terror bust. the fbi arrests a north carolina man for allegedly recruiting people in the u.s. to carry out jihad overseas. and prosecutors say at least six people, including his own son, were willing to join him. cause of death? nbc news has learned michael jackson's doctor gave him the powerful anesthetic propofol on the day he died. as new details emerge about the bizarre conditions inside the home jackson was renting. and the sunshine boys. al and i have gone south. way south. to enjoy the sun and the fun of key west, florida, today, to enjoy the sun and the fun of key west, florida, today, tuesday, july 28th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

and good morning, everyone. welcome to a very special split edition of "today" on this tuesday morning. we hit the road. al and i are in sunny, actually kind of sunny and almost stormy key west, florida, this morning. meredith and ann are back in studio 1a in new york city, where they've just come off a whirlwind trip to lake george in the adirondacks. good morning to both of you. >> and these ladies, too. good morning, girls. >> good morning, guys. you know, i thought ann and i really had the best outfit with those waiters yesterday, but you take the cake, guys, in those shirts. question, how much tequila did you down before you purchased them? >> actually, we didn't. we did this -- we did this on our own. >> completely sober. >> when we were looking for gifts for you guys, we found these. and what's great is they're polyester, so they really breathe. >> it's about 90 degrees and humid here. it's going to get only worse throughout the show. but we've got our friends --

>> this is bob the macau. >> we've got some of the other cast of characters that hang out here near mallory square every day. we're at the westin key west resort here and this is a scene that goes on here every single day. we're going to be showing you more of it. we're as far south as you can go in the continental united states, we're at mile marker zero along u.s. highway 1. we're about 90 miles from cuba, about 130 miles south of miami, florida. >> in fact, that's right. key west may be small, roughly 4.2 square miles, which is really just about three times the size of new york's central park. right, bob? but it is filled with colorful characters and a heck of a lot of history. >> a lot of history. some really famous people have hung out here. harry truman spent about 11 working vacations here when he was president. earnest hemingway lived here in the 30s and 40s. did about 50% of his writing here, including the flasic "for whom the bell tolls" and

tennessee williams completed a streetcar named desire. so a rich literary history. >> we tried to soak in all the best that key west has to offer. in fact, we tried some of the fabulous food, the laidback atmosphere. and of course the margaritas. and we even washed down more than our share of hot sauce. and i also went diving for sunken treasure. there are still millions of dollars worth of treasure out there just waiting to be found. >> all right. we're going to show you all around, meredith, as the show goes on. right now we'll send it back up to new york and you. >> all right, looking forward to all of it. coming up from here in new york, the october toe mom, nadya suleman is back in the headlines. she signed her family up for a reality show but now a judge says she can no longer oversee her octuplets' finances. first the top stories of the morning, ann curry back at the news desk. good morning. >> we say welcome back to each other now this morning? >> exactly. >> good morning, meredith. good morning, everybody.

first our top stories of the day. seven people are under arrest this morning in raleigh, north carolina, accused of plotting terrorism attacks overseas. justice correspondent pete williams joins us with more on the story. >> reporter: ann, prosecutors say the man at the center of this, 38-year-old daniel patrick boyd has been interested in jihad for more than 20 years, after training in terror camps in pakistan and afghanistan, then fighting in afghanistan against soviet troops. after coming back to the u.s., investigators say he recruited young men to join the jihadi fight, including his two sons, then went to the middle east and tried to engage in terror acts. the fbi says boyd came home again, amassed an arsenal of weapons, raised money, and practiced military-style tactics with two of the other defendants. federal officials say they've been aware of boyd's activities for the past few years and that an informant has kept investigators aware of his activities, but there's nothing in these charges to suggest that the men were planning to attack americans or targets in the u.s. >> pete williams this morning, thanks.

a new study out will likely add fire to the debate over health care. it finds that 10% of spending on health care in the u.s. is because of obesity. according to the study, medical expenses for obese people average $1400 a year more than for people of normal weight. 34% of american adults and 70% of children in the united states are considered obese. congress is inching closer to a health care reform bill and the president is trying to keep the pressure on lawmakers to get it done. nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd has more this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. the pace of the president's campaign for health care might have slowed but he picks it back up today with a town hall with aarp, america's largest senior organization. the president took a day off from pushing health care to focus instead on china. >> thank you. >> reporter: the wnba. and even international diplomacy. it's a sign that the white house has given up on its goal of getting health care bills passed in congress before august.

>> there's no new intermediate deadlines except to say that the president's encouraged that we're making progress. >> reporter: that's quite a departure from president obama last week. >> if you don't set deadlines in this town, things don't happen. >> reporter: nevertheless, congress is no longer operating as if it has a deadline to meet. >> they need the time that they need to not only get this bill written but to have plenty of time to review it. >> reporter: after lawmakers go home for the month of august, the depiet will move from congress -- >> the last thing americans want is for congress to rush through a flawed bill that would make our health care system even worse. >> reporter: -- to tv screens. >> now, the republicans say congress should slow down? that's because when something goes slow enough, it's easy to kill it dead in its tracks. >> reporter: some $50 million has already been spent on the airwaves. look for that number to probably go up exponentially in the month of august when these guys are out of here. >> chuck todd this morning. thanks for reporting this

morning. today the senate judiciary committee is expected to approve the nomination of supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor. the nomination will then go to the full senate next week. swine flu fears in china have forced a second quarantine of more than 70 high school students and teachers from medford, oregon. adrian young is in china this morning. why is this group being held now a second time? >> reporter: good morning, ann. this is the same group that was quarantined when they arrived in beijing about a week and a half ago. it turned out that a couple of students in this group of 64 students and 7 teachers, a couple of them had tested positive for the h1n1 virus. and the chinese authorities here are taking a very, very serious approach to trying to contain the virus by resorting to quarantine. so groups here are now in central china, and it looks like five of the stunss have been taken away to local hospitals. three of whom have tested

positive again for h1n1. and they're still waiting for test results for the other two. it's not clear when they'll be released. they're hoping to catch their flights on friday to go back to the states. ann? >> all right, adrienne mong this morning. it is now 7:08. let's go back to meredith. >> okay, ann, thanks. now let's head back to key west where matt and al are enjoying the morning. how is the weather looking? >> well, here we've got a few scattered showers and thunderstorms. we look off that way you can see some really good thunderheads building up. but in the meantime, matt's ship has come in. >> finally. going to get a little more crowded here in a couple of minutes. >> a bunch of ships coming in. we've got another one of those carnival cruise lines 27bs with 3,300 people on board or at least passengers and

