the president's foreign policy briefly overshadows it's problems. time to nation build as he announces withdrawal of remaining troops serving in iraq by the end of the year. >> after nearly nine years, america's war in iraq will be over. >> more than 4,000 american service men and women killed. at a cost of more than 7$700 billion. but does withdrawal now risk more bloodshed in iraq? and libya. ka kadafi is dead. what now for the united states in that country? joining me now, secretary of state hilary clinton and the republican race for the white house. hands on debate moment that signifies a nasty turn in the fight over taxes, health care and immigration.

>> i don't think i've had an youtube? >> what did we do before disneyland? >> it's like 30%kids, we'll see later on. it's funny, especially in contrast. anyway, a lot to get to this morning, including some new revelations in a deadly plane crash. it's been nearly three years since that commuter air crash in buffalo killed 50 people. now just released e-mails reveals the company's serious concerns about the training of the captain of that aircraft. why was he at the controls? more on that story, coming up. plus, the search for baby lisa irwin. tomorrow marks three weeks since she disappeared from her family's home. the latest development, a police cadaver dog picked up a scent

inside the bedroom. what do parents have to say? we'll talk to their attorney, live, just ahead. the marriage of kate edwards. a bittersweet ceremony for the bride. her father, john edwards, walked her down the aisle. he's facing serious criminal charges and the wedding nearly a year after elizabeth edwards lost her battle to cancer. more on that coming up. are you ever really too old to go back to school? if you're a football kicker, the answer is apparently no. fresh out of retirement, he is 61 years old, the guy sticking, the oldest player in history. i had a chance to spend time with him the last couple of weeks. we'll let you bb thknow about t coming up. >> i did i think i was watching the snoopy episode watching the ball. >> did i think i was going >> i did think i was going to need massive plastic surgery after i came back from that.

he is wonderful. we had a good time. >> let's begin with deadly shark attack off the coast of a popular beach in australia. the victim was an american who was spear fishing in the ocean when the 10-foot predator struck. sara james is live in melbourne with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lesser. they have identified the american as 32-year-old george thomas wane white. he was working in australia and a keen diver. now everyone is searching for the predator who claimed his life and the orders are shoot to kill. in western australia today, a massive search is under way for a mammoth shark. a ten-foot great white similar to this one. spotted in the vicinity of the attack which killed an american diver. >> this is pretty massive injuries. i extend sympathy to this young

man's friends and family. a horrific incident. >> reporter: authorities scrambled to get swimmers and divers out of the water after the attack. this is the picturesque stretch of ocean near the city of perth. george thomas wainwright went for a dive. but a trail of bubbles indicated something was wrong. then -- >> he floated to the surface and the shark was seen as they were leaving the area to come back. >> reporter: wainwright's horrified friends, both also from the u.s., tried to help, but it was too late. >> this is a tragic situation, and it's the third shark fatality we have had in only a matter of weeks. >> reporter: the first, a surfer, grabbed by a great white on september 4th. the next, october 10th. a businessman out for a morning swim and now this. prompting some here to fear there could be a jaws man eater on the prowl.

experts say there are also other possibilities. an increase in the number of whales migrating south this year and more seals mean more sharks lurking in the water. great white sharks are a protected species in australia. they can't be hunted. but this latest attack prompted a dramatic order from the government. >> within an hour of that situation occurring, the fisheries minister, state government, authorized that the shark be caught and destroyed if possible. and the fisheries officer are attempting to do that. >> this will just create a problem with a lot of dead sharks and it probably won't get the shark that attacked the young man. >> reporter: but an attempt to snare the shark with bait has been abandoned. >> we haven't seen it. there hasn't been a capture, we thought it was brilliant to remove the launch in the water. and that might attract sharks

