good morning. secrets of war. wikileaks releases thousands of classified military documents of the war in iraq. the pentagon says exposing them is putting lives at risk. how did this happen and what do the records reveal? terror from the deep, a rare shark attack kills a young man off the coast of california, leaving beaches closed and many fearful of stepping into the water. and lucky lohan, instead of jail time it's back to rehab for the troubled young actress. the judge could have ordered her behind bars for months. why did she catch a break? "today," saturday october 23rd, 2010.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a saturday morning. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm amy robach. wikileaks is calling this the largest classified military release in history. >> the government knew it was coming, and in this case we're talking about tens of thousands of secret documents in the war in iraq. the defense department's firing back. we're going to take a look at what's been revealed and talk live with the pentagon spokesman coming up a bit later on this morning. then it's down to the wire for the midterm elections, now just ten days away. president obama has been crisscrossing the country from california, oregon, nevada and later today, we'll be campaigning in minnesota. we'll have more on the bruising last-minute battle for those votes coming up. >> meantime the president took time out to tape a powerful anti-bullying message, it comes as yet another student harassed

by classmates takes his own life. we'll have more on that story coming up as well. plus on a much lighter note, we have one of the hottest tickets in vegas and now you have an all-access pass. i was lucky enough to spend time with donnie and marie, performing together in las vegas and speaking about their triumphs and troubles. they're an amazing pair and we're looking forward to sharing that interview with you. they're a great duo and so nice to see brothers and sisters still getting along after all this time. >> still a little bit country. >> a little bit rock 'n' roll. >> looking forward to that. we begin with the release of a secret military documents of the war in iraq. pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski joins us with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester. military officials claim that none of what has been released in in these documents is anything new, it's all been reported before in one form or another but we've never seen so much information and in so much grim detail. some of the most damning documents involve the deaths of

iraqis, many of them iraqi security forces but most civilians. they reveal the u.s. military knew iraqi security beat, tortured and murdered detainees but american forces were under orders not to intervene, so they looked the other way. one document showed an american helicopter gunship shot and killed a group of iraqis trying to surrender. other documents reveal that hundreds. of iraqi civilians were killed in u.s. military checkpoints and in one five-year period more than 66,000 iraqi civilians were killed, even though the pentagon repeatedly claimed they never kept such statistics. u.s. intelligence officials also estimate that the names of more than 300 iraqi informants working with the americans appear in the documents. so today the u.s. military, along with the iraqis, are attempting to track down each and every one to warn them their lives may be at risk. this morning in london,

wikileaks spokesman defended the public release of u.s. military secrets. >> in our release of these 400,000 documents, about the iraq war, the intimate details of that war from the u.s. perspective, we hope to correct some of that attack on the troops. >> reporter: pentagon officials condemn wikileaks for releasing the documents. >> but our biggest concern is that it could endanger our forces even more than they inherently are in these war zones by revealing how we work on the battlefield. >> reporter: perhaps more troubling over the long run the secret documents provide hard evidence that iran had a bigger role in fomenting violence in iran than first thought and is still interfering in iraq today. pentagon officials say most of the documents that have been released are raw, isolated battlefield reports that in many cases can easily be taken out of

context. nevertheless the pentagon and military are scrambling today to minimize any fallout or potential threat from this monumental leak. lester? >> jim miklaszewski for us this morning, thank you. now here's amy. >> lester thank you. now to the midterm elections as we said ten days away. president obama is trying to save his party from losing control of congress, finishing up a four-day campaign trip to the west coast. nbc's mike viqueira is traveling with the president. >> reporter: good morning, harry reid is in big trouble, senate democratic leader. perhaps president obama's staunchest ally in the senate. he's brought millions of earmarks and special projects, federal money back home to nevada through the course of his career but he is in serious trouble against sharron angle, the tea party backed republican with controversial comments, but who is bringing in a lot of money, both of these candidates spending $20 million, $21

million in the campaign. harry reid latest poll by the "las vegas journal review" has him down two points. president obama making his second visit to the state to campaign for friend and ally harry reid. last night a large rally on the grounds of a middle school here in las vegas. the president addressed many large hallries over the course of the last month, this is on the smaller side, about 9,000 according to dnc officials, pretty big for a friday night in lass ray g vegas. a staunch defense of harry reid. sharron angle says harry reid needs to man up and harry reid telling msnbc's john harwood no one has ever questioned his han manhood, saying the race is getting ugly and saying angle is a potential embarrassment to the state of nevada. >> mike viqueira thanks so much. alex wagoner joins us with more insight. alex, good morning. >> good morning, amy. >> mike led me into my first question this whole fight in

nevada, harry reid obviously trying to defend his title, and his opponent sharron angle going really below the belt, telling him to man up for the second time. >> quite literally below the belt. >> exactly. she's using his support of obama's policies against him, then we now see the president supporting him going out and speaking for harry reid. does that help him in this race and what are his chances? >> well, look, i think nevada is really interesting because it's sort of the petrie dish for the country. you have harry reid, incumbent if if there was one, a 27 year career in the senate. sharron is in deep right field, new to the political scene and came on with controversial ideas about getting rid of the epa, the department of education, privatizing social security. there were a lot of questions there. she had some sort of difficulty with the press in the early stages but in the last few weeks has found her stride and certainly raised as mike said a lion's share of money. the battle between these two and

how it comes out as they're running neck and neck will be a clear example of how the tea party will do nationally. >> speaking to that, we see the president as we mentioned stumping around the western half of the united states, is actually heading to minnesota. he is campaigning for gubernatorial candidate mark dayton. it's important to note obama won minnesota by ten points in 2008 and going to be spending the next ten days campaigning in states he won during his presidency handily. what does that say about the overall climate for democrats? >> very telling. i think you know you look at the president's schedule, he just spent some time in san francisco, los angeles, seattle, you know, northern california, palo alto, he's going to go to philadelphia, chicago, these are, this is obama country, these are blue states. the fact that the president feels like he has to go there to gen up support among voters, minority voters, women, young the show voters t scholes the democrats are worried. this is the leave no stone unturned approach i think. >> another interesting stop the president is making next week

"the daily show with jon stewart." we're trying to get the young voters out but in midterm election you don't see a strong youth vote. what are we expecting? >> look, obama's been spending a lot of time courting the youth. we an mtv sponsored town hall, doing big rallies. at university campuses recently, certainly the timing of "the daily show" interview three days before the rally on national mall is intended to gen up support there. there is the lingering question last year, sorry, last midterm election, 25.5% turnout in terms of youth 18 to 29, an improvement over the last two midterm elections. can we count on the youth? i don't know. there's a lot of buzz and enthusiasm in the air. whether that translate tops the polls is unknown. >> a lot of stories as to whether the democrats continue to have control of congress. another big story are the gubernatorial races. 37 states in play here, 25 of which are extremely competitive. how important are these governors races and what could losing governorship in key

states like ohio and california mean for president obama? >> it's a big deal. number one, you'll hear about the redistricting because the governors are in charge of redrawing the electoral maps for the states which comes into play in a presidential election very much so. the other thing is governors are in charge of local and state programs, so obama's passed a lot of big legislation, health care is a huge one of them. how health care sort of translates. the resident in ohio or florida can be very much contingent upon the governors there. so if obamas aa partner in the state i think that bodes better for his legislative agenda. >>ñi alex wagner, a lot to look forward to in terms of talking in the text tnext ten days. thanks for contributing today. >> appreciate you having me. we go to craig melvin from our washington station wrc at the news desk, good morning. >> good morning to you amy. good morning as well. we start in southern schina, moe than a quarter million people have evacuated.

