nasdaq 100 innovations like... wearable training optimization tech. uh, how long are you... i'm done. i'm okay. good morning, thanks for starting your weekend with usment georgia is on the mind of voters everywhere with the senate candidates facing off in their first and likely only debate last night. >> the high stakes race there could decide control of the senate. it's october 15th. this is "today." a bruising night in the peach state. georgia's democratic senator, rafael warnock face-to-face with his republican challenger, herschel walker, the two battling each other on everything from the economy to policing. walker's only personal life under scrutiny with questions whether he paid for an ex to

have an abortion. >> i'll be a senator that protects life, and i say that was a life and i'm not backing down. >> demanding answers. >> i think i heard three or four gunshots. there were people screaming. >> new 911 calls released overnight reveal the chaos and confusion during a shooting rampage that left five people dead in raleigh, north carolina. . a 15-year-old suspect in custody as police and grieving family members try to figure out why this tragedy happened. cat scratch fever, conservative candidates under fire for spreading the false claims that schools are providing kitty litter boxes for students who identify as cat. this morning, dissecting misinformation. all that, plus there's no hogwarts without hagrid. >> keeper of keys.

>> robbie coltrain died on friday at 72, how his costars are remembering him today. saturday, october 15th, 2022. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with peter alexander and kristen welker. >> welcome to "today," thanks for joining us on this saturday morning. i think there is a generation of kids and dare i say adults who feel like they grew up with that gentle half giant robbie coltrain is going to be miss . >> he sure is. those who knew him described him as boisterous and eccentric. questions swirling about whether former president trump will answer the subpoena to appear before the january 6th committee. mr. trump did respond with a scathing letter slamming the committee, but never actually

said if he would appear. meantime the republican senate candidate in georgia backed by president trump herschel walker appeared on stage with incouple bent democratic candidate raphael warnock for their only debate. georgia is one of three crucial battleground states with high stakes race there. they could determine whether the democrats retain control or if republicans will take it away. we want to begin with nbc's ellison barber, in savannah with a wrap up of the show down. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, peter, this is a closely watched race. this debate was highly anticipated. this morning both campaigns are declaring victory. this wasn't just herschel walker's first time debating senator war knock. it was his first time debating ever, which led to fiery moments on the debate stage. incumbent senator rafael warnock and herschel walker trading blows onr a range of topics in

their first and likely only debate. >> he says no exceptions, even in the case of rape, incest or the life of the mother. i think that's extreme. >> reporter: walker who said he would support an all out ban on abortion attacking warnock for being a pastor who supports abortion rights. >> instead of aborting those babies, why are now not baptizing those babies. >> i support the georgia heart beat bill because that's the bill of the people from the governor. and i said that has exceptions in it. >> reporter: denying accusations that he paid for the mother of one of his children to have an abortion. >> i'm a senator who protects life. that was a lie and i'm not backing down. >> reporter: warnock tried to emphasize his work in washington. >> i passed the single largest tax cut, contrary to what my opponent is suggesting for middle and working class families in american history. >> reporter: and paint walker as unqualified. >> i've never pretended to be a

police officer. and i've never threatened a shootout with the police. >> reporter: walker pulling out what appeared to be some sort of badge, only to be admonished by the moderator. >> you have a prop. that is not allowed, sir. i ask you to put that prop away. >> reporter: walker tried to focus on the economy. >> you have to blame this administration and senator warnock because within two years this inflation has gotten worse. >> reporter: and tied warnock to a president whose approval rating among georgia voters is 37%. >> can you tell me why he voted with joe biden 96% of the time if he was a senator for georgia. >> reporter: every topic, georgia voters have the final word, and early voting begins monday in a race that could determine which party controls the united states senate. in georgia, a candidate has to pass a 50% threshold in order to avoid a runoff. in recent polling, walker and

