in, an angel put up, a nice remembrance. we'll be back with local news update in a half hour. tonight shows and talks about the newest terror threat from al qaeda. >> violent extremism is still out there and we have got to stay on top of it. buyer beware.

the new crime targeting women. thieves stealing purses inside your car as you fill up at the pump. how to protect yourself from so-called sliders today. wednesday, august 7th, 2013. from nbc news, this is today with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1-a in rockefeller plaza. good morning, welcome to "today." it's 7:00 a.m. on the west coast, on wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm savannah guthrie along side al roker and natalie morales. take a look at this house. >> michelle knight was there to watch it happen. she released several yellow balloons in the air, and we will have complete coverage of that in just a few minutes.

and then we have a lot of news this morning, including a cautionary tale of addiction. let's go to the story out of cleveland. >> reporter: good morning, matt. dump trucks are lining up to take away the rubble of the house, not only to watch michelle knight here to watch it, but also de-jesus' aunt was here. it did not take long at all to erase the house, but it will take longer to remove the memories from inside. >> it's difficult.

it's stressful to do this but this is one of the last steps. >> reporter: those empty of belongings the house is full of painful memories for amanda berry, gina dejesus, and michelle knight, the three women held captive here over 11 horrific years. years that knight described last week at castro's sentencing. >> days never got shorter. days turned into nights. night turned into days. years turned into eternity. living in bedrooms with toys and musical instruments but also with 99 feet of heavy iron chains strung through the walls to hold the women. windows nailed shut and an alarm system on the doors. their only bathrooms, plastic toilets rarely emptied. they were fed just one meal a day. as castro begins a life sentence in prison, the women are trying to move on with their lives. berry recently appearing on stage at a concert by rapper nelly and dejesus riding in the city's puerto rican parade. anthony castro wants to do what

he can to help. >> we would like to honor the wish of the victims and give them respect. >> reporter: he hopes today's demolition is a step in that direction. >> there's a lot of horrible memories for many people here and it's for the best for this house to be demolished. >> reporter: the crews made quick work of the house this morning, taking it down in less than 90 minutes, but on google map they blurred it out of sight in google's street view. john yang in cleveland this morning. thank you very much. we asked what the tkepl tpheugs leans for these three young ladies. >> well, this begins the healing for not only the three ladies but this community, you know. the goal of taking the house down is to make sure that there

is no remanence left of ariel castro here in this neighborhood. >> you are close to the de-jesus family, and you have been in constant contact with gina. has she talked to you about this moment? did she ever think she would live to get out the house and did she ever think she would see it torn down and demallished? >> she always had faith that she would be here. >> i understand that she and michelle knight visited the house over the last several days, and they did not go inside from what i have been told, but they wanted to view the house from the outside, a perspective they were not able to have over those 12 -- 10 or 11 years. >> they were here in the dark of the night, and they never left the house for over ten years,

and when they were rescued they were whisked in a ambulance and taken away, and in michelle knight's case, she wanted to thank the community and had to endure all the crush of the community and the media on them, but really for holding on to hope that one day they would be found and be reunited with their loved ones. >> what should be done with that site? there are a lot of different plans being put forward. how much impact will these three young ladies have in what eventually happens on that site? >> i think they will have significant impact. they are listening to the residents of greater cleveland, and i think they will have significant say to what the future use of the property will be after a long collaborative community process. think of the world trade center when it came down in new york,

the long conversation that occurred, and we are hoping it won't take that long, but we are hopeful and anticipating something grand to happen here in this space. >> an important morning in that neighborhood in cleveland. city councilman, thank you very much for your time. >> thank you, matt. savannah we have breaking news from the white house this morning. the president is canceling plans to meet with vladimir putin next month amid growing tension between the u.s. relations. peter, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you. it's a slap in the face, and the white house announcing in the last hour the u.s. president will not travel as planned to moscow where he was supposed to meet one-on-one with vladimir putin, and the new tensions exist over nsa leaker, edward snowden, and the white house now

saying the president will instead travel to sweden, and last night president obama said terrorists depend on us being terrorized, but we are going to live our lives. president obama made his first comments about the threat. >> it's significant enough that we are taking every precaution, and it's a reminder, that in all the significant steps we have made that this radical violent extremism is still out there, and we have to stay on top of it. >> we would not say whether the nsa surveillance programs tipped the u.s. off on it.

>> i think the general rule is to snow common sense and use caution. >> what i say to them and what i say to president putin, is that's the past, you know, and we have got to think about the future. >> the president insisted he will attend the g-20 summit next month. >> if russia wants to uphold the olympic spirit, then every judgment should be made on the track or in the swimming pool or on the balance beam, and people's sexual orientation should have nothing to do with it. >> about hillary clinton. >> she had the post election glow, and two weeks later after leaving the white house, they look great.

>> reporter: the president is getting comfortable on the comedian's couch, and it was his sixth appearance on the night show, and he will go to visit with marines and their families to thank them for their service. all right. thank you. >> reporter: good morning. first the u.s. identified the al qaeda plot and is now moving to disrupt it. >> foreigners at the international airport in yemen's capital, leaving the country. american citizens have been told by the state department to leave after nonessential u.s. embassy staff were evacuated on an airport c-17, and they are getting out of harm's way and

because of joint u.s. yemeni fights are intensifying. two drone strikes in 48 hours, part of the offensive authorized by the white house over the last ten days, following a lull. the ancient walled capital, there is aircraft. the kphaamerican officials said trainers are still in yemen, and busy. but al qaeda in yemen is well armed. this group doesn't hide. it wants to control the country. overnight, it shot down a yemeni military helicopter. u.s. officials say al qaeda in yes, ma' yemen was given an order for a big attack, and the u.s. is trying to delay it or stop it. the officials today claimed to

have stopped the al qaeda plot to blow up oil and gas facilities in yemen and takeover at least two ports. >> thank you very much. natalie is here with news on a big fire at an international airport overnight. >> yeah, good morning, everybody. huge flames and dark black smoke billowed up in the air, and it has forced the cancelation of inbound and outbound flights, and it's expected to cause major disruptions in air travel throughout the region. the justice department filed the first criminal charges on the attack in libya, benghazi. four americans, including the u.s. ambassador were killed in the attack. a nice wide manhunt on for a man suspected of abducting two

children in california. they were last seen on saturday, and police believe they were with 40-year-old james demaggio. the children's father pleaded for their return. >> hanna, we all love you very much, and if you have a chance, you take it, you run. >> police say demaggio may have had a relationship with the mom. the man accused of mowing down pedestrians in california killing one had his first court appearance on tuesday, and this as we are learning more about the victims. migu miguel has the story from los angeles. >> reporter: the 38-year-old suspect facing nearly three dozen felony counts including murder pleaded not guilty in court. >> he is disputing the stated facts, and the facts as to his version will come out in a court of law.

>> with nathan campbell learning more here, and we are learning more about who was killed. the italian couple's dream honeymoon turned into a nightmare. she was one of 17 people struck by a man. her sister and husband who survived the collision are planning her funeral. >> there are no words to describe. our situation our love. >> the driver accelerated and purposely swerved into the crowd. court records indicate campbell, who is said to be homeless and living in his car has spent three stints in jail for shoplifting and trespassing. >> he is quite distraught, and saddened, and he does not believe that he is a homicidal person. >> this week along the ward

walk, a growing tribute for the victims, as the man accused of the deadly collision faces the possibility of a life in prison. heated moments involving anthony weiner and mcdonald, the exchange happened before the debate started and it was caught by a photographer. take a listen. >> in case you didn't hear it, weiner called mcdonald grandpa, and the event was hosted by aarp. and one day after a successful heart procedure, doctors discovered a blockage during bush's annual physical

and inserted a stint to open the clog, and he is said to be in high spirits and expected to resume his normal schedule on thursday. actor dustin hoffman has undergone treatment for cancer. the publicist for the actor says the cancer was detected early and was surgically cured and they did not say when the actor was diagnosed or what kind of cancer he had. we are wishing him all the best today. >> maybe my favorite guest over the 17 years i have been here, and he has done something great, and the crew adored him. >> yeah, one time he brought a big basket of muffins. >> we love dustin hoffman. >> we do. we have a first check of the weather. >> we have another hurricane to talk about out in the paw secif. as we look and show you, it's about 1,425 miles east of hilo,

and it's moving northwest, and the path of the storm should stay fairly south of the big island, but again we are going to continue to watch this as it moves through you will probably see swells and clouds. west coast, looking good. pretty toasty. boise, 97 degrees today. temperatures will be in the mid to upper 80s in seattle and in eugene. look at this. it's going to be hotter in seattle than it will be in san diego. san diego, 71 degrees, and tucson getting up to 99. the rest of the country, we have a risk of strong storms in the center of the u.s., and we are also looking at rough weather as we make our way into the upper midwest, and showers from the gulf coast all the way up into western new york. that's what is going on, and we will get your local forecast in the next 30 seconds. ♪

♪ good wednesday morning. i'm christina loren. íç flight delays and 1:20 due to low clouds and drizzle. temperatures unseasonably cool. 78 degrees in 4livermore. 72 at room temperature in san jose for the 7th day of august. we hold on to unseasonably cool conditions for the next couple of days warming back up monday into tuesday. have a fantastic day. and that's your latest weather, matt. >> al, thank you very much. tonight's powerball drawing has a lot of americans dreaming big. the jackpot is now up to $425

million. that's the third largest in the lottery's history. katie has more. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. the odds are good. it's only 1 in 175 million. but it's $2 a pop. it's worth it, especially if you're thinking what i'm thinking. it's that time again. so run, don't walk to your corner store because you might just hit the jackpot. >> don't usually buy them but when the jackpot gets pretty big, then we play. >> are you going to be the one that wins tomorrow? >> are you kidding? >> so that's a yes? >> no. >> absolutely. i'm going to be the one. >> are you going to be the one? >> i hope so. i want to be the one. i really want to be the one. >> i'll share. >> after no winners last weekend, the powerball is now at $425 million. start your engines please, and let's play what can you do with

all that cash? stars in your eyes? well, you could go to the moon. you and 1,699 of your closest friends. got a sweet tooth? buyout hostess and never ever ever run out of twinkies, ever. you could buy tom brady, tony romo, carmelo anthony and david beckham combined or if you're like me, six roger federers. then again you could just buy a-rod out of his contract and save the yankees a lot of trouble. matt murphy on twitter must be sure he is going to win or that his boss doesn't follow him tweeting last day of work tomorrow ever. you can play the powerball in 43 of the 50 states including d.c. and the u.s. virgin islands, but who are we kidding, if you live on an island you already won. let's talk reality.

the jackpot is $425 million but the lump sum is $244 million before taxes. so what are we thinking? like 120, 130? 140 million? good news is we could still all go to the moon guys. you up for it? >> yeah, that sounds good. >> then you can get three roger federers. >> and a trip to the moon. >> i knew i liked her. >> meanwhile, coming up, a warning about a brazen new crime. how thieves are targeting your belongings while you stand feet away pumping gas. >> and the frantic 911 call after the near drowning of usher's 5-year-old son. >> is he breathing? >> is he breathing? is he breathing? >> why that is leading to a new custody battle for the super star. but first, this is "today" on nbc. super star. but first, this is "today" on nbc. [ female announcer ] when you asked us to remove

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♪ into time 7:26. good morning, i'm jon kelley. a 1 qurl and his 20-year-old father shot inside a home in oakland. homicide detectives trying to piece together what happened between six and eight rounds fired in back of the house this morning. and that sent right now is on for the gunman. san jose city council considering new regulations for adult themed gentlemen's club. the new rule proposed after a bikini bar would open in downtown san jose. sam liccardo wants the city to consider making adult entertainment establishments pay a public safety fee and proposing no touching rule,

brighter lights and earlier closing time. the gold club set to open tomorrow. ac transit struck a deal with union workers to avoid a strike. that happened this morning. deal includes a pay raise and changes to health benefits. a b.a.r.t. strike is still looming. a state board hearing arguments from b.a.r.t. and its unions on the stalled negotiations. but won't be slowing down is the weather. christina loren is here to talk about our wednesday. >> good morning. funny thing, 7th day of august, i've activated radar, we're not getting as many returns as we had an hour ago. america's cup is in town and win is likely going to play a factor out there. as we head throughout the afternoon, of course, catch that cup right here on nbc bay area. starting at 1:00 p.m. and it is going to be exciting just like yesterday. 78 degrees livermore. 68 degrfremont.

we'll have the seven day outlook in a few minutes. talking about the bay bridge approach. behind me, the lights are on and things are very slow here in this location. we do have an accident and that is in north bay. this is on 101 near marin wood. through petaluma. things are heavy from hayward on 880 over towards san mateo bridge headed down into the south bay. south bay, not looking at major accidents but the slow spots on 17s and toward 101. that's a quick check of morning news. [ female announcer ] new nature valley soft-baked oatmeal squares.

