nancy snyderman reporting there. one last note on that. martine wilkshire wears the number 7 on her uniform and says it makes that date a positive in her life. that is our broadcast for this monday night labor day. thank you for being with us. i'm kate snow. brian williams will see you tomorrow evening from the democratic national convention in charlotte, north carolina. for all of us at nbc news, good night. >>> late word this afternoon on a new estimate for reopening the dumbarton bridge.

nancy snyderman, as always, thanks. >>> we'll take a break here. up next, remembering the man who changed the way we all watch sports on television. ♪ >>> to more than one generation of us, that music can only mean one thing, the man who gave us that changed the way we all experience profootball has died. steve sabol ran nfl films, he did every job in the company, and his 40 emmys for cinematography, writing and producing helped make that point. his dad founded the company in 1962. watching football was never the same way again. the iconic shots of the tight spiral, the slomo, great music, announcers. nfl films invented all of that including putting mikes on players and coaches. sabol loved playing the game, but mostly just loved the game and the family business, headquartered in a warehouse in south jersey. steve sabol dead after an 18-month fight with brain cancer. he was 69 years old. >>> russell train has died. he was commonly known as the father of the epa. his story would be impossible today because in today's political environment he likely

nancy snyderman, nbc news, new york. >>> overseas tonight, a big headline from the war in afghanistan. u.s. forces have halted training of some afghan police for at least a month after a rash of insider attacks. members of afghan security forces have killed dozens of coalition troops this year, at least 12 in august alone. for insight on what this means for the mission there, i'm joined by nbc military analyst jack jacobs. colonel, doesn't this undermine the whole basis, the rationale for the american mission there? >> i think it does. if our mission is to train the afghans so that they can defend themselves then this halt touted by the government as being only a temporary halt and only for some units, really does undermine our mission. if we are to train the afghans then stopping training now makes it appear that we are through with that mission. >> the focus here seems to be on afghan police in particular. why is this trouble so pronounced with police? >> the police are corrupt by and large, very poorly trained and very difficult to train. don't forget this is a country that relies

nancy snyderman, nbc news, new york. >>> the time right now is 11:51.oming up the end date for a pitching star stephen strasburg. police veronica johnson is back with another check of our forecast. stay with us. >>> you're watching "news 4 midday." >>> well, just because you're a royal doesn't mean you can't live on the edge, right? this is britain's prince andrew. he repelled down london's tallest skyscraper today. he began on the 87th floor of the shard. that's about 1,000 feet high. the 52-year-old was one of 40 people who completed the death-defying feat to raise money for charity. >>> andrew's nephew, prince harry, will make the first public appearance tonight since embarrassing photos of him went viral. harry will attend an awards ceremony recognizing sick children. it comes weeks after pictures surfaced showing the prince naked at a party in las vegas. >>> the u.s. coast guard is taking credit forrest could youing one of hollywood's leading men. they rescued russell crowe on saturday. he was kayaking with a friend on the long island sound when th

our report from our chief medical expert, nancy snyderman. >>> you're constantly waiting for somebody to come out and talk to you, the stress hormones are off the charts. >> i thought i was doing fine and handling it very well. >> reporter: but she wasn't. >> i remember coming, and standing by the nurse's station, talking to someone. and as i was talking -- i said wow, i really feel dizzy, and remember grabbing onto a counter and just trying to hold on for support. and at that moment, a black cloud, a curtain just came over my eyes, shaking, it was the last thing i remember. >> reporter: cindy was in full cardiac arrest, suffering from broken heart syndrome. 90% of the patients who experience it are over the age of 55. >> we think as women age, their hearts and small blood vessels around their hearts become more reactive to the stress hormones, so stress you may experience at 25, when the estrogen levels are higher, could be different. >> reporter: this sent a signal to her glands, unleashing the surge to her blood stream, rushing to her heart. it paralyzed part of it, caused it to ba

