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. good morning. who's victory is it? tea party backed candidate christine o'donnell pulls off upset in delaware's republican primary. we'll hear from the candidate itself. bittersweet. american hiker sarah short reunites with her mom and speaks out for the first time since being released from an iranian prison.

and zapping the fat. two new devices promise to help give people better looking bodies without needles, injections or exercise. bodies without needles, injections or exercise. "today," september 15, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. >> christine o'donnell virtually unknown just a few weeks ago, but this morning she is officially the gop's candidate for the senate seat. >> she defeats mike castle. she's now the sixth tea party candidate to win a primary race this year. but some are saying her win could actually be a costly blow

to the republicans reclaiming the senate in november. also ahead, for the first time, we're hearing from the connecticut doctor who was the only one to survive a brutal home invasion. his wife and two daughters were killed. what happened that night as he faced one of his family's killers in court. on a lighter note, an emotional reunion for our "today's" wedding bride and groom. last night finally he and melissa were reunited hire in new york, we're going to chat with them and unveil the wedding gown. let's begin with the results of the final primaries before november's midterm elections and what they mean for both parties. we're going to talk to christine o'donnell about her surprise victory in just a moment. but first we're going to talk to kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: well the tea party

has toppled conventional wisdom again and here in delaware, the result is both shocking and convincing because it wasn't close. the most popular republican in the state, mike castle, he is out, democrats are suddenly very excited and o'donnell says don't count her out to get the seat that joe biden held for 36 years. >> ladies and gentlemen, the people of delaware have spoken. >> reporter: the conservative rebellion rolls over delaware's republican party brass. >> don't ever underestimate the power of we the people. >> reporter: an upset hard to imagine just a few weeks ago. conservative christine o'donnell was propelled by several key groups. >> there's another woman i got to thank, you betcha. thank you, governor palin for her endorsement.

>> o'donnell was ridiculed and written often by other republicans as unelectable. she had never won before, but knocked out congressman mike castle who had never lost in a dozen races. castle did not offer his congratulations. >> the voters of the republican party have spoken and i respect that decision. >> reporter: castle had called o'donnell unqualified. animosity was so intense, the state republican party paid for robo calls where o'donnell's past campaign manager attacked her. >> i found out that she was living on campaign donations, using them for rent and personal expenses while leaving her workers unpaid. >> reporter: she found her only hard times actually made her understand voters' anger. >> a lot of people have said that we didn't win the general

election. >> reporter: democratic officials are gleeful and called her an ultraright wing extremist. ironically, her supporters used an obama slogan. >> yes we can! >> reporter: a tight race too close to call. former state attorney general, the choice of both the republican establishment and sarah palin against a tea party endorsed conservative activist. on to new york, where the republican nominee for governor is another tea party conservative. real estate developer over the party favorite former favorite rick lazio. rangel beat back several

challenges. >> i go back to washington stronger than i have ever been. >> reporter: and back here in delaware, democrats didn't have a primary fight for the senate seat, so chris cooms is their candidate. or donnell who's worked for nonprofit groups is hoping to nominations even though the national party is reluctant to get behind her. she's call for unity, isn't sure if she can expect it, but says the tea party is behinder. >> christine o'donnell is with us now from dover, delaware. ms. o'donnell, congratulations. >> thank you so much for having me. >> in the last few weeks, they have said some terrible things about you, they said you're

unelectable, uncaqualified. what happened? >> good morning. well, you know there,'s a lot of folks here in delaware who are concerned about the direction of our country. they have been shut out of the political process, and this past year, we have seen an uprising of every day americans who are fighting to take back their country and i have been fortunate enough to earn their support and they had their voice heard last night. i think the people of delaware spoke loud and clear. >> is it a general dissatisfaction, do you think that made the difference? or is there a specific thing you can put your finger on? was there an event, a comment or was it that people heard so many disparaging things about you that in some ways it incited their anner? >> i think it was a combination of all of that. we have been working very hard to go up and down the state, meet as many voters as possible.

but it doesn't take an expert to figure out that our country is going broke and washington is putting out these failed policies that are unsustainable. we have been putting out our solutions to the people of delaware, i have been asking them get to know me, i have been making myself very accessible, making sure i'm in every county every week. so when my opponent disinitiate that negative turn, they knew it wasn't what i am. >> how did sarah palin's endorsement mean to you, 10 being a home run. >> i think it was a 10, because what she did was in the middle of all that mud slinging, she came out and endorsed me and it was a vote against the politics

of personal destruction, and it allowed people who were on the fence, wondering if it was true, it gave them a chance to look beyond that and say i need to give this candidate a chance. it was certainly was a turning point and she of all people knows what it's like to be hit by the establishment a when you're about to topple their power and that's exactly what we did last night and that's what we plan to do in november. >> after your victory last night, you're once again getting mo respect. some this morning are calling your victory a great thing for democrats and they're calling your opponent the luckiest man in politics. they're saying he's now a shoe in. where do you go from here. >> that's not true, they never thought we would win and they never thought we would win as big as we did.