>> i love that shirt. key west hospital this morning. it is a steamy here this morning. partly cloudy skies for the most part with a slight chance for an isolated than a storm by late this afternoon. and that's your latest weather. meredith? >> al, thank you. now to the latest on michael

jackson's death, and what investigators now think may have caused it. nbc's jeff rossen was in los angeles with the details. jeff, good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, meredith, good morning to you. for the first time, police sources are connecting the dots about what really happened to michael jackson. law enforcement sources now tell nbc news dr. conrad murray administered the drug propofol to jackson on the day he died. michael jackson battled with insomnia, haunted him in life, and may have played a role in his death. police sources tell nbc news his personal physician, dr. conrad murray, gave jackson propofol, a generic of dip row van, to help him sleep on the very morning of his death. an anesthetic sew powerful, experts say it's only supposed to be used in hospitals. >> it certainly would indicate that diprovan, propofol is a primary drug involved in the death. it doesn't say that the drug, by and of itself caused the death. >> reporter: police sources tell

nbc news, detectives are now traveling to las vegas to gather more evidence. dr. murray has an office there. in fact, he's believed to be in virtual hiding, avoiding the press inside his home at this country club near the vegas strip. federal drug agents and the lapd have already searched his office and storage in houston. court papers reveal he's the target of a manslaughter investigation. >> this d.a.'s office in los angeles doesn't want another o.j. moment. and they're working very hard behind the scenes to make sure that before they even bring the charges they have all the evidence. because they've gotten burned before. >> reporter: dr. murray's lawyer denies any wrongdoing and lashed out in a new statement. i feel like a horse swatting flies, he wrote. everyone needs to take a breath and wait for these long delayed toxicology results. i have no doubt they want to make a case, for goodness sakes, it's michael jackson. but things tend to shake out when all the facts are made known. >> just a quick question. >> reporter: another key figure in jackson's life was out and

about monday, debbie rowe. we spotted her inside this pharmacy in beverly hills. the very pharmacy michael jackson used. photographers follow her everywhere. >> do you know what propofol is? >> yep. >> what is it? >> it's a medication that is used in anesthesia. >> reporter: in an off-camera conversation, rowe spoke with me about the kids. she said she just wants them to have a private life. when i asked about a possible custody deal, she told me, everything will work out. katherine jackson's lawyer hinted at that during matt's exclusive interview monday on "today." >> is it possible that there will be some shared custody between katherine jackson and debbie rowe? is that something that's currently on the table? >> what's best for the children is what michael wanted and what has been happening, for mrs. jackson to have custody of these children. we expect to make an announcement very shortly. >> reporter: but still, no announcement yet. as we wait for a custody deal, we actually have some fascinating new details about michael jackson's final days. a law enforcement official now

tells the ap, his mansion, the one you're looking at right now, was a mess. jackson's bedroom was so hot, it was actually stifling and no one who works in the house is allowed to lower the heat or clean it up. there were 20 handwritten notes stuck on the walls. one of them read, children are sweet and innocent. and a porcelain doll, a girl, was in the bed where he slept. the mystery of michael jackson's life continues to unravel. >> jeff rossen, thank you very much. dan abrams is nbc news' chief legal analyst. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> let's look at the case building up against dr. murray. according to the search warrant investigators are looking for, quoting here, evidence of the offense of manslaughter, and now we have confirmation from the law enforcement official that he administered this drug to jackson on the day he died. how significant? >> this explains everything. we've been wondering up to this point, how did they get to manslaughter? that's the reckless killing of another person. generally you don't charge a doctor with manslaughter if they, for example, prescribe the wrong pill.

or they even give someone something they shouldn't have given them. the difference is, and we're talking with something like propofol. and one of the things apparently that was also found in his room was an iv is this idea that it was possible the doctor administered this via an iv. now you're talking about not just a doctor prescribing a pill and possibly michael jackson taking too much of it himself, et cetera. now, if all of this is true, we're getting into a better explanation of why the crime of manslaughter might apply. >> but propofol, i mean, it's not a controlled substance. is it illegal for the doctor to administer it? >> it's not in and of itself illegal for a doctor to administer it. the problem that's going to be in this environment, particularly for the use of trying to help someone sleep, and it causing the death of michael jackson, if it did, then you've got the possibility of manslaughter. so you can administer a drug that is legal in certain instances in a way that could make it illegal. >> but his lawyer is saying, dr. murray's lawyer is saying that he did not administer

anything that should have killed michael jackson. >> well, that's the key word there. should have killed michael jackson. but again, we have to be careful, parsing the words of a lawyer too carefully. that doesn't really tell us a lot. the fact that the lawyer thinks that whatever drugs were administered should not have killed michael jackson is an interesting defense, et cetera. and look, that might be the legal defense, too, which is no matter what was administered, this doctor didn't engage in reckless conduct. >> toxicology report comes back and confirms that propofol was in michael jackson's system, is that enough to bring charges against the doctor? >> probably not in and of itself. but because of the type of drug, because of what was probably found in michael jackson's home, et cetera, the authorities may believe they have enough. >> all right, dan abrams, thanks very much. now to the latest on the arrest of a harvard professor that has led to a fire storm of controversy. henry louis gates jr. and sergeant james crowley have now agreed to meet with president obama later this week. this has police released the initial 911 call from the

incident. nbc's ron allen is in cambridge, massachusetts. ron, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. this case has ignited so much anger and passion, but in sharp contrast to that, the police tapes sound very routine. that only raises more questions about why a call to 911 about a possible break-in has become so much more. the caller is a woman on her way past professor gates' home on her lunch break. she meets an older woman who tells her what she just saw at the gates home. whelan calls 911 to tell police what they both witnessed. >> she had noticed two gentlemen trying to get in the house at that number, 17 ware street, and they kind of had to barge in and they broke the screen door and they finally got in. and when i had looked, i went further closer to the house a little bit after the gentlemens were already in the house, i noticed two suitcases. so i'm not sure if these are two individuals who actually work there -- i mean who live there. >> do you think they might have been breaking in? >> i didn't see a key or anything because i was a little

bit away from the door. but i did notice that they -- >> and what did their suitcases have to do with anything? >> i don't know. i'm just saying what i saw. >> the caller only asked about the race when asked? >> one looked kind of hispanic but i'm not sure. >> reporter: sergeant james cruelly, the first officer who arrive at gates door helds headquarters he is there. >> i'm with a gentleman who says he resides here. a little uncooperative, but keep the cars coming. >> can you also send a harvard university policeman in? >> we can send him in. >> reporter: the recordings reveal very little about what happens next, and none of what gates and crowley said to each other. minutes later, gates is arrested and taken to jail. >> do we have a wagon coming to this location? >> 17 ware street. >> reporter: cruelly has returned to work while gates has been filming a documentary in los angeles. >> can you please elaborate on the whole situation? >> reporter: back in cambridge, city leaders want to turn the page. >> we are confident that we can

ultimately come out stronger, and more unified community. >> reporter: the police have invited a panel of law enforcement experts here from across the nation to help understand what lessons should be learned. but the city monger said investigating the officers involved in the gates arrest is out of bounds. >> the response and the incident speak for themselves. there's no reason to dwell on the incident. it's time to move forward. >> reporter: the next big step forward, of course, is that much anticipated meeting between gates, crowley and president obama over beer at the white house. it's our understanding that will happen sometime thursday evening, just before dinner time. meredith? >> ron allen, thank you very much. it is 7:18, we're going to head back down to matt and al in key west, florida. >> all right, meredith, thank you very much. we just want to mention we have a very nice crowd of people gathering here at the westin key west resort near mallory square. getting up early for us here.

we appreciate that. >> that's right. we've had a great time here so far. this area, key west, has it all. sun, fun, and a lot of history. >> and it's only 2 1/2 hours by car from miami. so it is a perfect family getaway. ♪ laid back, a little quirky, and off the beaten path. this is a vacationers paradise. with a warm climate and an anything-goes atmosphere, key west has long been a mecca for tourists and artists like jimmy buffett. ♪ >> look at the water. look at the boats. look at the sky. look at the sunset. we get to wake up here every day. >> reporter: the island is about four miles long and two miles wide. 129 miles southwest of miami, key west is closer to cuba, which is only 90 miles away. the best way to see the city?

