it is thursday october 15th. coming up on "early today." with his e strangd wife at his bedside, o marl otum may have suffered bring damage. >> fresh off her debate performance hillary clinton gains a key endorsement. and donald trump hits the airways along with his children. >> dozens killed in the past week says israelis clash in the most violent confrontations in years. >> and a geopolitical game of chess gets more complicated between the u.s. and russia. >> and the computer glitch backs up travelers. >> and champions of the hard court and more.

"early today" starts now. >> i'm dara brown. we begin with breaking news from the white house and a shift on obama's military strategy in afghanistan. senior officials tell nbc news the president plans to keep 5500 u.s. troops in afghanistan until 2017. right now just under 10,000 troops are in the war torn country. last year president obama wanted to withdraw nearly all of them leaving only those behind for embassy security. the increased number is needed to prevent a taliban resurgence. the president is expected to make a formal announcement this morning. lamar odom is in the toughest fight of his life. he suffered at least one stroke and he may have brain damage after he was found unconscious at the nevada brothel. the form are two-time champion is surrounded by former lakers teammate kobe bryant along with estranged wife khloe kardashian.

and caitlyn jenner. >> former laker teammate shaquille o'neal tweeted play for my friend lamar me makes a full recovery. what most people don't realize about la mor odom is that he is a better person than he is a basketball player. >> we're learning more about what happened inside of this the nevada brothel where lamar odom spent several days after being rushed to the hospital after this 911 call tuesday afternoon. >> where is your emergency. >> when paramedics arrived at the love ranch about 70 miles outside of las vegas they say the 35-year-old was unconscious and struggling to breathe. >> he had blood coming from his nose and mouth along with a white substance. >> he was first treated and

transferred to this facility in vegas. where doctors are said to be treating the situation as an overdose. sources close to the athlete said he had multiple drugs in his system, including cocaine. it wassen on pand by investigators using a search warrant who say at this point they don't have results from the toxicology test. the former nba champion gained note rite off the court when he married khloe kardashian in 2009. the couple reportedly filed for divorce in 2013. kardashian has been at his bedside since late tuesday. her mom and sister have always been seen at the las vegas hospital. fan and teammates have reaching out. many stunned by the news. >> i just wanted to extend love and support to one of our nba brothers lamar odom. we love you man. keep fighting. >> a former champion now fighting for his life.

jay gray, nbc news las vegas. >> with the democrats first presidential debate in the rear view mirror this morning. candidates are capitalizing on some political momentum. after receiving a key union endorsement. hillary clinton did interviews and talked about joe biden but focused her attention on current chief rival bernie sanders who identifies himself as the democratic socialist. >> i'm going to leave the labels to others. i'm going talk about what my approaches are and what my solutions are. >> not a brand you would identify yourself with though. >> no. >> clinton on the campaign trail is also focused on the benghazi hearings a week from today. and the a stop hillary is running the controversial new ad with photos of americans killed in the attack as well as the gravestone to the u.s. ambassador to libya. >> and bernie sanders says his campaign raised over $2 million

from the debate. and is so does the donald have a new target. >> this socialist/communication -- okay? nobody wants to say it chs he's going tax you people at 90%. he's going to take everything. and nobody's heard the term dmoouns. but i call him a socialist/communist. because that is what he is. that was part of the big day for trump. along with his children fanned out over a friends over the media networks. >> bernie made a mistake. he got a great couple of seconds but he took a situation that is a very serious situation where hillary is being investigated by the fbi and he gave it away. he just gave it away. he can never bring it up again. and he's losing actually big if he look countrywide. so i think he made a mistake. >> and that wasn't the last

trump versus sanders movement. the "tonight show" got ahold of rare uncut footage, trump and ben carson slamming bernie sanders. >> i don't get this guy. all he does is yell. do we really need a president who does nothing but yell. >> i yell all the time. in fact i'm yelling right now. this is my normal voice. and my whisper is only audible to dogs. watch. >> down boy. down boy. down boy. >> if you notice, that was david allen greer as dr. ben carson. tensions remain high this morning. one of the latest threats just took place at the damascus gate in jerusalem where israeli police took down a palestinian man wielding a nice and a hail of bullets. nbc was there when it happened. >> it happened in an incident.