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nature valley protein bars. >> are you going to be the one that wins tomorrow? >> are you kidding? >> so that's a yes? >> no. >> absolutely. i'm going to be the one. >> are you going to be the one? >> i hope so. i want to be the one. you are looking at one of the newest ways on the planet to get around. the world's first human powered flying bike. we will take you for a ride in just a bit. it's 7:30 now on this wednesday morning, the 7th of august, 2013. >> it's human powered with the help of a huge fan. also ahead, check out the thieves. they are snatching purses from cars as women standing next to the cars are simply pumping gas feet away. authorities call these thieves sliders because they slide up

next to the car and jump out and steal from you. we'll tell you how you can protect yourself. christine huffington is joining us with a live interview. it's an addiction that she kept hidden from everybody in her life for years, including her mom. if you have a question about addiction for them, tweet it to us with the #asktoday was the 12th time a charm in the parents of 11 boys decided to try for a girl, and they will introduce us to their newest bundle of joy. we will begin with the 5-year-old son of singer usher recovering from almost drowning in the backyard swimming pool. gabe, good morning to you. >> reporter: usher's ex-wife filed paperwork asking for the emergency custody hearing.

the singer was not at the home during the incident, but he rue hospital after a very close call. >> a frantic 911, a boy trapped under water. >> i need the ambulance. >> atlanta police say monday afternoon 5-year-old usher raymond v was swimming in this residential pool when he got stuck in a drain. according to the police report, when the child's aunt couldn't pull him out she screamed for help and called 911. >> my nephew was in the pool and he -- he went and i couldn't get him -- i couldn't -- i couldn't get him. >> two contractors working inside the house ran to the rescue and were able to free the boy. one of them performed cpr. >> is he breathing? >> is he breathing? is he breathe stphg? >> he is breathing, yes, ma'am. >> the scare comes just a year

after another terrifying accident in the water when usher's 11-year-old step son was hit by a jet ski and killed. all this after a turbulent few years for the star of nbc's "the voic voice". he and his ex-wife tamika foster went through a battle where usher was granted custody of his two sons. now she is asking for a custody hearing claiming the children are at risk while in the care of third-party caregivers while usher travels around the world. >> in light of the accident he has to readdress his confrontation with his ex-wife and i'm sure it's another thing he would rather not deal with right now. >> reporter: so far no comment from usher. the emergency custody hearing is scheduled for friday, and meanwhile the 5-year-old boy is expected to make a full recovery, matt and savannah. >> those near drownings, those drains can be so dangerous. >> they're so powerful. >> a good reminder. >> those drains t kids get near

them and the power of the suction is very scary. >> we want a check of the weather now. mr. roker has headed outside. al? >> thanks, guys, we have friends -- mom, sorry you had to work. where is mom? >> mom is working. we're going to a broadway play. way to rub it in, yikes. sorry, mom. it's hot down in texas. heat advisories and heat warnings from mississippi up into arkansas, oklahoma, texas. it's not just the air temperature, but the feels like temperature, and it says it will feel like 108, and 107 in shreveport. but you get here in the 70s in new england. 60s in the up of michigan and on into northern minnesota. 90s interior sections of the pacific northwest. the two risk areas for severe weather both in the central plains and also upper midwest and the heat continues on into parts of new mexico.

but gorgeous in los angeles today. sunshine, 75. 7:34 on wednesday morning. cloudy start to the day over the go bridge. we have a lot of high and mid levelle clouds, not a lot of fog. updated all morning long. what is going to happen, we'll see the westerly flow, cool ocean air inland. enough of the wind so a fog isn't much of a factor even later tone when it rolls in. 58 degrees in san francisco. 72 in san jose 74 santa teresa. finally seasonal averages monday. >> al, thank you very much. this morning on rossen reports, a new crime targeting women at gas stations. thieves striking as you're standing only feet away at the pump. today national investigative correspondence jeff rossen is in midtown manhattan with more on this.

jeff, good morning. >> reporter: hey, matt, good morning to you. here at the gas station most women leave their pocketbooks on the front seat of the car. my wife does it. that's her bag right there. then you go to pump gas thinking what could possibly happen? my stuff is safe. i am standing here, feet away from my car. but that's exactly when these crooks strike on the opposite side of the car, while you are pumping gas and distracted, all of it caught on tape. >> reporter: you're watching a brazen crime in action. see this woman pumping gas off to the side. now, watch this silver car pull up next to her just like any other customer. as the woman is focussing on the gas pump, watch, the thief crouches down, opens her passenger door and grabs her purse. the entire crime takes only 19 seconds. police call these crooks sliders. >> they say it's sliding because they're sliding below the eye level of the door. >> reporter: and it's happening nationwide.

from houston to miami to washington d.c. in this case, watch as the thief checks the door, it's locked so he jumps through the window to snatch the purse. the victim pumping gas just feet away. >> this is such an easy crime for them to commit because they're in and out so quickly. >> reporter: it happened to susan while filling up her tank. surveillance cameras caught this car pulling up next to her truck. watch as the thief creeps out, opens her door, and makes off with her purse. >> i me ever even thought to lock my doors because i'm standing right there next to my car. >> reporter: but it wasn't over yet. just minutes later while susan was waiting for police to arrive, another crook hit the same station. watch this white sedan pull up to another woman's suv. the thief sneaks out and tries to grab her purse from inside. susan saw it and sprang into action. >> i ran out and i started yelling he's robbing you, he's robbing you.

i didn't want it to happen to her. it just happened to me. it's an awful feeling. >> reporter: he got away empty-handed. while cops nab some of the thieves, many are never caught. leaving women vulnerable, easy targets at the pump. >> where do you keep your pocket book when you are pumping gas? >> the front seat passenger seat. >> so it's right over -- here it is. it would be easy for a criminal to come from the other side and grab this. >> especially considering i always leave the windows down. >> even worse. >> yes. >> reporter: so how do you protect yourself? ideally police say you take your pocketbook out of the car and bring it with you to the pump while you pump gas but at the very least matt lock your doors and roll up your windows so when the crook tries to check your car from the other side he can't get in. >> roll up your window on the driver side or roll down your window so you don't lock yourself out of the car? >> reporter: good point, yeah. >> just thinking here.

>> lauer reports. >> jeff, you'll get an update on that one tomorrow. appreciate it. >> reporter: yeah. >> jeff, thank you. coming up, the man who couldn't open a water bottle at a baseball game with a new explanation for his struggles. we'll talk to him. >> and up next, the new flying bike that promises to revolutionize the way you travel. we'll take you on a ride right after this. revolutionize the wa travel. we'll take you on a ride right after this. [ male announcer ] there's a story behind the silver of philadelphia cream cheese. it always begins with fresh local milk blended with real, wholesome cream.

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at all. people have always been trying to make their bikes fly with not much success. even catching a little air is elusive. for everyone except "e.t.," until the bike with a light weight attachment. snap it together and blast off. it can fly for three hours, 9,000 feet above your city's traffic jams. >> so the first time you road on it and it worked -- >> it was crazy. >> this is a perfectly good bike. what have you done? >> it's a perfectly good flying bike now. >> like a page from "the notebook," these two engineers dreamed it up in their local public. >> complicated. >> after i don't want to know how many pints did one of you say flying bicycle. let's do it. how did it come up in conversation?

>> you should come out drinking with us. all kinds of things come up in conversation. i love that it's a completely new form of transport. >> reporter: and with those immortal words -- oh, my gosh, what do i hold on to? oh, my god. [ music playing ] beautiful. landing perfect. made it. not since "e.t." have there been such lovely bike flights, and you just ride it off again. so they envision somebody takes one of the bikes to work and then afterwards bikes out to the field and then uses it to fly away to the countryside for the weekend. there's a couple of restrictions on what you can fly it over but believe it or not you don't need a license to fly one of those

and they picture some day this would be very popular in america. so who knows? maybe one day we'll see you biking in on one of those. >> yeah, fly on over here. >> what could possibly go wrong? >> exactly. >> flying over the buildings manhattan. >> yeah. or like flying over a military installation. >> yeah, exactly. >> all right. michelle, thank you. just ahead, how long do you want to live? >> as long as possible. >> we'll tell you why most americans don't seem to totally want the fountain of youth. but first, these messages. th. but first, these messages. hey! yummm! totally got it all! don't forget your favorites, girls. hey girls! the good ol'days when we could eat as we wanted. yes, but we are not 18 anymore. sometimes if i eat as i used to my digestive system gets out of whack. it's not easy keeping it working as it should. it's easy if you enjoy an activia everyday. mmmm... delicious! with the exclusive probiotic bifidus regularis, activia helps regulate your digestive system.

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and -- >> wake up. time to get up -- >> hold on, just a second. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> this show is called "wake up with al". >> meanwhile, you are everywhere on this. everybody loved the concept of you sleeping in. >> how slow a news day was that. >> you have been getting tweets from huge -- >> a lot of tweets. >> mcdonald's tweeted stick with us, al roker, we will help you wake up for the next 29 years. >> didn't he here from walmart. >> yeah, it was fun. coming up next, we have trending in the next half hour. >> right after your local news. what is that?! ] this is ted. he's gonna help pick the color. blue. we have that. can you take him? [ gasps ] ah, we have that, too. aah! [ male announcer ] save big on a great selection at toyota's nationwide clearance event right now, get 0% apr financing on a 2013 camry.

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7:56. good morning, i'm jon kelley. family and friends of a missing oakland mother desperate for any answers. sandra coke last seen sunday night leaving her home in her mini cooper. she apparently told her 15-year-old daughter she was going to meet somebody who had information about the family's missing dog. coke, however, never returned. police found her car late flr oakland. coke is a death penalty appeals investigator for the office of the federal defender in sacramento. water is safe to drink in los altos and surrounding cities but it doesn't smell like it. cal water received close tie dozen complaints about a musty odor in the watt rp the company says don't worry about it it smells bad but it's safe to drink. the smell is from algae in the delta. this we're being told is common this time of year when the

weather is very hot. speaking of the weather, let's bring in christina loren. not hot out there now. >> not at all. nowhere in the near future. we are going to warm up towards next week. cool until then. picking up light showers in sonoma and marin county area of low pressure spinning, pushing inland. it's going to create a drizzly pattern throughout the day. you'll get a couple hours of sunshine. 72 in san jose. 74 on the way to santa teresa. let's check the drive with anthony slotter. >> things are in the heart of rush hour. congestion across the area highways, bay bridge approach bogged down. 880 things are slow there. cars stalled in the center lane on 880 north bound. that's keeping things majorly slow. san rafael moving at a snail's pace because of an earlier

accident through petaluma. that's a quick look at weather, news, traffic.

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subway. eat fresh. [ camera shutter snaps ] ♪ we're the red hatters and we're here to have fun. >> wake up florida. we're from texas. >> hi, grandma in colorado. >> wake up dad, we're on "today". >> it's my 13th birthday. it's 8:00 now on a wednesday morning. it's the 7th day of august, 2013. we got a great crowd of people gathered on our plaza this morning enjoying a sunny morning. we could get a little rain later today, but for the moment, no complaints. we thank them for stopping by. i'm matt lauer with savannah guthrie and al roker. it is always a good day on the

plaza when the red hatters are here. we love these ladies. they come about every year, don't they? >> that's right. >> yeah. some of them from kingsport, tennessee. home of our favorite john palmer. >> exactly right. anyway, remember a video we showed you a little bit earlier in the week. this guy was at a baseball game. big muscular guy, trying to open up a water bottle. kind of went viral on line. guess what? this guy is going to join us this morning and explain what happened. he's got he thinks a good explanation. >> a big dude. >> he is. >> mind your manners. then a different story, a well-known family coping with addiction. arianna huffington and her 24-year-old daughter christina are opening up to us about christina's struggle with cocaine. it's a personal story she's telling and it can serve as a warning for all parents and teens. >> and then we're kicking off a three-day series ask the expert.

first up, waiters, the advice on tipping to the right way to read a menu, and are those specials all that special? we'll find out. >> interesting answer for that. >> we have a little news to share. on friday on the plaza we were supposed to have a concert from michael buble. something came up. michael is going to send us a message and explain that tomorrow. so we're happy to tell you that stepping in, pitching in, flo rida will be here. on friday morning. so come down to the plaza and check out what is always a great concert when flo rida stops by. >> because our executive producer's wife has a shirt and flo on speed dial. # >> maybe he'll do buble tunes. that would be interesting. >> let's

it is rare to change command of an aircraft so close to safety issues. 16 people were injured when the planes' nose gear collapsed and the plane skidded to a stop. the cleveland house where ariel castro held three women captive for a decade is now a pile of rubble. it took demolition crews less than two hours this morning to tear down the house. castro agreed to pay for the demolition as part of the guilty plea. his victims and neighbors will help decide what should be done with the property. health officials say there's a significant decrease in childhood obesity nationwide. in 18 states the obesity rates for low income preschoolers are down slightly after rising for decades. despite that decline the cdc says obesity rates are too high. more than two-thirds of adults

in the u.s. are either obese or overweight. and something new may be coming to a taco bell near you. it's a new breakfast waffle taco which includes scrambled eggs, sausage and a side of syrup. it is being test marketed in southern california. it was a top seller and now it's expanding the test to about 100 restaurants in several states starting tomorrow. may go nationwide with it next year. it is 8:05. let's go back out to matt and savannah. i think al actually is the one who invented that idea with his waffle bacon wrap. >> exactly right. >> a logical progression. >> al gets ten cents of every -- no, kidding. >> he'd like that deal. >> absolutely. i will go up against taco bell with my bacon waffle any day. as far as today is concerned, oh, man, our pick city of the day, we love topeka, kansas.

they're looking at showers, afternoon storms. high of 87 degrees today. look, we have flash flood watches and severe thunderstorm watches up right now from kansas on into missouri. where we do not need more rain. they have already picked up to eight inches of rain. in fact, garden city to wichita, up to five inches. some areas locally more than that. a slight risk of strong storms and wet weather in the gulf. the heat continues in the yes, warmer in the pacific northwest and right here in the beautiful bay area, plenty of low clouds start the day. over san francisco, you can make out alcatraz, coat tower seeing a chop pick up on the bay. it will be choppy later on as the winds start to build throughout the day, flight delays an hour and 21 minutes out of sfo. check there 78, livermore, 72, bay side at the coast, 60, get nothing the upcoming weekend. only a hint warmer by sunday into monday, reaching seasonal

averages. and that's your latest weather. matt, savannah. >> all right, al, thank you ve >> and that's your latest weather. wanted to try to have one girl. so did she get her wish? we'll find out right after this. . but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can help make this a great block party. ♪ [ male announcer ] advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers

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what's trending today. the stories you're talking about online. trending on the associated press, this is a really interesting story. dad's opinion matters, at least when it comes to sibling rivalries. do you parents play favorites? did they? >> not intentionally. >> they said they loved us all equally. >> they always say that. >> what about as parents? have you ever felt you played favorites? >> i try not to. >> i try not to but sometimes you get along with one more than the other. >> okay. >> parents say they don't. >> ear muffs. >> but kids often feel differently. a new study says that when dad seems to prefer one child over another, that causes a higher rate of sibling rivalry, especially among daughters. favoritism by mothers, less likely to provoke tension. now one possible explanation has to do with men's lower life expectancy. adult children may come to value their aging fathers even more as they realize that their time with those fathers might be

limited and that might spark competition for affection. >> that accounts for it later in life. but for little kids. >> seek dad's approval. especially little girls. >> unless you're a football player when you score that winning touchdown. >> exactly. meantime trending on the website of the los angeles times, how old would you really want to live? remember that 1992 movie death becomes her? it imagined what life would be like if you could drink a potion and live forever. >> drink that potion and you never grow one day older, don't drink it and continue to watch yourself rot. >> bottoms up. >> well, seems a lot of us wouldn't have the same reaction. there was a poll that said 56% of americans wouldn't want to live to age 120 saying it would be bad for society.

so the ideal age according to the study, what would you guess? >> 90. >> 90. and by the way, an average a child born in the u.s. today can expect to live to about 79. >> i say like 85 in good health. >> but you say that until you're 84 and it's like i don't want to die next year. >> it's good health and if you're mobile. if you can do things for yourself it's great. >> those chairs do wonders. >> i don't really need to be that mobile. >> clap on and clap off. >> exactly. trending on nbc news.com, look but don't touch. as if american tourists didn't have a bad reputation already, now there is this. a missouri man traveling in italy accidentally snapped a finger off a 600-year-old statue. one italian paper said the man was trying to compare hand size with the virgin mary and the pinky finger broke off. the priceless work in florence dates back to at least the early 15th century. the tourist has apologized he

still may face a large fine. >> i think we all thought the same thing. the italians were seen giving a different finger. >> exactly. >> you don't touch statues. >> he was trying to do a high five. >> well, obviously, not quite priceless. >> i'm sure it was covered in fair coverage in the italian press. >> absolutely. >> they love it. >> trending on youtube, the bottle battle, earlier this week we showed you this video of a strapping guy struggling to open a water bottle during a baseball game. yeah. so jokes pouring in all over the web. even the announcers got in a few cracks. >> oh, come on. sir, i think you got the wrong workout program. >> oh, that's mean. >> his name is christopher and he is here to explain what happened. christopher, good to see you. >> how are you. >> i'm a good sport about it. >> what happened? >> what happened was i was given

tickets to attend the mets game and there was nobody there so i didn't want to lose the opportunity to sit so close and i was just minding my own business and security guard handed me the water bottle and asked if i could have some assistance and i obliged and kept struggling with it and people around me were watching and they were laughing and a few minutes later i still couldn't get it and i was getting frustrated. i felt completely shut down by the situation. i started with my shirt and i just couldn't get it. >> do we think it's a trick bottle? >> you were set up. >> i think i just had a bad day. >> you don't think -- >> have you seen your muscles? i think you could open any water bottle. >> it could happen to anyone. they say it happens to guys all the time. so who knows. >> who knows what happened. but i got a call two minutes later from a good friend of mine and she said do you know you were just on tv and what's your problem with that water bottle. >> and the announcer said you

should change your workout. would you like to go with that announcer. >> i would challenge him to an arm wrestling contest. have no problem with that. >> we could do that right here on the show. >> savannah is really thirsty. would you mind? >> there better not be a trick. >> i hope not. >> i sense a trick on this one. >> is it? why would we do that? that's mean. >> we would never do anything like that. >> can i tell you why we did that? she just wants to see your muscles again. >> you should try the other one. >> see, this one opens. >> there we go. >> all right. >> you are a good sport. >> it was fun. i'm glad everyone had a good laugh at it. it was a fun experience. >> glad to have you here. >> thank you. that is what is trending today. straight ahead in our 8:00 block, was the 12th time the charm? we'll meet the newest bundle of joy for the parents of 11 boys who decided to try once again for a girl. we'll find out what happened. but first on our cover story

this morning, addiction. these headlines are all too familiar, from the tragic deaths of cory monteith and amy winehouse to the public disbehavior of lindsey lohan and amanda bynes. but now christina huffington, daughter of arianna huffington is sharing her story in glamour magazine. she says cocaine nearly killed her. >> reporter: she was just 16 when she first tried cocaine. 24-year-old christina huffington grew up in the white hot glare of the media spotlight. her famous parents going through a very public divorce when she was young. it was the drama that played out on camera but few saw the damage going on off camera. christina's drug and alcohol use spiralled out of control. >> they are brilliant at doing it. it could be right under your nose and you never know it. if you see the slightest sign. you're seeing the tip of the

iceberg. >> reporter: for years christina successfully hid her drug and alcohol abuse from her parents, her friends, her bosses, she even got into yale but began snorting cocaine daily. she was hired at glamour magazine. >> she was a fantastic intern. her internship happened to fall during a period she was not using drugs. >> reporter: christina attended a women of the year event with her mom who was being honored. she developed chest pains caused from a cocaine bing the night before. on that day she confessed to her mom and sought help. she has been sober for over a year and now she is telling her story to dispel the glamourization of drug use. >> her drug addiction was not her up all night at fantastic parties. it was her had loan in her dorm room at 7:00 in the morning getting high.

and i think with high profile cases like the tragic death of cory monteith and people like lindsey lohan that struggled from addiction it's important to hear from a woman that's gone through that that can say you can do it. it's hard but you can do it. >> christina huffington is with us this morning exclusively along with her mom, arianna huffington, founder of the huffington post.com. i was struck by this piece. there is nothing glamorous about what you described. can you give us a snapshot. at it's worse, what was life really like for you. >> absolutely unglamorous. it was very much me by myself, in my apartment, using drugs all day from morning to night. there was nothing fun about it. i wasn't at fun parties. i was depressed. i was scared and anxious and felt isolated and alone. >> it sounded to me from reading your piece that you were almost

immediately addicted. some people think they can flirt with drugs but it sounds like the second you tried cocaine it was a problem. >> yes, i think for me cocaine was my drug and it sort of really quickly erased all of my insecurities, all my fears. all of my ideas -- the idea that i'm not good enough that i think a lot of people can relate to, especially young women. and all of a sudden with one line i was on top of the world. >> you have been through a lot. you lost your father young. you have a great mom. i know that you're both so close. was it shocking to you? >> well, absolutely. we got divorced but her father has been very involved in her life. but i think what happened is that when christina decided to go public about her struggle and her recovery, we rallied as a family because we felt that millions of young people in their teens and 20s struggling with alcohol and drug addiction and if christina's story can prevent one parent watching now

from getting the call that i got of mommy i can't breathe and help one young woman or young man come out, reach out for help and know that you can turn your life around, then it would have been worth it. >> and christina it wasn't seize easy to come forward like this. one thing is people would say she had every advantage and every resource available to her. what would you say to that? >> i understand that criticism and i've seen that criticism. even today when my mom posted something on facebook. it's the idea that i've been really blessed and i have been really blessed. that's part of the reason i struggled coming forward but what i want to show is that addiction can strike no matter what. you can come from a loving family. you can have financial resources and you can still feel that pit of loneliness and emptiness and that desire to fill it with substances. so i wanted to give a different face to the disease. >> we have twitter questions and a few of them are pretty thought

provoking. one is from joe. what's one thing you lost due to your addiction that you wish you could have back. >> the biggest thing i lost, i actually have regained which is my self-esteem and my self-worth which were shattered when i got sober a year and a half ago. i felt like i was the scum of the earth and now i have slowly rebuilt that self-esteem through the last year and a half. >> and arianna, from the mother's perspective, did you have any suspicion at all, that's probably the tip of the iceberg. >> yes, well, 5 million young people, teenagers, people in their 20s who need treatment and only 10% of them get treatment. so for me this is also a moment to restart a whole conversation about the drug war that we're basically waging against our own children. 725,000 people are arrested every year for drug violations. and yet so few of them get treatment. that's really, for me, what we need to change.

and if christina's story can help that, can stop the sort of emergency visits, almost 1 million a year for all the violations, it really would be a great conversation for us to have. >> well, it's a personal story that will start that conversation for sure. arianna and christina, thank you for being here. >> thank you savannah. >> thank you. >> this appears in the september issue of glamour magazine. here's matt. >> thank you very much. let's switch gears now. we all heard of couples trying for a boy when they already have girls or trying for a boy when they have girls. one michigan couple took that to the extreme. after having 11 boys, they decided to try for number 12 hoping this time for a daughter. and they welcomed home their new baby. >> having another baby in the house, it's just natural now. >> terry and joe are submiten with their newest bundle of joy. a homecoming that's a regular

ritual in their family. >> we were getting ready to leave the hospital and i said 12. 12 kids. that's crazy. >> already at home, 11 big brothers. tyler, zach, drew, brandon, tommy, vinny, calvin, gabe, wesley, charlie, and luke. >> this is a pretty testosterone filled house. >> yeah. >> a lot of sneakers, and a lot of bruises. a lot of food. >> we assumed that if we had any more it was just going to be more boys. >> terry has been expecting a baby off and on for the last 22 years and as the only woman in the house, she is used to being out numbered. really outnumbered. >> we thought maybe, maybe, you know, we're going to have a girl. number 12 could be the one. >> all right.

they are with us now. guys, good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> all right. do you want to introduce us to the newest member of your family? what is his or her name? >> this is tucker. >> tucker as in a boy tucker. >> the name should give it away. >> a boy tucker. >> yes. >> well, congratulations. how is tucker doing? >> he is doing great. >> yeah. >> he is acclimating well. >> is there any baby -- any baby is a blessing, but you were trying for a girl. how are you feeling? >> we are confident that he is going to fit right in and we gave up a long time ago on a little girl showing up in this family. >> well, you have now got three entire golf foursomes. you have a whole baseball team with three in the bull pen which is great. we'll talk to you more in just a little while. thanks very much.

stick with us. we're back right after these me good morning to you, it is 8:26, i'm laura garcia-cannon. the hunt is on this morning for a man who shot and killed a 1-year-old boy and 20-year-old father in their own home. it happened on good morningry avenue early this morning in oakland. homicide detectives say between six to eight rounds were fired through the back of the house. the father and son were in the same room at the time when the shots were fired. the father died at the scene while the little boy died at the hospital. simply tragic. check the morning commute now, switch gears, literally, with anthony. >> good segue there here we are talking about traffic that is still bogged down right now the bay bridge approach, you can see this on our camera and lots of cloudy skies in the area, once you actually get on the bridge,

fog and a little bit of drizzle as well. also show you 880, you can see very heavy on the northbound side. there was actually a stall in the center divide about half an hour ago and that's really made things worse on this particular location. you can see the maze approaching the bay bridge from every single highway, from 580, even 880, as you just saw, really keeping things slow, otherwise, typical slow spots continue across the bay area. laura, back to you. >> thank you very much. we will have another local news update in half an hour or so we hope you get a chance to enjoy your morning. subject will break in later. we will check in with christina. good morning! wow.

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8:30 now on this wednesday morning. it's the 7th of august, 2013. we say hello to our wonderful crowd out here on rockefeller plaza. beautiful spring like temperatures, fall-like temperatures. nice and cool. good morning i'm savannah guthrie along side al roker, natalie morales and matt lauer. >> we'll start a special three part series called ask the expert. this will be fun. this morning, a professional waiter dishes on everything from

how much you should leave in a tip to that so-called waiters revenge and also tells you about the specials on the so-called specials menu. >> right. are they special or are they special? >> also want to get in one more family vacation before the end of summer but don't have the money? we'll reveal the top free attractions in america. >> plus with 200 million active users, twitter has been called the pulse of the planet and coming up we'll talk about how much the site changed the world. we want you to join in the conversation by of course tweeting us using the #twitterrevolution. >> we gave you a review on tuesday. this morning we'll have more of my conversation with oprah winfrey. >> all right. but first we want to bring them back in who just welcomed their 12th child. 12th straight boy to the family and just before we let you guys go off to try and raise 12 boys, is it true, one of you has a

sister who also has 10 boys? is that right? >> that's correct. >> so the boy thing is definitely overpowering in your family. but do you -- do you not have movies out there? or anything else? >> we get that question all the time. there is other entertainment in central michigan here. >> will you have more kids or is number 12 it for you? >> little tucker is it for right now. >> oh. >> let's ask mom that question. >> i don't know. >> all right. well, listen. >> got one running away. you got a runner. >> good luck with tucker. congratulations on the new arrival. we appreciate you spending time with us this morning. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> beautiful family. >> i know. so cute. >> let's get a check of the

weather now from mr. roker. >> all right. starting off with today, we're looking at severe weather in two areas, one in the upper great lakes. the other in the central plains. the heat continues in the pacific northwest down into texas and the southwest. beautiful along the eastern seaboard but rain moves in tomorrow. showers and thunderstorms from new england into the gulf. straight risk of strong storms from north texas into southern illinois. well, not going to be hot, nor very sunny here today, al. good morning, made it to wednesday. this is the golden gate bridge. few low clouds still hanging out. got plenty of midlevel and high clouds out there, area of low pressure, starting to push inland right now, getting some of that wrap-around moisture, might find drizzle on your way to work, the immediate coast. look at these numbers now, hard to beat this time of year, 57 in san francisco, we stay steady through friday, a hint warmer for saturday, then finally, seasonal averages monday into tuesday.

