Transcripts For WRC Today 20091015

good morning. money, money, money! investors rejoice as the dow hits 10,000 for the first time in more than a year. but with it, word that wall street's about to dole out record bonuses even at firms that you, the taxpayer, helped bail out. can anything be done? this morning, msnbc's dylan ratigan and filmmaker michael moore weigh in. revenge attack? a 15-year-old florida boy allegedly set on fire by five of his classmates all because of a stolen bike. this morning the victim's mother speaks out. and why did anna nicole die? a hearing under way in los angeles over whether three people close to her played a role in the late star's overdose. this morning the father of anna nicole smith's daughter, larry birkhead, is set to testify, but first he is talking to us in an exclusive interview today, thursday, october 15th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. i'm meredith vieira here in new york. matt lauer has made his way to a much warmer climate. he is in los angeles. hey, matt. >> hey, meredith, good morning to you. normally warmer. i came here yesterday, it was about 62 degrees and raining, although the people here said they needed it, so there were smiles all around. nice to see you. >> nice to see you, too. it's supposed to rain here, too, so you're not missing anything. this morning, happiness mixed with outrage on the economy, matt. >> that's right, meredith. lots of celebrating from investors when the dow closed above 10,000 on wednesday. that's the first time above that key psychological marker since october 3rd of last year, but also some outrage over a report that wall street executives were going to get record bonuses just a year after the economic collapse. we're going to hear from two men with an awful lot to say about all of this, msnbc's dylan ratigan and filmmaker michael moore, coming up in a few minutes. meredith? also ahead, a 3-year-old with an extremely rare genetic condition. his muscles are literally turning into bone. we're going to meet him and his family, and that is also coming up, matt. all right, let us begin with the dow back above 10,000 and the controversial return of big wall street bonuses. cnbc's trish regan is at the new york stock exchange. trish, good morning to you. >> good morning, tt. you know, there was a whole lot of optimism, a lot of excitement on the floor as traders rang in that dow 10,000. again, you can see this hat i was handed, "dow 10,000 2.0." basically, a lot of optimism ere. and yet, at the same time, people are getting paid a lot of money, and that's calling into question a l of things, because this economy is clearly still suffering. as traders cheer return to dow 10,000, good times are making a return on wall street. the bonuses are back. >> wall street's back to its old ways, paying huge bonuses. >> reporter: this as main street continues to feel the pain of the longest recession since the 1930s. more than 15 million americans are out of work and the unemployment rate, now 9.8%, continues to climb. >> it's wholly unfair. while millions of americans face unemployment and declining wages, wall street is paying itself record bonuses. >> reporter: according to the "wall street journal," $140 billion worth of bank bonuses. that's more bonus money than was paid out in the heyday of 2007. >> it looks like we're still paying people exactly the same way for doing exactly the same things as we did before the crisis. >> reporter: goldman sachs is estimated to pay its employees up to $20 billion this year. citigroup on target for $22 billion. and bank of america's on track to pay roughly $30 billion. critics say there's something inherently wrong with banks paying employees so much money when, after all, it was american taxpayers that bailed out the financial system just one year ago. >> how much more in lavish bonuses will the american taxpayers be required to foot? >> reporter: president obama is critical of the bonuses, but wall street's backers say it's the bankers that make the money. case in point -- andrew hall, star trader for citigroup and owner of this 1,000-year-old castle in germany, where he houses his art collection. hall's contract called for a $100 million bonus. because of the bonus controversy, citi was reportedly pressured to sell its stake in hall's division of the bank. citi sold it this week for $250 million, a fraction of the $2 billion hall brought in over the last five years. >> wall street bankers are alys going to make a lot of money. the question is, are they taking risks, unnecessary risks and getting paid a lot of money to take those risks that will cause us to have to bail them out again? >> you know, the administration has been struggling with this. on the one hand, these are the employees that are making money for the banks, and therefore, let's face it, making money for taxpayers. yet, on the other hand, it's a political nightmare, because these sums of money are so incredibly large. so, the question going forward is how can the administration perhaps rein in these bonuses and rein in this excessive risk-taking so we don't see a repeat of that crisis we saw just last year, matt? >> all right, trish regan on wall street this morning. trish, thank you very much. dylan ratigan is a financial journalist and host of msnbc's "morning meeting." michael moore is a documentary filmmaker, whose latest film "capitalism: a love story" is in theaters now. guys, good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> dylan, let me start with you. there are going to be a lot of confused people out here. the dow is over 10,000 again. the bonuses are back. but on main street you've got money still tight, spending is tough, people can't get mortgages, unemployment's still a problem. is it just the reality now that wall street and main street are completely disconnected? >> largely, they are. unfortunately, the government has changed the rules on behalf of wall street to allow them access to trillions of our dollars, as we have discussed and as michael moore has documented. when you have access to trillions of dollars of taxpayer money wi no strings attached, it's very easy to make a few billion dollars. a billion is only 1/1,000 of a trillion, and because our government is allowing the indulgence of the risk-taking of the trillions of our own money, not only is it allowing wall street to make the billions, but it also is depriving the rest of our economy the use of those funds, which is why you see the heart-wrenching antidotes that michael moore is so good at portraying. there's a direct connection between those who you see suffering in films that michael documents and the advocacy of duty to our government to allow all the taxpayer money we all work so hard to create to be the play thing, the gambling toy of the financial industry as opposed to forcing the financial industry to get back to the business of being investors and becoming, you know, the next warren buffett, putting money into the economy as well as taking it out. >> michael, let me make sure people understand this. "wall street journal" report says that the wall street firms are going to pay out about $140 billion in bonuses this year. the year before the economic meltdown, 2007, they paid out about $130 billion. so, it's gone up. how's this news going to go over with people like the ones in your home state, michigan, that just found out unemployment's at 15.3% in that state? >> well, eventually, people aren't going to take it. and i don't know how many gated communities these people who are taking this $140 billion in bonuses -- i don't how many castles with motes around them they can build, but i'll tell you something, there's an anger that's building out there. and i mean, i mean, matt, these people, they burned down our economy, they completely crashed it, and now they're getting rewarded for it. it'd be like if i burned down your house today and then tomorrow you send me a check for it thanking me. i mean, it's absolutely insane that we allow this to happen. but not surprising, because that's our capitalist system. they can get away with it because it's legal. >> well, let me -- >> they can get away with it because they can make whatever they want to make, take whatever they want to. it's never enough. >> let me play devil's advocate. this is for both of you. michael, plate start with you. what about the ax yum that in your business, you pay your people more to keep them so they can make you money. and what about the point that this isimply rewarding the people who are making the most money for these institutions? >> okay, let's see. let's pay the best people, vis-a-vis, these people who helped to wreck and ruin our economy. let's pay them for what they did. i mean, this is absolutely crazy logic. there are 14,000 people every day that lose their health insurance. as you said in your report, there's 15 million people out of work. there's a person -- there's a home that's foreclosed in this country once every 7 1/2 seconds. now, sooner or later, people are going to say, that's it, that's enough. my hope is that when the congressional switchboard opens in about an hour that everybody watching this just calls their member of congress and say that they've had it, that they want this stopped. this is -- i mean, you said that bank of america's going to hand out $30 billion in bonuses? do you know how much t.a.r.p. money, our bailout money they got? $30 billion. that's our money. i mean, this -- >> dylan? >> we deserve everything we get. >> capitalism in its best form, the government strictly enforces rules of investment, matt, on the financial side, so that the only way an investor can make money is by trying to be the next great venture capitalist, the next great warren buffett and picking winners among our best and bright dwroest support innovators. so, you have innovators here, investors here, then workers that support both of those communities. what wall street's done is they've taken the language of innovation and wrapped it around the business of investment and changed the government rules, so what they're innovating is a way to take money out as opposed to a way to put money in. so, when you say pay your best people, you have to be clear as to what you're paying your best people to do. to what you're paying your best people to do. and if you areky/ people to extract as much money as possible from the economy, yes, they are creating that value, if you want to call it that. >> right. >> but they're creating it at the expense of the totality of the system, which is why you see that. in an ideal world, you, me and mr. moore here are competing to invest money to be the next warren buffett -- >> no. >> with kids from colleges across this country with ideas, as opposed to coming up with schemes where we change the rules and basically -- >> michael, 30 seconds left. take the last 30 seconds, please. >> we're a year after the crash and not one single regulation has been passed, not one. there's a bill right now before the financial services committee in the senate to have a consumer protection agency. the banking industry has fought this. do you know they've poured over $200 millionn lobbying fees just this year alone t stop any single rule from being put on them. they are out of control. they will not stop unles they're reined in. but as long as you've got an economic system that encourages this kind of greed, that legalizes the greed, then you're going to see not only this, you're going to see other things happening in the future. and you know what? if goldman sachs is so poor, you know, maybe people should just -- maybe everybody watching should just take a few pennies and drop them in an envelope and send them to them at 85 broad street, new york, new york, today, if they're really hurting that bad. >> i'll make that the last word. michael, thank you very much. dylan, thank you as well. good talking to both of you. let's head to the news desk right now. ann curry has the top headlines of the morning. ann, good morning to you. >> i do. good morning, matt. good morning, everybody. we begin with tough talk from pakistan, now vowing to defeat the terrorists behind four coordinated attackstoday. gunmen stormed a police training facility as well as other security sites in lahore. a bomber also struck a police station in northwest pakistan, and at least 37 people were killed in all this violence. a major move by president obama on behalf of senior citizens struggling in this economy on fixed incomes. he's asking congress to approve $250 payments to more than 50 million seniors, because without inflation, their social security cost of living increases will not happen next year. the white house puts the cost of the payments at $13 billion. today the president goes to new orleans to check on the recovery effort four years after hurricane katrina, and nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd now joins us with more on this. chuck, what is the president hoping to accomplish there? >> reporter: well, good morning, ann. well, the president on one hand is hoping to bring attentiono what he believes his administration has done since day one since he got in. this is actually his first visit to new orleans since february of 2008, before he was even the nominee of his party, let alone his first visit to the region as president. he'll be there less than four hours. some people down in new orleans wish he were staying longer, but that critism has died down a little bit. he'll be doing two things. he's holding a town hall meeting, and bipartisan leaders will be there, including the republican governor, bobby jindal, and he'll also be touring a charter school in the 9th ward, ann. >> chuck todd this morning, chuck, thanks for your report. japanese police say they released an american man more than two weeks after arresting him in a custody dispute that's made international headlines. christopher savoie was arrested last month for laenge taking his two children from his ex-wife, who ran off with them to japan from the united states. well, prosecutors say they have decided savoie was not a flight risk. people in parts of california are digging out and drying out in the wake of this week's heavy rain. a mudslide in central california buried cars up to their windows, and the roof of a store collapsed under the weight of the torrential rain. and an ohio woman is under arrest accused of a hoax that caused a near riot. police say the woman rented a stretch limo and then showed up at a coat store claiming that she had won the lottery and telling customers inside that she would pay for their purchases. well, later, hundreds of angry customers started looting and throwing merchandise when they realized it was all a hoax. it is now 7:14. let's go back to meredith and al. just when you think you've heard everything. >> wow. >> that's just nuts! >> that is just weird. totally weird. >> man. >> hmm. >> let's go over to dean & deluca. >> yeah. rain in california a few days. now we're facing it here. >> yes. that's right, we're looking at a big nor'easter. in fact, double-barrel lows coming in for the northeast, mid-atlantic states. you can see we've got a lot of rain working its way toward us, coming out of parts of the upper ohio river valley. that wet weather's going to get in here later in the day. then this nor'easter develops along the coast. that brings up strong winds, wind gusts of 45 miles per hour, heavy, wet snow develops. in fact, the heaviest snow back through pennsylvania on into parts of new york, we're talking about some areas picking up six to nine inches of snow ins ç#ç## here, we've got the rain. it's raining across virginia, maryland and the district of columbia, where you see the blues and greens on radar. light to moderate rain falling. temperatures are chilly, in the low and mid 40s. near the bay, 50, 46,  washington. as the day progresses, winds will increase gusting to 25 miles an hour. we will stay in the 40s throughout the day. passing moderate showers this afternoon. could pick up an inch today. more rain possible friday, >> that's your latest weather. meredith? >> al, thank you. now to a shocking story out of florida, a 15-year-old boy in the fight for his life, after police say a group of teenagers intentionally set him on fire. we're going to talk with that boy's mom in just a moment, but first, nbc's kerry sanders has the details. >> reporter: 15-year-old michael brewer barely alive, say paramedi paramedics, was flown to the spital, burns over 80% of his body. investigators say the florida teenager was targeted by five classmates who allegedly doused him with rubbing alcohol and then lit him on fire. >> one minute i saw my brother perfectly fine telling me he was going to go meet his friends, and the next minute getting a phone call knowing that my brother could be scarred for life. >> reporter: the suspects, one as young as 13 years old, the others 15, face various charges, including attempted murder and aggravated battery. detectives believe brewer was attacked after he called police saying one of the suspects tried to steal his father's bike. the teens allegedly retaliated, calling brewer a snitch and then set him on fire. >> it's just horrible that these kids would do this to our victim, and the victim's going to carry lifelong scars, you know, if he survives. it's just a horrible, horrible case. >> reporter: all five suspects are now in juvenile detention. it will be up to the state attorney's office to determine if they will face charges in adult court. that's not uncommon in florida. in this county, a 7-year-old was once charged as an adult. attorney valerie small-williams represented that child and now represents one of the suspects in this case. >> i was a couy school teacher, so this hits home as a parent, as a teacher and just a member of this community. this case is a tragedy. >> reporter: you're going to plea what? >> not guilty. >> reporter: michael brewer, described by his mother as outgoing, friendly and fun-loving, is now fighting for his life. for "today," kerry sanders, nbc news, fort lauderdale. >> michael brewer's mother, valerie, is with us along with his doctor, nicholas nemias. they're at jacksonville hospital in ami. