like i say, there's always a bull market somewhere. i promise to try and find it just for you right here on "mad money." i'm jim cramer. see you tomorrow! this morning on "early today," campaign controversy. mitt romney tries to get back on track after that leaked video. plus the latest nbc news wall street journal poll numbers. back to school. chicago teachers agree to return to the classroom after a seven-day strike. and festive finale. william and kate wrap up their south pacific tour in william and kate wrap up their south pacific tour in traditional island style. 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 trouble on the trail.

a new nbc news-wall street journal poll shows mitt romney falling behind in the presidential race, and that was before news of his secretly recorded videotape dismissing nearly half of american voters. nbc's tracie potts joins us live from washington. she has more on all of this. tracie, good morning to you. >> reporter: our polls have the latest numbers, president obama five points ahead of mitt romney. this as romney tries to bounce back from what he said on tape last spring. here is what mitt romney was secretly recorded saying last may about the 40% of americans who don't believe in taxes. >> who believe they're entitled to health care, housing, food, you name it. my job is not to worry about those people. i'll never convince them. >> reporter: with cameras now in full view, here is what he said at a fund-raiser last night. >> i believe instead the role of government is to help those who

need help. >> reporter: he admits in a fox interview that some of those not paying taxes aren't victims but wealthy americans should pay. >> i think people would like to be paying taxes. the good news is if you're doing well enough financially that you can pay a tax. >> reporter: president obama on the late show last night reacting to romney's comment about the 47%. >> my expectation is that if you want to be president, you have to work for everybody, not just some. >> reporter: but some high profile republicans are backing their nominee. >> i think in the context of what governor romney was saying is that we need to get people off of subsistence. that means job creation. >> reporter: despite the gap, romney raised $6.5 million tuesday. there's also a gallup poll out there that shows before the tape became public, he had support of about a third of low income americans. the president had well over half.

all right. tracie potts there for us in washington. tracie, thanks so much. well, it is back to school for students in chicago today. after a seven-day strike union teachers representatives voted to accept the latest contract proposal and present it to the full membership for a final vote. nbc's jay gray has that story. >> reporter: after seven days of picketing and protests. >> parents, teachers united for better schools. >> reporter: stalled negotiations, parents stretched to their limits, and classrooms sitting empty, students and teachers will get back to work wednesday morning in chicago. >> this is the time. this was the place. this was the right thing to do. >> reporter: the chicago teachers union board of delegates agreed to accept a contract proposal from the city tuesday evening. the rank and file close to 30,000 teachers plus still approved the deal. that's expected to happen in the next couple of weeks. >> we said that it was time to -- that we couldn't solve all the problems of the world with one contract and that it was time to suspend the strike. >> reporter: already among the highest paid teachers in the nation with an annual salary

averaging more than $70,000, the new contract provides for a 7% pay raise for chicago teachers over the next three years. two major sticking points in the talks had been job security and performance evaluations. the city will now rate teachers in part on how well students score on standardized tests and underperforming teachers can be laid off in the first year of the new contract. >> this settlement is an honest compromise. it means returning our schools to their primary purpose, the education of our children. it means a new day and a new direction for the chicago public schools. >> reporter: one that begins with opening bells finally ringing at schools across the city wednesday morning. jay gray, nbc news. and just quick programming note for you. nbc news will be hosting an education nation summit right here in new york city. it's going to be beginning this sunday, and you'll be able to see special programming across all nbc news platforms all next week. well, now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america.

in new york, surveillance video captured a dramatic attack inside a laundromat. the victim was punched and beaten with a large stick as two women and one man robbed the place. one of the men can be seen swiping a cash register. police are still looking for the suspects. in or regan, it's just a drill, but one to show what a massive magnitude earthquake would feel like. a power company uses a simulator to help its employees ready if the big one ever does strike. experts say there's a 40% chance of such a quake rocking the pacific northwest sometime in the next 50 years. and finally, back in washington, we're getting a look. remember we told you yesterday of the little panda born sunday at the national zoo. the mamma bear mei xing can be seen holding the tiny cub in her

mouth. she's doing that to position the newborn on her body for nursing or grooming. still no word if it's a boy or a girl. >> here is dylan drier with your weather channel forecast. good morning. >> good thing we warn people that she's doing that for a specific reason. >> all you see is arms and legs flailing. >> you've been enjoying nice sunshine all summer long. summer does come to an end as we go into this upcoming weekend. hard to believe we're talking about fall already. but we've got high pressure in control, really things are staying fairly quiet, but also very dry, especially across the northern plains. we have read flag warnings into nebraska and kansas, too. the west coast, we do still have smoke concerns back through interior washington state and interior oregon as well for area wildfires. we've got a lot of sunshine out

