and discounts up to 40%. where else you gonna get discounts like that? call an agent at 1-800-state-farm or go online. good morning. obama sclsh clinton in twelve. bob woodward says advisers to secretary of state hillary clinton says it's on the table. what would that mean for vice president joe biden? this morning we'll talk to the chairman of the dnc about that and the upcoming midterm elections. destroyed by evil, the lone survivor of a brutal home invasion speaks out about the murders of his wife and two daughters, moments after this man was convicted of that gruesome attack. now a jury must decide if he'll be put to death for his crimes. and her side of the story. mel gibson's ex-girlfriend speaks out for the first time

about their volatile relationship and bitter custody battle today, wednesday, october relationship and bitter custody battle today, wednesday, october 6th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm meridehemeredith vie. >> it didn't happen in 2008, but is an obama-clinton pairing being considered for 2012? >> according to bob woodward, it would include vice president joe biden and secretary of state hillary clinton basically swapping positions. why would they agree to that? would it be the right move for president obama? we'll have reaction from the white house straight ahead. and new details on that alleged attack of an american couple by mexican pirates. the wife survived. she says her husband was murdered. authorities in mexico are questioning that woman's

account, but now a witness has come forward. we'll have the latest on the case, just ahead. also ahead, if you had a piece of gold that was worth about $450, how much do you think you'd get from one of those popular money for gold companies? we put them to the test in a "today" investigation. you will not believe the range of offers we received. one offer, less than $39. more on that, coming up. but first, let's get a check of the top stories while ann is on assignment. natalie morales is on assignment at the news desk. >> "the washington post" says secret talks are underway between the government of hamid karzai and the taliban aimed at ending the war in afghanistan. this morning in pakistan, though, another attack aimed at a nato convoy taking supplies to pakistan. gunfire set fire to at least 25 tankers loaded with fuel and killed a driver. it was the sixth attack in less than a week. today, the supreme court hears arguments in a key first amendment case. at issue, whether it is protected speech when protesters

show up at the funerals of u.s. service members killed in the line of duty. a tidal wave of toxic sludge is threatening to become an ecological disaster in hungary as it moves towards the danube river. at least four people were killed when a slush reservoir gave way at an industrial plant southwest of budapest, pouring into three villages. several other people are missing there. overseas markets are higher this morning after the dow closed tuesday at its highest level in five months. cnbc's melissa frances is at the new york stock exchange for us. melissa, what are you watching today? >> good morning, natalie. looks like a big day for the markets around the world. the bank of japan lowering its key lending rate, also saying it's setting up a $60 billion fund to go out and buy bonds and reits and etfs, all kinds of things. and as a result, markets are rallying. gold hitting another record high. oil higher as well, although the dollar is at an eight-month low, as well as is euro. natalie, back to you. >> melissa frances at the new

york stock exchange, thank you. and some wild weather in the west. parts of arizona saw hail the size of golf balls on tuesday. one homeowner shot this video and it was an early october snowstorm in parts of nevada forcing drivers to be extra careful there. back over to matt, meredith and al. pretty soon that will be us. >> matt was saying when he looks out this window. >> looks like a little snow covering out there. >> not though. >> when is that going to happen? >> not for a while hopefully here, but as natalee shows you they had some rough weather in the southwest. we have also got some rough weather -- matt almost did a spit take. >> wuf reather? >> you waskally anchor you. and we'll show you the

northeast. this upper level low will not get out of here, keeps spinning around bringing about an inch or two of rain to new england. and in the southwest, that upper level low, causing more rain for the southwest. we could see some more rail and some more damaging winds. and here's what that low is doing around bait area this morning. some scattered showers across the north bay. a few sprinkles around the rest of the bay area but most of the moisture is around the central coast. the best action will be to our south and east but look for a few scattered showers around the bay area and kind of a mild afternoon. highs 60s and 70s inland. maybe a rumble or two of thunder south of gilroy. tomorrow we clear out, we're breezy but for the weekend we warm up. 70s and 80s inland, upper 60s on the coast.

>> let's go to the videotape, slow motion iso. >> let's go to the videotape, slow motion iso. i screw up and -- >> it could have been ugly. anyway, al, thank you very much. let's turn to politics now, as president obama considers a different running mate for 2012. a veteran journalist says an obama-clinton ticket is being considered. nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent chuck todd has more on that and next month's midterm elections. what are you hearing? >> reporter: bob wood ward last night in an interview on cnn said according to clinton advisors, the idea of clinton joining him on the ticket is on the table. this morning i spoke to david axelrod. he said the report is absolute fiction, he goes on to say how loyal president obama is to vice president biden and how good a vice president the president believes he's been and the idea that anybody would be on the ticket other than joe biden again is fiction. that said, i can tell you that

sources have told me that if there is a new job for hillary clinton in the next year, matt, it's most likely to be secretary of defense. remember robert gates is likely to leave before the end of 2011. that would be a more likely move than anything to vice president. of course, the november midterms are less than four weeks away and you can see the anger and frustration in the voters being channelled into tv ads 30 seconds at a time. it's october, and that means one thing in a political year. >> i'm not a witch. >> reporter: lots and lots of tv ads. >> barack obama is the worst president in history. >> reporter: with the midterm elections just under four weeks away, republican candidates have settled on a target. >> it would already have been done if i had robin carnahan there. >> that was a simple applause line at a missouri fund-raiser. >> reporter: and now it's a biting punch line in the

missouri senate race for republican roy blunt. >> the disastrous stimulus bill, government run health care, a new energy tax, robin carnahan supports them all. >> reporter: the president and other leaders are the star attraction in republican tv ads airing across the country. wisconsin republican ron johnson takes on incumbent democrat russ feingold. kentucky republican rand paul went after the democrat jack conway. >> the republicans are nationalizing this election and that's easier to do in a midterm when the president's unpopular. >> reporter: without a national politician to run against, democrats are trying to localize races targeting hot-button issues. in wisconsin it's health care. >> russ fought to stop insurance companies from denying children health care drew to pre-existing conditions.

>> mr. johnson would put insurance companies back in control. >> reporter: and in washington, democrat patty murray hopes the public's frustration with wall street will hurt republican dino rossi. >> dino took wall street's dollars. >> then announced he'd repeal new regulation that is protect our investments in savings. >> dino rossi, out for himself. >> as you can see a pessimistic ad campaign. last night, president obama, a little funny moment at an event. he was speaking at his podium. the presidential sale, off camera, it falls off, makes a loud noise, the president joked about it, take a listen. >> we cannot sustain. oops. was that my -- oh, goodness. that's all right. all of you know who i am. >> reporter: well, look, those poor advanced people that hang those things, they carry it around, that seal is in its own briefcase, matt, sometimes those things happen.

>> even though the tube said you can do crazy things with it, apparently it doesn't work. chuck, thank you very much. former virginia governor tim kaine is the chairman of the democratic national committee. governor kaine, nice to see you as always. >> good to be back. >> bob woodward dropped this on cnn yesterday saying there is consideration or it's on the table we might see president obama running with hillary clinton in 2012. have you heard talk about it? is it something that crossed your desk? >> other than seeing speculation about it in the press, i have been to the white house and talk to people all the time and i haven't heard anything about it. >> do you think that might be a good idea? >> my job is pretty focused on november 2. i don't even know, is there going to be a november 3? i'm really focussed on the next four weeks. i think it's kind of like is randy moss going to get traded from the patriots to the vikings, it's speculation, but i don't think there's anything to it. >> let's talk about voter turnout. obviously it's key to you folks

in the november midterm elections. >> absolutely. >> the president has said that it would be irresponsible for democratic voters to stay home at the midterm elections. yet in the latest polling, it seems that even with a high turnout republicans hold a 13 point lead over democrats. if that turnout is low, that leads swells to 18 percentage points. how do democrats chip away at those numbers in the next four weeks? >> we have got a lot of work to do, but the good news is this, from before labor day to october 1, the polls have been moving dramatically in democrats' favors. the enthusiasm gap over the summer has narrowed. we still have work to do. both in the generic national polls but in race-to-race polls, we're seeing our hand improving, both because our candidates are out there doing good work and the republicans are nominating folks that i think paint a real stark choice between the two parties.

>> let's talk about some themes. newt gingrich, the former speaker of the house wrote a memo to some republican candidates saying they should make democrats the party of food stamps and the republicans the party of paychecks. if republican candidates use that idea out on the campaign trail, how do you suggest that democrats counter it? >> i think the american public will laugh if republicans try to be the party of paychecks. they put the economy into a tank, into a lost decade where americans lost money under republican leadership. the nation lost jobs and poverty gaps widened. they don't have a credible claim about being the paycheck party. the democrats who have turned the economy from shrinking to growing again for the first time in years will be able to trump them on that. >> there is some talk the president has talked tough as of late saying it's time for democrats to buck up, the vice president said it's time for democrats to stop whining. polling though shows, governor kaine, that some democrats have

some real differences of opinion with the white house over issues like the economy and health care reform. so when they use talk like that, are you afraid at all that it might backfire? >> there are differences, matt, one of the great things about the democratic party is that we're a very diverse party regionally, demographically, but that also means we're dif vears in ideology. that swing from the progressives to the blue dogs is a good aspect to the party and also occasionally mad ending. i think the president and vice president's language here is kind of like the coach giving you the tough love talk before you start the game. i have been traveling around heavily the last couple of weeks as the president and the vice president have been say that. i don't see democrats bummed out or mad that these things are being said. we're seeing the enthusiasm gap being closed because our democratic voters are realizing the stark choice to be made between the party that's doing the heavy lifting and the party that's saying no. >> started with a rumor, let me end in the last ten seconds. there's been talk that robert

gibbs may be eyeing your job and you may move inside the west wing. what do you want to tell me about that? >> that was also news to me when i read it saturday. i'm just out doing campaign events. i guess it must be on a need-to-know basis. >> tim kaine, always nice to see you. thanks so much. 7:13, here's meredith. the sole survivor in a brutal home invasion in connecticut says he has some relief after a jury found the first of two defendants guilty of murdering his wife and two daughters. jeff rossen has covered the trial from the start and is in new haven with the details. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you. the jury didn't take very long here, less than five hours over the course of two days to reach a verdict and they really threw the book at him. not only did they find steven hayes guilty of murder, they found him guilty of capital murder. that means he could now be put to death. >> there's some relief.

my family is still gone. it doesn't bring them back. it doesn't bring back the home that we had. >> dr. william petit has waited in pain for three years for this moment. tuesday the jury found this man, stephen hayes guilty of torturing and killing petit's family, his wife jennifer, and their girls michaela and hayley. >> what was going through your mind as they read each count, guilty, guilty, guilty? >> just crying, tears of relief. that's all. just trying to maintain my composure. >> and it hasn't been easy reliving his family's final moments in court. prosecutors showed the jury disturbing images, how they say the two defendants tied petit to this pole in the basement and beat him with a baseball bat. and then prosecutors say hayes

and his accomplice burned the house down killing this mother and her children still inside. yet william petit came to court every day to face the man who did it. >> if your family was destroyed by evil, i think that you would all try to do the same thing and be there for your family. >> reporter: the jury found stephen hayes guilty of 16 crimes including murder, kidnapping and sexual assault. six of them are capital felonies. hayes is now facing a possible execution by lethal injection. >> over the last couple of weeks, i just kept trying to tell myself that good will overcome evil. >> for william petit this is and has always been about the loves of his life. >> i miss them every day and i think i just try to focus on them and the goodness that they had to try to get through each day. >> reporter: he has been through so much.

later this month, the same jury that decided guilt or innocence in this case will be back in this courthouse to start the penalty phase and they will decide once and for all whether stephen hayes should be put to death. then after that comes the new trial for the other accomplish joshua komisarjevsky. there was a 17-count indictment. hayes got off on one count, first degree arson. the reason is, the judge told the jury, yes, the state may have proven that steven hayes poured gasoline all over the house and all over the victims, but that doesn't mean he started the fire. so that's the one count he did get away with. . as jeff pointed out, the jury did find stephen hayes guilty of 16 of the 17 counts against him and they did so after deliberating for just five hours. from an outsider's point of view, it always seemed that there was evidence against this man, but from a lawyer's perspective, what do you make of

the length of the deliberations? >> i think it's a comparatively quick deliberations. in high profile cases particularly when you've got 17 charges, we tend to see jurors really want to take their time. why? because they know the world is watching, they want to make sure they're really, really careful. but the problem in this case or the difference in this case was that the evidence was absolutely overwhelming. so they didn't have to take -- >> the defendant even admitted to some of this. >> yeah. so they didn't even have to take the sort of time that they often take in a case like this, even when there's 17 charges. and you can see from the comment that jeff was making about the arson charge that they very carefully looked at this count by count, they didn't just say that he's guilty, they went count by count, charge by charge, they defined what the charge meant. what would be the necessary things that the prosecution would have to choose. >> the judge's remarks about the arson, they were saying if you can't prove that hayes literally

struck the match that caused the fire you can't convict him of arson? >> the jurors asked a question about this on monday. they said, how do you define starting a fire? does this necessarily make sense in a legal sense? not necessarily. but jurors' verdicts don't necessarily have to be consistent. and if these jurors believed that the legal definition wasn't met, in the end it's not particularly significant in terms of the sort of sentences. >> this is the confusion i have. how can you find him not guilty of arson but find him guilty of murdering the petit daughters when they died of smoke inhalation caused by the fire? >> what's they may have been thinking -- they can't talk right now because they're effective live still in the middle of the trial. but they may have focused specifically on the intent to start the fire, meaning to light it, as opposed to the idea of laying down the gasoline. so we don't know for certain, but that's my guess.

>> dr. petit has said that he would like to see both of these defendants face the death penalty. given the speed at which the jury reached its decision, will that have any impact, do you think, on the next phase, the penalty phase? >> i don't think the speed tells us a whole lot. it was so clear they were guilty, the guilt phase was easy. now in the penalty phase, the defense is going to try something different. >> what can they do? >> they're going to try to portray him as a pa thetdic loser as opposed to a criminal mastermind. these jurors to believe that this guy has been a troubled guy, this guy was not the guy who was leading. >> so he was manipulated by the other guy. >> exactly. so even if you think he's guilty, even if you think he should get a very severe punishment, it doesn't mean that he should get the death penalty in this case. and they're going to present witnesses about what he was like and all the troubles he endured and go back to some of the facts we heard in the guilt phase. i think the guilt phase was

basically an effort to save his life. >> dan abrams, thank you so much. it's 7:20 an once again here is matt. this morning we have learned that the federal trade commission is taking action against a company that it says bilked consumers out of millions by falsely claiming it could lower people's tax debt. kevin tibbles is in chicago with details on this. >> reporter: this morning the ftc is calling it an elaborate fraud that preyed on those desperate to get out from under a mountain of tax debt. >> if you owe over $15,000 in taxes -- >> reporter: you've probably heard the pitch. >> this is your one-second chance. use it well. >> reporter: ads promising to help people climb out from under tax debt. >> american tax relief got them to accept a fraction of what we owed. >> reporter: tim fullerton was desperate when he heard the ad. >> american tax relief. we can reduce your tax debt by up to 90%.

