back with more of "today" now on a tuesday morning, august 19th, 2009. kind of a nice day to be standing outside, at least for the moment, before the burners kick in and it really gets hot and sticky here in the northeast, as it's expected to a little later today. had some very severe thunderstorms in the area last night. some airports were closed for a little while. flights were very much delayed. that grounded our ann curry in washington, but she'll rejoin us tomorrow. we're happy to have natalie morales here. al roker joins us as well. >> hundreds of trees got knocked down in central park last night. >> it was a -- >> really powerful. >> i was listening last night at 10:00 as hail was hitting my window. >> and the lightning. unbelievable. >> if you yesterday saw our

interview with "survivor" winner richard hatch. he was the winner of the first "survivor." then he spent time in a federal prison for tax evasion, the last several months under home or house arrest up in newport, rhode island. well, shortly after our interview aired yesterday, richard hatch was taken back into custody. he's now in a jail in massachusetts. why? we're going to talk to his attorney and his sister and try and get to the bottom of that. >> all right. then, if it's wednesday, it must be "today's money 911." this morning our panel has advice on everything from having to survive a layoff, which a lot of people are facing, best strategies for paying down credit card debt. is it ever the right idea to take out a home equity line to help? we'll have the answers to that and a whole lot more. all right, also coming up, keeping your style fresh through the fall. we're already talking fall fashions here and how you can save some money and look stylish with just a few tweaks to your summer staples for the next few months. >> okay. and giada de laurentiis's in

the house with great ideas. first, to the news desk and hoda. >> good morning, guys. good morning, everybody. today has been the deadliest day in iraq since june. multiple car bombs and martars killed 70 people and wounded some 300 others. they also damaged the parliament building. ratcheting up violence in afghanistan on the eve of elections there. gunmen stormed a kabul bank today and battled police for hours. taliban militants have vowed to disrupt tomorrow's vote. lawmakers will hold more town hall meetings across the country today, pushing health care reform to sometimes skeptical crowds. a new nbc news poll finds 42% of americans think president obama's health care reforms are a bad idea with 36% in favor. there was no early warning tuesday before a tornado ripped through a shopping center parking lot in beaumont, texas. part of a department store roof collapsed. four people spent the night in the hospital. meantime in colorado, a

funnel cloud made for an ominous sight but did not touch down or cause any damage. richard hatch, the first winner of the reality show "survivor," was arrested once again just hours after an exclusive interview with matt that aired on tuesday. "today" national correspondent amy robach is outside hatch's home in newport, rhode island where he was arrested. good morning, amy. >> reporter: good morning, hoda. in fact, the past 24 hours have changed dramatically for richard hatch. he has gone from being on house arrest here in rhode island back to jail. this all happened, of course, after his interview with matt yesterday, an interview where hatch said he had permission to speak. >> the winner of the first "survivor" competition is rich. >> reporter: from winning the reality show "survivor" in the year 2000 and taking home the million-dollar prize -- >> any comment today? >> reporter: -- to serving nearly four years in prison for failing to pay taxes on those winnings, richard hatch has

never been afraid to speak his mind. >> i know people perceive me as cocky and arrogant, and a big part of that, if not all of it's my responsibility. 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. >> reporter: for the last three months, hatch has been under house arrest in rhode island, fitted with a monitoring bracelet around his ankle. tuesday on "today," he broke his silence for the first time since his tax conviction, telling matt he was innocent of the charges against him and claiming he's a victim of discrimination because he's gay. >> 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. >> reporter: just hours after that interview aired, hatch was once again taken into police custody. his lawyer says hatch was told he had improper contact with the public. but when he talked to matt, in a

part of the interview that did not air tuesday, hatch said he had permission to speak to nbc. >> you know, i've been denied the opportunity to speak for nearly four years now. i've been told by the bureau of prisons no, no permission, period. but finally, we got permission to do this. and again, i'm just grateful. why have i wanted to talk? well, if you were innocent -- and i'm absolutely innocent -- it's not a question, it's no objective observer could possibly think anything other than i'm innocent, and i've been denied the opportunity to speak for 3 1/2 years. >> you're not worried at all that by doing something they don't want you to do, you're going to somehow impact your future in this? >> well, i can't do something they don't want me to do. if i don't something they don't want me to do, even something simple, then i'm back in prison. >> well, then by sitting here talking to me right now, are you placing yourself in jeopardy? >> no, i got permission. we got permission to do this interview and that's why i'm doing it. >> reporter: earlier this morning we spoke with richard hatch's attorney who says she is

