Transcripts For WBAL Today 20100805

diamonds in the rough. model naomi campbell actually testified this morning in a war crimes trial at the hague against liberia's former dictator charles taylor. why her tomorrow about some diamonds she received could actually hold the key to convicting him. we'll have the latest on that story for you coming up. >> this is an interesting question. are you a schizophrenic shopper? if you're the kind of person for example, you hunt for bargains, maybe you click coupons but then at the same time you're going out and buying that fancy new car or splurging on that starbucks coffee, you might have a split personality when it comes to how you consume goods. we'll tell you a little bit more about that. >> pennywise, dollar foolish, or something like that? >> we are saving more, though, so overall there's a good outcome here. >> and we're also going to teach you how to think like a dog. according to a new poll the majority of dog owners, like myself, say that they know what their furry friend is telling them when they wag their tail, whine or pant. but apparently we dog owners have gotten it wrong. we're not right and an expert is going to come on to tell us to think like our furry friends. and if this requires me to sniff anyone, i'm never coming back on the show. >> go, go, go, go, go! >> if you hold onto anything long enough it comes back again. that's right. we're talking about hippie clothes, swatch watches, neon glasses. jill martin is here to show us some old-fashioned favorites that are now part of the latest trends. >> okay. >> if you ask me to sniff anyone, i'm not coming back. carl quintanilla is over at the news desk while ann is not here. carl, take it away. >> good morning, and good morning, everybody. the next stop in the fight over california's gay marriage ban is the 9th u.s. circuit court of appeals. opponents of gay marriage are preparing an appeal, one day after a federal judge in san francisco struck down california's ban, calling it an unconstitutional violation of gay couples' civil rights. eventually the u.s. supreme court could confront the question of whether gays have a constitutional right to marry. today bp plans to start pumping cement into the well in the gulf of mexico, now that the static kill mud is holding. federal officials approved the cement plan as long as it does not delay the ultimate solution of finishing those relief wells. the president's touring a ford assembly plant in chicago today. he visited gm and chrysler facilities last week in michigan. some dramatic testimony today at a war crimes trial in the netherlands with supermodel naomi campbell on the stand. nbc's martin fletcher has more. martin, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. blood diamonds, a supermodel, an african dictator, all came together at the hague war crimes tribunal this morning. naomi campbell, she testified that after a charity dinner in south africa 13 years ago she was woken by a knock on the door at night, and two men gave her what she called dirty pebbles. it's a different kind of spotlight for the supermodel more used to the runway than international courtrooms. those pebbles were allegedly rough diamonds. >> were kind of dirty looking pebbles. i'm used to seeing diamonds shiny in a box. >> she said she didn't know who they were from until she spoke to the actress mia farrow. >> the next morning, after breakfast, i told miss farrow and miss white what had happened, and one of the two said, well that obviously is charles taylor, and i said, well i guess it was. >> reporter: potentially critical evidence that charles taylor, the former dictator of liberia, who sat next to her at a dinner, used blood diamonds to finance wars. the kind of conflict featured in the movie "blood diamonds." >> a stone so rare men will do anything to possess it. >> reporter: he's accused in the hague on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including conscripting child soldiers, murder and rape. but campbell didn't want to testify. she had to be subpoenaed. her reasons -- fear. >> i really don't want anything to do with this. i care about the protection of my family. >> and why would you be concerned about the protection of your family? >> because this is someone that i read up on the internet that killed thousands of people, >> reporter: she also testified that before she'd met him, she'd never heard of taylor. his country, liberia, or blood diamonds. and that she'd had no contact with him since the dinner. as for those diamonds, campage says she immediately gave them to a man working for nelson mandela's children's charity, intending he use them for the charity. but she testified 30 years later, he still has them. carl? >> martin fletcher in london for us. martin, thank you for that. some high winds led to a deadly barn collapse wednesday in ohio. two construction workers were killed when that barn collapsed during severe thunderstorms that packed winds up to 70 miles per hour. it is 5 minutes past the hour. now back to matt and tamron. >> all right, carl, thank you very much. >> let's check