good morning. gruesome discovery. a body presumed to be that of missing yale student annie le found stuffed in the wall of a campus building on what was supposed to be her wedding day. this morning, the latest on the investigation and the growing fears at yale. all eyes on jay. jay leno set to make his prime time debut tonight. will he change the face of television? this morning, he speaks out about the laughs he has in store, and the pressures he feels. and, wild, wild weekend, from an amazing shot to an ugly outburst on the u.s. open court. to an embarrassing scene at the vmas as rapper kanye west

interrupts an acceptance speech by teen star taylor swift. >> i'm really happy for you. i'm going to let you finish. but beyonce had one of the best videos of all time. >> we've got lots to talk about "today," monday, september 14th, >> we've got lots to talk about "today," monday, september 14th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning, i'm matt lauer. >> i'm ann curry in for meredith this morning. we begin with the real tragedy. police are now treating this annie le case as a homicide, matt. >> with good reason. they found what they believe to be the 24-year-old's body on sunday, the very day she was supposed to be married. the body hidden in the walls of a university building where le was last seen on tuesday. now police want to know who else had access to that building.

we'll have much more from the yale campus coming up in just a couple of minutes. very scary times there. also ahead, new revelations from ted kennedy's memoir which he did not want released until after his death. his sons ted jr. and patrick will be here to talk about the life of their father and the legacy he leaves behind in a live interview this morning. but we want o begin on this monday morning with that shocking discovery of a body on the campus of yale university believed to be that of missing grad student and bride to be annie le. nbc's jeff rossen is there with the latest on this story. jeff, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. this is tough to even talk about but that body was found inside of a wall in the basement of the research lab right behind me where annie le was last seen. police are going on the theory right now this was a pretty well-planned attack. it makes sense if you think about it. happened right in the middle of the school day, broad daylight, more than 70 surveillance cameras were rolling in this building alone, yet the killer was able to do it and get away. this morning the obvious question -- who would want this

girl dead, and why? the timing is as awful as the outcome itself. on what was supposed to be annie le's wedding day, the happiest moment of her life, police found what they believe is her lifeless body stuffed inside a wall at this yale research lab. annie was last seen on surveillance tape walking in to this building at 10:00 a.m. tuesday with all the searching and the missing person flyers, she was here the entire time. >> we have positively identified at this time. however we are assuming that it is her at this time so we are treating it as a homicide. >> reporter: overnight the building was locked down. on yale's campus, the investigation now intensifies, there's a killer on the loose, a killer with an unknown motive who, so far, outsmarted even the fbi. it took them five days to find the body. >> i met earlier this evening with annie's family, with her fiance and his family and i

conveyed to them all the deeply felt support of the entire yale university community. >> reporter: friends say annie le loved two things -- working toward her dual medical degree, and her fiance, jonathan with a could you zi. "lucky i'm in love with my best friend" she wrote on her facebook page. late last night on their would-en wedding day he got the call confirming what friends suspected all along, his bride-to-be was murdered. >> it just sounds like a classic bad movie. i mean from the start to the finish. i mean just watching this thing unravel, it's just been a nightmare. for him being the groom-to-be, he probably had the same amount of expectation and excitement for this week, and then just for it to all crumble down. >> reporter: annie's friends admit when the fbi got involved right away poring through yale's trash and questioning students, they knew this day would come. >> she was not only book smart, she was street smart. therefore, i think that if

somebody were trying to kidnap her, had to have really thought out, very planned. they would have had to have been watching her and even just studying her day to day. they knew where she was at all times. >> reporter: and that's what homicide detectives will focus on now, who are access to the research lab and who would want this popular medical student dead. a young life cut short before the new chapter even started. >> sunday morning there was no party, there was no happiness, there was no bringing together of two lives. it's like a big shattered dream. >> reporter: to get into that research lab, you need a yale university i.d. card like this one, and these i.d. cards have magnetic strips on the back. you put it up to a sensor, the door opens. if this was an inside job, ann, police will be able to track who went into that building when. >> jeff rossen this morning, thanks. laurel griffith was a high school friend of annie le's. laurel, good morning.

you were senior class president, she was valedictorian. you kept in touch on facebook. tell us about annie. this has got to hit you so hard. >> it has been very hard. i know that it's tragic circumstances but i think annie would at least be happy to know that it has brought a lot of us together, a lot of her friends together. it's been very difficult to wait and watch the news. it's been very hard for us. annie was just an amazing person. and i know that when tragedies happen, people always say that, but she truly was, she was probably the most brilliant person i've ever met in my life, but what made her more amazing was that she was -- there was an intersection of intelligence and personality and ability and she worked hard and she was great with people and she cared about people and she was funny and she didn't sacrifice one part of her life for another like a lot of people kind of seem to. she just really kind of had it

all. she was really amazing. >> how do you make sense of this then? can you think of anyone who would want to harm such a person? >> no. the one theme in all of our conversations, all of the friends, all of the speculating we've done, it's completely -- doesn't make any sense. doesn't make any sense to us at all. i can't even imagine somebody mad at annie, much less wanting to hurt her. and we can speculate all day about the motives. the only thing honestly that we can come up with is that someone was just jealous. i don't know if it was of her intelligence or of her marriage or what, but i honestly cannot imagine anyone being driven to hurt her other than just someone truly evil. >> i know that many of the high school friends have come together and want to make a statement or say something to annie's parents. what would you like to say to them? >> we would just like them and john to know that there is an entire community back home who

have all been praying for annie and them and hoping for the best. we're all extremely saddened to hear about this. it's a tragedy, it affects all of us, annie will never be forgotten. it has been kind of a blessing in disguise for us to come together and share memories of her and we definitely plan to memorialize her and if we can do anything for them at all, any of them, help with anything, please just get in touch. we're ready to help and just extend our sympathies. >> laura, thank you so much for joining us this morning. we now want to bring in clint van zandt, an nbc news analyst and former fbi profiler. clint, the wbody was stuffed ina wall. what's that tell us about the killer? >> basically, ann, it says this is someone who not only had access to the building but perhaps knew his or her way around. as jeff said in his set-up piece, not only do you have to scan a key card to get into the building, but to get down to the lab where annie was working, you

also had to scan to get into these basement areas. the college says they know, based upon the scans, who was working in that basement that day. the question is, do they know everyone or could, like many other times, someone have tailgated, walked behind a person who scanned their way in. one way or the other though, they're going to have an idea who was down there that day. >> based on the evidence so far, is it likely that this sort of killer would act again or could this have been an isolated incident based on what we know? >> i think based upon what we know right now, it appears to be an isolated incident. realize, notwithstanding mass murders on college campuses, there are about ten students killed every year on a campus across america. the last person, student, to be killed at yale was 11 years ago. so this looks like something that's going to turn out, if it is not a stalker and realize she's dated the same guy since she was a freshman in college, so if it's not a stalker or as your last guest suggested, someone who was just envious of