where are you from? >> south carolina. >> you said that in unison. did you practice that? get that weather any time you need it. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online, matt. thank you very much. twitter launched seven years ago and changed the way we share opinion, get news and keep up with friends and family. the new documentary the twitter revolution examines the global phenomenon and it's impact on holiday. >> when your goal is to be the global town square it helps to have a few celebrities to draw a crowd. twitter is now home base for the who's who. after a lifetime of publicists and handlers what william likes best about twitter is speaking his mind no matter the feedback. >> don't get into hating. get into expressing your opinion

without four letter words and express what you think so i can answer it and we can have a dialogue. >> carl is the reporter for the twitter revolution. good to see you. >> good to see you, matt. >> clearly hollywood embraced this but put it in perspective in terms of the broader population. >> clearly from that segment you can see if you love justin bieber you might be on twitter. if you love matt lauer for instance, you're going to join twitter. there's a tipping point, though, when the pope comes on twitter and creates an account and says i'm going to start making blessings on twitter. this has changed the way everyone sort of receives and gives information and it's -- they're trying to move beyond the celebrity world. >> what percentage of the american population is tweeting. >> american adults online, maybe one in five. >> what happens to those four people that are not tweeting? are they left behind? is it essential or will it become essential or will it be the last big thing. >> ais lot of people wonder am

being left out of the party. i try to explain it to my mom and she says leave me alone. we look at the boston marathon. there's a story where people that were eyewitnesses to element of that manhunt, to that explosion tweeted first. they beat the media. we had them on after they tweeted. it was ground zero for information and that's what twitter is counting on. >> that is the good side of twitter. there is a darker side of twitter. there are a lot of haters tweeting out there and the company just found a way to allow people to actually report that type of behavior directly through a tweet as opposed to navigating the website. what's the future of that? >> it's a tough call. they have a team of 40 people that investigate harassment. who investigate stalking. death threats. they will suspend your account but you don't need to give your real name. >> no accountability. >> you don't need to give your phone number. and that makes it very easy to

misbehave and torment to the people to the point where an alec baldwin says i've had enough of this, i'm closing my account. >> real quickly, you talked to the ceo of twitter. what are the plans for growing this company? >> he has a big enemy in facebook. it's five times their size. a lot of people still see facebook as the central ground for social media. he's trying to go around the world. 70% of the users are outside of the country. we don't know if they'll go public. he has a big job. staying relevant. not just how we communicate today but how we will communicate in five years. >> fascinating subject. thank you very much. the twitter revolution premieres tonight at 9:00, 8:00 central on nbc. >> ask the expert. from ordering to tipping, what every waiter wants you to know. but first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪

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we're back on a wednesday morning. this morning we're starting a three part series called ask the expert to give consumers information they really need to know. >> we'll start today with waiters. shall we sit down at our little cafe and get started. >> yes. >> thank you. where's the food around here. oh, there's darren. he's our waiter. >> hello. >> mock surprise. >> also the creator of the blog. i think we know where you're coming from. >> i'm nicer than you might think. >> let's get to it. what's the one thing that drives you and every waiter crazy. >> when you come in, there's a few things you don't want to do. if you have some allergies when you sit down at your table you need to be aware of your allergies. if you're allergic to onions and you order the philly cheese stake that has it on it, it says it on the menu. >> but there are people that are professional waiters.

>> there are and that bothers us when people ask us what's your real job. this is a real job. i make real money and pay real bills with it. so it's a real job so when somebody asks me what my real job is i'm offended and there's a lot of people that make the decision to be a server as their life and you can make a good living doing it. >> part of the thing that i server does is know the menu. sometimes people sit down and they say what's good here. what should i have. that gets on your last nerve? i would think you might enjoy the interchange. >> it's not so bad. if somebody asks me what my favorite thing is. i'm going to tell them that. but i don't like seafood. maybe their favorite thing is salmon. give me a couple of the things you like and i'll tell you which one is better. >> but you don't mind a customer asking for input. no but if it's already on the menu i'm going to get irritated. you shall read it. >> so spaghetti or pizza and you'll give an opinion. >> so i'll say, sir, can you tell me what the specials are tonight. what do i need to know about the specials. >> the thing about the specials is sometimes they're not so

special. if you have maybe an overstock, maybe a little bit too much salmon maybe that special of the day is going to be something that we needed to get the salmon out of there before it turns. so special sometimes not always so great. >> this surprised me because i thought the specials were things that came in that day and we're highlighting them. at some restaurants, absolutely. >> but apparently not at the restaurant where you work. >> not at the restaurant i work at. >> do people come in and announce they're great tippers. >> yes they do. >> really? >> it's really tacky or sometimes they'll give you the $5 bill and the attitude like there's more where that came from. just do it at the end of prove to us. every time somebody says they're a greater tipper nine times out of ten they're just average. >> just be a good tipper. >> 20% is the basic guideline. what's appropriate in your mind? >> i am satisfied with 15%. i like 20%. but 20% is easier to figure out

than 15%. why not make it easier than yourself with math and do 20% tips. it's like an a. 15 is like a b plus, 10% is c. anything below that is failing. >> can we disspell something right now, any truth to the urban legend that if the waiter doesn't like the customer he or she spits in your food? >> i think it's a big urban legend. waiters talk about it more than it ever happens and customers worry about it more than they should. i have been waiting tables 23 years and i've never seen it happen. >> don't shoot the messenger. if the food is bad it's not your fought. >> all i did was type in medium well. if it came out rare, that's the kitchen's fault. tell me what the problem is and i'll fix it. but don't yell at me. all i did was carry the plate. >> thank you very much. >> i appreciate it.

>> tomorrow on ask the expert we'll talk to a professional dry cleaner coming clean about all the dirt. >> coming up next, why are more weight loss plans now targeting men? the battle of the sexes when it comes to the battle of the bulge. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

back at 8:46. in the world of dieting not everything is created equal unfortunately. men and women find success in different ways. now weight loss companies are targeting male clients. the wall street journal explored this idea in a article. he diets, she diets. he is an obesity and weight loss expert. brooke is a nutritionist here in new york city. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> i'm sorry. this is just irritating. i know men that chew sugarless gum and lose 10 pounds off the

bat. is there a reason. >> men are bigger. we have more muscles. we have larger frames and if we make more calories, in a sense, we have more wiggle room. >> and men and women diet differently and different plans work for genders differently i guess? >> absolutely. men like the on off switch. while women like the dialogue about it and they like to think about it more. >> let's get into some of the specific plans. what is the criteria for a diet plan that will really work for a guy? >> i think men, we want easy. we want to have a plan where there's minimal cooking or prepared foods already available for us and we want a plan with no counting, and simple to follow rules. and something that appeals to our inner carnivore. a lot of men like their protein and like it in the form of meat. >> and about for women, they like to talk and have comrade ri. >> while men like to pound their chest about their diet women like the community. they like a weight loss community and options and

variety. they also really like to have the allowances. room for an indulgence, whether it's the piece of chocolate or extra glass of wine. >> so the weight loss support groups women belong to, are those helpful? >> absolutely. it is the girlfriends you talk to about your diet. >> we're seeing a lot more of these plans target either men or women. the atkins diet is popular with guys. >> no question. >> they love the meat. >> it's been a decade i have been working with weight management and rarely met ayman that hasn't tried atkins. it's straightforward. no counting requires. it appears to our inner carnivore with high protein foods. it's a lot easier to eat out with and it is very simple to follow. >> how do women do on atkins? >> women do okay. they can't maintain it for a long time. they need more variety than just eating meat. >> okay. let's talk about the fast diet or some people call it the 5-2 diet. men like this too. why? how does it work?

>> it's the go big or go home that men are for. straightforward diet. five days you eat normally, two days you have 500 calories total. really easy to follow rules there. you can eat virtually whatever you want and it gives the man that testosterone fuelled bragging right about their primal i did it no pain, no gain style diet. >> what about you? for the ladies, what's a diet plan you feel works for women in particular. >> something as simple as weight watchers works well for women because it's the community. whether you're in person or online, you've got that relationship. there's flex points. you can use it whether you want a salad. whether you need that indulgence. however you want to eat it and women like to have those options. >> and nutrisystem too some women like because they deliver the food to you. >> exactly and there's tons of selections so figure out which plan is best for you. >> bottom line here, we'll start with the guys. what does a guy really need to be successful with sustained

weight loss? losing the weight and keeping it off? >> losing is the easy part. at the end of the day, the only question anyone needs to ask about any weight loss plan is could i live like this for the rest of my life? if the answer is no, a person needs a new diet. that would be a waste of time. >> we'll let the ladies have the last word. >> women need a life style approach. it can't be eat like this for the next four months and then go off of it. you need something consistent and just like we spoke about earlier it needs to be a life style approach they can maintain for the rest of their lives. >> one size does not fit all. appreciate it. coming up next, planning a last minute get away? we'll tell you where to find the country's best free attractions. but first, this is "today" on nbc. so... [ gasps ]

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we're back now with today's travel. this morning we're talking about the best free attractions in america. if you're hitting the road for a vacation this summer, why not find something that costs you nothing? she is the director for travel and leisure magazine. good morning. good to see you. >> good morning matt. >> are there restrictions on some of these? do you need a reservation? >> nada. >> really? >> there's a few you want to make sure you get in but otherwise you just go. >> let's tour the country, then. let's start in chicago. you like the lincoln park zoo.

no fee. >> no fee. 365 days a year and this is a wonderful zoo. they created a lot of natural habita habitats. you'll see everything you want to see. lions and gorillas and red pandas and zebras and baby animals. for the little kids in your life they have a farm experience where you can see ponies. >> how did they manage to do this? zoos are expensive to operate? private donations or the city? >> it's a combination but most importantly for everyone going they don't have to shell out a dime. >> let's go to new orleans now known for jazz. you suggest visiting the jazz national historical park. do you get to hear music there? >> you do. you think of a natural park where you commune with nature? here you commune with jazz. it's in the birth place of jazz, new orleans. they have a lot of activities around the city.

they have live jazz that they set up six day ace week. you can learn about jazz history. the kids can go to louis armstrong park on saturday and they get two walking tours you can take on your own, audio walking tours. >> is this all seasons. >> all seasons. six days a week. >> what a good idea. let's go to los angeles. you like the getti center. what can we find there? >> it's one destination that everyone in this country should go to. they spent a billion dollars creating this experience. visitors and museum center. what i love about it is how beautiful it is. how light filled it is. the arts they have on display is unbelievable. people think museum, i'm nervous about going with kids. they have an incredible kids area where they have details done as a treasure hunt. >> do you have to book in advance. >> they don't but travel and leisure recommends going on friday or saturday because

they're open until 9:00 p.m. and you get to see the sunset. >> let's bring it back to new york city. you like the staten island ferry. >> i do. 20 million americans, new yorkers take the staten island ferry every year. why not be one of them. talk about sunset, you can get incredible sunset views of new york city and the beautiful statue of liberty at sunset. >> and people think of las vegas and they think of gambling but you like the conservatory at the bilagio hotel. >> it's 13,000 square feet of greenery, and ponds inside the bellagio. everything is bigger and better. >> and quickly up in portland man, the prubrewery. do you get a free beer? >> you get four free beers. it's one of the primary fantastic craft brews of this country. you have to go to portland and

check it out. it's free. >> our crew just left. >> see you there. >> thank you so much. appreciate it. >> just ahead, al is going to go one-on-one with oprah. but first, we're back after these messages. good wednesday morning to you, it is 8:56. i'm laura garcia-cannon. america's cup action returns to the san francisco bay today. sweden's artemis racing looking to get its first win, the louis vuitton cup. yesterday, the team lost to italy's luna rosa in race one in the best of seven semifinal series. watch the race right here on nbc bay area or lucky enough to head to the bay what will the weather

hold? let's check in with christina? >> a cool, cloudy day at the coast, 60 there 72 at the bay side, 78, inland. stay unseasonably cool yet again, finally starting to see seasonal raf edges sunday into monday that means 88, inland, 74, bay side, 63 at the coast. until then though, stay nice and cool. hope you have a great day. look at 'em.

