this morning on "early today" -- remembering a visionary. people around the world mourn the loss of apple co-founder steve jobs. havoc in houston. a train and a dump truck collide sending passengers flying. and autumn blast. old man winter begins to rear its ugly head in parts of the nation. hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with the loss of steve jobs.

it was news many people learned on the very devices he will be remembered for that changed the way we communicate. the technological visionary died yesterday at the age of 56, sounded by his family. apple fans paid tribute to its iconic co-founder outside the company's headquarters last night as similar memorials popped up outside apple stores across the country. nbc's george lewis looks back on his life and legacy. >> reporter: he was the father of the iphone, the ipad, the apple mack computers turning gadgets into desire. as he was fond of saying, wait, there's more. >> today apple is going to be reinvent the phone. >> reporter: and people did wait. in long lines for the first iphones in 2007. and then three years later they lined up for the ipad.

changing the way people consume media. >> design plus function equals the right lifestyle. and that's what he filled. >> reporter: in 1976 jobs co-founded apple computer and within a few years was worth $100 million. in 1984 he was showing off his new pride and joy, the macintosh. >> it has turned out insanely great. >> reporter: as critics hailed the mac, jobs was on the losing end of a power struggle at his company and left apple. he went into computer animation acquiring pixar animation, starting with "toy story". >> so infinity and beyond! >> reporter: jobs came back to apple in 1996 and began reinventing the mac, dressing it up in a variety of colors. >> they looked so good you kind of want to lick them. >> reporter: concerns about the health of steve jobs began in

2004 when he underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer. in april 2009 he underwent a liver transplant. five months later back on the job at apple, he expressed his gratitude. >> i now have the liver of a mid-20s person. who died in a car crash. and was generous enough to donate their organs. and i wouldn't be here without such generosity. >> reporter: and then in early 2011 he announced he was taking an indefinite leave of absence for medical reason. back in 2005 he offered this bit of advice to stanford grads. >> your time is limited. so don't waste it living someone else's life. don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. >> reporter: steve jobs, a man whose own inner voice led him to create some of the most visionary products of the internet era. jobs leaves behind a wife and four children. george lewis, nbc news, los angeles.

elsewhere this morning, sarah palin has ended months of speculation about her presidential aspirations, at least for now. in a statement issued yesterday, palin said she will not make a run for the white house in 2012. nbc's tracie potts has more from washington. good morning. >> reporter: hi, lynn. good morning, everyone. her announcement came in the form of a web video and a written statement where sarah palin said the main factor in deciding not to run for president was the impact of a campaign on her family. and in that web video she said that you don't need a title to make a difference. now, analysts say this isn't really a big surprise that she had not laid the groundwork for a national campaign. her popularity had been sinking in the polls. the big question now, what other candidates will it benefit? some analysts say romney may have benefitted if she got if the race to split the conservative race.

the big question, who will the tea party now support? also saying no to a presidential run, florida senator marco rubio, republican who had been seen -- is seen, in fact, as an up and rising star. asked yesterday would he take a vice presidential slot? he said no. >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. here's a look at other stories making news "early today" in america. it was a rough way to start the morning for a houston light rail commuters. a metro train crashed into a dump truck causing passengers to be thrown from their seats. over a dozen riders and the truck driver were treated at area hospitals. a marine towing company came to the rescue of a boater in the waters off miami. the man sent out a distress call after high surf caused his vessel to begin sinking. the man was pulled to safety and his boat towed to a nearby marina. half a century since the

world fell in love with "breakfast at tiffany's" and fans showed up to mark the milestone. a cold weather froont in northern california unloaded as much as a foot of snow in the sierra region. wednesday's snowfall is an unusually early start to the snow season. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist, bill karins, he has a look at your weather channel forecast. bill, ready. no, can't even see signs of that yet. >> it's coming. it's in the mountains. we're getting it this morning. what was in california yesterday is now moving through the mountains of utah, idaho, and even portions of wyoming during the day today. eventually it will get there even into colorado. this has been an impressive very early season storm. this is what you expect as you go into what we'll see, another la nina late fall and early winter as these big storms in the west. last year was ayla nina winter,

