good morning. missing -- a developing story out of california. police are searching for members of what's being described as a cult-like religious group. authorities fear they may be planningi ina mass suicide. eight children are among the missing. bracing for a hurricane inching closer to bermuda. >> and tragedy on the field. a star high school quarterback collapses and dies after throwing a touchdown pass. his death is now under investigation. what happened? a closer look today, september what happened? a closer look today, september 19, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a sunday morning. >> authorities are searching a wide area in california for those 13 people who vanished this weekend. >> police say among them are eight children, all part of this group missing. they left behind cell phones, i.d.s and letters suggesting they were awaiting an end of the world event. more on this in a moment. >> meantime, an american woman held captive in iran for more than a year is set to arrive in new york this morning. what's next for sarah shourd and what about her fiance and friend still back in iran? we will have the latest. >> later on, germ warfare. find out what's lurking on escalators, drinking fountains or atm machines. important but alarming

information. >> never love having those stories first thing in the morning. it's important but i walk out of the studio not touching anything, walking a straight like like this. >> we'll scrub like surgeons every day. >> also coming up, how would you like to own a piece of american history like, say, the blanket j.f.k. had in the motorcade that fateful day or how about the statue of liberty's nose? it could be yours for real. these items and more are going up for sale. they are in the studio this morning. we'll get a sneak peek later. >> first, more on the massive search in southern california for the 13 people who authorities believe could be part of a cult-like group. nbc's kristen welker has been following the developments and joins us from los angeles. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, lester. authorities say five adults and eight children are missing. the kids range in age from 3 to 17 years old. officials believe they may be immigrants from el salvador.

investigators looked in palmdale. family members reported them missing saturday afternoon and expressed concern because they discovered personal belongings and disturbing letters in a purse one of the cult members left behind. >> they left behind notes saying that they were going to go visit their deceased relatives, that they were going to go meet jesus, notes that indicated that they wanted to go to the next life. no words such as "suicide" or "taking our own life" were used at all, but the indications seem that may be a possibility. >> reporter: authorities also found cell phones in that purse. authorities released a picture -- this picture of the woman they believe is the leader of the group. her name is reyna chicas. they may have started out as members of the same christian church. >> have authorities said whether the group exhibited signs of

this behavior in the past? >> reporter: well, it is reported that about six months ago they were heading to a rocky outdoors area to wait for an earthquake or natural disaster when one of the group's members blew the whistle on the plan, they cancelled it. they also wound up ostracizing that member. disturbing details in southern california. lester? >> thank you. now, here's jenna. >> thanks. hurricane igor is taking aim at bermuda and is expected to hit later today. jim cantore joins us. good morning. >> reporter: we have begun at least a 36-hour period of what is going to be tropical storm-force winds, maximized tonight with hurricane-force winds probably around the midnight hour as we deal with very, very strong, we think, power outages. they are already beginning to roll in. we have approximately 4,000 people without power on the island and we haven't gotten to the worst part of the storm yet.

we have gusted to 51 miles per hour at the airport. most of the outages are in the southern province. trees and power lines are beginning to fail and it will only get worse. the biggest issue we have seen has been the beach erosion. there are cuts on the beaches with massive waves you see created in the way when the igor was a four that have created beach erosion. now there are just rocks showing. we'll be in for a beating, but we'll bring you coverage as long as we can. back to you. >> jim cantore from bermuda. thanks. for more than igor's path let's go to janice. >> good morning. it was a category four for a little more than a week. now it has weakened to category one. that's the great news. the bad news is the extent of the storm. it is huge. that wind field or the winds that extend from the center out is tremendously large. bermuda will be hit for a long

duration, maybe 24 hours to 36 hours which is longer than usual. the eye with the strongest winds, 85 miles per hour. remember, it's going to be the duration that's going to be what they have to deal with for a longer period of time than normal. they will get battered there with wind and waves. then rip currents along the eastern seaboard from florida to cape cod because of the storm. jenna, back to you. >> thanks. now here's lester. >> all right. to politics now where not all of the focus these days is on the november mid-term election. this weekend the run-up to the 2012 presidential campaign is starting to build. david gregory, good morning. good to see you. >> we're not just excited about november. we're excited about 2012. >> this is the time we start to read the tea leaves, the latest bit of information, there was a poll yesterday that picked indiana congressman mike pence. interesting that sarah palin finished fifth. she has all the buzz. what, if anything, should we

