Transcripts For WRC Today 20090817

good morning. breaking news. tropical storm claudette makes landfall in florida, and further out in the atlantic, bill has become the first named hurricane of the season. this morning, we're tracking the storms. reining it in. as president obama and his family tour the wild west, signs he may drop a key part of his health plan. is he bowing to pressure from the republicans and those shouters at town hall meetings? and hocus-pocus? the vacation shot crashed by a cuous squirrel. but is it real? the couple behind it here to break their silence and silence their doubte erers "today," mon break their silence and silence their doubte erers "today," mon august 17th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good moonk morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm ann curry in for meredith vieira. you're one of those doubters that's going to be silenced this morning. >> i wasn't too sure of the photo. the couple behd the photo not too happy with me. also coming up, the hurricane season is now here tracking not just one, not two, but three storms, matt. >> tropical depression ana, tropical storm claudette and bill which officially became a hurricane earlier this morning. claudette hit florida's panhandle in the early morning hours, bringing with it lots of rain and stained winds around 50 miles per hour. but bill could be a bigger threat a little later this week. we'll have much more on these storms coming up in just a couple of minutes. lot to watch. also ahead this morning, strange and frightening case in georgia where a 38-year-old mother has been missing for nearly a week. she went out for a walk last tuesday and was talking to her boyfriend on the cell phone and he heard her scream yelling "don't take me!" she's not been heard from since. we'll get the latest and speak to her mother and brother next. plus an exclusive video of michael jackson and his children out shopping,shopping spree just weeks before his death. was that shopping trip research? burglars open up what they look for when it comes to picking the homes they target. you may not have thought about some of these things. but let's begin with tropical storm claudette lash being the florida panhandle. the weather channel's jim cantore is live on the scene. >> reporter: good morning, matt. as quick as this thing came in yesterday, it is moving on out. when we started the weekend we were thinking, we'll have to deal with ana or bill. but no, it actually was claudette developing yesterday morning and moving right in last night. near ft. walton beach. behind me the beaches look pretty good. as quick as the seas came up, they went down. 9,000 people lost power in panama city but since then power's been coming back on pretty quickly here. our focus will now turn out into the atlantic to see what's next in the pipeline as the forecast for ana eventually is very close to this area as we go toward friday night and the early part of the weekend. >> that is the weather channel's jim cantore, thank you very much. there are other storms. let's bring in weather channel's stephanie abrams in for al this morning. good morning. >> good morning, ann and matt. here's a look at what's happening. right now throughout the panhandle of florida, we are seeing that rain coming in. it is very light rain relatively speaking. this is going to continue as we head through the day today. some people could see locally heavy amounts. i'm talking half a month to a month's worth of rainfall coming out of this tropical storm, anywhere from around biloxi all the way towards pensacola and also into destin. let's talk about the other systems that are waiting in the wings. we do have tropical depression ana, not looking very good and it doesn't look like ana is going to gain strength, but that is not the case with bill. our first hurricane of the season. here is hurricane bill. category 1. is this thing going to make landfall? let's show you where it is headed to as we head over time. there we go, it looks like as of right now it will stay offshore and just be a threat for bermuda but of course, we'll follow the story over the next several days. let's get a check of the rest of the forecast in a moment. but now turning to politics. president obama and his family have headed west as the administration appears to be backing off a controversial piece of his health care plan. nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd is traveling with the president, he's in phoenix this morning. chuck, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. the president came out west for a working vacation to do two types of sight seeing. number one, to see a lot of the natural wonders of the west from the grand canyon to old faithful, but he also got a first-hand look at some of the skepticism he's facing in his pitch to overhaul health care. the obama family has been taking in the beauty of the american west, from old faithful in yellowstone national park. to the spectacular views from the grand canyon. the first lady and daughter sasha and malia even went whitewater rafting. but it's the rough waters of the health careebate that have occupied mr. obama on this trip. unlike the mostly friendly crowd he faced in new hampshire, in town hall meetings in montana and colorado, the president faced tougher questions from skeptics of his plan. >> why is it that you've changed your strategy? >> you can't tell us how you're going to pay for this. >> reporter: in a "new york times" op-ed on sunday, the president continued to make his case for health care reform, that it will control costs, make medicare more efficient and give those without health insurance a choice. the same message he has delivered on this road trip. >> we will do all of this without adding to our deficit over the next decade, largely by cutting waste and ending sweetheart deals for insurance companies that don't make anybody any healthier. >> reporter: but mr. obama appears to be stepping back from the idea of a government-run public option. >> the public option, whether we have it or we don't have it is not the entirety of health care reform. this is just one sliver of it. >> reporter: on sunday, health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius downplayed the idea further. >> i think what's important is choice and competition. i'm convinced at the end of the day the plan will have both of those, but that is not the essential element. >> reporter: the alternative to the public option favored by some in the senate is a co-op, a government influence but not run-ins plan authored by north dakota democrat kent conrad. >> the fact of the matter is, there are not the votes in the united states senate for the public option. there never have been. so to continue to chase that rabbit i think is just a wasted effort. >> reporter: now late yesterday, the deputyhite house chief of staff jim mussina tried to reassure some progressive/liberal activists who were upset to hear about this public option, the e-mail read i part, nothing's changed. the president's always said that health reform must lower costs and insure there are affordable options for all americans. still a lot of wiggle room there, matt. >> chuck todd, thank you very much. howard dean is the former governor of vermont and former head of the democratic national committee. he made health care the centerpiece of his 2004 presidential campaign and he's authored a book on the topic, "howard dean's prescription for real health care reform." governor, thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me on. >> let's start by making sure people understand exactly what we're talking about when we say this public option. this is a government-run insurance agency that would give people greater choice, some say break the monopoly held by the private insurers and, thus, drive down costs. is that fair? >> it is fair. the best way to think about it is to think about it as medicare or the veterans administration. these are two very good health care programs that exist already. they've been around for a long, long time. that's what we'd like to offer the public. >> now that we've done our job and defined it and described it, is it dead? >> no. in ft, you really can't do health care reform without it. the health insurance companies have really put enormous pressure on both patients and doctors over the years. people are losing their health insurance, can't get it back again if they have a pre-existing condition. sometimes they even get kicked off their health insurance because they've become sick. what's going on in the health insurance industry is very much like what was going on, in my view, on wall street over the la eight years. people just basically taking money out of your pockets, putting it in theirs. none of that money goes to health care. it's one of the reasons our health insurance industry is so inefficient. >> but i say is it dead, because you're listening to what the president and administration officials are saying over the past couple of days. let me give you a contrast. here's the president a month ago talking about reform. he says, "as i said before, that one of the best ways to bring down costs, provide more choices and assure quality is the public option that will force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest." here's the president just three days ago, "all i'm saying is, though, that the public option, whether we have or not, we don't have it, is not the entirety of health care reform. this is just one sliver of it, one aspect of it." boy, you disagree with that, don't you? >> it is the entirety of health care reform. it is not the entirety of insurance reform. there are some things we did up here a long time ago in vermont that the president wants to do and should do. but we shouldn't spend $60 billion a year subsidizing the health insurance industry. they don't need it. the public option is a way of avoiding that. nice thing about the public option, you give the public a choice. it is the public option. that is, you can choose what you have if you like it, or you can choose something different that can follow you everywhere you go. you can't be turned down, it doesn't cost more if you're sick than it does if you're healthy. that's the public option. >> but without the public option could you support reform, governor, or would you tell the president it's not worth spending -- >> that's right. it's not worth spending the money. just go ahead and do the insurance reform. it doesn't cost anything. we did this here and it is very successful, making them behave better but it won't get many people insured. you won't have real reform without some kind of public option, that's pretty clear. >> do you think the president understands that or might he compromise further than you'd like him to compromise? >> well, this is a very interesting -- what they would call in japan a kabuki dance. everybody has their role. we got to get this thing through the senate. a lot of agonizing. the senate's not back in session for another three weeks. when they get back in session then i think you'll see real movement. matt, it is my judgment that what's going to happen in the end is the republicans won't have a single vote for this, no matter what the democrats try to concede. everybody is going to understand if you're going to do this, you might as well do it right and the public option will be in the bill when the president signs it in december. >> all the efforts for a bipartisan bill will go by the wayside anyway. >> yeah, i don't think the republicans are interested. in order to have a bipartisan bill you got to have both sides interested. they're really not judging by what's going on in the last week or so. >> governor howard dean, always good to see you, thanks very much. >> thanks for having me again. with ann in for meredith, let's get a check of rest of the morning's top stories with natalie morales over at the news deck. natalie, good morning to you. good morning. firefighters are trying to control almost a dozen big wildfires burning in california. in some places, hot, dry, windy conditions are making it difficult. firefighters made progress sunday in santa cruz county allowing some evacuated residents to return home there. the war in afghanistan will be a big topic today when president obama speaks at the vfw's annual convention in phoenix. u.s. troops are trying to ensure safe elections this week in afghanistan. overseas markets are down sharply this morning after what seemed like good news from the world's second biggest economy. cnbc's erin burnett is at the new york stock exchange. erin, what's going on exactly? >> good morning, natalie. we're talking about japan. it was good news. i mean the economy there in the second quarter grew. the problem was, expectations have just gotten incredibly high, natalie, for an economic recovery. some european economies have emerged from recession and investors were hoping we'd see even more than so far wve gotten. this is the other issue, which is retail sales in the united states. there is real concern that consumer confidence is not keeping up. the back-to-school shopping is going to be weak. broad-based fear in the markets today, the economic recovery isn't good enough. back to you. >> erin burnett at the new york stock exchange, thank you. the fastest man in the world just got faster. jamaica's usain bolt shattered his own world record sunday in the 100 meters, finishing in 9.58 seconds. he took .01 off his record set at the beijing olympics. y.e. yang of south korea won the pga championship on sunday by beating tiger woods marking the first time woods lost after holding the lead heading into the final round. stunning upset indeed. 7:12 right now. you're up to date. back to matt, ann and stephanie. he was virtually an unknown until yesterday. now that has changed. >> he apparently didn't read the papers that said it was basically tiger's turn when he was going to win. good luck -- or congratulations. >> i don't think he read the memo that it is a sleeveless day? >> i'm sleeveless under this janet. the shirt is actually just a dickie. stephanie abrams is here filling in while al is takin a day off. stephanie? >> hi, guys. everyone's sleeveless because it is hot here in new york city. it was yesterday and it will be yet again today. let's look at how hot it's going to get. into the 90s. we actually have a heat advisory here throughout new york city. we're 10 to 15 degrees above ;; good morning. here off to a pleasant start. temperaturesow in the 60s to near 70, it's 73 in washington, and the lower humidity in place today and tomorrow. it will be hot in the mid 90s, more humid wednesday and thursday aft 30% of a shower or thundershower. partly sunny with highs near 90. by friday into saturday an increased chance, maybe of >> ann, over to you. >> stephanie, thanks. to the latest on a tragic story out of california. the kidnapping and murder of 8-year-old sandra cantu. it happened last march and a former sunday schoolteacher is accused of the killing. court officials have now ordered a new hearing for that woman later today. nbc's george lewis is in stockton, california with more. >> reporter: good morning. today's hearing comes after a secret grand jury session. we may learn today whether that grand jury has indicted melissa huckabee for the kidnap, rape and murder of sandra cantu, charges if if proven could make her eligible for the death penalty. sandra cantu was last seen alive in this surveillance video, shot outside her home in tracy, california, on the day she went missing. described by her family as a happy, compassionate child, sandra became the focus of a huge search effort in her hometown. ten days later her body was found in a pond north of town inside a black suitcase. it was that suitcase that made police suspicious of melissa huckaby, a sunday schoolteacher an mother of a small child of her own. she was arrested after talking to a local newspaper reporter. >> i asked her whose black suitcase that was. she said the day sandra went missing someone had stolen a black suitcase from her driveway. >> reporter: prosecutors could have asked for a preliminary hearing to determine if there was sufficient evidence to put her on trial, but instead took their case to the grand jury. legal experts say there are multiple reasons for doing that. >> one, to avoid defense delays, two, avoid pre-trial publicity and, three, avoid anguish to the victim's family caused by a public hearing. in this case, all three of those factors apply. >> reporter: members of sandra cantu's family say they do not want people to forget what happened to her. >> there have been permanent memorials erected in memory of sandra. we have a sandra cantu playground, a tree planted in her memory. it's just part of tracy's story, a sad part of tracy's story. >> reporter: if the grand jury has indicted melissa huckabyhuce may learn today when the state of california plans to put her on trial. 