yeah. >> i'm going to. >> are you? >> as long as they have it in the hallway here at work. >> yeah, right. >> i'm rolling up my sleeve for one thing, i'll sniff the other thing. >> so you are, i'm not going to. >> we'll see who's healthier this year. >> we'll do a little experiment. let me show you what's going on. look at the rain, heavy at times. alabama stretching in towards north georgia. basically an um pulse riding around a cold frontal boundary that arks its way around the big city of atlanta and back towards birmingham where heavy rain is located. heavy downpours. we're going to find it here again today. flash flood concerns for north georgia all the way stretching back in towards alabama. that's as heavy rain moves through. how much rain over the next couple days? three to five inches is probably

what we're going to get. that's why we have the flash flood watches. dark shaded counties right there. the light shaded green counties, flash flood warnings. flooding already occurring in areas around mississippi, arkansas and right around louisiana areas, too. next 48 hours, heaviest rain in this vicinity where you see the red shades coming in. as much as six inches of rain, according to the computer models. it's going to be extremely heavy over the next couple days. to the north freeze warnings are beginning to fall apart as the sun comes up, warms us up just a touch. if you're going up towards nyc today, actually chicago, let's go to chicago first. look at the clouds out there. you're going to see the clouds off and on for most of the day. rain overnight for chicago. i think most of the day will be dry. not a big deal. new york now. a cold start. temperatures around freezing outside. up to 60. that's it today. showers overnight tonight should be on the light side. no big deal. how about the snow, though, robin? we have advisories out there. areas shaded in blue, nebraska down in towards kansas stretching in towards iowa.

one to two inches of snow today. talk about that plus look at minneapolis. we had a three hour delay at the airport right now. tell you when that's going to let up in a bit. >> thank you. there's snow today! in is an offer that sounds too good to be true. couples can go on a second honeymoon for free to rekindle their romance. why would a government pay for that?

how about we is a salute our troops. cassandra cruel wants to send a salute to her boyfriend. she says he is one of the most respectable and caring people she knows. he'll be deployed to afghanistan at the end of the month. she says both of their families love him and appreciate him for

the work that he does. maybe you have somebody you love in the service. why don't you salute them? cnn.com/robin. this weekend president obama vowed again to end the military's don't ask, don't tell policy. it allows gays and lesbians to serve in the military if they don't openly reveal their sexual orientation. on the flip side, they won't be asked about their sexual orientation. correspondent richard lui joins us now. what would have to happen for the policy to change here? >> yeah. a couple ways here. first off, an option is to push a bill through congress which right now does not exist. the chair of the committee that is keen to such a bill says getting military support is crucial here. >> i think he will when we can. i think it has to be done in the right way, which is to get a buy in from the military which i think is now possible. other militaries in the west, the british and other western armies have ended this discriminatory policy. we can do it successfully, but it ought to be done with thoughtfulness and with care and with a buy-in from the military. >> another option, president

obama could act without congress by using an executive order to end this policy. some gay rights activists, though, point out former president harry truman, that he used an executive order to end segregation in the military in the 1940s. >> what about people who oppose ending this ban? let's hear from them this morning. >> the folks that are not for it say that the military is just fine with the don't ask, don't tell policy and the best thing is to leave it alone. take a listen to another member of the key senate armed services committee. >> we've got a program that's working within the military. it's been very effective. very accommodating for about 15, 16 years now. and it's worked well. and i think there's no reason to change it. i get calls from military personnel on a regular basis every time this issue gets stirred up. and this is not a popular discussion within the military, i can assure you. >> all right. add to that committee member senator lindsay graham saying the policy should not change

just because the president made a campaign pledge. graham also wants the military to weigh in on the policy. >> thank you so much. you know what? you have some important decisions to make this year as open enrollment begins at work. now, i took a break during the show. went to the ladies room. there's a big sign plastered on the mirror that says open enrollment begins. it can be very costly if you make the wrong choices. good morning, jen. >> the kind of the thing the envelope comes and people are like do i have to think about this? look, it really makes a big difference when it comes to your health insurance, how much you par for it, so it's worth it to sit down for a few minutes. one of the problems i find with them is that they're written -- it's not easy to understand them. one buzz word i want you to look out for is consumer directed. you may like this. it means less money out of your paycheck. but it means you're going to have to pay more at the doctor's office. be careful if you expect to have a lot of medical treatment this year. if you do, you might not want that kind of a plan.

what it usually means is lower premiums for you. so 20% less out of your paycheck, for example. but, again, you'll have to pay more when you go see the doctor. sometimes there can be a deductible of up to $10,000 for a family. that is tough. the insurance company basically hopes that that means that when you take a big treatment, you'll really think about it. you won't get unnecessary treatments because you'll be paying more. about 1 million people use those little sidekicks. people who did, if you use it this weekend and you forgot to charge your battery and it ran out somehow, you may have lost everything. a lot of people upset. they lost their phones, pictures, date book, all the numbers for your friends and coworkers. it's all because of a techical glitch.