what this whole campaign is about is making the impossible possible. it's about visionaries and leaders putting their principles into practice. i think it's a shame, a few people got their pride bruised last night, a few of the so-called experts proved that once again they were wrong. this is a very unpredictable political season where anything goes, but the folks are craving candidates who are willing to stand for something. so once again they're going to be proven wrong in september. >> what about the funding here? because it's an expensive race, john cornyn who's the chair of the committee that doles out money to republican senatorial candidates said he would pull money out of your state if you were to become the republican nominee. he said we're going to sit down and have a pow-wow, that doesn't sound like a ringing vote of confidence. do do you think you'll get money

from the national republican party? >> i don't know if we'll get money from the national republican party, but i know we're going to get the money that we need. we won this election with barely a tenth of what my opponent already raised. we got a lot of phone calls from a lot of heavy hitter who is said they're going to make sure we get what we need. delaware is so small we don't need the war chest that another state needs. we need about a million dollars to finish this last month and a half. so christine2010. >> ms. o'donnell, thank you for joining us. > . >> so what do -- governor kaine,

good morning to you. >> christine o'donnell wins in delaware and it is the democrat who are grinning ear to ear and the democrats say she cannot win a general election. >> that's part of it that we have a chance to win a race that was going to be extremely difficult for us to win and now we think we have a super chance to win with chris coons. the other thing it shows is the -- mike castle, a classic moderate senator who had been governor and rejected. >> or it shows that you are underestimating the tea party and the tea party candidates. >> we feel very, very comfortable that we're going to win races in november that six

months ago we feel like we're going to win. the tea party has energy, but a lot of the energy has turned on themselves rather than turning on us. we see chasing arlen specter out of the party, beating bob bennett, beating mike castle and that creates opportunities for us to get those modern independent voters. >> charlie rangel, how troubling is that for democrats. >> the ethics process was nonexistent until speaker pelosi became speaker. she said the process is going to play out, but congress an rangel won and won big last night. >> a lot of people are noticing these democratic candidates as they go along and pitch themselves to the public. but they're not talking about are the successes of the

democratic party, like the economic stimulus package, why are they running away? >> i talk them bet wherever i go, i think an economy that was shrinking is now growing. candidates i see do, they tend to pick the things they care most about or that match with their districts. just yesterday a break through on this small business lending bill which i think is going to be enormously helpful to small business who is need capital. so i think that the democratic party leads with action. >> meanwhile you're here with a big announcement for your party, a new look, a new message? >> new look, new message, new tools. every de we're rolling out a new web page, democrats.org "today." we're focusing on the dnc, which

is focusing on feel, the democrats, more than 75 million americans proudly claim to to be democrats so we're switching from the structure which is important to the people. >> when there's a problem with a tv show, the first thing they do is change the set, thinking that will improve things, and it usually doesn't. >> look at the message, last month we celebrated three anniversaries, yesterday small business lending, equal pay for women, but the most important thing to me is the tools, this website democrats.org provides amazing tools from people. the page will come up with the candidates from your community. >> tim kaine, thank you very much. now let's get a check of the top stories. good morning, everybody. we begin with the first full day of freedom for more than a year for american hiker sarah shord.

she had to leave behind her fiance shane bauer and her friend. we'll have more on this story coming up on this broadcast this morning. police in afghanistan use live ammunition in protests across kabul. the protests are a lingering reaction to a florida pastor's call to burn the koran. a delta airlines pilot who has been suspended while the company investigates whether he was about to fly drunk from the netherlands to the united states. >> reporter: the pilot is said to be 52 years old who was in delta flight 53 when a crewmember said the pilot was not fit for duty. once in police custody t pilot was found to have a blol alcohol

level of .023, that is barely under the maximum allowed under dutch law. the faa standards state that the pilot cannot have a blood alcohol level above .04, but the dutch have some toughest standards in europe, .02 is what they consider to be over the maximum allowed. the u.s. by comparison, .08 for driving. he was a .23. not above the faa minimums, not falling down drunk. the flight was canceled and the pilot was suspended. gold is up again "today" for yet another record after soaring on tuesday. but melissa lee at the new york stock exchange. >> it's called the fear trade because gold is considered a safe haven investment. first of all uncertainty in the

market and also fears that the federal reserve may be forced to undergo another -- in order to bolster the economy with its fresh record high and gold is up 16% this year. >> thanks so much. you think airline seats are a tight squeeze now, check this out, a company called avion interiors reduces the space between the seat. no airlines have signed up for them at least not yet. finally an airline that is undersized like bob costas. we love bob, bob we love you. we kid because we love bob. >> he's goinging i can't even believe she said that.

>> mat, over to you. all right, stephanie, thanks very much, millions of americans are overweight and looking for an easy fix. now the fda has initiated two new technologies promising to freeze and fry your fat away. do they work? are they safe? nancy snyderman is our medical editor. >> it's not for the obese. here's what was caught underneath the headlines. it's not for people who want to lose weight. it's a technology that's going to supercede liposuction, it's for changing the contour of a body, not for just getting rid of -- >> this is aesthetics pure and simple. >> you can change the fat that's around the organs or the inside. >> in reading the material here, one that caught my attention,

the laser that zaps the fat, that deflates the cells, doesn't that fat then have to go somewhere? does it get absorbed into the blood, what? >> brilliant question, it does have to go somewhere. the low grade laser punches holes in the fat cells and to break it up. it goes into the bloodstream, temporarily you're going to get a spike in the bloodstream, and your body will take care of that and you will excrete it. you have said in the past there are good fat cells and bad fat cells. does this laser know the difference? >> the fact that on our hips and on our thighs and under our hands that's the subcutaneous fat that's the good stuff. that fat secretes a lot of hormones, to toxic stuff is that

that surrounds your belly. >> the freezing or the zapping, does the fat just eventually come back. >> hopefully not. it looks like once you squish these fat cells, once you laser them or whether you freeze them, they just go away. here's what people have to remember, this is for changing the shape of a body, this is not for a fat person, this is for a person with lumps and bumps and bulges and love handles. it's up to $3,000 or more. >> what kind of doctor do you go see? >> at least a board certified plastic surgeon. make sure this is someone who just didn't take a weekend course to figure out the gizmos and this is not going to be covered by insurance. this is money out of pocket, and if you still have to lose weight, the weight loss comes first t body sculpting comes second.

