we are back with more of "today" now on a monday morning. 17th day of august, 2009. here's the good news -- finally it feels like summer. bad news, it's going to get up into the 90s today, high humidity. going to be a sticky one for these nice people who have gathered and joined us here on the plaza. speaking of joining us, i'm matt lauer, along with ann curry. while meredith is taking a little time off. we're going to check in with natalie at the news desk in just a couple of minutes. coming up, this is a really troubling story, a 13-year-old boy saw something on youtube, tried to copy the stunt. ended up setting himself on fire. co-have easily died.

we're going to have -- it has a cautionary tale. we'll have some advice on how you can block your kids from viewing certain internet sets. >> it is so hard to keep an eye on all the things they are finding access to. talking about white lies. everyone will have to admit they've probably told a white lie once or twice or maybe even more in your life. the question is how do you stop it from eroding your relationships with people and basically you don't want to hurt feelings but you don't want to erode trust. we'll get to the bottom of how to get our spouses to basically tell us the truth. speaking of getting to the bottom of something, will paula abdul be a judge on "american idol"? will she not be? apparently it is still not decided. we're going to try to figure out the latest on that. but before we go any further, let's go inside. natalie has got the headlines of the morning. she joins us now. good morning, everyone. hurricane bill, the first of the atlantic season, formed today as a category 1 storm and

forecasters now say it could become a major hurricane by midweek. early this morning florida's panhandle was lashed by the first tropical storm to come ashore this year. claudette brought heavy downpours and 50-mile-an-hour winds but weakened to a tropical depression as it moved inland. firefighters are getting the upper hand today against a wildfire in california's santa cruz mountains. in the town of bonny doon, hundreds of evacuated residents are now being allowed to return home. meantime, authorities say a major fire in the loss padres national forest was started by a campfire, possibly built by marijuana growers. president obama tries to build support for the war in afghanistan today. he's speaking to a vfw convention in phoenix. u.s. casualties in afghanistan meanwhile are rising as american forces battle a resurgent taliban and try to safeguard thursday's elections. an american saved from prison in myanmar is having medical tests today in thailand before returning to the u.s. john yettaw had been sentenced to seven years hard labor for

intruding at the home of the pro democracy leader suu kyi who is under house arrest. yettaw's release was secured by senator jim webb. police have arrested a suspect in an attack on milwaukee's mayor and say he has a lengthy criminal record. mayor tom barrett was leaving a state fair saturday night when he heard a woman screaming for help. he tried to call 911 but was attacked by a man with a metal pipe. the mayor was hospitalized with a fractured hand and cuts and bruises. "district 9" took over the top spot at the box office over the weekend taking in $37 million according to early estimates. "2k3w679 i. joe the rise of the cobra" was second, "the time traveler's wife" came in at third. let's send it over to stephanie abrams who's filling in while al is off today. >> i want to introduce you to a woman celebrating her 30th birthday from memphis.

hotter here or memphis? >> i think hotter here. >> that doesn't make any sense. >> it is a lot more humid in memphis than it is here. >> a lot of humidity in the southeast today, all compliments of what's now tropical depression claudette. it was a tropical storm this morning but look at that, it is really falling apart. let's talk about the rainfall that we'll see. anywhere from to two three inches, some of you locally could see up to five inches of rain. >> partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies today. pretty calm over maryland. no real major movement wednesday and thur

>> everyone in new jersey watch out, because this girl just got her license. so just be careful i'm just kidding! ann, over to you. if you have a child in your home who likes to surf the web you may want to listen to this. a couple of boys who watched a youtube of a grown man in a banana suit setting himself on fire decided to mimic the stunt. 13-year-old russell ignited himself after being doused with gasoline by a neighborhood boy. russell escaped death but not without second and third degree burns. this morning russell is joining us along with his mom, linda, along with carol, whose house russell was leaving when the burning took place. also joining us this morning is the executive director of wiredsafety.org. good morning to all of you. russell, i want to first talk to you. i know that you suffered a lot. this hurt a lot. when you saw this videotape,

what made you want to mimic it? >> i didn't really want to mimic it because my friends told me that i should mimic it. i said no. but -- so i walked out into the garage. so he -- i was helping carol with the laundry. i turned -- she went inside, i turn around and he poured gasoline on me. so i ran out of the garage, and then he tossed me a lighter, he told me to light it. so i went like this and lit it thinking the fumes wouldn't get me, but it caught me on fire. >> so you didn't think it was going to actually hurt you. but you guys had seen the video -- we have the video but we're sort of debating about whether to show it at all because it is pretty graphic. you saw this video, russell? >> yes. >> you did. okay. and so i know that this is, linda, obviously came as such a terrible shock to you. and so i guess what i want to know is, the fact that your son

