did. like i said, there's always a bull market somewhere. i promise to try to find it just for you, right here on "mad money." i'm jim cranmer. this morning on "early today," state department under fire. members of congress want answers over benghazi as vivid descriptions of the heavily armed assault are revealed. buckeye battleground. 18 electoral votes explains why mitt romney is spending this week in ohio. and late-breaking details on a pakistblogger shot while getting onto her school bus. she was operated on early this morning. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning. i'm lynn berry. and on the campaign front, it is all about ohio. voters in that key swing state have been getting plenty of time with president obama and his republican rival mitt romney. both candidates campaigned hard in the buckeye state tuesday. in fact, romney is spending four

out of five days there this week. the reason, a new cnn orc international poll post debate shows it is a close race for ohio's 18 electoral votes with 51% of likely voters backing president obama, 47% for romney. that, of course, made closer after last week's debate. meanwhile, ohio's election chief, a republican, has asked the u.s. supreme court to reinstate a new law that cuts off the final three days of early voting. an appeals court blocks the law pushed through by state republicans. and as romney continues to campaign in ohio, president obama is back in the white house this morning. nbc's tracie potts joins us now with all the latest from washington. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. we're hearing a lot of he said, he said on the campaign trail. when it comes to mitt romney's tax plan, president obama

insists it's going to grow the budget. romney says it's not true. >> if he says it's not true, then it's not true. okay. >> reporter: in battleground ohio, president obama insists mitt romney's tax cuts will add $5 trillion to the deficit. >> if it's true it's not going to add to the deficit, that leaves only one option, and that's asking middle class families to foot the bill. >> the president's charge of a $5 trillion tax cut is obviously inaccurate and wrong. >> reporter: romney also in ohio mocked the obama campaign's latest ad mocking his plan to cut funding for pbs. >> big bird. big bird. big bird. he's focused on saving big bird is kind of a strange thing in my view because, you see, i'm focused on helping the american people get good jobs. >> reporter: sesame street's now asked the obama campaign to pull the big bird ad, yet there are weightier questions here as congress looks into whether the u.s. was warned of the deadly libya attack.

>> twice in the six-month lead-up you had bombings at our compound there in benghazi and it's 9/11 in libya. what other warnings do you need? >> reporter: warnings of trouble now for president obama romney's closing the gap. the latest poll, reuters has them tied, gallup has romney up by 2, pew has him up by 4. it's not just ohio which you mentioned earlier. new polls now in pennsylvania and michigan show they may not be as sure of a bet for president obama as originally thought. lynn? >> tracie potts in washington, thanks. elsewhere a 70-year-old man has become the first person in florida to die from the meningitis outbreak. that brings the death toll nationwide to 12 at least 119 people in ten states have been affected. now two lawmakers say they'll write legislation giving the fda more power over specialty pharmacies like the one believed to be at the center of the outbreak. we have an update this morning on that 14-year-old pakistani girl shot in the head by the taliban for blogging. the senior neurosurgeon tells nbc news the girl was operated on today but remains in critical

condition. however, he is optimistic about her recovery. she was air lifted to a military hospital after being attacked while on a school bus in the swat valley. in washington the state department joined in the outrage. >> directing violence at children is barbaric, it's cowardly, and our hearts go out to her and the others who were wounded as well as their families. back in pakistan this morning, a moving scene as schoolchildren there took some time out to pray for the young terror victim. now to al qaeda in iraq. the terrorist group is reportedly rebuilding it strength in the aftermath of the u.s. troop withdrawal last year. iraqi officials say that al qaeda has stepped up training camps in the western desert and has increased the number of attacks in iraq in the last few months. most of the militant fighters are thought to be former prisoners who were either

released by iraqi authorities or escaped from jail. now, here is a look at other stories making news early today in america. we begin with shocking video. the victim was thrown several feet in the air but miraculously did survive. the hit-and-run driver left the man unconscious and he is still on the loose. watch this. a popular teacher was punched in the face when he passed by a group of teens. police say they don't believe the 50-year-old was attacked by one of his students. a 15-year-old boy was arrested for assault. a maryland tv crew captured an incident of bullying when he was chased off by three bullies who bothered in the past.

