good morning. chaos in cairo. armored vehicles driven by security forces plow right into a crowd of protesters amid the city's deadliest violence in months. this morning, at least 25 people have been killed, hundreds more injured. where's baby lisa? police seahing for the 10-month-old girl missing in kansas city try to recreate how she was allegedly taken from her crib in the middle of the night. we're live with the very latest on the investigation. and love me, i do. sir paul mccartney celebrates his wedding to an american he

heiress. the inside details on the ceremony, the guests and the gift paul gave his bride. "today," monday, october 10th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm ann curry. those images in cairo are eerily reminiscent of the uprising in february. the egyptian government is going to respond. >> the police responded with a show of force of their own after demonstrators threw rocks and stones at them. a tragedy averted a compelling story, a 12-year-old

girl suddenly collapses at her middle school and her heart stopped. a surveillance camera shows what happened next. two teachers springing into action to save the girl's life. this morning, they are all here to share the story. >> she's a lucky young lady. i'm a golfer. you never want to hit a ball into a water hazard. this one you should avoid because it has about a half a dozen man eating sharks in it. you do not go in for your ball in that place. we'll explain how they got there, coming up. >> let that ball lie. the top stories this morning, natalie morales at the news desk. in cairo clashes between muslims, christians and security forces left at least 25 people dead and wounded more than 270 others. nbc's jim maceda has more. >> egypt is bracing for more

violence, since the arab spring eight months ago. it began as a peaceful demonstration, a crowd of cop tick christians, and more joined in and christian/muslim tensions soon snapped. battle lines quickly formed between riot police and those angry with the slow pace of change and that turned to chaos. armed men described as thugs beat christians and muslims. the violence spreading to tahrir square, the site of egypt's flagging revolution. one vehicle plowed into a crowd sending mangled bodies thrown. what started as a clash between christians and muslims morphed into an explosion of anger.

today the government blamed the riots on those who want to see egypt torn apart. "i call on all young and old to unite against this foul conspiracy." the next flash point could be outside cairo's coptic cathedral where funerals are taking place. >> thank you. aer toifying survival story from the florida keys where a boat capsized, killing one woman and leaving several others to tread water in choppy seas for 20 hours, rescued near more than, florida. the boaters were not wearing life vests. one of those rescued was a 4-year-old girl. to wall street, cnbc's melissa lee is at the new york stock exchange. >> reporter: good morning to you. investors continue to focus on europe. france and germany agreed to do everything they can to recapitalize their banks and

keep them afloat. specific details won't be revealed until later this month. adexia is getting bailed out that includes an infusion of 90 billion euros. >> melissa lee at the new york stock exchange, thanks. talk about a real life water hazard, at an australian golf course six sharks have taken up residence at the golf course. heavy flooding washed the ten foot terrors into their lake. they seem to be shthis riving in the new habitat. some are even breeding. you don't see that too often. >> i like how they are playing i think the "jaws" music. get close to the water and play the music and we'll know. >> thank you very much, natalie. al has the day off, stephanie abrams in with the forecast. >> good to see you guys.

south carolina, we have the calm before the storm. it's looking beautiful like a great beach day. that will not be the case later today and on into the day tomorrow, two to three inches of rain locally up to seven inches of rain. where is it right now, it's in florida, it's in georgia but it's falling right where we need it to. we have drought-stricken areas into georgia and south carolina and we need it there into lake okeechobee and south florida. there are your totals, up to seven inches along the border of georgia and south carolina, otherwise it's hot, above average. new york city typically in the >> good morning. beautiful what the bank continues as we head into columbus day. low 80's

>> matt, over to you. >> stephanie, thanks very much. the desperate search for 10-month-old lisa irwin. police spoke with her parents again this weekend, as investigators scoured the family's home for more clues. nbc's peter alexander is in kansas city with the latest. peter good morning. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. another very busy weekend at the home of baby lisa irwin. investigators now have at least 250 tips, some from as far away as california and while they've largely scaled back their ground search for this 10-month-old baby they have picked up efforts here at the home of lisa irwin looking for any new evidence that can lead them to clues of where to find this missing baby girl. one week later and still no answers in the case of baby lisa irwin. sunday night, a candlelight vigil for the 10-month-old

affectionately called pumpkin pie. at the irwin home this weekend, investigators tried to recreate how an abductor might have gotten inside as the parents have suggested, crawling through a window over and over, recording the entire thing. sunday, investigators also went door to door here, asking about a local handyman who hasn't been seen since before lisa disappeared. police haven't declared him or anyone else a suspect but the detectives' questions have neighbors speculating. >> especially somebody that works next door might have had something to do with it, has played with your kids, seen your kids, has talked to them. they know him. it's scary. >> reporter: meanwhile detectives scanned the irwin's front and back yards with metal detectors and once again searched a nearby landfill. >> bring her home. we need her. we are not a family without her. she's everything to us. >> reporter: after several desperate pleas last week,

lisa's parents, jeremy irwin and deborah bradley did not speak publicly this weekend. last week, police said they'd stopped cooperating but this weekend, the parents met again with investigators. >> we're all at the same table right now and that's the best thing for the investigation, no doubt about it. >> reporter: lisa's parents reported her missing last week, after jeremy returned from working his first overnight shift as an electrician and on a night deborah says she can't remember locking the front door. friday on "today" matt asked them if they had any reason to suspect one another. >> jeremy, when you look at debbie, do you have any suspicions that there's anything she's not telling you relating to the disappearance of lisa? >> none whatsoever. >> any doubt in your mind that he hasn't told you something? >> no. he's a good father, and he's good to me, and he loves her,

and everybody loves her. >> handing out flyers for baby lisa. >> reporter: hundreds of flyers were handed out to nascar fans at the kansas speedway. >> she was kidnapped out of her home monday night and the cops don't have any tips basically where she is. >> reporter: an odd twist, nbc news learned that deborah bradley, lisa irwin's mother, who lived with the father, was in fact still married to another man. that man is not a suspect, reportedly away serving in the army. matt? >> peter alexander, thank you very much. nbc news ann list clint van zandt is a former fbi profiler. clint, good morning to you. >> hi, matt, good morning. >> doesn't seem like the police have an awful lot to go on. let's take little things we know, first of all going around the neighborhood, knocking on doors and in some cases according to one family they talked to, the fbi i think actually talked to they're

showing a picture of a handyman who may have worked in the neighborhood, may have a crimical record and hasn't been seen since lisa disappeared. what do you make of this in. >> if we think back to the elizabeth smart kidnapping, that was a handyman who worked in the neighborhood who worked in her house who eventually kidnapped her. i think as the fbi, the local police, it's their responsibility, you have to eliminate the family and to to eliminate the neighbors and people who work in that community. so far there are a number of people not eliminated. >> with the clock ticking in terms of how long this girl has been missing, if law enforcement had real worries about this handyman, wouldn't they take this wider and make his name and his picture public? >> sometimes they want to find him first. realize they've got about 300 investigators working this so they control a lot of people, trying to find him. i agree with you, if you've got a suspect there's no better way to find that person perhaps than to get his picture up in front of the media.