read from the vote with regard to the republican base? >> oh, not too much right now. i mean, it's a snapshot and a narrow snapshot.ing that sarah palin wasn't even there. she was at the ronald reagan dinner. interesting as well if you look at the straw poll they look at sarah palin more favorably as a number two whereas congressman pence has a strong record among values voters he comes in first. still questions about sarah palin's viability at the top on the republican ticket. but no denying she is both a king or queenmaker in the midterm race and a huge force within the republican party driving the tea party. >> robert gibbs at the white house said pretty much the same thing about her force. then she appears in iowa at a key republican dinner, often the launching pad for presidential campaigns. she's not poo-pooing the idea of running. is she keeping it alive on purpose? >> absolutely. she's doing a lot to keep the

run alive. she has the ability to raise money. she's popular with grassroots support and is doing lots of favors she can cash in later on for candidates who would mobilize behind her potentially. let's not forget. she's been on a nshl ticket before. most americans didn't think she was qualified for the job. she would have more work to do certainly within the party itself. she's a big figure. an ideas person and a networking person. she's a formidable force right now. >> another woman to watch on the republican side. christine o'donnell pulled off a win in delaware. same in new hampshire with a tea party candidate. what do we make of this? does it propel the tea party belief to a new level? >> i think it does. this is even more unlikely than some of the other tea party victories around the country. christine o'donnell represents a problem for the party. her track record of extremist statements and views on issues will be a problem.

not just in a state like delaware that's more moderate but almost anywhere. that's why you have seen the likes of cakarl rove say this ia problem for the party. even if he thinks she can rehabilitate herself, the reality is she makes it difficult for republicans to make a pick up there in the senate race in delaware. that's a larger issue. is the tea party moving in the direction of narrow gains but widespread losses when it comes to general elections? >> how do the democrats and the president look at this, maybe borrow something from the playbook? what's the thinking? >> on the one hand it hurts democrats in the fall because there is so much energy and enthusiasm on the republican side. conservatives will come out to vote. democrats, liberals, the base of support that voted for obama in '08 doesn't necessarily come out in those numbers for the midterm race. beyond that, you will see the president and his allies saying, look, this is a republican party going through the revolution. they don't know which side is

up. there is a warlordism going on within the party, extremism within the party. this is not a party you want leading the country. that will be the argument you see more and more and you are already hearing the president make. >> good to talk to you. here's jenna. in the gulf of mexico, bp is awaiting the results of one last pressure test today on that blown-out well. once complete the well will be declared dead. nbc's anne thompson joins us with more. anne, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, jenna. overnight the crew on the development driller 3 conducted that pressure test on the 1,000-foot cement plug that is now at the bottom of the macondo well. later today, we expect national incident commander thad allen to declare that well dead once and for all. before the final pressure test will be conducted workers had to bring up the drill pipe. coming out in 125-foot sections from the relief well. this is john wright's 41st

relief well, but this spill and its impact, he says, make it the most important of his career. >> it's done so much damage. we were able to help solve and fix something that so many people wanted fixed as quickly as possible. >> reporter: almost five months ago the well exploded in fire killinging 11 men on the "deepwater horizon" rig and spewing nearly 5 billion barrels of oil. bp amassed a small floating city at the site to contain an environmental disaster unlike any in the nation's history. today, just a handful of vessels remain. this chapter of the disaster now endinging with the bottom kill. this is what they had to hit -- a hole an inch smaller than this dinner plate, just eight inches wide. three and a half miles below the surface of the gulf. and then fill it with cement. on the development driller 3

there is a sense of accomplishment. for many of the gulf fishermen, the anxiety remains. donna and junior knockin are shrimpers. >> they can kill all they want, but it's not doing no good because the oil is already on the floor. the damage is done already. >> reporter: that is why whether out at sea or here along the coast there will be no celebration once the well is officially declared dead. this well has taken too much from this region, too many lives and too many livelihoods. jenna? >> nbc's anne thompson. thank you. >> time for a check on the other morning headlines. for that we go to melissa francis at the news desk. >> good morning. we begin in iraq where twin car bombs exploded in baghdad during the morning commute. at least 23 people were killed, including two police officers. in afghanistan, the vote counting has begun following saturday's parliamentary elections. turnout was low as voters dodged

