coming up on "early today," a concerned president obama addresses americans' ebola fears head on. is enough being done and will an ebola czar help? and for first time, we'll hear from ebola patient nina pham. >> i love you guys. >> we love you, nina. >> love you. >> she has been moved a few miles from the white house to the national institutes of health. plus, cocaine for joe biden's son boots him from the u.s. navy. the giants are back for the third world series in five years. and the story of the mama bear and her cub that got national attention. it is friday, october 17th, "early today" starts right now.

good morning. ebola latest in a moment, but first, we begin with a tropical paradise bracing for impact. category 4 hurricane gonzalo is on a collision course with the island of bermuda. it has 140-mile-an-hour winds. half a foot of rain is expected starting tonight. nbc's dylan dreyer is on the island now. >> reporter: here in bermuda, all eyes are on hurricane gonzalo. it is forecast to pass just to the west of this island as a category 3 storm. that's the strongest storm this island has seen in more than ten years. it compares to hurricane fabian in 2003. talking with people around here, they're prepared, they're boarded up, they're stocked up, and they're cautiously optimistic. they said that this whole island is really prepared for hurricanes. >> but that is not all in the pacific. another storm has hawaii's governor declaring a state of emergency. tropical storm ana will make landfall tonight as a hurricane. all public schools on the big

island are closed. it is slow moving so flooding is a major concern. officials are warning thrill seeking surfers about dangerous conditions. breaking overnight, ebola is now just miles from the white house. infected nurse nina pham flown to maryland for treatment. right now she's inside a special biocontainment unit. the hospital just one of four in the u.s. designed to handle ebola. the move came after a tearful good-bye. >> don't cry. don't cry. yeah, we're really proud of you. come on, maryland, everybody. party. party in maryland. we love you, nina. >> in ohio, ebola fears are spreading. a bridal store visited by nurse amber vinson is now closed. officials are scrambling to find shoppers who were in it. at the white house, in what would be a first for the u.s. president is now considering an ebola czar. here's why. >> it may be appropriate for me to appoint an additional person,

not because the three of these folks have not been doing an outstanding job, they also are spoo responsible for a whole bunch of other stuff. >> and new images on the front lines of the ebola fight. u.s. customs in action, performing fever screening at five u.s. airports. in texas, more unbelieablunbeli details an how ill prepared that hospital was. during an exclusive interview on "today," here is what nurseagui? >> the second week, the only gear they're offering us at that time and up until that time is gear that is allowing our necks to be uncovered. >> let's go live to washington and nbc's tracie potts. tracie, you have news about another ebola scare? >> reporter: yeah, carnival cruise lines is saying this morning they have a lab supervisor and her husband, she left on this cruise before this cdc said not to. she has no fever, no symptoms, but in an abundance of caution,

they're keeping her isolated on that ship. they're in touch with the cdc. they're going to be back on sunday. meantime, nina pham is now just a few miles from here, being treated at one of four specialized units in the country. before nina pham arrived at nih last night, we got our first look at the ebola infected nurse in good spirits in her hospital room in dallas. >> come to maryland, everybody. >> party. party in maryland. >> reporter: we're also getting a first look at what the cdc is doing to stop this virus. the government released these pictures last night, they're now doing temperature checks at five airports. lawmakers, mostly republicans, are pressuring president obama to ban travel from west africa. >> the president ought to at least stop non-u.s. citizens from those three affected west african countries from coming here. >> reporter: but the president says a ban might prompt travelers to hide where they're coming from, increasing our risk. >> we could end up having more

cases rather than less. >> there is no such thing as fortress america when it comes to infectious diseases. >> reporter: he is considering a so-called ebola czar, one government official to oversee the response. that could now include reserves and the national guard. president obama authorized them to head to west africa if needed. and the world health organization is now saying to look for 4500 ebola deaths in west africa by the end of this week. dara? >> tracie, thank you for that update. tracie potts in washington, d.c. for more on ebola, we turn to dr. peter hotez, founding dean of the national school of tropical medicine at the baylor school of medicine. >> good morning. >> the ebola patient nina pham is now at the maryland hospital. should she have been moved there sooner? >> well, i think what we're clearly seeing is that taking care of ebola patients is extremely complicated and in my opinion it should only be done

at specialized facilities that are specially as the virus progresses towards the end stages where the amount of virus in the body is extremely high and it is very difficult to manage these patients. so i would say nina sounds like is being caught early on in the infection, so that it is still aminable treatments, meaning the blood products that contain antibody to the virus or antiviral drugs. certainly as the disease progresses, this becomes a real management problem and is not something that is any community hospital could handle. >> speaking of that management issue yesterday on the "today" show, a nurse from pham's hospital in dallas described lapses in preparedness and containment. is there no standard protocol for infectious disease treatment? >> it is not so much a standard protocol, it is the fact that it requires a lot of training on the protocol. there are currently four hospitals in the united states that have the capability of

managing ebola patients because they rehearse all the time these protocols. these are not easy to implement. we may see some additional facilities pop up in the united states over the next few weeks. but i think that's the message that what we should be doing is if a new patient comes in with a fever, they're still not highly contagious, they could be isolated and diagnosed, but then subsequently should be transferred to one of these four or five facilities that are in the united states. >> do you think appointing an ebola czar would be helpful? >> the czar idea is an interesting one. what i with like to see is a really strong independent and empowered u.s. surgeon general, which we haven't had in this country for -- really for the last decade. that's something that i think would be very welcome. whether or not we actually need a czar really depends on how this unfolds here in the united states. >> dr. peter hotez, thank you for your time this morning.

