good morning. bearing down. tropical storm sandy gaining strength in the caribbean and set to hit jamaica as a hurricane later today. tomorrow watches now issued for parts of florida and new england could be in its track. closing strategies. president obama and governor romney criss-crossing the untry with just 13 days to go until the election, but how will a rough day on wall street impact the mood of undecided voters on main street? and pretty in pink. a first look at justin timberlake and jessica biel's wedding as the couple opens up about their magical ceremony today, wednesday, october 24th, 2012.

from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie. this morning people in jamaica bracing for a direct hit from sandy. >> residents are busy, very busy, boarding up their homes and stocking up on supplies, and depending on where this storm goes it has the potential to cause real problems for southern florida and even parts of the east coast as well. al is going to explain the track of that storm coming up in just a couple of minutes. >> all right. also, we'll talk about a case making headlines for near hi 40 years now. kennedy cousin michael skakel eligible for parole today for the first time since his conviction in the 1975 murder of his young maybe martha moxley. could he be released? we'll get a live report. >> on a much lighter note.

this is a story you'll love, garin it. a thrilling finish to a high school football game as the kicker boots a game-winning field goal. the kicker, living with autism. we'll meet him and his family coming up. >> a great story. and a first look at stories released from the queen mother just released and the lessons they contain for the royal family. >> let's start on a wednesday morning with the latest from al and tropical storm sandy. al, good morning. >> that's right. all eyes right now in the caribbean, matt. sandy is 120 miles, 120 miles south of kingston, jamaica. 70-mile-per-hour winds, just not quite a hurricane yet. moving north at 14 miles per hour so it's forward speed. has picked up. it is a broad storm, so we're looking for this system now to start to make its way over jamaica sometime later this afternoon. can you see already we've got hurricane warnings up for eastern cuba, also for jamaica. we've got hurricane -- tropical storm warnings for port-au-prince, haiti, parts of the bahamas. tropical storm watches in erect

now for parts of the florida keys, as far north as the jupiter inlet and most of the bahamas as well. here's what we see as the path of the storm. it will start to intensify, continue to intensify and make its way across jamaica sometime later this afternoon. by early thursday morning it's coming across as a category 1 storm through eastern cuba, through the bahamas early friday morning. by saturday it's in the atlantic. here's where it gets very interesting. we look at two main models, the american model, the european model. right now on friday morning they are very close together, but watch what happens. the american model, as we go into the weekend, moves it more towards bermuda. the european model keeps it hugging the coast, and by early tuesday morning it's inland in the northeast. that's a 775-mile difference between these two systems. which one will happen? what we're looking at is jet stream, may curve back and allow sand toe hug the coast and bring it as either a tropical storm or a very weak hurricane, and so

this means that we could be looking at tropical force winds, anywhere from 10 to 12 inches of rain making its way along the eastern seaboard. we'll continue to track it as we get closer to the weekend. the models will become clear, but we have to be prepared for tropical force conditions along the east coast with a possibility on into the weekend. savannah? >> all right, al. thank you. now to presidential politics, new urgency on the campaign trail for both president obama and governor romney with the election just 13 days away now. nbc's peter alexander is in las vegas this morning on the campaign trail. peter, good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you. a new urgency, as you noted, an accelerated pace, and these campaign's travel plans over the next 13 days says a lot about where they believe this race will be decided. the president today kick off a 48-hour, seven-state battleground blitz. he'll vote in his home state of illinois as well. mitt romney will hit several swing states before the weekend, including florida, virginia and

ohio. in his first trip back to colorado since that first debate performance that shifted the course of this race, mitt romney enjoyed a political rocky mountain high tuesday night. >> we're on the home stretch now, and i think the people of colorado are going to get us all the way there. what do you think? >> reporter: and again, accused his opponent of unloading an arsenal of attacks but no solutions. >> day in and day out there's one attack after the other. attacks on us, that does not make an agenda for the future. >> reporter: in the must-win state of ohio president obama tried to fortify his support and questioned whether voters can trust mr. romney. >> ohio, you know me. you know i mean what i say. you know that i do what i say i'm gonna do. >> reporter: each stump speech punctuated by this now familiar phrase, accusing his rival of

conveniently forgetting past positions. >> it's called romnesia. sounds like a classic case of romnesia. you've got to vote to make sure the medicine is there for romney's romnesia. >> reporter: the president also unveiled a 20-page booklet promoting his second-term agenda. >> unlike mitt romney i'm proud to talk about what is in my plan. >> reporter: late tuesday the romney campaign distanced itself from republican candidate richard murdouck of indiana after he made these comments of murder and rape on tuesday. >> i believe that life begins at conception. the only exception i have for -- to have an abortion is in that case of life of a mother. i struggled with it myself for a long time, but i came to realize life is that gift from god, and i think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape that it is something that god intended to happen >> reporter: romney campaign responded governor romney disagears with richard

mourdock's comments, and they do not reflect his views. it's the second time this year a republican senate candidate has made controversial comments about rape. missouri republican candidate todd akin sparked outrage in august describing his own opposition to abortion, even in the case of what he called legitimate rape. top republicans quickly with drew their support from akin's campaign. and savannah, responding to the controversy around those comments, mr. mourdock put out the statement yesterday saying god creates life. god by no means wants rape and by no means was i suggesting that he does. rape is a horrible thing, and for anyone to gift my words otherwise is absurd and sick. nonetheless, not the kind of distraction any candidate wants just 13 days in the election. >> peter alexander, on the trail, thank you. crystal hall joins us, michael smerconish, a syndicated radio

hall. welcome to both of you. >> good morning. >> the race we know is razor tight. romney advisers say they have momentum and obama advisers say they have the get out the vote and ability in the key states. which would you rather have? >> the momentum has favored governor romney the last three weeks ever since the first debate. the question is whether or not president obama cauterized the bleeding with his strong debate performance in the third debate. the goal is energize your base and make a play for independents, and that's what you see them doing in the final 13 days. >> let me pick up on that with crystal. we see the president very fiery out on the campaign trail deploying his new favorite term romnesia. mitt romney says if he's attacking me it just shows he doesn't have a better plan. is there any danger on the part of the president by using the sarcasm he'll turn off

independents by firing up the base? >> he's responding to criticism that he hasn't talked enough about his own term for a second term. as you pointed out earlier, he's released a 20-page booklet outlining what he would do in a second term centered around the idea of economic patriotism. he wants to underscore, no, i don't only have complaints about the other guy, i also have plans of my own that i want to implement in a second term. >> michael, what do you make of this book, because all those who have looked at it says it contains no new policies, happening less than two weeks before the election? is it too little too late? >> i don't think that it's too little too late. i look tat in the same way i looked at governor romney's play in the debate where he tried to portray himself as the moderate who had governed massachusetts, toned down the war talk with regard to iran and some of the middle east positions. i see the same thing going on relative to president obama, and that is he wants to be forward looking and make that pitch to independents. there's been so much attention in this campaign on the fringes, and now in the final two weeks,

less than the final two weeks, both campaigns recognize that the power lies in the middle. >> and there's this "x" factor which, of course, is the economy, and we've all known that will be the key issue. crystal, you're a democrat. when you see a day like yesterday on wall street, the dow dropping more than 200 points, big companies saying their earnings are falling short and they are cutting jobs, that's got to wake you up in the middle of the night. >> sure, absolutely, and the economic numbers in general are one of the key factors that are going to be going into the decisions of undecided voters, and i would highlight for you there's a jobs number coming out the friday before election day so that could be a pivotal number, but if we look over the course of this campaign, surprisingly the economic numbers haven't really moved the needle. when we had a few tough jobs numbers several months back, the president was holding the lead. now we've had some better numbers coming out in recent weeks and it looks like mitt romney has the momentum so the jobs numbers surprisingly haven't been pivotal thus far.