more than 60 rocket strikes and 30 bombings that killed 14 people. election officials are investigating numerous reports of ballot-stuffing and froud. back at home a horrific van accident on a new york highway killed six people. police say a passenger van carrying 14 members of a church group blew a tire and flipped over. among those killed were the church's leaders. eight other passengers were injured. in germany, one person is dead when his plane crashed during a show. one plane stayed in the air while the other nose-dived to the ground. and the battle of britain being remembered in london. fresh from graduation as a search and rescue pilot, the prince attended. they celebrated the 70th anniversary of the battle which britain's pilots defeated the nazi threat in the skies. back to you. >> thanks. janice is back with a check on

the national forecast. >> good to see you. good morning. let's check the weather. we'll take you across the country. we have thunderstorms from south of des moines to quincy, illinois, to st. louis. heavy thunderstorms. could see severe weather there. be on the lookout for that possibility today. in the pacific northwest, a rare early season storm system with rain from seattle to san francisco today with temperatures in the 60s. still hot in the southwest. definitely seeing more record heat around phoenix with a high of 108. it's still summertime across many of the southern states with temperatures well into the 90s. this is the lth >> good morning, the weather should be nice and quiet this sunday. during the day we will see a slow increase plan the cloud during the day we will see a slow increase plan the cloud cover with a

we have football weather to talk about because tonight is "sunday night football" right here on nbc. and it is the battle of the brothers once again. the mannings will come together with the giants and the colts at lucas oil stadium in indianapolis. no problem with weather there because of the domed stadium. partly cloudy and wild with lows in the mid 70s. here's jenna. coming up next, an american woman held captive in iraq for more than a year is on her way home this morning. we'll have the latest after these messages. expresso tampers, filters. it can get really complicated. not nearly as complicated as shipping it, though. i mean shipping is a hassle. not with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate.

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ron allen joins us with more on her journey back to the states. ron, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester. her first stop will be here in new york for a press conference. one reason she's coming is world leaders are arriving this week for the annual meetings of the u.n. general assembly. iran's president will be attending. shourd is determined to keep the fate of her two companions in iraq on the world's agenda. she's free but her ordeal isn't over. sarah shourd prepared to leave oman full of gratitude to the country that helped gain her freedom. >> i will always associate your country with the first breath of my freedom. the sweet smell of sandalwood, and the chance to stand by the ocean listening to the waves. >> reporter: once again, she appealed for the release of her companions. >> please, please extend your prayers to my fiance shane and my friend josh.

they will soon be free. >> reporter: it is said shane bauer and josh fattal, arrested with shourd for allegedly crossing illegally from iraq into iran will face trial for spying. the americans claim they were just hiking. andrea mitchell asked iran's president what evidence exists of spying. >> i think you should let the judge and the court decide about the case. >> reporter: he said on state-run television that the united states should now release several iranians being held in america and has listed 11 people. >> we hope that our dear iranians in prison there will be reunited with their families. >> reporter: meanwhile, shourd flew to the u.s. with her companions bauer and fattal still on her mind. >> it is my deepest, deepest hope that i will be able to show shane and josh the grand mosque

soon, one of the most peaceful and powerful places of worship i have ever seen. >> reporter: friends of bauer and fattal suggested the iranian president bring them with him when he comes to new york. that seems unlikely. the iranians seem determined to get something in exchange for the two americans. lester? >> ron allen, thank you. still to come, a high school quarterback dies tragically after throwi ining a touchdown . words alone aren't enough. our job is to listen and find ways to help workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. we'll keep restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund. i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. i'm gonna be here until we make this right.

