"jimmy fallon" happening right [ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today," over the line? a democrat running for governor in rhode island has harsh words for the president. close call. a houston officer rescues a stranded driver from the train tracks with just moments to spare. and water buffalo? a georgia man discovers an unusual guest in his swimming pool. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pick time zone. i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with a presidential insult.

with exactly one week to go before the midterm elections, candidates are pulling out all the stunts. one hopeful, ironically a democrat, even took aim at the president telling him to take his endorsement and "shove it." incomes's tracie potts is in washington with more. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. president obama is just back from rhode island where he participated in some campaign events, a rally, he was there to raise money for democratic senate and house candidates. he took some heat from what he did not do. president obama campaigned in rhode island but failed to support a candidate for governor running against an independent who supported obama in '08. >> he take the endorsement and shove it. >> we're just in the first quarter. >> reporter: 6.5 million voters cast ball knits 25 states

including washington where michelle obama tried to light a fire under the party. >> if you think someone is sitting out, you've got shake them. tell them, they can't sit this one out. we have come too far for them to sit this one out. >> reporter: there's talk of democratic momentum, some polls show it, but republicans don't seem worried. >> we've seen nothing to indicate that the national trend will not continue in it last eight days. >> reporter: more dabts overnightflorida, south carolina, massachusetts, indiana and kentucky. where it got personal. >> did you come up for the -- 23%? >> no. you don't listen. >> reporter: politics turning nasty with just a few days lift to go. so will all of this last campaigning really make a difference? it actually could according to the associated press. one-third of voters haven't made up their minds yet. lynn? >> tracie potts from washington. tracie, thank you. u.s. officials say they're concerned about the afghan

president's admission that his government get bags of cash, some packed with almost a million dollars, from iran. karzai defended the monies from iran after reporting that his chief of staff had been getting secret payments calling them transparent. u.s. officials are voicing concerns about iran's "negative influence on afghanistan." unfortunately for the u.s., karzai provided that america often provides bags of cash to his government. the obama administration will be spared a potentially embarrassing war crimes trial. omar was 15 years old when he was captured in afghanistan. he pleaded guilty yesterday to killing an american soldier in 2002 in exchange for a lesser sentence that could see him returned to his native canada. the deal, which came by last minute intervention secretary of state hillary clinton averts the

trial of the so-called child soldier. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america -- in texas, an officer is being hailed a hero for rescuing a woman from an suv that was stuck on a train track. officers say the woman was intoxicated when she drove on to the track, but the quick-thinking cop calmly helped the woman out of the vehicle just seconds before that oncoming train plowed through. an 8-year-old ohio girl is fortunate to be alive after an suv plowed into her home, wedging her between a couch and a television. police suspect the 40-year-old driver suffered a seizure at the time of the accident. the driver and the girl are both expected to be okay. a georgia couple found an uninvited neighbor taking a dip in their pool. deputies say the buffalo escaped from neighbor's farm about two weeks ago and has been on the loose ever since. unfortunately, the forced to put the animal down.

and a one-story home a tree fell on the roof. windy conditions may have helped topple the 70 to 80-foot tree. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, we've been watching these wind storms in the midwest, and that's really the threat. how strong these winds are. people have to be careful. >> yeah, winds, downed tree, reports this morning of semis blown off the highways in missouri and illinois. it's been a very active weather pattern that started this weekend in california, when the strong winds came onshore. now that storm blossomed into what is a historic storm and wind storm for the northern plains and great lakes over the next few days. tornadoes this morning. we've got it all. blizzard warning up in the dakotas. it's a big as you get for a storm this time of year. on top of all that, expecting a possible tornado outbreak,

high-wind outbreak throughout indiana and ohio. you get these in springtime. not too often in the fall. everywhere here in the burgundy type color, we're watching high wind warnings. the dakotas through the great lakes, to detroit. we expect 20-foot waves on the eastern shore of lake michigan. now, on the west coast, we still got our little storm we're dealing with in the pacific northwest. the onshore flow. a lot of rain and showers. look at the white. the snow continues to fall in the high elevations. for portland and seattle, dealing with rain showers, medford and boise, nice in californiashowers today. temperatures will be very cool around mount shasta. well, finally we're going to