>> maybe the voters have already factored them in. good to have you both. thank you. >> thank you. brian williams is on the campaign trail with president obama. can you see part of their conversation tonight on "nbc nightly news" and tomorrow on "today" and tomorrow night on "rock center." >> let's get to the other headlines of the morning. natally is over at the news desk with those. natalie, good morning. >> good morning, matt and savannah, good morning, everyone. now to wall street, as mentioned, where the dow made the biggest drop since june on tuesday. cnbc's courtney reagan is at the new york stock exchange. courtney, what are the concerns moving the markets right now. >> reporter: natalie, this time it wasn't the european debt crisis or economic data but rather disappointing corporate earnings. that's what really weighed on stocks on tuesday. the dow shed 243 points marking its third biggest point drop this year. corporate executives are blaming slowing economic growth, not just here but around the world as well as uncertainty out of washington. when it comes to taxes and fiscal policy ahead of the election. those are some of the things they are citing for the sluggish profit growth.

today's trade is largely going to depend on what the executives on today's earnings calls have to say. natalie? >> all right, courtney reagan at the new york stock exchange, thank you. a shocking arrest in the murder of 12-year-old autumn pasquale. more now from southern new jersey with jesse garry. >> good morning to you. for the past several days many people in the south jersey region have been asking what happened to autumn. now we know what, but it's the who and the why that's really rocked this community. two teenaged brothers, 15 and 17, now charged in the girl's murder. autumn had a passion for riding her white bmx bicycle, and apparently that's what they used to lure her to a house not far from where she lives. she disappeared saturday afternoon around 1:30. the parents reported her missing later that night, but it wasn't until monday night that investigators were -- a tip brought investigators to a house not far from where autumn lived where they discovered the girl's body, her bicycle and backpack.

two brothers charged with killing her apparently over bicycle parts that they were trying to take from the girl. the entire community is definitely shaken by this. natalie. >> thanks so much. jesse. a preliminary investigation into the massachusetts company at the heart of a deadly meningitis outbreak has found visible fungus, standing water and other cleanliness problems at that facility. the ongoing state investigation into the now shuttered company has governor devalue patrick tighter in regulations at other pharmacies statewide. the outbreak has killed 23 people and sickened 308 others. officials at a beach near vandenberg air force base is urging people to stay away after a shark attack on tuesday killed a 39-year-old surfer. experts say the attack is consistent with that of a great white shark. two years ago a 19-year-old surfer was attacked and killed by a great white at that same beach. barnes & noble is warning customers to change their pin numbers and check for

unauthorized transactions. book the giant says devices used to swipe credit and debit cards had been tampered with in 63 of its stores across the state. federal investigators are looking into the security breach. after failing to medal at the u.s. olympics hurdler lolo jones is making another attempt for gold. she's trying out for the u.s. bobsled team, eventually hoping for a spot at the 2014 winter olympics in sochi. already off to a great start at the team selection races coming in second in her competitive bobsled debut. wish her lots of luck there. 7:14 right now. let's go back to savannah, matt and al. hope she makes it. >> never give up. >> hope she'll do better than we did. >> don't need to run that tape. meanwhile, where is it? >> no, right, the ipad mini. did we get that yet?

it's been 12 hours. >> i know, tick, tock, tick, tock. >> still trying to get the lightening connector. a front dividing two warm and cold air masses. we've got strong storms from houghton all the way down to omaha, isolated tornadoes, damaging wind and hail. rest of the country we've get rain back behind that system. ahead of it we said the thunderstorms. beautiful day through the southeast and gulf coast and plenty of sunshine and rain from northern california into the pacific northwest with mountain snows there. that's what's going on around the country. here's >>

>> and that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al. thanks very much. as we just mentioned, apple is hoping its latest gadget will be a holiday hit. the new ipad mini was unveiled tuesday with a lot of fanfare and high expectations. nbc's miguel almaguer was at the release. miguel, good morning. >> reporter: hey, matt, good morning. most of us are familiar with the original ipad. tech experts say the mini is just a smaller version, enough though for apple to bet it will be a huge success. this is ipad mini. >> it's the tech toy apple hopes is a must have. with a screen size under 8 inches from corner to corner, the ipad mini is the latest small product aimed at taking a big bite out of the $61 billion tablet market. >> reporter: what's going to attract people to the ipad mini is the fact that it's smaller and easier to take around. pop it in your hearse and told

with one hand, and it's also thinner. >> as thin as a pencil and two inches smaller than the original ipad, the mini could become a game-changer because of its ability to compete with other smaller tablets already on the market. the amazon kindle and a handful of others sell for roughly $200. the mini's price tag, $329. apple's betting its customers will pay more for apple products. >> they surpass the idea of what a consumer wants each and every time, and they will create demand out of nothing. >> reporter: the competition isn't folding. instead, they are trying to peg apple known for its innovation as the has been. samsung's new commercial portrays apple customers waiting in yet another long line for another product release. >> hey, mom, dad. >> oh, thanks for holding our spot. >> the next big thing is already here, the samsung galaxy x3. >> reporter: apple also unveiled upgraded products on tuesday, a

notebook and desktop. the rollout comes just before microsoft releases its own set of upgrades. >> microsoft surface tablet, windows 8, the windows phone, the ipad mini all within a single week so it's a traffic j jam. >> this is the most personal phone experience ever created. >> reporter: still dominating the person computing market, insiders say microsoft's move is an attempt to hold its ground in the pc world while trying to make some headway in phone and tablet sales. in an increasingly crowded technology field where the stakes are high, the competition is fierce. of course, all of these new products come just two months before christmas, a primetime season for buying and giving. matt? >> miguel, thanks very much. we turn now to our resident tech expert and want to know are you going to get it? >> i have to get the ipad mini

just because it doesn't cost $1 billion. yeah, probably. >> who are we kidding. >> most likely. talk about record planned obsolescence. the ipad 3 now obsolete. >> it was this big and now it's this big. >> exactly, wow. >> i love that commercial. >> standing in line saving the spot for my mom and dad. >> meantime, fastest highway in america, a stretch of road where drivers can go 85 miles per hour and some people are already raising serious safety concerns. nbc's janet shamlian has more on this. janet, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you. you've heard the phrase everything is bigger in texas. now it's faster, too, at least in terms of the speed limit. now to put that in perspective 85 miles per hour is the wind speed of a category 1 hurricane, and that is going to be the legal limit, the fastest in the nation on this stretch of road in just a few hours. driving fast is an american

tradition. in fact, many consider putting their pedal to the metal a right, just like the pursuit of happiness. speed demons have been limited to 65 or 75 miles per hour. that is, until now. starting today a 40-mile stretch of road between austin and san antonio will allow drivers to push their cars, advance and trucks to 85 miles an hour legally. >> it's texas. i don't see anything wrong with it. it's a safe road. >> reporter: in addition to being the fastest highway in america, state road 130 has another distinction. it's a toll road built with both public and private funds. almost $1.5 billion. the builder, which shares the toll money with the state, is betting commuters that upward growing congestion on nearby i-35 will happily pay up. >> reporter: interstate 35 between austin and san antonio has gone from reliable to unreliable to reliably bad. >> reporter: for years congress mandate the a 55-mile-an-hour

speed limit. after an oil embargo by opec in 1973 led to sky-high gas prices are shortages and long lines, it was believed driving 55 would save gas, but that didn't turn out to be the case. then, as now, advocates of lower speed limits maintain driving slower is safer. >> going faster increases the number of crashes. it increases the number of serious injuries in those crashes and the number of deaths, so one question we have to ask ourselves is how many deaths is too many? >> reporter: still, traffic fatalities nationally have been edging lower in recent years, and according to preliminary data number of people who died in vehicle accidents last year is the lowest since 1949. builders of the new road say driving at 85 on their highway will be safe if drivers act responsibly. >> everybody's got to put away their cell phone and keep their seat belt fastened and use the left lane only for passing. >> reporter: not everyone is convinced. >> i think it's stupid. going 85 out here. what's going to happen? more wrecks.

