and bills that cost tons. maybe i'll keep it... it adds character... right? [ male announcer ] losing a tooth is a big deal at any age. that's why we offer dental coverage. blue shield. good morning. breaking news. a qantas jet with 459 people on board forced to make an emergency landing after pieces of the engine fell off midair. now the airline is grounding the fleet of the world's largest jetliner as it investigates what happened. fall guy. president obama acknowledges his role in the fallout of the midterm election. >> i'm nod recommending for every future president that they take a shellacking like i did. >> he wants to reconnect with americans but may find it harder now that republicans have control of the house. and brush with death.

a 19-year-old girl attacked by a great white shark. >> i saw inside its mouth. horrifying. >> she survived thanks to a man who decided to grab that shark by the tail. they'll tell us all about the terrifying upclose encounter they'll tell us all about the terrifying upclose encounter today, november 4th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. i'm meredith vieira. >> i'm matt lauer. we want to say right off the bat fortunately no one was injured during that emergency landing of that qantas jet, but when you see pictures like this one we're going to put up of the damaged engine on that jet, you realize that this was a very, very serious situation. >> the plane was an a-380 and qantas has now suspended all of its flights involving the

super jumbo. ahead we'll hear from one of the passengers on the flight. also, a powerful tropical storm, tomas, is expected to cause more problems on haiti which was devastated by the earthquake in january. we'll have the latest on that developing story coming up. plus, on a much different note, new developments tied to charlie sheen's rampage at a new york hotel. the actor has now hired a sober coach to live with him. we'll have details just ahead. let's begin with that breaking news. a qantas jet forced to make an emergency landing. nbc's jim maceda has the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. since its launch in 2005 the r airbus a-380 has been billeds a the greenest as the fastest. for today those hundreds of passengers, it really became a lot less safe. it was the nightmare air

travelers hate to even imagine. minutes after qantas flight qf-32, london to sydney, had taken off from singapore for a refueling stop, a loud bang, then sparks and smoke coming from one of the four rolls-royce engines and pieces of casing, some as big as an exit door, falling from the sky and landing on a small indonesian town where amazingly no one was hurt. the pilot shut down the failed engine and reassured the passenger. >> we have a technical issue with our number two engine. we have dealt with this situation. we are secure at this stage. >> reporter: all 459 people on board landed safely back in singapore. a man sitting over the wing took this photo of the damaged wing. back on the ground he twittered that he thought he'd seen plane parts rip through the wing. >> it's one of those hollywood movie-type moments where you think you're just watching it from the outside, but you're a part of it somehow. >> a big bang and then another

bang and that was it. you know, a bang. >> reporter: officials say there was no explosion, but they've grounded their whole fleet of a-380s pending investigation. qantas admits it's never experienced anything this serious before. qantas will put those passengers another jit and fly them to sydney tomorrow. it's hard to imagine how any of these people will be able to sit back on that flight and enjoy it. >> the former chairman of the national transportation safety board is with us by phone. mark, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> based on what you're hearing and the images we have seen, what do you believe may have happened? >> well there, are too many things that could possibly go wrong for me to pinpoint a specific cause of the accident. the investigators are going to tear down that engine, they're going to look at the parts they can recover, and then they'll be able to get a good idea of what actually happened. >> you know, qantas is saying there was no explosion, and yet

when you hear from the passengers and some eyewitnesses, they said it seemed like there was a blast of sorts. >> this was an uncontained failure which means parts broke somewhere in the airplane potentially and then ripped away part of the external casing, and when that happens, you have some serious, serious problems. >> well, mark, how rare is a problem is that? >> they are extremely rare but when they happen they can cause some severe damage. as you can see, with that casing gone and parts flying all over, it could penetrate the cabin, it could penetrate the wing. >> again, what would cause that, mark? >> oh, a number of things could cause that. a fatigued blade, an actual disk failure. there are lots of parts that are moving in very, very high temperatures, and if one of those break, they could begin to break. as you see like a domino effect. >> airbus, the a-380, they have grounded all of them, qantas, at this point. does that suggest there's a

problem with some other jets? >> not at all. it's a prudent decision to make so you know what you've got. they don't know what they don't know and you certainly don't want to be flying an aircraft where potentially there could be some kind of an issue that could continue to cause things like this. doubt if it's going to happen. these things are extremely rare and we are still reminding ourselves that we are in an era of incredibly safe aviation. we're talking about 2 billion people flying every year, more than 2.5 billion air miles, and they do that safely without incident. once again, redundancies are built into the system and that's why you saw such a safe landing. >> so at no point were they passengers in any real danger? >> after these parts flew and at that point nothing had penetrated the cabin, you needed to get rid of all of your fuel, you needed to shut down that engine, and then, of course, the pilots are trained to do these kinds of things extremely well,

and you saw the plane landed uneventful. >> mark, thank you very much. >> my pleasure. >> it is 7:06. thank you. now to politics and the fallout from the midterm elections. president obama is taking responsibility for the devastating defeat suffered by democrats. will tuesday's results lead to a change in the way he leads the country? chuck todd is nbc's chief white house correspondent and political director. chuck, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. well, the president let it all hang out. he was clearly drained from making all those campaign condolence calls to all those democrats that lost on tuesday, and he even put himself on the couch a bit as he talked publicly about what is a frayed relationship with the american public. >> it feels bad. >> reporter: reflecting on the democrats' business loss at the polls. >> i'm not recommending for every future president they take a shellacking like i did. this is something i think every president needs to go through.

because the responsibilities of this office are so enormous and in the rush of activity, sometimes we lose track of the ways that we connected with folks that got us here in the first place. >> reporter: asked repeatedly what went wrong for democrats, mr. obama accepted some responsibility. >> it underscores for me that i've got to do a better job just like everybody else in washington does. >> reporter: but it was a far different barack obama than the one who was swept into office two years ago with what he felt was a loud mandate from the american people. >> because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to america. >> reporter: the one who got huffy with former rival with john mccain when mccain questioned the health care bill. >> let me just make this point, john, because we're not campaigning anymore. the election is over. >> reporter: throughout the 2008 campaign mr. obama promised

repeatedly he would change the way washington works. >> we have to change washington now. >> reporter: but wednesday a more chastened president obama admitted he had fallen short. >> we were in such a hurry to get things done that we didn't change how things got done. >> reporter: and suggested he was in good company. >> a couple of great communicators, ronald reagan and bill clinton, were standing at this podium two years into their presidency getting very similar questions. >> you can take it from me, washington ain't seen nothing yet. >> the president is relevant here, especially an activist president, and the fact that i am willing to work with the republicans. the question is are they willing to work with me? >> reporter: well, unlike bill clinton, the president clearly feels that he's relevant and frankly john boehner said it very clearly yesterday as well, and so right after the president gets back from india and asia in

the next ten days, he plans on having speaker boehner or speaker-to-be boehner and senate minority leader mitch mcconnell and the democratic leaders over to the white house to begin their new relationship. >> chuck, thanks so much. david gregory is moderator of "meet the press." good morning to you. >> good morning. >> this was a big defeated. this was a real shellacking, but when you watched the press conference yesterday, were you surprised by the president's tone? i mean, he seemed emotionally defeated. >> i was really struck by the extent to which the president seemed to be struggling with all of this and openly struggling with the fact that he doesn't feel he's able to connect with the american people. i mean, can you imagine two years ago the history and the emotion with which he came into office that now he feels that he struggles to avoid being removed from the american people. this is very difficult for any politician, and certainly for a president. i think he showed humility

yesterday, but i think supporters might also ask where was the fight? he is still in control here. he's got the veto pen, and yet yesterday he seemed quite chastened. >> he took responsibility for the loss, and savannah guthrie asked this question of the president at that press conference, said he did not say that his agenda was responsible for the loss. was that a smart course of action in your opinion? >> i think this is a question that savannah asked that's going to hang over the president and his team, do they get it? the american people spoke with a resounding sentiment, which was they want less government, not more. president obama out of necessity responded to a financial crisis with unprecedented government intervention into the economy. he has defended that, but he's not really taken accountability for what the judgment was from the american people as a result. what he said yesterday was the american people don't feel the results, but there is almost a sense of irritation that the

public may be so impatient, that there's instant gratification. remember what he said to jon stewart saying, i would still campaign saying yes, we can, but, and the but is things are not going to change overnight. so it's that impatience that seems to be weighing on him. >> real quick, how does the president pick himself up, dust himself off, and get back at it? >> i think he has got to have a narrow area where he's going to decide where am i going to compromise with republicans? there's got top some give and some shove. the president is going to decide where he's still going to call republicans out on where they're going to make the tough choices and the tough votes because that's where he's going to get his groove back. >> david gregory, also in washington for us this morning. david, thanks as always. >> thanks. it's 12 minutes after the hour. congressional republicans are not wasting time as they prepare to take control of the house. nbc's kelly o'donnell is is on capitol hill with that part of the story. good morning to you. >> reporter: and good morning to you.

republicans are gearing up, and today they're going to tell us more about the transition team they're appointing to help organize all the political and even practical aspects of taking over power. and john boehner is already carrying himself like a speaker in waiting. government under new management. in the weeks ahead, expect to hear a lot of this. >> what we need to do is listen to the american people. >> they want a government that listens to them. >> ready to listen to the american people. >> reporter: power they claim can deliver on big promises. >> creating jobs, cutting spending, and reforming the way congress does its business. >> reporter: a tall order for boehner, who arrived in congress 20 years ago from ohio. with blue collar roots, one of 12 kids growing up. >> i put myself through school working every rotten job there was. >> reporter: getting teary is not unusual for boehner, but now

that will get more notice. >> it gets a little difficult to talk about my background and talk about my family. >> reporter: he may be personally revealing, but expect a dose of caution on the job. >> i think john boehner's first few days he's going to take the doctor's credo, above all do no harm. >> reporter: trying to sound fair and reasonable about things like power to investigate the white house that comes with taking control. >> and i'm not talking about gotcha oversight. i'm talking about rock solid oversight of the executive branch which is a constitutional responsibility of the congress. >> reporter: the future of the present speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, is unclear. she says prayer, family, and fellow democrats will help her decide what to do. >> does she want to be the most important democrat in a house that is going to be controlled by republicans? the minority in the house is not a fun place to be. >> reporter: the future is getting clearer for a few other politicians. colorado's appointed senator democrat michael bennet held off a tea party challenger. >> i'm not going back to

washington to play politics. i'm going back there to fight for more jobs, for better jobs. >> reporter: but in washington state's close senate race, democratic incumbent patty murray and republican dino rossi are still waiting to find out who won. talking with both campaigns, the murray people, the rossi people, both see a path to victory, and why is it taking so long? well, in washington state they do their voting by mail in all but one county. so mail-in ballots are still coming in. hundreds of thousands of them yet to be counted. meredith? >> kelly o'donnell, thank you very much. it is 7:15. let's go out to alaska. incumbent senator lisa murkowski appears to be on track to become only the second person to win a write-in campaign for the u.s. senate. kristin welker sat down with her for an exclusive interview. >> reporter: good morning. the last time someone won a senate seat through a write-in

condition si was 1954 when strom thurmond did it. lisa murkowski likes her chances. >> we roecognize that we are no yet complete with making history, but per poised, and it feels pretty good. >> reporter: republican lisa murkowski may have pulled it off. winning back her senate seat without the support of her own party. she's ready to move forward if she goes back to washington. >> i have to work with people within my own conference that maybe they haven't been too generous or welcoming in my write-in effort, but i still need to work with them. >> reporter: murkowski was stunned this summer when she lost the gop primary to tea party candidate joe miller who had the backing of the state's former governor, sarah palin. >> palin gave her endorsement of miller, and that didn't get miller where he wanted to be. >> reporter: after losing the primary to miller, murkowski decided to run as a write-in

candidate. voters actually had to write her name on the ballot. and to teach people how to spell murkowski, she had to get creative. >> these wrist bands made history for us. >> reporter: but the odds were stacked, and palin made things even tougher. >> i find it shameful that this same person, let's call her the candidate for the entitlement party, okay? can't really find a party, not independent, not republican. >> reporter: you had commented in a recent debate that you would not support her for president. do you stand by that statement? >> yes, yeah. >> reporter: why? >> i'm looking for somebody that has a breadth of experience, not only within government but just truly more a worldly approach, and i don't think that sarah palin has that. >> reporter: for now murkowski is focusing on the impending ballot count. >> we have formed a pretty top-notch legal team. >> reporter: she's also remembering those who stood by her, including the late senator

ted stevens, who died this summer in a plane crash. >> i think ted stevens helped get me where i am today. ted stevens was a friend and a mentor, and i was blessed to have served with him in the senate. >> reporter: with the blessing of the stevens family days before the election murkowski aired a tv commercial she'd taped with stevens before he died. >> i think ted is looking down right now, and ted is smiling proudly at alaskans. >> reporter: now, murkowski says if she wins, she will caucus with the republicans. election officials are hoping to start counting those ballots next week. we did reach out to joe miller for an interview, but never heard back from his representative. matt? >> kristin welker out in alaska for thus morning. thank you very much. and now let's get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories. good morning ann. nice to have you back. >> thanks a lot. good morning, everybody. we begin with a developing story in haiti. tropical storm tomas is

strengthening this morning and it could hit haiti's western tip early tomorrow morning. the island nation could get up to as much as 10 inches of rain which could be devastating given that nearly 1.5 million people are still living under tents in the wake of january's massive earthquake. the federal reserve is taking on a bold plan to pump $600 billion into the banking system trying to jolt the economy with lower interest rates. we've got cnbc's melissa francis at the new york stock exchange with more on this. this plan sounds aggressive but what are the risks? >> well, the risk is definitely inflation. that's always the risk when you pump lots of money into the economy and that's why ben bernanke is out this morning with an op-ed in "the washington post" saying that deflation is the real risk and that's why this makes sense, but look at how the markets are reacting. the dollar is sinking around the world right now at a ten-month low against the euro. we're watching oil rally to 86 bucks. gold is up another 24 bucks. asian markets are rallying as we see the nikkei up more than 2%.

the dow closed up just 26 points, but this was the highest level in about two years. anning back to you. >> melissa francis, thanks so much for that information. two brothers are being questioned by police in france this morning suspected of plotting a terrorist attack in that country. and france is at its highest terror alert level. greece air shipments for the next 48 hours trying to prevent the delivery of any more mail bombs targeting european leaders in athens. 14 actual or suspected bombs have been found, one targeting french president nicolas sarkozy. and nasa postponed the launch of "discovery" until tomorrow because of bad weather. nasa has until sunday to launch it or it will have to wait until december. it is 7:20. let's go back to matt, meredith and al. >> thank you very much, ann. how is the weather looking for the shuttle launch maybe tomorrow? >> the rain should move out, but they will worry about high winds tomorrow.

they may be in trouble for the launch unfortunately. trouble up and down the eastern seaboard. we have a risk of strong storms. that's why we are looking at the cancellation of the shuttle. we've also got wet weather up and down the east coast and behind the rain we've got lake effect snow for parts of the great lakes tomorrow. you can see heavy rain from one to three inches from miami up into new england later on today. here's a gorgeous true from san bruno mountain. you see clouds moving in and we will see more over the next few days. pretty warm considering this is november. 78 in san jose and 72 in san francisco. low 80s in the warmest places with filtered sunshine and a mix of mid-and high level clouds. tomorrow we will see a first chance of showers for friday night and early saturday. the best chance of rain arrives on sunday.

and just ahead, we are going to be taking a look at tomas in greater detail. >> just ahead, a 19-year-old girl attacked by a great white shark. a fellow swimmer made the decision to save her life. first, this is "today" on nbc. when it comes to getting my family to eat breakfast,

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>> time now is 7:26. an update on developing news out of oakland. an innocent driver and a suspect are dead after a fiery two-car crash this morning. today in the bay's christie smith is live on the scene with an update. >> reporter: oakland's fatal investigation team looks to be wrapping up. they have been here for hours where 10 sixth and mac arthur has been closed. a driver and a bmw were speeding overnight and refused to stop. continued on to mac arthur boulevard and witnesses say he

was flying and plowed into a suburban. it flipped over on its side. two people killed. one person in each car. the chp said it's unclear weathergsru d or alcohol may have played a role. we will be back after the break.