typhoon megi has killed 11 people and caused massive landslides. authorities are looking for a missing bus carrying 19 chinese tourists which may have also been buried. back home o.j. simpson was back in court friday, the nevada supreme court refused to overturn his armed robbery and kidnapping convictions but the court did reverse the conviction of simpson's co-defendant, clarence stewart, who will get a new trial. simpson is serving 9 to 33 years for the vegas hotel room heist where simpson says he was trying to get back family mementos from memorabilia dealers. the father of missing 7-year-old ckyrom hormon says hs ex-wife may have caused "unimaginable harm" to the boy. kyron disappeared and june and his stepmother has been the focal point of suspicion for

months. back to rehab for lindsay lohan. a judge decided not to send the california actress to jail. instead she'll be staying at the betty ford center until january. the judge warned if she has another relapse she will go to jail. much more on the story coming up at 8:00. and being a tourist in space is getting closer to becoming a real pit. the first runway is complete at a new commercial spaceport in new mexico. sir rich and branson and governor bill richardson were on hand friday at space port america. the british billionaire says his spaceship ii may start flying tourists to space in 9 to 18 months for a cool 200,000 bucks. taken took 50 years but the texas rangers are heading to the world series. last night, texas won its first pennant in franchise history, by rolling over the defending world series champion new york yankees, 6-1, and it was yankees slugger alex rodriguez, the former texas ranger himself, of

course, who was the final out of the series, and the 27 world series championships for the yankees, a little solace with the folks sitting with me in the restaurant last night. >> you can't win them a all though. bill karins has a first check of the forecast. >> two big storms, one in the middle of the country and one in the pacific northwest. the storm systems in the pacific northwest almost feels like the middle of winter. these are big rain storms and wind makers and the higher elevations we're going to pick up some snow. we're expecting as much as three to five inches in the high elevations. the high, gusty winds around areas around reno, lake tahoe, yosemite a mess. some of the rain could sneak into san francisco tomorrow. in the middle of the country we have potential for severe weather out there in texas this morning and later this afternoon up around kansas city and into iowa.

thankfully the east coast one spot we'll see fabulous weather conditions all weekend long. that's a >> good morning. after a cold start and a little bit of frost in some neighborhoods, we're going to wind up with a pretty nice day today. mostly sunny skies expected. maybe a few thin clouds come in that's your saturday forecast. lester? >> bill, thanks. what's being called the largest outbreak in nearly 60 years, at least ten babies in california have died from whooping cough. what's causing the deadly resurgence of the disease in a. ann moscone is expert and pediatrician at cornell medical center. good morning. >> good morning. >> thanks for coming on.

>> thank you. >> tell me first what whooping cause? >> respiratory disease caused by a bacterium ploratella p ploratella pertussis. starts with a cold, and can develop with a would haof, loude of breath. >> for an adult to have this, is this a big deal? >> it can be. adults can get it. our inmunt we get from vaccinations or wanes although it's usually more of a problem in infants. >> the name whooping comes from the sound. we have 15 seconds from the cdc what it sounds like. it's not pleasant but we'll play that and talk about what it is. now that's an older child, doctor.

a baby may not have that sound, though, correct? >> that one actually that's a little baby, and you can hear the sort of infant sound and then the almost crying inspiration, and older child may have what sounds like a regular cough, it may be very rapidfire cough but it wasn't necessarily have that hah after that. >> the krup, how does a parent differentiate that? >> crupe is a barking seal cough, has the breathing in seal sound but you don't have the stacatto rapidfire. the per sussis is rapid fire cough, cough, cough, followed by the hah. >> i have to think about the controversy we've seen over inoculations, vaccinations, many parents fearful because of reported linkages to other conditions. do you think that's contributing? >> well, it's a very good question and it is possible a decrease in vaccinations,

decrease in the coverage of all children by vaccinations can contribute to these kinds of outbreaks but it's also true that even when we're vaccinated, protection is not complete and we can still get pertussis. there's a combination of factors. >> what is the best with a i to protect one's self. do you need, have to have a booster? >> absolutely. the immunity will wane. around adolescence around 11 they become susceptible to pertussis again and whooping cough and adults should get boosted every ten years. >> the infant can't have a shot until 20 months. >> a baby can get imized as early as 6 weeks but little infant should be surrounded by a cocoon of vaccinated people and should be cared for because they're vulnerable before they're vaccinated. >> all very good information. doctor thank you for coming on this morning. >> thank you. >> we appreciate having you

here. here's amy. a month away from black friday which kicks off the holiday shopping season. before you start spending we have helpful tips to keep 500 bucks in your pocket. here to show us just how to do that is msnbc financial analyst vera gibbons. >> good morning, amy. >> average shopper plans to spend $688 on gifts and holiday trimmings this year. you'll help them save $500. that's a huge savings and the first one is one i don't think a lot of people think of, how you can save money on your paycheck. please do tell. >> adjust your tax withholdings. here is the thing. three out of four taxpayers got a refund last year and the average size of that refund was nearly $2,900. so this tells us we're having too much withheld from our paycheck. better to get the money as you earn it than to give the government an interest free loan. to give you a hypothetical, single, made $30,000 and you get $1,000 refund you may be eligible for two additional allowances and that will boost your monthly take-home pay by

$91.34. >> that's great adding up or saving for shopping. conducive for how many allowances you should take. i never know. >> there arical claptors that can help you, irs.gov. >> we're off to a good start. despite many tightening their purse strings we're still a nation of impulse shoppers. >> buying on impulse. maybe women are more guilty of this. a recent survey found 80% of shoppers, 80% have admitted to an impulse buy over the past year. we're buying an impulse at the grocery stores, at the department stores, and women in particular, 24, 48-hour flash sales. >> the shoe department, okay. >> you maybe. the groupon.com, more people are spending there, avoid the impulse buys and the buyer's remorse that comes with the territory and you save $108. that's the average cost of an impulse buy. >> interesting. that's $200 already. >> we're adding it up.

>> you mentioned impulse shopping at the grocery store. the average family spends $6,000 a year on food. we've all been told about coupons and the cost saving tricks. how can you save more at the supermarket? >> it does get confusing with the coupon clipping and whatnot. here is three basic ways to save $150 a month. first off, go to the grocery store less often. go just once a week. most consumers go three to four times a week, and that results in a lot of unplanned purchases, as many as 50% of purchases at the fwroeps grocery store are u. >> that's so true. i went in for three things and walked away with $80 worth of things. >> that's right. secondly plan your weekly menus and of course more people cooking at home. double, triple your batches, freeze what you can. >> better to go to the grocery store than the restaurant for sure. next keeping track of what is

already in your wallet. i never have money in my wallet, if i have it it's gone. >> there's a lot of mystery going on. the mystery spending that going on is unbelievable. there was a recent visa survey found that $21 a week we lose, can't keep track of it, don't know what we spent it on, can't account for it. that's over $1,000 a year. so you really have to be more accountable. one easy way to deal with this, take $2 out of your wallet every day, stick it in a jar, multiply that by 30 days a month $60. >> you saved us $500, vera. thanks so much. that's fantastic. we appreciate it. still to come here on "today," on the hunt for the church lady bandit. but first this is "today" on nbc.

still to come here on

"today," the very latest on that deadly shark attack off the california coast. >> plus it's back to rehab for lindsay lohan. why she's not heading to jail again but first these messages.

>> good morning. i'm deborah weiner. it is 7:26.

27-year-old kareem clea remains behind bars charged with his part in the death of lemuel wallace. pastor kevin pushia has been found guilty of planning the murder of lemuel wallace. the trial for clea is set to begin next month. bail has been denied. >> the former frostburg university student has plead guilty to lesser charges. tyrone hall of glen burnie plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter. he allegedly slot and killed brandon carroll and injured another student during an altercation. he faces a possible maximum sentence of eight years behind bars. now to tony pann. >> the cold is the big story

this morning. we had our first frost of the season. especially away from the water and the city. bay water temperatures still in the 60's. you get away from there and temperatures drop into the 30's. it is 39 in mount airy. 39 at rising sun. 37 at the airport. the forecast for today, mostly sunny skies, and it is going to be a mild afternoon with a chilly start. today partly cloudy. temperatures drop back into the 40's tonight. going to be a beautiful day tomorrow for the ravens game. if you are going, you picked a good one. could be rain early next week. >> tony, thank you. and thank you for joining us. we'll have another update in 25 minutes.

