> this morning on early tod. desperate dig. rescuerescuers continue to sear survivors after turkey's deadly quake. garbage deluge. a massive island of trash and debris from the japanese tsunami heads towards the u.s. and hot ticket italy's mt. etna puts on a spectacular nighttime show. this is early today for tuesday october 25, 2011. hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin a race against time. rescue teams in turkey are frantically searching for signs of life, digging through the aftermath of sunday's 7.2 earthquake. officials say at least 366 were killed and 1300 injured in the quake-prone region. nbc's michelle franzen reports.

>> reporter: a young man pulled from the rubble more than 30 hours after being buried alive. a toddler freed from a cage of mangled steel and concrete and carried to safety. rare survival stories giving hope to this devastated town. scores of building were simply flattened in an instant. no one knows just how many people might still be alive, trapped in the rubble. rescue workers are racing against the clock to reach survivors in time, clearing debris with heavy equipment, shovels and by hand. the grief here is overwhelming. families have begun making funeral arrangements for loved ones and the full scope of the disaster is not yet known. turkey's prime minister sent troops to the region and came in person to see the damage and comfort the victims in this largely kurdish part of the country. people here say they just need more help to save those trapped.

just hours ago since the report was filed, amazingly, a 14 day old baby girl was pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed building. some 46 hours after the earthquake struck. elsewhere, facing gridlock on his jobs plan in washington, president obama has launched a to help folks in over their head in the nation's mortgage mess. steven handelsman has more. >> reporter: president obama went to las vegas, ground zero, of the housing crisis, to unveil his new refi plan. it's for homeowners who pay their mortgages every month but still owe more than their home is worth, so they can't refinance. now, if their mortgage is with fannie mae or freddie mac, they can refi at current low rates. >> those families save money and it gets those families spending again and also makes it easier for them to make their mortgage

payments. >> reporter: mr. obama is ordering the change to get around republicans. >> we can't wait for a increasingly dysfunctional congress to do its job. where they won't act, i will. >> reporter: but 6 million homeowners have fallen behind in their mortgage. like joanne woolridge of arizona, stuck with a 7% note and upside down. >> bought this house for $325,000 and according to the tax records it's $157,000. >> reporter: she gets no help today. >> this program it's tweaked to an existing program that wasn't working. some have called it basically a single when what they really needed was a home run. >> reporter: the president has spent just $2.4 billion of the $50 billion he pledged on housing. as housing secretary said, the problem was worse than they thought. >> it made it harder to unwine these troubled mortgages. >> reporter: now barack obama is running for re-election, still looking for ways to fix the

mortgage mess. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. putting out a texas oil rig blaze is expected to be a week-long job for firefighters. the intense inferno erupted early sunday morning in a rural area, threatening millions in damage and clean-up costs. crews have at least contained the fire and eliminated the threat to nearby homes. history continues to be made at cape canaveral even after the retirement of the space shuttle. space x unveiled the dragon, expected to be the first privately owned spacecraft to dock at the international space station with a possible launch of december 19th it's first mission will be to carry supplies to the space station crew. and finally, reporters inside an upstate new york newspaper office wound up on the other side of a story when a deer charged into their news room. looking for an exit, the young buck tore up the managing

editor's office before escaping through a window. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's bill karins. >> good morning lynn. >> i'll hold back on the cheesy video. >> i know you've been holding back all morning. >>, no i like the doe. >> you have to go to your pack of jokes. good morning, everyone. we're watchiri aur hcane out there.ur the water is warm for developing storms. this storm has gotten stronger than yesterday. it's a category 2 hurricane headed toward cancun, big vacation area. a lot of american tourists are probably there getting ready to head out. this will be near you over the top of you by tuesday. the hurricane center briefly thinks it will be a category 3 storm and weaken as it approaches cancun. regardless, they'll have to deal with a category 1 or 2

hurricane. as of now, it looks like it should weaken enough that south florida shouldn't have concerns. the weather in the west is getting interesting. big storm heading for the rockies. rain showers in arizona and southern pourings of utah. it looks like colorado will get a snowstorm out of this. as the chilly air works down the mountains. 4 in casper. 43 in billings. everyone else in the west okay at least you're not damp. that's aortion of the west. that will lead to cold air and snow in the rockies. >> lynn, fascinating last night in the east, we've got pictures of it. the aurora borealis, the northern lights put on a show as far south as mississippi, louisiana, virginia. this is video taken sent to us from the weather channel. just incredible stuff.

obviously some time lapse footage there. >> wow. >> look at those pictures. pretty cool. lucky folks got to see that. bill, thanks so much. coming up, stocks fly on wall street. wheeling and dealing. and the one place where you can always get a mcrib sandwich any time you want. the early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll tell you about your chance to live like a cast member on jersey shore. that is, if you want to. >> i do, i do. >> no you don't. coming up, the jaguars put their best food forward. you're watching early today.