back to the area. >> reporter: so far the search for the predator is proving elusive and in the meantime, authorities are warning swimmers and divers, especially if they are offshore, to be very cautious. lester, back to you. >> all right, sara james in australia for thus morning. here is jenna. >> lester, thanks. now to the troubling revelations about the deadly commuter plane crash in buffalo nearly three years ago, the accident killed 50 people. as tom costello reports, it appears the airline had concerns about the pilot. >> reporter: within months of the crash of continental connection flight 3407, flown by colgan airlines, investigators zeroed in on marvin renslow and rebecca shaw. >> i think this crew went from complacency to ka tras to fooe in 30 seconds. >> reporter: they failed to monitor the air speed of the a-400 turboprop, and when the

plane began to stall, captain renslow pulled the nose up, causing the plane to crash. now new e-mails reveal that colgan air was concerned about renslow and didn't they he was qualified to upgrade to the q-400. one writes you might want to check the training records. something in the back of my mind about renslow. you are correct. renslow had a problem upgrading. then the vice president of operations says anyone who does not meet the minimums and had problems training before is not ready to tackle the q. the chief pilot says he is already off the list. he had failed multiple faa check rides, six months later he was flying the q400. the attorney for the victims' family calls this a smoking gun.

>> he didn't have enough experience, had problems training, failed his tests. >> reporter: but in a statement, colgan's parent company, pinnacle said he was properly trained, certified and qualified under all applicable federal aviation regulations to act as pilot in command of a q-400 aircraft. but the ntsb says colgan never shared those e-mails with investigators. jennifer west who lost her husband says it's further evidence that the crew should never have been flying. >> it shouldn't have happened. you know. people get tired of seeing us or hearing us. they don't live with it every day, don't see their 4-year-old or 5-year-old daughter saying where is daddy. tom co >> reporter: tom costello, nbc news. >> we are joined by sue pash. her older sister mary was a passenger on the plane. thank you for joining us.

>> you're welcome. >> i want to ask you about the e-mails. the e-mails say "renslow had a problem upgrading, and anyone who doesn't meet the minimum standards and had problems in training is knottnot ready to h the q. what was your reaction to the e-mails? when his immediate supervisor had questions about his ability to fly the plane? >> i was ecstatic that it was now out in the open and it was just a confirmation of what we all suspected all along, and that is colgan air neglected to train that pilot properly and he should never have been flying the q-400. >> your family is one of the few families refusing to settle with this airline. do these e-mails perhaps help you feel vindicated in any sort of way? >> well, sure. it does, but yet we're still going to push forward and our

number one concern here is aviation safety. it's not about the case. it's about making sure our skies are safer for everyone. >> i want to play devil's ahead advocate. pinnacle airlines voluntarily made the following e-mails public. captain renslow was properly trained, certified to operate as captain of that aircraft. and he successfully completed the q-400 training program. and it was a rating by the examiner and he successfully completed 20 hours of transition operateding experience. what that means is he did pass the training and he did follow all of the rules. did the company do anything wrong here? >> sure. he failed five check rides. i couldn't get a driver's

license if i failed my driver's test. how can someone all along fail these tests and then put into the seat of a cockpit to fly people? someone dropped the ball. whether it was the examiner, colgan and then pinnacle to be able to release on friday that he had 20 hours of flight time, come on! in order for a cosmetologist to get a license to cut hair needs 1,000 hours. to see 20 hours of flight time is enough it's mind boggling to me. >> a few seconds left. tell us what you are trying to gain with the lawsuit and what you are looking to really gather here? >> well, 50 lives were -- perished that day. and we don't want those lives to go in vain. we are here like we said earlier to fight for aviation safety. >> sue pash, our best to you and

your family as you continue to mourn. >> thank you so much. >> once again, here is lester. >> jena thanks. to politics and the new challenges from overseas, the death of moammar gadhafi and in iraq all u.s. troops home by year's end. two milestones reached in a matter of days. what will it meet for the president? >> good morning. >> the opposition of the war central to president obama's original campaign. how will it affect his legacy now that that barely registers in the list of issues among american voters? >> when you have the economy in the shape in the economy is now in, i don't think anything can really crowd that out for attention. it has an immediate focus here and there has been a big week for the president's foreign policy. a big year. and there are a lot of important questions about iraq in the future. does it get bloody all of a sudden? will there be civil war? real concerns.