in las vegas, a cabbie found a briefcase stuffed with over $200,000 in cash and he turned it in. a passenger left his casino winnings in the back of the cab. the driver received a big hug -- i bet he did -- and a $2,000 reward for his honesty. sounds about right. in florida, it was a game of catch me if you can. city workers had a hard time wrangling in a flock of swans. each year they're checked out and vaccinated before being returned to the lake. looks like they need to work on their aim. now for a check of the weather, here's bill karins. >> people can win money at casinos? that's never happened to me. >> developing story. >> a nice story though. good morning everyone. still dealing with warm mild conditions in the west that will change as a pesky upper level low still spinning off the

coastline, heading for southern california tomorrow. yesterday was just another warm, dry day. word of breaking records in many areas for how dry it's been over the last 0 days, 90 days, since the middle of the summer. another warm day in the desert southwest. you can see the spinning motion of the upper level low. 's inching its way towards the los angeles area. a few showers with it offshore and a couple sprinkles around south of san francisco. that's about it. another dry day in the northwest. but you're running out of them. pretty soon we're going to return to your typical pattern of a lot of clouds and on-and-off showers over the next week. here is a look at the radar off the california coastline. in san francisco, showers were just to the south of you, now heading off to the coast. today is a relatively dry day in many areas. tomorrow is when the upper level low comes near los angeles. that's where we've got a chance of showers. if the air is cold enough in the afternoon, we may get a few thunderstorms out of that and then it should clear out for a nice weekend. today, very similar to yesterday

with a sun and cloud mixture and st dropping into the upper 80s. seattle, nice and comfy, mid 60s. it looks like the rain is still forecast to return to the northwest in many areas of the west this upcoming period. >> bill, thanks. over 7 million cars recalled. is yours one of them? jack welch out at "fortune." starbucks battles mom and pop store starbarks. your early morning celebrity headlines straight ahead. you're watching "early today."

i'm lynn berry. right now a strange story involving a boston man arrested at lax during a stop on a flight home from japan. i.c.e. agents say he was wearing a bullet proof vest, flame retardant pants, and carrying a smoke bomb in his luggage. and that's not all. this is just some of what else they allegedly found in his baggage. believe it or not, agents do not think he is a terrorist. an investigation continues. well, this morning the government will issue a warning that thousands of airbags replaced over the last three years could be dangerous counterfeits. you will be able to learn f your model is at risk. just go to safercars.gov. newly released images show what police hope will be a better view of a 10-year-old colorado girl missing since friday. jessica ridgeway was last seen walking to school with her classmates. right there you can see vigils were held for her last night. well, if you are depressed, you're not alone.

the world health organization says more than 350 million people suffer from depression worldwide. jerry sandusky's rambling denials were ignored by a judge tuesday as the convicted sex abuser was sent to prison for the rest of his life. and 4,000 tons of ammunition blew up at a weapons dump in russia tuesday, an ongoing problem since the end of the cold war. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow closed 13,473 after dropping 110 points yesterday. s&p dropped 14, nasdaq sank 47. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei plunged 173 points while in hong kong the hang seng lost 17. so how will investors react to the unofficial start of earnings season? well, after the bell alcoa lowered its 2012 outlook for aluminum demand but reported slightly better than expected earnings and revenue.

also yum brands, the kfc, pizza hut and taco bell parent, said it saw strong quarterly sales in china. the international monetary fund says global financial risks have risen in the past six months thanks mostly to the eurozone debt crisis. on tuesday protests got heated in greece as german chancellor angela merkel pledged her support for strict austerity measures there. this morning toyota is recalling nearly $7.5 million vehicles worldwide to replace defects in power window switches in more than a dozen models. nearly 2.5 million in the u.s. the u.s. is suing wells fargo for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for what it claims is more than a decade's worth of mortgage fraud. well, jack welch, the former head of general electric, a partial owner of this network, will no longer contribute to reuters news and "fortune" magazine. welch's decision comes in the wake of controversy sparked by a tweet he sent last week suggesting the white house manipulated jobs numbers for political gain.

a doggy day care outside of chicago has stepped in it so to speak with the nation's biggest coffee chain. starbucks is asking starbarks to change its name and logo to avoid any customer confusion. a new study out of denmark finds that the more expensive running shoes do not prevent injuries or make you run faster. and it's that time of year again. the nieman marcus 2012 christmas catalog is out, and it is complete with all the outlandish gifts like his and her diamond studded watches for a cool $1.1 million. bill, that's our christmas gift to each other. well, coming up, san francisco stays alive, a bountygate update and the space jump will have to wait. plus, the athletics steal game three from the tigers. your sports headlines are straight ahead. i thought my gift to lynn was a nice, beautil, dry day today. that won't last in the middle of the country. some rain heading your way eventually. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. in sports, san francisco and oakland win to force a game four in both series. let's begin in cincinnati with two outs and two on in the top of the tenth, the giants joaquin arias hits a grounder to third, but reds infielder scott roll

