they ran afoul of scientology, it is said.e magazine report says actresses who are already scientology members were called in and told they were auditioning for a new training film but were then asked what they thought of tom cruise. one woman featured in the article, an actress and scientology follower, according to "vanity fair," she was selected and dated cruise from november 2004 until january 2005, but the magazine reports cruise quickly grew tired of her and reported apparent transgressions to a member of the scientology staff. allegedly, she was sent to a scientology center in florida and forced to do menial labor, according to "vanity fair." the church told "vanity fair" it does not punish people like that. it denies any such search for a girlfriend took place and says some of the sources for the story are disgruntled ex-church members. now, we unsuccessfully tried to contact representatives for tom cruise and boniati this morning. the magazine said cruise declined to comment and we also called the church of scientolog

scientology does not know everybody i talked to, for one thing.ew exceptions, are on the record. these are people who were very high up in the church at one point. >> but do they all have drapes against or grievances with the church of scientology? >> no. some of them are scientologists but they have gripes against the current leadership of scientology but not against the religion necessarily. >> let's talk about the premise of the article. it starts with tom cruise talking to an official of the church. i can't find a girlfriend, not even my sister can help me find a girlfriend. that's what initiates this process, according to sources, of auditions for tom cruise. we have to believe one of the most popular movie stars in the world, one of the wealthiest, one that women consider the most hand some. >> gaga. >> can't find a girlfriend. >> he can't find the scientology soul mate he needs to be the number two most important person in the religion, which is what he was called by the head of scientology. >> it has to be a woman that meets his standards

i've bean therapist for many years helping people leave cuts like scientology.s in the moonies. it's going raise a lot of awareness. >> watching a movie like this could be a recruiting tool for the church of scientology. >> absolutely not. especially in light of all the news about scientology, former top leaders speaking out, especially the internet. my reports are that they are losing followers. >> should scientology be concerned about this film? >> absolutely, in my opinion. what i didn't like about the movie, if people were watching it, to have a window on the cult phenomenon is that the joaquin phoenix character was so messed up. of course the character in the movie couldn't cure him so that was an interesting point. but the problem that i have is that people who get into mind control cuts for the most part are not that messed up. recruiters of cuts don't want people that messed up, they want educated, intelligent people and they use deception to get people in to indoctrinate them, so to have a new identity. >> thanks so much for being with us this morning.

scientology folks people deny any such project.cording to "vanity fair," the organization was seeking and auditioning actresses strictly scientologists, as a real-life girlfriend for tom cruise. they were allegedly told they were auditioning for a training film. asking what do you think of tom cruise? >> coming on top of his divorce, it's one more thing. nobody wants to be exposed to critical articles like this. true or not, if it's not true, it's frustrating. if it is true, it's some of the most personal moments of his life. so i'm sure it's just one more headache for tom cruise right now. >> reporter: "vanity fair" claims nazanin boniadi, an iranian-born london-raised actress who was a regular on "general hospital" and recognized for her role in "ironman" was the selected one. and that in a month-long preparation was told to lose her braces, her highlights, and her boyfriend, and even signed confidentiality agreement. the article goes further saying when the pair first met in november 2004, that's when boniadi first sensed this w

actresses who were scientologies were -- scientologists were selected to be his significant other. >> on top of his divorce it is one more thing. nobody wants to be exposed to critical arts like this. true or not, if -- articles like this. true north, if it is not it is frustrated if it is true some of his most personal moment. i'm sure this is one more headache for tom cruise. >> vanity fair says they tried to match cruise up with an iranian-born london raised actress but that didn't work out instead he wound up marrying katie holmes. scientologists deny they did any match making. >>> according to the daily mail woo bruce willis is concerned rights to his -- -- >>> russell crowe is thanking the u.s. coast guard for a little lift after he and friend got lost while kayaking. you can see russell in the center with coast guard officials were on routine patrol late saturday night when they heard one of the two calling for help. crowe hitched a ride back with them to hunting bay. he sent out this tweet: not lost, we knew exactly where we were pad ing around. -- paddling around, we ran out