>> anew accident for the south bay towards that 101 interchange. a car blocking the hov and fast

lane. approaching 101 and at least 101 itself we are tracking through the earlier shows has finally cleared. southbound is showing reand the northbound commute gets you through the south bay. the east shore freeway, the metering lights were turned on early. a 28-minute drive really going down around the berkeley curve. things are moving smoothly, but a slow drive towards the s curve. >> we want to check the morning forecast. no, we're not. back to the "today" show. have a great morning.

something else from the book. 9/11 redeoff the top of my headed duty and my job. i can never forget what happened to america today. i would pour my heart and soul into protecting this country. it took two wars. >> yeah. >> thousands of american lives, billions of dollars. you could say it took guantanamo and abu ghrab and government eav eavesdropping and waterboarding. did it take too much? >> we didn't have an attack. 3,000 people died on september

11th and i vowed i would do my duty to protect the american people. they didn't hit us again. time dulls memory. i understand that. but it didn't dull my memory. i was charged with protecting america and those decisions i made were necessary. >> 7:30 now on a thursday morning, the 4th of november, 2010. that, of course, former president george w. bush opening up in his first interview since leaving the white house. i'm matt lauer alongside meredith vieira. there is a lot more on that interview coming up monday night as we have a special primetime interview. 8:00/7:00 central time here on nbc. >> he'll join us as well? >> that's right. wednesday, november 10, president bush joins us live in studio. we'll get to continue our conversation. we are looking forward to it. >> just ahead in this half hour,

the latest on actor charlie sheen. earlier this week he filed for divorce from his wife. on the heels of the alleged alcohol-fuelled meltdown he's hired a sober coach to live with him. >> how about this question -- are you an impulse shopper? americans spend about $463 a year on impulse buys, everything from clothing to toys, junk food. how can you curb your urge to splurge around spend the money on things you really want or really need? we'll have helpful hints on that. later on, "beverly hills 90210" star shannen doherty is out with a new book about her image. we'll have a live interview. >> and a young woman attacked by a great white shark lives to tell about it. today, amy robach has details. >> reporter: good morning. 19-year-old elyse franckom is

still in shock. she was leading a group of divers when the great white came at her. great white sharks are known for size and strength, one of the most frightening creatures under water. >> to get attacked by a shark, a lot of people don't make it, don't survive. i'm just lucky to be the person that did. >> reporter: 19-year-old elyse franckom makes her living leading dive tours off the coast of perth, australia. this was no ordinary day at the office. elyse was leading 33 divers on a swim with dolphins when the unthinkable happened. >> i was kind of pulled aside and then it happened again. i looked and i saw a gray figure in front of me. i got just to the surface and that's when i felt it on my legs. i just kind of jolted. >> reporter: the massive shark clamped onto her leg.

>> took me inside its mouth. horrifying. >> reporter: one of the swimmers saw it happen. trevor burns grabbed the shark until it released its grip. >> i had to get it off her. i grabbed it by the tail and held on for a quick ride. >> reporter: elyse was rushed to shore where a helicopter was waiting. she remained conscious the entire time. on wednesday, elyse was reunited with the man who saved her life. >> he's my hero. i wouldn't be here without him. >> i don't consider myself a hero. i've just done what i was brought up to do. mom and dad told me to look after people. there was no way i was letting elyse be taken by that thing. >> one leg. >> reporter: elyse has 200 stitches across the two bite marks. she said she's feeling better already, posting this on facebook -- what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. researchers at the university of

florida investigating the attack say it was a great white, 10 to 11 feet long. >> any time we enter the sea, we are taking a certain amount of risk. of course when we are on a dolphin tour we take an added risk because those are preferred food items of large sharks such as white sharks. >> reporter: elyse said she will go back to work and get back in the water. she can even bring the shark tooth doctors took out of her body. >> i sure didn't wake up on saturday expecting to be attacked by a shark. this has just made me realize, do it. you don't know how long you've got. >> reporter: it's remarkable. doctors expect elyse to make a full recovery. she said she knew she would come into contact with a shark. she just didn't expect it to happen so soon. meredith? >> she's very lucky. amy, thank you so much. boy, i don't know if i would go back in the water. >> those wounds are terrible. >> and the guy was able to have

enough -- you know, with the shark. that's a good friend. let's check in with mr. roker. >> i know you would do that for me. >> i'd be there for you, al. >> i know it. we have friends from the ing marathon. they brought some hats, outfitted the crew. very nice. also for the new york city marathon, fred lebeau from the cancer center, good stuff. you can check stuff out if you want to donate to help people running. check that out. we're all about tomas. this is going to be bad. the folks in haiti are looking to relocate a million people. how do you do that when there are few buildings standing? it's going to be rough. let's show you where tomas is. south of port-au-prince, haiti.

hurricane warnings are up. 315 miles away. haiti will be on the eastern side of the storm. even if it doesn't make landfall, the worst side is the eastern side. 10 to 15 inches of rain over the next 48 hours in haiti. that could be devastating. temperatures in this country, western part of the country 15 degrees above normal in southern california. 9 degrees above normal in seattle. cooler than normal pleasant start to the morning. clear skies and we will see a few extra high clouds in the afternoon. one more mild to warm day inland. 78 in san jose and low 70s necessary san francisco. the temperatures tomorrow will see more clouds and a slight chance of showers late friday into saturday. sunday with temperatures dropping off and the best chance of rain early sunday through sunday evening.

stay cool early next week. and that's your latest weather. matt? >> thank you very much. now new developments with actor charlie sheen. he filed for divorce and is taking a big step tied to his alleged drunken rampage. jeff rossen has details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. a lot of people in hollywood are worried including charlie sheen's friends. he admits he's an addict and needs help. he's hire add sober coach, basically a full-time counselor to keep him away from drugs and alcohol. the coach has moved into sheen's house. >> good morning, charlie. >> reporter: new video of charlie sheen, cigarette in hand. happy to go back to work today? >> reporter: this week the highest paid actor on tv is back on the set of "two and a half men." >> the good news is you are a perfectly healthy 50-year-old man. >> i'm only 40! >> tell that to your liver. >> reporter: but it's not back

to normal. sheen has a shadow. a new sober coach who follows him everywhere, even to work. his mission -- keep sheen away from drugs, alcohol and trouble. >> initially the sober coach will want to test him regularly, probably daily, maybe multiple times a day. the coach needs to act as a barrier. sometimes a physical barrier between a client and a bag of dope or a client and a bottle of booze. >> reporter: help sheen could have used last week in new york. seen in these tmz photos partying with a porn star. that's christina walsh, known on her videos as capri anderson. she and sheen were inside the room at the plaza hotel where he went on a drunken, naked rampage. >> why did you lock yourself in the bathroom? >> reporter: tmz caught up with walsh wednesday for the first time since the incident. >> the public wants to know what happened that night. >> reporter: she wouldn't say a word. now realizing how deep his

addiction is, sources close to sheen say his new sober coach has even moved in with him. for a man who's battled addiction and anger for years, experts say a coach may not be enough. >> things with charlie are dire. he has a serious addiction and needs help. charlie need it is full spectrum of addiction treatment. >> reporter: if charlie sheen is to win the battle, he'll do it alone. this week he filed for divorce from his third wife brooke mueller. according to court papers, sheen will pay her over $750,000 plus more than $1.2 million to buy her out of the house they shared. sheen and mueller will share custody of the twin boys and he'll pay her $55,000 a month in child support. on top of the child support he's already paying his second wife, denise richards. >> charlie sheen's bad boy persona endeared him to many. the fact that he hired a sober coach and filed for divorce in the same week is a clear indicator that he wants to

refocus his life. >> reporter: sheen's pending divorce may not be the only issue. the porn star in the hotel room said she plans to sue claiming she feared for her life. >> we haven't heard the last of this? >> i think we'll be back together. >> thank you very much. it's 7:40. up next, in a tough economy, advice to avoid impulse buys spx and actress shannen doherty on moving past the mean girl image. so we earned an la getaway twice as fast. we get double miles every time we use our card. [ whistling ] no matter what we're buying. and since double miles add up quick... romans! get em! [ garth ] ...we can bring the whole gang. [ sheep bleats ] it's hard to beat double miles. whoa -- he's on the list. but we're with him. [ male announcer ] get the venture card from capital one and earn double miles on every purchase, every day. go to capitalone.com. [ indistinct shouting ] what's in your wallet? i'd get this tightness in my chest.

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7:43 and this morning on "today's money" impulse buying, it can be hard to resist the urge. when we give in we often regret it. how can you avoid impulse purchases? good morning to you both. >> good morning. jean, let me start with you. after the midterm elections you hear voters are most concerned about the economy, lack of jobs. but you look at the study and 80% of americans around the country say within the past year they have made some sort of impulsive purchase. >> that's right. we get this research out of the national endowment for financial education. not only have 80% done it but 66% have regretted it. they are spending close to $500. >> what are they splurging on? >> routine things -- clothing, food, gifts. there is a lot of guilt in buying gifts for other people

you wouldn't expect. technology. it's almost as if any category can be an impulse if you are in the wrong mood. >> what triggers it? >> it's about being in the wrong mood. if you're in a vulnerable mood where you end up buying to feel better that's the time you will buy the thing you really don't need and feel bad about it later on. >> also if you get a windfall and you think you have extra money and may as well just spend it. >> people rush out to spend it. the better thing to do with a windfall, particularly an inheritance because there is so much guilt wrapped up in that is just sit on it for six months and think about what you want to do with it. >> you said there is guilt that comes with it. is that a good thing? >> it can be good if it leads you to make better decisions. i think what we are both advocating is being a little more conscious about consumption. think about, where am i going today? what am i trying to accomplish today? is shopping involved in this? strategize so you don't fall subject to impulses.

>> you say shop with friends but not just any friends. >> we all have friend who is are avid shoppers and friends who are frugal. if you're going to the store, take the frugal friends and ask them, remind me that i'm not there to shop on impulse. i'm there for this specific purpose. >> you say take a purchasing pause. what is that? >> i love the purchasing pause. just wait. ask yourself when you get to the counter or you are about to push the button on the computer, why am i here? why am i doing this? do i need this? if the answer is no, put it away for 24 hours. chances are you don't need it. >> that's the key word. a lot of people say need when they want. >> i that say, a second pair of stiletto shoes, this second or third coat. you need a difference between i need this or i want it. it's on sale. sounds like something i would like to have. they are different. >> sales are a huge trigger for

most people. a lot of impulse buying is happening because we are getting e-mails saying, hey, it's 10%, 20% off. know that will set you off and put a plastic in the drawer. >> it's harder to part with cash. >> big bills. put 50s in your wallet if you don't want to spend money. >> thank you so much. still ahead, the mystery surrounding the tragic death of surfing cmpion andy irons. the latest on that right after this. pstill cart me around in a car that says "hi. we're the geek family." ♪ this highlander is more like it. nice interior. it's even got the optional bluetooth streaming audio. very classy, mrs. j. just because you're a parent doesn't mean you have to be lame. [ male announcer ] see the stylish new highlander at youtube.com/highlander. [ male announcer ] see the stylish new highlander

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duenge fever but the chief medical examiner said there were no signs of that on his body. today the community is mourning the loss of one of its brightest stars. >> reporter: karz mat tick, intense and fearless challenging the most powerful waves. andy irons won competitive surf ing on its stage. >> all started going right, left, right on one wave. i will never forget that wave. to the day i die that was one of the most pure moments in my life. it always will be. >> reporter: irons' life ended away from the water. after pulling out of a competition in puerto rico irons hopped on a flight home, laying over at this dallas hotel where he never woke up. investigators found no signs of trauma or foul play. instead, in his room, police say, prescription medications xanax and ambien.

>> certainly he was young. we don't expect him to die. one of the possibilities, of course, is drug overdose. >> reporter: irons' wife is due to give birth to their child next month. his family issued only this statement. andy was a beloved husband and a true champion. his talent stood out from the start. a childhood spent in the surf of his home island kuai. he shot into the ranks of elite. a rise documented in the 2003 film "blue horizon." ♪ >> reporter: irons became one of the few surfers capable of going toe to toe with nine-time world champion kelly slater. >> my driving force is to take his pretty picture and crush it. >> reporter: once fierce rivals their relationship evolved in respect and then true

friendship. slater said he was the most intense competitor i have ever known and one of the most sensitive people. he had so much life left in him and it hurts to think about. with love, kelly. in puerto rico the world tour suspended the event until friday. instead holding a ceremonial paddle-out in honor of a fallen friend. in just 32 years, andy irons left fans with spectacular memories, carved out on the walls of crashing waves. >> so cool to watch some of the old video. irons was scheduled to compete in another event in hawaii next week. investigators have completed the autopsy but say the results from the toxicology tests could take up to three months. >> sad and strange, peter. thank you for your report. we appreciate it. just ahead, is san francisco about to ban fast food chains from giving away free toys with their popular kids' meals?