still trying to get to the bottom of this arrest. she has contacted the federal bureau of prisons. she's also tried to speak to local authorities. so far, no real answers, she claims. she's going to try to get those later today. hoda, back to you. >> amy robach in newport, rhode island. thanks, ame. you are now up to date. now over to al roker. a lot going on right now. first of all, in the pacific northwest, a big upper ridge bringing temperatures above normal, temperatures 80s to 90s to 100 degrees with heat warnings and advisories. here in the east, a big bermuda high creating humid, oppressive conditions from the northeast into new england with temperatures in the 80s and low 90s. and then we've got hurricane bill, now a strong category 4, 135-mile-per-hour winds moving west-northwest 16 miles per hour. track of the storm brings it alongside to the west of bermuda. that's the strong side of the storm. but if you also look, the cone of uncertainty also includes

nantucket and cape cod. no matter where, we can expect this weekend to have from florida all the way up into new england, strong rip currents >> another mile the day ahead with scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. the clouds will be on the way to warm and humid with afternoon storms. 87 to 91 degrees. now onto our wednesday's special, "today's money 911" from school loans to mortgage payments and credit card debt, we're answering all your questions this half hour. here with help, "today" financial editor jean chatzky, founder of finishrich.com.

david bach, who's been busting a move during the "money 911" sang and cnbc's carmen wong ulrich. we have natalie on the plaza, hoda. first up to natalie with a skype question. natalie? >> we have nancy clark from mesa, arizona, on skype with us. go on, nancy. what's your question for our panel? >> yes, i will be laid off at the end of this month. i've been with a company for 25 years, and i'd like to reduce my monthly expense. i was wondering, should i take out a 401(k) loan now while i'm still employed to pay off some of this debt? >> and we're sorry to hear that you're going to be laid off, but how do you know that you are, that that's for sure? >> oh, it's been in the plan. they've been very straight forward. it's a great company, just difficult times. >> all right. well, let's turn it over to our panel. jean, do you have an answer for her about taking a loan on her

401(k)? >> yeah. >> i know what you normally advise here. >> absolutely, and the advice is going to be the same. you don't want to do it, but for a very specific reason. if you take a loan from your 401(k) and you leave the company, they can actually ask you for that money back inside of 60 days. and if you don't have it to give back to them, that can be treated as a withdrawal, which means you're going to pay taxes and penalties on that amount. so, it's not something that you want to do. instead, what i hope that you're doing is focusing on what's next. you have known that this is coming for a while, so you should be out there looking for that next job. and should you land one while your severance is still coming in, then it's windfall city because you've got salary and severance, and then you use that money to really wail on that debt. >> okay, nancy, good luck. thank you. now a phone call, kelly in norcross, georgia. good morning, kelly. what's your question? >> caller: good morning. my home will be paid off in may of next year. i have no other significant debts, no credit card balances.

i'd like to know what focus i should use and where should i put my money to get the most benefits. >> okay. now, do you have any plans for what you want to do, kelly? >> eventually in the next year or two, i would like to possibly move to another home, but other than that, no real plans. >> david, thoughts for kelly? >> well, first of all, kelly, i would say this, congratulations! i mean, i love the fact that your mortgage is almost paid off! so, how old are you right now? >> caller: 48. >> 48 and your home's paid off. love, love, love this! my fears are with people like you, you can retire five to ten years sooner now because your home is paid off. if you want to move to a bigger home or a new home for retirement, here's what i want you to do and this is for anyone in her situation. you basically take the mortgage payments, once that mortgage is paid off, take the mortgage payments and start investing those payments until you're ready to buy your property. i would go to ishares.com. the reason i like ishares is

these are exchange-trading mutual funds, low costs, diversified. look at the bond fund category. you're not going to really look at this until 2010. in 2010 when you look at this, look at corporate bonds, high-yield bond funds and muni bond funds depending on your tax bracket. but gracticongratulations, grea situation to be in. >> terrific. this is an e-mail from alex. alex writes -- "i will be receiving a portion of my husband's 401(k) from divorce proceedings. i would like to know if i can take money out without penalties. is there a way to refinance a home in this situation in this market, in arizona? our home has no equity because we also have a line of credit from a separate bank that we would like to include in the refinance. we have $240,000 and $76,000 on the equity line of credit." a lot of stuff going on with that. >> first of up with the 401(k) odd divorce. let's start with that. this is the one opportunity you have, actually, to take that money out -- i'm not saying you should -- but you can take it out without the 10% penalty for