>> reporter: and you said, whoa? >> it sounds like a plan. >> reporter: turns out fullerton wasn't the only one. some 20,000 people paid american tax relief fees totaling as much as $100 million. the problem is they didn't deliver. >> because of the downturn in the economy, scam artists are trying to take the last dollar out of people's pocket. >> reporter: today the federal trade commission announces a judge has shut american tax relief down, accusing it of bilking consumers. >> preying on the most vulnerable, people who are deeply in debt to the irs. >> reporter: at first tim didn't tell his wife. >> it's a guy thing. >> reporter: he said american tax relief $2750 but nothing happened, then he fessed up to darlene who just happened to be an accountant. >> i was on a one-woman crusade to take them down. >> the ftc claims american tax relief took the cash but never even approached the irs.

meanwhile the f tc says company directors lived large in a beverly hills mansion and drove luxury cars. >> i was very, very angry with american tax relief. >> reporter: the fullertons have gotten half their money back after protesting and worked out their own arrangements to repay the irs. >> it comes down to the old phrase if something sounds too good to be true. >> it is too good to be true. >> reporter: lawyers for american tax relief did not return phone calls from nbc news. meanwhile the morning, the ftc is saying if you owe money to the irs, then consult the irs or hire a certified tax professional. >> kevin tibbles in chicago for us this morning. thanks so much. coming up on a wednesday morning, a witness comes forward of an alleged attack on a couple by american pirates. we'll talk to the victim's wife. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

[ bell rings ]

what are you doing, friending somebody? yeah. you got time for that? you got time to earn more on your savings, online at capitalone.com. that's new school banking, baby! instead of earning squatootski... your savings will be earning three times the national average. now, let's review. capital one interestplus savings... at three times more. go to capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? are you a pisces?

coming up mel gibson's exwoo opens up about their relationship. good morning, everybody. the time is 7:26. i'm brent cannon. we want to check in with mike and get the latest on your commute. >> we'll take you to sunol where we had an accident and big backups coming out of pleasantton the last 15 minutes. the accident cleared from the roadway right around highway 4. you'll still see a little slowing as you're heading toward that express lane. a good amount of slowing coming out of livermore but not as bad as yesterday. just 26 minutes registering. better toward the dublin interchange. over here at the bay bridge toll plaza, we have the backup back toward the foot of the maze off of the berkeley curve as well. 23 minutes off of the car keen

as bridge to this spot. sunshine there and you can see to the south of monterey we've got quite a bit of shower activity drifting up the coast and some showers rotating out of the north bay. we have an area of low pressure and this moisture cartwheeling around the outer fringe of the bay area. a few showers in the north bay to start the day. as we go through the afternoon you'll get the same mix, sun at times, scattered showers. would not rule out the chance of thundershowers later on. tomorrow we clear out and are cool an warm up for the weekend. the time is 7:27. more news after the break. [ whitman ] they say california can't be governed anymore.

i say baloney. this state belongs to all of us. we just have to decide we want to change. i know government isn't a business and it shouldn't be, but the same values of accountability and focus that make california businesses among the best in the world could do a lot to fix sacramento. i'm on a mission to create more jobs, stop wasteful spending, and improve our schools. let's get to work. ♪

new this morning, the man who allegedly ran down a fremont police officer is now in custody. our nbc station in los angeles says u.s. marshals have confirmed they arrested alexander diaz just after midnight in southern california. he was booked in an east los angeles county jail. investigators say diaz hit motorcycle officer patrick brower while driving a stolen van on monday. more news coming up in half an hour. the "today" show in a couple minutes. [ male announcer ] carly fiorina. as ceo, she laid off 30,000 workers and shipped jobs to china. china. india. russia. poland. i know precisely why those jobs go. [ male announcer ] because fiorina shipped them there. to shanghai instead of san jose. bangalore instead of burbank. proudly stamping her products "made in china." 30,000 workers gone

while fiorina took $100 million for herself. carly fiorina. outsourcing jobs. out for herself. [ barbara boxer ] i'm barbara boxer, and i approved this message. 7:30 now on this wednesday morning, october 6, 2010. and we're looking at a sea of smiling faces on rockefeller plaza. and coming up, where are your tax dollars going? >> many cities and towns are struggling to pay for their public works and teachers, some government workers are being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. coming up, we'll tell you where the biggest offenders are.

and a revealing interview with mel gibson's ex. she's opening up about the threats that the actor made against her. what she's now saying coming up. and a warning before you consider selling some of your unwanted gold jewelry to make a little extra cash. wait until you hear just how little some companies are actually giving you for that gold. just ahead the results of our "today" investigation. but we begin with new details of an alleged attack of an american couple by mexican pirates on a texas border lake. authorities say a witness has now come forward. janet shanlian is outside of the mexican consulate with the very latest. >> reporter: just a devastating time for this young woman as she's trying to get some answers, trying to get her husband's body returned to the united states. mexican authorities are now casting doubt on her account of what happened that day out there on the lake. the story of mexican pirates

shooting at tiffany and david hartley as they jet skied on a border lake in south texas has now become an international incident. seeking answers in the return of her husband's body, tiffany had a three-hour meeting yesterday at the mexican consulate. >> it seems like you have to file a missing person's report at the federal level. now it's official. >> reporter: u.s. authorities said they couldn't scorch for david's body because it happened on mexico's side of the lake and they had no evidence officials in mexico were looking. on "today," tiffany told meredith there was little assistance across the border. >> they're not doing what they need to do to get in that water and find them. they're not getting in the water. they don't have people on the ground. they don't have people looking for him. and that's why we're pleading that, please. bring him back.

>> reporter: meanwhile officials in mexico questioned tiffany's storytelling a texas newspaper, we are not certain that the incident happened the way they are telling us. but on the u.s. side, the sheriff overseeing the case says a credible witness corroborates tiffany's account of what happened. >> i have confidence that she's saying the truth. at the present moment based on what we v there's nothing really to doubt her story at this time. >> reporter: meanwhile with his motorcycle up on stage, a memorial for david hartley in mcallen last night. a celebration of a life well lived. >> he liked the finer things in life and was always up for an adventure. >> reporter: but for those left behind, no closure. >> until we meet again, my friend. >> reporter: until they can bring david home. tiffany was at that very touching memorial last night. but today she resumes her fight

to get mexican authorities to look for her husband to bring closure and to finally bring her husband home. >> we're going to talk to the county sheriff in a moment. but first tiffany hartley is with us again this morning along with her mother cynthia young, good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> tiffany, if i could start with you, you spent part of yesterday at the mexican consulate, can you tell us about efforts to find your husband's body? >> they basically told us that we had to have this storm filled out basically a statement and as soon as they had that, they would take it off and send it off to mexico city authorities and they would also take it over to reyanosa and get the ball rolling. >> do you feel your concerns were being met by them in a timely fashion? >> i do -- i think they're going to start doing what needs to be

done. i have got hopes. we felt good when we left. >> tiffany, mexican authorities and even some americans have questioned your story, you're aware of that. partly because there is no evidence at this point of a crime, no body has been found. so i have to ask you, just pointblank, did you have anything to do with the disappearance and/or the death of your husband, david. >> no. not at all. i loved him very much. and i went back for him to help him and i did what i could. >> why do you believe that authorities have cast doubts on your story? >> because we do have no evidence. we were in mexico and u.s. authorities can't go over there. and i have no proof, i have no cameras, i have nothing. i don't have the photos that we were taking. i don't have anything except for my word.

>> yesterday you told me, tiffany, that you stated one of the boats came up to me, this is your quote and had a gun pointed at me trying to decide what to do with me and then they left. how close did these people come to you? can you describe them to me? >> honestly, looking at the barrel of the gun is all i saw. i was pretty focussed there. i couldn't tell you what they looked like. but they were within the length of my jet ski of me, which is about ten feet. >> why do you think, tiffany, why do you think they would spare your life if in fact they had killed your husband, why would they want anyone around that could possibly id them? >> i have no idea. all i can do is give god the glory. that's all i can do, that he had touched them to leave me and go and figure out with the other two boats what can happen so i had that time to get away.

with god's grace, i wouldn't be alive. >> cynthia, you're tiffany's mom, when you hear her talking about what she describes as a frightening loss of her husband, what goes through your mind as a mom? >> i get really angry as a mom because they didn't walk in her shoes that day and i can understand where they think that didn't happen, that she fabricateded it because how many women would have the strength to turn around and try and help her husband instead of just running and saying hope it works, you know? but her instinct at that point was save david so she instantly turned around, putting herself in danger to get her husband and help him. that's how much in love they were. >> sheriff, if i can bring you

in now, let me turn you to you, when you first got word of things dent on t things -- this incident, what went through your zblind what went through my mind is what we have been telling people since april about the pirates on falcon lake, one thing i dread the most is having a fisherman go to the lake and go to mexico and challenge some of these thugs and these weapons that they have who barely know how to use them, getting shot in the head and i'm going to have a body in the water that i'm not going to be able to retrieve. the one thing that i dreaded the most came true. when this call came in, at first i thought it was the ever present violence in mexico that we were seeing in this area, that violence had crossed over again into our county. >> do you have any doubts about tiffany's story? any unanswered questions that you would like to have her respond to? >> there's no doubt in my mind

that tiffany's saying the truth. tiffany, when we saw her, she came over here, she was distraught, there was one witness, an independent witness who has never even mitt tiffany before, who actually even saw this boat chase her into the united states and as soon as she arrived with him to seek assistance, this boat made a u turn and headed back towards mexico and the information that tiffany provided, there was four or five people in the boat, same information the witness provided. so there's no doubt in my mind that tiffany's saying the truth. >> do you believe the mexican authorities are doing all they can to try to find david or do you think they're hindering the investigation? >> well, it's a custom to some extent to hinder the information, but late last night we spoke to an official with the state police in mexico and he assured me that they had been

out there on friday and on saturday. the good news is that he assured today that starting at 10:00 this morning they would have several boats, helicopters looking in that area all over again. and they're not going to stop until they find something or until all efforts have been exhausted. so they plan to be there all y today, which is something we were hoping for, my colleague in laredo who made some phone calls, the governor of texas called me last night. he made some phone calls also last night. as did staff members from other congressmen seeking some type of assistance. it's my understanding that the very high ranking official from the attorney general's office in mexico would also be flying down to the area by noon "todatoday, things are moving. >> and sheriff very quickly and finally, if you had your

rathers, would you prefer that folks in your office could join in this search with the mexican authorities instead of being left out of it? >> it's not that we're being left out, we have been invited to participate, just last night to actually go to mexico and participate. we have chosen to remain here simply because it's dangerous, it's not that we don't want to go there, we can protect ourselves, we can get our assets to go to mexico, but if we get in a gun battle it would be an international incident that would definitely have some repercussions. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> "today's" weather is brought to you by the 2010 buick lacrosse, the new class of world class. >> we d have a new tropical

depression, number 17, if it came a storm, it would be otto. 35-mile-per-hour winds, moving northwest at 8. we don't expect it to affect the u.s., and you can see much of the country in the east, heavy here's what's happening right now in oakland. we've got sunshine, so it's hard to believe we have a chance of showers until you look at the radar view. you can see this are of rotation here. this is our upper level low which for now appears tor parked over modesto but you can see moisture coming up out of the south. a few showers earlier around the north bay. as we go through the afternoon, temperatures not warming a whole lot. 60s to mid-70s inland. tomorrow we clear out, breezy and cool. for the weekend we're up into the 80s. >> and that's your latest up ne, do you really get top dollar from companies who want to buy your old gold?

"today" the results of our investigation. ♪ ♪ i was young and i was stupid

♪ i had just turned 17 ♪ a harmonica and a box guitar ♪ ♪ in a canvas-covered wagon stuffed... ♪ [ male announcer ] while the world's been waiting on the electric car, maybe the whole time, the electric car has been waiting for this... the wattstation from ge. it's going to change the way we get to where we all want to go. ♪ i didn't think much of it till i took it apart ♪

this morning on "today" investigates, gold prices have reached new highs but will you get your money's worth if you sell your unwanted gold? >> this time, it's seller beware, it's tempts we buy gold and the offers are popping up all over the place, so we wondered if we could get the same amount for the same gold from different outfits.

we sent the gold to different outfits and the range was shocking. >> reporter: the ads are everywhere. >> cold hard cash. >> reporter: and the offers are so appealing. promising lots of cash for your unwanted jewelry. it's no surprise that selling your gold is very tempting. it was for patricia count. >> i needed some extra cash. >> reporter: but now she's infuriated. >> i can't believe that i fell for this scam is what i considered it to be. >> reporter: the saga began when patricia saw an ad on tv and packed up the gold jewelry she never wore. >> i came one two necklaces, a pair of ear inging and gold charms. >> i got it back in the mail it was for 26 and change dplrz. b. >> >> reporter: in reality, she had no clue of the gold's real value? did she get low balled or was it

a fair price? >> most people do not know what their gold is worth. >> we wondered what would happen if we took the same gold and carets and sent it off. the as a results and the vast disparity are -- using a high-tech device to measure just over 21 grams of 14 carat gold. >> the gold that we lent you is about $450. >> we sent in ten companies mailing in our gold gold and waiting to see what offers came back in the mail. since the gold market fluctuates every day, we based our analysis on the day the offer was dated. our best offer was from sell your gold.com, 393.36. if you consider the gold markets value, that's about 9%. we got approximately 87% from gold shop.com.

but from there, the offers began to fall. 81%. 55%, 54%, 52%, 33%, then they plummeted, 18% or $76.89 from the well known cash for gold company and 13% from broken gold come, a company that claims to pay top dollar and 10% more than the competition. but the bottom of the barrel, the very lowest came from hard gold cash come. with claims on their website, we are about giving you the best price for your gold. their offer $38.25. that's a measly 8%. we repeatedly contacted the montana-based companies phone number listed on their website and got a fax machine. are there places out here that are really taking advantage of the consumer? >> there's no question. >>. >> reporter: many consumers are

angry and the gripes have spiked. >> in the past year complaints to the better business bureau about gold buying companies have tripled. >> reporter: new york congressman anthony wiener is taking on the operators working on tough new legislation. >> do you believe people are underpaid for what they have? >> i think that too many of these operators function in this area that we just don't have enough information to be smart consumers, so i think we need to have extra protection. >> reporter: while many people are pleased with the extra cash they get by selling gold, experts say you should figure out the rough value before you try to sell. >> i always recommend, the first place you should go is a local jeweler that you know. if you don't know any local jewelers, you should go to several in your area. >> reporter: so we gave that a shot too. with a hidden camera, shopping our gold around in person to several local buyers. the amounts we were offered exceeded most of the mail in offers.

