good morning. remembering a genius. former apple ceo steve jobs, the man behind the most revolutionary inventions of the digital age has died of cancer at the age of 56. from the mac to the ipod his products literally changed the way we live. we'll celebrate his life, his vision, and his impact on the world today, thursday, october vision, and his impact on the world today, thursday, october 6th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. i'm ann curry. >> i'm matt lauer. because steve jobs was a guy who touched our lives in so many ways reaction to his death has been pouring in from all around the world. overnight a makeshift memorial is now in place outside of apple's headquarters in cupertino, california following the sad death of that company's founder and visionary, steve jobs. if you look this morning at simply the apple.com on my ipad here you will see a simple tribute to jobs, a black and white photo with the dates that he was born and he died. >> because it is hard to overstate the impact that he had on all of our lives. he never graduated from college and yet who doesn't have at least an ipod or ipad or iphone or personal computer? >> i think obviously this did

not come as a shock to people because we had watched his health deteriorate over the years since he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. he appeared very frail in recent months. but still, when it finally happens you stop and you really take notice. >> no question. you know, he also in a commencement address to stanford university in 2005, he had something pretty wonderful to say. he said, remembering that you're going to die is the best way i know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. and he added, your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. >> as i mentioned, tributes immediately poured in as the news of his death spread. president obama released a statement saying in part, there may be no greater tribute to steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented. >> bill gates, jobs' one-time rival and cofounder of microsoft, had this to say. the world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact steve has had the effects of

which will be felt for many generations to come. then there's this from facebook founder mark zuckerberg who said, thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. >> let us get right to nbc's george lewis at apple's headquarters in cupertino, california. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. this is a very sad day for apple's 47,000 employees worldwide. they're mourning steve jobs, a man who dropped out of college and had no formal schooling in computer engineering but figured out a way to make tech sexy and transformed apple into the world's most valuable company. he was a college dropout who cofounded apple computer in 1976 and within a few years became fabulously wealthy. >> he is kind of a regular guy who started in his garage with this idea with a friend and built this thing into this multibillion dollar business. >> reporter: his secret? wow the consumers with cool designs and ease of use. >> when it comes to consumer

computer users the computer industry hasn't done a really good job of trying to understand them and understand their desires and their needs. >> reporter: so in 1984 he introduced the mcintosh, calling it insanely great. there was a famous super bowl ad for the mac running only once on tv but seen millions of times on youtube. apple didn't always prevail. faced with tough competition the company struggled, trying to gain a share of the personal computer market. and steve jobs had an abrasive personality that contributed to his ouster from apple in 1985. >> the brilliant, genius, visionary side of him that burned very, very bright, and there was this terrible dark side of him, too. >> he went into the movie business acquiring pixar studios in 1986, making a string of hit computer animated films starting with "toy story." >> to infinity and beyond!

>> reporter: then, after an 11-year absence he was brought back to apple where his creativity revitalized the company. the ipod changed the way people listened to their music. >> today apple is going to reinvent the phone. >> reporter: and across the country there were long lines for the first iphones in 2007. then three years later they lined up for the ipad, changing the way people consumed media. >> most of the great ideas when you see them you go, of course! >> reporter: but while he was brimming with great ideas, steve jobs was battling declining health. he was operated on for pancreatic cancer in 2004. a year later he spoke about that in a commencement address at stanford university. >> this was the closest i've been to facing death, and i hope it's the closest i get for a few more decades. yet, death is the destination we all share. >> reporter: then in 2009 he

underwent a liver transplant. >> i now have the liver of a mid 20s person who died in a car crash and was generous enough to donate their organs. >> reporter: on august 24th of this year jobs stepped down as apple's ceo. six years earlier, he had this bit of advice for the stanford grads. >> have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. they somehow already know what you truly want to become. >> reporter: he was a man who followed his heart and intuition to become one of silicon valley's great visionaries. steve jobs leaves behind a wife and four children. and a statement from the jobs family says steve died peacefully surrounded by people he loved. ann? >> george lewis, thank you. steve wozniak was there at the beginning cofounding apple alongside steve jobs in a silicon valley garage.

good morning to you. >> good morning. >> we'll show you that photo of the two of you. it's pretty famous now of the two of you building at the beginning the first apple computer. what do you want to say about the man you once knew? >> well, it's very difficult for me. you know, we knew he was in poor health and it was kind of like when my father died and we knew it was coming and told us so when you expect it you don't go into a lot of crying that day but just woke up with so many of these memories of the things we did together and some of them were just like normal, fun things you do with people, but looking back so many of them were so important. they were important to the world, and i was kind of like the shy, quiet guy, you know, had my skills, and steve was there wanting to change the world and wanting to take devices that could, you know, actually make a start and change people's lives and develop a company. it was a perfect marriage, if

you will. >> he once said i want to put a ding in the universe. what drove him to that, do you think, steve? >> you know, when i met him and he was quite young, still in high school, it was books that he was reading and he would always talk about the great people that moved us forward as humans -- the shakespeares, isaac newtons that the very few that had a very special brain. because he spoke of them all he wanted to be one of those people and he was always looking to somehow be involved in some kind of learning how to lead the world role. >> you're saying from the very beginning he was a visionary. at the same time, he was a very private person. what would you say about him personally, his character? what was he like to be around? >> well, there's very early days and there were early apple days. there are different time frames. we started out as young kids who would go around and even do a little bit of misbehavior together. these are things that you remember forever. and developing your values and

talking about what's important in the world, how should people live, how should they treat each other? how do -- how should companies be structured was even one of those topics and you formulate your ideas of where the world is going and as apple really got start wed our great product apple ii that was going to change the world that's where steve's role was to learn and be involved in every single department of a company. learn how to run an organization. he just started having ideas. whenever we had meetings, it just bothers me so much. you see all the great products we have today and everybody recognizes steve for that and even i do. he's got such incredible credibility. when he speaks it's like, this is the way that is right in the world. in the earliest days of apple it was the same thing. we'd have different ideas of how to develop a product, how to market it, what a path should be like and steve would come up with ideas that were always better than anyone else's. >> at the same time we understand he was very exacting. he had a kind of perfectionist

streak. what can you tell us about that? >> he didn't really have that streak when we were young and starting apple. it's kind of like he developed it as he was more and more in a position to think and realize what worked before and what didn't. very often when he found things that worked it became a stick very close to it for your entire life, certain principles, and his core principles turned out to be very good. as far as all of the little details, i do not know how he ever functioned and kept that much in his head. don't know that myself. steve stayed in the game. he stayed in the game and he kept driving it and he stayed at the forefront and really is the person who has set most of the direction for the world more than anyone in existence. and it's very difficult to imagine, you know, that huge a loss. it's, you know, to me it was like i just felt dumb struck. i almost couldn't talk at first because it was like you told me that john lennon got killed.

