place. many of my friends have boats, we go out fishing and stuff, it reminds me of him and kind of puts me in a happy place. >> that's all for now. i'm chris hansen. for all of us at nbc news, i'm chris hansen. for all of us at nbc news, thanks for joining us. this morning on "early today," tragedy at the track. a horrific crash claims the life of one of car racing's most well known drivers. remembering the dream, a civil rights icon is immortalized in the nation's capital. and end of the line, a show of solidarity after a young mother and her crying baby get of solidarity after a young mother and her crying baby get booted off a bus. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm veronica de la cruz.

today begins with the loss of a champion. today, the racing world is mourning the death of indianapolis 500 winner dan wheldon. three other drivers were hurt in the wreck including will power. here is nbc's fred roggin. >> good morning. an incredibly sad and tragic news from yesterday's indy car race. driver dan wheldon crashed. he was one of several cars that hit the wall and burst into flames. the two-time indy champion died with his wife and children by his side. we'll have more on this tragedy coming up in sports. >> thank you, fred. in a sign that the occupied wall street protesters are in it for the long haul, close to

$300,000 in cash has been donated. they also have a storage space filled with donated supplies for those camped out in lower manhattan. in chicago, at least 175 people were arrested as they joined the demonstrations against corporate greed, bank bailoutes and high unemployment. meanwhile, the movement has spread from lower manhattan to cities around the world. in germany, activists have been camped out in front of the central european bank in front further and rome has been cleaning up its streets after protests turned violent. cars were torched and bank windows were smashed. dozens were injured and 12 people were arrested. at the supreme court yesterday, 19 people, including prominent princeton activist cornell winston were arrested. they had both anti-war and anti-corporate greed mess aenls. tens of thousands gathered

in washington yesterday for the official dedication of the martin luther king jr. national memorial. nbc's brian moore has the details. ♪ >> reporter: on a brilliant autumn day on washington's national mall, dr. martin luther king jr. took his place alongside lincoln, jefferson and washington. >> you will stand for all time among monuments to those who fathered this nation and those who defended it. >> tens of thousands attended the official dedication of the king national memorial. an event that weaved together musical tributes with political calls for social justice. >> do what we must do to create a better world. >> reporter: it was a celebration of a simple minister turned martyr, a towering figure in american history who stood barely 5'7" tall. >> now he's 30 feet tall along down on everybody. >> reporter: for dr. king's

children, it was a day to celebrate a legacy that lives on. >> so while we commemorate his memory today with this great memorial, let us not confuse or forget what he stood for and died for. >> reporter: a day to honor a man and a dream of peace of racial equity that echos across time. >> the true measure of any man is how his message continues on. >> reporter: a message now etched in stone in the nation's capital. brian moore, nbc news, washington. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. portland transit officials are in damage control mode after a bus driver kicked a passenger off because she couldn't quiet her crying baby. it led to several leaving the bus in protest. in response to the early october incident, the company has issued an apology but has not fired the driver. it was an emotional day for thousand necessary maryland who honored 89 fallen firefighters.

the special service at the national firefighter memorial paid homage to those who died in 2010 and 17 who per rushed in past years. the names of each firefighter was added to the memorial wall. the walking dead roam the streets of atlanta during the annual zombie walk on sunday. hundreds made the downtown area look like it had been taken over by the undead as they marched in make yumm and costume. this was the fifth year of the event. and finally, over the weekend, hundreds hurled themselves off the longest steel bridge in the western hemisphere to take part in west virginia's bridge day. with thousands watching, base jumpers took flight from 876 feet above new river. adrenaline junkys have jumped from the bridge over the years, but bridge day is the only day it's legal. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill

karins with the weather channel forecast. you could not pay me enough money to do that. >> i would need a guaranteed backup chute, like it has to work. yeah, well, you're not going to get one 37. >> no. they don't have enough for a backup chute. good morning, everybody. we have an interesting development in the gulf of mexico. we have a tropical system that's beginning to form overnight. this could become a tropical storm as we go throughout the day today or tomorrow. it should be heading up towards florida. we're not talking about a devastating storm, but we're talking about another big rainmaker possibly heading up the east coast. the hurricane is going to send a reconnaissance into this mess during the day today. we'll find out if this becomes the latest tropical storm as we go throughout the afternoon hours. if you're in florida, be prepared for a couple rainey days here. the green on the map is all rain from the keys to miami. as that low heads northward, somewhere near tampa and

pensacola, all this moisture is going to spread north. if anyone has any plans in florida over the next two days, it's going to be a soaker. then the forecast is going to merge that system with another one coming across the midwest. those two are going to merge on the east coast and create a rainey scenario for coastal areas near i-95 up into new england thursday and friday. the west coast is looking high and dry and no problems at all. the forecast for today, as we mentioned, a soaker down in florida. not bad from d.c. to raleigh to charlotte. middle of the country is okay. just showers out there around kansas city as that cold front sits over you and still a hot day in dallas, near 90 degrees. that's a look at your national forecast. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. so there's the wet weather in florida. not bad in new york city. cold front goes through and makes it breezy during the afternoon hours. all of northern new england is just fine today. colorado looks okay.

temperature in pueblo around 69. we'll take a look at that soggy east coast forecast, coming up. >> don't say that. 60 degrees today. not bad. >> it could be worse. the week ahead on wall street, a deal to help shore up kodak and why your boss need not worry about ambition from below. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, this movie and its big stars made big news this weekend for all the wrong reasons. you're watching "early today."

very good morning to you and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. iran's supreme leader and warning the u.s. any action taken against his country will result in a resolute response from iran. accusations iran was behind the plan to kill the saudi

ambassador in washington are an attempt to distract people from the occupy wall street protests. a commander says it was time to, quote, tear down the symbol of tyranny. several days of heavy rains killed at least 66 people in central america, including el salvador, guatemala and honduras. evacuations are under way due to more rain. this weekend, sesame street's youtube channel was reportedly hacked and replaced with portion graphic images. sesame street issued an apology and said the site was compromised. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,144. the s&p gained 20 points. the nasdaq rose 47. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei was up 131 points

while in hong kong, the hang seng jumped 372. it's going to be a busy week on wall street. but don't be surprised if investors top priority is overseas. pressure is mounting on european officials as the clock ticks closer to a self-imposed deadline to resolve the financial crisis by november 3rd. back on the street, a slew of earnings could push the dow even further into positive territory. quarterly reports will roll in from heavyweights apple, microsoft, intel, and after the bell today, ibm. on the economic calendar, two readings on the troubled housing market. numbers on construction and existing home sales for september aren't expected to show much improvement. in deal news, the recent national gas boom has filled kinder morgan's offer to buy

rival el paso. elsewhere, kodak has struck a deal that could help keep it afloat. it will reportedly receive $10 million plus royalties from imax in exchange for its laser technology. walmart could feel the effects of two tops resignations from its china operations the. and finally, in honor of national bosses day, give your boss a boost of confidence with a new survey that finds 76% of employees polled have no interest in taking their boss's job. the world series matchup is set. and an upset even coaching squaring off fighting in the nfl. plus, more on the tragedy that stunned the world of auto racing. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and just what the east coast

needs, more rain. i'm joking. we've had enough. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, back with more now on yesterday's tragic, fatal wreck at the las vegas motor speedway. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines.

