bryan, good evening. >> good evening, lester. yes, this is an absolutely unique storm, but it is taking an unprecedented path. let me show you the storm. i want to show you what is so special about it. it's a combination of a hurricane right here in the center, and a nor'easter that's this big here. it's one storm embedded inside the other. it's going to move to the north and then turn inland. we have never seen a path like that. there is nothing like that in our record book for a storm coming from the south. now here are the damaging winds. this is where tree branches come down and we start to have problems and driving around becomes a problem. here we are tomorrow morning about 9:00 affecting cape hatteras and the tide water area at that time. the strongest winds are staying offshore. here we come to the north, monday morning early. notice at this point the strongest winds are now beginning to affect the big cities of the northeast and moving into new england. so we would not recommend driving around beginning early monday morn

lester, thank you.e safe and stay dry. >> all right. >>> still ahead, a big fight over a very big, big, big dog. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. i just finished a bowl of your new light chicken pot pie soup and it's so rich and creamy... is it really 100 calories? let me put you on webcan... ...lean roasted chicken... and a creamy broth mmm i can still see you. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. and this is maryland. teacher: this is west virginia, pennsylvania, delaware. you. 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. >>> and still to come on "today" the very latest on hurricane sandy. ard gives you a 50% annual bonus. and everyone

lester, thank you.e safe and stay dry. >> all right. >>> still ahead, a big fight over a very big, big, big dog. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. i just finished a bowl of your new light chicken pot pie soup and it's so rich and creamy... is it really 100 calories? let me put you on webcan... ...lean roasted chicken... and a creamy broth mmm i can still see you. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. when we think no one is looking. is what we do... mmm i can still see you. mitt romney: believe that they are victims. anncr: mitt romney thought no one was looking when... he attacked forty-seven percent of americans. his companies shipped jobs overseas. his plan cuts millionaires' taxes, but raises yours. he'll voucherize medicare... and make catastrophic cuts to education. so remember what romney said... and what his plan would do. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message. >>> and still to come on "today" the very latest on hurricane sandy. ard gives you a 50% ann

lester, we miss you.iness down there and bring it back here to new york because it's not the same without you. >> next sunday we'll be in have a have a continuing our battleground. right now we want to leave you with the spartan band playing us off the air. have a great day, everybody. ♪

lester? >>> julie martin, thanks.bout 400 miles up the coast to asbury park, new jersey, al roker is tracking sandy's path. al, good morning again. >> reporter: well, good morning, lester. right now sandy about 260 miles south/southeast of cape hatteras, north carolina. 390 miles east of new york city and it is a huge storm, tropical force winds extend out some 520 miles from the center of the storm. so that's more than 1,000-mile radius. let's look at the path of the storm and you'll see basically it's going to parallel the coast for the next 24 hours and then it's going to make a left turn some time late monday night, early tuesday morning. come onshore somewhere central coastal new jersey and that's the worst part for the northeast because the worst part of the storm is the right quadrant. the northeastern quadrant. that means new york, much of northern new jersey, connecticut, long island sound, boston. we're talking about a real mass storm surge that will be up to ten feet above normal and we're talking about rai

lester, we miss you.iness down there and bring it back here to new york because it's not the same without you. >> next sunday we'll be in have a have a continuing our battleground. right now we want to leave you with the spartan band playing us off the air. have a great day, everybody. ♪ >> coming up next on 11 news, we'll sit down with the executive director of the coalition to end childhood lead poisoning and look at trendy things this season without breaking the bank. >> it's a beautiful fall day. the radar is looking clear. details coming up in the details coming up in the insta-weather plus forecast.

