this morning on "early today" -- wet blanket. a massive storm drenches the east coast from the carolinas up a the way up to maine. chaotic state. a daring rescue in ecuador after rebel police corner the country's president. and worlds collide. two longtime pen pals come face to face for the first time in over six decades. ptions paid for by nbc-universal television hi, everybody. great to see you. good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including in the pacific time zone. i'm thomas roberts. today we begin with drenched,

soaked and just plain old wet. flood watches and high wind warnings remain in effect for parts of the nation's northeast this morning after a monster storm moved from the carolinas all the way up to maine yesterday, causing at least five deaths. the worst of the rain fell in north carolina where jacksonville picked up 12 inches of rain in just six hours, and that's nearly a quarter of its annual rainfall. nbc's kurt gregory has more. >> reporter: the remnants of tropical storm nicole blew through the carolinas, causing flooding along the coast, wilmington, north carolina, soaked with 22 inches of rain since sunday. >> that's not only a four-day record. it's more rain than hurricane floyd produced back in 1999. >> reporter: the storm caused dangerous driving conditions up and down the coast. state troopers in eastern north carolina blame the weather for a rollover accident that killed four people. the relentless rain caused one city bus to slam into another in metro washington, injuring 26 passengers. in suburban philadelphia, a

large tree toppled over onto a school bus and ambulance. and city streets in lancaster, pennsylvania, were swamped. the nation's capital area is expecting seven inches of rain by the time the storm ends. >> we've got many creeks and streams out of their banks. >> reporter: high winds and rough surf didn't stop fishermen on the jersey shore, but the heavy weather did snarl air traffic, causing cancellations and delays in both newark and philadelphia. kurt gregory, nbc news. >> nbc meteorologist bill karins will have much more on this storm. that's coming up in just a few minutes. a big change is in store for president obama's team as another key figure gets ready to hit the road. white house chief of staff rahm emanuel is expected to announce today that he's leaving his job to run for mayor of chicago. this move comes as no surprise. emanuel has been setting the stage for his departure now for weeks, ever since chicago mayor richard daley announced he would be retiring. replacing the volatile and famously profane emanual you

well, at least for now, oba adviser pete rouse -- he's a capitol hill vet -- who's expected to bring a much calmer introverted style to the white house. in california -- the drama surrounding the immigration controversy involving republican gubernatorial candidate meg whitman is reaching hollywood proportions now. she's denying recent revelations that she knowingly employed an illegal immigrant housekeeper for nearly a decade, but now whitman's husband admits he may have been aware of a letter sent to him in 2003 by the social security administration raising discrepancies about the housekeeper's documents. still he maintains the letter didn't say that the housekeeper was actually illegal. meg whitman, who has campaigned for tougher sanctions against employers who hire undocumented workers, says she's ready to take a lie detector test to prove that she did not know about the housekeeper's status. a wild chaotic day in ecuador ended last night with soldiers staging a dramatic rescue of that nation's president who had been

surrounded in a hospital by police rebelling over benefit cuts. the president there, rafael correa, has been trapped for more than 12 hours after he was teargassed, pelted with water, and even physically assaulted. after being freed, correa told cheering supporters the violence amounted to an attempted coup. unrest over a new law cutting benefits for public servants led to a nationwide strike on thursday with protestors shutting down airports and also blocking roads. now here's a look at some other stories making news today early in america -- two men are recovering after being rescued from a rhode island river yesterday. the driver of a pickup truck rolled 20 to 30 feet down a cliff and into the river. the house is inhabitable leaving a family of six temporarily homeless. a kansas zoo, central african native looks like a combination of a horse and a zebra, but it's actually related to the giraffe. the newborn doesn't keep close to mom, staying separate prior to developing bonds just as they

would in the wild. and in minnesota two women from different worlds met for the very first time after being pen pals for 63 years. dorothea was a young girl in germany just after world war ii when she started writing to an american girl named vivian. the letters crossed the ocean from berlin to washington for 63 years, and now, each with families of their own, they're finally together, giggling like the schoolgirls that they once were. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. hey, bill, good morning. >> good morning, thomas. quite an impressive rain event moving up the east coast. a quick two inches of rain now it's heading up into con cop and new england. a lot of the damage has already been done. especially down in the carolinas, around the wilmington, one of the hardest hit area. over 20 inches of rain in the last five days. and tropical connections. the moisture from the tropics going right up. the rest of the country as quiet as can be.

nothing in the middle of the nation. out here in california, an upper level low, sparking showers, giving clouds and keeping temperatures down over the last two days. you can see some of that, a little spin there we've actually had a couple showers even outside of los angeles this morning heading towards point conception. interesting weather feature. cut off low. high pressure dominates the northern rockies and the pick northwest. the next storm system doesn't swing into the northwest probably until sunday or monday bringing clouds, not wet weather. temperature still warm in the desert but cooler in seattle at 54. medford 67. today's forecast looking sunny and warm and beautiful in the pacific northwest. cloudy and cooler here in california. especially along the coast. still a little steamy in phoeni.

