good morning. terror alert. the state department tells americans traveling to europe to be on guard because of growing concerns about terrorist attacks by al qaeda that could be in the works. did he go too far? a florida father faces up to 120 years behind bars for confronting his daughter's alleged bullies on a school bus. would you have done the same thing? "today" that man and his daughter speak out. and new images of those 33 trapped miners in chile, reveals the remarkable way they spend their time waiting for rescue

the remarkable way they spend their time waiting for rescue "today," october 4, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. >> when the state department issues a travel alert, it's not typically to places like the united kingdom and france and that's what makes this new advisory rare. >> but it is short on specifics. it was just issued days after intelligence reports indicated a credible threat of potential terror attacks in western europe. we're going to get the latest on the develops story just ahead. also a day of fun on their jet skis when tragedy struck, a 911 call made by a woman moments before her husband was shot by pirates. and news you can really news, how long would it take your family to get to a safe

place if your home suddenly caught fire? how much longer would you need if that fire occurred in the dead of night. we'll put one family to the test and they will help us all learn an important lesson about how crucial it is to have an escape plan in place. and more on that alert for americans traveling in europe. jim maceda is here with the latest. >> reporter: it's been five years since the last major attack here but american travelers are finding out that terrorism in europe is not history. for americans traveling abroad, europe has suddenly gotten more dangerous. >> i'll just keep my eyes open and hopefully things will work out. >> we're just going to be a little bit cautious now getting on the train. >> reporter: they're worried about the rare travel advisory issued on sunday that americans be on their guard. as european intelligence in recent weeks suggest that terrorists could be preparing a coordinated attack in germany,

the uk and elsewhere. but the warning references no specific threat. >> i think the draw to come and see beautiful, ancient history is more important than the worry of terrorist threats. >> reporter: still much of europe has heightened its terrorist threat level after a convergence of troubling reports. here in great britain, rumor of a so-called mumbai style plot that killed 170 three years ago. in france, rumors that a north african al qaeda affiliate has smuggled a female in. and officials are still assessing the credibility of an afghan man captured by u.s.

soldiers in kabul and talk to u.s. agents. this man says that bin laden himself helped finance a terrorism plot against major u.s. cities. >> it's very nonspecific, but it's trying to raise awareness of international terrorism that threatens parts of the u.s. as well as western europe. >> reporter: for now american europes are staying vij jept. and today police arrested a man at a train center the paris. so far there's no days that he's part of a larger terrorist plot. >> tom coughlin is a terrorism expe

expert. we have got a terror alert issued by the state department which falls short of a terror warning which would have warned americans not to travel to certain countries. based on what you're hearing there and what you know, does that go far enough. >> i think it does for the moment, the threat level here in britain is severe. the protection to the royal family has been stepped up. the protection for all senior politicians has also been increaseded. basically the intelligence services here in london and elsewhere in europe have picked up indications that al qaeda is trying to carry out these mumbai style attacks throughout europe. the intelligence they picked up shows that people in pakistan are traveling around europe trying to get people going. >> but tom, let me go book, because based on what you just said, i want to go back to my first question, if in britain the threat level has been raised from general to high and the british government is warning british citizens to avoid places

like france or germany or be careful there, does it make any sense that considering that britain and the u.s. share intelligence so much, that the u.s. wouldn't do something similar? >> quite. and i think that the americans have given advise to the hundreds of thousands of americans traveling around europe. but it's so much impossible to prevent these attacks if you've got these low intensity terror cells that just want to pick up a gun and start shooting people. so it's a very difficult one to thwart. >> if you look at the mumbai style attack on 2008. on the one hand you would think it might be easier to attack because you've got a lot more people who have to go out and act in a coordinated fashion. >> the problem is when they have tried to do something

sophisticated by the heathrow terror plot of 2006, the plot has been exposed and the perpetrators jailed. but the challenge of the security service and intelligence services in europe is if they just want to do these low intensity attacks, it becomes far more harder to stop them. if they want to cook up a bomb in their kitchen orpik up a gun and shoot one, that's far more difficult to stop. >> this chatter that officials seem to be detecting, do you think that's directly connected with what we're hearing of increased reports of inkresed activity of u.s. drones on the border of pakistan and afghanistan? >> they're all linked. my intelligence tells me that the reason this threat's been raised is that the british and the americans have picked up telephone communications between terror cells suggesting that they want to carry out these

sort of attacks. the americans are responsible for putting the drones in. part of the reason this hasn't happened is because of a success fll drone strike which killed quite a few of the terrorists involved in this plot. >> if you were advisinging americans in particular about travel to europe, what would your advice be. >> i just think you need to be very careful. if you're in a public place and somebody's acting suspiciously, i would report it. but we can't let the terrorists dictate our lives and people need to get on with their plans and just be a lot more vigilant. >> thank you so much for your time, i appreciate it. it's 7:08, now here's amy. >> now to politics and mounting pressure on both parties with just four weeks to go until the crucial november elections. >> well, if we're less than a

month until election day, we're at that point in the campaign where every day feels like a week to the actual candidate, the white house isn't just focused on trying to save its own democratic candidate, they're actually preparing for election day. >> reporter: president obama returned to washington from camp david late sunday after a weekend when the campaigning heated up coast to coast. >> it's time to stand together, fight together and we will win together. >> key democratic groups tried to rally their weekend march on the national mall. in california, the campaign for governor had taken a nasty turn and republican meg whitman faced candidate jerry brown. bro whitman has on the defense about when her housekeeper was in this country illegally. whitman fired here in 2009, claiming that sh's when she found out. diaz claimed she knew long

before then. whitman and her his says they did nothing wrong. >> you and your surrogates put her deportation at risk, you put her out there and you should be ashamed for sacrificing nicky diaz for your political ambitions. >> don't run for governor if you can't stand up on your two feet and say, hey, i made a mistake, i'm sorry, let's go on in here. >> you blame her, blame me, blame the unions, but you don't tech responsibility. >> whitman has boosted advertising an radio ads in just the last couple of days. the first high profile tea party winner of 2010, republican rand paul -- paul played down his insurgent reputation saying he supported fellow kentuckian

mitch mcconnell. >> i think mitch mcconnell will be the majority leader again. for his part conway tried to distance himself from his own party's leader. >> i'm a democrat, i'm certainly not going to be to the left of barack obama, i'm going to put kentucky first. >> reporter: as for the white house, the president isn't done shaking up his team. rahm emanuel is already campaigning in chicago. robert gibbs is trying to figure out what he's going to do next and there's some speculation he might take over the democratic national committee as he would be the spokesperson there during the startup of the presidential campaign. >> amount of movement. let us go over to the news desk right now, ann's on assignment and we have got nbc's willie geist over there at the news desk. willie, nice having you here. the supreme court begins a

