good morning. downturn. the final jobs report before the midterm elections is out. it paints a much bleaker economic picture for the country. >> the only piece of economic news that folks still looking for work want to hear is "you're hired." and everything we do is dedicated to make that happen. >> will it cost the president and his party next month? bullied to death? in one school, over a two-year period, four students took their own lives. now their families want to know if school officials failed to protect 24e78 from their tormenters. and dora the litigator.

from explorer to exploited? the girl behind the lovable character's voice says she was paid peanuts for helping to make the cartoon character a star. "today," saturday, october 9th, the cartoon character a star. "today," saturday, october 9th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a saturday, i'm lester holt. >> and i'm amy robach. and that last job report, of course, is the last one before the midterm elections so it's going to probably have a huge impact on the 308s. >> everybody was waiting, hoping for a change. no such luck. the unemployment rate remains at 9.6%. will the sluggish economy have a big impact in the fast-approaching midterm elections? we will find out. >> and then we will head to chile where at first rescuers said it would take them until christmas to free those trapped miners. we're getting some breaking news right now that says the miners

have been reached. we're going to have the latest in a live report. >> these are going to be anxious hours now and they've reached them now. >> bring them up. >> plus who could forget jonbenet ramsey. the child beauty queen found murdered in her home. that was in 1996. now 14 years later, there are reports that police may have reopened the case. is there a break in the investigation? coming up, we're going to talk to the ramsey family attorney and try to set the record straight. >> and celebrating john lennon. he would have turned 70 today. the tributes are pouring in from around the world. including abbey road in london where we will have a live report. >> let's get to the breaking news out of chile where the rescuers have reached those 33 trapped miners. for the very latest nbc's kerry sanders on the scene just outside the mine. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, lester. very good news. the teams on the surface who are drilling down are now only 13 feet away from the trapped miners. they've halted the drilling process right now, and they're

having some communications, as you know, they have fiber optics down there, they're talking to the miners down below. but it appears that everything is now set the stage is set for what we all hope is a dramatic rescue. the desert is an unforgiving environment. the driest spot on earth. and deep in these shifting sands, beneath some of the hardest rock on earth, 33 trapped miners are finally close to a rescue. and while there's confidence, there are no promises this will work. >> this is a rescue operation, don't forget that. this is not everything set. we are facing many uncertainties. >> reporter: the miners and probable survival for more than two months has the world's attention. reporters from 180 nations have gathered in what is now called camp hope. here the trapped miners' children play soccer, attend classes. while families wait for an end that is now at hand.

how do you feel to see your father's face right there? mario gomez, 63 years old, the oldest of the miners. she says she's anxious, and nervous. may father is going to come out of there. three drilling teams have been racing to reach the men, first to get to them was the team from the united states. >> we just want to get them out. >> reporter: their hole was first five inches wide and as it's been widened the men below have moved 20 tons of falling rock a day. the shaft is now 28 inches wide. just big enough for the escape capsule to navigate down and then back to the surface. transporting the men, one miner at a time. one engineering question remains. should the upper portion of the hole be reinforced with a steel sleeve, a pipe that would prevent loose rock from falling down on the cup you is? that decision is yet to be made.

>> we want to have the answer but it's not easy. >> reporter: we'll know when that drill resumes, and actually makes it through those final 13 feet, because the plan is to sound the sirens here. a sound that the families who have been waiting here for more than two months hope they hear any minute now. lester? >> and kerry, is there any timing as to when they might be able to start bringing them out? >> well, if they decide to put that casing in, that pipe, it will delay things by days. however, if they decide that they have everything that they need in place, they'll do one last inspection with a camera going up and down. they've been inspecting it all along, but if they do that one last inspection, then they'll begin lowering the empty capsule up and down to see if it works and everything goes well. they'll send down the capsule with some paramedics, one by one, and then they'll begin bringing the men up. >> very exciting time. kerry sanders, thanks for the update. and now here's amy. >> lester, thank you.

now to that new jobs report. the last one before the midterm election. the numbers are sobering for a nation struggling to get back on its feet, and a setback for the president and his top priority. nbc's mike viqueira is at the white house with details on that. mike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, amy. another month, another dismal jobs report. the economy is growing too slowly to bring the unemployment rate down, and with elections just weeks away now, voter frustration is mounting. even as he toured a thriving maryland small business, the president acknowledged the jobs picture around much of the country remains bleak. >> the only piece of economic news that folks still looking for work want to hear is, "you're hired." and everything we do is dedicated to make that happen. >> reporter: the october unemployment rate stuck at 9.6%. unchanged from september. with almost 15 million americans still looking for work. the jobs loss leader governments. including 76,000 positions in cities and counties. most of them teachers.

and even with private employers adding jobs for a ninth straight month, mr. obama says he's still working to dig out of a deep economic hole years in the making. >> i'm not interested in trends or figures as much as i am interested in the people behind them. the millions of honest, hard-working americans swept up in the most devastating recession of our lifetime. >> reporter: the dismal report was the last before nationwide elections next month. and with public anxiety running high, republicans, led by john boehner, the man many predict will become the next house speaker, were quick to pounce. >> your government is out of control. do you have to accept it? do you have to take it? >> no. >> hell no you don't! >> reporter: with the economy growing too slowly to bring the jobless rate down, millions who want full-time work are now forced to take part-time positions. >> everybody in there is

concerned about jobs. nobody's getting any. nobody's offering any. >> reporter: another sobering figure, october was the 14th month in a row that jobless rates had been above 9.5%. that's the longest stretch since the great depression. >> given how long people have been unemployed, how many older works are in that group, and are losing the skills they need to be employed in this economy, it's pretty obvious we're going to have a lot of people who just don't fit in anymore. >> reporter: and, amy, the political stakes only get higher from here until november 2nd. election day. tomorrow, the president travels to philadelphia for another in a series of what amount to pep rallies for disaffected democratic voters. amy? >> all right. mike, thanks so much. despite the grim jobs report, wall street is actually riding high. let's bring in carl quintanilla to find out what it all means. good morning. >> good morning, amy. >> we just hearded unemployment rate remains unchanged at 9.6%. private sector added 64,000 jobs. where do we stand right now? >> mike nailed it, the economy is basically paralyzed. businesses don't want to hire

until they know consumers are going to spend. consumers don't want to spend until they feel better about the job market. it's sort of a vicious circle. somebody called it two sides of people sitting around basically doing nothing. and that means the recovery is going to take a very long time. >> that means we're going to see a huge impact probably come november with midterm elections. people are expecting some major changes? >> this report will have something for everybody. republicans are going to say this is clearly unsatisfactory. businesses are worried about taxes. they're worried about regulation. that's why they're not hiring. democrats and the white house will say, look, this is a far cry from when we were losing half a million jobs a month. but, when the president took office, unemployment was 7.7. now it's 9.6 and that's not progress. >> let's talk about something at least positive. wall street making gains yesterday, getting above the 11,000 mark for the first time in five months. what are some of those gains on wall street going to translate to main street? >> there's a long-standing school of thought that when the consumer sees his 401(k) going up instead of down, they feel better, they feel better about spending. is that going to happen if

they've still got large mortgages to pay or they're trying to delever their balance sheet? we'll see. but it might mean, for instance, that consumers spend more this holiday season, which could mean more hiring in 2011. >> we'll end on the silver lining. carl quintanilla. thanks so much. all right now here's lester. >> amy, thanks. now to california's bruising gubernatorial race, and the already ugly campaign may have reached a new low. nbc's lee cowan reports. >> reporter: as campaign calls go, the one jerry brown made to the offices of a los angeles police union last month sounded pretty routine. >> hey, scott, give me a call, jerry brown, love to talk to you. >> reporter: brown left a voicemail. but when he hung up. >> your support means a lot to me, thanks. >> reporter: the call didn't disconnect. what was then captured was an impromptu strategy session. the sausage making of political campaigns, and much like sausage making, it wasn't pretty. on the call, brown sounded

