good morning. new frontier -- president obama takes the battle over health care reform out west. can he change the tone of the debate and calm the critics? missing, a man says he was talking to his girlfriend on her cell phone when he heard a scream and a struggle. now she's missing. what happened? and featherless friend -- when ralph the penguin lost all his feathers his zookeepers came up with a pretty ingenuous solution. why ralph is now the coolest penguin in the pool, today, why ralph is now the coolest penguin in the pool, today, saturday, august 15th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on this saturday morning. i'm lester holt. >> i'm amy robach. >> nice to have you back. had a nice time off? i did. you and i both got in on flights late yesterday so we're well rested. >> late yesterday. at least we're not ralph the penguin, lost all his -- i was going to say, his feathers. penguins molts every year over a period of time but he loses all his feathers in one day and then didn't want him to get sun burn. >> he's a new father. he has to go out and find food for his role, so he wants to be outside. >> they don't make rogaine for penguins so they had to give him a wet suit so he doesn't get sunburn. all that a bit later on. we want to talk about wildfires burning throughout california. thousands of acres have been scorched throughout the state. we're watching one fire in particular threatens hundreds of homes south of san francisco. california's lieutenant governor declared a state of emergency in

that area and thousands of people are under evacuation orders. coming up we'll get a live report from the scene. new details about what was happening moments before a plane collided with a sightseeing helicopter over new york's hudson river. nine people died and now two air traffic controllers have been suspended. coming up, we'll tell you why and find out whose responsibility it actually is to provide that separation of air traffic. >> those pictures are hard to watch. first president obama is traveling out west this weekend. holding a series of town hall meetings in an effort to change the tone of the debate over health care reform. nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd is traveling with the president. he has the latest from big sky, montana. chuck? >> good morning, lester. the president is out west for a working vacation. yesterday was town hall number one. today will be town hall number two in grand junction, colorado, all of it is an attempt to recapture political momentum to pass health care reform. president obama came to the hills of montana with his entire

family in tow for what was billed as a town hall on health care but at times felt like a campaign rally. president obama was reminiscent of candidate obama at times, as he worked the audience. >> so i need you to keep knocking on doors, talking to your neighbors, spread the facts. >> reporter: the president did take questions from a mostly supportive audience, but not before offering his own media critique of how town halls have been covered this week. >> tv loves a ruckus. what you haven't seen on tv and what makes me proud, are the many constructive meetings going on all over the country. >> reporter: mindful of tuesday's relatively cane new hampshire town hall the president avoided on calling anyone who could easily be viewed as a support ter. he found randy who was wearing a national rifle association. >> we keep getting the bull, that's all we get is bull. you can't tell us how you're going to pay for this. >> you are absolutely right,

that i can't cover another 46 million people for free. >> reporter: the president went on to reiterate his pledge not to raise taxes on families making $250,000 or less, but also said the wealthy would have to pay more. >> that's what i said. but i said that for people like myself who make more than that, there's nothing wrong with me paying a little bit more in order to help people who have got a little bit less. >> reporter: after the town hall, ratty, a mccain voter who drove 300 miles across the state to be here said he wasn't convinced the president could fulfill his promise. >> i want him and people to say, here's where the money is and i'm afraid where it's coming from is out of the taxpayer pockets again. >> reporter: this was held in an airplane hangar, easily secured from the public. and while the requisite protesters were gathered about a half mile away the demonstration never got out of hand. back at the town hall mr. obama was challenged by a man who sells individual health insurance. >> why is it that you've changed

your strategy from talking about health care reform to health insurance reform and decided to vilify the insurance companies? >> okay. that's a fair question. my intent is not to vilify insurance companies. what i've said is, let's work with the existing system. >> reporter: there may have been 1200 people in that town haul audience in montana, but there was an audience of one for the president. max baucus, chairman of the senate finance committee, the president made numerous references to him yesterday, almost as if trying to praise him and trying to keep him motivated to write a bill that somehow can get out of the senate. by the way, the vacation part, he went fishing yesterday, fly fishing, may have been the first time the president did that. today, the entire obama family will tour yellowstone park and get a glimpse of old faithful. lesser? >> chuck todd in big sky. here's amy. >> lester, thank you. joe scarborough is the host of "morning joe" on msnbc good morning. >> good morning. >> we saw that obama was greeted by fairly warm crowd this time

around. he did have to answer a few tough questions. how do you think he handled it? >> i thought he did well. if i were president obama, i would go to the key democratic states where you've got the democratic senators. missouri where claire mccaskill is, down to louisiana with mary landrieu, i would go to nebraska with ben nelson, and have these crowds and -- find a guy in the nra, and call on him first because that was the best part of the town hall meeting. that new hampshire town hall meeting where it was a love fest, we didn't pick that up because the president does get one thing right -- we in news love conflict and so we want people asking him tough questions and he can handle those tough questions better than any politician on the national stage right now. >> he did make a few references as you said to the media saying we love a ruckus. >> right. >> i think we can admit that does make good television but is it fair for him to say we overplayed it? >> no more than it's fair to say that soldiers and marines have been complaining for eight years

that we'll show a picture of a school being blown up, but we'll never show the school being built. ask george w. bush or bill clinton whether we seize on conflict and run it in a loop. that's what the news media has always done. and the president understands that. i hope he doesn't believe it, because if he believes it, this is the news media's fault, that's sort of nixonian. he's lost 15 percentage points in his overall approval rating. he's upside down on health care. his bigger problem goes beyond health care. americans are concerned about deficits, they're concerned about the expanding size of the federal government, so this is going to follow him on any program, even beyond this year on health care, he's going to have to show he can pay for it. >> we know that the purpose right now of this four-state tour, other than having some time with his family, fly fishing, visiting yellowstone, is to show the president front and center on this health care reform plan. do you think that he can be successful in getting the public on his side after all we've seen

this week? >> again, i think the key are those five or six democratic senators. i'd even go to maine with the two republicans where i could steal their votes. i'll been critical of the president being overexposed. in this case i would hold the meeting with him as much as possible, make him as boring as possible and have the contrast between all the screaming and yelling. we've got extremes on both sides that are being so reckless and irresponsible. conservatives and liberals. the president has a great opportunity here, among the chaos, to show that he can rise above that. i think he does that visually with one town hall meeting after another. >> he shouldn't go hang out with arlen specter? >> yes. he should hang out with arlen specter. but this is just me, the political strategist talking, being more careful with the people you let in there and -- but again, answer those tough questions. people will yell and i know as a former congressman, people will scream and yell at congressmen

and senators in a way they won't to a president. the president has a great opportunity here, if everybody will stop being so defensive on the democratic side, to rise above the ruckus, as he calls it, and look like a leader. look like the statesman people elected him to be. that would be my advice. >> joe scarborough, thanks so much. >> welcome back. >> thank you. >> we'll be praying for larry the penguin, is it? >> ralph. >> ralph the penguin, all of america is concerned about ralph. >> his feathers will grow back hopefully. >> keep hope alive. >> thank you, joe. here's lester. >> should have joe introduce our whole show. all right. amy and joe, thanks. want to talk about the major fire burning this morning in one of california's most scenic areas, santa cruz county south of san francisco. it's proven to be a tough fire to fight in rugged terrain, that's close to heavily populated areas. nbc's michael owe cu joins us from davenport, california, with more. michael, good morning. >> good morning, lester. that's right. the wildfire has now scorched

more than 5,000 acres and california's lieutenant governor has now declared a state of emergency here in santa cruz county. >> water dropping helicopters filling up in the coastal wetlands north of davenport, california. in a race against time, more than 600 fire fighters have trying to gain control of the wildfire. still raging in the steep, remote canyons and within miles of a thousand homes and buildings. >> what makes it a tough fire? >> the fuels, the terrain, the difficulty of access all make it difficult. >> reporter: part of the fire fighters' challenge is dozens of spot fires like this one. fueled by ir rattic winds and acres of tender dry brush that hasn't burned in 60 years. officials say the blaze started near a religious retreat camp wednesday night forcing the evacuation of 2400 residents, but some people are ignoring the order.

