hospitals. >> good guy. >> beautiful day ahead and we'll have more on that coming up at 9:00. that's it for "news4 today." we'll be back in 25 minutes with a local news update. we'll see you then. good morning. secrets of war. wikileaks releases thousands of classified military documents of the war in iraq. the pentagon says exposing them is putting lives at risk. how did this happen and what do the records reveal terror from the deep, a rare shark attack kills a young man off the coast of california, leaving beaches closed and many fearful of stepping into the water. and lucky lohan, instead of jail time it's back to reh for the oubled young actress. the judge could have ordered her behind bars for months. why did she catch a break? "today," satury october 23rd, 2010.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

months. back to rehab for lindsay lohan. a judge decided not to send the california actress to jail. instead she'll be staying at the betty ford center until ja

that's right. it will be fabulous all weekend long. first a very chly start for us with our lowest readings going back to the bottom of april. 36 degrees right now at mclean. 30 degrees manassas and warrenton 34. indian head and la plata and 31 in clinton, m. because of these low readings, frost advisories through areas north and west. your high today 70 degrees in town. mid-60s in the that's your saturday forecast. lester? >> bill, thanks. what's being called the largest outbreak in nearly 60 years, at least ten babies in california have died from whooping cough. wh's causing the deadly resurgence of the disease in a. ann moscone is expert and pediatrician at cornell medical center. good morning. >> good morning. >> thanks for coming on. >> thank you.

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

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

children by vaccinations can contbute to these kinds of outbreaks but it's also true that even when we're vaccinated, protection is not complete and we can still get pertussis. there's a combination of factors. >> what is the best with a i to protect one's self. do you need, have to have a booster? >> absolutely. the immuny will wane. around adolescence around 11 they become susceptible to rtussis again and whooping cough and adults should get boosted every ten years. >> the infant can't have a shot unti20 months. >> a baby can get imized as early as 6 weeks but little infant should be surrounded by a cocoon of vaccinated people and should be cared for because they're vulnerable before they're vaccinated. >> all very good information. doctor thank you for coming on this morning. >> thank you. >> we appreciate having you here. here's amy.

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

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

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

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

♪ which caused a trend alert ♪ and everyone ♪ saw everybody

♪ tell'em all ♪ tell'em something, where to go and what it's all about ♪ ♪ tell them how to feel when they shout it out ♪ ♪ tellverybody else ♪ and everyone ♪ tell everybody else still to come here on "today," the very latest on that

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

taking a live look outside. 47 degrees. a beautiful fall morning. sunshine ahead. good morning, it is 7:26 on this saturday, october 23, 2010. i'm kimberly suiters. topping your news for today we want to begin with breaking news out of prince george's county. three people were hurt including a firefighter. onperson is unaccounted for after a three-alarm fire ripped through an apartment building in suitland. this fire broke out in the 3300 block of curtis drive. a fefighter suffered minor injuries, two other people were also hurt, one of them suffered from smoke inhalation. no word on who that missing

person i or what cause fired. much more on this breaking news as it becomes available. meanwhile a debate over privatizing virnia's liquo sales has been put on hold. the governor said we'll wait until january to propose state run liquor stores be sold. he originly said he would call for a special seg aft the mid-term athletics. the governor wants to sell the seat run liquor sales and license 1,000 new stores to raise revenue for transportation. your weather is coming up next pup don't want to miss this forecast. stay with us.

we have a gorgeous forecast. >>ing right now, though, outside it's the coldest that it's been in six months, real low temperatures throughout the area. let's take a look. 43 degrees currently, foggy bottom, takoma park, 41 capital heights and landover in prince george's county. merry field is at 36. 36 at montgomery coun and colesville. frost advisory remains until 9:00 a.m. to the north and west of the area andreeze warnings for the high spots and valley west. 70 degrees your high temperature for today. 67 in warrenton. lots of sunshine throughout the area. high clouds tomorrow. but what a weekend. gorgeous throughout. and getting a little higher tomorrow with a high 75 degrees.

soust get out there and enjoy. back to you. >> we plan to. thank. we'll have more news and weather coming up in about 25 minutes. until then it's back to new york and "the today show". we are back on this saturday morning, october 23rd, 2010. it's chilly now out there, but it is supposed to be in the 60s here today in new york. we have a great crowd on the plaza. wel head outside to say hi in a couple of minutes. i'm amy robach along with lester holt inside the studio. still to com on "today," the rare shark aack that killed a college student in california. >> 19-year-old lucas ransomas on a board when a sha estimated between 14 and 20 feet struck. beaches are closed in the area and how did something like this happen? if t is very rare.