still to come on "today," how would you like to own a piece of history for real like lady liberty's nose? it's here in the studio. it could use a little powder actually. that and other objects on the

auction block. we'll take a peek. >> plus, do you wonder how many germs you may pick up in public? we'll take a look at what may be lurking around every corner. first, these messages. new wisk, with our breakthrough stain spectrum technology targets all the major stain groups like particulates and oils. its enzymes and cleaning agents fight a full range of stains. ♪ you'll never look at stains, the same way again. for a more powerful clean, try new wisk. fight stains wh science. the book of truth. food myth #9. [ woman ] chopping, peeling and sauteing can be kinda relaxing at the end of the day. [ female announcer ] relaxing? for who? for fresh taste without the fuss, try new market creations from lean cuisine. the new garlic chicken is freshly steamed in this revolutionary steam pouch

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a little sibling rivalry will be on display tonight when peyton manninging faces eli manning and the giants here on nbc. what's it like to be their

>> good morning, it is 8:26 and here is a look at our top stories this morning. families and friends continue to mourn the loss of teenager hit by a car crossing the street on friday night. hit shortly before 10:00 on route 24 in forest hills. police said that the boy was in the crosswalk while there was a no crossing signal. he was transported to the hospital but later died. family and friends have hung posters and put flowers out at the scene of the accident. >> he was in my glasses in seventh grade. he was my best friend and i miss him a lot. >> police say that the driver state of the scene in there is no word on charges being filed.

baltimore city, a deadly assault on a woman in her own home. it happened on friday night, 66- year-old cecilia mitchell suffered injuries to the head and was taken to shock trauma, where she was pronounced dead. the family member is being questioned in the case. a man continues to recover after being shot in baltimore county, he was shot in the leg just after midnight. there is no word on a possible suspect or a motive in the case. it took dozens of firefighters to battle a to a mom fire in northeast baltimore last night. -- battle a two alarm fire in northeast that -- northeast baltimore last night. they added that no one was inside and no one was home or hurt, but one firefighter was treated at the hospital for a minor injury. stay with us, we will check

>> welcome back, we are off to a cool start this sunday. it'll be nice and mild this afternoon, high temperatures sneaking into the lower at 80's. we do not expect any rain, we do expect a mixture of clouds and sunshine. tonight we will get a cold front with a chance for rain showers. it should not be steady rain, just scattered showers. the low temperatures are in the

upper 50's to low 60's. the seven day forecast, i temperatures monday and tuesday, up for 7's. a touch of summer comeback at the end of the week. height 80's wednesday, thursday, friday. it looks like a dry start next weekend with a high of 77. >> morning. september 19, 2010. what a fwragreat crowd spending their sunday morning with us. we're happy you're here. i'm jenna wolf along with lester holt. we talked about tragedy on the football field. a small texas community mourning the loss of reggie garrett, a senior who collapsed on the sidelines and later died. right after he threw a touchdown pass during the game on friday night. >> it's an awful story. it happens on the heels of another story in oregon who collapsed on the field.

we'll look at what may cause sudden death and what parents and trainers should know. >> also, part two of the story "what lurks." did you ever think twice about drinking from a public water fountain or get grossed out when you touch a door or ride an escalator? yesterday we showed you germs that could be in the bathroom and kitchen. today we'll talk about what could be lurking in public places. wait until you hear. >> that's a fun topic. we're fun at parties, by the way. the things we talk about. >> you can hire us out. >> we bring the crowd down. also, some items of american history that could be yours. hundreds of items like the statue of liberty's nose. did you know she had a nose job? or a baseball signed by six u.s. presidents going on the auction block. this is quite a collection. cool stuff. >> i can only imagine. first, we are going to get one more check on the sunday

forecast. >> we want to meet some of the people here. today is your 40th anniversary. where are you from? >> atlanta. >> good to see you. glad you were together 40 years. and casey colbrook all the way from miami. good to see you. let's check weather across the country. we have rip currents along much of the eastern seaboard today. it looks like there are severe thunderstorms over the plains. the rip currents are being caused by igor which is threatening bermuda. going to see tropical storm-force winds and waves battering the area. it's sizzling in the southwest. more record heat expected in arizona. temperatures above 100. it will be hot over texas this afternoon. all the way into the central and northern plains tomorrow with showers in the pacific northwest and mild weather in the east. good morning to you, everyone from one. good to have you here.

