the world hails news former dictate moammar gadhafi has been killed. republican roadblock. president obama blasts gop senators for blocking a bill aimed at avoiding teacher and firefighter layoffs. and baby on board. surveillance video shows a horrific convenience store crash surveillance video shows a horrific convenience store crash in australia. 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. today we begin with the death of a dictator. a new chapter begins for libya now that moammar gadhafi is dead. so how was he taken down and what was the united states' role in his killing? nbc steve handelsman has the details. first, we want to warn you, some of the video in this report may be disturbing.

>> reporter: outside the white house libyans and libyan-americans staged a thank you rally. moammar gadhafi is dead after 42 years of murderous rule. inside the white house, president obama's pleased his plan worked. >> there's no doubt we did what -- exactly what we said we were going to do in libya. >> reporter: it was a limited u.s. role, bombing last spring when the rebels faced massacre then pushing other nato nations to take over. they say they found him in the sewer in a truck where they say he was shot in the head in crossfire. this is closure for loved ones remembered at this monument in new york. killed when the libyan dictator allegedly had their u.s. jetliner blown up in 1988. >> and to finally get the man

that ordered the bombing of pan am 103 eliminated, that is true justice. >> reporter: in libya, they celebrated into the night. but u.s. officials worry, any aircraft missiles are unaccounted for here, islamic radicals could capitalize on the chaos. the revolutions won, said president obama, but there's more to do. >> to secure dangerous materials and to respect the human rights of all libyans. >> reporter: two things libya has to learn with gadhafi dead. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. early this morning, secretary of state hillary clinton, who had just been in tripoli days ago, responded to gadhafi's killing, calling it a new era for libya. speaking from islamabad, she also took turn up the heat on pakistan, saying there would be a very big price if pakistan doesn't do something about militants staging attacks in afghanistan. meanwhile, former pakistani president pervez musharraf told an audience in arkansas that

u.s./pakistani relations are at their lowest point with both sides to blame. to washington now, after turning back president obama's overall jobs bill, republicans have once again rejected peace piecemeal portions of the president's bill. >> reporter: it was a 50/50 vote with two republicans, independents joe lieberman voting against this part of the president's plan, the $35 billion the white house says would have saved the jobs of more than 400,000 teachers, firefighters, police officers and first responders in this country. but president obama in a statement said that this is unacceptable, that americans, quote, deserve an explanation on why republicans refuse, in his words, to step up to the plate. by the way, they were also democrats who said they wanted to see changes in this plan, even though they voted for it. now, republicans say that we cannot afford another bailout of states.

they're calling the stimulus 2.0. of course, they were against that half percent tax on millionaires to pay for it. a reason ap poll showed that americans supported that tax by 62%. lynn? >> tracie potts for us in washington, thank you. here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. a surveillance camera was rolling when a brazen thief swiped an iphone from a boy inside a florida restaurant. the 6-year-old had the phone in his hands when the suspect quickly swooped in to snatch the phone and then just took off. no arrests has been made. in indiana, a plumber played the hero when he came to the aid of a kitten stuck in a storm drain. once the kitten was spotted, the plumber dug deep in the earth to create a massive hole from which he was able to reach in and pull out the little critter. there were smiles all around but the happiest was the kitten's anxiously awaiting mom who called for the little one after the rescue.

finally, the greatest gourd of them all is on display in new york. the gigantic pumpkin is the world's biggest. it weighs close to a ton. those that want to see it better hurry to the big apple. it's scheduled to be carved up tomorrow. with a look at your national and regional weather, meteorologist bill karins. >> carve it with a chain saw. >> no kidding. that's the big question. >> you need a pizza oven for the seeds. good morning, everyone. we are watching a very calm and tranquil forecast. the exception? the pacific northwest. we will be cooler, cloudy, and dodging rain showers through your weekend. pretty much a dry weekend. coolest spot right now, medford at 45. denver at 43. the weather pattern is set up for the weekend.

