good morning on "early today." battles for votes. he became president campaigning for change. now a new nbc news "wall street journal" poll shows voters want change. seeing red. a colombian bullfight turns deadly for rowdy spectators. and military mishaps. two navy pilots under fire for lowering their choppers into lake tahoe. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good wednesday morning to you. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with desperate

measures. president obama heads to the nation's heartland today where he will no doubt rake republicans over the coals, but they aren't the only ones in the hot seat. the president turned up the heat on his own party members yesterday. hoping to return the support that won him the presidency. nbc's tracie potts has more from washington. good morning to you, tracie. >> reporter: veronica, good morning. good morning, everyone. buck up. that's what president obama said, his word literally to democrats. trying to re-energize the party with some political tough love. >> i don't know about you, but i'm fired up. >> reporter: president obama telling democrats, ignore polls and pundits claiming the party's apathetic. >> we cannot sit this one out. we can't let this country fall backwards because of rest of us didn't care enough to fight. >> reporter: in interviews he's even tougher. the president told "rolling stone" the democrats "sitting on their hands complaining are irresponsible." republicans and even some

democrats say beating up the base may backfire. >> out there trying to terrify them, and put all of these scare tactics out there and hope that the fear will drive them to the polls. >> reporter: mr. obama's on a four-day swing to drum up support amid a faltering economy. >> i don't think there's one specific sector to put the blame on. >> reporter: nearly one therpd of american dos. in a new poll, the percentage who blame mr. obama for america's economic growth has almost doubled since january. consumed by the tea party, republicans say they've got momentum. >> not there on the democrat side as much as the republican side. >> reporter: expect more heated rhetoric as president obama rallies in iowa and virginia today. and if this president can't get it done with a tough love message, perhaps another president can. i in our nbc/"wall street journal" poll sews the most popular democratic campaigning is former president bill clinton. veronica? >> interesting. all right, tracie potts, nice to

see you. thanks very much. in a fresh line of division within the democratic party, 47 democrats have broken rank with the presidents other bush tax cuts and extensions. they're calling for a 5% maximum rate on investment income. that rate expires at the end of the year. while president obama wants to extend the 15% rate for middle income homes, he wants to increase it for 20% earners. a vote on tax breaks is unlikely before congress adjourns this and it's unlikely before congress adjourns the campaign ahead of midterm elections. intelligence officials in europe have reportedly uncovered a plot to carry out what's being called moon by style attacks in england, france and germany. apparently this has been on the radar of european officials for some time, with multiple threats in france before just yesterday the eiffel tower was evacuated following a bomb threat. according to one counterterrorism official,

some recent missile strikes in unmanned drones in pakistan were aimed at the planners of the suspected plots aimed at europe. despite yesterday's reports, threat levels in the targeted countries have not been raised. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america -- the u.s. navy is investigating an unauthorized exercised that took place over california's lake tahoe. two navy helicopters were seen hovering and dipping temporarily into the waters resulting in an estimated $50,000 to $500,000 in damages. while the helicopters are back in service, both pilots have been grounded until the end of the investigation. stunning video shows for the first time a school of blue whales swimming right off the california coastline. biologists say new weather patterns and cooler waters bringing in an abundance of krill could be attracting hungry whales. experts say concern about the whales being struck by boats.

one phaniticle phillies fan -- a foam finger going all out to show support for his home team. a custom phillies paint job, seats and all the bells and whistles on this vintage ride. this took eight months to complete, but the phighting phillies fan hopes that it will be a world series charm. and in new york, if you can't find joey ramone's place, look up, look up. that's right. the street sign has been stolen four times since 2003, forcing city officials to reinstall the placard 20 feet above street level. given how many times the sign has been stolen and given its new height, perhaps a gps is still going to be your best bet when it comes to findy joey ramone place. place, place, place. not person. bill karins has the weather forecast. you were definitely a fan. you and your mohawk? >> never had the mohawk. i know who the ramones are.

i did listen a little bit. not a big fan but appreciated that era and some of the creativity. let's talk about the western heat wave. remember, 113 all-time record high in downtown l.a. a couple days ago? yesterday, slightly cooler. cut off low off the baja helping a little of the cool down just on the immediate coast. otherwise, still very hot. unusually strong area of high pressure is responsible, and this weather pattern blocked up until we get rid of this east coast storm. that won't happen for another two days. yesterday, very hot. no doubt about it. still 99 in l.a. 103 in vegas and 101 in phoenix. 90s all the way into boise and medford, we're almost into october. not changing soon, until we see a storm system scum coming to the west coast it's staying warm. that's not happening over the next couple of days. temperatures, holding on to the heat at night, too. still in the 80s in vegas.