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> valerie, if i could start with you, how is your son michael doing this morning? >> i'm sure he's doing fine. i haven't had an opportunity to see him yet this morning, but i know he's in very good hands and they're taking very good care of my son. >> is he able to speak with you at all? >> not so much speak. he's incubated, but he does once in a while sit up in bed and point to the tubes to his throat and mouthing "take them out." he makes motions with his hands that he wants a drink of water. he's very strong, and i know he's going to pull through this. it's going to be a long struggle, but he's going to make it through this. >> how are you dealing with all of this as a mom? this has to be a nightmare for you. >> it's a complete nightmare. however, i do have a wonderful support system, my family and my friends and the prayers from everybody around the world, the support system here at the hospital. they make sure that i eat and if i need to take a nap, they make me take a nap, because i won't leave his bedside unless they make me leave. >> dr. nemias, how would you describe michael's condition at this point, and what is he up against in the next few days? >> he's in the condition you'd expect somebody with such a large burn to be in, and that is, things could be going a whole lot worse than they are. yesterday, i was quoted as saying he wasn't out of the woods yet, but they missed the part about where, i honestly don't think we're in the woods yet. we still have to get in the woods before we get to come out the other side. so, it's really a long process. >> so, things could get worse is what you're suggesting, as in infectio possibly, or organ failure? >> all of those things, exactly. >> let me ask you, valerie, the boys that are accused of doing this to your son, from what we understand, they are classmates of his. i find probably the most upsetting thing about this, the fact that they are his age. one is even younger, just 13. do you know these boys? and what would you like to say to them or about them? >> i do know them but i really don't want to discuss it. it's too heart-wrenching. i can't even think about it, but what i would like to say is that this violence has got to stop. people around the world have got to do something. violence, shooting each other in schools or stabbing each other, what they did to my son. we have got to stop this. we need to stop it now. our children are our future. we have got to get a hold of this, please. everybody in this world, please do what you can to work with your neighbors and help our children. we have to do something now to make it stop. >> valerie, the fact that michael didn't go to school on monday, did he express to you any fear he had of any of those boys retaliating against him because one of them had allegedly stolen his dad's -- michael's dad's bike? >> he was petrified to go to school that day. i called the administrators and the resource officer at the school and expressed that michael was terrified and he didn't want to come to school that day. we set up an appointment for the resource officer the next morning for him to go talk to her about a game plan about what he could do in school so he could be safe. and it was too late. >> i want to thank you both for joining us this morning at such a difficult time. valerie, know that our thoughts are with your son michael and with your family, as well. and dr. nemias, thank you for your time as well. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> and matt, we recorded that interview a few moments before 7:00 this morning, and when it was over, valerie broke down on camera and we asked if we could share this image of her with our audience and she said yes. and the reason we wanted to show was so you could see the real impact that this has had on a mom and a family, and there are so many kids who do violent things out in this country right now, mindless things, and maybe this will send a message to them that what they do has serious repercussions, matt, not just for the person they injure, but for their families. >> exactly. two things struck me. one was that valerie was trying so hard to be strong during the interview for her son, and clearly, this is such a painful moment. and also what the doctor said, that we're not even in the woods yet so that we can emerge on the other side. this young man's got a big battle ahead of him, meredith. >> absolutely, and our thoughts and prayers, again, are with michael and his family. we are back in a moment. still ahead from los angeles, an exclusive, live interview with larry birkhead, the father of anna nicole smith's now 3-year-old daughter. good morning. it's 7:26 this thursday, october 15th, 2009. two teenagers are expected in court after being charged with the murder of a montgomery county man. he was found death on a path outside bellsville elementary in potomac back in may. an 18 and a 15-year-old are being charged as adults. tomorrow, metro is expanding cell phone service at 20 of its busiest stations, verizon, sprint, nextel and t-mobile customers will get to chat away. it is part of the funding deal th congress that requires all 47 underground stations to have cell phone service next year. good morning. the blue and green on radar is rain moving to the east and continuing to intensify a bit. we will have the winds intensifying as we get into the afternoon with more rain likely and perhaps more friday into the weekend. how is the traffic, jerry? a good idea for folks to get an early start. 66, heavy and steady. that's pretty much the story on most of the interstates this morning. barbara? tonight 7:30 now on a thursday morning. it's the 15th day of october 2009. it is the coldest morning of the fall so far in the northeast. highs today, highs today in the mid-40s, and that has our plaza crowd bundled up, as you can see, but in a goodmood, all considering. i'm matt lauer, where it's a little warmer in los angeles. meredith vieira is back in studio 1a. meredith, good morning again to you. >> yeah, hey, matt, good morning to you. coming up, a big case out in los angeles surrounding the death of anna nicole smith. >> that is right. she died from an accidental drug overdose. that was back in february of 2007. a preliminary hearing is now under way to decide if three people who were close to anna nicole should stand trial. we're talking about her former attorney and two doctors. larry birkhead, the father of anna nicole smith's daughter dannielynn is set to testify in that hearing as early as today. he's going to join us for an exclusive, live interview in a couple of minutes. meredith? all right, matt, also ahead, a little boy you will never forget. his name is josh. he suffers from one of the rarest conditions in the world that is turning his body's muscle and tissue into bone. but despite it all, he has an incredible spirit. there he is. and we'll talk to josh and his family in just a moment. and later, why it just might be a woman's world these days. josh was a little confused by that one, matt. >> yeah, all right. he is cute. but let's begin with that preliminary hearing here in los angeles. it will determine ifhere is enough evidence to prosecute anna nicole smith's longtime companion, howard k. stern, and two of her doctors. nbc's michelle kosinski has the latest on this. michelle, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. you have doctors accused of over-prescribing. howard k. stern may be the only person ever charged here as an enabler. their defense wants to show in anna nicole smith had a legitimate need for these medications, a very high tolerance, and that they were just trying to help her. >> howard, are you 100% not guilty? >> reporter: it is a grim reunion. anna nicole smith's doctors and howard k. stern. he looks thin. his attorney says he lives with his parents, has not been able to move on since anna's death. in court, he listens attentively to the details of her last days, that she was so sick from flu and a raging infection, she couldn't sit up, had been drinking pedialite from a baby bottle. her hotel called a doctor, but according to testimony, stern canceled them, not wanting the publicity. instead, her psychiatrist treated her. >> the circumstances under which the treatment was given was not necessarily ideal, but there was no one else to help and dr. ross vich did the best she could. >> reporter: she's the one that prescribed the unusual sleep medication in which toxicologists found a lethal amount in anna's body, but he agreed her infection could have affected her reaction. >> she suffered from seizures and she had medical problems. >> repter: that is what the defense wants to emphasize, also that ann suffered from chronic pain in her back, they say, from her breast implants and a brain abnormality that caused seizures. they say those around her were trying to help, especially after r son died. and stern's attorney says anna lost her will to live. was there never a time that he saidman, she's taking a lot of drugs? >> he wasn't in the position of telling the doctor, aren't you wrong in what you're doing? the doctor was explaining why the regimen of prescribed drugs was being done. >> reporter: but many of anna's prescriptions were in stern's name. her bodyguard said stern would crush veil yum and inject her. but they also say anna would beg for drugs and would take gulps straight from the bottle. does howard feel like he was an enabler in the situation? >> it wasn't the choice of being an enabler or not being an enabler. you either did what he thought was best for anna or you left her, and he wasn't going to leave her. >> reporter: during this probable cause hearing, at one point the judge said, look, whose fault is it, really, if you keep wanting more pills and then you finally take too many of them? but the prosecutors say anna nicole was prescribed huge amounts, some even when she was pregnant, and they equated that as giving a loaded gun to someone who is suicidal and saying, be careful, don't pull the trigger. matt? >> all right, michelle, thank you very much. larry birkhead is the father of anna nicole smith's 3-year-old daughter, dannielynn, and he is with us now exclusively. larry, it's good to see you, good morning. >> good morning. >> so, you know what's going on in this preliminary hearing. they're trying to decide if there is enough evidence to charge howard k. stern and these two doctors with procuring prescription drugs for anna nicole smith. based on your being around that, you know, the days and weeks and months prior to her death, what light can you shed on tha if you testify? >> well, i think, you know, i think what i could testify to is the timeline before she died and what was going on in people's heads and what they were, you know, the interactions and things like that, i guess the coming and going of different people around her and trying to establish a timeline. >> you were aware that she was taking an awful lot of prescription drugs. and i'm just curious -- and you did live there. you lived with her for 2 1/2 years. was there nothing you could do to stop it? >> well, i mean, there's several times and attempts that i made and conversations, but the thing is, and what's so odd about the situation is when you said something to anna, it was always -- she referenced you back to the bottles with the doctor's name on it. so, then you'd have some comfort that, basically, a doctor's prescribing this, and there was someone, you know, they're supposed to have the right mind of being in charge of this. >> did you ever talk to the doctors, these two in particular, and howard k. stern about this? did you ever say, wait a second, folks, you know, i don't know where these drugs are coming from, but there are too many of them? >> well, i had conversations with anna and howard. beyond that, i don't want to go into what i might testify, but ther was definitely conversations which actually led to part of the reason why that anna and i split up eventually was because of some of the tension surrounding the medications during the pregnancy. >> if we look at a list of some of the drugs that were found in her system and in her home after the death, i mean, it's an extensive list. were there legitimate illnesses for which she was being treated that would require some of these drugs? >> well, that's the thing that most people don't understand. you hear anna nicole and drugs and things like that, and you know, she always said these are prescription drugs and these are, you know, there was a large amount. but she had these legitimate reasons. she had swelling of her hands. she had seizures. she had pains from previous breast surgery. she ha where she couldn't sleep at night, you know, tension and stress. so, there was a combination of things that these medicines were actually given for. >> you said when you talked to her about this, she'd point to the doctors and say, look, these came from a doctor. what was her mental state in the final weeks and months? coulyou talk to her and carry on a rational discussion about things like this, or by that period of time, had the drugs so taken hold that, perhaps she was living in a warped sense of reality? >> well, our relationship ended a few months prior to her giving birth to our daughter, but ading up to that, you know, she was very happy and excited about being a mom again. and you know, i had conversations with her, even though publicly about the paternity, up until the time that she died, and she really was heartbroken aut her son. i really think that was an additional cause to what she was dealing with. there was no way for her to rebound from losing her son. >> it's been a long time since we've had a chance to talk, and dannielynn was 7 months old at the time of anna nicole's death. she is now 3 years old. how is she doing? >> she's doingreat. you know, she's healthy, she's happy. she's doing all the things kids do and just having a great time. and you know, all this craziness -- and i'm proud to say she's none the wiser and -- >> what does she know about her mom? what have you told her? >> she's very aware of her mom. she can point to her mom in pictures, see her on television and point her out. i'm always, in bedtime stories, i kind of implement stories that are appropriate for her and not just about her mom, but we have to remember, also, daniel, anna's son that died. and it's a lot i have to tell her down the road, but nothing that i can really tell her today. >> i hear she's got quite the permit. she started, according to you, really to look like anna nicole in the last year or so and loves to pose for pictures. we're looking at some of the pictures right now. is there still -- is there an ongoing custody issue here? virgie arthur, anna nicole's mom, had wanted custody of dannielynn. is that still continuing? >> well, there's an open case in the bahamas that's kind of laying dormant that hasn't been dismissed for whatever reason. but at this point, you know, virgie's not in dannielynn's life and hasn't seen her. >> and howard k. stern, one of the men who's going through this hearing now to decide if he had some wrongdoing or some role in anna nicole's death. he at one point claimed he was the father of dannielynn, which i'm sure makes it an interesting relationship between the two of you. does he have any contact with dannielynn? >> he doesn't, actually. and believe it or not, he's actually become friendly and we work together on anna's estate, and at one time her funeral and all those particulars, you know, and going, and we decided, i guess -- once the paternity issue was resolved, and you know, we moved forward with that, we were trying to do what was best for dannielynn and moving it forward for her and not the squabbles that were going on. >> so, is it strange for you to watch this hearing unfold and be a part of it perhaps later today? >> it's little strange, because when you have a daughter and you're trying to show her some things and you're trying to move on yourself as a father and a family, to kind of hear these things over and over. and you know, so, that could be difficult. >> all right, larry birkhead. larry, it's good to see you here. as i mentioned, you're set to testify as early as today in this hearing. i appreciate you coming in this morning. >> thank you. let's get a check of the weather now from al roker back in new york. >> all right, thanks a lot, matt. and we've got not only a messy day coming up here in the northeast, we've got chilly weather in the northeast as well. current temperatures well below freezing up in caribou, watertown, buffalo at 34, albany 31. and these are the departures from normal. 12 degrees below normal, 15 degrees below normal for highs in buffalo with a high of 43. 46 in new york city. rest of the country's highs -- while we are looking at chilly conditions again around much of the northeast and greatlakes, but it isit is ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç## here is the story of thursday morning. it's wet and chilly and rather foggy. that's a live picture from our city camera. washington is somewhere in the distance. looking at the radar, all this area of blue and green is light to moderate rain that continues moving from the west to the east and will be with us here for the next few hours. it's a chilly morning to the low and mid 40s now. we will stay in the 40s throughout the rest of the day with passing >> that's your latest weather. to keep track of your weather all day long, tune it into the weather channel on cable or click on weather.com online. meredith? >> al, thank you. and still ahead, we're going to chat with "30 rock's" tina fey. but first, tse messages. back at 7:44 with a 9-year-old who is something of a sports phenom. we're going to talk with andy bender in a moment, but first, nbc's kevin tibbles shows us how adam is inspiring people all around the world. >> reporter: with every swing of the bat, adam bender takes another step towards showing the world he's a player. is there ever a time where you say to yourself, geez, maybe i'm not going to be able to do that? >> no. >> reporter: never? >> no. >> reporter: when this determined 9-year-old from lexington, kentucky, isn't heading for home plate, you might find him grappling with a wrestling opponent. he says wrestling is his favorite sport. or he'll be tearing it up playing soccer, where he's held in the highest regard by teammates. >> he's really good on the soccer field, and he can really trap the ball. >> reporter: he's not given any slack by them or their coaches. >> reporter: of course, that's how older brother steven feels, as the pair rough-house in true tide commercial fashion between games. hey, they're brothers. >> he's good, but i'm better. >> witnee don't want his friend have the perception that he needs to be treated differently or managed differently or interacted differently. we want him to be part of the crowd. >> reporter: adam's left leg was amputated four days after his first birthday when what he diagnosed with cancer, and he decided early on to do everything that kids with two legs do. a prosthetic leg, he says, would only slow him down. so, you make up stories to tell people where your other leg went? >> yes. well, the first one i made up, i said i was surfing and then a nine-foot bull shark hit me. >> reporter: while he can run for the long bomb, he is often throwing them in a game of touch football, while someone much older makes a lucky catch. >> everything he does he does to 110%. he's an amazing little guy. >> reporter: while he may be an inspiration and his sporting exploits have become a youtube sensation, adam bender is something else, something special. he is a regular kid. for "today," kevin tibbles, nbc news, lexington, kentucky. >> and adam is here with his parents, michelle and chris, his big brother steven a his sister morgan. good morning to everyone. >> good morning, meredith. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> adam, i want to start with you. first of all, you're a phenomenal athlete. you're great at every sport that you undertake. but i know when you were a little guy, you wanted to play t-ball, and at the time, a coach told your parents that he thought you'd be better off playing in a league with disabilities, but you didn't like that idea. why not? why did you want to play on a team with so-called regular kids? >> well, i wasn't there. she was the only one there. i was like somewhere else. >> what adam told us is that he didn't - in his little, you know, wisdom, was that he didn't think it would be fair if a child in a wheelchair had to catch him running on crutches because he was too fast and he could hit the ball too far and they wouldn't be able to catch it. so, he wanted to play where it was fair, that the people would have a chance to get him out, too, is what he told us. >> and i know, chris, at the time -- because adam started expressing interest in sports at just 3 -- you were worried. both of you as parents were worried that if he hurt his good leg, his only leg, he could end up in a wheelchair. so, how did you overcome that fear, or have you totally overcome that fear? >> we haven't totally overcome the fear, but it's something you just have to let go of. it's something that, like every other kid, he's got one childhood, and we have to let him -- we have to give him enough rope that he can go and explore and figure out what he can and can't do in life. and so, it was a matter of us just needing to put our fear second to his developmental needs. >> and michelle, you wanted him to wear a prosthetic leg for a while, and finally, you decided that's probably not the best thing for adam. what made you come to that decision? rg'quju me, not for him. doing when i was trying to present to the world him as a normal child, because i thought it would be easier for him if everyone thought he was normal, no one questioned why he had one leg and he would look like everyone else. i thought it would be easier on him, but it was making it harder on him because everything was harder with the prosthetic leg. and when i realized that was the day he just blossomed. >> steven, i know as a big brother, you've gotten adam involved in a lot of sports, and yore tough on him, aren't you? yeah. who's the better athlete? >> um -- >> be honest. >> me. >> but i bet he's catching up. adam, just quickly, i know that you love wrestling as well now, baseball, football. any sport you haven't tackled yet that you want to take on? >> no. >> no, okay. >> he's got them all. >> well, thanks for being here. >> thank you. >> i know you're trying to educate other people so that kids in adam's position are seen as regular kids. >> yes, exactly. >> which is important. thank you. >> thank you, meredith. just ahead, tin fey with a sneak peek at tonight's season premiere of "30 rock." hey, meredith, still ahead, i'm going to take a lap or two on jay leno's personal racetrack here in los angeles. >> have you practiced this yet? >> no, no, no. this will be my mden voyage. >> oh, my gosh. there are no other cars out there, i hope. >> i hope not. that's right. i'm going to stop for starbucks. what do you want? >> a latte, please. a chilly, wet start to this morning. a live picture at national airport. 47 degrees, the current temperature. good morning. i'm barbara harrison. the time, 7:56. in the news, a squin flu vaccination clinic will be held in prince george's county. the health department will be offering nasal mist and injections from noon until 4:00. these are for pregnant women, young adults, age 18 to 24, infant care providers and adults with chronic health conditions. children will begin to receive their h1n1 nasal mist at their schools. they have denied plans to build a megachurch off i-270. the wes dents near the planned site said the walmart sized church was too big for the rural area. last night, they agreed with residents, the planning committee, and i'm a buyer for tj maxx. i'm a shopper at heart. we're dealing hands on with the designers. after that, it goes straight to our customers. i get the best deal, so they get the best savings. our customers go from fashionistas... toaxxinistas! tj maxx. good morning. air yeas of steady rain moving west to east into washington and much of maryland. continuing throughout the day. now, 48 in washington. we will stay in the 40s throughout the rest of the afternoon. could get winds gusting to 2 miles an hour later on today. how is the traffic? south capital street jammed at the douglas bridge. a lot of folks using that alternate because of the accident at the inbound 11th street bridge. tonight on 8:00 now on this thursday morning, october 15th, 2009. a cold fall morning in manhattan, but that did not stop these fine folks from starting their morning with us on rockefeller plaza. i'm meredith vieira along with al roker. matt lauer is in warmer los angeles. hey, matt. >> hey. i don't want to rub it in, guys. today's high expected here, oh, about 78 degrees and sunshine, short-sleeved weather. how's that sound? >> yeah, well -- >> you do want to rub it in, first of all. >> but you're going to spoil much faster than i. >> thas right. >> that's true. i'll rot in the sun. by the way, i'm out here for an appearance on "the jay leno show," immediately following the hit show "30 rock it's won the emmy for outstanding comedy series three years in a row. meredith, i know coming up, you're going to chat with the one and only tina fey. >> there she is. i'm looking forward to that. also ahead, matt, an incredible little boy who suffers from a rare disabling condition that is turning his body's muscle into bone. we're going to talk to josh and his family in a moment. and then a little bit later on, we're going to be telling you about simple home repairs that you spend a little now will save you big later on. okay, but first, we want to tell you that starting next week, nbc is taking an in-depth look at the state of women in america in a special series called "a woman's nation." this morning, we are previewing that series with the results of the survey conducted by the rockefeller foundation in collaboration with "time" magazine. ♪ she works hard for the money ♪ >> reporter: for the first time in our nation's history, women are nearly half of all u.s. workers, and 76% of americans view that as a positive for society. 40% of women say they are the primary bread-winner in their household, and 70% of women agree that compared to their mothers, they are less dependent on their spouse for financial security. in terms of the home, 77% of people surveyed believe that when both partners have jobs, women take on more of the household responsibilities than men. and when it comes to the rules on relationships, work and family, 84% agree that husbands and wives are negotiating now more than ever. and guys, the first lady of california and our former colleague maria shriver will serve as a guest editor for "a woman's nation" across all nbc platforms, with us on the "today" show on monday. for more information and web extras that include candid conversations between the women at nbc news, go to our website, todayshow.com. and ann and i actually shot one of those conversations. >> we'll have to get on the web and find out what you actually sa about it. >> exactly. >> and it's going to be fun. those are important topics and it will be fun to have maria with us in new york next week. i was e-mailing her back and forth yesterday -- actually, she was texting me on her brand new hands-free device. so, she's excited for coming to new york as well. >> yeah. it will be great to have her here. meanwhile, we'll go inside to ann curry, who's still standing by at the news desk. >> hey, thanks a lot, meredith. good morning once again, everybody. we begin with five coordinated attacks this morning in pakistan that has the government there vowing to defe the terrorists. a large explosion happene near a school in peshawar. taliban extremists also stormed a police training facility in lahore and set off a car bomb outside a police station. at least 39 people have been killed in all the violence in pakistan today. markets in asia are mainly higher this morning. japan's nikkei jumped nearly 2% today and stocks in hong kong and south korea also made gains. this after the dow closed above 10,000 wednesday for the first time in a year. oil prices jumped to a one-year high today, trading above $75 a barrel this morning. meantime, gas prices are down 7 cents from a month ago, averaging $2.49 a gallon for regular, according to aaa. home foreclosures are up again, rising more than 5% from july to september. the foreclosures are blamed on the high unemployment rate and experts predict the number of foreclosures to hit 3.5 million by the end of this year. test results of the swine flu vaccine suggest that children under the age of 10 will likely need two shots to be fully protected, according to the maker of the vaccine. shots of h1n1 vaccine are now beginning to arrive at hospitals and doctors offices around the united states with more shots expected in the coming weeks. and that's a good reminder today, with the flu season upon us, that today is global hand-washing day. it was established last year by the unitedations to remind people, especially children, to wash their hands with soap and water and to use hand sanitizer to prevent the spread of illness. so, there. it is now 8:04. let's go outside for a check of the weather with al. >> announcer: "today's woman's nation" is brought to you by chevy. and good morning, everybody. we've got folks here talking about making strides against breast cancer. so, what's the event? >> it's making strides against breast cancer. it's in central park on sunday. it's all about raising awareness about breast cancer. >> that's great. we wish we had better weather for you because it's going to be raining, but -- >> no, it's not. >> people should still come out. >> it's not going to rain. >> no, it's not going to rain. anyway, let's take a look at what's going on as far as your weather's concerned. local 4, nbc 4, detroit, michigan, showers, cold, 44 degrees. ee, yikes! saturday, looking ahead to the weekend, second nor'easter comes up, bringing a lot of rain in the pacific northwest. everywhere else, looking pretty nice, especially warm through texas. then sunday, sunday! look at more rain in new england, wet weather in the pacific northwest, plenty of sunshine throughout the south, hot in the southwest and mild down through florida. and we've got all these lovely ladiesladiess ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç# a steady, driving rain here in washington where you see the color on radar and the green that's coming down harder to the east of the beltway in prince george's county and in scattered areas to the south and southern maryland and the western part of the north. moderate to heavy rain in frederick county, maryland. chilly in the 40s. all around the region. 48, washington. highs today in the 40s. remaining in the 40s with >> and that's your latest weather. meredith? >> al, thank you very much. how much do you love tina fey? do you love her? >> i love her! >> love you, teena. in a moment we're going to speak with tina, but first, this is "today" on nbc. i can return it. of course, now on top of chevy's 5-year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty, they're offering their 60-day satisfaction guarantee. now, when i buy a new chevy i can return it within 60 days if i'm not thrilled. 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"30 rock," nbc's three-time emmy-winning comedy, returns tonight for its fourth season. the show takes place behind the scenes of the fictional show "tgs," and in the season premier, tina fey's character, liz lemon, has just been told to find a new cast member. take a look. >> another actor? why? they have so many feelings and opinions. all right, fine. i'll make reservations for us at some stand-up clubs, but don't tell anyone. >> are you kidding me? remember when jenna thought that blond intern wanted to be an actress? >> i'm studying acting and singing, and some day i'm going to be just like you. ahhh! >> i never did find her earlobe. >> no one can know about this. >> know about what? >> pete's stealing money -- >> liz's uterus fell out. >> oh. i think i already knew that. >> i didn't know that. tina fey is "30 rock's" executive producer, head writer and star. good morning to you. >> good morning, meredith. nice to see you. >> nice to see you as well. since we last saw each other, another emmy, best comedy. >> yes. >> now fourth season premiering tonight. how do you handle all the success, especially given the fact that in those four years, so many shows have come and gone? >> yeah, we feel really lucky. we feel like we're in the movie final destination and we've somehow cheated death and it's going to come find us. >> do you really feel like that? >> i don't know how we survived. it's a tough landscape for comedy to survive and we're grateful to our friends at nbc. we're lucky to be on the air. >> a lot of people think you survived because the writing on the show is terrific, not to toot your own horn here, but there are a lot of writers involved. >> we have a lot of great writing staff, robert is running the staff and they work very hard. i think they worked -- they might be working still from last night, so hi, guys. >> h do they come up with ideas for the show? >> we work as a group. a lot of stuff comes from our experiences, our actors, people like tracy morgan, certainly his life is very interesting, and we take things from his life sometimes. and sometimes, you know, we take stuff from kind of what's going on in the world, a lot of what's in the beginning of this first season is about the state of the economy and how that's affecting alec baldwin's character. >> you know, i have a little bone to pick with you about this -- >> who doesn't? >> -- this season. i know, i'm among probably many others. i understand the whole premise here is you have to find a new cast member of the show. >> yes. within the show, we're looking for a new cast member for the show within a show. >> and i hear that brian williams who works here at the network, a co-worker here, has been invited to come on the show as a guest. >> yes. brian williams -- >> guest star. >> -- does play himself as someone who wants to audition for the show, because brian loves comedy. i see where you're going with this. >> do you understand where i'm going with this? because i, too, and matt -- don't worry about matt, forget about matt -- i too love comedy and i have a strong relationship with your cast, as you may or may not know, especially with tracy. >> yeah, it's almost inappropriate. >> oh, i don't think it's inappropriate. i would do more than that, if that's what it took. what is the likelihood -- >> these guys -- >> first of all, he started that, if you look carefully. >> really? >> but my point is, do i have a chance or did i blow it? >> do you do any impressions? >> i impersonate a host every morning here at "today." >> you guys are very generous with us. we shoot over here a lot, and we come -- and one time we came and you made out with tracy, matt lauer and jane were going at it. >> exactly. >> what do i get? nothing! >> what do you want? do you want jim bell? >> i think if i had to pick, i'd take mr. roker? >> if he's around -- >> a fling with ann? i don't know. >> i don't think ann would do that. that's a little risque. >> why do you think i would necessarily do that? >> you were named ap entertainer of the year in 2008 -- >> yeah. >> in large part because of the sarah palin impression you do so well. >> thank you. >> and you said you do not believe that's the last time you're going to put on that wig. she's got a book coming out in november. >> she's got a book coming out. and i feel if she runs for office again -- you know, i had such a fun time doing it, that i would certainly do it again if she runs for office again or something, or who knows -- here we go. here we go. >> oh, my gosh -- >> i don't even want to watch. oh. >> oh! >> lip gloss gone. >> does that mean he gets the guest spot or i get the guest spot? >> that was the guest spot. >> if you want to watch "30 rock," it premieres tonight. it's at 9:30/8:30 central on nbc. we'll be right back after this. no additives you can't pronounce. no artificial ingredients of any kind. select harvest from campbell's now has twelve soups that are 100% natural. all the farm raised goodness you want, none of the chemical stuff you don't. with ingredients this natural, we want to show the world. select harvest 100% natural soups, from campbell's. according to a study presented by better homes and gardens, definity color recapture. it corrects the look of wrinkles and discoloration. 50,000 voters. one brilliant winner. top safety pick awards than toyota. so it's okay to be overprotective. we are. toyota has won more total quality awards - than any other automaker. - hey, ken. - hey, ken. - hey, kenny. hey, ken. - kenny. - al kenny. and we could all use a little more quality these days. hey guys, sorry we're late. milk looks warm. finally got the whole gang together: maple brown sugar, strawberry delight, blueberry muffin. yeah, a little family reunion. ( blowing, shouting ) what now? we're cereal here! what? just cooling it down. - enough said. - gotcha. yeah, safety first. whoo hoo! watch the whole grain. try kellogg's frosted mini-wheats hot. just add warm milk and you've got a hot, new way... to keep your kids full and focused all morning. oops! dude, your eight layers are showing. mini-wheats hot. keeps 'em full, keeps 'em focused. >> announcer: "today's health" is brought to you by kellogg's frosted mini wheats. this morning on "today's health," a rare and crippling genetic disease that is literally turning one little boy's muscle and tissue into bone. we're going to meet him in just a moment. you might be able to hear him just now. first, chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman has his story. >> ready? i'd gi up anythingo either trade places with him or get a cure. >> reporter: the scoble family is in a race against time. >> eventually, it will take over his entire body and he won't be able to move. >> reporter: their 3-year-old son josh is bating a rare genetic disease known as fop, that turns muscle into bone and people into human statues. >> here they come! >> i got it. >> reporter: josh looked normal at birth but had determined feet and hearing problems, the first signs that something was wrong. >> i kept saying to myself, there's got to be something going on, and no one knew. we had no answers. >> reporter: then, a lump formed on his back. doctors were suspicious and made a fateful decision. >> they had to cut open his entire back to remove the lump, which was the worst thing to do. >> reporter: the lump was benign, but the trauma from the surgery led to mysterious bone growth, leaving josh's back fully fused together and ultimately leading to a diagnosis. >> it was tough. it was real tough. >> reporter: now, almost three years later, the disease is progressing quickly. any bruise, any injury can cause more bone to grow, making a simple hug a tedious task. >> he's getting to the point where it's hard for him to get his arms around our neck to give us a hug. >> reporter: the scobles do their best to protect josh from injury, but loving him means letting him be a kid. >> hi. hi. hi. whoo-hoo! >> as much time as he has left, i want him to enjoy it. i'd rather him look back and say, i had fun, rather than my parents didn't let me do anything. >> reporter: each day spent with josh is seen as a gift. >> slow down. stop! >> reporter: but there are daily reminders. >> this morning he said to me, "mommy, can you take the boo-boo off my neck?" so, you know he's in pain, which makes it really hard. hard to hear. >> is that sore there? does that hurt? >> yeah. >> yeah? >> reporter: painful swelling in josh's neck has his parents worried, prompting a trip to the pediatrician. >> josh is an amazing young man, given all the stuff he's had to go through, most of which is pain that i don't think any of us can probably understand. >> reporter: while there is no known cure, recently, scientists have discovered the gene linked to this condition. >> it's going to take time to develop a very specific and very safe treatment so we can bring to joshua and other children around the