good morning. utter devastation, new images of a tornado that cut a path of destruction across mississippi. one of dozens of twisters blamed in at least 12 deaths across the south. overnight, more severeeather in south carolina. arrested, a 23-year-old man armed with a gun, taken into custody in a north carolina airport just after president obama took off. officials say the president was never in danger, but the man is behind bars this morning. and true survivor, the 11-year-old girl who spent four days in an alligator and

bug-infested swamp before being rescued. nadia bloom is speaking about her ordeal for the first time, "today," monday, april 26th, her ordeal for the first time, "today," monday, april 26th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and in for meredith, i'm ann curry. boy, that nasty weather in the south. get this number. 85 tornados in four days are being reported but none as severe as the one that hit mississippi, matt. >> you can see how powerful this storm was in this storm chaser video. emergency crews say this is the worst tornado to hit that area in decades. 160-mile-per-hour winds, at least 10 people killed by this twister alone. hundreds of buildings were destroyed. we'll talk to a man inside a church that was destroyed when that tornado hit and get the

latest on all the dangerous weather in the south over the weekend from al, straight ahead. >> that was the church right behind him. it's amazing he survived. also ahead this morning, a good samaritan left to die. it was captured on surveillance video. the man lie iying on the ground just been stabbed after helping a woman that was being mugged. another took a picture, but more than an hour passed before anyone called police. by the time authorities arrived, it was too late. we'll get much more on this very sad story. >> very disturbing story. let's begin with those deadly tornadoes down south. nbc's kerry sanders is in the hard-hit town of north wweir, mississippi. >> reporter: r a dozen people were killed here in mississippi. more than 700 homes were damaged or destroyed, like this one. one of the twister that is touched down here was huge, a mile and a half wide.

it was a monster. >> it's a beast. it keeps changing shape, bigger, wider. >> reporter: and the storm chasers were just a little too close. they made it out alive, but others were not as lucky when as many as 30 tornadoes touched down across the southeast. yazoo city, mississippi, was hard hit. and nearby in mill springs, some of the worst destruction. j.w. carter lost two grandchildren when they were ripped from their father's arms. >> he said he tried to get on top of them, put them all in his arms but the wind picked them up. >> reporter: amazing stories of survival. victor ann steel remembers hearing the wind and rain but didn't think it was a tornado. >> we dropped to the floor because everything was just -- everything was off the wall. everything was flying around, debris, insulation. we were just covered in trash, but we held on, just laid down

on the floor. >> reporter: nextdoor, her granddaughter was in another trailer that disappeared in the 160-mile-an-hour winds. the house explodes. you're on the phone. next thing you know, you're in the air and then what? >> i felt a tree and grabbed on to it. >> you just reached down and grabbed a limb? >> uh-huh. >> reporter: they're still reliving the nightmare here. >> i had a few seconds and when the patio furniture and all the furniture was coming through the house and hit me, i was able to get into the bathroom and get on top of them before the top went. we're blessed to have our babies still with us. >> reporter: still, he knows he's one of the lucky ones. >> lives can't be replaced. these things can be replaced. >> reporter: officials here say residents are fortunate the tornado struck in the middle of the afternoon, when people were aware of the danger. >> we had five fatalities all together in the county, but it could have been so much worse, so much worse. >> reporter: national guard units are now on patrol.

while over the weekend, pari parishiners gave thanks at the sight of their heavily damaged sanctuary. >> you know, we're resilient. we're a tough community and we have a lot of faith in god. so, we get up the next day, shake the dust off and realize that we've got to go on. >> reporter: the twister that touched down here may turn out to be a record. early calculations are it was on the ground for 97 miles. ann? >> kerry sanders, thanks. dale thrasher was inside the hillcrest baptist church in yazoo city, mississippi, when it was destroyed. good morning to you, dale. >> good morning, miss curry. >> you were working alone inside the church as you normally do on saturdays. how much warning did you get and what did you do? >> well, my wife called from vicsburg, mississippi, and said she heard there was a tornado

coming toward little yazoo, which was south of here. she asked me to go look out the door and i did, it didn't look too bad. then the building started shaking and it was like a giant cloud on the ground with swirling wind and rain and i knew then that i was in trouble. i run down the hall and the lord directed me to the sanctuary. we had a communion table there at the pulpit. i went under that communion table and about that time all the glass in the church started blowing out, the building started shaking and collapsed around me. all i had time to do was ask the lord to save me and he did. >> this communion table, i understand, was really small. you had to skrunch yourself up to get underneath it. when you look at what's left of your church, dale, how do you think you were able to survive? >> miss curry, the honest thing i can say is the good lord did it. back in 1970, he saved my soul from the devil's hand and saturday he saved me from death. i can't tell you why he saved me

except maybe to tell the people how god loves them and he can save them, because he saved me from a life in hell, eternity in hell and he gave me a chance to tell the people of the world about it. and i praise him for that and i just feel so bad about the lives that was lost. i can't explain that, except by saying that god -- he's on the throne. he's merciful and he's there for those people and he loves them if they'll just cry out to him. >> you talk about the lives lost. ten people in your community have died including a woman from your wife's family named nikki carpenter and i understand she died protecting her two sons? >> yes, ma'am. she died in a mobile home and she was over the children, trying to protect them. >> meantime, i understand for a time, you were buried under sheet rock and two-by-fours. so, how badly were you injured? >> i had three scratches on my left thumb and a coffee burn

where i reckon it was sliding me and the table around a little bit. if you look at the center of the church where that table and i were, everything else was destroyed and moved around except for me and that table. the lord just blessed me, put his arms around me and protected me. >> i know that you and other church members still had service on sunday, despite not having a church. dale thrasher, thank you so much. good luck to you in helping your community rebuild. >> thank you, miss curry. >> of course, our thoughts are with all the people down south who suffered through that tough weather. let's get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories. natalie is at the news desk. good morning to you. >> good morning, everyone. an ohio man is facing charges this morning after police say he showed up with a gun in asheville, north carolina, saying he wanted to see the president. chuck todd joins us. what can you tell us? >> reporter: good morning, natalie. a few minutes after president obama left asheville on his way to west virginia for that memorial service for those dead west virginia miners, police

started questioning and secret service started questioning a man by the name of joseph sean mcvey. he was sitting in his car and when he got out of the car, he was listening to radio scanners on a transistor radio and had a sidearm on him. he said he wanted to meet the president, wanted to speak to him. they decided after questioning him to arrest him since he was armed and was in a police car. his driver's license turned out to be invalid, his ohio driver's license. and also in the car, they found formulas for a rifle scope, which are used to measure distances. he makes his first court appearance today in north carolina and he is being held on $100,000 bond. secret service and other law enforcement officials say the president was never in danger and these things do happen sometimes where you have some suspect, unsavory individuals hanging around where the president is going, but they say he was not in danger. natalie? >> chuck todd for us at the

white house. thank you, chuck. after leaving asheville, the president then spoke at a memorial service for the 29 miners who were killed in west virginia. he told the families that the u.s. will honor their memories by making mines safer. crews are trying to stop a significant leak coming from the oil platform explosion in louisiana. ann thompson is in new orleans this morning. how big of a threat is this to the shore line? >> reporter: it's a significant threat, natalie. the oil slick is some 600 square miles. if it comes ashore, it could do severe damage to the breeding grounds of shrimp, fish and bird s here along the gulf coast. now some 50 miles out to sea, crews are working to stop that oil leak. they have sent down remote operated submersibles. think of it as the emergency brake on the oil flow. they've got another 12 hours to pak that work. if that doesn't happen, they're bringing in rigs to drill relief

wells to seal off the original well. the problem there, that's a process that could take months. the next 12 hours are crucial. natalie? >> we'll be watching what happens there. ann thompson for us in new orleans, thank you. close call for britain's ambassador. he apparently narrowly escaped a suicide bomber attack on his car. new york yankees will be honored today, last year's world series champions. seems like that was ages ago. good honor for them. >> he will shake all their hands and immediately lose a million votes in massachusetts. >> i was going to say, it must

any less't expect severe weather during the day to day, but off and on rainshowers high temperatures expected in the low-to-mid-60's.

