girl power. the supreme court heads back into session. this time with a record number of female justices. and aensus of the sea. a first ever tally of species and aensus of the sea. a first ever tally of species living in the world's oceans. captions paid for by nbc-univers television hello and good morning, i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with a travel alert. this morning americans traveling to europe are under direction from the state department to be on guard against terror attacks there. the government's warning comes off uncovering what it characterizes as terror plots eyond the planning stages, and already under way. nbc's tracie potts has the details for us this morning from washington. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. but no specific information against europ and that's why this is a travel alert, and not the more serious warning.

what we do know, intelligence officials believe that eight germans and two british brothers are hiding out somewhere near the pakistan/afghan border, believed toe planning an attack in europe similar to what we saw in 2008 in mumbai, india, those coordinated shootings and bombings there. and they believe that osama bin laden himself may be involved in the planning of this. over the weekend, the pakistan amssador here in the united states said that the cia and pakistani official are sharing intelligence and that is part of the reason why they know more about these planned possible attacks at this point. so the state department warning for today, be on the lookout for anything suspicious if you are traveling in europe. specifically, on trains, subways, airports, seaports and around tourist attrtions. the great british -- in great britain the alert lel is already severe at this point. they want americans to be on alert. lynn? >> tracie potts for us in

washington. tracie, thank you. meanwhile, the pakistani taliban are claiming responsibility this morning for attacking and setting fire to at least 20 tankers carrying supplies for american and nato troops in afghanistan. today's attacks, which killed at least three people, is the third such strikeinside pakistan in as many days. it happened on a supply route that had been stalled due to a border closing imposed by the country's government last week in protest of a nato helicopter attack that killed three pakistani troops. well, it is the first monday in october. and in washington, that means the supreme court goes back to work. newly appointed justice elena kagan takes her seat on the bench, making the high court one-third female for the first time in history. nbc's frances coe has our report. >> reporter: the u.s. supreme court traditnally starts its new term on the first monday in october. but there is nothing typical about the court this time around.

>> so help you god. >> congratulations. >> reporter: elena kagan, hand-picked by president obama, is its newest member. kagan becomes the third woman on this court, the fourth in its history. but she'll likely sit out about a third of the cases to avoid any conflict stemming from her former stint at the justice department. >> with only eight members of the courteciding these cases, there's the chance of a tie. if that happens, the supreme court is not actually going to be able to decide the issue and will have come back again in another case, probably in another year. >> reporter: kagan and the other eight justices will have a full case load when the sessio begins. one of the biggest, whether protests at military funerals are protected under freedom of speech. proteers claim wa deaths are god's way of punishing the mi military powering of gays. >> god is punishing their parents, really. >> reporter: he was one of several protesters at a military

funeral of marine matthew snietder. his father said their presence forever ruined the memory of that day. >> they pushed it into a circus. >> reporter: one of the many pivotal decisions facing the new supreme court, still closely divided between a majority of five conservatives and four liberals. francisco, nbc news. and now here's a look at some other stories making nws "early today" in america. in massachusetts police found a suspected bank robber locked in the trunk of his car at their impound lot. the suspect evaded capture after robbing a local bank. unfortunately for him, he did by hiding in his trunk. acting on a lead police tracked down the getaway vehicle, not expecting to find the suspect right under their nose. parents and children of the wisconsin tn festival got a little more excitement than they paid for when the ferris wheel they were riding broke down, leaving them dangling for nearly three hours. firefighters worked quickly in high winds, stabilizing the ride before rescuing all 17 riders.

officials suspect a loose axle pin may be to blame. and in new xico, cows flew with bumblebees, een darth individual irtook to the sky at the albuquerque balloon festival. the largest ballooning event in the world. the spectacular display over 600 hot air balloons attracts enthusiasts and novices from around the world. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. >> hey, lynn, welcome back. anyone you want to give a little congratulations to? >> you know i was away visitin my sister and she just happened to have a new little baby boy. -- >> oh. >> say hi to little james out there. >> we'll call you auntie a lot. >> exactly. >> glad to have you back. let's talk about the weather pattern out there. this is going to be just an ugly beginning to the week and maybe even to the middle of the week for the mid-atlantic and new engld. i can't promise you a lot of sunshine. it's going to be cloudy. it's going to be kind of cool and it's going to be very damp,

