tv Today NBC September 11, 2009 7:00am-9:00am EDT
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good morning. "i will not back down." in a new online message that south carolina congressman under fire for heckling president obama says he's not done fighting back against the president's plan to reform health care. >> i will not be muzzled. i will speak up and speak loudly against this risky plan. >> this morning why joe wilson's apology was only half the story. vanished. a yale university medical student mysteriously disappears just days before her wedding. this morning the fbi is searching the campus and interviewing students desperate to figure out where she is. and remembering 9/11. memorial services taking place across the country to honor the nearly 3,000 victims killed in
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the nation's worst terror attacks eight years ago today, friday, september 11th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a friday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm meredith vieira. it's hard to believe, eighth anniversary of the attacks. first one declared a national day of service in this country. >> and throughout the morning, throughout our show, we'll look in on some of the memorial events going on at ground zero here in new york city as well as events at the pentagon and in shanksville, pennsylvania. also ahead this morning, that all-out search led by the fbi to find a missing yale medical student. >> that's right, 24-year-old annie lee was supposed to be married this coming sunday, but she hasn't been seen since a surveillance camera recorded her walking into a research lab on
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tuesday morning. police have questioned her fiance. they say there is not a worry about his involvement in this case. in fact, he is assisting in the search, and lee's friends fear this is not just a case of a runaway bride. we'll get the latest in just a couple of minutes. and an unusual sight, at least 12 great white sharks have been spotted near popular beaches on cape cod, massachusetts. the largest weighing 2,000 pounds. we'll meet one of the sthss trying to track the sharks down in a bit. also a story shaking up the world of track and field. a south african runner who's been tested to determine if she is, in fact, a woman. questions were raised after 18-year-old caster semenya recently won a world title. this morning those test results are reportedly in. we'll get the latest on that just ahead. but we'll begin with fallout from president obama's address on health care reform and that congressional heckler. our savannah guthrie is at the
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white house with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. well, the health care debate will pause as the president marks the 9/11 anniversary at the pentagon. but on thursday he tried to create momentum from that big speech while the focus continued to be on the republican congressman who interrupted it. congressman joe wilson emerged from his office appearing shaken. >> i heard from the leadership that they wanted me to contact the white house and state that my statements were inappropriate. i did. i'm very grateful that the white house, in talking with them, they indicated that they appreciated the call. >> reporter: wilson stunned the house chamber wednesday night when he shouted out during the president's speech, accusing him of lying. >> the reforms -- the reforms i am proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. >> you lie! >> that's not true.
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>> reporter: meeting with his cabinet at the white house thursday, the president was asked if he accepted the congressman's apology. >> yes, i do. i'm a big believer that we all make mistakes. he apologized quickly. and without equivocation. and i'm appreciative of that. >> reporter: on capitol hill, house speaker nancy pelosi said wilson violated house rules. but rather than sanction him, she wants to move on. >> the episode was unfortunate. mr. wilson has apologized. it's time for us to talk about health care and not mr. wilson. >> reporter: but there may be a political price. democratic officials say wilson's campaign opponent has received more than $700,000 in campaign contributions since the speech. and the congressman's website got so much traffic, it had to be shut down. his facebook fan page loaded with comments, many supportive. >> on these issues, i will not be muzzled. i will speak up and speak loudly against this risky plan. >> reporter: after apologizing
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again on his website, a defiant wilson asked supporters for donations to keep up the fight against obama's health care plan. >> the support is to take over the government health care and those who want to give health care to illegals are using my opposition as an excuse to distract from the critical questions being raised about this poorly conceived plan. >> reporter: well, the congressman's office says it's seen a fund-raising boom since the speech, too. and there's something of a debate on capitol hill right now. some democrats think that wilson should have to go to the house floor or apologize or think there should be sanctions. other democrats like speaker pelosi and the white house, too, thinks we should all just move on. matt? >> all right, savannah guthrie at the white house. savannah, thank you very much. david gregory is moderator of "meet the press." david, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. >> we'll talk more about joe wilson in a second. let's talk about the strategy for the administration. the speech wednesday night was a high-stakes bid to give health care reform a shot in the arm. what form does the effort and
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strategy take now? >> in talking to people both inside and outside the white house, the strategy is here. for all the talk about the white house and democratic allies on capitol hill trying to ram through health care reform, what the president has settled into is very much a strategy of trying to get 60 votes, 60 votes in the senate, not having to use those parliamentary rules, but rules of reconciliation. so the key is senator olympia snowe of maine. she could be that 60th vogt and the lone republican vote, one of the first calls the president made after the speech, the morning after the speech, was to senator snowe. her schedule is being factored in when it comes to negotiations in the senate finance committee. that's where the action is. keep democrats in line, go to senator snowe, try to get to 60. >> basically the white house is continuing to reach out to moderate republicans. and that's not enough for some republicans. john mccain was on this show yesterday. and he said this about the effort. he says, "there has been no bipartisanship in addressing the
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health care issue. i've been in bipartisan negotiations. i know what they are. it has been totally absent from addressing this issue." so is that a fair complaint? is the white house ignoring the rest of the gop? >> look, the white house will argue that there has been some outreach. in the president's own speech there were several ideas including senator mccain's that could be part of this reform effort. but behind that is really more of a play by the white house to try to squeeze republicans to say, look, you're going to be obstructionists here if you don't get on board. there are some ideas. we can find some common ground. really there's a feeling within the white house that republicans have larmg argely moved on. there may be a play for a moderate republican or two. not much more than that. the real focus is keeping the democrats in line and that's a big enough job for the president. >> i don't want to spend a lot of time on it, but the heckle heard 'round the world, joe wilson, was it an isolated incident, or do you think it's part of a bigger picture? >> look, i think that that heckler, congressman wilson is
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going to speak for a lot of people who are the harshest critics of the president. but it also represents something of a movement that goes back really to president clinton where there's a growing number of people who somehow think the president is illegitimate and that it's okay to treat the president this way or to question the president this way. and i think that that has taken shape. it certainly took shape during the administration of president bush and now we're seeing it with president obama. a lack of civility, questions about the legitimacy of the president, and a lack of respect for the presidency. i think you're seeing that infused in this debate, matt. >> what do you have for sunday, david? >> we're going to have more on where the health care debate goes. we've got an exclusive debate, senators cornyn and durbin, howard dean and newt gingrich. should be lively. >> david gregory, we'll see you sunday for "meet the press." thanks, david. >> thanks, matt. 7:08. here's meredith. >> matt, thanks. now to the fbi-led search for a popular medical student at yale university who has disappeared just days before her own wedding. nbc's jeff rossen is at the yale campus in new haven, connecticut. jeff, good morning to you.