>> let's talk about this recreation, you saw the police officer going through the window at the home a number of times, do these things generally help? >> well, you've got to convince yourself it really happened this way, matt. number one, could it actually happen the way the mother suggests and number two, how did that window get open? if it was a screwdriver, a crow bar that will leave tool marks, that could help to identify perhaps when we find the person responsible how this happened. again, police have to convince themselves it was an outsider as opposed to somebody within the family. >> let me ask you about something we learned on friday, clint, we spoke to the mother in this case, debbie, and she told us police informed her she failed a polygraph as part of the investigation. she has not been called a person of interest or a suspect, so how significant would that be? does it happen from time to time? >> well, it does. a polygraph is one more investigative tool. that's why in all but one state

in the country that a polygraph, results can't be used as evidence and again i've seen spies who pass a polygraph, i've seen innocent people who fail it, so a polygraph is really an investigative tool, but what it depends on is the interviewing skills of the polygrapher but one more tool in the tool belt the investigators are using. >> the family is apparently trying to get together some money for a reward fund. does money help in a case like this? you'd think people would want to just help this little girl. >> you would think so, too but matt it's been a week, nobody's come forward with information that leads to her, any motivator, and we're all motivated by different things so do you do it or not do it? matt, it can't hurt. let's get it out here so we've touched all the bases, trying to bring this 10-month-old girl home. >> clint van zandt as always, thanks very much.

>> thank you. >> it's 13 after the hour. here's ann. now to presidential politics, gop front-runner mitt romney his religion is once again drawing attention after a dallas pastor voiced his belief that mormonism is a cult. chuck todd, good morning. >> good morning, ann. running for a second time and consistently running even with president obama in many state and national polls, mitt romney's folks thought his mormon faith would not become an issue this year, and up until this past weekend that was the case but just like four years ago, romney is finding out his faith is still a big hurdle for some evangelicals. >> rick perry is a proven leader. he is a true conservative and a genuine follower of jesus christ. >> reporter: the battle for the republican nomination is taking an ugly turn after this christian leader dallas pastor robert jeffries turned the voter summit into an attack on mitt

romney's mormon faith. >> mitt romney is a good moral person but he's not a christian. mormonism is not christianity, always been considered a cult by the mainstream of christianity. >> reporter: at the same conference on saturday, romney fired back. >> poisonous language doesn't advance our cause, never softened a heart nor changed a single mind. >> reporter: perry's campaign did not renounce the jeffries endorsement but on saturday he was forced to distance himself from the pastor's remarks. >> reporter: governor, is mormonism a cult? >> no. >> reporter: do you believe it's a cult? >> no, i've already answered that, no. >> reporter: former presidential candidate pat robertson recently called romney an outstanding christian but some of romney's opponents won't go that far. >> he is a mormon. that much i know. i am not going to do an analysis of mormonism versus christianity for the sake of answering that.

>> twef religious tolerance in the country and we understand that people have different views on their faith. >> reporter: the other mormon in the republican race, jon huntsman dismissed the entire debate. >> here in new hampshire that is seen as the most ridiculous side show in recent politics. >> reporter: romney also faced questions about his religion during his first presidential run in 2008, responded to it by pulling a page from the kennedy catholic book. he mentioned the word mormon just once. >> if i'm fortunate to become your president, i will serve no one religion. >> reporter: but in 2012, even evangelical leaders say most christian conservatives won't fixate on romney's faith but not the economy. >> he's not running for pastor, bishop or pope. this is a presidential election. >> many close to romney believe the only reason he lost iowa in 2008 to evangelical conservative mike huckabee was due to an

anti-mormon whisper campaign. and the two important tests, iowa and south carolina have large evangelical populations in the republican primary and small mormon populations. >> interesting to see how tolerant we are on the base of religion. chuck todd thanks so much. 7:16, here's matt. it's been a week since amanda knox's murder conviction was overturned and we're learning new details about her life behind bars in italy. nbc's janet shamleyan is in seattle. >> reporter: as amanda knox is going through a murder trial and appeal, outside of the prison lockup, back inside she was facing trials of a different sort but no less frightening, repeated sexual harassment but someone charged with keeping her safe. >> thank you to everyone who's believed in me, who's defended

me, who's supported my family. >> reporter: knox has not spoken publicly since those first few words at the airport, but now disturbing new details are emerging about the treatment she reportedly endured while in custody. knox's family confirms that while in prison, she wrote about persistent sexual harassment from a prison administrator. so what's her life like now? knox's family says she spent part of the weekend visiting with old friends, including a former boyfriend. knox's more recent ex-boyfriend, rafael some see toe was acquitted of all charges in the death of meredith kercher. knox and some see toe were arrested in november 2007, a few days after kercher's body was found in a pool of blood. they were convicted two years later. a third defendant, rudy guede, was also convicted and is serving 16 years in prison. the case set off a media firestorm in knox's hometown of

seattle which has still not fully died down. knox's father spoke with matt about his daughter's future. >> i think there's a newfound desire from her standpoint to help people wrongfully imprisons and she's obviously experienced that and i think down the road that's probably what we're going to see and we're going to see her really try to make a difference in people's lives. >> reporter: the media frenzy is still raging in southern italy, near the home of raffaele sollecito. he's trying to stay out of public view. some see toe's father told a british newspaper amid the joy and relief of having his son back he still feels for the family of meredith kercher. "i had my son back but they don't have their daughter back. all i can say is that if they need to contact me, i will always be here." new reports indicate amanda knox and raffaele sollecito plan to get together here in the united states potentially by the end of the year. nbc news spoke to amanda knox's

mother who confirms while some see toe is welcome at this point there are no concrete plans for that just yet. >> janet shamlian in seattle, thank you very much. it's 19 after the hour. here's ann. on a happier note another royal wedding in london over the weekend, rock royalty, that is, at the age of 69, sir paul mccartney tied the knot for a third time on sunday, his bride an american iheiress. nbc's michelle kosinski, good morning. >> reporter: rock 'n' roll royalty meets american society royalty. this one was low key, the couple drove to a workout together, a couple hours later married in front of about 30 people ending with a more glamorous party here at home. it was no use trying to keep it all hush-hush opinion sir paul

mccartney and bride nancy chevelle left the town hall, no containing their happiness. paul mugging for the cameras -- ♪ and i love her >> reporter: nancy dressed simply in a design by paul's famous daughter, stella. barbara walters, nancy's second cousin and fellow beatle rin ringostarr as flower girl beatrice from heather mills. that marriage ended in an ugly divorce that cost paul tens of millions. >> sir paul mccartney is a sort of undying romantic, totally believes in love. ♪ all you need is love >> reporter: paul started dating 51-year-old nancy shortly after that divorce in 2008. soon nancy divorced her lawyer husband with whom she has a

