dawn raid by the taliban turns into a ferocious six-hour battle. we'll get the latest in a live report from afghanistan. illing details. prosecutors paint a shocking picture of the lengths an r>ñ alleged stalker went to to get nude pictures of a popular sports reporter. fearless. a 5-year-old hunter bags an 800-pound alligator. we'll meet the boy in an exclusive interview who made texas history "today", sunday, october 4th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a sunday. i'm lester holt. >> i'm jenna wolfe. coming up this morning, one of the deadliest days in the war in

afghanistan. eight u.s. troops were killed. an outpost was nearly overrun by taliban fighters. the battle to regain control raged for hours. coming up, we'll bring you theá latest. we have jim miklaszewski live on the ground in afghanistan. we'll be with us to bring us live reaction from military commanders there. disturbing new details emerge about the man accused of stalking espn reporter erin andrews. friends and neighbors of the suspect, michael david barrett, are shocked by what he's accused of doing as prosecutors describe an elaborate plot to videotape here. we'll bring you the latest in just a few minutes. david letterman's addition that he affairs with co-workers is stirring up conversations about what is acceptable in the workplace in terms of relationships especially with bosses and employees. we'll get into that discussion later in the broadcast. first, breaking news out of afghanistan. the ferocious firefight that killed eight u.s. troops. nbc's jim miklaszewski just

returned from the remote region near the pakistan border where it took place and joins us now from afghanistan's capital, kabul. good morning. >> reporter: this is one of the deadliest battles for american forces here during the entire afghanistan war. u.s. military officials tell us that the attack on the remote outpost began shortly after dawn and raged on for more than six hours. the attack came near the pakistan border. in the most rugged mountainous terrain of afghanistan. 75 to 80 enemy fighters fired rocket propelled grenades and heavy machine gun fire from the surrounding mountains and even firing from a mosque and a police station in a nearby town. now, early this morning a major general, the regional commander of that area, took us there to take a look and said that initially the enemy had the

advantage in the fight because they held the high ground. >> well, it was in mountainous terrain. you're up in the hindu cush. you have sheer cliffs around you. some trees around. hard to see people. and the enemy can move about using that as protection. >> reporter: the fighting was so intense there that medevac helicopters had to wait several hours before they could get into the post to medevac the wounded out. eight americans and two afghan soldiers were killed. now, the tragedy in this attack is that those soldiers at that remote base were ready to shut down that base and withdraw fro3 that valley in just two days. >> all right. jim miklaszewski in kabul. thank you. now, here's lester. the attacks come as president obama debates whether to send more troops to afghanistan. good morning, david.

the president recently sat down with general mcchrystal, the top commander in afghanistan, to talk about the way forward. there's some daylight between his vision and the white house plan. this attack, the deaths of eight americans, do you think it will offer more clarity or perhaps complicate this question of where the u.s. goes? >> in some ways it does complicate it. the debate is going on about whether the current strategy is the one to follow. is it worth endangering more american lives? is it the right strategy? it's the strategy the president committed to in march but he's being asked to double down on it and general mcchrystal has been outspoken in pushing his policy. escalation. more troops. doubling down on the strategy. the president appears to be pulling back a bit from that and there's a debate about it among the national security team. this is the kind of news that does complicate the overall decision. >> major national security issues before the president right now. let's talk about iran. the top nuclear watchdog group

says october 25th is the date iran agreed to for an inspection of that once secret nuclear facility. president ahmadinejad said president obama will be sorry for questioning their intentions over this new nuclear plant. can the administration claim some credit for forcing iran's hand to get to this point? >> well, we'll find out. we'll find out whether the administration prevails in what could be a cat and mouse game that iran might be playing where they give up a little and then they say they're not sure what they're agreeing to and they may not export some of their enriched uranium. these are the questions. the report out in "the new york times" this morning that they have for know how to make a bomb than previously thought. the question is ultimately how much leverage does the united states and its allies have and we don't know the answer to that yet because we don't know how alied the allies are at this point and whether iran is willing to negotiate in good