t-mobile is working on it around the clock to try to recover the data. not very up beat. the likelihood of a successful outcome is extremely low. that means epic fail. microsoft says it hopes to have an update later today. m-mobile saying -- >> where does that information go? where is this black hole somewhere it goes? >> supposedly they have this -- where they keep it. something happened with their servers. it's gone. we have unbelievable surveillance video of a wild gunfight at a bar. yeah. all this started with a fistfight. what you're seeing wasn't even the end of the gunfight.

hey, remember the hamburger we talked about a couple of weeks ago? a hamburger on a doughnut as the bun? joy behar is still thinking about it. here's her "not for nothing" commentary on the 1,500 calorie burger. >> tell me something. has anybody in this country ever heard of a salad? the new food fest sweeping the nation is the donut burger, a 1,500 calorie bacon cheeseburger with a glazed buttered crispy cream doughnut in place of the bun. it looks gross, doesn't it, like some kind of giant zit waiting to explode? all that's missing is the

whipped cream, maple syrup and pepperoni pizza. i hear the combo platter comes with a side of fries and a defibrillator. according to the cdc, 65% of americans are obese or overweight. 66% if you count rush limbaugh's head. can i ask a question? exactly how big a burger do we need? we have quarter pounders, half pounders, in and out burger. i'm sorry. nobody needs to eat half a herd for lunch. a bar owner in decatur, georgia, claims to have invented it. he named it the luther burger in honor of luther vandross who, by the way, died of a heart attack at age 54. this is the best way to honor him by seeing how quickly they can get luther's fans to join him? heart disease is the number one killer in this country, which makes me wonder are the people selling these two tons of fun cooks or killers? okay. that's a little harsh.

but think about it. if tobacco companies have to put warning labels on cigarettes, why not do the same thing on donut burgers? hey, tubbo, when you're finally done chewing, feel free to call 911. that should do it. >> you can catch "the joy behar show" at 9:00 p.m.'s teeeastern here on hln. a team rallied around the coach whose wife died a few days earlier. they pulled off an amazing victory in the final seconds. rafer, this one just tugs your heart. >> it really does. i have no idea, robin, how this man mustered the strength to do this. this team showed a lot of strength from top to bottom. we're talking about defensive coordinator mike zimmer. he comes home on thursday. he found his wife had died unexpectedly. no word on the cause of death. sunday he joined his team against the rival ravens, saying his wife would have wanted him to do it. the players said when they saw

him there it lifted their spirits. they played spirited. these guys are not supposed to be a good team. they won. they beat the ravens in the final seconds. they're in first place in their division. 22 seconds left, carson palmer hits -- for the go ahead score. afterward zimmer was given the game ball. >> let me say one thing. my wife loves all of you. she's proud of you. win or lose, she's proud of you. i just appreciate all y'all's effort. brett favre went from the 4-0 to the big 5-0 one day after his birthday. the best start in his career. now he's making me eat my words. actor/singer jesse mccartney messed up the national anthem at sunday's nascar race when he skipped a whole verse. listen ♪ oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light, whose broad

stripes and bright stars ♪ >> you can hear everybody here going, oh. just skipped a whole verse. >> i'll tell you now whenever i do the national anthem i have a card up my sleeve just in case i have a stupid attack. you know? your e-mail password might not be as private as you think. d they said it would never last.

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it's the longest-lasting plugins ever. get freshness that won't fade away for 60 days. ahhh! with plugins lasting impressions. and yes, it's glade. s.c. johnson, a family company. ♪ this is it, i can say i'm the light of the world ♪ >> that is the brand-new michael jackson song, "this is it." it was officially released at midnight on his website. the song will be in the new jackson movie and double cd coming out this month. his brothers sing the backup vocals on this song. secretary of state hillary clinton is in belfast this morning. she's there to offer new support for northern ireland's peace process. the province trying to resolve a standoff between political parties on how to transfer power. later today, clinton will go to

russia to drum up support against iran's nuclear policeman. for the first time a woman has won what's considered the nobel prize for economics. eleanor ostram is a professor at indiana university. she's sharing it with professor oliver williamson of the university of california berkeley. one nobel committee member says that the global financial crisis did not affect their deliberations. nose a these are some of the headlines. hope your weekend was good. i'm robin meade. top senators are split on whether to send more u.s. troops to afghanistan. republican john mccain says that anything less than 40,000 would be an error of his toric proportions. 40,000 is what the top u.s. commander in afghanistan's requesting. democrat dianne feinstein says president obama should take his general's advice, but the chairman of the armed services committee disagrees. >> i don't know how you put somebody in who is as cracker jack as general mcchrystal who

gives the president very solid recommendations and not take those recommendations if you're not going to pull out. >> at this time don't send more combat troops, but i say focus on the afghan forces, the army, faster, larger, better equipped. why are we shipping -- why don't we have a great plan to ship equipment from iraq to afghanistan? >> president obama and his top advisers are still reviewing the u.s. strategy in afghanistan. over the weekend the president again promised to end the military's controversial don't ask, don't tell policy. it bans gays and lesbians serving in the military from revealing their sexual orientation. richard lui, we heard from some politicians earlier. what about people in the military? >> to far current military leaders are not saying much on whether they want to end don't ask, don't tell. but some retired military leaders weighed in on this issue yesterday. >> gays can serve in the military. just can't serve openly.