teenage son. >> nancy was a perfect candidate from the very beginning, not only was she a friend of the family, someone who linda would have approved of but she was independently wealthy. some reports suggested she has nearly as much money as paul does himself. >> reporter: and it was this same place in 1969 where paul married his first wife, linda, also an american, who many consider the love of his life. her death from breast cancer crushed him. nancy is a breast cancer survivor, and at their reception, paul serenaded her. ♪ let it be >> reporter: "let it be" and "let me roll it," and third piece he wrote just for her. >> she's pretty young for him. >> i think it's great for him, as long as he's happy because he deserves to be happy still. >> reporter: he who once asked "will you still need me when i'm 64" gets a response of yes, yes,

i do. ♪ and i love her >> reporter: you know, there is nothing like true love and a combined fortune of $1 billion to keep you young. just last night included twiggy, ronny wood, dined on organic vegetation including the cake and the couple will head to new york followed up with a caribbean honeymoon. >> must be nice. michelle kosinski thank you very much. where was your invitation? >> she is a beautiful lady but he looks fantastic. he always has that youthful look around him. >> good for him, may the third time be the charm. michael jackson's doctor in his own words on what happened the night the singer died and jackson's children made a rare public appearance to honor their father but first this is "today" on nbc.

so the reason i'm wearing a braid is because it's a big trend. i'm not sure it's a trend for my age. >> i thought you were going to yodel. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. the search is on for two suspects who fled the scene of an accident in harford county. authorities say a state trooper tried to stop a vehicle and was involved in an accident and

would still road. suspects in the car ran, but police arrested three of them a short time later. time for a check of the morning commute with sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> we have several accidents to get to this hour. in pasadena, watch for an accident at maggoty bridge road and raynor boulevard. another one at an oak avenue and hopyard drive. falls road and miller road, watch for crashed there. delay-wise, we're not doing all that bad. it is a columbus day. 11 minutes on the west side. normally a very heavy spot this power. here's a quick live look outside and white marsh. we will switch over to a live view of traffic at 95 in howard county. we are problem-free towards the capital beltway.

ava, over to you. >> students may have to go to school, but the parents have a play date for today. patchy fog this morning, 50 degrees in this city. it is going to be a pleasant day. sunny and mild across the state. 76 for the high in the mountains. we will have increasing clouds throughout the day tomorrow. rainy weather bank on wednesday keeps the temperature is down. rain chance is continue towards the end of the week.

we're back now at 7:30 on this monday morning, columbus day, october 10th, 2011 and we have a joyous crowd spending it here in rockefeller plaza. it's very crowded here in manhattan, it's a big day here. inside studio 1a i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer. just ahead we'll be talking about michael jackson's children honoring their father at a tribute concert over the weekend, we'll get details oen that and the latest in the trial of jackson's doctor where the

court vee jaia a videotape, an audiotape hears from conrad murray himself. a 12-year-old girl is lucky to be alive after collapsing in a hallway. her heart stopped beating and surveillance camera captured the moments as two teachers revived her and something the state of texas does very, very well. >> something to note. you heard now is a time to refinance your home mortgages. some banks are being very strict, how do you know if you can qualify and what do you do if you can't qualify. well' fill new this morning. we begin with michael jackson's doctor in his own words during an interrogation taped by police. nbc's jeff rossen is joining us from los angeles with details. jeff, good morning. >> good morning to you, ann. this is the first time we've ever heard dr. conrad murray give his side of the story. the tape is his play by play of michael jackson's final moments, dr. murray telling police how

michael begged him for pro poe foal, how michael wanted to inject himself all this playing out as michael's children made a rare public appearance. prince, paris and blanket on stage in the uk this weekend. a tribute concert for their dad. >> we're very happy to be here on this special night to honor our father. >> reporter: a celebration of michael jackson's life, but there would be no escape from the sordid details of his death. >> and he said, "just make me sleep. doesn't matter what." >> reporter: that's dr. conrad murray, michael's personal physician talking to police just two days after the pop star's death. murray told investigators, the morning jackson died, michael was begging for sleep medication. >> and at that time he said, uhm, "i'd like to have some milk." >> hot milk or warm?

>> it's just a medicine that he was familiar with. >> what is the medicine? >> it's called propofol. >> reporter: murray said jackson was nervous about missing rehearsal for his upcoming tour. >> he said "i can't function if i don't sleep. they'll have to cancel it, and i don't want them to cancel it, but they will have to cancel it." so i agreed at that time that i would switch over to the propofol. >> murray maintains he gave jackson a small dose, not enough to kill him and that jackson wanted to inject himself. >> and he asked me, "why would you -- why don't you want me to push it? i love to push it, you know. it makes me feel -- medicine is great. >> the first time that milk was

used on him, with as it your idea or his idea? >> his, his. >> reporter: prosecutors put the tape on but the tape cuts both way. conrad murray through this tape was able to tell his side of the story in his own words. he doesn't have to take the stand. he doesn't have to be subject to cross-examination. >> i sat there and watched him for a long enough period that i felt comfortable, then i needed to go to the bathroom. so i got up, went to the bathroom. then i came back to his bedside and was stunned in the sense that he wasn't breathing. i was gone, i would say, about two minutes. >> reporter: prosecutors say murray was out of the room far longer. phone records show in the hour leading up to jackson's death, murray spent 45 minutes talking to his office and several girlfriends, but never mentioned it during questioning. >> three days before his death, i started to wean mr. jackson

from propofol. i mean, i love mr. jackson. he was my friend. and i -- i always thought about his children, as i would think about mine. i wanted to give him the best chance. >> the tape is about two hours long. they didn't get to all of it on friday. court is closed today for columbus day. they're going to play the rest in court tomorrow. nbc news has obtained this transcript, about 125 pages of what's to come next in that audiotape and dr. murray discusses what happened at the hospital when michael's kids found out their father had died and they were all crying. paris said "i will wake up in the morning and i won't be able to see my daddy" going on to say, ann, she didn't want to be an orphan. >> heartbreaking, thank you so much. we're joined by samantha guthrie

and star jones. good morning. >> good morning. >> the police did not know about the propofol until dr. murray told them about it in the interview. significant? >> big, big, big problem. the first thing you want to do as an investigator is know more about the subject that you are interviewing. it's almost like you got to watch "the closer." the closer always knows the answers to the questions before she asks them. >> it's a really striking -- but this was less of an interrogation and more of an interview. you didn't hear the investigators asking a lot of questions. they weren't cross-examining him so to speak and actually the doctor who volunteers this information about propofol. what's interesting to me is that while the investigators may not have recognized the significance of this drug propofol the defense and the defendant certainly did. >> absolutely. >> they talked about it and there were times when the defense lawyer who was there with conrad murray would volunteer and was obviously trying to frame the whole interview, michael jackson knew how to administer the propofol. >> on the tape he's telling the

