gorn. making waves. bermuda hunkers down as hurricane bill lashing its shores with high winds and big waves, and the u.s. braces for its first taste of the storm. manhunt. a a reality tv star and

suspected killer on the run. now authorities believe he fled the country. they say he's armed, dangerous and desperate. where is he now? and getting personal. one of the fastest women in the world facing serious questions about whether she's in fact a woman. "today's" saturday, august 22, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning. welcome to "today" on this saturday morning. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm amy robach. coming up, the latest on hurricane bill. >> watching bill about a week now. finally it's in the neighborhood. a dangerous category 2 storm with sustained winds near 105 miles an hour. bermuda is getting the worst of it now but the east coast, specific to watches and warnings

and dangerous rip currents expected from florida to new england all this weekend. coming up the latest and how it might affect all of us. also ahead this morning, unexpected good news in the housing market as sale of existing homes take a big leap. like most of the positive economic stories we hear lately, there is a catch. we'll tell what you that is coming up. >> always hate the catches. amy, we've all experienced flight delays. one here recently, people stuck on a plane all night long. >> with no food, i think. >> no food. apparently the crew had gone past flight hour, could no longer fly. the government taking action here. >> probably going to be welcome news to the folks stuck on that flight, and apparent think didn't have to happen the way it did. dames in our newscast in a few minutes. first, let's talk about hurricane bill battering bermuda and headed for the u.s. the weather channel's jim cantore, what's the latest? >> reporter: well, lester, we've gotting a four feet less of the

beach complicates of the wave action last night. another high tide cycle coming up at 10:30. amazing. look offshore here. we've got about 12 to 15-foot waves breaking and the tide's only coming up going through the morning. reports here on the island are obviously preliminary. we've had a lot of light debris that's come down. palm froms have come down. coconuts, things like that, a lot of leaf debris. thing us would expect. no type of structure damage what we expected. 95 miles an hour winds, bermuda made up of a lot of hills. the airport closed as was the causeway bridge. we expect that to preliminary open at 2:00 this afternoon, if they can get aircraft in. right now, no aircraft obviously here on the tine island of bermuda. the worst is past. we'll see the sun. the worst results, of course, the wave that comes in with the

next high tide. that will be the memory of bill. the loss of beach, because of the waves. back to you. >> jim cantore, thanks. for more on what we can expect of hurricane bill here in the u.s. you turn to nbc news meteorologist bill karins. the good bill, in this case. >> good morning. where jim cantore was located, and clearly on the east side of the circulation. the outer banks are here. you can see the storm well off the east coast, but waves are moving towards it. a strong category 2 right now making its closest path going to the outer banks. we have to watch what's going to happen further north. all beaches from new jersey, maryland, southward, outerbanks, today and then as the storm hits its closest path, tomorrow morning, about this time, cape c cod, the worst conditions in new england and going through the canadian maritime. as far as waves go, big concern,

putting on quite a show but you do not want 20 be in the water. 16 to 22-foot waves just off the outer banks increasing through new england and tomorrow is when the show will be on from cape cod down southward to the beaches of long island and new jersey. possible wave heights, we're talking 12 to 16-foot wave breaking on the coast, eight to ten feet. not to be in the water this weekend. unfortunately, end of the summer, not the best for anyone heading to the beach. >> see you back shortly with the rest of the national forecast. here amy. unexpecteded good news in the housing markets. sales of existing homes rose more than 7% in july, the biggest monthly increase in more than ten years. what's behind the sales surge and what does it mean for the economy? we have more on this. good morning, dianna rt good morning. it's based on the first-time home buyer tax credit and bargain basement prices but the bulk of the action is on the low end of the marketed.

>> how long has it been vacant? >> reporter: the bargain hunters are out in droves, low home prices and historically apractive affordability. realtors report home prices are down 23%, down 15% in the last year and foreclosures which rose to a new record again in the second quarter of this year are only pushing prices lower. >> buying a foreclosed home seems like a good deal, and we don't want to pass up an opportunity for a good deal. >> welcome to our foreclosure bus tour. >> reporter: in fact, one-third of all homes sold in july were foreclosed properties. >> now's a great time to buy a house. >> reporter: which is why maryland realtor bob is running bus tours of local foreclosures. >> you'll buy many times 10%, 20%, 30% maybe more beloan market. >> reporter: you can see it in july sales mart. homes below $100,000 zurpged 39%

from last yearbump up another $100,000, still in the positive, you 9% when you cross the quarter million, 2 impose south. higher the price the more sales drop off. for homes over $1 million, sales down 23%. over $2 million, down 32%. >> what we're seeing now is not really a true real estate recovery. >> reporter: because its not only foreclosures, a full one-third of july buyers were first-time buyers taking advantage of the $8,000 tax credit that spires this fall. >> no question it is helping the recovery and without it i think the recovery will take quite a bit longer. >> reporter: that's why realtors and builders are pushing for an extension of the home tax credit and want it bigger, broader and without it seeing the surge in sales turn in the other direction. >> speaking of that expiration, how likely is it we could see it extend, the tax credit extended for first time home buyers?

>> reporter: a very big push on capitol hill, realtors and home builders have a lot of power in washington, have been on it all summer, they'll pushing when congress gets back, expires november 30th. do get in on the tax credit you really have to sign a contract by september in order to close by november. so they'll be pushing hard come september and a lot of lawmakers want it, too. >> another catch which is fueling perhaps some of the sales is the amount of inventory on the market. where is that likely to stay? will it hold? will we see a lot of homes therefore buyers have a lot of options to get prices down when making the first offers? >> reporter: yes. inventory, very bloated root now. we saw the month supply, how long it would take to sell this amount of homes on the market stay the same. only because of the rise in the sales pace. we did see actual numbers of inventories rise in july and we expect it to continue to rise as those foreclosed properties keep coming on to the market. a lot of banks are actually holding on to foreclosed properties, because they don't want to flood the market and the

then push prices further, but as more and more properties continue to come on the market you have to have buyers out there. there are investors. again, we're seeing inventories far higher than historically. >> cnbc's diana oleics, thanks so much. coming up laters, advice for first-time home buyers, right now, here's lester. amy, thanks. president obama and family are getting ready for a week-long vacation on martha of vineyard and their arrival is creating a stir on an island that's seen its share of celebrities. ann thompson join is live from hyannis, massachusetts this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester. we're here at hyannis harbor at the dock where vacationers catch the ferry to martha's vineyard. the place of rugged beauty and this weekend of pride and excitement over the upcoming presidential visit. the invasion of martha's vineyard is under way.

