Them to get home and theyre not there. How hannah is doing today, thursday, october 10th, 2013. From nbc news, this is today with matt lauer and savannah guthrie. Live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. And good morning, everyone. Welcome to today on a thursday morning. Im savannah guthrie. Im matt lauer alongside al roker and the guy gets a lawn mower, a leaf blower and he said the government is not going to be able to cut the grass here at the lincoln memorial, im going to do it. Any silver lining, its how we seen private citizens really step up in these days of washington dysfunction. Apparently been doing it for days and got chased away from the police. Wasnt supposed to be doing it. But chipped in and rolled up his sleeves. Well talk more about that in trending today. But first todays top story. The kidnapping of libyas Prime Minister. He has been let go, but still a lot of questions about the group that took him and why they did. Nbc chief Foreign CorrespondentRichard Engel is here with more on that. Richard, good morning to you. Good morning, matt. It seemed that no one is really in charge of libya these days. In the Early Morning hours gunmen abducted the Prime Minister and held him at gunpoint for several hours and then released him. This grainy photograph is of libyas Prime Minister disshelved and disoriented as he was snapped from a hotel in tripoli by gunmen before dawn. Libyas Transitional Government in a cryptic statement said Prime Minister ali zeidan was taken to an unknown place for unknown reasons. With the Prime Minister missing, the rest of the government rallied in support at an emergency meeting. Prime minister zeidan had had been living at the fivestar crithia hotel in tripoli until according to the director 15 cars and around 100 men surrounded the building at 4 00 a. M. The gunman came in with a paper. They said it was a warrant for the Prime Ministers arrest. And they took him, he said. No shots were fired. A militia of former rebels who fought against gadhafi known as the control room of revolutionaries claimed responsibility for taking the Prime Minister, arguing it was a legal arrest based on allegations of corruption. The government said no such warrant exists. Sources in tripoli tell nbc news the detention was also retaliation for a raid in tripoli last weekend by u. S. Special operations netting an accused al qaeda militant. Some libyans were furious that their government was too weak to prevent the u. S. Operation. Or as the New York Times reported wednesday, maybe even sanctioned it. More than two years after washington helped rebels drive out gadhafi, libya remains lawless. A sanctuary for extremists operating with impunity they can and this morning said they did detain the Prime Minister. In another very strange twist to this strange story, the Militia Group that initially said it was responsible for kidnapping the Prime Minister later came out and said it wasnt them, it had nothing to do with it. Imagine this matt and savannah. You have an armed group taking hostage the Prime Minister, holding him at gunpoint for several hours, releasing him and then denying they had anything to do with it. A lot of questions as we said at the onset, thank you. Thank you very much. Growing anger this morning from veterans around the country over the governments failure to provide for families of fallen u. S. Service members and now were learning politicians were, in fact, warned about this. Nbc chief Foreign Affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell is on it for us. Good morning. Good morning, savannah. When we first reported the story how could the u. S. Government not pay emergency death benefits to families of men and women who had died serving their country. This morning it is clear that despite all that public outrage over the past few days, people in washington knew this would happen even before the government shut down. For days now, we heard the outrage on capitol hill. Its disgraceful that theyre withholding these benefits. Now being denied death benefits because of this senseless shut down. Im ashamed. Im embarrassed. Reporter lawmakers complaining that families of u. S. Service members are not getting emergency death benefits because of the government shutdown. The outrage spread to the white house. Wednesday, president obama told doreven gensler when i heard about this story i told the department of defense within our administrative powers, we should be able to get that fixed. Reporter but at a press conference several days before the sut down, the pentagon warned this could happen. Some examples we couldnt pay death gratuities to those who die on active duty during the lapse. Reporter wednesday as the remains of four Service Members killed in afghanistan last weekend arrived at Dover Air Force base the house passed a bill that would restore the emergency benefits for families. We not provide the grieving families with their needed support in their time of need. Reporter late wednesday, the white house and Justice Department scrambled to find a fix. No one wants to be a political and thats how a lot of veterans feel right now. Theyre stuck in the middle of this political debate. Whether it be death benefits and whether it be v. A. Comp and pension. Reporter so ken fisher who heads a private organization for veterans and their families stepped in to pay the benefits after seeing our report on today. Theyre grieving and they suffered enough, why on earth should they have to worry about where their next dollar