and maybe i just don't understand the odds, very well, but either way, i was wrong. and i stand very, very, happily corrected. and mr. king, congratulations on a fight well fought. now you have to be a good city counselor. we'll all be watching. you have councilor. because we'll be watching. first look is up next. good thursday morning. right now on first look. two armed groups taken libya's lieder hostage. is it retaliation? new details related to the shutdown's impact on families who lost loved ones in the line of duty. republicans head to the white house for talks with president obama. extreme rollerblading, plus, the one beverage that beat 57 others to remedy a hangover. good morning everybody. i'm betty nguyen.

there are report that this kidnapping is in retaliation of the raid on the country. we're joined from beirut. atia, what's the latest with this kidnapping? >> good morning, bept i. the details are murky. gunmen went in where the prime minister was. they pulled up in a convoy of cars. his current location remains unknown. a rebel group did take responsibility for his abduction. they say it's because they took him in for charges of corruption. but as you mentioned, there are reports that it could possibly, possibly be linked to a u.s. commando raid on saturday in which u.s. commandos took in and captured abu a nas al libi. it's a connection to the 1998 bombings of africa in kenya and tanzania. the u.s. embassies there. that was a capture by u.s.

commandos by government groups and -- they were not happy that the u.s. invaded their sovereignty. that all said and done, still the details are very murky toos why the prime minister was taken. we're waiting to hear more information on that. this shows the chaos and turmoil that libya has been going through in the last two years since the ousting of then leader, moammar gadhafi. >> it's a fluid situation. thank you very much, atia. >> the edward snowden saga. his father arrived in moscow to visit his son. the first visit between the two since the whistle blower fled the u.s. he has no idea what edward's intentions are. after a nationwide uproar, military death benefits to families of the fallen are restored. but only through the goodness of charity. the fisher house foundation will officially pick up the cost of the payments the government shutdown halted.

at least 26 service members have died since the shutdown began. the department of defense will reimburse the foundation once it ends. president obama says he will not wait for congress. >> the theory that we should shut down the government as a negotiation tactic should never have been done in the first place. it does a disservice to all the men and women in uniform and the veterans who sacrifice for our freedom. >> the house unanimously voted on wednesday in favor of the $100,000 so-called death gratuity for families within three days of a soldier's death. it is unclear when the senate will take up the measure. we are ten days deep and today signs of more open communication between parties but not completely. the white house invited all 232 house republicans for a meeting today. but house speaker john boehner rejected that invitation. inste instead, he chose 18 select members to attend. including himself and majority leader eric cantor.

jay carney says the president is "disappointed." a white house aide says the president is also expected to meet with senate democrats today. meanwhile, the president met with house democrats wednesday in what's being called a constructive and positive discussion. but house minority leader nancy pelosi said the shutdown is a sad scenario fort country. >> to the republican leadership in the house, we accept your number, we accept your path to the table. take yes for an answer. we haven't heard any offer of short-term one way or another. >> pelosi added the debt ceiling needs to be lifted but says she's skeptical of a short-term raise. and the shutdown's impact on the american people, well, that keeps mounting. benefit checks for more than $5 million wounded veterans could stop as soon as november 1st. it's a warning from the veterans affairs secretary and another hit to the military community.

433,000 fully disabled vets could not receive payments next month. it would also impact hundreds of thousands of surviving spouses and children of vets. the shutdown has left nearly 8,000 v.a. employees furloughed. and usa today is reporting a massive economic toll on national parks. they are losing $76 million and 715,000 visitors each day. and remember, much of the shutdown is blamed on funding disputes over obama care. well, a congressional hearing wednesday examined the irs's role in implementing and enforcing it. a congressman asked the irs official if she was familiar with the salem witch trial play in the crucible, then this bizarre exchange unfolded. >> you're under oath. have you been consorting with the devil? >> not to my knowledge, sir. >> are reports that you can fly

