i'm lynn berry. those stories and more state ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin this morning with a travel alert. this morning americans traveling to europe are under direct -- under direction rather from the state department to be on guard against potential terror attacks there. the government's warning comes after uncovering what it characterizes as terror plots beyond the planning stages and already under way. nbc's tracie potts has the details for us from washington. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. but no specific information against europe and that's why this is a travel alert and not the more serious travel warning. what we do know, intelligence officials believe, that eight germans and two british brothers are hiding out somewhere near the pakistan/afghan border believed to be planning an attack in europe similar to what we saw in 2008 in mumbai, india, those coordinated shootings and bombings there and believe osama bin laden himself may be involved in the p

i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> we begin this morning with a global threat. japan and sweden are the latest countries to put their citizens on the watch for a possible terror attacks in europe. the u.s. and england launched terror alerts and travel alerts over the weekend. but as nbc's steve handelsman reports, so far, fear isn't a factor for many americans on the move. >> reporter: dulles airport outside washington, despite more nations warning today about travel to europe, no panic among people headed there. >> it doesn't bother me. i have my suitcase. i have everything packed. i am going home. >> i'm not afraid. >> the same for americans in europe. >> but i'm not really worried here. >> reporter: but police across europe are looking for 10 kraed suspects. u.s. experts are worried. >> this is the most significant threat we have seen toward europe in the past five years. it speaks to al qaeda central still having the capability to threaten the west. >> osama bin laden back in busi

i'm lynn berry. here are some of the top stories making news this morning. nbc news has learned that seven of eight native service members killed in afghanistan yesterday were americans. at least 42 nato troops have been killed in afghanistan so far this month. violence in afghanistan is at its highest level since the overthrow of the taliban nine years ago. >>> greek workers upset over unpaid wages and layoffs plan to rally at the acropolis for the third straight day after clashing with police at the tourist site yesterday. authorities used tear gas to clear the demonstrators, who locked the entrance gates and refused to allow in tourists. >>> after nearly eight years of work and at a cost of $240 million, a bridge that will let drivers bypass the hoover dam at the arizona/nevada border is ready to be opened. at a dedication ceremony yesterday, transportation secretary ray lahood said the dam itself is one of the wonders of the world and he hopes the bridge will become another. the structure, named

i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. >>> a longtime federal judge in georgia is facing drug and weapons charges after he allegedly bought cocaine, marijuana and pain killers from a stripper with whom he was having an affair. judge jack camp who made an initial court appearance yesterday and released on $50,000 bond is also accused of possessing two illegal guns. according to court documents, the exotic dancer in the case was also an fbi informant. >>> the oil industry has yet to react to many of the lessons learned this summer during bp's summer disaster. according to experiments, it skimmers don't have the capacity to suck up large amounts of crude and it could be another year before a better containment system is developed to stop leaks below the ocean's surface. >>> chile's president says his government is "very close" to rescues 33 miners trapped deep underground for nearly two months. he now hopes the men will be pulled out by october 15th. >>> brazilians this week e

i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with a fight to the finish. sparks flew in las vegas between a much-anticipated debate between senate majority leader harry reid and sharron angle. the two of back-to-back in the race for the senate seat. last night, it was angle who came out swinging. nbc's tracie potts is in washington with the details. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. there were a few viewed but none watch eed more closely than tha showdown in nevada. senator harry reid took the gloves off first on tv. >> she's wild. and with the wild ideas schae we would never get anything done. >> reporter: at the debate, sharron angle came back swinging. >> signature and date. >> reporter: nevada's biggest problem and the nation is jobs at 14.4%, nevada has the nation's highest unemployment rate. >> my job is to create jobs. what she's talking about is extreme. >> it's not your job to create jobs. it's your job to create policies that create the confidence for the private sector. >> repor

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 faisal shahzad yesterday warned americans to "brace yourself, because the war with muslims has just begun." >>> a connecticut man could face the death penalty after being convicted of murdering a woman and her two daughters during a brutal home invasion in 2007. prosecutors say steven hayes and another ex-con beat the family's father with a baseball bat and sexually assaulted and strangled the mother before setting the family's house on fire. both daughters died of 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 red sludge. at least four people were killed and dozens more injured, many with severe burns. >>> a brazilian woman

i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with a presidential insult. with exactly one week to go before the midterm elections, candidates are pulling out all the stunts. one hopeful, ironically a democrat, even took aim at the president telling him to take his endorsement and "shove it." incomes's tracie potts is in washington with more. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. president obama is just back from rhode island where he participated in some campaign events, a rally, he was there to raise money for democratic senate and house candidates. he took some heat from what he did not do. president obama campaigned in rhode island but failed to support a candidate for governor running against an independent who supported obama in '08. >> he take the endorsement and shove it. >> we're just in the first quarter. >> reporter: 6.5 million voters cast ball knits 25 states including washington where michelle obama tried to light a fire under the party. >> if you think someone is sitting out, you've

