hotel. one guest suffers a heart attack and dies, and an investigation is under way today, monday, october 8, 2012. from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning. welcome to "today" on this monday morning. i'm savannah guthrie. >> and i'm willie geist in this morning for matt. the coldest weather of the season so far has folks out on the plaza, as you can see, bundled up. right now the temperature on a columbus day morning 44 degrees. down to 42 overnight. i guess it's fall, savannah. >> it is. seemed to happen overnight. on saturday we had a really warm day here in new york, and parts of the midwest is even colder. temperatures hovering around freezing places like detroit, chicago, oklahoma city. we'll get more on the forecast straight ahead. also, president obama hits up a star-studded campaign fund-raiser poking a little fun at his debate performance last week. we'll tell you what he had to say and look ahead to this week's big vice presidential debate. and we'll meet the creator of a blog who mocks parents who fill their twitter and facebook updates with tweets about their kids. is it too mean-spirited? we'll ask her about that. and check out this massive pile-up at a nascar race this season. this all happened on the final lap. more on that story in just a moment, but we want to begin with that first major blast of winter weather across a large chunk of the nation. nbc's kevin tibbles is in chicago this morning. good morning to you. >> reporter: forgive me for looking a little confused this morning, though some would say most mornings i do, but today it's about the temperature. it is colder right now in chicago than it was during periods of last january. some people out here even had to get out their snow shovels, and it's only october. summer, fall, where have they gone so quickly? old man winter blew in to remind residents across the plains and parts of the midwest that he's on his way. in north dakota, even the reporters caught the big chill. >> the day started out rotten and just got worse. >> reporter: over the weekend, 74 record low temperatures were set and frost and freeze advisories are out for several states this morning. according to the national weather service there's just a 5% chance of even getting snow this early in october. no snow in the windy city, but spectators watching the chicago marathon bundled up to keep out the cold. >> i'm pretty cold. >> reporter: you're pretty cold? >> okay. >> reporter: where are your gloves? >> i didn't bring any gloves. >> reporter: at least the runners were in no danger of overheating. >> i think it's good for the runners. it's not so warm. >> it's not too bad. but these 93-year-old legs are just a little bit chilly right now. >> reporter: the start to the cold season followed by a summer dominated by heat and drought. >> temperatures we're seeing now are a good 10 to 30 degrees below average. cold air brewing up in the arctic and allowed to come down across the lower 48. hardy football fans in cincinnati braved the elements. >> feels a little colder than 45 degrees. my hands are freezing, but the rest of me is warm because i have on a lot of layers. >> i'm freezing. trying to move around and keep my hands arm. >> a pumpkin. >> reporter: and with halloween approaching this scary cold blast couldn't dampen the mood at queen's county farm in new york where it was time for the annual visit to the pumpkin patch. >> wear sandals run day and snow boots the next, but fine. >> reporter: at least there was a hot cup of apple cider on hand to help warm the spirits. savannah, there's a few of us out here right now who could use a little hot apple cider. in any case, it looks like this sweater weather is going to stick around for a few more days. savannah? >> all right. kevin tibbles, i think you should have bundled up a little bit more. you're showing you're tough. right now here's willie. >> thanks, savannah. politics and the presidential race. mitt romney is set to deliver a major speech today while president obama raises campaign cash in california. nbc's peter alexander is in lexington, virginia traveling with the romney camp. peter, good morning. >> reporter: willie, good morning to you. mitt romney here at virginia military institute is hoping to draw a sharp contrast with the president on foreign policy issues, specifically saying to him that hope is not a strategy. meanwhile, the president traveling across california in front of some of his staunch et supporters last night at a fund-raiser implored them saying that everything is on the line. >> hello, l.a.! >> reporter: enlisting a cast of celebrities including stevie wonder. ♪ >> reporter: president obama picked up a little cash in california sunday night and even made a self-deprecating aleutian to his own performance in last week's debate. >> everybody here is incredible professionals and such great friends, and they just perform flawlessly night after night. i can't