7:16. here's matt. now to michael vick's return to the nfl. after spending 18 months in jail for running a dog fighting ring. nbc's ron allen is in philadelphia. ron, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. michael vick plans to practice with his new tea the eagles later today but he's been busier off the field doing public relations work trying to convince skeptical fans that the eagles are right to offer him millions of dollars and welcome him back to the national football league. on the practice field, quarterback michael vick wears his old number 7. but he has none of the swagger that once made him one of football's biggest stars and highest paid players. with the $130 million contract. >> i made some mistakes, i've done some terrible things, made a horrible mistake. and now i want to be part of the solution and not the problem. >> reporter: the eagles shocked the sports world when they announced last week they signed him to be their backup quarterback. vick had been banned from football indefinitely after a raid at his virginia farm uncovered a dog fighting ring where gamblers bet thousands as the animals often fought to the death. a crime that sparked angry protests. now bankrupt and trying to rebuild his career, vick insists prison changed him. vick on cbs news "60 minutes." >> the first day i walked into prison and they slam that door, i knew the magnitude of the decisions that i made. and the poor judgment and what i allowed to happen to innocent animals. it's no way of explaining the hurt and the guilt that i felt, and that was the reason i cried so many nights. >> reporter: reaction from fans has been mixed. some of it unforgiving. >> someone who with their own hands electrocutes and strangles dogs can't be rehabilitated. >> if they use him, hey, i like him. but let's see what they do. >> i still think there is more negative than positive. i would say it is probably 60-40 against this signing. >> reporter: vick does have the support of the humane society. the nation's largest animal welfare group which has recru recruited him to speak out about the who are roars of animal cruelty. vick is joining a team that is already a championship contender. that's another reason some fans think the eagles do not need michael vick and the baggage that he brings. but team management has been convinced he deserves a second chance, he has paid his debt to society and of course, he can help the team win which is what football is all about. >> ron allen in philadelphia this morning, thank you. 19 after the hour. here's ann. now to the latest on the michael jackson case and what the pop star was doing during the last days of his life. we know he was rehearsing for a comeback concert tour but nbc's jeff rossen has learned that's not all. jeff, good morning. >> reporter: hi, ann, good morning. we often forget michael jackson was also a businessman. we've learned in his final days jackson was negotiating a pretty big-time clothing deal with a big-time designer. this morning you'll see their creations for the very first time. michael jackson just weeks before his death. his bizarre behavior on full display in this exclusive video obtained by nbc news. michael and his kids were shopping in a boutique clothing store owned by world famou fashion designer christian adigier. he's the lead designer for ed hardy, a clothing line worn by almost every celebrity in hollywood and michael jackson wanted in. >> he said i want to have you walking on the -- i was very excited. >> reporter: so excited michael approved every design himself just before we died. >> we have t-shirts, jackets, umbrella. >> reporter: no one but the designer and his team have seen the images until now. jackson jacket would have retailed for $250. in death, many say it could sell for double or triple that. of course, a rhinestone glove is part of the collection. so are rhinestone socks. there are t-shirts. and the belt. and, younow michael jackson and his umbrellas. >> michael was insistent that he design an umbrella. >> yeah. >> any idea why? >> i said, yes, can you have an umbrella. >> you can have anything you want. >> yes, absolutely. this is what i was doing. >> reporter: michael's sudden death didn't kill his vision. the designer hopes to work with jackson's estate to approve the clothing line. >> think it will happen? >> maybe. why not. >> reporter: he is confident it will happen. if he's right -- there's money to be made. in fact, mega stars often bring in more revenue dead than alive. since jackson died just two months ago, his estate has already earned $100 million and could double that by the end of the year. >> what we're looking at here is some maryland monroe trading cards. >> reporter: mark rossler manages the images of 250 celebrities. 200 of his clients are dead. >> you'll see everything imaginable for michael jackson. will it be happening 30 or 50 years from now? absolutely. maybe even bigger. >> reporter: which is one of the reasons adigier is working to made this happen. how many different michael jackson tee signs do you have? >> 100 of them. >> reporter: a hundred? >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: it is going to be a big part of the line? >> oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. >> reporter: the estate is already in full gear trying to make money on michael's name. that's the whole point of the estate. there is a book deal in place now and te movie has been moved up. the release date now in october. today lawyers head back to court to get even more merchandising deals approve. ann? >> thanks, jeff rossen this morning. by the y, tomorrow morning, his most famous sequin glove is coming up for auction. we'll talk about that and show it here in our studio. still ahead this morning, the couple behind this vacation photographs speaks out. but first, this is "today" on nbc. still ahead this morning, a boyfriend says he heard his girlfriend scream while he was talking with her on the telephone. now she's nowhere to be found. we'll be talking to members of her family. also ahead, burglars offer tips to keep your home safe from our burglars. after your local news and weather. good morning. it's ng off with lower humidityst me in place, there is a view of our sky. a few high clouds passing throh. temperature 73 in washington, we are in the upper 60s in montgomery, fairfax, arlington and prince george's counties and for the rest of the day as well as tomorrow heat. afternoon highs mid 90s both days, could get thundershowers wednesday and thursday. jerry, how's traffic? >> tom, good morning. let's look and see how we're doing. an accident 66 eastbound on route 50 in fair oaks over to the shoulder, lanes are open. pretty well jammed east out of centreville. an accident cleared, bw parkway, a bit of a delay, 50 is heavy as >>u make the trip through.l we'l we'll police are investigating an early morning stabbing that left one person dead. police say what started as a domestic dispute turned violent and two were stabbed at a home in college park. the victims drove to a 7-11 where an ambulance was called. one died at the hospital. the other is expected to be okay. we'll be back with more news in 25 minutes. coming up at 5:00, home grown tomatoes without being a gardening guru. this infomercial says it's in the bag. join liz crenshaw tonight at 5:00 to see dust does it really do that? 7:30 now on a monday morning, the 17th day of august, 2009. nice start to the work week here in new york city. great crowd on the plaza, enjoying hot, humid weather here in new york. we're going to step outside, then shower up. inside the studio, i'm matt lauer along with ann curry who's in for meredith. have you ever had your home burglarized? >> no. >> i had it happen a long time ago. it is a terrible feeling. we'l get some insight into home security. we'll get tips collect directly glars what you need to protect your home and family. also coming up, the curious squirrel who jumped into a couple's photograph at exactly the right time. we show you the photograph last weekend. matt, you expressed some doubt about its authenticity. >> in the era of photo shop and all that stuff, i was just curious if this wasn't concocted by that couple. but they're here today to set the record straight. >> they were watching. i don't think they were too happy as your possible raising of doubts. we'll hear from them in a few moments. but we start with a very difficult story. we do, matt. out of georgia a woman who's been missing for nearly a week after apparently being abducted as she was talking on the telephone with her boyfriend. we'll talk to the woman's mother an her brother in just a moment. but first, nbc's michelle kosinski has the latest on this. >> reporter: good morning. christy cornwell's cell phone was found just a couple of miles away from where it seems she was abducted. based on that location, police think they may have been headed into north carolina. >> this is the kind of hike through these lush woods no one wants to see. police searching. any way they can. for kristi cornwell, the 38-year-old mother and student who was once a probation officer, worked in the prison and taught self-defense. disappeared last tuesday. on a summer night's walk around this serene looping kunlt road. she was talkingo her boyfriend when he overheard the abduction. >> she said she hears a vehicle approaching, then he hears what appears to be a struggle, then loses contact. >> reporter: her boyfriend told police he heard kristi scream "don't take me." the last time anyone is known to have spoken to her. >> i think kristi will fight to the end until she is found, until we find her. she will fight her way through this. >> reporter: some of kristi's personal items were found on the same lonely road. days later a man found her cell phone in his yard three miles away. investigators won't reveal if that phone hold any clues but they saw have verified that her boyfriend was in atlanta and that they were talking to each other when it happened. >> we don't have a solid lead right now who might have done this. we don't have any targeted suspects at this point. >> reporter: no indication whether this was random or what. this is the same county where just last year a young hiker meredith emerson was randomly abducted and murdered. her killer was caught. >> kristi cornwell was abducted, basically -- >> reporter: if she was indeed taken, it is one more violent mystery, the kind of thing that weighs on people here constantly especially in the quiet of night. a place where people come to get away an connect with nature, but not like this. >> we need her back and we'll stop at nothing until we do get her back. one way or the other. >> reporter: investigators have interviewed 180 sex offenders in a five-county area but have not identified a suspect. they are curious about a white suv that was seen in that area the night kristi disappeared. ann? >> michelle kosinski, thanks so much. jo ann corn kl dewell, her moth her brother are all with us this morning. good morning to all of you. richard, to you first about what you know about this. we've heard about this white suv and also the other idea that she might have been abducted. do you understand why anyone would want to abduct your sister? >> well, i just can't imagine hat someone would do a thing it's just beyond our wildest dreams. we can't even dream about anything that's this horrible. >> it's been nearly six days now. she was trained, you say, in self-defense, in firearms as a former probation officer. she was also very familiar in securing violent people. this i know was giving you hope. what more can you tell us about your sister that would help us understand why you think that she may have been able to survive this? >> well, she's got a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and she's very well educated, well trained, like i say, to deal with this situation. i don't think anyone would have a better set of tools than she does to get through this. >> jo ann, as a mother, you -- i don't even know what to ask you. i guess the question is really, what do you want to say to the people who may have your daughter? >> i just want to ask them to have mercy on her, to let her go, let her come back to us, to her -- she has 15-year-old son that desperately needs his mother. and to let her go. >> how is kristi's son doing, jo ann? >> he's holding up. >> you raised a tough daughter, a girl who could be aon r.ce probation officer. if she could hear you, what would you say to her this morning? >> i would just tell krist we're praying. she's praying, i know. she's a woman of faith, and we are, too, and that hang in there and her chance to be free will come and she will be able to get away. >> les now bring in -- i appreciate your comments and i want to bring in -- and thank you so much this morning. i want to bring in nbc news analyst and former fbi profiler clint van zant. clint, we understand that the police were able to find a cell phone. what are the chances that there may be some information on that cell phone that will be useful in finding whoever took kristi? >> there could be a lot of information, ann. it could be anywhere from telephone calls she received, text messages. we may even have -- if it's a kidnapping, you may have the assailant grabs the phone out of her hand and throws it out the window. then we've got fingerprints, perhaps dna to work with. so anything today, thanks to science, can help in an investigation like this. >> the fact that she said, "please don't take me," the fact that she was trained might mean that she said some words there that were useful. what do they tell you as a criminal investigators? s oyll bndriefray that,tehe tells her boyfriend this is no accident, this is no one who just said "come on, let me take you for a ride." this was a kidnapping. in those few word she expressed what was going on. and how frightened she was. >> this was apparently near her home where she was abducted. the fact that she's a former probation officer, does that ise any flags for you? >> well, you have to look at the former people that she had jurisdiction over. but it's my understanding it's been at least four years, so the gbi, georgia bureau of investigation, would have looked at those individuals, they've looked at the local sex offenders an predators, that's what makes it a challenge, whether she was a victim of just somebody who happen to be in the area or whether she had been stalked and she was actually targeted for a kidnapping. >> clearly this is an ongoing investigation. our prayers go out to the family and certainly thank you so much, clint van zandt, for your perspective on all this. if you have any information, please call the union county sheriff at 706-38835-2902. now let's get a check of the weather from the weather channel's stephanie abrams in for al this morning. >> two girls are her visiting from virginia but mom is still asleep? >> she was really tired ig nostht last night so she just stayed in bed. y>> an cou tellan her, wakeup, mom! >> wake up, mom! let's look at the weather this morning. storms throughout the center of the country. that's where it will be stormy  it's ameup summer morning. good morning. 73 in washington, and montgomery county in the mid to upper 60s as well as arlington and fairfax and prince george's and warmer near the bay and the beaches. farther to the west in the low and mid 60s, lots of sunshine today and hot up in the mid 90s. more of the same tomorrow. humid wednesday and thursday. highs near 90. a greater chance of showers >> and for all your weather needs, go to weather.com. ann, look at these two here. they called in sick. they're playing hookie from work that. >> i have a feeling they're going to be found out, stephanie. still ahead, what every parentee needs to know when it comes to schools and the swine flu. right after this. we are. now to securing your home from burglars. consumer reporter and reader's digest contributor janice lieberman is here with some inside secrets burglars probably don't want you to know about. janice, good morning. some of this is common sense. other things, though, i have to be honest, i hadn't thought about. where did you get this information? >> they compiled it from "reader's digest." they actually interviewed ex-cons meeting them at half-way houses to find out, tell us what you don't want everyone to know. the stuff is really revealing, i think. >> this way if you folw these tips, can you at the very least prevent your home from becoming the most desirable target on the block. the first one, i think this is common sense -- cancel your newspaper and mail delivery when you're away. >> a lot of people forget to do it, they think it doesn't really matter. but the burglars are watching. they also found out that sometimes a burglar will actually put a flyer, pizza flyer, in your mailbox to see if anybody -- >> like the day before he plans to rob the house. >> yeah, an watch it. you have to have a neighbor come and collect those flyers. they want to see if anybody's driven on the snow, maybe you want to have a friend drive by and into your driveway to make sure that there are some tracks that look like someone's been there. >> one of the other tips, don't leave toys outside. why wouldn't that make it the same if the house isn't used. i guess the toys don't move. >> it looks like you're sloppy with your things. if you have toys outside you probably have really good gaming systems inside. so that's a good target for them. >> strategically place your alarm control panel. >> interesting. a lot of people have glass window panels. so a burglar can look inside to see if the alarm system is on. so when you have something installed by your security system, have them hide it so you can't see i from the outside. a lot of us don't even use the alarm system. >> some burglars said usually they can disarm an alarm system before the police actually get there. they can be in and out and gone. >> before the police get there. >> this is real common sense, put valuables in a secureplace. if you don't have a safe, where should you put things like jewelry? >> a lot of people think they're so smart, they'll hide it in their sock and underwear drawer. or the medicine cabinet. guess what? slam dunk for the burglars. they know that's where everybody does it. where they don't go is the kid's room. they don't even bother searching. they'll look for dressers, side tables and medicine cabinets before they'll ever get to the kid's room. >> of course now they'll all look in the kid's room. be wary of unannounced visitors. >> they're finding out if you're home. most burglars knock before they go in. very courteous. they want to see if anybody's