warnock are in a statistical tie. >> ellison barber, thank you. there's new drama surrounding the legal battle of former president trump on the mar-a-lago documents case. the department of justice is asking a federal appeals court to throw out the appointment of the special master who's looking at the classified records seized during the search. this as mr. trump has yet to say if he will comply with a subpoena to appear before the january 6th committee. >> monica alba is with us in the studio with the latest on all of it. good morning. >> good morning. donald trump responded to the january 6th committee's subpoena with baseless election claims that didn't say whether he would comply with the request. it's not the only open question for the president facing a legal twist in a separate investigation. it's up to a federal appeals court to decide if it should stop the work of an independent reviewer known as a special

master evaluating thousands of documents seized at form you are president trump's mar-a-lago estate. justice department arguing there's no legal basis for an outside review. the latest legal development as lawmakers wait to see whether the former president might appear before the january 6th committee which plans to subpoena him in the coming days. >> we are obligated to seek answers directly from the man who set this all in motion. >> reporter: mr. trump hasn't said whether he will either way. instead releasing a scathing 14-page statement friday full of falsehoods and disproven claims of widespread election fraud, repeating that he won certain states in 2020 that he clearly lost. and including photos of the crowd at the stop the steal rally he headlined on january 6th. in the letter to chairman bennie thompson, the former president also defended the rioters as great american patriots, and called the january 6th committee a witch hunt of the highest level. just hours after the panel

showcased never before seen video featuring congressional leaders of both parties huddled together pleading for the national guard to be deployed as the attack unfolded. >> getting there in one hell of a hurry, do you understand. >> we need them there now, whoever you got. >> reporter: the new footage filmed by nancy pelosi's daughter, alexandra, a documentary film maker. in another exchange. >> mr. vice president. >> speaker pelosi reaches then vice president mike pence, expressing her concern for his well being. >> i worry about you being in that capitol building. don't let anybody know where you are. >> now it's still possible the committee could subpoena the former vice president. they haven't ruled that out yet but there's not that much time left for the group to do its work since it could be disbanded if republicans take control of the house in the midterm elections. the committee will finish its final report. that's expected to be released sometime in december. >> a lot to watch, monica.

thank you, good to see you. a north carolina community is grieving and looking for answers this morning after the latest mass shooting in this country that killed five people. the suspected gunman just 15 years old. nbc's priscilla thompson is in a raleigh with more, and priscilla, you spoke to the fiance of one of the victims, what did he tell you? >> reporter: yeah, peter, kristen, good morning, i spoke to robert steele, the fiance of mary marshal who was killed, and he told me that his world has been completely destroyed. he wasn't ready to talk on camera but he said that yesterday he went through their home looking for the wedding bands they were set to exchange later this month, and he found the one that mary had gotten for him and saw that she had it engraved, writing you're my favorite place, but now instead of preparing for a wedding, he's planning her funeral. >> i think i heard three or four gunshots, there were people screaming. >> reporter: this morning, newly released 911 calls paint a harrowing picture of a gunman on

the loose in a north carolina neighborhood. >> we heard some shots outside. and i looked out my window, and there's the neighbor on the ground, i think. >> reporter: the serenity of this normally quiet neighborhood shattered as the community mourns the five who were killed. 16-year-old james thompson, a high school junior. 29-year-old raleigh police officer gabriel torrez, killed while heading to work. 35-year-old mary marshal, just two weeks shy of her wedding day. 49-year-old sue carnats, a mother of three and avid runner. and 52-year-old nicole connors, remembered by her husband tracy howard. >> she was a lovely, you know, fun loving person. >> reporter: their front porch, still riddled with bullet holes, an ever present reminder of his painful loss. >> i seen her and the dog laying on this porch right here. >> reporter: the shooting began in the streets of raleigh's

neighborhood thursday evening. the suspect fled on to the greenway trail, continuing his deadly rampage. >> it's going to be an active shooter at this time. >> reporter: police identified the alleged shooter as a 15-year-old white male but won't name him because he's a minor. the teen is currently hospitalized in critical condition, officials say. the investigation is still ongoing with no word on motive or how the teenager got the gun. thursday's violence marks the 25th mass killing this year. the seemingly random nature of this attack leaving so many in this community shaken. >> three days ago we were in that exact same spot on the greenway. it would have been us. >> reporter: and people have begun coming to the entryway of this neighborhood leaving flowers and candles to pay tribute to those victims, and there remains a 59-year-old

