good morning, christine. it's mont, october 17th. ali is off, carol is on assignment, and i'm alina cho. this car crash, our hearts go out to the family of dan wheldon. we'll speak to say the a lot of about this. >> heart broken fans and drivers this morning. the tragedy on the track. indycar champion dan wheldon died in one of the worst crashes the sport has ever seen yesterday in las vegas. indycar going into the off-season how fragile life can be and how dangerous their sport is. some of the images of the crash you'll see may be disturbing. >> reporter: the last race of the year, dan wheldon's car sailing through the air, slamming into the catch fence and disintegrated. >> oh, multiple cars involved. >> reporter: a horrific 15-car wreck. video showing cars spinning out of control, bursting into flames and shooting smoke and debris into the air. >> cars in flames, wreckage, carnage. terrible. >> they just crumpled and caught on fire and everybody gasped. >> reporter: racers got the news about two hours after the crash. >> indycar is very sad to announce that dan wheldon has passed away from unsurvivable injury. our thoughts and prayers are with his family today. >> reporter: the race was endeded. drivers, many in tears, returned to the track for a five-lap salute in his honor. ♪ >> now, i know this is a dangerous sport. i know we're supposed to die every day in a normal life as well, but, you know, you don't think about it, and today you have to think about it. we lost one of my best friends. one of my greatest teammates. you have anybody in this field if we could choose a way to go, that's the way. so -- i wouldn't have chosen different either. >> reporter: dan wheldon made his indycar debut in 2002. fans laid flowers and lit candles outside the iconic brickyard last night. >> dan wheldon has every pla phied everything about this series and why people continue to come to the race. this is the racing capital of the world. this is why people come here. >> reporter: this was wheldon drinking the milk in victory lane back in may, winning in one of the most thrilling finishes ever at the indy 500, taking the checkered flag when the leader crashed in the final lap. he joined "american morning" just hours after that big win and talked about the pressure to stay sharp and stay fast. >> it's incredibly intense around this racetrack. we're doing speeds in excess of 225 miles an hour, and with this race you just never know what can happen. so it's about staying focused, and you really don't ever let off the power unless you have to, and you know, that's what i wanted to do yesterday, and that's what i did. >> reporter: wheldon entered yesterday's race for a shot at a $5 million purse, biggest of his career. he was starting at the back of a 34-car pack. wheldon is survived by his wife suzy, his 2-year-old son sebastian and his 7-month-old son oliver. he was just 33 years old. >> he wasn't just a great driver but a great human being. i just can't believe that he is no longer with us. >> wheldon and other drivers had also expressed concern about the conditions for the race at las vegas motor speedway. the tires can close, the stakes were high. the cars were fast, very fast. some reaching 225 miles an hour. drivers experiencing 4gs on the turns. the space shuttle leaves the launch pad with about that same force, and there were 34 cars, a record 34 cars on the track that day. >> which is a lot. and there have been concerns about whether there were too many cars on the track. were the planners of this race not discriminating enough in terms of bringing the best drivers on to the track. we'll talk about that. our other big story, images of protests against wall street big banks are coming in from all over the world. the movement is now a month old and while some protests have been peaceful, in washington, d.c. yesterday, 19 people arrestedive cluding cornell west. after the protesters refused to live the steps of the supreme court. now a message posted to west's twitter account says he's been ordered to appear in court this afternoon. [ chanting ] and here in new york city, thousands surged into times square saturday night. 78 people arrested and last night 14 more people handcuffed for violating a midnight curfew at the city's washington square park. in rome the city's mayor says it will cost $1.4 million to clean up after rioters shattered store windows, set businesses and cars on fire. you can see the billowing smoke there. police officers were among the injures. and the movement against corporate greed, even spreading as far as the alaskan tundra. this picture taken and posted on the occupy wall street page. the image shared more than 5,000 time. this says occupy the tundra. >> probably go viral. two weeks now since 11-month-old lisa irwin disappeared from her home in kansas city. some two dozen members of the missouri national guard joined the search alongside local and federal investigators. a big reward offered for the baby's safe return. cnn's jim spellman following developments live in kansas city for us. jim, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, awe lena. no real progress in this case. two weeks in this home behind me, the mother says she put her to bed. at 4:30 in the morning the father jeremy coming home from the night shift and the baby's gone. they interview the family, anybody in the area. none has generated any real solid leads that we know of. they decided over the weekend to bring in new people, specially trained military police. 