frustrated. the news that he had lost the police union's support, because he threatened to cut public safety pensions while his opponent meg whitman promised something different. >> do we want to put an ad out? that i have been warned if i crack down on engss, i will be -- whitman. >> reporter: suddenly what appears to be a second voice is heard. [ inaudible ] l. cut a secret deal to protect the patrons? >> reporter: whiteman, anxious to divert headlines from her undocumented housekeeper troubles, responded almost immediately. the use of the term whore is an insult the statement read. this is an appalling and unforgivable smear. brown's campaign insists he was responding to the notion of whitman cutting a deal, not the

idea of name-calling. but admitted, at times, our language was salty. we apologize to miss whitman and anyone who may have been offended. still, the whitman campaign says this isn't the end of it. the two are scheduled to face off for their third and final debate next week. with a less than endearing term is sure to be brought up again. for "today," lee cowan, nbc news, los angeles. >> the bitter battle between brown and whitman comes amid another major white house shake-up. it's happening just weeks before the midterm election. john harwood is cnbc's chief washington correspondent. john, good morning. good to see you. >> good morning, lester. >> we'll talk about the white house change in a moment. first go back to this california race. thips is a race that seemed to have its own trajectory for awhile. suddenly you had the housekeeper scandal and now this voicemail. where does that leave this race? is it in flux? does anyone know where it's going to go now? >> you know, i think this is a race in which you have a very familiar candidate in jerry brown, who has a long, long

track record in california politics, running in a republican year against a new face, meg whitman, who's putting a lot of money on television. i think the issues of the economy, what we do about the economy, are going to prove larger than this gap, kind of like the gap a couple of months ago when carly fiorina made a comment about barbara boxer's hairdo. it was a brief tempis. and people talked about the mistake that fiorina had made. but i think voters are focused on larger things. i don't expect this to have a great impact. >> if the economy is a deciding factor. let's look at the new unemployment numbers we talked about a moment ago. unchanged. i don't think that's really a big surprise to anybody. but it's not helpful, certainly, to democrats. how will they try and spin this now between now and election day. >> well, what democrats are trying to do in a very bad environment, and make no mistake, this is a status quo unemployment report, and the status quo is not good for the democratic party, and for the white house. what they're going to try to do is deflect some of that public anger that we heard john boehner

whipping up at that event yesterday to wall street, and to the republican party that was in power before democrats took office. try to make the case that they drove the economy into the ditch, as the president says over and over. and furthermore, they want to help out their friends on wall street. i'm in columbus, ohio, right now. we saw that in debate for governor the other day. where the democratic incumbent attacked his republican challenger, saying he had worked for lehman brothers, a wall street firm. and we see that in the house race in this district, where the democratic incumbent, who's on the defensive, is attacking her opponent as a bank lobbyist. that's the way democrats are trying to take that public frustration and anger and redirect it. >> now let's talk about the changes in the white house. seems like every week brings another figure leaving the white house. now it's james jones the national security adviser. we're looking at a true remake of this administration. what does it mean for the direction of the obama administration going forward? >> i don't think it's a big shift in policy, lester, because

the deputy to james jones was involved in all of the policy from the beginning of the obama administration. i do think it is unusual that you see so much change in a white house before the midterm elections. you often see it at the two-year mark in a presidential term, but you usually see the change, as we did with president bush most recently, after the midterm election. so the image of turmoil isn't good. on the other hand, it provides a fresh start for the administration. >> john harwood, good to see you. thanks very much. >> you bet. all right, now it's time to check the morning's other headlines. let's go back to carl quintanilla who has moved over to the news desk. >> good morning, everybody. we begin in hungary where fears of a new toxic sludge leak prompts the evacuation of an entire town. experts say a weakened wall may cause a second deluge of the red flood that flooded nearby villages this week. the still has killed seven and injured nearly 150 people. meantime the pakistan police say at least ten gunmen torched

29 oil tankers. the largest attack on the supply line of u.s. and nato troops in afghanistan. suspected militants have stepped up attacks as pakistan closed some border crossings. a dramatic rescue friday at a water tower in hollywood, florida. two maintenance workers were sandblasting inside when their scaffolding gave way. both men plunged 45 feet to the bottom of the tank. they were seriously injured but are expected to recover. the diet drug meridia is off the shelves. abbott labs will no longer sell the drug after a test showed it increased the risk of heart attack and stroke. and a first of its kind facial reconstructive surgery on a 700 pound sea lion. this big guy in california was shot in the face by a fisherman ten months ago. he has not been able to dive since and has difficulty breathing. doctors closed the gaping hole in the sea lion's face, and he is recovering nicely.

that's the news for this morning at 7:16. lester, amy, back to you. >> all right, carl, thanks so much. >> nbc meteorologist bill karins with our first check of the forecast. >> poor sea lion. 80% of the country is fantastic this weekend. what an ideal forecast for everyone east of the rockies. the problem area is the pacific northwest. a new storm system moving in there. unfortunately, will be with you through much of the weekend. when you look at the nation as a whole, ideal weather conditions. all the way from new england down to florida, the leafs are at their peak through the great lakes. it's just going to be so nice. maybe even record highs from texas all the way up through areas in minnesota. >> good morning. dry weather during the day today and plenty of sunshine. a cool front passing across the area and settling in south of us. too dry for rain with that front, though. front, though. it look like we'll see a few

>> that's your weekend forecast. bill, thanks. this morning a jurn journey of a lifetime from one of our own. martin fletcher has covered the merchandise east for decades. the emmy award winning journalist lived in israel but to truly know the country and its people, martin embarked on an extraordinary mission. he walked the entire coastline of israel. an experience that is now the subject of his new book "walking israel: a personal search for the soul of a nation." martin fletcher joins me this morning. good to have you. >> good morning. >> when i first read this, "walking israel." you describe about the length, i guess of long island. but that's a long way. and it took a physical toll on you, didn't it? >> well, it did. i must say it was a built harder than i thought it would be. because i left it until the heat of the summer. there was heavy sand.

but i managed to get it done. >> for years we've watched you cover stories from there. the stories that have defined israel for most of the stories, stories of war and conflict. you were looking to show and to find another israel that we don't really talk about. >> well, that's right. i wanted to show that, you know, the israel that the world knows through the media is, of course, a country of conflict, fighting the palestinians. you know, we see a land east of the green land, the west bank occupation, conflict, soldiers, bombs. but you know, 70 prps of israelis live along the coastal plains. that's why i walked along the coast. i wanted to meet different israelis and deal with different problems. there's still plenty of problems, but they're different ones. >> one of the things you found, when you look at both sides, the palestinians, and the other israelis there, they tend to think that this -- the other side is going to kind of go away. that this conflict will just melt away. what were your thoughts on that? >> well, i think that's very true. and when we see that right now with the peace process.

by the so-called peace process. you know, israelis, jews, and palestinians are really not that involved in this peace process that the obama administration right now is so intent on bringing to a conclusion within a year. israelis and palestinians look at this and are kind of blase, they're getting on with their lives. especially israelis. palestinians still suffering in many ways. also their lives are better for the time being. >> let me show you a passage that gives us a sense. israel is a hard country to live in. mothers pray for peace before their babies join the army. many men remain reserve soldiers well into their 40s, by which time they will have fought in at least two wars and buried friends. wages are low and prices are high. income tax approaches 50%. one in three children lives below the poverty line. jews as well as arabs. it's a tiny country in a very hostile region. it's almost like it's a country of survivors. >> it sounds terrible, doesn't it? >> it does. >> i was trying to make a point that it's better than that. but i guess that is the truth.