is coming from. Reporter also stepping up, jeffersons restaurant in belleville, illinois, which posted a message on facebook offering to donate 100 of their profits wednesday to the families of the fallen. Maybe if one person does it, 100 more will do it and then well help more people out. Reporter the pentagon will reimburse the Fisher House Charity once the shut down is over and today the special Operation Warrior Foundation a nonprofit in tampa, florida, is also stepping up to present 20,000 to each family of those troops killed in afghanistan this past weekend. Matt . All right, andrea, thank you very much. Retired army journal jack jacob haun honored for his hero actions. Got the blame game going now. We have the pentagon and we have congress and actually both ends of pennsylvania avenue. Where does the blame lie in your opinion . Well, plenty of blame to go around. Lies at both ends. Somebody recently said, the biggest threat, the most dangerous place in the world, the biggest threat to the United States is that terrain between the white house on one end and the congress on the other. They both have a lot to answer for. The National Commander of the vfw, jack, had this to say. Absolutely appalling and nothing short of a travesty that elected officials continue to receive paychecks and benefits while providing for those who deserve it the most. If the government is unable to take care what has this done to the trust that needs to exist between the military and the government . It is eroded it quite substantially. The most vocal people are those who have been in the service and are now out. People who are inside the service are very, very quiet and for good reason. T the people who have been in service, the veterans, are speaking out quite dramatically and if this continues, by the way, we aint seen nothing yet. Let me mention a couple of things because eric shin shecky said if it continues nearly 4 million vets wont be sent disability checks and surviving vets and dependents will not receive pension payments. If you think it cant happen to you, when the government runs out of money which will be honored before the first of november unless the debt ceiling will be raised, no Social Security payments either. A lot more people will be affected by this, by this malfesance in washington. Very, very unpleasant. Colonel, good to see you. Lets hope some progress is made in washington later today when House Republicans sit down with president obama for a meeting they say they have been waiting for. Peter alexander is live at the white house with more on this. Peter, good morning. Savannah, good morning to you. There are some possible shortterm solutions floating out there. Consider the intensity of the stalemate. Ahead of the meeting here at the white house the president and Republican Leaders couldnt agree on a guest list. President obama inviting all 232 House Republicans, but Speaker John Boehner insisting only 18 will come. How dysfunctional is d. C. , even the invite list for this afternoons white house meeting required negotiations. With the u. S. Barreling towards its Borrowing Limit, the socalled debt ceiling deadline now exactly one week away, few signs of real progress. House democrats huddling with the president late wednesday. The debt ceiling needs to be lifted. Reporter among the glimmers of hope, some republicans are weighing their willingness to accept a shortterm debt limit deal and Top Republicans shifted their focus away from gutting the president S Health Care law. In an interview with wrc, president obama warned of economic turmoil if the u. S. Doesnt cover its debts. The Financial Markets cant even imagine that we would get to a point when we wouldnt be paying our bills. Reporter still, a group of hard core republicans who summed up the debt limit deniers said the president is exaggerating the impact. Im not advocating we go through the debt ceiling deadline. But what am i saying is if you go through it, you will not default. The debt ceiling does not equal default. Reporter most federal budget experts call that talk, dangerous. This is the equivalent of saying, you know, lets push the button on a nuclear bomb and see what happens after it goes off. Reporter still texas senator ted cruz who spear headed the opposition to obama care touting the strategy as a success. Telling People Magazine he opposes the shut down but adding, i think we accomplished a great deal already. We have elevated the debate nationally. Both parties are taking a hit in their aprival ratings as a result these days for the republican brand aporing to be much worse. A new gallup poll shows only 28 of americans say they have a favorable view of republican party. Thats the lowest number since they began asking that question 21 years ago. All right, Peter Alexander at the white house, thank you so much. The republicans seem to be taking the bigger hit. I saw a poll recently that congresss Approval Rating is now at 5 , which makes you wonder who is that 5 . Alltime low. News overnight, Edward Snowdens father has arrived in moscow. Natalie has that and much more. He is in moscow in an effort to meet with his son. He spoke to journalists at the airport where edward was stuck for more than a month before he was granted temporary asylum in russia. He said he wasnt sure whether his son would ever return to the United States. And i am thankful, extremely thankful, again, to the russian people. President Vladimir Putin and his staff for the support that they have provided my son in terms of keeping him safe and secure. Meantime Edward Snowden is still wanted in the United States for charges including espionage. A threestar admiral was fired wednesday amid allegations that he used counterfeit chips at an iowa casino. The Deputy Commander of u. S. Nuclear forces is being reassigned to the navy staff until an investigation is over. Iowa Officials Say the admiral used 1,500 in fake chips during a recent visit. He has not been charged with a crime. It is every roller coaster riders Worst Nightmare getting stuck right at the top, but that is exactly what happened at Universal Studios in orlando, florida, wednesday night. 