we are back on this saturday morning, october 23rd, 2010. it's chilly now out there, but it is supposed to be in the 60s here today in new york. we have a great crowd on the plaza. we'll head outside to say hi in a couple of minutes. i'm amy robach along with lester holt inside the studio. still to come on "today," the rare shark attack that killed a college student in california. >> 19-year-old lucas ransom was on a board when a shark estimated between 14 and 20 feet struck. beaches are closed in the area and how did something like this

happen? if t is very rare. we'll talk more about it in a few minutes. another teen bullied in school, has taken his own life and now the president is speaking out about it in a new video. president obama said he was shocked and saddened by the recent suicides of several young people who were bullied and taunted for being gay. coming up, we will bring you the president's message. plus lindsay lohan gets a break from the bench and a surprise ruling a california judge who has been tough on her in the past didn't send lohan back to jail but instead sent her back to the betty ford clinic. why was the judge so lenient? we'll look at a closer looking athe progress in this case. authorities in ohio are looking for the so-called chump lady bandit, believed to be a serial bank robber and when it comes to giving the suspects a catchy name, she has company. the story now from nbc's to tong trung. >> reporter: when it comes to bank robbers, there's a wealth of characters, and names, like the barbie bandits, or the where's waldo bandit, who with

his striped sweater and glasses was arrested last month for robbing a bank near portland, oregon. then there's the church lady bandit in ohio. she's suspected of robbing seven banks. during one robbery she donned a hat witnesses say looked fit for a sunday service. the nicknames are descriptive, sometimes humorous, but they can also be effective tools for investigators. >> nicknamed the police and fbi, we know what we're looking for. you can quickly isolate that person from anyone else and when that description is put out hopefully the robber will be seen on the street or identified quickly and apprehended. >> reporter: unlike the movie "point break" where a team of bank robbers called the ex-. s thoroughly plot its heist, many suspects are walking up to tellers with hardly any disguise like george clooney in the movie "out of sight." >> that's my partner, he has a gun in there. >> for a lot of people they're

thinking about today, not think being tomorrow and next week and next month so they're really not necessarily worried that their face is seen because they need the money instantly, and they'll deal with tomorrow when it comes. >> reporter: despite high profile suspects like the grand daddy bandit, arrested in august for allegedly robbing 25 banks in 13 states, bank robberies are actually declining. thieves did steal nearly $46 million last year. authorities continue to hunt for clues but they admit sometimes it's all in a name. for "today," thanh truong, nbc news. let's head over to bill karins for a check of the forecast. >> good morning to you, amy. all right, guess what? 13? >> yes. >> you were taller than me at like 11. what did you ask for, for your 13th birthday? >> just to come to new york. >> and you got your wish. a nice simple one. ask for a dessert later on. richard is our tropical system

down in the caribbean in honduras, we're watching some of the worst weather. this system will not head up into florida. if it gets to the gulf it will be weak. we're not very concerned. we've had so many storms this season but none of them really headed for the united states. we've been lucky but our friends to the south will have bad weather as it goes through the weekend. we have two big storms one in the middle of the country and the other on the west coast. the east coast is the lucky one, going to enjoy a great f >> good morning. after a chilly start and some frost in some neighborhoods, it will turn out to be a nice day today. mostly sunny skies expected. winds shifting to the southwest. we expect high temperatures if you want to get your hour by

hour forecast maybe you're in marquette, you can always get that at weather.com. amy and lester? >> bill, thank you. still ahead the latest on a shark attack in california. but up next speaking out against bullying, the president's message to victims, but first these messages.

have you tried honey bunches of oats with real strawberries? wow. it's seriously strawberry. they're everywhere. it's in the bunches, on the flakes, even real strawberries in the mix. can i have some more? honey bunches of oats with real strawberries. it's delicious. nobody does it quite like us. new aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizers, with scientifically proven soy complex and natural minerals give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on, to even skin tone in four weeks. new aveeno tinted moisturizers. i'd get this tightness in my chest. so i went back to my doctor again. we chose symbicort to help control my asthma symptoms all day and night. [ man ] symbicort improves my lung function,

starting within 15 minutes. symbicort will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. it is a combination of two medicines and should not be taken more often than prescribed. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems, and children and adolescents may have an increased risk of being hospitalized for asthma problems. symbicort is not for people whose asthma is well controlled with a long-term asthma control medicine like inhaled corticosteroids. once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop symbicort without loss of control, and prescribe a long-term asthma control medicine. be sure to see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. symbicort is a good choice to help control my asthma all day and night. [ inhales ] [ exhales ] ask your doctor if symbicort is a good choice for you. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. 000 has happened again. there are reports this morning that a 16-year-old student in washington state killed himself after being bullied and harassed

by students. it is the latest tragedy involving bullying, taken comes as president obama issues a powerful message to stop it. nbc's jeff rossen has more. >> reporter: at the time it seemed like a horrible but isolated case. rutgers student tyler clemente bullied for being gay, his intimate moments with another man allegedly taped by his roommate and streamed to the campus driving tyler to suicide, but since then, a rash of new cases just this week at oakland university, just outside of detroit, 19-year-old corey jackson took his own life, bullied his parents say, because he was gay. >> he says, ever since i came out people are treating me different, like, i just don't know what to do. i don't know where i belong. >> reporter: at one high school in ohio parents say the bullying is so rampant. >> bullied, deceased. bullied, deceased. >> reporter: four students have taken their own lives in as many

years. bullying is as old as school itself, but has clearly resurfaced as a major national issue. now president obama himself is making a direct plea to teenagers. >> as a parent of two daughters, it breaks my heart, it's something that just shouldn't happen in this country. >> reporter: the white house posted this video on youtube. >> and we've got to dispel this myth that bullying is just a normal rite of passage, that it's some inevitable part of growing up. it's not. i don't know what it's like to be picked on for being gay, but i do know what it's like to grow up feeling that sometimes you don't belong. >> reporter: the president's message, part of the "it gets better" campaign, featuring thousands of youtube videos from everyday americans to celebrities. >> it gets better. >> it gets better. >> it gets better. >> it gets better. >> it gets better. >> there's hope and there's help. >> there is a world full of acceptance and love, just

waiting for to you find it. >> reporter: too late for the families who lost everything, but just in time perhaps for the kids still suffering right now. for "today," jeff rossen, nbc news, new york. ♪ >> joel burns is a texas city councilman who fought back tears when he spoke publicly for the first time about being tormented as a teenager for being gay. joel, good morning. thanks so much for being with us. >> good morning, thank you. >> joel you certainly didn't start this national conversation but you propelled it in a big way and to see the president pick up, how did that make you feel? >> i think it's quite heartening and it's also indicative of just how big a problem that we have with bullying in the united states and really across the world and whether it's anti-gay bullying, whether it's kids who are overweight, dressed differently, talk differently, there's just anyone who is different, they're unfortunately the subject of a lot of bullying happening across the country.

>> i think of how many of these stories we've had to report as children perceived as being different for some reason, took their lives or suffered some sort of harm. is it your sense that we are a meaner culture that, this is a growing problem or are we simply more aware of it? >> well in terms of suicides, i don't think that the number of teen suicides has grown but i do think that the focus on bullying has been heightened. i have a sister who teaches in a rural school district and she says in the eight years she's been a teacher she's seen this grow from something mostly in high school to middle and elementary school, being boys, being girls, and i think it's something we as adults have the responsibility to take on and address and we have to empower our children to take steps to stop it in the their own schools. >> your message is powerful and as we noted others have gone with the same phrase that it gets better but let's think back to the teenage years, at the time, any trouble you have seems like it's your total world, and it won't get better. how do you convince kids that

you really do get past this, that things do change? >> well, the truth is that things get better literally the next day. if you can just get through that really dark place where you think that there is no hope and just wait, just hold on long enough, you'll realize literally the very next day there will be things that seem not so bad, and then as you go through life, particularly for these gay and lesbian twheenz feel their parents don't understand them, their classmates don't understand them. they will get out of that situation, go off to college, get a job and go off, have their own homes, select their own friends and be able to choose their own life. at which point they can make a lifetime of happy memories and look back on their lives and think about the happenry memories, not those particularly dark times. >> you were so graphic in the description of the bullying that you endured. do you remember the day the light came on the moment you realized that i'm going to get past this, that it is better

than yesterday? >> i think it's a progression. i think it was a situation much like i referenced where the very next day you know i got up, i went to school and tngs weren't as bad as i thought they were, and i think if kids will hang on long enough and get through that one day of a really dark time things do indeed get better and easier and again, you'll make a lifetime of happy memories if you just give yourself the chance. >> joel we're grateful you are continuing this important conversation. thanks for being with us this morning. we appreciate it. >> happy to be here thank you. up next on "today," the other side of marilyn monroe, a revealing look at her private writings after these messages. ♪ no pills, no pain. how can you get pain relief without taking pills around the clock? try thermacare heatwraps, for all day relief without pills. i was surprised, thermacare worked all day. you feel the heat. and it relaxes and unlocks the muscle. you've got to try it. [ man ] thermacare, more effective for back pain than the maximum dose of acetaminophen, the medicine in tylenol. go to thermacare.com today

