i'm jim cramer, see you tomorrow. >> there were a whole bunch of oil companies. >> i had a question and the question was how much did you cut them which? >> do you want me to answer? >> how much do you want me to cut them by? >> not true. >> by how much did you cut them by? you'll get your chance in a moment. i'm still speaking. the answer is i don't believe people think that's the case. that wasn't a question. >> we're a little off topic. >> we're completely off. >> i thought we were talking about immigration. >> if i can have you sit down, governor romney. >> if i can have you sit down, governor romney. thank you. captions paid for by nbc-universal television it is the morning after the

second presidential debate, and while both sides will claim victory, one thing everyone can agree on, the president showed up with something to prove. according to a cnn orc flash poll, 46% of registered voters thought president obama did the better job. that's compared to 39% who put governor romney on top. that is a stark contrast from denver when an overwhelming majority 67% gave romney the win. a similar split occurred in cbs news's instant poll where 37% of uncommitted voters gave the president last night's victory compared to 30% who chose romney. the high stakes presidential debate covered a lot of ground and nbc's steve handlesman has the latest from the campus of hofstra university in new york. steve, good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, lynn. thanks. good morning from the campus in hofstra on long island. both candidates seemed on their game. this was high stakes.

barely polite. a political brawl. >> very little of what governor romney just said is true. >> reporter: determined to stop his slide in the polls, president obama hit hard from the start. >> governor romney says he's got a five point plan. governor romney doesn't have a five point plan, he has a one point plan, and that plan is to make sure that folks at the top play by a different set of rules. >> reporter: governor romney hit back, a sharp exchange on ennerng gi. >> in the last four years you've cut permits and licenses on federal lands and federal waters in half. >> various deductions. >> reporter: uncommitted voter mary celano asked about taxes and the debt. >> that's what i've done. >> i will not under any circumstances reduce the share paid by the highest income taxpayers. >> reporter: moderator candy crowley. >> settled? >> no, it's not settled. >> it took them a long time to say this was an attack by a

terrorist group. >> to suggest anyone in my team would suggest that we've played politics is offensive. >> reporter: michael jones, an obama voter in '08. now. >> reporter: we've created five million jobs and we are making progress. we saved an auto industry that was on the brink of collapse. >> reporter: median incomes down 4300 a family and 2300 americans out of work, that's what this election is about. >> reporter: this debate was about the sharpest of differences. now the voters weigh in with this race virtually tied and election day three weeks away. from the campus o hofstra university on long island. i'm steve handlesman. lynn, back to you. >> thank you very much. andrea mitchell has been leading our truth squad. they began with the disagreement you heard over domestic energy and oil production. take a listen. >> reporter: oil production did

fall by 14% on federal lands on shore and offshore, brian, b that was only in one year. from 2010 to 2011 and it was largely the result of fallout from the deep water horizon oil spill in the gulf of mexico in 2010. mr. obama is right that since he took office oil production on federal lands is up in both 2009 and 2010 oil production increased even with the 14% drop last year. overall production on federal lansds is still up 10.6% since 2008. one or thing, in terms of natural gas production. natural gas production is down and declining since 2003 according to the energy information administration mainly because of off shore natural gas drilling, brian. >> andrea, another topic early on and this has come up sporadically during the campaign. what did mitt romney say and when did he say it about, quote, letting detroit go bankrupt, more specifically general

motors? the president kind of threw down on that topic tonight. >> reporter: well, the president was referring to a newspaper piece that he wrote in 2008. the governor never said let them go bankrupt. he said he was in favor of a private bailout. mr. obama is correct about the fact that most people agree, private companies were not about to invest inetroit back then, only the federal government would and it paid off. >> nbc's andrea mitchell and brian williams. with just five days till the third and final presidential debate in florida, today president obama travels first to iowa and then to what may be the deciding state of this entire election, ohio. paul ryan will also be in the buckeye state and he'll be joinedy the former secretary of state, connedy rice. biden campaigns in nevada. an early victory for the

