good morning. more trouble brewing. wall street and washington brace for this morning's new report on unemployment. what will it say about the overall state of the economy? amber alert, two brothers just two and four years old were snatched fm their mother as they helped her take out the trash. and caught on tape, a private conversation between california gubernatorial candidate and an aid recorded on a voicemail and a derogatory word is used to describe rival

meg whitman. "today," friday, october 8, meg whitman. "today," friday, october 8, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on th this friday morning, i'm meredith viera. >> and i'm willie geist. today's unemployment report is the last to come out before the elections. more fallout over that duke graduate's list and ratings of her sexual encounters with athletes. could she be in legal trouble now that it's being flashed all over the internet. plus, when is it okay to let

your child walk to school alone? or what age should they own their own cell phone? coming up a revealing new survey of parents across the country. natalee morales is in for ann at the news desk. good morning, everyone, as you heard, there was extra attention on "todatoday's unemployment numbers for september. it's the last monthly jobless report to come out before election day. we'll have much more on this coming up in just a little bit. in anaheim, california a desperate search during the night for two young children abducted in front of their horrified mother. lee cowan is in los angeles. >> reporter: good morning, natalee, police are investigating this as a possible double kidnapping after they say the two boys were snatched from in front of her anaheim late monday night. they were both wearing buzz light year t-shirts and beige

colored shorts. their mother told police that they were following her out to the all ley to take out the trash. the van is described as a silver or gray 2000 dodge caravan. the amber alert was issued just before 8:00 p.m. thursday night. it is still in progress in morning. anyone with information should contact the anaheim police department at 714-765-1900. natalee, back to you. this morning the nobel peace prize was awarded to imprisoned chinese dissident. the chinese government is denouncing the award. firms in chile say an escape

shaft should reach 33 trapped miners by tomorrow and their rescue could begin anywhere from two to ten days after that. the miners have been stuck deep under ground for two months. a scary ride at knots berry farm where two trains collided. the first train didn't make it up the hill and rolled back and hit the other. no one was hurt. two cosmonauts are at the international space station. and it was high and way outside thursday as florida senate candidate charlie crist threw out the first pitch at the ray's game against the rangers. by the way, tampa bay trailed that series two games to none. meredith, you pitch looks better than this. >> suddenly, my pitch was really sweet.

>> that's great news about the miners. it would be wonderful if they're rescued within the next ten days. >> what a nice morning. the sun is out and temperature at the airport right now 50. humidity going down and the barometer is up. that brings us great weather today with lots of

and it's friday, that means we get to tell you about the best night of the week, that's right, because it's sunday night, football night in america. the eagles soar and fly into candlestick park with clear skies, mild conditions as the 49ers use pick axes, to blind the eagles. it's 62-66 degrees, sunday night, football night in america. >> al, thank you very much. california's race for governor is a tight and bitter one and now there is a new scrimmage between candidates

between jerry brown and staffers that were inadvertently caught on tape. and natalee is back with more on that. >> an aid used colorful language to describe meg whitman and as you might imagine, whitman's camp is not happy about it. >> give me a call, jerry brown, love to talk to you. >> soon became a conversation caught on tape. the democratic candidate for governor thought he hung up the phone, but he was still connected, the conversation all recorded. >> we want to put an ad out. but i've been warned that if i crack down on pensions, i will be, that they'll go to whitman and that's where they'll go because they know whitman will

cut a secret deal to protect the pensions. >> nbc news obtained the voicemail overnight and shortly after brown's camp issued this statement. this was a jumbled and often inaudible recording of a private conversation. at times our language was salty, we apologize to ms. whitman and anyone who may have been offended. and whitman's camp quickly fired back, the use of the term is an insult to both meg whitman and to the people of california. at the very least mr. brown tacitly approved of this despicable comment. the voicemail marks just the latest blow in what has become a full-fledged battle out west. whitman has been under fire as of late. >> we hired someone who i thought was here legally, she

was not. we unfortunately had to let her go. >> whitman said she did nothing wrong and accused brown of quote, a political stunt. >> if you can't stand up on your own two feet and say i'm sorry, i made a mistake and let's go on from here. blame her, blame me, blame the unions, but you don't take accountability. >> any and everything becomes a major issue and the most recent poll of likely voters, jerry brown holds a single digit lead over meg whitman. dirty politics as usual. president obama's putting on the full-court press with more than a month to go before election day. and chuck todd has more on that. >> reporter: the president returned to the white house late last night for a full day on the road, campaigning on tuesday with election day just a little over three weeks away. he's now adding weekend stops starting this sunday.

the president campaigned in chicago tuesday night for julius who is struggling to keep obama's old senate seat in democratic hands. >> i hope you're fired up in these last few weeks. i need you to be fired up, fired up and ready to go, i need it. i need that. by the way this you seen my new chief of staff. >> and he talked up his former chief of staff, rahm emanuel. earlier the president was in maryland cam paning for democratic candidate mark o'malley. but maryland politics was not on the president's mind. this year outside political groups are benefiting from the landmark ruling that allows big corporate donors to spend money on -- >> americans for job security is responsible for the content of this advertising.

>> reporter: something the president made fun of. >> they've got names like americans for prosperity. or truth in politics or bombs more motherhood. that last one i made up. this is a threat to our democracy, the american people deserve to know who's trying to claim their elections. >> reporter: and democrats now want you to know who's actually appearing in these ads. >> and joe manchin supported it all. >> the republican campaign committee just pulled this ad which was running in west virginia featuring three actors playing west virginians at a diner attacking democrat joe manchin. >> the only way we're going to stop obama. >> reporter: it turns out the actors weren't from west virginia, they were hired by a philadelphia talent agent. one of the actors can be seen on

his website playing very different roles. >> don't take my word for it. all of those are my final answers, yes. >> the uproar prompted republicans to pull the ad. in a statement, a spokesperson said no one at the nrsc or associated with the nrsc had anything to do with the language used in this casting call, we do not support it. >> reporter: the use of actors in political advertising is not new, it was the actual way that word hickey that of course made republicans have to pull that ad because of how it plays in west virginia. and by the way, you won't have actors debating on "meet the press," but the actual candidates are both debating with david gregory. >> i had nothing to do with that ad, chick, you know that. >> reporter: you know what? this guy needed a lifeline, clearly.