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

was arrested last month for robbing a bank near portland, oregon. then there's the church lady bandit in ohio. she's suspected of robbing sen banks. during one robbery she donned a hat witnesses say looked fit for a sunday service. the nicknames are descriptive, sotimes humorous, but they can also be effective tools for investigators. >> nicknamed the police and fbi, we know what we're looking for. you can quickly isolate that person from anyone else and when that description is p out hopefully the robber will be seen on the street or identified quickly and apprehended. >> reporter: unlike the movie "point break" where a team of bank robbers called the ex-. s thoroughly plot its heist, many suspects are walking up to tellers with hardly any disguise like george clooney in the movie "out of sight." >> that's my partner, he has gun in there. >> for a lot of people they're thinking about today, not think

being tomorrow and next week and next month so they're really not necessarily worried that their face is seen because they need the moy instantly, and they'll deal with tomorrow when it comes. >> reporter: despite high profile suspects like the grand daddy bait, arrested in august for allegedly robbing 25 banks in 13 stat, bank robberies are actually declining. thieves did steal nearly $46 milln last year. authorities continue to hunt for clues but they admit sometimes it's all in a name. for "today," thanh truong, nbc news. let's head over to bill karins for a check of the forecast. >> good morning to you, amy. all right, guess what? 13? >> yes. >> you were taller than me at like 11. what did you it is

a mighty fine weekend. one of best weekends in a while. much mlder than what we though endure all of last week as well. awfully chilly out there. 43 degrees in georgetown and mount pleasant. 36 in fairfax, falls church and great falls. 36 montgomery county, montgomery village and poolesvle. frost advisory u until 9:00 a.m. hi today 73 d if you want to get your hour by

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

>> i think it's a progression. i think it was a situation much like i referenced where the very next day you know i got up, i went to school and things weren't as bad as i thought ty were, and i think if kids will hang on long enough and get through that one day of a really dark time things do indeed get better and easier and again, you'll make a lifetime of happy memories if you just give yourself the chance. >> joel we're grateful you are continuing this important conversation. thanks for being with us this morning. we appreciate it. >> happy to be here thank you. up nextn "today," the other side of marilyn monroe, a revealing look at her private writings after these messages. ♪ no pills, no pain. how can you get pain relief without king pills around the clock? try thermacare heatwraps, for all day relief without pills. i was surprised, thermacare worked all day. you feel the heat. and it relas and unlocks the muscle. you've got to try it. [ man ] thermacare, more effective for back pain than the maximum dose of acetaminophen, the medicine in tylenol. go to thermacare.com today for a $3 off coupon.

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

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

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

many of us, we're struggling, we're trying to carve out our, as she calls it a little piece of earth, and find her sort of security, and she talks about taking steps and being close to that and finding that, so you know, you resist. you definitely get a sense for what was possible for her. >> well, it is certainly such an interesting book, and such an intimate look into her le and who she was as you say, as a human being, and an actress. so courtney hodell and dav strassberg, thank you. we'll be back after these messages. but first this is "today" on nbc. it's fall. so you know what to do, right? break the rake! fall is the best time to feed your lawn.

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folks who watch us on a regular basis know i love going up in military planes and there's a new men of the airplane nerd club among us. welcome, amy. >> that's right. my "today" show mission fly an

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

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it's been a very chilly start to your saturday. 46 degrees right no good morning. saturday, october 23, 2010. i'm kimberly suiters. we're following breaking news still out of prince george's county this morning. that's where three people including a firefighter were hurt, one person is unaccounted for after a three-alarm fire tore through an apartmt building in suitland, maryland. this fire broke out around 4:30 in the morning. prince george's county fire, officials say theirefighter and two residents suffered minor injuries. the person missing has not been identified.

no word on what caused the massive fire. stay with news 4 for more details on this fire as details become available. d.c. will be looking for a new fire chief come january. the chie nournsed he'll resign. rubin has led the department since march of 2007 and has worked in fire rescue jobs for 35 years. 35 years. >>your weather is coming up ♪ ♪ from the styles you wan.. ...to the foods you crave. even your favorite toothpaste. now, the things you love at target... are even better.