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with qualifying bundles. today's take, with al roker, natalie morales, and willie geist, live from studio 1-a in rockefeller plaza. welcome to today on this wednesday morning, august 7th, 2013. i'm willie geist along with al roker and natalie morales but you know that by now because you heard the voice of god. >> yes. >> they got it announced now. >> first a table and now a guy saying our names. >> we're in the big leagues. >> we're huge. we're fixing to get into the real big leagues tonight. >> yeah, three powerball tickets. >> three powerball tickets. >> we have the winning tickets. so the rest of you don't bother. >> the pot is 400 $25 milli$425

>> if you take it in a lump sum it's 120 million. >> 130 and cut tax out of that. >> that's after taxes. >> oh, yeah, you could buy a lot. >> after the taxes, forget it. >> please. >> truth be told these tickets were purchased by our props department. >> what will we give him if we win. >> we were negotiating the commission. >> 10%. >> i think he goes a quarter. i think it's split four ways. >> how many of us would show up the next day. >> oh, i'd show up. oh, i'd show up. i'd be here early. see you suckers. out. >> i think i give them a week. give them a grace period to find somebody else to slide in. i'd just kidding. i would do this for free you guys. >> wow. >> there's yours. >> there's yours. >> 425 and they think it will get up to 500. you can buy it in 43 states. >> yeah. >> and the store that sells the

ticket, that's a huge day for them as well. >> yeah, they get a percentage. have you ever won anything? i have no luck. >> not the lottery but i've won things. >> like my kids school lottery where you get like terrible -- it's a bad prize, i don't win the bad prize. >> you don't even get that. >> i don't even get the bad prize. although their lotteries are good. >> it took an ugly turn. >> it did. >> i'm so sorry. >> natalie. >> i never win. >> do you want to talk about it? >> no but you can wear a size kids 5 t-shirt. >> and you can wear a size 2. >> exactly but i can't breathe. >> it's a rare show when twice in the same show you find yourself ripping a t-shirt off your body. >> with hulk hogan. >> that was weird. it was scary. >> it was a surprise. >> what was amazing is he was already glistening. >> he was glistening. >> i think he presweats before to make sure he looks good when he reps. >> oh, the hulkster with all the

old tricks. >> enjoy that starbucks. >> so the president of the united states was on with jay leno last night. he had good questions. >> we got a lot of information out of that. >> the president's 4th appearance since he became president. did talk about pretty serious issue. this is the first time the president had spoken publicly about the terror threat around the world that shut down embassi embassies. he said americans should be prudent when considering their travel but there were, of course, lighter moments. >> now i've seen michelle tease you about your grey hair. you have a bit of silver in your hair. do you tease back. >> no. no. >> yeah. >> that's why we're celebrating our 25th. >> is it me or do i see a bromance with you and john mccain. you had the lovers quarrel for awhile and now you're best friends. >> what happened? >> that's how a classic romantic comedy goes, right? >> yeah.

>> initially you're not getting along and then you keep on bumping into each other. >> you and hilary had lunch last week. who invited who to lunch? i'm curious? >> i invited here and we had a great time. she had that post administration glow. >> yeah. >> when folks leave the white house, two weeks later they look great. >> she came back and told about life on the outside. >> it's when i saw meredith a couple of months ago -- >> it's our postadministration glow too. >> she looked fantastic. >> no stress, no worries. >> sleep, things like that. >> yeah. >> we dug up some old sort of presidential or first lady moments. >> yeah. >> first lady of the united states dancing with jimmy fallon. >> that's probably one of my favorites. >> evolution of mom dancing. >> steps out. >> oh, yeah. >> shopping cart. we all know this one. that's my dance.

that's my move. raise the roof. raise the roof. >> what about bill clinton when he showed up in 1992. >> remember that, playing the sax in '92. going for the cool factor. >> we're still on the mom dance. >> we won't get off the mom dance. >> i remember when richard nixon went on and was like sock it to me. >> that didn't play so well with the kids. >> it didn't. didn't get his hip factor up. >> but it certainly does a lot, i think. it's a wide audience. it allows them to get important points across, including, the important news of the day, the terror threats, but at the same time it's a kinder gentler place to do it. it's so rare that you see them in unscripted moments. >> there's prompters right there. >> you get real interaction. so there's a movie coming out this fall about diana. you heard about it. we're getting our first look at the trailer.

there's a lot of scenes involving diana and her postcharles romance with a heart sur surgeon. >> perhaps i can show you around. >> you can always pop around the corner. >> i'm serious. >> i don't know how to contract you. >> well, i'm like most people. i've got a mobile. actually i'm not like most people. i have four. >> i'm in love with a heart surgeon. i've never been so struck by someone. >> if your feelings are this strong. >> where are we going? >> to the edge of the kingdom. >> i was trying to find a way for us to be together. >> diana. >> oh. >> not excited about that, al? >> i feel my eyes are bleeding. >> it's one of those chick movies. maybe i'll have to go with deborah. >> are you going to see it?

>> i don't know. >> seeing that trailer, kind of has a little cheese factor in there. >> a little cheese factor? my gosh. it has kraft on the side of it. >> but i'm a sucker for cheese. >> so am i but on a sandwich. not at the movies. >> comes out october 10th. >> are you going to see it? >> it's unlikely. i think natalie you should go see it. >> unless we get naomi watts on our show. >> then of course we'll see it. >> and we'll rave about it. we'll go together and hold hands. >> she looks like her. >> she does. >> good for her. >> she's an incredible actress. >> that's fantastic. >> we reached out to the palace, by the way to see what they thought -- who did we reach out to? how does one reach out to the palace. >> i guess to reach out to -- >> they have people. >> you just shoot a name out. >> they respond. they're good. rereached out to comment on behalf of prince william and

harry. >> queen elizabeth@gmail. >> and she responds instantly. >> all right. i love this because these are so good. >> these are the best. brian williams, right now he is recovering, had a little knee surgery. so this is something to lift his spirits because you know how much jimmy fallon and he has a bromance. so jimmy fallon and his late night team were at it again showing us his latest rapping stunt and this is young mc's hip hop bust a move. take a look. >> okay. go to a party. girls showing body. chick walks by you're standing on the wall. movies showing. could care less about the five year glowing. theaters get tark and then you've got a fine woman in your row. she says hello come sit next to

me you fine fellow. run over there without a second to lose. what's comes next? bust a move. >> that's a best part. the smolder. >> what happens is they did that in real time. he just keeps changing. >> that's just amazing though. >> it is. >> they dig through years. >> i would love for them to do that for us. >> throw it out there. >> pick out a song and do that for us. >> although we would happily do it live as well. rap and bust a move. >> by we, she means she. >> i'm a good rapper. >> your singing is so fantastic. >> maybe i should try rapping. >> please no. we're begging you not to rap. >> please. the two things we don't need. >> baby you got it. >> diana and you rapping. >> you can do the chorus. >> brian, hope you're feeling well and don't watch this. >> no, brian is doing great.

>> yeah, he's holding up well. >> resting comfortably and will be back soon. >> on painkillers. >> hitting the heavy stuff. all right. al, how about a look at the weather. >> we'll show you what we've got today. we're looking at severe weather from missouri all the way on up into the upper great likakes wi rounds of severe weather and hail damage as well. there's a lot going on right now. you can see where they don't need it -- where we've had a lot of flooding in missouri, up to 8 inches of rain. there are flash flood watches and advisories out. the reason for that from the northeast all the way back into the midwest over the next 48 hours anywhere from 2 to 5 inches of ra the 9:10 on a wednesday morning, good morning, i am meteorologist christina loren. this is actually sinole. look at these layered and stratus clouds, midlevel clouds and high clouds as well as low clouds out there with an area of low pressure actually bringing very light rainfall to parts of the bay area.

widen out, see wrap-around moisture coming into the bay area that will be the case for today. highs will be unseasonably cool to the tune of 78 degrees in livermore today. 57 on the way to san francisco. warmer by friday. we're trying to pick a rap song that we could do. please, if you have any ideas just tweet us. >> please don't. stop giving her ideas. >> tweet us. >> her first was baby got back. you see how this is going to go. >> big sir mix a lot fan over here. >> coming up next, al goes one-on-one with oprah talking >> coming up next, al goes young women are oprah talking sacrificing so much today not giving a thought to their own satisfaction. doll, you're sacrificing seamless color for the perfect wave? i mean surf's up. stop with the sacrificing, start here. light & fit greek nonfat yogurt. thick, creamy, and dude twice the protein and 80 calories. tastes satisfying right?

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she is the queen of all media. oprah winfrey who sat down with some of the world's most famous celebrities and news makers. >> al got to chance to sit down

with her as she returns to the big screen for the first time in 15 years. >> that's true. we talked about her first brush with fame and her current collaboration with lindsey lohan and how she feels approaching 60. but we started by talking about her new movie the butler which she couldn't pass up. >> what was it about this which made you decide i want to get in there again? >> there's something about all those women of the civil rights era who stood by their men. who took care of their families, who wanted a better life for their children and yet had their own dreams and desires repressed. >> i'm the new butler. >> then there's the butler who is perceived in our culture as the passive character but every day those people went to work, my mother was a maid, grandmother was a maid, her mother was a maid. her mother was a slave. to tell that story within the context of a middle classworking

family who love one another, who express tenderness, i said yes. >> not being in front of a camera, a movie camera for 15 years, were you nervous about that? >> it's like playing an instrument and you haven't picked it up in 15 years. i wasn't sure i could do that. the last time i acted was beloved. it was not a successful hit. i went into depression afterwards but it taught me to do whatever you're going to do and release expectation. >> what was it like working with lee daniels. >> he was able to push me to the edge. >> the bra and panties? >> forget that. he had written another separate love seen with terrence howard and my character gloria because he wanted them to go at it and i felt that this was a woman who was lonely and sometimes she wished and longed that she could have had a different kind of life but she wasn't sitting in her bra and panties.

she wasn't going there. >> one of the other things that really struck me in the movie was the slapping down of the n word. >> i know so many people who went to work every day and had to face their bosses calling them that. so out of respect to those people who, for that word, was a word of hurt and i just don't use it. i know other people do. we have agreed to disagree. >> you kept your nose to the grind stone. you just keep hearing the drum beat. >> and the cornerstone is still the interview and recently interviewing lindsey lohan. >> oh, lindsey lohan. all i can say about it is this, i believe that she believes that she is ready to move forward in her life and we'll see. this series for me, i heard a lot of things about me mentoring

her and i will be involved in the production of it and i will offer my advice and counsel to her if she is willing to receive it. i gave her one of my favorite books. can you tell us what it is? >> it's the untetherred soul. i texted her a couple of times since then. i'm anxious to see if this young woman who is a really fine actress will be able to allow us into her life and let us see her trying to put the pieces back together. when the oprah show was first si syndicated and you're in the fish bowl, but hi the good sense to rely on people that had been before me. >> january marks a milestone for you. >> yes, it's the only age i've ever been that i had to like hiccup about because 60s.

60. >> it's the new 30. >> i don't think it's the new 30, al. >> no. >> what are you going to do? >> i've never really had a proper party for myself and when i turn 60 i'm going to do that. and right now you're invited. >> all right. >> all right. >> i'll see you there. >> that's right. >> he got the invite. >> i'm going to be there. >> you bet you. >> this movie is spectacular and people need to see it. also teenagers need to see it of all colors, all races need to see this to understand because it's not that long ago. >> no, our history. >> it's all of our history. >> i got a chance to talk yesterday to cuba gooding jr. who is in the film and they're great in the movie and it's a walk through history and if you don't know this history it's a good place. >> it's an incredible cast. amazing. all right. coming up next, all of your top headlines before you head out the door and then a little bit later on, weight loss success stories. what real people have done to help them drop those unwanted pounds. the tips and tricks that could

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[ dad ] jan? taking a look at the headlines, demolition of a house of horrors in cleveland. crews tore down the house where ariel castro held three women captive for a decade. michelle knight was there to release balloons and said she felt liberated. he agreed to pay for the demolition. this could be much at stake for homeowners if congress goes through with plans to shut down fannie mae and freddie mac. it's a move analysts say would mean higher mortgage rates. they were rescued by a $187 billion bailout a few years ago. president obama said it's time to overhaul the system for financing mortgages. >> health officials say for the first time there's a significant

decrease in childhood obesity nationwide. in 18 states the obesity rates for low income preschoolers are down after rising for decades. despite that decline the cdc says obesity rates are still too high. one third of children and teens and more than 2-thirds of adults in the u.s. are either obese or overweight. parents say they don't show favoritism but kids feel differently. now a new study of adult children says that when dad seems to prefer one child over another that causes a higher rate of sibling rivalry, especially among daughters. favoritism by mothers was less likely to provoke tension. an american tourist has apologized for accidentally breaking the pinky off a 600-year-old statue of the virgin mary. they were outraged but have not charged him yet. that is a big whoopsy.

>> good thing he didn't go see the david. >> something american. >> yeah. >> heidi klum falls hard for >> yehey! yummm! totally got it all! don't forget your favorites, girls. hey girls! the good ol'days when we could eat as we wanted. yes, but we are not 18 anymore. sometimes if i eat as i used to my digestive system gets out of whack. it's not easy keeping it working as it should. it's easy if you enjoy an activia everyday. mmmm... delicious! with the exclusive probiotic bifidus regularis, activia helps regulate your digestive system. put a smile back in your day! ♪ activia ♪ dannon is sweatier and messier than my family on the field. so like the nfl i use tide... ...because i'm the equipment manager in this house. that's my tide. what's yours?

good morning tour 9:26 now, i'm laura garcia-cannon. a 1-year-old and his 20-year-old father have been found shot and killed inside a home in oakland. homicide detectives are trying to piece together what happened. they say between six to seven rounds were fired through the back of the houser think morning. the search is now on for the gunman. san jose city council considering new regulations today for adults and gentleman's club a bikini bar called the gold club announced it would open in downtown san jose. a councilman wants the city to make adult entertainment establishments make a public safety fee and proposing a no-touching rule, an earlier closing time. the gold club is scheduled to

open tomorrow. ac transit has struck a deal with union workers for the strike this morning. it includes the pay raise and changes to health benefits. the meantime, a b.a.r.t. strike is still looming. the state board will hear arguments from b.a.r.t. and its unions today on those stalled negotiations. going to take a quick break but have a look at weather and traffic right after this. farmers presents: fifteen seconds of smart.

so you want to drive more safely? stop eating. take deep breaths. avoid bad weather. [ whispers ] get eight hours. ♪ [ shouts over music ] turn it down! and, of course, talk to farmers. hi. hi. ♪ we are farmers bum - pa - dum, bum - bum - bum - bum ♪ good morning tour 9:28, taking a live look here, where you can actually see alcatraz and coit tour, midlevel clouds overhead, showers in the north bay, nothing heavy, might have to use windshield wipers, 78 on the way to livermore, 70, oakland, look at the difference, once you cross that bay bridge getting into the city, only 58 degrees, probably need that coat. we head through the upcoming weekend, finally, temperatures starting to warm up, 80 degrees by friday. slowly rising to 82 for saturday. and then seasonal averages arrive monday into tuesday. let's check on that drive on the wednesday with anthony slaughter. >> thank you, christina. things are actually looking

really good now, especially at the bay bridge approach, where things have thinned out, not seeing any congestion for the time being. have a few accidents to tell you about, get straight to them, see on 280, moving through san bruno, the 380 connector and that's right at cutting boulevard -- no, excuse me, that's actually at -- right at 380 connector, you can see crystal springs road is where that accident is. and on cutting boulevard, off the ridgeton bridge that's causing some slow downs through emeryville. back to you. >> thank you very much. we will have another local news update in half an hour. hope to get a chance to enjoy your morning. have a good day. triple again. do you see the 10% back in points, plus another 10%, plus free shipping? yeah. you're good. this is the member triple play deal. this is sears.

welcome back to today. wednesday morning, august 7th, 2013. i'm willie with al and natalie. you're listening to the back street boys but we're talking rap. >> yeah we are. >> we asked you at the top of the show to put songs out there that we could have a fallon-type rap edited together. >> where they take stuff we already recorded. >> we're getting great suggestions. >> she says we should wrap the fresh prince of bel air. >> or the french prince. >> that was good. >> that was quick al. >> very good, yeah. >> a short run but very strong.

how about thrift shop. [ music playing ] >> thrift shop. that's more modern. we're getting there. >> you can't touch this. >> a little hammer. >> old school. that's great. can we wear the pants too. >> you can, yeah. >> you keep saying we. >> you're doing this with us. >> she says she votes for the humpty dance. >> that's not it? >> no, that's not it. >> no. ice, ice baby. >> that's a remix of it. >> i'm still going for baby got back but we have to figure out a way to say anaconda on the air. >> anaconda don't want none. >> i love it when you're ethnic. >> rappers delight is another one. >> i love it when you talk rap.

