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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

did we get that yet? it's been 12 hours. >> itok. >> i'm still trying to get the lightning connector. right now, the midsection of the country, a front dividing two warm and cold air masses. we have a strong storm down to omaha, isolated tornadoes, wind and hail. we have rain behind the system. ahead of it, the thunderstorms. beautiful day through the southeast. gulf coast, plenty of sunshine through the southwest. rain from northern california into the pacific northwest with mountain snows there. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning, i'm storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein. sprinkles from west to east. we might have them in the metro area in an hour or two. this afternoon, sun breaks out. 80 degrees. right now, 50s in much of the region. tomorrow, cloudy. cloudy and cooler friday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

would ban all abortions and contraception seemed a bit extreme. so i looked into it. turns out, romney doesn't oppose contraception at all. in fact, he thinks abortion should be an option in cases of rape, incest, or to save a mother's life. this issue's important to me,

but i'm more concerned about the debt our children will be left with. i voted for president obama last time, but we just can't afford four more years. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. just ahead, is college still worth it? >> and the queen mother's private letters and journals released for the first time. why her words will hit home for

the duchess of cambridge after your local news. i am here for your heads! [ bump ] ugh. i'm the horseless headsman. i think you mean the headless horseman? no. have a snickers®. why? because you get confused when you're hungry. better? better. [ male announcer ] you're not you when you're hungry®. snickers® is halloween satisfaction. that's been wrapped in a flaky crust stuffed with a gooey center toasted up all golden brown then gin a delicious design? a toaster strudel. pillsbury toaster strudel. so delicious...so fun.

good morning. it's 7:26 on this wednesday, october 24th. i'm aaron gilchrist. we have some breaking news on the roads this morning. here is danella. >> aaron, i-95 in virginia is still a mess. had an accident, another one. this one is now in the right shoulder lane. the right lane is blocked by the fire truck as you make your way northbound at 123. to get from quantico to the beltway, an hour and a half to make that trip. northbound roughly 16 miles per hour. i-270 is sluggish to the beltway. this is a look at father hurley

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in virginia, we know education means opportunity. that's why tim kaine expanded pre-k... championed higher ed and job training... helping make virginia "the best state to raise a child." but george allen has not made our kids a priority. as governor, he tried to cut funding for public schools. in washington, allen voted to end tax deductions for college tuition. and now, a budget plan that devastates k-12 classrooms-- all to pay for even more tax breaks for the wealthy. seiu cope is responsible for the content of this ad. gorgeous blueberry clouds on the horizon. live view from the nbc 4 hd

camera. the first view of the sun this morning. 59 at reagan national. it's going to be in the 50s for the next couple hours as we have a patch of showers coming through from time to time. president obama: i'm barack obama and i approve... this message. anncr: victims. dependent. that's what mitt romney called forty-seven percent... of americans. including people on medicare. but what about his plan for you? romney would replace guaranteed benefits with a voucher system. seniors could pay six thousand dollars more a year.

a plan aarp says would undermine medicare. you're no victim...you earned your benefits. don't let mitt romney take them away. and it is good. very good. a game-winning field goal for an underdog high school team in new jersey. the kicker is now a local hero, and he's a remarkable football player who also happens to be autistic, and we're going to meet him and hear his great story coming up. 7:30 now on a wednesday morning. it's the 24th of october. 2012. i'm savannah guthrie alongside matt lauer. >> also ahead, after serving ten years of a 20 to life sentence for the 1975 murder of martha moxley, kennedy cousin michael skakel gets his first parole hearing today so coming up why his attorney says he should now be released. >> we're finally getting our

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

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

guide because like her she married from the outside into the royal family. >> reporter: like kate, the queen mother loved fun. >> danced till nearly 4:00, exclamation home. home 4:30, ate biscuits and sherry, bed 5:00? and as with kate becoming a royal meant intense scrutiny. >> i've had a ghastly time this week with reporters and photographers, curse them, but i hope they will very soon get tired of us. >> reporter: they never tired, the paparazzi, infamously following diana and now kate faces the challenges of royalty. >> the demand of constant, constant engagements and pressure and everyone wanting to see you is exhausting. >> reporter: even the crowd at kate and william's wedding was the same when the queen mother married in westminster abbey in 1923. >> up by 10:00, put on my wedding dress. at 11:12 the carriage came and father and i started off for the abb

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

separation. about that year she wrote it was ghastly. >> all right. keir simmons for us in london this morning. keir, thank you very much. like the fact that she went to bed at 5:00. a woman after my own heart. >> i can relate. let's get a check now of the weather from mr. roker. >> all right. thanks so much, matt. a cold front will be causing a risk of severe weather in the mid-section of the country, and also causing big changes in our temperatures. lack at these highs. ahead of the front temperatures are basically into the 80s and mid-80s. the upper 80s in northern texas, anywhere from five to ten degrees above normal. look behind it, temperatures five to 20 degrees below normal. thursday, the front moves to the east. the colder winds flow down furser south into the southwest. temperatures anywhere from five to 15 degrees above normal. that's what's going on around the country. >> good morning. glorious sunrise over the

potomac now. come look at your television. it's a live view from the nbc 4 hd city camera on this wednesday morning. 59 now at reagan national. a light breeze from the south and west. storm team 4 radar showing sprinkles. the areas in green moving east of the area coming from the west. it may hold together in the next hour or two. sun back this afternoon near 80 deup, we've got an update on the latest on tropical storm sandy. savannah? >> all right, al. thank you. kennedy council and convicted killer michael skakel gets his first parole hearing today. nbc's katy tur is in suffield, connecticut with more on this. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. 10 years into a 10 to 20 year sentence michael skakel is up for parole for the first time since his 2002 conviction, and today he will asked to be set free. even after a decade behind bars,

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

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

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

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we're back now at 7:42 with

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

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

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

over a lifetime versus 1.3, and, yes, that's the answer. >> the graduates leave college with a money tavern debt. >> not all of them. the keys that you really have to think about finding the best value in education these days which means thinking about should i go to a community college for a couple of years before transferring to a four-year school? should i go private versus public. >> if you're a parent how do you make the decision whether you take this chunk of discretionary money and give it to your kids to pay for college, or you put it aside for your own retirement? >> you've heard me say before there's no financial aid for retirement. there is financial aid for college, but i know personally as a parent it's really, really tough not to help. you have to run the numbers, and you have to ask yourself the question if i put this money towards college, what does that do to my retirement? do i have to work a couple of additional years? how are those numbers going to shake out. >> and choose for the students a major that will help you, medical tech nix in addition, nursing, education, math and

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

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

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

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

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

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i'm keith russell on this wednesday, october 24th. we have breaking news at 7:56. earlier accidents are causing big delays on i-95. straight to danella sealock with your traffic. >> it's been a mess all morning long. one accident remains. 123, a crash here blocking the right shoulder lane. you have to stick to the left to get by. the delays are significant, 19 miles per hour, northbound. almost an hour and a half to get from quantico to the beltway. keith, back to

anncr: seven-hundred-thousand jobs. that's what the plan george allen supports... would cost our economy. newspapers called it "economically destructive." like allen's votes to give tax breaks to companies...

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good morning. dramatic sunrise over the potomac this wednesday morning. solar rays shooting into the sky there. around our region, we are going to have temperatures hold steady around 60 where we are now at reagan national. also, a few sprinkles passing west and north of the area. here is the four-day forecast. beautiful afternoon with sun back near 80 then cooler. mostly sunny tomorrow and clouds friday and over the weekend. rain and wind from sandy sunday into tuesday. stay tuned. anncr: five hundred and thirty seven. the number of votes that changed the course of american history. newscaster: florida is too close to call... anncr: the difference between what was... and what could have been. so this year, if you're thinking that your vote doesn't count. that it won't matter.

well, back then, there were probably at least 537 people... who felt the same way. make your voice heard. vote. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message. it's 8:00 now on a wednesday morning. it's the 24th day of october, 2012. streets of new york a little empty at this time of the day which is always a nice thing because later in the day, not at all like that. the plaza a little busier, as you look down from our camera high above. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie and al roker, and we are one week away from our halloween extravaganza. it happens a week from today. we are all going to dress up. what will we be dressed as? that's a secret, but we want you to come down as well in your best costumes. we've got some surprise

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

indication may track farther north as we get into sunday, monday, tuesday next week. we could get rain and wind from it. this morning, a few sprinkles. storm team 4 radar showing that in the western and northern suburbs. it's moving to the east. clouds coming through this morning. we are in the 50s in much of the region. near 60 near the bay and in washington. later, with sun back, near 80. beautiful day tomorrow and sunday into tuesday is when we may>> and that's your latest weather. >> starting to rain here. >> a little drizzle. >> somebody, quick, go throw themselves on top of that red sports car so it doesn't get wet. when we come back, the world premiere of the new james bond movie held in london. we'll take you there to find out how it went, and snooki joins us for her first live interview since becoming a mom. congratulations, right after this. [ male announcer ] at jcp we're big fans of izod,

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

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

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

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

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that's how i met marilyn... giada... really good. yes! [ jack ] ...and alicia. ♪ this girl is on fire [ male announcer ] use any citi® card to get the benefits of private pass. more concerts. more events. more experiences. [ jack ] hey, who's boring now? [ male announcer ] get more access with a citi card. [ crowd cheering, mouse clicks ] we're back now at 8:19 the. the new james bond movie