world. but in the meantime, education is a critical component. >> reporter: the scobles hold out hope that a cure will come and josh will lead a long, healthy life. >> he's the type of kid that when he smiles, everything's okay. he just makes everybody's life a little better. that's all. >> and josh is here along with his parents, stacy and dave scoble, and there's that smile. and also dr. nancy's joining us also this morning. >> hi, annie. >> good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> you know, watching that tape, there were tears and joy, because he kept looking at himself on tv and saying, oh, oh, and responding to it. it seems that this has been a heart-bending experience. how would you describe it for other parents who may be listening, stacy? >> it's very difficult just to know that some day he might not be able to move completely. he's already slightly -- well, i should say more than slightly, but he has limited mobility with his arms, so it's hard for him to reach his arms up. his entire back is fused. his neck movement. >> and at the same time, you're joyful. when you looked at him, dave, you were smiling at his joy and watching this. i mean, you want him to have -- >> we have a lot of fun. >> he's -- >> look at him. >> he's tired. >> well, i don't blame him. we got him up early. so, this is actually quiet. you're saying normally, he's even more dr. >> oh, yeah. he's usually running around, like a boy. >> yeah. this is a pretty rare genetic disease. there was something like 700 cases known worldwide. >> it's very rare, and that's part the problem, because doctors really don't think about a one in 2 million possibility, and they're being seen with dr. kaplan in pennsylvania, the epicenter of the country. >> but if doctors don't diagnosis quickley, it could cause unnecessary procedures, unnecessary pain. what's the message with this particular disease that doctors need to know? >> as they found out, every little bump, every surgery, every idea that you should need to sort of biopsy something leads to this change in the tissue where it really becomes bone, and the concern is, your body can become frozen with bone. so, at birth, to look at those feet, and i think that foot deformity, while people might think it's something else and innocuous, that's really the first clue. and doing nothing and being sort of a benign approach to things is better than investigating too much. would you agree? >> what is josh saying? >> what? mom, is that you? >> yes, that's me. >> he's seeing himself on tv. >> all these cameras. >> yes. really, the toes, when he was born, the toes, actually, there was a genetic doctor that walked in and walked back outcrying almost, because they realized that it was fop. she knew. >> fop. >> so a lot of education. >> it was just discovered in 2006, and you have really been something, because you guys are trying to raise money for research. you've raised $100,000 by hosting an annual bingo event for josh? >> our sister-in-law started it. >> yes. >> it's amazing. >> my sister. >> it's a very tight-knit community. these families tend to find each other, and because it's such a rare disease, the concern is always, will they get the funding for the research and how will it go forward? so, these parents and patients tend to find each other. it's a very cmitted group, and fortunately, a really great doctor who's helped spear-head this. >> dr. nancy, josh and stacy and dave, thanks to all of you. >> thank you. >> lots of love to your family, dear. oh, my goodness, take a look. this is reagan national airport. you can tell it is very wet outside. you may not be able to tell, it is also chilly. when you step outside, grab the jackets along with the umbrella. this is thursday, october 15th, 2009. we are following a northwest story in northwest washington. they have crews working oen a power outage. right now, 3,300 people are without power. traffic lights are out in the area. if you are driving through northwest d.c. and silver springs, you may see some traffic delays because of the outage. a wet and chilly morning. where you see dark blue and green, it is coming down hard ter in charles county and the western part of the northern neck. this is heading off to the east. other areas of moderate rain in frederick and carol counties west and north. it's chilly all around the region, low to mid 40s. now 48 in washington. we will stay in the 40s the rest of date. winds will increase along with more showers on the way. jerry, how is the traffic? tough going out there. 270 remains slow. the good news is, we haven't had major accidents. keith mentioned the power outage. 16th street, blair road, alaska avenue. right around walter reed. we will show you the wilson bridge. lanes are open. heavy in southeast. an accident at the 11th street bridge. should be cleared. back to you. thank you, jerry. tonight on "news 4 at 5:00," liz crenshaw shares some tricks of the trade for a tasty vegetarian treat. ♪ shut up and drive 8:30 now on a thursday morning. it is the 15th day of october 2009. you're looking at some of the famous faces who have taken part in what's called the green car challenge on "the jay leno show." basically, the deal is this -- you race around a kind of unusual race course in a souped-up electric car dodging things like strmers and rubber balls and little cutouts of famous people, and you see how fast you can do it. and tonight i will get my turn. back on this thursday morning, i'm matt lauer in los angeles at the race course to the green car challenge. meredith, al and ann are back in new york city outside studio 1a. guys, good morning, ain. how do you think i'm going to do tonight? >> you are going to rock that course! >> i think you should have a helmet for your helmet. i think it's going to be dodgy. >> wow. i bet you you're one of the people that pop up on the course. >> no, you'll be good, matt. you look that stuff, right? >> but more importantly -- >> but i'm not -- >> -- going to be there? >> why do you hurt me? no, gerard butler is not going to be here, but i think, justin, gerard butler has the record? gerard butler has the record for the fastest trip two laps around this racetrack. so, that's what i'm going to be trying to beat tonight with the help, by the way -- i get help this afternoon from justin bellis, a professional race car driver, and we'll meet him in just a second, folks. >> but are you on a track so you can't go off it? is the car on its own little track -- >> no, no. >> it's not slot cars! >> it's not lik a slot where you're hooked into it. no, i could easily go off and into the barricades. >> bye, matt, we loved you -- i mean love you. >> wow! >> you're going to have fun. just buckle up. >> i'm with you, pal. >> there you go. also ahead, former president jimmy carter's going to open up about the life-changing project that often brings him to tears. 25 years after he got involved with this organization, he and his wife are still going strong. >> all right. and we're also going to be showing you some very simple fixes you can make in your home right now that are going to save you cash down the line. >> good. >> but first, i'm pretty excited that he shae hasn't left us. "30 rock's" tina fey is hosting the leukemia and light the night walk tonight in new york city. it's a cold night. >> it's going to be cold and rainy, but we're out there. it's the leukemia and lymphoma society's light the night walk. walking across the brooklyn bridge, i think. it's going to be rough, right, al? >> it will be windy. >> go to lightthenight.org. it's a great organization. i just met a beautiful young woman over here who's walking tonight. >> how did you get involved in this? >> a good friend of mine was diagnosed and is now a survivor of lymphoma and in the last couple years, you know, a young woman, a young mother. this disease affects families so much. it's every four minutes someone is diagnosed with either hodgkin's disease or leukemia or lymphoma, and it's just a great organization that's raising money to help find a cure but also to help people who are dealing with the diseases, you know, help them have the best information and stuff during their treatment. >> absolutely. >> so, come on out. there's walks all over the country. it's not just in new york. >> if people want more information, where do they go? >> go to lightthenight.org. >> you're a good friend. you're a very good friend. >> stay dry. >> we'll have fun in the rain. good time. >> we're too busy humiliating ourselves for the ability to get on your show that we forgot to mention. >> come on out. >> and a reminder, "30 rock" is on tonight at 9:30/8:30:30s ç#ç# good morning. we have had a steady rain come right through washington over the last couple of hours. it has now moved off to the east. where you see the green, coming down harder in charles county and st. mary's and central calvert county. it is heading off to the east. getting light sprinkles, a little bit of drizzle around washington and montgomery and fairfax kournty. other areas of moderate rain moving in. temperatures in the 40s. we wil >> that's your latest weather. now let's go on down to washington, d.c., say hello to my willie scott. how are you, sir? >> you're still my favorite. >> yeah! >> i watch the other channels. nobody can touch you. hey, did it sleet up there in new york yesterday? we had freezing sleet. >> no, no, just a lot of rain. >> well, we had sleet right here, the first of the season. happy new year. happy birthday! take a look at our smucker's buddies and you will see them all lined up on the jam jar. you can't find a better group. here is lillian jacobs. we love her. from new york, new york. look at that smile. million-dollar smile. 100. retired principal, avid poetry writer, and she sends poetry to her grandchildren on the computer. good morning. want to do lunch? aims a lonely man. pauline luedtke of good old green bay, wisconsin. 102 years old. lives independently, loves fishing. caught over 8,000 fish in one summer. i'm reading it as it was written, so i take her at her word. raymon thacker, scottsville, virginia, 100 years old. i knew a melvin thacker up in that area. he became mayor of the town. happy birthday to you, sir. and we have good, sweet, beautiful ann osterhoudt, and she's from boonton township, new jersey, 105. head over heels in love with tiger woods and wants his sneakers for her 105th birthday. they probably could walk right to her house. evelyn hight, doylestown. nice town, pennsylvania. 105. volunteers at the red cross when she was just a child. and we do have an extra one? isn't that something. donald gilman, tucson, arizona, is 101. world war ii vet and follows the stock market, and i might add, makes some money. that's it, that's all. and now back to matt in los angeles. >> all right, willard, thank you very much. i think it may be a bit of stereotype, but most guys like to drive fast, and tonight i'm going to get my chance when i take part in the green car challenge on "the jay leno show" on this racetrack right here. the guy who's going to help me go as fast as i can is justin bell, a professional race car driver. justin, nice to see you. >> welcome. >> thank you. how did you get involvewith this? how did you get this gig? >> well, i race professionally and also do quite a lot of tv, and jay knew i was trying to combine them both and saw him at pebble beach concourse, sent him an e-mail. it landed on his desk the same time they were ke, we need someone to do this. so it was good timing. >> you spend time with the celebrities before the green car challenge. what do you try to communicate to them before they jump in the car? let's get in the car, by the way. >> yeah, let's do it. >> what do you tell them? >> first, obviously, they're little apprehensive for the most part when they get here. then they're like, well, how do we -- kind of how do we do it safely, and we kind of take it from there. >> all right. tell me about the car here. >> this is an all-electric ford focus out of europe, and -- >> but has it been souped up for racing? >> it's actually the full electric version from europe, so it's actually better than any car probably in its size in the states. >> what's top speed on a car like this? >> about 85, which when you think, you know, it's zero emissions. i mean, it literally costs pennies per race. >> all right. let's go around the track slowly at first. you can take me through the intricacies of it. >> i like the slowly part. >> so do i. i don't want to throw up my coffee here early this morning. it's not a long track. how long is it? >> it's about 1,400 feet by the time we do it, but they've put it into 40,000 square foot of nbc parking lot. >> right. >> so, they did an amang job. i mean, it's really quite surprising when you see the track. >> right. and i'm not driving, though, i should mention, because i'm going to get one practice session this afternoon and we don't want to give me too much practice before appearing on the show tonight, right? >> yeah. you'll be the first person ever to have had a practice, and jay doesn't want that. so, when we do our proper training session this afternoon, that's when you'll get a chance. >> all right. let's go a little faster this time. whoa. >> okay. now, things will be jumping out at you this afternoon. we have rush limbaugh and ed bagley jr. and ping pong balls and all sorts of crazy things, so -- >> what's your record on this course? >> about 51.9 seconds. >> don't you want to brake? 51.9 -- >> yeah. >> for two laps? >> for two laps. i think our fastest celebrity, which was about 55. >> all right, that's good. >> woo. you're not going to throw up, are you? >> you are a lunatic. have you had -- what was it? >> 24.6. >> 24.6. that was one lap, which would be a record. >> which would be quite good, yeah. >> have you had any near misses here? has anyone ever flipped this thing? >> in practice they get enthusiastic sometimes, but you'll see this afternoon. once the race starts, you'll get the helmet on you and you'll get overexcited and with the stop watch and jay and the competition, you really want to do well. so -- >> does it slow me down a lot if i stop for directions at any point in the course? >> yeah. let's say you should probably go home at that point. >> justin, i'll see you this afternoon. i appreciate. it thanks for the ride. we'll have much more and check out "the jay leno show" tonight at 10:00 in prime time on nbc. when we come back, mh more back at 8:42. since he left the white house in 1981, jimmy carter has been involved in causes great and small. among them, habitat for humanity. his 25-year commitment and the story of habitat is profiled in the new book "if i had a hammer: building homes and hope with habitat for humanity." president carter wrote the foreword. good morning. >> good morning, meredith. nice to see you. >> nice to see you as well. when you left office in 1981, there were so many things you could have done, but you decided to get involved with a little known charity near your hometown. what drew you to habitat? >> well, habitat not only was close to my home, but it was close to my heart. i am a fairly deeply religious person. i was teaching sunday school every sunday and habitat volunteers came over from nearby headquarters to let me know that this is a way to break down the barrier between people that wanted to do good things for other folks but don't know how to go about it and don't even know the other folks. so, habitat is a way for us who have a lot in our own lives in blessings to share those with others in a very exciting and challenging and unpredictable and adventurous andratifying way. so, for 26 years now -- this will be the 26th year -- rose and i have devoted a full week somewhere in the world to building houses alongside the homeowners and also thousands of volunteers. and this year we will be going to the mekong river delta area in laos and cambodia and vietnam and thailand and china. >> yeah, very soon to do that. in the foreword, you write about the times when you have felt exalted. you mention your marriage, winning the election, your children being born, the host e hostages coming home from iran, israeli/egyptian peace accords. and then you add to that, each time you hand over the keys to a new habitat homeowner. why is that such an emotional moment for you? >> well, in every case, these are people that have never had a decent home in their lives, a they never have thought they could have this kind of advancement in the quality of their family's existence. so, they work side by side with us, probably harder than any of the volunteers work. and at the end of the week, they are amazed that in five days they've seen a foundation develop into a complete house, fully furnished and with a lawn planted around shrubbery, curtains and so forth. and when we hand them a bible and the keys to the house, they weep with joy. and i would say that most of the volunteers standing around in the dedication ceremony also, you know, weep with joy and excitement. it's a very emotional thing. >> and i know that you've gone back to revisit some of the neighborhoods where these homes are built. often some of the neighborhoods are disadvantaged. do you see a change take over in these areas because of these homes being built there? >> most often, habitat selects the most dramatically poor areas of a commuty, and that's where we build our homes that kind of become an example of a bright light around which, quite often, many other builders erect better homes. and i think it transforms the lives of the people in the entire community to see what can be done with an empty lot or a dilapidated house becoming a place of excitement and pleasure and pride for the families. and although some of those homes now are 25 years old that my wife and i helped build, i've never seen graffiti on the walls, i've never seen a broken window. i've never seen an unkempt lawn. and so, people are so proud of their own houses that they really set an example for the rest of the neighbors. >> speaking of pride, i want to switch gears for a second here. you won the noble peace prize in 2002. you were one of the first to congratulate president obama with receiving the prize, being selected to receive it this year. he was, you know, very humbled to get that award. he said that he was not really clear on why he got it, but he was grateful for it. what message do you think that the noble committee was trying to send in giving him that honor? >> well, there's no doubt in the last nine months president obama has completely transformed the image of america around the world. he's also promoted peace instead of animosity and hatred. he's opened up avenues of communication, at least in the future, to a half dozen nations at least with whom we had no relationships in the past. he's called for a complete, ultimate abolition of nuclear weapons from the face of the rth. and he's inspired, i think, an element of hope and ambition among people looking toward the united states for leadership that never did exist in the previous eight years or so. i don't think there's any doubt that he's already transformed the relationship of america with the rest of the world, and his agenda now for the future -- he's got three, you know, three and a quarter years still to go -- i think we'll see his fulfillment of many of these ambitious goals that he pronounced. so, in any way, i don'tave any doubt that he was completely qualified to receive the award. i don't know of anyone better qualified than he, and i don't have any doubt that he was