breaking overnight, a new trump campaign ad was just released and it plays on fear and the approaching migrant caravan as the president vows to send up to 15,000 troops to the border. but star power could also be pushing voters to polls as oprah winfrey gets involved and stirs more speculation over a 2020 bid. to breaking developments and a major find as investigators try to figure oit why a new boeing passenger jet crashed. two sisters found bound together by duct tape in the river hundreds of miles from home. authorities are tight lipped on this chilling case. plus supreme secret for nearly 60 years.

the revelation this morning that stunned even their own children. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm marlie hall. >> great being with you. i'm frances rivera. it is the final sprint to the midterms with just five days left until the polls open. president trump is on a whirlwind tour to try and get out the republican vote. he is stumping in missouri today after doubling down on his controversial immigration proposals in florida. he once again called for an end to birthright citizenship despite pushback from within his own party. >> the democrats want to continue giving automatic birthright citizenship to every child born to an illegal alien even if they've been on our soil for only a matter of seconds. hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant children are made automatic citizens every year because of this crazy policy. >> the president's comments,

another sign that immigration is a keystone to his midterm strategy. nbc's tracie potts joins us with more. >> reporter: good morning. that strategy clearly seems to be driving out republican voters with this issue of immigration, not only with what he just heard on the campaign trail -- and we can hear more of that in missouri tonight -- but also on twitter. take a look at that new ad the president has posted on twitter blaming democrats for letting what he considers dangerous people into the country. >> i will kill more. i will kill more cops too. >> he says he wants to apply for pardon for the felony he committed, attempted murder. >> reporter: the president has claimed without proof that there are a lot of dangerous people mixed into those caravans of

thousands of migrants headed toward the border. he is now promising to send up to 15,000 more troops to the border. that would mean about four troops for every migrant traveler more than in afghanistan. also on twitter, he's attacking republican paul ryan for opposing him on birthright citizenship. ryan says he doesn't think the president can reverse protections from the 14th amendment with the stroke of a pen, with an executive order. the president has tweeted that ryan should focus on keeping the republican majority in congress. back to you. >> all right, tracie, thank you. can the queen of talk talk voters into going to the polls? oprah is making her own last-minute campaign push to try and help elect the country's first african-american female governor. but her bid to help georgia's democratic candidate has some wondering whether she'll run for higher office herself. as nbc's kristen welker tells us, even oprah's closest friends are keeping up the pressure on

her. >> reporter: oprah off the sidelines and entering the 2018 fray. >> vote! >> reporter: the queen of talk now poised to lend her voice and star power to stacey abrams, the georgia democrat running to become the country's first female african-american governor. abrams is locked in a tight race with republican brian kemp. the media mogul has largely stayed out of politics, making a brief but big splash in 2007 with her endorsement of candidate barack obama. >> i believe that now is the time for somebody like barack obama. >> reporter: also backing hillary clinton in 2016. but now oprah's the one generating buzz about a potential presidential run after this barn burner of a speech at the golden globes. >> that a new day is on the horizon! >> reporter: winfrey was quick to dismiss speculation about whether she'd challenge president trump in 2020, telling british vogue, i would not be able to do it. it's not a clean business. it would kill me.

but in an article, winfrey telling "the new york times" her best friend, gayle king, is urging her to do it. winfrey saying she told king, you of all people are supposed to care about my life. king replying, the country is bigger than your life. oprah's not the only high-profile name campaigning in that race. president trump and former president obama will also stump in georgia. >> thanks for that report. a republican candidate running for a missouri house seat is dealing with some unlikely critics, his own children. in a scathing interview with "the kansas city star," steve west's kids blasted their father, urging their state not to vote for him. they described their dad as racist, homophobic, and, quote, totally insane. his daughter says she can't imagine him being in any level of government, and his son called him a fanatic that must be stopped. in a conversation with nbc news, west rebutted his children's claims and blamed their strained relationship on his ex-wife and