saw this videotape and that this happened to him, what was your reaction? >> well, i was extremely upset because i do not allow my kids to have internet access without my approval and me standing and watching them. but as we all know, if they can't get it at home, they'll go somewhere else. >> this stuff is so pervasive, it is really difficult to control who watches all of this. carol, you were there at the time. so just give us a sense about what happened once the fire was burning. >> well, basically what happened was, you know, it was typical day at my house. you know, i have a lot of teenagers in and out, you know, and i turned around to go get some more detergent and next thing you know my daughter come running in saying that russell was on fire. so basically i ran outside and, by then he already had his pants

off and he was just standing there with -- his leg was burned. i really didn't know what to do other than to take him and put him in the tub. >> russell, i'm looking -- your leg is wrapped up. i can see that your hand -- tell us the extent of your injuries from this. >> basically my hand has a week until it's all done. and they said two months until my legs healing up a little bit better. >> these are serious burns you endured. perry, let's bring you in to this. i understand that youtube has taken this tick var videotapart down and said "we do our best to keep watch out for controversial content online but we rely on users to flag video so we can check it out." should youtube be doing more, perry? >> well, they're doing a lot. they have so many videos that are being posted and there's no way to use filtering to really

see what the videos are doing. they have to look at the words that are used to describe this. this is where i think linda can come in and be a big help to us. i've got wired moms. you can follow us on twitter. it is my cyber army. fy get linda and other moms looking for this content on youtube, i'll guarantee they'll take it down. >> the reality is, you just heard from linda. she keeps a close eye on her child. but this stuff is almost pervasive now. it's almost impossible. sometimes kids are going to the computers at the time when the mother or father don't even know. so the question is, what's going to protect our kids from this kind of thing especially young kids? >> well, there's some good technology out there that will block sites like youtube and other sites you don't want your kids going to. basically it comes down to the filter between their ears. we need to teach them what to do when they see these things. no different from "jackass" when it was controversial on television. linda, what's in store for russell medically and what do

you hope the message will be to parents listening this morning? >> well, from now on, for the next couple of weeks, he has to go and sit in the whirlpool that has kifbd like clnd of like hasn it to get his skin ready for numerous skin grafts. they're going to do the first skin grafts in two weeks. if that doesn't work he'll go to cincinnati to the burn unit where he'll be for quite a few months up to a year. my message i'd really like to get out, our children need to obviously be watched and the computer's locked up. i think that youtube and other shows like that on the internet need to have better restrictions to how a child can get on there and say they're 18 and be able to watch these videos. we have also found little loophole where if you know the name of the thing, all you really have to do is go into the

http address, type in the name of the thing you want to watch and it just pops up. i really want other parents to be aware so that they can also be aware and get in touch with where their children are staying and talk to the parents there and also let them know they're not allowed on the internet at your home, nor at theirs. >> all right, well thank you so much. rememberry, do you have a reaction to that? >> well, i think that that's a good thing. but linda said she's already policing the internet. what we need to recognize is this stuff is online, our kids can see it and they're being influenced by it. so we need as parents to be aware they're seeing it everywhere. >> which is one of the reasons why we broadcast this this morning. thank you so much to all of you. russell, please get well and good luck and let this be a good message. thank you so much this morning. still to come this morning, eat cheap but eat well. a recipe that will keep the family healthy, wealthy and wise. but coming up next, want the

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this morning on "today's relationships," little white lies. now even the nicest of guys tell them to avoid conflict and hurting your feelings. but what hurts more and how can you get the truth -- or get to the truth? kate white the editor in chief of "cosmopolitan" magazine. good morning to you both. kate, why was it important to include this article as part of september's issue of "cosmo"? >> honesty is something you ought to be able to count on in a relationship but sometimes guys fudge the facts because they want to avoid conflict or they don't want you to lower the boom in a way that they think isn't fair. so it's important to break that cycle if he is telling lies. >> because then it is the foundation of the whole relationship, if it's built on little white lies, how do you know when he's ever really telling the truth.

