good morning. on edge. as bonnie makes its way toward the gulf, it's a race against time to get out of its where. where is it heading is this. on hold. the storm bring as halt to operations at the site of the wp oil well and beyond. the effects on attempts to plug the well and the cleanup. and a whale of a tale. b there is video of that incredible close encounter. you'll see it here today incredible close encounter. you'll see it here today saturday, july 24th 20rks 10. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good morning. welcome to "today." >> i believe amy robach is somewhere cooler than here. >> it feels like the gulf around here today. nice to have you here. thanks for dropping by. the top story for the moment, the tropical depression with winds at 35 miles an hour. i say for the moment because it was a tropical storm. bonnie could strengthen again takes it makes its way northwest. >> and thob is watching the storm more closely than the people involved in the bp oil spill. this morning most of the ships working at the sight abilite an equipment used is gone. >> and it it is also the heat and a lot of the temperatures expected to soar into the 100s

making it a real health hazard. we have live coverage across the region. we'll bring you the latest on the storm and the heat, the building heat, in just a hugh minutes. and then we'll take a look at the economy. something you might be seeing in storms this weekend, signs of christmas. that's right, christmas in july. some of the biggest retail stores in the country are trying to get you into the holiday spirit. and there are sign it is mays it may be working. >> it's been a banner year for one part of retail. we're talking swimsuits. we'll show you some of the new looks and find out why sles definitely more. >> a lot to get to. let's first talk about the heavy weather. bonnie downgraded to a tropical depression, but it lookses like it could regain strength. mike seidel is live now in alabama with the latest. mike, good morning.

>> reporter: good morning, lester. bonnie has had a troubled life since its inception on thursday. it is barely hanging on as a tropical depression. here on the coast of alabama, not whiff so far. friday morning when it made its first landfall, basically the same spot where andrew came in in '92. this was much weaker. we had wind gusts to 50 miles an hour and heavy rain for a few hours. then the system went across the state of florida, weakened to a depression late yesterday afternoon. satellite loop this morning, it's hard to find anything that resemble as tropical system. bonnie has been dealing with wind shear, what we term winds aloft. also a lot of dry air has been sucked into this storm, both deterrents to inten-if i intens which is good. we will have impacts across the gulf coast. we're expecting some wind and waves later today and tonight. wave heights probably topping out at five to seven feet much

like we saw with alex and with alex, that caused minimal impact on the boom. >> and the atlantic hurricane season gets started at the beginning of june. are you surprised we haven't seen more activity given the forecast of a very active season? >> reporter: yeah, a little surprised. right now we've had two storms, hurricane alex, the first hurricane in the atlantic basin, in 25 years. or, rather, 15 years. and now alex -- or bonnie. we typically see or first named storm by july 10th, so we're right about average, but a far cry from that record setting season of 2005, 28 storms by july 23, seven storms and three hurricanes. it only takes one. and for those of you complaining about the heat and humidity in new york and around the country, this morning on the beach, it's 85 degrees and the heat index already at sunrise is 95. back to you. >> yeah, who is complaining? us. mike seidel, thanks very much.

anne thompson has been following the evacuation of the area around the bp well in the gulf of mexico. she joins us from venice, louisiana with more on that. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester. you'll get no sympathy here on the heat and humidity. it's just as sticky and miserable in venice, louisiana. but this morning officials are keeping a close eye on bonnie. a storm like bonnie can do both some good and some harm. the good is that it can break up the oil that's in the ocean. the harm, of course, is it can push the oil further inland. but officials think they're ready for thinking bonnie brings. there was not a minute to waste along louisiana's oil weary coast. tugboats pushed barges loaded down with boom and equipment up the mississippi river. on shore, crews readied supplies to be transported out of the path of the storm. seeing their protection move, some local officials criticized the strategy. but the leader of the federal

response says the plan is rooted in his hurricane katrina experience. >> i'm still haunted by the specter of flying in over new orleans on the 6th of september as a principal federal official and looking down at new orleans to a parking lot full of buss that were flooded and not used for evacuation because they were not moved in time. >> reporter: venice, louisiana's southern most town, sits at sea level. the risk here, storm surge and flooding. coast guard commander is sending her supplies and people to higher ground nine miles away. safe but close enough to return quickly. >> the storm will move all around. we want to make sure we're in the right place as soon as possible after the storm. >> reporter: bp's floating hotels for cleanup workers are vacant and moving to safe harbor, while all those fishing boats turned cleanup vessels are headed in. >> the number one concern is the safety of our personnel. we will always ever be only as good as our responders.

>> reporter: at the leak site, the two rigs drilling the relief well pulled up their pipes. while outside new orleans, the federal hearings into the explosion that killed 11 workers were stunned by testimony that the rig's general alarm had been adjusted not to ring. as rans ocean's insistence. >> they did not want people woke up at 3:00 in the morning due to false alarms. >> reporter: whether bonnie comes ashore as a tropical storm or a depression or even something weaker, it's already had a huge impact on this effort because it is actually delayed the efforts to kill the well. and it has dhaed those anywhere by 12 dates pushing the target date from mid august back toward the end of the month. >> anne thompson, thank you. and now here's erin. well, for the people of the gulf, bonnie is just another obstacle after so many. michelle kozinski is in new

orleans with that side of the story. >> reporter: good morning. for so many things that have hit the gulf over the last five years, it's almost as if fate now says, okay, hers one more they think for to you try to work around. one more obstacle to two crucial activities around here, trying to make a living and trying to get rid of the oil. in new orleans, they closed the floodgates. and loaded up sand bags in plaquemines parish. a day to clean up, tie down, move out. on property still scarred from katrina where those memories live so close to the surface. shrimper lynette gonzalez known as net. >> after katrina, you learn to just move your stuff. >> reporter: trying to protect what's left of her livelihood. storms they know, but this is an ugly mix. >> i'm afraid of the oil, you know, and water coming up here. what's going to happen then? >> reporter: working alongside

it they've been watching that water rise for weeks. already so high. >> immediately i just got to get out of harm's way.water's coming. >> reporter: they also know every day spent crouching from a tropical storm will be a day not spent cleaning up oil. one day further from the end. >> we dodged a bullet for three minutes. this oil is coming in. >> reporter: they just bought this fishing boat they can't wait to use if fishing and not oil boom. now trying to get it hurricane ready in a hurry. >> the last thing we want to do is worry about four boats that we have out scattered throughout louisiana. >> reporter: where life is tied to that water, so is anxiety. and lately it only seems to be rising. in the midst of the oil crisis, so many times we've heard people say at least with the storm, it happens and then it's over. there's been such a stress level here over the last three months. many people are simply exhausted, they feel like this storm is the least of it at this

point. erin? >> michelle, thanks very much. and the storm in the gulf obviously a big weather issue, but not the only weather issue we're facing. we've been talking about the heat and it does ten across much of the nation. bill karins is following that for us this morning. bill, it's everywhere, isn't it? >> the eastern half of the country, look at this map, everywhere in orange, heat advisory. red, heat warning. including new york city, philly, d.c., also st. louis. much of the country will be bake today. look at richmond, 104. that's your actual temperature. 100 degree heat. even new york city down to raleigh. and this is the fell like temperature. the last heat wave where it was 100, it was more like a dry heat. this is humid and oppressive. so try to stay cool if you possibly can. >> thanks very much. and we want it to get a check of the other top stories. for that we'll head to the news desk.t to get a check of the other top stories. for that we'll head to the news desk. to get a check of the other top stories.