her, it likely is going to be either -- she was a random victim of violence, someone who was down there, saw her alone and targeted her, or perhaps it was someone committing some type of crime and she walked in on it and she was killed to silence her. >> clint, the pressure on police to find the killer has got to be intense. very briefly, what are investigators doing right now behind the scenes? >> they're doing everything they can to process the physical evidence. we're told a couple of days ago there were clothing found with blood, may or may not have been the victim's blood or could be the assailant's blood, too. they're processing all of the physical evidence, number one, trying to relate it to annie, and number two, trying to see if they can relate it to a suspect. they're interviewing people right now. they will be gathering physical evidence, dna, fingerprints, and hopefully the science aspect of it will supplement what law enforcement is doing on the street and the interviews and bring this killer in to custody. because right now you've got a college community that is probably scared, realizing that

a killer may be walking among them. >> clint van zandt, thank you so much. very tough case. >> it is. to the news desk now for the other headlines of the morning, natalie's there. natalie, good morning. good morning. exactly one year after the collapse of banking giant lehman brothers, president obama heads to wall street today to talk about where the economy stands and stricter regulations to keep a crisis like this from happening again. nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd is in washington. chuck, what's the president expected to say? >> reporter: well, he's going to try to do three things, natalie. number one, in many ways he wants to lay out the groundwork of how the government is going to unwind from its intervention in the financial sector. two, he's going to make a strong case for what is another piece of legislation he's trying to get passed this fall, a massive new regulation of the financial community. and three, a little bit of a lecture to wall street trying to warn them, hey, don't misread the moment just because things are stable now doesn't mean this system couldn't unravel quickly again. >> chuck, the president also trying to keep momentum going on

health care despite all the growing opposition. what's expected this week? >> reporter: well, it's interesting, we should get the full bill out of the senate finance committee which is the one bill that everybody's been waiting for. but it will be interesting to watch this week, because the spotlight's actually going to be a little bit off health care. the president trying to focus on the economy a little bit, going to wall street as we noted today. next week is the g-20, an international event. so we shall see. >> chuck todd at the white house, thanks so much. a new audio message this morning reportedly from osama bin laden. in it, the al qaeda leader says president obama is powerless to stop the war in afghanistan. drama in more ways than one at the u.s. open over the weekend. serena williams has been fined more than $10,000 and faces more possible penalties after her angry expletive-ridding outburst at the line judge who faulted her at match point during the semi-finals. the fault caused williams the game against kim clijsters who went on to win the u.s. open on sunday.

it is clijsters' second major championship and a big comeback after being out of tennis two years to have her daughter. in the men's semi-final, roger federer one victory away from his sixth straight u.s. open title after a stunning backwards hit between his legs to set up match point. he is just so good. this morning, music fans are criticizing singer kanye west after he interrupted taylor swift's acceptance speech for best female video at the video music awards last night. >> thank you so much for giving me a chance to win a vma award. >> yo, taylor -- i'm really happy for you, i'm going to let you finish, but beyonce had one of the best videos of all time! >> kanye received loud boos from the audience and later when beyonce accepted her award for video of the year, she gave taylor swift her due time. >> i'd like for taylor to come out and have her moment kanye

southwest has since apologized for the incident on his blog. something tells me apology not enough there. it is 7:13. back over to matt, ann and al. somebody who probably is grateful to kanye. maybe to serena for taking the spotlight off of her for her angry outburst. >> meantime, a shout out to kim clijsters. she's the first mom to win since 1980. isn't that something? >> back to the vma thing, it is like you saw no class and class in the same two pieces of tape there. i think kanye needs to seriously consider his place in the universe here. anyway, mr. roker -- >> i have a feeling he got a little smaller. >> how was your weekend? >> prettyy

>> it has a great day right over the state of maryland. it is true. mostly sunny skies today, 84 in the heart of the state. sun prevailing all if in the mountains to the shores today. more tomorrow. >> that's your latest weather.

matt in. al, thanks. president obama delivers a major speech today on the economy. exactly a year after the financial collapse that triggered the economic crisis. the question has anything really changed on wall street? here to debate that, cnbc's erin burnett and dylan ratican. a year ago today, lehman brothers, we've got them going belly-up basically. other things happened within about a week or two-week period and a lot of people, experts in the financial world, said we were this close to the financial abyss. looking back, how close were we? >> we were pretty darn close. i would say we were incredibly close. we talked to the treasury secretary in a town hall last week. we said how close do we come to not being able to get money out of the atm. he said amazingly close. it was a classic run on the bank, real fear situation. >> i think you're in one of suppose situations where you'll never know. you can't run a parallel universe where you have different decisions that are made so you get a different data

set. as to erin's point, we know not only were fear levels at levels we hadn't seen since the depression, but more important than that, the risk level. we knew how much money we had and we knew how much money we owed and we knew how big that difference was and the combination of the fear and the gap i think at the very least you had a response you know that was stabilizing and also i think very telling as to how much risk there was which is a good indications for us going forward. >> if you look at where we are right now, folks, there are signs of recovery, and there are still signs of weakness. i think a lot of people would point to the unemployment numbers right now as a strong sign of weakness. so where do we stand right now as compared to where we were a year ago? >> you know, that's an interesting question. technically speaking -- i emphasize the word technically -- we are coming out of a recession. the economy in this country is going to grow this quarter. cash for clunkers, auto plants reopened, you're going to see technical growth. but for most people it isn't going to feel anything like we're coming out of a recession. unemployment is still high and perhaps more important, housing

prices are still lower, people's mortgages are still underwater. we're not seeing modifications of mortgages. those two issues mean for most people the recession is not over. >> because there are so many businesses in this country proven themselves unable to function without being supported by the taxpayer, because we have business models that have proven themselves not viable independently, whether it was the cars or the banks, we are in a situation where we don't have the natural cleansing in business because we are falsely perpetuating failed businesses like citigroup and aig. >> ten seconds left. the president's going to call today for stricter regulations, also going to call for wall street to police itself to avoid future catastrophe. >> nothing better than policing yourself. >> what's history tell us about that? >> i think that's pretty clear, not anything good. although it is interesting, treasury is saying right now too little risk is being taken on wall street right now, not too much which i think a lot of people would be surprised to hear. >> the ethics of the people in charge, the people in our treasury, people advising our president were too responsible for building the system that's failed to be trusted. >> not too optimistic there,

dylan. thank you very much. erin, nice to see you. >> cheer up, dylan. >> he'll have more later on his msnbc show, "morning meeting." tonight's the night "the jay leno show" makes its much anticipated debut later this evening here on nbc. nbc's lee cowan is inside jay's new digs where it all kicks off tonight. lucky you, lee. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. he has a brand-new time slot, this brand-new set, he's got new theme music, the whole nine yards. but to jay leno though, it is stale the same old brand of what he calls big ten comedy that's worked for him for years. does he think this whole thing is a gamble? of course he does. is he worried about it? well, not the comedy. >> the hardest part is really getting your new set to work. you essentially go into a big empty sound stage and you hang lights and you think everything's all right. you go the --

>> reporter: for jay leno, technical gremlins are the least of his worries. a lot is riding on tonight's grand 10:00 p.m. experiment. "time" magazine said it was nothing less than the future of network television. no pressure. are you worried about it just because it is such a -- or do you think all the hype about it being -- >> i don't worry about it. because i'm rich already. doesn't bother me. not my problem. you know what it is? i did the "tonight show" for 17 years, it was number one when i got it, it was number one when i handed it off. if it doesn't work, people go did you do something else? no. you didn't have another show? no. >> reporter: it's a comedic dodge to a serious question. but behind the scenes jay takes the pressure seriously. this is where you walk out each night? >> you go through these big supermarket doors. >> reporter: he's been testing out new jokes to the seating of the studio audience. up close. >> anything can happen.