but it's only part of the truth. the fact is that, i believe national geographic made a list of the ten best beach towns in the world and they included tel aviv. who would have thought of that? >> you write about some of these places should be vacation resorts. >> and wonderful beaches. it's a beautiful coastline. but my point was not only the beauty of the place, which is certainly beautiful. but the rich variety. and the fact that the focus on the conflict is serving to help the cause of demilitarizing israel. people ask the question, should israel exist? i want to show despite all the conflict, which must be urgently solved, it's a wonderful place. because people always call me up and said, hey, martin, is it safe to visit israel? i say yeah, of course. and they call me up a week after they arrive and say, hey, martin, it's a great place, i had no idea. >> that's what you wanted to expose. you also write a little bit about the young people, military service is compulsory there. how do the young people feel about the future, and their need, and the requirements to defend the country? >> i think it's changing. you know, the israel of the

united israel of the fighters and the pioneers. you know, that's history. but the issue today,the issue then is would israel survive. the issue today is yeah, israel has survived. what kind of country will it be? so young people, when they face that prospect of boys three years in the army, girls two years compulsionry. it's not so much about only defending the state. which, of course, that's a very important part of it. it's about what will their future life be in that state? >> well, having followed the story for many years from afar, i'm reading your book and many times going, i didn't know that. i didn't know that. i know that was your hope and goal. martin fletcher, great to have you on. thanks very much. >> thank you. >> still to come, jonbenet ramsey. new reports that the case of the murdered child beauty queen has reopened. we're going to look into that first, this is "today" on nbc.

still 20 come on "today," dora the explorer gets fired. the former voice of the adorable character says she's owed millions for her work on the show. >> plus celebrating john lennon. the iconic musician would have been 70 years old today. we'll take a look at the tributes around the world. but first, these messages.

>> good morning, i'm jennifer franciotti. it is 7:26. here's a look at some of our top stories. baltimore county police are investigating a stabbing in woodlawn. it happened at 8:30 last night at ingleside avenue. that's where police say they found a man stabbed multiple times. police say it happened during a fight at that location. no arrests have been made and police say the injuries appear to be non-life threatening. >> the suspects arrested in baltimore county's largest drug bust in history are out of jail this morning. 39-year-old joseph guadagnoli and 28-year-old megan veitch were arrest whd police discovered an extensive growing operation in easton. the street value was -- in eastpoint. the street value was $35 million. >> legislation to make streets

safer for bike riders. it imposes a fine for people that park in designated bike lanes. >> we have people that will stop in the bike lanes to make deliveries, but you are not giving the cyclists any room, and the cyclist has to kick out of that bike lane into traffic. >> baltimore has 58 miles of bike lanes and 23 more are under construction. >> in baltimore city a crowd gathered in city hall. they say they haven't gotten a clear answer from the department of public works. protesters we spoke with came out with printouts with actual water bills from city buildings and homes that show big unexplained fluctuations in usage over the past few years. in response, the city said meter readings and billing procedures are 99% accurate. stay with us.

>> good morning. the sun is out again this morning. i hope you can take it. 86% the humidity. the barometric pressure fairly steady reading this morning. here's the satellite imaginary. a few clouds to the north of us related to a cool front which will come through during the day, but the air is dry, so it looks like that front won't do much of negative. in essence, we we can say the high pressure keeps the stormy weather out to the west away from us, the result, a mostly

sunny day today. a few scattered clouds. warmer than yesterday. 74 to 79 the high. there will be a westerly way. 5 to 10 miles an hour. just an extension of all this nice weather we've had the past couple days. >> that is wonderful news. we are back on this saturday morning, october 9th, 2010. it is shaping up to be another beautiful day here in new york. we want to thank everybody for coming out to spend part of the morning with us. back inside studio 1a, i'm amy robach, along with lester holt. and coming up today, a shocking story out of one high school in ohio. >> four students, four students allegedly bullied to death over a series of years. the families say the taunting and the teasing drove the teens to suicide. how could all this have happened? who was to blame? we're going to talk live to two of the families of these teens coming up.

>> plus 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 drug cartel to return that man's body. we'll have the full story coming up. >> then, "dora the explorer's" latest adventure may end up in court. the girl who was the voice of the cartoon is now suing nickelodeon. she says the company exploited her and cheated her out of millions. that's not what nick is saying. we're going to hear from both sides and let you decide who is telling the truth in just a few minutes. >> all right. we begin this half hour with jonbenet ramsey. she, of course, was the child beauty queen who was murdered in her family's home in boulder, colorado, back in 1996. now 14 years after her death, the infamous cold case may be heating up. we will talk to the ramsey attorney in a moment. but first, here's nbc's george lewis. >> reporter: this place in boulder, colorado, remains a house of mystery. it was here, almost 14 years ago, police were called to investigate the murder of

6-year-old jonbenet ramsey. found strangled and bludgeoned to death in the basement. >> jonbenet ramsey case is basically a cold case at this moment. but cold cases are solved every day. every year. >> my name is jonbenet ramsey. >> reporter: and one of the most famous cold cases in the world, because of this video of jonbenet, competing in beauty pageants for little girls. ♪ at first, invest gators focused on jonbenet's family, her parents, john and patty ramsey, and her brother burke, 9 years old at the time. but two years ago, prosecutors said the evidence suggests jonbenet was killed by a stranger, not someone in the family. police recently contacted the brother, asking him to call them with any new information. >> i think the police investigators, fbi, working together are going to review all the evidence, and see if there's anything they missed, or anything that needs to be redone. >> reporter: one hope for investigators, that recent advances in dna technology might

help provide new clues. former denver cheap deputy district attorney craig silverman, not directly involved in the case, has followed it from day one, and says it can be solved. >> it happens all the time. decades-old cases resolved by modern technology, new advances in dna. >> reporter: investigators still trying to answer the question, who killed jonbenet? for "today," george lewis, nbc news, los angeles. >> and joining me now from atlanta is lin wood, the attorney for the ramsey family. good morning to you. >> good morning, amy. >> first of all, give us a sense of how and when boulder police first contacted burke? >> well, what happens -- well, last may, while burke was in college, his senior year, he was approached by three boulder police officers who essentially gave him a business card and said, if you ever would like to speak with us, here's how you

can contact us. unfortunately, about three weeks ago, the boulder police department leaked information that falsely suggested that he had been interviewed, and since that leak came out, on a television station in denver, there's been a media frenzy again about the case, speculation about new evidence. not true. speculation about the case being reopened. it's never been closed. but sadly, speculation about burke ramsey. the police never focused on burke ramsey. the police and the boulder district attorney's office had said for over 11 years that burke ramsey was never a suspect. not even a possible suspect -- >> then why would the boulder police department leak that information or leak out that they were seeking to talk to or trying to talk to burke? what would be their motive? >> i don't think there's any question that it was done simply to harass john ramsey. you have to remember, amy, the ramsey family was very vocal about the incompetence of the

boulder police department and the mishandling of the investigation of their daughter's murder. and it was the ramsey family that was instrumental in having the case removed from the boulder police department, and taken over by the boulder district attorney's office. last year, a new district attorney came in to office, and essentially gave the case back over to the police. and i think the police chief out there is vindictive toward john ramsey and i think it is an outrage, and an abuse of burke ramsey for him to relate any information to burke, who was 9 years old when his sister, his life's best friend, was tragically murdered. who is 23 years old now and has lived a very difficult life. but is has overcome his sister's murder, the accusations and media scrutiny against his parents. can you imagine what it was like for burke to go to school every day? and then the death of his mother. and now to come out, grad out from college, start a job, and then all of a sudden have the

