happy halloween. coming up on "early today" the 2013 world series champs, the boston red sox. the celebrations continue, even now in bean town. no celebrating for kathleen sebelius during a health care grilling that's getting mixed reviews. plus mother nature is scaring up tricky troubles for trick-or-treaters. "early today" starts right now. this is "early today" for thursday, october 31. good morning and happy halloween. i'm richard lui. the celebration was almost a century in the making. >> it hasn't happened at fenway park for 95 years! the red sox are world champions!

>> the red sox win the third world series in a decade, but their first at fenway park since 1918. the night began with an appearance by red sox legend carlton fisk, fake beards and all. fisk, you will remember, hit the famous walkoff homer at fenway in the 1975 world series. in the game, though, itself, based loaded, a blast off the green monster. ortiz goes home and gomes brings it in. the first runs make it 3-0, boston. in the fourth, red sox steven drew homers, fans go in a frenzy. sox up, 4-0. the bench goes wild. even one of boston's finest caught celebrating. why not? and a single brings in big papi. 6-0, the lead there. final innings, closer, ruehara, closes the door, 6-1. a spirited cardinals routed in

game 6. worst of worst, ortiz gets the series mvp with a -- i can't even count this high -- .688 batting average. >> we've been through a lot this year, and this is for all of you and all of the families who struggle this year. >> boston police have reported a handful of arrests as the celebrations continue into the wee hours. bill karins, .688. now, new numbers showing americans are split on the new affordable health care. tracie potts is live with details. good morning to you. tell us about the new low that you're finding in the poll. >> reporter: the president's job approval is now at an all-time low after a big slide this year. take a look. 42% is now his approval rating. it's upside down from his disapproval rating. and this has been sliding about 10% over the course of the year. if you take a look in january when his second term first

started, he was at 52%. and that slid after the benghazi hearings, after the irs scandal, after edward snowden started leaking information about the nsa, and by september, it was down to 45% amid his indecision on syria, now at 42. but what's also knew, people don't like the president as much as they used to. his personal likability rating had been holding up. but now, his positive rating is upside down at 41%, considering his negative rating at 45%. people in this country don't think the health care law, obama care, is a good idea. in our poll, 47% to 37% think it's a bad idea. finally, the republican party, they're not too popular either. 22% of americans feel positively about the party, richard. >> well, we know, tracie, who does have a high approval rating in washington, d.c., tracie pots! 100% here.

that's right, bill and myself, we think you're number one. thank you. >> reporter: sure. removal of chemical weapons in syria. they have destroyed all necessary ingredients. this come as day before the imposed deadline by national regulators. it means country no longer has the ability to make new weapons. syrian officials have not started getting rid of existing stockpiles. the country is believed to have 1,000 metric tons of mustard gas and sarin. for almost four hours, lawmakers grilled hhs secretary kathleen sebelius. sebelius apologized saying she was accountable for the plagued obama care exchange rollout. she defended the overhaul, pledging fixes by november 30th. the site's problems are not the only concern. capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell has more. >> you deserve better. i apologize. i'm accountable to you for fixing these problems, and i'm committed to earning your confidence back by fixing the site.

hold me accountable for the decackle. i'm responsible. >> reporter: sebelius admitted they failed to do enough testing before the october 1st launch. >> do you believe that two weeks was enough time to complete testing of the entire system? >> clearly not. >> reporter: beyond website issues, frustration and confusion over a promise made by the president. >> the president kept saying if you like your health care plan, you can keep it. is he keeping his promise? >> yes, he is. >> reporter: lawmakers from both parties complained that constituents without employer-provided insurance say their policies are being cancelled or premium prices hiked, in part because the health care law requires more services like preventive care be covered. >> they don't offer the minimum essential benefits, is that correct? >> that is correct. >> reporter: sebelius responded that only affects a small number of americans who can now look for a better deal. >> consumers have the right to shop anywhere, to compare plans, and they have choices now that they never had before.

>> that was nbc's kelly o'donnell reporting for us. questions are mounting on whether the site is secure. at issue is your private information and is it secure once you type it in. michael isikoff explains for us. >> don't you think you have the obligation to tell the american people we're going to put you in the system, but beware? your information is likely to be vulnerable? would you commit today, secretary, to shut down the system and give an end-to-end security test so that -- >> no, sir. if you read the memo -- >> oh, i have read it. >> reporter: the internal government memo, three days before the october 1 launch date, warned that testing of the site was not finished, exposing an level of uncertainty that could be at high risk. she said they were taking steps to protect security. it was a debate within the administration according to

michael, chief of the social security administration under both presidents bush and obama until last february and tells nbc news he protested that officials were carving out exemptions from the privacy act. the exemptions, which do appear on the privacy policy of healthcare.gov, allow personal data, such as social security numbers to be shared with family members, even the department of homeland security. officials say sharing data is essential to determine if people qualify for subsidies. >> nbc's michael isikoff reporting for us there. moving to wicked weather. scaring up concerns for trick-or-treaters in parts of the midwest. a major storm hammering parts of kansas. heavy winds there and hail creating treacherous road conditions, and knocking down power lines, as well. due to tornado threats in the region, several communities like sellersburg, indiana, opted to celebrate halloween a day before the halladay. -- holiday.