25 of them, to research the areas they've already searched to be sure they haven't missed anything. with no real other leads to go on, they have to do anything they can to try to generate new content, new leads, new clues to work on. take a listen to what the fbi told us about their search yesterday. >> what we're looking at here is we have searched this area. we have new people out here. fresh eyes looking at the area that we've already searched. you know, definitely being thorough, doing do diligence and making sure if we have fresh eyes maybe there's something we didn't see the first time we searched it. >> reporter: that area is just a few blocks from here, and it's really dense woods covered with vines. they went over this area inch by inch. as far as we know, yielded no new clues in this troubling case. alina? >> all right, jim spellman following the case for us from kansas city. jim, thank you very much. all right. later this morning, gary giordano in a courtroom in aruba trying to win his release. the maryland man is a suspect in the disappearance of his travel companion robyn gardner. his lawyer will argue there isn't enough evidence to hold him. they were snorkeling when she disappeareded. he was arrested at aruba's airport three days later as he waited for a flight back to the u.s. and her family said she would never go snorkeling. and the involuntary trial of michael jackson's trial, testimony on hold because the father of the prosecution's final witness died. no word when the trial will resume. even with this delay in the case against dr. conrad murray it is expected to go to the jury early next week. president obama hits the road against today in his three-day bus trip. part of an effort to get congress to pass elements of his jobs bill after it was defeated in the senate last week. the president will make several stops in north carolina and virginia, and he wants congress to pass it all by pieces, if they're not going to pass the whole thing. >> he just wants it done. the stakes couldn't be higher for tomorrow night's cnn western republican debate in las vegas. seven gop candidates on hand and the economy, of course, expected to dominate the conversation. nevada is critical in terms of presidential elections. the unemployment rate there is 13.4%. that's the highest in the country. and the home for foreclosure rate in nevada is also the worst in the nation. tomorrow night cnn will host the western republican presidential debate. anderson cooper will moderate, 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. our own carol costello is attending and will have all the analysis. maybe bleary eyed but she'll be there. >> also unhappy about her detroit tigers out of the playoffs. all right. he stood tall as america's preeminent civil rights leaders. now he stands among presidents. a memorial dedicated yesterday on washington mall. president obama among the speakers urging americans to follow dr. kings ideals. >> that is why we honor this man, because he had faith in us, and that is why he belongs on this mall, because he saw what we might become. >> this is a day that all americans can be proud of, and may i remind you that this is not just a celebration by african-americans but for americans and citizens around this world. >> the ceremony honoring dr. king was originally scheduled for august but, of course, postponed, you remember, because of hurricane irene. >> i've got to get there to see that. it looks spectacular. four acre memorial right on the mall. ahead, new details about the crash that killed indycar champion dan wheldon and concerns about how the track and how crowded it would be. we're live in las vegas. plus, we're talking trash and lots of it. while it's piling up on the streets of a major city. and the world series is set. why carol is so upset. a team that pulled off a miracle to make the playoffs will be there. we'll tell you about it. it's 11 minutes after the hour. back after this. you want it to. new splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart new ways to sweeten. same great taste. new splenda® essentials™. same great taste. fore! no matter what small business you are in, managing expenses seems to... get in the way. not anymore. ink, the small business card from chase introduces jot an on-the-go expense app made exclusively for ink customers. custom categorize your expenses anywhere. save time and get back to what you love. the latest innovation. only for ink customers. learn more at chase.com/ink consumers er wanchai ferry orange chicken... over p.f. chang's home menu orange chicken women men and uh pandas... elbows mmm [ male announcer ] wanchai ferry, try it yourself. i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. welcome back. our top story this morning, indycar losing one of its best and most popular drivers. dan wheldon died yesterday after a terrible 15-car pileup on the track in las vegas. cars flying into the air, and into each other. several burst into flames. the crowded field, 34 cars in all, was a big concern going into the race. carlos diaz is live in las vegas with the latest. carlos, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. you know, when we talk about the indycar racing series losing a champion, they've also lost one of the most charismatic people on the tour. i got a chance to know dan well. being in vegas the last several indianapolis 500s there there is not a more charismatic racer, perhaps in sports, than dan wheldon. with his race, one of those things where the entire indy racing community is truly in tears. probably not a more popular driver next to danica patrick and ironically, dan wheldon was going to take over for danica patrick in the godaddy.com team when danica went to nascar that season. that deal was supposed to be signed yesterday after the race. of course, dan wheldon never made it to after the race, and i can tell you right now, when you see the tears coming from the drivers, they're truly, truly heartfelt tears, because dan wheldon, one of the most charismatic charming guys you'll ever want to meet. >> time off i've has truly made me understand and really graft how much i love driving the cars themselves. i mean, indycars are fantastic to drive. i want to be part of that, there's no doubt about it. >> reporter: yeah, and basically what he's talking