laurentiss. . good morning, will she or won't she? intense negotiations now under way to secure the release of sarah shourd, one of three american hikers detained in iran. will she be freed? nbc's andrea mitchell has the latest. battle royal, voters head to the polls in seven states and washington, d.c., a key final test for both parties weeks before the crucial midterm

election. and the probe of a female sports reporter allegedly subjected to cat calls from the new york jets. now an investigation is under way. that reporter is sharing her side of the story with us in a live interview, today, tuesday, side of the story with us in a live interview, today, tuesday, september 14, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television matt this morning. p the attempt the attempt t of sarof sarahp of sarah s br but thbut thep bubur saidandrp plive in teheranp > >

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win her release. trying to get the bail, $500,000. they're waiting to see but there are some signals that she could be released at any time. they're hoping for that to happen. >> the discussions about this potential release. the discussions about the would-be mosque near ground zero. what's that done in the political climate where you are? >> it's really added to the tension here, the anti-american spirit. and, in fact, if the government needed any excuse to try to drum up more anti-american fever, you can see the state-owned newspapers today, all the headlines are about the desecration threats, the burning threats, and also, what happened in washington last weekend on 9/11 when pages were torn out of the koran, out of the holy book. that has inflamed the anger

here. they are planning big protests today. carl? >> andrea mitchell in teheran, thank you for that. get a check on the rest of the morning's top stories from ann curry at the newsdesk. good morning to you, ann. >> good morning, meredith, carl. we begin with the push for peace this morning in the middle east. time is ripe for israel and the palestinians to make peace. secretary of state hillary clinton said today as she meets with israel's prime minister netanyahu and palestinian president abbas in egypt. the talks move to jerusalem tomorrow. investigators are on the scene of a plane crash in venezue venezuela. 15 people were killed in the crash, 36 survived. the national transportion safety board hopes the gas explosion in san bruno, california will be a wakeup call about aging gas pipelines throughout our nation. miguel joins us more with this story. good morning. good morning. the gas company that opens the ruptured line has been ordered to check all 5,000 miles of its gas line, this as the ntsb wraps

up its probe. >> reporter: investigators are looking at home video like this -- >> the house next to mine is already on fire. >> reporter: spectacular new images of thursday's blast could help determine the cause of the gas line rupture. nearly 40 homes were obliterated when a 30-inch pipeline became a fireball-spitting torch. days after, state leaders called for congressional hearings, this could happen anywhere in the country. >> it's very important for everyone who has gas coming in to their home to have the sense and assurance that the pipe that's near their home is fake. >> pg&e neglected public safety by not replacing the 50--year-old pipeline that ruptured sooner. >> these gas flames are definitely a ticking time bomb. >> but pg&e says their 15 million customers are safe, and

they'll work to figure out why their line ruptured even after it was inspected twice in the last year denying reports that neighbors have called in about a gas leak. >> we have not found any -- any -- anything in our records that would indicate that people called for that specific area. >> reporter: pg&e said they set up a $100 million fund for victims of a blast offering $50,000 for homeowners who lost their house. they said this is the right thing to do. ann? >> miguel this morning, thank you. insurance giant aig may be on the road to repaying taxpayers. melissa lee joins on the new york stock exchange with more on this. that would mean regaining independence. the exit plan could begin as early as next year with the treasury converting $49 billion of the preferred shares in to common shares which would then be sold to the public. it could take several years to pull off. if successful, this could mark a victory for the government. aig is the biggest recipient of

government aid in the crisis. ann? >> thanks a lot, melissa. spain's rafael nadal is the men's champion at the u.s. open. last night he beat novak djokovic to win the first u.s. open title be the seventh man to win tennis' grand slam. he's won the u.s. open, wimbled wimbledon, the french open, and the australian open. and he makes his own clothes. it's now 7:06. back to meredith, carl, and chris. man this, is a comer. >> and gold medal at the olympics, and he's going to be here. >> yeah, and he's only 24. >> and! >> another and? >> al is under the wea

>> good morning, everyone. things are pretty quiet at home. it is a little cool right now. a will warm up nicely this afternoon. highs in the upper 70's and low

and now here's meredith. chris, thank you very much. now to politics in the final round of primaries before the november midterm elections. today there are hotly contested races in seven states in the nation's capital. nbc's kelly o'donnell is in delaware where the fight is on to fill the seat vacated by vice president joe biden. good morning to you, kelly. >> reporter: hi, meredith. this is a small state with big shoes to fill. the four remaining years of vice president's joe biden's old senate seat. on the republican side, a big fight. a popular congressman who never lost an election and worked with democrats on things like social issues is facing a tough tea party challenge. >> i frankly don't think she is qualified to be in the united states senate. >> reporter: in delaware, a castle under siege. >> mike castle, one of the most liberal republicans in congress.

>> reporter: moderate republican mike castle has run positive campaigns for decades dramatically changed tactics, going negative against tea party conservative, christine o'donnell. >> not what i would prefer to do in a campaign. but on the other hand, i never had an opponent who had the deficiencies of this particular opponent. >> she didn't pay thousands in income taxes. had to be sued by a university for thousands in unpaid bills. defaulted on her mortgage. >> reporter: castle is delaware's only member of the u.s. house and a former two-term governor. >> thank you so much for coming out. >> reporter: o'donnell, a frequent but unsuccessful candidate says she's media consultant for nonprofit groups. she admits she has a history of financial problems but calls using that, sleazy. >> so by him attacking me for financial hardships is attacking the delaware voters who are struggling right now. and it just proves how out of touch he is with what everyday americans are struggling with.

>> reporter: needing campaign money, the tea party express pledged $250,000 to buy ads supporting o'donnell. >> she strongly supports repealing obama's health care scheme. >> reporter: sarah palin added her voice, with radio ads and robo calls. >> i can relate to the vicious personal attacks on christine and can tell you, sad to see the establishment's desperation in this. >> reporter: are you qualified to be a u.s. senator? >> absolutely. >> reporter: on social policy, o'donnell had long been outspoken, advocating abstinence education, living a chaste life, and wrote viewing pornography is like cheating on your spouse. castle argues that o'donnell is too flawed to beat a democrat in november. >> bottom line, she's nominated, republicans lose the election automatically. that simple. >> reporter: in new hampshire, kelly ayotte has been leading four republicans for the senate

nomination. >> a prosecutor, not a politician. >> reporter: sarah palin did endorse ayotte, but the tea party is backing attorney ovide lamontagne. >> i'm not the establishment trying to buy your vote. >> reporter: in wisconsin, russ feingold is in a tough race. his likely opponent is a wealthy businessman and republican, ron johnson. >> it's time that somebody with a new perspective go to washington. >> reporter: and in new york house races, 20-term democrat charlie rangel who's facing ethics violations has four democrats trying to take the nomination. on eastern long island, president richard nixon's grandson, chris cox, is running for congress hoping to unseat a democrat in the fall. and it's in the house where the republicans think they have the best shot at trying to take control of that chamber. meredith? >> kelly o'donnell, thank you very much. speaking of the house, republican congressman eric

