good thursday morning. coming up on "early today," chilling images of deranged shooter aaron alexis roaming the halls during his shooting rampage. a government shutdown looks very real. the finger points has begun. and wall street's fears cause billions in losses. the u.s. america's cup team has a comeback story f the ages. plus sex trafficking in new york takes on a whole new initiative. president bush serves as a witness at a same-sex wedding. and a man grows a replacement nose. yep, right on the top of his head. "early today" starts right now. this is "early today" for thursday, september 26. good morning. i'm alex witt.

that defiant stand by senator ted cruz is now over, but the threat of a government shutdown is very real. if that happens, democrats are already pitting the blame on that pea party senator. tracie potts is live for us in washington. good morning to you. we see all these lawmakers talking, but they need to be talking to each other to get something done. is that happening? >> reporter: not really, alex. we see them talking at each other, throwing ideas back and forth, but none of those ideas seem to be locking in as we move ever closer to this monday deadli deadline. ted cruz, who you just referred to, spent a lot of time talking. afterwards, the vote he was trying to prevent happened anyway. democrats and republicans were still far apart. ted cruz finally sat down after 21 hours. >> this was all about elevating the debate in the public. >> there's been a big waste of time. >> reporter: now the senate's on

track to pass a budget that'll likely include money for the affordable care act. that's sure to go nowhere in the house. democrats say they'll fight for it. >> anything that diminishes the affordable care act is not anything we're going to support. >> we cannot rely on the commander in chief to negotiate. >> reporter: republicans are expected to counter with a budget that includes more things democrats don't like, like tax reform, the controversial keystone pipeline, or changes in medicare and social security. >> this attitude of my way or the highway doesn't get it. >> i don't think it's going to be pretty. >> reporter: it's still up in the air whether they can agree on a budget before monday's shutdown deadline. tuesday, another key date. open enrollment for the new health insurance exchanges. president obama talks about that at a community college in maryland today. and new this morning, we have more information about what the president might say. he's expected to explain how those exchanges work and talk about the dozens of options that many americans will have when

that opens up on tuesday, alex. >> you know, tracie, you talk about the president. where does he stand in all of this? what are the numbers from the latest polls reflecting? >> reporter: you know, there's a "new york times" cbs poll that came out. it certainly shows the president's taken a hit. take a look. president's approval rating versus his disapproval rating at 43% to 49%. more people disapproving now. when you look at specific issues like health care, 41% approval on the deficit, only 35% in both cases with more than half of those surveyed disapproving on how the president's handling those things. >> okay. and in case anyone didn't know, we had senator cruz talking about and reading "green eggs and ham" during his filibuster. i'll never think of it the same way. now i've heard it from ted cruz. anyway, thank you, tracie. now to new chilling fbi video of an armed aaron alexis inside the navy yard. these are the eerie moments before he allegedly went on a rampage killing 12 people at

random. look at this. you can see him creeping down the hallway armed with a shotgun, stalking through the hallways and crouched over on the morning of september 16th. his shotgun had four messages etched into it including, my elf weapon. the fbi says that may refer to extremely low frequency waves. investigators say alexis left a revealing document behind saying quote, ultra low frequency attack is what i've been subject to for the last three month, and to be perfectly honest, that is what has driven me to this. officials say it is part of evidence revealing a man in the throws of paranoia and delusions. meanwhile, nra executive vice president wayne lapierre says aaron alexis, quote, should have been committed. in a new op-ed, he says, quote, the second amendment has never been more relevant for more americans. firearms in the hands of good, law abiding people are increasingly essential to the safety of our families and our nation.

well, this is being hailed as one of the biggest comebacks in sports history at the america's cup. kurt gregory has more on the finish that stunned the world. >> reporter: the america's cup will stay in america. >> the comeback of 2013 is complete. >> reporter: skipper jimmy spithill of oracle team usa and his ten-man crew who just a week ago trailed eight races to one, one race away from losing the most prestigious prize, mounted one of the greatest comebacks in sports history. >> it was a fantastic ride. we wouldn't have had it any other way. >> i think they deserve to win. they started brilliantly today. we had a good race too. we can hold our heads high with that. >> reporter: even before the start of the first race of the competition oracle team usa was behind, penalized two race victories by the international jury for illegally modifying boats in warmup races.

