let us begin on this mours morning with those plans to remember senator ted kennedy. nbc's andrea mitchell is outside the kennedy compound in hyannis

port. andrea, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. here at the compound the kennedy family has been standing vigil round the clock at the senator's side since he died. visitors say the mood inside is quiet, spiritual, it's emotional but it's also a celebration of the senator's life. in nantucket sound, a light chip illuminated the senator's beloved boat "mya" on which he escaped to the sea when he could barely walk or speak. >> as we remember the life and legacy of senator edward moore kennedy. >> reporter: at fenway, a moment of silence from the senator's beloved red sox. tributes poured in all day beginning with the man he all by anointed the political heir to the kennedy dynasty. >> he became not only one of the greatest senators of our time, but one of the most accomplished americans ever to serve our democracy. >> reporter: from across the aisle and political spectrum,

policy disagreements were forgotten. >> whenever we found common ground, he would stand up, even against the amendments of his colleagues and live up to the deal. if he gave his word, he kept his word. >> reporter: personal friendships remembered. >> for me, i lost my best friend in the senate. just a great friend. >> reporter: ted kennedy's senate partner, john kerry, after visiting the family. >> i've been watching him and privileged to work with him now for almost 25 years and learning from him. he's been a great man to work with and i'm going to miss him. >> reporter: now friends and adversaries alike are all wondering who can fill those shoes. >> this is not going to be a ted kennedy again. >> reporter: for decades kennedy fought hardest for health care. it was his dying wish. >> and guarantee that every american, north, south, east, west, young, old, will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege. >> reporter: but his absence from this summer's debate has cost the democrats. now they've also lost a critical

vote. >> it will be interesting now to see if in his absence senator kennedy can bring democrats and republicans together one final time to get health care reform done. >> reporter: the kennedys want massachusetts lawmakers to honor one of the senator's last wishes and change state laws so the governor can quickly appoint a caretaker successor instead of waiting months for a special election to fill the seat. >> i've had conversations just today with the majority leader in the united states senate who is obviously concerned about the promptness with which we fill the vacancy. >> reporter: the next generation of kennedys and shrivers like maria and her brothers are deeply engaged in public service. but what aboutíykykykñ electiv six? son patrick, an eight-term congressman from rhode island has been in and out of treatment for substance abuse. nephew joseph served six terms as a massachusetts congressman. of course, caroline kennedy who tried and failed to fill hillary clinton's new york senate seat earlier this morning.

>> the kennedy dynasty lives on to the next generation. service to the public, public service is in the kennedy family blood and it will continue. >> reporter: at that funeral service on saturday where, as you mentioned, president obama will be delivering the eulogy, it will also be attended by all of the former living presidents. not expected because he's not able to travel is nancy reagan, but last night she talked about the very special bond that her husband had with ted kennedy, and of course she and the senator worked very closely on stem cell research, a cause that she will continue to passionately espouse. matt? >> andrea, thank you very much. andrea mitchell in massachusetts this morning. vice president joe biden served alongside ted kennedy in the senate for 36 years. i spoke to him on wednesday and i began by asking him about his friend's legacy on capitol hill. zblf >> everything was about possibilities. i never, ever, ever in 36 years of being with him ever saw him

down in terms of "we can't get this done," "things aren't going to get any better," "the deficit's too big," "we can't get this pass. ." never, ever, ever. i couldn't understand it. 36 years later i find myself more optimistic and excited than any time in those 29. teddy was that way every done. he just got up. that's what a kennedy was supposed to do, what he was supposed to do. >> was there a defining moment when you watched him in action in the senate and you saw the full range of his power? >> i watched him on the renewal of the civil rights legislation. i watched him on hate crimes legislation. i watched him go back at it and go back at it and i watched him change people's minds. all these conservative guys who shared nothing in common with his philosophy. why did they like him? he always, whether you're a

friend or his foe, at the end of the debate -- because he was never petty, never small -- he always made you feel bigger. >> it is an interesting dynamic. when you think about it, conservatives who run for office all around the country often run against ted kennedy or the idea of ted kennedy. >> that's right. you're kind of drawn to him. because look, this is a guy who understand the deals. this is a guy who knows how to take a hit. if he knew what he was getting would lay a foundation for something larger, he'd say, okay, let's go ahead and do this. that's why you hear john mccain talking about we probably would be further along on health care if he had been in the senate working out some of these deals. >> many people said he was the crucial ally to president obama as he attempts to get health care reform. so what does his loss mean to that effort? >> well, god willing, maybe his loss and all about him will be the catalyst to make people come around and begin to compromise to get something really important done. >> that's the best possible --

>> the truth is i don't know, matt. >> you could flip a coin and say his loss kills the momentum. >> the honest to god truth, anybody knows. >> there's been a kennedy in the u.s. senate for more than 50 years. there are some others out there who could carry the mantel. do you think you'd like to see that happen or is it perhaps time to let this dynasty pass? >> you know, i went to eunice shriver's funeral and i saw all of the kennedys there. and they have so much talent. i really mean it. there are some remarkable young women and men in that family who are totally, thoroughly capable of being united states senator, governor. i hope some of them decide that elected public office is a battlefield they want to compete in. >> finally, tragedy. it was so much a part of his life on so many occasions. he was forced to deal with it.

you've had tragedy in your own life and he was a great friend. i'm just curious how he reached out to you given his perspective and comforted you during those times. >> the thing that made a difference with teddy, whether you were dealing with a significant personal loss, or you were dealing with a political firestorm, or you were dealing with an exhilarating moment, when he called you and talked to you, you knew he thoroughly understood the place you were. >> was there an image of him that immediately comes to mind when you think of senator kennedy? >> yeah, but it's totally selfish. he was 40 years old. i was 29 years old. with a great big grin on his face, he said, "well, you know, i love this guy joe biden but he's too young to be a senator." and the headline in the "wall street journal" was "biden too young for the senate." even the older he got, i never,

ever thought of teddy as old. i mean his degree of enthusiasm and energy were more contagious than the youngest guy in the senate. >> that was vice president joe biden. for more on the story, here ann. >> matt, thanks. arizona senator john mccain worked closely with senator kennedy for more than two decades. he now joins us from phoenix, arizona. senator mccain, good morning. >> good morning, ann. >> we just heard from vice president joe biden but we're hearing also deeply emotional tributes coming from republicans as well. in fact, you're one of the featured speakers at his private memorial on friday. so i wonder, what can you tell us about what it was about senator kennedy that made him able to be loved, beloved really, from both sides of the aisle? you agree with this, he was never petty, never small comment? >> he was never petty and he was never small. once the battle was over and, believe me, he and i had some --

