breaking news right now on "early today," blade runner oscar pistorius is behind bars. he dressed first ladies, celebrities and fashionistas the world over. the legendary oscar de la renta has died. monica lewinsky is back. he hear why and in her own words. a air bag recall is urging owners to get them fixed fast. new guidelines for health care workers. it is tuesday, october 21st. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm milissa rehberger. it is prison for oscar pistorius.

>> count one, culpable homicide, defense has imposed five years. >> the fallen olympian was facing 15 years for gunning down his girlfriend reeva steenkamp. as for the gun charge, was given a three year suspended sentence. the question now is how long will he be jailed. pistorius could do ten months. outside the courthouse, the steenkamps stayed silent, the only reaction from his attorneys and he said, quote, justice was served today. joining me is rohip katru. tell us everything about this morning's events. >> reporter: good morning. oscar pistorius has within the last half hour left this courthouse that has become so familiar to him over the last seven months during this murder trial. and he's now inside a prison a

few miles away across the city of prefor toripretoria. he came here this morning to hear the decision from the judge. he was told that he will get a five-year custodial sentence, a three-year suspended sentence for other gun related charges. but of that sentence, we now learned that he's likely to only serve ten months of it inside prison. one sixth of that term, roughly, and then considered for house arrest. the family of reeva steenkamp said that they felt that some justice has been done and in the last few moments, oscar pistorius' uncle has been speaking to reporters outside the courthouse and said oscar will embrace the opportunity to repay what he can to society. he accepts the judgment, he

said, adding he feels and hopes the healing process now can now begin. >> thank you very much. the fashion industry is remembering a true icon this morning. oscar de la renta has reportedly died at the age of 82. he was diagnosed with cancer in 2006, but his cause of death is not immediately clear. his last high profile design was a wedding dress for amal clooney when she married george clooney. during his 50-year career, he designed for every first lady back to jacqueline kennedy and even the wedding dress of first daughter jenna bush. we will always remember him as the man who made women look and feel beautiful. and in a joint statement, the clintons say, quote, his singular talent and ex-quiz it taste elevated american fashion and his warmth and friendship will be missed by our family and all whose lives he touched in

his extraordinary journey. dan sheneman on the man who revolutionized the fashion industry. >> reporter: oscar de la renta emerged on the fashion scene in 1963, the year he went to work for designer elizabeth arden. just two years late, at the age of 31, he set out on his own, starting his own fashion label. after he left his native dominican republic to study art in spain, he discovered his true love was not fine arts, but fashion. he has been at the forefront of couture design for decades. he has a reputation for perfection. he designed fashions for many celebrities, including the gown worn by first lady hillary clinton at the 1997 inaugural. >> i want her to look glamorous and great. >> reporter: de la renta received most of the top fashion awards, among them women's wear designer of the year in 2000 and 2008. in 1990, he received a lifetime achievement award. but de la renta said design

didn't define his life. he was known for his works of charity, his humble background made him aware of the plight of children. he also served on the board of the metropolitan opera, new york opera house, and carnegie hall. his designs can be seen everywhere including the boy scouts. he redesigned the uniform in 1980, free of charge. dan sheneman, nbc news. a dire warning for nearly 5 million drivers. the national highway traffic safety administration issued a recall for air bags in 4.7 million cars. the air bags have faulty inflaters and are telling drivers to take cars to their dealers immediately. it led to four deaths after the inflaters exploded and sprayed the passengers with metal fragments. the air bags are made by tacota and found in toyota, honda, mazda, bmw, nissan and gm models. we urge you to visit nbc

news.com to see if your car is on the list. the new infection protection rules in the ebola epidemic, the old ones required just goggles and a mask, the danger there, of course, the skin and the hair were exposed. now all health care workers will undergo repeated training, their skin must be covered and they'll be watched by a trained monitor. >> guidelines provide an increased margin of safety. they provide a consensus on better protecting health care workers. >> in washington, a new ebola czar starts work on wednesday, but ron klain is already catching flack because he wasn't at a meeting on saturday. in nebraska, there is good news for infected nbc cameraman ashoka mukpo could be released this week, he's waiting on final test results. in sierra leone, sad news, a third u.n. worker has died there. three quarters of a billion dollars to stay home from work. the washington post is reporting the federal government is paying a hefty sum to workers on leave waiting for punishment or

clearance. they learned, quote, during a three year period that ended last fall, more than 57,000 employees were sent home for a month or longer. and the tab for these workers exceeded $775 million in salary alone. and now, she's back. >> my name is monica lewinsky. though i have often been advised to change it. >> i'll say one thing -- >> after 16 years of near silence, following the scandal, monica lewinsky is on a campaign against cyberbullying. she spoke to a group of millennials about her exposure on the drudge report that made her its first victim. >> overnight i went from being a completely private figure to a publicly humiliated one. i was patient zero. >> she also joined twitter

