tragedy at track. a horrific crash claims the life of one of car racing's well-known drivers. remembering the dream. a civil rights leader is immortalized in the nation's capital. and end of the line. a show of solidarity after a young mother and her crying baby get booted off a bus. good morning to you. those stories and more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin this morning with the loss of a champion. today, the racing world is mourning the death of 33-year-old indianapolis 500

winner dan wheldon after his car was tangled in a massive multi-car collision during yesterday's indy car race in las vegas. three other drivers were hurt in the wreck. here's nbc's fred rogan. >> good morning. incredibly sad and tragic news. dan wheldon died after suffering injuries in a multi-car accident. wheldon went airborne and was one of several cars that hit the wall. he was air lifted to a hospital. he died with his wife and two children by his side. dan wheldon was 33 years old. we'll have much more on this tragic accident coming up in sports. for now, veronica, back to you. >> thank you, fred. a sign that the occupy wall street protesters are in it for the long haul. close to $300,000 in cash has been donated. they also have a storage space filled with donated supplies for

those camped out in lower manhattan. in chicago this weekend, at least 175 people were arrested as they joined the demonstrations against corporate greed, bank bailouts, and high unemployment. meanwhile, the movement has spread from lower manhattan to cities around the world. in germany, activists have been camped out in front of the european central bank in frankfurt. and rome has been cleaning. its streets after protests became violent. cars were torched and bank windows smashed. dozens were injured and 12 people were arrested. at the supreme court yesterday, 19 people were arrested. they were rallying for a movement called stop the machine, a demonstration with both anti-corporate greed and anti-war messages. after being delayed by an earthquake and then a hurricane, tens of thousands gathered yesterday in washington for the official dedication of the martin luther king jr. national

memorial. here's nbc's brian moore. ♪ >> reporter: on a brilliant autumn day on washington's national mall, dr. martin luther king jr. took his place along side lincoln, jefferson, and washington. >> he will stand for all time among monuments to those who fathered this nation and those who defended it. >> reporter: tens of thousands attended the official dedication of the king national memorial. an event that weaved together musical tributes with political calls for social justice. it was a celebration of a simple minister turned martyr. a towering figure in american history. >> now he's 30 feet tall looking down on everybody. >> reporter: for dr. king's children, it was a day to celebrate a legacy that lives on. >> so while we commemorate his

memory today with this great memorial, let us not confuse or forget what he stood for and died for. >> reporter: a day to honor a man and a dream of peace and racial harmony that echoes across time. >> i have a dream today. >> the true measure of any man is how his message continues on. >> reporter: a message now etched in stone in the nation's capital. brian moore, nbc news, washington. here's your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. portland transit officials are in damage i don't really mode after a bus driver kicked a passenger off because she couldn't quiet her crying baby. the driver's decision led to a passenger insurrection of sorts with several leaving the bus in protest. in response to the incident, the company has issued an apology but has not fired the driver. it was an emotional day for thousands in maryland who honored 89 fallen firefighters. the special service at the national firefighter memorial

paid homage to those who perished. their names were added to the memorial wall. well, the walking dead roamed the streets of atlanta during the annual zombie walk on sunday. hundreds made the downtown area look like it had been taken over by the undead. this was the fifth year of the event. and finally over the weekend, hundreds hurled themselves off the longest bridge in the western hemisphere to take part in west virginia's bridge day. base jumpers took flight from 876 feet above the river. they've jumped from there since 1980, but bridge day is the only time it is legal. look at that landing. very nice. time now for a look at the national weather. let's turn to bill karins, who

has the weather channel forecast. i just don't know what to say about that stuff. great video, but i could never do it. >> no, it's good to watch from a afar. i love that story about the bus too and the people that got off. >> good for them. >> i hope we get to find them and interview them. sounds like a heroic thing they did. good morning, everyone. let's talk about the forecast going into this workweek. interesting happenings on the eastern seaboard. that's where all the wet weather has been for the last two or three months. looks like we have another soaker coming your way. right now, the weather pattern is set up where the west is dry and very warm. it was 100 degrees in phoenix today. that's going to continue today. you can see the rotating pin wheel. huge storm system near the hudson bay. that's not going anywhere. we're going to watch this jet stream dipping to the south. if that happens, anything in the south is going to be picked up and sent up the east coast. this big white blob could possibly be a tropical storm by the end of day. it is still our tropical season. we can get tropical storms, even