and they do, and there's lots of them, and we are -- we're the beneficiary of all that. i'll leave it to the current folks to decide. >> there's no question it's time to change the policy. the key to it isn't buy-in from the military. it's for congress to change the law. they ought to do so. i'm confident the military will move ahead on it. >> not necessarily eye to eye there from two former prominent military leader. by the way, robin, more than 600 people were discharged from the military last year due to their sexual orientation. >> you know, richard, you're hearing that one group mt. military's more likely to be kicked out under that don't ask, don't tell policy. let's talk about that. >> you know, robin, women are much more likely than men to be kicked out of the military because of that policy. government figures show that more than one-third of the people discharged last year because of their sexual orientation were female. women, though, only account for 15% of all active duty and reserve military members. a researcher says a partial

explanation may be that it's more common in the military among women than males. police in central florida say a man accidentally shot and killed his fiance the day before their wedding. the associated press reports the man told investigators that he fired at someone that he thought was an intruder, thinking his fiance was still in bed. she died at the scene. police are investigating, but they say so far everything points to a tragic accident. how awful. a 19th century priest who helped leprosy patients and later died of that same disease is now a saint. he was among five people that pope benedict xvi kand dized yesterday. performing at least two miracles a requirement for sainthood.

now, we have snow to talk about for our friends in the midwest. bob's not starting there. but i bet it's cold in nashville as well. >> it is. it's a cool rain. and i have to start out here because now we're looking at more flooding concerns around the teep southeast. same area that got pounded earlier last month. you remember all the rain we had near atlanta through birmingham. here's the rain steadily training now in through northern louisiana and arkansas through mississippi, in alabama with a brand-new squall line developing around eastern alabama stretching in towards georgia. how much rain over the next 48 hours? major concern here. here's what we're calling for with the computer models. looking at about three to five inches of rain where you start seeing those yellow shades pop up. notice the orange colors when you get just around atlanta in towards birmingham. those are parts of the state of alabama. those about six inches of rain over the next two days. it's going to be a steady train. it's going to get ugly here starting this morning through the weekend. we're looking at rain off and on for the next five days, at least. let me zero in towards tat lan ta metro radar.

you have a little bit of break around the airports and light showers here. one patch of heavy rain moved on through. notice the squall line right across western georgia, alabama. that stretches in later today. it's coming right out of that birmingham area. take you live to birmingham with the tower cam. here's what it looks like out there now. flash flood warning. you've seen as much as one to three inches of rain this morning. you're drying out just temporarily now. more rain headed in that direction starting later this morning into the afternoon. you can see the lens already wet. expect another one to two inches of rain today and more for the weekend. what about the snow? it's coming down pretty heavy now in northern parts of nebraska in towards iowa stretching in towards minneapolis. trying to get in or out of msp, minneapolis st. paul airport, right now a three-hour delay because of the low clouds. also because of the snow. about one to two inches of snow is going to fall this morning. more details in just about a half hour. a busy day. west coast get preg pating repr for rain in california, too.

>> where do you expect the snow to go in the midwest? >> it's dping to snow itself out in the drier air mass across wisconsin. chicago dry, rain showers overnight. a morning event for you guys. >> thank you. you really want to scare people people this halloween? how about you dress up and look like this guy? you would get a lot of doors slammed in your face. this is one of the hottest pieces of real estate in the country. you would have to pay millions for the house. there's no charge for the secret service agents who would watch your every move.

♪ this is such a dramatic piece of tape. a dramatic shootout was caught on surveillance camera. it was an unbelievable piece of

tape here. watch. this is what happened after a figs fight turned into a gunfight at bar in toledo, ohio. people has already scrambled out the door, and there was more tape. >> shortly after that, a second camera captured people outside firing into the bar. no one was hurt after all those gunshots. police found at least 17 shell casings. they're still looking for the gunmen. once you're outside the building, why would you sit there and fire in. crazy. rush limbaugh is trying to buy an nfl team. the head of the players union is speaking out about that. here's rafer with more on that story. now, the whole story is that he would be a part owner. >> he would be a part owner, robin. but he would be the most visible. this is the man who once said the nfl looks more like a game now between the bloods and the

crypts, referring to rival street gangs. now rush apparently wants to be a part of the gang. the reaction has not all been positive. his group is one of six bidding for a stake to buy the st. louis rams. the ed of the players union send an e-mail condemning the possibility of limbaugh buying a team. he complained about it to roger goodell. what do you think about this? either way we're taking your thoughts on both sides. brian posted on your facebook page, this is still a free country, right? just because a person's political views don't align with ours doesn't give us the right to limit their ability to purchase a team or business or property. rick j. also wrote on our facebook page the nfl is already filled with controversial player. why not let rush rush in? it will be another media blitz. we obviously have opinions on all spectrums on this. go to our facebook page. you can post your thoughts there. we'll try to get them on the air. >> it is busy on facebook. thank you everybody who's making the comments. your boss might give you a financial incentive if you get