>> we chose not to go because we didn't think anyone else could defend our place as much as we could. >> reporter: though, dozens of homes have been spared by fire fighters. for now. california governor arnold schwarzenegger is expected to tour the fire zone later on this morning. in the meantime fire fighters say there is soprogress being me and the fire is 15% contained. small teps. >> michael in northern california, thanks. for more on the fires and how the weather may affect them, let's turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins. good morning. >> good morning. this is a result of a summer long drought. i don't remember the last time i talked about rain in california. the forecast for today, this isn't like your santa ana winds gusting with hurricane force winds. these will be about 15 to 20 miles per hour. it's the rough terrain causing all the problems to get the fire under control. we have other spot fires in california and the temperatures this weekend are going to be in the mid to upper 70s. that's pretty good fire fighting weather for all the fire

fighters. now, the other break in weather news that we had overnight, the first tropical system of the season. tropical storm anna has formed out here in the middle of the atlantic. it's a weak system right now, just a small, little baby. the question is, will this blow up into one of those big ones or stay a small system? the forecast from the hurricane center, it's one of these interesting forecasts because it does take it towards land and the cone of uncertainty is florida, bahama, cuba, dominican republic and the virgin islands. it's not expected to be a hurricane, depends if it stays over the open water or affected by the high mountainous terrains like the dominican republic. we were lucky to this point but now this is when our tropical season begins. >> i felt like i jinxed it, we haven't had a named storm. >> blame me. >> we'll see you in a few minutes with the rest of the national forecast. >> right now let's get a check of the headlines from cnbc's becky quick sitting at the news desk for us. good morning. >> good morning, amy, lester, good morning, everyone. we begin in afghanistan where a suicide car bombing

outside the nato headquarters in kabul has killed seven and injured more than 90. nbc's richard engel joins us live from kabul with more. good morning, richard. >> good morning, becky. we certainly heard and felt this loud explosion early this morning. it shook the windows in this building and in many in downtown kabul. the people who were killed and injured were outside the main checkpoint leading into the nato headquarters. it's also very close to the u.s. embassy, just about 100 yards away. the embassy building itself, however, was not damaged and we are told by a u.s. embassy spokesperson that all american personnel have been accounted for. according to a taliban spokes n spokesman, there will be more attacks like this. the taliban claimed credit for this explosion, saying that it was a suicide car bomb packed with about a thousand pounds of explosives. becky? >> all right. richard, thank you very much. nbc's richard engel. there is massive flooding and landslides in southern china

this morning. state television shows dramatic pictures of buildings collapsing down a mountain and plunging into a river. at least 11 people have been killed. federal regulators shut down colonial bank group on friday, the fifth largest bank failure in u.s. chifts. colonial was a major lend eer rl estate development. its deposits and branches will be taken over by bb&t. it is expected to cost the fdic insurance fund $2.8 billion. the charles manson follower who tried to assassinate president gerald ford was released from a federal prison on friday. lynette squeaky fromme pointed a gun at president ford as he shook hands in a crowd in a 1975 visit to california. squeak question fromme said she didn't really want to kill him. she was granted parole for good behavior after 34 years in a texas pris joan while their dad was promoting health care reform the obama girls had some summer fun. sasha and mall leah want rafting

with their mom michelle, sat at the front of the raft with the first lady helping to steer in the back. yeah, a little bit of wet. but guys, just some summertime fun. amy, lester? >> gentle rapids. >> class four, where you get to the -- >> you know your rafting. >> i like whitewater rafting always with a helmet. thank you. >> nbc meteorologist bill karins is back with the rest of the national forecast. >> i got my hands full with all the tropics and everything >> hope you're doing well on this saturday. we're going to see a nice temperature range at 84 to 87. partly cloudy skies with mostly sunny skies around bal

that's your weekend forecast. amy? >> bill, thank you. an emotional farewell to eunice kennedy shriver the founder of the special olympics and sister to the late president kennedy. she passed away this week at the age of 88. family, friends and so many people whose lives were changed gathered in cape cod friday to pay tribute. nbc's andrea mitchell has more. >> reporter: they came from near and far to the kennedy family church in hyannis, to celebrate the life of eunice kennedy shriver. the famous, and the not very famous, celebrities and the special needs people she championed. >> i'll never forget the day that i was sick and in the hospital, a call came and it was eunice, saying to me "how do you feel?" and i knew i had a friend. through sorrow, through pain. >> reporter: she was a fearless

warrior for the voiceless and the ultimate role model for her children. to them, she was mummy, devoted to family and faith, but hardly conventional. >> most of the mothers were dressed up and kind of neatly coifed. mummy wore men's pants, she smoked cuban cigars and played tackle footballp. >> reporter: she found time to be a best friend to all her children and 19 grandchildren. >> grandma, thank you for watching mer mads with me, having magical tea parties, our many competitive sailing adventures. >> for the young and the old people who have yet to discover their passion in life, may grandma's example of courage, faith and commitment guide them to find their calling. >> reporter: unable to join his family, brother ted kennedy. until eunice's final weeks, he visited her every day. >> just he and eunice having a late afternoon drink out on the patio overlooking nantucket sound in a home and an area that is filled with so many memories for the both of them. >> i think if i said to my

mother, which i often did, i can't go on without you, i don't know how to live without you, she'd say, you're fine. i've raised you well. now get out there. i don't want to hear one more yip, get going, your brothers will be nice to you. >> reporter: saying his last farewell, after 56 years of marriage, husband, sag shriver, living with alzheimer's. for "today," andrea mitchell, nbc news, hyannis. >> and now once again here's lester. >> all right. his name is trouble and he's arguably the richest pooch in the world. when his owner leona helmsley died she left her dog a large fortune. now the rest of her multibillion dollar estate is in dispute. as groups that protect animals fight for their share. here's nbc's ron allen. >> reporter: it's been two years this month since the queen of mean died, leaving her beloved maltese her single biggest beneficiary, some $12 million. a judge cut it to $2 million.

all is just a tiny fraction of leone na helms's $5 billion fortune. most of that money should literally go to the dogs. >> she said that the primary purpose of her estate was to fund programs and organizations devoted to the care and welfare of dogs. >> reporter: the humane society, aspca and maddy's fund are citing a so-called mission statement helmsley gave her trust. the trustees running the fund have pushed back hard because she left other instructions saying her money should help the poor, especially children, and other charities. helmsley trust fund is among the richest in the country, a lot at stake for her relatives, associates and others to fight about and a few months back a judge issued a ruling that was not good news for dog lovers. her trustees were given the right to decide who gets her money. in a statement they wrote, did leona helly intent for the trust to focus on the health and care

of dogs rather than people? absolutely not. the fund's $136 million went to several charities working on health and medical research. less than $100,000 to the care of dogs. >> it's unfair, it's illegal and why we announced our lawsuit. >> i think the charities are more interested in shaming the trustees than they are in truly hoping they're going to win in a court of law. >> reporter: meanwhile, the $5 billion battle has not put trouble in jeopardy. in fact, the pooch is living the lifestyle in florida her late owner intended with expenses for security, grooming and meals that surpass $100,000 a year. for "today," ron allen, nbc news, new york. >> there's more to come on "today." how the great american pasttime baseball is bringing hope and opportunity to native americans. we'll tell you about that and much more. first, this is "today" on nbc.