new term with a new woman the bench. >> one of the most prominent cases actually comes this week involving highly controversial protests at military funerals. it's one of two that tests the protections of the first amendment. the court has ask to decide if it's protected speech when protesters show up at the funerals of u.s. service members killed in the line of duty. >> i'm preaching to this godless nation that you have departed from the lord. and god is going to punish you severely. and that's what's going on over there in iraq. >> reporter: when they turned up at the funeral of mathieu schneider, a marine who died in iraq, they carried signs saying "god hates you" and "thank god for dead soldiers." his father says that's no place

to stage a protest. >> it's a funeral. that's what people seem to be forgetting about this whole thing, it's a funeral for god's sake. >> reporter: another challenges california's law that restricts the sale of violent video games. the makers say the games are protected free expression like movies or comic books with parents already in control. >> they're aware of what games their kids are playing and they have a perfect right to make those decisions, the state should stay out of it. >> reporter: as for elena kagan she'll be sitting out on about a third of the cases presented because she worked on those cases. this morning for the third day in a row, tankers carrying fuel to u.s. and nato forces in afghanistan were attacked in

pakistan. at rutgers university, a vigil for tyler clementi, an 18-year-old freshman who committed suicide after a sexual encounter with another man was streamed on line by his roommates. verizon is being fined $90 million forrism proper web access. most customer also get credits on their october or november bills. play resumes "today" in the ryder cup with the u.s. trailing europe. heavy rain over the weekend. perhaps the most amazing shot over the weekend was made not by a golfer, but by a photographer. look at this. mark payne was in the line of fire of one tiger woods. he snapped this incredible shot just before a ball hit by tiger hit the photographer's camera. that's the white blob in the middle of your screen. it bounced off the photographer's chest and came to

rest at his feet. tiger had to play from right ther

>> thanks, al. good morning, everyone. i'm tony pann. a breezy, wet, and chilly start this monday morning. rain showers with us off and on all day today. won't be a steady rain, it will be off and on, but around through this evening high temperature only in the upper 50's. authorities in texas are renewing warnings about pirates terrorizing boaters on the u.s.-mexican border. an american was shot and killed when they were ambushed there.

janet, an incredible story, good morning. >> reporter: it sure is, matt, good morning to you, i'm standing at the edge of the lake that straddles the u.s.-mexico border which has been turning into something of a war zone. the attacks have been happening here would soon turn deadly, which it now appears they v it was a perfect day on falcon lake, or so thought tiffany and david hartley, one moment zipping along on jet skis, the next they were under attack by a barrage of bullets, as tiffany described in that frantic call to 911. >> are you sure your husband got shot? >> yes, in his head. >> okay, was he thrown out of the jet ski that he's in the water with? >> reporter: tiffany hartley was forced to leave her husband's body behind, she says as gunmen

on three boats now targeted her. the falcon lake reservoir is a unique body of water. the u.s.-mexico border runs right through the middle of it. tiffany admits they were on the violence plagued mexican side. >> there's markers right here, that's what signifies to sports men that they were on the u.s. side or the mexico side. >> wardens took nbds out on falcon lake recently after a surge of violence by drug cartels including the atented robbery of a san antonio doctor. >> two of the people stood up and started waiving machine-guns at me, kind of pointing them at me going, hey, hey, pull over, pull over. >> reporter: rick escaped, but the sheriff predicted that it was only a matter of time when

somebody doesn't. >> a vortex of violence with a husband and wife caught in the cross fire, as the border wars wash closer to home. authorities have not been able to recover david hartley's body because it is on the mexico side of the lake where they say they have no jurisdiction. meanwhile tiffany hartley scheduled a news conference to talk about what happened to her husband and then abruptly canceled it, family members say because she feared for her own safety. >> janet shanlian in texas this morning. we appreciate it. it's now 19 minutes after the hour, here's amy. >> there's now hope this morning that those chilean miners might be rescued sooner. >> reporter: today marks day 6 5 these men have been trapped

under ground. the chileans are working with three different countries, americans, from canada and from south africa. the south african are the closest, 396 feet away from the men. the bad news is their drill bit is so dull it's not making any progress, they have had to pull it out and they won't be able to resume drilling until wednesday. which means the american team is most likely to get to them first perhaps as early as late this week. if you imagine a living hell in a sealed tube more than 800 feet under the ground, the video looks different. the 33 trapped miners have developed an exclusive society, they're clean shavened. they're working eight hour shifts mostly working with heavy machinery. one man's anxiety for his two children trapped down below is tempted by the anticipation of a rescue any day now.

to better understand what miners here face every day, alphonso and his brother invited me to join them deep in another mine. this gold mine shut down a year ago. >> what is it like for you coming in here? >> translator: it's difficult for me. >> because your trirn are trapped. >> reporter: we carefully crossed a 30-degree slope. we walked just under a mile when alphonso tells me for the first time in his mining career he feels nervous in here. will you let your children go back into the mine after this? he says, i don't think so. it goes without saying when you're this deep into a mine, the only light you have is the light you bring. we're about 600 feet here, and the surprise is how warm it is, it's about 80 degrees. the trapped miners are not only in slightly warmer conditions,

but the condition is at about 80%. the most frustrating part of this says alphonso, not being able to dig. every day the trapped miners are removing about 20 tons of rock, debris that's collapsing in and around them as the drill bits get that much closer. with one of three escape pods now ready to go, there's a growing sense a happy ending is year. so this is the side of the hole that they're drilling down to them. those escape pods will suck the men up through here. the question that has yet to be answered, will they put a pole down to make it easier for that's cape pod to come up or will they forego this and just drop it down and just bring them up. they haven't figured that out yet, they'll probably do some tests. what would you have done? a father storms on to a school

bus and confronts his daughter's alleged bully. we will talk to that dad and hear from his daughter for the first time. but first this is "today" on nbc.

coming up a state trooper who hit and killed two girls while on duty has received workers comp.. plus would your children know what to do if a fire broke out in your home in the middle of the night? an important lesson for your entire family. forty-six. alright, yeah ok. here you go. you don't understand, slick. we're here for the party. whoo! yeah, that's cute! [ laughing ] put your hand down.