police on the tapes early on that michael wanted to self-inject. doesn't that help him? >> that's the framework they want to operate in. it works for the opening statement that you heard from the defense that michael jackson knew how to do it, wanted to do it, was enthusiastic about doing it. >> to me it almost seemed a little bit defensive. i don't know if jurors sitting in a courtroom listening to the tape would hear it the same way i heard it, but i thought they overexplained a little bit. it feels like conrad murray was bending over backwards to say how cautious he was, how he was -- >> self-serving, my colleague? >> trying to wean michael jackson off the drug, as though he doth protest too much. >> we have not been able to see any of michael jackson's fingerprints on the materials used to administer to self-administer propofol. >> that may be the biggest smoking gun in this. remember there was the unidentified print initially. now it's been identified and it was identified because of a little bit of sloppy work

forensic forensically, reminiscent of the high profile cases, it was in o.j., recently in casey anthony. whenever there are forensic issues the jury thinks everything is supposed to look like television. it's not like television. i'm thinking that i'm hearing a little johnny cochran in my head now, ann. back in the day he would say what i heard some of the people say, if the bag ain't milky, the doc ain't guilty. >> oh man, you heard it here first. >> okay, well' catchy. >> while we're thinking about it, let's talk about though this beautiful, these beautiful children who, and as they were really honoring their father, what that sort of does. what is that impact, given this is moot a sequestered jury. does it frame how people look at michael jackson? >> potentially. i mean they shouldn't be watching anything about the case, whether or not they would think a tribute concert would fall within what they're not supposed to do, who knows.

if they did see it how could they not be moved by the three beautiful children who are missing a father. >> michael jackson is always going to be michael jackson. he is the greatest entertainer of our time, one of the most well-known people. everybody knew that walking in the door, and the jurors are well aware of it. they're not supposed to be talking about michael jackson, the fan. there's michael jackson the victim right now. >> the case as we heard from jeff will be continuing tomorrow. we'll hear more from the tapes. thank you so much, star and savannah. now let's get a check of the weather where stephanie abrams, in for al. >> announcer: "today's" weather is brought to you by the u.s. postal service, it's all in the mail. >> i'm going to help the two women win a bed. their husbands said they wouldn't get on tv so one of the husbands is here. you didn't believe your bet? >> i sure didn't. >> where is your husband. >> in bed. >> celebrating anniversaries 42 and 43 years. congratulations. we brought you here to new york

to celebrate above average, new york, boston, chicago, average highs in the 60s, we will be above average in the south, atlanta average high 74, we're only into the 60s. the rain into the southeast >> good morning. lots of sunshine and it will be warm. low 80's in central maryland. and if you're like these teachers from kentucky on fall break or maybe playing hooky today and want your forecast, go to weather.com 24 hours a day. >> thanks so much, stephanie. coming up next the road

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making it all that easy. "today" financial editor jean chatzky is here with details on that. good morning, good to see you. >> good morning, you, too. put this into perspective, what we're seeing today versus other times in economic history. >> i always remember when my parents talk about how they had to pay 18% for a mortgage. this is the polar opposite of that. we'll hear about these historic low rates for the next 50 years. >> before people say well it's a no brainer, let's go out and do this, it's not that simple for everyone. >> that's right, you really need to have very good credit. i mean credit with your score 720 to 760 or above, and you need to have substantial equity in your home and for a lot of people that's just not happening. >> so let's talk about what we should know, for people who say okay, now is the right time to refinance, a good litmus test is do you have an interest rate of 4.5% or higher. >> right, if you are looking at a 30-year fixed rate loan you should be able to get into the

high 3s, looking at a 15-year loan substantially lower. am i going to make my money back in closing costs which are typically 2% of the transaction. >> if you have marked improvement in your credit rating this would be something to consider. >> chances are you wouldn't be able to refi into the lowest of the lows. >> adjustable loan? >> good time to put your bet on a 30-year or 15-year fixed rate loan. why not just lock in. >> okay. it's still hard for a lot of people, there are some barriers. >> right. >> what are the typical things that would crop up other than a bad credit rating? >> that is bad credit rating, doesn't have to be that bad. you need a really good credit rating in order to lock into this or equity in your home. there are a lot of people out there who don't have 20% equity or who are underwater. >> there is a program called

h.a.r.p., home affordable refinance program. >> h.a.r.p. is for people who have a fannie or freddie loan, made the last 12 payments on time who have that good credit rating but who don't have the equity in their home. you can have equity anywhere from 20%, you could be all the way up to 125% loan-to-value, you can be underwater and still qualify. the problem with h.a.r.p. is that the wheels are stuck, but washington is now working with the banks. they tell us we'll have an answer by the end of this month about how they're going to be able to get this cooking so just watch. >> in general terms is this a window that's open right now and is closing? do we think it's going to be open for a while? >> we think it's going to be open for a while. there is a possibility that rates could still go lower. the federal reserve is buying up mortgage debt that should definitely help. so if you're panicked, don't panic. rates are not going to start to pop back up again until the economy gets better. >> if you're one of those people who faces a couple of those

hurdles to refinancing right now, work on your problems. >> absolutely. >> sew that you're ready to do it when the next opportunity comes. >> you may have six months to a year to even longer to get this done. >> jean chatzky, thank you very much. >> sure. still ahead, the braid apparently is back. ann, natalie and savannah will show you how to pull off the hottest trend no matter what age. ♪

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robitussin®. relief made simple. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i and mindy basara. time for a check on your morning commute. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> lighter volume, but we have problems to watch for on the inner loop at frederick road. down to 10 miles per hour due to police activity. falls road and miller wrote, but one is being worked on on

southbound middletown pike. let's give you a live view of traffic. we will start in big area of the west side wilkens ave. southwest corner in very heavy on the inner loop due to the problem at frederick. we are seeing outer loop delays towards 7:00 to. that, of course, is on the east side. >> we are expecting at least some people off today, but if you are heading off to work or school, keep in mind is a little bit cooler to start the day. 46 in frederick, 40's towards the western end tier of maryland. overall, we are expecting a lot of sunshine today. to start off, there may be a layer of clouds that should burned through. most areas getting into the upper 70's. at mid-80's downtown.

the winds should be fairly calm throughout the day. we will be down into the titties for the overnight hours. this storms is -- down infot the 50s for the overnight hours. the rain chances last through the rain chances last through

