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

morning. >> authorities are searching a wide area in california for those 13 people who vanishe this weekend. >> police say among themre eight children, all part of this group missing. they left behind cell phones, i.d.s and letters suggesting they were awaiting an end of the world event. more on this in a moment. >> meantime, an american woman held captive in iran for more than a year is set to arrive in new york this morning. what's next for sarah shourd and what about her fiance and friend still ba in iran? we will have the latest. >> later on, germ warfare. find out what's lurking on escalators, drinking fountains or atm machines. important but alarming information. >> never love having tse stories first thing in the morning. it important but i walk out of the studio not touching anything, walking a straight like like this. >> we'll scrub like surgeons every day. >> also comingup, how would you

like to own a piece of american history like, say, the blanket j.f.k. had in the motorcade that fateful day or how about the statue of liberty's nose? it could be yours for real. these items and more are going up for sale. they are in the studio this morning. we'll get sneak peek later. >> first,ore on the massive search in southern california for the 13 people who authities believe could be part of a cult-like group. nbc's kristen welker has been following the developments and joins us from los angeles. kristen,ood morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, lester. authorities say five adults and eight children are missing. the kids range in age from 3 to 17 years old. officials believe they may be immigrants from el salvador. investigators lookedn palmdale. family members reported them missing saturday afternoon and expressed concern because they discovered personal belongings and disturbing letters in a purse one of the cult members left behind.

>> they left behind notes saying that they were going to go visit their deceased relatives, that they were going to go meet jesus, notes that indicated that they wanted to go to the next life. no words such as "suicide" or "taking our own life" were used at all, but the indications seem that may be a possibility. >> reporter: ahorities also found cell phones in that purse. authorities released a picture -- this picture of the woman they believe is the leader of the group. her name is reyna chicas. they may have started out as members of the same christian church. >> have authorities said whether the group exhibited signs of this behavior in the past? >> reporter: well, it is reported that about six months ago they were heading to a rocky outdoors area to wait for an earthquake or natural disaster when one of the group's members bl the whistle on the plan,

they cancelled it. they also wound up ostracizing that member. disturbing details in southern california. lester? >> thank you. now, here's jenna. >> thanks. hurricane igor is taking aim at bermuda and is expected to hit later today. jim cantore jos us. good morning. >> reporte we have begun at least a 36-hour period of what is going to be tropical storm-force winds, maximized tonight with hurricane-force winds probably around the midnht hour as we deal with very, very strong, we think, power outages. they are already beginning to roll . we have approximately 4,000 people without power on the island and we haven't gotten to the worst part of the storm yet. we have gusted to 51 miles per hour at the airport. most of the outages are in the southe province. trees and power lines are beginning to fail and it will only get worse. the biggest issue we have seen has been the bea erosion. there are cuts on the beaches with massive waves you see

created in the way when the igor was a four that have created beach erosion. now there are just rocks showing. we'll be in for a beating, but we'll bring you coverage as long as we can. back to you. >> jim cantore from bermuda. thanks. for more than igor's path let's go to janice. >> good morning. it was a category four for a little more than a week. now it has weakened to category one. that's the great news. the bad news is the extent of thestorm. it is huge. that wind field or the winds that extend from the center out is tremendously large. bermuda will be hit for a long duration, maybe 24 hours to 36 hours ich is longer than usual. the eye with the strongest winds, 85 miles per hour. remember, it's going to be the duration that's going to be what they he to deal with for a longer period of time than

normal. they will get battered there with wind and waves. then rip currents along the eastern seaboard from florida to cape cod because of the storm. jenna, back to you. >> thanks. now here's lester. >> all right. to politics now where not all of the focus these days is on the november mid-term election. this weekend the run-up to the 2012 presidential campaign is starting to build. david gregory, good morning. good to see you. >> we're not just excited about november. we're excited about 2012. >> this is the time we start to read the tea leaves the latest bit of information, there was a poll yesterday that picked indiana congressman mike pence. inresting that sarah palin finished fifth. she has all the buzz. what, if anything, should we read from the vote with regard to the republican base? >> oh, not too much right now. i mean, it's a snapshot and a narrow snapshot.ing that sarah palin wasn't even there.