surprised to get it so soon. >> all right, president carter. you have been changing lives for 25 years with habitat for humanity. thank you for your time. the book is called "if i had a hammer." next, a u neemgts look at the breath-taking place known as america's castle. now to a place here in california that is a sight to behold, the historic hearst castle estate. it is complete with 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, magnificent swimming pools, each an exotic zoo and gardens. victoria cassner has been its historian for 30 years. she's written the new book "hearst's san simeon: the gardens and the land." it is a beautiful place. why is it so special to you? >> well, it is a remarkable house. it was a private house, but now it belongs to us all. it's a california state park, and in a lot of ways, it's icon jik of 20th-century ideas. it was a media mogul's house. it was hosted by a woman, its owner was a movie star and was memorialized by a film, "citizen kane." >> he mingled with the rich and very powerful. take me back to the heyday, the heyday of hearst castle. if i had been lucky enough to get an invitation to a big party there, who would i have run into it? >> well, it was the '20s and '30s, chaplin, the marx brothers, greta garbo, and winston churchill was a guest, literary figures. >> you mention its hostess was a movie star. in this day of tabloid news and tabloid sensational scandals and stories, william randolph hearst was involved in a doozy in his own right. he was married and yet having an open affair with marian davies. how did that go over? >> well, they were together for three years, but he had been married and his wife was a catholic and they never divorced, and they were permanently separated, but you're right, marian davies was william randolph hearst's companion and hostess and they werepen about it, but it was a scandal at the time. >> julia morgan was the architect. she worked on it for almost 30 years. >> he was the only architect from 1919 to 1947. >> so, i mean, the strange little fact there, victoria, she she started working on hearst castle at a time when women couldn't each vote in this country. >> that's right. women got the vote in 1920, and hearst castle was job 103 for julia morgan. >> she had some career. talk about the elements, interior, exterior, that you find most fascinating. >> the remarkable thing is julia morgan was architect, landscape architect -- >> which is unusual. >> very unusual. and interior designer, and it's a tremendous combination, a blend of the outside and inside. and william randolph hearst was very involved in every aspect. you'd think as a press lord with 29 american newspapers to run, he would have had a lot of other things to think about, but there's not a single part of san simeon that didn't captivate him. >> are you more impressed by what goes on inside or do you like the landscaping and the gardens more? >> well, i think -- you know, i've written two books about it, matt. one is about the inside, called "hearst castle: a biography of a country house," but one is about the outside, and i really think that was the part that meant the most to hearst and julia morgan, the matchless california landscape and creating the gardens of hearst castle. >> it's funny, because i remember going there, and there are some aspects of it that are very -- i'm talking about the landscape architecture -- very, very formal, and some aspects of it that are much more informal. >> it was a tremendous combination of sculpture from the 1920s and '30s and then ancient pieces from rome. and of course, the most magnificent thing is the setting. >> yeah, it really is a stunning place. anybody who gets a chance to go visit it should. and this book is beautiful. it really is. you should be very proud of this. >> well, thank you, and i have a photographer whose name is also victoria, and she did all of the photographs, and they are magnificent. >> well, it's nice to see you. thanks for coming in. >> thank you, matt, my pleasure. >> we appreciate it. we're back in a moment on a thursday morni meredith, still ahead, we're going to talk about some easy home fixes that can save you a bundle of cash. >> sounds good to me. plus, the best mom-approved strollers that are out on the market rightnow. >> that sounds like a good idea, too! chilly and wet on this thursday morning. not expected to get much better. 48 degrees at 8:56 on this thursday, october 15th, good morning. i'm keith garvin. a swine flu vaccination opens this afternoon in prince george's county. the health department will be offering nasal mists and injections. these are only for pregnant women, young adults, ages 18 to 24, infant care providers and atd dults with chronic health conditions. children will be begin to receive the h1n1 nasal mist at their schools good morning. about .25 inch of rain this morning. raining steadily in the northern neck of virginia. other areas, moderate to steady rain in the shenandoah valley. that should be moving into the metro yar in another hour or so. temperatures, chilly in the 40s all around the region. we will stay in the 40s for the rest of date into tonight, tomorrow, and most of the weekend. we could have winds increasing this afternoon with more rain on the way. gusts to 25 miles an hour. jerry, house is traffic? slow and rolling jus about any way you turn. 270, slow. 95, in particularly, 395, 14th street bridge heavy. the travel lanes both directions remain available. keith? tonight on "news 4 at 5:00," liz crenshaw shares tricks of the trade for tasty vegetarian and we are back with another hour of "today" on a thursday morning, the 15th day of october 2009. it is nice group of people gathered in studio 1a's plaza in rockefeller plaza. chilly there in the northeast. seems like we went from summer right to winter, bypassing fall. but don't worry about that when you're where i am right now. i'm in los angeles this morning. i'm matt lauer. ann and al are holding down the fort -- >> wow. >> in new york city. >> thanks for rubbing it in. >> it's all about you. >> but you know what, it really isn't all -- i mean, it's only in the mid-70s here. it's not all hot and sunny here, so -- >> meantime, you're in l.a. because -- >> i guess natalie's on assignment. anyway, i thought -- natalie's on assignment, okay. >> and you're in l.a. because you've got another reason, a big night tonight. >> big night tonight. >> i am going to stop by and see our good buddy jay leno for his show in prime time tonight, sit down for an interview with him, and then take the green car challenge that we just showed you on the program a couple minutes ago. ann and al, i think you guys with both be good at this, better than i would be, because i'm a little nervous behind the wheel. i think you guys would put the pedal to the floor. >> i would really like to give that track a try. >> looks like a lot of fun. well, good luck, matt. it sound fun. you'll do great on "leno" tonight, so it will be fun. >> thank you. it will be fun. what do you have coming up? actually, we have an international custody case about an american father who was jailed in japan after taking his children from his ex-wife. we'll be talking to his new wife who is home in tennessee waiting for her husband's return now that he's been released from jail. >> all right. then, also ahead, we've got the tragic, final days of supermodel anna nicole smith. a compelling court hearing is uncovering what really happened in her last hours and whether anybody should face trial in connection with her death. coming up, larry birkhead, the father of smith's 3-year-old daughter, dannielynn, speaks out about the case and how the little girl is doing today. then a little bit later, did your mother ever tell you that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure? >> yeah. >> well, listen to mom, because coming up, why some simple home repairs you cano yourself can save you thousands of dollars down the road. all right, but first, you've got a check of the morning's top stories. >> i do, and there are some stories. in fact, there's some violence this morning. a wave of terror in pakistan this morning, where taliban militants have launched at least five attacks now. in the northwestern city of peshawar there were two car bombings. one struck near a school. the other targeted a police station. in pakistan's second largest city of lahore, gunmen raided police and commando facilities. and at least 39 people have been killed today in all of this violence. president obama is asking congress to provide one-time payments of $250 to 57 million seniors and others who receive social security payments. that's because of negative inflation that there will be no cost-of-living increase next year for the first time since 1975. the president will be in new orleans today to take a look at recovery efforts there four years after hurricane katrina. the president is holding a town hall meeting and is visiting a school in the hardest hit 9th ward, where thousands of buildings are still abandoned. the man accused of the sexual assault and murder of an 8-year-old girl 19 years ago is in a texas jail this morning. dennis earl bradford arrived in houston last night after waving ex-additi extradition from arkansas. police say he was arrested on dna tuesday after the 8-year-old girl, now a young woman, refused to give up search for her rapist. today, japanese police release an american father jailed in an international custody dispute. christopher savoie was arrested last month, accused of snatching his two children from his japanese ex-wife. prosecutors now have not dropped the case but have decided that savoie does not pose a flight risk. we'll have more on this coming up in a few moments. and california's worst october stormas rained itself out. the break came too late for one family, who had a mudslide rise up to the basketball rim and nearly buried a car. rainwater build-up caused the roof of an electronics store to collapse, but no one was hurt. it is now four minutes past the top of the hour. now let's get the weather with al. thanks, ann. you have save katie, be the match. what is this about? >> my name is katie meacham, and we're here because the leukemia and lymphoma society is having the light the night walk to raise awareness for blood cancers, and i have a blood cancer. i was diagnosed with lymphoma a year and a half ago, and two week ago, i found out that it has returned and i now need a blood stem cell donor, and out of the 14 million people worldwide, not one is a perfect match for me. so, i am here to ask your viewers to please go to join.marrow.org/4katie. if you're not a match for me, you uld be for thousands of others who also need this life-saving procedure. >> hopefully not only would help you, but also thousands of other people. >> there are thousands of other people, also, and mary's here as well for be the match. >> thanks as well. and it's great things that you're doing. >> thank you. >> best of luck. we hope everybody goes and checks the website. >> yes, please do. >> let's check your weather and see what's going on. we'll show you a storm system working its way in. precipitation coming out of the ohio valley is going to combine with low pressure along the carolina coast, and that's going to make a nor'easter early tonight. wet snow back through pennsylvania, a lot of rain along the coast, strong, northeasterly winds. winds of over 40 to 45-mile-per-hour wind gusts. the heaviest rain will be offshore, but we're looking at a lot of snow through friday morning throughout central pennsylvania. some areas picking up up to eight inches of snow from bradford down to state college and as far east as scranton, pennsylvania. of course, that's where "the office" on nbc at 9:00 will be on tonight. yeah, you like that show, right? who doesn't like that show? tina fey show, of course. ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç# >> who's this cutie? >> this is illa. >> oh, we've got a runny nose there, but she's happy. >> it's so cold. so cold. >> now let's go back in to ann, whose nose is not running. >> thanks a lot, al. now to the overnight release of an american father who had been held for more than two weeks in a japanese jail. christopher savoie was arrested there last month, accused of snatching his two children from his japanese ex-wife after she failed to return home from a trip to her native country of japan. well, savoie's current wife, amy, is now joining us. amy, good morning. >> good morning. >> i know that this has been a very emotional roller coaster for you, and certainly, for christopher as well. when you heard the news that overnight he had been released from jail, what was your reaction? >> oh, i was thrilled, of course. i was very thrilled to hear that he had been released. >> you've been able to speak to him on the phone? has he been able to talk to you about his treatment? there were concerns early on about how he was being treated in jail? >> yes. we weren't able to speak for very long. he's still in the midst of a lot of paperwork and he was -- he's with his attorneys right now, in fact, i believe, and they have a lot of work to do still. >> is it your sense that he's been traumatized at all by this experience, that he's emotional about it, or does it seem as though he's doing fine? >> no, he's been traumatized. >> mm-hmm. and what do you think is causing all that trauma? >> well, it's very difficult to talk about. it's very difficult. it's very emotional. it's very multifaceted. his children are basically dead to him now, and that is just -- it's horrible, and i don't know how a parent goes forward from that, that kind of devastation. our lives have been completely dismantled by this tragedy, and isaac and rebecca are now somewhere in japan with no access to their father who loves them dearly. no more hugs from their father. no more phone calls. no more playing the guitar with their father. no more playing baseball with their father. and i can't imjin that any 8-year-old and 6-year-old would actually choose to live a life without one parent if they were able to make such a choice. >> amy, a spokesperson at the hearing about christopher's release said "the japanese government will try to find a joint solution to the custody and parenting issues." are you saying that you have -- you and your husband don't have faith that there will be something worked out with the japanese government and with the rules there that will allow christopher to parent his children? >> well, i know a number of countries have asked japan for years to sign the hague treaty with regards to its stance on parental child abduction, in which they've stated for years that parental abduction is not considered to be a crime in japan, and i think it's going to take a long time for them to overcome the thinking that they've had since the 1940s, in which one parent has custody of the child. so, this is definitely going to be a marathon, and there are so many, so many grieving families who have contacted me, and they want to unify and try to see how we can make effect some change. and there is a meeting in d.c. about this next week. >> meantime, what are christopher's plans now? will he stay in japan and try to see his children, wait for this to be resolved, or will he be able to come home? >> well, my understanding is one of the conditions of his release was that he did return to the united states. so, he will be coming home, and he needs to return to work. he needs to return to law school. we're both law students. we need to continue this fight, you know, from here, and just try to effect some positive change, if we can. we'll work as hard as we can. >> well, i can hear, amy, the heartbreak in your voice, and certainly, it's probably been really mirrored by what christopher must be feeling now. but i think we can also hear you're very determined. >> yes. well, isaac and rebecca love their father, and there are many children out there who don't know, they aren't able to feel the love of the parent who is left behind, and it's a tragedy. and we always had empathy for those families because we always worried that this was going to happen to us, and now the empathy's been fully realized, fully realized. it's devastating. >>well, amy savoie, thank you for speaking to us, and -- >> thank you. >> we look forward to finding out how this will all end up, and our best wishes to you. >> thank you. coming up next, an exclusive interview with larry birkhead. he's the father of anna nicole's 3-year-old daughter. and he's got a lot to say. and coming up later, fix now, save later. the simple home repairs that can save you a lot of money in the long run. but first, these messages. ideas are limitless. becat that's why, everyday at ge, thousands of scientists and researchers at our global research centers and throughout the company are redefining what's possible by creating the advanced technologies that create jobs. the american renewal is happening right now. of pillsbury cinnamon rolls bring everyone to the table in their sunday best destroy them with lysol neutra air. it eliminates odor-causing bacteria in the air... and kills 99.9 percent of bacteria at the source. oust air sitizer is not approved to kill bacteria at the source. enjoy nothing but freshness. with lysol neutra air-- the ultimate odor eliminator. and try lysol neutra air freshmatic for clean, fresh air automatically. well, are you going to pick it or not? 