i don't think this is top of mind for american voter as we think about the election this is a leadership moment for the president. at a time when the government can't do a lot about the economy, this is a time when he's certainly accomplishing a lot in foreign policy at a momentous time for the rest of the world if you look at what's happening in the middle east. >> democrats traditionally have been vulnerable to republican charges being weak on defense, soft on defense. this is the year bin laden was killed at the orders of the president. gadhafi, a war in which the u.s president participated in is now gone. taken that together, has he removed a weak point an achilles heel in the mind of republicans trying to unseat him? >> i don't think there is any question about that. the other -- two interesting pieces about this. first of all, republicans more isolationist, even though they have all piled on here and said this is a precipitous withdrawal from iraq. president bush put the country

on the glide path out of iraq by coming up with this agreement in the first place. if you look at this republican debate and series of debates. there has been the betrayal of in the debates that is stunning to some people. in 2011 after a decade at war. simple mistakes about lack of geography or lack of a really thought out point of view of america in the rest of the world if you go back to hillary clinton's 3:00 a.m. phone call against president obama, who do you trust, who can handle that crisis? this president has been tested now repeatedly in that areyna, and he will try to use that as a club in the debate. >> thank you very much. sharon epperson at the news desk with more of today's top stories. good morning. good morning, lester, good morning, jenna. good morning everyone. a powerful earthquake today in turkey. state-run news agency says it

was a preliminary 7.2 and struck near the city of van, collapsing 250 apartment buildings. there are a number of deaths and 50 people injured. france's first lady carla bru bruni left the hospital with the birth of their first baby. daughter julia was born thursday in a paris hospital. a cocktail waitress is london with the latest on prince harry. good morning, annabelle. >> hi there, yes. the lady in question, 26-year-old jessica johnson has spoken out. she says harry is a real prince charming, but kind of goofy with her, not sure that's such a compliment. she admits there were a couple of dates, but no kisses. he got up close just to talk to her. prince harry, of course, has quite a reputation as a party lover and is often pictures at nightclubs, somewhat the worse for wear. he recently split from his girlfriend, chelsea davey. harry is in california for two

months, training as an apatchy helicopter pilot and hopes to return to active duty in afghanistan it would be absurd to affect him not to make headlines in california and maybe this episode with jessica won't be the last. >> thank you very much. game four of the world series is tonight in arlington, texas. cardinals hold a 2-1 edge over the rangers. thanks to albert pujols. he hit three impressive home runs last night to tie the world series record. amassing five hits and six rbis, the cards' 16-7 win. some are calling it the greatest hitting performance in world series history. that's the news. back to lester and jena. >> sharon, thanks. chris warren with a check of the weather. >> good morning. things looking quiet across the country. a few storms lingering in the southern plains. those will be dying

good sunday morning to you. wow. what another great beach day we are going to get right at the coast. crystal clear conditions to start you out. you see the bay bridge vividly this morning. temperatures today running a bit on the cool side in the north bay. you're at 47 degrees in napa. we're headed towards another unseasonably warm day with temperatures climbing into the upper 70s and 80s. 84 in san. that seven-day outlook coming up. th'sat your weather. now here is lester. >> we'll be back with more of "today," after this. at

a bittersweet for kate edwards yesterday. the daughter of elizabeth edwards was married in a north carolina church with her daughter, john edwards. a former presidential candidate facing a prison sentence walking her down the aisle. we have more from washington. >> reporter: good morning, jenna. for a young woman, kate edwards has certainly been through a lot in life. the loss of a sibling, the

recent passing of her mother, and, of course, her father's highly publicized political scandal. this weekend marks a new beginning. kate edwards, moments before walking down the aisle, and into a new life. on saturday, the 29-year-old married her college sweetheart, 30-year-old trevor upham. the ceremony held at a church in chapel hill, north carolina. according to those at the wedding, her father, former presidential candidate john edwards, was there to walk her down the aisle. >> i think that this day for the edwards family is kind of a bright spot in what's really been a dark year. >> reporter: that's because kate can't share this moment with her mother, elizabeth edwards, an iconic figure in her own right, elizabeth pass aed away last december after a long battle with breast cancer. just two weeks after cate got engaged. at a breast cancer walk last month, cate told nbc's andrea mitchell, she was quitting her

