And piers morgan live. For the First Time Since his cable news show was canceled, piers is back on tv and has a lot to say today, monday, october 6th, 2014. Announcer from nbc news, this is today with matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. And good morning. Welcome to today on a monday morning. Im matt lauer along with tamron hall, who is in while savannah continues on Maternity Leave with baby vale. We have Natalie Morales and al roker back from afghanistan. How was your trip . It was humbling and you cannot give a great enough thank you to the men and women over there, protecting our freedom. We will have a big thank you to the folks who took part in our uso tour. And well see the video on tuesday . Look forward to that. Well start on a monday morning with our top story, concerns of ebola in america. A refueling stop in maine this morning. He will be treated for ebola at a hospital. Dr. Nancy snyderman and her team are feeling fine and their return will be soon as well. Lets begin with nbcs National Correspondent kate snow in omaha. Kate, good morning to you. Good morning, matt. Ashoka mukpo is due here in a few hours after refueling in bangor, maine acres couple of hours ago. Meanwhile here on the ground in omaha, they are ready and waiting. Ashoka mukpos long journey home began overnight when he boarded a specially equipped plane. Inside the plane, like this one, multiple layers of protection, designed to make sure no one would ever come in contact with the virus. On the ground in omaha, another team from Nebraska Medical Center. He will be fully suited from head to toe and he will have a Face Mask Covering his entire face so literally not one inch of his body will be exposed. And then our Health Care Workers will be have protective equipment on very similar. Theyll be covered head to toe. When crosses the red line, theres no turning back. Reporter the medical director of the bio containment unit took us across what they call the red line, into the area no one will be able to go without full protective gear. This room right here. Reporter this room . Everything is carefully monitored. If you hold this open for more than a few seconds, it will sound an alarm. Reporter this little camera will give him the ability to video chat with his family just down the hall. We spoke with his parents sunday, just before they flew to omaha. The fact that hes feeling well right now or relatively well, that the symptoms are not severe yet and hes also about to get fantastic medical care is an enormous relief after the very, very stressful few days weve been through. Every time i would ask him how hes doing or how hes feeling, he clearly would respond with im just getting myself through this day until i get on a plane. Reporter dr. Smith here in nebraska says a lot will depend on his condition once ashoka gets off that plane what theyll treat him with here. Thats a long flight hes taking. That would exhaust anyone. Well see how hes doing, matt, once he gets here and off the plane. Kate snow in omaha, thank you. Theres growing concern for thomas duncan, the first patient to be diagnosed with ebola in the united states. Mark potter is in dallas with that part of the story. Good morning. Reporter good morning, tamron. With news that the patient is doing poorly, theyre keeping a close eye on 48 people who may have had contact with him. Their goal to testing and monitoring is to make sure this disease does not spread. Theres renewed urgency in the battle to save Thomas Eric Duncan from the deadly ebola virus. He took a turn for the worse over the weekend, downgrade to critical. Family members in North Carolina say doctors told them duncan is now on a respirator and dialysis machine. Sunday night, a week after duncan was admitted to the hospital, hazmat crews were back, decontaminating the apartment where he stayed with his family. The next three days are the most critical for 48 people they believe came in direct or indirect contact with duncan since he started showing signs of the illness september 24th. Eight to ten days after that is when most people would start feeling the effects of the virus, according to doctors. So today, tomorrow and wednesday are crucial. But, according to one expert, the delay in diagnosing duncans illness was a serious mistake that jeopardized the people he was around. When he was out of the hospital for those two days while he was obviously sick and obviously had ebola, he came into contact with a lot of people. Reporter one of them was a homeless man who rode in the same ambulance used to take duncan to the hospital. Police finally found him on sunday and he is being monitored. So far, authorities say, no one except duncan has shown any signs of infection. That includes his girlfriend, louise, who talked to me by phone from an undisclosed location. Everybodys okay . Yes. Reporter and nobody has any fever or any other symptoms . No. Reporter but the fear of ebola spreading means more people around the country are being screened. Among them, a patient in miami, tested on sunday, even though Officials Say he does not meet the cdc denks ffinition for the virus. Just to be cautious. Theres good news involving dr. Rick sacra, former ebola patient. Ent. He was hospitalized as a precaution after developing a cough and fever, but testing reveals he does not have ebola. There was not a recurrence and now he is being treated for what theyre calling a routine respiratory infection. Matt . Mark potter, thank you very much. Dr. Frieden will brief the president on ebola today. Good morning to you. Good morning, matt. Do you have any updates on mr. Duncans condition in texas . Nothing beyond what youve said. Our hopes and prayers are with him. And we recognize that this is a critical time for him and for his family. And, as you said earlier, this is the time when were particularly looking at the contacts that he had. 10 contacts who definitely had contact with him and 38 others who might have had contact. Every single one of those 48 people was monitored