and get a free sample. good morning. getting bigger. hurricane bill intensifies to a category 2 storm overnight. as rising temperatures blanket much of the country. this morning the latest on the storm, and the heat. back to reality? wall street suffers its worst day in sixweeks. the dow losing more than 186 points. was all that talk of recovery a little premature? and the naked truth. richard hatch, the first winner of "survivor" speaks out for the first time about his 3 1/2 years behind bars for tax evasion. the three possibilities are you are completely innocent. you are absolutely guilty. or you're guilty of great stupidity. our exclusive interview "today," stupidity. our exclusive interview "today," tuesday, august 18th, 2009.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a tuesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and in for meredith this morning, i'm ann curry. good morning, everybody. you ready for some more hot and muggy weather? it was hot and muggy yesterday. supposed to be climbing into the mid 90s today. >> yesterday was nasty. we're complaining, but we're not alone. much of the country is dealing with some of the hottest weather of the summer, especially here on the east coast. al's going to have more on that as well as the latest on hurricane bill and its projected path coming up in just a couple of minutes. >> also ahead some disturbing new information on the murders of a florida couple inside their own home. we now know that byrd and melanie billings were both shot multiple times and one of their 17 children witnessed the brutal crime. we're going to have more on what the boy saw and told investigators coming up.

>> plus jenny san ford, the wife of south carolina's governor mark sanford, opens up for the first time in detail about her husband's affair with a woman in argentina and her plans for the future. we're going to tell you what she has to say. and it's being called the holy grail of michael jackson memorabilia. that sequinned glove he wore for this performance where he debuted his famous moonwalk that's part of the motown 25 special back in the early 1980s. well the glove is going on the auction block and we have it in our studio. gets its own lighting. look at that. >> but let's begin with the hurricane, and scorching heat. al roker has the latest on both of these. hello, al, good morning. >> good morning, ann and matt. as we take a look. the reason for the heat in the east, big area of the bermuda high pumping up warmer than normal temperatures. take a look at some of these temperatures today. near record-setting heat. albany 92, new york city 93 with air quality alerts. portland, 90 degrees. bangor, maine, 89. we're not the only ones.

much of the country blanketed with the heat. the other area that has a lot of high air, upper level highs building in the pacific northwest warmer than normal temperatures there. spokane, washington, checks in 86 degrees. and all eyes also out in the atlantic. bill, right now 810 miles east of the leeward islands. category 2 with 100-mile-per-hour winds. could become a category 3 today and we look at this track of bill by sometime early saturday morning, it builds into a 125-mile-per-hour storm, may come across bermuda. we're keeping an eye on it. a couple of miles keep it to the south. a big ridge of high pressure would keep it south. but there's a little bit of a break allowing it to head up to the north. right now we don't see it affecting the mainland u.s.ary than some rip currents. but we have to keep an eye on it. matt? >> all right, al, thanks so much. we'll get you local forecast in just a couple of minutes. right now to wall street where the summer rally came to a

screeching halt on monday. the dow losing more than 186 points. the market's worst day in six weeks. cnbc's erin burnett is at the new york stock exchange. erin, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. >> you know how this goes. the market gains like 1,000 points in the last month or so, or since march, people are feeling good. then we have one day like yesterday and people start saying the sky is falling. what did monday's numbers really tell us about the markets and the overall health of the economy? >> it's so hard to say whether this is a chicken little moment or something more significant. since july 10th, which was the beginning of the summer rally, we're up about 12%, 40% off the low in march. you could say, wow, that is too far, too fast. think about this number, for the year the dow is only up about 4%. that's it. only 4%. so really what happened is early this year the market priced in a depression. most people believe that's off the table. so we might be able to add modestly onto the gains we've had. but any kind of a pullback really would just be seen as healthy. we have not yet seen earnings

grow or revenue grow. they're still dropping about 20%. until that changes it's going to become more of a show-me situation. >> there has been some good news in the economy, kind of a drip-drip effect over the last several weeks. and yet we're hearing the consumer confidence is still a bit of a problem. is that all about jobs? >> it is all about jobs. we have started to see little glimmers of hope in housing and in manufacturing, which are both very important. but it does hit on this broader issue, which is we could have an economic recovery in this country that doesn't really impact a lot of americans. people need jobs and most important, they need income growth. last week the fed added into the all-important statement that america has seen sluggish income growth. real wages have not been going up for years. that is a broader issue. until that changes you're not going to see a real shift in consumer confidence. as you know, consumer confidence is two-thirds of this economy. if people aren't feeling good, they're not going to be able to spend money at retailers and that filters all the way through. that could mean we have a

longer, slower recovery. >> let's get a little international with you. we had a bad day on monday. china had a really bad day, their markets down about 6%. what was the problem there? >> you know what's amazing, china was down 6%. a few years ago it would have been a blip on the radar. yes, they're big, but we wouldn't pay that much attention. it is so important now for two reasons. one, china is the single biggest holder of american debt. we've all been talking about all these deficits. china is the single biggest holder. we found out yesterday they pulled back a little bit on that debt. and you look at china as the mirror of the united states. a lot of what they make they sell to us. there's been weakness in their exports. so we look in the mirror, what we see isn't so pretty, and you realize oh, i'm actually looking at myself. china really is an important barometer of what's happening here in our home. >> the mirror analogy from erin burnett. thanks very much. >> good to see you. >> let's get a check of the top stories. natalie morales is in for me at the news desk. >> good morning to you. what prosecutors are calling the largest case yet of credit and

debit card theft, three people are accused of stealing more than 130 million credit and debit card numbers by hacking into computer systems of five major companies from late 2006 to early 2008. one of the three men is already in custody. albert gonzalez is described as a one-time government informant who helped the secret service track down hackers. taliban mortars hit the capital of afghanistan this morning, including one that fell inside the presidential palace compound. there were no reports of injuries. also this morning, a suicide attack in kabul killed at least seven people, and wounded more than 50 others. presidential elections in afghanistan are now just two days away. federal health officials say the delivery of swine flu vaccine this fall will be slower than first estimated. they now expect about 45 million doses will be ready by october 15th. then about 20 million a week after that. they stress that everyone, though, who wants to get the vaccine, should be able to get it.

today, president obama meets with egypt's president mubarak in a bid to move the mideast peace process forward. the administration, meantime, is also hoping to get health care reform back on track. after an increasingly contentious fight. nbc's white house correspondent savannah guthrie now joins us. savannah, not much common ground there even among the democrats. >> you got it, natalie. in fact, the white house is trying to reassure liberal members of the democratic party today, after hinting over the weekend that it could perhaps live without the so-called public option in health insurance reform. the public option is the idea that you'd have a government-run insurance plan offered alongside private plans. supporters either say it would force insurers to keep the cost low but critics say it would lead to a government takeover of health care. over the weekend, at a town hall, the president suggested that that public option would not a quote essential element of health care reform. on monday, democrats, particularly on the left side of the party, really pushed that card.

some saying they won't even vote for health care reform without the public option. meanwhile, foreign policy, the president also has a full plate. you mentioned the president's meeting with egypt's president hosni mubarak. he'll also see former president bill clinton to debrief on his meeting with kim jong-il, the north korean leaders, a few weeks ago. >> savannah guthrie at the white house. a frightening scene monday in taiwan where a cameraman covering the recent typhoon was suddenly swept away by raging food waters. other people nearby were eventually able to pull him to safety. and take a look at this. you're not going to believe this picture. a driver in kiss tonz got stuck in a tough spot when a draw bridge went up to a 45 degree angle with her car still on it. her car seems to defy gravity until the bridge was lowered and she was able to drive off safely. thank goodness for that. back over to matt, ann and al. great brakes. good car. i want to know what she was driving. >> my volkswagen i'd have been yanking --