now to a community that despite its proud heritage and rich history in this country is facing serious obstacles. for native americans high unemployment and lack of higher education are tarnishing their great legacy. and now one man is trying to make a difference for the next generation. nbc's miguel alma ger has his story. >> reporter: for these teenagers, baseball was more than just a game. it's for love of the game. a program that gives native american students a swinging chance at college through sports and academic mentorship. lucas taylor, a muskogee indian, founded for love of the game five years ago. he's helped hundreds in his tribe, break into higher education. his sports tournaments bring together native americans from across the country, and they see what country has to offer. >> i never thought i would be in new york. niagara falls, something i had

never done before. >> can't see. >> reporter: for the players, the trips are free. the exposure to new life experiences is priceless. many of the students in the program come from humble beginnings, homes without running water, or even electricity. small cities scattered across oklahoma. >> we have to have a hook to get our kids in and the hook is sports. once we get them, we teach them these life skills, talk to them about education. >> reporter: the numbers are sobering. statistics show only 10% of native americans even go to college, and of that 10%, only about half graduate. alien na harley beat those odds. a star softball player, she's the only one in her family to go to college and when her father died and her mother was sent to prison, she was left to raise her younger sister alone. >> i feel that they believe in me and it's definitely making me more determined and making me want to succeed at everything i do. >> this is a platform that we

can use, a springboard to the rest of our lives. >> reporter: for lucas taylor and for love of the game, it's about more than just giving back. >> that a kid, that a boy. >> reporter: it's a team effort to help native americans move forward. my gel almaguer, nbc news, oklahoma. still to come on "today," a woman goes missing in georgia and her boyfriend may have witnessed her abduction by cell phone. we'll get the latest on the search and speak to kristi cornwell's brother. plus, new details about what happened just before the deadly midair collision between a plane [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] >> good morning, it's 7:25 and i'm kate with some of the stories we're following for you. we begin in baltimore city where police have finished their investigation into a car accident involving michael

fleps. it wasn't his fault but they say they will cite him for driving with an expired license. the other driveror will be righted for failure to obey a red light. the search continues for a suspect accused of assaulting a sheryiffs deputy. deven was being transported to jail when he managed to manipulate his hand cuffs and run into the woods. that deputy is being treated now. baltimore county police are investigating an accident. just after 11 friday morning at martin bluffed. three boulevard. three vehicles were involved. no word yet on the extent of the injuries. two cars crashed in the area of misty and greensville road.

three people were rushed to the hospital. a federal grand jury has charged a man in connection with the death of former raven's quarterback steve mcnair. prosecutors in nashville say aid rn gillion junior sold the pistol to his mist tress two days before the n.f.l. star was murdered. he has been chargetsd with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. the 20-year-old woman shot mcnair in the condo before turning the gun on herself. time now for a quick break.

>> welcome back. now we'll check with your forecast with sandra. >> good morning. i hope you're doing we will well. we had some patchy fog earlier bus it's starting to burn off and it will continue to do so as the sun starts to alabama. and we're looking at 7 -- alabama. 67 out at bwi. 73 in ocean city. your forecast puts us seasonable 84 to 87. we're well on our way to seeing the average today. partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies. great saturday for us. we follow it up with a great sunday. perfect for the world series this weekend. and then hotter by mon and tuse. and then bringing a chance for scatter storms on wednesday. >> thank you for joining us. we've have another live update

in 25 minutes. and we're back on this saturday morning, the 15th of august, 2009, with a look at the happy crowd joining us on our plaza on a pleasant, mid-august morning. inside studio 1a i'm amy robach with lester holt. coming up in this half hour, a mystery in georgia. >> 38-year-old kristi cornwell was last heard from on tuesday as she talked to her boyfriend on the cell phone. authorities say the boyfriend may have heard someone abducting her. coming up we'll get the latest on the investigation and talk to the missing woman's brother about what he think mace have happened. plus, michael vick, after serving 18 months in a federal

prison for running a dogfighting ring, the pro bowl pick is getting a second chance. that is stirring outrage among football fans and animal lovers alike. more coming up. >> bait later on "today," the plucky penguin that has people talking in britain and the u.s. why is ralph wearing a wet suit? the answer, when we meet him in the next hour of "today." maybe he's taking diving lessons, i don't know. we'll find out. >> maybe he needs a little sunscreen. >> he has a feather issue and we'll tell you about that. coming up. it was a week ago today a small plane and a sightseeing helicopter collided over new york's hudson river, killing all nine people on board both aircraft. now two air traffic controllers have been suspended over their behaviors moments before the crash. we get the latest from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: the ntsb tells nbc news that teterboro controller handling air traffic saturday morning made a non-business related phone call after clearing the pilot of the small plane for departure. the ntsb says the teterboro controller told the pilot to

contact newark airport, but failed to advise him of air traffic in the area. a newark controller did see the traffic, but had not heard from the plane yet. newark asked teterboro's controller still on the phone, to steer the pilot away. teterboro tried to radio the pilot twice, but got no response. the pilot never contacted newark and never responded to teterboro. seconds later this horrific crash caught on home video. in a statement, the faa said we have no reason to believe at this time that these controllers actions contributed to the accident. the new ntsb chief had a sharp response. >> it is too early to speculate whether or not atc was causal in this accident and it's inappropriate for others to do so. >> the faa? >> yes. >> reporter: veteran air traffic controllers insist multitasking is part of the job. >> air traffic controllers can never a bad day. a bad day as an air traffic controller could result in the loss of, you know, hundreds of lives. >> reporter: while the faa and ntsb face-off, questions persist

about whether the hudson river air space is too complicated and too dangerous without air traffic control below 1100 feet. every day in the air space, pilots warn each other of their locations. >> coming up on chelsea northbound. >> yeah. chelsea northbound traffic 600, but i'm in a course reversal i'll be southbound again. >> i have you coming over top of you now. >> reporter: the transportation department says it's studying whether more faa oversight is needed with recommendations expected within two weeks. >> this is not your father's department of transportation. or your mother's department of transportation. this is president obama's department of transportation. >> reporter: the union representing the air traffic controllers says the ntsb's timeline is wrong, that in fact the helicopter showed up on radar 11 seconds after control of the plane was transferred from teterboro to newark. and that the pilot of that plane never answered radio calls on either frequency. for "today," tom costello, nbc

news, washington. for more we turn to greg feith a former national transportation safety board investigator. greg, good morning. >> good morning, lester. >> i want to back up here for a moment. i think this gets to be a little bit confusing for folks. we understand that this plane was flying under visual flight rules, but now we hear that he was being followed on radar and talking to controllers. is this a murky area here? if so, ultimately who woes be responsibility is it to avoid other aircraft in that air space? >> it is a troubling area right now because it's so early in the investigation. of course, there's contradictory information between the faa and the ntsb regarding the timeline and when the aircraft appeared on radar and the traffic that was in front of it and who advised who. that's going to have to be sorted out. and that's typical of early stages of the investigation. we've seen that in past investigations. the key here is that the faa has made some early conclusions, which upset the board.

>> yeah. and those conclusions, a couple of things were noted. first of all, we understand that a collision alarm had sounded in both towers, both controllers say they never heard it. then we hear one of the controllers was on the phone, apparently, when he handed off to the other controller. a lot of things going on here. but the faa says, in fact, this was not a factor. is it, in fact, too early to make that determination? >> oh absolutely, lester. i think that's why the ntsb is upset. as a party to the investigation, they know that they shouldn't be making statements regarding the investigation. it's one thing to say they have the controllers on administrative leave and they're doing an investigation, but for them to have drawn a conclusion this early, that's what really upsets the board because it's the board who makes that determination as to what the involvement of that controller and his supervisor was with regard to this accident. there's going to be a bit of a tug of war until they get this timeline sorted out and really get the understanding from the controller as to what he heard, what he saw, plus look at the

recorded radar information and the alerts that sounded. >> and what we understand is while this pilot was not flying on instruments, was flying visually he was getting radar advisories or flight following. some assistance interest the controllers. there is a move, as you noted now, to revisit this whole area, this air space over the hudson. what can they do, short of barring traffic there? >> lester, i think with this call to action and the focus that's been drawn on all of the traffic in this area, they're going to have to come up with mandated flyways. if you have an airplane that's going to transit that area, you put them at a certain altitude on a certain heading or on this flyway so they don't interfere with the other traffic, this commercial tour helicopter traffic. you may have to separate the fixed wing airplanes, putting them at maybe a higher alty tied 1100 feet, and allowing helicopters to fly at a certain altitude below that. there's going toeb established

guidelines, there has to be strict oversight of those guidelines and i think in the next two weeks they're going to come up with some very solid guidelines, if you will, that all pilot wills have to follow. right now, it's not very well choreographed and because air traffic controllers can't monitor all that traffic, it's going to be incumbent that the rules are stricter for those vfr pilotings and make sure they maintain their vinl lens. >> thanks so much for being here. >> you used to fly in helicopters doing traffic at a tv station. >> for a year and a half i was in a helicopter and you know how important it is to listen to air traffic control when on vfr. you're responsible for making sure you don't run into someone. >> everyone in the cockpit has to be looking around, looking for other airplanes. >> head out to the plaza for another check of the weather from nbc meteorologist bill karins. good morning. >> good morning to you. we talkeke

all right. what is your sign say? >> lester, you are great.