temperatures in the mid-80s. thomas, the weekend forecast, still looking good. not quite at warm. those details coming up. >> okay, bill. we look forward to it. thanks so much. a month to remember on wall street, a huge toy recall, and what's next for fast food breakfast. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, will movie-goers friend the new facebook movie in theaters this weekend? the giants are set to clinch a college football thriller. and, oh, baby, what a grab. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm thomas reports. here are some of your top headlines this morning -- suspected militants torched more than two dozen tankers in

southern pakistan today that were carrying supplies for american and nato forces fighting in afghanistan. the attack happened one day after the pakistani government blocked a vital supply route in the country's north in retaliation for a nato helicopter attack that mistakenly kill three pakistani soldiers. >> officials in myanmar say that democracy icon aung san suu kyi will be released next month, days after the junta-ruled country hold their first election in two decades. the nobel peace laureate, who has been detained for most of the last 20 years, will be freed when her current house arrest expires november 13th. the price of a first-class stamp will remain at 44 cents for now after federal regulators denied the postal service's request to raise the cost by two cents in january. according to the independent agency that oversees the mail service, postal officials failed to demonstrate the recession was responsible for the agency's multibillion-dollar financial crisis. and french police are

searching for thieves who broke into a farmer's vineyard and stole 33 tons of grapes. that was his entire crop. authorities say the so-called wine mafia took advantage of a full moon and used a professional harvesting machine to haul away what amounted to $20,000 in lost income and a year's worth of hard work. and now here's an early look at how wall street is going to be kicking off the day. the dow opens at 10,788 after losing 47 points yesterday. the s&p dipped 3, and the nasdaq fell by 7. as we take a look overseas at trading there this morning, in tokyo the nikkei added 33 points, but in hong kong the hang seng lost 20. wall street may have ended the month on a weak note yesterday, but it was still the best september in 71 years, defying september's track record as stock's worst month. the dow gained 7.7% for the month, the strongest september since 1939. the s&p and the nasdaq also logged healthy gains. yesterday traders were initially upbeat with data showing the economy making progress, but

later profit takers moved in with tech shares among the best september performers leading the fall. apple, dell, and google were all down about 1%. the dow's biggest advancer was boeing after announcing full-year results would not be heard by a delaying in delivery of its biggest commercial jet, the 747-8 freighter. aig rose more than 4% after unveiling a plan for it to repay its $182 billion taxpayer bailout. prudential fell more than 4% after it agreed to buy two japanese life insurance units from aig for $4.2 billion. and here we go again. dollar-thrifty shareholders rejected a buyout offer from hertz, giving yet another chance to rival bidder avis. elsewhere fisher-price, a unit of mattel, will recall about 10 million toys and other items in the u.s. and canada due to the potential for serious injuries. novartis will pay $422 million in penalties for

marketing an epilepsy medicine for unapproved uses and for paying kickbacks to doctors who prescribed it as well as five other drugs. and, finally, for you. fast food for breakfast is nothing new, but how about a breakfast pizza? yeah. a 24-hour domino's in ohio is experimenting with a pizza made with eggs and breakfast meats. now, if sales are strong for this one, breakfast pizzas may be coming to a domino's near you. breakfast of champions. >> a royal pain for the rays, the giants sweep toward the playoffs, and a battle of the unbeatens. plus, if you really feel the need to go for a foul ball with a kid in your hands, you'd better be sure not to make an error. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. the tropical downpours on the east coast will be moving offshore. the weekend forecast is looking good around the country. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." ,

good morning. if you are just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, with the major league season heading into its final weekend, the san francisco giants have put themselves in the catbird seat when it comes to making the playoffs. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. the san francisco giants have set themselves up to clinch the

n.l. west in front of their home crowd this weekend after sweeping the arizona diamondbacks. giants got on the board in the second. pablo sandoval's splash shot into mccovey cove, and check out the fan in the kayak. into the bay and got the ball. it's cold in there this time of year, but he got the soggy souvenir, and the giants led it, 1-0. buster posey continued his bid for nl rookie of the year. cranked his 17th of the season. giants won it, 4-1. they need to win this weekend against the padres to clinch the west. speaking of the padres, they're reeling at the wrong time, taking on the cubs. scoreless in the ninth. brad snyder, a chopper to left. in came the only run of the game. carlos marmol struck out ryan ludwick to end it. padres lost, 1-0. they're now three back in the west and two games back in the wild card. big red machine chugging toward the postseason. drew stubbs hit a two-run homer in the second to put the reds up, 2-0. sacks full in the fifth, and stubbs picked up two more rbis and a single to left. the reds hammered the astros, 9-1. they'll finish the regular season with a series against the brewers. college football, oklahoma state and texas a&m came down to one costly error.

