ann thompson has more. >> reporter: it is a story nearly two billion years in the making, the grand canyon, made of sand stone and granite, available only to those willing to hike or ride. until this week's invasion of the seemingly alien tracker. product manager wearing the latest evolution of google's different effort, focused on one of america's most popular tourist spots. >> this is what we had in mind when we developed the trekker, the weight, the issues, we knew if we could take it to the grand canyon, ultimately we could take it anywhere. >> reporter: here is how it works, the funny looking metal ball holds 15 cameras pointed in different directions, connected to a boundary battery but not everyone walks the trails. now with this new trekker technology you will be able to make this hike from anywhere. the technology is helping this seattle resident make this trek. >> another one on the bucket list was the great wall of china and i did that. and i googled all of it. i was there before i got there. >> reporter: exactly google's goal. >> by creating this experience a click away, we mak

>> it is hard to watch all of that, having spent time there, ann thompson in new jersey, preparing for a rough weekend, thank you, our coverage of the storm, of course, continues through the weekend. if you're concerned about where you live, on our website there is a hurricane tracker allowing you to plug in your own zip code at nbcnightly.com. >> now we switch to the campaign coverage, 11 days to go. >>> and on top of everything else, the frantic pace as they try to finish, now they really do have to worry about the storm, heading for some of the most valuable political real estate there. peter alexander has more. from canton, ohio, where governor romney is, peter, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you as hurricane sandy takes aim on the east coast, forecasters are not the only ones on alert, the campaign strategists are, as well. with crews defending against potentially devastating flooding in virginia, the campaign cancelled a rally. officials in north carolina say they could suspend early voting, if needed. in ohio, snow threatens to hurt the voting efforts. in iowa

>>> thank you, anne thompson. >>> we're learning more about the college student accused of plotting to set off the enormous bomb at the headquarters of the federal reserve bank here in new york. we get an update tonight from our justice correspondent, pete williams >> reporter: while quazi mohammad rezwanul nafis sits in a new york jail accused of trying to set off what he thought was a huge bomb, his family in bangladesh says he is no terrorist. his father says, i spent all of my savings to send him to america. his sister wants him back. >> he was a victim, because in bangladesh he was not like this. he was a good boy. >> reporter: quazi nafis came to the u.s. in january on a student visa to attend southeast missouri state but he left there in may, transferring to in may, transferring to a vocational school in new york. investigators say he tried to find like-minded people on facebook who would join him in violent jihad. and that is how the fbi says he met an informant, a person who came here to study cyber-security. it is more than a dozen cases since 911 where the person tries to se

our report from ann thompson. >> reporter: though he has yet to admit to doping, lance armstrong will pay the price, stepping down from his charity, livestrong, promoting cancer work. system bow one of the bracelets was worn by a man in this shop, who lost his grandmother to cancer. >> i don't support him as an athlete, i think he should come clean. >> reporter: the second blow came from nike, ending their contract with armstrong, saying there was insurmountable evidence that armstrong doped. others defended him in ads as recently as 2009. >> the critics say i'm arrogant, a doper. >> reporter: nike has stood by other athletes, tiger woods during remarks about his adultery. kobe bryant facing a rape accusation and the yankees, alex rodriguez admitted using performance-enhancing drugs. but the report about armstrong last week was too much. >> it is almost like the sort of bullying or intimidation, that i think pushed it over the ledge, where people say even though this guy has a story that inspires, he is not going to associate with our brand anymore. >> reporter: at the headquarters in

our report tonight from nbc's ann thompson. >> reporter: it is a wish as old as time. for man to soar like a bird. so see the world as they do. >> our cameras reveal how hard and fast the snow goose has to flap to stay aloft. >> reporter: in "winged planet," a new documentary by john downer, we get as close as we've ever come. >> the story we set out to tell was a bird's eye view of the continent, but i think it told a lot more of that. you understand the world is much more interconnected than you think. >> where did they take you that you didn't expect? >> we'd heard about this incredible thing, where these huge rays, these fish, jump out of the sea and fly. they've never been captured on film. >> reporter: until they followed the brown pelicans to mexico's sea of cortez. for every minute of the show, airing on discovery saturday night, there are ten hours of film that didn't make air. >> i think anything that can fly that is mechanical, manmade, put a camera on it. but we also made miniature cameras birds could carry. >> reporter: four years in the making, they hand