>> that's your latest weather. matt? >> al, thank you very much. to the controversial new law in arizona that allows police to see documentation from anyone they suspect to be in this country illegally. it's the toughest anti-immigration law ever. thousands of protesters took to the streets in phoenix on sunday, argue iing it amounts t racial profiling. they called on president obama to help overturn it. joe arpaio is the sheriff in maricopa county, arizona, known as the toughest sheriff for his crackdowns on immigration and petty crime. sheriff, it's good to see you. good morning. >> thank you. >> let me give you the results of a recent poll. 70% of people asked say they are in favor of the tough new immigration bill but, get this, 53% of those same people say they worry that it could lead to civil rights violations. are they worrying for nothing? >> yeah. you know, 60 days into the obama

administration, he sent his justice department down to the phoenix area to investigate me for alleged racial profiling. it's been a year and a half and nothing has happened. so, we know how to enforce the illegal immigration laws without racial profiling. >> but this law does demand, in some cases, that law enforcement officials do everything within their power to determine if someone is in this country illegally. why won't that result in law enforcement officials walking up to people on the street, questioning them simply because of their appearance, because they appear to be hispanic? >> well, first of all, that's not going to happen. i know they -- pursuant to their duties. they're not going to go on a street corner and grab people because they look like they're from another country. we haven't been do iing that fo the past three years, and i know law enforcement officers will

not do that. those are the critics. some politicians use that as an excuse because they don't like law enforcement enforcing illegal immigration laws. >> is it going to distract law enforcement, though, and take valuable resources away from cracking down on more serious crimes? >> you know, we have a lot of -- 8,000, 10,000 people booked into our jails. 50% are misdemeanors. that's another fallacy where law enforcement and some politicians say that will affect their operations, they only go after violent criminals. law enforcement goes after everybody that violates the law, or they should. >> critics are having a field day with this, sheriff arpaio, as you know. some are calling for a business boycott of the state of arizona. homeland security secretary, used to be the governor of arizona, says she doesn't like this bill. here is a cartoon where a guy orders nachos and is immediately

surrounded by police for probable cause. are you worried that it affects the image of your state? >> no. i think more people will move here since when we raid private businesses and arrest illegal aliens working there with the mantle with phony identification, we're making more job openings by getting rid of those that are here illegally and maybe people here that are here legal will be able to find a job. we do have an economic problem across our nation, including the phoenix area. >> maricopa county sheriff, joe arpaio. thank you for join iing us this morning. i appreciate it. >> thank you. it is 16 after the hour. once again, here is ann. thanks, matt. goldman sachs executives are set to go on the hot seat this week to answer questions about how they do business and some surprising new e-mails. lisa myers is in washington with the latest on this story. lisa, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann.

goldman sachs now is fighting the government on two fronts, s.e.c., which charged the company with fraud and now a senate subcommittee. e-mails in which goldman executives seemed to cheer as the housing market collapsed. with its reputation on the line, wall street's most powerful and most profitable firm is trying to explain away damaging e-mails. it's the fall of 2007, the housing market is collapsing and investors are suffering big losses. yet a goldman executive seems pleased. sounds like we'll make some serious money, he wrote. that, as some families were losing value in their homes or even losing their homes entirely. >> to watch them lose everything and cheer, you wonder why the american people are furious at wall street, that e-mail alone may explain it all. >> reporter: in another e-mail that fall, goldman ceo says they made money on the housing

market, then lost more than they made. >> not going to win any popularity contest when over a period that ordinary americans' pension, houses were collapsing in value, they were making significant money off of it. >> reporter: however, a spokesman for goldman says the firm actually lost $1.2 billion on residential mortgage investments over 2007 and 2008. and goldman put out 70 pages of documents itself, arguing that the firm didn't really know which way the housing market was going and consistently tried to hedge its bets. goldman also released e-mails of the young trader charged with fraud by the s.e.c., fabrice tourre. in one, tourre compared the product to frankenstein turning against his own inventor. in another, he quotes a goldman exec as saying the subprime business is totally dead and the poor little subprime borrowers

will not last so long. a goldman spokesman said obviously the content of the e-mail sincere highly embarrassing, but we've found no evidence of wrongdoing. >> we've got to end, once and for all, the casino atmosphere of wall street. >> reporter: tomorrow, as you said, ann, seven current and former goldman executives testify in front of a senate subcommittee. it's reflective of how concerned gold mman is about public perception. ann? >> lisa myers this morning, reporting. thanks, lisa. it is now 7:19. wops again, here is matt. >> thank you, ann. prosecutors in mexico say they are closing in on an arrest of a brutal murder of a california woman at a popular cancun resort. miguel almaguer has that story. we've been following it. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. investigators have said for weeks they won't be rushed. now a signal that their

investigation is nearly complete. monica beresford redman's murder is now three weeks old. during the investigation, her body was considered evidence. today the coroner's office in cancun says it will release her remains so her family can finally bring monica home. >> we need to bring the body there so that all the people that love her can really, you know, say good-bye. >> reporter: in her hometown of los angeles, monica's family joined nearly 100 others in a rally outside the restaurant she owned, demanding justice, an arrest in the case. monica's husband is a former producer for cbs' prime time show "survivor," and police in cancun say he's the only suspect in his wife's murder. he remains in mexico, the focus of the homicide investigation. meantime, court documents now show his parents have filed to be guardians of the couple's two children, writing, quote, we will be able to address questions that arise from our grandchildren, despite the

tragic loss of their mother. monica's family may also want custody, but because her parents are from brazil, legal experts say bruce's parents may have a better chance, even with the possible murder case against him. >> there's always a possibility of a messy fight when you have a lurid murder allegation. but the fact is unless there's some evidence that the grandparents have any kind of problem or are unfit in any way, almost certainly they are going to get custody of those kids. >> reporter: after meeting twice with investigators in mechanixi monica's family shared documents and e-mails illustrating a troubled marriage between the victim and suspect. prosecutors call the information, including accusations of infidelity, important to their case. >> translator: if the information we get that there was an antagonistic relationship between bruce and monica would affect the investigation.

>> reporter: prosecutors hope it will end with an arrest this week. awaiting forensic results, investigators say that's all they need to close what has been described as an iron-clad case. matt? >> miguel almaguer in cancun this morning. thank you very much. just ahead, the 11-year-old girl lost in a swamp for four days, nadia bloom speaks out about her o

still ahead, a good samaritan left to die on the street after he was stabbed trying to save a woman from a mugger. why did nobody save him? runaway mom from ohio. if she were a run away dad, would people be talking about it? i'll take this. ( crashing ) double miles add up quick. and all of those. so we brought the whole gang. one adult, one goat please. it's hard to beat double miles.

