this morning on "early today," end game. with just over a week to go until the elections, both parties prepare a final push. path of destruction. powerful tornadoes wreak havoc on residents in northern texas. and up in smoke. over 150 pounds of explosives take down a derelict building in over 150 pounds of explosives take down a derelict building in greece's capital. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm paige hopkins. today we begin with party predictions. political leaders from both sides of the aisle are putting on a show of confidence, and promising victory on election

night. recent polls have shown republicans closing in on control of the house, democratic leaders are vowing to hold their ground. nbc's trystee potts joins us from washington with the latest details. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this is the last full week of campaigning before that election so you can expect to hear more republicans hammering away at democrats. more democrats, quite frankly, hammering away at themselves, making sure that members of that party get out to vote. and more tea partiers trying to shake up washington. alaska's tea party candidate won the republican nomination for senate but is now apologizing for misusing government computers. >> it was a mistake i made. i was suspended for three days, and received a dock of three day's pay, and i learned from that. >> your statements here this evening demonstrates, i think, again the lack of fitness for the office. >> reporter: that's senator lisa murkowski. she's trying to get back to washington as a write-in against

miller and a local mayor. >> to send a regular alaskan to the united states senate to represent everyday alaskans. >> reporter: in florida, another three-way senate race. the big issue in this weekend's debate, how to create jobs. >> number one you need to create taxes. i want the middle class to be able to get back tax cuts. >> the only way we're going to get out of this predicament is growing the economy and fiscal constraint. >> reporter: everywhere you look polls predict republican wins, a possible house takeover and gains in the senate. >> if this wave continues the way it's going, it has been over the last few weeks, especially, i think you can see the senate, as well. >> reporter: the democrats insist the tide is turning. >> what democrats tend to specialize in is the ground game, the turnout. the more people turn out the better we do. >> reporter: but turnout is actually all over the place so far, with early voting. some areas predict that they're going to have slow turnout, and is actually seeing that so far, page, but in other areas, they already say they have doubled their turnout from 2006.

>> it will be interesting. thank you, tracie. and more than nine months after haiti was ravaged by a massive earthquake there are fears the situation could become even worse in the wake of that disaster which killed up to 300,000 people. health shorts are now scrambling to contain a cholera outbreak. it's already killed 250 people in rural areas and they fear it could spread to port-au-prince's squalid tent cities which house over 1 million earthquake survivors. meanwhile, two scientific papers conclude the fault originally blamed for january's quake was not the real source. and pressure in that fault continues to build, and could cause another earthquake. seismic experts say it was actually an unseen fault that caused the magnitude 7 earthquake. and back here in the states, tornadoes tore across parts of northern texas sunday evening, wreaking havoc on homes and roads. video shot flighteningly close to one funnel cloud shows the

twister cutting a path across interstate 45 just south of dallas. authorities say tornadoes tore the roof off an elementary school and caused significant damage to several homes. at least four people were reportedly hospitalized with minor injuries. and wild weather is affecting other nations, as well, as hurricane richard made handfall last night in belize. the hurricane brought winds of up to 90 miles an hour, as the category 1 storm downed trees and power lines, cutting off all power in the tiny central american nation. the hurricane hit hardest in belize city, home to a third of the country's population, with about 100,000 inhabitants. bill karins is going to have more on hurricane richard's path in just a few moments. now here's a look at some of the other stories making news early today in america. in pennsylvania, more than 150 teens paddled down the river in phil fa's ninth annual international dragon boat festival. each boat has about 20 paddle yours, and a drummer to keep everyone in sync.

dragon boat racing is an ancient chinese sport and at least according to festival organizers, the world's fastest-growing water sport. also in pennsylvania, with halloween just a few days away, there was one blowout sale families could not resist. all you can carry pumpkins for $19.99. it's a pumpkinland tradition where visitors to the patch walk a straight and steady 20 foot course taking home as many pumpkins as they can carry. and humans aren't the only ones getting in the halloween spirit. some north carolina pooches played dress up at a howl-oween party. even a wounded army vet. others paid homage to pop culture icons like snooki. huh. and that's a look at your national regional weather. here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. >> i was going to say it's more like one of the characters in the flintstones. but then, you know, snooki could fit on the flintstones. that would actually work.

