when i smell all those things, i know fall is in the air. the fall collection brought to you by air wick and the national park foundation. something in the air wick. right here on "mad money" i'm jim cramer. see you tomorrow. this morning on early today, fiasco on the field. drama over the nfl's botched call by a replacement referee makes its way all the way to washington. miracle escape. a russian truck driver walks away from a disastrous head-on collision. and extreme sky. new hubble images show nasa's deepest ever view of the new hubble images show nasa's deepest ever view of the universe. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with that controversial call. the disputed play ending monday night football game between green bay and seattle has become a national debate, even both

presidential candidates are now weighing in calling for the nfl to end the lockout of the regular referees. nbc's jay gray reports. >> the game's final play. >> reporter: the final eight seconds of monday night's game now forever frozen in time. >> who do they give it to? touchdown! >> reporter: or was it? one official signals touchdown, the other touch back. nfl replacement officials again in the spotlight. >> i don't like the way this game finished. >> reporter: the chaos and confusion of the final play first giving way to disbelief. >> i never seen anything like that in all my years in football. >> reporter: and then disgust. >> this is ridiculous. >> look at the replay and the fact that it was reviewed. >> frustrating game. >> don't ask me a question about the officials. >> reporter: the questions and the ongoing labor dispute between the nfl and the referees

lingers. it may affect the integrity of the league. a firestorm that's been building through the first three weeks of the season. at least five coaches face possible fines from the league for showing their frustration over the officials, including the patriots bill belichick who tried to grab a referee after a questionable call at the end of subnight's game. >> trying to get an explanation for obviously an important call oe o play in that game. >> reporter: a written explanation on what the league calls a simultaneous catch monday night points out offensive pass interference should have been called ending the play and game but then goes on to say, the nfl supports the decision not to overturn the on field ruling even though support and trust is clearly waivering for coaches, players, and fans. jay gray, nbc news. everyone still talking about it.

elsewhere, president obama addressed the united nations general assembly where syria and iran took center stage. nbc's steve handles men reports from new york. >> reporter: president obama aimed his u.n. speech at american voters and at most muslims who he said do not hate. >> i would like to begin today by telling you about an american named chris stevens. >> reporter: the u.s. diplomat who loved libya but who was murdered there. his u.s. consulate in benghazi burned. >> there are no words that excuse the killing of innocence. there's no video that justifies an attack on an embassy. >> reporter: there was no sympathy from the president, but he called for a deeper look into the root causes of anti-u.s. muslim rioting and demanded muslim leaders do more now. >> it is time to marginalize those who, even when not directly resorting to violence, use hatred of america or the west or israel as the central organizing principle of politics. >> reporter: iran's president,

ahmadinejad, called for elimination of israel. >> make no mistake, a nuclear armed iran is not a challenge that can be contained. >> reporter: israeli prime minister netanyahu publicly pushed president obama. he didn't. >> america wants to resolve this issue through diplomacy and we believe there is still time and space to do so. >> reporter: mitt romney was in new york saying not enough good jobs in muslim nations leads to radicalism. he promised aid to promote private industry. >> nothing we can do as a nation will change lives and nations more effectively and permanently than sharing the insight that lies at the foundation of america's own economy. >> reporter: it's the u.s. economy that president obama wants seen as his main focus. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news at the united nations in new york. new poll numbers show trouble for mitt romney in key battleground states. the washington post poll finds

president obama leading romney by 8 points in ohio, that's among likely voters. in another swing state, florida, romney is only trailing by four points among likely voters but there is a nine point gap among all registered voters. in both states the president has a double digit advantage among women. in florida 53% of men back romney. now here's a look at some other news making news early in america. in hawaii powerful waves created an incredible scene. the teams were togsed around like rag dolls as they paddled towards the starting point. the ocean was littered with at least ten capsized canoes before the race officially started. in south dakota, close to a thousand bison created quite a rumble during the 47th annual buffalo roundup. thousands of spectators from all over the world make the trip each year to watch the animals stampede across the pair ri