yesterday. her first tweet, #herewego. we're inching closer to midterm elections and polls show republicans could be in control of the senate from democrats. president obama already cast his midterm ballot at a polling station in chicago. tracie potts is live in washington for us this morning. tracie, how will the ebola situation, also threats from isis militants, affect the upcoming midterm. >> reporter: with the senate up for grabs and just a few seats needed for republicans to take over, when we listen to the discussion and the debate that is happening in some of these district races, we're hearing a lot about what is happening here in d.c. and around the world. isis, ebola. >> none of the national story lines are good news for democrats. >> reporter: and republican challengers are using that against democrats. isis keeps popping up in north carolina's senate race. >> obama kept waiting and kay hagan kept quiet. >> i won't put boots on the ground. >> reporter: on ebola, democrats

and their supporters are fighting back, blaming republicans for cuts that make it hard to control. >> cut. >> cut. >> cut. >> cut. >> cut. >> make a cut. >> reporter: even with their party's heavy hitters on the campaign trail, the obamas, the clintons, democrats are distancing themselves from the president. >> did you vote for president obama? >> this election isn't about the president. >> reporter: allison lundergan grimes once had momentum against mitch mcconnell. now democrats have stopped buying ads there. in arkansas, democrat mark pryor has a hard time answering whether the administration's done enough to stop ebola. >> um, i would say that it is hard to know. >> reporter: republicans only need six seats to win the senate. >> a point or two here or there could be the difference between republicans taking control of the senate and democrats keeping it. >> i'm here to vote. >> reporter: we have a pretty good idea who the president is voting for, the question is what

about the rest of america. >> that was tracie potts reporting. now to nbc meteorologist bill karins. good morning, bill. >> good morning, milissa. umbrellas are out as advertised in northwest. we have a consequence of storms and a lot of heavy rain. maybe a little bit of flooding in the days ahead. hopefully the ground will soak this up and maybe spread out long enough. green on the map, shows the rain again, looks like yesterday, all the way from portland northward. not pouring rain, not heavy, but there is a lot of wet weather. here comes our -- what we call our jet stream. and the train of rain along with it, just the bright white clouds well out over the pacific. storms to the north, directs all of this to the northwest as we go throughout the next couple of days and the computers have been hinting at a significant rainfall event. and it looks like over the next three days, possibility of one to three inches here. the big cities. the mountainous areas will be bring more out of that, maybe 4 to 6 inches of rain. the forecast in this region, if you're from san francisco southward, you will be dry.

even medford shouldn't see too much rain today. tomorrow, heavier rain will be around. once again for your morning commute. two. but this will more or less be tonight, tomorrow, not today. >> wet, foggy, not too much snow. >> thanks, bill. still ahead, why millions might not make it to their holiday destinations this year. plus, you are not hallucinating. a police pursuit involving a horse. you're watching "early today."

stories making news this morning. convicted sex offender darryn van is behind bars for strangling to death a 19-year-old woman. now police believe he's guilty

of many other murders. after his arrest he confessed to killing 7 women. and led police to abandon homes where their bodies were found. police are looking through missing persons files to see if there are any connections there. in a renewed push to regain control of key locations in iraq, isis militants staged several attacks yesterday. they come two days after the u.s. air dropped weapons and medical supplies to help kurdish forces in syria. secretary of state john kerry defended this weekend's air drops. >> it would be irresponsible of us as well as morally very difficult to turn your back on a community fighting isil as hard as it is. this is not a shift in policy by the united states. it is a crisis moment, an emergency. only in new york will you see a police cruiser chasing down a runaway horse.

cell phone video captured this scene after the horse escaped from its stables. the police and the horse's owner eventually caught him about five blocks away. made it that far. but they brought him back home. it is time to get down to business. major u.s. airlines have raised domestic one way fares an average of $2. it takes effect even though jet fuel prices are actually on the decline. apple crushes sales expectations, record 39.3 million iphones sold in the last quarter. worth $23.7 billion. analysts expect apple to sell 60 million new iphones this year alone. a sad story to report. the ceo of french oil giant total was killed last night. his corporate jet collided with snow removal equipment during takeoff at a moscow airport. he was heading back to france. all three crew members and the ceo died in that crash. just ahead, he's clever, and dangerous. accused cop killer are eric frein is on the move again.

where he was just spotted. and big tiger woods news. wi will we ever see him play again? sports is next.