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

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

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

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

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

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

>> but the neiman marcus christmas book is next. i'm keith russell on this wednesday, october 24th. still following breaking news. big delays on i-95 in virginia because of two earlier accidents. danella sealock with the first four traffic. >> thanks. one is luckily in the shoulder lane at gordon boulevard as you make your commute from quantico to the beltway. slower now but better. it will take you under an hour to get there. let's go to dulles road. was blocking two of your lanes to the left. travel lanes are open. you are sluggish. you a[ male announcer ] if barack obama is re-elected,

what will the next four years be like? one: the debt will grow from $16 trillion to $20 trillion. two: 20 million americans could lose their employer-based health care. three: taxes on the middle class will go up by $4,000. four: energy prices will continue to go up. and five: $716 billion in medicare cuts that hurt current seniors. five reasons we can't afford four more years of barack obama. i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

good morning. mostly cloudy now. temperatures generally in the 50s in much of the region. the radar showing a little bit of light rain activity west to east across the metro area.

we'll have that dissipating in an hour or two. sun back this afternoon, warming to near 80 degrees. a gorgeous day tomorrow. as we get to the end of the weekend, could be affected by

8:30 now on this wednesday morning, october 24th, 2012. and a drizzly day in new york city as we say good morning to our crowd, and, of course, the music you hear is the one and only aerosmith. a reminder, they will be here for their first morning show appearance in just nine days. mark your calendars. they will be here friday, november 2nd. if you're in the area, come on

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

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

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

an objective view of. >> we congratulate you on the show. it's good to have you here. >> pleasure. >> thank you. >> it's a pleasure. >> we want to remind everybody "chicago fire" airs tonight 10:00, 9:00 central time right here on nbc. now let's get a check of the weather. >> all right. let's see what we've got for you over the next couple of next c. today, showers and thunderstorms making their way through the midwest. a lot of rainmaking its way through the upper midwest. along the northwest coast, sunny skies through the southern third of the country. tomorrow, rain from the great lakes to the lower ohio river valley. sunny and warm. beautiful weather along the east coast. southern florida, ahead of tropical storm sandy. that's what's going on around the country. storm team 4 radar showing areas of light rain across northern virginia, west of washington and maryland. it's heading to the east. this should dissipate over the next hour. sun should break out after that. this afternoon, climbing to around 80 degrees. right now, we are in the 50s in

most of the region. tomorrow, lots of sunshine in the morning, clouding up late afternoon into the mid-70s. cloudy on friday, a chance of sprinkles. increasing clouds, showers and wind monday and tuesday. >> and that's your latest weather. >> mr. roker, the world series kicks off in san francisco tonight when the giants take on the detroit tigers. we have world series trophy, the world series trophy, with us here in the studio along with retired pitchers jack morris of the tigers and kirk reader of the giants. who is going to win. >> the best team. >> go out on a limb. >> i'm going giants in seven, so that's my prediction right now. >> okay. >> tigers in six. >> all right. tigers haven't won it since what, 1984? >> a pretty good year. >> so you think there's more pressure on the tigers than the giants since the giants won it just a couple years ago? >> i'm more concerned about the days off the tigers have had. i think it didn't work in their

favor last time in '06, but they have some pretty good pitchers. >> you feel like the gianters have the weight of expectations on them? >> i don't think so, because they have been down all postseason. game back from down 0-2 and 3-1 and they are enjoying the moment. that's what you do in the postseason, and they are having a great run. >> what kind of pressure while you're waiting to do this are you going through as you're getting ready in. >> you try and treat it as a normal game as much as you can. i know there's a lot of, you know, press and everything that goes with the world series, but you try and keep it as a normal game as much as you can and see if you can go out there and perform what you do in the regular season. >> we'll make you an offer. we'll hang on to this until the series is over, all right? is that okay with you guys? >> starts tonight. >> yeah. >> i think that's a no. >> hey, good luck, guys, to both your teams. >> thanks so much. >> and good luck to all the fans of the giants and the tigers. >> yeah, thanks so much. coming up next, how would you like this under your

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

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

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

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

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

>> my bells are ringing when i'm riding in there,. >> say the price on this again. >> $354,000. you get a trip to england to the mcclarin technology center, only 12. put it on speed dial and get it today. >> this looks great. >> i'm going to sit with santa. >> bye, guys, see you later. >> we have gifts that are slightly more affordable. >> absolutely. >> you've teamed up with target. >> we have. >> starting december 1 we'll have a variety of gifts available at neiman marcus and target like this great alison olivia bicycle, cookie cutters, 21.99 by a band of outsiders, great cashmere blend hats, mirrors, again, all affordbly priced, this lunch box, this great fun hat.

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

and this is maryland. every year marylanders spend five hundred and fifty million gaming at casinos in these other states. question seven will build a new casino and bring table games to baltimore... generating hundreds of millions for schools. and that money has to go to education. it's the law. so vote for question seven. so we can stop spending all that money here, and keep maryland money in classrooms like mine. . 8:46 now. do you want to dress in stylish runway looks but can't afford them? one website is offering a solution letting you rent

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

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

cinderella moment? >> it's interesting. such a big trend towards people using real women in their campaigns. we've seen high-end designers do it, too. major luxury line using real women in their campaigns. ralph loren using plus-size women in their campaigns because women want to be able to relate to the girl in the picture, be it p-ar-size or big hip. you want to be able to see that. it's just something that women are definitely going to want to do. >> all right. ladies, thank you both for being here. >> thank you. coming up next, how to make the perfect pumpkin pie from scratch. >> all righty. >> but first this is "today" on

[ earnest ] out of the blue one day, we were told to build a 30-foot stage. gathered the guys and we built that 30-foot stage, not knowing what it was for. just days later, all three shifts were told to assemble in the warehouse. a group of people walked out on that stage and told us that the plant is now closed and all of you are fired... i looked both ways, i looked at the crowd, and...we all just lost our jobs. we don't have an income. mitt romney made over 100 million dollars by shutting down our plant and devastated our lives. turns out that when we built that stage,

it was like building my own coffin, and it just made me sick. [ male announcer ] priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising. we're back now at 8:51 with how to cook everything today. this morning a seasonal treat. pumpkin pie. can you buy one, but mark bittman says it's easy toe make from scratch. he's a "new york times" columnist and, of course, the author of "how to cook everything, the basics." mark, good morning. nice to see you. >> good morning, matt. >> sounds scary. from scratch when there's perfectly good canned pumpkin right there on the shelves. >> canned pumpkin is really good, but it's not just an exercise to show you it's not that hard to do it from scratch, and it is better, so why not. >> start with pumpkins obviously. >> everybody knows how to cut

the top off. did that during one of the teases. >> mm-hmm. >> as if you were making a jack-o'-lantern, and then the easiest thing to do here is cut the thing in half. this is a good-sized, called a sugar pumpkin. >> are they sweeter than the real big ones? >> very sweet. really nice, and the seeds come out like that. >> okay. >> easy enough. >> so you scoop that out. now you're using this part. this is what you want, the flesh. >> you can actually peel this. it's a little challenging, let's say it's some work. if you pick them upside down in a tiny bit of oil, takes a while, but at that point you can pull the skin off just like that. >> give me an idea of how long that took at what temperature. >> 45 minutes to an hour at 375 to 400. >> look how easily that scoops. >> now the skin is edible and good. i'm not saying you would use it in here, but -- >> full disclosure though, you don't love push kin pie and

neither do i, but yours is going to turn out great. >> tens of millions of americans love pumpkin pie, hundreds of americans. this is for them, not for us. >> so we have our flesh that we've scooped out from the baked pumpkin, and what do we do. >> puree is in a food processor. >> blender/food processor, and we add sugar, a fair amount, because after all, this is pie, eggs, a couple. how are bedoing time-wise? >> we're okay. >> so that's salt. >> salt, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon. >> okay. >> we'll put the right proportions on the website. >> this is half and half. >> heavy cream? >> how are we doing on time? >> we're doing well. thanks, keep asking. >> okay. how much time, mark. >> two and a half minutes left. >> yeah. >> take your time. you could actually make this thing. okay. >> so at that point you -- >> you whisk it some more. >> you whisk it a bit. >> this is realtime cooking.

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

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

good morning. i'm keith russell. it's 8:56. today, tim kaine will campaign in virginia. he will have lunch at the jewish community center in fairfax. his opponent had breakfast at the jcc monday. let's get a check of the

forecast with tom kierein. a few areas of scattered light rain moving quickly west to east across virginia, the nearby suburbs in fairfax county. it's going to be dissipating over the next hour. sun back this afternoon and feeling like summer in autumn. tomorrow, a beautiful day into the weekend. back to you. >> thanks, tom.

good morning. if you are making the trip along ix-270 southbound from frederick, you are slow. delays continue past shady grove and continue to rockville. i-270 across the bridge, delays continue.

we're back now with more of "today" on a wednesday. it's the 24th day of october, 2012. nice view of the streets of manhattan and our corner on the world. our window on the world. 49th street and rockefeller plaza. nice people outside. a little dreary, a little drizzly, but that's okay because we're warm and dry inside the studio kitchen upstairs where we have just learned how to make pumpkin pie from scratch courtesy of mark bittman. all it takes is three hours and 15 minutes. we showed you every step of the way. >> we have a three-hour show. >> and how we demolished the crust? when it comes down to it, these were great and the graham cracker crust is what makes it.