>> that's right. lies like cheating and other things that spouses -- or others might be involved with. is there anything wrong though with guys telling little white lies or fudging the truth just a little bit every now an again if they're doing it not to hurt your feelings or put you in a compromising situation? >> i think that the issue is you really want to be kind and you want to be careful with someone's feelings. but the problem is -- you mentioned the word "relationship foundation." because if the foundation is not strong and not built on trust and honesty, people want to feel safe in a relationship. if you want trust what someone is telling you and you can't go to them and expect to have an honest reply, then you get a feeling that something's uncomfortable, yet you're being told everything's fine. there's something that's off. that's what happens, something becomes off and it gets worse. >> women are guilty of little white lies, too, of course. but why do men feel the need sometimes to stretch the truth or fudge the facts? >> in addition to avoiding conflict which kate said is a very big issue, very often

people particularly men feel insecure in themselves and relationships and want to present themselves as being more confident, perhaps more wealthy, perhaps more interesting. >> it is a macho thing. >> yes. they try to compensate for that insecurity by telling more about themselves and it may not be true. also some people are brought up with the fact that you can lie and it is okay, that there's nothing wrong with it. sometimes people lie, men lie, because they don't want to deal with the result, emotional result that they expect is going to come to them from a woman. >> kate, the magazine article gives you three different strategies to help get to the truth. let's help our ladies out there. the first thing is you say, bring his guard down. how do you do that? >> you don't want to feel it is an interrogation if there's no waterboarding that's going to happen from the experience. >> a non-confrontational approach. >> right. you might want to sit across the room from him, don't face him head-on. maybe you're going through the mail, looking a little bit distracted. >> your eyes aren't blazing into

his. >> right. you're not the interrogator. also, give him plenty of personal space, particularly if it is a tense situation, our need for personal space truly actually increases. >> dale, how can that help by giving a man physical space? >> it helps because when we feel attacked or when we feel that we're being addressed in a confrontational way we pull in and we go inside. what you really want is someone to be more open to you. personal space allows people to feel they can have room physical, psychic, emotional room to explore their own feelings and shirr them with you. >> it is hard to get them to open up as-is sometimes. >> yes, it is. if you're not confrontational, there are ways to do this and it can be helpful and enhance the relationship. >> to do that, you say avoid accusations. as you said, don't make it interrogation. but how do you get them to elaborate a little bit more or open up more? >> you don't want to say the words "you're lying." there are five words that are really great to say. "is there any reason why."

let's say instead of going to your friend's birthday party he's told you he's had to work late but you smell a rat there. you could say something like, "is there any reason why you didn't want to go to sara's party?" that means you're looking for information that you're not going to accuse him or get into some big, nasty confrontation. >> finally you say to make him feel safe. again this is that whole idea of having that trust, foundation of trust and making him feel like listen, i need to get to the truth, but at the same time i'm not going after you. >> right. if he then fesses up, "i can't stand sara," "i've never like her," let him know that maybe you're disappointed but you're glad he told you the truth. can you say to him, thanks, you're an honest person and that's really important to me. >> some good information. hopefully it works for a lot of couples out there. kate white and dale atkins, thank you both. next, could paula abdul return to "american idol" after all? find out after these messages. me what i want to be

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table for the ninth season. as "american idol" fans prepare for a new season without paula abdul -- >> you are an "american idol." >> reporter: some say -- not so fast. >> paula is perhaps the most unpredictable person in showbiz as indicated by her behavior on the show. she's the only judge i know of there once started critiquing performances she hadn't even seen yet. i dop think anything's ever a done deal in the world of paula abdul. >> reporter: two weeks ago on her twitter page abdul announced she won't be returning to "idol" saying i'll miss nurturing all the new talent. just last week she wrote "i've got a busy week filled with network meetings. i'm looking forward to all the new projects up ahead." >> hey, betty. >> reporter: among the rumored projects -- a guest starring role on "ugly betty" as well as talks to appear in some capacity on "dancing with the stars,"

something celebrity gossip site tmz.com asked her about in los angeles. >> will you be joining "dancing with the stars"? >> life is great. >> reporter: the reported reason behind her exit from "american idol," money. host ryan see crest wiacrest wi reportedly receive $15 million a year under his new contract, simon cowell set to earn $45 million per year. according to reports, paula abdul had asked for $10 million a year. >> you've come into your own. >> reporter: kara who joined last season will be back for season nine, so will randy jackson. as for who will take paula's seat, fox confirmed victoria beckham at a guest judge and mary j. blige with the atlanta auditions. no word of a permanent replacement for paula abdul and no commitments from her. >> i think there is probably some truth she is not committing because "idol" is out shooting

auditions now. but she may be getting offers she just doesn't like. >> we contacted paula abdul's manager for comment but did not hear back. if there is any chance of a returning to "american idol," it would have to happen soon because auditions are already under way for season nine with the show set to return in january. still to come on "today," tonight's dinner menu. it is healthy and cheap. hearts happy... ...and big hearts happy too. because as part of a heart healthy diet... ...those delicious oats in cheerios can help naturally lower cholesterol. (cheerios spilling) cheerios. how can something so little... ...help you do something so big.