>> 7:22, just ahead, the sole sure vaivivor of a deadly home invasion opens up about the night that his wife and two daughters were brutally murdered.

coming up, the families of two remaining hikers are speak out. [ female announcer ] what if your natural beauty could be flawless, too? new aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizers, with scientifically proven

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eastbound lanes at 97. watch for lane closures with an accident rate is down 100 at catherine avenue has another accident in anne arundel county and a couple in the city. you can see the normal volume- related delays. the north side of the beltway checks in at 23 miles per hour on average. in aberdeen, another accident to avoid this morning. you can see on the outer loop north and west side, the drive times indicate delays. let's take a live look at traffic. 95 north of the beltway ne coming torres is southbound and those delays go to the 895 split. this is a live you of 50 with delays from eastbound accident at 97. >> good morning, we are off to a

quiet start and a little bit on the cool side. it will wind up being a mild afternoon. the temperatures are in the upper 50's. 55 degrees at the airport. the forecast for today calls for mostly sunny with a couple of clouds, the high temperature will be in the upper 70's and tomorrow there'll be a chance for much-needed rain. we need a little more rain and scattered thunderstorms are possible in the afternoon on thursday and thursday night things should be dry air. it looks like a decent weekend coming up with sunshine and temperatures in the 80's. >> be sure and check the bottom the kincaids live here. across the street, the padillas. ben and his family live here, too.

ben's a re/max agent, and he's a big part of this community. there are lots of reasons why re/max agents average more sales than other agents. experience, certainly. but maybe it's also because they care about the markets they serve and the neighbors who rely on them. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today.

7:30 now on this wednesday morning, september 15, 2010. you're looking at new york city on a gorgeous morning. and we are happy these folks decided to start their day with us. i'm meredith viera along with matt lauer.

>> sara shourd has spoken out for the first time and reuniteded with her mother on tuesday. and also we'll talk to the mothers of shourd's fiance and friend who are still being held in iran and could stand trial on spy related charges. and following the harassment of a female sports reporter by members of the new york jets why. are the clothes she's wearing getting as much as tension as her taunts. are you better off renting? what you need to know before diving into today's rocky real estate market. dr. ian pettitte who lost his wife and daughters faced one of his accused attackers in court. >> reporter: good morning to you, what makes this crime so

shocking, even just where it happened, the beautiful quiet upscale suburb here in connecticut, but also how it happened. it was the middle of the night, his family was sleeping a pretty prominent family in this area. when prosecutors say two men broke in, tied them up, tortured them and then killed them. only the father survived. dr. william bennett. he took the stand to talk about those final moments. this is the last image every taken of his wife withdrawing $15,000. prosecutors say the payoff the men holding her family hostage. it was a mother's final desperate act to save her family. a prominent doctor and their two children tied up and tortured. michaela was only 11, a girl scout, haley was 17, and had

just been accepted at dartmouth. these two excon who is broke into the pettitte home as they slept. >> i just tried to do the best i could for my family. william pettitte was a loan survivsur -- they too tied my hands at the wrists and my feel at the angles. one of the suspects said if he moves put two bullets in him. because of the blood loss, i wasn't functioning very well. he could hear his wife and children being tortured in another section of the house. i heard the moaning and thumps. i may have yelled out hey, a voice yelled back, don't worry, it will all be over in a couple of minutes and it was. prosecutors say they raped pettitte's wife and killed her before burning the house down, also killing both of his daughters. >> i think we're making good progress.

>> how emotional was it for you to be on the stand "today"? >> very emotional. >> reporter: the jury saw evidence photos of pettitte's head wounds at the hands of his attackers. he told the jury about his own mirraculous escape from basemen. i was working to get my hands free, he said, i really felt a major jolt of adrenaline. he hopped out of the house and rolled across the lawn to a neighbor's house for help. the suspect in this first trial steven hays hept his eyes down in court. prosecutors are going for the death penalty. >> both defendants have agreed to plead guilty in return for life in prison without possibility of release.

>> reporter: hays lawyer said it wasn't premeditated. things got out of control, no one was supposed to get hurt. >> the evidence was so overwhelm ing that the defense had no viable defense, not a credible one. and they decided this was the best chance to save the defendant's life. >> three lives ended and another was changed forever. this trial is so emotional, to charged, meredith, already this week and it's already been day two of the trial, day three "today," four jurors have already been released including one yesterday who told the judge, i just can't follow the evidence. >> now let's get a check of the weather. >> "today's" weather is brought to you by vw, with 13 different models, it's a whole new volkswagen and a whole new game. >> we're going to start in the atlantic with we do have

hurricane julia that is spiraling wide out into the open there and we do not anticipate this making landfall. also we have karl to deal with here and there you go, tropical storm karl making landfall here on the yucatan and then eventually crossing over the bay of campeche, and back into >> good morning. we are off to a nice, quiet start and a little on the cool side but it will warm up quickly as we go into the afternoon with mostly sunny skies with high temperatures in >> meredith, over to you. up next, american iker sarah

shourd speaks out for the first time after being released from an iranian prison. but what will happen to her friends who are still behind bars? ♪ [ man ] blue one. recessed lighting. it's absolutely -- blue one. ♪ [ grunts ] blue one. [ children ] blue one! blue one! [ male announcer ] the routan. the only minivan with the soul of a volkswagen. can we do it again? [ boy ] yeah! sure. [ male announcer ] awarded "most appealing minivan" by j.d. power and associates. starting under $26,000. it's a whole new volkswagon. and a whole new game.

