good morning. breaking news. a suicide bomber attacks an iraqi army recruitment center in baghdad, at least 60 are dead, 125 others are injured. as u.s. combat troops prepare to end their mission, what are we leaving behind? miracle in colombia. a passenger jet crashes and breaks into pieces while landing. all but one of the 131 people on board survived. this morning an american couple who was on that flight and escaped share their incredible story. and starring who? it's the hottest book of the summer and the most coveted movie role in years. so who's getting the title role in "the girl with the dragon tattoo." scarlett, angelina, natalie?

nope, it's this woman. we'll tell you who she is "today," tuesday, august 17th, we'll tell you who she is "today," tuesday, august 17th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television welcome to today on this tuesday morning. i'm meredith vieira. >> and i'm matt lauer. just as u.s. combat forces are preparing to leave iraq, one of the deadliest attacks of the year rocks that nation's capital city. >> a man detonated an explosive laden vest as people lined up outside an iraqi army recruitment center. the scene there has been described as chaotic and bloody. body parts strewn everywhere. the death toll has climbed steadily throughout the night. we're going to go live to richard engel in baghdad straight ahead. and nicole bobek was one of the most celebrated athletes in u.s. figure skating back in the 1990s. she was a national champion by the age of 18 with endorsement

guys and a promising future. then her life began to spiral out of control and on monday she was sentenced for her involvement in a crystal meth drug ring. coming up nicole bobek speaks out in an exclusive live interview. and michael douglas has a tumor in these throat and now must undergo radiation and chemotherapy. we'll get the latest on that, as well. but let us begin with that breaking news in baghdad. a deadly attack on an iraqi army recruitment center, nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel has the very latest. richard, good morning to you. >> good morning, meredith. witnesses say that this attack took place at an iraqi army base right in central baghdad, it was carried out by a suicide bomber who blew up the explosive in the center of a crowd of hundreds of iraqi army recruits. this is the worst attack here in months. iraqi officials blame it on al qaeda in iraq. they say that al qaeda in iraq is trying to undermine the iraqi

security forces right at this symbolic time of transition, as american combat troops leave by the end of this month, and hand over more responsibility to the iraqi security forces. >> richard, if an attack has happened when the u.s. troops are there, what's going to happen when they leave? >> reporter: american combat troops, meredith, right now are not patrolling. so they are not responsible for maintaining security in baghdad proper. that is already the responsibility of iraqi forces. and american commanders say that iraqi troops can maintain some stability that there will be periodic attacks like today. this was obviously much more serious, at least 60 killed, more than 100 dead. iraqis, however, are much more nervous. much more skeptical of their own forces. they say that americans troops are more concerned with meeting a drawdown timetable that was set in washington than actually main staining stability. it's a lot of questions here, meredith. >> richard engel, thank you so

much. it is 7:03 and here's matt. now to that frightening plane crash in colombia, where remarkably 130 of the 131 people on board survived including an pregnant american woman and her husband. this morning, they're sharing their story. nbc's kerry sanders spoke with them. he's in miami with details. kerry, good morning to you. >> reporter: well, good morning, matt. the national transportation safety board from washington now has a team of investigators heading down to the scene to see if they can help determine why this 737 crash-landed after it left bogota, colombia. as you'll hear, this is for all but one the unluckiest day for everybody on board, as well as the luckiest day. on the tiny resort island of san andres, they're calling this disaster el milagro, the miracle. remarkably all but one of the 125 passengers and 6 crew members survived the crash landing.

the one death was ruled a heart attack. among the survivors, 48-year-old david bolino and his pregnant wife carolina. these pictures were snapped on a cell phone and e-mailed to nbc news. the couple from suburban atlanta were on vacation but are now both in the hospital, side by side, fingers pointed in the air to god, thankful to be alive. >> it's a miracle because there's no way i can explain a plane breaking up into four pieces at that speed. there's a lot of injured people, but it's definitely a miracle from god. he's got a plan for all these people. >> it was just so confusing. it was really a nightmare. >> reporter: the husband and wife were seated in row 12, over the wing and next to the emergency exit. when the plane crashed, both say they heard a sound and then momentarily lost consciousness. >> i don't know if like an explosion. i don't know how to explain it.

but i don't remember really what happened. >> the plane when it come down, i guess it was doing over 150 miles an hour, and it just hit like a rock. just the hardest hit i ever had. i just remember a huge bang. that was the impact. >> reporter: when david finally came to, he says he opened the emergency exit, climbed on to the wing and then pulled his wife through the door to escape. >> and there were flames. i was concerned there would be an explosion. and my husband pulled me through the door and i fell on the wing because it was too slippery, and then he tried to walk. >> reporter: they not only saw flames but smelled fuel. both began to move away from the plane as quickly as they could. >> i walked about 15 more feet as fast as i could and my legs gave out. my wife said, no, we got to go, it's going to blow up, and i said, i can't move my legs. so i was on the ground and i was trying to crawl and she was

trying to drag me. and i said, this is as far as i can go because i'm hurting and my legs won't work. they just felt like heavy weights. >> reporter: flight 8250 was on an early morning approach just before 2:00 a.m. local time monday. survivors and the cockpit crew reportedly told local investigators it was raining as the boeing 737 was liking up to land. around the plane, witnesses and the pilot say there were repeated flashes of lightning. experienced aviators tell nbc news san andres, about 120 miles east of nicaragua has a long runway, and it's not considered an unusually difficult place to land. for unknown reasons, the plane came down 300 feet shy of the runway and then began to break up as it slid down that runway. former ntsb senior investigator greg fike says among the questions, was there a brilliant flash of lightning as the pilots were about to land? >> based on where the airplane

struck the ground, just several hundred feet short of the runway, it could have been a real possibility that the crew was momentarily blinded by that lightning flash. >> reporter: in all, 114 passengers were admitted to island hospitals. and while survivors are celebrating they're alive, david and carolina are celebrating not only for themselves, but for their unborn child. carolina is seven weeks pregnant. >> i was just like i lost my baby, you know, but they did the ultrasound and the doctor said, it's like nothing happened to it. you're fine. your baby's fine. it's really a miracle. >> reporter: carolina and her husband are obviously overjoyed at that news. both are still on the island but officials are trying to arrange for transportation to bogota to a more advanced hospital. david, who you heard, said that he had paralysis in his legs. well his doctors told him overnight that they believe it is a temporary condition. that he has a cracked vertebrae.

and he is already telling me he can feel a little bit in his legs, in his feet, so they believe that he will be able to walk again. also, matt, an amazing story of survival here. >> it really is. kerry sanders, thanks very much. i saw the photos this morning in the paper of that plane, and you think, there aren't going to be a lot of people getting away from that. it's extraordinary. >> i listened to an aviation expert this morning who said he thought it was less of a miracle and more of an example of how far airlines have come in making their planes crash worthy so if there is a crash more people will survive it. now let's get a check of the other top stories. natalie morales is in at the news desk while ann is on assignment. >> millions of flood victims are increasingly desperate in pakistan. what began as a natural disaster is now turning into a major humanitarian one. nbc's stephanie gosk is in islamabad. stephanie, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. it's been about three weeks since the flood hit, but we're really just now beginning to

understand the human toll here. the united nations is now warning that because of wide spread illness, there could be a large second wave of deaths. in pakistan, it's survival by any means necessary. helicopters unable to land toss clean water and food to the stranded. where the river continues to rise, some escaped by zip line, others by raft. in the northwest, mule trains navigate dangerous valleys to reach people cut off in the mountains. there are millions left homeless and aid is sporadic. sparking angry protests against the government. there is little food and in some places no access to clean water. the most vulnerable are getting sick first. in the children's ward at the hospital, there aren't enough beds and the patients keep coming in. dr. kahn says this 2-month-old girl may not have long to live. he worries that some here may have cholera. >> we can just see these poor

people dying in front of us, because of lack of fasscilitief. >> reporter: the antibiotics are gone. the hospital hasn't received any supplies from the government or relief organizations. but they continue to accept patients. like this woman's two children. my son was kicking, his hands and feet, she told us, shaking and slivering violently in bed. ten miles from the hospital, the children's father showed up where they have been living since the flood destroyed their home. ten feet away, a water pump, still being used, even though the water is probably contaminated. the international community has been slow with donations. to reassure them pakistan's prime minister has said they'll bring in a third party to manage the relief fund. but so far, natalie, no group has been named. >> stephanie gosk in islamabad, thank you so much. officials in south carolina are investigating the drowning

appeals panel. the court of appeals will consider the constitutionality of the state's ban on gay marriage later this year. the u.s. is toughening environmental reviews for all new deepwater oil drilling following the recent massive oil spill in the gulf. and a happy ending to a search for a 4-year-old boy in arizona. a rescuer found travis mitchell on monday. he had been missing in rugged terrain since sunday. it is now 7:12,let's turn back to meredith, matt and al. >> absolutely. >> no question. mr. roker? >> wow. that color. >> you look nice. >> it's not a plum, it's -- >> periwinkle. >> oh, periwinkle. >> i like it. okay. anyway, he's digging me. let's check out -- we're not digging who's going on down in the gulf. these are remnants of tropical

depression number five. never became a tropical storm but it is still causing problems. continues to spin. continues to cause a lot of rain. we have got flood watches from lafayette all the way to pensacola. we're looking at, again, strong storms and there could be anywhere from three to five inches of rain between houma and lake charles in the next 48 hours.and lake all right. good morning to you. craig herrera here live over san francisco. just a couple of seconds ago, we were able to make out parts of the building, but the fog is here. 53 in san francisco. 57 in oakland. mid 50s for the north end of the bay. we have delays at sfo, 48 minutes. we'll manage 70s and low to mid 80s. not much change from yesterday. as we go through the weekend, we will cool off a bit more. and we'll have more super de downer weather later.

new fallout over president obama's comments on those plans to build a mosque near the site of the former world trade center. now the top ranking democrat is breaking ranks with the president and voicing his opposition to that mosque. nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd is traveling with the president. he's in los angeles, chuck, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. well president obama's in the midst of this five-day campaign swing, excuse me, five-state campaign swing. he hits seattle, washington, and columbus, ohio, today. but he brings with him out west this controversy about what he said about building a mosque a few blocks from ground zero. all of this has made republicans believe it's an issue they can use on the campaign trail. >> gearing up for a tough fall election, president obama spent monday night in los angeles raising money for democrats. >> president barack obama. >> reporter: earlier on monday the president spoke to democrats at another fund-raiser in wisconsin presenting a case for his party keeping control of congress. >> this nation is moving in the right direction, we are moving

forward. and the most important thing we can do right now, is to keep moving forward. >> reporter: but the president's campaign swing is still being overshadowed by comments he made last friday which appeared to support the planned mosque near ground zero. >> as a citizen and as president, i believe that muslims have the right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. and that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower manhattan in accordance with local laws and ordinances. >> reporter: the president tried to clarify his position over the weekend, pushing back on the notion he was showing support for building the mosque. >> i was not commenting and i will not comment on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there. >> reporter: but the political firestorm burned on with republicans sharpening their rhetoric. >> nazis don't have the right to

put up a sign next to the holocaust museum in washington. we would never accept the japanese putting a site next to pearl harbor. >> reporter: other republicans, including some in tough primaries, are trying to take political advantage of the controversy. florida billionaire gup forrial candidate ric scott launched this new tv ad. >> the fight against terrorism isn't over. mr. president, ground zero is the wrong place for a mosque. >> reporter: even some democrats like senate majority leader harry reid agreed with that sentiment, saying the mosque should be built somewhere else. but some republicans believe taking a stance against the mosque could be a political liability over the long-term. >> it feeds social conflict, long-term social conflict in america, and it actually undermines our conduct of the war on terror, which can't be conducted around the world without muslim support. >> reporter: now, he is going to mix in a little policy when he goes to seattle, washington. though today is primary day in washington state, so he's also getting an opportunity to campaign with the very

vulnerable democratic senator patty murray. matt? >> all right, chuck todd. thank you very much. dick armey is a former republican congressman from texas who served as house majority leader. matt kibby is ceo and president of freedom works. a conservative nonprofit grassroots organization together they've written a new book called "give us liberty, a tea party manifesto." good morning. congressman, good to see you. >> thank you. >> before i get to the book i've got to ask you your take on this whole mosque controversy. the president has seemed to turn it into a national debate with his comments over the weekend and it seems it's getting more and more emotional. former house speaker newt gingrich compared building a mosque on that site to the nazis putting up a sign at the holocaust museum. do you agree with that analogy? >> well, that's a pretty harsh analogy. but this is an extremely important issue and it's heartfelt. i personally would prefer they build it someplace else, i think it would be a more respectful position for them to take. i was fascinated by the president, though, he's obviously trying to change the subject away from his failed economic policies.