hurricanes, this time of year. this doesn't look to become a hurricane, but i think it has a chance of becoming a tropical storm and heading up towards florida in the next 24 to 48 hours. so it's going to happen in a hurry. all of the moisture and rain from this will head up the eastern seaboard. so get ready for a soaker in the mid atlantic on tuesday and new england into wednesday. it is going to give you a lot of rain over the next few days and windy conditions. i'm sure the waves will kick up on the west coast beaches. as far as key west goes, they've been getting wet weather for three days straight. it's going to stay that way for today and tomorrow. the weather there will improve by wednesday. the jet stream takes the big dip. we have two storms that are going to combine on wednesday along the mid atlantic. it's going to bring windy conditions to new england and a lot of heavy rain. possibly 2 to 3 inches in some

spots. we don't need anymore wet weather. of course, the leaves will come down in a hurry also. the forecast today, it's fine today. florida has the rain. not many issues in the middle of the country, veronica, but i think wednesday will be a nasty day in many areas. >> yikes. all right. we will enjoy it while it lasts. thanks, bill. the week ahead on wall street. a deal to help kodak, and why your boss need not worry about ambition from below. your first look at this morning's business headlines are next. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. if shopping for insurance were like shopping for diapers,

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welcome back to "first look." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of the top stories making headlines it this morning. the iran supreme leader is warning the u.s. over an alleged assassination plot. he says accusations iran was behind a plan to kill the saudi ambassador to washington are in part an attempt to divert

attention from the occupy wall street protests. libyan revolutionary forces bulldozed a wall surrounding moammar gadhafi's main compound in tripoli yesterday. several days of heavy rains have killed at least 66 people in central america, including el salvador and honduras. evacuations are underway due to forecasts of more rain. and this weekend sesame street's youtube channel was reportedly hacked and replaced with pornographic images. a message saying the channel was not available was later posted. they issued an apology and said the site was compromised. and now here's your first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,644 after adding 166 points friday. the s&p gained 60. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, the nikkei

was up 131 points while in hong kong the hang seng jumped. it's going to be a busy day on wall street, but don't be surprised if the focus is on overseas. stocks traded higher in asia this morning thanks in part to high hopes europe will find a way to prop up its battered economies. back on the street a slew of earnings could push the dow further into positive territories. quarterly reports will come in from apple and ibm. two readings on the troubled housing market. numbers on new home construction and existing home sales for september aren't expected to show much improvement. in deal news, the recent natural gas boom has fueled kinder morgan's offer to buy rival el

paso. kodak has struck a deal that could help keep it afloat. the imaging pioneer will reportedly receive $10 million from imax in exchange for its laser projection technology. wal-mart could feel the effects of two top-tier resignations from its china operations. and wireless phone customers will begin receiving real-time alerts next year if they're about to the go over their monthly voice, data, or text message limits. finally, in honor of national boss' day, give your boss a boost of confidence with a new survey that sounds 76% of employees have no interest in taking their boss' job. coaches squaring off fighting in the nfl. plus, more on the tragedy that has stunned the world of auto racing. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look." [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up!

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delta people. who made us the biggest airline in the world. and then decided that wasn't enough. just having some tender chicken and some tasty noodles. let's see...south western vegetables...60 calories. ya' know those jeans look nice. they do? yup. so you were checking me out? yup. [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. welcome back to "first look." i'm veronica de la cruz. in sports now, back with more on yesterday's tragic fatal yesterday. here's nbc's fred rogan. >> as we reported earlier, indy carr dan wheldon was tragically killed yesterday in a 15-car accident at the las vegas speedway. you can see smoke from an accident in front of him that triggered a massive pileup. he then was sent airborne and upside down into the wall.

his car burst into flames. he was air lifted to a hospital and later died from injuries he suffered in the crash. indy officials cancelled the race and drivers returned to the track for a five-lap salute. he is survived by his wife and two children. dan wheldon was 33 years old. now to baseball. the cardinals will face the rangers in the world series. st. louis beat the brewers 12-6. they made the playoffs on the last day of the season. now they're national league champs. tom brady put on a clinic against the cowboys. down three with two minutes to play. he calmly drove new england down the field. the pats rally to win it 20-16. the 49ers handed the lions their first loss of the season. everybody is talking about what happened after the game. both head coaches got together. jim schwartz not happy about the way jim harbaugh shook his hand and patted him on the back, so he went after him.

i don't think they were exchanging dinner plans. niners won it 25-19. rex grossman was picked off four times and philly got back in the win column. one of these days, teams will learn not to kick it to devin hester. 98 yards to the house. bears won big 29-10. finally, the raiders lost quarterback jason campbell for the season with a broken collarbone, but who needs a qb when you can do this? 101 yard kick return. raiders ran past the browns 24-17. that's your first look at sports. i'm fred rogan. and now for another quick look at the weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. should i ask how your fantasy football team is going? >> no, you should not. >> still -- >> we'll ignore that. >> all right. >> not this year. well, good morning, everyone. this weekend was a big weekend for all those fall activities.

