you tomorrow. this morning on "early today," day of rage. all eyes on the middle east as anti-u.s. protests over an anti-muslim film spread. justice served. an ohio woman gets nabbed for passing a school bus on the sidewalk. and crown of thorns. there are reports of another nude photo scandal brewing for there are reports of another nude photo scandal brewing for england's royal family. captions paid for by nbc-universal levision hello, and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including our pacific time zone. i'm mara schiavocampo. today we begin with high alert. the obama administration is bracing for another day of major demonstrations in parts of the muslim world after today's weekly prayers. meanwhile, there's a new development in the investigation into this week's consulate killings in libya. nbc's tracie potts has the very

latest from washington. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: mara, good morning. good morning, everyone. we've evacuated our folks out of benghazi to tripoli. in tripoli the embassy is at bare bones emergency staff only, as authorities fear more violence throughout the region. more demonstrations overnight. more tear gas. more rocks thrown at police. so far, more than 200 have been injured in protests at 11 u.s. compounds. and despite a call for calm by egypt's president, there's concern about more violence today after friday prayer. >> we are going to bring those who killed our fellow americans to justice. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: the fbi is sending a team from new york to germany, then benghazi, to investigate. libya announced four arrests in the deaths of four americans and said they're looking for more. >> we have to protect our people. we have to protect the americans. >> reporter: secretary of state hillary clinton identified the two security guards who were

killed. >> they were good and brave men. they were committed to the cause of building a brighter future for the people of libya. >> reporter: in washington and on the campaign trail, republicans are pushing the obama administration. >> the world needs american leadership. >> no mixed signals. >> reporter: and blamed protests on the arab spring gone bad. >> what this is all about is american weakness and the president's inability to lead. >> reporter: here the fbi is investigating the man who made the film who posted the film that touched off these protests. they say that he was on probation and not supposed to use the internet without permission. mara? >> tracie, thank you. the federal reserve plans to spend $40 billion a month to buy mortgage bonds all in an effort to encourage consumer spending,

more investment, and create more jobs. nbc's danielle leigh reports from washington. >> reporter: u.s. stocks shot up within minutes of bold steps announced by the federal reserve to stimulate a slow-growing economy by making it cheaper for businesses to borrow and spend. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke is hoping the positive reaction on wall street will trickle down to the unemployed. >> while the economy appears to be on a path of moderate recovery, it isn't growing fast enough to make significant progress reducing the unemployment rate. >> reporter: job seekers were hit by disappointing job creation numbers in august, just 96,000, about 45,000 fewer than in july and well under the 200,000 jobs needed a month to lower unemployment. >> this is a main street policy because what we're about here is trying to get jobs going. >> reporter: bernanke says the feds will buy $40 billion worth of mortgage debt a month indefinitely and extend protections keeping interest rates low. >> we're just going to have to see if it works. >> reporter: financial experts

and lawmakers are leery. they're warning of unintended consequences like rising costs for goods and services. >> it really just is once again underscoring the bad economic policies that we've seen coming out of this administration. >> reporter: bernanke disagrees. he's counting on this federal assistance to significantly reduce unemployment within three years. in washington, i'm danielle leigh, nbc news. >> and we'll have much more on the market reaction to the fed's move coming up in business. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in ohio, frightening video shows a woman driving up on a sidewalk using it as her own personal shortcut to get around a school bus stopped with its red lights flashing. that bus was picking up a child who uses a wheelchair. the woman allegedly made a daily habit of the dangerous stunt until she was captured on cell phone video. well, police were ready pulling over and citing the driver. in pennsylvania police were also ready with guns drawn when a burglar broke into a woman's apartment. the suspect used to do maintenance in the building and the woman noticed that the last time she was robbed there was no sign of forced entry so officers

just set up a hidden camera and waited. in connecticut a homeowner is hoping to avoid disaster with a little bit of art. she brought in a wood carver to turn older trees on her lawn into sculptures. she did it after seeing other big trees crash into homes during snowstorms. a chainsaw, not a chisel, was used to create those wooden masterpieces. and, finally, the pittsburgh zoo is now home to a bouncing baby black rhino weighing in at a mere 70 pounds. it's the first rhino born at the zoo in nearly half a century. and it's also of note because black rhinos are endangered. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's meteorologist todd santos with the weather channel forecast. good morning. >> good morning. >> an endangered baby black rhino. good news for them. >> about the size of my dog. >> but your dog is not going to grow to be as big as a rhino. >> not put on ten pounds a day or something like that i love the animals stories. get you warmed up.