emirates team new zealand outsailed and outshined ellis' team race after race until the u.s. team turned the tide in the 12th race gaining time and momentum on the kiwi team. >> all the boys were loose. they were positive. jimmy is a great leader. it's a boat full of assassins. >> the most spectacular comeback in the history of the america's cup. >> reporter: and wednesday keeping the oldest trophy in international sports in the united states. kurt gregory, nbc news. >> pretty good news there. also, this amazing discovery in alaska. thousands of fossilized dinosaur tracks. scientists say they found these footprints along the banks of the yukon river. a whopping 2,000 pounds worth. these fossils were preserved in natural casts which form after the dino steps in mud and then

sand forms the fossils. scientists say it could date back to 30,000 years ago. it can be evidence of an ecosystem they never knew existed. now for a look at the weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. try to follow that one, bill. >> i love the dinosaur stories. i just want to find a bone one day. well, as far as winter goes, montana is where we're seeing it first. montana is dealing with a snowstorm, one of the first of the season. the high passes could expect 6 to 12 inches of snow. in the northwest, we have a very short window of nice weather. it starts today and will go into friday. our extended range computer, our european computer model, is expecting a heavy rain event. actually, all of our models are predicting this to begin friday night in northern oregon and

southern washington. looks like a rain-out weekend. maybe even some minor flooding concerns. as far as your friday goes, it's not too bad out there. we are going to see a few showers hit and miss. overall, the really nasty stuff is going to come with a potential of 6 to 8 inches of rain in the mountains throughout your sunday. rain probably until monday of next week. in other words, if you get sunshine the next two days in the northwest, appreciate it and get out and enjoy it. that's a look spokane, washington, at 63 today. again, enjoy it. rain is on its way. alex, that kind of ruined the weekend forecast. i don't have a lot of good news for our friends in the northwest. >> except i'm a skier. >> you do like that. >> i'm seeing my eyes lit up. big skies. got to go there.

thank you, bill. coming up, a major admission from iran's leader about the holocaust. plus, the jury in the michael jackson wrongful death trial could begin deliberating today. and we're back in two minutes.

welcome back, everyone. stories making news this morning. just in this morning, kenyan defense forces have released new video showing the collapsed roof of the nairobi mall where at least 72 people were killed. another 175 people were injured in that attack. iran's president surprised reporters wednesday when he said the nazis, quote, carried out a massacre that cannot be denied, especially against the jewish people. this is in sharp contrast from former president mahmoud ahmadinejad, who strongly denied the holocaust ever happened. special courts are being set up in new york state to handle prostitution and sex trafficking cases. instead of being treated as criminals, prostitutes will be given access to services to help

them escape the violence and exploitation that goes with sex trafficking. a man who had blue skin due to treatment of a skin condition has died at the age of 62. he suffered a heart attack and stroke monday, neither caused by his skin condition. the attorney for aeg live made closing arguments wednesday in the michael jackson wrongful death lawsuit saying the company never knew about jackson's health issues. >> simply stated aeg live never would have agreed to finance the tour if it knew mr. jackson was playing russian roulette every night in his bedroom. a new research poll shows not everyone uses the worldwide web. can you believe that? anyway, 15% of americans aged 18 and older said they simply do not use the internet. majority of them claim they have no use for it. and here's the strangest nose job you've ever seen. chinese doctors have grown this nose on the forehead of this man

whose original nose was infected after a traffic accident. surgeons say the new nose will be ready for transplant soon. not soon enough. anyway, to business. stocks closed lower for a fifth consecutive day over fears after a government shutdown. the dow fell 61 points. the new $100 bills are rolling off the presses. new security features will include color-changing ink, a 3d security ribbon and more texture on benjamin franklin's collar. barnes and noble hopes to juice up their holiday sales with a 20% discount to customers who are members. the deal starts today and goes through sunday. members get free express shipping on all online purchases. and the post office plans to raise the cost of a first-class stamp another 3 cents in january. it will go up to 49 cents. the postal service lost $16 billion last year and is

expected to lose another $6 billion this year. on a side note, the post office is spending over $.5 million on popcorn's brain reserve, which is a futurist marketing consultant, so they can study the future of stamps. sports highlights are straight ahead. first, here's our daily trivia question. who is the richest comedian? is it david letterman, larry david, bill cosby, or jerry seinfeld? here's a hint. he's worth $900 million. that answer coming your way next.

so here it is. who is the riche esest comedian? is it david letterman, larry david, bill cosby, or jerry seinfeld? drum roll, please. the answer is larry david. $900 million. good for him. now to the latest in sports. we'll get right into baseball. days after metallica performed rivera's entrance song, hard rock cafe announced it is retiring the song from all hard rock restaurants, casinos, and hotels in honor of rivera. this is the first time the company has retired a song. for just the second time in a staggering 19 years, the yanks missed the playoffs. the yankees losing to the rays 8-3. rockies showered retiring first baseman todd helton with a variety of gifts, including a horse. the three-time world champion pony was presented to helton

before his final appearance there at coors field. during that game, just for good measure, helton blasted a homer moments after a standing "o" from over 47,000 fans. must have been his way of saying, hey, thanks for the horse. and as you may know, arizona cardinals safety rashad johnson lost the very tip of his middle finger during this play on sunday. since it can't be reattached, the cardinals are now showing their support. it's with this prototype of a foam hand minus a fingertip with johnson's name on it. that's a lot of team spirit. on thursday night football, the 49ers take on the st. louis rams. both teams are trying to break out of their 1-2 record. and check this out. a high school football coach in utah just suspended every single player on his team. coach is making his players do community service. he's trying to teach them a lesson after academic issues and hearing that some players might be in involved in cyber bullying. he's now suspended the entire team, teaching them a lesson. sneaky, sneaky.