actually home. if somebody's coming to ask directions or clean out your gutters, stay away and also notice ha what they're wearing. because this could be somebody who did burglarize a house nearby and you could identify them. >> check all the locks in your house after you have had a service visit. >> half of the burars have already been in your home. these are service workers, these are people who know the access. they'll often leave a window open or back door open as they leave. so after they leave, you need to check everything. >> tvs and radios are effective deterrents. finally, this is real common sense, but with the internet these days, important -- don't announce that you're taking a vacation on a social networking site. >> i think this is surprising because everybody does. they're so fast to send you their pictures from cancun while they're away because it is so necessary to have it that minute. the burglars also get onocial networks. that's just an invitation for them. the couple whose vacation photo is now the talk of the internet. apparently they're not too happy with me. we'll talk to them right after this. we're back at 7:50. with that nutty picture of a squirrel that found its way into a minnesota couple's vacation photograph. >> that couple is with us exclusively, melissa and jackson brant. guys, good morning. we saw this picture along with about a million other people on the internet. you know what ann said right off the bat? she said i'm not sure if this thing is real. >> i didn't say that! as you well know, it was this guy! he doubted you! >> we're all cynics around here, jackson and melissa. i can't be the only person who's questioned the authenticity of this. right? >> you questioned it on national tv though. >> she's not going to give you any rope. >> okay, so is it real? did you doctor this in any way? >> it is 100% undoctored. >> what led to it? tell us exactly the situation that led to this moment. it is unbelievable this photograph. >> well, we were vacationing. weent hiking and saw a perfect opportunity on the rocks right in front of the lake there to do a shot of ourselves. so we took our camera and set it up on the rocks using a little tripod and i got myself situated and jason came and sat by us and the camera was on timer but we have a remote. so we snapped a couple photos of just us. while we were doing that, our little squirrel friend was running all over and i even said to jackson, i said, i really hope that he's friendly because he's really -- he's really getting close. and then as we started taking the pictures, he started to duck down into the rocks. then heard the shutter releasing and became interested, thought perhaps was going to give him some food. >> and he popped up and just the right time. >> just the right time. we were just laughing so hard, saying, quick, get it! get! get it! we just took a whole series of photos not knowing what they were going to get. you saw what we got. >> jackson, we're still talking? we're still friends? what's your reaction been to the fact that millions of people have now watched this? >> well, we just think it is nd of crazy because it was just a really fun moment for us and we brought it back and our friends and family just all could not believe it and we just have been laughing about it for months. >> i understand that your wife is 8 1/2 months pregnant. any thought about naming your baby rocky? >> no. >> no? why not? >> maybe a middle name. >> you could admit it, just not when she's sitting right next to you. listen, i apologize. now that i see the pictures that led up to this picture, and all the others, i have no doubt that this is authentic and i wl never question the two of you again on national tv. >> okay, thank you very much. >> hey, guys -- good luck wit e baby, melissa. spl be'reery vmuchac. spl we're back with much more after your local news and weather. we're back with much mo your local news and weather. you can see it. that humidity out there. looks like you can cut it with a knife. 72 degrees, the temperature not bad but on the warm side this morning at 7:56. i'm barbara harrison. the news the search continues for the person who walked up to a crowded bus stop in northeast d.c. and opened fire. seven people were shot saturday. at least one gun man approached the crowd and started firing. all of the victims are expected to recover. many drivers will have to find another way to get around tysons corner. the beltway exit is closed. for six weeks crews will work on providing hot lane access. when we come back a look at traffic and weather. good morning. it's a pleasant summer morning. we have temperatures in the 70s but we'll soar into the low and mid 90s by mid afternoon. lots of sunshine, then more of the same on tuesday. wednesday and thursday more humid, and more clouds around as well. highs near 90. a small chance of a passing shower or thundershower, both of those days. then on friday and saturday, looks like an increased chance of maybe showers and perhaps thunder. should be cooler as well with highs in the mid 80s. low 80s for sunday and lower humidity. jerry, how's monday traffic? >> capital beltway south of town and typically we're slowing down quite a bit now on the outer loop, through the work zone over at van dorn with all three lanes maintained. getting reports of another accident b.w. parkway approaching the beltway. police are headed over there. >> thank you. tonight at 5:00, get home grown tomatoes without being a gardening guru. this infomercial says topsy-turvy is in the bag. we're back now 8:00 on a monday morning, the 17th day of august, 2009. it is a sticky one here in the northeast. already warm, going to get even warmer and more humid as the day progresses. but you know what? these people don't care and we're just happy to have them here in new york. nice to see them. >> at the moment it's kind of perfect. isn't it kind of perfect? >> it is a little sticky. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry. ann's here while meredith is taking a little time off. coming up in this half-hour, an issue a lot of parents are worried about. >> we're talking about the swine flu. school's starting all across the country and we do not have a vaccine yet. but we understand there is supposed to be one in october. dr. nancy snyderman is going to be here this morning to talk about what we should do in the interim to protect our families. speaking of parents, how about this? a mother who lost 142 pounds without surgery. we're going to find out how she did it. it is a remarkable story. also coming up a little later, talking about marriage advice. what is the current thinking in terms of separate bank accounts and other kinds of things you should be thinking about for your marriage? how do you stay happy together? before we get to all that, let's gin side. ann is standing here so natalie's at the news desk with all the headlines. hello. the season's first named storm to hit the mainland u.s. made landfall this morning in florida, then weakened. what's left of tropical storm claudette is expected to dump as much as ten inches of rain on parts of the florida panhandle and alabama. forecasters are also watching two other storms. bill which became a hurricane this morning in the atlantic, and ana a tropical depression. fire is the problem out west as tinder-dry conditions are making it difficult for thousands of firefighters in california as they battle nearly a dozen fires across the state. nbc's michael okwu is in davenport, california. michael, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. california officials here say that the wildfire in santa cruz county is their number one priority but over the weekend milder winds and cooler temperatures prevailed. still, firefighters weren't taking any chances. under the smoke, there's fire. of course, burning, a constant crackle that to firefighters means this is not over. >> i will send an engine to double check. >> reporter: the battalion chief plans to contain a stretch of the wildfire's northwestern plan. it is burning in canyons too steep to attack so they are letting the fire come to them and digging breaks where they hope to stop it along this road. >> what we're going to do right here is hold the fir on this road to ensure that it does not cross. >> reporter: striking 2117 alpha arrived on the red did to hold the line. their first call to protect a historic home within a mile of the simmering blaze.ir first ca historic home within a mile of the simmering blaze. their main concern, structures burning and sudden winds that could fan the flames above the line. >> we get up into the canopies of the trees, and you would have a tremendous ember casting going over into the unburned fuel on the other side that we don't want the fire to get to. >> reporter: the firefighters, confident but cautious. firefighters say the blaze is now 65% controlled and most of the evacuees from the town of bonny doon have been allowed to go back home. a tragic accident in russia where two fighter jets collided in mid-air sunday while practicing maneuvers for the country's largest and most popular air show. one pilot was killed. one of the jets fell into a nearby vacation home area injuring at least five people on the ground. today in phoenix president obama speaks at the veterans of foreign wars convention about the future of iraq and afghanistan. on sunday meanwhile the president, first lady and their two daughters enjoyed a little sight seeing taking in the majestic views of the grand canyon national park. 8:04 right now. let's go back outside to matt and ann. >> we should go do that, all five of us. >> we went to the grand canyon? how long ago? about ten years ago? 12 years ago maybe? been a while. we'll go back. >> all right. meanwhile, al is taking today off. stephanie abrams from the weather channel is filling in. she's got the forecast. >> meet melanie here who's been wishing to be here for 39 years. right? >> i have. yes, i've been watching the "today" show. excellent weather. let's show you how the country's shaping here. here in manhattan, a hot one, 93 degrees. we do have a heat advisory in effect. for the rest; good morning. a hot summer day on the way. right now it's pleasant in the mid 70s in washington and south and east. west and north upper 60s to near 70 degrees. and not too humid. it's going to be getting hud, though, by wednesday and thursday but the big story today and tomorrow is the heat. lots of sunshine, highs reachg the mid 90s both days. near 90 on wednesday and thursday. partly sunny. humid. 30% chance of passing showers and thundershowers both days. an increased chance of that >> ann, back to you. thank you so much. i'm if front of these butiful women but i want to tell you coming up this morning, natalie's gone airborne with the team usa freestyle ski team as we countdown to vancouver, canada in the 2010 winter olympics. also coming up next, one woman's remarkable weight loss. she lost 142 pounds without 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(announcer) it's more than just that great peanut taste, choosing jif is a simple way to show someone how much you care. we can't wait to get you home. i love you mom. i love you too. we'll see you soon. choosey moms, choose jif. >> announcer: "today's "joy fit club"" is brought to you by truvia natural sweeteners. honestly sweet. back at 8:09. this morning on "look at me now," the "joy fit club," a 36-year-old mother who dropped a jaw-dropping 14 pounds. we'll meet her in a moment, but first here's her story. >> my name is jennifer and i weighed 312 pounds at my heaviest. being overweight was miserable. i was so far out of control with my eating that i would go to buffets and eat and eat until my stomach hurt so bad that i could not eat anymore. i had trouble walking up an down steps without stopping to catch my breath. i used my injured knee as my excuse for everything. i would not run after my kids because my knee hurt. i would not exercise because my knee hurt. my knee was my excuse for not being healthy and fit. my family alws accepted me for who i was. i was told i was just big-boned and that it was just in my genes to be heavy. in reality, i was the only heavy one in the family. strangers treated me like a disease. they would not hold or open doors for me. strangers would not look me in the eye or give me as much as a warm hello. i felt as though people were looking at staring at me all the time thinking just how big i really was. going shopping was not fun for me. when i was at my heaviest i was pushing a size 30 and refused to buy anything that size. once i joined t.o.p.s., taking off pounds sensibly, i realize i was worth being healthy and fit. i love life now and i especially love when people, even strangers, look at me in the eye and say hello. >> we are joined now by joy bauer, the leader of the "joy fit club." nutritnist for us here on the "today" show. >> matt, jennifer's transformation is a true inspiration. this is incredible. >> i liked hearing her talk about her story in her own words. before we meet the new jennifer, let's take one more look at the old jennifer. okay? here she is. i guess near her heaviest. >> getting ready to be well. >> ladies and gentlemen, here's jennifer. >> woo! yeah! >> how are you? how do you feel, first of all if. >> absolutely wonderful. fabulous. amazing. >> i love life now. i love to hear you say that. i want to talk about some ah-ha moments. i know you had one, you saw an old friend of yours on the street. you basically ducked away so you didn't have to see that person. >> absolutely. i see them walking down the aisle, did a total u-turn, hid, they passed, and i left the store. i was so ashamed. >> you didn't want anybody to see what you'd become. zp right. i was so ashamed, embarrassed and all of the above. >> the one time you actually walked by a window and saw your own reflection. >> yes. we were at the mall and i see my reflection as we passed a store. and it was a heavy set person and i realized that was me and that was my ah-ha moment like i need to change my attitude and seriously focus on my health. >> i'm glad you said health. actually, you're here on a very important anniversary. three years ago today, you had a heart attack. >> i had already lost 80 pounds and went into full cardiac arrest. >> how old were you? >> i was 32. >> she was the youngest person on the cardiac ward, that's for sure. >> the doctor said had you not already lost that 85 pounds, you would have died already. i don't even know if you want to get close to this. but talk to me about how jennifer used to eat versus how she is eating today. >> clearly this is a celebration of your wild success. but it is important to point out this life threatening hea attack that you had was years an years of abusing your body with of course a combination of toxic food and inactivity. this was a typical breakfast that jennifer had on a daily basis. three to four cake-like doughnuts. think about this, each doughnut, 200 to 300 calories, made with refined flour and sugar. it is deep-fried in a vat of oil and produces saturated fat and transfat. >> she said she would use glazed doughnuts, also. she'd put sugar on those. >> that's a cholesterol and it promotes inflammation throughout your body. with all these fat-free creamers, this meal totals more than 1,000 calories. here's the kicker, it is a equivalent to 19 teaspoons of lard. >> that's not whipped cream. that's lard right there. this could be breakfast or lunch. she would eat these fries. >> heart attack on a plate. this is deep-fried french fries, doused in artery-clogging full-fat cheese. >> you would eat this? >> absolutely. it was delicious at the time. >> bacon. it is not a preteen food. that's 70% fat. the extreme i calorie ranch dressing. >> i have to move on. that's gross. i can't even look at this. >> this is a typical diner special people record, bacon cheeseburger deluxe with a side of deep-fried onion rooms. 40 teaspoons of lard, more than 2,500 calories. >> what kinds of things do you eat a lot of now? >> salads. chicken. we switched to ground turkey. >> low-fat cheese. watching the salad dressing. >> are you miserable? do you miss this stuff? >> not really because i like eating healthy now. my taste buds actually crave the salads and the chickens. >> in terms of energy, i know you've got to run after kids and things like that. has that changed dramatically? >> absolutely. i am full of energy now. i look forward to going to the gym to work out. >> at 5:00 a.m. every single morning. >> you changed your lifestyle. >> and her life expectancy. >> by far, no question. congratulations. you look fantastic. job well done, joy. and this is your newest member of the joy fit club. head to our website, todayshow.com. up next, swineflu. kids and school safety. what every parent needs to know right after this. we're up to our necks in landfill, and down to the wire in resources and climate change is out to get us. that's why progress plays no role inside post shredded wheat. here, we put the "no" in innovation. post original shredded wheat is still just the one simple, honest ingredient which naturally comes with vitamins, minerals and fiber. all we did was make it spoon size. did we go too far? 