in with mr. roker. >> that's right. we've got a cold front coming in, got to break some of this heat. pretty hot down in manassas, virginia. >> it is hot. >> i work at the pool. >> you work at the pool? but you're not at the pool right now. everybody in the pool. let's check your weather, see what's going on, show you for today, we got the risk of strong storms from caribou, maine, all the way down to rome, alabama. we are talking about really hot stuff. rome, georgia, i should say. possibility of isolated tornadoes. that weather is going to be working its way further south. but again, we've got the heat to talk about. as you can see, temperatures, we've got temperature levels that are going to be heat advisories and heat warnings over 20 states. rainfall amounts anywhere from about one to two inches of rain. slight risk of strong storms also back through the west.ro >> it is going to be a hot day today. at the temperatures will soar into the mid-to-upper-90's. some storms later and that's your latest weather. natalie? >> thank you, al. well this morning on "today's consumer" the schizophrenic shopper. why is it that someone who shops at the dollar store for toothpaste and soap could also be toting the latest iphone or designer bag. here to explain the rising trend and the psychology behind it is diane brady, the senior editor of "business week" and psychotherapist robi ludwig. good morning to you ladies. diane, the schizophrenic consumer, what exactly does that mean? what have some of the signs? because it sounds an awful lot like a lot of people i know. >> we're seeing an odd situation. we're seeing dollar stores and walmart do very, very well. then we're seeing record earnings for apple, for starbucks because of frappuccinos, mercedes. we're basically seeing people skimping on things that maybe that don't matter to them, they're moving down the food chain, and feeling anxious. but yet they're going out and their splunching at the same time. >> still they're managing to save money as we saw from the latest statistics. there is some good news to this, that we're saving. question is where are they making the cuts. >> exactly. the savings rates are up. up from 2%. we used to save almost nothing -- >> we still owe households owe $2.5 trillion. so americans have a lot of debt. and the main situation that has them nervous, obviously, is jobs. if you don't feel your job is secure or if you know somebody who is out of work, until you feel that's going to stabilize it makes you nervous about splurging everywhere. >> so where is the rationalization to being able to afford that latest, you know, hot new car, or ipod or iphone? >> you know, i think we've been well trained. i think americans cough up 70% of the economy as consumers. that's much higher than other countries. and what happens is, we are a nation that loves to spend. and some things cannot be substituted. you cannot have a substitute for the ipad or an iphone. a frappuccino is a frappuccino. it's not the same as joe's diner. so we like to splurge on the things that make us feel good. toothpaste -- >> you can take more about the whole retail therapy aspect of it. a lot of this is sort of not wanting to deprive ourselves completely, right? >> and for some people, when they do feel poor, or if they do feel like they don't have, it actually produces the opposite type of spending behavior. they spend in order to feel like they are ahead, that they are doing well. so for some people who have addictive behaviors, that's where they can get into trouble because they really don't have the money to spend on luxury items. yet they're doing it as a way to monitor their mood flp >> is that the danger here? what starts off as the occasional splurge, could this lead to a shopping addiction? >> i think if somebody is inclined to have a shopping addiction, sure. and as you said, we are a society that cares about status. and competing with the jones or comparing yourself to the joneses, no longer the person next door who has more or less what you have, but looking to television and really the middle class is comparing themselves to the lifestyles of the rich and famous. you know, and then what do you do with that? do you splurge on things that help you feel like you are doing well in life. >> what's very interesting is we saw regional differences in our reporting. and when you think about where all the subprime disasters were, maybe in orange county, vegas, miami, that's where you see a lot more splurging behavior now, too. >> interesting. >> there's a certain element where this is where you have the good life, you want to continue to have the good life. you just don't have the cash to do it. >> and also, what's interesting, it's not only about buying. it's not about the object. it's about being. so i think when people are purchasing, it's who do they want to be? who do they want to become? and that's what they're feeding into. >> so what are some of the signs, robi, that you should look out for, and diane, as well, jump in here. >> you know, if you're really spending money that you don't have to change