good morning. new clues. police release images of a wooden cross recovered after her body was found. could it help identify the person responsible for her death? breaking the silence. >> -- better, but have also been worse. >> lance armstrong speaks out for the first time since stepping down as chairman of his cancer charity. in the wake of a damning report claiming he doped his way to cycling victory. as he waits to hear, he'll be stripped of his tour de france title within days. and it's official. justin timberlake and jessica biel get hitched at a star-studded italian wedding. the inside scoop about their big bash, "today," saturday, october 20th, 2012.

good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a saturday. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm jenna wolfe. investigators in colorado spent the last week looking for the person who abducted and killed 10-year-old jessica ridgeway. >> now there's potentially a new clue that could bring them closer. they're hoping that this cross provides them with new information in the case. we're going to get more on this potential important piece of evidence in just a moment. >> then it looks like a scene from an action movie. thieves making off with paintings by picasso, monet, matisse, but this is a real-life heist. investigators are hoping this surveillance video helps them nab them. >> we've also seen videos of people swimming with dolphins. ever thought about going swimming with a tiger? this is a new attraction at a

zoo in florida. some people say it's thrilling. call of the wild. others say it's sending the wrong message. i for one -- i thought cats didn't like water. >> who came up with -- where was sitting around -- i know what i haven't done. let's swim with tigers. it's so random. >> i'm not sure how i feel about that. we'll see more about it coming up. >> speaking of other crazy things people are doing, a little mud, sweat and tears never hurt anybody. i took on something called the rugged run for effect. it helps an excellent charity, special liolympics. it involves racing through a mud-filled insane obstacle course, which you really, i mean these are all the rage now these raise zi obstacle courses. i thought i could handle it. but as you can see from this video, that hasn't changed yet. i couldn't so well. >> i'm starting to feel better about swimming with the tigers after that. >> it was a lot of fun. so we're going to have more on that coming up. >> way to clean up well. >> thank you for responding to the invite when i asked you to come. >> we want to get started this morning with presidential

politics. president obama and his republican opponent mitt romney will spend the rest of the weekend studying up for the next and final debate. peter alexander is traveling with the romney campaign. peter, good morning. >> lester, good morning to you. we are in the tarmac right now as you can see behind us. this is the romney campaign plane as he heads today to boca raton ahead of monday's third and final debate. the president will spend his weekend at camp david preparing for that debate. but both candidates on the trail squeezed in another series of attacks just yesterday. the president was in virginia, accusing romney of moderating his stance and conveniently forgetting past positions on women's issues and the economy. he referred to it as romnesia. mitt romney, here in daytona beach, said the president simply has no agenda, no plan for the future, and he says that the president basically has been reduced to petty attacks and silly word games. again, though, that last debate is on monday. just 15 days before what will be a very close contest.

the focus is on foreign policy. it will be heavily focused on the middle east, and on terrorism. the president has long had an advantage on foreign affairs. of course he was the man who called for the attacks that killed osama bin laden. but republicans and mitt romney's allies have seen a vulnerability in this administration. especially after revolving responses on last month's deadly attack in libya that left four americans, including the u.s. ambassador there, dead. there were new documents released late yesterday, lester, that included documents from ambassador chris stevens who specifically said a month before the attack the violence in that country was not random, but targeted, and discriminate. house democrats say it was simply politically motivated. lester? >> all right, peter thanks. morning joe's joe scarborough and mika brzezinski are here to help break things down in our regular cup of weekend mojo. joe and mika, good morning. >> good morning. >> let's talk about one of the issues of the week, big internet

buzz about mitt romney's comment in the debate about having a binder full of women. speaking in reference to what he would do in terms of empowering women in his administration. >> the fact that he asked for the binders is not true. he was given the binders by an organization, a bipartisan organization of women's group that want to see more women in office. second of all, it just seems like not a very personal story in terms of understanding the needs of women, and families. and if you look at the difference between mitt romney and the president on these issues, the president leaves mitt romney in the dust. >> well, the president typically has been ahead in terms of women. you look at battleground states, "usa today" did a poll of twelve swing states. >> there's a tightening up. looks like in this poll. the pew poll came out last week and a lot of women weighed in and said they thought mitt romney could handle the economy better. speaking about how they put their children through college. >> they're thinking about the economy. and quite frankly, when it comes to health care, and their

families, women are protected under this administration because of the health care legislation. if you think about jobs, women are doing better than men, quite frankly, under the obama economy. if you look at the lily ledbetter act, equal pay. republicans seem to be against it. >> i want to ask you both about the continuing controversy over the benghazi attack and how the administration characterized it at the beginning and later on. >> it was a really frustrating part of that debate. you would think that romney would have been able to clearly state his case, talk about how the white house made mistakes, not only with security, but after. you had the president claiming the other night from day one he said it was an act of terror. >> he did call it an act of terror. >> but then in another sentence he said we'll be against acts of terror across the globe. >> mika, is this a big issue? we've got a foreign policy debate coming up this coming week. >> i don't think it resonates completely. having said that mitt romney missed a huge opportunity in the last debate, i think we agree on that, and will be ready for the next debate.

and the administration better have their ducks in a row. >> well it goes to the leadership, their bigger message which is the president saying i'm a strong leader. i'm strong national defense. i killed osama bin laden. and al qaeda is in retreat. if a u.s. ambassador is killed by al qaeda the white house can't get its story straight on that fact, it messes up -- >> i was in florida this week and i'll be doing the show as part of our battleground series sunday in florida. talked to a lot of people who were put off by some of the gotcha in the debate and said what they really wanted was some answers and they didn't hear a lot. >> these are serious times. and i hope the conversation in the next debate breathes a little bit so we can really hear where they're coming from. >> you were a congressman. give me a sense of why that state continues to have such a huge influence? >> it really does. florida and ohio have been the most important states since 2000. mitt romney at this point better have florida and north carolina and virginia locked down, because he's got to fight the last couple of weeks in the

midwest. florida seems to be breaking. mitt romney's way. you'll know early in the night. polls close at 7:00 in florida, and if barack obama is out before him in the eastern time zone, then game over. >> all right joe and mika, thanks very much. you can catch "morning joe" at 6:00 a.m. on msnbc. now let's get a check of the rest of the top stories from courtney reagan at the news desk this morning. good morning. >> good morning, lester. this is a day of mourning in lebanon, where a huge car bomb has ended several years of peace. nbc's stephanie gosk reports from beirut. stephanie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, courtney. the military today shut off a number of roads, including the main road to the airport. the city is really rattled after yesterday's attack. it took place just after 3:00 in the afternoon in one of the city's most affluent neighborhoods. essentially leveling an entire city block. it killed eight people, along with its intended target,

brigadier general, the top security official here. he investigated a number of high profile terrorism cases that eventually implicated the syrian government, and yesterday, some top officials here were accusing the syrian government of assassinating him. this country, like syria, is split between two groups, pro-and anti-and the fear all along has been that the violence in that country would spill over the borders into this one. courtny? >> stephanie, thank you. there's good news to report about the 15-year-old pakistani girl whose story is being followed around the world. the british hospital treating 15-year-old malala yousafzai says she's able to stand and write with some help. malala was shot in the head by the taliban for speaking out for the right of girls to be educated. and a small wooden cross pendant may be an important clue in the case of a murdered 10-year-old colorado girl. the cross was recovered as police investigate the killing of jessica ridgeway. they say it could help identify the person responsible for her

death. jessica was kidnapped as she walked to school and was later found dismembered. the spotlight is back on tampa, florida, and the high profile trayvon martin murder trial. a judge says lawyers for george zimmerman can inspect the full records and the social media postings of trayvon martin. the unarmed teenager who is accused of killing. the judge says zimmerman's lawyers need to know if martin had any violent tendencies. zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, says he shot martin in self-defense. texas icon has been cried by fire. big tex, the metal cowboy more than 50 feet tall welcomed visitors with a big howdy folks for 60 years. firefighters blame an electrical problem. officials are vowing to rebuild the icon in time for next year's fair. and finally in entertainment news, jessica biel and justin timberlake have exchanged vows in southern italy. "people" magazine says the famous couple got married friday in what's reported to be a $6 million ceremony. timber lake is 31 and biel is