too, and we had a ton of snow early in the season. the green is where it's raining or snowing. the worst up through wasatch range, mountains. it's 43 degrees in salt lake city and raining this morning. that's probably one of the ugliest travel spots early this morning. the highest of elevations you may have to cross a little snow. it's shifting a little bit off interstate 15. interstate 70 up towards grand junction one of those areas you'll have to be careful and may be requiring chains on some of those cars. as far as the forecast for today, the storm is in the rockies but gorgeous weather just about everywhere else. the exception just showers down there in florida. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. well, the much promised beautiful weather has returned to areas of new england. it's a chilly morning out there. you definitely need a jacket. but later this afternoon, you can carry that jacket home. 68 in philadelphia today. chicago, gorgeous and 76.

and that storm system, lynn, that's in the west is actually going to bring beneficial rain to texas in the days ahead. >> they've been waiting for that. thank you, bill. asian markets rally, yahoo! surges and remembering a true american innovator. your business headlines straight ahead. and actress jennifer aniston puts those pesky pregnancy rumors to rest. coming up, last night's winners, a snake, a bird and a squirrel. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. u.s. labor unions have joined thousands of demonstrators in the occupy wall street protest in new york city. police say some protesters were pepper sprayed yesterday for charging at officers.

gop presidential candidate herman cain blasted the activists, calling them un-american. researchers in new york say for the very first time, they've used cloning techniques to create human embryos and produce viable stem cells. the breakthrough could be a step toward the long-sought goal of creating stem cells used to treat major diseases because they wouldn't be rejected by patients' immune systems. nasa says its kepler space telescope has found a three-planet system floating around a star similar to our sun. one of the planets is being described as a super earth that's twice the size of our own planet. and one of europe's wealthiest art accurates, spain's 85-year-old duchess of alba married a civil servant 25 years her junior. she had to win her children's approval by dividing her $4.6

billion fortune among them. here's an early look at how wall street will start the day. the dow opens 10939 after rising 131 points yesterday. the s&p grew 20 points. the nasdaq climbed 55. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, the nikkei added 139 points while in hong kong the hang seng went up 922. as europe struggles to contain its widening debt crisis, stocks are likely to continue their wild swings. but for now, the sentiment on the street is hopeful. overnight markets across asia rallied on the heels of wall street's second straight day of gains. investors around the world are betting europe's leaders will step up their efforts to stabilize the union's ailing economies. back at home, encouraging news on service sector growth gave stocks an added boost. meanwhile, payroll processor adp said private companies added

91,000 jobs last month, driving some optimism ahead of friday's monthly jobs report. on the street energy and materials companies led the broader market higher while analyst upgrade drove walt disney to the top of the dow's leaderboard. monsanto shot up thanks to better than expected earnings. yahoo! shares jumped 10% after reuters reported microsoft could make a play to buy the struggling search engine. blackberry maker research in motion also rose 10% on speculation it could soon come up for sale. finally, as the world mourns the loss of apple's legendary leader steve jobs, you can e-mail your personal thoughts and condolences to rememberi rememberingsteve@apple.com. coming up, we have some on court action for you, despite the nba lockout. plus, deja vu? another squirrel tries to get on the postseason in st. louis.

your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. hide the peanuts! the forecast in the rockies, snow at the high elevations and windy conditions. that's the worst of it. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." save them.