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[ man ] enjoy the trip! okay, daddy! [ laughter ] [ male announcer ] a consumers digest best buy. with a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. it takes you farther... and brings you closer. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> lots of problems out there. let's get you ready for the morning commute. southbound at falls road approaching black rock road, watch for closures due to the downed wires we have had all morning. traffic lights and same problem at north point and came in the city. j.f.x. southbound, 10 miles per

hour. right lanes blocked with flooding. watch for the heavy delays as a result. at lombard, roadwork with three lanes closed. 178 at millersville road, all lanes blocked at anne arundel county. 25 minutes is your drive time on the outer loop west side. 13 minutes on the outer loop from the harrisburg expressway over to 795. 95 in the white marsh area, backed up heavily from white marsh to the beltway northeast. we will switch to a live view of the beltway at bw parkway. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> no severe weather to talk about. we have rainshowers left over this morning on this one did hd doppler showing rain from across baltimore county to carroll county. have your stuff in harford county.

try in annapolis and over all the eastern shore. take an umbrella with you. temperatures are in the low 50s. at the present time, we will make it into the low-to-mid- 60's. off and on rainshowers, maybe a thunderstorm. that is most likely south of baltimore. rainshowers and early in the morning on tuesday. the rest of the week will be dry. slow warming trend. we let the 70's on friday and 80's by the time we hit next weekend. >> check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information we will be back at 7:55 with another update.

7:30 now on a monday morning, the 26th day of april, 2010. all these fine folks out there perhaps dodging a couple of rain drops out on our plaza this morning. looks like it's a nice crowd outside. we'll be out in a couple of minutes. i'm matt lauer. ann curry is filling in while meredith is off today. a small survivor, nadia bloom, who vanisheded in a florida swamp earlier this month, is speaking out for the first time about her ordeal.

>> it was four day, right? >> four days and four nights. a good samaritan stabbed, as he tried to help a woman who was being mugged on a new york street. surveillance cameras record him lie tlg and dozens of people just passing by. one even stopped to take a picture, matt, but no one tried to help him. much more on that, coming up. the growing trend in this country of the very wealthy running for office. is it a good thing or bad thing? can an average joe even stand a chance in a campaign these days? we'll get into that, just ahead. let us begin this half hour with the 11-year-old girl who was lost in an alligator and bug-infested swamp in florida for four days. we'll talk to nadio bloom and her parents in a moment. but first, her story from nbc's mark potter. >> reporter: nearly two weeks after she was rescued, nadia bloom and her family are getting back to normal now. at a church service on sunday, they stood before the

congregation. >> we are so happy to have you back. hey, nadia, how are you doing? >> reporter: 11-year-old nadia disappeared april 9th after wandering into dense woods near her home. for four nights she was lost there. after she was located and carried from the woods on a stretcher, she had stories to tell. >> you know what? the whole reason i even went into thighs wood sincere because i really wanted to see nature and, i mean, i really did get to see nature. >> reporter: police have  described the woods where she was lost as very thick and hard to get through. >> you wouldn't believe what i saw. i got to see this snake. it was a water moccassin, but i kept my distance from it, fortunately. >> reporter: for her family, nadia being lost in the woods was terrifying. >> when you go through something

like this, and i pray that nobody else does, you do get a lift in your spirit when you have a family like this, like you all, that encouraged us and, you know, did all that you did. >> reporter: nadia is now back in school and is recovering from her cuts and bug bites. >> for nadia's safe return, we say thanks. >> reporter: sunday, the family joined in prayer. >> and for that, we do say thanks. >> amen. >> thanks, guy. >> see ya. >> reporter: for "today," mark potter, nbc news, miami. >> nadia is with us now, along with her parents, tanya and jeff bloom. good morning to you all. nice to see you. >> morning. >> morning. >> good morning. >> nadia, from what i understand, when they found you, you had a lot of bug bites, from head to toe. have you recovered from all of those or are you still itching a little bit? >> i'm still itchy, but i've recovered from most of them, but it's still itchy and i have to

use aquafor, which i hate. >> i know, that's not pleasant stuff. you went in there, you wanted to see nature. we heard you say that. how long were you in there, in those woods and in that swamp, nadia, until you realized you couldn't find your way out? >> about an hour. >> did you immediately get scared? >> yeah. >> you know, i was trying to think, nadia, of my oldest son, who is 9 years old. you're 11. the part that got me most is how he would have been handling that first night, when it started to get dark in those woods and dark in that swamp. how did you handle that? >> well, i tried to think somebody would rescue me, but i had to sleep in this bush. >> was that first night one of the hard eest times?

>> which was itchy. yeah, because i missed my family. >> yeah. jeff and tanya, what about you on that first night? i know you weren't allowed to take part in the official search. as parents, it's unbearable when your child is missing. >> yeah. >> as you see it getting dark on that first day, it had to be just really awful. >> yeah. that's especially when it was hardest, when it gets dark and you just don't know, you know, if she's crying, scared or what condition she's in. it's a terrible feeling. >> we had to leave at 2:30. when we left at 2:30, that was the hardest walk home ever, when they had the helicopter up and they told us to go home and get a little bit of rest. we were back maybe a couple of hours, two or three, but we were back.

it was very difficult to walk away. >> nadia, i know you didn't get much sleep in these four days. did you find any food to eat, any water to drink? it was a swamp but you have to be careful about what you drink ierk imagine. >> there were these plants on the first and second day and they were spongy kind of, and they had water in them and you could eat them. they were kind of like food. >> so, you ate a few of those and made it through? >> they were water plants. uh-huh. they float. >> can you describe the moment when you heard mr. king's voice calling your name after four days and four nights? >> i was excited. i mean, i've never been so excited in my life. i knew i was finally going to get found and i was finally going to be out of these woods. >> yeah. that's very exciting. tanya and jeff, when you heard that news and you heard from the police your daughter had been

found alive, i mean, can you describe that moment? >> ecstatic. >> yeah. >> just really praising god that she was found and that she was okay. >> it was like all the darkness flowed out and, you know, sunshine came just rushing in. that's how it felt. to describe it i guess. it's hard. >> in the end, it turns out nadia was only about a mile away from home when she was eventually found. these woods are right close to your property. any new rules in place when it comes to nadia and her nature exploits? >> she knows she's not supposed to go without anyone that's not a grown-up and she's not going to do it again, she's assured us. >> most importantly, we're happy that this turned out well. nadia, we're happy you're okay. we appreciate you talking to us this morning. okay? >> thank you. >> thank you. nice to meet you. tanya and jeff, thank you as

well. let's get a check of the weather now from al. >> we've got a young birthday girl here, 18. what's your name? >> kate. >> where are you from? >> california. >> very nice. happy birthday. >> thank you. >> got a lot of hanson fans here, who will be on with hoda and kathie lee. the week ahead, we've got cooler and wetter weather in the northeast in the early part of the week, wet out west as well. mid week, we're expecting to see above-normal temperatures in the great lakes, down to texas, mess out west. mountain snows, chillier temperatures. it warms up out >> after the big thunderstorms last night, we are still going to see off and on rainshowers today. showers on this monday, and it is going to be

>> don't forget. to check your weather any time, day or night, go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. surveillance video from here in new york, a good samaritan who just thwarted a mugging left to bleed to death on a busy sidewalk. no one tried to help him. jeff rossen has details now. >> reporter: the surveillance tape is chilling. just off camera, this woman is mugged. that's when police say a good samaritan jumped in to help. the mugger stabbed him and ran away. the injured samaritan chases him before collapsing on the sidewalk. over the next hour and 20 minutes, more than 25 people pass by and did nothing.