there with high pressure still dominating the weather. temperatures cool, down in the 50s. it's going to be another hot one, especially back through vegas, 9 9 this afternoon. 103 in phoenix. seattle cooling off a little bit, in the 70s today. that's the latest continue all across the west coast with highs today warm in the 70s and 80s. that's your latest forecast. lynn. >> dylan, thanks so much. coming up, japan follows suit. fedex warns and why it pays to be an alaskan. the rumor mill is buzzing about

a reconciliation between robert pattinson and kristen stewart. coming up, the brewers are back in the hunt, plus the good, the bad, the ugly in the outfield. 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. pennsylvania state supreme court is ordering a lower court judge to determine if voters have easy access to photo i.d. cards required by a new law. if it is determined the i.d.s are easily available, the law can stand. if not, the law will be blocked. arizona police can begin enforcing the controversial show your papers provision of the state's immigration law. after a u.s. judge lifted an injunction blocking the measure, the state law was upheld by the u.s. supreme court. newly released images show sea ice in the arctic ocean

melting to record low levels. the u.s. national oceanic and atmospheric administration says this year marks the first time there's been less than 1.5 square miles of sea ice since satellite observations began in 1979. and england's duke and duchess of cambridge, prince william and his wife kate danced in traditional costumes on the pacific island of tuvalu. look at those moves. wow, will. it was the final stop on the royal couple's tour of the far east. i want to put that on loop. now here's an early look at how wall street's going to kick off the day. the dow closed a 13,564 after adding 11 points yesterday. the s&p lost 1. the nasdaq was down a fraction. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei jumped 108 points while in hong kong the hang seng climbed 239. monetary easing by japan's central bank gave markets

overseas a boost this morning. on the heels of aggressive stimulus here at home and in europe, the bank of japan once again boosted its asset purchase program sending the nikkei to a four-month high. just weeks after declaring bankruptcy japan airlines made a respectable stock market return with a near $9 billion listing. the world's second biggest after facebook. meanwhile, many japanese retailers in china are losing business as escalating tensions over disputed island chain has sparked protests forcing companies to close for days. back on the street, a gloomy outlook from fedex weighed on trade. the shipping bell weather fell 3% after slashing its earnings forecast due to a weakening world economy. shares of advanced micro devices dragged techs tumbling 10% on news of its cfo's departure. american airlines put 11,000 workers on notice as it restructures under bankruptcy.

of those 11,000, 4,400 jobs will be cut by december. on the bright side, apple closed above $700 for the first time. some good news for the housing sector. home builder sentiment rose for the fifth month in a row in september to its highest level in more than six years. yahoo sold half its stake in china's alibaba search engine giving it $3 billion to return to shareholders. and speaking of dividends, alaskans can look forward to $878 each this year as part of the state's oil wealth sharing. however, it doesn't amount to much if you live in remote fort yukon. $878 will buy you just about 59 cans of coffee. better than nothing. well, coming up, the marlins win in extras, a grand slam in michigan, and saying good-bye to a sports casting pioneer. plus one angel drops in on

some fans while chasing a home run. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and the rain is clearing out across the east coast. the rest of the country enjoying a lot of sunshine. 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, the milwaukee brewers moved into the playoff race last night after blanking the pittsburgh pirates. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. who'd of thunk it. the brewers have been an after thought the entire season and now they're in the hunt for the wild card. taking on the pirates, and one reason milwaukee is in the mix, yovani gallardo struck out six for his eighth win in a row. the other reason, ryan braun. following his mvp season with another great year leads the n.l. with 104 rbi. the brewers won it 6-0. they're 2 1/2 back. everybody is trying to hang with the braves. they're running away with the wild card spot. rally from three down in the ninth to tie the marlins, ryan mccann forced extras with a wall banger to left, but easy come and easy to go. tenth inning, one out for jose reyes. a flare to shallow center. in came the winning run and the marlins walk off with a 4-3 win. now to the a.l. the tigers needed a win to keep pace with the white sox and miguel cabrera delivered. solo shot in the third. 39th of the season and miguel

saved his best for last. sacks full and there it goes. a grand slam in his final at-bat. the tigers mauled the a's 12-2. some sad news. steve sabol, the president of nfl films, passed away after an 18-month battle with brain cancer. sabol, along with his father ed, revolutionized sports broadcasting. as a writer, producer, director and cameraman, he shaped the way we watch the nfl. won over 40 emmys for his work and was elected to the pro football hall of fame last year. steve sabol was 69. and, finally, back to baseball for the catch of the night. dewayne wise line drive into the gap. david lowe, you'll get nothing and like it. late out to make the grab. that was the lone highlight for the royals. the white sox won it. then there was this, angels and rangers. ian kinsler with a high fly ball to left. it is going, going, and it is gone and so is vernon wells. he couldn't make the grab and went head over heels into the stands. vernon went to the well and came dry. angels had the last laugh. they won big. that's your early look at sports on "early today," i'm fred roggin.