we talk a lot about where we worked together, we had some spirited debates, both on and off the floor, to the point where, on occasion, we questioned each other's recent ancestry. but once the debate was over, we would embrace, we would go on to the next battle and find ways in which we could work together for the good of the country and so i think the aspect of ted kennedy was that there was never evidence of any personal grudge or anger or lingering anger or dissatisfaction and it was always on to fight the next battle, mount up and ride to the sound of the guns. >> well, one of the next battles before congress, which is one that mattered really most to the senator, is of course about health care reform. you faced a lot of rancor and

anger yesterday at a town hall meeting. what do you say about this idea? could in fact the death of senator kennedy be the catalyst that might spark the possibility that this actually might go somewhere, as it doesn't seem to be right now? >> well, it might, but you'd have to change the way that things have been done. and that is the fact that there's been no real negotiations. there had been a bill before the committee which i sent, the health committee, it was done by democrats and no amendments were agreed to of any significance and so that's not the kind of negotiations that i did with senator kennedy on a number of issues. maybe if we change -- >> senator, are you willing to reach across the aisle on this issue, as in the past senator kennedy worked with you and former president bush on education and immigration reform? >> i'm more than willing to. there's been no opportunity to do so. >> i want to talk to you about

your personal relationships with senator kennedy before we run out of time. specifically, you have a story to tell about the kindness that he extended to you and also to your son jimmy ten years ago. you want to tell that story, sir? >> sure. thanks. russ feingold and i were honored with the john f. kennedy "profiles in courage" award. it happened to coincide with my son jimmy's birthday. we wanted to celebrate it here in phoenix, which would have made me late for the ceremony. ted said, look, it would be so important if you were there for the extended period of time to make a long story short, we went early, we were greeted at the airport by police, by highway patrol. jimmy was taken to a coast guard cutter where he received a tour of boston har bhor. there was three birthday cakes, all kinds of presents. they must have sang happy birthday to him ten times. i'm proudly exaggerating a little bit. but it's probably the best

birthday jimmy ever had. >> that seems to be the constant theme in the stories we've been hearing about senator kennedy, he seemed to step up in these emotional ways for people. having spent so much time with him mt. senate, personally for a moment, can you describe what you expect in these days ahead in the senate without him? >> well, already he's been missed, as we all know, because of his protracted illness. there's no such thing as someone who's irreplaceable in an institution like the united states senate, but he is as close as i think we'll ever come certainly in my lifetime. and again, a unique personality. a person who once his presidential ambitions were finished devoted himself to the institution and the people of this country and, you know, i've talk often and we have with my

friends, he really did put his country first and serve a cause greater than his self-interests. i can't think of a better legacy. >> senator john mccain, i'm sure you're going to give a stirring speech on friday. thanks so much this morning. >> thank you, ann. let us get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories now. natalie is standing by at the news desk with those. natalie, good morning. good morning. today officials say somali pirates opened fire wednesday on a u.s. navy helicopter. it happened off the coast of somalia when the helicopter was flying over a hijacked vessel that had been used as a mother ship to launch other pirate attacks, including the one on the maersk alabama. it was the first attack on a u.s. military aircraft. no one was injured. dominic dunn died wednesday from bladder cancer. he was 83. toyota's recalling about

96,000 vehicles because of a

>> we will be scared of the brunt of the hurricane. partly cloudy skies for the rest of the day. that said, we have a front and that

two-ton. i heard the women crying. others were alive in the water but i couldn't see them. i was too far away. >> the voices soon faded. eight hours later a small fishing boat spotted the little girl, stunningly, her only injuries were a few bruises and a broken collarbone. the children moved back to paris to be reunited with their father. they heard the terrible news. a psychologist said i don't think your mother is coming. i was the only one alive. then i understood. for "today," stephanie gosk, nbc news, london. >> heartbreaking.

still ahead this morning, new details on the reality star who killed himself after becoming the focus of an international manhunt for allegedly murdering his ex-wife. his former

earlier in the week we showed you daniel johnson's outstanding audition which floored simon cowell. just ahead, britain's newest singing sensation will join us live from london. >> that will be fun. plus we're also going to meet a woman who solved an actual crime thanks to her love of ""law and order: svu."" but first your local news and weather.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. baltimore city police are investigating a shooting involving one of their own. it happened it just before midnight. two officers were patrolling in

the northeast part of the city when they tried to stop a car. when the officers approached the vehicle, and on and black male behind the wheel with a car in reverse and tried to run the officer's gun. the car then sped off. the suspect then tried to flee on foot and pulled it hit the passenger window in the cart and a woman was injured in the arm. police are still searching for the driver of the vehicle. let's check on the morning commute with kim dacey. >> a couple of situations in the city we are monitoring right now. a water main break on saratoga street is closed in both directions on greene street and mlk. eutaw street is closed between baltimore and saratoga street. on the out of the north side of the beltway, 13 minutes, i-95

south, six minutes. northeast corner delight, traffic barely crawling there. >> as far as the temperatures go, we're seeing partly cloudy skies. 75 downtown, 64 in york. we are going to see a high in the mid-to-upper-80's. we cannot allow an isolated thunderstorm later on tonight. we will deal with the influence of the tropical storm but it is far and fees that it will not have a major impact. storms on saturday with 60 present and chance of scattered showers and storms. >>

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♪ 7:30 now on a thursday morning, the 27th day of august, 2009. that is the audition on the british show "the x-factor" that knocked simon cowell's socks off. more than 1 million people have watched that same audition online. coming up in this half-hour, we'll meet that singing sensation. he is 27-year-old daniel johnson.