she was at the ronald reagan dinner. interesting as well if you look at the straw poll they look at sarah palin moreavorably as a number two whereas congressman pence has a strong record among values voters he comes in first. still qstions abo sarah palin's viability at the top on the republican ticket. but no denying she is both a ki or queenmaker in the midterm race and a huge force within the republican party driving the tea party. >> robert gibbs at the white house said pretty much the same thing about her rce. then she appears in iowa at a key republican dinner, often the launching pad for presidential campaigns. she's not poo-pooing the idea of running. is she keeping it alive on purpose? >> absolutely. she's doing a lot to keep the run alive. she has the ability to raise money. she's popular with grassroots support and is doing lots of favors she can cash in later on for candidates who would mobilize behind her potentially. let's not forget.

she's been on a nshl ticket before. most americans didn't think she was qualifiedor the job. she would have more wor to do certainly within the party itself. she's a big figure. an ideas person and a networking person she's a formidable force right now. >> another woman to watch on the republican side. christine o'donnell pulled off a win in delaware. same in new hampshire with a tea party candidate. what do we make of this? does it propel the tea party belief to a n level? >> i think it does. this is even more unlikely than some of the other tea party victories around the country. christine o'donnell represents a problem for the party. her track record of extremist statements and views on issues will be a problem. not just in a state le delaware that's more moderate but almost anywhere. that's why you have seen the likes of cakarl rove say this ia problem for the party. even if he tnks she can rehabilitate herself, the

reality is she makes it difficult for republicans to make a pick up there in the senate race in delaware. that's a larger issue. is the tea party moving in the direction of narrow gains but widespread losses when it comes to general elections? >> how do the democrats and the president look at this, maybe borrow something from the playbook? at's the thinking? >> on the one hand it hurts democrats in the fall because there is so much energy and enthusiasm on the republican side. conservatives will come out to vote. democrats, liberals, the base of support that voted for obama in '08 doesn't necessarily come out in those numbers for the midterm race. beyo that, you will see the president and his allies saying, look, this is a republican party going through the revolution. they don't know which side is up. there is a warlordism going on within the party, extremism within the party. this is not a party you want leading the country. that will be the argument you se more and more and you are already hearing the president make. >> good to talk to you.

here's jenna. in the gulf of mexico, bp is awaiting the results of one last pressure test today on that blown-out well. once complete the well will be declared dead. nbc's anne thompson joins us with more. anne, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, jenna. overnight the crew on the development driller 3 conducted that pressure test on the 1,000-foot cement plug that is now at the bottom othe macondo well. later today, we expect national incident commander thad allen to declare that well dead once and for all. before the final pressure test will be conducted workers had to bring up the drill pipe. cong out in 125-foot sections from the relief well. this is john wright's 41st relief well, but this spill and its impact, he says, make it the most important of his career. >> it's done so much damage. we were able to help solve and

fix something that so many people wante fixed as quickly as possible. >> reporter: almost five months ago the well exploded in fire killinging 11 men on the "deepwater horizonrig and spewing nearly 5 billion barrels of oil. bp amassed a small floating city at the site to contain an environmental disaster unlike any i the nation's history. today, just a handful of vessels remain. this chapter of the disaster now endinging with the bottom kill. this is what they had to hit -- a hole an inch smaller than this dinner plate, just eight inches wide. three and half miles below the surface of the gulf. and then fill it with cement. on the development driller 3 there is a sense of accomplishment. for many of the gulf fishermen, the anxiety remains. donna and junior knockin are shrimpers. >> they can kill all they want, but it's not doing no good because the oil is already on

the floor. the damage is donealready. >> reporter: that is why whether out at sea or here along the coast there will be no celebration once the well is officially declared dead. this well has taken too much from this region, too many lives and too many livelihoods. jenna? >> nbc's anne thompson. thank you. >> time for check on the other morning headlis. for that we go to melissa francis at the news desk. >> good morning. we begin in iraq where twin car bombs exploded in baghdad during the morning commute. at least 23 people were killed, including two police officers. in afghanistan, the vote counting has begun following saturday's parliamentary elections. turnout was low as voters dodged re than 60 rocket strikes and 30 bombingshat killed 14 people. election officials are investigating numerous reports of ballot-stuffing and froud. back at home a horrific van acci

and a good sunday morning to you. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. skies are generally clear here in washington but there are some extra clouds up to our north and west. our sunday forecast starts off with temperatures in the 50s and low 60s right now. still mid and upper 50s across much of northern virginia and suburban maryland. low 60s in town and by the bay. a look at regional doppler. right here in washington a it will stay dry today with a high near 84. slightly cooler tomorrow. we have football weather to