under 30 seconds to play, tied at 35, aggies trying to get into field goal position, but jared jackson threw it right to shaun lewis. huge mistake by jackson, and that led to this. dan bailey with a 40-yard field goal for the win. oklahoma state, a perfect 4-0. they won it, 38-35. finally back to san francisco where the play of the day was made by a fan. foul ball to right, and this dad made the grab with one hand while holding his baby with the other. talk about multi-tasking. one more look, and look closely. the guy actually has a glove, but it's on the hand that's holding the kid. he caught the ball, but he'll probably catch an earful from his wife when he gets home. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin. so coming up, we are going to tell you without a doubt which film will win this weekend at the box office. plus, you won't believe how

much mel gibson's ex is getting in child support and what she originally asked for. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. here's a look at your forecast for today. pretty nice day. showers in southern california, but overall partly cloudy there. l.a. to san diego, temperatures

on the mild side. a little hot in phoenix at 105. also very warm in medford. portland's nice at 79. a great start to fall we've seen. boise at 91. a peek at saturday's forecast, another great start to your weekend. a lot of dry weather out here. temperatures will be mild for all of your plans. just about time to get the pumpkins, even if you're anywhere in the mountainous areas a great weekend for looking at some of the leaves that are changing. if you're watching on ksnb in nevada kick off the countdown to halloween with a spooky cinema classic. head to the el dorado park for a free showing of "ghostbusters ". >> who you going to calling bill? awesome. i would go if i were will. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in

entertainment for you. at the box office a victory is a victory even if there's no competition. the "social network," the film that tells the tale of facebook's harvard beginnings has a clear field this weekend and is expected to crush -- or cruise, that is, to the top with elsewhere tmz reports that oksana grigorieva has been awarded $15,000 a month in increased child support. a judge jumped mel gibson's payment from $5,000 a month to $20,000. and believe it or not, that's chili a deal for gibson. grigorieva's lawyers had asked the judge to increase support to $60,000 a month. wow. finally, the couple known around the world as the white house party crashers have threatened to sue the women on "the real housewives of washington, d.c." if they call them white house party crashers. tareq and michaela salahi have hired a lawyer and former court tv commentator named lisa bloom who e-mailed the cast of that show, basically telling them there's no conclusive evidence the salahis crashed the white house dinner and they'd better not say so. however, no conclusive evidence they were invited either, bill. >> i thought we rehash this a year ago? we're doing it again? >> it's topic's because "the real housewives of tv" actually

had it on tv and it air last night. >> you're telling me to go back an watch this? >> yes. trust me. i watch too much tv. so trust me. >> this comes to us from ktu. -tv, channel 2 in anchorage, alaska, where one couple proves you don't just sometimes grow out of toys. for their retirement project, they spent 11 months building a giant motorized, fully operational giant radial flyer wagon, complete with an eight-foot-high handle. the pair used an old pickup truck, hub caps, detergent bottles, and even an actual life-size wagon wheel for steering. as you might imagine, they get lots of stares from passers-by as well as police, but don't worry. this one is street legal. absolutely street legal. congrats to them. i'm thomas roberts, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

it's going down tomorrow. the big football game between the university of texas and the university of oklahoma. now, before the so-called red river rivalry showdown, the two schools have already done battle in another competition, pulling an 83,000-pound plane for 50 yards. supported by cheerleaders, mascots and fans, the university of texas were the winners. that is, at least for now. there you go. one discovery off the coast of france revealed not all treasure is silver and gold. underwater archaeologists have recovered valuable artifacts from a roman ship wreck. the 1800-year-old vessel was used for commercial trade.

13 types of storage jars have already been excavated from the site. what were the ancient romans shipping, you wonder? same as today's romans might. olive oil and wine. you may have heard of the brooklyn bridge and the golden gate bridge, but how about the toothpick bridge? using simple tools and giving up a substantial part of his house, one canadian has spent eight years crafting his unique structure. he figures he still has about ten years to go before he actually finishes, and by that time, he expects that he will have used over a million toothpicks. hey, bill, do you think's a denny's in canada is wondering where all their toothpicks went? >> you just take the little dispenser, right? one at a time. >> exactly. a lot of trips to the restaurant. so it's time now for an early look at some of stories we're going to follow throughout the day here on nbc. a new council of the u.s. task regulators tasked with preventing another economic meltdown holds its first meeting. the financial stability oversight council, which was created under the financial overhaul signed in july, includes top officials from the

federal reserve, the securities and exchange commission, and the commodities futures trading commission. former president jimmy carter has reason to celebrate. not only is he out of the hospital after having stomach problems it is also his 86th birthday. so happy birthday to him. and for lunch, skip the beef and opt for some veggies. yeah, it is world vegetarian day for you. 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. the latest details on rahm emanuel's exit from the white house. and wrapping up the week-long series, education nation tom brokaw looks at how a college professor can change a student's life. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm thomas roberts. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. have a good one.

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