faith. >> on the domestic front. some call it the jobless recovery after a 26-year high in unemployment. are you getting a hint that the administration is reconsidering their recovery plans? >> is the stimulus enough to make this recovery work? are people feeling it. there is a feeling out there that the banks got bailed out. they're doing better. what about the rest of us? we can't gate job if we're looking for one. this is the test for the president as he gets closer to this midterm year. >> now here's jenna. >> thanks. after a brief courtroom appearance on saturday, the man accused of stalking espn reporter erin andrews taking nude photos of her and posting them online is now spending this weekend in jail. nbc's rehema ellis has details. >> reporter: in a chicago courtroom, 48-year-old michael

barrett, an insurance executive, was dressed in an orange jump suit. the court ordered the illinois resident to be returned to california to face federal interstate stalking charges. outside the courthouse, barrett's lawyer and longtime friend called his client a good man. >> i've gotten calls$áz 30 of his friends in the last ten hours all willing to give their support to him if anything is needed. >> reporter: barrett is accused of secretly taking nude videos of espn reporter erin andrews while she was alone in at least two hotel rooms. according to the criminal complaint, barrett traveled to cities where andrews was working, called hotels to find out where she was staying, and when he made his reservations, barrett asked specifically forla room next to andrews, identified in the complaint as individual a. authorities allege barrett then rigged her door's peep hole to

take videos of her. officials say he posted the videos on the internet after trying to sell them to california based celebrity website, tmz. tmz declined and handed the information to andrews' attorney who contacted authorities. in the community where he lives outside of chicago, neighbors are shocked. >> i couldn't believe it because of how nice he had always been and very gentle. >> barrett is due back in court on monday for a hearing to determine whether he'll be released on bond. for "today," rehema ellis, nbc news. >> now eight minutes past the hour. we'll get a check of the rest of this morning's top headlines. >> we'll turn it over to trish regan at the news desk. >> we begin with the case of the newborn baby found friday after being abducted in tennessee. on saturday the baby boy was briefly returned with his mother. he was then taken into state custody along with his three siblings for what authorities

are calling safety reasons. this new twist comes as new details emerge about the suspect. nbc's ron mott has more. >> reporter: the 9 day old baby missing since tuesday was found at this home in alabama late friday night. tammy renee silas is under arrest and charges are pending for kidnapping the newborn and attack on the mother. >> translator: she said she was an immigration officer and there to arrest me. >> reporter: the woman stabbed her eight times. when she ran to get help, the woman took her baby. silas took the baby to her home. she told friends she adopted the baby from texas. >> translator: she said it was okay and had legal custody and the court said it was okay for her to have the child. >> reporter: inside their home,

baby clothes. signs that a baby lived here briefly. maria is recovering from her wounds awaits the return of her son so her family can begin to heal. wildfires burning in southern california. three homes have been destroyed and dozens more are threatened. high winds are fueling the fire that is only 5% contained. no word on the cause. overseas in indonesia, landslides are hampering rescue efforts in the deadly earthquake. the landslides triggered by the 7.6 quake earlier this week buried more than 600 people. three villages completely destroyed. the search continues for 3,000 people still missing and feared dead. and there was no trip to new york and no fancy outing as the obama celebrated their first wedding anniversary since moving into the white house. the president and first lady kept it simple with dinner near georgetown. the obamas have been married for 17 years. and finally, how else would you get to see a flying giant

cow at a hot air balloon festival of course. 600 balloons fill the skies of albuquerque saturday at the international balloon fiesta. the nine-day event is the largest balloon gatheringb. ine world. always wanted to go up in one of those. that's the news. now back to lester, jenna

>> now, the sun is the thing here. sunny skies with temperatures in the 50s. the rain is a long way away. this to the south may work its way here by tuesday. now, here's jenna. >> thanks. still to come on today, thei letterman scandal raising new có workplace. just what's acceptable coming up after these messages.