for that we'll head to the news desk.to get a check > good morning p we'll begin in afghanistan where five american troops have been killed in bombings. the blast today were in the south where nato forces have been stepping up the fight against the taliban. this brings the death toll to 70 troop, 53 of them american. this morning we're also learning more about a decade long investigation by the pentagon involving dozens of military officials and defense contractors who allegedly bought and downloaded child pornography on government computers. many involved in the incident had top level security clearances. several officials were convicted and sentenced to prison. an emotional retirement ceremony friday for general stanley mcchrystal. after 34 years of service, the four star why not wore his combat uniform for the last time as he saluted troops at fort mcnair. >> with my resignation, i left a mission i feel strongly about. i ended a career i loved that began over 38 years ago. and i left unfulfilled

commitments i made to many comrades in the fight. commitments i hold sacred. my service did not end as i would have wished. >> reporter: mcchrystal was forced to resign last month after he made disparaging remarks in "rolling stone" magazine about president obama. the coast card continues to search the waters of lake michigan this morning for four people who went missing after their medical transport plane crashed. the pilot of the plane was found hours after the crash. he had reported as loss of power just ten minutes before the crash. gentleman kra gabor is in critical condition after undergoing hip replacement surgery. the 93-year-old fell from her bed last weekend and broke her hip. the hungarian born actress is partially paralyzed from a car accident eight years ago. and finally, a silver lining for a college professor returning back to work after vacation. students swllipped into his offe and then covered everything in

aluminum foil. everything. the professor said it's become a tradition among his research groups. he returned back from vacation and there's alleways something vain in that. last week he found a pink ferry princess office. i would go with the tin foil. science guys can be fun. >> what happened to the old tp trick? >> bill karins is back and has a check of the national forecast. >> i have to tell you, the word gross is appropriate. it could become an official weather term as of today. if you walk outside here in the northeast and mid-atlantic. also watching severe storms. iowa and northern missouri, illinois, indiana, southern michigan, you'll experience flooding today and a lot of rivers will see record crests.

we continue with mild temperatures. some of the warmer spots are touching places like livermore up to clear lake. prepare for mountain showers. have a great weekend. extremely hot. that's a >> that's a look at the steamy weekend forecast. cast. lester? it was quite a week in washington politics with veteran new york congressman charles rangel getting toward face ethics charges in the house and the story that dominated the headline it is this week, the embarrassing on us ter of agriculture official shirley sherrod. for more on this, we turn to cnbc walk correspondent. the president would have liked to talk about financial reform, but we weren't talking about that. how badly did that hurt him? >> this is the week that the president struggled with the

news cycle. he's had a lot of unfortunate incidents where the stories crop up and the washington struggles to contain them over the course of the week with the sherrod mess earlier in the week, the white house really did not distinguish itself as they were forced to apologize. the president had to make a call. all of that interrupted a news cycle in which the president really wanted to talk about one of the signature victories of his term so far and that was the wall street reform bill. and then late in the week, we get this charlie rangel news. that wasn't good news either. >> and let me ask you about that. the charges have not been officially laid out, but they must be serious if they're taking to this point. what do we know and how much trouble is he? ? >> what we're hearing is that the charges have to do with w h whether or not he violated the gift ban and was doing favors for people in position as chairman of the ways and means committee and also having to do with his ownership of four

rent-controlled apartments in new york, that's well above the limit. we'll hear all of these details laid out next week when the ethics committee moves to an ethics committee trial process. and that's the kind of thing that democrats on capitol hill really don't want to have. this this could go into september and they're looking at a november midterm election in which democrats are really on the ropes. the very last thing they want to be doing is defending a senior member of the democratic party against ethics charges in the thick of a congressional campaign. >> let's talk about shirley sherrod. is the administration past that now, has the damage been repaired? >> i think the administration thinks that they're past it. they keep having these sort of racially tinged incidentses that come up and around the presidency, but by calling her and talking to her directly, the president sort of put a button on the end of that story and they are hoping that going into next week's news cycle, they don't have to do this all over again. but this one has been such a wild story with tales of badly edited videotapes and all the rest of it. we just don't know where it's

going. who know what is could come up next. >> really a story about the speed of the internet era. >> that's right. and checking your facts. >> thanks very much. and now here's erin. in case you haven't noticed, some of the nation's big he is retailers are trying to put you in the holiday spirit even if we're in the middle of a summer heat wave. mike taibbi reports. >> reporter: at the toys "r" us scoring there are riding, a brand new ice cream shop. >> for some of you, some of the hottest air you've seen all summer long. >> reporter: in this hot stretch of sum we are june retail sales down half a point from may, christmas in july is back and bigger and if more ways than ever. >> you believe in this concept, right is this. >> i definitely believe in the concept. the stores are jump-starting sales in july because they doubt those sales will be there in december.

>> reporter: to push back against the recessionary time, retailers are pulling out all the top stops because there's nothing that says shopping more than the simple idea of christmas. that's why santa's on duty, those swimsuits and sandals are the big sellers at this target store. and why they've set up christmas lanes and pushing extended online sales on websites tilled with holiday imagery. >> it puts christmas on people's mind and think about sears. >> reporter: some stores are serving the bottom line in other ways. walmart is about to start using remotely tracked smart tags on popular clothing items like jeans to more efficiently manage inventory and control theft. there are privacy concerns. >> little by little or privacy a is being eroded. everything is computerized. >> reporter: who is this guy? >> summer santa. >> reporter: not all grownups think summer santa is such a

great idea, but enough do. >> i like the idea. it's christmas in july for a reason. >> reporter: that's why the salvation army is ringing its bells in july as well as december. and for those who really get into the christmas spirit, at this chicago sears store, there's also a sale on snow blowers. mike taibbi, nbc news, new york. the one clothing category where sales are booming, sales or not. but first this is "today" on nbc. [ female announcer ] jobs leaving. a budget disaster. california on the brink. jerry brown's plan? you run for office and the assumption is, oh, i know what to do. you don't.

i didn't have a plan for california. [ female announcer ] with our state in crisis, we need a governor with a plan. you need a real plan, something i'll acknowledge i did not have. [ female announcer ] jerry brown. no plan then. no plan now. meg whitman. a plan for jobs. log on. learn more.

