this morning on "early today," finally free. emotional reunions in chile as miners begin to emerge from the ground after being trapped for more than two months. failure to multi task, a suspect gets outsmarted as he puts his gun down in the middle of a robbery attempt in north carolina. and that just can't be right. a woman in georgia getting an electric bill for over $1 a woman in georgia getting an electric bill for over $1 billion. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hi, everybody. good morning. great to have you with us. i'm thomas roberts.

today we begin with breaking news. after spending more than two months trapped nearly half a mile underground, the first several of 3 chilean miners have been rescued. round the clock efforts are under way as we speak as rescuers work to bring the remaining men back aboveground and home to the arms of their loved ones. nbc natalie morales joins us live with the latest on that. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, tom. i can tell you it has been a very long and vary emotional and historic night here in chile as the miners are being pulled one by one by one in this rescue operation now several hours into it. the first to be pulled out was florencio avalos, a father greeted by his 7-year-old son. he was in tears when his father gave him his big hug. and you can imagine what that

hug must have felt like to him. next was mario sepulveda. he actually had a very funny moment because he launched into tears and had all of the rescue team cheering and chanting chi, chi, chi, le, le, le. in fact, he brought back rocks for all of the rescuers. then we had juan illanes, carlos mamani, jimmy sanchez, the youngest of the group. one by one, a historic and incredibly remarkable evening here, the rescue that seemed almost impossible, that seemed like it would never really happen finally under way as family members now are getting that opportunity to be reunited with their loved ones, giving them hugs, crying those tears. it's been a journey for all of these 33 men. but it seems over the next couple of hours and probably over the next day or two, this

is a scene that's going to be repeated over and over and over again here in chile. thomas, now back to you. >> and natalie, as you say, we don't know an exact time when this may be over. so given that it's taken this long to get the five out, whkd we see the last men come to the surface? >> reporter: well, they are projecting anywhere from, you know, the 33 hours or so to 48 hours here. of course, always we've been watching it through the night progress, it's been about every hour almost on the hour we've seen a rescue happen here. so if they keep up at that pace, they will be well in advance of the time that they've talked about. >> it really is a fantastic story, one we don't often get to talk about. natalie, thanks so much. back in washington, a history decision for gay rights after a federal judge ordered the u.s. military to stop enforcing its controversial don't ask, don't tell policy. tuesday's landmark ruling has

effectively removed a ban on opening gay u.s. troops that's been in place for the past 17 years. included in the injunction, a request that the government suspend and discontinue all pending discharge proceedings and investigations under the policy. the oouts department of justice attorneys now have 60 days to appeal that ruling. the obama administration is lifting the six-month moratorium on deep water oil drilling in the gulf of mexico. the moratorium was imposed after the bp oil disaster that claimed 11 lives and spilled millions of barrels of oil into the gulf. the interior secretary ken salary january said that significant progress had been made in reducing the risks associated with deep water drilling. the administration has been under heavy pressure to lift the moratorium on grounds that it had thrown workers out of their jobs and hurt the economy. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. in north carolina, the tables turned on a greedy robber when a grocery store clerk

pointed his own gun back to him. the thief what is was so distracted stuffing money in his pockets, he put his gun down, handing it over to the quick thinking clerk. the suspect got away, but police are looking for him. a missouri man is lucky to be alive after a routine day on the job went terribly wrong. he was inspecting a sewer when the line he was attached to snapped. sending him more than a mile down. rescuers found him and pulled him to safety an hour later. he is now recovering from hypothermia. exactly 101 years after crossing the rio grand with her parents, a 101-year-old woman took the oath of allegiance to become a naturalized u.s. citizen. she did have a lawful entry card, but only decided to become a u.s. citizen when she found out that she couldn't come back to the u.s. if she visited mexico. and start your engines, everybody. it is the 100 years anniversary of the greatest spectacle in racing. the indianapolis 500. to mark that occasion, all the 33 legendary winning indy cars lined the track, first dating

back to 1911. a cool view of the many iconic cars that have raced over the years. and boy, have they changed styles, huh? now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, good morning. >> of course, thomas, if you win, you have to climb the fence and drink the milk. that's the tradition? >> that is the tradition. >> at the brickyard. let's talk about hurricane paula. right now, this is a tiny, tiny hurricane. this is one of the smallest hurricanes in history. and this is now a category 2 storm. it's about as close as it's going to get to cancun. it's heading for what appears to be stoern portions of the gulf of mexico. that gets everyone's attention. but the storm is so small, it's going to weaken quickly. usually the big storms take a long time to weaken. the small ones can weaken in a hurry and that's expected here with paula as it approaches the western tip of cuba. the hurricane center takes it down to a tropical storm and a tropical depression by the time we get into friday and saturday.