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inner harbor, which happened shortly after 10:00 saturday night. the gunfire erupted during a fight, injuring at 20-year-old man and 17-year-old boy. both were taken to hospital and are expected to be ok. police are reviewing surveillance footage hoping to identify a suspect. the howard county sheriff's department is offering a $5,000 reward for information beating to the arrest of a prisoner who escaped custody. 20-year-old devin champagne was being transported last thursday night when he used handcuffs to choke a sheriff's deputy before fleeing on foot. if you have any information on his whereabouts, call the howard county sheriff's office. callers can remain anonymous. let's look at the forecast with sandra shaw. >> up to 92 degrees, mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies. it looks like high-pressure in dominance over the area. a will and up till at least

tomorrow. a chance of scattered showers and storms. tropical storm cloud, continue to track towards mississippi. amount of rainfall down in florida. it will remain dry for the most part. >> thank you for joining us. another update at 9:55.

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i'm putting together a special team and i need me eight soldiers. h eight jewish-american soldiers. you all might have heard rumors about the armada happening soon. well, we'll be leaving a little earlier. >> i feel silly even saying that's brad pitt because we all know that's brad pitt. he's the leader in this movie of a band of nazi hunters in the new movie called inglorious bastards. tomorrow here on "today," more of our exclusive interview with brad and why he really loved making this movie with quentin. they really bonded. it is a pretty intense movie, just got a thumbs up from gene shalit. meantime, in this half-hour,

what's for dinner tonight. we'll dump the drive-through and start cooking with chef charles maddox. he has a recipe that's healthy, easy and inexpensive. labor day right around the corner. pretty soon you may be trading in the swimsuit for one of those beautiful equal wraps. this morning "in style" magazine has the 15 must-have trends you'll want to know all about before you head out to the mall. joan rivers is also stopping by later on. speaking of the temperature, let's turn it over to stephanie abrams in for al this morning. hey, stephanie. >> not only is it hot here but tropical storm claudette is now tropical depression claudette. there's also ana and bill. bill is our only hurricane for the season so far. category 1 hurricane. it looks like it will be a fish storm, just affecting the fish. >> hopefully that holds.

>> hopefully it will. does looks like >> we are looking pretty good, nice for august 17. up to potentially 93 degrees in the downtown area. it looks like we will be 91 tomorrow. thank you so much. coming up now, the 15 must-have items you're going to fall for. get it? right after this. losing your chex mix too easily?

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this morning on "instyle today," how to have a fashionable fall. want to be ahead of the couture curve? to celebrate "in style" magazine's 15th anniversary, the september issue lists 15 fall must-haves. the editor is here. isabelle, good morning. 15 items, that's a lot to get through. first in the fall must-s have, got to have the bright coat, leather miniand the jewel tone tights. let's see the look on our model tanya here. >> we paired these three together. it really projects a nice sporty look, very chic. bright coat. first, you don't have to step out this fall in a black coat. bright coats are actually very versatile. leather mini is a huge trend for

fall. one way to do this might and little more accessible paired with vibrant tights which is another big trend. jewel toned tights. these are only $18 from dkny. it adds polish and intastant po. look for some with a little texture. >> i love the shoe booty. >> very chic. >> thanks, tanya. fantastic. next group of fall must machine haves, the romantic shirts, metallic skirt and studded pumps. let's see the look here on brooke. >> we've pulled this together so that it's very work-appropriate. which when you think metallic you might not think i could wear that to work. but the key to metallic -- as we've done it here with the skirt -- keep it localized. don't do head-to-toe metallic for work.