30. their engagement was announced earlier this year. now back to lester, jenna and dylan. my teenage heart is broking a little. >> a lot of weddings been going on lately. >> speaking of italy, someone just got back from italy. dylan dryer just got back from your honeymoon. >> why do you think we planned italy? >> the place to go. >> congratulations to you. >> i was too nervous to say hi. thank you very much. it is nice to be back here, you know, kind of settle back in. i was here for a couple weeks and disappeared for awhile. so now i'm back. we are talking about some pretty nice weather. we do have a couple of rain showers through the northeast. we do have this upper level low that is spinning in some cooler temperatures, showers through the great lakes. where there's a dip in the jet stream, there's a ridge in the jet stream, too. look at the heat building in through areas of the dakotas. north dakota about 15 degrees above normal. really warm stuff. that is going to spread eastward

into the great lakes into tomorrow. heavy rain across cape cod this morning that's going to exit. turns into a nice day across the northeast. and it is sunny down in texas with highs today topping out in the mid 80s. with highs tod good saturday morning to you. temperatures in the 50s, patchy low clouds and little bit of drizzle in a few spots closer to the coast but bigger changes coming up late tomorrow. the jet stream which has been way off to the north is going to be diving our way as we get into sunday night and monday and eventually lead to a chance of seeing some rain. for today, looking at 60s to low 50 mid-70s inland and changes late tomorrow in the north bay and then looks like a rainy start to the week and off and on showers, at least through midweek. and that's a check on weather. >> thank you, very much. the pressure to perform well in school seems to be higher than ever for ambitious students and now an increasing number of high school and college students around the country are going for a dangerous quick mix to make sure they succeed.

kate snow has a cautionary tale told by one of those students. >> reporter: it was exam time at one of the nation's most prestigious schools. columbia university in new york. and the pressure was on. >> papers, presentations. six classes. there's a lot of stuff. that needs to get done. >> reporter: he was powering through the usual way. >> straight through. >> reporter: all the way through the night. >> yeah. >> reporter: how are you doing that? >> adderall. >> reporter: it's a drug we've all heard about, widely prescribed for attention deficit disorders. but this isn't a story about adhd. it's a story of an ambitious student and many, many more who have misused adderall to get an edge. >> everything else was not even in my zone. it was just me and my books and whatever i had to do. i was just scanning pages like a machine. >> reporter: taking it all in? >> i wouldn't even want to get

up to go drink water. >> reporter: how easy is it to get this stuff? >> almost as easy as buying books at the bookstore. like honestly, kids who do not have a drink throughout the year, they will go crazy for adderall the day before their papers. >> reporter: why don't kids think this is a big deal? i mean this is a drug, a controlled substance. >> because you're doing very well when you're taking it most of the time. i've never heard anyone say i took adderall and did terrible on my exam. it's like an academic steroid. you know. >> reporter: i was just thinking that. it's like taking steroids in sports. >> barry bonds in the library, absolutely. >> reporter: but taking adderall when you don't have adhd can be medically dangerous. >> you get tolerant to the medication. you have to take more and more and more. and that's when the risks start showing up. >> reporter: and when you stop, you crash. >> basically, you get really depressed, no energy, sleep all the time, and the depression can be severe enough that people become suicidal. >> reporter: eventually, stefan

obtained his own prescription and started giving it to friends, then selling it. what was the going rate? >> going rate could have been anywhere from $10 to $30. >> reporter: but even handing adderall to a friend is illegal. and in december, 2010, stefan was arrested. part of a sting called operation ivy league. in about five seconds time you've gone from straight "a" student, millennium gates scholar at columbia university to handcuffs. >> yeah. life took a drastic turn. >> reporter: stefan pleaded guilty to selling adderall and did 300 hours of community service. columbia expelled him. but before that, he took his final exam. >> so i took finals in my classes. i did it without adderall. it took me some time. took me longer to write the papers than i was used to. but i finished them all. >> reporter: you didn't need that drug? >> i didn't need that drug. i didn't need that drug. i feel like a lot of people

don't need that drug. >> reporter: for "today," kate snow, nbc news, new york. >> i'm here with more health headlines is "today" show contributor dr. roshini raj. dr. raj, good morning. >> good morning. >> very interesting topic there. but we're going to touch on a couple of other topics, as well, making medical headlines. going to start with this meningitis outbreak. the numbers are just so scary. the death toll now stands at 21. 271 reported cases trace back to that tainted steroid injection. what's the take away here for parents that are concerned, for people that might have had injections. >> well, the news this week is they've actually identified the fungus and they did link it directly with this compounding center in new england, and basically the takeaway is, if you are getting any kind of back injection, spine injection, you do want to of course check with your doctor to make sure it wasn't part of the lot. but in general the fda does need to look more closes at these types of compounding pharmacies. pharmacies where they're mixing

their own medicines and shipping it out throughout the country. they don't have as much regulation and quality control and the whole outbreak has brought it to the attention of the fda. >> next topic. early puberty in boys. now it's becoming more and more prevalent in young boys and the question is, will it have long-term effects and what are they? >> exactly. so the american academy of pediatrics released their study this week talking about the fact that early puberty now is documented in boys, as much as six months to two years earlier than what we've previously thought. so overall, the puberty age is around 10 years old, but for african-americans it's actually only 9 years old. what are the impacts of this? we're not exactly sure. we think for girls it may increase their breast cancer risk. for boys it's not clear. probably not a good sign of what we're getting in our environment. so is it due to chemicals young boys are exposed to? is it due to the fact children tend to be more obese or they're eating junk food more. unclear. one thing parents should know, you need to be looking for signs of puberty earlier because there are a lot of mental issues that

go along with that. you're going to be having different conversations with your young boys at a younger age. you and your pediatrician need to look out for it. >> the cdc came out with new news on the flu and i feel like every year we have a conversation about the flu. whether children should be vaccinated or not. now this is a little alarming to parents. people are wondering what's going on. >> absolutely. the cdc reported that 43% of the deaths in children due to flu are in previously healthy children. so we often think of children that die from the flu as having diseases like asthma or cerebral palsy. but actually healthy children are really at risk. we talk about flu all the time. you absolutely need to get vaccinated and your children, as well. anyone over the age of 6 months, even if your child is perfectly healthy. you need to do it. and only about 50% of children are getting vaccinated. >> which is very surprising. >> yes. i'm taking my kids next week. they just got the flu shot in and i'm going to take them. >> i don't even have kids and i'm taking them tomorrow. last question is on the

fertility front. >> yes. >> used to be freezing your eggs was experimental practice. >> it's no longer considered experimental. in fact the american society of reproductive medicine this week announced it's not experimental. they're having comfortable success between fresh and frozen eggs when you're talking about fertility treatment. this is a big deal, particularly for women who are undergoing chemotherapy, who want to freeze their eggs. prior to this announcement, insurance companies would not cover that process. hopefully now they will. for women in general who want to delay childbearing this is a viable option. >> dr. roshini raj, great, helpful information. thank you very much. once again, here's lester. >> all right, jenna, thanks. you may be sick of the run-up to the presidential election, there's one group of people who will be very sorry to see it come to an end. the late-night comedians. here's a look at how the election is being played in late night. >> i'm sorry, martha. but with yule due respect this is a bunch of malarkey. all right? >> a bunch of malarkey? >> yeah. >> what does that mean? >> it's a wish.