get dry day on wednesday in the northwest. that forecast coming up. >> all right, bill. thank you. also coming up, betting on the fed. the dollar keeps flipping, and a christmas gift for the miners from chile. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. even after his death, the gloved one enjoys stunning success. the giants crush tony roam romo. could brett favre's career finally be over? you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. tariq aziz, one of iraqi dictator saddam hussein's deputies sentenced today to death by hanging for political

party issues during saddam's reign. and a strangler, more time needed to consider the safety of the scarce lethal injection drug from an unidentified source. investors are moving ahead with plans to build the largest solar power point in california. after getting final approval from the federal government yesterday. meanwhile, government officials are xpegtded to announce this week they're expecting to distribute $2.5 billion for a high-speed rail across the country. police in washington. the state says the high alcohol high energy drink was responsible for sickening dozens of central university washington students at after off campus party. not date rape drugs as initially suspected. finally, sad news. a german news agency is reporting paul the octopus who gained worldwide fame correctly

predicting world cup soccer results has died. he correctly predicted all the games involving germany and picked spain to win the world cup finals over the netherlands. now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. a new american academy of pediatrics report warns depression isn't just bad for moms. it can also harm their baby. the report cites research showing developmental and social delays in babies with depressed mothers. the academy says every year more than 400,000 babies are born to depressed women, and estimate that between 5% and 25% of mothers develop postpartum depression. for more information on this and other health stores check out the health page at msnbc.com. the dow opened at 11:164

after gaining 31 points yesterday. the s&p rose 2 points and the nasdaq added 11. a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei lost 23 points. hong kong, the hang seng dropped 26. stocks continued their steady climb yesterday, anticipating a big move by the federal reserve to stimulate the economy. as the dollar keeps failing stocks keep rising. the dollar hit another 15-year low against the yen yesterday. investors are betting the fed's move to stimulate growth will effectively involve printing more money, which in turn will weaken the dollar making riskier investments like stocks more attractive. monday goldman sachs economists predicted the fed is almost certain to make its move next week. in their report, some guess the fed may need to buy as much as a staggering $4 trillion worth of assets such as treasury securities to get the economy rolling again. commodities in particular have been jumping with every tick the

dollar takes down. freeport-mcmoran and gold up more than 2% yesterday. elsewhere, a home builder edged up after data showed existing home sales rose more than expected in september. keep an eye today on texas instruments. after the bell the chipmaker reported slightly better than expected earnings but a very cautious forecast. also after the bell, amgen, the world's largest biotech missed an lifts estimates pushing down shares. is oracle fudging its numbers? a decision not to write down nearly $ billion in stock losses at the end of 2009 that had lasted longer than 12 months. finally, those pricey oakley sunglasses aren't the only fancy freebie the chilean miners are getting. a shoe factory from bosnia will produce special shoes made of goat skin as a christmas present

for the miners. and is favre's streak ending? plus the cowboys have a miserable season. any hope of turning it around, they're going to have to do it without their quarterback. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." (announcer) while there are some home disasters you can't avoid,

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good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports a terrible season continued to go downhill for dallas last night as the cowboys lost more than just a football game. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. everything was going right for the cowboys. they were cruising against the giants, and then disaster struck. they lost tony romo to an injury, and it was all downhill from there. we go to dallas. second quarter. romo stepped back and was driven into the turf by the giants' michael molley. here it is again. he came in untouched and crushed romo. diagnosis, fractured left clavicle. that was the beginning of the end for the cowboys. eli manning connected from 14 yards out with steve smith. giants took the lead, up 24-20 at the half. they kept it going into the

third. manning again. this time to mario manningham. he made a couple of moves and was in for six. giants won it, 41-35. the cowboys fall to 1-5. just when you thought it couldn't get worse for the vikings' brett farve, it just did. he suffered two separate fractures on his left leg on this play against the packers. farve was headed to an interception. it's uncertain if he'll play against the patriots. if he can't go, his all-time starts will end at 291 games. the canadiens in hockey -- montreal won it, 3-2. to minnesota, the kings and wilds. between periods, this lucky fan was launched towards some inflated pin, strike, but then slammed into the wall. he didn't appear to be lucky any more. this one decided in a shoot-out. in the fifth round, michael hahnshoots made the goal. winning it 3-2. finally, hockey is all about great shots, but this one takes the cake.