your mood and you feel terribly guilty afterwards. if you're dodging phone calls from creditors or you're on overdraft, that's not a good sign. >> right. >> and basically, you know, if you're not being thoughtful about the long-term plans of your financial well-being, then perhaps you want to reconsider how you're spending. >> and it's credit card debt. that's always been the big indicator, we've been a nation that tends to run up huge credit card debt, the risk right now is credit card companies are not going to be giving you the same kind of easy credit. your house is not an atm that you can draw on -- >> interest rates are a lot higher on that credit, too. >> that's an issue. if you're using a credit card just to sort of sustain yourself from month to month, that's one thing. if you're using it to splurge and you can't pay it-zpsh >> and -- >> on the economy really quick, diane. >> well, the impact is unfortunately, we love -- shopping is good. it's good for america. >> bad for -- >> our patriotic mission was to go out and shop. on the one hand it is great. it gets the economy going. on the other hand, we have high debt, and people are starting -- >> and high unemployment, and consumer confidence at all-time low. so diane and robi, thanks so much, ladies. coming up next on "today," what is your dog really trying to tell you? we're going to help you try to translate. then a little bit later, fashion flashbacks. we're going to show you which of your favorite trends from the past are now back in style. but first these messages. ♪ ♪ da da-da, da, da, da-da ♪ da-da, da, da, da ♪ da, da, da-da-da, da, da-da-da, da, da-da ♪ [ female announcer ] there's a place called hidden valley where kids not only eat their vegetables, they can't get enough. ♪ hidden valley ranch. makes vegetables delectable. discover four more ways to make vegetables delectable with farmhouse originals from hidden valley. how'd you do that? do what? you made it taste like chocolate. it has 35% of your daily value of fiber. tasty fiber, that's a good one! ok, umm...read her mind. 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>> i believe you can understand your dog better if you try and think how your dog perceives the world. that means for example, we human s, our most dominant sense is sight. for dogs, their most dominant sense is smell. a dog has on average about 220 million scent receptors in their noses. we humans have 5 million. so their experience of the world is very, very different. so if you take time to understand your dog, you'll get a lot more information about what he's thinking and feeling. >> this is so interesting because i'm a dog owner and we assume we know what our dogs are feeling and what they're thinking. in fact, 90% of the people surveyed, that's my dog -- i love. he's very mean. but we think we get it, but we don't. that's her on my shoulder. >> yes. you know, certainly little dogs, you know, you can be scared of all your big dogs, pit bulls and rottweilers but really the biggest fighters in the dog world are the chihuahuas. >> you're telling me. okay let's get to some of the things we dog owners misskwerpt. first of all wagging i always assumed that meant they were happy. >> yes. a lot of dogs do wag their tails. but there's a different way of wagging the tails that can display their emotions to you. not every dog that wags its tail is happy. if you see a dog wagging its tail and it's kind of a helicopter tail the dog is happy. if it's wagging very fast, they're excited to see you. if the dog is wagging pretty slowly, the dog's cautious. >> that's a good tip. i notice with my dog, people have children and they think if the dog's tail is wagging they send the kid over to greet the dog. that may not be a good thing. >> no, no. that wagging is overstimulating, as well. >> shaking. what does that mean? >> sometimes it means anxiety. but also sometimes it means the dog is so stimulated it's just very, very excited. it can also mean a medical condition. certainly the small dogs like the chihuahua, it could be lack of glucose. so there's various reasons. >> barking. again something we assume we understand. what does it mean in dog world? >> so many different causes for barking. it could be because the dog's anxious. it could be because it's bored. it could be because it just likes hearing the sound of its own voice. if it hears another dog barking in the distance. there's so many different reasons. but you've got to find out why the dog barks and if the barking is too much there are various ways you can help control it. >> and whining, doesn't that mean the dog is uncomfortable? >> sometimes wine whining but whining is begging it's like hey, mum, let me have a treat or let me out. that's the kind of whining. whimpering means i'm hurt. i feel very uncomfortable. very unconfident. >> and you also say that some of the things we do as doggie parents give off the wrong signals to dogs, like reaching out your arms. >> i think when people go and great strange dogs, you cwe peo we naturally like to go into dog's space, reach our hand over dog's head, smile at