>> in the blues brothers. >> going the other direction. >> all right, natalie, thanks. >> welcome back, mr. roker. have a nice day off? >> yes, i did. gorgeous weather. we're talking about some rough weather for our friends from denver, amarillo, out to tulsa and dodge city. risk of some strong storms, >> it is a monday start to the day, temperatures holding mainly in the 70's. the increasing clout, temperatures low to mid 90's and chance of afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms.

that's your latest weather. ann? >> ll, thanks. now to more on that deadly bomb blast overnight in kabul, afghanistan. it comes two days before millions of afghans go to the polls in a high-stakes election, especially for women there. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel just got back from the scene of the blast. richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. i returned from the scene of that suicide car bombing. it appears that british forces were the target. nato has confirmed to us that there were casualties. but the breakdown in security here is only one of many difficulties women face in this election. despite a record number of women running in thursday's election, including two for president, women here may already be victims of campaign politics. a newly enacted law makes it a crime for many women to refuse sex to their husbands. and if they do, husbands can deny them food, legally starving their wives for sex.

we are not protected by the government, or even in our homes, said one woman. critics say president hamid karzai quietly approved the law last month to win the endorsement of powerful shiite clerics. the law only applies to afghanistan's shiite minority. but across the country, the lives of most women have changed little since the fall of the taliban. only 10% of girls go to primary school. only 13% of women can read. an afghan woman dies from childbirth every 27 minutes. but the greatest injustice to women may be hidden here. it looks like any school. children in uniform singing and studying. but the classroom is behind prison bars. and so the nursery for afghanistan's youngest inmates. but the children at this prison didn't do anything wrong. they're locked up with their mothers. the 117 convicts at kabul's only jail for women.

they're also learning to read. some hid their faces, perhaps fittingly, with victor hugo's "les miserables." under 24 hour guard, behind rows of razor wire. more than a third of the women here were convicted of the crimes of escaping their homes or adultery. each can carry up to a ten-year sentence. but many of the women tell us their adultery was really rape. and that they left their homes to run away from abusive husbands. in the prison's sewing shop, we found salvia and nezzanine. she was sentenced to five years for running away from her husband, who tried to force her into prostitution. if i show you my back, she said, you'd see how badly i was beaten. anyone in my position would have left, too. but now, nezzanine is shunned by her family. her brother won't visit. salvia showed me her prison cell, where women are allowed to

play with the children. a rare moment of joy. you want to be picked up? okay. hello. but salvia has 2 1/2 years left on her sentence for abandoning her 71-year-old husband, who beat her with chains. of course it is unjust i'm here in prison, she said. i am a woman. i am powerless. i have no rights. i asked the warden how he justifies his job. many of these women were sentenced to prison for escaping their homes, when their husbands were beating them. does that seem fair to you? for a woman to leave her own home, according to 56 began law, he said, it is a crime. this is an islamic country. a country where women's rights appear to have been sacrificed for a political campaign. in addition to punishing them if they refuse sex, the new law says shiite women should only leave their homes under extreme circumstances. ann? >> all right, richard engel this morning. richard, thank you for reporting. it is now 7:14.

here's matt. >> all right, ann, thank you. the latest on the brutal murders of a florida couple who were the parents of 17 children. this morning we know at least one of those children actually witnessed the attack. kerry sanders is in pensacola, florida, with the latest on this. kerry, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. prosecutors just released 700 pages in the july 9th murder. they include pages which are detailed interviews with the eight suspects who are here at the jail, and one heartbreaking narrative with one of the special needs children who watched and listened as his parents were executed. melanie billings was shot five times. including three bullets to the face and head, according to autopsy reports. her husband byrd was shot six times. including two bullets to the back of his head. but he didn't go down without a fight. he grabbed one of the gunmen by the neck. the witness who saw it all, according to documents, was 10-year-old jacob, who

investigators say, has autism. he tells detectives his father was in the bedroom sleeping. and heard a knock at the door, and said that two bad men said, you're going to die, one, two, three. >> the people involved in this are without conscience, to commit such a crime in the presence of children. >> reporter: investigators say the extensive video system at the billings' estate helped them track down the suspects quickly. documents suggest those suspects had loose, if no connections to each other. almost by design. they allegedly rehearsed the robbery, dressed in black with face masks, planned to cart off a safe that sources say they believed was filled with $2 million. turns out, they took the wrong safe. this one contained only $68. former billings attorney crystal spencer led detectives to another safe in the house. the one the robbers really wanted. how much money was in that second safe? >> it was $164,500.

i believe. and that was an approximate. >> reporter: that's a lot of cash. >> it depends on -- it's not $2 million. not what was alleged. >> reporter: alleged gunman leonard patrick gonzalez jr. now claims byrd billings' business competitors tried to hire him because they wanted billings whacked. but they haven't been charged. and then there's this twist. ms13, a notorious and brutal central american gang may somehow be tied to these murders. or so says gonzalez. when gonzalez mentioned ms13, is he sending people on a wild goose chase or do you believe that somehow this gang was involved in what took place here in these murders? >> we believe that they have an involvement. >> reporter: and that possible ms13 gang dekz may explain why investigators believe there will be yet more arrests in this case. matt? >> all right, kerry, thank you very much. kerry sanders in pensacola for

us this morning. once again, here's ann. >> matt, thanks. that's how jenny sanford describes her husband's affair. in her first in-depth interview since it was made public. nbc's norah o'donnell is in washington now with more on this story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. jenny sanford is opening up to "vogue" magazine. it is her first lengthy interview since deciding to move out of the governor's mansion with her four boys. you know, until now she has said very little about her husband's affair with this argentinean woman, whom he called his soul mate. well now jenny sanford is really revealing a lot. saying her husband was obsessed with going to see this woman, saying she learned affairs like this are like an addiction to alcohol or pornography. she also suggested in this interview that her husband was suffering some kind of mid-life crisis that a lot of men have. telling "vogue" quote, my husband has got some issues that he needs to work on about happiness and what happiness

means. you wish it wouldn't come to a crisis like this, but i think when a lot of men get to this midpoint in life, they start asking questions that they probably should have asked a long time ago. she goes on to say mid-life aging is different for men than for women. and mark is worried about what his next job is, he's worried about making money, running for office again, his legacy. and then she says, i know my legacy is my children. i don't worry about that. so it's pretty revealing, ann. >> she also talked about something that i think that might have political repercussions. she talked about this idea that male politicians don't seem to und stand how extramarital apairs can poison families. politicians become disconnected from the way everyone else lives in the world. they'll say that they need something and ten people want to give it to them. it's an ego boost and easy to drink your own kool-aid. as a wife you do your best to keep them grounded but it's a real challenge she's making a correlation here and i wonder what the political fallout from that might be not only for mark sanford but also for other politicians who have been

accused of these -- of this kind of behavior. >> governor sanford's political future are not clear. there are still calls for his resignation to be impeached in his home state. as for jenny sanford, she's gained a lot of praise as being someone different than the other political spouses out there. certainly the wronged wife who said, once she learned of his affair, get out of the house. now that they have yet to reconcile, says i'm moving out with the four boys and taking them to my home on sullivan's island. i think that's why she's different than some of the other political spouses out there. and then, you know, finally, ann, as for what's next in terms of their marriage, there's still a lot of speculation about whether they will divorce. jenny sanford tells vogue this, she says, quote, if you don't forgive you become angry and bitter. i don't want to become that. i put my heart and soul into being a good mother and wife. now it's up to my husband to do the soul searching to see if he wants to say married. the ball is in his court. so she says she's open to reconciliation. but that the man that she's

currently married to is not centered on the morals that she wants in a husband. ann? >> all right, norah o'donnell. thank you so much for reporting this morning. and still ahead, an exclusive interview with the original survivor champion richard hatch. his first since serving 3 1/2 years in prison for tax evasion. he talks about life behind bars and why he thinks the government was treating him unfairly. but firsrs

still ahead this morning, how dirty are your flip-flops? you might be surprised. >> plus michael jackson's most famous glove up for auction.

