and of course corinne bailey rae. tomorrow night raine wilson will join -- and the gourd lady! we'll be right back with "jimmy fallon." [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on "early today" storm crashing. haiti's survivors go for cover from hurricane tomas. moms are accused of taking their kids on a shoplifting spree. and out of this world. never-before-seen images from a journey billions of miles in the making. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry.

today we begin with tracking tomas. a hurricane warning is in effect for the earthquake-ravaged nation of haiti as tomas, now at hurricane strength, churns northeast in the caribbean sea. u.n. forces began evacuations in resettlement camps yesterday as haiti's poverty-stricken residents brace for the worst there. there are concerns the powerful storm could wreak havoc on the makeshift tent camps that house more than a million haitians, still struggling to recover from january's devastating earthquake. let's go right now to bill karins for the very latest on this storm. bill, good morning. >> unfortunately, lynn, tomas was a hurricane last night and is still intensifying. it is now in between jamaica and haiti. port-au-prince is where most of the population is, the biggest city by far. that's the capital right here. that looks to be safely away from the strongest winds, although they're still going to get a lot of heavy rain there. it's definitely western portions of haiti that bill see the worst

from this storm. we are expecting 15 inches of rain in the mountains, widespread mudslides. deforestation is a big problem so it's easy to get the mud slides and debris flow. minor wind damage and minor storm surge. it's a rainfall problem. thankfully the storm will be gone boy this time tomorrow but there's a good 24 hours of heavy rain in haiti. lynn, these people are in tents. can you imagine going through a hurricane in a tent. >> a million of them. that just puts it into perspective. bill, we'll continue to follow this story and thanks so much for the update. well, in a show of bipartisanship following tuesday's midterm elections, president obama says he'll meet with congressional leaders at the white house in two weeks, including newly 'em boldened republicans. in addition, a white house spokesman says the white house may be now open to an extension of bush era tax cuts for the nation's highest earners, if only for a limited time. but on capitol hill, the gop is striking a less conciliatory tone with senate minority leader

mitch mcconnell and house speaker-in-waiting john boehner vowing to repeal the health care overhaul. elsewhere the wait is over in the razor close washington state senate race. with democratic incoumbent patt murray being declared the winner over dino rossi. nbc news is also reporting democrat pat quinn is the apparent winner in the illinois gubernatorial race. quinn, who inherited the governor's mansion nearly two years ago, bested republican candidate bill brady. and the alaska senate race is still not called, although initial returns show write-in candidate lisa murkowski holds the advantage over republican joe miller. also this morning, we have twin plane crashes to tell you about that have claimed the lives of almost 100 people. cuban state media reports that a plane carrying 68 people went down in the central part of the country. sadly, there are no survivors and there are no survivors in the crash of a private plane in karachi, pakistan.

that's where 21 people were on board that aircraft. in both incidents, the pilot had trouble and they reported trouble before crashing. and the engine failure that prompted the world's biggest commercial aircraft to make an emergency landing thursday was probably caused by material failure or faulty design within the engine. that's according to the airline, qantas. it has grounded its fleet of airbus a-380s, a jet capable of carrying up to 800 people. here's a look at other stories making news. three texas moms are behind bars after allegedly trying to steal hundreds of dollars in clothing from a department store. security video shows the women between 18 and 23 years old bringing their five young children along for the crime, which lasted about 20 minutes before security stepped in. they will each face up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. the kids are now in the custody of relatives. police in washington state

are searching for suspects involved in a string of church burglaries. the latest break-in was caught on surveillance tape. masked thieves roaming around, eventually finding the finance office. the burglars managed to haul off a 1,000-pound safe with $18,000 inside. in michigan, a deer that found itself stuck in a wet spot is now on drier ground. after spending several hours trapped in a basement foundation of an unfinished house. the department of public works eventually fashioned a walkout so the seven-point buck could escape. and in new york, playing cards were inducted into the national toy hall of fame. a queen and a joker played go fish and solitaire while others just browsed the displays there. in a classic, the game of "life" was honored. the long-time favorite invented by milton bradley. and now for a look at your national regional weather, let's check in once again with bill

karins with the weather channel forecast. >> so your favorite board game. mine was remember the game "sorry"? >> that was a favorite, but at chutes and ladders. and also the game of "life" which would now probably include unemployment. >> get your house taken away from you by the bank. >> a little different game. let's chat about what happened out west yesterday. it's been an amazing spell of hot weather for the desert southwest and into southern california. we had temperatures near 100 degrees near san diego and l.a. yesterday. and this was about it. it's going to cool off from here. probably thankfully for some people. it was too hot, a very unusual weather pattern. we continue to watch some of these clouds. more of the flow is moving onshore. still very warm through the intermountain west all the way to montana we'll be in the 70s today, but there is a little cooler air coming onshore with the next storm system. as far as wet weather goes, this weekend it looks like it's going to be a little damp up here. right along the coast of oregon and washington do not count on a