taking it out before you're 59 1/2. however, it's not necessarily what you want to do, because you'll still have to pay taxes on it. so instead, roll that money over into an i.r.a. that you can control, not your husband, so that you can also add to it and continue to keep it growing. now, as for the home, listen in this situation, first of all, you've got to have two players and they have to play along with you. if your home is under your husband's and yourself, both your names, are you together on the refi? and you have two different loans with two different lenders, so they both have to work together. now, she's under water. go to makinghomeaffordable.gov. go to hud.gov, both places. look at the paperwork. see and apply to call for the refi under the president's plan and get a non-profit housing counselor to work with you. because as we know, and we've talked about this a lot, the plan is not working as quickly or as well as it should be, so you need a lot of muscle behind you to help you get through this and get the refi. >> but you can actually be more under water than you could be just a few minutes ago. they've actually expanded the plan, so it's a good try.

>> it's a better time to try because there's more wiggle room in there. >> now we head across the street to hoda with a viewer question. >> a lot of questions at dean & deluca. jill and joe from huntsley, illinois. a question involving health care. >> my husband and i are a small business owner with 25 employees. as i understand it, if one of them chooses not to have health care through us, we will be penalized 8%. is this true? >> a lot of questions about the health care plan. take that question. >> i don't know if you've seen the health care plan. it's like this thick and nobody's really read through every page of. it but here's the truth, we don't really know what's going to happen at this point. what i can tell you as a small business owner, the penalties they're talking about is for those who don't offer health care, period. so, the idea here is the government wants to penalize small businesses that don't offer health care. i believe in the situation you're talking about, where someone opts out, there will not be a penalty, but i have to tell you, we don't really know yet. we don't really know yet. >> that's the most frustrating part of this entire plan. we go back and forth between the

house and the senate and the different bills and different committees. i have not seen one bottom-line estimate of how much this is going to cost and who is going to pay for it and what it means to the individual. and i have to say, if they were focusing on what this would actually cost individual people, we would be a lot clearer and a lot further along in this debate. >> i say we lock them in a gym and they don't come out. >> that's right. >> until they've got something. >> david paterson's school of government. >> exactly. >> we're going to take a break, but when we come back, what you should know about those 529 plans and your child's education, along with more answers to your questions. then later, tricks to working your warm-weather wardrobe into a fall closet by saving you money through your "money 911." the blue goes on the left. (announcer) getting ready for the big game? ohhhh... bring it. bounty extra soft-- the bounty with a little extra softness! it's super absorbent. and it works extra hard for your money. in this lab demo, one sheet of bounty extra soft out-scrubs two sheets of the bargain brand.

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rose is on the phone with a question about 529 funds. funds. good morning, rose. >> caller: good morning, everybody. >> and your question? >> caller: my son is a high school senior this year and i wondered if it's still beneficial to be putting my money into a 529 plan, and is ohio's really the worst? >> wow! >> wow. >> she's starting from a negative. quickly, what are 529s? >> 529s are state-sponsored college savings plans. they allow you to put money away for college and then not pay taxes on it when you withdraw the money. when your son is a senior, you've missed a lot of that opportunity already. you can still put the money away. you may get a state tax deduction in order, if you actually do that. but go to the website savingforcollege.com. ohio actually has three plans, and one of them is quite good. i believe it actually ranks third in the country. so, there are options there. the thing for people to remember is you don't have to invest in your state's plan if you're not happy with it. you can go elsewhere. you might not get the state tax

benefits. >> did that answer the question for you, rose? >> caller: well, i had one other question with that. i have been contributing and i am still ongoing contributing. >> okay. >> caller: i just want to know if i should continue while he is going to be in college or should i stop now? >> again, you can still get those benefits. the most important thing to do is to look at your mix. look at how that money in the account is invested, because if you've still got him invested aggressively and he's heading off to college, that's a mistake. you want to make sure that that money is moved to safety, the most conservative option they have for you is where you want to be, because you can't afford to lose any of that money right now. >> all right, rose, thank you. and rose very strong on the follow-up question there. we like that. >> excellent. >> very impressive. thank you, rose. all right, now let's head across the street to hoda. >> we've got angie and her family from seattle. angie, what's your question? >> my question is that i've heard historically in the stock market the largest gains have been after a recession or a depression. is this true? and when should i start investing in order to catch this

