Oh, my god im like crying. Hoda shines a light for some very special kids today, wednesday, september 24th, 2014. Announcer from nbc news, this is today with matt lauer and savannah going to r rr rry live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning. Welcome to a wednesday. Im matt lauer with hoda kotb, al roker and natalie morales. Savannah is still on maternity live. That ong is masong is amazing. They mash up their two songs, brave and true colors. It is magic, guys. For a great cause. That light started to come out of your head, it was like raiders of the lost arc. She really is shining a light. We will get to that. Lets start off with a top story. This is an important day for president obama as he addresses the united nations. On the heels of the first u. N. Led air strikes on isis in syria. Foreign correspondent Richard Engel is in turkey near the Syrian Border. Richard, good morning to you. Reporter good morning, matt. Sencom has confirm twod air stri strikes against isis in syria. This morning, witnesses say there were two more. Those taking place not far from where i am right now along the turkish Syrian Border. Turkey has denied that its air space was used. The u. S. Military is pushing ahead with the campaign against extremism in syria that began with dozens of tomahawk cruz missiles. The footish of the launches and impacts released by the pentagon show impressive fire power and devastating results. Our initial indication is that these strikes were very successful. The u. S. And allies are bombing isis, the militant group that took over parts of syria and iraq and behead twod american reporters. They are also attacking groups in syria, including the Khorasan Group, led by a Kuwaiti National described as a confidante of the late Osama Bin Laden. Were still assessing the effects of our strikes but weve been watching this group closely for some time. We believe the Khorasan Group was nearing the attack phase in europe or in the homeland. Reporter not acting alone in syria. Five arab allies, saudi arabia, jord jordan. They say its not well thought out and sets up a war in syria without an end. The war should be viewed not in month bus in years. Critics say theres a basic flaw in the u. S. Plan. The United States is helping to attack isis militants inside syria, which is giving support to the regime of Bashir Al Assad but the plan also backs rebels who are against Bashir Al Assad. So the u. S. Is helping some forces against Bashir Al Assad and helping some forces with him, continuing the civil war. Those air strikes also continued u. S. Action against another terror group over fears that it was planning attacks here. Pete williams has more on that part of the story. Good morning. Several u. S. Officials say it was not an imminent threat in the sense of a specific attack about to happen. Instead, they say it was a growing worry that the terror group was at the stage where it could be ready to carry out an attack. For months, the u. S. Has been nervously watching as the khorasan terror group developed a plan to smuggle explosives on to planes. We had intelligence suggesting they were moving far along in their plotting. Reporter new security rules this summer, requiring passengers to show that their carryon Electronic Devices would power on. Special attention was paid to Laptop Computers because of intelligence indicating the group was testing a bomb design that hid powerful explosives in laptops. But information about the terror group behind that concern was closely guarded. Ive known about it now for several months and it was top secret and classified. Basically, we were not allowed to talk about it publicly. Reporter Officials Say they do not believe that a specific airline flight, time or even country had been chosen, but concern about the potential threat was very real. I think its very possible they could have done this. And thats why, im sure, the United States decided to intervene now. Its much better to catch this in the planning stages. Reporter as for the terror group isis, officials in many of the cities, including the u. S. , now worry that the slick propaganda could spark another attack, including a beheading. How do we interrupt that . How do we, if you will, find ways to keep them from spreading the hatred and the venom that they have become so known for, and the violence that they celebrate and praise. Homeland security and the fbi are urging local police to be vigilant for any homegrown terror attack in retaliation for the military campaign, but they say theres no specific threat they know of. Matt . Pete williams in washington, thank you very much. Susan rice is president Obamas National Security adviser. Ambassador rice, its always good to see you. Good morning. Good to be with you, matt. Lets talk about the air strikes against the Khorasan Group 36 hours ago. Based on the intelligence youre seeing from the air and the ground, how much damage was done . We think the strikes had an impact, important impact. Obviously, this wont be the last of our efforts. But this was a first wave. Can you quantify it, though, for me . Cant exactly quantify it. We have something called Battle Damage assessment, a rolling assessment of the impact of our strikes. I think the first instance, we feel very good about our success. Well continue to take a look and well be doing more. The leader of that group is said to be a guy who knew about the 9 11 attacks before they occurred, said to be the leader of al qaeda in iran. Theres a 7 million bounty on his head. Was he killed . We cant confirm that at this stage. Weve seen reports on social media to that effect. We will continue to look for signs as to whether or not thats, in fact, the case. Is he the new Osama Bin Laden . No. He was an