lot of sunshine. so the forecast for today, instead of 90s, we've got you in the upper 80s from l.a. to san diego, palm springs, vegas and phoenix. not bad in san francisco. enjoy one decent day in the northwest before the rain moves in. that's a look at weekend forecast coming right up, lynn. >> thanks, bill. also coming up, better late than never for a market rally. and a surprising choice for one lotto-winning couple. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus get those glasses ready at the movies this weekend. another 3-d flick battles it out with your classic r-rated comedy. great finish in college football. the knicks shoot past the bulls an remembering a legend named

sparky. 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. mt. merapi, indonesia's volcano, is showing no signs of abating today, with fresh explosions more than doubling its death toll since it became active last week. over 100 people have been killed and dozens more injured, many with severe burns. this morning in pakistan at least 50 people have been killed in a suicide attack at a mosque during friday prayer. it's believed the bomber may have been targeting an anti-taliban activist. nasa says there's a 70% chance it will launch the space shuttle "discovery" this afternoon for what is expected to be its final voyage. the forecast at florida's kennedy space center calls for

partly cloudy skies today. bad weather and technical issues have already forced a series of delays. a french nun who has held the record for being the oldest person in the world has died at the age of 114. she was born in 1896 and passed away yesterday in a caribbean island where she spent the last years of her life. an east texas woman has now been designated the world's oldest. and nasa is showing off stunning images captured by one of its spacecraft as it shot past a comet on the very fringes of our solar system. the space probe was launched back in 2005 and has traveled 1.7 billion miles on its way to the encounter. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,434 after climbing 219 yesterday. the s&p was up 23 points, the nasdaq gained 37. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei rose 267 while in

hong kong the hang seng added 341. in a bit of a delayed reaction to the fed stimulus plan, investors sparked a rally on thursday that sent the dow and the s&p to their highest levels in two years. dow components bank of america, jpmorgan and caterpillar drove the blue chips higher. the banking sector got a boost from a "wall street journal" report that the fed is getting ready to give healthy banks the green light to up dividends. plus a surge in safe bets. the price of gold hit a record high driving a mining company's shares up 7%. adding to the bullish sentiment on the street, target, macy's and the gap all ticked higher thanks to stronger than expected same store sales. the price of crude climbed higher for a fifth straight day locking in its longest rising streak in seven months. elsewhere, u.s. officials announced six oil and gas companies have agreed to pay

$236 million in criminal and civil penalties in what's being called one of the largest corporate bribery cases ever to focus on a single industry. according to the u.s. department of agriculture, the number of americans using food stamps in august was up a surprising 17% over last year. overseas, the walt disney corporation has inked a deal to bring the house of mouse to shanghai. final government approval is still pending. keep an eye on starbucks today. shares were up 2% in late trade thanks to better than expected earnings. and finally, what would you do with $11 million? well, one couple who won that much in canada's lottery in july has already given most of it away to charity. they said the money was a headache and made them feel good to give to others. karma, it always comes back. coming up, sparky says so long. a fantastic finish on the gridiron, and it's not over till it's over. plus chicago's superstar

derrick rose nearly rose out of the arena for a great dunk. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. well, a dreary day yesterday on the east coast will make for a slow improvement today while the west coast will remain warm. your friday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, a light night in the nba provided a heavy helping of scoring yesterday. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. it's no secret the knicks have been terrible for nearly a decade but there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. they picked up their biggest win in years last night in chicago. the game close in the first quarter thanks in large part to derrick rose. huge two-handed dunk. hard to believe this guy is a point guard but it was all knicks the rest of the way. tony douglas, unconscious from beyond the arc, nailed five three-pointers and finished with a career high 30. it wasn't just douglas. the entire team shot 68% from three-point land. the knicks with a rare win in chicago won 120-112. some sad news from the world of baseball. sparky anderson, really one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, passed away yesterday from complications of dementia.

perhaps best known for being the first manager to win the world series in both leagues, he ranked sixth on the all-time wins list with nearly 2200. no manager loved the game of baseball more than sparky. no manager showed the energy and enthusiasm of sparky and no manager smiled as much as he did. george "sparky" anderson, 76 years old. great finish in college football between georgia tech and number 2 virginia tech. after the yellow jackets tied the game with under 3:00 to play, david wilson took the kickoff and returned it 90 yards to the house. hokies back on top. georgia tech with the last chance. picked off in the end zone and virginia tech held on, 28-21. finally check this out from the world of roller blading. the world roller blading championships. the colombian skater was so far ahead he began to celebrate his victory. with his hands in the air he slowed up just enough to allow a south korean skater to go by him at the finish line. in the blink of the eye he went from being champ to being chump.