very subtle variation in the weave of metallic. we've paired it a very romantic blouse. >> a lot of ruffles. >> yes. an update to the classic men's kind of tailored button-down look. only $45. >> a lot of mixing of color schemes, too. >> rich hues. no need to have a drab winter. >> no need to be matchy-matchy either. thank you, brooke. next, draping, meaning how the dress fits you. the statement necklace and the over-the-knee boots. yes. this year is danielle. hello. >> it is a great evening look. for the last few seasons we've noticed these bold necklaces that are long and layered. real statement necklaces. now what we're seeing is a sr. they've kind of been truncated, closer to the neckline, closer to the collarbone, but still bold and making a statement. draping is a wonderful -- be thankful drape something a big trend because it is a very

forgiving trend, very forgiving cut. looks grate on all figures. accentuates what you want to and easily disguises -- >> you mean with the draping, sort of around the bodice area? >> exactly. >> forms a nice curve. >> really feminine shape. >> the over-the-knee boot. it is the huge thing. m >> it is a very big trend and it can be also very accessible. if you wear it with an opaque tight, it creates a very clean, streamlined look. look for some that actually fold over so you can have it worn at the knee for more classics. >> this dress, by the way, she could probably wear this out now so if she gets a little more wear out of it. >> for day with a little cardigan. >> very nice. thank you danielle. moving on, the next look, lace, the structured pencil skirt and platform pumps all in your fall must-haves. >> pencil skirt looks great on all figure types, accentuates your curves.

it has that madman inspired moment which we know is very sexy and also day appropriate. i like this skirt because it has this belt which is leather which also sticks to the other trend. >> a touch of lace in the purse there. >> exactly. you don't want to do lace head-to-toe for work obviously. but on your purse it is a beautiful super feminine accent. very chic. >> picks up nicely with the blazer that she has, too. you look wonderful, thanks so much. by the way, those platform pumps, beautiful, too. >> another big trenld for fall. >> our last category gets us to the final 15 fall must-haves, the knit dress, foe fur accent and the string bag. >> it is interesting because it is not an ostentatious look. you could either do foe fur in smaller portions, too. you could do a foe fur collar with a sweater or even as a trim on gloves but it was pervasive

this season. of course, knit sweater dress. super comfortable. that doesn't mean it is super casual. you can dress it up with cute booties, great textured tights. chain strap band adds polish to any look. >> texture is really key to the wardrobe. >> and the emphasis on legs. >> i love that little chain strap bag. >> $95 from banana republic. >> ladies, you look fantastic. i'm sweating looking at you all. it is going to be 90 degrees. coming up next, in "today's kitchen," tonight's dinner menu, it's cheap and healthy. it's really delicious. but first these messages. - ( music playing throughout ) - woman: ten minutes until low blood sugar melt down.

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and even less saturated fat than smart balance. best of all, it has the fresh butter taste you love. i can't believe it's not butter! >> announcer: "today's kitchen" is brought to you by yu i can't believe it's not butter! this morning, we have hot tips on saving money while eating well. put away the ground beef and reel in the fish because we have a twist an your traditional taco. charles maddox is the author of "eat cheap but eat well." charles, how are you? we're making fish tacos. >> frugal fish tacos. i call this frugal fish because i'm the poor chef and i like to make healthy and creative meals all for under $7.

>> a little bit goes a long way. >> you don't need much. what we've got here, i picked my fish. i like tilapia but you don't want to use salmon, just use a whitefish. here we have some tilapia, some catfish. catfish is a fantastic fish. what we did was basically put it inside a nice little dish, put a little bit of moho sauce. you know moho. >> i don't know moho. >> mo is a fantastic marinade we use for not only chicken but other things like that. >> it's got grapefruit juice. >> marinate for 45 minutes. no longer than that or else you'll end up cooking that fish. over here we have our mango salsa. >> he's excited! >> i'm happy. great thing about this is mangos are actually in season.

i actually got 2 for $1 in florida. don't get a mango that's too ripe or else you're going to -- you want it nice and firm just like that. put a little bit of corn. >> this can be frozen corn? >> can be any kind of corn. little bit of lime juice. lemon juice. a salsa verde. instead of trying to make it from scratch, buy in the can depending where you live, you can buy it for 49 cents, 59 cents, 69 cents a can. that's done. >> very easy. beautiful. >> fantastic. not only are you lovely but you can -- good in the kitchen. this just stays to the side for a little while. the fish has been marinating for 30, 45 minutes. put a little bit of salt and little bit of pepper. >> you've got olive oil in a$mcñ pan? >> we're going to get over here and let that cook. >> you've got that up pretty

high. >> that one's a little high. >> fish doesn't take too long. >> three to four minutes per side. done, done, done. this here is looking fantastic. that one's sticking to the pan a little bit. >> that's okay because you're going to cut it up anyway. you burning your fingers, honey? be careful. we're going to take that over here and build ourselves these fish tacos. in my family i just set it out like this and they build it themselves. all i do is cook the fish and cut the vegetables. >> wheat tortillas. once again we're stressing healthy and affordable. >> would you warm them in the oven like that? >> make them pliable so we can use them and do what we want with them. put this just like this and look at that. fantastic. great thing about this, we're going to put just a little bit of lettuce. don't want too much because this tastes fantastic just as it is. >> one of the mistakes people make when they build tacos, they