>> $310. >> $250. >> $300 for that. >> so in our case, shopping around locally made sense. as for patricd trishia, she kno the mistakes she made. >> shop around and see how much the gold is worth before you send it in. >> and if you're not happy with the offer, companies like cash for gold say they will return your items free of charge. you just have to be sure to decline the payment within the designated time. we are back right after this. [ female announcer ] introducing splenda®

no calorie sweetener granulated with fiber. sweet! [ female announcer ] tastes like sugar and has 3 grams of fiber per tablespoon. use it almost anywhere you use sugar. even in cooking and baking. sweet! [ female announcer ] splenda® granulated with fiber. with the $2.50 breakfast combo. get a 16oz. cup of piping-hot seattle's best coffee and a savory new sunrise subway melt built fresh to your order for just $2.50. subway. build your better breakfast. we get double miles on every purchase. echo! so we earned a trip to the grand canyon twice as fast. uhoh. we get double miles every time we use our card. i'll take these. no matter what we're buying. plus the damages. and since double miles add up quick, we can bring the whole gang. it's hard to beat double miles. no, we ride them. [ male announcer ] get the venture card from capital one and earn double miles on every purchase, every day. go to capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? oh, that's the spot!

justify just ahead, do parents treat their overweight children differently?

words alone aren't enough. our job is to listen and find ways to help workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. we'll keep restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund. i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. i'm gonna be here until we make this right. ( associate) is it true you personally tested every product in the martha stewart pets collection? ( martha ) i did. want to try them out? ( excited ) okay! it's so ush. with a waterproof liner. lid for storage. nice. hmm... nice. soft... (martha) ... and stylish. this isterrific evening look! ( announcer ) introducing martha stewart pets - exclusively at psmart. created... and tested, by martha, herself.

petsmart. we love to see healthy, happy pets. let's raise a glass to cookies just out of the oven. to the morning bowl of cereal. and to lactaid® milk. easy to digest and with all the calcium and vitamin d of regular milk. [ female announcer ] lactaid®. the original lactose-free milk. i drove the '92 camry. i drive a 2007 camry. i was expecting the 2005 camry, and my sister got it. i was driving the '94 toyota camry, and my dad surprised me with a 2005 toyota camry. [ julie sighs ] i drove all of them, but i drive the 2009. [ interviewer ] why camry? reliability. yeah. affordability.

[ male announcer ] share your toyota story on facebook.com/toyota. good morning, everybody. the time now 7:56. i'm brent cannon checking in with mike. there's a new accident in berkeley. >> just off the east shore freeway. this was reported westbound 80 at ashby avenue. watch for slowing there. reports of the accident still in lanes. a big problem for the east shore freeway. we see slowing occurring anyway. slow drive through hercules. we'll expect to see a longer drive coming off of that carquinez bridge. highway 24 off of the zikt 680 interchange is slow. 680 is slow into walnut creek. around the bay area the weather not getting in the way of your morning commute except if you're heading down to monterey. there's a lot of showers on the central coast and a few more across the north bay. area of rotation off to our

south and east will cartwheel around these bands of showers during the day. we may see a slight chance of a thundershower, especially south of gilroy and out towards the central valley. 60s to 70s inland. look for a mix of sun at times and scattered showers off and on. by tomorrow we'll clear out and see breezy conditions. the showers should be gone. as we head into the weekend, highs southeastiaring io t 80s inlane. more news after the break.

don't be surprised if you see more kids walking and riding their bikes to school this morning. today is international walk to school day. the even gets kids moving and thinking healthy, since many schools no longer have physical education classes. walk to school also goes hand in hand with first lady michelle obama's anti-obesity campaign called "let's move." schools can also earn a $5,000 grant from greenworks cleaning supplies. the schools with the top five participation are eligible to win. more local news coming up in half an hour. the "today" show returns in less than a minute. have a great morning. as a prosecutor, you never forget the cases where children are hurt. they stay with you. i'm kamala harris, and it's why i started san francisco's first child assault unit and wrote laws increasing prison time for child sexual abuse. and when i found out that nearly every young person killed

was a high school dropout, i started prosecuting parents who let their children skip school. truancy dropped 30%. as attorney general, i can do this for all of california. we're back now, 8:00 on a wednesday morning. it's also the sixth day of october, 2010. it's been kind of a dreary week here in new york so far, but you know what? roker, good to prison promise, he told us it would get nicer at the end of the week, and it is actually a beautiful morning here in new york, moderate temperatures and bright blue skies. out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer, along with meredith viera. >> this lady just told us i

looked great -- >> we are on the air. and coming up, mel gibson's ex speaks ow. >> it's the first time she's opened up about what happened on that night that she claims gibson allegedly hit her. why she recorded their heated phone conversations. we're going to get her side of the conversation next. also there's an interesting story out there that says that perhaps parents treat their overweight children differently than they treat their children who are not overweight. do they discriminate? do they treat them unfairly? >> that describes why i didn't have a bed. >> that's wrong. that's just wrong. >> plus another stressful topic for families, getting into college, it's a tough one, what are the most important activities for your teen to have on his or her transcript.

a campus recruiter gives you an insider's guide to the entire process. >> let's go inside, ann continues on assignment. natalee is at the news desk. hamid karzai is condemning a string of suspected taliban bombings this week even as "the washington post" reports that his government and the taliban are holding high level peace talks. and this morning fuel tankers have -- it was the sixth convoy attack in less than a week. british officials say a missile was fired at one of their embassy vehicles in yemen today killing one staff member and several others. the man who -- tuesday's conviction of the first defendant. dr. william petit says he hopes

the jury that found hayes guilty of rape and murder will use that same clarity of thought when deciding whether he should be executed. a second defendant facing trial next year. the sludge from a metal refining plant in hungary surged through several small towns on sunday after a waste reservoir burst open. at least four were killed and 120 injured. this morning american richard hack and japanese researchers won the nobel prize in chemistry for their work in the development of plastics and new medicines. breast cancer awareness month -- the 130-foot monument was bathed in pink light last night to draw attention to the breast cancer fight. that's a beautiful look there. and now here's brian williams with a look at what's

coming up on nbc "nightly news." >> coming up tonight on nightly news, our popular making a difference series returns with young americans serving as peace corps volunteers in a rough place, war torn sierra leon. it's 8:04 right now and time for the weather and al. >> "today's" weather is brought to you by the american cancer society, the official sponsor of birthdays. >> and good morning, we have got people with things on their head here. first of all, a lady from ocrocoke, is the crabby old ladies. and then we have also got some friends here from ohio. if it had been a state with a longer name, we would have more people here. let's check your weather. fargo,orda n thkota, kvly, nbc

11, monnly suy, mild "today" and as we check out your forecast, we have got that upper level low in the northeast still spinning around, bringing a lot of rain and wind to new england, also that system out west, that's causing a lot of rain back through the southwest. beautiful in the pacific northwest. from the great lakes all the way down to the gulf coast, got plenty of sunshine and mild conditions. and we have got some cold spins here. here a look at the golden gate bridge. rain south of monterey. that's where the moisture and the intense weather will be focused in on, central california, but from time to time we will see the bands of shower going from east to west, and you will see the temperatures running cool. 60s and 70s for most of the bay area today and then the highs in the 70s for the north bay.

>> and that's your latest weather. coming up next, mel gibson's ex-girlfriend opens up to "people" magazine about their volatile relationship. [ female announcer ] sometimes you need tomorrow to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's motrin pm.

no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. motrin pm.

ancr: on september 2nd we took over a restaurant just for a day. then we made lunch for the neighbors. thousands of turkey burgers on us. to show people there's a burger that's as lean as it is delicious. it's really good. he loves the turkey burgers. if i can give her something that's good for her and lean, i'd totally make this for her. ancr: make the switch. look for jennie-o at a store near you.

yep! (mom) i'm so proud of you. the bus is here, gotta go mom. okay hunny, have a great day. look in your bag, made you something. (announcer) it's more than just that great peanut taste, choosing jif is a simple way to show someone how much you care. choosey moms, choose jif.

back at 8::10 with mel gibson's ex-girlfriend speaking out about their custody dispute and their infamous phone conversations. she shared her side of the story with "people" magazine. >> reporter: under the heading i was scared for my life, mel gibson's ex-girlfriend tells

"people" magazine for the first time what happened last january when she says gibson was grothing at the mouth and talking to himself just before he became violent. >> she claims that mel gibson terrorized her one night, not only hitting her but threatening her with a gun and even choking her. >> reporter: why the change? oksana claims that gibson is depressed. he would have killed himself many times if he wasn't catholic, she says, he's afraid of hell. gibson's attorney didn't talk to us. gibson is under investigation for domestic violence, but oksana is under investigation too. gibson allegations oksana tried to extort money from him in exchange for keeping those now infamous tapes of their argument quiet. but she says she only made the tapes to document his threats and nothing more. >> she claims she had nothing to

do with leaking those tapes. >> reporter: while admitting she's severely in debt, oksana says i'm standing up to a bully who's very rich and fay caught in the middle of all of this is their daughter who's caught in the middle of a bitter custody dispute. >> she seems to want to have mel gibson in her child's life. she seems to think that he's potentially a very good father to her daughter and she wants to make sure that she gets the best of him. >> reporter: oksana claims that she's not angry with gibson, in her words, she wants him to be a man and get help for her sake and her daughter's. >> peter castor is "people" magazine's deputy managing editor. "people" spent five hours with oksana in the home she once shared with mel gibson. how would you describe her

mental state. >> she was very much exhausted and composed. i think she's just numb to the situation by now. >> she talked to you about how the relationship began in december of 2007, i guess they met in april of that year, and their relationship started in december of 2007 and for the first two years, relatively okay, she said he was hiding his dark side very well, i was very much in love with him. so at what point did she say that the relationship began to clearly sour? >> even though he was hiding a dark side, the episodes of anger were there. and they were emerging. but everything changed meredith on january 6 and that's the day that she alleges she went to the house, he was unhappy with the babysitter, that's when he was frothing at the mouth, contorting his face and as she tried to leave this rage she alleges he punched her twice, once in the head, once in the mouth. when she grabbed her keys to get out of there, that's when he,

she says pulled a gun and started waiving it. >> is that when she says he also struck the child. >> one of the blows hit her on the chin and continued and hit lucia in the chin and it was a slight cut, but nothing serious, says oksana. >> why didn't she -- a lot of people wondered why she didn't call the police at that point. she e-mailed her lawyer and called her mother, but why didn't she contact the police if she had been assaulted? >> nothing enrages mel gibson more than humiliation and she feared that if she went to the police and this became a public issue that he would kill her. calling the police was not the first thing on her mind. >> she claims that he begged her to come back to her and all would be right and then the famous tapes emerged. >> he got on his knees and

begged and flowers and said he was in therapy. they have a wonderful valentine's day and four days later, it happens again, he has a jealousy fit and that's when she alleges he threw lucia into oksana's arms and says you better take her because i'm going to hurt her and that's when she realized i have to leave him forever. >> she says she wants mel gibson to be a part of their daughter's light and she can see forgiving him? >> she's very christian and she believes in forgiveness, she knows that she's going to have this man in her life for the rest of her life so i think her thinking is, i better make the best of this situation. i want to forgive him, i want to get on, he is after all the father of that child. >> she also says that she did not attempt to extort money from him at all. the claims that she's a gold digger, how does she respond to that? >> she says i'm being bullied by

a very rich man. she says she's having a lot of trouble making ends meet. she investmently denies that she is a gold digger. >> up next, do parents discriminate against their own overweight children? a revealing new study right after this. ♪ i loved you, sweetness ♪ but you're not sweet you hit on my friends ♪ ♪ i'm not your fool i won't just sit here and drool ♪ ♪ i'm tired of sharing you this is the end ♪ ♪ so i found a new love a natural trueove ♪ ♪ ♪ that comes from a leaf green and bright ♪♪ ♪ zero-calorie, guilt-free no artificiality ♪

♪ my soul sings with joy and delight ♪ ♪ its name is truvia i had no idea ♪ ♪ and i am loving every single bite ♪ [ announcer ] truvia. honestly sweet. [ male announcer ] a big day deserves a better breakfast. choose from a dee-licious lineup of our newest $5 footlong breakfast melts, like the sunrise subway melt. [ strahan ] subway. build your better breakfast.

like the sunrise subway melt. have you tried honey bunches of oats with real strawberries? wow. it's seriously strawberry. they're everywhere. it's in the bunches, on the flakes, even real strawberries in the mix. can i have some more? honey bunches of oats with real strawberries. it's delicious. nobody does it quite like us.

aren't you a little, like, old to be trick-or-treating? [ robotic voice ] it is a growth spurt. fair enough. [ male announcer ] you're never too old for a smooth, delicious milky way caramel. too old for a smooth, this morning on parenting "today," overweight children, it is an unfortunate natural fafacy times they face discrimination. but the surprising source of some of that harsh treatment could be their own parents. >> mommy, what are you doing? >> it's a new game i invented and you're winning 1-0. >> reporter: being an overweight kid isn't easy, hollywood rarely portrays a pretty picture, but

according to new research, art imitates life in an especially cruel way. >> the more overweight a child becomes, the more discriminatory the parents tend to be. >> the findings revealed the more teenagers weigh, the less money parents give them to pay for their cars. >> this sheds a light on the aspect that society and even children's own parents can be discriminatory against those that are overweight. >> have you ever been discriminate against because of your size. >> absolutely. >> they say discrimination from their peers not their parents is while they enrolled in well spring academy, a boarding school for teen who want to lose weight and change their lives. here healthy eating, calorie conscious cooking and a steady diet of exercise is part of a dailey routine. >> it's really about being

healthy and feeling good about myself and comfortable in public. >> i started living a life that i'm proud to live and i have realized that i can set a goal and i can accomplish it. >> i want to be healthy and i want to be proud of myself and of who i am. >> hanna's lost 64 pounds at school in five months and she's done it with the support of her parents. her mom says contrary to the study, some parents overindulge overweight kids. >> do other parents discriminate? maybe, so maybe the discrimination is not of withholding affection, but discriminating by overreacting, overindulging. >> reporter: most parents agree, the goal for overweight children is the same, having healthy, happy kids is all that matters. >> for more of a perspective on this, we turn to psychiatrist dr. janet taylor.

i had a problem with this when i read this. and forget my opinion, what do you make of this study and this headline. >> i think the stigma of discrimination, i would say no they did not look at parental attitudes, however it's an opportunity to examine what can happen when you have a child who may be overweight and discounts the resilience and self-control that some kids have whether they're overweight or not. >> but this headline of parents discriminating against their overweight children you're uncomfortable with also? >> i'm uncomfortable with that term discrimination because what i think this points out is that important area of how parents talk to their overweight kids can have long-term repercussions, when they're saying things like maybe you shouldn't be having those french fries. >> parents may be more critical of their overweight children, but in terms of holding things back like cars and education,

that would be a stretch in your opinion? >> these are college students, 78% of kids in the study -- the fact that a college student has to pay for their own car, that's not discrimination. >> but the fact that you have other kids in your family, you're correct in your assessment that you really can't say that it's f my finances that really did this. but it really doesn't take away from the fact that parents don't now how to interact with their kids. >> if parents sometimes are less than diplomatic in the way they address their overweight children and they can be critical, what's the source of that criticism in your opinion, is it kind of an ill fated attempt at tough love or is it more about the insecurity of the parent? >> the reality is up to 68% of these parents may be obese or overweight themselves some of it may be projection, i don't want you to suffer the way i did. but on the other hand it really discounts the strengths that overweight children and adults can still have. just the fact that you're

overweight and your obese and your loney and dressed is not really not born out. >> but a lot of kids also, you have the thin parents and heavy parents. but kids themselves, often times they don't say anything, but a parent thinks maybe they're not aware, they'll point this out, maybe you should go outside and move a little more. why don't you go out and play with your siblings, gee, do you need those french fries. and there's a greater drugger as to what food you have in your house. >> the impact on the overweight child is what when they hear those things but maybe don't see anything about them? >> they remember them for life. people are remembering all the things the parents said to them. do you want to be happy? do you want to have more dates? >> and in society they're going to have stigma and discrimination but at home you have to have concrete ways to make yourself feel better, engage in physical activity and support their strengths.