the economic slump has made americans more stingy when it comes to clothing, but swim wear is actually up. michelle kozinski explains. >> reporter: swim wear designers from around the world descended

on steamy miami beach. bringing celebrities, super humans with more skin than seems possible, and all the swimsuits real s we'll see next summer. this one makes an optical i also solution. how this for your 3-year-old. >> it's like an explosion. what happened? >> i think people want something new, fresh, they want color, they want printses, they want excitement. >> reporter: like the new slightly scary gathered back. but the really big surprise right now, it's all about the guys. ♪ i'm too sexy for my shirt >> reporter: men's swim wear has suddenly boomed, up 20% in the last year even though clothing sales overall in the u.s. are

still down. back in the day seems guys didn't pay a lot of attention. now it's the hottest territory. expect shrinkage. meaning the suit. getting smaller, much smaller. >> don't be afraid to incorporate and enjoy. >> reporter: think less borat, more bond. last year, how much longer would that have been? >> they've been coming up a little bit every year. >> reporter: what happens next year? >> i think we stop here. >> reporter: some analysts think it's a sign of economic recovery. a designer launched a new line during tough times last year and now she's thinking of expanding. yes, if for t rk, for the guys,. >> men are becoming more fashionable. they're like the ladies now, picking out all the great things. >> reporter: let's make them

squeeze into spandex for once. >> it's sexy, light, and not going to break the bank to do it. >> reporter: something for everyone is how the industry is keeping up buying. rest assured designers will back sides, or not. michelle kozinski, miami beach. how come i never see them at a pool i go to? that whole story i'm sucking my gut in. >> i like her point. it's time to realize for men how tough it is to squeeze into that stuff. >> i'll stickith my baggy trunks. >> still to come, a whale of a story.

good morning to you. take a live look at san hoe say. nice and clear out there. we will get your full forecast coming up. thanks for joining us. this morning police are investigating a shooting in east oakland in which two people were injured including a child. it happened around 8:30 last ght. when they arrived they found the two victims on the ground, one of them already in critical condition. it is not clear whether it is the child in intensive care. no one has been arrested and a suspect description has not been

released just yet either. the documents show a couple of jurors. two have been victims of crime or witnessed a crime. ted at them had a gunpo them. some say they think crime is really bad in oakland and a few said that they think officers sometimes lie. the news this morn something that policebe there reassuring parents that they don't have anything to worry about in regards to bombs. three bombs were discovered. the walnut creek bomb squad was called out. >> makes me nervous. and you wonder what the heck people are thinking that people

will bring a bomb out and put it in a place like this. >> officers combed the park to make sure there are no other pipe bombs around. >> we have had 70s and 80s. a couple of 0s. that is the warm spot. and note on the right side of your screen there is a lot of the monsoon that goes on over the dessert southwest. they get afternoon thunderstorms through 3:00 in the afternoon. some of that will get closer to us later tomorrow and maybe close to the north hills. if you are traveling, we will watch for possible thunder and a couple of lightning shots. most of it looks like it will stay east to us. really closer to livermore to

right over to discovery bay. >> give me an hour. >> we will have all the ta's top stories coming up here. right now here is the today show.

we're back on this saturday morning, 24th day of july, 2010. it's a hot summer day here in new york and we thank everyone for coming out to spend part of their morning with us. amy robach is get something vacation time and coming up today, the search continues for kyron horman. >> it's been almost two months since he disappeared from his school. now police are serving search warrants on friends of kyron's stepmother. we'll find out if an arrest is imminent. and then it was a photo seen

all over the world. earlier this week, a couple was on their boat aptly named the intrepid when a whale leaped out of the water. but now there is video and we'll show it to you in just a few minutes. >> i can't wait to see it because i think we tend to see things like that and go photo shopped. no, that's not real. the video obviously disproved that. later, we'll continue our series today goes to camp. i found a camp that brought out my inner boy. it's a covert ops camp out in california where we trained and we went on missions and we did surveillance and then we had a real shoot them up battle. so we'll show you what that experience was like coming up. >> you got shoot? >> i into to tgot to shoot as m bees as i could shoot. no anchors were harmed in the making of this story. >> those guns look the real. all right. first, the disappearance of kyron horman. for the past seven weeks,

investigators have been focusing their efforts on chiron's stepmother. they want to know what she was doing around the time of her disappearance, so they've been checking up on her friends. george lewis has the story. >> reporter: as police removed evidence from the homes of three friends of kyron horman's stepmother, the boy's mom released a statement saying one of those friends, a woman named dedespicher dedespicher, may have important information. >> judges don't give out search wash warrants unless you have specific credible information that there's evidence of the crime that you're investigating at that location. >> reporter: in her statement, kyr kyron's other says the stepmother's friend is refusing to cooperate with law enforcement. she is also going as far as to suggest to others that may have information regarding kyron's disappearance not to cooperate, as well. the day kyron disappeared, it was his stepmother who dropped him off at a school science fair. the district attorney went before county commissioners thursday to ask for an

additional $200,000 for his part of what he says is a complex investigation. >> you have a school, you have a science fair, you have a lot of people involved and you have a seemingly no explanation for why the child's missing. >> reporter: we tried to contact dede spicher but she has not responded. for "today," george lewis, nbc news, los angeles. clint is an nbc analyst and former fbi criminal profiler. when you hear that the police are trying to gather evidence and have search wants from terry who ahorma horman's friends, what does that say? >> i think that's where the investigation centers. most of us know you always look at the last person who was with the victim, you look at the family members, or you look at

someone whose story doesn't seem to hold together. and she's someone that riseses in all three of those categories. >> well, she certainly has a history. she tried to hire someone to kill her now ex-husband who has a restraining order and has filed for divorce. that doesn't mean someone is guilty, but it seem there's no one else in the picture. >> no one else has come up. i think that's the challenge for law enforcement is that they've looked at all of their registered sex offenderses in the immediate area. they've looked at almost 200 in the larger geographic area. none of those come up. and the challenge is this little boy was in school one minute and gone the next. we know he wasn't grabbed by martians and carried away. so the question is could someone have gotten into the school, some unknown offender, and taken this little boy who would have been very reluctant or was it something even far more sinister, was it a plot or a plan with terry horman in the center of it.

>> seven weeks ago today is when of course the little boy disappeared. you've done this for a living, been involved with cases. what are the chances that he will be found alive? >> all of us as parents, grand parents, caregivers, we leave that emotional porch light turned on. and that you enforcement as you saw from your lead-up piece, they're putting more money into this case. but the statistical reality is the longer something like this goes on, you have to figure where could this little boy be. did they take him out of state, out of the country, is he chained up in a basement or is it something far worse. that's where they need terry who are more mahorman to cooperate. >> and they spent $200,000. what's made this so difficult? >> i think the challenge is we just can't find out what happened.

you have this multidimensional family. you have parents and step parents, allegations of hit men and impropriety and extra mayorimayor marital affairs. law enforcement has to run every one of these down. realize they probably had over 3,000 tip it, many come from psychics and people like this who have no story whatsoever but they still have to run them down. >> well, clint, thank you very much. we appreciate it. >> thank you. 36 past the hour. let's get another check of the weather now. bill karins outside on the plaza. >> lose the jacket when you come out here later because it was steamy. we've been talking about the heat so much in the eastern half of the country, but you're from iowa. and it won't stop raining out there. what part of iowa are you from? >> the northwest corner. >> and who are you here with is this. >> my parents and my sister.