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>> reporter: meredith, good morning to you. the mystery starts right here. she was last seen walking into this building on campus on tuesday. in fact, there's surveillance video of her walking into the building but never any video of her walking out. she literally just vanished. it's been days. these flyers, these missing person flyers, are up everywhere around campus where you walk, and her wedding is planned for this weekend. less than 48 hours after she vanished, the fbi arrived at yale, going through dumpsters and questioning annie lee's friends. the fbi's involvement so early in the case fueling fears this isn't the story of a runaway bride but instead something much more sinister. annie lee may be the victim of a violent crime. this is the last image of annie, a surveillance photo as she walked into a research lab tuesday at 10:00 a.m. and that's it. >> disappearing at 10:00 a.m. in broad daylight, it doesn't get any weirder than that. >> reporter: he's managing editor of the yale school newspaper. >> and at approximately 1:00
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p.m. that same day, a fire alarm went off, and the building was evacuated. but they can't exactly trace her on the surveillance tapes. the building was evacuated, large crowds exiting the building. >> reporter: this 24-year-old medical student simply disappeared. her cell phone, purse, credit cards and cash were all left in her office. annie hasn't contacted her family or her fiance, jonathan, a grad student at columbia. friends say they were soul mates, and annie couldn't wait to marry him this sunday. jonathan has now joined the investigation, working with police to track his bride-to-be. on yale's campus, student speculation is running wild. >> she left her keys and her wallet and all of her stuff apparently. so i think if she was running away from her groom, that she'd probably take that stuff with her. >> it's a really bad area. you just need to be careful all the time. >> reporter: so right next to the campus there's a dangerous neighborhood? >> right over there. >> it's not that bad, you just have to be careful all the time. >> be aware, you know.
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>> reporter: and your dad called you today and said be careful? >> he was really concerned, actually. he said, did you hear about the woman who disappeared in the lab? >> reporter: in an ironic twist just months ago annie lee wrote an article for the campus magazine. the title, "crime and safety in new haven." new haven is a city, she said, and all cities have their perils. but with a little street smarts, one can avoid becoming yet another statistic. this morning at 4'11" and only 90 pounds, the hope is she won't become one herself. a bizarre situation to say the least. this case is so sensitive right now, even the fbi is asking for the public's help. and late last night, they established a 24-hour tip line. we have that phone number for you. little 1-877-503-1950. police have questioned the fiance but do not believe he is involved in her disappearance. in fact, he's joining the police to help in the search. meredith? >> all right, jeff rossen, thank you very much. let us get a check of the rest of the morning's top
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stories to ann at the news desk. >> good morning to you, matt and meredith. good morning, everybody. today we pause to remember the attack on america that changed our world. it was at 8:46 a.m. eastern eight years ago when the first of four hijack planes struck. today ceremonies and moments of silence are held in new york, at the pentagon, the white house and shanksville, pennsylvania. tonight the tribute in light will shine again above ground zero where the twin towers once stood to honor the nearly 3,000 people who died. nbc's ron allen is there for us this morning from ground zero in lower manhattan with more. hey, ron, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, ann. it is a very windy, blustery day here overlooking ground zero. many september 11th families have been pushing for this to be a national day of service and remembrance for many years. and president obama recently made that happen. the result is that there are thousands of organizations around the country that are mobilizing volunteers to perform good deeds in their communities to honor the service and sacrifice that was so evident here september 11th, eight years ago. many families, volunteers and
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first responders are gathering here for the annual ceremony. they will read the names of the 3,000 -- nearly 3,000 who perished here. there will be four moments of silence to mark the times when the planes hit the towers and when the towers fell. this is also a time to take stock of the rebuilding effort here at ground zero, a process that has been moving along very, very slowly. the latest plan is to build four skyscrapers surrounding a memorial and a museum. the goal is to have the memorial in place by 2011. ann? >> all right, ron allen in the rain, thanks so much for your reporting this morning on this important story and on this national day of service and remember ron was talking about. first lady michelle obama and dr. jill biden are joining forces calling on americans to support military service members, veterans and their families. the two are appearing in the first of a series of public service announcements that encourage volunteerism. some good news this morning in the fight against h1n1, swine
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flu. scientists say it appears only one shot will be needed to protect most americans from the virus, not two as predicted earlier. and they say the vaccine becomes effective in protecting people from the swine flu within ten days. the white house has announced that president obama will deliver a major speech on the u.s. financial crisis on monday on wall street. cnbc's melissa lee joins us from the new york stock exchange with more on this. melissa, and that's not the only thing that wall street is watching today. >> certainly, ann, it will be a somber day here as well as at the stock exchange just a couple blocks away from ground zero. investors will do their best to focus on the business at hand, and that is the state of the economy. t tim geithner testifying in front of congress saying that the additional placeholder for $750 billion likely will not be necessary. certainly good news there. and yesterday in the cnbc town hall exclusive event, geithner said that the economy is improving but that we've got a long way to go. ann. >> melissa lee keeping a close eye on the all-important economy. thank you this morning. and finally now, nasa will
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try again today to bring the shuttle "discovery" home. two landing opportunities were scrubbed on thursday because of bad weather over florida. which means al has a lot of explaining to do. it is now 7:14. let's go back to the aforementioned al and also meredith and matt. >> not my fault. >> don't take it personally. >> it's easy to blame somebody. >> somebody points a finger at you. depending on the finger. let's take a look, show you what's going on. we'll show you here in the northeast, man, it is rough. we've got a tornado watch in effect for much of the southern half of new jersey until 12:00 noonon >> look of the rain right now. heaviest rain is cecil county south word of the eastern shore.
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we have a light-to-moderate rain shower activity in baltimore right now. rain is heaviest east of us. showers by this afternoon. and it's that time of year. we've been waiting for this. and now we can tell you it's here. it's time for "sunday night football night in america"! it's a big one. the bears take on the packers at historic lambeau field! clear, mild, temperatures 61 to 66. nbc coverage starts at 8:00 on "sunday night, football night in america"! matt.
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>> 16 weeks of this? >> yes! >> all right, al. thanks very much. now to the fast-thinking victim of identity theft in seattle, washington, who helped authorities break up what's being called a significant crime ring. five people have been charged so far, three of those have pled guilty. nbc's miguel almaguer has the details. >> i see hundreds of people every day. >> reporter: faces don't always stand out for store clerk michelle mccambridge. so you guys were face to face? >> yes, right here. >> reporter: and your thinking -- >> is this really you standing right before me? it was pretty shocking. >> reporter: stephanie locke was right in front of mccambridge's jc penney register, and locke was trying to open a credit card using a fake i.d. her face was familiar because just a few weeks earlier, locke opened a credit card in mccambridge's name. mccambridge recognized the identity theft suspect from these police photos taken at a different department store.