in one case, a man took a picture on his cell phone camera. another lifted his body and walked off, leaving him for dead. by the time emergency workers arrived, it was too late. when you saw that video, what went through your mind? >> i thought it was sad. we shouldn't be cruel to each other, at the minimum someone should have called 911. >> anybody that would do that, just leave him there to die, that's -- no morals, you know. no more or less, no conscience. >> reporter: it's happened before, a 78-year-old man was hit by a car on this busy road. at least nine drivers and countless pedestrians passed him by. he later died. in brooklyn, new york, a patient in a psych ward collapsed face down, unconscious in the waiting room. staff and other patients ignored her for nearly an hour. she also died. in seattle earlier this year, security guards stood by as this girl was beaten by a group of teenagers. psychologists say there's an explanation for this, something

called a bystander effect. believe it or not, the more people around, the less likely it is for someone to help you. >> there's an assumption that someone else must be helping out. we're motivated to try to fit into our social environment. we want to do what others do. so, if we see people walking by, our behavior will follow. >> reporter: he says we're hardwired to look away and it may have cost this man his life. for "today," jeff rossen, nbc news, new york. still ahead, exclusive new video of that runaway ohio mom and whether she plans to go back to her husband and 1-year-old daughter. coming up next, with political campaigns now looking more like lifestyles of the rich and famous, does a little guy actually stand a chance? we'll explore that, coming up after this. bye momma. i love you. i love you.

bye-bye. you be careful on your way home. -happy mother's day. -okay. bye-bye. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] this mother's day, give her something she can hold on to. a card. it's the biggest little thing you can do.

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thank you for helping. it's amazing what you can make out of a rainy day. childhood is calling. we're back now at 7:44 with a new kind of millionaire's club. wealthy americans using their own money to fund their own political campaigns. "today" national correspondent jamie gangel is in washington with more on this. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you, matt. the amount of money being spent in some of these races is staggering. but in the end, will it help or could it hurt? in politics these days, so many millionaires are running for office, it's beginning to look a little like -- ♪ lifestyles of the rich and the famous ♪ >> reporter: especially in connecticut, where there are so many rich candidates, stanford

advocate recently ranked them by their cars, mansions and the size of their boats. thanks to a fortune made from her family's business, republican senate hopeful linda mcmahon was a contender with an impressive 47-foot sports yacht. but the smackdown winner was gubernator. a. l candidate tom foley, all of which raises the question, when millionaires can spend their own fortunes, what possible chance does a candidate like this have? can i ask you how much you're worth? >> how much i'm worth? >> reporter: yeah. >> with my '93 pickup thrown in? couple hundred thousand bucks, i think. no, my mortgage is bigger than that. i might be negative in value right now with the housing crisis. it's not about what you're worth. it's what you're passionate about, what you care about.

>> reporter: former social studies teacher mark boughton is running for governor of connecticut, but his life is nothing like his opponents. >> i say yacht. you say -- >> dingy. >> reporter: some of your competitors have mansions. you have -- >> i have a house on a pond and i get water in my basement. >> reporter: with just $40,000 in donations, boughton can't afford fancy ad campaigns. instead, he goes door to door and relies on facebook, twitter and a handful of extremely dedicated volunteers. how much do you guys make? >> extra large pizza. >> on a good night. >> reporter: even so, boughton believes he can beat the millionaires, yachts and all. do you really think you can win against the big bucks? >> i'm going to win this race. >> reporter: election experts agree it's possible, pointing to famous big spenders who went

down in defeat. >> you can spend all the money in the world advertising yourself, but if you don't have that fundamental quality that's appealing to voters, your money just won't buy them any votes. >> reporter: that said in the california governor's race, meg whitman isn't taking any chances and has donated $59 million to her own campaign. >> what you can do is get your message out and i hope that the voters will like what they hear. >> reporter: meanwhile, back in connecticut, mayor boughton believes he has a message and something else. >> life isn't about money. life is about relationships that you build. it's about helping the community. that's really what it's about. it's not about what's in your pocket. it's about what's in your heart. >> and -- go ahead. >> way behind in the polls now, but he says remember david and goliath and for the record, he wants everyone to know, matt, he

had his pickup truck before scott brown. matt? >> that pickup is becoming the hot item on campaign trails. jamie, thank you. >> sure. still ahead, teenage girls speak out on the pressures they feel to be thin. you may be surprised at what they reveal. first, these messages. but five minutes ago, i took symbicort, and symbicort is already helping significantly improve my lung function. so, today, i've noticed a significant difference in my breathing. and i'm doing more of what i want to do. so we're clear -- it doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. my doctor said symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. my copd often meant i had to wait to do what i wanted to do. now i take symbicort, and it's significantly improves my lung function, starting within five minutes. symbicort has made a significant difference in my breathing. now more of my want-tos are can-dos. as your doctor about symbicort today.

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each school has made a video to explain why they deserve a presidential visit. take a look. >> spirit makes me proud of northwest, makes me proud to be a husky and i take that pride in everything i do. >> i am the first one in my family to go to college. >> me, too. >> me, too. >> me, too. >> i got accepted at georgetown university. >> stanford, princeton, columbia. >> duke, dartmouth. >> we learn by doing. we are setting an example for our community starting at our campus. >> where giants thrive. >> the home of kalamazoo, four years of public community college tuition. >> i got accepted into university. >> i was the first person in my family to go to college. >> let's explain how this works. ultimately, the president himself will choose the winning school, but you get to narrow the field down to three schools. here are the contenders, blue valley northwest high school in

overland park, kansas, clark montessori in cincinnati, ohio, the denver school of science and technology in denver, colorado. >> the environmental charter high school in lawndale, california, kalamazoo central high school in kalamazoo, michigan, and cast from california. you can head to our website to find out how to vote. todayshow.com. >> you know who was my commencement speaker? >> who? >> geraldo rivera. that runaway mom returns home. the exclusive video and the latest on why she took off. >> first your local news. ♪ presenting the new toyota avalon. it's one smooth ride. it has lots of space for you... and all your things. i got mine with voice activated navigation.

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>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. good morning >>. i am stan stovall. time to get another check of the morning commute. >> busy ride out there. lots of problems to watch for. southbound falls road approaching black rock road, lanes closed. traffic alternating in the northbound direction. that is due to downed wires, and has been there all morning. frank and in reisterstown, an accident coming into the reisterstown area. heavy delays on the southbound harrisburg expressway from padonia down to the beltway. these delays stretch from the beltway to cold spring

southbound did two right lanes closed at cold spring to the standing water in the road. north point at kane, watch for traffic lights. at lombard, 3 lanes closed. dorothy brunn and waterloo, one more accident to mention if you were going to travel in howard county. we have a volume of around the area, pretty heavy. 70 minutes on inner loop from 75 to the j.f.x. -- 17 minutes on inner loop from 75 to the j.f.x. let's give it a good life look at the white marsh area. approaching white marsh all the way down to be on the beltway northeast. at park heights, delays in both directions of this portion of the beltway. >> good morning. after the big thunderstorms last night, we still have some light to moderate rain left behind this morning. nothing of any consequence. light sprinkles in the city,

more stuff off to the west. it will come through in waves. the rate will catch up eventually. off and on rainshowers. maybe a thunderstorm. it will clear up tomorrow in the afternoon. the rest of the week is fantastic. >> thank you for joining us. back at 8:25.