cantor of virginia is the house minority whip, kevin mccar ty, the deputy whip, and the ranking member of the house and budget committee. together, they have written a new book, "young guns -- a new generation of conservative leaders." good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> before i get to the book, i want to talk about the primary. mike castle, the moderate versus christine o'donnell, the tea party candidate whose views as kelly pointed out on social issues may not sit well with swing voters. the republicans may lose the seat in november. eric, do you agree with that? >> meredith, what's going on now across the country, obviously people are upset with washington. they're tired of politicians that make promises they just can't keep. what we're seeing across the country some active primaries. and, you know, what we have done here is we've gotten together a couple of years ago and we put together an effort in search of candidates who could actually respond to that very issue. >> do you agree with castle? if o'donnell wins and in fact

the republicans lose a seat? >> not necessarily so. things are shifting in politics. the conventional wisdom in politics is not going to be what's going to happen in 2010. i would not say that the seat is gone. it's probably going to be more challenging, more competitive. but delaware voters, voters all over america are really upset with the fiscal direction of this country. >> you who are not members of the tea party worried about the influence of the tea party? >> look, what's happening here, tea party is organically grown. individuals getting out, frustrated where this country is going, not seeing solutions from washington, a challenge for anybody that's an incumbent. come november, it will be a difficult part for the majority party the democrats. that's why the house is even in play. it brings intensity for individuals to turn out. >> you talk about the failings of the republican party, the reason they lost control of the house. is that the reason you're in the situation you are right now? >> we were fired in 2006. and part of what this is about, "young guns," finding candidates who will run on ideas and solve

problems using the conservative beliefs. that's the fundamental difference you'll find in this election. >> one of the key issues also heading to the midterm elections the expiration of the bush tax cuts. over the weekend, your leader, i guess, your boss, minority leader john boehner said he would support tax cuts for just middle income earners if that was his only option. yesterday he took that back, he did an about-face. why? >> i think sort of fundmental to everyone right now watching this show, a working mom, a small business owner, an investor, i think none of those type of people, no american really thinks that raising taxes a good idea, especially in a recession. i think that's what john boehner was trying to say. and the republican position has always been and will be -- we don't believe there ought to be tax hikes. i think, meredith, you're right. that's going to be a critical issue in the next several weeks. >> the tax cuts have been in existence for quite a while, these tax cuts. if they were designed to stimulate the economy and create jobs, they didn't succeed.

what's so good about them. >> meredith, first of all, half of all small business income will have a huge tax increase in january. 70% of our jobs come from small businesses. so the last thing you want to do in an economy like this with 89.6% unemployment is have a big tax increase in small business which is the engine of job creation in america. that's not good policy. the january tax increase followed up by another tax increase in 2013. we think the fiscal direction of this congress, this country is in the wrong way. it's part of the reason we wrote this book. we were in the majority last time, we didn't do things right. we need to own up to that. we want to add a fiscally conservative majority if we're given the opportunity to lead -- that's the whole point. raising taxes in this kind of economy is a bad idea. >> let me ask you, 49 way days away from the election, you look at the generic ballot, the democrats hold a seven-point advantage. that's a grand slam with the contract with america back in 1994. and, in fact, a lot of people continue to see you as the party of no.

so was it good enough this time around to say, no, we're not democrats. is that good enough to win? >> no, it's not. we had a lot of ideas out there. we produced our own stimulus that focused on private sector jobs and they went out and produced one on public. $1 trillion with interest, keynsian view. more people in the believe elvis presley is alive than believe that we'll create jobs. we'll come up with a new agenda that lays out things that we can do right now, cut spending and reform the culture of washington itself. >> congratulations. young guns, how old are you guys? >> listen, we want to take the opportunity to do the promotions here. thank you for that. >> answer it -- not answer it. congressman eric and kevin mccarthy and paul ryan. thank you all. it's 7:17, now here's carl. thanks. should you be required to have a prescription to buy common over-the-counter cough and cold remedies. the faa is considering new

restrictions to deal with the alarming cases of teenagers using them to get high. tom costello has the details. good morning. >> good morning to you. a lot of stores require an i.d. to buy the common cold medicines and they stopped selling them to anybody under the age of 18 because too many kids found it's a cheap way to get high. >> friday night. i wanted to have some fun. >> reporter: they call it robo tripping, and youtube is filled with teenagers on how to get high from robitussin and any other cough medicine. it's called tripping on dxm, and now 8% of all teenagers admit they've tried it. doctors say drinking a little too much cough syrup makes them feel like they're drunk. drinking one or two bottles or mixed with alcohol can bring irregular heart beat, brain

damage, seizures, and loss of consciousness. >> there's a belief that it's completely safe. you know if you do any kind of product with this volume, you're opening yourself up to risk. >> i found out about abuse of dxm too late. i found out after my son passed away from abusing this product. >> california nurse found her 18-year-old son, carl, dead in his bed after he o.d.'d on cough syrup and prescription drugs. e.r. visits related to overdosing on dxm jumped 73% between 2004 and 2008 to nearly 8,000 cases. at children's hospital in boston, dr. sharon levy says half the kids being treated for substance abuse have also used dxm. >> we think as with any other psychoactive substances, use of dxm is associated with other mental health problems. it can precipitate problems, including mood disorders,

anxiety disorders, and even psychotic disorders in some cases. >> reporter: now the fda is considering whether to require a prescription for cough sup press sants with dsm, products millions of americans use every day. the medicines are very safe, the abuse is low, and harm from abuse is rare. and it started a public campaign to warn of the dangers of abuse using five moms to tell their stories of overdose. >> reporter: one of those moms is misty fenco. >> it's not what we're looking for. we're looking for needles, we're looking for powders. we're looking for a lot of the legal street drugs. >> the advice to parents, if you see used cough syrup bottles in your child's room or car, get suspicious and ask questions. the fda is only considering to make dxm cough sup press sants a prescription medication. any action could take months or

even longer. carl? just ahead, the female reporter that was the subject of tauts and cat calls from the players and coaches of the new york jets. she'll speak out in a live interview. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead, three shark attack survivors share their incredible stories and explain why they're fighting to protect their attackers. plus, the high school football player that scored the winning touchdown and was brought back from life from a stranger in the fans.

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>> live, local, late breaking this is wbal tv 11 news and baltimore. >> good morning, everyone. here's sarah caldwell with traffic pollulse 11.

