Transcripts For WRC Today 20110829

police are baffled. her father speaks out in a live interview. and she's pregnant. beyonce stuns the crowd at the mtv video music awards and let's the world know she and her husband jay-z are expecting. and music's power couple couldn't be more excited today, and music's power couple couldn't be more excited today, monday, august 29th, 2011. captionsd for aiby nbc-universal television good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm ann curry. i want to give you a look here in new jerseyy where a house is on fire. as you can see, related to the flooding that's all around it as a result of hurricane irene. it's a dramatic image. and there are so many this morning, matt. >> we're hearing this may have en caused by a gas le. obviousl firefighters are having a difficult time getting to that home because of the flooding. it's just one of the terrible situations that has occurred, as you mentioned, ann, as a result of hurricane and tropical storm irene. it has left incredible damage up and down the east coast. >> that's right. you've got a lot -- and this is a picture of vermont this morning where torrential rains from the once powerful hurricane has led to some wide spread flood ing there. you know, people were thinking it was going to become more quiet as a storm as it was moving north. it sure as heck did it. >> a captain with the state police says this is the worst he's seen in the state of ver montd in 24 years. small brooks and streams look a lot like raging rivers in some areas, especially in southern vermont where a historic covered bridge was simply just washed away. >> as we mentioned, at least 20 people were killed. three firefighters were also injured. more than 15 homes were left uninhabitable just in connecticut alone. new york mass transit system was shut down entirely. and this morning it's just now coming back online for millions of commuters. but a lot of people are saying that irene was not as bad as expected. in fact, they're saying it was over hyped. was it? we're going to talk about that coming up this morning. but let us begin on a monday morning with irene's aftermath and what to expect today, beginning with the flooding in vermont. nbc's ron allen is up in bradle burrough. good morning to you. >> that's a babbling brook normally behind me there, but the water is just raging. it's a good example of what's happening across the state. officials said before it is epic and they're still trying to get their arms around exactly what's happened here. by one town, more than 250 roads that have been blocked, bridges have been washed out in many places as we were driving up here last night. we saw a lot of places where you just couldn't get to, a lot of detours in the way. sadly there is one fatality to report. a 20-year-old woman who was swept away from a river bank while she was watching the rivers rise frwith her boyfrien. we heard a report of a team of firefighters, their boat capsized as they were trying to rescue people. they had to be rescued themselves. this morning we're talking to the town manager. she's out early this morning with firefighters and police still trying to assess things. in some places the waters are still rising. and rising very quickly because these were flash floods. in other places the waters are receding. the connecticut river starts up here, heads south, it's about seven or eight feet above where it normally is. all the waters are gathering, they go down into massachusetts and connecticut, causing more flooding down there. here there are still some people out of their homes. they started evacuating people late saturday night. but still, the many places in vermont all caught a lot of people off guard because they didn't think irene would have much of a punch when she got this far north. but she certainly did. >> ron, thanks very much. hundreds of miles from where irene made landfall. ron, thank you very much. four minutes after the hour. here's ann. >> irene caused billions of dollars of damage from south carolina to the seaboard. "today's" national correspondent amy robach is in lodi. >> this is main street in lodi, new jersey, and it's the massive flooding like this along with the power outages that left millions still impacted by hurricane irene. it was just a tropical storm by the time it hit vermont, but yesterday afternoon irene was still packing a devastating punch. >> oh, my gosh. >> reporter: torrential rains burst river banks and left some towns nearly swamped. a final cruel step in the storm's destructive march up the eastern seaboard. on saturday morning, the first hurricane to hit the u.s. in three years made landfall in north carolina. 85-mile-an-hour winds and a monumental storm surge provided a frightening introduction. >> i just kind of baton down the hatches and took everything, put everything away that could blow around. >> reporter: continuing north, irene dropped upwards of 16 inches of rain on virginia. and took the life of an 11-year-old boy when this tree fell on his apartment. one of at least 23 deaths related to the storm. with nearly one in five people in maryland left without electricity, and waters in philadelphia rising as high as 15 feet, irene continues northward. new jersey, new york, and connecticut took extraordinary action, shutting down services and evacuating people by the thousands. >> i saw some of these news feeds that i've been watching upstairs of people sitting on the beach in asbury park. get the hell off the beach and got out. >> reporter: sunday morning with slightly diminished winds, irene responded to governor christie and the flooding was instant. "today" show correspondent peter alexander felt irene's wrath on coney island. >> this by far are s. the strongest. >> reporter: al roker was standing by as a lifeguard station got swept away. >> whoa, look at that. >> reporter: i had my own personal encount we're the fast rising waters of new york's harbor. this is flooding as far as the eye can see. but in manhattan the storm did not approach the catastrophic levels some had prepared for. it went by fast, and so does its effects. heading into new england, irene continued to lose the raw wind power of a hurricane, but still managed to leave its mark. in connecticut, rhode island, massachusetts, and rain-soaked vermont, while cities, towns and states struggle to get back to normal their leaders face a different concern, deciding if their preparation for irene was truly worth all the effort. >> they are alive today but they're because of it and in spite of it. we're just not going to take any risks with people's lives. best sent naur you possible is you take the precautions and it turns out they're not needed. >> reporter: irene may go down as the most damaging storm to ever hit the state of new jersey. the cost estimates already into the billions for this state alone. now, the good news in this area, these flood waters are already starting to recede. they're hoping to have this area cleared up we mid week. however, that may not be the case for many parts of this state. and, of course, across the seaboard. ann, back to you. >> thank you so much for your reporting. it is now 7:08. now, here's matt. >> let's go get a little more on irene from al roker who is finally high and dry upstairs. good morning to you. >> good morning. thanks. first, we want to go back to pompton lakes, new jersey, to give you a bird's-eye view of what's going on up there. a fire sparked because of a gas explosion. we think it is flood related. the sprob this house is a total, total loss because firefighters really couldn't get to it because of all the flooding. and really tragic situation there. let's take a look, here's where irene is now, making its way into quebec and new inland as it moves north no, longer a tropical storm, just barely a depression making it was i out. what we do have though the remnants of irene, the flooding. flood warnings in effect from delaware all of the way on up into maine. the rivers especially in western massachusetts, vermont, new hampshire, a lot of high rivers there. also northern new jersey and central new york, as well. the path of the storm, it was really over the last seven days, started out through san juan, puerto rico, up through the bahamas, on up making landfall on the outer banks there. in new jersey and finally up into new york as a trop cical storm. the problem we're looking at now, we've got another depression outhere if t if bemes a storm it will be later on today. matt? >> thank you very much. we'll get the rest of your forecast in a little while. now the debate on whether the storm measured up to all the coverage. nbc's peter alexander experienced the storm firsthand. you were at the beach on connie island and now you're in the studio, what do you think? >> i'm still finding sand in my ears right now. your perspective on the to remember is a function of where you live. if you're in vermont or upstate new york or outer banks of north carolina, you are surely not asking this question right now. but in manhattan and other place where's many people expected hollywood type windows being blown out, they did, in fact, get a little bit less than expected. as you saw i experienced this experien firsthand at coney island. people were asking were we over-evacuated and was this storm over-hyped. this is not hunkering down. >> three hours ago i was reporting on the end of that dock. right now, it's floating. >> reporter: from the start we were warned our introduction to irene would be an ugly one. >> this has the makings of just the hurricane of our lifetime. >> reporter: an onuminous stormn the radar and on tv. >> it gets scarier and scarier. >> reporter: but was the first major hurricane of 2011 oversold? surely not if you ask the flood victims in more than a dozen states. >> we're a little worried right now. >> reporter: or the hundreds of thousands waking up in morning in the dark. >> we have power. these people have no power. >> reporter: and certainly in the in the minds of the families who lost loved ones. the economic losses are predicted to be in the range of $7 billion. but some say we wasted millions more stocking up and shutting down, ahead of a potential disaster that never met expectations. the good news is, at least along the coast, not as much damage as we thought. >> reporter: in fact, irene reached the big apple as a category 1, quickly downgraded to a tropica storm. still punishing as i can attest. wow, that is just sotinging and uncomfortable. but causing limited damage. >> i'm glad that my kids are fine. my family is okay. >> reporter: opinions poured in on twitter. irene ain't no pushover, one wrote. she's still at it. irene was the most over-hyped, underwomening event since the "hangover 2." of course, it's easy to point fingers in hindsight. but lessons from past severe storms -- >> my relatives in mississippi and in louisiana would beg to differ. >> reporter: -- have taught us we are beth served being overprepared. >> mother nature calls so i would rather take the proper precaution. >> reporter: new york governor andrew cuomo addressed the topic with my sunday night. >> just because it could have been worse doesn't mean the preparation wasn't justified. >> reporter: now it's easy to say whatever you like about irene. but everyone agrees, we are better off with her behind us. >> it was a hurricane. could have been -- could have been worse. it blew past us. what are you going to do, you know? >> reporter: as we have been seeing this morning there is significant flooding. and while this storm may have passed the damage and impact is only now beginning to be assessed, there are many places where they believe the rivers will only begin to flood later this week, matt. we're still going to be watching exactly what the impact of irene was well into the week. matt? >> peter alexander. peter, thank you very much. let's bring back in al along with the weather channel's jim canne er cantore. let's start with you, al. was this storm overhypes? this storm killed more than 20 people and 4 million bepeople a without power, and clearly there's misery and destruction. how could it have been overhyped and yet people still question it. why? >> you look at the predictions, you look at the track, which was right on the money. category 3 storm. there's no armth here. >> so what's bugging people? because there are some people who are bugged by this? >> if we could make half the progress with intensity forecast as we've made with track forecast, this would be big, this would be better, but we didn't do that. we thought this was going to be a cat 4 comining to the outer banks. >> the fact of the matter is the same people who are yelling that this storm was overhyped might have been yelling, as you down played this storm, and it had been more severe than you thought. think about this. >> here's a minimal category 1 storm. 23 people have lost their lives. how many more people would have died or could have died if this had been a stronger storm? the preparations -- everything that was done, i would say we should do over again if we get the same scenario. >> how many more times do we have to play pictures in. >> and yet, brian, you see the evacuations of 300,000 people in lower manhattan, a million people along the jersey shore and they say, we didn't have to leave our homes. how would you respond? >> well, the fact, is matt, if i were to say to you that there's a one in ten chance that you're going to die if you don't fix that wheel on your car when you leave the studio this morning, probably you would fix it and most people would fix it. but not everybody would. and if you equate it in that kind of way, you know, the fact is that we don't know for sure but the odds were significant enough of a threat to life and more than property, but especially to life, because we didn't take action, that maybe one in ten chance. >> al, would you deal with a one in ten chance with life and death? most people would not. >> al, is there a chance though that people who left their homes and inconvenienced by the evacuations and shut-downs of transportation systems during this storm are going to be less likely to leave their homes the next time they get warned of a storm approaching? >> of course. >> and might that not put them in harm's way? >> it will. but they need to keep in mind, again, 23 people are dead. and you know, look, if there's a bear outside your door and i see it and i don't say anything to you. i'm irresponsible. doesn't mean the bear is going to get in there and get you but you need to know that it's there. >> there's another aspect to them, jim. when the storm made landfall in knowledge knowledge and new york. we seen reports in the field talking about sustained winds of 45 miles an hour, 55 miles an hour. in all the years we've been reporting on hurricanes that is not a category 1 hurricane. in our opinion, did the national hurricane center keep this storm labeled a category 1 hurricane simply to keep people afraid and safe? and is that appropriate? >> no, i don't think they did at all. i mean, there all discussions through this, especially the second half of this thing, about how if you went up with height, there were very much stronger winds. >> that's not in the past how we label hurricanes. when they hit florida and atlantic coast we call them category 1 if it's 75 miles an hour, sustained and above. that's not what happened in this one. why? >> as it's coming up the coast it was still technically a hurricane. and you have to make sure that people are prepared for this. now, is it going to die down? yes, it did. but on the back side of the storm, like in long beach, we were getting 65, 70-mile-per-hour wind gusts. so, you know, you absolutely have to err on the side of caution. >> battery, the strongest winds came after the storm moved north. same thing here. >> al roker, jim cantore, thank you for doing this with us. what do you think about this? was hurricane irene overhyped? head to our website, today.com, let us know. we'll tell you the results of what you had to say. let's get a check of the other top stories out, natalie morales is over at the news desk. >> we have news from libya this morning from family of convicted lockerbie bomber tells nbc news he is in a coma and without medicine. nbc's stephanie gosk is there with more. stephanie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. that's right. we spoke with his son. he's concerned his father is in a coma. he told us that looters broke into hisso house and stole his medicine. we were at the house this morning and we didn't see any signs of looters. he was of tnl person convicted of the 1988 bombing of panam flight 183 that killed the passengers and crew over lockerbie, scotland. two years after his release he is still alive. the man who orchestrated one of the worse air attacks in history is living here in this gated upscale community in tripoli. his brother spoke to the press gathered outside the house. the doctors, he says, are not allowing visitors, but cnn managed to capture these images showing someone believed to be looked up to life support. the scottish government released him in 2009. doctors said he would soon die of cancer. at home in libya he was greeted like a hero and met personally by gadhafi's son. now that the government is topped new york centers asked the national council to return the former intelligence officer to fully account for the attack that killed 189 americans. but with him now possibly on responsive and near death, remaining questions about panam 103 may remain unanswered. the ntc leaders who are not even in tripoli yet said they won't be extraditing him because they believe that's tantamount of a government ears government's betrayal to one of its citizens. wall street is open for business again today. cnbc's mandy drury is at the new york stock exchange. good morning. >> good morning. you're right. irene is over, wall street is open for business today. we're hoping for a calm if not positive trading day. i should say, though, we will be taking on the impact on stocks of airlines and also insurance that has been effected by irene. in fact, investment bank morgan stanry is saying that property and casualty insurers may be able to raise prices on the back of this. lots to keep an eye on today, including what happens to the economy. back to you. >> all right. we'll be watching. cnbc's mandy drury, thank you. the boys from huntington beach, california, had a big reason to celebrate at the little league world series. they beat japan 2-1 sunday with the bases loaded and two outs. 12-year-old smacked a game-winning hit in the sixth inning. congratulations to them. it is 7:20. you're up to date. let's turn it back to matt, ann, and al. >> it is such an exciting tournament to watch. it's really cool. natalie, thank you very much. you've got more work ahead of you. watch. it's really cool. >> thank you very much. more work ahead of you. >> nothing too bad around the country. we don't have severe risk areas, a few showers and thunderstorms in the central plains. beautiful weather out west, 70s, 90, heat continues in southern california. a beautiful day here in the northeast with temperatures in the 70s and plenty of sunshine and low humidity. country, here is what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. temperatures now in the 60s around the region. thankfully we have light winds, good weather for the recovery efforts as we mop up after irene and get everything -- at least get power back and lawns back in shape. we've got a lot of leaves down and branches down. it's going to take much of the week to take care of that. thankfully good wet into the 80s, not much humidity. there's a small >> and that's your latest weather, matt? >> al, thank you very much. still to come, the mysterious disappearance of young college student in ohio also seen by her fiance. this disappearance has left business plainti police baffled. her father will speak out in a live interview. ♪ [ male announcer ] how could switchgrass in argentina, change engineering in dubai, aluminum production in south africa, and the aerospace industry in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. coming up, former vice president dick cheney speaks out about his controversial new memoir and some of his most private moments in the white house. we'll hear from his exclusively. plus, beyonce makes a big announcement in a big way. wh what? she's pregnant, after your local news. the best approach to food is to keep it whole for better nutrition. that's what they do with great grains cereal. they steam and bake the actual whole grain while the other guy's flake is more processed. mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal. we get double miles on every purchase, so me and the boys earned a trip to dc twice as fast! oh hi! we get double miles every time we use our card. and since double miles add up fast... one more chariot please. ...we can bring the whole gang! i cannot tell a lie. he did it. right... it's hard to beat double miles! read my lips -- no new axes! [ male announcer ] get the venture card from capital one, and earn double miles on every purchase, every day. go to capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? so, you're a democrat right? [ male announcer ] it's been a good year for the chevy silverado. and not because of the awards or the accolades. no, it was good because you told us so. the chevy model year wrap up. get in on our greatest model year yet. just announced -- celebrate labor day with an additional $500 bonus cash. with all other offers, including the all-star edition discount, that's a total value of $6,500. ♪ our greatest model year yet is wrapping up. vo: a breakfast worth waking up for. enjoy the sausage, egg and cheese croissan'wich today. only at burger king. good morning, 7:26 on monday the 29th day of august, i'm joe krebs. there's a major cleanup effort, trees and wires down across the area. tens of thousands of people still have no power. let's check in with tom kierein for the latest on the forecast. >> good morning. thankfully we do have good weather for the recovery efforts for the next few days. low humidity, morning lows near 60, afternoon highs low- to mid-80s. quite a bit of sunshine. there's a small chance of an isolated shower in washington. thursday perhaps in the noon or evening, a passing storm. friday and saturday partly cloudy, maybe more storms saturday. saturday. america's favorite coffee is now available for america's favorite single-serve brewer. try new dunkin' k-cup packs and enjoy the freshly brewed signature taste at home. it's a beautiful thing. come in today for all five dunkin' k-cup varieties, available only at dunkin' donuts stores. america runs on dunkin' coffee. good morning. so far no accidents on the beltway. here is a live look, slow from college park towards georgia avenue. you are putting on the brakes. 