"jimmy fallon" happening right [ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today," no laughing matter. the president makes a stop on a comedy show to bring his serious election message to the masses. campus tragedy. students at notre dame note a shocking death of a fellow classmate. and orbital, humanoid. nasa un1r5veils its first robot and orbital, humanoid. nasa un1r5veils its first robot astronaut. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello. good morning. welcome to our viewers avoss the

nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with making the final rounds. president obama is hitting up all avenues in his attempts to get voters to come out on tuesday. yesterday his latest campaign stop was with comedian jon stewart for a chat about some serious issues. nbc's tracie potts is in washington with more on this. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. we're now getting more analysis on just how big a win this election could be for republicans and what democrats are doing in these final days to help minimize the damage. >> jobs are coming back to california starting in six days. >> reporter: analysts predict big losses for inkumt bents. >> some of them, unless something happens over the next few days, their time is n. congress is going to be ending. >> reporter: a blowout against democrats. >> this is an unearned win. you know, you were beneficiaries. you're not vithers. >> reporter: cook says republicans could win 60 seats in the house. "the new york times" this morning reports women, catholics

and independents all who voted for obama are going republican this time. >> please join me in welcoming the president of the united states, barack obama. >> reporter: on last night's "daily show" he looked at democrats who he says bit the bullet. >> there are a bunch of folks who during the course of this year took really tough votes who they knew were bad politics because they thought they were the right things to do. >> reporter: what about norm things? >> i committed serious sins. >> reporter: in last night's debates candidates promised to change the tone. >> i'm going positive. >> reporter: california senator barbara boxer winning in the polls but barely struck out against special interests. >> the other side has those special interests who don't have to courage to say who they are, but i have you and the people of california. >> reporter: boxer's opponent, carly fiorina who was hospitalized for an infection is expected to be back on the campaign trail today. lynn? >> traci,thanks so much.

pakistani born virginia man was arrested yesterday for plotting to bomb washington, d.c.'s subway system. he fought for al qaeda. officials say over the last six months farouk ahmed believed he was working with the terror group to plan bombings at metro stations. in fact, it was all a sing involving undercover law enforcement agents. ahmed had recommended suitcases filled with explosives at rush hour. he's being held without bond. officials say the public was never in any danger. in indiana, high winds may be to blame for the tragic death of a notre dame student. the school says declan sullivan, a 20-year-old junior, was filming football practice from a hydraulic lift when it topped over yesterday. a vigil was held in memory of sullivan. investigators are investigating the exact cause. winds were gusting over 50 miles per hour at the time. of course, meteorologist bill car rinse will have much more on

the wild weather battering much of the nation coming up in just a few minutes. but first now here's a look at some of the other stories making news early today in america. just off the coast of maine, a scuba diver was filming under water when he got dangerously close to an eight foot long 300 pound poor bee gal shark. in the video the shark lungs at the diver. the shark fell into frame before swimming off. they team up to create the robot naut 2 which will assist them in tasks as well as dull and representative. the humanoid will hitch a ride with the discovery launch coming up in november. in arizona, surgeons at one hospital had ghoulish fun at docolantern pumpkin carving contests. they were not only judged on their knifing skills but creativity. the replica of lungs was pretty

impressive but couldn't fweet bret michaels look alike. north carolina residents are picking up the pieces after tuesday's massive storm. the national weather service confirmed one tornado packing 135 miles per hour wind touched down in lincoln county, completely flattening most homes in its pat. no fatalities have been reported, however, emergency management officials say there were at least seven injuries. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, good morning. >> good morning, lynn. we had 42 tornadoes. a lot of damage. no fatalities. yet, at a football practice the winds tip over a forklift and we get a fatality. >> such a tragic story. it really is. >> horrible. >> yes. >> as far as our storm system, lynn, this one is exiting. all the problems with the wind, the snow in the dakotas. you can see it moving through southern canada. right behind it on its heel, another huge storm. pinwheeling over the open

pacific. drawing that moisture off the pacif pacific. got rain and clouds covering the area from langs northwards. the storm is going to be with us a day or two. heavy rain is moving up through northern california. some of the higher elevations around mt. shasta, we could pick up three to four inches of rain. this is going to be a stormy day for you. some of that rain will work its bay whey down into sacramento and san jose and san francisco. further to the north, just scattered light rain at this time from the puget sound northwards to bellingham. portland, steadier rains are about to arrive for you. as far as the forecast, a very wet northern california. heaviest rains today. medford northwards the rain will be increasing during theseattle cool. pacific storm doesn't have a lot