boulder police get his name back out in the press, where he's now falsely being speculated about in terms of possibly being a suspect. it's just an outrage, and it should never have happened to this young man. >> as you mentioned, burke was 9 when his sister jonbenet was killed. can you tell us whether or not he ever did have to or has ever sat down at length with police and answered their questions? >> sure. and that's one of the reasons that i believe that this is an act of harassment by the police department. they don't need to interview burke ramsey. burke was interviewed the day that jonbenet's body was found. without the parents' permission, by the way, an illegal interview by the police. he was subsequently interviewed at length by the department of family services in colorado. he was subsequently again in june of 1998 interviewed at length by the boulder district attorney and the boulder police department. and he was subpoenaed and testified before the grand jury

that investigated the ramsey case, the murder, for 18 months, and did not indict. so, they know what burke ramsey knows and what this young man could tell them. recollections don't get better over the course of 14 years. they don't have any real need for burke ramsey's -- any more information from burke. what they need to do is what the boulder d.a. did when she took over this case, in 2002. they need to focus on the dna evidence. because it's the dna evidence that cleared the family, exonerated them in june of 2008, and it will be the dna evidence that finds and identifies the murderer of this child. >> all right, well lynn, thank you. we appreciate your time this morning. >> thank you very much, amy. >> time now for a check of the weather. and for that we head back outside to nbc meteorologist bill karins. bill, good morning. >> good morning to you, amy. when the mums are out here on the plaza you know it means fall. the peak leaves, many locations. the golden leaves out in colorado, also going up through the great lakes and even northern new england.

that's where we're watching some of the best leaf peeping as we go through the weekend. as far as getting the pumpkin, sunny and bright in so many areas today. beautiful warmth from arkansas northwards up into the great lakes and even the coast east is going to be picturesque as we go throughout what should be a fantastic saturday. >> plenty of sun this morning. cool front moves through the day today. a couple scattered clouds. any rain out west stays out west. we have a lot of sun in th >> and of course if you want your weekend forecast, even hour by hour. you can always get that at weather.com. amy? >> all right, bill, thank you. still to come, dora, the

lawsuit. why the girl of the voice is suing her former bosses. >> but up next, travels with the travel channel's samantha brown, shows you where you can travel with your pet. [ woman ] i had this deep, radiating pain everywhere... and i wondered what it was. 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 less pain means i can do more with the ones i love. [ 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.

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this morning on "today's travel," trips with pets. more destinations are catering to your four-legged friends. it's a booming business, especially here in the big apple as the travel channel's samantha brown found out. ♪ >> reporter: hey there, he is up for adoption at the animal shelter here in new york city. but before he gets adopted, he and i are going to show you and your four-legged friends how you can take manhattan. start spreading the newspapers. of course here in new york city there are hotels that meet every price range that accept pets. travel with pet tips, if you do leave the decision up to the dog, you will end up at the

ritz-carlton. they have what is called the very important booch program, vip, don't you know. the problem with dogs staying at hotels, they're finding is that they don't tip. so now marty and i are getting a little art appreciation at the williams gallery here in new york. it features 19th century paintings of dogs, and it welcomes dogs. isn't that great? see that's when the artist is going to drinking from the toilet bowl. i wanted to take marty to a place so he could get a nice little outfit for himself. oh, marty, look at this! you like this look? all right, marty, last stop, lucky dog, look. dog's welcome. we have to show i.d.? the great thing about lucky dog bar is that it's got this wonderful outdoor courtyard

area, under the trees, big picnic tables and benches to sit on and the dogs can run around off their leash. so, as you can see, marty is seeing the big apple really has a soft spot for tourists of the four-legged kind. i'm pretty sure after today, after a wonderful day, that marty here is himself going to be one lucky dog. >> samantha brown joins us for more tips on traveling with pets and she has brought along marty with her. good morning. good to see you. >> good morning, lester. >> how marty is sitting on the sofa. >> he's a natural. i think i'm going to start a travel show with him. me and marty, our travels around the globe. >> he had a great time in new york. let's talk about if people want to go on the road with their dogs, especially in a car. >> yes. >> certainly you can do it. what are considerations? >> this is interesting. dogs shouldn't ride shotgun. we all want our dog to be up there. the dog wants to be up there. it's actually dangerous because of the air pags. pets have become family members.

everyone needs to buckle up. a cat needs to be in a carrier. the dog with be in a harness. you can buy in pet stores that lock in to -- >> so put them in the bag? >> if you stop short or get in an accident little marty becomes a projectile. >> about flying. i know the humane society doesn't necessarily recommend flying with dogs. if you have to, what should you think about? >> you should think about always taking that animal in into the cabin. >> not check them as baggage? >> not as cargo. that's definitely the least desirable way. of course, all airlines have different pet policies when travel. but generally, if a dog or cat is small enough to stand up in a carrier that fits under the seat in front of you, you can bring them along. as you mentioned before, it's pretty expensive. >> used to be free. now it can be several hundred dollars. >> $250 round trip. you guys get expensive. >> there's a new program now that flies dogs. companion airways. that's what they do, fly animals around. >> i love this. first class travel for pets.

they stay in their carriers, in the cabin. they're checked every 15 minutes. i don't know if there's an in-flight movie. i hope it's not "old yeller." but obviously, that's a very nice way to travel. >> and i think they use airports near big cities. not necessarily the major ones. >> all the major cities in new york, chicago, l.a., miami. but it's the regional airports. >> you talk about pet friendly hotels. that can mean different things. what should you ask before you make a redelve significance? >> you need to call up the hotel and say what is your pet policy? >> usually they charge from $15 a night to $120 a night. is there a cleaning fee? is it refundable? also is there a weight restriction? a breed restriction? and can you leave the animal unattended in the hotel room? and just as a pet lover and owner, if you're going to leave your animal or dog in a hotel room all day, maybe you don't want to bring your dog. just because you can travel with your pet doesn't mean you should. >> you should probably be very realistic about how well your dog behaves? >> absolutely. >> and dogs love to travel.

most of them do. cats not so much. but just remember, they are animals. and they need to be treated with respect. >> i know marty's up for adoption. but you have bonding going on here. samantha brown -- you can't wouldn't like that. >> no, she's not up this early. >> great to see you. up next all you need to love. remembering john lennon on what would have been his 70th birthday. ♪ eating right makes a big difference. it can make a fast faster and a slow guy... umm... slimmer . petsmart carries more natural food solutions than ever and now... we offer 'wellness'! with healthy, natural ingredients your pet will love! you could say that food matters, but that... would be an understatement. petsmart. we love to see healthy, happy pets! with wellness natural pet foods, every ingredient has a purpose trusted to become the foundation of your pet's well-being now available at petsmart. rheumatoid arthritis going? they're discovering simponi®,

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imagine this. john lennon would have turned 70 years old today. the beatles legend who has become an icon for people around the world is being celebrated for a life that touched millions. nbc's jenny winle joins us live from abbey road in london. >> reporter: good morning, amy, hello. as you can see behind me there are a steady stream of fans crossing abbey road, replicating that famous 1969 album cover. but his birthday is being celebrated in his home town of liverpool as it is around the world. nonetheless, it's still difficult to imagine john lennon at 70, because to the rest of us, he will never really grow old. ♪ imagine all the people living life in peace ♪ >> reporter: it should have been john lennon's 70th birthday today. but nearly 30 years ago, the unimaginable happened. he was shot dead outside his new

york apartment before his dream of peace could be realized. >> of course, you know, you imagine all his political songs really have a lot of meaning right now for people. and i think that's why people are reviving his songs. >> reporter: back in 1964, thousands of screaming fans greeted the beatles at every turn. what many of them didn't know was that john lennon was already taken. married to cynthia. together they had a son who told british television show daybreak this week, john struggled with fatherhood. >> he was a great man in many respects. not as a father, necessarily, but, you know, and i appreciate what he's done. and i understand what he went through. and why things were the way they were. ♪ >> reporter: around the time the beatles separated, lennon launched his solo career, married yoko ono and had a second son, sean. ♪

paying tribute to his music in liverpool this weekend, hundreds of fans are gathering at the club where the beatles made their name. today, they're celebrating his birthday. ♪ happy birthday to you but every year, thousands make the pilgrimage to his hometown. >> the house where john spent most of his life in liverpool. >> obviously we don't listen to it as much on the radio or that type of thing but the beatles are still huge with the young crowd. which is great to see. >> reporter: from now on there will be an extra stop on the tour. a sculpture for peace and harmony by a previously unknown american artist, well that sculpture has been unveiled in the last hour in the center of liverpool by john lennon's first wife cynthia, and his eldest son julian. that's being billed as britain's answer to the memorial in strawberry fields in new york. >> all right, jenny, thanks so much. and we're bang. but first, this is "today" on

nbc. 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.

still to come on "today," close to freedom. breaking news from chile where those rescuers are just a few feet away from the trapped miners. >> and dora goes to court. no fun and games from the girl who was the character's voice. she is sues now for millions. we'll tell you why, but first these messages.