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chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell is in tehran with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt, sarah shourd is a free woman "today," but she's appealing to iran to free her friends shane bauer and their friend jash fattal. the wealthy persian gulf nation that secretly negotiated her release from iran and reportedly paid her half million dollar bail. it was an emotional passage to freedom for shourd, after more than a year in solitary confineme confinement. >> all of my efforts are going to go into helping procure the same freedom for my fiance shane bower and my friend josh fattal because i can't enjoy my freedom without them. they should be standing here with me. >> reporter: the three young americans had been hiking in the kurdish section of iraq, wandered over the border.

they saw each other for only an hour a day, and that's where last january shane proposed to sarah. now they have separated again, as she was swept from prison to a sleek private jet. pale and thin after her or deal, she said she was grateful even to iran for letting her go. >> i want to offer my thanks to everyone in the world, all of the governments, all of the people that have been involved and especially in particularly want to address president ahmadinejad and all of the iranian officials and the religious leaders and thank them for this humanitarian gesture. b. >> reporter: but in a carefully staged interview she appealed for the return of shane and josh. >> i have a huge debt to repay the world for what it's done for me and my first priority is to help my fiance shane bower and

my friend josh fattal. >> laura fattal reflecting on sarah's release. >> i'm very happy, but it was very bittersweet because i want to have that same happiness and i know cindy does too and we want josh and shane home as soon as possible. >> reporter: iran says it will try the two men on charges of espionage. but a challenge to the president to bring the men to new york with him when he comes to the u.n. general assembly next week. >> josh fattal's mother laura and shane bauer's mother are here with us this morning. can there be a better description than mixed emotions this morning. >> it is bittersweet, we are so happy that sarah is with nora but i want josh home and i know

cindy wants shane home. >> the emotion between a mother and a child, i'm very happy that nora and sarah are together, i can't wait until that tub opportunity is given to me. >> do you have anymore information on the deal that was struck? do you have anymore information about that? >> we don't. we really, really don't. >> obviously the iranians have shown they can be dealt with. do you think there's more of opportunity for some diplomatic solution for your sons now? >> we have always been optimistic but this increases the optimism and we're very grateful for the country of overwheoman for helping sarah gain her freedom.

>> even as the iranians have released sarah, whatever deal was struck, they have indicted all three on spying charges and they have extended publicly the detention for your sons. are we in a situation do you fear where they have been pressured into showing compassion for one and might take a harder line against your sons now? >> again my optimism pervades my i have thinking and i really believe that they see that josh, shane and sarah were hiking in kurdistan and they are innocent hikers. >> remind me of the level of contact you have had if any with your sons. >> the last time i spoke with shane was may 21st when i left him in tehran. >> so are you hoping if you get a chance to talk to sarah, she might be able to provide more

their physical condition and emotional state as well. >> absolutely. >> when might you be able to do that. >> we're hoping very soon. i'm very anxious to talk to sarah. >> and if you could speak to iranian officials this morning, and we have asked you this before, what would you say to them. >> please, please release josh and shane, now we can just say josh and shane, sarah is home but president ahmadinejad is coming to the united states for the u.n. general assembly. we say please bring josh fattal and shane bauer over to the united states and to us, to their mothers. >> it's nice to have you back, we'll keep our fingers crossed. thank you. it's 7:46, we're back right after this. i do a lot of different kinds of exercise,

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this morning on "today's" real estate, to buy or rent, that is a question a lot of families are struggling with given the current economy and housing prices. how do you decide which is best? here's barbara corcoran. good morning to both of you. what's going on in the real estate market right now that might sway you one way or the other? >> people have for the most part, they're not believing anymore that owning a home is the american dream and as a result of that, it's totally shifted what people are doing. 40% of all people who have owned

a home are now choosing to rent. that's never happened before. >> lerts talk about the reasons why it's a good idea to rent? >> easy in, easy out. you can move out, you can follow a job into a different market. you can't do that when you're trying to unload a house. >> for most people you want to make sure you're going to be in a house about five years if you want to buy it. and if you're not sureculations, there's a great -- once you figure in the transaction, the cost of the move, it gets expensive and it takes you that long to make the difference on your money back. >> you would rent rather than buy because someone else is going to fix it. >> when you buy a house, you have to count on 1% or 2% of the value of that house in maintenance every single year. >> and another reason to rent versus buy, if you have poor

credit, it's the best way to go. >> reasons to buy rather than rent, record low mortgage right now, it's a good reason. >> that is a huge reason, is that correct every percentage a mortgage falls is worth about 9% of the mortgage falls. >> what is the interest rate right now. >> about 4.5%. >> and to put that into monthly payments. two years ago, a mortgage would have cost you $1,700 a month, now it's about $900. coupled with a 30% discount on buying the house. low prices and cheap money at the same time. >> another reason to buy, living in a nice neighborhood, if you really would like to live in a house, you're going to end up buying it if it's in the neighborhood, right? >> you want to look at schools, if you want to buy a house in a particular neighborhood with

particular schools, you want to get in there. >> finally forced savings for retirement. >> your home is really a piggie bank. it's not an atm, as we have learned, it's really not a 401(k), but it is an asset when you pay off your mortgage, you will accrue value over time. >> a mortgage can force you to have a nice place that's cheap and a little bundle at the end when you go to retire. >> best places to rent, top cities, new york, omaha, seattle, portland, san francisco. top cities to buy, indianapolis, a lotton, miami, fresno, san antonio.

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>> live, local, late-breaking - this wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning, i am stan stovall. time for another check of the morning commute. >> good morning. it is still busy out there in many spots. the latest accident on southbound to 95 past 197, there is a report of the crash there with possible southbound delays developing. eastbound 100 approaching katherine avenue in pasadena has

a crash being cleared. a new accident is not far from the pikesville area. heavy delays on the west side of the beltway. down to 10 miles per hour on the west side. two miles per hour on southbound to 95 approaching white march. on the north side, normal volume on the outer loop. we are looking at 30 minutes for that stretch. 60 miles per hour to travel on the inner loop of 2795. here is 95 north of the beltway. this is what it looks like on the west side outer loop. a bumper to bumper traffic. >> good morning. it is a nice start for us on this wednesday and cool but it will warm of perry the tapas aren't in the mid to upper 50's.