>> good morning. i'm lisa robinson. at a look at one of our top stories. recent violence at the inner harbor have many worried business will be affected. police stepped up presents an mayor sheila dixon says when he to crack down on -- some say tougher gun laws will help put a stop to the violence. the search is still continues for the person and shot two people near the light street pavilion. >> good morning, everyone.

an accident at liberty road and washington avenue in windsor mill, and the city, highland and fayette, reported disabled vehicle southbound 83, harrisburg expressway, approaching 2 million exit and 95 northbound blocking right now lane. delays southbound, white marsh to the 95 harbor tunnel. and look outside at one of the other delays. hartford wrote, " vermeil is jammed. pretty slow from harvard. watch out for that. over to you. >> dealing with lots of sunshine to start, and it will be another muggy day. temperatures mainly in the 70's. 75 downtown, 71 at bwi and 74 at ocean city. increasing clouds today and afternoon showers and thunderstorms. they will be isolated and a chance that i saw it

thunderstorms could provide downpours. it will feel muggy outside. stormy pattern up until the weekend. sunday and monday, very nice with temperatures and a positive >> team are joining us. check the bottom of your screen for updates. back here and 7:55.

♪ 7:30 now on a tuesday morning. august 18th, 2009. you're looking at what is arguably michael jackson's most famous performance. on a tv special, 1983, to celebrate motown, 25th anniversary. that's where he debuted his famous moonwalk, and what would become one of his iconic fashion accessories, a single sequinned glove. that very glove, the one he's wearing in that performance, is now going on the auction block, and we have it right here in our studio this morning. there's a great story behind it. we're going to tell you about it. >> you going to put it on? >> no. i don't think anybody's allowed to touch it. inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer

alongside ann curry who is in for me death. i remember that motown 25 special. >> when dethat moonwalk. oh, my goodness. >> i tried it for a week straight. >> really >> >> sprained both my ankles. anyway, also ahead in this half hour, an exclusive interview with richard hatch. remember him, the first "survivor" champion. he's now speaking out for the first time since being released from prison, after serving 3 1/2 years for tax evasion. we'll hear from him in just a couple of minutes. >> plus, you like to wear flip-flops, don't you? >> not really a flip-flop person. >> i love to wear flip-flops. now there's a reason why not to wear flip-flops because like, you know, you would never probably imagine but have you ever stopped to consider all the germs they pick up and transfer to your skin? apparently, it is shocking, the revelation is coming up in just a few moments. >> yum, i can't wait for that. but let us begin with our exclusive interview with richard hatch. almost ten years after winning the first "survivor," and later, being convicted of tax evasion, hatch is still struggling with the harsh reality of the law. richard hatch was one of

television's first reality stars. >> they're not voting me off, because i am not letting them. >> the guy who won the first season of "survivor," people loved to hate. >> got the million dollar check written already. i mean, i'm the winner. and it's that kind of cocky attitude that makes people really hate your guts. >> reporter: cutting deals while competing naked. >> the winner of the first "survivor" competition is -- rich. congratulations, rich. >> reporter: over 50 million viewers, including some at the irs, watched hatch walk away with the million dollar prize. >> any comment today? >> reporter: but when the government said hatch failed to report the income, he was tried and convicted. and sentenced to more than four years in prison for tax evasion. >> this conviction reflects the internal revenue service's commitment to enforce the tax laws of the united states. >> reporter: he spent 3 1/2 years behind bars and today

wears an electronic tracking device while serving the remainder of his sentence under house arrest in newport, rhode island. playing the word association richard, prison changed me how. fill in the blank? >> i'd say reduced my arrogance. >> there's an admission of arrogance there in the first place? >> i know people perceived me as cocky and arrogant. and a big part of that, if not all of it, is my responsibility. i went on that show to win. and there was a persona developed. i've already won before i started the game. i grew up as a fat, gay kid in a community that doesn't appreciate fat, gay people. so you develop some insecurities and you cover those insecurities sometimes, i think, with an overreaction. >> i remember hearing the news, richard, that you were sentenced to time in prison, and based on my experience with you, watching you on "survivor," i thought, i give him a week.

he's going to have half the inmates working for him. he's going to have extra pillows, the best food. was that the prison life you experienced? >> i wasn't sent to a camp. i was sent to a federal correctional sfaslety, after six months in a high security facility. i was in a room with 50 people for the first six months of my sentence, because the prosecutor called me a flight risk. with rapists, child molesters, murderers. some of whom hadn't been convicted yet, but they were charged with those things. >> i don't think i can avoid the question, and i'll look you straight in the eye when i ask it, you know, as the gay man who liked to get naked, how does that go over when you're sent to a prison and you're locked up in a room with 50 guys? >> well, it didn't change, if that's what you're asking. i was treated fine. i was never assaulted. >> but hatch claims that during the trial, he was the victim of prosecutorial misconduct, discriminated against because of his sexuality. and hurt by his arrogant persona on "survivor." the now 48-year-old has very

strong feelings about how he was treated by the legal system. what do you think happened? >> well, i know without question that there are personal issues involved for the prosecutor. i don't know why. the prosecutorial misconduct has been egregious. he told the court i didn't pay my taxes in 2000. and he told the court i haven't been cooperative. the irs specifically contradicts that. i don't have a bill for 2000. i haven't even been assessed for 2000. and i've been fully cooperative. >> the former reality tv star also blames the judge, who he says refused to allow potential jurors to be questioned about their feelings toward homosexuality. the government calls all his claims baseless. let me ask you this, when the judge, from what you've told me, refused to question potential jurors in terms of their feelings on homosexuality, do you think he felt he had a legal reason to do that? or do you think, in some way, he was trying to discriminate against you? >> my personal opinion, he was trying to discriminate against

me. >> you alluded to me that you think because you are a homosexual, that in some ways that negatively impacted your trial and your case. are you saying to me that if you were heterosexual you would not have gone to prison? >> i didn't mean to allude to it. i meant to state that definitively. yeah, i do. i do believe that. i don't think you or anyone else could deny that we as homosexuals face discrimination. >> take the homosexuality out of it, though, you still are a guy who failed to pay some taxes. in fairness, it's not just the "survivor" money. >> correct. >> there were other issues in your tax report. >> there were. >> there was income from a radio station you did not report. there was a car that you won, you didn't pay taxes on that. so, what's to stop joe and mary smith from sitting out there thinking, this is just a tax cheat? >> i've been asking since 2002 when we started to do the 2000 return, when the accounts were working on it, i came back from "survivor," we've been working on the returns, i've been asking

from that day for the irs to assess what's due, and that i -- so that i can pay it. whatever they assess i'm going to pay. whatever is owed, i would pay. i've to this day never had an assessment. there were other issues on those tax returns. as there would be on any american's return that people would question. >> i think there are people out there, richard, who want to believe you're guilty? >> oh, sure. >> i think so. but is perhaps your very best defense this, that who would be so stupid? who would be so stupid to win a million dollars in front of 40 million or 50 million people, and then not claim it on their income taxes? >> i know people think i'm arrogant. but i don't think people think i'm stupid. people watched me play that game, and they know that i'm relatively bright. >> the case is currently being reviewed by a judge in providence, who hatch hopes will exonerate him. if judge smith decides with infinite wisdom that, in fact,

you were wrong and exonerates you. what do you want? do you want money? do you want apology? do you want someone to stand up on national television and say we got it wrong? >> i want the opportunity to bring about change. we can make changes that will save us money and that will save people's lives. >> are you able to support yourself? you're still under house arrest. are you -- do you have enough of that money left or is it all gone to legal expenses? >> imagine the financial devastation. that money, that money was in 2000. today is 2009. and to have been removed from your family for the past four years. taken away from any opportunity to make a dime. no, i'm financially devastated. >> and to the cynics out there, who think, richard hatch is playing us one more time. you know, he's trying to work the system one more time to his advantage. how do you respond? >> i'll let the facts speak for themselves. that's where i want to step out of it. and it's not me playing the system. i didn't think of life after "survivor" the game. i'm not out to play anything.