>> i understand you last saw him according to "the washington post" some three months ago after he had emerged from a medical leave. how do you think, though, even though you didn't want to pry, facing death defined how he lived his life in those final years? >> well, he actually lived his life, his personal life very privately. and i think that's -- it's very admiral for his family to have been, you know, shielded in a sense. i think it gave him a lot of flexibility. it's funny because the way apple developed these great products also involved a lot of secrecy, you know? gives you a lot of the ability to think these out and do them your way. i know that when he spoke to me he was such a good father and cared so much about his kids and his relationship and communication with them. >> i want to ask you about something that president obama said. he said, quote, there may be no greater tribute to steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.

do you think steve jobs might smile at that, steve wozniak? >> i think very much. as a businessman he doesn't smile as greatly as he did when we were young but i think that one would tickle his fancy. >> all right. steve wozniak, thank you so much. now with more, here's matt. >> all right, ann. thank you very much. after learning of the death of steve jobs "time" magazine literally stopped the presses for the first time in 20 years to redo its latest issue. here is a first look at the cover that will be on the news stands tomorrow. we're joined now by "time's" managing editor and nbc's tom brokaw. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> picture of jobs, 1984 with an early mac. what's the headline in the article? >> "american icon" and the lead article by walter isaacson a former managing editor of "time" who is writing the great biography of steve jobs with steve's cooperation and did a summing up of what steve represented, represented for

society, technology, and how he transformed everything. >> is it appropriate, tom, to say a sentence like there will be the henry fords, the thomas edisons and the steve jobs of the world? does he fit in that group? >> indisputably. 400 or 500 years from now, maybe even longer, they'll look back and steve jobs will be one of the defining figures of the technology that has absolutely transformed the world. it's created another universe we could not have anticipated. >> i was thinking of an experiment here. you're sitting with a crowd in our plaza behind us, and if we were to say and they can hear us right now, raise your hand if you have an ipod, ipad, iphone, i mean, look at this. that's impact in a very real sense, rick. >> you know, it's interesting. he was not an inventor in a traditional sense. he didn't create noigt anythingf nothing that hadn't existed before. he found things people were doing and made them better. he had a passion for improving things so it seemed they were transformed. >> as a matter of fact, he commented about that.

he said he liked to exist at the intersection of art and technology. he loved the cool factor. tom, he said, what would it be like if everybody in the world drove a beige car? what fun would that be? >> well, we got the first mac in 1984, in our household. our children were in junior high and grade school at that time. the second night we had it, i went down to my office and woke up and there was a kid from the building who had come up the back stairs to play on the mac and we just had a steady stream of them. about two days later the new ceo of ibm came to have an editorial board meeting with us here and i said, what about the mac? not going to last. >> he was a perfectionist. he would look at a prototype and throw it out and demand another one until he was completely satisfied with the product. >> he was a perfectionist. the modern notion was form follows function but for steve form became function. form defined everything. he was obsessed with every little detail. actually remember a few months ago when he came originally to show us the ipad, and i mentioned that i'd been to the store on the upper west side and

he went into a whole different discussion saying, you know, i got that marble from perugia and it was from the northwest corner. i wanted a particular kind of marble. he talked about it for 15 minutes. he was an incredible perfectionist. >> let me read you something from the seattle times today. it says the greatest lesson from jobs' career is to keep the doors open for people like him. the world needs to have opportunities for an adopted child raised by a working-class family. it needs to have second chances for people who drop out of college. it needs not cast out someone who would take lsd and travel to india and become a buddhist. jobs was and did all of these things and he helped create the 21st century. >> you know, i think he was a terrific spiritual leader of our time. he was a kind of dalai lama of personal computers. if i can read one more line from that famous stanford commencement address, your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. don't be trapped by dogma which is living with the results of

other people's thinking. don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. that alone is a legacy of steve jobs especially at this time. >> he said he wanted to put a ding in the universe. do we even have any idea yet, rick, how big a ding he put in the universe? >> the notion that einstein and others have said is that the universe ultimately is simple, that was steve's philosophy. simplicity was the beauty that he was always striving for and that's why he was a perfectionist. you probably can never reach it but it's a great aspiration. >> you know, matt, when i was a kid i was a jukebox nut. this is my jukebox at my age. thank you, steve jobs. >> tom brokaw, rick stengel and, again, a special edition of "time" magazine hitting the stands tomorrow featuring the cover of steve jobs. we'll have much more on his legacy later but now let's check the morning's top stories. savannah guthrie is in for natalie at the news desk. good morning. former alaska governor sarah palin will not be making a run for the white house.

nbc's andrea mitchell has the latest now from washington. andrea, good morning. >> good morning, savannah. now it is official, sarah palin is not running. she ended more than two years of speculation that she would ride the tea party wave into a presidential campaign by going on television and posting a video on youtube. >> you don't need an office or a title to make a difference. >> reporter: appearing on fox where she works as a commentator and in a letter to her followers, palin said she can be more effective trying to elect others. >> i know that it's the right decision, and i know that i can join others and be effective in helping change what's going on in our country. >> reporter: earlier she told conservative radio host mark levin she is also ruling out a third-party run. >> i would assume that a third party would just guarantee obama's re-election. >> reporter: the palin frenzy may have peaked with her memorial day bus tour. billed as just a family vacation but with all of the trappings of a presidential campaign. >> americans are ready for true

change. >> reporter: then she stole the thunder of the declared candidates by sweeping through the iowa state fair during the ames straw poll in august. >> i'm very happy to get to be here. >> reporter: but time and inclination were running out. michele bachmann won the straw poll handily. >> you've done it, iowa. thank you! >> i declare to you today -- >> reporter: and that weekend rick perry, another tea party favorite and palin ally, announced he was running. there were practical considerations -- a filing deadline just three weeks from now for the florida primary, a lucrative contract with fox that would be canceled if she ran, and the constraints of becoming a candidate. >> i apologize to those whom are disappointed in this decision but i believe that they, when they take a step back, will understand why the decision was made. >> palin's announcement following of course chris christie's decision this week means that the republican field is most likely set that the nominee will be one of the

current front runners and right now that race seems to be coming down to mitt romney and rick perry. >> all right. andrea mitchell in washington. thank you, andrea. a plan hunt is under way for 47-year-old sharif ullman the suspected gunman in a california quarry that killed three people and wounded six others. local police say he became upset during a safety meeting at the quarry and then allegedly opened fire on his co-workers. authorities say he then shot another woman in an attempted carjacking as he escaped and he remains at large today. now to wall street. cnbc's mandy drury is at the new york stock exchange for us this morning. good morning. >> good morning, savannah. we're all wondering whether or not this rally can continue for a third day and of course europe has a lot to do with whether or not that will happen. there is one stop we are definitely watching and that is apple. many of us use and love apple products and even though the death of steve jobs was not wholly unexpected there was an

initial knee jerk drop to the down side in german trade. obviously jobs was primarily responsible for apple's market value going from just $5 billion back in 2000 to $350 billion at its current market value. we'll just have to watch where the stock goes from here. back to you. >> all right. mandy, thank you. don't call her the dancing queen because she's the dancing duchess. the 85-year-old spanish duchess cut a rug at her wedding celebrating her marriage to a civil servant 25 years her junior. her choice of a commoner for a third marriage outraged her children and spain's royal family, but the duchess shook them all off with her love-struck flamenco. i have to redo this woman's full name. maria francisco e de silva. it really rolls off the tongue. >> whatever the name is if i were marrying a guy 25 years my junior i'd be dancing like that,

too. >> he doesn't seem that thrilled actually but that's okay. mr. roker? >> yes. out west we have a big mess making its way slowly to the east and a big low pressure system, frontal system bringing with it rain and snow strengthening upper level low. we have winter storm watches, wind warnings a real mess out there. snowfall amounts anywhere from 4 to 8 inches of snow in the sierra moving into the rockies, the wasatch mountains as well, and heavier rains up through the nortou >> good morning. it will be a couple of degrees cooler today than it yesterday. it still will be nice.

and that's your latest weather. ann? thanks. as we noticed steve jobs revolutionized nearly every corner of our lives. we knew his products, and in many ways he was an enigma. but during a commencement speech at stanford in 2005 jobs got very personal. >> your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking. don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. they somehow already know what you truly want to become. everything else is secondary. >> so he also leaves us with some wisdom. we're back in a moment. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

