prove it. enough's enough. d-con baits are specially formulated to kill in one feeding, guaranteed. d-con. get out. this morning on "early today" -- long journey home. amanda knox arrives back in seattle, ending her italian prison ordeal. blind spot. a massive arizona dust storm triggers a deadly interstate pileup. and heavy lifting. an english man pays the price after going on a rampage in a an english man pays the price after going on a rampage in a stolen forklift. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning.

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a long-awaited homecoming. just a short time ago amanda knox was locked up in a italian prison for a crime she says she did not commit. now she's back on u.s. soil with loved ones who have waited for years to be reunited with her. nbc affiliate kgw news channel 8 in portland, oregon, reports. >> reporter: good morning. cheers of welcome home could be heard as amanda knox appeared before the press at seattle's sea-tac airport. she's finally home, free and back home with her family. homecoming four years in the making. she was greeted with a rouse of applause after she arrived home after four long years in an italian prison. >> i'm really overwhelmed right now. i was looking down from the airplane, and it seemed like everything wasn't real. >> reporter: a day after an italian appeals court overturned

her murder conviction, knox thanked her supporters. >> what's important for me to say is just thank you to everyone who's believed in me, who's defended me, who's supported my family. >> reporter: it's knox's first taste of freedom since the seattle exchange student and two others were charged in 200. with the brutal murder of knox's british roommate, meredith kercher. knox's family have stood by her since the case began. >> it's been a very long four years, but we couldn't have made it through it without all you people out here that supported us. and especially amanda. >> reporter: for years, she has maintained her innocence and fought for her freedom. on monday, knox broke down when she heard the verdict. now it's tears of joy as the 24-year-old begins her first days of freedom. the knox family has asked for privacy, although amanda knox will almost certainly encounter luke ra ty offers to tell her

story in the future. at seattle's sea-tac airport, back to you. >> thank you so much. elsewhere this morning, new jersey governor chris christie has made it official, he is not running for president in 2012. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on that and the president's latest push to get his jobs bill through congress. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. let's start with governor christie's announcement. he announced on the day that a qui poll found he could beat president obama by three points but christie says this is not his time. what he really wants to do is run the state of new jersey. that he loves his job. he did not endorse any other candidate, at least for now, h s says. he also did not rule out a presidential run in the future. at a community college near dallas, president obama said instead of focusing on the election 13 months away, lawmakers need to be focusing on

what's going on right now. people are hurting now because of the economy. he said that eric cantor, the number two republican in the house, need to explain why they are not going to pass his jobs bill, that $447 billion bill, as one whole package. they said they will only pass select parts of the bill. >> tracie potts for us in washington, thank you. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. dramatic video of a killer's rampage has been released by police in grand rapids, michigan. dash cam video shows police in pursuit of a suspect who killed seven people in july, including his wife, daughter and in-laws. driving at high speeds and firing at police, the suspect avoided capture but later killed himself after holding a family hostage. an arizona dust storm triggered a massive pileup turning a stretch of interstate 10 into a complete wasteland of car wrecks. the blinding conditions led to three separate collisions,

injuring at least 18 people with one confirmed death. officials have yet to release a final casualty tally because rescue and clean-up efforts were delayed due to weather conditions. flat-screen color tvs proved to be the perfect catnip in a sting operation organized by an illinois county shafb's department. they arrested more than 100 fugitives after mailing bogus letters promising the tvs for showing up to a marketing event. and finally, a couple of really big stray cats kept most residents indoors after they decided to relax in one california neighborhood. yep, those are mountain lions and they laid around for about 15 minutes before police chased them back into the woods. snooi. for a look at your national and regional weather, a very stunned meteorologist bill karins. >> i did not know they could get that big. good morning, everyone.