their, quote, extremely toxic divorce. some hollywood celebs are taking center stage in a final push to get voters to the polls next week. stars like jane fonda, amy schumer, and julia louis-dreyfus will take part in a two-hour telethon called telethon for america. instead of asking for money, they'll be asking viewers to pledge to vote in the midterm elections. over 50 celebs will be answering the phones. the initiative was created by comedian ben gleed to boost voter turnout. federal officials are now eyeing a mafia hit man in the prison death of notorious boston mobster james whitey bulger. sources say the 89-year-old was attacked by seven inmates and struck repeatedly by a lock inside a sock the morning after he was transferred to a west virginia prison. officials say among their prime suspects is freddy gillas who is serving a life sentence in the murder of an italian crime boss in massachusetts. his lawyer says his client does

not like anyone who was a rat. bulger became an fbi informant during the time when the agency was trying to bring down the italian mob. a growing mystery. two sisters found bound together by duct tape in new york city's hudson river. their bodies hundreds of miles from home. authorities are being tight lipped on this case while asking the public for help. nbc's stephanie gosk has the latest from the scene. stephanie, what can you tell us? >> reporter: frances, the gruesome discovery of these sisters happen the just here on the hudson river. there was a passer-by who noticed their body and called the police. that was a week ago. still today there are many unanswered questions. new york city police want the public's help. anything anyone may know about two young sisters from saudi arabia. the bodies ies were found last in the hudson river just off of manhattan pier, bound together by duct tape around their ankles

and waists. they were dressed in similar clothes, black leggings and fur-lined black coats. the younger sister had been reported missing. their deaths remain a mystery. according to multiple sources briefed on the investigation, there are no signs of foul play. suicide is a leading theory, but nothing has been ruled out. >> there has been i will call it significant progress trying to get the complete picture of what ultimately led to the two young ladies being discovered. >> reporter: according to the saudi embassy, the young women were students accompanying their brother in washington. nbc news has confirmed that the sisters lived and attended schools in virginia. the family appears to have had financial troubles. public records show two liens on their apartment in 2016. before the bodies were discovered here on the hudson river, officials say the sisters hadn't been heard from since august 24th. among the many unanswered questions is why they ended up

250 miles from home in new york city. frances? >> just keeps getting more bizarre, stephanie, thank you. there is growing anger at the university of maryland where the board of regents voted to reinstate the head football coach five months after the death of a player after practice. the decision didn't sit well with some of the players, and last night he was once again fired by the school's president. nbc's tom costello has more from college park, maryland. >> reporter: back on the practice field, maryland football head coach d.j. durkin five months after 19-year-old lineman jordan mcnair overheated, collapsed, and later died. mcnair's family called it a personal affront. >> it feels like a total slap in the face, a total lack of regard of no accountability for losing my son's life. nobody's accountable. >> reporter: the university president suspended coach durkin after learning his staff had failed to take emergency steps to save jordan's life. but the board of regents reinstated the coach, saying he was unfairly blamed.

instead, it's the university president who is out. credited with building maryland's academic reputation while bringing it into the big ten. >> this will be my last year as president of the university of maryland. >> reporter: meanwhile several players walked out of a team meeting when coach durkin returned, one tweeting every saturday my teammates and i have to kneel before the memorial of our fallen teammate. yet a group of people do not have the courage to hold anyone accountable for his death. "the washington post" sally jenkins wrote, don't send your kids to maryland to play football. we have received word from the university president's office that the coach is out again. the university has bought out the contract for d.j. durkin. he is out of a job now after the governor, the state legislature, and many members here of the university system demanded an explanation from the board of regents. and now the coach is out. back to you. >> tom, thank you. let's take a turn now and get a check with nbc meteorologist bill karins.