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welcome back. veronica johnson here in storm center 4. if you're heading out the door for that morning jog or soccer game u-need a jacket. by the afternoon you'll be throwing that jacket in the car. temperatures are starting out pretty nippy. 44 degrees. spots lik mountain pleasant, 36. tysons corner, you folks around sandy corner 36. in manassas. frost advisories posted for the overnight. gh temperature today 70 degrees with sunshine throughout

the area. it will be a lely weekend and tomorrow's high temperature, we're likely to get to about 75 degrees. a great weekend and i can't wait to get out and enjoy. >> we'll have another update of your local news and weather in 25 minutes. good morning. secrets of war. wikileaks releases thousands of classified military documents in the battle in iraq, including secret fieldeports and the staggering number of civilian casualties. great white, a huge shark kills a college student just off the coast of cafornia. we have new information on the attack and the frantic efforts to save the victim. and last chance, a judge spares lindsay lan more jail time but is sending her back to rehab the best solution for the convicted starlet? we'll find out, "today," saturday, october 23rd2010.

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

hear about their lives on and off the stage. the secret reports on the war in iraq have been released by the website kileaks. pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski joins us with more. good morning, agai >> reporter: good morning lester, this say monumental leak, u.s. military secrets nearly 400,000 documents, mostly raw battlefield repts from unit heat leaders creating a detailed but grim picture of the war inraq. some of the most damning documents involve the deaths of iraqisut mostly civilians. they reveal the u.s. military knew iraqi security beat, tortured and murdered detainees but american forces were under orders not to intervene, so they looked the other way. one document showed anmerican helicopter gunship shot and killed a group of iraqis trying to surrender. other documents reveal that hundreds of iraqi civilians were killed in u.s. military checkpoints and in one five-year period more than 66,000 iraqi

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

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

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

time toreview these and there are no names listed in these documents. what is your response to that? >> in this universe of documents, lester, upwards of 60,000 iraqi names listed. it appears and we are still going through the wikileaks cache now up on their website they have redacted the names o all iraqis. that is clearly a positive development in the wake of how incredibly irresponsible they were wra rds to the afghan documents in exposing many afghan names. so that is a positive development, but the bottom line is, our forces are still very much in danger here as a result of this exposure, given theact that our tactics, techniques and procedures are exposed in these documents and ournemies are undoubtedly going to try to use them against us in making our jobs more difficult than dangerous. >> at the same time one of the reports we mentioned an apache helicopter shootg and killing two iraqi men believed to have been firing mortar, sop reports of abuse marked as no further investigation. will there be a further

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

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

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

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

harvard. that's the news, leste amy, back to you guys. >> in that case i went to harvard. on a colle tour once. cool. bill karins is out on the plaza. >> great saturday morning, right here our winter could be a little sloppy. we're on the line with some

messy conditions. the ice slush and that sort of thing. this morning a very chilly start for us. we'll beat back that chill with nice sunshine and a big warm up by the afternoo 44 is the temperature in d.c. 44 in annapolis. 48 in leonardtown. 32 in manassas warrenton. we'll hit a high of 70 degrees today. 67 in warrenton. freder that's a look at your weekend forecast. amy, lester? >> bill, thanks much. still to come lindsay lohan spared a jail sentence, she's heading back to hab. is she being given special treatment because of her celebrity status? next the shark attack that claimed the life of a fmer college student, right after these messages. . i'm going to make the biggest pumpkin of all. the biggest pumpkin? ♪ i need tmake a witches hat. in case my hat falls off. it's pointy and then... a spike.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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insunce as men. domestic violence is treated as a pre-existing condition in eight states. womeare abused by their husban and then by their insurance companies. and last year they tri to end our coverage for maograms and other preventive services. well i proud to say i got the law changed. i'm barbara mikulski. i approve this message so you'll know that being a woman is no longer a pre-existing condition there's more to come here on "today" this morning, including lindsay lohan instead of jail time she's heading back to rehab. we'll get the latest developments in the case ahead. plus minus the makeup, girls at one school are doing it. we'll let them tell you why they're doing it. but rst these messages.