job as a lawyer to start a nonprofit in her mother's name. >> big choices make, little choices i make, sort of everything i do, i hear her voice, the same way did i when she was alive. >> reporter: the edwards have weathered a lot in 2004, john edwards seemed to be the rising star of the democratic party when he became john kerry's running mate. unsuccessful, edwards threw his hat into the presidential ring in 200. then a fall from grace. news he was having an affair with campaign worke rielle huntr and fathered her child, now three. is he now facing criminal charges for using campaign funds to cover up his affair. he is pleaded not guilty. cate is moving on. she told "glam oor"glamor" maga. she will always remember the two weeks she had to plan her wedding with her mother. i feel so lucky to have shared

that joy with her. cherished memories as cate edwards walks a new path. and john edwards hosted the reception. jenna. >> thank you very much. we'll take a break. back after these messages. quaker oatmeal is a super grain. ♪ it gives me warmth. ♪ [ boy ] it gives me energy to help me be my best. quaker oatmeal has whole grains for heart health. and it has fiber that helps fill me up. ♪ [ male announcer ] great days start with quaker oatmeal. energy. fiber. heart health. quaker oatmeal. a super grain breakfast.

>>. >> still it come on" today," new clues on the search for baby lisa. 't i couldn't sleep and mornings? rough. i tried tissues and neti pot thingy and even more tissues then i said enough! and i found the solution. [ female announcer ] drug-free breathe right nasal strips. i put it on and...wow! instant relief. i breathed better...slept better felt better.

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good saturday -- to, it is sunday morning. thanks for joining us on this sunday morning. we're looking live at san jose. maybe i should get a little more sleep. how about you? i'm kris sanchez along with meteorologist christina loren, who's in for rob mayeda this morning. how are you? >> i'm good. how are you? >> good. >> it's one of those mornings you may want to sleep in. another gorgeous day at coast. we actually broke a temperature record yesterday in oakland. you know what i'm talking about if you were anywhere near the coastline yesterday. crystal clear, nice and warm. oaklan d hit 84 degrees. the old record, 83 set back in 2008. yesterday was record-brhiking heat. today isd- going to be just as warm if not warmer. we're starting out so mild in san francisco, for instance. you hit 56 degrees in san jose. san francisco at 62 this morning. easily making your way to 81 degrees later today with a lot of sunshine coming in all day long. in fact, right off the bat, once

we get those live shots, we'll see gorgeous, gorgeous conditions. then our shift. we'll start to work on fire weather around here. we're really watching for that. it looks dry and breezy next week. that's our next shift. the good news is another great beach day in october. then i've got that halloween forecast coming up. >> all right. thanks, christina. new this morning, san jose firefighters rescued six people from a burning apartment building. fire started around 1:15 this morning at an apartment complex on south king road. san jose fire says it started in an apartment on the second floor, but then quickly spread to the first. firefighters had to use a ladder truck to reach one person who was stranded on a balcony. two people are injured. one of them went to the hospital. a firefighter also suffered minor burns to the face. more than 50 people are now out of their homes. the red cross is trying to help

them this morning. also in san jose overnight, a fight turned into the city's 37th homicide investigation of the year. san jose police got a call about that fight on a virginia street around 1:30 this morning. when police arrived on the scene, they were led to the victim on a sidewalk at virginia and vine avenue. he had been stabbed. doctors couldn't save him. police are not yet releasing suspect information. and two people are expected to survive after shootings. this happened just before 2:00 this morning. police are still investigating what led to that shooting. and interstate 580 is finally open again after a deadly and possibly intentional crash shut it down and sent police on a search for evidence. it happened on 580 around 4:00 yesterday afternoon. police say 31-year-old eddie hall from oakland, the driver of