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just ahead the latest on the 10-month-old allegedly abducted from her crib in the mid feel the night. we'll speak to her parents in a live interview. amanda knox's family has asked her former boyfriend to visit them in seattle, after your local news. and having enough income when you retire. that's why i'm here. to help come up with a plan and get you on the right path. i have more than a thousand fidelity experts working with me so that i can work one-on-one with you. it's your green line. but i'll be there, every step of the way. call or come in for a free portfolio review today. [ female announcer ] starbucks via® is planted the same... ♪ ...harvested the same... ♪ ...and roasted the same as our other premium coffees. ♪

it only makes sense it would taste the same. so, try it for yourself. buy a pack of 100% natural starbucks via® ready brew. we promise you'll love it or we'll send you a bag of starbucks coffee. it's the starbucks via® taste promise. look for it at starbucks stores and where you buy groceries. >> good morning, everybody. i'm stan stovall. here is a look at one of our top stories. if help is on the way this morning for the maryland victims of tropical storm lee. president obama declared a major disaster for anne arundel, cecil, charles, and prince george's county.

it frees up a funding. remnants of the storm ripped through the state, damaging buildings and causing major flooding. now a check of the morning commute. >> still lots going on out there if you are going to travel in reisterstown. route 30 at now giead road, accident. westside outer loop adding to the west side delays we normally have, at wilkins avenue. another crash at frederick, too. harford wrote an puddy hero -- puddy hill avenue parkville. westbound 32 traveling to 198, the sinkhole. northbound 295 approaching 198, accident, delays. in light of view, white marsh, a big back up approaching white marsh all the way down to the split. west side delays going away from us, adding to that, two accidents on the outer loop -- one at frederick and one at

wilkins avenue. tony, over to you. >> the traffic is busy but the weather is quiet. clear skies again this morning. a little cooler than yesterday but not bad. 10 bridge is dipped into the low 40's in the northern suburbs. -- temperatures dipped into the low 40's and the northern suburbs. today, lots of sunshine. yesterday, 75. today in the upper 60's and low 70's. ne win at 10-50 miles an hour. going into the weekend, we will keep the sunshine. tomorrow, 71. winds turning to the south. it may be close to 80 on sunday.

7:30 now on a thursday morning. it's the sixth day of october, 2011. it's a beautiful view from the top of the rock here in midtown manhattan on a chilly but clear morning in new york city. got a great crowd down in the plaza. we're going to get outside and say hi to them actually in just a couple minutes. meanwhile inside the studio i'm matt lauer with ann curry and just ahead the latest on the search for 10-month-old lisa irwin who was allegedly abducted from her own crib in the middle of the night, her parents obviously desperate to find her.

they'll speak out in a live interview coming up straight ahead. plus, we have new details from the trial of michael jackson's doctor, matt. in court on wednesday prosecutors played the entire recording that conrad murray made of the singer just six weeks before his death. jackson's former manager said what he heard broke his heart. actually i think it broke a lot of people's hearts. we'll have the latest on this, coming up live from los angeles. something i hadn't heard about but we'll ask the question why are shark sightings on the rise in fresh water rivers? coming up, we'll hear from a 16-year-old boy about his unexpected encounter with a huge, 368-pound bull shark. we said fresh water. >> i know. pretty shocking. we begin this half hour with the mysterious disappearance of 10-month-old lisa irwin. we'll talk to her parents in just a moment, but first nbc's peter alexander is in kansas city, missouri with the details. peter, good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning to you. the mystery just keeps deepening here in kansas city, missouri. nbc news has learned that when jeremy irwin, lisa irwin's

father, returned home monday night/tuesday morning he found not just his daughter missing from her crib, he also found three cell phones were missing from the family's home. last night investigators scanned the area. they canvassed it, stopping every car that came through here looking for any evidence of their missing daughter. at the same time, jeremy irwin met with federal authorities providing the names of nine individuals that the family thought may have had something to do with their daughter's abduction. so far, no suspects and no strong leads. as investigators re-examined the irwin family home, a tearful public plea for the distraught parents of 10-month-old baby lisa. >> no questions asked. we just want her back home. >> we just want our baby back. please. bring her home. >> reporter: deborah bradley and jeremy irwin, mom holding her daughter's favorite stuffed animal, begged whoever has lisa to return her safely. >> just drop her off anywhere. we don't care.

just somewhere safe where she can come home, please. >> reporter: they shared with us these photos of lisa, taken within the last few weeks. lisa's parents told police she was last seen sleeping in her crib late monday, but when her dad got home from an overnight shift at 4:00 tuesday morning, lisa was gone. >> the only thing we know absolutely is that there should have been a 10-month-old in that house and there isn't and we're doing everything we can to find that child. >> reporter: with the irwin family's consent investigators in sterile suits to avoid contaminating the scene again searched the home. one focal point -- this window without a screen. law enforcement officials appear baffled at who could have climbed into the home, walked down the hall, snatched the baby, and then slipped out. late wednesday i spoke to jeremy irwin's parents, baby lisa's grandparents. >> she's a beautiful baby. she's full of life, laughter, and love. >> reporter: then i asked a difficult question that haunts every missing child case. is there any way in the world

that your son or your daughter-in-law could have had anything to do with this? >> absolutely not. they're kind, loving, wonderful parents. and that baby is everything to them. >> reporter: at times wednesday detectives were seen carrying away bags of potential evidence. outside the home police dogs hunted for clues. >> the longer the time goes without getting a conclusion, the more difficult it becomes, but that doesn't mean that we're letting up. >> reporter: for lisa's parents, every minute without their baby daughter brings more anguish. >> just ask you to keep her in your thoughts and prayers and bring her home. >> reporter: police say they are not ruling anything out, that everything is still on the table. the family is also now receiving support from the national center for missing and exploited children who say, listen to this stat, since 1986 there have been 278 stranger abductions of infants. in all but 12 cases those

infants were returned home safely. ann? >> all right. peter alexander, thank you so much for that. clearly, this is a terribly emotional time for lisa's parents. deborah bradley and jeremy irwin are now joining us. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> we're all so sorry to hear all of this. you just heard peter report there are no suspects and no strong leads. what are police telling you about where your baby girl is? >> nothing. nothing at all. they say they have some tips from the tips hotline. they're looking and doing everything they can, but nothing. >> have they told you what those tips might be, jeremy? >> they haven't given us any information. they're too busy following up leads and working on things so we don't know a whole lot. just hoping that we get her back

soon. >> have they been questioning you about who you may know, who from your past, if there is anyone in your wider circle, your community who would want to take your little girl? have they been asking you those questions? >> yes. >> yes. >> they've been asking us nonstop. we've been trying to think of anything we can that would help. so far not a whole lot. >> and i know the detectives have been at your home and they've taken away bags of what i understand are considered evidence. do you know what they're looking for, what they took from your home? >> no. we don't have any idea. >> you know, you heard in this story that we just ran that in addition to the pain of missing your daughter, you're also being asked by police some tough questions because in their effort they sort of need to leave no stone unturned, so what

do you have to say about their effort to even question you about whether you know something about your daughter's disappearance? jeremy, do you want to take that question? >> we were down at the police station for most of the day the other day and just going over everything and making sure that we've got all the information that we have and giving them everything we can time and time again, so hopefully something can bring her home. >> do you want to say anything about this question that they're asking even you about whether you had anything to do with your daughter's disappearance? >> no, obviously we don't know where she is or who took her. we just need her back. >> to that end, deborah, let me ask you about that.