this morning on "today," bradley cooper on his broadway passion project, the elephant man. he is live with the cast next. now let's get the latest in sports. monday night football steelers hosted the texans. houston started strong. pressure on the quarterback, ben

roethlisberger ended up in a fumble and recovery by j.j. watt. the steelers with a big rally before the half. >> roethlisberger steps up. end zone shot. it is caught. dragging the feet. pitched to brown. he might throw it. turns. he throws. end zone. touchdown. steelers lead with les moore. steelers on the road, three time-outs left. in the hands of siegel. >> the steelers extend their winning streak at home with a 30-23 victory over the texans. the world series starts tonight in kansas city. in a battle of the wild card, the san francisco giants are aiming for their third world series title in five years. tiger woods is hitting full shots on the range more than two months after being side lined with ailing back issues and missing the cut at the pga championship back in august. he's expected to return in

december. who doesn't enjoy dancing mascots. check out some of the big ten's ma masscots shaking it off with some popular songs. ♪ i'm just gonna just ahead, spoiler alert. we are spilling sharknado 3 secrets. moms might not like this. what jimmy fallon wants millions of dads to do. this is "early today."

entertainment news. after jimmy fallon's daughter said the word mom first, he wanted to help dads everywhere. not suffer the same fate. he's writing a second children's book called your baby's first words will be da da. >> yeah, right. >> look out for the tonight show host's book to be available coming up in june. "the hobbit." the continuation of the "lord of the rings" series has head turning costs. the trilogy has spent more than $745 million. that doesn't include the last eight months of production. >> first one made like a billion something. >> a lot of dough either way. sarah jessica parker made headlines this week when she went out to promote her new shoe line. she went to the iconic front stoop of the house where the show "sex in the city" was filmed.

only problem, she didn't ask the people who lived there. apparently they don't like when fans stop by to take pictures. >> you have to purchase a famous house, but you don't think anyone will want to -- >> give them a lot of shoes. mike tyson's newest venture, cartoons. premiering monday on the cartoon network, mike tyson mysteries will team up with his alcoholic pet pidgeon. can't wait. sharknado 3. heading towards the nation's capital, d.c. the third installment of the franchise will see a sharknado touchdown in the nation's capital. i'm milissa rehberger. this is "early today." we hope it is just your first stop of the day today on nbc.

leading the news from the "huffington post", alabama house speaker mike hubbard arrested. he's one of alabama's most powerful politicians. he faces 23 felony ethics charges including using his political office for public gain. in "the new york times", genetic variant may shield latinas from breast cancer. this appears to drastically lower the risk of breast cancer. doctors say studying that variant may help develop better treatment for those with that disease. the search for suspected cop killer eric frein has entered into week six. police surrounded pocono high school in northeastern pennsylvania over the weekend after a reported sighting. authorities believe frein could

be breaking into vacant cabins for shelter. missouri's state senator was arrested last night by ferguson police officers. it happened during another night of protests following the death of unarmed teenager michael brown. later today governor jay nixon is expected to announce a new initiative that will address issues raised by events in ferguson. the mayor in marietta is stepping down. he was arrested on suspicion of dui in a crash. he expressed concern for the teens yesterday. though he's resigning, long says he still plans to run for re-election. it is the time of year when everyone is carving pumpkins. a crafty group of divers took their talents underwater. it is very pretty. every year off the keys of key largo, florida, the group of divers submerge their pumpkins and tools in 30 feet of water.

they get right to it. it's the annual underwater pumpkin carving contest. the cool part is not only do the divers have to come up with creative ideas, they have to keep their tools and pumpkins from floating away from them. >> buoyancy. >> haven't thought of that. >> dangerous too. >> i can't get over that you can't light a candle in it. >> cut yourself, blood in the water and then sharks. >> good point. very dark, bill. very dark. now for a look ahead, accused white house fence jumper omar gonzalez is due back in court today. there is a federal charge of unlawfully entering a restrict building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon. he pleaded not guilty. we want to wish a happy birthday to reality star kim kardashian who turns 34 today. actress carrie fisher is 58. and judge judy turns 72. keep it here for more news,

weather and sports. i'm milissa rehberger.

from nbc area, this is "today in the bay." >> good morning. it's tuesday morning. i'm sam brock. >> and i'm laura garcia-cannon. breaking news, water is off on 22nd and vermont and at least one building nearby has no water. "today in the bay" live at the scene has the very latest for us. good morning, steph. >> reporter: good morning. another water crew just showed up here where you can see the block here on 22nd between san bruno and vermont is closed. you can see the mud left behind. the