this morning on "early today," benefits flat-line. word that social security recipients will go without a cosof living increase for a second straight year. end of the tunnel. engineers in chile make final preparations for the rescue of 33 trapped miners. and flying solo. the world's first commercial spacecraft reaches a new the world's first commercial spacecraft reaches a new milestone. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hi, everybody, good morning. great to ha you with us today, i'm thomas roberts. and today we begin with more fuel for the anti-washington fire. as if voters don't seem angry

enough this election year, the governnt is expected to announce this week that more than 58 million social security recipients will not get a cost of living increase in their monthly benefits next year. that would mark only the secon year without an increase since automatic adjustments for inflation were adopted back in 1975. the first was this year. although it's n their doing, the timing couldn't be worse for democrats as they approach an election in which they are in danger of losing their majorities in both the house, as well as the senate. the end of the two-month odyssey is finally near an end for the 33 trapped miners in chile as rescuers have finished drilling an escap shaft and made final preparations to bring the men to the surface. if all goes according to plan the first miner is expected to be lifted to safety as early as wednesday morng. nbc's kerry sanders has more now from copiapo, chile. >>reporter: the drill turned 622 meter into the earth and that was it. it punched through to the trapped miners.

[ bell rings ] and on the surface, the celebrations began. engineers, as if they'd just won the playoff a rush of emotions. and some wives and daughters pushed past police to thank the team who never gave up. >> we could see the video feed of the miners going crazy. we were going crazy. and just the fact that we did it. because, you know, we knew we could d it. >> reporter: at the controls, when the drill finally made it through, some of the hardest rock on earth, american jeff hart, who had only six hours' sleep in the last three days. >> this is the most difficult, most stressful well we've ever drilled. there's 33 lives at stake. you put an unbelievable amount of pressure on yourself to make it happen every single day. >> reporter: knowing that the moment everyone wants is now that much closer makes these next days that much more difficult. engineers have decided to reinforce the shaft with a steel sleeve.

a pipe that will go do 315 feet. the idea is to encase the hole to prevent rocks at the top falling down as the capsule comes up. government officials re will not say an exact date that the miners will be broug to the surface. but it's shaping up that it's going to look like probably wednesday. kerry sanders, nbc news, copiapo, chile. in new york city, eight suspects have been arraigned and one is still being sought in what police say was a vicious anti-gay gang attack. it happened early this month in the ronx. police say gang members beat and tortured a teen recruit for hours after learning he was gay. police say they then attacked another teen and oversaw the brutal torture of a 30-year-old man. the suspects are facing hate crime charges. but have not yet entered pleas. you know, just hours after that arraignment hearing, new yorkepublican gubernatorial candidate carl palladino fired after anti-gay remarks speaking

to orthodox jewish leaders. palladino said doesn't want children to be brainwashed into thinking homosexuality is acceptable. he went on to criticize his democratic opponent, attorney general andrew cuomo for marching in a gay pride parade earlier this year. cuomo later released a statement condemning palladino's quote stunning homophobia. now here's a look at some other stories. in montana a large piece of rock broke off from a hill, rolled and crashed right into a home, causing it to shift about two feet off of its foundation. the homeowner was inside at the time but not injured. damage caused by the 25 foot we boulder is so extensive the home is uninhabitable. local authorities are currently investigating the cause. in california, spaceship two made its first solo glide flight offering a glimpse into what space travel could be like. the more than 25 minute test flight the space vehicleas brought up to 45,000 feet and then released by its mother ship. but it did not fire its rocket

engine if it had it would have been climbing into space. it's part of the spaceship's regular test before its maiden voyage. more than 39,000 couples tied the knot yesterday on the date of 10-10-10. some cameere to the little white chapel, lining around the building, waiting, hoping that exchaing nuptials on the so-called lucky day will result in a marriage that's the perfect ten. good luck to them. and after marriage, well, came babies. a california couple welcomed their new baby emma marie into the world yesterday on 10-10-10. weighing in at 7 pounds 10 ounces. but her lucky streak didn't stop here. emma leeas born at 10 minutes after 10:00. cute little baby right there. now for a look at your national weather here's nbc's meeteologist bill karins with the nbc forecast. good weather stemming into day? >> nice weather. i'm just trying to get over the fact that that mother looked pretty good after just having a ten pound baby. >> no, seven pounds ten ounces.