>> we have an accident that is still ticking up the left lane. we will show you that in a live picture in just a moment. but a road what for delays due to an accident. -- butler road watch for delays. at 9 minute ride for 95 to the day effects. heading south on the day effects still moving well. l.s.i. traffic going away from us in the outer loop is your delight. we will switch over to the accident scene. it looks like a flat that has arrived. there in the process of clearing it. still some delays behind that. that is the latest for traffic. >> good morning, everyone. these will be nice and quiet for the morning commute. temperatures a little bit on

the cool side right now. upper 60's of los 70's. 57 at the airport. 65 degrees at raw calock hall. we will have run go through, which you will hurdle -- we will have a front go through, which you hardly notice. the next chance for rain will be late thursday and into friday morning. right now it looks like a nice weekend with temperatures in the 80's. >> be sure to check the bottom of your screen for more information. we will see you back with anothe

7:30 now on this tuesday morning, september 14, 2010. it is a lovely morning to be up and out early in the heart of midtown manhattan. we're pleased with all of these kind folks deciding to drop by. meanwhile inside studio 1-a, i'm meredith vieira alongside carl quintanilla, matt is off today. the reporter that was subjected to taunts and torments. what went on?

what does she want to see happen to the players and the coaches, we'll ask ines sainz in a moment. if you were a victim of a heart attack, would you speak out in defense of the very creature that attacked you. three victims are doing just that. they'll explain why, coming up. who should be giving advice to your children -- you or someone else? the surprising results of a new survey and what that means to parents. the investigation under way in the treatment of a female sports reporter in a nfl practice. we'll talk to her in a moment. but first, peter alexander has the latest. good morning to you. >> good morning to you. in the sports opener last night, inez sainz did not return to the locker room. she reported the action from the sidelines after complaining about jets coaches and players last weekend. she wants to make sure no other female reporter is mistreated on or off of the field. >> reporter: on the sidelines, inez sainz is hard to miss. the 32-year-old sportscaster

from mexico's tv azteca was named by men's magazine one of the sexiest sports reporters in the world. but now sainz is in the center of a sexual harassment complaint against the new york jets. this is video from the jets' practice saturday where footballs were thrown in sainz's direction and later in the locker room where she says she was subjected to cat calls from players. sainz tweeted in spanish -- i'm dying of embarrassment. i'm in the jets' locker room waiting for quarterback mark sanchez while trying not to look anywhere. she says sanchez was a gentleman but told me the taunts made her feel uncomfortable in the locker room. >> all the eyes look to me. they start to whistle and make jokes that i know is about me. >> the next day as the controversy grew, sainz herself became the target of criticism. with some pointing to seductive

photos posted on her personal website and others on tv azte azteca's site. in response, sainz tweeted again, this time with a picture of the type of outfit she'd worn to the jets' practice. button down shirt and jeans and boots, she wrote, is not inappropriate. >> not trying to provoke anything. my type of dress -- >> >> reporter: but when the association for women in sports media found out about her complaints, they called on the nfl to investigate her possible sexual harassment. the jets' owner called sainz this weekend apologizing on behalf of the team later issued a statement saying it's working with the national football league to gather the facts and take any appropriate steps necessary to maintain a respectful environment for the media. >> it seems that crazy over-the-top behavior is not only condoned but encouraged in some ways and it seems to me it went too far. >> reporter: wendy murphy is a

women's rights advocate and former nfl cheerleader. >> doesn't matter if she was wearing skin tight jeans or see through lingerie, none of that is license to commit sexual harassment, period. >> sainz has been covering sports for eight years. she says despite her bad experience, she has no plans to change her appearance in the locker room. >> actually, i don't see why i need to change because it's me and i don't need to change the way i am. the things are going to change and not in me. >> reporter: sainz says she has no plans to pursue any legal action. both the nfl and the jets tell nbc news that they take this matter seriously and they have both launched investigations to the players' and the coaches' actions. meredith? >> thank you very much. ines sainz, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> first, there's a football

being thrown in your direction outside and the cat calls in the locker room. you tweeted a tweet at the time, you're embarrassed, dying of embarrassment. but are you being harassed? there's a difference? >> there's a difference. the line is fragile between the one and the other. and i must say that i don't see anything that's sexual way. i'm not the one who say the charge or try to -- try to invoke all of the team in this situation. what happened there is i obviously feel that the environment was uncomfortable because i know they are talking about me. but i didn't hear or pay attention today. what happened is -- >> i saw the reporter -- is that what you were experiencing? >> exactly. >> then the association for women in sports media got involved and they're the ones who went to the nfl and said we want an investigation into what was going on.

if they had not called for that investigation, would you have reported this? >> no, actually, i don't think so. because as i told you, i don't even pay attention. i try to focus on my job. i say it's okay, it's an environment. it's what i -- what i need to do to make my interview. so let's pretend nothing happened. but the rest of the media hears it things that the boys and they saw that -- the environment is very rude for a woman. >> is very rude? >> very rude. >> yes. >> so i think that -- that the main point here is what they hear about me. not what i am doing. because i let it pass and that's it. >> you just said on your network on monday, azteca, that you never felt attacked or offended but in the media people are calling you a victim. is that the way you see yourself or is this a case of overreaction? >> i think the first time is an overreaction about it. and then i start to read a

little it hwa is twhat is the k comments that the rest of the media said about the subject. >> what other comments. >> i don't want to use my words to express because they say -- they say we need to ask them to -- exactly why -- what is supposed to happen. but it's in the sexual content what they are expressing. so i think when i read everything, it's okay. it's not a good environment for a professional making her work that these kind of things happen. >> so hearing from others what was said that you didn't hear at the time, do you now believe it was sexual harass. [. >> no, because i only a witness there. i -- i prefer that the nfl make the adjustment. they have all of the pieces together. they have my material, my videotape, they have the material of the rest of the media. so i prefer that the nfl judge and decide if it is or not that

kind of situation. >> and you'll accept whatever that decision is. >> yes, absolutely. >> one way or the other. >> they are very taking care about it. they are very professional. the investigation is starting after that happened. so i believe that they are going to -- to research everything. >> let's talk about some of the comments that had been made about your clothing and what you were wearing that day that maybe in some way you provoked something you said quite clearly. that was never your intention and you're going to wear what you want to wear. and as pointed out in the piece, whatever you're wearing does not give anybody the right to sexually harass you. when you look at the website of your own network and your personal website and some of those pictures, looking at them now, are you worried that those pictures get in the way of what you do? are you saying you know what, i don't want those pictures up anymore. >> i have nine years of experience. i know that the sports -- when you are covering sports, the

more comfortable, the more well-dressed you can do it, or in a pair of jeans. all of the media collect are wearing jeans. so i decide that i have different type of dress when i was in the field or when i was covering for an interview. and when i -- or something. so i think it's not well or not well-dressed for that kind of job. i have done 215 interviews one-on-one with the best players of the world. i dress like this. never had anything like this. >> i saw the website specifically of azteca, they have pictures that are provocative and your own website does as well. in retrospect, do you feel those types of pictures, not what you were wearing on saturday, but do those pictures get in the way of your professionalism, what you

do for a living? >> actually, it's something i go with. early, i cover super bowl or something, i dress like i feel is good. all of the women like to be attractive, i think so. so my way of dress is because i feel comfortable and not pretending to be provocativprov. only to be attractive. that's the reason. the photos are a consequence of my job. in mexico, i very well know my image and for my work. so i think it's something that mixes together. i can't support -- >> and the players? have they said anything to you since this? >> no, i can't talk with them, because it is complicated. but i want to have their support -- the support of the media, and also grateful to the nfl and the owner of the jets that came in and apologized and

expressed that it must be happening and there or any place. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. >> appreciate it. >> thank you. get a check of the weather from chris cimino. today's weather is brought to you by weight watchers -- because it works. you have new friends, donna and dick from sun city west. a couple of celebrations going on. right? >> that's right. >> what are we celebrating? >> 55 years of marriage. and 80 years alive. >> look at the -- >> lots of love and kisses. >> all worked out for us. >> you guys have it down. some visitors, des moines? >> special school? >> the beta institute of des moines. >> we appreciate you coming out. weatherwise, speaking of des moines, not that far east, but we have severe thunderstorms breaking out. even this morning, nasty storms. strong wind gusts, hail, possible. the heaviest rain and storms radioi go to now over eastern sections of kansas over to western missouri.