woman in the hospital in critical condition fighting for her life. i also spoke with the district attorney here who tells me she does intend to charge the shooter as an adult. kristen, peter. >> we appreciate your reporting. thank you. the u.s. announced overnight that it will be sending another $725 million in military aid to ukraine as russia's president defends his decision to invade more than seven months after the war began. and this morning, one of putin's close allies is issuing an ominous warning. nbc's cal perry is in kyiv this morning. cal, good morning, what's the latest there? >> reporter: hey, good morning, kristen, we're here the day after defenders day, the time of year ukrainians remember those who have fallen and served in the armed forces, perhaps never a more important defenders day because this is once again a city under fire. hitting infrastructure on the outskirts of town, following a week of renewed air strikes by the russian military. as the war in ukraine rages back

into the capital city for the first time since june, more talk of nuclear threats and no sign of peace on the horizon. at a conference in kazakhstan, the russian president telling reporters there's quote no need for talks with the american president. while putin ally and president of belarus, sat with keir simmons for a warning. >> if you drive a country into a corner, there's one way out, that is to move forward. that's why red lines should not be crossed. you just shouldn't cross him. >> reporter: that red line, he says, an attack on russian soil. >> translator: russia hads outlined its position, if there is to be god forbid an attack on the territory of the russian federation, in that case, russia can, if necessary use all kinds of weapons. >> reporter: here in the ukrainian capital, with threats from moscow, many near nuclear weapons can be used at any time. >> we can't do anything about

the nuclear war but we can lead our lives as we want. we don't want to be afraid. we just want to live happy. >> you have to be ready just in case, but you have to live your life, and like go on as usual. >> reporter: for ukraine, it's not just the threat of nuclear weapons. the government accusing russia of nuclear terrorism. occupying the largest nuclear power plant in europe and torturing the ukrainian staff. >> it's very hard for them to operate the plant under these conditions because they are actually periodically captured, tortured and beaten. >> reporter: so the russians are torturing the workers of the plant. >> yeah, just from time to time. >> reporter: another threat hanging over a country taking stock after a week of overwhelming air strikes. now there have in the past week been explosions across the border in the russian city of belgrade. ukraine does not take credit for any of these explosions, perhaps an indication they continue to walk the fine line between

defending ukraine, and not wanting to widen the war. kristen, peter. >> cal perry in kyiv, thank you so much for your reporting. also related to this war, news this morning from the pentagon about what's called the starlink satellite network that's helping ukraine fight the russian invasion. officials say that elon musk's company spacex has asked the government to take over funding for starlink. musk tweeted friday that providing starlink costs his company $20 million a month, and he has already spent 80 million. musk's spacex dragon capsule returned from the international space station friday, splashing down on the coast of florida. it brought home three americans and an italian astronaut from a six month station. two of the largest grocery chains have agreed to merge in a deal that will help them compete with walmart. kroger will pay $20 billion for albertson's, and also including safeway.

if antitrust regulators approve the deal, together the stores will control about 13% of the u.s. grocery market. that's still a distant second to walmart's 22% share. time to get a first check of the forecast right now. for that, our friend sa mara theodore has her eyes on the sky. good morning. >> good morning. it's a chilly start for friends. we'll head to the great lakes, chicago, coming in at 55 degrees. not bad but we are below the average for this time of year. 8 degrees below the average in chicago. areas like indianapolis coming in at 59 degrees. heading a little bit farther west into parts of the midwest, grand forks, 41 degrees for a high there. duluth 11 below the average and this cool weather spreads to the east coast as we head to the top of the week. temperatures will struggle to make it out of the 40s or out of the 30s, in areas like pittsburgh by wednesday. highs around 43 degrees. good morning, new york, high temperatures on monday will be in the mid- to upper 60s. really going to have a hard time getting out the 50s by