>> good morning, everybody. i'm stan stovall. 7-26. time for a check of the morning commute. yes, the roads are wet. yes, they're messy. >> yes, you're absolutely right. it is a mess out there, and it has been sense early this morning. we've been dealing with delays on the southbound harrisburg expressway from right around shewan road down to the beltway. that's due to an earlier tractor-trailer accident, 13 miles per hour through that

stretch. all lanes are open. pulaski highway at rossville boulevard, an accident there at that intersection. there's also a traffic light out because there's a pole knocked out. 13 miles per hour on average from the area of white marsh all the way down toward the 895 split. 8 miles per hour on the northeast outer loop. inner loop delays over toward 95. on the west side, 15 miles per hour on average through that stretch, top to bottom. and southbound 795 backed up from owings mills down to the beltway. another accident just coming in to us at hawkins point. let's give you a quick live look outside and show you that things are very congested on the west side. the rain certainly not helping matters this morning. give yourself plenty of extra time. let's switch over to a leave view on the harrisburg expressway at warren road. this is the pace of things, again, all the way down to the beltway. that's the latest on traffic pulse 11. tony, over to you. >> good morning, everyone. obviously the rain is the problem this morning. give yourself a few extra minutes if you can. it's not heavy rain, but enough to slow things down. the heavier stuff, if you want to call it that, is across

portions of carroll and frederick counties and into the western part of baltimore county. but just light rain and sprinkles around the beltway and even dry patches on the eastern shore counties. this is not going to be a steady rain for us. it will be off and on through the day today. the forecast, off and on showers, otherwise cloudy and cool with high temperatures only in the upper 50's. right now, it's near 50, so take a jacket with you. same forecast almost tuesday and wednesday. we'll drop the chance for rain down to 30% though, and then it will warm up as we head into next weekend with highs in the 70's. stan? >> tony, thank you. and thank you for joining us. be sure to check the bottom of the screen for updated news and traffic information. we're back at 7:55 with another live update.

two governors, two different approaches. even in good times bob ehrlich didn't make education a priority. he increased college tuition by 40%, cut school construction by $200 million, and ehrlich voted to eliminate the department of education while serving in congress. but in the toughest of times, martin o'malley has made record investments in public schools, new school construction, and o'malley froze college tuition four years in a row. with martin o'malley, our children always come first.

it's monday morning, the 4th of august, 2010. it was a pretty nice weekend, some spots had sun, some spots had rain, but we have got a great crowd outside on the plaza. inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer longside amy robach. and just ahead the father who stormed on to that school bus and confronted the students he believed were harassing his daughter. a lot of people have seen this tape and ask themselves would i

have done the same thing? we're going to talk to that father and hear from his daughter for the first time when they speak out in a live interview. should a former state trooper who was on duty chatting on the phone moments before he killed two young sisters in a head-on collision receive workers compensation? he thinks so. and that has the mother of his victims upset. also ahead a warning to homeowners about the recent increase in mortgage fraud cases. details on that coming up. obviously a lot of people taking advantage of bad situations. but let's begin with that florida father who lashed out at his daughter's alleged bullies on a school bus. we'll talk to the family in a moment. but first how their story unfolded. >> reporter: on a school bus in suburban orlando, a father's fury caught on a security camera. >> my daughter has to get on this [ bleep ] bus. >> james jones, a 43-year-old private first class in the army was arrested and charged with

disorderly conduct and disturbing a school function. >> tell me which one. tell me which one. >> jones admitted his temper got the best of his when he unleashed a tirade on some boys he claims were bullying his 12-year-old daughter who has cerebral palsy. a father's temper used to protect the daughter he loves. >> i was very much -- out of character for me. but my daughter, i still love her and i support her. >> jones alleges boys on the bus smacked his daughter on the back of the head, twisted her ear and shouted ruds comments. school officials say he never complained to them that his daughter was being harassed.

the national center for education statistics say 25% of all students are bullied. but among kids with disabilities say 85% are targeted. >> whether it's getting mad or getting scared or getting angry, they're providing a response that makes the person bullying feel in power and in control. >> james says he's not going to let his daughter become a target. we are joined exclusively now by shatari jones and james jones. james you have said, look, i apologize, i stepped over a line on that bus, i shouldn't have done what i did. when you see the tape, though, and it takes you back to that moment, what goes through your mind? >> a lot of hurt and stuff go through my mind, but that's my

daughter and at that time i was going to do that, no matter what? >> did you weigh out the risk-reward? did you say okay i may stop the bullying "toda ining today if it bus, but i may actually cause shatari problems down the road? did you think about that? >> no, when i got into that situation, my daughter finally tells me what's going on on this bus, i'm thinking i'm going to talk to the bus driver, that's my initial attempt. i'm seeing this bus coming 20 minutes late, people are just yelling and arguing and hanging out the window. >> this was chaos on the bus. you could see there was a problem with control on the bus as soon as the bus pulled up? >> no control. and i'm like how i am going to put my daughter standing here crying on the bus. >> it was the day before that you told your mom for the first time that you didn't want to go on the bus. did you see a change in

attitude? >> she was disinterested in everything because shatari likes to dabble in cooking and she didn't want to do those things, and she didn't want to go to school and we were just in the erm part of school. >> if this had been happening, did you stop and think about should i tell my parents? will i be seen as a tattle teal? how long did you worry about this. >> a week before it started. >> and what made you finally decide it was right to tell your mom? >> because if i don't tell her now, it will happen. >> because it was getting worse. >> were you afraid it was just going to get worse and worse?

>> yes. >> what kinds of things were they doing on the bus. >> they would call me names. . >> we would all as parents love to wrap our children in a big bubble and protect them from everything. but we can't do it. and at some point you have to see. i love my daughter, i love my kids. i love my family. we're going to stop this bully

we're just drying to help other kids, because other kid will see my kid suffering and they don't even know the pain we're going through. this has turned my whole world upside down. >> after this happened, it wasn't over on that bus, you got back to the house and then the news crews showed up and the police showed up. and shatari, i know you were very upset about all of this, and actually you decided to hospitalize? >> i was at work and my wife notified me that shatari had seen the tapes and she told her mom she needed to go somewhere and my wife notified me and we put her in the hospital under stress and now she's out and we're hopeful and stuff again. >> shatari, you haven't been back to school. do you hope to go back soon? do you want to go back? is it more difficult now? >> i don't want to go back. >> would you get on that bus again? do you think it would be different? >> yeah.

but i would like to get on the bus again. >> natalee, how here's are the charges that james is facing? >> james is facing second-degree misdemeanor charges, that's the lowest charge we have in florida. he could spend some jail time and for a family that is living paycheck to paycheck, this will devastate the family. >> i think i want to talk to deborah and joiames, the good ns is that she eventually told you. there are other situations with bullying and unfortunately we have covered far too many of them on the show where a child says nothing and suffers in silence and then we read a terrible headline. >> but there's another thing about this, some kids out there that are going to school, can't tell their parents at all, their parents are single parents, me and my wife love each other that we were sticking by her. there's some parent who is don't

even see their kids from the time they go to work until the time they come home and the kids don't even get a chance to tell them. there's where we need to step up and say, this is my kid and i'm going to find out what's going on. even if they're on up there in age. >> you can't wrap your children in bubbles, but how do you protect her from now on? >> i'm going to ask any questions, you know, get involved, you know, and we can sit down and have dinner and stuff like that, definitely. >> james and shatari and deborah and natalee. thanks very much. a little on the raw side out here, got some drizzle, cool temperatures and chilly winds, and as we take a look at the week ahead, it's going to be hanging around, below normal temperatures as well wet

weather, unfortunately the heavy rain also hangs around the northeast. we have got thundershowers out west and less than the latter part of the week, we have got more rain out west, those above normal temperatures stay hanging tough in the midwest on into the plains. >> good morning, everyone. i'm tony pann. give yourself a couple of extra minutes this morning. rain showers will be with us off and on all day today. it's going to be breezy and kind of chilly. the average high temperature is 72. we're only going to make it we're only going to make it into the upper 50's. >> and don't forget you can check your -- up next, the startling rise in mortgage fraud cases, how to

