that's the "the ed show up next, "first look." rumble in nevada. the most powerful senate democrat and his challenger go on the attack in a bitter political match-up. life after near death, chile's miracle miners begin leaving the hospital to return to their lives. and home run, a florida man tries a different type of diamond for his unique wedding proposal. no pressure, guys. good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry, those stories and more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin this morning with a fight to the finish.

sparks flew in las vegas last night between a much-anticipated debate between harry reid and sharron angle. the two are neck and neck in the race for the senate seat, but last night it was angle who came out swinging. nbc's tracie potts is in washington with the details. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. there were a few debates last night in missouri and washington state, but none watched more closely on the national stage than that showdown in nevada. >> sharron angle would wipe out -- >> senator harry reid took the gloves off first on tv. >> she's wild. with the wild idea she's has, we would get nothing done. >> man up, harry reid. >> reporter: nevada's biggest problem and the nation's is jobs, at 14.4%, nevada has the nation's highest unemployment rate. >> my job is to create jobs. what she's talking about is

extreme. >> it's not your job to create jobs, it's your job to create policies that create the confidence for the private sector. >> reporter: they clashed on immigration, foreign policy and health care. >> it creates jobs. >> forcing someone to buy something they don't need is not the way to solve a problem. >> reporter: and what to do about the tax hikes which will happen in january if congress doesn't act. >> i guarantee there will be no increase for middle class people in america. >> with voting for over 300 tax increases, senator, we can't trust you with our taxes. >> reporter: a tea party favorite taking on the senate's most powerful democrat. and they don't have long to make their case. early voting in nevada starts this weekend. lynn? >> tracie, thanks. the justice department is asking a u.s. district judge to allow the military's don't ask don't tell policy to stay in place, at least for now.

that action came two days after the judge ordered the pentagon to stop enforcing its ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military. in court papers filed yesterday, the government argued that allowing the ruling to be implemented would disrupt military preparedness and complicate ongoing reviews of the law. speaking at a town hall yesterday, president obama reiterated his opposition to the policy. >> this is not a question of whether the policy will end. this policy will end and will end on my watch. >> however, the administration has also said that congress and not the courts should change don't ask, don't tell. mtv org nitzed that town hall event yesterday where the president had a chance to get up close and personal with some of the nation's young people. last night on "hard ball" chris matthews asked politicsdaily.com correspondent alex wagner for her reaction to the president's efforts to stir up the youth vote. >> i was looking back through some of the old 2008

presidential campaign messages he had out there, it was really poetry in motion. the language, the rhetoric, the sense of soaring possibility. and, you know, he's trying to gin up the youth base at this point, there's a dirth of that to say the least. the mtv town hall today was long on legislative accomplishments that the president has succeeded in winning in the last 20 months, but short on enthusiasm and definitely short on that momentum and that enthusiasm he had as a candidate in '08. >> what were the crowds like? i'm not sure you answered that question fully. were the crowds enthusiastic or just supportive in a polite way? how would you describe their reaction. >> mtv apparently did a casting call to get the folks they had in the audience today. these were well-rehearsed questions. they went to questions on health care, immigration, the economy. they had rehearsed answers from the president. in terms of excitement in the room and a sense of buzz, i

didn't sense that. >> be sure to watch "hard ball" with chris matthews weeknights at 5:00 and 7:00 eastern on msnbc, the place for politics. 33 chilean miners who spent over two months trapped underground are now adjusting to celebrity status in chile. the first three men left the hospital last night and were joined by a mob of photographers. most of the miners are just fine, although one was treated for pneumonia and three others had to have surgery for dental problems. earlier in the day, the men got a visit from chile's president, sebastian pinera, who called the rescue a miracle. here's your "first look" at some of the other news going on around america today. in florida things at the happiest place on earth turned ugly when a guest attacked a driver on a disney world shuttle bus. it all started when the driver told the guest was full, things escalated when the hot-tempered man lunged at the driver even though he was hold ago baby.

officials say the driver is on paid leave while the confrontation is being investigated. in rhode island, it took firefighters eight hours to put out a massive blaze that gutted a historic mill. fortunately the 163-year-old building was mostly vacant and no injuries were reported. officials are looking into how it started. an oregon man is behind bars this morning for a bizarre burglary attempt. authorities say the man was trying to break into a rocks and minerals museum by digging a hole through a wall and he was dressed in head to toe camouflage. the museum's caretaker discovered the hole and called police. the 33-year-old man is charged with burglary and mischief. back in florida, one girl received an over the top proposal from her love-struck boyfriend. the romantic man rented a baseball field and then used ten gallons of paint, wrote out her proposal, then took her for a helicopter ride and found out all that work paid off when she