actresses who were scientologies were -- scientologists were selected to be his significant other. >> on top of his divorce it is one more thing. nobody wants to be exposed to critical arts like this. true or not, if -- articles like this. true north, if it is not it is frustrated if it is true some of his most personal moment. i'm sure this is one more headache for tom cruise. >> vanity fair says they tried to match cruise up with an iranian-born london raised actress but that didn't work out instead he wound up marrying katie holmes. scientologists deny they did any match making. >>> according to the daily mail woo bruce willis is concerned rights to his -- -- >>> russell crowe is thanking the u.s. coast guard for a little lift after he and friend got lost while kayaking. you can see russell in the center with coast guard officials were on routine patrol late saturday night when they heard one of the two calling for help. crowe hitched a ride back with them to hunting bay. he sent out this tweet: not lost, we knew exactly where we were pad ing around. -- paddling around, we ran out

now, the church of scientology says it does not punish people like that.ched out but were unable to reach her. a spokesperson from tom cruise said lies in a different font are still lies to sell magazines. >> an explosive headline, nonetheless. thanks so much. >>> now a check of the weather from stephanie abrams in for al. she's outside with the crowd. hey, steph. >> hi, natalie. i found the ultimate fans. these folks came from florida to see matchbox twenty. how long did you sleep out? >> two nights. >> how was the weather? >> perfect. >> a little wet this morning. overall quite cool outside. that's not the case in the center of the country. hot, hot, hot. look at 90s spreading into south dakota. otherwise the weather will be phenom >> good morning. we're off to a quiet start. scattered thunderstorms will develop this afternoon. some concede local >> for your concert or labor day forecast 24 hours a day, all you have to do is go to weather.com. natalie, over to you. >> stephanie, thanks so much. >>> online shopping might make your life easier but hurt the

scientology also says no church members were used. nor were they punished nor silenced.r haggis, scientology says he's an apostate, who is, quote, attempting to grab headlines and falsely slander his former religion. cruise's p.r. person says lies in a different font are still lies designed to sell magazines. boniadi and holmes are staying radio silent. when we reached out, they had no comment. >> wow. >> thanks, linsey. >>> now, to brand-new details about a shocking murder case. the u.s. open umpire accused of beating her 80-year-old husband to death with a coffee mug. lois goodman has been released on boil. >> reporter: police say lois goodman is a cold-blooded killer, who brutally beat her husband to death and lied to police to cover up her crime. her daughter says, that could not be further from the truth. >> my mother would never do anything like this. she's completely innocent. >> reporter: this morning, allison rogers, surrounded by her husband and her mother's attorneys, is firing back. calling the charges against goodman, insane. >> i never saw them fight. they

. >>> scientology storm swirling around tom cruise again. did church officials choose mates for the megastar. >>> and on the rampage, armed with a ten-ton bulldozer. >>> good morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm diana perez, in for paula faris. with labor day behind us, we begin this tuesday with the unofficial end to the summer of extremes. >> that's for sure. it's giving way to an early fall, filled with wildfires, high water and wicked winds, now bringing trouble from california to the carolinas. northeast of l.a., a fast-moving wildfire is tearing through the angeles national forest. the flames sending thousands of holiday campers fleeing. the fire has scorched six-square miles. and for now, aerial assault with a chopper and a dc-10 is the atta attack. so far, more than 300 firefighters have the flames barely contained. it comes as isaac roared ashore. almost 3,000 people remain in shelters and more than 100,000 have no power. baby emily, born too early, is finally ready to come home after spending her first five months in the

was scientology really auditioning actresses for the role of a lifetime? meet the woman who was the first choice. >>> and harry is back. the prince steps out in his first public appearance since those photos leaked of his hard-partying weekend in las vegas. >> i've never once been shy on coming forward. i'll give it a go. >>> sam just got here. that was a nice response there for harry right there. good morning, america. robin with her family in mississippi. great to have elizabeth vargas. >> i'll give it a go. >> you will give it a go. lots to get to this morning. all of you heading into rush hour, you know this already. those gas prices, the highest on record for this time of the year. we'll get into why in just a bit. >>> and blazing wildfire in the west. three hikers were stranded behind the fire lines and had to be rescued. so many people have been evacuated. we'll have more on why this particular fire has been tough to fight. it's been tough for the west coast of the united states. >>> also this morning, brand-new details on the shocking case about th