accurate? >> greatly exaggerated, sir. >> have you been involved in any way in trying to pervert our youth in salem or anywhere else? >> i certainly hope not, sir. >> you're sure? >> yes, sir. >> all righty then. we told you it was bizarre. now for a first look at business we turn to courtney reagan. good morning, courtney. no questions like that for you. >> that was a little weird. i don't even understand what happened there. >> sold its holdings of short term treasury bonds ahead of next week's debt ceiling deadline. fidelity says while it expects congress to reach a deal to raise the debt limit, it's taking precautions to protect investors. t-mobile is getting rid of voice data in more than 100 countries. they won't have to worry about getting hit with roaming charges. burger king has found a way to get people to try its new lower

fat satis-fries. they will hand out free samples to anyone who wants them. no strings attached. >> we'll see if it satis-fries us. >> right. >> thanks, courtney. let's get the latest in sports from litsch richard liu i. >> the cardinals thunder into the national league championship. they are 8-1 in deciders. a lot of reasons to celebrate. game five was no different for them. st. louis getting on the board first with a two-run homer. later the pirates pedro alvarez grounds, it pops, error. alvarez gets to first. later a powerful two-run homer shuts the front door and adam wainwright closes the game. >> that's gone. >> pirates go home 6-1. there's adam. dodgers travel to st. louis. emotions surge but nobody is budging here. >> that sounds like the shutdown, right? >> almost right. daniel snyder in a open letter

to fans says he's heard both sides on the name debate but it's going to stay the same based on its 81-year tradition. he cited a poll of 1,000 native americans that did not find the name redskins offensive. some consider the name a racial slur. you are ready to party. >> any time. >> the houston texans, starting bid on this air string $75,000 on e-bay. it's from 1975. little way back. two flat screen tv's, two frijs and a keg. >> that's tricked out. i love it. >> kick-starter for that one. let's get it done. >> leave it to us. >> we can take it to tonight's game maybe. eli manning and his winless giants unfortunately try their luck against the chicago bears. hitting the right slopes. u.s. alpine champs prepping for the sochi olympics. one concern he has is the skis. they change the shape of the hour glass skis.

that didn't stop them. the gold frafrt won six of eight giant slalom races. congrats to vladimir clinch coe. what has he won? actress hayden panettiere. >> little height difference. just a bit. >> extreme athletes rollerblading where? in an austrian forest. it's called the couch garden project. would you try it? >> i don't think so. there's too many trees around. i would be afraid i would hit one. >> i would be hugging a tree in one turn. >> want to keep you safe and sound. stay off of those. talk to you later. it was an ominous scene off the coast of north carolina earlier this week. a surf fisherman captured this giant waterspout on video surrounded by black clouds. bill karins is here to talk about this. i'm always fascinated by these. that's a tornado over water. >> they're weaker, too. if they move over land, they're called tornadoes. that was with a cold front that

went off the coast a couple days ago. then karen in the gulf merged with that. all that mess is still lingering on the eastern seaboard. it was ugly day yesterday in virginia, north carolina and now it has moved north. look at the radar filling in. baltimore, d.c. it's going to be a slow drive as you head off to work or school this morning. new york city, you'll be next by later on this afternoon. over the next 72 hours, the long-range european models the heaviest rains will focus the coastlines much new jersey, new york city, all the way through maryland. as much as 2 to 3 inches. a lot of high tide cycles with beach erosion. possibly by sunday we begin to get rid of this mess. three days in a row of this while the rest of the country, you look beautiful. i mean, it's still fantastic from the northern plains all the way down to the southeast. i mean, the fact that minneapolis is near 80 degrees is getting a little ridiculous. >> what day is it? ? october already.

>> it feels like summer still. >> the gop's approval rating is sinking faster than a lead balloon. >> the government shutdown inspired south carolina's chris cox to go above and beyond the call next. >> starti well i drove grandpa to his speed dating this week, so i should probably get the last roll... yeah but i practiced my bassoon. [ mom ] and i listened. [ brother ] i can do this. [ imitates robot ] everyone deserves ooey, gooey, pillsbury cinnamon rolls. make the weekend pop. everyone deserves ooey, gooey, pillsbury cinnamon rolls. a playground of innovation,.