>> that's right. >> well, you mentioned earlier about what happened with overnight. we had the landfall of hurricane richard in belize. here's how it looks on satellite imagery. one thing that was interesting is that the eye got more developed with time as it went inland. now the storm is weakening as you'd expect over land. just a lot of rain moving through belize and areas of mexico. as far as the forecast path. normally this is like the beginning of hurricane season or maybe even the middle of it you'd be concerned with it going back out over the golf and say oh, we're concerned about our friends in texas. but conditions are not going to be favorable. the winds are going to be very hostile. it's going to be a remnant spinning low and could bring showers to northern mexico or something like that. but the forecast is for it to dissipate completely. now as far as the forecast for the lower 48. this is about as active as it gets. severe weather in the southeast. just a monster of a storm came into the west coast and that is going to move into the middle of the nation over the next two days. today we have gusty winds, we have mountain snow, a very strong cold front going through the inner mountain west.

and these windy conditions are only going to get worse as we go throughout the next two days. especially there in the northern plains. the other concern, tornado watch this morning. the state of alabama has a very strong line of thunderstorms that rolled through huntsville and birmingham, eventually to montgomery. it should weaken ever so slightly by the time they get to atlanta a little later on this morning. the forecast, watch out for that wet weather and severe storms in the southeast, and the big huge storm in the inner mountain west. that's a look at your monday forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. areas of birmingham, thunderstorms early today. the weather will actually improve as we go throughout the afternoon. baltimore, maryland, washington, d.c., virginia and north carolina, even new york city, more or less just some light rain, chance of showers during the afternoon. i'll be back to talk more about that big storm in the middle of the country, page. probably going to be one of the bigger storms they've seen in years. >> okay, bill, thanks so much. what to look for on wall street this week and what you'll

find at the gas pump. and trumped up trade mark charges. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus made for next to nothing in the world of today's hollywood budget. you won't believe what one horror movie scared up at the box office this weekend. a record day for one red skin. a controversial ending for the steelers. and brett favre makes a dramatic return to green bay. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today," i'm page hopkins. here are some of your top headlines this morning. today the government is expected to announce a plan that would, for the first time, force tractor trailers, school buses and heavy duty pickup trucks to improve fuel efficiency. the new rules would affect certain trucks starting with models in 2014. the proposal is expected to seek reductions of up to 20% in fuel consumption and emissions. in central pakistan today at

least five people were killed by a bomb during morning prayers at a famous muslim shrine. there's been no immediate claim of responsibilitresponsibility. the taliban militants have in the past attacked the shrine. in the news, warning that a volcano could erupt any time. the alert level was raised to its highest level following increased volcanic activity. it last erupted in 2006, killing two people. and explosive activity in greece but this one was controlled. a building in athens was demolished yesterday with about 150 pounds of explosives. the building was destroyed to make way for a new city square. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,132 after falling 14 points on friday. the s&p rose two points, and the nasdaq added 19. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo the nikkei lost 25 points but in hong kong the hang sang climbed 110. wait and see could be the name of the game on the street this week as investors keep an

eye on the road ahead in washington. midterm elections, and long-awaited word on more stimulus from the fed are still more than a week away. and that could keep stocks in a holding pattern this week. but in the meantime, earnings will roll in from the likes of exxon mobile, ford, and microsoft. fresh data on the health of the housing sector also on deck. as well as our first look at third quarter gross domestic product. overseas, the dollar split against most asian currencies, after a group of 20 of the world's leading countries vowed to avoid a currency exchange war. meanwhile, japan reported its slowest month of export growth so far this year. and elsewhere, singapore exchange is buying australia's main stock exchange operator asx for about $8.3 billion. back in the states, bank of america is acknowledging for the first time it has found mistakes in some foreclosure files, as it sifts through more than 100,000 cases for resubmission. gas prices across the

country are up more than five cents in the past two weeks. the average price of regular gas in the u.s. is $2.82 a gallon. "the new york times" is reporting a possible deal in the works at carlyle group to buy telecom equipment maker for $.4 billion. what's in a name? when your name is trump, apparently a lot. lawyers for donald trump recently accused a fund-raising group in new zealand of trade mark infringement for giving out what it calls a trump card to donate money to charity. trump's lawyers have actually agreed to drop the case. favre falls flat. pittsburgh steelers a victory. and always play until you hear the whistle. plus the redskins won yesterday, thanks to one player who was consistently in position to make the catch from the other team's quarterback. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. thunderstorms and rain are moving up the eastern seaboard and a monster of a storm is developing in the north of the country.

your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, brett favre hasn't had a very positive season thus far. and last night in his old stomping grounds of green bay, that trend continued.