that smile says it all. we'll find out more about how his life is changing over these last several days. >> schoolteacher, right? >> yeah. boy, did he do well. inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer alongside ann curry. when i saw that audition online over the weekend, it said 100,000 people have watched it. now it's over 1 million. >> really! don't forget, tomorrow, speaking of singing sensations, we've got one named miley cyrus. the teen star will be here for a live concert out on the plaza. if early indications are right, there's going to be a pretty huge crowd outside. so do plan on coming down. meanwhile coming up in this half-hour, for comedians, that mother-in-law joke is kind after standard crowd pleaser. but one mother-in-law is less than pleased that she became part of her daughter-in-law's stand-up act. she's suing her. we'll talk to that comedian

coming up. but let us begin with new details in the case of a reality star who took his own life in a canadian motel room after being accused of killing his ex-wife. in a moment we'll talk exclusively with ryan jenkins' former fiance. but first, nbc's miguel almaguer is in vancouver with the latest. >> reporter: matt, good morning. police in california and here in canada say tips have poured in from both countries and now they say they have their final piece of missing evidence. he was the reality show contestant accused of a gruesome crime, who went on the run, then committed suicide. she was the young, vibrant model who was found murdered, left dumped in a trash bin outside of los angeles. police are confident ryan jenkins killed jasmine fiore, but the homicide investigation isn't over yet. yesterday, her mercedes-benz was finally found in a parking lot. investigators say it could be a

crime scene. fiore's body was found methodically mutilated to presumably delay its identification. with the car, investigators say they'll be able to determine if jenkins killed fiore alone. >> it's very important. it is a piece of evidence that will assist us in our investigation. once the forensic team does their thing, then we'll know what we have. >> reporter: married in march, friends say jenkins and fiore's relationship was passionate and violent. the victim's mother says fiore had the marriage anulled, wanted to break away from the man she called possessive and jealous. monday on the "today" show, she spoke to ann curry. >> they had kind of a rocky relationship and i was very supportive for her to be, you know, independent, that she didn't really need him, she had a lot going for her. >> reporter: fiore wasn't the first beautiful, young woman to call jenkins violent. in 2007 he pled guilty to punching a former girlfriend in

the back of the head. he was sentenced to anger management and domestic violence counseling. like fiore, jenkins, too, had a former fiance. paulina tells nbc news she was in disbelief when she heard jenkins was accused of jasmine fiore's murder and called him "a good person." a startling description for a man charged with such a brutal crime on a woman he claimed to love. as police look to close this case, they aren't the only ones with unanswered questions. both the victim and suspect's family may never know the motive for this homicide. matt? >> miguel, thank you. paulina is a model and actress who was engaged to ryan jenkins. she joins us now exclusively. good morning, nice to see you. >> thank you. >> you're listening to the description of this man, ryan jenkins, a guy you dated for 2 1/2 years. you're hearing accusations of abuse and murder. is this the guy you knew? >> no. this is what is so surprising.

because i was with him for 2 1/2 years and of course we fought. just like any normal relationship. there was no signs of violence or anything that would potentially say, well, at some point that person might commit a murder. >> not even a hint that this would be a man in your opinion who would be capable of doing what he's now accused of doing. >> no. >> what about capable of taking his own life? >> also not. you know, i think my friends, our friends, are pretty much in shock as obviously the family is. it's not something that i'd ever picture him doing at all. >> so what do you think happened? >> i don't know. you know, matt, i tried to put myself -- just because that's what i usually do, i try to put myself in that person's shoes, what reaction, what could have occurred. and i really can't -- i can picture him maybe having an argument with her, but to take it to like the next level which

is murder, and then mutilation which i don't even want to think about, i really can't take myself there. i have no idea what happened. >> you met him was it a party or something? >> actually, met him in vegas. funny enough. but -- yeah, he was great, very charming. swept me off my feet. sweetheart. >> when you hear "swept me off my feet." this guy was on a reality show in some ways trying to sweep a woman off her feet, it makes it sound like he was either just a simple charming guy or a bit of a con man. is it possible that it's the latter? >> i can't really comment on that because that's not the person that i saw. so i can't really say anything about that. >> why did your relationship end? >> we actually ended off on a good note but he wanted to have an open relationship. he was definitely a lady's man. >> he wanted to see other people. >> yes. yes. and it was kind after mutual

understanding, i said, you know what? not so much. i'm engaged to you. at some point i'd like to have a family and a solid marriage. we ended on a good note. wished him all the best with everything. >> did you keep in touch with him? >> yes, i did. we stayed friends. not close friends but we did stay friends. i actually in march, after he married jasmine, got back to calgary after taping a show and i received a text from one of our friends saying, okay, well actually, you know, did you hear the news he's married? i'm like, okay. so i checked with him and said congratulations on the marriage. he replied back, it is not a girl from the show but i met someone else. >> did he seem happy? >> yes. yes. he seemed very happy. but i actually didn't speak to him at that time. further on -- i think she actually flew in to calgary.

they went to a hockey game. i heard they were on the jumbotron kissing, having a great time. further on in april i sort him on more occasions because he came into calgary to move his stuff from calgary to be with jasmine in vegas. >> did you ever meet jasmine? >> no, i never did. i did see her from a distance. we all ended up bumping into each other at a vegas pool party. he came by to say hello and that's about it. and i saw her from a distance. but that's it. >> i would imagine, paulina, it is impossible for you to have heard what's gone on over the last couple of weeks and not think "what if." what if this is someone i had married and what if there was a side to o him that i didn't know. >> again, i can't even put myself in that position, in those shoes. like i have nod idea. i don't know how all this happened. with a person that i know and i think his friends knew, to us it's really pretty much unbelievable. everything that's happened is just horrible. >> we appreciate you coming in

and talking about it. paulina. thank you. we'll get a little switch of subjects now, to al with a check >> we are going to see another nice, dry day. 86 in central maryland. slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm later on this afternoon. mid-80s along the shores of ocean city later on.

keep tabs on weather throughout the day, turn to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. matt? al, thank you. up next, simon cowell says he gave the best first audition he's ever heard. we're going to meet that new singing sensation from britain, daniel johnson, and talk to him right after this.

we are back at 7:42 with the latest singing sensation from across the atlantic. we showed you the video earlier this week. this guy's name is daniel johnson, 27-year-old teacher whose audition wowed the judges on the "x-factor," a british version of "american idol." >> daniel's with us from london. we'll talk to him in just a few moments. but first, his story. ♪ >> this is the biggest performance of my life. i am so nervous to walk on that stage. >> reporter: it's the latest season of britain's "the x-factor" with another

competitor waiting to grab the spotlight. ♪ what would you do if i sang out of tune ♪ >> reporter: this 27-year-old schoolteacher from the outskirts of london has already stolen the show after just one week of competition. >> daniel, that was single-handedly the best first audition i have ever heard. >> reporter: an extraordinary endorsement from the notoriously critical cowell who has a great track record turning out stars on his various talent shows. soon after winning "the x-factor" in 2006, this singer found fame on both sides of the pond. but with four months still to go in the competition, pressure is high. >> now the judges expect so much, the public expects to much of him, this is a guy who's going to win, there is no doubt about it.