what would you like to say to whoever may have your daughter if that person is watching today? >> we're a close family. my boys miss her. me and her father miss her. everybody loves her. we have a good family, and she needs to be with us. please, please bring her home. drop her off anywhere safe -- a fire department, a church, a police station. just bring her somewhere safe. no questions asked. and we just want our daughter back. we'll do anything to get her. >> she is a beautiful girl. we all hope you get her back and we want to tell people if they want to help they should call the kansas city police department in kansas city, missouri. thank you so much. our best to you. >> thank you. now let's make a pretty hard turn and get a check of the

weather from al. >> thanks so much, ann. we are looking at a big change coming up for much of the south. we've got an upper level low developing. high pressure over the east brings in an onshore flow into the southeast and then through the gulf a lot of gulf moisture is going to be streaming in, so we're looking at a lot of rain over the next five days, up to 8 inches of rain or more along the florida coast and through texas on into the central plains anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of rain before it's all over. that's in the next five days. meantime, we have a risk of strong storms back through the plains. sunny skies through the eastern half of the country, the northeast temperatures nice and cool with temperatures in the upper 60s, low 70s and plenty oo >> good morning. little on the cool side. plenty of sunshine.

and that's your latest weather, matt. thanks very much. now to amanda knox and her new life back home in seattle. what does the future hold? will she write a book? will there be a movie deal? nbc's stephanie gosk has the latest on this. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. one of the concerns when amanda knox came home is she might not know exactly how famous she has become over the last four years, but after a day and a half she is starting to get it. the family lawyer says she is fully aware of all of the media requests that have been coming in that for the moment are not dying down. interest in the young woman with the incredible story to tell has reached fevered pitch. >> they are reminding me to speak in english. >> reporter: the brief moment

amanda knox spoke only piquing interest. >> i would really ask a big favor of all of you, and that is to give this family some time. >> reporter: there has been a steady stream of calls for interviews, book deals, and movie rights, but here in seattle there are signs of growing sensitivity to the knox family. a group of local tv stations has decided to back off. a letter to the family reads, all these stations are pulling out of amanda's west seattle neighborhood -- that includes all of the knox family homes -- to allow the family the peace they have asked for. david marriott has handled public relations for the family since knox was arrested four years ago. >> the conversations about what happens next and what kind of story she wants to tell will probably occur in a couple three weeks but for now we're trying to give her some breathing room. >> reporter: he says it may be two to three months before knox sits down to publicly tell her story. the 24-year-old has spent four years in an italian jail for a murder conviction the court has now overturned. finally home, she is focused on

her recovery. >> prison is a profoundly traumatic experience for anybody, and for people who have been exonerated in a way it's even more traumatic because they've suffered for no good reason. >> reporter: and for amanda knox it is even harder. international notoriety has practically forced her into hiding. >> the questions i got today, what did she eat last night? what is she going to eat for breakfast in the morning? there is this very high level of interest. i think that will go down over time. but i would say it's not going to happen fully until she probably does tell her story. >> reporter: but for now, while knox gets reacquainted with freedom and spends time with her family, the story will have to wait. the family lawyer told us yesterday that actually she spent very little time talking about herself that first night at that party for family and friends. that a lot of it was her just asking questions to the people that she hasn't seen or talked to in such a long period of time. she also shared just one story

about prison. she said that on the way out in italian jail prisoners snap their tooth brushes as they're leaving as a kind of good luck charm to the people that are still inside and that she actually did on her way out, matt. >> stephanie gosk out in seattle this morning. stephanie, thank you very much. up next, imagine this. you're fishing in a fresh water river and you pull that out. we'll hear from the 16-year-old georgia boy who caught a 360-pound bull shark in his local swimming hole right after this. capital one's new cash rewards card

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♪ [ female announcer ] mini™ meets berries. kellogg's® frosted mini-wheats cereal with a touch of fruit in the middle. helloooooo fruit in the middle. our turkeys in november. and want to pick up our gifts in december. that's why sears layaway lets you reserve any item you want, whenever you want, and with no finance charges. that's real convenience for real people. sears. back now at 7:46. with the unlikely shark encounters increasingly happening in fresh water. we're in valona, georgia where a 16-year-old boy made a surprising catch of a lifetime. good morning. good morning to you. i'm a little nervous standing in this water mainly because of what happened here. we're right next to a fishing dock and the water around me is

probably no more than four feet deep. i'm six feet tall so you kind of get the picture. here's the thing. this is fresh water. it's not sea water, not salt water. this is a very popular place for the local kids to come fish and swim but it is also the spot where two bull sharks recently paid a visit. in the movie "jaws" -- >> we're going to need a bigger boat. >> reporter: -- the hunt for a killer shark took place in the open ocean. for this man it was basically in his back yard. just a few weeks ago the 16-year-old was hanging out at this fishing dock in his hometown of valona, georgia. raised in a shrimping family he is no stranger to the water or its creatures. shark sightings are common on a shrimp boat like this and headed out to sea. he says it is rare for them to be spotted close to land.

you never see sharks this close to the dock. >> no you shouldn't see sharks this close to the deck. >> reporter: then he saw something in the shallow pool. >> two sharks, not one, two. >> reporter: they were man eating bull sharks responsible for more deadly shark attacks than any other breed. fast, aggressive, and they can swim in fresh water. he quickly fetched a shark hook, some bait, and threw it in. >> it basically just came up, hit it, and locked on and started carrying it up the river. he kind of slowed down. we started snapping. >> reporter: with help from another man the two pulled the ropes with their bare hands, dragging the bull shark to the dock. >> i figured it would have been a hundred-pound shark. when it came out a 300-pound shark, it -- it was a doozie is all i can say. >> reporter: the bull shark weighed 368 pounds, measuring nearly 8.5 feet long. >> the shark was 8'5". imagine eight foot in that water right there. >> reporter: that's about four

feet of water. >> about four feet of water. >> reporter: the bull sharks are believed to be following shrimp boats which sometimes throw unwanted fish overboard up rivers from the gulf of mexico. no fresh water attacks on humans have been reported so far. >> bull sharks are a big animal, very aggressive feeder. no doubt if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time a tragedy like that could occur absolutely. >> reporter: fishermen have recently encountered bull sharks on the potomac river in maryland and near sea island, georgia. back in valona they're looking at this dock differently. >> there are little kids that learn how to swim with a life jacket right in here. >> reporter: right where you caught the shark. >> right where i caught the shark. >> reporter: the sight of a flesh eating shark would scare off most but for this high school junior and his mom -- >> yeah that's my boy. >> reporter: it was the catch of a lifetime. so he caught one of the two bull sharks. the other one, which he says was much bigger, got away. no one around here knows for sure if that shark is still around in these fresh waters. as for the shark he did catch,

he says he gave it to a guy he knew and he's going to keep the jaws. that's what any 16-year-old would do, i guess, ann. >> five words. get out of the water. thank you so much this morning. on a serious topic just ahead, michael jackson in his own words at the trial of his doctor. what the singer said about the pain he was feeling just weeks before his death. but first these messages. [ male announcer ] when it comes to saving energy, we're off to a good start. but now it's time to go to the next level. so let's do a little detective work. pick up what we need. roll out... caulk...and install. and pretty soon, we're seeing the fruits of our labor right there at our bottom line. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. owens corning ecotouch attic insulation is only $9.97 a roll.