>> is overindulging an overweight child an example of being harsh or critical. >> you really want to try to maintain a baseline to have healthy independent children. >> good stuff, ladies, thank you ucsoh y this time the commute takes us to the south bay. >> that's right. we have had one incident. northbound 85, an accident at sar toga avenue, clearing lanes. before you get to highway 87 all the way up there, and the northbound side of 680 has an accident. and then leading into the slowing you see there, the southbound side of 680 slows towards the expressway as well.

sunshine right now for most of the bay area. to the south rain and thunder on the central coast. and we had showers earlier cartwheel through the bay area this morning. and i think a few more showers popping up on some of the hilltops today. tomorrow, things cool out and then the weekend we warm up, and 80s back in the forecast. the time is 8:27.

there will be denouncement. there is new evidence that could move the former bart police officer accidentally grabbed his gun instead of the taser. mehserle's sentencing hearing is set for the 25th. [ whitman ] they say california can't be governed anymore. i say baloney. this state belongs to all of us. we just have to decide we want to change. i know government isn't a business and it shouldn't be, but the same values of accountability and focus that make california businesses among the best in the world could do a lot to fix sacramento. i'm on a mission to create more jobs,

stop wasteful spending, and improve our schools. let's get to work. ♪ 8:30 now on this wednesday morning, october 6, 2010. out here on the plaza, a great place to spend the day. and just ahead, taking the

stress out of the college application process. what questions should the teenager be asking? we're going to have hear from a college admissions officer. michael isner is here this morning, he's written a new book about partnerships and the power of partnerships and how they can make you more successful. also kind of some lessons in his own 43-year marriage. we'll talk more about that. also some advice i could have used a little bit before getting this cold. how do avoid cold and flu season, we're going to tell you five things that you should be doing to stave off a cold. i think one thing you're really going to enjoy. >> is it moving them out of the house? >> massage. it helps boost the immune system. we're not going to giver it all away. >> but first, let's search for a criminal on the set of the tonight show with jay leno. apparently jay caught the thief red handed.

check it out. >> now here's something interesting. we had a lap top stolen, it was stolen out of the green room last week, i thought, that's it, it's gone forever. but my web guys were able to retrieve the last couple of seconds of the webcam video because the camera was on. >> may made me come all the way to burr bank and get this cented soap and you know what i did? i took a damned lap top. what kind is it in let me take a look. >> oh, it's meredith viera. >> no, mack, you can't have it. >> not only a flirt, a thief as well. >> i was borrowing it, i wasn't stealing it. >> the last thing you would take is a lap top. >> that's cute.

>> jay, yeah. >> he's a good buddy to the show. >> no question. >> and we love you. >> well, thank you. >> we like this weather. >> yes, on a bad day, they can't stand me. for the weekend -- >> it's these people behind you. >> i'm just going to keep going, more rain in the pacific northwest, some showers in we look outside as we show you off in the distance oakland. it's an interesting day around california. yo can see around the north bay, we had showers earlier. what i amgatinch is th ainrea tohe sth and east of us that will try and rotate around a little towards the afternoon. we will see a few showers later

today and not a warm day. highs 60s for today. clear for the entire day tomorrow, and then breezy and cool and then warm up nicely for the weekend ahead. >> that's your latest weather, let's head on down to washington, d.c. and say hello to uncle willie scott. how are you, my friend? >> i'm lovely and you and i should have a party because, do you know what? >> what. >> in 35 years, we can wish bryant gumbel, a happy 100th birthday. >> let's get an update. >> bryant just turned 62, i believe. >> 38 years. >> all right, well, i heard the other way. >> he may have dropped dead of a heart attack just now. >> 65, let's put it that way. >> and that's why we're glad

you're live. >> here's some birthday happy people. schmucker smucker's, we sa see hagar young, only 114 years old. lives in her own home and just absolutely adored by everybody. here is ella schuler, 113 years old. one of the oldest celebrants to have her facebook. ger intrude lenskold. she's 110, sharp as a tack. glen turner, st. petersburg, florida is 100 years old. rides a stationary bicycle, lifts weights three times a day, i do when i get out of a chair.

esther morrison, 101, drives to walmart almost once a week. and carl stauffer and that's from schillington, pennsylvania, 100 years old "today." a member of the board of directors for drag racing. how about that? don't let any tires grow under his cadillac. ciro salerno 104 years old "today" and loves to cook italian for her grandkids. they sent me the beautiful tie, inch by inch slowly. now back to new york. when we come back, an insider's guide to the college admissions process, we'll tell you about that, but first, this is "today" on nbc.

meet the real meg whitman: serving on the board of goldman sachs, whitman was caught reaping millions from insider stock deals. after ebay shareholders sued and a judge cited the obvious conflict of interest she was forced to pay the money back. what kind of person would be involved in deals a fellow republican congressman called corrupt? and in her last year at ebay, whitman paid herself $120 million right before the company laid off 10% of it's workers. we're choosing a governor, shouldn't character matter?

this morning on education nation today, an inside look at the college admissions process. right now high school seniors are deciding where to apply as college representatives fan out across the country to entice students to their campuses. we followed the dean of admission at grenell college as he made the rounds. >> how much do you know about grenell? >> part of college is supposed to be testing your limits. >> first stop, bronx high school of science, one of the most prestigious in new york city. >> you'll meet people you've never met before. >> grenell is a liberal arts college. why spend time and money moving

applicants? >> students from different social yes economic backgrounds is important because that's part of their education. >> a public high school can 1,400 students, he met with seniors from it's honors program. >> have any of you ever viz iowa before? >> for many kids looking at colleges, published ranking and hefty guides are considered so old school. "today" the internet plays a big part in the college match game. >> students have to sift through much more information, a lot of it raw and unfiltered. i'm available by phone. so it's changed the way we recruit tremendously. >> and admissions officers are on the front line. each with a different question. >> what were most important majors. >> are you affiliated with any specific organizations? >> what are some of the careers? >> for some, the answers can

open up new possibilities. >> i was against liberal arts colleges, it wasn't what i actually saw myself doing. >> does grenell sound like the kind of place you can imagine yourself? >> yes. >> we should thank the department of education for giving us permission to sit in on those meetings. good morning to you both. seth, if i could start with you, your job is to among other things to convince kids who might not have ever considered grenell to apply there, who might not even know where iowa is on the map. you're a salesman, aren't you? >> i think i open up possibilities for students and help them consider places that they might not otherwise think of. >> and you're trying to make an impression on them, but you're also sort of targeting those kids that make an impression on you, aren't you?

>> this is such a human business and it's so helpful to have a context for kids when we receive their applications. we receive several thousand applications a year, and so it's helpful to have that connection. >> you have been an observer of this process, what should students keep in mind when someone from admissions comes to their school? >> there's more than 2,000 four-year colleges in this country so they've got a wide range to choose from, so they have to know that a college like grenell, they've got to keep an open mind, to say that this is one of the options for them. >> and they should ask people like seth important questions, you should ask about popular majors and activities which is what one of the kids in that piece did, why is that so important? >> to the extent you know what you might be interested in you want to make sure that that interest lines up with the school that you're interested

in. how many high school seniors really know what they're going to be doing. so they want to know are there lots of places i could move around at this particular college. >> they certainly want to ask what percentage of kids receive financial aid, what is the average financial aid award and is it usually a collect scholarship or is it a loan? >> how can seniors gauge the likelihood that they'll get into one of these schools. >> they want to be careful not to do the admissions officer's job for them. a school like grenell rejects more kids than it accepts. but on the other hand, let the admissions officer do its work, you can't know possibly what it is they're looking for. >> and most kids wand to -- >> i think it's much more complicated than most families think. so it does have to do with performance in high school, of course. the kinds of courses students take and how well they do in

them. it has to the with standardized testing, to some degree, although it's less of an issue for most colleges than many families think. and it has to do with personality and qualities about a student, what they have engaged in outside of the classroom, work history, what kind of a voice they show us in their essay. so it's much more complicated than just a set of numbers. >> so in some ways the essay may be the most important thing in that application, where they're selling themselves essentially. >> and in some ways, because of the grades and standardized testing take such a center stage, most students applying to a place like grenell they have what we're looking for, so it's the essays that sets them apart. >> should students send a thank you note? >> how can it hurt, to send an e-mail saying thanks for meeting with me. but don't bombard someone like seth.

ask them questions, but don't friend them on facebook. >> but it's okay to contact you. >> in fact i welcome that because i see my job as helping students really have a firm understanding of what grenell can offer them. >> and you have an online course to help students work their way through all of this. self paced to introduce parents and kids to this really complicated process, to show them that it's manageable, to show them that it's not as intimidating as you think and they can find that as tidvei see k in the local t-ball league,

and i always get a little worried when i watch the games, because they could hurt themselves... and doctors are so expensive and...what if -- [ umpire ] safe!! what do you mean he was safe? he was out!!!!! i just want to make sure they're okay, you know? [ male announcer ] we know health coverage isn't cheap. 'sty ha whwe offer a wide ralae p to fit your family's budget. blue shield. as ceo, she laid off 30,000 workers and shipped jobs to china. china. india. russia. poland.

i know precisely why those jobs go. [ male announcer ] because fiorina shipped them there. to shanghai instead of san jose. bangalore instead of burbank. proudly stamping her products "made in china." 30,000 workers gone while fiorina took $100 million for herself. carly fiorina. outsourcing jobs. out for herself. [ barbara boxer ] i'm barbara boxer, and i approved this message. this morning on "today's" money, the power or partnership in our highly competitive world, individual success is often the goal.

but in business and in life collaboration can lead to the greatest achievement. no one knows that better than the former disney ceo michael isner. hey, michael, welcome back. why did you decide to explore the power of partnerships? what caught your attention. >> i had a great partner at disney before he tragically died in a car accident. i had a good part at abc and i was talking to warren buffett and i was talking about this idea and he said you should write a book and i just got into it. >> really successful people tend to have a strong sense of self, some might say a healthy ego. so is it a great ability for someone with that kind of ego to be able to look and realize, i need a partner? >> i think that people that do it only alone who can't walk past a mirror without looking at themselves, who start believing their own rhetoric tend to get

in trouble. and if you have a partner and you understand it, whone you do better, and through a lot of studies that i looked at, you're healthier. having a partner, when things go bad, you've got somebody to talk to, when things go well, you high-five with somebody. >> you highlight some very popular or well known or successful partnerships, a lot of time one of the people in the partnership is a name we all recognize, the other is not. is that what makes it successful, that one person takes the front and the other stands behind the scenes? >> sometimes, like warren loves to play music and be on the cover of fortune and his partner who most people haven't heard of, is behind the scenes but love it. valentino has a partner behind is the scenes. >> sometimes it's like ronnie howard the producer and brian

grazer the director on all these academy awards films work together. long partnerships, spousal partnerships and business partnerships. >> do you have to share a perspective if you're going to be great partners or is it better if you come from different points of view, in other words the yin and yang? >> some are that and some are the opposite. but what they all have is they leave their ego against their partner at the door. warren buffett said to me, the seven deadly sins, lust can be fun, but you get in trouble later, gut any, you eat too much. but egg go, you -- >> dow great partners have to like each other or is that not necessary? >> they usually grow to like each other. bad people make bad partners because they usually turn on each other. usually they like each other but

not always great friends. >> ste >> -- they both ended up going to prison for skimming profits from that company. why did you include them. >> i was so interested in that era. this was the vietnam era, it was just the beginning of the birth control pill, preaids, drug had hit the culture and everything went wild and these two partners were only for one year part of it and then they went to jail together, same cell and out of jail, solidified their partnership. >> so you're highlighting their partnership post prison as opposed to preprison. >> they went to syracuse together, they didn't know each other until they got to syracuse university. but they had this explosion in a culture that was weird, they went to jail, and they got their act together and they created this whole idea. the interesting thing about partnerships in kindergarten to

share. don't spit on your sister, don't put sand on your sister. but we get into high school, we stress being individual e. share, be partners and then later we honor individual achievement and sometimes that individual achievement goes bad. >> i work with a partner, i've got meredith, we have not been sentenced to prison together yet. that could happen. so do we fit any of the criteria that makes a good partnership? >> you have to get back with me in 20 or 30 years. because many of the partners i studied. it took like it's working pretty well as well. >> the book is called "working together." still ahead, five ways to prevent a cold. but first this is "today" on

i like that idea of partnerships and often times you have heard of one of these people and the other partner is someone who has stayed behind the scenes. and is very happy to be there. >> but i think like this is a nice partnership, the nice ebb and flow.

and we do complement each other because sometimes it's steps forward and steps back. >> you're actually mentioned in the book. when we did the synchronized swimming thing together. >> very nice. >> i crowned and you were on top of the water. >> you were holding me up, though. you were standing on my shoulders. >> are you going to go back in 20 years to check on this? >> when we come back, some simple fixes for common household hazards. >> but first your local news. [ male announcer ] after twenty-eight long years

of washington partisanship this is barbara boxer's california. trillions in reckless, wasteful spending. destroying small business. killing jobs. crushing hopes. we can change this, but only if we change the people we send to washington. california cannot afford boxer for six more long years. i'm carly fiorina and i approved this message. good morning. the time is 8:56. something rare on the morning commute. >> yes. i am talking about the delays because of an equipment problem on the inline. you will see extraordinary

delays for the line. and at the toll plaza, we have a 38-minute drive coming off the car canious bridge. and the slow portion is through oakland. better in thethou s bay, but still there is a slow spot. more news after this. [ whitman ] they say california can't be governed anymore. i say baloney. this state belongs to all of us.

we just have to decide we want to change. i know government isn't a business and it shouldn't be, but the same values of accountability and focus that make california businesses among the best in the world could do a lot to fix sacramento. i'm on a mission to create more jobs, stop wasteful spending, and improve our schools. let's get to work. ♪ hundreds of east bay nurses are on the picket line this morning. nearly 700 of them are striking at children's hospital in oakland today because of the stalled contract noesh gaegotia. the hospital will remain open during the strike. the nurses are negotiating issues like pay and benefits.

the hospital has lost almost $70 million in the past years forcing them to reduce costs. have a great morning. we'll see you in a bit. wearing shirts ♪ ♪ which caused a trend alert ♪ and everyone ♪ saw everybody ♪ tell'em all ♪ tell'em something, where to go and what it's all about ♪ ♪ tell them how to feel when they shout it out ♪ ♪ tell everybody else ♪ and everyone ♪ tell everybody else

we're back now with more of "today" on a wednesday morning, it's the sixth of october, 2010. we have got a nice crowd outside enjoying better weather than we have seen over the last four or five days, promises to get even tter as we head into the weekend. coming up in this half hour, "today's" money 911, if you've lost your job, if you're struggling to pay off whatever bills you can manage, this morning we'll have advice on what bills should take priority. that's very important.

