Morning in californias orange county. More than 1,000 acres already scorched as firefighters battle dangerous conditions and residents flee for their lives. Today is saturday, september 13th, 2014. Announcer from nbc news, this is today, with lester holt and erica hill. Live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to today on a saturday morning. Im lester holt. Im erica hill alongside jenna wolfe and dylan dreyer. Nice to have the gang back together. Im about three hours behind. Vacationing on the west coast. Been a while since you have gotten up this early . Wow, this is really early. We will all be carrying you today . Like every weekend. Thats more like it. We carry lester holt. Sure. Pretty much. People dont know. Just ahead this morning, a lot of people making their way to london this weekend. Hoping to catch a glimpse of clooney and his fiancee after word they may be getting married there soon. In case you did not get your ticket, we will take you there live. We will talk live to the second lady of the United States, dr. Jill biden has been watchi watching the invictus games. I look forward to that in london over george. We begin with todays top story. The vikings Adrian Peterson will not play after he turned himself in to police late last night on alleged child abuse charges. Nbcs Peter Alexander has this story for us. Reporter good morning, erica. Adrian peterson landed in houston and turned himself in to montgomery county, texas. He was detained for 30 minutes and booked on a charge of injury to a child before posting 15,000 bond and released. On thursday, a montgomery county, texas grand jury recommended indictment of peterson on charge of reckless and criminal negligent. Petersons attorney issued a statement saying the former mvp used a branch to spank his 4yearold son. He said, quote, he used the same discipline on the child that he experienced growing up in texas. Adrian deeply regretted the unintentional injury. This is coming after the Sports League, about 6 billion in revenue a year, is fending off questions of handling of the ray rice Domestic Violence case captured in the video seen around the globe. A source close to nbc, tells us that the meeting with roger goodell, rice said he admitted to punching his then fiancee in the face. Goodell insists rice did not tell him everything. He said, quote, the video shows a different sequence of events. As for peterson, he is not playing this weekend. The vikings benched him. Erica. Peter alexander this morning, thanks. This morning, president obama is speaking out about his administrations plan to quote degrade and destroy the terror group isis. For the first time, the administration is acknowledging that america is in fact at war with isis. So what happens next . Kristen welker is at the white house with more. Reporter lester, good morning to you. The u. S. Will continue to fly Surveillance Missions over syria this weekend. All part of the effort to identify isis targets there. What is the end game and now as you say Senior Administration officials are acknowledging the u. S. Is at war. With u. S. Air strikes continuing in iraq and expected soon in syria, this morning, president obama called it a campaign in the weekly address. What is needed now is a targeted campaign against isil. Reporter on friday, top officials acknowledged the United States is at war with isis. A group the Administration Calls isil. The United States is at war with isil. The same we are at war with al qaeda. Make no mistake, we know we are at war with isil. We are at war with isil. Reporter Administration Officials say they are now using the war to make it easier for the American Public to understand comparing it to the fight against al qaeda. Critics are skeptical of the reasoning. I think the change and emphasis here is deliberate because the American Public was polled two or three days ago, saying 71 were in favor of air strikes. Reporter meanwhile, secretary kerry continues to cross the middle east trying to build a coalition to help fight isis. On friday, he was in turkey. Im comfortable that this will be a broad based coalition. Reporter and arab nations have expressed support, it is unlikely the u. S. Will get help from their army. With 1,600 advisers soon on the ground, the president is entangled for the rest of his term. Whether you call them advisers or experts, they are soldiers and they are in harms way. Reporter now the president says he doesnt need congressional approval to expand air strikes. Most lawmakers dont want to vote on that in an election year. They will vote on whether to give the president approval to train and arm Syrian Opposition fighters. That does that support after the Campaign Issue on monday. Lester. Kristen welker, thanks. After the investigation of the joan rivers death moves forward, there is an issue at the clinic where she had the throat surgery. We know the doctor at the clinic no longer works there. Katy tur has more. Reporter since joan rivers had the procedure at the endoscope clinic, dr. Cohen is out. The clinic says dr. Cohen is not performing procedures at endoscope or serving as medical director. Dr. Cohen allowed rivers personal ear nose and throat doctor to examine her in the clinic. That according to the times and people briefed on the matter. The clinic staff noticed the oxygen levels plummeting. When they could not stabilize her, they called 911. Rivers was transferred to mt. Sinai. Now the private ent specialists performed a biopsy. The suggestion that rivers throat doctor may have been permitted in the clinic raises questions. It would be inappropriate to bring a physician into the operating theater who was not affiliated and approved by the surgical center. Reporter although dr. Cohen is gone, his bio is on the web site. His contributions have been recognized by the peers who selected him to be in best doctors in america. On sunday outside her manhattan memorial, thousands