>> richard cannot leave his property without scheduling it. he asked for special ter mission to do this interview in an effort to try to clear his name. the government, by the way, stands by its case and says any new claims are simply rehashing the same arguments that he unsuccessfully made at trial. >> sounds pretty angry. >> well, he's -- you look in his eyes, he truly believes that he's innocent. that is for sure. that i'm convinced of. whether he is or not is going to be left up to a judge. >> all right, and maybe some public opinion, as well. well anyway coming up next, now a check of the weather from mr. al roker. >> all right. thank you very much. you're having a baby? >> we're having a baby. >> congratulations. >> this is my friend kim. this is the father of my child here. >> oh, there you go. >> and these are some n n

>> good morning. another hot and humid day setting up. temperatures in the mid to low 70's. chance for afternoon and evening thunderstorms, isolated but heavy at times. heavy at times. high temperatures to the that's your latest weather. any time you want your weather, check out the weather channel on cable, or weather.com. online. matt? >> all right, al, thank you very much.

the dirt on flip-flops. literally. right after this.

back now at 7:43. this morning on "today's health," flip-flops. they may be comfortable and the mainstay of summer, but are they also putting your health at risk? here's nbc's michelle kosinski. >> reporter: ah, nothing says summer -- how old are they? >> a few years. >> reporter: like dangerous footwear. do your parents know where your flip-flops have been? >> not always. sometimes. >> reporter: got some secrets? >> a lot, yeah. >> reporter: the flip-flop has become our go-anywhere, walk through anything mainstay. wear them in the city, wear them to the white house. but do you know what could be lurking inside them? ♪ >> reporter: the new york daily news made them seem not so fun

anymore. they tested a few and found nasty staph infections. but we decided to investigate. brought out our university of miami emergency mobile flip-flop lab and went in. >> you think that's normal? >> if you had to guess what might be growing in some of those shoes? >> fungus. >> reporter: so if your shoe could speak to us -- >> it would probably say some pretty dirty things. i'd say the subway in philadelphia. it has seen cow manure. >> reporter: and the winner or loser was -- feet from philly. his 6-year-old leather specimens were positively covered with infectious germs. and the bacteria that cause yeast infections and diaper rash. >> i think that i will be throwing them away. >> reporter: well, all of the flip-floppers we tested were carrying some foul companions down there. some that live inside the intestines. even drug resistant bacteria. >> if you got an infection with these, it could be very serious. >> reporter: but only really if you have a compromised immune system or a cut on your foot. >> as long as your skin is intact.

as long as you use common sense and don't knowingly expose yourself, i think you shouldn't be alarmed. those nasty things have always been out there. we just haven't always been looking for them. >> reporter: you could always protect yourself or maybe clean those disease ridden shoes of pandemic doom. with soap. >> well, the story is don't lick your flip-flops. >> reporter: we know where you've been flopping. >> everyone has some in their closet. >> reporter: ain't so pretty as your fancy toenails would lead us to believe. michelle kosinski, nbc news, miami. >> also known as dr. germ, he's the director of the clinical microbiology and immunology at new york's university's magone medical center. good morning to you, doctor. >> good morning. >> my goodness. and i hear -- first, there's a type of fungus or type of germs, but also the number at one point, what 18 -- >> 18,000 on one of the flip-flops tested. more important than that is the type of germs that you find there. actually, you find

representation of fecal germs, of skin germs, staph, as well as germs from the west of the tree. while most of these germs are ubiquitous, they're around everywhere and they're not really going to make your sick unless you're compromised or you have a break in your skin, they are there, and people touch their flip-flops, and touch their skin. and then they can transmit those organisms to other parts of their body. so it's not just the feet that you worry about. >> okay, we just grab them. we grab them every -- and then we go run and have lunch. so there's a real term of ingesting his. but in term of, there are some -- there's one particular type of bacteria that's -- that's pretty bad called the staph aureus. what's wrong with this particular bacteria? >> that particular organism gives you a serious infection like a boil, or more serious, it could possess toxins.

many of the community strains of staph called mrsa are taxogenic or even kill you. though it's not likely a person will come down with that, that is a possibility. >> our children wear them all the time, flip-flops and -- >> well, the important message here is to take caution, and understand that when you're in an environment like new york city, where rats abound, and roaches and other rodents, and there's vomit and urine and feces, from animals and other such things in new york city, flip-flops can be a little more dangerous than somewhere in miami. >> but -- but actually any pair of shoes you would wear out in all of that would be also carrying all that material so it's just -- the only difference is with flip-flops your foot is exposed and you're grabbing them and holding on to -- >> the surface is a conduit to other areas of the body. >> i wash my flip-flops, is that a good idea? >> it's a good idea, sure.

>> and wash your hands, definitely, is what we should do. anything else we should do? >> 80% of all infectious disease is transmitted by contact, direct and indirect. so one of the most important things you can do is wash your hands. >> okay. >> and certainly be cautious. >> okay. dr. germ, thank you so much this morning. >> very well. >> and still to come, i don't know if i want to thank you, actually, or not. but anyway, still to come this morning, one-on-one with brad pitt as he talks about his new movie and why he's learning french.

many of our nation's small businesses have been very hard-hit during the recession, and starting today, nbc universal has teamed up with american express to launch an online contest called "shine a light pirks" here to tell us more about it, j.j. ramberg, host of msnbc's "your business." what is shine a light all about? >> this is so exciting. this is a chance for people to recognize small businesses that have had a big impact on their lives. so nbc, and amex have put together this program. go to nbc.com/shinealight and you get to nominate a business. >> i've got a mom and pop store in my neighborhood. i like the way they do business, they make my life better and you nominate them? >> exactly. we expect to get so many nominations. and then i will judge it along with ellen degeneres and diane von furstenberg. we'll narrow down the three

businesses and the public gets to vote. >> as an example, tom, you did a commercial spot for the program about your favorite small business in new york a fishing store called urban anglers. what makes it so extraordinary? >> i fly flish and it's a boutique for fly flishing. everything is carefully selected. everybody in the store is passionate about fishing. the hour that you're there shopping, looking around, it's about fishing. and so it's really living in new york and working in new york, you need that getaway time. and that's my getaway time. >> real quickly, you are someone with a thriving business that started as a small business owner. >> i still consider myself a small business. >> it has some significance? >> definitely. i think small businesses are the backbone of our communities and our business communities. small business owners get up every day, put their passion and soul into what they do. >> it's going to be very important for a small business to really rebound to help this economy thrive again. when the winner is chosen, what does the winner get? >> i wanted to get to the prize. because this is $100,000 in

marketing support, and a grant from american express, and the people who pick the top three finalists get $1,000. >> go online. check it out.

>> good morning. i'm lisa robinson. let us get a check of the morning commute with traffic pulse 11. >> good morning. things are picking up quite a bit. an accident at liberty and washington in windsor mill and in this city, north highland and fayette, and howard county, it pedestrians struck at 216 -- and drive times, our loop the north, slow going, 21 from 95 to 83, in a loop, 11 minutes, looking up,"

95 south from harbor tunnel and fort mchenry told plaza, 6 minutes. a live look 95 south, maryland 155, just crawling. an accident at 22 in aberdeen blocking the right lane. that is the latest. over to you. >> starting off with lots of heat and humidity and sunshine as well. a few clouds mainly off to the west and south. temperatures, 75 downtown and 71 at the airport, 72 and west in search but and 60's in high elevations but 74 in ocean city. increasing clouds today, especially by lunchtime. we will be running the risk of afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. 91 degrees to 95 degrees. storms will be isolated but there is a chance for heavy downpours. middle of the week, looking at a stormy pattern. by the weekend, things start to dry out -- 80 by sunday and 84

by monday. >> thank you for joining us. back in 25 minutes.

s really summer, and we've been sort of not having any. so we shouldn't whine too much. >> but we do anyway. out on the plaza i'm matt lauer along with ann curry. she's here while meredith is enjoying a little vacation. al roker joins us, as well. when you think of michael jackson you probably think of the music, the videos, the moonwalk, what else comes to mind? >> that performance --

>> motown 25. and there's that glove. that famous sequinned glove that he debuted while singing "billie jean" in motown 25. that glove is now going up for auction, and there is that glove. >> oh! you got it on? >> no! >> i have it on! >> you have it on! >> i thought you said you couldn't put it on. >> does it give you magic power? >> i was given special permission to wear it. i have one of those film editing white gloves underneath it so my skin does not come in contact with it. >> can you get up on your ankles? >> oh, absolutely. how about that? >> oh, yes. >> anyway, this is going -- >> and -- >> we're going to tell you more about that. >> feel the power. >> there we go. >> somebody goes matt hold it in the air. >> okay, anyway. we're going to have more about that. >> also coming up this morning. >> i know, i know.