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[ female announcer ] new kellogg's fiber plus cereal®. positively delicious. back at 7:44 on "today's" real estate. with more than 8 million mortgages behind on their payments, and people struggling to make their payments, scams are up. this is a huge problem, it's estimated to cost between 4 billion and $6 billion annually and right away you want people to know how they're being targeted. it can be based on your geographic location and any

personal information you have that's been made public. >> most personal information is already public, including just a late foreclosure notice and many of these scam artists purchase whole lists of neighborhoods where everybody is behind on their pavements. >> and you have a list of top mortgage fraud states. you have been saying that florida has been particularly hard hit. >> florida is one of the highest states in the nation to have foreclosures, so that's a nice, juicy target for those scam artists but there are many states trout the whole country that are being hit by scam artists. >> the first one you say is the rent to buy setup. what's problematic about that. >> this one is the most clever one, it's the most common one that you hear about. in this scenario someone approaches you and offers to give you a bailout on the house, but you have to sign over the deed to them. they say to you, i'm going to rent the house to you and you can buy it back at a cheap

price, the same cheap price i bought it for. what happens is they raise the rent, the rent is too high, you can't afford it back and you get evicted as a tennant. >> you also try to protect yourself by consulting a lawyer and don't sign a sales contract where you're formally released from your mortgage. >> a lot of people will sign over the deed to their house and not think about what about the mortgage? you need a piece of paper in the bank that says your mortgage has been forgiven. >> the next one you say is a bait and switch tactic, it involves refinancing and then misleading title transfers. >> someone approaches you and says i'll get you a great deal on refinancing, sign here, but what the paper really is a transfer of title. >> and you say don't sign anything with blank spaces, what else should you be looking for when you're looking to sign something? >> you should really consult an attorney, a lot of people think

i don't have the money for it. but many advocates provide legal advice, just have an attorney look over the documents. >> phantom help or upfront fees. who do people need to know? >> they should know that they the only thing that's legal is an appraisal fee for the house. but when someone approaches you like an angel in the night and suggests that they're going to settle all your problems. >> and next is misleading fixed rates, this is another area where people need to be careful. i would think fixed rates means people need to be careful. >> when you look at the detailed print, they actually refixed to a higher rate. >> barbara corcoran, always great advice. and you'll be back we should mention later on this morning to answer viewer e-mails about mortgage fraud. so if you have a question, you can go to our website and send it in. coming up, wild and wacky

reasons why some people dial 911, right after this.

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choosey moms, choose jif. as parents, we teach your children to dial 911 in times of trouble. but apparently not all grown ups seem to understand what constitutes an emergency. nbc's michelle kosinski is in florida to explain this to us. >> reporter: there might be some lessons to be learned here, and here's broward county florida,

their 911 center gets 2.5 million calls every year. by some estimates half of those are not emergencies at all and then there's the percentage of those that simply defy explanation. like you just never know when an emergency will strike. >> i want chicken nuggets and they don't have chicken nuggets. >> everyone's definition of an emergency is different. >> i need a ride. to the liquor store.

[ no audio ] >> the list goes on. >> my toilet's overflowing, what do i do? >> i need to know how to make meatballs. >> april mcgill has fielded calls you can't even imagine here in broward county for 14 years. >> i was like, um. >> seven years of which are some degree of this. >> she's spitting in my ear. >> she's trying to force me to eat something that the i don't want. >> and this is what happened. >> what are some definite no, nos, like if it involves your toilet? >> your toilet, your turkey.

>> i know you didn't seriously think that the police need to come to make sure you get your food? >> that's not an emergency. even if your lunch break is only 30 minutes, that is not an emergency. i am so sorry. >> thanks for telling us. will people ever learn? >> i believe they will. i have hope. >> yes. >> nationwide, there are 240 million calls placed to 911 ever year and there's no real data on how many of those are not emergencies or nonsense calls. but of course the problem is that while you're calling in about your toe stuck in a jar or a menacing rabbit in your yard, some people are calling in with an emergency kind of emergency. >> michelle, thank you very much. good lesson to learn, we're back right after this. stery to me. i found out that connected to our muscles are nerves that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain.

lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and with less pain, i can do more of what matters to me. [ female announcer ] lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior or any swelling or affected breathing, or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. i found answers about fibromyalgia. then i found lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. i'd get this tightness in my chest. so i went back to my doctor again. we chose symbicort to help control my asthma symptoms all day and night. [ man ] symbicort improves my lung function, starting within 15 minutes. symbicort will not replace a rescue inhaler

for sudden symptoms. it is a combination of two medicines and should not be taken more often than prescribed. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems, and children and adolescents may have an increased risk of being hospitalized for asthma problems. symbicort is not for people whose asthma is well controlled with a long-term asthma control medicine like inhaled corticosteroids. once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop symbicort without loss of control, and prescribe a long-term asthma control medicine. be sure to see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. symbicort is a good choice to help control my asthma all day and night. [ inhales ] [ exhales ] ask your doctor if symbicort is a good choice for you. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help.

>> good morning, everybody. i'm stan stovall. 7:56, we've got some backups you need to know about this morning. here's sarah caldwell with traffic pulse 11. >> hi there, stan. good morning, everyone. delays just about everywhere you travel this morning. the latest is southbound 895. at a crawl approaching the harbor tunnel. all southbound lanes blocked due to a disabled vehicle. hopefully that will be out of there shortly. but for now, expect delays. take the fort mchenry as your alternate. let's see what else is going on. a live view on the harrisburg expressway as we continue to recover from an earlier tractor-trailer accident. these delays stretch back to

down to the beltway. it's going to be a while before that filters out. bel air road at more i've i can't road, an accident. heavy delays approaching white marsh down to the 895 split. northeast outer loop, still jammed. same thing for the west side outer loop. that delay stretches all the way down the west side to edmondson. southbound 795, backups coming out of owings mills. traveling at hawkins point, watch for an accident. and your drive time is heaviest on the west side, 35 minutes to get through that stretch. let's go over to tony now for a check on the forecast. not too pretty out there, tony. >> good morning, everyone. we have a little bit of rain to contend with. it's not heavy rain, but obviously enough to slow down the drive time, so give yourself a couple of extra minutes. scattered light rain showers popping up here on h.d. doppler radar from baltimore city all the way into the western suburbs. heaviest stuff is in the northern part of frederick county right now. it's just scattered sprinkles on the eastern shore. the forecast, off and on rain showers. we'll call it cloudy and cool. temperatures are near 50 right now. we're only going to make it into the upper 50's this

afternoon. 30% chance for showers on tuesday and wednesday with chilly temps t. gets much better at the end of the week. >> tony, thank you. back at 8:25 with another live update. bob ehrlich's real record on energy. lobbyists helped write utility regulations. we got stuck with a 72% rate hike. but martin o'malley got tough on bge, forcing them to pay back $2 billion to consumers. and what's bob ehrlich been doing the past four years? he got paid $2.5 million at a lobbying firm, a firm representing special interests and casinos right here in maryland. that's bob ehrlich-- a 72% increase for us and $2.5 million from special interests for himself. nice work, bob. i need a home performance with energy star audit. this sensor will show why my living room gets too hot and