nbc's anne thompson picks up the story. >> i am much more than a number on a scale. >> reporter: most of jennifer livingston's viewers already know that. for a dozen years she's anchored the morning news at wkbt in lacrosse, wisconsin. but today she chose to talk about herself. responding to a viewer e-mail complaining about her weight. >> i was surprised indeed to witness that your physical condition hasn't improved for many years. surely you don't consider yourself a suitable example for this community's young people, girls in particular. i leave you this note hoping you'll reconsider your responsibility as a local public personality to present and promote a healthy lifestyle. the truth is, i am overweight. you could call me fat. and yes, even obese on a doctor's chart. but to the person who wrote me that letter, do you think i don't know that? that your cruel words are pointing out something i don't see? >> reporter: in the e-mail, she sees more than just an unhappy viewer. the mother of three daughters sees a bully. >> what really angers me about this, there are children who don't

ann thompson, thanks very much. earlier today we went five stories underground beneath the streets of the city to what on a normal day is a busy commuter train hub, beneath the world trade center site. the commuter rail in a train station still being rebuild since 9/11 where the tracks last night filled with 13 feet of water in seconds and where the governor, andrew cuomo was being briefed today. we got a chance to talk to him. >> reporter: let's talk infrastructure, governor. how do we rebuild our cities? we can't have this. >> what makes if worse is this is already the reconstruction site. this is one of the largest reconstructions that the country is doing at this time. i think it's actually a different phenomenon. we have to come to the realization that we are dealing with extreme weather patterns in a way that we haven't seen probably ever. and the frequency of these extreme weather patterns and the consequences can be devastating if we're not ready for it. you take a city like new york, flooding, we have not e

nbc's anne thompson who rode it out in battery park city. ann, when you think about it, this storm didn't have a four or a five attached to it, it has a relatively casual name. and yet they've proven it had the lowest center of pressure ever recorded of any storm in our hemisphere. >> reporter: and it sure packed a wallop here in new york city. 8 million people share 400 square miles in new york city. they are a tough resilient bunch. this storm showed even the most prepared, that they weren't prepared enough. even new york bowed to the furious power of nature. gusts at 57 miles an hour ripped the face off this building as sandy's winds and rain tore through the city. a record storm surge, almost 14 feet filled lower manhattan, filling the brooklyn/battery tunnel with water. the force too much for the city's power grid. floodwaters shorting out this con ed substation. three quarters of a million new yorkers lost electricity. >> people were congregated around a radio just trying to get information. no one has power, no one has internet. >> it'

nbc's ann thompson is at pleasant point for us, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian, a number of states in this region have already declared states of emergency. new jersey is one of the places where hurricane sandy could make landfall on monday night. already on the east coast, preparations are being made for what is expected to be an historic storm. today, sandy toured across the bahamas, the powerful storm knocking over trees and sending the ocean into the streets, at least 40 dead in haiti, cuba and jamaica. scenes of destruction adding to the preparations along the east coast of the u.s. >> i think that everyone has learned lessons from the last storm. >> reporter: connecticut is one of 13 states haunted by last year's hurricane eirene, and th billion in damage, leaving thousands without power for days. today, governor malloy warned it could be the type of storm not seen in 30 years. >> have enough food and water for everyone in your household. assume there will be an elongated period of time in which you will be without energy. >> reporter: at the massachusetts store? >>

while there is progress here, brian, there are plenty of problems that remain. >> ann thompson on thebove new york city that may show the tale of two cities better than any other, ann, thank you very much. and we have another striking view to show you from the air. this is a neighborhood also in new york city, in the borough of queens, and they have been asked to bear a lot. keep in mind this is home to a lot of police officers and firefighters. they lost a lot of residents on 9/11. after that they had a plane crash, and now the community of breezy point has lost over 100 homes to fire. somebody said this tiny couple of blocks area looked like dresden while the fires were burning, jumping from house to house, because they couldn't take fire trucks to the area because there was standing water. the extent of the damage is catastrophic, where block upon block neighbors are pledging to rebuild, what is usually a lovely, close neighborhood there in queens, new york. >>> when our broadcast continues, let's not forget this presidential election, mitt romney, back on the campaign trail in a k

