breaking news this morning, a second texas health care worker has tested positive for ebola, and the world health organization is predicting 10,000 cases of ebola every week. dozens of tornadoes and powerful thunderstorms caused major damage and travel troubles around the country. one of the biggest perks ever offered by major companies to female employees, plus 100 sharks in the midst of a feeding frenzy. saying good-bye to a fallen hero. and gas prices are really taking a dive. it is wednesday, october 15, "early today" starts right now.

good morning. i'm melissa ray berger. there's a new patient now infected. a new health care worker who treated thomas eric duncan. the world health organization says to get set for possibly 10,000 case as week. dr. anthony fauci spoke to msnbc's rachel maddow. >> as you get more and more people who are getting infected and not getting into the kind of isolation and able to contract trace, they're infecting a lot more people. mark zucker goering and his wife donating the the cdc all as pham speaks out. >> doctors upgraded nina pham's condition from stable to good. and for the first time in a written statement, she's sharing

her thoughts from the isolation unit at the texas health presbyterian unit. she says she's going well and thanks everyone for their kind wishes an prayers, also calls the specialists treating her the best team of doctors and nurses in the world, a team that the director of the centers of disease control acknowledge should have had more help immediately after thomas eric duncan contracted the disease. as a result of what happened in dallas, the cdc created a rapid response team to deal with any positive test in the u.s. because pham was infected while wearing full protective gear, 76 members of the hospital staff have been added to the list of 48 people in the community being monitored after contact with duncan. >> our team haves been working very hard to cast a wide net and identify everyone who might have been exposed. >> that list also includes pham's be loved dog bentley.

a hazmat team and firefighters created a secure home for the puppy. >> his care has to be given and provided for just like you would for a regular ebola patient because we don't know if the shedding of the virus is something we need to be concerned with. >> as they continue to do anything they can to fight any further spread of the deadly virus. jay gray, nbc news, dallas. in hong kong allegations of police brutality during the worst violence since the start of the protests there. 45 people have been arrested as police try to dismantle an e panneded protest zone. police used pepper spray and tore down barricades and slabs of concrete that protesters used to block an underpass. four police officers were injured. six other officers have been reassigned after this video surfaced. it shows them beating a handcuffed protester. u.s.-led air strikes continue in both iraq and syria. isis militants are still making

gains. later today president obama holds a video conference with several european leaders to discuss efforts to combat the terrorist group. this comes a day after the president met with 20 military chiefs from around the world on the campaign to destroy isis. nbc's tracie potts is live in the nation's capital this morning. tracie, what has the response been to the president's handling of the isis situation so far? >> reporter: not so good. we got new numbers overnight from our latest nbc "wall street journal" poll. that poll showed us while the administration said over and over and over no ground troops, no combat troops on the ground, that's not necessarily what americans are thinking. in our new nbc/"wall street journal" poll, 41% of americans now think we need troops on the ground to defeat isis. this week the u.s. is concentrating nearly all its air strikes on kobani.

defense ministers meeting with president obama agreed, defeating the islamic state won't be easy. >> this is going to be a long-term campaign. there are not quick fixes involved. we're still at the early stages. >> in iraq there's deep concern about isis pushing into bagdad and the inability of iraq's military to stop them. >> isis can lob mortar shells, conduct suicide attacks and create pandemonium. >> reporter: russia possibly providing training. >> we both recognize isil has no place in the 21st century. >> reporter: what's fueling the momentum is the group's ability to draw young people through social media. >> you look at some of it and it's about as slick as i've ever seen. >> reporter: forcing the u.s. and its allies to look beyond the battlefield for answers. back live as we look at the poll numbers that come out overnight, not looking too good for president obama on this issue.

55% polled disapprove of how the president is handling this crisis with the islamic state overseas. melissa, interestingly, one out of three of those who disapprove or a third of democrats disapprove as well. >> tracie potts, thank you. in silicon valley a game changing approach to compete for female employees. apple and facebook are now offering to pay for employees to freeze their eggs. they are believed to be the first major companies to offer this coverage for non-medical reasons. the $10,000 procedure is part of a long list which also includes benefits for fertility treatment and adoption. it's official, the controversial texas voter id law will be in effect for november elections. earlier a lower court judge called it unconstitutional, but now a federal appeals court is temporarily reinstating it saying it is just too late to change the rules for the midterms. this means about 600,000 voters