you get the occasional nut case who tries to attack you. well, that's happened. that's all right. >> reporter: whether his comedy show can compete with pricey prime time dramas like "csi" is unknown. leno views success much like a punch line. it's all in the delivery. >> you try have a little something for everybody. try to have something smart, something silly, something goofy and that's -- you put it all together. >> reporter: some of this i would imagine is just sort of throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. >> it's hardly scientific and no thought goes into it at all. even the idea of throwing it on the wall is sticking is more effort than we put in. >> reporter: his musical sidekick, kevin eubanks, will be back and most of his writers and stage crew, too. but beyond that, "the jay leno show" is different. more comedy, less talk, all at a much faster pace. >> before you kind of do the joke, monologue first, first guest, commercial, dopey actress, band, you're out of there. that's gone! you got to lose the whole dopey

actress part. >> reporter: there will be celebrity interviews, although j jay's familiar desk is gone and jay won't carry the show alone. he'll be joined by a team of comics, correspondents much like "the daily show." all of it is unchartered. sort of like trying out a new joke on the road, which jay still does. almost every other weekend. are you still having fun? >> yeah, i have a lot of fun. i'm the oldest quarterback out there and you're in a young person's game and you're competing reasonably competitively. so, yeah, it's a lot of fun. >> reporter: the way leno looks at it, he is a nightclub comic who just happens to be a broadcaster. a hobby almost. but the stakes are high. now unlike the "tonight show," he's only going to have musical guests on two nights a week. tonight is one of them, jay-z, rihanna and kanye west who made those headlines. as for the first celebrity guest, that surprisingly is a comedian, jerry seinfeld.

>> lee cowan, thanks so much. i think it is going to do really well. people want to laugh. >> i hope it is a hit. jay will have the chance to say to kanye west tonight what he said to hugh grant those years ago, what were you thinking? should be interesting for the response. >> no kidding. catch the premier of "the jay leno show" tonight at 10:00, 9:00 central time right here on nbc. coming up this morning, the trial of amanda knox, the american student accused of murder in italy getting back underway this morning. and there is a new wrinkle in the case that could greatly prolong this trial. the

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still ahead, one of hollywood's biggest stars, megan fox, joining us live in our studio. also coming up this morning, new revelations from ted kennedy's memoir which will be released today. live with ted jr. and patrick after your local news.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 is today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. it was a violent weekend in baltimore city that left three people dead. an 18-will mill was shot sunday afternoon and mcculloh street. a 35-year-old man was gunned down at west cross st., and a man was shot in the of o prospering road. police are investigating those incidents and their searching for a suspect in a fourth shooting. that happened at pratt street. no word on his condition the

violence continued into the morning hours today when a man was found shot on preston st. -- presstman street. >> >> as to the forecast, current temperature is pretty nice. we are looking at 68 downtown it has dropped to 53 degrees in york, pennsylvania. 59 degrees. a brisk start a nice start. you see the sun shining brightly on the map. the benchmark is 79 but that will be confined to these areas.

lentz west at five to 10 miles per hour. nice and quiet through tomorrow. >> thank you for joining us. be sure to check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information. our next live update at 7:55.

7:30 now on a monday morning, the 14th day of september, 2009. take a look outside on what promises to be a pretty nice day here in the northeast. we've got a nice crowd of people gathered. we're happy they're starting their week with us. we'll get outside to say hi to them in a little while. inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer alongside maann curry. meredith is off today. triumphs and tragedies that were so much a part of ted kennedy's life. >> that's right. new revelations the late senator made and the memoir he did not want released until after his death. personal perspective this morning from the senator's two sons, ted jr. and patrick.

also ahead, a bold new marketing campaign aimed at jump-starting general motors' revival. the offer is this -- buy a n chevy, buick, gmc or cadillac. if you don't like it, bring it back for a full refund. can that work? we'll talk to one of the men in charge of that program. later on a lighter note, actress megan fox will be here. stop getting so excited. she will be talking about her new movie and what she has planned for next week's season premier of saturday night live. i know everybody basically in the studio's very excited about her arriving. >> looks a little sinister in that clip. let us begin this half-hour with the italian murder trial of the american college student amanda knox. it resumes this morning following a summer break. nbc's keith miller is in italy with the latest. keith, good morning to you. >> reporter: well, the defense started off after this long break with a call for a mistrial over missing dna documents. the judge rejected that, just

another twist in this complicated -- amanda knox spent her sumner a sweltering prison cell. but as she entered court today, the 21-year-old from seattle had only smiles for family and friends. but her dad in italy to attend the trial says prison life is taking its toll. >> steel bars and the 90-degree heat. it is pretty much like an oven out there. >> reporter: resuming after a two-month recess, the defense will continue to present their case that knox and her former boyfriend are not guilty of murder. the prosecution claims the two students, along with another man, sexually assaulted and murdered knox's roommate, meredith kirscher, an exchange student from england. the trial now in its ninth month could be extended until next year. the judge according to court sources is considering calling in a special forensic investigator because the crime scene evidence presented by the prosecution and defense is wildly contradictory. >> they have to take the extra

60 days to get the right answer knowing that it should be an acquittal. it's very unfortunate, but we'd like to bring her home as quickly as possible. >> reporter: the length of the court case has some lawyers wondering if knox can get a fair trial. >> people will forget. people get sick. judges could be substituted. same with prosecutors. really, it is a very, very bad thing because it could have effects that go beyond, you know, lo's right and who's wrong. >> reporter: complicating the case is the 350 pages of documents relating to dna evidence that the prosecution withheld from the defense. the judge has appeared exasperated at the proceedings. knox maintains her composure, despite having to live for the past 20 months as a convict who's not been convicted. >> that was nbc's keith miller reporting. let's head outside for a check of the weather with al

roker. hey, al. >> announcer: today's weather is brought >> we are going to see the rain at mid-to-late-week. not today. gorgeous, sunny skies.