apparently, according to this article, the folks from scientology said she had to lose the red highlightsh tom cruise. she told her story to a fellow scientologist friend of hers and i guess that friend went to the higher-ups and said, look, she told. they got upset with her. and according to the article, they said she was punished by having to scrub toilets with a toothbrush and dig ditches in the middle of the night. >> it seems so bizarre. who wrote it, maureen? >> maureen north. and she had some good sources, too. >> it's too bizarre for words. >> that's all allegations. >> scientology say the allegations about the church supposedly auditions prospective brides for tom cruise is a false piece of gossip floating around the tabloids for years. >> so this young woman since left the church and so has her mother along with paul hagis, who's also the great director who is also one of the sources. >> yeah. he says -- >> i hope all of it is untrue. i don't like to read stuff like that. >> i know. >> we've met tom cruise. he is an absolutely delightful guy to be around. frank worked with him o

was scientology auditioning actresses? >>> and watch out. a monster truck right into the crowd of spectatorspectators. everyone's okay. how did the driver lose control? >>> and rescue me. russell crowe stranded at sea. marooned and yelling to the coast guard for help. inside his high seas adventure. >>> you don't look like george. >> yeah, i know. please do not adjust your set. things have changed today a little bit. good morning, america. george is off today, rob season in mississippi right now with her family after her mother passed away on friday. as you know, we don't need to say it. all of us here are team robin. >> so many of you have been sending wonderful messages. we know you're team robin. she prishts your prayers and love. >> if you want to see them all together, it's #teamrobin. >>> hundreds of thousands are still without power in the storm done. >>> many of you will be relaxing and hitting the beach. major red flag at some of the most popular swimming locations in the country. sharks a wee bit too close the shore. >> some actual

he wanted a soul mate in scientology.sidered by the head of the church, he's been called the second-most important person in the religion. he wanted someone or they wanted someone that he could feel very comfortable with and be his soul mate in the religion. >> according to your sources, did he know the church was launching this special campaign to find him this soul mate, as you call it? >> according to my sources, and she was vetted very, very carefully for a month. i do believe he was very much aware it was going on. or he certainly had heard about her. by the time he met her, he did know all about her. >> at one point, you write that she was hold to darken her hair to heighten her ethnicity. was that -- he wanted somebody beautiful but also a brunette? >> well, he just -- his last girlfriend just before her was penelope cruz. i have no idea. we asked tom cruise, i asked tom for an interview. and he refused. so, you're going to have ask him that. >> according to your sources, things have run foul with both penelope cru

what are they doing in scientology, how far had they progressed in auditing, scientology training. >>eporter: he left the church in 2005 and unsuccessfully sued it while the church accused him of embezzlement, no charges were filed. the whole process led the church to select this actress for cruise. she was a regular last year on the tv show "how i met your mother?" according to "vanity fair" cruise ended the relationship after two months and she was sent to a church center forced to do menial work. the church denies that. but a former scientologist who directed the oscar winning film "crash" said he knew her and e-mailed and said the actress told him the story. >> she had been collected to be tom cruise's girlfriend and possible wife. when it didn't work out, she was treated very badly by scientology. paul was just appalled by this. >> reporter: in a statement to nbc news, the church wrote, quote, the allegations about the church supposedly auditioning prospective brides for tom cruise is a false piece of gossip that's been floating around the tabloids for several years sourced to a

the article claims the wife of scientology head arranged the dates.pokesperson sfort church of scientology says the story is not true. they both declined to do an"va. >>> the u.s. coast guard said they rescued him after kayaking on the long island sound on saturday. the pair apparently got lost when the sun went down. the coast guard helped crow and his friend make it to hunting on the bay and then crowe tweeted out he wasn't lost, he just ran out of daylight. he's currently in long island filming a movie. what's up with you guys? you can never admit that you're lost. you can never ask for directions. >> not a good excuse. he's trying to cover it up. he's trying to save face. >>> is time is 5:21. time for weather and traffic on the ones. >>> let's check in with veronica johnson, she's laughing, too. >> i'm trying to think of how i can use that line, just ran out of daylight. what what are you going to do today? sheryl just tweeted me, absolutely nothing today. i like that. this is the flooding. we showed this picture yesterday. h is from whag in hager