they already drive like idiots out here. >> reporter: a lot of texans will tell you there are many roads where drivers routinely already drive 85 miles an hour or faster, but this is going to be the first legal speed limit that high, and it's expected to have a ripple effect across the country as other states look to raise the speed limit on their toll roads as a way of raising more money. savannah, back to you. >> janet shamlian, thank you. still ahead, kennedy cousin and convicted murder michael skakel with his first parole hearing. does he have a chance to get out? and she wore pink. the first photos from justin and she wore pink. the first photos from justin timberlake and

i've always been lucky. flew 37 bombing missions over germany.

made it home every time. i'm lucky to have good friends who are all still around, and we're all lucky to have a friend named ben. ben's protected our medicare and veterans' benefits. and he's helping my 13 grandchildren afford college. he's my friend, ben. i hope he's your friend, too. i'm ben cardin, and i'm honored to approve this message. just ahead, is college still worth it? >> and the queen mother's private letters and journals released for the first time. why her words will hit home for the duchess of cambridge after your local news.

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>> this is tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> here is a look at one of our top stories. in downtown baltimore landmark is under new management. a new york firm previously bought a shopping center. the 32-year old location has been involved since 2004. it no longer houses just local retailers.

more national chains will move in once the deal is completed in november. let's get a check at the morning commute. >> a busy life for motorists on the hairs per expressway. approaching middletown toward mount caramel. 27 miles per hour on the west side outer loop. eastbound delays on i-70. another accident of note that has never -- at hanover street. some delays toward patermille road. some delays showing on southbound 795 at mcdonald's

road. over to you, tony. >> there is a slight chance there could be a few sprinkles. you can see a couple of sprinkel is trying to come in out of the mountains. you can see one of those pass by your neighborhood. most of you will not see any rain. we will make it up to 78. the average temperature is 64. above average on

and it is good. very good. a game-winning field goal for an underdog high school team in new jersey. the kicker is now a local hero, and he's a remarkable football player who also happens to be autistic, and we're going to meet him and hear his great story coming up. 7:30 now on a wednesday morning. it's the 24th of october. 2012. i'm savannah guthrie alongside matt lauer. >> also ahead, after serving ten years of a 20 to life sentence for the 1975 murder of martha moxley, kennedy cousin michael skakel gets his first parole hearing today so coming up why his attorney says he should now be released. >> we're finally getting our first glimpse at justin

timberlake and jessica biel's wedding pictures on the cover of "people "with the magazine. you see the groom jumping for joy. matt wants to know how did he do that. had to be a trampoline involved in that. >> and the bride shows off her custom made pink gown. >> we understand he actually wrote a song so that it would be played as she was walking down the aisle. >> yeah. >> which brought her to tears. >> and everyone else apparently in the audience. wasn't a dry eye. they said the festivities were really magical. went off without a hitch. >> and the first dance was to donny hataway, a song for you. >> beautiful song. >> really nice. >> congratulations. they look happy. jumping for joy. doing a bit of a tom cruise thing, that's fine. wedding day. >> working for him. >> exactly. >> it was appropriate. want to begin this half hour with the queen mother's personal letters and diaries being published for the first time.

nbc's keir simmons has details on this. good morning. >> reporter: these days we all talk about how we feel all the time, but the thing about being a royal is you never get to say how you feel, not in public at least, which is what's so exciting about these queen mother's private letters. we get to see how she felt, and because she was so much like many of the younger royals, we get an insight into how they might be feeling. before kate, before the queen, before diana, there was the queen mother. author william shorecross has had amazing access to her private mails, letters with lessons for the newest members of the royal family who on tuesday was dazzling members of the olympic team. >> for kate, the duchess of cambridge, the queen mother's life story must be a help and a

guide because like her she married from the outside into the royal family. >> reporter: like kate, the queen mother loved fun. >> danced till nearly 4:00, exclamation home. home 4:30, ate biscuits and sherry, bed 5:00? and as with kate becoming a royal meant intense scrutiny. >> i've had a ghastly time this week with reporters and photographers, curse them, but i hope they will very soon get tired of us. >> reporter: they never tired, the paparazzi, infamously following diana and now kate faces the challenges of royalty. >> the demand of constant, constant engagements and pressure and everyone wanting to see you is exhausting. >> reporter: even the crowd at kate and william's wedding was the same when the queen mother married in westminster abbey in 1923. >> up by 10:00, put on my wedding dress. at 11:12 the carriage came and father and i started off for the abb abbey. did not feel very nervous.

crowds very kind >> reporter: life that follow was far from easy. there was war, widowhood and royal crisis. she passed away a decade ago, but her letters are an insight into the life kate now leads, and perhaps a guide. >> kate, kate. >> reporter: never take yourself too seriously, she didn't, and always see things in a spirit of optimism, and as the title of the book says, count one's blessings. >> reporter: just last year william and kate's tour of the united states mirrored their great grandmother's ground breaking visit to the u.s. in 1939. young royals following in the footsteps of generations past. we'll never know how some previous royal generations felt, because letters between the queen mother and princess diana were burned and shredded by members of the family, but we do know one thing she wrote about how she felt about princess diana and prince charles separation.

about that year she wrote it was ghastly. >> all right. keir simmons for us in london this morning. keir, thank you very much. like the fact that she went to bed at 5:00. a woman after my own heart. >> i can relate. let's get a check now of the weather from mr. roker. >> all right. thanks so much, matt. a cold front will be causing a risk of severe weather in the mid-section of the country, and also causing big changes in our temperatures. lack at these highs. ahead of the front temperatures are basically into the 80s and mid-80s, and even the upper 80s in northern texas. anywhere from 5 to 10 degrees below normal. behind it temperatures 10 to 25 degrees below normal. winds continue to flow further south down into the southwest. stay warm on the eastern seaboard with temperatures 5 to 15 degrees above >> overall a pretty nice day

today. a 20% chance for a brief rain shower. most of you will love th >> coming up, we've got an update on the latest on tropical storm sandy. savannah? >> all right, al. thank you. kennedy council and convicted killer michael skakel gets his first parole hearing today. nbc's katy tur is in suffield, connecticut with more on this. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. 10 years into a 10 to 20 year sentence michael skakel is up for parole for the first time since his 2002 conviction, and today he will asked to be set free. even after a decade behind bars,

michael skakel, nephew of robert f. kennedy, still says he's innocent. >> i didn't commit this crime. >> reporter: this was skakel in january, shackled heavier and wearing an orange prison jumpsuit. the then 51-year-old argued unsuccessfully to have his sentence reduced. >> give me a polygraph. i've passed three sodium pentathol tests. >> reporter: in 2002 a jury convicted skakel of brutally beating martha moxley to death with a golf club when they were both 15. skakel supporters call his conviction a miscarriage of justice saying at the very least he should have been tried and sentenced as a juvenile. >> they looked at him as having committed a murder at that age, and what in fact, according to the jury verdict, he committed the murder when he was a child. >> reporter: murder of martha moxley rocked the exclusive neighborhood of greenwich, connecticut, but went unsolved for decades. then in the '90s after two best-sellers, renewed interest in the unsolved murder, the case was reopened and the investigation centered on