and we'll also be answering your questio questions. and as we move into the cold and flu season, we all know we need to wash our hands, coffer our mouth and get enough sleep. but coming up, we're going to tell you about the five natural ways to protect yourself from the common cold that you might not have known about. >> sitting next to me is probably not going to help. mel gibson's ex speaking out to "people" magazine about the bitter custody battle. she endured jealous rages and was scared for her life. gibson's camp denying the allegations. first ann's on assignment, natal natalee's got the news of the morning. in pakistan, another attack

aimed at a nato convoy taking supplies to afghanistan. gunmen set fire to at least 20 tankers loaded with fuel and killed a driver. "today" the supreme court is hearing arguments in an important first amendment case. the issue before the court is whether it is protected speech when protesters show aunt the funerals of u.s. service members killed in the line of duty. it pits the rights of a father to the right 60s a protester to say what they want. stephen hayes was convicts tuesday in the home invasion. the lone survivor says there is some relief but adds his family is still gone. a sludge reservoir gave way in an industrial plant. the skeleton of a dinosaur

that roamed the earth some 140 million years ago was auctioned tuesday in paris for $1.8 million. the buyer is anonymous european who apparently has to have a very large homes. and prince charles showed off some of his dance moves in india. villagers performed some traditional dancers with him and he joined in. >> i have never seen matt lauer dance. >> not with an umbrella on my head like that. it wouldn't be as good as that actually. mr. rockier? >> i'm not going to go there. let's check out your weather and see what's happening, we'll show you, we have got a tale of two lows, one over the northeast, that's bringing more rain into new england, that's going to be wrapping around into ohio, we're basically looking at the heaviest rain in the northeast and into new england. and then out west, we have got another low over

right from al's mouth to view of oakland, clear skies and no showers around the bay area right now. you can see on the radar, moisture towards the south. we have widely scattered showers across the north bay. for the afternoon, temperatures in the upper 60s to mid-70s. and then we will have a few scattered showers, and then tomorrow we're clearing and breezy and then we warm up for the weekend. >> time for "today's" money 911 where we answer some of your most pressing financial concerns, from digging out of debt if you have lost your job to getting college loans. we have got jean chatzky.

and carmen wong. let's get started. we have patricia right now, she's joining us via skype from california. good morning, patricia. . >> good morning. my question is i'm finally in a position where i can finally pay off my debt. i have federal and private student loans, credit card debt, department store cards, a prepossessed car. and i'm wondering what affects my credit the most. >> what are we talking the most all tote until. >> and patricia, you're late on all of these things. >> i'm definitely late on all of these things. >> where should she s.t.a.r.t.? >> the thing that could actually affect your life are those student loans because student loan lenders have the ability to

garnish your wages. so before you go and start paying money to all of these lenders, i would make some phone calls and talk to your creditors and see if you can cut deals to lower the amount that you can actually owe themover call. because you're -- pick up the phone, see if you can negotiate. this is what debt settlement companies do, but you can certainly do it for yourself and it may save you a lot of money over the long-term. and you should finally also know that these things are not going to come off your credit report immediately, it's going to take seven years for them to roll off, although your credit score will get better in the next couple of years as long as you start paying. >> good luck, patricia, thank you for calling. we got an e-mail from anonymous viewer. my husband and i are buried under at least 30,000 in credit card debt. last january we decided to stop using the cards and pay them off. we are making payments every

month that are as much over the minimum payment as we can manage. would it be foolish to use our home equity to pay off your debt? this massive credit card debt is crushing them. how do they get a handle on this? >> the key question is should in my opinion absolutely not. if i was going to sit here and say five financial principles in life one of them would be do not pull equity out to pay off your credit cards. they dona't change their spendig habits. what should shea do? they should go and negotiate with their credit card companies to lower the interest rates. >> it's very hard to do that directly so. what they should investigate is what's called a debt management plan, they need to go speak with a nonprofit credit counseling group. they can reach out to an organization like nfcc.org.

that organization will refer them to a nonprofit consumer credit counselor. they can get their rates lowered to below 10%. all their payments, even though they're making a little bit extra, it's all going to interest. that's why they're not seeing the debt really decrease each month. >> it's an important distinction between what david was saying and what i was saying, when you're already late, they will negotiate with you, when you're not late as this anonymous letter writer is and that's when a debt management program can actually step in and help because her credit rating -- >> you're in better shape. >> i you're not late because your credit rating is not shot. >> this is from wayne in wilmington, north carolina, he writes recently both of my parents passed away due to hard attacks six weeks apart. they purchased their burial plots many years ago but their caskets and services were a staggering $8,800 each.

are funeral costs negotiatable? >> you did a good thing by writing in and putting some attention on this. yes, a lot of funeral costs are negotiable. go to ftc.gov and put in the search bar funeral. they have a fantastic consumer guy that shows you all the rights, all the different things you can do, for example you don't have to buy the casket from a funeral home. you can buy a casket from costco. so you can save money there, if you don't have an open casket, you don't have to embalm. that's another $1,000 there. you can also have a funeral in your home. and of course you could be like more than 40% of americans say go with cremation which is a 10th of the cost of a full funeral. >> allie, good morning, what's your question. >> good morning, thank you for taking my phone call. i'm currently unemployed and

looking to go back to college. but i can't get fafsa to help me out because i'm in default. what are my options? >> my student loans. >> you can't borrow when you're already defaulted on your student loans, you can't get other federal loans what, you have to do is figure out some way to make six months of consecutive payments on the loans you already have, and then you'll be able to go ahead and borrow some more. >> all right, guys, thank you so much. appreciate it. je jean. if you have urgent money matters and need answers right now, david bach is going to be sticking around for the next hour to give you advice live todayshow.com. there you go. log on to todayshow.com. and coming up next, five ways to keep the common cold at bay, and later, oksana speaks out for the first time aut her volatile

relationship with mel gibson, we'll find out what she had to say but first these messages. ♪ [an male nouncer ] every day thousands of people are switching from tylenol to advil. to learn more go to takeadvil.com. the first 500,000 people get a free bottle of advil. take action. take advil. calming. tranquil like the sky. but look within and you will find exploding baked chocolate indulgence. coated with sinfulness. oozing with decadence. ooo! observe the dainty birds and tiny curly cues. but look within you will find primal forces of chocolate. instantly satisfying every iota of yearning. new pillsbury sweet moments, brownie bites and bowls. in the refrigerated section.

get 50-60% off coats for the family. and now 20% off all craftsman power lawn and garden and outdoor storage. plus get $70 cash back after mail-in rebate when you buy 4 michelin tires. sears

discover customersl are getting five percent cashback bonus at restaurants. it pays to switch, it pays to discover. 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.

this morning, five days to fight off a cold. women typically have stronger immune systems than men but still get hit with an average of three colds per year. but there are ways to build up your natural defenses. an internist and contributor women's health magazine. >> could have used this advice a few days ago before i got this cold, but at least it's one of my three of the season. but what are some natural ways that you can stave off a cold? >> we looked a the study that you mentioned that women have stronger immune systems yet they

still get three colds per year, and yet it's well known that washing your hands or using hand sanitizers are a great first line of defense. we at women's wealth decided to explore other options to build your defenses. >> one of the things you recommend adding to your daily diet is a probiotic. >> it does help fend of a cold and flu. it increases the anti-bodes and third it increases you're your t cell count which is the white blood cells that fight infection. and they're very safe, they're found in foods like yoga. i would recommend that you eat a yogurt a day or take culturelle

daily. >> you can just do one tablet a day of the culturelle or one yogurt a day is sufficient. >> boost your vitamin d levels. we always hear about vitamin c being a good cold fighter, but why vitamin d? >> vitamin d is most commonly known for protecting your bones. it produces a substance known to fight viruses. people that were deficient in vitamin d actually got respiratory infections 36% more of the time than people who were low and people who had ample levels actually got better more quickly. >> and vitamin d is actually better when we're exposing ourselves to sunlight. what are some other ways? food you can get your vitamin d

in food as well. >> in supments and dairy products. but what i recommend especially in winter months when it's not as sunny, to take a supplement of vitamin d, 1,000 units a day is the recommended daily allowance. especially in the winter, everyone should take that once a day. >> get a massage. that's a tip we all need every now and again. >> absolutely. >> this helps not only make us kneel better now, but it helps boost your immune system, is that light? >> generally when people are stressed they release a hormone called cortisol. and cortisol weakens our immune system. so go for it, get a massage, but if it is -- some people it's a little costly, it is time consuming, so another option for you, you can get one of those foam rollers and put it under

your muscles and roll up and down on it. that has the same affect. >> does your body good. you're worth it. go for it. we also hear orange juice is good for you, but another beverage you should be drinking more of is green tea. >> switch your latte with green tea. it's loaded to anti-oxants, it's been found to increase your t cell count just like we talked about with the probiotics. these are the white cells that fight infection. >> and also lastly you say socialize with your friends, so how does face time or clocking in with your friends actually help you feel better overall? >> people with a wide diverse social network tend to get colds less frequently. it was found that people that were socially isolated and lonely actually are more prone to getting sick. and it's also thought to be due

to this stress hormone cortisol that we talked about with massages, cortisol is found to be higher in people who are lonely and that weakens their immune system, go out there, talk to people, be socially engaging and you'll lower your stress levels and hopefully get sick less often. >> just don't shake too many hands or use purelle. coming up next, mel gibson's ex tells her side of the story in their bitter custody fight. we'll have more on that coming up after these messages. copd makes it hard for me to breathe. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now, i can join the fun and games with my grandchildren. great news! for people with copd, including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both, advair helps significantly improve lung function.

while nothing can reverse copd, advair is different from most other copd medications because it contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help you breathe better. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. i had fun today, grandpa. you and me both. if copd is still making it hard to breathe, ask your doctor if including advair will help improve your lung function for better breathing. get your first full prescription free and save on refills. - hello! - ha! why don't you try a home cooked meal... with yummy hamburger helper? oh! tada! fantastically tasty, huh? ummm, it's good. what would you guys like? hamburger helper. what?! one pound... one pan... one tasty meal! new revlon growluscious mascara.

helps lashes grow stronger. with a unique formula that complements my lashes' natural growth cycle. 96% saw instantly longer lashes. this is the start of something big. new revlon growluscious mascara. ♪ 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, apple jacks and corn pops 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, apple jacks and corn pops, an oh-so-good source of fiber. kellogg's® makes fiber fun.

over the past few months a volatile relationship between mel gibson an his ex-girlfriend has played out like a hollywood drama with questions over who really released those infamous phone conversations to the public. >> oksana is speaking out telling her side of the story in an exclusive interview with "people" magazine. she tells people she was scared for her life and denies leaking those recordings. >> there's two incidents that she talks about the one on january 6 where mel allegedly punched oksana and apparently grazed the chin of the baby as well. and on october 18, when all those angry phone call messages were recorded. >> at one point she says that mel grabbed the baby and said

take her or else i may hurt her. which is really, you know, obviously, we don't know his side of the story here because he's denied that this actually took place. >> and when we hear those tapes that she says she didn't leak, where did they come from? >> she says her sister didn't leak them because she said her sister did have them but deleted them. some had to leak them. >> most people think was he drunk or whatever and she says in her interview she has never seen him drunk. >> and we all know he has a history of that and has very much an addictive personality. it's just real sad. i think most telling is that at the end, she said for the sake of lucia i -- maybe god will forgive him. maybe his daughter will forgive him, maybe we'll all forgive him. sounds like she wants to forgive

him and include him still in her life in some way. >> hopefully this will all work out because at the end of the day, there's a child involved. e> tav lot more to come on "today" but fist your local news and your weather. for 25,000 miles. it was always... [ laughing ] that seat's not happening without a big miles upcharge. a miles upcharge wasn't part of the deal. was i supposed to go without my wife? [ elevator bell dings ] [ grunting ] haha, that was awkward. so we upgraded to the venture card from capital one. we've had it with the games. [ male announcer ] don't pay miles upcharges. don't play games. get the flight you want with the venture card at capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? colace capsules stool softener helps ease straining to make going easier. try colace capsules for effective comfortable relief from occasional constipation. find the relief that's right for you and get a $10 rebate at getconstipationrelief.com. but i've got a warm, fresh baked strawberry toaster strudel. see the difference?

mmmm. i do. (announcer) pillsbury toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat. good morning. the time is 9:26. we are checking in with mike for the traffic. >> yeah, the bay bridge toll plaza is without any major issues. slow coming from richmond. and let me show you the maps we're talking about. not a big deal, and things are moving smoothly out of richmond, and hercules, not so bad overall. and there are your travel times. yellow, green, and what do we have on the thermometer? >> 40s and 50s earlier, and now

showers, green on my map. south of gilroy mainly. this is where the action will be today. the area of low pressure is rotating around and pinwheeling around the bay area. and then you will see probably a few pop up showers as we head through the afternoon. tomorrow, everything clears out. breezy and cool for thursday, and then warm up nicely for the weekend. more news after the break.

the man accused of running over a fremont police officer is in custody. 25-year-old diaz was arrested just after midnight. he has been booked in an east los angeles county jail. investigators think diaz hit the motorcycle officer while driving a stolen van on monday. the officer was a 10-year veteran of the police department, and he suffered a broken leg but is expected to be

released from the hospital later in the week. diaz accelerated towards the officer pinning him under the van and ran off. and then you could see more officers on the street. the department of justice is offering san jose a grant to be used to hire 16 more officers. those laid off are eligible for the money. the city would have to promise to pay for a fourth year of employment. san jose has 90 days to accept the grant. more local news coming up in half an hour. the "today" show returns in less than a minute. see you back here in a bit. [ whitman ] they say california can't be governed anymore. i say baloney. this state belongs to all of us. we just have to decide we want to change. i know government isn't a business and it shouldn't be, but the same values of accountability and focus that make california businesses among the best in the world

could do a lot to fix sacramento. i'm on a mission to create more jobs, stop wasteful spending, and improve our schools. let's get to work. ♪ ♪ i know where i'm going and i know what to do ♪ ♪ i got a new attitude >> that of course is patty labelle with one of her signature songs new attitude and she will being here tomorrow along with the likes of bill cosby and some other famous faces about a new program on reading. coming up in this half hour, keeping your space safe. do you know that each year 20

million americans are injured at home from ladders to candles and medications. we're going to show you what you can do to protect your family from every day risks. >> if you want to start a discussion or a fight in any bar or any town, just ask who the best baseball player is of all time. our friend len berman is here with his top picks. >> he actually had a blue ribbon commission. >> he's got a panel. >> a panel for picks. >> that's going to start a big fight. and in "today's" kitchen, where's the beef. we got a new take on a classic comfort food, beef stroke november. but we're using chicken instead. first you got a check of the weather for us. >> absolutely, let's show you what's happening for today. we have got more heavy rain in the east. plenty of sunshine in the

northwest through the great lakes and the gulf coast. tomorrow the rain moves into northern -- extreme northern parts of new england. wet weather in the p pretty nice start to the day around oakland right now. there is a lot of rain to the south, mainly south and east of monterey. hit and miss showers across the far north bay this morning. this afternoon with the heating of the day and the cool unstable air, you will probably see a few more showers popping up. and looking at 60s elsewhere today. tomorrow, the showers will head and the temperatures will warm up into the 80s and dry weather for the weekend. >> and that's your latest re weather. coming up next, protecting yourself in your home by securing your pace. that's right after this. now, in addition to the taste and nutrition you and your family love, eggland's best will proudly be displaying its support

for susan g. komen for the cure®, the world's largest breast cancer organization, in its promise to end breast cancer forever. eggland's best. better taste. better nutrition. and a greater commitment to what matters. because part of being the best is doing good. ♪ get 50-60% off coats for the family. and now 20% off all craftsman power lawn and garden and outdoor storage. plus get $70 cash back after mail-in rebate when you buy 4 michelin tires. sears let's raise a glass to cookies just out of the oven. to the morning bowl of cereal. and to lactaid® milk. easy to digest and with all the calcium

and vitamin d of regular milk. [ female announcer ] lactaid®. the original lactose-free milk. they believe with olay you can challenge what's possible and gave us their good housekeeping seal. for smooth, firm, younger looking skin shape up in the shower with olay total effects body wash. have got such a might crunch they'll surely get us saved. [ crunch ] look, it's a rescue helicopter.