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new triple protection iso-active whitening from aquafresh. amazing. david letterman may have thwarted an alleged attempt at blackmail but a national admission on television that he slept with women that worked for him has opened a new conversation. >> reporter: with david  accused extortionist out on bail, much of the attention is on letterman's stunning admission on thursday night. >> i have had sex with women who work for me on this show. >> reporter: according to "the new york times" that includes a 34 year old who was one of the letterman's assistants who lived with joe halderman. in an alumni magazine from 2003,

she gushed about the fun work environment calling letterman the greatest boss i could ever have. now, other former late night employees who claim they were involved with "letterman" are coming forward. tmz.com reports a former intern said she had a romantic relationship with letterman in the early 1990s before he called it off because the age gap was too great. the confession sparked a national debate about whether on the job romances were inappropriate. >> we don't know if he crossed the line in a legal sense but in a workplace sense it seems clear that he did. >> reporter: world wide pants says the comedian did not violate its policy and no one ever filed a complaint. some wonder whether letterman's public admission might change all that. for "today," peter alexander, nbc news, new york. joining us now isw3 dan abrs

and a "today" show contributor and a psychologist. the company says there's no violation of company policy. was there a violation of good judgement? >> sure. any time you hear that a boss is having sex with people who work for that person, you get concerned. in the context of this case, so far there has been no complaint. there's been no lawsuit. and as a result it seems that a lot of people are talking about what might happen, what could happen legitimate questions, but so far none of those complaints have happened. david letterman married someone that worked for someone. there wasn't a national outrage, my goodness, david letterman married someone he works for. >> your point is well taken. when we hear the term consensual, what about the other employees that work in that office? did they consent and is that an issue for them? >> the whole thing is an issue. for the person that's involved,

is it consensual if your boss who has all kinds of authority who you want to like you and admire you and appreciate you, can yes really be yes? we say so but i'm just saying for peopleht out there, they should realize that it's a very powerful situation when your boss shows interest in you. you may not really think it through. for the other people, of course, it's a two-way sword in that they may feel this person was only promoted or only thought well of because they gave sex. >> some may think thisabout tha retro actively. >> gail is right. people feel it's unfair. did they get that raise because they had a leg up by being with the boss. no pun intended. we have to look at -- >> no pun intended, really? >> no fun intended. >> we've all talked about this at some point. people work very long hours. who will they meet and have relationships? people they work with.

it's not uncommon. where the lines? >> the bottom line is that every company has -- major company, has a policy with regards to this. they differ. not just sexual harassment. disclosure issues. if someone says there was no harassment but you are having a relationship with someone who works for you, you must disclose it to a superior. we don't know who these people were. we don't know what the context was. we don't know when it happened. david letterman didn't say it happened 20 years ago, 10 years ago, there are a lot of people out there in my view who are almost sort of asking for sexua harassment lawsuits. you know what? there may not be one in the context of this case. >> is that an acknowledgement that things are changing in the workplace and back to the issue that co-workers not only superiors but co-workers in general date and relationships

blossom. >> you are with these people all day but they are like minded. they have similar interests. similar career drive. obviously there's a big gray zone here but beyond the laws i think you really have to think very carefully because you may be thinking you're helping your self by having sex. you may be undermining yourself by having sex and no one will respect you and think you got there on your own. >> is it always consensual? is there pressure sometimes? >> subconsciously there may be pressure where you feel if you don't make that move that it won't help your career. >> it will hurt you. >> if you make it, it may hurt your career. there's nothing illegal here. we agree on that. you have to be smart about what you do that there are always potential hazards if you're the boss and you're involved with a subordinate. >> a healthy conversation to have. i'mng sure had other places as well. thank you for coming on. sometimes, the little things in life