said yes. and now for a look at your national weather, we turn to bill karins with the weather channel forecast. a lot of guys with sweaty palms this morning watching that. >> that's impressive. especially those letters are so huge. he had them spaced out. it looked half-decent. >> he took his ruler there and i'm sure did that all himself. pressure to make a splash. did you live up to that? >> i did okay, i think. it was a surprise. >> we'll have to find out from your wife. >> we don't need those details. let's chat about this huge storm up in new england. much of the country is looking at a nice day today. all the problem weather will be in new england. the jet stream doing a big dip here. this storm will cut off. it will not progress out to sea quickly it will sit there until saturday night and leave by sunday. here's how it looks. as i mentioned, much of the country is dry and beautiful. no clouds in the middle, the

southeast looks fine. it's all up in new england where the problems are. there's two parts to this storm. first the rain event, then the wind event. they're not together. the rain is the first event happening now it's over with for the most part from new york, long island, sprinkles and drizzle left over. even much of connecticut is watching the rain heading up to massachusetts. the heaviest rains all morning for the commute will be boston northwards and along the mass turnpike northwards, too. maybe some snow in vermont at the highest of elevations. by the time we get to about noon today, the heavy rain will be up throu through maine,s will arrive. right now we only have a wind gust of 16 and 26. by the way, we're calling this a nor'easter, it's really only a nor'easter for boston northwards. see the direction the arrow is pointing in, it's pointing from

the northeast, that's why it's called a nor'easter. you get strong northeast winds. for new york, philly, back through upstate new york, it's more or less a west wind and a northwest wind. if you want to call this anything, it's more of a n nor-wester. this is what i think the strongest winds will be in your area if you live in these cities. the worst of it, some damaging winds will be in the coast of maine, could gust 55, maybe 60 miles per hour. but from chatham, portland, providence, hartford, new york, philly, somewhere in the 40 to 50-mile-per-hour range. that's enough for minor damage. gorgeous in the middle part of the country, really only new england where we have our travel trouble spot, and not just today, but tomorrow, too. it will be very windy all day saturday, too. that will get peoples attention. >> thank you. banks take a hit. the government is seeing red. and barbie doll with bling. your first look at business

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look." i'm lynn berry. here are some of the top stories making news this morning. nbc news has learned that seven of eight native service members killed in afghanistan yesterday were americans. at least 42 nato troops have been killed in afghanistan so far this month. violence in afghanistan is at its highest level since the overthrow of the taliban nine years ago. greek workers upset over unpaid wages and layoffs plan to rally at the acropolis for the third straight day after clashing with police at the tourist site yesterday. authorities used tear gas to clear the demonstrators, who locked the entrance gates and refused to allow in tourists. after nearly eight years of work and at a cost of $240

million, a bridge that will let drivers bypass the hoover dam at the arizona/nevada border is ready to be opened. at a dedication ceremony yesterday, transportation secretary ray lahood said the dam itself is one of the wonders of the world and he hopes the bridge will become another. the structure, named for former nevada governor mike o'callahan and iraq war hero pat tillman opens next week. for just one night the white house became the pink house thursday. in honor of breast cancer awareness month. here's your "first look" at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,094 after dipping one point yesterday. the s&p slid four points, the nasdaq fell five. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo, the nikkei dropped 83 points. in hong kong, the hang seng lost 94. bank stocks took a beating yesterday as investors worried that the fallout from a

nationwide foreclosure investigation could take a toll on the markets recent rally. the nation's biggest banks were hard hit yesterday on fears that mounting mortgage problems could add up to a big bill. an unexpected rise in jobless claims added to the cautious tone as investors hedged their bets ahead of the speech by fed chief ben bernanke. they're listening for any clues to confirm that the fed is about to pump more cash into the economy. the obama administration is set to announce the federal budget deficit topped $1 trillion for the second year in a row, however that projected figure is down 125 billion from last year. over on the nasdaq, university of phoenix parent apollo group plunged 23% after forecasting a sharp drop in student enrollments. apple's ipad will hit verizon wireless shelves this month, just in time for the holiday rush, further fueling speculation that the iphone could be next. federal authorities have slapped cvs with $75 million in

fines for allowing repeated purchases of pseudoephedrine in its stores. the decongestant is the main ingredient used to make methamphetamine. keep an eye on shares of google today. they blew past earnings after the bell thanks to strong ad sales that fueled a 25% jump in revenue. finally, move over, ken. barbie has a new accessory that's turning heads. the blond icon is sporting a decadent diamond choker with a 1 carat fancy pink diamond center. what is occasion? she will be auctioned off this month for an estimated $250,000 to $500,000 for breast cancer research. the pennant push begins, star power in dallas, and a gut check for brett favre. plus west virginia pulled off the old hook and ladder play last night helping the mountaineers roll in morgantown.