>> all aboard! >> reporter: the conch train, hitting all the best sites. one of town's more popular attractions is the hemingway home and museum where writer ernest hemingway penned some of his most famous novels back in the 1930s. today, visitors come to see descendants of his six-toed cat. >> hemingway named all of his cats after famous people. so we follow that same tradition today. a few of my favorites, howard hughes, charlie chaplain, ava gardner. great tabby cats with six toes. that was harry truman. >> reporter: the country's 33rd president was no stranger to key west. during his time in office, harry truman spent 11 working vacations in this building, which became known as the little white house. >> this was the functioning white house. presidents of the united states may still come and use the house. the obamas, we are sure, will come one of these days. >> reporter: there's a bit of history at every turn.

the mel fisher museum houses $450 million in sunken treasure, recovered off the coast of key west. while chickens can be spotted walking the streets and having breakfast at the blue heaven restaurant, locally caught seafood is prepared and served daily for lunch at the pier house. and for dinner, nine one five on duvall street is a must. at sunset, mallory square, key west's historic waterfront, is the place to be. hundreds of tourists gather as entertaining street performers ranging from jugglers to the very popular cat man work the crowd for tips. when the sun finally goes down, the party kicks into high gear that bars like the famous sloppy joe's. there's something for everyone. in key west, the locals say they won't treat you like tourists, you're more like family.

♪ i don't know where i'm gonna go when the volcano blows ♪ >> it really is a cool place. by the way, even though we noticed that the girls didn't buy us anything at lake george, nothing from the adirondacks, we went on a major shopping trip for you ladies back there. we're going to show you our excellent adventure coming up. but first, this is "today" on nbc. (announcer) it's time to raise the bar

with the full flavor of aft mayo with olive oil. with half the fat and calories of hellmann's real mayo, kraft mayo with olive oil is the new standard in mayo. diabetes and cancer, and they've heard that biomedical research offers hope -- that it could control, maybe even cure, their disease. senator barbara mikulski understands the importance of innovative biomedical research for patients, their families,

and our economy here in maryland. call senator mikulski today. tell her thanks for protecting the promise of biomedical research and the maryland jobs it provides. it's not just the future. it's life. you know, matt, you missed the part of the show yesterday where we did bring you gifts from lake george we got you lures, we got al a boat. al, you know that. you didn't miss that. >> i did witness it. >> i didn't see any of that. >> but you got it for free. >> got it for free? we paid for everything. >> we're kidding. >> they're flying. they're lures.

>> oh, cool. i take it back. i stand corrected. i think you're going to love what we got. >> i certainly hope so. >> we're going to get rained on here. and al is going to search for sunken treasure. >> live, local, latebreaking.

this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i'm stan stovall. members of the baltimore fit this community in the streets initiative that are ready and to expand a program after violence over the weekend. the baltimore a gse is -- baltimore archdiocese gathered people gathered to make a summer of peace in the city. but one believes that this initiative has helped deter criminals and without it there would be more violence and lives lost. >> there really has not been all that bad as far as delays. we are getting word of a few accidents. howard county along route 40, baltimore national pike and st. john's lane, watch for a crash there. west side delays are forming 41 power approaching i-70.

a couple of traffic lights not functioning at padonia and brought avenue, and to dulaney valley and timonium. 14 minutes on the outer loop west side. a little better on the northeast side. a bit of a delay at white marsh, but not all that bad. we will switch to a live view of the bw parkway, where we are getting southbound delays towards west nursery road. >> very mild start. so before downtown, 71 at the airport, and the dew points are on the rise. 87 to 92 this afternoon. maybe some isolated thunderstorms are possible. a better chance of scattered showers and storms tomorrow. we remain near 90 all the way to the foreseeable future.

>> check the bottom of your screen for updated news traffic information to our next about it, some

♪ 7:30 now on this tuesday morning, july 28th, 2009. this morning, matt and al are in key west, florida, the southernmost city in the united states, getting down to the sounds of howard livingston and the mile marker 24 band. ann and i had a blast at lake george monday. it looks like you guys are giving us a run for our money. are those red flowers or did bob the parrot have an accident? >> no they're red flowers. take a look. see? look at that. >> oh, all right. just checking. >> you like the shirt? >> yeah! >> very popular here in key west. by the way, can you just get a little pan of some of the nice people who've come down here? a huge crowd at lake george they are crazy here. >> this crowd stretches from here all the way over to the

docks, going down toward mallory square. we've got people in boats and of course, if you add up the 3,300 people coming in on the carnival cruise ship, we give them a run for their money. >> by the way, i got down here yesterday. i was here for the weekend enjoying some things and getting to do some shooting. we're going to see some of that later on. but since i have been here, al and i have spent every waking hour shopping for things for you and ann. i just want you to know that. maybe not every waking hour. >> no. but most of them. most of them. and of course, we can also say one of the interesting things about key west, there's quite a pecking order here. >> yes. >> when i say there's a pecking order you'll understand when you take a look at this next video. there are 2,000 to 3,000 key west gypsy chickens. when you talk about free range clickens. these are free range. but there's an ordinance. you're not allowed to harm them or kill them. they've been here since the mid 1800s, when they first brought

them in for food and they just went nuts. >> wasn't there -- there was actually a time where they tried to hire someone to get them out of here and the people around here went crazy. no, we love the chickens. it's part of life and the culture here. meredith? >> okay, you look like you could be chicken catchers, actually, in those outfits. >> that's nice. >> you like the shirts. >> tomorrow they'll be wearing these coast to coast. >> no -- >> we're starting a trend, baby. >> oh, yeah you sure are, baby. you guys look great, actually. we're going to check in with you in a bit. but first the latest on octomom nadya suleman. the california mother of 14, including octuplets. a judge has now appointed a guardian to oversee the finances of suleman's children. nbc's michael owku has the very latest. >> i can't express it in any ways. >> reporter: somehow you knew you hadn't heard the last of nadya suleman. in some ways it just may be the beginning. >> this is the tiniest one. >> reporter: the so-called octomom is back in the

headlines. after a california judge appointed a guardian to oversee the estate of her octuplets, and to ensure they aren't exploited by tabloid photo shoots in a planned reality show. >> yes, it's unusual. but it's an unusual circumstance. >> reporter: the lawsuit was filed by paul peterson, a former disney mouseketeer, now an advocate for the rights of children in show biz. suleman's children stand to collectively make a quarter of a million dollars over three years appearing on the reality show. peterson's attorney, gloria allred. >> we are seeking to make sure that their finance interests are represented and protected, safeguarded. >> reporter: suleman's lawyers called the case sickening and vowed to appeal. the suleman camp is on top of all the legal requirements. nadya will continue to fight to maintain her basic freedom to be guardian of her own children. >> this is noah and malia and they're doing really well. >> reporter: suleman went from obscurity to celebrity with the birth of her octuplets in

january. but soon taken to task when it became clear the new mother of eight was not only single and jobless, but already a mother of six. early on she explained the harsh scrutiny to ann curry. >> it cuts you open, and it just wants to dissect you, and just wants to put you in a microscope. >> reporter: there was a big media crush worthy of a hollywood film set. complete with helicopters, and hangers-on. literally. some photographers clung to her car when she brought the first of the octuplets home. in a deal she gave special access to film the kids to a website. later state labor regulators slashed the site with citations for filming the children too late and for too long. for suleman it's been a long 15 minutes. and counting. for "today," michael owku, nbc news, los angeles. >> we are joined now by gloria allred and paul peterson, president of a minor