walk to talk about this, as you're heading out the door, great temperatures. much of the activity really stringing from the great lakes back down through central east texas, into florida also with showers there but across a good stretch of the west coast, quiet conditions and fire weather concerns across portions of montana and breezy from the panhandle through new mexico and gusty easterly, upwards of 30 miles an hour. a lot of sunshine in place for a few areas will start to see a co cooldown once we get into the weekend, los angeles, you for today and tomorrow, temperatures in the 90s, upper 90s, close to the 100-degree mark. not too much in the way of clouds. i did mention the fire danger, of course, look at some of the red flag warnings across the cast indicates expire earlier on this morning. some of those through western montana go at least through the evening. be careful out there. fire danger concerns last couple of weeks on and off and

certainly something to keep in mind especially after the season we've had so far. temperatures outside, 68 in l.a. 81 in phoenix and as i mentioned later on this afternoon a big warm-up in l.a. up in the 80s and 90s. once you get in the week a cooldown on the way. seattle, 79, full sunshine. thfallon, nevada. great news for travelers. so quiet across a good stretch of the west. we'll talk about what you can expect the start of the weekend. for some of us it's business as usual. >> thank you very much, todd. well, the stimulus stimulates wall street, applications for unemployment benefits spike, and the creative cross promotion frowninged upon by police. your early morning business headlines straight ahead. plus, it's back.

now in 3d and ready to take the box office by storm. coming up, the packers get back on track, no news is bad news for the nhl, and derek jeter is a perfect ten. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm mara schiavocampo, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. the latest nbc news/"wall street journal"/marist poll finds president obama leads republican mitt romney in three key battleground states. it shows the president ahead of mr. romney by five points in both florida and virginia and up seven points in ohio. >> in washington, a memorial service was held at the national cathedral for astronaut neil armstrong who died august 25th. former astronauts buzz aldrin, john glen, and michael collins remembered the first man to walk on the moon. in mexico with masked marines on either side, authorities showed off an

arrested top gang drug boss along with captured weapons, vehicles and jewelry. jose eduardo costilla sanchez led the gulf drug cartel, the second most powerful in mexico. guatemala's fuego volcano erupted shooting ash two miles into the sky yesterday. about 11,000 people were evacuated, but they may be able to return home today. and england's prince william and the duchess of cambridge, kate middleton, were said to be saddened upon learning a french magazine plans to publish topless photos of middleton taken last week in france. they feel the photos taken while the couple were poolside at a private chateau owned by the queen's nephew violate their privacy. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow closed at 13,539 after soaring 206 points yesterday. the s&p bounced up 23, and the nasdaq zoomed ahead 41. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei leaped 164 points while in hong kong the hang seng

skyrocketed 582. well, as we mentioned earlier, wall street finally got the dose of fed stimulus it's been waiting for thursday, and traders were positively gleeful. the dow was up over 200 points. the s&p 500 had its best close since 2007. stocks spiked across the economic spectrum led by materials and bank stocks. that was all in response to the federal reserve led by chairman ben bernanke initiating its third aggressive stimulus program to boost the economy, so-called quantitative easing or qe3. as long as inflation remains under control, the fed will buy $40 billion of mortgage-backed debt every month until the outlook for jobs improves substantially. the central bank also said it was unlikely to raise interest rates from current lows at least until mid-2015. the effects were immediate and dramatic encouraging riskier investment in a sell-off of the safe harbor dollar. the greenback hit a seven-month low against the yen and a

four-month low against the euro. oil rose more than $1 a barrel above $98. a high not seen since may. gold and silver both climbed to six-month highs. the fed move also overshadowed down data thursday. the number of people seeking unemployment benefits jumped last week to the highest level in two months. and wholesale prices rose 1.7% in august, the most in three years. finally, at least they get points for creativity. police in malaysia have put an end to a cross promotion involving a car wash and a massage parlor in which after nine visits to the car wash, customers would receive free sex. the tribe snap a losing skid, a pair of walk-offs in extras and the yankee captain moves up in the all-time hit list. plus, the packers pull a fast one against the chicago bears. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and now that we've talked a little bit about your friday, want to take a look ahead into saturday. the start of the weekend for all those big football games. your forecast coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, last night the green bay packers relied on their defense and a bag of tricks to cave the chicago bears. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. bears quarterback jay cutler has never won at lambeau field and it wasn't going to happen last night.

classic nfl match-up. bears and packers, both offenses couldn't get anything going in the first half. so how about the special teams. green bay lined up for a field goal, and it's a fake. the holder pitched to tom crabtree. 27 yards up the middle. packers led 13-0 at the half. this was the kind of night that will give cutler nightmares. threw four picks, sacked seven times. aaron rodgers finally found the end zone in the fourth, connected with the ageless wonder donald driver. green bay won it, 23-10. hockey fans, i hate to say it, but it looks like there is going to be a lockout. the nhl and players association have until saturday midnight to come up with a new collective bargaining agreement. right now the two sides are miles apart. it will be the second lockout in eight years. baseball, another game, another thriller for the orioles. fourteenth inning, tied at 2-2, down. manny machado with a flare to left.