[ helicopter noise ] [ crunch ] [ grunting ] [ helicopter departs ] [ birds chirping ] [ male announcer ] introducing new wheat thins crunch stix. activia is better than ever! [ birds chirping ] hey, you guys. want to try activia's great new taste? isn't this the yogurt that, you know... helps regulate your digestive system. ooh, i think i'll pass. no, no, no! trust me. it is beyond tasty. mmm! wow! i can't believe it, i love it! mmm, this is really good! new best tasting activia ever! ♪ activia now you can join the fight against breast cancer every time you enjoy an activia. give hope with every cup of activia.

from falls to fires and poisonings, nearly 20 million americans seek medical attention from injuries they suffer at home. but these home hazards are preventable by making some simple changes. lauren, good morning. you say there are three major hazards in your home. what are they? >> fires, falls and accidental drug poisonings. >> and they could be generally prevented these hazards with some minor adjustments in the

home and not a lot of expense? >> it's very easy to do to make sure that you and your family stay safe. >> let's talk first about home fires and burns. and one thing you've got to do is make sure that your smoke alarms work and they're up to date. >> you want to test them once a month, replace the batteries once a year. what's really surprising is that you should replace the system entirely every ten years. and these newest models are wireless and interconnected. >> why is that so important? >> when one goes off they all go off. that's especially important in multi-story homes. >> if the fire is starting in the basement, you're not even aware of it. >> when you're worried about being a heavy sleeper, you may not wake up. you have bedrooms on different floors, this will make sure you hear it no matter what? >> and these are carbon monoxide detectors as well? >> that's right. >> and candles that look so beautiful and romantic, but you

say it's a real hazard in the home. >> candles cause over 15,000 home fires every year which is not a small number a great alternative is these battery operated flameless candles. they look great and they're not expensive and you don't have to worry about running out of the room for a second or kids or dogs. >> not quite as romantic, but they'll work. >> especially in a jack-o-lantern. >> especially for people as you get older too, major concerns for them. >> people of all ages experience falls, more than 1 million over age 25 every year. >> i have actually done this, where you're carrying the laundry up or down the stairs and you kind of slip and fall. so one of the things to do is you want a good hamper, a good laundry basket. >> downsizing your laundry basket. you want to make sure that

you're not carrying this huge basket. if you can't see your feet, it's more of a recipe for disaster when you're going up and down stairs. >> if you can't see your feet, great. another thing is ladders. ladders are a huge problem. a lot of people have accidents on ladders. so what are the right ways to really get on a ladder and make sure that, whether you're unscrewing a light bulb or whatever you're not going to injure yourself. >> you never want to use the top two wrungs of the ladder. if you find yourself wanting to get up here, you need a taller ladder or a taller person. you need two feet and one hand to make sure that you're as balanced as possible. >> okay, medication errors, serious issue for a lot of people as well. so how can we make sure that people are taking their medication the right way? >> accidental drug poisonings send 2,000 people to the

emergency room every day, so this is not a small issue. the first thing you want to do is you want to do this tonight, whether they're prescription, over the counter, supplements, vid minutes. you want to check and make sure that these drugs are not interacting. >> and you also say you can call your poison control center if you can't get face time with your doctor. >> say it's late at night and you want to take a decongestant for something but you're not sure if it's going to interact with the prescriptions you're taking, you can't call the doctor, you can't call your pharmacist, the poison control center is a great resource. >> and you say keep tabs on things that contain acetaminoph acetaminophen. >> it's safe, but it's in a number of drugs so you have to be careful that you don't overdose. it's not just in tylenol, but

it's in multisymptom cold and pain relievers and vicodin and percocet. coming up next from ruth to rodriguez, the best baseball players of all time and then a little bit later, a new take on beef stroganoff. but first these messages. for a. then we made lunch for the neighbors. thousands of turkey burgers on us. to show people there's a burger that's as lean as it is delicious. it's really good. he loves the turkey burgers. if i can give her something that's good for her and lean, i'd totally make this for her. ancr: make the switch. look for jennie-o at a store near you. have you tried honey bunches of oats with real strawberries? wow. it's seriously strawberry. they're everywhere. it's in the bunches, on the flakes, even real strawberries in the mix. can i have some more? honey bunches of oats with real strawberries. it's delicious. nobody does it quite like us.

does it feel like home, yet? we'll take care of that. ♪ feels like home [ dad ] good morning. [ male announcer ] grands! biscuits. now we're home. [ male announcer ] it's just not home without 'em. and these are the ones you'll love on a tuesday. pillsbury crescent dogs, with just a few ingredients, you have an easy to make dinner. they're crescents for the other 364. try them tonight.

they're crescents for the other 364. 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. ♪ now the healing power of touch just got more powerful. introducing precise from the makers of tylenol. precise pain relieving cream works quickly

to activate sensory receptors. it helps block pain signals fast for relief you can feel precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol. it's an age old argument, who are the greatest baseball players of all time? an award winning sportscaster wants to end that debate. >> it's called the 25 greatest baseball players of all time.

len is here to tell us who made the roster. you didn't personally pick because you had a hard time narrowing down your choices. >> i did, i scribbled out all the famous names and i was well north of 30. i said okay, punt, can you do that in baseball? bunt. so i sacrificed. i came up with a blue ribbon panel. i have journalists, former players, front office workers and they voted. so blame them. >> do you agree with most? >> well the two that just -- first i was surprised that yogi berra didn't take it. >> that's what's more interesting who didn't make it, sandy koufax. >> do you have to tell everyone? don't buy the book because clemente is not in here. you go around promoting your book and i spend most of the time defending what's not in the book. and koufax, that story, the

panel felt he just didn't have a long enough career. >> you didn't rank the players, but you would you consider babe ruth the best of all time. >> he had his first world series start in 1916. the lastest complete game in world series history. >> speaking of that, the only active player to make your 25 is alex rodriguez. >> controversial. >> very controversial. >> how do explain to kids in the book that he did admit to taking performance-enhancing drugs and people thought he cheated. i think the panel felt that his talents rose to the level that it didn't matter what he did. they penalized people like barry bonds because thfor taking ster. >> pete rose, he's not in the hall of fame, not at

cooperstown, but he's in your book. >> i agree with that one, i have always been a pete rose fan. nobody's gotten more hits than he. i'm sure there are a lot of bad guys in the halls of fame all over the place. i leave the moral judgments for the higher authority. >> you have a perm favorite, mickey mantle? >> the mick. >> i got to know his family and i still talk to his son. i later read that he only answered fan mail from young women. i have no idea why. so i said to the mick, you answered my autograph request. he says, yeah you must write like a girl. my hero. mickey mantle. >> how many of the other top 25 have you met? >> i have met 13. i would love to meet stan musial. i have met 13, but that's

amazing. i have met some in the past like joe dimaggio. >> in the meantime you guys have set up a great website which is entertaining and an online college. >> i send out a free daily e-mail. i all it len's top five. >> it's that easy, that's sports.com. i mix in a few spanning world highlights. so i had fun with it. >> what you're also now having fun with, you're now a granddad? >> thank you very much. a shout out to eli. >> he was one week old and he got an autographed picture from eli manning. >> eli to eli. >> it's fun stuff and i hope he likes the book. >> this is great, by the way for all ages, right? >> especially for kids, if you want to learn about the history of baseball. the 25 greatest baseball players of all time. coming up next, in "today's" kitchen, a hot chef

[ female announcer ] this is a strawberry pop tart. but this is warm, fresh-baked strawberry toaster strudel. [ music ] see the difference? pillsbury toaster strudel, the one kids want to eat. does it feel like home, day yet? in our new house! we'll take care of that. ♪ feels like home ng. [ male announcer ] grands! biscuits. now we're home. [ male announcer ] it's just not home without 'em.

as governor, he balanced budgets without raising taxes. and california created 1.9 million jobs. as attorney general, jerry brown took on wall street banks, mortgage scammers and public officials stealing from taxpayers. at this stage in his life, jerry brown has the independence to make the tough decisions california needs. as governor i'll cap government salaries and pensions. on the budget, we have to face reality. make do with what we have. and no taxes without voter approval. jerry brown, knowledge and know-how we can trust.

this morning in "today's" kitchen, a new take on the classic dish, beef stroganoff. how it can be just as delicious, a little bit better for you using chicken in stead. what was the inpicture ration for this? >> my new book is really about twisting classics. i'm all about twisting classics, really making them something that's healthy, you know, quicker, easier. but also -- >> and this is a little more economical. >> a little bit more budget friendly, but also looking at, you know, what is is it, we're getting into the fall, we're starting to cool down, we got to warm up some with these dishes and this is all about comfort

food. >> you're using chicken thighs here. >> i'm using chicken thighs. everybody goes straight for the chicken breast, again they're budget friendly and there's a lot of flavor. you dice them up into small bite sized pieces. you cook it up, brown it really nicely and then take a mosala. deglaze it. get all this really good stuff off the bottom of the pan is what deglazing is, and then adding in some chicken stock. add in some chicken stock, let that reduce, and then i whisk in a little bit of dejohn miscard there. a little acid flavor, a little bit of braun aniness. and fresh teragon. so then you move down, and what i do is i take everything out of the pan, i've got the chicken

here, let my sauce start reducing, so you get this nice syrupy texture to it. then i'm going to add in a light sour cream. you can use light sour cream, and i know you like to eat healthy. >> i like to eat unhealthy, too. but if you can alternate them. there's nothing wrong with that. now you've got a nice creamy sauce. >> a nice creamy sauce and i'm going to add my chicken and my shallots too. you want those pan juices in there. you simmer five, ten minutes and you're ready to go. you can serve it on rice or brown rice if you want to get even healthier, but i like the classic egg noodle. there's nothing like serving it on the egg noodle. >> you should have a spoon that has a bottom on it. >> there you go, you help me out there. perfect.

that's amazing. >> that looks like perfect food for a cold, right? >> it is. >> it's like chicken noodle soup without the soup. >> you put mushrooms in your stroganoff. >> it is classic to have a little mushroom in your stroganoff, but this one i added a little lightness. >> you just want that sauce. al's all about the sauce. good thing i used light sour cream. >> very good. and this is fantastic, again, fall is coming around and it's all about comfort foods, all about yummy dishes, but we also don't want to hibernate and bulk up. >> coming up, oscar winner here ahere --

sweet n' sour filled twizzlers. the twist you can't resist. as a prosecutor,

you never forget the cases where children are hurt. they stay with you. i'm kamala harris, and it's why i started san francisco's first child assault unit and wrote laws increasing prison time for child sexual abuse. and when i found out that nearly every young person killed was a high school dropout, i started prosecuting parents who let their children skip school. truancy dropped 30%. as attorney general, i can do this for all of california. it's time to look at the morning

commute with mike. >> more accidents. the accident is staking around for over half an hour. and a new accident at camdon. and then around the 87, the big slowing again there and northbound 101 sticking around. and then the rest of the traffic moving smoothly here as well as on the golden gate bridge. brighter than half an hour ago. yeah, sunshine around the bay area. the central coast seeing showers and intense rain, and tornado-producing thunderstorms across arizona this morning. this is part of the same system, an upper level low. and school temperatures, 60s to mid-70s today, and then tomorrow the showers are gone and then we cool for the weekend. the man accused of abducting

a 8-year-old fresno girl is now in jail. 24-year-old gonzales is now in jail. a good samaritan recognized the track after news coverage and an amber alert. gonzales pushed the girl out of the truck allegedly. and then a hazing incident in martinez. a freshman football player was tied up and punched repeatedly by the teammates. school officials want to make clear this is not tolerated. six students were kicked off the football team.