good morning. as we reported earlier, with indy car driver dan wheldon tragically killed yesterday in a 15-car accident at the las vegas speedway. here is the vice president from wheldon's car. you can see smoke from an accident in front of him that triggered a massive pileup. wheldon clipped paul tracy sending him airborne. his car burst into flames. wheldon was air lifted to a hospital and later died from the injuries he suffered in the crash. indy officials canceled the race and the drivers returned to the track for a five-lap salute. he is survived by his wife ask two children. dan wheldon was 33 years old. now to baseball, the rangers will face st. louis in the world series. they made the playoffs on the last day of the season. now they're national league champs. world series begins on wednesday. nfl, tom brady put on a clinic against the cowboy peps down three with two minutes to

play. brady drove down the field for the touchdown. the pat's won it. the 49ers had their win of the season. everybody was talking about what happened after the game. both head coaches got together. jim schwartz not happy about the way jim harbaugh shook his hand and patted him on the back so he went after him. the eagles were plagued by issues yesterday. rex grossman picked off for times. bears and vikings. one of these days, the teams will learn not to kick it to devin hester. until then, here is another punt return for a touchdown. bear won it, 29-10. who needs a qb when you can do this? jacoby ford down the sideline, 101 kick return. raiders passed the browns.

that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. reports of a new hollywood super couple? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. if you're lucky, it's a once in a lifetime moment you'll never forget, but only the most fortunate get to renew those vows nearly three quarters of a century later. you're watching "early today."

good monday morning to you. welcome back to "early today." forecast in florida has rain heavy today and tomorrow starting n south southern portion of the state and working its way up to tampa this afternoon. we're dry in the deep south from mississippi to texas. showers possible around kansas city, st. louis. nothing too big. there's a few showers in new england this morning, but this afternoon should be dry. by the time we get to tomorrow, all that heavy rain down in florida is going to start heading northward. eventually, it will make its way up into d.c., baltimore, eventually up into the big cities like new york and boston. if you're watching us on wavy, norfolk, virginia, see wildlife including tigers, primates and birds at the trail of the tiger, virginia zoo. >> did you see that guy? >> pretty cat. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. makes make it two in a row for the big screen's rock em sock em

robots. it earned $16.3 million. the remake of the 1980s dance classic "footloose" came up just short with $16.1 million. in third, another remake. "the thing" which reportedly cost just under $40 million grabbed a week $8.7 million. and in what could be the flop of the year, starring steve martin, owen wilson and jack black landed in ninth place with just over $3 million. looking ahead this week, lindsay lohan must appear in a probation assessment hearing. row lan could face nearly a year and a half in jail if the judge decides she didn't live up to her probation commitments. bradley cooper and jennifer lopez are quote/unquote casually dating. lindsay lohan back in jail again, maybe?

i just can't keep track, that he. >> we haven't had a story about her getting a job lately. >> i happen. and you were going to say something about j.lo, or maybe not. >> i'll stay away from that. >> mum is the word. this comes to us from wvit connecticut, 90-year-old helen and 99-year-old stanley couldn't think of a better way to celebrate 72 years of marriage than to say i do again. they, along with hundred hes of other couples renewed their vows at a sunday mass. married since 1940, they've managed to stay together through up thes and downs by performing a daily ritual by saying i love you every day. >> that's all it takes. i love you every day. >> that's it? >> that's all i do when i want to watch football all day. >> i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today," just your

first stop of the day on your nbc station.

good morning, everybody. it is 63 degrees on this monday, october 17th. i'm jim handly in today for joe krebs, who is off this morning. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to "news 4 today." new from overnight, police are trying to figure out who is responsible for a deadly stabbing from northeast washington. this happened at 1:30 this morning along "i" street. police say the victim was

stabbed multiple times. the victim's name has not been released. so far no arrest has been made. this morning indy fans are mourning the loss of indy champ dan wheldon. the worst crash in indy history happened when two cars bumped tires. two cars went airborne slamming into the catch fence. one of those was wheldon's. the 33-year-old was a racing veteran. he won the indy 500 twice, most recently this past may. >> he was a great friend, one of my best friend, a great teammate. >> we're all very sad. it's a big loss. he'll be missed. and i just feel for his family. >> the race was cancelled. the drivers did a five-lap tribute after wheldon's death was made public.