bill is here. and by the way, nice tie. i did not get the memo. >> come on. it say 31st, october, right on the calendar. >> you're right. absolutely right. i totally missed that one. >> the big storm heading across the country, so horrible for so many kids from the great lakes to texas. that was the storm that was in the west over the last couple of day, and in its wake, it has left a lot of cold air. it is chilly. some people may need a jacket, costumes. california not too bad. just a little bit of wet weather in the pacific northwest. a warm front still trying to push through. and that could create a little bit of wet weather. for the most part, it's a very quiet weather map once again, just cool temperatures in the inner mountain west. the radar out of the pacific northwest. a lot of the cities aren't seeing it. it's mostly up in the mountains we're getting the radar echoes, but still a chance of hit-or-miss shower, a patch of drizzle or two, but overall, many areas are

perfect halloween costume weather. enjoy. in the pacific northwest, it looks like a stormy weather pattern, a change coming up in the days ahead. >> okay, bill, thank you. a man loses a finger during a crime, but cops scoop it up to find the perp. plus, another major publication refuses to print the name of washington's football team. the controversy is heating up. details in two minutes.

welcome back. the "washington post" reporting the national security agency secretly broke into communication links that connect google and yahoo! data centers around the world, google saying it's troubled by the report and yahoo! said it did not give the government access.

29-year-old joshua government was arrested, a severed kisever ed finger the key here. the officers retrieved that finger. "san francisco chronicle" is joining. there was no decision after the nfl's meeting with the representative of the oneida nation which said redskins is a racial slur. high school football players are nearly twice as likely to get concussions as college players. a new report by the institute of medicine and the national research council says while the brain is floating freely within the helmet. they say this is despite helmet and mouthguard use to prevent fractures. a high-speed chase, more

than 100 miles per hour. his car hit as concrete barrier. it went flying into a deputy's car. both the driver and deputy were hurt. taking you down to business and seema mody. good morning, seema. >> good morning, richard. facebook delivers mixed news. profit beat forecasts as revenues surged 60% with nearly half of ad revenue coming from mobile devices. but the social media giant says user activity is dropping, especially among younger teens. mcdonald's teams up with kraft to test sales of mccafe packaged groceries in stores. they've gotten a big boost from the launch of mccafe which include coffee and espresso drinks. halloween isn't about free candy. several restaurants are offering free eats on what's one of the slowest days for business. ihop is giving all kids a scary-face pancake. at krispy kreme, anyone who

shows up in a costume walks out with a free doughnut. how about that? >> done and done. forbes list of the most powerful people is out. coming in at number one is russian president vladimir putin. at number two is president obama. number three is xi juping. and german chancellor angela merkel is five. sports is next, including a big announcement from iverson and beckham. plus, a spooky halloween trivia question for you. according to a recent survey, what percentage of you believe in ghosts? is it 15%, 25%, 35%, or 45%? the spooky answer when "early today" returns.

they say no good deed goes unpunished. and some days it seems true. but we keep on doing the things that matter& like buying new raspberry 5 hour energy. from now to the end of the year, a portion of each sale...

benefits living beyond breast cancer, to empower women affected by breast cancer. new raspberry 5 hour energy. it's one good deed that will go just right. mm-mm. so before the break, we asked you, according to a recent survey, which percentage of americans believe in ghost that answer? yeah! 45% of you believe in ghosts, or that, the spirits themselves of dead people can come back in certain places and situations. but listen to this, 43% do not think they can harm or interact with the living. there you go. now, let's get the latest in sports. 76ers favorite allen iverson formally announcing his retirement. >> i'm always going to be a sixer, you know, till i die. i'm always going to be a bruin till i die.

>> the 11-time all-star was drafted as a sixer back in 1996 when he stopped playing in 2010. his game average? over 26 points. in the game, the young sixers' team was led by michael carter williams, and this power tug right there, ooh, the heat come back with a steal. a pass to roger mason jr. that three right there, my friend. and in the end, the sixer does upset the heat, 114-110. a remodelled brooklyn nets was at a confident cavaliers arena. at the end, the cavs leading the nets, terry back-to-back triple. game tied, 82-82, but the cavs take it, 98-94. who doesn't like a monster alley-o alley-oop? well, there you go. right there. new orleans anthony tavis, the toss on the pick-and-roll. pooh, two point, like will used to do it. remember when tate got waved there, negating a touchdown.