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here's your first look at dish of scrambled politics. a new poll has bad news for the gop. the favorability rating of the republican party stands at just 28%. that is down ten points since last month and is the lowest favorability rating for either party since gallop began the poll in 1992. democrats fare better. favorability down four points since september. maine governor has declared a civil emergency. it will allow him to suspend rules, laws or policies to better manage the state touring the shutdown. it will provide flexibility for

disruptions to services. the firing of the nation's number two man in charge of nuclear forces. he's currently under investigation for using counterfeit gambling chips at a casino. california is expanding the availability of abortions. a new law allows nurse practitioners, midwives and physician assistants to perform a common type of procedure during the first trimester. at least four other states have similar laws but california's is the most expansive. julian assange wants an actor to reconsider his profession. really? couple ber batch plays the wikileaks founder in the fifth estate. in a letter to the actor, assange wrote, "i believe you are a good person but i do not believe this film is a good film." and a man from south carolina is picking up where government grounds keepers left off. armed with a lawn mower, chainsaw, chris cox decided to

mow the lawn at the national memorial. cops let him act as a volunteer ground keeper before asking him to move on. da senator. mike ditka regrets not having run against barack obama in the 2004 u.s. senate race. he tells the dickinson press "not that i would have won, but i probably would have and he wouldn't be in the white house." and that is your morning dish of scrambled politics. joining me now in the studios is boris epstein, conservative analyst and contributor for the daily collar. good morning. >> nothing like a little ditka in the morning. >> da bears. let's talk about da shutdown. it keeps going on and on. day ten. the president invited house republicans to the white house to talk about this. what, only an 18-panel group is going there. why so few? why not all of them? >> this is getting ugly. the republicans don't want to bring everybody because then the

onus would be more on them. you know, it would give some opportunities to the president democrats maybe to have a larger discussion. >> wait a second. both sides want to find an answer. if you're going to find an answer, why doesn't evan come to the table? >> i completely agree with you. this is awful for my party. i said it, i didn't think it would go this long. it's much longer, much more serious frankly, than i expected. it's a big problem. i think republicans should send a bigger delegation. it would send a clear message to the country, deal with the unfavorability rating saying we want to get this done. let's move on to real issues and talk about the debt ceiling issue as well. >> you talked about accountability. is it possible that boehner is saying, look, i don't want everyone to show up. if they do, the president can say hey, everybody, let's take a quick vote right now. who is for stopping this shutdown and then there you have it? it's a done deal. >> you couldn't really do that in the chamber. it would be unofficial.

>> at least we get an idea where everyone stands. >> they want to be with one voice. the more people in the room, the last chance of speaking with one voice. i think that's more it. you don't want any dissension. that's our problem now. the o two sides don't have any commonality. two different armies almost. a lot of politics are going to take a hit because of this. we look at the latest polls, the favorability rating for the gop is the lowest on record. so is this political suicide for some politicians if they don't get their acts together and stop this shutdown? >> there's a major election coming up this november, i'd say yes. but there's enough time -- >> you think people will forget. >> people are going to forget? >> really? a lot of things happen. even for president obama. he's rebounded. you'll see the same with republicans. for some of the leaders of this, rand paul, ted cruz, this could be a huge problem going into

2016 if they want to be president for sure. >> boris, as always, we appreciate your insight. >> thank you. out of 57 beverages tested, we're going to show you which one is the best remedy for a hangover. plus, a bad place to break down. check it out. right on the railroad tracks. details when we come back. ♪ ♪ (announcer) answer the call of the grill with new friskies grillers, full of meaty tenders and crunchy bites.