84 in the southern part of the state. the custom would be the sunshine. nice tomorrow, but then showers >> and that's your latest weather. matt? al, thank you very much. now to senator ted kennedy's labor of love -- true compass, the memoir he worked to finish in his final months but didn't want released until after his death. it hits book stores today. we'll talk to his sons, ted jr. and patrick in a moment. but first, nbc's andrea mitchell has more. >> reporter: good morning, matt. for the first time we're learning the inside story of a kennedy life from one of the original brothers. this is the only memoir ever written by a kennedy.

it's published today and it arrived at the senator's hyannis port home on the day he finally took to his bed. he died later that night. according to the publisher, he most likely never saw the book that he struggled so hard to finish. in "true compass," teddy kennedy reveals the lessons of a lifetime, from his privileged youth as the youngest kennedy child, to the burdens of being the only surviving son. he was reflective talking with his publisher last february. >> some time in your life you have to recognize that there's an extraordinary opportunity to put down some thoughts that you have that are relevant to your service in the united states senate. that's what i've tried to do. >> reporter: his memoir is a fascinating account of his childhood, including some tough lessons from his father. >> i had a sit-down with my dad. he said, "i just want you to know i have other children that are out there that intend to have a purposeful and constructive life, and so you have to make up your mind about

which direction you're going to go." >> reporter: what emernlgs in the book is how scarred kennedy was by his brother's assassinations. first jack. then bobby. >> those of us who loved him and have taken him to his rest too. >> reporter: he writes how he, too, feared he would be shot. flinching at 21-gun salutes at arlington cemetery, recoiling when a car backfired recalls a former aide. >> did he a magnificent job containing the anxiety that had to be a part of it. i saw him drop to the ground when there was a loud bang. i saw him ask me to take a boombox away because he thought it was ticking like a bomb. >> reporter: in the end, ted kennedy passed the torch of his legacy to his family and to a new, young president. >> what we face, he wrote, is,

above all, a moral issue. at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice. and the character of our country. >> reporter: kennedy pulls back the curtain on the terrible losses of his life and his final battle with cancer, as well as the illnesses of his children. and then there is his final advice to his grandson, teddy iii. he writes, "sure there will be storms along the way and you might not reach your goal right away, but if you do your best and keep a true compass, you'll get there." matt? >> andrea, thank you very much. andrea mitchell in washington this morning. joined now by senator kennedy's sons, ted kennedy jr. and congressman patrick kennedy. good morning. my condolences to both of you and thanks for joining us. you're right, a memoir is supposed to be revealing and candid but they aren't always. were you surprised at some of the things your dad wrote in this about the assassination of his brothers and the loss of his sister and chappaquiddick? >> listen, matt, for one thing, everybody knows my dad wasn't

the most sentimental, emotive guy. he's old irish in that respect. he taught us mostly by example in terms of perseverance and how he got through his own difficult times by example. for us this was an enormous revelation in a sense because this book was really one where he talked about his feelings and emotions at various points in his life. obviously this last year was one where we got to know more about his feelings as he became more reflective about his life and one of the best parts about having this extra year with him where he knew about his impending mortality was the fact that he was more forthcoming with his feelings. but really, this book is an enormous revelation for us in many respects because these are stories that we never heard before. >> ted, do you think that he felt -- patrick says old irish, but was there also this sense in your father that as the tragically anointed patriarch of this family that had seen so many tragedies, had he to hold

the bold face? >> he did, yes. he was the one who really had to hold it together. after all, he wasn't just a father to my brother and sister and me, he was the father to all of us in our family. and he did have to keep that stow sic stoicism. i just read the book the first time two days after he died. quite honestly, i was a little scared about what i might be reading about. but what i found was his voice speaking to me in an incredibly powerful way. and i was really comforted by the words. >> he talks about going back to the senate after the assassination of robert and he says "it was a need to fill his life with activity," "devastation about bobby's death and with it all my pent-up grief about jack threatens to overtake me." sounds like he really struggled with keeping it together internally. >> he did. >> who wouldn't? after the suffering that he suffered. i mean this was more than any

human being could ever be imagined to carry. i mean the violent deaths of it would have his brothers, right up close in public view. then of course he lost his other siblings earlier in his life. >> he talks about his first marriage to your mom, joan. he says i do not blame joan for the demise of our marriage, nor do i agree with some of the accounts that she has given as to the reasons for its demise. was that one of those subjects that you were a little nervous about reading about? >> no. i think that, you know, my parents, as my dad talked about in the book, they got married when they were very young and really didn't know each other that well. i think a lot of people did in the late 1950s. so i thought he was very gracious actually towards my mother and i think he recognized, took responsibility for the breakdown of their marriage. but what's really important i think is how he dealt with these feelings and emotions. that's the most revealing out of this book. >> patrick, a lot of people are

wondering would he write about chappaquiddick. in fact he did. he said it was something that haunted him every day of his life after the tragic death of mary jo kopechne. there are still some people -- i'm calling you patrick, i should call you congressman. i apologize. but the setting seems appropriate -- who still feel that he didn't pay enough of a personal or political price for that event and that he was a kennedy and that made it go away. how do you respond when you hear that? >> well, obviously people have the -- are entitled to their opinions. the fact of the matter is this would have just paralyzed any normal person and he spent his life working to improve the lives of many and he, in a sense, basically saved millions of people through his work on aids, through his work on health care, through his work on so many issues that are of vital importance to saving people's lives. i think he spent his life trying to work to make up for his failings. and the real story of this book

is how someone kept going inspite of otherwise being paralyzed. i think all of us could have just hung it up at that point. i certainly would have. and yet he carried on and he a terrific job. and that was what i think america's story's all about, is that in spite of all the biggest obstacles you could face, you could still be once who could make a difference in life. >> ted, let me end on a very simple note. he talked about his father and for all of the high-profile jobs his dad, joseph, held, he said "i always just thought of him as my dad." so tell me about ted kennedy as your dad and your dad. what was he like as a father? >> well, he was an incredible father and my best friend. he was so much fun to be with and he was such a nice guy. and one of the things that comes across in the tributes, and even from his republican colleagues, you know, orrin hatch and john mccain, they just really liked him and that's one of the things -- reasons was one of the

secret ingredients that he had that made him such a successful legislator. but he really felt that his family was his greatest treasure and he made me feel special every single day of my life. >> again, our condolences. ted kennedy jr., congressman patrick kennedy, good to have you both. thanks very much for sharing your memories. again, senator kennedy's memoir is called "true compass." we're back right after this.

now to general motors'

unprecedented campaign being launch dad to improve sales and win bachus mers. general motors is now offering car buyers a money-back guarantee. mr. lutz, good morning. you're saying in 60 days if they don't like the car they can bring the car back and you'll give them all their money back? >> that's exactly right. no questions asked. if not completely satisfied you get your money back. >> you know people are going to take advantage of that, just take out the car and bring it back. why is it worth the risk? >> first of all, this has been tried once in the uk and the return rate was about 2% to 3% and the abuse of people just taking a car was less than .5%. so, yes, it is a certain risk and it will cost some money but i think it is a way of breaking through and really getting kind of undecided americans to take a look. >> is there some fine print that we don't know about here? >> yeah, there is. you must have more than 30 days, less than 60, you must not have exceeded 4,000 miles and you must be current on your payments. >> meantime, you're running ads

starting on sunday with ed whitaker who is an unlikely spokesperson for gm and you say that the feedback has been getting -- has been pretty amazing. he is gm's newly appointed chairman. a lot of people though are skittish about buying gm cars. they're afraid it may not stay in business and what is your response to that? >> well, that's what this is all about. first of all, we're not only emphasizing the 60-day satisfaction guarantee but we're also stressing our unique 100,000-mile, five-year power train warrantee. the combination between the now demonstrated excellence of our cars, which are winning all kinds of awards, plus the power train warrantee and plus the 60-day satisfaction guarantee i think should overcome a lot of people's reluctance. >> american taxpayers have a lot at stake in this, $50 billion was spent to bail out gm. you want to tell me how much you're spending on the ads? >> enough to get the message

through is about all we're saying. our advertising spending is up, but i think it is a very wise investment of the taxpayers' money because what we've done over the last few years is we've produced these great cars, then we didn't have the money to tell people about them. >> well, we'll find out what happens. bob lutz, thank you so much. still ahead, the man who wrestles and swims with wild lyons. we'll meet him right after these messages.

still ahead, actress megan fox.