ou didn't bring lester. really? you thought i would bring lester. hey guys, this is lester. >> i could have come in my prom suit, you know, the bright baby blue. >> i went for the popular look. >> it should be missed. >> this is why lester was missed. >> better to be invited. >> next ten years. anyway, a lot of politics to get to. president obama and governor romney spending the next two days studying notes for the next debate. this is their second three meetings and they are taking it very seriously. neither scheduling any other events today. well get a report in just a minute. >> in the upscale maine community, they are speaking out about the alleged prostitution scandal involvi a zumba dance instructor. we will talk to one woman who owns a business in the same building as the dance studio. talk about what she said she saw happening inside. >> plus, the amazing story of a grandmother who gave birth to her own grandson. she did it when she learned her daughter con bear children. the grandmother said she didn't give it a second thought when she was

lester? >> ron allen on the new mexijer coast tonight, as we said energy is preparing for the total shutdown of mass transit areas. crews are going door to door urging people to get to safety. >> reporter: this is a mandatory evacuation, not only in lower manhattan, but in other areas of the city. areas like queens, staten island, as shown in yellow on the map. they could see storm surges anywhere between 6 and 12 feet. many of those residents spent the day today packing up and heading to safer areas of the city or out of the city all together. some are still opting to stay tonight, that is of great concern for new york's mayor michael bloomberg, his biggest fear is that people will not leave and emergency workers will potentially lose their lives trying to rescue them, some 76 evacuation centers have been set up in the area and, lester, the water behind me, if those storm surges as predicted could be as high as my knees or waist. >> there are also evacuations for low-lying areas along the co

lester, we miss you.iness down there and bring it back here to new york because it's not the same without you. >> next sunday we'll be in have a have a continuing our battleground. right now we want to leave you with the spartan band playing us off the air. have a great day, everybody. ♪ >>> new this morning, breaking news, former senator george mcgovern dies. more about the outspoken leader that serving on capitol hill. >> and the long walk up gets easier at one metro stop. a lot of people will be excited about that. >>> welcome to news 4 today, it is sunday, october 21st, 2012. taking a look outside, nothing to complain about, we're in for a good day. >> hey richard and angie, good morning to both of you and everybody, off to a bright and cool start this morning, temperatures will respond very nicely to all of the sunshine out there.

alongside lester holt.o come in this half hour, we are talking about the zumba dance instructor accused of running a prostitution ring in a small down in maine. will the alleged client list be made public this week? we will talk to a woman who was nearby and says she heard a lot more than dancing from there. >> we have the story after woman giving birth to her own grandson. sounds odd. she didn't think twice about doing it when her own daughter found out she was unable it carry a child. they are calling the new bundle of joy a miracle. we will hear more about that story. >> interesting story. plus one of the snaziest and hippest women. we will talk about her starting over when her company went under. starting over at 70. >> a nice lady. >> and the call of the wild. we will introduce you to fun creatures from latin-america and learn about the worldwide effort to keep them safe. >> and a humungous law and order fan, we are talking to law and order fans who may be excited to see an old familiar face coming bac

lester, thanks. now to our chief foreign correspondent, richard engel, also in kabul, on what's been accomplished and what hasn't in over a decade now in that country. richard, good evening. >> good evening, brian. this is a country where a group of lightly armed insurgents defeated the soviet union. it seems we haven't won here, either. we haven't lost exactly. mostly, we're leaving this country because we're tired, and tired of writing blank war checks, when the taliban haven't been defeated. this woman is about to die, executed for adultery. the man she was with got off scot-free. the taliban recently filmed this video of their justice as a warning, and to say they're making a comeback. some 30 miles away, in the village of shakar dhara, we saw few signs of what the u.s. would consider progress in afghanistan, and no evidence that the american plan to hand over to a credible, stable afghan government, will work. these village elders tell me once u.s. troops leave, a civil war will begin, and u.s.-

lester? >> all right, john, thank you. >>> u.s. officials confirm that authorities in tunisia have arrested a man possibly connected to the deadly attack in benghazi last month. and tonight, more e-mails about the attack are making news. our report from chief foreign affairs correspondent, andrea mitchell. >> reporter: as a possible suspect for the benghazi attack was being questioned, critics disclosed e-mails obtained by nbc news. the first alert read, embassy tripoli reports approximately 25 people, fired shots, explosions heard as well. ambassador stevens and four embassy personnel are in the compound safe haven. it said a friendly militia was helping to fight off the attack. soon, another said it was over. the fighting in benghazi has stopped, the compound cleared. a response team on site, attempting to locally personnel later, a known terror group was said to be linked. nbc tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on facebook and twitter and has called for an attack on nbc tripoli. the next day the same terror group d