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>> good morning. i'm jennifer franciotti. it is 7:56. here's a look at some of our top stories. in baltimore county, a man is on trial for the murder of his wife. tracy disappeared in march 2005 while heading to a concert never to be seen again. those close to tracy said she told her husband dennis to move out of the house and that their marriage was over. tracy never showed up at that concert. to this day her body has never been found. as the trial begins, dennis' attorney says the state has only circumstantial evidence. >> our defense is that the state cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was even a murder committed, much less that my client was guilty of that murder. >> but the prosecution says they don't need a body to prove its case. >> also, in baltimore county, police are investigating a stabbing in woodlawn. police say they found a man stabbed multiple times.

they say it happened during a fight at that location. no arrest has been made, and police say the victim's injuries appear to be non-life threatening. >> an annapolis student accused of sexually assaulting a student. troy reid allegedly grabbed the juvenile victim, pulled her in a wooded area and raped her. it happened friday across the street from the school. prosecutors believe reid attacked the girl after she rejecked his advances. >> picked up a stick and threw it at her knocking her to the ground. at that time when she fell to the ground, he maintained control of her on the ground and committed the sexual assault. >> reid is currently being held without bond, and according to the baltimore sun, he faced a similar charge back in june.

>> a look at the satellite radar combination. any rain associated with those clouds has ended. as you can see, the eastern half a little better than that is high and dry and it looks like it will stay that way. today a cool front moves across the area, but the most we expect out of it is a couple clouds. the stun still the dominant feature today. the west to northwest winds at 5 to 10 miles per hour. seven-day forecast lots of sun for game day on sunday. 75 the high. sunday afternoon, late monday into tuesday and wednesday, then

we do have rain chances in there. by the end of the week, it will only be in the 60's for highs. >> thank you, john. thank you for joining us. i'll have another update in 25 minutes. see you then. it is 8:00 now on this saturday morning. the 9th of october, 2010. perfect fall day here in the northeast. we thank everyone for coming out to spend part of their day with us. if you're ever in the neighborhood, please stop on by. we'd love to have you. outside on the plaza, lester holt along with amy robach. and coming up in this half hour, we've got some breaking news. very exciting news. >> that's right. freedom may be close at hand for those trapped chilean miners. rescuers are just 13 feet away from those men right now. this is one of the most challenging rescue operations in mining history. engineers hoping to finish that

drilling shaft about a half a mile down to the mine nears. sometime today. >> we were talking yesterday about what they're going to go through in this rescue. they're going to put them in a narrow capsule and bring them up 2300 feet. this is 26 inches across. this is what the capsule. age being in something like that, now, and being brought up for 2300 feet. you want to know what that is? look at our headquarters here, 30 rock, that's about 850 feet. so almost three times the size of that building. that's how far they're going to be brought. >> that's going to be a long ride. >> not a straight shot and they're worried about some of the crumbling in that 28-inch tunnel. >> they're worried whether or not to put a shaft. >> very scary, very perilous time. we'll be watching very closely. >> also ahead a shocking story. one school, four suicides and the tragedies unfolded over a two-year period. were the teenagers bullied to death? their relatives are now speaking out. they're blaming school officials

for not protecting their children. >> and she's known for saying swiper no swiping. the girl behind the voice of dora, the explorer is sa accusing her former boss of doing just that, swiping her out of millions of dollars. was she exploited? we're going to talk about the controversy and the lawsuit ahead. >> but first let's head back to the nbc news and carl quintanilla who is standing by for us. >> good morning, amy, lester. good morning, everybody. as amy and lester just mentioned, breaking news from chile. rescuers are just a couple of feet away now from reaching the miners. nbc's kerry sanders is live at the mine in chile with more. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning. they're seven feet or less away, and that could all collapse at once, and so they're really just about there. we're waiting to hear some sirens. i'm hearing some clapping right now. i'm not sure whether that's -- anyway, we're waiting to hear some sirens which will indicate to us that they've opened the shaft, 28 inches wide, from the surface, all the way down to the men. which will allow, as lester

said, that 26-wide capsule to make its way up to the surface. i'm hearing more cheers out of my ear here, so they may be getting new information. even though we haven't heard the sirens yet that they have now punched their way through. the 33 miners down below reported on the phone to the fiber optic cable that they could hear the drill louder than they've heard at any time. it made them nervous, anxious, and certainly excited. it's possible that they may -- i'm hearing it. i'm hearing it right now. in the far distance i'm hearing the siren going. they've made it through, carl. this sets the stage now for what everybody hopes will be a dramatic rescue. >> wow. what an amazing breakthrough, kerry sanders live for us this morning in chile. kerry, thank you for that very much. the ploimtd picture in this country still looking bleak as the last jobs number is released before the midterm election. mike viqueira is live at the white house with more on that. >> reporter: good morning, carl. it's another month, another dismal jobs report. unchanged since august, the

number for september 9.6%. that's obviously bad news for the 15 million americans who are looking for work and can't find it. it's also very bad news for democrats who hold the levers of power here politically with the election less than one month away. yesterday, president obama, you see him there, touring a masonry plant in suburban maryland. that particular plant is thri thriving. the president touting once again all he has done to try to bring the economy out of the recession. it is technically out of the recession, but the economy, carl, is not growing fast enough to bring that unemployment rate down. meanwhile republicans have bounced, led by john boehner, the man who would be republican speaker of the house after november 2nd. and the way things are going, it appears that republicans are now favored by many experts to take control, at least of the house of representatives. carl? >> mike viqueira at the white house this morning. thanks for that. in other areas a british aid worker abduct the by gunmen in afghanistan last month has been killed during a rescue tempt. britain's foreign policy says

36-year-old linda norgrove was killed last night by her captors. the british government had received tips on her whereabouts and fearing for her life decided to attempt a rescue. new jersey governor chris christie is reconsidering his decision to cancel a massive rail tunnel project connecting new york and the garden state. christy met with ray lahood on friday who said his people will review options and report back to the governor. christy has canceled the project over escalating costs. and finally imagine captain jack sparrow visiting your school. it happened to some lucky children in london after johnny depp, dressed as his character from the pirates of the caribbean movie, sang pirate songs, he danced for the kids, along with four other cast members. depp is in london filming the latest installment of that movie. a class act. that is the news for now. now back to amy. >> all right, carl quintanilla, thanks so much. and now let's get a check of your weather from nbc meteorologist bill karins who is out on the plaza. bill? >> good morning, amy. so beautiful out here. nice in so many areas today.

all right, fredricktown, ohio. that's where we're from. who are the next people on the sign? >> these are our children. >> so there's a halle and a halie? let's talk about the pore cast. so many warm temperatures from iowa down to texas and the southeast. 80s and 90s. a beautiful weekend. just the pacific northwest with a little rainy, cloudy and cool. >> good morning. dry weather during the day today and plenty of sunshine. a cool front passing across the area and settling in south of us. too dry for rain with that front, though. front, though. it look like we'll see a few that's your saturday forecast.