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a judicial tug of war. the military's don't ask, don't tell policy is essentially back in effect this morning after a federal appeals court in california suspended a judge's ruling that ordered the pentagon to allow openly gay troops to serve in the military. the three-judge panel sided with the obama administration and informed lawyers for gay rights activists that they have until monday to respond to last night's rulings. the judges will then decide whether to extend the temporary stay while it considers the government's appeal of a lower court ruling that found the controversial policy unconstitutional. still, it's not clear what affect this will have on the pentagon which has informed recruiters to allow openly gay service members. >>> with the mid-term election clock ticking and with two weeks left to go, president obama and the democrats are fighting to hold on to congress. tracie potts is in washington for us this morning with all the details. tracie, good m

i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> we begin this morning with a flawless ascent to freedom. all of chile's 33 miners are finally where they should be, above ground celebrating life with their friends and family. after weeks of planning, drilling and testing, rescuers finished lifting the men from the depths of a mine that easily could have been their tomb. as kerry sanders reports, chile's joy was shared around the world. >> reporter: it's over. all 33 of the miners have been rescued. it took 22 hours, 34 minutes and 56 seconds, more than 1,000 engineering minds to figure out how to get down to those men. 2,040 feet in the earth. they pulled it off and now, this country and the world celebrates. >> it is an inspiring experience not only for the chileans but for the world. >> reporter: the last man up, luis aza, the leader who told them they should conserve the two days of food that they have and ration it to being two spoon fulls of food per man, peaches and tuna. that kept them alive

i'm lynn berry. >>> today we begin with tracking the campaign trail. president obama is hoping to drum up votes again today to help his party hold on to congress and hold on to control of congress. and last night, the president helped the democratic party pump funds into their campaign coffer in a campaign in california that cost $30,000 a plate. steve handelsman has more details on the president's west coast swing. >> reporter: in washington state, to try to preserve his senate majority, president obama campaigned for incumbent democrat patti murray who is in a tough race. >> in just a few days, your decision in this election is going to set the direction of this state and of this country for years to come. >> reporter: murray's republican opponent expired back. >> she has her d.c. friends coming to washington state to defend the indefensible, which happens to be her 18-year record. >> reporter: the president touted the votes for women. key in these states. >> when we come out, they can make the dif

i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with running out of time. with less than two weeks to go until the midterm elections, it appears democrats have some major hurdles to overcome in their fight to stay in power on capitol hill. brian moore joins us from washington with the latest "wall street journal" online poll. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. president obama has some work ahead of him today as he heads out west. this nbc news poll shows that 50% of likely voters would like to see republicans take control of congress while only 43% want democrats in charge. president obama shedding out west today hoping to boost democrats in oregon and washington state. with the midterm elections just 13 days away, he's got plenty of campaigning ahead. >> reminding voters what's at stake, who has their best interests in mind. >> will you go to washington to simply be a rubber stamp? >> reporter: the race is winding down, but the candidates are not. in illinois, the president's former senate seat sup for grab,

i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with a flawless ascent to freedom. all of chile's 33 miners are finally where they should be this morning, aboveground, celebrating life with their friends and family. after weeks of planning, drilling, and testing, rescuers last night finished lifting the men from the depths of the mine that easily could have been their tomb. and as nbc's kerry sanders reports, chile's joy was shared around the world. >> reporter: it's over. all 33 of the miners have been rescued. it took 22 hours, 34 minutes, and 56 seconds, more than 1,000 engineering minds to figure out how to get down to those men 2,040 feet in the earth. they pulled it off. and now, this country and the world celebrates. >> an inspiring experience, i'm sure, not only for the chileans, for the whole world. >> the last man up, luis urzua, he was the leader when the men were cut off from the outside world, told them they should conserve the two days of food they had and ration it to be two spoonfuls of food per man,

i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with wild and wicked winds. a savage storm system is barreling east this morning after causing severe winds and damage all across america's heartland yesterday. more than two dozen tornadoes have already been reported in this record-breaking storm. here's nbc's kurt gregory. >> reporter: fall's fury being felt from wisconsin to eastern states. in wisconsin, the national weather service says a funnel was on the ground even before it appeared on radar. the twister ripped a roof off a tractor plant. >> that was a terrible experience. >> reporter: another touched down in central indiana. farm buildings were flattened homes heavily damaged. >> the steel starts rattling. >> reporter: howling winds across the hoosier state knocked down power lines, toppled trees, even semi-trucks. high winds across the great lakes produced huge waves. waves that topped nine feet on lake michigan. >> impressive. this is one angry lake. >> reporter: pounding winds and gale-force winds made for