>> i think we go straight hardcore. >> i know what happens. we're off the air. >> that is decidely not. >> they're saying let's see some moves. i have no moves. i got no moves. >> but this project doesn't require moves. they're going to edit together things we said on the show. >> unless we embellish it a little bit. >> that's my rapping. >> the worst idea we've ever had. >> okay. >> i can think of a couple of of others. >> can you rap the weather? >> i can't do it. >> oh, you can. >> that would assume i know what the weather is. anyw anyway, let's show you what we've got for today. severe weather to talk about in the mid-section of the country. also in the upper midwest. the heat continues in the pacific northwest. southwest as well. gorgeous along the eastern seaboard. that will change tomorrow when we get rain moving in down through the gulf. a slight risk in the central

9:32, good wednesday morning to you, i'm meteorologist christina loren. this is sinole. look at all these clouds overhead. we have some steady drizzle right at the immediate coast this morning. let's get right to your temperatures, for today, 78, inland, 71, bay side, 60 on the way to the coast. here's the deal. summertime numbers are back in the mix as we head throughout saturday, sunday, finally starting to see the 80s return and then we are going to be in the upper 80s for monday and tuesday. we will see you in about 15 minutes. hope you hxq@:%uá$qpv thanks so much. so you tried everything to lose weight. scale doesn't seem to budge. whether you have 10 pounds or 100 pounds so lose, sometimes you need a little inspiration. >> heres some of the strategies to help kick start your diet. today joy powers. >> hey. >> good to see you. >> we all know that losing weight is tough. while most people know the

basics, more vegetables, pull back on portions, i have found that it's the personal creative strategies that tend to really take people all the way to the finish line. so i'm honored to share with you guys five weight loss super heros and their unique tips and tricks. the hope is that viewers will use the tips and tricks and also get inspired to create their owns. these things work. >> let's look at the first case. this is sandra. 40 years old. she had a health scare. >> she gained a significant amount of weight with her pregnancy and had a heart attack after delivering. her baby is healthy and beautiful. but that's when she decided to make the commitment. she lost 63 pounds and she looks gorgeous. >> terrific. >> good for her. >> the perfect healthy role model for her family now. >> what was the secret? >> she is incredibly social. she is hopping from party to party and get there is and faced with the fattening spread so

what she now does, her big tip is she brings a slim recipe or dish for the hostess. it's a win win. this is her low calorie layered taco dip. fat free cream cheese and beans and salsa and even the nondieters eat it. she has something to eat and the hostess praises her for the thoughtfulness. >> let's move on to caroline. a 32-year-old that had her moment when she got to college. >> at her heaviest she was 300 pounds. she lost literally half her body weight. >> oh my god. >> she is 150 pounds. is that unbelievable? that's what she lost and that's what she weighs. >> what's her tip? >> her biggest challenge was oversnacking. she was in and out of the refrigerator all the time. so she planted in the refrigerator a secret weapon. are you ready for her secret weapon. the big reveal, a pair of skinny

jeans. >> in the fringe? >> in the fringe. >> that's a lot of fiber. >> so this was her visual reminder to not overeat. if you don't have the room for the skinny jeans a picture of a hot outfit or bathing suit. >> i keep my old i.d. picture. it's on my i.d. so remind me of where i was. >> as a reminder. >> very powerful. >> how about greg. he was up to 450 pounds. >> right. greg weighed in at his heaviest, he's 40 years old from hollywood, california. over 450 pounds. he lost 275 pounds. >> look at that? that's a different person. >> he is a handsome hunk. when he started dieting it was all about deprivation. he was focused on the things he was giving up. potato chips and ice cream and pizza and pass to so instead he turned it around. instead of focussing on what he

was giving up for the diet he focused on what he was gaining from the diet and he created a scrapbook of all the things he was going to gain as he started getting healthier. this was his beginning. i'm going to tilt this up and. he has pictures of hot clothes he would be able to wear. all the different health attributes. >> yeah. >> absolutely. so i encourage people to cut things out whether it be a caribbean vacation or bicycle. >> your goals. >> as the old saying goes, nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. >> exactly. turns it into a positive. >> team work is important too. jen and keith worked together on this. >> right. each of them weighed over 280 pounds at their heaviest. together, they have lost 230 pounds collectively. >> spectacular. >> so how did they do it? they injected fun into their

exercise regimen. regular workouts for torture so they hooped their way thin and they're hooping instructors now. >> i know this is going to go badly. i tried it with my daughter over the weekend. >> ready? >> okay. >> worked out well. i feel better already. >> if you keep it up for half an hour, you burn 200 calories per half an hour. >> 3 seconds we couldn't cut it. >> here i go. >> joy's got it. >> take us out to break. >> by the way, for the recipe for sandra's healthy dip, it's on our website today.com. coming up next, they've taken radio city music hall completely over across the street. i attempted to interview the celebrity judges of america's ♪ [ bats squealing ] we weren't really morning people. we're vampires after all. then we tried this nutri-grain fruit crunch bar. it's so crunchy.

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semifinals. >> willie had a chance to sit down with the celebrity judges. >> sitting down is all i got to do as howard stern and company just took over. >> reporter: for the past three weeks america's gott talent has taken over radio city music hall for the live elimination round and the competition is becoming dangerous. at the center of it all, the judges, howard stern, heidi klum, mel b. and howie mandell. >> i want to know who is the most talented of this group? >> i think i am. i do. >> really? >> i'm the highest paid, right? i make more money than all of you. >> that's true. >> you do. >> yeah, i think so. look. we're all super talented. >> now what about hidden talents? >> heidi, you must have a hidden talent. >> cooking. >> is that right? >> got you. >> howie what are you not looking for? in other words somebody comes

out and they do something and you're like -- >> i won't give something a category but i don't want to see the same old. if you can do something i've seen before but do it in a new way. >> i did but he hasn't made it through, the sword guy. >> i love it. >> he was incredible. >> he was dangerous. >> really life threatening. >> let me go to you howard. you have all the money in the world. the exposure, the fame, you have everything you want. why did you agree to take this job. >> i took it because i thought it was fun. i was a viewer of the show. i would sit there and judge from my bedroom. and i would two on the air and say i should be a judge on one of these shows. it would be terrific. >> i'll make it simple. special head has run out of steam. >> it would be funny to see someone like me on a family show that kids watch and i've said this before, i'll be sitting in a restaurant now and parents are

throwing their 10-year-old on my lap and i'm going you don't realize who i am. they think i'm like santa claus. i'm not. i'm evil and bad. >> what were you preconceived notions about howard stern. >> she was petrified. >> no i wasn't. >> you were. heidi doesn't know i know it. they said to heidi what are you going to do if howard says something really out of line or inappropriate? and you said i will flirt with him. >> true story. >> so when you flirt with me i know it's fake. i'm a married man. i can't -- >> down she goes. >> it was all howard could do not to accept that kiss. >> he has very strong neck muscles. >> it's funny. you ask one of them a question and you're speaking to them and the other three are having a separate conversation. >> and mel was fanning herself the whole time. >> yeah it's warm in there. maybe it's a look. the japanese fan. >> by the way --

>> speaking of talent. sandra's dip. >> wow. >> she lost weight with sandra's dip. do you know what you can do while eating it? >> watch america's got talent. 9:00, 8:00 central here on nbc. >> is it ever okay to wear white to a wedding? >> we'll check our morale my name is lee kaufman. married to morty kaufman. [ lee ] now that i'm getting older some things are harder to do. this is not a safe thing to do. be careful babe. there should be some way to make it easier [ doorbell rings ] let's open it up and see what's cookin'. oh i like that. look at this it's got a handle on it. i don't have to climb up. this yellow part up here really catches a lot of the dust. did you notice how clean it looks? morty are you listening? morty? [ morty ] i'm listening! i want you to know has oats that can help lower cholesterol? and it tastes good? sure does!

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all right. so you have probably been invited to a lot of social events this summer. may have come across an awkward situation or two. >> we'll put our etiquette skills to the test this morning. the grand prize is a morale compass. not a huge incentive to win. but there it is anyway. >> she is the coauthor of emily post etiquette and 24 karat etiquette. >> good morning. >> we'll make it a competition with our moral compass here. take it away. >> first question, you probably remember the video that went viral recently of the passenger that recorded a woman falling asleep on her shoulder on a flight. if this happened to you, should you wake the person up? always, sometimes, never? >> is that red. >> yeah. >> okay. willie and al we're going red, right? willie and al you got it right. you should wake the person up. >> really? >> just left the guy asleep on you. >> well, you know --

>> depends on what he looks like? >> if they're drooling on my shoulder then i move them. >> otherwise they're fine. >> i'm nice. >> some people are door mats, natalie is a pillow. next question. >> okay. so you have a friend who wants to wear a skimpy bikini to the beach but it looks awful. can you tell her? >> how good a friend is it? >> this is a tricky one. >> i'm staying with sometimes. >> okay. i see a couple of nevers here. >> no, red arrow. >> sometimes. >> okay. sometimes. absolutely no one got it correct. it is actually a never. i mean, we're adults. your friend is perfectly welcome to wear whatever she wishes. >> even though you have to look at it? >> even though you have to look ator? if you say something you risk coming across judgmental and that will put her on the defense. my advice is say nothing, keep the friendship. >> but if you're a really, really good friend, don't want

you to protect her from herself. if it is unsolicited advice that's one thing. if it's solicited, tell her the truth. >> okay. so your second baby, can you have a baby shower? >> sure. why not. >> go for it. >> yes. okay everyone gets this one across the board. the key is not to throw your own baby shower. looks like a grab for gifts. but maybe you had a girl the first time, now it's a boy, to ask for things you don't already have. maybe a different guest list. >> next one. next question. you have a very close friend with body odor. consistent bad body odor. can you say something. >> very close friends. >> staying right there. >> yes. >> sometimes. >> i like the always but i appreciate the sometimes. sometimes. again, it's a little bit interesting. no matter how you slice it it may come across -- >> is it time. >> yes. >> they may take offense.

if they're doing themselves a disservice, we want to come in as a good friend and help save the day. you can suggest a stronger deoderant or something. >> who wins? >> who wins. >> everybody is a winner. >> i think i win. >> moral compass. >> all yours. we're back in a moment. this is "today" on nbc.

up next, kathie lee and hoda getting ready for a special show about inspirational kids making it big and making a difference. from a tween singing sensation to a pint sized creature you'll meet them all. >> coming up after your local news and weather.

the water is safe to drink in los altos and surrounding cities but it doesn't smell like it. cal water has received close to a dozen complaints about a musty odor in the water, but the company says it is safe to drink. the smell is from algae and the sacramento san whacken delta. it is common this time of year when the weather is hot. we are in the second week of august, doesn't feel like it around the bay area. get a long at the forecast with meteorologist christina loren. >> thank you, marla. what an interesting forecast we have. hard to believe we are in august, temperatures like this. long at this, even picking up some returns on the radar this morning, area of low pressure sitting and spinning offshore, going to kind of move inland today, see the wraparound

moisture move into the area. 68, fremont, another cool day in san francisco at 58 degrees. we stay steady through friday, then temperatures slowly start to creep up, getting into this weekend, monday and tuesday. check your drive with anthony slaughter. thank you, christina. things looking good on the bay bridge approach, all rains are clear and even approaching the bay bridge from the eastshore freeway, things are moving very smoothly, in the south bay, one accident keeping things slow from 280, cupertino to willow glenn, 280 headed that way, you can see, it is keeping things slow because of an accident that's actually on 85, so, folks trying to get onto 85 keeping things slow on 280, again back to willow glenn. marla, what we got for you now. >> thanks. we will be back with our next with local news update at 10:26. hope to see you then.