but i think he really picked the wrong choice. >> when you say it's a tough analogy that newt gingrich came up with, he's comparing to the nazis. we were at war against the nazis. we are not at war against islam. never have been, are not now. al qaeda, yes. but not islam. so do comments like that inform or inflame? >> they're always difficult in both cases. that's an analogy that i think is drawn a bit further than i think it needed to have been. on the other hand the stated purpose to give for the mosque, and in politics you understand, i always say politics is like a dysfunctional marriage, every fight is really about something else. the stated purpose for the mosque would be better served if out of respect for the strong feelings there, they said we want to continue with our program to enhance intercultural understanding, cross religious understandings and we'll build it someplace else out of respect for these strong feelings. >> so they have every right to build it at that site, but you think it's in better taste to

build it somewhere else? the title of your book "give us liberty: a tea party manifesto." liberty by definition is being free from restriction and control. that applies to religious freedom, as well, doesn't it? >> it sure does. but this community that we talked about, you find that there are people from all walks of life, all religions. and what binds the community together is economic freedom and we would argue about other things when we got into those issues, but that's what makes america great, it's this combination of all these different cultures and opinions. >> when you talk about this particular group, this group has been in lower manhattan for years and years. they were there before 9/11. so because of 9/11, do they have to move further away? do they have to go elsewhere? >> you know, there's an old saying that because you have the right to do something, doesn't make it the right thing to do. and i would again take this

group back to their own stated purposes for the mosque, what do they hope to achieve with it? which is greater cross cultural understandings. if that is the case, then let them be responsive to the concerns that are being raised and these concerns are legitimate concerns. and the gracious thing to do becomes the right thing to do. and the right thing to do is to say, i'm going to be deferential to your strong feelings because my greater cause which i stated at the outset of this debate will be better served by my being that generously responsive to you. and it now becomes a question of sort of a stubborn, refusal to be responsive to people's legitimate concerns and then you get what i call the hardening of the attitudes and now you got a national issue. >> let me move on, we'll leave it at that. in the book you talk about the roots to the new republican revolution. this is a guy who led the last republican revelation back in 1994. a revolution that in the book

you read, or you write that it did not live up to its potential because it devolved into an embarrassing gap between rhetoric and fiscal policy. why will the new revolution be different? >> because this is a revolution from the bottom up. this is real people saying politics is too important to leave it to the politicians. 1994 was an inside job of a few true believers who sort of took over the republican caucus. these folks are saying we don't trust the republicans or the democrats to fix the economic problems we have in this country. we're going to do it for ourselves. >> the recent poll that i saw, nbc news/"wall street journal" poll, for the first time more people have a negative view of the tea party than a positive view. what is the main misconception that you think people have about the tea party movement? >> well, obviously it's a misconception is being fostered by everybody who's afraid of this massive big movement. misconception is that it is somewhere to the right extreme. this is right smack dab in the middle standing on those issues that are most greatly of concern

to the american people. there's nothing violent about this. these are mostly grandparents and the fact is -- this group of sincere, concerned americans that are devoted to this preservation of this country as it is, are being mischaracterized every day. but i can guarantee you, if you read our book and you walk among these folks, the first thing you're going to say is these folks are just like me, and i got the same worries they got. and i don't blame them for being upset and trying to inform this government. you ought to listen to us for a change. >> dick armey and matt kibbe, thanks very much. we appreciate you being here. just ahead, how did former olympic figure skater nicole bobek go from being a darling in this country on the ice to an involved in an illegal drug ring. we're going to talk to her exclusively. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

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just ahead, new details on the troubled life of t.b. prince. orheattling a tumor in his veals throat. y are switching to chevy. they like that vehicles like the 2010 malibu, traverse and silverado half-ton have each been named a consumers digest best buy. they like that chevy backs the quality with a one-hundred-thousand mile powertrain warranty. they're not just trading in, they're trading up. qualified lessees now get a low mileage lease on this malibu ls for around one ninety-nine a month. call for details. the switch begins at chevydealer.com. .

good morning. it is 7:26. i'm kris sanchez here with mike inouye. we have a sig-alert. >> overturned big rig, just the trailer, but it will take some time to clear. there may be minor injuries to the driver but nothing too severe. it is sticking across both northbound lanes and also the southbound lane. they are sending a truck southbound on the northbound side out of los gatos. northbound traffic slowing, more folks on the road, now, craig, as school returns to session. >> feels like fall with that

cold air that's been with us. a lot of fog and drizzle still here. delays at sfo up to 48 minutes. highs today 70s and some 80s on the map. like yesterday, a couple of 80s in places like livermore, morgan hill, san jose, 70. 63 san francisco. cooler next week.

a shark warning this morning off the coast of san mateo after a pinole man says he went face

to face with a great white shark. adam coca said he was in his kayak off the coastline when a great white locked on to his 13-foot boat with his sharp teeth and flipped it upside down. coca managed to get on top of the kayak. he did get a cut above his foot and the bite marks on the bottom of his kayak measure 18 inches in length and two inches between each tooth mark. very scary. more news in a half hour. the "today" show returns in less than a minute. have a good morning.

morning, the 17th of august 2010. we'll get back to that roller coaster period, warm one day, cool the next. mild 73 degrees on the square right now. we're going into the 90s later today. meanwhile inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer. a teenager committed suicide after harsh bullying from classmates. also ahead, figure skater

nicole bobek's fall from grace, she went from being the best figure skater in the country to this embarrassing mug shot. some of her fellow skaters didn't even recognize her. so what went wrong? and when she turned her life around, coming up, she'll speak out in an exclusive live interview. plus when it comes to back to school supplies, notebooks, pens and crayons are the norm. but parents are being asked to buy everything from bleach to toilet paper, is that right? what if you say no? let us begin this hour with actor michael douglas who will undergo chemo and radiation for a throat tumor. dr. nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical officer and a head and neck surgeon. first of all, he is a friend and a friend of this show, unexpected news. when we hear that he is going to undergo chemotherapy and

radiation, what does it tell us about the kind of tumors that doctors suspect he has? >> that it is a cancer. benign tumors don't get treated like this. standard treatment for throat cancer, and we have to remember throat cancer can mean a lot of different things. tonsil, tongue, voice box, but that prolonged treatment over that period of time without talking about surgery means either it's inaccessible or it's beyond that and they're going to try to shrink it and do surgery later. chemo and radiation means they're concerned about the size or the advancement of it. >> we talked to him a few times, and he seemed fine. can something develop that quickly? >> most likely the tumor was there and it may not have been noticed. the warning most likely, even if

they didn't recognize the signs, something was there a few months ago. >> i know it's different patient to patient, but when anyone undergoes radiation and chemotherapy, how does it impact them physically, energy wise? >> the big thing is you start to burn a lot of calories, your body is under a lot of stress. so from a radiation standpoint, a dry mouth, the hair follicles are going to change, so men don't shave in that spot again. the biggest thing is that you lose your appetite. you have to be well nourished to fight this off. i wouldn't be surprised if he loses some weight during this and probably doctors will work hard on the nutrition and chemotherapy and radiation may be in combination to aggressively hit this tumor. >> what is the recovery rate? >> the reason i can't speak is because it depends, size,

location, how far it spread. we know so little about this to give any conjecture about survival is quite premature. >> michael if you happen to be watching, we love you and wish you the best. let's get a check of the weather now from al. >> of course our thoughts and prayers are with michael douglas and his family. let's show you what's going on. we're looking at heat continuing in the northeast, from boston all the way down to d.c., temperatures about five to ten degrees above normal. the good news is the humidity level will be coming down, but look at that heat. dallas 17 days in a row of 100 plus. hundreds into the southwest. slight risk of strong storms back through the dakotas, we're looking at thundershowers down through the gulf. a good tuesday morning to

you. craig herrera live over san jose. the clouds, plenty of cloud cover, about 10:00 we will see sunshine in the south end of the bay, 12:00 for san francisco and the north end of the bay. a lot of 70s and 80s again today. at the beaches, you will need layers, especially in the afternoon hours as this fog blows back in. nice and clear for the a's game tonight. >> and that's your latest weather. you can get your weather any time day or night on the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. meredith? there are new details this morning in the bullying case that prosecutors say drove 15-year-old phoebie prince to commit suicide. >> reporter: hi, meredith i good morning to you, from the minute phoebie prince got here in september, she had a tough time fitting in and prosecutors say the kids were pretty cruel to her, calling her every single

name you can think of in the book and eventually they say led her to kill herself, to hang herself at home after school one day. but now new information that the phoebie may have been a bully herself back in her old school in ireland. according to prosecutors, 15-year-old phoebie prince walked these halls, tormented and bullied beyond belief, ultimately taking her own life to escape. but now the online magazine slate has discovered some disturbing issues from phoebie's past. when she was in ireland, a bully victim here, she was reportedly a bully there. >> this was when phoebie was a new student in an irish boarding school. then online, she participated in some racial slurs against the other girl who was of middle eastern descent. >> the story lines are eerily similar, in massachusetts it was a pack of girls accused of harassing her.

in ireland, phoebie was part of a similar pact. in ireland phoebie spread rumors about the girl. in massachusetts, the girls allegedly called her an irish whore. in ireland, it was phoebie doing the name calling, logging on to a message board and using a racial slur. >> i think the irony here is that this racial slur that phoebie used is really an exact parallel of the insults that the kids at south hadley hurled at her later. and yet they have been criminally charged. the consequences are just dramatically different. >> reporter: and so was the outcome, phoebie hanged herself in massachusetts. what causes kids to be bullies or victims are literally the same thing, they have anxiety, depression, frustration and anger. >> phoebie prince battled all of

it. she once swallowed a whole bottle of seroquel and had a history of cutting herself. now the alleged bullies charged in phoebie's suicide are using her past to clear their names. one of their lawyers just filed this motion asking the court to release phoebie's full medical and mental history. >> i believe that the medical records will contain information that would offer alternative explanations tuesday why phoebie prince took her own life. >> not at the hands of these bullies? >> no. >> reporter: but prosecutors are saying these six kids drove phoebie to commit suicide, meerd. phoebie ended up apologizing for the bullying she was involved with back in ireland. and we should also mention, meredith, slate spoke with

jeremy prince, phoebie's father to get some reaction, he admits that phoebie has made some mistakes in her life and that these days, kids use the internet too much. >> good morning to you. in the weeks following phoebie's suicide, we heard so much about the torment and the bullying that she had been subjected to at south hadley high school, now we're hearing from you and you're reporting that her troubles date back several years where she was also victimized in junior high, but beyond that was a bully herself to a former friend. why did you decide you wanted to report on that, especially since this poor child is dead. >> this mother in ireland, who's the mother of the girl who phoebie was part of a group of girls who bullied her daughter. she came forward not in the spirit of being vindictive, she really wanted to say that

phoebie had had these problems in ireland at this boarding school in seventh and eight grade and she, the mother of this other girl felt that if the school and other adults had helped phoebie then it might have made a difference for her. >> so she wasn't being critical of phoebie, as much as she was the school herself? >> and her reaction to these incidents saying that phoebie had these more deep troubles. i should add that the school deny they did anything wrong. >> but how can this be used by the defense of the six students who are being charged in connection with phoebie's suicide? already lawyers have asked for the medical records and school records out of south hadley and after this report comes out, they may very well ask for the same thing out of ireland, records, medical records and school records. you're a lawyer yourself, what could they possibly do with that information to help their case. >> if they can show that phoebie had this history of trouble of having different kinds of conflicts with different kinds of kids, that changes the context for these charges in

south hadley. of course it doesn't mean that phoebie herself was not bullied in south hadley. but the notion that she had these more deep seated problems that may be the main contributor of her death would be something i would expect the defense to bring out. >> there were folks that accuse you of victimizing the victim with your reporting. do you feel that phoebie has any responsibility for what happened to her? do you place any blame on her? >> i don't place any blame on her, i think there's been so much finger pointing and blaming in this story and what i have really been trying to do is understand on a deeper level what happened to her rather than blame anyone, certain than blame her. >> and just ahead on a lighter note, why some rather unusual lems are y ikchr ild's back to school supplies list. back after this.

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and this year parents across the country are finding those school supply lists are longer than ever. along with the supply of pencils and folders, some cash strapped districts want parents to provide things like toilet paper and bleach. >> reporter: angel stewart knew back to school meant a laundry list of supplies. >> two packs of number two penc pencils. two packs of wide ruled paper. >> reporter: but some lists sound like it is for the lawn industry. >> two canisters of anti-bacterial wipes. >> reporter: and that's not all. >> did you guys have fun today? >> reporter: the supply list for her 4 and 7-year-old include copy paper, zip lock bags and a handful of other items you might find in your kitchen. >> it shocked me because i did go to the list and the list was so long. >> reporter: across the country, schools grappling with shrinking

budgets are asking mom and dad to dig deeper into their own. >> principals are having to make decisions between textbooks and tissues and unfortunately the lists are looking a lot different than they used to. >> angel says she didn't mind the extra expense knowing lasallow salaries teachers often by things on the list. from cotton balls to detergent. >> it's kind of unfortunate that we have to ask parents to send in items for their students, for their education, a public education and hopefully that won't last for very long. >> reporter: while it does, retailers hope to cash in, offering back to school bargains on decidedly home pantry products. paper plates and toilet paper. >> it's just one of those things that we're going to step up as parents and say spend a little bit of money at the beginning of the year and hope for the best.

hopefully it will turn around, but i just don't see it in the future. >> from crayons to clorox, as cash strapped schools ask parents to go beyond the basics. for today, janet shanlian, nbc news, houston. >> carmen, good to see you. you don't have a lot of choice here, if the schools don't get these supplies, they're not going to be able to conduct classes. >> they're going to lay off teachers. i mean 120 school districts last year shortened their school week to four days, they're under really tight circumstances. >> so just some simple tips for parents who are now seeing these longer lists, don't buy everything at the same place? >> there's a lot of advertising these days, you need to come in with paper technical foowels an items.