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and a delicious taste your family will love. perdue frozen chicken. all-white meat. no mystery. still to come on "today," my adventures in speed dating as i try to find out how well you can really get to know a stranger in just a few minutes. seconds actually. a little boy bags a massive animal. we'll meet a 5-year-old hunter who came home with a record setting catch. that's it right there. first, these messages. sharing, it's what kids do. but every year an average of four million kids get the flu and miss out on sharing. that's why we created goodtoshare.com. here you'll learn how to protect

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>> here's a look at some of our morning's top stories. three people are recovering today at a light rail train and a car collided. it happened around 12:30 saturday morning. officials believe the train may have dragged the car about 100 yards before coming to a stop. fire officials rescued three people trapped inside. they are all expected to survive. police are investigating that accident. former mayor and governor has not officially announced

another run for the state house. but he is raising money. the entire family was on hand. it was a fund raiser for the campaign but not necessarily a 2010 guber torle run. he had this to say about the current administration in annapolis. >> there's a lot of people in maryland frustrated about taxes and regulations. about just what's happened with slots, for example. what's happened with the million nares tax, wealth saxes. titeling taxes. corporate income taxes. people are feeling overtaxed and some marylanders and businesses have gone out of state. i talked about pennsylvania a lot. it is part of maryland because so many marylanders have decided to flee tover state line in order to escape maryland taxes. >> looking ahead to 2010, a new

poll finds him trailing governor martin oh mallly. ear lick would be behind. stay with us. we'll check your weather fore

>> this morning temperatures are beginning to climb through the 50s as the sun begins to warm us up. no rain near by. the main rain we'll be watching is down to the south, a couple days away. let's take a look at the

current satellite picture. stormy weather up in new england. even that's leaving and it looks like fairly decent weather. the map shows dry again with storms to the north or south of us. a lot of sunshine, seasonably mild temperatures, 712 to 75 range. get out and enjoy it. >> thanks. thank you for joining us. we're back on sunday morning, october 4th, 2009.

it is a nice fall fairly mild morning here in new york. we're joined by happy folks out on our plaza. thank you for stopping by. thank you for stopping by. i'm jenna wolfe alongside lester holt and still to come, we've got this great story of boy versus beast. you were a little scared. >> there's this little guy. he's about this tall. bags an alligator about this tall. there it is. it's an 8.5-foot -- sorry 12.5-foot alligator. this is part of his catch. this is one of the biggest alligators ever bagged in the state of texas. >> was this a joyous smile or someone remove this head away? >> this was a joyous smile. >> you saw lester's smile like this. >> okay now that it's dead. >> speaking of adventures, i went speed dating which i had never done before. i spent an evening seeing how much i could learn about a potential romantic partner in only a few minutes because as it

turns out you get a first impression about someone in three seconds. i sort of put that theory to the test and we'll find out how well or not so well i did. >> hope you stuck around to pay the check. we're also going talk about cheerleading. sometimes that can be more athletic than what's happening in the filed. we'll talk about what's being done to make cheerleader safer. >> you didn't cheerlead, did you? >> no. i'm too cool to cheer at the game. >> first, we'll get another

>> the sun is shining here, and ortemperatures are in the 50s. a few sprinkles up in pennsylvania. our forecast today, lots of sun and temperatures in the 70s for a high.

>> we've got "sunday night football" here on nbc tonight. we have the weather forecast for the game in pittsburgh. it's going to be nice weather for the chargers and steelers. where are steeler fans? okay. partly cloudy and cool. temperatures in the 50s tonight. and you can always check on your weather any time when we're not here by log iging on to weather.com. facing down a 12.5-foot long alligator weighing 800 pounds would send most grown men into a panic but simon hughes isn't a grown man. he's 5 years old. while out on a gator hunt with his dad and a guide last sunday, he bagged the catch of a lifetime. the second biggest gator ever