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry and here are some of your top headlines this morning. libyan ee physician officials are saying that moammar gadhafi has been buried in a secret location. meanwhile, the head of the transitional government

reassured western powers the country will be run by moderate muslims. a federal judge in florida is temporarily blocking a new state law requiring welfare recipients to pass a drug test before receiving benefits. the judge says the law may violate the constitution's ban on unreasonable search and seizure. scientists say this year's devastating tsunami in japan has created giant fields of floating debris in the pacific ocean that could hit u.s. shores by 2014. u.s. navy vessels have had to steer around the garbage. europe's biggest and most active volcano, mt. etna, has erupted for the 17th time this year, spewing bright orange lava hundreds of feet into the air. now here's one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. a new study find women who carry the human papillomavirus have an increased risk of heart disease. the study found women who tested positive for any of the 37

strains researchers were testing for were over two times more likely to have also had either a heart attack or a stroke than women who tested negative. for more information on this and other health stories check out the health page at msnbc.com. >> announcer: "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil wash with odor block. the confident clean. here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11913 after adding 104 points yesterday. the s&p gained 15 points. the nasdaq jumped 61. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei dipped 81 points but in hong kong the hang seng was up 196. stocks rose monday on strong earnings, a handful of mergers and perpetual hope a solution is on the way in europe. monday gains put the s&p 500 on track for its best month in almost 20 years. the nasdaq's spike turned that

index positive for the year. caterpillar led stocks higher after reporting a far better than expected surge in profits on record revenue, thanks to strong growth in exports. a flurry of corporate deals powered stocks higher. cigna is acquiring health spring for $3.8 billion. oracle is buying right now technologies for $1.5 billion. mattel is purchasing hit entertainment, owner of thomas and friends and barney for $680 million. and j.m. smucker bought most of sarah lee's north american coffee operations for $350 million. in other earnings, texas instruments slid after hours after saying economic uncertainty would hurt fourth quarter results in every major market segment. when will the bleeding stop for netflix? shares plunged over 20% after hours on its forecast of a sharp drop in fourth quarter profits.

netflix lost over 800,000 subscribers in the third quarter alone. since july, when a price hike and a dvd by mail split-off, triggered a subscriber revolt, netflix has lost well over half its value. and finally, mcdonald's mcrib sandwich, which has developed a cult-like following because it's not always available is back at all u.s. locations through november 14th. but if you really need a mcrib, here's some news you can use, it is always available at a mcdonald's in germany. well, the jags shock the ravens. the price of playing pro hockey. and the great 8 gets waxed. plus, a seesaw game in a seesaw world series tips to texas. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in the first winter storm of the season is on its way from colorado and then cold air behind it. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, if you need things to break your way to win a world championship, the texas rangers sure had their fair share of breaks last night. in game five of the world series. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines.

good morning. the cardinal bull pen has been virtually unhittable the entire postseason, until now. let's go to texas. game five world series. cards score two in the second. then the rangers rallied with a long ball. mitch moreland, towering shot to right, solo home run into the upper deck and texas down 2-1. to the sixth, beltre with a swing that brought him and the cards to their knees. vintage beltre homer put everything into that one. rangers tied it 2-2. then the cards' bull pen fell apart. sacks full in the eighth, napoli doubled into the gap. in came a pair. rangers grab their first lead, 4-2. last chance for the cards, one on, pujols at the plate. neftali feliz struck him out and napoli got allen craig trying to steal second. rangers won 4-2 leading the series 3-2. nfl the jags' scobey put the foot in football in a 54 and 5 1-yard field goal and another 54-yarder against the ravens. not the prettiest game but