-- are in the mid to upper 50's. partly to mostly sunny today and the temperatures in the upper 70's. we will get a chance for a few showers on thursday afternoon and the rate should end early friday and we will end up with a nice weekend >> be sure and check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information throughout the morning. back in 25 minutes.

we're back now, 8:00 on a wednesday morning, it is the 15th day of september. it's clear and full here in the northeast. great day on the plaza. and say hi to the people back home. thank you folks for stopping by. this woman just said you're blocking me from the tv, i'm so sorry. i will get out of the way. >> get out of the way. >> i'm matt lauer along the

meredith viera. we're going to have more on the story of the alleged harassment of a female sports reporter. >> everyone from rush limbaugh to the late night sports reporters on what she wears instead of the football players behavior. does it matter what she had on? and our "today" show bride and groom have finally been reunited for the first time in seven months. jeremy arrives home from a seven-month deployment in afghanistan, she got stateside just a short time ago. so those two back together. they are here for the first time together. so we're going to have a little fun and get to talk to them in a second. and also get to show them what wedding gown and tuxedo our viewers chose for their big day which is coming up in just a couple of weeks. >> would you like to be a brides

maid in this wedding? also ahead, are cupcake pans just for cupcakes? >> not really. >> there's all kinds of things you can do with your little muffin pans. that sounds so wrong, but anyway. >> let's get a check of the morning headlines. >> reporter: good morning once again, everybody, in the nude, midterm elections just seven weeks away, the tea party is boasting a key victory, christine o'donnell, upset former governor mike castle on tuesday in the battle for vice president joe biden's old senate seat. charlie ranged prevailed in spite of ethics charges. sarah shourd says she will now work to win the release of her two fellow hikers held for

more than a year in iran. she was met by her mother in oman, a persian gulf ally who negotiated for shourd's release. u.s. forces officially gave up the lead role in combat operations last month. today outgoing bp tony hayward testifies before british lawmakers looking into the gulf oil spill. the restaurant chain -- the communication says the plastic casing on the toys can be crushed or pulled apart exposing small batteries which then can be swallowed by small children. and poignant images from fenway park in boston where 5,000 people took the vow and became new american citizens on tuesday. it was one of the largest swearing in ceremonies ever. it is now 8:03, let's go back

outside to meredith and al. >> so al has departed for a couple of days, but we are lucky enough to have stephanie abrams filling in. >> it's 60 degrees right now on the plaza, you really need a sweater and a jacket. what's the coldest you have ever felt? >> 40 below. >> 40 below so this is nothing for you guys. 59 for a high today in burlington, vermont. that moves eastbound into the thursday and friday forecast, but for "today," >> morning. it looks like another nice day. the temperatures are a little cool right now but it will warm up quickly. mostly sunny skies this afternoon with high

>> for your forecast go to weather.com, 24 hours a day. these are apparently for you, i'll bring them over to you. coming up, new controversy over a female sports reporter who was allegedly harassed.

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so pretty. anncr: want better customer service? switch to discover, where you can talk to a real person in less than a minute. it pays to discover. back now at 8:08, with fallout of alleged harassment of a sports reporter by the new york jets. >> she says she's ready to put this controversy behind her, but it appears that plenty of others are not. her experience in the locker room has sparked a national debate over what is appropriate attire and behavior in the workplace. >> reporter: before this week, most americans have never heard of the nets sign. but after -- the sports reporter from mexico's tv azteca as

become the story. >> i feel that the environment was uncomfortable because i know they are talking about me. >> reporter: the national football league is taking the matter seriously telling nbc news on tuesday officials interviewed jets' players and coaches as well as members of the media to gather facts in the case that was first brought to the league's attention by a group representing female sports reporters. saenz says she will not sue the team. >> every reporter should be comfortable and that's the way it is. it's a workplace for every reporter here as well as, you know, the players and all of us here. >> reporter: but another player, clinton portis of the washington redskins may have revealed some of that locker room mentality making comments on a sports show

on tuesday. >> you put a woman and you give her a choice of 53 athletes, you know somebody got to spark her interest or she's going to want somebody. >> conservative talk show host rush limbaugh who had a brief controversial stint as an nfl comment tate for. >> she knows she has an asset, depending on that part of the country you're from, she's got it, she is making no attempt to downplay it or hide it, none whatsoever. >> what she wears is part of her on air image. the 32-year-old is a celebrity back in mexico. where many female reporters dress far les conservatively than their american counterparts. saenz tweeted this photo

insisting jeans and a blouse are not inappropriate. >> i'm not trying to provoke anything, it is only my type of dress. >> reporter: but her appearance sparked a national debate about what is and what is not appropriate in the workplace and the locker room. >> it's not the woman's fault for dressing that way, but if you dress a certain way, and it's provorkive and you're in an nfl dressing room, you're kind of asking for it at the same time. >> the woman is not in the wrong at all. no, i think she was harassed, it's disgusting the way they treated her. >> reporter: legal expert wendy murphy, a former nfl cheerleader says the law is very clear. >> if you think because of a woman's dress you have the right to sexually harass her, you're going to get in trouble with the law because she gets to decide whether your behavior is welcome not you. >> she tells me she was not offended by the jets' comments

and she's going to leave it to the nfl to decide if anyone on the team should be punished. on tuesday, she tweeted, immersed in a media controversy whirlwind. that controversy shows no signs of going away. >> here to talk more about the controversy is lifesty-- beginnh what the legal expert said at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter what this woman had on, or any woman, sexual harassment is sexual harassment. the reason so many people are talking about this is because of what she was wearing in those websites from both her network and her personal site. why is this igniting such a controversy? >> i think we have to look at how we present ourselves and it means something. aside from the legal issues, which are very real, sexual harassment is wrong and no one

would condone it. but how we present ourselves does affect how people see us and i think it's something we need to pay close attention to. >> if you dress provocatively you're going to elicit a specific response. we're strong women, if you go out there dressed in a certain way, you can expect a certain response. >> it's miss the boat a little bit if you don't look at the human nature behind this. men represent one end of the male spectrum and a woman represents one end of the female spectrum. we like to identify with this story. we like to think about what would it feel like to be a beauty pageant person who looks like this and walk into a locker room full of the most atlantic men, what would it be like to be a man who have a woman walk in like that. this is why it stirs up this