for a $3 off coupon. thermacare. no pills. no pain. just relief. was complicated, with a series of stepped altitude changes. [ air traffic controller ] okay, 245, proceed to your next cleared altitude. [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] today, truecourse flight management systems from ge allow for fuel savings, lower emissions and less noise... ♪ ...making the old way of doing things... [ air traffic controller ] 245, you are cleared to land. [ male announcer ] ...seem less than graceful. ♪ [ male announcer ] ...seem less than graceful. if you live for performance, upgrade to castrol edge advanced synthetic oil. with eight times better wear

protection than mobil 1. castrol edge. it's more than just oil. it's liquid engineering. imagine what it can do to your skin. but dove isn't soap. it contains pure 1/4 moisturizing cream because, everyday moisture is the key to beautiful skin. and who knows moisture better than dove. it's a good snack. you're welcome. they grow so fast. [ woman ] i know. they do, don't they? why is carol sitting all the way over there? carol almost told evan that there are vegetables in the chef boyardee. nearly ruined their favorite after-school snack. so she's in a time-out. i hope she learns from this. [ female announcer ] chef boyardee micro beef ravioli microwave cups.

an after-school snack with a full serving of vegetables. just don't tell them. shh. this morning what you don't know about marilyn monroe, nearly 50 years after her death a new book explores another side to the legendary star, fragments, poems, intimate letters by marilyn monroe share some of her most inmat writings and feelings. courtney hodell is the editor and david strassberg son of marilyn's acting coach and friend. nice to have you here, thank you. and courtney, this book is incredible, such an insight into the real marilyn, how she felt and her intimate writings. are there consistent themes she writes about throughout this collection? >> there are. her life was full of contradiction and tension. there was her desire to succeed, and there was her fear of failure.

there was her sort of despair of always being alone and her hope to find someone to share her life with. >> so many women look up to someone like her and think how do coa woman that beautiful and with the world she had, have been so insecure and when you read these writings, you do see such an insecure side to marilyn. >> yes, it's very touching, i think that's what made her an incredible actress. there was that vulnerability there, and she drew on that, she drew on the events of her life for her work. >> david, web marilyn died in 1962 per personal possessions were bequeathed your father, her friend, her mentor and he handed them down to your mother, anna. when she finally went through this collection, was she surprised? what went through her mind? >> well, i think we were all surprised. i think when you actually touch the documents and you look through the binders, and frankly when you see not just the words but incredibly articulate in the writings but when you see the way she writes on a page, you

can't help but be moved. so i think it was an emotional experience for her, but really a revelation. >> and you brought with you actually a letter that she sent to your dad, and in it you talk about how much she loves acting, but she's struggling with her emotions. she also talks about setting up a production company. how much did she rely on your dad? you can show us the letter, too. it's really cool. >> yeah, i brought the letter, this is a letter she sent in 1961, about seven months before she died, and it's a beautiful letter, filled with the thoughts of someone who is taking control of their life, you know, she's making plans, she is, you know, talking about this production unit that i think would be a marvel today. >> right and not someone who is presumably going to die in seven months. she was looking forward. >> when i read it and i think each person gets to read this book and read what's in it and her thoughts, and sort of form their own relationship to it, but to me this is a woman who

has a lot of life ahead, like so many of us, we're struggling, we're trying to carve out our, as she calls it a little piece of earth, and find her sort of security, and she talks about taking steps and being close to that and finding that, so you know, you resist. you definitely get a sense for what was possible for her. >> well, it is certainly such an interesting book, and such an intimate look into her life and who she was as you say, as a human being, and an actress. so courtney hodell and david strassberg, thank you. we'll be back after these messages. but first this is "today" on nbc.

women are charged 40% more for the same health insurance as men. domestic violence is treated as a pre-existing condition in eight states. women are abused by their husbands and then by their insurance companies. and last year they tried to end our coverage for mammograms and other preventive services. well i'm proud to say i got the law changed. i'm barbara mikulski. i approve this message so you'll know that being a woman is no longer a pre-existing condition. folks who watch us on a regular basis know i love going up in military planes and there's a new men of the airplane nerd club among us. welcome, amy. >> that's right. my "today" show mission fly an

f-18 super hornet on to an aircraft carrier. i had water and parachute training. we went 0 to 180 in two seconds, we went off the aircraft carrier, that went tea but it was amazing, it was thrilling. and despite all my fears that i face and you're wearing an oxygen mask and g suit and have to be concerned about passing out. i was total lay frayed. >> kind of like this show. >> definitely. >> the good thing is i would do it again. >> we'll see the whole story show. >> that's right in a couple of weeks. >> good job. >> thank you so much. spare time...and get after it. we're lowering the cost of weekend projects. making things happen... less with our wallets... and more with our own two hands.

more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get this american standard 4" symphony faucet for the new lower price of just 68 bucks. so i got my nephew to build a website. i hired someone to make my website... five months ago. we are building a website by ourselves. announcer: there's an easier way. create your own small-business site with intuit websites. just choose a style that fits your business and customize, publish and get found in three easy steps. sweet. all from just $4.99 a month, get a 30-day free trial at intuit.com.

we're paying off one lucky client's mortgage during the quicken loans thanks a million giveaway. have you ever wanted to do this to your mortgage? or this? well, now's your chance. just close a loan with us by december 31st and you'll automatically be entered to win a chance to say "good riddance" to your mortgage. up to $250,000. just call or click to learn more about the thanks a million giveaway. only from quicken loans. ♪ i was young and i was stupid ♪ i had just turned 17 ♪ a harmonica and a box guitar ♪ ♪ in a canvas-covered wagon stuffed... ♪ [ male announcer ] while the world's been waiting on the electric car, maybe the whole time, the electric car has been waiting for this...

the wattstation from ge. it's going to change the way we get to where we all want to go. ♪ i didn't think much of it till i took it apart ♪ >> good morning. i'm deborah weiner.

it is 7:55. here's a look at our top stories. the former frostburg university student has pleaded guilty to lesser charges. tyrone hall of glen burnie plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and second-degree assault. hall allegedly shot and killed brndon carroll and injured another student during an altercation. he agreed to a possible maximum sentence of eight years behind bars. >> the family of a fallen fire cadet will receive survivor benefits after all. the cadet was killed during a live burn training exercise back in february of 2007. last year the u.s. justice department denied benfits. senator mk mikulski intervened. yesterday she announced the justice department determined wilson's family is eligible for benefits. >> in 1984 a fire in dundalk

took the lives of three baltimore county fire fighters. they died fighting is regarded as the worst fire in baltimore county history. yesterday a monday -- monument was unveiled next to where they lost their lives. it was funded largely through private donations. >> a representative from the department of health and hygiene will be here to talk about the flu season, shots, and much more. if you have a question, e-mail your questions to sunday

>> welcome back. good morning, everyone. a cold start for us on this saturday morning. a little frost in some neighborhoods. but it will warm up quickly. after the chilly start, temperatures will climb from the 60's into the 70's. might be a few high, thin clouds drift in. partly cloudy tonight. not as cold as last night. temperatures stay in the 40's in the sbushes. sunset at 7:16. seven-day forecast. looking good. if you are going to the ravens game tomorrow you picked a good one. high near 72. we'll stay in the 70's flu the end -- through the end of next week. there is a chance for a few off and on rain showers each day. it will not be a steady rain. if you have outdoor plans, it will not be a steady rain. cooler by the end of the week.

high of 61 on friday. >> tony, thank you. thank you for joining us. another update in 25 minutes. good morning. secrets of war. wikileaks releases thousands of classified military documents in the battle in iraq, including secret field reports and the staggering number of civilian casualties. great white, a huge shark kills a college student just off the coast of california. we have new information on the attack and the frantic efforts to save the victim. and last chance, a judge spares lindsay lohan more jail time but is sending her back to rehab the best solution for the convicted starlet? we'll find out, "today," saturday, october 23rd, 2010.