8:00 now on a monday morning. it's the 26th day of april, 2010. it's a little bit dreary here in the northeast. we've got some overcast skies, had some rain overnight. it's continuing to maybe drizzle or sprinkle here a bit. nice crowd of people. that's always something that ma makes us happy. out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer, along with ann curry, who is in, while meredith is taking the day off. mr. roker joins us as well. coming up, we've got some new video of ohio mom, tiffany tehan. this is, what, about a week after she returned home -- or disappeared after running off

with another guy. >> that's right. she has a 1-year-old baby at home. she ran off with another guy. we'll find out what the story is, whether she plans to go back to her family. the man in that video is the other man. we have exclusive information. we'll be getting to that shortly. also ahead, an honest and open talk with teenage girls about things like weight, body image and the pressure to stay thin. they're very open in this discussion. what they say, i think, is going to surprise a lot of parents. so, we'll be talking about that and then giving some advice to parents, what they need to know as they deal with their teenage children. not only girls, by the way. boys as well. >> absolutely. we'll reintroduce you to an amazing family, who bravely faced the loss of their little boy, elliott, who died of a rare disease just 99 days after he was born. they made a moving video. we shared that with you last year. this morning, the mooneys are back and will share more of their story. it's a real story of human

compassion and of faith. it will move you. >> it's touched a lot of people. >> it has. >> some of this has been on the internet and the response has been pretty strong. >> we will bring that to you. first, let's go inside. natalie is standing by at the news desk with a look at the headlines. good morning to you. >> good morning matt, ann and al. mississippi is cleaning up today after weekend deadly tornadoes, the state's worst natural disaster since hurricane katrina five years ago. ten people were killed in mississippi along with two others in alabama. mississippi's governor said more than 700 homes were damaged or destroyed. a court appearance today for an ohio man, who police say brought a gun to a north carolina airport, just as president obama was leaving. according to police, 23-year-old joseph mcvey told officers he wanted to see the president, who was vacationing in the area, before the president attended a memorial service for 29 west virginia coal miners. robot submarines will try to shut the valves on a leaking oil well today, one mile beneath the

gulf of mexico. officials say up to a day are leaking from the site where a drilling platform exploded off the coast of louisiana. bret michaels remains in critical condition today with a brain hemorrhage. >> reporter: sunday night on ""celebrity apprentice"," rocker turned reality star bret michaels did his best to stay in the board room. >> he's a big rock star. >> reporter: the episode was taped months ago. and in real life, michaels is fight iing to get out of the hospital. thursday, the former front man for '80s hairband poison was admitted to the hospital after complaining of an excruciating headache. doctors found he had suffered a massive brain bleed. now on his facebook page, lighthearted posts have been replaced with medical updates, his staff writing bret remains in icu under critical condition,

under 24-hour doctor's care and supervision. he continues to suffer from splured speech, blurred vision and dizziness, the latest in a series of recent medical problems. just ten days earlier, michaels was rushed to a san antonio hospital for an emergency appendectomy. he has also spoken openly about his lifelong battle with diabetes. and he was injured at 2009's tony awards when hit by a moving piece of the stage. >> he obviously has had ""celebrity apprentice"," touring, working on another show as well, developing that. he has been undergoing a period of stress and that may have contribute contributed to this. >> we are going for absolute broke on this. >> reporter: tv boss donald trump says he is deeply saddened about michaels' condition and described him as a great competitor, one now fighting to regain his health. nbc news, los angeles. >> we, of course, are hoping and

praying for him as well and hoping he recovers. it's 8:04 right now. let's go back outside once again to matt and ann. >> natalie, ann will be here momentarily. she's involved in a photo-op over here. with some people from ireland. we appreciate that. >> i hope that was a photo-op. not sure what was going on there. we have some kids from palm beach gardens high school at carnegie hall. are you going to sing a little something? >> yeah. >> now? >> yeah. >> but you're not singing. okay, i guess not. there we go. very nice, as we take a look and show you what's going on. our pick city of the day, evansville, indiana, 14, wfie. cloudy and cool. temperature of 61 degrees. jet stream, 20,000 feet above the earth's surface bringing rain to the afternoon in the pacific northwest, subtropical jet way to the south. as we head on into wednesday, storm track comes over the pacific northwest and central

california as well, but dips down to the south here in the east coast. that brings >> off and on rainshowers will be with us through this monday. a severe weather, but there could be thunder at times. that would be this

>> that's your latest weather. matt? >> al, thank you very much. when we come back, exclusive new video of that runaway ohio mom and her explanation as to why she ran away to miami with another man. first, these messages. . it's not rocket science. [ frog croaks ] three's more than two. i'm not even gonna answer that question. [ female announcer ] there you have it. three is more than two. and quilted northern ultra plush outperforms the ultra rippled brand. it has two layers for softness and a third for absorbency. quilted northern ultra plush. experience three layers for yourself. if you're not satisfied, we'll give you your money back. would we eat better? [ rewinding ] at hellmann's, we search for the best sources to make our mayonnaise. we use eggs, vinegar and oil rich in omega 3. ♪ for the quality that could only be hellmann's. hellmann's. it's time for real.

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good morning. >> good morning to you. a lot of people are wondering how could a mother just up and leave her family, especially her baby? this morning, new answers from the runaway mom herself. now she says she wants to stay with her new boyfriend for good, telling nbc news, "we're in love." over the weekend, our first look at tiffany tehan, the runaway mom, with her new boyfriend, tre hutcherson, back in ohio. >> tiffany, why did you run off? do you guys have anything to say? >> no comment right now. >> are you sorry for what happened? >> yes, of course. >> reporter: tiffany and tre are both married to other people. in fact, tiffany's a new mom to 1-year-old lexi. last weekend, she went shopping and never came home. police launched a nationwide search. her family fearing the worst, was tiffany abducted, hurt? officers found her green ford explorer in a local park, keys

in the ignition, doors locked, a flat tire. >> for the car to be abandoned, we're very concerned. >> reporter: then a twist. days after she vanished, police released surveillance shots of tiffany and tre at a convenience store a month earlier. no one knew they had an affair and had run off together unt until -- >> she was found in miami beach, florida. she is safe. >> reporter: safe, with another lice found tiffany and her new boyfriend together in this miami beach motel, 1,000 miles away from her family in ohio. tiffany's husband, david, still stood by her. >> she may have made some mistakes, but everyone does. and i can't blame her for any of them. >> reporter: but now, tiffany tells nbc news she wants to start a new life with her boyfriend. >> i think it's pretty crazy. i think she's an unfit mother. she left her child. >> if she wants to go to florida

and have a good time, it's her business, nobody else's. >> reporter: sunday at tiffany's hometown church, the pastor focused his sermon on tiffany and urged the congregation not to judge her. >> we may not understand the choices our loved ones make, our friends make. the unknown will always be with us. >> reporter: the unknown force that drove this mom away from her baby daughter and into the arms of another man. >> tre, what are you guys doing now? >> we're going to an undisclosed location. we'll be in touch with you when we can. >> reporter: tiffany's legal future is unknown, too. police spent $5,000 searching for her nationwide. they may want that money back. so far, ann, no criminal charges have been filed. prosecutors now say they're reviewing all the evidence and may even subpoena tiffany and her family to get the full story out of them. >> jeff rossen, thank you so

much. we've got gail saltz, psychiatrist and "today" contributor and jeff gardere, a psychologist. good morning. >> good morning. >> can we rule out some psychiatric force here? >> definitely not. postpartum depression can be diagnosed up to a year afterbirth. i would say that doesn't really sound like that situation. other forms of depression, anxiety issues, issues of unresolved early trauma or abandonment and how that might play out. >> for the woman you're saying? >> for the woman. >> for the woman. >> could all be factors. >> you're saying it's common when a woman does this sort of thing, there is something in her history about her childhood? >> often there is something psychiatric or psychological going on that has predispose d her to abandoning her child, be because that is a very unusual situation. not necessarily so. >> so, is it deeply uncommon for a woman to leave had her family? we see men leave their families. >> men can leave their families because they're not giving birth to their children.