lined the streets for a final goodbye to the groundbreaking comedienne. Nbc news reached out for comment, but neither physician got back to us. The new york state is investigating the matter, but they will not say if they suspect any wrongdoing. For today, katy tur, nbc news. We will get to the rest of the top stories. Evacuation orders are ahead for california. Hundreds of firefighters are battering heat while trying to contain the flames in Cleveland National forest. It burned through two square miles and evacuations have been ordered for 30 homes. Conditions for firefighters are dangerous with temperatures topping 100 degrees today. Video showing the moment that escaped School Shooter t. J. Lane was captured in ohio. Check out the Police Recording showing the 19yearold taken into custody friday morning. Lane and two other inmates slipped out of the ohio prison on thursday, all have been captured. Lane is he serving a life sentence for the shooting deaths of students at the high school in 2012. And man waived his right to appear in court for the deaths of his children. Nbcs mark potter has the story. Amazing grace reporter at a somber memorial, the photos of the five children were on tragic display as family and friends gather to mourn and grief through a slide show of the lives cut short. Help forgive. Remember the moments you have in your life. Reporter 32yearold Timothy Ray Jones jr. , a divorced father with primary custody is charged with five counts of murder for allegedly killing his children. Ages 1 to 8. By violent means in his home in lexington, South Carolina. Police say he then drove to alabama with the bodies in his car dumping them in plastic bags in the woods. Last saturday, he was arrested at a dui checkpoint in mississippi where officers looked in the car and became suspicious. They saw blood and childrens clothing, but no children. Reporter his lawyer says jones suffers from Mental Illness untreated. At the end of the memorial, mourners sought comfort outside and released balloons for the children still trying to understand why they were killed. For today, mark potter, nbc news. Ten men suspected in the shooting of teen activist malala have been arrested in pakistan. Pakistani military officials on friday announced the taliban suspects have been rounded up in a raid. Malala was a 15yearold activist for Girls Education in 2012 when she was shot in the head. She survived. The enterovirus is spreading east. New york and connecticut are now reporting cases. The infection broke out in the middle of the country and has been spreading since august. Children begin with coldlike symptoms. Children with asthma and other respiratory diseases are at risk. Doctors recommend careful hygiene to prevent spread. Dr. Rick sacra is recovering. This is not a typo, they have ben jerrys ice cream to be thankful for it. Sacra is being treated in omaha. Patients lose a lot of fluids and doctors wanted to get 1,000 calories in sacra. They tried several kinds, but ben jerrys did the trick. Works for pregnant women. Just saying. If ben jerrys is your thing, great. Some prefer bugs and beetles. This restaurant has it on the menu. Tacos topped with spiders and scorpions. You can do and or. You can do both. The chef says the bugs are bland. You have to spice them up to get the customers to eat them. Which seems obvious to me. I dont know why i have to say that. It seems like something you would know. They are bland. You want to spice them up to get theget the protein. Waiter, theres a bug in my soup. Yes, thats what you ordered. Jenna, thank you. Dylan has a check of the forecast. Im gagging over here. Thats not my thing. Thanks for that visual. Enjoy your breakfast. It is cold outside in some areas back to the midwest. Look at the frost advisories. Even a freeze warning across northern minnesota up to duluth. Hastings, nebraska, 36 degrees. It is chilly when you walk the dog. High temperatures this afternoon not much better. Chicago topping out at 59 degrees today. That is nearly 20 degrees below average. 62 in minneapolis. 66 in columbus. All of this cooler air is going to spread to the northeast. Thats a look good morning, everyone. More clouds for the day today. Cloudy and cool though. Temperatures right around 70 degrees. But we will have occasional rain. Especially in the afternoon. Your winds should remain light. But tomorrow, were back to sunshine. Low 70s. Were talking cool week with temperatures staying in the mid 70s. More showers by tuesday. But back to sunny weather as we wrap up your workweek. Have a great morning, everyone. And thats the latest forecast. Lester. Dylan, thanks. Hundreds of Wounded Warriors are in london attending in the invictus games. It is where injured servicemen and women from 13 countries compete in sports from rowing to wheelchair rugby. The United States has 98 athletes taking part. Second lady dr. Jill biden is leading the u. S. Delegation. Dr. Biden, great to see you this morning. Good morning, lester. Before we talk about the games, if we can, i want to touch on the fallout from the ray rice controversy. We are marking the 20th anniversary of the violence against women act which your husband pushed through as a u. S. Senator. Im curious what you think needs to be done and how much progress we made in the last 20 years on that subject. You know, lester, im really proud of what joe has done of writing the violence against women act. Of course, there is more to be done. Today, im here with the best of america with our Wounded Warriors and athletes. Were here at the invictus games. Lets turn to that. As you watch the u. S. Compete, what has struck out to you . I just watched the usa versus england basketball game. The u. S. Won. Ill tell you, lester, i wish you were here. These athletes are incredible. Just their energy and their positive spirit and resilience. They make americans so proud. You and we talked about this before, you and First