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>> good morning. time is 7:56. checking in with mike, we have a lot of new developments. >> a trouble spot at 880. 101 itself cleared in the southbound direct, but northbound 880 had that accident still there blocking one lane in the northbound direction. it's in the fast lane that that's a distraction for both directions. south of 101. that's all the slowing off of 280 as well. it causes more chloeing as you approach the interchange. the commute builds through sunol and pleasanton. that's typical and oakland we see a slowing as well.

a new accident reported off the side of the road. a little gray there. >> we're had clouds over the bay area this morning and it will filter out the sun and a mild day today with temperatures mostly in the 70s. tomorrow more clouds and even the type that might toss a few scattered showers. friday night and early saturday, plan on rain and cooler weather and highs in the 50s and 60s. all of us get an extra hour of sleep sunday morning to wind your clocks back one hour. k.me now is br7:57.ea news after the brk. 0 varieties of gourmet coffee and tea to choose from. it's the way to individually brew fresh, delicious coffee in under a minute. way to brew, hon. [ female announcer ] choose. brew. enjoy. keurig.

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keurig. >> people in oakland are still waiting to find out who the next mayor will be. the reg star of voters said the rank choice system is the big delay. don perotta has the most votes, but not 50% plus one. the reg star said the official announcement will be made when the computer is able to finish counting the votes and that may not happen until next week. the "today" show returns in a minute.

8:00 now on this thursday morning, november 4th, 2010, a rainy day in new york. but if these folks can take it, so can we. out on the plaza i'm meredith vieira. coming up, a childhood tradition coming to an end? >> the city of san francisco is one step closer to banning froe toy giveaways with certain children's meals. a lot of people say it could be a good idea. others say not so good. we'll talk about it and have

healthier meal options available. >> also, shannen doherty rose to fame earning a reputation as a bad girl along the way. she's now opening up a new memoir about her image. how she fed into it and the impact it's had on her career. we'll talk about that s. >> later on with kids' after school activities it can be hard to get the family together for a meal. laurie david is making it a priority and launches is quest to make the family dinner very important. >> okay. first a check of the top stories from ann curry at the news desk. >> hey, guys, come on inside. qantas is grounding the entire fleet of airbus a-380 jetliners, the largest passenger plane in the world because of an emergency landing this morning. take a look at the super jumbo jet after landing in singapore. passengers said they heard a loud bang and parts of the plane tore away. officials say a mid-air engine failure is to blame and that

none of the 459 passengers and crew was injured. president obama said he's willing to find more common ground with republicans after what he calls a shellacking in mid-term elections. on wednesday he said he's willing to negotiate on spending, taxes and greenhouse gas emissions. however, he said americans do not want to refight the battle over health care reform which is the top priority for republicans who won control of the house. forecasters are warning that a tropical storm is now approaching haiti and gaining strength. and the u.n. is expressing concerns that the storm will likely worsen the cholera outbreak which has sickened thousands and killed hundreds. more than a million haitians are still living outdoors and the storm is expected to hit haiti's western tip this morning. indonesia's most volatile volcano, mount merapi is erupting again. the death toll is now 44 over 

the last nine days. more than 75,000 people have fled their homes. investigators have linked five shootings in northern virginia to a single weapon. the most recent shooting took place tuesday at a coast guard recruitment center. over the last three weeks a gunman has been targeting u.s. military facilities including the pentagon and the u.s. marine corps museum. no one has been injured. after discovering a drug smuggling tunnel connecting san diego and tijuana, mexico, police arrested two people and seized 25 tons of marijuana. they are now searching for more suspects on both sides of the boar border. the majority was confiscated on the u.s. side, enough to make it the second largest seizure ever. now back outside to matt, meredith and al. >> it's raining out here. >> i was going to say we should turn to al for the weather, but

we know it. >> there is weather in other parts of the country. hello! is it your birthday? where are you from? >> tucson arizona. >> and we have three young ladies. you say you're 60. >> 60. >> i'm 59. >> you look fantastic. >> thank you. >> wmc-tv, memphis tennessee, windy, cool and 61. it's a ms up and down the eastern seaboard. we have heavy rainn a northeast, heavy showers and thunderstorms through florida. western two-thirds dominated by high pressure. it will be fabulous. sunny skies, warmer than usual temperatures again in the southwest. breezy conditions for the great lakes all the way down into texas and, again, air travel will be a mess today up and down the east coas here's a beautiful view of the golden gate bridge. notice not a lot of sunshine.

we've got mid and high level clouds coming through that will be one of the reasons why you'll be cooling down today just a little bit. mostly 70s inland. still a chance of hitting 80s in livermore, pretty warm by november standards. especially out towards the north. we'll see highs in the mid southwest. tomorrow we'll see more clouds, stronger seabreeze. may see a few widely scattered showers. friday night into saturday. chance of rain sunday. and that's your latest weather. where's mr. lauer? >> coming up, shannen doherty talks about moving past her bad girl -- ow! her bad girl reputation. more after these messages. ♪ i hate-- didn't quite catch that last bit. i said i really love my bank. right... is there a problem ? it's not really raging, man. uh, we were hoping for more raging ? well, you said write from the heart.

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♪ [ male announcer ] fidelity investments. we are back now at 8:08 with shannen doherty. as brenda walsh on "beverly hills 90210" she was brandon's twin sister, dylan's girlfriend and of cox÷llsxñ besest frenemy. shwas also onrmed" and is now out with "badass." seems it's a lot about thexxxxx, thee lababelss imposed upon us others. >> right. badass.ababababelou putn yoursf we'll talk about why you think it is a good thing. you talk about the labels imposed on you by others. some are nice -- smart, talented, beautiful. some not so nice.

>> some really hurtful. >> mean, the b-word. >> right. ugly. i have been called all sorts of things by people. >> you write in the book, "did i deserve the negative labels, well, yeah, but not all the time and certainly not for the reasons they thought." what do you mean? >> well, i think that people at that time thought that i was just sort of a bad girl and malicious. i associate bad girl with being malicious. >> at that time when you were doing "beverly hills 90210" and the years linked to that. >> yeah. you make mistakes and you don't learn from your mistakes. that's my definition of bad girl. i don't think i ever kept repeating mistakes. i just think i was trying to find my way and i was never malicious. i had my own things going on. and because i was trying to be somewhat private, nobody knew what was happening with my dad and my dad's health. >> let's talk about that. you started 90210 at 19. i don't think anybody knew at

that time. your dad had gotten ill with a heart condition when you were 12, i think it started. >> yeah. >> by 19, you were taking care of the family, supporting the family. >> yeah. >> but you were private about it. you didn't talk about it. >> at the time i didn't think it was anybody's business. you know, if you back up a little bit, when i was 10 my mom had an aneurysm and had a 10% chance of living. she's very healthy and amazing, amazing woman. but then you have my father who has strokes and heart attacks, now it's ten strokes, nine heart attacks, quintuple bypass surgery. at some point i looked at my mom and she was working and my dad was trying to work and i looked at my mom and said, he needs somebody with him all the time. i would prefer that to be you. let's work this out. i sort of came on and took on that responsibility and i think

of it as an honor. >> how did it provoke some of the bad behavior? you know, you cop to it. you say that your reputation was questionable. >> i think it's the responsibility. for me it was not only the fear of abandonment of losing your parents growing up as a child and losing my two best friends because i'm that close with my parents, but then it's the responsibility and all this attention and this press and you're having to supposedly watch every move that you make. it think it's just natural to sort of fall down even more and sadly you're falling down in front of millions and millions of people. you have the press that's magnifying it, making it ten times worse than it was. >> did you feel at the time that they were going after you? >> i did. not that i didn't -- >> ask for it? >> -- ask for it a little bit. i think i did. if you're having problems you should probably become a shut-in

and go to therapy and figure it out. but at the same time i'm really happy that i lived my life the way that i did. because it's all of those mistakes and everything that i learned growing up as i did that put me where i am now. >> at 27 you had a dui. >> yeah. >> you said that was your turning point. >> it's the most humiliating, embarrassing, disgraceful moment of my life. it's shameful to get a dui. it's shameful to put other people at risk and yourself at risk and horrible to embarrass your family that way. it was a tragic experience and one that i am very, very grateful for. because it was that moment that a good friend of mine, an attorney looked at me and said, what are you doing? this isn't you. when are you going to realize that you deserve success and stop running away and stop being self-destructive. it hit me at that moment in my

life. it really resonated. it's when i got on my path to becoming a badass. >> you say that word -- we have come full circle. you say it as if it's a good thing. >> it is. >> it is the other b-word. >> the other one isn't good. i think my definition of badass -- my grandmother is a perfect example. >> does she know that? >> definitely. she admits it. she's a strong, confident woman who can go out there and do it on her own. my grandfather passed away and, you know what, my grandmother is still out there. she goes to the bank. she handles everything. she handles the house and she's got it all under control, but she does it with charm, with this beautiful southern charm and a smile on her face and she doesn't have to yell to be heard. she's compassionate. she has integrity. that, to me, is a badass.

>> when you see young actresses making poor decisions, foolish mistakes, some that you made in the past, what do you want to say to them? >> i want to say more to everybody else rather than to them. i kind of want to say to everybody else, stop. stop with the -- so much focus on them. give them a break. let them figure this out on their own. i think the more attention you bring to it, it almost makes things worse, even for them. so at some point everybody deserves a certain amount of privacy to fall down. >> all right. shannen doherty, thank you so much. >> thank you. always nice to see you. >> thank you. the book is called "badass." up next, the push to get free toys out of'kisdshy kids' meals. but first, these messages.

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[ female announcer ] lactaid®. the original lactose-free milk. and 2 minutes to christmas? wow! 19 days, 8 hours... 20 days, 8 hours, 9 minutes... 18 days, 17 hours... [ mom ] let's go, young lady. 12 days, 18 hours... 10 hours, 12 minutes, 7 seconds. come on. it's no days! 5 hours and 59 minutes and 42, 41... [ female announcer ] the hallmark "countdown to christmas" ornament. this christmas, make it joyful, at your hallmark gold crown store. if you're a parent you know kids love getting the free toys in kids' meals, but lawmakers in san francisco are cracking down. amy robach is back with details. good morning. >> reporter: hey, matt. good morning to you. the city's board of supervisors took the first vote on tuesday to ban toys from kids' meals that fail to meet nutritional

standards set by the city. skeptics wonder if it is as easy as banning toys. go to a fast food restaurant and you know kids love the toys, but in san francisco, lawmakers want to get rid of the toys. the board of supervisors voted 8-3 to ban giveaways in kids' meals that don't meet standards set by the city. >> as a father and legislator, we need to be creative in addressing the childhood obesity crisis in this country. >> reporter: if the bill becomes law, kids would ontarly get a t if the meal is less than 600 calories with reduced sodium, fat and sugar. it must include a fruit and vegetable. >> childhood obesity is a problem here like it is throughout the country. i and many parent advocates want healthier choices. >> reporter: the national restaurant association which represents fast food chains like

mcdonald's and burger king says the board chose to push forward an unpopular and misguided ordinance that will likely do nothing to help address the problem. parents and guardians should be making decisions about the family dining experience. >> the toy isn't causing us to be fat. what's causing us to be unhealthy and gain weight is to make consistently poor choices, to overeat compared to the food amounts we need, and to not be moving our bodies as much as our bodies require. >> reporter: parents we spoke with aren't happy with the idea of government acting as the fast food police. >> the toy isn't bad for a child at all. a toy is a toy. people buy kids toys all the time. >> we all have choices. we, as adults, need to steer our children in the right direction. >> i think they're wrong. i think it's other things that need to be taken care of instead of worrying about toys. >> reporter: san francisco's mayor has threatened to veto the bill, but the board has a super majority now and can overrule him.

a final vote is set for next week and if i proved the ban would go into effect in 2011. >> thank you very much. the editor in chief of men's health magazine is here, the author of the "eat this, not that" series. good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. >> what do you think? >> i think the board deserves a toy. i don't think it goes far enough. when you market something specifically for kids, a product, every other time you have to prove that it's safe. not so for food. right now you have sit-down chains that are worse. they are selling 1800 calorie meals to kids, pasta dishes. 1400 calorie mac & cheese. >> what about the idea of rewarding the kid for choosing the meal with the toy? >> the issue of having a toy. want a toy, go to a toy store. this has to do with food and what kids are eating. this is a step in the right direction. this kind of change is hard. for years we have had a connection of you go to a place,

get food and a toy. you don't do it at home with the kids. >> you want to nudge parents and kids in the right direction to make the right choices. >> you're not banning the toy, just saying make it healthier. >> maybe you buy a meal that's bad for the kid, the kid gets a pencil. a good meal, they get a puppy. give them incentive. >> and the restaurant industry is behind the curve. the general public wants healthier alternatives. sometimes you have to poke the restaurants with a stick. >> it boils down to parenting. >> parents still have the choice. get your child whatever you want. to have a healthier choice is educational. people may look at the meals and compared to a giant combo meal they look smaller. no kid needs 800 calories for a meal. >> parents don't often realize what's on the menu. >> we have popular children's menus here from popular fast food restaurants. start me off with mcdonald's. >> this is a mighty kids' meal

with 840 calories. it is a double cheeseburger and fries with some reduced fat chocolate milk. the problem is it has two-thirds of the day's worth of saturated fat in it. >> 37 grams. >> it has 37 grams of fat, 14 1/2 grams of saturated fat. so mega mind is an unusually destructive mind and these are destructive calories. >> and the healthier alternative? >> four chicken mcnuggets, apple dippers and fat-free milk. >> isn't it true that even this meal wouldn't fit the criteria for the ban on toys? >> at the moment it wouldn't. it is supposed to have a fruit and vegetable in it. >> but there is going to be wiggle room. it's a way to start. when you look you say what's the most important thing. the child gets fruit and milk instead of something that's going to be a bad combination. and you still get chicken fingers. >> burger king.