big storm out west, everybody else looking really, really nice. for everyone that struggled over the last week with the showers and the cool weather in new england, the mid-atlantic, that storm is leaving and we're going to be -- in its place is moving in a perfect forecast. you can see how bad the weather is out west. that's how all the travel trouble will be. we'll show you the radar in new mexico. the storm is heading out of maine and even in maine we'll get you sunshine for the second half of your day. as the cool air leaves, high pressure will build in. today's kind of the transition day for new england. it will be windy out there so we could have airport delays so butchy on flights from new york, providence, manchester up to burlington. as far as the radar goes, the only travel trouble spot is in new mexico. the lightning strikes here going up interstate 25. albuquerque, showers for you. also santa fe. we'll get rid of that. should be a decent afternoon. check out this forecast. how gorgeous is this? 74, d.c. chicago is great.

minneapolis feels like summer. and still in the upper 80s all the way down to texas. enjoy what should be a beautiful day for so many of us. that's a look at your national forecast. now a look at the weather outside your window. sunshine just about across the board today. florida will be nice. temperatures very warm, in the mid-80s. pueblo, colorado, at 79. we had our cool period. now we'll stay warm for much of this week. tomorrow's forecast coming up. thankfully, it's more of the same. >> that's what i like to hear. bill, thanks much. coming up, stocks seesaw. anticli mack kick new iphone. buffett versus murdoch. it's been on for 23 years and still attracts some of tv's toughest viewers. why are there thets this morning it may be canceled? coming up, the yankees find their groove. beltre powers the rangers and diamondbacks strike gold. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry and here are some of your top headlines. the associated press is reporting prosecutors have reopened hundreds of dormant investigations into former death camp guards. for serving as a nazi death camp guard. he was convicted of thousands of counts of accessory to murder without direct evidence he participated in any specific killing. a helicopter on a private tour crashed into new york's east river yesterday, killing one person and injuring four. the woman who died was visiting from australia to celebrate her 40th birthday. retired arch bishop and antiapartheid hero desmond tutu is furious with south africa's

government for not allowing the dalai lama a visa. he called the current government, quote, worse than the apartheid government for interfering for the dali lambmy to take part in his birthday. called off, the rest of the nba preseason. yesterday team players and owners broke off talks over a collective bargaining agreement that would end the owners' lockout. in england, a man who stole a forklift and led police on a wild pursuit. he barrelled through a cemetery, destroying grave stones. the ride came to an end after he blew a tire. now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,808 after rising 153 points yesterday. the s&p climbed 24 points. the nasdaq spiked 68. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei fell 73 points. while in hong kong the hang seng

plunged 571. late day surge capped another wild ride on wall street tuesday. after spending most of the day deep in bear market territory, stocks bounced back at the end of the day on reports european officials will shore up their banks after bailing out belgian lender dexia. asian markets fell after moody's late day downgrade italy's credit rating and those worries could linger today. yesterday ben bernanke warned congress the economic recovery is, quote, close to faltering. some were relieved to hear the central bank may take more steps to stimulate the economy. apple's much anticipated iphone upgrade, the 4s model, boasts a better camera, faster processor and voice-activated assistant but still fell short of what many hoped would be a radically redesigned iphone 5. ford made a tentative

four-year deal with united autoworkers that promises thousands of new jobs and bonuses for active workers. new york state is suing bank of new york mellon for $2 billion, charging it defrauded thousands of clients in foreign currency exchange transactions. the first round of checks are being made today to guilted investor of ponzi schemer bernard madoff. after the bell, piazza hut brand yum brands missed earnings. rupert murdoch has requested to see warren buffett's tax return. he says he'll release his if murdoch does the same. one grocery store in italy has posted a sign pleading with thieves to stay away. that's because the store has been robbed 23 times. maybe time to get a new alarm. coming up, the rangers catch the rays. phillies ground the cardinals.

the diamondbacks bite back. curtis granderson has done it all year for the yankees with his bat, but last night it was with his glove. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. our weather pattern has flip-flopped from the east coast to west coast. it's time for the west coast to get all the wet weather. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

for a great vacation you can't beat mississippi. sure you can, it's called louisiana.

hang on, florida's where folk's want to be. that's only until they get a taste of alabama hospitality. we can't agree on which state's best, but we can agree on one thing, wherever you vacation in the gulf, you'll have a great time. great seafood, beautiful beaches and fun for the whole family. we've got intimate bed and breakfast right on the water. cafe's with views of the gulf. go blue water fishing, ride a kayak, or just enjoy the world's best weather and soak up the world's best sun. we've gone all out to make this year the best ever. and we are 100% open for business. you mean 100% open for fun. here in the best part of the gulf. louisiana, florida, alabama, mississippi. this could go on for a while.