wednesday. now, on the west coast, it's a bit of a different story. it's feeling a lot more like summer. and we're talking record breaking heat here. 91 degrees in medford. redding you could break a record with temperatures close to 97. medford is going to be 20 degrees above the norm for this time of year. it's october but not feeling like it. tomorrow, starting to level out a bit. temperatures will be in the upper 80s in medford. i see the impact of high pressure to the north here. we're seeing summer like weather. that's due to the low clouds and fog sticking around this morning, we'll see the clouds clearing inland, but a very cool afternoon. we're talking temperatures mostly in the low 60s for highs from san francisco down the coast, 70s around san jose, and even 60s to low 70s across the north bay. a very mild weekend with

temperatures tre and that's the weather in your neighborhood. kristen, peter. digging into the dangers of misinformation during this busy election season. politicians are talking about kitty litter in school bathrooms. it's just the latest rumor with nine lives that just won't die. that's coming up. plus, why it's so important for women under 40 to speak up for themselves when it comes to breast cancer screenings. we'll explain. we are back right after this.

we are back on a saturday morning with the weekly download. our look at the week's other big stories. >> our friend nbc news now anchor joe fryer is in new york with the latest on all of that.

joe, good morning. >> good morning to you. we covered some big developments in high profile court cases. two major school shooting verdicts this week. >> we the jury unanimously vote -- >> the florida jury spared nikolas cruz from the death penalty. cruz shot and killed 14 students and three staff members at a high school in parkland. family members are outraged. >> this jury failed our families today. >> we have a legal system, but is it just? >> cruz will get life in prison without parole. in connecticut, a jury ordered alex jones to pay $965 million in damages to victims' families for repeatedly saying the mass shooting at sandy hook elementary was a hoax. >> while the verdict was being revealed, jones was on air mocking what he called the show trial. >> yeah, don't know who they are. >> jones' attorney vows to

appeal. baltimore prosecutors dropped charges against ad adnan syed after he spent 20 years behind bars. the new dna testing excluded syed. syed was sentenced to life in prison for the 1999 murder of his high school girlfriend, hay hae min lee. featured in the podcast serial. nasa announced its mission to change the path of an asteroid in outer space was a smashing success, demonstrating they could help save earth if necessary in the future. >> now, this is a water shed moment for planetary defense. these three men set out to fish off the coast of louisiana but rough waters capsized their boat. one man's iphone was almost out of battery power but was able to snap a photo of his location and

text it. they were rescued by the coast guard after surviving shark infested waters for 28 hours. two of the rescued men and some first responders reunited on "today." >> i remember him picking me up, pulling me out of the water, it was like wow, we made it. >> wow. >> some of the week's most dramatic moments caught on camera. in kyiv a young woman was filling when she narrowly avoided a rocket blast. and body cam footage the moment an officer opened this car door and started shooting at this teenager. the teen is in critical condition. the officer has been charged with assault and fired from his job, according to the police department. and a new star emerged during the major league baseball playoffs. this goose landed on the diamond during the dodgers/padres game, refused to move, even as the game continued.

workers were finally able to grab it during a pitching change. and finally, this labrador retriever named maverick froze for more than a minute when he came across all of these card board cutout cats on the lawn. eventually maverick's owners were able to calm him down and get him moving again. >> so peter, kristen, i'm doing my best maverick impression here, how am i doing? >> very strong. i think i want to be maverick for halloween. that's the cutest thing i've ever seen. >> maverick was catatonic. that was crazy. >> he just completely froze. well, i guess credit to those cats, they really had him fooled. all right. that's good stuff, joe. good effort. still to come on "today," hollywood gets a face lift. we help give the iconic sign a fresh coat of paint, plus, remembering the beloved actor who brought hagrid to life on the big screen.

but first, these messages. cotton candy. pink lemonade. bubble gum. when tobacco companies sell candy flavored products, they know exactly what they're doing because four out of five kids who use tobacco start with a flavored product.

and once they're hooked, they can be addicted for life. this election: we can stop big tobacco's dirty trick. voting yes on prop 31 will end the sale of candy flavored tobacco products. saving kids from nicotine addiction. vote yes on 31. good morning, thank you for joining us on this saturday morning. it's 5:56. i'm chris chmura. after repeated reports of bizarre behavior by a man in san francisco, police have arrested a man and accused him of following him and sometimes grabbing women. this is a story we told you about a few weeks ago. a woman named sarah told us a man walked up behind her and started touching her and ran away. dozens of other women said they had unwanted encounters with the same guy.