what we're talking about here is the connection, the emotional, visceral, physical connection with a baby, a person who can do that is a person who, i think, probably has some deep emotional issues. so, when women do this, we look at something maybe pathological going on. what is happening that she would do something so inappropriate? she could have filed for a separation if she had issues just with her marriage. i think there's a lot more going on here. >> let me stop you there. this raises the specter of women being judged differently than men. there has to be a reason for this. is it fair for women to be judged more harshly than men when they leave their families? gail? >> i don't know if we can talk about fairness so much as the reality of the situation, which is women, you know, have the equipment to bear babies. they are hardwired differently than men. we have oxytocin released at various times that is the chemical of bonding, that has to do with bonding with your child. that is why women more often are primary caretakers.

is it fair? i think fathers should be held just as accountable if they abandon their child. >> absolutely. >> but there is a hard-wired reason why women -- >> i don't think we should be more harsh on women. we should judge them at times differently because of this hardwired connection. there are different reasons men do it as it regards to when women do it. >> the bottom line is, you know, it's not okay to abandon your child. if you've done so, you need to look at whether there's some explanation. it's not just about judgment. is there an explanation? do you need help? are you overwhelmed? >> let me ask you something that might be more useful. what can be done now to minimize the damage to this child, who is 1? >> the child is preverbal. the child probably doesn't know specifically this is exactly what happened, yet a 1-year-old can feel abandoned and a 1-year-old can become quite depressed and despondent at a

loss for mom. >> as quickly as possible, get family around this child, make sure mom gets back with the child. we need to find out what's happening with mom. this doesn't have to do with her getting together with another guy who happens to be married to someone else. this is about psychological issues she's having to do this. >> i hate to interrupt. we're out of time and obviously this got you charged up. jeff gardere and gail saltz as well. >> thank you. coming up next, a revealing conversation with four teenage girls on weight, body image and self esteem, right after this. 9 decks above the boardwalk. l meanwhile, 3-year-old axel rode his first carousel at sea. taylor from florida went surfing somewhere in the middle of the ocean. and finally, the turners and kratzes enjoyed dinner in central park. that's the news. i'm stilt walker christy piper, on royal caribbean's oaoasis of the seas. why aren't you?

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truvia sweetener. honestly sweet. this morning on take it off "today," teens weight and self esteem. one in three teens in the u.s. is considered overweight. joy bauer worked with "seventeen" magazine for a special report on the obesity epidemic and recently sat down with four high school girls for a candid discussion. >> do you ever feel pressure to be thin, either from your family or from your friends or from thi mea? >> i definitely feel pressured to be skinny all the time, like from my friends, family and media especially. >> it is very, very difficult to be -- look in the mirror and think, okay, i'm skinny. this is good. but it's not skinny enough. >> i think it kind of hurts when i see people that are like half my size complain about how big they are. and that's just like a slap in the face. i don't think i ever look in the

mirror and am completely happy with what i see. >> all my friends are skinny, like all the models and all the people on tv you see are skinny. i feel like i'm constantly being pressured to lose weight. >> i sometimes feel upset about -- i would rather be a little thinner than the weight i am now. >> what are some of the foods that you eat? what are some of your favorites? >> i love kit kat bars. in the supermarket, i'll buy them in the pack, six or seven of them in a pack. i'll keep them in the top of my closet or actually on the windowsill, because they get cold. it's like sometimes when i'm trying to fall asleep, i can't fall asleep and i'll be like, i have a kit kat on the windowsill. i don't care if it's 2:00 in the morning. >> you get home and open the fridge. there's food. i'm not hungry, but, hey, i might as well eat at least ten of those things in there. >> we do mashed potatoes, mac

and cheese and we have junk food like cookies, chips, milk shakes. >> i'll weigh myself and be like, oh, my gosh, i have to lose five, ten pounds. >> i weighed myself and was like, oh, my god, this isn't good. >> i hate weighing myself. i try not to. just whatever number i see always brings me down, like it's not the ideal number. >> joy bauer, good morning. good to see you. >> good morning, matt. >> every one of the girls you talked to said that she wished she could be thinner. >> right. it's upsetting but it's not surprising. it's important to point out that some of this sort of insecurity is a normal part of development. >> do i fit in with my friends, that sort of thing? >> exactly. but it certainly doesn't help that the media is bombarding them with these ultra thin models and celebrities who are celebrated and at the same time the girls are presented with exorbitant amounts of junk food. it's a hard mixed message. they want to be thin but they're

overeating the wrong food and often are overweight. it's a recipe for girls that just don't feel good about their bodies. >> when you say some of this is normal, what would be a normal healthy comment for a teenage girl to say about her own physique and where is the line and what would be healthy? >> a couple of comments here and there are normal. there are some red flags that people need to know about. if your child is excessively complaining and talking about their weight, either with you or with friends, red flag. if they're restrictive with their food -- in other words, they're not eating that much or they're compulsive. they're eating out of control, it's another red flag. if they're preoccupied with that scale -- teenagers should not be preoccupied. jumping on and off the scale. >> by the way, it can start even earlier than teen years. i know, i've heard my daughter come home from school and say -- >> how is your daughter? >> my daughter is 6 and she says so-and-so says i have a big belly. that doesn't sound like much but if they start hearing that, that's not a good thing. >> as parents we have to start

empowering our kid with his positive self talk from the get go and compliment them on their talents other than appearance, writing. >> what if your daughter truly is overweight? how do you broach that subject without causing emotional harm? >> it's tricky. most girls will openly complain about their body dissatisfaction. instead of bringing up a sensitive conversation like that out of the blue, wait until your teenager complains and then use that complaint as a launching pad to initiate a sensitive, supportive conversation. the good news is that there are so many terrific resources for teens who need to lose weight. you can contact the american dietetic association. eatright.org. find a local registered dietician in your area. that "seventeen" spread is on stands now or talk to your local pediatrician about community programs. there is a lot of great stuff out there. the starting place is that supportive, gentle talk. >> also it's important, family dinners.

get around the dinner table together. >> absolutely. >> great place to see what's happening with your kids. >> it should be a mandatory event. >> joy bauer, thanks. >> thanks, matt. the family that drew inspiration from the short 99 >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's get a final check on the morning commute with traffic pulse 11 and sarah caldwell. >> some problems to watch for. southbound falls road approaching black rock road, downed wires their bread and watch for traffic alternating in the northbound lane. we have this act now clear, but still won at franklin and reisterstown. 10 miles per hour on sought by j.f.x. to the beltway. go around the flooding of the codes and you can still exit at

coldspring. north point at kane, disabled traffic lights. northbound to 95 at the ramp to the inner loop, we have an accident coming in there. very heavy drive times. 22 minutes on the outer loop from the j.f.x. over towards 795. 31 on the outer loop west side. it will take you 18 minutes to get to the inner lips touched towards j.f.x. the 795. -- inner loop stretch towards j.f.x. to 795. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> we still have a light rain left behind this morning. no severe weather like last night, but showers out there slowing down the commute. moderate in hartford county and dollar at the present time. -- and bel air in the present time. we continue to come through in waves as we head to the day today. off and on rainshowers, maybe a

thunderstorm. high temperatures in the low-to- address 60's. the rich will end early on tuesday morning. >> another update at 8:55.