consideration. good morning to you both. >> good morning, meredith. >> gloria, nadya suleman is not the first mother to put her children in a reality show. why in this case did you file a petition? >> well, meredith, we filed and asked the court to appoint a guardian over the estate of these octuplets because nadya suleman, rather than allowing her children to have a normal life, has decided to commercially exploit them. and since she has chosen to enter contracts to sell their images in print, on video, and for broadcast, these babies are entitled to their fair share of compensation. >> but how do you decide -- if i can interrupt for a second, first of all, do you have any evidence that she isn't in compliance with the law? >> well, we are concerned about whether or not she has complied. we are the ones, in fact, who did file with the department of labor standards in california. and did complain about violations of labor laws as it pertains to these babies, as you

just stated. and they did find that they agreed with us, and that there had been violations, and, in fact, they cited the media who had violated these babies' rights. so we are concerned about their financial security. their financial future. we want to be sure that when they're 18 years old, their earnings, to which they are entitled under the law, will still be there for them and will not have been dissipated or spent. >> well, nadya's lawyer, chefry czech, issued a statement to nbc news overnight saying that nadya is upset that complete strangers are taking away her parental discretion and freedom. and the statement goes on to specifically mention you, gloria. it reads, allred regurgitated the same rhetoric about how nadya is choosing to commercially exploit her children, rather than lead a normal life. who is exploiting whom, and just what could nadya do to support 14 children that remotely appears to be normal? it is sickening to both of us. in other words they're saying you're the one doing the exploiting. how do you respond to that? >> well, i respond by the fact

that we were in court yesterday. they did object to the appointment of a guardian ad litem. and this is not a guardian over the estate of the children. this is simply our request for the court to appoint a guardian ad litem to investigate the underlying facts of these contracts, to make sure they are fair to these babies, and although they objected vigoro vigorously in court to this request, the court did grant our request for the guardian ad litem, and now, in the next month, the guardian ad litem will do an investigation and then do a report to the court on august 31st. and then the court can decide whether a guardian over the estate of the octuplets is appropriate. and we think that they should be in agreement with this. and not fighting us on this. these babies have a step rat interest than their mother does. and we want to be sure that these babies, who have no voice, who have no representation of their own, are protected. >> paul, suleman's lawyers have said that you and your organization have no standing in this case. they called the case ludicrous.

what is your response to that? why are you involved? >> well, first of all, meredith, good morning. >> good morning. >> i personally, my wife and i, personally wrote the law that was violated by the filming of these premature babies at ridiculous hours and at length. so, yes, i'm an interested party. i'm also the internation chair of actors young performers committee. the money is the way we keep score in this country. and if i might, meredith, i want you to consider these octuplets as a litter of puppies. because if they were a litter of puppies, the american humane association would have an animal control officer there in a second. in a second. our priorities have been flip-flopped somehow. this is a dangerous undertaking. and i want to remind you and everyone else who's listening,

just ten minutes ago, who were we discussing? michael jackson. wouldn't it have been great if some conservator had been inserted into the jackson family 40 years ago? that's what should have happened. >> are you worried that with or without a financial guardian that these children's future, their future is problematic, to say the very least? >> it's dangerous. this is not safe. eleven people who have participated on reality shows have committed suicide. the company that is proposing to do this documentary, this reality show, is the same company that assisted in the destruction of danny bonaduce's family. the same people. we've got to stop this. >> all right. very passionate. paul peterson, thank you very. gloria allred, as well, thank you. >> thank you, meredith. >> and now let's head back town to key west where al has a check of the weather. >> "today's weather" is brought to you by priority mail flat

rate boxes, only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. >> it is going to be a hot one today. 87 to 92 degrees. slight chance for isolated thunderstorms. as we look at the seven-day forecast, 50% chance of scattered showers and storms.

all right, that's your latest weather. i've got another stop to make along the conch train. not to be confused with soul train! meredith? >> hitting the tequila already. all right, al, thank you very much. still ahead, the surprising number of drivers who know exactly how dangerous texting behind the wheel can be. and do it anyway. but up next, matt and al turn up the heat in key west. their hot spots showdown and more. right after this.

"today takes a vacation" is brought to you by expedia.com. >> and we are back with a very special split edition of "today" on this tuesday morning. coming to you from new york and key west, florida, as "today takes a vacation." al and i, with some of our close friends here, you know the story where, you know, the parents go away and you get that, my parents went to key west and all i got was this lousy t-shirt? in this case it's my co-anchors went to key west and all i got was this lousy t-shirt. >> we did go all around looking for trinkets and souvenirs to bring back. but in a place like key west, it's easy to get sidetracked. >> hi, everybody. >> hey, there. >> how are you? >> hi. >> ready to run some red lights? >> here we go. >> where are your hats?

we kicked off our shopping spree hitching a ride on an old town trolley, got some pointer on key west's best buys as we look for presents for meredith and ann. >> how much did you pay for that? >> $3.99. >> i'll give you five >> no, no, on sale. >> who wants some mist? >> come on. let's go, let's go! is that living? that didn't work so well. >> seemed like a good idea. >> everybody come on. >> thank you very much. >> i think we got one. >> that cuts our shopping trip in half. >> there you go. this says meredith. >> oh, yeah. where you going? >> can i have one of the small cigars, please? $2. >> thank you very much.

>> and a cigar for ann. enjoy, ann! >> the hottest spot for all your island booty >> mullet shampoo. you know anybody with a mullet? >> not offhand. >> okay. >> even i wouldn't do that to meredith. >> that has you written all over it. >> yeah. >> are we a team? >> huh? >> woo-hoo! >> we're getting the pens. >> and the coke put bra. you know what? >> i got the last one. >> good idea. >> savvy tourists forego taxis and opt for pedicabs. >> seems much better for you in the front there. >> pedaling? >> yeah, why not.

>> this thing have gears? >> doesn't look like it. but you're doing fine. we should be going a little faster, i think. >> oh, nobody likes a critic. you know, it's actually a nice way to see town. >> yeah, it's great. >> how about from your point of view? >> it's a great way to see town. >> how are you? >> this in like a 60 degree climate would be a lot of fun. 90, humid, not so much. >> yeah, you know, with the misery index, it's about 105. >> thanks, weatherman. >> you might really feel horrible. >> next stop, peppers, for a hot sauce showdown. >> do you like hot sauce? >> sure. >> it's like a cartoon with smoke coming out our ears. sauce number two is our green lava. sauce number three is called orange crush. go ahead, shoot that one. >> huh-uh. >> oh, come on.

>> that's pretty good. >> and we are jumping up a level. so if you need any milk, it's right here. >> we've gone to toothpicks. >> applesauce right away. >> oh! >> matt? kind of manly. maybe around macho. i'm impressed. you did a pretty good job. al, definitely macho. >> if we got one last sauce. >> oh, my god. >> whoo! >> woo-hoo! >> the winner of our hot sauce contest is al. mr. roker. >> woo-hoo. >> all right, al. this time you drive. >> all right.