that's the area of the country with the most unsettled weather. not bad in the northeast. steamy side on the southeast. 80s and 90s. southwest, warm and dry. 105 in phoenix. 78 in l.a., the pacific northwest enjoyi >> good morning, everyone. it should be a dry morning commute. it will be nice and mild later on today with >> let's go back inside now to meredith and carl. thank you for that. breaking news out of iran. nbc news has learned that sarah shourd, one of the three

american hikers detain there had has been released. >> andrea mitchell is live in teheran with the latest. we'll talk to her in a moment. but first, these messages. can't eat this. can't do that. can't lose weight. but on weight watchers, i can. weigh less than i did in high school. can. stand here not suckin' in a thing. sure can. lose weight, and feel lighter and liberated in so many ways. i can. and you can too. and you can join for free. ♪ i can. i can. i can. ♪ [ female announcer ] and, if you join by september 25th you can get get a month free. weight watchers. because it works. you can get get a month free. refreshing. glamorous. dazzling. a ravishing repertoire,

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back now with more on the breaking news out of iran. nbc news just learned that sarah shourd, one of the three american hikers detained more than a year has just been released. >> andrea mitchell is live with the latest. andrea, good morning to you once again. >> >> reporter: this news has been anticipated but so on and off and such a roller coaster that nobody wanted to be -- no one knew it was going to take place. but the french negotiated it. this is a strong signal. it had become something of a challenge to them to get out of this situation. and, meredith, we know that she's leaving. a cameraman saw her leave. she's gone to the swiss embassy and we don't know when she'll be leaving the country. >> this is happening without the

payment of that bail, right? the bail that the u.s. government said it wouldn't tolerate and the bail that the family said it could not afford. >> we do not know for a fact that any bail has been paid. i couldn't -- you know, totally rule it out. but the u.s. government certainly is not putting up that money. the family said they couldn't afford it. my best judgment from watching and talking to officials here is that bail was not paid. but we cannot be absolutely sure. there are two precedents. a french woman was released on $300,000 bail last spring, and the canadians -- the canadian iranian "newsweek" employee was released on $300,000 bail also last october. so there's precedent for bail being paid. they indicated it was not the necessarily anti-sanctions violations for paying this kind of money. clearly not going to come down on the family. if someone put up money, that's another issue. we don't think the money was

paid. but we don't have that nailed down. >> andrea mitchell in teheran for us on the phone. thank you for that. we'll continue to follow the developments there. amazing story. meanwhile, still ahead, would you come to the defense of shark ifs they had viciously mauled you. three survivors explained why they're doing just that. and we'll scare their incredible stories. but first, these messages. ♪ ♪

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severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing of the skin or eyes. talk with your doctor about your medicines, including those for migraine, or if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles, to address a possible life-threatening condition. tell your doctor about alcohol use, liver disease, and before you reduce or stop taking cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. side effects include nausea, dry mouth, and constipation. talk to your doctor and go to cymbalta.com to learn about an offer to help you get started. depression hurts. cymbalta can help. back at 7:50, they have the scars that make forgetting

impossible, but they can forgive. a group of nine shark attack survivors are here in new york this week. they're pushing the united nations to adopt measures to protect sharks. the unexpected advocates were brought together by the pew environment group and they're with us this morning. good morning to all of you. you all had similar experiences. we want to begin with you, mike. you were body boarding off of the coast of kauai back in 1997. >> early morning, gone out with some buddies, paddled out. the next wave came, paddled for it. a large tiger shark came up, grabbed on to me, did the rag doll thing. i didn't feel any pain, a lot of pressure. it was over really fast and i went to the beach, my friend took my leg, main a tourniquet. a week in the hospital, got a prosthetic, and back out surfing. >> took you a few months. why protect this vicious predator as we know them to be?

>> well, after the attack, i was just going through a bunch of stuff and the pew environment group had contacted me and asked me about shark conservation and gave me some numbers and stuff and figures and statistics. i was blown away. 70 million sharks a year. i had no idea this was going on. i felt compelled in my position to do something and turn a negative in to positive. and it's such an ocean-based thing. sharks are crucial. >> you had a similar experience in the bahamas. you make the point that this is what sharks do, right? they're living on their instinctive nature, right? >> yeah, correct. >> did that make it easier to protect them despite what they've done to you? >> yes, definitely. without a doubt, this was a terrible attack. i saw the shark coming to me, i tried to get away. it swam between my legs and grabbed my left leg between my knee and my ankle and i heard its teeth go right on to my leg. >> you say it was like a cartoon. >> i wouldn't say that. it was -- it wasn't a cartoon.

>> you said the sound of a cartoon -- you used the rag doll description as well. >> shoot me like a rag doll. and i had to tense myself up, try not to let water go up my nose. and what i did was i threw a punch and then i took my hands and tried to release my leg from its jaws and it worked. >> debbie, we should make a quick point on some of the practices that sharks live with, that's finning -- using their fins for soup, and basically, letting them out in the open to bleed to death or die. >> 73 million sharks are killed this way each year. now we have nearly 30% of all shark species are threatened or near threatened with extinction. we need to watch -- >> to watch. >> we need to end it. >> watch the effort. thank you, guys, back after your local news.

>> live, local, late breaking this is wbal tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> time for another check of the morning commute. >> good morning, everyone. finally some encouragement to report on northbound 95. that accident is all clear. we do have a problem on the inner loop at i-95. a disabled vehicle. what were heavy delays at dover

road and butler road. watch for slow spots on route 94. 22 minutes is your drive time on the outer loop north side. only will take you 11 minutes to travel on the inner loop towards 83. if your records be heading out on the day effects, so far it is in pretty good shape. -- if you are going to be heading out onto the jfx, so far it is in pretty good shape. lingering delays after the early accident. so far things looking better than last check. that is the latest. >> good morning, everyone. so far, so good weather wise. the temperatures of a little bit on the cool side. it will warm up nicely this afternoon. 57 at the airport.

the forecast for today is a mixture of sunshine and a few clouds. the high-temperature this afternoon will be in the high 70's of low 80's. the next its core rate looks like it will be late thursday and into friday morning. >> thank you. you can check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information. we're

8:00 now on thistuesday morning, september 14, 2010. shaping up to be quite a beautiful day here as we step outside to say hello to all of these smiling faces who are starting their morning with us here in rockefeller plaza. i'm meredith vieira along with carl quint tia we carl quintanilla in for matt. an amazing story.