>> good morning, everyone. welcome back to "today" on a saturday. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm amy robach. wikileaks has done it again, released tens of thousands of classified documents on the war in iraq. we'll speak to the pentagon in a moment. counting down, ten days to go before the midterm elections, both sides turning to heavy hitters on what will be a busy weekend in politics. >> hundreds of teenage girls at one high school are headed to class without wearing makeup. what's behind this mascara free move? we'll talk to the six students who are responsible for it. >> wish i could say i was doing the same this morning but i'm not. she's a little bit country, he's a little bit rock 'n' roll. together they are donnie and marie. >> i got a chance to spend time with them with las vegas.

hear about their lives on and off the stage. the secret reports on the war in iraq have been released by the website wikileaks. pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski joins us with more. good morning, again. >> reporter: good morning lester, this say monumental leak, u.s. military secrets nearly 400,000 documents, mostly raw battlefield reports from unit heat leaders creating a detailed but grim picture of the war in iraq. some of the most damning documents involve the deaths of iraqis but mostly civilians. they reveal the u.s. military knew iraqi security beat, tortured and murdered detainees but american forces were under orders not to intervene, so they looked the other way. one document showed an american helicopter gunship shot and killed a group of iraqis trying to surrender. other documents reveal that hundreds of iraqi civilians were killed in u.s. military checkpoints and in one five-year

period more than 66,000 iraqi civilians were killed, even though the pentagon repeatedly claimed they never kept such statistics. u.s. intelligence officials also estimate that the names of more than 300 iraqi informants working with the americans appear in the documents. so today the u.s. military, along with the iraqis, are attempting to track down each and every one to warn them their lives may be at risk. this morning in london, wikileaks spokesman julian assans defended the public release of u.s. military secrets. >> in our release of these 400,000 documents, about the iraq war, the intimate details of that war from the u.s. perspective, we hope to correct some of that attack on the troops. >> reporter: perhaps more troubling over the long run the secret documents provide hard evidence that iran had a bigger

role in fomenting violence in iraq than first thought and is still interfering in iraq today. pentagon and military officially immediately condemned wikileaks' release of the documents as a threat not only to u.s. service members but perhaps even national security, lester. >> mik, we keep hearing their secrets. begs the question how did wikileaks get its hands on the document? >> the prime suspect is a 22-year-old army pfc bradley maning who worked as an intel analyst in iraq. he's already charged and in custody, and he's charged with leaking other classified material on this war and suspected of leaking similar secrets on the war in afghanistan. now, manning faces court-martial on those earlier charges. if he is involved in this monumental leak, military officials tell us he's not talking. >> jim miklaszewski this morning, thank you. joining us now is pentagon press secretary geoff more ll. thanks forring with with us. >> good morning, lester. >> has the pentagon examined

these documents thoroughly and do they appear to be genuine? >> yes after the initial document release in july of the afghan classified information we established a task force to look not just at the potential harm posed by those documents and remember the taliban and other terrorist groups said they are mining those documents looking for vulnerabilities they can exploit to attack our forces so we've tried to figure out what is the universe of documents wikileaks could have gotten its hands on. we were prepared for the fact another 400,000 or so documents could potentially in the future be released, that's what happened. it's extremely concerning. mik mentioned national security. our primary concern here really is the well-being of our forces, because it does potentially expose how they operate in certain combat situations, how they respond under attack, the capabilities of our equipment, how we cultivate sources and so forth. >> right. >> all of that could be used against us. >> but geoff, i know there was some concern expressed about the safety of some iraqi operatives who work with the u.s.

mr. assang said he wouldn't have time to review these and there are no names listed in these documents. what is your response to that? >> in this universe of documents, lester, upwards of 60,000 iraqi names listed. it appears and we are still going through the wikileaks cache now up on their website they have redacted the names of all iraqis. that is clearly a positive development in the wake of how incredibly irresponsible they were wra rds to the afghan documents in exposing many afghan names. so that is a positive development, but the bottom line is, our forces are still very much in danger here as a result of this exposure, given the fact that our tactics, techniques and procedures are exposed in these documents and our enemies are undoubtedly going to try to use them against us in making our jobs more difficult than dangerous. >> at the same time one of the reports we mentioned an apache helicopter shooting and killing two iraqi men believed to have been firing mortar, sop reports of abuse marked as no further

investigation. will there be a further investigation, will any individuals be held accountable for some of the things in here that appear to be violation of military standards and maybe crimes? >> i'm not going to speak to the specifics of some of the classified documents but with regards to the allegations of not intervening when coming across detainee abuse, not true. i mean our practice, our procedures, our policy has always been that when we witness abuse of that nature, we intervene. when we come across evidence of it after the fact, we report it up the chain of command and then take action with the iraqis and if they're not responsive, there are consequences with how we work with their military in the future. with regards to civilian casualties we did and continue to do everything in our power to minute mize if not avoid them all together. it runs counter to the whole floss flee of counter insurgency to not do that. we are trying to win the trust of the iraqi people, trying to prevent them from join al qaeda and other terrorist groups.

we were not always perfect on that score but we did our level best and continue to do our level best to minimize if not avoid civil an caian casualties. >> most people know the military has to have secrets but so many are getting out. what's going wrong at the pentagon that this amount of documentation has been released to the public? >> this is still under investigation to i can't speak who what happened here. i can tell you it is concerning. we need to maintain the trust of our allies. they need to know we can be entrusted to safeguard sensitive information, but we're dealing with a situation here, lester, where we can't just put it all in a lock box and protect it and that be the sole goal. we need to push this information as far possible into the field so the people who can best utilize it, force, at the tip of the spear can utilize it and be more effective. one of the reasons we've been much more success envelope iraq and lately in afghanistan, we are pushing intelligence answer information very far forward so

we can exploit it and use it to our benefit in the field. >> all right, geoff morrell thank you for spending time with us. nice to see you this morning. >> good morning, lester. take care. >> thank you. for a check of the other top stories wrc's craig melvin is at the news desk. craig? >> aimy, lester, good morning to you guys. good morning to you as well. with the midterm elections a little more than a week away president obama is hitting the campaign trail hard. nbc's mike viqueira is traveling with the president in las vegas. good morning to you, mike. >> reporter: good morning, craig. the president begins his day here in las vegas, he travels to minnesota for another campaign stop, the fifth state in four days of this western campaign swing he'll be there to support the democratic gubernatorial candidate mark dayton. all along the way addressing big rallies, seattle, washington, in support of patty murray the democratic incumbent from that state, barbara boxer in california. in one 24-hour period in california he raised $2.5 million for democratic candidates and for the democratic party, and yesterday

a big rally for his close ally and very endangered senate democratic leader, harry reid. of course he shepherded through harry reid with the health care bill and the stimulus package, all of the bills that are controversial and costing democrats votes elsewhere in the country, yesterday president obama paying back that allegiance by campaigning here in las vegas for reid. craig? >> mike viqueira on the road with the president this morning, thanks. appreciate that. to hatie now, the cholera outbreak is spreading. nearly 200 people are now confirmed dead and authorities say more than 2,000 are sick in rural haiti. health officials fear the outbreak will spread to port-au-prince where thousands of quake victims are still living in tents. >> the newest member of the boston celtics is on the bench, not on the hardwood. check that out, shaquille o'neal surprised students at harvard square, the big guy sapt as still as a statue on the bench, posed silently for pictures and when he left he could now tell everyone that he went to

harvard. that's the news, lester, amy, back to you guys. >> in that case i went to harvard. on a college tour once. cool. bill karins is out on the plaza. >> great saturday morning, everyone. if you ignore this sign, i would say you're out here with all of your sisters, but you happy birthday, 80, right? >> yes. >> these are all your daughters and grandchildren. >> and daughters-in-law. no grandchildren. >> you have a wonderful time, a lot of beautiful smiles there. >> thank you. >> the forecast for this upcoming winter season, this is the winter outlook issued. the pacific northwest will be the stormy area and the area that's going to be cold, much of the deep south, back to texas will be drier and warmer than normal. if you're talking about big snow this is winter, the great lakes we could have our eye on you. that's a quick loo >> good morning. after a cold start and a little bit of frost in some

neighborhoods, we're going to wind up with a pretty nice day today. mostly sunny skies expected. maybe a few thin clouds come in throw in kansas city with a chance of a few strong thunderstorms. that's a look at your weekend forecast. amy, lester? >> bill, thanks much. still to come lindsay lohan spared a jail sentence, she's heading back to rehab. is she being given special treatment because of her celebrity status? next the shark attack that claimed the life of a former college student, right after these messages. . i'm going to make the biggest pumpkin of all. the biggest pumpkin? ♪ i need to make a witches hat. in case my hat falls off. it's pointy and then... a spike.