>> let's talk about all the wet weather out there. we've had floorodlo fing evenlop toward chicago. and this is like the fourth day in a row of these storms that have rolledinthroh.th and now we'll see record crests on some of the rivers. all that nasty weather heads through the ohio valley and up there into new england. and that 100 degree heat, yes, d.c., new york, all the way down the east coast, it will be a it is about 1700 feet deep. we will get back to the 70s and 80s to keep us on the mild side. tomorrow we do have a chance for a couple of lightning strikes. most of it will be across the

serriah nevada. like charleston, you can always get your hour by hour forecast at weather.com. erin? bill karins, thank you. still to come on "today," we've seen the pictures, but the video is coming. proof a sailboat was actually struck by a 40-ton whale. >> but up next, house hunting online. if you're looking to get into the housing market, we'll tell you where to find the best deals on line. but first these messages. love activia light? do womu sometimes i have no choice but to eat on the run and to eat whatever happens to be around. heavy greasy food that's hard on my diet and my digestive system. so i eat activia light every day. activia light, with bifidus regularis, helps regulate your digestive system in two weeks. mmmm. activia light is not light on taste! and with only 70 calories activia light helps make it easier to watch my weight. it helps me feel good and look good too! ♪ activia

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this morning a "today," promising numbers coming out of the housing market. if you're looking to take advantage, you'd probably start by searching on the web. there's so many sites out there, it is dizzying. here to guide us is nicole lapin, host of "worldwide exchange." great to have you on. before we talk about these web sites, mortgage rates are really dropping. >> i wouldn't say it's a turn around necessarily, but it's not the go-go days from before the home buyer tax credit expired. but this glimmer of hope, this bright spot is really these mortgage rates. people are going to the traditional 15 rate fixed mortgages, 30 rate fixed mortgages. those are at all time lows. >> where is the best place to go

online? >> mortgage.com is a good site. bank rate.com is another one. i really like zillo.com. you can slug and chug your numbers.w.com. you can slug and chug your numbers. you can see what you can really afford before you talk to the bank because they will give you the best rate and you don't have those fees. >>er to closures part of the problem that got us in this whole economic mess h, but it's also an opportunity for some buyers. is there a good place to find foreclosure properties? >> i wouldn't necessarily recommend it for the first time home buyer because as you know, buying a house is not all financial. there is an emotional factor there. but if you can stomach it, realtytrac.com is a good site. home sales.gov. it's run by the government. but i would say buyer beware because the pictures that you see on there sometimes isn't exact hly what you get because remember these folks go in on occasion they're ransacking the houses. >> a little parting shot to the

bank. i remember when the whole satellite imagery came out, the first thing you wanted to do was look at your home from space. but that's a great way to shop for property, as well. >> i'm not saying you have to spy on your neighbor, but it ises a good way to go -- if you're not in the neighborhood, if you can't drive over to this house, you can check out to see if there are pools in the area, that really brings up the home value. also how close homes are together. but check this out. we found this house. looks like a pretty good house from the website we saw. but if you zoom on in, hello cemetery. i'm not passing judgment. if you want to live next to a accept tar cemetery, that is your prerogative, but better to though. >> quiet neighbors. some government sites that might be useful to hit if you're in the market? >> absolutely. you want to know all of the skeleton, right? no pun intended. but you also want to know the

air quality. so air now.gov is a good site. you can type in your zip code and it pops out not only the solution for the day, but the trends. >> and schools are really important for obvious reasons. what site would you recommend to find out what the school situation is? >> great schools.org is a good is site run by bill and melinda gates. it's a nonprofit. and this this is not just for parents. everybody needs to know if there are good schools in the area, why, good schools equal good resale. >> nicole, good to have you on. thanks for coming by. up next, a photo that shocked the world now on video. we'll show you the whale that struck a sailboat. ( chirping, music ) ♪ pop-tarts®! i'll have a frosted strawberry... as an ice cream sandwich. ♪

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take a look at this. the whale crashed on to the boat and thankfully the couple escaped unharmed. and there is a video of the actual event. >> reporter: it's every sailor's worst nightmare. a 40-ton whale leaps and slams on to your boat. the real life money bi-dick tale unfolded. suddenly it crash landed on their yacht.skip are and his girlfriend areunharmed but in shock. >> i saw this this huge monongahemonda monster shape come up on the port side and it just happened in an instant.monster shape come up on the port side and it just happened in an instant. >> reporter: it was captured on

camera and those pictures have made headlines around the world. >> we were sailing for a course on robin island and the next minute the whale was coming to the boat and i said i don't think it will hit us. we'll crust keep going. >> reporter: but the whiale had breached twice already. the boat did not sink, but it will be a while before it sets sail again. so was it a case of bad timing in the couple has denied al accusations they were harassing it. >> we were not following the whale. we just watched it. >> reporter: however, authorities are investigating the incident. there is a 1,000 feet exclusion zone, but experts say this must have been an accident. >> how is that for an insurance claim? no, really, it was a whale.

>> apparently everyone wants to know how the whale is doing. it was apparently a teenaged whale. a lot of blubber got shed in the event. but apparently the whale may just have some bruises. but it's unclear. >> i thought it was photo shopped for sure, but to see the video, it actually happened. >> we'll be right back. first, this is "today." theres it is. on nbc. [ son ] i'm a good son. dependable. i call my mom every week. i even bought her a computer with my new citi forward card. then one day... have you seen this? she "friended" me. there's a whole album. [ laughs ] [ groans ] and started posting pictures. ♪ and tagging me. publicly. [ male announcer ] you ought to be rewarded for being dependable. the citi forward card gives you extra points for paying your bill on time and staying within your credit limit. [ woman ] nice tights. what's your story? the citi forward card can help you write it.

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more on the storm that has brought work in the gulf to a standstill. officials fear the delay could last as long as two weeks. and lindsay lohan's first weekend in jail. will she be allowed visitors? we'll find out.