>> 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 traffic pulse 11 and sarah caldwell. >> major problems on the southbound harrisburg expressway. heavy delays approaching the maryland line all the way to york road. an accident with only the left shoulder squeezing by. consider york road as your alternate. you will find delays there as well. on the beltway northeast, you are dealing with an accident there. s logo on southbound 795 and eastbound i-70. we have a letter in the road that is blocking 1 lane.

10 minutes on southbound 95 from the beltway to 32. normal volume-related delays. a live view of the 97 at general's highway. that is latest on traffic pulse 11. >> pretty comfortable outside right now. 61 at b.w.i. marshall. over on the eastern shore, we'll look at the upper 50s. the sun is warm in the south and quickly. -- the sunshine is forming us up and quickly. the winds will be like an out of the west. a few more clouds tomorrow. by wednesday and thursday, highs in the low 70's. >> thank you for joining us. check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information. our next live update, 8:25.

meet the volkswagen jetta. it gets an epa estimated 32 miles per gallon, and was named an iihs top safety pick. all for just $179 a month. and like all new volkswagens, it comes with 3 years or 36,000 miles of no-charge scheduled carefree maintenance. it's all part of why the jetta is the top-selling german engineered sedan in america.

8:00 now on a monday morning, the 14th day of september, 2009. we have a loud and exuberant crowd gathered on rockefeller plaza this morning. you know what? they're in a good mood for a couple of reasons. it is a picture-perfect day here in the northeast, and we have that young lady right there out on our plaza as well, that is megan fox, one of the hottest names in hollywood right now. she's got a brand-new movie out. we're going to talk to her about that in just a couple of minutes. out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer along with ann curry, also # hollywood. >> oh, come on! >> al roker as well. >> meredith is taking some time off. coming up, you are going to

tackle nothing less than the future of television as we know it. >> that's right. we heard there is a broadcast starting tonight, a big premier of -- jay leno's got a show on tonight? >> "the jay leno show." >> the question is if he is successful -- >> what do you mean "if"? >> it says right here he will be successful. >> -- that it could redefine evening television. people are betting on both sides. i myself think it is going to be successful because people really want to laugh. >> that's why i'm here. you bet. we're going to meet a man who lives alongside lions. in fact, he considers them his brothers and sisters. meaning if you get into a little fight at the kitchen table, could be ugly. their remarkable bond coming up next. and a little later on, the newest member of the "joy fit club." we'll find out how this woman went from being a size 22 to a size 2. >> wow! >> okay? >> can we just cheer that woman

on? cheer her on. but first let's go inside. natalie's got a look at the headlines. natalie, good morning. good morning. yale university plans to hold a prayer vigil tonight for graduate student annie le. police believe they have found her body after nearly a week-long search. the gruesome discovery was made sunday in the wall of a university research building where le was last seen. sunday was supposed to be le's wedding day. the investigation is now being treated as a homicide. president obama heads to wall street today for a major speech on the economy. exactly one year after the collapse of lehman brothers. the president is expected to call on congress to approve regulatory reform to prevent another market meltdown. this morning, european and asian markets fell amid an announcement by the u.s. that it will now impose tariffs on chinese-made tires. tokyo's nikkei slid more than 2%. house democrats say they will try to reprimand congressman joe wilson this week if he doesn't apologize for his outburst during president obama's health care address when

he shouted "you lie." on sunday, wilson said his apology to the president was enough and that he will not apologize to the house. tennis star serena williams' outburst at the u.s. open has cost her more than $10,000 in fines and could cost her all the money she earned at the tournament, plus a possible suspension at next year's open. this as officials investigate whether williams committed a major offense. we get more now from nbc's peter alexander. >> reporter: it was billed as the match of the tournament, and that's likely how it will be remembered. but not for the tennis. defending champion serena williams down to her last two points, with the serve -- >> fault. >> foot fault. >> reporter: and a rare penalty. then williams explode with a tirade as fierce as her forehand. >> that's as angry as i've ever seen her. >> reporter: she unleashed a string of expletives, even reportedly threatening to stuff a ball down the line judge's throat costing her another penalty point and the match.

>> i try not to live my life saying "i wish," "i wish." but i was out there and i fought and i tried and i did my best. >> reporter: the outburst left her opponent, kim clijsters, and her fans stunned. >> i love serena. i love her. i really wish she hadn't lost it like that. >> if she would have apologized right then it would be a totally different story but she's shirking it off like she didn't do anything. >> reporter: late sunday in a statement williams conceded i let my passion and emotion get the better of me and handled the situation poorly. today, she'll team up with her sister venus in the women's doubles final and, outburst aside, could still leave new york a champion. peter alexander, nbc news, flushing meadows, new york. it is 8:04 right now. let's go back outside to mr. al roker. there he is. >> thank you very much. we got a grandma and granddaughter on the road trip. right there. yeah. >> wisconsin.

>> are you guys doing anything wild? >> we are! going to the "today" show. >> and then it gets crazier from there. right? let's check your weather, see what's going on. for today, atlanta, georgia, nbc 11, afternoon showers, 83 degrees. the jet stream is way up to the north so those pesky upper lows down in texas won't move. that's why they got all the heavav >> plenty of sunshine out there already. it is going to prevail throughout today. 79 to 85 is the temperature range. partly cloudy and the low 80s tomorrow could only up to

>> we got my friend here, your name's matt. right, young man? >> yeah. >> where you guys from? >> atlanta. >> atlanta! 11 alive. all right, good to see you. back over to ann. coming up next, we've got megan fox live in studio 1a right after this.

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♪ fox >> announcer: this portion of "today" is brought to you by bank of america. we're back now at 8:11 with one of the biggest names in hollywood, megan fox. she turned heads in the transformer films, and now she gets her first title role in jt jennifer's body" playing a small town cheerleader possessed by a demon who feeds on high schoolboys. >> this isn't really your house, is it? >> no, baby. this is our house, just for you and me. we can play mommy and daddy. >> no way. >> i need you frightened.