>> no, no, no. irish is i come over there and smack that dumb look off your face. >> folks, follow your instincts on this one. >> my instincts say that paul ryan gets kicked in a debate. >> oh, yeah, what's that like? >> how many times a week does biden show up in a wet bathing suit to a meeting? just paulbark figure. >> i had to put out a presidential directive on that. we had to stop that. >> you've got to put towels down. >> i got to say, though, he looks pretty bad. >> lindsay lohan has at long last revealed which presidential candidate she backs. >> as of now i'm thinking mitt romney. as of now. >> as of now. as of now. she hits a car with an obama bumper sticker that could change. but as of now, she's endorsing mitt romney. >> one of president obama's goals tonight is to win back female voters. yeah. yeah, which explains why obama's going to answer every question with a passage from "50 shades

of grey." >> some odd moments like when describing his efforts as governor to recruit more women for cabinet positions. >> i went to a number of women's groups and said could you help us find folks and they brought us binders full of women. >> binder of women, book of broads, into thebook [ bleep ] whatever. whatever. >> personally, i don't even know why they had a debate. as far as i'm concerned this race is over. last night, when honey boo-boo child made her endorsement. >> who are you going to support for president, mitt romney for barack obama? >> marack obama. >> that's right. she's voting for marack obama. >> i'm putting to the a scrapbook of the whole 2012 campaign and i don't -- i have these great pictures from the two debates. do you know which debate was which? >> cute. cute, john. >> good stuff. >> well, look, the candidates have provided a lot of fodder

for the late night guys these years. >> they always do. i think the writers must go into kind of a depression after the election. >> and then look, it's not just on late night. you follow some of the twitter, ads of debates going on the twitter feeds light up and some of the comments are so funny. >> it is. that's what we do. >> good stuff. still to come, a victory in court for the high school cheerleaders in texas who want to display bible verses under the friday night lights. first, this is "today" on nbc. alright let's break it down. mom, pop it. ♪ two inches apart, becky. two inches. t-minus nine minutes. [ ding ] [ female announcer ] pillsbury cinnamon rolls. let the making begin. ♪

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still to come on "today," lance armstrong speaks out for the first time since stepping down as chairman of his livestrong cancer charity. >> plus swimming with tigers. it's possible at a private zoo in florida now, and some say it's a once in a lifetime experience. while others say it sends the wrong signal. but first these messages. rst, t.

good morning to you. looking live at a foggy start to this saturday morning in san francisco, but how long will that fog stick around and will it affect your weekend plans? so many questions this morning. thanks for joining us, i'm kris sanchez. the big game is happening today, weather a factor? >> weather looks pretty good. we'll get through the weekend before the rain starts to show up, big change coming towards tomorrow night. right now you saw the fog in san francisco misty skies and winds still onshore, obviously. pushing in some of the fog to fairfield and southwest wind at 16 and visibility in miles, too. down to a quarter mile in santa rosea and the fog is quite thick in a few spots in our north bay valleys this morning. look at the satellite and radar views. clouds going from left to right

and california/oregon border. that will come our way which will lead to the chance of seeing some rain, not today. partly cloudy skies, 60s to low 70s around berkeley and san jose low 70s and tomorrow a bit cooler, north bay showers and then the r word, rain. we have a lot of it, monday, tuesday into wednesday and then we'll see some foggy mornings to wrap up the week. >> thank you very much, rob. a mystery in the woods. two bay area men turned up dead in a remote part of southern oregon and now investigators believe they are the victims of homicide. the men have been identified as 32-year-old mendez of richmond and 38-year-old ricardo of oakley. detechives found those bodies on thursday afternoon on a ranch east of the town of bonanza. >> what led up to this, we were working an arson case where a pickup was burned out severely. >> that burned out pickup truck

is registered to him. as far as the other man, relatives say he was headed to bonanza to buy a horse, hay or perhaps both. investigators are not saying how long the bodies may have been in the woods. no arrests have been made. seven men are behind bars in san jose accused of beating a 14-year-old boy to death at a san jose park. that attack happened back in april. police say a fight broke out at roosevelt park, which they call a known gang hangout. investigators say alberto reyes was targeted and attacked and died three days later. in recent weeks, police arrested four men and three teenagers on suspicion of murder, but have not released a motive. coming up this morning on "today in the bay" they are back in the bay. the san francisco giants returning home from st. louis early this morning. we will hear from team manager bruce boechy what is ahead for tomorrow's big, all-important

playoff game. all the new coming up at a 7:00 and more local news in just 30 minutes.

we're back on a saturday morning. could you be any consulter? honestly, i'm jenna wolfe along with lester holt inside and outside. coming up, who doesn't love a pool party? but would you really want to swim with tigers? >> a private zoo in florida actually allows patrons a chance to swim alongside siberian tiger cubs. some people who have done it say it's a once in a lifetime event. others caution it sends the wrong message when it comes to these kind of animals. we're going to let you be the judge when we find out a little bit more. >> i get dolphins. i get turtles. i get fish. tigers? >> yeah, i don't know. >> next week we're going to swim

with a rhinoceros. >> i know. >> i don't know. >> and later, lance armstrong finally speaking out as that doping controversy swirls around him. this morning you're going to hear what he's saying about his state of mind. and the future of his livestrong cancer charity. he could be stripped of his tour de france titles within days. plus, one tv reporter's lifestyle. you have to see to believe. they told me in my ear right before we went on, we're not going to show you the video. but it's this. and i near fell off the couch. >> it's what? >> i can't say what it is. but it is so unbelievable you have to be your worst nightmare. >> when you're on -- when you do what we do now you live in fear of becoming a youtube moment. >> this one is a youtube moment. for everyone in our control room if that wasn't enough of a tease. >> better than the colleague who got a bug in the mouth? >> oh -- >> ends in -- >> anyway, we've got a lot more to go this half hour. want to begin with in the lone star state.

a police where football and faith are often intertwined. but what's happened in one texas -- one east texas town has sparked a huge debate over treedom of speech. now some high school cheerleaders are celebrating a legal victory. here's gabe gutierrez. >> beneath the friday night lights in texas, and the banners these cheerleaders had fought for. on thursday, a county judge ruled in their favor. allowing the public school students to display bible verses at school sponsored football games.nts to display bible verses at school sponsored football games. until a trial next june. >> it's just so exciting that we'll be able to continue to use our signs toward the rest of the season. this small town of 2,100 people was caught in a legal showdown between freedom of speech and separation of church and state. >> they just feel like it's part of what they were doing. i guess they don't see the scope of it just yesterday. >> reporter: the decision came a day after the texas attorney general with governor rick perry

by his side publicly backed the students. >> the first amendment does not demand hostility toward religion. nor does it demand silence on the part of students in this state or in this country. >> the controversy began this month. in a written statement, the atheist group argues it is not preventing freedom of expression, but instead, defending freedom of conscience. the constitution differentiates government from public school peach. school officials say while they sympathize with the students, the supreme court has decided that public schools can't endorse a religion. >> it's a difficult situation to reach a settlement on, because

either you let the banners on or you don't. there's not a real middle ground you can reach. >> reporter: but for now, at least, the towns will stay in a town where faith and football are hard to separate. for "today," gabe gutierrez, nbc news. let's get another check of the weather. >> dylan dreyer is on the plaza with another check of our forecast. i know you're wearing yellow, but that's not a raincoat. >> no, it's just trying to transition from whatever season we're in right now. i mean, it's a hard jacket season. we've got a group of girls, a group of ladies who took the red eye bus from ohio last night, and your main goal was -- >> to go shopping. >> is that not a bus load of girls or what? but in ohio, we are looking at some showers. we have a couple of scattered showers through the great lakes region. but it is going to start to clear out as we go into tomorrow. we have also some rain through cape cod. heavy at times. we had some big loud thunderstorms move through the area in southern new england overnight. those are moving out over the water. we will see improvements all

across the northeast. the great lakes hang on to some showers, but up through the dakotas, we are looking at temperatures at about 15 degrees above normal. looks real n and anchd the bay area this morning, kind of a mild start. mostly mid-50s outside with patchy low clouds and lingering until lunchtime across the bay and then we have clearing skies inland. notice the coast, patches of low clouds and probably partly cloudy skies around santa cruz for the afternoon. upper 60s around san francisco and mid-70s inland around the south bay and tri-valley. tomorrow cooler, more clouds and rain arriving late in the north bay. >> and it is officially the weekend. that means tomorrow night is "sunday night football" night in america. clear and cool at paul brown stadium. 59 to 63 degrees. that is some awesome weather for

football. you can always get your latest forecast for football for anything on weather.com online. >> all right, dylan, thanks. up next, we'll talk about some ways to make your small business a big success. and later, swimming with tigers. >> why some call these pool parties the adventure of a lifetime, while others claim it's not such a great idea. but first, these messages. means living with pain. it could also mean living with joint damage. help relieve the pain and stop the damage with humira, adalimumab. for many adults with moderate to severe ra, humira is clinically proven to help relieve pain and stop joint damage. so you can treat more than just the pain. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common.