yesterday. Their temperatures were taken. None of them had symptoms or fever. The key here is to keep doing that every single day, as texas is doing excellently. And isolate them. When you say isolate them, i want to make sure were clear on this. Are they being called and being told are you taking your temperature . Or is there someone watching these people to make sure they dont inadvertently slip out of their homes and expose other people . Their temperatures are being taken directly by outreach staff from Health Departments in texas. In addition, their locations are known. If any of them might slip out, as you put it, thats being addressed appropriately by authorities in texas. As you know, theres an american photojournalist, ashoka mukpo who has w. H. O. Is arrive in nebraska for treatment. How closely will the cdc work with that Health Center there . Very closely. We work with them already and consult with the physicians about the care of the patient. Weve been doing that on the way over and well also make sure that the doctors and nurses and whole team taking care of him does that in a way that doesnt put them at risk, by providing them with support. And i just quickly now, if we can, officials in this country have had a chance to get their hands on and observe closely several people infected with this ebola virus right now. Has that work led us any closer to a vaccine . And Something Else we havent heard about in several weeks, dr. Frieden, that experimental serum given to two of the patients. Is there any more on that . Is there anything promising . We dont know if it works but theres no more of it now. The company is working hard to make a few more doses. Its hard to make. It takes a long time. We have learned how important management is. Rehydration of patients can be life saving. Thats something were taking back to africa to try to improve the care there, to improve the rehydration of patients. We are seeing signs of progress. Cdc has trained more than 4,000 Health Workers in africa. Were training Health Workers in this country, seeing people all over the world coming to help out in africa. Exit screening identified 77 people, identified them to get them off the planes in africa. Were definitely seeing signs of progress. Dr. Frieden of the cdc, thank you very much. Thank you. Now to the other Major Health Concern being dealt with across the country, the enterovirus has sickened children across the united states. Now a 4yearold boy who died in his sleep nearly three weeks ago tested positive for the virus. Tom costello has more for us. Tom, good morning. This is the only death the cdc has definitely connected to the virus. There have been other deaths but those patients may have had other underlying illnesses as well. For the vast people that contract it, it shouldnt be a serious concern. For some vulnerable kids, it can be serious. Sunday night, parents gathered to hear from the School District after confirmation that 4yearold eli wahler died of enterovirus 68 two years ago. He went to bed september 24th but never woke up. In describing him, his father said imagine a shy little puppy who wants only to make people proud and happy, maybe tripping a bit over his own paws, but truly full of unconditional love. Including several large clusters of children in denver and kansas city, hospitalized with difficulty breathing. And medical investigators still dont know if theres a connection to another worrisome development acres dozen or so children, some who have shown symptoms of the virus have also developed limb weakness or partial paralysis. Its not clear if its temporary or permanent. The link to paralysis is still uncertain and under investigation. Reporter enterovirus d68 itself is common this time of year. Runny nose, fever, maybe a cough. But this year there are more cases that seem more severe. Patients with asthma or difficulty breathing are most at risk. We do want to make sure that parents know that most children who contract enterovirus d68 should be perfectly fine and should worry more if their child has asthma or trouble breathing in which case they should seek medical attention. The best advice on preventive steps include washing your hands, dont touch your eyes or nose and stay away from others if you are sick. Its expected to die down as we get further into the fall and the winter. Back to you, guys. Tom, thank you very much. Lot of Health Concerns out there today. In other news, youre learning more about that former u. S. Soldier being threatened by isis. Thats right. American aid worker is being held by isis and told his parents in a letter back in june that hes afraid to die. Richard engel is in istanbul, turkey, with the very latest on that, and the fight against isis. Good morning. Reporter good morning, natalie. The hostages family has made a video message, stressing his humanitarian work and calling on isis to release him. Isis is threatening to kill an american hostage next. Peter kassig, former army ranger, who travelled to syria to help victims of war. His family said he converted to islam and changed his name. In a letter from captivity, he told his family he was, quote, pretty scared to die. Isis is fighting a propaganda war but also making advances on battlefields. Turkey this morning sent more tanks to its syrian border, taking up what appeared to be firing positions. This is why. Isis militants are advancing quickly on the city of kobani on the turkish border, attacking it with tanks and artillery. Isis has already prepared a huge flag to fly over kobani once it captures the city. They want to provoke a war with turkey, firing mortars into turkey, hitting homes. Turkey has sent tens of thousands of troops to reinforce the border. So far, turkish troops has no orders to enter syria and that perceived inaction has caused problems at home, priots breakig out, demanding that they take control over isis instead of just watching the group. If it does decide to send troops into syria, that would mean nato boots on the ground and it could be a