always say the same. >> we're going to win florida, and we're going to take back the white house. >> reporter: wrapping up a three-day swing through the sunshine state mitt romney has appeared more confident and relaxed, invigorated by last week's strong debate and enthusiastic crowds. on sunday he previewed today's foreign policy speech in which he'll paint president obama as weak. >> i commit to you i will be a leader. when i'm president israel take the care that it takes to rebuild our principles and restore the principles that made america so strong. >> reporter: with the race tightening, the campaigns are sharpening their attacks. a top obama adviser dismissing romney's debate performance as, quote, masterful but fundamentally dishonest. >> mitt romney will say absolutely anything to get elected. >> reporter: and the administration's response to one of the latest job report. >> the economy is not doing well and the fact that you have a white house celebrating an unemployment rate of 7.8% with 23 million americans out of work or unemployed or underemployed tells you a lot about the failure of this administration's polici policies. >> reporter: romney has made a shift to sharing a more compassionate side, something he resisted, in three straight rallies recounting the memories of a 14-year-old he befriended with leukemia. >> he asked me a very difficult question, mitt, what's knock. he called me brother romney, what's next? david passed away, but i'll always remember and never forget his courage, his clear eyes, his full heart. david can't lose. i love the greatness of the soul of the american people. >> reporter: and this week's main event doesn't actually include the president or mitt romney. instead, it's the vice presidential debate. this thursday between vice president joe biden and romney's running mate, paul ryan. after the lopsided debate this past week, willie, the stakes are now higher than ever. >> a lot on the line. peter alexander in virginia for us this morning. thanks very much. >> a check of the day's other top stories. natalie morales is over at the news desk, natalie, good morning. >> good morning, savannah and willie, good morning, everyone. an unprecedented third term for hugo chavez as the socialist leader is re-elected in venezuela. kerry sanders is live with more from caracas, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. the official result showed pentagon hugo chavez won that unprecedented third term with 54% of the vote. the newspaper headline here says it all, "six more years." for chavis's supporters, his re-election is an emotional moment in history. fireworks filled the skies. as the street party continued well into the early morning hours. a chavez victory shows supporters his brand of socialism is here to stay. >> we want to live in socialism. >> reporter: hugo chavez, 58 years old, a star among the poor in south america was himself surrounded by a hollywood star sunday, actor danny glover, a chavez supporter. for almost 14 years chavez socialist revolution has captured the imagination of the poor here, in large part because he's taken this nation's oil wealth and used its profits to give away free homes and subsidize grocery bills. >> hugo chavez. >> reporter: but opposite candidate enheek capriles says the oil wealth has been siphoned by the government. many of his supporters say they will leave venezuela, likely destination, the united states. >> i love venezuela. we'll continue fighting for freedom. >> reporter: president hugo chavez is battling cancer. were it to take his life in the first four years of his life the vice president would serve for only 30 days, just enough time to stage a new election. natalie? >> kerry sanders in caracas, venezuela. thank you, kerry. at least 27 new cases of fungal meningitis emerged as the deadly outbreak linked to steroid injections spreads to nine states. 91 people are now infected as the new england drug company that produced those injections widens its recall. the steroid is frequently used to treat back pain, and authorities say thousands of patients may have been injected with drugs made at the affected facility. a plea deal today for the former cincinnati bengals cheerleader facing sexual abuse charges. the agreement will allow sarah jones to avoid a trial slated to begin wednesday. the 27-year-old jones is expected to serve probation but no jail time for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student while she was a teacher at a local high school. the international space station is getting a special delivery from the u.s., an unmanned privately owned rocket and cargo capsule launched sunday night bringing some 882 pounds of food, clothing and other scientific supplies to the space station. perhaps the most anticipated item in the dragon capsule, a freezer containing chocolate vanilla swirl ice cream. nasa has turned to the private sector to supply the space station since the retirement of