in front of our camera. a man with a knife runs past a security check point and is shot dead by israeli police. the neef clearly visible in his hand. >> he pulled out a knife and police officers managed to neutralize the threat. >> it was identified as the palestinian from the west bank. just hours later at jerusalem's central bus terminal, another palestinian man stabs and injures a 72-year-old israeli woman. he too is shot dead by police. the latest in attacks leaving eight israelis did. israel is on high alert. hundreds of additional security forces called up. police check points increased. palestinian neighborhoods sealed off restricting movements. israel is warning that bodies of attackers will not be returned to families and their homes will be demolished. but palestinians are also mourning. 30 dead in recent weeks.

some of them attackers but many of the killed were protesters. the funerals in bethlehem followed by more clashes with israeli police. palestinians claim a double standard. is that israel cracks down on palestinian attackers but goes easy on israeli extremes. their apger fueled by viral videos like this allegedly showing a 13-year-old palestinian left to bleed. both sides feel under siege. israel by attack. and palestinians by what they consider an occupying power. >> that was nbc's ayman mohyeldin reporting. this morning, waking up to a new feature on cars. auto pilot. while it is not a self-driving car just yet it assists with steering, lane changes and parking. although drivers are advised to keep their hands on the wheel at this stage.

elon musk offered this exciting insight into what's ahead. >> the car will be able to take you from point to point. like basically from your driveway to wherever without you touching anything. so you could be asleep the whole time. and do so very safely. >> and now it is time for a look at the weather with nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> i signed up for sleeping all the time. and everyone else is doing everything for me. that would be interesting. >> reno by the way, five of the last six day, record heat. more for the interior west and the northwest through the next couple of days. temperatures well above averages. the eastern half has a dip in the is it jet stream and get a taste of fall if not a winter-type pattern. in southwest we're dealing with this upper level low. almost 99% of the country has dry weather out there but the one spot with rainy weather is california. and heavy downpours overnight actually, especially in interior

sections. desert areas of the southern california that don't typically get a lot of rain for the entire year have gotten rain. we've continue to watch that. hit and miss showers especially late today into the overnight hours. slow moving thunderstorms. this is increased tropical moisture and there was a little bit of the flood threat of slow moving storms. especially in the mountainous areas. totals as much as 3 inches. some of the mountains in california could get about a half inch to an inch. s some days in very safe and summer. 101 in phoenix. 99 in yuma. endless summer.

>> i like the way that sounds. i'm still waiting for indian summer too. >> we got to get the first freeze to get that. >> oh not ready for that. well tensions between the u.s. and russia are escalating over increased military strikes in syria. plus why winning the lottery in illinois might leave you feeling flat broke. you are watching early today.

welcome back. u.s. and russian officials are discussing ways to promote air safety over syria. progress is being made on how best to co-exist over syria. recently u.s. and russian combat planes flew within a mile of each other on separate missions. also, learning hundreds of iranian troops are joining the fight for president assad. this is the first we learned they are taking part in ground operations. homeland security computers

used to screen passengers caused delays at airports last night. it last t about 90 minutes. they used alternative screens methods during the outage. after pulling over an under aged drunk driver, after placing the young man under arrest a second under aged driver side wiped the car. both were taken to jail. and ious instead of money payouts since july. and they are lowering the money to just $600 because of the state budget fight. and a california has authenticated only the second known image of the infamous outlaw billy the kid. it took them a year to recognize the image. the circa 1878 photo could be worth up to $5 million.

just ahead, it was a game full of controversy. but in the end another mlb team moves ahead in their quest for the world series. sports is up next.

this morning on today, she's been dubbed the worst aunt ever after suing her 12-year-old nephew for a hug that left her

injured. now jennifer koconnell and her nephew speak out in an exclusive interview on today. and now for sports and shannon mulaire. >> two texas teams squeezed out controversy in canada. game five, loser goes home. seventh inning, game tied. russell martin hits texas batter shin-s shin-soo choo by accident with the ball. and then an 18 minute delay to review a call. all the while fans are littering the field with beer cans and debris. moments later bautista hits a monster homer. but the bat flip on the homer nearly caused the bench-clearing brawl. the jays hang on to win their first post season victory since