from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. hello, everybody. wines day wednesday, august 7th. are you ready for a whole bunch of little nose pickers? because they are here and they are adorable. >> we have a really uplifting, terrific show, and it involves -- it's all about inspirational kids, talented kids, kids who are preachers and singers and inspirational. and they are doing things that make you -- >> they are changing the world. they are changing the world. >> we're going to try to inspire your own child, because sometimes we have good intentions for our kids and we end up pushing them too hard and

they don't end up doing what they are meant to be doing. >> really, really good advice for you if you think your child is sort of going that direction as a performer, we're going to have a couple of casting agents on in a little bit, showing what you're doing right, what you're doing wrong. >> i remember hearing about tiger woods' dad and tiger woods' dad said when he was a little boy, he held the golf club at age 3 and tiger said to his dad, i want to hit another one. and he said, tomorrow we hit another one. he went to sleep, dreamt about it, next day, he hit it. i want to hit two more, tomorrow we hit two. >> something to look forward to, as opposed to getting burnt out on it even then. >> exactly. >> i did everything wrong, apparently. >> all right, so jimmy fallon was talking about us yet again. >> gosh. >> anyway -- >> anything to do with that stuff. >> it's a pros and cons segment.

i hope we're in the pros section. >> depends, let's see what he said. >> tonight we'll be taking a look at the pros and cons of shark week. pro, sharks can smell a drop of blood from over a mile away. con, kathie lee and hoda can do the same thing with merlot. it's a gift. it's an amazing gift. >> i just sent over baby gifts to jimmy. >> to winnie. >> winnie rose. >> congrats to him. >> so, we had pictures taken yesterday. >> oh, yes, we did, you're right. >> our least favorite thing to do in the world and pretty much everybody knew it at the time. >> we have an entire "today" staff, as you know, and cast, and it's a lot of people, so that's us. but there were actually all seven -- >> there we are. >> we were outside on the plaza snapping pictures for promos. >> i leaned on al roker to beat

the band. >> that was a fake smile. anyway. >> that's real. >> that was real. >> i don't know why we showed you that. probably bored you as much as it did us. you know who's not bored right now because he's in a little bit of trouble, these ugly american tourists, hoda. >> 55-year-old american tourist who shall remain nameless. >> because we don't know his name. >> he was at a museum in florence and right before him was the statue of the virgin mary. a 600-year-old statue of the virgin mary. he decided it would be a good idea to high five the virgin mary. anyway, while doing it, the pinky snapped off. okay? the pinky snapped off of the virgin mary hand. people are livid. >> they are outraged! and they are taking umbrage all over italy. >> the finger has snapped off

before. >> it was a plaster one. >> anyway, the museum director said, quote, the fundamental rules for visiting a museum has been forgotten, it's do not touch the works. okay, anyway, it's happened before. i guess at the met museum here in 2010. >> yes, a lady tripped. >> she was walking and she fell into a picasso. >> hey, it happens. six-inch gash. that was an accident. she wasn't planning on it. he did something you shouldn't do. >> she just fell down and gashed it. can you imagine? >> we'd love to know, talk to us on facebook and let us know if there's anything you've ever done that you just, oh, my god. >> have you? >> of course. >> i can't remember -- >> you know what's more fun than anything? >> what? >> one ton of fat. >> 15 tons. >> 15 ton ball of congealed -- love that word, congealed fat has been removed from a london sewer. >> this is weird. just so you know, you know when

you pour grease or something down the sink because you're too lazy to put it in a can in the garbage? >> yes. >> in london, all of this congealed together, everyone's dumping of grease, and it turned into a big blob the size of a double decker bus. they've dubbed it the fatburg. it's blobby and oozy and it reminded us, thank you, howie, it reminded us of the blob. remember? >> that's the first horror movie i ever saw. >> 1958, look. ♪ >> every one of you watching this screen, look out, because soon, very soon, the most horrifying monster menace ever conceived will be oozing into this theater. >> i want to see it. >> "the blob." >> where is it? >> come under the door, it would crawl. run, run! comes under the door. it creeps.

it eats you alive. >> that is ridiculous. >> danger. >> i miss movies like that. that's when movies were movies. >> remember when "jaws" was really scary? the movie "jaws"? looks kind of dumb now, but when you saw it then, i remember how terrifying it was. now everything looks so much more real. >> you know, christine, my dear, dear friend, is to this day terrified of birds because of the movie, hitchcock movie, "the birds ". >> you could see that happening. >> yeah. >> that's scary, yeah. yeah. >> it is scary. all right, do you want to live until you're 120 years old? >> pew research center asked -- >> they need to change their name. >> sorry. >> you guys, we decided since there's so many things we have to apologize for during this

show, we just have a button that joanne found at the toy store. >> every time you push it, it's a different version of -- >> sorry. >> i'm so sorry. i apologize. i'm so sorry. sorry. my bad. sorry. >> this is my favorite, i think. >> i'd like to take a brief moment to offer my apologies. >> we're going to keep this button here. >> this is going to be here for all time and we want two more, one with applause, we often need that. we want one with laughter and one that has flachulance. i'll be the happiest talk show person ever. >> we asked you the question, do you want to live to 120? 69% of the people said they do not want to live until they are 120 years old. >> first of all, nobody knows somebody that old and nobody wants to, let's be honest. i don't want to -- i'm 70, if

i'm not healthy. it's all about your health. >> how long would you want to live if you are healthy? >> as long as the lord has me here, yeah. if i'm sick and a burden and i can't enjoy the beautiful things in life, i would rather go to a better place. >> i wouldn't want to -- >> where there's no blob, you know? >> i wouldn't want to outlive everyone from my era that understood my movies, my music, the things i loved. careful. you want to discuss things with people. >> i'm sorry. >> anyway -- >> we've got to quit today, got to quit talking early, because we have a room full of little kids who have a lot to say. >> this one has a youtube video, nearly 7 million hits. she's only 13 years old. >> is she the next big thing? a live performance from internet sensation, maddy or madie? maddie lee. >> from a pint sized preacher to budding chef. >> inspiring kids making a

difference. and we are drinking star trek wine. >> in honor of the children. >> 50 years since "star trek." we didn't think that through. >> wai victory is seeing him find balance, watching a little girl become a little lady, and finding the courage to let her go. but what about the little victories? a smile... a confident glow... or a "thanks, mom." these are the victories we're famous for. famous brands, famously easy... famous footwear. victory is yours. i don'without goingcisions to angie's list first. with angie's list, i know who to call, and i know the results will be fantastic! find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. are so soft, chewy, and filled with their fruity selves...

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i think i should. would you like to have a go? yeah, we could do that. it's awesome! [ cherry ] nothing leaves you feeling cleaner and fresher than the cottonelle care routine. so let's talk about your bum on facebook. where to next? all right. if you have been wondering where all the inspiring role models are for your kids, you are about to meet three young people who are making a huge difference. >> michael, we are already in love with him because he says we're 21, is a 13 year old.

he's raising money to help the victims of the boston bombing. as a amputee himself, he knows firsthand the challenges many of them are facing. >> jordan summer is the president of ms. amazing pageant, she created it to help girls and women with disabilities realize their potential. >> and 8-year-old anna chung -- >> wong? >> what is it? >> choung. where's my sorry button? michael, let's start with you. you've got your t-shirt on that says "mikey's run." when you were younger, 8 years old, you had an illness and lost some of your limbs. tell us about what happened. >> when i was about 8 years old, like you said, i have an immune disease called cdd, i don't know the full name, dirt gets in my bloodstream, oxygen and blood stops flowing through my body. what happened is i had dirt

under my finger nail, had a bug bite, started scratching it and the dirt got into it and the blood stopped flowing to my hands and feet and they turned black. i was released and a month later they had to amputate my hands and feet because they were no longer working. >> wow. you got prosthetics -- >> never heard of that. very rare, isn't it? >> my brother, harris, has it, too. they already knew about it for him. it happened to me first, so they were able to stop it. >> we should point out you do all kinds of things. >> besides charming women. >> you got prosthetic legs and have this great run that helps benefit other amputees, right? >> yeah. >> we're really, really happy for all the things that you're doing. let's move on to ms. jordan and ms. amazing. >> ms. amazing. you did a beauty pageant yourself as a child. >> yeah, yeah, i've been doing pageants since the age of 7. it wasn't something i did every two weeks, i wasn't obsessed about it. >> you were no honey boo-boo?

>> pageantry has taken an odd turn. it's something i did once a year to meet friends, learn public speaking skills, interview skills. yeah, just been a really beneficial thing for me and i wanted to provide that opportunity for girls with disabilities. >> it must be so uplifting for them. tell us what that feels like to watch one of those pageants. >> when i first started the ms. amazing pageant, i was 13. i didn't realize the kind of impact it would make, but what keeps me going and inspired is just the girls who just completely transform, have that nice moment to realize their abilities. >> value for who they are, which is awesome. >> that's what everyone needs. >> look how cute hannah is sitting in her little chair. it's your turn. >> what do you do that's amazing? >> you had diabetes since you were a little girl? >> i had it since i was 3. >> what are you doing to raise awareness? >> we're doing walks, diabetes walks over the brooklyn bridge

and my cousins actually held a lemonade stand. >> great. >> to raise money. i'm not sure how much money there is. >> we hear so much bad news about kids today, some of the ones doing all kinds of bad things. what advice would you give a kid today who wants to make a difference with their life? >> if you try your hardest, you can do it. it only takes one person to make a huge difference. just find the right people to help you and you can make a bigger impact than you ever expected. >> what do you think, hon? >> mainly, value your youth. it's the time when you don't have the responsibility. which i had. >> you can experiment and find where you feel inspired, where you feel comfortable, where you're really, truly happy without all the strings attached. >> you kids are really -- hannah, all of you kids are doing great, great, great work. we're so proud of you. >> proud and delighted that you're with us. >> thanks for coming to see us.

>> thank you. >> we only had to say sorry once. >> excellent. >> they say every child has a talent, but you have to give a little nudge. >> advice on how to inspire your kids to find their own specific passion. >> this guy is passionate when he's at the pulpit. >> the pint-sized preacher. he's at the pulpit. >> th[ male announcer ]her. this is bob, a regular guy with an irregular heartbeat. the usual, bob? not today. [ male announcer ] bob has afib: atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem, a condition that puts him at greater risk for a stroke. [ gps ] turn left. i don't think so. [ male announcer ] for years, bob took warfarin, and made a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested. but not anymore. bob's doctor recommended a different option: once-a-day xarelto®. xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patients with afib not caused by a heart valve problem, that doesn't require routine blood monitoring. like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce the risk of an afib-related stroke.

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[ female announcer ] kraft singles have no artificial flavors and they're always made with milk, so you can be sure there's no single thing better when you're grilling up a burger. ♪ life is amazing ♪ with the love that i've found ♪ ♪ so many wonderful kids today with such strong passion and talent. >> as parents we often wonder

what our children will grow up to be and do and what we can do to nurture those talents or help our kids find them. >> how do you raise inspired kids? here with advice are michelle and mike. once named father of the year, by the way. >> i was, actually. my kids don't respect it, but it did happen. >> michelle, every parent, obviously, wants their kid to flourish and sometimes you see something your kid is good at. what should you do to sort of encourage him or her? >> most important thing is we're going to tune into our kids and let them lead us. you're really looking to see where's that child's passion lie? because the new research is really showing us that the right conditions and the right parenting, we can really help stretch our kids to all of them, shine a little brighter and that's what it's about. not having them win the pulitzer. >> not become celebrities, but the finest little people they

can be. >> what you're doing is you're going to look a little closer to look where his natural interests are, listen, i'm sure while they were watching a tv show said i'm really upset about what happened in oklahoma. tune into that. then you can always ask a teacher at a parent conference, what are his strengths, what are his talents, and then assess, because a passion becomes an obsession with a child who's really talented. >> can't stop them from doing it. we are going to have a little girl on in a bit that can't stop singing and a boy that can't stop preaching. >> you have to be careful about not pushing them. kids are funny, when you push them, they don't want to do the things you want them to do. >> i'm so glad you mentioned that. first of all, you got to make sure your expectations are right and some fabulous new research is actually been tracking these kids to discover, first we have to be a champion. we've got to be a cheerleader and support our own children. second of all, the first teachers are absolutely critical terror a child that's really

talented. they have to be one who's child oriented and also fun. >> unfortunately, sometimes that's not the case. >> you want a child that's well rounded, as well. not only a talented kid, but kid who's empathetic and can feel what's going on. >> there are things parents can do. you mentioned my book, the secrets of happy families, and i spent time looking at families trying to figure out what i could learn. the single most surprising thing i learned is if you want to have inspiring children, tell inspiring stories about your own family. kids who know more about their family history have a higher belief that they can control the world. >> just makes sense. >> and a greater sense of --:what if you don't have a great family story? >> even better. that's the point i want to make, don't just tell the positive stories, maybe an aunt had breast cancer, house burned down, maybe lost a job. by being open, this has changed how i parent, because i think my instincts were to only tell positive stories to protect. now when you talk about pain, they become -- they get out of themselves and they relate to it. as you all know, i spent a year

fighting cancer in my leg and i was on crutches and i was worried it would traumatize my children. instead, they went running to the kid with the amputated leg on the playground or would look at the rabbit in the kids book that had crutches and would reach out. telling your own stories of your own struggles will actually help your children to become more empathetic. >> that's so smart. meredith vieira once said her husband has m.s., how has that affected your family? i raised more caring children, that's what it gave me. >> because it stretches their empathy. that's what you have, three children here who have such heart. heart is what opens it up. >> otherwise we're sort of basically selfish, aren't we? we have to teach them, i'm sorry -- >> my bad. >> we got to go, you guys. we could talk about it forever. got some great kids we got to get to. >> thank you so much. >> great to see you. her parents helped nurture

her plans of making it big. >> she's well on her way. maddie lee is here to sing for imagine a new level of skin quality. refined, perfected. at pixel level. breathtaking. new l'oreal texture perfector. advanced skincare with two powerful ingredients that work with skin. refine texture reduce pores diminish lines for every skin type. even close up, skin looks remarkable. new youth code texture perfector. only from l'oreal paris. texture perfected. we're worth it. there's a new way to fight litter box odor. introducing tidy cats with glade tough odor solutions. two trusted names, one amazing product. there's no subtext... just tacos. yeah, it's our job to make you want it.