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♪ is that all you get for your money ♪ this morning on today's "morning tips." big business in the u.s., there are over 27 million of them in the u.s. so how do you bring your company to the next level? j.j. ramberg is the author of "it's your business", nice to have you hear. we hear the term small business a lot. the presidential candidates used the term 46 times in their first two debates. so you have to wonder, is this a

good time to start a small business or is it not because of the economy? >> there's certainly a lot of attention being paid to them right now. i say yes. if you have a good idea, any time is a good time to start a small business. and it's relatively cheap compared to what it used to be to start something. >> in your book, you have a ton of tips. 183 of them, to be exact, in order to transfer your small business into a success. we're going to get to a couple of them. you're calling them little tricks of a trade. the first is an interesting one. be the first one at every event. >> this is beyond business. this is for everyone. if you're a little bit shy, your inclination is probably to show up late to something. but it's harder to break into a group of people than to be one of the first people there when all the early birds gather together. >> you mentioned you're sometimes the one in the corner. faking the important e-mail. i do that, too. but you say dive right in. if you're first, dive in and mingle. >> the easiest pickup line is to

say hi, i'm j.j. >> easy. i'm going to use that. next one, you say turn no into yes. >> right. oftentimes when people hear no, they think okay, it's over, i'm never contacting this person again. you walk away dejected. one woman i interviewed said no, don't do that. put in your calendar a follow-up time. one month, two months, three months, a year down the line. and in that, put everything they said to reject you so that when you call them again, you can say oh, we've changed this in my company. or i have a new idea for you so you can counter anything. >> so no doesn't mean never. next up, get your holiday gift notice. >> this is good. if you're sending a holiday gift to a client, a potential customer, don't send it december 17th. they're going to have a stack of presents there. they're never going to remember which one is from you. so why not send it before thanksgiving? send it now. >> that's a good idea.

we also have a bunch of viewer questions. everyone is very curious about this one. the first is a video question from erica. let's take a listen. >> my question is, as a start-up business, a small business, how does one use the internet to gain their share of the market? >> very important question. >> yes. and the beauty of today is you do not need a billion-dollar advertising budget. you need a facebook account and a twitter account. but you should keep in mind that if you're going to use social media, you have to make it a conversation. don't just try and sell things because you want it to get passed on. a quick example. if you had a children's clothing store, don't send a tweet out saying 10% all clothes this weekend. send a tip that says ten tips to get stains out of baby clothing. >> next up, a viewer e-mail. rona writes we are a self-funded

online ad agency that's one year old. at what point in our growth should we seek investors? >> if she thinks she's ever going to need investors, start looking for them now, because the last thing you want to do is start looking for money when you need money. whether she takes the money now is a different thing, but at least start networking to talk to people about getting that money. >> we have time for another video question. let's take a listen. >> as an attorney, i often have problems delegating work, trying to control too much. and i was wondering do you have any best practices for actually delegating work so i can actually get more done? >> so many people have this problem, because it's our babies. one woman said to me this. make a list in the morning the ten things you need to do that day, and then circle everything that only you can do. everything else you have to delegate. and just do it. do it for a week. once you start trusting your employees, you'll get better at delegating it. >> that's great advice. j.j., thank you so much. good luck with everything. up next, everyone into the

pool with the tigers. harmless fun or recipe for trouble? we'll find out after this. it just wouldn't go away. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and for some people, it can work in as early as the first week of treatment. so now i can plan my days and accomplish more. lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior, or any swelling or affected breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. with less pain, i'm feeling better now that i've found lyrica. ask your doctor if lyrica is right for your fibromyalgia pain.

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pool parts are common in florida, but one zoo is getting a lot of attention and not all of it is positive. kerry sanders has the story. >> reporter: to be sure, few people can boast they've ever gone swimming with a tiger, but in an effort to bring people closer to animals, a small private zoo in florida -- >> tigers actually can't float. they have to keep swimming. >> reporter: is making these one-of-a-kind interactions possible. 8-year-old rachel bennett says she will never forget her time with tony the tiger. >> it was really exciting for me and my brother. and it was very fun. >> reporter: it costs $200. for jacqueline, an unforgettable birthday present. >> it was unbelievable what i was doing, that there is actually a tighter in the pool swimming right there next to me, that's never going to happen again in my life. >> reporter: as much fun as it may be, there are some zoo experts who argue this is not good. >> you're perpetuating this belief that people and tigers get along. that tigers can make a good pet.

when you see somebody swimming with a tiger in a pool, this is -- you can't help but think oh, this is so cute, i want to have one of those things. wrong message. >> reporter: here at the zoo, trainers claim swimming with the siberian tiger clubs acclimates the cats to humans, which they believe pays off later when the cubs are full grown. >> but allowing the public to help with us our training, it helps the animals get used to more people. that helps them when they get full grown when they start seeing more people. >> reporter: under both state and federal law, these interactions are legal until a cub hits 40 pounds. that's usually within four to six months. usda inspection reports show this zoo in florida has had seven violations that required corrections in the last two years. including a failure to handle a tiger cub as expeditiously and carefully as possible in a man hear the did not cause trauma,

behavioral stress, physical harm, or unnecessary discomfort. swimming with tigers, controversial. if not unique. >> it was pretty shocking being able to do it. it was pretty cool. >> reporter: for today, kerry sanders, nbc news, miami. >> pretty pricey. 200 bucks. >> i always feel like these seem like good ideas until there's some sort of tragic accident and then you go back and you're like maybe that wasn't such a great -- i don't know. >> will always be a wild animal. still ahead, could o.j. simpson get a new trial in his armed robbery and kidnapping case? a new bid for freedom by the disgraced former football star. but first, this is "today" on nbc. [ woman ] dear chex cereal,

i've never written a fan letter before, but you've done what i thought was impossible: you made good-for-you, gluten-free cereals in a whole bunch of yummy flavors. cinnamon chex and honey nut chex are two of our favorites. when my husband rob found the chocolate one, we were in cereal heaven. the only problem is, with so many great flavors you're making it very hard to choose. so thanks. from your fans, the mcgregor family. 'cause we love chex. [ male announcer ] love chex? connect with us on facebook. have you heard for the 408 and 669 area codes? no, what is it? starting october 20, 2012, if you have a 408 or 669 number, you'll need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number for all calls. o.k., but what if i have an 408 number and i'm calling a 408 number? you'll still need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number. so when in doubt, dial it out!

we did a little welcome back earlier, but officially, dylan dreyer, welcome back from your

wedding. and congratulations. >> thank you so much. my whirlwind is finally calming down a little bit. you know, the wedding, the move. >> you were here like two weeks, and like oh, i'm going to take a couple weeks off to get married. >> but i'm here now. >> look what we have. have you seen all of these already? >> these obviously taken from facebook, different people posting them there. that was my dad before this one. we ate our whole meal -- i kind of felt bad because we didn't wander around to talk to people. >> it was in florence? >> that was in florence. this was a walk down the amalfi coast. the most terrifying walk of my life. because that view up there -- >> cute couple. >> then we went to the pantheon in rome. i was all about the food. >> i'm glad you ate on your vacation. it's so refreshing to hear about that. >> big wedding? >> about 250 people. about ten were from my family and the rest was all brian's family. >> congratulations to both of

you. now settle down and get to work. >> i'm going to try for now. i'm here for good. still to come, lance armstrong talks about the future of his live strong cancer charity. >> we'll be back right after this. in my life. this is huge! how many people actually win this thing? and i, monica roxanne warden, just won $50. [ male announcer ] with a chance to win a car, cash and 1 in 4 odds at great prizes like your favorite foods, that special feeling, is actually pretty typical. monica! no, you didn't win $50. you won $500! 500 dollars. [ male announcer ] the simple joy of more to celebrate. but i'm still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels speeds relief to your worst cold symptoms plus has a decongestant for your stuffy nose. thanks. that's the cold truth! ♪ [ camera clicks ] ♪