moxley's next door neighbor, skakel. >> like to see him there for the rest of his life. >> reporter: moxley's family was not moved by skakel's claims of innocence and vowed to see him serve their full sentence when they appeared back on "today" in january. >> it's something we'll do forever. as long as we have a chance to speak up, we'll speak up. as long as we have an opportunity to voice our opinions, we're going to voice them. >> reporter: in a statement to cnn tuesday skakel lawyer argued there's never been a person more deserving of parole than michael skakel. his track record during the past ten years shows the person we all know him to be, caring, generous and committed to his faith, family and friends. as for this latest hearing, legal analyst david schwartz says skakel's release is unlikely. >> they will look at the impact on the victim and the victim's family. they will look at whether or not michael skakel is remorseful, and they are going to look at acceptance of responsibility,

and he has none of that going for him in this particular case. the parole board will rule against him based on those factors. >> reporter: in letters on behalf of michael skakel, those who know him say he is a model inmate and in no way a threat to society. of course, the parole board will decide whether or not they agree with that, savannah, later today. >> all right, katy tur, thanks. with costs skyrocketing and fewer graduates finding work, we ask the question is college really worth it? and then snooki opens up about her adjustment to life as a new mom in the first live interview since the birth of her son, but first these messages. on gasoline. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car. [ male announcer ] and it's not just these owners giving the volt high praise. volt received the j.d. power and associates

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we're back now at 7:42 with

more of our special series, "issue number one, the economy." it is, of course, a key factor in the presidential race, and with the cost of college skyrocketing and more than half of recent college graduates jobless or underemployed, many are now asking is a college degree worth it? here's "today" financial editor jean chatzky. >> congratulations to you all. >> reporter: for generations a college diploma has been considered the first step towards achieving the american dream. >> i figured that it would help me get ahead in life. >> reporter: liz deeroff from a rural town outside of philadelphia graduated from college in the spring of 2011. a french major, she hoped to find a job as a translator or interpreter. what does the job market look like for you? >> it was scary. finding a job looked like it was going to be difficult for anyone, especially someone who, you know, did decide to go with something so specialized. >> reporter: also scary for both

liz and her parents, her student loans of nearly $50,000. >> it just seems like college tuition, even at the state level, is just getting more -- it's getting more and more unaffordable for the middle class. >> everybody says you still have to have that college degree. >> right, right. >> reporter: economists say college is worth the skyrocketing cost. >> overall in the economy, people who have a bachelors degree or better, the unemployment rate is only 4.1%, but if you only have a high school diplomas, the unemployment rate today 18.7%. >> reporter: after months of an unsuccessful job hunt liz decided to take a full-time job in customer service for an awning manufacturer. do you use your french or your italian? >> i don't, no. >> reporter: and how do you feel about that? >> it's almost heartbreaking. i like the job itself, but it's not what i wanted. >> reporter: in the upcoming election liz says she will vote for the candidate she feels offers college graduates opportunities to put their knowledge to work for america.

what is your dream job? >> i wanted to be a translator for the united nations and maybe travel and interpret. >> reporter: do you think that's still possible? >> i'm going to make it possible. >> jean, good morning. liz knew what she wanted to do. went to college, specialized field of study, but it did limit her possibilities getting out of college. >> reporter: absolutely. today, if you go for that kind of specialized skill you have to think about all the ways that you can possibly use it. she should being looking for jobs at any company that does business with france. >> the unemployment rate that we heard about in there, it is lower for college graduates than it is for high school graduates. >> right. >> people who only have a high school degree, does that immediately answer the question is college worth it? >> if you look at the overall earnings that somebody with a college degree has versus a high school degree, it's almost $1 million difference, 2.4 million over a lifetime versus 1.3, and,

yes, that's the answer. >> the graduates leave college with a money tavern debt. >> not all of them. the keys that you really have to think about finding the best value in education these days which means thinking about should i go to a community college for a couple of years before transferring to a four-year school? should i go private versus public. >> if you're a parent how do you make the decision whether you take this chunk of discretionary money and give it to your kids to pay for college, or you put it aside for your own retirement? >> you've heard me say before there's no financial aid for retirement. there is financial aid for college, but i know personally as a parent it's really, really tough not to help. you have to run the numbers, and you have to ask yourself the question if i put this money towards college, what does that do to my retirement? do i have to work a couple of additional years? how are those numbers going to shake out. >> and choose for the students a major that will help you, medical tech nix in addition, nursing, education, math and

computer science, engineering. you don't see things on that like english lit and communications and history. >> like our majors. if you're going in that direction, get jobs that make it possible over the summer for you to get employed. >> as always, thanks, jean. appreciate it. it's 7:47 now, and speaking of the election, president obama will be jay leno's guest tonight on "the tonight show." still ahead, a royal red carpet premiere for the newest james bond movie. we'll go live to london, but up next a high school student with autism who became a hero on the football field. he'll share a remarkable story right after this. family car to do an experiment. we put a week of her family's smelly stuff all in at once to prove that febreze car vent clips could eliminate the odor. then we brought her family to see if it worked. tell me what you smell. something fresh. a beach. take your blindfolds off. oh! look at all this garbage! febreze car. eliminates odors for continuous freshness, so you can breathe happy. have you tried this yet?

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so the production of twix was divided between two separate factories. left twix factory cascades caramel and chocolate onto cookie, while right twix factory flows caramel and chocolate onto cookie. today they share nothing, but a wrapper and a driveway. try both and pick a side. for a golf getaway. double miles you can actually use... but mr. single miles can't join his friends

because he's getting hit with blackouts. shame on you. now he's stuck in a miniature nightmare. oh, thank you. but, with the capital one venture card... you can fly any airline, any flight, any time. double miles you can actually use. what's in your wallet? alec jr? it was a gift. >> and that is the scene from a high school football field in new jersey over the weekend with just 21 seconds left, kicker anthony starego nailed a 22-yard field goal that led brick high school to a win over heavy favorite toms river, new york. the kick all the more inspirational because anthony is living with autism. he's here with his parents. good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> anthony, were you pretty nervous when you stepped up to kick that one? >> nope, i wasn't, wasn't even

nervous. no, i was enjoying myself, and i was having a great time of my life. >> did you know it was good the minute you kicked, it anthony? >> yeah, because one of my friend watched and looked at the ref, and he looked in the back, and he saw the ref put his hands up after i made it. >> okay. we know anthony was excited. we know the teammates are excited. if you're the parents, how was this moment for you? >> the minute that this referee went like this i was kind of like a blubering fool. i was crying so loud they could have heard me two sections over. i missed his run down the sideline. for a minute i almost blacked out because i was so emotional of, you know, going from not even playing a down to -- to that. i was -- i was a mess. >> mom. just explain how anthony got interested in football and how this all came about. >> well, actually we've been big rutgers fans for years and year, and we attended a game in 2006 where they were playing

louisville, and jeremy ito kicked a game-winning field goal. it was a couple weeks later after anthony watched this film over and over again that he said to his father i want to be a kicker, so that's where we went. >> did you think it was a good idea right off the bat? >> well, we had some let'servations because of some medical things that he had, but we thought, you know, what the heck, let him go and let's see what happens. >> he's got an aptitude for kicking because it takes, what, a lot of practice. >> it does. >> yeah. >> and his condition leads to doing things over and over. he repeats stuff over and over which drives me crazy, but in this situation kicking is -- is all mechanical, and it's all over -- it leads right into his disability which becomes his advantage. >> congratulations, anthony. alright let's break it down.