black hawk helicopters overhead and washington, d.c. license plates roll off the ferry as the island prepares for a presidential close-up. the vineyards where the clintons vacationed in good times and bad will host president obama and his family. a visit residents hope will be their very own stimulus package. >> what we hope to see is that people will catch on to the buzz and excitement and the good economic news that's spreading across the world right now. we think we'll have a positive impact. >> reporter: bill says it's been a challenging summer at his offshore ale company. celebrating the obama vacation he's brewing a special beer and hoping the president last seen brink as bud light will try his ale. >> this is going to be a very approachable easy drinking style of beer. >> reporter: if he wants something more than 12 ounce, hoping the president comes back. during this 2007 vacation then senator obama quietly pumped ire herein. >> now if he comes in? >> well i think everybody would be -- >> reporter: even the island's

famous black dog knows there's a new dog in town. the family's vacation house will be here. >> it's a 28 acre property with 12 houses on it. i guess stay in a different one every night. >> reporter: former first lady jacqueline kennedy onassis vacationed here, spike lee, actors ted dances and mary steenburgen have homes here. some think of it as a celebrity sandbox, those who love the vineyards say it is a place you can really relax, even if you're president of the united states. boston law professor kim has been coming to the island since a child. >> we see that ferry, everything just sort of drops away. >> reporter: a place to forget that you'll always remember. now, for all the excitement on the island, this is expected to be a pretty low-key vacation for the first family. starting with tomorrow's

arrival, which is close to the press and the public. lester? >> ann thompson this morning, thank you and once again here's aim. the president's vacation comes at the traditional time, late summer, when congress is in recess, but with heath caree form still unresolved the president may not have a lot of time for relaxesing. joining us with more, the correspondent with politico. good morning. >> good morning. >> i think maybe this might be a thinking vacation for president obama as he tries to figure how he can get health care reform passed. republicans solidly against it, a rift among democrats with some key issues. what's the level of concern at this point at the white house about their chances guesting this through? >> very concerned. of course, this is the first agenda item the president work and he's really done by choice. a lot of the stuff he's done early in this administration was based on the economic collapse and things he felt he had to do. this is the first thing he's gone out and really wants to do and it's really in trouble now. the white house is wrestling with big questions about what kind of a bill do they want to

pass? do they want a bipartisan victory or defeat or a partisan victory and go with only democrats. very touchy time right now. >> if he goes by trying to get that bipartisan support, does the president risk losing support of his basic making compromises? >> he does. the further you reach out to republicans and folks on the conservative side, the democratic wing of party you lose liberals and the question here seems to be centersed on the public option. whether you'll have a national government-run option for health care. the more you go in that direction, the more conservatives and conservative democrats you lose and the more liberals you pick up. it's a balancing act and delicate and they're very busy in the white house counting noses on klim looking to see which package can win the most votes. >> talk about cash for clunkers. a wildly popular program that ends officially on monday. dealers have seen a big rise, eve hadn't to make hires to meet

the demand to get new cars out. now that it ends, interesting, because i believe there were $3 billion allocated for this. only spent about $2 billion. why are they imposing a deadline on monday? >> out of money. this thing has been so wildly popular. basically what's happening here is the government is giving away free money. people like that. everybody likes free money. this is going to be a very busy weekend for car sale, i imagine. that deadline is 8:00 p.m. eastern time on monday, and the advice from the white house here is that if you want to participate in this deal, it's a very good deal if you're trading in an old clunker right now. you have to do it in time to get the paperwork through by that 8:00 p.m. monday deadline, which means go ahead and do it this weekend. don't wait until monday, or monday night after work. you might not make the deadline. >> has this had any meaningful impact on the economy, is it too early to say? >> it is too early to say. we won't know in october, november, getting 9 car sales numbers in for the fall. some economists said basically the problem here is that you're

robbing car sales from september and october as people who were likely to make purchases then said, you know some? i'll go for it in august. moving the car sales around on the calendar not increasing total car sales overall. we'll have to wait and see whether there's a drop-off in car sales going into the fall before we know whether net would actually gain sales and gain traction here in the economy. >> thanks. appreciate it. >> thank you. and now once again here's lester. >> amy, thanks. to the hunt for a suspected killer which has gone international. ryan jenkins, reality tv show contestant, accused of killing his wife in california and then fled to canada. live in jenkins' hometown of calgary. good morning. >> lester, good morning. police here are turning up the heat searching for rhine jenkins on the ground, in the air and on the water. in fact, police went to the toronto airport yesterday, board add plane with jenkins' 8 x 10

picture, went down the aisle, pull off a passenger they thought was jenkins and it turned out not to be him. he was later released. he's accused strangling to death jasmine fiore, a 2-year-old swimsuit model. new video what police call a viewsome crime scene. her body was found stuffed in a suitcase, durched in a trash bin outside of los angeles, california. detectives say her fingers and teeth were missing. presumably an effort to delay the identification of her body. in fact, her body was so mutilated, jasmine fiore was identified through serial numbers on her breast implants. fiore last seen alive with ryan jenkins friday in san diego. he reported her missing the day she was found. ed two were married back in march and were said to have a very troubling relationship. in fact, jenkins had charged -- i'm sorry. fee our charged jenkins with domestic violence a case still

pending last weekend police believe jenkins began to make his way towards the canadian border where he is from. that, lester, of course, started this international manhunt. >> all right. with the update from calgary. miguel, thanks very much. 16 past the hour. time for a check of the morning's other headlines. for that are weurn to peter alexander over at the newsdesk. good morning. >> good morning to tu, aim pip lifter, good to see you and you at home. we begin in afghanistan, the presidential election votes still being counted. live in cobbkabul, we have the latest. richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, peter. the taliban which carried out 135 attacks on election day to try and disrupt the vote is continuing its campaign of intimidation. today election observers say that militants cut off the ink-stained fingers of two people who cast ballots last thursday. election officials are still tabulating votes saying they are starting now to bring the

ballots which were cast nationwide here into kabul where they are being recounted. they say we should have preliminary official results saturday. peter? >> richard engel in kabul. thanks. and moammar gadhafi met with the bomber of pan am. the first time they've met since the lockerby bomber was released from a scottish prison thursday. freed by scottish authorities on compassionate grounds because he has terminal cancer. the transportation department released audio recordings of a nightmare for travelers at the rochester american min airport earlier in the month. 47 passengers stranded overneat on the tarmac in a small express jet operated by continental air line. the pilot tells the dispatcher the terminal in rochester is closed. >> you're not doing too good tonight, huh? >> no, no.

we've -- it's not a good situation. >> there's no food and they're just getting really unhappy. the problem, too, is that the terminal closed here. so we can't even get to the terminal. the people -- if they could get off into the terminal. >> the passengers were stuck on the tarmac six hours turning the trip into a 14 13-hour ordeal. and officials criticized the airlines for rue refusing to let passengers inside the terminal because security had gone home for the night. that claim is disputed. officials found and alligator, three-foot long reptile, spotted tanning itself on a rock thursday. animal control officers believe the gator was likely someone's pet that made its way through the sewer system to the river and lester and amy when it came out the first thing it said to them was, "which way to miami?" >> does that mean someone threw

it in the toilet? like a bad movie. >> trust me, if it hadn't been a chicago woirnt it would. >> ooh. thank you, peter jshs as promised nbc meteorologist bill karins back with a check of the national forecast for us. forest or forecast. >> forecast in the forest. talking about bill once again. in bermuda, brushing cape cod tomorrow, possibly east maine and one of the bigger stories today a slight risk of strong >> a few people woke up to early-morning thunderstorms. more thunderstorms on the way this afternoon. mostly cloudy skies with afternoon thunderstorms. some of which will be heavy at

that's your weekend forecast. amy? >> bill, thank you. now to a new report that puts man's journey to the moon in jeopardy. nbc news learned that nasa plans to travel to the moon and beyond could be scrubbed and that could mean not only an end to one giant leap for mankind it could put tens of thousands of people out of work. here's nbc's tom costello. >> wait a minute. we only have 125 degrees now. >> reporter: since the last astronauts walk and the moon nearly 37 years ago, nasa's focus has been on space shuttles and spaceships close to earth. the "columbia" disaster in 2003 changed all that. >> returning to the moon is an important step for our space program. >> reporter: a year after "columbia" president bush ordered the space shuttle ground fld 2010 and nasa focused on a new generation of rockets and spacecraft to carry astronauts back to the moon. the first lunar megs set for

2020. now all of that is in jeopardy and it's all about dollars and cents. >> it's very difficult to find an exploration scenario that actually fits with this very restrictive budget guidance. >> reporter: former astronaut sally ryde is on a white house panel convinced the moon will have to wait. getting there by 2020 would cost at least another $3 billion to $5 billion each year, but killing the moon mission would mean losing highly skilled jobs. nbc's jay barbree. >> right now nasa has 48,000 people -- 58,000 employees. ed dropping of his program will reduce that by half. >> reporter: anxious to save jobs lawmakers are pushing to extend the shuttle flight and save the new aires rocket program. as of 2011 nasa will have no spacecraft to carry astronauts to the space shuttle instead relying on the russians and maybe commercial rockets, but then what? without a moon mission, where does nasa go?

the man who ran nasa under president bush said giving up on the moon would be a mistake. >> it's about what you value, and if america is going to continue to be a forward-looking, exploring, pioneers nation or not. >> we set goals and amendment to provide the funding to achieve them. this is not a case study of excellence in national leadership. >> reporter: with "discovery" sitting on the pad for tuesday's launch, nasa's future has never been less certain. tom costello, nbc news, washington. and the white house issued this response to the report, "the committee hasn't yet finalized its work or delivered the final report. once we receive the report the administration will move swiftly to review the thoughts put forth by the committee but at the end of the day the president will make the decision, not a committee." be right back. first, this is "today" on nbc.