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good morning to you. looking live at the bay bridge toll plaza, no problem there. and how long will it last? that's the question now. along with meteorologist rob with a look at the weekend forecast and hopefully get rain at some point, but we don't usually like it when we get rain. >> for the outdoor plans for the big game coming up today and for the giants coming back home for inbig game tomorrow. we'll see the weather holding up, i think, for the weekend and then early next week, some changes. 50s outside, patchy low clouds and mists and a few spots around san francisco and the coast. now, notice the satellite view. you can see the clouds right around the middle part of your screen going quickly left to right. there is the jet stream, it will be diving south late tomorrow, but, today, patches of low clouds across the bay breaking

up right around lunchtime and around the start of the big game and by the afternoon, patchy low clouds on the coast. let's fast forward to sunday. sunday night and monday and, yes, it does look like the rain does come back into the picture for your monday morning commute. mid-70s inland towards livermore and low 70s towards san jose and north bay late tomorrow night we'll start to see the first of the rain. >> thank you very much, rob. well, starting today, your fingers will have to do some more walking if you're trying to call your friends in south bay. callers in the south bay much now dial the entire phone number. that means 1-408 and the phone number even if you're calling from another 408 phone number. next month a new area code introduced in the south because because santa clara county is fast running out of 408 numbers. if you thought building a sand castle was child's play, you might want to drop by one of

the beaches today. the sand castle contest in ocean beach. architects and designers will be rubbing elbows with grade school students as they build detailed works of art. the contest begins at 10:00 this morning and lasts all day long. still more to do around the bay area. here's a look at your weekend calendar. >> good morning, a lot to do today in the bay. not sure what to do? just follow to the oakland zoo for sniffers, snouts and noses. a celebration. giraffes using and elephants can use them to naush on squash. learn about many different ways animal use their noses, but don't let yours be overly sensitive. after all, it is the zoo. for fresher air, head to the coast. ocean beach for the 29th annual leap sand castle contest in ocean beach in san francisco. this awesome event is for an osam causosa awesome cause.

check out some of that work, their work is critical in my book. away from the coast in san jose at a place called arena green. you'll find a sea of purple now. in about an hour from now, in downtown santa fe people will take part in walks like these, end alzheimer's. the big fund-raising event of the year. you can still sign up at the park next to the shark tank and join them. the walk starts at 9:00 a.m. for this walk, check out alz.org. do something good. learn something new. today in the bay. rbecue sauce... and cheese...and roll it up woo-wee! i've made a barbecue chicken crescent chow down. pillsbury crescents. let the making begin. here's a better idea. pillsbury grands! flaky layers biscuits in just 15 minutes the light delicate layers add a layer of warmth to your next dinner. pillsbury grands biscuits let the making begin.

welcome back to "today," saturday morning, the 20th day of october, 2012. we've got a great crowd on the plaza waving hello to friends and family back home. our thanks to them for spending part of their sunday with us. outside on the plaza, i'm lester holt along with jenna wolf. no one will notice us because we're standing -- >> it is the guaranteed way to get on television. have a 4-month-old baby. >> i love this outfit. >> this is isabella. >> hi, isabella. >> isabella looks perfect holding pink scripts. if you want to just read what it says here, that would be great. >> might as well. we've only got an hour left. thanks for coming by. >> welcome. thanks for being here. so adorable. we're talking about lance armstrong. >> yeah, he's speaking out for the first time since he resigned

as head of his charity. >> yeah, first time we're hearing from him. he's been under a cloud of doping allegations, so we're going to tell you what the embattled cyclist had to say and where he goes from here. then, a big museum rip-off and they're asking questions, was it an inside job? it's one of the biggest art heists in history. it went so smoothly, investigators want to know if maybe the thieves got inside information from museum personnel. they've got the surveillance video that may hold clues to the identity of the thieves. we'll have a live report coming up. >> cut right out of one of those movie thrillers. then we're talking about ways to save money at the supermarket. food is getting so expensive these days. with the high cost of thichicke and fish, we'll tell you the best way to get your money's worth. >> justin timberlake and jessica biel are now newlyweds. they were able to keep most of the wedding plans a secret, but we've got some inside details that we'll share with you coming up. >> remember last saturday when i was like, do you want to run a

5k with me, and remember how you never responded? >> yeah. >> it was called the rugged run for respect. >> that's not a run. that's a crawl. >> well, it was not all on foot, as you can see. one of the harder things that i've done, this was for a great charity. and benefits special olympics. we're going to show you a little bit more about what was involved. >> why do you do stuff like that? >> i honestly do not know. because i say yes far more than i say no. then i realize maybe i should have said no. >> we want to get another check of the news headlines now. >> we're going to go inside and say hi to courtney reagan. >> good morning, everyone. we begin with a new development as police investigate a child killing in colorado. nbc's michelle franzen reports. >> reporter: a new clue in the murder case of jessica ridgeway, the 10-year-old girl who was abducted in westminster, colorado, earlier this month. investigators released images of a small wooden cross, possibly

worn as a necklace, and recovered after jessica's body was found in an open field seven miles from her home. her body dismembered. a possible unique piece of evidence, experts say, in the hunt for the killer. >> whether it was found where the victim's remains were or where she was believed kidnapped from or with her backpack make no, sir difference right now. this is one more piece of evidence that could link the killer to the crime itself. >> reporter: police are also looking at a link between a possible abduction. >> we love you, jessica, and we'll miss you every day. >> reporter: meanwhile, the community and jessica's family are mourning the loss of this little girl who loved to dance, waiting for justice and answers. >> we recognize that there is a predator at large in our community and we are committed to doing everything within our power to keep our children safe. >> reporter: michelle franzen,

nbc news, new york. searchers have found the body of a young oregon woman who vanished this week on her way to work and a neighbor has been arrested. the body of 21-year-old whitney hikel was found in a remote forested area east of portland. she was last seen driving to work tuesday morning. police have arrested 24-year-old jonathan holt, an akwa answer the who lived in the same apartment complex as she and her husband. several years of peace have been brought to a violent end with a deadly car bombing in lebanon. a top security official and seven other people were killed friday in a devastating attack that the prime minister says has links to the civil war in neighboring syria. lebanon's cabinet shoelding an emergency meeting to talk about how to keep the peace, taeb government has declared this a national day of mourning for victims. a nevada judge has agreed to reopen the theft and kidnapping

case by o.j. simpson. he is serving nine to 33 years in state prison. the maker of banana boat sunscreen is recalling a half million bottles of spray of on lotion. there are reports that a handful of people have caught on fire after applying the product and coming in contact with open flames. here's something you don't see every day. this is a reporter for nbc 4 in los angeles. he was doing a live shot when a cockroach started crawling over his shoulders. he finished his report and tossed back to the anchor in the studio, all without flinching, but he later joked about the experience on twitter. that's the news, and now back to jenna. i have to admit, if that happens on television, i will not likely remain that calm. >> i'm just going to say it. hands-down, the most awful thing that could possibly happen to you while you're doing a live shot. i would take a snake rather than a cockroach. that is just awful, courtney.

and you even told the story with a straight face. i'd be like cringing. i can't watch it. that being said, let's check it over to dylan dreyer for another check of the weather. >> i would scream and run so fast. we are talking about fall followage. we are seeing it turn into land escapes of gold, bright fiery oranges and reds as the leaves filly change color. in connecticut, people are flocking to see the fall foliage. it's a similar scene in wisconsin. people say the fall colors are even brighter this year. experts say the best time to see the fall changeover for many parts of the country will probably be this weekend or next, if you can't go this weekend. so we are looking at some really nice colors all across the central and northern half of the country. if you can get out this weekend

or even next weekend, you still have some time. we have a couple rain showers that will affect some areas in the great lakes. chilly in the great lakes, in the 40s and 50s. the new england area should be in the 60s later on today. we'll see any rain on cape cod exit the region and we are looking at warm temperatures up through the dakotas. temps topping out in the off to a bit of a mild start right now, actually, temperatures in the mid to upper 50s outside and patches of low clouds and around san francisco and the coast and you can see the winds on the shore this morning. now, through the afternoon a few clouds at times, but looks like tomorrow will be the cloudier of the two weekend days as we see a chance of rain coming back in late tomorrow night. today, mid-70s inland and upper 60s around san francisco and low 770s around san jose and 72 in oakland. tomorrow a bit cooler with more clouds and then plan on a good chance of rain on monday.