large controversy. >> but people are being very critical of her and yet it's the men who are being investigated. people are talking far less about those players than they are about her. >> i think the question is what the provocative dress in that field. but to your point, i think we live in an overly sexualized culture, look at the ads, look a many magazine covers, look at that website, this is how they're promotinpromoting -- >> she is being promoted as a sexual object. >> but that network is using those kind of pictures of her, they obviously have no problem with her image. she has no problem with her image. she's not apologizing for her outfit. is there cultural at all? >> i can't imagine that in a locker room, perhaps, but i

can't imagine that in a locker room in her country, people would look at her aths and not have some sort of reaction. >> if americans go to some cultures that are much more conservative or male dominated or so on, you have to some degree play by those rules so you need to know the rules of whatever culture you're moving into and in some degree we're reacting as americans about this story. >> another thing, meredith, for other folks, because as you point out, we are not the beauty queens, we are not that girl, many of us have children, have daughter who is want to know what is appropriate? i don't want my daughter dressing provocatively, i don't want her going to a male locker room at all. if its her job, anywhere that she might go, any girl, i would like for her to be professionally appropriate. >> i think women should know if they're feeling their sexuality,

if they're going to in some ways use their sexuality, they have to be very aware of that. it's really all about, sensitivity training, i think making everybody in this situation more aware that the hot box you're putting them in and what they're going to be thinking about. >> but that putting the onus on them again. >> the onus is on both of them of the awareness. she should know what she's saying when she goes in like that. >> she does know what she's saying and she has to take responsibility for that. >> the sad thing is they all shot themselves in the foot. that's the problem. the nfl players are going to pay for this. and she's going to pay for this and that's a shame because it didn't have to go like this. >> and her network is sticking by her, and she's been a journalist there for many years. >> but it didn't help her in that regard, it may help her in a different regard. maybe that's going to be okay

with her. but it's the awareness of the drive going in and what might not be on your mind. >> but the reaction, the personal responsibility for it, here's how i present myself and there will be a reaction, am i ready for it? i think that's a very important question for all of us to ask. >> and if it's an overreaction, then they better be ready for it. >> thank you so much for your perspective as always. >> up next, martha stewart with some new ways to use your cupcake pan right after this. ♪ friskies grillers blend. ♪ feed the senses.

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martha on "today" is brought to you by macy's. >> we're back at 8:21 this morning on martha on "today," we're cooking with your cupcake pan. it's also the perfect pan for muffins and savory tarts. this is featured in the september issue of everyday food. >> this is our little magazine that has about 50 amazing recipes that you can cook every single day of the month. >> you sit down and how many different recipes did you come up with and they just turned out disastrously. >> very few because we really think about this before we develop. we really sort of edit down ideas.

it's called muffin to it. muffin tins come in six one-cup holes or 12 one-cup holes. or they come in giant muffin tins. or just heavy duty metal. it's nicer to be a little bit heavy, the little thin ones might burn. >> you're going to do four different recipes. the first is pizzas. >> you just use a store bought or home made pizza dough, divide it into 126789 and then you stretch this like this and then you lay it into the muffin tin. >> all right, and from there -- >> you just build your pizza. >> we're using traditional toppings? instead of sauce you just regular tomatoes. >> you can put anything you like on top. >> i love pepper. >> matt was eati inin ining pep

before he even came on. you bake it at 450 degrees for 12 minutes in a preheated oven. >> can we get that shot back here? it looks like that. >> a nice little pizza. >> my mushrooms, i don't want to burn my mushrooms over here. >> what is this, bred over here. >> watch out easy this is. take your good quality white bread, it can be store bought or the best bread from the bakery. roll out the dough of the bread, cut with a cookie cutter. and then -- you're supposed to cut this in half. >> then we're going to take this? - >> it's better to cut it in half. >> any butter or anything on this before hand. >> a little tiny bit of melted

butter, and just brush that on the bread and you can fill that baked out a little bit. at 375. and then lay in precooked bacon. like this. and you just break your egg. >> thank you, i appreciate that. >> you put your egg right in the cup. >> and then it goes back in the oven? >> yep, salt and pepper. >> how long? >> just for about 20 minutes. >> upside down mushroom cutlets. >> you can have white button mushrooms, but they're very nice when they're sauteed in a little bit of butter. a little bit of cheese on each one. it makes a very nice good taste of mushrooms. but you can use mozzarella,

cheddar, a little bit of fresh tine. -- thyme. and look how it comes out. it's really pretty. >> now you can do this with cheese and mushrooms, but you can also do it with apples or pears or nectar reigns. >> and we're going to show this beautiful dessert right here. >> live, local, late-breaking - this wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. it is 8:26 and let's get a final check and a morning commute. >> still some problems to watch for as you make your way around the area. route 3 ed davidson bill road, there is an accident. past 197 has an accident. if you are heading out at

greenwood and old court, there is a bus accident. there are lane closures in effect. at the delays on the west side and that is backing up traffic on southbound 795. 4 miles per hour on southbound 95 in the area of the white marsh exit. you are at 5 miles per hour on the topside of the beltway. pretty heavy on the harrisburg expressways. 30 minutes on the outer loop northeast side and 20 minutes on the west side. here is a live look outside. 70 is experiencing delays in the eastbound direction toward the beltway which is typical. northbound is backed up approaching 395 into town. >> good morning. the weather is nice and quiet. it is a little on the poolside and temperatures are in the upper 50's in the suburbs. it will warm up quickly as we had through the morning.

it will be a nice afternoon with mostly sunny skies and temperatures between 76 and 81 degrees and sunset is at 7:15. a chance for a shower or thunderstorm tomorrow afternoon with a high near 81. there will be rain early friday but it looks like it will be a nice weekend with temperatures md-80's. >> thank you and thank you for joining us.