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>> this is wbal tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> time for check on the morning commute. >> good morning. still looking at some delays around the area. we are down to 16 miles an hour on the outer loop beginning at bel air road towards delaney valid. and on 95 out of white marsh towards the beltway. sac town jfx, 29 miles an hour from south of the beltway towards the northern parkway. normal volume related delays on the westside. south hanover street as an accident. 6 miles an hour on westbound 100

beginning at 10 ports 295. eastbound on 100, slow going for metal bridgeport's 95. 295, not bad at 175. at 32, delayed starting to form towards the capital beltway. on 95 at o'donnell, not bad for the fort mchenry. watch for delays from white marsh down to the beltway. now to tony. >> thanks. a little cloudy in few places, but very little precipitation. 56 at the airport, 55 in parkton. a disturbance from the mountains is trying to produce a few sprinkles, but it's not hitting the ground. 25% chance of light sprinkles in your neighborhood. most of you will not see it. a mix of sun and clouds. we will reach 78 this afternoon. the average high is 64. if the wind will shift to the east on thursday and friday, so

it will be cooler, but still above average. 70 on friday. upper 60's on saturday. next week, the forecast depends on what happens in the tropics with wha

mayor: casino owners in west virginia are spending millions against question seven. that upsets me. and that upsets jonathan ogden. you don't want to upset jonathan ogden. ogden: no you don't. mayor: question seven means thousands of jobs and millions for our schools. but these west virginia casinos want to keep it all for themselves. we're not happy about that. ogden: no we aren't. mayor: so join us and vote for question seven. and west virginia, don't make me send jonathan ogden over there.

mayor: vote for question seven. ogden: for baltimore. it's 8:00 now on a wednesday morning. it's the 24th day of october, 2012. streets of new york a little empty at this time of the day which is always a nice thing because later in the day, not at all like that. the plaza a little busier, as you look down from our camera high above. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie and al roker, and we are one week away from our halloween extravaganza. it happens a week from today. we are all going to dress up. what will we be dressed as? that's a secret, but we want you to come down as well in your best costumes. we've got some surprise celebrity guests.

we've got prizes. we've got all kinds of good things. it's a week from today, halloween morning here on "today." >> i'm always afraid to talk about it because i'm afraid we'll blurt out what we're doing, but it's a big production. would you agree with that? >> always a big production. >> come on down. get your best halloween costume, one week away from today. she's known as a hard partying go. nicole polizzi, a new mom. we'll catch up with jionni and baby lorenzo and talk about the final season of "the jersey shore." >> you know what they held? the world premiere of the new james bond movie "skyfall" held in london before a royal audience. we'll find out how that went, and we'll be talking to the star of the movie, that man there, mr. daniel craig, when i think is one of the best bonds ever. >> extra reason to come to work tomorrow, just saying. i'm a fan. you're a fan

>> i like him. >> we're all fans. we're also fans of the neiman marcus catalog. we have some of their neatest stuff out here on the plaza. how about this. you want to tailgate in style? >> oh, my goodness. we'll help you tailgate in style. that's how we'll show you some of the more outlandish things, including -- >> wait, wait, wait. >> did you see that other thing? >> put that back. >> uh-oh, okay. someone wipe the drool off of my chin. mommy. >> that's your baby, huh. >> come to poppa. >> meantime, we've been telling to you send in your entries for our show us your moves. we've narrowed it down. we've got five finalists. a lot of entries. take a look. ♪ ♪

♪ wow. got some worthy competitors. five contestants. celebrity judges and a live dance-off on friday. >> all right. mark your calendars. let's go inside. natalie morales standing by with a look at the headlines. >> good morning, everyone. with the presidential election less than two weeks away both candidates are picking up the pace of their campaigns. mitt romney told a crowd of 10,000 in colorado last night that they are why he is gaining and president obama is slipping. romney campaigns today in nevada and iowa before heading to ohio. in ohio on tuesday, president obama once again accused his rival of romnesia, conveniently forgetting past positions. the president will travel today

to iowa, colorado, nevada and california, then overnight to florida. meantime, romney is distancing himself from controversial comments by a republican senate candidate he endorsed. during a debate last night indiana senate hopeful richard mourdock was asked about abortion if a pregnancy results from rape. he answered, quote, even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something that god intended to happen. romney's campaign says he disagrees with mourdock's comments, and they do not reflect his views. police are searching for connections in the deaths of six people whose bodies were found this week in four separate locations in alabama and tennessee. the victims include a 22-year-old woman and her 18-month-old son, a 3-year-old who survived called relatives to say he couldn't wake up anyone at his house. one adult male had been shot, but police did not reveal how the others had been killed. evacuations were order last night for hundreds of people threatened by a wildfire near

pueblo, colorado. officials say a fire started in the building and then spread to more than 1,000 acres of dry grass and brush. at least a dozen structures have been destroyed. high winds tuesday prevented the use of fire fighting aircraft. for a look at what's trending today, a quick roundup of what has you talking online. the one that got away has this tv news blooper going viral. >> this one is about 12 pounds, but they can grow. >> that's got to hur. the fellow who got the unintended lap dance is an employee of the tennessee wildlife resources agency doing doing his job. "people" magazine reports that angelina jolie has added two more of the jolie-pitt bruce to the set of her new movie. they will join little sis ver vivian who is 4. 6-year-old shiloh was supposed to be in the film but reportedly god board and dropped out, and

this viral video proves that even the most popular song can sound silly when it's spoken and not sung. justin bieber was on a british talk show when he heard his song "boyfriend" recited by liam neeson. >> baby, take a chance or you'll never ever know. i've got money in my hands but i'd really like to blow. swag, swag, swag on you. >> that's raw emotion there. some find it just as amazing that that clip recorded last month apparently now is just getting the internet attention it deserves. it's 8:06 right now. back over to matt, savannah and al. if you were to break down all of the songs and do it in spoken word. >> it would all sound a little goofy. >> sounds weird. >> the young lady on the fishing boat took the tumble. what did we ever do before we had the capability to blur

things out like that? >> my goodness. >> sit around the -- >> wow. >> yeah. >> that looks like a bad rap. >> mr. row, a check of the weather. >> okey-dokey, let's show you what's going on. we are talking about sandy. now only 95 miles south of kingston, jamaica. 70-mile-per-hour winds. it is moving north at 14 miles per hour. we have tropical storm watches up along the florida keys, all the way to jupiter inlet. you can see the path. it comes across jamaica later today as a category 1 storm. across eastern cuba late tomorrow morning, and then it makes its way up the coast, and the problem is the models diverge, you could be looking at this system coming into the northeast sometime late monday, early tuesday, so we'll keep an >>

>> and that's your latest weather. >> starting to rain here. >> a little drizzle. >> somebody, quick, go throw themselves on top of that red sports car so it doesn't get wet. when we come back, the world premiere of the new james bond movie held in london. we'll take you there to find out how it went, and snooki joins us for her first live interview since becoming a mom. congratulations, right after this. [ male announcer ] at jcp we're big fans of izod,

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beautiful. >> well, nicole and jionni are here for their first live interview since lorenzo's birth. welcome to both of you. you're making me cry here. >> so emotional. every time i seeity want to cry. >> how has this adjustment been for you guys. new parents. almost two months old, will be on friday. >> you know me, want to have a good time, where's the next party, what am i going to do tonight and now it's like i love my baby, what can we do with him? totally different. >> jionni, has she changed a lot? >> oh, yeah. she's a great mom. it's just time-consuming. 24 hours. a lot of fun though. >> did i hear this right, jionni, that nicole was putting on makeup in the delivery room? will some things never change. >> wanted to look good, makeup, lipstick. nicole is giving birth. >> i even brought heels just in case but my feet just blew up. i couldn't. >> but it's the thought that count. >> i just want to look good when my baby first sees me.