>> women were followed at night, some were grabbed on the street similar to what happened to me. one person he grabbed her outside safeway and kissed her. >> san francisco police have arrested bill hobs. they have linked him to 14 incidents so far. the district attorney is pushing to keep hobbs in jail as he awaits trial. one of the largest homeless encampments is nearly gone. we're talking about the wood street encampment in oakland. here's a look at what the site used to look like. the video on the left shows wood street before the cleanup. the encampment spawned several city block. it used to home about 200 people. cal trans has said in the past it was working with the city and county to get those people into shelters. it is saturday morning, how's the weather looking? rob is up early to let you know. a repeat of what we've seen in the week, low clouds to start the morning around san francisco, 57 degrees.

it may not change much from that, even as we head towards the afternoon, you'll notice here hour-by-hour, look at the cloud cover here into the afternoon hanging out right there across the golden gate bridge, san francisco to oakland, the reason why temperatures around san francisco and oakland will likely be staying in the low to mid-60s. you can see the clouds here on the coast as well, clearing skies across the valleys for the afternoon. our bay area temperatures today not what you'd expect for october. low 60s on the coast, typically we should see 70s. inland temperatures today climbing in the low to mid-70s, and we could see even cooler temperatures for tomorrow with some drizzle along the coast and the inner bay. should see temperatures rebounding slightly by tuesday and wednesday. if you like those 80s inland and warmer temperatures around the bay, middle part of next week looks like more sunshine coming back to the forecast. >> stay bundled up inside today. thanks very much. coming up on "today in the bay" at 7:00, a sellout crowd,

how fans react when draymond took the floor. that plus all your top stories coming up, if you join us at 7:00, we will welcome you. right now we'll send you back to w

nice shot. >> look at that fall in. >> spieth with the scramble, scheffler. we've got microphones hanging off of spieth over there. >> nice shot. we are back on this saturday morning, october 15th, 2022. and that was pro golfers, jordan spieth and scottie scheffler taking on dirk nowitzki and john isner earlier this week as part of the pro pickleball association celebrity cool. >> they are 6'10" and 7 foot.

right, talk about a tough team to face off against. pickleball is picking up speed these days. coming up a little bit later, we're going to take you to the major league pickleball tournament. apparently you can be a pickleball pro. that's taking place this weekend. >> i actually like pickleball, have you tried it? >> i have tried it. my daughter is 9 and has beaten me twice. all right. well, we have a busy half hour, let's begin with a check of the headlines. rescue workers in turkey are searching for survivors after a coal mine explosion on friday. the death toll rising this morning to at least 28. 15 people are either trapped ei missing. the cause of the blast is still under investigation. there were 110 miners working in the shaft at the time of the explosion. passengers on a united airlines flight from chicago to miami had a big scare on friday. this cell phone video shot by a passenger shows flames shooting out from the back of the engine after the plane hit a bird just after it took off from o'hare

international airport. the pilot immediately turned the plane around and fortunately was able to make a safe landing. the major league baseball playoffs continue with four games today after three exciting games on friday. >> pitch from hater to thompson. padres take it. >> padres fans saw the top be will dodgers 2-1. the padres lead the series two games to one in a runout makeup game that yankees stadium, cleveland broke a tie with new york with two runs in the tenth inning winning 4-2 evening the series at a game apiece and the phils crushed the braves, 9-1. philadelphia taking a 2-1 lead in that series >> yankee fans worried about aaron judge. 0 for 4. >> yeah, that's for sure also this morning, a new warning did the dangers of misinformation spreading online and making its way into