if it can do that with a topic that is centered around cults and scientology - people are calling it the scientology movie - if it can do that kind of business, i'll be impressed. > > let's take a look quickly at some of the movies opening up this next weekend. here's clint eastwood again - "trouble with the curve," there's "dredd," "end of watch," and "house at the end of the street." "trouble with the curve," he was in "grand torino," he had that starring role with an empty chair. i thought he wasn't supposed to be acting anymore. > > 2009, "grand torino" was supposed to be his swan song, and the director of this movie, "trouble with the curve," robert lorenz, frequent collaborator of eastwood's, so i think he might be doing him a favor. and the film, i think the film is probably going to lead the box office this week. eastwood is still out there. he's definitely in the news right now. so it will be interesting to see if people go for it to see what this movie is about. this movie is kind of the anti- "moneyball." it's a movie that is about baseball, but sort of dismisses that numb

scientology folks are denying and tom cruise will not comment. the match up with an actress, gorgeous woman. look at her. sad thing, so intricate, they had a file on her boyfriend at the time. they dug up dirt on him to get her to barareak up with the boyfriend. they dated from november 2004 to to more insight into the church. interesting world. where sleepless nights yield to restful sleep. and lunesta can help you get there, like it has for so many people before. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. a

now, the church of scientology says it does not punish people like that.zanin boniadi but were unable to reach her. a spokesperson from tom cruise said, quote, lies in a different font are still lies to sell magazines. >> an explosive headline, nonetheless. >> absolutely. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. >>> now a check of the weather from stephanie abrams in for al. she's outside with the crowd. hey, steph. >> hi, natalie. i found the ultimate fans. these people came from florida to see matchbox 20. how many days did you sleep out? >> slept outside for two flights. >> how was the weather? >> perfect. >> a little wet this morning. overall it's actually quite cool outside. that's not the case in the center of the country. it is going to be hot, hot, hot. look at 90s spreading into south dakota. otherwise the weather will be phenom for the west. on the east coast, we have to deal with rain. now a look at what's happening outside your door. on >>> temperatures are so comfortable. look at this. this is oakland this morning, a beautiful start at 7:35. everyt

now, the church of scientology says it does not punish people like that.eached out but were unable to reach her. a spokesperson from tom cruise said lies in a different font are still lies to sell magazines. >> an explosive headline, nonetheless. thanks so much. >>> now a check of the weather from stephanie abrams in for al. she's outside with the crowd. hey, steph. >> hi, natalie. i found the ultimate fans. these folks came from florida to see matchbox twenty. how long did you sleep out? >> two nights. >> how was the weather? >> perfect. >> in the center of the country today. it is going to be hot, hot, hot. look at those 90s spreading all the way into south dakota. otherwise the weather is phenom natural for the labor day in the west. on the east coast we have a little rain. now here's a look at what's happening outside your door. >> outside our door it's a little wet for d.c. certainly plenty cloudy out there right now with your "sunrissu sunrise coming to us an hour ago. again, high humidity with a life to even calm wind in most neighborhoods. we'll se

master and it stars joaquin phoenix next week will take a critical look at the wonderful world of scientology that's all next week along with more news and in-depth interviews so make sure you keep it tuned in right here to our t.v. but that's going to do it for now for more on the stories we covered.

and the church of scientology has called them hogwash. the church says there was never any project to find a bride for my member of the church. lara? >> linsey, thank you. >>> coming up, josh has "the play of the day." why these guys might just be the luckiest ducks ever. with more birthdays. join the american cancer society making strides against breast cancer walk and help us get there faster. sign up at makingstrideswalk.org. oh, it's so good! if this image robbed you of the great taste of untopped triscuit, claim your free box online. goat cheese? come on! this is america! [ male announcer ] 100% whole grain woven for an untoppable taste. [ crunch ] [ male announcer ] 100% whole grain ♪♪ a flavor paradises aof delicious fishes ♪♪ ♪ friskies seafood sensations. ♪ ♪ feed the senses. it just wouldn't go away. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pai