lester? >> we'll dig out the gloves. thanks. don't look now, but we're just 30 days out from the election, and after some potentially game-changing moments for both campaigns this past week, each is now looking to seize a momentum as they hit their home stretch. our team has it all covered. we begin with nbc's ron motte. ron, good evening. >> home here in chilly wisconsin tonight getting ready for a big week of his political career, topping it off thursday with a debate against vice president joe biden. >> we don't want four more years like the last four years. >> reporter: one day ahead of a major foreign policy speech in virginia, today mitt romney continued assaulting the president's domestic record at a rally in st. lucy, florida. >> i have an opportunity for america right now that's going to get this economy going and create jobs, jobs and more jobs. 12 million jobs, to be specific. >> reporter: earlier, republican surrogates like newt gingrich were out in force on four leading political

back to you, lester. >> bryan norcross, thank you. that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. tomorrow we'll be coming to you from virginia as we track hurricane sandy and look at the storm's potential impact on a state that's playing a critical role in the presidential election. that's tomorrow morning on "today" and of course tomorrow evening as well. >>> for now, i'm lester holt reporting tonight from washington. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night.

look how create lester looks? i decided to give lester holt a workout he would never forget. >> yeah. i should be out of traction any day now. what part of the word rest don't you understand? >> i just feel like you brag about all the stamina you have. i figured you didn't need rest in the middle of a workout. >> 100 degrees out there. >> 19 minutes of fun for him. 60 minutes of fun for me. we're going to start with politics, though. presidential politics. can a better than expected employment report give president obama a boost? mike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. it was only three tenths a percentage drop. 7.8% in september. but compared to other months, that is an enormous drop below the symbolic level of 8% unemployment, and more importantly for the political fortunes of the president, not to mention the millions of people who were unemployed in this country. it is now down to where it was when president obama took office. that is certainly welcome news coming off what is universally regarded his po

lester? >> diana, thank you. >>> now to the weather, after a mild start to october, temperatures have started to plunge in some parts of the country and come tomorrow morning a lot of folks are in for a frigid awakening. julie martin has more from the weather channel headquarters. julie, good evening. >> lester, this first blast of winter is sweeping from the midwest to the northeast and it's dumped inches in north and south dakota, and millions will have to contend with frigid, arctic air for the next couple of days. tomorrow we're looking at record lows in the teens in wyoming and nebraska and near record lows in kansas, iowa and wisconsin. those frost and freeze advisories stretch from north texas all of the way through the nation's heartland on the heels of one of the worst droughts in u.s. history. bad news for corn and soybean crops. fortunately, about half of those have been harvested. in some cases those temps will be close to 20 degrees below average. it will be a chilly morning for

she's on the road, lester.l out on the road doing her own show. >> another beloved member of the cast, the late harvey korman. >> thanks, buddy, i needed that. >> tim, you and harvey sometimes would be in these moments where it's like how are they keeping it together? and sometimes you wouldn't. >> harvey was a very poor performer, as we know. i don't know what he was thinking yet. my object in doing the show was to break up harvey. and for 11 years, i did that. >> want to see quarter to three? >> the dentist. >> ah. well, harvey had never seen the novocain part of it, so he had no idea that i was going to immobilize myself with novocain. so when i punched my head, my arm, he actually wet his pants. if you watch the sketch very carefully, you can pretty much tell. >> you're kidding. >> no. >> the ground breaking show raised the bar for decades of comedians to come. and 45 years later, these icons are still proving they can deliver on queue. >> still got it? >> yeah. >> the ear? >> you don't want to hear that ag