>> just curious. who here is from hurricane, west virginia? they all came on a bus. a 12-hour bus ride from west virginia. lester? >> all right, dylan, thanks. now to the race for the white house. the presidential candidates are backing away from the spotlight this weekend. they're preparing for monday's third and final debate. peter alexander is traveling with the romney campaign. peter, good morning. >> reporter: lester, good morning. both of them are retreating from the campaign trail the next couple days. the president will spend his weekend hunkering down at camp david. mitt romney will head to boca raton. they squeezed in one more sharp exchange. with more onstage fireworks expected next week, the romney campaign lit up the sky after laying into his rivals. >> they have been reduced to petty attacks and silly word

games. just watch it. the obama campaign has become the incredible shrinking campaign. >> reporter: mr. romney was taking aim at these comments in virginia on friday, accusing the republican nominee of forgetting his own past promises. >> we've got to name this condition that he's going through. i think it's called romnesia. >> reporter: the goal for both candidates, to make their message stick in voters' minds. perhaps their last best chance, monday's final debate, that the president loosely previewed during a charity dinner this week. >> the topic is foreign policy. spoiler alert. we got bin laden. >> reporter: while most polls show president obama still holds a slight advantage on foreign affairs, governor romney sees a vulnerability in the white house's evolving response to the terrorist attack in libya. on friday, house republicans released state department documents including this cable from ambassador chris stevens a month before the attack.

warning, what we have seen are not random crimes, but rather discriminate attacks. house democrats slammed the release as politically motivated. er. >> i think this race is at a pivot point and i think the race right now is as up in the air as it's been in some time. >> reporter: mr. obama's advisers are also out thing new unemployment numbers that fell slightly last month. the romney campaign unveiled this new ad promoting governor romney as a bipartisan leader. >> i've done it before, i'll do it again. >> reporter: where the candidates choose to go after monday's debate says a lot about the states they believe are still up for grabs. mitt romney and paul ryan go to nevada and colorado. >> peter alexander, thanks. mark halperin is a senior political analyst for "time" magazine and msnbc. great to see you. all the buzz phrases in this election.

binders full of women. now romnesia. where do we stand right now? >> i've been traveling with both candidates. there's a lot of excitement in the country. this race is up in the air. we haven't seen a race like this in a long time where either candidate is really if a position to win. on the other hand, it's also very tense. you talk to partisans on one side or the other, they're panick panicked, desperate about the thought of the orguy winning so. the country is very engaged, but it's very negative, and the president's romnesia line, democrats look at that and say people, particularly women voters, don't trust mitt romney. they want to sew that. they want to sew the doubts about whether they trust mitt romney on issues that voters care about, morely women voters. on the other side, the romney campaign says this is st. paul, this is petty. >> i've been looking at all the data coming in from the swing statings. is it conceivable that we could

see the winner of the electoral vote not be the winner of the popular vote? >> it's possible. you have 41 states that are basically being ignored. in california and here in new york, you'll see the president run up big margins. but a lot of the southern and mountain states you'll see governor romney. if that happens, like we had in 2000, it's likely the president would win the popular vote, but end up losing the electoral college. >> let's talk about the foreign policy debate coming up on monday. they've gotten into it a little bit certainly on the benghazi situation. is that a dead issue or is that going to come front and center again? >> it will come up in the debate. it's still not really clear to me that either campaign really wants to go for it. governor romney had his chance in the second debate and he kind of whiffed. i think that the press and the public feels that that's been adjudicated to some extent. i think the president still hasn't adequately explained what he knew and how he reacted to all of this. there are other big foreign policy issues. it's unfortunate, as far as i'm

concerned, that we'll have 90 minutes on foreign policy. a lot of big issues. we still need a big debate on the biggest issue facing whoever wins, which is the fiscal cliff, all these issues of taxes and spending. i hope they find a way to work that into sbthe debate as well. >> typically the incumbent has an advantage on foreign policy. is the president vulnerable on policy issues? >> he's been a towering issue on foreign policy. i think there is some question on libya and around the world. the arab spring. we still haven't really resolved our relationship with place like china and russia. it's a messy world. the u.s.'s role in the world is confusing. i think there are some points of debate. but in terms of what vote rers going to actually vote on, i don't think he's particularly vulnerable, nor does he have an advantage. the economy is what at what most

voters are going to look at here. >> a couple program notes. tomorrow i'll be anchoring the broadcast from florida and how the election is shaping up in this key battleground state. you can catch the final presidential debate monday night at 9:00 eastern, 6:00 pacific right here on nbc. still to come, justin timberlake and jessica biel tie the knot. we'll have details on their star-studded wedding. but next, caught on camera. police release this surveillance video to try to find the thieves who snatched paintings worth millions of dollars. we'll tell more more about that after these messages. so on august eighth we woke up a sleepy town to show that eating well can be easy and delicious with jennie-o turkey bacon and sausage cooked thoroughly to 165 definitely very good it's excellent this is delicious makes me want to eat breakfast more it's time for a better breakfast i can't stop eating this make the switch look for jennie-o at a store near you

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. >> gone in 60 seconds that is what happened to paintings worth millions dollars from some of the most celebrated names in the art world, we are live in london with more. duncan? >> good evening, jenna, it's days from the biggest art fest of all time. just a few second it is of footage of video has been released and they hope it can help to lead this police to the stolen paintings. the thieves came in a side door with their faces covered, less than two minutes later they were gone again. and on their backs, different pieces of art worth 10s of millions dollars. >> it's a significant loss to the public and to the trust which owns the pictures. >>. >> reporter: they were stolen in

a raid being described as very well planned. it's supposedly state of the art system overcome, and left empty spaces on the walls. >> these are not people going to the local department store, smashing and grabbing, if you will. these areighly sophisticated individuals that know, sophisticated alarm business and know the current exchange rate and so on, and once you get it, you have to get rid of it. and that's tough. >> reporter: tough because these pieces are famous and loved by art loverers, the police know they are up against a dark and murky under world where paintings disappear from view. a paris gallery were raided months ago. and important pieces missing. >> no one will take the risk to present them for sale

officially. >> reporter: instead the owners of the private collection will be praying that their paintings are recovered. and of course, the mona lisa taken from paris in 1911. dutch police hoping for similar success believe these grain images of the thieves vans may be enough to get a tip off to crack the incredible case. what nobody can work out and what do the thieves expect? the paintings might be worth millions dollars, but they will never be able to sell them on the open market. instead, experts wondering if they are going to ask for ransom. jenna? >> thank you so much. still ahead on the show, lance armstrong on how he is holding up amid the doping scandal around him. but first, this is "tod

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good morning. looking live at downtown san jose which will host the alzheimer's work. information for you on that coming up at 7:00 and right now we also have a forecast. thanks for joining us. should be nice for the folks who are trying to raise money for that cause. >> actually, yeah, pretty comfortable this morning, not too cool. we don't have to worry about rain for today. 54 in san jose and upper 40s around novaudo ending towards santa rosa this morning where we have patchy fog, too. the satellite and radar view. for now, the rain and cascade snowfall happening in the pacific northwest. we'll talk about sierra snow by monday. snow levels near 1,000 feet. but pretty good timing for your weekend plans. we have upper 60s around san

francisco and into san jose and mid to upper 70s inland towards the trivalley today. tomorrow more clouds and especially in the afternoon and then tomorrow night, some rain in the north bay. >> thank you very much. a mystery in the woods this morning. two bay area men. investigators believe they are the victims of homicides. men have been identified as 32-year-old mendez of richmond and 38-year-old ricardo of oakley. detechi detectives found the bodies on a ranch east of the town of bonan bonanza. >> we were working an arson case which a pickup truck was burned out severely six miles from the location where the bodies were found. >> that burned out pickup truck is registered to him and for the other man, his relatives say he was headed there to buy horse, hay or perhaps both.

investigators are not saying how long the bodies may have been in the woods before they were found. no arrests have been made. seven people are behind bars in san jose accused of beating a 14-year-old boy to death at a san jose park. that attack happened back in april. police say a fight broke out at roosevelt park, which is a known gang hangout. investigators say reyes was targeted and attacked. he died three days later. in recent weeks, police arrested four men and three teenagers on suspicion of murder, but had not released a motive. coming up this morning on "today in the bay" they are back in the bay. san francisco giants returning home from st. louis early this morning. we will hear from team manager bruce bochy about what is ahead for tomorrow's big lplayoff gam. another big playoff game happening today, that is cal and stanford and we have all the details you need to know if you're headed there and, of course, more on the forecast and

we also have more information about the alzheimer's walk for you this morning. all of it coming up for you at 7:00. we hope that you'll join us and see you in 30 minutes. good morning! wow. want to start the day with something heart healthy and delicious? you're a talking bee... honey nut cheerios has whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol. and it tastes good? sure does! right... ♪ wow. delicious, right? yeah. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... ♪ well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy.

