edge, but democrats are on a rebound. a lethal wedge of toxic sludge pours into several villages in india. and a woman survives a villages in india. and a woman survives a horrifying collision. captns paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. today, we begin with closing the gap. new numbers from an abc poll show voters still prefer the republican candidates in their district election, but the demorats are gaining ground. tracie potts is in washington for us with all the details. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. looki at these latest polls, the big question is is the tide turning for democrats just weeks before election day? let's take a look at some of the

results. you mentioned this new, this latest abc news/washingtonost poll. it shows amon voters, republicans have a 6% edge, but that is down by more than half from just last month. in fact, our latest nbc poll showed something very similar. what's working for republicans is drumming up their base. they're motivated. they're planning to go out and vote. looking at more poll results here, it seems that 77% of republicans say they will g out and vote on election day. only 61% of democrats say they expect to vote on election day. at cod make the difference? tv ads. now by the parties themselves, but by private groups allied with these parties. two republican-leaning groups have sai they're spending another $4 million on ads. they've already spent $14 million since august. sth a big boost for the

republicans because they have lagged behind the democrats in fund-raising. lynn. >> tracie potts for us there in washington. thank you. according to this morning's washingn post, taliban representatives and afghan president what medicine karzai government have begun talks over hending the war. goeshzs are under way on a deal that would put some taliban figures in the government. sources belve this is the first time that taliban representatives involved in these talks are fully authorized to speak r the taliban organization based in pakistan. representatives for that group leader have shunned talks in the pastnsisting all foreign troops withdrawal first. however, in these meetings, there have been discussions of a withdrawal on an agreed timel e timeline. meanwhi, yesterday marked a second day of sdmroegzs in kandahar. in neighboring pakistan, gunmen have struck na tankers

headed into pakistan. this time, at least a dozen tankers were torched. one driver was shot in the head. this marks the third major attack since a week ago when pakistan crossed the border into afghanistan. it's unclear who is behind the latest attacks, although the pakistan taliban have claimed responsibility for similar assaults. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in amica. nasty weather rolled through t phoenix, arizona area, bringing with it a shower of golf-ball-sized hail. one resident shot this video of the hail storm. the large systems dumped over an inch of rain in two hours, causing severe flooding, doed power lines and grounded flights. in south carolina, teams competed in the bomb squad oh olympia. it included 100 yard dash, running up a downstairs,

extracting an ied from a car and target shooting while wearing 730 pounds of equipment. the competitions a way for officers to test their abilities in the case of a real threat. a california couple is hoping they measure up as the world's tallest pair. the man is 6'11", his wife, 6'5". the folks from guinness wer on hand to record their combined height, but no word on if they are, indeed, the world's largest couple. andn pennsylvania, pumpkins are on display. a man and son grew these super sizedpumpkins, the largest weghing over 1,000 pounds. the others around 600. they're on display for visitors, but not yet available for pie making. now foa look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, good mornin >> how do they make those big

pumpkins? are they genetically engineered? >> a little shot on the side. >> steroids. >> my pumpkin expertise is coming in handy now. let's talk about the forecast. good morning, everyone. the storm system has lingered over the mid-atlantic the last couple of days. it will finally be on the move today. we'll watch those same areas with cldy conditions and on and off rain. we're cool in the southeast, but it will be abeautiful afternoon. we're seeing nice weather through the middle of the cotry. wet weather through utah. we showed you amazing pictures of that hail in arizona. very rare for theto get hail hat big. it was golf ball to baseball-sized hail in some places. the storm system is spinning over pittsburgh. a lot of rain showers in ohio this morning. some of the heavie rains today are with a tropical connection coming up to cape cod, boston will get wet today. eventually, if you live in maine, vermont, new hampshire,

you'll probably get a soaking through much of the afternoon and evening tonight. that's the wet spot. new york city, maybe a sprinkle or two. not a lot of wet weather. the southeast, as i mentioned, cool start to your day. gogeous afternoon. officially, it looks like the wet season is over with. even the dry area is into miami. that's a look at your forest. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. the shower activity in boston will keep temperatures in the low 60s. pittsburgh, another very cool day for you with showersnd 57 degrees. looking beter, though, in areas like raleigh today. sunny and 72. lynn, you'll be happy to know i've got a really nice forecast for all the people that suffered this week from the miserable weather. it looks nice into the weekend. details, coming up. >> about time, big. also coming up, necessity sales prove, but luxury sales fall. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead.

plus, casting buzz says tom hanks may be headed for another high profe role. the yankees pull the plug on one of their races and the heat's big three ar now the big two. you're watching "earlyoday."

>> good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. the pakistani immigrant who tried to detonate a bomb in times square in may has been sentenced to life in prison. expressing no remorse over the botched attempt, 31-year-old shazad warned americans to, quote, brace yourself because the war with muslims h just begun. a connecticut man could face the death penalty after being convicted of murdering a woman and her two daughterses. steven hayes and another ex-con

beat the family's father with a baseball bat and sexually assaulted nd strangled the mother before setting the family's house on fire. both daughters died on smoke inhalation. the second defendant goes on trial next year? three counties in hungary are in a state of emergency after a reservoir burst and swamped several villages with a toxic sludge. at least four people were killed and dozens injured, many with severe burns. a brazilian woman is recovering after a terrible accident captured on a security camera. the 44-year-old was hi by a speeding car and thrown in the air before landing in the street. amazingly, she survived with minor injuries to her arm and collarbone. nasa is going ahead with a mission to investigate the memory of how mars lost its atmosphere. if the project goe according to planned, they will launch a spacecraft to the red planet in 2013. >> and now here's an early look

at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,944 after gaining 193 points yesterday. the s&p climbed 23 points. the nasdaq added 55. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo, the nikk added 172 points while in hong kong the hang seng rose 241. stocks soared to their highest level since may on tuesday, fueled by strength of signs in theconomy and renewed hope that more help is on the way. markets rallied in the start in response to japan's move to slash interest rates. that sparked hopes that the federal reserve could step in hereith stimulus here at home as early as next month. a better than expected report from the service ctor added to the upbeat move, further easing fears of a double dip recession. fresh data on consumer spending is out this morning, and it looks like caution remai the name of the game.