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ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. time now for a check of the morning commute. here's sarah caldwell. >> good morning. still dealing with several incidents unfortunately out there as you make your way around the area. harrisburg as busways southbound does pass middletown road, you may start to see delays. two accidents cleared from the intersection of harford road and puddy hill ave. it delays from the belt way down toward cold spring lane, southbound jfx and heavy traffic

on the west side. 9 miles an hour on average approaching reisterstown. outer loop that frederick. this one is clear in reisterstown, a good news to report now 30 and now gilead road. 75 at howard county -- one coming in. westbound 32 right at 198, at a sinkhole in the area. 95 coming down from white marsh, you can say the delays. holding them to the split. a light that you of traffic at old court -- delays as well. >> another fine start this thursday morning. a little cool but nothing unusual for this time of year. temperatures should manage to dip into the old 40's in northern suburbs. the forecast for today -- sunshine. yesterday we had 75 and today it will be in the upper 60's and 07's. a little bit cooler but we will

still call it a nice day. sunset this evening at 6:42 p.m. we will keep the sun shines through the weekend. 71 tomorrow. saturday and sunday the winds will shift to the south and so it will warm up. may be near 80 on sunday. monday still dry. the next chance for rain i think will hold off until

8:00 now on a thursday morning, the 6th day of october, 2011. boy, is there a fall chill in the air. some cheering as people say hi to their friends and family back home. we decided to step outside to say hi to all of them. i'm ann curry along with matt lauer and al roker. coming up a serious topic. we'll be hearing more about this tape of michael jackson played in its entirety in the courtroom. >> we heard a portion of this tape on the first day of the trial of conrad murray. this is the one that he recorded of the singer a couple weeks

before his death. his words sounding slurred. he sounds somewhat incoherent. now the full tape has been played in court. we'll have much more on that coming up in just a couple minutes. >> then on a much different note, do you want your children to have a marriage like you have? do you and your spouse fight fair? have you ever considered secretly getting a divorce? you might be surprised at some of the answers we've gotten from our survey on marriage. >> okay. that's a tough topic. >> you a fair fighter? >> you know what? i think i am. why are you looking so surprised? >> no, i think a lot of people aren't. >> because we think it might be like a -- >> really? let's get down and do that but before we do that let's talk about something else which is something else i think that might even be more controversial. a lot of people may be thinking that it's okay to dig up dirt on their co-workers or on their friends. and we're going to get today's professionals to get down with that, coming up this morning. >> all right. a lot to get to. let's go inside. savannah guthrie is in at the news desk while natalie is on

assignment. good morning. this morning the passing of steve jobs is being mourned by millions of people who never knew him personally -- his customers. nbc's george lewis is at apple headquarters in cupertino, california this morning. george, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. visitors to apple's website will see this, a simple tribute to steve jobs, a man who valued simplicity in the design of his products. it was the classic silicon valley start up story. jobs and his high school buddy steve wozniak building their first apple computers in a garage, the company going on to employ more than 47,000 people worldwide. in addition to computers, jobs was present at the cree afgs at the first ipod in 2001, iphone in 2007, the ipad in 2010 the company changing the way people consume media, changing the way people talk on the telephone, fundamentally altering the landscape of technology

worldwide. steve jobs had been battling ill health for sometime. he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004, underwent a liver transplant in 2009, stepped down as ceo of apple six weeks ago because of his failing health. savannah? >> george lewis outside apple headquarters. george, thank you. democratic state lawmakers in new york are demanding an investigation into the nypd's alleged efforts to spy on muslims. the associated press is reporting that police secretly monitored certain mosques and prominent muslims sometimes without any accusations of wrongdoing. one muslim leader was targeted even though he spoke out against terrorism, cooperated with police, and had dined with mayor michael bloomberg. the nation's largest retail trade group is expecting holiday sales to increase 2.8% this year. although that is relatively modest, it would continue a retail recovery that started last year. now here is brian williams with what's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." good morning.

coming up tonight on "nightly news" we're marking the occasion. this nation has been at war for ten years. we're going to introduce you to a mother/grandmother on the front lines in afghanistan. that's tonight on "nightly news." back to you. thank you. now for a look at what is trending. a quick roundup of what has you talking online. a memorial to steve jobs is being constructed in real time using the very devices he invented, the iphone, ipad, and mac book computers. in fact, the term i-sad was a trend on twitter overnight. bill gates tweeted, for those of us lucky enough to work with steve it's been an insanely great honor. the apple home page posted this tribute. check out this viral video on youtube. the first flower girl tosses flower petals as she walks down the aisle but then her little partner apparently having heard the old cleanup song one or two times picks up each and every

one right after her. who needs a lucky rabbit foot when you have squirrel power? a squirrel ran across home plate last night during game four of the national league division series in st. louis. his home run did not count, but the cardinals beat the phillies, 5-3, forcing a fifth and deciding game. it's now 8:05. back to al with a check of the weather. thanks a lot. squirrel! anyway, wow. we got american pharmacist month here so you got some medical folks here. and over here it's physicians assistant week. assistants here, pharmacists here. unbelievable. let's check your weather and see what's going on. i'm getting dizzy. i need me a pharmacist. sunny, mild, 75 degrees. we're looking at some chilly conditions in new england. only in the 40s and 50s today. 50s and 40s out through the plains into the rockies. 80s in the mid section of the country with 90s down in texas.

we are looking for windy conditions in the plains. wet out west with mountain snows in the rockies and the wasatch. look for a beautiful day from chicago and minneapolis down to new orleans and as far east as boston. a high of 60 degrees. 67 in new york city. >> good morning. it will be a couple of degrees cooler today than it yesterday. it still will be nice. and that's your latest weather. ann? >> al, thanks. coming up next, michael jackson in his own words on his troubled childhood, the pain he

felt. we'll hear more from the recording made just weeks before the singer's death played in court on wednesday. and we have star jones and savannah guthrie to react to that coming up right after this. [ female announcer ] this is kim.

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>> reporter: good morning to you. we've been talking a lot this morning about the impact of steve jobs on this world and his innovation of the iphone has actually had a big impact on the trial of dr. conrad murray. you see there was an app on the iphone called i talk and it basically turns the iphone into a digital voice recorder. prosecutors say for some reason dr. conrad murray taped michael jackson on the iphone just weeks before his death. michael sounds drugged up. his voice is very deep. he's barely making any sense, and he opens up about his childhood. ♪ had you to myself >> reporter: the protege was in pain, singing with the jackson 5, and decades later -- ♪ what about sunrise what about rain ♪ >> reporter: -- a confession from michael jackson, the man, recorded at his bed side by dr. conrad murray. >> i didn't have a childhood. i had no childhood. heal the world.

we are the world. will you be there? the lost children. in the songs i've written because, you know? i hurt. i hurt. >> reporter: michael's voice from the grave played for the jury as dr. conrad murray listened on. the mumbled ramblings, prosecutors say, of a sedated pop star just six weeks before his death. michael seemed focused. >> when that door opens, you start that piano. >> reporter: on his upcoming tour. beauty didn't do it. we have to be phenomenal. >> reporter: and he kept talking about raising money for sick children. >> they're sick because they're depressed.

i care about them, them angels. god wants me to do it. i'm going to do it, conrad. >> i knew you would. >> it was extremely heart breaking. michael jackson loved life. he was vibrant. and just to reflect on the michael jackson whom i knew, and the one that was reduced to that tape, it was extremely heart breaking for me. >> reporter: in court wednesday prosecutors showed still photos of drugs in michael's bedroom, including this empty bottle of propofol under his night stand. >> this was recovered from the floor? >> yes. >> reporter: then the prosecutor got theatrical, laying out bottle after bottle on a courtroom table, trying to convince the jury dr. murray didn't know when to stop, creating a mini pharmacy in

michael's mansion. >> a trial about medication and prescription is normally very, very boring and dry stuff. the prosecution was brilliant in piling that on the desks and playing a tape all in one day in order to create a memorable scene for the jury. >> reporter: and it is the garbled voice of michael jackson, his final words on the tape, that may haunt the jury. >> you okay? >> i am asleep. >> reporter: it is chilling to hear that tape. by the way, there is another audiotape out there that could make some news this week. dr. conrad murray in his own words. now prosecutors plan to play his police interrogation for the jury sometime this week and use his own words against him. >> all right. jeff rossen in los angeles, thank you very much. savannah is back now in her role as "today's" legal correspondent. star jones is a former prosecutor and legal commentator. ladies, good morning to you.