talk about because tonight is "sunday night football" right here on nbc. and it is the battle of the brothers once again. the mannings will come together with the giants and the colts at lucas oil stadium in indianapolis. no problem with weather there because of the domed stadium. partly cloudy and wild with lows in the mid 70s. here's jenna. coming up next, an american woman held captive in iraq for more than a year is on her way home this moing. we'll have the latest after these messages. expresso tampers, filters. it can get really complicated. not nearly as complicad as shipping it, though. i mean shipping is a hassle. nowith priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that is easy. best news i've heard all day! i'm soooo amped! i mean not amped. excited. well, sort of amped. really kind of in between. have you ever thought about decaf? do you think that would help? yeah. priority mail flat rate box shipping starts at $4.95,

only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. sometimes life can be, well, a little uncfortable, but when it's hard or hurts to go the bathroom, there's dulcolax stool softener. dulcolax stool softener doesn't make you go... it just makes it easier to go. dulcolax stool softener. make yourself mfortable. but basically, i'm a runner. last year. (oof). i had a bum knee that needed surgery. but it got complicated, because i had an old injury. so i wanted a ctor who had done this before. and unitedhealthcare's database helped me find a surgeon. you know you can't have great legs, if you don't have good knees. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans.

that's health in numbe. unitedhealthcare. di you know up to 50% of new cavities form between teh, in places you can't even see? aquafresh iso-active whitening is a breakthrough gel that transforms into an active foam. its active fluoride formula netrates deep, surrounding and protecting the whole tooth against cavities -- front, back and in-between. for strong, healthy teeth for a lifetime, try triple protection iso-active whitening from aquafresh. amazing. sarah shourd, the american hiker who was released after being held in an iranian jail for more than a year is coming home today. ron allen joins us with more on her journey back to the states. ron, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester. her first stop will be here in new york for a press conference. e reason she's coming is world leaders are arriving this week for the annual meetings of the

u.n. general assembly. iran's presidentill be attending. shourd is determined to keep the fate of her two companions in iraq on the worls agenda. she's free but her ordeal isn't over. sarah shourd prepared to leave oman full of gratitude to the country that helped gn her freedom. >> i will always associate your country with the first breath of my freedom. the sweet smell of sandalwood, and the chance to stand by the ocean listening to t waves. >> reporter: once again, she appealed for the release of her companions. >> please, please extend your prayers to my fiance shane and my friend josh. they will soon be free. >> reporter: it is said shane bauer and josh fattal, arrested with shourd for allegedly crossing illegally from iraq

into iran will face trial for spying. the americans claim they were just hiking. andrea mitchell asked iran's president what evidence exists of spying. >> i think you shod let the judge and the court decide about the case. >> reporter: he said on state-run television that the united states should now release several iranians being held in america and has listed 11 people. >> we hope that our dear iranians in prison there will be reunited with their families. >> reporter: meanwhile, shourd flew to the u.s. with her companions bauer and fattal still on her mind. >> it is my deepest, deepest hope that i will be able to show shane and josh the grand mosque soon, one of the most peaceful and powerful places of worship i have ever seen. >> reporter: friends of bauer and fattal suggest the iranian president bring them with him when he comes to new york.

that seems unlikely. the iranians seem determined to get something in exchang f the two americans. lester? >> ron allen, thank you. still to come, a high school quarterback dies tragically after throwi ining a touchdown . words alone aren't enough. our job is to listen and find ways to help workers who st their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. we'll keep restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and sinesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund. i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. i'm gonna be here until we make th right.

still to come on "today," how would you like to own a piece of history for real like lady liberty's nose? it's here in the studio. it could use a little powder actually. that and oer objects on the auction block. we'll take a peek. >> plus, do you wonder how many germs you may pick up in public? we'll take a look at what may be lurking around every corner.