up off the sofa and get on the treadmill. our money expert jennifer we westhoven is here. >> i think we've seen this as -- we talked about it as a trend. a lot more companies are really doing it. it's getting a lot more personal than we're used to. if you want to get health insurance, more companies are saying get on the scale. we're going to measure you. they call it a risk assessment test. that's according to this morning's "l.a. times." they want to determine really the risk of you. if you might need costly medical treatments. and then they might say, you know, if you do decide to lose some weight or quit smoking, we'll give you lower premiums. they'll offer you an incentive to try to get you to get a little bit more fit. they may also offer you a discount to join the gym. if you don't take any of those choices, don't change anything, you may end up paying higher deductibles, for example, or higher premiums. your weight is one number. here's another number that's important. your credit score.

you know that. the new magic number if you want to own a home, 620. mortgage giant fannie mae, which is huge, the backbone of that market, it is setting 620 as the new minimum fico score just to get a loan. so you get a high rate if you have had. if you want a great rate, aim for 720. pay your bills on time. 620 is the good one to keep in mind. halloween is coming right up. if this guy rings your doorbell, hide your loot. it means the person is dressed as bernie madoff, one of the most notorious men in wall street history. this is turning out to be a popular costume this season along with, of course, the dead celebrities. you know you're going to see a lot of those. if you see somebody dressed like this, give him one chocolate bar, he will not give you back 15. >> he's keeping it and running. the real madoff, of course, is behind bars for cheating people out of millions. you're right. you would have tell me who that is. now i see it. >> i think it doesn't quite --

>> you need a little sign on your briefcase that says bernie. >> a good idea. a little name tag. a woman led police on scary high speed chase with a child in the backseat. at one point she crashed. that's when things got even crazier.

a woman led florida deputies on a wild high speed chase with a 7-year-old girl in the backseat. she was clocked at speeds topping 110 miles an hour. at one point she was driving the wrong way, even. she finally crashed into a guardrail. and even after getting out of her car police say she still refused to cooperate. they finally tasered her. the child was not hurt. one of the iraq's main cities is shut off this morning after a series of car bombings. officials closed all entrances to ramadi and imposed a curfew. three car bombs killed 23 people there yesterday and wounded 77 other. iraqi authorities are blaming al qaeda. here is your chance to be president obama's neighbor. the house next door to his in chicago is for sale.

in just three weeks, it had 75,000 hits on the realtors website. and worldwide inquiries including from a saudi prince. the owner told cnn's alina cho why he's selling. >> it's expensive to live here. and then there's this thing, the realtors are calling the obama factor. >> beautiful, beautiful home. little bit of a fixer upper. >> fixer upper. the basement is a disaster. >> you're an honest man. >> well, i think i'm selling location and not my basement. so i can afford to be honest. >> just to look at that house you have to have $1.5 million in the bank. he got it for $35,000 back in the '70s. all right. the u.s. is trying to drum up tourism by charging visitors a fee. "usa today" reports that a $10 tax will pay for marketing the united states as a great vacation spot. the senate must okay it. the u.s. travel association says that a lot of people don't visit

because of stepped up security. but a european commission says that it might lead to a retaliatory fee on americans. the angels appear to have an angel in the outfield, so to speak. they continue to rally around a fallen teammate. here's rafer with more on this story. good morning. >> good morning rb robin. a terrible tragedy has really become a feel good story for people certainly who are rooting for the los angeles angels. we're talking about forler pitcher nick adenhart. you may remember the story. killed by a drunk driver. his jersey has been hanging in their dugout this postseason. they were down two runs and two outs. and a strike away from losing game three to boston. but pulled out this miraculous comeback to sweep the sox. they're playing bob's yankees starting on friday. this the proof the baseball season is just too long. cold. the phillies playing in colorado

delayed 24 hours because of snow. it was 35 degrees at game time. that is time -- that ties the coldest temp for a baseball game ever. we're just getting started, folks. we've got weeks and weeks and weeks left of this here, folks, season. phils won 6-5. a 2-1 series lead. football, brothers manning, heard of these guys? you should. eli and peyton are proving to be the gratest brotherly quarterback duo in history. it's looking more and more like these guys could actually face each other in the super bowl this year. peyton put tennessee nits place last night for an easy win. eli and the giants embarrassed the raiders so badly eli didn't even finish the first half of the game. speaking of football, if you're eating your cereal, look away. this is a pregame ritual gone too far. seattle fullback owen schmitt banging his head with his helmet to that? how does that help you play? oh, my goodness. just get you some aspirin. seahawks would pound jacksonville 41-9. >> stupid, isn't it?