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we're back now, it's k4r8 on a monday morning, it's the fourth day of october 2010. 53 degrees, a little rain in the air, a little wind going on as well. the good news is if you like this kind of weather, you're going to love the first part of this week. >> amy robach is here along with al roker. this is something that families have to think about, what would

happen in the terrible event that you had a fire in your home? how long would it take your family to get out to safety, what would happen if that fire took place in the middle of the night. we're going to have some important information for you that can really help save you in the event of a tragedy. and an illinois state trooper who pleaded guilty to reckless homicide after killing two young sisters in a high speed accident filed for workers compensation. with will talk to the outraged mother. we love it when whoppie goldberg stops by. things just annoy whoppie, just really annoying. >> things that fly up -- >> yeah. >> all that stuff. ann is on assignment this morning, we're happy to have willie geist join us at the news desk with all the headlines. "todatoday japan joined the

united states and britain. security officials feel al qaeda or others may be planning terrorist attacks at tourist sites or at transit centers. police say at least five people were killed overnight by gunmen who set fire to about 20 fuel trucks. sma smaller attacks took place this morning. a candle light vigil was held last night at rut kgers university to remember tyler clementi. rutgers' president calling the tragedy a chance to reaffirm the school's commitment to compassion and respect. at least four people were killed sunday and 13 injured when a church van rolled over in southern georgia. police say the driver may have lost control when the van blew a

tire. a 5-year-old boy was found safe in a soybean field nearly 24 hours after he wandered away from home. hundreds of volunteers took part in that successful search. msnbc's melissa franzen is at the new york stock exchange. home. >> also bank of america has suspended foreclosures in 21 states, they say they want to review the procedures and make sure they're doing them probably. gmac has already done the same. it's predicted that 1.2 million homes will go into foreclosure this. >> melissa, thanks so much. the social network had lots of trends over the weekend. the film about the founding of

facebook took in $20 million. legend of the guardians was second, wall street money never sleeps was third. let's get a check of the weather from al. >> it's your first anniversary. chris and sarah, your 30th? let's check your weather amend see what's happening, pick city "today," eau claire, wisconsin, 61-degrees. and on this satellite radar, you can see the showers moving to the northeast. also got an upper level low pressure system bringing showers out there. from dakotas all the way down to texas, sunny skies

>> good morning, everyone. worry off to a rainy start on this monday, breezy, kind of chilly. the rain will be with us off and on all day today. >> and that's your latest weather. coming up next, would you want the man who killed your daughters in a high speed accident to receive workers compensation for his injuries? one mother shares her painful story right after these messages. [ male announcer ] when it comes to energy bills, let's see how low we can go. let's do some little things... that help us save big. add some insulation here. a little weather stripping there. maybe an energy star-rated appliance, or two.

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and they worked with me to help me stay on track -- or sometimes, help me get on an even better one. woman: there you go, brian. thanks, guys. man: see ya. fidelity investments. turn here. ♪ but you're not sweet you hit on my friends ♪ ♪ i'm not your fool i won't just sit here and drool ♪ ♪ i'm tired of sharing you this is the end ♪ ♪ so i found a new love a natural true love ♪ ♪ that comes from a leaf green and bright ♪ ♪ zero-calorie, guilt-free no artificiality ♪ ♪ my soul sings with joy and delight ♪ ♪ its name is truvia i had no idea ♪ ♪ and i am loving every single bite ♪ [ announcer ] truvia. honestly sweet. that's at 8:09, an illinois state trooper who killed two teenaged sisters in a high speed

accident now wants workers compensation for injuries he sustained in that crash. this after he admitted to talk on the phone and sending e-mails while driving 100 miles an hour just moments earlier. we'll talk to the mother of the two girls killed in that accident. but first here's nbc's kevin tibbles. >> reporter: an indescribable tragedy. just hours earlier sisters jessica and kelly yule posted for this family picture. they were worried when they were laid coming home. >> a traffic accident never crossed my mind that a few hours later the illinois state troopers would be on my doorstep with the coroner and a clergyman. >> jessica 18 and kelly 13 were killed instantly, shocking details of the crash in southern illinois only compounded the grief. the vehicle that hit them was driven by an illinois state policeman. >> it just seemed to be one blow

after another. >> reporter: officer matt mitchell said he was traveling at speeds of 106 miles an hour responding to an emergency, but he also admitted that at the same time he was talking to his girlfriend on his personal cell phone and e-mailing on his police computer moments before impact. >> he's dishonored the uniform, he's dishonored law enforcement and he's undermined people's respect for the law. >> my daughters were killed by somebody who was sworn to protect and serve them. >> reporter: when the case went to criminal court, he pled guilty to reckless homicide, his license suspended, his badge taken away, but no jail time. justice two days after that guilty plea, mitchell refused to admit guilt in a civil case. >> he came and he testified and he said i'm not responsible for this accident, i only pled guilty because i couldn't get a fair trial. and it was at that moment that i thought to myself, you know good

rotten son of a -- >> now the officer has filed a worker's compensation claim for injuries he suffered in the crash. in a statement, a spokesperson for mitchell says it's a pending claim and the state of illinois has a process and we want to let that process play out without any outside influences. since the accident, jessica and kelly's mom has worked tirelessly to change police pursuit policies and to beef up laws designed to prevent distracted driving. a mother's grief from agony to action. for "today," kevin tibbles, cbs news, anything. >> jessica and kelly's mother is with us along with their stepsister. i know we're here to talk about mr. mitchell, but i want to start off talking about your daughters because's been nearly three months, we're coming up on

the anniversary -- three years since their death. tell me what you mismos most abt your daughters? >> the noise. it's so quiet around our house right now, they always had their friends over, their running up and down the stairs, they were arguing with madeleine, it's just -- it's a void. >> and yet you have to continue to relive what happened. you always will privately, but publicly because of what's going on now with mr. mitchell, he's trying to as we just mentioned in the piece, file a workers compensation claim based on the accident that killed your daughter and according to most, he is likely to receive that money, it's going to be paid by the taxpayers because he was an employee of the state of illinois. >> right. >> does this rub salt in the wound? i can only imagine it does. >> it's just one more policy that's been pointed out to us that we might want to look at changing. >> and we also mentioned that although he pleaded guilty in the criminal charges, when it came to the civil suit, he refused to admit any wrong