>> very good, chuck. >> reporter: thank you very much, i'll be here all day. it is 7:12 and now here's willie. >> chuck's been working on that one all morning. of course the economy is the key issue in the midterm elections and this morning we're getting the final monthly tally of unemployment before election day. we have already gotten some early indications of what we'll see later this morning, what are you expecting? >> i'm expecting some job creation from the private sector, but it will be offset by a loss of jobs in government as census workers continue to be cut as that program winds down, so once again we're going to see basically flat growth in jobs. and it's not a great story. because we continue to see unemployment at a major issue for businesses and the economy. >> we have seen this month after month, there's no nobel prize winner joseph stigler said this

may be the new normal. >> i definitely think we are in a new normal. you have to have expectations of much lower growth in the united states. outside the united states is where the vibrancy is happen right now. businesses are very reluctant to add heads to the payroll. they're expecting higher health care expenses and higher taxes. and they say if i add new people, that comes with new benefits packages that i have to pay for. so they're basically in lockdown, it's a story that in some cases a vicious cycle. >> the holiday season, everybody looks forward to that. what is it going to look like for employers and people looking for jobs? >> over the next couple of months, we will see temporary employment pick up, we'll see stores and retail related businesses add temporary workers just to take care of the volume that we're expecting over the holidays. so unfortunately, it won't be

full-time, the security, and that could continue to keep people sort of reluctant to spend money because they're not having that long-term security, but we are going to see a pop in jobs as we approach the end of the year. >> one glimmer of good news, three out of four stores go up in september. >> retail sales actually have been better than expected. you would think that people would be sitting on their hands and unwilling to spend. but we have seen some spending over the last month or so. i think the retail sector is the one sector that you want to look to towards growth as we approach the end of the year with the holidays coming up. >> you can catch maria on "closing bell" each day on cnbc. there are new developments in the case of the american who was allegedly shot and killed by mexican pirates. authorities in texas have made a direct plea to a notorious plug cartel to return that man's

body. janet shanlian has the latest. >> reporter: we're here at falcon lake where the search for david hartley's body has been impacted, hampered by threats of an ambush by the drug cartels. in fact they had to suspend the search for a time yesterday. at the same time the sheriff in this county has reached out directly to the cartel insisting that there's going to be no penalty, no repercussion for the return of an american's body. this is the search on the mexican side of fall con lake for the body of david hardly. mexico says it has several boats in the water and as many as 60 officers working the case. a texas border sheriff is taking a different tack, calling on the drug cartel to return david home. >> we cannot let what happened in mexico, we cannot prosecute anybody for what happened in

mexico, we just want a body. i did send word to the drug cartel in mexico, unofficially, i said, hey, work with us. >> tiffany hartley's life jacket was stained with blood, stains she says she likely got when she tried to pull her husband on to her jet ski. she ultimately left him behind to safe her own life. the search in mexico was suspended for a time after reports of a possible ambush from the cartel. >> we have an american citizen who was gunned down on international waters. >> that riled texas governor rick perry who's been critical of mexico's response. >> i'm not satisfied, when you call off a search the way they did this morning and give as the reason because the drug cartels are in control of that part of the state, something's not right. >> reporter: u.s. officials have taken tiffany hartley to a border crossing where she met with mention cxican authorities

charge of the search. and now for tiffany and everyone on this side of the border, there's little to do except watch, wait and hope that david is returned home. and tiffany hartley said she would consider taking a lie detector test if people continue to doubt her story. officials have not ask for one, at least not at this point. it is 7:18 and now here's willie. a controversial documentary style movie is sparking outrage in great britain. it imagines what would happen if prince harry were taken hostage by the taliban. >> reporter: the palace has not commented on this tv program which hasn't even aired yet but is already stirring up catastrop controversy here. it's a documentary what would happen if prince harry were kidnap bid the taliban army.

what would it look like if prince harry were taken prisoner by insurgents in afghanistan. well, how about this. according to a new document try the taking of prince harry air this is month. for now it's the programitis that some are finding pretty awful. >> of course it's in poor taste. a lot of people are being killed in these hostage situations. >> reporter: the docudrama shows how harry is forced to -- unloaded gun is pointed at face and one of his captors pulls the trigger. a retired army commander spoke out this morning on a popular british morning news show. >> i have seen people come out from these situations. i tell you what they feel like, absolutely terrified, absolutely, completely terrified and i just don't like it being

put into some drama documentary which actually appeals just to get the television ratings up. >> reporter: the program will also mention the young prince's nickname, bullet magnet, during 2008 when he was posted in afghanistan. he was rushed home out of serious security concerns. harry has always wanted to return. >> i would love to go back out, and i want to go out there very, very soon. >> reporter: some royal watchers say what's the big deal about a work of fiction on an interesting topic. >> it was at a time when harry was in afghanistan, the taliban was vocal that he was the number one target, that he was somebody they would love to capture and torture and make an example of as the queen's grandson. this is a piece of drama and i think it should be taken as such. >> reporter: people who are experts on these sorts of matters say because of the security situation it's highly unlikely that harry would ever be sent back to serve in

afghanistan, but here on the home front he has had his security detail increase in light of recent terror alerts in europe. just ahead, could the duke graduate whose list of sexual encounters of athletes online face legal troubles because of it? but first this is "today" on nbc. well, max, first day...

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95 just past mountain road has moved to the right shoulder. coldspring lane and reisterstown road, and an accident in dundalk, and another report or crushed the pulaski highway and rossville boulevard. windsor mill road. topside the beltway, you are seeing delays on the outer loop of providence road. looking a little better than earlier. you can see an outer loop to life and security to past 40. >> nice, a sunny morning. 74%, and as high reading. the winds are calm. the weather map all the debate, a big area of high pressure. -- all day today, a big area of high pressure. stormy weather to the west.

our forecast for today calls for sunshine. there is similar to yesterday. -- very similar to yesterday. west and northwest breeze, five to 10 miles per hour. three minutes of sunlight -- losing three minutes of sunlight every day now as it is grow shorter. >> check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information. we are back in 25 minutes with another live update.