Lady Michelle Obama are behind the joining forces initiative which creates opportunities for veterans and military families. How do these games help bring that to light what you are trying to accomplish . Well, you know, when i was at the basketball game, i was talking to prince harry. He was saying he was talking to a Military Spouse and he was saying, these athletes are so great and this is so great for them. She said no, prince harry, these games are so great for the families. They mean so much to the families. First Lady Michelle obama and i have given support to the military families. We wanted to do it with actions, not just words. We are supporting them with employment, education and wellness. You mentioned prince harry. This came together with his experience on Wounded Warriors. Are you struck by how quickly this came together and how successful it has been . He saw our Warrior Games in colorado. Now he brought it to a global scale. We have 14 countries and over 400 athletes competing. It has been great. All right. Dr. Jill biden, nice to have you on. Thanks for spending time with us. Enjoy the games. Thank you. Okay. If you are one of the people who always look at the Weather Forecast before you leave for vacation praying for clear skies and sunny days, this next story may scratch your head. We go along with one adventure and some are hoping for the worst weather. Reporter the hunt is on. Wendy and allen rogers live in southern england. I dont know. Another. Reporter their American Vacation is a bit unusual to say the least. Im in the back. I feel like im riding a roller coaster. Reporter the van full of tourists are stalking a lightning storm. You are the fanatic. Im a willing accomplice. Reporter they are after natures fury. 1 billion volts of electricity. Hotter than the surface of the sun and in a milisecond, it is gone. Weather like this in england is rare. Did i mention this is the sixth u. S. Lightning hunt. Look at the blowing dirt. Reporter led by lightning expert roger hill. They are in for a heck of a road trip. We have gone 250 miles so far through two time zones and two states, but it is worth it. Most people who make this trip have the expensive lightning triggers. It trips your shutter. Reporter wendy and allen glide along on hope. I invested in a lightning trigger. Reporter and fast finger. That i hope i got. That might be my first lightning picture. Reporter moments after we pass this sign, the trip took a turn. Flash flood. That was cool. This is coming across the road. Reporter right before our eyes and lens, it is the perfect Summer Vacation for mother natures fan club. When she wants to strike, shell do it. We dont want that to happen. We just want a photograph. Reporter looks like they got it. For today, dave malkoff, somewhere in the mojave desert. That would be awesome. The paranoid side of me, there is something dangerous to the lightning and tornadoes. If you are with a professional. Lightning. It is you dont have to be close to it. No. It can strike something on the ground and go through the ground. Im paranoid. I wanted to get your thoughts on that. Thats why we would always check with you first. Jenna. And thats it. So up next, speaking of jenna, you may have heard that there is big changes ahead for jenna and not just the little munchkin. We will get into that, but first this is today on nbc. Im Robert De Niro and new york is my home. Its the best place to visit in the world and now its the easiest, because now there are new tourism guides on the road, and on your phone that make it easier to find the places you love. Find great dining, amazing history, and worldclass entertainment, no matter where you are. Take the ultimate road trip and see why i love new york. For more information, go to iloveny. Com lets taget a plan,a notch. Get it right, and look for whats next. Lets do this. More saving. More doing. Thats the power of the home depot. Save 20 on any two bags of scotts fertilizer. A good crowd. We are back with some bittersweet news at weekend today. Jenna is leaving us soon. She is not saying goodbye to the today family. She will be able to sleep inasmuch as you can with a 1yearold. You want to rethink it now . Matt broke the news yesterday. You will become todays lifestyle and fitness correspondent. Focus on the monday through friday part. Lets focus on that right now. I will come by. This is so exciting for you. This is your passion. This is your dream to do everything so well. This is tailor made for me. It is what i love. Eat, sleep, drink, think about all the time. This will be great. I love the three of you like nobodys business. I will miss you guys, not the hours. Will you punish matt with the exercise like you did us . I will not put him in mild cardiac arrest. I am glad you have come on board with the fitness journey i have dragged you along. It is not just us. Theres a lot of people on twitter and facebook who have so many nice things to say about you. Come on over to the orange room. We can run if you want. Thats okay. We can do burpees on the way over there. Lets not. We compiled some of the pictures of some of our favorite memories with you. Most include exercising. One includes a doughnut. Were you pregnant at that point . I dont know. We have so many people writing in well wishes for you. Jenna wolfe, you rock. Congratulations, jenna. Its in your blood. You will be great. And mona saying i see diet and exercise in my future. And i hope jenna wolfe challenges matt to rigorous exercise like she did lester. And i will miss you like crazy. You are not going far. Ill call you early on weekends. I responded please dont so much. Ill call you. We are so excited for you. Obviously it is bittersweet. Im not going far. Youre not done. I still have another couple weeks. Next weekend. We are not letting you off the week. We will do something over the top next week. Thats what we do. We just seconds ago live here on nbc 10