lester holt, with the dramatic rectory out of carolina, lester, thank you, we'll take another break, when we come back how all of it has >>> good evening. we'll get back to nightly news in a moment. we want to get to storm 4 chief meteorologist doug kammerer. >> just looking at the radar signature, it looks like that is now over the delaware bay, came onshore, southern portions of cape may county, making its way back, very close to dover, delaware. winds are 85 miles an hour, moving to the west-northwest at 28 miles an hour. so, it is still steaming on by. as it does this, it will be very close to our region overnight tonight and right on through the day tomorrow. here we are at 3:30 tomorrow afternoon. and this is where it is, in through central portions of pennsylvania. we are going to be on the south side of it. that is going to be the rainy si side, at least, over the next 12 hours and that's what we're seeing out there right now. here is the rain. you notice the dry slot coming in through portions of new jersey, philadelphia where we've seen things go from very bad to no rain at

lester! lester! >> we did that segment once. >> a snake around your neck.problem with a snake around your neck? >> i'm like samuel jackson but i can't say what he said about snakes. this weekend, exciting or fun or over the line is this would you put your kid in a pool with tigers? go from snakes to tigers. pool parties where children can swim with baby tigers. >> wow. >> and "law & order" seu known for its gritty crime stories and famous guest stars. we'll preview the she's 300th episode where jenna makes a special appearance. >> she's not a body, is she? >> you know, i didn't ask her. she had a line. >> oh, okay. >> or a line drawn around her. >> that was good, natalie. >> plus, with the last presidential debate on monday, i'll head to the battleground state of florida. we'll do the broadcast from there on sunday to look at why it is such a key swing state, and we'll hear from the all important undecided voters. all that and more when we see you this weekend san snake on "today." >> if you save this for the snake segment, may not make it to the weekend. >

i'm lester holt. >> and i'm andrea canning. so happy to be here. >> you brought your umbrella, boots and maybe a boat? >> it is a big weekend. i love how you told me you're going to be living on granola bar for the next couple of days. >> i'm going to be in the middle of it. it's going to be a bad one. >> all eyes on tropical storm sandy this morning as it slowly makes its way up the east coast. >> it was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm this morning. right now it's packing topped sustained winds of about 70 miles per hour. just below hurricane strength. but experts say it could become a hurricane again. >> here's the latest. five states and the district of columbia have declared states of emergency. millions of people in the path of the storm are being urged to stock up on supplies. >> here's why this is so frightening. it's expected to combine the elements of a typical tropical cyclone and a winter storm moving across from the west, giving it the potential to be quite devastating. widespread power outages and f

lester? >> all right, peter thanks. morning joe's joe scarborough and mika brzezinski are here to help break things down in our regular cup of weekend mojo. joe and mika, good morning. >> good morning. >> let's talk about one of the issues of the week, big internet buzz about mitt romney's comment in the debate about having a binder full of women. speaking in reference to what he would do in terms of empowering women in his administration. >> the fact that he asked for the binders is not true. he was given the binders by an organization, a bipartisan organization of women's group that want to see more women in office. second of all, it just seems like not a very personal story in terms of understanding the needs of women, and families. and if you look at the difference between mitt romney and the president on these issues, the president leaves mitt romney in the dust. >> well, the president typically has been ahead in terms of women. you look at battleground states, "usa today" did a poll of

lester mentioned the record lows. we're seeing them into iowa but that's not the only place we're seeing the chilled. the frost and freeze advisories extending from the four corners to the south all the way into the northeast so just how cold is it this morning as we are about to head out the door? there you go. the 20s and the 30s, the 40s as we look down to jonesboro, arkansas. and, again, even seeing some of the teens right into the center of the country. more later but first back to jenna and lester. >>> we'll get the rest of the nation's forecast from you in a few minutes. >>> time for the rest of the morning's top stories and for that let's head over to msnbc's chris jansing. >>> good morning. good morning, everyone. an alleged plot to a firebomb churches across the country has been stopped by police in oklahoma. they've arrested 23-year-old gregory wilder ii who has ties to the chicago area. officers say they found 52 homemade glass bottle grenades in his hotel room along with plans to plant bombs in 48 area ch