>> parents shop early and try and do it early so you're not stuck at the last minute having to pay the prices that you see in front of you. >> if you go in the last minute they'll take advantage because it's convenient and you're tired and it will cost you a lot more. promotion codes and coupons. >> coupons are important to address the needs throughout the year. what about the family that is struggling themselves, what happens if a family simply calls a school and says i can't do it. we can't afford this. >> absolutely, this is happening across the country, i have a do cousin in public school in philadelphia, and they don't dare ask the parents. try to do it piecemeal over the year and if you do have more and you have a bigger budget and you're able to help out and you see there are kids in the class that are struggling, see if you can help to buy some of the supplies for the whole class for the year. >> and teachers are out there buying some of these things out of their own low salary.

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it's the biggest role for an actress? years. who's the big star that landed it in rooney dara. >> she's the great granddaughter of the founder of the giants. >> what's she been? >> in tv she's been in e.r., law and order and a nightmare on elm street. she's in the upcoming movie "the social network." >> and you read the book. >> she looks like her.

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it's a couple minutes before 8:00. i'm kris sanchez here with mike inouye. we're watching your commute. >> watching that sig-alert going on, highway 17 still has both lanes of the northbound side and now it sounds like both lanes of the southbound side blocked by that overturned big rig. we have a couple of chp cruisers there, it's just tough getting there. folks who travel that know. slow out of los gatos down towards the summit. if you are waiting for people coming over the summit, that is an issue. maybe take bear creek or highway 9. long alternates, but those are moving. 880 up through oakland, slows past the coliseum. we have tire treads around fruitvale that may be causing problems. craig? >> we have a storm passing up to

the north giving showers and thundershowers up to lake county, mendocino county, lake tahoe. highs of the 70s and 80s. tomorrow, we do it again. it's late in the week towards the weekend that we start to get that cool air. [ male announcer ] when meg whitman arrived at ebay, they had 30 people and an idea. meg's job was to make it happen. it took leadership. focus. and the ability to bring people together. meg whitman delivered. named one of america's best ceo's by harvard business review, she grew ebay 15,000 strong and made small business dreams come true. now meg has a plan to create jobs. fix sacramento. and deliver results. meg whitman. for a new california.

this morning we have a safety alert for you. walnut creek police are asking for your help to identify two men on a car break-in spree.

police started getting calls around the:00 yesterday morning reporting car burglaries in the area. someone was ripping open the tops of at least three convertibles and stealing items from inside. the suspects were seen in two different cars a gray older model mazda-type car with a wave symbol in the back window. the other a dark-colored volkswagen passat with a license plate number resembling 4rsc406. the rear license plate on the car is taped over. cops say they believe the men are dangerous so you should keep your distance. more local news in a half hour.

8:00 now on this tuesday morning, august 17, 2010. summer in the city and we have got a great day sightseeing. great to see them all. i'm meredith viera along with matt lauer and al roker. just ahead, former olympic figure skater nicole bobek. >> this is a puzzling story, she was on top of the world back in the 1990s, she was u.s. national figure skating champion i believe at the age of 18 and then things began to spiral out of control. on monday she was sentenced for her role in a crystal meth drug ring. we're going to find out how she got there and what she plans to

do to turn her life around when nicole bobek speaks to us in an exclusive live interview. you know the term tweens. what do you call a woman in her late 30s to early 40s? there is no way to describe that time of life. one writer -- you could say in her 40s. well, adult tweens is the term she's come up or formerlies, like formerly young but not old. if you learn to accept things, it can really be a great time in your life. >> we're too age conscious in this country, we are. we seriously are. it's just a number. god, i feel old. >> there's a list teens and adults look forward to. it's the "u.s. news and world report's" college ranking. we're going to reveal this year's top rated colleges.

ann good morning to you, a suicide bombing today in iraq is raising fears about what might happen once american combat troops withdraw. officials said at least 60 people were killed and 125 wounded when the bomber attacked an iraqi army recruiting center. iraq had been trying to build up its own armed forces as the u.s. combat mission comes to a close this month. the united nations warns that more than 5 million pakistani flood victims have yet to receive any aid. despite the growing threat of famine and ia investigate monday's jetliner crash on san andres. a boeing 737 broke apart as it

hit the runway in a rain storm but only 1 of the 131 on board died. a massive explosion ripped through a fireworks factory on monday in china killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 150. firefighters had to deal with intense heat and explosions coming from inside the building. and here's brian williams kwith a look at what's coming up on "nbc nightly news." >> tonight on "nightly news," a study at how modern technology may be take away our hearing. the barrage from headphones and ear buds and concerts and clubs. none of it existed back in the day. we'll look at it tonight on "nightly news." a pie in the face was not enough to intimidate senator carl levin who chairs the armed services committee. the activist actually hurt her own case.

levin note heed actually prefers blueberry. it's 8:03. let's go outside to matt and meredith. >> let's play a little game of bringing people together. show this man right here. this is our executive producer jim bell and show this young lady over here who will work for free for the "today" show. that's your kind of employee. there you go, all right? >> i think we know the answer. mr. roker, save us. >> too late, sorry. we have got some birthdays, though. what's your name? >> raven. >> and how old are you? >> 12. >> happy birthday. and we have got a birthday over here, jersey shore girl. what is your name? >> my name's patty. >> and we have got a double digit birthday. who's 10? oh, you're 10. what's your name? >> kensie.

>> let's check your weather and show you what's going on. pick city today, wilkes-barre, pennsylvania. partly sunny and warm, 85 re deges.de the rest of the country got that tropical depression 5 hanging arnd, showers and thunderstorms through the gulf. heavy thunderstorms from oklahoma into kansas. we're expecting beautiful weather in the pacific northwest. 93 in portland, oregon, today. risk of strong storms around the dakotas, you've got the heat and humidity here in the northeast. although the humidity will be dropping later today. and who do you guys want to say hi to? >> captain dave lipsovitch over in a good morning, happy birthday to danica in sunnyville. fog, keeping us cool and drizzle. we've got 60s and 70ess today, a couple of 80s in warmer spots. we had some of those yesterday.

we'll get more today. cloudy to end the game and upper 50s by the time you go home. the seven-day forecast, just a little change, cooler change as you go through the weekend. how did how did nicole bobek go from being a national figure skating champion to being busted in an international drug ring? oe'll spe ar aer this international drug ring? ♪ ♪ one tribe, y'all ♪ one tribe, y'all ♪ one tribe, y'all ♪ we are one people [ female announcer ] when you choose pepsi, you support the pepsi refresh project. which is giving away millions of dollars to refresh communities across america. ♪ one, one, one people [ female announcer ] so choose pepsi. ♪ one tribe, y'all [ female announcer ] every pepsi refreshes the world. ♪ one, one, one people [ female announcer ] every pepsi refreshes the world. here, take the card. you go to the shops... i'll meet you at the gate.

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we're back at 10 after eight. a former national skating champion was sen fenced yesterday for her role in a international drug ring. but first nbc's peter alexander has her story. >> this is a puzzling story. it's been almost four years since nicole bobek skated professional. a lot has changed for her in that time. as her lawyer told a judge on monday, bobek wasn't prepared when her star started fade and she fell into a world of drug addiction and bad influences. once upon a time she was

america's newest ice princess, beautiful nicole bobek with blond hair and those big blue eyes. but it wasn't just her winning good looks that made bobek a winner. she defeated michelle kwan to become the u.s. figure skating championship. she won a bronze medal at the olympics that year. for a moment, she was america's biggest hope. but a fall cost bobek a coveted medal. bobek's fall from grace off the ice has been much more dramatic. >> everything that's happened, i do think this post year i have changed my life around. >> reporter: on monday, the 32-year-old was in a new jersey courtroom to answer for her role in a methamphetamine ring.

>> i hope i can help others not to go where i was. >> reporter: where she was is almost unimaginable to fans. in bobek's mug shot from last november, she looked nothing like that young skater with lucrative endorsement deals. >> which is why they have plenty of campbell's soup on hand. >> and a bright future that included this seductive role in "all the king's men." >> at her height, nicole bobek was a geous, and she not only one beautiful but a born entertainer. >> reporter: just 18 years old, bobek appeared on "today" in 1995. >> are you under a lot of pressure right now. >> actually i don't, i'm just letting things go and time will tell, one step at a time and i'm doing pretty good. >> reporter: bobek was sentenced to five years probation, community service and a $500 fine.

she was lucky, she could have faced years in prison. >> i want to change my life around and do something with it. >> reporter: following sentencing on her facebook page, nicole's mother posted this message. nicole is free as a bird, the party is sunday at my house, everyone is invited. >> just a single parole violation or a failed drug test could land her behind bars for ten years. >> nicole bobek is with us now for an exclusive interview. nicole, good morning to you. >> good morning to you. >> i watched, you know, the footage of you in court yesterday and i was struck by something you said. you said that after being sentenced to five years probation and all that community service, you said nothing but good can come out of this, that it's a chance to turn your life around, do you really think you've been given that opportunity? >> absolutely, i have been given this opportunity to make a change and also prove to myself

that i can come out of this hole that i have dug myself into. >> can you try to explain to people watching who are probably shaking their heads this morning, nicole, thinking how could this young lady have gone from 18 years old, a national figure skating champion and a dozen or so years later end up in a crystal meth drug ring. can you at least put it into perspective for us? >> i can try to. i believe there was a time in my life where i went through a lot of loss, the death of my aunt, my coach, you know, heart break. i am human. and i think i made some bad choices, absolutely, and luckily, i'm given this chance to make a difference and hopefully help others who suffer from addiction problems do benefits, get back on the ice, continue with my treatments and do everything i need to do to change my life around. >> it seems, nicole, that a lot of people who have analyzed this

situation and let's face it we're all experts about nothing, but people have looked and said that the nagano games in 1995 were just too much for you to bear. is that a turning point for you? is that when the drug use began? >> no, that came later. but, you know, that was a very difficult time because you want to do the best you can do. i was injured and i wish more than anything i could have pulled it off and done amazing and wonderful and taken the medal. but at the end of the day, i have to sit back and look at it that i still made the team. i worked very hard my whole entire life to get there. >> and back on july 5, 2005, the mug shot that got so much air time. but when you look at that picture, what crosses your mind? >> it's very surreal. when i look at it now, you know, i was in a complete haze and you

can see that. i was not under the influence when that picture was taken, but i was absolutely a different person. >> we wish you the best and i know the judge offered you a stern warning and obviously that has to be still ringing in your ears. >> absolutely. i want to also say thank you to many people who have helped me through this and had written letters, jojo starbuck, billy porgan, many people, god, i want to thank god and also my mother who's my best friend in the world and has been by my side throughout this whole or deal. >> thank you for joining us this morning. >> thank you. >> we're back right after this. ♪ yummy, yummy, yummy, i got love in my tummy ♪ ♪ and i feel like... [ female announcer ] kellogg's® wants to make kids happy one tummy at a time. because 9 out of 10 kids don't get the fiber they need, that's why froot loops® and apple jacks® have 3 grams of fiber in every yummy bowl. they're the cereals your kids love and the fiber their tummies love...

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♪ j-e-l-l-o ♪ j-e-l-l-o ♪ j-e-l-l-o [ child giggles ] back now at 8:20, what it means for a woman to be formerly, not quite young enough to go clubbing all night and not quite old enough for a rocking chair. >> when i was young, i was considered hot. and by hot, i mean i had beautiful glowing skin, i could go around in whatever i wanted to wear and it looked pretty good. and i had so much hair, i was

like the girl with the hair. me and my friends had a pretty good time. life was one long music video and i was at the center of it. and then one day i just wasn't. i had everything i set out to have, i had a lovely husband, i had two wonderful girls, i had a great career, and i was happy. at first all of this seemed to be about my looks. i started noticing that i had dark circles under my eyes and my pores were getting bigger and i had lines i didn't have before and my upper arms were like the flags at the car dealership sort of waving in the breeze. i thought, oh, this is what it is, i'm getting older and i'm losing my looks. but i'm starting to realize that it's not about that, that was only the most obvious sign that that was happening. i'm not an old person, but i'm not a young person either, i'm a formerly. >> people get to a point where they realize that they're in a

completely different category of human beings and it can be alarming because it's not something people talk about. >> i thought i was the me i had been for the past 30 years and apparently not. once i started thinking of myself as a formerly, i started joking about it with my friends and it turns out they were all going through the exact same thing, we were all dealing with this subtle shift that we were aging out of young. the women of this age are the coolest women. we have a sense of humor about ourselves, we don't care too much about what other people think, we know what we want, we know what is going to make us happy and we're much more focused on living the way we want to live than doing what we think we should do. when i became a formerly, i started to realize that there is no right answer, there's only what works for you. >> the book is called "my formerly hot life" stephanie, good morning to you. >> you write about the day after you turned 40 and realized you

weren't young yim, but you weren't old either. you called yourself an adult tween and you were riding on the subway. what happened? >> i met my husband on the subway and back then i was considered pretty hot and flirting on the subway is pretty standard. i was on the subway and a guy said what time is it? and i said here we go. he just wanted to know what time it was. i said okay, things have changed. there were a series of signs, but that was certainly one of them. >> how did you come up with the term formerly hot. you know it's critics are saying you're putting a label on yourself, which means that despite the fact you say you don't care what people think anymore, you really do care. >> yes. >> the term formerly hot was kind of a joke between me and a co-worker when we were looking around and we were saying you know, we're not young anymore, the whole point of the book is to question why we link young and hot. everyone knows that older women

can be hot and hotness has to do with who you are and what you project. but the term i picked so that people would talk about it. i think too many people automatically think young and hot are the same thing and old is you're done. so the term started off as a joke, but it actually came to mean a lot more. we all have the things that we are no longer, but that doesn't mean that our time of life doesn't get better and better and better. >> so you're not yearning for what came before? >> no, no, no, you couldn't pay me to go back. but getting to be an older woman means you're getting to be more yourself which means you project who you are and your confident. if i cared that much what people think, i wouldn't have called it formerly. >> in trying to redefine your identity in a way, you had some hurdles along the way, even just in the clothing department, you

talk about trying to find a bathing suit and the brand names of jeans and how they fight the way you're feeling. you came up with your own list of names for lane. call me ma'am at your own risk jeans, can't hold a conversation jeans, nothing to prove jeans, you're teasing but what's the underlying message there? >> the message is women fear aging and they really don't need to fear aging, life gets better on this side of young and you don't realize that until you're here. and that's something i really want to make clear. because people think it's all about getting older, all about your looks changing and it really is, you have so much more to offer the world and you're young enough to enjoy who you are and you've learned that over time. that's not something younger women can take advantage of. young women are wonderful and they have their stuff, but as we get older, it's much more possible to enjoy who we are. >> i wonder how the younger women are interpreting what

you're saying now. >> i'm really glad that people are talking about these issues of aging and power and beauty. >> it's called "my formerly hot life." good morning. a couple minutes before 8:30. it's continued a slow drive here. you go past it, the travel times to show you amaze approaching. 25 minutes after. out of the caldecott tunnel. san jose, 101 showing their traditional slowdowns. the concert for lady gaga. continues just south of the summit, big problem there. >> got a lot of fog to the bay

area. the fog is about 1,400 feet deep. we're waking up to plenty of cloud cover. not until about 11:00 we get sunshine going. if you're heading into the a's game, 75, cloudy and cool as you head home. we'll be right back.