7:39 now on this friday morning, the eighth of october 2010. we're happy these people decided to roll out of bed early and make it down here. i'm meredith viera alongside willie geist. new details on that brutal home invasion in connecticut. we're going to hear from the ex-girlfriend of the second man waiting to stand trial in connection with the mother and her to teenaged children.

>> what age is appropriate for kids to go trick-or-treating without u. how we actually get there, just ahead on our special series "today's" journey to secret kingdoms, we're going to travel to the real timbucktu. >> reporter: at duke university, a joke between girlfriends just sparked a national debate about men, women and sex. >> i had the best time of my life last night, twice and once this morning. >> reporter: men have been getting away with it for years, bragging about their sexual conquests. the ladds can play that game too. karen was a student at duke, just graduated and wrote this

42-page december siration about -- no secrets here, karen used their names and shirtless pictures. we're hiding their identities. karen ranked the men by physical attractiveness, talents, creativity and aggressiveness. >> at first i was pretty excited when i saw it. i was like, good for her, this is awesome. >> reporter: karen wrote this about a duke lacrosse player, experience was on his side and he used it. and another man, he was terrible, don't even bother to kiss me more than a few seconds. karen meant the sex list only for her friends, but it made the rounds. this girl gets a fist pump and then some from me, one woman wrote, but karen has critics too. >> i think what she did was unnecessary, selfish.

>> reporter: do you think if a guy did this it would be different? >> i think everyone would think they're -- oh, the lacrosse players, they're horrible people. >> reporter: karen has gone into virtual hiding, but a blog for women says they recently spoke with her. >> i spoke to karen, she feels badly that she unintentionally violated the privacy of her partners, but doesn't feel bad about actually having sex with them. she has changed the stereotype of what women want, plenty of women want just what men want which is to have fun. >> so on the duke campus, the question, have the tables finally turned on them? for "today," jeff rossen, nbc news. >> judith is a psychologist and dan abrams is nbc's chief legal analyst. good morning to you both. >> let's talk about the legal

side, you are a duke alumni, 1988? >> yes. >> the athletes that karen owen writes about, she showed us the pictures of them, she named them. do they have any legal resource at all? >> possibly, are they going to say any of it is false? are they going to say they never had sex with her? assuming they don't do that, the next lawsuit would be an invasion of privacy case. sex is the sort of thing that leads people to file them. remember, they may not just be suing her, they may sue the people who distributed it because they may be more responsible legally than her because they're the ones who got it out there and the minute you send something out, you're responsible for that content that you're distributing. >> i wondered if she would be liable at all because when she sent to it her friends, she didn't have any expectation they would send out us.

>> you could slander sm someone by saying something to one other person. the question is anybody actually going to file a lawsuit? i'm not sure that any of these guys are going to want to be in the business of filing a lawsuit, but we'll see? >> are you going to be the one that got the ten that files the lawsuit or are you going to be the one? that's the core psychological issue, she acted not like the classic victim when guys do this traditionally, but like the aggressor. she had high risk, no attachment sex, she's comfortable with it. then she bragged about it, a traditional gender bending behavi behavior. >> quite a few consider her a hero for turning the tables and do what men, many people perceive, have done for years. >> i'm not at all surprised by

the shock, and yes, this is what it feels like when you're sitting by the phone and you're bragging in the locker room and it doesn't feel so bad to be on the aggressor side. >> i would think that if it had been a man who had written this about women, i think there would be a lawsuit. if you saw 13 women described in the way she described them, somebody would want to exact either some level of revenge or to get money for it et cetera because of the societal differences. >> certainly there would be traditional moral outrage. look at these indencenssensitiv. here's like young women do this, they get drunk and they think, i wonder if i could have a piece of him and then they go home and tell their girlfriends and they're not embarrassed or shocked. that's a kind of -- that really takes us aback.

>> now that it's out there, she doesn't look good either, ultimately. >> he's going to have to account for this on future dates. but she's not expressing herself as embarrassed. what she's expressing herself in a traditional male way is i am so sorry if i hurt anyone's feelings or invaded their privacy. >> what about a book deal, this is all coming if she wants it. this has made her a commodity. >> you chose not to run it, why? >> we were actually in the process of blurring out the names and the faces for our sports grid to put it on that site. and the reason in the end is because the other sites put it up without blurring out the faces first. so i thought as a legal matter, i was looking at it as a lawyer and saying if we put up these faces with these names with this sort of stuff on there, we might get sued. so in the process while we were spending the hour, hour and a

half of doing it, some of the other sites put it up without blurring it. and so it was an interesting -- we went through a whole back and forth about this, about what to do with this. because on the one hand, it was fascinating, on the other hand it was kind of gross and on the other hand, it was somewhere i was worried legally. >> and with ten seconds to go, a lesson here? >> social issues are more important than the legal issues, when you send your daughter to college, she's going to face a lot of options, if you don't want her to face this one, talk it over. >> "today's" weather is brought to you by advil. make advil your number one choice. and good morning, everybody, the these -- and we have got some weather to talk about down in miami, even though it's been sunny, i thought we were going

to the weather video. thank you very much. even though it wasn't raining, they had high tide, and they had high winds that brought minor flooding to parts of downtown miami beach. all right, hey, let's go to the map and show the fall foliage. we have peak colors up around minnesota, northern new york state and much of new england near peak as you head out west into the rockies and the pacific northwest. heavy rain in the pacific northwest today and saturday, we're looking at mild conditions through the plains tomorrow, sunshine on sunday, sunny skies on eastern half of the country, wet weather in the pacific northwest. sunny and hot in the southwest ri >> the sun is out, the storm track we to our north, and a big area of high pressure gives us a good

>> you can check your weather any time of the day or night on cable or weather.com online. up next, the former girlfriend of a suspect in the gruesome home invasion case in connecticut speaks out. gruesome home invasion case in connecticut speaks out. bu ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] every day thousands of people are switching from tylenol to advil. to learn more go to takeadvil.com. the first 500,000 people get a free bottle of advil. take action. take advil.