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now locke was inches away, doing it again to someone else. >> out of all the registers you could have gone to and out of all the associates who could have rung her up in our store, and she came to me, it's a little ironic. >> reporter: mccambridge alerted security who tracked the suspect through the store, but it was locke's paper trail that was even longer. >> i received a bill from babies 'r' us for $2,100, kohl's, $1500. >> reporter: according to authorities locke had racked up thousands of dollars in charges under mccambridge's name, and she wasn't working alone. federal agents say a ring of five suspects had stolen more than 40 identities, charging over $140,000. opportunity brought one of the suspects and one of the victims face to face. but it was a woman michelle mccambridge had been tracking for weeks. >> michelle contacted all these
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companies, to preserve whatever evidence of the crimes that were committed to her so that she could report to the police. >> reporter: even with a team of federal investigators working on her case, the u.s. attorney's office still doesn't know exactly how michelle's identity was stolen. and that's not uncommon for the hundreds of thousands who have their i.d. stolen every year. but what is unusual is the victim and the suspect coming together. >> it's kind of like fate, you know. good karma of, i guess, on my part that she happened to come to me. >> reporter: a chance encounter and a new meaning to customer service. for "today," miguel almaguer, nbc news, seattle. >> that's a good ending to that story. it's now 19 after the hour. once again here's meredith. >> matt, thank you. now to the world-class runner subjected to gender testing after her sex was called into question. nbc's donna friesen is in london with the latest. donna, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. the results are in on caster semenya's gender, and there are unconfirmed reports they show
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she has both male and female sexual characteristics. but the international athletics federation is urging caution, saying medical experts have yet to interpret what those results actually mean. she is south africa's golden girl, a world-class athlete and now cover girl for this popular south african magazine. caster semenya at her most glamorous. she, her family and most south africans have no doubt about her gender. >> we are here to tell the whole world how proud we are of our little girl. >> reporter: she's been embraced as a national hero. but doubts about whether she really is female continue to plague the 18-year-old. after her victory in the 800 meters at the world championships, her masculine fizz zik raised questions about her gender. unconfirmed reports now say the results show she has both male and female sexual characteristics, but no ovaries or uterus and three times the
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normal level of testosterone for women. the international association of athletics federation is refusing to confirm the results, saying they must be examined by medical experts. but a spokesperson told a south african newspaper, "we can't afford to make any mistakes, particularly because we've already been threatened with the international court of human right rights." the head of south african athletics says they stand fully behind their athlete. >> she has not kmilted any crime whatsoever. her crime is to be born the way she was born. >> reporter: semenya herself seems pretty centered. she told a south african magazine that god made her the way she is. "i am who i am, and i'm proud of myself." this morning south africa's sports minister said again he has no doubt semenya is female and that if they have to, they'll launch a legal battle to allow her to continue to compete. the athletic federation says it will not announce a final decision on semenya's test results until november. but a spokesman has said their legal advice is that if the
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results show she had an advantage because of naturally occurring male hormones, then it will be extremely difficult to strip of her gold medal because it doesn't mean she was cheating or using illegal drugs. >> donna friesen, thank you very much. and just ahead, a frightening sight, great white sharks swimming near beaches in massachusetts. we'll meet the man who is tracking them down. but first, this is "today" on nbc.
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>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i'm stan stovall. quite a few problems on the roads right now. >> we normally see this when it rains. unfortunately, that is what we're seeing all around the area. 102 and mountain road, word of an accident coming in there. one on the out about providence. we still of the crash on the southbound harrisburg expressway just past padonia road.
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backing down heavily approaching padonia road. approaching 795 all the way down to edmondson,xd 705 in the areaf the beltway, reports of an accident there. we also have several accidents in howard county to report. east of 32, a crash there. another was not good to add washington boulevard. -- another westbound 32 at washington boulevard. we will switch over to a live view of the west side, where we are looking at a lot of congested towards edmondson. >> we will show you what the radar is showing. had this strain is cecil county south word on the eastern shore. -- heaviest rain is cecil county south word on the eastern shore. everybody is at least getting a
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...they're guaranteed. fresh express. consistently, deliciously fresh. you try to have a little something for everybody. you try to have something smart, something silly, something goofy. and that's -- you put it all together. >> 7:30 now on this friday morning, the 11th of september, 2009. and that, of course, jay leno on what we can expect monday when he begins his new primetime show five nights a week right here on nbc. we're going to talk with jay about his big move monday on "today." >> that's an exclusive interview also. i don't think he's done much talking about this over the last couple weeks. >> in fact, i had totally forgotten about him. jay who? inside studio 1a, i'm meredith vieira alongside matt lauer. ahead, the great white sharks that have led to the indefinite closure of some beaches on cape
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cod. at least 12 shotted offshore, five tagged by scientists. we'll talk to one of those shark hunters in a moment. i'm having trouble with those words because i'm a new englander. >> you've been calling them shocks all morning. also ahead, a decision by some marnparents to have their at home. they say it's more intimate, but is it the safest choice for mother and child? we'll look at the pros and cons of that coming up. and on thursday we told you about that special bond between 11-year-old heather miller who is battling cancer and the pittsburgh steelers. well, she received the vip treatment last night at the nfl season opener. and her favorite team went on to win in overtime, 13-10. thrilled for her. >> unfortunately, though, heather's favorite player, troy polamalu, sprained his knee, could be out a couple weeks, but at least it looks like she had a good time. 12 great white sharks off the coast of cape cod. sound familiar?
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>> reporter: call it life imitating a blockbuster. great white sharks seen lurking off the coast of cape cod. close to shore and very close to where the movie "jaws" was first filmed. at least 12 sharks have been spotted here, some as big as 15 feet long. and while no one's been attacked, the shark sightings have closed beaches indefinitely and brought out curious onlookers, hoping to get a glimpse of the ocean's greatest predator. >> we're here because they come out at dawn and dusk. so we were hoping maybe we'd get a look at them. >> reporter: experts believe the great whites are here for food. the region is a seasonal resting spot for seals. great whites are rarely seen in the atlantic, making this a rare opportunity for marine biologist greg skomal and his team of researche researchers. >> it's going to be our lucky day, billy boy. i've got a good feeling. >> reporter: just like in the movie, this team set out on a shark hunt.
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but their goal, to electronically tag the sharks with a device that would stay attached for several months, providing new information about the movements of this dangerous but often misunderstood creature. >> try to stay on them as good as you can. just so happens that this is the baddest fish in the world and can swallow you whole. >> you're going to need a bigger boat. >> reporter: off the massachusetts coast, the adventure began and the team closed in on the ever elusive great white. >> oh, my god! he loves this area right where these seals are. >> stead it up. >> reporter: then came the moment of truth requiring both luck and skill. >> left, left, left, left! >> tag! tag! we've got a tag! >> it's such a buildup that it draws the life out of you. >> reporter: in all five great white sharks were tagged, no small feat, and hopefully providing big clues into how
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these powerful predators live. and greg skomal, all of him, is with us now. greg, good morning to you. >> it's great to be here. thank you. >> 27 years trying to do this. what is this experience like for you? you've been trying to find these sharks. >> i'm bouncing offer the wall. i love it. i'm nervous being here because i'd rather be there tagging sharks. >> why are we seeing so many suddenly? i know that sharks are in the atlantic, but they're very elusive. >> yeah. white sharks are broadly distributed in the atlantic ocean. we know they occur off new england this time of year. what we're kind of fascinated by, we didn't expect to see so many right now in this particular area. >> and close to shore, we're talking some of these were 100 yards out? >> yes. they're close proximity to a seal colony. >> so what is so important about this for you as a researcher? what kind of information are you hoping to glean from these sharks? >> you know, there are folks around the world in the pacific and indian oceans that have great opportunities to study white sharks, look at what they're doing, how they're moving. the atlantic has been somewhat
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difficult for us to do that in. and this is that rare opportunity where we have white sharks right in my backyard to be able to do that. >> talk to me about the tagging process because i look at those images of you, and you make one wrong step, you're in the water with those sharks. what are you feeling when you're out there? >> pure exhilaration. i'm literally walking the plank. you get out there, you get to see these sharks. i'm interested am i looking at males, females, getting size estimates while billy's doing the tagging. it's very, very fun. >> and once you tag these sharks, they go off for a period of time. the tags are designed to come off, what, in a couple of months? >> exactly. there's a misconception that these satellite tags will give us realtime information. they actually don't. they stay on the shark, they collect data, temperature, depth, and then they pop off, float to the surface and transmit that information back to us. then we recreate what the shark did after we tagged it. >> you know, i was on cape cod a few weeks ago. i didn't know there were sharks at that time. i'm in the water, the whole
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thing, because it was beautiful. the weather was gorgeous. how dangerous is it for people? they've obviously closed some beaches, so there's some concern. >> there's definitely concern. i'd be more concerned about this weather system moving through right now that's creating these rip tides. but truth be told, you've got white sharks, you've got what they feed on, seals, in the area. it's best to stay out of the water. >> okay. and those tags, again, they should be coming off sometime december, january and then they'll float up to the surface, transmit their information, hopefully you learn a lot more about the sharks. >> then i'm going to be really excited. >> all right. thank you so much. >> my pleasure. great to be here. and now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> hey, we're on, jim. thank you. jim corrigan, ladies and gentlemen. we've got a bunch of buckeyes here.