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[ chuckles ] stop by your local cvs pharmacy to ask if readyfill is right for you, and get a $25 coupon book. readyfill, only at cvs pharmacy. >> announcer: today's health is brought to you by cvs pharmacy. for all the ways that you care. this morning on "today's health," swine flu and your child's school. some 55 million kids are already back in the classroom but a swine flu vaccine remains a few months away. so what can parents do to keep their kids safe and healthy? dr. nancy snyderman is here, good morning. aye-yi-yi, this doesn't sound like a good situation. the reality is though, given there is going to be this kind of lag, do you see there is a possibility that schools will be closing? >> i think you're going to start to see local regional differences as to how schools attack this. but no doubt, schools are going back now. we won't have a vaccine until october so look at this sort of limbo time and we'll probably see swine flu cases up tick, parents will be saying what do i do. >> how vulnerable are we the fact that there is not a confirmed surgeon general? >> i would say this is the first time maybe the government i a little off-message. look at all the departments, fda, cdc, homeland security, all coming in, where is our surgeon general? hopefully rega benjamin is going to be the nominee, will be approved by the -- by congress in september. we need one physician government voice guiding us through this. up until now i think the government's been pretty on-message. >> we parents need to take charge on all of this. you say there are some things we need to do. five tips for the flu season. one not so basic, make sure you have good hand washing. >> we have known this for centuries now. if you wash your hands you cut down on illness. a gazillion different illnesses. but especially viruses. i cannot underscore this enough. make sure you ride your kids, soap and water under the sink, singing happy birthday as many times as they can during the day. >> good advice. that's just in general. but especially now. don't share, which is something we don't want to tell our kids. don't share what? >> primarily things like cups, toothbrushes. >> cookies. >> anything that brings something up to your mouth. viruses are on your hands, on inanimate objects. you put them up to your mouth, that's how you get infections. this is a great time not to share cups. >> you say check our children's temperatures. >> if your child feels warm you check their temperature. we as moms always say my child's hot here, she has a fever, but we don't verify it with a thermometer. make sure you have one at home. schools are going to be doing it, too. if your child has a fever, keep that child home. that's one of the big messages, don't go to work or school sick. >> stay home. you're saying if there is any kind of an up tick, then keep your child home just because of the season? >> you have to self-quarantine. if we can't expect our schools, our communities to come to a dead-halt, the best thing you can do is protect those around you by saying "i'm ill today, i'm going to stay home." >> how long might we have to stay home? >> here's a little bit of controversy and why we need a lone voice. some people are saying three to five days after the fever. some people are saying seven to ten days after first onset of flu. look for those parameters to change a little bit this fall but probably 72 hours after the fever stops. >> you also mention that some parents are being proactive and are basically making connections so that if in fact they are dealing with this, they're able to help each other. >> some kind of telephone log so you and i can plan ahead. obviously for your kids, send them away with some kind of wipe or gel in case they decide they're not going to wash their hands as well as you would like them to because you won't be there. expect a lot more of this this fall. >> when the vaccine comes out, get vaccinated. >> absolutely. october. thank you. quentin tarantino's new film opens up. >> the purposely misspelled inglories basterds" is an epic saga during the 1940s during germany's bar babaric operation france. brad pitt commands a band of gis who are eager for retribution, orders each man to kill 100 nazis in the most savage way possible. at the same time, a young french woman, the lone survivor of her butchered family, hatches a plot to kill hitler and his henchmen. everyone in this movie is so scrupulously cast that the multi-lingual performances never seem less than flawless. >> finding people is my specialty. >> special honors must go to the actor to plays a ss colonel so disarming, cunning and cruel, he could give villains a bad name. >> we're a big fan of your work. i think you show great talent. quintin tarantino's imagination engulfed me with imagination and exultation. >> that's the "critic's corner." for "toda" >> we're back after your local news and weather. 8:26 is our time right now. taking a live look outside, see some hazy sunshine here in the nation's capital. beautiful picture, 72 degrees. we've got the forecast from tom kierein coming up. i'm joe krebs on this monday, the 17th day of august, 2009. in the news, prince george's county police are investigating an early morning stabbing that left one person dead. what started as a domestic dispute turned violent. two people were stabbed at a home in college park. the victims drove to a 7-eleven store. one victim died at the hospital. the other is expected to be okay. many drivers have to find another way to get around tysons corner. the exit for chambridge road is closed. for the next six weeks crews will reconfigure the ramp and work on providing hot lane access in that area. nd come ba and come back and look at weather and check out the traffic. temperatures climbing into the mid 70s. we'll hit the mid 90s by mid ternoon with lots of sunshine, not really humid but just moderate humidity as well as tomorrow. more humid wednesday and thursday. how's traffic? >> 270 southbound moving along well on this monday morning despite the fact there was an accident near 370 moved to the shoulder. looking good at the wilson bridge. >> thank you. tonight on "news 4 at 5:00" p.m. get home grown tomatoes without being a gardening guru. it's in the bag. join liz crenshaw tonight at 5:00 to see does it really do that? morning. the 17th day of august, 2009. kind of a sticky one here in the northeast. look at the nice people who are gathered on our plaza this morning, listening to the olympic theme for a reason. we'll explain in just a second. out on the plaza as well, i'm matt lauer, along with ann curry and natalie morales. meredith is taking some time off. it's on a hot, sticky day like today that a lot of people wonder how winter athletes in the olympics ever managed to train. you recently found out. >> there is no time off. they are busy training right now, counting down to the olympics. i got a chance to train with some real dare devils, a group of men an women who hope to make the usa freestyle's ski team. we'll show you how ty train and how i did -- >> was that you? >> not quite like that. that's amazing stuff. >> but still, how fun, jumping in the water. >> i bet you could break a leg or back doing that. >> i'm sure you can. >> that's your rst. safely on the side of the pool. >> don't worry, i get in some action. also coming up, we'll talk about real couples and how they avoid the marital potholes. the three major marital potholes. how to avoid them in your marriage. a business note for you, tomorrow morning here on "today," an exclusive interview with richard hatch, the first winner of the survivor series. he got like $1 million, then a short time later ended up in jail on tax evasion charges. he's actually still under house arrest. we're going to check in with him tomorrow morning. before we get to that, can we say hello to diane kruger? >> come on in, diane. good morning. in the quentin tarantino movie that opens on friday. >> that was kind of air kissing. i got to get your name right. this is bridget von hammersspark. >> she is a german movie star in like marlena detrick. she's also a double agent so it is a real interesting character to play. >> delicious role. >> yes. >> you played her deliciously. >> thank you. >> she's kind of the star but she's also kind of an every woman kind of a person. >> yes. she's not james bond. right? she's more of a matahari kind of character. >> you really are german but i understand that quentin tarantino was casting he questioned whether or not you were aun then particularly german. how did you prove to him that you were? >> he was worried i could do the accent and could actually speak german. most of my scenes are in german. so it was essential to the part. i know. hello. >> you obviously passed the test. when you said somewhere that this role helped you turn a corner internally as an actress. i'm curious what you meant by that. >> well, you know, there are so few parts in hollywood for women that are actually smart and that are strong period female characters. quentin is infamous for having those women. i've never been allowed to be the center of a scene, the one who pulls all the strings. >> you're one of the few women on the set. this is kind of a very male kind of set. how was that? i know brad and quentin were very tight. right? >> yeah, they're very tight but they have a lot of fun and uniforms they look very dashing and handsome. >> gene shalit loved this movie. it would have been awkward saying, hi, diane, he hated it. congratulations on that. in"inglourious basterds" opens this friday nationwide. nice to have you here. should we go through the whole air kissing thing again? >> i'd like to. let's get a check of the weather. al is off today. stephanie eye brams here from the weather channel. some people ran the half marathon yesterday. it's been hot here. how was it? >> it was awesome, 85, hot, humid. >> didou day the hot marathon was awesome? >> yes. it is going to be a wet one through the midwest. maybe choose a;; hot day on the way. good morning. still pleasant in the mid 70s. 76 in washington and it's not sweltering, moderate humidity in the airment we'll have a high soaring to the mid 90s with lots of sunshine as well as tomorrow. it's moderate humidity on tuesday. then looks like it will be sweltering wednesday and thursday, highs near 90, partly sunny, may be a passing morning shower or afternoon thundershower. a small chance of that. then a greater chance on friday and saturday. >> for all your weather needs, go to weather.com 24 hours online. matt, over to you. stephanie, thank you. when we come back, couples speak out about some of the trickier issues that tend to pop up in a marriage. we'll get to that. but first, this is "today" on nbc. we're back now at 8:37. ti for our "married couples tell all." just how open are you with your spouse? we'll hear from three couples who opened up to us to get some expert perspective also from psychiatrist dr. maria padro and also from ryan, an editor at "esquire" magazine. good morning. let's get started with banking, a big issue for couples. here's what our couples had to say. >> my name is eileen. >> my name is martin. we've been together for 15 years, married for four. >> my name is al and my loving bride is bernadette. we've been married for five years. we've known each other for over nine. >> i'm fran. >> i'm victoria. >> we've been married six years. >> i'm victoria. >> we've been married six years. >> i'm victoria. >> we've been married six years. >> i'm victoria. >> we've been married six years. th a bank account, it creates k. security in a relationship, it creates trust. >> we share everything. every frivolous spending gets picked up eventually. he'll be like where are those from? i'm like, i've had these, i just haven't worn them. >> but i know the game. >> he knows. >> we do have separate bank accounts, yes. >> i do not hide purchases because i work and i earn money. >> she doesn't hide purchases because she she'll just show up with something. i'll be? she'll say, yeah, you like this? >> you want to know the truth? >> this sounds like what happens in a lot of homes. but separate or combined? >> in my opinion, couples should have a -- because a marriage is a union so i believe they should have a joint account for household expenses, then separate accounts of each other. they can be checking accounts. >> again, both. ryan, you are nodding your head? >> there should be some sort of money, call it play money or just some money that the other person -- you don't need to keep track of every penny of it, because assuming it is basic underlying trust in the relationship, if it is a good, solid relationship, there should be nothing to worry about. >> historically you want to be careful but if there is something to worry about and eventually there is a divorce, is it important to have your own name or separate or joint? any rule there? >> it just seems like a weird way to go into it. we'll keep this separate in case we ever break up. if you have to worry about how the other person is spending their slush money than have you deeper problems. >> if you're jumping in the marriage, jump in with both feet. >> also. but also have -- like keep some identity. >> all right. let's move on to another big topic. bathroom and grooming. take a look. >> when i go to the bathroom, i like to close the bathroom door. he likes to barge in. >> when you have to use it, you have to use it. >> we specifically built a toilet room with a closed door so that both of us can be in the bathroom at the same time but at the same time have our privacy. it's important. because you want to keep your sexual identity alive and some things need to remain private. >> i'll agree. that's the only time we don't want to look at each other. >> i don't correlate intimacy and him using the bathroom at all. >> we don't hide anything from each other unless she's grooming herself and tweezing. we're watching tv and she's plucking away. >> i get very excited. i get a man whisker. when it comes in, i'm like i want to get rid of it. i'm like, honey, how's my man whisker doing? >> those are very in-love couples. they're open about this. what do you think? >> well, basically we are talking about boundaries and expectations on privacy. these are based on culture and personal history. all couples go through negotiation, all marriages, couples go through it. basically you negotiate the line of respect and it's different for everyone. >> ryan? >> yeah, its -- this is one place where a little mystery in the relationship may be as healthy. rules are going to come out over the course of the marriage of what's -- you don't have to lay them all out. it is just you'll kind of know if your partner is the kind of person who wants to keep the door closed. i love that toilet room. >> but the whole man whisker comment, some marriages may not be able to withstand the comment much less revealing that. really what you're saying both of you is you need to check out what your partner feels comfortable with, what you feel comfortable with and make sure you have a meeting of the minds? >> negotiate it and respect it. if someone crosses the line after you go through the initial shock, can you discuss it with your partn and the line should be respected. >> a lot of this really is about what is comfortable for you. you need to pay attention to that. >> yeah. i heard an old woman, i was reading an interview with like an 90-year-old woman. she said what's the secret to a long marriage. she said be polite. that's kind of nice. start with being polite. >> we agree. now to another topic, that's kind of related, having enough space. >> people work a lot and the moments that we do have together we like to be in the same room. even if we're doing separate things. >> it's just more fun. even the most basic thing. watching tv with her is more fun than watching it by myself. >> he can go out with his friends,ky go out with my friends. >> spacewise we work together and travel together. we're literally either together 24/7 because we don't have normal schedules. >> or we get that two-week break. >> yeah. >> which is great, because at the end of the two weeks when we don't see each other, it's like -- you know. it's nice. >> that last couple was killing me. they're so funny. it is really true. i think it is natural to want time alone as well as to want time together. what's normal and what's healthy? doctor? >> basically, it is good to have time alone. >> how much? >> well, it's different for every couple. it is important to have whatever it is that the spouse likes to do, like sports or girl's night out, i'm a very big fan of girls night out. >> or guys night out. it is a big, healthy thing to say, don't give them a hard time, just let them go and have fun. >> it's important because it also creates conversation. when a person takes a vacation with their girls and comes back, they have something to talk about. >> it's true. the one thing, it shouldn't always be your idea to have time alone. like my wife is great like that. she'll say, you know what? you need go out to the movies or go out with big guys. that's great. i try and do the same. then you don't always feel like you're the one saying i got to run out of here. >> one couple after i asked them after six years what was their secret? what he said was i always think about what she needs and she says i always think about what he needs. that's ultimately the good goal to get to. dr. maria, thank you so much. next, how do athletes train for the winter olympics in the summer heat. but first, this is "today" on nbc. welcome back, everyone. we are counting down to vancouver. the winter 2010 olympic games less than six months away. natalie's here to introduce us to some amazing athletes who are already getting ready. >> truly amazing. they are counting down because that six months will be here before you know it. it's become sort after fun tradition for all of us here to try out some of the different olympics sports. in that spirit i sought out the u.s. freestyle ski team to find out exactly how do they train when the slopes are covered in grass instead of snow. ♪ >> reporter: in the winter, aerialist skiers can usually be found where you would expect them to be -- on the slopes. >> an incredible jump! >> reporter: but in summer, olympic hopefuls train and compete like this. ♪ >> reporter: flying down ramps, flipping