your "first look" at sports is straight ahead.

welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. in sports, the baseball playoffs are down to the final four and tonight, the american league championship series gets under way in texas. here's nbc's fred roggin. good morning. the alcs starts tonight. the yanks advanced to the world serieses 40 times throughout the years, and josh hamilton thinks enough is enough. >> how many times could they win it, you know what i mean?

there has to be a change at some point. so, you know, it's nothing that we're going to back down from. everybody on the outside looks at this and says, obviously, the rangers are underdogs. we don't look at it that way. we look at how we've played them this year. we've played them pretty good. >> ought to be a pretty good series. game one tonight, 8:00 p.m. eastern. cc sabathia takes the mound for the yanks, wilson for the rangers. hockey in dallas, an emotional homecoming of sorts for mike modano. he played 20 seasons for the stars organization. after this one, he probably wished he played 21. college football, number 25 west virginia pulled out all the stops against south florida ran the old hook and ladder. geno smith lateraled to sanders

who lateraled it to noel devine. west virginia wins it. this has been a rough week for brett farve. the vikings continue to struggle. he fought off allegations about sending sexy text messages and, now he's nursing a sore elbow. on top of it, he's been hit where it hurts. somebody tossed him the ball and it hit him in a tough area, the same area that's been in question all week long. favre fell to his knees in a world of pain, eventually got back up and resumed what he was doing. i guess one could say it was a little private practice for the old gunslinger. that's your "first look" at sports. i'm fred roggin. now for another look at weather, here is nbc's bill karins. >> do you think that's real? >> no, i think that's probably real. >> but nobody around him came to his aid. they all ignored him. >> don't question fred roggin. >> i'm just saying it's convenient that happened. >> it's like every video we have on, you think it's rigged. come on, bill, have faith in us.

>> i'm a little cynical. you heard about the ufo thing, too. >> on the upper west side of manhattan. they're balloons. >> it's coming for me. let's look at what's happening out there this morning. the heavy rain is moving up through new england it will get windier as the day goes on. right now it's mostly just rain. the only strong winds are on the coast of maine and new hampshire. as the afternoon progresses, the winds will pick up. it may be sunny later today but very windy. even on saturday, where it will be very windy still, at least the sun should be out in southern new england, then by sunday that storm is gone and everybody looks nice. it looks like a quiet weekend once we get rid of our nor'easter. >> will the reigning box office champ go for triple gold or will it be a battle of the generations this weekend? your "first look" at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. at allstate, you can personalize your car insurance policy

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. last night on "late night with jimmy fallon" he marvelled at how quickly the miners were saved. >> experts thought it would take 48 hours, but it took less than 24. bp was like, we could have done it, in six months should have asked us this is not good at all. it turns out one of the miners in chile was greeted by his mistress instead of his wife. at a recent service, he was like, no no coming down. coming down.

coming down. not -- no, no be a bro. let me down. hey, it's you. hi. hi, honey. check this out. 175 women here in new york city auditioned this week to be the next playboy playmate. yeah. the way the audition works is you take your clothes off. and tonight jimmy welcomes edward norton, bam magera, and comedian nick vatterott. that's "late night with jimmy fallon" at 12:35, 11:35 central time on your local nbc station. it's time now for your "first look" at entertainment news. a third installment of don't try this at home stunts will take things to the next level which experts predict will pay off handsomely at the box office this weekend. "jackass" 3d, the human doing stupid human tricks should cash in on the popularity and the

extra dollars of 3d movies to take the top spot with 30 million or more in it's opening weekend. the three-quel is much younger "red" an action comedy about special ops teams who come out in retirement and get back in the action. and with seasoned professionals like bruce willis and morgan freeman, but the two films aren't likely to compete for audiences. "red" is expected to take second place with $20 million or more if the over 30 crowd comes out with the boomers. meanwhile the two-time defending box office champ "the social network" is still expected to compete this weekend, rounding out third with $10 million. >> would you have to convince your husband to see the jackass movie or the other way around? >> just go with a bunch of guy friends, i'll stay at home -- >> you wouldn't go. >> i'll watch the trash tv. no. i have no interest in seeing something -- have you seen the

other two? >> no. >> no. good. bill hasn't either. i'm lynn berry this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned, "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. fireworks. fight night in nevada. actually it was kind of lame when sharron angle and harry reid got together for their first and only senate debate what was angle suggesting when she told majority leader to "man up?" sarah palin was out on the trail ripping the reid, pelosi, obama axis of evil telling them to get out of way. and a historic walkout on "the view" as whoopi and joy up and leave on bill o'reilly's views on islam.