waive? >> carmen, this one's for you. >> oh, hoda. angie, you missed the train a bit on this one, out you are correct. i mean, think about it. with recessions and depressions, you have the biggest dips, you're going to have the biggest gains. it is very reactionary, but listen, the time to really have gotten in is at the bottom. i wish we could have called the bottom, but back in march. now we're talking about, you missed july. july was the biggest gains, over 20%, since the 1930s. now we're going to see, and everyone's projecting, we've seen it a little bit this week, the market is going to go back down. the key here is get in as soon as you possibly can and stay in. don't get in and out trying to time the market. just keep investing. >> timers are the sufferers. >> you really can't call. it it's a gamble. but the key here is long-term investing is dollar cost averaging. putting money in every month, every two weeks, a certain amount of money over time. >> you wind up ahead of the game. >> you buy at different levels and it eecvens itself out. >> it's only a sufferer's game if you can't figure it out.

the market crashed. we went up 42% since march. and to her question, we have seen rallies between 50% to 130% after the by of the market. so, you're right, we didn't know -- >> absolutely, but after the fact. after the fact. so, let's say in march, let's say if you start investing in april or in march, you're golden. but even if you put your money in now, we still have a long ways to go, so just get in as soon as you can so you can be part of it. >> that's right. because if you're not in it, you can't win it. >> can't win. it that's right. that's right. >> during the commercial break we'll have more cliches that we can put on our website. jean chatzky, david bach, carmen wong ulrich, thank you very much. you can watch carmen's show saturday evening on "on the money." if you have questions, go to todayshow.com. still to come, dave spader wants you to see something the family can enjoy, and it's just in time for vacation. but first, these messages.

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still to come, why flowers are still blooming in your closet for the fall. >> and giada's here. she's going to get juice to tell us about her fruit recipes. >> that's all after your local news and weather. this is one way of getting vitamins and minerals. this is another. new total blueberry pomegranate cereal gives you 100% of the daily value of 12 essential vitamins and minerals. plus the bold new taste of blueberries and pomegranate with crispy whole grain flakes and crunchy oat clusters. total, a truly delicious way to get vitamins and minerals. how are you getting 100%? visit totalcereal.com and get a free sample.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. anne arundel county police are piecing together the circumstances that led to the death of a 3-year-old boy in severn.

on august 7, 28-year-old charles michael brandley brought an injured boy to the hospital saying that the boy had fallen down a flight of stairs inside a home on the 200 block of tomlinson court. the boy died last wednesday from his injuries. police are questioning the actual event that caused the injuries. they've not determined what relationship mr. brandley had with the child. police are investigating the reported rape of a juvenile in annapolis. officers said the victim told them that the man sexually assaulted her and then fled at bowling tried. let's take a look at the forecast with jim nichols. >> another muggy day ahead. we will see more scattered thunderstorms into the late afternoon and early evening hours. 87 to 91 degrees. a familiar pattern that we saw yesterday. we will see it again tomorrow on thursday. another storm system moves through on friday, providing a

bit of a washout to start off the weekend. a few of the lebron rain showers on saturday as well. -- lingering rainshowers on saturday as well. 84 degrees and lots of sunshine. >> we will have another update at 9:55.

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♪ i got a pocket, got a pocket full of sunshine ♪ that's pop star and the star of our friday summer concert series, british singer and songwriter, ms. natasha bedingfield, singing "pocket full of sunshine," the weather song. we'll have a sky full of sunshine friday when she stops by. or we're hoping for the sunshine. anyway, come on down for some fun. meanwhile, while ann makes her way all the way from washington -- >> d.c. >> that was a storm last night, though. >> yeah, because i guess ann never heard of the train. hoda kotb had to get up -- >> too late. >> yeah, i guess. they shut down amtrak at 6:00. anyway, hoda got up a little early here to help out this morning. and i understand you two are cooking up a special assignment.