>> reporter: lots of support, and lots of anxiety for the singer that britain is already hailing as the next susan boyle. >> he think he could be one of the best contestants we've ever had. >> here he is live from london, daniel johnson, good morning. >> good morning. >> where have you been hiding that voice! >> i don't know. probably in the shower, mainly, i think, annoying neighbors. >> you know, your students, i understand, have encouraged you to you a dig. have they not encouraged you to audition, would he have done it? and if the answer is, no, then what do you have to say to them this morning? >> i mean you know, i probably wouldn't have done it. i just thought that i just -- i thought it was a dream. the kids have been so supportive. they wanted me to actually go into the competition. i just thought, okay, i'll send

out on application. fy get one back, see what happens from there. i'm so glad they got me to do it now, i have to say. some of them didn't know, they know now. >> daniel, it is amazing. this is just the first audition and already 1 million people have gone online to watch this. how has your life changed even just in this short period of time? >> i mean where do you go from there? it's just been pretty immense but it's been pretty nice actually. everyone's been really nice, saying really nice things. i've just normal things of hanging with my friends. i went to the pop quiz yesterday. just doing normal things and kept my friends really close. my family so proud. >> what do you want to do with this? you now have to face the pressure of the competition but what's the dream for you, daniel? what do you want? >> i guess my dream is to get an album out there and write songs and just really enjoy this. this is what i've wanted for so long. i've been saying it for about ten years now and i didn't have that much interest before. now loads of interest has come in and it is just really

amazing. i'm just having a really good time and enjoying it. it is so humbling. it is really good. >> well, everybody respects simon cowell's judgment in the music industry. nobody respects mine because i don't know a thing, but i have to tell you, it is the greatest tape i've seen in a long time. i can't remember seeing anyone with so much stage presence at such a young age. we're going to be rooting you on, daniel. we'll be following your story. >> oh, thank you very much, matt. i do want to tap on the stage and not just sing a song but entertain the crowd. i just wanted to entertain the crowd and have a good laugh and make sure they have a good time. >> you gave love and they gave it back. daniel johnson, thank you so much. >> good luck to you, daniel. >> thank you very much. thanks, matt. thanks, ann. >> he's single, by the way. not for you, but for the women out there. >> thanks for that. up next, a woman who helped police arrest a real-life criminal thanks to her knowledge of nbc's ""law and order: svu."

we'll meet her right after this. " we'll meet her right after this.

despite what we tell our children, sometimes watching a lot of television can be a good thing. >> that's right. consider the story of a new york woman who recently helped police cash a career criminal by using detective skills that she picked up, she says, from her favorite show, nbc's "law and order: svu." her name is justine faith and she joins us now.

good morning. she goes this is all a little overwhelming and bizarre. but you are a fan of "law and order: svu." you've seen all the episodes. did you ever think you'd find yourself in the middle of a real crime story? no, not at all. i'm just happy he was caught and i was able to help. >> tell people what happened. you basically work at a front desk of your office building. right? you're a receptionist. >> no, i'm an assistant. i came into the office -- we're a tv production company. he wanted to catch a show. that's common. we don't allow walk-ins just to see our executives. so i gave him some information, like e-mails and told him to call back to set up a meeting if they're interested. he just was trying to talk to me. >> very persistent guy. >> persistent, just like annoying. like just "go away, i'm trying to work." >> at some point he goes into

the little kitchen area, gets himself a drink of water. >> first actually, he tried to like tried to get me to get up the whole time to get him a dvd of one of our shows. i was too busy and we don't give out dvds. >> bottom line, he eventually swipes your co-worker's bag and skoal an ipod and wallet before fleeing down a back stairwell. but in between he'd taken a sip of water out of this cup. right? >> because he claimed that he was a sick person, he needed to take pills. he went to the kitchen, he saw that we had water. he wanted me to go get it first, i'm like you can go, fine, you go out. >> he escaped -- >> he left. he left. but you still had the cup and tissue he'd used. long story short, you give it to police, they end up catching him because his dna samples were on file. >> you knew to keep that cup. >> you are a sleuth! we want to bring someone in right now joining us, one of the stars of "law and order: svu."

she's probably got some kind words for you. good morning. >> good morning. >> what do you want to say to this young lady? >> i am impressed! i better watch out for my job. >> hello, how are you? >> i'm great! good morning. congratulations. >> thank you. >> i have to say i'm just in awe of your presence of mind and your clarity to think and you're such an inspiration to so many people. >> oh, thank you! i mean thanks. it's you. >> thank you. >> we're going to try to arrange it so that justine can come down and meet you, mariska. maybe we are talking walk-on here. >> i think we are talking walk-on. i think that i could learn a few things from justine. >> i love you and i love elliott -- where's elliott, by the way? >> okay! >> mariska, nice to know you've got someone who's paying attention and a real fan and thank you for calling in this

morning. >> absolutely. god bless and congratulations, justine. >> thank you. >> good luck, justine. >> wow. >> it pays to pay attention, doesn't it? >> it does. i have like family in law, so i think that was kind of in my blood sort of. you know? >> just teen, thanks so much. >> thank you. >> congratulations. >> thank you. we'll be right back after your local news and weather.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i'm stan stovall. let's check on the morning commute with kim dacey.

>> several things to talk about in downtown baltimore. a water main break, a saratoga street closed in both directions between greene street and m.l.k. eutaw street closed between the baltimore street and saratoga street. southbound harrisburg expressway and middletown road, and york road passed around ridge road, the left turn lane is blocked there. a live look at the north side of the beltway, traffic pulse stopped there. the west side of the beltway on liberty road, you can see that traffic almost stopped there as well. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> we are courtesy of basically dry, a quiet day for us, weather-wise. a slight chance of about 20% chance of an isolated thunderstorm.

we are monitoring tropical storm danny, 773 is to the east, southeast. moving northwestern at 10 miles per hour. we will not see too much of an impact other than showers and storms. >> check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information. our next live update at 8:25. our next live update at 8:25.

8:00 now on a thursday morning, the 27th day of august, 2009. kind of an overcast, windy start to the day. but we've got a big group of people out on the plaza. they don't seem to mind. it may be nothing compared to what we see over the weekend with storms. >> we could see a little rain as daniel comes up along the coast.