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rounds were fired through the back of this home early this morning. search is now on for the gunman. christie smith is at the scene. she will have the latest information for us today at 11:00. we will have a look at weather and traffic after the break.

10:28. welcome bang. taking a look at america's cup park and look at all these ripples out there on the bay, getting down right chop pick, the wind is picking up, likely to play a big factor in today's races. of course, all that action start its 159 p.m.

we will have a full forecast for you at 11 a.m. 77 degrees in livermore, 69, fremont, 71 in san jose. let's check noon drive with anthony slaughter. >> thank you, christina. things pang out nicely, most of the bay area is clear as far as traffic goes, roads are wide open, only exception the south bay, santa clara over toward cupertino, you can see on 280 headed up to 85, that's actually an accident right off of the off-ramp headed over to 85. keeping things slow back to willow glenn but not a complete stop and go and also on 101 near san mateo at foster city, there's an accident on the northbound side. otherwise, things are good to go now. marla? >> okay, anthony, thanks so much. one of the stories we are following today, ac transit struck a deal with union workers avoid a strike. the deal includes a pay raise and changes to health benefits. meantime that b.a.r.t. strike is still looming, a state board will a hear arguments on stalled negotiableses. we will have a live report on

the latest negotiations in 30 minutes 11:00. jon kelley and i hope to see you then. we're back with more of "today" and a special show for anyone hoping to raise responsible and inspierd children. we're about to meet one young lady who's both of these. maddie lee has been belting out songs since she learned to talk. >> now at the ripe age of 13, she's a bona fide internet sensation with fans who can't get enough of her music. check it out. ♪ ♪ if i were a boy i think i could understand ♪ >> her youtube videos have been viewed nearly 7 million times. she covers popular songs from taylor swift, one direction, justin timberlake, and maddie

lee is here with her mom, vanes vanessa. wheeler or weiller? >> weiller. >> congratulations, sensation. >> thank you. >> you've been singing ever since you can remember. >> yeah. >> i was reading where your brother would cry and you would have maddie sing and what would happen? >> stop, completely. maddie, sing something. >> are your husband have musical ability or skipped a generation? >> total fluke, yes. >> you sang at one of the ball games in cleveland. you're from cleveland. you sang "god bless america." what did that feel like to sing in front of a crowd like that? a lot of the stuff you've been doing has been on youtube. >> it was really amazing and the crowd was really great. it was just a lot of fun. >> who has inspired you, honey, i know taylor swift, you like her. who's the best singer in the whole world, do you think? >> taylor swift, of course. lea michele. >> yeah.

you like "glee" and all that stuff. do you see a career in broadway or singing popular songs, what do you think? >> i hope one of those happens, something with singing. >> you will, i think. >> you're going to sing a little bit of a taylor swift song for us, right? which one is it? >> "we are never getting back together." >> that's a good one. >> never, ever. >> maddie lee. >> take it away, maddie. ♪ i remember when we broke up the first time ♪ ♪ saying this is it i've had enough ♪ ♪ we haven't seen each other in a month when you said you needed space ♪ ♪ then you come around again and say baby i miss you and i swear i'm going to change ♪ ♪ trust me ♪ never lasted for a day ♪ i say i hate you we break up ♪ you call me i love you ♪ we called it off again last

night ♪ ♪ oh this time i'm telling you i'm telling you ♪ ♪ we are never ever ever getting back together ♪ ♪ we are never ever ever getting back together ♪ ♪ you go talk to your friends talk to my friends talk to me ♪ ♪ so we are never ever ever ever getting back together ♪ ♪ like ever [ cheers and applause ] >> maddie, nice job! >> that's so good. you were born for this. born for it. >> thank you. very, very proud of her. all righty. does your child have a voice like maddie? >> or do they want to be the next big tv star? >> what you need to know to help them land that first gig right after this. ♪

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take a look. >> look at our fans, we have two. >> your song -- >> i want to hodie on your kotb. >> caught on with one other person. >> going to be big. do you think you have the next justin bieber/selena gomez on your hands and think my child can do that? >> who doesn't think your kid can do it? if you think your kid has what it takes, better listen up. heather finn and bob kline, an independent casting director, who's actually found me a job once. it's great to see you guys, welcome. >> when you have a casting call of a lot of kids, is there something you're looking for right away, sparkle, what is it that you're searching for first? >> i'm always looking for personality. really that's what sets everyone apart from each other is someone who has a good personality and can show that to other people. it's not just a personality when

they are at home, they are really fun. >> it's got to be a natural one, though, doesn't it? >> i always beg for the right amount of confidence, mixed with a little dash of humility. >> that's not easy with a child who's been told all their life how fabulous they are also. >> personality is what stands out the most. even when you get a group of kids together, which one are you paying attention to? >> parents wonder if they should go to a cold call and bring their kid or get an agent. what's the best approach, do you guys think? >> the first step is always try and find an agent. there are lots of different ways to find agents. you can send your child's picture in the mail, there are things like call sheet back stage that have lists of agents and managers, and send in pictures of your child, regular snapshots of your child, and that's what's going to start getting them noticed. >> if you find out what we're looking for through call sheet or play bill, you can read the descriptions of what we're looking for and if your child

seems right, submit them. >> how difficult -- we hear about the back stage mothers and fathers. have you all experienced that in your careers? >> i cast the "annie" tour for many, many years. >> besides me. >> for many, many years and they didn't know it, but i was always the one in the holding room measuring every child because we need to know how tall they were and stuff like that. i was really sent out there to watch the parents and see if there were any red flags about personalities or kids who didn't want to be there that their parents wanted them to be there to fulfill their dream. >> parent might be the problem, not the kid. >> we are looking for kids who want to do this and whose parents are going to be helping them and not hindering them. >> what if you have a child who's talented but the mom is an out of control stage mom? do you not hire those people? >> we try not to, you know, we try and talk to the parents first and, you know, try and temper it with, okay, try and get someone to relax first if we can. someone going to be kind of a

nightmare, might not be someone we can worth with. >> how lucrative is this for a kid, if a kid gets a commercial, what are parents going to get at the end? >> national commercial can start a nice savings account, but it's not going to change their lives forever unless it keeps happening and keeps happening. >> a series will. >> absolutely. it depends what kind of job they are doing. a print job is not going to necessarily pay much, but, you know, sometimes it's just for what i call, especially babies with grandparents actors, oh, look we're in "people" magazine, oh, toys "r" us. >> and it should all be baby steps, too. let each successful thing build on the next step. >> thank you both. we really appreciate it. >> thank you so much. you changed my life. coming up, his sermons have mess ma rised thousands across the country. >> the little preacher with the big message. 8-year-old samuel green. oh, yeah, can i

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there is a pint-sized preacher in jackson, mississippi, who has everybody fired up. at 5 years old, samuel green realized he had a special gift. >> three years later he's already a veteran at the pulpit, inspiring everyone who wants to listen wherever he goes. take a look. >> he had nothing. he lost his land, he lost his ammo, he lost his sons and daughters, but do you know what job did? job got to his knees and began worshipping god saying the lord has gave and the world has taken away. blessed be the name of the lord. >> samuel's here with his mother, joanne green, and his mentor, beverly coleman. >> hello, hello, hello. you are just a bright light sitting over there. you can preach even without those teeth. it's unbelievable. >> when you're up there preaching, are you just

memorizing things? tell us what you're doing up there at the pulpit. >> it's something i do, like everyday stuff. i really don't forget it. i really don't get nervous, because i know god has my back. >> god has your back. >> are all your sermons about bible stories? >> well, yes. >> do you have a favorite one, like david and goliath? >> i have a favorite one and it's named "job." >> job. >> because job had double for his trouble. >> joanne, were you surprised when you saw what was coming out of this little one's mouth? >> i was very surprised. i was very surprised. i was amazed. my husband and i, we were amazed just to see samuel get up and preach without any notes or anything. >> and you took him to church, obviously, but when did you realize he had the gift, how young was he? >> i realized he had the gift when he was invited to speak in a church in birmingham, alabama, and he stepped up and preached out any notes. it was just so amazing.

>> you're the only one i know that likes job that much. job is a tough book to get through. good for you. beverly, how did you get involved? >> actually, through preschool. he was brought to me at age 13 months, which is a little early. i actually start teaching academically at age 2 and i met him at 13 months. by 18 months i knew he was gifted academically. >> how did you know that? >> most teachers know you do this repetitious work and we were doing the repetitious work and just out of spite i said, samuel, you do it. it's your turn now. he did all of it just like the 3 and 4 year olds. he knew everything we had been doing just by observing. >> what do your friends think about what you do? >> they really don't -- they really don't mind. they are like, oh, samuel is a preacher. let's play soccer ball. >> so you're well rounded,

right? an average kid and when you're not preaching. >> do you want to grow up and be a preacher? >> yes, i want to grow up to be a teacher and doctor that takes care of children. >> so like a pediatrician? >> a pediatrician preacher. i like it. >> i am totally captivated by you, samuel. i adore you. is that all right? >> uh-huh. >> samuel, thank you. congrats, mom. >> congratulations. beautiful, beautiful young man. her cooking got her all the way to the white house. >> now amber kelly is sharing those healthy recipes. we're going to get a taste. first, this is "today" on nbc. >> samuel, samuel!

back now with what's cooking, celebrating

inspirational kids. we are in the kitchen with 10-year-old amber kelly, who wants us all to eat healthy. >> as if not busy enough appearing on her local news station, amber won her state's healthy lunchtime challenge and got invited to the white house and got to sit with the first lady. >> let's look at this picture for a second. was that fun? >> it was amazing. >> was she impressed with what you are trying to do? >> i think so. >> what are you going to cook for us today, sweetie? >> numb-y know noodle lasagna. this is the recipe i entered in the contest and it has three steps. >> okay. >> we call these our, like, fake noodles. >> fake noodles, okay. >> and really you just have a mandolin and you're going to go like this. >> what is that, zucchini? >> yes. >> you shave it. that becomes your noodle. >> yes. >> like that. the mandolin is like a knife in

disguise. this is a knife right here. >> comes out the bottom. >> you can do some. you got to be careful with your fingers. >> i'll be very careful. >> let's just move on to the sauce. so we have some yellow onions in here. thank goodness they are already cut, because they make me cry. >> me, too. you are so cute. >> we have that and we add in our two cloves of garlic. >> aunt kathie doesn't know what she's doing. >> why do yours look so pretty and mine look like hoda made them? >> hey! am i not right here? >> then you just add in your turkey sausage. >> turkey sausage. >> dump it? >> dump it. >> that makes it healthier. >> then you kind of want to break it up. you don't want any pink. then you add in your chunks. >> is that just tomato?

>> then your paste. >> tomato paste. >> kid's getting on my nerves. >> then you're going to add in some dry basil. >> okay. >> do we salt and pepper to taste? >> yes. >> just a little bit. try not to add too much salt, right? >> yes. >> kathie, that's not right. >> then you're going to let it simmer for 30 minutes. >> 30 minutes! >> then you're going to move over. we have our finished sauce. you want it to get thick. this is pretty thick. now we're going to assemble it. just need a ladle of your sauce. >> awe sweet. >> she's putting up with us. then you're going to lay this on top. >> we get it. we want to eat. >> thank you for all this cooking. >> then you put on mozzarella and parmesan. >> here's yours. >> i am dying to try this. we have a surprise for you and all the other kids. let's bring in all the other kids. come on, everybody come in. we have a surprise for

everybody. all right, you guys, ready? you guys were so inspiring to us we want to give you something back, so we are going to send each of you -- >> thank you, girard. >> and three members of your family to universal orlando. you're going to experience all of it. remember, the theme parks, you're going to stay at the lowe's hotel. >> it's fantastic. >> orbitz is flying you out there, so you get to bring you and how many others? two or three? >> let's just say ten. >> oh, no. oh, no. anyway, where's amber? >> three other people. this is awesome! where's maddie? maddie! where's samuel? where's michael? >> you've been nothing but trouble since the minute you got here. >> michael! all right, tomorrow, decorating tips. you have to taste it. >> i'm tasting it, it's fantastic. samuel, you want a bite?

>> no. >> samuel's not hungry. >> have an awesome day, everybody. >> nice job! >> see you tomorrow. >> bye, everybody. mom...

yes honey? dad told me that cheerios is good for your heart, is that true? says here that cheerios has whole grain oats that can help remove some cholesterol, and that's heart healthy. [ dad ] jan? ♪

and right now at 11:00, the hunt is on for a killer who shot a 1-year-old by and his father to death inside a home in the east bay. and as police investigate, we are learning more about these victims. good morning. thanks for being with us. i'm marla tellez. >> i'm a he jon kelley. good morning, everyone. the shooting that marla mention happened at a home on gormley avenue in oakland, a few blocks away from the 98th avenue exit off interstate 880 where nbc bay area's christie smith is now with an update from police. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. this is a horrible story, a little baby boy shot and killed. i just spoke with an aunt who was shaken up and didn't want to go on