lethser? >> bill, thanks. it's estimated at 160,000 children skip class each day because of bullies. the stories are shocking but what we are abouto tell you is almost unthinkable. it's about four teenagers who were allegedly bullied at the same school in ohio. four teenagers who then took their own lives. >> no one remembers her -- >> reporter: susannah says her sister told her she was being bullied by her fellow students at mentor high school in ohio. >> constantly coming home from school crying, not just to me, to my mom. >> reporter: in october 2008 the 16-year-old killed herself. her family is suing the mentor school district, saying administrators knew about the bullying but didn't stop it within a two-year period, three other teens from the same school killed themselves. all were said to have been bullied. the school superintendent said in a statement friday they have aggressive programs that address acceptance, tolerance, and mental health.

eric mohalt's family is suing the mentor school district, too. eric shot himself in march 2007. he had told his parents he was being bullied at school. parents struggle with how they can protect their kids from bullies. >> i'm just an average dad protecting his daughter. that's it. >> reporter: florida father james jones lashed out at those he thought were bullying his daughter. jones was charged with disrupting the peace for his outburst. the death of phoebe prince, the high school student who killed herself after being bullied inspired andy bullying legislation in massachusetts. and one u.s. senator promised federal legislation after rutgers student tyler clementi took his own life. but even with andy bullying laws in 45 states the recent string of suicides thought to be caused by bullying has everyone wondering what can be done to stop it. the families of the teens say the school district didn't do enough to protect the students from bullying. janice mohat is eric mohat's

mother, susannah vidovic is the sister of svetlana. thank you all for being with us. >> good morning. >> janice, tell me a little bit about what you now believe eric had been going through on a fairly regular basis at his school. >> eric was bullied on a daily basis in his math class. they would flick his ear, they would throw things at him, they would knock his books out of his hands. they would shove him into lockers. and the day he killed himself, the bully said to him, eric, why don't you go home and shoot yourself, it's not like anyone would care. >> and when did you learn of what he was going through. >> he mentioned the first time about a week before his death. he had said that it was great, the math teacher had finally reamed the kids out, and that it was done, and that was the first we had ever heard of it. we asked, we need to get

involved? no. it's handled. >> right. >> and then we had planned on following up the following week. but we never got that opportunity. >> let me turn, if i can, to suzannah now to talk about your sister. by all accounts at home, a very, very happy girl. but at school, something very different. what do you understand that she was going through at the school? >> my sister was called by different names. she was called slut, whore -- >> she was mocked because of her accent? >> she was told so many times that she doesn't belong here, she should go back to where she came from. he was pushed down stairs. her purse was turned upside down, everything went out on a table. people were laughing at her. she was pushed in the hallways. her locker was slammed on her.

>> and should the school have done something about it? >> they should have, because my parents went to school so many times, and every incident that happened the next day my parents were at school talking to the principal, talking to administration office, and they always promise that they're going to do something about it, but nothing was done. they didn't keep their promises. >> the school district says in a statement they've had aggressive programs in place that address acceptance, tolerance, and mental health. ken, let me turn to you. i think everyone will agree, these are horrible things these children were subjected to, but can you actually hold a school responsible for the bad behavior of the children? >> well, you can't hold a school responsible for everything that goes on during the school day. but legal standard we have to meet to prevail in the lawsuits is what's called deliberate indifference. it sounds just like what it is. if you know about something and you fail to take any action and harm rules.

and our allegation is that in both of these cases the school district knew what was happening, they knew the effects, and they failed to take any action. >> susannah, what do you want folks to know about your sister? >> i want everyone just to remember her, when she was happy, and she loved to cook, she would always do anything to make everyone happy. no matter how sad you are or how bad your day was, as soon as she's around, you would smile with those big blue eyes of hers. you just have a better, happier day. >> and janice, in the remaining time we have, tell me a little bit about eric and you want, what the takeaway should be for other children and parents? >> i would like eric to be remembered as the fun-loving kid that he was. and what i would like people to take away from this is, what have we lost in society? what contributions could have been made by these kids?

what will be lost forever? >> well, we appreciate all of you for coming on and talking about this. and my sympathies to both of the families. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> and we're back right after these messages. [ female announcer ] walgreens wants to remind you that there are more than one billion cases of the common cold each year in america. ♪ so, as you prepare for cold season, make sure your home and medicine cabinet are freshly stocked. right now,

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and the fiber their tummies love... which makes for a whole lotta happy. froot loops, apple jacks and corn pops, an oh-so-good source of fiber. kellogg's® makes fiber fun. "dora the explorer's" latest adventure is hardly childs play. the girl who was the voice for the adorable cartoon character is now suing nickelodeon. she claims the network exploited her, making her work for barely anything, while the network

raked in millions. more now from nbc's michelle franzen. >> red, blue -- >> reporter: for three years she was the voice behind america's bilingual sweetheart. >> come on, vamanos. >> reporter: nickelodeon's animated sensation, and popular kid role model, "dora the explorer." >> really happy to be a part of it. >> reporter: but now 14-year-old caitlin sanchez, shown here in august promoting dora's tenth anniversary, is suing the children's network and parent company viacom. the suit, filed by caitlin's mother and attorney, claims the tv network exploited the teen's talents. underpaying her millions of dollars for voice and singing performances, residuals, and promotional work for the multibillion dollar brand of all things dora. in a statement, attorneys say caitlin's parents were pressured to sign the original contract, and not given time to consult a lawyer, saying, quote, i've never seen as convoluted an

inscrutable a contract as i've seen here. before lawyers filed the complaint, nickelodeon stopped using caitlin as the voice of dora. saying a change in the teen's voice no longer made it possible to portray the latina's character. nickelodeon responded to the suit saying not only did the company offer caitlin other work after her run on dora ended but, quote, caitlin's contract was extensively negotiated through her agent, and in compliance with her union. she was well-compensated for her work and for personal appearances. caitlin's attorneys say the teen is not suing because she is no longer the voice of dora, but just wants to be paid fairly, and also keep working to promote the popular products that made dora a household name. for "today," michelle franzen, nbc news, new york. >> and we contacted caitlin sanchez's attorney but he declined to have his client come onto the show. so exactly who is being exploited here? wendy murphy is a former federal

prosecutor and joins us with more. wendy, good morning. >> good morning, amy. >> and it's interesting, because i just heard in the piece there, a question i had, where you know, she wasn't upset about her compensation, it seems, until she was let go and no longer employed with nickelodeon. and she claims she only had 15 minutes to sign a contract. what do you see going on here? >> well, clearly you just suggested what their defense is going to be. this is not a breach of contract or a company that was unfair to a kid. this is a girl who is angry that she lost her job. and this is retribution. you know, there are some very disturbing allegations here. and if they're true, i think nickelodeon could get in a lot of trouble, at least in terms of their audience. because remember, nick is the company that sells itself as the empowerment channel for children. and if anything, if you take advantage of any child, much less a beloved cartoon character like dora, you're going to have problems pr-wise. that's assuming these

allegations are true. but, here's an interesting piece of the lawsuit. it does complicate a long lawsuit. one of the things that stood out is dora, or this girl, the voice of dora, is saying she wasn't fairly compensated and she got only $40 a day when she went on promotional appearances. but she's saying she was entitled to, you ready for this, $1300 an hour for those days. on the one hand it sounds terrible she got 40 bucks. but $1300 an hour. that's a lot of dough. >> apparently she was paid over $5,000 an episode but she claims she's due millions of dollars in promised compensation for the merchandising we see, the reruns, residuals, promotional work and recording. what kind of case does she have? >> well, if the allegations are true, i think she's got a claim. she said two things. one is, i shouldn't even have signed this. it's an unconscionable contract. the court should chuck it and just give me whatever money is fair.

and if she wins on that basis, that this contract is unconscionable and thus unenforceable she's probably going to get a lot of dollars. i mean millions of dollars, because they made huge amounts of money on her voice. on the other hand, you know, if nick's right, that she was represented by an agent, she had enough time to look at the specific language, and she signed it, because, like so many other kids, and families, she was desperate and very eager to be the voice of dora, and look, a lot of people would have done this job for nothing. so you know, the fact that she got a lot of money is going to be their defense. she signed the contract, fair is fair in the business community. you know, it's a tough call at this point. we don't know exactly what nick's defense is going to be. but, it's fair to say, think want this over quickly, because, you know, to have the whole world saying, nick was unfair to dora, that's bad news. >> all right, wendy murphy. thanks so much. and we're back, but first, this is "today" on nbc.