it's similar to rules in college football. tonight, by the way, thursday night football, first place bengals take on the dolphins. >>. >> david beckham is coming out of retirement, kind of. this time, to buy a u.s. major league soccer team in miami. his discount price, says a.p., $25 million, because of stipulations in the original galaxy deal. the savings could amount to $75 million. they're 30 pounds each. he's 300. sumo champ gets tackled by a bunch of kids. this is an annual fund-raiser before the fall grand tournament. he's lifting them up like bags of potato chips. >>. >> kate upton and arnold palmer grace the cover of "golf digest." she got tips from him, and she apparently gave a few putting

lessons. >> you got so much better, okay. katey perry is kicking it to the top.

welcome back, the halloween forecast. 90%, maybe 95% of you are looking fabulous. no issues whatsoever for yourself and the kids later today and this evening. just in the northwest, a few areas of showers out there, especially higher elevations, not a lot. and not enough to ruin your plans. looking towards friday's forecast, very nice once again, a sprinkle or two in seattle.

no issues. temperatures warming up in many cases, near 82 in l.a. and the next storm coming into the northwest, it looks like friday night into saturday, richard, a pretty decent little storm, with some gusty winds with it. >> 95% of the western mountain time zones are looking fabulous, huh? >> for today, no problem. >> you have a lot of friends. >> well, you know -- >> as of that statement. bill, thank you. get the baby gifts ready. expecting bunts of joy. jason cutler, and also kerry washington. katy's album new album "prism" debuted at number one this week. they are honoring this year's winner, the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons. the newest trailer for season four"downtown abbey" will debut this week.

and the first lady debuted her let's move campaign with hairy friends. >> muscle. >> let me see it. >> that's it. >> it's mighty, mighty. >> oh. oh, elmo, your muscles, too, so powerful. >> let me see your muscles. >> whoa. [ laughter ] >> there's a gun show for you, right? designer karl lagerfeld being sued by a french woman's suit. it involves comments he made on a french talk show earlier this month. the designer saying all diseases are caught by overweight people and no one wants to see curvy women on the runway. >> yeah. >> that's the guy that said it right there. >> speak for yourself. >> with the glasses and the hair -- >> i think the trend's finally going in the right direction. >> he's controversial within his own right, too. >> yeah. richard lui, and this is "early today," and we hope it's just your first stop today on nbc.

leading the news this morning in "new york times" new york raising the age to buy cigarettes to 21. mayor bloomberg said he would sign the legislation. and in the tennesseen, man charged with false reports after home invasion. after hours of searching for a suspect, police interviewed the 27-year-old correctional officer. they say he concocted the invasion story, because he was late for work. some stories we're watching for you on nbc -- a new surveillance video can shed new light on the death of a teen. kendrick johnson was found dead, rolled up in a gym mat on january 11th. this video does not appear to show the fateful moment. police say it was a freak accident, but johnson's parents

believe it is a murder. an autopsy ruled he suffocated after he fell head first into the mat reaching for a shoe. new york city lawmakers approve a plan for a 625-foot giant ferris wheel on staten island. that's what it may look like. perhaps one of the world's largest. it will have views of the statue of liberty, new york harbor and the manhattan skyline. construction is expected to begin next year with a grand opening in 2016. but it will have some competition. developers in dubai are planning a 689-foot ferris wheel. ferris wheels seem to be in vogue all of a sudden again. look at this adorable video out of florida. some pooches spotted prancing around in elaborate outfits at the 16th annual howloween pet costume -- >> that's a good one. >> -- yeah, working on it. some had bark, some had fright. overall, 200 canines pulled off some of the tricks.

>> i like the wagon, the little dog. >> seems to be enjoying it, though. >> really? you speak dog? >> i speak dogese occasionally. new jersey gets a new senator. cory booker will be sworn in to fill the seat of lautenberg. on this day in 1941, mt. rushmore sculptures were completed. the carvings of washington, roosevelt, lincoln, they're beauties. jane pauley is 62 today. coming up on the "today" show, a "today" exclusive with a hero police officer in texas who was shot during a traffic stop, but got back in her car and chased down the suspects. and matt, savannah, the rest of the "today" team reveal the old-school halloween costumes. that's always fun. keep it here for more news, weather, and sports. i'm richard lui along with bill

karins. have a great hallowe >> i heard

there was like a bunch of cop cars out here and i was heard. i heard gun shots and i ran inside. >> chaos and commotion in the east bay as police shoot and kill a dog they say was attacking a group of people in antioch. what we learned from police coming up. >> you indetails about the shooting death of a santa rosa teenager. what the deputy is saying about the moments before he opened fire. >> and emotional greeting at sfo. a scare in the sky forces this grandfather to wait a lot longer than planned to meet his brand new granddaughter. we'll explain. >> let's take a live look outside. a crisp start once again. it's halloween, thursday, october 3