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(announcer) for five generations, with a name like smucker's, it has to be good. it's been almost three years since anna nicole smith died in a hotel room from a prescription drug overdose. well, the question now, can her doctors and her companion, howard k. stern, stand trial for giving her drugs over the years? nbc's michelle kosinski is in los angeles, where a high-profile hearing gets under way again today. michelle, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, al. we had these doctors accused of overprescribing. howard k. stern may be the only person ever charged here as an enabler. what their defense wants to show is that anna nicole smith had a legitimate need for these drugs, a very high tolerance, and that they were only trying help her. >> howard, are you 100% not guilty? >> reporter: it is a grim reunion. anna nicole smith's doctors and howard k. stern. he looks thin. his attorney says he lives with his parents, has not been able to move on since anna's death. in court, he listens attentively to the details of her last days, that she was so sick from flu and a raging infection, she couldn't sit up, had been drinking pedialyte from a baby bottle. her hotel called a doctor, but according to testimony, stern canceled him, not wanting publicity. instead, her psychiatrist, dr. khristine eroshevich, treated her. >> the circumstances under which the treatment was given was not necessarily ideal, but there was no one else to help, and dr. eroshevich did the best she could. >> reporter: she was the one who prescribed the unusual sleep medication of which a toxicologist found a lethal amount in anna's body. but he agreed, her infection could have affected her reaction. >> she suffered from seizures and she had medical problems, so -- >> reporter: that is what the defense wants to emphasize, also that anna suffered from chronic pain, in her back, they say, from her breast implants, and a brain abnormality that caused seizures. they say those around her were trying to help, especially after her son died. and stern's attorney says anna lost her will to live. was there never a time that he said, man, she's taking a lot of drugs? >> he wasn't in the position of telling the doctor, aren't you wrong in what you're doing? the doctor was explaining why the regiment of prescribed drugs was being done. >> reporter: but many of anna's prescriptions were in stern's name. her bodyguard said stern would crush valium and inject her. at the same time, though, he said anna would beg for drugs, including the one that precipitated her death and would take gulps straight from the bottle. cous does howard feel like he was an enabler in this situation? >> i wasn't a choice of being an enabler or not being an enabler. you either did what he thought was best for anna or you left her. he wasn't going to leave her. >> reporter: the judge at one point said, look, whose fault is it, really? if you keep wanting more and more pills and then finally take too many of them? but prosecutors say she was prescribed huge amounts, some while she was pregnant. they equated that to giving a loaded gun to someone who is suicidal, and saying, be careful, don't pull the trigger. al? >> thanks very much. early this morning, matt spoke with larry birkhead, the father of anna nicole smith's daughter, who is now 3 years old. he started by asking, based on being around anna nicole, her doctors and howard k. stern at the time before her death, what kind of light can he shed at the hearing? >> well, i think what i could testify to is the time line before she died and what was going on in people's heads and what they were, you know, the interactions and things like that. and i guess the coming and going of different people around her and trying to establish a timeline. >> you were aware that she was taking an awful lot of prescripon drugs. and i'm just curious -- and you did live there. you lived with her for 2 1/2 years. was there nothing you could do to stop it? >> well, i mean, there were several times and attempts that i made and conversations. and the thick is, and what's so odd about the situation is, when you said something to anna, it was always, she referenced you back to the bottles with the doctor's name on it. so, then you found some comfort that, basically, that a doctor's prescribing this and there was someone who's supposed to have the right mind of being in charge of this, and that's kind of where d-- >> did you ever talk to the doctors and howard k. stern about this, and say, wait a second, folk i don't know where these drugs are coming from, but there are too many of them? >> well, i had conversations with anna and howard, and beyond that, i don't want to go into what i might testify. but there was definitely conversations which actually led to part of the reason why anna and i split up eventually, was because of some of the tension surrounding some of the medications, you know, during the pregnancy. >> if we look at a list of some of the drugs that were found in her system and in her home after her death, i mean, it's an extensive list. were there legitimate illnesses for which she was being treated that would require some of these drugs? >> that's the thing that most people, you don't understand. you hear anna nicole and drugs and things like that, and you know, she always said these are prescription drugs and these are, you know -- there was a large amount, but she had these legitimate reasons. she had swelling of her hands. she had seizures. she had pains from previous breast surgeries. she had where she couldn't sleep at night, you know, tension and stress. so, there was a combination of things that these medicines were actually given r. >> it's been a long time since we've had a chance to talk, and dannielynn was 7 months old at the time of anna nicole's death. she is now 3 years old. >> 3 years old. >> so, the question a lot of people wonder, how's she doing? >> she's doing great. you know, she's healthy, she's happy. she's doing all the things that kids do and just having a great time, and you know, all this craziness -- and i'm proud to say she's none the wiser and -- >> well, what does she know about her mom? what have you told her? >> she's very aware of her mom. she can point to her mom in pictures, see her mom in television and point her out, and i'm always, you know, in bedtime stories, i kind of implement stories that are appropriate for her not just about her mom, but we have to remember, also, daniel, anna's son that died. andt's a lot i haveo tell her down the road, but nothing i can really tell her today. >> i hear she's got quite the personality. she started, according to you, really to look like anna nicole in the last year or so and loves to pose for pictures. we're looking at some of the pictures right now. is there still an ongoing custody issue here? virgie arthur, anna nicole's mom, had wanted custody of danniely dannielynn. is that still open? >> there's an open case in the bahamas that's been laying dormant that hasn't been dismissed, for whatever reason. but at this point, youknow, virgie's not in dannielynn's life and hasn't seen her. >> and howard k. stern, one of the men who's going through this hearing now to decide if he had some wrongdoing or some role in anna nicole's death, he at one point claimed he was the father of dannielynn, which i'm sure makes it an interesting relationship between the two of you. does he have any contact with danniely dannielynn? >> he does, and actually, believe it or not, he's actually become friendly, and we worked together on anna's estate, and at one time, her funeral and all the particulars, you know, and going, and w decided, i guess, once the paternity issue was resolved and, you know, we moved forward with that, tt it was we were trying to do what was best for dannielynn and moving forward for her and not the squabbles that were going on. >> so, was it strange for you to watch this hearing unfold and be a part of it perhaps later today? >> it's a little strange, because when you have a daughter and you're trying to show her different things and you're trying to move on yourself as a father and as a family, to kind of hear these things over and over, and you know, so, that could be difficult. >> larry birkhead with matt earlier this morning. and we'll be back with some moves you should make now so you can save money on your home later. amelia and abbey have big imaginations and the loving family grand dollhouse has plenty of room... i'm the mommy. to let them roam free. we're the twins. 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tough going out there. still jammed, 270 down from germantown to the split. be careful out there. barbara? thank you. tonight on "news 4 at 5:00," liz crenshaw shares some tricks of the trade a super cell of suds is now forming directly over my papa's backyard. >> first-round winner -- >> wow. she's 11 years old, she's smart as a whip, and she's gunning for my job. that's sammy isler from tulsa, oklahoma. she loves reporting on the weather. sammy, back off! look at her. wow. anyway, she is the winner in the first round of the kid reporter competition. next week we introduce you to four more semifinalists. i'm al roker along with ann curry. natalie is on assignment. you know, these kids are coming after our jobs. i'm not sure this kid reporter idea is such a good one. >> looks like she has a sense of humor, too. i wouldn't worry, al. it's going to be okay. meanwhile, we're talking about, you know when you have a baby and you want to find the right stroller. you think it will be so easy. i was experiencing a lot of choices and actually, it was very overwhelming. >> well, now there are even more. >> we'll have a rundown on the best strollers chosen by moms who have used them for any budget and lifestyle, coming up. all right. then we're headed into the kitchen with a chef who's made it his mission to bring you the freshest ingredients possible straight from the farm. today he's cooking up slow-roasted pork belly and acorn squash. get that pork belly in my belly! yeah. >> if the aroma we're sniffing right now is any indication, it's going to be fantastic. plus, home repairs you can make around the house that require only a little bit of skill. first, a check of the weather? absolutely. for the weekend ahead, we are expecting plenty of sunshine out west. it's going to be beautiful, although some rain in the pacific northwest. rain as a second nor'easter makes its way up the northeast coast. sunny and warm throughout california on in down into texas. then on sunday, sunday, look for rain again along the northeast coast, heavier rain sprea sprea# here is what's happening in your neck of the woods. good morning. we've had moderate, steady rain coming through the metro area over the last hour. getting moderate to heavy rains through near cambridge on the eastern shore and in southern maryland. northern montgomery and shenandoah valley, more moderate rain. in the 40s all around the region n the 40s today and all the way through most of the week >> and that's your latest weather. >> all right, al, thank you. coming up next, money-saving home repairs you can do yourself, right after this. yeah, looks like we're going to be the first... to buy raisin bran extra! i'm surprised nobody else is here for the big debut of the almonds. oh, guys, i can see it! they're setting it up right now! is it true? 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(announcer) you need a sinus medicine ooohhh... that rescues you from all three symptoms introducing new sudafed pe® triple action™. for more complete relief from the sinus triple threat. get more complete relief. with new sudafed pe® triple action™. also find sudafed® behind the counter. ♪ this morning on "today's home," fix now, save later. a little do-it-yourself work on the peeling window sills and leaky gutters today can save you down the line. deborah sununu is senior editor at "this old house" magazine. good morning. >> good morning, good to see you. >> you're manning the telestrator, figurethis out. >> i am. >> how important is it to tackle these issues now? people say i'll get to it later. >> the things that seem small -- we say it's like your health, where you let things slide, you could end up with a bigger problem on your hands. it's better to fix a problem when it's small before it gets out of hand and costs big bucks. >> let's start with gutters, damaged gutters. >> right, damaged or clogged gutters. this is a common sight at this time of year. leaves are clogging the gutter. >> sure. >> if the gutters are clogged like this or are leaking, water is going to not be able to run. it's going to overflow and pool around your house's foundation, and that could cause leaks and water damage. so, we'll look at the next picture, too, for the fix, wch is very simple. clean out the gutters. >> right. >> this is not the same picture, but you get the idea. >> sure. >> get rid of all the leaves that are in here. also, make sure the gutters are pointed toward the down spouts so they're draining properly, and any leaks you can fix with gutter sealant. >> how much does it cost to fix? >> you can do this yourself. a pro will cost you a couple hundred dollars. but if you don't fix this now, you could end up paveling $750 for new gutters. >> wow. >> or as much as $5,000 to repair water damage to your house. >> and it's especially important now, because if those gutters are clogged and you get that freeze, all of a sudden, you've got an ice damming along the gutter. >> exactly. >> it backs up into your home and that a mess. >> that's a huge problem in the wintertime. so definitely do the maintenance now. it's going to go a long way. >> let's move on now to the peeling paint in windows. >> this is a wooden window. if the paint is peeled and blistered like this, that means the water's going to get right in and rot out that woodwork, especially on the sill, which is flat and the water can pond there. >> sure. >> for the fix, very simple, just scrape sand and repaint any window. a wooden window with a worn-out finish. one precaution, if your home was built before 1978, make sure you are protecting yourself from lead paint dust. and if you're only working on the sill, this flat part here, you can just open up the window and do that from right inside the house. >> how much are we talking to repair? >> if you do this yourself, you might pay up to $30 a window, but if you don't fix this now, you could end up paying $200 for a pro to come in and restore that wood window -- >> or if you have to replace it? >> up to $400 for a replacement or eaven more. and that's a big payoff you don't want to make. that's per window. >> this is one i noticed the other day -- although not this bad -- cracked caulk. although looking at this, i don't think the cracked caulk is the only problem. >> there are a lot of issues, but the real problem is that this lets the water get behind the tub and tile. that will cause water damage and possibly mold growth. it could get bad enough that this tile wall could collapse. so, what do you want to do? it's very simple. recaulk your tub. it's something you can do in an hour with a $6 tube of caulk from the hardware store. scrape out the old stuff, clean the area and apply the new. >> if you don't do it? >> it's a $6 tube of caulk, remember. but if you don't do in now, you could end up paying $2,500 to repair a section of the thailti if you have mold back there, it could be $6,000 to fix it. so that's a small investment and potentially a huge payoff. >> moving to the wood finished floors. >> see here the protectant is scraped away. water is the enemy of your house, no matter where it comes into the material. so either water is going to warp the wood or the wood will dry out and get cracked and splintered. so, what you want to do, instead of letting it sit like this is you're going to do what's called a screen and poly job. this is where you take off just the very top layer of the finish, not all the way down to the bare wood, and apply a new layer of sealant. this is nice and shiny, no chipping. >> how much would this cost to do? >> you can rent a tool. you could end up paying $5 a square foot for a full refinishing. so, let's say your house is 1,000 square feet. that's $5,000 that you don't want to spend finishing your wood floors. >> absolutely. then finally, overhanging tree limbs. >> yes. this is basically a disaster waiting to happen. not only could these limbs fall onto the roof and go right through, squirrels love to climb down those tree limbs and get right inside your attic, and believe me, you do not want them living up there. they can cut off wires, ducts, all sorts of things. so, get the trees trimmed back. if they're small enough, you can do it yourself. a pro will charge you about $95 an hour. >> but if you don't do it? >> if you don't do it, you could pay up to $300 or more to get rid of any crittersn the attic or $1,250 is the cost of an average roof repair from damage from a tree. so remember, what you want to do is fix problems when they're small before they get out of hand and cost you big bucks. >> deborah, thank you very much. great advice. >> nice to see you. still ahead, have kid, will travel. the best strollers on the road. true professionals, always ready when they hear the call... guys, pancakes! 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[ chuckles ] wow! good luck getting your remote back. it's all right -- i love this channel. shopping less and saving more. now, that's progressive. call or click today. motor oil on my husband's favorite shirt. did you say motor oil? can you help? i've tried these, without success. try this. spray 'n wash max has a new and improved formula with even more stain- fighting power, making it the unbeatable pre-treater! it has resolve power to break down tough stains right in front of your eyes better than the competition! it even outperforms the others on these dried-in stains! impressive! finally, this is perfect! (alistair) trust resolve power. forget stains. any parent will tell you a good stroller is a must, but what's the best stroller to get for your way of life? we've got carly rooney from t thebump.com with the mom-approved list. good morning. >> good morning, ann. >> you need a stroller, basically, that lasts three years. >> yes. >> and i basically looked at what other moms were using. what are the considerations to think about? >> as you were saying, number one is your lifestyle. a mom who wants -- uses it for marathon training versus a mom who goes to the mall have two needs. same for a subway versus a city street mom. you have different needs, wheel size, et cetera. >> we have a large stroller, which is great if you're a suburban mom, because it's a big thing. >> it's a comfy stroller, the graco quatro tour. and this is great because it accommodates your child from birth with a car seat built in. but this, once you're done with your car seat, this becomes a stroller for your kid up to 50 pounds. so really up until they go to school. >> so moms like this. also they have places for their drinks, there's a place for your drinks. >> easy cup holder, a great, huge basket, so it's great when you're going to shop. >> that's right, storage for other items. okay, this is one i've never seen before, but you're saying a lot of moms like this one because of its ease. >> that's right. this is the orbit. it's new on the market. >> an orbit. >> it's about $900, but it's worth it. this is about $269, the one we were just looking at. so it's really affordable. now, this is pricey, but it has features that make it really so. it's awesome to navigate. it's very light weight, which you wouldn't expect from how it looks, but this is the feature bump moms like most. it rotates. so if you're at a restaurant, you can pull the baby up to the side. >> great. >> fore facing, rear facing. and this comes out. it's also a car seat and there's an attachment in the car so you can swivel them forward or backward as well. >> and does this fold up easily? >> easily, it's light weight, great storing, wheels. so moms love that. >> this is a lightweight stroller great for the city. a lot of mothers in the city use this. >> mclaren is an extremely well loved brand for strollers. they basically invented the umbrella stroller. and what's great about this one is it's so easy to fold up. you basically -- my heels -- you basically fold it up like this, one click. it's got a shoulder strap and only weighs 11 pounds. so if you want to go on the subway, it's called the quest, and it's a great everyday stroller that's very sturdy. and once again, it's useful for from 3 months up to 55 pounds, so up until you take your kid to school. >> now, this is an odd thing, but you say this is actually folded up. >> this is folded up. >> it's called the quinnie. >> okay, i've got a baby in my hand, a bag of grocery in the other, all i have to do is this. >> boom! >> the gas spring technology. >> nice. >> and it opens up for you. once again, fat wheels. and this adjusts to four different positions. this is not a travel system. you don't use this as a car seat. you can get an attachment or a bassinet, but this is a full-featured thing. >> and you can fold it down and they can go to sleep. >> yes, they can lie down. you can use this since birth. this is in the $400 range. >> but again, you don't have the carry-out. so when your baby is falling asleep and you have to move the baby to the car, you'll have the same problem as with the m maclaren. >> this is for the jogger mom. this is the jogging stroller. it's got the big wheels like bicycle wheels, goes on any terrain, fixed