7:30 now on this monday morning, august 29th, 2011. the rain and wind from irene are gone. it's actually a nice start to the morning here in rockefeller plaza. the sun, it's a little cooler, around 50 degrees outside. friends and families back home. i'm inside studio 1-a, i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer. happy news, beyonce has made a big announcement at mtv video music awards. is that what it is? we'll tell you more coming up. >> good guess. plus, dick cheney looks back at his controversial time in the white house. in an exclusive interview he pulls no punches, makes no apologies. going to hear from the former vice president just ahead. but first, the case of a missing 22-year-old woman in suburb of cincinnati, ohio, that has investigators stumped. we're going to talk to her father in just a moment. but first, nbc's john yang is in fairfield, ohio, with more. john, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. this morning it's just over two weeks since katelyn markham was last seen. police say they are no closer to figuring out what happened to her than they were on day one. investigators say they don't recall another case as baffling as this one. ask loved ones about 22-year-old katelyn markham and the adjectives pour out. her fiance, john carter. >> she's beautiful and she's creative. she's very outspoken, very outgoing, and very driven. >> reporter: her father, david markh markham. >> katelyn is very remarkable, beautiful woman, head strong, determined, focused. >> reporter: now anothered a jektive, missing. katelyn was last seen at home late saturday night august 13th when her fiance said he left after watching television. he said the next day he texted her as usual, assuming she was at work. as morning became afternoon and then evening, no response. >> it terrified me. i was absolutely scared. i called everyone where she could possibly be. i called my mom. i called her dad. >> reporter: at katelyn's home, carter and david markham found her car, no signs of violence, and her purse and keys in their proper places. >> that's when it truly, truly sunk in that something is not right. >> reporter: carter called police. >> my fiance is missing. i can't find her anywhere. >> okay. where did you see her last? >> i saw her at like 12:00 last night. >> reporter: police searched on foot, atv, and from the air. they checked security cameras and went through katelyn's computer and cell phone records. so far, nothing. >> i've been doing this for 40 plus years, and i can't recall a case where there simply was no evidence whatsoever to guf yive a direction to go in. it's just a mystery. it's almost as if she vanished. >> reporter: katelyn and carter have been together for six years and planned to marry in two years. neither he nor katelyn's father believe she ran away just a month before she was to get her bachelor's degree. >> for her to quit, give up, throw her hands up and say i've had enough, absolutely not. >> reporter: the only thing missing, katelyn's cell phone. records show it hasn't been on since 12:45 sunday morning the weekend she disappeared. carter says he calls it every day. >> i hope, that's all i've been doing is hoping. i just hope. >> reporter: thanks so an anonymous donor the reward for information about katelyn now stands at $5,000. ann? >> all right, john yang, thank you so much. volunteers have carried out several searches for katelyn and are now planning a new search today. meantime, katelyn markham's father david is now joining us. mr. markham, good morning. >> good morning. >> sir, these last two weeks have got to be the most difficult in your entire life. what do you want to say this morning? here you are on the "today" show. what do you want to say about your missing daughter? >> i want her to come home. i miss her desperately. as for the remarkable young woman that she is, for her to disappear like this, it's -- it's -- i just can't imagine, i can't believe it's happening. it's a parent's worst nightmare. i'd like it to be over. >> no doubt. and hearing then what investigators are baffled, that they don't have any progress in this case so far, has got to be so difficult for you. so what is your theory? what do you think happened to your girl? >> i don't know. you know, i wish there was some answer. i wish that the -- might have been a sign of a struggle at the apartment, i wish there was some kind of a clue, a direction to have. i believe somebody knows something out there. i wish they would speak up and talk. but just the fact that there's nowhere to start looking other than where we have on the ground and in the air, and we're going to continue to spread the searches. but we're really starting, you know, with nothing. >> yeah. her fiance, john carter, was, as i understand it, the last person to see her before she disappeared. what did he say about her demeanor, about the events of the last time he was able to see her? >> we didn't really talk much about that. we were with the police. it was pretty much just, you know, trying to search the apartment, get some clues, talk to neighbors. from what i understand, there was nothing unusual. katelyn said she had to go to bed, and it was time for her to go to bed. she had work in the morning. typical katelyn. it's time for me to go to bed, i've got a busy day tomorrow. so it sounds like everything was normal. you know, everyday life of katelyn. >> you've completely ruled out the possibility that she would have just left, that something might have been bothering her and she just needed some time off to herself. have you ruled that out completely? >> i don't rule anything out completely today. it's just very unusual. she has never gone for 24 hours without letting somebody know, let alone two weeks. yes, the work times that she would not come home in the evening but she would send me a text maybe late at night saying, don't expect to find me, you know, in bed in the morning. i won't be home but i'll be there later and i'll check with you. so to leave without a trace, without a sign, without her keys, her purse, her sketchbook, her laptop, anything she was always carrying with her is very unusual. >> and a degree, bachelor's degree, just a month away from now. when you imagine, david, a happy ending to this, what goes through your mind? >> i pray for that every day. i want to hug her so bad. i want to see her. and that is what i'm looking forward to, is a happy ending. i keep playing this in my mind that one of these days she's going to walk up, maybe pull in the parking lot this morning and apologize profusely for me not getting the message. her come in saying, i thought you got the message that i was taking a break. that's what i really am praying for. >> well, i think as of this morning more people are praying for that for you. david markham, thank you for joining us. our best to you. >> thank you. and now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> ann, thanks so much. and agaier from al. >> ann, thanks so much. again, we've been talking about the aftermath of hurricane irene. as you look, these are the outer banks. we've seen route 12, which is a mean road in the outer banks completely washed out. there are plans completely cut off like ducking, north carolina. we continue to see the damage and assess the damage from this powerful storm. let's see what's going on in other parts of the country. heat be the big story. 105 in abilene, dallas 105 as well. that's where the heat is mostly concentrated. the rest of the country you can see we have warm temperatures throughout the southwest but also more moderate temperatures through the plains, great lakes on into the northeast. the good news is there's no severe weather anywhere. we've got plenty of sunshine, a few showers in the central plains. otherwise lots of sunshine and low humidity sprl in the northeast and great lakes. that's what going on around the country, here is what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> some benevolent weather for our recovery and we certainly do need it. we've got a lot of work over the next few days. right now low- to mid-60s in the region, low humidity and partly cloudy sky. quite a bit of cloudiness around later this afternoon, only a small chance of a shower or thundershower. mainly south and southwest of washington. then later tonight clearing out, chilly start tomorrow morning down into the 50s in many locations. afternoon highs in the mid-80s and >> and any time you need your weather you can go of tour weather channel on cable or weather.com online. ann? >> al, thank you. coming up next, nbc news exclusive. dick cheney talks about the secrets revealed in his new memoir that has all of washington talking. and later, beyonce's big announcement at last night's mtv video music awards. but first, these messages. we're still out to win over burger lovers. woman: it's really good! man: the taste is great. ancr: st in time r the grilling season. n madelicious burger. the taste is great. maman, i'm on my third one right now. it's awesome. woman: i would definitely have a turkey burger again. man: this is fantastic. ancr: grilling season is here. so come on. make the switch. look for jennie-o at a store near you. and join us at switchtoturkey.com. i usually work alone... don't mind him. chocolate's just got a chip on his shoulder. [ female announcer ] new quaker chewy smashbar. kid-loved ingredients, smashed together. with 33% less sugar than the leading sweet snacks. and an at&t sharp fx plus. ok, does it itch? oh yeah, we're rashing. what? does he want to chew it? chew it? i don't know, do you want to chew it? no! wait, wrong website, that's a canine condition, sorry. what, did he say? he said you're going to be fine. let's finish this round. [ male announcer ] get everything you need for back to college, like the latest smartphones starting at 97 cents. save money. live better. walmart. [ announcer ]atest smartphones who could resist the call... of america's number-one puppy food brand? with dha and essential nutrients also found in mother's milk. purina puppy chow. with an exclusive interview with dick cheney. the former vice president releases his new memoir "in my time" this week. it's an unapologetic account of his time in the white house and already making waves. "today" national correspondent sat down with mr. cheney in wyoming. jamie, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. known to be discrete, a man with few words, the book is filled with revelation, criticism, and a glimpse behind the curtain of private conversations and critical moments with the president who picked hip, george w. bush. you may remember that dick chen cheney's se vet service name was angler and it's as fitting as ever. at 70 years old dick cheney may spend his free time fishing, and after major heart surgery, look a little frail, but don't be fooled. this book is going to make a lot of people angry. >> there are going to be heads exploding all over washington, jamie were conservative hero the his fans, darth vader to his critics, cney's book is an unapologetic defense to his vice presidency and the controversial program he's championed after 9/11. in your view, we should still be using enhanced interrogation? >> yes. >> should we still be waterboarding terror suspects? >> i would strongly support using it again if we had a high-value detainee, that was the only way we could get him to talk. >> people call it torture. you think it should still be a tool? >> yes. >> rendition. >> yes. >> secret prisons. >> yes. >> wiretapping. >> well, with the right approval. >> you say it is one of the things you are proudest of and you would do it again in a heartbeat. >> it was con tro verse shul at the time. it was the right thing to do. >> no apologies? >> no apologies. >> reporter: and now cheney insists he's not settling scores the book takes on everyone from former cia director george tenet to former secretary of state colin powell to this withering portrayal of condoleezza rice. >> you said she came in and saturday next to my desk and tearfully admitted i had been right. was she crying? >> she was tearful. that's what i wanted to write. if i wanted to say she was chiropractoring, i would have said she was crying. >> you know tearfully was a loaded description for powerful women in high office. it's going to be seen by a lot of people as provocative. could you have left that word out? >> it is an accurate description of what happened and what i saw. >> reporter: for the record, cheney praises president bush as bold and decisive. who is in charge in the white house? >> the president, no question, always. >> was he sensitive about the fact that people thought you were running things? >> not as sensitive as i would have expected. i think some of the staff occasionally were aggravated by a story that said cheney is pulling the strings behind the scenes. but it was never true. i mean, george bush was the president. >> reporter: but cheney also goes public with revelations about his old boss. including private conversations which show just how much the decider-in-chief depended on the adviser-in-chief. listen to the difference in how the two men describe the eve of the iraq war. president bush writes, i turned to the team gathered in the oval office and said, let's go. you write, the president kicked everyone else out of the oval office, looked at me and said, dick, what do you think we ought to do? >> that's the way i recall it. i was giving advice. i wasn't making the decision. he was making the decision. >> reporter: do you think she's revelations will embarrass president bush? >> i don't know why. >> well, he's saying, let's go, i'm the leader. >> well, he was. >> but you're revealing that it didn't happen that way. he cleared out the office. he said, dick, what do you think we should do? >> right. >> the very different picture. >> right. but then he made the decision. it wasn't my decision. >> don't you think it will embarrass him that you point out the difference? >> i -- i didn't set out to embarrass the president or not embarrass the president. >> reporter: that said, the memoir also portrays a side of dick cheney that most people have never seen. at thee end of the book cheney writes philosophically about his five heart attacks and mortality. last summer he went into end stage heart failure and doctors implanted a heart pump. could you just show me how it works? >> sure. it's got a pump inside that's tied into my heart. it's powered by batteries. they're good for about ten hours. and when you take them out it beeps. >> please put it back in. [ beep beep beep ] >> former secretary of state condoleezza rice and george tenet said the time to comment about the book, however, former secretary of state colin powell is now speaking out saying he always gave the president his best advice and he called former vice president cheney's criticism, quote, cheap shots. matt, tonight on "dateline" we're going to have much more including a visit to one of those undisclosed locaticationsk cheney spent so much time in after 9/11. >> thank you. >> and by the way, dick cheney will be right here in our studio for an exclusive live interview tomorrow morning here on "today." up next, last night's big news from beyonce and jay-z at the mtv music awards, video music awards, right after this. [ female announcer ] instantly smooth wrinkles with a shot? wait a second... with olay challenge that. new regenerist wrinkle revolution... relaxes the look of wrinkles instantly, and the look of deep wrinkles in 14 days. ready, set, smooth... regenerist. from olay. a living, breathing intelligence that's helping people rethink how they live. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. ♪ we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want, whenever you want them. it's a network of connections and ideas... open and collaborative... extending far beyond the mobile phone. connecting you to a world of intelligent new devices and technologies. from today's best innovators... and tomorrow's. ♪ it's the at&t network... a network of possibilities... and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. ♪ nlthsds wroib rationer r. we're back. 581 past the hour. beyonce and jay-z expecting a child and she made that announcement at the video music awards last night. look at this. >> look at this. >> there you go. >> i know. there you go. >> that's after a big meal. >> the thing about is her husband jay-z looks like it's a big surprise but we're thinking he probably knew ahead of time. >> i'm thinking he knew. >> i think they might have discussed it beforehand. >> that's not the way to break it to your husband, in front of several million people. other interesting moments. who is joe calderon? lady gaga has an alter ego? >> yeah. and she was -- he/she was in character all night. >> oh, dear. >> she wanted to cast him in "jersey shore." >> jersey boy. >> jersey boy, too. lady gaga was missing all night. >> and how about katy perry's outfit? looked like she just came from a video game. >> look at that. how fun. i love that hat. i think we should try that on the show. what do you think? do you think it's hard to balance? she is walking rather slowly. >> you know what? i love katy perry. you know, she has got a great sense of humor. and i think she just absolutely knows how to have a good time. >> a lot of fun. >> her hair is pink. weirdest fashion choice? >> no. >> katy won for weirdest fashion choice. you're right. >> category. >> character in a video game. >> good job. >> anyway, most importantly, congratulations to beyonce and jay jar jay-z. we don't know when she's expected. she should find out by the bump. >> she looks amazing. >> we're back after your local >> she looks amazing. >> we're back after your local news. you do look good. [ maude ] well...if you insist. [ norma ] how can i say "no" to you? [ betsy ] you know my weakness. [ gertrude ] real good. [ norma ] you're so sweet. [ maude ] you're so salty. [ betsy ] irresistible. [ female announcer ] giving in to snacks? there's a better way to satisfy your cravings, twice a day with special k. enjoy something sweet... and something salty and still stay on track. ♪ so go ahead and embrace snacking with special k. ♪ lose those lines for up to a year! juvéderm® xc is the gel filler your doctor uses to instantly smooth out lines right here. temporary side effects include redness, pain, firmness, swelling, bumps, or risk of infection. ask your doctor about juvéderm® xc. hey parents, it's going to be a see, i'm not just teaching woodwinds and strings. i'm teaching attitude! if your kids want to sound cool, they have to look cool! so, here's what they'll need: denim, graphic tees, leggings and tunics, more denim, backpacks, headphones, hair gel, denim, converse one star shoes, denim, shaun white hoodies and denim. school takes a lot. target has it all. ♪ so, i'm interviewing lots of candidates for this position. why should i choose you? oh, um... well, i'm your wife, and your car's in the shop, and you need a ride to chili's. hey, you're good. who will you take to chili's $20 dinner for two? there are 16 entrees to choose from, like our new chicken club quesadillas, made with fire-roasted corn guacamole and grilled chicken. ♪ chili's $20 for two ♪ the best approach to food is to keep it whole for better nutrition. that's what they do with great grains cereal. they steam and bake the actual whole grain while the other guy's flake is more processed. mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal. quicken loans closed my loan fast. and i know a thing or two about fast. i purchased 3 homes with quicken loans. i wouldn't use anyone else. there were no hidden fees and no surprises. quicken loans is a lot like me -- we're both engineered to amaze. but we don't make stuff. we make ovens. dual fuel double ovens. and they bake so evenly, so perfectly, that now, delicious is something you can depend on. we only make things for one room. the best room. your kitchen. we're devoted to it, delighted by it, and you can feel it in everything we make. nobody knows the kitchen like kitchenaid. good morning, 7:56, 67 degrees. i'm joe krebs on this monday morning. let's get the forecast from meteorologist tim kierein. tom. >> much needed rest for stormy weather, today, tomorrow, again on wednesday as the cleanup and recovery efforts are under way. we'll have a small chance of an afternoon shower, thundershower south of washington from fredericksberg to charlottesville, far southern maryland a small chance. otherwise partly to mostly cloudy, low humidity. low humidity tuesday and wednesday. thursday there is a possibility of some afternoon storms and perhaps again on sunday. joe. joe. >> tom, thanks ve america's favorite coffee is now available for america's favorite single-serve brewer. try new dunkin' k-cup packs and enjoy the freshly brewed signature taste at home. it's a beautiful thing. come in today for all five dunkin' k-cup varieties, available only at dunkin' donuts stores. america runs on dunkin' coffee. good morning. traveling 66 westbound i have an accident here and it's blocking your exit for fairfax county parkway. blans there on the scene. again, you can not take that exit. traveling 270, a report of an accident at falls road. so far i don't see any delays for you. i am seeing just a little bit of volume as you 8:00 now on a monday morning, 29th day of august, 2011. yesterday was a nine in terms of the miserable scale. today is a ten on the beautiful scale. it's a perfect day here in new york city. the storm has moved far to our north. we've got a nice crowd of people gathered out on the plaza. anybody here stuck in town because of the storm? >> yeah! >> look at that. a lot of people. >> i know. he wasn't here yesterday because of the storm. that was really smart. >> hunkered down okay. everything is okay? lenny, good to have you. >> all of them, new york at the airport? >> all open by noon. they're staggering opening arrivals and departures. >> very cool. and the subways are coming back up to speed this morning. >> that's right. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry and al roker. coming up, staying safe after irene. >> a lot of people are looking at their homes wondering have i had any structural damage. is there something i should be thinking about in tells of how to inspect my home. and, also, what advice do we need to make it easier to deal with our insurance companies after we suffer that kind of damage to our home. >> flooding insurance. >> yeah. >> really important. on a lighter note, our own dela rent d deis here and is back in the kitchen and it's all about p prosciutto. four wonderful ways to serve the italian delicacy. >> that just makes her happy. >> good stuff. we have a lot to get to. let's go inside. natalie is standing by at the news desk with a check of the news lines. >> good morning, everyone. hurricane irene is being blamed for more than 20 deaths after its weekend rampage from florida to new england. irene weakened to a tropical storm before it reached major population centers such as new york which had braced for possible a tas trophy. a total of 4.5 million people lost let industry, damage from water and wind is already in the billions of dollars. and airlines canceled more than 10,000 flights. nbc's anne thompson is in east haven, connecticut, suffered the worst storm damage in its history. how bad is it there, anne? >> natalie, it is very bad. you can see it in the debris strewn beach and the seawalls broken by the storm surge of ire which sent sea water 75 feet inland and you can see it in the homes. this house had its front porch torn off. there are other homes that were actually moved off their foundation and collapsed under the weight of the water. now, there is good news here, though, because people listened to the evacuation orders and went to higher ground, no one here was injured. no one here was killed. but there's an awful lot of damage to deal with on a monday morning. natalie? >> all right, it's going to be a long week for those folks there. anne thompson, thank you. libya's new government said it will not deport the man convicted of a 1988 panam bombing over lockerbie bombing. they released me gra he in 2009 because they thought he was dying from cancer and his family tells nbc news that megrahi is still alive and in tripoli. violent is ratcheting up again in iraq where nearly 30 people were killed sunday night in baghdad's largest sunni mosque was bombed. dozens of others were injured. a resurgence of the bird flu has united nations asking for greater vigilance. a mutant strain of the virus which can side step current vaccines is now spreading in china and vietnam. bird flu has killed more than 330 people worldwide since 2003. and now let's take a look at what's trending today. a quick round-up of what has you talking online. hurricane your marine. first, prayers for those in its path and now with people tweeting pictures of the damage. michael jackson's a hot search term as fans mark what would have been the king of pop's 53rd birthday. and last night's video music awards are dominating google and twitter. lady gaga's performance as a man was topped only by beyonce revealing her new baby bump as father to be jay-z looked on beaming with pride. it is 8:04 right now. you're up to date. let's go back outside to matt and ann. >> natalie, thank you. it's breezy out here. 60 degrees? kind of cold. >> don't start complaining. this is nice. , kind of cold. >> don't start complaining, it's nice. >> i'm not whining. >> 71. we've got your alma maters here. oregon, ann's alma mater. what's your name, paul jackson. >> ohio bobcats here. matt's alma mater. we need somebody from oswego out here. let's check your weather, see what's happening. we'll show you our pick city today. salt lake city, utah, ksl tv 5, sun, isolated storms in the afternoon. toasty, 91, showers and thunderstorms from oklahoma on into arkansas. we're going to take also some showers and thunderstorms making their way. monsoonal moisture due in the southwest, windy conditions remnants of irene in northern new england. beautiful weather from new york into the great lakes. pacific northwest spectacular day and the heat continues in texas on into the southwest, 90s into the 100s. that's what going on around the country, here is what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. comfortably cool here, low humidity. we need it for the recovery effort. right now at 69 at reagan national. elsewhere we're into the low and mid-60s throughout most of the region. we've got just a few clouds floating in. we'll have those coming in this afternoon, too. just a small chance of an isolated thunderstorm this afternoon south of the metro area across virginia and southern maryland, a small chance. tuesday and wednesday not humid, highs in the 80s. >> and that's your latest weather. ann? >> all right, al, thank you so much. coming up, we're going to get timely advice for you after this storm called irene on everything on how to check your home for damage and also how to deal with your insurance company. that's coming up right after this. ♪ hershey's drops. a lot of hershey's happiness in a little drop of chocolate. pure hershey's. they're a great deal. and they're perfect for getting girls' numbers. [ click ] ok, i'm getting 'em for one reason. [ male announcer ] buy 2 bic products and get one free. only at staples. that was easy. vo: a breakfast worth waking up for. [ male announcer ] buy 2 bic products and get one free. enjoy the sausage, egg and cheese croissan'wich today. only at burger king. [ woman ] we didn't know where to go next with eric's adhd. his stimulant medicine was helping, but some symptoms were still in his way. so the doctor kept eric on his current medicine and added nonstimulant intuniv to his treatment plan. [ male announcer ] for some children like eric, adding once-daily nonstimulant intuniv to their stimulant has been shown to provide additional adhd symptom improvement. don't take if allergic to intuniv, its ingredients, or taking other medicines with guanfacine, like tenex. intuniv may cause serious side effects, such as low blood pressure, low heart rate, fainting, and sleepiness. intuniv may affect the ability to drive or use machinery. other side effects include nausea, tiredness, trouble sleeping, stomach pain, and dizziness. tell the doctor about your child's medicines and medical conditions, including heart, liver, or kidney problems. [ woman ] adding intuniv helped eric. [ male announcer ] ask the doctor about once-daily nonstimulant intuniv. ♪ would you like to be my friend? ♪ ♪ i can run just like the wind ♪ i will hide up in that tree ♪ no one will ever find me ♪ wish this day would never end ♪ ♪ would you like to be my friend? ♪ ♪ everybody's trying hard to catch me ♪ [ sneezes ] [ female announcer ] only kleenex® brand has sneeze shield in all its tissues to help catch sneezes in their tracks so kids can pass on the fun of being a kid. sneeze shield your kids wherever they go. now in new convenient on-the-go packs. as a va doctor, i have more time to spend with my patients. and that's the kind of attention our veterans deserve. ♪ (announcer) learn more about careers with today's va at vacareers.va.gov. >> narrator: "today's" whip is brought to you by mcdonald's. i'm loving it. >> back now at ten after 8:00. this morning on "today's" whip we're talking about after the storm. hurricane irene may have come and gone but it left a trail of destruction along the east coast. >> that's right, matt. we assembled three experts who have important advice from cleaning up to filing a claim if your home was damaged. expert in emergency reprardness and the host of discovery channel's "track me if you can." it's not enough just to sort of p be in your house and look around, okay, it looks like we're fine. you say we really need to take a thorough inspection of your foundation. >> you've got to do a complete walk through. look at the outside and then look at the inside because storms can damage the foundation of the home. and if your foundation has been damaged, it's something that needs to be worked on. it's not something that you can just ignore and try to patch it up yourself. >> you're looking for cracks, doors don't shut correctly. >> right. cracks, you see cracks on the side, you know, warping in floor and things like that. if it is, you're going to get some people to help. >> at what point do you really need an expert, when you see significant change? >> when you see significant. >> a few cracks are not an issue. >> no, but when you see significant changes, take like a ball and you put it on the floor and it's rolling down the floor, then you know you need help. >> you also have advice when it comes to leaving your home. of course, we secure your home. of course, we plan our destinations before we drive. you say we should really be thinking about not driving or wading through flood waters. flood waters are everywhere up and down the coast. this is important information. >> unless you need to do that, unless you absolutely have to it betts f best for you to stay put until the flood waters recede. there are live wires and debris, but also hazardous biologically because there's all sorts of muck and yuck in that. >> toxins. >> if you have a open cut and sore and you wade into the flood waters, you're asking for a possibility of contracting a serious infection. >> and pets are going to be likely to jump in that water. keep them out. you say when signs and signals are down, there's a basic rule of thumb to prevent -- because there could be post-hurricane accidents because of all these lack of information. how to -- the rules of the road. >> right. right. what you're going to is is, especially like large intersections, when you have street signs down, signals and things. it's a judgment call when you're driving. it's something you have to be wary of. you certainly shouldn't drive at night. that's for sure. you have to drive low speeds, to be very cautious about how you move and where you move. it's a difficult thing. you've got to really err on the side of caution. >> without signals, it's a four-way stop. >> right. >> thank you so much. now here's matt. >> thank you. once you determine your home is safe it's time to get to the clean-up. george is a "today" contributor and host of "george to the rescue." george, good morning. >> good morning, matt. >> water damage. this is something people are dealing with. water in their basement. you've got it right now. >> i have water in my own basement. >> sump up is a big deal. >> sump pun r pump is the best thing you can have. you want to have the water out of your house or drain in your house so it's not just continuing to recycle the water. >> these work real well. these are the wet/dry vacuum cleaners. >> exactly. don't get them confuse with your regular in-home vacuum cleaner. you want one that can suck up water. you want something to suck up water. get a wet vac, sump pump and fan. >> if you have water standing on a wood floor, how long do you have before you cause irreputable damage? >> quick. your boards are going to have to buckle and you'll you're going to have to replace the floors. get the water out, dried out. >> get the carpets out, get them aired out, get the fans in there. >> water is a bad thing to have in the house. >> take precaution. lots of broken glass. >> all kinds of things get washed in through the basement. exactly. get good gardening gloves, work gloves, clean it out. don't do it with bare hands. you'll get cuts. >> a lot love people have lost power. for the last 12, 14 hours their refrigerators are not running p everything go or are there some things that will last for a while? >> keep the door closeds a long as possible. but two hours, dairy, meat, without refrigeration, has got to go. don't go with the smell or look test. throw it out. >> if you don't have drinkable water, boil the water you have. these are great. >> these are great pills. iodine tablets. you use them when you go camping. put them right in the water. within 15 minutes the water is to drink. go back and forth and get a better taste. >> now it's too late but stock up on flashlights, emergency radios. you like this generator. >> i like these generators. these are fantastic. if you didn't have power but you have water, the sump pump has to plug into something. propane dank is going last you four to six hours. >> a lot of people wish they had made that investment. thank you very much. let's go to al. >> thanks so much. after you assess the damage it's time to file a claim with your insurance company. good to see you. >> nice to see you. >> okay, you say you contact your insurance company. why is the timing important? >> you've got to contact them right away because they're going to prioritize hitting the worst says scenario first. if your home is inhabitable they're going to get to you right away going to the lesse e important cases. give them your contact information to reach you. >> document your losses. >> big step. take pictures, videos, home inventory. this is the best way to prepare for the adjuster coming to your house. it's going to make the claims process easier and faster. >> what kind of expenses will the insurance company reimburse you for? i guess you've got to safe your receipts? >> if your home is destroyed, you're covered for loss of use. so your restaurant meals, hotel stays, that could be covered. if your home wasn't destroyed you need to go ahead and make those minor repairs to prevent future damage. that's the kind of thing you would be rei'mbursed for. if you need a pump orphan to get the water out of the basebaseme you would be covered. >> a lot of people are surprised that flood insurance is not included. >> under the standard policy you're covered for wind-driven damage. a roof blown off, a tree landing in your yard, you would be covered. flood insurance is a separate policy policy. if you don't have it, you won't be covered. even though four out of five natural disasters involve flooding. >> know your deductible. how long should you wait before you hear back from the insurance? >> knowing your deductible, usually $500, $1,000. some 18 states, you may have a special hurricane deductible, massachusetts, new york, a bunch of different states have that special deductible. generally between 1% and 5%. >> thanks, al. coming up next, giada de laurentiis serves up prosciutto. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] say hello to the new mango pineapple real fruit smoothies from mccafé, bursting with fresh flavors and blended with creamy low-fat yogurt. the simple joy of exotic refreshment. ♪ i don't know if i could say the same for my parents. it's the worst thing that's ever happened to them. i'm just pretty much killing it out here. they say they're happy. i mean, what do you think they do every day without me there? ♪ are they eating? they must really miss me. i'm their only child, except for my sister. [ male announcer ] venza from toyota. i don't normally associate with salty snacks. huh. i thought berries were supposed to be sweet. [ female announcer ] new quaker chewy smashbar. kid-loved ingredients, smashed together. with 33% less sugar than the leading sweet snacks. ten. that's right. [ male announcer ] you do everything so they're at their best. so start their big days with the incredible protein. eggs. challenge that thinking with olay. ♪ there's more than a jar of olay moisturizers in every bottle of olay bodywash to leave your skin feeling soft and smooth. with olay. back now account at 8:20. this morning cooking with gad difficult, prosciutto. it's the perfect match of sweet and salty. she's here to teach us four simple ways to use it. hey, giada, welcome back. simple, let's start off, first of all, the difference between prosciutto and american ham you would buy in the grocery store. >> they're very, very different. although prosciutto italian is ham. this one is seasoned and salted and air cured. basically it sits in a cold refrigerated room for like two years to allow all the flavors to blend together. and it's smooth and silky. my favorite is this. >> there's also prosciutto. >> very good. >> he's been practicing. >> you know what, they're very, very similar. the cow's eat exactly the same -- the pigs eat exactly the same thing. >> the cows eating looking at the pigs. >> i get it. i get it. it's fine. it's fine. anyh anyhow, yes, it's a little bit sweeter and maybe a little bit moister than the other. >> you go to a restaurant and a lot of people have prosciutto and melon. you have a slightly different twist on that. >> yes. the first one is prosciutto melon soup. we have canned tomatoes in here. disz dice a cantaloupe. >> i'll hold it. you put it in. >> take the seeds out. put all the cantaloupe in here. >> wow. >> there we go. and then salt and pepper. do you want to put in salt and pepper in. >> okay. >> blend it all together. >> gray. >> okay. >> on the other side. >> and we're off -- >> what happens is this goes rrrrrr. >> why does that always happen to me. >> there we go. >> i don't know. we pith have a lot in there. >> no. this is a vitamix. it works. it's in there. >> and then it's done. >> in about three days. >> i garnish it. you take the prosciutto and put it in the oven at 350. sits in there 12 to 14 minutes. then you just crumble it just like that. you crumble it right over the soup. kind of like bacon bits. >> what kind of herbs? >> basil. that's it. >> i will send you along the line. thank you. >> okay. i cannot think of a better post-irene sandwich, if you're a comfort eater the one you've come up with here. >> yes, prosciutto panini. >> good rustic bread. >> we do. you can make this on any bread you want. i think it's fun to do a panini party and do different kinds of cheeses and herbs. brush it with bread. a little bit of olive oil. >> outside or inside? >> we're going to flip it. >> both sides? >> no, just do that side. that side is going to be on the grill. once you do it you flip it over. >> let's do this one. okay. >> perfect. now, cheese down first because the cheese is the glue to hold it to the. >> you want it to melt. >> prosciutto. >> is it a sin to take the fat off? >> kind of. it's butter in the prosciutto. by the way, i know a lot of women who take it off. okay. all