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a man was convicted this week of killing mother and two daughters. this as a second suspect awaits his trial. dennis murphy has more on all of this. >> you have to reach back in your memory to recall a case just as chilling as the story of the petit family in cheshire. two men into their house. >> it took a jury five hours to find a defendant guilty this weekend murdering mrs. petit and her two daughters who died of smoke inhalation, tied to her bed after two intruders set

their home ablaze in a frenzy of violence and mayhem. reporter elaine griffin has covered the story for the hartford current. >> i think this is one of those case where is they people see themselves in a situation, it's a burglar who breaks in in the middle of the night at your home and attacks your family. it's everyone's worst nightmare. >> reporter: dr. william petit, the lone survivor badly beaten by the intruders now has to face another trial. dr. petit has been ask how he finds the strength to relive the horror again through the courtroom testimony. >> most of you out here are good human beings, i think you would probably all do the same thing for your family if your family was destroyed by evil. >> reporter: the other man accused of hayes accomplice is joshua komisarjevsky.

>> he has told stories of jobs he has done robbing houses. >> komisarjevsky's former girlfriend jennifer norton calls that the man she recalls as a petty thief used to get a thrill out of breaking into houses when he knew people were inside. >> he had said that robbing houses was better than any drug he's ever tried. >> komisarjevsky's trial is supposed to starred next year. we're through one trial, another still to go and it just seems to be an endless or deal for dr. petit and you have to admire the dignity and strength that she's showing in the face f this tragedy.

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this morning on today's health, the surprising jump in the number of americans living with arthritis, one in five now suffers from the painful condition. nbc's chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman is here. 20% of americans have arthritis. >> one in five americans have arthritis and in the old days it was thought of as an old person's disease. there's contributing factors such that there are a million new arthritis sufferers in recent years. it's the wear and tear, the breakdown of joints. >> and what are we looking at here because there's a connection to another huge problem. >> it's a big financial problem, $128 billion lost in the economy every year, and the underlying cause obesity. a third of obese women, a fourth of obese men are having joint problems. why? your hips your knees, your feet

are weight bearing joints, you put on weight, there's extra wear and tear on the joints and the arthritis hurts. if we're talking about a preventable disease now we're talking about treating, for some people this has to be a wakeup call. >> we're talking about people in their 30s and 40s, so if i find out i've got arthritis, what do i do? >> this is a story about my sister, martha at the age of 51 was going up her steps at home in colorado and her knees her and her feet hurt and she thought my god i'm 81 and i'm aging prematurity. she lost 51 pounds and now her pain is gone. you can be overweight, you can be in pain, you can lose days at work, you can feel lousy or you can look at yourself in the mirror and say i can fix this, i

can own it. these are symptoms that when caught early enough, you can take care of. but the number one thing is age. and then obesity and then for jocks like you who had repetitive stress injuries, your joints get slammed. the check out person at your grocery store is constantly moving a hand in one direction and for those people who don't think muscle strength is important, the stronger your muscles t stronger the bones to hold them. >> so even if you're not a good jock, you could still get it? >> and why live a life in pain, feeling lousy on medicine, fix it for it gets you. just ahead, at what age is it okay for your child to walk to school alone? baby sit? how about date? an interesting new survey of parents after your local news. that's a lot of mpgs. sure is...

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>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall here is kim dacey and traffic pulse 11. >> picking up quite a bit on the rugs. we have an accident on the beltway at 295. in the city, an accident but calvert street. middle river, crashed at middle river road and pulaski highway. accident at clarks lane and reisterstown road and windsor

mill spurred crash at windsor mill road and baltimore drive. outer loop is backing out quite a bit. delays all the way to york road. this accident towards the middle of the screen there on the west side. there is activity going on before the accident on the inner loop of the ball wide. -- inner loop of the beltway. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> temperature is up to 50. morning low on tv hill was 48. 80% humidity. west winslet 5 miles per -- west winds at 5 miles per hour. stormtracker off to our north. a lot unsettled weather and the west. rocky mountains, not the appalachians.

sunny, mild, 73 to 78 by. the sunset this evening is 6:38. we lose three minutes of sunshine each day over the next week or so. sunny skies right through the weekend. afternoon, 73 for the high. >> thank you very muchafter mon telling us "maryland is moving forward," "and moving maryland forward" this jobs report tells the truth maryland's economy stalled "we face an uphill struggle in trying to regain the jobs lost" o'malley attempts a cover-up, falsifying the jobs report to help his campaign. "whatever

we can do to make it disappear, we need to do it. that's coming straight from the top" martin o'malley, first he makes stuff up, when caught, he covers stuff up. we need a governor who tells the truth.

8:00 now on this friday morning, the eighth of october, 2010. a promise of nicer weather and it looks like al delivered it. we're back on the ground, i'm meredith viera along with willie geist who's filling in for matt lauer who's taking the day off "today." beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what is ugly? we're going to talk to an author

who has written a powerful book on who women who feel that way go through. a question that parents ask themselves every day, when is it okay for my child to, dot, dot, dot. walking to school, playing competitive sports and going on dates. coming up the results of our survey from parents across the country and some expert perspective as well. >> do you have what it takes to keep up with the young at heart betty white? john tried to do it, and betty white gave her a run for her money. we'll show you that in just a little bit. >> we'll take a look at the top stories, natalee more or less is filling in for ann who's on assignment. freedom could be just days away for the 33 chilean miners

who have been trapped under ground for three months. an escape hatch to rescue the men could break through as early as tomorrow with the rescue taking place possibly within a few days. officials conducted a rescue dress rehearsal on huthursday. the last jobless report before the election comes out "today." and an updated view on what women can expect in the workplace. kristen welker is here with more. >> reporter: the study shows that double standards still exist. according to one, thinner women make more money than normal sized or overweight women, and the opposite is true for men. there's some really positive news here, mainly that the gender gap is shrinking. robin and maryisa are part of te rapidly growi ingrowing.