>> this grows up to -- eat this and grow up to be a whopper. this is a double cheeseburger, fries and juice. get the hamburger, apple fries and milk. >> what do you think? >> milk should be the drink of choice. milk is not a better choice than soda. it's fine. >> give me the one-liner for wendy's? >> a sea of beige. nothing green there. nothing green. >> that's got 27 grams of fat. a lot of sodium. 690 calories and the alternative? >> a hamburger and orange slices. not a vanilla fatty, i mean frosty. >> david will be in the catskills all weekend long. we'll be right back.

time is 8:26. checking in with mike it just has not been a good commute. >> especially for # 80 through san jose. both directions still jammed up right around the 101 just south of the entinterchange. an accident still blocking one lane and debris reported north of there. jammed up continuing up towards 101. still the accident clearing from 101 at mckee.

lower peninsula is typical pattern there. san mateo bridge is clear as far as the inee >> seeing filtered sunshine around the bay area. high clouds coming in right now. more to follow as we head into friday and this will bring at least a slight chance of showers as we worap up the workweek. mostly 70s inland. 72 san francisco. tomorrow or temperatures start to cool down. slight risk of hoshowers late i the day. sunday the best chance for rain. time is 8:27. mos right r break.

this just in. the mother of a toddler found wandering through san pablo is now being interviewed by police. the news desk has confirmed that the one has turned herself in. police say she left her little boy by himself in front of a home wednesday, thenen ran to an awaiting yellow colored taxi. the boy is about two years old and they say he is okay. more local news in half an hour. have a great morning.

on tonight's new jay, he has brian wilson and anne hathaway. then jimmy gets a house call from dr. phil. thursday morning, the 4th of november, 2010. not a nice one here in new york city. it's been raining outside. cold outside and breezy as well. we have nice people out there. we were going to say hi, but she

didn't want to go out there. i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira, anne curry and joel mchale. >> between school activities it's hard to get everyone around the dinner table together. here's why you should make it a priority and why it is easier to pull off than you think. >> and a program that uses scuba diving and the freedom of being underwater to help and heal people. >> if you want to save on the grocery bill but don't have the time or patience for coupon clipping we'll show you six scissors-free way to trim the bill and shoplifting isn't one of them. >> joel mchale is here from "community." congratulations, by the way. picked up a couple more

episodes. >> thank you very much. >> gainfully employed. >> barely. but very excited. >> people are connecting with the show. they seem to like it. what do you think it is about the show -- besides you. >> despite me. i think it is because the writing is good and there is a little bit of heart to the show that i think people -- a trampoline. >> and we get to see your biceps. what is it about the trampoline? chevy chase needs to get up there. >> chevy chase shatters his legs. we discovered this in the secret garden left over from the '70s. they got rid of diving boards and trampolines so it is a secret and brings us to a new high level of understanding. >> you guys have pretty good guests. hilary duff is coming up? >> yes. there is a mean girl.

i didn't do any scenes with her, but i will say she's amazing. >> she refused. >> she's always a nice girl and here she's a mean girl. her hair is terrific, as you can see. look at that. incredible. >> always. defies gravity. >> you know the special relationship and conversations you had. >> hilary duff and i? >> because of her sister. >> her sister was on your other show? >> i was like, what are you talking about? oh, yeah. she really likes me. she was very excited to be working -- yeah, her sister. we thank her. we just made fun of the show she was on. >> your other job. >> on "the soup" we made fun of her and shannen doherty. no, no. >> were you worried -- >> that she would hit me? >> yeah. that she'd be angry with you.

>> not as nervous as i was with david hasselhoff. we made fun of her sister's show in general and her once in a while. we make fun of you guys all the time. >> where's willard? >> he's around somewhere. joel mchale, congratulations on "community". >> thank you very much. >> you're going to be with kathie lee and hoda? >> oh, yeah. we'll be drinking. >> i like it. >> this is a look. >> we digress. catch all new episodes of "community" featuring hilary duff at 8:00/7:00 central here on nbc. >> how about here's a view of san

francisco looking over from oakland. hazy sunshine. nice day on the way once again seventh for most spots. warmer places inland out to the tri-valley, morgan hill making a run at some eight for the afternoon. and you'll see across the north bay mostly 70s and we'll see mid and high level clouds ta s toda. cooling tomorrow. a slight chance of showers late friday into saturday. sunday a little bit of rain with hig high in the 70s and 60s. k your weather any time of the day or night on weather channel on cable or weather.com online. let's head to uncle willy. >> happy birthday from smuckers. anybody got a peanut butter & jelly sandwich? happy birthday to marie burns of ridge, new york. credits her longevity to eating whatever she wants when she wants and lots of chocolate.

100-year-old irene martin directed a senior talent competition at 96. we want to see her on "dancing with the stars." and from atlanta, georgia, aaron kline escaped in nazis in the 30s. opened up a general store and still runs it. that's incredible. that's what america is all about. janet garfield, sherman oaks, california. 100, plays bridge but refuses to challenge amateurs. she doesn't want to make them feel insecure. me neither. arthur huggins of nanuet, new york. one of the first african-american building inspectors in new york city. how about that? that was a while back. idessa martin of englewood, new

jersey. loves gardening and is a fact keeper up with current events. that's all from your nation's capital. >> thank you very much, willard. still ahead the add-on fees worth paying for on the next flight. are they? we'll tell you but first, this is "today" on nbc. [ dog barking ] mom! breakfast? in this house? in the morning i can use all the help i can get. that's why i love nutella, a delicious hazelnut spread that's perfect on multigrain toast and even whole-wheat waffles. it's a quick and easy way to give my family a breakfast they'll want to eat. and nutella is made with simple, quality ingredients, like hazelnuts, skim milk and a hint of cocoa. they love the taste

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back now with one of the republicans who could be a prime contender in the race for the white house in 2012. texas governor rick perry was elected to a third term on tuesday and has a new book "fed up, our fight to save america from washington." good morning to you. >> good morning. >> tuesday was a good day for the republicans. was it an embrace of the republican agenda, a repudiation of the obama administration or as marco rubio put it, a chance to get it right?

>> certainly a multitude of things. the work is in front of us now. the american people said, listen, we are spending too much money on things we don't want. go back, get it right and i think that's what you are going to see as a result. the republicans in congress and republicans all across the country from the standpoint of quit spending money we don't have on things we don't want. >> you said washington has too much power, that power has to be returned to the states. now that republicans are in power when it comes to the house, do you think they will relinquish it or become intoxicated by it? >> they better get back to the principles of the constitution. the book is about giving americans freedom back. washington has consolidated it. the supreme court has confirmed it in direct conflict with the constitution from my perspective. americans sent the message of, listen, we have too much government and it's costing too much. that was the message tuesday night.

>> that was one of the messages that the tea party put forward. you were one of the first to support it. you spoke in 2009 at a rally. obviously they re-energized the party, but there are people within the party who say they may force the republicans too far right. are you concerned about it come 2012? >> uh think republicans need to listen to the people. the people were clear on tuesday night. we got more government that we can pay for. pare it back, we want our freedoms back. i think "fed up" is a good primer about the constitution, the relationship with the state. states ought to be the laboratories of innovation. >> the book comes out right after the mid-term elections. where have you seen this before? george w. bush announced his book after announcing he was running for president. barack obama did the same thing. are you next? do you plan to run in 2012? >> if there is a better signal of not running for presidency of the united states it is this book. running for the presidency, you

won't take on issues with the power that i do. >> you don't see any scenario where the party may say, we need you in 2012 and you would accept? >> i don't see that scenario at all. >> but if they did? >> at all. >> you're saying, no. >> i'm not running for the presidency of the united states. >> today, tomorrow or within the next two years. >> being the governor of the state of texas. i think governors, whether democrat or republican, should be pushing back from washington, d.c. and say, listen, leave us alone. we know how to best run our states. the government that's closest to the people is the best government. >> i know you were disappointed with george w. bush once he became president because you said he was no longer a true fiscal conservative. is that what the republican party needs? >> george w. bush did an incredible job in the presidency, defending us from freedom. i had criticism of the congress during that entire period of time. i wish the president had vetoed some bills, but the fact is

we've got to get back to our principle base belief that fiscal conservativism is what people want. that's what the elections were about. >> everyone talks about cutting spending. you're not in washington and you don't have to pass the bills. you're in a good position to say, what would you cut specifically? >> i think you start with earmarks. that's a great place to cut. it's constitutional from the standpoint of not having a debate. you prioritize what's important, separate the wants from the needs and fund the priorities and reduce spending. washington can do this. it takes courageous men and women to say, we are not going to fund these. just fight for conservative values and fiscal conservativ m conservativism. >> thank you very much, rick perry. congratulations, again. >> you're welcome.

>> the book again is called "fed up." coming up, resurrecting the family dinner. first, this is "today" on nbc.

this morning on "today's family" we are talking about the family dinner. how many times a week does your family sit down for a meal with no cell phones, no tv. just time together and a good meal? laurie david is an environmental activist and academy award winning producer and author of the new book "the family dinner: great ways to connect with your kids one meal at a time". >> great to be here. >> how do you go from environmental activism to the family dinner table? >> the family environment. the truth is every issue i care about crosses the dinner plate including raising healthy kids, having a green kitchen. it all makes sense. >> it's very important for families to get together. this should be a ritual, a tradition. >> yes. >> is this based on something you experienced in childhood or

what you are trying to do with your kids? >> both. my childhood dinners weren't so great. we sat down every night but it was always about who was going to leave the table crying first. i didn't want to repeat that. >> you have teenaged daughters? >> two teenaged daughters. i have been doing this for over a decade. i insist on the ritual of family dinner and my children are now teenagers and they are still at the table. we're talking, laughing and i'm so grateful i did it. >> you recognize that parents have struggles just putting food on the table, but you want parents to look at it as not just a meal. this is an important opportunity to talk about things with your kids. how free form is it or do you have a structure? >> this is a gift every day gives us. with everything tearing apart family life including the screens and technology, we have to grab the rituals, things our parents and grandparents knew worked. this is how you civilize

children. parents were over well whelmed. dinner doesn't have to be three courses and a pie in the oven. it can be sandwiches. the key is sitting down and talking. >> some families say, we are going to play roses and thorns. talk about the best thing that happened and the worst. >> highs and lows. >> some people talk about politics, have a word of the day. do you like structure or like it to be spontaneous? >> i think people need help having conversation. people say, we ate dinner every night but nobody talked. sometimes talking can be as challenging as preparing the food. >> you have this center piece here and you put things in the centerpiece to spur conversation. >> this is a great idea with little kids. it's called the treasure bowl. put it in the center of the table and all week long the kids pull things out, thing thas find outside, things that are special to them and put them in the bowl err night. at the end of the week you go around the table and they pull

out what's special to them and they say why. it's like show and tell at the table. >> you like that kids help with the preparation of the meal. so you have to come up with meal ideas they can help assemble. >> the book is filled with great ideas. i'm excited. first of all, if you can buy one thing for the table, get a lazy susan. it makes every meal more fun. you will have an abuser who spins it too much. >> and you can put the kid on this and they can talk to everyone it makes every meal more fun. this is a participation meal where everybody gets involved in preparing the dish at the table. that gets everybody loosened up and having fun and they can personalize the meal. this is thai chicken wraps. take your lettuce leaf and put the toppings on it. make it the way you like it. if kids are involved in making it they will eat more. >> if you don't have time to do a full dinner every night, you encourage people to try snack

time. >> if you can't do ritual incident, do lunch. do tea time before bedtime. have that be a ritual. if you do it every night your kid wills love it. >> we went to college together, folks. >> we did. >> ohio university. nice to see you again. >> nice to see you. >> the book is "the family dinner." up next, eels on wheels. first this is "today" on nbc. ♪

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if you have ever been scuba do i having you know the experience is unlike anything else. for some of us it can help change lives. jenna wolfe has details. >> people with paralyzing injuries can enjoy soccer and skiing. now there is also scuba diving. it is called adaptive diving but there is something extra special about this experience. it's the often mysterious, magical wonderland below the water's surface. for divers it's about the sights and sounds. but for josh schuele he's all about the sensation. >> you have complete freedom. >> reporter: freedom from wheels. taking in his surroundings with his mind and now with his body as well. you don't think about your

injury when you're in the water? >> no. >> reporter: for the first time ever, josh is diving in the open water. it's been a tough ride for the former high school football star, ever since an accident on the field eight years ago left him paralyzed. >> i was terrified. >> reporter: as his parents watched, josh went in for a tackle, slamming his head against another player. he knew instantly something terrible had happened. >> when it happened it felt like slow motion. i couldn't even move my own arms. >> reporter: josh was paralyzed from the waist down. since then, getting around is a daily challenge. but after joining the adaptive diving group called eels on wheels last year, josh is gaining new perspective. it's not hard to see why. out here on the group's trip to a diving resort in the

caribbean. >> reporter: how do you feel? >> loose. >> reporter: many here are former athletes, so exploring freely under the sea is what you may call a game-changer. >> the water is a great equalizer. it takes gravity away from these guys. >> reporter: chad dietrich is a practicing anesthesiologist and is used to helping and healing. >> reporter: what's unique about sku cuba diving. >> you can put the chair away. >> reporter: what you do need is training. before ocean diving, chad works with new divers of all ages in a small indoor swimming pool. scuba diving has been around for many years. jacques cousteau is considered the father of modern scuba and adaptive or handicapped diving has been around for some time as well. >> i was injured in an accident. >> reporter: jim founded the

association in 1981. >> we began with a handful of guys. now we have disabled divers, thousands of them in over 45 countries. >> reporter: today, scuba is considered an effective rehabilitation tool for physical and psychological benefits. out here with the empty wheelchairs miles away, it's not hard to see why. >> don't let a wheelchair stop you. >> reporter: and the good news is around the country there are dozens of not for profit adaptive diving groups. you saw the last shot with the wheels. you're not allowed to bring your chair on the boat. once the kids leave the dock they don't want to think about the wheelchairs or what is holding them back. it's all about being free, out in the open water and it's emotional as well as physical rehabilitation. >> thank you, jenna. >> good to see you. >> still ahead, six ways to

slash the grocery bill without coupons. >> after your local news and a check of the local weather forecast. ♪ ♪ from the styles you want... ...to the foods you crave. even your favorite toothpaste. now, the things you love at target... are even better. save 5% off today and everyday... when you shop with your target credit or debit redcards. are you redcard ready? only at target. the morning commute still tries to unsort itself. >> the better news overall, we are starting to sort things out for 880 northbound and southbound both starting to

cheer. still close off highway 85 northbound 17, where it turns to 880. something on the side. road, not a huge deal. another look further north and we seat travel times through the east bay. speeds closer to 30 than 40 as you're coming through oakland fd rethew tay et shore freewa still has that drive. more news after this. to challenge ourselves on the most demanding track in the world. with us, in spirit, was every great car that we'd ever competed with. the bmw m5. and the mercedes-benz e63. for it was their amazing abilities that pushed us to refine, improve and, ultimately, develop the world's fastest production sedan. [ engine revving ] the cts-v, from cadillac. the new standard of the world.