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with making the final rounds. president obama is hitting up all avenues in his attempts to get voters to come out on tuesday. yesterday his latest campaign stop was with comedian jon stewart for a chat about some serious issues. nbc's tracie potts is in washington with more on this. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. we're now getting more analysis on just how big a win this election could be for republicans and what democrats are doing in these final days to help minimize the damage. >> jobs are coming back to california starting in six days. >> reporter: analysts predict big losses for inkumt bents. >> some of them, unless something happens over the next few days, their time is n. congress is going to be ending. >> reporter: a blowout against democrats. >> this is an unearned win. you know, you were beneficiaries. you're not vithers. >> reporter: cook says republicans could win 60 seats in the house. "the new york times" this morning reports women, catholics

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with down the home stretch. with four days to go until election day, there have been some complications for both parties. for democrats, the florida senate race has take an twist courtesy of former president bill clinton. meanwhile republicans are trying to figure out what impact the tea party will have once the polls open. nbc's tracie potts is in washington with more. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. now president bill clinton has been a long-time democratic ally but there's word this morning that he may have asked meek to step aside. florida's democrat for senate says president clinton never pressured him to quit. >> no one has called me and said, hey, you need to get out of the race. >> reporter: but a clinton spokesperson says they did discuss it, if meek dropped out, independent charlie crist can win, and keen that seat from going republican. dlnts chided the media for jumping on the story and mocked sarah palin. >> sarah palin's best line in this wh

i'm lynn berry. today, we begi with a global threat. japan and sweden are the latest countries to put their citizens on the watch for possible terror attacks in europe. the u.s. and england launched travel alerts over the weekend. but as steve handelsman reports, so far, fear isn't a factor for many americans on the move. >> repter: dulles airport outside washington, despite warnings traveling to europe, no panic among people heading twl. >> it doesn't bother me. i am going home. >> i'm not afraid. >> the same tore americans in europe. >> but i'm not really wored here. >> reporter: police across europe are looking for ten al qaeda suspects. u.s. officials are worried. >> it speaks to al qaeda central still having the capability to threaten the west. >> reporter: osama bin laden is back in business, five german recruits killed by a rocket from a u.s. drone. key intelligences coming from an al qaeda captive afghanistan. >> the spectrum of information suggested we needed to put something out to warn peo

i'm lynn berry, and today we begin with a travel alert. this morning americans traveling to europe are under direction from the state department to be on guard against terror attacks there. the government's warning comes after uncovering what it characterizes as terror plots beyond the planning stages, and already under way. nbc's tracie potts has the details for us this morning from washington. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. this has been brewing for weeks but now intelligence officials believe he have more information which is what has led to lis travel alert. they believe that eight germans and two british brothers are hiding out near the pakistani/afghan border, planning some sort of attack on a target in europe. they don't know when an exactly where but believe osama bin laden himself is involved and this could be something similar to the 2008 mumbai attacks in india. that killed dozens of people. the state department warning says beon the lookout for things happening around airports, trains, subways and touris

i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with a fight to the finish. sparks flew in las vegas between a much anticipated debate between harry reid and sharron angle. the two are back to back in the race for the senate seat. last night, it was angle who came out swinging. nbc's tracie potts is in washington with the details. >> good morning. we saw her come out swinging from the very beginning of that debate. you've got the senate's top democrat in danger of losing his seat to a tea party candidate who is third to national attention, a candidate who he calls extremist. last night, they slashed on pretty much every subject, social security, immigration, foreign policy, and a couple of big ones. health care and jobs. >> my job is to create jobs. what she's talking about is extreme. we have to do this. we've been doing it since boulder dam was created 81 years ago. we started the construction. >> and your response? once again, harry reid, it's not your job to create jobs. it's your job to create policies that create the confidence for the private sector, t

i'm lynn berry and this is "early today." just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station. >> good morning, everyone. i'm tony pann. rainy days and mondays. rain will be with us fawn all day today, and it's going to be chilly. let's take a look at h.d. doppler radar. nice line of moderate rain up and down the i-95 corridor and up 83, so give yourself as much extra time today. forecast, off and on rain showers. i don't expect anything heavy, but off and on rain showers all the way through this evening, cloudy and cool otherwise with high temperatures only around 58. when we come back, we'll take a look at the as much-day forecast, see what's on tap for the rest of the week. >> tony, see you in a bit. 4:57, 58 degrees. here's a look to 11 news today. >> a police-involved shooting lands one man in the hospital. i'm kim dacey live with that story. >> the supreme court begins a new term today. i'm kate amara in washington with a look at some of the more controversial cases on the docket. >> and i'm sarah caldwell check