>> just serve the crust and these baked -- >> we're going to figure it out. >> the pie filling was good, too. >> new pumpkin pie. >> anyway, coming up, one of our most popular segments, "steals and deals," exclusive discounts for "today" viewers. >> from luxury watches, to handbags, something for everyone, some up to 80% off. >> jill martin with your bargains. money problems can cause a lot of stretch so just have some pie crust. in today's "money 911," men making some smart financial decisions from paying tuition to loaning a relative money. >> and in "today's kitchen," how to be a better cook. >> that has nothing to do with me, does it? >> you have a book "how to cook everything". >> and chris kimball is here and takes us to the kicking school all the time. just have to master some concepts. he's good people, that cis campbell. >> first, let's get a check of the top stories of the morning.

natalie is downstairs at the news desk. natalie. >> good morning to you guys, once again. good morning, everyone. on the home stretch of the campaign trail, both candidates are covering as much ground as possible. this is said to be the busiest single day of president obama's bid for re-election as he covers a marathon 5,300 miles today traveling from iowa, to colorado, to ohio. meantime tay at cleveland state university, republican vice presidential nominee paul ryan set to urge low-wage voters that they are guaranteed better safety social nets with mitt romney and meanwhile mitt romney is distancing himself from a comment made by indiana senate hopeful richard mourdock who was asked about abortion if a pregnancy results from rape. he answered, quote, even if life begins in that horrible situation of rape that is something god intended to happen. romney's campaign said he disagrees with mourdock's comments, and they do not reflect his views. a preliminary investigation into the massachusetts company

at the heart of that deadly meningitis outbreak has found visible fungus, standing water and other cleanliness problems at that facility. the ongoing state investigation into the now shuttered company has governor devalue patrick tightening regulations statewide. a shocking arrest in the murder of a 12-year-old girl from southern new jersey. a pair of teenage brothers from autumn pasquale's neighborhood have been charged with her murder after a two-day search found her body stuffed in a recycling container. the boys' mother apparently alerted police about her own 15 and 17-year-olds saying a facebook posting by one of them concerned her. authorities say the younger boy lured autumn to his home to steal her bike before the two then killed her. her bike and other belongings were found in the boys' home. officials near a vandenberg

air force base after a shark killed a 39-year-old surfer. attacks are consistent with that of a great white shark. two years ago a 19-year-old surfer was attacked and killed by a great white at that same beach. kennedy cousin and convicted murderer michael skakel has his first parole hearing today. skakel was convicted ten years ago for the 1975 murder of his neighbor martha moxley when they were both teenagers. she was fatally beaten with a golf club. skakel is serving 20 years to life in a connecticut prison but could be released as early as april if parole officials approve it. ever wonder how to get your kids interested in classical music? cdza offers this video as a suggestion. have your kids mash up the classics to the lyrics of their favorite pop song. ♪ we could have had it all going in ♪ ♪ hey i just met you and this is crazy ♪

♪ so call me maybe >> cute. beethoven meets "rolling in the deep" and another overture meets "call me maybe." the '90s sitcom "full house" proves to be a mousse for tom hanks. last night he performed a very avant garde slam poet about the classic show. >> uncle jesse, whose hair is never messy, watch the hair, huh. d.j. tanner, oh, mylanta. stephanie, how rude. little michelle, you got it, dude. >> multi-talented hanks also jammed out on a guy tar, and he talked about how he wishes he could rock out with bruce springsteen. i'm sure he will get that chance. it's five minutes past the hour right now. back over to al with another check of the weather. multi-talented. i'm sure bruce would like to have him. >> and he's rocking the mustache, too. >> i like it on him. >> thanks so much, natalie.

let's s moustache, too. this is the latest on sandy. tropical storm sandy, 95 miles south of kingston, jamaica. 's moving north at 14. this is the latest on the hurricane warnings from jamaica and eastern cuba. hurricane warnings for central baham bahamas. we have tropical storm watches for much of the florida keys and jupiter inlet. florida may be seeing the effects. you can see the track of the storms. brings it across jamaica as a category one storm over eastern cuba. friday, it's into the bahamas, the central bahamas. the paths maydi- vernlgs. the european model in green. that comes up the coast and into the northeast late monday into early tuesday.

so, one of the two models paths, which one will it take? we have to keep an eye on this. again, could be a potentially dangerous situation into the weekend and the early part of next week. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> it will affect our weather sunday into tuesday next week. today, a few sprinkles this morning. good morning. just past 9:00. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein here. generally now breaking up and later today sun should come out. highs near 80. tomorrow, a lot of sun into the mid-70s. clouds around on friday and saturday. then we could be affected by sandy sunday, time now for today's "take 3" where three of us give our take on the three stories catching our attention and yours and adding his take today, willie geist, who was very interested in your forecast when

you start talking about american and european models. >> those are weather terms. >> oh. >> not really models. >> you said they smoke too much. i prefer the american models. >> we've missed you. >> oh, boy. >> well, okay. our take one, halloween goes gangnam. remember this last year, the party rock anthem house, shut down because of noise. ♪ always rocking to the house tonight ♪ >> too much, do you think? >> some of it. okay. they said, okay, we're going to start from scratch. this year in leesberg, virginia, 8,500 bubbles to go "gangnam style." check it out. ♪ ♪ oppa, gangnam style >> nice, nice, i like that

effect. >> the designer will join us by phone. brandon, thanks for joining us. so, okay, last year, "party rock." this year, why did you like "gangnam style"? >> "gangnam style" was actually an after thought for my show this year. i was on an lor forum, and someone posted the lyrics to the sequence to it, and i kind of took it from there and had a little fun with it. >> it's a real advance in the again receipt. you've got the lights lip synching there in korea. >> i took a sequence that was done that i obtained and we worked a little bit with it to make it a little bit more in our preference and add the -- >> i love the little window chorus. >> the backup singers. >> last year that house was shut down, so are you worried at all, and what are you doing to make sure the neighbors are okay? >> of course i'm a little bit worried. my neighbors are really great people, and they have been really supportive.

where i'm friends with kevin judd, the -- in riverside, and he reached out to me a little bit and we've had a little conversation so hopefully we can avoid what happened last year. >> he's the guy who started the "party rock" anthem house. >> what's your electric bill? >> probably spend less on the electric bill than we do on candy. >> wow. >> okay. >> great. >> i want to come to your house. >> you better hand out cannedy if you're going to do that to the neighbors. >> congratulations, brandon. >> happy halloween. >> we're impressed. take two, cheap dates. new dating trend, 26 people of people say they have used a coupon on the first date. nearly three-quarters say using a coupon would not turn them from the date. 26% would walk out on a date. why would someone walk out on a date. >> groupon, all these things have made it great for people to be able to go out to some of the high-end restaurants and be able to take advantage. >> it's great. >> what do you think about that? >> a coupon is not what it used to be. not opening up the wallet and

taking out the clip from the personal shopper that your grandmother used to take out, on your iphone, like using a gift card for dinner. by the way, ladies, taking you to a nice restaurant because now he can afford? >> or maybe she's concerned. >> the only time you're concerned when they are taking us to happy hour and there's dinner, honey. >> sounds like somebody is speaking from experience. >> you know. >> hey, joe, you'll have to step up your game, my brother. >> never, never. >> we did a poll on our website and 83% of our viewers said they would never walk out just because someone used a coupon. good for you, viewers. >> do you think they are just saying that to the pollsters. >> what it became like an every time thing, then you'd be like okay. >> unless you're into that. some people find that sexy. >> absolutely. >> can't get enough of ryan gosling so how about this. got some video in our take three of a 12-year-old equally as adorable, a young ryan gosling interviewed on the show "canada aime" and they were able to bring out this footage,

apparently, as they were celebrating their 40th anniversary. >> is that macauley culkin? >> it does look like macauley culkin. >> you had to go through three sort of days of audition and the workout, what was that like? >> that was so neat. the people of disney are so incredibly amazing. they are so nice. they treated us -- >> he had just been, as you're hearing there, just been made a cast member of the disney's mickey mouse club. we know what happened to ryan and his incredible career. but what happened to that -- whatever happened to the reporter who actually is talia asourias and joining us on skype. >> hi, good morning. good to see you. >> do you remember the interview with ryan gosling back then? >> no. >> didn't even remember how big he was going to be. >> hate to tell you, i have absolutely very little recollection. hi to watch it yesterday. i've been traveling, and i was just surprised. love the hair, don't you think?