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. 8:30 now on this wednesday morning, the 15th of september, 2010. our lovely morning here in the heart of midtown manhattan and we have got a great crowd soaking it all in. nice to see you guys.

just ahead, "today's" wedding couple together again, our groom just back from afghanistan, he and his wife have reunited last night for the first time after seven months. they're back together. we're going to review her wedding gown and the tux you all picked for them. and we're going to talk about the special bond between sisters. there's been a lot of research about this and she talks about how it can be sort of rewarding but also sort of trying especially when it comes to competition in school and sports. we're going to talk about the unique bond of sisterhood. >> apparently sisters more than perhaps sisters and brothers or brothers and brothers they talk. >> there was a recent study that found that sisters are less likely to feel feelings of loneliness as they get older. and that's apparently one of the

reasons. >> i do, you can borrow mine. >> how about if we're all sisters. what do you say? >> look at all these sisters behind you? >> she also could use a new car. jimmy schmidt is with us, he's back on nbc now in a new show, this one is called outlaw and he's going to be here in just a couple of minutes to tell us about it. >> he's a brooklyn boy. that's what counts, absolutely. >> stephanie abrams is filling in for al. >> we're celebrating an anniversary, but where's joey? i'm assuming at the bathroom. >> when nature calls what are you going to do? >> i told him it would happen if he left. >> he's running, where is he? where is he?

we'll get him on the other side of the weather. for the day "today," we are going to see the thunderstorms in the in the center of the country, otherwise nice in the east, the southeast and the southwest. but here comes joey. >> good morning. we are off to a nice, quiet start and a little on the cool side but it will warm up quickly as we go into the afternoon with mostly sunny skies with with mostly sunny skies with high temperatures in >> matt and meredith, back to you at the other end of the plaza. >> it's a very special morning because we're just 15 days away

from "today's" wedding. and finally here comes the goom. >> we weren't even sure this guy was real. jeremy gephart was stationed in afghanistan and he arrived back home and the two of you got to see each other for the first time last night. jeremy and melissa, good morning to both of you. what was it like seeing each other, jeremy? nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you guys, too. it's always nerve-racking when you get anxious and you can't sit still and you're ready to see her and you're ready to get things going again. so i was standing at the airport waiting and there she comes down the staircase. >> and you've been here doing all the heavy lifting. >> i have, yes. >> it must be nice to finally have him by your side at this point? >> yes, because we are getting married, not me. so, yeah, it's going to be great

now that he's here and we can share all of this stuff together. >> do you like what you have seen so far. >> i haven't seen that much, but so for it's beautiful. it's all happening so fast, it's just amazing so to see everything come together. >> you're going to be married in a few weeks, you'll learn that you like everything, that's the only answer. i know you haven't even a lot of it, but have you weighed in, decided what you like better than other things? >> it's just amazing to see all the soldiers and airmen voting and it's such a weird place and after they didn't see much after the ring just because i was in transit. but he was able to take care of everything here. >> she was this close to picking a lavender tux for you. do you want to do the honors?

>> i hate to do this to you so quickly after you got back. but you need to put this on. >> this is for the gown. >> you can't see the wedding gown. >> melissa, are you ready to see what you're going to be wearing on your special day? >> yes. >> come on out. it is dress number three. and the tux is the kenneth cole black label. it's classic, elegant, absolutely beautiful with the key hole in the back. >> i love it. i thought it was win that most looked like me and i think it's going to be perfect and i hope jeremy really likes it and i'm sure he will. >> we have to remind the audience, jeremy you're going to be wearing one of your air force outfits. do you think you're going to transfer into the tux. >> yes, for the reception. >> and you're going to look great. >> i think so, too.

you'll like it. >> any secret hand signals you just gave her? >> and you're going to have the blindfold on for another two weeks. >> most importantly, welcome home, it's nice to finally meet you, two weeks away. >> yes, i can't believe it. >> an awful lot happening in your young life in the last couple of weeks. melissa, very good to see you. >> and we're going to take a look at the bridesmaids's dresses. 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. "today's" wedding is brought to you by chevy, every model is backed by 100 sthourks mile, five-year power train warranty. >> we are back with more of our

series modern love. melissa and jeremy are together again stateside, we just revealed what they will be wearing on their big day. now we'll reveal what their bride's maids will be wearing. this is very exciting because the bride's maids dressings are going to be modeled by your real bride's maids. we have a lot of dresses here. the first category is called effortless romance. katelynn, come on out. katelynn is a high school friend of melissa and the little flower girl is ashley. >> she's wearing the romantic and the ruffle and the flower detail and then the flower girl, a matching lavender dress and really pretty bodice. coordinated with the bride's maid dress colors is a really fun way to go.

>> very romantic and vereally, really pretty. up next, a modern twist, let's bring out alexis, who has known melissa things they were kids. and your real flower girl for the wedding, abigail. now who is abby? >> abby is my little cousin. >> to make that strap into anything, it could be a halter, it could be a strapless. it can go 15 different ways. and then the flower girl dress, something also modern and the flowers on the bodice can be matched to the color of your bride's maid's dress. >> abigail, are you excited? >> yes. >> thank you, you both look absolutely beautiful. >> okay, we're going from a

modern twist. remind t remi remind -- the next is fun and flirty. this is your sorority sister along with flower girl merrill. this is a higher hem line, strapless and of course the flower girl dress is completely fun. she's going to be twirling all night long on the dance floor. >> a lot of brides are selecting dresses for the bridesmaids off the rack. >> when you have bridesmaids from all across the country, it's better to select them off the rack. >> and lastly, this is an old

hollywood look, and another sorority sister coming out. >> this one, the old hollywood glamour, it's a vintage dress all the way, with the hair and the lips are red, and the flower girl dress, this looks like a classic movie. >> and you can just paint it up with silk flowers. >> and the bridesmaid, that could be a halter top too, right? >> you can make it a halter top or even a one shoulder if you want to make it a little more modern. >>l let's get a last look at al of these dresses and the flower girls. i want to remind the audience to vote for your favorite dresses

at todayshow.com or facebook.com/"today"show. we're going to check in on our comments and you can also text in your votes to 622639. one for romance, 2 for modern test, 3 and 4. melissa and jeremy, can you follow me for a second, i want to show you something. you know that chevy, chevy is actually sponsoring this wedding series. >> okay. >> and this year they were just incredibly moved by you guys, by your story, your love for each other. you kind of get why i'm leading you here? take a look at this car, what do you think? >> it's beautiful. >> it's actually a chevy equinox fully loaded.