they both understand how far women have come. >> when i walk n people would say, oh, can you bring us some drinks? >> reporter: but it's a different world for women now, according to the latest census figures, the number of women getting paid $100,000 a year or more increased by 4% over a two-year period, as compared to a 4.4% decrease for men making that amount. experts say it's all thanks to 30 years of progress for women in academia. >> in my class, the breakdown is 50/50, there's 50% men and 50% women. and i think that shows that women are just as good as men. >> reporter: but all of that validation is tempered by some numbers, women still just earn 83 cents to the dollar. >> old stereotypes die hard and

a new study proves that saying weight still matters when it comes to women in the workplace. a new study published in the journey of applied psychology say thinner women make more money, while a man's income rises when he packs on the pounds. experts say these findings are disappointed. >> it's the bigger package that they're looking at it. it's your brain, it's your body, it's what you have on, it's everything. be confident, but be aware of herself. >> when marisa hires someone, she says outward appearance is the last thing she's judging. >> reporter: the gaps between women's and men's salaries may be getting smaller, but even with time and more education, double standards die hard. but the gender gap is still pretty pronounced, in fact of the people who earn $100,000 or more, about 80% are men. >> kristen welker in los angeles for us. a texas sheriff has taken the

unusual step of asking a mexican drug cartel to return the body of an american tourist whose wife says he was shot to death last week. searchers on both sides of the border lake are trying to find any signs of david hartley or the jet ski he was riding when he was attacked. leo chaveau is -- china reacted to today's award by calling leo a criminal. it is 8:05 right now, you're up to date in your news. let's go back outside to meredith and willie. >> meredith, for women who feel like ugly in a beauty world. >> that was a good pickup. i got some people from georgia

here. and guess who stopped by? san da clause is here. santa, how are you? >> good to see you. >> good to see you. matt and i are being good. we are. let's check your weather and see what's going on. pick city today, flint, michigan, nbc 25. they've got some fine weather there, we're looking at beautiful weather in the eastern half of the country. we have got a series of systems moving into the pacific northwest, bringing a lot of heavy rain for them all through the weekend, record highs from the plains down into texas, sunshine up and down the eastern seaboard, we will see a few showers in northern new england and i understand there are seven decades of being golden girls right here. look at that. very nice. and they're all 25. unbelievable. that's what

>> plenty of sunshine and i pressure brings us great weather today. lots of sunshine and high temperatures and the low- beautiful on the inside and out. >> when we come back here, what it's like for women who feel ugly in our beauty obsessed society. that's next right after this. nighttime nasal congestion meant, i couldn't breathe right.

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this morning on "today's" women, who do you feel ugly? >> an easier question would be when do i not feel ugly? >> i don't feel ugly. i am ugly. >> every day i hate looking in the mirror because i think i look ugly. >> when do i feel ugly? just sometimes. >> the author of ugly as sin, the truth about how we feel. listening to those women, it's eye opening, it's also haunting. >> it's gut wrenching. >> ugliness is just part of your die to day consciousness. >> that's correct, but women

deny it, we pretend that it's not going on and then we tell ourselves if we buy some product or service that we'll be beautiful or that everyone's beautiful and it just doesn't work. in my research for the book ugly as sin, there isn't a man, woman or child out there that doesn't secretly feel ugly all the time. >> you refer to it as the you word. >> when i did the research that you mentioned on facebook, i started calling myself ugly because that's been part of my recovery from what i all ugly phobia, i've just been saying, you know what? i'm 55, i'm over 1,200 pounds, according to this cultural definition, that makes me ugly, now what are we going to do with me? >> people were outraged. i had friends and family members question my sanity. i found it to be liberating. but other people find the use of the word very discouraging. >> why is it liberating for you

to use that word? >> it's liberating because -- the irony is because the minute you say you're ugly, everyone tells you you're beautiful. and when you're trying to be beautiful, everyone tells you you've got cellulite or whatever. if i'm on my death bed, people will not be saying, what about her cellulite. >> a lot of it came from your mom's perception. >> oh, there i am. she was so brave. my mom, her value in her mind early on was her beauty. that's buy my father picked her. and when she became very ill with parkinson's --

>> and you were just a baby? >> my mother felt as if her body has betrayed her and over time she becaming a gorephobic. i said let's go out in a wheelchair, i'll push you, she said no, i won't have people see me like this. and the message for me was that your body was going to change and you would become unlovable and it's inevitable and i believed that, i was her daughter. >> and what is the message you're trying to get out in this book? you have two grown daughters? >> i do. what i say to my daughters is, you know, yeah, you're beautiful but that's just luck, but what else have you got? who else are you besides beautiful? because beauty fades and integrity is forever. and that's what i want to tell people when they read "ugly as sin" i want them to understand that character and integrity are defining sources of beauty.

>> and you had plastic surgery and so you say i'm sort of a hypocrite? >> i had plastic surgery so that i could hopefully sell more books when i first book came out. within the same year, i had two life threatening surgeries on a completely different part of my body, completely unrelated and what i realized is that i took my health for granted. i could have died on the table so that i got a better jaw line and why? why? the idea of being a person who passes away and has to look at my family and explain to them i did it for my jaw line was just overwhelming for me. i'm not willing to do that anymore. >> thank you so much for the book, it's really provocative, thank you. >> so get "ugly as sin". up next, when is it okay for your child to -- all those tough questions that every parent faces right after this. it was a real shock.

i remember being at the hospital thinking, "i should have done more to take care of myself." you should've. that's why i'm exercising more now. eating healthier. and i also trust my heart to lipitor. [ male announcer ] when diet and exercise are not enough, adding lipitor may help. lipitor is a cholesterol-lowering medication that is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. lipitor is backed by over 18 years of research. lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications, or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. dean will never forget what he went through. don't take your health for granted. [ male announcer ] have a heart to heart with your doctor about your risk. and about lipitor. [ male announcer ] have a heart to heart with your doctor about your risk. ♪

your favorites, in pieces. words alone aren't enough. our job is to listen and find ways to help workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. we'll keep restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund. i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. i'm gonna be here until we make this right.