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>> the coastal low producing heavy rains in the northeast corner of maryland. showers are run baltimore now. we had an inch of rain today. shaw was extending into the afternoon will only be in the that's your latest weather. this weekend you want to keep an eye on the weather? check out the weather channel on
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we speak the most fuel-efficient midsize sedan in america. we speak the 2010 ford fusion hybrid. get in... and drive one. we're back now at 7:41. and this morning on "today investigates," extreme births. welcoming a baby into the world is one of life's most powerful and personal experiences, and it's inspiring a passionate debate. nbc's peter alexander is here with details on this. peter, this is a real dramatic and emotional subject. >> increasingly it's become a hot topic in this country. a growing number of mothers are choosing to give birth with no drugs, no doctor in their home. but is avoiding the clinical nature of a hospital birth worth the risk? when complications arise? >> we believe that it would be
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the best for the baby. and it was so short of that. >> reporter: this is how two expecting parents' best intentions turned into anyone's greatest fear. katherine and ricardo mckenzie were overjoyed last summer to learn that they were pregnant with their first child. >> i felt like our family was complete. >> reporter: the mckenzies, both new york city professionals, wanted their childbirth experience to be special. >> closure eyes. >> reporter: they found inspiration in an extremely popular documentary produced by the actress and talk show host ricki lake. >> women in our society, they don't care about that. they just want the end result of the healthy baby in their arms. >> reporter: it's called the business of being born, and it challenges how doctors and hospitals approach childbirth, championing natural births with a midwife at home and with as little medical intervention as possible. >> it looks ideal. and it really put any of the desire to give my child that. >> reporter: the mckenzies decided to hire one of the
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country's most prominent midwives, kara muhan. >> i'm like the guardian of safety. >> reporter: she's been a certified nurse midwife for the last 18 years. after a healthy pregnancy, last april katherine's contractions began. >> i was very excited. i was going to get to meet her. >> reporter: their daughter's nursery was already decorated and a name already picked out. noah. >> i have her outfit ready. >> reporter: but katherine's labor in her own living room lasted longer than expected, coached not by doctors but by mohan and her staff. >> we kept being reassured, is this normal? >> they were the experts, they knew, they had seen it 100 times. and i just trusted -- i trusted them that they wouldn't take unnecessary risk. >> reporter: after four days of labor, baby noah arrived without a heartbeat. >> when she came out, they put her in my arms.
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she was limp. and, you know, the midwife immediately took her back and started doing cpr. >> reporter: they immediately called 911. paramedics rushed noah to the hospital just a block away. >> i was still hoping that she was going to make it. >> reporter: but doctors couldn't save noah. she had suffocated after getting tangled in her own umbilical cord. their midwife, kara, declined our request for an interview but released this short statement. there is nothing more tragic than losing a child. the entire staff at caramulhahn midwivry is grieving the loss. it's an increasingly popular trend among educated urban couples. in fact, home births have soared 27% in the last decade. >> one of the doctors i spoke to said that he thought that home birth had become almost the equivalent of a spa treatment for women, that it was this sort
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of hedonistic concept of birthing. >> reporter: all the celebrity babies born at home could fill an entire nursery. demi moore's three daughters, rumer, scout and tallulah, were all home births. cindy crawford and meryl streep had children at home, too. but the mainstream medical community says the safest setting for labor and delivery is in a hospital or a birthing center within a hospital complex. >> unfortunately when it comes to a delivery setting, some of the emergencies arise can't be predicted. they happen in low-risk women with no prior medical issues during her pregnancy. and if we can't intervene within minutes, the life of the mother and the life of the baby could be endangered. >> reporter:he american college of obstetricians and gynecologists says childbirth decisions should not be dictated or influenced by what's fashionable, trendy or the latest cause celeb. but home birth advocates contend using a midwife is actually a healthier, safer option. they allege that hospitals often
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treat normal births like medical emergencies, out of fear of malpractice lawsuits and wind up performing unnecessary c-sections that have risen more than 50% over the past decade. >> if you go to the hospital to have a baby, many unnecessary things will be done to you to stimulate your labor, to hurry up the process, and there is a one in three chance that you will end up with a cesarean section. >> ready to go for a ride? >> reporter: cynthia winnings and her husband, david dylan, had a great experience with a midwife who safely delivered their first child, buck, ten pounds, right here in their brooklyn apartment in april. >> it was always the way that i dreamed of it. you know, i was aware, baby was aware, and we were just finally meeting one another for the first time. >> i was really able to see the simple, like, miraculously amazing aspect of childbirth.
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>> reporter: while the cdc says home birth statistics are limited, in 2005, home births actually resulted in fewer deaths than hospital births. for every 1,000 babies born. but doctors say it's impossible to compare the two because hospitals deal with so many more high-risk cases including twins, diabetic mothers, and breech babies. today, the mckenzies are still mourning the loss of noah, what should have been the most joyous day of their lives now haunts them. >> i would have 100 c-sections over if i could just have my child in my arms. so a c-section is not the worst thing. losing our noah was definitely the worst thing. >> the mckenzies say they need more time to heal, matt, but soon they are hoping to once again try and start a family. >> peter, that's a tragic side of this and a tragic story. what should people ask of a
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midwife before they employ that person? >> it's a good question. it's a conversation that parents right now are having around this country. the medical experts that we spoke with said that expectant parents considering a home birth should ask several questions. specifically, does the midwife have malpractice insurance. another one would be does she have a collaboration agreement with a doctor or hospital that would help them care for the baby and the mother in case there is an emergency of this sort. >> all right. peter, thanks very much. appreciate it. still to come, what is in this fall? the hottest trends in food, fashion and technology. we'll get to that. but first, these messages. it will block 25% of the fat that you eat and keep it from being absorbed. that's got to be better for you than something that is absorbed into the system. alli is not only just a pill but it is a total program. it's a way of teaching yourself to eat more healthy. it does force a lifestyle change. (announcer) join the millions of people who are losing weight with alli.