79 in phoenix. 76 in l.a. today 71 in seattle. 90s widespread and even 100s if you're away from the coast. that's a look at your 101 in fresno. you tie at 103. 98 in bakersfield. take a look at thursday's forecast coming up. >> all right. so if you weren't a ramones fan what is it? justin bieber? >> i'm not appreciate of his style. we'll talk about that later in the show, too. >> all right. gold sparkles and getting a beer in tough times. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, who came out on top, so to speak, in an online poll choosing the worst dressed man in show business? three teams punched their tickets to the postseason had a

rough ride for a rough rider. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning -- former president jimmy carter is expected to resume his book tour today after spending the night in a cleveland, ohio, hospital with an upset stomach. medical officials say the decision to admit him was purely precautionary, and carter, who received a call from president obama, was fully alert and resting comfortably. an appeals court is allowing federal funding of embryonic stem cell research to continue pending a full appeal. yesterday the u.s. court of appeals in washington handed the obama administration a victory reversing an injunction blocking the funding. tomorrow's scheduled execution for albert greenwood

brown was put on hold to determine whether the state's new injection procedures removed a prolonged and painful death. unless it is overruled, the judge will halt the execution and prevent executions in california until early next year due to a nationwide shortage of a key drug needed for lethal injection. and in colombia, several dead, others injured after they jumped into the ring and the bull started goring people. the mayor blames public drunkenness for the tragedy. >> and now here's a look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opened 46 points yesterday and the nikkei added 63 points while the hang seng climbed 268. wall street was off to a rocky start, but a laterally helped wall street close mostly higher yesterday.

a sharp drop in consumer confidence for september fielded early sell-off despite a somewhat upbeat report on housing prices. investors reacted to an industry survey that found ceos aren't exactly optimistic about a short-term recovery in sales or staffing. uncertainty in stocks drove the price of gold to a fresh high, above $1,300 an ounce for the first time ever. strong earnings from wall greens boosted the mood on the street. sales of the drug store chain soared 11% after easily beat analyst estimates. yet another corporate deal added to investor optimism. endo pharmaceutical shot up after news it will pay $1.2 billion to buy qualitest pharmaceuticals. monsanto fell. uncertainty on genetically modified crops. tech stocks struggled,

dragged down by news from research in motion that its playbook tablet won't be on the margaret until early next year. in the "times," reporting that the obama administration is pushing for a deal to unload its stake of aig before november's midterm elections. keep an eye on hewlett packard. hp got a boost on after hours trade after a forecast delivered by its interim ceo. finally, you know times are tough when you have to barter for beer. on an lined in the baltic sea, one bar owner has revived the long lost barter system to help locals beat the economic blues. now he's trading cold ones for wire firewood and potatoes. the yanks and braves drink champagne. a brave caught in a pinch, and what has gotten into the kool-aid? and this wasn't the only thing the cincinnati reds had to celebrate last night. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather, heavy tropical rains moving up the east coast and the heat continues out west. your wednesday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early

today."

well, good morning to you. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, regardless of who wins the race for the american league east title, one thing is for sure. both the yankees and the rays are going to the playoffs. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning.

eva longoria called out reds fans after less than 13,000 showed up to thursday's game. looks like the tongue lashing worked. still, nowhere near a sellout but the fans who were there witnessed a historic game for the franchise. carlos pena gave the rays a 3-0 lead. 17th of the season. another strong bid for the cy young, struck out eight for his 19th victory. tampa led it, 5-0. david smith struck out 8 for his 19th victory. the rays clenched the season spot with a 5-0 win over the orioles. the yankees are back in the playoffs. c.c. sabathia. the yanks have qualified for the playoffs a remarkable 15th time in 16 years. to the red, carlos hit one deep and unfortunately for him, drew stubs was there.