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it's happiness. i haven't even got bait on the end of mine. i don't care; it's just nice sitting her you're getting it. you're getting i higher temperatures tomorrow. a very chilly start to your saturday but a beautiful day. good morning it's 8:26 on this saturday, october 23, 2010. i'm kimberly sters. we're following breaking news out of prince george's county this morning. three people including a firefighter are hurt, one person is missing after a three-alarm fire ripped through an apartment building in suitland, maryland. the fire broke out around 4:30 in the morning at 3300 block of curtis drive pap firefighter and two residents suffered minor injuries. the missing person has not yet been identified. no word on what caused the massive blaze.

stay with news 4 for more details. you may need to plan some extra time if you ride metro this weekend. there could be significant lays on the red and green lines because of platform repairs and track work. on the red ne, at least half hour to your tr between shady grove and twin brook because crews will be fixing the platfo. 20 minutes to your trip between new york and rhode island. and green line additional 20 minutes between l'enfant plaza and navy yard. your weather is up next. stay with us.

meteorologist veronica johns johnsonjning us now with the good news. >> great news. we got a pretty chilly start first to get through our chilliest in fact in six months. temperatures will warm nicely. similar to last weekend between 70 and 75 degrees. but without the nd. let's check on those neighborhoods righ now. we're at 44 degrees in district. tinleytown and trinidad 35 in fairfax. that frost advisory will come down at 9:00 a.m. 70 your high temperature with wind out of the southwe. that will really push the mercury up today. so today, pleasant, tomorrow even higher temperatures expected throughout the area. so some sunshine toay, we'll pick up a few high clouds tomorrow. next week we could hit 80 but

next week a little bit of rain. do enjoy the weekend. a fl hour of news and weather coming up at 9:00. for now we sends you back to new york and "the today show." and we're back on a saturday morning, october 23rd, 2010. it is a crisp, fairly chilly fall morning. we want to thank erybody for coming out and spending part of their day with us heren the plaza. i'm amy robach along with lester holt, and coming up on "today," she's back. lindsay lohan appearedn fro a judge on friday. >> she side-stepped another trip to jail, and instead was sent to rehab. some would say she caught a pretty gd break here. we'll get legal analysis into what's going on with this case and why she did not get sent to jail. >> they're questioning whether or not there was speci treatment involved. also coming up donnie and

marie osmond, the most famous brother and sister act in show business and after nearly 50 years they are still selling out crowds. this morning we'll talk to the duo about their show, their music, and how marie is doing since theeath of her son, happened earlier this year. >> okay. we got that coming up also. girl power. there have been reports in the news how difficult it is to be a teen these days. this morning we're about to change that, meet a group of girls from texas who have banded together to challenge the conventional wisdom by not weing makeup to school. it's empowering. we'll find out whyhey're inspired to do this in just a few minutes. >> they ardorable, don't need maup. they look eat. a lot to get to for thisalf hour. first another check of the weather from meteorologist bill karins right next door. >> cool

right here the sun has been up now f about an hour. that's going to help temperatures warm up. a chilly start for us across the area under those clear skies and with the calm wind we're at 14 degrees. you folks around foggy bottom 34. 34 down in laplatt jarks 39 in quantico. frost advisory will come down at 9:00 a.m. 70 degrees your hig temperature for today. couldn't be happy birthday to the two of you

out there. also we want to talk about a little bit o football sunday nit on nbc. ♪ pretty good game, outdoor game so weather could be a factor, this is always a huge rivalry, brett vre, aaron rodgers, temperatures in the 56 to 60 degree range. there will be a chance for showers, the weather could be a minor impact at the game. of course that's sunday nig here at nbc. back to yo lester. a freaky friday ended with a big break for lindsay lohan. instead of heading back behind bars she's been ordered to continueehab the at betty ford clinic. more now from nbc's kristen welker. >> we got her. >> reporter: an air of anticipation outside the beverly hills corporate friday as actress lindsay lohan arrived to learn her fate. would she be ordered back to jail for violating probation on a 2007 dui? in court, judge elden fox minced no words telling low man "you're