political races. and this latest claim, absurd as it may sound, some school districts are selling litter boxes. >> that's not stopping politicians from talking about it as if it was fact it raise alarms by saying this is where protection for students ultimately will lead nbc's mora barrett is helping follow this one for us again, an effort to sort of dissect this misinformation. good morning >> peter and kristen, good morning. this story is just the latest example of misinformation can spread like wildfire on social media. marjorie taylor green and influential podcast hosts can have a dangerous impact. this whole furry thing -- >> the first sign of rumor appears to have been this michigan school board meeting

last december. >> i heard that at least one of our schools in our town has in one of the bathrooms a litter box for the kids that identify as cats. the. >> where it was discussed by parent without proof and then shared on facebook by a chairwoman of the michigan republican party, referring to furry, a small group of people that are interested in and may dress up as animals. the false story making its way across the country >> they think they're a cat. a cat! they put tails on and they demand that they have a litter box in the school. >> obviously, it is very disruptive to the learning process. >> and now republican stump speeches the latest battle by conservatives in the culture war over gender identity at least 20 conservative candidates and elected officials made the claims this year about schools placing litter boxes on campus according to an nbc news review of public statements. >> there are no litter boxes in

schools. >> this is insulting every school district named by the 20 politicians said these assertions are untrue. >> this is about stirring up more panic and more fear even the trolling and mocking of this was a way to get the word out there about the lag. >> the cat comment often brought up in conjunction with school policies around trans gender students experts increasingly concerned about the impact the extreme and baseless rhetoric could have on lgbtq plus youth >> some people don't know anything about this. this is about the times. and putting out headlines so that young people could be click bait is not how we do this >> the misinformation still spreading. falsely fueling the cultural wars with less than a month before the mid terms >> of all the schools called out for having kitty litter, nbc found only one that actually has it on campus in jefferson county, home to

columbine high school. the litter is part of an emergency supply kit in case they're stuck in a classroom too long, not the reason that politicians are sharing. kristen and peter? >> all right thank you. thank you for that report. i think that mora makes the key point here which is that this is about spreading fear >> the fear of the era is where people get information within an echo chamber that echo chamber spreading live and can be spread more widely than that. o be spread more widely. we want to turn the table and check in with our friend somara theodore. you look great this morning. >> thank you. good morning. we are headed to the tropis. carl is a post tropical cyclone. at this moment, not bringing much but heavy rain to parts of central america and the yucatan, i'm sorry, but we are seeing rain in cancun. if you have any vacation plans over there, keep an eye on the

tropics, we are keeping a close eye on this disturbance, 10% chance of developing. we'll keep an eye on it. off the coast of africa right now. a little closer to home, we are tracking flood alerts. we're going to ahead into southern california, parts of arizona. 5 million people impacted by this from phoenix out towards byte, el centro, we could see heavy and we're seeing a lot of low clouds this morning. that will retreat back to the coastline, but hang out around san francisco during the day. you combine that with an all day sea breeze, which will be turning stronger for the afternoon, and that's a recipe for some cool temperatures. we're talking low 60s, san francisco along the coast, maybe upper 50s near pacifica. you got low 70s around san jose, mid-70s inland, mild weekend temperatures with some drizzle in addition to those low clouds.

>> and that's the forecast in your neighborhood, peter, kristen. thank you. just ahead the importance of early screening and detection as the number of breast cancer cases in young women rises. announcer: type 2 diabetes? discover the power of 3 in the ozempic® tri-zone. in my ozempic® tri-zone, i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. announcer: ozempic® provides powerful a1c reduction. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. and you may lose weight. adults lost up to 14 pounds. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction.

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is likely already inside of you. if you're 50 years or older, ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingles. we are back now with an important message during this breast cancer awareness month about the importance of advocating for yourself, especially when it comes to your health. >> doctors have seen a rise in severe breast cancer cases for women under the age of 40, an age group which typically doesn't get screened. nbc's anne thompson has more on the risks and what you can do about it. >> reporter: breast cancer used to be only a job for saudia zapp, leading the communications team for the breast cancer research fund. this summer it became personal. >> it was a hard round one. >> reporter: she was diagnosed with breast cancer that spread to her lymph nodes.