>> oh, sevenpounds. i was like, whoo, ten-pound baby. that's a lot of work. let's talk about this columbus day forecast. the weather pattern out there on the coast. we are watching mild temperatures heading up the eastern seaboar cut off low in the middle of the country, damp weather out there. overall the weather pattern is not bad. much of the gorgeous continuation of our weekend from miami all the way to boston. the problem area, back to kansas city. omaha, a little cool, kind of raw out there this morning. we do have some thunderstorms that have pushed through oklahoma. and some of those are trying to clip just down to just north of dallas at this hour. but notice the worst of it right along the red river re. just exiting wichita falls. that will continue to push off toward the east into arkansas as you go throughout the day. not a lot of wet weather out there. but there is some it. so from dallas, a chance of thunderstorms. little rock, a chance of some wet weather, too, down to shreveport. later on tonight we're going to get a little rainalling in pennsylvania, and then tomorrow, in areas like new york city. but as far as today goes for this monday, looking pretty good. warm, too. 76 in minneapolis.

that's a look at your monday forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. lots of sunshine today, temperatures are going to be warm in memphis. look at that, 92 drees. we've already broken the record for the most 90 degree days in many areas of the tennessee valley. arizona today warm at 93. thomas, definitely a warm monday. >> thanks, bill. traders await the next step from the fed. the dollar fes the heat. and at what age do people get a little bit grumpy? the early morning business headlines are straight ahead. pl did katrine heigl's new romantic comedy live up to the big expectations at the box office this weekend? hillies go for the sweep while the rays try to stay alive. could the cowboys overcome three interceptions from their star quarterback? you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today," i'm thomas roberts and hear are some of your stop headlines this morning. tens thousands of north koreans got their first look at their leader in waiting after he made his first national appearance yesterday. kim jong-un joined kim jong-il in a massive military parade marking the 65th anniversary of the ruling workers party the wife of jailed nobel peace prize winner lu xiaobo says she's barred from communicating with media and friends. she says she was detained after visiting her husband in northeast china yesterday. he won the nobel last week for seeking greater rights in the nation. a gay rights rally in serbia descended into violence yesterdaafter police clashed with thousands of anti-gay protesters. dozens were injured and several rioters were arrested in the country's firstay rights parade in nearly a decade. and the population of the international space station has doubled. a russian spacecraft brought three new members over the

weekend. two russian cosmonauts and american astronaut for what will be a nearly six-month stay at the orb bitting lab. now here's an early look at how wall street is going to be kicking off the day. the dow opens at 11,006. the s&p rose 7 points and the nasdaq added 18. we take alook at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo the nikkei was closed for a holiday. while inong kong the hang seng climbed 263 points. wall street will likely be stuck in low gear this week as investors await what they now believe is inevitable action from the government to pump cash into the markets boost the economy. after friday's surprisingly anemic job numbers, the likelihood the federal reserve will buy more access like treasury bonds to stimulate the economy will have investors sitting, waiting, and paying attention to practically nothing else. most analys agree the employment situation leaves the fed with little choice, after saying last month it was prepared to intervene. with the only question now being when.

the release today of the minutes of last month's fed meeting could give hints into their thinking on new stimulus measures. this week's data, including consumer and producer prices, trade deficit numbers, retail sales and consumer sentiment are unlikely to sway cautious traders until the fed makes its move. the anticipation of furer action from the fed has al take a heavy toll on the dollar. which recently has hit new lows against key currencies. the dollars's decline coincides with increasing fears of a global currency war, with many nationslready intervening to stop their currencies from rising, while china faces mountingressure to allow its currency to appreciate. even big-name earnings results out this week from the likes of intel, jpmorgan chase, google and general electric are unlikely to have trading sways in either direction. and a survey for an english cable channel pinpoints 52 at the age when people start to get grumpy. somehow the survey also figured that infants laugh up to 300 times a day ile teens laugh on

anage of 6 and those over 60 chuckle only 2 1/2 times a day. which is basically not enough. so how sweep it is for the phillies. a ray of home for tampa and mistakes lead to losses in the nfl. and speaking of mistakes, a series of errors has atlants second baseman hoping for a second chance afterone of the worst playoff performances in history, your early morning sports headlines straight ahead. it's going to be a warmfall day with a few wet spots. your four cast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

hi, evebody, good morning. if you're just waking up this is "early today." in sports the philadelphia phillies are about to do battle for their third straight national league pennant than to another ace in the hole. here's nbc's fr roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. back-to-back world series apearances froshore gotten philadelphia fans used to winning. a third may be in the horizon after the phillies swept the reds game three in cincinnati. fifth inning, ase utley, into the stands, a solo shot and the phils were up 2-0. that's all the all-star cole hamills needed. he struck out nine. phils won 2-0 to sweep the reds. philly advances. now we go to atlanta game three. braves and giants. san francisco down 2-1 in the

ninth. in ct, they were down to their final out. but huff slapped a single to right. the game was tied at two. the next batter was buster posey, ripped the grunter to second. right between the legs of brooks conrad. his third error of the game. freddy sanchez scored the game winner. giants held on to win 3-2. they lead the series 2-1. in texas game four, longoria snapped out of the postseason slump. a two-run shot in the fifth. the rays avoid elimination, forcing a game five in tampa on tuesday. now to the nfl eagles visiting san francisco. the niners with five turnovers down seven, smith couldn't find an open receiver and fumbled the ball. aostly mistake. 62-yard return for pay dirt. philadelphia held on to win 27-24. sats visiting the cards. late in the fourth. new orleans down three. drew brees picked off by dominic crowmartie. he went 28 yards for the score.