anne thompson, nbc news, new york. >> she'll be a guest on "today" tomorrow morning.ack tonight, a big annual list is just out tonight. look, if you have copd like me, you know it can be hard to breathe, and how that feels. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open for 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. (blowing sound) ask y

we will try to check back in with anne thompson, hope the wind died down a little bit.gain, that's what's cutting off the audio, if you will, that's a problem we had this morning with a bunch of other correspondents on the "today" show. anyway, our panel will be here next after the break, we're digging into what the storm means, there is an election that takes place one week from today, folks. those little things still get you. for you, life's about her. but your erectile dysfunction - that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side eff

i'm anne thompson in battery park. now, lawrence, back to you. >> thank you, anne. >>> president obama visited the red cross today in washington and said this. >> this storm is not yet over. we've gotten briefings from the national hurricane center. it is still moving north. there are still communities that could be affected. and so i want to emphasize, there's still risks of flooding, there are still risks of downed power lines, risks of high winds. >> joining me now is mark merit, the president of whit associates, private safety and crisis consulting firm. he was a special adviser to louisiana after hurricane katrina. mark, you worked in fema also. what is the fema response in a situation like this now when there's multiple states to respond to at the same time? >> good evening, lawrence. fema's mission is to support the state and local governments when it exceeds their capacity. an event like this it becomes that much more challenging. fema has the capacity, ten regions they can draw resources from around the nation

. >> let's go down to anne thompson in lower manhattan.ecked in with her yesterday, the discussion was whether the huddon river and the harbor water would come up over the promenade. well guess what? it certainly did, and some other damage behind you there, anne. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt. you know, high winds are just one of the problems that manhattanites are dealing with this morning. let me show you what they are waking up to here in battery park this. tree fell over last night as wind gusts hit very high speeds here. hurricane wind gusts here in battery park. that's just one problem and another big problem here in lower manhattan is the loss of power. i was driving here from my apartment and below 28th street there is not a light on. con-ed turned off the power about 7:00 last night in lower manhattan to protect its equipment, and to protect that equipment from the storm surge that came up fast and furious here last night. in fact, it set a new record almost 14 feet high. and we got trapped down here last night bec

new york was one of the hardest hit places and that's where we start with ann thompson live in battery park and how are things looking in the light of day, ann? >> reporter: just take a look at this. this is what people in battery park woke up to. this is a tree that was just ripped out of the ground by hurricane sandy last night. it was absolutely brutal down here. i can tell you the storm surge which hit a new record high almost 14 feet came up over the sea wall and flooded into lower manhattan. we got done about 9:00 here. we could not leave battery park because there was no way out. every street was a river, and it took about three hours for that water to subside. before the storm surge came up, con edison turned up the power in lower manhattan and they did so to protect their equipment, but it is causing great inconvenience for a lot of new yorkers this morning. coming down as i did from the upper east side this morning. i can tell you once you hit 28th street it is absolutely dark. there are no streetlights, no lights in the apartment buildings and no lights in the stores. people

anne thompson joins me now. what would a congressional audit find if they look into this?> the lawyers hope that the congressional audit would determine if the boy skoucouts living up to their promise they are doing more to protect the young men that they aim to lead. among the things that the boy scouts have done since accusations of leaders abusing children have come to light, they now require background checks of all volunteers. they require mandatory reporting of any kind of suspected child abuse, and they also do extennive traexte extensive training with volunteers. those are all good things. the lawyers want to make sure that is happening because the files show a 20-year period where that didn't go on. these files involve 1247 suspected abusers, literally thousands of children. like at jerry sandusky and penn state and the many victims we've heard over the years as the cases in the abuse in the catholic church have been revealed. >> some of the criticisms are why did they keep these files, and if they kept them, why didn't they let others know about it. >> we kept th