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>> i'm jennifer franciotti. it is 8 sm 25. police investigating a stabbing. no arrests made, and police say the victim's injuries appear to be non-life threatening. >> police awaiting autopsy reports for the results of a woman's body found inside a vacant building inside the 300 block of north howard street. authorities believe the woman was homeless and had been living in the building. right now they are not certain if she accidentally fell down the shaft or if she was murdered and her body fell down there. >> an annapolis high school student has been charged as an adult. he's accused of sexually assaulting a classmate. troy reid grabbed a juvenile victim, forced her into a wooded area, and raped her.

authorities say it happened last friday across the street from the school. investigators believe that reid attacked the girl after she rejected his advances. >> at that time he became angry and picked up a stick and threw it at her, knocking her to the ground. at that time when she fell to the ground, he maintained control of her on the ground and committed the sexual assault. >> currently being held without bond and according to the "baltimore sun" he faced a similar charge back in june.

>>

>> good morning. some of the low temperatures this morning were in the upper 40's. we're beginning to climb into the 50's with plenty of sunshine in the area. you can see smudges up here in new england and some clouds. no moisture in the atmosphere to speak of, though. so there is not enough in the atmosphere to create rain with that front. as it comes through there might be a couple scattered clouds and that's about it. really high pressure and sunshine. that's the dominant rule today. all the stormy weather is way out to the west. our forecast today, perhaps a few scattered clouds. again, the sun is the big thing. again nice wemplet west to northwest winds at 5 to 10. 74 to 79 for the high. maybe a degree or two warmer than it was yesterday, but similar weather. game day tomorrow, 1:00 in the afternoon at m&t stadium. the ravens broncos game. plepty of sun. seasonnably mild temperatures. 72 at game time, and in the low

to mid 70's during the game. actually that's a couple degrees warmer than usual for this time of year. so go ravens. >> all right. you got that right, john. thanks for joining us. "11 news saturday morning" continues in just 25 minutes. we are back on this saturday morning, october 9th, 2010. it is a beautiful autumn day here in new york. thank everyone who came out to spend the day with us outside on the plaza. i'm amy row back along with lester holt. and still to come in this half hour, there's some new information that the alleged pirate attack on the mexican border, it's been more than a week since an american man was gunned down on a lake. it's still a mystery as to comwhat happened, why it happened. we have the latest on this disturbing story coming up. >> we're going to talk about a new film coming out called

"red." my goodness does this have an a-list cast or what? it's full of academy award winners, morgan freeman, hillen mirren, bruce willis. all packing heat in a top new movie. we've got the stars coming along. >> and food for the fall. giada de laurentiis is here. she's going to bring us a harvest feast that is simple to make and simply delicious. i can smell the pastries. >> we're going to start with dessert if that's okay. it takes more than eggs and butter to make a great cake. ask viewers of tlc's hit reality series "cake boss." bud buddy is the star of the show. great to have you here. >> good morning. >> whenever you're here i never know if these are props or if we can eat them after. >> you can really eat them. just not before. >> you took a big family trip to italy. >> well, we filmed an episode with italy. i mean going back to roots and seeing the whole beginnings of my family. >> both of your folks are from

italy? >> they came over when they were young. you know, we just got some great, great stories to tell and family history. so we're so excited. >> great recipes, too? >> oh, of course. my dad used to go to italy, he would always work in a bakery and get a couple recipes. and i did the same. >> i told you back in the green room my children are huge fans of your show. what can fans expect as the season continues? what can we look forward to? >> we've got a big surprise coming up. >> all right. >> okay. we've got snooki is going to be coming on. >> uh-oh. >> it was a good thing. it was a really good thing. >> i didn't say it wasn't. i just said uh-oh. >> and we got -- we did four episodes in italy. so i mean, just you know, going from where my mother was born, to where my father was born, and you know, lots of family. lots of crazy antics and good stuff. >> all right. and good food. >> good food. >> great to have you here. thanks so much. >> always a pleasure. >> always stealing the cupcakes. >> this looks really good.

>> we're so excited to be back mondays at 9:00. >> you can catch buddy and his family tomorrow night on the season premiere of "cake boss." >> going to be a good one. >> buddy, take care. bill's standing by with another check of the weather. >> they already claimed the red velvet cupcakes. 80% of the country is fantastic, >> plenty of sun this morning. cool front moves through the day today. a couple scattered clouds. any rain out west stays out west. we have a lot of sun in the all the seventh and eighth

graders, thanks for coming out and visit us on the plaza. bill, thanks. now to that alleged pirate attack on the mexican border. the family of an american man says gunmen killed him while he was jetskiing on a lake, and they are now lashing out at mexican authorities accusing them of not cooperating in the investigation. we have some new information to tell you about. nbc's janet shamlian reports. >> reporter: it's been more than a week since tiffany and david hartley took their jet skis out and she returned alone, saying armed gunmen had shot david in the head and she escaped as the amount bush continued. >> are you sure that your husband got shot? >> yeah, in his head. >> okay. was he thrown out of the jet ski, he was in the water or something? >> he was thrown out of the jet ski and they came to pick him up. >> reporter: it happened on the mexico side of the texas lake, where the notorious violent cartel has become more brazen in its attacks. the texas sheriff investigating the case here at falcon lake has now done something unusual.

appealing directly to the cartel, promising there will be no penalty for returning david's body. >> we cannot arrest anybody for what happened in mexico. we cannot prosecute anybody for what happened in mexico. we gist want a body. so with that said, to the cartel, i send word to you unofficially. >> reporter: this helicopter is part of the search for hartdy's body in mexico. one that had to be temporarily suspended after the cartel's threatened an ambush. >> we have an american citizen who was gunned down on international waters. >> reporter: that riled texas governor rick perry, who's been critical of mexico's response. >> no, i'm not satisfied. i don't think we're doing enough. 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: a feeling echoed in the hartley's hometown of denver on friday, where friends rallied in support of a more extensive search. >> i know he's out there. we just all want him back. so we can give him the proper -- proper good-bye. >> reporter: tiffany hartley said she'd consider taking a polygraph test if authorities want her too. but the sheriff said her story stacks up and now it's about bringing david home. for "today," janet shamlian, nbc news. coming up next, seeing red. the three hollywood heavyweights and their new action flick. but first these messages.

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in the new movie "red" bruce well us, dame helen mirren and morgan freeman play former cia agents on the run after being framed for an assassination. to prove their innocence, they must embark on a cross-country journey and break into cia headquarters. and, of course, try and stay alive. we happen to have bruce willis,

helen mirren and morgan freeman with us. good morning to you all. what a thrill to have you here. i can't remember the last time i've been as excited about three actors in this studio. and people who have seen the trailer of this film, they all come away saying, wow, what a cost. morgan, what was the chemistry like? what was it like a typical day of filming this? >> everybody wants to think that we're, you know, jollying around and so happy to see each other. of course we're very happy to see each other. i'm very, very thrilled to have been added to this cast. but you know, work is work. so my saying is that, we just come together, and do what we're told do do. >> but when you're working with actors of your caliber, and is there a -- is there an added pressure to really bring the game -- >> there's less pressure. >> not for me. >> oh, get off it. >> i was terrified. >> were you intimidated? >> i was absolutely. you know, -- >> being on the same stage with me, of course? >> both of you. i mean all of you. it was a frightening thought. >> dame helen mirren.