>> thank you. now to that startling tarmac image that went viral. a man holding a clip board just inches from amber vinson, the question so many had, where was his protective gear. phoenix air says he didn't wear any on purpose. he was going to the hazmat team who has limited vision. the company says it is standard procedure. vice president biden's youngest son was booted from the navy earlier this year. now he's apologizing for the actions that led to his discharge. the u.s. official said hunter are biden tested positive for cocaine in june of 2013 while serving as a reservist. he wasn't discharged until february. the official says his punishment wasn't made public because the navy usually does not report these types of dismissals. in a statement, hunter biden said, in part, quote, i deeply row great and am embarrassed that my actions led to my administrative discharge. no word yet from the vice president. now to take a look at the weather, we have nbc meteorologist bill karins here.

good morning. boy, do we have a lot to talk about. >> bermuda will get hit hard in ten hours and hawaii this upcoming weekend. ten hours away now from bermuda. it should go right over the top of the island. sometime right around 1:00 p.m. to about 8:00 p.m. this evening. and here is that path, right over the center of the island with the eye itself. last time they had that happen, had $300 million worth of damage in the island. that's the kind of thing they're looking at in a couple of hours from now. as far as hawaii goes, tropical storm ana is trying to become a hurricane. got a little more organized over warmer water. here is the good thing. the track is now going a little farther away from the islands, no longer in the cone of uncertainty. still close to rain bands into the big island. this forecast is dramatically improved in the last 24 hours and that is a piece of good news for the upcoming weekend. we also have to deal with the big rainstorm coming in to the west and a little later in the show, how it will impact your entire weekend.

this morning you need your umbrella from areas from seattle all the way down to coastal oregon. that's your national making it into northern california, possibly san francisco. how will that storm system impact you? i'll give you the details coming up for your weekend forecast. >> bill karins, thank you so much. now the giants are heading to the world series for the third time in five seasons. clinching a victory over the cardinals last night with a game to remember. >> travis ishikawa hits one into right! the giants win the pennant! >> yes, travis ishikawa with a three-run walkoff homer for a 6-3 win. it is the second time in mlb history that two wild card teams face off in the world series.

>> we're going to the -- >> the giants are up against kansas royals who have won eight straight and are in the world series for first time since winning in 1985. game one is tuesday. that will be in kansas city. and want to know where the average retail salesperson makes 50 grand a year? hmm. plus, the lowly jets actually put up a great battle against the pats. highlights straight ahead. ♪ ♪ this collection is close to my heart. it's inspired by the city i love.

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calories, will it prevent you from eating something? that's what scientists at johns hopkins think and they're joining the call for new nutrition labels. they showed teens it would take 50 minutes of running or five mile walk to burn off 250 calories a 20 ounce soda has. if you work for the container store, consider yourself very lucky. the average salary for their retail salesperson is nearly $50,000 a year. that's almost double the national average. finally, viewers were glued to their tv sets as news chopperers in southern california were hot on the trail, not of a car chase, but this black bear cub stuck in a dumpster and her mother trying to figure out how to get her out. authorities rescued the cub and the two went on a casual stroll for the neighborhood and here you see them making themselves at home in backyards before they cuddled up to take a nap. just ahead, breaking details on the new "star wars" movie. why this nba star bathing in

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this morning on "today," rossen reports, 25 years after the san francisco earthquake killed more than 60 people, jeff rossen investigates new technology designed to keep people safe from another quake. for the latest in sports, over to betty nguyen. good morning, betty. >> good morning, dara.

now to thursday night football, the jets and the pats. just minutes into that game the patriots find the end zone. it is shane vereen rolls in for 6. the jets keep it close down by 2. a chance to win with a 58-yard field goal. and look at this, it is blocked. patriots with a sigh of relief. they pull out a 27-25 victory. a scary moment on the ice during the penguins/stars game. penguins forward pascal dupuis gets knocked down in front of the net and gets hit by the puck in the back of the neck. he was treated on the ice before being taken off on a stretcher. the stars pull it out 3-2. it may be nba's preseason but there is excitement on the court. as the clock winds down jimmy butler at the buzzer drains a 3 to steal the win 85-84. the first men's college basketball poll is out. "usa today" ranks kentucky on top for the second straight season. arizona is second, duke, wisconsin and kansas round out the top five. the associated press top 25 is

released in two weeks. >> who could use some red wine after a long week? of course we all could. nicks star amar'e stoudemire shared his fine wine treatment, that is, on instagram. no glasses needed here because he is bathing in it. he says his red wine bath creates more circulation in his blood cells and soothes the body. no word on how many bottles that took. dara? >> thank you very much, betty. if you're watching the show, chances are you have a very irregular schedule. buzzfeed put together a list called 13 things people who work weird hours understand. i'm sure you can relate.