before they are corralled into pens. roughly 250 will go up for auction. finally, in utah, one farmer has put a spin on this year's presidential election. it's the faces of president obama and governor romney that have been depicted in a corn maze. guests are going to be able to make their pick by opening in the obama or romney entrance. voting will end on the election day. very unscientific poll. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is meteorologist bill karins who has your weather channel forecast. i'm exhausted. why did we think of doing this? terrible idea. >> yeah. i've never done a corn maze. i've never had any urge. the movie "children of the corn" never urged me. good morning, everyone. as far as the weather this morning, umbrellas are needed in many areas. we have a lot of locations that

are dealing with wet weather, showers, thunderstorms. some of this in the drought areas that need it in the midwest. the white on the map is lots of clouds. kansas city all the way back heading back into areas of new england. all the green on the map is a little bit of rain. a little radar tour will show you where we're dealing with the heaviest of rain. from oklahoma starting to clear out a little bit. we had stronger storms last night south of oklahoma city. this was welcomed rain. a couple of showers by lawsuton. from st. louis all the way south of indianapolis along the ohio river. all those locations need it. the wet weather in new england, very light. areas in vermont, new hampshire, massachusetts currently. from new york city to washington, d.c., your best chance of showers will be late today. not so much this morning where it should be okay. the southeast looks all right. just your afternoon showers and storms down there. an umbrella day. some areas are appreciating it.

that's a look at your national forecast, now here's a look at the weather outside your window. philadelphia today, also a chance of a shower or storm. much better chance of rain by the pittsburgh area as we go throughout the morning hours. a gloomy weather period throughout the middle of the country. that's welcome. heavy rain heading for texas. rainfall appreciated. we're not in the summer or the heat. a lot of the crops are done. we still have a drought situation. >> bill, thanks so much. coming up, reality hits wall street. home prices rise. california climbs on board with google's car of the future. pretty cool. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, find out which female vocal list is billboard's woman of the year. zach greng key turns back the clock, the tigers get even and pop the champagne. another team punches their ticket to the postseason. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome

back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. the naacp is pressing the u.n. to send observers to monitor this year's elections. the civil rights group believes that the 6 million americans are being blocked from voting because of felony criminal records. in spain, dozens of protesters have been injured in clashes with police. they're angry over cuts in public employee salaries. spain races to deal with massive debt. in russia, this is incredible video. it shows a truck driver literally walking away from a crash with another big rig completely unharmed. he was hurled from his cab at the moment of impact and amazingly landed right up with barely a scratch. finally, this is the deepest space you have ever seen. the hubble telescope has sent back a picture more than 13 billion light years in the making. it's a college of views, more

than 5,000 galaxies captured over ten years. and now here's an early look at how wall street's going to kick off the day. the dow closed at 13,457 after stumbling 101 points yesterday. the s&p dropped 15. the nasdaq tumbled 43. taking a look at overseas traysing this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei lost 184 points while in hong kong the hang seng fell 170. well, so far the first week of fall has delivered a dose of harsh reality back to the street. heavy equipment maker caterpillar spooked markets wednesday to warn of sluggish global growth will cut into its bottom line. technology shares came under pressure over lingering worries apple supplies of the new iphone 5 won't be able to keep up with the demand. shares fell for the second day in a row. the conference boards highest consumer confidence

reading in seven months was overshadowed by global stimulus worries. likewise, gains sparked by a steady rise in home prices were eventually wiped out by the end of the day. staples lost ground tuesday after revealing it will close dozens of stores and reduce its north american retail space by 15%. investors appeared to be encouraged by a presentation from blackberry maker research in motion tuesday. rim's stock climbed 5%. finally california governor jerry brown rode to google headquarters in a self-driving toyota prius wednesday before signing legislation paving the way for the company's driverless cars in california. the new law allows for testing of vehicles on public roadways so long as properly licensed drivers are behind the wheel which when you think about it is a little ironic. still pretty cool. coming up, the tigers oar, the white sox stumble and the a's blast off in extras, plus a

walk-off clincher calls for champagne showers in atlanta. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. anywhere in the middle of the country you have a chance of significant rainfall the next couple of days and that's a good thing. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today"