i need you hopeless. >> megan fox, good morning. we just want to point out, she was putting coffee down, nothing more sinister. you said to me earlier, this is a comedy. you want people to know that. you don't want them to think this is hard-core -- >> horror. >> exactly. >> it's not. no, it is start of an irriv rent darkdy with some horror elements to it. but people should go in prepared to laugh. >> to snicker. you aren't looking for people to come up with serious critiques afterward. >> well, no, not if you're. >>ing in thinking you're going to see a slasher or a thriller. it is not that. >> what made you take this role? because you're in an unusual place in your career right now. i'm sure stuck between this wild popularity that has been given to you, or that you've achieved through these movies, these huge "transformers" movies, and this other area where you want to be known as an actress. >> right. >> so tell me about this role as it came along and what made you say yes to it? >> the script, diablo cody wrote

the script. that's all i needed to know. before i even opened it i wanted to be a part of something she was a part of because she's so brilliant and i admire her. on the first page there is a belly laugh. i laughed outloud reading, and there is laugh on every page after that. so i just had to be a part of it. i thought that the writing was unbelievably original and it was something that we haven't seen in theaters in a long time, a movie like this. it feels very '80s when you watch it. >> stay on this place you're in right now. how kind of delicate a situation do you find yourself in? your choices now are going to get analyzed a lot by the people who either want to see you in one way or aren't used to seeing you or want to see you in another way. >> right. >> how does that affect your decision making? >> i try to just do -- mainly i'm just happy that i'm still working and i continue to get these opportunities, but i try to make choices that are different from whatever project i was last working on, and this

is definitely very unique. i've worked on a project since with josh brolin and john ma malkvich. i've been fortunate to surround myself by very talented people. >> you said acting wise you were terrible in the first "transformers" and you said you tried very hard in the second. which is very honest. does this allow you to expand this role? >> it is not about allowing me to expand because that was never the issue. i think i'm just new. i'm very green still in trying to figure things out and wanting to become better. this was definitely a more complex character for me because there is a lot going on with her and a lot going on with all the characters in the movie. so it was a lot of work. i put a lot of effort into it. >> you're also outspoken about your personal life. you said this, i think it surprised a lot of -- don't get nervous. >> i'm so nervous. >> you said i'm really insecure about everything. i never think i'm worthy of anything. i have a sick feeling of being mocked all the time. i have a lot of self-loathing.

on the exterior when i meet you and others meet you, they think you're pretty confident. where does this come from? >> i think that all actors are pretty hp &hc i mean in general. i obviously can't speak for everybody, but i think that's sort of what drives us into this business is that insecurity, and especially being a woman. i think all women, unfortunately, have some deep-seeded insecurities, for whatever reason, because of how we're raised in society. it's hard having so much focus put on you all the time. it is hard to maintain that sort of confidence because you're always second-guessing yourself and questioning yourself and feeling like you're letting someone down or you're failing in one way or another because you can't please all of the people all of the time. >> so how are you handling this outrageous popularity right now? if you go on google and type the letter "m" in, it goes "megan fox." it is amazing how many people have taken an interest in you. what's the best part about it and what's the worst part about it? >> the best part is that you always feel blessed and lucky to

have any sort of success in this business because it is so hard for most people to achieve it. i do feel undeserving of it but i feel like it came pretty easily because i was involved in something that was so much bigger than i was and it opened all these doors for me. i mean the worst part about it is just the lacknymity which is a hard thing to describe to people. when people are constantly picking apart everything that you say or do and judging it, it is tough to live in that space every day. it's basically like you're always in high school. you never get out of high school. hollywood is a giant high school. >> as we all know, parts of high school were terrible. parts were great though. you'll guest host the season premier of "snl." are you nervous about that? >> i have a fear of public speaking. >> that's not good. >> that's not good, no. but we'll see what happens. i'm -- obviously everybody is a huge fan of the show. i'm really excited to get to meet all these people and get to do something so incredible that i never thought i would get to

do. >> most people who come through here who are about to do it say it is the scariest, best experience they ever have. >> really? >> good luck. >> thank you. >> "jennifer's body" opens on friday. next, jay leno's prime time premier and how it could forever change the face of television right after this. ese days every penny counts with everything you buy. every head. every bite. every gallon. every shoe. every book. every cereal. well, maybe not every cereal. but every stem. every stitch. every tune. every toy. pretty much everything you buy can help your savings account grow because keep the change from bank of america rounds up every debit card purchase to the next dollar and transfers the difference from your checking to savings account. it's one of the many ways we make saving money in tough times a whole lot easier.

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money in tough times a whole lot easier. announcer: it gives the world fewer smog-forming emissions. it gives you a 50 mile per gallon rating. the 3rd generation prius. it's harmony between man, nature and machine. 8:21. tonight jay leno is promising a lot of new treats to go along with the fan favorites from the "tonight show" like headlines and jay walking. but the question is will jay's late night audience embrace him in prime time? lisa chambers is the managing

editor of "tv guide" and a pop culture guru -- >> guru. that's awesome. >> does jay have the possibility of remaking the nature, the face, of television. lisa? >> yeah, definitely the possibility is there. >> if he succeeds. >> if he succeeds. this is a kind of experiment that we haven't seen in prime time on television in years. >> chuck? >> i'm just glad nbc has put no pressure whatsoever on jay leno. hey, man, save my network, please! >> not just save the network. >> change television! >> he's lost weight for this thing, he seems to be in battle form. the question really is what are the viewers, what do the audience want? the reason i think it might be successful is because people need to laugh. perhaps in this time of our history, perhaps more than in other times. what do you think about that, lisa? >> i think he's got a really interesting opportunity because the other alternatives are these sort of heavy dramas at 10:00 he's going to be up against.

people question he's going to be up against csi miami or the menialist, shows like that. but he's going to offer a light alternative. >> as a comedian i got to go with the joke. even if a hot woman's looking into a microscope to see a little teeny piece of thing that killed somebody, that's all well and good. i'm going for the joke myself. >> but it's funny at 10:00 the same as funny at 11:30? >> i think funny is funny. who said you can only be funny after 11:00 in america? when did that rule get made? hopefully all the networks will do what nbc's doing and we can get to bed earlier. that's all i say. >> so the bottom line is that the pressure is really on jay to be funny. that's really -- if he is funny, you think he'll succeed. if he's not funny, then he won't. is that the conclusion? >> yes. and he's trying to be topical, too. there is some talk about the show being sort of dvr-proof because it is live every day, people are going to want to tune in -- >> kanye west is on tonight. last night -- i mean --

>> gave him the gift. >> kanye, thank you so much, kanye. kanye created some controversy. >> oh, good, yes. >> people are going to want to tune in. jay's no doubt paying attention to trying to come up with segments that are going to end up on youtube and going viral. an interview with kanye west the day after this explosion -- >> are you saying he's got to be newsy? >> well honestly, i mean people watch the news all the time because it's happening and it's current. to have somebody like kanye on the day after the vmas and to be able to say to him, why do you want america to hate you? like that means something. >> and what a way to start for jay. >> so it's kind of like a jon stewart-ish move. jon takes the news and makes a spin on it. that's the opportunity we have at 10:00. >> look how successful jon stewart is in that format and by doing so. so i think it may work. get ready, america. tv's about to change.

>> but on the other hand -- on the other hand, there are a lot of new programs. the first few nights, as i understand it, starts tonight he's going to have kind of a free ride. but then some new shows are going to be coming in that could be major competition. >> premier week really starts september 21st. that's when all the big dramas and new comedies come back. that's going to be jay's test. >> lisa chambers, thank you so much. chuck knight, thank you so much. fun to talk to you guys. let's go to lunch! "the jay leno show" premiers tonight at 10:00, 9:00 central time right here on nbc. still ahead, a live performance from pink. she's in the studio right now. right after your local news. >> live, local, latebreaking.

this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. i am mindy basara. speaking on 11 news sunday morning, baltimore mayor sheila dixon says that she continues to fight and work hard for the city. she also addressed the concerns of footing the bill. >> my focus is not allowing the citizens to burden and focus on all the taxes and issues. i don't want to burden the taxpayers on a whole list of issues. >> the mayor also says that she is doing everything possible to

save money, including cutting salaries and freezing jobs. she signed a document stating that she will take the maximum for low days -- maximum furlough days and presented to other officials hoping it will do the same. let's get a final check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> we have a pretty big problem on 97. this is due to an accident there. medevac on the scene. we will switch over to a live view of sandy point. as far as of the problem spots, we still have this one on southbound harrisburg expressway . that approach is all the way down to york road. it will be awhile before the delay clears out. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11.