the space shuttle program last year. and a massive 25-car pile-up at talladega on sunday in the final last of the nascar race. race leader tony stewart was bobbing and weaving to avoid a takeover attempt when michael waltrip clipped his bumper sending him careening into several other cars. amazingly, no one was seriously injured, and as for matt kenseth he managed to avoid the carnage unscathed winning the race. quite a cleanup though there on the track. it's 7:12. right now you're up to date. let's turn it back over to savannah, willie and maria. >> thanks. >> it's amazing the safety they have on the cars. if you saw it on a highway, you would figure mass catchial tis. everybody walks away. incredible. >> and they declare a winner in the end. maria is here for al. how is it going? >> ling the chill. this air mass is takie ining ov huge amount of real estate. many of us waking up to temperatures into the 20s, 30s and 40s. all the way down into central texas. it's no wonder we have a wide number of frost and freeze advisories. that stretch through the ohio valley into texas. many of these will expire as the sun comes up. just about everyone east of the rockies will see high temperatures 10 to 20 degrees below the average. now, here's a look at what you can expect. >> it will feel like november around here. take a look outside. our sunrise with those fiery clouds. the sun coming up right now. that is absolutely gorgeous. we're at 46 degrees right now. we're dry but we're talking about some rain showers for later today. starting about noon time. the high just 50 to 56 degrees. so pretty darn chilly after that cold start. and, again, some wet weather, it will continue through the evening. >> and that's your weather. savannah, over to you. >> all right, maria. thank you. police in philadelphia are investigating a wild scene at a hotel over the weekend. a brawl involving two wedding parties that ended with injuries, arrests and one man's death from a heart attack. nbc's katy tur that is the story. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. the nasty crash was all caught on tape. right now they are not sure how it all started but police here in the city of brotherly love say it was too many people with too much to drink, and now one of those families is in mourning. this isn't the wedding video they were hoping for. watch as philadelphia cops try to break up a fight between not just one but two wedding parties early sunday morning. look carefully, and you'll see a woman in white fall to the ground. >> did somebody just hit the bride? >> reporter: that is max from films the whole thing from the philly sheraton. >> started punching each other and hitting each other and the police came in and started clubbing people. >> reporter: police tell nbc news as many as 100 people were locked in this brawl which started with one wedding party in the hotel bar and escalated when someone from another wedding party arrived and was hit with something. police had to call for backup not once, but twice, and said all of the chaos was made worse by alcohol. a number of people were injured, and a 57-year-old man believed to be the uncle of one of the brides suffered a heart attack and died. a family's happiest day turned into its ugliest. >> the sheraton couldn't really do much. it was out of their hands. there were too many people who probably had too much to drink >> reporter: sheraton released a statement saying they were cooperating with the ongoing police investigation and offered heartfelt condolences to the family. as of now, one person is under arrest for assault. more charges could come. philly police say they are reviewing that videotape to see if anything could have directly contributed to that one man's death. savannah. >> katy tur in philadelphia. 7:15. once again here's willie. ohio, where voters have picked the winners of the last 12 presidential races and one area of the state is getting a lot of attention from both the president and from mitt romney. nbc's capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell is in cincinnati. kelly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, willie. we know winning ohio is critical but the real fight is happening on smaller turf, places like this, home to 800,000 people who know they are among the most sought-after voters anywhere. now in parts of the state, it's really predictable, for obama or for romney, hamilton county could go either way and might decide it all. picking sides in cincinnati is usually a fight over who makes the city's best chili, piled high and smothered in cheese, but now it's about ohio's biggest fall prize. >> register to vote right here. update your voter registration. >> reporter: winning southwest ohio's hamilton county. >> it is ground zero, right where we are. >> it's a county that president bush won in '01 but barack obama won in '08. >> reporter: the county has traditionally gone republican. >> this is a place