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today."

and in sports, a final inning two-run homer against the miami marlins secured a playoff birth for the a's last night. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. after an epic meltdown last year, the braves finally got it right. to atlanta where it didn't come easy for the tribe, the marlins donovan solano never hit a major league home run, last night he hit two. the second gives miami a 3-2 league. the power of the rally cap takes over. ninth inning, atlanta down by one. if it's deep enough it's a playoff berth. here comes the braves. pop the champagne, atlanta locks down a wild card spot meaning chipper jones will have one last shot at a world series title. the race in the a.l. central is as close as it gets. tigers only scored two runs against the royals.

anibal sanchez. ten strikeouts over nine innings of work. tigers beat them. the white sox couldn't keep pace. they lost to the indians. ee zeke yell carrere tops off a three run rbi single. cleveland up 4-0. they win 4-3. seems like every time the orioles win, the yankees do too. well, yesterday both teams lost. twinkies hung four on the pin stripes in the seventh. they win 5-4. new york's lead in the east is still 1 1/2. angels are leading. zack greinke pitching a gem. angels beat the mariners and are two back in the wild card. angels are chasing the a's. oakland played the role of spoiler. they have a chance to clinch a playoff spot. rangers will have to wait another day.

a's win 3-2. that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. lady gaga hits back against critics of her fluctuating weight. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll tell you about one army soldier's epic mission to face his mom. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." the worst drive out there

appears to be right along interstate 64 north of evansville and heading towards louisville. line of showers and heavy downpours. be prepared louisville and northward. cincinnati will deal with a period of rain. forecast, definitely have the umbrella ready, kansas city, oklahoma city, especially along the ohio river there all the way to areas of west virginia and pittsburgh. tomorrow we'll see similar areas with rainfall and it looks like towards friday. heavy rain in texas. that's where we really need it. if you are yo' watching us on nbc 4, washington, d.c., look at gaming technology. at the art of video games at the smithsonian art museum. that's your "early today" event of the day. i remember playing mousetrap on my come mow door vic 20. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. pop star katy perry, the year keeps getting better. billboard announced she'll take

home their woman of the year award in november. >> did russell brant vote for her. >> i was going to say. responding to criticism about her recent weight gain, lady gaga revealed on her website, she has suffered from anorexia and bulimia since she was 15. she's started a section on her little monster's website for followers to show her perceived flaws. madonna said she was being deliberately ironic when she referred to president obama as a black muslim at her washington, d.c., concert. remember this little guy, the four legged star of this year's academy awards winner picture in "the artist." uggie has published a memoir. the tongue in cheek story and about how he once got drunk by drinking champagne from a glass left on the floor. i'm never going to let you forget "the artist."

i am going to pound it into your head. >> here's your painful choice. you have to read that book or watch "the artist." >> i'd read the book. what would you do? >> probably the movie. >> you don't have to think too hard. >> at all or listen. >> or listen. this comes to us from kris 6 news in corpus christi, texas, where one army officer just finished an amazing journey to raise breast cancer awareness. when sergeant mcbroom found out he was being transferred to texas, he decided to embark on an 800 mile mission from mobile, alabama. the iraq war veteran peddled his way through four states in six days all in honor of his mother's battle with breast cancer. great idea there. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today" just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> good morning. we have bill devin rain to start -- we have a little bit of rain to start the day. some rain going through baltimore city right now. a batch of rain will be coming through in waves today. i would take an umbrella with you to start today. mostly cloudy skies. showers likely off and on. high temperature between 76 and

81. we will check the seven-day forecast coming up in just a few minutes. >> 4:57. 66 degrees at the airport. could the orioles come up with some magic in the bottom of the ninth inning? >> a man dies in police custody and this morning his family wants answers. >> an incident was called riot- like outside of the recher theater. >> we have one accident on 95 i

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[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> some showers moving through to