here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. it was classic brett favre drama. a chance to be the hero with the game on the line in the fourth quarter. but this time the old gunslinger couldn't pull the trigger. packers up when favre hit randy moss. the vikings trailed 28-24. last chance for minnesota, favre fell down, got up, but he couldn't make the grab. favre simply overthrew him and that was your ball game. the packers won 28-24. controversial ending to the steelers and dolphins. late fourth, pittsburgh down two. ben roethlisberger lunged for the end zone but fumbled the ball. now it was ruled a touchdown. they reviewed it for close to ten minutes. no touchdown. but who recovered the fumble? the officials couldn't figure it out from the replay so they gave it back to pittsburgh, even though it appeared that miami had recovered it. that led to a game-winning field goal. the steelers escaped south beach with a 23-22 win. the redskins had a career

day against the bears, he picked jay cutler off four times. this one he returned 92 down the sideline for a score. redskins beat the bears 17-14. the san diego was going right for the chargers. goodman dropped the ball. he thought the play was over. but he was never touched. that's a fulle. his first career catch was also his first career turnover. to the fourth, under 30 seconds to play. chris brown for the tie, hits the upright. and the patriots held on to win 23-20. the buccaneers, down five with 17 seconds left. josh freeman scrambles, and found cadillac williams in the end zone. the bucs rallied to beat the rams 18-17. and 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. live forward. a scary record falls at the

box office. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, a first at the animal rescue center, they couldn't figure out why these two were inseparable. we're going to tell you what they figured out. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. hope you had a wonderful weekend. a big, huge storm moves in to the west coast over the weekend with heavy rain and gusty winds. today it moves through the inner

mountain west and tomorrow into the northern plains. this is going to be one of the strongest storms we've seen in a long time. doesn't have that much rain or snow in it but it's going to be a huge windmaker. winds are going to be widespread and cause a lot of damage in minnesota and wisconsin, especially tuesday and wednesday. the winds could be strong enough, 50 to 60 miles per hour, that we're going to see 20-foot waves on lake michigan over the next couple of days. so that's just kind of an indication of what kind of storm this is. that will probably be one of the biggest headlines as we go through the middle of the week. the east coast and middle of the country, especially down to texas, a lot calmer weather after severe storms. if you're watching us on wmaq, nbc 5 in chicago illinois check out the largest annual children's film festival with over 200 films from 40 countries. at the chicago international children's film festival in downtown chicago. and that's your "early today" event of the day, page. >> thank you, bill. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. fear took the box office this weekend as "paranormal activity

2 kths set a record for the biggest-ever opening for by horror film. more than doubling its expected take, "paranormal activedy 2" earned $41.5 million passing the $40.6 million taken in by the previous record holder last year's "friday 13th" remake. the ee quell reportedly had been made for as little as $1 million, took in over $20 million on friday alone, its opening day. and last week's winner, jackass 3-d took in $21.6 million in second. in just two weeks this jackass film has made over $87 million, already outearning its two predecessors. the action comedy "red" which debuted second in the shadow of jackass 3-d held up well this weekend, slipping to third but earning $15 million to lift its ten-day total past $43 million. and timely, the weekend's other debut film, clint eastwood's "hereafter" starring matt damon opened in fourth with a soft $12 million. but experts think it's going to

have a long run. and, bill, did you get a chance to see any of those this weekend? >> i didn't. but i'm very impressed with "paranormal activity" got $40 million. >> i know. and i love scary movies. >> who are these people who predict these things? they were off by $20 million. >> quite a big discrepancy. and this comes to us from kwwl iowa's news channel 7 where just outside of waterloo there's an unusual bond between friends. the donkey and co-star the horse were brought to an animal rescue together, never leaving each other's side. but what first looked like just a quirk, is actually a bond that runs deep. co-star is blind. so she became her eyes, guiding her with a gentle nudge. rescuers hope to find a home where nay can stay to the. that's nice. i'm page hopkins, this is "early today." just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

we are off to a fairly quiet start. there will be rain moving in but later this morning into this afternoon but the beginning of the drive time should be ok. currently we have partly cloudy skies, 52 at the airport. 50 in parkton. forecast today is variable clouds or increasing clouds with a chance of rain showers into the afternoon. the high in the low 70's. we will be back and check the seven-day forecast. >> it now 4:57. 52 degrees. here is a look ahead to "11 news

today." >> bob ehrlich gets a big endorsement just over a week before the gubernatorial election. i have the details in a live report. >> eight days until election day but which party has the advantage? the latest coming up. >> if you will traveling in r e reisterstown we have a vehicle fire. what lanes are closed and what intersection and check another problem on

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] >> good morning, everyone. >> thanks for joining us for "11 news today." >> tony pann has a check of the forecast. wet? hot? what? >> it was a good weekend. >> perfect for the game yesterday. >> you were there? >> yes. >> shouldn't have been that