>> we'll keep an eye out for that. tomorrow, you see this crowd today? tomorrow it is going to be a little bit bigger because we have teen star miley cyrus on the plaza tomorrow morning in concert. i don't know if you remember the last time she was here, the crowd was huge. we understand there are already people lining up for the show today. >> i'm worried about the weather. with this wind coming in, should we worry about tomorrow's weather? >> not at all. >> we'll tether miley to the stage. i'm matt lauer, ann curry while meredith takes time off. al roker joins us as well. a stand-up comedy routine one family didn't think was so country. >> the comedian uses part of her act to poke fun at some of her in-laws. now her mother-in-law has apparently had enough. she's suing. she's filed a lawsuit. we'll talk with the comedian

about that in just a motion. wooel we're going to talk about an emotional issue for many people. in-vitro fertilization has afforded a lot of people the opportunity to have families. difficulties for a lot of people what do you do with the embryos that still remain. that is a big issue. a lot of people have them still, they're being kept frozen. there is an emotional question about what to do with them. >> an estimated half million. >> exactly. we'll talk about that with dr. nancy snyderman. natalie has the headlines of the morning. good morning. as the nation prepares to say good-bye to ted kennedy, americans are mourning the loss of a political icon and paying tribute. in washington, d.c. last night, people gathered for a vigil to remember the beloved senator, lighting candles and holding american flags. a pre-game moment of silence was held at boston's fenway park to honor the long-time massachusetts politician. meantime, memorial and

funeral plans have been announced. nbc's andrea mitchell is outside the kennedy compound in hyannis port. andrea, the public will get a chance to pay its respects. >> reporter: indeed, they will. it will be an elaborate three-day memorial tribute to senator kennedy. there will be the private family mass here at the compound around midday today, then the motorcade will start moving toward boston, and along the way, along the narrow strieets in hyannis port the senator walked these streets for some decades with his family, he'll take the same route to boston he and his brothers had already taken to boston. along the way in boston, stopping the motorcade will pass along many of the special landmarks, the rose kennedy park, his senate office and the home where john kennedy first ran for congress. it will be a day full of tributes. public will also be visiting the kennedy library where he will be

lying in repose through the day and into the evening. >> andrea mitchell in hyannis port, massachusetts, thank you. embattled south carolina xwofer mark sanford says he is not going to be railroaded out of office. on wednesday sanford rejected a call from his lieutenant governor to resign. he said he plans on serving out the last 16 months of his term despite his affair and questions surrounding his use of state and commercial planes. a suspected u.s. missile strike from an unmanned drone has killed at least 16 people in pakistan. pakistani officials say the attack targeted a taliban hideout. us airways is raising its baggage fees by $5. it now costs $25 each week for the first checked bag, $35 for the second bag. if you pay online though it is cheaper. the airline is also now charging $50 for a second checked bag on transatlantic flights. in california firefighters are bracing for another day of

searing temperatures as they battle two fast-moving wildfires north of los angeles. the fires have scorched more than 1,700 acres and forced some evacuations. it's 8:04 right now. let's go back outside once again to matt and ann. >> thanks,

>> we are looking at temperatures in the 70's. 75 downtown, 71 at the airport. headed for a high into the mid- 80s. slight chance of an isolated storms would bet >> that's your latest weather. when we come back, the

comedian who's being sued by her mother-in-law. but because she made her the punch line of too many jokes. we're going to meet her. but first, these messages. - ( ac blowing ) - ...to help keep us cool? ( women vocalizing ) solar-powered ventilation... to help cool you, available on the third-generation prius. it's harmony between man, nature and machine. yep! (mom) i'm so proud of you.

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eye parentally a new jersey woman has heard enough mother-in-law jokes. she's suing her daughter-in-law sundra croon kwift. >> because i have a jewish mother-in-law. maybe these lights are too bright. i'm a black woman with a jewish mother-in-law. you know the only thing we have in common is that we don't want to get our hair wet. i met ruthie for the first time. i walked in, trying to be real polite. ruthie, thank you so much for having me. she says, pleasure is all mine, have a seat. elliott, put my pocketbook away.

>> sundra croonquist is here this morning. good morning. you've been married 11 you know your husband and his family for 15 years. you've been making these jokes about your mother-in-law and in-laws all this time. were you shocked when you found out about this lawsuit? >> i was shocked. i was sickened. i was hoping it was a joke. how's that? i was -- i said this must be a joke. >> but it gets better. your husband is a lawyer. his firm is representing you against his mother. >> it's terrible. yes. yes. well, somebody had to pay for this. >> your husband -- and his family are jewish. you're half-black and half swedish? >> yes. >> but you've also converted to judaism. >> before i married my husband. >> you keep a kosher house. >> yes, i do. >> why is your mother-in-law suing you? >> i have no idea. i think since barack won, everything broke loose. it could be. i have no idea.

>> she wants you -- unspecified damages and wants you to stop making jokes about her. >> she doesn't want anymore jokes about her. >> with your material about the in-laws, are you being truthful or making this stuff up? >> i am being truthful. i'm lightening up a lot of it. >> no pun intended. >> can't do it on my end. it's my reality. it's my family, my reality. i talk about it, make jokes about it. >> the jokes you've made about your sister-in-law, you've identified her full name on stage, including her place of worship, including her town. >> shoe she enjoyed it in the beginning. i don't know what made the flip. >> what's the relationship been like? >> it's not been very easy. a few times i've been asked to step out of family photographs. yeah, that's a very crazy feeling. "could you please step out of the picture?" i guess i just wasn't right for the barmitzvah picture that day. these things have happened! they're real. i haven't made jokes about that

but now that ofbut you've asked. it's very hurtful. >> are you upset about the lawsuit? >> yeah, and i'm most upset about not having my children have a grandmother. >> two biffle little girls. >> yes, thank you. they miss her. they don't spend passover with them. can't explain to them right now why, what my suspicions why they are not spending pass swroefr with their grandmother. >> what are your suspicions? >> maybe they don't like swedes. i don't know. >> can you see why your in-laws might be upset? >> no, they know what i do. they've made jokes at my expense. they should have a sense of humor. not jokes on stage but in a temple. kind of like a stage. >> with your husband representing you, is this caused a strain in your marriage? >> it did cause a strain in the very beginning because i always try to make the families go

together. black people like to try to keep families together. when jewish people say we're not talking anymore, they're not talking anymore and that's it. >> if your mother-in-law's watching right now, what would you say? >> ruth, it's just not that serious. call me! i need a new recipe. >> sundra croonquist. we reached out to her mother-in-law and her attorney but we did not get a response. >> i'm so sorry but we'll be talking about her at the laugh factory in hollywood. >> she's here until thursday. coming up next, a difficult dilemma for many families. what should be done with unused frozen embryos. we'll get into that right after these messages. - to paint with primer already mixed in? - ♪ yeah yeah yeah... - test samples instead of can commitments? - ♪ whoo! - what do you say we dip into our wallets less... - ♪ are you feeling it? - ...and grab ahold of the latest tools out there... - ♪ oh! ...so we can quit all that messing around with extra steps - and get busy turning our doing dials up a notch? - ♪ whoo! ♪ oh! more saving. more doing. - that's the power of the home depot. - ♪ yeah yeah yeah.