>> good morning. i'm kate amara. it is 7:25. here is a look at some of the stories we're covering this morning. baltimore city police are investigating what could become the city's 143rd homicide of the year. around 9:30 this night officers were called to jefferson and north collington avenue for a man who had been shot. because of the seriousness of the injuries, investigators are on the case. no word on what led to that violence. >> a baltimore city boy has been indicted in the murder of a 27-year-old mother of two. shante ellis was shot while sitting in her car outside the club house lounge last month.

according to court documents, 16-year-old maurice lamont evans walked up to her car, walked up to the driver's door and fired 15 rounds. police say she was shot several times in her stomach. prosecutors say evans will be arraigned in september. >> police are investigating what is believed to be a racially motivated beating. 76-year-old james privet was attacked as he and his wife were fishing early friday morning. the teens, according to police, along with 28-year-old kevin lockner fled in an s.u.v. but crashed it a short time later. privet was released later wednesday night. >> nancy forester was been terminate -- terminated.

she said she'd been ordered to violate civil service laws by terminating a well respected african-american civil service defender for no reason. o'malley said he would meet with miss forester but did

>> a few scattered rain showers pushing its way over delaware. a wider look now at some of the scattered thunderstorms continuing to push their way through. more is going to be on the way for today. some of those scattered thunderstorms with a mostly cloudy day. 83 to 87 degrees.

a few storms could be heavy at times, and we have the potential for flash flooding in some locations. your forecast shows a few lingering rain showers and temperatures in the mid 80's again. upper 08's for monday, but with much less humidity, we continue to dry out for the rest of the week. temperatures in the low 80's. >> thank you, jim. thank you for joining us. we'll have another live update for you in 25 minutes. we are back on a saturday morning, this 22nd of august, 2009. you see some umbrellas out there. it might be a little wet out on the plaza but we have a sunny crowd to keep us economy.

inside studio 1a, i'm amy robach along with lester holt. coming up, casey anthony is back in court. >> appeared friday for a hearing. her defense team revealed what may be their strategy. coming up, we'll tell what you they say is evident that proves casey anthony did not kill her daughter. plus, a controversial champion. a female runner so fast some people think she is actually a he. we're going to bring you the details on that in just a few minutes. >> can't imagine anything more humiliating than going through that whole process. first, hurricane bill may be hundreds of miles away but it expected to make its presence known along the east coast of the u.s. today with potentially dangerous waves and rip currents. nbc's ron allen has more. >> reporter: just outside new york city, it's been one of the deadliest summers anyone can remember at the beach. six drownings in the past two weeks. with hurricane bill approaching, waves already over eight feet and the threat of powerful rip

currents, public beaches will be closed. the coast guard is watching and warning. >> we're not expecting winds over 34, 35 knots. expecting heavy surf this weekend. >> reporter: seeing strong rib currents. the deadliest of a surfer's fate, pushing swimmers out to sea, 80% of the re cueses and over 100 drownings per year. the waves on the beach, the surge prushs out make a channel. a strong flow of water pushing away from shore, often faster than aolympic splinter. >> stronger rip currents going out from the beach underneath the water. >> reporter: in palm beach, florida, rip currents pull add swimmer some 200 yards away from the beach. by the time rescuers reached him and brought limb ashore, it was too late. >> like this, until they got there, and he was under water. so -- not much you could do. >> reporter: if caught in a rip current, experts suggest stay

calm and swim parallel to the shore and then in, not directly back to the beach. >> anywhere between 10 and 20 yards wide in most cases. to turn and try to swim in is like trying to swim upstream the whole time. >> reporter: with a hurricane on the way, from florida to maine, there will be warnings when it's best to stay out of the water. ron allen, nbc news, new york. and as hurricane bill steams up the atlantic, the closest its expected to come to the u.s. is off the coast of cape cod, massachusetts. the weather channel's is on nauset beach this morning, good morning, jeff. >> reporter: good morning, lester, yeah, beaches are closed as far as people going in the water. that isn't keeping surfers from headed out. you just heard, the danger of rib currents is extremely high and high surf advisories are on up and down this beach expecting waves eight to 12 feet coming through this afternoon, building throughout the day and probably

coming, starting to back off a little heading into the day tomorrow as the storm passes by. a lot of onlookers coming down to see the hisurf just out of curiosity. most, except for a few surfers are staying off the water. >> getting rain or just the wind and surf? >> reporter: i think we're going to probably end up with just mostly the wind from it and the high surf. probably won't be much rain with it. maybe just passing light rain during the morning tomorrow. mostly a wave action kind of thing as bill passes by. >> jeff march oh thanks for that report. and nbc meteorologist bill karins is out on the plaza with a look at your forecast. good morning again, bill. >> good morning to you. everyone out here, umbrellas are up for some. light rain. and this rain is not from bill. this is a humid, tropical mass sitting over the northeast. birthdays out here. your name? >> elizabeth. >> how old are you? >> 10. >> your sign says, where's al? what do you think al's doing this morning? >> i don't know.

>> the covers pulled up, feet hanging out the end the bed, maybe? i i >> a few scattered rain showers trying to push their way through the eastern shore. more scattered rain showers and thunderstorms on their way. temperatures reaching to the mid and upper 80's.

if want to get your local forecast or even the updates on hurricane bill throughout the weekend, go to weather.com. lester? >> bill, thank you. coming up next, why casey anthony's honors say she could not be getty of killing her 2-year-old daughter. what was said in court, coming up next. what was said in court, coming up next. first these messages. every gallon. every shoe. every book. every cereal. well, maybe not every cereal. but every stem. every stitch. every tune. every toy. pretty much everything you buy can help your savings account grow because keep the change from bank of america rounds up every debit card purchase to the next dollar and transfers the difference from your checking to savings account. it's one of the many ways we make saving money in tough times a whole lot easier.