and twisting in the air, and then landing in a swimming pool like this one at utah olympic park. >> we ski in going about 45 miles an hour, launch about 55 feet upçó in the air. >> reporter: darren hopes to compete in vancouver. he and i go way back. okay, somewhat to the torino olympics where spent some time learning to tango, if you can call it that. >> hope those shoes aren't expensive. >> reporter: the night with me on the dance floor, how does that stack up there? >> competing -- i got to meet matt lauer, and then all the way up here. >> oh, i'm above matt lauer. thanks. appreciate that. >> reporter: one of speedy's long-time buddies emily cook is hoping to be in vancouver, too, for her second olympic games. when this dynamic duo invited me to spend a day training with them, i was in. we started at the center of excellence, a brand-new state of the art training and testing facility for the u.s. ski team and u.s. snowboarding. speedy points out that emily could be my stunt double. aerialists spend lots of time honing their skills first on trampolines. how often do you do this as part of your training? >> we're up here four or five times a week working out with our coaches. >> reporter: i haven't done this since i was about 5. so it was trampoline 101 for me. care it will! somehow i managed to master the basics. >> your first trick! >> reporter: the next step learning to flip. never done it before if my life. feeling relatively confide with myself and very confident with my coaches, we head to the pool. suiting up, wet suit, life vest, helmet, boots, and skis. no poles! >> no poles. >> reporter: after climbing up to a jump called the hiccup, now it's looking kind of scary. from down there it wasn't scary. from here it's scary. i took off. >> woo! want to do it again. >> yeah. >> all right! >> that was better. >> you did awesome on this jump. time to move up to the real stuff. >> move up? as we walked over to the big jumps -- six months to the olympics! >> that's right. we can get you there. >> reporter: dreams of olympic glory entered my mind. but, at the top, those dreams became nightmares. now my heart, like 1001eñ milesr hour. look at that thing? that thing is huge. >> ready for this? >> i'm as ready as i'll ever be, i guess. >> yeah! >> that was pretty cool. >> nice work! >> you did better that time. >> time to get my game on and see if i could do a flip. after some last-minute tips from speedy and emily. i was going for the gold. okay, so not quite. but undeterred and ready for another try, i give it another go. this time i'm feeling the flip, i can do it! so everybody should have a stunt double. right? here's how it really went down. not happening. sorry. fooled you all, didn't i? i tried. i can tell you how frightening it is? that was the single jump. >> you know what was amazing, it was almost as if you went down there, you almost were going so slow you almost came back. it was like you got up to the top and wt back down. >> you try it next time. >> i would have never tried it. >> i was very grateful to emily cook and for jared peters helpg me out. i know they're going to be our olympic team and hopefully coming back with some gold. we should point out i at least had the i guess i actually had the decency to wear the wet suit. you all, meanwhile, were in your spandex, you and al? going down thenluge? >> right. >> how you going to top that one off? >> less spandex. we're going to do the sleeveless spandex in vancouver. i have no idea what we're going to do. we will figure it out to come. still ahead, much more on a monday morning. this is "today" on nbc. >> you were fooled. can we see it one more time? just one more time. look. she does the fli but after she hits the water. >> that's my stunt double. thank you. >> it was so our time right now is 8:55. 76 degrees out there. some hazy sunshine as well. we'll get the forecast coming up. good morning. i'm joe krebs, the 17th of august. in the news for today a flu outbreak that is dangerous for dogs. the fairfax animal shelter is closed temporarily because of the dog flu. two dogs have confirmed cases and 25 others are showing symptoms. canine flu cannot be spread to humans but can cause dogs to become severely ill. if your dog shows symptoms bring it to your veterinarian. the nationals have until mid night to sign steefren strasburg. if the two sides cannot come to greemt the nationals lose their right to strasburg. good morning. sunshine with a few clouds and moderate humidity on this monday morning, live picture from our sky watcher camera looking west across the northwestern suburbs of washington, afternoon highs in the mid 90s and moderate humidity. mostly sunny. more of the same tomorrow, humid wednesday a thursday. partly sunny and may be a passing shower or thundershower mainly in the afternoon. looks like a greater chance on friday and again saturday. cooler with highs in the 80s. then drying out on sunday, lower humidity moving in. how's traffic now? >> good morning. look at this. better than normal, much better than normal top side of the beltway, almost on the light side which is good news. elsewhere at the wilson bridge no late issues. 395 backed up a little bit north from the pentagon to the 14th street bridge. 66 slow from about the last mile on the approach to the capital beltway. >> tonight on "news 4 at 5:00," can home grown tomatoes without being a gardening guru. can you do that. this infomercial says it's in the bag. we are back with more of "today" now on a monday morning. 17th day of august, 2009. here's the good news -- finally it feels like summer. bad news, it's going to get up into the 90s today, high humidity. going to be a sticky one for these nice people who have gathered and joined us here on the plaza. speaking of joining us, i'm matt lauer, along with ann curry. while meredith is taking a little time off. we're going to check in with natalie at the news desk in just a couple of minutes. coming up, this is a really troubling story, a 13-year-old boy saw something on youtube, tried to copy the stunt. ended up setting himself on fire. co-have easily died. we're going to have -- it has a cautionary tale. we'll have some advice on how you can block your kids from viewing certain internet sets. >> it is so hard to keep an eye on all the things they are finding access to. talking about white lies. everyone will have to admit they've probably told a white lie once or twice or maybe even more in your life. the question is how do you stop it from eroding your relatiships with people and basically you don't want to hurt feelings but you don't want to erode trust. we'll get to the bottom of how to get our spouses to basically tell us the truth. speaking of getting to the bottom of something, will paula abdul be a judge on "american idol"? will she not be? apparently it is still not decided. we're going to try to figure out the latest on that. but before we go any further, let's go inside. natalie has got the headlines of the morning. she joins us now. good morning, everyone. hurricane bill, the first of the atlantic season, formed today as a category 1 storm and forecasters now say it could become a major hurricane by midweek. early this morning florida's panhandle was lashed by the first tropical storm to come ashore this year. claudette brought heavy downpours and 50-mile-an-hour winds but weakened to a tropical depression as it moved inland. firefighters are getting the upper hand today against a wildfire in california's santa cruz mountains. in the town of bonny doon, hundreds of evacuated residents are now being allowed to return home. meantime, authorities say a major fire in the loss padres national forest was started by a campfire, possibly built by marijuana growers. president obama tries to build support for the war in afghanistan today. he's speaking to a vfw convention in phoenix. u.s. casualties in afghanistan meanwhile are rising as american forces battle a resurgent taliban and try to safeguard thursday's elections. an american saved from prison in myanmar is having medical tests today in thailand before returning to the u.s. john yettaw had been sentenced to seven years hard labor for intruding at the home of the pro democracy leader suu kyi who is under house arrest. yettaw's release was secured by senator jim webb. police have arrested a suspect in an attack on milwaukee's mayor and say he has a lengthy criminal record. mayor tom barrett was leaving a state fair saturday night when he heard a woman screaming for help. he tried to call 911 but was attacked by a man with a metal pipe. the mayor was hospitalized with a fractured hand and cuts and bruises. "district 9" took over the top spot at the box office over the weekend taking in $37 million according to early estimates. "2k3w679 i. joe the rise of the cobra" was second, "the time traveler's wife" came in at third. let's send it over to stephanie abrams who's filling in while al is off today. >> i want to introduce you to a woman celebrating her 30th birthday from memphis. hotter here or memphis? >> ihink h>>otter . toe>> >> that doesn't make any sense. >> it is a lot more hum h in memphis than it is here. >> a lot of humidity in the southeast today, all compliments of what's now tropical depression claudette. it was a tropical storm this morning but look at that, it is really falling apart. let's talk about the rainfall that we'll see. anywhere from to two three inches, some of you locally could see up to five inches of  good morning. temperatures have warmed into the mid to upper 70s now. it's 78 in washington, and over the next couple of hours we'll hit the 80s, then by later on this afternoon should climb into the low and mid 90s. lots of sunshine and moderate humidity. more of the same on tuesday. then wednesday and thursday quite humid. afternoon highs near 90. partly sunny. then friday and saturday looks like an increased chance of showers and thundershowers. >> everyone in new jersey watch out, because this girl just got her license. so just be careful i'm just kidding! ann, over to you. if you have a child in your home who likes to surf the web you may want to listen to this. a couple of boys who watched a youtube of a grown man in a banana suitetting himself on fire decided to mimic the stunt. 13-year-old russell ignited himself after being doused with gasoline by a neighborhood boy. russell escaped death but not without second and third degree burns. this morning russell is joining us along with his mom, linda, along with carol, whose house russell was leaving when the burning took place. also joining us this morning is the executive director of wiredsafety.org. good morning to all of you. russell, i want to first talk to you. i know that you suffered a lot. this hurt a lot. when you saw this videotape, what made you want to mimic it? >> i didn't really want to mimic it because my friends told me that i should mimic it. i said no. but -- so i walked out into the garage. so he -- i was helping carol with the laundry. i turned -- she went inside, i turn around and he poured gasoline on me. so i ran out of the garage, and then he tossed me a lighr, he told me to light it. so i went like this and lit it thinking the fumes wouldn't get me, but it caught me on fire. >> so you didn't think it was going to actually hurt you. but you guys had seen the video -- we have the video but we're sort of debating about whether to show it at all because it is pretty graphic. you saw this video, russell? >> yes. >> you did. okay. and so i know that this is, linda, obviously came as such a terrible shock to you. and so i guess what i want to know is, the fact that your son saw this videotape and that this happened to him, what was your reaction? >> well, i was extremely upset because i do not allow my kids to have internet access without my approval and me standing and watching them. but as we all know, if they can't get it at home, they'll go somewhere else. >> this stuff is so pervasive, it is really difficult to control who watches all of this. carol, you were there at the time. so just give us a sense about what happened once the fire was burning. >> well, basically what happened was, you know, it was typical day at my house. you know, i have a lot of teenagers in and out, you know, and i turned around to go get some more detergent and next thing you know my daughter come running in saying that russell was on fire. so basically i ran outside and, by then he already had his pants off and he was just standing there with -- his leg was burned. i really didn't know what to do other than to take him and put him in the tub. >> russell, i'm looking -- your leg is wrapped up. i can see that your hand -- tell us the extent of your injuries from this. >> basically my hand has a week until it's all done. and they said two months until my legs healing up a little bit better. >> these are serious burns you endured. perry, let's bring you in to this. i understand that youtube has taken this tick var videotapart down and said "we do our best to keep watch out for controversial content online but we rely on users to flag video so we can check it out." shld youtube be doing more, perry? >> well, they're doing a lot. they have so many videos that are being posted and there's no way to use filtering to really see what the videos are doing. they have to look at the words that are used to describe this. this is where i think linda can come in and be a big help to us. i've got wired moms. you can follow us on twitter. it is my cyber army. fy get linda and other moms looking for this content on youtube, i'll guarantee they'll take it down. >> the reality is, you just heard from linda. she keeps a close eye on her child. but this stuff is almost pervasive now. it's almost impossible. sometimes kids are going to the computers at the time when the mother or father don't even know. so the question is, what's going to protect our kids from this kind of thing especially young kids? >> well, there's some good technology out there that will block sites like youtube and other sites you don't want your kids going to. basically it comes down to the filter between their ears. we need to teach them what to do when they see these things. no different from "jackass" when it was controversial on television. linda, what's in store for russell medically and what do you hope the message will be to parents listening this morning? >> well, from now on, for the next couple of weeks, he has to go and sit in the whirlpool that has kifbd like clnd of like hasn it to get his skin ready for numerous skin grafts. they're going to do the first skin grafts in two weeks. if that doesn't work he'll go to cincinnati to the burn unit where he'll be for quite a few months up to a year. my message i'd really like to get out, our children need to obviously be watched and the computer's locked up. i think that youtube and other shows like that on the internet need to have better restrictions to how a child can get on there and say they're 18 and be able to watch these videos. we have also found little loophole where if you know the name of the thing, all you really have to do is go into the http address, type in the name of the thing you want to watch and it just pops up. i really want other parents to be aware so that they can also be aware and get in touch with where their children are staying and talk to the parents there and also let them know they're not allowed on the internet at your home, nor at theirs. >> all right, well thank you so much. rememberry, do you have a reaction to that? >> well, i think that that's a good thing. but linda said she's already policing the internet. what we need to recognize is this stuff is online, our kids can e it and they're being influenced by it. so we need as parents to be aware they're seeing it everywhere. >> which is one of the reasons why we broadcast this this morning. thank you so much to all of you. russell, please get well and good luck and let this be a good message. thank you so much this morning. still to come this morning, eat cheap but eat well. a recipe that will keep the family healthy, wealthy and wise. but coming up next, want the truth from your guy? we've got three key strategies truth from your guy? we've got three key strategies right after this. so much out of so little. the same is true with bath tissue too. introducing new charmin ultra soft. its new ultra soft design is softer than before. and it has so much absorbency, you can use 7 sheets vs. 28 of the leading value brand. so your family can get more mileage out of less. 