>> yeah. >> special is a good word for it. >> we're running in a triathlon. together. >> she got me into it, so i have her to blame. >> congratulations. >> it involves running and swimming and biking. >> the swimming part is the part that we fear the most. >> like an open-water type of swim? >> you swim in the ocean. i've got to tell you, i swam a couple laps. i don't swim well. >> i don't either. >> i swam two laps and was hype ventilating. >> ann curry's husband brian could give you tips. he swam the english channel. >> are you kidding? >> seriously. >> oh. >> we have a good trainer. >> has a major crush -- >> hold on a second! >> those are not -- >> oh, that looks good. >> i'm the slow one. see the grandma? that was me. >> wow. >> very sad. >> we have four weeks to train, which is hardly enough time. >> uh-oh, they're already lowering the bar. >> it's mainie. it's a sprint. it's a short triathlon. >> hey, i'm impressed. i'm impressed. >> it's a short one. so we'll survive and be okay, and you're going to be our lifeguard.

did you know? >> what else? also coming up, bobbie thomas is here to show us some seasonist style choices, tips on putting together pieces that can be worn through the summer months into the fall, so you can be stylish and save money all of the time. >> i'm just the opposite, i'm stylist in season. and giada de laurentiis is back, whipping up fine desserts featuring the fruits that are so fresh right now, peaches, mangos, plums. jad yahogiada giada's got it all going on for us. >> yummy, delicious. you've got the weather for us. a lot to talk about. and still a lot more to talk about today. for today, strong storms in the midsection of the country, record highs in the pacific northwest, heavy rain from remnants of ana down in florida. tomorrow the risk of strong storms stretch from the eastern great lakes all the way down into northeastern texas. the record highs continue in t t >> lots of sunshine for now. the medinas will continue. scattered thunderstorms expected late afternoon as well.

temperatures anywhere from 87 to 91 degrees. >> and that's your latest weather. >> al, thank you. >> thank you so much. coming up, bobbie thomas is in the house. she's going to show you how to ease your way into fall without saying good-bye to summer. i really want dessert tonight. i better skip breakfast. yep, this is all i need. ( stomach growls ) skipping breakfast to get ahead? research shows that women that eat breakfast, 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.

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bloom, because "today's" style editor bobbie thomas is here with her seasonal take on style. bobbie, good morning. >> good morning. >> you say don't pack away all the summer clothing, actually leave some of the pieces out because you can transition them into fall. how do you figure out what's going to work? what is a seasonless piece? >> it's really about your personality and being creative. there are so many trends happening in the summer season that are going to carry into fall and fall trends, such as florals, that are really big and you can pick them off a summer sale rack. >> the first strategy is to rethink your florals. you typically associate florals to spring and summer, bright colors and floral lace and everything. today our model nancy is going to come out. >> this is a floral skirt from new port news. so many florals northwest. nancy has shown you have to really work this into your winter wardrobe. we found this jacket at homeans for $38. it's great with a turtleneck or boots that you own.

so work it into winter. it's nice. it's a fresh trend that you can work on without spending the money. >> and some people think not the plaid with the floral, but there is the mixing and matching of text yours and patterns. >> exactly. find the similar colors to repeat and you're good. >> looks good on nancy. thank you, nancy. our next category is to reuse accessories. we're seeing you've got a great, bold necklace on today. and here on the mannequin we see some of the summer accessories, but these can actually help lighten some of the looks in the fall, right? >> yeah, it's all about the styling secrets. in the summer, we collect wooden beningl bangles, and you'll see it lightens up the color in the fall. so charcoal gray instead of black. keep it more natural. and we kept her nude pair of shoes just by adding a fishnet type of hosiery with it. >> darker type. >> yeah. go the opposite way. it's a new way to look at your

basics, especially for work, and reuse the accessories. >> and the statement necklace really is what everybody's wearing. the big trend for the fall. >> big statement necklace. >> all right. thank you so much, casey. next is to reinvent our neutrals. and you know, summer khakis, we all wear them, the white. >> it's a uniform. >> it's a uniform for a lot of us, but you can add things in to embellish your wardrobe. >> we often see the khaki and t-shirt with flip-flops in the summer, but you can really dress that up and move it into fall. i love this look on julie. we added a scarf from dillards, the plaid says autumn, add sparkle with the jewelry. this is a nice cord blazer. nice touch again. $44 from jcpenney, so very affordable. and we pulled her shoes out of storage. she said i love these shoes and really want to wear them. it dressed up the basics. >> and the khakis you can roll them up. >> and add a boot to cover. >> or maybe a tight. everything is accessible these