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back now at 7:51 with "today's search for the lost symbol." dan brown fans all around the world are on the edge of their seats for tuesday's release of that new book. and leading up to the big day, we've been giving you exclusive clues that point to some of the locations you'll find in the story. so here is number three. >> reporter: it is said to be a
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wonder in stone. it contains archives, vaults and even human remains. and yet its secrets are a mystery to many who pass by it every day. dan brown spent a lot of time researching here. and frankly, some of the most chilling, haunting and even disturbing aspects of his new book take place here. this building was designed as a replica of the temple of king masolus, making it the original mausoleum. two stone sphinxes stand guard of the entrance. the one on the right, a symbol of wisdom. the one on the left, a symbol of wisdom. each weighs 17 tons. inside contains hidden symbolic meaning. although we're told this is not a religious place, it is a spiritual place. the center of the room is this black marble altar. and on top of the altar you'll find the holy books of some of the world's major religions, the koran, the holy bible.
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on the floor, words are inscribed on all four sides. from the light of the divine word, the logos comes the wisdom of life and the goal of initiation. this place was built by men of the craft. so where was dan brown? and where am i? where am i? >> where are you? >> where are you? >> what's your purpose? >> what is my deal? >> are ywe allowed to guess? >> go ahead. >> the masonic temple in washington, d.c. >> i have no guess. >> i'm sure that's -- i'm sure al's right. i back him 100%. >> don't you want to say the first lady's garden at the white house? >> don't get mad at me. >> we're back. there's the life i live. and the life i want to live. fortunately, there's enbrel. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness, fatigue, and stop joint damage. because enbrel suppresses your immune system,
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with a soft flickering light and a stylish design new febreze flameless luminaries part of the new febreze home collection >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. let's check on the morning commute with traffic pulse 11 and sarah caldwell. >> it has been a really rough ride since early this morning thanks to the rain falling around the area. southbound 95 at harford road and mountain county, accident being cleared. look at the delays on the northeast outer loop, 27 miles per hour is the average speed.
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a slow go southbound harrisburg expressway from shawan road down to the beltway. 19 miles per hour is the speed on the outer loop west side. on the inner loop in the area of 705, another accident coming in to us. -- in the area of 795, another accident, and added to us. east of the to and restart drive, and another one at route 31. we have some delays, but not that bad. not as we normally see them, at least. a live view of the west side of 40, was still plenty congested. >> you can see the rain drops on the traffic cameras. heavy stress the harford county, cecil county. -- heaviest raids at harford county, cecil county. this stuff could get a little closer to us. the forecast is calling for clouds and rain.
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temperatures in the 60's. >> our next live update coming your way in 25 minutes. some people say i'm obsessed with my chickens. but i like to think i'm just going beyond the call of duty. cock-a-doodle-do. i do 22 more inspections than the government requires. and my fresh, all-natural chickens are never given any hormones or steroids. they're raised cage-free and fed an all-natural diet of corn, soybeans, and marigolds. and no candy, gladys. (announcer) perdue. extra inspections. extraordinary chicken. what-- they're more comfortable.
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8:00 now on a friday morning. it's the 11th day of september, 2009. and after a pretty good run of weather over the last week and a half or so, we've got some rain on the plaza this morning. but you know what? we've also got some hearty people enjoying themselves hopefully even though it's a little windy and cool this morning. >> yes. very fall-like. >> hopefully the rain gets in here and gets out of here. >> not so much. >> hopefully the rain -- >> in case you need it. i'll be the -- whatever you call it. >> it's not so bad right now. out on the plaza i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira and al roker. a couple with an interesting story. >> he wanted to do something
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very creative so he put the ring in the milk shake, assumed she's find the ring. she missed it. she swallowed it. she didn't believe him until she saw the x-ray. but the big question, given that, did they actually get married? we're going to find out in just a moment. >> i hate to pass judgment on that story. anyway, certainly feels like fall around here. and coming up, we've got everything that's new and hot for fall, from what you'll be eating to what you'll be wearing to gadgets to movies. we've got it covered in "today's friday whip"! >> you know what? all these people are saying that you lost an earring. >> oh. >> they're all pointing. >> wow! >> all these nice ladies over here were pointing. >> thank you so much. >> good eyes. >> especially the ones in richard's nose. kidding. >> where did that come from? >> wow! that was an ugly turn there. let's go inside. let's get out of here. let's go inside. ann's got a look at the headlines.
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ann? >> all right. thanks, matt. good morning once again. in the news this morning, today is an important day. the eighth anniversary of 9/11. at 8:46 a.m. eastern, the moment the first plane struck, a pause to think about just how our world has changed. near the world trade center site, families and volunteers are gathering to read all of the names of the nearly 3,000 victims there. this morning president obama attends a wreath-laying at the pentagon memorial. and former secretary of state colin powell is in shanksville, pennsylvania, where united flight 93 crashed. the president has formally designated today a national day of service and remembrance in honor of all of those who have lost. they remember the terror attacks and also those who died. about 500 service men and women taen attended a prayer base at the base. time to coincide with the 9/11 anniversary, nearly 100
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people mostly students demonstrated and clashed with police outside the u.s. embassy in manila today. they were protesting the presence in the philippines and their country's involvement in the war on terror. now to the fight against the h1n1 virus otherwise known as the swine flu. scientists now say most people will be able to fight the virus with just one shot instead of two as earlier said. that's according to the u.s. and australian researchers who have been testing the new vaccine. they also said it offers protection within ten days. president obama heads to wall street on monday for what the white house is calling a major speech on the state of the u.s. economy. the speech at federal hall comes exactly a year after investment giant lehman brothers collapsed. the first of a series of financial collapses and bailouts. a close call at a gas station in british columbia this week. security video released on thursday shows a car losing control and crashing into a gas pump as a customer was fueling his vehicle. it sparked a huge fireball, but
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>> a lot of the green and yellow. the green is shower activity, yellow is the heaviest rain, especially in cecil county. forecast calls for rain tapering off to showers in the afternoon. we will be and suddenly the weather took a turn for the worse. meredith. >> it certainly did. it started raining. okay, thanks, al. up next, an unforgettable marriage proposal. whatever happened to the couple whose special day ended at the hospital? the answer right after this.