>> good morning, the weather should be nice and quiet this sunday. during the day we will see a slow increase plan the cloud cover with a don't forget you can check your weather any tim by logging onto weather.com. now, back to lester. >> thanks. a texas community is mourning the loss of a young football star today. quarterback reggie garrett collapsed on the field after throwing a touchdown pass. he later died, leaving so many to ask, "how could this happen?" we get more now from nbc's kerry sanders. >> reporter: beaumont, texas, is a community in disbelief. tragedy hit the playing field without warning.

17-year-old high school quarterback reggie garrett had just tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass. he celebrated with his teammates. as they headed to the sidelines, reggie collapsed. he never regained consciousness. assistant coach toby foreman. >> the crowd, our kids, our coaches, our community. i think the other team as well. everybody was pretty much in shock. >> reporter: reggie was rushed to the hospital. his teammates were told he'd passed away in the last minute of the game. reggie lived up to the roll of quarterback say coaches. he was a leader, a standout. the season was just under way and already the east orange stark high school quarterback was being heavily recruited. few new the kid was such a strong arm had experienced in his teens a series of seizures. paramedics say they now believe reggie had a massive seizure he could not overcome. >> he was definitely a role

model. a great quarterback. >> reporter: in much of the country including texas, screening policies for student athletes differ region to region. coaches say reggie had a check-up with his doctor in july and it showed no abnormalities. in beaumont where the school's mascot is a mustang, hoof marks on the downtown streets. they live high school football in the "friday night lights" tradition. when reggie died, just about everyone in town was at the stadium. >> the stadium got real quiet. it was very surreal. >> reporter: on the day reggie garrett died, his team won the game, but they lost a friend. his life, now memorialized on facebook, a death that friends say seems so unfair. for "today," kerry sanders, nbc news. dr. steven lamb is an internist at nyu medical center.

he joins us with insight. good morning. >> good morning. >> tragic story. a young man, sudden death. can a seizure in itself be fatal? >> it can, you know, when it's called status epileptic. it doesn't stop. when you have a cardiac event where your heart stops working and there is no pumping of oxygen to the brain, when you may have a seizure and you think the cause is the seizure it's secondary to a primary heart problem. the autopsy will ultimately reveal what the problem is, but the majority of young athletes less than 35 years of age will die of some sort of congenital heart problem that was not diagnosed earlier. >> in this case he had previous seizures, but you're saying this could happen to a young player that's never been diagnosed? >> absolutely. we don't know the numbers. it could be 1 in 200,000 young athletes, those less than 35 years of age, will die suddenly.

it is a congenital problem of the heart known as ihss in the majority of cases. sometimes it's due to the case that the coronary arteries are coming off in the wrong place. so they shear. there are a bunch of leelectric problems. in older athletes it's usually coronary artery disease. >> in most cases, probably in all cases student athletes have to have a physical before playing a strenuous sport like this. does it go far enough? do we need scans and these things for the players? >> this is a major debate in the medical community. in the united states we expect athletes to be screened by history and family history. anybody have sudden death? in italy they require ekgs, which will pick out some of the congenital issues, not all of them. there is an issue of cost, false positives and unnecessary testing afterwards. in the country if you get a

really good history you may be able to screen out many of them. if an individual or family member wants additional testing ask the doctor for an ekg or echo. you may have to pay for it but you could do it. >> another player collapsed. it was a coronary defect. he survived. why do they only appear in this kind of sport? >> well, in basketball and football you have the highest incidence. the truth is exercise is a strain on the heart. for those moments where you're exercising your blood pressure goes up, your heart rate goes up and minor defects that wouldn't have come out during normal life are going to come out. there is always a small risk of sudden death in athletes. it happens in joggers when they get older and young people. >> what is the takea way for mom and dad when the young man wants to play. >> get a good physical exam. go over the family history. there is no sudden death. if the child is having chest

pain at any point or passed out during any form of exercise do an intense investigation. if you're concerned say to the doctor, i'm willing to pay extra for the cardiogram and you can have greater assurance. >> thank you very much. >> my pleasure. >> we'll be back with more after these messages. ds ] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6... but where do we go next? ...8, 9, 10... come on, boots. this way? [ kids ] ready or not... here we come!!! wow. [ beep ] boots, did you hear that? ♪ found you! found you! [ male announcer ] the volkswagen routan. awarded "most appealing minivan." the only minivan with the soul of a volkswagen. now with 0% apr for 60 months. ♪

the official germ song. now to part two, a search for what lurks. yesterday we tested bathrooms and kitchens to find germs hiding. today, a closer look at public places from escalators and cabs to atms and entryways. where are germs lurking?