an addict. i hope you understand that" but instead of sending her to jail again he gave her yet another break ordering her to rehab until january 3rd. she will continue treatment at the betty ford center where she has been for the past several weeks. lohan thanked the judge while wiping away tears. >> her tears were like real, they were raw and she understood how lucky she is, that she has judge who wants her to get clean. >> reporter: moments after the judge's decision, lohan and her family stood in the hallway hugging and weeping, knowing she narrowly escaped jail time. in the past three years, the actress has been locked up three times for probation violations, all stemming back to her itial 2007 arrest, and she has been in and out of rehab repeatedly. >> any attorney you tal to in this town will tell you judge fox is very fair and i think that came across in the courtroom. >> reporter: in court documents lohan claimed going back to inpatient treatment would be a hardship financially and damaging to her career. judge fox wasn't swayed.

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

crimes, she was initially convicted of. she's seed time three times on probation violations. no i know everyone out there is saying, yeah, but what are you going to do to prevent her from doing it again? and if you really want to talk about what to do to prevent her from doing it again, this is probably the best solution. >> the judge said "you're an addict." >> and remember, she can't leave. this is now her being told you have to stay in the center until january 3rd. >> a form of incarceration and in this case she got ahead of the game. she pretty much went there on her own. >> yep. >> did that help her in the judge's view, was that a sense of, okay, she gets it? >> it was a very smart move strategically because a, she gives the impression as you point out that she's taking this searupsl seriously. b she was able to get lters from betty ford saying she's paying attention, she's listening, she's progressing. we think we can really help her and i tnk that was really important in judge fox's decision not to send her to jail

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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♪ tell them how to feel whenhey shout it out ♪ ♪ tell everybody else ♪ and everyone ♪ tell everybody else they are the most famous singing siblings in america's history. donny and marie show no signs of slowing down. through the triumphs and tragedies they continue to perform together. i caught one the dynamic duo in las ves. did you ever imagine thatt

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

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

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

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

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

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they're everywhere. it's in the bunches, on the flakes, even real strawberries in the mix. can i have some more? honey bunches of oats with real strawberries. it's delicious. nobody does it quite like us. that's going to do it for us on thi saturday morning. thanks to bill karin and craig melvin. coming up tomorrow on "today" a rerkable story of a 5-year-old boy who donated his birthday money to charity. brett favre will be facing his old team on the field. i'll see you here later tonight for "nbc nightly news." until then so long, everybody. thanks for watchin -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com sync: i dias ged my property taxes 60 percent. woman 1 syi didn't owatrnor man 3: he worked for ak 10 billn

doanother bamillion.apsed.axers7 h big s don't ed help. middle class marylanders do. good morning. i'm kimberly suiters. straight ahead, fire devastates a historic chapel in alexandria. you may be surprised who is part of this investigation into what started it. i'm veronica johnson. >> a three-alarm fire. a three-alarm fire in suitland injures three leaving one unaccounted for. we've had a chilly start out there this morning. the mercury will bounce back up to 70 degrees. a sportsman weekend, everybody's kind of weekend out there. >> the white house is already beautiful. all that and more when you join us for "news4 today" iless than two minutes.

bob ehrlich's 24 years in politics. in congress ehrlich voted with george bush 90% of the time, protecting the special interests. as governor, ehrlich cut education, increased college tuition by 40%, and vetoed an increase in the minum wage. and after losing his election, bob ehrlich joined a lobbying firm and got paid $2.5 million to represent casinos and wall street banks. bob ehrlich--24 years of putting the special interests first. good morning. welcome to four. i'm kimberly suiters. you'll see aaron gilchrist tonight. it's saturday, october 23, 2010. the news is just ahead but first auick check on our forecast.

meteorologist veronica johnson is in for chuck bell who is on vacation. we're going hear from him nonetheless. >> you'll see why. >> well, we have seen patchy frost out the. have already gotten some emails from some of our viewers saying they are heading out today and take some fall foliage pics. 49 degrees right now in the district. cleveland park 49 degrees. step into fairfax right now, you folks are at 44 degrees. right now in arlington and burke and centreville currently 45, st up to the north in gaithersburg, maryland. had our warmest readings right near the water. our temperature change coared to yesterday, down 10 to 15 degrees in most spots with the exception of the district and just to the west. your high temperature today under the sunshine, 70 degrees with a slight southwesterly wind. doing much better than last weekend. last weekend was windy. >> big swing in temperature today.