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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. back now at 8:19. this morning on "today's health," deciding what to do with frozen embryos. researchers estimate there are about half a million frozen embryos in the united states, a byproduct of in-vitro fertilization. some will be used in future pregnancy attempts but what

about the others? "parenting" magazine takes a look at the dilemma in its august issue. here's nbc's chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: it was the only decision acceptable to octomom nadya suleman. >> i will keep that role to a doctor to dispose of a life is incomprehensible to me. >> reporter: unable to destroy the six embryos she had left after previous ivf cycles, and hoping for one, maybe two more children, the mother of six had all of her remaining embryos implanted in sang single cycle resulting in the eight babies she delivered last winter. suleman's outcome was rare but the dilemma she faced is increasingly common, as more and more couples find themselves with stored embryos. many of whom are done having children. >> we couldn't deny their humanity when we saw that embryos just like them created our children. you can swing but don't do your

flip. >> reporter: deborah and her husband have two daughters from in-vitro fertilization. when it was time to consider the state of their five remaining embryos, they decided to donate them anonymously to another couple. >> it wasn't about politics and it wasn't about religion. it was about love. i mean we loved the thought of those children, or those maybe-children to give them a chance at a life with a mother and farther who desperately wanted them. >> reporter: to this day, they do not know the outcome of their donation. >> not knowing whether there are any children or there are five children is difficult, but we have no regrets. >> reporter: still, embryo donation to other couples is relatively rare. according to a 2008 study led by duke and johns hopkins researchers, a patience with surplus embryos and no intention of using them, about a third indicated a likelihood of donating them to another couple

compared with 66% who said they would likely donate for research. the most popular option. >> that's not black and white. until you're put in that situation, you don't know what choice you're going to make. >> reporter: stephanie and stacy smith struggled for months over what to do with the embryos left after of birth of their twin girls. >> you're just trying to get the best choice to help other people but not be looking at a crowd and thinking should that be one of our girls and never knowing. >> if these embryos could help somebody else in some way, then donating to research seemed more like the most logical choice to make. >> reporter: it is a dilemma the fertility industry takes seriously, but admits it probably won't go away. >> no matter how well informed the patient is, there are always going to be complexities around this and it's just an unfortunate side effect of a life-changing technology. >> dr. nancy is here along with

the executive director of resolve the national fertility association. bottom line, this is a result of in-vitro as a technology developing. >> right. the idea that you create three embryos, implant two hoping to get one healthy baby. >> as in-vitro matures and we understand better how to do this, will we have as many of these frozen embryos? >> probably not. when the technology really gets good you'll have 1 for 1 but we're not there yet. >> in interim, here we are. how many of these frozen embryos might actually be viable, in other words could become a baby? >> well, not every embryo becomes a baby. and so you have to, as dr. nancy said -- >> but are the chances greater that it won't or chances greater -- >> we don't know that. we simply don't know. when you think about doing in-vitro fertilization, what the lab is trying to do and what the doctor is trying to do is transfer the best looking embryos for that first fresh cycle, for that first hopeful pregnancy and that first baby.

so the remaining frozen, not necessarily bad but not the best of the first go-round. >> some of those "not the best" have been used in people and the babies have been beautiful and fantastic. >> this is where science comes in. you create these out of the room, then come in and implant them. science is when implantation starts. if you're not going to use them, do you store them for future scientific break-throughs? donate them so other people have a chance at having a child? do i donate them for research? frankly, do you destroy them? i think that's where the ethical, religious, scientific conversations all merge. >> that's your really your job, barbara, to help people look at those options. >> absolutely. a lot of people don't even realize they have options. we heard about a couple of options. >> one is donate to research. another donate is another couple. freeze indefinitely. >> this doesn't sound like an option but a lot of people end up simply freezing their embryos

indefinitely, probably because they either don't realize they have options, or really they're paralyzed and can't make a decision. >> thaw and discard? >> in this case the laboratory actually removes the embryos from storage, they will thaw them in the lab and the embryos simply stop growing and dividing. >> you can perform a disposal -- hate that word -- ceremony so that people can find some closure if they need it. >> a lot of people are doing this, taking the embryos from the laboratory and they are having a ceremony. they're creating a special moment to come to closure. a lot of psychologists encourage this for people who really don't know what to do and can't let go. >> one more is receive a compassionate transfer. >> this one doesn't really have an official name but this is where the embryos are transferred back into the woman when there's absolutely no chance of her becoming pregnant. >> that's an interesting thought. >> this is an amazing field. we've seen tremendous technological break-throughs. a reminder for couples, these are conversations you have

orally. you may not have the answers but you should at least know because there are legal implications to this, too, if in a divorce you can fight over these embryos, how you dispose of them. have these conversations, because our lack of talking about it is what leads to problems with a lot of couples. >> dr. nancy snyderman, thanknk >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am jennifer franciotti. harford county students are heading back to class today. day-by-day, more school systems are beginning the new school year. cecil county officials want to remind students and parents of our brand new policy forbidding the use of cell phones. it also forbids having the device's on and set to vi brate.

let's get a check of the morning commute with kim dacey. >> we picked up an accident in the city. also an accident at edmondson ave and baltimore national pike. saratoga street closed in both directions between greene street and mlk. eutaw street is closed between baltimore street and saratoga street. we can confirm accident at the southbound harrisburg expressway at middletown road. a live look at the west side of the beltway shows big delays on the outer loop. also, accident on the inner loop. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> we are dealing with temperatures in the 70's. partly sunny to partly cloudy skies today. our temperature range is 84 to 87. more than 700 mi. to the south,

southeast. potentially heavy downpours late friday and saturday. that will change the weather pattern for the better, fall- like conditions. >> thanks for joining us. we will have another update for you at 8:55.