killed in the state of texas. simon joins us this morning along with his parents and the hunting guide who was at his side. good morning to all of you. simon, this is quite a shot here. you with just the head of the alligator. you weigh 44 pounds? >> yes. >> how much was the alligator? >> 800. >> chuck, set the scene for us. simon had a shotgun. the alligator was on a hook. >> the hook was set the day before. checked it sunday morning. the line was in the water. i got simon down there. we pulled and pulled and couldn't get the alligator up. had to hook it up to a winch. we got it up out of the water. didn't realize how big it would be until it came up. we got it calmed down you could say and simon took his shot and he did really well. >> before i get you to talk about this, people will be astonished not only that he was able to kill an alligator but 5

holding a shotgun. >> simon has been shooting for a while. we went shooting with him a few times myself. he does well. handles a gun very responsibly. for his size and age, he does extremely well. >> simon, explain to me. the alligator is on a winch. where are you standing in relation to it? >> on the bank by the water. >> how close did it get to you? >> maybe about five feet. >> about five feet. >> were you right in front of it? >> yes. >> weren't you afraid it would charge? >> we were actually off to the side of it. we were in a safe position. it was tied off to the rope. and just from that side angle is where he took his shot. >> you have been doing this for a long time. you have never seen anything this size before? >> largest alligator i have ever seen. >> you have a big ranch. you have seen alligators before. would you know if you had seen this one before? >> we had seen a ten foot and that's nothing compared to this

one. >> you had been on an alligator hunt before? >> no. >> would you do it again? >> yes. >> fascinating story. nice to have you all here. thanks for sharing. we appreciate it. up next, adventures in speed dating coming up. i'm okay with cutting back a little,

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wash it with febreze. this morning on "today's relationships" finding love fast with speed dating. you get only minutes to get and give a first impression but who knows, maybe that's all you need. >> ready, set. >> who says you can't hurry love? in the world of modern dating the clock is ticking to make a love connection. >> people will make a quick judgment of you within three seconds. >> those three seconds may be all it takes to meet your match or mismatch. >> how do you make a first impression? a good first impression? >> smile. act confident. just be friendly. >> you won't know if you want to marry the person in the five

minutes but you'll be able to tell a lot about the person. >> i've got ten great guys they say waiting to meet me and me to meet them. i'm excited. a little a he hpprehensive but excited to get going. >> nice. i was off to a good start. >> this is jenna's first date. i think it's going well. she's very attentive. she's listening. he seems to be enjoying her. he's doing a lot of talking. >>v had to make a good first impression. nice meeting you. thank you very much. and again. how are you? >> fantastic. >> and again. did you already write your thing out? you're not following the rules. >> jenna is a couple dates in. she's had a chance to meet a

couple people. people are getting into the groove and five minutes are up. it can be challenging. >> nice meeting you. >> i had fun here but did my dates? >> she's charming. poised. >> she did great. she was one. >> from my first time, job well done. i would come back and do it again and again until i meet somebody. and again and again. we just ran out of m/rime. joining me for a post-date recap, robby thank you for joining us. you were there with me that night. it was a lot of fun. i actually had a really good time. a lot of these speed dating companies boast about their success rate. what's this all about? what's the concept of speed dating? how does it work? >> people are very, very busy. and if you are at a point in your life where you know you want to meet somebody and have a relationship, what a great

concept to meet a lot of people in a short period of time who perhaps want the same thing and who have similar interests and to give yourself an opportunity to get a lot of dates out of the way in one night. >> sure. kill a million birds with one stone. that's what you really want to do. >> it's about numbers. >> all romantic. let me ask you, this is about making a good first impression but you can make a first impression in the first three seconds which is not a lot of time. how do you do that? what are we looking for there? >> before you begin talking there are all of these cues we send off. you can tell a lot about a person right away. are you physically attracted what sort of body language do they have, their tone of voice and even their smell. these things register on a subconscious level so that's plenty of time to tell whether you get over the initial hurdle of if there's chemistry. >> what else do you need to know? you like someone and you're attracted to them. three seconds passed. maybe. what else do you need to know to decide? >> you want to know what they