obama campaign. in a one sentence order the high court let stand an appeals court ruling on an obama campaign lawsuit that says they can vote in the final three days before election day. 200893,000 voters cast their ballots in those final three days of ohio's early voting including a surge of minority voters. there are now 32 states and the district of columbia that allow early in person voting. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. we are going to begin with a violent scuffle at oktoberfest. a man arguing with police slapped an officer across the face. that set off this scene. bystanders applauding the officer as he took down the unruly citizen. the video has gone viral and internal affairs is investigating. the 16 year veteran is still on duty. after 46 years a piece of

stolen property was returned to its rightful owner. that property happened to be a painting valued at about $4 million. the fbi discovered a plot to sell the stolen artwork when they seized the piece. get this, the owners only paid about 750 bucks for the painting. and finally it was quite a sight in california, when a 12,000 pound potato sculpture arrived at an 18 foot fork in the road. sounds like a bill karins joke. the photo op is part of an anniversary celebration. the group towed the 6 foot spud out west. now for a look at your national and regional weather, we check in with nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> that's fine. >> i try. >> i would have showed up with the butter, the sour cream and the bacon. >> i'll be there with the ketchup. let's make a couple french fr s

fries. >> big huge frier. big storm in the west. two or three days worth of storminess in the northern plains, great lakes around chicago. this storage is going to be a slow moving one. it's going to have a good punch to it today and a chance of severe weather. right now the storm is located here north of nebraska over the top of south dakota. it's not so much severe thunderstorms, it's very windy in the northern plains. we have warm air out ahead of it. classic setup. cold, high pressure. no snow with the system for the most part. east coast, you're fine today. the storm will avoid you until friday. we have some rain out there. bismarck is clearing out. fargo, the cold rain is going to arrive slowly. sioux falls, will have some showers. minneapolis will have some rain. later this afternoon as the cold front heads into the warm air across arkansas, the ozarks all the way back to st. louis, right down the mississippi river through memphis, we'll have a

chance of a few torn nad does. won't be widespread but there will be serious storms to watch in the area late this afternoon. keep an eye on that with you and your family late today. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. there's the chances of thunderstorms. indianapolis, that will be very late in the day as that squall line moves your way. areas like milwaukee, the storm will linger near you. colder temperatures in the days ahead also. all of that storminess in the middle of the country. slow moving east coast. able to get it friday. bill, thanks so much. coming up, 14-year-old making your iphone? a new england earthquake. and an nfl coach fired. headlines are straight ahead. plus the government raids the company suspected in the deadly meningitis outbreak. you're watching "early today."

making news right now, federal agents raided the massachusetts pharmacy suspected in the deadly meningitis outbreak. an attorney for the pharmacy complained it was pointless since the drug maker has been cooperating. meanwhile, some lawmakers want the justice department to get involved. 19 new cases were reported just yesterday. a magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck near hollis, maine, last night. that's near portland. the jolt was felt in boston and even connecticut. struck like a bomb. that is how a museum investigator describes the stealing. no word how the thieves slipped past so called state of the art security. wall street will kick off the day with the dow starting at 13,551 after climbing 127 points yesterday. the s&p rose 14. the nasdaq jumped 36.

taking a look at overseas trading on this wednesday. in tokyo, the nikkei jumped 105 poirchlts while in hong kong the hang seng length 209. so much for all the doom and gloom. brighter stocks helped them shift back into gear. johnson and johnson all turned in better than expected reports. ibm beat earnings but missed sales forecasts which could take a toll on the dow today. intel weighed in with lackluster profits. ceo of city back michael corbett held his first conference call following the surprise resignation from former chief. >> victor: ram pandit. elsewhere, a 123 systems is now bankrupt despite nearly $250 million in government grants. france's privacy regulators say google's new privacy policy

violates their rules. france could impose heft at this fines if google fails to modify its policy. fox con has admitted to hiring student interns as young as 14 to work in its chinese factories. meanwhile, rumor has it apple is ready to unveil the long awaited ipad on tuesday. we all know using your phone at a restaurant is a no-no. snapping photos with your phone is okay. this according to 67% of diners surveyed. forget 90210. 10065, a very exclusive area of new york's upper east side is now the plies iest zip code in the nation sending swanky new jersey suburb alpine to second place. atherton in silicon valley, saga upon anything and san francisco suburb hillsboro rounded out the top five.