first back to jenna and lester. >> already, stephanie. we'll get the rest of the nation's forecast from you in just a few minutes. >>> time for the rest of the top stories. let's go to chris jansing at the news desk. good morning. >> good morning. good morning, everyone. an alleged plot to firebomb churches across the country has been stopped by police in oklahoma. they've arrested 23-year-old gregory wyler ii who has ties to the chicago area. officers say they found 52 home baked bottle grenades in his hotel room along with plans to plant bombs in 48 area churches. >>> meantime, hundreds of people are looking for a colorado girl who disappeared two days ago. here's more on the search for jessica. >> anything you think is significant. >> reporter: it's been two days since 10-year-old jessica ridgway kissed her mother good-bye and began her walk to school. she never made it. >> got to get her back to her parents. we would appreciate it. she's a beautiful, wonderful little girl. and we want her back. >> you don't know what to do, you know?

lester? >>> joe and minka are here to break things down with us. let's talk about mitt romney's comment about having a binder full of women, speaking in reference of what he would do. >> the fact that he asked for the binders is not true. he was given the binders by a bipartisan organization of women's groups that want to see more women in office. second of all, it just seems like not a very personal story in term ofrs understanding the needs of women and families. if you look at the difference between mitt romney and the president on these issues, the president leaves mitt romney in the dust. >> the president typically has been ahead in terms of women. you look at battleground states. >> there is a tightening up. it certainly looks like in this poll, the pew poll came out last week, and a lot of women weighed in and they said they thought mitt romney could handle the economy better. they're thinking about how they can put their children through college. >> they're thinking about the economy.

knafo relates the history of lester, a bipolar patient. he had a long history of depression. he'd had several manic episodes for whh he'd been hospitalized. so here he was hospitalized this time. he was about the age that his father was when the father had committed suicide. in the hospital, lester was treat th lithium carbonate anparticat in psychodic psychothera with dr.na. work had to be de in terms of separating lester's identity from that of his father's and in allowing him to mourn his father's death. in his family, emotions weren't tolered. he was never allowed to grieve his father's death. eventually, ster resnded to the treatment, moved out of the hospital and back io society. in addition to medication anpsychotherapy, self-help groups, like mood challenge in peoria, can offer social support to those who are coping with mood disorders. what you have to remember is that the illness affect different people differently. just because you have certain sensations doesn't mean that it affects other people the same way. we tend to tunnel vision from our viewpoint. rod's mani

but now we want to go back to lester in richmond, virginia. >>> all right, jenna, thanks. now to the presidential race and the election just nine days away. have virginia is one of the few states that just might hold the keys to the white house. it has 13 electoral votes and as of now it seems to be anybody's race. the new "washington post" poll shows president obama in the lead by four points but a fox news poll conducted last week has mitt romney ahead by two. keep in mind both leads are within the margins of error. in the past three elections voters here in virginia have picked the winning candidate so it's clear the road to 1600 pennsylvania avenue may run straight through the state of virginia. it wasn't all that long ago that virginia was better known for its civil war battlegrounds than its political ones. for ten straight presidential elections the republican candidate came out on top, but then in 2008, virginia voters went for barack obama.

the effects of this, lester, could be devastating. we'll continue to track this. >> that's quite a picture you paint there, al. thanks very much. dylan dreyer is going to have the rest of the nation's forecast coming up in a few minutes. but first, here's andrea. >>> tropical storm sandy has already affected the race for the white house. governor mitt romney and vice president joe biden each cancelled planned weekend appearances in virginia. ron is traveling with mitt romney. >> reporter: all eyes on sandy, including these two presidential campaigns. over the next ten days, expect to see the president and governor romney hit these battleground states hard, including ohio, perhaps the most critical of them all. it could ultimately decide who wins this race. yesterday, governor romney held two events in the buckeye state, including a rousing rally with paul ryan last night in north canton, ohio. the campaign says about 8,000 people showed up for that event, braving some pretty brisk temperatures outside last night. now, he still has som