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and this morning the milk shake proposal that went awry. reed harris had the sweet idea of putting an engagement ring in his girlfriend's favorite dessert, and let's just say things did not go as planned. >> reporter: reed harris waited for his girlfriend, kaitlin whipple, to spoon up an engagement ring in her frosty. everyone was ready for the proposal, yet kaitlin never found the ring. >> i put an engagement ring in your frosty. >> are you serious? >> you swallowed it whole. >> reporter: at the time she refused to believe she actually swallowed her engagement ring. >> we need to go to the emergency room to get an x-ray. >> reporter: kaitlin continued to think it was all a joke until reed drove her to the hospital for an x-ray. later that same night reed
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proposed again, this time x-ray in hand. kaitlin said yes and eventually nature, like true love, prevailed. six months ago i asked the happy couple about the engagement. why the frosty? why the milk shake? >> that's a good question. i have no idea. >> you must have been wolfing this thing done. did you feel nothing? >> i felt nothing at all. >> reporter: the two married may 30th and even served wendy's frostys at their wedding reception. and we're happy to say that kaitlin and reed harris are with us again this morning. good morning to both of you. congratulations. have you lived this down yet? >> i have. it's been a fun time the whole time. it's been a really good six months and marriage thus far. >> congratulations on that. i don't know whether to say has he lived it down yet or have you live it had down yet? because the swallowing the ring whole thing is a good part of the story as well. what do people say to you when they meet you? >> well, some people recognize me. >> the milk shake girl? >> yeah. there's the girl that swallowed
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the ring, aren't you? it's been pretty interesting. kind of embarrassing. >> i like the fact that, you know, you did this interview, and then the sky seemed to open up. i mean, all these other interviews followed. you actually -- you had the people at wheaties contact you? did they put your picture on the cover of a box of wheaties? >> they did. >> they did. it was actually general mills, the company. they sent us a bunch of cereal. they sent us a bunch of pop tarts and different things. they sent us the wheaties box. >> and one of the reasons for that was once you had swallowed the ring -- i always find i have to dance around you to make this thing okay. but once you swallowed the ring, you ate prunes and fiber one. >> yeah. >> to aid in the process of being able to retrieve the ring. and that kind of is what caught the attention of some of these food companies, right? >> yes. and since they saw their cereal
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on tv, they sent this. >> never underestimate the genius of marketing of corporations. how did the wedding go? >> it was great. >> tell me a little bit about it. >> well, it was in monticello, utah. and it was easy for our families to be there. and that was the most important thing for us. of course, not only that we got married but that our families could be there as well. it was really close to where we lived. it was the best day. >> you served wendy's frostys at the wedding, is that true? >> yeah. >> at the reception? i guess it's only fitting we have some here on the table. has he surprised you in any other ways since that first one, or is that part of your wedding vows, he will not surprise you ever again? >> i think he needs to stop surprising me. >> if you had do it again, i mean, it was a cute idea. >> yeah. >> it just didn't work out the way you hoped. if you had to do it again, would you do the same thing? >> oh, i don't know. it was scary. it was the scariest thing.
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i don't know. i mean, i had no idea where it went. it was kind of the worst feeling, but then once she said yes, it was all good. once we found out where the ring was, it was a little bit more comforting, i guess you could say. >> first of all, show your hand there because now you have not only the engagement ring but a wedding ring as well. both exactly where they should be, which is good news. kaitlin and reed, congratulations again. >> thank you. >> nice to have you guys back. all the best for a very happy and healthy marriage. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> nice to see you guys. up next, from fashion to food to tv, what's hot for fall? we'll talk about that right after this. the sun... - ( 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
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today's "friday whip" is brought to you by mcdonald's. ♪ >> it is friday. that can mean only one thing. it is time for "today's whip." and this morning, what is hot for fall. >> we have enlisted four experts to give you a sneak peek from everything from fashion to food. but we'll start with the best of fall entertainment. the editor in chief of "maxim." joe, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> a lot to get to beginning with tv and the big buzz especially around here is "jay
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leno show" on monday. >> jay leno on monday, live five nights a week. it's a different thing. it's an experiment. we expect to see some of what jay's done before and something new. he's got a racetrack built around that studio. he's going to be racing guests. how's that? >> that sound -- >> that could be a new thing. >> you feel good about that one? >> i feel pretty good about it. we've got a lot of comedies this fall. comedy's not so good. the network thinks people want to laugh. "community" on nbc starts next thursday, joe mchale from "the soup," chevy chase and an hour-long show on fox called "glee." >> that's already started. >> started last night. very funny. >> okay. let's move from that to music where old is new again. >> that's right. >> the beatles and michael jackson. >> beatles and michael jackson. we're going to get new albums from shakira and john mayer but two artists we have back, the beatles in conjunction with their "rock band," the video game, have put out all their records remastered on cd. people have been waiting for this. the music sounds as good as
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ever, better if you grew up with it on vinyl, you're going to love it. the guitar, the drums. >> so it's worth it? >> people ask me, is it worth? i have it on cd already. it is. it sounds great. better than ever. michael jackson called "the remix suite." remixing some old motown 5 classics. they're up on itunes but the cd is out october 20th. >> what's hot for fall in movies? >> there's really one huge one, "twilight," the second one, the vampire love story comes back with "new moon." we're upping the ante with werewolves. >> how do you -- oh, i see. >> vampires and werewolves. you know what? that is the beloved story. there's going to be a vampire/werewolf love triangle. >> that's nasty. thank you so much. now here's al. >> i think we saw that on frankenstein. now to fall's hottest trends in technology. omar wassau is a tech analyst.
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>> thanks for having me. >> big news this week, apple announcing a little tweak to the ipod line. >> that's right. so we've got total refresh of the ipod line. there's a new model. this is the nano that's been updated so it's got video you can see there. and this is $149 is the entry-level but it's also got a pedometer, it's got fm radio. it's got a microphone so you can, you know, like a small camcorder. can you actually use it to record voice memos. >> that's very cool. how about the ipod touch itself? >> the touch has been refreshed as well. that's now you can get from $199 to $399. it's got more memory, it's more affordable. but the big story is really this video, being able to record video on an ipod. so you've got this sort of camcorder wherever you go. >> so microsoft out with windows 7. vista not a big hit. things better for windows this time around? >> yes, october 22nd, windows 7 comes out. two-thirds of the world is using windows xp right now.
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so this is a big upgrade for them. it's got lots of interface features. for example, this is a nice one, if you shake the windows, you see the stuff, when you've got too many windows open, those hide. lots of nice tweaks making it easy to search. that runs to $219. starting up, shutting down, also using windows experience is a little easier and simpler. >> another trend in technology, health and fitness. >> yeah, this is one i'm really excited about. we mentioned the nano has a pedometer. this is from gowhere fit. it's got two sensors, an accelerometers, it measures body temperature, the heat flux going on in your muscles. it uses all that information to allow you to set goals and monitor them on the web so you can see your progress, how many calories you've burned, how many steps you've taken. >> omar, thanks a lot. now up to the kitchen and matt. al, thank you very much. one of the hottest trends in fall food. angela milten is a restaurant editor at "bon appetit" magazine.