>> a little bleary eyed we continue to prove our manliness in this hot rod. >> how you doing? >> last stop the pelican poop shop. out back a secret garden under the apartment where hemingway wrote "for whom the bell tolls" with his favorite drink in hand, mojito. >> drink to the conch republic. >> that's right. may she live forever. >> how's your mouth? i mean that in only the most legitimate way. >> it's great. i'm going to figure out how i'm going to talk without a tongue. >> oh, yeah. >> and we have our selected items for you, ladies, here on the table in front of us. al and i are having a little difficulty figuring out which one of you gets the coconut bra and which one of you gets the flatulent pen. >> thank you so much. >> you going to share the coconut bra? how is that going to work?

>> one apiece. >> when you're not wearing it. >> so, ann -- >> i was just saying it's so interesting. we went fly-fishing and they went shopping. >> exactly. shopping and drinking and riding in a pink car. you've got a lot of explaining to do. >> what's your problem? >> later on we're going for a wax. >> all right. >> after this.

>> thank you for coming. >> look what i found out? also looking for sunken treasure.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore.

>> good morning. i'm stan stovall. we want to get a check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> getting in the bud is here in area roadways. we still accident report on baltimore national pike. watch for the crash and subsequent delays. or credit to our speed sensors, 39 miles per hour on the west side as to make way i 70. mulberry and smallwood, and delays on the north side as well. traffic lights on flash at bodoni and broad ave. -- padonia and brought up there. about a 12-minute ride on the northeast outer loop. you are going to look at a delay approaching the white marsh area towards the beltway northeast. we will switch to a live view of traffic on the bw parkway.

that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> we are going to be seeing a hot one today. 90 is the forecast high in baltimore. seven-day forecast keeps us near 90 all week long. >> don't forget to vote for sandra to close for a day on "live with regis and kelly." we of created a link on our website, wbaltv.com. cast your vote before 9:45 tonight. by voting, you will be entered for a chance to win an american express gift card. a vote early good luck to sandra. back in 25 minutes with another live update.

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♪ and we are back now on a tuesday morning. 28th day of july, 2009. a little music on a split edition of our show from key west, florida, and new york city as "today" continues to take a vacation. we have more music later on and get to see some of the people, the colorful people here in key west in just a couple of minutes. meanwhile, here along the water i'm matt lauer along with al roker. meredith is back on the plaza in new york city. meredith, good morning again. >> good morning to you guys. you look like you're having such a good time there. it's infectious to say the very least. >> you know, it's a cool place. i have to say. when ponce de leon first discovered this place in 1521, you covered the landing i know, 488 years later, they welcome about 2 million tourists a year here. >> meredith, i -- i disavow that

comment. >> thank you. >> i really do. >> thank you, al. >> absolutely. >> it's getting a little nasty. i'm still not over that flatulence pen or whatever the heck it was. coming up in the next half hour here in new york, a reason to keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel. we're going to take a look at some new and frankly very scary evidence that some drivers are not getting the message about the dangers of texting while driving. but first, guys, what else do you have coming up in key west? >> well, you know what, this was back in the 1800s one of the wealthy cities in america per capita. a lot of that wealth was shipping. a lot of the ships got sunk out in the waters. very treacherous reef waters. i decided to do a little treasure hunting myself and went diving looking for millions in treasure. what did i find? we'll show you a little bit later. meredith? >> all right, al, okay. looking forward to that. right now we're going to get to ann curry at the news desk. ann, good morning. >> good morning to all of you this morning. the news in the news this

morning, this morning seven people are under arrest in raleigh, north carolina, facing terrorism charges. prosecutors say that american daniel boyd led the group and trained in terrorist camps in pakistan and afghanistan. and they're accused of plotting violent jihad overseas although prosecutors do not say where or against whom. there is nothing in the charges to suggest that the men were planning to attack americans or target in the united states. defense secretary robert gates is in iraq this morning. he is speaking with u.s. troops at a town hall meeting and with iraqi officials. president obama is keeping up the pressure on congress to keep health care legislation to get it rather passed. he holds another town hall meeting today. this one sponsored by the aarp, and it is expected to focus on how a new plan would affect seniors. today, the house begins work on legislation to rein in huge corporate salaries and bonuses amid evidence that some wall street firms may be returning to their old ways. nbc's chief investigative correspondent lisa myers is in

washington with more on this story this morning. hey, lisa. >> reporter: good morning, ann. only months after being rescued by taxpayers, wall street's biggest banks are setting aside tens of billions of dollars for bonuses. and the weakest of the banks may end up paying $100 million to a single trader. all fresh ammunition for wall street's critics. the latest pay controversy involves citigroup, and its $100 million man. star energy trader andrew hall whose contract entitles him to as much as $100 million this year. because the u.s. government now owns one-third of citi, the obama administration's pay czar would have to approve the payment, which the president spokesman thinks, is a tad high. >> i think they'll come to the conclusion that that's probably a bit out of whack in the pay scale. >> reporter: hall has reportedly earned $250 million in recent years. and owns this 1,000-year-old

castle in germany, which displays his contemporary art collection. citi would only say that retaining the best talent is critical to its success. so far the top six wall street banks have set aside $75 billion to pay employees this year. up from $60 billion at this point last year. goldman sachs has put aside so much that if the pace continues, each employee would earn an average bonus of $773,000 this year. even more than in 2007, a boom year on wall street. >> we're less than six months away from one of the worst economic crises we've ever seen, and already the wall street banks, at least those that are left standing, are again returning to the former ways. >> reporter: morgan stanley has set aside $6 billion for bonuses, despite its third straight quarterly loss. >> banks returning to the bad old days of before is really ignoring the mood of the

country. >> reporter: beyond the bonus pools, there are other signs of some wealthy americans maybe returning to precrisis habits. even as much of the country remains in deep economic distress. there are, again, magazine spreads on lavish homes in the hamptons. and the latest fashion magazine features a $26,000 crocodile bag, and $4,000 mink and leather boots. as for the bonuses, the wall street firms say they are both justified, and necessary, to compete for top talent. but, ann, this has only fueled the drive in congress to restrict pay packages. >> all right. lisa myers this morning. lisa, thank you for your reporting. now here's brian williams with what's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." brian? >> hey, ann, good morning. thanks. coming up tonight, an emotional story about children of war. raised in fear and in fighting, but now an extraordinary new program takes them out and away from that violence, allows them really to just be kids again.

some of them for the first time. that and more when we see you tonight for "nightly news." ann, for now, back to you. >> all right, brian, thanks. it is now 8:06. let's go back to

>> it is already a steamy start for us today. 74 downtown, 71 at b.w.i. marshall. heading for a high between 87 and 92 degrees. barry humid. barry humid. and that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al, and coming up, you're going to dive for sunken