>> don't touch anybody with that. >> i'm not not. >> we're also going to be hearing from brad pitt. he's got a new movie called "inglourious basterds." we're going to be talking about that this morning. also the new kids movie that he's participating in. >> which is not to be confused with "inglourious basterds." >> no, no. one's for kids, one's not. >> i've got to see that move again. >> one more time. >> here we go. >> oh. >> wow. >> that's unbelievable. >> thank you. i'll be in ice packs for the rest of the day. >> that's right. >> you want to try the moonwalk? >> no, i don't. huh-uh. and by the way, we've got a little bit later on, do you hate when parents give you advice about your children, unsolicited? >> one of my pet peeves. >> just a smackdown. >> right. >> well we're going to have a way you can deal with that. >> give my sequinned glove to the side of the head. let's go inside, ann is with us here, that means natalie's at the news desk. >> good morning to matt, the gloved one, al, and ann. good morning to you. new details in the murders of melanie and byrd billings.

the beloved florida couple who were parents to 17 children, many with special needs and newly released dpok up thes from the july murders show the two were shot multiple times and byrd billings fought back, grabbing one of the gunmen by the neck. the documents also say one of their children, a 10-year-old, witnessed both murders. eight suspects have been arrested in connection with the case, and more arrests are expected. a california grand jury has indicted sunday school teacher melissa huckaby on charges she kidnapped, raped and killed 8-year-old sandra cantu last march. nbc's george lewis is outside the courthouse in stockton, california. george, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. the charge of first degree murder with special circumstances could put huckaby on death row if proven, and the district attorney says for the time being, his office is treating this as a death penalty case. huckaby broke down in tears, as the judge ticked off the counts in the indictment. including murder in the first degree of 8-year-old sandra

cantu, who lived down the street from huckaby. for ten days, the community of tracy, california, searched for san zra. until her body was found in a pond a couple of miles from her home. as she entered court tuesday, huckaby had scratches on her forehead and arm. and the judge spoke of some, quote, rigmarole getting huckaby to court. the sheriff's department said she was later transported without incident. >> we have a no-nonsense judge. when she says you're coming to court, mr. or ms. defendant, you're coming to court. >> reporter: it has been four months since huckaby's arrest. she has pleated not guilty to the original complaint. now the judge has ordered her to be present at every court session. a good idea, according to sandra cantu's grandmother. >> i'm glad the judge said she would have to be appear to every one of the court dates. that should not keep her from -- she did a lot worse. don't you agree? so those few scratches shouldn't matter. >> reporter: the prosecution is

adamant about moving the case along rapidly. hinting that a child involved in a separate drugging incident may be called as a witness. >> in any case with children as victims or as witnesses, it's important to move the case along. >> the prosecution has a real advantage in that they have their case together. they've already had a dry run of their case before the grand jury. they are ready to go to trial. >> reporter: huckaby's next appearance, september 10th. the prosecution pressing the judge to set an early date for her trial. natalie? >> all right, george lewis in stockton, california. thank you. well, with presidential elections just two days away in afghanistan, today a suicide bomber rammed his car into a convoy of western troops in kabul, killing at least seven people, including two u.n. workers. more than 50 others were wounded. most overseas markets are recovering this morning after big losses on monday. stocks in tokyo, hong kong and south korea were all higher. city plies in chicago are

back at work this morning after a forced day off without pay on monday. it was one of three furlough days to save the cash-strapped city more than $8 million. city hall, public libraries, health clinics and other offices closed their doors. but emergency services and police were still on duty. 8:06 right now. let's go back outside once again to ann. >> all right, thanks a lot, natalie. you know what? right over here to al. and al i've got to point somebody out to you. >> okay. >> those two people are eloping today. today. >> congratulations. >> ya yachlt! >> this is just a beautiful family right here. what's your name? >> madison. >> what is it? >> madison. >> taylor. >> bailey.

>> no record highs here but temperatures starting off on the mild side, mainly low to mid 70's. back to the low and mid 90's today. a chance of showers and thunderstorms late that's your latest weather. now let's go back over to ann. >> all right, al, thanks. by the way, we've got an

announcement from kim to their family. they're having a baby! that's a big excitement. so, yay, good for you. also coming up this morning, michael jackson's most famous glove and other mementos from the king of pop. what they're doing in our studio. - ( women vocalizing ) announcer: it gives the world fewer smog-forming emissions. it gives you a 50 mile per gallon rating.

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like the special k® breakfast, actually weigh less. the special k® breakfast, now in blueberry. so why skip? when you can eat all this... and still weigh less. victory is... sweet. and still weigh less. even during times like these, there is a light beginning to shine again. it comes from a restaurant downtown. a shop on main street. a factory around the corner. entrepreneurs like these are the most powerful force in the economy. the reinvention of business begins with them. and while we're sure we don't know all the answers, we do know one thing for certain: we want to help. come see what the beginning looks like at openforum.com back now at 8:11. with historic memorabilia once owned by the king of pop, some of michael jackson's personal

items, including his most famous sequinned glove worn in that performance you just saw, will be sold off as part of a music icon's auction in november. darren julian and martin nolan are from julian's auction house. nice to see you both. welcome back. there it is. >> it is. >> taken it off. i didn't damage it in any way. >> that's right. it's even more iconic because it's worn by matt lauer. >> that's right. that's going to boost the price. he had a lot of sequinned gloves. why is this one so special? >> the main thing is is that it was worn on the motown 25 special which is the most historic performance of michael jackson. and it's a left-handed glove. out of all the gloves it's a glove you can identify to a specific performance. so it's -- it's just a really great piece. >> for people who can't see it, it's like a regular leather glove with the strips of the sequins kind of -- >> it's a golf glove. and michael as you remember, michael didn't know he was going to perform. he made the decision at the last minute. so this was put together very last-minute. >> give me a ballpark figure.