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andrew, good to see you. people go to the market and say they want to buy fresh, seasonal food. you say this is the darling of the farmers' market. >> this is it. apparently pop epopeye had it a wrong, tuscan kale. kale is for people who think they don't like kale. it's not as bitter as the curly stuff here. and it's super versatile. >> and super healthy. you just look at this. >> loaded with vitamin a. >> good for pasta and things like that. let's talk about alternative grains. what do you like? >> forget couscous and rice. >> they're delicious. >> loaded with amino acids. real grits, stone-ground grits and cracked wheat. >> a variety of ways. >> and easy, easy to cook. >> you say this is literally red hot for the fall. what is this? >> this is pimenton which is a fancy way of saying smoked spanish paprika. this has a place right next to the salt and pepper. i have yet to find a food this
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doesn't work with. >> on french fries? >> birthday cake is so-so, but it still works. >> the french fries are good, though. you're right. >> smokiness. literally you can put it on anything and it livens things up. fat-free, low-cal. >> you like agave nectar, why? >> this is alternative sweeteners whether it's more healthful than regular sugar. this is great because it's lighter. it dissolves easier. >> which one should i taste in. >> this is the lighter one. it's good in cocktails, iced tea. you'll see it in baked goods. >> sweet. >> you'll see it in baked goods and a lot of sodas advertised on the label. those are big trends. >> thank you. >> appreciate it. last but not least, let's go down to ann. >> finally, what's the trend for fashion? jill martin is an expert and also contributor to "us weekly" and found deals under $50. good morning. >> good morning. >> for women, leather jackets. >> the leather jacket is the investment piece. but if you're looking to save money or you're not a fan of
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leather, i'm wearing one right now under $50. it's just a great alternative to get in on the trend. >> you're talking pleather. >> and it's very envogue so don't feel like you can't wear pleather. >> we thought the '80s would never come back. >> we're going '80s. >> but they are back this fall. >> what goes around comes around. acid wash jeans, american eagle doing an updated version. >> never really left us. >> they're really back now. >> we've got the madonna thing happening. >> with the grommets and for payless, they're really doing less expensive versions now. and moccasins. remember moccasins. those are back. and neon. >> even parachute pants, i understand, mc hammer time. >> you have to know your audience for them. >> for men. >> the plaid fad. these are available at kohl's if you want that young, hip version. and old navy making great options if you want a more conservative plaid look. >> i think this would look very good on al.
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jill martin, >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. a 19-year-old odenton man is in police custody, charged with attacking a woman near a bus stop. police said that the 19-year-old approached a woman from behind and tried to drag her into a yard early thursday morning at the 300 block of mount vernon ave. she managed to break free and contact police. the man is charged with attempted first-degree rape and other charges. let's check on the morning commute with couples 11 and sarah caldwell. -- traffic pulse 11 and sarah caldwell. >> we are dealing with delays. sitting stall all the way down to the beltway. 19 miles per hour is the average
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speed on the northeast outer loop. you're looking at a very slow ride, 11 power, on the west side outer loop. that is backing down traffic on 795. in of the bill is approaching the j.f.x. accident northbound j.f.x. in the area of the beltway. southbound closed on fayette. you are dealing with an accident on the spot 32 at grace card dry. at the white marsh area, starting to improve their. very wet, as you can see. at sandy point, we're looking good at the bay bridge toll plaza. >> quick check of radar, have your reins and cecil county across harford county. new band of heavy rain coming to delaware right now. showers even a little rumble of thunder to the northeast. temperatures stuck in the 60's.
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8:30 now on this friday morning, september 11th, 2009. cool, gray rainy day here in the heart of midtown manhattan, but we are happy these lovely folks stopped by the plaza. and just ahead in this half hour, get ready to say "aww." we're going to talk to one of the best photographers in the midwest -- look at that -- who specializes in taking unforgettable baby pictures like these. her favorite age to work with, believe it or not, 5-day-old
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babies. >> oh, my gosh. >> how she gets these newborns to pose like that. that's coming up. isn't that adorable? she has a relative newborn of her own. >> that's really, really cute. also ahead, tiki barber is back today. he's going to take to the court. >> what's going on? >> anybody got some crazy glue? >> tiki's going to take to the court against some of the best tennis players in the world. one of them has not lost a match in six years. and chances are you've never heard of them. we're going to find out more about them with tiki in a little while. plus, how to find the right diet for y y
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has found a way to make the moment last a lifetime. take a look. ♪ baby ♪ don't you cry ♪ baby of mine dry your eyes ♪ close to my heart never to part ♪ ♪ baby of mine >> tracy is the photographer behind those adorable portraits. tracy, good morning to you. >> hi. >> hi. those little babies are so sweet. you specialize in photographing newborns. you particularly like them when they're, like, around two weeks old. but i look at those pictures, and the babies actually look like they're posing. how do you get them in those positions? >> well, they're naturally very sleepy. so we ask that the mom just get their belly nice and full, and they'll just let you do whatever you want to do to them.
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i think what we try to work towards is natural, curly positions like they would be in the womb. they will bend very easily. and when they're sound asleep, you can do just about anything to them. >> and they won't wake up. >> well, some babies will. but like the first hour of the session, they have to get used to us positioning them. but after that, it's pretty easy, i think. >> you work with your sister, kelly, and you actually create an environment within the studio that is conducive to taking these kinds of pictures. can you tell the audience about that? >> yeah. it's very important. the babies have to be very, very warm. so the studio, we have a nice little heater. the studio is very small. we crank that up to about 85 degrees. we have a little heater next to our bean bag. we keep them very warm. and then we ask that the moms just have their bellies nice and full before they leave to come see us so that little drive to our studio gets them nice and sleepy in the car. and then when they get there, we
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just take them out of their little car seat and go from there. >> are you inspired by the particular baby in terms of whether you put a hat on them or you have them in the sling or is that something you talk with the mom or the dad about? how do you decide exactly what props to use? >> you know, that changes every session. i really like to either make or do something different at each session for the client. but we also kind of just read what the baby gives us as well. you know, some don't like their little toes touched or they don't like a hand under their cheek. so we just kind of read what they give us. and then if they're super sleepy, we can do tons of stuff. but some are -- you know, the little girls tend to be feistier. so we have to work a little bit harder with them. but we kind of just read the baby and get as many shots as we can. >> this isn't just professional for you. it's also personal. you have a little girl of your own, elsie, who is 3 months old at this point. what do pictures like these -- do we see elsie in one of those?
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i'm not sure. >> there's about six of them that are her. yes. >> what do these pictures mean to you as a mom to have those pictures? >> you know, you just -- they only stay that little for so long. and when i brought her home from the hospital, she was photographed every day for the first month and a half. it's just precious to see them that little because they grow so fast. so i think it's important. and that's what we try to do for our clients is just capture them really tiny like that. >> you also teach other photographers the art of baby whispering, so to speak. what is your favorite secret or number one secret to successfully photographing a newborn? >> i think what we try to teach the other photographers that come into our studio is just those simple techniques of calming the baby. they're all the same. they all have the same needs. so we just show them, you know, how to take small movements, you know, how to place the baby into position. and then how to keep them asleep. and that's what most people struggle with when they do this type of photography is just
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keeping the baby asleep. >> and the window of opportunity to get shots like this with babies, at what point are they just too old to really be able to do this successfully? >> i think probably at about six weeks. you get to see more alert time. they want to be awake. and they're, you know, socially smiling. so under a month, definitely, you can get those shots. >> well, they are absolutely fantastic photographs. i'm bummed now, my kids are too big. i don't have anything like this. i don't think they'll sit for you anymore, tracy. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> tracy raver. >> pleasure. and still ahead, we're going to take to the court with the greatest tennis player, one of them, anyway, you've never heard of. but first, this is "today" on nbc. this is america. and this is our cheese.