an east bay para transit van hit a motorcyclist and dragged him for more than a mile. the rider was a member of the hells angels group. he died at hospital. coming up at 7:00, we have a lot more for you. right now, here's back to the "today" show. s

we're back on this sunday morning, october 23rd, 2011. near beautiful fall day in the big apple. nice crowd with us. we thank them for being part of the relatively chilly sunday morning with us. i'm jenna wolf along with lester holt and the story that keeps getting stranger, the search for baby lisa. >> much of the focus continues to be on her parents. a search warrant was executed at the home where cadaver dogs found the scent of human remains. the parent's attorney has a different explanation as to why that scent might have been found. we're going to ask him about that, and we speak to him live shortly. >> now, we're going to switch gears and talk about why age is just a number. i recently spent some time with a very nice guy. he is a college football player, but what makes this guy stand out, he actually has grandchildren. i spent time with 61-year-old starting kicker for the falkner university football team alan moore. wait until you meet him. very interesting fellow.

>> how far do -- >> it was like 30, 35 yards. he just p.a.t.s point after kicks, but -- >> p.a.t. >> point after touchdown. i'm sorry. >> yeah. i'm impressed. >> i'm well versed in football. i brag every sunday morning that you are, so my bad for not knowing that. he is very consistent, and that is what makes him so good. >> are you done? >> i'm going to stop talking now. anything he says now is fine. >> i set you up for that. >> then we'll do the weekend buzz, in which we'll talk about some of the things that we're talking about. beyonce and jayzee with a nursery that i believe is bigger than my apartment, and the video -- parents didn't get the response they were quite hoping for when they told their kids they were going to disneyworld. how did they react? not well. we're going to show you more. >> what year does disneyworld start? >> while we're -- i thought i would throw that one. >> i want to say 74. >> perfect. >> that's great. and then we're asking people to

show us your best stuff.uf fr you, our viewers, and it' all for a showdown live i on >>ubmit an original stuffg recipe along with the video or photo of your -- do you need help with this? >> i just thought she dropped her stuff. >> she pride herself out to get it. >> riley and lsu. >> the deadline entry is saturday, november 12th. her sign is there. >> all is well. >> all is well. >> well, first, we're going to get another check of the weather with chris moore. >> good morning to you, jenna and lester. the weather is quiet, so the question now is why does retirement rock? >> because we both retired. >> what are you retiring from? >> nursing. >> all right. well, thank you very much for that, and enjoy your retirement. >> thank you. tu>> in new york city where it a little on the cool side, but real, real cold. here's a look at what we have as far as the current temperatures

go. right now in new york it is 51 degrees. not too far away in buffalo we're in the upper 30s for current conditions. you see the purple on the map. that's where we'll have temperatures into the 30s, and then today a few systems working into the northern tier throughout the northern rockies and northern mississippi valley giving a few showers, and we did see strong storms last night in oklahoma and texas with golf ball and baseball size hail. those storms will be dying off for much quieter weather for a good portion of a live look at the bay bridge. the camera has a shake to it this morning. that's because we have an offshore breeze that will keep things nice and warm yet again today. temperatures in the 80s. we're starting out mild. 59 in oakland. you'll hit about 82 there later on today. 87 in san jose. we keep warm weather in the mix. gets a little drier and breezier

through next week. the full forecast coming up at 7:00. your weather any time on weather.com and the weather channel on cable or satellite. tonight it is football night in america. it's going to be nice in the dome, of course. new orleans. outside getting ready for tailgating. we'll see mostly clear conditions and temperatures will be in the 60s. not looking too bad throughout much of louisiana and new orleans. storms should stay away. that's your weather. now here's jenna. chris, thank you. and now to the mystery of baby lisa irwin who disappeared three weeks ago tomorrow. there have been several dramatic developments in recent days, including the revelation that a cadaver dog picked up the scent of human remains inside the family's home. nbc's ron mott is live for us in kansas city with more. good morning, ron. >> hey, jenna, good morning to you. police made that big development on friday about that cadaver dog strike. this just as the family is learning billboards are going up asking people if they know where baby lisa irwin is.