>> i'm telling you, i'm thinking this morning, aston martin, very, very fabulous, old army jeep. very, very strong old army jeep. donkey in the middle. >> oh, and helen it was fun seeing you step into this role. one of the fun things is people don't expect to see you in a role like this. your character looked like she was having fun. and by extension you look like you were having fun playing this. >> i was. once i got into the rhythm of things, you know, everyone who came onto that set was welcomed, made to feel, you know, feel at ease. there was no sense of this humongous superstar person that bruce actually is and morgan. >> who was your inspiration for the role? >> oh, my inspiration for my role was martha stewart. yes. >> one more time? i'm sorry. >> oh, look. well she's perfect for this, you

know. she's very smart, very intelligent, very charming, very gracious, very el against. and very, very tough. and you know, concentrated. >> bruce, how much were you drawn to this notion, the script is essentially about three former cia agents essentially put out to pasture who now come back and show that they've still got it. how drawn were you to that story line? that's going to apply to many people in life. >> very ambitious story line. because you're going to make -- you could have made the movie about comedy, or about romance, or about action. and the filmmakers in this film tried to put all that in to one big story. >> morgan were you looking for, after doing a movie like "invictus" were you looking for something like this, very different to do? >> yes, and no. looking for work. >> so am i. >> i'm tling you, people say oh, you can pick and choose, you can

do, you can say whatever you want. no, no, no. >> but you can pick and choose. >> no, no, no. you pick and choose, and say okay they want you to do this or they want you to do that. yeah, you can pick and choose. but normally, for me, okay, we have a script that's ready to go and they want you to do it. okay, i'll do it. because, i don't have what do you call that, an embarrassment of riches. >> but you like the idea of playing in an action film? >> absolutely. i'm going to be with bruce. i'm going to be with helen. this is a good action moviever here. oh, absolutely. i saw this guy jump off a truck onto the wing of a jet plane. i mean, he's bad! >> you sticking with that? >> i just want to be really clear about that. >> and i have to say, i did my own running in this film. >> oh? >> that's me.

>> and your own shooting? it was a lot of fun. enjoyed seeing the movie. what a thrill to have all three of you here. thanks so much for coming on. want to let folks know that "red" opens in theaters nationwide october 15th. we're back in a moment. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

this morning on "cooking with giada" a fall feast. using the best of the season's ingredients can add an instant update to your traditional italian dishes. here to show us how is "today" show contributor giada de laurentiis. >> good morning, amy. >> here's what i love about. when you come i can never pronounce what we're making. why don't you tell us. >> we're making pasta. so that's pretty easy.

>> you have kids now. so now maybe you can -- >> i've been making a lot of pasta. >> we're making oreiccheti with some swiss chard and spinach. i browned a little bit of garlic. we're going to take the garlic out. it will be good for the kids. do me a favor, grab the spinach, we're going to toss it in here. >> yum. love the spinach. >> and some swiss chard. these are all the wonderful flavors of the fall. that's swiss chard. >> this is? >> yes. >> pretty. >> i thought it was cheese. i was confused. >> okeydokey. >> it's out of a box. >> all right. >> so some swiss chard. this is really easy. colorful. so what i do is, and this is just basically like spinach. and i combine the two together. >> salt and olive oil. >> a little salt. a little olive oil. you want to do a little pepper? >> sure. i can do that.

>> it just kind of wilts down into nothing. it disappears like spinach. >> yum. >> it just kind of cooks down. we're going to add some cherry tomatoes. >> i know what those look like, too. >> i love cherry tomatoes. >> and some garbanzo beans. >> i can do all of this at home. >> i know you can. and this is opening cans. >> and i can do that very well. >> all right. so you just wait until you warm the tomatoes through and the swiss chard and the spinach wilt down. >> it's pretty. >> it's very colorful which i think is a big -- i mean people want to eat it. and they think oh, it's colorless. no, it's not. >> it's christmasy. >> this cooks down. you can keep talking and i'm going to add pasta. this are the little oriecchete. you can do any kind. >> for some reason they all like penne. >> my daughter loves these. i think it just depends on what you like. the pasta. maybe a little bit more. toss it all together. >> we're going to add the cheese. >> what kind of cheese is that?

>> so it's a lot saltier. >> the ricotta i've seen is soft. >> this is dried out. >> where do you get? >> this you can. you can get it just about anywhere. so you toss all that together and you are pretty much done. there's a little more cheese there. now we can, if we have a minute. >> oh. >> i know, right? >> and then you just put it on the plate. and that's that. >> so pressty i love that. >> that's what i usually do, too. >> there's your pasta. >> beautiful. and very quick and easy. >> well, you know, within like eight minutes you're done. so then over here. >> you've got more pasta. and the tomatoes kind of bleed into the pasta. that colors it. >> it looks like butter nut squash or something. >> i like to top it with a little bit of lemon zest to bring out the flavor. >> then over here we have spacy green beans and kale. >> okay. >> with some mushrooms? >> a little onion. to give it a little color and

texture. usually just dump a bunch of parmesan cheese on it. >> more cheese the better. >> these were great. >> these were the tomatoes and they're stuffed gorgonzola cheese and bread crumbs. >> yum! >> you take bread crumbs, and the cheese and put it in -- >> mix it all together. a little bit of olive oil. >> put it in a hot oven. for a few minutes until it gets nice and soft. >> to finish it all off. >> lester comes in for dessert. >> i had cupcakes before. >> chocolate. >> chocolate panacotta. which is the more complicated thing. like a hardened pudding. >> what's that? >> those are almonds. >> try it. >> looks so good. >> we just want to go with dessert since you're already there? >> oh, yeah. >> oh, my gosh, this is so good. >> it looks rich. >> it is. a little goes a long way. a little whipped cream with a little am rhetto. >> fall in italy. >> i know i'm spilling everywhere. >> there you go.

>> i know. >> this is serious. >> these are quick and easy, too, correct? >> these are really easy. probably one of the simplest things to make. >> is there something nutty in there? >> i don't know. >> you never want the chef to go, really? >> something crunchy in there? >> hmm. >> giada, thanks so much. i can barely talk right now. we'll be right back.

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that's going to do it for us on this saturday morning. >> come on, carl! >> bill and carl and giada, of course. tomorrow on "today," freedom insight. the latest on the efforts to free the trapped miners in chile. we learned the rescuers have reached the men. so we'll be live at the site. >> plus jenna wolfe with the one and only betty white. have a great day. >> yummy!

>> baltimore county police are investigating a stabbing in woodlawn. police found a man stabbed multiple times. police say it happened during a fight. so far, no arrests have been made, and the injuries appeared to be non-life threatening. the suspects arrested in the biggest drug bust in history are out of jail. fight the 29-year-old and the 35-year-old war arrested after police this covered an extensive marijuana growing operation. there was a street value of nearly $35 million. both suspects face charges of possession with intent to distribute.

>> mayor stephanie rawlings- blake sign legislation, making streets safer for bike riders. it imposes on a fine for people who parking designated bike lanes. >> we have people who stop to make deliveries, but you are not giving cyclist's any room. they have to get into traffic. nine times out of 10, people cannot see them. >> baltimore has 58 miles of bike lanes, and 23 more are in construction. up next, answers to your exotic pet questions, and how to avoid common mistakes that can keep you from getting fired. we are in the kitchen with the best steak house is -- steak house in town. >> the sun is out. insta-weather-plus fora-eaks to.

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!!! >> live, local, latebreaking -- this is wbal-11 news saturday morning in hd. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> good morning. we'll get to our top stories, but first we will look outside. >> it is not perfectly sunny. there are two or three scattered clouds. t