days. thoo thanks so much, julie. next category is to recycle brights. we all have that one, bright, bold dress in our closet, maybe more than one. >> yes. >> you say don't pack it away just yet. we can make it work for fall. >> we talk about the lbd as the little black dress. i like the little bright dress for fall. go the opposite way for the accent. with roesshida, we just added black. it takes another twist. it dresses us up for work or you can wear it out. this is $28 from francesca's collection. if you already own one or buy it on sale for $28, you can turn it into a sophisticated look. >> or add a cardigan. >> trench coat. >> it keeps the look longer. >> and pink is a big color for fall. there's just a lot you can do. i really want to hope that these looks inspire you to take something that you already own and look at that before you go shopping, because we really can cut costs that way. >> absolutely. let's bring all of the models out for one last look. you look great. thank you so much to all of you.

roshida looking great out of your page uniform that we usually see you in. very nice, ladies, thanks. and bobbie thomas, thanks to you. always check out bobbie's column in "the buzz" in "in touch weekly." coming up next, al's cooking up something delicious with giada de laurentiis right after this. well, hello there. that's what i'm talking about. (announcer) does your air greet you? say hello to new airwick imotion. it's the only scented oil with a motion sensor, that sees you and says hi back with a boost of fresh scent. when was the last time your scented oil greeted you? airwick imotion. airwick, it's good to be home. ♪ ♪ i got troubles, oh ♪ but not today ♪ 'cause they're gonna wash away ♪ ♪ they're gonna wash away ♪

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>> announcer: "today's kitchen" is brought to you by new dove body wash with nutrient moisture. this morning on "today's kitchen," we are cooking with giada. "today" contributor and italian chef giada de laurentiis, she is here to stir up some delicious desserts, and i have the fabulous task of helping her out. >> yes! i'm so excited. >> yes! so, it is august. you drive by these farm stands, and i mean, the baskets are overflowing right now. >> yes. kind of like our outfits. look how colorful we are today. >> yes, we are. >> so, what you want to do is look for vibrantly colored fruit. and you want to hold them and make sure they don't have, you know, marks and scrapes all over them. >> no soft spots. >> no soft spots, you know. >> what do you like right now? what is your favorite stuff going on right now? >> peaches, berries are very nice, and apricots.

i love apricots. >> so you're going to do some cooking. >> change it up a bit. obviously, the fruits are fresh, but when you buy a lot of them, you want to do something different. i use plums, apricots and peaches, lots of color, and i skewer them in water for about a half hour so they don't burn up on the grill. and i take the pan, inside or outside, whatever you want, and sprinkle sugar. just a sugary crust. >> i've brushed them with a little maple syrup a couple times. >> you can do that, too. >> you can do that? >> you can do that too. and spray the grill so it doesn't stick. >> it doesn't take long. >> five minutes. five minutes. >> both sides? >> i like both sides, yeah. and it warms the fruit through a little bit, tenderizes it with a sugary crust. so it's a nice treat, especially with kids, nice treat in the summertime. >> no fat and a little sugar. >> exactly. you can go that way. >> i split the table. >> and what i do with this one is, you see i have a little ice cream over there? >> yes.

>> i like to serve it with ice cream and i put them right over the ice cream. so, you've got a little treat in the thing. so, now -- >> you're going to make something special. >> we're going to switch places. what i'm going to do here is show you this little dessert, but before we do that, i found that a lot of people are intimidated by cutting mango. >> i do not know how to cut mango. >> most people don't. i'm going to show you today. so pick up your knife -- >> wasn't it chris ket yang, mango. >> mango, that's right. so take a sharp knife, cut the two ends off and set it upright. so now it doesn't roll around, okay? because you're always fearful it's going to move around. >> right. >> then i kind of peel it like you would if you were peeling an apple, and just kind of go between the flesh and the skin of the mango, just like this. now, everybody has their own way of doing it. some people like to cut the mango in four and then just kind of make little marks in it and peel it out. i find it's more difficult that way. >> are there different kinds of mangos? >> yes. >> because i find some are more fibery than others. >> depends where they're from.