12 people were left stranded when the rip rocket came to a stop at the worst possible time right there. A computer glitch was to blame. Riders were rescued after about 2 1 2 hours. No one was hurt and Universal Studios owned and operated, of course, by nbc universal. And caught on camera. A moving train slams into an 18wheeler sending large metal pipes flying. This happened in midland county, texas. The truck driver had gotten out after his big rig bottomed out at the track. Watch as the train, though, smashes into the truck and it launches those pipes everywhere. One crossing arm was damaged in the crash. Unbelievable that no one was hurt in this crazy video. And crazy incident there in midland county, texas. Got lucky. They really did. That video is unbelievable. Speaking of unbelievable. Natalie, man. Im very bright. Can you stand over here and model. Very bright. Talking about your outfit. All right. Its that youre reminded as a creamsicle. You dont see that at the end of every newscast. You stole walt d talking about a coastal storm coming up along the northeast coast. Areas that were already affected by sandy seaside park, new jersey, rain covering the lens and no relief in sight over the next 24 hours. We are looking at a system that is making a real mess. In fact, you can see we are going to see heavy rainfall over the next few hours just outside of washington. Already picking up, up to a third of an inch of rain per hour with this system. Rainfall amounts are going to be pretty good. You add to it the winds and the high tides and were looking at beach erosion along the jersey coast. Upwards of three to four inches of rain over the next 48 hours and the heavy rain spreads up into new england over the next 24 hours. Its going to be a mess. Coastal beach flooding, Gale Force Winds and a real nasty next two days. Were going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. Arting friday, save 20 percent with your coupon arting friday, on apparel, home, accessories, shoes and fine jewelry when you use your jcpenney credit card. Or get 15 off any other form of payment. Plus, doorbusters start this friday at 3pm to saturday 1pm. Like 50 off sweaters for her, 4050 off mens st. Johns bay apparel, and 40 off kids outerwear. Jcpenney. 7 16 on a thursday morning. Good morning. Im meteorologist christina loren. Some gorgeous sunrise shots to show you. This is from foster city. It doesnt get much better than that except for when i show you this is our camera over the San Francisco bay. Just takes your breath away this morning. So beautiful. Thats what you get to drive to work under. 70 degrees on the way to fremont. 72 in san jose and 71 degrees in San Francisco. Not a lot of difference between our micro climate temperatures today. Thats the weather. Now to the latest on that 9yearold stow away who got past Airport Security from minneapolis to las vegas. His father says he tried repeatedly to get help for him. Fbcs john yang is at minneapolis airport. Good morning to you. Reporter good morning, matt. This morning, the father does want to keep his and his sons identity a secret. He also desperately wants to get help copeing with his sons behavior. A hooded sweatshirt and baseball cap may have hidden the face of the 9yearolds father, but nothing could hide his frustration. Will somebody help me, please . Reporter two days before getting on a flight to las vegas, his 9yearold son stole a delivery truck, slamming into a parked suv and crashing into a police car, all on suspension from school for fighting. They said he was a minor. They couldnt do nothing because he was a minor. So im asking for help. Reporter Child Protective Services have been locking in on the boy since december but hasnt taken any action. Psychotherapist adrian schroetter was a social worker in new york city. Probably at his wits end. A lot of times he is set up for crisis. Many parents saw that same story, they say, thats my child. I know how he feels. Reporter in las vegas the boy is ending a full week in Child Protective Services. A nevada family law Attorney Says thats likely because of his history. I think they are going to investigate in minneapolis to make sure its a protective environment and that hes saved. Reporter meanwhile, his father admitting once the boy arrives hope, hesed a his wits end at what to do next. Theyre talking double jeopardy, with my son i get locked up. If i let my son keep on doing what hes doing, i get in trouble. Im a parent. Im not perfect. Reporter a family Spokesman Says authorities here have told him they expect the boy to be returned to minneapolis as soon as friday and that they expect he nodes to be reunited with his parents. Matt. All right. John yang in minneapolis. Thanks very much. Cameron is in this morning. You have the kenyekimmel feud. Overnight, people have gone crazy, some of the teeth tweeting coming in. One with him says i like kenye, but ser