doing. >> right. >> has he ever expressed remorse to you for your loss. >> no. >> any communication with him through your attorneys, anything? >> no. >> how does that make you feel? would it make you feel better if he did? >> so much time has passed and the case has been covered so much that i think it would ring hollow. >> and i know you have been able to turn your pain into advocacy, you have certain done a lot in your daughters' name and in their honor. you've been very active in getting policies changes. tell me about that. >> one year to the day after they were kill, at the time the director of the illinois state police larry trent issued sweeping policy changes and they were basically a four-tiered response to the -- they were required to use hands free

business phones and i believe that personal cell phone use was going to be banned while on duty in the car. >> and that has to make you feel good that at least you're preventing this perhaps from happening to any other family. madeleine, you were just 8 when you lost your sisters, but you've also done a lot, i'm sure, to keep their memory alive. tell me about that. >> we have done fund-raisers and scholarships and blood drives. >> what do you miss most about your sisters? >> fighting. >> that's kirved of a funny response. that's what sisters do, though? >> yes. >> i know. i see it every day. you have recently been speaking, kim, to new classes of police officer recruits, what are you telling them? >> i tell them the story of jessica and kelly and what happened that last day. and i show them the last photographs of them that was taken just mere hours before they were killed. and i ask them to remember their faces while they're driving and

while they're doing their jobs to make sure that no other family has to go through what their father and i have gone through. someone said they turned my anguish into advocacy and i try to channel all of the anger and emotion that otherwise could be wasted into doing good in their name to keep their memories out there and to make sure that no one else has to go through this. >> kim and madeleine, thank you so much for your strength. coming up next, how to survive a house fire at night. important information for your entire family. right after this. [ male announcer ] they say breakfast helps kids be their best. we think it probably helps teachers be their best too. quaker instant oatmeal. now some of your favorites have 25% less sugar than before and delicious all natural flavors. so you can be amazing.

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micro beef ravioli microwave cups. an after-school snack with a full serving of vegetables. just don't tell them. shh. this morning on "today's" consumer, we're talking about fire safety, "today" is the start of national fire prevention week. if your house caught fire while you were sleeping, would you be prepared? janice lieberman reports on the issues. >> sadly people have no idea what to do. in just 2 1/2 minutes smoke from a fire can kill and night fires are three times more deadly. many lives could be saved if a

plan was in place. nighttime, everyone is fast asleep. what would happen if a fire broke out, would you be able to get to safety? this family is typical in that they have never discussed an escape plan. do you have a set plan? especially if you can't see? >> with their permission, we decided to put their fire safety awareness to the test with a series of fire drills. >> we're going to put you to bed, we're going to wake you up, the lights are going to be out, and you have to get out, we're going to time you. okay? are you willing to give it a try? >> yes. >> go to bed. >> with several infrared cameras and a camera rolling, a smoke detector sounded in the dead of night. the family got out in a quick 22

seconds and dad made a detour to rescue their dog. >> how did it go? >> i think it went pretty quick. >> you feel confident? >> yes. >> for the second drill, we send the family back to bed and under the supervision of the fire department, we filled the house with theatrical smoke, similar to what might happen in a real emergency. watch and listen, as our special heat sensored cameras pick up their emotions and movements. again, dad makes a dash for the dog. >> i got do get nico. this time it took a minute and four seconds for the family to get out. how does that feel? >> that was different, definitely different. >> it was coming into my room

and i was like -- >> i couldn't see the railing, and i couldn't see you, but i had you. >> the fire training expert debriefs the family. what did they do wrong. >> first thing is when you wake up and you hear a smoke detector going off, you want to stay low. there was a little confusion upstairs, of where everybody was. so having a designated meeting point outside will help. >> so they couldn't wait for each other. >> shouldn't wait for each other? >> you should do everything you can to get out of the house as quickly as possible. you need to know as a parent, that the kids know a primary way out, they know a secondary way out and where to meet outside. that way you can focus on getting yourself out. so you came down the stairs, made some good time, but then you went back into the house, deeper into the house,

potentially towards the fire to let the dog out. there may have been an easier way, maybe you could have opened the garage door from the outside. >> after teaching the family how to crawl in those conditions we -- two exits were blocked with simulated fire. this time they crawled out safely and dad opened the garage door from the outside to rescue the dog. >> nico, come on. >> their time, 58 seconds. >> tell me how it feels this timearound. >> good. >> much more confident. >> safer. >> what did you learn? >> getting low is good. >> having a plan of action is good. >> the family certainly learned their lesson, they were petrified even though they knew it was just a drill. so today is the day you need to discuss a pran with the family.

>> edit, exit strategies in the home. >> you do not stop to find your blackberry, your wallet or anything. >> they did this instinctively. which is good. but a lot of families that's where they get caught. >> why is it good to close doors while you're sleeping? >> it would keep out the fire, when the smoke envelopes the house it just knocks you unconscious so that's just one layer of protection. >> when you're coming up with your family plan, draw a floor plan of the home, plan two ways to escape. inspect the windows and doors and this is the one i think of this whole story is most important, get that designated meeting place. >> because so many times people run back into a home and they're caught in the fire. that is the fire department's job to rescue anyone that might be left. up next, what's bugging

whoopie goldberg after your local news. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> let's get a final check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> delay is all over the place this morning. 27 miles per hour on southbound 83. filtering out from an earlier accident. heavy delays elsewhere now. nine miles per hour on southbound 95 past mountain road all the way down to the 895 split. those delays are going to continue to fort mchenry. a lot of bailout volume due to

earlier closure at the harbor tunnel. another wanted belair and moravia -- another one at belair and moravia. nine miles per hour on the outer loop west side. this is backing up traffic on southbound 795. eastbound eye-to 70, 15 minutes your drive time from the 895 split to the beltway southwest 28 minutes and 34 on the west side. 895 looking a lot better after the earlier disabled vehicle. delays at the fort mchenry now. 70, west of the beltway, looking at jammed conditions heading to the beltway. >> the rain showers are going to stick with us off and on through the day. scattered light stuff around the area. nothing terribly heavy, but enough to slow down the rest of the drive time.

the forecast for today, off and on a showers, and high temperatures only in the upper 50s. we should be in the low 70's. >> we will have another update at 8:55. my dad is the supervisor of a train station and my mom's a teacher. my dad's an auto technician. my mom's a receptionist. i'm not sure i would have been able to afford college without the tuition freeze. while tuition in other states is rising out of reach... governor o'malley made the tough choice to freeze tuition. he made my dream of going to college into a reality.