the rangers, michael desoto shot. deflected. look out! right into the camera. it shattered the lens. that certainly gives new meaning to the term "snapshot." that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> oops! well, the race to a billion views on youtube has a winner. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, is there such a thing as baseball elves? they're probably hard at work as we speak preparing for the fall classic. you're watching "early today."

well, welcome back. our forecast slowly improves in the northwest. chippy air mass over the entire west. a big storm in the middle of the country drawing down colder air. snow mixing in in some of the midlevel elevations not just the high ones either. temperatures in the 40s in the inner mountain west. 50s in the mountain west. and probably the best weather in the entire country, humidity, low 80s. not bad. 69 in vegas tomorrow, when the cool air arrives for you. if you're watching on khnl nbc 8 honolulu, hawaii. before you track all the latest trends in dancing masters the basics. led to the waikiki commune kernt. that's easy. i can do that. do the same thing over and over gn. >> back forward, forward, back.

yeah. an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment -- now here's a look at what we all love, lists, but there's one no one wants to be on. michael jackson has topped the tenth annual forbes magazine top earning celebrity. with gross earnings of $275 million, jackson not only earned more than the other 12 deceased stars on the list combined, he outearned all living stars except, of course, for oprah winfrey. that's tough to beat. second on thelet, the king. elvis presley, well over three decades after his death, pulled in $60 million. a newcomer worth noting, george steinbrenner who ranked ninth with earnings of $8 million. elsewhere for you keeping score, lady gaga has just beaten justin bieber to the milestone of 1 billion youtube viewing.

as for the teen heartthrob, bieber can take comfort in the fact that he is by far this year's most viewed youtube artist. 1 billion people click opd your music video, or whatever it. >> amazing. you wonder why english teachers are banging their heads on the chalkboard. >> good point. this comes from louisville, kentucky, america's favorite pastime, the slugger factory crafts slugger bats even before the first baseball classic in 1903. this season is no exception. hundreds of specially engraved bats on their way for the matchup between the rangers and giants. the question, which bats will make the most noise? i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

although halloween is just around the corner it's beginning to look a lot like christmas in parts of country. the season the first snow has fallen in central and northern oregon covering the region in more than a foot of snow with nearly 12 more inches expected to accumulate, local ski resort owners are very pleased looking forward to an early start to the season. being in captivity can actually be a good thing, at least for giant pandas. after many unsuccessful attempt as new breeding program in china seems to do the trick. it already increased the number of giant pandas living in captivity to more than 300. experts hope this will save the

species from extinction. last year, 19 cubs were born through artificial insemination. the chilean miners took on another challenge. the recently rescued miners and the president of chile played each other in a soccer match. although it was a friendly match, the miners dubbed team hope had their eye on the prize. but this time, they couldn't come out on top and they lost the game, 3-2. but you'd think the government would say, let's go a little easy on them. let them win. they just spent two months down underground. >> maybe the president of chile is a little competitive. >> maybe. but come on. let the guys stay over! time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc -- in texas, the trial against former house leader tom delay begins five years after he was charged with illegally funneling corporate money to help gop candidates. jury selection gets under way in his money laundering case. in california, there will be quite the gathering at the women's conference. california governor arnold schwarzenegger will

appear with the candidates looking to replace him. republican meg whitman and democrat jerry brown will share the stage in a conversation moderated by "today's" matt lauer. and the state department might want to have a birthday cake and candles ready. secretary of state hillary clinton turns 63. 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. a "today" exclusive, rhode island democratic candidate for governor explains, telling the president he can shove his endorsement. and 20-year-old four-time grammy award winner taylor swift performs live on the plaza. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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