make them too big and you can't even roll it. >> let me see you roll it. >> i would do that. >> look at that, ann. >> i lived in southern california. i know about this. >> i made pa little bit of mexican beans, black beans for you, a little bit of rice right here. and -- >> those have a little bit of -- looks like peppers on them. >> green peppers, exactly. now our beautiful mango-corn salsa we'll just garnish right on the side. very easy. again, this is great for kids, for families, this is something that you can put together really quick. >> so listen. how much money have i spent for dinner for say if i do that. >> three, four people, under $7. easily. dy it the other day. i made you a clementine salad. you could use tangerines, so on, little bit of mushroom, some red cabbage, all that good stuff. now tell me you love it.

garnish it with a little bit of -- >> i really love it. >> put a little bit of this on top of there. you're ready to go. >> this is really healthy food and good for you. charles maddox, thank you so much. you can go to our website to get more of charles' recipes. >> eat cheap and eat well. back with more but first this is "today" on nbc. (employee 1) subject: urgent!! bob!! i need the baker file stat!! reply!! still making changes. circle back later!! what's with the yelling?

oh, our internet slows down during peak hours so sending e-mails and large files just takes forever. so, we just yell. ben!!! thanks for the flowers!!! i thought you hated me!!! lol!!! semi-colon! right parenthesis! winky emoticon! (announcer) switch to verizon and get a dedicated high speed internet connection from our office to your small business so you won't be slowed down even if your neighbors are online. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v today and for only $79.99 a month for 12 months with a 3 year contract you'll also get our award winning internet security suite, unlimited nationwide calling, and over $180 back in available online rebates. plus, the reliability of the verizon network. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v today for the verizon single line business pak and data protection pak. one of the many tools in the verizon small business toolbox. a dull metal clanking sound. bear groans.

♪ ominous music ferocious growling. roaaaaaarrrrrrr!!!! ♪ whistling bluegrass tune hoda and kathie lee are here with a preview of what they have cooking in the next half hour. >> we have a special guest. >> her name is joan rivers. >> she's got money. >> how did you get so rich? not giving it away. >> not only are we going to talk about her show but she has also a surprise announcement. >> yes. >> it's interesting. >> it's really surprising. >> she's wearing a ring. >> my day -- it was called a friendship ring. i'm not engaged, melissa, relax.

>> but there is something and we'll show pictures of the -- >> we might even meet someone. who knows? we also have den dra wilkinson. talking about how to be a hepburn in a hilton world. >> more joan. >> do you want to try a fish taco? >> i will eat anything. >> this is a poor man's fish taco. >> it smells great. fingers? >> oh, however.

>> live from television hill in baltimore, wbal-tv 11 news continues. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. efforts to close the state's budget shortfall could mean less money for local government. at this weekend's annual maryland a cessation of county's summer conference in ocean city, the governor announced his intention to cut money to local

government. yesterday, lt. gov. anthony brown addressed the plan. >> a lot of tough decisions, where you may see cuts to community colleges, local health departments aid for law enforcement. not unique to maryland. it is part of the national recession, a global recession we are in. we are going to work with the general assembly and local governments, but it will not be easy. >> it is part of the state's plan to cut $750 million by the end of the summer. the governor is expected to bring $470 million in spending reductions to the board of public works. the board already approved $280 million in cuts last month. all this in an effort to close the $700 billion budget shortfall. back in a minute with a check on

>> now let's take a look at the forecast with sandra shaw. >> today we will see a high of about 92 degrees. noble of the state is about 85. -- normal for this day is about 85. light, southwesterly winds. maybe upper eighties around the shores of ocean city. as far as to that goes, we will remain mild. 65 to 73 degrees. no chance of precipitation until maybe wednesday. a 30% chance of keeping showers and storms, more clouds wrapped up the week on thursday and friday.

>> cash for clunkers is available at your chevy dealer. with more eligible models to choose from than anyone. if your clunker qualifies to be recycled, you can get a $3500 or $4500 government rebate. and just announced! if you qualify for the clunker rebate, you may also qualify for 0% apr for 72 months. that means you can buy a '09 malibu for $271 a month after a $3500 government rebate and no down payment. go to chevy.com for details.

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