this morning on "today's" parenting, milestone moments in every child's life. as parents, when is it okay to get your kids a cell phone, let them trick-or-treat alone or even go on dates. elizabeth shaw is parenting magazine's executive editor, she's here along with lifestyle expe expe expert harriett coal. elizabeth, let's get right into the survey and start with a timely one which is trick-or-treating. what is the appropriate age to let your child trick-or-treat alone? 80% of people who responded said age 13. does that sound right to you. >> it does. >> under 10, they actually need supervision. between 10 and 13, you can kind of start to test the waters, hang back, if they have an older teenaged sibling, maybe they can go out with them.

but by 13 most kids are pretty responsible. >> but you can't trust them to bring back my share of the kaechbd. . >> you want your cut. >> i was talking to some women yesterday who said the age that's appropriate is when they don't want to go anymore. around 13, it's not cool to trick-or-treat anymore. oh, sure, mom, i can go now? thanks. >> but then you let them out of the house and god know what is they're doing after that. >> in some parts of the country where there are gated communities, where you really do feel safe, and the neighbors participate and they know this group of kids is coming to this house, it can be as young as ten. but you don't want to go any earlier than 13. people put on masks and they put on disguises and there still are people who do bad things. >> and crossing the street, you have to make sure they're dressed appropriately, they have

visibility because accidents happen every year. >> when do you let your kids get a cell phone? this is one that our parents didn't have to deal with. the survey said 61% say age 14 is the number. >> good luck. >> sure. >> they're going to get a rotary phone first. if that doesn't work out, with buttons and electricity. >> my 13-year-old is already negotiating when she can get a phone because her 12-year-old cousin has a phone. i actually like the idea of cell phones around 10. because my husband's working. what's great is that he can put all kinds of restrictions on cell phones. you can have a gps, which they already have. you can have limited texting, limited calling, and you have the ability to see what is on that phone so that it really can be a lifeline between a parent and a child. >> one really great kid friendly

service is called kageet and it actually will shut the phone off for you after certain hours. and tweens, if they're talking on the phone instead of sleeping. >> you have a lot of control and you have to be open with the kids about the rules and tell them you're going to check. >> another tough one, when is the right age when a child's going to walk to school alone? 47%, they were split on this, 11, and then jumping up three years to age 14. >> i think this really depends on the maturity of your kids and your neighborhood. if it's a really tight knit close neighborhood, it's not a dangerous area and they have been walking with you or with friends, 10, 11 might be fine. >> and how far away is the school. but if they can't stay home alone by themselves, if they're just not responsible.

you'll know as a parent, it's better to wait. >> we don't want to be afraid, but again, there are a lot of people out there who don't mean our children well. so your child has to be responsible enough to be able to know whethat are the rules in a emergency. do i stay, do i run? >> 64% say 16 is the right age? >> i was thinking when they're potty trained. it's not fair to their employer if they're still in diapers. we have school to pay for. i think realistically 16. i had my first job when i was 13. but i wanted to get out of the house a little bit more than most kids. i think it's good to have a job, but realistically, 13, 14, 15 should be enough. >> yeah, i was 12 and i was making clothes for people and i did junior achievement in junior

high school which is now called middle school. i think 16 is a little late, quite frankly. i think they should do something. even if it's in the neighborhood, it's managed by parents, i think the best way to teach about money. >> when do you let your child go on a date? 74% say 16. >> i think that's realistic, but it's probably a little bit late for some things. you have to sort of feel about your own comfort levels and also what are they going to be doing? are you taking them to the mall? picking them up and dropping them off and it's two hours, or is it a guy coming over to the house and taking your daughter out in a car by themselves? >> i think lock them in the house. that's the answer to this one, guys. >> i they can go out on double dates, but i think my wife and i

should be the other couple. >> kids really love group activities and i think that the group dating environment can begin earlier than that, maybe 14, 15, by 16, a controlled date. >> thank you so much, elizabeth sha . >> now let's check in with our good friend, willard scott. >> people are going to love this. get yourself all set up, have a couple of pierogies, some cabbage and prunes and you'll be moving right along. happy birthday from smucker's. maria spaziano and margaret disanto of providence, rhode island. they're identical twins and

they're both 100. they talk on the phone every single day. that's sweet. and we have one of the exciting hoyt thompson. elizabeth termine, and she's from salinas, california. anyway, makes home made jam. uh-oh. competition for schmuck smucker. clara siegel, lives in her own apartment and takes care of it.

otis collins, from indianapolis, indiana, 100 "today." and lena wells. 100 years old from pawnee, oklahoma. now back to the big apple. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's get a final check on the morning commute with kim dacey and traffic pulse 11. >> we still have that accident on the inner loop of the beltway on the southwest side at 295, blocking the right lane there and causing quite a backup. accident reported at madison and chesapeake in the city. moving to middle river, accident and were for road. report of a crash in pulaski

highway and rossville boulevard. 7 02 approaching the beltway, that one just in to us. reisterstown road, a crash there. we will give you a live look outside the topside of the beltway. inner loop on the north side, you will see delays from park heights to the j.f.x. switching to a life of the west side, the accident is -- will see delays from the outer loop but security to edmondson. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> beautiful, 50 degrees, temperature is warming up rapidly. weston's running about five miles an hour. sunny view of downtown. no clouds nearby. high pressure is what is going to give us great weekend

weather, pushing all the stormy weather north. holding it to the west of a spread through the weekend. 73 to 78 through the high -- for the high today. normally would only be about 70 for the high. west northwest breeze at five to 10 miles an hour. >> we will have another update >> we will have another update at 9:00 -- 8:55.