what could that fetch at auction? >> we estimate $40,000 to $06,000. but it's going to sell for a lot more. we have interests in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. >> you got it in an interesting way. >> walter orange from the commodores. which wassed opening act for the jackson five. and walter would always ask michael for his autograph. and michael would say, walter, i'm never going to give you my autograph because you're more famous than me. they continued that joke all the way through for several years. and at the motown 25 special backstage, walter said now after that performance you have to give me your autograph. >> and instead. >> michael said no, you can have my glove. >> you said -- >> $40,000, to $60,000. >> fell me about the fedora. >> this was worn in 1995 on the mtv music awards. and what's great about this, it's got his name on the inside. so what's really great about this is it comes with a letter signed, lisa marie presley jackson. >> and the authenticity of that. >> tells where the hat was born by michael. >> give me an idea on this one. >> $6,000 to $8,000 the next two

outfits were worn at the apollo theater. this was in 2002, we estimate it $1,000 to $2,000. this was michael's last performance -- >> in the united states? okay. and this one was also -- this was when he sang dangerous? >> yes, at the apollo theater. $3,000 to $5,000. very conservative estimates. >> now let's come over here. >> the jacket -- >> from the bad world tour? >> 1987 to 1989, michael's first solo tour. designed and created, and we're going to turn the jacket around here. >> this is a little unusual. he signed the back of the jacket. he wrote 1998. >> with triple zero. we don't know for sure what that meant. >> because the tour was in the late 1980s. >> exactly. and donated to charity. sold at auction in 1989. but michael signed this, rumor has it, supposedly, that this is michael believes this would be the year that he would die. and that's why -- we estimate

this $8,000 to $10,000. but again this would be a $40,000 to $50,000 jacket. >> michael liked to sketch things. fascination with mickey mouse. >> loved mickey mouse. so mickey mouse wearing the bad jacket, signed by michael jackson. again, 1998 with the triple zeros. meaning that was the year he was expected to pass away. >> he was a pretty good artist, by the way. >> $2,000 to $3,000. we sold a painting of michael's recently for $24,000. >> this next one surprised me, mainly because, well he loved charlie chaplain. he said that was his hero. but he did this when he was only 9 years old? this is really good. >> this comes to us from michael's aunt and uncle signed by michael jackson age 9. and she tells us that michael was a very prolific artist, ages 8, 9 and 10, was constantly doing paintings, and he gave this to his aunt. we estimate again, $2,000 to $3,000. fantastic. charlie chaplain. michael jackson. a young michael jackson signed this, and it could be $30,000,

$40,000, $50,000. goes for auction on november 21st here in new york. >> finally. the zombie outfit. >> some similarity. this is one of the zombie costumes from the famous "thriller," video. which was done in 1983. we estimate that $600 to $800. again, michael, after they recording of the video, he donated this to the local police station, they raffled it off for charity. it was bought by a fireman. comes to us from the fireman's wife. michael was great giver to charity always. >> you guys were here last when there was supposed to be a huge michael jackson auction in march, i think it was. that was canceled at the last minute. these items were not originally included in that auction. >> that's exactly right. these items come from family members or people that michael gave them to. >> so what happened to all the items from that auction? >> they were returned. and we resolved everything on good terms with michael jackson. >> so they've been given back to

the michael jackson estate. >> that's correct. >> might that return to neverland? >> we don't know. >> you're not in control of those. >> no. >> darren and martin, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> we appreciate it. good luck. again the auction will be here in new york in november. and by the way, a few weeks ago we had andy warhol's famous painting of michael jackson here in the studio. it is being auctioned off by a separate gallery. today is the last day you can bid on it. just wanted to fill you in on that. up next, speaking french with brad pitt. more of ann's exclusive interview. - ( rock music playing ) - ♪ oh! what do you say to a spin around the color wheel?

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now to more of our exclusive inster view with bad pitt in his latest film "inglourious basterds" he stored has a man leading a jewish vigilante squad as they hunt down nazis. >> once we're in enemy territory, as a bushwhacking guerrilla army we're going to be doing one thing and one thing only. killing nazis. sound good? >> yes, sir! >> let me ask you to describe what you think about this. yes or no, part war movie, part specialatety western. >> yeah. yeah, that's fire. it's all tarantino. i think that says it. >> a combo comedy, tragedy and farce. >> yeah. where even history gets bastardized. >> a jewish revenge fantasy? >> there's some of that in there, sure. >> okay. well here's a quote from one of your fellow actors, eli roth,

the idea of going back and killing natz zis, it's exhilarating, it's like kosher porn, it's organize as mick. your reaction to that? >> i remember the kosher porn. it's really good fun. and tarantino is such a good voice, it's him at his best. >> you know -- >> real pleasure to be a part of. >> that said there is some scalping involved. >> yeah, people lose a few hairs. >> in fact you're kind of in change of that. you -- you play aldo reign. >> from the tennessee mountains and i lead a renegade group who take scalps. >> this is very conflicting movie. i have to say i was very conflicted watching it. constantly, you know, torn. >> yeah. >> you want that to happen. >> a little bit, yeah. yes. >> and you have this tennessee accent. >> yep. >> oh, you still have it? >> yep. >> so when you have accents, when you get these accents, do they stick around? >> no. i can forget it. this one i do pretty good. the dialogue, you don't mess

with it, because if you wander off trail even one step you're just going to muck it up. it's just -- >> this means great? the french word for that -- i've been studying french. >> i haven't got to that lesson yet. that's how far along i am. >> tres bon. you speak french as well now. this is actually filmed at a time, supposed to be based early on during the occupation. by the germans of france. >> right. >> was that what inspired you -- >> no, no. just being in france inspires me to speak french. >> so when you are in a quentin tarantino movie, and by the way, he is fun. >> he's hilarious. >> word is you two are on the same level, on the same connection. >> i get on with him. i sure do. >> and you are dealing with the topic that's very, maybe, slightly pushing against areas where people are still sensitive. >> absolutely.

it's quite -- really, i don't know how you make another world war ii movie. this one just kind of puts a lid on it. >> hmm. you had to watch a bunch of movies. >> what quentin does is screens movies every week, most every week for his crew, kind of get in the spirit of next week's work. i'm a more tactile actor. >> i don't know what that means. but okay. >> it means i -- okay. >> i don't know what that means. i'm not an actor. >> i feel my way through it than i could burned alive, what i'm actually doing. >> more intuitive. you enjoy the collaboration. >> yeah, i do. i mean it is. it's quite an art form and we're really subject to the directors. because they're the storytellers. so it helps when you get on. >> the relationships -- which might explain why you do so many of the oceans movies? >> well, that's just good fun. >> with guys you like and with people you enjoy. >> that's kind of my rule now. the company you keep. >> i think if you do a kids movie. >> actually i'm doing a voice for animation film with robert

downey jr., tina fey, and superhero wants out. >> doesn't want to be a superhero? >> done. >> oh. is it autobiographical? >> it's really not. sounded good, didn't it? sounds like an angle. >> what happens is though a lot of people view these kind of movies because -- because they are parents, are you doing this -- are you inspired? >> yeah. >> you want your kids to see you as a superhero who wants out? >> no just something they'll enjoy and think dad's cool. >> you have said quote i think acting is a younger man's game. there are fewer interesting parts for older people and we all get older. but i feel like i've done it. i've kind of had my time, and that's quite freeing. >> i totally disagree with that. each generation kind of -- there are different themes and focus on what movies are. i think we're in a really extreme time for films. >> and one of those films is "inglourious basterds," opening in theaters nationwide on friday. >> you say that quentin

>> good morning. i'm mindy basara. here is a look at one of our top stories. the trial of the man accused of throwing his son over the side of the key bridge will not take place for several more months. stephen nelson was to stand trial this week for first-degree murder for the death of his three-year-old son. it was not until five months later that the child's body was recovered. at the request of the defense, the trial has been rescheduled for november 10. he entered the equivalent of insanity defense. let us get a final check of the morning commute with traffic pulse 11. >> good morning, everyone. things picking up a little bit. accident, south highland avenue and 0 donnel in this city. windsor mill, liberty road and washington have a bit of a look at the beltway, bellaire road, two right lanes are blocked.