do, what kind of friend they are, a bit about past relationships. if you share something in common. and if you want the same things out of life. what you want to find out on a regular date is what you want to find out on a speed date you just have to do it quicker. and be focused and prepared. >> that was my problem. i was, like, what is that? is that a light out over there. didn't quite work as well. the truth is there is only a few minutes. whether it's three or four minutes, do you want to be picky or do you want to sort of be open-minded. you don't have that much time. >> the funny thing is they found that men and women are different about this. in small groups men and women are the same in selectivity but as groups become larger, women become more selective and guys just ask out more women. it's a normal day that happens more quickly. if they're the kind of things that will bother you, you'll find out in five minutes as well as an hour. you really can find out a lot about a person in that amount of time even though it seems fast. >> do you feel like you have

decoded me? >> i noticed how many people really enjoyed you. that's the key to being a good speed dater. being open to the process and having a good time and letting go. that's very appealing. it also builds up your skills in terms of meeting new people and making a good impression. >> i found that confidence is really important. you got to walk in there and know who you are and know you're very dateable whether you are or not. >> you are your own press agent. if you like yourself and are confident, people say i want more of that. if they like themselves, they must have something going on that i want to know more about. >> okay. overall this is something would you recommend for people out there in the dating world. >> i'm a dating guy. whatever works. if you're self-confident and outgoing, speed dating can work well. if you're shy and insecure, speed dating may not be the ideal forum. >> i think try everything. you never know where you'll nmet that right person. >> next time you go speed dating, bring a psychotherapist

along with you because that wasn't intimidating to any of the guys. thank you both so much. >> i scared them away and you helped them feel comfortable. >> you're the reasonñi i'm sing. coming up, some of the foods you're about to see are healthy and some are not. and can you tell the difference? the answers and more after these messages. prepare your mouth for a battle against germs. protect your mouth right with crest pro-health rinse at night. it kills 99% of germs that cause gingivitis, plaque, and bad breath, without the burn of alcohol. for a healthier mouth that's cleaner in the morning.

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reduced fat multigrain bran, it sounds healthy but some seemingly nutritious foods may not be that good for you. here to point us in the right direction, a contributor to

"cooking light" magazine. what should i know about multigrain breads? >> labels can be so confusing. what you should know is aim for those whole grains. look for something like this that's 100% whole wheat or whole grain. >> what would i look at? >> something like enriched flour will say it's refined grain. >> you will see whole wheat or whole grain as first thing on the ingredient panel. >> i like peanut butter. is reduced fat better? >> not necessarily. they're the same calories. with peanut butter, most of the fats in peanut butter are heart healthy. when you have regular peanut butter it is better because reduced fat has more sugar. >> energy bars. sounds healthy. going for a workout and you want

a boost. >> many use these for workout boost but be careful. read labels. some of the bars contain almost 400 calories. that's almost a whole meal for some people. if you need an energy boost, make your own trail mix. you won't get saturated fats and added sugars you get in some of the energy bars. >> processed turkey. i have read labels on these. i'm surprised how much sodium is in them. turkey itself is good for you. >> we found some brands had over 700 milligrams of sodium per serving. for just a few slices. there are some lower sodium versions on the market. look for those. have some fresh turkry as weltu. >> you will point out that bran muffins are bigger than you make at home. >> these are giant muffins. bran muff season a healin is a . some are 500 calories.