>> what's the baby like? are you seeing personal traits? >> people are saying he looks like her. >> but i think, you know, he just always craves attention, and i feel like that's me. so, yeah. he always want to be held and cuddled. >> are you going to bring some of the "jersey shore" fashions we've seen to lorenzo is this a fashionable baby. >> i try to make him look good, you know. he likes to be in sweats, and i like to put him in nice outfits, polos. he has to look good. >> we saw in the final season, the final season of "the jersey shore," you were pregnant. >> yes. >> life changed a lot for you. you just mentioned it. so have you really kind of retired from partying? is that old snooki someone of the past? >> yeah, i mean, i definitely partied for like three people my entire life, so i feel like now, you know, i have a family, a baby now, and this is just like a new chapter in my life and i love it. i'm just so excited. >> you do have a show with your friend jenny, jwoww.

>> jionni, how do you feel about the baby growing up in the spotlight? is that something you want for him, something all continue to do? >> right now it's fine while he's this young. once school starts and gets a little older i kind of want him to branch off from that. nicole can do what she has to do. him growing up, i kind of want him to live like a normal lifestyle. >> we want him to have a normal life where he goes to school, he has friends, girlfriends, like i want him to have those learning experiences that we did growing up so i want it to be like as normal as possible. >> i mentioned it's the last season of "the jersey shore." is that bittersweet or are you ready to let it go? >> me being pregnant, it's the right time, growing up and going our sepate ways, doing our own thing. i think this was the perfect time but i'm definitely going to miss it. >> what's the best thing about being a mom? >> just like looking at your son knowing every day and knowing that's your child, that you made him. >> going to have a halloween

costume this year. >> he's going to be captain america and lorenzo is superman. >> you've got a theme. >> nicole and jionni, we're very happy for you. your baby is adorable. >> thank you. coming up next, james bond rubs elbows with the royals at the world premiere of "skyfall" right after this. allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today.

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premiere in london, an event so grand that prince charles and his wife camilla couldn't stay away. nbc's michelle kosinksi was there. michelle, good morning. >> reporter: hi, matt. what a glamorous night it was. and the first time the actors could say much about the movie. "skyfall" is 23rd film in the franchise. hard to believe it's been 50 years of successful sexy spying by bond, james bond. guns, cars, speeding trains. >> bond. >> bond. >> james bond. >> reporter: has always been made of. we're talking action. "skyfall" shakes up the must-haves with intense twists. >> take the bloody shot. >> reporter: at an electrifying premiere. charles and camilla, the stars finally shared some of their secrets. do you feel like you really own

this character now? >> i don't think you ever really own something like this. i'm getting the victory lap playing it. >> reporter: so psychological from what we've all read, was it much more challenging. >> not psychological. lots of explosions basically. there's a bit of talking and a lot of explosions, that's what it is. >> reporter: here's bond driving a front-end loader. speaking of "skyfall," falls from bridges and down shafts. his arch rival. >> mommy was very bad. >> reporter: a former spy turns cyber villain. why 50 years ago bond didn't even have a cell phone. >> quite right. >> reporter: he did have a tricky book case that hit a radio. >> calling g-7w. >> reporter: and one of his nemeses was a big spider. weapon of choice, a shoe. times have changed. "skyfall" has bond rethinking everything. >> where the hell have you been? >> enjoying death. >> reporter: they wanted this

one to be emotional, smarter, deeper. >> i wanted to take the characters to another level. >> reporter: do you love it? >> do you love it? >> i never love any of my movies. at this stage hate is so close because you're so used to it, and i'm very, very proud of it. >> reporter: naomi harris plays a tough field agent. >> i needed to look like i knew how to handle a razor. >> reporter: how did you learn that? >> on balloons. >> reporter: and one of the most beautiful bond girls, or today bond women, says that is not enough. >> we're human beings with husbands and complexities. >> how much do you know about fear? >> reporter: are you saying your relationship with james bond will be much more meaningful than in the last moveies? >> probably. we share a shower together. >> reporter: what was that like? >> a nightmare, you know, but i

like to sacrifice myself for the sake of art so i would probably do it again probably. >> reporter: it opens november 9th in the u.s. dab yell craig has already signed up for two more movies. just in case you're wondering what exactly a skyfall is, we don't want to give away information, but we will say that it refers to a place. matt? >> all right. michelle kosinski, thank you for that. appreciate it. we'll see that one tonight. >> actually a screening. >> yeah. here's a question for the group. what do you get when you cross a vampire and a snowman. >> i don't know. frostbite. cheap joke from scary holidays. the folks at buzzfeed.com have put together a list of the best or perhaps the worst halloween pun costumes. >> all right. >> so we're going to put some of these up on the screens. bring the best punster we know, bob yaeger, our cameraman. just leave your camera that way because that's how you normally share. >> okay. >> you're the best at puns we've ever seen.

put the costume up and you tell us what it represents. number one. >> do you know glasses? >> can i look at this one. >> it's a calendar that says on it. >> fannie mae. >> very good. >> ding, ding, ding. >> 1 for 1. >> next one. >> rope, you should know this one. >> i don't know that. >> that is a one-night stand. >> okay. next one. >> i didn't get the night part. >> fantasy football. >> very good. >> good one. >> wow. >> you are good. >> boy, does it say right on there, it says gingerbread man. >> okay. >> gingerbread man. >> and he can read, too. >> can't sneak anything past

you, can we? >> next one. >> next one we have, oh, this is good. i like that. >> i don't know. >> he's wearing -- >> wearing a capsize the ship. >> that's a good one. >> a couple more. >> a lot of explaining there. >> yeah, okay. >> kiss something. >> look at the bread. >> french kiss. >> and finally, this is the lightning round. you've got eight seconds. >> hunger games. >> i didn't gut that one. >> thank you, bob. appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. >> coming up, we're going to dress up and join everybody for halloween a week from today. >> but the neiman marcus

christmas book is next. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. let's get a final check on the morning commute with traffic pulse 11 and sarah caldwell. >> good morning, everyone. we still have some delays but at least improvement on the north side, up to 28 -- 39 miles an hour on the outer loop making your way toward billy the valley, nine tight -- 19 jfx tempore northern parkway and delays on the west side outer loop approaching 795 port edmonson. and our logo from green spring to bed jfx expect delays an accident clearing's out hanna and cross street. westbound 70 at 32, disabled

bioko, eastbound delays port 29 and 100 as low both directions at i-95. accident just in the in anne arundel county. here is an update -- what for delays getting closer to 795. live view on 83, at jfx at old pelko road, southbound delays toward northern parkway -- old pimlico road. >> it will turn out to be pretty nice. might be a couple of sprinkles and a few neighborhoods but not a big deal. 57 in randallstown. new might need and light jacket to start but it will make it into the 70's. a little disturbance out of the mountains trying to produce a few sprinkles but most of the stuff is not hitting the ground. 20% chance of a rain shower, otherwise partly sunny and mild. 70 this afternoon. average high 64. still above average thursday and

friday and the weather could change big-time as we head into the middle of next week. >> we are back with another update of 8:56. you disgust me.

prove it. enough is enough. d-con baits are specially formulated to kill in one feeding. guaranteed. d-con. get out. as a pastor, my support for question 6 is rooted in my belief that the government should treat everyone equally. i wouldn't want someone denying my rights based upon their religious views, so i shouldn't deny others based upon mine. it's about fairness. i support this law because it doesn't force any church to perform a same sex marriage if it's against their beliefs.