>> we do apologize for the feedback. we are looking at a nice start to the dead. -- nice start to the day. 59 in york. here's a look at your forecast. >> thanks for joining us.

♪ back now at 8:30 on a monday morning, 14th day of september, 2009. pretty day here in the northeast, and if you listen in the background, you'll hear some great music courtesy of pink. and pink is in our studio in this half-hour to perform one of her hit songs for us. and we like to say about pink, when she comes, she comes to play. i don't just mean the music. >> oh, yes. >> playing already in the studio

a little bit. my goodness. >> she was at the vmas last night. no question about it. we'll talk to pink and hear her sing in just a little while. you're going to talk to a guy who actually lives with lyons. >> his name is kevin richardson. he's so close to big cats. he actually says that one of him is his soulmate. we'll be speaking to him about his remarkable bond. >> the lion sleeps tonight. a young woman who's battled obesity all of her life. well, she's managed to lose half of her body weight and she's going to tell us the secret to her success. i met her in the green room. just looks like a completely different person. >> she is the newest member of the "joy fit club." >> good for her! >> exactly. congratulations. but before we go any further, mr. roker, have e

>> we are going to be really wet by the mid-to-labor-part of the week. today, nice and sunny skies. winds light and out of the west. more of the same ad 83. >> and that's your latest weather. al, thanks very much. now to today's search for the lost symbol, dan brown's new

novel hits book stores at midnight tonight and we have one final clue to see if you can figure out some of the pivotal locations in that story. this place was built as a physical symbol of man's intellectual ascent. three tiers of increasing architectural complexity. it was inspired by the ancient pharaoh's light house, at the very top an egyptian pyramid. this architectural marvel stands as memorial to a great man in history, a man of whom king george iii once said, "if he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world." in this room, members of a society meet, important traditions, rituals and ceremonies dating back centuries take place here. now it's said not to be a secret society, but a society with secrets. shrouded behind the curtain in front of me hides a replica of an enormously famous and mystically powerful artifact whose name is an anagram for

contact for heaven. can you figure out the anagram, and where am i? >> we need a little more time. >> you're in jim bell's office o. >> no, but it looks like jim bell's office. we're going to give you the answers to all the clues we've given you over the last four days or so wednesday morning right here on "today." also coming up tomorrow on "today," you've got a rare exclusive interview with dan brown. you'll talk to him about how "the lost symbol" came together from the very first idea to the pressure now he's feeling during its release. >> you think he's got any pressure? 5 million copies printed waiting to be hopefully sold? >> i don't think he'll have a problem. >> i don't think so either. >> it is already a best seller. >> it's true. we'll have much more ahead on this monday morning, but first this is "today" on nbc..

♪ this nonk morning on "look at me now," a 45-year-old nurse from los angeles has dropped 110 pounds without surgery. we'll meet her in a moment but first her story in her own words. >> my name is rosemary jon pierre and i've been overweight my entire life. i grew up in the philippines where it was uncommon for kids to be overweight. as the token fat girl, i was always made fun of. food was the only comfort i had. i couldn't stop myself from eating greasy food and sweets. i would eat anywhere from 6,000 to 7,000 calories every day. food filled the void in my life. when i turned 39, my doctor diagnosed me as prediabetic with a high risk for heart disease. that's when i knew i needed to make a change. i went to the library and

researched articles about living healthy and i started to eat right and exercise. after 18 months, i lost 110 pounds. i have discovered that i have a passion for running, and i have started competing in marathons. i'm so proud of what i have accomplished and i feel like i'm on top of the world. >> joy bauer is with us now for the big reveal. joy, before we bring rosemarie out, let's take one more look at a picture of her in the before state. >> it is an incredible story. aside of her oozing with happiness, she literally lost half of her weight in pounds. >> so ladies and gentlemen, the newest member of the "joy fit club," rosemarie jon pierre. hello, rosemarie. how are you? you even run out here. look at you. >> i'm going to bring you a trophy. >> look at you! >> it is incredible. 110 pounds. >> i feel so great. >> were you standing out there

looking at the pictures of you in days of old? >> yes. yes. >> what do you think when you look at those pictures? >> i feel so much -- i mean so much happier. i was able to achieve something like this. i can't believe i was able to do this and i'm so speechless right now. i'm so thankful, so grateful. >> you have said -- joy she's said, i think you've heard this from other people -- rosemarie said she used to use food as a drug and learned not to do that. that's not an easy thing to learn. >> not at all. she had a lot of help issues working against her. she was diagnosed as a borderline diabetic. she had high cholesterol, hypertension, debilitating migraines, aches and pains and she made the decision. >> you made the decision, healthy eating and exercise. >> very true. >> that was it. >> yeah that was it. i educated myself how to live a healthy lifestyle. >> she let exercise take over for a lot of her eating.

she regularly runs, and wins, marathons now. >> there had to be setbacks along the way. i'm sure there were times when you didn't feel like sticking with it. how did you pick yourself up? >> i have to remember that it's doable. i have so much faith in him and he gave me all the strength to overcome my weaknesses. i stick with self-discipline. >> big believer in god. >> yes. >> quickly can we talk about di? she ate a lot of protein but it was fatty protein. >> the weight loss boiled down to two major swaps. first swapping out refined white carbs. in rosemarie's culture you eat a lot of white rice. she was eating four to five cups with each and every meal. when she got rid of that she knocked off 2,000 calories off of her daily day. >> her diet today? >> high-fat meats are now gone! no more fried stuff. instead, grilled, unbreaded chicken, eggs, tuna that's packed in water and of course,

lots of fish. >> rosemarie, oftentimes when we have people on with joy i say do you think you can keep this up. i think i know the answer in your case. i have a feeling this is not going to be hard for you to continue. is it? >> yes, true. >> without question. >> without question. >> you're driven. >> definitely, yes. yes. i'm very hard-driven. yes. >> well, congratulations and welcome to her club. >> thank you so much. >> thank you for inspiring so many of our viewers. >> thank you. i'm here to inspire others. >> you've done that. rosemarie, thanks so much and congratulations. for more nutrition advice and to learn how you or someone you know can be considered for the "joy fit club" -- and get that hug that rose marie just got. head to our website at todayshow.com. up next, the man many call todayshow.com. up next, the man many call the lion

[tv set] hey! i've been paused for 20 minutes. the wasted energy isn't pausing. hit "save" and save as much as $200 a year by turning me off. [announcer] learn to speak the language of energy efficiency at bgesmartenergy.com. ♪ in the jungle the nighty jungle ♪ back at 8:43.