jacksonville will take it, winning 12-7. hockey, flyers jaromir jagr may be 3 but looked like a rookie last night. scoring his first goal the season against the maple leafs. his trademark salute. we have not seen that in a while. in the third, he did it again, second of the night. after playing three years in russia, jagr playing like he never left. flyers won it 4-2. now to pinning we and that's a face only a mother could love. andrew ladd took one on the chin, face and everywhere in between. rangers in the third, callahan's pass off the defender and in. rangers beat the jets 2-1. finally, you're not seeing double, alex ovechkin and that's alex ovechkin. the caps star immortalized in wax at madame tussaud's wax museum in washington. he's won mvp titles, scores titles. now he has the whole ball of wax. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. well, has gossip about ashton kutcher's wandering ways brought down the ratings of his show? your early morning entertainment

headlines are straight ahead. plus, most women lust for high-end fashion items but we'll take you to one beverly hills store where women can't wait to get rid of them. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this tuesday morning. high pressure from canada bringing clear skies to northern

portions of the west including idaho. patchy clouds in seattle and portland. clouds increased in arizona. going to keep your temperatures down a bit. we have showers upwards and northwards towards the grand canyon. the snowstorm hits the rockies. seattle having a few showers. everywhere else dry in the northwest. if you're watching us on knbc, in ventura, see lifelike sculptures of frightful figures of really awful people, the opposite of lynn berry at the museum of ventura county. >> good answer, bill karins. now here's an early look at headlines in entertainment. after 14 years two pals in boston are re-unites. matt damon told "gq" he and ben afleck, who last worked together writing and starring in 1997's "good will hunting," will work on a film about boston's whitey bulger.

with damon starring and affleck directing. nearly half the 28 million people who watched the first "two and a half men" episode with ashton kutcher have stopped watching. it's still the most watched sitcom on television but now kutcher stands below charlie sheen's average ratings and speculation is growing viewers are turned off about stories of cutchers alleged infidelity. and fans of mtv's "jersey shore" can live just like a cast member, renting the seaside home where the series is taped. the landlord says everything there except the mess that he has already cleaned up. >> we can walk to the clubs and put on the outfits and the hairspray. >> fist pump. got to bring that out. come on, bill. well, this comes to us from knbc nbc 4 in los angeles, california, where a few failed marriages have ignited a fire sale in one of the city's toniyest neighborhoods.

divorced women are financing their futures by hawking luxurious gifts from their ex-husbands. the high-end beverly hills thrift store is stocked with merchandise from top designers at low prices provided by women who are jumping at the chance to make a profit while at the same time put their past behind them. i'm lynn berry. and this is "early today." just your first stop today on your nbc station.

a trio of rare tigers made their big debut at a zoo in australia. only 400 are left in the wild. the triplets, two boys and a girl, are just over 2 months old. the cubs don't even have names yet. known just as one, two and three. the zoo plans to hold a competition to find more permanent flattering names. well, it's hard enough painting a landscape. now try doing it under water. not a problem for these divers, who specialize in underwater artwork using special canvas and paints. they have to fasten the canvas down to work. not only do you have to be a good artist but a trained diver as well. i guess these guys bring new meaning to the word water color. a man in florida is in one hairy situation. the 29-year-old took top prize at the national beard and mustache championships. it took him three years to grow these whacky whiskers but it paid off, earning him top prize in the freestyle category.

and the octopus-like stach landed him on the cover of a newspaper. he says his goal is to let it grow until it reaches the ground. he says that could take about ten years. big question, bill, do you think he has a girlfriend? >> i think he does. i think there's someone out there for everyone. >> and she actually enjoys the beard. and he has trouble eating, as you can imagine. well, it's time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the largest free-flying american flag will hang from the george washington bridge in celebration of the bridge's 80th an versepy. containing 113,000 tons of steel, it is the world's largest suspension bridge, that is, until the completion of san francisco's golden gate bridge. the washington international horse show kicks off in the nation's capital with more than 500 horses participating in the six-day event. horses are judged on their precision and speed, while jumping over obstacles competing

for more than $350,000 in prizes. and happy birthday to marion ross, the "happy days" mom turns 83. all day long you can stay on top of the latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. 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 legendary bette midler shows you how some of her most divine costumes, including looks from "beaches" and "the rose" can be yours. and nicole "snooki" polizzi from the "jersey shore" talks about her new book "confessions of a guidette." keep it on this channel for continuing news, sports, weather 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.