front wheel -- >> stable. >> super stable. and it is affordable. it's only over $200, and it's got great brakes. here, foot brake, hand brake, and one of the reasons moms love it most is it's got an mp3 player built in. >> oh, oh! >> so, here we go -- >> so you just bring your earplugs -- >> baby can -- ♪ go right through the cracks >> that's right, so you can have ear plugs on when you're jogging with the baby, and -- >> that's very cool. i love it. and you can run pretty fast with this. >> you can run really fast with it, and it's got great brakes. now, you've got two babies? >> quickly. >> this is the city mini. it's a baby jogger. it's got two harnesses, easy to use, reclines all the way. so you can have big kids and little kids in the same one, and it fits through a standard-size doorway. >> great. >> and this is $399. >> carley roney, thank you for making it less overwhelming for us. you can find more at thebump.com's strollers list at food suppliers bring them to your table. he applies this philosophy in our brand new restaurant called la farm in westport, connecti t connecticut. chef, good to see you. >> good to see you. >> how's the restaurant going? >> good. we're about seven days old. >> and they said it wouldn't last. anyway, what are you making here? >> so, we're going to do one of my favorite things in the world, which is a porkby. >> yeah. >> and what's really important, if you're not familiar, you can see a pork belly is really just con. >> i was going to say, looks like bacon. >> without the cure, without the smoke. all we're going to do is capping this fresh pork belly. so, i started already and we'll go through. the idea here is you've got all this fat on top. so we want to score this fat and allow it to get surface area so it can crust up. and what we're going to do is take a quick cure. we're going to do about three parts of salt, one part of sugar and then we'll throw some herb in and mix it around and take it through. >> so it's kind of like a rub. >> exactly. and we'r looking to just seal the juices within the pork. and this is seasoning. we're going to throw it onto a roasting pan and that's going to go -- >> in the oven? >> we'll sit it for an hour to six hours and throw it into a high oven, 425, 450, about a half hour and then lower the heat really low for a few hours. >> you're teaming up with my favorite, butternut squash -- >> acorn squash. >> well, that's another favorite of mine. >> acorn squash. >> so -- >> another simple preparation. beauty of acorn squash, why i chose it today was it has its own guidelines. so, if you never cut squash before -- >> look at that, little ridges. >> all you're going to do is follow the lines of the squash and we're going to throw this in a bowl, have a little bit more over here. then again, we're sticking with fall spices, so right here we have some cinnamon, cayee, and allspice. throw in some brown sugar. throw some brown sugar in here. >> little olive oil? >> a little olive oil if you want to throw it in. don't be shy. we'll throw a couple knobs of butter here. then really quick, i'm going to throw a pinch -- >> of each one. >> of each spice. we'll toss it around real quick. doesn't have to be perfect. it's going into the oven to roast. this is about 450 degrees. it depends on your offensiven. >> so when it's already done, we come back here -- >> you want to let it caramelize. >> we pull out the pork belly. >> this is the pork belly. tell me it's not gorgeous. there's only a couple things and this is one of them. we take the pork belly and slice it. i like to bring it to 360 degrees internal temperature. you can see it's a little pink from the salt. all we're going to do is take a piece of pork belly here and slice it for you and bring it over here and start a plate. >> we've got one over here. what kind of greens? >> baby arugula. >> one of my favorites. where's the ladies? any time now. come on. >> fine, fine. we were having -- >> sorry. >> we didn't know. hi, how are you? >> how are you? >> all right. >> delicious. >> look at that. >> i love this stuff. >> well done. >> fantastic. fabulous. >> what is this -- >> you can watch it on the web. >> we have vivica fox coming up, mario lopez, our man panel, all things, all guy. >> interesting. >> hot. my job is a buyer for tj maxx. i'm a shopper at heart. i have a passion for finding a deal. i do my homework to figure out what's going to be the next best trend. our customers know their stuff. it's fashion direct to them... we're dealing with the designers. after that it goes straight to our customers. i get the best deal, so they get the best savings! my goal is to evolve our customers from fashionistas... to maxxinistas! tj maxx. let us make a maxxinista out of you! it is wet and it is barrel can see the washington monument. wet, chilly and ugly. it is not going to get pretty any time soon. for now, 48 degrees at 9:75. good morning. i'm keith garvin. >> the news for today, the university of maryland is conducting a mass flu vacination. the exercise is designed to test the university's ability to vacinate a large group of people. the college park campus is designated as prince george's county emergency site. planers have denied the plan to build a meg ta church off 270. it was proposed by the global mission church currently based in silver spring. they are looking to expand. residents say the walmart-size church was too big for the rural area. last night, the planning committee agreed with residented an denied the church's application. the wet and chilly pattern will continue into the weekend. more rain off and on through the rest of today, tonight, and into tomorrow. some passing showers possible over the weekend. jerry, how is the traffic? had an accident on the inner loop of capital beltway at american region bridge. cleared. still looking at delays. looks like we are improving at the wilson bridge. tonight on "news 4 at 5:00," liz crenshaw shares some tricks of the trade . from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hi, everybody. it's thursday, october 15th. and it's the second annual international hand washing day. >> every day is hand washing day around here. >> for me it's tongue washing day. >> what did you do? >> i always like to have fresh breath for hoda because you never know how close we'll get, and i just put it in there and started to munch and i think i lost a pound -- >> you bit off a huge think of my tongue. >> you bit your tongue? >> i bit my tongue. >> you bit your tongue. >> you know what a lesser woman would be dead. i am here, i am strong. i am strong. >> i think that's the first time you've ever bitten your time since you've been on the show. >> around you. how's it doing? >> it's ugly. >> i'll sip my green tea. that heals everything. >> we are here to rally behind jessica simpson. because somebody has to. this has gotten out of -- what did the woman do to anybody, okay? >> there's a commercial that aired on fox sports during the nfl game last sunday. okay. it's a cartoon of various players -- remember jessica used to date tony romoings, one of the players. >> not just date. she was madly in love with him. >> they decided it was a good idea -- i guess fox -- to run this cartoon commercial. just look at the commercial and then tell us what you think. >> can't believe tony dated jessica simpson, even after she blew up bigger than adams. >> hey. >> unlike tony, at least jessica comes up big when it counts. just catch the snap, put down the ball and the kicker will do the rest. >> no problem, coach. >> guys? i'm standing right here. >> sorry, tony. hey, tony. is jessica around? could use a defensive tackle. >> okay. now the guys around here were laughing, i'm sorry, you know. >> they were. >> you are busted. >> big time. >> but here's the thing, let's just tell what -- burger king had -- was somehow had something to do with this but this is the fox statement. burger king corp did not have any editorial input in the creation of the animation that aired last sunday. upon reflection this is from fox our poor attempt at humor was insensitive and we deeply apologize to anyone who might have been offended. >> anybody? >> i don't get it, like that wasn't funny. >> mean spirited no point to it except for a couple guys who thought it was funny. >> yeah. >> they're still laughing. >> we're going to put them on camera and name names. >> we are. >> t woman has done nothing to hurt anybody, you know. she's just gone about her life. >> leave her alone. >> you've met her before, i'm sure. >> yeah. >> very sweet girl. >> sweet, nice. >> i like her. >> she has a better body than most women on this planet and -- >> well right. >> i think that's another one of those things because they're calling her heavy. she's thinner than most on this planet. >> remember we were talking about the model yesterday. >> the ralph lauren girl. >> the notion of what is too heavy. you're bleeding, your teeth are bleeding. >> i've never felt more attractive. >> i'm not going to look at you. are you all right? >> tell them about bye-bye birdie while i sit here and bleed. >> don't mind her. we saw "bye-bye birdie" yesterday. what do they call them a revival. >> it's a revival of a very, very successful show that's been around a long time. >> if you were in the audience of this show yesterday, you heard tons of laughter. john goodman was sitting a few -- >> because he had worked with bill irwin and it is gotto, don't get -- >> gotto. and yeah, he was enjoying it very, very much. >> he was. it got a lot of big laughs and i actually never seen the original. ve never seen any of them. it was revival for most, but for me it was new. >> hope you enjoy "bye-bye birdie" with john stay moss and one of my favorite people in the world, three-time tony nominee. >> she was kind of a scene stealer. >> doesn't have to say anything but it's the look. she's such -- i didn't get a chance to say hello to her afterwards but -- i know it's disgusting. cas was sick and -- i'm going to neath need a transfusion. look at everybody lining up. >> so meredith veer year ra, the meredith you see on the "today" show and the meredith you see in the makeup room. >> sort of like you, hoda, "dateline" hoda and happy hour hoda, if you know what i mean. in the same body, same woman. >> so if you want to see the real meredith, watch this episode of "millionaire" we're going to show you. this thing apparently according to meredith was shot seven years ago. >> what? >> but it suddenly -- know how things are so weird they're on the web and youtube. >> old thing becomes new again. >> seven years old. >> but new to us. here is meredith,the real meredith viera, let's roll the tape. >> next, you are one handsome guy. whoa. i don't normally like to fly but i am changing my mind. with we don't have much time so we want to play, okay. >> i'm ready to play any time soon, max you don't get them like this that often. i know. it's pathetic. i'm an old horny woman, all right. give me a break. the childhood prank known as a wet willy involves putting a wet finger in someone's what? >> would it suffice if i gave you one? >> go ahead. >> that's my final answer. >> i think he's saying ear. ear. >> final answer. >> it was good for me. you got it. >> the real meredith. >> seven years ago, she's a much older now hornier woman. i think we should be concerned. she looks exactly the same, though. >> isn't that weird, though. >> first of all, we adore meredith. >> love her. >> adore her. someone in the world that doesn't adore her. >> she is the funniest person. isn't that funny how stuff lives forever. and now it's new again because it aired on the game show network or something like that so people saw it again. they hadn't seen it before. and here she is. >> well, i guess she's okay about it and we asked can we show it and talk about it and she doesn't care. >> know else who is okay. >> we're okay. >> "ok" magazine again. every week we're in it. >> flip through it. >> we should track them. >> through the roof. >> we did -- >> no one saw that. >> we did the okay, not okay. this is on wedding gifts. one was chloe kardashian and her boyfriend, husband. what did you say? >> i can't see that far. >> she got a mar garr rita machine and you said hoda and i will loan them ours. for the rest of them you need to read the magazine. we like to tease you with the magazine. >> we don't like to be mean. i hope it doesn't come off mean. >> i said it was not a -- i forget what it was. something. >> yeah. >> what did i send her? >> something good. >> something from williams sonoma. >> you're bleeding. not as much. >> sara. >> everybody eating their cheerios. pour a bloody mary it will look the same. >> we're talking about the jessica simpson ad. kim wrote in no one deserves to be publicly mocked. karen wrote in she's beautiful at any size. she's a singer and actor who cares. it's the sense of humor that kids used to tease people on play ground and i know people were laughing in here and i saw all of you, the kids that make the jokes that make you feel like it's sad. >> yeah. >> it's just wrong and hurtful. >> yes. >> we are going to talk next to the lovely and talented, we love having her, vivica fox. >> she is looking fine. >> she is. >> good morning. with categories like really omg moment and really totally robbed, there's one award show that stands out from all the rest. >> it is fox's fourth annual "really awards" honoring the best in reality tv. its hoster, beautiful actress, reality star herself, miss vivica fox. welcome. >> good morning, good morning, lat laties. >> we're not using the a. this morning? >> i don't know why. got deleted. >> got deleted. >> what does the "a" stand for? >> angei nshgs ita. >> how was it hosting the awards? tell us about it. >> on the red carpet i started out with one look and throughout the show i changed three times. >> that's what's fun about it. >> that's what's part of the hosting gig. >> lance bass was your red carpet guy. >> thank you. >> whoa. >> yeah. >> you are -- >> i had my different looks. >> all the disco designer? >> disco diva by lloyd cline, silver jump suit, robert rodriguez, and on the red carpet it was gucci and in the middle was sherry bodel. >> lots of changing. >> yes. >> you are in great shape. >> thank you very much. >> what is your secret? >> i work out with my trainer three to five times a week and i watch what i put in my mouth. >> what kind of workouts? do you do cardio and sweat and all that. >> lots of cardio and light weights because i don't want to look like shira. i don't want that super -- i want to look like a girl but keep it tight and right. >> tight and right. >> as bad as meredith. you really are. >> but i'm not getting any wet willys. that wet willy thing is so off limits. >> that's like third grade. >> stop, don't do that. >> i'm proud to say i didn't know what a wet willy was. i would have got than one wrong. >> of all the reality shows, you've been on some, what do you like the most? >> i am a huge fan of "dancing with the stars." i was on that one. i like "the bachelor" and "rock of love." >> what? you do? >> i like "rock of love" love seeing the girls with the sleeve tattoos. i love it's bad girls meet bad boys. >> happens to be suc a sweet guy that comes to the show. >> he really is. i love "daisy." i can remember "daisy" she has her own show. reality people love reality. who knew. >> how do you judge these shows? who's judging and picking blue ribbon panel? >> i don't know who that was. i just announce it. i think in general they maybe did a poll or did something on the network or whoever was the most popular. but i was so glad this year that we brought some class to it because the year before, i went and i was like what are you children doing? >> really? >> oh honey. this year they wanted to make the slow classy. we had no interruptions. >> are you surprised at how reality tv has taken over? how are the statistics is this. >> ten years ago there was only 70 hours of reality and now there's over 2300 hours. >> a week? >> 2300 hours of reality. >> what do you think that is? >> it gives the american public their time to be a star. everybody gets their 15 minutes and people love watching train wrecks. and they love to relate to these relatable characters that aren't manufactured actors. >> right. >> and yet, many of the instances that they do are set up. >> it's somewhat scripted but honey some of them folks that they will show out for you. they don't have to have much motivation. give them a little sip and they're good to go. >> uh-huh. >> do you think that's here to ay? this is not one of those things that's a flash in the pants. >> they're getting all the cover of magazines. people love their reality stars. >> did you love being on "curb" switching gears. you were so funny. >> thank you. >> a lot is improve. >> that's all improve. >> is that scary to do? >> you have to put on your comedic hat and produce and direct yourself. what i love about ld if y're not funny in the middle he'll let you know. baby, that ain't working. that ain't working. you have to put on your hat and have thick skin as well. >> does he tell you what he wants from the character before you go in at least? >> basically you get a synopsis of where you're at and what's happening or what they want to happen and then fill in the blanks. >> you do your thing. >> you do your thing. >> is that it for you -- >> and get paid for it. >> your character is gone from the show. are you ever coming back. >> can you believe he kicked me to the curb and i have cancer. ld, where is the love? where is the love? >> you'll come back when you're in remission, i'm sure. >> you know he only does ten shows a season. so we did the first three and the seinfeld gang is showing up to really just finish it off with a bang and who knows if he'll come back for the eighth. >> you need to come back. we're voting for you to come back. >> vivica a., so good to see you darling. >> up next our guys tell all panel tells all from how to keep your marriage fresh to why they don't hear us when we actually talk to them. >> plus a a guy you know on that panel with those guys, right after this. ♪ what is love we're back with our guys tell all panel just waiting to tell women everything we wanted to know. >> first up we have chef extraordinaire still single, then the married new dad rick younger, comedian and actor, chuck nice, usually nice, married 12 years, and he can be seen every week on true tv's "world's dubest." nce when? that's new. and andrew trees is the author of "decoding love" and married with a 1-year-old son. welcome back, guys. >> you saw the jessica simpson commercial. >> i saw it when it happened on sunday. >> what did you think? >> i think they need better joke writers. >> did you think it was funny? >> don't think it was mean? >> it just wasn't funny. you can make a choke, just make it funny. >> if it's funny you can get away with about anything. >> a woman who just moved in with her boyfriend and very excited about it and wants longevity. >> hi, my name is jacqueline. i'm from armonk, new york. my question to you panel of men is, is it possible for you to love and be attracted to just one woman for your whole life? >> of course it is. as long as it's on a desert island where there's no other women as well. >> i'm going to say no as well. he did a creative way to say no. to expect us to love and only be attracted to one woman for the rest of our lives little unreasonable. now we learn how to behave ourselves and live and be happy with one woman, but, you know, i'm going to -- hey, good looking