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take a live look at the golden gate camera. we are watching a little slow traffic and fog cover there. thanks for joining us. the body of a nap pa solar killed in afghanistan last week is back at home. the 21-year-old army specialist died last week when the vehicle he was riding in triggered an ied. stanley's body arrived at the nap pa airport last night. his family invited those to pay

respects. just this morning bombing in southern afghanistan killed five other american soldiers. 80 oakland police officers laid off last week may be coming back to the force but as volunteers. officers want to work in the unpaid reserve as a way to keep their training certification. if they don't walk the beat they would be forced to go through hours to get back. they hope to have the reserves on the streets by august. the wireless industry filed suit over a new law requiring cell phone stores to post each phone's level of radiation energy. it is the firgs law of that kind. it is is said that it will mislead consumers into thinking one phone is safer than the others. studies have not found solid

evidence that cell phone radiation is a heltd risk. police arrested people in a protest outside the grand high yat. hotel works as labor union reporters are seeking better conditions. 1400 people took part in thursday's demonstration. hundreds were arrested in similar rallies across the nation. san francisco police said the 152 people arrested after orders were disobeyed. and now a look at the forecast that hopefully is not too shaby. >> it's not too bad at all. notice the entire western half pretty dry except along the pier. we will get chances for afternoon showers and

thunderstorms here. but very, very slight chance. moisture moving over the desert southwest. we will stay about justvegeber just below that for most cases today and tomorrow. as we go through next week we will start to cool down a little bit. sunny, mid 80s there. typically gets hot but this year okay. and we will continue with this through sunday. 70s and lower 80s. >> we will have the rest of the day coming up for you right here on the bay area saturday. now back to the "today show."

on edge. as bonnie makes its way towards the gulf, it's a race against time. where is this storm headed and will it regain strength? on hold. one any brings as halt to operations at the site of that bp oil well and beyond. the effect on attempts to plug the well and the cleanup. and on the tracks. a visually impaired woman walks right off a subway platform as a train races toward its stop. we'll show you the extraordinary moments that followed. today's saturday, july 24th, moments that followed. today's saturday, july 24th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good morning. welcome again to "today." >> we're watching the storm. i don't think as a weather maker it's that huge, but it's a huge issue for the oil spill cleanup because they had to move all the ships. it's a tropical depression for now. all the eyes on the gulf of mexico. bonnie is making its way along the gulf toward louisiana today. it had a big impact on the effort to seal up the oil well permanently and the cleanup of the spill itself. in pl >> plus it's also the heat making weather news. i love that picture. temperatures expected to soar in the 100s making it a health hazard. we have live coverage across the region. we'll bring you the latest on the storm and the heat in just a couple of minutes. >> and then we continue our series today goes to camp.

i got a chance to play g.i. joe. they will teach you how to an command dou commando. >> i'm glad they showed us the pictures because i wasn't sure what the camp was about. >> we even did surveillance. a spy and handoff. fun stuff. >> well, we'll get to see that. >> but first tracking the storm. bonnie was downgraded to a tropical depression, but it may gain strength. mike seidel has the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. bonnie is on life support this morning hanging on barely as a tropical depression. the wind hardly even move. that was not the case yesterday as it made its first land full

along the coast of south florida. heavy rain, gusty winds in miami/ft. lauderdale. what was left of that moved across south florida and weakened. the system downgraded to a tropicdrop depression. now it's in the gulf of mexico. it doesn't like like a healthy tropical system. wind shear has been tearing apart the northwest side. also a lot of dry air getting entrained or sucked into the system. two factors going against any kind of strengthening and any kind of reintensification today. meanwhile, it's sitting over very warm water. goes to show that you just because you have a system over 85 degree water doesn't mean it it's going to intensify. still wind and waves over the oil spill. >> thanks for the report.

we want to learn more about the preparations at the site of the crippled bp oil well. they have had to prepare as if this is going to be a major storm. anne thompson in venice, louisiana bringing us up-to-date there. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester. the good news about bonnie being downgraded is in a they may be able to keep some of the ships out at the leak site throughout h this event. the last ships to move out of the leak site would be the ships that control those remotely operated vehicles. those are the vehicles that have the cameras that allow to us see what's going on down at the bottom of the gulf. now, they have been monitoring that capped well and the well is going to stay capped even if they have to pull all the ships out. they have something called hydro phones that they have placed down there. they're actually recording devices and they will be able to hear if there are any kind of disruptionses in the well, any kind of tremors or surges that would indicate there are problems with the well.

however, they don't get those in real time. they would actually after the event happened would have to go down and retrieve to see what has happened. so the other thing they hope to do is do some aerial surveillance of the site as longs as the winds allowed it in order to make sure there isn't any oil bubbling up. >> i'm wondering how this affects the drilling of the relief well by moving those ships and the apparatus away. how does that affect that project? >> reporter: it's been put on hold. they were about to lay the last piece of casing into the first relief well, which is about 100 feet vertically and four feet horizontally from intersecting that well. because they've had to delay that, instead of hitting the mid august target for killing the well, it they now think that will have to be maybe 12 days beyond that. >> anne thompson this morning. thank you very much. and now here's erin. the storm in the gulf is not the only severe weather we're following this morning.

that heat wave is the talk of the country. and bill karins has the very latest. we look at that weather map and even the pacific northwest heat. >> even the west coast. we've mostly been focusing on the east, but the heat is widespread across the country. the same way it's been throughout much of this incredibly hot summer. and these temperatures today, some of the hottest we've seen this this year. richmond, 104. that's the actual temperature in the shade this afternoon. d.c., 101. new york city, 100. and then when we add the humidity, day after day of oppressive heat and humidity and the long duration events, this is when it gets dangerous. make sure you check on the elderly. anyone without ac, invite them into your place. >> good advice there. we want to head over to the news desk now. lynn berry has the morning's other headlines. >> good morning. we begin with word that bp will start deep water drilling off

the coast of libya within weeks. this according to britain's financial times. besides concerns about their safety record after the gulf oil spill, there's also increased scrutiny over how bp received drilling rights and if they cha x. changed a drilling deal for the reese lease of the lockerbie bomber. the senate will hold hearings on the issue next week. a canadian fighter pilot is recovering today after his jet crashed during a practice run at an air show friday. amateur video captures the plane performing maneuvers and then diving to the ground. the pilot quickly ejected and his parachute opened. the cause is under investigation. just an incredible rescue in atlanta. here's a visually impaired 57-year-old woman was walking on the platform. she fell on to the track just as that train was approaching. those commuters on the platform quickly rushed to her help.

she got her out of harm's way. fortunately the train was able to stop and the woman was helped off the tracks by all of those good samaritans. wow. well, finally, this little bear just loves peanut butter and jelly and the smell may have lured this guy into a car in colorado. the hungry prowler then got stuck inside. he even knocked the shift into neutral. the car then crashed. sheriff's deputies eventually coach h. coaxed the bear out, but not before he trashed the dashboard, totaled this car, all this belong to go a 17-year-old. and tomorrow on "today," we'll talk xlus safely to that teenager. his dad and a neighbor who watched it all unfold. unfortunately, he couldn't brooke the bear, bbook the bear, but he's very busy. >> lynn berry, thanks. >> thank goodness the bear is okay. >> the whale, the bear. good for you. bill karins is out on the

plaza with a check of your forecast. >> on the hot sweaty plaza this morning. these are our friends from cajun country. >> central louisiana. >> we have to show this off because this is one of the requirements today, right? how did you come up with this? >> just mart. >> do you play tennis, did you just have it handy? >> i just had it handy. >> prepared, right? so what did you tell me why i had to put her on tv? >> we traveled 2100 miles to get her on the "today" show. >> and it worked. it was worth every mile, right? let's chat about what's happening weather-wise because it is hot and humid in so many spots. we are watching bonnie, but it really should an nonevent weather-wise temperature just a little bit of rain. but otherwise it's just the heat the story from new york right