right. spinach. >> spinach. >> spread that out. you want red onions? >> of course, we do. >> wait, wait, wait. >> oh, more. >> and if we are, they just better deal. >> okay. >> there we go. >> the cheese. and then put it in the panini maker. >> we already have one inside. it's starting. it's going to end up like that, these little guys. yummers. >> we're a little behind today. >> you move on because i know you've got more recipes to get to. >> it's typical to wrap prosciutto around asparagus. >> usually asparagus or bread sticks. this is a light meal. you take scallops and season them with a little salt and then you take this sun dried tomato and put it on top. you can find your favorite or make it yourself. this is just basil, sun-dried tomatoes and olives, put in a too process food processor. usually when they're big fat slices i fold them over and wrap. put them on a baking dish, seam side down so it doesn't open. bake them at 350 for about 15 minutes. >> running out of time. >> kind of like a pasta -- >> this is a special for you after all your hard work. >> thank you. >> pasta, toss it with egg, parmesan cheese and parsley and toss it to the. in the middle i put the prosciutto, mozzarella and bread crumbs. put this over top of it. you can the it in three layers or two. more prosciutto, more mozzarella, bread crumbs, olive oil, butter. bake it in the oven in a spring form pan. >> yummy. >> fantastic. >> try that one. here. wi >> lipitor for everybody. we'll talk about that after your local news. al news. 8:26 is your time now on this monday august, 2011. good morning, i'm eun yang. there is a major cleanup effort under way. trees and wires down across the area. tens of thousands of people still have no power. check in with tom kierein for the latest forecast. good morning. >> good morning. thankfully we do have quiet weather here for the next few days to deal with the recovery and all of the work that has to be done. right now in the 60s throughout most of the region, 69 at reagan national and a light breeze, lower humidity. we'll have a few clouds in and out throughout the rest of the day. a small chance of an isolated shower or thundershower mainly south of washington, perhaps from fredericksberg to charlottesville and southern maryland but only a small chance there later this afternoon. low humidity in place tuesday, wednesday, maybe storms around thursday afternoon. eun. >> thanks so much. good morning. still have an accident blocking your northbound exit to fairfax ♪ 8:30 now on a monday morning august 29th, 2011. a warm hello to all the fine people who are starting their day with us here in rockefeller plaza. and we know, matt asked the question earlier, many of these people here are not here as tourists, just because hurricane irene, the storm brought air travel to a standstill over the weekend. and subway, a big mess-up. what do you do if your flight was canceled. >> whose flight was canceled? >> canada. >> do you know when you're getting home? >> maybe tomorrow. >> maybe. >> staying here? tuesday night? >> tuesday night. >> where are you from? >> there you go. three-day weekend. >> going home this afternoon. >> do you think, are you sure? >> no. >> there you go. maybe, maybe not. maybe not. >> anyway, coming up, we'll have the inside scoop on how do we book with the minimal amount of hassle. also, we all have children. do your children do well under pressure and stress? >> yes. >> one does, one doesn't. >> mine do. >> apparently what happens, a lot of kids, they thrive under pressure and other kids tend to wilt, especially under the pressure of a test. coming up, we'll have new research that could help give your child the advantage they need in the classroom. >> okay. and then on a really fun note, i think, you know, pranking was so last week. have you heard about this new craze coming, bio craze called leisure diving. people striking weird poses as they jump into a pool of water. like that one. >> wow. >> that's great. >> that one is photo shopped. come on. >> nophoto shopped. >> hair is moving. >> that's photo shopped. >> that had better not land in the drill. we're going to talk more about the phenomenon. >> okay. >> before we get to all that, mr. roker, let phenomenon. before we get to that, mr. roker, how about a check of the weather. >> let's see what's happening, good weather for a leisure dive. above normal, lot of rain in the central plains, normal in the northeast. starts to warm up as well in the northeast. showers in the northwest. much below normal. midsection of the country stays fairly warm as it continues into the latter part of the week. rain moves into the northeast, stormy through texas where they really need the rain. that's what going on around the country, here is what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. we're in the 60s now. low humidity in place. we've got clouds coming in. we'll have them time to time through the rest of the day. there's a small chance of an isolated shower or thundershower generally from charlottesville to fredericksberg to southern maryland. tomorrow and wednesday still low humidity. morning lows cool near 60, afternoon highs in the low- to mid-80s. could get thunderstorms late thursday, friday and saturday looking nice. sunday we could get showers and don't forget, you can check your weather any time of the day or night, weather channel with cable on weather.com. >> by the way, why don't you come with me. i'm going to show you the prettiest little girl over here. all of these cute kids. but hello. we're going to call you the little girl. look at this pretty little girl. behind her, two more beautiful kids. just to give you a little joy. i think we could all use some more of that, especially after yesterday. coming up, how to book if the hurricane interrupted your travel plans. but first, this is "today" on nbc. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. dunkin' iced latte. iced dunkin' decaf. estoy tomando café helado. large caramel iced with skim. one shot of hazelnut, iced, cream and sugar. i wouldn't want it any other way. get your iced coffee your way. america runs on dunkin' coffee. look, it's still a great time to refinance. listen up, buster! we're not gonna pay any closing fees. i'd do what she says, friend. i can't control her. well, it's the "no closing fee refinance," so we pick up the closing fees. oh, you're gonna pick up the closing fees? yes. on average, that's $3,300 at closing. [ both ] thirty-three hundred?! that's a lot of donuts. [ male announcer ] visit capital one bank today to refinance your mortgage, and we'll pick up, on average, $3,300 at closing. what's in your wallet? i'm good. we're back now at 8:36. this morning on "today's" travel, the impact of irene, the powerful storm left 10,000 canceled flights over the weekend. what do you need to do if you need to rebook today? kate maxwell is editor and chief in jetsetter.com. welcome back. this is the problem. first of all, do we have any idea when the airports are going to be fully up and running again? >> yes, we do. just about all airports are up and running now and flights are going to be leaving newark and kennedy from midday today. >> but you've got planes that are out of place. you've got crews that are out of place. you've got airline personnel who have trouble getting to the airport. it's going to be a rocky start. >> it's going to take several days for things to get back to normal. >> you have a great piece of advice. if you need to get online to book a leisure trip today or a pleasure trip, don't do it this week. >> don't take any unnecessary travel this week. >> but also, don't jam the airline phone lines trying to book leisure travel for six months from now if people need to rebook their flight. >> absolutely. let the people who need to get home get home first. >> you tell the people make sure you have the ticket and confirmation their plane is leaving before they go and crowd the airport. >> absolutely. don't turn up at the airport without know that your flight is going to leave and your on it. >> what about amtrak? >> they're getting back to normal, but amtrak from philadelphia to boston is still not running. boston to d.c. is still not running either. >> and in terms of driving, i was watching a local news report here in new york yesterday. a huge section of the new york state through way was closed. how do you find out what lies ahead on the roads? >> check your local nbc station. website i like is traffic.com. you plug if your start point and end point and it will show you hazards along the way and closures and flooding ray long the way. >> thank you. my glasses are here. appreciate it. let's talk about rebooking your flight now. what's the best way to do it? what do you need to have in terms of information for the airline? >> please go online if you can. the phone lines are still jammed. one example, a friend of mine took three hours over the weekend to get through to her carrier trying to get back from hawaii. she now has a flight from san francisco and doesn't have another one back to the new york area until wednesday night. so go online if you can. also, try and follow your airline on social media like twitter. >> this was obviously an act of mother nature. >> yeah. >> so airlines i would imagine, have they waived the rebooking fee? >> they have. >> you don't have to worry about that. >> no. >> how much time do you have to rebook your night flight? >> varies from airline to airline. jetblue issal loug it until september 10th. most airlines until the end of this week. >> most people are going to be in line for a refund because of things they couldn't do because their trips were canceled. do you need proof for a refund that you were actually sidelined because of a hurricane? >> no, it was if you are leaving or going to the effected area. but hotels, yes, they might ask you for your flight details or proof of your driver's license or something like that. >> by the way, sticking with the airlines for a second. you say if the airline has a difficult time accommodating you because of overcrowding on flights you want people to consider alternate airports? >> the new york city area is going to be the most crowded in terms of arrival and departures. if you can fly somewhere out, do that. >> let's say you're stuck in new york city, they budgeted a certain amount of their vacation or travel budget for their hotels. now they're forced to spend an extra night in hotels. what are their options? >> unless you have travel insurance, not a lot you can do about that. do ask your hotel if they're prepared to offer you a discount on an extra night. but you're going to be out of pocket, i'm afraid. >> are some hotels offering discounts? >> some hotels, are, definitely. >> what about something like you had booked a beach house. you had booked a vacation. how do you go about getting a refund if you don't have travel insurance? >> rentals are a little bit more of a gray area than hotels. hotels generally are allow i don't guess tou rebook or allowing refunds. check your contract. did you have weather destruction insurance, and ask if you can get either a refund or if you can rebook. >> by the way, we should mention some credit cards automatically cover you for mishaps while you travel. >> some of them do. airlines and american express cards often do. >> but if you now got burned because of what happened with hurricane irene and next time you want to buy travel insurance, what do you suggest? >> this is hurricane season. june through november, if you're going to be traveling, definitely think about buying travel insurance and book it the day you book your trip. as soon as the hurricane was named, it will not be covered because it is no longer an unforeseen circumstance. >> cruise lines, did they get battered? >> they did but they tend not to offer refunds because they're still running shs just going to a different port. >> kate maxwell. kate, thank you very much. as always, good information. it is 8:40. up next, helping your kids cope with stress and text anxiety as the new school year is about to get under way, or in many places already have. but first, this is "today" on nbc. [ agent ] so your policy looks good, is there anything else? why did you buy my husband a falcon? thanks for the falcon. i didn't buy anyone a falcon. sure, you did. you saved us a lot of money on auto insurance. i used that money to buy a falcon. ergo, you bought me a falcon. i should've got a falcon. most people who switch to state farm save on average about $480. what they do with it, well, that's their business. oh, that explains a lot, actually. [ chuckles ] [ male announcer ] another reason people switch to state farm. aw, i could've gotten a falcon. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. [ falcon screeches ] ♪ this morning on back to school "today," helping your child cope with stress, knowing the right way to handle it can be the difference in success and failure in the classroom. the university of chicago dana point issed the or of chief of "parents" magazine. dr. gale saltz is a "today" contributor. good morning, you guys. >> good morning. >> great to have you back. this new study really kind of gives us a deeper sense about what's happening to our children when it comes to stress. it basically says that cortisol, which we all know is release, hormone released when under stress, can either be a positive or negative depending on the student's attitude, what the student is expecting going into, for example, a test. isn't that right? >> basically, exactly right. cortisol released by the aadrenl gland when you feel stressed. when you are well prepared and go in with a positive attitude with i think i will do well, i can handle it, the high ter cortisol went, the better fer form mans they got. if you go in and say, i don't do well at mat, i won't do well with this, if you predicted that, the worse you did on the december it. > >>. >> one thing it tells me is that when we're raising very young children, dana, we've got to really try to create the opportunity for these kids to have a positive experience when it comes to their ability to handle learning. >> everyone as young as the first test in the elementary school years you can help make your child prepared with good study habits and a good environment, largely tech-free where they can really focus and get ready. and help them understand that any individual test is not a ruling on whether they're good or bad at everything. it doesn't mean they're a good or bad person. it's one test in a life of tests. >> you also don't want them to be in a position, you said this earlier, where they are being tested or put in positions over their heads because they creates this kind of attitude that they may be failures, they may not be good enough or smart enough. >> exactly. you want your child to be challenged but i think sometimes the parents have the tendency to sort of put them in an area that's out of their area. >> you don't want to swarm them but you want to challenge them because you can see you can help them develop this idea that there's an optimum stress. you see this athletes and out kinds of performers. a certain amount of stress can help you perform even better, at your peak. >> that's the other factor, moving from young kids to older children who have experience with testing, have experience in school, and sometimes those experiences are very bad and sometimes those -- so then how do we sort of help these students who are not testing well, maybe are smarting than they're testing, how do we help them rethink their attitude so that when this cortisol rise happens, they can be better effected, more effective as in test taking in the student. >> obviously we want to make sure we're talking about a kid that has the ability, you know they're basically reasonably intelligent kid. you want to make sure they're well prepared. sometimes kids say, i just -- i choked. i didn't know. really, they didn't study. they really didn't prepare. we really have to talk about somebody who has spent the time, put in the time and you want to help your child to do the preparation ahead of time. but then there are tricks that you can help them with if they turn out to be anxious kids who are, in fact, exactly that, choking. oh, i'm not going to make it, and then they blank out and they can't retrieve the memory. so if we're talking about test taking, one thing that's helpful is have them write down shortly before the test on a piece of paper all their negative thoughts. and basically the idea of this is offloading. you take your negative thoughts and you're going to put it in your pocket so it won't be in your mind. it's concrete. it does work for kids. during the test if they get that feeling again, it's coming back, i'm not going to make it, i'm not going to make it. help them focus. have a memory picked out of a time they did well on a test. those two cognitive things really help. it's been shown to help in study to actually help them. performance is a little bit different. there's test taking and performance like i'm going to be watched on the field doing a sport. i'm going to be watched in a play, i'm going to be watched in a speech. if that's what you're trying to help them out, help them distract themselves from the thought they're having i'm going to screw up. they can do that right before they take the speech, humming a tune to themselves, or something that's completely other, because, in fact, if you have already memorized or already got that sports skill you can do it as long as it's not interrupted. >> it sounds like some of these suggestions you're making tell us some of our kids don't know how to relax, don't know how to get rid of the negative thoughts. almost self love, you know. it's almost like that they talk about the record spinning in your head, you know. i'm not good enough. i can't do that. sort of being a better friend to yourself. open your child be a good friend to yourself and say, yeah, i can do it. you can do it. be your own cheerleader. >> you do have to start as a parent from modeling that at a very young age. we ased a duts are often really critical of our own performance and critical of ourselves and our bodies and all sorts of things. you need to let your child see you in a point where you're maybe not as confident and then see you rise above that. see you prepare. see you feel good. maybe work on visualizing a moment when you succeeded and share that with your child. don't keep that inside. don't hide that. >> excellent point. you can even say, maybe, you know, i have been hard on myself. i don't want you -- there's talk about it in the open. really good suggestions. dana and gale, thank you. hopefully these will help some of our students as they move now into the school year. thanks so much. coming up next, we'll be talking about the hottest new online craze, leisure diving. is it for real? what the heck is it all about? i don't know. we're going to find out. but first, this is "today" on nbc. when your eyes are smiling... you're smiling. and when they're laughing... you're laughing. be kind to your eyes... with transitions lenses. transitions adapt to changing light so you see your whole day comfortably... and conveniently while protecting your eyes from the sun. ask your eyecare professional which transitions lenses are right for you. so, we understand the new internet craze is capturing imaginations and leading some pretty remarkable images. it's called leisure diving. nbc's kristen dahlgren see why it's making such a splash. good morning. >> good morning to you, matt. yeah, now that the hurricane is passed foam are focusing getting into the summer fun, for a lot of people that means jumping into the internet craze. all you need is a deep water camera, creativity. as i found out, no fear of making a fool of yourself. ♪ it's a summer earlier internet trend of pranking now seeming, well, a little flat. there is a new viral visual making a splash. it's called leisure diving, and photo pranks with popping up everywhere. >> leisure diving is chilling in midair. >> as soon as there was a really cool picture out there, it was -- it went viral immediately. >> reporter: new york roommate alex scott and john lewis say they founded the frenzy. >> i jumped in and totally smacked the water. it really hurt. i got out like, never going to do that again. and then he shows me the picture. wait a minute, that's pretty amazing. >> reporter: soon their summer fun turned into leisuredive.com. >> we've done missions all over the world. most surprising thing. >> reporter: millions check out the site. suspended over water, sleeping, eating, sh pictures so unique they often look photo shopped. >> you always have doubters who think photo shop, photo shop, even after we posted 100 dives. shopped. >> the proof of that? these leisure dives that didn't quite work. apparently it's not as easy as it looks. so what's the secret to the leisure dive? i'm told it's all about the casual face. never looking like you're about to hit the water. and it has to be wearing something no one would expect you to jump