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. 8:30 now on this friday morning, october 8, 2010. a picture perfect fall morning in rockefeller plaza. we hope the weather will be just as nice this monday because we

have a special columbus day concert lined up for the kids that are out of school that day. just ahead, another white hot star, but this one's a little older. >> we're talking of course meredith, 88 years young, betty white. we'll spend a day in the life of one of hollywood's hottest actors. and on a different note, news you can use, if you suddenly find yourself facing retirement, if you choose to retire early or it was forced upon you, what can you do now to prepare? we're going to get some expert advice coming up. and on our series "todatoda secret kingdoms, we're going to take you to a place a lot of folks don't realize actually exists. it's amazing when you see all this. >> and the history behind it is really fascinating. but first, we're going to look at the weather?

>> okay. it was a good run here. let's check your weather and see what's going on. for the weekend ahead, heavy rain in the pacific northwest, hot from california right across to the gulf coast, beautiful here in the east. then sunday, sunday, we're looking at beautiful weather again here in the eastern half of the country. wet weather from the pacific northwest and the central plains, sunny and hot in the >> the sun is out, the storm track we to our north, and a big area of high pressure gives us a good

>> don't forget you can check your weather any time of the day or night, just go to weather channel on cable or weather.com online. all right, guys, involuntary retirement. what you need to know if you suddenly find yourself out of work later in life. but first, this is "today" on nbc. eaks to send jobs over seas.

i think we need tax breaks to send kids to college.er seas. 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. back at 8:30, on "today's" money, unplanned early retirement. one in seven americans over 5 is unemployed. that is double what it was before the recent recession. what you can do if you suddenly find yourself out of work late in life. ann brothers, david and jonathan

murray are here with a reality check. let's define some terms first. what is involuntarily retirement? >> involuntary retirement is just that, retiring when you're not ready or willing. the classic case is someone being fired, the typical expression these days is when your position is eliminated. >> which is a nice way of saying you're fired. >> another way of receiving involuntarily retirement, a company offering a small buyout which is a small remuneration for an early exit. >> it's likely you have paid off your kids education, and you're trying to sock some money in your retirement. >> you have had your nose to the grindstone for 30 years, you've dutifully met every single mortgage payment, you've got your kids through school, and then you're out of work. it's just devastating for people

who are 55 and up. >> you're in the detroit area, you've talked to some of these folks. >> it's nothing new for folks in detroit, they have been dealing with this for four years. we would love to have a national average of 11% unemployment. it's up over 20%. >> most people are filing early for social security benefits. when do you know if you're a good candidate for that or not? >> more and more people are taking social security essential at 62, even though you lose 25% of the benefit, 72% of men last year who filed took social security early. i think to some degree there's the thought out there i might s well get it while i can. even though from an internal rate of return, it might make sense for you to wait a little bit -- >> you don't always have the option. >> the calculations are complex. early pensions, a one-time

payout is very different from n pavement. >> the 401(k) balances are down. you really need an effective buyout. >> many employees don't know about this, but you can take something called an in service withdrawal if you're 59 1/2. if you're still working, you can take that 401(k) and roll it over to an ira, so you control that nest egg, greater options, greater flexibility. ask your employer if you can do an in service withdrawal. >> if you are facing a job loss and you need to budget, what tips do you have. >> first meredith is to do financial triage, and just like a medical triage requires stopping the bleeding, you've got to stop and cut your spending, big-time. sit down with your spouse or your partner and make a list of everything you're spending your money on and reduce that to the bare bones. >> there's two risks that you

face as an employee. the stock market risk, and the longevity risk. you have to make sure your assets are prepared to outlive inflation? >> you're talking about an emergency fund. >> most experts suggests six months of cash reserves to get by. we recommend 12 months. >> if you're a mature worker, our clients are telling us that it takes longer now to find a new job. >> you don't want to be in a situation where you're out of work, looking for work and having to raid your long-term savings, stock portfolios. build up a nice position of cash. 12 months of living expenses and you can draw from there every month. >> and also have a plan b. >> this is an opportunity to reinvent yourself. again, your nose has been to the grind stone, hit the pause button and figure out what will truly give you meaning and fulfillment.

>> i was going to say maybe it's an opportunity if you look at it the other way. >> not as a dead end but as a detour. you can get to your destination, you just might be taking a little bit different route. up next, jenna will spend the day in the life of betty white. but first this is "today" on nbc. 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.

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.

♪ thank you for being a friend ♪ >> after more than 50 years, betty white is hotter than ever. >> yes, this was the assignment of a lifetime. you would think that since he's 88 years old, she would be easy to keep up with. but trying to keep up with betty white is exhausting. ♪ thank you for being a friend

♪ >> i call up with the golden girl at her home away from home. the l.a. zoo where betty white is chairman of the board of trustees. >> reporter: do you think that he knows that betty white is feeding her. >> i don't think he gives a darn who it is as long as i don't let go of the milk. >> reporter: this is the betty white most of us don't get to see, an animal lover doing what she calls her real work. that's how i feel after my first morning cup of coffee, same way. >> same way? does anybody feed it to you? >> reporter: certainly not. and when she's not at the zoo, she's doing scenes in movies. >> 555-0172. i'm also on the twitter and facebook. >> do you twister? >> reporter: but she is a pro when it comes to delivering one

liners on her tv land sitcom "hot in cleveland." >> i had to wait until i was 88 to find out i have game. >> reporter: you said it yourself, you don't consider this a resure jengence of your career, but you never left? >> i've been working steady for 63 years. >> reporter: betty's so hot these days, in fact pepsi has turned to her to get amateur producers to create their own super bowl commercials. it was a facebook campaign that convinced the producers of "snl" to have betty white host the show. >> i don't know what facebook was. and now that i do know what it is, i have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time. >> reporter: "snl," you just looked like you had a blast. >> when i got this offer, i thanked them very much and i told my agent to say thank you

but no thank you. >> reporter: why didn't you want to do it? were you nervous at all? >> of course. >> reporter: you were nervous? >> of course. >> reporter: you didn't want to do "snl" because you were nervous? >> of course. didn't you see my knees shaking? >> what is your name? >> s-m-i. >> blanch, you're not a terrible person, you're just horny all the time. >> reporter: i do miss the golden girls because i think that's what's brought every generation into the betty white fan club. >> several people were caught dipping their oreo cookies. >> i have gotten lucky with very good people. >> reporter: the theme song, it's been stuck in my head for

18 years now. is it stuck in yours? ♪ thank you for being a friend ♪ traveled down the road and back again ♪ ♪ my heart is true ♪ you're a pal and a confidant ♪ and if you threw a party ♪ invited everyone you knew ♪ you would see the biggest gift would be from me ♪ ♪ and the card attached would say ♪ ♪ thank you for being a friend ♪ >> reporter: oh, my god. we have to sing all the theme songs. that was the only one that got to air. i'm telling you, in 30, 40, 50 years, i'm going to be betty white. i'm convinced that's going to be me a couple of years from now. >> she says it's not a come back, but she's really enjoying these last couple of years. >> she gets tons of offers and she cannot say no. she's doing another hallmark movie, her list of things is endless.