hello to you beautiful people. where are you from? >> i'm from florida. >> north carolina. >> doesn't matter, it's hot just about everywhere. we'll send it back to erin. >> except for in mere where i have a few more minutes of air conditioning. actress lindsay lohan might be trying to figure out which party to attend on typical saturday. but not this weekend. we get the latest from kristen welker. >> reporter: this was the last time behind ze lohan was out in public. tuesday she rushed past media reporting to a beverly hills courtroom to begin serving a 9

on day jail sentence ever since she's been here, the lynn wood correctional facility, where she's confined to a 12 by 8 foot cell. >> she's been extremely cooperative and everything is going smoothly. >> reporter: and according to the sheriff's department, it's been a busy week. lohan has had visits from her mom, sister, and ex. so many people, in fact, she's used up all of her visiting hours meaning she can't have anyone come this weekend. her first behind bars. >> she's not going to have anyone visit her in jail, 23 hours in a cell that's a long time. a lot of time to think about what she's done. >> reporter: lohan's troubles date back to 2005. since then, she's faced multiple dui charges, been to rehab three times, and has been publicly scolded by movie producers for failing to show up to work. >> i mean, what now? >> reporter: one thing is almost certain, lohan will not serve the entire 90 day sentence.

in fact, some reports have her getting out as early as the end of july, which could possibly coincide with the release of her latest film. and it seems lohan has already begun to think about life after lynn wood. >> supposedly she was shopping tell all interviews that could net her something like seven figures. >> reporter: but for right now, all that will have to wait. for "today," kristen welker, nbc news, los angeles. so what's really happening in that jail and what happens next? even jor ez it tore as us weekly magazine. ian, good to see you. i know you've nobody lindsay personally and spoken to her during this ordeal. so what is going on? >> she was fine before this. she really hadn't figured out yet that this was really a possibility that this could happen. when she walked in to that courtroom on tuesday, she was convinced that she might get something like nicole richie, she's she'd be in for a few hours and then out.

she had no idea that she'd be in here two weeks or even longer. >> so what are her days like, do you know? >> they have been chaotic. she hasn't adjusted well. she was in a great deal of shock when she went in. and there's been a lot of in-fighting with her attorneys. she's blaming them for not being able to get her off. there's been a lot of fighting with her mom for not helping her out. she's relying on her mom, but she's let down by everyone around her because she was convinced someone would help hr out. and there was a shovel of attorn shuffle of attorneys beforehand. >> but she's for the goinot goi the local timwhole time. >> but it still is very different. it's like taking a fish out of fresh water and putting it into salt water. it's a totally different environment. even her wake-up call at 6:00, she usually goes to bed at 6:00.

she doesn't have any communication with the outside world. just a very different existence, but she's a lot tougher than paris hilton who spent time in a similar cell. >> that's an interesting example because paris hilton was the talk of the town. she went out and did her big interview afterwards and she's really not the talk of the town so much anymore. what's next for lindsay, does she need to do something big professionally so that she doesn't become somebody that isn't talked about anymore? >> that's the did i have between the two of them. lindsay is a bona fide actress with real talent. but she can absolutely come back. we've seen courtney love who is on the brink of disaster many times who went on to a golden globe nomination. so she gets that right role, she'll be back. she has plaeenty of time. the problem is she's been unin-huni uninsurab uninsurable. >> seven figures for her tell all, do you think that's right? >> that could happen.

she definitely wants to d s tdo book. she always has plans. >> thanks for coming in and spending time with us. and still to come on "today," "inception." a does the hit movie have people wondering can dreams be manipulated? but next lester goes to a covert ops camp. swipe your card please. excuse me...? this belongs to you... o...um...thank you. excuse me... this is yours... thank you! you're welcome. with chase freedom you can get a total of 5% cash back in your pocket. fun money from freedom. this is yours! thank you! what? that's 5% cash back in quarterly bonus categories all year long. does your card do this? sign up for this quarter's bonus today. chase what matters. go to chase.com/freedom.

we continue our series today goes to camp and i decided to return to my youth and found a camp that i thought was well suited to me, and i decided to go with a g.i. joe meets jason bourne type experience. special ops camp. take a look. >> it will all come down to this. the mission was a go. when we stormed the warehouse that afternoon, we knew we'd

take fire, but there were so many of them and just six of us. yet just as our instructors promised, the training kicked in instinctively we knew what we had to do. all the while i got to tell you i'm asking myself how did i end up here. i'm getting ahead of the story. the truth is it was supposed to be all about fun and games. i heard about this covert ops camp experience they offered in northern california. thought it would make a great story. the day started at a training facility and they didn't waste anytime getting us out there. the camp is run by a coy called tricorps international. a lot of guys can't show their faces on camera. corps internat. a lot of guys can't show their faces on camera.eps internation. a lot of guys can't show their faces on camera.s international. a lot of guys can't show their faces on camera. international. ces on camera.can't show their they run this program for guys like me. >> give any average joe or civilian that wants to immerse

themselves in character, in the james bond type stuff. >> clie >>. >> reporter: the guns aren't real, but the training sure was. they taught us how to aim and shoot the rifle, shoot on the move, and quickly draw our pistols. my teammates happened to an group of video game producers from sony playstation. i got to tell you, i'll admit it, after the guns and training, we were all itch to go get into action. we had just barely chimed out of our gear when suddenly we're all sum sonned to the briefing room. something was up. our mission was to try to observe and photograph a hand off of classified material between a mule and a spy known only as a ghost. we had just minutes to digest the intel briefs and the photo of the mule they gave us. but we'd have to identify the ghost ourselves. apparently no picture existed as

leader of team charlie would be my job to take one. at the location we split up. me and joe headed to the restaurant while the rest of the guys took up position outside. we made some small talk at the bar. try being to look like just any customers. and then we saw them, the mule. and a woman. she must be the ghost. i got the photo and e-mailed to command. after they left the restaurant, our team quickly rejoined, we got in the van and followed them as they headed north toward stockton. they ended up in a secluded warehouse. >> one minute out. get ready. >> reporter: the warehouse i later learned is called cqb city. >> local s.w.a.t. team, police departments, they come in here and practice tactics. >> reporter: it was time to suit

up. we were going into capture the ghost at any cost. after a quick recon, we formed up and this was up. we went in. i was on point. after that, everything was a blur. bullets, okay, bee bees, flying. things exploding. there must have been 15 of them. finally, there was one more room to clear. and it wouldn't be easy. the ghost. this is what it was all about. it h is what i saw them pass in the restaurant. mission accomplished. we had a plan going in. >> based off the training i gave you earlier, don't be too hard to yourselves. you were aggressive. >> reporter: an aggressiveness

that i think frankly surprised all of us. at some point did any of this stop being play? >> the line was blurry. >> the intensity kicks in, competitiveness kicks in and it's not play anymore. >> i looked mean. the good news this week, we nailed all the bad guys but a few innocents, too. my producer who was observing, the first thick she said, shink she said, did you shoot me? >> what was your favorite part? >> the spy thing was actually very fun. but those were real people in a restaurant and i think they were on to us. it could be anywhere from a couple hundred to a few thousand depending on how many days and how deep you want to go. >> and you're ready for real bullets. >> shabsolutely. we'll be right back.