the "today" show returns in about a minute. have a great morning. [ whitman ] they say california can't be governed anymore. i say baloney. this state belongs to all of us. we just have to decide we want to change. i know government isn't a business and it shouldn't be, but the same values of accountability and focus that make california businesses among the best in the world

could do a lot to fix sacramento. i'm on a mission to create more jobs, stop wasteful spending, and improve our schools. let's get to work. ♪ 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. hello, everybody. it is winday. you made it halfway flew the work week. hoda, you look gorgeous today. >> so do you. >> you have the new dress and new earrings. what's going on? >> it's wines day, and we have a special glass of wine for both of us. this is particular my from alma mater virginia tech. >> i didn't know they had a

vineyard. >> naethat's just mean. >> it's called the hokey bird white wine. >> skii asked you what a hokey . >> a hokey is -- i hope i'm right. it's a castrated turkey. >> that is your school mascot? >> yes, it is, okay? >> out of all the things to pick -- >> everybody has their own -- >> the turkey alone is bad enough, but a castrated one? you just got to love them. >> let's see if we like it. >> it's not bad for a castrated turkey. >> 12 bucks a bottle. >> the price is certainly right. >> it's delicious. >> we'll contribute to the scholarship fund. we have to talk about lisa, first. >> we made news yesterday. we didn't make news. >> we just show up. >> lisa rinna and harry hamlin showed up. they sat down and as we were about to start the interview

harry's phone rank -- >> it was a confirmation a robbery had taken place in their story. >> it turned out $10,000 worth of stuff was stolen from their store. >> you had one sip. how bad can it be? >> it all unfolded on our show, which seemed interesting. >> our clothing store is being robbed as we speak. >> what? in the valley? >> you're not kidding -- >> i'm getting the call right now, which is go to tell me what's going on. >> let's tell everyone on tv land. >> is it the first one. >> the store is being robbed. >> it is seriously being robbed? >> it's 7:15 in l.a. and someone is robbing the store. >> what did they say? >> yeah, that happened yesterday. never a dull moment. it was bizarre. >> well the interesting thing is

it got traction on all these different shows. it's funny because that happened here. i thought oh, that happened. opened up the paper this morning, and it was on page 6. it was on all the shows last night. >> the minute we left doing our show i went downstairs, and there it was with billy bush and that darling kit. i like her. >> she's adorable. >> that was their lead story, too. you're saying it it just made news. >> it made big news, but that's what happens on our show. >> it was a robbery and it was terrible, but nobody was hurt. it's not a huge deal, right? >> i was surprised all that happened on our show right there. >> we've had weirder things. remember when gene simmons' mother called him? any bring their cell phones with them and think they turned them off. we're going to cover that today. there's something at the "post"

today about how technology is taking over every aspect of our lives now. not always in a wonderful way. >> if you've been on a date with a friend, whatever, at a restaurant, and the person lays out their cell phone or blackberry as if it's a third party at the table -- >> it's the uninvited guest. they're inviting them. >> when the phone rings, it's so weird. i find this odd. the blackberry takes precedence to the person sitting, always. that happens not only when you're eating, but when we've all waited in a long line and you get your turn at the counter to buy clothes or food or whatever, and the phone rings at the counter. the person at the counter tells you you wait a minute, let me get this call. they take the call, you're standing there and get frustrated because you're thinking i could have called, but i showed up. i want to be helped next. i think it's weird how the phone, blackberry, and that you will stuff -- you don't pick up your phone. you rarely do when we have dinner. >> i sometimes forget to turn it

off, which is always embarrassing. like today, cassidy is homesick. i got my phone on and i had it on yesterday and i had to leave a lovely baby shower yesterday because there's something called priorities in life and nothing is more important to me than my kids. >> it's interesting to watch a couple sitting at a table and each one is there on the phone or on the blackberry. >> yeah, yeah. open relationship. >> yeah, who knows. i have a very dear friend, but it really did put a lot of pressure on our relationship. we tried for a year to get together, a year to get together. we finally were able to because we travel light, and we are sitting there and she was on her blackberry the entire time. i just thought i didn't wait a year to sit and watch you talk to somebody else. >> when we're on the show together and i've learned this, you have to be here, present on the show. or not thinking about something else. when you're on your phone call,

you should be on the phone call. when you're at an event, you should be at the event. the worst thing in the world is being somewhere, but your mind being somewhere else. >> people don't realize how loud their speaking, how loudly they're speaking. >> they're so annoying. walking down the street -- >> because i said so! >> you hear so many arguments, yelling and screaming. this is the other thing cell phones have done. this is also in the paper. it makes it so people show up to things later because they can call or text and say hey, five more minutes. i'm sorry. ion running late. they get later and later. >> there's a wonderful new show on broad way called did the lombardi. every time in our life is it's lombardi time. that's you're ten minutes early or you're late. it's not a bad way -- it does leave a little wiggle room in case something happens. i had a friend years ago that would show up late every single week.

my daddy said you leave her once, she'll never be late again. we left without her one time, and she was never late again. >> we're both freakishly early. when the party starts at 6:00, we're there at 6:00. >> it's rude. you're saying you're more important than somebody else. if you're consistently late you're saying my plif and choices are more important than you. >> i had a friend i met for lunch and she said she was 15 minutes late. she said there was a problem with the subway. we metaphor a dinner and she was 35 minutes later and she said it was the traffic. a third time it was another thing and another thing. i did something i don't usually do. usually i don't speak up unless it's really offensive. in this case i said this isn't a great thing, and i don't know you that well. imagine the people really in your life who are important. >> again, being honest with one another always in any

relationship is the most important thing, and that leads us to this. this was unbelievable. >> what? >> there was this husband and wife, and i -- frank showed me this, and i love ittd it. this is something he showed me. it's like a joke. we went to the county farm shows, and one of the first exhibits we stopped at was the breeding bulls. the sign attached said this bull mated 50 times last year. my wife playfully nudged me and said he mated 50 times last year, that's almost once a week. the second pen said this bull made it 150 times last year. my wife gave me a healthy jab and said that's moerp twice a week. you can learn a lot from him. we walked to the third pen and it had a sign that said in capital letters this bull mated 365 times last year. my wife was so excited that she nearly broke my elbow and ribs and said that's once a day. you could really learn something from this one. i looked at her and said go over

and ask him if it was with the same old cow. i don't remember what happened later, and we couldn't show it because it's a pictures of a guy who is beaten to a pulp. they say i will recover eventually. >> that was a good one. we can send them around on e-mail. >> some of them are so dirty you can't, but that was cute. >> i like that one. i hate when people forward me things not like that one, because that's funny, but ones that aren't funny and clog up your mailbox or please forward it to ten people or -- i hate that. because you feel like if you don't forward it -- >> if you break the chain, you're going to die. >> it's terrible and frightening. i don't like getting that stuff. did you watch "dancing with the stars" last snit. >> no, i was watching "glee." >> those are huge notes.

margaret cho got voted off. >> she's a standup comedian. very funny. it's between her and bristol. >> that means they were scoring the lowest. it could have been either one of them. >> the real highlight was that michael bolten came back to the show after his little skirmish with one of the judges. >> he couldn't perform, so he nicely stepped in. >> let's listen to him sing. [ ♪ hallelujah ♪ hallelujah >> beautiful voice. i'm sorry. i don't care. i like it. >> then our friend tom bergeron thanked him by saying michael's tour resumes tomorrow night in altoona, iowa. not that there's anything wrong with altoona, iowa. >> that's where his tour

resumed. >> that hurt his feelings again. >> here's what i think. i think michael bolten was like you plug my tour because i'm coming on your show to sing. altoona, iowa, happened to be the next -- >> i've heard of altoona, pennsylvania. >> i've heard of altoona, michigan. is there? i think there is. there is. so you watched another show. >> i watched "glee." i was nervous to watch it. i heard in the papers it was going to be what about sacred and knowing his take auto things, i was hoping it wasn't going to be bad to people of the christian faith. it seems like that's the one area where it's fine to bash christians and i think it's unfair. it's totally wrong and we should not condone it. it started after right away doing that. i went oh, no. i hope ints an hour of that. it was not an hour of that at all.

it was very, very thoughtfully done and the performances were amazing and what you came away with at the very end, if you choose not to believe in god, believe in something in this life. >> i want to hear some of the music they sang. >> kurt, the gay student in the glee club, his father just had a heart attack and is in a coma. he sings this great beatles song for him. ♪ you let me be your man >> beautiful. beautiful. >> obviously, that was a love song originally, but whether somebody takes the lyrics and applies it to a different context, it's moving. lea did an amaze be papa can you hear me from len tell. this young girl sang bridge over

troubled water and it was amazing. ♪ you're like a bridge over troubled waters ♪ >> i could listen all day long to that. >> this show has really touched a nerve, and i'm thrilled with it because it's introducing kids to a whole new world of musical theater, which you know is my passion anyway. >> beautiful. >> i want to give a shout-out. last year i told you about this shaum. it's called the hoda shawl. i don't sew or knit or whatever. another woman named hoda does. i went to my mom at the library of congress. she does the shawl by hand, on her website, everything crafts, she had to stop working. she had to go home and knit. she's been knitting for a year. this is a little shawl that she

does. >> i love the buttons she uses. they come in different colors. >> a portion of the proceeds go to breast cancer. >> it's cozy and adorable. >> you can go to shawlsbyhoda.com. very cozy. >> hello, miss sarah. >> nathere's a lot of discussio about hokies. we may have to look into that. >> i'm going to be in trouble. >> you may be wrong, but the other thing so you never forget altoona, iowa is where my mom's water broke whether she was having me. she was under the bridge. >> it should be famous for that. you never forget where your water breaks. let me tell you. coming up next mira sorvino is here. >> she's in such a moving film. i watched it the other night. it's so powerful. we'll be back right after this. meet connor, he's got the need for speed. yeah!

good thing fisher-price created the smart cycle racer. the more he races, the more he learns. ( boy giggles )

numbers, letters, ( 10, r, s, ) and so much more. ( blue ) plus he can refuel at a learning pit stop. there are plenty of additional ( g, got it ) cartridges with his favorite characters. new smart cycle racer. ( boy giggles ) inspired by a great natural energy source. connor. (applause) yeaaah! only from fisher-price. play. laugh. grow. takes care of 33 loads. tide stain release only handles 11. and clorox 2 gets rid of tough stains right before your eyes. clorox 2. find it next to the clorox bleach. activia is better than ever! right before your eyes. hey, you guys. want to try activia's great new taste? isn't this the yogurt that, you know... helps regulate your digestive system. ooh, i think i'll pass. no, no, no! trust me. it is beyond tasty. mmm! wow! i can't believe it, i love it! mmm, this is really good! new best tasting activia ever! ♪ activia now you can join the fight against breast cancer

every time you enjoy an activia. give hope with every cup of activia. imagine giving birth to a child putting him up for adoption and six years later fighting to get him back from the only family he's known. >> that's the story of dandelion dust. mira plays wendy, the biological mother of joey. >> you just close your eyes, make a wish, and then you blow. >> why do you blow on it? >> because there's a wish inside

here, and when you blow on it, that wish gets set free. >> i loved this movie. here's why i love this movie so much. i don't know if you had a chance to see it, hoda. it presents two sides to the same question. as much as you are ripped to shreds this child might be taken away from the only family it's known, you sympathize with the couple, you and your husband who want your own biological child back and have a chance at it because of some snafu with the law, right? i can see what attracted you to the role. >> you had a choice of roles, the biological mother or adoptive. why did you choose the biological? >> because it was more of a challenge to me. in the beginning of the story wendy is a victim. she's been in aan abusive relationship, her husband played by barry pepper at the very beginning of the movie he broke her arm and she's sent to jail for it.

she finds she's pregnant while he's put way. the only thing she feels she can do to protect him is give him up. in the story when she's given the second chance to get to know her son, it's like a miracle for her. it's a redemocraticive thing. she's weak for herself to be strong for somebody else. although it's a painful journey for her, she ends up with all the power. as a mother originally i related on the adoptive mother. somebody is going to take my child, what do i have to do to keep my child, i'll fight to the death. this woman is a more broken-winged bird i'm playing but has a beautiful soul. people are very moved by this movie. everyone who sees it can't help but be moved. >> my daughter and i washed it together. it's like "sophie's choice." is it getting the attention it deserves? that little boy that plays joey, unbelievable. you want to eat him alive he's

so adorable. >> he's on "brothers and sister" and dennis the menace. he's terrific. >> how old is he? >> he's probably now about 7. the film got a ton of awards in festival, best picture, audience favorite, best actor, best actress, best screenplay. everyone it got amazing awards and got good reviews. it's a grassroots movie. it's word of mouth. you can vote for it to come to your mouth. you can go to the website and say i want this in myrie john, and if enough people want to see it, it will come there. >> there was no big distributor right now for it? >> it's self-distributed. it has distribution. it is across the country, but it will grow by people actually asking for it, which is kind of amazing. >> the american way. let the people decide. >> we have 30 seconds. you wanted to talk about your dad and his -- tell us about it. >> dad has admitted publicly that he has type 2 diabetes and

we're partnering in something called diabetes co-stars. it's an awareness campaign to teach people how to take chrome of their blood sugars. i witnessed my dad go through a very scary moment where he almost fainted in front of me and turned purple and slumped and i didn't know what was happening. i knew nothing about it and didn't know how to help him. this is designed to teach people living with someone with diabetes how to help that person stick to their diet plan, to work with their doctor on treatment. a support team makes all the difference between someone staying healthy and controlling the blood sugar or going off that path and having bad consequences. >> you're doing great work. all the best of the luck. still to come, she turned out to be one of america's most talented entertainers. now beyonce's mom wants to make sure you rock. >> she does. there's a lot going on with my

mom after this. yers biscuits? the warm, light delicate layers are like nothing else. add a layer of excitement to your next meal. ♪ to bring the family together on sunday mornings than with the warmth and aroma of freshly baked pillsbury cinnamon rolls. [ wink! ] [ wink! ] ♪ ncsi1912. this is my dad, joe. he's actually the third generation. i'm fourth, and my son will be the fifth generation on our family farm. you know you think about... the times that you had out here together, something i'll never forget.

♪ [ joey ] this was a lifelong dream, really, for me and our family. ♪ ♪ for me and our family. ♪ ♪ ♪ for me and our family. to stay fit, you might also want to try lifting one of these. a unique sea salt added to over 40 campbell's condensed soups. it helps us reduce sodium, but not flavor. so do a few lifts. campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ 50 on this card, maybe do...

or you can use kmart layaway - with just $5, plus a little down - you spread the payments over eight weeks with no finance charges. you're good! no matter how you do the math - kmart layaway is the easy way to pay. there's smart and there's kmart smart. still to come, beyonce's mom has been dressing her daughter for decades. now it's your turn. who knew when? he has a tv show. go grab them.

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. hey. dinner. [ male announcer ] of all the things that happen on your wooden surfaces, disinfecting has to be one of them. clorox disinfecting wipes. safe on wood. hard on germs.

progresso. oh yes hi. can you please put my grandma on the phone please? thanks. excuse me a sec. another person calling for her grandmother. she thinks it's her soup huh? i'm told she's in the garden picking herbs. she is so cute. okay i'll hold. she's holding. wha? (announcer) progresso. you gotta taste this soup. mike is showing us the commute in the south bay. just a little slowing north as you are approaching san jose international airport. that's where you find the last of the major slowing. and then accidents at santa stressa, and then oakland shows you not a big deal coming up pass the coliseum on the right. and then towards the bay bridge toll plaza, clear over there.

a burst at change. and then you might get more crowded today and through the weekend, and it looks beautiful. >> the weekend forecast looks great. today, not too bad. you can see sacramento into the bay area, not much happening. with the heating and the cool air loft settling, that will be the trigger for isolated showers, especially around the hill tops south of gilroy heading into the afternoon. 60s to mid-70s for the highs, and what is left of the showers tomorrow morning starts to cool out, and then the weekend, 80s inland starting saturday. we will be right back with a look at more news in a couple minutes. ened when i parked near the castle at "medieval knight fest". angry peasants can mess up a car really bad. matt, my mercury agent, helped me file a claim right away. turns out mercury not only saves me money, but they also cover medieval mob damage. they got my car fixed in no time.