and that's what this is about. protecting religious freedom and all marylanders equally under the law. join me in voting for question 6. 8:30 now on this wednesday morning, october 24th, 2012. and a drizzly day in new york city as we say good morning to our crowd, and, of course, the music you hear is the one and only aerosmith. a reminder, they will be here for their first morning show appearance in just nine days. mark your calendars. they will be here friday, november 2nd. if you're in the area, come on

down. hope to see you come on in. >> while we're counting down to aerosmith, the folks at neiman marius are counting down to christmas, and that means one thing. their annual christmas book or catalog filled with some fantasy gifts. well, they have brought some right it our plaza, including those young ladies. >> crazy. >> and some other cool objects, and we'll check out some of the things you can give to your friends and family members that will really make the holiday. there's a nice charity component to this as well. >> some affordable gifts as well. >> if you don't want to get a hen farm. >> speaking of the holidays, got another holiday staple, pumpkin pie. that's right. our own mark bittman is here to show us how easy it is to make it from scratch. i like pie. >> all right. and then coming up, imagine living next to this. take a look. ♪ >> yes, that's right. we're going to meet the dad

behind this over t-the-top halloween display set to the soundtrack of "gangnam style." >> looks good. >> that's got to disturb a lot of people in the neighborhood. >> meantime, let's say hello to taylor kinny, the star of nbc's hit drama "chicago fire." taylor, good morning. >> nice to see you. >> great to have you here. >> congratulations on the show. it's called "chicago fire," but it's not all about running to this latest blaze every week. i mean, these characters have a lot of personal drama, right? >> it takes place in firehouse 51 in chicago. use the city as the backdrop, but it's a character-driven show, so we delve in the lives of the men and women in the house, and we see them through all -- all of their -- their trials. >> and even though it's character-driven there's a lot of action. what's the hardest part of taking on this role? >> i was taken aback the first time you put on the gear, the

air, 65 pounds of stuff in there. you're running through smoke, fire, and that was -- like the stunts here are probably -- that was the most demanding and the most difficult and the most taxing, would i say. >> and there's real fire fighters on hand to make sure you guys are doing it all right as well. >> the city of chicago has been great letting a lot of the local guys. we have a chief italian, that serves as -- as an adviser. we have a lot of the background guys, so if there's a question of know-how, of using a tool or how you would go about any given situation, we have guys that at our disposal, and they are great friends now. >> do you have new respect for what fire fighters do across the country? >> oh, of course. i think any time you do something firsthand, a firsthand experience of something your appreciation grows, if it's fighting fires, if it's boxing, anything physically, mentally demanding that otherwise you had an objective view of.

>> we congratulate you on the show. it's good to have you here. >> pleasure. >> thank you. >> it's a pleasure. >> we want to remind everybody "chicago fire" airs tonight 10:00, 9:00 central time right here on nbc. now let's get a check of the weather. >> all right. let's see what we've got for you over the next couple of days. looking at showers, thunderstorms making their way through the midwest. a lot of rain making its way through the upper midwest and also along the northwest coast. sunny skies through the southern third of the country. tomorrow rain from the great lakes into the lower ohio river valley. sunny and warm in the southwest. beautiful weather along the east coast. look for showers and thunderstorms southern florida ahead of tropical storm sandy. that's what's going >> overall a pretty nice day today. a 20% chance for a brief rain shower. most of you will love the

>> and that's your latest weather. >> mr. roker, the world series kicks off in san francisco tonight when the giants take on the detroit tigers. we have world series trophy, the world series trophy, with us here in the studio along with retired pitchers jack morris of the tigers and kirk reader of the giants. who is going to win. >> the best team. >> go out on a limb. >> i'm going giants in seven, so that's my prediction right now. >> okay. >> tigers in six. >> all right. tigers haven't won it since what, 1984? >> a pretty good year. >> so you think there's more pressure on the tigers than the giants since the giants won it just a couple years ago? >> i'm more concerned about the days off the tigers have had. i think it didn't work in their favor last time in '06, but they

have some pretty good pitchers. >> you feel like the gianters have the weight of expectations on them? >> i don't think so, because they have been down all postseason. game back from down 0-2 and 3-1 and they are enjoying the moment. that's what you do in the postseason, and they are having a great run. >> what kind of pressure while you're waiting to do this are you going through as you're getting ready in. >> you try and treat it as a normal game as much as you can. i know there's a lot of, you know, press and everything that goes with the world series, but you try and keep it as a normal game as much as you can and see if you can go out there and perform what you do in the regular season. >> we'll make you an offer. we'll hang on to this until the series is over, all right? is that okay with you guys? >> starts tonight. >> yeah. >> i think that's a no. >> hey, good luck, guys, to both your teams. >> thanks so much. >> and good luck to all the fans of the giants and the tigers. >> yeah, thanks so much. coming up next, how would you like this under your

christmas tree? nat says yes. over-the-top gifts from the neiman marcus christmas book. check them out. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

well, halloween is one week away, but this morning we are putting away the pumpkins for a moment because santa claus is here. >> that's right. the neiman marcus christmas book is out. it is filled with some fantasy gifts you have to see to believe. ginger is here from neiman marcus to show us around. happy holidays. >> same to you. >> we're giving people hence. >> actually you can have a whole farm, if you want. the center piece, which will be this beautiful hen house, custom made. you'll have a visit from the people at heritage hen farm, and they will help you pick. >> do the hens come with it? >> exactly right. >> do these require a lot of care? >> it depends. if you want it as a hobby, pick

ones that are low maintenance. >> there's a charity aspect to this. >> eight different charities that will be beneficiaries of sales of the fantasy gift this year which is a really great thing. >> neiman marcus makes a contribution. >> how much does the hen farm run you? >> $100,000. >> screaming deal. >> okay. >> if you like video games, and those driving games, this is the ultimate. tell me about this. >> it is. this is not just video games but it's also a theater, you can do karaoke, whatever you want, but they are certainly having fun, and it looks so good. when we have these at home, in the on a dinky day and things, this makes a beautiful trunk in custom letter. >> how much is this? >> $90 and benefits big brothers and big sisters. >> let's move on and see what's next. >> who is wining? >> i think al is but i'm right about to pass him now. bye, al, see you. >> tell us about this. >> this is a video portrait by

the artist robert wilson, and it's a play on a traditional portrait where it's a static subject, but what the key is that the owl moves. he will turn his head and screech. it's a little bit different from a traditional portrait. $70,000. music. you want to tell overnight guests what it is. >> it's a tad creepy. >> if you get this you spend three weeks after christmas say it just moves. >> entertainment for the lazy. >> okay. >> what a wonderful great piece of art. >> all right. >> next, now we're talking. this is a bar. >> it's a tailgating setup. >> you'll never lack for friends if you bring this to your next football game. >> pretty classy. >> a wonderful tear drop trailer. brought to us by bullet bourbon. you get the bar that pulls on, the flat screen tv. >> do al and natalie come with it? >> i don't know. >> if they want to have a party, and you get a year's supply of

bourbon and rye with this as well. >> a single guy driving down the road, sees a cute girl, want to have a drink? just so happens i've got this thing trailing behind me. >> how much is this? >> $150,000. >> you better be pretty juiced. >> if you have the means. >> pick it up. >> just beautiful though. beautifully done and finished out and the great leather inside and everything you need. >> do you have any grey poupon. >> would you like some snacks? >> actually i would. >> ginger, i'm speechless. >> okay. got to get it in on your speed dial. goes on sale at noon. >> what is it? >> the 2013 neiman marcus mcclan 12-c spiders, one of the most beautiful cars we've ever had. 12 of them. go on neimanmarcus.com, all the details, matching luggage that comes with it. >> you know what santa just said? >> rudolf who.