south florida, we have to watch it. as far as the rest of the country goes today, shower activities possible out there in the ohio valley. also down there in the southeast. but south florida is where the worst of it is. that's where the heavy rain will be from key west off to miami. everyone else enjoy your wednesday. that's a look at your wednesday forecast. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. in the ohio valley, areas of ohio, portions of indiana, definitely down into kentucky and is west virginia, that's who has a shot of seeing those thunderstorms this afternoon. a lot of great weather out there from salt lake city to minneapolis down into texas. that's a look at your wednesday forecast. thursday coming right up, thomas. >> okay, bill. thank you. encouraging signs for the tech sector, and if you need a gift idea, we have got quite the perfume for you, but it comes with a twist. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead.

plus, who david arquette is blaming for his split from courtney cox. you might be surprised. historic first for the rangers and the heat's big three is now down to one after another injury. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm thomas roberts. here are some of your top headlines this morning. a disturbing and gruesome twist in the case of an american man who disappeared from a border lake in mexico. reportedly, shot and killed by pirates. authorities in texas say the severed head of the lead investigator in that case was found in a suitcase outside a mexican army base tuesday morning. u.s. officials say threats from drug gangs who control the lake have hampered the search for the missing american. in afghanistan, all eight people on board a civilian u.s. cargo plane were reportedly killed yesterday after it crashed into the mountains east of kabul after taking off from the air base. investigators say the cause of

the crash is not known. in virginia, navy sailors and officers stood alongside the extended family of the uss cole memorial in norfolk. yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the attack which killed 17 of theship's crew as it was docked in yemen. and talk about an electric shock. a woman in georgia got quite a surprise when she opened up her electricity bill that totaled more than $1 billion. fortunately, the energy company cleared up the astronomical mistake right away and adjusted her bill to a much more reasonable $287. big different, right? and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,020 after rising 10 yesterday. the s&p add 5 and the nasdaq climbed 15. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo, the nikkei climbed 14 points while in hong kong the hang seng surged up by 335. stocks his hit fresh

five-month highs on tuesday on more thoughts that the fed may act soon to pump stimulus into the ailing economy. minutes from the federal reserve's september 21st meeting showed the central bank may once again flood markets can cheap cash before boost further growth. first, they focused on buying government bonds and discussed ways to convince the public higher inflation lies ahead to prompt more spending now. intel up in regular trade after the bellwether posted stronger than expected third quarter results and an optimistic fourth quarter forecast. the first major tech company to post quarterly results, intel led in a surge of stock in semi conductor stocks on expectations the worst may be over for the tech sector. leading the nasdaq, apple shares hit a new record, approaching $300 a share after walmart said its stores will start carrying the popular ipad. as we told you earlier, the obama administration lifted its ban on deep water drilling seven weeks ahead of schedule and that news sent shares of transocean

limited climbing almost 5%. shares of pfizer gained after it agreed to buy king pharmaceuticals for $3.6 billion. king pharma shares jumped, as well. china's bid to cool down its economy, the government raised bank reserve requirements for the fourth time this year, sparking concern the move could crimp global growth. finally, a new line of perfume is about to explode on to the icelandic market. it's made of melt water made the glash yerp sitting atop the volcano that erupted in april, spreading ash and flight chaos across europe. the citrus scented perfume will be sold in square bottle wes a lava rock attached to it. lebron's leg acts up. the wings stage a shoot-out and a touching moment on the gridiron. plus, sooth southpaw cliff lee has a proven track record last night. he helped his teammates to history. your early morning sports headlines are just ahead. beautiful fall weather

covers the nation. the exception is the ohio valley and south florida. your wednesday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." hey stainbusters, another stain missed, another shirt ruined.

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hi, everybody. good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the texas rangers recorded a franchise first last night as their series with tampa

came down to a decisive fifth game. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. if there is one then we learned from the rays/rangers playoff series, it's that homefield advantage means absolutely nothing. game five in tampa, rangers got it done with aggressive base running. hit and run with a man on second. rays with the out at first. elvis andress kept on running and he was safe at home. a gutsis decision and texas was up, 1-0. in the fourth, nelson cruz to third to score into left field. cruz scored on the error. another hustle play. rangers up, 2-0. more small ball in the sixth. two aboard. ian kinsler with a shot to second. should have been a double play, but kinsler seemingly beat the throw. vlad guerrero took advantage and he scored from second on a bang-bang play. rangers getting it done on the base pass. cliff lee impressive, struck out 11 and allowed one run. for a complete game. the road team won every game in this series and the rangers move on, upsetting the ray wes a 5-1