still to come, can manipulating dreams change reality. we'll discuss the idea and if it can really be done. >> and warning signs to tip you off to a very serious issue. e g. uh-oh. we get double miles every time we use our card. i'll take these. no matter what we're buying. plus the damages. and since double miles add up quick, we can bring the whole gang. it's hard to beat double miles. no, we ride them! [ male announcer ] introducing the venture card from capital one, with double miles on every purchase every day. go to capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? , that's the spot! ♪ oh, love me ♪ oh oh oh ♪ just love me ♪ oh oh oh ♪ just hold me ♪ oh oh oh ♪ just kiss me ♪ oh oh oh ♪ just want me ♪ l-o-v-e ♪ love, love, love, love

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good morning to you. a little bit of a great start there. this morning, police are investigating a shooting in east oakland in which one person was hurt. two people were hurt including a child. when officers arrived they found the two victims on the ground, one in serious condition. right now it is not clear if it is the child who is in intensive care. they have not released a suspect

description. the dream questionnaire is out this morning and the documents show that a couple of people did hear about the case before they were called to duty. two of the victims have been victims of crime. some said they think that crime in oakland is very bad and a few said they think that officers sometimes lie. hundreds of kids will hit the soccer field. police are reassuring parents that they won't have to worry about pipe bombs. three this has made them a little worried. >> it makes me nervous. you wonder what the heck people are thinking that they will put

it in a place like this. it is families all day out there. >> it is possible that one person dumbed all three bombs. weather wise, soccer tournaments. >> we will get the sunshine going. and then during the afternoon get the sunshine going. 59 in san jose a lots of 50s throughse nap pa. a litment bit breezier. there is a chance for us to get showers and thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow and some of it may be tomorrow. most of it would be a light ning strike or two. afternoon clearing again and we will continue with more of the

70s and 80s. places like fremont were slightly below average. we're 64 today. mid 80s in gill roy. feels like it sometimes. that starts and mid 80s through tomorrow. 60s at the beaches and we call off more. >> this weekend.

we're back on saturday morning. 24th day of july, 2010. great crowd spending part of a very hot saturday morning with us. thanks to all of you for coming out. i'm erin burnett here for amy robach. coming up we'll talk about whether dreams can be manipulated. >> you haven't seen "inception" yet, have you? >> not yet, but i'm going to. >> it gets you thinking about this whole possibility if someone can manipulate your dreams. we'll take a look at what dreams really mean and ask if they can in fact be altered somehow.

>> that's really scary. talk about psychological warfare. >> it's a talker. >> well, we've got that and then, lester, did you know your body is built in centers? >> yeah, i have one right now saying it's hot and humid out here. >> there would be that. and experts say you can spot early warning signs of a lot of serious conditions just by keeping your eyes peeled. you'll want to watch this because these are things like literally hair on your eyebrows. >> i saw some on the list and it makes you think. >> i was getting worried that i had all sorts of ailments, but anyway, let's get one more check of the weather with bill karins. yes, it is hot. >> i've been out here for an hour and a half. thanks, lester, for taking his jacket off and breaking that barrier. let's talk about our youngest visitor out here on the plaza. hello, beautiful. >> this is madeline. >> she'd probably try to use this as a pacifier.

>> going to be a star one day, right, madeline? congratulations to you. ve vebold. 100 degree heat for the baby in haw york. ve fun. we also have issues with a lot of wet weather. flooding this morning there iowa to areas of illinois and as we continue to watch areas up in new england, we'll see severe weather, possibly even strong storms for areas around cleveland, buffalo, maybe even streaking in to new england late tonight and that 101, that's not a misrint. watching in d.c., record heat today. tomorrow severe storms in the mid-atlantic, but also still baking heat in so many

and that's a look at your weekend forecast. lester? now to our dreams and the new movie "inception." a master thief is able to infiltrate people's dreams. on some levels it's true. >> reporter: to sleep perchance to dream. >> i've had dreams where i flew. gli always have dreams about detention. >> reporter: dreams are the landscape of the subconscious mind playing out lie science fiction movies in our brains while we sleep. >> people are fast natured with dreams. >> reporter: a favorite topic of conversation at the breakfast table. in movies, dreams can mean box oif gold. the summer thriller "inception" depicts a world where dreams are control and stolen. the movie has captivated

audiences and has many talking about dream science. >> definitely got me thinking about like dreams. >> reporter: while the body rests, the mind is at work. problem solving through dreams. >> they tell us who we are, but most importantly what our conflicts are and how we can work through a lot of those conflicts in our dreams when we're sleeping. >> reporter: experts say dreams can be manipulated by the dreamers themselves. called lucid dreaming. by being able to recognize dreams as they're happening. and dreams can also be influenced from the outside. >> we can implant certain suggestions in our mind, certain topics, that we can then process in our dreams later on. >> reporter: it's estimated that people dream about two hours a night. that's about six years in a lifetime. but most dreams are forgotten upon waking and those glimpses vanish with the night. so let explore the question of whether dreams can be manipulated a little bit

further. good morning to you. this is a fascinating topic. we all know that we're include influenced by things around us in terms of our dreams. how does that work is this. >> well, you can incorporate things from the day that's happened. in terms of "inception," they're trying to influence dreams in ways that aren't possible, but if you were going to go about that in any realistic way, it would be like whispering very softly to someone studies find it sometimes does get into the dreams while you're sleeping. >> i've had case where is i incorporate something that's going organization maybe the sound of a car horn outside my window or something, you start uncorporating it into the dream. >> exactly. something that would involve a sensory stimuli.

that would be your best shot at getting an idea into their dream. >> the movie himself deals with the area of shared dreaming. two peopling the same dream. is that possible? >> anyone who studies dreams hear as lot of those stories especially from married people, twins often report that. but it hasn't held up that strongly in the laboratory. so i think the best we can say is the jury is out on that. >> i mentioned the dwlad we can alter or flew our dreams. exactly how does that work? >> it's a dream where you know you're dreaming and you can learn by telling yourself ahead of time that you want to know you're dreaming while you're dreaming, but we can actually influence our dreams even more easily than that. we call this dream incubation. and in the committee of sleep, i've got more elaborate instructions, but the simplest version is just as you're falling asleep, you think about the thing you want to dream about, a problem that you want to solve.

and just hold that this your mind as you're drifting off. maybe an image of what you want to dream about. and most people can learn to wake up and it's important that the waking up, too, you want to lie there. if you don't clearly remember a dream at first, just see if there's one image and often a whole dream comes flooding back because half of any dream work is remembering your dreams. >> without giving too much away about the movie, one of the parts of the story line is his dead wife. is that very common, this sense of departed loved ones appearing to you? >> yes. right after someone's lost someone, very often they have disturbing dreams where the people comes back to life and dies again or even is beckoning them to join them. and as you're getting through bereavement, the dreams may get more positive like the deceased comes back and gives you advice.