kevin richardson has dedicated his life to the lions of africa. he spent so much time with them, he actually considers himself part of a lion family. he talks about that special bond in a new book called "part of the pride my life among the big cats of africa." kevin, good morning. >> good morning. >> you're from south africa. you've done a documentary. you are a animal behavioralist. people call you the lion whisperer. can you explain your actions? >> yeah, a lot of people probably think i'm quite mad to do what i do. there is a little bit of method to the madness. it started 11 years ago with two little lion cubs that touched my heart in a very special way. i had no idea back then that i'd be doing this 11 years later. but you know, due to all the media attention and a lot of the youtube clips on about me, i found i've actually got an ability now reach a far greater audience and get out the plight of the lion of africa. >> what is that message? >> in the past decade or so,

lion numbers have dropped from over 300,000 in the world to just 23,000. that's a staggering amount. they're now in the threatened and protected species list in stri south africa. people in the world don't realize that. they think of south africa with loads of lyons. >> is it blamed on humankind? >> predominantly, yes. >> people are paying so much attention because you really break the rules. you're smiling here but to be honest with you, i mean when you're so up close -- why? >> well, when i started working with these lions, people must realize this is a process, not a single event. i didn't just wake up one morning and think i'm going to go out and save the lion. i met these two lion cubs and it was a progression from there. what i realized was that if i could enrich their lives, they were enriching mine and i can also get out a greater message. what happened with these two lions i thought to myself, i don't really want to work with them on a basis where i have to dominate them. if i truly was accepted into

their world, i could get down on my hands and knees, i can lie around with them, i can sleep with them, i can do all of those things which people said, well, i don't think you can really do that. 11 years later, yeah, lie down, sleep with them and -- >> the courage it takes to do this is not just sort of the courage it would take anyone to do this. it would seem to me that it would take even more from you because you've been attacked. >> yeah, i have been attacked in my early days. i call it lucky lessons in life. >> but most people take those lessons and go, okay, i'm not going to go there anymore. but you got connected still to these animals. >> i think can you learn from lessons. one must always realize it is not the animal ever to blame. >> what drives you back? what drives you back and allows you to take these risks. most people think you are insane to do it. >> with that particular lion it taught me a good lesson early on. i didn't really have a good relationship with him. it was a lion who was 3 years old when i met him.

that was the problem. >> all right. but what makes you take these risks? look at that photograph we just had you looking down into the jaws of a lion. why? >> it's not a risk if you look at it from my perspective. it's like people say, flying can be crazy. or why on earth do you want to jump off the side of a mountain or get into an engine that can have structural failure. people realize this is what they're about and they feel a connection to it. maybe that's why i do what i do. i feel empathy for the animals, them towards me. i feel with the platform that i've been provided, i can't do good for lions. the media attention is one of those things. >> the book is called "the part of the pride." kevin richardson, thank you so much this morning and good luck to you. >> thank you. coming up next, pink stops by for a live performance.

>> announcer: the "toyota concert series" on "today," brought to you by toyota. toyota. moving forward. singer/songwriter pink's unmistakable voice has helped her sell millions of album and earn two grammy awards. she's here to perform a song from her latest album, "fun

house." tell me about last night. you were there at vmas when this whole kanye thing happened. >> i was there. it was the one time i really wish i would have won because i had this amazing alexander mcqueen purse with brass knuckles on it. >> you would have used them? >> and honestly, i don't think it would have happened if i were up there. but taylor swift is awesome. she deserved her moment. that guy is -- >> you went on -- you tweeted about it. did you notice how i cut you off? i thought, my god, she's going to say what she tweeted. yeah, you were rather -- >> i was upset. >> you said he is the biggest "blank" on the earth, or on the planet. your heart goes out to taylor. >> yeah. i think beyonce's a classy lady for what she did at the end. >> how classy was that. >> i just think he's an idiot. he's just a waste. he's just a toolbox. >> don't hold back. >> you know what? he's getting exactly what he wants right now.

people are talking about him. >> let's stop. okay? >> yeah. >> you're very quick to point to people, it is not a break-up album. but there are some break-up songs on it. >> well, it is not just a break-up album. talking about drinking and having fun, too. >> but you wrote some of these songs are breaking up with a young man who's on the couch over there. that cute boy over there in the dark. was it awkward after you wrote the break-up songs -- you're back together now. >> it's not awkward for me. >> how does it feel for you? you're loving it. right? what are you going to sing for us this morning? >> please don't leave me. >> i won't. what are you going to sing for us this morning? that's it. >> okay, i got it. i didn't mean that, kerry. i was kidding. ♪ da da da da da ♪ da da da da ♪ da da da da da

♪ da da da da da ♪ i don't know if i can yell any louder ♪ ♪ how many times have i kicked you out of here ♪ ♪ or said something insulting ♪ da da da da da ♪ i can be so mean when i wannabe ♪ ♪ i am capable of really anything ♪ ♪ i can cut you into pieces ♪ but my heart is broken ♪ ♪ da da da da da ♪ please don't leave me ♪ da da da da da ♪ please don't leave me ♪ da da da da da ♪ i always say how i don't need you ♪ ♪ but it's always gonna come right back to this ♪

♪ please don't leave me ♪ da da da da da ♪ how did i become so obnoxious ♪ ♪ what is it with you that makes me act like this ♪ ♪ i've never been this nasty ♪ da da da da da ♪ but you tell me this is all just a contest ♪ ♪ the one that wins will be the one that hits the hardest ♪ ♪ but baby i don't mean it ♪ i mean it ♪ i promise ♪ ♪ ♪ da da da da da ♪ please don't leave me ♪ da da da da da ♪ please don't leave me ♪ da da da da da ♪ i always say how i don't need you ♪ ♪ but it's always gonna come

right back to this ♪ ♪ please don't leave me ♪ da da da da da ♪ i forgot to say outloud how beautiful you really are to me ♪ ♪ i cannot be without ♪ you're my perfect little punching bag ♪ ♪ and i need you ♪ i'm sorry ♪ da da da da da ♪ da da da da da ♪ da da da da ♪ please please don't leave me ♪ da da da da da ♪ baby please don't leave me ♪ da da da da da ♪ don't leave me ♪ please don't leave me ♪ da da da da da ♪ i always say how i don't need

you ♪ ♪ but it's always gonna come right back to this ♪ ♪ please don't leave me ♪ ♪ da da da da da ♪ da da da da ♪ please don't leave me ♪ i always say how i don't need you ♪ ♪ but it's always gonna come right back to this ♪ ♪ please please don't leave me ♪ da da da da da ♪ please please don't leave me ♪ >> pink! pink has a huge tour kicking off tomorrow in seattle. good luck with that. kerry, you mind if i kiss your wife? way to go. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore.

>> morning. i am mindy basara. here's a look at some of our top stories. the violence over the weekend comes at the same time a local church is trying to get guns off the street. the st. gregory the church in west baltimore, anyone who has turned in an automatic semiautomatic handgun or assault rifle received $100. other guns were worth $50. overtaken no questions asked. -- all were taken no questions asked. >> people who turn them and said they had them playing another house and did not want them falling into the law a person's hands. >> 21 calls on sunday offered to turn in more guns. turn in more guns.

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>> now let's take a look to the forecast with sandra shaw. >> plentyore today. it is going tocooler, but stillt more of the same, partly cooler and rainy onday at least through saturday. >> we will have another update at 9:25.