nancy snyderman. >> an air quality alert in effect for tomorrow, i suggest just don't breathe until about friday >> reporter: just two days until fall, with cold and flu seasons around the corner, seasonal allergies are knocking people for a loop. this map shows the ragweed and pollen. this 12-year-old is on multiple medications for his allergies, but still suffering severe symptoms. >> itchy nose, watery eyes, itchy eyes. >> reporter: at the allergy clinic in ft. worth, the doctor says this is especially bad for all ages. >> i have newly diagnosed patients, 70 or 80, also children, it can be anyone. >> reporter: some say the weather could be the cause. >> a very mild winter, very hot, dry summer, leading to the pollen that we're seeing. >> reporter: but pollen is not the only thing to blame. wildfires throughout the western united states this summer created a lingering haze this shows fires burning in idaho, montana, elsewhere in the west. they're causing air quality alerts in many areas. >> so tell me a little bit about how you're feeling. >> with the season, my allergies they're pretty

nancy snyderman. >> reporter: in supermarkets across the country and at farmers markets from coast to coast, increasingly, americans are buying organic. in 1997, u.s. seals of organic foods topped off at $3.6 billion. fast forward to 2010, sales total more than $26 billion. the reason? >> you want to put something on your table that's healthy. and straight from the farm is the best place to go. >> whether that's healthier or not, i don't know. but it makes even the -- it makes eating more interesting. >> reporter: more interesting maybe, but a new stanford university study concludes that organic foods are no more nutritious than their conventional alternatives. >> we didn't find stronger evidence of higher nutritional content in organic foods. however, we did find differences in the risk of detecting pesticide residues. >> reporter: according to the report, organic produce is 30% less likely to carry pesticide residues than other fruits and vegetables. and organic chicken and pork are 67% less likely to have bacteria resistance to common antibiot antibiotics. it may take years to link

and nbc's doctor nancy snyderman has more. >> reporter: hey, it was years ago that the flu took everybody by surprise across the globe. last year we were lucky to have a relatively light flu season the only thing you can say about flu season is there are no guarantees. right now, a perimeter for who should get their vaccine, because they are available right now. a reminder that the flu shot is important for anyone six months or over, people at high risk with chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes, pregnant women and those people over the age of 65. and remember, the caregivers who take care of the people, because a lot of them do have the chronic conditions. and some people don't like needles this time of year, a reminder this is a very important one. >> if you are afraid of needles there is an alternative? >> yes, there is an alternative, a nasal flu mist, not available for everybody, but everybody between the ages of two to 49. but don't take the nasal spray if you are pregnant, or had a severe reaction in the past, or have a problem with eggs, then of course talk to your doctor. that

nancy snyderman reports on what could be a contributing factor to all this. >> reporter: new researchderscores that a healthy diet and daily exercise may not be enough to avoid childhood obesity, an important factor that may contribute is also one of the most controversial chemicals found in the american diet, bpa is used to prevent corrosion in the lining of cans and bottles. it's found in items like soda cans, canned suits, fruits and vegetables and canned tuna. the fda recently banned bpa from sipty cups and baby bottles because of evidence that it disrupts hormonal cycles in children, but decided to await further testing before banning it in other products. >> laboratory studies increasingly suggest that bpa can produce all the molecular hallmarks of obesity. it appears to make fat cells bigger and appears to disrupt the balance of estrogen and t s testosterone in our bodies, which is essential for caloric balance. >> reporter: it's almost like we're in the middle of a perfect storm, we have an abundance of cheap but not always nutritious food, not enough exercise in our schools,

nancy snyderman. she'll explain the findings. obama campaign senior adviser david axelrod will join us live on set. a lot of folks say that the criticism of romney's campaign is that he lacks specific, that that criticism lacks specifics. that criticism can be applied just as accurately as the the president. so we're going to ask axelrod to make the case for an obama second-term specifically. so we'll get to that straight ahead. of course, i put nancy in the minute i read those headlines. joe's off. we can do what we want here. okay? let's go way left, too, while we're at it. >>> with the election just over a month away, mitt romney is vowing to spend less time raising money and more time reaching out to voters. romney spoke to a crowd of nearly 7,000 people in colorado last night as he and running mate paul ryan launch a three-day bus tour today through the battleground state of ohio where a new poll released on sunday shows romney trailing 51%-46% among likely voters. the survey by the university of cincinnati institute for pol