>> isn't that cute? let's send it back inside to the lester. >> tell her i said she's great. thanks very much. more to come on "today." up next, a scream, struggle and silence. wlaepds to a georgia -- what happened to a georgia woman who's missing now almost a week. the frantic search for kristi cornwell. is. job.'s his mom vo: my job is to give him everything he needs to succeed, while staying within a budget. mom: that's why i go to walmart. son: and that's how the constitution helped shape america... mom: i love my job. vo: find all the brands those other stores have but for low walmart prices, like dell, hp and toshiba. vo: save money. live better. walmart.

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investigators searching for a missing woman in georgia found a big clue friday night, the woman's cell phone. 38-year-old kristi cornwell was on that phone talking to her boyfriend when he says he heard a scream and then the sound of a struggle. nbc's michelle kosinski has more on the search for kristi cornwell. >> reporter: it is a country road, a beautiful place for a hike. and kristi cornwell liked to head out from her home here in the cool evenings for the four-mile loop. now, it is the scene of a desperate and expanding search for her. kristi had been on her cell phone talking to her boyfriend as she walked along tuesday night when something happened.

>> he overheard her tell him that i've got to step off the road. there's a vehicle approaching. then he hears what he believes to be a struggle, and loses contact with her at that time. >> reporter: he told police he heard kristi scream, don't take me. investigators have since found personal items of hers along this way and now are looking for a large white suv and a small tan or gold car both seen around here that night. police have interviewed kristi's three ex-husbands and boyfriends and consider none of them suspects and interviewed sex offenders in the area. >> we have several promising leads that we are pursuing, but we have not focused in on a suspect. >> reporter: now they and kristi's family are asking the public for help. it's going on four days. >> kristi can hear us or see this, we're looking for you with every resource we can possibly muster and we'll continue that until we find kristi.

>> reporter: what police believe to be an abduction, as her friend listens helplessly on the phone. for "today," michelle kosinski, nbc news, jacksonville. kristi cornwell's brother richard joins us live from blairsville, georgia and former fbi profiler clint van zandt joins us from washington, d.c., good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> i want to begin with you, and i know you can't get too detailed with certain answers, but at this point in time, given what you've been told by police and what you understand of the situation, do you believe that this was a random act of violence, or do you think that someone might have been after your sister? >> well, we really, really don't know at this time. the gbi has briefed us last night and at that time, they said that they were not sure if it was targeted or if it was a random act of violence. >> and richard, can you tell us a little bit about this road that kristi was walking on? it was a country road, not well

traveled. did she walk on this road often times? do you know why she would have been there when she was there? >> she was staying with her parents who lives on this two-lane county country road, and she does walk on that road for exercise in the evenings on a regular basis, so she -- on tuesday night, last tuesday, she continued that routine and went for some exercise and she typically walks a couple miles and makes a loop back to the house. it appears about halfway into that, in that normal loop that she walks, it appears that's when she was abducted. >> clint, i want to bring you into this because what might investigators be looking at right now to try and determine if this was a random act or if this was a targeted crime? >> well, they've been doing a lot so far. they've located all of the

registered sex offenders in the area. they're also going to be looking for anybody who's been released from jail recently. they've identified two different vehicles that have not been seen in that area before that were seen around the time of the kidnapping. they're trying to either find those vehicles or link those vehicles to any potential suspect. you know, one of the things we've lost in this case, amy, unfortunately is that has helped solve others, is the cell phone. we know that cell phone of the victim's has been found about three and a half miles from where police believe she was abducted. as you know in past cases, we've been able to follow the pings, follow that phone and see if that will take us to the victim. this has made the news too many times and kidnappings now, we see that the kidnappers are immediately getting rid of, disposing, making sure that phone is gone so they can't be followed. law enforcement is going to be looking at her cell phone records, her computer records,

if there are internet messages back and forth, who has she been in contact with the last month. they have to make a decision it's a legitimate kidnapping, was it somebody she knew or a random be act of violence. >> richard, i want to give you the opportunity, obviously the main focus for your family right now is finding your sister. what would you like viewers to know about her? >> well, just like everyone to know that she's a very loving mother of a 15-year-old son and she's very dear to us and we'll stop at nothing to find her. she, growing up as a child, we were both avid adventurers. she liked to ride horses and motorcycles and so a walk down a

country road at night really didn't -- she didn't really have any fear of that. she was a former law enforcement officer. she was a probation officer. she is -- she's trained and she's strong and we believe that that's what will bring her through this unharmed. >> richard cornwell, we certainly wish you and your family the best in finding your sister. clint van zandt, thanks so much for joining us today. >> thanks, amy. >> thank you. if you have any information that might help this investigation, please call the union county sheriff's department tip line. there's the number on your screen, 706-835-2902. and we'll be right back after these messages. of the most important. one new centrum ultra women's. a complete multivitamin for women. it has vitamin d which emerging science suggests... supports breast health... and more calcium for bone health. new centrum ultra women's.

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vick's second chance comes courtesy of the philadelphia eagles and despite outrage from some fans, he's promising to make the most of it on and off the field. nbc's ron allen has more. >> reporter: michael vick's appearance as the newest member of the philadelphia eagles met with mixed response. most of it negative. >> i'm appalled by it. >> he doesn't deserve to be playing at all. >> what he did was horrible. >> reporter: the local paper warning hide your dogs and asking, what are they thinking? a subdued vick told reporters he was thinking about redemption. >> i've done some terrible things, made a horrible mistake, and now i want to be part of the solution and not the problem. >> reporter: vick has just finished serving 18 months in federal prison for bankrolling a dogfighting ring that many animals did not survive. his crime sparked angry protests. the nfl suspended him indefinitely, a humiliating fall for a star quarterback who was once the league's highest paid player. >> i committed, you know, an act that was cruel and it was

unethical. it was, you know, inhumane and, you know, so i understand to a certain degree. but, you know, our country is a country of second chances and, you know, i paid my debts to society. >> reporter: but some of vick's most vocal critics are not buying it. >> i don't think he should have been signed. i think remorse is a process. it's not just words. you examine out, you served your time, you go into the community and you show with deeds that you are truly sorry. >> reporter: michael vick has a million dollar contract, but he is still not yet allowed to play in officials games. the nfl commissioner will decide when he can take the field with the eagles several weeks from now after the regular season begins. meanwhile, football fans have strong feelings on both sides. >> he's not the monster everybody else makes him out to be. >> i don't like him being on the team. >> reporter: he was an elusive player on the field. his biggest challenge now -- to outrun his critics and redefine his image. for "today," ron allen, nbc

news, fifrl. >> we'll be right back. first this is "today" on nbc.