we plan to reclaim in 2012. >> that looks like -- >> reporter: a shot at victory. >> what are the streets -- >> >> reporter: means countless steps and thousands of front doors. >> hi. my name is shelby with organizing for america, president obama's re-election team. >> reporter: volunteers who will risk the dreaded hangup. >> just wondering if you will be supporting mitt romney and paul ryan this november. >> reporter: the democratic party is all about banking support by encouraging early voting. what sort of pressure do you feel as the county chair? >> a lot. >> reporter: democrats need local college students involved and a big repeat turnover from african-americans. >> the support is here for the president, and i know that the republicans are worried about that. >> reporter: republicans are relying on well-guarded and complex consumer data to find potential supporters, many who don't always vote, and get them to vote early, and their biggest ambition is winning back independents and republicans who picked obama last time. in 2008, who did you vote for? >> obama. >> reporter: and this year? >> romney. >> reporter: valerie and robert herman voted obama in '08 but call themselves undecided now. >> frankly i still don't really know what i'm going to do. >> there are disappointments, disappointments about where he said he would be today and we're not there, and my general enthusiasm has waned for him. >> reporter: many voters here say they are feeling the pressure that their votes could swing the state. >> elections are always tense, but it just seems like more people are very distressed about the outcome of this one. >> i feel so privileged i think to be a hamilton county voter and to have that spotlight hon what we're doing. >> reporter: and local democrats tell me that their enthusiasm was slower to develop this year, but they think they have got it now. while republicans say they want to drive up as many votes as they can, not only to win the county but to offset some of the support the president has elsewhere in the state. the candidates are here, it seems, almost every day, willie, and voters are really under the gun to deliver one way or the other. willie had? >> all right. kelly o'donnell for us this morning from ohio. 7:18. here again is savannah. thank you. cable heavyweights jon stewart and bill o'reilly have a lot to say and over the weekend they squared off in a spirited online debate. craig melvin has more on the showdown. craig, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. organizers called it the rumble in the air conditioned auditorium. for 90 minutes jon stewart and bill o'reilly traded jabs over the serious and substantive, but much of the night was spent on silliness and schtik. >> virtually challenged candidate. >> the altitude is really rough up here. >> reporter: across the ring the face of fox news who took along a few props. >> it's boring. >> reporter: a night tailor made for laughs. >> my friend bill o'reilly is completely full of [ bleep ]. >> two personalities such as yourself, who are almost polar opposites, politically, share a willingness to come together when congress can't? what advice would you give congress? >> and what would you like for christmas, little boy? >> reporter: but after the lap dance, some fire and substance about so called entitlements. >> they advertise on the radio for food stamps, are you kidding me? >> why is it that if you take advantage of a tax break and you're a corporation you're a smart business man, but if you take advantage of something that you need to not be hungry you're a moocher? what kind of business is in a? >> they also sparred over health care. >> the free market has failed us in this instance. >> you can have government regulation of it. just don't have them run it! >> reporter: one rare point of agreement, iraq. >> should not have gone to iraq. afghanistan we had to. >> bill o'real, we should not have gone into iraq. >> reporter: outside and online there was anger not over what was being said but over the snail's pace of the live stream. after paying 4.95 thousands moved to facebook to complain. >> thank you for coming out to see us. >> reporter: after the debate o'riley and stewart apologized for the technical glitches and offered refunds and then in a show of surprising and unprecedented restraint no victory dance around the ring. >> i don't think you can look at these things, you know, of this idea it's a match and there's a winner and the winner takes all. >> the display that you saw tonight is why america is america, you know. robust, creative, no holds barred. >> get off. >> reporter: half of the proceeds of that event will be going to various charities choosen by o'riley and stewart. one historical note here, savannah guthrie, probably the first time in the history of debates that martin van buren and lil wayne have ever been referenced on the same stage. >> let me google that just to make sure. craig me