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2009. breezy here today. it's going to be just plain smoking tomorrow morning when miley cyrus takes to our summer concert stage in our 8:30 half-hour. she's been here before, she draws a huge crowd. if you're in the area and want to check it out, get here early. that's the best advice we can give you. meanwhile, i'm matt lauer, along with ann curry. ann is here while meredith is on vacation. we got mr. roker as well and natalie morales. do you know what's coming up? martha's here. martha stewart is here today. we'll get a little crafty with martha. she'll show us how to make a mosaic art project. she says it is fairly easy. we'll all make different things and it is the same process. >> sounds like fun. also we're going to learn how to make anticipate advertisers with curtis stone. we're going to be good at that. right? you can make these very, very quickly. we'll be making them with curtis stone. nothing wrong with that.

then a little bit later, some surprising ways to enjoy a healthier and happier life. maybe a longer life. >> good idea. speaking of health, we'll saunter over this way. we have some special folks here. lot of folks know about the fight against parkinson's disease. and of course, michael j. fox's foundation. the ceo of michael j. fox foundation is here, and susan is a member of team fox. good morning. a lot of people know about the michael j. fox foundation. a lot of people don't know about team fox. tell us about that? >> team fox is the grassroots community fund-raising program for the fox foundation. it's amazing people all over the country who do whatever they can do to raise money for the cause. as of the end of this year we expect that will be over $7 million for research. >> susan, you've raised $145,000 over the last four years. how are you able to do this? >> i have a fund-raising event called tip for parkinson's. it's out of new york city. me friends, family and colleagues all get together,

they get behind the bar. a cover large, a lot of cool, silent auctions. >> why did you get involved? >> my mom has had parkinson's for about 20 years. >> 1 million people -- >> in the u.s. have parkinson's. >> team fox is really an inspirational group of people. >> how is progress going? >> progress is going. since our founding in 2000, we have funded over $150 million for research. >> how can team get involved with team fox? >> www.michaeljfox.org. i can tell you something, al? at my event next year, i would like to give you our official bar tending shirt. i'd love to you come bartend. >> i will do that. >> anybody else from the "today show." >> our director joe michaels knows a >> we are looking at temperatures between 84 and 87 today. partly cloudy to partly sunny skies. slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm.

the tropical storm will be offshore. that will enhance the chances of showers and storms. >> if you want more weather information, go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. for more willard information, let's go down to washington, d.c. and say hello to my favorite willie. how are you, sir ? >> i'm fantastic. i go to bed with the willies and wake up with al. you're nothing but fantastic. i don't know how you do it. happy birthday from smucker's. the pride of oroville, ohio. as the jam jar of life spins around, hello, florenceberg, avon, illinois. 101 years old. served as a sunday schoolteacher

at her baptist church. we love her, wish her well. love the baptists. the reverend carl gracely of walnut creek, coloradalifornia. he's the honorary chaplain of the lion's club. eleanor dederer from sullivan, maine. love maine folk. 100 years old. lives on her own. stays active. exercises on a ski machine for 20 minutes a day. how about that. leah sussman, summit, new jersey. 100 years old. retired teacher. spoke on television once and got a big kick. learned spanish when she was 60. we should all learn spanish, my friends. james parmley of conroe, texas.

100 years old. former air traffic controller. attributes longevity to good genes. he must be right because his grandmother and mother lived to be 100. finally, jean feldman from ft. lauderdale, florida. 100 years old. secret to longevity, exercise, she says. she golfed until she was 80. now she walks three miles a day. just keeps on walking. that's all from your nation's capit capital. now back to ann in new york. >> this is jonathan and clair. get a glimpse of them, they are too cute. coming up next, martha stewart with a crafty project. but first this is "today" on nbc.

this morning on "martha on today," low-cost color. mosaic art pieces can add a vivid splash of color to your home and you don't have to be an expert to make them.

martha stewart's here. she's got some great projects right out"fñ of her encyclopedif crafts book. good morning. >> this is a really great project, not just for adults but also for kids. if you have some broken china, you can use that. or chips. can you break this up further to make your little mosaic tiles. the greek, roman, byzantine all used this starting in about 400 b.c. as a decoration. >> each one of us is doing a different project. >> can you do trays. you can do a beautiful bit of porcelain, serving plate. and a frame. you can also do tabletops, you can do floors, bathtubs. >> so you have a plate like this, you dropped it and it looks like this. >> you want a lot of little pieces. so what i suggest just breaking it a little further in a towel so -- you can do that. >> under probably put your goggles on. >> no, you don't have to wear

your goggles. >> watch your fingers, martha. >> those have to be smaller. this is not the big part of mosaics sglp kids, don't do this with mom's good china! >> after a morning like this. right? then you can lay these pieces in a tray, like this. >> what kind of piece are you using? >> al, you want to get away from ann. >> make sure the adhesive you're using is appropriate for both the porcelain as well as the wood. >> pattern? it is really anything that floats your boat? >> yes. >> now you've done that. move on to al. >> you can have this. we want to grout once in place and dry. we've use pieces of sea glass. you can use tiles that are

already made. that's pretty. yeah. now you're going to grout. you take the grout and you apply the grout. >> why do you need grout? >> grout fills in all these cracks. otherwise you're going to cut yourself. this is like tiling a bathroom. >> you really just galllop it o like that? >> yeah. that's how grout is. fill in all these little cracks, then wipe it clean with a wet sponge. once you get it really in every little spot. these are not glued down. i'm sorry. you're not going to get to do anything today. but you can do the flower pot. look. you can -- look how beautiful that looks. you're going to grout that. >> what i love about this, if you've got a fantastic piece of china that you chipped and you love that pattern, say this is your pattern for your table, use that that matches that. it is a memory piece for you.

>> why don't you spread some grout on that, too. try to keep it not on the mirror. >> maybe we can take the mirror out and put it in later. >> you could, but you could also tape it off. >> you want to cover the whole thing? >> a grouter will use the sponge to push it down into those cracks really well. then you clean it all off. >> because that's important because we don't want to cut ourselves. right? that's the one thing you have to be very careful about. >> could you use icing and this where you could lick it afterwards? no. just was wondering. >> i love this idea. >> they're all coming up with rather creative ideas. if you're mad at somebody and you break a lot of plates, this is a very, very redemptive thing to do. >> you can recycle. say we've done the grout. now what would be the last -- you have to seal this? >> no, then you use a silicon-based sealant or

water-based sealant. again get that at a craft store. because what you want is no mold in the cracks. just like in a bathroom. look, see, there you go, guys. >> look. >> this is method to our madness. everything's stuck down here because of the wind. but look how pretty that looks. >> i did that! >> the tray is really cute. look. have you a nice little mosaic. did you do this one? >> yeah, i did that one. i love that. >> here's the flower pot which was so great. >> you know what? you can take off your eyewear now. >> start to finish, how long should a project take, like a picture frame there? >> you have to let it dry. i'd give it a saturday. >> where do you get all these items, these things -- >> hardware store! well bond. just a little hardware store or craft store. all these things are available. >> all of that information is in the encyclopedia of crafts. you bet. that's a great book for anybody

who is interested in crafts. >> yeah, martha. >> thanks, martha. appreciate. much more ahead on a thursday morning, but first this is "today" on nbc. 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... what i didn't expect... was the fun. the all-new subaru legacy. feel the love.