>> reporter: new billboards are asking passing motorist ifs they've seen baby lisa irwin vanishing three weeks ago from the family home. police received 300 tips and leads, but there's still no sign of the missing toddler, or is there? authorities say a trained fbi cadaver dog picked up a scent consistent with a dead human body this week on the floor of the parent's bedroom. though both deny having any involvement in baby lisa's disappearance. reporting her missing on october 4th after having last seen her the night before. >> human decomposition usually starts within four minutes after biological death. as far as a scent dog or a cadaver dog, what they're hitting on is that scent cone. in essence, when decomposition forms, there is going to be a cone of the smell of decomposition that's formed. that's impacted on the weather

conditions, how hot it is, if the body has been moved, but, again, it's going to be within minutes that a dog should be able to find that scent if it actually existed. >> police returned to debra bradley and jeremy irwin's home with a search warrant conduct aing 17-hour probe inside and outside the house, taking several hours with them. police say the parents have not been entirely cooperative at times. something the couple's lawyer denies. police have been noticeably less public on the scene at the family's home and in front of the cameras leading some to conclude it appears the investigation may have switched focus from a search and rescue mission to search and recovery. >> i think law enforcement was dedicating a lot of time early on for the potential live victim for a kidnapping, an unknown person who carried that child away. i think the longer that this has gone on, they have to consider the strong possibility that a victim is deceased.

>> reporter: there were no developments in this case yesterday. the police have not nouned any searches oofr planned activities for today. a spoeshgs person for the police department says they continue to work in all directions. jenna. >> ron mott, ron, thank you very much. police continue to pursue hundreds of leads and they are focussing some of their attention in and around the family home. joining us now is the attorney for baby lisa irwin's parents, cindy short. thank you for being with us. >> good morning. >> as we just heard from ron mott, cadaver dogs picked up the scent of human remains in the family's home. police then went in. they took out a swauch of carpet. they took out a number of other items. can you tell us a little bit more about what police removed from the house? >> i can. first of all, i would say that the -- if there ever was any evidence of cadaver dogs, that was not confirmed by this search at the house on october 19th. you want me to tell you why i

know that? >> yes, please. >> last night i went to the k.c.p.d. and asked for permission to get back into the house. whether the house would be released back to the family, and it was verified that the house would be released. i then came right over to the house so that i could make a tour of the house and see whether or not there was any evidence within the house that would suggest that a dog ever hit in the bedroom. when i went into the house, i had an opportunity to look at the search warrant returned. the dogs actually were through the house on october 17th, and on that particular consent form, which jeremy irwin signed, it indicated that no evidence was seized at that time. when i went -- had an opportunity to go up into the bedroom where the dog had allegedly hit, it was very apparent to me that what was being recorded was both unfair and leaving false impressions

because the entire carpet of that bedroom was intact. there was nothing cut out of the bedroom. just like any other kind of evidence that we see in these kinds of cases, you have to collect the evidence. if there had been scent evidence, we would expect that portions of that carpet would have been cut out and that it would have been collected and preserved, and there is no evidence in the home that those things occurred. >> all right, cindy. let me move on and ask you about two eyewitness accounts. two eyewitnesss came forward to say they saw baby lisa during the time of her disappearance shortly thereafter. witnesses said they saw a man walking down the street with a little baby. have you had a chance to spooes speak with these two eyewitnesss? >> i have had a chance to speak to one of those eyewitnesss, and i spoke with him last night, and i feel that he has a very strong story to tell. he is an honest, forth right individual, and he clearly saw a man at approximately 4:00 a.m.

walking under dress and with an infant appearing to be the size and age of baby lisa, which firmly makes us believe that the direction of this investigation has been in the wrong direction. we're urging people all over this city and beyond to continue to make calls in and to continue to help us find this little girl who we believe is alive. >> all right. cindy short, cindy, we thank you so much for joining us this morning. and we're back after these messages. es. hey, aren't you supposed to be following that fidelity green line? yeah, but it keeps leading me back to my old office. i think it might be broken. or maybe it's trying to tell you something. yeah, but what could it be -- oh! i left my 401(k) at my old job. and i left a jacket on the back of my door. but i think the line's talking about my 401(k).