hundred high and deep and unfortunately for him, drew stubbs was there. a home run grabbing grab kept the game close. we go to the ninth, tied at two. jay bruce clenched the n.l. central. one big fling. the walk-off homer, the reds advance, 3-2. the braves are doing everything they can to lock up the n.l. wild card. braves beat the marlins, 3-2. they have a game and a half lead in the wild card race. finally, the president's race in washington, d.c. took an unexpected turn. teddy roosevelt's glasses flopping around. maybe that's why he didn't see this. the kool-aid man came out of nowhere and took teddy out. a rough ride for the rough rider. thomas jefferson won the race, but it was the kool-aid man who made the biggest splash. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. well, fans of one hit show are worried that too many stars

will ruin the fun. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, loved ones are reunited in a happy home coming in rhode island. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to this good wednesday morning. once again, no rainfall in the west. tracking temperatures which continue to be very warm. still need your air conditioner on in the vegas area and much of

southern nevada. actually much of california, still using the air conditioner. medford, 93. pretty nice. 71 in seattle. thursday's forecast, continuing warm weather. knocking down temperatures in coastal california. look at phoenix. record high, 108 possible on thursday. if you're watching on kbbc, take a trip around the world through dance. learn dances from greece, china, russia and more at folk dancing with ethnic expression at the charleston heights arts center. that's your pacific event of the day, veronica. >> very nice. you know my mom lives in vegas, so -- >> she is? >> she is. so good morning, mom. >> send her the details so she can get out there. >> exactly. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. justin timberlake might be starring in the new movie "the social network."

of facebook, justin timberlake says i don't care about my friend's feelings. they can call me and tell me. and 4 an in an interview "rolling stone" president obama says his ipod has about 2,000 songs on it, including stevie wonder, bob dylan and the rollingstones. an online poll has named russell brand as the worst dressed man's in showbiz, followed in second place, by teen heartthrob justin bieber. confirmation that gweneth paltro will be the latest star on the show, they're worried too many stars will prove to be the show's undoing. justin said, quote, i have a girlfriend who is far prettier than i should have. you know, we just mentioned justin bieber earlier. also justin timberlake. did you like justin timberlake? >> i'm okay with justin timberlake. very diverse, surprised me. justin bieber, not so sure. >> i don't know either.

obama, his ipod, did play list. >> 2,000 songs? that's a lot. i only keep like 100, because it's just too random. >> this comes to us from nbc 10 in cranston, rhode island. anxious family and friends could hardly way for a family reunion. members the guard returned with hugs and kisses after a year-long deployment to guantanamo bay, cuba. were you so much focus on iraq and afghanistan we sometimes tend to overlook those serving elsewhere. that definitely was not the case here when it comes to the friends add families of 170 members ever the 150th military police company. welcome home. i'm veronica de la cruz, and this is "early today," just your first stop of 9 day today on your nbc station.

well it is back to the future in singapore. japanese scientists presented their latest creations at a robot show. especially grabbing attention, this baby robot. it can sing, talk and thanks to facial recognition, it can differentiate between people. if you want a pet, and not the hassle of taking care of one, there you go. there is a robot for that as well. competitors faced off in england with the pole climbing championship. two competitors go in heats in as little as ten seconds. watch them go. ooh, ooh. well, the sport is relatively new in you're, its origins trace back to pole climbing to those

of lumberjacks in america and canada. in australia, we're pumped for a record setting race. the high healed women set the guinness record for fastest stiletto relay. oh, my goodness. nearly 100 women and even one man -- one man -- strapped on sky-high shoes for the race. the winning team took home $100,000 and plans to rest in thailand, no doubt to rest those aching feet. one man, bill karins. one man. i just have to say this -- i have a stiletto with your name on it. >> now, that is a stiletto. good thing my foot wouldn't fit in it. >> if you want to try -- >> if you want to treat my broken ankle, that's fine. >> okay. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in washington state, there will be a hearing for a whom who falsely claimed a stranger threw acid in her face when she did it herself. accused of accepting donations

made by those duped in the hoax. closing arguments are expected in a high profile divorce case that could affect the ownership of the los angeles dodgers. a judge could decide whether frank mccourt is the team's sole owner or whether his estranged wife should have half a share. at washington's kennedy center, latino leaders will be honored at the hispanic heritage awards. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." and finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. matt lauer goes one-on-one with the developer behind the controversial ground zero mosque. and watch what happens when ann curry goes back to middle school. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thank you so much for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a great wednesday.

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