win. first winning series for the rangers. the rangers have the yankees on friday. last week, it was dwayne wide. and last night lebron james. he left the game with a leg injury. it's enough to keep him out of tonight's game with the hornets. hockey, avalanche and colorado down two when they mounted a comeback. david jones is spinning back. this tied it at four. after a scoreless overtime, the avalanche won in a shoot-out. habs rallied to win, 5-4. finally, a great thing to show you in a high school game in arkansas. dillon, born with cerebal palsy, who is confined to a wheelchair was able to make history when he received a handoff and motored his way to a touchdown. we understand there wasn't a dry eye in the house. a heart warming scene that dillon will never forget. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin.

early today sports is brought to you by just for men hair color. love forward. another hollywood couple is calling it quits. you're going to find out who is the latest to split up. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, one father truly meets his destiny as he returns from afghanistan. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. here's a look at your wednesday

forecast. we have hurricane paula. some of that moisture is being funneled northwards and south florida will get showers on and off. the ohio valley today will have a chance of showers and storms. the east coast looks pretty good. much of the mid-atlantic looks nice. as far as tomorrow goes, the storm system becomes a full blown nor'easter on friday in new england. maybe snow at the high elevations. if you're watching us on news channel 3 in huntington, west virginia, check out contemporary art at the dorothy and herbert vogel collection. that's at the huntington museum of art and that's your "early today" event of the day, thomas. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. everyone knows the class it 1985 film "back to the future" starred michael j. fox's marty mcfly. it turns out that fox was not the original mcfly cast.

eric stoltz was five weeks into shooting that famed mcfly role when the director decided things weren't working out, so he made a switch. never before seen footage of stoltz's mcfly is part of the extra package for the 25th anniversary rerelease of the three "back to the future" films. it's just kind of weird to see that, isn't it? after almost five years of marriage, christina aguilera and her producer husband have separated. the two have agreed to live apart for a while and see how things go. finally, as opposed to ducking his marriage issues, david arquette calling into the howard stern show yesterday to candidly take the blame from his separation from courtney cox blaming his, quote, cooky ways. he said she asked for the separation telling him she didn't want to be his mother any more and that he's been, quote, begging courtney to get back with me. so now we're getting deeper into that to find out what the real reason is behind their split-up.

>> he thought, okay, i have to tell everyone what the reason is, it's my fault. do you think his first choice wab howard stern or did you think other people were rejecting him? >> i don't know. maybe he was just listening to howard stern and he thought, i'm going to call in. and marty mcfly was going to be eric stoldz stoltz? i don't think so. >> it was a good call to change. this next story comes to us from kc3a in sacramento, california. destiny had no idea her did the dad was home early from afghanistan until she saw him standing in the classroom with flowers. but it was her little brother, caleb, who was speechless. look at him, shocked to his his dad walk in. sergeant porales returns to afghanistan in two weeks, but for now, they're focused on catching up and spending time together. i'm thomas roberts. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today in hd. >> good morning, everyone. we're off to fight nice quiet start on this wednesday morning. we do not expect any precipitation. it will be cooler than the last couple of days. los 50's right now. 49 degrees and parkton. mostly sunny with high temperatures in the mid to upper 60's this afternoon. we come back, we will talk about some rain that is coming in later this week.

>> thank you. 53 degrees on tv hill. here's a look ahead to 11 news today. >> friends and family take the stand in the tracey tetso murder trial. >> the first rescues from the chilean mine got underway. >> some progress to report after a fire last night at the fort mchenry. we will update you. we will update you. i think we need tax breaks to send kids to college. so i worked for a $2,500 tax credit to help pay for college. fought to get pell grants expanded and insisted that college loans go directly to kids instead of through banks. i'm barbara mikulski. i approve this message. because it's not about the next election, it's about the next generation. right? yeah!!!

bob ehrlich says he wants to fix maryland.

but he increased state spending by record amounts. ehrlich raised $3 billion in taxes and fees... including property taxes... and a 40% increase in college tuition. and now he's made over $1 billion in new promises... with no plans to pay for them... except for cutting education. cuts that will lay off teachers and increase class sizes. that's not a budget. and bob ehrlich's not the kind of leader... we can trust. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today in hd. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. >> and i am stan stovall. thank you for joining us this morning. >> tony pann has a quick look at today's forecast. summer is over again. >> we have been in the mid 80's on monday. we will get back into the 60's today. that is what is supposed to