and we're back on a saturday morning, october 20th, 2012. want to thank our crowd for spending part of this beautiful fall day with us. it is actually a really nice day out here. i'm jenna wolf alongside lester holt. still to come in this half-hour, we're talking about lance armstrong. he's speaking out. >> the disgraced cyclist is saying he's seen some better days. i think that's an understatement after being caught up in the doping scandal that's cost him millions of dollars in endorsements and forced him to step down as chairman of his live strong cancer charity. and then we're going to talk some celebrity news. there was a nice wedding that recently happened. justin timberlake said b bye bye bye to the single life. he said "i do" to actress jessica biel. also, a tumultuous week for

his ex britney spears. her former manager making some very startling allegations about her in court. and then shopping for the best cuts of chicken and fish. we're going to get some expert advice on that. we'll tell you which part of a chicken is the best when it comes to grilling. when shopping for seafood, should you buy fresh or frozen? we'll have some tips for our next trip to the supermarket. >> ours? >> oh no. your trip, my trip. let's move on. fun, filth, and more fun this past weekend. i got a chance to do the rugged run for respect. it's this whole big craze now, the obstacle courses and the mud and tires and the balance beams, all of it. a great cause, all to benefit special olympics. this one was. we had a really good time. i noticed that of all the people that were there, my co-host was not. i'm just saying. it's something i noticed while i was there. >> i'm still recovering from our last workout. >> that was eight months ago, by the way.

>> let's get a check on the weather. dylan is back and has our last check of the weather. >> it's absolutely gorgeous out here in new york city today. we did have some rain across northern new england, but that is actually going to exit across cape cod as we go throughout the rest of the morning. across the rest of the country, a couple scattered showers, but we are talking about temperatures about 15 degrees above normal through the dakotas. 77 degrees. that is some really nice stuff, especially at the end of october. then as we go into sunday, some of that milder air will work back into the great lakes where it is going to be chilly today. tomorrow you'll get back into much more comfortable temperatures, not feeling so much like fall. it will be cool across the northeast. the southeast does look warm. nice and sunny all across the gulf coast states with a couple scattered thunderstorms possible, especially strong and not a bad start to our morning. right now, low clouds and temperatures mostly mid to upper tos around the bay area and misty skies and some of the low clouds around san francisco, though. the rain we have been watching here the last couple days in the

pacific northwest is going to drop to the south by late tomorrow night and expect big changes in the forecast once we get out of the weekend. 72 san jose and mid to upper 70s out towards the tri-valley. late tomorrow, more clouds and a good chance of seeing rain for your monday morning commute. and this young lady just stood next to me. we're matching in our bright green colors. but we are getting into tomorrow, sunday night football night in america. of course, we are talking about the steelers heading over to cincinnati to take on the bengals. clear and cool, 59 to 63 degrees. looks real nice for a game at paul brown stadium. that is, of course, sunday night. also, check out your forecast any time at weather.com. lester? we're hearing from lance armstrong for the first time since he stepped down as chairman of his live strong cancer charity. the move was in the wake of the doping scandal that's tarnished armstrong's cycling career.

as charles hadlock reports, support for the charity remains strong. >> reporter: a yellow carpet welcome and a chance for celebrities to hear from a sports legend fallen from grace. friday night in austin, lance armstrong spoke publicly for the first time since he was kicked out of the sport he once dominate. >> it's been an interesting couple of weeks. it's been a difficult couple of weeks. for me, for my family, for my friends, for this foundation. >> reporter: the occasion was the 15th anniversary celebration of his live strong foundation, the cancer-fighting charity he founded after surviving testicular cancer. a host of celebrities came to show support. >> it's for a good organization. it's helped a lot of people's lives in ways that are more important. >> reporter: news cameras were not allowed inside, and while armstrong didn't address the doping charges levelled against

him by the u.s. anti-doping agency, he told the crowd -- >> i've been better. but i've also been worse. i am -- and i think i can speak on behalf of this entire team behind me, truly humbled by your support. >> reporter: by all accounts, this has not been a good month for the seven-time winner of the tour de france. last week the u.s. anti-doping agency detailed what it called overwhelming evidence that armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs to win the competitions. the agency banned armstrong from the sport for life. armstrong has denied the charges, but to protect his charity, this week he stepped down as live strong's chairman. >> it's truly a statement that this organization and this mission means more than anything to lance and his family. >> reporter: almost immediately, armstrong lost long-term contracts, including nike, who dropped him due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence.

>> i think they realized that because of the public response, so there was no other choice but to cut him loose. >> reporter: now the public gets to hear his response as he tries to help save the charity so closely associated with his image. for "today," charles hadlock, nbc news, dallas. up next, after a string of high profile romances, justin timberlake says "i do" to long-term girlfriend jessica biel. we'll tell you more. but first, these messages. ♪ [ slurp! ] [ laughs ] ♪ [ female announcer ] hey ladies. here's a little something you'll find irresistible.

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it is time now for an entertainment round-up, from justin timberlake's wedding news to courtroom drama for his ex britney spears. here to discuss them is the senior writer for "people" magazine. charlotte, welcome. good morning. we have a lot to talk about this morning. let's start with the good news. j.t., justin timberlake. we go way back, so i can call him justin timberlake. we don't go way back at all, actually. and jessica biel finally tied the knot. it's been a long time for them. >> they've been together five years. they got married yesterday in southern italy. it was a beautiful ceremony.

according to people around them, they really pulled out all the stops. they flew in all of their guests on a private jet. they had a pre-party featuring fireworks and live music, and, you know, it was just a beautiful italian menu with every delicious delicacy you could imagine. >> i can imagine. and you guys have the exclusive coming out on wednesday. >> we do. >> okay. they did release a statement. they said it's great to be married. the ceremony was beautiful. it was so special to be surrounded by our family and friends. you sort of assume that. but are you surprised? he's had a long line of high-profile romances. britney spears, cameron diaz, fergie, alyssa milano. and they had a little hiccup, they did break up. are you surprised? >> he has a little bit of a reputation as a ladies man. that might be unfair. they've been together five years. but even when they broke upper he said she's the most important person in his life. it didn't take very long for them to get back together. he got serious really quickly. so obviously she's the one for

him. >> before we leave this subject, there's a ring on her finger the size of a small child. nicely done. >> she says that he has great taste. she let him go forth and pick a ring. he custom designed it. he really has amazing taste and she was thrilled with it. >> i feel like justin timberlake is picking out a ring, it's like whatever you like is fine with me. i really, really appreciate it. let's move on to justin's ex britney spears. a little bit of courtroom drama this week. there was a civil lawsuit that was brought on by her ex-manager sam lufti. he accused her of drug use. not just recreational drugs, some pretty hard drug use. what can you tell us about this claim? >> he says that year during which she had this string of breakdowns, she was on amphetamines as a result of her drug use, including shaving her head, that she was paranoid that they might test her hair for drugs and find something in there, and that's why she shaved off all of her hair. we can expect that her family is

going to come back swinging. >> and i heard crystal meth was one of the drugs mentioned in all of this. >> he claims that he brought in drug-sniffing dogs to the house and that the dogs found crystal meth, including drugs that had been in the carpet and he had to constantly be vigilant to make sure she wasn't doing drugs. >> doesn't this contradict claims he had made around that time? >> a couple years ago, he was interviewed on the street and he actually said the shaving the head thing was just her making a statement. so he definitely down played it then and i'm sure the spears family is going to bring that up in court. >> how is she doing today? >> she's doing very well. she's doing a great job on "x-factor." she's really put together. she's doing a great job. this is really not what she needs. she had been on an upswing. this is knocking her down a few pegs. >> thank you so much for all your insight this morning. we really appreciate it. coming up next, saving money at the supermarket. when it comes to buying chicken and fish. but first, this is "today" on nbc. have you heard of the new dialing procedure

for the 408 and 669 area codes? no, what is it? starting october 20, 2012, if you have a 408 or 669 number, you'll need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number for all calls. o.k., but what if i have an 408 number and i'm calling a 408 number? you'll still need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number. so when in doubt, dial it out! i've never written a fan letter before, but you've done what i thought was impossible: you made good-for-you, gluten-free cereals in a whole bunch of yummy flavors. cinnamon chex and honey nut chex are two of our favorites. when my husband rob found the chocolate one, we were in cereal heaven. the only problem is,

with so many great flavors you're making it very hard to choose. so thanks. from your fans, the mcgregor family. 'cause we love chex. [ male announcer ] love chex? connect with us on facebook. [ eves ] years ago, i hurt my shoulder drag racing. that's when i decided to take it easy, so i took up hang gliding. [ female announcer ] a grandpa who refuses to grow up. [ eves ] the pain was bad, but the thought of not being a hang glider pilot was worse. [ female announcer ] that's when eves turned to sutter health's palo alto medical foundation. [ eves ] the doctors that i dealt with, they got it, that this old guy wanted to return as a hang glider pilot. they got me flying again. [ female announcer ] palo alto medical foundation, and sutter health -- our story is you.