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welcome back on this friday morning. time for your weekend forecast. this morning we will have some -- i wouldn't call it big travel delays, maybe more of an inconvenience with the rain coming down in the northwest. be prepared for that during your morning drive. could get some of that into san francisco. this system is fairly progressive. we'll be letting a few showers on saturday in the northwest as it begins to move up to the northern portions of the rockies. no chance of rain in northern california saturday. and then by sunday, everyone is looking for a beautiful day. notice the temperatures are still pretty mild for the time here. everyone in the 70s, inner mountain west in the 70s. they're trying to make snow and think about the ski season, but not yet. >> ski season right around the corner. >> they're thinking about it. >> we'll stick to the 70s. >> not making it yet.

>> thanks so much, bill. now time for entertainment news at the box office. brad pitt's fury is expected to rocket past the competition. expected to earn about $27 million. the unique animation style of the book of life is looking to earn around $16 million. romance flick "the best of me" should rake in $10 million this weekend. and nbc unveiled the poster for the upcopping peter pan life broadcast. marvels of the guardians of the galaxy set another benchmark, earning over $700 million worldwide. and it looks like the ewoks will be making a comeback in the newest "star wars" film, announced that warwick davis who played one of the lead ewoks in "return of the jedi" has been cast in episode seven of the franchise. i love the ewoks. blake lively stunned the red carpet last night, but her baby bump stole the headlines. she was wearing a michael kors

dress. said it was hard to get dressed with a watermelon as a stomach. they announced they were having a baby early -- >> most beautiful baby on the planet. and jimmy fallon, his most recent ew landed at the number 32 spot on the charts. >> he was hoping for top 100. now it is like, 32. >> you got to love that, though. we played it before, but you get into it and -- >> the kids, i know. kids, you. >> i'm just a big kid at heart. >> i know you are. >> we get you in the little braces and the hat, we can get you doing it too, bill karins special. i'm dara brown. this is "early today." we hope it is your first stop of the day on nbc. well, it's been ther number one soup in americasoup?

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leading the news in the "l.a. times", which state does the best job of vaccinating kids? mississippi. new federal data shows 99.7% of kindergartners in mississippi got vaccines to prevent measles, mumps and whooping cough this year. out of all 50 states, colorado has the lowest vaccination right. in itv news, tourist trap. u.s. man stuck in london book shop after staff lock up and leave for the night. he was on the third floor when he realized staff locked up. he used twitter and instagram to reach out for help. he was stuck in the store for two hours before staff came to let him out. >> i would have pulled the fire alarm. >> i would have been reading a book. in from cosmopolitan u.k., david beckham to front new ebola

campaign with unicef. >> the good news is that this disease can be avoided if you take the right measures. >> soccer star david beckham is in two new public service messages for unicef. the organization is working to control the disease through public outreach campaign. if you are watching us right now here at "early today" in these wee hours of the morning, there is a chance that you, like us, have a very unique work schedule. buzzfeed has put together a list that is called 13 things people who work weird hours understand, and we wanted to share. number one, you are often alone in the office. two, no one is there when you need help. work always seems to come when you're the only one to do it. always true. and your eating schedule is super weird. you can never go to lunch with your work friends. people always seem to schedule meetings during your lunch time, which could be breakfast or dinner depending. people ask you to do stuff when you're not on the clock.

>> meetings, staff meetings in the middle of the day when we're supposed to be sleeping. >> and you have to stay. and this one, people tend to judge your sleep schedule. which is pretty much whenever you can sleep. >> fascinated by your sleep schedule. they can't understand it. >> how do you function with that little sleep? your friends invite you to things when you're working. and parking when you get to work is always a nightmare, but, hey, traffic is nonexistent when it is time for you to get home. and you get to work in peace and quiet. that is definitely a win. last but not least, no one is there to yell at you for surfing the internet. i don't surf like that kitten does, but, you know, it is a perk. >> my top pet peeve is the staff meetings, the free lunches and the free dinners that the whole staff gets when you're not here anymore. >> right or e-mail saying join us, and you're, like, i'm already home and already sleeping. nothing i can do. >> and phone calls during nap time. >> don't mess with the nap. time for a look ahead, first, michelle obama is hitting the campaign trail. more on that later.

she's heading to orlando to support the a bay area chancellor caught breaking the rules. >> was it a mistake to use the card? >> i know you're an expert on headlines. you're not going to get that headline from me. >> tonight, we investigate the improper use of a credit card. >> this particular incident was a serious problem. >> at a college with a history of questionable spending. tonight at 11:00 on nbc bay area news. we investigate.

. from nbc bay area, this is today in the bay. >> now the stretch. here it comes. swing! deep into right field! way back there! it's gone! a home run! for the game. and for the pennant. the giants have won the pennant! >> ishikawa with the clutch, hit the giants, heading back to the world series for the third time in five years. good friday morning, it's 4:30. today we have a lot more, everything you want to know about the giants' world series win in a few minutes. first we want to get your forecast, because is there rain on the way. let's bring in meteorologist