women, i'm looking at you all right now, you're looking pret attractive too. >> i think it's possible to love someone for the rest of your life. >> not just be attracted. >> there is a gentic component that makes some men -- >> of course there is. >> that makes men more monogamous than others. about 85% have been polygamous. >> what? >> about 85% of human society in recorded history have been polygamous. >> chuck, you got nothing on this one? >> i think these guys he made a mess of this question without my help. >> all right. so in other words -- >> i'm going to chill out on this one. a lifetime is a long time. >> shouldn't count on it. >> a married woman who wants to know why she sometimes has trouble communicating with her husband? >> hey. i'm stephanie from brooklyn. i would like to know how come men don listen? i mean, we tell them everything we want them to do, we send them e-mails, we write it down, but when it comes down to it, they just don't listen? or is it that they just don't hear us? i mean, what should we be saying to them to get them to understand what we want them to do? >> why don't you listen. >> >> no. why don't you stop talking so much. that's what it is. after that, the part of the question -- like the question itself, like -- >> i don't even know what the question was. >> i wrote -- >> how long does it take to ask a question? >> exactly. like after a while we shut down after a while. it's like -- >> when she was finished talking i seriously was thinking about an episode of "lost" that i saw three years ago. >> that was about communication. communication is a two-way thing. why don't men listen? like that's a one-way thing. >> all right. >> that's the problem. >> okay. >> take a listen to our next woman. >> hi. my name is amanda and i'm from kkatona, new york. why are men so hot and cold. one minute they're into you, calling and texting you and then they're not anymore. seems when you're not in a relationship with someone, one minute they're nice and then nasty. it's like men are pmsing. i don't get it. >> that's a good question. you're hot and cold, what's the story there? >> it is a good question, yes. >> andrew is going to tell us. >> basilly why that happens. >> sexual activity has a huge impact. they've done studies and after men have sex with a woman the first time lose interest in the woman. something research have called the effective shift. and men also have varying testosterone levels which can affect their mood throughout the course of the day. >> i think it's got to do with the thrill of the hunt. when you are dating somebody there's that whole excitemnt when you're not sure they're obtainable but then as soon as you think they are, that doesn't get as exciting. i think there's going to be some kind of game and i don't think relationships should be about games. i think there's got to be some interest level that has to keep going up and down. >> yeah. >> challenge. >> a little bit of that chase thing. even when you're married it's like, you know, you still have that -- is it going to happen tonight, is it not going to happen. what should i do today. >> after today it ain't going to happen. >> let me answer that question for you right now. after your first -- >> i'm going to make it happen, you know. >> we're going to take a little break and when we come back, the guys will talk more. we have more of your questions. >> plus, the contest that could have your guy up here with these guys. why you would want to, i do not know. >> why? >> after your local news. >> why? soltren. this cold, wet morning. how long will we need the outer wear? coming up, how many doses of the swine flu vaccine do children need? new information us out today as more people get the shot. "news 4 midday" begins in a few we're back with our wonderful guys tell all panel. we like most of them, three of them we like. you can decide which three. >> what's the one? >> we're going to head back to our questions. take a listen to our next woman. >> i'm lori and i just wondered, after say ten years of marriage, what do you do, whato you want your mate to do to keep things exciting at home? does it get a little stale? >> that's a good question. >> it is a good question. >> you've been married that long. >> i've been married three years, but you know, even at three years i say a butt naked run through. >> butt naked run through. >> wait until you see her in 20 more years. >> grab everything up. >> that stopped working for me a long time ago. >> let's take another question. >> move along. >> shall we? let's go. >> my name is lauren from huntington, new york. i'm getting married in a month and my question for the panel is, how important is it to always look good for your husband? >> awesome. >> exactly. >> you know what, it is extremely important, both ways. not just for your husba. >> guys can fall apart real quickly after marriage. >> we do. we fall apart and we have the feeling that, you know, yeah, it's cool because as a friend of mine would say, you stop running for a bus once you get on it. that's the problem. you don't want to have that attitude. >> right. >> i lost actually not to make this about me, but i lost 32 pounds because i got out of the shower one day and the door was open and as my wife walked by the shower, she looked as me as i was toweling off and said that's just not working for me anymore. >> and that's it? >> let me tell u, i hit the gym four times a week now. >> did you really? >> yes, i do. >> she didn't want to hurt your feelings but it worked. >> hey -- >> you feel like you have to keep it real. let a person -- i just lost like 30 pounds, i was on weight watchers, lost 30 pounds. it's like you have to let us know and we have to let you know. but you know -- >> we're more sensitive, i think when you let us know. >> we let you know in a different way. >> let me go take you shopping for some nice clothes, get you something nice and like, you can't fit into that? hey, let's go to the gym together. >> that won't work. >> let me fix you a light meal with till lap ya and greens. >> that's what you got to do. >> no dessert except for me, babe gee. >> that's where the butt naked run through comes in. >> next question, please. >> please. >> hi. my name is asacha and i have yeah. a friend of mine was dating this guy on and off for a year and a half and all of a sudden he disappeared no communication, no nothing. why would he dothat, instead of calling back and saying i'm not interested anymore. >> why do guys do that. >> she said it was off and on. right now it's off. he'll be back. >> no. do not take him back. that is unbelievably rude. he found somebody else to be on with, wouldn't you think? >> he keeps coming back because you keep letting him come back. if you don't want him to come back, don't let him. >> why not call and do the polite thing and say hey -- >> that's a tough call to make. like don't you think -- >> shows a lot of character. >> i'll be honest well, are cowards we don't want to have that conversation with you. we are afraid because sometimes women can be crazy. >> actually found that men have more difficulty controlling their emotional response and do worse with conflict than women do. they shy away from it. that's why a lot of men clam up when things get tense. >> do you think that people who treat you the way you let them? >> that's where the off and on thing, he keeps -- he's not turning it off because he knows that if i keep it open ended i can come back. >> sometimes people treat you the way they want to. like when y break up with a girl and then she throws a trash can through your front window, like, i didn't ask for that. >> yes. why were you dating a woman who was a psycho to begin with? >> you never know they're crazy until they do the crazy things. >> other things that come along with the crazy. i knew she was crazy but all i can say is there's something about crazy women that you really, really love. >> crazy. why are we doing this? >> i don't know about you -- one more question or a couple more. >> how. my name is leanne from brooklyn, new york. my question is, why is it all right for guys to spend money on cars, electronics, sporting events, but they give us a hard time when we want to spend money on shoes and bags and clotheses? >> i tell you why. because we cannot wear your shoes. but you can drive in the car. you can play the electronics. you can play the video game. everything that we buy, you can participate in. we cannot fit into your minolas. >> is this his money he's spending on his electronics? >> i think she meant their money. >> you've been married three years. i've been married 12. you don't have any money. you don't have -- right now, you don't have a thing, as a matter of fact. you don't own anything. >> i'm just saying, based on how she was asking the question. at my house we are one. my money is her money. you know. it ain't a lot of it but it's ours. >> any studies for this. >> i get a small allowance. i think it's like my wife likes bags. for a guy i look at it, i've got a back pack that's the only bag i need. my wife, why does she need all these bags. only one wallet, how many bags does she need to carry in? >> you're lucky if she only has one wallet. >> thank you so much. >> it is so much fun. you're getting good at this. we're going to tell you about an exciting new contest we are kicking off today. >> if you know a guy whether it's your husband or yur dad or your brother or best friend who can dish it out as well as these guys here and would be a great addition to our man panel we want to know about him. >> all we need is a one minute video of him telling us why he should be part of the panel. we will fly the winner to new york city to join these guys live during our segment next month. go to klgandhoda.com. what a fun contest. >> that is going to be fun. >> up next, how one couple managed to pay off almost $125,000 in debt. >> wow. >> but first, these messages. . it's time for today's money and choosing digging out of debt over going broke. five years ago while their friends all suggested they file for bankruptcy, candy and russell, a stay at home mom and chemist, decided to go against thgrain and they decided to pay off $123,000 that they owed. it wasn't easy and candy and russell are here with financial editor jean chatzky to tell us how they did it. >> welcome. >> welcome. >> and congratulations. >> absolutely. >> a lot of things put you in debt. some of them medical, right? tell us about how you got there? >> well, it wasn't overnight. it was 16 years. and it basically started when we decided we wanted to have a family. i had two miscarriages and opted to come home from my full-time job and so what happened then is we were blessed with twins and no income to replace mine and all of a sudden now we're purchasing two of everything for our daughters and, you know, 16 years later, everyday purchases, everyday stuff, we didn't live lavish. >> you lad to get more work, didn't you, to try to help make ends meet? >> i picked up a part-time job working at a grocery store five nights a week from 12:00 to 4:00 in the morning. >> the stress from being in all that debt is overwhelming. how did you guys handle that stress? >> well, i as starting to get very depressed and feeling the burden of all that. that's when candy went to the family means in minnesota and got help for us to try to see what we could do about it? >> from a counselor? from whom? >> the local agency that was member certified with the national credit foundation in washington, d.c. they went over our financials and said you need to pay this much a month and you'll be out of debt in five years. >> it's a great thing for people to do. if you're feeling you can't make your monthly payments or getting further and further into debt every single month, a credit couns lor is a great stop because they'll look at your financials and they'll take you through a process where they will say to you, hey, you can do this yourself. or you're a good candidate for our debt management program which what is the hildabrands did or you are too far gone and you will need to file bankruptcy. >> once they did tell you how much you had to put aside each month, what did you do to make sure that you paid that? what did you change about the way you were living to make sure that got paid? >> everything. there was no discretionary income. it was bare essentials especially the first three years. we lived off the basics. and, you know, we had to wait for food to go on sale and like he said, he acquired a second job so that i could stay home with our children. >> and russell was sleeping in the car. >> that's what i read. >> so that he didn't have to spend the money on gas to get back and forth to work. he was sleeping in the car and saving $100 a week which they used for food. >> a lot of people who are in debt like the hildabrands would file for bankruptcy. they would take that option. why wouldn't that have been a good idea? >> i think it wasn't a good idea for them. they could have filed bankruptcy. it would have killed their credit. actually they emerged from counseling with stronger credi able to buy a home so they are on the road to recovery, if not fully recovered, but there are people i hear from every day who say, i can't file for bankruptcy. it's not in me. >> yes. >> it's pride and self-respect thing. >> what's the advice for other couples like the hildabrands, in debt, scared. >> it's overelming. >> absolutely. they went to the right place, they went to a not for profit credit counselor. these days you turn on the radio and you hear a lot of scam artist out there telling you they can get you out of debt with no work it's not true. the nfcc.org is a not for profit organization, they can get you to a credit counselor in your area. i actually like it where people see the counselor face to face. >> yes. >> and have a relationship. >> and then they come up with a plan for you. if it works it costs a little bit of money, about $50 a month to st in a program like this, but you pay them, they pay your bills, your bills get paid on time. >> like weight watchers. the buddy system. >> how are we doing? we're okay? you're both okay? >> yes. >> congratulations. >> you must feel so good about that and quite an example for your children. >> yes. >> bless you guys. >> thank you. >> jean, thank you, too. thank you so much. >> sad he had to sleep in his car. >> i know. up next mario lopez is in the kitchen cooking up something dirty. >> that's what he does. they're called mud tacos. is he here yet? >> he is. >> that "regis and kelly" kept him. all right. besides being the host of tv's "extra" mario lopez, get this, he has some writing skills. >> that's right. >> we never knew. he's the co-author of a children's book he wrote with his sister called "mud tacos" being released in spanish. >> very good. >> mario is going to share his family's taco recipe with us today. >> we're going to be doing tacos right here. i would like to take the credit for it. this is just that, a good chunk of meat. we're going to have the tacos. little bell peppers. >> right off the bat you lost me. >> do you cook, mario? >> i'll be honest i'm good with thrilling. thrilled with the grill. >> this is some garlic. >> okay. >> this is -- what is this? >> you don't know what that is. >> like i said, my sister's the one -- i throw it all in. >> let me smell it and i'll let you know. >> yes. at's good. massage it all in there. get this all in there. >> thank goodness the recipe is on our website. >> pour it in here. >> he does not know how to cook this. >> you put it in here. >> this is stock. >> that's chicken broth. >> that's what i said. that's chicken broth. >> stock. >> also the same thing. >> get that in there. all right. turn that on. and then you're supposed to chop this, but i see no -- we'll throw the whole thing in there. >> this is a crock pot. >> yes. >> this is a crock pot deal. >> okay. >> there it is. very good. >> let it sit. >> let it simmer. >> how long? do you know? >> hours. >> you don't even know. >> we're talking like six to eight hours. and voila, look at that, it looks like that. you cut it up. >> okay. >> and then it ends up looking like this. >> where's the taco part of it? >> there should be tortillas around here. >> oh. there's tortillas. >> then you get these suckers like this. what i love about mexican food, you just use your hands. get in there and you get some -- >> little lime. >> little lime. >> that's called lime. >> little lime and do you like cheese? >> what kind of cheese is this? this is -- >> what is that? do you know what that is. >> monterey jack. >> mexican cheese. >> okay. >> little sour cream. >> okay. >> right. >> looks beautiful. >> and more cilantro? >> very visual. this is different from the mud taco which we're making. >> okay. >> these are the real tacos. i'm so excited about the book itself. there's stories from my sister and i growing up. >> tell us about the stories you guys tell? >> for me, mud tacos -- there we are. that's my sister and i when i'm 5 and she's 3. >> what is her name again? >> marissa. >> look at the arms even then, you had it baby. >> my mom had me in activities. it represents the best of times when we went in the backyard and created our own imagine nary world. often kids don't visit that world now. with video games and what have you. we're encouraging imagination. brother and sister bond. >> i love you released it in spanish as well, why was that important? >> our culture, we wanted to express our culture. i'm not going to beat you over the head with the tortilla, but sprinkle words here and there and universal stories everybody can relate. >> is that you on the cover? >> me and my sister, yes. >> can't you tell by the dimles. >> dimles are hard to do. >> who is your illustrator on that? >> a lady named maryn roos. that's my dog oso which means bear. it's great because they're my actual cousins that are in the book. yeah. my mom and all the family. so excite the. >> so weet. >> it's in book stores now. >> i'm going to be all over the -- >> the world here. >> yes. all over the world selling it, but here in new york and jersey and connecticut. >> what age is this for. >> 3 and up. >> we could read that. >> definitely. >> we made our mud taco? are we finished? >> i want the kids to make the mud tacos at home. these are the real tacos. >> what about the margaritas you're hiding. >> you don't have the salt. >> i cannot have salt. >> i'm not -- >> i'm wounded. >> you have a -- >> cheers. mario, good luck with your book. >> we'll toast to it. >> called "mud taco." we'll be back with more on "today." so we brought in a real chef to test taste mario's obviously sister's tacos. >> give her all the credit. >> they smell good. >> however you forget -- >> look at that with one bite. that's a professional. >> and? let's hear. curtis is chewing. >> signal, thumb's up. >> i saw it in his eyes he loves it. >> it is good. >> doesn't it need a little salsa? >> you provide enough spice, my dear. you're there. you provide enough spice. >> half a tongue, i'm still twice the woman. >> excuse me. >> stop it. >> glad you're here. good luck with your book. >> say hello to your sister. >> i will. >> she's watching in houston right now. >> watch "extra" every night. >> extra extra! >> there it is. >> tomorrow our ambush make-over. come to the plaza we might pick you. >> see you then. make it an awesome day, because if you don't do it it ain't going to happen. >> she's still talking. >> have a good day, everybody.

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