i'm lynn berry and this is "early tay." just your fir stop of the day, today, on your nbc station. ♪ [ male announcer ] it's luxury with fire in its veins. bold. daring. pable of moving your soul. ♪ and that's even before you op your foot on the pedal. ♪ the new 2011 cts coupe from cadillac. the new standard of theorld. >>> wow. look at that view of the capitol doempt gorgeous orange sky. beautiful out there. a little drizzly as well. good morning. i'm eun ang. >> good morning. i'm joe krebs, the first monday in october, the 4th of october. in the news, if you or your family or friends are planning a trip to europe, there is a travel alert in place for all americans living and traveling there. the u.s. state department issued a rare advisory for american travelers to be on notice that there are potential terrorist threats in rope. >>> u.s. intelligence worry th al qaeda terrorists are planning attacks in public places, including popular tourist sps. darcy spencer has reaction from travelers headed to europe from dulle

i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> we begin this morning with closing the gap. new numbers from a "washington post" abc news poll show a majority of likely voters still prefer the republican candidate in their district's midterm elections, but the fight to the finish in november is far from over. nbc's tracie potts is in washington for us this morning with all the details. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. looking at these latest polls, the big question is the tide turning in favor of democrats just weeks before election day. let's take a look at some of the results. you mentioned this latest abc news/"washington post" poll. it shows that among likely voters, republicans still have a 6% edge, but that is down by more than half from just last

well, i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc but stay tuned. "way too early with willie geist" starts right now. >>> the state department warns americans traveling in europe to watch their backs. the question is, on what intelligence is the u.s. government basing that warning and how concerned should travelers really be?

i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. nbc news has learned that seven of eight native service members killed in afghanistan yesterday were americans. at least 42 nato oops have been killed in afghanistan so far this month. violence in afghanistan is at its highest level since the overthrow of the taliban nine years ago. >>> gre workers upset over unpaid wages and layoffs plan to rally at the acropolis for the third trais strght day after clashing with police at the tourist site yesterday. authorities using tear gas to clear the demonstrators, locked the entrance gates and refused to let in tourists. >>> after nearly eight years of work and at a cost of $240 million, a bridge that will let drivers bypass the hoover dam at the arizona/nevada border is ready to open. at a dedication ceremony yesterday, transportation secretary ray la hood said the dam itself is one of the wonders of the world and he hopes the bridge will become another. the inructor, named for former nevada governor mike o'callahan and war hero pat tillman.

our colleague lynn berry has more on the details. what happened here? >> the details were very bizarre. whether it was a mass drugging is still under investigation. here's what we do know. 12 victims, all but one were women. they were all drinking at a house party in roslyn, washington, friday night with fellows from central washington university. but at some point things really got out of hand. officials received report of a young woman in a nearby grocery store who apparently was overdose and possibly assaulted. when the police chief said he spoke to her and her alleged friends they appeared to be intoxicated even though they insisted they had one or two drinks top. it was information from that group that led officials to the party and when they arrived a number of partygoers were barely conscious. police say some drug may have been slipped into the victims' drinks, and they're awaiting toxicology results. >> we called in about every ambulance. we certainly have seen those types of drugs in our community before. what makes them unique is we haven't se

nbc's lynn berry is joining me with details on this one. baseball fans are p.o.'d. >> this means everything. fox and its parent company news corp pulled the programming off cable vision at midnight last night in a fight over fees. the two sides are at odds over how much cable vision should pay fox for programming including sports, news and hit shows like "glee." this blackout affects local stations, fox 5 and my 9 in new york and fox 29 in philadelphia. fox also called nat geo wild and fox deportes. 3 million households in the northeast can't watch their local fox stations or game one of the nlcs. plus, if the dispute isn't resolved soon, no world series either. as for the timing of this, the contract between cable vision and news corp expired at midnight last night leading to the blackout. cable vision pays $70 million per year to carry 12 fox channels under the current deal, but news corp now reportedly wants more than $150 million per year for the same programming. but both sides are lashing out at each other. cable vision calls fox's feed demands outrageous. n

i'm lynn berry and here's what's happening. the ordeal is over for 33 chilean miners. shift supervisor luis urzua of the last to leave the mine. he's credited with providing structure and support during the longest underground entrapment in history. the chile's president says it has created worldwide admiration for chilean technological. >>> now back to "hardball." >>> welcome back to "hardball." a lot of things are up in the air these days like the minimum wage has become a hot issue in the midterm cycle among some republican candidates, like this one from west virginia. the senate candidate out there, john raese. >> the minimum wage is not something that you want to stay on as a permanent basis. in other words, if you have a minimum wage job, you don't stay there 20 or 30 years. you don't put your children through college working on minimum wage. one of the best things that i can think and when you get government out of, let's say, the micromanaging the economy, you don't want government to set price controls. you don't want government to set wage controls. it is an