>> it is stupid. if that's not absurd enough, it's the north american wife carrying championships. a maine couple took home the trophy where you got to go through the muddy water. this is my took home the t trophy. >> look at her. >> the winners -- won lacy's weight in beer and five times her weight in cash. >> he won and she's tiny. >> that's a look at sports. >> thank you. did you know that hackers get paid to steal e-mail passwords? you might be surprised by who is paying for your personal info. clark howard tells you how to protect your privacy. >> i hate to ever talk about a problem to which i can't offer you an easy remedy or solution, but there's something going on out there that i feel i've just

got to tell you and then there are precautions you should take to protection yourself. do you know you can hire companies, hackers, on the web, for $30 or more to crack somebody else's e-mail password so that you can go into their account and snoop around. who's doing this most? a spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend, but could also be used for a number of dishonest purposes. so here's what you need to know. the hackers are going to be able to break in if somebody's determined, but you need to be afrl what you store in your e-mail. i'm clark howard. for more advice go to cnn.com.

>> catch him at noon eastern on saturdays and sundays. you call out the tv cameras for a little fire fighting demonstrati demonstration. no one planned for them to catch on fire.

good morning, sunshine. it's 9:00 eastern. here's what we're working on today. more than three months after michael jackson's death, there is a new song by him out and you're going to have to hear who was working on it with him. three survivors were left floating at sea after a plane crash and the rescue teams couldn't see them. what happened? plus -- >> let's get the firefighter extinguished. quickly! help him, help him, help him. they're on fire. >> a scary scene at a fire

safety demonstration where the firefighters ended up on fire. at least 41 people died when a bomb exploded near a busy market today. authorities in pakistan stay dozens more were injured in what appeared to be a suicide car bombing targets a military vehicle. this happened in a region where the pakistani army has been battling the taliban for control. ♪ the cast of "hair" joined the push for equality in march and it end ed the military's don't ask, don't tell policy. thousands marched yesterday in d.c. they're saying they want action on president obama's pledge to end the ban on gays in the military. one lieutenant under that policy said, it is time for a change. >> hooim i'm here because we're

marching for equality. i marched for many things in the army, but when there are people des criminated, we have to stand up. >> some supporters say it will be difficult to do and president obama isn't doing enough. some in the military support the ban and so does senator chambliss. he says the program works. we're going to hear from him in about ten minutes along with one of his colleagues with a different idea. new this morning, a brand new michael jackson song is out. this is "this is it." ♪ this is it here i stand i'm the light of the world i feel grand ♪ ♪ i can feel and i know yet for sure it is real ♪

it was released on jackson's website at midnight. his brothers are singing the back-up vocals. it will be featured in an upcoming film and part of a double cd. rush limbaugh is trying to buy an nfl team and the players association is responding. okay. rush and the nfl. >> rush and the nfl. he's a long-time football fan, a native of st. louis and is now trying to buy a majority of st. louis rams. the head of the players union sent out an e-mail to other union execs and roger goodell, trying to discourage this move. some of limbaugh's past comments have upset some in the nfl community. he said donovan mcnabb was overrated partially because of his skin color. in the meantime, we are taking your thoughts about this. ann says --

lance says -- you agree or disagree, go to our facebook page or text us. robin? >> thank you. three people who held on to a lobster trap bouy are alive. their plane crashed friday in the florida keys. on cnn, they talked about what they went through before they were rescued. >> we could hear them. we could see them. unfortunately, they were searching 2200 square miles, so three little heads bobbing in

the ocean, we were pretty hard to see. we tried. we waved as hard as we could. >> we counted down for that sun to rise. when the sun came up, we saw a plane off in the distance several miles off in the distance and you know, that was still a glimmer of hope that they were still looking for us. we knew they were there. >> they spent 12 hours in the ocean and were repeatedly stung by jelly fish. they only had minor injuries. that's incredible. >> heck, yeah. >> five minutes after the hour. let's talk about your weather. some have snow. that's what i said. >> that's one thing we're looking at. lower parts of minnesota into iowa. we're watching things go downhill quickly for areas around birmingham in towards atlanta. a massive squall line generating

a lot of rain continues to press towards the east. here's atlanta. notice the showers and thunderstorms to the west. that's rotating in. we see that red, shaded area. that's about one to two inches per hour. that is headed in this direction. all the areas you see in red, atlanta all the way aren't the region, all under a flash flood warning as we've seen about one to two inches of rain this morning. we're counting on an additional two to three inches of rain. across minneapolis, the snow is on the light side north of msp, but to the south, we have advisories in blue. it includes grand island, but not omaha or lincoln. includes minneapolis though. a couple of inches for snow for you. then to the west, the leading edge of clouds rolling in

towards california, a pretty big storm system headed towards the region by tomorrow afternoon. high winds toward the bay area and north of l.a. the major story, flooding again for the southeast. more in just a bit. >> more? >> yeah. it may be open enrollment time at work. some new rules can cost you more at the doctor's office, so we'll discuss. and then people who need auctions are the luckiest people in the world.

cassandra wants to send a salute to her boyfriend. anthony matthew. she says he's one of the most respectable and caring people she knows.

he's going to be deployed to afghanistan at the end of the month. she says both of their families love him and appreciate him for the work that he does. if you have somebody in the service, we'd love to help you salute them. before kids take a math test, they might have to take a breath test. a massachusetts school district gave approval to use breathalyzers to test students. some parents like the idea, but the aclu of massachusetts tells "the boston globe" it will just drive kids to use other drugs. an accused hijacker is under arrest 40 years after the hijacking of pan am flight 281. 66-year-old luis armando pena soltren surrendered to authorities at jfk airport. two suspects pleaded guilty in the 1970s.