it. really from a dog's point of view you're coming from a huge paw over its head, you're smiling, showing all your teeth. that can be threatening. >> we can improve communications. understand how your dog learns which is what you kind of taught us now. use positive reinforcement. >> positive reinforcement, all about saying, catching the behavior, saying you know what, if this is behavior i like, i'm going to requart you. and if you reward a behavior you like, there's more chance of that behavior being repeated. >> and observe body language. my dog shows her teeth to everyone, and i'm observing that. what do i do? >> the important thing with body language is know when your dog is tense and know when your dog's body is fluid. like humans when we feel uncomfortable we tense up. when we feel relaxed our body relaxes. you can get a lot of information just by looking at that. >> you're like a gift from the doggie angels. thank you victoria stillwell. coming out, don't throw out those neon leggings. and later, the newest housewives in the nad. the real housewives of washington, d.c. are stopping by. but first, these messages. ♪ think fast, go slow ♪ now i know ♪ freedom is all that i need [ female announcer ] ladies, raise your spoons. now there's nothing left standing between you and a satisfying breakfast. introducing special k low-fat granola. with 50% less fat than the leading granola and 5 grams of fiber per serving, it's a satisfying way to help you manage your weight. special k low-fat granola -- a taste of freedom. let's raise a glass to cookies just out of the oven. to the morning bowl of cereal. and to lactaid® milk. easy to digest and with all the calcium and vitamin d of regular milk. [ female announcer ] lactaid®. the original lactose-free milk. smalltown texas -- study for the nbc hit drama "friday night lights." >> this season she's been dealing with a hot button issue, abortion. and the parents are calling for her dismissal. good to see you again. and congratulations on your emmy nomination. >> thank you. >> so what was your reaction when you heard it? how did you find the? >> my cousin who actually lives here in new york, of all people, was the first person to call me. and i was in austin, barely awake, and my phone was on silent but i kind of was up because my dogs were barking and i saw the light going off on my phone. i was like, why is she calling me? she was in tears. she was like, you just got nominated for an emmy. >> meanwhile we're seeing a little clip of your character tammy. it's a really rough season because she's principal of the school, and she's actually being forced to resign or to leave because it's believed that she was giving -- or giving advice to a young girl to have an abortion. >> right. >> really a hot button issue here. >> yeah. >> how has that been to play -- >> it was a really interesting topic for us to address and it was very important for all of us. it really was we wanted to do it very authentically, very truly without commenting on the issue at all. it was important to me to not depict a picture of texas like everybody in texas was, you know, out to get her. i really wanted it to be very specific. so i feel like we did a pretty good job with that. >> you did a great job. let me ask you, people have such strong reaction to the show. they say they love it. i never hear anyone say i like it. it's love it. >> people are rapid about the show. >> it's -- >> sadly. >> well, we have -- we just actually wrapped up, we wrapped our last season. season five. but that hasn't aired yet. so everybody still has that to look forward to. the one that's finishing up this week is season four. >> okay. >> and you can -- >> yeah. >> -- start from the beginning. watch the whole thing. >> thank you so much. the season finale of "friday night lights" airs tomorrow night at 8:00, 7:00 central. today is your tasty lucky day! sure, why not? isn't this the yogurt that, you know... helps regulate your digestive system. ooh, i think i'll pass. no, no, no! trust me. it is beyond tasty. okay! mmm! wow! i can't believe it, i love it! mmm, this is really good! new best tasting activia ever! taste it, love it, or it's free! ♪ activia ♪ everyone wants in on the petperks super summer sale & sweepstakes. use your petperks card and save up to 20% on hundreds of items... ...plus you'll be automatically entered in our sweepstakes which will award hundreds of prizes. petsmart. we love to see healthy, happy pets. blend it. sprinkle it. sweet! 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[ female announcer ] splenda®. america's favorite no calorie sweetener. some people don't notice the difference between meat... and mystery, when they enter... the frozen zone. is it real chicken? or something else? some chicken nuggets and tenders look like they have mystery meat. with my perdue frozen nuggets, there is no mystery. just real all white-meat. made with 100% natural ingredients. no fillers. no preservatives. and a delicious taste your family will love. perdue frozen chicken. all white-meat. no mystery. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is a wbal-tv 11 news update. >> already beginning to move in the 80's are around the area. it started off warm and humid. thunderstorms move through in the evening. forecast all around the state today, scatter charts and thunderstorms. hot and humid. hot and humid. here's what you should be watching: your cable bill, because you could be paying way too much. stop spending more for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month. and here's a special bonus: you'll also get the fios tv movie package -- 60 premium channels, including starz and showtime -- plus epix -- free for 12 months. and now there's no term contract required, if you don't love fios you can cancel at anytime with no early termination fee. fios gives you the best channel lineup, superior picture quality and more hd; plus internet rated #1 in satisfaction, speed and reliability. why keep paying for cable? get fios tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month. plus the fios tv movie package and epix, free for 12 months. with no term contract. call 1.877.797.fios. that's 1.877.797.3467. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's 1.877.797.3467. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. it's time for fios. ♪ grammy winning song by the band train, spent more than a year on the charts as fan favorite. now train has a lot of new hits. they're going to be here to play a few tunes for us live on the plaza tomorrow on "today." you're going to want to come on down for that. meanwhile, we're heading back a few decades for a style flashback. >> shoulder pads are back, baby. >> no. >> yes. dynasty, alexis carrington -- >> -- neon nail polish, old vinyl record collections. some of your favorite trends from the '80s and '90s are back in style. >> what's old is new again. >> pull out some of the things because you'll be hip again. >> you got your parachute pants? >> i never got rid of them. >> m.c. hammer. >> i could see you. >> hammer time. >> i had -- >> and if your kids are looking for a good read this summer, al's book club for kids is back in session. this month's pick dark life about adventurous pioneers living deep under the sea. we'll talk to the author. >> and in "today's kitchen" the pioneer woman is here. the website is a huge hit. she's here for the blog her conference. she's going to create what she calls a cowgirl dinner party. although i think cowboys are invited. >> she has her cowgirl friends with her. >> okay. first a check of the weather. >> all righty, let's show you what's happening. at least for your weekend. sunny skies throughout much of the east, showers from the southeast and gulf coast. risk of some strong storms, upper mississippi river valley. sunday, mild weather and sunny along much of the eastern sea board. showers around the gulf. we got some more wet weather around the four corners of the rockies. also, sunny and mild in the pacific northwest. >> we are off to a fairly quiet start. there could be a few brief showers early this month, but strong thunderstorms possible this afternoon. it will be a hot day with >> and that's your latest weather. >> up next, al, blast from the past. >> yes. >> i think -- >> yeah! >> -- that's -- >> back to the '70s. >> the glasses are very run-dmc. it's like that. >> but we've got some old favorites like you saw al sporting that are back in style. i'd love to see al --. 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[ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. this morning on "jill's fun finds" everything old is new again. if you're one of those people who never throws anything out, you're in luck, because today and "us weekly" contributor jill martin is here with some trends that are now back in style. good morning, skril. >> good morning. where's your '80s pick? >> you can't bring me back there. that was a bad decade all around. stay in the closet as far as i'm concerned. but you say it's back, right? >> it's back. >> the question is how do you do it without making it look too costumey. >> and ridiculous. let's start with neon. you saw madonna in the '80s. >> yeah. >> everything was neon. how do we wear it now? let's start with the accessories. these are bangles by jewel smith design. if you're a teenager you can stack them up and look great. these are more for us. a more adult version. you can wear it with just a solid color as to not look like a clown. >> right. because this adds pop of color. >> leggings are great especially if you're younger. a solid top -- so much fun -- >> and how about with nail polish? these are great for getting a pedicure. i wouldn't necessarily recommend it on your nails. kids do it. but these are great. $8. >> so you got the orange and the pink. >> over here the sunglasses, okay. >> yeah, going back to -- >> don johnson on "miami vice." >> i was going to say, yeah. >> those look good on you. >> they look much better on you. >> $98. these are just a throwback and a fun way to accessorize. again with a solid outfit. >> swatch watches are all the rage again. i remember when i had one in almost every color. >> of course, with