first, these messages. new wisk, with our breakthrough stain spectrum technology targets all the major stain groups like particulates and oils. its enzymes and cleaning agents fight a full range of stains. ♪ you'll never look at stains, the same way again. for a more powerful clean, try new wisk. fight stains wh science. the book of truth. food myth #9. [ woman ] chopping, peeling and sautein can be kinda relaxing at the end of the day. [ female announcer ] relaxing? for who? for fresh ste without the fuss, try new market creations from lean cuisine. the w garlic chicken is freshly steamed in this revolutionary ste pouch that unlocks the flavors of tender white meat chicken, crisp farm picked veggies and al dente pasta, for a steamed dinner like never before. now that's fresh thinking. new market creations from lean cuisine. keep life delicious.

until two years ago, when my dad transferred to istanbul. they settled in quickly. found their local deli. a few shortcuts. and a neighborhood hangout. but there's one thing they miss. their beloved hometown team.

so i asked citi -- how many thankyou points it would take to give them something special. their old seats, 5 and 6, row c. [ male announcer ] citi thankyou ints can be used for almost anything you choose. what'your story? citi can help you write it.

a live look outside as we wake up to brilliant sunshine on this sunday morning. temperatures will warm nicely into the 80s. your full forecast in jus a moment. it is 8:26 on this sunday, september 19th. i'm aaron gilchrist. in the news for today police in prince william county, virginia, tryin to find out what led a nokeslle man to kill his wife and then himself. that shooting happened saturday morning on widewater drive in the montclair area. police say jennifer and robert batewere arguingn their car when they turned into a small cul-de-sac of homes. jennifer bates got out of the car, her sband chased her down and shot her and then himself. u.s. capital police identified the man who pointed a gun atultiple officers early friday morning. police shot 29-year-old john wesley wheeler jr. of suitland, maryland, near capitol hill after he refused to drop his

weapon. wheeler was charged with assault with intent to kill, carrying a gun without a license and other counts. first responders prepared for the worst during a disaster drill at reagan national airport. they tested their reaction to a pretty terrible scene re. an airplane crash lands there slamming into cars and an airportshuttle. organizers of the drill hope the hands-on experience will help save lives in the event of a real tragedy. think about the internet. growing, evolving, literally transforming our lives. now imagine the possibilities of what tomorrow could bring. at at&t, we support a core set of standards that will guide the internet into the future... to protect users, and reward innovators, for years to come. we support a fair and open internet - affordable and accessible to everyone. transparent networks, managed in ways that are clear to all users. we support the fcc's plan to

bring high-speed internet to everyone in america by 2020. and we are committed to keeping the internet working, as the economic engine that's creating jobs now. working together, investing, keeping information and ideas flowing freely, we can ensure that the internet will continueo grow and influence the future... in ways we can only imagine. because the future has always been our business. at&t.

welcome back. we're still waiting for the sun to get to wo. temperatures are already starting to inch their way up just a smidgen now still in the 50s in most of our cooler suburbs but low to mid-60s now downtown washington. temperatures around the rest o the region for you on a beautiful sunday morning. 60 degrees now in hagerstown. 57. leopard down also 63. much of northern virginia still in the mid to upper 50s. radar shows a couple of dying sprinkles across southern pennsylvania. can't rule out t random raindrop or two across the panhandle or far northern maryland but most of us will stay dry. an increase in clouds late on this afternoon. temperatures in the mid-80s today. back to near 70s. the next real chance of organized rain shows up on wednesday. aaron? >> thank you, chuck. a full hour of localnews and weather at 9:00. right now,hough, back to new york.

we're back. >> we're really back. >> now we are really back on this sunday morng. september 19, 2010. what a fwragreat crowd spending their sunday morning with us. we're happy you're here. i'm jenna wolf along with lester holt. we talked about tragedy on the football field. a small texas community mournin the loss of reggie garrett, a senior who collapsed on the sidelis and later died. right after hehrew a touchdown pass during the game on friday night. >> it's an awful story. it happens on the heels of another story in oregon who collapsed on the field. we'll look at what may cause sudden death and what parents and trainers should know. >> also, part two of the story "what lurks." did you ever think twice about drinking from aublic water

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

good morning. it's a beautiful sunday here in the washington area with plenty of sunshine getting through. there are some etra clouds, though, the further north and west you get away from the city of washington across pennsylvania and even a random raindrop or two in the

panhandle. no rain expected for today. just a couple of random drops. temperatures are in the upper 50s and low 60s. there it is on radar. those showers are falling apart as they come east. we'll be dry in washington today with a high near 84. don't forget you can check your weather any time by logging onto weather.com. now, back to lester. >> thanks. a texas community is mourning the loss of a young football star today. quarterback reggiearrett collapsed on theield after throwing a touchdown pass. he later died, leaving so many to as "how could this happen?" we get more now from nbc's kerry sanders. >> reporter: beaumont, texas, is a community in disbelief. tragedy hit the playing field without warning. 17-year-old high school quarterback reggie garrett had just tossed a 13ard touchdown pass. he celebrated with his teammates. as they headed to the sidelines, reggie collapsed. he never regained consciousness.