sam fold trying to make the grab but couldn't come up with it. instead of ending the inning, the orioles end the game. baltimore can do no wrong. they sweep the rays with a 3-2 win in 14. orioles were in first place for about five hours. then the yankees beat the red sox. derek jeter added another milestone to his hall-of-fame career. rbi single moved him into a tie with willie mays for tenth on the all-time hits list. yanks and orioles are still tied for first after a 2-0 win. no lead was safe in texas. rangers scored 2 in the eighth. the indians answered in the ninth. jason kipnis, two-run shot. indians rally to win, 5-4. and, finally, high drama in minnesota. twins down one in the ninth. travis plouffe changed that with a big swing. tied it with a home run. and then in the tenth denard span wins it, an rbi single. twins score a run in the eighth, ninth and tenth and beat the royals, 4-3. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. a big return to the silver screen in a controversial film. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, one of the greatest boxers of all time, muhammad ali, was honored yesterday, for his accomplishments outside the ring. you're watching "early today."

welcome back into "early today." again, as mentioned a beautiful situation across a good stretch of the west here. deep in mind the high fire danger into the cascades of washington. down towards los angeles, coastal areas in the 80s, heads in towards downtown, temperatures well up into the 90s. 97 in medford for today. at least saturday you're seeing a few more clouds, still dry

conditions, monsoonal moisture has dried up across the four corners. sunshine and temperatures responding, 96 in phoenix for saturday. l.a. will see a cooldown for the second half of the weekends. trade winds ease off, hilo getting some showers but beyond that lots of sunshine across the hawaiian chain. nearby bellingham learn about radio's role in history at the golden age of radio, the spark museum of electrical invention. that's your pacific event of the day. >> thanks soap, todd. well, now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. only two films look destined to make any kind of big splash this weekend at the box office. a family favorite featuring a forgetful fish played by ellen degeneres returns in re-releases this weekend's top spot favorite, "finding nemo" 3d. disney spent 10 million bucks

polishing up its 9-year-old animated hit and experts think it should float to the top with about $30 million. mila jovovich is also back in the r-rated "resident evil retribution." the fifth film in a franchise that so far has earned $675 million. it should finish a strong second with at least $20 million. finally, one other film note. opening this weekend in limited release but already generating a ton of buzz is "the master." a film loosely based on scientology and its founder. it features the big screen return of joaquin phoenix after a long absence and yet another strong performance by phillip seymour hoffman. looks good to see joaquin phoenix back acting as opposed to whatever he was doing, bearding. a rapper. i don't have a clue. >> if you hadn't said that was joaquin phoenix, i had to realize that was him. usually that's kind of the mark of a good actor when they can do that. >> "finding nemo" which i'm very excited about. >> 3d, that has to be wild. >> a lot of swimming. it should do well. this one comes to us from

wcau nbc 10 news in philadelphia where the man known as the greatest was honored last night. boxing icon muhammad ali received the prestigious liberty medal, not for his amazing feats inside the ring but for his work on humanitarian causes, civil rights, and religious freedom. ali, who is 70 now and of course lives with parkinson's disease, received a kiss from his daughter laila as the crowd chanted his name when he briefly stood to accept the award. i'm mara schiavocampo and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

in thailand, one polo tournament features a slightly larger breed of competitor. former new zealand rugby players mounted elephants to take on the defending champs from thailand. the competition was started in 2001 to support elephant welfare in thailand. after the opening match elephants were rewarded with a fruit and vegetable buffet for a game well played. yum. one dog in argentina may just be the world's most loyal dog. six years after his owner's death, capitan will not leave his side. he can be seen wandering around the cemetery or sleeping near his owner's tomb. the owner's widow says capitan has made daily visits to the cemetery ever since the funeral six years ago truly making him man's best friend. one hotel in mexico will have you think you're sleeping on a construction site. that's because the rooms are made from abandoned concrete drainage pipes. rooms are equipped with a queen size bed, a fan, lighting, and a glass doorway with a privacy

curtain. measuring about 8 feet by 11 1/2 feet, rooms go for between 20 and 50 bucks a night. well, that sounds like a typical new york city hotel room. >> that's true. and, actually, i'm sure a lot of those also have lots of pipes. >> right. except in new york you pay $200 a night. >> you do. you do. the people get bored with the normal hotel. i mean, hey, try something else out. >> comfort never gets boring to me. >> no. i want to go to the ice hotel. >> absolutely. well, time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the white house is expected to submit a response to congress detailing how automatic spending cuts next year will affect military and domestic programs. the cuts totaling $109 billion will go into effect if lawmakers can't reach a deal on preventing them by the end of the year. pope benedict xvi starts a three-day visit to lebanon for what he's calling a peace pilgrimage to the region. the militant group hezbollah has hung banners along his travel route welcoming him. and on this day in 1752, the british empire adopted the gregorian calendar which would

later become the international norm. 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. >> the sister of the u.s. ambassador killed in libya pays tribute to her brother. and actor jake gyllenhaal talks about his latest role as a police officer in the movie "end of watch." now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm mara schiavocampo. 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