will not be able to vote. right now bracing for bad weather. millions are watching the sky as severe storms move in on the northeast flooding and high winds all a possibility. that system slammed into the southeast on tuesday in six states. thousands had no power. in hard-hit georgia, two tornadoes rattled folks. >> all of a sudden we heard like a jet plane or a freight train just coming across the back of the house. >> here is what's churning in the atlantic. this is hurricane gonzalo, a category three storm with winds of 115 miles per hour. on tuesday one man died in saint martin. but will it hit the u.s. mainland? bill karins is here with the forecast. >> good morning, melissa. that storm is heading possibly for bermuda and another storm in

hawaii. a lot to watch there. as far as travel concerns go in the west, you're dealing with the storm system that moved yesterday and last night. it reenergized itself as it started to move inland. we're not dealing with damaging wind or snow or anything like that, but as the storm pushes through you'll have travel inconveniences with wet roads and maybe gusty winds this afternoon. as far as the radar goes right now, some bands shifted through the seattle area, going over the cascades, further to the south, same deal here in central portions of oregon. in northern california, even in sacramento there's been radar echoes, not so much as been hitting the ground, but there is light rain through northern california. of course, any rainfall is welcome throughout this region of the country. here in san francisco, we have forecasts of showers, not a lot predicted, but could be about 71 with showers.

some of the warmest air in the country is in arizona and southern california. >> i'll tell you all about tropical storm ana headed for hawaii as a hurricane a little later. >> a couple of great division series games in baseball. the royals and orioles. a one-handed grab by a quick moving cameraman. this might have been the play of the game until third baseman mike muss tack kiss makes an incredible over-the-railing catch. luckily into a swarm of very happy and cheering fans. the royals get another win in the sixth to win 2-1. they lead in the series, just one victory away from the world series. to the nlcs, cardinals and giants tied in four extra innings and then this.

>> the bunt, perfec wild throw and the giants win game three! >> the giants are now up 2-1 in the series. game four is tonight. straight ahead, a heartfelt memorial for a hero dog. but first, this was the scene at cape lookout national sea shore in north carolina. look out is right. about 100 sharks in the midst of a feeding frenzy. they came upon a school of blue fish while fishermen nearby very wisely kept their distance. you're watching "early today."

welcome back, everybody. stories making news this morning. it's been two weeks since the body of a missing arkansas realtor was found in a shallow grave. now we are hearing from the suspect in her kidnapping and murder. >> i didn't kill her. i didn't murder her.

and anything that did occur was an accident. i never denied her going with me as far as kidnapping, i've never kidnapped anybody. i mean, somebody goes with you of their own free will, they're not being kidnapped. >> aaron lewis pleaded not guilty. he could face the death penalty. in st. augustine, florida a memorial to honor a fallen canine. his name is barron. he is the only canine to die in that county. he died last week when he and his handler chased a suspect near a swampy area. >> a piece of my heart was left when i found him there in that swamp. i'll never get that back. rest easy, bubs. your job is done here. >> officials are trying to determine what role the suspect played in barron's death. prices at the pump are falling. texas may be the cheapest

gasoline at $2.71 a gallon. in columbus, ohio, this super fan is taking it off and you've got to love his support for the blue jackets. at some point he got jiggy with someone in a bear costume. why? why not i guess. let's get down to business now with cnbc's morgan brennan. good morning. >> good morning, melis sachlt futures are higher after a mostly flat day for the markets. the dow ending in the red. the nasdaq snapped a three-day losing streak. investors may react today to good earnings from intel and railroad operator cs x. today we're getting numbers from bank of america, american express and ebay. job prospects for college grads are improving. a special report by "usa today" says computer engineers, software developers and physicians assistants will be

the most in demand, about 1.8 million new high school jobs may be created by 2017 that. will account for a quarter of all new jobs. keep the pep poe business mole handy, macy's opening at 6:00 p.m. on thanksgiving. workers can get paid more for working on thanksgiving and take black friday off. back to you. just ahead a new poll tells us which team is america's favorite in the nfl. first, jimmy kimmel's take on pope not judging others.

this morning on "today," he is back. jay leno announces his return to television. find out what he has planned for his big comeback. now, let's go to sports. with my colleague betty nguyen. good morning, betty. >> now the sports. the oilers took on the stanley cup champions in the city of angels. just minutes into the game a fight breaks out between players, both getting in some good shots before being separated. the oilers don't put up much of a fight. the kings dominate the ice with a 5-1 victory. in d.c. the capitals and sharks finish in a shootout after a scoreless first two rounds.