assistant coach toby reman. >> the crowd, our kids, our coaches, our community. i think the other team as well. everybody was pretty much in shock. >> reporter: reggie was rushed to the hospital. his teammates were told he'd passed away in the last minute of the game. reggie lived up to the roll of quarterback say coaches. he was a leader, a standout. the season was just under way and alrdy the east orange stark high school quarterback was being heavily recruite few new the kid was such a strong arm had experienced in s teens a series of seizures. paramedics say they now believe reggie had a massiveeizure he could not overcome. >> he was definitel a role model. a great quarterback. >> reporter: in much of the country incding texas, screening policies for student athletes differ region to region. coaches say reggie had a check-up with his doctor in july

and it showed no abnormalities. in beaumont where the school's mascot is a mustanghoof marks on the downtown streets. they live high school football in the "friday night lights" tradition. when reggie died, just about everyone in town was at the stadium. >> the stadium got real quiet. it was very surreal. >> reporter: on the day reggie garrett died, his team won the game, but they lost a friend. his life, now memorialized on facebook, a death that friends say seems so unfair. for "today," kerry sanders, nbc news. dr. steven lamb is an internist at nyu medical center. he joins us with insight. good morning. >> good morning. >> tragic story. a youn man, sudden death. can a seizure in itself be fatal? >> it can, you know, when it's

called status epileptic. it doesn't stop. when you have a cardiac event where your heart stops working and theris no pumping of oxygen to the brain, when you may have a seizure and you think the cause is the seizure it's secondary to a primary heart problem. the autopsy will ultimately reveal what the problem is, but the majority of young athletes less tha35 years of age will die of some sor of congenital heart problem that was not diagnosed earlier. >> in this case he h previous seizures, but you're sayinghis could happen to a young player that's never been diagnosed? >> absolutely. we don't know the numbers. it could be 1 in 200,000 young athletes, those less than 35 years of age, will die suddenly. it is a congenital problem of the heart known as ihss in the majority of cases. sometimes it's due to the case that the coronary arteries are coming off in the wrong place. so the shear.

there are a bunch of leelectric problems. in older athletes it's usually ronary artery disease. >> in most cases, probably in all cases student athletes have to have a physical before playing a strenuous sport like this. does it go far enough? do we need scans and these things for the players? >> this is a major debate in the medical community. in the united states we expect athletes to be screened by history and family history. anybody have sudden death? in italy they require ekgs, which will pick out some of the congenital issues, not all of them. there is an issue of co, false positives and unnecessary testing afterwards. in the country if you get a really good history you may be able to screen out many of em. if an individual or family member wants additional testing ask the doctor for an ekg or echo. you may have to pay for it but

you could do it. >> another player collapsed. it was a coronary defect. he survived. why do they only appear in this kind of sport? >> well, in basketball and football you have the highest incidence. the truth is exercise is a strain on the heart. for those moments where you're exercising your blood pressure goes up, your heart rate goes up and minor defects that wouldn't have come out during normal life are going to come out. there is always a small risk of sudden death in athletes. it happens in joggershen they get older and young people. >> what is the takea way for mom and dad when the young man wants to play. >> get a good physical exam. go over the familyhistory. there is no sudden death. if the child is having chest pain at any point or passed out during any form of exercise do an intense investigation. if you're ccerned say to the doctor, i'm willing to pay extra for the cardiogram and you can

have gater assurance. >> thank you very much. >> my pleasure. >> we'll be back with more after these messages. ds 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6... but where do we go next? ...8, 9, 10... come on, boots. this way? [ kids ] ready or not... here we come!!! wow. [ beep ] boots, did you hear that? ♪ found you! found you! [ male announcer ] the volkswagen routan. awarded "most appealing minivan." the only minivan with the soul of a volkswagen. now with 0% apr for 60 months. ♪