martin luther king jr. lost his life while trying to pull his country together, but today, a lawsuit is tearing his children apart. new for you in about 20 minutes, the feud that the king family refuses to settle outside of court. you have important decisions to make this year as open enrollment starts at work. jennifer westhoven is looking out for you. i'm very bad about waiting until the last couple of days, if that. it can be very costly though if we make the wrong choices. >> if your health insurance is at work, one of the buzz words this year that you want to watch for is called consumer directed. that means, one way to translate, you would pay more at the doctor's office. less money coming out of your paycheck, so it may even out, but more at the doctor's office. it does mean lower presume yums,

20% lower. deductibles can be up to $10,000 for a family, so think of that. you have to pay $10,000 before your coverage kicked in. so the insurance company is hoping in many cases that this will discourage you from taking on high cost procedures. one of the ways to think about this is if you think you're not going to use a lot of medical coverage, then this is probably helpful. but if you do think you're going to go in a lot, might not be the same. this morning, the dow is starting out at 98.64. less than 150 points away from 10,000. last week, there was a 4% rally. we've got ge, goldman, intel among many others, so there's a lot of optimism built in right now. these are some of the best levels this year. the futures have been up this morning. and side kick users could

lose everything side in their phones. your pictures, all your friends' numbers. your date book. because of the technical glitch. keep that battery charger. the-mobile and micro soft are supposed to store it for you. pretty much they say, probably that's stuff is all gone. speaking of gone. if you're traveling this morning, maybe you're watching from the airport right now, we have trouble in atlanta. >> the on time flights are gone for atlanta. get back to work on monday and if you're traveling in or out of atlanta, we have a delay. you can see the clouds through the mid-atlantic. here's what it looks like in washington, d.c. traveling up here, you're dry for the day. the high around 60. that's going to be holding true for you through norng new england, too. as for the rest of the region,

the heaviest rain near atlanta. notice the planes coming in, moving out. notice the squall line in here. that's why we're going to get put in a ground stop. one hour or more delay for you, atlanta, charlotte, memphis. currently, a three-hour delay at msp, minneapolis, because of low clouds and snow. a bar fight in ohio really got out of control. check this out. everybody had guns. they were all drawn. bullets were flying all over the place and it was all caught on tape. ♪

this weekend, president obama vowed to end the military's don't ask, don't tell policy. it allows gays to serve in the military if they don't openly reveal their sexual orientation. richard lui, how might the policy be ended? >> one option is to push a bill through congress which right now, does not exist. the chairman of the committee says getting military support here the crucial. >> i think he will and he can. i think it has to be done in the right way, which is to get a buy-in from the military, which is now possible. other militaries in the west, the british and western armies, have ended this policy. we can do it successfully, but it ought to be done with thoughtfulness and care and with a buy-in from the military. >> some pro-gay rights activists

have criticized president obama, accusing him of putting these rights on the back burner. on saturday, the president did not mention a specific timetable. >> what about people who oppose ending the ban? >> some say the military is just fine with the policy and the best thing to do is just leave it alone. take a listen to another member of the senate arms committee. >> we've got a program that's working within the military. it's been very effective, very accommodating for about 15, 16 years now and it's worked well and i think there's no reason to change it. i get calls from military personnel on the regular basis every time this issue gets stirred up and this is not a popular discussion within the military, i can assure you. >> also piping in, senator lindsey graham, saying the policy should not be ended because of the president's campaign pledge. he also wants the military to weigh in on this policy.

>> thank you. a dramatic shootout is caught on tape. this is what happened after a fistfight turned into a gun battle at a bar in toledo, ohio. people had already scrambled out the door and here's that tape. scary. shortly after that, a second camera was capturing people outside firing into the bar. after all those gun shots, no one was hit, even though police found at least 17 shell casings. they're still looking for the gunman. is that not crazy? a team rallied around its coach who's wife died a few days earlier and they pulled off an amazing victory in the final seconds. >> i have no idea how this man was able to do this, but bengals

defensive coordinator mike zimmer, came home thursday and found out his wife had died. sunday, he joined his rivals and the players said seeing him there lifted their spirits. their defense played one of the best games ever and now, they have gone from worst to first place in that division. here was the amazing win with 22 seconds left. afterwards, zimmer was given the game ball. >> my wife loves all of you. she's proud of you. win or lose, she's proud of you. and i just appreciate -- >> bengals have been an amazing story this year. brett favre has also been a good story. he went from the 40 to 50. on the day after his 40th birthday, he and the vikings ral

rallied. okay, it's working. this is not working. jesse mcartny messed up the -- ♪ by the dawns early light whose broad ♪ look, everybody sort of let's it sink in. couple of drivers start looking around. did he miss that? at least we'll get to the track sooner. speaking of, on the track, well, they -- it wasn't pretty, either. we had a big crash with only six laps to go. several cars involved in this one. jimmie johnson went on to win his fifth sprint cup race and jumps ahead of mark martin with only six races left. so you call out the tv cameras for a little fire fighting demonstration, but this

one doesn't go as planned because no one called for the firefighters to catch on fire. >> quickly -- help him, help him, help him, help him.