everything is going on a zonal flow. if you follow these clouds under knead the weather.com here it goes right into the northwest. cloud cover will be steady. cloudy skies much of the weekend. at times there will be periods of rain. a little cooler on the coast. high pressure has pushed back into the rockies. still mild in the desert southwest. you can see showers going over the olympics here. hit and miss showers. they will be spotty today. especially up there around seattle. phoenix is gorgeous. cooler on the coast. it is umbrella day in

san jose looking for a great day. saturday and sunday weekend forecast coming up. also coming up, euro fears ease again. at&t has iphone withdrawal. and the all-american barbie like you've never seen her before. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, a day after promising to get her act together, she messes up all over again. coming up, game two of the world series. a fake referee and a bench-clearing brawl. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry and here are some of your top headline. there's been a second day of righting in athens over austerity measures and higher taxes. the rivals has left one person

dead and more than 100 wounded. an attack tar getting the nasdaq's computer systems last year is more serious than previously thought. sources tell reuters, hackers installed malicious software that allowed them to spy on directors of publicly-held companies. fbi and national security agency investigations are ongoing. the american civil liberties union is accused the fbi of abusing its post-9/11 powers by targeting innocent americans based on widespread stereotyping in ethnic communities. the allegations are based on documents obtained through the freedom of information act. the fbi denies the claim. never before seen photos and letters from two survivors of the ill-fated titanic are about to go on the auction block. photos taken from a rescuing ship show life boats in icy waters while letters describe firsthand accounts of the night the titanic fatally struck an iceberg. and this is just remarkable. in australia an out of control

car slammed into a convenience store, sending a baby stroller flying. amazingly, the 15-month-old baby boy escaped unharmed. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,541 after gaining 37 points yesterday. the s&p added five points. the nasdaq actually lost five. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei was down three points but in hong kong the hang seng nudged up 42. as european leaders worked on a debt crisis solution thursday, stocks shifted up and down with every development, ending with slight gains. ultimately germany and france announced two upcoming summits promising a solution by the second meeting next wednesday. that calmed investors who, thanks to europe, have seen the market's volatility index rise 11% in the last two days. u.s. economic data also helped drive the seesaw.

mid-atlantic factory rebounded in october and jobless claims fell last week. but existing home sales fell last month. in earnings, video conferencer polycom dragged the nasdaq, dragging over 25% on low revenue. ingersoll rand fell on forecast. union pacific surged on better than expected earnings. southwest airlines rose on slightly better income than anticipated. "the new york times" soared on higher than expected profits. watch microsoft today, it fell after the bell on weak quarterly window sales. elsewhere, a fed official wants the central bank to purchase mortgage bonds to stimulate economic growth. after years of debate and despite strong teamster opposition, today the first mexican free trade truck rolls

into the nation through laredo, texas, rather than transporting goods at the border to a u.s. hauler. finally, a new barbie is drawing criticism for her neck and shoulder tattoos as well as her pet, bastardino. it's a limited edition adult collector, $50 barbie. the tats are nothing new. it's actually the third barbie with a little ink. coming up, the great eight comes up big for the caps. a penguin swings and scores. truly bizarre episode in college football. plus, with their glove work, keeping them in the game early, the texas rangers ' bats won them world series game two late. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. unless for some reason you don't like beautiful, warm temperatures, you're going like this forecast.

it's coming up. you're watching early "today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, last night one inning away from a commanding two-game lead in the world series, the st. louis cardinals will instead limp into texas all tied up with the rangers. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. if you love defense, game two of

the world series definitely for you. here we go to st. louis. defense the key for the rangers in the early inning. one on, matt holliday grounded to elvis andrus, tossed to ian kinsler, bare handed grab and threw to first. you won't see a better double play than that. rangers ended the inning. to the fifth, andrus again, a diving stop, the flip to kinsler for the final out. another great play end the cardinal threat. fast forward to the ninth, rangers got on the board, down to their final three outs. josh hamilton, a sac fly to right, in came kinsler to tie the game 1-1. next batter, michael young, another fly ball and another run. texas grabbed the lead. that's how it ended. rangers even the series with a 2-1 win. world series continues tomorrow night in texas. kyle lohse and matt harrison are the probables. college football, wild moment in the ucla/arizona game. a man dressed like a referee ran on the field, blew the whistle, and a group of players got into it, players cleared the benches and that's all the fight ucla