advantage topical solution treats dogs... ( barking ) but destroys fleas. so ask your veterinarian for advantage, the flea specialist for gentle, but effective, flea control. if someone sends you something on facebook asking to you click on the "dislike"

button as appetizing as it seems don't do it because it is a scam. it may read, i just got the dislike button now, i can discuss like all your dumb posts, lol. s just another way for someone to get your personal information. we talked to facebook. we asked them, they say they may introduce a similar feature in the future but right now, it does not exist. more local news in the half hour, and "today" show returns in less than a minute. have a great morning.

we're back now at 8:30, it's the 17th day of august, 2010. the skies are clear in the new york area, going up to about 90 degrees. out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer, along with meredith viera and natalee more or less. and coming up in this half hour,

if you have a high school student in your home, college is a big topic. >> lots of choices, but you worry about how you're going to pay for it because college is a big ticket item. we'll have the best schools and also the best value schools in the country. also ahead, our good friend jane pauley is here with an inspiring story about a man who's spending his retirement and actually a good portion of his social security check bringing attention to a cause that is very close to his heart and he is saving lives in the process. >> and then a little bit later on, we are going to show you how to grill the perfect steak. we're going to see different cuts of steak and how to grill them. >> it already smells good, doesn't it? >> plus the beauty experts are going to show us the four products they can't live without. >> before that, how about a check of the weather. >> we'll show you our jet stream

band of air, keeping the mild air up to the north. so we'll continue to have the sizzling weather to the south, texas over to the southwest. as we move on over to thursday, we'll get a little bit of a dip here in the northeast and that makes the mild air come in, lower humidity not quite as hot, but we continue to keep that heat a good tuesday morning. i'm craig herrera, live over san francisco right now. the fog lies over mount tell la paso. some arriving flights, 50 on the maps. 70s and then 80s. temperatures running cooler for this time of year, 5 to 10 degrees, if you think it's cooler, it certainly is. we'll carry this through tomorrow. 50, san francisco, 75, san jose. a little cooler this weekend.

. >> that's the latest weather. don't forget to get your weather from weather.com. great schools and great prices, we'll get a look at "u.s. news & world report"s list of the top colleges. but first this is "today" on nbc. as education week forum gains traction, it's time for push for more technology to stretch the education dollars. i'm suzanne shaw, nbc bay area editorial director. california is about to purchase new textbooks and teaching materials for millions of kids in thousands of public schools. we're already spending more than $300 million a year on books but we have a huge opportunity right now to go digital. and the bay area can lead the way. electronic leaders can and must replace most textbooks. electronic texts can be easily

updated, geared to different learning styles and can help transition non-english speaking students to english inflexion. and we can use the money saved on printing books each other to keep ter meeachs tereachs teach. that's what we think. what do you think? let us know at nbc editorials. m nbceditorials.com. ea

this morning on our special series "back to school today" the top college rankings. with the rising cost of college education, most parents and students are not only thinking about where to go, but how to afford it. kim, good morning to you. >> thanks for having me. >> this is the 27th annual list. let's take a look at the top ten year, and see if there's any surprises on the list.

>> harvard, princeton and yale are the top three. but the differences are so tiny, we're talking one or two percentage points on graduation rates. >> a couple of schools are tied for fifth place. three schools tied for ninth place. so there's very minimal differences between them all. >> and two great tech universities, cal tech and m.i.t. >> the magazine consists of two interesting sub categories. great schools great prices is one of them and the other is up and comers. let's talk about great schools and great prices. >> what's the criteria you use to rank schools? >> alumni giving rates, graduation rates, admission rates and we divided that by the net price that students actually paid, not the sticker price on the website, it turns out yale university came out on top, even though they have a sticker price

of $53,000, that's because they're so generous with financial aid that 54% of students don't pay that big sticker price, they get financial aid and the average price paid by that 54% was about $14,000. >> what an amazing difference that is. the university of science and arts in oklahoma. a school i was not familiar with. why did that school make the list? >> the sort of private liberal arts colleges are small and have small classes. this is one of the hundreds of liberal arts classes, so they have the same small classes but at a small price because it's a public university. >> harvard is on the list, the initial price is to go to harvard is about $55,000, that's the sticker price. >> schools like harvard, princeton and yale are starting to charge on a sliding scale. so for example at harvard, if you come from a family that earns less than $60,000, you're going to get basically a full

ride. if you come from a family that earns between $60,000 and 180,000, harvard promises they won't charge you more than 10% of your family's income. you get a harvard education, that means room, books, board, travel. that's a great value. >> why is it on the list? ripon. >> the folks there have told me that 98% of students do not pay that $35,000. >> is there any down side to

this? >> certainly college is just like everything else. sometimes but not always, you do get what you pay for and some of these colleges are using low prices because they have some problems. the university in oklahoma for example is a great school, but they are having some problems. i think about a third of their freshman don't return for sophomore years which indicates some problems. so they're trying to use financial aid to lure -- >> students to come in? >> right. >> the next list is up and comers and schools like usc is on the list, tulane, pepperdine. what's the criteria to get on that list. >> we surveyed college presidents and college admissions officers and we asked them what are the schools that are making the most significant improvements. and that's this list. >> the university of mvd ph.ary bat county, what are it's

selling points. >> it's a very new campus and they don't have a football team, but they have a president who's trying to make it cool to be smart they have a championship chess team and they have chess scholarships and they have an excellent rate of getting kids into medical schools. >> cal poly is in a beautiful location, it's right next to the pacific ocean. and it's a great school for anyone who's interested in tech and engineering and it also has a good business program and it's not surprising because of its location, you can actually study wine making there. >> which would be a lot of fun. >> and you do not need to be a technology major to go there. >> and what's the graduation rate at that school? >> 70% of students who enter as freshman do graduate in six years, that's actually very low, but it's better than the national average. >> the point is there's lots of great schools out there. you just need to take the time

to research it. >> go to u.s. news.com and we have great statistics and the department of education has a wonderful website called the and a half navigator. up next, jane pauley shares an inspiring story of a man on a unique mission to stay alive. but first, this is "today" on

we're back now at 8:43. a man on a mission, "today" contributor jane pauley has been working with arp which has produced an sponsors a series of reports for us here on the show. one man who's making a difference and perhaps even saving some lives. >> at 75, his retirement should be in full swing, but lawrence macray doesn't play much golf anymore. he found his life calling after he retired and discovered how to stretch a social security check.

they see you coming, they know what the conversation is going to be about. >> lawrence macray was being treated for an enlarged prostate when he noticed something. >> when you have african-americans taking the test and you have 97 whites taking the test, and i said this must be a white 6 man's disease. >> african-american men get it younger and are more likely to die. >> some of them don't have insurance, some of them don't even have a doctor, some of them have never been even been to a doctor. >> he decided to tell them he decided to be that somebody. he made brochures and packed a sachal and hit the road. covering 12 of alabama's poorest

counties, for 10 years, lawrence macray has been a man on a mission, funded by his social security check. >> what's your pitch. >> let me holler at you. about what? then i go through them and show them where the prostate is located. >> you introduce this very quickly. >> it's nothing to be ashamed of. >> but people here are not forgotten the shame of the infamous tuskegee experiment. 400 black sharecroppers were recruited for a study, never told they have it and never treated for it. there is still even now a deep mistrust of doctors. today on the campus of the venerable tuskegee university. the old hospital has been converted to a museum. >> from 1932 to 1972, even today. >> they just don't trust when it comes to health care. >> a day that ends at midnight,

keeping up with the latest information often begins at dawn. >> you see people going to work, 5:30, 6:30, 7:00. >> you get up that early and you talk about your prostate? >> yeah. >> macrray covers a territory of 250 square smiles. hospit churches, bab barbershops, anywhere men gather. >> we're talking about saving lives. >> why do you do it. for the past three years, do he's not been doing it alone. partnering with the east alabama medical center. >> he's reaching a very underserved group of people, folks that don't normally have access to health care. >> very good, thank you. >> i went to a golf tournament,

the person i was supposed to play with told my son, tell your dad not to come up here and talk about the prostate. >> tell dad about it and make sure dad goes to the doctor. >> you're a man on a mission? >> i'm just trying to help everybody. >> happy to know you mr. nobody because you're somebody the macray foundation has official status as a nonprofit foundation. his number one funding source is his own social security check. and by twarway, i'll be talkinge about him during my live web chat at 12:00 noon eastern time. >> he's not a doctor, he doesn't pretend to be a doctor, he

doesn't give out medical advice. >> very well informed though. you saw his daughter teaching him how to use the commuputer, t no, he doesn't give medical advise. he talks to people who otherwise wouldn't hear anything about it. and up next, the secrets to grilling the perfect steak. are you hungry? >> i am. >> let's go, but first this is "today" on nbc.

staid today's kitchen is brought to you by jell-o. so jiggly, so fun. >> this morning on "today's" kitchen, making the perfect steak. the steak man himself is here. take a look at the executive chef. he's got a new restaurant as well. l.t. burger at sagg harbor, new york. we're going to talk about two different cuts of steak, tell me what they are. >> we have the strip steak and the sirloin. new york steak. >> what is the difference between the two? >> one is smaller and a little bit more flavor to me than the new york strip. but they both are different pieces of meat. >> what is the trick to getting

the most flavor out of a steak that you can. >> i think choosing the right beef. >> right. >> i think th-- >> you work on a secret, right with butter? >> olive oil, it depends on the preparation i do after. so actually the strip steak today is going to be prepared with olive oil and the new york strip with butter. >> with butter and also with salt as well? >> butter and salt. and a mix of spices. >> i notice looking at the steaks on the grill, even the new york, the strip steak, there are peppercorns on there. you've created a peppercorn crust, why? >> just to bring a different flavor, some chefs will use peppercorn and wanted to come up with something different.

seven different kinds. >> what is the difference between all of these peppercorns? >> they all come from different places, some come from malaysia, some come from china, some from india. >> you're going to show us how you make that peppercorn mix. but first let's talk about the skirt steak. it's called a grilled green tomato chimchuri. what is that? >> i took the original recipe and prepared it my way. i'm going to let you do it. >> of course i'll do it. you may regret that. >> here's some steaks that i have grilled. and i'm going to let you put all that inside. pepperoncini. and hall peen know. we have some pico jalepeno.

>> am i throwing this stuff in too? >> that's lime juice. >> very nice. >> some vinegar. >> all right. >> and we just mix this around? >> and we're going to put some olive oil inside. >> you put this in the fridge and save it? >> putting this in the fridge is great. >> and while we're letting that stand, show me the peppercorn. this is the seven blend. >> there's the strip steak. actually marinaded in smoke liquid. >> why smoke liquid? >> just to bring in a smoky

flavor, really, really, like a rather smoky flavor. but i think it's an easy way. one minute on each side gets it pretty well. after that i'm going to put some pepper on it a. >> have you also coated the steak with butter prior to this? >> no. actually i'm going to put a little bit on it. >> i knew it, it's only a matter of time before they show it. just once i would like to have this segment to myself. okay, and how long will you be grilling that steak for? >> three to four minutes on each side. >> and then do you put more of that mix on the top when you're done? >> a little bit. >> and then you can try that. i'm going to put some chimchurri on top. it's very summery.