all righty. the new york stock exchange is open for business. who's that? what's wubzy. the show's new dvd features beyonce. all eyes are watching for an expected rally on wall street today. ♪ this is it here i stand ♪ ♪ in the light of the world love is grand ♪ that is the brand new song by michael jackson called "this is it." it was officially released at

midnight on his website. it will be in the new jackson movie. his brothers are the ones singing the back-up vocals. an explosion near a marketplace killed at least 41 people today. the attack appeared to target a military vehicle. this was in northwest pakistan, where the army's been locked in heavy fighting against the taliban. "couple's retreat" was the number one movie this weekend. "zombie land" fell to second and "cloudy with a chance of meatballs" hanging in there at third with 12 million. those are the top stories. good morning. it's 31 minutes past the hour. morning, sunshine. jury selection starts today in the children of martin luther king jr. against each other.

they're suing their brother and battles over control of their father's estate. a demonstration to show how effective fire sprinklers are got too exciting. >> this side has been destroyed. let's get the firefighter extinguished. quickly! help him, help him, help him, help him, help him. they're on fire, chief. let's get a hose line. >> one firefighter spent the night in the hospital with burns on his cheek and hand. apparently, no one remembered there was a plastic sign above them. that sign melted and dropped burning plastic on the firefighters. so that is what's going on. i'm amazed at how long the flames were on their clothing. a man accidentally shot and

killed his fiance a day before their wedding. he fired at somebody he thought was an intruder. police are investigating, but so far, everything points to a tragic accident. the founder of cirque du soleil is safely back on earth after a trip to the international space station. some people call him the first clown in space because he wore a big, spongy nose during the trip. the trip cost him 35 million bucks. for fans of barbra streisand, this collection is going to be like butter. it includes items from "funny girl." she says it was time to get rid of some of her stuff. >> if you can't really use something anymore even though it belonged to you for a long time and you loved it, it's great to pass it on. >> well rk items range in price from the hundreds to tens of

thousands of dollars. >> clean out your closet for charity. you think anybody would want my used diaper genie? >> as long as it still works. we're looking at the tornado warning that just expired by the georgia and alabama line. now stretching into just around corin corinth, georgia. it's just a severe thunderstorm warning, but we might see some rotation. it's all ahead of the squall line with heavy downpour action out of arkansas, mississippi and louisiana. how much rain over the next 48 hours? a lot. computer generated models call r for about three to five inches

of rain. that's northern alabama, parts of georgia, mississippi and lower arkansas. that's six inches plus over the next two days. we have flash flood warnings right now for georgia, around atlanta and towards birmingham, too. the bright shaded red areas, those are flash flood warnings. another one to five inches of rain in some areas around here. then you get away from that region, it's cold and cold enough to produce snow. it's heavy at times right now. here's minneapolis with the radar. look at that steady stream coming in. the tower cam out of the minneapolis, there you go. >> oh, my goodness. >> about one to two inches of snow additionally. mostly on the grassy areas. >> it's sticking to the leaves. >> the leaves, the trees. a three-hour delay at the airport in minneapolis because of that snow. there's your winter weather advisory. we're calling for it, there is it is.

>> you are a hardy bunch. thank you. the dow last traded above 10,000 in october of last year, but the blue chips could get back into the five-digit territory if the dow responds. susan lisovicz is at the new york stock exchange. >> good morning. the dow less than 100 points from 10,000. stocks adding to last week's big gain. the dow rebounded with a 4% gain. ditto for the nasdaq and s&p 500. this week, the first big wave of corporate earnings will determine the market's direction. wall street will hear from six of the dow 30 stocks, bank of america, johnson & johnson, intel, jpmorgan chase and ge. the earnings flood begins tuesday. no major news on tap for today. why? it's columbus day. the bond market is closed. "the new york times" says the stock market is closed, too, but

they're wrong. finally, the most popular halloween costume. can you guess, robin, what this is? >> since you're doing the story, i'm going to guess it's bernie madoff. >> it sure is. they are flying off the shelves. my suggestion here is to wear the mask and then to wear an orange prison jump suit because he's serving a 150 year sentence. >> then people will surely know who he is. >> exactly. did you see one real estate listing in chicago? you've got to have 1.5 million bucks in the bank just to go there. so what makes this house so special?