anne thompson is at new york city's battery park right now. what's the situation? >> hey, chris.ew information that the fdr, that is the eastbound highway on -- east side highway on manhattan is going to close. it's currently closed from east 61st street to 116th street. the city government says we can expect further lane closures in the area. this is why. the water is coming up. we're here at new york harbor. the statue of liberty and over there is ellis island. high tide was here at 8:35 and this water breached the southern tip of the promenade here way down here where you see that man on the bicycle. right now the waters are much calmer here. we have seen big swells. we saw whitecaps earlier. there are very few boats here today. a couple of tugs and police boats, but that's all the activity we've seen in the water. we have seen some debris get swept up as the water level has risen. as far as people go, because we've had a little break in the weather, weenl only got a light mist and the winds have died down somewhere. we see a lot of the curious come out, the few that have not

anne thompson, nbc news, new york. >> spectacular. that's our broadcast on a thursday night.ere with us and please don't forget "rock center" tonight. it includes matt lauer's interview with mark zuckerberg. we hope to see you back here tomorrow evening. good night.

. >> anne thompson, thanks very much. >>> earlier today we went underground, beneath the world train center site, the commuter train called path, that was last shut down after 9/11, in a train station that's still built since 9/11, the tracks filled with 13 feet of water in seconds. and where the governor was being briefed on the cleanup today. we got a chance to speak with him. >> let's talk about this? >> we have to come to the realization that we are dealing with extreme weather patterns in a way that we haven't seen probably ever. and the frequency of these extreme weather patterns and the consequences can be devastating if we're not ready for it, you take a city like new york, flooding, we have not experienced before, parts of the country deal with it in and out, but it's not one of the things that new yorkers are accustomed to, the design of the city is not con zeusive to it, and last night, i'll tell you the truth, it was frightening. downtown manhattan, we had the hudson river came over the banks and was pouring in to the ground zero site. at such a volume that it was really

nbc's anne thompson is here with more on that. anne, good morning. >> good morning, matt. an oregon court ordered these files be made public. they were kept by the boy scouts, and they involve 1,247 alleged abusers reported to that organization. inside the files are stories that are disturbingly similar to the abuse cases that have marred the catholic church and penn state. boy scouts pledge to do their best, to do their duty to god, country and obey the scout law, but in these boxes, the so-called perversion files, reveal that some of the men responsible for building moral character did anything but. >> they used their authority to groom kids, build relationships with them and find excuses to hang out with them. >> reporter: and then sexually abused them. the files show there were abuse complaints in 49 states from 1965 to 1985. some accusations were reported to authorities. others were not. >> we saw example after example where the boy scouts chose not to call law enforcement, and you will see in the files over and over again references to this would make the organizatio

ann thompson is in battery park city on the southern tip of manhattan. ann, what's the scene there?the waters have calmed down here in new york harbor. the wind is a little less than it has been and it stopped raining. but everybody knows that this is just the calm before sandy really hits. storm surge could get as high as 11 feet here. they have closed part of the fdr drive, that's the highway on the east side of manhattan from 61st to 116th street. the holland and in the mid-atlantics will close at 2:00 today as new york city really goes to the next stage in getting ready for hurricane sandy. >> all right. ann thompson as we expect the hurricane to make landfall in the evening and one of the thing that's interesting about this storm is we are talking about an ast astronomical high tide. >> almost a full moon yesterday and even along the tip of the long island you look at high tide up on jetties that are 10, 12 feet out of the water. you can barely see the top of the rocks and that was a full 24-36 hours before the storm approaches. add to that the ticking time clock and the storm

