this morning on "early today," long journey home, amanda knox arrives home in see at. blind spot. an arizona dust storm triggers an interstate pile-up. >> and heavy lifting. a man pays the price after going on a rampage on a stolen a man pays the price after going on a rampage on a stolen forklift. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone.

i'm lynn berry and today we begin with a long awaited homecoming. just a short time ago amanda knox was locked up in prison for a crime she says she didn't commit. now she is back on u.s. soil. kyle from kgw in portland, oregon, is in seattle with more. kyle, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. cheers of welcome home could be heard as amanda knox arrived here. her four-year ordeal is finally over. she is home, free, and back with her family. a homecoming four years in the making. a tearful amanda knox was greeted with applause as she returned home after four long years in an italian prison. >> i am really overwhelmed right now. i was looking down from the airplane and it seemed like

everything one real. >> reporter: a day after her murder conviction was overturned, knox thanked her supporters. >> i just want to say thank you to everyone who believed in me, who defended me, who supported my family. >> reporter: it's her first taste of freedom since the seattle exchange student and two others were charged with the brutal murder of her roommate. knox's parents have stood by her side since the case began. >> it has been a long four years, but we couldn't have made it through without all of you people out here that supported us. and especially amanda. >> reporter: for years she has maintained her innocence and fought for her freedom. on monday knox broke down when she heard the verdict. now the 24-year-old begins her first days of freedom. the knox family has asked for

privacy although the family will certainly encounter offers to tell her story. >> kyle, thank you so much. elsewhere this morning governor chris christie has made it official, he is not running for president in 2012. tracie potts joins us with more on that. good morning. >> reporter: let's start with christie who quit the race before he ever really got in it. on the same day that he said he's not running, polls show he could have beaten president obama by three points but christie says he wants to be governor of new jersey. he says it is not his time. he is not endorsing anyone and has not ruled out a run later like maybe in 2016. president obama says lawmakers need to be focusing on americans

suffering right now right now. he is trying to get the jobs bill through congress but house republicans have already said they are not going to pass it. yesterday in a speech near dallas he called out the number two republican forcing him to explain why they are not going to pass as senate democrats are suggesting a 5% surcharge on millionaires to pay for it. >> all right, tracie, thank you. now here is a look at other stories making news. d dramatic video of a killer's rampage. dash cam video shows police in pursuit of a suspect who killed seven people in july including his wife, daughter, and inlaws. the suspect avoided capture but later killed himself after holding a family hostage. an arizona dust storm triggered a massive pile-up,

turning the interstate into a graveyard of car wrecks. injured at least 18 people with one confirmed death. rescue and clean-up efforts were delayed due to the weather conditions. flat screen color tvs prove to be the perfect catnip in a sting operation organized by an illinois sheriff's department. they arrested more than 100 fugitives after promises tvs for showing up to a marketing event. and cats decided to relax in one california neighborhood. the mountain lions laid around for 15 minutes before police chased them back into the woods. not a good scare there. now a look at your national and regional weather. he has your soggy west coast forecast. >> what a morning it is.

when it rains it pours. it has been up to six months since we have seen wet weather. the white is the clouds and the green is the rain. it covers much of the west coast. first storms of the wet season as we head into it. this one is fairly significant. the snow is already flying hard and heavy up around yosemite national park. the main load of the storm itself is still located right along the coast. the cold front is going to ship through california today. the rain is starting to taper off. now from san jose southward, notice the white up here in central sierra. that could get the bulk of the snow and some areas could get one to two feet. still leaves on the trees so there could be some power outages. no real concentrated areas of

rain, but further to the north, same for you. just scattered showers. winter storm warnings for high elevations. you guessed it, travelpea-sized. we will watch those later this afternoon. so now it gets cool and the weather stays active. >> bill, thanks. coming up, stocks seesaw. and buffet versus murdoch. plus it has been on for 23 years and still attracts some of tv's toughest viewers. so why are there threats this morning it may be cancelled? >> coming up, the yankees find their grove. the diamondbacks strike gold.

you are watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to early today. here are some of your top headlines this morning. the associated press is reporting that prosecutors have reopened hundreds of investigations into former nazi death camp guards and workers. this year's conviction of retired u.s. auto worker for serving as a nazi death camp guard. he was convicted of thousands of counts of accessory to murder without direct evidence that he participated in any specific killing. >> a helicopter crashed into new york's east river yesterday killing one person and injurying four. the woman who died was visiting from australia to celebrate her 40th birthday. and tutu is furious with

south africa's government for not granting the dalai lama a visa. to take part in celebration of tutu's 80th birthday. yesterday team owners and players broke off talks over a collective bargaining agreement that would end the owner's lock out. and a man who stole a forklift and led police on a wild pursuit was give an four and a half year prison sentence. he barrelled through a cemetery, destroying gravestones. the ride came to an end after he blew a tire. and an early look at wall street. the dow opens at 10,808 after rising 153 points yesterday. the s&p climbed 24, the nasdaq by 68. in tokyo the nikkei fell 73