every pattern. now this is the more adult version, $50. and they're fun. and they're waterproof. so it's great if you -- for the summer. and $50, you can't go wrong. >> okay, keds. >> remember keds? >> love them. >> these are great $35 to $80. and it's just all different -- these are actually a younger version. but the solids for us. they're so comfortable. >> they're great and i love how they updated them. moving on over to the clogs which are also back in a big way, too. >> right and clogs in the '70s and '80s the heel was so thick. now it's a thinner, more feminine heel. these are by steve madden. >> i love the thick heels, too. >> just a little more of a mem nine look, a nice way to update it. >> the dr. scholl's. >> i love these. just with jeans and a t-shirt. and $49. and over here you've got -- >> the jellies? >> remember those? >> we all had a pair of jellies. used to have the vent holes. these are an updated version. $59. >> overalls are back? >> overalls are back. i wear them. you have to be an overalls person. and from gap. these are great. >> shoulder pads. >> who watched "dynasty," linda evans, joan collins. i'm actually wearing a dress right now with this -- >> yeah -- >> minimal. but these have minimal shoulder pads. it just gives a great look and really balances out -- >> structure. >> -- thins you out. i got a lot of compliments on this dress already. >> all right. acid washed jeans. ooh. >> down to earth kids dotcom. this is not the acid wash of the '80s. it's a little less. still fun. >> the jean leggings. real quick you can get your vinyls back out. >> into the computer. >> it will make that record on digital now. >> and the sound quality -- >> right. you can get that -- >> something like that for my dad for christmas. >> this is a nice gift. >> okay. and over here. >> candy. >> candy necklace. do you remember all of these? >> kids will love these. >> candycrate.com and it comes in all the decades. what a great gift. a little over $20. >> and really quickly you can make your own cotton condi at home as well as popcorn. >> starting at $29. and these are just great for parties and throwbacks. jill martin, no, we're not going there joe michaels. the director. this is my graduation picture. >> is that true? >> look at you. >> thanks so much. >> that hair. >> i told you it was a bad decade for me. al's book club coming up next. they take a journey through the dark life. oh, max! and you want to do the same for your laughable, lovable dog. 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[ male announcer ] and this is our cheese. kraft singles. american cheese. only one nation could create it. and that nation is...america. ♪ kraft singles. the american cheese. ♪ i'll never forget the day i read a book ♪ >> this morning on "al's book club for kids" dark light. imagine a world where rising oceans forced humans to live in crowded stack cities. the only ones with space are pioneers who move to the ocean's floor. that's where we meet ty and jenna as they venture through the rough underworld learning dark secrets along the way. cat falls is the author of "dark light" and with the help of scholastic book club we've got our critics, spencer, ava, miles, sabrina and via skype we've got guest critic nicolas. hey, nick. >> hi. good morning, al. good morning cat. >> all right. so, cat, this book, it's only been out a few months. already been optioned as a major motion picture by robert zemeckis, not bad. did you ever think it was going to be this big? >> no, i didn't think about it, actually. i was just trying to get the prose right, get the story good. didn't go there when i was writing. >> all right we want to get right to our book club critics. spencer, what's your question? >> well, cat, my question is, why did you make most of the setting take place under water? >> when i was coming up with the story, i was doing a writing exercise. and i decided i would try and combine my son, who at the time was 11, his three favorite things to read about, and one was pioneer kids. he loved old yeller and stories like that. and he loved the ocean was the other thing. and the third thing was x-men. and we spent a lot of time by oceans, my family, and i grew up in maryland near the ocean. so, that's why. because i love the ocean, also. >> so you kind of owe this all to your son? >> i do. who is now 14. >> all right. ava, what's your question? >> the way that you describe the subsea lifestyle makes it sound like it could almost be possible. so, do you think that in the future living under water could be a real-life scenario? >> i think that would be exciting. it's certainly a frontier we haven't explored very much. because i wanted it to be science fiction, and not fantasy, i tried to keep everything in the realm of the possible. and i did a lot of research looking at what scientists and architects thought could possibly exist subsea as a house, and a train station. >> it's a really cool world you created. >> good, thanks. >> let's go to our skype now. we've got nicolas, he's in lake city, minnesota. joining us live via skype. nicolas, how you