saudi is only 36 and feared for her husband ben and 4-year-old son jake. >> it's amazing what you realize when you get news like that. in an instant, everything falls away. >> reporter: months earlier, she says she pleaded with two doctors for early screening because of her high risk factors. she started her period before age 11, had her first baby after 30, and her maternal aunt had breast cancer at a young age. >> i asked for a mammogram at that time. >> reporter: and what were you told. >> you don't need screening. let's not worry about it. don't worry about it. >> reporter: doctors did perform genetic testing. >> it said negative in big bold letters. >> reporter: she still worried. >> they were making recommendations based on sort of the population, right, and they didn't look at me as a person. >> reporter: now saudia is undergoing chemotherapy with surgery and radiation ahead.

she believes her cancer could have been caught earlier if screening young women was the rule and not the exception. >> we have a cure for breast cancer now, and that is catching it early. and young women don't have that luxury. we're not being screened annually. >> reporter: today, early detection for women under 40 is rare. >> why do younger women get more aggressive cancers? >> we think that's because young women are more likely to not be screened and so their tumors are bigger by the time we find them. >> reporter: dr. anne partridge directs dana farber's program for young women with breast cancer. >> they tend to present with more aggressive types of breast cancer, and it tends to be more advanced or more -- bigger tumors or more involved lymph nodes, which requires a bit more aggressive approach in general. >> reporter: in fact, for women 25 to 39, the rate of metastatic breast cancer, cancer that's spread elsewhere is up 32% since

2009. and a recent study found breast cancer death rates among women under 40 have stopped declining. >> reporter: if mammograms were required for women under 40, would it make a difference? >> that's a tricky question. it's not clear that more mammograms for the population is the right answer for screening. it's really more about finding better tests and selecting the patients who might warrant more sensitive tests than mammograms. >> reporter: until technology catches up, advocates say young women need to know their risk factors, be alert to changes in their bodies and not be afraid to seek a second opinion. >> the onus of diagnosis shouldn't only be on the patient, and that's where it is right now. >> reporter: so women younger and older can benefit from early detection. for "today," anne thompson, nbc news. >> what an incredibly important story by anne, and so brave for

speaking out and sharing her own personal battle. >> you hope that there are families who watch this, men and women alike who don't just think about those over 40 anymore, but remind those under 40 that they too need to be paying close attention to their health. >> so important. the world famous hollywood sign gets a touch up just in time for a huge an ni y'all wayfairs has just what you need for your home. is that glitter? this table is on its last leg. y'all need this. you're kelly clarkson! a whole new look for a whole lot less. ahhh! -you're kelly clarkson! i am... and you need this. i love it! are we in a wayfair commercial? maybe. personal sauna. ok i need that. ahhhhh! ♪ wayfair, you've got just what i need ♪ ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ claritin provides non-drowsy symptom relief from over 200 indoor

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if you've ever traveled to los angeles, you've probably looked high in the hills to see that world famous hollywood sign. >> you almost don't have to travel to los angeles to have seen that sign, right, it's like ubiquitous. a big anniversary is proepg for the sign, and now it's getting a pretty nice touch up. nbc's steve patterson grabbed a paint brush and got to work. >> every great city has a symbol, representing the ideals of its people. in hollywood, it's a sign. nine giant letters spelling out one iconic notion. this is where dreams are made. believe it or not, the hollywood sign is about to turn 100 years old. it was meant to last just 18 months. the sign went up back in 1923 as hollywood land a billboard to sell real estate, but it caught people's attention and stuck around. it was donated to the city of los angeles and the land was

removed. >> the sign came to mean something different. it came to mean the hollywood industry as a whole. >> through the years, the old wooden sign decayed, losing one of its o's, in 1978 the old one was knocked down and a new one in its place. it's getting a fresh coat of paint on its birthday. >> it feels like you're one of the stars up here. >> roger martinez is overseeing the process. he took me up to lend a hand. >> are you ready to help with paint? >> i'm ready. i would never dream that i would be putting paint on the hollywood sign. >> dreams come true. remember, this is hollywood. >> this is where it happens, right? >> oh, yeah.