well, former "friends" star hits pregnancy rumors head on. your early morning entertainment headlines straight ahead. plus most employees are told to act professional in the workplace, but we'll show you how one company is challenging that. you're watching "early today."

we are looking for quiet weather across the west coast. high pressure in control keeps away the clouds, any sort of rain. we are watching for still some patchy areas of smoke in ichb tear your towns inland, oregon, too, from area wildfires. tomorrow it looks like temperatures should still be in the 70s and 80s. if you're watching us on knsd, nbc 7 in san diego, california, from beaded caps to feathered fascinators, see intricate head wear at "hats and head dresses" at the min gay museum. i wonder if lady gaga's head piece will be displayed there. >> her floral face mask. well, now here's an early look at today's headlines in entertainment. could a reconciliation be near for "twilight" stars robert pattinson and kristin stewart? well, according to e-news sources, the two have recently been spending time together in secret. the couple broke up this summer after she was photographed cheating on him with married

director rupert sanders. friends of the late marvin hamlisch came out for a star-studded memorial service honoring the composer at new york's jewel yard school of music. barbara streisand, aretha franklin and liza minnelli performed. and michael douglas, katherine zeta jones, and sarah jessica parker were among the guests. and 43-year-old jennifer aniston is hitting back against pregnancy rumors with a new promotional video spoof that has gone viral. taking mat trs into her own hands. in it ryan seacrest anchors a fake report on leaked home security tapes that reveal aniston is pregnant with triplets. there you go. she's enjoying her engagement as much as all of us. >> she has to laugh about it. she gets so much press, whether or not she's pregnant or not. it's nice she can joke. >> get ahead of the joke before someone takes advantage of it. this comes to us from kare

where in nearby delano, they work hard, play hard and do it all in the same place. this is a brilliant idea. one business is encouraging workers to take adult recess breaks. so tether ball, hack key sack and four square are all part of the work day. one employee says he's actually lost 60 pounds just by having a little fun on the job. and in what's probably not a coincidence, the company makes children's playground equipment. i'm sure everyone wants to work there. this is "early today," your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

in texas, one pre-teen has finally found his place on the gridiron. at 6'3" and 300 pounds, the 12-year-old was told he's too big to play pee wee football because he exceeds the 135 pound weight limit. well now just weeks later he is getting his chance in a middle school league without any weight restrictions, a move his mom calls a dream come true. in washington the humane society has figured out a way to get their bigger cats into new homes, a discount. it's part of their big and beautiful campaign. plus size cats are being offered at a lower price. the bigger the feline, the bigger the discount. since fat cats are usually overlooked, the move helps land the larger kitties in loving homes. and finally, looking for a place with fine french cuisine without the fine dining price tag?

no problem. one restaurant in france took their menu mobile and chopped the price tag. dubbed the rest-a-mobile, the truck parks at paris landmarks like the eiffel tower offering three course meals for two at around 25 bucks a person for lunch and $45 for dinner. reservations are still required. and minor detail for all of us here in the states. you have to pay for the plane ticket to paris to enjoy it. for everyone in france, enjoy. tell us how it is. >> and it comes to you too it sounds. so not only is it cheaper, but easier to find. >> good point. well, time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. local lawmakers are teaming up with at&t to discourage teen texting and driving as part of the it can wait campaign. teens across the country are being asked not to send or receive text messages behind the wheel. the space shuttle "endeavour" will hitch a ride atop a nasa jumbo jet headed to california. the retired shuttle will go on display at the california

science center. and here's something to smile about. on this day in 1982 the smiley face emoticon, that colon followed by a hyphen and parentheses, was invented by a professor at carnegie melon university. well, all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and more 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. hear from the harvard scientist who discovered a scrap of papyrus that suggests jesus may have had a wife. and in her first tv interview since the birth of her son giuliana rancic opens up about motherhood and her battle with breast cancer. 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 the day, today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com