about there, time off, even though he won the indianapolis 500 this season, he's had a tough time keeping a sponsor. so basically, being out here in las vegas, he was going for a $5 million prize, which if we would have won the race he would have gotten and had started in the back of the pack. dan wheldon starting in the back of a 34-car pack having to get to the front quickly. he was in the back of the pack having to get past these cars when it happened in turn two of the lap yesterday. once again, the most horrific crash danica patrick said she's ever seen in indycar racing took the life of dan wheldon as he was airlifted to the hospital yesterday after the race. amazing loss for indycar racing. if you saw, they did a five-lap tribute to dan wheldon, a true champion and a truly great person. >> carlos, in fact, christine and i remember very well talking to dan wheldon five months ago when he won the indy 500 and racing to raise awareness to alzheimer's disease. his mother recently diagnosed. having said that, i mentioned at the top there were a lot of concerns about their being too many cars on the track. 34 cars. that's a lot. some people have said that the people who planned this race weren't discriminating enough in terms of picking the very best drivers for this. what are people saying about that? >> reporter: well, you have to keep in mind thatted oval here in las vegas motor speedway is a mile and a half oval. the indianapolis 500 is 2.5 miles. a much bigger oval. you have a very small oval with very high bank turns. you're right. the 34 cars on the track, that's one more than the indianapolis 500. you have a lot of cars on the track and then a driver like dan wheldon starting in the back of the pack with all the incident in the world to get to the front and get that $5 million prize. the speeds, up to 200 miles an hour. some drivers speaking it being very unsafe. you make a very, very valid point. >> carlos diaz, a $5 million purse he was going to share with a fan, had he won, which speaks so much to his character. you know. >> two very young children. we spoke to him in may after he won indianapolis 500. he was so bubbly, so young and so excited about being fast and staying on. >> who could forget that accent? >> i know. heartbroken. fans and drivers, heartbroken today. also new, an employee of a new york city mcdonald's facing charges. the incident captured on cell phone. the cashier can be see beating the two customers with a metal object following an argument apparently over a $50 they paid with. the two women remain hospitalized in serious condition. gunfire and explosions rocking the capital of yemen overnight. witnesses say government security forces continue to battle opposition troops. error on sunday, yemeni soldiers opened fire on demonstrators gathering for a march in the capital. five people killed. 54 others injured, according to one medic on the scene. and. is and piles of trash litter the streets of athens, greece. the city garbage collectors joined the nationwide strikes to protest a new round of tax hikes and spending cuts. the city is prepared to bring in private sanitation workers to clean up that mess. you and i were up very late watching this. we all know that the world series is set. the texas rangers versus the st. louis cardinals. the cards winning the national league pennant by stopping the brewers in game six. final score was 12-6. now, a little more than a month ago, the cards were trailing by more than ten games in the race for the playoffs. now, the rangers put away the tigers on saturday night in game six. it's the rangers second straight world series appearance. they are going for their first world series title. the cards will be going for their 11th. all right. it's monday morning. a special treat for everybody to start the week. rob marciano is here with us in the studio with a look at the weather. good morning. >> good morning. i flew all the way up here to congratulate carol on her detroit tigers win and lo and behold this weekend it didn't happen. >> cousin rudy's wedding. >> oh, yeah, that, too. listen, we have something brewing in the tropics believe it or not. the end of tropical season. not until after thanksgiving. so we've got to deal with this bugger, which is just to the northeast of the yucatan peninsula developing regardless what happens with this, a decent amount of moisture. flying hurricane hunter aircraft. a decent chance of becoming the next tropical depression or storm. this would be rena. posted for parts of the southern tip of florida, warnings because tremendous amounts of rain already falling. two to six inches potentially and gusting winds out of the east and southeast and seeing rip currents. radar. you can see already heavy rain and a very dense shield of moisture. this will rotate up in through tampa and jacksonville and regardless how much the storm develops as far as moisture, into the mid-atlantic and up through the northeast as well. speaking of the northeast, a rotation around a cold core vortex across northeastern canada ushering in the very fall-like weather in the northeast the past couple of days. it continues. a couple sprinkles. the wind, the issue with that. rains causing delays across parts of the southern tip of florida. a list of travel delays throughout the day today. nothing too major expected. just kind of watching this thing develop across parts of the southern gulf of mexico, and how long is carol off for? >> she's on her way to las vegas for the debate. >> right, right, right. convenient timing for that. >> this isn't a depression day. >> no. a day off. i took weren't of those when the yankees lost. >> trying on a red eye. hiding tears underneath her $5 blanket. >> great to see you both. >> good to see you, rob. still ahead on "american morning," one of america's most beloved g-rated programs. that's right. 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