len bobbles the ball, giving arias enough time to beat the throw to first as the go-ahead run scores for a 2-1 giants victory. to oakland now where yoenis cespedes hit an rbi single in the first inning and seth smith belted a home run to right center in the bottom of the fifth giving oakland a 2-1 victory over the tigers. aside from the two big hits the a's relied on their pitching and defense. back in the top of the second, oakland outfield coco crisp makes a leaping grab to rob a would-be home run by prince fielder. good catch there. well, to football now, nfl commissioner roger goodell reduced the bounty related suspensions of two new orleans saints players. linebacker scott fujita's three-game suspension has been reduced to one. and defensive end anthony hargrove's eight-game penalty has been trimmed to seven. and, finally, remember this guy, austrian daredevil felix baumgartner? his death defying sky dive has

been postponed due to gusty winds at the launch site. we'll be sure to keep you posted. coming up, kim and kanye on the hunt and julian assange's strange house guest. your entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll talk turkey about one minnesota neighborhood and its new peeping tom. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on "early

today" on this wednesday morning. a beautiful dry day on the west coast. tomorrow with the upper level low and the in northwest with a series of storms starting on friday. everyone will see a day similar to yesterday. tomorrow we increase the chance of moisture of showers and thunderstorms in the northwest. thursday should be seattle and portland's last dry day for a while. if you're watching us on kgw news channel 8, in wood burn, climb a giant spider wed, shoot a pumpkin cannon at the wooden shoe. ever since "children of the corn" and "maliki," i can't do a corn maze. all right, bill. thanks so much. in entertainment news, tmz reports radio host bubba the love sponge was behind the leaking of a six-year-old sex tape involving his ex-wife and his best friend, wrestling legend hulk hogan.

earlier in the day hogan told "today's" kathie lee and hoda that the encounter happened after his marriage had imploded. he also told howard stern that his best friend bubba had encouraged the tryst with then wife heather klum and that he's denied any knowledge of the tape. well, tmz, however, reveals at the end of the tape hulk's friend is bragging that the footage was a gold mine. the wrestler tells tmz he plans to explore legal options. well, things appear to be getting serious between kim kardashian and kanye west. reports say they have been shopping around for a miami mansion in the 7 to $10 million range. finally, wikileaks busts julian assange who has been hold up in ecuador's london embassy to avoid extradition has had an unlikely visitor. that's right. on tuesday lady gaga was in the neighborhood promoting her perfume. the two reportedly had dinner during a five-hour visit. fly on the wall. would have loved that.

>> this comes to us from fargo, north dakota, where in minnesota a lone turkey turned one neighborhood into its personal stomping ground. the way ward fowl has made itself at home wherever he sees fit. he's gotten a reputation for peeping through windows and holding up traffic. the fans of the bird are calling him roger. if there's any ring of truth to recent jokes, he could also be called dinner this coming thanksgiving. i didn't make it up. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

a zoo in israel is now home to a strange looking arrival. say hello to the south african tapir, an endangered mammal with a curiously flexible nose. zookeepers are extremely proud of the newborn saying he's very healthy and is successfully nursing from his mother. while the tapir may look like an elephant-pig crossover, they're closely related to horses and rhinos. well, in new york, rock bands aren't the only ones who can smash pumpkins. one pumpkin farm celebrated its fall festival by dropping a 1,000-pound pumpkin from a sky-high forklift. look at it go. the drop was part of a radio contest where competitors hunted for the most plastic coins hidden inside the pumpkin guts. the winner earned a $750 gift card and some seriously sticky fingers. and, finally, just when women thought high heels could

not get any more uncomfortable, behold. the scary beautiful heels are unleashed. take a look at this. the nightmarish heels are backwards so it makes the feet point straight down like ballerinas. the designer says the shoes are a commentary on today's impossible standards of beauty. and, yes, lady gaga, of course, is rumored to be wearing them in an upcoming video. my favorite part of this is -- >> the frankenstein walk. >> because it's this gorgeous, beautiful model and she sort of likes look -- >> brutal. >> -- a dress or something. >> no one can look good in those shoes. no one. it's time for now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. the supreme court is taking up a challenge to a university of texas program that considers race in some college admissions. the case could produce new limits on affirmative action at universities or roll it back entirely. a commercial cargo ship will dock with the international space station to deliver a round of a thousand pound of supplies. it's the first commercial

resupply mission to the i.s.s. california based spacex has a $1.6 billion contract with nasa to make the deliveries. and happy birthday to nascar racer dale earnhardt jr., he turns 38 today. 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. details on duchess kate's busy week as the british royals put their photo controversies behind them and get back to business. and hear from a mother of three who took a stand against doing house chores and documented her strike online. 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