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is "early today." in sports, it's a neck and neck fight in the national league division series with a pair of deciding games now in the lineup. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. the national league playoffs are as even as they get. the diamondbacks and card falls both won last night to force game fives. diamondbacks won both games in arizona. roberts started with a bang. d'backs up 4-1. chris young also took randy wolf deep, a solo shot. before fans were settled in their seats, the diamondbacks were up 5-1. from then it was a seesaw battle. milwaukee scored a couple. rbi single, that was it for wolf. arizona up 7-3. chris young, finishing touches, second home run of the game. diamondbacks have found their stride, forced a winner take all game five with a 10-6 win. for the second straight game a squirrel was on the loose in

st. louis. dotted across home plate after roy oswalt pitched. from squirrels to birds, the cards got the win they needed. david freese drove in two with a double in the fourth. then he scored another pair with a home run in the sixth. freese looked like pujols. four rbi and a home run. cards won 5-3. game five tomorrow in philadelphia. yankees and tigers wrap up their series tonight. noti ivan nova and doug fister are problemers. first pitch from the bronx, 8 p.m. eastern. how about much wnba. game two between the lynx and atlanta dream. time warning down, drilled the running three-pointer. atlanta up eight at the half. no lead is safe. the chance of mvp, augusta took over with 36. lynx won 101-95. they can win their first wnba

title tomorrow night that's your first look at sports on "early today." who tops forbes' list of highest paid women in entertainment? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. you thought a night at the museum was exciting? true spending an entire month.

welcome back to "early today" on this thursday. doesn't happen all that often, but minneapolis today easily

warmer than even phoenix, arizona. all the warmth heading up ahead of the big west coast storm. that will make temperatures as far as 80 into the northern plains. cool start in new england but a night finish with plenty of sunshine. atlanta looks good, just showers. and it looks like florida will be soggy over the next couple of days, especially down by miami. keep an eye on that. what doesn't pop up is the storm in the west from areas of west texas up to kansas and oklahoma. beneficial rains for you in the days ahead. if you're watching us on wagt nbc augusta, 26, augusta, george, see blown glass that shows off complexity of bottle making at delightful decanters at augusta museum of history. >> thanks so much. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. when it comes to getting pregnant, actress jennifer aniston says there's no rush. the 42-year-old tells "elle" magazine if it's meant to be,

it's meant to be. she has been plagued with pregnancy rumors. watch out, oprah, there's a pop star and reality star nipping at your financial heels. forbes estimates the former queen of syndicated talk earned $290 million over the past year, maintaining her place at the top of their list of entertainment's highest earning women. the little monsters helped propel lady gaga into second place with $90 million. former real housewife star bethenny frankel who launched her own diet and lifestyle brand came in third with $55 million. finally, there's a new muppet in town. meet lily, a 7-year-old who comes from a family that struggles to have enough food. sesame street is debuting the character for an upcoming muppet special on hunger in america. you know, sesame street always does a phenomenal job highlighting issues going on and this is more a sad sign of the times, more than anything. >> yeah, i guess spreading the

message early and get more help and attention to it. >> hopefully they will. this comes to us from wmaq nbc 5 in chicago, illinois, where one man has won the right to call the museum of science and industry home sweet home op on october 19th the welcome mat will be laid out for kevin burn, winner of the annual museum for a month contest. he beat out hundreds of people for the unique opportunity to explore the museum and all of its exhibits while living inside. burn, who works as a digital media artist says he's excited about the prospect of living and breathing science 24/7. sounds like something you would love, bill. science guy. >> it would be okay but i'd want to experience it with you so we could go through all the exhibits together. >> really? >> no. >> to, i was going to say. i was like, would you just go a little crazy. it's enough spending half an hour with me. i'm lynn berry -- >> is it over? >> -- 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 clear start on -- what is today? thursday morning. i knew that. let's look to the current condition. upper 40's and low 50's. 49 in jarrettsville. it will be another good one today. sunshine and maybe a little cooler. high temperatures in the upper 60's and low 70's. now to the news desk. >> temperature, a barometer, and

humidity, but no calendar. 50 degrees on tv hill. memorials are popping up for steve jobs. >> we will look of the influence he had on life as we know it. >> elijah cummings launches an investigation into the sale of drugs. i'm jennifer franciotti. details are next. >> another contender out of their running. white sarah palin said she will not enter the race for the white house. >> an early morning accident on the j.f.x. this morning. hey!

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[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 thought yeste w