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we're back now, it is 8:30 on monday morning, the fourth day of october, 2010. we have got bows and tiaras and all kinds of strange people out on the plaza this morning and they're putting up with the weather. putting up with chilly temperatures, a little rain in the air. they don't seem to mind.

i'm here with amy robach and al roker. >> question for the group. >> yes. >> are you tired of rude people? >> yes. >> are you tired of people who talk on their cell phones when they shouldn't be talking on their cell phones? >> yes. >> you know who's is tired? whoopie goldberg. is it just me, or is it nuts of us there? in kathy families out there? >> the comic strip. >> it is a popular comic strip and it's ending it's 34-year run on sunday. how to keep the cold out and the heat in as winter approaches. just some timely tips to winter rise your home. >> what do your dreams say about you? what do they mean?

it is about to get decidedly more handsome around here, we are joined now by one of the stars of the new nbc show "the event." >> good to see you. >> actually it's mr. president. you play the president, how cool is that? >> i think i've gotten spoiled, i'm going to keep the service with me wherever i go. >> how many people do you think have watched the promos for this show and seen the first couple of episodes and they walk around going, what is the event? how much do you know? >> i know a little bit. i'm privileged, i know some. the way it's kind of structured, there's the preevent, there's the event, and there's the aftermath over the whole five years. >> it's planned out that far in advance? >> yes, they have really strategy jiszed the whole thing.

which is kind of rare for a tv show to really think it through like that. >> a lot of people comparing to it lost in some way, in that there's this life force out there, we don't quite know what it is. how does that compare? >> stylistically, it's like 24 meets lost. 24 the high octane political conspiracy act pekt of it and about 5% of the whole lost. >> we laugh a lot. if you have seen the show, you have seen every commercial break, every show is a cliffhanger. don't miss the last hefive minus of tonight's episode. >> can you tell us what the event is? >> i can't tell you what it is. >> is it real? >> no, it really is, this is the ravrp up. >> don't watch, don't miss the last five minutes.

>> the event, tonight on next, with the president. mr. roker, how about a check of the weather? >> or how about i not do the weather? how about i completely skip the whole thing? let's take a look at show you what's happening, for "todatoda have got some wet weather in the northeast. and out west, wet weather, but in the middle it's nask. we have got rain out west through the rockies, also some wet weather continuing here in the northeast. >> good morning, everyone. i'm tony pann. give yourself a couple of extra minutes this morning. rain showers will be with us off and on all day today. it's going to be breezy and kind of chilly. the average high temperature is 72. we're only going to make it we're only going to make it into the upper 50's.

>> and that's your latest weather, don't forget, you can check your weather any time of the day or night on the weather channel or cable or weather.com.

we're back now at 8:37 with what's bugging whoopie goldberg, the actress won an oscar, a tony and an emmy. is it just me or is it nuts out there? the two are not mutually exclusive. >> apparently not. it could be both. >> before we talk about the book, i got to talk about the cover. you are on the cover.

on the commode. are you that much of a multitasker? what's going on there? >> this is one of the things that bugs me is people see other folks and they say i'm never going to get another opportunity to talk to them again. and this whats happened to me -- >> people come up to me and put their hands under and say can you give me an autograph? >> no, not really? >> on my grandchildren. >> and for a long time, i thought, well, that's part of the gig, but i think it really has spread in a very strange way. it's happening, odd things like this are happeni ining all over place. >> not really odd things, but rude things. you're upset that there seems to be a loss of civility in the world. >> a loss of civility, i don't understand why i have to sit next to you on the phone trying to eat -- when i'm trying to eat. i don't want to know your business.

i don't want to know. i don't want to -- i don't want you to come up and touch me in an intimate way unless you know me. >> but you're not like me in a jeremy wgerm germy way, it's so familiarity. >> yes, it is. >> do you think that's uniquely american. >> no, it's worldwide. before i wrote this, i talked to a lot of my friends and said what's really aggravating you and a lot of this has to do with what people responded to. you know, i have friends who have kids who are sports kids and they get freaked out when grown people are screaming at coaches or referees but also screaming at their children. >> you write something in your book that i think is a little bit controversial about language. i'm going to read it to you, but i'm going to have to read it carefully. you say the words that go up by rear are study and dummy. i would love to teach every word to say the f-word because to me

this is a word that doesn't have any effect, but stupid and dummy, they are harsh, ugly words. >> i believe that and i have always believed that. if someone comes up and says, man, you're stupid, it gets you in a way that nothing else can hit you. >> and if you hear it over and over again. >> it's horrible and you grow up to think, that but grow up feeling that, but with the word they mentioned in the book, it doesn't have that effect. >> you almost discount the person using it because you think they probably are not all that intelligent. >> i don't know. >> what did you make of that flight attendant? i'm just curious, you remember the guy that got tired of dealing -- >> i totally understand that. >> even though he got on the loud speaker and used an expletive? >> it's not like they're identified, but i understand, if you're in service work, like i talk a lot about the tsa folks. to me, going to the airport with

an attitude is already a problem. because those guys, a, they're trying to watch everything, trying to accommodate what you want, trying not to be crappy to you, trying to keep a good -- and here we come, we got containers this big, knowing -- we know, we go to the airport knowing the containers too big. so take it out of the damned suitcase. >> make it easier for the rest of us. >> make it easy for everybody. it's common sense stuff. >> the other thing you write in the book, since we both do live television, we have to deal with this all the time. you don't just say everything that comes to your mind? >> no. >> i think the way you describe in the book is think it, but don't necessarily say it. >> yeah. >> do you find it difficult to actually live by that rule? >> no. i mean, what hangs over my head is a real issue. which is if you drop that ball on television, it's $350,000 per place you're being broadcast. so that's a pretty clear --

>> does that stay in the back of your mind? >> absolutely, who can afford that? so you would never make that kind of mistake. >> i have come close. >> come close, but you knew, you didn't do it. >> can we get better at all this? or are we too far down this road of a lack of civility? >> of course we can get better. you know, i have to work it every day. i have to make sure that i'm not doing certain things that make me crazy, like if you go to the bar, don't get in the car, just don't get in the car. if you are driving to work, put your lipstick or comb your hair before you leave. get up earlier. >> you said in the book, if somebody gets caught texting or using their cell phone while they're driving, the car should disappear forever? >> no, no, that's if you drink and drive. >> i thought that was texting and drive. >> if you drink and drive. >> you should go away for a lot longer than a month. >> a lot longer than a month. but to me, there are no consequences.

if we look at these folks who have had five and six and seven drinking and driving incidents and they're still driving, duh! >> that's our fault. we have to say, okay, the first time you do it, we have to make a consequence, and that consequence is you don't get to drive. to me, these things like driving or walking down the street freely, these are things that we -- we're lucky to be able to do. so to me if you drink and drive, you should not have a car. because there's no -- a lot of smoking commercials show your bad lungs and stuff. no drinking and driving commercials show you what can happen. >> you also have a children's book, right. >> i do. look at my girl. >> you're multitasking here. >> i'm working on everybody at once. >> the book is it me or are there nuts out there?

coming up walter mondale, but first this is "today" on coming up walter mondale, but first this is "today" on nbc. i i'm frank kratovil and i approve this message. the real andy harris. his past attacks have been called deceptive, his new attack, false. harris voted for deregulation increasing our electric bills by 72% it's not surprising, harris always sides with the big guys. he opposes cracking down on wall street and supports tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. harris even opposed making big insurance cover cancer screenings. andy harris' extreme ideas will cost us.