mamma. oh, that's a good broom. [ female announcer ] the best treat is the one you get at home. rice krispies® childhood is calling. challenge the need for such heavy measures with olay. new regenerist micro-sculpting serum for firmer skin in 5 days. pretty heavy lifting for such a lightweight. [ female announcer ] olay regenerist.

we get double miles on every purchase. echo! so we earned a trip to the grand canyon twice as fast. uhoh. we get double miles every time we use our card. i'll take these. no matter what we're buying. plus the damages. and since double miles add up quick, we can bring the whole gang. it's hard to beat double miles. no, we ride them. [ male announcer ] get the venture card from capital one and earn double miles on every purchase, every day. go to capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? oh, that's the spot! this morning new details about friday's deadly shark attack off the coast of california. the victim was a 19-year-old former life guard who was boogie boarding with a friend when a suspected great white struck. more now from nbc's mark potter.

>> reporter: the beach where the attack occurred is now closed for the weekend. witnesses say early in the morning in the surf line 100 yards offshore 19-year-old college student lucas ransom was with a friend when he was attacked by a 14 to 18-foot shark which severed his left leg. >> the friend was surfing, the victim was boogie boarding. saw his friend go underwater for a brief moment, came up, something was wrong, noticed that he had been attacked by a shark. >> reporter: the friend and two others pull ransom to shore but he was pronounced dead at the scene. ransom's boogie board had a bite mark more than a foot wide. experts suspect it's from a white shark often found in the cold waters off california feeding on seals and sea lions. >> they're the apex predators, top of the food chain and largest of the predator shark they go after large prey items and unfortunately for us as humans occasionally we fall in

that category. >> reporter: the attack happened at surf beach in a public area of vandenberg air force base, 130 miles northwest of los angeles. the last shark attack here was two years ago when another suspected white shark bit a surfer's board. before the latest incident, officials say there were 94 unprovoked shark attacks in california since the 1950s, 11 of them fatal. >> he was aa great and very intel yent kid and great athlete. >> reporter: ransom was a former life guard honored three years ago for helping to save a boy's life. his friend who was with him when he died said ironically the two joked the night before about their chances of being attacked by a shark. for "today," mark potter, nbc news. >> george burgess is the director of the florida program for shark research. good morning and thanks for being with us. >> glad to be with you. >> and you just heard mark potter talk about how apparently those two young men were joking about their chances of being

attacked by a shark, but in reality, in terms of perspective here, how many shark attacks are there off the coast of the united states? >> of average about 40 attacks per year. this year has been quite low, this would be the 20th attack so we're actually having a low year this year. the problem, of course, is that what kind of attack, what kind of shark bites you is very important, and in the california coastline it almost always is white sharks, and white sharks of course are the largest of the predatory sharks so the consequences can be very, very meaningful, of course. >> and how are most of these attacks instigated? we often hear of surfers and then of course the thought comes that perhaps these sharks think that they're looking at a seal or some other sort of marine mammal because that may mimic a different shape. what's the general belief as to why and how these attacks happen? >> well, of course, we can't get

inside the heads of the sharks, but probably in the case of the white sharks in california, the size, shape and location of the prey items are important. white sharks often at times are looking up and seeing silhouettes of their prey items, which are sea lions and seals. a human being of course in that environment, which generally near the water surface oftentimes on a board do a pretty good job of imitating that same shape and size and so whether the shark is seeing us as an appropriate sized food item or mistaking us for a seal or sea lion we're not sure but obviously the consequences are the same for the human. >> aside from the obvious, don't go in the water, how can you, if you're in the water a void a shark attack? can you avoid a shark attack? >> well, we can reduce the risk by staying out of the areas

where seals and sea lions are most common. they have areas where they leave the water to lay on the sand or the rocks, and those areas of aggregation are areas where white sharks also tend to aggregate because that's their meal. if you're going to go surfing probably better to avoid those habitats, look for areas where you don't see the seals or sea lions around. >> the friend of the victim was able to pull him out of the water but clearly not in enough time. he died on the scene. is there a certain point of reference, bleeding is obviously the biggest concern what you can do if you're with someone who is attacked? >> clearly getting the person out of the water to shore to a boat is the number one priority, first of all, the white sharks oftentimes will make one quick grab, let go and then will come back for a second or a third time after a period of time.

so during that grace period that's the time to get out of the water as quickly as possible. obviously if there's a major injury, stemming the tide of the blood is all important, and getting direct pressure on the wound and reducing that blood flow is all important, and then of course, once you get to a boat or ashore, to get to immediate medical attention as quickly as possible. >> certainly is a tragic and sad situation. george burgess, thanks so much for joining us. we appreciate it. >> good to be with you. and we'll be back. but first this is "today" on nbc.

there's more to come here on "today" this morning, including lindsay lohan instead of jail time she's heading back to rehab. we'll get the latest developments in the case ahead. plus minus the makeup, girls at one school are doing it. we'll let them tell you why they're doing it.

but first these messages. [ female announcer ] keurig has over 200 varieties of gourmet coffee and tea to choose from. ♪ keurig is the way to brew fresh, delicious coffee in under a minute. way to brew. [ female announcer ] so with keurig, every cup tastes like it's brewed just for you. ♪ because it is. choose. brew. enjoy. keurig. choose. brew. enjoy. discover customersl are getting five percent cashback bonus at restaurants. it pays to switch, it pays to discover. the chill of peppermint. the rich dark chocolate. york peppermint pattie.

get the sensation. [ male announcer ] got a cold? [ sniffles ] [ male announcer ] not sure what to take? now click on the robitussin relief finder at robitussin.com. click on your symptoms. get the right relief. ♪ makes the cold aisle easy. ♪ the robitussin relief finder. it's that simple.

>> good morning. ipe deborah weiner.

it is 8 sm 25. heres a look at our top stories. kareem clea remains behind bars charged in the shooting death of a blind and disabled man. form are pastor -- former pastor kevin pushia has already been charged with plotting to kill lemuel wallace. its trial for james clea is set to begin next month. bail has been denied. >> the family of a baltimore city fire cadet will receive survivor benefits after all. the benefits had been a point of contention between rachel wilson's family and the government. last year the u.s. justice department denied benefits to wilson's family. senator mikulski asked the u.s. attorney's office to intervene. yesterday they determined the justice department is eligible

for those benefits. >> the department of health and mental hygiene. here to talk about the flu season, flu shots and much more. if you have a question, send your questions to sundayquestions@www.wbaltv.com.

>> good morning, everyone. i'm tony pann. it will be a nice day today, we had some frost. chilly in some neighborhoods with winds dipping into the 30's. we'll be in the upper 60's to 70's this afternoon. mostly sunny skies. maybe a few high, thin clouds will drift in. not as cold as last night. temperatures drop into the 40's in the suburbs. sunset this evening at 7:16. forecast will warm up nicely. temperatures in the 70's through the end of the week. the average high is 64. we're going to make it to 72 tomorrow. if you are going to the ravens game tomorrow you picked a good

one. off-and-on showers possible. it won't be a stead yayy rain. -- it won't be a steady rain. it will cool off going into next weekend. >> thank and we're back on a saturday morning, october 23rd, 2010. it is a crisp, fairly chilly fall morning. we want to thank everybody for coming out and spending part of their day with us here on the plaza. i'm amy robach along with lester holt, and coming up on "today," she's back. lindsay lohan appeared in front of a judge on friday. >> she side-stepped another trip to jail, and instead was sent to rehab. some would say she caught a pretty good break here. we'll get legal analysis into what's going on with this case and why she did not get sent to jail. >> they're questioning whether or not there was special treatment involved.