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( stomach growls ) skipping breakfast to get ahead? research shows that women that eat breakfast, like the special k® breakfast, actually weigh less. the special k® breakfast, now in blueberry. so why skip? when you can eat all this... and still weigh less. victory is... sweet. this morning on "today's relationships," little white lies. now even the nicest of guys tell them to avoid conflict and hurting your feelings. but what hurts more and how can you get the truth -- or get to the truth? kate white the editor in chief of "cosmopolitan" magazine. good morning to you both. kate, why was it important to include this article as part of september's issue of "cosmo"? >> honesty is something you ought to be able to count on in a relationship but sometimes guys fudge the facts because they want to avoid conflict or they don't want you to lower the boom in a way that they think isn't fair. so it's important to break that cycle if he is telling lies. >> because then it is the foundation of the whole relationship, if it's built on little white lies, how do you know when he's ever really telling the truth. >> that's right. lies like cheating and other things that spouses -- or others might be involved with. is there anything wrong though with guys telling lite white lies or fudging the truth just a little bit every now an again if they're doing it not to hurt your feelings or put you in a compromising situation? >> i think that the issue is you really want to be kind and you want to be careful with someone's feelings. but the problem is -- you mentioned the word "relationship foundation." because if the foundation is not strong and not built on trust and honesty, people want to feel safe in a relationip. you want trust what someone is telling you and you can't go to them and expect to have an honest reply, then you get a feeling that something's uncomfortable, yet you're being told everything's fine. there's something that's off. that's what happens, something becomes off and it gets worse. >> women are guilty of little white lies, too, of course. but why do men feel the need sometimes to stretch the truth or fudge the facts? >> in addition to avoiding conflict which kate said is a very big issue, very often people particularly men feel insecure in themselves and relationships and want to present themselves as being more confident, perhaps more wealthy, perhaps more interesting. >> it is a macho thing. >> yes. they try to compensate for that insecurity by telling more about themselves and it may not be true. also some people are brought up with the fact that you can lie and it is okay, that there's nothing wrong with it. sometimes people lie, men lie, because they don't want to deal with the result, emotional result that they expect is going to come to them from a woman. >> kate, the magazine article gives you three different strategies to help get to the truth. let's help our ladies out there. the first thing is you say, bring his guard down. how do you do that? >> you don't want to feel it is an interrogation if there's no waterboarding that's going to happen from the experience. >> a non-confrontational approach. >> right. you might want to sit across the room from him, don't face him head-on. maybe you're going through the mail, looking a little bit distracted. >> your eyes aren't blazing into his. >> right. you're not the interrogator. also, give him plenty of personal space, particularly if it is a tense situation, our need for personal space truly actually increases. >> dale, how can that help by giving a man physical space? >> it helps because when we feel attacked or when we feel that we're being addressed in a confrontational way we pull in and we go inside. what you really want is someone to be more open to you. personal space allows people to feel they can have room physical, psychic, emotional room to explore their own feelings and shirr them with you. >> it is hard to get them to open up as-is sometimes. >> yes, it is. if you're not confrontational, there are ways to do this and it can be helpful and enhance the relationship. >> to do that, you say avoid accusations. as you said, don't make it interrogation. but how do you get them to elaborate a little bit more or open up more? >> you don't want to say the words "you're lying." there are five words that are real great to say. "is there any reason why." let's say instead of going to your friend's birthday party he's told you he's had to work late but you smell a rat there. you could say something like, "is there any reason why you didn't want to go to sara's party?" that means you're looking for information that you're not going to accuse him or get into some big, nasty confrontation. >> finally you say to make him feel safe. again this is that whole idea of having that trust, foundation of trust and making him feel like listen, i need toet to the truth, but at the same time i'm not going after you. >> right. if he then fesses up, "i can't stand sara," "i've never like her," let him know that maybe you're disappointed but you're glad he told you the truth. can you say to him, thanks, you're an honest person and that's really important to me. >> some good information. hopefully it works for a lot of couples out there. kate white and dale atkins, thank you both. next, could paula abdul return to "american idol" after all? find out after these messages. me what i want to be when i grow up. ybe it's your name. richard? smucker. 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( cat meows ) pick up pet hair. that's the beauty... of the pledge fabric sweeper. you'll find it where you find pledge. s.c. johnson, a family company. it's been two weeks since paula abdul announced she will not officially return to "american idol." some still guess there is a good chance she'll be at the judge's table for the ninth season. as "american idol" fans prepare for a new season without paula abdul -- >> you are an "american idol." >> reporter: some say -- not so fast. >> paula is perhaps the most unpredictable person in showbiz as indicated by her behavior on the show. she's the only judge i know of there once started critiquing performances she hadn't even seen yet. i dop think anything's ever a done deal in the world of paula abdul. >> reporter: two weeks ago on her twitter page abdul announced she won't be returning to "idol" saying i'll miss nurturing all the new talent. just last week she wrote "i've got a busy week filled with network meetings. i'm looking forward to all the new projects up ahead." >> hey, betty. >> reporter: among the rumored projects - a guest starring role on "ugly betty" as well as talks to appear in some capacity on "dancing with the stars," something celebrity gossip site tmz.com asked her about in los angeles. >> will you be joining "dancing with the stars"? >> life is great. >> reporter: the reported reason behind her exit from "american idol," money. host ryan see crest wiacrest wi reportedly recve $15 million a year under his new contract, simon cowell set to earn $45 million per year. according to reports, paula abdul had asked for $10 million a year. >> you've come into your own. >> reporter: kara who joined last season will be back for season nine, so will randy jackson. as for who will take paula's seat, fox confirmed victoria beckham at a guest judge and mary j. blige with the atlanta auditions. no word of a permanent replacement for paula abdul and no commitments from her. >> i think there is probably some truth she is not committing because "idol" is out shooting auditions now. but she may be getting offers she just doesn't like. >> we contacted paula abdul's manager for comment but did not hear back. if there is any chance of a returning to "american idol," it would have to happen soon because auditions are already under way for season nine with the show set to return in january. still to come on "today," tonight's dinner menu. it is healthy and cheap. hearts happy... ...and big hearts happy too. because as part of a heart healthy diet... ...those delicious oats in cheerios can help naturally lower cholesterol. (cheerios spilling) cheerios. how can something so little... ...help you do something so big. this fiber? i'd had my fill. something so little... then i found miralax. announcer: miralax is the only brand n rtclinically proven to relieve constipation with no harsh side effects. you'll see. it's clearly different. restore your body's natural rhythm with miralax. our time right now is 9:26 on this monday, the 17thay of august. good morning. i'm joe krebs. we're following breaking news in montgomery county where police are searching for a suspect after reports of a possible armed man on the campus of montgomery college. it's unclear, though, whether these reports are actually credible. police say the campus is not on lockdown currently during this search but we'll bring you more information on the story as we get it. ta're going to take a break andw a look our weath get ready for a hot summer day. we're near 80, highs climbing to the low and mid 90s with lots of sunshine, a few clouds coming through. more of the same tomorrow with moderate humidity. more humid, maybe passing showers and thundershowers wednesday answer thursday. >> a live look, beltway south of town no late issues, a tad bit of volume both directions, to and across the wilson bridge. >> tonight on "news 4 at 5:00" get home grown tomatoes. this i i'm putting together a special team and i need me eight soldiers. h eight jewish-american soldiers. you all might have heard rumors about the armada happening soon. well, we'll be leaving a little earlier. >> i feel silly even saying that's brad pitt because we all know that's brad pitt. he's the leader in this movie of a band of nazi hunters in th new movie called inglorious bastards. tomorrow here on "today," more of our exclusive interview with brad and why he really loved making this movie with quentin. they really bonded. it is a pretty intense movie, just got a thumbs up from gene shalit. meantime, in this half-hour, what's for dinner tonight. we'll dump the drive-through and start cooking with chef charles maddox. he has a recipe that's healthy, easy and inexpensive. labor day right around the corner. pretty soon you may be trading in the swimsuit for one of those beautiful this morning "in style" magazine has the 15 must-have trends you'll want to know all about before you head out to the mall. joan rivers is also stopping by later on. speaking of the temperature, let's turn it over to stephanie abrams in for al this morning. hey, stephanie. >> not only is it hot heer but tropical storm ietw s te claudette is now tropical depression claudette. there's also ana and bill. bill is our only hurricane for the season so far. category 1 hurricane. it looks like it will be a fish storm, just affecting the fish. >> hopefully that holds. >> hopefully it will.; good morning. our temperatures are approaching 80 degrees with moderate humidity and it's partly cloudy to mostly sunny around the region. we'll have highs in the low and mid 90s with moderate humidity and more of the same on tuesday. partly sunny wednesday and thursday. more humid, highs upper 80s to near 90. 30% chance of a passing shower or thunder shower both of those days. a shower or thundershower friday and saturday. cooler highs in the mid 80s. lower humidity moving in for thank you so much. comingp now, the 15 must-have items you're going to fall for. get it? 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kids can have their favori yogurt in their lunch box go-gurt. freeze it. w a. eatt upw . this morning on "instyle today," how to have a fashionable fall. want to be ahead of the couture curve? to celebra "in style" magazine's 15th anniversary, the september issue lists 15 fall must-haves. the editor is here. isabelle, good morning. 15 items, that's a lot to get through. first in the fall must-s have, got to have the bright coat, leather miniand the jewel tone tights. let's see the look on our model tanya here. >> we paired these three together. it really projects a nice sporty look, very chic. bright coat. first, you don't have to step out this fall in a black coat. bright coats are actually very versatile. leather mini is a huge trend for fall. one way to do this might and little more accessible paired with vibrant tights which is another big trend. jewel toned tights. these are only $18 from dkny. it adds polish and intastant po. look for some with a little texture. >> i love the shoe booty. >> very chic. >> thanks, tanya. fantastic. next group of fall must machine haves, the romantic shirts, metallic skirt and studded pumps. let's see the look here on brooke. >> we've pulled this together so that it's very work-appropriate. which when you think metallic you might not think i could wear that to work. but the key to metallic -- as we've done it here with the skirt -- keep it localized. don't do head-to-toe metallic for work. very subtle variation in the weave of metallic. we've paired it a very romantic blouse. >> a lot of ruffles. >> yes. an update to the classic men's kind of tailored button-down look. only $45. >> a lot of mixing of color schemes, too. >> rich hues. no need to have a drab winter. >> no need to be matchy-matchy either. thank you, brooke. next, draping, meaning how the dress fits you. the statement necklace and the over-the-knee boots. yes. this year is danielle. hello. >> it is a great evening look. for the last few seasons we've noticed these bold necklaces that are long and layered. real statement necklaces. now what we're seeing is a sr. they've kind of been truncated, closer to the neckline, closer to the collarbone, but still bold and making a statement. draping is a wonderful -- be thankful drape something a big trend because it is a very forgiving trend, very forgiving cut. looks grate on all figures. accentuates what you want to and easily disguises -- >> you mean with the draping, sort of around the bodice area? >> exactly. >> forms a nice curve. >> really feminine shape. >> the over-the-knee boot. it is the huge thing. m >> it is a very big trend and it can be also very accessible. if you wear it with an opaque tight, it creates a very clean, streamlined look. look for some that actually fold over so you can have it worn at the knee for more classics. >> this dress, by the way, she could probably wear this out now so if she gets a little more wear out of it. >> for day with a little cardigan. >> very nice. thank you danielle. moving on, the next look, lace, the structured pencil skirt and platform pumps all in your fall must-haves. >> pencil skirt looks great on all figure types, accentuates your curves. it has that madman inspired moment which we know is very sexy and also day appropriate. i like this skirt because it has this belt which is leather which also sticks to the other trend. >> a touch of lace in the purse there. >> exactly. you don't want to do lace head-to-toe for work obviously. but on your purse it is a beautiful super feminine accent. very chic. >> picks up nicely with the blazer that she has, too. you look wonderful, thanks so much. by the way, those platform pumps, beautiful, too. >> another big trenld for fall. >> our last category gets us to the final 15 fall must-haves, the knit dress, foe fur accent and the string bag. >> it is interesting because it is not an ostentatious look. you could either do foe fur in smaller portions, too. you could do a foe fur collar with a sweater or even as a trim on gloves but it was pervasive this season. of course, knit sweater dress. super comfortable. that doesn't mean it is super casual. you can dress it up with cute booties, great textured tights. chain strap band adds polish to any look. >> texture is really key to the wardrobe. >> and the emphasis on legs. >> i love that little chain strap bag. >> $95 from banana republic. >> ladies, you look fantastic. i'm sweating looking at you all. it is going to be 90 degrees. coming up next, in "today's kitchen," tonight's dinner menu, it's cheap and healthy. it's really delicious. but first these messages. - ( music playing throughout ) - woman: ten minutes until low blood sugar melt down. one pound of ground beef, a packet of hidden valley ranch. ranch burgers! my family is so much more loveable when they're not hungry. announcer: hidden valley ranch. mix it up. in the fridge it's a light and fluffy mousse... ...but put it in the freezer... and... ...voila! yoplait whips becomes a luscious frozen treat. yoplait whips, it is so good. well, hello there. that's what i'm talking about. (announcer) does your air greet you? say hello to new airwick imotion. it's the only scented oil with a motion sensor, that sees you and says hi back with a boost of fresh scent. when was the last time your scented oil greeted you? airwick imotion. airwick, it's good to be home. we call the bunches in honey bunches of oats the prize in the box. well, now there's a prize inside the prize. pecans! pecans! baked into crunchy oat bunches. taste the delicious surprise in every spoonful. new honey bunches of oats with pecan bunches. beautiful. so now, no matter what allergens drop by... it's what you drop in. claritin eye works on your itchy allergy eyes in minutes and lasts up to 12 hours. new claritin eye. now you can see claritin clear. back then, a lot of us were like the buttertons.! nner ready! golly! that sure looks delicious. ha ha, let's eat. we didn't know much about saturated fat and cholesterol. mmm, yummy! today, we know better. that's why there's i can't believe it's not butr! it has no trans fat, 70% less saturated fat than butter, and even less saturated fat than smart balance. best of all, it has the fresh butter taste you love. i can't believe it's not butter! >> announcer"today's kitchen" is brought toou by yu i can't believe it's not butter! this morning, we have hot tips on saving money while eating well. put away the ground beef and reel in the fish because we have a twist an your traditional taco. charles maddox is the author of "eat cheap but eat well." charles, how are you? we're making fish tacos. >> frugal fish tacos. i call this frugal fish because i'm the poor chef and i like to make healthy and creative meals all for under $7. >> a little bit goes a long way. >> you don't need much. what we've got here, i picked my fish. i like tilapia but you don't want to use salmon, just use a whitefish. here we have some tilapia, some catfish. catfish is a fantastic fish. what we did was basically put it inside a nice little dish, put a little bit of moho sauce. you know moho. >> i don't know moho. >> mo is a fantastic marinade we use for not only chicken but other things like that. >> it's got grapefruit juice. >> marinate for 45 minutes. no longer than that or else you'll end up cooking that fish. over here we have our mango salsa. >> he's excited! >> i'm happy. great thing about this is mangos are actually in season. i actually got 2 for $1 in florida. don't get a mango that's too ripe or else you're going to -- you want it nice and firm just like that. put a little bit of corn. >> this