>> oh, that looks good. >> all right, natalee and matt? >> and the other one real quick? >> look at that. >> this is so great. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> we have also a special drink. >> if it's a drink, we'njll eoyy it.

good morning to you. it is a couple minutes before 9:00. i'm kris sanchez with mike inouye. this is the type of day we usually see a slowdown and a sig alert. >> eastbound on 80. it's affects all folks because it's heading out of the viewing

area, out of the area through vallejo and fairfield. keep in mind, two lanes are blocked around american canyon. but the westbound direction slowing. about 25 minutes now to the toll retching vst anstretching very slow. more news after this. it's a 5 year, 50,000 mile promise. with complimentary scheduled maintenance no-cost replacement of wear and tear items and 24/7 roadside assistance. because when you create the most beautiful, fast cars on earth, you create an ownership experience to match.

if you are looking for your big break, the music industry your first step to stardom. "american idol"le tryouts are happening in san francisco soon. wristbands are being passed out through 8:00 thursday morning at at&t park. people who are audition, not allowed to camp out. once you get your wristband, you'll be asked to return thursday when the auditions

begin. warm up the pipes. san francisco is the last stop on the season's ten-city tour. more news coming in 30 manipulates. and "today" show returns in less than one.

we're back now with more of today on a tuesday morning, it's the 17th day of august 2010. already getting up to be a little hot and sticky here in the northeast. temperatures going up to around 94 degrees. >> it's hotter and stickier. >> the good news is the humidity is actually going to drop by the afternoon. >> out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer, along with the aforementioned al roker. we're going to talk more about what some are calling a miracle in colombia, a plane crashed on a small resort island. amazingly, 130 of the 131 people survived including an american couple, a husband an his

pregnant wife, they're going to share their harrowing stories in just a couple of minutes. and a little bit later on, some disturbing news, actor michael douglas announcing that he's got a tumor in his throat and he'll be undergoing radiation and chemotherapy. we'll have the latest on that and talk to nancy snyderman about the warning signs. and we'll be chatting with joy bauer, she's here with today's diet s.o.s. everything from your nutrition questions, on whether supplements are good for your teen athlete. and white rice or brown? >> i wonder what she would say about the peppercorn. >> if you just have a little bit, it's okay. >> natalee, good morning again. as u.s. combat operations wind down in iraq today, a massive bombing aimed at iraqi army recruits, the suicide bombing in baghdad wound wounde

and killed 60 others. an emergency stay monday blocking california's plan to resume same-sex marriages tomorrow. that reversed a ruling last week which said same-sex marriages could go forward while higher courts considered the state's gay marriage ban. survivors of monday's jet liner crash in the caribbean are calling their or deal both a nightmare and a miracle. nbc's kerry sanders is in miami with one american couple's harrowing story. good morning, kerry. >> reporter: the national transportation safety board has a team of investigators from washington, d.c. now en route to the scene of where this crash took place. the 737 took off from bogota, colombia and crashed on its approach. as you know, for everybody on board but for one, this was the unluckiest day in their life, but also the luckiest. on the tiny resort island of san

andres, they're calling this disaster, the miracle. remarkably, all but one of the 125 passengers and six crewmembers survived the crash landing. the one death was ruled a heart attack. among the survivors, 48-year-old david bolino and his pregnant wife carolina. these pictures were snapped on a cell phone and e-mailed no nbc news. the couple from suburban atlanta were on vacation, but are now both in the hospital, side by side, fingers pointed in the air to god, thankful to be alive. >> it's a miracle because there's no way i can explain a plane breaking up into four pieces at that speed. there's a lot of injured people. but it's definitely a miracle from god. he's got a plan for all these people. >> it was just so confusing. it was really a nightmare. >> reporter: the husband and wife were seated in row 12, over

the wing and next to the emergency exit. when the plane crashed, both say they heard a sound and then momentarily lost consciousness. >> i don't know, like an explosion, i don't know how to explain it, but i don't remember really what happened. >> when the plane came down, i guess it was doing over 150 miles an hour, and it just hit like a rock, just the hardest hit i have ever had. i just remember a huge bang. and that was the impact. >> when david finally came to, he says he opened the emergency exit, climbed on to the wing and then pulled his wife through the door to escape. >> and there was flames, and i was concerned there would be an explosion and my husband pulled me through the door and i fell on the wing because it was too slippery. and then he tried to walk. >> reporter: they not only saw flames but smelled fuel. they moved away from the plane

as quickly as they could. >> i walked about 15 more feet as fast as i could and my legs gave out. my wife said, no we got to go, it's going to blow up and i said i can't move my legs, so i was on the ground and i was trying to crawl. she was trying to drag me and i said, this is as far as i can go, because i'm hurting and my legs won't work, i just felt like a heavy weight. >> reporter: survivors and the cockpit crew reportedly told local investigators that was raining as the boeing 737 was lining up to land. witnesses and the pilot say there were repeated flashes of lightning. experienced aviators tell nbc news, san andres has a long run way, 7,500 feet and it's not considered an unusually difficult place to land. for unknown reasons, the jet came down 300 feet shy of the

run way and began to break up as it slid down that run way. former ntsb senior investigator greg fikes says among the questions, was there a brilliant flash of lightning as the pilots were about to land? >> based on where the airplane struck the ground, just several hundred feet short of the run way, it could be a real possibility that the crew was momentarily blinded by that looichk crash. >> 14 passengers were admitted to island hospitals and while survivors are celebrating they're alive. david and carolina are not only celebrating for themselves, but for their unborn child. >> now it's like i lost my baby, you know, but they did the ultrasound and the doctor said, it's like nothing happened to it. you're fine, your baby's fine. it was really a miracle. >> carolina and her husband david are overjoyed at that

news. you heard david say that his legs gave out and were paralyzed. while we were on the phone, a doctor came in and said that this was probably a temporary condition, that he was already getting some feeling into his legs and feet, that he had a fractured vertebrae. so carolina and david are going to be flown to a hospital where they can get the treatment they need. natalee, just an amazing story of survival. >> kerry sanders in miami with that report. it is now seven minutes past the hour, let's go back out to matt and al. we have got a couple celebrating an anniversary back here from canada. happy anniversary folks, many happy returns. >> we got the heat to talk about. let's check what'soing on. theat remnants of tropical depression numr five and n that's just spinning around bringing more rain to southern louisiana where they're going to

be looking at anywhere from three to five inches of rain before it's all over. the rest of the country, risk of some strong storms in the dakotas, as we said, down there in the gulf, beautiful in the pacific northwest, 93 degrees. our camera guy giggling like a little schoolgirl. very nice. all right. good morning again. craig herrera. still got the haze and cloud cover. there's actually a storm move to get north giving us that cool weather blowing on through. also going to spark off showers and thunderstorms. lake county, reno and lake tahoe. around the bay area, though 60s, 70s by the lunch hour. we should have sunshine going. by 5:00, that fog is back tomorrow morning. >> and that's your latest weather.

now to the stunning announcement from michael douglas, the academy award winner has beening theed with throat cancer. douglas says he is very optimistic. so what are the symptoms and the signs to watch out for? dr. nancy snyderman is a board certified physician and head and neck surgeon. when you hear the diagnosis, as we understand, tumor in the throat and the course of treatment is the radiation and chemotherapy, eight weeks. what does that tell you? >> a couple of things, to a surgeon, it's too big an area, do you want to know is it the back of the throat? is it the tonsils, the tongue, the back of the tongue. and if the cancer is going to spread, they spread very differently. the fact that the treatment is radiation and chemotherapy and no mention of surgery, that sort of hints that it's either spread

to an area that's surgically inaccessible and is perhaps too big for surgery or perhaps they can shrink the tumor and go in later. there is one kind of tumor which is called the lymphoma which is never treated by surgery. but because of the cigarette smoking history, you always sort of think that cigarettes are involved, and you don't hear surgery and there's a reason why chemotherapy and radiation are the things that are being talked about. >> and is that generally enough to shrink a tumor? >> it can. it really depends on location. the fact that they're talking about eight weeks, they're really in for the long hall. >> sometimes what they'll do is that the chemotherapy can almost sensitize the cells and make them more vulnerable to the radiation, so they may break up the radiation to a couple of times a day, they'll pick certain chemotherapy drugs that will attack a fast growing tumor. >> as we see here in this clip,

this is just from may when michael douglas was on the show speaking to matt, and he seemed to be perfectly fine. does something like this develop very quickly or was he perhaps developing some of the symptoms early on? >> simple things like a red patch in the mouth or a white patch that many times the dentist will find can be an early cancer. sometimes the back of the throat or even the side of the gum. it depends where the tumor is it. some people will say my throat hurts, or if food sometimes get stuck, they just don't swallow the same way. and a lot of times, men, when they're shaving, when they stretch their neck, they say i feel a lump here, i have never seen that before. those simple little things, should be, especially if someone's been a cigarette smoker enough of a reason to go in and say, hey, check this out. >> when doctors are saying throat tumor and not specifically saying throat cancer. what is is it? >> a tumor is a lump, it's nothing more than that, and tumor is broken down into

something benign that's not cancer or something that's malignant that is cancer. because we're talking about chemotherapy and radiation, the natural assumption would be that this is a malignancy. >> and going forward, prognosis, michael douglas indicated he's very optimistic. >> optimism is very important, i don't care who you are or what the rates of success are, optimism is very important. and the survival rate is about five years and that depends on the location and whether there are any limp nodes involved. >> that's sort of standard stuff, because in order to do any sort of intelligence treatment, you have to stage a tumor and all of those things i think are not only predictors for how you treat, but predic r predictors for how you think somebody's going to do. >> and the weight loss

temporarily will be expected. he may get some horseness, this is not in the vocal cords and it's above it or really in the throat. the voice box may be spared completely and that wonderful voice. >> dr. nancy snyderman. coming up, we're going to tell you five stay calm solutions for dealing with stress in your life. but up next, do you really have to skip chocolate to stay on your diet. i had this chronic, deep ache all over -- it was a mystery to me. 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 with less pain, i can do more of what matters to me. [ 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,

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why do women like you inlove activia light? of wisk. sometimes i have no choice but to eat heavy greasy food that's hard on my diet... and my digestive system. so i eat activia light every day. it helps me feel good and look good too! ♪ activia! it's time for joy's diet s.o.s. the difference between white rice and wild rice to a chocolate fix and supplements. joy bauer has advice for us for healthy eating. >> i am loving your purple blazer. >> people are digging it today. what about some people who want to dig on you and get some questions answers.

let's go to lisa who's on skype from michigan. what is your question? >> i have a 14-year-old son who's in high school and he plays a lot of sports. in fact he's at football practice this morning. he eats a lot, but just doesn't seem to gain very much weight. right now he's about six feet tall and 150 pounds. what do you think about protein supplements? >> well, you know, protein supplements are helpful and they're effective, specifically for people who are not meeting their protein requirements through food. they come in all sorts of forms. you can get them in bars, in shakes n powders. so the big question here is does your son need a protein supplement. and the answer is if he's feeling energized and he's not losing weight, he's probably right where he's supposed to be. but i appreciate you're a concerned parent, because he's a growing teenaged athlete, i

would encourage you to do two things, see your pediatrician and together review the height, weight, growth charts and see if he's where he's supposed to be at. his needs are a little bit high because he's in a category, he's an athlete, and he's a growing teen. he needs .8 grams of protein per pound. so if he weighs 150, he needs about 120 grams of protein each and every day. this is more than 120 grams, a scrambled egg with toast, a glass of skim milk, for lunch, a ham and cheese sandwich, a snack, trail mix with nuts. you can easily rack up those protein grams, encourage him to eat more protein foods from

natural sources orpik up one of the protein powders, a scoop is anywhere from 20 to 25 grams and you can mix it with milk or juice or even put it in his bowl of cereal in the morning. but don't automatically assume. i would speak with the pediatrician and do some math. >> go with food before you go with supplements. >> right because he has a good appetite, so use that. good luck. >> karen is joining us from california. thanks for getting up so early. we know you're wide awake. you've got a question about rice? >> yeah, i have always heard that white rice isn't especially good for you and i have heard that brown rice is better. but what about white rice is like jasmine or basmatti rice, is that better than regular white rice or are they the same as far as nutrition goes? >> white rice is not great because it's refined and what that means is they have stripped

away the bran and the germ and those are the nutrient packed parts of the rice that offer up the vitamins and the minerals and the anti-oxidants. almost all of those jasmine and barotti rices are also refined. go out of your way to buy either brown rice or wild rice. wherever you hear brown or wild, you know it's a whole grain rice with all of the good stuff. >> they take longer to cook, but it's worth it. >> it's so worth it. and even in instant varieties now. some companies now are actually making whole grain varieties of basmotti and jasmine rice. >> we have got one more e-mail here, this is from nancy in new york. she writes i'm a chocoholiic

who's trying to lose weight. what are my choices. >> you have to portion it to 150 calories or less. in a perfect world, you want to try to mingle in a little bit of nutrition along with the sugar. you can even melt an ounce of dark chocolate and get whole strawberries in that. you can take a banana and slice it up and dip it in light chocolate syrup. then when you're just talking about chocolate, miniature fun sized chocolate bars, any of the hundred calorie bars that are chocolate. whether it's chips ahoy, or oreos. >> and limit yourself. >> exactly. >> that's why i don't think the fun sized bars are all that fun. fun sized bars would be fun three times as big. joy, thanks so much. coming up the perfect hostess gifts that will have you invited back next summer.esges.u t,rs these messages.