of warm air. temperatures are only in the 50s and 60 nasdaq mos in most locat. that's a look at your thursday weather. friday forecast coming up. >> thanks, bill. well, fed fears spook traders on wall street. and what's the worst excuse you've ever heard for calling out sick? your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, taylor swift meets her match in new york city. the heat bounce back, game one of the world series, and are the cavs a better team without lebron james? you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. despite persistent accusations, the united nations is denying a peacekeeping camp is the source of a spreading cholera epidemic in haiti. a u.n. spokesman says no members of the newly arrived unit have

the disease. now, the last investigators are taking samples of wastes pouring out behind the base toward an infected river system. a roofless drug war is taking record number of victims in mexico. suspected hit men killed 15 people at a carwash yesterday. it was the country's third massacre in less than a week. around 100 people have been killed across mexico since last weekend. the obama administration is blacklisting more than three dozen shipping companies in europe that a officials say are helping iran avoid sanctions. it's latest in a series of actions by the u.s. as well as u.n. to punish iran for its disputed nuclear program. and a vacuum cleaner company is hoping to raise awareness about the dangers of plastic in our oceans. to do so they've built five fully functional machines using trash collected from beaches around the world. although the vacuum cleaners are not for sale, the company says it hopes they at least provoke important conversations.

i think they probably will. here's an early look at one of your top health lines on msnbc.com. new studies suggest that women who regularly take brisk walks have a lower risk at developing breast cancer after menopause. studying data collected from nearly 100,000 post menopausal women researchers found women who scheduled at least an hour of brisk walking a day were 15% less likely to get breast cancer than women who walked less than an hour a week. and for more information on this and other health stories, you can check out the health page at msnbc.com. "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil, bring yourself back. now, here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,126 after falling 43 points yesterday. the s&p dipped three points. the nasdaq added five. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo the nikkei lost 21 points but in hong kong the hang

seng climbed 46. stocks fell wednesday on new concerns the federal reserve's plans to buy treasury bonds might be smaller and slower than expected. traders expected the fed would buy between 500 billion and $1 trillion in treasuries to encourage lending and spending but a "wall street journal" report said the fed's purchases might amount to a few $100 billion over several months to avoid what the paper called, quote, shock and awe. materials and commodities were hardest hit. freeport-mcmorran copper and gold slumped almost 3%. ak steel dropped more than 3%. meanwhile, a report on durable goods orders raised concern over the economy's health. unexpectedly excludeing the volatile transportation sector, orders fell. the report indicates manufacturing, one of the few economic bright spots so far this year is slowing. earnings were mixed. visa reported a 50% jump in quarterly profit but shares fell

about 2% due to regulatory concerns. procter & gamble was up slightly after reporting a profit slip. that still beat forecasts. sprint nextel reported a much wider loss in its shares lost almost 10%. one big winner, bank of america, which has seen its shares fall almost 12% this month, gained more than 2% topping the dow. merck was the dow's biggest loser, falling over 1 1/2%. and wells fargo admitted wednesday it made mistakes in the paperwork for thousands of foreclosure cases. and promised to fix them. and finally, some highlights from careerbuilder.com's most unusual excuses for calling in sick. here they are. my finger is stuck in a bowling ball. i burnt he mouth on thanksgiving pumpkin pie. i'm not feeling too clever today. and, my mother was attacked by a chicken. those are real life excuses. well, the heat is on. a cavalier attitude in cleveland.

and net gains in new jersey. plus, game one of the world series is in the books and the giants were rude hosts, handing cliff lee his first postseason lost. your early morning sports headlines are just ahead. in weather, enjoy one more warm day in the east coast and a new storm moves on to the west coast.y fo icasts comi yourhursday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." [ male announcer ] carly fiorina.

she's against banning assault weapons... and that's reckless and dangerous. she's for risky new oil drilling that could threaten our jobs. fiorina's plan would mean slashing social security and medicare, which would devastate seniors. and she'd make abortion a crime. no wonder fiorina is endorsed by sarah palin. carly fiorina. just too extreme for california. [ boxer ] i'm barbara boxer and i approve this message.

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, game one of the world series turned out to be a giant surprise. the pitcher's duel everyone expected was anything but. here is nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. game one of the world series. the giants could not have picked a better time for an offensive explosion. we go to san francisco. they go to the board early. that scored the game's first run. texas up 2-0 after two. but the giants tied it in the third. the rookie, liner to center, in case 1 and the giants were just getting warmed up. cliff lee came undone in the fifth. cody ross with a shot that almost took off lee's head. rbi singles freddie sanchez. giants were up, 4-2. barry bonds was loving them. the next batter was aubrey huff. he kept it going. another hit, another run. that was it for lee, lasted just