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has raised a family and then went into retirement. but then as i found out, alan moore is back in the game, putting on a helmet and returning to the game as the oldest college football player in history. football practice is under way on the campus of faulkner university. hard knocks, tough talk, and that blazing alabama heat. nothing out of ordinary for these kids, except maybe for that one. number 20. kicker alan moore. the school has him listed as a junior, 5'7", 170 pounds, and born in 1950. wait. is that a typo? i'm taking a look around. are you older than all of these people by about 20 years? >> 40. >> 40 years. so why is alan moore here? back in 1968, he was a kicker on the jones jr. college football

team in mississippi when he was drafted to go to vietnam. he packed up and left, leaving one year of football eligibility behind. fast forward to 2009, alan was laid off from his job. and for the first time in his life, he was lost. so with nothing to lose, he threw all his chips in, and tried out for the faulkner university football team. >> linebacker's coach, came to me and said coach, you wont believe this, i have a kicker that wants to come over to faulkner. and i said coach, he's 61. i said what? >> reporter: alan wowed his coaches enough to earn a spot on the roster and at age 61, he was going back to school. his first test? september 10th of this year, when he kicked an extra point to help the eagles pick up their first win on the season. >> all of the kids rallied around. that was a lot of inspiration. >> reporter: and while his

studies will take a little getting used to, on campus, alan has become somewhat of a folk hero. while he works off the field, he's really one of the guys when he's suited up on it. except for a few noticeable exceptions. number one, his weird-looking kicking shoe. why does it look like a nursing orthotic? >> back when we kicked in straight all kicking. we kicked off a two-inch tee. >> calle >> reporter: you kicked with your toes. >> straight off. kicked with the toes. >> how do they kick now? >> with the instep. >> reporter: he wears a custom fit shoe. and his helmet, modern day marvel. first time put this on, show me where your head sits. i love it. man, that thing is heavy. >> they say trust and respect

your elders. i will do just that, ready? and you as a coach, are you okay, blocking around someone who are older that you are? >> i am now, when we first started this deal. first time he came to speak to me, and i kept saying yes, sir. he said stop. we have to get something straight right now. you are the coach, i'm the athlete, i say yes, sir to you. and i said that doesn't seem right, and he says that's the way it's going to be. >> reporter: alan knows he serves a dual role, to kick and kick well and serve as a role model. >> he doesn't give up on a dream, like he says, and something we can carry over when we leave here. >> that's a positive and productive thing you will bring to a football team and a school that wasn't centered on alan moore getting an education. it was centered on not letting these kids give up on theirs. >> of the things that alan has

mastered, the first bump, tweeting, his thumbs are stronger than he has ever been, tweeting and facebook and all that. and just sort of hanging out. >> it's old school. >> just like old school. maybe he gets to go to the frat parties. >> maybe. just maybe. absolutely. i like that you knew that. coming up, the weekend buzz from george clooney and beyonce, to the priceless reaction ofki ds. kisersds. first, these messages. ds [ fema

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from george clooney's new girlfriend to the surprise reaction of kids told they are going to disney world, a busy

week in buzz here on "today." >> let's look at the highlights. joining us are our contributors. good morning to both of you. >> nice to see you. george clooney has a new love in his life. anybody starting the clock to how long it will last? >> as a big admirer of george clooney's for a long time, someone needs to sit her down and tell her exactly how this will end. he's not the marrying type. very open about this. and that's why he's allowed to bounce around from long-term relationship to long-term relationship. not making any bones about it. usually last about two years. what? two months in? 22 months to go. >> enjoy him while you've got him. >> enjoy him while you can. >> i don't know. she might body slam him if she he tries to let go. >> she's big, an amazonian girl.