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and keeps it under control all day or all night. sometimes you gotta make compromises, man. [ male announcer ] no you don't, man. pepcid® complete works now and works later. this morning warning signs. from bumps on your skin to circles under your eyes, your body might be trying to alert you to a serious health issue. dr. kerry peterson is here. good to have you with us. we appreciate it. i was preparing for this and i went in and started looking at a mirror investigating myself from all angles. let start with the eyes. dark circles.

they could be more than just being tired sxwlp that's correct. they can be a sign of allergies. if you notice dark scircle, try an antihistamine and they may clear up. >> what about eyebrows? if you have issues sort of right on the end of your eyebrow our they're thinning. >> this is an interesting one. if you're noticing that the outer third of your eyebrow is becoming sparse, this could be a sign of an underactive thyroid. this is a xhond condition. 27 million measures in this country have it. eight out of ten of them are women. and it's easily treated. so if you're in your 30s and your female, get your thyroid checked. >> and if you lose hair in the shower? >> thinning hair can also be a sign of thyroid disease if it's

on your scalp. it can also be caused by lupus and several vitamin defiscienc s deficiencies. so try to eat a balanced diet and avoid crash diets because those are cause your hair to fall out, as well. >> and what about on the mouth, a lot of people have a cracked corner. >> it is so irritate to go people. it can be so painful. and it can just be there licking the corners. a lot of people do that all the time. but it can also be from vitamin b deficiency and iron deficiency. so you should try to eat a lot of green lee if i vegetables and water medical lon and you may have a result very quickly. >> what about inflamed gums? women? this was an interesting one. >> a lot of people don't know this, but swollen gums can be one of the first signs of pregnancy. so if you're noticing that your period is a little late, your

gums are bleeding a little more, get a pregnancy test. but if you're a man and you have v swollen gum, obviously you're not pregnant, but could you have gingivitis. and it may have an objection with heart disease. so if you're a male with floe swollen gums, go to your dentist. >> and small yellow bumps on the skin. sdwr sdwr. >> in can be a sign of high cholesterol. it deposits in the skin. easily diagnosed and once you treat the cholesterol, they can go away. >> what about butt bumps? no delicate way to say it. >> this is another interesting one. if you have an allergy to wheat

gluten, it can cause a red itchy rash that blisters on the buttocks. and it also can cause it on the knees and on the elbowses. it happens in about 10% of people would have the disease. and once you remove gluten from the diet, it slowly resolves. >> so before we go, all this can make a lot of people worried. so how do you avoid just going in and getting too many tests at the doctor? >> i think being an observant of your own health is really important. your body will tell you when there's something wrong. so if you can detect the warning signs early, you can help prevent the disease. so an wearness, but not a paranoia. >> dr. peterson, thanks very much. up next, your lawn is suffering. we'll show you how to tend to it. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

today we're talking lawn care. the heat and sun can wreak havoc on your lawn giving it that brown lifeless look, so how do you bring your lawn back to life? dave white is here with tips. good to see you again. so you're looking at your lawn and it's got that brown look and you're trying to decide is it dead or dormant. how do you figure it out? >> that's actually pretty tough. we're lucky today because our lawn looks pretty good. >> and we just planted it this morning. >> the heat can certainly wreak havoc on your lawn, but just because it's brown doesn't necessarily mean that it's dead. your grass will go dormant to protect itself in the heat and nech h the cold. >> so by looking at it on top

you can't tell. >> one thing to look at, if it's just completely lifeless it could more than likely be dead. if you look at the grass stem or the crown of the grass right at the bottom and it looks healthy but the blade is all brown, it's probably just dormant. so get some good watering or it or wait until the weather cools and we can take care of some things. >> you mentioned watering it. >> if you dig six to eight inches and check your soil, and this is beautiful soil, but if you squeeze the soil and it kind of holds together, you can tell if it'staining water down deep. if it is, you're this good in good shape with your soil. if not, you have forgto get watn there. >> what's the pomost efficient y to get water on your plants?

>> you want to water real deeply. in other words, instead of just watering a little bit several times during the week, give it a really good watering once and that i wat water gets deep into the soil, your roots will want to grow dealership and yoeper a will be healthier. an efficient way to do that is with a soaker hose. it's literally just dripping water out of it it. if you're using a sprinkler, a lot of times it's up in the air. >> and waerg the sidewalk and everything else. >> and mulch is a great thing to do, as well. if you put a good layer of plul much in your beds, it will keep the moisture in the soil. >> you're also a big advocate of trying to capture as much rainwater as you can. >> use mother nature's water. so you can hook up a rain barrel to your gutters. and then you've got a great water supply. you can water your shrubs and trees and your flower beds.

>> you have the lawnmower out here which leads to the question if you do have a distressed lawn, do you have to take special care when mowing it? >> if it's growing enough to mow, you're in pretty good shape. but to keep it heldalthy, you wt to mow higher. so in this case we'll raise the blade up to about the highest setting, three or four inches. you also never want to cut more than about a third off of the grass because that will actually cause it to stress more. it takes more energy to grow from the low point. and also use a really sharp blade because if not, it will rip the grass instead of cut it and that are will leave it prone to disease. >> another six, seven weeks, we'll see temperatures start to cool in some parts of the country and you have to start thinking about how the lawn will look in the spring. what should you think about doing? >> your grass will feel a little better at that point, so this is

the time that you analyze your situation where you're going to want to start to get prepped for the next season. so air rating is important. if your yard is really compact and you're not getting the water down in there you can air rating basically what it does is it pull as plug out of your yard and allows the dirt to expand and allows air in there -- >> so you just start making holes. >> this is a hand air rater for a smaller yard and you're just popping soil samples out of there.eir rater for a smaller yard and you're just popping soil samples out of there.rir rater for a smaller yard and you're just popping soil samples out of there.otoir rater art your early fert hizer. can you can also rent a large one if you have a gas powered version is really the way it to go for a big yard. so then you can add things like additives thinging like com post.yard. so then you can add things like additives thinging like com post.big yard. so then you can add things like additives thinging like com post. >> dave, thanks very much.

always good to have you here. we'll be right back aftof a the messages. ar. let's get better prices... and better paint. let's break out the drop cloths, rollers, brushes, and tape. let's start small. then go big. no matter what the budget. and when we're done, let's take a bow. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. behr premium plus ultra. the only interior paint and primer in one that's rated number one. to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's new motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. new motrin pm. but even in your 30s bones begin to change calcium and vitamin d help keep your bones strong. yoplait has calcium and vitamin d in every cup. keep your bones strong, with yoplait.

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[ male announcer ] come into an at&t store and experience tv like you've never seen before. ♪ for a limited time, get u-verse tv for only $29 a month for 6 months with dvr included. good morning. next on the bay area saturday. more violence on the street. this time a least one of the victims is a child. the father of a 2-year-old boy mauled by pit pulls is coming to the defense of the dog's owner. and three bombs in three days as a popular bay area the target of a serial pipe bomber?

tomorrow. it looks like if you are going jog, not bad weather. >> especially getting around the 26. should be a