still to come on "today" -- when you shop in a dollar store are you really saving money? the answer may surprise you. a penquin who's wearing a wet suit instead of his traditional tuxedo. we'll find out when we meet ralph the penquin. just to get out of bed. then...well... i have to keep winding myself up to deal with the sadness, the loss of interest, the trouble concentrating, the lack of energy. if depression is taking so much out of you, ask your doctor about pristiq®. (announcer) pristiq is a prescription medicine proven to treat depression. pristiq is thought to work by affecting the levels of two chemicals in the brain, serotonin and norepinephrine. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens or you have unusual changes in mood, behavior, or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase suicidal thoughts

and behaviors in children, teens and young adults. pristiq is not approved for children under 18. do not take pristiq with maois. taking pristiq with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. tell your doctor about all your medications, including those for migraine, to avoid a potentially life-threatening condition. pristiq may cause or worsen high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or glaucoma. tell your doctor if you have heart disease... or before you reduce or stop taking pristiq. side effects may include nausea, dizziness and sweating. (woman) for me, pristiq is a key in helping to treat my depression. (announcer) ask your doctor about pristiq. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] >> good morning. it's 7:56. baltimore city police have finished their investigation into a car accident. police have determined thursday's night's crash wasn't

flep's fault but say they will cite him for driving with an expired license. the other driver will be cited for failure to yield a red light. the authorities say 20-year-old develop champagne was being taken to jail when he managed to manipulate his hand cuffs nchings attack a deputy. the baltimore county police are investigating an accident. at martin boulevard and route 40 where three vehicles were involved. two of the drivers were taken to bay view. there's no word on the extent of the injuries. two cars crashed in the area of misty meadows and green mills road. that happened at 3:00 in the afternoon yesterday. one person was taken by he will cop copter. no word on their condition. a man has been charged.

nashville prosecutors say adrian gillion junior sold a loaded nine mill meter pistol to mcnair's mistress before the star was murdered. the 20-year-old woman shot mcnair in his condo july 4th before turning the gun on herself. we'll take a quick break and then your

>> good morning. we're pretty moist out there, the humidty levels are up. but temperatures aren't too bad right now. 73 downtown. across the state line, 62 in york, pennsylvania.

down to the south. and we're dealing with mid 60's on the eastern shore. we have a nice dome of high pressure so that will stabilize the atmosphere and keep the rain away for the weekend. scattered showers the middle of next week. in the meantime a quiet weather pattern. 84 to 87 our temperature range. it's seasonable. our normal high for this august 15th is 85. so we're right where we should be. winds generally out of the east. the sun not setting until 8:02 tonight. seven day forecast breaks down. another repeat day tomorrow, awesome weather for the little leaguers in town. looks like we're going to be up near 90 on monday and tuse. wednesday morning organizedability tivity potentially with a front making its way through.

>> we'll see you back in 25 minutes. good morning, making the case after days of attacks, a president tries to calm critics and take back control of the message on health care reform. state of emergency, wildfires are raging in northern california, threatening hundreds of homes and forcing thousands to evacuate. and second skin, after a penguin lost all his feathers zoo keepers came up with a high-tech solution. we'll meet ralph the penguin and watch him strut his stuff in his new designer duds. >> from nbc news, this is "today" here again are lester holt and amy robach. good morning, everyone. nice to have you here. i'm lester holt.

>> i'm amy robach. i have a question for you, are you someone who shops at a dollar store? they've got a lot around manhattan here. >> i have. i shouldn't -- i probably shouldn't admit this, i'm going to get frisked the next time i go to movie theater i've been known to go in and get the movie candy for a buck. why spent 4.50s for a box of raisinettes. >> you save money. >> i do in that case. >> we're going to put the dollar stores to the test. more and more people like lester are turning to dollar stores to save big money. are the prices there really that much cheaper? we sent a couple shoppers out to compare and the results may surprise you. >> really? >> yep. >> all right. i guess i'm going to get frisked next time i go to the theater. >> this weekend, a big anniversary of a three-day music festival that ended up being much more than music. i'm talking about woodstock. coming up, i'll take you back for a trip in time to the farmer's field where it all happened. we'll meet some of the people who were there to enjoy peace, love and music and maybe a few more things 40 years ago. >> it was funny because in the teases this morning to some of the stations i was saying lester

goes to back to relive his day -- i was 10. >> i was 10. just to be clear on that. i don't think i remember 10. anyway. it's all coming up. first president obama is holding a series of town hall meetings on the democratic plan to reform health care and for more on what he's trying to accomplish we turn to chief white house correspondent chuck todd in big sky montana. good morning to you, let me ask you about the trip now to colorado. he had a fairly friendly crowd, took tough questions where you are. he goes to colorado. is he expecting more tough questions or a friendlier crowd? >> i have a feeling it's going to be a very similar crowd to what we saw in montana, the way they distributed tickets actually is going to be more similar to what he did in new hampshire. you had to sign up on the white house website, local media advertised the town hall, but you had to do it by computer. you'd sign up, they pick randomly, they give you a -- you get a phone call at home saying hey, congratulations, you got a ticket to the president's town hall. this one in montana, actually,

they did it a little bit differently and handed them out in public, two-thirds of them -- of the tickets were distributed at city hall. first come, first served. so i think what we need to probably sit back and realize is, you know, this is the president and people aren't going to get in his face, frankly, the way you see folks doing that to some senators and some members of congress. >> and chuck, it's almost become a familiar pattern with this president that when he is stuck on an issue, he uses the force of his personality and takes on this almost campaign-like role that worked so well in getting him into office. is that clearly now a page from the main obama playbook? >> it's hard to not look at it that way. i mean, yesterday alone, i mean he sounded just like candidate obama. he started talking about fight the fear, i need your help, i need you out there knocking on doors. i'll tell you, the lemonade that the white house thinks they can make out of the lemon that has been this town hall protest and all of the attention that it's gotten, is this -- they think

that all of the attention that opponents of health care reform have gotten, will actually now fire up supporters of the president. you know, there had been sort of a complacency over the last couple months on this issue among the president's supporters. they were more fighting amongst themselves. going to be a public option, co-op, et cetera. i think all of this stuff that we're seeing on the right with the conservatives, may be what the white house needed to get democrats to unite. >> but has some ambiguity in the language of this bill of this plan, has that fueled some of this anger on the right? is some of this based on some true gray areas of this? >> well, i think you could make the argument that it's made the case much more difficult for democratic members of congress to go out there and defend a plan, because lester, there's no plan yet. there are five plans and frankly, there really isn't the plan that is going to end up being what the white house starts pushing and gets behind and that is the one that max bau

cause, senior senator in the state i'm in right now, chairman of the senate finance committee, he's the guy that is putting all this together. president obama i think name dropped him at least six times at that town hall meeting yesterday, almost as a reminder to senator baucus that, hey, he's going to be there, he's going to fight for this thing, hurry up and write my bill, will you? >> chuck todd, good to talk to you. thanks very much. >> all right, lester. here's amy. >> thank you. california's lieutenant governor has declared a state of emergency as a wildfire that has already scorched eight square miles threatens hundreds of homes south of san francisco. it's one of several fires burning throughout that state, just as fire season is about to kick into high gear. nbc's michael okwu is in davenport, california, with more on all of this. good morning. >> good morning, amy. that fire, by the way, is now 15% contained and that is a long way from where we were just 24 hours ago, but fire fighters are literally and figuratively not

out of the woods yet. at last report, this wildfire was raging within two miles of about a thousand structures. and what we're told, essentially, is that the big worry at this hour, are those erratic winds. specifically today, onshore winds that could fan the flames closer to communities like bonny doon, some eight miles or so north of santa cruz, and where some 2,000 residents have already been evacuated. this fire is essentially burning in some very deep, steep, hard to reach canyons that's making it difficult for the fire fighters to try to get containment lines around it. and in addition to all of that, it's got a lot of fuel to burn. lots of massive, tall trees and tender dry brush. i mean acres and acres of this brush that hasn't burned in more than 60 years. it's highly explosive. amy? >> all right. michael okwu, thanks for the update. and for more on the fires and how the weather may affect them, let's turn now to nbc meteorologist bill karins, bill