>> oh, yeah. >> isn't he adorable. >> your hair was looking pretty good, too. you went on to have a really great career of your own. >> well, i moved to the united states. let me tell you something though. ryan gosling is from my hometown of london, ontario, so we both moved to the united states, and i have been a broadcaster with abc and cbs, the networks, and you and all three of us have crossed paths many, many times, lived in new york, so we were competitors. oops. >> that's right. >> i remember. >> but now we're friends. so good to see you. >> great, great stuff. >> great to see you. >> he may have interviewed with talia, but he lifted me up. >> yes, he did. >> that's true. >> famously. >> i wasn't here that day. >> i was about to say natalie, that's the worst thing that happened. natalie missed that day of work. i knew you were going to bring that up. loves her some ryan gosling. >> yeah, he's dreamy. >> he is. >> goesling, by the way, is he the coolest guy going right now, him or clooney? >> i -- i'd go clooney.

she would go ryan gosling. >> unless george is going to pick me up. >> i think a movie with ryan gosling and george clooney. >> and maybe a little felix baumgartner. we were talking, he has like a little -- >> ladies were taken by the daredevil. >> they are telling us we've got to go. >> we could keep talking all day. >> all right, willie, thanks. >> see you. >> up next, exclusive steals and deals more than 80% off. that's right after this. i got this snapshot thing from progressive, plugged it into my car, and got a discount just for being the good driver i've always been. i'm just out here, snap-shooting it forward. you don't want to have to pay for other people's bad driving, do you? no. with progressive snapshot, you don't have to. i'm going to snap it right now. bam, there it is. goes underneath your dash. keep safe, and keep saving. you know, i won't always be around to save you money. that's why you should get snapshot from progressive. all right, dude! thanks! to the safe go the savings.

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time for jill's "steals and deals," from perfume to watches at deeply discounted prices. today for you, "us weekly" contributor jill martin is here with all the bargains. you found some great things for us again. if you haven't done this yet, people, here's how to do it. >> today is a great one. you agreed, too. >> amazing. >> for 24 hours you will get these deals. we'll link you to the retailers' websites but we've been selling out in seconds. so if you want something, go on right now. >> hopefully at a computer right now, great shawls from april marin. tell me about them. >> april marin shawls, the retail is $89. you see how versatile these are. one size fits all. throw them over a jacket or dress. great colors for fall and a great holiday gift. i can't even believe we're

talking holiday yet. >> great features. >> comes in six colors. the retail 89. retail $26. that's 70% off. >> super soft. great for travel, too, by the way. okay, next. book sets from random house. these are great books. i think third, fourth grade levels. my son is reading the magic treehouse set, "junie b. jones." >> always do well, retail 13-139. a special collection featuring some of their most beloved characters and stories for kids. let me go over the three sets. the first set is the first 28 adventures from the magic treehouse which i know everyone is a big fan of. the second collection, everyone's favorite kindergartner, junie b. jones and the third collection cat in the hat retail. the deal is 39 for each of the sets. up to 72% off. >> that's great. teachers really love these series, by the way. over here, perfumeys and

basically perfume stick sets, as i understand, right? >> retails. travel on the go, all natural ingredients. it comes in this little kit so it's a great actual gift so it arrives like that. five solid pocket perfume sets. five different sets. the retail is $30. the deal is $9. >> fantastic. >> a great gift or load up on stocking stuffers, different great scents. >> now to these gorgeous watches from sterling. take a look at them all different kinds of models and colors. something for everyone here. retail 445 to 525. this is an investment. the choice of seven men's and women's watch styles in a variety of colors, and you see all the different bands. stainless steel changes, crystals on the face, corc and boss leather bands. sold at fine retailers. the company's best-sellers, and

they come in this beautiful box so another amazing gift. retails 445-525. >> here's the deal. this is a real steal. 69.99. that's up to 87% off. >> that's amazing. >> so for any of these 69.99. >> that's a great gift. >> this is also a huge one for us because everybody loves, especially if you travel a lot, these tote bags from brics. >> the retail 125. so excited to get these. this is such a big brand. the three-way shopper converts to a cross-body bag, a shoulder bag and then you see here it has a removable pocket. >> that's great. >> i like to sometimes carry something around, especially when you're travel. lightweight nilon and comes in black, olive and navy blue. the retail 125. the deal 43.75. that's 65% off. >> fantastic for traveling. as i said, jill martin, as always. great stuff for your "steals and deals." let's just again review what the

products, are the shawls from april marin, the random house book sets, the perfume stick sets from perfumies, sterling watches and finally the handbags from brics. any questions about these products or past orders go, to our website today.com/stealsanddeals. coming up, answering your family questions about money. first, these messages. ve said ♪ ♪ 'cause at the pump it's miles ahead ♪ ♪ let's hum, hum, hum, hum ♪ let's hum ♪ a prius for everyone ♪ the perfect match, electric and gas ♪ ♪ mile after mile its tank could last ♪ ♪ we made three more for all to use ♪ ♪ big, small, and plug in, it's yours to choose ♪ ♪ and let's hum, hum, hum, hum, let's hum ♪ ♪ a prius for everyone ♪ and let's hum, hum, hum, hum, let's hum ♪ you can't argue with nutrition you can see. great grains. great grains cereal starts whole and stays whole. see the seam?

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good morning. storm team 4 radar showing a fast moving batch of light rain through virginia and maryland. it's going to continue moving east. later this afternoon, sun out. near 60. this afternoon, near 80. how is traffic? >> water main break slowing you

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>> tfinalists from our show us your moves contest boogie on down. >> this little girl is amazing right here, and mr. break dancer. we've narrowed it down to five finalists. a panel of celebrity judges to join in all the fun. that's friday here on "today." looking forward to that.

i'm natalie morales along with al roker and savannah guthrie as well. >> got something that's not so much fun, money problems, especially when it involves other family members that. can make it a little more complicated and emotional so our money 911 team has advice to make your money matters work. >> all right. and then we'll take a turn and talk about halloween decor, that time of year and to help you set the spooky move treats from the bar to the living room. many of these items can be used all year round. we like the sound of that, and then in today's kitchen, myths and facts about cooking so your recipes will turn out perfectly every time. maybe i'll just lead that segment. >> don't even need chris kimball. >> you've graduated. >> now let's turn it over to al for a check of the weather. >> starting with today, beautiful day in the new englan area. plenty of sunshine through the gulf coast. risk of strong storms in the upper mississippi river valley.

windy conditions and mountain snows in the pacific northwest. tomorrow, more rain from the central great lakes down to the lower mississippi. look for plenty of sunshine in the southwest, east coast looking good. a few clouds hanging around in the northeast. more rain and thunderstorms moving into southern florida. >> good morning. i'm storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein. a few scattered light sprinkles in the area. they should be moving east over the next hour. sun should break out for the afternoon. temperatures should jump into the 70s and briefly the 80s by late afternoon. mostly cloudy saturday. saturday nigtd, off and on sunday >> that's your latest weather. >> thank you, al. halloween is just a week from today which means it's time for unicef's trick-or-treat campaign and carol stern is the president and ceo of the u.s. fund for

unicef, and deana kay is the daughter of unicef's first goodwill ambassador danny kay. good to have you here. thanks for coming back. this is obviously something so meaningful to your father danny kay, who as we mentioned was the first goodwill ambassador for 25 years, and also a multi-performer on so many levels. what did it mean to him? >> you know, today, thanks to "today," we're launching a year long centennial celebration. it's not just about the artist who was successful on screen, on radio and television, but the centennial is really about his humanitarian efforts that meant the world to him. he would walk a mile for a kid, and as his daughter i'm just fiercely proud and inspired by his world outreach for children. it wasn't just figurative because he would go under their world instinctively and laugh and play and roll on the floor and rub noses, and so danny kay's legacy is an entertainer who had a responsibility but, he was my father, but he was the father to the world's children. >> and the world's children

responded and the trick-or-treat for unicef is such a tradition now, carol. >> it's great. it's the original kids helping kids campaign. it's a chance as a mom to get my own kids to understand that they can give back and obviously on behalf of unicef to actually see those dollars go to the causes they are supposed to. >> and very quickly, caryl, you have a new unicef ambassador. >> a number of different unicef ambassadors at the moment, and for me danny's the ultimate ambassador. that's what brought me to unicef as a child. he got me to trick-or-treat, so it's pretty exciting. >> encourage kids to do it and get involved. thank you so much. nice to have you both here. coming up next, we'll have some answers to your money questions right after this. at jennie-o we think some things are worth getting up early for like a better breakfast so on august eighth we woke up a sleepy town to show that eating well can be easy and delicious with jennie-o turkey bacon and sausage cooked thoroughly to 165

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good morning. on "today's money 911," finances and family. money issues are tough enough, but then throw in relatives, and, boy, that could be a big problem. here with great advice is jean chats key, and shapperson, and courtney reagan. >> nice to be here. >> we've got a call in from lee who is calling in from texas. lee, good morning, and what's your question? >> hi, good morning. my question is we recently moved out of state for work and would like to complete a short sale of our home. however, our banker decided that in order to proceed with the short sale they would require $22,000 from us and an increase of 20% in the purchase price from the buyer. my husband's decided he would rather let the bank foreclose

than hand over money to be allowed to set house, but my parents are upset and think we're ruining our live. they are worried the bank will come after us, take our cars and take our savings and garnish our wages. our lawyer is not advising us what to do and i'm on the fence and worried about our future so who is right? >> wow. jean, parents, spouses. short sale, foreclosure. >> wow. let's break it down here and let's talk about the money and then let's talk about the family. as far as the finances go a short sale is just as bad for your credit as a foreclosure is and that's something you and your husband both need to understand. i would go back and see if i could get an additional appraisal on the house to try to get the values up and get the bank to work with me. your parents are wrong about taking your cars. they would have to see you and win in order to garnish your wages. what i want you and your husband to do, this is how i want you to handle your parents, go find a certified housing counsellor. get one through the nfcc at