let's check on the markets right now because we're that close to getting at the 10,000 mark, which the dow has not been at since october of last year. we'll put that in the corner of the screen. idaho police are trying to figure out why a bus carrying a high school band veered off of a highway. a band instructor died saturday and 44 students were injured. they say the driver slumped over just before the crash and the instructor grabbed the wheel. top senators are split on whether to send more u.s. troops to afghanistan. republican john mccain says anything less than 44,000 would

be an error of historic proportions. democrat, dianne feinstein, says that president obama should take his general's advice, but the chairman of the armed services committee disagrees. >> i don't know how you put somebody in who is as cracker jack as general mcchrystal. >> at this time, don't send more combat troop, but i say focus on the afghan forces, the army. faster, larger, better equipped. why don't we have a plan to ship equipment? >> well, president obama and his top advisers are still reviewing the strategy. police say a new york woman was driving drunk with seven little girls in the car when she

lost control. >> good morning. coming up, this is a very tragic story. police say that an 11-year-old girl is dead because of this and some others are banged up as well. we'll have the details on that. plus, a bunch of greenpeace activists climbed to the top of the british parliament building so they could camp out. then a guy on a motorcycle saw three bags full of money fall off the back of an armored car. you've got to hear the company's explanation for why nobody noticed. crazy story. >> someone's in trouble. here is your chance to be president obama's neighbor. the house next door to his in chicago is up for sale. in just three weeks, it had 75,000 hits on the realtors website and worldwide inquiries including from a saudi prince. >> it's expensive to live here.

and then there's this thing, the realtors are calling the obama factor. >> beautiful, beautiful home. little bit of a fixer upper. >> the basement is a disaster. >> you're an honest man. >> well, i think i'm selling location and not be basement, so i can afford to be honest. >> just to look at the house though, you're going to need at least 1.5 million bucks in the bank. rush limbaugh is trying to buy an nfl team and the head of the player's union is speaking out against it. >> yeah, some folks in the nfl community are upset over comments he's made in the past. for instance, one time, he said that donovan mcnabb was overrated because he is black. limbaugh is part of the group bidding to buy a majority of the st. louis rams. the head of the players union sent an e-mail condemning this potential sell.

we've been taking your thoughts about this. vince posted -- meanwhile, wilbur wrote -- what i find interesting is that one thing he's spoken out against the corporate socialism. the st. louis rams benefit from it, so if he buys in, it will be interesting to see if he changes his tune on that. >> he would be a majority owner? >> yes. a couple who met online because they had the same name, tied the knot this weekend in florida and nobody changed their name. they said their i dos yesterday.

they met on facebook and the wedding comes just eight months after they met. a 95-year-old man is safe and sound now, but this is his car. you won't believe who was in the right place at the right time to come to his rescue.

a top health official says you'll be better off with the swine flu vaccine than without it. they warn the risks from not getting the vaccine are higher than the potential risks linked to it. >> a lot of people are saying it's new, but it's important to know that seasonal flew vaccine is made the same way as this h1n1 vaccine. 100 million people get the seasonal vaccine every year and it has a really good safety record. some parents are wondering if it's been fully tested. >> she also says it's okay to get swine flu and regular flu shot on the same day. a woman led florida deputies

on a wild, high-speed chase with a 7-year-old girl in the backseat. she was clocked at speeds of 110 miles an hour and was driving the wrong way. she finally crashed into a guardrail. even after getting out of the car, she refused to cooperate rate. the child was not hurt. an off-duty firefighter saved a 95-year-old man on saturday. he jumped in and pulled the man out. they hold on until place came with a kayak to get them. a woman in the car was able to get out on her own. >> i was able to get my hands around the female in the driver's seat. i got my arms around her and pulled her up onshore to safety. >> police are still investigating how that car crashed. the l.a. angels appear to have an angel in the outfield at they continue to rally around a

fallen teammate. >> we're obviously not rooting necessarily for the los angeles angels, but this has been a very good story. i mean, it's just been nice to see. it's been nice to see these guys rally around their former teammate who was killed by an alleged drunk driver. they've been hanging his jersey in the dugout. here, they were down two runs, two outs and a strike away from losing game three to boston, and somehow managed this comeback to sweep the red sox. they are going to play the yankees starting on friday. meanwhile, this is proof that the season is too long, people. the phillies playing in colorado, 35 degrees at game time. tieing it for the coldest temp for a baseball game ever. it got below freezing during the game.

we've got weeks to go. the fills win 6-5. and the brothers manning, only the greatest brotherly duo ever. peyton put tennessee in its place last night for an much tht down before the first half was even over. be interesting to see, we have a lot of season left. if you're eating, look away. watch this guy seahawks fullback bang himself in the head until that happens. that gets you ready to play football. >> that cannot be healthy. >> the seahawks would then pound jacksonville, 41-0. the wife carrying championships and they did not even have a fight afterwards. this was my favorite. here you go, honey. that's a strong gal right there. won lacy's weight in beer.

oh, that's going to be a fight and fooib times her weight in cash. that's her look how tiny she and her husband is huge. >> it was like 80 bucks. >> thank you. yeah, first check you're thinking, might be counterintuitive but then you win your wife's weight in beer. what's going on, robin? let me take you outside to atlanta, major hub, obviously. busiest airport in the country. heavy rains and ground stoppage as a squall line is racing on through and ground stop for the next hour and then open to hour delays for the rest of the day. atlanta, again, about an hour stoppage right now and that will continue through the afternoon and showers in charlotte watch for half hour delay right there. also looking at dallas with showers. minneapolis right now with the snow coming down, three-hour delay. that's current. more on that, robin, in just about ten minutes.

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