97 south, bad accident past route 32 blocking the right lane. blighted drive * cannot beltway, all their lives, north from 95 to 83, 31 minutes, interlude, same spot, 11 minutes, and southbound, beltway to 100, not bad. harford road delay looks like it might be clearing up the bid but delays can develop quickly. that is the latest. have a great day. >> dealing with lots of limited to start of tuesday. temperatures still mild. 77 downtown, 74 of the airport, 73 in frederick and 72 in cumberland. today increasing clouds. 91-95 degrees. this much heat and humidity, chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms. that will be the case evening and overnight. we will do it again wednesday, thursday, and private, and then and nice weather pattern toward

the end of the weekend. >> thank you to joining us. you can check the bottom of the screen of the news and traffic. an update at 8:55 a.m.. (announcer) it's time to raise the bar and replace your old mayo with the full flavor of kraft mayo with olive oil. with half the fat and calories of hellmann's real mayo,

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♪ i always feel like somebody's watching me. ♪ it's the money you could be saving with geico. 8:30 now on a tuesday morning. 18th of august, 2009. we guarantee there will be a hot time in the old town today, because we've got some sizzling temperatures. we've got baked big apple in store for these people. but nobody's complaining. >> it's not so bad yet. >> it's not brutal yet. >> what time is it going to get brutal? >> in a half hour. >> i don't want to be out here in a half hour. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry who is in while meredith is on vacation. al roker and natalie morales join us, as well. coming up, something that gets a

lot of people steamed. >> that's right. we're talking about when parents tell other parents how to parent. you don't like that. you get -- you get crazy. >> shut up. >> so what do we do? and -- and sometimes maybe we should pay attention. maybe sometimes they might have -- it does take a village. >> more open-minded. >> anyway, we're going to find out how to handle the situation if you've been through -- actually i had a situation once people actually thought i was the nanny. because my son was blond and they were telling me what to do. i was calm. i didn't get angry. anyway, let's move on. anyway, what else? >> we're also going to head over to the grill with giada de laurentiis. we're going to cook up great summer vegetables and make a salad out of it. >> anything that she makes is not -- i have never been disappointed by what she makes, ever. >> she wouldn't be here if you were disappointed. >> earlier on we showed you michael jackson's famous sequinned glove. well, we're going to take a look at the progression of michael

jackson's look, his face. we're going to take an interesting look back in photos. fascinating stuff. >> okay. and then also coming up, want to let you know if you have any questions or concerns about what the summer sun is doing to your skin, very appropriate on a

>> very warm and muggy day expected today. temperatures already reaching 77 in downtown baltimore, 73 and frederick. the rest of the day, increasing clouds with a chance of that's your latest weather. now let's head on down to washington, d.c. and say hello to my willie. how are you, sir? >> you got to love those lazy, hazy, crazy says of summer. what a wonderful hit. it is nice summertime. we love it. take a look as the jar spins. birthday buddies today from

smuck smucker's, orville, high. gear freud frisbie, and she is from orangevale, california, 101. loves eating out with her friends, known as the sweetest champion card player in the business. we love her. happy birthday. henrietta patterson, naples, florida. one of the nicest towns in the world. really, naples, unbelievable. 105. enjoys reading about celebrities in the tabloids. ooh, ooh. hope we're out of those. this is the fifth time she's tried to get on. glad we finally made it. she likes barbecue. henry ochs jr., dallas, texas. 100 years old. advocate for the boy scouts of america. attributes longevity to never giving up and exercising his body and mind. if i had a mind. rena haste, chevy chase, maryland. moved to a senior citizens center but says too many old

people. good for her. virginia, lomel of savannah, georgia. generaler isman's favorite town. he spared that town, you know. what a town. anyway, local church member for over 80 years. secret to longevity is never smoking and drinking. and finally, i like this one, mary banks, los angeles, california, very nice. outgoing with a great sense of humor. and a sharecropper and a cook for many, many years. longevity, she says, is putting god first. number one. number one. that's it, that's all from your friends in washington, d.c. where you always get the straight truth from the heart. trust me, i'm a politician. >> all right, willard, thank you very much. when we come back, how to deal with other parents who push their brand of parenting on you. we'll talk about it. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

this morning on "today's family," other parents raising children is hard enough but having to deal with unsolicited advice and comments from other parents can make it even more difficult. >> people will let you know what they're thinking at every moment. and it's very uncomfortable, especially on a play ground. >> i should not be a part-time working mother, i should be a full-time mother at home raising my children, because that's what good mothers do. they don't work outside the home. >> it's almost like an accusing way, she wanted to know, while my son was playing on the play ground, why i was feeding my child at the same time. >> he accidentally ran into her 2-year-old, and she gave me all tense, dirty looks, whisked her child away and said, we don't want to play near those rough boys anymore, or that rough boy anymore and took him away. >> in her new book "hell is other parents" and other tales

of maternal could be busten deborah takes on on the journey through the ups and downs of modern-day parenting. she's along with us along with clinical psychologist dr. ruth peters. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> okay so this had to come from experience. >> of course it did. well, i wrote a bunch of different essays. even just last week i was on the subway, and i was with my toddler and my husband, and we had, you know, tadler had a toy and he's playing with the toy and i'm reading "the new york times" and it's a long journey and this woman is staring at us very angrily and she gets up and walks over and she says, i hope whatever you're reading was interesting enough to warrant ignoring your child. >> ooh-kay. so that was an intervention. that was a combustible moment. what did you do, by the way? >> i just smiled. >> yeah? so what's -- what's going on here? what's happening? what's causing this to happen, i mean what -- what is the message you're trying to say to other parents? >> i let her figure out the causes. i just know that as a parent living through this kind of day-to-day conflict with other parents, you wonder, you know, i

covered wars for a living. and sometimes you feel like the play ground is the worse battle zone than afghanistan. what is it about other parenting styles that make people say, if another child steals a shovel, your child's being a bully. children are 2 years old. they're going to steal shovels. i just don't understand where it's coming from. >> where is it coming from? >> it really is more than a war. it's internal and emotional. i think people feel if your child is annoying them, or if your child is possibly being unsafe with their child, they have the right to do something. it's a very fine line, and you have to figure out how to tactfully handle that when somebody says something to you. >> i think the question is sort of what's the -- the difference is judging another parent. and the other idea is protecting or helping trying to help another parent. in other words sometimes i've seen children crying and nobody's doing anything about it and i don't talk to the parents, i just kind of go and help take care of the kids, even if i don't even know them. that i think is an okay thing.

where is it not a good thing. if you were to say to the parent, you need to do a better job of doing this, does that cross the line if they're doing something really wrong? >> what i think is, it's safety. it's all about safety. if the other person's child is doing something unsafe to yourself or their kid or their clotheslining kids in the park, that you have to stop. i like talking to the child a little bit and talking to the parent if you have to. but you have to use tact. one of the things i like to say is when somebody says something to you about your child, you know, about your parenting, you could say, you know, maybe you have a point. i'll consider that. i think that's wonderful. not saying you're wrong. but for example you're talking about the crying child. again, a few weeks ago, my toddler's having a tantrum. and you know sometimes when they have tantrums, there's nothing you can do. so we're giving them a time-out against the wall of the building. keep giving him time-out. if you can calm down, talking to him very gently. and the doorman of the building comes out and said, i'm sorry but one of the parents who's a resident here wants you to take your child away, it's scaring his child. >> oh. >> you know.

you can't win. you just can't win. >> really i think that's a fact of becoming a mother you realize you can't really win. you're oftentimes, even with your child. so you say stop and say do they have a point? you might want to consider changing your behavior if, in fact, that might make things better. >> don't be defensive. they may have a point. >> okay. you say also prepare your response. well that's kind of hard to do when you're doing this -- >> that was the response of, you know, you may have a point. or that's an idea, i'll think about it. that in no way is admitting they're right, you're wrong. you're just being very tactful and very smart and getting out of the situation. >> or thank you for your input. >> thank you. >> use common sense. be poll light. and also, see if there's a teachable moment. is there anything wrong with her suggestions here, in your view? >> no, not at all. not at all. but i also talk about in my book, for example, a mother who poached our baby-sitter, paid her twice what we were paying her, and then had the nerve to call me for a reference. and i was on the phone going,

really, you're calling me for a reference. you're stealing my baby-sitter and calling for a reference. i just kind of feel like sometimes we're living in this crazy world as parents these days and that our parents' generation didn't get as involved as we do. and maybe there's a happy balance between the two. between our parents' generation and our generation of, you know, live and let live a little bit. your children need to work on conflicts by themselves, too. that's really important. i mean i have a 14-year-old, a 12-year-old, a 3-year-old. and i've learned over the years, there's a point where you say, i'm stepping out of this. i'm not going to get involved. especially when the kids enter middle school. they have to work things out. >> that's a very, very good point. are we too high-strung as parents? >> yes! but i think the way to think about it is you have the right to raise your child any way you want in your home. but when the child is out in public you have a responsibility to deal with community starpds. you know, like we don't clothesline. we don't push off rocks. we don't do this. so i think you have the right to do what you want with your kid. but when it involves other kids'

safety and your child's safety, you have the responsibility to do what is appropriate and use common sense. >> all right. okay. we're going to leave it there. the book is called "hell is other parents." deborah, thank you so much. dr. ruth peters, thank you so much. it's very interesting conversation. we could go on. but we don't have time. up next, grilling with giada. first, this is "today" on nbc.