too. we're just kind of stuck in the dreary weather pattern in the mid-atlantic up into new england. the middle of the country looks fantastic. a little chilly during the morning but compare that to what you're going to deal with this week. this picture will be the same probably ev into wednesday. we're talking three or four days in a row of no sunshine, hon and off rain, cool temperatures here from d. all the way up to boston, includi much of pennsylvia. so, just be prepared for cool, chilly, damp weather. you'll need your umbrella most each and every day this week around philly, new york, hatford and boston. there's that cool temp. 44 this morning in chicago. some of the cool air made it all the way down to the deep south. only a high of 67 withomplete sunshine in atlanta. that's rare. 75 in dallas. notice the dreary weather there for the mid-atlantic up into southern new england. that's a look at your monday forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. 70 and sunny in birmingham, alabama. austin, texas, 78 and sunny. there's some nice weather out there. but baltimore, maryland is not going to be one of them. only 54 for your high today,

with on and off rain and showers. well, lynn, you come back and all of a sudden it's dreary, cloudy and miserable. >> what else did you expect, though, i mean, really? good to hear. well, verizon commits to millions in cuomer refunds. and getting tweets from your dog. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus the new facebook movie won a lot more this weekend than just the box office crown. >> the baseball playoffs are set. donovan mcnabb proves you cano home again. 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. authorities say a church van rolled over last night in southwestern georgia, killing at least four people and injuring more than a doz others.

the van was on its way to florida when its rr tire blew out, causing the driver to lose control. iranian president mmoud ahmadinejad is calling for american leaders to be, quote, buried in response to what he claims are u.s. military threats against their cotry's nuclear program. ahmadinejad, known for harsh rhetoric against the west, went a step further yesterday, using an iranian phrase normally reserved for one's most hated enemies. this morning's "washington post" reports interest groups are spending five times more on this year's midterm elections than they did on the lt midterms. the bulk of that money is being shelled out by conservatives, outspending democratic-aligned riva by 7 to 1 in recent weeks. and results of the first-ever global marine life census shows that the world's oceans are far more diverse than ever imined. after a decade-long study, researchers estimate there are 1 millin-plus species in the

ocean, with at least three-quarters of them yet to be discovered. and now here is an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. researchers announced sunday -- announced sunday teens who become pregnant after stric bypass surgery may have an creased risk of having children with birth defects. the surgeries can lead to deficiencies in how the body absorbsitamins and nutrients from food, which, in turn, could affect the development of a fetus's brain and spinal cord. still, some are skeptical about the link and called for more study. for more information on this and other health stories check out the health page at msnbc.com. >> "early today" health is brought to you by advantage sill wash with odor block, the confident clean. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street wi kick off the day. the dow opened at 10,829 after adding 41 points friday. he s&p gained five points.

the nasdaq edgedp two. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei fell 23 points, but in hong kong the hang seng climbed 260. last year the government asked verizon wirelesshy data access fees were appearing on he bills of customers who didn't have data plans. today verizon will begin paying up to $90 million in funds to 15 million customers. turns out most of them accidentally pressed the wrong buttons on their phones. verizon says most customers will recei $2 to $6 credits with some receiving more. on wall street this week, the big moment comes friday. september's jobs numbers. estimates are mixed, both up and down as the jobless rate now stands at 9.6%. another big unemployment measure, jobs added last month in the private sector is out wednesday. there's high hope for quarterly earnings this week. as alwayslcoa unofficially

kicks off reporting thursday. other companies reporting include yum brands, costco, monsanto, micron technology and pep. as for other data, pending home sales and factory orders for august kick off the week. an index of service sector activity is out tuesday. thursday brings yet another unemployment reading. initial jobless claims. and wholesale inventory for august come out friday. finly, are you a pet lover and into social networking? then you'll love puppy tweets. it's an electronic sensor you attach to your dog's collar that detects movements and sounds and sends a variety of tweets to a twitter page you set up for your dog. if your dog is very active he could tweet, chasing everything that moves is definitely a full-time job. a spokesperson jokingly warns, u can't reply, at least not yet. you know that's coming. the braves win the wild card. the giants win the wild west. and the g-men run all over the

bears. plus former eagle donovan mcnabb shows philly fans what they're missing. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >> we're starting the week with an ugly weather pattern in the mid-atlantic and new england. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, major league baseball's playoff pairings weren't decided until yesterday's final day of the season. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. the baseball playoffs are set but not after it took all 162 games of the season to decide who was in and who would be laying golf. to atlanta, bobby cox and the braveseeded a win and they got it against the phils. they capped off a four-run fourth and the braves we up 5-2. wagner on to strike out greg dobs to end it. atlanta locked up the n.l.wild card. giants beat the pres and eliminated san diego. posey hit his 18th homer of the season. giants won 3-0. they'll start the postseason against the braves on thursday. playoffs start on wednesday. the rays on the n.l. east will host the rangers. and in the national league the reds will play the phillies in hiladelphia. speaking of philli, donovan