while the hang seng plunged 571. and another wild ride on wall street after spending most of the day in bear market territory, stocks bounced back at the end of the day and reports european officials will sure up their banks. however, asian markets fell after the late day downgrade of italy's credit rating and those worries could linger today. yesterday ben bernanke warned congress the recovery is close to faltering. some were relieved to hear the secentral bank may take more steps. >> the latest iphone upgrade, the 4 s model is a better camera, faster proses or and voice activation. still fell short of what many hoped would be a radically

redesigned iphone 5. ford has made a deal with united auto workers that promises thousands of new jobs and bonuses for active workers. and bank of new york is being sued for defrauding in currency exchange. the first round of checks are being mailed today of investors with madoff. yum brands delivered earnings that narrowly missed estimates. wall street journal has requested to see warren buffet's tax return. buffet says he will release his if murdoch will do the same. and now pleading with thooefs to stay away. the store has been robbed 23 times. maybe time to get a new alarm. the rangers catch the rays, the

phillies ground the cardinals and the diamondbacks bite back. curtis granderson has done it all year for the yankees with his bat but last night it was with his glove. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >> weather pattern has flip-flopped from the east to the west. now time for the west coast to get all the wet weather.

good morning. if you are just waking up, this is early today. in sports facing elimination last night the new york yankees made it very clear they are not ready to end their season just yet. here is fred rogan with an early look at all of your sports headlines. >> the yankees offense finally woke up. game four in detroit. derek jeter a shot to deep center. russell martin came many and beat the tag to the play. new york up. curtis granderson did this for six years in detroit. the yanks took a 3-1 lead. granderson also did it with his glove. granderson with the grab. rangers are the first game to advance to the championship

series. beltre beat the rays single handedly. in the seventh, another home run. a texas trifecta for beltre. rangers move on with a 4-3 win. >> now to the national league, the phils got some power from an unlikely source. pinch hitter, a three-run shot, his only hit of the playoff and it was a big one and they grab a 2-1 series lead. and paul has only been in the big leagues for two months but is playing like a seasoned vet. d-backs saved off elimination. >> beltre also brought a camera man to his knees. after his first homer he rounded third. keep an eye on the camera man. he lost his footing and oh, hits the turf. beltre then pointed to the poor

guy. the camera men will do just about anything to prove oit. that's an early look at sports on "early today". how did johnny depp make money? and this man spent years in jail for a crime he didn't commit and he can't wait to catch up on all the things he missed. you are watching "early today."

welcome back on this wednesday. it's an umbrella day for the first time. many areas of california, this is the first time -- it won't be a lot of rain but you should see some measurable precipitation. storms all the way through the west. everybody has a chance of seeing wet weather today except for phoenix. notice that for tomorrow the storm moves to the intermountain west. if you are watching us in oregon, learn about oregon's rich and diverse music history at oregon rocks. that's the oregon historical society. that is the event of the day. >> thank you so much. and now here is an early look at headlines and entertainment. look at the early days when the

only thing that could knock your show off is poor ratings? the simpsons were warned that they could get cut unless the voice actors take a 45% pay cut. the cast recently fwoes lly neg take a 30% cut in return for marketing and syndication proceeds without success. fox which reportedly loses more and more on the show every year did not get a share of the billions in syndication profits. adele has been forced to cancel shows due to a vocal cord hemorrhage. she has no choice but to stop now or risk damaging her voice forever. and johnny depp made $50 million last year but before then he attended scientology study groups because they paid $3 a meeting.

>> yesterday i bought adele's cd, the first one i had bought in a store for years. >> now you have the cd. you don't have to buy tickets. saves you money. >> and this comes to us from kxan. dna evidence freed an innocent man from a life sentence to walk into a world where everything is brand new. >> colors seem bright to me now. women are real good looking. >> martin can only think of life's simple pleasures after a judge overturned his conviction for his wife's 1986 murder. he will have a lot of adjustment but one change he won't have to worry about is his mother's love. i'm lynn berry and this is early today just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> it was a golden opportunity for travelers in china. they are known as golden monkeys and are surprisingly monday fond of attention. the friendly monkeys played with visitors and even posed for visitors. thanks to protection efforts, their numbers are actually up. cute. a dutch man is nearly complete with a project of biblical proportions. he is building a 450 replica of noah's ark, bringing the bible story to life in a project that

has taken three years and $1.6 million. he became obsessed with the idea after having a dream 0 years ago that holland was flooded. one woman is taking a unique cause. she is offering to dye dog's tails pink. this is a cause that is very personal to her. she lost her mother to the disease. ever since she has made it her priority to do anything she can to help. you going to take your pup in for something like that? >> no. >> is it a boy? that would be a little shameful. >> the ark needs two humans, maybe me and you. >> no kidding right? time now for an early look at some of the stories we will be following. bill clinton will join martin sheen and emilio estavez at the

premier of their film. the proceeds will donate money for wheelchairs around the world. and audrey hepburn look alikes will celebrate the anniversary of breakfast at tiffanys. be sure to watch brian williams with nbc nightly news. and here is a look at what is coming up later this morning on the "today show." can main da-- amanda knox final on. and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more.

i'm lynn berry. just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.