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murder case against casey anthony, the florida woman accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter caylee and dumping her fwhoed a wooded area not far from her home. at a hearing friday casey's lawyers offered a clue at what her defense team's strategy may be. nbc's kerry sanders has the story. >> reporter: accused murderer casey anthony wiped tears from her eye as her father testified friday. the blockbuster in court, the defense first on the record statement why casey could not be guilty of killing letter 2-year-old daughter. >> the body or the remains of caylee anthony were placed there after casey anthony was locked up in the orange county correctional facility. there is substantial evidence, and that proves, your honor, her innocence. >> reporter: prosecutors believe caylee's lifeless body was dumped there long before her mother was arrested. >> if you walk up on her little

body. >> reporter: coordinated 4,000 volunteers. equusearch produced air yale photos showing bright green follow age proving, they say, there was deep water in those woods and the 32 volunteers passed with searching this grid were stopped about 200 yards from where caylee's bones were eventually discovered. >> the exact area where she was found anywhere from 12 to 18 inches under water in the exact area she was found. >> reporter: at one point, a team from california bailed casey out of jail. put up a half million dollar bond and then for nine days members of that gang of four were with casey around the clock. prosecutors want to use anything and everything casey told them to convict her, but the defense team says all four signed this privacy document. >> i never signed anything like that. and during the time that i spent with casey, i in no way ever

made perception to her that i was a member of the defense team. >> reporter: prosecutors have more than three hours of taped depositions with members of the bail bondsman team. so far what each says casey told them remain as secret. for "today," kerry sanders, nbc news, orlando. detail bondsman tony is a dia joins us and also msnbc legal analyst susan. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> tony, i begin with you. you heard the defense say you were part of their team pup say they were wrong. why do you think they're making this assertion? >> oh, i think the defense is doing everything they can to try to protect casey and what she might have said or portrayed to us. i'm 23409 saying they're completely wrong but i think there's a lot of inaccuracies as to what the defense team is accusing us of and i think it's important that i protect the integrity of our group. >> how would you describe your role with casey anthony and her

team? >> my role is strictly out of the bail bondsman as opposed to the bond. in a meeting with jose, not only did i try to separate myself from jose, because basically i'm not allowed to be a member of the defense, and i also tried to separate myself from tracy and my uncle leonard, because i -- if something went wrong with something they may have done or portrayed themselves i will to keep myself completely separate from that. >> you spent time going to court with casey in her attorney the office, back at her home. what were your impressions of her? >> i never spent time with casey other than the two hours that i spent at her home that night. i never did anything as far as transferring her back to and from her attorney's office. but from what i saw of casey and what i observe, she's a nice girl. she's -- she seemed to care. she was very emotional, and it was a very trying time for her. released from jail after 30 days. a difficult time in the anthony

household that night. >> do you or your team have information would help the prosecution? seems as though that's how they're making it look? >> i don't think it's a very, fair for me to speculate at this time what information tracy leonard might have. as for me, i don't think there's a lot i could offer. i was basically the bail bondsman. the only night i met casey was when she was released from jail and had paperwork, that was about it. >> let me bring you into this. why is whether or not tony or members of his team were tech c technically part of the defense important in this case? >> prosecution wants to need whatever they need to use to may be favorable at trial. bail bondsman claiming with work privilege is ridiculous and it's not going to work. whether there is anything, i have no idea. subpoenaed, called at witnesses and be forced to testify. >> also talk about the big news from yesterday's hearing. the defense suggesting that

caylee's body was dumped after casey anthony was already behind bars. is that provable and obviously what the impact would be then to the case if they were able to prove that? >> two points interesting about that. even if they are able to prove that the body was dumped after she was behind bars, i don't think that proves her innocence, because she could have still been responsible for the death of her child, and the body been placed there after she was incarcerated. in other words, where the body was found may not be where she was murdered. so that doesn't necessarily prove her innocence. i also think that there may be a forensic debate about where and when and how the child was murdered, but i don't think that that necessarily exonerates her. the debate will be interesting but i don't think that's a slam dunk defense and i think it's interesting the defense is saying, oh, we're only going to try this case in court, yet they're leaking to the media, here's our defense. she's innocent. that's a little cheeseball. >> speaking to the defense and

what you've seen so far, bringing out this issue of the bounty hunters. bringing up, she couldn't have possibly dumped the body. what does thatful you about the state of the defense right now? >> well, they're doing everything they can to mount a vigorous defense of this client, which is their job. they are trying their case in the media, what they say they're not doing. that's disingenuous. grasping at straws. they're not. doing the best they can for their client. they have a tough case. she's already been convicted in the court of public opinion. they're trying to undo the court of public opinion. of course, this case will be flied a court and we need to see what the evidence is. >> susan and tony, thank you both. appreciate your time this morning. >> you bet. >> thank you. coming up next, she is a world champion runner, but is she really a woman? the questions and a controversy surrounding one of the fastest women in the world, that's after these messages. still out of line? are then you may not be seeing the whole picture.

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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 a south africa runner is facing accusations she had an unfair advantage in race and the controversy has nothing to do with the usual culprit, performance enhancing drugs. nbc's stephanie gosk has details. >> reporter: just beat the competition in the 800 meter world championship, she crushed them. the 18-year-old from south africa, a relative unknown before this year, ran so fast last wednesday, it didn't take

long for officials and fellow athletes to suggest she might have an unfair advantage. >> it's suspicious that something abnormal about that. and it's very reasonable, i think, at that moment, you look into it. >> reporter: guilty of doping, but humors are swirling she may be guilty of being a man. >> born a man, i have no idea about that. hoop better than -- i don't give a damn about it. >> reporter: the awif launched a gender investigation. it's not as simple and clear-cut as one may think. >> we like to think of people as being male or female, and i see there are some people that actually fall in between and it's difficult to actually assign. >> reporter: the investigation will take days even weeks to complete. one doctor put a full team of experts running tests. they're outraged what has become

a very public, very humiliating process. >> -- any kind of claim to be born the way she is born. >> reporter: in the rural south african village where semenya grew up, neighbors consider her a hero. as the birth certificate clearly states a woman as well. >> translator: she stopped racing, that's why they make up the stories. she is resilient. >> reporter: she's not the first female athlete to face this scrutiny. at the atlanta summer games, eight women kicked out for failing a gender test but reinstated after further physical exams opinion today the championship hangs in the balance. >> at the end of this investigation, it is found is not a female, it will be withdrawn, her name. >> reporter: the gold med is hardly the only thing at stake. stephanie gosk, nbc news.

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still to come on "today," as we reported, home seams on the low end of the market surging back in a big way. what you need to know before you make the leap to buying your first home. plus all the latest on the international manhunt for a reality show star accused of a horrific crime. where is he now? more on that after these where is he now? more on that after these messages. all free clear's powerful clean is free of the ingredients you'll find in most detergents: no perfumes... no dyes... no preservatives... free clear is specially designed for people with sensitive skin and has powerful stainlifters, so you can trust it to get the job done right. free clear is the number-one detergent recommended by dermatologists... so, for a pure clean, all free clear is all you need.

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[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] >> good morning. i'm kate amara. here is a look at some of the stories we're following for you. baltimore county police are investigating a shooting which could become the city's 143rd homicide this year. officers were called to the intersection of jefferson street and north collington avenue for reports a man had been shot. because of the serious necessary of the injuries, homicide detectives have been called. no arrests have been made so far. >> a baltimore city boy indicted friday in the murder of shan tesm ellis. the mother of two was shot and killed last month while sitting in her car outside the sunset lounge. court documents allege maurice evans walked up to her door and

fired 16 rounds into her car. >> two teens being held without bail for the beating of an elderly fisherman. zachary watson and emanuel miller have been charged with first-degree attempted murder. james privet was attacked when he and his wife were fishing. he was rereas leased from shock trauma wednesday night. >> the mtsb has released a report on a carol county plane crash earlier this month. witnesses told federal inspectors the plane's engine stopped before the crash. the report says the fuel cast contaminated and fuel lines were corroded. letty williams and a man were killed in that crash. >> when we come back, we'll

>> storms falling apart as they push their way into delaware. that's good news, but not great news. we are anticipating more thunderstorms later this afternoon. we can see the wider picture. the bulk of the heaviest activity to new jersey and delaware. more thunderstorms across northern virginia and more will be on the way. all this humidity we have dealt with the last few days has to go somewhere, and unfortunately it has -- it will come in the form of rain showers and thunderstorms. mostly cloudy, 83 to 87 degrees.