cut it in half. save it for the next day. >> salad when did it become healthy just in the word because it's not. >> people think they're doing something healthy but some salads are made with regular mayonnaise. this is under 300 calories. it's a chicken salad. this taste wonderful with added veggies and you save on a lot of calories. reduced fat mayo is fine. a little dressing. >> let's walk over here. smoothies. energy drinks. these sorts of things that you get. it's fruit. >> fruit is good. fruit is good. what you want to avoid is some of these smoothies are very helpful but store bought ones can have over 1,000 calories. added sugars. make your own at home with fresh

fruit, low fat yogurt. >> this is no fat. >> no fat. people think it's a free-for-all. it's not. look for calories. look at the other ingredients. lots of sugar obviously. just because it says fat free does not mean calorie free. you want to really look for making sure you get quality calories some nutrients in those calories. >> go for fresh stuff. >> once in a while this is fine. >> the baked potato. i get this one. you shouldn't put butter and sour cream but who wants a plain baked potato? >> it's about moderation. a baked potato is a healthy food. add veggies and a little cheese on there and you're good. otherwise you could have 1,000 calorie potato and who wants that? >> sports drinks? >> these energy drinks do have a role for people who are training intensely. those who are just working out light doing light activity water

is just fine. >> nothing wrong with water. good to have you here. >> thank you so much. here's jenna. cheerleading has evolved a long way from the original purpose to fire up the crowd at sporting events. cheering has become a sport in its own right but as it gets more competitive and rougher, has cheerlead are strayed too far from its roots? here's chris jansing. >> reporter: every weekend hundreds of thousands of high school and college cheerleaders dance, jump, and scream for their teams. but top cheerleaders aren't just on the sidelines anymore. they're athletes and competitors themselves. >> you need a lot of hours to be able to do everything that we can do. >> we're super competitive. we give everything we've got. >> reporter: what they've got often seems to defy the laws of gravity. these moves are you known as stunting. they're difficult and can be

dangerous but they earn these girls college scholarships. that's just what the girls in kelly allen's successful cheerleading program are hoping for. scholarships. there are real risks. >> this is a contact sport. if you don't like it, this is not the program for you. your child sometime in their career will get hurt. >> reporter: the 2000 movie spoofed dangers of cheering. >> your basket toss was amazing and no one saw that landing. >> really? >> reporter: a 25-year study showed cheering injuries are no laughing matter. there were 73 catastrophic injuries between 1982 and 2008 including two deaths. no other sport, not gymnastics, basketball, or soccer even came close. kimberly founded the national cheer safety foundation after her daughter was hurt cheering. >> when you have kids flying 15,

20 feet in the air and they can land on a hard surface, you're talking about high probability of a catastrophic injury if something goes wrong. >> reporter: something went very wrong for jessica smith in 2006 when she went airborne. >> i went over 15 feet and came sliding down his face and landed straight on hmy head and heard loud crack. >> reporter: jessica broke her neck. a year earlier 14-year-old ashley burns, 4'9", 90 pounds didn't survive a stunt gone wrong. better training is available for coaches and fewer injuries are being reported. kimberly believes the answer isn't fewer tricks, it's more training. >> we're trying to incorporate science and sports medicine and apply it to cheerleading so that we can prevent injuries. >> reporter: that would really be something to cheer about. for "today," chris jansing, cnbc

news, santa cruz, california. >> i have to admit, i have cringed at times. >> it's cheering, be aggressive but it's like gymnastics. it's crazy. >> glad you're treating it like a sport with proper training. >> we'll be right back after these messages. does your mouthwash work in sixifferent ways? introducing listerine® total care. everything you need to strengthen teeth, help prevent cavities, and kill germs. introducing 6 in 1 listerine® total care.

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let's swing one more time back to washington and say hello to david gregory to find out what's coming up on "meet the press." >> coming up this morning, the challenges weighing on the white house at home and abroad. a key member of the president's foreign policy team, the u.s. ambassador to the united nations susan rice is our guest. and inside analysis from our round table. health care, iran, afghanistan

and the economy. that's coming up. >> we'll see you in a bit. thanks. >> much thanks to janice huff and trish regan for joining us this morning. >> coming up tomorrow on "today," kate gosselin sits down with meredith vieira for an exclusive live interview. i'll see you back here tonight for "nbc nightly news." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> got questions about the swine or seasonal flu? plus, how to dress fr less and make a great first impression. >> temperatures climbing through the 50s.

a nice day ahead. coming up.