93. and the astros johnny cuedo ruled the night. and royals face the blue jays tuesday night in kansas city. and the minnesota links taking on the indiana fever. the links capture their third wnba championship, but it is the first they have won at home to celebrate with their fans. just ahead it is the end of an era for fashion fans. plus a world record that you just might find mesmerizing. you are watching "early today."

well this season's america's top model will be the last. the reality series will end in december after 22 seasons flts and miley cyrus is planning a concert with the flaming lips planning herself, the audience all in the buff. and it will be used in a video for cyrus the milky milky milk. and upcoming netflix chromosomes specially. the show will be directed by sophia cop la and will be available later in year.

and matt jackson's 13 game winning streak. the 22-year-old earned over $400,000 becoming the second most winning contestant. and the main character from the 1960s television show will be returning after nearly 40 years. he'll be appearing by a show produced by the same team. >> vin diesel told the associated press he'll cut his break from acting short do the witch hunter. he did it because of the opportunity to work with legendary actor michael cain. and in an interview, jane fonda reminisced about her career, including a naked swim with michael jackson on golden pond. >> we liveding to. i went skinny dipping with him. also by the way with gretta.

>> 40 minutes of the animation cut from monty pyatten and the holy grail has been unearthed. >> and jimmy fallon shared an observation from the democratic presidential debate on the tonight show. >> jim webb, did you see last night. he kept gesturing in his hand in sort of an odd way during the debate. >> working people who every day go out and make this country stronger at home. >> i think i know what's missing. can we play that clip again. >> we're looking for a leader who understands how the system works. and also has a proven record of accomplishing different things. >> funny stuff. i'm dara brown. and this is "early today."

leading the news on nbc news com. new york man dies at church after being beaten to confess since. another son all though alive is in serious condition. four other church members were also charged with assault. the investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are expected. and in the chicago tribune, a hyatt hotel is banning on demand porn in hotel rooms. due to decreasing revenue in past decades. guests are renting fewer movies choosing instead to watch them on smart phones or laptops. it will effect all properties.

>> and peru received 800,000 fake dollars. police are working with the secret service to determine the intended recipient in new york. also yesterday, a strange rescue occurred on long island new york. a man was rescued from a small storm drain. how he ended up there remains a mystery. the passerby her screams for help and called 911. emergency crews freed the man. there were no serious injuries. he's very lucky. and in dallas fort worth an american airlines flight was delayed due to a large swarm of bees. the bee-mused passengers watched as beekeepers suited up to the rescue and got the plane and the luggage. and after over an hour the flight was okay to go. >> they were buzzing. >> good one, bill. a new world record was set in jury room germany for the mo

toppled like dominos. it took 1 minute and 12 seconds to fall flat. this stunt surpasses the recent record set in japan. it looks amazing and also the way the gold tonal is there. >> ever gone through the domino stage where you try to set up this big thing? >> all over the house. fun to watch. >> does it work? >> we've had some epic fails, let me tell you. >> i guess it's part of the process. >> it is. now it's time for a look ahead. the noaa will announce its winter weather outlook and include the latest forecast for el nino and how it will effect the winter weather. and emeril lagassi is one year older today. and thanks for watching. hope you have a great one.

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school kids all across california today. three words they'll learn a real lesson for elementary school kids all across california today. three words they'll learn today that could some day save their lives. 10 feet long, 12 feet wide and still growing. a road hazard that could disrupt school dropoff for parents in the east bay. taken by force. an inmate pulled from his jail cell is now taking the sainta clara county support. a story you'll see only on nbc bay area. "today in the bay" starts right now. good morning, thanks for joining us, i'm kris sanchez in for laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm sam brock. a bit of rain out there on the roads to start. what is this wet object. >> yes, it is great to see this rain moving