take the hats off that you normally wear. become jurors right now. you're sitting in that jury box listening to that audiotape. you heard a snippet of it on opening day. now you've heard the whole thing. the sound of his voice, the slurred words, incoherent. what impact does it have? >> i think my takeaway as a juror would be this is an incredibly tragic and sympathetic figure. i feel sorry for michael jackson when i hear this tape. >> absolutely. >> then you have to think about who in that scenario was in a position of power? it's dr. conrad murray. he was supposed to be taking care of this person. jackson comes across as a victim. to buy the defense theory that jackson actually was a sneaky drug addict who while lying in bed as soon as murray was out of the room dosed himself with lorazepam and propofol, when you hear that tape you think, could that guy have pulled that off? >> do you feel the same thing, star? >> i felt sad when i heard him start to talk about his childhood. it actually made sense to me why his mother may have taken this week to be away from the trial so that she wouldn't have to hear her dead son talk about how

tragic his childhood was and how much he hurt. i think a juror is going to be sitting there thinking to themselves, why would you continue to give this obviously in pain man drugs? >> i think it might even be worse than that. why wouldn't you at this moment rush this guy to a hospital? why wouldn't you get him in rehab? you can't wean somebody off drugs that intense. >> instead prosecutors are saying two days later he is stockpiling more of this propofol, this powerful drug that ultimately caused his death. >> so does the defense have to put forward, star or savannah, a concrete reason as to why conrad murray recorded this conversation? >> i think so. to me it's the elephant in the room. from the moment i heard that tape in opening statements i immediately thought, why is this doctor recording this in this setting on a sunday morning? what possible innocent explanation might there be? >> a trial lawyer told me one time that words are powerful but an image is even more powerful. what about that image of those medicine bottles and those i.v. bags laid out on that table? >> we're taught to do that in a

courtroom throughout, you know, being a prosecutor. when you can show a jury what you're talking about in terms of how much drugs, the type of drugs, the variety of drugs, there is no better impact on a jury's psyche. >> a powerful image especially when contrasted with the defense theory that conrad murray was actually trying to wean off michael jackson from drugs. they'll argue that. the jurors will remember that picture. >> savannah guthrie and star jones, ladies good to see you as always. up next, does your relationship need a boost? couples reveal their secrets to a strong and sexy marriage right after this. is a big deal... thanks... so i'm glad it's with fidelity. they offer me one-on-one guidance to help me choose my investments. not just with my savings plan here at work. they help me with all of my financial goals. looking good, irene. thanks to fidelity, i can stay on top of my financial future, huh? good one. why, thank you. whether it's saving for retirement,

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try nourish plus haircare. only from aveeno. why do some marriages thrive and others fail? what are some of the secrets to long-term success? we spoke to two couples who say that they figured out how to live, love, and sometimes even fight happily ever after. >> we've been married for seven years. not only are we married, but we're partners in business and we're parents together as well, so every day all day long we sit across from each other and run a business. >> all day long. do you have any appointments you're going on? >> i don't have any appointments today. >> we're fiercely loyal. there's never been a doubt since the day i started dating her that i was her guy and she was going to be with me forever. >> we laugh a lot in this house. when we're fighting, we always end the fight somehow or another because he makes a joke or i make a joke. >> if we're driving in a car and

we're not talking to each other i'll roll down the windows, turn on the hazards. i'm like, don't look at this car. she's in a bad mood. and she starts laughing and, you know, we get through it. >> humor isn't the answer to everything and there are certainly times where he's made a joke and i'm really mad and it's not funny at all. i do think that it's talking about it, getting it out and laying it on the table. >> tom and i have been married 27 years. i think we've recognized over the years that respect, respect, respect is the key element of a marriage. >> we have a very interesting and rich life with three beautiful children. >> we're very comfortable in our own skins, and i think that's important in marriage. you don't want to lose your own identity. forget about all your friends and family and contacts and everything as well. >> a lot of things that caused conflict was the stress of work and family and whey found out over time is it's not important to be right. maybe admitting that you might not be right or you might not need to be right is not the

point. >> i am very impressed about what my husband just said, and i think he got it right. sometimes if we had a little spat i may come back and tom has left me a little sorry note or a little apology. >> we've been able to work through the lows and enjoy the highs and things are actually even getting better as time continues. >> our guest is the author of a new book called "the secret lives of wives, women share what it really takes to stay married." r.j. allen as relationship therapist. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> so, you guys, at today.com we did a survey about marriage. it's not scientific, but 28,000 viewers responded. here are some of the findings. to the question, would you want your children to have a marriage like yours, one-fourth of those we surveyed said no. and to the question, have you considered divorce? if you total these numbers, 49% say that they have thought about it. iris, do you think this number

is low? >> i would say i interviewed 200 wives who have been married 15 to 70 years, and about 70% of those wives have considered leaving their spouses at least once a month if not once every six months. now, there is a big difference between thinking about divorce and really showing up at a divorce lawyer's office. >> let me interrupt and ask you. isn't in some ways kind of healthy, or is it not? >> actually, i think it is, because then you can identify there are some things you need to work on, identify them as growth areas and say, okay. if i'm thinking about this, what i don't want is this to become a reality. >> so brings some clarity in your life. >> exactly. now we can have the courageous conversation and start talking about what are the things we need to improve? the goal is endurance. we're in it to win it not check out. >> right. just to spin out of that, i'm hearing a lot from women who say "thank you, i thought i was alone." what we're doing and what i

tried to do with this book is unleash women to know there is no gold standard marriage toward which they can aspire. there is no happily ever after all the time. >> oh, dear. okay. that's a hard reality, but there you go. part of the way we figure out whether we're happy and what affects whether or not we're happy is what our priorities are. 51% in our survey said their priorities are their spouse and marriage and 38% said that the second highest number was their children. which one is right? >> most people are going to focus on their relationship but, yeah. there is going to be the focus on the children. you want to make sure that you remember you've been a couple sometimes before you've become a parent so you don't want to leave the date night to the back side of the relationship or not focus on that. at the end of the day you've got to have these conversations. you've got to keep them going so that you can have communication, commitment, and compromise. the extent to which your relationship is healthy is not predicated so much on how people do when things are good and when times are up. it's when things are bad or

times are down people lose their jobs or there is grief or someone dies. then can you stick in it and can that draw you together versus moving to a place where you're blaming each other. >> which brings up learning to fight well. thank you so much. we've got much more. the book of course is called "the secret lives of wives." >> good morning. i mindy basara. let's get a final check of the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> good morning. not over with yet. this rush hour, far from it. it delays around the area. 3 miles an hour on southbound 95, backed up approaching white marsh to beyond the beltway northeast. a on the north side, jams on the west side but delays a stretch back to 95 on the northeast corner all the way to the

harrisburg expressway. southbound jfx philip quickly from the belt way too cold spring. eastbound 70, at 32, accident. another problem in howard county, was down 175, a crash and delays still westbound 32 approaching 198 where we have a sinkhole. southbound 95 past 198, accident making your way to the capital beltway. delays southbound at fort mchenry. harbor tunnel may be better. we had problems earlier due to construction at the tunnel. west side still jammed all the way down. that is the latest. john joins us with a forecast. >> seeing the sun shine on the traffic cameras. temperatures beginning to climb out of the 40's. clear skies around the eastern half of the country. all the stormy weather is to the west in case you are

traveling that way. our forecast is a good one. sunday. not quite as warm as yesterday. yesterday we made it into the 70's and today of around 70. north and northeast winds at 10- 15 miles an hour. >> thanks, john. thank you for joining us. another update at 8:55.