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8:00 now on a monday morning, the 10th day of october, 2011. that makes is columbus day but you know with temperatures hovering in the mid 80s feels more like the fourth of july here. it's really beautiful, already 64 degrees, going up into the 84 range so we're loving it at least for one more day here, and we want to thank these people for spending part of their holiday with us. big parade gets under way just up the block in a little while. coming up i'm matt lauer along with ann curry. coming up a 12-year-old girl very lucky to be alive, her

heart stopped beating while she was in a hallway at school. two teachers jumped into action and they saved her life. the whole group is here this morning. we'll be talking to them in just a couple of minutes. >> love those smiles. also coming up on a much lighter note there's a new trend involving hair. >> is this part of the trend? >> it is part of the trend. don't try to pull my grade as tommy did in sixth grade. this is a new trend and apparently not just for the young people, maybe not for people my age. savannah is jumping in and natalie will as well. we'll let you know how you can do this at home if you're so inclined. >> okay. tomorrow here on "today" former model carrie otis has written a revealing book about her tumultuous book with mickey rourke. she accidentally shot herself and nearly killed herself with a

gun he placed in her purse. we'll be talking with carrie otis tomorrow on "today." first a check of the news, we have natalie back at the news desk. hey, nat. >> good morning ann and everyone. tensions are running high in cairo, a day after the worst violence since the uprising back in february. coptic christians protesting an attack on a church clashed with muslims and the army intervened. at least one armored vehicle plowed through a crowd sending bodies flying. at least 25 people were killed and more than 270 others were injured. the search for a missing kansas city baby is now in its second week. detectives went door to door asking about a local handyman who hasn't been seen since before lisa irwin disappeared and recreated how a kidnaper might have entered the family's home to snatch the baby. nbc news learned the mother, deborah bradley, is still married to another man but police say he is not a suspect. mitt romney's mormon faith became an issue this weekend in

the republican presidential race, while endorsing texas governor rick perry on friday, dallas pastor robert jeffries an evangelical kritsian leader declared mormonism is a cult and not christianity. on saturday perry tried to distance himself but the campaign did not renounce the pastor's endorsement. an autopsy is being performed on a north carolina firefighter who collapsed sunday in the chicago marathon and later died. 35-year-old captain william cabanis a vet man marathoner collapsed 500 yards from the finish line, the father of two was trying to raise money for burn victims. protests on wall street enter their fourth week and show no signs of letting up as they take hold in major cities across the u.s. demonstrations will overstay their protest permit today saying they're part of an occupation. and now for a look at what is trending today our quick roundup of what has you talking online.

golf fans are googling tiger woods after a hotdog was thrown at him. woods escaped unscathed. it was the questioned wasn't a chili dog, that could have been bad." kim's fairytale wedding on e! last night, part two airs tonight. ever chase some unwanted pool crashers in your yard? a half ton moose. in new hampshire a family found one chilling out. it shows a fierce tug-of-war with firefighters hauling out the moose who made aby line for the nearby woods or nearest hot tub. he's got the right idea. 8:04, back outside to matt and ann. >> natalie, thanks very much.

al is off today, stephanie abrams in with a look at the weather forecast. steph? >> i'm all the way at the other end of the plaza. we have texas bankers here. how much money did you take from the bank to do your shopping? >> not quite enough. >> i think you ladies need more. all right, maybe you can call your bosses who are back left at work. let's have a look at what's happening in albuquerque today, our pick city. it's phenomenal, abundant sunshine, 70 degrees for you otherwise the rain into the southeast and into the northwest, the center of the country your showers are starting to taper off. otherwise temperatures will be warm, above average throughout the northeastern >> good morning. beautiful what the bank continues as we head into columbus day. low 80's i

ann, back to you. >> stephanie, thank you so much. come up next, you're going to meet the two teachers who saved the lives of a 12-year-old girl after her heart stopped beating at school. it was all caught on tape, right after this. golfer. if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on p of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common.

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seemed to be a perfectly healthy seventh grader. as she walked the halls she felt short of breath. >> i sat down and fell over and i don't remember anything from that. >> reporter: kylee collapsed to the ground and passed out as seen on this surveillance footage. her frightened classmates alert the teacher kristen goodgion. >> i had to get help. >> reporter: brent reese arrived and immediately applied cpr. goodgion grabbed an automatic defibrillator, a device used to jump-start the heart. in the video both teachers are seen desperately trying to save young kylee. >> it's the pain, you see the situation as an emergency. >> reporter: with the help of the defibrillator the teachers stabilized kylee until a first responder team arrived, she was then air lifted to children's medical center. >> if it wasn't for this machine and for what they did our daughter still may be here today

but she wouldn't be the kylee we know. >> reporter: kylee had an undetected heart condition and doctors implanted her with a pacemaker. her survival is nothing short of a miracle. >> the survival rate for a child is 3%, not very many. >> reporter: in kylee's case two heroic teachers and a machine required in all texas public schools made a difference. >> they had a hand in a miracle and it's just, thank you. >> i just want to say something simple, like thank you. >> doctors say arrhythmias made kylee stop but uncertain what caused them. if teachers had taken another 30 seconds to come to their rescue their daughter may not have made. . >> ilia luciano thank you. we're joined by kylee, her brother and brent and kristen. nice to see you, how are you

feeling? >> great. >> i don't want to take too much notice of it but you've got a scar here where they had the pacemaker put in, what about a week ago? >> yes. >> are you sore still, feeling okay? >> i'm feeling great. >> had you ever had anything like this happen to you before, kylee, any other time you got dizzy or short of breath? >> never. >> this was out of the blue. >> yes. >> you say you remember having a hard time breathing and the next thing the lights went out. you don't remember anything after that until when? >> the helicopter ride. >> you woke up in the helicopter ride? >> um-hum. >> by that time these two had already done what they did so well. before i talk to them, mom and dad, i mean you look at this videotape that we're watching right now, you weren't there, you were away at home or at work and this is happening to your daughter. how does it make you feel? >> it's just so -- it was such a shock, because she had never had any problems before, had been cleared with a physical to take her strength and conditioning class, and we don't have any

family history. >> but she fell under the care of these people so quickly is just extraordinary. so kristen, you're the first one who comes after kylee passed out and -- >> yes. >> trained in cpr, right? >> yes, sir. >> how important is that? >> extremely important. we get trained every two years and that literally is what we fell back on. it kept us calm. we had something to go back on, to know what to do. >> you realized pretty quickly this wasn't just a case of a child passing out. >> right away. right away, and as soon as i walked up, she was having a little bit of convulsion within five to ten seconds, she was out. >> she started to turn blue. >> yes. >> she wasn't getting oxygen. brent by the time you got there, you also trained in cpr? >> yes, sir. >> did the training just kick in? >> it did. you know, when i saw kylee on the floor, just a million things are going through your head and you just kind of go into shell

shock and you just kind of reboot and we went back to the training. >> it's not the same as working with that little resussa ani doll. your heart must have been going a mile a minute. >> any time i'd do an evaluation i wasn't sure i was wanting to hear. >> and then you get out, you got that aed, the automatic external defibrillator, and that thing, once you get it on, it kind of walks you through and talks you through the procedure, right? >> yes, it does. it talked us through it and one of the craziest things is it told us to shock and we both looked at each other in shock, like is this really what we need to do right now. >> because it was evacuating based on the signals it was getting from kylee or not getting. it was evaluating her situation. >> um-hum. >> and so you got nervous when you applied that first shock that if her heart was actually beating, you could kill her. >> absolutely, and that's in the