good morning. >> good morning, amy. most of california is in a moderate to severe drought. and it's not going to change probably until october or november when the el nino really kicks in when the wet weather will arrive. for the fires that are burning out there, the big ones near santa cruz, the forecast today temperatures will be somewhere in the mid to upper 70s, that's not bad for fighting a fire, it could be worse. but the winds will be a little gusty this afternoon, up to 15 to 20 miles per hour. there's no rain in the forecast. even this sunday we will have to deal with bad air quality and even patchy smoke in areas like santa cruz. so overall, i think this is a story, amy, that's going to continue as we go throughout the rest of the summer and moo the fall -- into the fall with no rain in sight and the dry conditions, more fires are in the forecast. >> all right. bill, thanks so much for the rest of the nation's weather. >> including the first named storm churning out there. >> anna. >> let's get a check of the morning's headlines. we'll say hello to cnbc's becky quick at the news desk. good to see you. >> good to see you both again. good morning, everybody. we are going it to begin in

afghan where a suicide bombing hag killed more than seven and injured 90 people. it struck the main gate near the u.s. embassy in kabul. the taliban is claiming responsibility for this bombing and has vowed to disrupt the afghan presidential elections taking place next week. a prison fight has ended in hexco with 19 inmates dead and more than 20 injured. the fight happened in northern mexico just 135 miles south of the texas border and appeared to involve inmates who were jailed for drug trafficking. order has been restored at the facility and no guards were injured. the judge in the murder trial of accused former police officer drew peterson is trying to seat a jury. peterson is charged with murder in the death of his third wife kathleen savio. he is also a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, stacy peterson. no trial date has been set yet. in early october, the judge will rule on whether peterson's trial should be moved to another location. and finally, imagine staying at a hotel in one of the most beautiful places in the world

for a penny a night. that is what's happened at the crowne plaza hotel outside of venice, italy. the one cent rate was posted on-site for one night before the mistake was caught, but in that short time, 1400 nights of vacation were booked. amy and lester, the hotel says it will go ahead and honor that mistake. it's going to cost about $127,000, but guys, all i can say is, we missed our chance. >> wow. >> the taxes probably added up to

we'll take a look at tropical storm anna later in the show. lester? >> bill, thanks. now to a very special penguin in need of some high-tech help. when ralph molted this summer he lost all his feathers at once, leaving him bald and a serious risk of sun burn. his keepers got creative. bill hall and ralph the penguin join us from marwell wild life in the british city of winchester. good morning to you. thanks for being with us.

>> good morning. thank you. >> bill, penguins molt every year, usually over a gradual period. this particular penguin loses all his feathers in one day in the past you've simply kept him indoors until the feathers grow back. why wasn't that an option this time around? >> well, this time around, ralph has given up bachelorhood. he has a wife and he has two children and ralph needs to be around to help feed the children, so we can't keep him indoors. we needed some way to protect him while he was outside. occasionally in great britain it does get sunny so there was a possibility of sunburn and obviously he could get chilly. sounds silly penguins might get a chill but he could. >> i know one of the options was to -- one of the options was to slather him in sun block, but the feeling was it would wash off. who came up with the idea of designing and fitting him into a wet suit? >> well, actually, the keepers who look after him, there are four or five altogether, had a little tank and thought, well,

swimsuits, wetsuits keep divers warm and dry, why not a penguin? >> and how does he do it? does it inhibit his swimming at all? has he had any rejection of the swimsuit? >> no, no. he's been absolutely fine with it. it makes him a little bit buoyant. he has to flap a little bit harder to get going. he loves it. he's the only dude out there with a wet suit. >> how do the other -- i feel like i'm talking about the reindeers in "rudolph" how do the other penguins react to this? >> they're absolutely fine with it. and we did choose a black wet suit to make the suit out, so he wasn't noticeably a different color. that might have been a problem. they seem to have gotten fine. he's really laid back and relaxed about it, so he only has to wear it about a fourth night and his feathers will be through and he'll be back to being an ordinary penguin. >> his babies are okay with papa coming up in the wet suit?

>> yeah. i think they're quite enjoying all the fun. all we need really is a designer wet suit for him. we're not the best tailors in the world. maybe someone can design the perfect penguin wet suit. >> right now someone's probably doing it. probably a tuxedo manufacturer is my guess. bill hall, thanks so much for talking with us. we appreciate it. good work there. >> my thankses. thank you. it's been a pleasure. >> still to come on "today," are dollar stores really a bargain? we sent a couple shoppers to do a price check. wait until you see what they found. h my life. it comes from liberty medical. and now, it's not only where i get my diabetes testing supplies - but it's where i get my prescription drugs as well. see if you're on medicare, the cost of your diabetes testing supplies as well as your prescription drugs may be covered. liberty takes care of all the paperwork with medicare and sends the prescription forms directly to your doctor for approval.

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♪ save it for a rainy day this morning on save a buck today, all about dollar stores. they're popular and nearly half of all households have bought something in a typical month and the prices are low, of course. but are they really a bargain? we sent two avid shoppers to find out. alease and carol are good friends who share a love of long island and shopping. >> i like a good bargain. i like the self-imposed challenge. >> when it's a dollar, it's almost like a no-brainer. >> reporter: we gave the pair an identical shopping list and sent alease to family dollar and carl to target. >> are you ready? >> ready. >> let the games begin. >> reporter: which store would have bigger bargains? >> yes, $1.

♪ >> 160 napkins for a dollar, that's got to be a winner. >> reporter: actually napkins were the same price at both stores. >> this $1.39. this has to be a winner. >> reporter: the target broom was, indeed, 11 cents cheaper. >> i think the selection is surprisingly high quality. >> reporter: so who won? out of ten household items, five were cheaper at target, three cost less at the dollar store, and two were the same. pricewise, it was almost a tie. the target tab was 14 cents less. >> it really doesn't matter if you go to a dollar store or to target. either way, i think you'll do well. >> i think that you really become a savvy consumer, you know to shop over time and you will know where to get what.

>> reporter: in the end they both swept up. so which products are cheaper at the dollar store and which ones should you buy somewhere else? shop smart magazine did the research for you and editor in chief lisa freeman is here with what they found. good morning. >> good morning, amy. >> what did your research show you overall. >> we did a national survey. we sent 100 shoppers all across the country and shopped in over 100 stores, and basically what we found is, is that dollar stores do have some good deals, but as your shopper found -- shoppers found out, you can also find some good deals at target and walmart and some other stores. for some items they're really good, for some items they're not. you really do have to be a smart shopper and pay attention, especially on the items that you're buying often, staples you're going to go back to. >> let's talk about what the good dollar store buys are. you have them right here. >> yes. these are the items that we found were consistently cheaper at the dollar store. aluminum foil, for example, was three cents a square foot versus more than double that at some of the other stores we went to.

but, you know, dollar stores are not known for quality. so that is something to keep in mind. >> i'm looking at your wrapping paper and thinking, this is probably the kind that's difficult, tears very easily. you have to give up some of the quality. >> you might. in some cases, in the case of the, you know, in this foil, it's a little bit thin. >> a lot thinner. >> and also you might find a much better selection of gift wrap at a target versus at a dollar store. it might not be the same quality. there may be some tradeoffs. these definitely were cheaper at the dollar store. >> these were just a penny a round. elsewhere we found them three times the price. >> you found several items that tended to be the same price whether you went to the dollar store or another store. >> right. it was a tie. many of these items, paper goods, you know, party supplies, things like that, were a tie. birthday candles, you know, brown paper bags, i mean, wherever you buy these, whether you go to target or you go to the dollar store you're going to get a good deal on them. >> that's good to know. finally you say there are some things -- this is an important part of it -- you should not buy

at the dollar store. >> well, some of the dollar stores may have some items that you might want to skip. and in particular, anything that might set your house on fire. like -- >> okay. >> tiki torches we bought. >> why, because of quality? >> they went up in flames the ones that we bought. >> okay. >> that's not to say every dollar store's are going to go up in flames. a safety hazard. we had a lighter that turned on and wouldn't turn off. >> wow. >> and in the past, have found electrical products like extension cords with fake ul symbols on them. they could have undersized wiring and that could cause a fire. >> you have to be careful. some of the medicine, i'm guessing, the tops come off too easily? >> no. we found a lot were expired or near their expiration dates. you have to watch it with medications and vitamins, we found they didn't always contain the nutrients listed on the bottles. you have to be careful. >> what's up with the tissue paper? >> tissue paper was the one case we found the dollar stores were the more expensive ones. >> wow. >> like the women in your segment said, you know, you to

do your research. >> shop around. >> shop around. know what you're buying. compare prices. >> lisa freeman. great advice. we'll be right back. first this is "today" on nbc.

still to come on "today" can't afford to fly overseas? from the bistros of paris to an african safari, we will help you travel the world right in your own back yard. >> plus, journey back in time to woodstock, that legendary festival happened 40 years ago today and the people who were there are remembering a concert and a social revolution. their stories after these messages. but nasonex relief may i say... bee-utiful! prescription nasonex is proven to help relieve indoor and outdoor nasal allergy symptoms like congestion, runny and itchy nose and sneezing. (announcer) side effects were generally mild and included headache. viral infection, sore throat, nosebleeds and coughing. ask your doctor about symptom relief with nasonex.