the yanks reach the brink and some superstar socks sell for big bucks. plus, u.s. soccer heads for the final round of the world cup qualifying. your sports headlines are straight ahead. lynn, you know i'm not comfortable talking about my incompetent credible wealth on tv. your forecast is coming up. a little active in the middle of the nation. you're watching "early today."

in sports, first we head to detroit for the a.l. championship series. the tigers delmon young hit a solo homer. miguel cabrera had a double. they pitched shutout ball through the eight wink. the 2-4 win maids it sudden death. eagles head coach andy reid fired the defensive coordinator marking the first time reed has dismissed a coach. in hockey, the nhl's latest proposal to the players proposal is highlighted by a 50-50 split in hockey related revenue and a full 82 game season starting november 2nd. let's go to soccer now. clint dempsey had two goals for a 3-1 u.s. team victory over guatemala. and finally, get this, a gallon of barbecue sauce intended for use on mcdonald's mcjordan

sandwich in 1992, remember those, well, it sold for nearly $10,000 on ebay. the sandwich was named after michael jordan of course during a chicago bulls run of the nba championship. it was a regional promotion sold for a limited time and the first mcdonald's sandwich named after a person. i wonder what mclin sauce would go for. super bowl puts a ring on their halftime entertainer. obama or romney, who gets honey boo boo's vote. bath and tombstones. we'll show you a spook take cue lar display. this is "early today" only on nbc.

well, welcome back to "early today." if you're just joining us, the weather news you need to know today, severe weather is likely arkansas into areas of extreme western tennessee and also portions of northern mississippi, even as far north as st. louis. a few tornadoes are likely. some super cell thunderstorms, damaging winds and large hail. that will be the biggest concern late today. east coast, you look dry. no problems today. the exception being florida with a chance of showers and some thunderstorms. severe weather once again possible for this afternoon the big story. bill, thanks so much. for a little entertainment news. reality tv star honey boo boo is choosing sides in the presidential race. the 7-year-old reality star told jimmy kimmel says she supports

president obama. that was only after he told her about his interview where he said mitt romney priefrd snooki over her. speaking of kelly and michael, they'll interview michelle obama. it's the first lady's second appearance this year. "dancing with the stars" spoiler alert. last night bristol palin became the fifth contestant to be kicked off the show's season. the nfl has announced it will be beyonce that will highlight february 3rd's halftime show. she posted a photo of herself sporting eye black. she's the first younger female to perform. >> she's a little pretty. >> just a little, just a smidge. since janet jackson's wartd droeb malfunction in 2004. finally in australia, korean artist psy dropped in on the set of hue jackman's gym nam. >> the 15 seconds is just --

it's going. >> we're stretching it out as much as humanly possible. i will find a place for him to go every day of the week just so i can cover it. and this comes to us from nbc 33 in fort wane, indiana, where one homeowner spares no expense. every halloween kevin mors transforms his home into a lavish fright fest. he deck core rates his front yard with witches, skeletons, over 300 tombstones. his house of horror scarce up a lot of attention. kevin does his best to keep it fun. kid friendly. dr. seuss too. i'm lynn berry, this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

you also have investments through a caymans trust. >> we're a little off topic here. >> completely off immigration. >> we were talking about immigration. >> we were. >> mr. president. if i could have you sit down, governor romney. thank you. >> a long night of testy exchanges as president obama and mitt romney turn up the tension in their second debate. good morning, everyone. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. new this morning, a man is in the hospital after getting shot by someone on a motorcycle. it happened around third street and livingston road in southeast

washington. around 12:45 this morning, the gunman on motorcycle fired a gun. the bullet hit another man in the leg. the gunman then crashed his bike and took off running. police are still looking for him. the group who launched a controversial advertising campaign on metro is at it again. here's the new ad from the freedom defense initiative. "soon shall we cast terror into the hearts of the unbelievers." and there's a picture of the burning twin towers on september 11th. this controversy started when the american freedom defense initiative released an ad describing muslim radicals as savages. the group says this is in direct response to the council on american relations countercampaign to the original ad, that ad calls on people to support israel and defeat jihad. the man in charge of the dulles rail project is stepping