bris threw three picks. cards beat the saints 30-20. the super bowl champs fell 3-2. big problems in big "d." romo threw three picks of his own. the cowboys would tie it, but then chris johnson in for the go-ahead score. titans won it 34-27. dallas drops to 1-3. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a great one, i'm fred roggin. >> "early today" sports is brought to you by just for men hair color. live forward. no film ran away with it this weekend at t box office. but which onebombed? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, could a 34year-old killer whale give birth to her seventh calf? u're watching "early today."

welcome back on this monday morning. some big storms are rolling right along the red river. oklahoma and texas anyone driving interstate 35 north of dallas or south down from oklahoma ci is going to have to deal with those storms. they're going to continue to slide toward arkansas during the day and even dallas could end up with some storms during the morning rush hour. the forecast does call for those thunderstorms in dalas. we should be y for the most part. everywhere east of the appalachians. we're looking at a pretty gorgeous day down here from miami to lanta. the carolinas look fantastic today. mid-atlantic looks pretty good. ew york city, the big columbus day parade should be fine, 75 and sunny. some of that wet weath, though, a little storm is going

to develop and head through pennsylvania and into areas of new jersey and southern new england as we go into tuesday. so, tomorrow will be a little different. but today looks really ce around the nation. enjoy. if you're watching us on ksdk-5 in st. louis missouri, celebrate art with dozens of shows and performances at concert halls, museums, theaters throughout the city at the american arts experience, st. louis. that's yr "early today" event of the day, thomas. >> a lot o kids, a lot of parents out there looking for something to do today if they get to enjoy the day off. all right, bill, thanks now he's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment for you. whatever americans were doing this fall weekend, not many were going to the movies. that actually helped last weend's box office champs "the social network" remain at the top of theeap. holding up very well, dropping only 31%, all of its audience from the opening, "the social netrk" took the top spot with $15.5 raising the total to just over $46 million. expected by most to win the romantic comedy "life ase know

it" starring katherine heigl and josh duhamel opened close but disappointing second with $14.6 milln in sales. the horse racing drama "secretaria starring diane lane did somewhat better than most predicted, crossing the finish line in third with $1.6 million. the one film experts were mixed on was "my soul to take." horror fans must have had some better things to do this weeke ecause this one opened weakly in fifth place, unage to get past a meager $7 million. i mean it's kind of sad, bill, when weay something is meager at 7 million cks. >> they cost a lot of money to make, advertising and everything else. >> it's the 3-d thing. >> did you see "the associate network" yet? >> i need to. i've heard just a lot of good reviews. >> i went to go see it 9 opening weekend. it's really, really good. gives you an incredible look at how this has taken oer all of our lives now and where it came from. the small ideas that become the big things. this next story comes to us from news channel 2 in orlando, flora, where one of nature's

miracles was witnessed. a 34-year-old killer whale went into labor, giving birth to her senth calf this weekend. is typical in labor, the newborn's tail just out, just before it emerges. the seven foot long350-pound alf comes after a 17-month-long pregnancy. and mom a calf are healthy and strong, swimming and bonding with one another. bill i know we were talking earlier about that mom that had theirst baby on 10-10-10. >> oh, that's rht. >> being 7 pounds, 10 ounces. the calf is 350 pounds. mom and baby are doing well, though. >> skiths is just incredible. they immediately swim so well and breathe. i love it. >> pretty gorgeous. all right, bll, thanks so much. i'm thomas roberts. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

clear starlet night as the sun prepares to rise over the nation's dam. not quite as warm. we'll have the forecast. >> welcome to news 4 today for this monday, october 11th, 2010. we have a commuter alert for thoseof you who ride metro. if you plan on heading into the city for the columbus day holiday, you will have delays to deal with day. two metro stations are closed for track work and several

stations will have reduced service throughout the day. the ferrogate west will be closed all day for track work. no blue or orange lines at the metro center station. bus service will be provided to help commuters. riders can also expect delays on the red and yellow lines. red line, metro suggests adding 30 minutes to your trip if you are travelingbetween twinbrook and shadybrook. and huntington for landscaping repairs. add 30 minutes if you're traveling to those places. service will resume 5:00 tomorrow morning. >>starting today, washington area roads are being transformed into a hollywood production set for transformers 3. filming will shut down columbia pike in arlington to