the teenagers accused of setting fire to a south bay elementary school enter their pleas in court this afternoon. the 16 and 17 year olds are being charged as adults. san jose police say the teens essentially set fire that gutted trace elementary school. the july 5th fire destroyed 16

classrooms, the library and several office, but it did not delay the start of school. another update in half an hour. the "today" show returns in less than a minute. have a great morning. save $523! 16 minutes could save you 16%! come on... isn't it time an auto insurer gave it to you straight? that's why you should talk to state farm. but not yet. first, talk to any one of the 40 million drivers who already have state farm. 40 million. yeah, that's more than geico and progressive combined. by a lot. 40 million drivers. more savings. and discounts up to 40%. where else you gonna get discounts like that? call an agent at 1-800-state-farm

or go online. we're back now with more of "today" on a thursday morning. it's the 4th of november, 2010. it's not been nice all morning long. the crowd getting smaller. we are losing them to exposure out there. it's chilly, raining and windy. thanks to these folks for sticking around. i'm matt lauer along with al roker and amy robach. coming up, qantas is grounding the fleet of airbus a-380s after one of the jets made an emergency landing. it is reported that parts of the plane fell in midair near one of

the engines. we'll get the latest on the investigation as to what went wrong in just a couple of minutes. >> scary. coming up this half hour, if you get sticker shock at the supermarket we have six ways to cut your grocery bill every week. that can add up. the average spends about $6,000 a year at the supermarket. >> and we are talking about charlie sheen, the highest paid actor on television. he's filed for divorce, confirmed he's wrestling addiction and has fired a 24 hour a day sober coach. we'll get the latest on that. >> before that, let's get to the top headlines of the day. ann? >> good morning, everybody. in the news, a mid-flight scare for more than 450 people aboard a qantas air flight bound for sydney. the super jumbo jet was forced to make an emergency landing after one engine failed and parts of the plane started tearing away. jim maceda is in london with the

details on the story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. well, since its launch in 2007 the airbus a-380 super jumbo jet has been billed as the biggest, greenest, safest commercial airliner. today for hundreds of frightened passengers on board it became a lot less safe. it was the nightmare air travelers hate to even imagine. minutes after qantas flight 2f32 had taken off, a loud bang and sparks and smoke coming from one of the four rolls-royce engines and pieces of the engine casing, some as big as a door, falling from the sky and landing on a small indonesian town where, amazingly, no one was hurt. the pilots shut down the engine and flew all 459 people safely back to singapore. >> we have a problem with the engine. we have dealt with the problem. >> all 459 people on board

landed safely in singapore. the man sitting over the wing next to engine two took this photo of the damaged wings. he twittered that he thought he saw engine parts ripped through the wing. >> it's a hollywood movie type moment where you think you're watching it from the outside but then you're a part of it somehow. >> a bang and another dip. >> what kind of bang? >> you know, a bang. >> reporter: officials say there was no explosion but have grounded the fleet until further investigation. >> we will suspend services until we are completely confident that qantas safety requirements have been met. >> reporter: qantas, one of the safest airlines admits it's never experienced anything as serious as this before. qantas says it will put up all the passengers in singapore overnight and fly them to sydney tomorrow. but it's difficult to imagine how any of the people on that flight can sit back and enjoy

that flight or any flight. >> jim, thanks. in the wake of the republican success in tuesday's mid-term elections which president obama called a shellacking for democrats, the president said he's willing to negotiate on extending bush-era tax cuts, energy and education but has resisted making anything but minor changes to health care reform saying americans don't want another two-year battle on the project. ben bernanke says inflation is a risk in the plan to pump $600 billion into government bonds but hopes it will jump start the economy, drive interest rates lower than they are already and create jobs. tropical storm tomas is threatening to hit haiti as a hurricane early friday. the government is warning more than one million people living in tent camps since january's devastating earthquake to secure shelters or evacuate. scientists in germany are

developing a new micro chip for blind patients that can restore partial sight. doctors say they hope the technology will one day help the elderly regain lost vision. two philadelphia dentists are fighting the post halloween cavity rush one pound of candy at a time. they plan to buy back loot from kids and send what they collect to troops in afghanistan where troops would presumably eat the candy slower than children. it's five minutes past the hour. now to matt, amy and al. >> that's an ingenious idea, ann. thank you very much. what are you doing, mr. roker? >> we're keeping an eye on tomas which is bearing down on haiti. as we take a look and show you what's going on today, we have wet weather up and down the eastern seaboard. heavy showers and thunderstorms from miami to new york city. rainfall amounts generally one to wo inches. some areas may pick up a much as three inches. tomas, 305 miles away from

haiti. even if it doesn't make hurricane strength it will cause problems as it passes to the west of haiti which puts haiti on the eastern side of the storm which is the strongest for wind and rain. we could be talking 10 to 12 mu inches of rain before it's over. here's a live view of oakland airport. hazy skies. and i can show you the reason why. high clouds coming in from the west and possibly showers. further off to the west that may arrive late on friday, though the first system we'll see tomorrow looks kind of weak. it may just bring us more clouds and cooler temperatures. today 70s and 80s inland at least for one more day. tomorrow we'll cool off and cool off a bhol lot more for the weekend. sunday appears to be our best bet of seeing rain for most of the bay area. and that's your latest weather. ann? ♪ >> announcer: "today's money" is

brought to you by bank of ameri america. >> this morning, six painless ways to cut your grocery bill. if you can't find time to clip coupons you can save lots of money by learning to be a smarter shopper. we have todd marx, senior editor from consumer reports magazine, joining us this morning. >> good morning, ann. >> the average family of four spends about $6,000 a year on groceries, that's about $115 a week. you say if we are smart we can save a lot of money. >> yeah. supermarket shopping isn't rocket science but shopping behavior is based on assumptions. if those are wrong, you can end up spending way over budget. so that's what it comes down to. there are a lot of tricks one can employ to save money. >> one of the assumptions is that at the end of the aisle, the things right before the checkout, that those things will be on sale. you call them eye end caps.

>> end caps, the fancy displays at the front or back of every aisle. stuff is piled high and theoretically sold cheap. they are very powerful selling tools. they outsell everything in the store. people assume the item is on sale. most of the time it is, but many times it is not. sales can go up by a third just by putting it there because people believe it is on sale. it is also a destination for merchandise which may be near the end of the shelf life. >> be careful of that. >> yes. >> we have been taught to compare unit prices but it's hard to figure. what's your best advice? >> unit price is the holy grail of saving money. thanks to the bar code stickers under every shelf where each item is. that way you can tell if a 12-ounce bottl of ketchup is cheaper or more expensive than the 32-ounce bottle. people assume the smaller size always costs more than the bigger size. economies of scale. the reality is that one in four

instances, the smaller size is cheaper because it's being promoted. if you look at the cost per ounce, quart, pound, per 100 sheets, that gives you the true price rather than the gross price of the product itself. >> we often get things in the mail and sometimes throw them out, but we have been hanging onto them more lately because they give us what we think are sale items, what we can get for cheaper. you say -- >> you've got to be careful about the flyers. a lot of times people assume it is on sale because it was mentioned in the flyer. everyone assumes it so much that the sale of any item in there can go up by as much as 500% with the mention of the product. again, it may only have been mentioned because the manufacture paid an ad placement fee to get the product mentioned. you've got to know your prices. >> seems we are going too fast, not reading the fine print and these signs that you can buy

five boxes of cake for $5. >> oh, yeah. >> you say you don't have to buy allot five and you get the discount? >> absolutely. the devil is in the details. it's the fine print. tlas psychological study done that shows when people see a number and it's planted in your brain, ten cans of soup for $1, they automatically tend to buy ten because they have the connection. in reality, there are very few products put on the shelves that mandate you buy the entire ten to get the discount. you can get a discount on one. you don't have to overstock shelves by buying ten. >> we all buy bread, bakery goods as much as we can because kids like sandwiches and we usually go to the brands we like. you say to consider buying from the store's bakery. more stores have bakeries. you don't get to find out what's in the bread. so the benefit is you get a cheaper -- >> not only that. many more stores are being

health-conscious. that means they are providing a lot of artisan breads. the handmade products that are high in quality and they can save you 40 to 350% off the price off the packaged national brand. people don't think about it, but we found a six-pack of rolls from pepperidge farm or other companies that cost 40% more. smart thinking, fresh, right out of the oven. can't beat that. >> our assumption is the quality will be better because we have a name brand but you're saying the quality has gone up so much in the bakeries. >> and a lot of them don't have preservatives so you are not stuck with what's in the packaged product to keep it fresh. >> another thing that we don't usually take the time to do is check receipts. how often have we been overcharged? >> about 6% of the time. that number has stayed fairly constant in the supermarket arena for years that consumer reports has been surveying

shoppers. but here's the thing about that. if you're overcharged, if you don't look at the receipt carefully you have a tendency to get screwed out of money. here's why. most supermarkets have a policy and that policy says if we overcharge you, if the scanner is programmed wrong, you will get not only a refund but we'll give you the item for free. the onus is on the consumer to act first. you've got to bring it up to customer service. i have done it a thousand times and i always get the item for free. >> so you're not just saying making sure they didn't charge you for something you didn't have. >> right. >> you're saying make sure you know enough about what the price should have been so even though it says the number that the scanner number could itself be wrong and that's the important thing. >> 6% of the time the prices are wrong. if you don't know the prices you stand to be overcharged. if not, what's the worst thing? you go home and didn't get overcharged. if they make a mistake, they have to pay for it. >> i bet you save a lot of money on groceries.

>> they don't like me in the stores. >> thanks for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> more of "today's money" on our website at todayshow.com. coming up, what you need to know about flu vaccines this year. up next, what fees to pay or ftt before you fly home for thea that's coming up after this. t. it's pretty cool. [ woman ] you just feed your check in. feed the money right in. no deposit slips. no looking for an envelope. i have an image of my check right here. i can get a picture of the check, on the receipt. it even tells what kind of bills i put in. [ man ] you just put the bills right in. it even did the math for me. -four twentys. -a ten. -two fives. -a hundred bucks. -it's all right here. ♪ i'm done, i'm outta here. [ male announcer ] quick and easy deposits. with atms from bank of america. ♪ should we order panda blossom, panda moon... how about chinese at home with wanchai ferry? you can make it in just 14 minutes. mmmh, orange chicken. great. i didn't feel like going out anyway.

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after 2 starter doses we knew the perfect place to go. i guess i did okay. i knew they'd love him. try our new sacchetti dishes. pasta pouches stuffed with four italian cheeses. served with marinated chicken breasts or sauteed shrimp. at olive garden. ♪ holiday road this morning on "today's travel," saving money on holiday airfare. everything from food to pillows to leg room is being charged for. what's worth your extra bucks? kate maxwell is here from conde

naste. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> these won't go away. >> i don't think so. but flight prices haven't changed much and the fees are optional. pick and choose what you want to pay for. >> let's get started. checked baggage can cost $15 and up depending how many people are traveling with you. that's the cost of the ticket almost. >> practically. >> who are the pros and cons. >> there are airlines that don't charge. southwest you can have two for free. the pros, you have a bag and may have too much stuff to pack into a carry-on. but there are a lot of cons. professional travelers never check a bag. the reason, last year 25 million bags were lost by airlines globally. can you imagine george clooney in "up in the air" checking a bag? turn into george clooney and try

to take a carry-on. >> you say it's north worth it. only if necessary. >> check one bag, one big bag, pay one fee, not two for two smaller fees. weigh it and it's about 50 pounds. >> food. if it's a short flight, what's the difference? no problem. >> exactly. s >> what do you think? >> it's a way to save money tuck an apple, energy bar or a sandwich in the bag. the food can be pricey. >> we know how good it usually tastes. >> it doesn't taste that good, no. >> they are now offering an extra fee if you want to board early. >> yes. this is something that frequent flyers get it for free. if you're at the back of the plane and worried about cramming your carry on there or if you

want to settle small children, but most of us say the less time on the plane the better. >> happens if the plane doesn't go? now you have to go through the refund process, what a mess. >> exactly. >> in-flight entertainment. you can spend $5 to $7 on this. >> i know you're a fan of the ipad. $5 is cheaper, but a lot of airlines have wonderful entertainment systems. games, movies, live tv. so if you're into that stuff, if you want to keep the kids happy, perhaps it's worth it. >> what about the tight quarters and extra leg room? i'm not that tall so it is not a big deal for me, but for somebody it's a good deal. >> it's all about the length of you and the length of the flight. if you are a short person on a short flight don't do it. if you're a tall person and the flight is over two hours it may

be worth the money for the comfort. >> what about blankets and pillows? they kind of skeeve me out to begin with. what do you think? >> if you're a germaphobe, we are all scared of bed bugs. they have been on planes. that's a way to avoid them, absolutely. we recommend taking your big scarves, shawls, bulky clothes on them. you can cuddle up with them and save money. >> on the other hand, if you get bed bugs you can say, hey, kids, i brought you home something. thank you, kate. >> thank you. >> still to come on "today," four-time "playboy" cover girl kendra wilson is now a mom and star of her own reality show. first, these messages. hi, we're looking to save some money on our car insurance. great! at progressive, you can compare rates side by side, so you get the same coverage, often for less. wow! that is huge! [ disco playing ] and this is to remind you that you could save hundreds!

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♪ your favorites, in pieces.

coming up, what you need to know about your flu shot this year. >> and trouble for actor charlie sheen. he's back in thnheadlines. >> and the cookie guidelines through seven decades. it encourages him to move... ... and learn. it also works wirelessly with your tv. "a," "b," "c," "d," "e," "f," "g"... so his littlest actions make big things happen. green triangle ! duck ! the more he wiggles... the more he learns. and older kids like chloe... ♪ head shoulders... ... really get rockin' ! ♪ ... knees and toes... knees and toes ! ♪ you go, girl ! the learn & move music station only from fisher-price. ♪ play laugh grow

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good morning. it is 9:26. a look at our morning commute. >> there's still a couple of slow spots as you might imagine one of them would be the east shore freeway. still about a half hour off the bridge. a later clearing for the east shore freeway. meet erg lights turned on early. a lot of people heading in to the city. mcarthur boulevard in oakland, a new accident, a car in on a tree at market street. but for the south market at 106, that incident has cleared from the earlier double car crash that we talked about.

we had 880 a little slowing coming through oakland. otherwise pretty good through the east bay. and a nice forecast today despite the fact we have more clouds filling in. not rain producing clouds, but beginning late tomorrow and especially come sunday, we'll see a chance of some raindrops and cooler temperatures. this after a day today that we'll see 70s and low 80s inland for one more day. tomorrow more clouds, thenal cooling. sunday looks to be possibly the wettest day of the next seven as we cool off for the weekend. more news right after the break.

san pablo police now know who abandoned the toddler on the side of the street. a woman turned herself in this morning after a boy was found wearing only one shoe wandering in the front yard of a housing complex. he's between 18 months old and two years. the woman reportedly jumped into a cab after dropping off the boy, but police now have talked to her and the child is said to

be okay. coast guard working to contain another bay area fuel spill, this one from a tugboat that is taking on water and leaking diesel into an east bay. the tug is partially submergedner antioch. a boom has been set up to contain the sheen. coast guard says the tugboat has the potential to leak up to 800 gallons of fuel. i'll have another update for you in about half an hour. "today" show returns in less than a minute.