video i reach out to touch the button and pull back just a little bit thinking those exact thoughts. >> how many times did you have to shock her? >> twice. >> on the second time, did you notice immediate improvement or -- >> definitely. >> the responders came also, the first responders arrived at about that time? >> um-hum. around the same time, they came and after the second shock, she started groaning and we're still thinking, did we do this right, and it worked. >> mom and dad in texas, they're required to have these devices, right, in the school? >> yes. >> what do you want to say about that? >> i think it should be a nationwide mandate. i think every state should have, should be required to have these in schools and public places. >> dad, what about nationwide requirement to have kristen and brent in every school across the country as well? >> i agree. >> they're stuck with us. thank you. >> we're a family, yes. >> i can imagine. you lived through something like this, you get very close. kylee, we are so happy that you're okay. good luck to you and joel, good

to have you. you must be awfully thrilled to have your sister around. it's great to have you all here. thank you so much. >> thank you. up next, what's old is new again, ann, natalie and savannah -- didn't sound right -- are going to try out the hottest trend in hair. >> thanks a lot. >> after this. n. uh... um... [ bling! ] four score... [ bling! ] ...and seven years ago... [ bling! ] i kissed emily costa... eww! [ male announcer ] unlimited talk and text, only $45 a month, add more lines only $25 each. plus other low prices every day on everything. save money. live better. walmart.

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trends may come and go, but the latest hair craze may be toornd stay a little bit longer than usual, a modern take on the classic braid and everywhere from the red carpet to right here in our own studio. >> look, mommy! >> it's the hair style made its way from the silver screen to the small screen. >> isn't that terrific? >> and everywhere in between. word on the runway is that the braid is back. >> a few months ago i began to notice braids both on the streets and on the red carpet and i thought wow, this looks really cute. >> a modern twist to a classic look. >> what's new is that it's much more edgy now. it's not pippy longstocking with two braids down the side, it's a cooler kind of braid that feels more modern because it looks loose and undone and very much on the pulse of what's going on with hair right now.

>> like any trend, celeb brits are sporting braids in the spotlight. >> these days it's not a question of who is doing braids but who isn't. >> from the red carpet to the green court the look has made an appearance. new york stylist john barrett noticed the trend and decided to capitalize on it. he opened up a full service braid bar with a style menu. >> i thought it would be something we did and just a little phase and suddenly it steamrolled and everywhere i look there's braids. >> the high demand is keeping stylists' hands busy. >> business is gangbusters. >> reporter: the hairstyles are as practical as they are pretty. >> i'm going on vacation in the caribbean and wanted something off my neck. >> fishtail, in the gym put your hair up and looks fun. >> reporter: not just the girls are going crazy.

>> the feedback i'm getting is men think braids are sexy. i think what is sexy is when a woman feels free. the braid gives you a certain freedom. >> i who have what i got today. it's different and fun. >> the best news of all there's no need to fret if a hair is out of place. >> the messier it is the better it looks. >> i love it. it came out better than i expected. >> jill martin is a "today" and "us weekly" contributor here to teach us more about the trend and apparently model and reveal some styles from natalie and savannah which we'll do that in a moment. >> good morning. >> i think about tommy in sixth grade pulling my braids and the pippy longstocking. what made this suddenly a trend again? >> you saw it in the tennis court, red carpet, on the

celebritieses, neon, skinny jeans or the trends that come in and out, so many women can't get in on because of their body type or age and this is something that everyone can take part in. i love it because it's free. once you learn how to do it, it's free. >> that's a good point. when you say everyone, i'm thinking the first place i really saw this happening in terms of this trend were on the young people, my daughter was starting to wear it and some of us of a certain age are not quite sure we should pull this off. what do you think? >> there's different ways to do it. the way the kids do it with braids all over when you're doing it how you have it, the one simple braid is elegant and sophisticated and classic. work appropriate. >> not just for teenagers? >> not just for teenagers. i would wear this for my wedding. it's a dramatic look and lasts for days. those who have hair problems it's amazing. put a scarf on your head at night and wake up and it's the

same. >> now it's time to reveal natalie and savannah's braid. time for ta da. >> hi. i'm too tall for the mirror. that's embarrassing. >> this is the first time you've seen them. what do you think? >> beautiful. >> would you do this? thumbs up or thumbs down. >> i would. i'm going to keep it in. >> i love it. i think it's great. >> already the idea is really spreading here in our studio. i'm surprised how fast this trend is spreading. look at some of the people in our studio, what they decided to do. >> yeah. >> i don't know if you can tell. >> leslie. >> turn around. that joke was supposed to go faster but obviously jimmy was working and that was a joke for you. >> what do you think? >> listening to the piece, i don't know about men wearing it but jimmy can rock anything. >> not so fabio anymore like that, right? here's the big question, you

know, we've had these done by professionals -- thanks a lot jimmy for doing that. how can people do this themselves? to save money? >> of course, when i got this assignment i said how can people do this at home? you go online, there are tons of videos on youtube and you go on to today.com, see how we did ours. bring friends over, learn how to braid and put it into your own life but once you learn how great is it to have this in your repertoire. >> there are tapes on youtube. >> instructions when you type in a certain kind of braid, side braid it comes up and today.com you can learn how to look like us. >> get your girl friends together. >> it's a fun party. >> thanks so much. >> thanks for having me. >> jill martin, thanks natalie and savannah. >> we're modeling, don't mind us. >> just ahead talking about how to spice up your next meal with international flair, but first your local news.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's get on and check on the morning commute with traffic pulse 11 and at sarah caldwell. >> 195, crash coming in there. continued delays on the inner loop approaching frederick wrote. police activity in the left lane. fayette street, watch for crash.

j.f.x. is running as smoothly. earlier accident in the northbound direction is now gone. it has not been all that bad delay-wise because it is columbus day. we will switch to 8 live view of traffic on at 295. looks like both lines are open. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. ava, over to you. >> a few clouds in the sky, but as the sunshine continues to rise, it is going to shine through. it will be mostly sunny, although it will not be as bright as we saw this weekend. we are well above where we should be this time of year. we will say goodbye to the warm and sunny weather and in its place, rain will move in. the rain holds off until tuesday night. rainy forecast for wednesday. rain chance is to continue in

the end of the week. for the weekend, we are calling for it to be mostly dry. nothing like running a marathon in october in 80-degree weather. >> we will have another update at 8:55

8:30 now on a monday morning, the 10th day of october, 2011. we have a pretty big crowd this morning, enjoying the start of columbus day here at rockefeller plaza. we're so glad they decided to stop by. it is just perfect weather. i don't know how it could be even better. >> you know what?