that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a greatroggin. well, a health scare for the queen of soul. plus, we may not be ready for it, but this little guy says it's never too early to start the season of giving. you're watching "early today."

time for your weekend

forecast. it's looking okay. in the northwest it's not going to be as nice as it's been. this was quite a week of warm weather in the west. i can almost guarantee this will be the warmest week you're going to have until probably maybe we get to the spring ond summer. so today 80s in the desert southwest, 60s in the northwest. as we head into the weekend, a storm system will move in. the best chance of rain is in washington state and then by the time sunday arrives, the storm system really kicks through with cloudy and cooler weather just about everywhere. l.a. you go from the upper 90s to mid-60s by sunday. if you're watching us on kntr news source 16, eugene, oregon, kick off the weekend with a free evening tour exploring some of eugene's local art galleries for the first friday art walk, and that's your pacific event of the day. >> sounds like fun. all right, bill, thanks. now here's an early look at the morning's headlines in entertainment. it looks like the queen of soul won't be performing any time soon. doctors for aretha franklin have

ordered her to cancel all concerts and appearances between now and may. wdiv quoting her publicist is reporting that the 68-year-old is seriously ill, but there's no word on her exact condition. former '70s teen heart throb david cassidy has been charged with driving under the influence. police say the 60-year-old was arrested after his car was seen weaving on a florida turnpike. and this weekend dream works 3-d animated feature "mega mind" is expected to pull in mega bucks. the comedy featuring the voices of will farrell, tina fey, brad pitt, should open with more an $50 million. in the hyped comedy "due date" robert downey jr. and zach galifianakis star as a mismatched pair forced to take a road trip together. it's no "hangover" but will fetch 30 million or so. and tyler perry's drama titled "for colored girls" is

expected to take in about $20 million. anything with zach galifianakis is going to be a winner. i just like saying his last name. >> of course you do. i can't even say it. >> my maiden name is markowski so i understand his pain. this comes to us from wowt, 6 news in omaha, nebraska, where one boy's holiday spirit is making a difference. for the second year in a row 8-year-old brandon carlson is selling christmas ornaments built with legos for charity. last year he raised over $1,000 for a local food bank. this year he hopes to top that. his mom, dad, little brother and grandma are working in shifts building all different kind of things, including snowflakes which he loves, all for a good cause. i'm lynn berry and this is your first stop of the day, "early today" here on your nbc station.

an art nis finland went organic. he built a fully functionsal sauna shaped like a garlic clove. it's meant to replicate the sounds of nature with its design. it is one of five bath houses being created for the country's culture festival. a town in italy is celebrating it's most popular fall produce. it's not pumpkins or apples. the truffle capital is hosting a fair dedicated to the edible delicasy. despite their bitter taste,

white truffles are one of the most expensive ingredients in the world costing about $2,000 a pound. imagine that. a towering debate surrounds the latest edition to mumbai's skyline. the 27-story structure has been named the most expensive home in the world. a billion dollar mansion for an oil tycoon and his family. get this, it spans 400,000 square feet. plenty of room for his staff of 600. with over seven million living in extreme poverty there, many are blasting the excessive waste of space and money. bill, just to give you an idea, the first six stories are his parking garage. for 160 cars. >> just an oil -- he's an oil guy? >> he's an oil tycoon. he's actually the fourth richest man in the world. think about it, mumbai is just -- there's just so much poverty there. there's a big debate there. bill would love there, just for the record. time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc.

this morning president obama heads to asia for the longest foerng trip of his presidency. he'll visit india, south korea and indonesia which is where the president spent part of his childhood. in texas there will be a ceremony to mark the one-year anniversary of the shooting rampage at ft. hood. 13 people died in the gunfire. nadal hasan has been charged in the case. starting today you can apply to the national park service's lottery to attend the national christmas tree lighting. it takes place december 9th in front of the white house. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments and those stories and others as they break. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. al roker will have the latest forecast for haiti as the earthquake-ravaged nation braces for tomas. and meredith vieira sits down with tea party candidate christine o'donnell in a live interview. and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and spore. i'm lynn berry.

thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today, on your nbc station. have a good one. we believe keeping kids healthy can start with healthy hands. with the lysol no-touch hand soap system healthy hands can be automatic. for healthy tips and more, visit lysol.com/missionforhealth.