turning point. Natalie . Richard engel in istanbul for us. Thank you, richard. Three service men were swept away by high waves in okinawa as a powerful typhoon hit shore. One was found dead and two others are missing. Flooded highways and caused roads to wash away near tokyo. People trapped in their homes by rising floodwaters were rescued. People were advised to evacuate because of the possibility of landslides. Car racing fans are lucky to be alive after miraculously escaping a wild crash in italy this morning. Watch as the rally car comes around that turn. It loses control, drives up the embankment and slams into the hillside, flips forward and lands back on the track. Amazingly, all the spectators walked away unscathed. That flip probably saved their lives. One young girl was treated for shock and the driver and passenger were taken to the hospital as a precaution. Im surprised they let people sit right there. At a high turn. Crazy thank you, natalie. Weve got Severe Weather stretching from indiana down into texas. This fastmoving line of showers and thunderstorms getting ready to make their way into nashville. Well be looking at showers and thunderstorms. Some of them heavy at times. Good news, these are quick movers. They could drop one to two inches, it will be very brief as far as the heavy rain is concerned. The rest of the country, we do have a risk of strong storms from southern ohio, western West Virginia down into northern texas. Out west, spectacular weather. 91 degrees. One more day of hot weather in southern california. High surf advisories there as well. Well get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. Good morning. Im meteorologist bill henley. A chilly start this morning, 30s and 40s, but well see lots of sunshine. And with a healthy southerly wind, well warm into the 70s this afternoon. And back in the 70s again tomorrow, but the bright sunshine will be taking a break as clouds move in. Theres a chance for a shower during the day, really a better chance of evening showers on tuesday. Theyll be clearing out wednesday, 72 degrees wednesday afternoon. Lots of sunshine on thursday. Then another chance of showers as we head toward the weekend. Have a great day. And thats your latest weather. Matt . Thank you very much. Now to a proposal that gives new meaning to the phrase wedding crashers. Quite literally. A newly engaged couple had the experience of a lifetime when their hot air balloon ride at sunset ended in the pacific. From over the moon to over the ocean. Oh, my goodness. Theyre going to have to jump. Reporter proposing to his fiance when their hot air balloon drifted off course, hovering dangerously close to the waves before landing in the surf. My fiance and i were getting engaged up there. Next thing you know, the balloon was veering off toward the water and on the way back to land, the air was so stagnant, we were going straight down. No matter what the pilot tried, we couldnt go back this way. The pilot, a 12year balloon veteran says the water landing was a first. Im a retired marine. Weve been in tough situations before. A lot of those skills are transferrable. Fortunately, no one was hurt. In true california fashion, the couple was towed back to shore by local lifeguards and surfers. It could have been a lot worse. Could have been a great deal worse. Once in a lifetime experience on the heels of another. Its unforgettable. Thats all i can say. I dont know if well do it again. I dont think theyre planning start off like that, then it all ends well in the end. I love the marine. Our skills are transferrable. Including in this situation. Carson is here with an snl skit thats getting a lot of attention. Ive played golf in high school. Watch those skills transfer to the orange room right now. Guest host, silverman, was hilarious, maroon five. A lot of people speaking about one skit in particular. She played a lot of great characters but portrayal of joan rivers. Joan was roasting other historical figures, freddy mercury, richard pryor. Lets take a look at sarah as joan. Ladies and gentlemen of heaven, please welcome miss joan rivers. So many incredible people here tonight. Even steve jobs, right here. Incredible. Steve, i hope youre forced to buy a newer, better casket every six months so you can see how we feel. Am i right . Oh theres some mixed reviews. Lets go through that. What did i miss . Just the way you said the joan rivers skit was too soon. Needed more time to honor the legend. No one could get away with a joan rivers in heaven skit this soon other than Sarah Silverman. These two were quite close friends. Joan even tweeting sarah congratulations on her emmy one week before her passing. A television comeback. Well have an exclusive interview with that man right there, piers morgan, his first since his departure from cnn. Hey, piers. Teresa and joe giudice spoke out for the first time after receiving the message from their young daughter that broke their heart. First this is today on nbc. With tom corbett, things keep getting worse. September 16th. Budget deficits force pennsylvania to borrow 1. 5 billion dollars just to keep the lights on. Three days later, pennsylvanias Unemployment Rate goes up for the second straight month. Under tom corbett, weve fallen from 9th to 47th in job creation. And on september 25th, pennsylvanias credit is downgraded for the fifth time in two years. Why would we give tom corbett four more years . Coming up, what did you just say . The they think salmon and energ. But the energy bp produces up here creates Something Else as well jobs all over america. Engineering and innovation jobs. Advanced Safety Systems technology. Shipping and manufacturing. Across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. When we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. Thats not a coincidence. Its one more part of our commitment to america. Heres something fun to do with hot dogs. Make easy crescent dogs. Pillsbury crescent rolls. Make dinner pop. 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