struggling a little bit with our halloween hangover from sugar highs. >> we were lucky. we were able to trick-or-treat. this storm system in the middle of the country stalled out and drenched in texas. now we've been dealing with overnight tornadoes in louisiana. serious situation continues. those storms are pushing into mississippi. there's a huge amount of rain heading right along the ohio river into areas of southern ohio valley with 18 million people under a flash flood watch or flood watch all the way from tennessee, now even into western new york near buffalo. this region could pick up an easy two to three inches of rainfall by t time it'she a go . and areas of the northern plains still looking a little bit chilly. there's roughly 50,000 runners, including yours truly, prepared to run the new york city

marathon. race officials and city leaders gathered for the blue line painting ceremony in central park. officials painted a colorful finish line. the blue line will lead racers through the entire course through all five new york city boroughs. new york city is going to get rain friday, saturday, miserable weather, and the forecast could not be any better. it's going to be a cold start, but running in the 40s and 50s is perfect. i have no excuses. >> you'll be great. thanks. a skateboarder turns the mean streets of new jersey into a whole new world dressed up as aladdin. his skateboard magic carpet. in no hurry to make anything happen. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair® works in just one week. with the fastest retinol formula available. it's clinically proven to work on fine lines and wrinkles. one week? that definitely works! rapid wrinkle repair®. and for dark spots, rapid tone repair.

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or woah- fire... ...we've got your breakfast right here. is your breakfast built for big days? breaking news. another child has died from a viral outbreak at a new jersey pediatric facility, bringing the total number of deaths to ten. the new jersey department of health confirmed the child's death was linked to the adenovirus. so far 27 children considered medically fragile have been diagnosed at the wanaque center.

the facility says it will not admit new patients while the outbreak continues. and now a second new jersey children's health care center has been hit by the virus. the cdc confirmed four cases at the voorhees pediatric facility near philadelphia. preliminary tests show it is a different strain than the one affecting wanaque. health officials say the children sickened at vor he's are not in critical condition. in pittsburgh as funerals continue for the 11 people killed in the synagogue mass shooting, the suspect has been indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with 44 counts including hate crimes. prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty. breaking this morning, a crucial discovery off of indonesia. navy divers have recovered the black box from the lion air flight that crashed into the sea earlier this week, killing all 189 people onboard. the black box could be key in figuring out why the plane went down. let's get right to nbc's sarah harman in london with the latest. sarah, good morning.

>> reporter: good morning to you, marlie. this is a very important development in the investigation. the black box should provide some insight into why this brand-new boeing 737 plunged into the sea just 13 minutes after takeoff. now, remember, what we think of as a plane's black box is actually two separate devices. the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder. and side note, as you see, they're generally orange and not black. now, the indonesian transport ministry says the device they found is the flight data recorder. they're still looking for the cockpit data recorder. now, divers fought strong sea currents in order to recover this device from the sea floor on thursday, and it's going to take some time to interpret the data off this device. so it might still be a while before we know why this brand-new plane crashed. a plane that had only been in use for two months. american plane maker boeing is also assisting in the investigation, and we're hoping

that this discovery gives some clarity to the families who lost their loved ones. marlie, frances. >> sarah, thank you. still ahead, the new tool to dial back annoying robocalls. but first, a supreme secret. the proposal that wasn't between two justices on the nation's highest court. you're watching "early today." fy half the story? at t. rowe price, hundreds of our experts go beyond the numbers to examine investment opportunities firsthand. like a biotech firm that engineers a patient's own cells to fight cancer. this is strategic investing. because your investments deserve the full story. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. . . .