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has progress taken us to a better place? i'd say it's taken us for a ride. honestly, what thanks do we owe progress? we're up to our necks in landfill, and down to the wire in resources and climate change is out to get us. that's why progress plays no role inside post shredded wheat. here, we put the "no" in innovation. post original shredded wheat is still just the one simple, honest ingredient

which naturally comes with vitamins, minerals and fiber. all we did was make it spoon size. did we go too far? we are back now at 8:12. most drivers would never consider drinking and driving, but some of those same people would not hesitate to text and drive. which can be even more dangerous. nbc's michelle kosinski is here. >> reporter: this new study shows a 23 times increased risk of having a crash when texting while driving, far more than previously thought. even among some of the most seasoned drivers out there. truckers. some have called texting while driving, or trying to drive, intex indication. and we've seen the crashes caused by the little messages that surely could have waited. this texas bus driver was

texting away, right before this. no one was hurt. unlike this california train disaster, in which the driver had been texting. and 25 people died. several studies have shown that reaction time, and steering control while drivers were tap-tapping, suffered more than when they were actually drink. but now, the latest study by virginia tech of truck drivers over 18 months showed their risk of a crash was 23 times higher while texting. because it kept their eyes off the road longer than any other distraction. 14 states and the district of columbia have nowed banned texting while driving. yet a new survey of drivers by aaa shows while just all of them see texting on the road as drunk driving, more than one-fifth still do it anyway. >> those people that admitted to texting or e-mailing while they drive, eight out of ten of those

same individuals said they knew it was dangerous. and that's outrageous to me. >> reporter: these teen texters were caught on tape by their parents, even though they knew there were cameras in their cars. "the new york times" snapped this shot of a kid texting his girl while his buddy helped him with that other task at hand. but mark schultz will feel the effects for the rest of his life. slammed into on his bike by a 24-year-old texter driver, broken bones, serious concussion, weeks in the hospital. >> when i see someone doing it while i'm riding, it terrifies me. >> reporter: aaa says people know the danger they hold. they just need to start caring. it's that irresistible cell could be as potent as alcohol on your driving. and potential as devastating. the study looked at other types of distractions, too, but texting was by far the worst. because, surprise, surprise, it took your eyes off the road for the longest amount of time,

meredith. >> all right, michelle kosinski, thank you. he was only a mile away from home when he was killed in a head-on crash. witnesses say they spotted another driver, a 17-year-old texting behind the wheel. rita, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> it was november 15th, 2007. your husband, as we said, driving home from work. you're in a car, a distance from him, you hear that there's an accident, and you got there and realized it's your husband. >> i was five minutes behind him. i was coming home from work. i'm a teacher. north carroll high school, and i had texted him -- i had called him on the phone. when i left school and said i'm on my way home. he didn't respond, but because of what he did, he was in agriculture and a consultant, he could be in areas that did not have good cell reception. but i didn't think anything about it. i came off and i got off at 83, off the interstate 83 and there was a lot of traffic on 439 at

the time. >> it did turn out to be your husband who had been killed in an accident, and some of the people, witnesses said that they thought the young man in the other car had been texting. that young man was issued tickets for driving to the right of center and negligent driving, paid a $410 fine. your reaction to that at the time? >> i was very mad. a couple of miles -- if he'd been a few miles across the line in pennsylvania, he would have gone to jail. in maryland, if you don't have drugs or alcohol in your system, then it is not considered a criminal offense. the police report said he should be charged with criminal. >> and since then you have made it a cause of yours to try to change the law in maryland to address things like texting, distracted driving. is the law changing? >> the legislature passed a bill on texting this past legislative session. it was signed into law by the governor, and it will take effect in october, that it will

be a first offense, $500 fine, if a police officer observes you texting while driving. >> you are doing this to honor the memory of your husband chuck and others who have been in these terrible situations. what kind of a man was chuck? >> chuck was a wonderful person. in my eulogy to him, i said that if i could have, i would have gotten down and kissed his feet. but he would never have allowed me to do that. we met as freshmen at the university of maryland when i was 18, and when people talk about soul mates, definitely. we were soul mates. that he was the kindest, most generous person, always involved with things with the university, or helping people. >> and he lost his life in such a tragic way. at least are trying to turn this into something positive for others. rita, thank you so much for your time this morning. >> thank you. >> and for your ef farther. >> thank you.

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"today takes a vacation" is brought to you by expedia.com. welcome back to day two of "today takes a vacation." we're in key west, florida, and it's time to eat. bobby mangelli is the owner of the hog fish bar and grill on stock island. what is a hog fish, bobby? good morning. >> good morning. thanks for coming back. hog fish is a fish that's in the waters down here that's usually speared. so it's very rare to see it on the restaurants down here. so this is the hog fish. >> right here. okay, great eating. >> it's a lot like scallop. >> and this is grouper? >> the second best fish to eat, i think here. and then here we have pink conch. >> localdelicacies. >> show me how to make a hog fish sandwich. what did you bread it with?

>> this is panko breading and a little bit of buttermilk. >> once you've got the browned fillets. >> this i'm going to have you make a little bit of ceviche if you can. we're going to put this shrimp ceviche over top of the hog fish. >> so a little bit of betters. >> just a little bit of all this, and then the lime and stuff. >> great. >> and then what we have here is the famous killer hogfish sandwich that we serve at hogfish bar and grill. >> why is it so famous? >> i don't know. we sell them like mcdonald es hamburgers, you know. and this right here is key west pink shrimp off ricky toomer's boat. >> so i stir this up? >> put some lime juice in it. a little lime. >> okay, go ahead. what is this? >> this is a little lemon here. >> all right. so now we've got this ceviche and i'm going to put this right on top here? >> put that right on top. >> a little salt. >> a little salt. >> and a little pepper?

>> that's just rest. >> let that do that. meanwhile, al's got some other recipes. we're talking desserts. >> that's right. everybody knows about key lime pie. well one of the best happens to be made by baker kermit carpenter. he owns kermit's key west lime pie shop and also the home of the chocolate dipped key lime pie. right? >> good morning, yes. >> so how do you -- what do we get started with? >> the basics on a key lime pie is good key lime juice, milk, eggs and a crust. we take the condensed milk, we mix the egg yolks into the condensed milk. >> okay. once that's mixed up pretty good, we throw in the key lime juice. >> right. >> and in the old days, this would cook the eggs. >> right. >> now we throw it in the oven for about 20 minutes to bake it. >> then it comes out, you let it cool, you throw it in the freezer, right? >> throw it in the freezer. >> you stick the popsicle sticks

in and cut it up. >> then we dip it. >> nothing goes better than a little chocolate on some key limes. >> and chocolate. throw it back in the freezer. bring it out. >> and voila. mr. lauer? >> there you go. >> dipped in chocolate. >> hmm. >> that's breakfast. >> that's the breakfast of champions. >> breakfast of champions. >> very good. >> kermit, thank you very much. >> you're welcome. >> kermit's key lime pie. still ahead, we're going diving for treasure. but first you've got your local news and weather. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. baltimore county police are

investigating a deadly accident involving a street sweeper. police say that just before 5:00 on monday morning, a car carrying three people turned in front of the street sweeper on honeygo boulevard and white marsh. the car burst into flames, killing everyone inside. it will be awhile before they can identify the victims because bodies were burned beyond recognition. >> tracking one accident of notes if you are heading out on howard county this morning. right at route 40, baltimore national pike, a st. john's lane. the volume related delays on southbound 795 approaching the beltway. 52 on the northeast side. padonia, watch for traffic lights. if you're heading out on the west side, 14 minutes is the outer the delay there. 60 minutes is the drive time on the outer loop northeast side. six -- tina minutes is the right

time on the outer loop matisse hide. we're looking at a delay on the bw parkway. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> partly sunny are ready this morning. very humid already. not going anywhere fast. 76 downtown. 74 at the airport. the mercury will rise pretty quickly. he will surge to between 87 and 92 degrees. partly cloudy skies. just about a 20% chance of a late day isolated thunderstorm. tomorrow, a better chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms. we will remain humid through friday. >> we will have another update at 8:55. ♪