♪ he's been called flamboyant, outspoken, self-assured, wildly successful and controversial. he's kanye west and is part of the special thanksgiving week concert series. also on the bill that week we have susan boyle who we don't need to describe. you can listen to her. she's fantastic. also we have kings of leon and the singer/songwriter/musician

and producer bruno mars live on the plaza thanksgiving week. we'll have a good time. >> we are all over the map on this one. it's great. >> meantime, coming up in this half hour, here we are. we'll be talking about flu season. there is no cure for the common cold, but you can get a flu vaccine to protect yourself and your family. so in a moment, a pediatricianas about the flu shot. >> also charlie sheen in the wake of a headline-making night in new york and a stint in rehab he's reportedly hired a so-called sober coach and filed for divorce. we'll bet get the latest on that. >> and who doesn't like cookies? do you like cookies? >> everybody likes cookies. especially the cookie summonsmo >> we have some of the best sweet treats through the decades and we'll sample some. a little history lesson.

>> look at the butter being churned like that. >> seven decades of cookies? they may be kind of old. but that will be good. what about the weather? i'm like a seal. >> hercules, hercules. see what's going on as far as the saturday is concerned. we have lake effect snow in the eastern great lakes. rain in new england. then on sunday, marathon sunday we have a morning temperature of 37 degrees. by the end, about 47 degrees. the rest of the day on sunday, sunday, you're looking at a few snowshowers again in the eastern great lakes. more heavy rain in the pacific northwest. mild from the plains down into texas. breezy in the western great lakes into the central plains. here's a view fr of low level hayes. at the top of the screen we have mid and high level clouds coming on through. today will still be warm.

san jose 78. low to mid-70s up and down the peninsula, but starting tomorrow, we'll see a stronger seabreeze, more low level clouds and even a slight chance of showers for friday night and early saturday. but at this point sunday looks like the day we'll see rain and a much cooler finish to the weekend. that's your latest weather. >> up next, charlie sheen hires a, quote, sober coach, unquote. we're back after this.

["stir it up" playing] stir up a smile with hershey's syrup.

women: no! announcer: it's the unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks lunch. only at olive garden. featuring four homemade soups. enjoy all you want for just $6.95. now...what about tomorrow? how about soup, salad, and breadsticks again? great idea! i love it! 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.

would you like me to read you a story? you can't read. [ grandma ] 'twas the night before christmas, and all through the house... whoa, that's grandma. [ grandma ] ...nothing was stirring, not kara, not maya... how does she do that? magic. [ grandma ] ...grandma loves you. [ both ] goodnight, grandma. [ female announcer ] be there to read them a story every night. read it to me again. [ female announcer ] hallmark recordable storybooks. this christmas, make it wonderful at your hallmark gold crown store. now to new developments with actor charlie sheen. he's now filed for divorce from his estranged wife and is taking another step following his alleged drunken rampage at a new

york hotel. jeff rossen has details. >> reporter: there's talk of martin sheen getting involved and now charlie sheen admits he needs help and is an addict. in fact, he's hired a sober coach, a full-time counselor, to keep him away from drugs and alcohol. the coach has even moved into sheen's house. good morning, charlie. >> reporter: new video of charlie sheen, cigarette in hand. happy to go back to work today? >> reporter: this week the highest paid actor on tv is back on the set of "two and a half men." >> the good news is you are a n. fectly healthy 50-year-old >> i'm only 40! >> tell that to your liver. >> reporter: but it's not back to normal. sheen has a shadow. a new sober coach who follows him everywhere, even to work. his mission -- keep sheen away from drugs, alcohol and trouble. >> initially the sober coach will want to test him regularly, probably daily, maybe multiple times a day. the coach needs to act as a barrier. sometimes a physical barrier

between a client and a bag of dope or a client and a bottle of booze. >> reporter: help sheen could have used last week in new york. seen in these tmz photos partying with a porn star. that's christina walsh, known on her videos as capri anderson. soon, police forces say, she and sheen were inside the room at the plaza hotel where he went on a drunken, naked rampage. >> why did you lock yourself in the bathroom? >> reporter: tmz caught up with walsh wednesday for the first time since the incident. >> the public wants to know what happened that night. >> reporter: she wouldn't say a word about that night or charlie sheen. now realizing how deep his addiction is, sources close to sheen say his new sober coach has even moved in with him. for a man who's battled addiction and anger for years, experts say a coach may not be enough. >> things with charlie are dire. he has a serious addiction and needs a lot of help.

charlie needs the full spectrum of addiction treatment. >> reporter: if charlie sheen is to win the battle, he'll do it alone. this week he filed for divorce from his third wife brooke mueller. according to court papers, sheen will pay her over $750,000 plus more than $1.2 million to buy her out of the house they shared. sheen and mueller will share custody of the twin boys and he'll pay her $55,000 a month in child support. on top of the child support he's already paying his second wife, denise richards. >> charlie sheen's bad boy persona endeared him to many. the fact that he hired a sober coach and filed for divorce in the same week is a clear indicator that he wants to refocus his life. >> reporter: sheen's pending divorce may not be the only legal issue right now. the porn star in the hotel room said she plans to sue charlie sheen claiming she feared for her life. i think the reason he's able to continue on like this is because he keeps getting work. people say he showed up to set

on time this week and everything has been fine so far. >> we have much more coming up including what you need to know about the flu vaccine this year. that's right after this. ugh, my sinuses... the congestion... it's your fault. naturally, blame the mucus. well, i can't breathe. did you try blowing your nose? of course. [ both ] and nothing came out. instead of blaming me, try new advil congestion relief. what you probably have is swelling due to nasal inflammation, not mucus. and this can help? it treats the real problem of your sinus symptoms, reducing swelling due to nasal inflammation. so i can breathe. [ mucus ] new advil congestion relief. the right sinus medicine for the real problem. but when i take four pork chops and sprinkle on a packet of hidden valley ranch, i get something that's anything but traditional... ranch pork chops. [ male announcer ] hidden valley ranch. mix it up. we get double miles on every purchase.

so we earned an la getaway twice as fast. we get double miles every time we use our card. [ whistling ] no matter what we're buying. and since double miles add up quick... romans! get em! [ garth ] ...we can bring the whole gang. [ sheep bleats ] it's hard to beat double miles. whoa -- he's on the list. but we're with him. [ male announcer ] get the venture card from capital one and earn double miles on every purchase, every day. go to capitalone.com. [ indistinct shouting ] what's in your wallet? [ indistinct shouting ] we knew the perfect place to go. i guess i did okay. i knew they'd love him. try our new sacchetti dishes. pasta pouches stuffed with four italian cheeses. served with marinated chicken breasts or sauteed shrimp. at olive garden. key lime pie, pineapple upside down cake.

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this morning on "today's family," the flu season. it is that time of year when the virus is passed around schools, day cares and the office. that means it's time for you and your family to get the flu shot. dr. tanya altman from the american academy of pediatrics is here to fill us in on the flu vaccine facts. good morning. >> good morning. >> every year the facts are different and there are different reasons to get them and who should get the shot.

i will start with the first question. this year, who should get the flu vaccine? >> everyone 6 months of age and older should get the vaccine. that's what i recommend to my patients and my own two boys have received it since they were 6 months old. if you have an infant, protect them by protecting everyone in the house. parents and grandparents roll up your slooe or take a sniff to protect your family. >> my family got the shot last friday. you know, it's tough getting a needle and sometimes your arm is sore, but there is the mist as well. what's the difference between the two? what do you suggest? >> the flu shot is an inactivated flu. the spray is a great option if you don't like needles and are a healthy person age 2 to 49. it's a weakened vaccine and there is no needle involved. some people cannot get the flu mist. if you're pregnant, have a chronic medical condition or have a history of asthma or

wheezing, get the shot, not the mist. >> and every year the vaccine is updated. this year is different because it includes h1n1 as well. >> exactly. every year when they make the flu sack vietnam they make it to protect against the top three strains. this year it includes h1n1. only one vaccine is needed. >> this is a big one. we talk about it every year. there are a lot of myths about the flu vaccine and probably the biggest one is people say, well, i got sick or i got the flu right after i had the vaccine. is that possible? >> contrary to possible belief you cannot catch the flu from the vaccine. the flu shot is a killed virus vaccine. other than a sore arm side effects are rare. with the nasal spray it is so weakened that you can't catch the flu or gate serious symptoms. some people complain of mild congestion and rarely children will get a fever.

in my office we have given over 3,000 doses of the flu vaccine and we have not seen serious side effects or received parent calls complaining of side effects or flu symptoms after the vaccine. >> that speaks loudly. for kids if they are under a certain age often they have to have two doses of the vaccine. why is that? >> for children under age 9 they need two doses at least four weeks apart for full protection. how do you know if your child needs full doses. if it is their first year getting the vaccine they need two doses. if they didn't get the h1n1 last year or haven't received two in a past season they should get two this year. >> what about pregnant or breastfeeding women. any concerns? >> if you're pregnant or breastfeeding get the flu vaccine. pregnant women have a higher chance of becoming seriously ill if they catch the flu. if you're pregnant ask or a flu

shot and if you're breastfeeding or pregnant this year you can get the nasal spray. >> you mentioned the flu vaccine tries to protect everyone from the three most likely strains, but we know there are hundreds of strains of flu out there. if you happen to get one of the nonprotected strains what should you look for? what are symptoms of the flu and what can you do once you get it? >> every year i take care of children to catch the flu. they look so sick with glassy eyes, aches and pains, no energy, high fever, cough, sore throat. don't forget the flu causes thousands of deaths every year. what i find hard as a pediatrician is not only taking care of children who are so sick with complications from the flu or nuis that it could have been prevented. >> coming up, all things cookie. first this is "today" on nbc. it's not that the easy days, are what keep me coming back for more. and the customer says, on the carpet." what? gonna be difficult. don't tell me about a dog. a day care full of kids, house chickens. call a day's work. call 1-800-steemer

i have fallen in love with making bird houses. caw caw! [ director ]what is that? that's a horrible cr. here are some things that i'll make as little portals. honestly, i'd love to do this for the rest of my life so i've got to take care of my heart. for me, cheerios is a good place to start. [ male announcer ] got something you'll love to keep doing? take care of your heart. you can start with cheerios. the natural whole grain oats can help lower cholesterol. brrrbb... makes you feel ageless. [ male announcer ] it's time. love your heart so you can do what you love. cheerios. [ bob ] squak.

this morning on "today's kitchen," hot chef. the hottest cookies and being creative in the kitchen. the editors have put together a sweet selection of the best cookie recipes through the year called the gourmet cookie book. sarah moulton even worked in the test kitchens for a couple of years. >> i did briefly and then in the dining room. >> what have we learned from history? >> we kept the language the same as it was written but we have notes to update the recipe. you can see how the language and style changed and what people were eating. this is from the '40s. they have no brandy in them. they are british cookies and decided they didn't need the brandy. this is a recurring theme.

when you're trying to be fancy you shape the cookies. >> this is during world war ii so there was rationing. >> we did use a little sugar but they wouldn't have. >> and these? >> these are like a madeleine with rum-soaked raisins. very elegant. >> there is a trend here. >> there's not alcohol in everything. these are cottage cheese cookies. we were trying new tastes and you see ingredients like cottage cheese in cookies which is like ricotta and there is pine nuts and pineapple. there is alcohol in this. >> wow. >> this is an article written by a mystery writer. it's an interesting cookie from ireland with oats on the outside. so healthy. >> it's got oats! >> these are great bars from atlanta. we are starting to cover the '70s through '90s america. these are the best pecan pie in

a bar. >> you love these. >> this is my favorite from a store called the bakery in l.a. and what was interesting is, a, people started really eating chocolate but not designer. this is unsweetened chocolate, chocolate chips, ingredients from the supermarket. best chocolate cookie you will ever eat. >> and these? >> polish apricot cookies. i'm beating cream cheese and butter. >> so there is no sugar in the dough? >> no. it's four ingredients. those two, flour and salt. this is a little trick, al, when trying to add dry ingredients to a mixer, put them in foil to get them in easier. you get the idea. chill the dough, divide it into four pieces. we have one here. >> i see two different kinds of aprico apricots. >> this is turkish and this is california. tell me what you think.

i'm going to fill one down here. what do you think? >> which one is this? >> this is the california. it's a little blander. >> do you think so? i think it's more acidic. this is sweeter. >> the turkish. >> this is more acidic which is why we picked it for the recipe. you want the california apiary cat. >> we have honey, orange marmalade, apricots, raisin and cinnamon. it's simmered together and pureed. roll out the dough between sheets of wax paper, put the filling on there -- i should let you do it. you're a cook. >> i will try. >> go ahead and we shape them like this. take the two edges, brush them with egg wash and fold them over. >> it's like a cookie wonton. >> they did it nicely like this to go like that. then these are baked at 375 for

17 to 20. i found it took less time. it depends on the oven. >> sure. >> so use the glue. there you go. >> just like that. >> these are tasty. there are 69 cookies in there and a lot of history. talking about what's going on in the issue, it's fun. >> fantastic. >> here they are. >> not too sweet. what year are these from? >> 2000. i don't remember exactly what year. the cream cheese makes them very tender. ann, do you want to try a chocolate won? >> she knows ann. >> and the california apricots. >> what's coming up? >> hoda and kathie lee have kendra wilkinson and more after this.

good thursday morning.

it is 9:56. it was a busy morning. how about now? >> finally just before 10:00, we're starting to see a little break. the 880 finally sorting itself out, but still slow in the northbound direction from 280 past the scene of the earlier major extent and taking you up to 237. but of san jose a new accident. four cars involved. a lane blocked there. that's what's causing all that slowdown. for the north, slowing through san mateo. 92 looks nice over the bridge. >> 80, sunshine around. and you can see some high clouds offshore and a few more clouds off to the west. this will be heading our way for friday. may cause a few isolated shower, but i think it will be sunday, that will be the day you'll want to dust off the umbrella. no worries about that today, though. seventh a 70s and 80s in-lapd. him tomorrow cooling and sunday expect to see rain and we all get an extra hour's sleep there on sunday morning.