some storms can be heavy at times, so there is a bit of a flash flood concern. lingering rain showers at 86 degrees. we start to dry out, but unfortunately it is on a monday. 87 degrees and mostly sunny. we'll continue that trend through thursday with one other round of storms on friday. >> thank you, jim, and thank you for joining us. we'll have another live update for you in 25 minutes. good morning. bracing for bill. the season's first hurricane lashes bermuda with big waves as people leer in the u.s. get a warning bill is on the way. manhunt. the search for a reality tv contestant and suspected killer. authorities say he is armed,

dangerous and desperate. where is he now? and grounded. while airline passenger, packed into increasingly crowded flights, why are all of these planes just sitting out in the desert empty? good morning, everyone. welcome back to "today" on a saturday morning. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm amy robach. coming up in this half how the latest on hurricane bill. it now a dangerous category 2 storm with sustained winds near 105 miles per hour and right now battened down in bermuda as bill make it's its closest approach to the island lashing beaches with high waves. coming up, a live report from bermuda and tell you how the u.s. will feel the impact starting today. >> might want to skip the trip 209 beach today. also this morning, the latest on the international manhunt for reality tv contestant suspected of mudder. the body of 28-year-old jasmine

fiore found a week ago today but so badly mutilated it took days to identify her. meantime, her ex-husband, ryan zander jenkins has gone missing, believed to have slipped into canada, his native country. coming up, the latest on the search. also this morning, talking real estate. first timers are jumping in. listen up, we'll bring you important advice that could keep from you making big mistakes. >> lots to get to this hour. first to hurricane bill, right now lashing bermuda, high winds, big rains, the weather channel's jim cantore joins frus bermuda's el beau beach. what's the latest there? >> reporter: elbow beach, missing four feet of sand. good news, looks like with the worst of the storm passing by to the northwest, this high tide cycle comes in over the next hour or two, not the same wave action as last night crashing over this 15 to 20-foot sea

wall, that's what took a lot of the beach away. we're hearing isolated power outages. no major strubble damage to speak of. a lot of debris. palm frommes, the tropical plants, missing leaves as a result of the wind and unofficial reports of winds gusting to 95 miles an hour on top of the hills. knocked out power, no question. most winds below hurricane force, 50, 65 miles an hour and those slackening off a bit. most of the heavy rain came last night. right now a nice breeze through here and you can see the ocean. very agitated and continues to roll the waves in. another high tide cycles determining the outcome of the beaches. as we expected, lester, a glance and blow to bermuda headed back to the u.s. back to you. >> jim cantore, thanks. for more on hurricane bill, where it's headed thousand will affect folks here in the u.s., turn to meteorologist bill

karins. good morning. >> everyone wants to know, is bill going to hit new england or possibly maine? it does not look like that's the case. safely stays offshore. that's the wind, also the rain. the waves from the storm, the storm is huge. it's close enough to the outer banks and southern new england those waves are already moving onshore. it is going to be sdangerrous today. the big headline, red alirt, from the beaches of the outerbanks to the bell march virginia and into new england, not the time to be in the water. as far as the forecast, you can see it looks like the storm will still have the worst impact up around halifax, through nova scotia, towards st. john's, sunday afternoon into monday. friends up in canada, they're the ones that will probably see the worst of the downed trees and power outages. as far as waves go, be careful today in the outer banks. an impressive sight from the dune, down not in the water. we could see waves crashing onshore 10 to 15-foot waves. serious thing you don't usually

see on the eastern seaboard. ruin a lot of people's beach weekends, amy but at least it will be safe. back to you. >> bill, thanks. important advice. see you back here shortly for the rest of today's weather. first another check of the headlines and say good morning again to peter alexander at the newsdesk. >> good morning to you. good morning to you at home. federal drug agents raid add beverly hills pharmacy in connection with the ongoing michael jackson death investigation. looking for evidence that prescription drugs were supplied illegally. agents left that pharmacy after five hours with at least one box of records. south carolina governor mark sanford took nearly three dozen flights on private planes he did not report according to an associated press investigation. sanford's staff says he never reported the flights because they were paid for by longtime friends or political groups. state law requires gifting be disclosed. sanford has been under scrutiny after admitting he had an affair with a woman in argentina. the search continues for a

former wife of a former police officer, drew pierson. spent friday looking through wetlands south of chicago. drew peterson is in jail awaiting trial for the murder of his third wife, kathleen savio, he says he did not kill savio and claims he had nothing to do with stacy's disappearance in 2007. and finally, his name is rocky and as you'll see, the name certainly fits. georgia firefighters had to rescue this little black lab after he fell seven feet into a drainage ditch. how cute is he? rescuers are now looking to find a safe new home for rocky. i'm guessing it won't be long with a face like that adorable! >> a cutie. thank you. another check of the weather with nbc meteorologist bill karins. good morning. >> good morning to you, amy.

>> a few people waking up to scattered rain showers and thunderstorms earlier this morning. we're going to continue with that chance as we go through the afternoon and evening hours. scattered storms and a mostly cloudy sky. 83 to 87 degrees. the latest weekend forecast and on hurricane bill. lester? a reality tv show contestant

accused of a brutal crime, ryan alexander jenkins last heard from one week ago today when he reported his ex-wife jasmine fee our missing. her mutilated body was discovered stuffed into a suitcase. now the trail leads to the suspect's native canada. nbc's miguel is in calgary this morning with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: lester, good morning. police here are intensifying the search for ryan jenkins. last night went to the toronto airport, board add plane and pup add passenger off of it, bust it was not their suspect. ryan jenkins, the smooth-talking reality show contestant and now the face of an international manhunt. a murder suspect who police say is on the run. detectives believe he drove 1,000 miles from los angeles to northwest washington state. in a small coastal town they found his car and his boat. it appears he made a run for canada, where he grew up and where his family still lives.

>> he's a fugitive and he's on the run from murder charges. so if he's armed, we believe he's armed. he is dangerous. he's disparate. >> reporter: jenkins is wanted for killing 28-year-old swimsuit model jasmine fee our who he married in march. on saturday her naked body was found sufficient stuffed in a suitcase, stuffed in a trash bin in orange county, california. a grisly crime scene, the body so mutilated the victim had to be identified by the serial numbers on her breast implants. >> had to use fingers and teeth removed. >> reporter: no sightings of jenkins since saturday when he reported for a horry missing. >> hirs purpose to get out of the united states, perhaps where he thinks either his parents or friends will help him or he'll have the ability to hide out. >> reporter: a man who sought fame and is now the prime suspect in a grisly murder. police are offering a $25,000

reward for any information that leads to the arrest of ryan jenkins. lester, we should note here in canada they will not extradite in a death penalty case, but the district attorney in orange county said right now that is not on the table. >> miguel, thank you. the criminal profiler pat brown joins frus washington. good morning. good to see you. >> good morning, lester. >> the fact a killer methodically removed easily identifiable features from fiore suggests this is beyond a crime of passion. are we looking at a psychopath. someone who has killed perhaps before or might kill again? >> definitely if he did this, definitely a psychopath, no we about it. the simple fact he would brutalize a woman and strangle her puts him in a psychopath cot gore anyway. people talk about crimes of passion and say, well, he was a great guy but went nuts because he got jealous and strangled his wife or girlfriend to death, and i say there is no such thing as a crime of passion. only a crime that you will carry out if the opportunity presents