here's nancy snyderman. >> reporter: america's game kicked off last night. a study published online this month shows nfl players have a significantly higher risk of dying of of the degenerative brains brain diseases alzheimer's and als, commonly known as lou gehrig's disease. >> the common theme is repettive head injuries. by the time you're at the national football league, they've added up to many, many thousands if not tens of thousands of blows. >> reporter: professional football has long been a violent game. in recent years the nfl has taken aggressive measures to protect players from some of of the more serious head injuries and upped the ante to those who break the rules. wednesday on "today," roger goodell announced the league's partnership with the u.s. army and nih to study the effects of traumatic brain injuries. >> we're going to be funding $30 million to fund new research that will hopefully help and accelerate the understanding of brain injuries. >> reporter: but for some players the research comes too late. steve gleason, formerly of the saints

nancy snyderman. good morning. >> i have my eyes closed. >> so rude. you leave it to her to dispose of it. >> like a man. >> moving on, like a woman, a strong woman, michelle obama's speech last night. i've read some of the reaction not just from democrats, not from liberals, republicans. michael steele said, quote, it was a hell of a speech. what do you say, star. >> i say 100%. my favorite line, women are more than capable of making decisions about their bodies and their health care. >> that's her political response to the speech. it was not supposed to be a partisan speech. it was supposed to be about emotions. >> that is emotional for me especially when it comes to health care. for a woman to be able to make choices about her own health care in every aspect, that's one of the most important things to me. >> what struck me she walked out a very different person four years ago, she was somewhat reluctant, accepted this, talking about her hesitation about the white house. this was a confident woman who strode onto that set podium very aware of who she

nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical editor. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> the catalog identified the mutations in common cancers. what is the bottom line and why does this matter? >> four basic kinds of cancers and they dug deeper and found genetic switches that make cancers worse than others, linked one to ovarian cancer and that could change treatment. underscoring all of this, it took thousands of scientists with 800 women volunteering to give up their tissue, and they shared information. it shows you just can't throw money at things, can't hide in your own little laboratory. unless we share information we won't get breakthroughs. so increasingly your breast tumor, my breast tumor may look the same on an x-ray but genetically they may be very, very different. the sooner we can understand, the sooner we can tailor treatment for me, treatment for you. >> one of the breast cancer tumors shared more similarities with ovarian cancer, us a mentioned. >> yeah. >> does this mean it may be the place where you find the tumo

nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical editor. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> the catalog identified the mutations in common cancers. what is the bottom line and why does this matter? >> four basic kinds of cancers and they dug deeper and found genetic switches that make cancers worse than others, linked one to ovarian cancer and that could change treatment. underscoring all of this, it took thousands of scientists with 800 women volunteering to give up their tissue, and they shared information. it shows you just can't throw money at things, can't hide in your own little laboratory. unless we share information we won't get breakthroughs. so increasingly your breast tumor, my breast tumor may look the same on an x-ray but genetically they may be very, very different. the sooner we can understand, the sooner we can tailor treatment for me, treatment for you. >> one of the breast cancer tumors shared more similarities with ovarian cancer, us a mentioned. >> yeah. >> does this mean it may be the place where you find the tumo

nancy snyderman. >> hey. >> school lunches, did you see this parody. takeoff of the song called "we are young," called "we are hungry." that limit lunches to 850 calories a day, which i don't know, sounds like a lot of food to me. but a lot of them are student athletes and say they're hungry. first of all, 850 calories for lunch, that's enough food, right? >> the whole world is too -- become satisfied with a meal not to be full after a meal. and as an athlete, yes, you get hungry in the afternoon, that's when you grab a protein bar or something else before breakfast. this is a smart mood to start limiting calories. >> these are the guidelines of course supported by the first lady and her let's move campaign, as well. they say in the context of an obesity problem, this is something we need to do. do you think this goes too far the kids aren't getting enough? >> absolutely not. i think this is the road to the right direction. we've reduced so much of athletics and after school activities, our physical education in school. if we can't take control at this