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ally bank. your money needs an ally. woah! what? it's called a smoky eye. [ female announcer ] you may not be the best at new trends but you know what's best for your kids. so we listened when you said gogurt should have only natural colors and flavors and no high fructose corn syrup. thanks, mom. natural colors and flavors and no high fructose corn syrup. if we want to improve our schools... ... what should we invest in? maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment? they can help, but recent research shows... ... nothing transforms schools like investing in advanced teacher education. let's build a strong foundation. let's invest in our teachers so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. welcome back everybody. here are stories making news. the united states is putting a temporary freeze on military aid to egypt in the wake of july's

ousting of former president mohamed morsi. while not all aid is being suspended, missiles, warplanes are no longer being delivered. check us out. stunning video from texas shows a train absolutely destroying an 18-wheeler stuck on the tracks. amazingly no one was injured in that crash. a 43-year-old texas man was put to death for the 1998 killings of his parents and grandmother. he was not without controversy, though. some claim the drugs used to kill him were improperly purchased. a new study relating to the death penalty shows 2% of counties are responsible for the majority of u.s. executions and four of the top five are in texas. >> with the nationwide salmonella outbreak affecting more than 270 people, the department of agriculture is threatening to shut down the three california-based facilities responsible. foster farms has until later

today to come up with a solution for the "poor sanitary practices in the facilities". >> according to a chinese study of 57 beverages, sprite came out on top as the best remedy for a hangover. so take note, folks. >> bill karins and richard liu will be here for first buzz. we're talking about high brow happy meals. >> you harm the hostage, you do not have a [ male announcer ] wildlife rescue workers open up a lot of dawn -- tough on grease yet gentle. dawn helps open something even bigger. [ all ] 3, 2, 1! this year, dawn is also donating $1 million. learn more at dawnsaveswildlife.com. afghanistan in 2009. on the u.s.s. saratoga in 1982.

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. time to get to our first buzz. kids around the world are going to be smarter, maybe not happier because mcdonald's is changing their happy meal. >> to the happy meal.

>> pretty sad once they find out that there's no toy in the happy meal. instead mcdonald's is going to put books in the happy meals. >> here i come. >> some 20 million books, in fact, are expected to be distributed during the two-week period in november. to put that in perspective, okay, two weeks, 20 million books, a hunger games only sold 15 million copies in all of 2012. we're talking a whole lot of reading. >> for all the marketing experts out there, i'm putting double toys in my happy meals during all of november. >> and candy. >> let's talk about some money here. >> all right. >> bigwigs live. >> $10 million is the benchmark to live where the really expensive homes are. here's where the top five, $10 million homes were. number one, beverly hills. 90210 was number one. >> of course. >> new york city's upper west side. number three was a tie new york

upper east side and aspen, colorado. >> actually made the top five. >> the number five bel-air, california. that one you're looking at was a $75 million mansion. >> when you said $10 million was the cutoff. i said no way. >> how much do you get for those million dollars. probably more square footage in aspen than the upper west side, right? >> yes. >> you have quite the story. save this for last. people are going -- you've got to get to your tv screen to check it out. >> national pet obesity awareness day. i have unfortunate data for you. one in every four dogs, one in every four cats in the u.s. are overweight or obese. their owners, 3/4 of the owners of the obese pets think, hey, they're fine the way theare. >> really? >> fattest cat and fattest dog states. guess? minnesota at the top. healthy state when this comes to humans. >> i never thought of minnesota.

utah and nebraska. >> we have stats on which states have the fattest animals? >> minnesota. maybe because it's cold. brats, beer. >> i can't tell you. >> stop feeding your cat so much. have your kids read books in their happy meals. this is first look. way too early starts now. obama actually held another hour-long press conference to say once again, he won't negotiate. speaker john boehner had his own press conference. >> the central argument is this. are we going to sit down and have a conversation or aren't we? there's no reason to make it more difficult to bring people to the table. there's no boundaries here. nothing on the table, nothing off the table. >> that is a leader with a clear goal. i want a table. [ laughter ] >> we could find a table. but of course, i'm sure they'll have a problem with the size or the type of wood or probably