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8:30 now on a thursday morning, the 6th day of october, 2011. it's a stunningly beautiful day here in new york city, and we've got a nice crowd of people gathered in rockefeller plaza. out on the plaza i'm matt lauer with ann curry, savannah

guthrie, and al roker. coming up a show a lot of people love to talk about. amc's breaking ban. >> it's about a terminally ill teacher who turns to drug making to secure his family's financial future. it is an edgy role and we'll talk to him coming up. also coming up we have a new batch of dogs who had a total makeover. our bow to wow segment will be here so we'll check out the new looks on those pups. >> we want to remind you about today's tag sale. yesterday we showed you some personal items from our treasure trove, some items we want you to bid on. they're selling them for a good cause. goes to the salvation army. for example, ann, an olympic torch. giving up on the olympic dream that she carried in salt lake on ebay, the price already up to $2500. >> that's pretty cool. to top her i'm going to auction off some letters my dad wrote to me. they're very special to me but you know what?

okay. for a closer look at our tag sale items and to place your bid head to our website today.com. all the proceeds as we say go to the salvation army and bidding ends on sunday. meanwhile, on the heels of our education nation initiative this morning we're reading for the record today. that's right. hoda and her guest cohost for the fourth hour kourtney kardashian are doing their part to promote literacy among young people as we speak. >> that's right. we have actress bridget moynihan the ambassador for the 2011 jump-start read for the record campaign. bridget, good morning. >> good morning. thank you for having me. >> how did you get so involved in this? >> well, it's just such a great cause, you know, they provide early educational skills, language skills, literacy skills to children who aren't getting it at home or in the schools. >> under the age of 5. >> right. it's preparing them for school and for life and it's a really great cause. >> so this year's book is llama,

llama, red pajama not to be confused with liar, liar, pants on fire. you have a 4-year-old. have you read this at home? >> i have. it is one of those books that once you read it, it keeps replaying in your mind and it's a fun book. >> how do people participate in this? >> we're asking everyone to sit down and read today and so you'll be standing up for the importance of early education and you can go on to www.read for the record.org and go on there and check how you can make your reading count today. >> a great idea. thank you very much. >> thanks, bridget. mr. roker, how about a check of the weather? >> i'm donating, i have a mummy from king tut's tomb thai am going to be donating and auctioning off. >> mak >> good morning. little on the cool side.

plenty of sunshine. and don't forget you can check your -- that is a noodle portrait right there, using my noodle -- you can check your weather any time of the day or night. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online where you'll probably see on their weather map lomein pressure. >> because it is noodle day, right? national noodle day. use your noodle. >> wow. coming up next, we've got the star of "breaking bad." we'll catch up with emmy winner brian cranston, but first, this is "today" on nbc.

we are back with award winner bryan cranston up until 2008 probably best known as the dad on the sitcom "malcolm in the middle" and since then has received critical acclaim, in fact three emmys for his portrayal of walter white a high school chemistry teacher turned meth manufacturer on the hit amc drama "breaking bad." take a look. >> we need to start a cook in the next ten minutes to keep to our schedule -- gus's schedule. now, as angry as he may be, i don't believe he is willing to forfeit an entire batch. that just might make him angrier. come on, mike. let us cook. isn't that what this whole thing is about? >> hey, brian. welcome back. >> isn't that what this whole thing -- >> it apparently is not what this whole thing is about. if you take this at its simplest story line, you know, high school chemistry teacher turns

meth making drug dealer. >> yeah. >> it lasts two episodes. >> yeah. >> because it's not really -- this is really as you've put it in the past about the questions the show raises. >> it's a lot like llama, llama, red pajama for adults. it really isn't about glorifying drug making or drug use or anything like that. it's about a man's poor decision making. that's what it's really about. >> well, you've said that this guy is living what most people have as a hypothetical in their lives, that conversation we've all had at a party, which sounds a little depressing. >> right. >> but what would you do if you found you had a limited time to live? >> yeah. if you had a year to live, how would you live your life? or what would you do for a million dollars? how far would you go? and walter white plays that out in a very dangerous way. >> there is an article i read, which by the way called this one of the best four shows of the last ten years, which is pretty nice. it says this. it says, it seemed like this was going to be the story of a man

forced to become a criminal because he was dying of cancer. that's the elevator pitch. but that's completely unrelated to what the show has become. the central question on "breaking bad" is this. what makes a man bad? >> ooh. >> is it true? >> it is. what i've learned from this experience is that any one of us, even the meekest person among us, could become a horrible, dangerous person given the right set of circumstances. >> in a split second? >> not a split second. maybe over four or five seasons. that's how we live our lives, right? >> in 16 episodes. >> yes. >> so this guy has just simply made bad choices in a bad situation, but he doesn't really see another way, does he? >> no. he's down the road too far now. it started off very altruistic. he wanted to leave something for his family so he wouldn't leave them penniless and have their thoughts be of this shrivelled

old, dying man. he decided to do something risky for the first time in his life, use his chemistry background, cook crystal meth, as much as he can, give the money to his family and that was going through his mind. >> in 2008 you finished up with "malcolm in the middle" and from what i understand the roles you were offered immediately following that were pilots for similar characters. >> goofy dads. >> right. and so it's hard because actors want to work. >> right. >> most actors want to support their families. how hard was it to turn those down? >> i don't care for my family very much, so i was willing to take the risk. no, it was easy to turn it down, actually, because the industry has a tendency to want to pigeon hole an actor. oh, he does drama. oh, he does comedy. but i don't want to help them do that, so as soon as i'm done with something i want to veer off and do something else. >> in this day and age i mentioned actors want to work and they like the money. anybody would want to dig into a role like this. but this comes even as the sun light of an angel comes behind you here. >> i know. >> this comes with a challenge

because you shoot it in new mexico. >> right. >> you're not hanging out with the other actors in hollywood. you're on the road. how hard is it? >> it is difficult on the family except i use the commuter bus. i fly home about every weekend to go back home. and that's tough. but actors historically have been vagabonds, the traveling salesmen, you know, so we have to go and accept that part of our lives. >> you have won three emmys for this role? the only reason i think you probably didn't win an emmy this year is because you weren't eligible because the show premiered at a time which kind of took it outside the calendar of the emmys. you've got 16 episodes left? >> we have 16 episodes after this sunday's finale of season four. >> so two more years. >> two more years. >> it's great. >> good to have you here. >> thank you. >> you can catch the season finale of "breaking bad" sunday night on amc. still ahead shall t, the fa amanda knox speaks out about what his daughter's life is like now, home in seattle.