aide to bin laden in the early stages of al qaeda. He is obviously a dangerous operative but, no, he has nothing like the cache of bin laden. Let me move on to isis. Law enforcement officials broke up what they said was a ring of isis operatives in the country, planning to kidnap australian citizens and behead them randomly. Do you have credible intelligence, ambassador rice, that would tell you that isis operatives, isistrained operatives are currently on american soil . Matt, we do not have any indications at the present of active, concrete plotting by isil against the United States homeland. The answer to that at this stage is no. We do know, matt, that they are dangerous. They have threatened americans, killed americans in the region. They threaten our interest in the region. They threaten europe and they could, with time, be an approximate threat to the homeland. Think of the things were talking about here with the Khorasan Group, with isis, the threat to Airline Travel internationally, with beheadings that were seeing on camera. What happened to the days when the administration was able to say it felt confident that we had dealt a crippling blow to al qaeda and its militants . Understand what weve been saying. Weve been focused for many years, as you know, on al qaeda in afghanistan and pakistan, that al qaeda core. That element of al qaeda that hatched the 9 11 plot and executed it has been substantially degrade and dont pose nearly the same type of threat that it used to. What happens happened is that al qaeda has metastasized. Imagine a cancer that had an original tumor. Elements of the cells of that tumor has moved to places like arabian peninsula, yemen, parts of africa, somalia. And now also to syria. So were having to deal with each of these cells. As youve seen, weve taken action in yemen, somalia and now were taking action, as necessary in syria. Its a longterm fight. The president has said there will be no u. S. Combat troops on the ground. Martin dempsey has said he would recommend Ground Forces if air strikes are insufficient. Has the president boxed himself in here . No. Might he have to go back on that promise . Its important to know what Martin Dempsey said. He has given the president his best advice. What he said, in fact, is not that he would recommend large quantities of american Ground Forces going into combat. In fact, he has not recommended any boots on the ground in combat. What he has envision sd potentially he hasnt made this recommendation yet that there could come a point where he would envision recommendation that there would be american advisers, Forward Deployed on the ground in iraq to advise and assist the iraqis as they go and take the fight on the ground to isil. He hasnt made that recommendation yet. What he doesnt envision is a large Ground Combat of the sort we had for many years in iraq. Its very important for people to understand, these fights have to be waged and won by local forces. Its their country. Its their territory. If any gains are to be sustained, they have to do it. But we spent a lot of Time Training the Iraqi Military and some of those very people we trained took off their uniforms and ran at the first sight of those isis militants. Thats true, they did. But some of them have taken the fight directly to isil. What happened was a tragedy in leadership, matt. We had a leadership that governed on a sectarian basis. We have a new government and new prime minister, with whom the president met yesterday and will meet again with today. Thats why the president waited until a new Iraqi Government was formed that was inclusive and represented all iraqis before we took direct action in iraq. Ambassador susan rice, great to have you here. I know you have a very busy day. Thank you for joining us. Good to be with you. Lets go to natalie at the news desk. Police in pennsylvania say theyre closing in on suspected killer eric frein. More on that video showing frein participating in a military reenactment. Producers of that documentary are speaking out now. More on this from holly, pennsylvania. Ron, good morning. Reporter good morning to you, natalie. The producers work with frein four years ago and say he was much more intense and focused about playing the role of make believe soldier and very familiar with the areas used to recreate battlefields, like the same forest where police are relentlessly hunting him down. The suspected Police Killer at a vietnam war event after taking part in a battlefield reenactment. Its hard to call it a reenactment. A bunch of guys went out and popped off some blanks. Reporter they say frein often took his roles much more seriously than other participants. They workd with him five times during a twoyear period. Eric and his friends took it to another level. And they were portraying special ops that went behind enemy lines and would go deep into the combat zone. Reporter now, hundreds of police are targeting several square miles of dense, rugged terrain near freins home. Weapons ready. Trying to eliminate places where frein could be hiding and, they say, finding more evidence of his trail. Doing tactical exercises in those woods around where eric live sincere his whole life. Eric lives on the fringes of society. We would have never predicted that this would happen. Reporter they say frein was aloof, quieted, somewhat disconnected, even from others playing soldier in the documentary. He saw himself very differently. He wasnt part of a Bigger Community of reenactors. He was rogue. Reporter the producers say that frein is not the star of this production, he is just in the background somewhere. Now, of course, he is the sole focus of a very real manhunt that, police say, is in fact closing in. Ron allen in holly, pennsylvania. Thank