debtadvice.org. you two sit down and get on the same page and you go together and you tell your parents what you're going to do because this is you and your marriage, and i know you love your parents but this is your life. you're a grownup and they need to move aside. >> good luck. i know that's a tough situation. thanks for sharing it. >> thanks. >> let's go back to another viewer on the call. we've got from west virginia. hi, victoria. >> caller: good morning. >> hi. what's your question? >> caller: my mother is 85 years old, and four years ago she inherited approximately $90,000, and she is a hoarder, and now she's gone through all of her money, and she expects me to loan her more money to repair her car. >> oh, okay. >> it's about $1,000 and she's borrowed from me before and not repaid the loan. >> okay. which wasn't a loan as it turns out, it was a gift. >> it was a gift. >> she's in a very tough spot. of course, victoria, you do not want your mother to be

destitute. you want to help your mer and you don't want to be in financial ruin yourself. this is the key point. sounds like you have a tough time talking to your mom. bring in a third party. get an impartial credit counsellor to help you and help your mom figure out what her spending is. how did she blow through that amount of money in that period of time? >> should she lend her any more? >> make sure if she gives her any money that it is on the condition that she meets with this housing counsellor because this is going to be a gift to your mother. this is not going to be a loan if you give her any money, and the real gift that she needs is to get back on track, and you need to help her do that. >> victoria, thank you so much. good luck. we got an e-mail. it says my son was born we brought one semester of a pre-paid tuition program. we have since learned it is not guaranteed by the state. should we take the money out and put it in his 529 account? with the cost of tuition, it could be a huge savings if the plan was fully funded but we

don't want to lose any money. >> she's reich. nothing is guaranteed, unfortunately. it's only as -- the guarantee is only as strong as the institution that's backing this which in this case is more than likely a state or an educational institution. they work a little different with pre-paid tuition. you are pre-paying tuition, putting that money aside at today's rates for an in-state public education. however, that 529 savings plan, you are investing that money in the stock market. are you choosing different funds that are available. so there are different risks there. we know that's not guaranteed either. thinking about the switch, number one, look at any penalties or costs associated with that switch or rollover, and then you want to look at your risk profile. those pre-paid plans could be a little better for the conservative saver here while the 529 could be better if you're willing to take on more risk. you'll also get more flexibility and control and the potential for a higher return. >> all right. jean chatzky, sharon epperson, courtney reagan, thanks so much. >> just ahead, decorating ideas for your halloween entertaining right after these messages. oh the kids would love this hot wheels wall tracks

with monster jumper. i think they're gonna love this, leapfrog leappad2 with games and apps. i say we flip a coin. you mean with your double-headed coin? you know you could put both those things on layaway and pay a little at a time. awesome!! awesome!! high-five? [ mom ] mmm, you and your trick coin... shop now. get the hottest toys on your list today, like leapfrog leappad2 and hot wheels wall tracks... then put it on layaway so you have more time to pay. walmart. [ ding! ] losing your chex mix too easily? time to deploy the boring-potato chip decoy bag. then no one will want to steal the deliciousness. cer ] with a variety of tastes and textures, the boring-potato chip decoy bag. only chex mix is a bag of interesting. nah, i'm good. ♪ [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette, you celebrate a little win. nicoderm cq, the patch with time release smart control technology. quit one day at a time with nicoderm cq.

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snickers® is halloween satisfaction. this morning on "today celebrates halloween," spooktacular decker, for the home or for trick-or-treaters we

have some terrific ideas. good morning. >> good morning, natalie. >> hearing that scary music. >> i know. like to decorate but it can be really expensive. you have items you can kind of use the year round, right? >> absolutely. >> a lot of them you really can. you guys as obsessed with halloween as you are. >> yes, we are. >> good decorating and entertaining. setting the mood, candlelight, spooky and flattering. >> right. >> so were got these great skull candles. >> still in. >> they are back. >> so skull-obsessed people, haul out the skulls. they start at $40 for a set of the miniature skulls, and they look so fantastic when you light them and they melt down. >> okay. if skulls aren't your thing, why not glamorous candelabras. >> this one is battery operated. >> from a from grandin road, sort of "familiar tom of the opera." this you can use really year

round, $0 and try different colored tapered candles. >> black and white scene, that's gorgeous. face masks, always festive as well. >> you know. try using masks as decor. you know, we love these venetan masks and normally so expensive so you don't have to just wear them. found them at party oasis starting at just $8. these are very glamorous. as a center piece or on a door or wall. >> speaking about on a door. >> good great wreaths here and one of them is the dui project. >> wreaths aren't just for christmas. also love this mini pumpkin wreath from williams sonoma. you put it up at halloween. leave it up past thanksgiving. >> okay. >> and then -- >> this one on the door, which i love, the black feathers. >> a huge trend in home decor and fashion so these are from crafts feather floral and $38 so they are super light. >> very elegant looking. >> and i like the whole black-and-white theme including the crows.

>> another huge trend in halloween decor starting at 2.99. they have little wire on the feet. >> you can position them wherever you want. >> can go anywhere. >> tell me about the funkins, right? >> we are obsessed with these, sort of a secret of stylists, a and these are artificial pumpkins. >> look so real. >> but you car ef-them still. >> carvable, no mess and use them again year after year and they start at $18 and pop in a battery candle. >> can't roast those pumpkin seeds. setting our little table here. great drinks. >> raising the bar. this is a great skeleton hand drink dispenser from pottery barn, starts at $69. a great way to encourage people to serve themselves, and these fun drank labels from martha stewart, $9. >> okay. >> eye of newt, brains. >> really great. >> perfect on any wine bottle. >> and the frankenstein, iconic black and white love it, $5, so

that's an easy way to decorate. >> and great for your kids to get involved and get in the spirit. >> haunted house gingerbread kit. it comes pre-baked from chasing fire flies, $30 and a great crafternoon idea. >> kathy post, great ideas. >> coming up next, how to be a better home chef, but first this is "today" on nbc. anncr: seven-hundred-thousand jobs. that's what the plan george allen supports... would cost our economy. newspapers called it "economically destructive." like allen's votes to give tax breaks to companies... that ship jobs overseas, his economic plan would... help big corporations, devastating the middle class. allen even voted against tax breaks for small businesses. virginia can't afford to go back to george allen. the democratic senatorial campaign committee... is responsible for the content of this advertising.

what will the next four years be like? one: the debt will grow from $16 trillion to $20 trillion. two: 20 million americans could lose their employer-based health care.

three: taxes on the middle class will go up by $4,000. four: energy prices will continue to go up. and five: $716 billion in medicare cuts that hurt current seniors. five reasons we can't afford four more years of barack obama. i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. >> this morning in today's kitchen" step by step, busting some common myths. we've created 400 recipes guaranteed to satisfy all in the new book "cook's illustrated, the science of good cooking." the founder and publisher joins me. the science of good cooking. >> the first book was "the science of bad cooking." >> more people probably want the good cooking. so the hotter the oil, the better the frying. >> that's the myth, and actually it turns out you can starve

french fries and get less greasy french fries in cold oil. put them in and put the heat on high. in 25 minutes you get really crispy fries. the reason is the oil doesn't go into the fry until some of the moisture comes out. less moisture comes out this way and the two-step method of frying fries, when they sit for twice, the oil gets into the fry. this way they only sit once. >> recipes it's always fry them try. >> fry them once, it's gentle and they end up with less oil. >> it's a gentle fry. >> it's a gentle fry. >> now in baking, they say never bake with cold eggs. >> going to mick a yellow cake, one that uses whole eggs, baking powder and baking soda, done with cold eggs and this done with arm eggs, absolutely no difference. >> what's the difference? >> this is -- turn it this way. >> yeah. >> that one's a little bigger than that one. >> no difference. >> angel food cake, chiffon cake, egg white cakes, yes, but

not whole egg cakes. >> are some potatoes better in cooking than others depending on what you're cooking. >> the russet, the basic baked potato, mashed potato, high in starch, about 23%, and that means it will be a little denser when it goes down. this red potato, new potato, 16% less starch and that's actually going to float. >> oh, okay. >> i was worried. >> which is better for which? >> well, it turns out that that's not the only issue. the other issue is what kind of starch? this has more of amylose which means when you cook it? >> it turns blue. >> it turns blue, yes, that's exactly right. you're a quick study, sir. you can see that the blue gets in more. do mashed potatoes, you absorb liquid like butter or milk or cream. mashed potatoes, do a russet, potato salad where you don't want to use so much, use that. >> the old myth is you should be able to throw a steak cold into the frying pan. >> here's the problem. when you heat up a fan. heat up a pan, a little oil,

first starts to smoke. can you see this is kind of wet and when you put it in, okay, going to take a long time for this to get up to 300 degrees because of the water. you don't get the browning. this one was put in when it was nice and dry, and you get the browning this. will steam, this will brown. >> we want that. >> and then finally, brownies. >> finally, they always say in recipes when you're making brownies, stir until streaks of flour are left in, so if you overstir it, you really stir it because you don't want to see the streaks of flour, you get a very caky brownie, okay, it gets overdone. less chocolatey because you're developing gluten. you do it this way it's much moister. >> really. >> willant, wow. >> kathie lee and hoda coming up after your local news and weather. president obama: i'm barack obama and i approve...

this message. anncr: victims.