. >> now let's go to nbc's ann thompson live at battery park in lower manhattan right on the water. good evening and tell us what is the latest down there. >> good evening, reverend sharpton. well, let me tell you, we've got one of the bands of sandy coming through. the wind has picked up, the rain has picked up. new york harbor, which is behind me, it is beginning to lap the promenade. we're at a high point in the promenade here at battery park city. down where tl is lower, the water is already coming up on to the promenade. they are concerned about storm surge. that is what everybody is going to be watching for the next 4, 4 1/2 hours. new york city officials think that the storm surge will hit here in new york harbor sometime between 8:00 and 9:00. high tide is scheduled for 8:506789 so wh8:50. when you combine the fact that it's a full moon which means high tides anyway, plus this outrageously huge hurricane that is coming our way, all of that spells trouble. and that is why there is a mandatory evacuation in this area here at battery park and much of the financial district. peo

as nbc's anne thompson reports, a new magazine cover is adding fuel to the fire. >> reporter: it is areat photo. marissa mieyer on the cover looking elegant, professional and trim. and to some moms on the internet. that's the problem because mayer just gave birth to her first child this week. >> of course, pregnancy dozen define her. but, it is so much a part of her story. and it's so much, it's a big part of the reason why we look up to her. and i was surprised that they didn't show her, you know, pregnant and in a power suit. >> reporter: a fortune spokesperson confirms the magazine wanted to shoot mayer for the cover while she was pregnant but she declined. >> we're not all demi moore. >> reporter: huffington post columnicist says too much is being made of the cover. >> why should she pose nine months pregnant? she doesn't stand for all women. she doesn't have to represent us all the time. >> you will be getting google instant. >> reporter: as she rose through the ranks at google she never publicly shied away of setting a technology. >> i think women need role models and inspiratio

anne thompson is there. ann, a lot better today than last night. >> well, it is a little better, an drae ya, but we are still getting bands of rain. in fact, one is coming right now. the wind is gusting up to 30 miles per hour and all of that is making even starting the cleanup just that much more difficult. you know, new yorkers are used to bouncing back pretty quickly, but it's going to take a while to come back from sandy because last night in a very visible way, new yorkers learned just how powerful water can be. we just sent a crew down to the south street seaport and i can tell you looking at the tape, the damage down there, windows blown out, water that came up as high as six feet, is really xrerds. now, today, new york city faces two problems. one is power outages. about three quarters of a million new york city residents who are without power today and the second is mass transit. there is a little bit of good news regarding mass transit. first of all, the bus service is going to start to be restored

anne thompson has more. >> reporter: boy scouts pledge to do their best, to do their duty to god, countrynd obey the scout law. in these boxes, some of the men responsible for building moral character did anything butt. >> they used their authority to groom kids, build relationships with them and find excuses to hang out with them. >> reporter: and sexually abuse them. there were abuse cases in 49 states from 1965 to 1985. some accusations were reported to authorities, others were not. >> we saw example after example where the boy scouts chos not to call law enforcement. you will see in the files over and over again, references to making the organization look bad. if it don't stink, don't stir it. >> reporter: earlier this week, the boy scouts of america president apologized. >> we didn't do the job we should have. we are sorry for that, profoundly sorry. >> reporter: the boy scouts kept the files since 1920 to keep abusers from returning to scouting. he concedes, it didn't aulgs work. >> one time, the medical community thought you could be cured of this. it's in the last two decades they

ann thompson is in los angeles this morning with that story.>> reporter: good morning, savannah. meg whitman is the silicon valley legend. she grew ebay from a start up to an $8 billion behemoth. two years ago, she took an expensive but unsuccessful turn in the political arena. today she is back in silicon valley at the world's largest technology company, hewlett-packard, trying to revise it and her reputation. >> when i come into an environment like hp, you know what i do? i try to figure out what this company does well, and then could we do more of that? >> reporter: but when they gave her an hp laptop a year ago, meg whitman was not impressed. >> well, i said it was a brick. and i must say, i feel a little badly. but i think they understood what i meant, which is we can do better. >> reporter: today, hp unveils its elite pad, a tablet for business and the centerpiece of a new line of products that combine hp's engineering and whitman's imprint. design. >> maybe that's the biggest change in technology over the last few years, people want some