can be frozen corn? >> can be any kind of corn. little bit of lime juice. lemon juice. a salsa verde. instead of trying to make it from scratch, buy in the can depending where you live, you can buy it for 49 cents, 59 cents, 69 cents a can. that's done. >> very easy. beautiful. >> fantastic. not only are you lovely but you can -- good in the kitchen. this just stays to the side for a little while. the fish has been marinating for 30, 45 minutes. put a little bit of salt and little bit of pepper. >> you've got olive oil in a$mcñ pan? >> we're going to get over here andet that cook. >> you've got that up pretty high. >> that one's a little high. >> fish doesn't take too long. >> three to four minutes per side. done, done, done. this here is looking fantastic. that one's sticking to the pan a little bit. >> that's okay because you're going to cut it up anyway. you burning your fingers, honey? be careful. we're going to take that over here and build ourselves these fish tacos. in my family i just set it out like this and they build it themselves. all i do is cook the fish and cut the vegetables. >> wheat tortillas. once again we're stressing healthy and affordable. >> would you warm them in the oven like that? >> make them pliable so we can use them and do what we want with them. put this just like this and look at that. fantastic. great thing about this, we're going to put just a little bit of lettuce. don't want too much because this tastes fantastic just as it is. >> one of the mistakes people make when they build tacos, they make them too big and you can't even roll it. >> let me see you roll it. >> i would do that. >> look at that, ann. >> i lived in southern california. i know about this. >> i made pa little bit of mexican beans, black beans for you, a little bit of rice right here. and -- >> those have a little bit of -- looks like peppers on them. >> green peppers, exactly. now our beautiful mango-corn salsa we'll just garnish right on the side. very easy. again, this is great for kids, for families, this is something that you can put together really quick. >> so listen. how much money have i spent for dinner for say if i do that. >> three, four people, under $7. easily. dy it the other day. i made you a clementine salad. you could use tangerines, so on, little bit of mushroom, some red cabbage, all that good stuff. now tell me you love it. garnish it with a little bit of -- >> i really love it. >> put a little bit of this on top of there. you're ready to go. >> this is really healthy food and good for you. charles maddox, thank you so much. you can go to our website to get more of charles' hoda and kathie lee are here with a preview of what they have cooking in the next half hour. >> we have a special guest. >> her name is joan rivers. >> she's got money. >> how did you get so rich? not giving it away. >> not only are we going to talk about her show but she has also a surprise announcement. >> yes. >> it's interesting. >> it's really surprising. >> she's wearing a ring. >> my day -- it was called a friendship ring. i'm not engaged, melissa, relax. >> but there is something and we'll show pictures of the -- >> we might even meet someone. who knows? we also have den dra wilkinson. talking about how to be a hepburn in a hilton world. >> more joan. >> do you want to try a fish taco? >> i will eat anything. >> this is a poor man's fish taco. smells great. fingers? >> oh, however. 9:56 is our time. 78 degrees out there. a little haze, a little moisture in the air, we'll get the forecast from tom kierein coming up. i'm joe krebs on this monday, the 17th day of august. in the news, one person is dead after an early morning stabbing in college park. police say it started as a domestic dispute at a home. two men were stabbed, the victims drove to a store for help. one man died at the hospital, the other is expected to be okay. many drivers have to find another way to get to tysons corner. the exit for route 223 is closed for the next six weeks crews will be reconfiguring the ramp and work on providing h.o.t. lane access in the area. a flu outbreak that is dangerous for dogs, the fairfax animal shelter is closed temporarily because of the dog flu. two dogs have confirmed cases while 25 are showing symptoms. canine flu cannot be spread to humans but can cause dogs to become severely ill. if your pet shows symptoms, bring your pet to your veterinarian. now a check on traffic and weather. we'll start with tom kierein in storm center 4. >> good morning. the temperatures are beginning to climb now to around 80 or so and we'll probably hit the low 90s later this afternoon, perhaps isolated locations in the mid 90s. we have a few clouds coming through. moderately humid. highs mid 90s perhaps tomorrow. then very humid on wednesday and thursday and partly sunny, in the upper 80s to near 90. 30% chance of a shower, mainly in the afternoon. friday and saturday, maybe showers and thunder. rather humid. highs in the mid 80s. looks like lower humidity for sunday. good morning, how's the late morning traffic? >> things wound down, very good news. summer vacation time out there no doubt. outer loop of the beltway from the 270 spur down to the american legion bridge fine. a late accident b.w. parkway and police are wrapping that up. the 14th street bridge all lanes are open. looking good there. >> thanks. tonight, get home grown tomatoes without being a gardening guru. join liz crenshaw at 5:00 to see join liz crenshaw at 5:00 to see does it really do that? captions paid for by nbc-universal television hi, everybody. it is monday, it is august 17th. so happy you joined us. hope you had a great weekend. >> we feel a little naked this morning. we don't have all our business props. when i say naked, i mean naked. just saying. >> it is from a heck of a weekend, folks. >> how was your birthday weekend, you and frarnlg? >> it actually would have been wonderfulfy hadn't partied up a storm beforehand. we had quite the weekend -- first of all, we went to the funeral mass for eunice kennedy shriver. this is the most beautiful thing that everybody got. it was just -- you read maria's eulogy -- >> i actually watched it on youtube. >> one of the most beautiful ever. wasn't it? >> i didn't know eunice kennedy shriver but when i watched that eulogy i felt like i kne her. because the way maria spoke about her, she said my mom wore men's pants, smoked cigars, would show up with our school with post-it notes tacked to her shirt and pence in her hair. just so who she was. >> she would never let the kids have any excuses. she had a very distinctive wonderful voice. we were honored to be there. >> i thought that may have been one of the best eulogies i've ever heard in terms of you listen and you feel like you captured somebody. >> she didn't lose control at all. what a beautiful, beautiful family. i didn't know if you heard this but this is one of the things that was her favorites -- some day after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and grash visit we shall harness for god the energies of love and then for a second time in the history of the world man will have discovered fire. >> that's beautiful. >> is that amazing? that's my present to you. i knew you would love that. >> i should say, a dear friend of mine from college passed away, kathleen lacy. a lot of friends of ours went to her mass on saturday in virginia. but just thoughts and prayers out to her family and four children. they're wonderful people. >> lots of slices of life. the next day you couldn't come to our friend's lacy's wedding because were you at your friend's funeral. i went for you, honey, let me tell you. you haven't been to a wedding until you've been to an italian wedding on both sides. at that time i was starting to feel really lousy. just in time for my birthday i completely fell apart. frank and i were 135 yesterday, if any of are you doing the ath. but we'h. glad to be here. >> look at you two with your cake. >> we would have set the house on fire. i didn't -- i was feeling so bad and golly, we look terrible. get off of that! thank you so much. one of the cards that a friend sent, it's two ladies. she says when i was young i had a rose tattooed on my breast. the other lady says, really? then you open it up and it says, yeah, now it's long-stemmed. i love that. loved it. >> that is good. interesting weekend. >> we got through another one. >> we have a question to ask you guys at home. if you had a choice, here's your choice. you could have an extra $50 a week, or you could have more sex. what would you choose of those two? >> is it just more sex or great sex? because there is a difference. i ask tammy. >> more. well, tammy would know. what did she say? >> i think it's hot sex. >> they did this poll on aol. we'll tell you about the results of the poll -- >> later. >> but we want to know what you think first so you aren't at all influenced by the poll results. $50 per week or more great sex. this is only women. what do the men think -- >> lots of buzz about paula abdul. what is happening? >> i don't know. i got a strange call from somebody on friday saying would i be available on monday maybe to shoot ugly betty. i said they've never asked me before. i said, yeah, i'm available. now i'm glad i didn't say -- i couldn't have done it. but then all of a sudden we read that paula is holding out maybe, she's saying no to doing "ugly betfy accounts because she thinks maybe she's going t get an offer to come back and judge "idol." >> that's a big deal. we said it was over. everyone was saying she's not judging. how sad it was that paula's not coming back. now there's some buzz on tmz that in fact she may be coming back to "idol." we have a new segment we're trying out this week about the buzz with andy cohen from bravo. it's interesting, curious if paula will come back. >> i wonder if the producers are really taking a good luck at what -- we've had a lot of reaction now in the week or so that it's been announced. so they're probably testing the waters and see whether it is worth the extra -- she wants $10 million. she'll settle for the $10 million. nobody ever talks about how much randy's making. randy some would say is every bit as important to the mix as paula. >> i'll be curious what he's making. we know that simon's making $30 million. ryan's making $16 million or $20 million. >> but that's in addition to the $30 million he's already making at the e channel and more money for doing his radio show. who does he think he is? regis? >> that's a lot of cash, baby. this next story's about you. how much do you sleep a night? that's a question. >> last night, none. >> you don't sleep -- literally. >> if i get four or five hours of sleep a night -- >> how do you -- >> i don't know. >> do you nap during the day? >> when i can but not very often. i seem to function just fine. what worries me is they say long-term it is really a health hazard. what do you do? take all kinds of sleeping pills? >> one time i asked the doctor if you had a choice of not sleeping or taking something that helps you sleep -- >> what did he say? >> he said take the thing. >> night after nightfter night? >> i think the problems that come from not sleeping which more illnesses, that happens just because you're justtired all the time, you're stressed out, you have trouble driving obviously. just a lot of things happen at as a result of not sleeping. they say if you are a complete insome knee knack, it is better to take something than not sleep. >> apparently some people have a particular genetic situation which says -- of rare gene in some humans found in less than 3% of the people who do not need that much sleep. >> they only need six. >> i think martha stewart has always said she didn't need it. she sleeps like four or something like that. she certainly gets a lot done. >> but people see that as i don't need sleep. >> i wish i could. >> when i can't sleep i can't function. like i need that -- i need six or seven at least. >> even when i was sick at a dog yesterday, i could see that the sun was out and it was a beautiful day, i said, you know, i don't want to -- i got up. >> do you get up in the middle of the night? do you just wake up and you're up looking around? >> that's why i started writing so much. praying. pray for you lot. that keeps me busy. it is affecting short-term memory. what's your name again? here's another question. we have a lot of questions for our people. this is interesting. single women seem to attract or be attracted to men who are taken. that's a new study that's out. >> that doesn't necessarily mean married. just attached. >> right. some of the whys are that according to one of these reports, single women like the guy who is attached because there must be something great about him. >> it is like a track record they're somehow okay because they're already with another woman. to me it means if you're going to take that guy away, that some woman's going to come along and take your guy away again. >> it's about do you really take them or just sort of want them. they say a lot of unattached women go for attached men because they seem -- >> maybe that's the appeal of brad pit. >> maybe it is. >> maybe, maybe, maybe. we should head over to miss sara. >> she can't stop talking to miss kendra. >> most of the people are in response to would you rather have in respoe to would you rather have $50 a week than sex? it's all about money. >> that's what the aol w sdy showed. women would rather have catch than sex. >> curtis stone's girl's night in ends this friday. go to klgandhoda.com. then in discovery cove we get to baby dolphin. >>nat'nis runng out, too. >> r we've got five names. roca, kallan, reef, amelia and lanikai. we have such a big show. we'll find out why kendra wilkinson is breaking records with the new e channel with her new reality show. >> and joan rivers. t is joan pran'soing >> jo g'sooing to be breaking some news. we'll tell you what it is after these messages. >> oh, my gosh. that's a disturbing image. b kendra wilkinson made a name for herself as one of hugh hefner's girlfriends. >> but she married philadelphia wide receiver hank basketk back in june and they are expecting their first baby. so nice to have you here today. you look so beautiful. >> congratulations on the baby. is it a boy or girl? >> a boy. we just found out it is a boy. >> a second little basket. little hank jr. we're so excited. i'm so excited to be that mom on the sidelines, bring the snacks to the game, being that soccer mom. >> none of this would have happened if you hadn't gotten out of the mansion. >> exactly. >> you need to get out and travel, people. you need to get out of the mansion and see the world. >> peerns life. >> were you surprised at how well your spin-off show did? you could understand why the one at the hefner mansion went well. >> i'm very surprised. i think i have a good following. i have a really -- think people want to see my life because i'm real. i like to have fun. that's all it is. it's all about having fun on a show. >> how real is it really, kendra? >> well, it's 23 minutes real. you know? it's a lot of editing. but it is mostly real. we just like to have fun. >> that's going to continue all the way through the birth and the -- you know, i was having thoughts about that. i wasn't planning on having a show about that. but i worked with them for so long with the company that we've been working with. >> same company that did the other? >> yeah. they make their show very charming and they always have happy endings at end. i just love who i work with. i love the cameraman. >> so you feel trust. >> i trust them a lot. i said yeah. >> you aren't a big fan of jon and kate and the whole sort of showing the children and putting them sort of in the middle of it. >> i was auge fan of "jon and kate plus 8." i remember going on red carpets way back, what's your favorite show? "i love "jon and kate plus 8."" that was myfavorite show. >> what's the issue now? >> i can't watch it anymore. i feel like they put too much real stuff out there. >> it is painful to watch because it is so real. >> i feel like, of course i'm saying yes to a reality show about my child and my married life but -- >> but heaven forbid if things took a turn and things weren't so happy in your life, would you turn the cameras off and say, this is too painful for us as a family? >> yeah, definitely. that's the thing. like i feel like hollywood is kind of running their lives. i would never let hollywood run my life. i live in jersey now. you no he what i'm saying? >> you have left the mansion. >> i moved out of california for a little bit to get away and focus on this baby and my married life. >> is it weird how interested everyone is? i googled your stuff. kendra's getting a haircut. kendra's walking down the street. people are interested in the tiny details of your life. >> that's weird to me too. >> how do you handle that? from it is all fun. i can look in the mirror and laugh at myself. there's critics out there. there are mean people that make mean comments. >> they make them about everybody so you're not alone at least. >> you just have to laugh at that. >> how does your husband deal with all the attention? additional attention. >> it's all new to him. he's not a hollywood guy. >> he grew up in the church. right? >> yeah. >> yeah. >> now he's going to have to have michael vick? didn't michael vick sign with the eagles as well? >> yeah. yeah. >> there will be a lot to follow in your life. mostly we wish you good luck with the baby. >> thank you. >> you're due around christmastime? >> yeah. so excited. hen we come back, joan rivers found love when she was looking for money. >> look at the picture. look, holding hands. >> what's up with norman jones? >> what is going on? >> see, kendra, you think you're the only one who's happy? who are you wearing is the question