welcome back. this morning on "supermarket savers", the best for fish and fowl. you may have experienced sticker shock at the grocery store. today janice lieberman is here with advice on navigating the prices of poultry. good morning. >> so expensive out there. so we figured out we need an education. if you're going to spend your hard earned cash purchasing chicken and fish, you might as well the best way to get the best for your dollar. so with the help of america's test kitchen, we got an education. >> five and a half minutes. >> reporter: you may not be a top chef master like these chefs from the bravo show, but we're all fishing for the best seafood we can buy. so we asked food expert jack bishop to get us through those muddy waters. what do you look for when you're purchasing fish? >> i'm looking for whether it's fresh or whether it's been

frozen and thawed. you can see there's a lot of water in there. a good price at $2.99, but it also looks like it's not quite as firm as this one over here, which is fresh fish. >> reporter: so what's the difference? >> when it comes to the meaty fish, tuna, cod, it doesn't freeze that well. tilapia, flounder, they freeze better. >> reporter: a way to tell if it's fresh, look them in the eye. >> should look kind of clear and healthy. if they're cloudy, it's a sign that it's older. you can ask to smell anything. it should smell like the sea. >> reporter: the fish should also be intact. >> if i see it's been damaged, that's going to make it harder to cook it because it's going to get mushy and lose its juices. >> reporter: if you're buying fish in prepackaging, look through the window. >> you want to see what you're buying. this is a very pretty package, but this is what they're showing you. it's hard to see is this freezer

burned? i recommend that if you're buying fish, buy it in clear packaging. >> reporter: how do shrimp stack up when it comes to freshness? that looks nice and fresh. >> if you read the label, it says thawed. almost all of the shrimp sold in the united states is frozen, and either it's thawed in the supermarket or you can thaw it at home. but don't he is hit buy the frozen shrimp. it's the same quality as the thawed shrimp that you're buying at the supermarket. >> reporter: from fish to fowl, finding the best bird for your buck can also ruffle your feathers. >> there's everyday chicken, and then there's juicy chicken. >> reporter: we all use breast and cutlets, easy, quick. >> most of these packages contain boneless, skinless meat. this is 6.99 for the breast meat, 4.99 for the thigh meet. i think the thigh meet is better. the dark meat saves you $2 a pound and tastes better.

>> reporter: last, it's important to read the label on the chicken. >> they can be air chilled or they can be water chilled. the water chilled pick up liquids. this one says may contain up to 5% retained water. that means you just spent 50 cents on water. it's important to understand what you're actually paying for. some people think it's going to be juicier. we didn't find that it was juicier. >> so once you get your purchase home, make sure you store it or cook it the right way, or it is money down the drain, which we certainly can't afford these days. >> no, we can't. poultry, chicken. sometimes there seems to be a little bit of blood in there. is that something to be concerned about? >> when you buy it if you see blood in there, that means that it's been previously frozen and it's been defrosted, so you want to stay away from that one. look for the clear liquids. there's nothing unhealthy about it, but you're better off buying one that wasn't previously frozen. >> some of that fish had been previously thawed. can i freeze it again?

>> it's not going to be unhealthy, but it's going to taste bad and be mushy. >> how long typically would we keep chicken and fish in the refrigerator? >> if you have fish, try to use that day. if you can't use it that day, put it on ice, definitely use it by the next day. chicken, you've got two days. >> how do you like to defrost chicken? microwave? warm water? >> what you do is in the refrigerator, you put it in a metal container, like a tin or a pan, and that's going to react with the chicken or the meat and let it defrost better and easier and quicker. >> i like to rinse the chicken before i cook it. am i being overcautious? >> actually, america's test chicken says it's worse because you're spreading the jerms arou -- germs around. >> i'm not doing anything right. >> and it doesn't improve the taste. they did taste test both ways. >> why is that a bad thing? >> because you're spreading the germs around the sink.

and it doesn't improve the taste. and you're cooking out anything that might be bacteria anyway when you put it in the oven? >> any other cooking tips? i'm not going to tell you what i do. >> with fish, you want to cook it properly. don't overcook it, especially a steak like tuna. if you want it to be rare, it can be about 110 degrees. salmon, 125. and 140 tops. don't dry out fish. >> that's the temperature i always cook it at. that's not true. i don't know what temperature i cook at it. >> you don't even know what you're cooking. stop rinsing your chicken. >> thanks, janet. good to see you. up next, jenna goes on a rugged run. she takes on an new orleaenormo obstacle course. but first these messages. [ chuckles ] ♪ you're cute. ♪ [ door creaks, closes ] [ female announcer ] the protein effect. new special k protein cereal. with ten grams of protein and three grams of fiber...

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how would you like to crawl through wet mud pits, rubber tires, metal pipes, one-inch balance beams through tiny mud-filled -- okay, i'm getting a little crazy here. but pushing your physical limits may not exactly sound like the most fun thing to do on the weekends, but it's become all the craze now. so when i heard about the rugged run for respect, an obstacle course to benefit charity, i very eagerly said sign me up.

the quintessential tale of mud, sweat, and tears. what draws you to these kind of races? >> it's exciting. >> but it's not for the feint of heart. >> it's very intense and aggressive. >> the setting, a field in brooklyn, new york. >> there's all kinds of natural obstacle and manmade obstacles. >> the cause, charity, a good one, benefiting the special olympics. >> events like this help us fund the competitions. >> the anxiety high, but with a little hope and a lot of caffeine -- >> oh, my gosh, we're starting. >> we were off. along my partner in crime dan, we soon learned that this obstacle course was no walk in the park, no matter how fit we were. it's called the rugged run for respect, but run you ragged is more like it. >> still alive. >> up hills, over walls, through

pipes, small pipes, mind you, in mesh, through tires, weighted down -- >> i feel like i don't have the best technique. >> on foot. >> i'm conserving my energy, letting people pass me, just in case they make me do this twice today. just in case. >> and if that wasn't enough, there was the cold, wet, heavy mud. >> thank goodness this is for a good cause. >> after a mere 40 minutes, but what felt like 140, that finish line was calling our name in every language imaginable. we came, we channelled our inner warrior, and nus the bumps and bruises, we walked away, helping the more than 55,000 athletes of special olympics new york. >> all for the job! >> it wouldn't be me if there was no drama. 500 people actually participated in that race. >> did you stop along the way at

all? >> well, three bathroom breaks. i stopped to watch an episode of "law & order" and i got two snacks. no, we went all 5k! >> that's what i would have done. >> it was under 30 degrees when we started the race. so props a little bit? next year, want to do it with me? the mud part. >> no, no, no. >> you sure? think about it. >> i'll think about it. get back to you on that. >> that is going to do it for us on a saturday morning. tomorrow we'll have a preview of "law & order's" 300th episode. one of us was on that episode. you should definitely tune in. best time ever. and i'm off to florida. we'll anchor from there, the presidential election. i'll see you from there. have a great day, everybody.

good morning. coming up next on "today in the bay" -- >> we're all excited. they are back in the bay. while you were sleeping the san francisco giants returned home from st. louis. we'll take you to at&t park for their arrival and show you what's next for them. and a major traffic alert. the bay area bridge that is totally shut down this weekend, when it will reopen and how you can make your way around. plus, it is dial day. making a call in the south bay changes starting today. what you need to know to make that call and avoid an annoying air aer message. plus, squash in a quart. a very interesting sports spectacle at the san francisco water front. we'll show you what's behind it, coming up.

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this morning waking up in the south bay, this is what you might see out your window. some fog in