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mmmmmm. mmmmmm. wow! you have got to be kidding me. 80 calories? light & fit has 80 calories versus 100 in the other leading brand. light & fit. irresistible taste. fewer calories. i love light & fit. we have breaking news to bring. you it has to do with the golden gate bridge. head-on collision that has all lanes closed. >> live pictures from the golden gate bridge toll plaza. you see the accident. the fire crew, the ambulance, and the crews, all on scene. the ambulance just left the scene. the truck moving right now. it looks like we have at least opened one of the lanes. and you see the folks waiting to get into the north bay into san francisco. the two northbound lanes are also closed. how could this happen? because on the golden gate

bridge, right, he the divider between the north and southbound side, just the plastic lines they realign in the morning. this is halted traffic coming across the bridge. let's take you to the map and show you what's going on. now city itself, you're going to have problems getting to the bridge and helping to north bay. the map shows there's no major delays. the morning commute has tapered off from point in the morning. the big problem is going to be in the city itself. folks heading up towards golden gate bridge, now hearing about this, they're going to head over to the bay bridge. you're going have to use the area around seize czar chavez heading around 880. heading up to berkeley sending folks counter commute. we have more folks travel for business heading back into north bay. that is the alternate route for those folks. that's it. we don't have any opening area for this huge piece.

the golden gate bridge, and in addition to the other sig alert going none the santa cruz mountains. on the northbound side, at big moody curve, we have that accident blocking both northbound lanes for the last hour and a half. bear creek, likely a very slow alternate heading into the south bay. we'll have more after the break. [ male announcer ] when meg whitman arrived at ebay, they had 30 people and an idea. meg's job was to make it happen. it took leadership. focus. and the ability to bring people together. meg whitman delivered. named one of america's best ceo's by harvard business review,

she grew ebay 15,000 strong and made small business dreams come true. now meg has a plan to create jobs. fix sacramento. and deliver results. meg whitman. for a new california. craig herrera, we start off again with the golden gate bridge where it is closed in both directions due an accident. sig alert in place. we'll keep you updated. 70s and 80s and 60s along the coast. seven-day forecast, we continue with cooler conditions through the weekend. thank you very much. we're back in another half hour with more local news, including an update on that situation. all lanes closed right now on the golden gate bridge.

that's chris daughtry with the chart topping daughtry after getting voted off american idol in fourth place. >> the best thing that ever happened to him. >> he's on top of the world, daughtry is going to be taking on the summer concert stage. and then next week, our special musical guest, katie perry will be bringing her california style to the plaza on august 27.

the new hit teen dream. teenager dream. we love that one. so come on down. >> excellent. good times. good times continue here on the plaza. mane while coming up here on this hour, survivoring stress is not a good time. the key to learning how to manage stress is on a daily basis may be in taking a look at some other techniques from meditation to exercise that can help you relax. we're also going to on a lighter note check out some of the top beauty products, ten products that professional say they can't live without but they're actually going to safe you big bucks because these are products at a good price at the same time. >> you probably did not know this, natalee, actually you probably did know this. tequila is the new vodka. >> why did you think i would know that? >> i have been out with you, natt. he's picked out some great

hostess gifts like a tequila testing kit. we're going to stay on that and see how long we keep you there. >> and it will be the fourth hour before you can go. >> you have a check of the weather for you? >> yes, i do. let's see what's happening. i'm channeling foster brooks. we have got some of that pesky tropical depression left over, it's bringing rain to the gulf coast, sunny skies out west, beautiful weather, sunshine around the great lakes, heat and humidity here in the northeast. then for tomorrow, heavy rain along the mid-atlantic coast, all the way down to the gulf, plenty of sunshine in the pacific northwest, with mild conditions, sizzling from texas on into the southwest. and it's not even friday. good morning, tuesday morning. craig herrera live over oakland. a lot of haze still with us.

highs continue to getting back in the 70s and 80s. still a lot to get the vitamin d out and sunshine. by 12:00, we should see that. mixed with drizzle. that routine we're stuck in. we'll have it again tomorrow. next week, we'll see warmer weather. >> and that's your latest weather. >> coming up next, the five things you can do to help manage stress, right after this. whoa ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ one tribe, y'all ♪ one tribe, y'all ♪ one tribe, y'all ♪ we are one people [ female announcer ] when you choose pepsi, you support the pepsi refresh project. which is giving away millions of dollars to refresh communities across america. ♪ one, one, one people [ female announcer ] so choose pepsi. ♪ one tribe, y'all [ female announcer ] every pepsi refreshes the world.

♪ one, one, one people [ female announcer ] every pepsi refreshes the world. women: no! announcer: it's the unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks lunch. only at olive garden. featuring four homemade soups. enjoy all you want for just $6.95. now...what about tomorrow? how about soup, salad, and breadsticks again? great idea! i love it! new revlon just bitten. it's the first two-in-one lipstain and balm. the lipstain gives me a light flush of color while the moisturizing balm softens my lips. have you ever been bitten? new revlon just bitten lipstain and balm. [ female announcer ] this is not a prescription. this is diane. diane, who has diabetes and a daughter who could use a little perspective. diane, who worked with her walgreens pharmacist to keep her blood-sugar numbers in check with a few changes to her diet. ♪ diane, who's showing her daughter the world's a bit bigger than 8th grade. expertise -- find it everywhere there's a walgreens.

why does it say box tops for education on your soup? oh, it's a program that raises money for schools. that's great, but this is a can. yes it is. you can't have a box top on a can. yes we can. but a can isn't a box. we know. i don't think you do. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. [ female announcer ] kids who don't eat breakfast may not be getting the nutrition they need to keep their bodies strong. ♪ a nutritious start to the day is essential.

that's why carnation instant breakfast essentials supplies the nutrients of a balanced breakfast. so kids get the protein and calcium they need to help build strong muscles and healthy bones. carnation instant breakfast essentials. good nutrition from the start. time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze... my eyes water. but now zyrtec®, the fastest 24-hour allergy relief, comes in a new liquid gel. new zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air®. this morning on "today's" health, calming solutions from stress survivors, too much stress can be incredibly distressing to your health. but researchers found that the techniques used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder can also be applied to your everyday life. courtney, good to have you here.

>> thank you, natalee. >> we talk about the stress that people who have extreme stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, what they experience and there's some coping mechanisms, how is that applied to just helping us manage every day stress? >> we asked the researchers can these techniques help with stress elimination. these are tips that all of us can be using. and the key here is that truly they -- they're so powerful, that's what the ptsd research is telling us, and they can really help us thrive under stress. you can't stop stress, but these techniques can keep you calm so that you become a stronger person afterwards. >> build a mental armor is what they say, and one way to do that is to make mindful, short breaks. what do they mean by that? >> take five-minute meditation breaks. the university of pennsylvania researchers who work with

military personnel found that mindfulness meditation breaks boost our resilience to stress, it actually helps the soldiers be more reactive about stress and boost mental alertness. sit quietly, close your eyes and focus on your breath and focus on a physical sensation, like the air in your nostrils. >> deep breathing is good for that. >> you don't want to catastrophe size about the future or go to your to do list. >> also the remembering past and remembering the tough stuff and that actually can help you cope better in stressful situations. how is that? talk to me about that. >> you want to practice feeling stressed. it's a technique from cognitive behavioral therapy. >> what you want to do is you want to do nit a controlled

situation in your living room, or remember a time when you felt really stressed, when you were commuting to work and you're late and you're worried your boss is going to be mad at you. feel that stress in your body so you can intervene earlier. and you can learn how to shift your perspective, when you're stuck in the car, it's not that you're stuck in a car, it's an opportunity to listen to an audio book. it teaches you what you can control and what you can't control. that helps you handle the situation differently. >> and we have also heard that exercise is a great stress reliever, but getting outside is also a great stress buster? >> five minutes outside can enhance your mood and even better if you're spending time near water like a water fountain. and bicycle riding, because you can do that outdoors and as a group, that's particularly effective. >> and if you're outdoors, cycling or walking with the dog, you're in an even better

position because they say bonding with a pet actually is very helpful to stress relief. what is the research behind that? >> the research is showing pets are a powerful way to cultivate calm and 82% of ptsd sufferers who were paired with a service animal, they reported a significant reduction in symptoms. 40% were actually able to reduce their medications. so pet owners can build in more play time into their routine with their own pet or if you don't have one, you can walk your neighbor's dog can relieve tension. >> and finally get some sleep if you can because it helps a lot. >> it lowers cortisol and boosts dhea which is a hormone which helps boost our resill negligence to stress. coming up next, some great gift ideas for the host. announcer ] at toyota, we care about your safety.

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so join the sunnyd book spree. a full serving of vegetables. as a mom i believe books brighten a child's future. when your child's class collects 20 labels... they get 20 free books. go to sunnyd.com and help us make classrooms sunnier. concierge claim centers. so i can just drop off my car and you'll take care of everything? yep, even the rental. what if i'm stuck at the office? if you can't come to us, we'll come to you in one of our immediate response vehicles! what if mother won't let me drive? then you probably wouldn't have had an accident in the first place. and we're walkin'! and we're walkin'... making it all a bit easier -- now that's progressive! call or click today.

♪ and i feel like... [ female announcer ] kellogg's® wants to make kids happy one tummy at a time. because 9 out of 10 kids don't get the fiber they need, that's why froot loops® and apple jacks® have 3 grams of fiber in every yummy bowl. they're the cereals your kids love and the fiber their tummies love... which makes for a whole lotta happy. froot loops® and apple jacks, an oh-so-good source of fiber. kellogg's® makes fiber fun. you know, we have just got a few summer weekends left, you may be squeezing in some last minute fun by spending some time at a friend's house. a lot of times people bring some flowers, can you be a little more creative and not break the bank. >> some people come with two bottles of wine, that's not going to do it. we have a bunch of fun experience, people appreciate one. six different bottles of wine.

these are all under $20 a bottle and the cheese, the crackers, the grapes, comes in a nice wooden crate. >> absolutely. a lot of your cheesemongers are very helpful in preparing cheese with the wine. >> absolutely. >> i love this for breakfast. >> if you have children around the house, you can take it on saturday and sunday, two of these lovely pancake mixes, a pountd of coffee and serum. >> pancake spatula, that's fantastic. >> it always gets you into a lot of trouble or get you out of a lot of trouble. >> and you're going to the beach. >> before we head to the beach, this is a great beat experience. i got this from the canvass.com and you can have anything embroidered on there. $14.95 these are things i'm wishing for this weekend. a couple of beach towels.

some beach essentials, suntan lotion and a mister and handy wipes. >> this is the contents for the person you're going to see? sometimes you go and you're expecting great weather and you were watching some weather guy and the forecast -- >> is completely messed up. >> is all messed up and so now you're stuck inside. >> this is a great gift for bad weather. great for the kids and the adults. some of my favorite games, dominos, uno and you're good to go. >> and you don't have to spend a lot to do this stuff. >> no, no, no, these are all very inexpensive. popcorn, a couple of movies and they're lost forever. >> and our favorite. man, that is down. what are you during during the commercial. >> we had a few commercial breaks along the way.

but this is the new vodka. >> are there really different tastes? >> absolutely. >> would you like to try? >> sure. >> let's try this one, i have been trying this all morning. and this keeps on getting better. but the fun about this one, you bring this together. this real si a party in a box. you've got the chips to go with the salsa. two mexican style glasses, a couple of tequilas and you're good to go. >> which one is this? this is our gold made from 107. this is really good. >> that's pretty good. very smooth. >> and this tends to draw down. the more you have, the quicker it goes. >> that's very good. thank you so much, great ideas, we really appreciate it. for more ideas you can go to our website at todayshow.com. but coming up next, we have got the top beauty bargains from the pros. but first this is "today" on nbc. cheers.

this morning on "today's" beauty, the top steals and deals. beauty may be in the eyes of the beholder, but with all the products out there, you can be blinded by the choices. instyle beauty director, amy. you guys do this every year. you narrow down the list for us, how do you go about selecting the products? >> we asked hollywood's top pros for the inexpensive beauty products they can't live without. they swear by them and they're all under $15. >> from head to toe, starting off with your hair, great deals for the hair. and this one here, got to be defiant is sort of a -- is it a gel product? >> it's a light weight palmade. it's great for giving a texture

to short choppy styles. it's amazing for frizz around the hairline. you put it in and it's not greasy at all. >> if you work out a lot, this is one that i would be interested in, you say this is great for your hair, it's a serum. >> this is especially good for very dry, course hair, because it's extremely nourishing, you put a little bit on your scalp, it will hydrate your scalp and will also neutralize any odor. >> okay, and then over here, as for our face, we're seeing a lot of these kinds of products with the brushes now attached. >> this is a huge trend, a lot of ultrasonic brushes, this is a very inexpensive way into this trend, superinexdennive and you can see it has these rubber bristles that are really soft so it exfoliates as you cleanse. >> the gel comes out of there, you just rotate it, gives you a

really amazing glow. >> wonderful, and that's priced usually around 7:00. so that's a really good price for a cleanser as well. everybody's always looking for a great bronzer and this is what the pros love and it comes in great ecopackaging as well. >> it's beautiful packaging, totally desustainable. and it has just the right amount of shimmer without making you look like a disco ball. >> now the pros always make little mistakes here and there when they're putting on the eye shadow or the eyeliner and this is something they use to correct their mistakes, right? >> right. and what's amazing about this product is that it's like a q-tip but it's con totouredcont. it's also great for when you wash your face, if there's any kind of residue, ease way way to clean it up. >> we have got some lipstick and

lip glosses by covergirl. >> this is recommended to us by rihanna's makeup art it. it's totally nonsticky, it's got a tiny amount of shimmer, very natural, light, nonsticky. >> okay, buy covergirl. looking good. >> then over here, for your feet. >> everybody needs a little pedicure, but you can do one at home these days. what are these? >> these are spongeables. they're actually a great way to keep your feet soft in between pedicures, they moisturize, they cleanse, one side is very firm, it's for exfoliating, the other side is soft and cleansing. a great way to have a foot spa in your showers. >> for $7 that's great, and they last 20 washes and you get a lot of bang for your buck there. let's talk about nails, this is a great color. you've got the too red, but there's more to this nail polish than meets the eye. >> what we love about the polish

is it's a great way to green your manicure, it's no formaldehy formaldehyde. it's a great way to green up your manicure. >> thank you so much, amy, nice to have you here. coming up, hoda and tor achy lee. actor rob reiner is going to stop by. >> after your local news and weather.