dependent. that's what mitt romney called forty-seven percent... of americans. including people on medicare. but what about his plan for you? romney would replace guaranteed benefits with a voucher system. seniors could pay six thousand dollars more a year. a plan aarp says would undermine medicare. you're no victim...you earned your benefits. don't let mitt romney take them away. good morning, i'm keith russell. it's 9:57. today, tim kaine will campaign in northern virginia. he'll have lunch at the jewish community center in fairfax. george allen had breakfast at the jcc monday. let's get a check on forecast with tom kierein. >> we are still 60 degrees as we

are approaching 10:00. cloud cover is producing sprinkles. they have been moving from the west to east around the metro area and continue k to dissipate as it heads east. sun should break out near 80. how is late morning traffic? >> we have an accident on the beltway. it's tieing things up. you are jammed. delays start around i-95. here is a live look at university boulevard. the cars are hardly moving. that drive will take you at least 48 minutes now. keith, back to you. >> on news 4 midday, important information for parents wi

teacher: this is west virginia, pennsylvania, delaware. and this is maryland. every year marylanders spend five hundred and fifty million gaming at casinos in these other states. question seven will build a new casino and bring table games to baltimore... generating hundreds of millions for schools. and that money has to go to education. it's the law.

so vote for question seven. so we can stop spending all that money here, and keep maryland money in classrooms like mine. hey, everybody, it is a little dingy looking winesday wednesday, october 24th. that doesn't mean it is not going to be a great day, hoda. it is going to be a great day. we have great news for those of how were worried and losing sleep over puppygate. do you remember what happened? kathie lee was holding the dog, gingerly. >> yes. yes. very tenderly. >> sort of squirmed its way out of her hands and went for a

nosedive kama kaz zi. now, if you observe -- >> crazy seeing it again. >> it was really painful to watch. i ran away. i got freaked. anyway, great news because the north shore animal league has announced that that particular dog has been adopted. >> apparently far, far, far away from me. california or some place. i don't know. yes. >> no matter where you look these days, it seems to me, i'm just glancing around. trying to get through the day you pick up a copy of the new york observed, who do you see, praise be kathie lee. >> never been a more attractive picture either. look how crazed i look. >> what are you talking about? >> i'm like scary woman.

scary woman. >> anyway, it is a great fun, fun article about the broadway show coming out. talks about your life, but doing porn. if you want to read more about it read all about her porno activities in the article. it's really a cool article, by the way. >> this kid who wrote it he is 24 years old or something. >> daniel dadario. >> thank you for that hody and i, lunch with everybody, the scandals mat nation, our sonny come to be with us again, months since we have seen sonny. >> we are going to gallagher's. >> going to gallagher's, sold out like this everybody, i wish we had more room. please. it is not our fault. they can only serve so many people. we are going to keep trying to do these things until, poor hoda. >> no, i'm in for lunch. we are going to meet, apparently 200 people bought ticts right away and then see "scandalous"

and do it the next few weeks. >> they will i will help you sell your book when it comes out in january. only fair. >> yeah. yeah. yeah. the b-- yeah. >> the big thing you went to is the pink chair event? >> designers auction them off for breast cancer. chris fuchs, a friend of mine, her event, we have a couple of photos. that is her right there she put on great thing, almost 500 people showed up. and rachel voy a designer -- >> you love her stuff. your dress is her. >> i know, my mom -- >> so cozy. >> my mom picked out a dress she made and i get to wear it. >> good. now, there have been some good -- if you would call them good, interesting falls this week. three of them we are going to take a look at. >> madonna was at her dallas concert and singing "like a prayer," that part of it you get down on my knees, like a prayer, singing that and something

happens. let watch what happens. she is a improvement she keeps singing. whoop and down she goes. >> could i have done without the word squatted.whoop and down sh >> could i have done without the word squatted. >> she wasn't the only one falling. this reporter, fishing trip. >> new orleans. >> fishing, showing it off. this what happens. >> this one is about 12 pounds but they can grow to be -- [ screaming ] -- and -- >> and fuzzing out portions.

>> who fishes in a sun dress like that? adorable. but -- she wasn't hurt. we wouldn't show these if she was hurt. >> you remember gilles marini? he was on dancing with the stars. here is the third fall. carrie ann was talking about him -- >> devastatingly sexy guy. >> she got overwhelmed with all the -- all the hormones and stuff. any way, let's watch what happened to her. >> let the baby making begin. thatas ridiculous. >> they are dropping like flies. >> did she say let the baby making begin? >> yeah. she was really down there on the ground. this was not a -- and good-bye. there are two kinds of people i point out, those who laugh when they watch videos of people tumbling. and those who don't. >> i know, but the fact that

they weren't hurt, you know -- >> makes it funny. >> years ago, i was introducing diet coke, i was working for coca-cola back then, i was in kansas city and i remember -- and i walk out and the -- and i -- the stage is -- has just been attached, you know, to something. guy walking. it -- guy on the stage. i go flying, legs spread apart. >> splayed. >> splayed is a good one. the stunned audience, gosh this can't be part of the show. i will get up and start singing. i'll get them. my conductor was drunk in his hotel room and the band is sitting there going i don't know where the director -- your conductor is. i said, you know what, we are gonna try this again in about an hour everybody, let's get that guy. i know, so we have all fallen. >> tendency when you fall, even if you fall and when bleeding is to get up and start laughing hysterically, embarrassed you

are falling. ever walked down the street and tripped and fallen. that happened to me, my knees were scraped up. like, that's hysterical. i'm dripping with blood, i need bandages and the heimlich, whatever. not the i'm lichblgt you know what i mean. good news for justin and jessica. >> guess we are going to get a look at the very first pictures from brand new "people" magazine has exclusive look. wow. >> he is flying through the air. she is there. petal pink. >> they danced their very first song, i think it's -- >> donny hathaway's -- >> what is it called? >> "this song's for you" and i guess he wrote a brand new one and sang it for her. >> when she walked down the aisle. i want to hear it. they said everyone was crying. >> of course. i love that song, "a song for you." is that what it is? >> not the same one as elton

john's. yeah. yeah. i like that one, too. >> speaking of music, let's play the game, shall we "the voice" game? this last of the battle rounds. see how you do. this is team blake's due. we these two were told to sing angry. it's called "i hate myself for loving you." >> must be a country song. no, it's like joan jett or something. >> it is? >> yeah. let's watch. ♪ i think of you every night and day, you took my heart and you took my pride away ♪ ♪ i hate myself for loving you ♪ can't break free from the things that you do ♪ ♪ i want to walk but i run back to you ♪ ♪ that's why i hate myself for loving you ♪ >> would you choose "something about mary"? who would you choose? >> "something about mary."

>> "something about mary" won. all right. here is team cee lo's, singing "t "titanium." >> i don't know any of these songs. >> you will note singers. ♪ i am titanium ♪ cut me down but it's you who happened not to fall ♪ ♪ ♪ >> i couldn't understand a word she is saying, should be in brad pitt's commercial, i really cannot understand a word, so i give it to the guy. sorry, i think lyrics -- >> the guy won. you are right. >> lyrics are important. you have to be able to understand what you're -- >> the girl is one of lady

gaga's backup singers. she ended up at the last minute getting stolen. christina had one steal. >> so, everybody's a winner. >> everybody is a winner. >> as soon as my musical gets office and running, maybe i will be able to actually watch something on television. that was fun. >> so, would you do this? there is something called a wearable camera and you put it on your lapel. >> yeah. to log your life. >> so you can take photos every 30 seconds of whatever it is you're doing. >> seems to me it is for people who have no life. i can't believe this. click. click. i mean, it might be good if you're constantly and chronically losing keys and stuff. >> i will get you one for stmas. the point is you'd lose that, too. you'd lose the camera. i think you're either an organized person or you're not, hoda woman. and i don't want you to change. i love you the way you are. >> is that it? >> that's it. >> e >> excellent. >> we have run out of time. >> the windy city on the new nbc news drama called "chicago

fire." >> going to talk to smoking hot actor taylor kinney right after this. ♪ i'd like to thank eating right, whole grain, multigrain cheerios! my bowl, my spoons!

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taylor kinney plays a brash and heroic lieutenant on the blazing hot new nbc drama. it's called "chicago fire." but lieutenant kenny's sever ride is not only fighting fires but battling his own demons. >> and an addiction to painkillers. watch this. >> you got any ibuprofen? >> yes, indeed. how many do you want? >> five. >> here's two. seriously, too many can do serious damage to your kidneys, man. >> dude. >> dude. >> i couldn't get the good stuff so i go for ibuprofen. that will suffice for now. if you can't get the good stuff, just overdo it with ibuprofen.