four years ago, bob ehrlich got fired as governor of maryland. for good reason. first, he protected tax loopholes for giant cable cable companies. then, he let utilities jack up our rates 72%. and for the last four years, he worked as a hired gun for big corporations, even a bank that took billions from a taxpayer funded bailout. ehrlich sides with corporate executives again and again and again tell bob ehrlich big banks and billionares don't need help. middle class marylanders do. eaks to send jobs over seas. i think we need tax breaks to send kids to college. so i worked for a $2,500 tax credit to help pay for college. fought to get pell grants expanded and insisted that college loans go directly to kids instead of through banks. i'm barbara mikulski. i approve this message. because it's not about the next election, it's about the next generation. right?

yeah!!! at the age of 32, walter mondale became the youngest attorney general in minnesota history beginning a life of public service. he went on to service in the u.s. senate and as vice president under president jimmy carter and he is opening up about it all. i have to ask as you sat down to write your memoirs, what lessons from your political career did you deliberately put into the book as it relates to today's environment? because there are some very eerily similar things that are going on today that were going on in your vice presidency? >> there are very many events that i have been involved, how many of them maybe with some

difference apply "todatoday? i have got a chapter about the rules fight to try to make the senate operable so they can get things done. and in my closing chapter, i talk about the incivility and paralysis that we had. we didn't have as much of it in those days, but we dealt with it. >> and a lot has been compared to president jimmy carter's presidency, to president obama's and in fact in a recent interview, you said when faced with a bad economy and bad poll numbers, that president carter should have gone out in front of the people, in front of the public more, and you told the new yorker you see a similar problem with obama. you said i think he needs to get rid of those teleprompters and connect. >> that's the way it came out, what i said was i think carter should have gotten out earlier.

we have the hostage crisis with our people being taken hostage in iran and the president was working in the white house and at some point, i said mr. president, you've got to get out, across america, making your point. it's a little bit different issue in terms of my suggestions for obama. but those idiot boards that they read are distracting, i believe, and he is really good, smart as he can be, he needs to talk right into that camera and talk to people, because people are hurting. >> and the elections are coming up. >> that is true. >> in fact your own run against ronald reagan back in 1984, you wrote reagan was selling morning america, i was selling a route canal. what did you mean by that and do you think that president obama and democrats are facing a similar situation come november? >> you know, i'm the old grain, i was talking about the problems

we had and how we had to find answers. and reagan was up there talking about morning in america and how nice it was to be in that town and so on. that's right. you know, i don't think a president -- i think president obama, as he is, has got to talk about real problems. that's not what i meant to say. but i think he's got to find a way of having people feel him and knowing that he cares, he can do that, but he has to do that. >> tell me about how you and jimmy carter changed the role of president that had lasting effects? >> until jimmy carter and i were in the white house, the vice president was really stand by equipment, really just waiting there unless the president died or something. you go to funerals, that was the big thing. but we did what we call executivized the vice presidency and i went into the west wing, i worked with the president around

the clock for four solid years. that's a new pattern that i think has really been good. every later vice president has done it. joe biden is doing a great job of it now. >> the book is "the good fight" walter mondale, thank you for joining us.

34 years filled with laughs, diet issues and boyfriend problems. the comic strip kathy came to an end on sunday. george lewis caught up with it's creator. >> it started illustrating the worst moments of my day. i would send the drawings home with notes to mom and dad telling them i was doing okay. >> she sent those angst written doodles to a comic strip syndicate for and launched her career as a cartoonist. in 1978, with her strich and a handful of papers after two years she appeared on the "today" show. >> the women's movement has put a lot of us in a position of suddenly floundering between two different ideals. on one side we have the traditional values of home and motherhood and on the other side there's a whole new set of values for a whole new set of

women. >> i remember being paralyzed with fear and i was, i could barely speak. >> reporter: battling to fit into a bikini, waiting for her boyfriend to call or coping with advice from mom. the real kathy's relationship with her mother was something they talked about in a 1986 interview. >> like so many mothers and daughters, our relationship is founded on me begging her for advice and then screaming at her when she gives it to me. >> when i see it in the newspaper, i say isn't that nice. i'm not concern about what she put in the paper. >> some of the best mail i have ever gotten has been from mother daughter teams who write to tell me that relationship between kathy and her mom is just like them. >> some feminists have criticized kathy as playing into stereotypes of women. do you think that criticism is

unfair? >> i feel that women who bound out of bed in the morning and go do their 45 minutes of exercise and have the low fat breakfast and go off to their great jobs, they don't need to read kathy in the morning. i write the comic strips for the woman who spends that extra 20 minutes in bed trying to remember what she ate before she went to bed and what impact that will have on the dress for success outfit she's going to try to get in "today." >> chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, aaak! >> one of the proudest things about my career is knowing how many refrigerators have kathy's -- have had kathy's comic strips posted on them. i don't think there's any greater honor. these books have every strip that ever ran in them. >> reporter: but finally with more than 10,000 daily strips, kathy decided she needed more time with her own daughter and her real parents.

>> what was it like sending out the last strip? >> the experience of drawing the last strip and sending it off was-i'm going to start weeping. it was very emotional. the panic of almost missing the last deadline, you know, overcame the emotional mess of the moment a little bit because that would be even worse to be so upset about sending the last one in and have it be late. >> reporter: long time fans of the strip can sum up its disappearance in one kathiesque word, aaak. >> it's the end of an era. >> at least. still ahead, what your dreams really mean. >> but first your local news and weather.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. a suspected rubber is recovering after a police officer shot him. the suspect and two others attempted to rob the family dollar store. the three armed and masked men saw the officer and ran out of the store, where the confrontation occurred through the officer shot one of the the officer shot one of the

just drive, we'll get there! adventure runs on dunkin', with our maple cheddar breakfast sandwich. breakfast just got a whole lot sweeter. >> now let's take a look at the

forecast with tony pann. >> off and on rainshowers will be with us through the afternoon. it will be kind of chili. temperatures will be in the upper 50s. between 55 and 60 degrees. sunset at 6:44. temperatures are going to stay the same over the next few days. but the chance for rain drops to 30% on a tuesday. maybe the upper 70's over the weekend. >> we will have another weather update at 9:25. i think we need tax breaks to send kids to college. so i worked for a $2,500 tax credit to help pay for college. fought to get pell grants expanded and insisted that college loans go directly to kids instead of through banks. i'm barbara mikulski. i approve this message.

because it's not about the next election, it's about the next generation. right? yeah!!! two governors, two different approaches. even in good times bob ehrlich didn't make education a priority. he increased college tuition by 40%, cut school construction by $200 million, and ehrlich voted to eliminate the department of education while serving in congress. but in the toughest of times, martin o'malley has made record investments in public schools, new school construction, and o'malley froze college tuition four years in a row. with martin o'malley, our children always come first.