had. arizona won big 48-12. nhl capitals off to their best start in team history and get it going against flyers. ovechkin scored a pair of goals. finally are the penguins arron asham celebrated his 700 th game in style. puck deflected it up, batted it out of the air into the net. the cards could have used a home run swing like that last night. took asham 700 games to score the prettiest goal of his career. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. a scary situation shaping up at the box office this weekend. your entertainment headline are straight ahead. plus, a sign of the troubled economic times all around the nation. we're going to introduce you to one jobless man who is going to extreme lengths for a fresh start. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this friday morning. a very nice weekend forecast for you. the weather pattern has changed a little and now the north flow is coming right off the water. that's where ewe're going to keep it damp and showery by the next four or five days in a row.

vegas and phoenix looking good. nothing much changes. we stay showery in the northwest, sunny through california arizona and nevada. idaho looks good too. temperatures nice and warm this afternoon. if you are watching us in hawaii, enjoy a tour of hawaii's night sky in a planetarium program. that is your pacific event of the day. >> thanks so much. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. with halloween around the corner, it is appropriate this weekend's expected box office champ is said to be terrifying. the third installment of the popular "paranormal activity" horror franchise should finish number one with around $35 million. also new this weekend, the latest of almost countless film versions of the classic "the three musketeers" however this one headlining a woman is filled

with special effects and new twists. it's expected to take second with about $15 million. fans of mr. bean's rowen atkinson will head to johnny english reborn, a sequel to 2003 spy comedy "johnny english" expected to finish fifth with around $7 million. finally, wednesday with her probation revoked and facing fresh jail time, lindsay lohan promised to impress the judge presiding over her case and work at the county morgue every day until her next hearing. well, yesterday for her first day on the job, lohan showed up 40 minutes late. therefore, she was denied entry. i don't even know what to say to this. >> you think sometimes you do things that maybe you would do

something right. >> yeah. just -- >> just keep trying. >> if at once you don't succeed. this comes to us from kob 5 in medford, oregon, one man is making a long, hard journey trying to rebound from hard times. with no car and everything he owns strapped to his riding lawn mower, steven and his dog have hit the road. they're headed south. he's been unemployed for the last two years and he's hoping to have better luck in arizona. he only gets four miles -- he could only go four miles an hour and gets 15 miles to the gallon so he knows he's in for the long haul but he hopes he can finish the nearly 1,000-mile trip before christmas. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

who says you can't play with your food?

in true halloween spirit the oklahoma city zoo is embracing pumpkins this season, even if they are smashing them. stomp and chomp is an activity where the animals are allowed to crush their pumpkins before eating them. zookeepers say it's a great way to stimulate their natural instincts. one man in texas is well on his way to earn the title biggest rangers fan. he used his engineering skills to build an exact replica of the texas rangers ballpark in his garage. he covered all the bases, hand-sculpting each and every player, even putting in l.e.d. lighting for night games. it took 100 hours to complete the monument to his favorite team. one museum in chicago is getting lots of attention but not for one of its exhibits. rather for its bathrooms. the lavatories were voted best

in america in an annual online pole. they feature eco-friendly hand dryer, secluded nursing areas and a ceiling mural of the sky. housekeeping does a five-point check every hour to keep them completely spotless. i have to admit, i wasn't that impressed. >> really? >> were you? i like the sky. >> we could have a picnic. >> no. it's time for an early look at some stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. this afternoon at the white house, the president will honor recipients of 2010 national medal of science and national medal of technology and innovation. it is the highest honors bestowed by the u.s. government on scientists, engineers and inventors. bad news if you have any plans today. the world is supposed to end. at least according to some doomsday believers. the california preacher who

unsuccessfully predicted judgment day would come may 21st has since rescheduled the date of the rapture for today. happy birthday to reality tv star kim kardashian. today she turns 31. all day long you can stay on top of the stories as they break on nbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. as libya begins a new chapter in the wake of moammar gadhafi's death, just how responsible is the u.s. for libya's future? senator john mccain speaks out live. and coldplay hits the plaza for a full half hour of live music. and 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 date today on your nbc station. have a good one.