>> my bells are ringing when i'm riding in there,. >> say the price on this again. >> $354,000. you get a trip to england to the mcclarin technology center, only 12. put it on speed dial and get it today. >> this looks great. >> i'm going to sit with santa. >> bye, guys, see you later. >> we have gifts that are slightly more affordable. >> absolutely. >> you've teamed up with target. >> we have. >> starting december 1 we'll have a variety of gifts available at neiman marcus and target like this great alison olivia bicycle, cookie cutters, 21.99 by a band of outsiders, great cashmere blend hats, mirrors, again, all affordbly priced, this lunch box, this great fun hat. i'm not putting it on.

>> it will keep you warm. >> a lot of fun for kids. >> harmonicas and yo-yos. >> popcorn. >> and also in the neiman marcus you can have a tin of chocolate chip cookies, tin of popcorn, all available at neimanmarcus.com. >> these are cool, ear muff head phones. >> exactly. so you look good while you're listening. >> nice. >> now we know what we all want for our christmas gifts. just got our list for you, al. has your name all over it. >> isn't it cute? very cute. >> ginger, thank you so much. >> and happy holiday. >> same to you. >> thank you so much. >> we're back with more of "today" in a few moments, but first this is "today" on nbc.

as a pastor, my support for question 6 is rooted in my belief that the government should treat everyone equally. i would not want someone denying my rights based upon their religious views, therefore i should not deny others based upon mine. it's about fairness. this law does not force any church to perform a same sex marriage if it's against their beliefs. and that's what this is about. protecting religious freedom and protecting all marylanders equally under the law. join me in voting for question 6. . 8:46 now. do you want to dress in stylish runway looks but can't afford them? one website is offering a solution letting you rent

designer dresses for a special occasion, and as a bonus you can plug in a size and body type now and see how it will look on someone just like you. jennifer hyman is the co-found and ceo of renttherunway.com and here with "marie claire's" fashion editor. tell us how this works. >> you can rent dresses and accessories for around 15% of the retail price, and i started the company because i wanted to deliver cinderella moments to women and enable them to access those same looks that they see on their favorite celebrities in, their favorite magazines and give them the self-confidence that you can only get when you put on an amazing new designer outfit. >> and you're able to send the dress back very easily, sort of like netflix. >> two sizes, do all the dry cleaning for you, pre-stamped return envelope. >> the site has been around for

a few years and there's a new feature called our runway. see real women, input your sizes, and it kind of allows you to see what the clothing options that are out there what it will look like you. >> women want the aspiration of looking at amazing editorials and models but when it comes to online you want to see what it would look like on you. you ent you are your height, 5'6", get back thousands of customer photos of women exactly like you, and can you make the decision for us as to whether it will look good on yourself. >> all the moments. we've order something online and in this case you're renting, it it's fine, but in other cases you're ordering it, stuck with it. doesn't fit and doesn't look like the photo, the 5'10", 120-pound model and you put it on and it doesn't look anything like that, so how is this feature going to help women out there, real women, who want that

cinderella moment? >> it's interesting. such a big trend towards people using real women in their campaigns. we've seen high-end designers do it, too. major luxury line using real women in their campaigns. ralph loren using plus-size women in their campaigns because women want to be able to relate to the girl in the picture, be it p-ar-size or big hip. you want to be able to see that. it's just something that women are definitely going to want to do. >> all right. ladies, thank you both for being here. >> thank you. coming up next, how to make the perfect pumpkin pie from scratch. >> all righty. >> but first this is "today" on nbc. >> already, bittman. >> first slice. >> not too bad.

stephanie rawlings-blake: voting for question seven is an... incredible opportunity for baltimore. jim smith: question seven will bring table games like... blackjack and poker to baltimore. stephanie rawlings-blake: you're talking about 500 new jobs. ken ulman: and increased tourism will mean more business... for maryland's small businesses. jim smith: and instead of marylanders spending... five hundred and fifty million in other states... ken ulman: question seven will keep that money right here. stephanie rawlings-blake: more jobs, millions for schools. jim smith: i'm voting for question seven. ken ulman: i'm voting for question seven. stephanie rawlings-blake: and i'm voting for question seven.

we're back now at 8:51 with how to cook everything today. this morning a seasonal treat. pumpkin pie. can you buy one, but mark bittman says it's easy toe make from scratch. he's a "new york times" columnist and, of course, the author of "how to cook everything, the basics." mark, good morning. nice to see you. >> good morning, matt. >> sounds scary. from scratch when there's perfectly good canned pumpkin right there on the shelves. >> canned pumpkin is really good, but it's not just an exercise to show you it's not that hard to do it from scratch, and it is better, so why not. >> start with pumpkins obviously. >> everybody knows how to cut the top off. did that during one of the

teases. >> mm-hmm. >> as if you were making a jack-o'-lantern, and then the easiest thing to do here is cut the thing in half. this is a good-sized, called a sugar pumpkin. >> are they sweeter than the real big ones? >> very sweet. really nice, and the seeds come out like that. >> okay. >> easy enough. >> so you scoop that out. now you're using this part. this is what you want, the flesh. >> you can actually peel this. it's a little challenging, let's say it's some work. if you pick them upside down in a tiny bit of oil, takes a while, but at that point you can pull the skin off just like that. >> give me an idea of how long that took at what temperature. >> 45 minutes to an hour at 375 to 400. >> look how easily that scoops. >> now the skin is edible and good. i'm not saying you would use it in here, but -- >> full disclosure though, you don't love push kin pie and neither do i, but yours is going

to turn out great. >> tens of millions of americans love pumpkin pie, hundreds of americans. this is for them, not for us. >> so we have our flesh that we've scooped out from the baked pumpkin, and what do we do. >> puree is in a food processor. >> blender/food processor, and we add sugar, a fair amount, because after all, this is pie, eggs, a couple. how are bedoing time-wise? >> we're okay. >> so that's salt. >> salt, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon. >> okay. >> we'll put the right proportions on the website. >> this is half and half. >> heavy cream? >> how are we doing on time? >> we're doing well. thanks, keep asking. >> okay. how much time, mark. >> two and a half minutes left. >> yeah. >> take your time. you could actually make this thing. okay. >> so at that point you -- >> you whisk it some more. >> you whisk it a bit. >> this is realtime cooking. we're going to bake this thing.

>> okay. all right. so let's say we've whisked that a lot and poured that. >> you've made a graham cracker crust. crumbled. i like it really course like this. press it in and bake it halfway until it's semi crisp. >> not to make anyone feel guilty, you can buy this in the store. >> this is ten times better than anything you buy. >> it's so great. >> pour this in, finish the baking and voila. >> you've got some other scratch type pumpkin things here. are they edible? >> this is so great. they are totally edible, acorn squat, delicatto squash and butternut squash, do what you've done there, a little olive oil and salt and here the skin is completely edible. >> got five more minutes, tell us about it. >> how do you not like pumpkin pie, matt? >> i don't hate it. >> that's un-american.

>> pumpkin pie is great. >> can i have the pie. >> great. >> hold on. >> that just doesn't -- that is so good. >> it is? >> really. >> we're doing fine. actually our turkey is ready now. if you want to -- if somebody wants to taste pie. >> no that's all right. >> this is the one we actually took out for the beauty segment. >> thank you for this. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. coming up next, the unique "gangnam style" halloween display after your local news.

>> good morning. i'm mindy basara. here's a look at one of our top stories. city police are investigating an officer involved shooting in northwest baltimore that happen before 9:00 last night on the 300 -- 3000 block of spaulding at near pimlico race course. an earlier shooting

>> it is going to turn out to be a pretty nice day. a slight chance we could see a passing rainshowers print. partly cloudy skies otherwise, with high temperatures in the upper 70's. a little cooler tomorrow but still nice, high near 72. >> thank you for joining us. back with another weather update at 925 a and at 925 a and