we have to enjoy it while it's here because it's going to take a little turn later in the week but no complaining. it's been fantastic. >> that's right, matt lauer and natalie morales. just ahead a pretty exciting way to get around the nation's capital. one taxi driver turned his cab into a karaoke machine on wheels. savannah is taking it for a ride so we'll find more about that coming up. also when we cook at home more ways to get more flavor into our meals, international flavor. the first cookbook in about ten years is all about boosting flavor. >> my husband loves his restaurant in manhattan, loves olives in his food. a lot of women are embarrassed about certain things they may be doing that could put you at risk health wise. >> i've kept sop things from my doctor and doesn't make any

sense. you're just embarrassed. we'll get to the bottom of that. more about the weather from stephanie in our crowd. >> i found a newly engaged couple. how did you do the big proposal? >> well, i thought about doing it downtown but there's too many people so i did it in the hotel room. >> nice little intimate. show us that ring, there it is. the weather, temperatures warm throughout the week above normal through a big chunk of the u.s. as we had early week, midweek, stays that way. what you see is what you get. if you like it hot you are in luck through the end of the week. above normal temperatures with the exception >> good morning. lots of sunshine and it will be warm. low 80's in central maryland.

>> willard, these ladies, 21, 25 and 50, not quite yet at the shucker jar status but who is today? ♪ the autumn leaves drift by the wind ♪ one of the great songs of all time. happy birthday why smucker's. take a look if you will, we have a birthday buddy right here, minnie peters of hogansburg, new york, is 100 years old today, proud native american who loves to read and loves to take care of children. bless her heart, that's terrific. willene bell of sayre, oklahoma, is 105, loves to bake pies and her memory is so sharp and so keen, she's a living history

book this lady. that's great, having the old mind sharp as a tack. kenneth riley, louisville, kentucky, 100 years old, loves playing golf, secret to longevity, working hard. hard work they say never hurt anybody and alden carlson, boise, idaho, 100 years old, was an excellent golfer in his day and good boater a contributes his longevity to having lots of love. you no he that's the truth. i know that. i've always had lots of love all my life, and gerald and twi twila proffitt of sterling, kansas, 75 years they've been married, love each other very much and they've been a real blessing to their family. that's a nice compliment. how about this, one more. paul and emma stateler of boonville, indiana, they've been married 75 years and both are

very active and involved in their church activities. and they love each other very much. how about that? that's it and that's all. i love you. hope you love me. back to you. >> willard, thank you very much. when we come back, savannah guthrie takes us for a spin in the karaoke cab. find out more about that. first this is "today" on nbc.

. back now at 8:37 with the uplifting story of two families pulled together in the aftermath of terrible tragedies. a reminder even in the worst of times you can be led to better days. in the last months of his bat well cancer, matt dell did what he did to prepare his sons drew and sam without him.

>> if mom respected somebody and loved somebody enough to marry them after i've passed away, i want you to expect that i love and respect that guy, too. >> reporter: 16 days from the diagnosis of her brain tumor, kathy spenn was dead. her children, charlotte, jack and dan motherless. >> she liked to play music a lot, and she would clean up the kitchen and she would put on music and she would just dance. >> reporter: in the canyon of their grief, surviving spouses michael spenn and gina kell found each other, blended their families and climbed their way to a new life together. >> my dad was really happy when they came and you know, i haven't seen him happy in a while at that time, so it was nice, and yeah, he was happy so i was happy. >> reporter: from unthinkable sorrow to suburban joy, the spenns turned the hard knock of humanity into their own story of

irrepressible hope. >> you can get through it, because i didn't think i was going to get through it. now it's worked out fine. >> and michael and gina share their story now "the color of rain." how two families found faith, hope and love in the midst of tragedy. good morning. >> good morning. >> first of all i know watching gina that tape even after all of these years it's still so hard not to cry. >> yeah. no, of course. i mean he was so generous with that, for anyone to be able to say that to someone that they love and to be able to leave that kind of a legacy for their children of that kind of generosity, it just, it still breaks my heart. >> that matt would say that to your kids. >> yes. >> to whoever you chose they should open their arms up to. >> and that he trusted me enough to be able to say that to them, he loved me enough. i was very well loved, you know, and that's something you want to just share and pass on. >> in the moments of loss, when

you lose someone who you describe as the love of your life, both of you did that with your spouses. >> yes. >> your former spouses, you know, it's hard to even imagine how you would find it possible to open up again anew and you did to each other, having both now lost your spouse to cancer. >> yeah. >> how did you, can you skroodee this transformation? >> part of it describes with the life they led. i was blessed with an incredible marriage with kathy. we had great joy together and she helped me understand my faith a little bit more and so when we went through this horrible time together and ultimately lost her, part of her legacy was this, you know, grow new hearts, open your heart, open your mind to what is next for you, and with the permission of kathy and matt to live and love again, that's what helped us.

>> you actually are together to some degree because your former spouses knew each other and in fact, kathy just hours before she died encouraged you to call gina. >> she did. >> and so but even so, in those first getting togethers, it was really about comforting each other and being there for another person who understood what losing someone to cancer was like. >> yes, i mean the one thing i think most people want when they're going through a loss of any kind is just to be known, to be understood in that, and we had that for each other but also then for our children, because our kids you know, there aren't very many of them around that all have gone through this, so when we knew that there were other children in our own school and in our own community we found each other and connected them, too. it was great for them to be known as well. >> do you remember the moment that what you realized you were feeling for gina wasn't the grief but love? >> i don't know there was an ah-ha moment.

there was a connection right away and literally with the permission from kathy to look forward and to remain faithful and hopeful, that stayed with me on my heart, and as gina and i grew closer and her boys became essentially my boys, the blending of our family was a natural thing. it just grew organically out of those experiences. >> charlotte has, what, three brothers? >> four. >> four brothers to share a bathroom with? >> yeah, exactly. the brady bunch minus one kid and a housekeeper. >> we're still looking for alice. >> exactly. >> there was a moment later on in your lives when you were traveling and you saw a double rainbow, and it meant something to you. >> yeah. >> in some ways is giving, writing this book and giving it to the public a way of trying to give people a way to find their own rainbows after tragedy in. >> it's about perspective, and our story changed our perspective on everything, and

my husband wrote in a journal one time he said "the real heroes aren't the people who are living with cancer and understand that this is all temporary and have that clear perspective, it's the people who are just living normal, everyday lives." when you can live with that perspective every day, that you're the heroes, and that's what this book we hope will do for other people. >> it was heroic for you to write it and greatly generous, for those who read it. thank you such a pleasure. the book is called "the color of rain." and coming up next, bringing flavors from around the world into your own kitchen, chef todd english shows us how it's done. first this is "today" on nbc.