during a free kick between two german leagues, indecision on who takes the kick stalls the defense. look at this guy stepping up and scores. that goal left the game 2-2. and here's proof you can get second chances in life. at the top of the fourth, a foul ball bounces off the shoulder of that fan during the san francisco giants game. ouch. but the disappointed fan caught another foul ball later in the fourth. victory. just ahead, new batman ben affleck channels his inner bruce wayne for bill clinton. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this thursday. again, the storm system that's going to affect the northwest isn't going to occur until we go through friday, friday night and into the weekend. today that storm system is going to be lingering and bringing rain around alaska. then the upper-level low is going to stall. alaska, cool today and showery type weather. one more pretty nice day today in the northwest. then as we get into friday, that's when the rain will move in. alex, we were talking about the snow in montana earlier. this storm system will be too warm in the cascades and sierras. it will be all rain. >> so we have to wait for a little bit in california and the rockies. thank you for that, bill. let's get to entertainment news. tina fey is back on snl. she makes light of her wardrobe malfunction. nice.

only tina can pull that off. how about this? miley cyrus flew high in the sky in this video from "rolling stone." richard gere sadly separating from his wife of 11 years. this was not the first marriage for either of them. gere was of course married to cindy crawford. we remember that. sandra bullock made her mark in front of the chinese theater yesterday. she has her 3-year-old adorable son lewis also making an appearance. >> i'm surprised she wasn't already in there. >> you know, i thought the same. i just presumed she was there. i'm glad she is now. we love her. she's fabulous. also, talking about fabulous, ben affleck found quite the way to welcome the president to the clinton global initiative dinner. >> my name is bruce wayne. i would like to welcome my fellow billionaires to the event tonight. >> he's going to make a great batman. jimmy fallon is back in his

music room with his band the roots and the personalities from "sesame street." ♪ how to get to sesame street ♪ >> sounding good. aaron paul has honored the finale of "breaking bad" by starting a fundraiser on omaze. on here fans donate to the kind campaign. they had a chance to win a trip to two to l.a. to watch the finale with the cast. paul tweeted he raised nearly $1.8 million. good for him. all for a very good cause. i'm alex witt. this is "early today." we hope it's your first stop of the day here on nbc.

loading the headlines in this morning's "news day," more blacks, hispanics get s.a.t. scores showing college success. the scores are on the rise year over year. and in "usa today," george h.w. bush witnessed a same-sex wedding in maine. the 41st president and wife barbara attended the wedding of long-time friends. president bush even signed the marriage license as a witness. and some stories you might have missed. iranian president hassan rowhani said, quote, the nazis carried out a massacre that cannot be denied. new fbi video shows the eerie moments before aaron

alexis went on a rampage in the navy yard. you can see him stalking through the hallways armed with a shotgun. new york state sets up special courts to handle prostitution and sex trafficking cases. the state's highest ranking judge calls it, quote, modern day slavery. it is the first of its kind in the u.s. and treats alleged prostitutes as victim instead of criminals. and vice president joe biden met with his iraqi counterpart in new york on wednesday. the white house says biden told him the u.s. is committed to a shared fight against terrorism in iraq. a former british politician also got into quite the scuffle on tuesday. dame yon mcbride was being interviewed by itv when an anti-nuclear protest got right into that shot. he wrestled the protester to the ground, all this being caught on tape. the interview then continued without any further problems. glad that can't happen here in the studio. >> that's a good publicist. >> exactly. i agree. thankfully the guys who work here in the studio, they're all calm, cool, collected. >> some days.

careful, alex. >> anyway, time now for a look ahead and a look back. christie's holds their first ever auction in china today. that includes an andy warhol painting and historic watches that could bring up to $16 million. on this day in 1960, the first ever televised presidential debate between john f. kennedy and richard nixon, which was the turning point of the election. and happy birthday to tennis star serena williams, who's 32. olivia newton-john turns 65. and donna douglas is 80. coming up on the "today" show, an exclusive as shelley zimmerman speaks out for the first time since the confrontation with her husband. and global style icon tory burch talks about her battles. thanks so much for watching "early today." have yourselves a great thursday.

bay town hours from deciding the fate of two pit bulls accused of attacking a young boy. >> growing concern about a big weekend event in mountain view and why it's prompting a warning from police. >> public transit strikes a thing of the past t the thing to get voters on board. those are the waters where team oracle usa made a huge comeback yesterday. did you see it? this thursday, september 26th, this is "today in the bay."