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>> whoa! whoa! >> 8:30 now on this tuesday morning, july 28th, 2009. those are two f-5ns from the key west naval base saying good morning to matt and al. very impressive, guys. but not as impressive as our shirts here. we are getting serious. >> that's very -- those are very cool. >> yeah, we're so loud, my ears are starting to bleed. >> we're going to have to show them our thongs. >> our mankinis. >> i don't think we can handle that. >> guys we're so miffed about these presents that you got us and your general demeanor today. we tried to elevate the show yesterday. you have brought it down. just brought it down. >> yeah. >> we brought you an autographed copy of -- >> we've got you a first edition of hemingway's --

>> that's what i wanted. >> exactly. >> there you go. >> highbrow. >> maybe it's me. does it seem like somebody back in new york is a little cranky? >> oh. >> i wonder why. >> maybe a little too much driving from lake george yesterday. having a great time down here. day two of "today takes a vacation" and coming up we take a look at the riches of this place. and i mean literally. >> that's right. we are going to go treasure hunting. they have found, mel fisher's treasures have found amazing finds. they took me down underwater and i go looking for buried treasure. i won't tell you what we found. but it was a great time. >> and meredith and ann, if i can just say, we've got some other rather unusual people joining us here. i don't know if you can turn around. take a look at some of the people who gathered here alongside the water, reminding us that by the way, fantasy fest is a major event down here in key west. last week of october. this year's theme is villains. people dressed up in all kinds of villainous costumes.

>> their version of mardi gras. and it's responsible for about $30 million to the local economy. >> big, big deal down here. if you're free at the end of october, check out fantasy fest in key west, florida.

>> it is going to be hot today, anywhere from 87 to 92 degrees. a lot of humidity out there. it will feel a lot more uncomfortable than that. a slight chance of an isolated a slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm or two this that's your latest weather. let's say hello to howard livingston and the mile marker 24 band. you guys had the number one pop rock song last year. and one of the things besides, i think one of the things that helps fuel your band are the margaritas. >> has to be. has to be. >> is that -- is that -- do you have to do a margarita when

you're down here? >> we have to. and you have to. and i know you serve your breakfast with some key lime pie. >> what is this? >> it's a 1952 johnson outboard motor, and we've made a few modifications to it. >> i love it. how do you start this thing? >> we're going to have you start it. you yank on this right here. >> okay. >> that's it. >> and then how do we start -- >> pour it in. >> all right. here's some triple sec, some tequila. just pour that in there. and this is early in the morning so we need a lot. >> okay. >> then we'll put some mix in it from the end one there. >> yeah. >> and then? >> and then. >> we start her up. >> then crank that dial right there. >> which one? >> right here. >> oh, no. >> oh, no. >> i turned it off. oh! oh! >> we're going to get her. >> there you go.

>> there you go. >> there we go. that's what we're talking about. >> whoo! >> fill her up, howard! >> yeah. oh. it's noontime somewhere. hey, willard, i got one for you, baby. >> how many miles to the fifth? >> i don't know and i don't care! >> you'll fly back. oh, that's terrific. >> i'm coming your way. >> love it. here we go. >> as we say, high as a georgia pieb. happy birthday smucker's, how sweet with our friends out there in tv land, wonderful, wonderful champagne lady and the margarita man. ruth anderson, of balaton, minnesota.

110. lived independently until she was 107. get this, breast cancer survivor who has done the survivor walk in a wheelchair. that's an inspiration. god bless. carlo johns of bayonne, new jersey. 100 years old. retired newspaper worker. remembers when newspapers were one penny. lifelong yankee fan. i remember when they were a nickel. mary nix, tangerine, florida. attributes longevity to having good family genes and her mother lived to be 106. and loves having visits from her friends. catherine mehan peoria, arizona. 106. has over 50 hats. she's known as the hat lady. she says she's an oldie but a goodie. frank mitchell, concord, north carolina, 100. still goes on a tractor and tills the garden. secret to longevity is vitamins, exercise, and having his own teeth. now you know that is an

advantage. we have catherlean, lavender of eutaw, alabama. 100 years old today. retired attributes her longevity to lots of water and eating vanilla ice cream every day. that's it, that's all. now back to meredith. >> all right, wird, thank you very much, sir. up next, al under water and searching for sunken treasure. @

back now on a tuesday morning. day two of "today takes a vacation." coming to you from key west, florida. al actually snuck out of new york a few days early. you've been down here over the weekend. you had a good adventure. >> i absolutely did. spent some time with some guys living out childhood fantasies while they go searching for -- all righty. so we're going to find some gold today? >> yeah, man.

today's the day. >> everybody ready? >> all right. >> we're tracking a wreck 35 miles off the coast of key west, florida. these waters are notoriously treacherous. where fleets of ships have met their end, dashed against the reefs below. one of the most famous. the galleon part of a spanish squadron lost during a hurricane in 1622. after nearry four centuries, her treasure lays scattered across the ocean floor. gold, silver, jewels, riches rumored so vast that one man and his family spent 16 years searching for it. >> hey, guys, today's the day, okay? >> mel was my hero. he was the most charismatic man you'll ever meet. he had a way to make you believe when there was no reason to believe. >> reporter: after reading "treasure island" as a kid, mel fisher set his course. >> okay i'm ready to go.

>> reporter: by 1969 he was atocha bound. but tragedy overshadowed his search. he endured the death of his son at sea, five bankruptcies and the biting scorn of those who called him a fool. >> we just put all the negative stuff aside and just kept going until he accomplished his dream. >> reporter: in 1985, on the ten-year anniversary of his son's death, the fishers hit the mother lode. >> he said today's the day. that's what he said every day. finally it was. >> reporter: their reward, the richest treasure found since the opening of king tut's tomb. hundreds of coins, gold and silver bars, chains, chalices, gems and more. estimated at half a billion dollars. just a fraction of what still lies beneath. mel fisher is gone now, but since that day in 1985, he left his family with a mission, to find the rest of atocha's cargo. what else do you think is left down there? >> well, i know that there's

130,000 silver coins somewhere out in this water. there's another 420 silver bars. another 60 pounds of ammo. >> that's where i come in. with metal detector in hand, i dive down to inspect the berm. it's the ten feet of sand pushed out of the hole and i work my way towards the center. >> the atocha was in one pile. we dig one more of those holes, al could be diving on hundreds of millions of dollars worth of treasure. >> that's perfect. from the base to about right here and back and forth and make sure you don't miss any areas. >> after over an hour of inching, i see it there. >> all right, al, you found a silver coin, man. congratulations, man. 400-year-old treasure. >> that's amazing! look at this. this is so cool. >> you can't believe that that's really something that's been sitting under the ocean for 400 years. and you know, it sends tingles from the tips of your toes to

the top of your head. >> two pieces, baby. two pieces of silver. >> this was one sailor's pay for about a month's work. >> really. >> in 1622, yeah. these are really beautiful ones. you can actually see the cross on both sides. on this one you can see a date. >> look at that. >> you know what? wow. how much do you think something like this is worth? >> probably five grand worth of silver coins. >> wow. not a bad day's work. >> but those are mine. >> oh, yeah, right. >> next stop, emerald city. why the name? >> they used the air lift like a vacuum to suck away sand, rock, shells. but one day there was a little something more. >> all of a sudden you hear clank, clank, clank in the air lift and it started raining emeralds on us. >> whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. >> there it is! >> yeah! >> there we go. >> all right. that's what i'm talking about. >> look at that. >> look at that bad boy. >> at a cost of $3 million a year, the business of treasure hunting doesn't come cheap.