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kraft singles. american cheese. only one nation could create it. and that nation is... america. a nation of dreamers. try harders. doers. try doing this with roquefort. it's made with milk. never oil like some other slices. it is the culmination of the american dream. all wrapped up in individual slices. kraft singles. the american cheese. 8:44 now on a friday morning. we're back with "today's call to
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action." there are thousands of children in this country whose parents are serving in the military overseas, and now they're receiving some comfort thanks to two very special high schoolers. nbc's lee cowan has their story. >> reporter: at the airfield, they may not look like daddy's little girls anymore, but they are, and proud of it. which is what made it so hard when their fathers went off to war. >> you think about it, 13 years old, he leaves. 15 years old, he comes back. that's a year and a half out of my life that dad's not there. it's not just a business trip. he's actually in a war zone. >> girls mature so quickly in our teenage years. and that's something our parents are really missing out on. >> reporter: miranda hearn and kaylee deacon are daughters of deployment, left behind to battle the enemy at home, loneliness. >> nobody at school quite understood. so i wore my dad's jacket, my dad's hat just for comfort. and i got made fun of a lot for
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it. like kids ask stupid questions and made me feel bad. >> the way i viewed myself just went down immensely. and it was just that absence. i mean, i didn't think i was pretty anymore. i didn't raise my hand in class, you know. i looked down. >> that's our big sister aspect. >> reporter: they first met at a conference meant to inspire young women. >> we want to have speakers help encourage you and empower you. >> reporter: and suddenly they realized their pain was itself an inspiration. >> we see a need. we feel the need. we live it. >> reporter: they decided to create a military sisterhood who understood. and soon their website, sisterhood of the traveling bdus, was born. bdus, by the way, with the camouflage uniforms their fathers wear in combat. >> it matched perfectly. >> everybody recognizes it. >> reporter: before they knew it, they had a following. >> what are some of the things you guys go through? >> reporter: their problems were every military daughter's
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problem. >> depression, you know. >> i cry myself to sleep sometimes. because i would miss him so much. >> girls loved it. they were so excited that somebody was actually identifying their need. and it was one of their peers. >> long time no see. >> i know. >> reporter: they want to take the idea nationwide and are now enlisting the help of the guard's top brass to bring some 400 military daughters together in a massive conference next year. >> we have our programs, california national guard has our programs that reach out to the youth, but, you know, the youth assisting the youth, you can't beat that. >> reporter: there's still a lot of work to do, not the least of which is to raise $150,000 to pull it off. no small task given that they're both preparing for a military career of their own. miranda in the air force, kaylee in the marines. >> i'm proud of every soldier out there. that's why i'm aspiring to be in the marine corps because i want to be a soldier, too, and want
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new york is playing host right now to the world's best tennis players at the 41st u.s. open. and "today" national correspondent tiki barber met up with some of them. tiki, good morning. >> good morning, you guys. i recently had the opportunity to take the court with some of the finest players in tennis today. and though their names aren't instantly recognizable, their talent definitely is. >> reporter: federer, nadal, williams, these are the names synonymous with greatness on the court. wagner, taylor, verdeer, these are the greatest names in tennis you probably don't know. that's because they're the names and faces of wheelchair tennis. esther has been the top ranked player in the world since 1999. her current winning streak of 372 matches may make her the most dominant player in any professional sport ever. number one ranked david wagner,
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a doubles partner taylor have won olympic gold twice in the quadriplegic division. they were instrumental it bringing the division to the u.s. open in 2007. they'll try to defend their grand slam title when wheelchair tennis returns to the open this year. >> to be a grand slam champion is a great notch to have. >> reporter: each of these athletes has overcome incredible difficulties. at just 8 years old, esther underwent surgery on her spinal cord. >> when i woke up, i was paralyzed from waist down. >> reporter: david suffered a severe injury in the ocean that paralyzed him. >> i jumped over a wave, and as it broke, it knocked my legs out from underneath me and jackknifed my body into the ocean floor. >> i was born with a disability. a normal person's spinal column, you have nerves going up both muscles. i was born with every other nerve. >> reporter: and while their stories may be different, their love of sport is the same. >> i wanted to play high school sports. and tennis made the most sense. they weren't going to let me play football, obviously.
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tackling a 300-pound wheelchair can be a little painful. >> to get back on the tennis court was so natural. i think it's given me some of that confidence back when i was 21 and became disabled. >> reporter: the great thing about wheelchair tennis, it's not different than regular tennis other than the fact that you can bounce twice, but it's the same sport. >> there's no difference. you can play anywhere with anybody, and that's the cool thing about it. >> reporter: dan james has been coaching wheelchair tennis for ten years. >> you look at david, esther and nick as just incredible people. the chair is secondary. they are inspirations to anyone who isn't sure what they have in their life. >> reporter: to really get a feel for what these athletes endure, i had to get in a chair. so how do you move these things? left, right. >> yeah. well, let's try. it's really important that you hold your racket in your hand. you have it all the way up here. and that's quite difficult. so try to hold it a little bit further down. >> okay. >> and then place it on top of the pushing rim.
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curl your fingers around it. >> so short pushes? >> short pushes. >> how do you stop? or do you not stop? >> in wheelchair tennis, you're actually -- it's better not to stop. >> what's next? >> i think we should just go and try to play some tennis. ♪ >> you got it. i'm impressed how fast you are. >> reporter: finally, i was getting the hang of it. >> oh, nice. i'm done. i lost a point to tiki. i think you're ready to take on the boys. >> let's. >> reporter: but was i really ready for the number one ranked men's doubles team? >> how was your match? ♪ >> reporter: nick, show me your kick serve. but don't do it too hard. >> when i started playing tennis, i was really bad. to put it mildly. so nobody wanted to play with me. i had to find a way to be able to pick the ball up on my own
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off the ground. >> reporter: now tick taylor's kick serve has been known to draw crowds. oh! >> what's the score? >> 8-4. >> 8-4? are you down? >> i'm down. >> i haven't lost in six years. we're not going to lose now. >> reporter: before ruining what could be the greatest record in sports history. we decided to call our friendly match. it was only then that i found my comfort zone on the court. dig, dig, dig! nick, you're getting two bounces. you don't got to take it in zero. or so i thought. in. >> what? no way! are you sure of that? >> i think that was out. sorry. >> what? >> today is the second day of wheelchair competition at the u.s. open. and we want to wish esther, nick and david the best of luck as they compete. i still have the blisters. i was better in the chair than i was out because i try to hit so hard. so in the chair i was actually a little bit better.
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>> great story. >> what makes a great story is when we sit on the couch and we haven't seen it before and we sit there going -- >> well, the great thing about wheelchair tennis is after a while you forget that they're in wheelchairs, they're just playing tennis. >> you can go play it anywhere. >> against anybody. they can beat an able-bodied person, i'm sure. >> certainly beat us. >> thanks, tiki. still to come, a diet for every personality. >> that's right, after your local news. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv in whose today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. most of the police
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department's top brass will spend part of next week in one of the city's most the tourist parts. 48 senior department members will stay in the outbound center for a training session. amid budget cuts, police officials insist that none of the $11,000 that pays for the retreat will come from taxpayers. >> all the drug money that we'd seize from baltimore and equipment, and drug dealers are paying for the police to be better trained. >> it is part of the department's push to train entire ship's officers for mont
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and double to the case today. rain chances will diminish as we deeper into today. here is what the forecast calling for. a lot of clouds and rain. heavy strain east of us. -- heaviest rain east of us. a couple of areas approaching 70. the sunshine may try to break through. best chance of that to the southwest. >> we will have another update at 9:25. at 9:25. need a lift? hey buddy, i appreciate the ride, you know. no problem. ♪ mind if i take a shortcut? yeah, sure. ♪
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