twizzlers. the twist you can't resist. good morning, everyone. 9:56 is the time. that developing story we're talking about, an zenaccident o

the golden gate bridge. good news for those traveling from the north. not so much from the santa cruz mountains. >> it will be backed up approaching the golden gate bridge. as you see, all lanes have reopened from the two accidents. may not have been a head-on collision but had all the lanes closed. it's going to be a problem for drivers as well. 17, northbound, also closed. still stopped from mount herman road, up to big moody road because of an overturned big rig. we're expecting it to clear about 10:45. heading to santa cruz, most of our viewers you will see a smooth drive. slowing in particular spots. >> thanks so much. 50s this hour still with us. inland right across the east bay spots. we still have 70s and 80s on the map. a little bit of clearing on the coast. not for long. a couple hours. seven-day forecast, we'll continue with more as we go

through the weekend. into next weekend, we'll cool off a bit more. next week, we'll warm up. next week, we'll actually see some the 80s. thank you, craig. wedding plans are on hold for same-sex couples. the ninth circuit court of appeals is keeping the state in place to determine whether prop 8 is unconstitutional and whether prop 8 supporters even have the right to argue when same-sex marriages should be allowed. now, we're hearing it's scheduled for december 6th. supporters are pleased how quickly the court is moving. after the december hearing, the ninth circuit has no deadline on which to issue its decision. we have more local news 94 half an hour. the "today" show returns in just about a minute.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> hi, everybody. it is tuesday around here known as booze day. the birthday celebrations are over, thank the lord. >> thank you for that. >> it's enough. >> it's exhausting. >> not only did we have a nice lunch with you guys at michael's, your 12th lunch i think we had, you guys went on into the evening hours, the birthday. >> well, yes, it was the opening night of monday night football,

which is now on espn. there's frank and myself and cody and cass up there. we were in the espn box, thank you very much. the new sfad yum tadium is fabu >> who are these people? >> extended family. they're headed home. frank, hot dogs, barbecue, and we thought it was ironic. he was interviewed by the new team of monday night football. he spent 27 years there. there they are. they gave him -- there's frank when he had lots of hair. he still looks darn good for his age, though. so they gave him this -- a new jacket that said monday night football. frank sniffs it and says, smells like howard. couldn't have been better. howard cosell. i'm glad it's over. the new stadium is gorgeous. >> halftime didn't hit until late. you were there late?

>> it was about quarter to 12:00 i got home last night. i had a chance to talk to ann mara who is the matriach of the family there. her granddaughter may be the girl with the golden tattoo. >> dragon tattoo. >> it's gold and dragon and doing lots of things. it's the most coveted role in hollywo hollywood. it was announced this morning. >> everybody loves the book. i went to get it, because everybody loves this book. everyone is reading it. the first 100 pages of the girl with the dragon tattoo, it's torture. they keep saying if you can get past the first 100, it's a home run. >> that's the way bambi was with me. >> i haven't got through the first 100 pages. we promise once you get through you want all the sequels, but it's hard when you have to slog through that beginning part. >> we have the brilliant director rob reiner on in a little bit.

ann told me her granddaughter studied for two months now and studied with a dialect coach because she's swedish. everyone wants that role. you have too with it. >> angelina jolie was up for it. >> i think angelina jolie was too old for it. >> they had three women with big names. this girl we don't know yet, but we will obviously. >> congratulation. >> those are the young women accomplishing something wonderful in their life, and then there are the others we're about to speak about. this is troubling. >> we were talking about this in the makeup room. it was completely shocking. there are young girls and we're talking about girls eight years old. >> eight years old. >> who are getting bikini waxes. >> yeah. >> that's what's happening. >> yes. let's go to the international spa association. somebody said this. can we roll down a little bit.

salon owners tell todayshow.com. >> i call it the virgin waxing for children eight years old and up who haven't shaved before. growth can be permanently stopped in two to six sessions. save your child a lifetime of waxing and put the money in the bank instead. ask about special children's prices. >> i'm really outraged by this. is anybody else as horrified as i am by this? what are we teaching our young women fto be? >> why would an eight-year-old and why would anybody notice? kids at 12, 13, 14 you have a bathing suit on with friends and you may be a girl with an issue. that i get. if you're eight no one should be paying attention. >> i just think that kind of message from a mother to a child is just outrageous to me. >> they also say the number of girls who are getting -- young

girls getting lip waxes and all that stuff -- >> that, i understand. at any age. >> but there is an uncomfortable thing that happens when you are growing up when that becomes an issue. eight is ridiculous. let's put that off the table already. >> i finished watched rob reiner's new movie called "flip." what i wish most movies would be about. so about life the real stuff of life and there was an innocence to childhood. it's an examination of your first love. it goes on and on and on. and the agony of that love and the young -- it's just -- rob, i can't wait to talk to you. it's a beautiful, beautiful movie. >> there's no nudity or crash scenes. it's something the whole family -- it's the movie the whole family can watch. hello. >> the performances these young kids give are terrific. >> we have some breaking -- >> rob, you can go home now. i've given you the review.

>> thank you very much. >> we have breaking news you may or may not know about. if you're a fan of the "real housewives of new jersey" buckle up. danielle staub has been fired according to "life and style" magazi magazine. she's usually at the center of every storm. they say shooef been fie's been. bravo doesn't comment. dann yell said i'm thinking about season three right now as i've had incredible options presented to me. next year i'll still be one you love to hate or hate to love. >> maybe she can do a reality series with the jetblue guy. >> when do we stop rewarding bad behavior? >> people love watching that. >> if you plov it, you have to examine why in your own life you love to watch human beings

degraded so much. come on. >> i like to watch some of it. >> i know. you need a self-examination. this does not require a bikini wax. >> stop. we have good news for one lucky individual because apartment.com scoured the country to find the best roommate in the country. a bunch of people sent in lots a video, and here's a video of 21-year-old andrew presley. ♪ don't worry about the crashes ♪ ♪ by the end of this semester ♪ you can make the dean's list ♪ >> apparently he xleecleans and cooks. >> look how nice that apartment is. >> he keeps it nice. the winner -- we actually have andrew with us. >> he doesn't know he's a winner. >> it's you, andrew. congratulations. >> thank you very much. i literally am completely surprised. this is literally news to me right now. >> the good news, andrew, what you win is a $10,000 a year plus

you get a rent-free apartment. so you're doing really well. >> yeah. yeah, that's incredible. i can't believe it. free rent and $10,000. >> you're going to pay the rent for the other two guys? you are the best guy. >> to be the best roommate, that's what you have to do. >> you're at ball state. what makes you a great roommate? you clean, you cook? >> i'll clean and cook, and if you have a small dog, i'm teach him tricks. >> i hear you help with homework as well. >> absolutely. i'll do your homework for you. >> forget that. come to live with us. >> okay. >> andrew, congratulations. good for you. >> thank you very much. >> do well. call your mom and dad on occasion, all right? >> i am. >> he's a perfect kid. i thought i was the only one that had perfect -- >> yes, you do. real quick before we go to sarah, these are the ultimate grilled cheese sandwiches.

>> now that i've given up bread and cheese, they pr bring me this. >> this is a denny's fried melt. it's motzarella and sour dough and 390 calories and 17 grams of fat. >> where is jerry when we need him. you can have my bite and i'll live vie care yusly through you. >> how is that? nice? >> it's good. >> cheesy? >> dave, you're on tv. i'm just letting you know. >> let's go to sarah. hey, sarah. >> thank you, dave. we were talking about the waxing on the wall, and it's actually started quite a discussion. we were talking about waxing treatments in general, but in regard to the bikini, kristen said that whenever they start wearing bathing suits because some girls mature so fast if they're embarrassed kids can be so mean. >> but eight? >> they say they're hitting

puber puberty. >> that's dirch. if it's puberty. >> her 7-year-old is getting hair and she said we'll let her know. >> the thing is they're virgin hair they call it, before it becomes anything else, and to keep it -- that's what we're talking about. >> she was insinuating it may be a problem early. >> some girls have other issues. i'm just saying. thank you, sarah. coming up next he's proven himself to be anything but a meathead. >> you're revealing your age. >> we're talking about theer at producer and actor, the one and only rob reiner right after this. where can you find ingredients like...

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you couldn't wish for more. with ageless classic films like "when harry met sally" and "stand by me" rob reiner reminds us why he's one of the most respectful filmmakers. >> if you had your first love, you'll fall your characters. it's called "flipped." they meet when they're eight years old. take a look. >> i couldn't believe it.

there i was holding hands with this strange girl. how did i get into this mess? >> hello. i see you've met my son. >> uh-huh. >> finally i did the only mannelly thing available whether you're 7 years old. >> it follows those kids through. >> welcome, thank you. thank you, thank you for in movie. >> i love that we're all in black. >> i'm in mourning for my birthday. what's your excuse? >> i wanted to be formal for you ladies. >> this is such a great movie, because so many movies are out there you cannot take the whole family. this is one everyone can go. >> it works for any age, and what's interesting is it's called "flipped," and we flip back and forth between the girl's point of view and boy's point of view. this is the boy's point of view that you showed. the girl's point of view when she sees him looking, he has this smile on his face. he's happy to meet her.

so she has a completely different take to. >> you believe them both. >> absolutely. >> usually you play the grandfather. >> john mahoney. >> from frazier. >> and nasty anthony edwards from "er." he's not the bad guy, but he has a mean streak. >> he's the archie burng nker. >> there you go. >> it wasn't easy to get the movie to the screen? >> it was very tough. it was a small movie. nobody gets exploded and nobody is chasing after anybody. i like to make movies about human beings that live on earth. it's a very new concept, very hard to sell. >> frank did it well as i remember. >> one of my favorite directors. >> it was a book, right? >> it was a book brought to me by my son who was 11 years old. nick reiner brought it home from

school and said let's read it together. we read it together. i flipped over this thing thing. >> you decided not to have it set currently? >> i think it's smart. >> i was 12 going on 13, and that's when i first fell in love. >> what was her name? i wonder if you remember? >> her name was kathy shrilo. she was blonde and she had curly hair. she looked like haley mills from the old "parent trap." i remember the first time i tried to kiss her, she hit me with a hair brush. that's when i knew it was love. i was willing to endure pain goat a kis to get a kiss. >> you didn't stay in touch? >> i haven't seen her. her house is two blocks from my office. every once? a while i drive by to look at the house. >> this film has familiarity whether you say i remember when

i saw it like that. >> nobody forgets the first person they fell in love with. that first kiss. >> what do you think about the way everything is changing, rob. we were talking about reality shows and how they grab all this -- how difficult it is to make something real like this. >> it's very hard. reality shows is not really reality. they tell you it's reality, and it's scripted. you don't have talent. you basically have to be a friend of somebody who was famous because they're the stone or daughter of somebody. >> talent is a detriment. it gets in the way. >> you don't want talent. you want to be a person who somebody heard of. >> this young boy is australian, actually. >> yes. the boy who plays bryce is brilliant. we looked all over to find him, and he has a thick aussie accent in real life. >> the young girl that plays julie is precious. >> she's brilliant. she's as good as any adult i

have worked with. >> the movie is beautiful. >> it's a terrific film. it opens in selected cities august >>ex n hut. up next how to ease the first day of school jitters right after this. interesting grooming. thanks. i got the idea from general mills big g cereals. they put a white check on the top of every box to let people know that their cereals have healthy whole grain, and they're the right choice... (announcer) general mills makes getting whole grain an easy choice. just look for the white check.

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♪ ¿por que no probamos esto? [ male announcer ] old el paso. a special blend of seasoning for especially delicious tacos. feed your fiesta. as parents welcome the structure back-to-school season brings into the house, the kids may feel anxious. >> take notes. we have notes. dr. alex barzi is the doctor at

nyu school of medicine and dana points is the editor and chief of "parents" magazine. now is the time you get the anxiety. >> it's common for kids to feel anxiety before they head off to school? >> it's very common. anxiety is a normal response to tests. things like taking tests, dating, public speaking, they all cause fear and apprehension. the way to think about it is anytime something is unfamiliar and you'd like to do well and frad you don't, you might feel anxious. everything is new. new friends, teachers. >> even if it's the same school they've been at before. it's a new teacher. >> with certain transitions into middle school, the classrooms are larger. >> if you talk about young kids, kids who are going -- the ones who are first timers, there's a lot of anxiety there. parents are not sure what to do. do they stay or buck up in the

get in the classroom? >> you don't want to say buck up, but prepare the child for the fact you're leaving them with a teacher. ideally you will have walked the school building with your child before hand, and many parents don't want to let go. you have to say for your child, good-bye. i'm leaving you with your teacher and then you have to leave. >> how do you know if it's a real issue? let's pretend your child is really -- how do you know when you should do something different? >> you need to listen to the teacher. the teacher will give ut signal that that is beyond what is normal. >> because they know. they've been through it before. >> they've been through it before. >> we know that normal anxiety is transient, it comes and goes. children might be anxious for a few days or cry or be tearful at this age. that's okay. with a good teacher they adapt. it's when the anxiety lasts way longer than it should it might be a problem. >> should the parent go in the classroom or stand in the back like some parents do? >> different schools have different entry programs.

speak with your school. >> isn't that prolonging the problem? >> i think the teacher will see leave the child with me for the most part. back away and say good-bye. when you see the child after school, don't saydy cry for a long time. you say how was school today? what was the most fun thing you did? >> tweens and teens have a different anxiety. >> bikini waxing. who's not scared of that? >> at that age what happens is they start to have more control over the things that they're doing, and so what you often find with an anxious teen is a lot of vidance if they're anxious about something. typically tweens are anxious about social situations. they want to fit in and belong and can make friends and keep friends. this is also the day of cyber technology, so they're im-ing and texting and this is when we see bullying take place in facebook and cyber pulleying. parents need to be informed. >> what do you do if your kid is going flew a different time?

what should a parent do? >> get to know the peers of your child and the families. go to after-school activities. if there are sports events you can go to as a family. you don't want to pry too much. you want to listen and be very receptive to what your clild hi telling you. >> watch for changes in their personality i would say. >> that's what we say. any change of normal functions in terms of appetite and sleep and irritability and mood. >> all the things i've shown you lately. >> no kidding. thank you so much. good advice. decorating 101 for college dorm rooms. >>hingou leytn ng dirty.ty ricen >> down and dirty rice after your local news. but this is wad strawberry toaster strudel. [ music ] see the difference? pillsbury toaster strudel, the one kids want to eat.