most asked by joan rivers as she works the red carpet. >> but how did you get so rich is what she really wants to know now. she's traveling the country meeting millionaire regular joes to find out. it's all for her new tv land tv show. let's take a look. >> this guy looks rich. he looks rich. this is very nice. are you rich? >> pretty rich. >> is this a new hybrid rolls? >> you've got a great belt. whose belt is this? >> this dog was a doberman before the recession. >> i love it! joan is with us. we're so glad to have you back, joan. >> paula abdul better take that $10 million because betty ford is so expensive. >> that's your take? >> that's my take. >> you'd do it in a second if they'd ask you. >> she's coming back. we all know that. it's all publicity. the only good real show is how did you get so rich. >> this is reality. this is real. >> this is the "today" show. it's a whole other world. >> you just stop people on the street, randomly? >> you look -- i went to somebody's house they had alan greenspan on speed dial. that's rich. you want to say, how did you get so rich? >> but most of them just had a great idea that nobody else had ever thought about. >> you got it. it's america at its best. people that were poor and had a great idea and it took off. >> i love the guy with the buck teeth. >> billy bob teeth. $74 million later. a come who did waterproof camouflage makeup. husband left her at 49, didn't know what to do. she said all i can do is put on makeup. her friend said go to makeup school. has a house four times than when the son of a gun left her. >> while you are doing your shoot, you are going to interview a guy named norm. we've been showing the video of the cute norm. you're holding hands. >> tell us how you met him. >> again, on the show -- look. he's slightly younger than i am. but nobody's older than me anymore. maybe god and three people in the cemetery. >> frank is taken. you just stay away from frank. >> so we met and he's just a very nice man and -- >> why are you holding hands right away? >> i don't know. it just was a nice moment. >> it just happened? >> he was obviously expecting you. >> he was expecting me, of course. >> he gave you that ring? >> he gave me a friendship ring as we call it in my day. i call that a beautiful ring. >> but melissa doesn't have to worry. melissa's adopting another child aybe from a click tribe in australia. his name is -- now we're going to have cooper and -- rosenburg. okay. if you have a pacemaker, don't come to my house. >> is she really going to adopt? >> it's like, hello and you'll die. >> do we get to meet norm? >> he is not here. he came in to have lunch today. then we're going to watch the show wednesday that he was on. >> okay. is this something serious? >> i don't know. 's younger than i am. >> how many years? >> 12. >> that's not a big deal >> but you try to act like cute, so what are you doing tuesday night? you go, let me check. it's so white, it's so black. tuesday's my enema day. can't do it. but he's lovely. he came in. he's a lovely, lovely, lovely man. >> are you open, joan, to obviously meeting somebody -- >> yes. >> you are? >> isn't everybody? >> i think. but i don't know. >> it just takes time for some people. everybody's on their own path. >> that's a nice way to put it. of course you'd love somebody. he's darling, he asnice. >> where is the house? >> the house is the most gorgeous house in the world. it's in beverly hills, which would be great for me. i could commute. >> she's already moving in! i love it. >> and norm needs a mother/older woman. >> with a lot of expernce. >> with a lot of experience. but isn't that great? those are some his friends. look at these sluts. norm has -- >> i hope they're his daughters. >> these are his secretaries. >> no, joan! smell the roses! i'm very worried but. >> on the show, see, there is his house in the background. >> these are secretaries? >> well -- >> he's always got a nice health benefits for his employees. >> but maybe -- who knows? point is we'll see him wednesday on the show. he's a darling man and we'll see. >> what time wednesday, joan? >> 10:00. >> is he jewish? that's important to you. >> he's jewish! >> game over. >> these are some ofhe other props. >> these are the billy bob teeth. $74 million america. the ginsu knife guy. these stupid things, millions and millions. and the barf. >> you can pitch it on tv land, wednesday at 10:00. we'll be right back after these messages. we'll have the latest on breaking weather news. the first hurricane of the season, we'll also let you know where tropical depression claudette hit. i'm joe krebs. also coming up, a golf course in the united states using lamas as hg w how the golfers a re dealing with the animals. we're back on this monday with more of "today" and our special fashion "don'ts to do." while the new york yankees are enjoying one of the best records in baseball, some of the team's fans aren't dressing to impress. >> no one knows how to fix that bet better. >> we came to yankee stadium to do the fashion because it's very hard to look chic when you're going to the yankees game. usually i say you don't want to really match-match your mate. this is a perfect example of how to do it. >> i love the fact you're just wearing a little dress. >> i had it get the yankee colors on. >> i stress casual, comfortable today. >> see, can you look cute in your yankee suit. if you dress bad for the yankees game, i am going to find you. shame on you. this is a pretty baggy outfit. you need a bra that's going to lift you up a little bit, then something that's a little bit looser. >> you have such a great body, we should show it off a little bit bit. >> you are wearing a black bra, right? >> looking at the outfit, this is a bit after mom jean situation. >> there is a more feminine solution. i like that you're supporting the team. >> i'd like to look cute and casual. >> my ideal goal would be to look like someone kate hudson going to watch a-rod at the game. normally i'm just in my shorts and t-shirt. >> "glamour" magazine's suzie schwartz is here. hello, dear. it is hard to dress for ball games, you think throw on jeans, a yankees top. >> it could go on and on and on. you don't know how many innings. >> the trick is to dress like you're watching the game and not like you're playing the game. a lot of people are wearing these oversized tunics that just don't look very attractive. >> they don't make a lot of great things for women that are fitted -- >> exactly. buy the kid's yankee shirt as's posed to the adult's yaee shirt. those are really baggy. the smaller the size, the better. >> you plucked jennifer -- i love how you go after these people. it is hilarious. what's wrong with her outfit? >> she doesn't look feminine at all. she looks like she's about to play and watch. those mom jeans, faded crop jeans, i've never seen them good on anyone. they make her look heavy up top and her legs look really slender on the bottom. she's very well proportioned. >> we'll show you the new jennifer. let's see what suzie did. >> we turned her into kate hudson watching the game. that's really adorable. everything is old navy. everything's under $25. some of it is $8. it is pretty amazing. we have the team support scarf in the stripe. navy top and a short miniskirt which is feminine, flirty and you know it is 90 degrees outside. before she was sweating in polyester, now she's looking feminine. >> jennifer, do you like the look? >> i love it. is it enough yankees for it? >> i think the scarf says yankees all the way. >> her husband and two daughters -- come on down. she wants to see mommy. >> wow. i like that. it's affordable. this time, tell me again where you bought all this stuff. >> old navy. >> everything. everything was so inexpensive. when you go into that store you end up wanting to buy absolutely everything. >> they've got great style there. affordable prices. >> this is a perfect way to look casual, cool. jen said she would actually wear this to the game. >> what does the hubby think of your wife in this new get-up? you like her bedder the old way -- >> definitely the new way but she better being going to the game with me. i'm in trouble. >> hello! that was awesome. you got another one in store for us? >> we do. we'll keep it a secret. coming up next, we'll talk about paula abdul. what's going on with her. is she going to be back on "idol"? all the gossip. >> i'm not going to partake because gossip just didn't right. we're kicking off a new series today called "today's buzz." to keep you up to date on all things pop culture. >> bravo's host of "watch what happens" is live with the latest buzz. >> "dancing with the stars." >> the big announcement. who is it? >> tom delay. >> i'm sorry this is disturbing. >> hasn't he caused enough trouble in one town? he's going to go to l.a.? >> i want to see how he dances. >> it will be funny. i really want to see tom delay dance. >> kathy ireland. good choice. >> kathy ireland. >> that's like marie osmond. people want to see her. >> donny's coming. >> donny's been so doggone jealous. >> they've extended their run in vegas for two more years. i don't know how he's going to do both. but i'm excited to see what he does. >> there is an osbourne now. >> kelly osbourne which should be interesting. i love a wild card. i think kelly osbourne and macy gray with the wild cards. they're the kind of crazy in the fish bowl. you're going to want to -- >> macy gray's crazy? is she? >> she's a whack-a-doodle. quirky. >> will you clear up the paula abdul stuff? >> i will. but i want to say i was fully coming in here expecting you two to have been announced to be on "dancing with the stars." >> they asked me for four years and i said no. i said when hoda and i do together. they didn't ask. >> i want to see the it would have you in your costumes. that's you in the costume. >> is that hoda? hoda's doing the nasty thing. >> that's what i want to see. >> paula abdul. we talked about this morning, is she coming back to "idol" or not? here's the thing. i think it's done. i think it's done. i don't think she's coming back. i think -- this is me being a skeptical guy -- that maybe her people are kicking around the idea that she's coming back -- >> just to get a lot of excitement going on. >> for the network to release a statement saying we are done, good-bye, it's been a great ride, see you later. >> i have a feeling this new guy in her life really screwed it up big time. that's just my gut. >> the management. >> she has everything to lose and nothing to gain by not being on that show. >> that's true. but look at the bookings that fox has gotten for guest judges. victoria beckham, mary j. blige. >> that didn't go well. >> what about jessica simpson? i hear her father's pushing really hard for that. >> can she string together a sentence? i don't know. i think that's not going to fine. >> jon and kate's ratings have been going dow >> they have. look. they had a huge moment where they were commanding 10 million viewers for a couple weeks. that was huge. that had to -- the bubble had to burst. they were on the cover of every magazine. >> is it over sauration? >> still getting big numbers about nowhere near -- it's now back to kind of where it was. >> now it is taking on a really tawdry thing. the people that liked it before for the family element do not like the tawdry nature of it. >> i found her to be intensely media trained on the "today" show last week. she was really buttoned up. >> i thought she got emotion and. >> i had the opposite reaction. i don't like his behavior. >> i love it that regis thinks jon's going to come back to her. >> i don't read what regis says. >> andy, thank you. >> i love rege. i had dinner with his thursday night! she's so bad. >> set your alarm, wake up, watch what happens. how to beeybu heprn hepburn when all you know are the amy winehouses and paris hiltons of the world. for re drugs that are barely there, to outrageous celebrity behavior, it is constantly making headlines. >> whatever happened to grace and self-respect? the new book "how to be a hepburn in the hilton world," old-fashioned advice is offered for how to maintain traditional values in a modern world. jordan, so nice to have a lady with us here today, probably wearing all kinds of undergarments which is a nice change in this world. that's part of the whole thing. isn't it? what happened to underwear? >> gosh, that is so true. that's one of my top three tips for finding love in today's world. put your phones away. we make ourselves way too obsessive these days with all the texting, picture messaging. number two, wear underwear. >> that is astonishing. >> remember when we used to wear clean underwear because a bus might hit you? now we'll be happy with any underwear at all. >> what made you decide to writ it kind of book? >> it really smmed from my personal experience starting back in june juror high with these "stupid girls." as i got older i began to e celebrities making headlines news every day with the same bad behavior. >> they were the most popular in junior high. >> exactly. i started thking why are the smart, classy girls always the minority? i found out there were a lot of other girls w felt the same way i did. >> it is just that they aren't getting the press. we just had the gorgeous actress on last week, rachel mcadams, who is as lovely and as classy as you get but she's not dancing on tops of bankettes with no underwear on. she's all about her work, not her life out there. >> exactly. it is hard to believe there are good role models out there today. i love carrie underwood. she still kept her head through all her success and kept her clothes on. >> yes. and is not doing badly at all. >> exactly. >> what tips would you give a young girl today who lives in a world where you're put down if you try to be a lady? >> self-respect is really the heart of the problem i think. when we see ourselves depicted in movies and magazines and just a short skirt and a mojito, it begins to chip away at yourself worth until you think this is just what i'm supposed to do, grab my skimpiest outfit, hit the clubs and drag home a different guy every night. >> that's what tammy did. worked for her. >> if there were more role models on the other side, but your point is that they don't make headlines so you don't i eron wd i wonder why we don't heha tit anymore where there's not reallt a thernei or audrey hepburn? >> that's rue. my mom says it was a simpr time then. it really was. i don't know that it is possible to have nanother katherine or audrey. >> these were two of the finest actresses we ever, ever had. they were all about their craft. that's what we're losing. if you can get enough hits in the magazines you're a star. how about your craft of acting? >> the people who are on the covers of magazines that people are buying are reality show stars, not movie stars anymore. >> that's so true. >> we only have ourselves to blame basically because we're the ones that are buying the magazine. >> it is a vicious cycle. >> well, you are lovely. >> thank you. >> congratulations on your new book, in your new baby. >> she's 25 years old. the baby. again the book is called "how to be a hepburn in a hilton world." back with a brand-new "today's kitchen" is brought to you by hills bury toast eer strudel. the one kids want to eat. we're back with ryan scott. >> at 9 years old he began asking santa for cooking u tense utensils. went on to the culinary academy and he's here to cook for us. ? third time back. >> knuckle bump. we're making this brick chicken. >> quick summer chicken dish, a salad dish and i brought a little bit of booze. are you feeling up to booze? >> does that go well with tylenol cold? >> it will go well. we're going to use real bricks, put it right on top of the chicken. first i'll put this in. all the ingredients are here. >> how much? >> this is basil. just go like this and bruise it. i basically want to have it in there, so we can take it out. >> how much olive oil? >> quarter cup. salt. i like to impart the flavor. i don't want the pieces on there to burn in the pan. that's a little bit of honey. >> he called me honey. >> i know. i sense a lot of sexual chemistry. of course i'm medicated. >> this has been sitting. pretendt's been in the fridge for an hour. my dear, take the pepper. put it on top of this chicken that's been marinating. we salt it. >> good, hoda. good wrist action. >> this is a hot pan. slide this chicken right into this hot pan. skin-side first. the emphasis is to get it nice and crispy all the way across. >> this is going to be good. >> oh, my gosh, this is going to be good. >> slide this on the other side. what we want to do, two bricks literally right on top. use a pan, brick, ex-boyfriend. >> you could get rid after lot of anxiety. >> hoda, come over here. love it. this is fine. this is the chicken that's been be cooking for about 30 minutes. flip that one over. >> flip then. >> this is my dvd. this is a gray poupon, sherry, basil and vinaigrette. i put it on breakfast, everything. little bit of pepper, honey. >> honey. >> you know i brought you something, both of you. remind me of the gift. here's the chicken. this is cooking. pop this back i the oven. >> save the bricks for next time. hoda open that oven for me, my dear. slide this in, ten more minutes, little bit of heat on top. it looks like this guy right here. little salad. this is my redemption. toasted bread, little bit of ick peas, fresh corn. the last segment we did -- >> onions! >> i'm not going to. it is your birthday. trust me. this is the vinaigrette. grey poupon. drinks. salt, pepper, sangria. i brought you two gifts. open this. i'm going to open the sangria. kathie lee, sweetheart, this is for you. i hope you don't mind but i personally got them made for both of you guys.

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