also coming up donnie and marie osmond, the most famous brother and sister act in show business and after nearly 50 years they are still selling out crowds. this morning we'll talk to the duo about their show, their music, and how marie is doing since the death of her son, happened earlier this year. >> okay. we got that coming up also. girl power. there have been reports in the news how difficult it is to be a teen these days. this morning we're about to change that, meet a group of girls from texas who have banded together to challenge the conventional wisdom by not wearing makeup to school. it's empowering. we'll find out why they're inspired to do this in just a few minutes. >> they ardorable, don't need makeup. they look great. a lot to get to for this half hour. first another check of the weather from meteorologist bill karins right next door. >> cool, crisp this time of year. friends from bell fast, maine, want to mention their cancer walk tomorrow and behind them the football conference champions from middleville, michigan. they're big celebrities in town.

that time of year for college and high school football. fall is in the air. the forecast around the country, slight risk of severe storms in the middle of the nation, strong storms in texas, moving up towards oklahoma and areas around kansas city this afternoon. east coast looks great. west coast horrible weather you have this weekend. one storm system moved in, another one, big one with gusty winds and high elevation snow move into oregon, c >> good morning. after a chilly start and some frost in some neighborhoods, it will turn out to be a nice day today. mostly sunny skies expected. winds shifting to the southwest. we expect high temperatures

happy birthday to the two of you out there. also we want to talk about a little bit of football sunday night on nbc. ♪ pretty good game, outdoor game so weather could be a factor, this is always a huge rivalry, brett favre, aaron rodgers, temperatures in the 56 to 60 degree range. there will be a chance for showers, the weather could be a minor impact at the game. of course that's sunday night here at nbc. back to you, lester. a freaky friday ended with a big break for lindsay lohan. instead of heading back behind bars she's been ordered to continue rehab the at betty ford clinic. more now from nbc's kristen welker. >> we got her. >> reporter: an air of anticipation outside the beverly hills corporate friday as actress lindsay lohan arrived to learn her fate. would she be ordered back to jail for violating probation on a 2007 dui? in court, judge elden fox minced

no words telling low man "you're an addict. i hope you understand that" but instead of sending her to jail again he gave her yet another break ordering her to rehab until january 3rd. she will continue treatment at the betty ford center where she has been for the past several weeks. lohan thanked the judge while wiping away tears. >> her tears were like real, they were raw and she understood how lucky she is, that she has a judge who wants her to get clean. >> reporter: moments after the judge's decision, lohan and her family stood in the hallway hugging and weeping, knowing she narrowly escaped jail time. in the past three years, the actress has been locked up three times for probation violations, all stemming back to her initial 2007 arrest, and she has been in and out of rehab repeatedly. >> any attorney you talk to in this town will tell you judge fox is very fair and i think that came across in the courtroom. >> reporter: in court documents lohan claimed going back to inpatient treatment would be a hardship financially and damaging to her career. judge fox wasn't swayed.

he warned the actress once out of rehab she would be subject to random drug testing until the february status hearing and any failed test coup comean more jail. could mean more jail. throngs of fans and reporters watched her leave court to begin her latest challenge, waiting to see if this young star can overcome her troubled past. for "today," kristen welker, nbc news, beverly hills. prosecutors wanted lohan to spend 180 days in jail, so why was the judge lenient? nbc news chief legal analyst dan abrams joins us with the answer. >> good morning, lelester. >> in the past you've said they are treated more harshly. >> yep. >> is this the case where the opposite true? >> i don't view it as giving her this amount of time in rehab is lenient on a probation violation. remember we're suggesting she was initially convicted of some incredibly massive crime. it wasn't. these are comparatively minor

crimes, she was initially convicted of. she's served time three times on probation violations. now i know everyone out there is saying, yeah, but what are you going to do to prevent her from doing it again? and if you really want to talk about what to do to prevent her from doing it again, this is probably the best solution. >> the judge said "you're an addict." >> and remember, she can't leave. this is now her being told you have to stay in the center until january 3rd. >> a form of incarceration and in this case she got ahead of the game. she pretty much went there on her own. >> yep. >> did that help her in the judge's view, was that a sense of, okay, she gets it? >> it was a very smart move strategically because a, she gives the impression as you point out that she's taking this searupsl seriously. b she was able to get letters from betty ford saying she's paying attention, she's listening, she's progressing. we think we can really help her and i think that was really important in judge fox's decision not to send her to jail

on this violation. >> but unlike a jail sentence, does this not have an ending date? could she get out earlier? >> it's a fair question. zwren rally when you sentence someone to time in rehab you leave it essentially to the doctors to say has she gotten better? is she ready to be released? in this case i don't think you'll see her out before that date. i that i she shouldn't want to get out before that date. i think the court doesn't want to see her get out before that date. i think the betty ford clinic doesn't want to see her get out before that date because of the amount of people out there saying it's time for lindsay lohan to either sober up or spend time behind bars. >> she's a train wreck and that's why all the attention, at the same time she's got a sickness, a real issue. does a judge at some point have to take into conderation the fact that she is a celebrity and that there is this pressure of the world watching, while she is going through a very, very real struggle? >> yeah, i think the most important thing when you're talking about celebrities and the legal system is, whether they like it or not, they do

serve as models, as symbols, and so courts have to be really careful to make sure that they're not going too easy on them, meaning to make sure that the public doesn't think they're getting a benefit because they're celebrities and as you and i talked many times i think most of the time that manifests itself in celebrities getting harder treatment by the judicial system, rather than the softer treatment that many people think, so when the world is watching, courts, juries, tend to act a little differently. they tend to be a little more careful in what they do because they know that every choice they make is going to be scrutinized. >> we all hope show the cleans r act. baring beauty, why girls are saying no to makeup. first these messages. ing] [piano keys banging] [scraping] [horns honking]

with deposits in your engine, it can feel like something's holding your car back. let me guess, 16. [laughing] yeeah. that's why there's castrol gtx... with superior protection against harmful deposit build-up. don't let deposits hold your car back. get castrol gtx. it's more than just oil. it's liquidngineering. every day, you get so hooked you'll want to pass it on. go to getfreshwithafriend.com. tell a friend about fresh and you'll both get a fresh reward. cottonelle fresh wipes, now with the cottonelle easy reach hanger. cottonelle fresh wipes, philips sonicare is the number 1 recommended power toothbrush by dental professionals it's no wonder philips sonicare is the toothbrush america loves switch now and if you're not 100% satisfied, we'll give you a full refund. i'd get this tightness in my chest. so i went back to my doctor again. we chose symbicort to help control my asthma symptoms all day and night. [ man ] symbicort improves my lung function,

starting within 15 minutes. symbicort will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. it is a combination of two medicines and should not be taken more often than prescribed. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems, and children and adolescents may have an increased risk of being hospitalized for asthma problems. symbicort is not for people whose asthma is well controlled with a long-term asthma control medicine like inhaled corticosteroids. once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop symbicort without loss of control, and prescribe a long-term asthma control medicine. be sure to see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. symbicort is a good choice to help control my asthma all day and night. [ inhales ] [ exhales ] ask your doctor if symbicort is a good choice for you. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help.

a group of teenaged girls from texas are showing us all beauty comes from within. for one day a week they go to school without wearing any makeup. it is a powerful message and catching on. samantha gibbs, rachel chutey, nina smith, emily gates and carolyn tessler are the founders of the redefining beautiful campaign at colleyville heritage

high school and joining them is their faculty adviser suzanne magahey. good morning and thanks for being with us. >> good morning. >> now am i right are you not wearing any makeup right now either? >> nom. >> you look fantastic and that's a tough thing to do on television with no makeup. you guys look great. samantha, let me start with you. the idea of redefining beauty as you call it, where did it come from. why did you decide to take a stand against makeup? >> well, it came from the website called operationbeautiful, and we're doing it to really encourage girls to know that they're beau fifl tifl in their own skin and i wouldn't consider it a stand against makeup but it's a stand to know who you are and just makeup is just one thing that all girls have, that we can say hey, take that off and show everyone at school who you really are and be confident about as well. >> rachel, it sounds great. i know what it was like when i was in school and i'm sure the

same way today, a lot of pressure to look and dress a certain way. was it difficult walking into school that first day without any makeup? >> yeah, definitely. i mean, school is basically like a fashion show, and the hallways are the runway, and you know, it was really difficult to totally take a stand against what everyone else does and what everyone else sees and expects, like, and we want to, you know, let everyone feel comfortable in, like wearing whatever they want to wear with or without makeup so we wanted to like break down that, you know, fashion show thing, and like make it easier, make like easier for people to not wear makeup and look however they thnt with a look. >> nina but choosing not to wear makeup every tuesday, what kind of reaction have you gotten from your fellow classmates? >> our peers have been really supportive of it, and we've gotten so much positive reaction from it. all the teachers are really on board with it.