>> good for her. >> that's delivery. >> nobody delivers a line like betty white. >> reporter: jenna, thanks so much. from here

back now at 8:48 with "today's" journey to secret kingdoms. the legendary timbuktu. good morning to you. >> isn't it great just saying it? this city exists and has a fascinating history. throughout the middle ages, timbuktu was a dominant city. the problem was whenever outsiders tried to find this city, they died so it became a legend. our journey to timbuktu, africa's lost city of gold would take us to the sahara. the upper river that mystified

photographers and magicians that commune with the dead. but like all journeys in africa, our quest to timbuktu begins with a long drive. timbuktu is in mali, one of africa's southwest nations. it's good land for the crops and shepherd's tending goats and longhorn cattle. timbuktu is 600 miles north of these farm lands on the edge of the sahara desert. but on the way, there are other wonders too tempting to pass. like the city of genna, it's name means paradise, but everything including the great mosque is made of mud. it's market day when we arrived, stalls are full, a local sorcerer is out providing slight of hand tricks for coins. these markets move from town to town, the caravans of sellers

traveling hundreds of miles. it's such a central part of life, that when the markets finally arrives, everyone in the village stops working and comes out to shop. but as they often do here, the rain clouds move in, and makes a city of mud. the vendors scatter, which push on north on to timbuktu. about halfway off mali, the farm lands turn into vast open plains, framed by high cliffs. we have come to this remote land to see one of the last tribes in mali that still practices a form of voodoo. but in this place of magic and tradition, at least one american is well known. >> the people who live here are called the dogans, they moved from the plains to these cliffs about 100 years ago to escape conversion to islam. they have been hidden away ever since. they believe in magic and worship the spirits of the lands

and their ancestors. this is one of the only villages where the dogans allow outsider toos witness their sacred dances. every mass k is different. some are 20 feet high. the rituals are designed to escort the fallen to the yorld wonder. but we have a destination, timbuktu is just a few hundred miles away. since there's no paved road to timbuktu, most people go by boat up the niger river, they're not pleasure cruises or have sea worthy. the engines belch smoke, the hull leaks and passengers cook on open fires on the wooden decks. little has changed on the niger since timbukt was founded.

but now there's a faster way to timbuktu, we took to the sky in a 10-seater american made plane. the pilot is a canadian out of work at home because of the global recession. finally we land at timbuktu airport. and we meet our guide. he meets us and welcomes us with a dance. the only culture where the men veil, but the women do not. women have more rights than men. they're the heads of the household, women decide when the camp should move. today they still tend cattle as they have always done and after showing me how to dress, it adds up to horror.

timbuktu's caravans carried gold across the desert. it made timbuktu richer than ever. the king wanted to impress is world, he traveled by caravan through the desert across egypt laden with gold. when he arrived, word of his incredible wealth quickly spread and europeans wanted to know where was timbuktu, the mysterious city of gold, it would take them another 500 years to find it. at a communal well, the cattle are watered for the first time in 12 days. they don't like being denied a drink. some south africans say the souls of the damned speak through the camels. the next day we make it to the center of timbuktu. the mosque he commissioned still

stands and nearby children gather to memorize the koran. but the caravans of gold are gone. all that's left are the once fabled trade route are a few sellers of salt. but there is now an effort underway to preserve timbuktu's cultural heritage. it's the first revival here in 500 years. at its peak, timbuktu had the greatest libraries in africa. foreign donors are now paying to preserve the city's 100 man you crypts. it takes a month to repair a single book, but this city of legend lost and then rediscovered is slowly being reborn. and meredith, i did bring you back a souvenir from timbuktu, it is a necklace and they use it to identify them as they cross through the desert.

>> that's absolutely beautiful. what a fascinating place. >> it was truly wonderful. >> thank you so much. we're back after our local news and weather. this is great. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am in december. and annapolis high school student faces several charges including first-degree sex offense in connection with assault of a classmate not far from school grounds. investigators say he grabbed the juvenile victim and forced her into a wooded area and raped her. he is being charged as an adult telling us "maryland is moving forward," "and moving maryland forward" this jobs

report tells the truth maryland's economy stalled "we face an uphill struggle in trying to regain the jobs lost" o'malley attempts a cover-up, falsifying the jobs report to help his campaign. "whatever we can do to make it disappear, we need to do it. that's coming straight from the top" martin o'malley, first he makes stuff up, when caught, he covers stuff up. we need a governor who tells the truth. >> now let's take a look at the

forecast with john collins. >> the sun is out this morning and we have a big area of high pressure in control. it is going to keep the stormy weather either out west or north of us as we go right through the weekend. forecast for today, sunny skies, mild temperatures, low- -- the70's for the hy high. a few scattered clouds. sun today for the ravens at 1:00 in the afternoon. >> thank you for joining us. >> thank you for joining us. an so who is "making stuff up"? the news media say it's bob ehrlich... with attacks that have been called "false" and "misleading." made up attacks bob ehrlich knows aren't true. but here's what's not made up. bob ehrlich's $3 billion in taxes and fees.

the $2.5 million he got paid working at a lobbying firm. or the fact ehrlich worked for the casinos to put slots at arundel mills mall. now, bob...that's all true. 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