you, ron. Police responded to a breakin at a Beauty Supply store. Gunshots were heard as 200 protesters gathered in the area. Earlier tuesday, a makeshift memorial for Michael Brown went up in flames. Its not clear how that fire started. A man who killed two former u. P. S. Coworkers before killing himself is described as troubled over his work and financial situation. Birmingham, Alabama Police say 35yearold who had just been fired from his job walked into the Customers Center and started shooting. They say he shot two of his former bosses to death before turning the gun on himself. Tes nechlt ys pastor says he never suspected the problems he was having at work might turn violent. Firefighters are starting to get a better handle on that Massive Wildfire burning in Northern California. Residents of one neighborhood were allowed to return home to discover what was left behind. For some all they found was a heap of rubble while others found their home still intact. In all, 12 houses were completely destroyed in the fire, about 35 contained. And youre a golfer, youve been there before. You know the overwhelming frustration that the game can bring. The man youre about to see decided to take it out on his clubs like never before. Its epic. Take a look. One by one by one. He went through every single club in his bag. Matt lauer, does this ring a bell . No. Disposed of the ones that werent kind to him in his round. Some he broke over his knee, his tantrum playing out in front of that group of small golfers there. We all know the frustration. Its all about the club. Hey, can i play today . I say, i dont know. Ive never seen you. Mr. Roker has a check of the weather. Al . Theyll not be playing too much golf along the midatlantic and southeastern coast today. A pretty vigorous low pressure system making its way up the coast. In fact, heavy showers and thunderstorms already just making its way into norfolk. We are looking at heavier rain and showers pushing on through there. In fact, wilmington, you have the rain. Its raining in norfolk. It will continue as this low pressure system makes its way up the coast. It will bring heavy rain, strong winds, possibility of flooding. We already have flood watches in effect for washington and baltimore. Gales from North Carolina into new jersey. Minor coastal flooding and a decent amount of rain. Some areas picking up to three inches right along the North Carolina coast. But upwards of four to six inches possible as we get on into the early evening hours. Well get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. [thinking] is it tha . The son picks up the check . [thinking] im still working. Hes retired. I hope hes saving. I hope he saved enough. Who matters most to you says the most about you. At massmutual were owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. Whether youre just starting your 401 k or you are ready for retirement, well help you get there. Good morning. Im meteorologist bill henley. Clouds are on the increase. Theyll be taking over during the day today. Come tonight, well see rain, but during the day today, well stay dry with temperatures in the low to mid70s. Rain moves in tonight, and tomorrow morning we could be in for some wet and windy conditions with heavy downpours in parts of the area. Then during the day, just 68 degrees. 78 for friday as skies clear out, and a beautiful weekend ahead. Plenty of sunshine, low 80s and low humidity for saturday and sunday. Have a great day. And thats your latest weather. All right, al. Thank you so much. So, how much soda are you drink in in an effort to cut calories consumed by sugary beverages, a former president is now teaming up with three of the countrys leading Soda Companies. Stephanie gosk is here with more. Good morning, steph. Reporter good morning, hoda. Sudden public admission that sugary drinks arent that great for you or a savvy business move to keep in step with demand . Either way, the three largest Soda Companies say they will help americans reign in that soda habit. A carbonation nation, soda is no further than an arms length away. The big three, coke, pepsi and dr. Pepper, have signed on to help americans actually drink less of their signature products. An announcement made at the clinton global initiative. Today, we announce a profoundly important commitment to combat the obesity epidemic. Reporter the promise . Help americans reduce their calorie intake from drinks by 20 in the next decade by focusing on smaller sizes and low calorie drinks. If we can get together and cut down access to the number one source of added sugars in this country, sugary drinks and sodas, then weve made a giant leap. Reporter the recommended daily allowance of sugar is six teaspoons. Thats one box of apple juice or half a can of most sodas. Right now the average american consumes roughly 40 teaspoons a day. Its going to take a sort amount of education to bring everybody into the realization that sugar is a drug. It is addictive. Reporter former mayor Mike Bloomberg tried to tackle the issue in new york city by restricting serving sizes to 16 ounces. The courts shot down the effort while bloomberg was criticized for running a nanny state. Still, the message may have resonated with consumers and companies. We are all about listening to the consumer. This agreement is much, much more than that. We would not have this kind of calorie reduction in the next ten years without this commitment and coming together. Reporter as pepsi, coke and dr. Pepper are now hoping to hop on the healthy band wagon. This week, the Beverage Association is starting an education campaign, targeting teens called mixify. And soon vending machines will post calorie counts. There will be no escaping this message. Hoda . Its hard to get th