our parents especially, too, they're all really supportive. we get e-mails all the time about oh, you ladies are doing such a wonderful job, you know. it's just really empowering to know that we've made an impact on girls' self-qualify dns throughout our school and you can tell walking through the hallways girls are more confident, smiling more. it's just great. >> that's fantastic. we should mention there are over 200 members of your club. emi emily, we talked about some of the reaction from your students, you hear about teachers and parents, but how do the guys react? because i imagine that might be the most important test, what have you heard from the boys in your school? >> well the guys have been really supportive of it as well. like they'll always ask us where is our shirts so we started up a guys support group that we made them shirts and it's been really exciting to know that guys are behind us as well, because a lot of girls depend on that support from guys, and so we have that,

and it's really encouraging to have that. >> and caroline, i mentioned you have 200 members now of your group, but where do you see this going? is it catching on to other schools? would you like to see this go nationwide, worldwide? >> we would definitely love to see our message go out past our school, and past our state, and also as a country, too, it would be amazing, and one of the first steps we're doing right now is that we are doing a lot of service projects for areas closer around here. we want to reach out not just to girls in school but to other women in general and other people in general, just to try and show them your true self is beautiful. no matter what has happened to you, it doesn't change who you are and doesn't matter, because you're always beautiful and you're always just yourself, and that's what's amazing, and another thing we're hoping this weekend to have a website up so we can have guidelines online, so that anyone can just go to the website, look at the

guidelines and start it up at their school and they don't have to contact us, so they'll have little tips that helped us. we're hoping to have that up as soon as possible. >> suzanne, i know you must be proud of all your girls, such smart, intelligent and beautiful girls sans makeup, thank you all this morning. we really appreciate it. we hope the catch is on. >> thank you. coming up next, donnie and marie unplugged. but first this is "today" on nbc.

bob ehrlich is desperate, and he'll say anything to get elected. negative attacks the media have repeatedly called "dishonest" and "total malarkey." and why can't we trust bob ehrlich? because he raised taxes and fees by $3 billion then denied it... because he says he's for us, but made $2.5 million at a special interest lobbying firm. and ehrlich says he'll cut education again if elected governor. bob ehrlich-- a career politician we really can't trust.

they are the most famous singing siblings in america's history. donny and marie show no signs of slowing down. through the triumphs and tragedies they continue to perform together. i caught one the dynamic duo in las vegas. did you ever imagine that at

this point of your lives you would be back together and killing it on the stage? >> well, we thought it was inevitable we'd do something together. >> i'd like to kill him on the stage, but no. >> vice versa. ♪ >> i think it's probably one of the most unique relationships, maybe that's why it still works on stage. >> it's nice to have our own separate careers because that's what the show is, we open the show, marie takes over 20 minutes, i do my 20 or 30 minutes and we come back together. >> donny, donny! >> las vegas is an osmond kind of town. talk a little bit about your fan base. it's a huge age range. they come from all countries. >> our fans keep us going. because if it weren't for the fans we wouldn't be selling out here at the flamingo, we wouldn't be making records, we wouldn't be continuing after 47 years of show business. >> reporter: the osmond fan base

has remained strong over the years, dating back to the '60s when the osmond brothers started performing. ♪ and they called it puppy love ♪ >> reporter: and it didn't take long for donny osmond to quickly emerge alleges a teen heart throb. and then his younger sister, marie joined him on stage in 1976 and made history. becoming the youngest ever host of a national variety show, which became appointment television for millions. >> good evening and welcome to our show. >> why do you think that variety show resonated with so many people? >> it was a very innocent time, i think, for -- >> television especially. >> it allowed family members to come together friday nights. >> i could spend days telling you stories, best of times, worst of times. you know, we grew up on that show. ♪ i'm a little bit country ♪ and i'm a little bit rock 'n' roll ♪ >> personally i love the music,

love the "little bit country little bit red sox n rollock 'n" i know it's cliche. >> they have experienced a long career of hit records, tv stardom, theatrical work, business ventures and comebacks, thanks in part to "dancing with the stars" but it hasn't been all song and dance for the duo. the osmonds have had their fair share of heartache including the lost of boast their parents this last decade. what did they teach you that you take with you today? >> compassion from my mother, tolerance for other people, but i learned how to work really hard from my dad. if there's anything worth doing, it's worth doing well. >> my mom and dad taught me that what's inside you, what are your values, because from those you set your goals, and from those you decide what kind of person you're going to be >> in addition to the loss of

her parents marie struggled with postpartum depression, two divorces and the tragic death of her son, michael, earlier this year. >> i have an album coming out dedicated to my son and that music touches hearts. ♪ >> touching hearts and still selling out shows. the osmond way. >> it's a tough show we do every night. we do our west. there is a drive for excellence, i think, in all of us, i'll be honest, that whatever we do, we want it to be the best it can possibly be. we leave it all on stage. we take nothing back. >> maybe that's what donny and marie is doing, too, is it brings back a little bit of maybe some happier times in their childhood. >> if you can lift somebody's spirits when they come to see you and they walk out of the theater smiling, it's worth it. ♪ knew you were waiting, knew you were waiting for me ♪ >> you saw the moves they're doing on that stage, they've got

amazing energy. >> i think they should just sell the smiles they each have a mazing smiles. >> they could do toothpaste x r commerci commercials. we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] any hair shines in the spotlight.

aveeno hair shines in real life. new aveeno nourish plus shine with active naturals wheat smooths damaged cuticles for 75% more shine in one use. real shine, for real life. yours. [ female announcer ] new aveeno nourish plus shine. [ male announcer ] at ragu, our mission is to pack two servings of vegetables into every half-cup of healthy, delicious sauce. new ragu has the taste your family will love. ragu. feed our kids well. new ragu has the taste your family will love. have you tried honey bunches of oats with real strawberries? wow. it's seriously strawberry.

they're everywhere. it's in the bunches, on the flakes, even real strawberries in the mix. can i have some more? honey bunches of oats with real strawberries. it's delicious. nobody does it quite like us. that's going to do it for us on this saturday morning. thanks to bill karin and craig melvin. coming up tomorrow on "today" a remarkable story of a 5-year-old boy who donated his birthday money to charity. brett favre will be facing his old team on the field. i'll see you here later tonight for "nbc nightly news." until then so long, everybody. thanks for watching. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

>> bell has been denied -- bail has been denied in case of kareem clea. kevin pushia has pleaded guilty to paying for the murder of lemuel wallace. the former frostburg state university student who claimed self-defense in the shooting death of a fellow student has pleaded guilty to lesser charges. tyrone hall pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. he allegedly shot and killed brandon carl -- brandon carroll.

in 1984, a fire took the lives of three baltimore county firefighters. they died fighting what was regarded as the worst fire in baltimore county history. a monument honoring those men was undeveloped right next to where they lost their lives. it was largely funded through public donations. >> up next, dr. kim hammond ensco answers to your pet questions. >> and new laws are about to kick in. the better business piro has details. >> we are in the kitchen for the ultimate tailgate party. >> we have some mild temperatures in the seven-day forecast. forecast.

public safety is a governor's most important job. that's why governor martin o'malley has instituted new dna and fingerprinting technology that's reducing violent crime... new, stronger domestic violence and abuse legislation...

and o'malley passed new laws to better track and convict sexual predators, with even longer prison sentences. as a father of four, i know there's always more that we must do to protect our children and make maryland an even safer place to raise our families. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, latebreaking -- this is wbal-11 news saturday morning, in hd. >> i am lisa robinson. >> i am debra winger. let's look outside with meteorologist tony pann. >> we had some frost for the first time this season the close to baltimore. in the suburbs, especially, we had our first frost. it is typical. it is warming up quickly. but will be the trend. we started in the 30's. we started in the 30's. we are