>> that's good news. don't be late to church. it could cost you nor watch a losing pay area football team. the 49ers may increase season ticket prices by 20%. that means premium seats could jump from $295 to $350 per game. d goal line tickets will stay about the same. the city's recs and park commission will vote on the price hike today. the price increase is not final. the final tally is in on the number of bay area fans who lined up the streets for the giants victory parade. it was huge. more than a million people came to san francisco for yesterday's ticker tape parade through city streets and the civic center plaza. fans and players overjoyed. i got to ride on the nbc bay area float along with brent, diane and jeff. so much fun. so amazing. got to love the giants.

i'll have another local news update in about half an hour. lots of lotions promised healing. this one actually does it. [ female announcer ] gold bond ultimate healing lotion. nothing feels like it, smells like it, heals like it. gold bond. this stuff really works.

from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb, live from studio a in rockefeller plaza. >> hello, everybody, it's thursday, november 4th. i'm delighted to report, hoda, that for the third straight week in a row, you were on the "new york times" best seller list. >> what is happening now? >> good for you. on sale now. >> yes!

>> and browse about the bookstore on the main drag. i'm doing a little book signing on saturday. >> tell people what time. >> 11:00 to 1:00 on saturday if you happen to be there. it's a cute bookstore. >> well, i want you very much to get a good night's sleep at some point before that happens. so -- >> what? >> bring it in, boys. >> oh, you did not bring a bed. >> hoda's got a brand new blow-up mattress. >> that's just terrible! and pillows! >> and pillows. >> okay. >> now you're all set. >> i do need a comforter. that's perfect. this is like a great day. i cannot tell you. i'm going to complain for 20 seconds and then i'm going to stop complaining. my phone didn't get hooked up, and parts of the bed aren't there. they didn't build it, they didn't show. and now they're coming on tuesday. i was on the phone for 45 minutes before the show, and then holding to get my phone

reconnected, another 45. >> that's the thing, you think about how your life is ebbing at anyway at this point, and then think about the hours you waste -- >> you can't get a phone number and then they won't let you keep your old one. and when they gave me a new one, they said someone forgot to do the paperwork, it'll take another week to ten days. so people are trying to call to say we're bringing your bed, there's no phone. >> look at what we took care of for you. >> thank you, thank you for the pillow with your face on. that'll get a lot of use, i'm sure. >> everybody wants to sleep with that pillow. how exciting is it with you the book's doing well and people are loving it. what are people saying to you? >> they want to know about you. it's been fun. it's been a lot of fun. i didn't know what it was going to be like. you get a lot of one-on-one with people. people bring you cookies. >> and they tell you what they think. >> yesterday i was at the harmony club, and it was a nice group of women. and it was a fun group and we sold some books.

>> one woman looked at her and said, i'm getting it on kindle, it's cheaper on kindle. >> i knew she wasn't. and i'm fine with that. >> i saw because you couldn't be with us, i saw such a good show yesterday. sonny and i went to see "a life in the theater." it's a play. i guess it's like 30 years ago or something. but i think it stands up just beautifully to time. because it's about an old-timer patrick stewart who plays, you know, a man who has been in the theatre all his career. and it's starting to fall apart a little bit near the end. and the young whipper snapper t.r. knight, he's trying to teach the ways of the theater. i howled. it's very funny. and i don't think you have to be in the theater to enjoy this at all. it's two very fine actors doing great work. >> i'm going to be back on the train next wednesday. >> well, t.r. knight will be with us on friday.

>> well, then, you're going to have to carry that segment because i didn't see the play. car >> carry you on my back like i always do. charlie sheen has made a big move. charlie sheen has decided to hire something called a sober coach. it's a sober coach. so i guess the coach now lives in the house and watches what he's doing 24/ 7. >> yeah, especially into bathrooms, because that's where a lot of this stuff takes place. i know. i read page six. >> you do read page six. >> so i wonder if that's going to work. what do you think? by hiring a coach, i guess you're saying i have a problem, right? >> he admitted it. and admitted what was plain to everybody else that he does have a problem and that's the first step towards, you know, healing if healing's possible for him. and we hope it is. >> yes, we do. >> if you guys have had this issue, a neighbor walks their dog and the dog does its business on your lawn. and the neighbor just walks away. >> keeps walking. >> keeps walking like nothing

happened. well, one guy got frustrated because somebody was bagging up their doggie's business and throwing it into his bushes. he got sick of it. so he set up a camera, videotaped it, and realized it was his neighbor who was toss -- and just went to the bush every day and just threw it in there. like what's the problem? >> our doggie poo? >> yes, you can't do that. >> really? >> that's a no. fish can do it, but no dog stuff goes in there. i think the stuff is, the guy was upset. but they ended up filing a citation against the neighbor. so he got in trouble. and then the neighbor on the the receiving end of the stuff ended up posting that video on youtube. >> which you think was going a little too far, right? >> do you? >> why would you post the the video of the guy? it's terrible he did that. but a lot of people do have that

issue with people who either mow their lawn or rake their leaves and somehow it ends up on your lawn. they keep crossing over. and they don't care. >> no, they don't, hoda. you be thoughtful of that now that you've moved into your new apartment. because you've not neighbors, you know, that are going to know all of your business. >> what are you talking about? they can hear things? >> you can hear a little. >> really? >> not much, but you'll hear a little. you'll see when you move in. >> we should explain. hoda has been living in an apartment for a long, long time and regaled you with the stories about the problems she's had at the aforementioned apartment. i have been staying in the city an awful lot because it's quite a commute back and forth. and sometimes it's twice or three times a day at sometimes. and so we broke down and got a little one-bedroom apartment. but it's in the same building -- >> -- as mine. >> -- as hoda and david

friedman's. everyone has a story and it's about to get more interesting. >> yes, it is. >> i'll be over to borrow a cup of sugar. >> okay. and i think i'll answer the door. i don't know. all right. so here's something that's kind of raunchy. this is -- should we do the backpack stories? let's do it. so there was this young boy. how old is he? >> he's 9. >> he's 9. we want to show you. this is the backpack he wore to school. okay? he's 9. >> is that kendra? >> he went took this to elementary school. his parents complained, they said don't use that backpack anymore. he's been using it two years. why was it going on for two years? anyway, the dad got upset his kid couldn't carry that backpack in and fought it. so the kid gets to go in with the backpack, he has to take the books out when he gets into the school, leave it with the principal, and pick it up when he goes home. >> i think the problem is the

father letting him carry that backpack to school. >> yeah. >> teachers and schools and principals get a lot of flak. what they have to put up with because parents are not doing their jobs in the homes and they ship off every day their badly-behaved children and expect, you know, the teachers to teach them what they're not being taught themselves. >> right. all right. it's time for your play list. let's hear it. >> if you like michael franty, and you do. he sings "say hey." this one is called "shake it." let's listen. ♪ >> get ready. you have a margarita in your hand. there feel it. ready, go. ♪ ♪ just the way you are ♪ just the way you are ♪ shake it, shake it, shake it like a tamborine ♪

>> do you like it? >> no. i hate it. >> think about a margarita on the beach. >> stop talking. ♪ >> a little, little extra waist around -- >> action. here we go. ♪ >> here we go. get ready for the chorus. here we go. ♪ shake it, shake it, shake it >> you know they like it. they're going to love it on facebook. >> no. >> all right. >> "shake it." >> get on the treadmill and do that. i'm telling you, you'll sweat, you'll be happy. >> and to do that on everyone has a story day when we labor -- labor over every word. and you can shake it, shake it, shake it. >> like a tamberine. is it okay to take your dog

on a plane? you say as long as they don't act like an animal. totally fine. >> and hoda says it's fine until they start demanding your aisle seat and wimpering for wine. >> that's funny. >> let's go to sarah. hi, sarah. >> next week we're having some fun. we were telling you about the fan of the week yesterday. but we also have on wednesdays, the "what the what" photos. the photos that make you say, huh? and we have one to show you. there was a woman that was sitting in her stroller -- a woman who stopped and said this photo made me say "what the what?" >> oh, in the kid's stroller. >> keep them coming, if it makes you say what? we'll probably say huh too? >> i said what, when my son showed up from california with three months worth of laundry. he shipped it on the plane to home for his laundry to be done.

>> no, he did not. >> yes, he did. but i'm so glad to see him. >> and he's getting bigger. >> yes, he's like 200 pounds now. yeah, yeah, yeah. all right. coming up today. what a difference a year makes for reality tv star kendra wilkinson. she's over there talking it over with joel. >> stop flirting. >> nothing good can come from that. right there, baby. ♪ [ male announcer ] we touch a lot of things throughout the day.

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from center fold to single mom, playboy bunny kendra wilkinson has been working hard to get back in curvacious shape after giving birth. she went back to l.a. without her husband, and this season of her reality show, kendra starts off with her getting a call from her agent. >> so i got a call today from my agent. >> about? >> "playboy's" asking me to pose. they're reaching out to me and asking me to pose. >> that's exactly what frank did when i told him the same thing. kendra, welcome back. >> thank you so much for having me again. >> so they asked you to pose for "playboy," and what are we going to do? >> well, i haven't decided yet. but i'm leaning more on no. and you know, i involved hank in my decision, and i also involved my fans. my fans are so important to me. and in that first episode, you'll see my fans and see what they have to say about it. >> what's the general feeling about it?

>> it was -- let me tell you, that was probably the hardest -- that is probably the hardest decision of my life. and i don't want to be, you know, older and regret not doing it. but i'm at that part -- i'm at that -- i'm 25, i'm still young, i'm still hot. and i want -- you guys are very beautiful. >> oh, yeah. 25. >> but it's like, you know, i want to be that hot mom in the public eye. but i'm like do i need to do "playboy" again to be hot in the public eye? >> did he hurt your feelings? there was a shock jock talking about how you were -- he called you a big fat boring housewife, a la mrs. brady, very unkind. did it hurt your feelings when he did that? >> you know, it didn't because i -- i'm open because there's a lot of people in this world that have their own opinions about me. and i can't stop that. i can't change that. it's like, that's man cow, and we definitely don't see eye to eye. so i kind of hung up on him.

so that's his opinion. and i can't change it. >> did it motivate you to want to get in better shape? >> it did. it made me like -- i want made me want to get back into shape and prove him wrong. not just him, but everybody that criticizes me. >> well, you put yourself out there, you know. in the reality series. so nobody's surprised then when people have opinions. >> i can't change it. i don't really care. >> what bothers me so, men have absolutely no idea what pregnancy does to a woman's body. and for them to be so glib, you know. and, you know, they don't look so great either when they show up for their 20-year reunion. >> and just a couple weeks ago, my body just started kicking back into gear, you know. now that the baby's about almost 12 months. he's, you know, he's crawling around. >> look at you. >> so there's tremendous double standard that still exists. >> what's the story? we talked about how you were quote unquote a single mom for a

while. what's the story behind the single mom issue? >> well, you know, i'm not saying single as i'm, you know -- but hank is in minnesota now playing football, i'm in l.a. trying to find a home for us. and it is -- it feels. i'm doing kind of everything by myself. >> you're still very much married. >> oh, oh, my gosh. i love my married life. we're not separated. >> i think that was some of the question, right? >> they were unclear. so how do you keep your married life alive when you are on -- on different coasts just about? >> we definitely take advantage of the, you know, the whole skype, texting. that new ipod face time. we have all that. and it's actually a blessing in disguise. you know, we get a chance to like know each other all over again and communicate. that's how we first started in our relationship is communicating on tv -- or on the phone. >> it would be harder for him, though, because he's not with you and the baby. >> i know. he's sad right now.

but i'm going to go and surprise him one day and show up. >> i plan to spend the whole month of december there with him. the baby's first birthday is december 11th. >> cool. well, happy birthday to the baby. and kendra, good luck with your show. >> thank you very much. >> don't do it. >> all right. the new season of "kendra" premieres sunday night at 10:00 p.m. on e!. up next, back with the "soup" host. self-proclaimed comedian joel mchale after these messages. h p. ♪ crackers turned into tasty, crunchy sticks! ♪ pringles cracker stix. ♪ so delicious... your mouth will be strangely attracted to them. ♪ everything pops with pringles cracker stix.

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superior natural nourishment for your skin. we make his job so easy. you all probably know the "soup" host joel mchale makes fun of what we do here. hard-working women that we are on a regular basis. besides that he's also the star of "community." >> joel plays jeff winger, the fast-talking shallow leader -- >> shallow. >> i can hear you. >> joel, welcome. >> it's great to be here -- >> don't even start with us. >> what are you talking about? i'm on your show. this is the only place i can do this in the morning. >> while you're cracking that open, a lot of people only know our show from you. >> yeah, so thanks a lot. >> no, we don't do that. >> you're number one now, right? >> while we have a sif, let's watch one of these clips. >> yeah, that's great. >> on the fourth hour of the "today" show, hoda and kathie

lee had a conversation about marital aids, but they kept it tasteful because this is a family show. >> there's a new survey out from adam and eve productions and it talks about adult -- >> careful. >> -- toys. >> i wouldn't know one if it slapped me in the face. >> okay. >> then hoda hit her across the face with a clothes iron, and kathie said, that's a sex toy? and she said, yeah, that's a sex toy and hit her again, and again and again. the fourth hour of the "today" show is sponsored by gin. >> what is this? >> oh, my gosh. >> this is good stuff. >> another clip, as well. >> you're liking this? >> no, i didn't -- >> joel, why do you continue to mock our show? >> have you seen your show?