>> a little girl's reaction last week, when told she was going to disney world. couldn't believe it. actually started crying. this week, two other kids, a different family we're told, the same thing. wait until you see their reaction. take a look at this. >> we want to go to chattanooga. >> we're going to chattanooga. >> i have never heard anybody cry because they are going to disney world. >> instead of chattanooga. >> instead of chattanooga. >> is this the ultimate backfire? the ultimate -- she is really crying. is the chattanooga chamber of commerce behind this? maybe chattanooga meant something other than what we think it means. >> perfect kids to have during the recession, right? they are nice and cheap. >> what do you mean we're not

going bargain shopping? i want aa bargain vacation. >> no, no, no. not disney. we want to go to chattanooga. >> those parents should be on their knees thanking the good lord they are cheap. >> if you have my love, and she said it was the first song she had ever written about love, and thfr the first time we've seen her really, you know, talk about or at least react publicly to her break-up with marcq anthony. >> we don't know if it was necessarily that. it was safe to assume it was that. look, for real, she's -- >> she's crying over bradley cooper. >> yeah, it's a hard time. she's a mother of two. they were together for seven years. that's her longest public relationship, and we forget, yeah, she's out and about and partying and she's hanging out with bradley cooper, but behind all that she's probably really in pain. >> this is the first kind of break-up of this in that they have kids. now, before when she's broken up with people after long-term relationships, it can kind of be a cleaner break, move on, go up in the next person, but it's really a complicated

relationship, and she still has that relationship with marc anthony. sdoo let's pick this up because i feel a little down right now. huge, huge, huge news. there's a chance that jessica simpson maybe could possibly be pregnant, and there's a chance that she could maybe be possibly be carrying -- da, da, da -- a little girl. did i read this correctly? she's not releasing it until she gets $500,000 from a magazine? >> there's a lot of talk about what's going on exactly inside of her uterus. >> whoa. >> her representatives are not saying a word. they're not confirming or denying. they're not answering calls and emails at this point, but jessica simpson is trying to look unpregnant, she's not doing the best job. >> wow. >> for a person who has been through this, you know, there are certain tricks you employ, and she definitely qualifies as some of those suspiciously baggie clothing tricks. if she is trying to wait until she sells the story, so to speak, to confirm it, this isn't something that is unusual.

>> the pay to play idea happens a lot, and she's allegedly trying to get $500,000 for this story. it's not going happen. it's not going to happen at all. the most she'll probably get is about $100,000. >> the baby pictures come along, and that's worth a little cash? >> the way it used to be, the only person commanding that type of paycheck these days is kim kardashian. when she announces she's pregnant, that's a $500,000 payday. >> thank you for coming on. good to talk to you. >> thank you. >> we're back right after these messages. ♪ it gives me warmth. ♪ [ boy ] it gives me energy to help me be my best. quaker oatmeal has whole grains for heart health. and it has fiber that helps fill me up. ♪ [ male announcer ] great days start with quaker oatmeal. energy. fiber. heart health. quaker oatmeal. a super grain breakfast.

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>> let's go to david gregory to see what's coming up on "meet the press." good morning. >> good morning, lester. coming up, the president's foreign policy briefly overshadows america's economic trouble this is week. joining me secretary of state hillary clinton. then our meet the candidates series continues with texas congressman ron paul. plus, our political roundtable. it's all coming up on "meet the press." >> david, thanks very much. see you soon. stoo here's the deal, it's almost that time of year again. our halloween extravaganza just one week away. we have set the bar pretty, pretty high last week with our "jersey shore." your 12-pack abs when you dressed up as the situation and the tat on your head. not too bad. >> you were a nice snookie too.

then the year before there was me as susan boyle. oh, my goodness. okay. >> amy was great. >> amy was great. >> next sunday lester, amy, and i will be on the plaza in our costumes. i can tell you this, it will not be jersey shore or american idol. >> i can tell you this, i vetoed the first thing they wanted me to be. >> you did. >> i did. >> he didn't want to be jenna. i don't see why that was such a big deal. >> the only hint, i'm going to be really cold out there. >> thankbody.ch.e, everybo. be d this year. >> thank so much, everybody. bye. ♪

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