some are sweeter than others. right now, any mango you're going to find is going to be really, really juicy and delicious. then move it like that, set it back upright, so it's solid. >> solid. >> it doesn't roll around anywhere. and just cut all along the pit. so, just kind of -- you can kind of feel where the pit goes and let the knife run -- >> if there's a little resistance, you're hitting the pit. >> correct. so just kind of cut all around the pit. then i just take it and you can do whatever you want with it. you can cut it in half and cut it in little cubes like we're going to do for my dessert here, my raspberry and mango in syrup. >> that's perfect. >> you all right there? >> fine. good. >> that's all good. you can just leave them. >> close enough. before someone gets hurt. >> you can eat this later. suck on this later. >> did you hear that? she told me to suck on this later. unbelievable! >> i meant put it in your mouth, gnaw on it. i meant it in a nice way. >> i'm sure you did. a nice way. >> you know, you don't want to waste fruit, right? >> mm-mmm, no.

>> then you cut it in cubes, all right? got it? >> yep. >> you can do mine, too, while i explain the rest. how's that? >> great. thank you. >> so, what i like to do is put the mango and raspberries aside and do some syrup. sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, two sticks, actually, and two annis pods. >> kind of spicy. >> well, it's kind of warm and spicy. this could be in the summer. you can make it, chill it, or do it in the wintertime warm with ice cream. in the summertime, i chill it. i basically make the prosecco syrup, make it thicker and then let it cool. >> how do we serve this? >> then i just spoon the fruit. you can do this with peaches and plums. this is just my favorite combination. let's see here. we'll do a little bit of the syrup right over there. and then -- >> a little whipped cream? >> a little whipped cream. in the summertime, i like whipped cream. in the winter time, i like ice cream. so it just depends. >> and lemon zest. >> the zest just to make it

colorful and pretty. and then serve. this is for you. >> very nice. thank you. thank you very much. giada de laurentiis. thank you so very much. >> you're welcome. happy birthday. >> oh, tomorrow. >> tomorrow, but yes, happy birthday. >> as a card, she's saying you can suck on this. we're back in a moment. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

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giada de laurentiis does it again. >> that's right. and guess who joined us? they're talking, i think, about michelle obama and the shorts. >> apparently, it's a big controversy. who knew? >> we talked about it a little bit yesterday when it got a little traction, then it just keeps getting more interesting. i can't believe there's all this hoo-ha. >> she's trying to say we started the whole thing. >> she's on vacation. >> she's a little bitter, but not much. >> there's no point in the discussion. she's on vacation.

>> james is in the makeup room. wonderful. >> shorts. >> shorts. speaking of shorts. >> it's our theme. >> with the same director who did that great movie for kids, "spy kids," so terrific. richard rodriguez. >> and natalie and i are doing a -- >> are we really doing it? >> yeah, we are. >> you're actually swimming? >> they're in training for it. >> in training right now. >> are they coming out to your house to do a little training? >> we are. >> yes, and i am going to be waving wito them with my cockta from the porch. >> you will be the cheerleader. >> everybody needs one of those. you know i'm highly medicated. i can't be doing that. >> okay, which one's natalie? which one -- >> swimming like that. >> hoda, that's really good, the little paddle. >> just like michael phelps. >> i don't know. >> i'm going to give her some of the little wings things. you can have the filotei. that's coming up in our hour, the big hour of the "today" show. >> the what? >> the big hour of the "today" show. >> she's medicated.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. a 74-year-old man remains at shock trauma after he was attacked in what police are calling a hate crime. it happened early yesterday morning as the victim and his wife were packing up their fishing gear at 4, said park in south baltimore for its -- for

to armas to park in south baltimore. the woman says that the man yelled racial slurs and then beat up her husband did this all this talk but police were able to track it down. -- stole his truck but police were able to track it down to one suspect is in custody. two years ago, a city crime camera captured this fight outside a convenience store. later that night, one of them got into another altercation where she fired a gun. without the valuable footage, they never would have been able to bring the suspect to justice.

>> let's look at the forecast. >> another muggy day on tap. we are looking for scattered thunderstorms to develop late in the afternoon. temperatures reach into the upper 80s and low 90s. a few of the under shrubs could be heavy. -- few of the thunderstorms could be heavy. by friday, a new storm system begins to move through. it will be a white starched to the weekend. -- wet start to the weekend. >> see you back here for 11 news at noon.

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