nancy snyderman. >> hey. >> school lunches, did you see this parody. takeoff of the song called "we are young," called "we are hungry." that limit lunches to 850 calories a day, which i don't know, sounds like a lot of food to me. but a lot of them are student athletes and say they're hungry. first of all, 850 calories for lunch, that's enough food, right? >> the whole world is too -- become satisfied with a meal not to be full after a meal. and as an athlete, yes, you get hungry in the afternoon, that's when you grab a protein bar or something else before breakfast. this is a smart mood to start limiting calories. >> these are the guidelines of course supported by the first lady and her let's move campaign, as well. they say in the context of an obesity problem, this is something we need to do. do you think this goes too far the kids aren't getting enough? >> absolutely not. i think this is the road to the right direction. we've reduced so much of athletics and after school activities, our physical education in school. if we can't take control at this

star jones, donny deutsch and nancy snyderman had here to weigh in on what's happening. >> good morningin new york city as part of a trial program. 13 new york city schools are offering the morning after contraceptive pill to young ladies as young as 14 without their parent's consent. as i say that, let's remember that schools have been offering condoms for years now. is this the next logical step? nancy? >> parents aren't going to like to hear this, but teenagers are having sex. there are somewhere between 7,000 to 9,000 unwanted pregnancies in new york. people want to be anti-abortion. if you're anti-abortion you should be anti-pregnancy, so you may give parents the wiggies but the reality is it's smashing public policy. >> without the parent's consent. >> donny? >> the parents can opt out. >> there's paperwork. >> you know, to me, this is not in all the schools. one out of three kids, girls going into ninth grade have had sex already to. me if this stock option unwanted pregnancies, it's a no-brainer, fantastic idea. >> i have problem giving any medication to a child without a parent

star jones, donny deutsch and nancy snyderman had here to weigh in on what's happening. >> good morningin new york city as part of a trial program. 13 new york city schools are offering the morning after contraceptive pill to young ladies as young as 14 without their parent's consent. as i say that, let's remember that schools have been offering condoms for years now. is this the next logical step? nancy? >> parents aren't going to like to hear this, but teenagers are having sex. there are somewhere between 7,000 to 9,000 unwanted pregnancies in new york. people want to be anti-abortion. if you're anti-abortion you should be anti-pregnancy, so you may give parents the wiggies but the reality is it's smashing public policy. >> without the parent's consent. >> donny? >> the parents can opt out. >> there's paperwork. >> you know, to me, this is not in all the schools. one out of three kids, girls going into ninth grade have had sex already to. me if this stock option unwanted pregnancies, it's a no-brainer, fantastic idea. >> i have problem giving any medication to a child without a parent

nancy snyderman, here to tackle the hottest headlines.. >> first two subjects, the privacy block. we start with these comments, secretly recorded from mitt romney at a fundraiser, private fundraiser, private home, several months ago in florida. forget what he said. does mitt romney deserve an expectation of privacy when he takes to an event like that? star? >> well, legally in florida it's a two-party state, which requires both parties to a recording to actually know and consent to the recording. so that's number one. >> violation of his privacy then? >> and going into courtroom, he could say it was a violation of his privacy. >> all right. but he is a declared candidate for the presidency of the united states. should he assume that from the moment he declares, everything he says is on the record? >> everybody should assume that. >> the law is a contradiction. i'm giving you that. >> right now, there's a picture on facebook of a 20-year-old probably smoking a bong who is going to be running for president in the year 2040 and nobody's goin

nancy snyderman, here to tackle the hottest headlines.. >> first two subjects, the privacy block. we start with these comments, secretly recorded from mitt romney at a fundraiser, private fundraiser, private home, several months ago in florida. forget what he said. does mitt romney deserve an expectation of privacy when he takes to an event like that? star? >> well, legally in florida it's a two-party state, which requires both parties to a recording to actually know and consent to the recording. so that's number one. >> violation of his privacy then? >> and going into courtroom, he could say it was a violation of his privacy. >> all right. but he is a declared candidate for the presidency of the united states. should he assume that from the moment he declares, everything he says is on the record? >> everybody should assume that. >> the law is a contradiction. i'm giving you that. >> right now, there's a picture on facebook of a 20-year-old probably smoking a bong who is going to be running for president in the year 2040 and nobody's goin