>> reporter: in crowded public places, germs are public enemy number one. >> germs gross me out so much. i wash my hands ten times a day. >> i open doors with elbows and everything. >> we carry anti-bacterial in our bags. >> reporter: even with weapons bacteria lives and to find out where, microbiologist joe robino went on the search for germs. >> bacteria are going to be likely found and thriving. plenty of water here constantly being used. we'll see interestinging bacteri -- interesting bacteria for sure. >> reporter: from sbreways to handrails, with every touch we transfer germs from one place to the next. >> there are people all over the place. people carry germs. so anything that is touched a lot and frequently like, for example, a parking meter, you're going to find germs on there because it's touched constantly

by hundreds or houthousands of people in a day. think about where those hands might have been before they touched the meter. >> where there is dirt there's usually germs. >> reporter: inside a taxi there is no escape. >> you never know what you will find. you have to be careful what you touch. >> what did we find lurkinging? here with the lab results is our microbiologist. welcome back. >> good morning. glad to be back. >> let's get to it. you have good information to share with us. we'll start with the taxi touch screens. in new york city now you can press to pay with your credit card. how bad was it? let's face it. everyone's touching everything in there. >> we found a lot of bacteria. the numbers were fairly moderately high. we found some bacteria you would expect like bacillis, common

soil bacteria. you would expect that. found an interesting one called pantawea which could be found on vegetables or related to a bacteria that maybe says somebody didn't wash thoroughly after usingi inthe bathroom. >> charming. so maybe touch with your knuckle? >> don't touch your face or your mouth or anything until you have washed your hands, used a sanitizer. >> or wear gloves. next up, the water fountain. i assume it's water, moist, there would be bacteria. did you find a lot? >> we found pseudomonis which thrives in water. it's in kitchens, bathrooms and water fountains. it's usually harmless, but in certain circumstances, for example, if you had a scratch on your eye or contacts were in too long and you touched your eye it could cause an eye infection.

>> so for the most part it couldn't cause a big illness. but it's out there. >> it's a problem if you are in a hospital. people in hospitals get those infections but for the average individual, not a problem. >> here you have wastebaskets. people don't really touch them that often, but you found a lot of bacteria. >> we did. a little surprising. some of the bacteria would be related to maybe the garbage you put in there. there were some that would come from people's hands. it's telling me people are not only usinging their hands to push it in, something i never do. >> don't touch the wastebasket when you throw garbage away. >> pretty simple. >> next up, the ticket machines, atms, anything you're touching like the taxicab pay screen. you found a lot. >> not surprising. mainly staff lly staph.

most are harmless but there are a few like staphylococcus aureus which can get drug resistent mrsa. those are the find of bacteria you may find there. wash your hands. use a hand sanitizer before this. >> should i worry if i touch an atm i could get sick? >> no. we shouldn't worry that much about it. take some precautions after we touch them. again, avoid touching your face, nose, mouth. wash your hands when you get back home. >> okay. this is the most surprising to me. you found a lot of bacteria and then you approach the escalator handrail and you didn't find anything. >> very little. it's a mystery. i don't understand it. i stood there and watched every person that got on the escalator touch it. they all touched it. i said, wow, we are going to

find a lot of stuff here. found very little. what we found were harmless staph. >> you don't know why? >> maybe something is happening as it goes under the ground. maybe there is friction or heat generated as it goes around that could be keepinging the bacteria growth low. >> these are things we touch on a daily basis. do you have guidelines or a quick few tips on what we can do? no one's running to a bathroom every time they touch something to wash their hands. >> whatever you touch in public there are bacteria you're picking up. if you're going to eat lunch or wash your hands, before you eat. when you get home, wash your hands. carry disinfecting wipes or spray. >> those are good. hand sanitizers. >> terrific. >> joe, thank you so much. great information. we always appreciate when you're here but we worry as well. coming up, how would lady liberty's nose look above your fireplace? it could be yours. first, these messages. [ birds chirping ]