a lot of people out there getting costumes for their kids or pumpkins and apples. the weather cooperated in many areas of the east. we had some weather roll in late last night through pittsburgh. it's drying out nicely this morning. worst case scenario, a few sprinkles out there. s temperatures are mild in the big cities. today's forecast in pittsburgh, not bad. it's 62. buffalo, you can't complain this time of year when you're near 60 degrees. most cities are 65 to near 70. a little breezy like it was this weekend. really not dealing with anything too bad. the weather starting on tuesday goes downhill. rein and thunderstorms will move in, especially later in the day. that will be the start of a wet period. tuesday and wednesday throughout much of this region. all of the stormy weather today is down in florida. then, that storm system will merge with another one in the midwest on the eastern seaboard and create a really wet forecast

tuesday and wednesday right up the busy i-95 corridor. middle of the country looks fine, but look at dallas. you really cool off. finally some chillier air will come your way. they'll cool off into the 60s. >> all right. i won't ask you about fantasy football anymore. >> that's it. no more. reports of a new hollywood super couple. plus, this movie and its big stars made big news this weekend for all the wrong reasons your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. applications up. check my email and text messages. hands in position. airbags. ten of 'em. perfect. add blind spot monitor. 43 mpg, nice. dependability. yeah. activate dog. a bigger dog. [ male announcer ] introducing the reinvented 2012 toyota camry. it's ready. are you? ♪

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welcome back to "first look." i'm veronica de la cruz. there was a royal wedding over the past weekend. you may not have heard about it.

the king of butan married a 21-year-old student thursday. while this royal ceremony didn't garner much international fanfare, for the people of this nation, it was every bit a fairy tale. ian wilson was there. >> reporter: they gathered all along the mountain roads hoping for a glimpse of bhutan's king and new queen. they weren't to be disappointed. >> thank you. thank you. >> reporter: the king said he wanted to meet personally as many people as possible. with his queen at his side, he stopped at village after village to meet the throngs of well wishers. >> they are really meant for each other. >> very easy to talk to. >> yeah. >> reporter: from a nearby monstastery engulfed in clouds, they seemed moved by the reception, stopping briefly to

talk to nbc news. >> thank you. thank you very much. >> seems like the whole country has turned out to see you today. >> i'm very fortunate. very fortunate. >> it was a wonderful ceremony yesterday. >> yes. we enjoyed it. >> yes, we did. >> do you have plans for a honeymoon? >> no, no, no. we'll start working right after the day we're married. if we travel, we'll travel around the country. we'd like to meet more people. >> congratulations. >> thank you. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> it means a lot to us. thank you. >> reporter: they were married in a traditional buddhist ceremony. the king taking a queen whose beauty has been the talk of this tiny isolated nation. she's a student and a commoner, the daughter of an airline pilot. at 21, she's ten years his junior. the wedding transfixed a nation.

the king's revered in this land of just 700,000 people where progress is measured by a pins. core gross of national happiness. there have been so many well wishers it's taken the royal couple all day to cover the 50 miles back to the capitol here where tens of thousands more are waiting for him. they entered on foot, walking hand in hand through the jubilant crowds. some had been waiting all day. this was the moment that made it all worthwhile. ian williams, nbc news. >> congratulations to them. time now for your first look at entertainment news. make it two in a row for the big screen's rock them, sock them robots. hugh jackman's "real steel" earned $16.3 million. "footloose" came up just short finishing second with $16.1 million. in third place, another remake

"the thing" which reportedly cost just under $40 million to make grabbed a weak $8.7 million. and in what could be the flop of the year, "the big year" starring steve martin, owen wilson, and jack black landed in ninth place with just over $3 million. looking ahead this week, lindsay lohan must appear this week in a probation hearing. she could face a year and a half in jail if the judge decides she's failed to live up to her probation conditions. finally, tmz reports a source has confirmed bradley cooper and jennifer lopez are, quote, casually dating. it can't work out though. when she was with ben affleck, there was a whole thing. they were bennifer. what -- >> oh, with bradley cooper? i have no idea. what's casually dating mean? what's the cutoff between casually and really dating? >> meeting for coffee and stuff. >> so nothing physical is what we're saying. >> absolutely not.

just casual dating. meeting for some coffee. all right. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned because "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. president obama speaking at the dedication of the martin luther king memorial in washington links dr. king's struggle for equality to that of the occupy wall street movement. the question is, will the president wrap himself more explicitly in the occupy groups while out this week pushing for the pass only of some version of his jobs bill. meanwhile, iran demands access to the men arrested in the plot on the alleged assassination plot on the ambassador. the question is, where's this thing headed? and horror on the race track in las vegas on sunday. 33-year-old indy 500 champ dan bhel don dies in a terrible wreck. the question is, how did