itself. and if we're nishgs normal people, i don't care how mad we get, we don't do that kind of thing. he was always a psychopath. could he kill again? absolutely. people want to be careful. he is dangerous. >> showed resourcefulness. driving to the border, sneak ago cross the border on foot. is this a kind of individual that could survive, continue to survive, without outside help? >> well, i kind of doubt. it he's not a survivalist type. shays city boy, a pretty boy, used to a lot of money. used to being able to some mooz his way through thing. more likely he'll try to get ahold of money somehow and might use this family if they're willing to cooperate or use other way. change his looks and got a little money, hide out with some woman who will have no clue who he is subpoena people -- have to get out in and let people know he may change his looks to sliver around until he hopes to escape canada and get to a country far away where he can live a life again and not be

able to be extradite to the united states. >> anyone who helps him could face prison, it was said. this is a guy, if i read the story loosely, he had some power over fiore. certainly had some charm. is this the kind of guy you would expect perhaps would find another woman and use her to help stape away from the law? >> there's always those women out in. amazing when you find out he did have somebody, two or three women that helped him out pup think what in the world were they thinking? but he is in a sense, charming and knows how to use that. and fee our, i think the problem was he was a millionaire. he had money. and when women meet up with men with money they kind of go crazy and my gosh, look what this represents. i'll be on fancy jets in paris having vacations and forget when you look at that person's personality and take their time and see whether this person is actually an honest, decent person, and not extremely jealous and controlling and thinking you're a possession. >> pat, hi hit her at one point.

they married briefly. the marriage was annulled but you look at a case like this and it raises questions about abusive relationships and why women go back in this kind of case, and what is the answer? >> i would say just what i said. they see the positive and think that outweighs the negatives. if this guy was working down at the local gas station i don't think she would have stayed around long. the fact was, he had money. money is a powerful romantic aphrodisiac. i think that's why women do that. other women stay because they're stuck, have no place to go, no money, can't get a job, don't know what to do about the children and think things will get better. what they don't understand is anybody who will punch you out and threaten you is a violent person and extraordinarily dangerous. >> pat brown, appreciate you coming on and sharing your insight. we'll be back after these messages. my cholesterol and other risk factors... increased my chance of a heart attack. i should've done something.

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month-to-month increase in more than ten years. a third of those home buyers lured into the market for the very first time attracted by low prices and a tax incentive benefit set to expire soon. >> this is what i like. >> reporter: jasmine is looking to find a place of her own. >> clean bathroom. grouting's good. >> financial hi for me it's the right time. i've had enough time to save up money. >> reporter: the 25-year-old believes the time is right to bir her first home. >> government's offering a tax credit. one of the first reasons, and also the market is in the right state for me to buy something i could get for less money than i probably could get in the past years. >> reporter: jasmine is eligible for an up to $8,000 tax credit the government is offering to first-time home buyers. >> about $8,000 credit expires december 1, 2009. i can't pick a better time in my 43 years. the best time for first time owners, absolutely without

question. >> reporter: diane has been in new jersey real estate business more than 40 years says it's a win-win situation right now for first timers. >> never seen the inventory we have to choose from, plus really low rates right now. >> reporter: low rates and a tax credit are what prompted these to to start looking for their first home. >> look at the options in our price range and determine what would be the best value. >> reporter: according to a new national survey, affordability is driving more than two-thirds potential buyers into the housing market. >> the rent right now are exceeding what the mortgage payments would be. so why went if you can get in these properties and own them? >> reporter: a sentiment first-time buyers like jasmine agreed with. >> i would rather spend money on a mortgage than rent. it's definitely nerve-racking but no matter what happens, if lose my job or anything, financially i feel secure enough that i would be okay. >> mike is here with advice for

first-time buyers. good morning. >> good morning. >> seems like by that piece, this is a great time to buy, especially in you're a first-time buyer? >> no doubt about it. absolutely an outstanding time to buy in this market. amy, i'll be honest. inventory is at an all-time high. really just a question of supply and demand. i think that first-time home buyers are in a position now to go out and get great deals around pord things they never could have gotten a few years ago. >> tips for people heading out the door. first, make sure you have a lender? >> absolutely. listen, this is a really important part of the entire process. i'll tell you why. a lender is going to give you an idea of what price range you should shop in. you don't want to look at things you can't afford. the other thing that is really important about that part of the process is they're going to let you know what that monthly payment is. it will allow first-time home buyers to make a decision based on this. >> how much are first tymers expected to put down in terms of a down payment janchts good question. minimum, 3.5% if doing an fha

loan. more conventional loans require a greater down payment. however the general theme to this is that banks have learned you've got to have a little money in the game. they know that people are defaulting on really bad loan products they did in 2005. so they expect people to save their money. >> a hire standard out there. you also say shop around for the right real estate agent. what should you be looking for? >> it's very important that you pick someone who fits your personality and your goals. a good realtor is going to really edukate the first-time home buyer before they put nem their car and show houses. you want somebody who will fight on your behalf. >> also you say it's important to do your homework online first. why is it so important, especially if you're looking for your first home? >> the internet, like everything else, has changed real estate forever. you have the opportunity to go out there, because there's such great information, you just need

to seek it out. you can find out about schools and neighborhoods. and i think that the other thing that really is good, virtual tours have gotten so amazing at this point. it would allow a first time buyer to knock out property they don't need to go see just by looking at it online. >> once you do go out and look at properties, your suggestion, rate each home and never put down an offer unless you've gone for a second look. what should you be looking for? >> well, i'll tell you this. i usually ask my clients to try to write home on a one to ten scale. one the least, ten the most. they'll find at the end of the day they've got a pretty easy system to figure which house is for them. then what i ask them to do, go home, sleep on it. let's see it again before we make an offer. >> you mentioned inventory. a large inventory out in. when you're looking to put don the offer, are there incentives you should expect on thing us wouldn't have been annal to get beforehand? >> absolutely. the market changed. far worst than buyers need

sellers. you get a good agent and make a fair offer you can expect they'll give closing costs. >> and what about sitting on the fence thinking the market will go lower? how can you gauge where it is and if you should go for it now? >> i think trying to wait for the bottom of the market is probably a wait that is a mistake. i think you never really know where the bottom is until it's after actually started to recover. so the best move is to get edukated, find a house that you like and then move forward. if you stay in it for a protracted period of time, you are not going to lose money. >> thanks. this is "today" on nbc.

still to come on "today," flights so crowded. why are all ever these planes just sitting out in desert? plus, destinations for a relaxing and affordable labor day weekend vacation.

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>> good morning. i'm lisa robinson. here's a look at our top stories. baltimore county police are investigating a shooting which could become the city's 143rd homicide this year. officers were called around 9:30 last night with reports that a man had been shot. due to the seriousness of the injuries, homicide detectives are investigating. >> a 16-year-old baltimore county boy was indicted in the murder of chante ellis. she was shot while sitting in her carr. court documents allege maurice lamont evans walked up and shot her if her car. >> two teenagers being held for the beating of an elderly man.

zackary watson and emanuel miller were charged with attempted first-degree murder. james privott was attacked while fishing in fort armistead park. >> ans nancy s. forester has been fired. in a statement she claimed she had been ordered to violate civil service laws in terminating a well respected african-american public defender for no reason. governor o'malley said he met with forester but did not comment on her firing. comment on her firing. need a lift? hey buddy, i appreciate the ride, you know. no problem. ♪ mind if i take a shortcut? yeah, sure. ♪ i knew the subaru legacy was the smart choice...