mcnabb returned to the city of brotherly love to a standing ovation. didn't take long for these cheers to turn to jeers. connecting for a touchdown in the first quarter the redskins were up 14-0. michael vick left the game with a chest injur he was nailed at the goal line. he'll have an mri today. redskins won it 17-12. dramatic finish between the colts and jaguars under a minute to play, peyton manning inside the 28. the last chance. it was a long shot. 59 yards o and he got it. longest field goal in franchise history won it for the giants. the giants got back on track th a win over the bears. giants won it 17-3. finally, we know football is a contact sport. apparently so is sideline reporng. that's michelle turner walking with the rams coach. look out. turner also works for knbc in

las vegas took a football off her head. goes to show you sometimes the best action in the game happens on the sidelines. that's your early loo at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. yet another actress is said to be a lock for the coveted role of mary jane in the next spider-man movie. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, rubber duckie you're the one. armour accurately the one out of 15,000. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this monday morning. bring the umbrella with you if you're from the mid-atlantic region into southern new england, especially there around philadelphia, d.c., balmore, new york, hartford, new haven, even into boston. that's going to be where the damp weather is going to be. not just today but really through much of this ek. beautiful weather in the middle of the cntry. not lot changes tomorrow. still that nasty storm in the mid-atlantic. if you're watching on wtva 9 in tupelo, mississippi, take the family to pick out their very own pumpkin and enjoy games and face paints at the 8th annual pumpkin patch at the tupo buffalo park. that's your "early today" event of the day. did you get your pumpkin yet? >> no, i can't even believe it's october and it's time to do that. haven't gotten my head aound it yet. >> next weekend. >> now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. without any real competition at the box office this weekend the expeed winner "theocial network" a movie about

facebook's harvard beginnings still managed to impress in a number of ways. it opened at number one with $23 mlion. a little better than expected. but en moreism pressive was the fact that it earned rave reviews and even generated some enthusiastic oscar talk. particularly for the singer who wants to be taken seriously as an actor, justin timberlake. elsewhere, harry potter fans, in case you missed it, author j.k. rowling told opra winfrey she may not be done after all. e says she could possibly write two more books for the series. and finally, she is the red-hot it girl of the moment, so it should come as no surprise that emma stone is now rumored to be landing the role of girl next door mary jane watson for the next back to high school spider-man film. well, this comes to us from knbc, nbc 4 in los anges, california. where a simple childhood pastime is bringing relief to thousands. charity-minded participants

raced more than 15,000 rubber ducks at the mighty rubber duck derby, raising money and awareness for nonprof organization dedicate ed preventing and treating child abuse. the winner walked ay with a brand-new car but the kids and the families who benefit from the program were, of course, the biggest winners. i'm lynn berry and this is "early tay." just your fir stop of the day, today, on your nbc station. ♪

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wow. look at that view of the capitol doempt gorgeous orange sky. beautiful out there. a little drizzly as well. good morning. i'm eun ang. >> good morning. i'm joe krebs, the first monday in october, the 4th of october. in the news, if you or your family or friends are planning a trip to europe, there is a travel alert in place for all americans living and traveling there. the u.s. state department issued a rare advisory for american travelers to be on notice that there are potential terrorist threats in rope. u.s. intelligence worry th al qaeda terrorists are planning attacks in public places, including popular tourist sps. darcy spencer has reaction from travelers headed to europe from dulles. >> reporter: u.s. officis say there is no terrorist thrat but they want americans to be

cautious when traveling to europe. many travelers are heading to european countries as the state departme is warning u.s. citizens to beware of the threat of terrorism. sunday they were discussing the tential for terrorist attacks by al qaeda and affiliated organizations. >> well, i'm concerned but i'm still going. i don't think anything will happen to us. >> the alert talks about the potential for attacks on public transportation and tourist infrastructure in europe and warns americans to be aware of their surroundings and report suspicious activity. >> what they're doing out of abundance of caution, soft taets such as tourist sites or transportation hubs are the type of targets that they like to attack. >> reporter: those coming to the united states from europe nday night said they noticed to difference in their travel experience and did notee additional security. >> i don't think it'