the sharks net one to get the 6-5 win. nascar has fined driver brad keselowski 50 grand and tony stewart 25 grand for their post race action. keselowski accidentally rammed into stewart's car while chasing down another driver on pit road and stewart retaliated backing into the front of his car. both drivers have also been put on probation for four races. a soccer match between albania and serbia was abandoned after unruly behavior. first fans threw flames onto the pitch, later a drone hovered over the field. fans ran onto the pitch before police broke it all up. the nba is going to test out a shorter game this weekend. the nets and celtics will play a 44-minute game on sunday rather than 48 minutes with 11:00 quarters which is a minute

shorter than normal. a new harris poll that surveyed 2500 adults in september realizes america has a new favorite football team. on top and up to stwots are the denver broncos. sadly, my favorite team, the dallas cowboys often referred to as america's team drops to fourth after six years at the top. and the pittsburgh steelers round out the top five. tough to swallow today. back to you, melissa. >> do you think betty might be a dallas fan? i can't tell. a quick look at the weather before you start your day, plus mrs. george clooney is back to work but not before she reveals the $3,700 gift she gave her new hub by. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. all the talk over the next four to five days will likely be about tropical storm ana becoming hurricane ana and headed for the hawaiian islands, the big island all the way through the chain could be threatened by the storm. here is the projected path from the hurricane centerment we're watching it sometime friday evening into saturday morning getting closest to the big island through the overnight period and all the way through sunday night near honolulu. we're talking about the whole weekend where the hawaiian island could be threatened by a hurricane. >> say it isn't so.

>> i know, paradise. >> we'll be watching it. chris rock who as a "saturday night live" cast member from early 1990 to '93 will be returning to the show to host the november 1st episode, joined by prince who would be making his third appearance as a musical guest. cannot miss that. it's official. amal almuddin is legally amal clooney. before changing her name she surprised her husband with handmade cocktail glasses, the same ones the couple enjoyed during their honeymoon. she wasted no time getting back to work, advising the governor of greece on how to win back the parthenon marbles currently in the british museum. >> i had that job. i gave it up. >> sure you did. i'm melissa ray berger with bill karins. we hope this is your first stop of the day.

this morning this quaint dallas community is on high alert after neighbors learned they're now living in a possible danger zone. >> wait, wait, wait. cleaning guys? you're decontaminating a ebola danger zone, bros with a hose not available? >> leading the news on msnbc.com, supreme court saves texas abortion access for now. the nation's high court temporarily reversed the state's restrictive abortion law. 13 clinics that closed on october 2nd can reopen. >> in "the guardian," tony abbott says he will shirtfront vladimir putin over downing of

mh 1. it means he wants a tough conversation with mr. putin. a columnist wrote an op ed standing up for putin. he said of abbott, like any bully, there comes a day when you pick on the wrong person, get your teeth smashed in and go running home to mummy blabbering like a anyone any. sounds like a fight. giving up on kentucky, the democratic senatorial committee stopped supporting allison lundergan grimes. more cities across the country are adding red light cameras to busy intersections and drivers beware, not all yellow lights are the same. in chicago yellow lights were shortened from three seconds to 2.9 seconds. that doesn't sound like much, but it meant $8 million in additional traffic tickets. turnip for what?

>> as part of a promotion for her let's move campaign, dance being a turnip. in the first hour the video has looped more than a million times. this looks like something out of the jetson's cartoon. guest relations at an indiana airport have become high tech with their customer service robot. it roams the passenger terminals, it's controlled by an employee who sits three floors above who answers questions with face time technology. >> is it spacely sprokts? >> emeril lag gas see is 55 today. member of the jackson five, teed dough jackson is 61. and actress and producer penny marshall is 71. >> keep it right here for more

news, weather and sports. i'm mel

>> announcer: from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay." >> good wednesday morning to you. it's 4:30, i'm sam brock. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. strong winds over the bay area, winds causing some trouble last night, toppling a tree april parked car in san jose. it hamped at one of the ebay campuses. no one was hurt. live look at fremont. the wind still a factor in some parts of the bay area. on that note, let's check your microclimate forecast with meteorologist christina loren. >> good morning. it's not just wind, you guys, we've got rain on the way as well. but we want it, we need it, it's coming in. this morning i can tell you we have strong wind. he's coming from the south.