call 888-4-mercury or visit mercuryinsurance.com to get a fast free quote and start saving today. er a corporate lawyer for a credit card company fined millions, even deceiving seniors. an executive for predatory lenders, as harmer's bank got billions from the wall street bailout. david harmer -- helping corporations rip people off. a record we can't afford. we need jerry mcnerney, small businessman,

voting against congressional pay increases and refusing to take them, standing up for what's right. i'm jerry mcnerney, and i approved this message. giants heading back to the field getting ready for the braves. zito is not in the giant's rotation. he is going with lincecum and matt cain instead. he has not ruled out of the potential of zito starting the game, but many say it's not likely. tomorrow and friday's game start at 6:30 p.m. in san francisco, and then game time is 1:37. if game four is needed, it will happen. they could be back in san

francisco next week. thank you so muchoroi for joing us. "today" show continues. see you tomorrow morning. timplts. we're back with more of "today," and since it's typically clothing shopping season, we'd talk about the effects some of the styles have on body image. >> skinny jeans may look hot on the runway, but it's quite a different story in your dressing room. here with help is fashion designer tina knowles and leslie goldman. >> hi, ladies. this is fun fov beyonce's mom with us today. >> we love being with her with her last fragrance came out. you can tell her anytime. >> less see, body image affects all of us. we see magazines and look at

ourselves in the mirror and say we don't quite measure up, right? >> when it comes to shopping, we've all had the experience of leaving a clothing store feeling frustrated and angry, whether we're tall and the pants are not long enough and we have a big economist and the button won't but fon. for plus-size women this is a 24/7 experience. you can't find cute, trendy clothing in a up mainstream store that flatters your body and you feel depressed about how you look and resentful. research bears this out. >> you made your own clothes and made a line of xloeting for women we're talking about. >> they go from 0 to 20. >> 0 to 20. >> we'll try. we're going to bring out the first model, cody. tell us about this look, tina. >> that is adorable. >> this look is a nice cotton poplin shirt and it has the ties on the side that adjust.

a nice pencil skirt if you turn around. >> i love that. that is so cute. >> this has stretch in it, too. everything has stretch in you can move in and be comfortable. >> beautiful. all right, cody. thank you. it's affordable stuff. >> very affordable. >> that's amazing. the whole outfit for $30. >> we have dominick and chasity. >> you can tell the different body types. >> this is all different body types. she has it on and it's a modern dress that's very forgiving because it has draping and beautiful fabric and looks amazing on both girls and they're totally different sizes. >> usually a dress works on just certain body types. >> we fit it on every size model. >> thanks. >> they are changing the runways more, aren't they? so they adjust to women of

different sizes, right? >> yes. more and more companies are coming out and honoring these women and recognizing we're not one shape. it's very validating. there's other jeans, pjs by cookie johnson, miss tina that are validating women that they deserve beautiful clothing. >> tell us about these different looks. >> they both look great. these are the skinny leg jeans. the misconception that when they're past 12 and 14 they can't wear skin legs. it's just the contrary. they make it look longer and leaner because they're slim. clean jeans with not a lot of embellishment is better. this is the ruffle sweater. >> it's so cute. >> an easy throw-on for travel and it looks good with a belt. >> tell us about the cost of these? >> the cost of these items is $18. $18 for the jeans and $18 for --

>> they are? >> it's available at walmart. >> everything is under $20 other than two items. >> this is insane. let's bring out the last model. hi, sarah. we have sarah. is there another one? there you are. >> oh, no. >> okay. >> you got to know people, right? >> you rock it beyonce. >> she still does what her mother tells her to do. >> come on over here. come here! great to see you. >> you are awesome! this is such a great surprise. >> i didn't want to. i said mama i'll do anything for you. >> she's my biggest supporter. i was very excited to do this

for her. >> when we were talking to you, you glow so much about your mom. you talk about her nonstop. we love that. >> i love my mom. >> what is the single most important thing she said to you growing up that you'll take with you the rest of your life. >> definitely that beauty fades and you have to be beautiful from within. definitely. >> absolutely. she's been making clothes since you were a little girl, making them for you. >> yes. >> did you always like what she makes? >> always like it. i always loved it. she's so talented, and i'm so happy everyone can see she has her own line, and she's definitely always thinking about everyone and she believes that everyone deserves to look fabulous. so i think it's great that the price point is there. >> remember when designers first came out with darling things for maternity wear? it was the same thing. you can look adorable and sexy when you have more pounds on you. this is the same concept. >> tina, beyonce is on the go nonstop. we see her in a drive-by.

she does an interview and see her on stage. >> one time a year she gets a nice yacht. >> do you worry about the pace. she's going 100 miles per hour. >> i worry about the pace, but she's young and she has a plan. i have to support that. >> has she always been like that since she was a little girl? >> very driven, yes. loving it and being passionate about it. >> a lot of parents probably have a talented daughter and they want to nudge them along. >> no, i didn't push her, but we supported her. >> a child has to want it. it has to be their dream not yours. >> i was the one saying go to the party and have fun. >> you didn't want to go? >> i loved music. now i'm trying to take a break, and you know i can't help it. i just have to go into the studio. >> one last thing you haven't done is got that oscar, right? >> no. not yet. >> i thought cadillac was pretty

amazed. >> we loved it. >> you're hitting a home run. >> we didn't mean to leave you out over there. >> beyonce just dropped in, you know. >> we wish you all the best with the clothing line. what's going on. >> come on in. >> i have a gift for you guys. the skinny jeans. >> how much are they? >> they are $18. >> oh, my gosh, available at walmart. bless you. say hello to your beautiful husband for us. >> thank you. >> thank you, tina. who knew turns into tv trivia. >> it's time to go. [ sighs ] morning! mor-ning? i'm your genie. you're wishing for a deliciously, nutritious fiber cereal.

i am. well, you don't want that one. new kellogg's fiber plus cereal®. the delicious taste of berries, plus yogurty clusters, plus 40% of your daily fiber... plus wait for it... antioxidants! so, two more wishes! mmmm. mmmm. maybe later, then. [ female announcer ] new kellogg's fiber plus cereal®. positively delicious. [ male announcer ] it's outlast lipstain from covergirl. [ drew ] light as air lipwear that does what a lipstick can't. with one sold every 15 seconds, it's the #1 selling lipstain in the u.s. [ male announcer ] outlast lipstain. from easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl. 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. ♪ now the healing power of touch just got more powerful. introducing precise from the makers of tylenol. precise pain relieving heat patch activates sensory receptors. it helps block pain signals for deep penetrating relief you can feel

precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol. precise. how are you getting to a happier place? running there? dancing there? flying there? how about eating soup to get there? delicious campbell's soups fill you with good nutrition, energy, farm-grown ingredients, and can help you keep a healthy weight. helping you get to a happier place. have a nice trip. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

this is a new batch of must-see tv shows on the air. today we'll focus on the famous tv pilots. kathie lee is across the street ready to hand out 1$100 to thos that answer the questions correctly and to those who don't, you know the rest. this is the managing editor of entertainment weekly magazine. we love you here. no crowd before you were here.

huge crowd now. >> they're here for me. i have such a lame segment. >> let's go across the street to kath. >> where are you from? >> muscatine, ohio. >> manhattan. >> check out a clip from this classic sitcom. >> you go and have do make your own -- >> you don't. >> you smash it, you pound it, you fling it up in the air, and then you put your sauce and you get to sprinkle your cheese and then, you slide it it into the oven. >> all righty. it's in the pilot for seinfeld. what was cramer's original nickname. red, kessler, kenny or bart. >> even kessler. >> even though you got it, i'm giving you this. you really, really need to have these cds, okay, for your babies. here you go. >> isn't that sweet. kessler, never heard of that.

>> larry david based the character of cramer on a real guy named kenny cramer that lived in new york, and originally he did not want his name to be used so they called him kessler in the pilot. eventually he changed his mind. it was a good idea because he became famous and the real cramer is a new york celebrity. >> i have six crabby old ladies from north carolina. this is a scene from this cartoon comedy, okay? >> happy, dad? >> yes. >> good. commence shoveling. >> no. we're going to say grace first. >> oh, rub adub dub, face in the grub. >> before the simpsons pilot debuted in 1989, on which show were they featured? anybody know?

>> late night with david letterman? >> no. you crabby old ladies can fight over this, okay? >> you know there's going to be a big fight. so the actual answer is the tracey ullman show. >> remember on the tracey ullman show back in the '80s they did one-minute cartoon every week in the show there was the simpsons. it was very popular, obviously. they got their own show in '89, and it's now the longest-running show in the history of television. a couple of years ago they broke the record set by gun smoke now in its 22nd season. >> amazing. back across to kath. this gentlemen from white is from wisconsin. every episode of gray's anatomy is named after the song. the pilot of the show was named after which beatles song?

that's wrong. you're going to love my way home. you're going to love it. >> the correct answer is, d, a hard day's night. >> these are really hard questions. a lot of the gray's anatomy episode are named after beatles songs, and in the pilot so many actors are not there anymore. katherine heigl went off to become a movie star. washington, i don't know what he's doing these days. t.r. knight is gone, he walked away from $14 million. he has braidway play opening in a couple of weeks. >> back across to kath. >> this is a beautiful family from nova scotia. >> check out this clip from "golden girls."

>> i'm fine. >> i wouldn't have been fine. i don't know what i'd do it charlie paid a visit. >> which of the golden girls was not originally a regular character, rose, sophia, dorothy or blanche. >> sophia. >> you got that one. >> she started off as not one of the originals. >> she was going to be on there occasionally, walk on, say a few funny lines. she was so great as sophia and everybody loved her so much, she became a regular. there was another xhashgt in the pilot who was a housekeeper/cook guy named cocoa. they had to get rid of cocoa to have enough lines for four actresses. as they do on tv shows, actors count their lines. i'm sure they were walking around with calculator. cocoa had to go. they had to give lines to all of them. >> thanks for coming by and seeing us. how to stop breast cancer

from showing up in your future next. funny thing about vegetables... they fill you up without filling you out. yes! v8 juice gives you three of your five daily servings of vegetables. that's what i'm talking about! v8. what's your number? complete bed sets, just $29.99... ...cannon bath towels, $3.99 each! plus, a 4-drawer or lingerie chest in three finishes, only $39.99! when it all comes together... there's smart, and there's kmart smart. with damage protection serum

and dreamed i became a movie star. getting all the starring role hairstyles. cut to reality. [ female announcer ] someone's been doing the herbal... herbal essences. [ female announcer ] someone's been doing the herbal... activia is better than ever! hey, you guys. want to try activia's great new taste? isn't this the yogurt that, you know... helps regulate your digestive system. ooh, i think i'll pass. no, no, no! trust me. it is beyond tasty. mmm! wow! i can't believe it, i love it! mmm, this is really good! new best tasting activia ever! ♪ activia now you can join the fight against breast cancer every time you enjoy an activia. give hope with every cup of activia.

i say baloney. this state belongs to all of us. we just have to decide we want to change. i know government isn't a business and it shouldn't be, but the same values of accountability and focus that make california businesses among the best in the world could do a lot to fix sacramento. i'm on a mission to create more jobs, stop wasteful spending, and improve our schools. let's get to work. ♪

"today's health" is brought to you by dannon, proud to support the fight against breast cancer. time for facts about the breast cancer. the average woman has a 12.6% chance of developing the disease sometime during her lifetime. in this year alone more than 200,000 women were diagnosed with it. >> what can you do to help prevent breast cancer and what should you know? >> a lot of people who have breast cancer didn't have a family history of it it, and i thought it was a big indicators. that's not always the case often? >> it's usually not the case. about 80% of women that get diagnosed with breast cancer come to me and say, how could this happen to me? i don't have a family history of it it. >> is it because they don't know

a relative died from it due to screening, it might be in the family genes. >> the gene factor is a small number of breast cancers. the hereditary breast cancer is a small number. >> everyone is about prevention. they tell you to do the self-exam and we have some props. what's the right way to do a self-exam? people don't necessarily know how to do it correctly. >> it depends on the size of your breasts, right. >> correct. as far as when we're doing a breast self-examination, the most important part which i try to explain to the women is your job isn't to try to detect that you have breast cancer. it's to learn what your breast feels like and see if there's anything that's different. >> this is the tail, the area towards your armpit. there's lots of different

methods and none of them are correct. what i recommend is you go up and down, so check using your fingertips and pressing hard. you do it in the shower or when lying down. you can also think of the breast like a clock and go around. >> if you feel something pretend and hurts, like it feels like it's painful, is that a good sign or a bad sign? >> the answer is it's usually a good sign. you can't reliably say if it hurts then i don't have to worry about it, it's not a big deal. >> it still needs to be checked out. >> any breast lump needs to be checked out. >> a lot of people have fibrous tissue. when should you ring the alarm bells and get checked? >> that's why the breast self-examination helps in that. if you do your breast exams relatively consistently and something feels different, that's the time when you raise the alarms. you bring it and say to your doctor, listen, i've never felt

this before. it's there now and feels different. that's going to put a lot more weight on it. >> get a mammogram after the age of 40. >> thanks so much. we appreciate it. we'll be back with more of "today" on nbc. this flu season, what would you pick for your flu vaccine? a shot in the arm? or a spray in the nose? i pick my nose. i pick my nose. i pick my nose gracefully.

flumist. it's the only flu vaccine that starts fighting the flu in the nose, where you usually catch it. in a study of kids 2 to 5 years of age, flumist cut the risk of getting the flu in half compared to the flu shot. i picked my nose. she said i could. flumist may not protect everyone. flumist is not for people allergic to eggs or other vaccine ingredients or for children and teens taking aspirin or products containing aspirin, or for anyone who's had life-threatening reactions to flu vaccines. health conditions including guillian-barré syndrome, a weakened immune system, diabetes, pregnancy, or heart, kidney, or lung disease may exclude you from getting flumist. your doctor will decide if flumist is right for you. common side effects include runny nose or nasal congestion, sore throat, and fever. talk to your doctor to find out if flumist is right for your family. and visit flumist.com. sure is nice to have a choice. as ceo, she laid off 30,000 workers and shipped jobs to china. china. india. russia. poland. i know precisely why those jobs go.

[ male announcer ] because fiorina shipped them there. to shanghai instead of san jose. bangalore instead of burbank. proudly stamping her products "made in china." 30,000 workers gone while fiorina took $100 million for herself. carly fiorina. outsourcing jobs. out for herself. [ barbara boxer ] i'm barbara boxer, and i approved this message.

a fun day. >> people love the beyonce. michelle wrote in hoda's reaction was priceless. that's exactly how i would wrote. dean wrote shut the funk up! beyonce! >> what is she doing there? that is so amazing. >> i love seeing her and her mom again. it's like she's 12 years old again. they adore each other. both great ladies. >> bill cosby andtomorrow.

>> have an awesome wednesday, everybody. >> have an awesome wednesday, everybody. bye-bye. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com i say baloney. this state belongs to all of us. we just have to decide we want to change. i know government isn't a business and it shouldn't be, but the same values of accountability and focus that make california businesses among the best in the world could do a lot to fix sacramento. i'm on a mission to create more jobs, stop wasteful spending, and improve our schools. let's get to work. ♪ let's get to work. new to medicare? unitedhealthcare medicare solutions

can help give you the answers. call or go to medicaremadeclear.com now. we'll also send this helpful free guide. i'm looking for help paying for my prescriptions. [ male announcer ] that's a part d prescription drug plan. the information's in the guide. is there a plan that lets me choose my own doctor and manage my out-of-pocket costs each month? [ male announcer ] yes. you'll want to learn all about supplemental health insurance. i need something nice and easy. is there a single plan that combines medicare parts a & b with medical and drug coverage? [ male announcer ] you'll find medicare advantage plans can be both easy and affordable. what if i'm on a fixed income? [ male announcer ] if you're on medicaid and medicare, or in a nursing home, you may want information regarding special needs plans. so...have questions about medicare? new to medicare? call or visit us online and get this free guide.