we're back now, 8:30 on a monday morning, the 26th day of april, 2010. as we've been saying all morning long, it's not the nicest spring day we've ever had around here. kind of chilly, 50 degrees. couple of drops of rain in the air. as always, a nice crowd is gathered at rockefeller plaza. we're happy about that. i'm matt lauer, along with ann

curry, natalie morales and al roker. coming up, you'll reintroduce us to a family, i think, we first met about a year ago. >> that's right. their names are matt and jennie mooney. they made a touching video of the 99 days they got to spend with their son, elliott. it was a sensation and touched a lot of people on the internet. he was born with a rare disease. now the family is growing with the edition of another son. so, we'll catch up with them. >> lovely family. also ahead, one of the stars of nbc's hit new show "parenthood" is here, talking about a big family dealing with a unique set of trials and tribulations and lauren graham will be joining us. >> i love her. >> thank you. >> she is so talented. >> it would have been bad if you said she's not my favorite, she's sitting right there. >> i tell you what i really think. i'm telling you, i just love her. >> i don't think we could have gone without knowing that.

>> yeah. >> that's quite all right. in the last half hour, matt was talking about body image in young women. >> yeah. >> are you skinny fat? that's one of the things people are worried about when they're looking at their appearance. they may appear to be in great shape but, in fact, on the inside you're a little on the unhealthy side. we'll talk about that and show you simple ways to improve your overall health. >> lots to get to. we would also love your weather forecast. >> that's right. we would love that. really? >> we would love some sun in the forecast. >> we would like a nicer one actually. >> you know what you have to do to get that. >> please, mr. roker. let's take a look, show you what's going on. for your day today, sunshine through the southeast, risk of strong storms down in florida. more rain late in the day in the pacific northwest with windy conditions. tomorrow, mountain snows in new england. showers in the mid atlantic states. a mess in the pacific northwest and another big storm

>> after the big thunderstorms last night, we are still going to see off and on rainshowers today. showers on this monday, and it is going to >> that's your latest weather. get your weather any time of the day at weather.com or weather channel. inspiring story, a family that made the most of their limited time with their son. their family is growing now.r

back at 8:35 this morning on "today's" update, a remarkable family that's had a big impact on millions of lives, with the emotional video they created about their son, elliott, who lived just 99 days. >> dear elliott, you were born today, weighing in at six pounds. you're already a miracle to us. your mom is doing well and it looks like we'll be hanging out here at the hospital a little longer. dear elliott, i don't know if you've noticed, but you're connected to some tubes. the doctors say you we have to keep these in to get oxygen for you to breathe. we feed you every three hours and it takes an hour and a half to do it. it's 11:00 at night and my feeding shift has just begun. mom is asleep and the best part of my day has just begun. dear elliott, you now weigh seven pounds, three ounces. you're growing and your food has been bumped up because of your good appetite. you continue to find new ways to steal our hearts.

dear elliott, you have now passed the three-month mark. you also have your first cordless pictures taken today, no feeding tube, oxygen or stickers. this was no small accomplishment, but we got it done. have i told you lately that we are so proud of you? >> matt and jenni mooney are here with their 18-month-old daughter, hazel and 3-month-old son, andrew. good morning. i noticed how much you were looking at that video. you've seen it over and over again, but you're looking at it. clearly, you've added to your family now. you have anders, whose almost 3 months old. it must have been so poignant to you, to give birth and have another child. >> i think it's always special to have a child, but just walking through what we walked through, if you could ever take it for granted, we can't. we're happy to have them here and always kind of enjoy and try not to take for granted what we've learned with elliott and

learn that every day is beautiful and special and live that out with them. >> to get to this point with anders, you had some scary moments. i understand you were on bed rest for a long time, for three months. >> yeah. >> it must have been pretty scary, given all that you've gone through. >> well, i think elliott kind of -- through him, we don't really have the luxury to think that nothing could go wrong. so, when we had a scare with anders, we were very aware that anything could happen. you know, bed rest was not fun, but, you know, it's worth it because he's here, and he's healthy and doing great. >> he's healthy. it's huge. he's a big boy, really strong. he's curious and looking around. i know he's not showing his face to the public so much right now this morning, but that's okay. at 3 months, let me ask you, he's really getting -- this week, isn't it, he will be reaching the three-month mark, which is the mark where elliott passed. is that right? >> that's correct.

so, he will be approaching the 99-day mark here real shortly. you know, we kind of measure things in days. that's the way we look at it. we know that day is coming up and that's special to us. >> that's right, hazel. >> and special to hazel. that's definitely special to us. yeah, that is coming up. we'll mark that. we try to celebrate every day, just like we do with elliott and enjoy them. it looks different, because it's chaos these days, but it's still worth enjoying. >> you're going to eventually want them to know about their brother. >> absolutely. we've seen ourselves as a family of five. that's the way that we've kind of handled what we walk through. people do it differently. however they do it is fine by me. we see ourselves as a family of five. we have pictures of elliott up in our house and parents remember their kids and we're no different. >> one of the things in which you are different is that you have made a point to reach out to people through the internet and you've been blogging. would you describe the response you've been getting from people,

blogs and video that you saw? >> it seems quite beyond us. we think that he's -- we think elliott was a spectacular little boy. it was neat to put his story out there and have other people think that as well. it's kind of overwhelming. >> i know. i know. well, you know, that's right. there's a cheerio. there you go. >> when it doubt, bribe 'em. >> and when elliott died, you talked about -- and you also have talked about this in your video. you released 99 balloons, one for every day of his life. and now you have started an organization, is that right, to help people? >> yes. we started an organization called 99 balloons and we work with special needs families locally and nationally. a respite need. families can come, drop off their special needs kids and siblings.

we like to think of it as a romantic night, date night, but they usually go to walmart. it's not a night that elliott could have ever gone to, but it was a place where we came out -- we had tons of people who helped us. they helped us so we could take care of elliott. so, coming out of it, that's not everybody's story. so we want to help. >> you're obviously helping a lot of people. the last question i have is for anybody listening now, who has a very sick child and has been told, as you were told, that your child may not make it, what do you want to say to those people? >> well, that's hard. there are a lot of things i would want to say to them. when elliott was here, our big thing is i don't know what will happen tomorrow, but i'll have today. i think that's a great way to live, even now with these kids, whether your kids are healthy or sick. we're not promised tomorrow, but you have today, so just to enjoy life, every moment that you have. >> be connected with them,

relish. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> you are some family, i will say. anders is fantastic and so are you, hazel. >> say thank you. >> you're fantastic. nice to meet you. oh, better not do that. okay. she knows now not to shake hand with his strangers. the mooney family. thank you so much. we're back with more.

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we're back at 8:44. for seven seasons, lauren graham endeared herself as laura ly. this time on nbc's new dramedy "parenthood." >> this is your junior year, the difference between paging dr. braverman or do you want fries with that. >> dr. braverman, really? >> it's possible if you just -- >> hang on.

i think it's going to be this one. >> five school, amber. why is it so hard? that's cute. wear that. >> lauren graham, good morning. she's a little intense. >> the daughter or me? >> no, the mom. the you. >> yeah, yeah, yeah. she has a lot going on. she's living with her parents at 38. that's not -- >> something's wrong here, no question about it. >> exactly. >> congratulations, just got renewed. >> thank you, yeah. >> that's a nice feeling. >> especially in today's world. it's hard to keep a good show on the air. so i'm happy. >> with "gilmore girls," have you ever had those moments of nail biting? >> you never know. on a smaller network, you don't worry about the numbers quite as much. but, you know, you never know what's going to happen. >> here at nbc, we worry about the numbers a lot. you'll learn that. >> you always worry. they put so much faith in us, we didn't want to disappoint. we're glad to be back. >> single mom again. >> yeah. what's the deal? >> now did you look forward -- i wasn't going to put it that way. but what's the deal?