this morning on "today's kitchen" step by step cooking with global flair. chef todd english is out with his first cookbook in over a

decade, sharing 150 recipes using flavors from around the world, called "cooking in everyday english: the abc gz of great flavor at home." todd, welcome bax. great to see you. >> no pun intended. might as well use the name. were you burnt out, first book in ten years, but were you waiting pofor inspiration? >> just inspiration. i've traveled all over the world extensively and my first cookbooks are based on my mediterranean and italian life. back to the international flavors and what's really happening in flavors. >> go ahead, i'm sorry. >> we want to eat lower fat but we want to have food that pops on our palate. >> this pops on the palate. you have a spice blend. what is in it? >> ancho chilies, coriander and chilies. buy the spices whole and grind

them in a coffee ground. >> takes a lot of confidence you're going to get it in the right -- >> the book has it in the right portions and this is a simple dish i'm using, my mexican chili spice, anaheim peppers, onions, this is a prime rib chili, chunks of prime rib. you can use chicken, ground meat, whatever it is, but chili is again i got a garlic, chili spice, onions and if you make chili you understand that there's lots of ways to do it. everybody's got their own chili recipe. the idea is that it's about using those spices, letting them bloom in there and this is football season, something that can be around. >> i love chili. is it possible to overcook the meat while browning it? >> no. just get it nice and caramel, let the spices cook in there and go long enough it does get into something like this. >> all right. >> at the end, you see how beautiful the color is. >> starts to thicken up. >> the tomato absolutely is

thickening up. i have black, kidney beans, red beans, pintos and white beans and again, it's fine to open up a can. make cooking -- canned beans are nice, make cooking simple. >> chili gets better when it's there like in the fridge for two or three days. >> better the next day. >> you serve it in what little crocks? >> or a bowl. if you have these it's really nice, garnish it with a bit of cheese, scallion, sour cream. leave that all on the side. >> another thing you want to help us make, something called compound butter. what exactly is that? >> this may freak a lot of people out, butter, you can add a lot of calories, simple, this is something easy, you can keep it in the freezer like this. you have it wrapped up. a bleu cheese almond butter, you mix it up together and a little salt and pepper and keep this in the freezer. >> how are we going to use this? >> basically put this on top of pork chops, chicken, finish a

pass ta with it. i have the lamb chops cooking on the grill. >> right. >> simply cut it out like this. or put it on toast and serve it garnished. >> how long can you keep it in the freezer? >> at least three months easily. >> good stuff. >> put it on top of there, grill it and see how the finished chili is. gorgeous. >> it's all about flavor. >> all about flavor, and i want you guys to take it home and enjoy cooking and enjoy not having to spend hours in your kitchen. >> todd english always good to have you here. up next savannah makes music in the stop of a cab. ♪ that explains it. if, this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:51 with a mode of transportation that's making some noise in our nation's capital. savannah is here to explain. >> that's the right word all right and i loved the tack east's theme music. >> shrill shrieking noise. >> hide the animals. talking about a new innovative way of getting around the d.c. from the outside it looks like a normal cab but inside a cabbie and his passengers are making beautiful music together. more than just a mode of transportation, over the years the taxi cab has given us some of the most memorable movies. >> you talkin' to me?

>> reporter: music. ♪ and moments. >> you're in the cash cab. >> hey! >> reporter: pull over cash cab, there's a new taxi in town that gives a whole new meaning to traffic jam. this is the karaoke cab. ♪ dancing in september >> reporter: this is joel. ♪ it's my life >> reporter: the man behind the idea and behind the wheel. ♪ my life is like an open highway ♪ >> reporter: 11 years ago joel moved to the u.s. from the philippines where he had made a living driving a truck transporting coconuts. >> you're a karaoke cab? >> yeah. >> reporter: joel decided to give his taxi a twist, when about three years ago, boredom during long waits for customers ignited a new idea. ♪ sweet caroline, da, da, da >> reporter: how do customers know there's something special? >> i offer them the microphone.

>> reporter: clearly popular with customers. ♪ girls just wanna have fun >> reporter: there was only one way to find out what all the fuss was about. ♪ whoa we're half way there ♪ oh, whoa, living on a prayer ♪ living on a prayer >> should we get some customers? >> yeah. you want to sing in. >> i love that cab! ♪ living la vida loca >> reporter: and just like that a taxi ride goes from low key to loca. you were just waiting to are that microphone. >> i love you baby. >> hey you are the karaoke man. i'd never believe it. >> reporter: not exactly camera shy, joel's passengers are ready to try anything, even a couple of guys singing that most famous "chick" anthem. ♪ oh, no, not eyi, i will survive ♪ as long as i know how to love i know i'll stay alive ♪

>> how come guys never know this song? ♪ go on now go, walk out the door ♪ ♪ just turn around now, you're not welcome anymore ♪ >> reporter: but before we called it a night, joel had one final fare and wouldn't you know it? it was the hardest working man in washington. no, not him. chuck, is that you? >> i thought we kicked you out of here. >> reporter: nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd was ready to hop aboard the karaoke mobile or so he thought. ♪ summer loving, had me a blast ♪ ♪ aha, aha ♪ >> reporter: are erremember thi, maybe we didn't know all the words. ♪ we got friendly down in the sand ♪ ♪ on a love train, love train >> reporter: again -- ♪ saturday night, oh, saturday night ♪ >> reporter: and again --

♪ stayin' alive, stayin' alive >> reporter: and again. i think you're addicted. did the dynamic duo really need coaching? we put it in the experts. were we good singers? >> yes, very good. you have a good voice. >> thank you. do you say that to everybody? >> yes, i do. >> reporter: and on that note the music had to come to an end. >> one more? >> reporter: no, chuck i got to go. i'm tired. i'm sorry. you can stay if you want to. i'm tired. ♪ i never needed anyone -- >> reporter: bye. driving into the night, just another happy customer of the karaoke cab. ♪ all by myself >> oh, todd, what do you have to say to yourself, chuck? >> wow! you know, i didn't do enough stiff drinks before getting into that cab. that's what i realized. oh, wow. well you know, anything to help the cause.

>> chuck the good part about this is we'll never play that tape again. >> never, i'm sure. yeah. right. >> you won't see that at every christmas party from now for the next 20 years. >> you know what, matt, anything to get rid of the french horn thing you kept bringing back over and over again so hey it's new. >> thanks for the reminder, chuck, let's queue up that video. all right. >> great idea. >> great idea by the way he does not charge extra for the karaoke cab but everybody tips. >> you bet. >> thanks. >> way to go, chuck! >> here is the newest act in town. >> we're back after your local news. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. a 33-year-old woman faces assault charges this morning after a dangerous scuffle inside

out baltimore county wal-mart. police say theresa jefferson followed another woman into the store and it threw bleach and ammonia on her. 19 people had to be

>> we are looking for a pleasant weather as we head throughout the columbus day. sunshine with a few high clouds out there. mid-80's in the downtown areas. mid-80's in the downtown areas.