in fact, fisher's kids admit they'd do better to sell their loot than keep hunting. but as they say, what fun would that be? >> i want to find a wreck that thwarts the atocha and my grand dad to smile down on me and say, that's my boy. >> and sean tells me our booty catch was about $10,000. >> that's not bad for an afternoon. >> that's right. >> hey, sean, how are you? >> mel fisher treasures. good to see you. >> nice to see up. >> what's amazing here is that the silver somewhat corrodes a little bit but the gold you find looking exactly as it looked the day it went into the ocean. >> absolutely. gold shines forever. when we go down and find a gold bar it's almost surreal. looks just like that. finding silver or anything is great but there's nothing like finding a piece of gold. >> when you find this stuff, how is it that you guys get to keep? do other people try to make claims on it? >> well, we actually have an admiralty claim. once you can identify an artifact from a ship wreck you can get a lease on the water.

basically that wreck site is ours. if anybody wants to work that wreck site they have to do it with us or through us. we've got the federal government backing us. >> just want to show this chalice. that is extraordinary. what was the reaction on board the ship when you brought that up? >> oh, it was incredible, man. we came up and immediately poured a glass of champagne in it. it tasted a little salty. but it was really, really good. this is one of the best pieces we've found in the last two years. almost $1.2 million just by itself. it actually has the crest of a family that was on board the atocha. through research we can find the actual owners of this back in the 17th century. >> that's amazing stuff. your motto is today's the day? you going back out today? >> the boats are back out there now. i'm waiting for them to call me. >> good luck. >> sean, thank you very much. >> thank you very much, al. >> you had fun, man. we're going to have much more ahead on day two of "today takes a vacation" from new york and key west, florida. but first, this is "today" on nbc. (announcer) it's time to raise the bar

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starting in the early 1980s, america was on a winning streak. everything, big and lavish. and over the past few decades, it remained that way, for the most part. until things suddenly came crashing down. kurt anderson is the author of the new book "recess: how this crisis can restore our values and renew america." kurt anderson, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> it is a crisis here in america. but you say there's a silver lining? >> well, i think, as with any crisis, and crisis and a meltdown like this comes along rarely, it's an opportunity to rebuild. to get to kind 6 of a reality check that we can all in our individual lives, in america at large, get things back on track. >> this is a crisis according to our book that was essentially of our own making? >> it was of our own making. there are a lot of people to blame. you can blame wall street.

you can blame the regulators in washington. but i think most of us, if we look into our hearts, can find that we also bought into this era of magical thinking. >> you can have anything you want, if you can't afford it, just go into debt. >> charge it, yeah. >> there were a lot of warning signs that the auto industry was in trouble back in the 1980s. >> for our entire adult life the auto industry has been in trouble. and for the last decade the media industry and all of its old forms has been in various terms of trouble. and now that push has come to shove, i think, it's an opportunity for business, for government, for us as individuals, to rethink how we manage our lives. >> why did we ignore those warning signs, though? >> because, for the most part, for many people, if not most people, life was well. if your 401(k) is expanding, your house is tripling in value, looks okay. so, let's leave the worry to another day. >> so how do we reset? i know you have like a seven-point plan here. >> well, we have, among other

things in the last 20 years, sort of been addicted to cheap money, cheap stuff. you know, credit, all that. so it struck me that this recovery vocabulary that we've developed over the last 20 years could be useful. kind of seven-step program to admit that the life that we were leading was unsustainable and get on with a new life. >> to give you two examples, how would an individual reset their life so that you don't go back? because i know even with gas prices for example, they go up, oh, we're not going to drive, they go down, everybody forgets about that. >> exactly. that is the risk here. i think we should try to, for as long as we can, remember what it felt like last winter, last fall when we thought oh, my gosh, where is this going? you know, to look at -- to try to distinguish between what you want for a passing second, versus what you need. do you really, you know, all of the sustainability to me is not just about funny light bulbs and recycling trash, it's really what can i afford? what do i really need in my

life? do i need a house that's 40% bigger than i have now, that we all thought for the last 25 years was our right as americans? >> and as a nation, you believe that this is the right time to tackle things like health care reform and the energy crisis. that given, you know, the bad situation we're in, it really is the time to address it. >> well, and however that comes out. the fact that this crisis has put everything on the table, that everything is on the table, because so many systems are broken, that we've been sort of the emergency, if you will, the crisis has chaked us into a sense of, hey, let's really try to figure out, let's think the unthinkable on the upside. >> as you point out, we are a nation of amateurs. >> we are a nation of amateurs. the amateur spirit is the american spirit. i mean, franklin, jefferson, the founders, they were amateur politicians. you know, the wright brothers, steve jobs when they started, these were just amateur garage operations in every sense. and that is the part of the american spirit i think we need to -- >> in a recession, you're almost giddy. >> i'm not giddy. the word giddiness after the

last 10 or 20 years. but i'm hopeful. >> kurt anderson, the book is called "reset: how this crisis can restore our values and renew america." pleasure to have you. >> thank you, meredith. >> we'll head back to key west where matt and al teach us how to make music with a conch shell. first, this is "today" on nbc. since re/max first opened its doors back in 1973, we've helped millions of families buy or sell a home. through good times and bad, including five previous recessions,

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this is the music of lloyd mager who runs a great bike tour in this area. he's a champion at this. impresses judges with this rendition of strangers in the night. how are you? >> that's right. >> it's good to see you. >> thanks for having me on the show. >> how hard is it to learn to do this? >> it's not very difficult. first thing you have to do is, you know, tighten up your cheek muscles. >> mm-hmm. >> not those. >> yeah. >> everything in key west is named after the conch shell. we are in the conch republic. >> there you go. let's give this a shot. quickly because we need to try this. >> from the diaphragm. tighten up -- >> whoa! >> got meredith and ann in new

york. i believe they have conch shells, as well. how are you doing, girls? >> listen to meredith. >> well that was great. >> i'm giving you guys -- >> can you hear me now? >> i can hear the ocean. very good. >> can you guys hear me? >> he'e' >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. state medical and education leaders are working to make sure they are ready for what could be a difficult flu season this fall. maryland is already recording of four debts from h1n1 the virus, and a full summit was held in annapolis aimed at developing a plan of action for the school year. >> it widespread disease where

we have limited supply of a vaccine, where we are seeing increased hospitalization, illness, and in some cases, death. >> help leaders hope to have a swine flu vaccine ready by mid ( sighs ) ( music throughout ) hey bets, can i borrow a quarter? sure, still not dry? i'm trying to shrink them. i lost weight and now some clothes are too big. how did you do it? simple stuff. eating right and i switched to whole grain. whole grain... studies show that people who eat more whole grain tend to have a healthier body weight. multigrain cheerios has five whole grains... and 110 calories per lightly sweetened serving. more grains. less you.

multigrain cheerios. >> let's take a look at the forecast with sandra shaw. >> air-conditioner is working overtime with a high forecast of 90 degrees in baltimore. winds at the south, bringing in all the moisture. humid on the beach as well. 83 with a chance of scattered, laid a showers and storms. best shot tomorrow with 50% coverage. we will stay humid through friday. a brief break in humidity on saturday. by next monday, we searched and

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