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and get a $25 coupon book. readyfill, only at cvs pharmacy. ♪ [ woman ] ♪ early light breaks through ♪ music and dance calling you ♪ just need that mountain grown lift ♪ ♪ before you share your gift ♪ ♪ now there's rhythm and sound ♪ making their hearts pound ♪ the best part of wakin' up... ♪ ♪ is folgers in your cup >> good morning, everyone. it is 8:25 and here's a look at some of the stories. baltimore city police have finished their investigation into a car accident involving

michael phelps. police have determined it wasn't his fault but say they will cite him for driving with an expired license. the driver of the other car will be cited for failure to obey a red light and causing an accident. in howard county, the search continues for the suspect accused of assaulting asure yiffs deputy. devin champagne was being transported to jail when he attacked the deputy and then ran into the woods. the deputy is currently being treated. baltimore county police are investigating an accident that happened in middle river. sky team 11 was over that scene. three vehicles were involved, two of the drivers were taken to the hospital. no word yet this morning on the extent of the injuries or who may have been at fault. two cars crashed in the area of misty meadows and green mills road at about 3:00 in the afternoon. three people were rushed to the

hospital. no word on their condition. a federal grand jury has chargesd a man in connection with the death of former ravens quarterback steve mcnair. narblee prosecutors say adrian gillion junior sold the loaded pistol to his mistress two days before the n.f.l. star was murdered. gilliam has can been charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. the 20-year-old woman shot mcnair in his condo before turning the gun on hurs. we'll take a break and sandra

>> now a check with your instant weather foir. >> we're looking good. we're looking at 76 downtown. the sun is up and warming us up. but hoich high pressure is in control. 71 out at the airport. 77 in ocean city with condition partly cloudy to mostly sunny across the board. it looks like 84 to 87 our temperature range. 85 is the normal high. and the little league world series is going on. 84 to r68. a great day to welcome all the little leaguers. seven day forecast shows another nice one tomorrow with partly cloudy skies and high of the 87. by wednesday we bring in a good chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms as our next front moves through. >> thanks for joining us.

♪ we are back on this saturday morning, august 15th, 2009, with a look back at nearly half a million people packed together in a farmer's field in upstate new york back in 1969. they were there for a three-day festival of peace, music, known as, of course, woodstock. 40 years later we have a slightly smaller crowd gathered here out on the plaza, rockefeller plaza, having a great time too. i'm amy robach with lester holt. still to come this half hour, you took a trip back in time. >> it was in the field, empty field right now, holds so many memories for a lot of folks that

there were. it's been glamour rised over the years, but if you think back, it was raining, it was hot, not enough sanitation, food, but somehow these thousands came together -- >> you make me wish i was there. >> it would be a perfect storm of bad things today but somehow in that time 40 years ago, we'll talk about it. >> back pain, it can be a major health problem with no real easy solutions. we're going to be talking about what could be causing some of the twinges and spasms and more importantly, what you can do to get some relief. >> if you fantasize about traveling overseas on a exotic vacation but the dollars aren't there, we have options whether you want to experience oktoberfest in germany, the streets of havana or go on an african safari, you can do it closer to home. it's amazing how similar the experience might be. how and where to go coming up. >> first let's get a check of the weather once again from nbc meteorologist bill karins. good morning. >> good saturday morning.

>> very nice today. we're going to see partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies. 84 to 87. temperatures where they should be. nice night tonight. >> that's your weekend forecast. have a wonderful weekend. lester. >> thanks very much. 40 years ago today on a rainy august weekend, a half million people from music fans to flower children to the simply curious, gathered on a farm

field in upstate new york for a three-day music festival. it was called woodstock, you might have heard of it, and it turned out to be more than a rock concert, it became an experience that shaped a generation. the stage was right about where? >> reporter: what happened on this grassy field in upstate new york 40 years ago was a touch stone for duke devlin's generation. they came for a concert, but left as a part of history. >> it was really like overwhelming when you came down, you seen this bowl and the whole hillside full of people. >> reporter: it was the age of hippies and of a country divided over war. duke and the half million others who came here, by car and by foot, were the so-called we generation and formed a primitive community against a backdrop of rock and roll. ♪ free >> reporter: officially it was the woodstock music and arts fair, 30 plus acts over three days.

>> joe coker. ♪ what would you do if i sang out of tune ♪ >> people like that who later on went on from woodstock to become huge icons of the '60s and '70s. >> we were flying over woodstock on the way in and looking at these ants all moving in the same direction thinking, oh, my god, there were billions of people heading in the same direction. then all of these memories that come to me, a guy didn't have any clothes on walking towards me across the field and the policeman who put his gun in the car and roasting hot dogs for hippies. >> reporter: joan baez was 28 and six months pregnant when she took the stage as the last act on the first night. ♪ sweet love sweet chairry yot >> i knew it was going to be one

of those historic events, singing what i felt, and it was received well. i was a little bit of an odd ball. i didn't do drugs. i wore clothes, important stuff like that. >> yet, you made it anyway. >> i made it anyway. >> reporter: woodstock, however, almost didn't happen. it was supposed to take place some 40 miles away, but at nearly the last minute, the town of walk hill refused to grant a permit. >> prospects were dim. it was just the fate that we wound up here. >> reporter: thanks to a farmer named max yasgur, who agreed to rent out his alfalfa field for what turned out to be an ideal venter. >> max yasgur as our savior. >> the important thing you're proving to the world is that a half a million kids can get together and have three days of fun and music and have nothing but fun and music and i god bless you for it. >> reporter: max died in 1973,

but remembered for giving woodstock a home and for earning the trust of a largely distrustful generation. >> after the festival, he got inundated with letters from parents who had run aaway children who they believed had been here and he made it his work after that to try to help reunite kids with their parents. >> reporter: today, part of the old farm is a performing arts center and museum, dedicated to woodstock. but the actual festival's site remains untouched, to many a piece of sacred ground. >> the stage was right here right in front of us. >> the gravel area right in front of us. as you can see it's a natural amphitheater. >> reporter: it wasn't so much the music made on the stage that defined woodstock, rather it was the harmony formed by hundreds of thousands of young people, despite overcrowding, bad weather, little food and poor sanitation. what today might be considered a ressypy for disaster, was on

that weekend quite the opposite. >> i truly do not recall the music. my impression of the event were the people and the cooperation. >> certainly the audience were the star and i think that was true for all the acts performed as well. they were more amazed by the audience than the audience amazed by the acts. we were all pretty much a part of the same fabric. >> tomorrow morning on "today" much more of my conversation with joan baez. what a delightful lady. she has great memories of woodstock and a terrific career. >> she's looking and sounding amazing. i loved her line about i didn't do drugs and i still made it. >> she was a square. by the way, interesting point, her son, she was pregnant as we noted, her son now 40 plays in her band. it's a nice little story. >> looking forward to more of that interview. all right. coming up next on "today" how to treat and diagnose back pain. but first, these messages.