e official germ song. now to part two, a search for what lurks. yesterday we tested bathrooms and kitchens to find germs hiding. today, a closer look at public places from escalators and cabs to atms and entryways. where are germs lurking? >> reporter: in crowded public places, germs are public enemy number one. >> germs gross me out so much. i wash my hands ten times a day. >> i open doors with elbows and

everything. >> we carry anti-bacterial in our bags. >> reporter: even with weapons bactia lives and to find out where, microbiologist joe robino went on the search for germs. >> bacteria are going to be kely fnd and thriving. plenty of water here constantly being used. we'll see interestinging bacteri -- interesting bacteria for sure. >> reporter: from sbreways to handrails, with every touch we transfer germs from one placeo the next. >> there are people all over the place. people carry germs. so anything that is touched a lot and frequently like, for example, a parking meter, you're going to find germs on there because it's touched constantly by hundreds or houthousands of peoplen a day. think about where those hands might have been before they touched the meter. >> where there is dirt there's usually germs.

>> reporter: inside a taxi there is no escape. >> you never know what you will find. you have to be careful what you touch. >> what did we find lurkinging? here with the lab results is our microbiologist. welcome back. >> good morning. glad to be back. >> let's get to it. you ha good information to share with us. we'll start with the taxi touch screens. in new york city now you can press to pay with your credit card. how bad was it? let's face it. everyone's touing everything in there. >> we found a lot of bacteria. the numbers wereairly moderately high. we found some bacteria you would expect like bacillis, common soil bacteria. you would expect that. found an interesting one called pantawea which could be found on vegetables or related to a bacteria that maybe says

somebody didn't wash thoroughly after usingi inthe bathroom. >> charmi. so maybe touch with your knuckle? >> don't touch your face or your mouth or anything until you have waed your hands, used a sanitizer. >> or wear gloves. next up, the water fountain. i assume it's water, moist, there would be bacteria. did you find a lot? >> we found pseumonis which thrives in water. it's in kitchens, bathrooms and water fountain it's usually harmless, but in certain circumstances, for example, if you had a scratch on your eye or contacts we in too long and you touched your eye it could cause an eye infection. >> so for the most part it couldn't cause big illness. but it's out there. >> it's a problem if you are in a hospital. people in hospitals get those

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

mrsa. those are the find of bacteri you may find there. wash your hands. use a ha sanitizer before this. >> should i worry if i touch an atm i could get sick? >> no. we shouldn worry that much about it. takeome precautions after we touch them. again, avoid touching your face, nose, mouth. wash your hands when you get back home. >> okay. this is the most surprising to me. u found a lot of bacteria and then you approach the escalator handra and you didn't find anything. >> very little. it's a mystery. i don't understand it. i stood there and watched every person that got on the escalator touch it. they all touched it. i said, wow, we are going to find a lot of stuff here. found very little. what we found were harmless staph. >> you don't know why? >> maybe something is happening as it goes under the ground. maybe there is friction or heat generated as it goes around that

could be keepinging the bacteria growth low. >> these are things we touch on a daily basis. do you have guidelines or a quick few tips on what we can do? no one's running to a bathroom every time they touch something to wh their hands. >> whatever you touch in public there are bacteria you're picking up. if you're going to eat lunch or wash your hands, before you eat. when youet home, wash your has. carry disinfecting wipes or spray. >> those are good. hand sanitizers. >> terrific. >> joe, tnk you so much. great information. we always appreciate when you're here but we worry as well. coming up, how would lady liberty's nose look above your fireplace? it could be yours. first, these messages. [ birds chirping ] [ male annouer ] we don't know what the astronauts ate for breakfast before walking on the moon... [ horn honks ] ...but we're pretty sure it wasn'leftover pizza.

quaker instant oatmeal. now some of your favorites have 25% less sugar than before and delicious all natural flavors. so you can be amazing. does your breakfast make you amazing? ♪ now the healing power of touch just got more powerful. introducing precise from the makers of tylenol. precise pain relieving heat patch activates sensory receptors. it helps block pain signals for deep penetrating relief you can feel precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol.