>> a young man just ran the touchdown of his life. he got to the end zone, no pulse, no vital signs. a nurse was in the stands. she raced into action. we'll have the story. and we'll wrap up the official parenting series with an interesting question. when it comes to your kids, do you know best or are they better off taking advice from other people in their lives. more on that coming up. >> robert plant, a rock performance. but first, a check of the morning's top stories with ann. thanks a lot, carl. breaking news this morning. good morning, everybody. the news is broken by nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell earlier that iran has released sarah shourd who was held there for more than a year. andrea joins us from teheran. andrea, good morning, what do we know? >> the reason i'm not on camera, i'm downstairs standing next to

the swiss ambassador who is standing here at this hotel waiting for sarah shourd. she left prison about 45 minutes ago. and we do not know what the terms were we do know that the u.s. government has said it's against its policy to pay any bail money. it's precedent for other prisoners being released -- other prisoners being released here. we do not know -- but we do expect sarah shourd and the real tough emotional part of this, as happy a day it is for sarah shourd is the u.s. government wants shane bauer and josh fatafat t tall, they've been in prison for more than a year, no formal charges but accusations of espionage. that's the next step. once sarah shourd gets home and seen with a happy embrace, the u.s. government wants to know why aren't the other two american hikers who they say

wandered across an unmarked border and are not in any way convicted of espionage, why are they not also being released. >> andrea, the question needs to be asked, i'm certain the families listening now are concerned about this. last week, iran said that they were releasing sarah and not the two young men for humanitarian reasons, do we have any sense of her well being? are there any indications from the swiss officials you're now with? >> no indication at all about her physical condition. our camera man saw her sitting in the become of the car as she left -- she was certainly covered up and so it would be hard to identify very much. but she did leave the prison about 45 minutes ago. we don't know what her health is. we know that she had a number of ailments there and she's suffered from not only emotional problems from the difficulty of

being in solitary for all of this time, but also a lump was found in her breast. so she's being released we believe because of her health issues. but there's a humanitarian case to be made also for the two young men. ann? >> andrea mitchell reporting on a breaking story and doing it well, by the way. andrea, thank you so much. this morning, israeli and palestinian leaders launched a new round of face-to-face peace talks. hillary rodham clinton convened the negotiations in egypt saying the time is right for an agreement. the moratorium on west bank settlements expires this month. voters are narrowing the field in primaries in seven states plus the district of columbia today. in the delaware senate primary, mike castle faces a strong challenge from christine o'donnell. and in new york, 20-year incumbent congressman charles rangel is up against four other democrats and a looming ethics

trial in the house. a california utility said it set aside $100 million to help the victims of last week's natural gas explosion in san francisco. new home video shows the inferno that killed at least four people and destroyed about 40 houses. pacific gas and electric says it will pay $50,000 up front to people who lost their homes. a daring medical rescue mission is under way this morning in antarctica despite intense blizzard conditions, a new zealand plane landed on the runway and evacuated the science base. the worker is said to be in serious condition. take a look at what's brewing in the atlantic. it's hurricane igor, a huge and p powerful category-4 storm about 100 miles wide as seen from space. it' cool to look at, but do not be worried because it's not expected to reach the united states. it is now 8:05, get another

check of the weather from chris cimino who's in for al this morning. hey, chris. a beautiful-looking storm as long as it fades out to sea. the story from the renaissance faire. >> the mayor of sterling, yes. >> yes, i do, yes. >> no jousting with it over there. get a look at our pick city today. buffalo, new york. temperatures in the upper 60s this afternoon, 67, the forecast high with a mix of sun and clouds. nice day there. through most of the northeast, in good shape. drier trends. the severe weather, the rough weather, the high plains, the north central plains, anywhere from south dakota to nebraska and kansas, oklahoma. the rest of the country, pretty quiet. southeast, >> good morning, everyone. a nice quiet start on this tuesday morning. expect a mixture of sun and a

few clou >> boy, you are good. back over to meredith. >> chris, thank you very much. and up next, talk to the high school football player who suffered a heart attack after scoring the winning touchdown, and the woman who saved his life after this.

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back now at 8:10 with an unforgettable moment in a high school football game last weekend. a young athlete suffered a heart attack after scoring a touchdown and was brought back to life by a cardiac nurse who happened to be in the stands. in a moment, we'll talk to them exclusively. but first, here's nbc's george lewis. >> reporter: heyward demison and his family can joke about it now, his close brush with death and his amazing recovery. >> i felt that god was on my side at the time. >> reporter: demison, a

tailback, number 21 is one of the stars of central catholic high's football team. friday night, he ran the ball 45 yards, scoring a key touchdown. >> that's the best feeling of my life. the game winner. >> reporter: but moments after the play, he sensed something was wrong -- his heart beat racing. >> and i felt dizzy and nauseous. i took one step and then all of a sudden, i collapsed. >> reporter: his heart stopped for about two minutes. he had no pulse, no vital signs. but fortunately for demison, cardiac nurse lisa lyver was at the game, rushed from the stands, and began administering cpr, bringing him back to life. >> luckily, he's very young, very fit. you could actually feel his heart start beating right under my hands. >> just happy he's with us still, very humbled by the whole thing. >> reporter: he will have to undergo surgery for a artery, but he hopes to return to football next year. >> i love the gape. it's my passion since i was a lit boy since my dad put a

football in my hands. >> i thank god that he's here and i'm grateful. >> reporter: and hayward doesn't like being on the sidelines right now, his family and teammates are a great source of consolation. and the best gift of all -- he'll live to see future friday nights. for today, george lewis, nbc news, los angeles. hayward demison iii is with us now along with his dad and life-saving nurse, lisa lyver. great to have you with us. good morning. >> good morning. >> i want to take us back to that play. the game is neck and neck. you're a tailback. you get the ball. run it back 45 yards for the touchdown. what was that moment like? >> it was a very proud moment because a lot of adversity and stuff. my heart started racing. i was in a panic mode. my teammate congratulated me and stuff. and at that moment, i panicked more because my heart started beating. once i got to the sidelines, i

sat on the bench and then it sped up even more because i sat down. and i had on tight gear. and then i told one of my teammates to get the inhaler and stuff. and he got the coach and the coach came to me and then he was asking me what's wrong? and i told him that i need my inhaler and he gave it to me. i took one puff of it, i breathed, and it also increased my heart even more because it was a steroid inhaler. >> right. >> i wanted my upper body pads taken off. so they had to loosen -- loosen the straps but they couldn't. so they had to pull me straight out of it and then right when i stood up after they took it off, i felt dizzy and nauseous. >> you knew you were in trouble at that point. >> yes, sir. >> lisa, you're in the stands at this point. what a good thing it was that you were. how did you know what was going on? how did you jump into action? >> i was sitting next to the

head coach's wife. she said, lisa, someone just collapsed. i watch add little bit. saw a bunch of commotion down there. being a nurse for 16 years, i thought, i should at least go down and see if there's something i can help with. >> you gave chest compressions for two minutes. you doubted yourself. at one point, you thought to yourself, i hope this is what we're suppose to be doing, because if it's not, he's going to be really mad later, right? >> i looked in his eyes, didn't see any kind of response at all. everybody was yelling at him. didn't look like he was breathing. and a couple of people down there tried to feel for a pulse and we didn't feel one. and at that point, i thought, well, we can start chest compressions and if he does, you know, if that's -- if this isn't what needs to be done, he's going to wake up and be pretty mad at me. when he didn't, that's what we kept doing. >> mr. demison, this must have been a tough experience for you too. when you went to the hospital to see your son, what's the first thing he said to you?