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second day in a row, ending a brutal month for markets. the labor department reported wages and salaries jumped by 3.1% over the past year. the biggest increase in a decade. now to a supreme secret revealed. two former members of the supreme court, justice sandra day o'connor and chief justice william rehnquist, they were well known to be close friends who met in law school. it turns out they had a secret even their own children didn't know about. nbc justice correspondent pete williams has their story. >> reporter: sandra day o'connor and her husband, john, were married 57 years after meeting in law school at stanford university. she graduated number three in her class, number one was william rehnquist. he would become a justice, then chief justice of the supreme court. she eventually joined him there. it's long been known that they were more than just friends at stanford and actually dated for a time. but now author evan thomas, working on an o'connor biography, has discovered that rehnquist's interest in her went much further. when he left law school to

become a supreme court clerk, he wrote to her. >> i think he was lonely in washington, and he began writing her, ardently writing her. he went on to say, sandy, will you marry me? >> reporter: there's no record of her response, but it was clearly no. she married john o'connor a few months later at the family ranch. rehnquist married another woman he met at law school, natalie cornell. children of both marriages had no idea about the earlier proposal found in an old box of o'connor's. >> they gave me permission to see this box, but they hadn't actually read what was in the box. >> reporter: they remained the best of friends, united in a different way, on the supreme court bench. pete williams, nbc news, washington. >> that is so interesting. >> isn't it? if fate had twisted another way, wow, could you imagine? well, still to come, how one company is leading the charge against a recent avalanche of robocalls. you're watching "early today." filled with soft surfaces that trap odors and release them back into the room.

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how many times has it happened to you? the phone ridges and the number on the caller i.d. sort of looks familiar. so you answer only to realize you've been had again. they're known as robocalls, but how do you stop them? nbc's jeff rossen takes us inside the fight, including the app that lets you thwart those annoying calls while getting a little payback. >> reporter: robocall scammers hitting so many of us at once, day and night. more than 30 billion robocalls last year alone. so how easy is it for them? we've asked cybersecurity expert eli finkelman to show us. you've created a program here. >> yes. in just under an hour, i created a program that can dial all these phones and masking the number that displays on the

caller i.d. >> you can make it come from whatever number you want. >> any number i choose. >> we have a couple of dozen phones here. these are from our nbc colleagues. i walked around the office and said, can we borrow your phones. you're going to hit a button here. >> and right about now the calls should start hitting. >> all at once. this is insane. they're all ringing all from the same number, this weird 407 number. >> and i'm just one guy dialing a few dozen phones. this could have easily been anyone dialing thousands of calls. >> reporter: but now there's an app to stop those calls called robokiller. here's how it works. every scam goes into a robocall database. the phone number flagged. so when the scammers call you, robokiller automatically intercepts the call. your phone never rings. robokiller even toys with the scammers, answering the calls and programmed to speak nonsense to waste their time. >> there's a shark circling my boat. >> you gotta hit them in the nose.

>> we don't want to just block the calls. we want to put them out of business. >> reporter: the company granting us access to its war room, tracking robocalls in realtime nationwide. there's over 264,000 robocalls being made to americans just in the last minute. this map shows you just how bad the situation is. this 855 number is hitting southern florida almost 7,000 times. texas, this 210 number, this part of texas is seeing almost 4,000 calls in the last minute. >> reporter: those numbers now added to the blacklist. the app costs $3.99 a month. jeff rossen, nbc news, new york. >> wow, that's brilliant. i love the gibberish they put on. >> it has a sense of humor. for halloween, count on celebrities to do it up big. beyonce paid homage to toni braxton. the kardashians dressed as victor dwra's secret models. ciara channeled her inner warrior. heidi klum never disappoints. she and her boyfriend dressed as shrek and fiona. real deal. >> that is so cool.

she is unrecognizable. >> always, year after year. thanks for watching "early today." i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm marlie hall. don't forget to check us out on instagram for news updates throughout the morning. the news continues right here on nbc. you could save energy by living off the grid.

completely. or... just set the washing machine to cold. do your thing. with energy upgrade california. side shows take over the south bay. several arrests on halloween night after drivers stop right now at 4:30, sideshows take over the south bay. several arrests on halloween night after drivers stop traffic and perform dangerous stunts. thank you for joining us. i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. first, we have breaking traffic news. several lanes of the east bay are closed. >> what a day to start the day after halloween. it's the first day of november. let's get to that crash. there are several lanes closed,