american history is headed to the auction block this week at more than 100 pop culture items go up for sale. we have a sneak peek. good morning. >> good morning. >> this is fun. you have an eclectic collection fo the auction next weekend. how did you get all these things into one auction? >> we are known for the john f. kennedy and elvis presley auctions and many specific sales. what happened over the last year or two is people were offeringing these singular objects that were so great we thought, white put togethe an auction of just the great things? >> you were saving up for a big auction. >> nothingi inelse like it. >> first we have the ten commandments from the movie. >> charlton heston held them, millions watched. there they are. >> they put them on -- what is

this? >> real imitation stone. >> then we ve a bracelet elvis presley re for a long time. fans would be farm with this. >> elvis wore a lot of jewelry. often he would wear a necklace for a day and give it away to a fan. this particular i.d. bracelet he wore from 1963 on. graved to him from sam. could be sam philips. he wore it right through his career. every elvis fan knows this. it's come from ginger alden, elvis's beautiful fiance at the time of his death. >> do you know what they would go for? >> it's an iconic object. hard to say. >> next item is a dollar bill, but not just any dollar bill. >> no. this is a proof of the first paper dollar bill. there you have it. before then it was all metal. here we have a paper dollar proof.

>> what is the date? >> 1862. >> we haveeen talking about the nose from the statue of liberty. i didn't know she was missing her nose. what's the back story? >> 1983 the statue underwent an extensive restoration. the harsh st a winds over a century in the harbor caused some parts of the copper to deteriorate. an ex tensitensive restoration place over three years and the nose which stuck out the furthest was the most affected by the air. five actual nose tips were created. three were used to create the current one -- pieces of three. two remain. one is in a major collection. this is the only one that will ever be sold. >> this is the blanket that was in the presidential limo when the kennedys were being wheeled through dallas. this is at a time when it was an open top limo.

>> there are joyful things in the auction and sad things as well. this is one of the latter. there were two lap robes or blankets in the convertible that president kennedy was in in dallas. this is one of them. we have them both in the auction. >> this was a piece of evidence. obviously cleaned up since then. let' play a record. ♪ >> not lady gaga. this is barbra streisand at 16 years old in brooklyn. she made a test demo to prove that she was a great talent. >> she'd been singing on the radio and someone said, make a record. >> this is the first time her voice was recorded by the man that would become her agent. this is the first time. >> there were only a few copies made and this is one of them. this baseball has great

significance to political junkies. >> all kinds of junkies. baseball, too. this is belved to be the only baseball ever signed by six different customers. jimmy carter, both president bushes, bill clinton, gerald ford and now barack obama who signed it recently at the request of jimmy carter. there is a letter that accompanies it as well. >> absolutely. >> this is a picture of mickey mouse signs, as i understand, by walt disney. >> it was done by wt disney as one of the first images of the iconic figure of mickey mouse. most were done by studio artists. this was done by mr. disney himself. >> this next sketch is what? >> talking about pictures, this is not what people think of when they think of andy warhol, but he was a very talented fashion illustrator in his earlier days. this is one of his earliest works. >> the last item we have here is --

>> one of many things from frank sinatra's career. we just tk the rifle he used in "from here to eternity." showing all the great and lepged care figures had moments of weakness. this is an i.o.u. from frank wh he needed some extra cash. >> do you have any idea what this wld bring in? >> i suppose i would have hair on my head if i knew how to guess these things. anything goes. the auction is friday night. the next day is wonderful collection of carousel animals. could this warhol work bring $30, 40 or $300,000, no one knows. >> thank you for bringing it all in. we'll be right back after these messages. man, it would be a lot easier if we didn't have to weig'em all. if those boxes are under 70 lbs. you don't have to weigh 'em. with these priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service, if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flarate. no weigh? nope.

no way. yeah. no weigh? sure. no way! uh-uh. no way. yes way, no weigh. priority mail flat rate box shipping starts at $4.95, only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship.

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

a live look now beneath the surface of the gulf of mexico where that broken oil well could be fixed for good in just a matter of hours. good morning and welcome to "news 4 today." i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm kimberly suiters. the news is just ahead. first, let's check in with meteorologist chuck bell who joins us live in the studio for a look at the weekend weather and ahead it's looking nice. >> oh, very nice weather for today. the redskins are at home taking on the hughesgames later on thi. good weather for the game. people getting their tailgating plans ready to go, firing up the barbecues, getting ready to throw some ribs out there. i'm hungry already just thinking abo it. nice weather out there for all your outdoor activities today. bright sunshine streaming down into washington. there are more clouds up to our north and west. i think they'll postally stay away from town. temperatures are now in the upper 60s arnd