ann thompson is in los angeles this morning with that story.>> reporter: good morning, savannah. meg whitman is the silicon valley legend. she grew ebay from a start up to an $8 billion behemoth. two years ago, she took an expensive but unsuccessful turn in the political arena. today she is back in silicon valley at the world's largest technology company, hewlett-packard, trying to revise it and her reputation. >> when i come into an environment like hp, you know what i do? i try to figure out what this company does well, and then could we do more of that? >> reporter: but when they gave her an hp laptop a year ago, meg whitman was not impressed. >> well, i said it was a brick. and i must say, i feel a little badly. but i think they understood what i meant, which is we can do better. >> reporter: today, hp unveils its elite pad, a tablet for business and the centerpiece of a new line of products that combine hp's engineering and whitman's imprint. design. >> maybe that's the biggest change in technology over the last few years, people want some

matt. >> ann thompson in lower manhattan for us this morning. connecticut as well. nbc's katie in stonington this morning. katie good morning again to you. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. there are two deaths to report. one was a woman in mansfield, connecticut, who was hit by a tree. another firefighter over in easton, connecticut, who was also hit by a tree. they're still looking for one man who was last seen swimming or near the water. it was very dramatic in some areas in this state. overnight especially. there were coastal rescues in fairfield, connecticut, by the national guard. there were also fires in greenwich, connecticut, that burned out of control all night long destroying multimillion-dollar homes. firefighters could not reach those homes because the floodwaters were so high. also, fires in old saybrook, and they were raging since 9:00 p.m. last night. they were still raging last time we checked. couldn't get to them because of all of the floodwaters. at one point last night emergency officials sent out a tweet saying if you we

nbc's ann thompson has more on this. >> reporter: when you become the leader of a high-profile companyes with the territory, but when you add being the first pregnant woman to be named ceo of a fortune 500 company, you'll understand why every move marissa mayer makes reverberates with more than just yahoo!'s shareholders. >>> it is a great photo. marissa mayer on the cover of the most recent issue of "for tune" magazine looking professional, elegant and trim, and to some moms on the internet that's the problem because mayer just gave birth to her first child this week. >> of course, pregnancy doesn't define her, but it is so much a part of her story, and it's so much -- it's a big part of the reason why we look up to her, and i was surprised that they didn't show her, you know, pregnant and in a power suit. >> reporter: a "fortune" spokesperson confirms the magazine wanted to shoot mayer for the cover when she was pregnant but she declined. the magazine used a photo taken almost a year ago. >> we're not all demi moore. >> reporter: "huffington post" said too much is being made of the c

. >> anne thompson is live in lower manhattan. ann, what are cleanup efforts looking like downtown? >> well, you can see, alex, the bands of rain coming through are making what is a difficult job that much tougher. we know there are at least ten people who are dead in new york city because of the storm. another three quarter million people without power and restoring that power and getting the mass transit system back up and running are the biggest issues facing new york city. we have some good news about mass transit. the bus service will resume at 5:00 this afternoon. it will be sunday service. they hope to have regular service restored by tomorrow. the subways on the other hand, as you mentioned, are completely different story. all the subway tunnels are flooded and, in fact, the state has asked and is receiving help from federal experts who come in to pump the water out of the subway tunnels to get back to that. those are the two big issues both mass transit and power and both are going to take several days to restore completely. back to you. >> sandy is now threatening inland s

anne thompson is here with more on that story. >> good morning, matt. it's been a brutal 24 hours for lance armstrong. he's been dropped by his big-name sponsors, nike, anheuser-busch, and trek cycles. and he stepped aside live strong. now some are wondering if live strong can survive. >> reporter: for cancer survivors, lance armstrong embodied triumph. but no more. nike ended its relationship with armstrong pointing to, quote, seemingly insurmountable evidence he doped. nike has long stood by athletes in trouble. kobe bryant accused of rape, tiger woods fiphilandering. david epstein said the reports portraying armstrong as a cheat and bully left nike with little choice. >> they had underestimated the amount of pressure brought to bear. there were ex-pro cyclists going physically to nike headquarters with signs saying drop lance. >> reporter: peter wears one of the live strong bracelets nike created. he read the anti-doping report. >> turns out lance wasn't honest. >> reporter: but the illinois wine store manager won't drop the wristband or the charity.