in. >> whew! >> all right. that was fun but now we've really got to step it up a notch, guys. in a time like this we've got to ask ourselves, what would matt and al do? >> one, two, three. ♪ >> reporter: so what's next for the leisure dives? >> it's going to be fall soon. we don't expect it to last through that time. >> reporter: but unfortunately for some, images will live on even after the next internet fad has taken over. so proud. it may not be over yet. the guys say they're getting a lot of e-mails from the southern hemisphere where seasons are opposite. people saying they cannot wait for their summer to start leisure diving. matt, starting to put those pictures in there. i didn't want to be the only one embarrassing myself, or i call it expressing my journalistic versatility. you got off easy. i was lobbying for them to bring a pool into the plaza for you guys. >> not going to happen. >> i'm pretty sure you have access to a pool this weekend. i'm waiting for the pictures. >> kristen, first of all, i'm going to get you in that water in a second, you have to have a good camera for this, too, because a lot of cameras these days you push down and they delay. so you miss that shot. that can't be good. >> yeah, this has to be one with a lot of exposures so you can catch it and get that one at the exact home when you're looking relaxed before you're about to hit the water. i don't know if i quite got the leisure face right. i think i looked scared. >> what do you think, should we have kristen go in in the golf attire? >> you've got a putter there, right? >> i don't think we can stop her now. all right. on cue, get your cameras ready. >> you guys are so predictable. all right. >> we're predictable? you're the one wearing the outfit. you're wearing a golf -- >> some of these cords so i don't -- >> okay. >> oh, my goodness. okay. i'll give you two. one -- >> no surprise face. >> oh, you know what, we missed it. kristen. the camera didn't go. can you do it again? >> she can't hear us. >> nbc lost hundreds of dollars worth of equipment. >> they got it off her. >> i was doing a weather story. anyway. speaking of a weather story, wow. >> we all had one yesterday. we're going to weather story, wow. >> y'all had one yesterday. >> much more on that in our next hour. first local news. 8:56 is your time now on this monday august 29th, 2011. good morning, i'm eun yang. there was a major cleanup effort under way right now. trees and wires down all across our region. tens of thousands of people have no power right now. let's check in with tom kierein for the latest on the forecast. looks good for now. >> great weather for the recovery efforts. temperatures near 70 throughout the metro area still in the 60s throughout the rest of the region. low humidity in place, just a few clouds coming through. small chance of shower or thundershower, washington line from charlottesville to fred vicksburg, a small chance of a shower. tuesday and wednesday, low humidity and pleasant. eun. >> thank you, tom. good morning. in southeast d.c., i have a pedestrian strike on independence avenue and 19th street. watch out for possible lane blockage there. also your ramp closed to fairfax county northbound -- excuse me westbound i-66. eun, back to you. >> thank y oh, my gosh. >> some of the siteghts and sous from hurricane irene. the bridge came crashing down. the storm left 23 people dead. millions of people are waking up without power this morning. that, of course, caused wide spread flooding. an estimated $7 billion worth of damage from this storm. a lot of people still feeling the effects. we're back now on a monday morning. 29th day of august, 2011. millions of americans up and down the eastern seaboard are having a very tough time this morning. our thoughts go out to all of you. >> absolutely do. even though irene is long gone, the effects of damage, they're going to be felt for day it is not weeks to come. check out this scene from earlier this morning. a home burning to the ground in pompton lakes, new jersey. completely surrounded by flood waters. firefighters wading through waist deep water to try to get to it and save it. this shows how hot it is in communities along the east coast, not just along the shore but inland as well. first responders to get to some of those emergencies. >> wite know now the storm weakened in new england. it didn't cause the disaster in new york's infrastructure, now some are asking is it all over blown. >> but first, let's look at how hard some of these places in the northeast had been dealing with these flood waters. we have two reports. we begin in vermont, a state with wide spread flooding and emergency evacuations overnight. nbc's ron allen is in br brattloboro this morning. what's the latest there? >> good morning to you, arne. th . >> this is a beautiful old town. this is usually a babbling brook here. the water is rrushing over the s and babbling over the river. i think people in this part of the country are just shocked they could be hit so hard by the remnants of a hurricane and tropical storm. it's just not what you expect in vermont. but across the state there is wide spread damage. the governor has said it's worst flood that he has seen, it's the worst flooding here perhaps in 75 years or longer. others are describing it as epic. about 250 roads have been washed out. we were driving up here, you have to go through many detours to get to this town in itself. also sadly, there's one fatality to report. 20-year-old woman was swept off the river banks by the flood waters the other day. she was standing there with her boyfriend watching the waters rise. we talked to the town manager here a earlier this morning and they're still trying to assess the damage and get their heads around what happened. they're very concerned about the foundation of some of these century old buildings here that are being undermined by so much water because nothing like this has ever happened. there are still people out of their homes. there are still all of these roads that are blocked. there's been talk they're having trouble restoring the power because it's difficult to get to the neighborhoods effected. again, the waters are still rising, so the worse could still be to come. ann, back to you. >> sobering thought. ron allen, thank you so much. and now here's matt. >> irene caused billions of dollars in damage from south care all of tolina all of the w east coast. amy robach is in lodi, new jersey, with details from there. good morning to you. >> matt, good morning to you. so many highways and roadways are still flooded in the state of new jersey. this is main street in lodi, new jersey. that's some of the water from the saddle river that came on to the roadway. and, of course, with flood waters like these and millions of people still impacted with power outages, everyone is still feeling the effects along the east coast of hurricane irene. it was just a tropical storm by the time it hit vermont but yesterday afternoon irene was still packing a devastating punch. >> oh, my gosh. >> reporter: torrential rains burst river banks and left some towns nearly swamped. a final cruel step in the storm's destructive march up the ea eastern seaboard. on saturday morning the first hurricane to hit the u.s. in three years made landfall in north carolina. 85-mile-an-hour winds and a monumental storm surge provided a frightening introduction. >> i just kind of batten down the hatches and put everything away that could blow around. >> reporter: continuing north, irene dropped northwards of 16 inches of rain on virginia. and took the life of an 11-year-old boy when this tree fell on his apartment. one of at least 23 deaths related to the storm. with nearly one in five people in maryland left without electricity, and waters in philadelphia rising as high as 15 feet, irene continued northward. new jersey, new york, and connecticut took extraordinary action shutting down surfaces and evacuating people by the thousands. >> i saw some of these news feeds that i've been watching upstairs of people sitting on the beach in asbury park. get the hell off the beach in asbury park and get out. >> reporter: sunday morning with slightly diminished winds, irene spawn in governor christkristi' state, the flooding was intense. peter alexander felt irene's wrath on coney island. >> this is by far the strongest we felt. >> reporter: al roker was standing by as a lifeguard station got swept away. >> whoa, look at that! that house is taken off. >> reporter: i had my own personal encount we're tkouncout rising waters of new york har r harbor. in manhattan the storm did not approach the catastrophic levels some had prepared for. it went by fast and so did its effects. heading into new england, irene continued to lose the raw wind power of a hurricane, but still managed to leave its mark. in connecticut, rhode island, massachusetts, and rain-soaked vermont. while cities, towns, and states struggle to get back to normal their leaders face a different concern, deciding if their preparation for irene was truly worth all the effort. >> they are alive today but because of it and in spite of it, we're just not going to take any risk with people lives. the best scenario possible is you take the precautions and it turns out they're not needed. >> reporter: irene may end up being the most damaging storm to ever hit the state of new jersey. early cost estimates already put it in the billions. for this state alone. now, there is some good news here, especially in this specific area. you can see this road has been reopened. the flood waters have rapidly receded. however, many areas in new jersey not quite so fortunate. savannah, back to you. >> amy, a big clean-up awaits. thank you. now to the debate as to whether the storm measured up to all the hype. as you just saw peter alexander experienced irene's power firsthand and he has this aspect of the story. >> good morning. everybody's experience obviously during irene depended on where they lived. we just witnessed new jersey and vermont that got pummeled. some places got it more than others. i saw it in coney island and it was strong in that point. a lot of people were asking, were we over evacuated and was this storm overhypes? this is not exactly hunkering down. doing our best to. >> three hours ago i was reporting on the end of that dock. right now it's floating. >> reporter: from the start we were warned our introduction to irene would be an ugly one. >> this has the makings of just the hurricane of our lifetime. >> reporter: an ominous storm on the radar and on tv. >> gets scarier and scarier as we look at the scenarios for the northeast. >> reporter: but was the first major hurricane of 2011 oversold? surely not if you asked the flood victims in more than a dozen states. >> we're a little worried right now. >> reporter: or the hundreds of thousands who are waking up this morning in the dark. >> we have power. these people have no power. >> reporter: and certainly not in the minds of the families who lost loved ones. the economic losses are predicted to be in the range of $7 billion. but some say we wasted millions more stocking up and shutting down ahead of a potential disaster that never met expectations. the good news is, at looseeast g the coast, not as much damage as we thought. >> reporter: in fact, irene reached the big apple as a category 1, quickly downgraded to a tropical storm. still, punishing, as i can attest -- wow, that is just so stinging and uncomfortable -- but causing limited damage. >> i'm glad that my kids are fine. my family is okay. >> reporter: opinions poured in on twitter. irene ain't no pushover, one wrote. she's still at it. irene was the most over-hyped, underwhelming events since "the hangover 2" another tweeted. >> one of the levees broke. >> reporter: of course, it's easy to point fingers in hipd sight. but lessons from past severe storms -- >> my relatives in mississippi and louisiana would beg to differ. >> reporter: -- have taught us we are best served being overprepared. >> mother nature calls, so i would rather just take the proper precaution, shut everything down. >> reporter: new york governor andrew cuomo addressed the topic with me sunday night. >> just because it could have been worse doesn't mean the preparation wasn't justified. >> reporter: now, it's' easy to say whatever you like about irene. but everyone agrees we're >> reporter: now it's easy to talk about irene but everyone agrees we're better off with her behind us. >> it's a hurricane, it blew past us. could have been worse. what are you going to do? that's it. >> reporter: it was pretty bad. as we witnessed flooding significant throughout this entire region. the worst of the storm may have passed but the damage and impact only now beginning to be assessed. >> nbc's peter alexander, thank you very much. we actually polled viewers and said do you think the storm was overhyped. they were divided. 52% said they did not think it was overhyped, had 8% thought so. >> 23 killed, billions in damage, out of power, damage we haven't finished assessing it. that's a minimal category 1. >> can you imagine if it had been worse. people underprepared we would have been sorry about that. >> if it happened again, i'd do the same thing over exactly. >> let's get a check of the other top stories. natalie morales. >> in libya, convicted bomber is in a coma near death. her son tells nbc news he has no doctor, running water or electricity. scotland convicted him in the bombing of pan am flight, 270 killed, most of them americans. in 2009 he was released to his native libya because he was thought to be dying from cancer. just weeks after a massacre that left 77 dead in norway police say they arrested another right wing radical with a cache of weapons in his oslo home. firms say they have not found a link between him and the confessed kill frere last month's massacre. presidential hopeful michele bachmann said on a swing through florida she would consider opening the everglades for oil and gas drilling if it can be done responsibly. in 2002 the federal government bought back drilling rights in the environmentally sensitive everglades for $120 million. one of the largest studies yet on the health benefits of chocolate find people who eat large amounts of it may cut their risk of heart disease and stroke onby one-third. the study in the british medical journal cautions you to choose chocolates without too much added fat and sugar. beyonce is now eating for two. she stole the show in last night's video award when she revealed the new baby bump at the end of her performance. proud father jay-z cheered her on with kanye west. the first child for the musical power couple. "the help" taking in $14.3, action thriller next. the penguin with the worst sense of direction set sale for his antarctic home. happy feet on a new zealand beach. he was thousands of miles from his chilly habitat. today he set sale on a research boat this. time equipped with a gps monitor to help human friends track his progress. something tells me this penguin is going to have a reality show at the end of all this. 13 minutes past the hour. let's go to al with a check of the weather. >> they helped him hijack the boat. remember, cute and cuddly. cute and cuddly. >> i remember that part. >> you have a beautiful day in the northeast now that irene is out of here, low humidity, plenty of sunshine. we do have monsoonal moisture to the southwest bringing some showers there. hit and miss showers and thunderstorms down through southern florida. beautiful day in pacific northwest with temperatures in the mid to upper 70s. plenty of sunshine. the heat continues through the southwest on into texas. that's what going on around the country, here is what's happening in your neck of the woods. good morning. partly sunny to cloudy to our west. now we'll have a weak disturbance coming through later that may give us an isolated shower, thundershower south of washington. right now near 70 in the metro area 60s south and north. later today low 80s. low humidity, good weather for recovery. just a small chance of an isolated shower or thundershower south of the metro area. tuesday an wednesday, still low humidity around, could pick up an afternoon thunderstorm on thursday >> and that's your latest weather. al, thank you. coming up next, whether you're skipping the gym or wearing four-inch heels we'll the tell you about the bad habits that could be giving you an aching back. later, taking your summer style into fall. but first, these messages. it to end. well, hey, at least the pasta's never ending. really? yeah, you choose your pasta, choose your sauce, as many times as you want! a dish i create and it's never ending. i'm in! i'm in! the never ending pasta bowl is back. for just $8.95 try new sauces like roasted mushroom parmesan and hearty pizzaiola meat. enjoy any sauce and pasta combination, then try others. have all you want along with our unlimited fresh salad and warm breadsticks all for just $8.95. try it tonight at your olive garden. when you're here, you're family. the pain was so frustrating. i found out that connected to our muscles are nerves that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia -- thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and less pain means i can feel better and do more of what i love. [ female announcer ] lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior, or any swelling or affected breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision, or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. i found answers about fibromyalgia. then i found lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. [ female announcer ] granola thins. something deliciously different from nature valley. thin squares of crispy granola layered with creamy peanut butter or rich dark chocolate flavor. lightly toasted for a delicate crunch. 90 calories. 100% natural. and nature...approves. ♪ granola thins. from nature valley. nature at its most delicious. this morning on "today's" health, backbreaking habits. this sends more people to the doctor besides a common cold. what are the worst habits for your back? dr. holly philips is here to reveal them. holly, good morning. >> good morning. >> a lot of everyday activities that we're all doing and we don't realize the impact can be felt if you're not careful. let's get right to it. the first one is a lot of us are stuck at our desk, chained to our desk. and sitting down actually, putting so much pressure on your spine. >> that's true. natalie, it seems like it should be the opposite but sitting puts 40% more pressure on your back than standing. we usually sit for relief but it actually puts more pressure on your back. how you sit really, really matters at work, especially. make sure your low back is supported. put a pillow behind it if you're having pain. when you're on your computer, your head and neck should be upright. you shouldn't be lurching forward. take frequent breaks. get up. go to the water fountain -- not that we have water fountains, the watercooler. get up every 10 to 15 minutes and it helps to keep those muscles strong. >> okay. the other thing you say is the fact the back breaker, ditching the gym. a lot of people when they start feeling back pain, the first thing they think is maybe i should take it's. >> i new research shows half the people who are suffering from pain minimize their activity which is not what you should be doing, actually. light exercise particularly walking and swimming or even walking in a swimming pool actually can really, really help -- not only to repair injury but prevent further injury, as well. >> okay. >> also, you should stretch out your hamstrings and hips just to take that pressure off the low back. >> also good to strengthen the muscles around your back. make sure the core muscles, that helps the back. >> that is ideal to that, swimming. >> on the other hand, you say you do want to take it a little bit easy but don't veg out too much but get some time out there as well. >> sure. what we mean is by veging out is it's really important to manage stress. at "prevention" magazine we take stress extremely seriously and stress is a direct cause actually of back pain. so one of the ways to fight it is to realize that you're stressed. that way you can sort of take a survey of your body. you can say, am i, you know, furling my brow, am i clenching my jaw, are my shoulder ee eersd up? we do this when we're stressed and we don't realize it. >> i think one of the things that a lot of ladies are guilty of, we always think the bigger the bag the better. but then we end up killing our backs, killing our shoulders and you're adding compounding on the pressure, right? >> it's a huge problem. the american chiropractic association says your shoulder bag shouldn't weigh more than 10% of your body weight, which to me is a lot. 130 pounds, 13-pound bag really isn't light. >> no. >> one of the things that can really help is to make sure the bag itself isn't heavy. a lot of the styles, you know, with studs and hardware and heavy chains can be five or six pounds empty. so try and pick one of the lighter styles and alternate which shoulder your carry it on. most of us choose one shoulder and we do it every day. >> i'm now sloped because of that. my right shoulder leans down more because of the heavy bag. >> and i have -- i was developing a pinched nerve in my left shoulder. >> there you go. >> it's really about all tern nating it, as well. >> really quickly. mattresses, also important. you say switch out your mattress every five to seven years. >> exactly. most people with back pain do better with a firmer mattress but it's important not to have extremes. extremely firm mattress can also put too much pressure on the back. it should be somewhere in between. >> i want to mention quick. the heels, also, can do damage. be careful with that, ladies. >> they're higher than ever. >> exactly. i'm guilty there, too. holly philips, thank you. still ahead, have card will travel? how to pick the right airline credit card for you. but first, these messages.you'll . [ laughs ] this is it! [ all ] 10...9...8... a new school year has so much potential! any resolutions? my resolution is the same as always; keep her full and focused with my fiber. [ all ] 3...2...1... happy school year! [ female announcer ] this school year, make a resolution to give your kid kellogg's® frosted mini-wheats® cereal. an excellent source of fiber from 100% whole grain. that helps keep them full so they can focus on the day ahead. keeps 'em full... keeps 'em focused. but we don't make stuff. we make ovens. dual fuel double ovens. and they bake so evenly, so perfectly, that now, delicious is something you can depend on. we only make things for one room. the best room. your kitchen. we're devoted to it, delighted by it, and you can feel it in everything we make. nobody knows the kitchen like kitchenaid. while i took refuge from the pollen that made me sneeze. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec® i can love the air®. so lily and i ari brought champagne.gain. oh wow! best in the world. oikos greek yogurt from dannon. so creamy thick and fresh tasting dannon oikos berry flavors beat chobani 2:1 in a national taste test. mmmm... this may be the best in the world. oikos greek yogurt. thanks, skyler. let's go to last night's highlights. look what sometimes happens with the ordinary bag. it slips. bingo, falls in. mom was mad. mom should have used glad forceflex with the stretchable drawstring that grips the can and stays in place. plus, it has the stretchable strength of forceflex. that's all today for glad tv. [ both ] don't get mad -- get glad! [ male announcer ] and try glad black bags -- strong for tgh jobs. coming up, easy kid-friendly meals for the entire family. >> plus, what you need to know before you get an airline credit card. >> and later, beyonce stuns the crowd there with a performance at last night's mtv's vma. i feel the best approach to food is to keep it whole for better nutrition. and that's what they do with great grains cereal. see the seam on the wheat grain? same as on the flake. because great grains steams and bakes the actual whole grain. now check out the other guy's flake. hello, no seam. because it's more processed. now, which do you suppose has better nutrition for you? mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal. that's what people could say if you're still using a liquid foundation that can settle into your lines and wrinkles and make you look older. covergirl and olay floats above lines and makes you look younger. can your anti-aging makeup do that? simply ageless from olay and easy, breezy beautiful, covergirl. she's supporting breast cancer programs for her neighbour's tennis instructor's daughter's 1st grade teacher who's also her mom. help fund breast cancer programs in your community. redeem your lids today 9:26 is your time now on this monday august 29, 2011. good morning. i'm eun yang. there's a major cleanup effort under way right now. trees and wires are down across the area. tens of thousands of people have no power. let's check in now with tom for the layest on our forecast. good news for recovery efforts, tom. >> it really is. we've got the lower humidity that's moved in in the wake of irene in place monday morning. right now near 70 in washington and nearby suburbs and 60s in many other locations. certainly comfortably dry and not too hot in the low 80s this afternoon. a few clouds, small chance of thundershower from charlottesville to fredericksberg to southern maryland perhaps there. elsewhere just partly sunny. then tuesday and wednesday, low humidity, highs low and mid-80s. could get storms around on thursday afternoon and evening and again good morning. the beltway in virginia, some delays from georgetown pike. delays i-of 6. if rule number one in mushing, never let go. >> never let go of the handlebar gls n . >> no, because they don't stop. >> they take on barking dogs, glaciers and bears. is there anything that al roker doesn't do? >> so manly. >> that is al on his once in a lifetime alaskan adventure. al, you're going to share your manliness with us tomorrow, right? >> any day. alaskan manliness. >> yeah. >> we went up to do lend a hand. we started in alaska. and decided to take advantage of where we were. and we just had a great time. >> gorgeous. >> mushing? >> i am mushing. yes. >> nice. >> we'll share that with you coming up tomorrow. >> meanwhile, still to come in this half hour, the unofficial end to summer already? labor day is just around the corner. but that doesn't mean you have to put away those tank tops and those white pants just yet. we're going to show you how to take your summer style straight into fall so you don't have to spend your money on a whole new wardrobe. and another way to spend your money. what about the annual fees and the interest rates, are the cards worth it once you read the fine print? we're going the help you find the right one to fit your travel style. >> when you want a ticket, it comes with an island, really? no. >> a t-shirt of the island. yes. and if your kids are picky eaters, you know it can be hard to get them to like the dinner you make them. this morning we're going to show you easy meals and side dishes that should keep everyone happy. >> hopefully healthy. first, a check of the weather. >> a check of the weather for us. >> less take a look at the week ahead. show you we have much normal weather -- temperatures i should say for gulf coast into the western part of the country. midweek above normal temperatures in the northeast, plains, on into the southwest and the latter part of the week it's going to cool down out west. showers and thunderstorms in the northeast and much needed rain down in texas. that's what going on around the country, here is what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> a pleasant monday morning in the wake of irene and great weather for cleanup efforts for today, tomorrow, and wednesday. right now we're near 70 in washington and nearby suburbs. later today we should make it into the low 80s. not a lot of humidity around. a small chance of an isolated shower or thundershower. tuesday and wednesday, morning lows near 60, afternoon highs mid-80s. >> and that's your latest weather. thank you, al. coming up next, are the airline credit cards right for you? we're going to help you sort out which ones are best, right after we're going to help you sort out which ones are best, right after this. ss chlow back pain. imagine living your life with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is a non-narcotic treatment that's fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing of the skin or eyes. talk with your doctor about your medicines, including those for migraine, or if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles, to address a possible life-threatening condition. tell your doctor about alcohol use, liver disease, and before you reduce or stop taking cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. side effects include nausea, dry mouth, and constipation. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. discover aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizers with scientifically proven soy complex and natural minerals. give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on to even skin tone in four weeks. aveeno tinted moisturizers. then go on to even skin tone in four weeks. if you think occasional irregularity is no big deal, think twice. it may be a sign that your digestive system could be working better. listen to this with occasional irregularity, things your body doesn't use could be lingering in your system, causing discomfort. but activia has been shown in clinical studies to help with slow intestinal transit when consumed 3 times per day. 7 out of 10 doctors recommend activia. and the great taste is recommended by me! more than you think. that's why there's charmin ultra strong. so it holds up better. fewer pieces left behind. charmin ultra strong. oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪ [ male announcer ] it's been a good year for the chevy silverado. and not because of the awards or the accolades. no, it was good because you told us so. the chevy model year wrap up. get in on our greatest model year yet. just announced -- celebrate labor day with an additional $500 bonus cash. with all other offers, including the all-star edition discount, that's a total value of $6,500. ♪ our greatest model year yet is wrapping up. summertime is now a happy time. when we can eat what we want and sleep soundly through the night. prevacid®24hr prevents the acid that causes frequent heartburn, all day, all night. this morning on "today's" consumer, finding the right airline credit card. airfares have risen eight times this year so you may be looking for a card that offers miles and rewards. but before you sign up, we have important factors to consider. vera gibbons is here. you read the fine print so we don't have to. the first question is just how popular these kinds of cards have become. >> very. if you look the average cheapest round trip, $350 on fare compare. three years ago, it was cheaper. this is one way to do it. >> now, all of these cards are not created equal. it seems there are two categories. there are the cards that the airlines themselves offer and then there are these kind of general travel cards. >> right. it does get confusing because there are a lot of options out there. you have the generjennifer ric card. ca capital one venture and airline sponsor cards, where you're going to earn your points through your spending, through your airline purchases and through their partners. >> let's look at these side by side on some of these issues. starting with interest rates. is there a real difference between the airline cards versus the general cards? >> there is. generic is low, 12% on the low versus 14% on the affiliated cards. annual fee is another consideration as well p airline affiliated cards tend to have them. look at statistics from lowcards.com, 99.9% of the airline affiliated cards do generally come with a fee. that fee is generally $95, waived the first year. generic travel award cards, only 23% of those cards have an annual fee. that's something else to consider, your travel needs as well and your spending purchases. >> the airline might have bonus incentives. >> right. that makes it worth it, right, in many ways because you can really rack up the miles big time with airline affiliated card. 25,000 miles, 40,000 bonus mile it is you spend a lot. >> double miles sometimes. >> double miles if you use your card to pay for your airline ticket. promotional offers, southwest gives you 3,000 bonus miles each year on your card anniversary. you can really rack up the miles big time with airline sponsorsed card. >> perks with free upgrades or a free drink. >> people like those. the biggest perk that they like would be quite honestly the free checked baggage. that one piece of luggage checked for free. delta sky miles card, family of four using that card for air travel could save $200 round trip. that baggage fee waiver extends nine people on the same reservation. that's a popular perk and makes a annual fees more than worth it. >> using tips. you say crunch the numbers. what do you mean? >> you've got to sit down and look at how much you're going to earn for your spending. one point, 1.5, 2, how those points are converted. you also want to look at the annual fee, whether there's a zero percent introductory rate. >> your own personal credit feeds needs needs and habits. do you pay off the balance? >> huge one. everyone is fixated on the points, that's great. that's a priority. if you carry a balance month to month those cards are not for you. freebies, perks are blown out the window with interest rates. >> you say watch those expiration dates. because, why, sometimes they expire? >> right. if you don't keep them active they disappear. if you don't pay your bills on time they disappear. some cards charge you a reinstatement fee to get them back. i wouldn't use these for cheap airlines. one or two cents. spend it on a fare more than $300, ideally. >> and watch for blackout dates. thank you. coming up next, taking your look from summer to fall. we're going to show you how right after this. [ female announcer ] this is not a prescription. this is kate. [ kate ] can't believe i have high blood pressure. what's that thing? another medication. ♪ i really should have taken my shoes off before i got weighed. [ female announcer ] you've got a lot on your mind. that's why every walgreens prescription goes through a 10 point safeguard check that reviews your current walgreens health record for allergies and potentially harmful drug interactions. [ kate ] i can do this. [ female announcer ] the 10 point safeguard check from walgreens. there's a way to stay well. [ female announcer ] the 10 point safeguard check from walgreens. ancr: jennie-o took over a restaurant just for a day to show the world a better burger. now, millions of turkey burgers later, we're still out to win over burger lovers. woman: it's really good! man: the taste is great. ancr: just in time for the grilling season. n delicious burger. maman, i'm on my third one right now. it's awesome. woman: i would definitely have a turkey burger again. man: this is fantastic. ancr: grilling season is here. so come on. make the switch. look for jennie-o at a store near you. and join us at switchtoturkey.com. i brought champagne. oh wow! best in the world. oikos greek yogurt from dannon. so creamy thick and fresh tasting dannon oikos berry flavors beat chobani 2:1 in a national taste test. mmmm... this may be the best in the world. oikos greek yogurt. ♪ [ female announcer ] nutri-grain -- one good decision... ♪ ...can lead to another. ♪ ♪ with real fruit, more of the whole grains your body needs, and a good source of fiber. nutri-grain can help you eat better all day. this morning on "today's" style, using your summer clothes in the fall. don't pauut away those nautical dresses or tank tops just yet because you can create layering. jamie, good morning. >> good morning. >> as we make the transition from summer to fall, is anything pretty much fair game? >> everything is fair game except obviously stay away from your flip-flops or denim cut-up shorts but blouses and dresses will transfer to fall. >> we have special ladies to help us through this. first model is beth. she's doing to help us transition her dress from summer to fall. >> beth actually loved wearing this summer dress all season long. it has those nautical stripes, nautical rope tie waist. what i did here was all ant layering, layering, layering. long sleeve t-shirt. the dress is over the long sleeve tee. the crop jacket here with faux fur, faux suede, mixed material jacket. that is from lesters.com and under $100, which is great. then, of course, this long chain necklace which is really on trend for the season. the cropped body bag which we're still seeing a lot of. you can wear this long or you can wear it as a clutch. double duty there. that is patricia nash at di dillard dillard's.com. and mary jane here. those are aerosoles for $99. the stylest are comfortable. >> comfortable. looks great. you transitioned that well. the nauticals can still work for you if you have the right layering piece on top. >> thank you, beth. >> next, we have a picture before of our model christie with this colorful silk tank top which she wore really well through the summer. now let's see how christie is showing off her new look. come on out. >> great. >> how did you style her? >> in the summer she wore this with a white billowy skirt. here for fall, layer cashmere over cashmere. this is $89 exclusively on ideal ideally.com. it doesn't have to cost a fortune. i love experimenting in the fall with heather grays, charcoal grays instead of black. >> too basic. >> yeah. a little lighter. and then a great boyfriend jean rolled up. that's a really hot style right now. you can roll up your own jeans. those are from jp penny. >> the wedge shoes, of course. and then you want to finish it off with a great rich textured bag. this is suede. it's from avon. you can get that at avon.com. and then, of course, the chain detail on the bag which is lady like, classic, and timeless. >> you look wonderful as well. thank you so much. next, the summer tank or rather the skirt. we have a model rolly with us in a lightweight cotton skirt. now, more so in the fall. i love this look. >> yeah. so these are rally incorporating some of the biggest trends from the runways. but the polka dot, the black and white, the bow tie blouse. that's from bloomingdales, that blouse. >> i love the belt. >> the belt is from jc penneys, it's only $20. accents in red are really big. but a lot of women don't feel comfortable wearing red so do it with a purse, a bag issue. that is missoni for target. big designer collaboration. >> i can't wait for that collection to come out. >> counting down the days. and then, a tie-up late booty that will go with everything this season. >> i love it with the skirt. >> exactly. those are lester.com. >> you look great. thank you so much. all righty. and now let's move on to another great summer staple, is i'very pants. and used to be the cardinal room you put the white pants away after labor day, right? but laura is showing us how you can carry this through with your help, of course. >> yes. you do not have to stash your white or ivory bapants. you really want a pair of these, i think it's a great idea to do it with a button down blouse. a faux fur vest can go over everything this season. >> a lot of people don't like or think you can pull off the look after a certain age but you can make it work. >> you can do it for work, the opposite, of course, plaid jacket. plaid is very in style. high-heel loafer shoe. after denner from there with friends. so great vert tallity. >> i love it all. all very reasonable prices. ladies, come back out. let's get one last look at you. if you were to invest in one key accessory or trend for fall, what would it be? >> i personally love the faux fur vest. i'm a big fan. >> we're going to love it. we promise. they all look fantastic. good job with them. >> thank you. coming up next, getting the entire family around the dinner table with kid-friendly meals. but first, this is "today" on nbc. this morning in "today's" kitchen, what's for dinner? delicious meals that have have your kids around the table in no time. chef susie is author of "the super club, kid-friendly meals the whole family will love." susie, good to see you. >> good to be here. >> a lot love times it's just a matter of imagination. and it's not that hard. >> it isn't. a few little tricks will really help you and get your family down sitting around the table. that's the most important thing. that's what the book does. >> absolutely. >> it takes items that your kids might be afraid of. i it doesn't hide the vegetables but it makes them palatable so they will try it. >> they should embrace them. >> embrace them. make it easy for them. >> instead of chicken nuggets? >> what you do is get organic if you can but all natural chicken breast is fine because we have to watch our money, too, watch our budget. you take it and you slice it. and then what you'll will do is once you slice that in half, you put it through two pieces of saran wrap and you pound it. >> the kids can do it. >> age appropriate, right? >> of course. >> you know -- >> my kids might use it on each other. >> i have twin girls. >> okay. >> what you need to do is ask a butcher to do it. if you don't want to do it and you feel uncomfortable, have him do it. take your pounded out chicken, put the flour, and then -- >> kind of a double dip. >> it's a triple dip. >> triple dip. >> it's a triple dip. these are bred crumbs. >> why do you like those? >> makes it crispier. kids like crispy. >> yeah. >> and so you throw in oregano, lemon zest, mix it all together. that's your final coating. then you put it into what we call a shallow fry. these are beautiful, nice brown. >> how long each side? >> four minutes. >> you don't want to crowd the pan? >> no, you do not. use a nice blended oil or olive oil. kids like to dip, right? mayonnaise, sour cream. >> light mayonnaise if you want. >> use light mayonnaise, absolute liabs absolutely. these are all things that you have in your pantry. these are pantry staples. this is after a long day's work and you want everybody to sit together at the table. lemon. nice dip there. you're going to mix there? >> sure, you bet. >> a couple other things we did. beautiful chicken. got this delicious dipping sauce. carrots glazed with a little bit of honey. that makes kids really like them. >> how do you cook those? >> in a pan with a little bit of oil and add honey attend, salt and pepper and you're done. you have this. you have -- these are spinach straws with cheese. you are taking something like a cheese straw, right, that kids love and adding spinach and now we're going to eat it. >> it's fine. cheese oint and that's good. >> exactly. >> and summer, beautiful berries. there are so many peaches and beautiful things out there. make a cobbler. super easy. they don't require a lot of work. biscuits, plop them on. >> make them? >> make them from scratch. one bowl, put it all to the. vanilla ice cream. >> oh, my gosh, here we go. >> natalie has small kids. >> i know. make it easy. get your family to the table. >> my kids, they also want to put these carrots in the oven and roast them. >> caramelized. that's the way kids want to eat this. >> there you go. >> and everybody is sitting at the table together. that's the most important thing. >> right. once a week. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. >> check our website at today.com. still to come, beyonce's baby buzz and all the celebrity news. >> plus, last-minute labor day getawa getaways. >> coming up, hoda is coming up today after your local news and weather. bye. state farm. this is jessica. hey, jessica, jerry neumann with a policy question. jerry, how are you doing? fine, i just got a little fender bender. oh, jerry, i'm so sorry. i would love to help but remember, you dropped us last month. yeah, you know it's funny. it only took 15 minutes to sign up for that new auto insurance company but it's taken a lot longer to hear back. is your car up a pole again? [ crying ] i miss you, jessica! jerry, are you crying? no, i just, i bit my tongue. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. state farm. 9:56 is your time now on this monday august 29th. good morning, i'm eun yang. crews are working around the clock to clean up from hurricane irene. the biggest problems are the downed trees and power outages. there are more than 250,000 power outages in the area. most of them r in maryland. let's check in with tom kierein for the rest of the forecast. good morning, tom. >> thankfully great weather here as the recovery efforts will be continuing for several days. we have just a small chance of an isolated thunderstorm later this afternoon. otherwise partly sunny, highs low 80s and low humidity thankfully. sunshine on tuesday, wednesday, still not very humid each of those days. morning lows near 60. afternoon highs low- to mid-80s. then on thursday we'll have a front approaching. during the afternoon and evening we might get a passing thunderstorm, highs in the low 80s. then as we get toward the end of the week and the weekend, friday and saturday both days still not very humid. morning lows mid-60s, afternoon highs low- to mid-80s. partly cloudy. on sunday looks like a possibility of scattered showers and thunderstorms. danella, how is morning traffic. >> looking good. congestion lifting in our area. here is a live look at the beltway in virginia, georgetown pike i don't see problems in either direction on the beltway in virginia. same in maryland, this is connecticut avenue. travelers commuting but no accidents at this time and no major delays. taking 395 clear all the way from the beltway to 14th street bridge. eun, back to you. >> danella, thanks so much. another news update in 25 minutes. from nbc news, this is "today," with kathie lee gifford, and hoda kotb. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. hey, everybody, it is fun-day, monday, august 29th, 2011. kathie lee is stranded. >> i heard. >> in seattle, washington. as you guys know, a lot of flights were having trouble getting in and out of new york and the surrounding airports because of hurricane and tropical storm irene. but look how lucky we are. >> but you got me instead. i don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. >> this is giada's intro, for coming into work. someone comes racing upstairs and says, can you come downstairs, because there's a woman who named her baby after you. so ha did she say? >> look at my hair. >> what did you do? what was going on with the lid there? it was still in progress? >> i wasn't completely done yet. >> this little baby -- >> they're from chicago and she's 15 months old. and her mom -- her mom is a big fan of mine. and she felt, you know, she wanted to give her a unique name, which i told her was probably not the best idea, but she did, anyway and she's adorable. she's the best smile ever. she looked at me and just smiled. we're kindred spirits. >> not that that kid is not the most adorable kid. but there's one that i feel -- and i'm biased, is a little cuter -- happens to be jade. how cute is that. >> first of all -- >> i think todd meant that to be our christmas picture, fyi. which i don't usually like us being in it. but yes, she's three now. this is our summer vacation, which we just came off of. >> she is so -- >> she has a feather in her hair. she loves poke haahantas. i read and saw that you cooked for prince william and -- his bride. >> kate. >> i don't know what to call her. >> i don't, either. >> how was that, nerve-wracking? fun? >> probably the most special moment of my life and also the most stressful. beyond my wedding, beyond giving birth to jade, it was so incredibly stressful. i did not sleep for a month. >> oh, my god. did they like the food? what happened? >> i had a whole exchange with prince william. we got a photo of it. and he happened, he loves cooking and he loves italian food. and we had this whole exchange about lasagna. and he told me, i think this lasagna will help me win the polo match. >> and did they win? >> yes. >> congratulations. i'm excited for you and the show we're talking about, the food network show that's very popular. >> someone around here does not read her notes. earlier, she was like -- yawn. it's called "the network star." >> what do you do? are you a judge? >> i'm a judge, partly a mentor, i host it with bobby flay. we just picked a brand-new food network star and he gets a show. six episodes. and he's got a great personality. >> i'm glad. first of all, we're glad you made it here. because a lot of people obviously, are having trouble on the east coast because of hurricane that turned into tropical storm irene. i went grocery shopping on saturday, to whole foods, whole foods opens late. they were going to close at 10:00 a.m. at quarter to 10:00 i went down the escalator, i went down and they said, they're closing at 10:00. it was as if the zombie apocalypse was coming. people were grabbing bread loaves and water like it was the end of the world. they put the gate up and there was going to be a near-riot, because people were freaking. >> i had just come off of vacation. i ended up in boston. there was this wonderful insane festival in boston, it's been there for 150 years, i was getting ready to go to that. and my agent is with me and his wife calls and says -- they're going to close down all the bridges. you are going to for sure not be able to get out of there. he was going to drive me at 6:00 at night. i panicked and i said, oh, my god, i have a little aunt that lives here in the city. she was texting me that she was really scared. i thought, i have to get out of here, i have to be with my family. i can't get stuck here. so we got in the car and just beelined it. and when i got there, this is getting -- it's eerie. there's nobody around. and i had some friends drop off a bunch of stuff for me. >> here's the funny thing about. we should talk about the storm for just a second. it was a very deadly storm and it was also a very wet storm. but it wasn't the monster, i don't think that people described, if you look at some of the pictures, here's the deal. people in new york city were really, really worried. it ended up smacking new jersey very, very hard. it hit brooklyn, coney island, those areas very hard. and it hit the battery park area very hard. tammy, our senior producer on the show, her basement was flooded, we had people who had flooding and things, the city fared very, very well. it was windy at my house. i had big windows in my apartment. you could hear them rattle, but we were fine. the place that people weren't thinking it was going to go -- is that amy robach? no, she's gained weight if that is her. but anyway, this is vermont. and -- this looks like -- >> this looks like something you would see from somewhere overseas. you know, you watch something horrible happening. but we didn't expect vermont. so we were scrambling to get crews up there further north. because no one at that point expected it to go that far. >> wow. >> at the end of the day, new york's public transportation is back in business today. everybody is pretty happy. and i think, look at grand central. this is one of those iconic photos, i don't think you're ever going to see again. tsz completely empty. they shut down grand central station, which just takes your breath away. and mayor bloomberg said the sanitation people were flipping trash cans over so they wouldn't blow into buildings. and people were like, oh, look, the trash cans are upside-down and they were flipping them back upright. and normally 345 people are arrested in a day and during the storm, only five. mayor bloomberg asked for evacuations from down in the southern part. >> it's better to be safe than sorry, right? >> agreed. >> i think that's just, he's in charge of a lot of people's lives. and that's the way it works. >> i agree 100%. so i came back from -- paris! it was so fun. >> the most romantic city in the world. >> every time i was walking down the street -- there's me and jay, we saw everybody, everybody is making out. that's what people do in paris. >> and lucky for you, you had someone to make out with. you walk along the seine, nobody cares. they're french-kissing, because that's what they do. and that was the story. it was such a romantic -- i have to say, i like the rhythm of our trip. because some people, when they have a few days in the city, they sprint through it, we got to see everything, and they run, run, run, run. jay and i have the same rhythm. we went in the morning we had a coffee and a croissant and we sat and relaxed. we walked a little bit. because we were tired from the trip, we took a little nap and then we went on the seine and had some champagne. >> i lived there when i was in college and todd wasn't with me, it was a little sad. it's a great city to have someone to share it with. >> kathie lee is going to fif us in tomorrow. she was at the kardashian wedding. we're going to hear a little bit more. we have a picture, she was sitting close to the front. you can see them on the side. >> it looks like she had a really good time. >> she's going to -- can we freeze that? i'm kidding. let's not. we're going to hear about that when kath comes back. she's in seattle working on her soon-to-be broadway show. if you were home last night and watched the mtv video music awards. the big headline was beyonce announcing she was pregnant. i love the way she did it. ♪ ♪ ♪ oh, baby, it's you ♪ you're the one that i always call ♪ ♪ finally you put my love on top ♪ ♪ ooh ♪ now she's going to, watch, and reveal ♪ >> here it comes, here's the best part. look at his face, back to jay-z, please, he's like, that's my woman. that's my baby. i love her, obviously. but i love his reaction. >> it gives me goosebumps, that's so great. >> so it's hard to upstage somebody at those awards. beyonce i think kind of stole the show. lady gaga sort of did with her, she dressed up as a guy. >> a male alter ego. >> she is so talented. i can't believe it was her. if you look, you can see her -- >> you could see if you looked really close up. >> she stayed in costume and in character the whole time. >> and then katy perry was probably bummed, she thought everybody was going to notice her, because she had a yellow cube on her head. apparently it wasn't weird enough. >> and how about nikki minaj, and i love her music. >> one of the things i have to get to is tonight on "dateline," miranda lambert. she is the one married to blake shelton, adorable. i sat down with her for a little one-on-one interview. just to chat. i think we have a little clip of that. >> who is the biggest boozer in the group? and i'm included. who's second? >> nobody. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ you made me pretty ♪ you made me smart ♪ i'm going to break a million hearts ♪ ♪ i'm hell on wheels ♪ baby i'm coming for you >> you guys rock! >> that's miranda lambert and those are the pistol annies behind her. this is called a miranda rita. it's got crystal light in it and some booze. >> mmmm. >> you like it? >> no. >> do your favorite things. >> sorry, i don't like it. >> if it had less, it would be more delicious. >> that is just -- ooh. >> what's your favorite thing? >> hold on. >> it's so bad, it's so bad. >> i think somebody didn't follow the recipe. >> please do not blame -- >> i'm not blaming everybody. okay, wet ones. >> good! >> besides the fact that i'm a plom and i've always got to wipe everything down. i read that thing about how many germs are at your desk. do you eat lunch at your desk? >> not usually. >> there's 400 times more germs on your desk than there are on a toilet seat. yes, my love. so you might need one of these. >> oh, blah. here's mine, this is called jam box. let me tell you what's great about it -- everything, every single thing. >> todd's got one of those, how does it work? >> you hit play. okay, go. whoops, not on. wait, listen, get ready. okay. so it's a speaker. ♪ ♪ now, hold on, here's what else it does. i'm going to plug it in my blackberry for one second. >> you can talk? >> i'm taking too long. i know, i know. trying to hurry. okay, hold on, ready? give it a second say hello. >> hi, hoda. >> it works. >> and i talk to you in this, not this. here. >> let me see how it looks in front of my mouth. >> you can put it anywhere. sara what is your favorite thing? >> my favorite thing is a chocolate peanut butter blissful brownie. i'm a reece's peanut butter cup junkie. so this is amazing. coming up, from "godfather" and "apocalypse now" robert duvall is in the house. and still ahead, we'll show your favorite celebs, what they've been up to. we'll have the latest buzz. but first, these messages. that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. that's yours. lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste? honey nut cheerios. want whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. it's a win win. good? [ crunching, sipping ] be happy. be healthy. can i try yours? be happy. be healthy. i'm gonna need my biggest player. a change in the lineup? [ female announcer ] one bottle of ultra dawn has the grease-cleaning power of two of this competing brand. [ sponge ] way to go, kid. [ female announcer ] dawn does more... [ sponge ] so it's not a chore. well, it's not going to clean itself. want me to get dad? no thank you. viva's all i need. look at that! still in one piece. yeah, so's the towel. [ female announcer ] grab a roll and try it on your toughest mess. hmmm, what are you doing? studying. studying? quantum physics. that's not mine?! i don't know where that came from! aw, do you ha... is that a check? that's not a good check is it? what do you think? it's a bad check. [ male announcer ] we take the time for our cheese to mature before we bake it into every delicious cracker because at cheez-it, real cheese matters. from acting and directing to writing and producing, academy award winner robert duvall has done it all. and now he's picking up his golf clubs in the new movie "seven days in utopia." >> duvall plays a texas rancher and a former pga golf pro who becomes a mentor and a friend to a down-and-out golfer. >> you definitely put the game first. >> reminds me of someone else i used to know. >> that, he does. hopefully he finds his way quicker than me. >> there, stranger. >> hi. >> so, when is the last time you caught a firefly? well, i don't know. since i was a little kid. >> well, that's too long. >> welcome, robert duvall. how are you? >> good. nice to be here. >> all the guys, just walking past one of our floor guys, and he goes, that guy's a man's man. >> he's been around a while. >> now, first of all, just asking about irene. you were in town during when the storm hit. was everything fine with you? >> i came up early to make sure i got here. i think it was a terrible thing, but i think in the city itself it was a bit overrated. >> you're okay. >> i think so, yeah. >> i'm dying to know, you've done so so many movies and why this one. why this small indie film? >> it was a wonderful project that david cook wrote and they wrote a lovely script. it was a very enticing thing. when you go on location, you meet wonderful people like, you know, lou and wanda waters, who opened their ranch to us. they were waiting for us, they had a wonderful horse waiting for me to use in the movie. and when you go on location, you meet wonderful people, so overall it was just a wonderful experience to do it. >> it's a great, great movie. it's about golf in a way. but it's about -- >> more. >> it's about life lessons. tell us about it. >> what i see, maybe others don't. a philosopher once said, don't be a farmer, be a man on a farm. so you are something first before your profession. you try to be as good as you can as a human being. i think that's ha this film exemplifies. >> you don't have to be a golfer to like this movie. you don't have to love the sport? >> true, i'm not a golfer. but the whole emphasis of the movie is lucas black. it will be the only golf movie ever made where the lead actor can really hit the ball and plus there's no better young actor in america. >> you guys seem to have a good team. you two have done some other films together, haven't you? >> we did "get low" two years ago. and when lucas was about this big in "slingblade" so he's a very talented young man. terrific to work with. >> do you still get excited? >> yeah. there's always a little spark. you look for something that's a little novel, a little different. and you try to, you know, bring something different. >> you said you got something going with billy bob, what's your next project? >> there's only one billy bob. jayne mainsfield's car. i never read such a unique script in my life. >> it's the flip side of some of the preachers who will be coming to this, won't be coming to that. >> i got it. we're so glad you're with us, good luck with this film. it's a heartwarming -- it comes from a good book. >> a lot of humanity, this film. i think people will really respond to it. >> we're so glad you came to see us. >> thank you so much for having me. >> coming up, we're going to meet our newest fan of the week. but first, these messages. ♪ ♪ ♪ think of what you want to see ♪ ♪ look around, it's happening ♪ oh, yeah ♪ imagine that ♪ imagine sunshine always shining ♪ ♪ ♪ imagine blue sky just for you ♪ ♪ imagine that, imagine that ♪ imagine this, imagine that ♪ imagine that ♪ ohhhh, imagine that maybe not. v8 v-fusion juice gives them a full serving of vegetables plus a full serving of fruit. but it just tastes like fruit. [ male announcer ] get five dollars in money-saving coupons at v8juice.com. in money-saving coupons [ queen latifah ] ameand # 1 lipstain... lipcolor is covergirl outlast! what makes outlast so great? with outlast, we can go for hours -- and our lipcolor still looks fresh. outlast from easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl the best in nutrition... just got better. now with even more of the vitamins your body needs. like vitamin d. plus omega 3's. there's one important ingredient that hasn't changed: better taste. [ female announcer ] eggland's best. better taste. better nutrition. the better egg. [ female announcer ] eggland's best. naturals from delicious, real ingredients with no artificial flavors or preservatives. naturals from purina cat chow. share a better life. just want to point out our crew is taking pictures with robert duvall, he's the big one here. it's time for our fan of the week, when he we get to surprise a lucky viewer at home who happens to be an outstanding fan. >> and as always, miss sara is here to announce the lucky winner. >> drum roll please. our winner this week is nicole graham, from frisco, texas who watches us on kxas, channel 5, kathie lee and hoda gets her day off to a great start. her morning is not complete unless they start with her two favorite gal pals. one of nicole's favorite segments is bobbie's buzz, because she loves to hear the latest and greatest beauty trends, and she enjoys seeing the ambush makeover transformations. and she pretty much rattled off our whole show. she records all our shows. >> look at the picture of her kids. >> how cute! >> your hair looks great, hoda. >> does it ever. >> she thanks kathie lee and hoda for giving her the adult time she needs to be the best mom to her four girls. we're sending you to the wild dunes resort on the isle of palms, in south carolina, tennis, golf, a sunset kroouz cruise, round-trip airfare for two included. >> sara, we love nicole. nicole, thank you, go to our website, klgandhoda.com. maybe we'll pick you to be our next fan of the week. coming up, the buzz from the vmas, and all kinds of stuff. coming up, plus it's not too late. great deals on last-minute labor day getaways. >> there's still time to travel? >> i didn't think so. >> first, everybody, we're going to give you your local news and weather. and guess what else is coming up? more giada, after this! [ male announcer ] 95% of all americans aren't getting enough whole grain. but actually, it's never been easier to get the whole grain you want from your favorite big g cereals. from cheerios to lucky charms, there's whole grain in every box. make sure to look for the white check. which shirt feels more expensive? that one's softer. actually, it's the same t-shirt. really? but this one was washed in downy. why spend a lot of money when you can just use downy? [ female announcer ] new ultra downy with silktouch, it's an upgrade in a bottle. listen to this. three out of four americans don't get enough vegetables. so here's five bucks to help you buy v8 juice. five bucks. that's a lot of green. go to v8juice.com for coupons. you can count on us. thousands remain without power this morning and many schools are closed after this weekend's hurricane. coming up on news 4 midday, an update on the major clean up effort under way and streets closed all over town. good morning, i'm eun yang. it's the first day of school in the area. we'll check in with schools in [ screaming ] [ zapping ] there goes dwayne's car. oh, man. there goes dwayne's house. whoa! whoa! and there goes dwayne. man, that thing does not like dwayne. [ male announcer ] state farm's got you covered. nice landing. it was. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. hi. looking good! you've lost some weight. thanks! you noticed! you know these clothes are too big now, so i'm donating them. not going back there again. good for you! how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. whole grain? whole grain. [ femalennouncer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't... multigrain cheerios has five whole grains and 110 lightly sweetened calories per serving... more grains. less you! multigrain cheerios. and we're back on this fun-day, monday, with today's buzz, from beoncy's big announcement at the vmas, we've got a whole lot to cover. >> here with the latest scoop is gossip.com's staff writer, maureen o'connor. good morning. >> oh, boy, those vmas got a lot of traction. we talked about beyonce announcing her pregnancy at the vmas. she showed up on the red carpet in a red dress and sort of cradled her stomach and said, i've got a big surprise. in june, piers morgan asked her if she was going to have a child. and she said, i always say i'm going to have a child when i'm 30. and she turns 30 this month. >> it doesn't get better than that. >> clothes are worth 1,000 words, right? >> what about gaga? she has to keep upping herself in a unique category. she dresses like her male alter ego. can she keep raising the bar, do you think? >> i'm impressed that she could come up with anything at this point that would surprise us. you could sort of feel how her weirdness is for thing everybody to up their weird game. katie perry wear as block on her head. this isimpressed me she was able to come up with one thing. the one thing that other pop stars don't want to do, be unsexy, ever. she's not worried about that. it's surprising that she stuck with it the whole show. and by the whole end, it was getting a little weird. >> with irene blowing through, it caused problems for some people. and people couldn't get to the movies, people who wanted to go. >> the box office was down about 23%. broadway was completely shut down. so the help, still, was number one this weekend. >> i have not seen it. >> i can't believe. >> it brought in $14.3 million. three weeks now that it's really strong. number two was "colombiana" an action movie about an assassin. >> zoe saldana. >> was she good in that movie? >> what's weird is they were expecting it to do a lot worse, they thought it would bring this in $8 million. it actually brought in $10.3 million. it outperformed. >> you know what's weird, something weird is happening now, i can't watch any kind of violent stuff on tv. i get totally repulsed now by -- >> have you ever, you know when you're watching blood, you're like, i don't want to see it. >> you like romantic comedies? >> yeah. >> if you like tv, i guess bristol palin is shooting her reality tv deal. >> my neck of the woods. >> bristol palin -- the kardashians of the north, the palins. bristol moved to l.a., she is living in a house, she's got her kid with her, tripp. and she's living with kyle massey and christmassy, who she met on "dancing with the stars." they have a bizarre house situation and it's all of them just sort of living their lives and -- do the job thing. she's pursuing her abstinence advocacy and holding a job. >> what's going on with her ex, is he still talking about her? >> remember he was running for mayor? he dropped that. he said he's working on his memoirs, if he ever finishes it, we'll see. >> what about the kardashians, kathie lee was at the wedding, we got to see the picture of her she'll hate forever. >> they were on their honeymoon, they are already back. they went to italy. >> your neck of the woods. >> yes. >> the amalfi coast. kim was at the vmas last night. she looks like a doll when i see him, you know. they are coming back to new york now. where they're going to visit with some friends that weren't able to come to the wedding and they're going to stay in new york for a few months. a lot of kris' life is out here. >> did they show the wedding on tv? or is that coming up? >> that's coming up. but the wedding album is in "people" magazine. it comes in pieces. >> the amount of money they made on that wedding is like $17.7 million. it's astonishing. >> they could throw a huge, lavish wedding and actually turn a profit on it. >> hello. >> that's the way to go. >> thanks for the insight. on gossip.com. what's coming up? >> what is coming up? >> deals on last-minute labor day weekend getaways. >> anyway, for everyone in your family, right after this. a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. well, it's not going to clean itself. want me to get dad? no thank you. viva's all i need. look at that! still in one piece. yeah, so's the towel. [ female announcer ] grab a roll and try it on your toughest mess. have i got a surprise for you! yeah, it's new [ barks beneful healthy fiesta. gotta love the protein for muscles-- whoo-hoo! and omega-rich nutrition for that shiny coat. ever think healthy could taste so good? [ woman announcing ] new beneful healthy fiesta. on today's travel, last-minute labor day getaways. >> believe it or not, it's not too late to plan a great escape for labor day. >> we have the editor and chief of "budget and travel" magazine. a lot of people are stranded in airports around the country. either trying to get here or get out of here. what's -- tell us what the timeframe is. >> right now, about 11,000 flights have been impacted by this hurricane. and new york airports are just starting to gear up again. but they have a lot of people to get out. if you have been stranded, and you need to be rebooked, know this -- you will not be charged any rebooking fees. if your flight has been impacted by the hurricane. and then you just want to call your airline and start to get, you know, a date set to get back out there. we have on budgettravel.com a list of all the airlines. >> because they had to get the planes out of new york and the east coast so they wouldn't get hit. >> it's going to take a couple of days to clear this out. >> let's talk about labor day, let's talk about something fun. >> you have some great budget deals. >> all in a a good budget. if you have not yet planned, there's still good time. the first one is in orlando, fun for the family. this is the omni resort orlando, it is $99 a night. this is a great fun for the family, this is 38% off what they normally run. they have great pool, lazy river, weekend splash parties by the pool. the rooms are big, too. 400 square feet. >> i have a 3-year-old and she loves this stuff. >> they want -- give them a pool, they're happy, good to go, free shuttle to the park. you can hang out at the hotel or hang out, go have fun at the parks. >> idaho? >> what's up with idaho. so right on the lewis and clark trail, there's a best western called the best western at river's edge. and they're running a deal over labor day weekend, three nights, $385. that's for a room, you can fit up to four people in it. it's a package where they also run guided fishing trips for one adult and one child. it's steelhead river. steelhead fish are in season, salmon. >> it's a beautiful time of year. >> idaho is a gorgeous state. i went once and you just fall in love with that place. >> it's america, it's beautiful. >> let's talk bermuda. >> bermuda cruise. this is on the royal caribbean in chairman of the seas, five-night cruise, $699. this ship is amazing, there's something for everyone, a latin-themed lounge. a bungee trampoline, two nights in king's wharf. it's a great deal. >> for the winos, there's a place for people who enjoy wine to go? >> amazing deal, this is through gate one travel, they're in sonoma, they're the flamingo resort, two nights, you get a car and a flight from chicago for $599. and the flamingo resort is in santa rosa, walking distance to everything. you'll have a car, you can tool around the area. beautiful wineries, it's a little more rustic than napa, very relaxed. you can drive out to the water. so beautiful. >> and if you're being adventurous and you want to go to europe, there's a a place to go. >> this deal is kind of crazy how good it is. it's virgin vacations. it's seven nights in london, you leave on labor day, $1,089, six nights hotel. unbelievable. you're staying in the center of london, in hyde park at the central park hotel. $1,089. you could spend that just on your flight. >> that's unbelievable. it's an amazing package. all the details are at budgettravel.com. >> thank you, nina. >> we want to say congratulations. >> nina is significanx months p? >> yes, glowing. >> coming up next, year after year, august has been the highest birth rate month of the year. and we've got it covered for moms. and the life of a special teacher. >> sara's got something going on here. think twice. it may be a sign that your digestive system could be working better. listen to this with occasional irregularity, things your body doesn't use could be lingering in your system, causing discomfort. but activia has been shown in clinical studies to help with slow intestinal transit when consumed 3 times per day. 7 out of 10 doctors recommend activia. and the great taste is recommended by me! you want that? you want a warm, super-delicious strawberry toaster strudel yeah but now i have nothing to eat sure you do. hey! you can have the pop tart! pillsbury toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat pillsbury toaster strudel. [ female announcer ] everybody loves that cushiony feeling. uh oh. i gotta go. [ female announcer ] and with charmin ultra soft, you can get that same cushiony feeling you love while still using less. charmin ultra soft has extra cushions that are soft and more absorbent. so you can use four times less versus the leading value brand. ah. [ female announcer ] using less never felt so good. we all go... why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra soft. according to the centers for disease control, august has the highest birth rate than any other month. >> here with some must-haves for new moms is katherine mcmanus from "parenting" magazine. how are you? >> good, how are you? >> we have everything on this table. >> all the essentials, we came up with these products when we were putting together our gear guide for the magazine. we're starting with our sound machine from first years. a lot of parents swear by white noise. using it to calm their children. because it helps mimic the sounds that they heard in the womb. i was saying earlier that i did not use a sound machine, i don't swear by it. i wanted my daughter to self-soothe herself. i did not want to depend on anything else. i didn't want to take it with me traveling. >> i was telling giada, the only thing that would soothe my daughter when she was little was the kitchen vent fan. so this is a lot more convenient. >> when you have a crying baby, you know how it is, whatever works. >> this is a great new monitor from fisher-price. there's so many high-tech monitors, there's one simple feature, baby can hear you, just as you can hear baby. >> can you talk to jade? >> sometimes it's just the sound of your voice that will help soothe them. >> humidifiers. >> it opens up their nasal packages. this is great, it doubles at a night light as well. it projects this beautiful starry sky onto the ceiling. >> this is a life-saver especially when your child gets sick. >> this is good to get the air out of your child's belly? >> these are anti-colic bottles from mam. there's ventilation in the bottom which prevents the air bubbles from coming up. >> and teething, as you know, can be a very painful process for babies and parents. these are great, these are from infanteno. these can be used for infants and toddlers. you can fill them with water and freeze them. the cold is really soothing. this is a really clever contraption from boone. you put the teething biscuit in this side right here and you can clip it to your baby's shirt and the teething biscuit stays in there. >> it's like -- it's like chinese handcuffs. >> it's a biscuit? >> and it's hard. >> and they drool and it falls apart all over them. >> and how about a swaddler? >> swaddling, so important, right? >> my husband was the best swaddler on the planet. >> a baby burrito. one of the most important things is getting the right blanket, if it's too big, too small, you won't get the good swaddle. this is the mat, it's a yoga mat for babies, it was designed specifically for baby classes, designed for mommy and me classes, you can use it as a changing mat. >> first of all, this kid has the strongest grip in the world. >> this is evan, he's four months old. and this is the evenflo snuggly character. it's wonderful. because you can wear the baby facing out. facing in for newborns, or also on the back as well. so when they get a little heavier, it can be a little more comfortable. >> jade never liked these, i don't know why. >> and this stroller girl -- >> this is olivia. >> this is the kolkraft contour stroller. super light-weight really easy to fold. loves to get out, it's durable and really smooth ride. cup holders, snack holders. >> is it a smooth ride, olivia? is it a smooth ride? >> she is ready to go. >> just here at the end -- >> we have a stroller lock. this is a guard to keep it safe and protected when you're on the go. so nobody steals your stroller. >> the baby wouldn't be in the stroller when you have it locked. >> all right. coming up next, he will sell the shirt off your back. you're not going to believe what this guy does. ♪ mmm. oh gosh. oh dear. big deal. you're delicious. so what. i've got news for you. there's no such thing... ...as a bear sheriff. you think i'm afraid of you? hey what? you don't have to be mean to the cake. i do. you don't. i do. just eat yoplait light. they have great flavors like... boston cream pie, raspberry cheesecake. even though i work here, i've lost weight. wow. yeah. carry on. (announcer) 28 delicious flavors at around 100 calories each. ♪ ♪ it is time for, they get paid for that cool job, that you probably didn't even know existed. >> the lovely sara haines is back with a job you have to wear a different uniform 365 days of the year. >> you've heard of guys that would give you the shirt off their backs. this guy is kind of the opposite. for the right price, he'll actually wear your shirt. just another day in the professional t-shirt guy's closet. so you're the t-shirt guy, what the heck does that mean? >> that means that every day i put on a t-shirt and i promote the company that i'm wearing a shirt for. like today, pets for patriots, via social media. >> jason sadler is a walking, breathing, internet-savvy billboard. based in jacksonville, florida, he tweets, broadcasts and interacts every day with his online audience of thousands. >> they're basically coming to consume an ad. where does that happen? nowhere else. no one looks for a magazine and says, article, ad. that's what they're doing with us. >> it's a 24/7 job, companies big and small pay him to wear their t-shirts everywhere he goes and to incorporate the video blog that he live streams over the internet. to capitalize on his advertising background. it's all about to do something that nobody else thought of. >>. what's easier than wearing a t-shirt. every company makes t-shirts. why don't i do something with that and tie it all together. >> and the free clothes are a nice perk. after three years, it's been so successful, that he's hired four additional t-shirt-wearers to maximize the exposure. >> he's got new york, dallas, springfield, missouri and las vegas. >> they're all extremely different videos, all different personalities, it's really fun. >> these are all the t-shirts worn this year. >> and then there's jason's pal, plaxico. >> a dog's got to eat, right? >> two days later, 1,000 followers on twitter. he takes a photo, a dog in a t-shirt, that's it. it's pretty funny. >> sometimes all it takes for the job of your dreams is an original idea and the initiative to pull it off. >> you ever ask yourself, oh, my god, i get paid to do this? >> now i'm to the point where i'm almost numb to it, i'm an advertising company, a marketing company. almost a pr company for some of these people. i still think it's funny that i'm still called the t-shirt guy. but i'll take it. i'm perfectly happy. >> the price for jason and his team to wear a t-shirt increases every day by $5. so by the time we get to december, it will cost $1600 for his folks to wear your t-shirt for the day. if you want to get in on the shirt-wearing action yourself. jason will be hiring four new t-shirt-wearers this coming october. >> jason, get your mom off the hook. >> sara, you're the best. >> thanks, giada. >> it was so fun. >> we had so much fun. >> tomorrow, kathie lee is going to come back, she's on the plane now from seattle. we'll see you back here tomorrow. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

Related Keywords

Arkansas ,United States ,Vietnam ,Republic Of ,Sonoma ,Texas ,Brooklyn ,New York ,Bahamas ,The ,Connecticut ,San Francisco ,California ,Pompton Lakes ,New Jersey ,Massachusetts ,Oswego ,Libya ,Newark ,Chicago ,Illinois ,Norway ,Canada ,Japan ,Missouri ,Argentina ,Philadelphia ,Pennsylvania ,Coney Island ,Central Plains ,Virginia ,Tripoli ,Tarabulus ,Oregon ,Cincinnati ,Ohio ,London ,City Of ,United Kingdom ,Puerto Rico ,Connecticut River ,Iraq ,Salt Lake City ,Utah ,Idaho ,Maryland ,Bermuda ,Hawaii ,Charlottesville ,Louisiana ,Abilene ,Dubai ,Dubayy ,United Arab Emirates ,Asbury Park ,Alaska ,Vermont ,Turkey ,China ,Delaware ,Quebec ,Washington ,District Of Columbia ,College Park ,South Carolina ,Wyoming ,Hollywood ,Hyde Park ,United Kingdom General ,Jersey ,South Africa ,East Haven ,New Hampshire ,North Carolina ,Rhode Island ,Boston ,Florida ,Mississippi ,Huntington Beach ,Oklahoma ,Maine ,Baghdad ,Fairfax County ,Oslo ,Orlando ,Dallas ,Paris ,Rhôalpes ,France ,Italy ,Springfield ,Italian ,Americans ,Alaskan ,Scotland ,British ,American ,Chinese ,Blake Shelton ,Jason Sadler ,Eric Adhd ,Katie Perry ,Zoe Saldana ,Vera Gibbons ,Katy Perry ,Holly Philips ,George Bush ,David Cook ,Kristen Dahlgren ,Andrew Cuomo ,Michele Bachmann ,David Markham ,Anne Thompson ,Natalie Morales ,John Yang ,Jerry Neumann ,Joe Krebs ,Dick Cheney ,Colin Powell ,Eun Yang ,Nikki Minaj ,Ron Allen ,Bristol Palin ,Dillard ,Matt Lauer ,John Carter ,Mary Jane ,Kathie Lee ,Billy Bob ,Joe Calderon ,Al Roker ,Robert Duvall ,Nicole Graham ,Kardashians Kathie Lee ,Katelyn Markham ,Michael Jackson ,Cnbc Mandy Drury ,Sara Haines ,Kyle Massey ,Katherine Mcmanus ,George W Bush ,Queen Latifah America ,Las Vegas ,Matt Ann ,Dannon Oikos Berry ,Kate Maxwell ,Amy Robach ,Peter Alexander ,Kathie Lee Gifford ,Miranda Rita ,Rockefeller Plaza ,Miranda Lambert ,Alex Scott ,Paul Jackson ,