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports with their backs against the wall last night in detroit, the new york yankees made it very clear they are not ready to end their season just yet. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. with their backs against the wall, yankees' offense finally woke up, game four in detroit. they got it started in the third. jeter a shot to deep center. posada scored. martin came if right behind him and beat the tag at the plate. new york up 2-0. now to the fifth, former tiger curtis granderson did this for six years in detroit. rbi single. granderson also did it with his glove. peralta to the gab. granderson there to make the grab. 10-1 win, yankees. rangers are the first to advance to the league series. beltre single-handedly beat the

rays. home run, opposite field in the fourth, in the seventh, another home run. a texas trifecta for beltre. rangers move on to their second alcs with a 4-3. nationals and cards with a had-3 and pinch hitter, three-run shot, the only hit, a big one, phillies win. arizona and diamondbacks, go goldscmid, grand slam homer with an 8-1 win. beltre didn't only take down the rays with three home runs, he also brought a cameraman to his knees. after beltre's first homer, he rounded third. keep an eye on the cameraman. focused so hard on beltre, he lost his footing and hit the turf with a food. as if everybody didn't see it, beltre pointed to the poor guy.

the tbs slogan is very funny. their cameramen will do anything to prove it. that's an early look at sports on "early today." having johnny depp make money before he started earning the big bucks? imagine all the things that have changed since this man was president. coming up, we'll introduce to you one man who missed it all and has some catching up to do. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. your forecast on this wednesday looks very nice. many areas of the country today. you can leave that umbrella home for once, even areas of new england today. gorgeous weather. temps in the 60s and seventh. pretty much through that region. look at the 80s. mid-80s in the upper midwest. i mean, that doesn't happen that often in the first week of october. warm everywhere else. as we go towards tomorrow, looks very similar. the eastern half at least. a very quiet weather period. if you're watching us from macon, georgia, see artifacts at local history at tubman african american museum. that's your early event of the day. now here's an early look at headlines in entertainment. remember the good old days the only thing that could knock your show off the air was bad ratings. fox warned producers of the

"simpsons" it would end tv's longest running comedy unless voice actors take a 40% pay cut. the cast recently negotiated with producers to take a 30% pay cut in return for a portion of the syndication proceeds without success. fox, which reportedly loses more and more on the show every year, does not get a share of billions in syndication profits. england's adele has been forced to cancel her u.s. tour due to a vocal chord hemorrhage. she has to stop now or risk damaging her voice forever. forbes estimates johnny depp made $50 million last year. before he made it big, depp says he attended scientology study groups because they paid $3 a meeting. what happened to just coffee and cookies? incentive for going to meetings? >> that's all it takes, coffee

and milk? >> the cookies part of it. cookies at the end of anything, i'll show up. this comes to us from austin, texas, where in nearby georgetown after 25 years, dna evidence freed an innocent man from a life sentence. to walk into a world where everything is brand new. >> colors seem real bright to me now. the women are real good looking. >> michael morton can only think of life's simple pleasures after a judge overturned his conviction for his wife's 1986 murder. after all that time in prison, he'll have a lot of adjustments, but one change he won't have to worry about is his mother's love. a lot of smiles there. i'm lynn berry and 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. >> good morning. we're off to a nice quiet start on this wednesday morning. the skies are clear. 53 at the airport. 50 in parkton. big forecast for today is sunshine. high temperature around 74. we'll come back and check the seven forecast going into the weekend. >> thank you. 51 degrees on tv hill. the search is on for a group of

police impersonators in baltimore city. >> there could be a change of leadership within the baltimore county school system. i'm jennifer franciotti. >> chris christie takes himself out of the running. what it means for the rest of the gop race for president. >> the opening of the new bridge in abingdon. we will update you on that.

[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. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. thank you for joining us this morning. >> i think we saw the sun yesterday. >> it has been a long time. we deserve a stretch of weather with nothing going on.