>> we had your partner jesse spencer on i guess about a week ago. what a great guy. i guess you guys developed quite a relationship, friendship and bond that shows up on the -- if we had actually seen a -- yeah. one of you together. but you said it is like a dream job for you, tell us y >> yeah is a dream job. i mean, jesse, our two characters there's a lot of tension between the two of us. we are pretty good buddies off set. but initially, we see a conflict between these two guys and it's an evolving storyline where we're at now, the episode that we are coming into. >> it's complicated? >> yeah. >> i like how authentic it seems, you guys are really wearing the gear, trained by firefighters. ins and outs. >> do you your best to represent the city of chicago, the firefighters in the city, paramedics and we have advisers on set with -- they will give us no hassle. nobody's -- >> thrown out. >> we are not thrown out to the woods. so everything is done, you know, with respect to the career and

the job. >> make it authentic. >> you have been acting a long time. you studied theater in college. >> i got into theater in college. you meet chicks? >> one thing that held my interest outside the class radio. i was always ambitious and always had tons of energy and it just kind of happened. >> meant to be. >> theater better or television? >> tv, i have been doing a lot of tv. films, independent films and it's -- you know, great to get up on stage, too. >> by the way, your girlfriend -- >> ah. that's good one. >> lights up a little bit. >> she tweeted. i thought that was kind of cool. hey, watch this nbc show. i was like, wow. gaga -- >> no, i was -- i was surprised it was -- >> why wouldn't she? >> i think it's great. i think she is proud of -- girlfriend being proud of her boyfriend and excited. she has been to the set a couple times. >> how do you guys see each other? she is on a world tour, you are in chicago doing -- >> she hasn't said anything but she has a spaceship and she can

get to a and b pretty quickly. >> so y'all met doing a video, right, one of her -- >> you will have to ask her this whole story. she is better with this stuff. >> better it? >> what's it like dating her, because she is so iconic now. must be a little strange? >> i don't know, because it's -- i don't have that outside -- >> yeah. >> it's all inside. >> view. so i guess it's normal, if you will, and that respect. >> never heard that word attached to gaga. >> i don't -- >> you seem kind of normal. >> i guess. for what ever reason, it works. happy guy. i'm a lucky guy. >> these great. >> a sweet guy. give our love to jesse. you made quite the imp prechlgs. >> you are, too. >> i will tell them. >> thanks, sweetie. >> both two said hello. >> "chicago fire" airs tonight at 10:00/9 central time on nbc. from eye cream, lipstick and shampoo, cosmo magazine has the latest.

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time for today's beauty and you know how that is head to the drugstore, pick out a face had cream or lipstick and you bring it home and you hate it. >> luckily, the editors at "cosmopolitan" hate it also and they tested beauty products. here is leah wire, cosmo's beauty director. leefrnlts ya, leah, leah. adorable. so you checked out all these products, tested them? >> we get thousands of them, test all year round. this is a taste of the top 31 we featured in the october issue. >> so what do you have for face cream? >> biore, feels great when you are in a hot shower. >> feels great. >> this is garnier's overnight peel and works while you sleep, best exfoliator, put on before

you go to bed, thin layer, glycolic acids dissolve the dull, dead skin. wake up with an amazing glow. best facial moisturizer is lore yell bb cream, tinted moisturizers plus other stuff, spf, tint, stuff to fade freckles and brown spots, our splurge, lancome's pearl serum, tuesday to customize whatever you need for your eye, circle it around to give you a glow. you can -- >> need a glow, thank you. >> swirl it to get rid of puffiness. great things you can do with this product. >> smells good, too. >> this is important. what's happening on this table? >> makeup. so best concealers, maybe lean dream lummi highlighter, liquid light under your eyes, never look like odd bad night's sleep and great, easy brush. >> okay, i like that yep yep. >> this mascara, i'm crazy about. i happened phone by chance. >> so great.

cover girl's lash blast 24 hours, cracked the code with long wear, it lasts a day, a full day. >> so thick on your eyelashes. >> great. >> and laura mers yeah's crem smooth lip city not dry your lips, on like a lip balm and wears like a lipstick. >> what are you talking about? >> hair products. >> we have matched different shampoos and conditioners for hair texture also. pantene daily renewal for thick hair will smooth it out and fight those texture issues. color-treated hair, bumble & bumble's color minded, sulfate free, sophisticated oils to lengthen the life of your highlight and dye job. it is great. for fine hair, aussie's awesome volume, thickens those fine hair, gives you lot of great texture. for frizz, 'cause we know that's an issue, is john freda -- >> for some. >> frizz ease this is the sheer solution version of frizz ease, much more universal, not going to weigh down your hair if you

are fine or normal. >> then the -- it's a ten dream miracle blow dry volumizer t will give you "cosmo" cover girl hair, no starchy or sticky side effects. >> deodorants and things. >> a great clinical protection with motion sense, really cool it has encapsulated are fragrance beads, you make movements or friction underneath your arms. >> it smells better? >> bursts and gives you a great fresh scent. >> really? >> jer again's crem in a pot, so thick and yummy, quo never pump it out. mango butter, shea birth, cocoa butter, feels incredible on dry, itchy skin. >> nice, nice and thick. yummy. >> the best razor is the shick hydro. this it has the strips, you are moisture rising and skip shaving cream and maybe the body lotion. >> well done, leah. leah dryer if that is your real

name. thank you, sweetheart. >> halloween a he week away, scaring up a mon ter edition of who knew. >> the houston family opens up about a life after whitney and how they are cope wetting cameras rolling. fantasy and portable gifts from neiman marcus and it is not even halloween. with occasional irregularity, things your body doesn't use could be lingering in your system. but activia has been shown in clinical studies to help with slow intestinal transit when consumed 3 times per day. 7 out of 10 doctors recommend activia. and the great taste is recommended by me! ♪ activia and try new activia light. 60 calories and the only leading light yogurt with no added sugar.

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would ban all abortions and contraception seemed a bit extreme. so i looked into it. turns out, romney doesn't oppose contraception at all. in fact, he thinks abortion should be an option in cases of rape, incest, or to save a mother's life. this issue's important to me,

but i'm more concerned about the debt our children will be left with. i voted for president obama last time, but we just can't afford four more years. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. we are back with more of "today" on this wipes day wednesday and play the trivia game called "who knew"? and halloween around the corner, we will test your knowledge of the spooky day, don't get tricked, you will get a treat. kathie lee is across at the nbc experience store, ready to hand out $100 to those who get the questions right and those who don't, the treat of kathie lee's cd. isn't that nice? helping me out here is ted pappas, executive editor of encyclopedia britannia. see how much everybody knows. >> would be nice if i could see. adults, on average, will spend how much on halloween-related

activities this year? $25, $35, $62 or $79? >> $62. [ buzzer ] >> oh. what did you pay for that shirt? >> well -- >> never mind. >> the correct answer $79. >> americans will spend an incretibi incredible $8 billion, for $79 per adult, making halloween the second most commercially successful holiday after christmas. >> you are kidding. >> talking about halloween treats, really this is a major annual treat for the retail market. >> didn't know. back across to kath. >> ladies from philadelphia having lunch with us today, hoda woman. how many pounds of candy corn -- oh oh, do americans consume every year? 1 million pounds, 10 million pounds, 35 million pounds or 50 million pounds of candy corn? >> i'm gonna take a guess at 10

million pounds. [ buzzer ] >> oh. it's a very good day for me. enjoy. >> the correct answer is 35 million pounds. who it's candy corn anymore? >> the 35 million pounds of candy corn translate into 9 billion pieces of candy corner with consuming anally, 9 billion. candy corn is not only popular all year round, produced as we know in all different colors for all different holidays but one of the trendiest flavors around from a marketing point of view. both nabisco and the mars company produced oreos and m & m's with what kind of filling, candy corn. >> ew. back across to kath. >> he still talking about candy corn? >> this lady from oklahoma city. what was the top selling halloween costume in 2011, a witch, a pirate, a zombie or a super hero? >> going to go with d. [ buzzer ] >> you would be wrong. >> this is kathie lee's favorite day ever. the correct answer was a witch. >> this year given the election,

we will see plenty of obama and mitt romney impersonators but the most popular costumes remain the traditional ones, the witch and the vampire for adults. the princess and batman for kids. and for pets, the pumpkin. the devil and the ever-popular hot dog costume. >> back across to kathy. >> gentleman from louisville, kentucky where does the name halloween come from? an ancient irish town thought to be haunted, the legend of sleeping hollow by washington irving, mexican day of the dead holiday or all saints day? >> i'm going to go with d, all saints. [ ding ] >> you there go. >> finally have a win. all saints state whipper. >> the name halloween has religious roots because october 31st is the day before of the whole day before the eve of all saints day, october 31st became known as all hallow's eve or, in shortened form, halloween. >> back across to kath. >> this lady from florida. very, very excited to be here today.

jack-o-lanterns have traditionally been cared out of all the following except, turnips, apples, beet and pumpkins? >> i would say beets. [ buzzer ] oh, come on the >> she is crushed. >> there. >> the correct answer is apples. >> yes. vegetables, not fruits, typically used for jack-o-lanterns, white ancient kepts and brits used continue nips and beets, seems small to me, early americans opted for the larger pumpkin. all cases, the kafrd images are intended to scare off the evil spir rates this supposedly haunt us on halloween. >> happy halloween. thanks for coming to see us. he was shut most awarded female singer of all time and we will talk to whitney houston's brother and system, right after this. leapfrog leappad2 with games and apps. i say we flip a coin. you mean with your double-headed coin? you know you could put both those things on layaway and pay a little at a time. awesome!! awesome!!