we are deployed in the hot spots today with lester holt live in afghanistan and ann curry on the syrian border. >>> good day. i'm andrea mitchell live in washington, days away from thes first presidential debate in denver where mitt romney and barack obama will be trying to reach a shrinking pool of undecided voters. joining me for our daily fix, chris cizilla. the challenges for both. everyone trying to lower expectations but the fact is, that both of these -- both of these debaters are experienced, they both had primary debates but there is a challenge first for mitt romney, he's never gone head-to-head against barack obama and for the president, he has not debated in a while. he didn't have any -- of course didn't have any primary challenges this year. >> right. andrea, i always think it's hilarious, last night in las vegas barack obama said i'm an okay debater. it's like when lou holtz was the coach of notre dame and playing east/west texas state, i don't know, they're pretty strong this year. you have to put it in some context. both of these people as you point out have risen to a

. >> lester holt joins us live from new york. good morning, lester. >> good morning.coming up on a saturday morning on "today" with exactly one month to go until election day we're looking where the race stands for the white house. we'll also take a close look at the unemployment numbers. are they too good to be true? also ahead a u.s. olympic speed skater admits to tampering with a rival's skate before a big competition and is coming clean now. he'll join us for a live, exclusive interview to explain why he did it. plus the story of a miracle recovery. a 23-year-old woman's brush with death when her skull was separated from her spine in a car accident. she'll be here to tell us how she survived. >>> and jenna offered to help me kick my fitness routine up a notch a request i foolishly accepted. see what happens when she tries to convince me that pain is my friend. we'll get started on a saturday morning right here on "today." back to you for now. >> lester, where is your sports bra? >> where's my what? >> your sports bra. just kidding. >> don't answer, lester. just le

>> it's disturbing lester. you go on a site, punch in something like pain relief and you can buy drugs like you saw us doing like vicodin and oxycodone. you show up at a time and a place, you have the money, you get the pills. this is really important information for parents to know because there's an epidemic of this kind of drug use among teenagers and college students. >> you met some fascinating characters in this investigation. what's coming up next? >> the next guy goes by the name dr. love. he's got an entire drug dealing business up for grabs. >> i could do about $800 to $1,000 a day. >> check out what we've got later. would you sell a body part on craigslist? would you buy one? >> how desperate are you? >> i'm desperate for my children. >> when wild wild web continues. [ lunch lady ] what can i get you all today? sea salt & vinegar? smart pop butter? i'll take caramel with a side of white cheddar. i guess i'll have the special? [ lunch lady ] lime and salt it is. [ popcorn popping ] you guys ever get t

. >> let's get to nbc's lester holt now. he has made his way to point pleasant beach, new jersey this morning. lester, good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. you saw it from the air. this is what it looks like up close. keep in mind this goes interest community to community. point pleasant beach, the boardwalk, what's left of it. this was part of a hotel here that was along the boardwalk, popular place. sand is everywhere. places it didn't used to be pushed inland for blocks and blocks. in fact, a moment ago i realized i was standing in the middle of a swimming pool. it's now a giant sandbox. president obama will visit the jersey shore later today. governor christie will tour him around to see the damage along this battered coastline, but, of course, it's not just new jersey. this entire region took a nasty hit. unimaginable devastation and staggering scenes of damage stretching all across the northeast as families try to recover from sandy's unforgiving wrath. >> i'm floored by what happened. >> reporter:

the lester family became quite well known as a result. they were featured on night magazine with photos, swiss family lester. the whole country was in a depression and they fixated on this family as living apart of their own country and being self-sustaining. they had two young daughters while they were there. the daughters had never been a short period when they first came ashore to santa barbara, they were 4 and 7 years old. the press followed them around. the girls had never seen a tree, a house, a car. their first ice cream cone was reported by photographers. it is pretty fascinating. the fact that they were living there during the depression fascinated everyone. why could we all not live like this? tavis: talk to me about the notion of escapism. you do not get at this directly in the novel, but as i go through it, i sense that the channel islands, although it did not turn out the way he did -- the way edith thought it might, i sense that these islands represent a sort of escapism for these characters. >> and for me, too. we have talk