>> no, we make a point not to watch it after wards. >> this is lightweight stuff what i'm doing here. did you see the shot of you at the super bowl dancing after you stayed up all night dancing? you were wearing the drew brees and the beads. how did you get the beads? you don't even remember it. you have no recall. yeah. see, this is what i'm talking about. >> you're an emmy-winning dateline reporter. you be careful. >> was an emmy-winning "dateline" reporter. >> this segment is over. let's do one more clip. >> yeah, lighten up. >> let's go emmy winner. >> the fourth hour of the "today" show featured what else? hoda and kathie lee drinking. >> what's in here? vodka? what is it? >> lime time syrup, apple

bitt bitter. that's what it says. >> so you just read whatever's on the prompter. that's pathetic. >> we love joel mchale. >> yeah, thanks for promoting "community." >> we're about to talk to you about that show. >> is that show still on? >> so we've got a few more episodes going of that. >> why was that picked up? >> i don't need to tell you. why? i don't know. they, you know, you guys, you do the biggest ratings on the network. so you don't really need us, but they took pity. >> this has actually gotten a lot of traction with people. they get a kick out of it. what can we expect? >> tonight, we've got hillary duff. >> playing a mean girl. >> weren't you mean to her sister haylie? >> she slapped me, and it was

over. >> don't people understand this is all in fun, our drinking is not real, and his making fun of it is not real either. >> no, i've never seen hoda dancing around a barbecue in the back of the truck. >> why do you keep bringing that up? >> it was memorable. >> they kept cutting back to you. hat show.e beshw.o what's it called? >> "community." >> that's a great show. every day, you get so hooked on the "fresh" feeling, you'll want to pass it on to a friend. over half a million have shared the freshness already so just go to getfreshwithafriend.com. ♪ tell a friend about fresh, and you'll both get a fresh reward. that now comes with the cottonelle easy reach hanger -- so it's always right where you need it. so go on, see why everyone's getting fresh with a friend! so it's always right where you need it. 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.™ the chill of peppermint. the rich dark chocolate. york peppermint pattie. good morning. 10:26. time to check the commute again. >> and still an issue for 1901. the rest is looking really good, but look at that still jammed up. the accident i told you about last half hour, finally cleared, but it is jammed in both directions just north of mountain view. so there is where 101 has a good slowing there, but southbound at hillsdale a new accident there. it still hasn't quite cleared up in the southbound direction. the bay bridge still shows slowing. there's still metering lights.

but the approach to the toll plaza not so bad aunt t. golden gate bridge looking pretty between. they typically do a shift change at this point, so don't be too concerned. we also have clouds coming in from the south and west. no rain right now. this next system that comes in friday will fall apart, but it will start to cool off our temperatures as we at the time closer to the weekend. today mid and high level cloud, 70s and 80s for one more day. tomorrow we start to cool down, maybe a slight chance of a shower friday night, but sunday looks like the day will see a little bit of rain and afternoon cooler finish to it this upcoming weekend. more news after the break.

my mercury moment happened at the beginning of the 3rd quarter. joey came over to watch the game when the storm rolled in. in through the ceiling. i switched to mercury to save on car insurance, boy am i glad they cover my home too. they fixed the ceiling, replaced the couch, they even cleaned the carpets. wish they would have cleaned this up. you know, like a makeover. save up to 15% when you combine your auto with home or renter's policy. get a fast free quote at mercuryinsurance.com

they're tries to figure out who is abusing local birds. one was spotted with a beer can around it neck. at least two or three of the birds in the same condition have been spotted near fisherman's wharf, alcatraz and half moon bay. experts say if you see a bird with a can around its neck, don't try to catch it, contact wild rescue in monterey. a $2,000 reward is being offered to find who is committing these crimes. you can make a child in need happy this christmas by donating a toy today. toys for totses will collecting new unwrapped toys. the marines are behind the annual holiday drive. volunteers will be at toys "r"

us stores today and tomorrow from 9:00 to 4:00 collecting donations. you can donate toys and baby products at any toys are us and babies "r" us store through december 5th. do a good deed. thanks so much for joining us this morning. "today" show continues next. have a great afternoon. brought to you by listerine zero, zero alcohol, less intense. ♪ surprised we never heard that on your ipod. >> we are back with more of a special series we're calling "body talk." we've tackled body odor, gas, and bad breath. >> fun. >> and now onto other flakey mess. we're talking about dandruff. ♪ >> dandruff is a yeast. it sounds really scary. it's a normal yeast.

it's found on all of our bodies. when it overproduces, then you can see it. dandruff is is caused by weather changes, hormonal changes, product build-up, and stress. >> people are conscious about dandruff because you can actually physically see it on your clothing. they feel unclean. there's this whole stigma attached to it. it's not. it's just one of those things, it's a little bit of yeast and flakings from the the scalp. >> dandruff affects many women. >> she tried everything she could think of. >> however, women are more bothered by it. they're more likely to complain about it. so in terms of actual prescriptions written, many more are written here in the united states for women than men. you have a serious problem when your scalp is itching and it's interfering with your lifestyle. >> remove these troublemakers and allow your scalp to breathe. >> dr. amy wexler is a dermatologist and the author of "mind-beauty connection." good morning, everybody.

>> good o morning, everybody. >> all right. so we're talking about the different causes of dandruff. i didn't realize there was all of those causes. stress causes it, as well? >> well, stress can make everything worse. >> yeah. >> if you have determine a tie it is, it can cause dandruff. you can also have soriasis in your scalp. >> why do they wear black outfits? they're in denial. >> very good question. >> when should you go to a doctor? when is it an issue that you think, i should use some of those shampoos or whatever, and when is it time to check in with the doctor? >> i think it's okay to try head & shoulders or t-gel for about three weeks. >> can it take that long to work? >> you can use it every day, every other day, but we have a lot of prescription options available. >> jen, you're going to talk about ways to minimize it, not really cures, right? >> not cures, but simple solutions that are going to help you out and don't feel so medicinal all the time.

we have t-gel which is popular. we've got like the neutrogina gel, or put some lemon on your scalp. >> lemon too? >> lemon is a cure for everything. >> it's a high lighter. >> it's nice for blond hair. >> it's lemon for bad breath -- lemon every day. >> is that drying it out? >> it purifies. with some of these oil treatments, which i love oil treatments for your scalp. they're great for your hair. something with an avocado oil. this one is a greek import. avocado oil is great for your skin, great for your hair, it's moisturizing. it's going to help with the cell turnover a little bit. we've got eucalyptus in this one over here. these are not going to be a cure you get in the doctor's office, but it's a quick fix. >> what is this down here? >> these, if you do get the dreaded white flakes and -- i agree, everyone with dandruff has to wear black. i don't know why, but they do it. these are teeny little touch-ups. they're little squares that you can kind of -- just for lint,

deodorant stains. it's not going to rub it down. >> have you ever seen a case that was so bad that you couldn't help it with medicines and things? >> no. there's always -- >> totally treatable. >> no. totally treatable. sometimes there's oral medicines but it owes always treatable. >> it's not just dry flaking. it's not a dry flaking, the it can still be oily and you can have dandruff? >> i didn't know, i thought dandruff was dried off skin off your head. >> i know. i was surprised it could be oily. >> it could be oily or dry. there's treatments for both. >> what sort of treatments do you offer in your office? >> there's prescription shampoos. there are prescription foams that you can put on the scalp and it doesn't mess up your harrell that treats the yeast. and then there's a yeast infection pill that really helps and a top call steroid pill that helps. >> what about head & shoulders, the regular stuff --

>> it works about half the time. >> that's what you're saying, it takes about three weeks. >> and if they don't work, you should go to the doctor. some people give up and say there's nothing for me. snoop get >> get a great fedora. >> thanks, ladies. >> thank you. up next, the story of the greatest gift a sister could give. we're going to meet the latest winners of "everyone has a story" right after this. rise and shine! [ man ] ♪ today the world looks mighty fine ♪ [ women ] ♪ pop-tarts happy sunshine time! ♪ [ man ] ♪ grab a pop-tart and you might just start ♪ ♪ to sing songs like a meadow lark ♪ ♪ stretch and yawn ♪ blow a kiss to mom ♪ cause pop-tarts mornings are the bomb ♪ ♪ so, rise and shiiiiine ♪ cause pop-tarts mornings are the bomb ♪ new revlon just bitten. it's the first two-in-one lipstain and balm. the lipstain gives me a light flush of color while the moisturizing balm softens my lips.

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now let's meet our newest "everyone has a story" contest winner. she wrote to tell us about a very special gift her sister gave to her. >> we'll meet everyone in just a moment. but first let's listen to anna's letter. >> when we were younger, my sister and i often longed for individuality. a year and a half apart in age, we were called shanna and anna. we often rebelled against our bond as sisters. but as we grew older, the heart break of my infertility diagnosis drew us closer, and my sister became a bearer of a gift that changed the course of my life. as i endured a year of struggle,

she offered to be a surrogate mother. she said her two pregnancies were easy for her and felt she was meant to give the gift to be a surrogate to another. the doctor said the only chance we could conceive would be in vitro with donor eggs. i didn't hesitate to call shanna knowing she would help. not once along the way despite painful injections, frequent doctor visits, and the procedure that required her to be sedated did she ever say no to me. even when she lost her job to travel to my home in california for two weeks for the procedure, she just kept saying, whatever it takes. miraculously the in vitro procedure worked on the very first try. and today i'm a mother of 2 1/2-year-old twin boys. as i flip through photographs of their short time on this earth, i'm reminded that shanna gave us

not just one gift, but a million little memories. she made us a family. my evan and my aiden are a gift that only shanna could give, the selfless gift of a sister's love. >> that's sweet. >> well, i think it's obvious why we picked that letter. anna's here with her two boys evan and aiden. did you go in a taxi cab? >> yes. >> really? >> went in a taxi. >> i love just how easy, how easy this decision was. that was simple. tell us about that. >> it really was. i told her from day one -- and she kept calling me and telling me she was researching the procedure. and she'd say, are you sure, they're going to do this. and i just said, anna, no matter what it is. there's nothing you can tell me that's going to change my mind. so, you know, no matter what it is, i'm ready and willing, don't worry about me. you do what you need to do. >> well, it's truly sacrificial

love. we so used the term "i love you" in a way. but if you wonder if your sister truly loves you. >> it was so good to feel so loved and to know she loved not only myself and david, my husband so much, but that she loved them before they were even born enough to do that and do it so selflessly. >> how did it feel growing these two little boys in your womb knowing you were going to give them right to your sister? >> well, i actually carried them. >> that's what i mean. >> it was the most amazing thing, because i would just think that this is a gift. this is something that i otherwise would not have had, you know. and it was just so wonderful. it was happiness every single day. >> tell us about the moment when you knew you had conceived. how did you hear about it? >> well, it's so stressful leading up. you have several days where you can't take a pregnancy test and you find out. and it's so much hope and love and, you know, so much -- so much everything comes together

at one moment. >> did you call her right away? >> i did. we called everyone, but we called her first. >> what was that conversation like for you? >> we were actually, my mom and i and my girls were actually traveling in north carolina. and we stopped to eat lunch and she called and it was an amazing, emotional. not to be able there to be with her to share that, it was hard. >> i love you talk -- >> that's what it's all about. that is what it was all for is right there. two happy boys. >> that's the way germs are spread through little piggies like that. >> exactly. we're so excited you both are here. what a terrific -- i love stories of sisters and bonding. >> gosh, it makes me miss my sister. oh, gosh, when we come back, we've written a song for you all and your wonderful story. and a wonderful singer is going to sing it for you right after this. [ male announcer ] humana and walmart are teaming up

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and we're back with anna and her sister shanna. those two little boys exited stage left a little while ago. >> with kathie. >> and now it's time for you to hear this song that was written just for you by david friedman and myself. please welcome broadway star, christiane noll. and the song is called "the power of love." ♪ ♪ when i first heard the news that i couldn't have a child ♪ ♪ i thought that i would lose my mind, i could not be reconciled ♪ ♪ to a life with no first steps, no children for laughter filled

with joy ♪ ♪ to endless christmas mornings without a little girl or boy ♪ ♪ still i couldn't see a way to have a child to call my own ♪ ♪ though i dreamed day after day to know that it's a love i've never known ♪ ♪ but a power was in play, a force i couldn't hear or see ♪ ♪ it was love that brought a miracle for someone near and dear to me ♪ ♪ the power of love ♪ the power of love ♪ is there any power that's greater than love ♪ ♪ power that brings us everything that we can dream of ♪ ♪ the power, power of love

♪ so i was shown the way through the darkness and the fear ♪ ♪ now i know day after day that love will always be right here ♪ ♪ in my heart and in my home, with a child i hold so dear ♪ ♪ i can feel the power deep within like a beacon burning bright and clear ♪ ♪ it's the power of love ♪ the power of love ♪ is there any power that's greater than love ♪ ♪ it's a love that brings us everything that we can dream of ♪ ♪ the power, power of love ♪ and the power is in everything we think and say and do ♪ ♪ it can conquer the impossible

because our dream comes true ♪ ♪ the power ♪ the power ♪ now love has brought me everything that i have dreamed of ♪ ♪ i was sanctified and satisfied and gratified through the blessed boundless power -- ♪ ♪ of love >> wow. >> beautiful, christina. beautiful, beautiful. >> come on over. join us on the sofa. >> we'll be back with more of "today" on nbc.

and we are back with everyone as the story honoring a special woman. >> christiane noll just performed "the power of love." thank you very much. and we've been joined by david, the father of the year. >> yay! >> we can see you. >> what did you guys think of your song? >> oh, beautiful. almost unreal. it was just wonderful. thank you. >> that was beautiful. >> and christiane, you've got something coming up, don't you? >> yes, i'll be singing at carnegie hall. >> 19th of november? >> 19th of november. >> we like to give a little something away. >> yes, we do. >> this is our favorite part. we know you two rarely get to see each other. so we decided the trump hotel and towers has donated a stay for you two with some spa

treatments. just the two of you, massages, the whole thing. look at your robes and all the goodies in here. complementary dinner and breakfast and a night's stay. we hope you enjoy a little r & r, which i'm sure you both need. dad is going to have to babysit. what's new? >> the kids seem so adorable. >> they're great. they're amazing. every day is they're learning something new. they're at a wonderful age. they're starting to talk and they're so much fun. >> little miracles. >> love out. >> thanks for sharing your stories. >> thanks, everybody, david. that's it for us today. but more hilarity will ensue tomorrow. >> have an awesome thursday, everybody.

in this economy, main more adults are coming in to get their teeth white anything because it's important to be presentable and self-confident when they approach an interview. >> patients are realizing that a bright healthy smile can make a huge difference to their professional life. >> i'm in sales and customer ser

have i, so having a really nice smile is pretty key. >> in a competitive job market, candidates need something that sets them apart. self-confidence can do just that. it's a simple case of investing in yourself. >> a good nice straight smile has a big impact. >> saturday, november 20th, from 9:00 to 5:00 p.m., all three bay area dental offices will be providing free consultations to answer your questions about inoviline treatment. make an appointment for this special event.