>> the first thing he said to me was, dad, i missed "friday night lights". >> which is the highlight show -- the local highlight show on friday nights, right? >> yes, it is. yes, sir. and it made me feel a little good that he was still had his spirits up after what we had went through. i was just so thankful that my son was alive. >> hayward, it turns out you do have a defective coronary artdry whi -- artery to have surgery to repair. how anxious are you some day to get back on the field? >> they told me that my left coronary will be fixed and it's in the wrong spot at the moment. but it will be put in the right -- back in its right spot. so i'm thankful for that. i'm kind of nervous to go in to surgery, but i know that god is with me so he'll put his hands

through the whole thing. so i will live through that. but i'm so anxious to get back in to football, it's any favorite thing to do, no matter what. and i'm very thankful for that. as long as i get to see the end of the year. i'm thankful for that every moment. >> it's nice when the stars align as they did in this case and the fact that lisa was there is just incredible. hayward demison iii, mr. demison, lisa, thank you all, thank you for being with us. >> thank you. coming up next, do you really know best when it comes to giving advice to your kids? we'll find out after this. to use it. as mye it's pretty cool. [ woman ] you just feed your check in. feed the money right in. no deposit slips. no looking for an envelope. i have an image of my check right here. i can get a picture of the check, on the receipt. it even tells what kind of bills i put in. [ man ] you just put the bills right in. it even did the math for me. -four twentys. -a ten. -two fives. -a hundred bucks. -it's all right here. ♪ i'm done, i'm outta here. [ male announcer ] quick and easy deposits.

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anncr vo: eggs. the incredible protein. we're back at 8:20. this morning on "today's family," do parents really know best? 64% of those surveyed said, no. when should your kids listen to you? >> you're 15 years old, you live in my house so you do what i say when i say it. >> whatever you say no matter what. >> no matter what. >> if you told me to shave my head, i had to do it. >> yes. >> if you told me to murder someone, i have to do it. if i tell you to burden of proof down the house, i have to do that? >> fif i tell you to burn down the house, you burn down the house. >> do parents know best. following parents' advice isn't always easy. >> i begged and pleaded and

pleaded. like, mom, i remembered sitting down in our duplex saying, mom, i want to act. she said no. >> by the time she gets through high school, she'll have a better sense of who she is. >> i was infuriated. i said, mom, let me do what i want. >> it's difficult for moms to do that for their daughters. we want to give them so much. it makes us feel bad when we say no. >> years later, she now realizes mom was right, education comes first. >> i want to go to college, i want to go to grad school, i want to get my masters. >> and her brother didn't want to spend three weeks in florida in an outward bound adventure program. >> didn't sound that appealing. kind of against my will. all i could say was i know you don't agree with me, you know how much i love you. i need you to trust me on this one. >> and in the end -- >> it's taught me a lot of stuff about independence, how much strength is like inside of me.

for the most part, it's been a good thing. >> proving listening to mom and dad may not always be a bad thing. >> i don't know if mothers and fathers ever know best, but hopefully their intentions are always good. >> an author, actor, and comedian. a clinical psychologist and authors of "boys lie -- how not to get played." good morning, troublemaker, here. do parents know best? yes or no? you say no. >> i say no. it's not that they don't want to, they're not getting the right information they need to make some of the decisions for their kids. >> who is better with the kids? >> coaches know kids better sometimes. peers definitely know kids better than parents do because of the time they spend with them. >> but you say parents do know best? >> i think it depends on the subject matter. because i think when it becomes a question of education, yes, because a lot of kids don't want to go to school, they don't want to finish college. my mother instilled in me, hey, whatever you do, just try to

graduate from high school. in college, just graduate from college. but sometimes they do know best. i said, mom, i want to be a singer. she heard mesing and she said, oh, what else do you want to do? >> you followed their advice growing up. you did what you were told? >> yes, because i believe there has to be some level of friendship, trust, respect, and discipline at an early age to the point that when you do become a young adult at 15, 16, 17, you will listen to them a little bit more than all of a sudden someone popping in your life and telling you what to do at 17 and 18 and you're like, how do you know? you don't even know me. >> exactly. maybe there's a point 16, 17, 18, you want to back off to giving the advice on the kids and let them make some mistakes. >> the parents struggle -- when do i set firm boundaries and rules and when do they trip and fall to see on their own what it's like to grow? choosing that situation that's sort of safe for them to fail and learn is what's hard for parents. >> have your parents stopped giving you advice? >> absolutely not.

i get financial advice all the time. give your mama $200. yes, mama. but, i just think the closeness and the friendship -- the closeness and the friendship, it's -- that's instilled early, then i'm always listening to my father, i'm always listening to my mother. >> because you respected them for what they -- beyond the fact they're your parents? >> absolutely. mom was in education in 30 years, the other at lockheed martin for over 30 years. i had an example of seeing people get up, go to work, work hard. when they give me advice -- they hasn't been in any trouble. when they give me any advice, i take it. >> any exception, any time that parents absolutely know best? >> i think -- >> no matter what. >> when it comes to safety, you have to listen to your parents. if you're a mom and you have a gut intuition about something. you feel strongly about it, i tell mom, follow that gut. even if the facts don't line up. if you have a bad feeling about

something, go with that feeling. talk about it, set rules that have to do with that feeling because your gut -- nobody can teach you that. >> vanessa mitchell, thank you very much. >> you're welcome. >> back to your local news. >> good morning. let's get a final check of your morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> good morning, everyone. a new problem coming in the city. this is right at pratt street and president street. watch for delays there. a bit of a delay at route 94. they are still clearing a down

pole and wires in that area. what for that closure. slow go on the north side. 30 miles per hour on the outer loop. our local sivs still experience low spots. south on 95 coming out of the northeast. it would take you 11 minutes to travel on the inner loop from 795 over towards the 83. here's a quick call live look at traffic. northbound delays coming in from a grant from 395 into town. topside very heavy towards harrisburg. that is the latest. >> we are off to a nice, quiet start again. the dumpsters are starting to warm up. we were in the mid-50's earlier in the day. los 60's right now. 64 degrees and a rock callein r.

high temperatures in the upper 70's of low 80's. another nice day coming up tomorrow. the next chance for rain will be late thursday and into friday morning. >> thank you for joining us. another update at 8:55. everyone knows a fee is a tax. you raised some taxes during that period, particularly the property tax as well as a lot of fee increases.

as you know, there's a big difference between fees and taxes. but...they're the same. it's a tax. it's a tax. it's a tax. it's a tax. there's a big difference between fees and taxes. fees and taxes are one in the same. if it comes out of my pocket, it's a tax. now he says it isn't true. we didn't raise taxes. what? still doing the same thing, paying out more money. typical politician. definitely.