>> it was not my attention. i was like, i'll play a lawyer now or something, who doesn't have kids. it was such a good part and all the elements of the show, ron howard producing and the creator of "friday night lights." and it was a part i loved. she's a different character. >> i was spending time on articles about you yesterday. >> how was that? was that fun? >> it was raining. a quiet day. >> nothing better to do. >> this story has been told a gazi gazillion times, stop me and i'll still have you tell it. >> okay. >> but your own life experience was quite different. >> i spent a lot more time with my dad, who raised me. and i think as an actor, it just gave me freedom in a way to not feel the pressure of what a traditional mom relationship is. >> in other words, you didn't fall into a stereotype. >> yeah. >> you just went with what you felt? >> yeah, and took the given circumstances and everything and didn't bring some stereotype to

it, i guess. >> i mentioned "gilmore girls." that was a career-changing role, i would imagine. >> uh-huh. >> hope i'm not overstating that. >> uh-huh. >> where were you before that show and where do you think it left you? >> i had done a lot of series, but nothing that had really caught on. i think i'm still learning and still understanding how that show captured people's imagination. i think it was really well written and really specifically written. it just really had a sound to it, that sort of rat-a-tat-tat style that that writer excelled at. it was just an interesting chemistry of writer and actor. and that's what i was looking for in doing this show, because you just want someone who is writing for you. that's the main thing. >> that ended, what, three years ago, i guess. >> yeah. >> i know you've read a lot of movies. >> uh-huh. >> you also went on broadway. >> uh-huh. >> you read, i found, it's somewhat terrifying. >> yeah. >> you were in guys and dolls? >> i was in the revival of guys

and dolls. i loved so much. it had been a childhood dream of mine. i did all the musicals in high school and i thought that's what i would end up doing and my career took a different path. it's incredibly terrifying. there's no immediate feedback like a live audience and they are telling you if they are enjoying you or not. >> it's not summer stock. this is broadway. >> really a lot of pressure. i love that. i love the opportunities i've gotten in this career to, you know, really challenge myself. and it was humbling. it just reminded me that my work as an actor is to entertain and give people, you know, an enjoyable experience. and it's not about me, it's about them. >> if i put the piece of paper down in front of you and hand you a pen and said if you could fill in the blank that lauren graham's next big project will be -- >> it's sort of, you know, continuing to do better and better versions of the same thing. i mean, what's frightening is in terms of that initial list, i have met it.

do you know what i mean? i have had a wonderful tv series. i got to do a great broadway show. so now it's just about being a better version of myself in that -- you know, the next time. i would love to come back and do theater in new york. i hope this show can be something special, like gilmore girls was. so it's just more of the same, matt. >> you can do theater in the future. right now you're stuck with us. >> i love it. couldn't be happier. >> for another season of "parenthood." lauren graham. >> thank you. >> catch "parenthood" tuesday night at 10:00 pm here on nbc. this is "today" -- you get to keep the mug. this is "today" on nbc. things are getting downright twisted at dunkin' donuts. hurry in for our new freshly baked bagel twists, available in delicious cheddar cheese or cinnamon raisin. here for a limited time. america runs on dunkin'.

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get swept up with the big chocolate taste of mocha iced coffee from dunkin' donuts. it's just another one of our delicious, refreshing iced coffee flavors -- grab one today! america runs on dunkin'. now to an eye-opening look of what life is like for women in saudi arabia. good morning. >> good morning. as you know, it's not easy to get into saudi arabia as an american and it's hard to get access to women who will discuss the challenges that they face. we recently found a mother and daughters who started a magazine and were willing to let us into their home. this is saudi arabia in 2010, segregated restaurants, segregated banks and no women

behind the wheel. this spring on "millions poet," similar in style to "american idol," saudi arabian won first place. there's no question limiting women holds the middle east's biggest economy back. women are half the population, but only 10% of the workforce. >> in a few days it will start? >> reporter: some women are starting to change that. this woman and her daughters started "oasis," a magazine about saudi culture. >> some of my friends tell me it was my dream since i was very young. >> reporter: her daughters are in their mid 20s, only a year apart. have you guys been sort of best friends since you were little? >> i think so. >> yeah. >> we ended up always in the same room. >> and everybody thought we were twins. >> we were kind of stuck together. she's very quiet and i'm kind

of -- >> reporter: after receiving a degree, basra realized there weren't any jobs in that area in saudi arabia, but she wanted to come home. >> i wanted to see my family. >> reporter: in starting "oasis," they joined 30,000 businesses. there are more than 8 million women in the country but basra think women are on the rise. >> you have more chances as a woman than you have as a guy, i think, right now. >> reporter: really? >> people prefer to hire women than a guy if they have the same qualifications. >> reporter: why is that? women are hard workers? >> yeah, they are. >> reporter: an artist herself, her paintings hang on every wall in the family home in riad. >> you never took any art classes? >> no, i didn't. >> reporter: you were just born with this? >> i guess, yeah. it's a gift. >> reporter: she wants to change the negative views americans have about her country. >> they have misconceptions.

that's why the magazine is so important. >> reporter: all the women we spoke with tried to convince us that the ban on women driving are superficial and the west focuses on them too much. does a limitation on driving annoy you? >> for me, it's not an obstacle. >> it's just a piece of cloth. if that's going to limit you, you're not strong enough as a person to do what you want to do really. >> reporter: not everything is foreign. >> when we make a decision, we keep a voting. >> reporter: in the house? >> they always work it out, but i follow. >> that would be one vote always on your side. where women still can't leave the country without a man's permission. >> this is about snow falling in the desert. like saudi women standing in the desert and snow is falling. clouds are all around them. so, they can't really escape what's happening. but at the end of the day i think it's why it's snow and, to me, it's a good change happening. >> reporter: three women succeeding in business is change, indeed, for saudi arabia. since the first issue of "oasis"

rolled off the printing press, they've gone from printing 5,000 c copies a month to 10,000. while they move ahead, a lot of women who we met in saudi arabia, believe it will take another ten years to end that ban on driving, the most glaring example that treats women as second class. >> five years? >> they might not asv as big an issue on the ban on driving because they can afford someone to drive them. >> many women cannot. nadia bloom talks about her four-day ordeal in a swamp.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara to a mother was killed and her baby hurt after they were hit by a pickup truck on a busy road in baltimore county. it happened on the philadelphia road bridge over the beltway around 4:00 on sunday in rosedale. people who live and shop in the area say it is a dangerous intersection and maybe have to cross to get to the bus stop. >> that happened to something else about the traffic lights, about the cars. -- they have to do something else about the traffic lights, about the cars. >> the baby involved is still bein

>> after the severe weather last

night, we see some rainshowers left behind a day. they will be with us off and on through the evening. take an umbrella with you before you leave. temperatures a little on the cool side. average high as 68. there could be a rumble of thunder, but mostly just rainshowers. the reign will end early in the morning on tuesday. it will clear up in the afternoon. rest of the week looks very nice pretty dry on wednesday and thursday and friday and saturday. eighties next weekend. >> we will have another update at 9:25.