>> announcer: "today's kitchen" is brought to you bizar by serg. >> this morning on "today's kitchen," ease anticipate advertisers you can whip up in in the last minute. curtis stones joins us now with some ideas. good morning. what are you up to here? >> what i thought we'd do is make veggie fritters. it is a great way to get kids to eat more veggies. this is a little japanese mandolin which is a handy tool. >> you have to be careful mott to cut yourself. but it is amazing how thinly it cuts things up. >> slices stuff up really thin. the idea is you get this

spaghetti sort of style of vegetable. now what you do next, if you haven't got one of those, my mom used to just use a grater. still works. next you turn into a ball with a little bit of salt. the salt's going to draw out some of that moisture. then you put it into a clump like this and give it a good squeeze. >> this is the thing i would forget to do. you'll need to do that because you'll cook these up and you don't want the water to be in there. >> we should probably drink that. >> don't want to drink that. once you squeeze is out like this one, because it is salt ya ' -- that's why you don't want to drink it. pour in some crack egg. mix it up like that with your hands. just pick out little pieces -- >> can i say, that's so healthy. eggs, no flour, just eggs and vegetables and a little sat. >> i make these if i'm doing breakfast in the morning. instead of fried eggs, little bit of olive oil. you just sort of spin them

around. they're also good to serve as little anticipate advertisers. see how you flip them over. they get nice and golden. what i'm going to serve them with is just a little bit of sour cream with dill. dip it in or you can use yogurt if you're on a serious health kick. >> that's actually really, really good. the kids might try. number two. >> quesadillas. i love them. i've got chicken, this is so easy to do. chicken, get your tortilla, stick it on to a griddle. plenty of cheese. melt that. put whatever barbecue sauce you like. i'm going for quite a spicy one. >> it's interesting you use a barbecue sauce because it's not something people traditionally put with quesadillas but it has that kick you want with an appetizer.

>> put the avocado in later? >> no, that's for our next one. you work it like that. you have it low and slow. all you really need to do is melt your cheese and warm your chicken strips. >> slow is really what we're talking maybe what? a minute at the most? >> just a minute or two. >> that's terrific. it can be fairly last-minute. look at that! everyone will want one. look at, that's beautiful. would you like one? would you like one, darling? pass it around. there we go. now what's number two? >> this is number three. >> three. >> this is a crab and avocado dip. beautiful crab meat here, just a touch of mayonnaise, little bit of chile pepper and basil. labor day's coming up. if you're having people around this is quick, simple

appetizers. mix that up. avocado with a little bit of sour cream and chives. >> yum! this is so good. >> i'll just spoon these into the bottom of my bowl. >> i like these. when you dip into it, you can sort of get a little bit of both. >> you need the avocado, just beautiful delicious summer fruit. >> i'll vouch for that. >> mix up a couple cocktails. margarita. >> curtis stone, thank you so much. great ideas from you. still to come this morning, gadgets and gizmos that could help your children have a more productive school year. but first this is "today" on nbc. gecko: uh, you wanted to see me sir?

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and the hopes of patients everywhere. it's not just the future, it's life. now to our own tom brokaw's search for american character along highway 50. he has teamed up with usa network to find compelling people and stories as he travels the famed cross country road. on his latest stop, tom met up with a purpose-driven pastor who's bringing new life to east st. louis. >> reporter: it's been called the backbone of america. one highway that cuts through the heart of a changing nation. and at every crossroad, a new story.

u.s. highway 50 heading west from the eastern shore of maryland. we're going to take this road all the way to california in search of the american character. >> you can live anywhere but you don't have to live anyhow. >> reporter: pastor kendall granger, mile 973 east st. louis, illinois. >> my goal is bring our community together and rebuild families. >> reporter: these streets in the shadow of st. louis, missouri, have long been plagued with poverty, unemployment and one of the highest crime rates in the united states. >> we can say we got the short end of the stick. we aren't playing on a level field. we could keep saying that but it doesn't change the fact that we still have responsibility in the midst of what we're doing. we have to do it. >> reporter: he believes nothing will change until they address the crisis of families without fathers. >> we have about 75% of our families being headed by single moms. that's staggering. okay? so that means our church has to be prepared to reach out and

develop men so they can be a part of those families. >> reporter: so granger gives classes in manhood encouraging men to be good husbands, good fathers, and leaders. >> we know if fathers are absent, children have a higher chance of going to jail or dropping out of school or getting involved with drugs. but when both parents are working together, that family has a greater chance of being productive. >> reporter: sometimes feel like you're competing against the gang set culture that's out there? >> that's where we come in. a community of men bump chest and high-five each other for doing good things all men should be doing. >> you're saying it's okay to be a men. >> yes! that's what it's going to take to get back, not stimulus, not jobs, but men and families coming together. >> your children when they get to be your age will be walking down the sidewalk of a garden spot? >> yes, most definitely. a booming river front with some

industry that's family-yore yeb entered. yes, east st. louis will be good again. >> you are a believer. >> yes, a big believer. >> reporter: 973 miles down, 2,100 to go. >> could use some more believers. all of tom's stories from highway 50 will be featured in a special documentary airing on usa network next year. still to come, small changes that will have a big impact on your health.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am jennifer franciotti. a committee has given the green light to gov. martin o'malley's proposal to slash nearly half a billion dollars from the state budget. the board of public works approved the cuts yesterday, which would release more than 200 state employees without jobs and take a hit on most programs and services, from fire to police to after-school programs and even cancer screenings. >> governor, you have given us fair warning that this round of cuts would be exceptionally painful, and having reviewed the proposal in detail, i am inclined to agree. the list of reductions will affect the lives of virtually every marylander.

>> for more information, log onto our website, wbaltv.com. back in a minute with a check on toda

>> now for a look at the forecast with sandra shaw. >> we are going to see a high in the mid 80's. slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm. there will be a few more clouds around. the same deal for ocean city this afternoon. ocean city will be contending with high swells and rip currents throughout the weekend. we do have a chance for storms. >> thanks for joining us. we will have ano