and this morning on "cooking with giada" we're cooking a summer salad. we're talking about italian chef and "today" contributor giada de laurentiis and she joins us on the plaza. giada, good morning. >> good morning. >> grilling up a summer salad. some people are going to say, what are we talking about. before we get to it, let's talk about the great vegetables in season right now. >> these are some of my favorites. what happens i think a lot of times you get an abundance of all sorts of things, tomatoes

and zucchini and corn, especially corn. corn on the cob, you need to do something more interesting with it. if you grill all the stuff it gives it more flavor and tenderizes it so you don't have to eat raw vegetables all the time. >> you're going to do this together in kind of a chopped salad. >> it is. which is one of my favorite ways. we have green beans which are, i think a lot of people think of green beans, they think of them in the fall. but actually, they're the best in the summertime. and you just want to make sure they snap. everything should look really green and vibrant. there shouldn't be -- the skin should be really smooth like an eggplant. cucumbers should feel nice and heavy. lots of water, crisp. >> people at home don't have someone to come around and mist their vegetables right before the segment. >> you guys are special. yes, i agree. and then the trick with corn. a lot of times just pull on it, don't feel weird about pulling this back and i like to just kind of pierce it. this one is a little dry. >> okay. >> you want it to pop? >> i never have done that before. >> with your nail and it kind of

squirts. >> okay. >> it's dry. so you want to make sure it does. >> let's some cover to the grill here. >> we've got some shrimp already on here. so i take the vegetables, the romaine lettuce. >> you grill lettuce? >> yeah. >> ann likes hers medium rare. >> so i can take care of that. >> you're putting the olive oil on even the lettuce? >> yes. >> some salt. >> and some pepper. >> you need to make sure your grill is pretty clean. >> so clean the grill, number one. number two, heat it up, so turn the grill on high. for about ten minutes, get it nice and hot. then when you put the vegetables and olive, whatever you're going to grill, turn down the heat to medium. if you leave it on high you will char your vegetables. >> we don't want to overdock vegetables. >> so then you just set them down. the other thing is people think they can put stuff on the grill and walk away. go get a beer, go do something. hang out, stay here. watch it, because it happens very quickly. >> yes? >> and with the zucchini, keep in mind, when you cut them.

nice and thick. the thinner you cut them, they fall apart. >> and the corn almost wants that roasted, that little blackened -- >> exactly. >> do you roast maybe with the skins on? >> can you do that, as well. can you do that, as well. then you just have to wait till it cools down completely. >> you're going to go down here. so now we've got the grilled vegetables done. we've got some zucchini. i've got the corn. you've got the romaine lettuce. chop it up and we're all going to put it in this bowl together. so chopping like big chop? >> you know what? that actually depends on how you like it. some people like the vegetables very small. very small pieces. i like it chunky. i like people to be able to taste the vegetables. with the corn, you just kind of set it like this and cut down. make sure you have a nice, sharp knife. >> and a big space. >> this is all going to go in the bowl together? >> this is all going in the bowl together? >> use my hands? >> if they're clean. >> they're cleaned. >> there you go. >> i had a sequinned glove on. how dirty can they be?

>> i had to purell. >> then you put everything in there. there we go. and lots of color. which is, i think, a really nice thing. and the great thing about these salads is, if you grill all the vegetables and put them together. don't dress it, and leave it in the french, you can eat it whenever you want. >> summer salads should be a very light dressing. you've got simple ingredients. >> lehman juice. olively oil. >> and you just dump it all together. 3 tables spoons of lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of olive oil. equal parts. you can either use agave or honey. just dump that in there. pass me the salt and pepper. >> there we go. >> i love agave, by the way. >> do you? >> fantastic thing. >> very sweet and it doesn't give you that up and down that sugar makes you. >> correct. honey can sometimes be very sweet. >> and it's just a great flavor. >> drizzle that over and keep it light? >> right. >> about the tomatoes? >> we're going to throw the tomatoes on top. i'm going to finish it.

avocado, shrimp. look at that. that's beautiful. >> it's a meal all in one. >> there you go. >> roasted corn on top. >> and a little crunch, because i love that. i take some of the restaurant style tortilla chips and put them right on top. >> you know what else would be good on that? peanuts. >> oh, you could do peanuts, too. >> change your recipe. >> i'm not going to change the recipe. add the value. >> thank you. >> good job. >> happy summer. >> back with much more of "today" on a tuesday morning.

this morning on "today's" pets, the hero pet of the year. we told you about reader's digest's search for the animal that showed the most heroic skills, where readers were given the chance to vote for one of five finalists, two dogs, a parr parrot, a cat and a horse. >> the winner is chi chi the dog. a 13 pound chihuahua mix. mary and rick lane are chi-chi's owners. good morning, congratulations to you. >> thank you. >> how did chi chi become heroic in your opinion? >> well, he saved two ladies' lives at the beach. >> this is in north carolina on the outer banks? >> out on the outer banks down in indian beach. >> they were struggling in the water. >> there was a storm surge. waves were pounding and there was a wall of sand, and the beach was slanted down, and one of these -- and there were two elderly ladies and one that

fallen on her back head first into the surf. the other lady, the little bitty lady was about 90 pounds trying to hold her head up. >> and before we say, chi chi ran in and saved them in the water. chi chi salerted you guys that there was a problem. >> that's what he did. he leapt out of the beach chair, he has a beach chair, he leapt out of his beach chair, still attached, dragging the beach chair and he was making a sound we never heard before, and rick said, mary, what's the matter with the dog? and i didn't even look at the dog, i said what's going on? and 100 yards down the beach we saw the two ladies in the surf. >> so how were they pulled out of the water? >> we pulled them out. >> so you're the heroes! >> but that's the point is that, you know, it wasn't like chi chi responded to the commotion. you said the tenor of his bark made you know. >> absolutely. it was an alarm. >> i understand he's now a big

celebrities in greensberg where you all live? >> oh, he is. in the vet's office they put him up in the news letter. his picture's been everywhere. everyone recognizes him. >> and people at home are wondering why we're not reaching and petting chi chi. chi chi gets a little territorial. >> oh, yeah. >> that's okay. you pet him for us. >> congratulations. >> chi chi. >> whoa! >> we'll be back after this. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. here is a look at one of our top stories. recent violence at the inner harbor has many worried the day-

to-day business will be affected. police have stepped up their present -- presence and the mayor says they need to crack down on troublemakers. and she blames the state, setting tougher gun laws will help put a stop to violence and the search continues for the person who shot two (announcer) now skating...jim perdue. there's no skating around the fact that my perdue perfect portions fresh chicken breasts are perfect. each piece come individually wrapped, so you can cook what you need and easily store what you don't. and they're perfectly sized to cook quickly and evenly in only 10 minutes. it's the perfect answer to your dinner routine. (announcer) perdue perfect portions. also in a variety of all natural seasonings. cash for clunkers is available at your chevy dealer. with more eligible models to choose from than anyone.

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forecast. >> good morning. starting off with lots of humanity. if you clouds of to the west. will try to move in for the afternoon, moving to a day with increasing clouds. afternoon showers and thunderstorms possible. plenty of humidity. your forecast shows a stormy pavin through the end of the work week but a nice end to the weekend. >> thank you for joining us. an update at 9:25 a.m..