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thanks for being with us. >> good morning. >> most people at some point in their lives will experience some sort of back pain. what's the most common cause? >> well, the most common cause is the mechanical problem. to really understand that we need to understand some anatomy. we're dealing with the spine, 24 bones called the vertebrae, dealing with disks and spinal nerves. basically what goes on is the brain sends information down the spinal cord, through these spinal nerves and the spinal nerves join and make larger nerves at the sciatic nerve. what happens is the spinal bones shift out of alignment and cause irritation on the delicate spinal nerves and/or muscle imbalances like weak abdominal muscles or tight back muscles. >> is back pain caused by a sudden injury or does it build up over time. >> it can be caused by a sudden injury like a slip or fall but accumulation like stress for sitting at a desk too long, bending the wrong way. >> the older you get the more perhaps, i guess, likely you are to get -- vulnerable, another word, to have back pain? >> absolutely. >> let's talk a little bit about

one of the most common forms of back pain, the lower back. what's going on with that? >> the lower back is at the bottom, more of the weight is being carried in the lower back. even the slightest misalignment can cause irritation to a nerve or disk and can cause pain or dysfunction. >> does back pain go away on its own at a certain point? >> the symptoms will go away but if you never fix the underlying problems it's bound to come back. >> talk about the other common points of back pain. herniated disks are a big problem that a lot of people experience. what causes that? >> well, the disk is an structure that doesn't have a good blood supply. once a disk is injured it will remain injured unless it's treated. ate needs to be treated as opposed to getting -- >> let's talk about the treatment ps you're a chiropractor. there's going to madecle -- medical doctor, physical therapy, maybe all three together. what different types of options are there for folks? is in my office we use a three prong approach. all the doctor are there, whatever the patient really needs, most of the time the

chiropractor will find a mechanical disturbance and correct it and the physical therapist will work on stretching and strengthening the muscles. >> here's a big question a lot of people have. when you think of back pain it's referred to as chronic pain. is this something you always will have to maintain or can you fully recover at some point from back pain? >> you have to manage it like you manage your car, you bring it in for tuneups and wheel alignments, you have to manage your back making sure your spine is properly aligned, muscles are strong and stretched. >> what are some preventative measures people can take to avoid getting into this position of having back pain? >> stretching is very important. making sure that you stretch often enough and making sure that you have proper ergonomics when sitting at your desk, you're not sloufrping. >> i think i'm sloufrping right now. okay. >> making sure you drink plenty of water and plenty of exercise and rest. >> steven, thanks so much. we appreciate it. >> thank you. tomorrow we're going to find out what's causing the aching knees, a big problem for a lot of people. coming up next, want a weekend in paris without crossing the ocean? we'll tell you how to have a

european-style vacation right here at home. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

♪ get away note this morning on today's travel, traveling abroad without a passport. if you've always wanted to go abroad but don't have the time or money, mark orwall is here with great ideas that will make you feel like you're heading overseas while staying in your on back yard. you brought a cool list of places and we'll talk about it. i have to ask you, jet blue has an interesting promotion, $599, $600 all you can fly for an entire month? from september 8th to october 8th all of their destinations, all of their planes. frankly speaking this is going to benefit people mostly retired or frequent business travelers. most of us with families, our kids are in school.

it's a great deal for those who can use it and great pr and shows you the, i won't say desperation, how eager the airlines are to get you back on the planes. >> if you have the time and can find the sweets not a bad deal. talk about the notion of going abroad. it's expensive, something like an african safari. you found a place right here in the united states that really gives you a lot of that same feeling. tell me about it. >> it's called fossil rim wild life center about an hour south of fort worth, texas, in the hill country of central texas. you'll drive your own car along the safari trail. giraffes, african antelopes, zebra, wildebeests, cheetahs, more than 100 have been born here since 1986. you can even stay overnight in the tented safari camp. only $200 a night. right next to the water hole. watch the animals gather. >> just like you would in africa. >> just like you would in africa. >> what a cool idea. all right. germany. >> yeah. >> you found a town where you can re-create the experience of

oktoberfest. >> you wouldn't think so but you can, it's in columbus, ohio. called german village. lot of germans immigrated here in the 1800. this 233 acre neighborhood, they have a place called shiller park where they have beautiful gardens and free concerts. they celebrate oktoberfest from september 25th through september 27th at the ohio expo center sponsored by schmidt's restaurant, one of the great places to get german cuisine in german village in ohio. this is a beautiful neighborhood, brick streets, queen anne houses. so much fun to walk around. >> i know some parisians who will tell you no place like paris. you found a place some might say is similar to paris. >> one of my favorite cities, montreal. about six-hour drive north into canada. montreal has an area that is called old montreal, where some of the houses go back to the 1600s. you are going to be able to get french food, listen to people speak french, french signs. it is a great place to hang out

in the open air cafes, go buy art. you'll feel like you are in paris. >> i'm embarrassed i haven't been there, but i've heard nothing but great things about montreal. let's talk about havana, cuba, close by but difficult to get there. but miami, obviously, has a thriving cuban community and there's an area there that you recommend. >> little havana and specifically the area called southwest eighth street. one of the best cuban food you'll find in miami. there is a park there called domino park where all the older generation come and hang out every day. there are statutes to the latin american heros. for example, jose marte. you will find the walk of stars with all of the cultural heros and at the last friday of every month on cia ocho, a street party. if you can be there the last friday of the month you will not want to miss it. >> we're out of town. out of all china towns, san

francisco chinatown. >> i agree with you. thanks for coming by. we'll be right back. first, these messages. introducing smoothies from sunnyd ! as much calcium and vitamin d as milk, and so creamy smooth and bold, they'll love getting calcium and vitamin d to help bones grow. ♪ bigger (look at me) ♪ ♪ better (see me go) ♪

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announcer: say hello to the can-doers. - the budget masters. - ♪ yeah yeah the knock-out artists who are finding more ways to spread their dollar further. - to bolder color in less time. - ♪ are you feeling it? say hello to newer ideas and lowered prices, enabling more people to turn more saving into more doing. - that's the power of the home depot. - ♪ are you feeling it? try out different colors with new 8-ounce paint samples at a new low price of only $2.94. being smart. yep. just booked my 10th night on hotels.com, so i get a night free. you are smart. accumulate 10 nights and get a night free anywhere. welcome rewards. smart. so smart. and that's going to do it for us on this saturday morning. thanks to bill karins and becky

quick. tomorrow on "today" we'll talk about the aching knees. what may be causing all that pain in your knee and what you can do about it. >> a judge from the hit show, "top chef" that will join us to talk about to pair beer with food. >> thinking about -- >> beer is fine with me. see you on "nightly news." so long, everybody. >> good morning. welcome to 11 news saturday morning. >> first, here's a look at some of our top stories. baltimore city police have wrapped their investigation up

into a car accident involving michael phelps. thursday night's crash wasn't his fault but police say they will cite him for driving without a license and failure to establish ress densey in maryland. the driver of the other car will be cited for failure to obey a red light and causing an accident. authorities are searching for a prisoner acugh cuesed of assaulting a howard county sheriff's deputy and then escaping. devin champagne was being transported to jail. he is accused of using hand cuffs to choke and hit the deputy. he tried to get the gun, climbed out of a car window and ran into woods near by. the deputy is being treated at howard county hospital. at martin boulevard and route 40 three vehicles were in volved. two drivers were taken to bay

view. no word on the extent of the injuries. >> good morning. >> good morning to you too. a nice start to this saturday. partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies around the area. high pressure building in and it's going to stabilize things. so we'll be dry throughout the weekend. 76 downtown, 71 at the airport and generally on the eastern shore. 85 is the normal high for this august 15th. and partly cloudy skies. sun setting tonight at 8:02. you see a tropical storm anna the first of the sean. but season. but more impressive is the tropical storm coming up h did you know, you can heat your

home with corn? and more when we stop in at the super green sustainability event. >> for parents, it's about that time to make the transition back into the school retune. plus more weather and sports.