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sweet n' sour filled twizzlers. the twist you can't resist. hello, everyone. good morning. 10. 26 is the time. if you've been with us, you know we had an accident that closed down the golden gate bridge. they reopened the lanes. mike's here to give us the latest. >> it's still very smurths garvin. the four lanes blocked for over a half hour. that's why there's still a slow drive. across the bridge into the city, including doyle's drive which is normally slow. slow southbound 101 into san mateo and into palo alto. and, of course, the sig alert

continues. it's a nightmare all morning long. >> as we started off in the morning, so much cloud cover and fog. 50s right now, just getting close to 60s. like yesterday, taking some time to warm up. 70s, a couple 80s on map at the ache cool conditions will continue for the remainder of the week. we're back with more local news after this break.

if you're looking for your big break in the music industry, today could be your first step.

"american idol" tryouts are taking place in san francisco. wristbands are being passed out until 8:00 a.m. thursday at at&t park. auditioners not allowed to camp out. once they get the wristbands they'll be asked to return thursday. that is when the auditions begin. san francisco is the last stop on the tour. two seasons ago adam lambert was discovered in san francisco. speaking of music, lady gaga fans who paid as much as 200 bucks a ticket to catch her show will finally get the chance tonight ♪ this is some home video just posted of her show last night at hp pavilion. the grammy-award winning artist shot up the charts with hits like "poker face." and her fans showed up in gaga-like outfits. >> they said one of the best -- no, she is the best entertainer

out there. >> thank you, gaga. >> she goes full out. >> i cannot wait to see you! >> lady gaga's monster ball moves to portland thursday. thanks for joiningto "day" , "t show continues next. we'll show you tomorrow morning 4:30 a.m. we're back on this booze day with our special series "back to school today" and we're talking dorm room decor. >> you don't have to take out a loan to afford what we're showing you. frank is the host of gttv's "design on a dime." first of all, dorm rooms are teeny. >> there are. you're talking about approximately 200 square feet. >> you figure out how to make it all fit in there. >> absolutely. storage is probably the number one thing to look for in dorm spaces, starting with shoes. a better solution than all over the floor, this cool pink shoe caddie is awesome. you can use it to store

miscellaneous items. this is a security device to mount to your bed to store money or goods you don't want your buddies to steal. you put it on the bed. >> that's smart. >> closet space is such a premium, i like the zip-up closet. you can take it a step further. it's on wheels. it collapses down to nothing, and inside take it to the next step. >> these are amazing. the magic hangers. i love this. we borrowed a sweater. i hope you don't mind. >> no, you didn't. >> these are draped for the inside of the storage of the closet. for your jeans i like the collegiate trunk over here. when you don't use it to store stuff, the top surface is great fof coffee for the late night study sessions. get it at target.com for 120

bucks. shower caddie is important. you want a place to store the stuff. >> if you live in new york the best play to store stuff is under the bed. >> you want to utilize every single inch. the bedside caddie, i like this, your notes for school and looking for that remote, great place. underbed storage kufl boxes from ikea and dormco provides this rolling cart. kodak makes personalized -- >> finally something i want. >> this will be the hottest trend across dorms in america. >> that way you can sleep with kathie lee and hoda. >> every night. my dream. >> sad. >> may i send that to cody? >> it's yours. you can have it. >> cody just freaked out. >> in terms of general room decor, you want splashes of color. easy way is a great throw rug like this. one of the hottest things i like right now is vintage posters. they're coming back in a big

way. >> tharey're not expensive at a. >> the thing you mounted it on, is that for show here. >> that's your props department. you put them on a wall using glue dots. you can't nail or put anything on the wall. >> this is genius. >> i love this. this is peel and stick by art appear lie kays.com. you can put them up. gout nails and you get in there and move them around the room if you get bored in one position. they make chalkboards and mirrors, too. >> the chalkboard is a smart idea to leave notes. >> the lamp is a great multifunctional piece. >> it has a ipod dock. >> i'm in touch with my feminine side, you know? >> yeah. >> hey now. i have to talk about the

minifuton. you're not going to put a giant luxury sofa in there. if you have little friends that toupt sleep over, pop that down. >> shorties? >> you have to sleep in a fetal position. >> exactly. when you're late night partying, you don't care where you sleep. >> i don't know. >> there was none of that at oral roberts university where i went. >> desks are so '80s in dorm rooms, this laptop desk is cool. you can pop it on your lap and it's perfect -- >> that's at an angle. >> peel and stick is the craze right now. even the graphic over the bed is a great way to add personal flavor to a room. it pulls in the colors. once again, kathie lee i have drama queen for you. i always come with parting gifts. >> he does. >> thank you, thank you.

>> you're a sweetheart. thank you so much. >> that's why your name is frank. >> yes. one formerly hot woman's account of what happened when you're just on the other side of young. >> that's right after this. [ female announcer ] back to school means back to busy mornings.

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an irresistible, melt-in-your-mouth taste... ♪ and nature approves. new nature valley granola thins. nature at its most delicious. with every decade comes a new phase of life. by 20s hopeful you left the nest. >> by the early 30s you have a home and kids and career.

>> then what comes is the adult tween phase. >> this is about my looks. i started noticing that i had dark circles under my eyes and my pores were bigger and i had lines i didn't have before and the upper arms were like the flags in the car dealership sort of waving in the breeze. i thought this is what it is. i'm getting older and losing my looks. i started to realize it really wasn't about na. that was only the most obvious sign that something was different. >> i love that she throws her arm out there. >> she's the author of "my formerly hot life." >> what a funny little clip by the way. did you have fun doing that? >> it was a riot. >> this is in fun. it's not a depressing thing about becoming old. >> that's right. what i found out when i realized i wasn't young anymore, it was a shock. >> at what age?

>> i was in my late 30s. i'm 40 now. >> i'd kill to be that young again. >> i expect to look back and say that, you're being ridiculous. there was a series of things that happened that didn't make sense to me at first but all added up to, guess what? you're not young. >> like what? >> my daughter sitting in front of me saying what about the holes on your nose? i thought she meant my nostrils but the pores. >> the worst was the next one. >> what are the hairs coming out of mommy? >> i don't know, okay? it's about the way people respond to you. when you're a young woman, people respond to you in a specific way. >> mostly sexual. >> particularly if you were considered attractive and all that. a all of a sudden you're treated like you're in this different category of woman. >> like when you go by a construction site and nobody says anything. they don't even notice. >> the sound of crickets.

>> while it does happen and can be shocking, what i found and all the women who blog on my site found out is it's so much better on this side of young. no one tells you that. >> why? >> you are more you the older you get and you're more confident and self-assured and that's what you put out into the world. >> stephanie, i know a lot of women that do not feel that way. >> i know. that's why i wrote the book. >> they don't feel like they're their best and living in the past and destroying present. >> that's the point of the back. if you can laugh at yourself for caring so much about dumb things like this and this -- >> there's help for that. >> right. you know, you do what you do. the thing is if you're smiling, you don't see the smile lines. so it's all about learning how to be happy and we all get older. big deal. >> we're blessed. we get older. >> exactly. >> a lot of men say the sexiest trait in a woman is confidence. there's woman who walk in, and they may not be the most

gorgeous -- >> you can't fake it. >> when you get older, you feel more comfortable in your own skin. >> some don't, hoda. that's my point. >> some do. >> they should read the book. what i love about this experience is everybody is talking about these issues now, women in power and women in beauty. do you need to be beautiful? i saw the power coming from within. it does. if you look at the life you've built, it's what you wanted. you worked hard for it. you get to enjoy it. this phase of life is so great because you're young enough to enjoy it. >> you are. >> you are. >> think about it, you can expect a life span of 70 years, which used to be -- >> 81. >> 40 is middle age, then. but you're a middle-aged person at age 40. >> no one knows unless you die and divide by two. you could hit by a bus tomorrow, and you could have worried about

hot fat you were when you were 20. >> i'm frustrated with my friends is what i'm saying. >> you say friends are important when you get older and different types of friends, too, right? >> sometimes eveningven younger. >> friendships at this age are drama-free and we're so busy and have demands, we don't ask any more of each other than we can give. that's a lovely place to be. people think female friendships are -- >> those are friendships. we need another term for those. >> we wish you a lot of luck with the book. >> it's well written and very funny. up next from formerly real hot, i'm talking about our kitchen. we're going to make somestk for hoda, who is a carnivore. >> that's right after this. ♪ freedom is all that i need [ female announcer ] ladies, raise your spoons.

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time to take you into

"today's kitchen" and we're getting saucy making simple steak on the grill, or if you're not that kind of gal, right there in the kitchen. >> adam perry lange is a french trained chef and he's the author of a cool new book called "barbecue 25." >> why is it called that? >> 25 recipes you do 95% of the time. >> we need you to tell us how to do it properly, right? >> yes. its like a board book, irt's built for the grill. >> what are we doing? flank steaks with moho glaze. >> we put the flank steaks in. >> there isn't any fat on there, either. >> yeah. >> what is that? >> this is a beef paste with a little water with the bullion

cube, garlic salt, a little bit of water. >> we don't know what's going on. >> i'll get you there. >> is that wine? >> a little bit of vinegar. >> oh. >> and then a little bit of olive oil. and then we close up the bag. >> that's a double ziploc you got going? >> yeah. >> okay. we get it. we need it. >> i originally did this recipe for my friends at butch's grill, because it was really -- >> can we set it free. >> we know who you are. >> exactly. >> i wanted to do a really bold-flavored recipe. when you're doing this -- >> what does the pounding do? >> you dpefeel better. >> this is the key thing. a lot of people go on their grill directly from the marinade to the grill. don't do it. >> bless you. >> that's the chili powder. >> excuse me. >> what i ask you to do is take

it and kind of dab it right there. >> you're wiping it all off. >> the flavor is in there. >> non-stick grilling. >> you see the taste, and you can tell me. >> what did you put on there? >> a little bit of vegetable oil. >> so it doesn't stick. >> that's the sound we like. >> we have this one working here, okay? >> here's a little trick, okay? with the moho glaze. >> how did you make this? >> it's a secret. what's in there is lime juice, cumin, olive oil and grated garlic. this is a tricky do. you want to make me an air brush? you stick the spoon in, and -- >> do it. come o-go for it. >> i love it. you kind of get the flavor. >> very halloween. >> it is. >> yeah, yeah. exactly.

>> i like it. >> you want it? >> no thank you. >> that's just a prop at this point. >> okay. >> here you go. kind of flip it over like this and on that side you can do it. there's the herbs. we have very fresh thyme and you build flavors like this. it's great. >> did you think of that yourself? >> yeah, i did. >> so you kind of like flip it. >> when you are told by someone recently don't flip your meat. >> i'm a very active griller. i disagree. that's for a super novice who doesn't have a grill that's strong enough. when you have heat, you have to move it around to create the carmelization. look at the grill marks there. >> i'm with you. i'm just asking. chefs are really sensitive.

take your time with them, be sensitive and gentle with them. >> let me show you the other tip. let me show this little board here. this is a great little thing. >> we better turn that off. >> oh, my gosh. yeah. >> it smells so good. >> okay. board dressing. this is one of my greatest tips. you take on the board some grated jalapeno. do you like spicy? >> a little, yeah. >> a little garlic, lemon juice, olive oil. if you have some of the drippings, you know -- >> from the steak? >> uh-huh. this is my little secret. you put it there. there it is. >> we're going to use the one we were just using. put it right there. you do it like that. >> as you slice, toss it around there. >> you know that's good. you know that's real good.

>> so what this does is when you're cooking for a large of group of people, can prevents it from drying out. you can cook ahead and coat it. >> very good. >> we have to run. >> we have to have a taste test. >> thank you, honey. >> thank you. >> thank you so much. >> that's delicious. >> is it great? >> we'll be back with more of "today" on nbc. >> really good.

hoda, you know what happens around this time every day? it's time for miss sarah. >> they're talking waxing, huh? >> still talking waxy. there's no excuse for waxing a child at that age. she has a 10-year-old but she doesn't want her to learn that area needs attention that young. the second one is lucinda, and she said their salon won't wax anyone under 16 without the parent accompanying them. if narz a rule, they had to hi about it. >> parents are taking their

child. >> it makes you think they had to think about it. >> you're right. >> we're talking -- >> yeah. >> anyway, ice cube comes tomorrow and we'll turn this place into an animalse an lot of back-to-school tips. an lot of back-to-school tips. she's not talking. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com