when you get back home, you pick the color. so if you want the lavender that you can't get for yourself, you can get it in the car. we're very grateful to chevy for doing it. >> that's a lot for you to handle in one day. oh, my gosh. >> woe will be back right after this.

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.

"today's" family is brought to you by quaker. back at 8:47 and this morning on "today's" family, the sisterhood gone. so we asked, the powers women to talk about growing up in a family of five sisters. >> our household was the

krasiest, most noisy house that i was ever in. we didn't fight over a lot of things, but we shared everything from a bed to toothbrushes and socks. we became known as the girls with the mismatched knee socks. the hardest part about having sisters at an early age was just trying to find your own space. we are vying for our mother's attention. >> growing up we all realized what the order was, we knew who was in charge and it was all ann. >> we all adored the baby. >> in my opinion, i was sort of the one that they had to be with, but they didn't really want to be with, although they tell it differently now. i was the one that was relegated to the bathroom when we played house and nobody would come to visit me. >> while very different, we're similar in a lot of ways, but we

all understand what makes the other one different and so we know how to respond when there's an issue or a problem. >> everybody shares everybody's news, it might filter through the phone lines a little bit, you only want someone to know about your secret for a little while but it eventually gets out to the other four. >> my sisters are the thing i'm really the most proud of and i know that it's something that other people envy and every day i'm really thankful to have them in my life. >> her new book is called "you were always mom's favorite" sisters in conversation throughout their lives. children who have sisters were less likely than those without sisters to experience feelings of loneliness, being in love, guilt or also fear. this is backed up by your research. >> it seems to be about talk,

sisters who have sisters and brothers, they send to talk to the sisters more and they talk at greater length. and that's what studies show throughout life. >> nevertheless, we hear from so many sisters the talk about competition and it's really difficult sometimes for sisters not to feel competitive. what is your best advice based on all your research about that. >> one said, you know, i talked to mom twice yesterday and the other one said, well, i talked to her once but we had a better conversation. i think the competition is always there. but you can be good humored about it. the competition is really created by the same aspects of the relationship. so give you another example, another woman who has lost a lot of weight and everyone said how great she looked and her sister told her, you know, you're losing too much weight, your collarbones stick out. it's sister speak, maybe she's the only one telling the truth

when no one else would. and maybe there's an element of competition. >> some are mothers and some of them have more than one daughter and so what responsibility, what advice would you give to others based on all your research to sort of encourage a good relationship, a strong sisterhood bond if in fact this research is saying that it can be so useful as they grow up to make them happier people? >> fighting with kids does not mean you're not going to be close growing up. but the kids are always vying for attention, so if you can have attention to each individual child, that can be a good thing. it can be very tempting to make the oldest sister into almost another mother and the oldest one, there's often more photographs of her, younger ones can tell you that. and i think if you can just try to avoid that as much as possible then the older one doesn't later feel resentment,

you can't tell me what to do, you're not my mother. >>

returning to the small screen on nbc's new drama, it's called outlaw. the supreme court justice who quits the bench to return to private practice. take a look. >> you broke the law.

>> if there was misconduct, the defense had 11 years to find out. it doesn't mean we get to change the rules to get a new trial. >> cut the cards. the ace of spades. >> following the rules. doesn't always lead to justice. >> how do you do that? nice to see you. this isn't your first rodeoers you have done a lot of tv. >> been around the block. >> you don't need to pad your resume. why did you want to do this? >> basically character driven stuff. the guy's got a lot of chinks in the armor. and the story is because he was on one of the highest courts and turns his back on everything to start practicing again t cases that he deals with are

substantive. >> people are turning in to see former supreme court justice, he's got a gambling problem. >> he's got a few things happening. he comes to the courtroom certainly with a certain p certainly -- >> like on this show, the scams. >> in the book it means that you're in on the ground floor in terms of what's going is to be out there. >> all the good and the bad too. >> you had a big night in washington last night. you handed out awards last night. give us a brief rundown. >> it's a scholarship foundation for kids who are interested in the arts. >> and we wanted more importantly than anything else. >> mom's 80th birthday.

>> and she's where watching this right now? >> she's in brooklyn. >> great having you, you can catch the premier of outlaw tonight at 10:00, 9:00 central00 >> live, local, late-breaking - this wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. it is 8:55. let's look at the results of the primary elections. with 100% of precincts reporting, the democratic nomination is secured for baltimore city attorney. no official winner has been declared. the race for the democratic nomination for baltimore county executive is on the line. bob early -- bob ehrlich set up a rematch of the 2006 governor's race against martin o'malley. race against martin o'malley. we're

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. >> let's take a look at your forecast. definitely. >> good morning. we are off to a nice quiet start and still a little bit on the cool side but it will warm up quickly this afternoon. mostly sunny skies with temperatures between 76 and 81 degrees. scattered thunderstorms are possible tomorrow afternoon. we certainly could use a little rain. the high temperature will be near 81 and rain early friday and will clear up and it looks like a nice weekend. the temperatures this weekend should be in the 80's. >> thank you for joining us. we will have

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.