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has oats that can help lower cholesterol? and it tastes good? sure does! wow. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy. beloved mother, daughter, sister and friend. >> since her passing more than eight months ago, the houston family has tried to cope on their new lifetime show called "the houstons, on our own." whitney's brother, gary, and sister-in-law, pat, they discuss the challenges guiding whitney's daughter, bobbi kristina. take a look. >> she's gone. you know, she left us here with that. it is a heavy it is a to be fulfill. >> i just don't want to ever have to question myself in make willing the right decisions for

her. >> second guess yourself. i understand. >> you want to fail chrissy and i don't want chrissy to fail herself. >> and chrissy meaning bobbi kristina, i am sure who is not with us today and neither is your mom, gary, right? she is okay? >> she is good. really good. >> before we do talk about the show, how is everien doing? because when we are reading eight months and only hits you eight months since she passed. >> i always let ladies speak first. i always let my wife speak first, 'cause she is the strong head honcho of the family right now. >> what do you think? >> you know what, we are all doing good p you know, we are just taking steps one day at a time and dealing with this because we were not ready to say good-bye, not at all. it felt like an ambush. something hits you, you have to wake up and realize things are different. we just take steps one day at a time, rely on one another to get through. >> you know, there's so much healing that has to go on, pat,

after something like that. what kind of in the decisionmaking process for you as family, you say that is when most families circle the wagons, come together, avoid camera, avoid any intrusion into your privacy. you-all went exact other way. why? >> you know what the cameras have been there forever and the fact that you hear stories all the time, after she passed, you hear a lot of people come up talking about how close they were to her, about certain things that may have happened in your life this is more or less a continuation of a show that we actually had been working on two years ago. we just continued the process and the spotlight was actually on my life as it related to what i was doing and balancing my life as a career, mother, a wife dealing with a husband that has cancer, a niece that was around all the time that really depended on her aunt. we were awful a part of that. so we just continued the process. >> bobb bichristina, everybody seems to be focussing on her,

going through a very -- a time in her life a lot of changes happening, talk about her getting engaged on the show. are you at all concerned, gary, about her being this exposed this young? >> not really concerned about it, because she has a good leadership. she has a good mentor right here in my wife, which whitney also had too as well. she depended on her, my wife very much so, in terms of leading her in the right direction, you know, guiding her and giving her advice and things like that so, i don't really worry about anything when it comes to bobbi kristina managing her life. >> what do people get from the shows, guys, in the last minute, when they are watching, what do you want them to take from this? >> you see a family standing together, a structured family, a family that has struggled like any other family. there is nothing unique about the houstons. you know, the fact that we are moving on but still honoring what whitney would want and protecting bobbi kristina. of course, there will be

challenges. we are more concerned about her well being, life management skills as opposed to her becoming a singer or an actor or anything like that navigating her into womanhood. >> everyone tries to be so different in their lives, so much similarity going on in this world as far as people. >> just people at the end of the day respect we? we thank you all for being with us and bobbie broy was just arr for another -- >> he was? >> dui. say hello to your mom. >> thank you very much. >> "the houstons, on our own" premiers on lifetime. going to do early holiday shopping with gifts. >> what is santa doing here? >> almost halloween. >> oh, wait, somebody is singing. >> is that you? >> wait, let's listen. ♪ [ female announcer ] dear sweet tooth, i love you.

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have you ever thought to yourself, man, i would love to buy a hen house? >> if you have 100 grand, you can. neiman marcus is out with the

christmas gift book and ginger veered here with the most lavish items. >> nice to see you. >> hair is ginger, too. >> now, did we read that right? a hen house that costs -- >> a whole minifarm. the center piece is a custom-made hen house. >> we had it on earlier. >> here is the hen house. >> is actually adorable. >> like the real house. >> is. lots of room. the chickens will be very happy and meet with you to decide do you want beautiful eggs? what is it do you want? vanity breeds of economic than are very beautiful? whatever you want. we will make it happen. >> people have vanity breeds of chicken? >> they do. >> we should point out we have the chickens here. taking major league you know what's behind us. >> so, we are going now to this? >> yes, this is a video portrait by the artist robert wilson and in the style of a traditional portrait, as you can see, the owl moves and squeaks and turns his head. >> so, that is actually a painting not a video? >> it is a video but in the style of a painting. >> oh. >> like a play on video.

>> does it watch you and follow you or just -- >> no i think it acts on its own. you don't have to worry about that. >> get different colored polka dots. >> how much is that? >> $70,000 and a portion of the proceeds benefits the water mill center. >> okay. >> now there's some affordable gifts for everyone, all of us. >> absolutely. it year announced a collaboration with target and going to be a collection of gifts available at neiman marcus and target stores, an allison livia bike which i think is darling. >> adorable. >> $500. >> 499.99. there it is. check out the gifts at target.com or neiman marcus.com and preview them now before december 1. >> what else? >> great cookie cutters that are fun. you two need the best friends hats. these are cashmere blend. >> told me that right off the bat. >> one says friend. >> have to stay together. >> i know my place. >> these are judith lieber's mirrored compacts.

>> i love judith lieber. >> right. oscar de la renta pet access source. >> i do, but it is a boy. hoda might. >> you never know. there you go a fun, furry hat for kids from skies taylor and really fun and fun to wear. >> cute. >> through the winter. 40 bucks. >> a great torre birch lunch box and thermos. >> she is into everything. >> torre birch lawn noms soon. >> that is just adorable. these are fun, in the christmas book this year, headphones that are ear muffs. >> hoeddy. >> oh, look at that. >> my gosh. >> how much are those? >> i have to check this. >> really cool. >> chickens. >> yeah. >> from kate spade, a cute silver-plated yo-yo and harmonic

ka, $30 each. our book, nfl greats, opened up to the right page four. >> frank gifford page. >> dual threats. >> this is a great gift. then as always, the christmas book -- >> then you have got a snow globe, $90, great looking. >> but that's the great thing about neiman marcus, a great tin of cookies for $25. or if you're in the market for a hen house. $70,000. why not? >> thank you, ginger. if you would like to see more of neiman marcus's fantasy gifts, logon to klgandhoda.com. >> we are stirring up more halloween fun with spiked >> we are stirring up more hallo[ male announcer ]ed if barack obama is re-elected,

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marywe invest in them.umber one in america becausema. but we can do even more. every year marylanders spend five hundred and fifty million dollars at casinos in other states. question 7 keeps that maryland money in maryland through expansion of gaming in maryland. it will mean hundreds of millions of dollars for our schools. as governor, i can promise you, that money will go to education. that's the law and that's what we'll do. vote for question seven.

back now with happy halloween today and making delicious sweet treats, something something for us there. it is winesday wednesday after a all. chilling concoctions, jean benedict, founder of the food and lifestyle website, jeanbenedict.com. >> hi, girls. >> making the molds that are edible, right? >> what we are making are the gummy bugs. first of all, these are creepy cosmopolitan cocktail pops made with a white cranberry juice. >> what? >> what i am going to be making is homemade bugs in three quick easy steps. glad you like them. the first thing you want to do get silicone plastique from a company called make your own molds.com. step two, you find your original object in this case, using a party favor, a bug i got from party city, like a rubber bug

and press this down into the mold and then in an hour and a half, you have a mold like this. >> okay. >> then what do you do with it? >> and step three, this is the homemade gummy gel and it's basically a 3, 2, 1 ratio. oh, you lost your bug. another one. three tablespoons of sugar, two tablespoons of water, one table spoon of gelatin and heat it for ten minutes and basically pour it into those molds and then you can pull them out and do it a little bit near the and then pull them out, a roach, here is this. i will take your pops, pull them out. >> so cool. how long do you let them -- >> you let them set for an hour. this might have been quick. i have got step-by-step photos on my site, jeanbenedict.com. >> cool. >> great for any kind of theme. >> kids would love this. >> great for any theme. >> you can keep it can't you? >> you can also cook with them, put them in the oven, freeze. very fun. so, let's move over here. the next thing i have are apple

teeny brain freezes. the favorite cocktail of apple teeny. what i have done is pour here, if you want to try it. >> since it is part of our job, we have to. don't want to be rude. >> put it in this minibrain mold, i got these at target, they are wildly available, put it in the freezer. decorate it candy blood. jell-o on there and you can just, like, chop in there like an icee. the candy blood is a party city item, a bag, it is fun. then i want to mention these cocktail napkins. >> great. >> so, now, this is pumpkin bourbon, dolce deleche sherbet. >> god bless you. >> got through that you don't like that? don't like caramel? the cool thing about this is to make homemade dulce deleche, taken a a can of sweeten

condensed milk, put in a pan like this, cook it 425 an hour and a half, cover it with foil, an hour and a half, you have dulce deleche. these are, melting, that what's they are. >> what happened this morning. >> did they moment? >> yeah. >> you want to keep them in the freezer. pushups, bailey's in them. the ratio for this is one cup of like a frosting or an ice cream to a tablespoon of bailey's. you color it, this is cake and ice cream mix so the layers get together. >> what is the last thing you got? >> the last thing are drac attack pops. i will put this down. fun ideas. you can go like this and go -- >> cute. cute. >> these are coconut colada. >> okay. >> fun ideas for a best holiday. >> thank you so much, jeanbenedict.com. coming up tomorrow, we have melissaette ridge. >> plus ambush makeovers and halloween costumes for the whole family. hoda and i will see you at gal

lag -- gallagherers a and "scandalous." bye bye. president obama: i'm barack obama and i approve... this message. anncr: victims. dependent. that's what mitt romney called forty-seven percent... of americans. including people on medicare. but what about his plan for you? romney would replace guaranteed benefits with a voucher system. seniors could pay six thousand dollars more a year. a plan aarp says would undermine medicare. you're no victim...you earned your benefits. don't let mitt romney take them away.