. 8:39 this tuesday morning, september 14, 2010, a sunny morning here in manhattan. the crowd is moving to the music of a legendary rock band, led

zeppelin. why you may ask? he's in the house. he's out with a new solo album getting rave reviews. talk about it live in a moment. >> he's such a talent and a really good guy. >> amazing. why would he? >> exactly. also ahead, john ritter is going to help -- we're going to talk about the way he made us laugh after all those years. >> his wife is having a wonderful book about it. >> but first -- >> tennis, anyone? you watched some of the u.s. open, right? >> very exciting. >> the rain delay. >> we're delighted to have rafael nadal with us this morning. as you know, he won. the u.s. open championship last night. only the seventh man in history to do a career grand slam. congratulations. so you have the career grand slam. you have the gold medal in beijing. what -- what is left to do?

>> a lot of things. i'm 24 years old. remains a lot of things to do, i think. i have to keep working very hard to be a better player every yea year. if i want to be here for the next year, i want to keep working very hard. >> you know, rain was an issue in the final. sunday was delayed. postpon postponed, actually, from monday. the rain delay on monday. finally finished up. took two hours. how does that affect you mentally and physically. >> that's part of the game now. and just being in new york -- when you get away after the first half -- [ inaudible ] i went to -- went to the court to get ready. >> on npr this morning, sports analysts said about you that we may be now entering the nadal era. that this is your time. that you could be the great ees

tennis player of our time. do you think of this? >> no, that's too much. i don't normally -- everything was unbelievable more than i ever did. and, so, just -- just an honor for me and unbelievable for me and more than i am expect. and right now it's what i say before, keep working hard to be in the final round. >> well, this is hard won. you look really good with it too, don't you think? >> nice looking. beautiful. congratulations. >> thank you. >> i can see why he can hold that tennis racquet. that's a pretty good grip. >> thank you. >> congratulations. >> thank you. as we mentioned before, al is out today and under the weather. chris cimino is in for him. >> congratulations. >> tennis player. >> why the pillow?

>> for you, up all night. >> i have. >> you need a little rest. >> don't put a pillow in front of me. >> this is gorgeous. this is for you. it's the 50th anniversary. >> doesn't look a day over 49. >> beautiful. >> let's get the weather picture. this is nice. holding up after all these years. shower activity. a little rough out of the plains states a little later on. severe weather breaking out southwest sections of south dakota to nebraska and kansas as well, extreme northern oklahoma. working the way through missouri by tomorrow. a large area of shower activity as we work our way through the great lakes. mild to warm, hot though, on the gulf coast. still on the sticky side, deep south stays sizzling over the southwest as well. triple digits in the desert. rain will work its way to the >> good morning, everyone. it should be a dry morning

commute. it will be nice and mild later on today with send it back over to all of you. >> chris, thank you very much. over to carrie mulligan. she's starring in two new films, not one, but two. never let me go. she's also the cover -- take a look at this picture -- of the october issue of "vogue." in the a list. carrie mulligan, the rise of a dazzli new star. nothing like embarrassing you on this tuesday morning. >> nice to see you first thing in the morning. >> people couldn't be more different. tell us a little bit about them. >> never let me go is a british film. and it's a love story, me and

kieran knightley. >> very dark. >> yeah. yeah. it's a weepy film. and "wall street" the big macho boys' movie. i'm the only girl in there. >> you play gordon gecko's daughter, an iconic film character who everybody knows and you worked closely, obviously, with michael douglas whom we've all been thinking so much about in recent days. how close did you get in filming and how much are you now? >> the film is strained. we kept away from each other a little bit. so we had a great time in cannes. i found out like everybody else, the news, and sent well wishes. but he's an amazing family so i'm sure he'll be well. >> in the meantime, you see all of this, it's got to be -- what are your emotions as you see yourself become more and more in the public now and also getting access to more of these parts that are -- >> oh, i mean, that's the

amazing thing about all of this. i've got these aphasing -- i wouldn't have gotten "wall street" if i hasn't done the education. it's been so interesting. i've been lucky. i don't feel anything apart from grateful. >> the thing you don't like is doing things like this. >> no, this is my first morning show. >> it is. it is. >> lovely, thank you. >> don't do any others. >> no. >> only one in the united states. >> oh, yes. >> carrie mulligan, thank you so much. >> "never let me go" opens tomorrow and "wall street money never sleeps" opens on september 24. two chances to enjoy carrie mulligan. >> coming up next, love and laughter, john ritter's widow opens up about her life with the television star. but first this, is "today" on nbc.

everyone knows a fee is a tax. you raised some taxes during that period, particularly the property tax as well as a lot of fee increases. as you know, there's a big difference between fees and taxes. but...they're the same. it's a tax. it's a tax. it's a tax. it's a tax. there's a big difference between fees and taxes. fees and taxes are one in the same. if it comes out of my pocket, it's a tax. now he says it isn't true. we didn't raise taxes. what? still doing the same thing, paying out more money. typical politician. definitely.

we're back at 8:39 with a great love story. john ritter was the star of the classic sitcom, "three's company." years later he met fellow actor amy aztec on the set of their movie, "problem child," they fell in love, had stella together and married. after stella's fifth birthday, he died of a tear in the aorta. she writes about it all in her new book "love and laughter with john ritter." such a pleasure. >> when you mentioned the love story, i thought you meant our great love story. stella has a notebook, the official reporter's notebook you gave her. she's going to be a writer now. >> she's 12. >> how are the two of you doing? >> doing okay, thank you. because kind of the operating instructions of "with love and laughter" how john used to sign his head shots a lot of time, that's the way you do it. kind of gave us a clue. >> one day in a time. >> that's a whole different show. one day at a time, that's valeri

bertinelli. >> exactly. look at this week alone. it's evocative for you. your birthday -- >> i don't have birthdays anymore. >> your daughter turned 12, seven years since your husband's death. your own birthday, and your book being launched. >> an interesting overlap. yeah. >> what's going through your mind. >> starbucks. trying to keep it going. but, yeah, it's true. this september week, the high-holy days for us, it's an interesting thing. but john was always a big proponent of the inclusive wonderful things and all of the things that happened at the same time. you can't really do anything about it, it's just how you react to it. so we're doing the best. >> and it's been seven years. what has changed for you over the years? >> i think just as anybody whose grieving you integrated more,

the love never goes away. but the missing actually becomes part of your life and you kind of hold that person close to you and kind of inside. stella gave me the news on that. she said no matter what kind of recipe you have for your life, it's always going to have that taste that you're missing somebody. so that's always there. but it goes on. >> you met john on the movie so you guys were making "problem child" together in 1989. >> a classic. "sasa blanca," "citizen kane," "problem child." >> it was the beginning of your romance what attracted you to him? >> how focused he was, it's something i lack, the focus, bigtime, was how he treated people and how he treated everyone exactly the same, which is if he -- when he just met them, it was as if they're a long-lost relative or love that you haven't seen in a long time.