4 2/3. san francisco scored 6 in the fifth and led, 8-2. they scored a playoff high 11 runs and held on to win game one, 11-7. game two tonight in san francisco, c.j. wilson and matt kaine and the possibles. lebron james and the giants, miami up by 10. dwain wade threw it down. miami up by ten. game high 34. heat won it, 97-87. lebron did what his old team cooperate do, they beat the celtics. cavaliers got it done with balanced scoring. something they never had in the james era. six players scored in double digits. who needs lebron? cavs beat the settles, 91-87. finally, get this, new jersey nets won. in the fourth quarter, final minute against the pistons, devin harris lost the ball but it went right to anthony moore. nets up, 97-95. the pistons had a last chance. rodney stuckey, air ball. it took nearly two months for

the nets to get their first win last year. they win game one of the season, 99-88. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. thanks to a technicality, canada welcomes the quaids with open arms, kind of. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, he's every mother's dream come true -- sort of. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this thursdays morning. it's a rainy thursday morning. much of coastal california north to san francisco, heavy rain all day today in northern california. that's spreading northwards up to the pacific northwest. pretty potent system is offshore. it's going to be with us here for a couple of days. you notice friday's forecast, some of the rain shift southwards and gets a little bit better north wall street. san francisco will get some rain. eventually work its way even down towards santa barbara, maybe even l.a. if you're watching us on kmt, news source 16 in roseburg, oregon, get in the holiday spirit. don't miss the haunted house. >> make it sound so scary. >> just a little. i like that. you you know, around the camp fire. >> ambience, you know? >> yeah. >> bill, thank you. now, here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment.

actor randy quaid and his wife evie are free for now. they were in custody while canada reviewed their request for asylum, claiming their lives were in danger in america. turns out evie's father was born in canada, which qualifies her for citizenship. both are still wanted on felony burglary charges here in the u.s. former baseball player and manager joe torre and actress marishka were at the white house yesterday to bring attention to violence awareness this month. torre who grew up in a violent home said the visit was very special for him. calling it a difficult time for their family, billy ray and tish cyrus tells "people" magazine they are divorcing after 17 years of marriage. finally, taylor swift meet taylor swift. the 20-year-old singer posed at madame tussauds's museum by a wax likeness that wears a dress donated by her

life like counterpart. what do you think is going through her mind when she's looking over going, that is -- >> how did it come to this? >> i'm only 20. >> let's talk about the real story. >> what? >> charlie sheen just -- >> we left it out for a reason. the details are just getting a little too outside of morning news. >> too spicy? >> we'll update that tomorrow maybe. >> yeah. >> and this comes to us from kxas nbc 5 in ft. worth, texas, where one mother delivered a huge bundle of joy. while mom is recovering, the proud father and big sister were eager to show off their new baby, just his frame, all 13 pounds of him. what's remarkable, is that baby justice is three weeks premature but almost twice the size of an average newborn. and dad put it all into perspective saying whatever he wants to be, he's certainly got a jump start. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your

nbc station.

new moms love to cuddle with their little ones. this mom is no different. visitors to the london zoo got a glimpse at the newborn gorilla. most of the time the yet to be named baby was nestled close to his mom, except when she played and cleaned him. this is the zoo's first male gorilla birth in 20 years. so cute. this one might sound like a century's old brow but these knights in shining armor fight for a good cause. the battle attracted history but was from around europe in hopes of preserving a piece of history. all proceeds will go towards a

for the tresz that has gone untouched and in need of major renovation. get ready to buckle your seat belts at one theme park. ferrari world opened the doors to visitors at the united arab emirates. the world's largest indoor theme park opened it's rides and races. and just as the car is known for its speed, so is the park's ferrari roller coaster, which is said to be the fastest in the world. >> i want to go. >> how did i know that you would say that? >> i want one of those tickets that allow you to skip to the front of the line. >> vip pass to the ferrari? >> yes. >> roller coaster. all right. we'll see what we can do, bill. we'll try on that. >> give me your connections. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. closing arguments are expected in the trial of a woman accused in a bizarre bank robbery plot in which a pizza delivery driver was killed when a collar bomb he was forced to wear exploded.

she claims she never knew the driver who died and waited for the bomb squad. the department of education will release new regulations aimed at giving the government more oversight of for-profit colleges. among the changes, rules to reign in how recruiters are paid. and president obama meets with some of the americans involved in the rescue of the chilean miners. 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. actor charlie sheen breaks his silence about what led to his hotel rampage. and be the first to hear a big announcement from singing superstar mariah carey. 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. the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com since right after the turn of the century. my grandfather, also a dairyman. and then my father, duane. i started out with my dad and my brother. [ scott ] when you have a family situation, it's just a progression. my position is at the bottom of the totem pole. since the boys came in, i've worked my way all the way down. [ laughs ] he's teasing you when he says he's moving down the totem pole. he's just as important as he ever was. ♪ she's against banning assault weapons... and that's reckless and dangerous. she's for risky new oil drilling that could threaten our jobs. fiorina's plan would mean slashing social security and medicare, which would devastate seniors. and she'd make abortion a crime.