how can people forget bad memories. >> i don't know enough about scientology to cover that, but it'sthink that for decades and decades, psychologists have been working on helping people dig up repressed memories so they can repress them and analyze them, if you will. now we are talking about creating a repression and this one study out of the uk took 30 people and remember a positive and a negative about their past and associate a key word with it and told to ignore or avoid the negative emotion. when they met them, they were talking about the him o time they were hit in the head and couldn't remember the negative as well. they were told to ignore it. it's promising. >> promising. i like the promising part because how can you be trained to forget? the result of this is small. it could be huge for anyone with ptsd. think about our troops returning from war. >> we say promising because it's a study group of 30 people. none of them had depression or ptsd so we know if the minds are being assaulted by bad memories and whether they will be able to learn that process of forgetting. if they

a film based loosely on scientology and its founder. another strong performance by phillip see more hoffman. it's good to see wa keen phoenix back. he took time off for the bizarre reality documentary thing. >> i never understood that movie. >> you're not alone. >> i'm glad. >> a lot of people were confused by that. finding neem mow, one of my favorite movies of all time. >> i think all the kids are fired up about that. the movies you don't mind taking your nieces and nephews to. >> absolutely. i think it will do well. >>> this one comes to us from wcau nbc 10 news in philadelphia where the man known as the greatest was honored last night. booking icon muhammad ali received the prestigious liberty medal not for his amazing fetes inside the ring but for his other work. ali is 70 and has parkinson's disease received a kiss from his daughter layla. >>> i'm mara schiavocampo and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >>> it's finally here. it's friday, ladies and gentlemen. thanks for waking up wit

doctor, when i first read this study, it kind of reminded me of end grams and scientology and able tose memory. how can this study help people learn to forget bad memories? >> i don't know enough about scientology to cover that, but i will tell you this, don, that it's kind of funny to think that for decades and decades, psychologist have been working on helping people dig up repressed memories, right, so they can assess them with an adult mind and analyze them if you will. now we are talking about actually creating a kind of repression and at this one study out of the uk took 30 people and they asked them to remember a positive and a negative thing about their past and associate a key word with it and then told to ignore or avoid a negative thought. so it's promising. >> i like the promising part because how can you be trained to forget? the results of this still very small. it's a very small study. it could be huge with anyone with ptsd. think about our troops returning to war. >> right. so we say promising because it's only a study group of 30 people and none of them actually had d

a film based on scientology and its founder. the return of joaquin phoenix and a strong performance by phillip. it's good to see phoenix back. he grew a beard and played a rapper. >> i didn't recognize him at first. if you hadn't said his name, i wouldn't recognize him. >> and finding nemo. >> the kids have to be pumped. i i'm pumped about this. you are pumped to see it, the kids are excited. >> it's a favorite you can experience in 3-d. it should do well. i'm mara schiavocampo. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned, "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. >>> more anti-american protests and violence overnight in the streets of cairo with more expected today across the muslim world. the united states mourns the loss of four americans killed in libya. two of them former navy s.e.a.l.s. how much worse will this get and how will president obama respond? we'll have a live report from the ground. the wall street journal poll shows the president opening up leads in the only states that matter this election, just two mo

written and directed by paul thomas anderson, the story of scientology as seymour hofman captivatingroup called "the cause." they're joined by the drifter joaquin phoenix aimlessly drunkenly floating from one bad situation to the other until he's taken in by the group and se deuce bed i the rhetoric and the validation it gives the empty life. "the master" isn't an easy movie to follow, but the gutwrenching performances will draw you in to this mysterious story and engage you like no other film so far. expect oscar nominations and probably wins for hofman and phoenix for the amazing tales of tragedy and triumph. never appreciate what cops and their families go through every day. you follow two l.a. cops assigned to one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country jake guillen hal are friends and trying to keep order but you can see how bad the bad guys can be. the video plays out like a video diary. the brotherhood, the dangers the politics of police life. while all of the hand held video makes me nauseous, this enhances the jagged edge tribute to reality. not as impressive is t