the back to school season saw an uptick in kids clothes and electrics while luxury spending suffered a drop. talbot shares were hit hard yesterday after the retailer cut its third quarter forecast and announced planso cut up to 17% of its stores. the treasury department estimates total losses from federal bailouts under the troubled asset rief program will total $29 llion. that's down from an earlier estimate of $66 billion. ford announced plans yesterday to elinate more than a third of its lincoln dealers nationwide in an effort to revamp the brand. keep an eye on umm brands. shares were lower in late trade after reporting a slight drop in u.s. ofit. finally, cash for couch potatoes? that's ght. a new monitoring service went to work this wek in london putting people to work helping fight

crime while watching cameras on their laptops. a bronx bomber benching, tampa makes plaid its new fad and the heat get hemped on. plus, the miami heat's dane shows why he's the new king of south beach. your early morning sports headlines are just ahead. we're still dealing with two slow-moving storm systems, one in new england and the other in california. your wednesday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, late news out of england that natio story soccer team liverol has been sold to the owners of the boston red sox for an undisclosed amount. after all the hype over the off season acquisitions of the miami heat, last night, the big three made their debut for all of three minutes. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlin. good morning. a new era began last night for the miami heat, but just minutes into their preseason debut, the big three became the big two. three minutes in, dwyane wade pulled up while chasing handleton. he had toeave the game with a strained right hamstring and

will return in a couple of weeks. now they've got lebron. he had 18. chris bosh added 20. don't happened them the trophy just yet. it's only the preseason. if yankees have made a big move. the manager has pulled a.j. burnett o of the starting rotation, making the $16 million paid pitcher the highest pitches in the league. >> it gives us the flexibility to do that. a.j. was outstanding for us last year in the playoffs. it's not easy. there are tough decisionsthat you have to make. and you justify make them. >> so the yankees will start c.c. sabathia tonigt. the phil's roy haliday faces wolf. >> it looks flat out there in this series.

you've seen the blackout webs you've seat the whiteouts and we're going to plaid out. >> the rays manager wants everyone to wear plaid to the game. back in august, plaid was worn. the rays are mad for plaid. i think being around all those retirement homes is wearing off on them. that's your early look at sports on "early today. i' fred roggin. >> "early today" sports is brought to you by just for men hair color. live forward. well, is mtv reviving a fan favorite with justin bieber as host? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, with the weight of the world and his party's future squarely on his shoulders, the president shows his sense of humor is doing jusfine. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this wednesday morning. here is another look at your forecast. rain is going to move up through eastern new england. it will go up into bosto then new hampshire and vermont later today. the rest of the middle of the country, the southeast, even the mid-atlantic today will look for a nice day. watch out for more rain showers moving through arizona today. phoenix, amazing yesterday. the hail and the thunderstorms, you just don't get that type of weather. they will look better for you on thursday. much of the east looks nice on thursday,too. that storm system pulls out of the new england. if you're watching us on wsii in

winston salem, north carolina, enter the world of artwork that will trip your senses. look again at the southeastern sensor contemporary art. that's your event of the day on "early today." now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. several big hollywood prects and actors are making news this week. despite reports that emma stone would play redded headed spider-man interest mary watson in the latest upcoming flick, she's instead going to play blond haired love interest gwenn stacey. tom hanks is close to becoming the first cast member to sign up for sleeping dogs. allen alda fans will get to see the former mash star in two upcoming films, a comedy.

elsewhere, a pivotal whpist whipping lawsuit against a club has been dropped. the lawyer who brought the suit ha issued a written apology. finally, reports say mtv is bringing back the celebrity prank show pumped with justin bieber as host. i hope we're not seeing punked with that report. >> yeah. it's not going t be the same. that was revolutionary when they first had that punk thing, and now -- >> ashton kutcher. >> i'm waiting for by-eber's 15 minutes to be over. now to the nation's capital that proved even the commander in chief is immune to the occasional set malfunction. >> we cannot sustain -- oops. was that my -- oh, goodness. that's all right.

all of you know who i am. >> the president was addressing an audience of fortune magazine's 300 top women. they joked about it, but moved on after joking that someone backstage was probly sweating bullets. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of theay today on your nbc station.

4:28 is our time right now. 52 degrees outside as we look at a picture of the capitol dome on thence morning. good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to news 4 for this wednesday, october 6th, 120. this morning it looks like he is expanding his target area. police have 87 reports of break-ins in fairfax county. news 4 jackie benson reports. >> reporter: the weekend burglaries have confounded residents of this high-end gated community in virginia. >> right now i put mylarm system on all the time, even when i go to bed. i think this happened to this lady. the alarm went on. she didn't go down. it went on again. >> reporter: in addition to then

trans gate. >> i go around at least once a week and check my windows. houses are bigger in here. so there's maintenance people here, landscaping people. so you a are a little more aware. >> reporter: but of the four homes broken into on riding cb drive in the oveight hours saturday and sunday, three were through unlocked doors or windows. >> going in real quick, grabbing at they can. right now 's purses and money clips, and getting out of the residence as quick as possible. >> reporter:he big question at this point, are the crimes the work of the incredibly prolific burglar who hit 90 cars and homes since august? >> they are in communication with each other learning about the incidents that they had. >> reporter: police in