doing? >> good. >> great. what's your question for cat, bud? >> well, there -- what will the future bring? >> in book two it's called "riptide" and it follows them. the territory is still not a state and so they're still struggling for independence, and ty is struggling for independence, and gemma is trying to live subsea and it's very difficult. it's not coming naturally for her. >> who would it come naturally for unless your name was submariner. anyway, let's go to -- >> my question is in the book some of the characters have supernatural powers. now, if you were to have any, what would they be? >> it's a lot of fun coming up with them. i'm trying to base them on marine life traits, so to pull a marine-like trait i'd like to be able to shock people with an electric charge now and then. >> that could be useful. >> that could be good. >> in certain situations. >> and finally we've got sabrina. what's your question? >> hello, miss falls. i really enjoyed your book. i can't wait to see the movie. my question is, putting aside the entertainment value of your book, what would be the ideal moral of the story you would want your readers to walk away with? >> that's a great question. i was really interested in pioneering spirit. it was, i wanted the boy, ty, to be the quintessential pioneer boy. and also, i think it's such an american thing, pioneers, and it's also what's going to take us into this future that we -- people who think outside the box. >> the pioneer experience. >> and are tenacious and won't give up, and yet are adventurous. that is how we're going to solve some of the problems that we're facing in the environment. >> let's see how our kid critics rated this book on a scale of one to five stars. highest being five. 4 1/2 stars. very good. >> thank you. >> cat falls, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> if you are between 9 and 12, go to todayshow.com, ask your parents permission, and you could be selected as our next guest critic. our next book is called "ninth ward" by jewel parker rhodes. this is going to be your assignment, guys. ready? thank you so much. >> thank you. >> congratulations on a great book. and coming up next in "today's kitchen," a cowgirl dinner party. yee-haw. but first this is "today" on nbc. 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"today's kitchen" is brought to you by kraft singles. the american cheese. this morning in "today's kitchen," the pioneer woman is here to create a cowgirl dinner party. she went from city life to ranch wife, started a blog, thepioneerwoman.com, complete with pictures and amazing recipes. >> and four years later the site is a smashing success. her new book is called the pioneer woman cooks, recipes from an accidental country girl. with us is brie drummond. i have to confess i'm obsessed with you. i went on your blog last night for the first time. i stayed on for two hours. the recipes, the photography. >> thank you very much. and the food. >> the food is out of this world. i love that you include recipes from some of your people who follow you. we're making something that's pretty interesting. >> yes. >> cowboys love texas -- >> this is a cowgirl dinner party that i'm preparing. and sometimes on the ranch we just need to kick the guys out of the house. and make things that, you know, that the girls like to eat. and these are mushrooms that take nine hours to make. >> what did you just pour in? >> wine. so this is filled with wine and but your and lots of spices and -- >> yum. and you kind of toss it all in there? >> you put the lid on, you cook it for nine hours and go and do laundry or whatever it is you want to do. then we're going to move in to beef tender loin. now on the ranch the cowboys grill steaks. but the girls, you know, eat these delicious tender beef. >> right. >> what's special about the tender loin is i used bacon grease. >> would you say everybody in the country has some? >> right. any self-respecting ranch wife has a little bacon grease. >> okay. you know, it's interesting, your recipes are -- part of the appeal >> that's right. >> very comforting. >> it's real food. real food. >> you've got some other stuff over here. we've got some bloggers, as well, who i think are going to come help us eat it afterwards. >> yes. >> you've gone to blog her three times. >> yes, i have. >> nbc universal is an investor. what do you like about it? >> we bloggers were mothers and we sit behind a computer and blog, and it's just nice to be able to get together with women who do the same thing you do, and you know, talk about the struggles and travails of blogging. >> sangria? >> tasty. >> this goes in the oven. >> we're making a lot. >> we're making a lot in a few seconds. >> it's delicious. >> a lot of food. >> we need to -- >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news update. >> we started the morning in the 70's with high humidity. we're moving into the 80s now and we have a fair share of clouds and there will be sprinkles in the area. it will reap more as a strong cold front comes through i

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