back at 8:43 kids are bursting with ideas and full of imaginations so think of what it would be like for them to see their stories actually come to life. today contributing correspondent jenna bush hagar found one energetic group making that happen. >> reporter: tell me why you like to write. >> because it's fun to use your imagination and make stories like come to life. >> reporter: a good story is like a treasure, and this group of high energy actors, storming classrooms and stages with the swash buckler's flair for busting the rules and wrapping their hands around a bounty that doesn't necessarily belong to them. >> we are the story pirates. what we do is we take stories written by kids and we turn them into a show. >> reporter: their kid collaborative approach to story

telling has produced a shameless fan in one of america's favorite critics, late night host jon stuart. i heard you played a character at the story pirate's benefit, jfk not the president. >> jfk not the president or the airport. >> my name is -- >> apparently the young man who wrote the story wanted to have fiction and nonfiction so jfk not the president is in there as well as a booger monster. >> what am i going to do about this booger monster? >> ask snot. they have them write from their imaginations so i think that's a very nice lesson for them to learn, that it's a process. it's writing, it's editing. it's working. there are a lot of people involved in it, a lot of people can collaborate with it. >> drink the toilet water. >> reporter: how intimidating is it to use these kids' words and interpret them in your own way? >> in a way it makes our job so

easy because all we have to do is say verbatim what they wrote. >> reporter: will you do me a favor and read me part of your story? >> one day in sea town it smelled funky as a skunk. >> reporter: this 4 grader's story was selected for production by the pirates because of its sensational creativity. >> sandy crab is making dessert for magic sea horse so he could have the best red hair ever. when he eats the dessert he gets red hair. >> reporter: in black box theater just a couple ship links from broadway the story pirates take what's on the page and add a few theatrical touches. >> sandy crab here. >> i'm a piano player for story pirates so i'll kind of just start playing along and we're just all kind of feeding off each other and we create kind of a little, almost like a little cartoon, a little narrative of the story. >> ow! >> reporter: imaginy sea horse felt mad like the last toy on the shelf. what does that mean? >> sometimes like toys are

lonely. >> they don't get to decide anything. the idea that their words have power or that their ideas will be taken seriously, i think, is what makes their curiousity really spark. >> a round of applause for lela jimenez! >> reporter: it's a different kind of learning but it is real learning. they learn their ideas matter and that everything that was produced, every tv show, every movie, every comic book, it all had to start with an idea. and someone had to write it down. >> reporter: what was it like to have your parents watch your performance? what did they say to you? >> they said, good job, lela. you did great about the story that you wrote. >> these are the people who in very short period of time are going to be like running the planet. ♪ let the hair roll >> it's not our ideas that are going to be, you know, that are

going to change the world. it's their ideas. >> that was jenna bush hagar. and coming up next, new looks for our latest batch of bow to wow dogs. but first, this is "today" on nbc. complete this merger, and present to the board, sink your teeth into some big n' toasty if you understand. good. you've got spunk. a big day calls for the big n' toasty. wrap your hands around fried eggs, cherrywood smoked bacon, and cheese on texas toast. america runs on dunkin'. at bank of america, we're lending and investing in the people and communities who call baltimore home. from funding to help a local business expand their operations...

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special series where we take dogs from a shelter, clean them up, and find them loving homes. here with our latest group of deserving animals is our animal advocate, jill rappaport. >> i thought you were going to say animal jill. good morning to you, matt. we still have a 100% success record. and this time we are doing, because fall is in full gear, doing family friendly dogs and it's really wonderful as you know. dogs for children and all of these dogs are great with children of any age and these animals are in desperate need of a loving home. it's autumn at animal care control in new york city. where sadly the cages are still full of furry faces, ready to become new members of loving families. first up, this bundle of energy named marlon. >> marlon is a 3-month-old beagle mix. >> just adorable. he's a puppy so he is very playful, very active. >> we're stressing family dogs, children's dogs. this is a great breed for a child. >> they grow up together.

the parents have to be involved to make sure that they have the proper training and supervision. >> okay. >> until he's big enough, then he has a little bit better manners. >> yes. next this blue-eyed stunner who has the patience of a saint. say hello to roscoe. >> he was already with the family. >> yes. >> a loving pet. but they had to give him up. they couldn't afford to keep him. >> he's been around kids, grand kids, so a family with older kids would be good for him. >> very calm. >> yes, he's very calm. he sat upon command. he's 2 years old. >> he's young. just a little boy. >> a siberian husky. >> from a mellow fellow to a tan and white special named bud. >> this butterscotch parfait, this is bud. sweet and mellow and quiet as can be. >> he does have eyes in here. >> needs a little groomg. he would be a great family dog

with real little children as well. >> if they're watching television he'll probably just sit on their lap and relax with them. >> a couch potato. really just wants love and attention. >> exactly. went right into your arms. look how relaxed he is. >> finally meet spike, an adorable golden retriever. you can't think of a more wonderful, loving family dog than a golden retriever. we have spike. >> he's 5 years old. as you can see, he needs to lose a little bit of weight. >> children of all ages would be good with this dog. >> small toddlers have to be careful just because he is a big dog and they could easily get knocked over but otherwise he'll be in really good condition. >> he just needs a treadmill. four beautiful boys waiting for loving places to call home. >> we're joined as always by richard jenels of animal care and control of new york. before we bring the dogs out, congratulations. we were in an event for you last night. you received the voice for the animals award from the humane society at their annual gala. that is a big honor for your work here on the "today" show. >> you made the presentation. >> i was thrilled to do it and

for your work away from the show as well. congratulations. >> thank you. >> let us now bring in our dogs. okay. we've got those puppies that needed to find new homes. marlon the beagle puppy mix, here is a picture of him at the shelter. no, there is a picture of marlon right now being brought out by jason, still a growing boy, right? >> yes, he is. jason is doing a great job walking him out. but he is a puppy. he's only 4 months old so he needs house training. he needs obedience training. but he is very smart and eager to learn and extremely playful. >> he is actually being much more mellow. >> he really is. >> jason, thank you so much. we appreciate it. if you can take marlon over there. next we've got spike. this is the golden retriever, right? >> yes. >> spike is being brought out by 11-year-old victoria. retrievers, everybody loves them retrievers. >> yeah. and he's, in the foster home he got along with the dogs and cats there and believe it or not he

likes to take walks. he'll probably lay down in two minutes. >> but a nice disposition. >> great disposition on this dog. absolutely. >> he just needs to get in shape. >> he does. he tries. >> brian's disposition not so good. >> all right. thank you very much. victoria. perfect timing. >> a true couch potato. >> we've got a big makeover now. here is a picture of bud at the shelter. he is a 7-year-old shih tzu and here is noah holding bud right now. >> oh, look how cute. >> now he's obviously a middle aged dog and he likes chicken flavored dog food. >> an important fact. yes. that is very important. >> but he really is the most mellow dog. >> a quiet, cozy home would be perfect for him.

he's just a mellow, beautiful sweetie. >> noah, thank you very much. we appreciate it. that's bud there. and we saved one of the biggest dogs for last. here comes roscoe. this is the siberian husky. he comes out with a 2 1/2-year-old named porter. oh, how cute. and her dad, doug. now this is the one where this dog had a family that couldn't afford to keep him anymore? >> yes. exactly. one of three they couldn't afford in these difficult times. that's what we're seeing and that is why it is so important to donate to your shelter so we can take good care of these dogs when they come in to us. >> and porter loves him, don't you? >> so cute. and we see a lot about the dog by how gentle he is and calm around porter. >> he's been with the kids today and he is 2 1/2. he's a really smart dog. he's eager to learn. he's going to have a lot of energy. >> let's bring out all the dogs so we can get one more last look. >> very good. >> jill, thank you very much. richard, thank you very much. porter, thank you very much.

congratulations on your honor as well. we're back with much more after these messages and your local news. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. here is a look at one of our top stories. a maryland congressman elijah cummings is demanding new

legislation after finding drug companies are jacking up their prices in the face of a shortage. fda says quality and manufacturing issues have sparked been sorted shot. an investigation shows some companies raising the prices as companies raising the prices as hey, what are you drinkin'? i'm drinkin' dunkin'. coffee -- black, straight up. extra cream, three sugars. iced coffee french vanilla. for me. iced coffee with a turbo shot. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. drinkin' dunkin'. america runs on dunkin' coffee.

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