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>> sunshine right now and lingering showers pushing their way into delaware at this point. more rain headed on the way later this afternoon. take a look right now, scattered thunderstorms expected for later today. mostly cloudy sky. 83 to 87 degrees. some of those rain showers could be heavy at times. a repeat of what we saw yesterday. all of this moisture we dealt with, it has to go somewhere, and it is going to be going back in the form of scattered rain showers. a line of rain showers and thunderstorms pushing its way through areas of new jersey and delaware. a few scattered rain showers still now farther down to the south, mainly throughout northern vara and west virginia. and with a little sunshine we're getting right now, there is a slight risk of seeing severe

thunderstorms. the biggest threat from that is going to be the potential for heavy rain and also gusty winds. we have had so much wind, the ground is soft, even the potential for trees falling down. so we have to watch out for that. more on your full forecast coming up at 9:00. >> fas for joining us. "11 news saturday morning" continues in 25 minutes. we are back on this saturday morning, august 22, 2009 washgts look at faithful crowd gathered outside on the plaza to spend the morning with us. man is it ever humid out here! >> i wanted to -- put the

camera -- >> my hair's frizzing as i speak. i'm amy robach along with lester holt. can you believe it? looks different than it looked five minutes ago. talking about where planes go to die. >> yeah. you know, when's the last time you saw this on an airplane? >> never. >> they cut back flights. this where all the planes are going. we found them parked out in a desert in arizona. we'll tell you what's going to happen to them and what this says about the larger economy coming up. also coming up, we're going to talk about keeping your eyes, ears and teeth health pip tell you what you need to do to keep the important body parts in tip-top shape. >> somebody's phone is ringing. whose phone is that? is it yours? excuse me. excuse me. excuse me. you're interrupting our newscast. can you just hang on one second? no problem. i'm sorry. put them on hold there. anyway, where were we?

labor day. easy budget friendly getaway locations that will help you get rested and ready for fall. i'm sorry. >> just made their day. >> okay. >> probably a good -- she's got a big smile on her face right now. all of that is still to come. first, a check of the weather, nbc's bill karins is standing by out on the plaza with us. bill? >> causing trouble all morning, those women! not these two. are we sad or happy? >> sad. >> tell everyone why

and what is your name? >> holly. >> where are you from? >> pennsylvania. >> pennsylvania? you have cute hair. i like that. back to amy. >> let's not talk about hair, coming up what you need

do to keep your eyes, ears and teelgts healthy. the answer may surprise you. we'll be right back. - whaddya say? - please. whaddya say? nate did it? whaddya say? he always wants a happy meal. and with apples and low-fat milk, i'm happy to get it. ♪ ba da ba ba ba you weren't always my favorite day. with all the pet hair in the air, i'd spend class preoccupied, bothered by itchy eyes. but now i have new zyrtec® itchy eye drops. it works fast, with just one drop, to relieve my itchy eyes from allergies for up to 12 hours. no other allergy itchy eye drop works faster or longer. which is good, 'cause there's a lotta paws to shake. with new zyrtec® itchy eye drops i can love the air™. (announcer) find it in the allergy aisle next to other zyrtec® products.

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with, of course. >> but if you want to keep those important body parts healthy you have to put in homework. we've assembled a panel of health experts to give us an in guide. first up, eyes. dr. robert stiker, associate professor's opt mogg. doctor, morning. thanks for being with us. >> thanks for inviting me. >> you suggested a visit to the opt molgs for folks over 40? >> the incidents of glaucoma increases over that age. it's important to catch it early because it's silent initially. if you catch it early you treat it what are the things you look for in typical checkup? >> we check the person's vision, see if they need glasses. make sure they're not getting too tired ar fatigued if working on a computer, reading a lot. check for glaucoma, important. pick up things like diabetes, high blood pressure and various other conditions that can affect the whole body. >> looking at things in the eye that could cause our problems? >> absolutely. that's why we dilate the pupils

with eye drops allowing us to look at blood vessels giving an idea what's going on in the entire body. >> talk about the deterioration. up to age 43 i didn't need them. what happens to us? >> i can't believe you're over 40. >> that should have been the lead story. >> what happens over age 40 the eye loses some of its ability to focus up close due to natural aging change. most need glasses for reading, for computer work. otherwise we get fatigued and tired as the day goes on. >> speaking of fatigue and computer work, how much affect does it have to look at a computer all day? on your eyes? >> there's a myth computers damage or hurt your eye. they don't. they make your eyes tired. if you have the appropriate glass you can stay on the computer 24/7 and not worry about hurting your eyes at all. >> we can woushg out to help our heart and other thing. what about our eyes? what can we do to improve or hold on to our eyes? >> nutrition. eating green, leafy vegetables,

spinach, broccoli, carrots. >> not a myth? >> grandma was right. carrots contain beta keratin, important for the retina in the eye. >> thanks for coming on. appreciate it. here's amy. lester, thank you. >> now to the ears. dr. richard rosenthal is an ear specialist at long island college hospital near new york and here to help with keeping ears in tip-top shape. doctor rosenthal, thanks for being with us. >> my pleasure. >> begin with hearing loss. we've heard about it in connection with older people but we're seeing teens with hearing loss issues, i'm getting mp3 players have something to do with it? >> you got it. noise. old ears on young kids because of mp3 players. noise induced hearing loss. >> what can we keep in line to prevent major damage we're seeing in younger kids? >> anything louder than an alarm clock, 5 decibel 85 decibels.

keep it at 60% volume. don't crank it up. use noise cancelling ear thudding and phones, and important to remember, you get one set of ears. burn them out when you're young, not much left when you're old g. to know. the next issue, something i've been excited about talking about. ear wax. for a lot of people just a nuisance. this can actually lead to bigger issues. if you want the clean ears, people using q-tips, what to do with the wax and what can you do? >> ear wax is great. i know you don't feel that way, but it's great. it cleans. lubricates, protecting, fights bacteria's. nature's miracle for your ears but leave it alone. it's self-cleaning. you ram the q-tips in, it pushes the wax in further. >> doesn't seem right to me the stuff on the outside you can clean. wax is water soluble. clean the outside, don't dig in.

you'll push it in deeper. if it builds up you're stuck a few drops of rinse temperature water in there, aspirator like they use on a baby. >> a lot of times people travel on planes and complain about having ear pressure. can it be a major health danger if your ears hurt after a flight? >> absolutely. one in seven get an acute painful inflammation when a plane lands. that can cause hearing loss, vertigo or even a ruptured ear drum. best advice, stay away as the plane lands. yawn, pop your nose, if you have kids, let them scream. people near you might not be happy but it's the best way to ventilate the ears. they'll be good when you land. >> doctor, appreciate it. once again, here's lester. >> hard to top screaming babies and ear wax, aim, but we're going to talk about the mouth. dr. nancy rosen is here with

tips for better dental health. doctor, rosen, thanks for coming on. >> thank you. >> go for a checkup, looking for cavities, cleaning. what else? >> not only looking for cavity, gum disease, bone disease, oral cancer and other abnormalities in the mouth. >> the oral cancer screening is important? >> very important. every hygienist should be doing this for somebody. >> in prevention for dental disease, brushing, flossing, yet you have plenty of business. what are we doing wrong? >> people are forgetting about the regular basic hygiene. you need to brush at least twice a day for two minutes. you need to floss at least once a day and you have to scrape your tongue. >> and tongue is part of the issue with bad breath, right? >> a lot of bacteria lives on our tongue. we were not leave that alone. >> what products make a difference in terms of toothbrushes, mouth washes? >> great products out there, but if you are still using a manual toothbrush try and prove to electric or power toothbrushes. >> really? >> they work so much better than

any manual toothbrush. >> in terms of getting off the plaque? >> yes, keeping your mouth healthy, preventing gum disease, it's great. >> lots of flosses. which type do you suggest? >> wax floss. much easier to get through your teeth. a lot of great toothpastes out there. you can tailor your toothpaste to what you need. want whitening, sensitive toothpaste, they're all there for you. >> i've always believed, probably a wives tale, the best mouth wash is the one that tastes the worst, has lots of alcohol in it? >> not true. you want to try -- >> really? sting doesn't mean it's working. make sure you're avoiding alcohol mouthwashes. >> what's the deal on these? i've seen these in the drug store. >> whisks are great. single use mini tooth 3 brush, fits in your bag, pocket, has freshening liquid on it and great for on the go. >> and left last i want to talk about whitening products. you had to go to the dentist. now can you get it over the