>> is that why so many people connected to him. they idolized john. >> right. i think they felt like john was part of their family. and when people say to me, oh, i love john. oh, he loves you too. he did. he embraced his fans. he was a real people person. and being on tv is the with to get out to them all. >> and he was raising family. step mom on his three children. what kind of dad? >> john was a green light kind of a dad. >> yes to everything? >> like what you do when you do improv. when you do improvisation, the person who says no in the improvisation screws it up. you want to say yes, and, yes, and to keep it going. to keep your kids and anybody's spirits high, yes and what else? and he just let them be who they were going to be, but the best that they could be. >> the best that they could be. the book is filled with wonderful anecdote stories about the -- he was kind of a wild and

crazy guys. loved to play practical jokes. >> yes. >> favorite moment? if you could pick one out? >> i always enjoyed the terrifying moment when ever we'd be in an elevator together and someone else would walk in, he would pretend he was some kind of perv to pick me up. instead of saying, no this, is my husband. i had to be the damsel in distress. the person would be shaking and waiting for the doors to open. john, krys for the mill. everything was a improvisation and we're part of his story. >> since his passing, you made it your mission to get out the word about the undiagnosed aortic dissection. you came up with "ritters rules." what are they? >> about ten rules that were kind of gleaned from -- whatever the word is there -- called from the aortic guidelines that were published in march. and thoracic aortic disease coalition which the john ritter

foundation is a part of, excuse my preparation there at the end. i'm a writer now. came up with the ritter rules. because there are certain things that will save your life most importantly to me, if you have somebody in your family that has survived or diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm or dissection, you're 20% more likely to have it yourself. >> to have it yourself. >> at any age. not like an abdominal problem to an older person, this is an equal opportunity life screwer upper. >> so after his passing. >> so tom ritter, my fabulous brother-in-law, we knew this defect and we had tommy -- we had tommy scan -- he scanned himself. he's very good. he's a radiologist, not. and he was determined to have an aortic aneurysm in the exact same place as john and his life was saved. really, at any age, men or women. just because john and tommy were

semielderly, sorry, tommy. >> one more gift that john is giving people through you. >> most important, keeping families alive and together. >> thank you for the book. >> i'm glad you liked it. >> very much. >> cool. >> thank you so much. the book is it called "with love and laughter with john ritter." up next. roger plant live in concert. this is first on nbc. i'm bob ehrlich.

i'm not the kind of guy who likes to hang on the sidelines. today maryland is in trouble. we're worse off than we were four years ago. dangerous debt, higher taxes, not enough jobs. we need real leadership to turn this state around.

fix the budget -- honestly. grow small businesses -- really. excellent schools -- everywhere. protect the bay -- finally. it's why i'm running. to make the state we love not just good but great. now let's get down to work. >> the toyota concert series on "today" brought to you by toyota. robert plant helped redefine rock music as the lead singer in led zeppelin and scored big with the grammy awards 2007 with alison krauss, "raising sand." he's got the number one rock

album on itunes. robert plant, great to have you here. >> very early, good morning. i believe it is the morning. i want to introduce the band. buddy miller, byron house, marco, darryl scott, and singing with you is patty griffin. i think a lot of people may not know the band of joy has a history with you as a name. >> yeah, it was the -- it was the name that john bonham and i elected to use before we got that golden phone call. i think it was a jungle drum, to send us rocketing into the '70s. >> before you joined the other band as you call it. >> yeah, yeah. so it was a moment for us british guys. we didn't have the musical knowledge that you guys have got here. but we tapped as much american spook music as we could, as much blues, mixed it up. nobody liked it. and so -- but the feeling of freedom was fantastic. and i think as we started to make this record, buddy took me down to nashville and we started

working together. so it felt like a liberation again. >> the song we're going to hear is a new single off of the album called angel dance. let's hear it. robert plant. ♪ good-bye don't cry ♪

♪ ♪ let them fly across the wall let them fly till the morning comes ♪ little angel dance ♪ ♪ little angel dance ♪ big night bright lights ♪ ♪ time now to lay them under arrest ♪ ♪ put them all to rest ♪ bad guys mean eye all gone away to where they belong ♪ ♪ let's just sing our song ♪ and they'll laugh up and down the hall ♪ ♪ don't go shout when you hear them fall ♪

♪ let them fly right across the wall ♪ ♪ let them cry ti till the morning call ♪ ♪ little angel dance ♪ little angel dance ♪ come on come on and dance ♪ ♪ whoo yes, little angel dance ♪ come on ♪ good night sleep tight oh let's just sing our song ♪

♪ dance up and down the hall don't go shout when you hear them fall ♪ ♪ let them fly right across the wall ♪ ♪ let them cry till the morning call ♪ ♪ oh little angel dance ♪ ♪ little angel dance ♪ let them dance

♪ the new album is "band of joy," robert plant. thank you. robert? robert will be back later this morning with kathie lee and hoda. but first, this is "today" on nbc. but first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪ little angel dance

my commute home to the eastern shore every night only takes an hour but that's more time than congress spends reading massive spending bills, it's crazy. that's why i wrote a law that requires 72 hours to read every bill. i read the big bills and i said no. no to the $3 trillion budget, no to the bank bailout, and no to the health care bill. at home you would never pay a bill without reading it neither should congress. i'm frank kratovil and i approve this message because i'm proud to be ranked one of the most independent members of congress.

you totally screwed it up. it sounds really good. >> it's extensible. >> it sounded amazing. >> it was his fault. >> exactly. always is. that guy back there. >> my fault. >> live, local, late breaking a, this is wbal to be 11 news today and baltimore. >> here is a look at where our top stories. candidates spent the last minute buying for votes in the primary election. -- vying for votes in the primary election. barnett with potential voters and a community meeting last night. night. state students --

everyone knows a fee is a tax. you raised some taxes during that period, particularly the property tax as well as a lot of fee increases. as you know, there's a big difference between fees and taxes. but...they're the same. it's a tax. it's a tax. it's a tax. it's a tax. there's a big difference between fees and taxes. fees and taxes are one in the same. if it comes out of my pocket, it's a tax. now he says it isn't true. we didn't raise taxes. what? still doing the same thing, paying out more money. typical politician. definitely.

back in a minute with a check on today's forecast. >> let's take a look at your forecast. >> things are nice and quiet on this tuesday morning. it will warm up nicely as we had predicted today. this altered and we will make it into the low 70's -- this afternoon we will make it into the high 70's and low 80's. nice day coming up tomorrow. 77 and sunshine on wednesday. the next is for rain will be late thursday and into friday morning. right now looks like a nice weekend with temperatures near 80. >> thank you for joining us. another is whether update

i'm bob ehrlich. i'm not the kind of guy who likes to hang on the sidelines. today maryland is in trouble. we're worse off than we were four years ago. dangerous debt, higher taxes, not enough jobs.