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american history is headed to the auction block this week at more than 100 pop culture items go up for sale. we have a sneak peek. good morning. >> good morning. >> this is fun. you have an eclectic collection for the auction next weekend. how did you get all these things into one auction? >> we are known for the john f. kennedy and elvis presley auctions and many specific sales. what happened over the last year or two is people were offeringing these singular objects that were so great we thought, white put together an auction of just the great things? >> you were saving up for a big

auction. >> nothingi inelse like it. >> first we have the ten commandments from the movie. >> charlton heston held them, millions watched. there they are. >> they put them on -- what is this? >> real imitation stone. >> then we have a bracelet elvis presley wore for a long time. fans would be farm with this. >> elvis wore a lot of jewelry. often he would wear a necklace for a day and give it away to a fan. this particular i.d. bracelet he wore from 1963 on. engraved to him from sam. could be sam philips. he wore it right through his career. every elvis fan knows this. it's come from ginger alden, elvis's beautiful fiance at the time of his death. >> do you know what they would go for? >> it's an iconic object. hard to say. >> next item is a dollar bill,

but not just any dollar bill. >> no. this is a proof of the first paper dollar bill. there you have it. before then it was all metal. here we have a paper dollar proof. >> what is the date? >> 1862. >> we have been talking about the nose from the statue of liberty. i didn't know she was missing her nose. what's the back story? >> 1983 the statue underwent an extensive restoration. the harsh salt air winds over a century in the harbor caused some parts of the copper to deteriorate. an ex tensitensive restoration place over three years and the nose which stuck out the furthest was the most affected by the air. five actual nose tips were created. three were used to create the current one -- pieces of three. two remain. one is in a major collection. this is the only one that will

ever be sold. >> this is the blanket that was in the presidential limo when the kennedys were being wheeled through dallas. this is at a time when it was an open top limo. >> there are joyful things in the auction and sad things as well. this is one of the latter. there were two lap robes or blankets in the convertible that president kennedy was in in dallas. this is one of them. we have them both in the auction. >> this was a piece of evidence. obviously cleaned up since then. let's play a record. ♪ >> not lady gaga. this is barbra streisand at 16 years old in brooklyn. she made a test demo to prove that she was a great talent. >> she'd been singing on the radio and someone said, make a

record. >> this is the first time her voice was recorded by the man that would become her agent. this is the first time. >> there were only a few copies made and this is one of them. this baseball has great significance to political junkies. >> all kinds of junkies. baseball, too. this is believed to be the only baseball ever signed by six different customers. jimmy carter, both president bushes, bill clinton, gerald ford and now barack obama who signed it recently at the request of jimmy carter. >> there is a letter that accompanies it as well. >> absolutely. >> this is a picture of mickey mouse signs, as i understand, by walt disney. >> it was done by walt disney as one of the first images of the iconic figure of mickey mouse. most were done by studio artists. this was done by mr. disney himself. >> this next sketch is what? >> talking about pictures, this is not what people think of when

they think of andy warhol, but he was a very talented fashion illustrator in his earlier days. this is one of his earliest works. >> the last item we have here is -- >> one of many things from frank sinatra's career. we just took the rifle he used in "from here to eternity." showing all the great and lepged care figures had moments of weakness. this is an i.o.u. from frank when he needed some extra cash. >> do you have any idea what this would bring in? >> i suppose i would have hair on my head if i knew how to guess these things. anything goes. the auction is friday night. the next day is a wonderful collection of carousel animals. could this warhol work bring $30, 40 or $300,000, no one knows. >> thank you for bringing it all in. we'll be right back after these messages.

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we want to check in once again with david gregory to find out what's coming up on "meet the press". >> coming up, primary season has come to an end but questions remain about the role of the tea party, what role it will play in november. former secretary of state to president bush, general colin powell and then i go one on one with president bill clinton. all coming up on "meet the press." >> that will do it for us. thank you all for being here. how old is thompson? >> he's 3. >> did you have a good time? >> yeah!

>> coming up next weekend we'll debut education plaza right here on rockefeller plaza. see you then. on rockefeller plaza. see you then. so long, everybody. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> the morning. keeping the dream of a college education alive despite the poor economy. >> things are quiet in the weather department, but we do have more in