counter. >> make sure you're reading the directions, you need to follow the directions. very important. you don't want to overuse the products either. >> dr. nancy rosen good to have you here as well. thank you so much. coming up next, relaxing. budget-friendly getaways to

this morning on "today's travel" somehow town getaways. this labor day weekend enjoy down time off the beaten path. travel news is here with places to explore. good morning. >> good morning to you. >> why is a small town the perfect place to vacation? >> for one, the graft values domestically. historic hotels, sprawling resorts offering great bargains and a lot of us live in big cities. nostalgic aspect of going back, slowing everything down. the hustle and bustle of the

city, forget for a couple of days and we may need that these days. >> one of your favorite places. mackinaw island in michigan. i always say, a setting from somewhere in time. that movie with christopher reeves. what do you love about this place? >> by the way, the grand hotel where the movie took place, still doing packages based on "sbr in time." great place to get there by ferry. no cars. get around on horse-drawn carriage, get around on bike. and people go there for the fudge, even pt upper midwest, detroit, chicago a great little getaway. great resorts as well. kid and pet friendly. the island hotel offering rates for $99 a night through october and even give you discounts on the ferley tickets you need to get there from the mainland. >> great. let's talk about santa barbara, california. less than two hours from los angeles and even though you've got some amazing views, big mountains, it's a small town feel? >> the american riviera, where the mountains meet the pacific. spanish architecture is

preserved. and if you like wine, whale watching year round. also celebrity laden area. if you like to spot people like oprah winfrey and rob lowe, stephen martin, this is the place to go. montecito, probably the most chic and riskse part of santa barbara. built by charlie chaplin as a getaway. nearly revamped and now offering rooms for $139 a night. breakfast, free valet parking. the drive market, a great place to stay and around the block from famous butterfly beach and great shopping. >> avon, colorado made the cover. months away from ski season. what can do you in the fall? >> avon, colorado, eight miles from vale. you can do it without the price tag. 100 miles west of denver, colorado. where nature is all around you. whethers the fall, spring, summer or winter. so, yeah, great skiing and snowboarding this winter but now in the fall can you do river

rafting, do sports fishing on eagle river. a lot of family friendly, ecofriendly places to go. powered entirely by wind, down to $99 a night for travel crews. >> incredible. >> a luxury resort right there at the base of avoon. >> key largo, florida, next. snooped and duped the diving capital of the world. what else? >> great sports fishing and charter captains in the country are leer and also the arts community's in key largo. northern most key, an hour south of miami and yet it's at tropical without leaving the mainland u.s. you've got a national marine sanctuary here. a couple of national parks. great botanical things and very family-friendly pedestrian place to be. great getaways. the marriott key largo bay resort, luxury place right on the water. $129 a night over the next couple of weeks. and again, an hour drive from miami and you really are escaping everyday life.

>> if you can escape the mainland united states, you say maui, hawaii, the place to go. >> yesterday hawaii turned 50. . a great epicenter. never been to hawaii go leer. equal distances from all the great maui attractions. great water activities, launched from la hine nah and great views from the others as well. great values in hawaii. a public resort. my first trip many years ago stayed here. condo resort right on the water. family video of it. >> that was you diving! >> $129 a night, ocean view one bedroom suite at the resort. full kitchen, great views. hawaii, these days great values. >> all right. gabe makes everyone want to travel. thanks so much. coming up next, where airplanes go to die, after these messages. with an epa estimated 32 miles per gallon.

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with more and more flying, more planes are ending up in the desert. ending up parked with no place to go. >> at least 50 to 55% of the aircraft we have here are new generation type aircraft. >> reporter: and parked primarily for economic reasons? >> yes. definitely for economic reasons. we've gone from 164 aircraft, in october of '08, to now we have over 210 aircraft in the storage facility. >> reporter: this sprawling airfield, a simmering pavement and the open desert southeast of phoenix has long been a place where old planes go to die. >> when it reaches that life limit, we have all of the usable components removed from the aircraft and then we punch the aircraft up and it gets recycled again and that metal gets re-used. >> reporter: evergreen aviation

recycles old planes and maintains and stores others including younger jets parked here temporarily to wait out today's economic turbulence. planes like this cargo jet that came here straight from the boeing factory. with demand down, the airline ordered it more than two years ago simply doesn't need it at the moment. >> typically to operate a wide bodied aircraft, $7 million, $8 million a year where you can actually store an aircraft at a facility like this for $50,000, $70,000. >> reporter: prompted by last summer's record high fuel prices and then the economic collapse in the fall, airlines slashed capacity, cutting flights, retiring older gas guzzling planes and sidelining others in hopes of stemming their staggering losses. >> this is an excellent location, because, one, the humidity runs down about 12% as an average for the year. we don't have hurricanes. we don't have big storms come

through here. we don't have earthquakes. >> reporter: but they don't just sit here gathering dust. >> and then we clear this here. >> reporter: some of the planes will find buyers. others will rejoin the fleet when travel picks up. why do you have the windows sealed? >> we want to keep the sunlight out. >> reporter: so they are carefully preserved in shrink wrap and kept in near flying condition. >> what we want to do is we want to be able to move it around and at least once a month operate the flight controls. we don't want the seals to dry up but want all the hydraulic fluid and all of the systems and fuels to be moving around so it's not stagnated. >> reporter: virtually ready to fly, but no place to go, in a notoriously sick crickal airline business, however, desert caretakers know that will change. >> as of yet no cash for clunkers on planes. >> right. that's going to do it for us on this saturday morning.

>> good morning. welcome to "11 news saturday morning." i'm lisa robinson. >> and i'm kate amara. we'll check the forecast and just a moment, but first our top stories. actually, i think we'll go to a check on the forecast first. >> that's right because weather is a top story today. we started off with a little bit of early morning rain now. it is just a cloudy sky outside now. most rain showers continued to push their way into delaware and down into the delmarva peninsula. dry now, but more on the way. over on the machine we see the line of rain showers and thunderstorms, some of that heavy stuff now pushing its way off to sea. we have a break in maryland and virginia, but once we get in the afternoon hours, we will run the risk of more scattered

thunderstorms. some of those rain showers could be heavy at times, and we have a slight risk for severe weather later this afternoon. temperatures 83 to 78 degrees. there is good news coming up in the seven-day forecast. if you have outdoor plans coming up, stick around for the forecast. we'll have that coming up in your seven-day forecast. >> there is controversy surrounding the state's top public defender. nancy forester has been fired. in a statement she claimed she had been ordered to violate civil service laws by being asked to terminate a well known african-american public defender for no reason. governor o'malley met with nancy forester and did not comment on her firing. >> a plane went down in the keymar area of carroll county last month. the witnesses told the f.a.a.

that the engine stopped in the plane before the crash. robert kociemba and william williams both died in the crash. a full investigation report could be released within 30 days to a year. >> everyone is safe this morning after an american airlines jet made an emergency landing in los angeles. flight 4414 from san diego to dallas fort worth had problems with its right wing. the flot declared an emergency and was able to land safely at l.a. international airport. there were no injuries reported. the f.a.a. is investigating the that incident. >> up next, dr. kim is here to answer your questions. >> and baltimore city police are looking for the gunman that murdered aid man in -- merdered a man in patterson park. >> and if you're heading off to college, this might be a good book to read. how to deal with that naked roommate and other university issues. issues. >> and sports when "11 news

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