good morning. piling on. mitt romney faces some tough questions from his rivals during the gop presidential debate. after getting a big endorsement from governor chris christie. could this be our first look at the republican ticket in 2012? their answer, as they sit down together with us. terror warnings. the state department issues a worldwide travel alert to americans, after breaking up an alleged iran-backed plot to assassinate a saudi official, and it involved blowing up a restaurant in the nation's capital. this morning, vice president joe biden speaks out. mazed and confused.

a mother places a frantic call to 911, after her family gets lost in a corn maze. >> i don't see anybody. i'm really scared. it's really dark and we've got a 3-week-old baby with us. >> police eventually got them out. that mom's happy to be safe at home. "today," wednesday, october 12th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm ann curry. good morning, everybody. boy when you see mitt romney sitting side by side with chris christie you have to think that's a pairing that a lot of republicans would like to see in 2012, matt. >> should romney win his party's nomination, would christie be on his short list for vice president and is that something

the new jersey governor would even consider? we'll have that exclusive interview coming up straight ahead. also this morning, was michael jackson far healthier at the time of his death than a lot of people thought? the man who performed the autopsy testified at the trial of conrad murray on tuesday and as prosecutors showed yet another photograph of jackson's body to jurors. the latest from the court coming up this morning. al traveled to the white house on tuesday and talked to the first lady michelle obama. we talked to her about a lot of things including that secret shopping trip to target. it turns out that was not a one-time deal. find out more in al's interview, coming up a little later. let's begin with last night's republican presidential defwbat debate. chuck todd, good morning. >> good morning, ann. we're at a moment in the republican race where it feels as volatile of a place as it's been since the campaign started. seven of the candidates met in new hampshire to see if they could shake up while one, mitt

romney, did his best to try to solidify what it is a fragile front-runner status. tuesday's debate setting may have been different but the strategy of the establishment front-runner mitt romney remained the same, sounded like the nominee in waiting. >> we have got to help the middle class in this country. the only way that will come together if you have people on both sides of the aisle who will listen to a leader who has the experience of leading. >> reporter: thanks to a unique feature of the debate, candidate-to-candidate questioning, romney often found himself on the defensive. >> your chief economic adviser, glenn hubbard, who you know well, he said that romney care was obama care. how would you respond to his criticism of your signature legislative achievement? >> we have less than 1% of our kids that are uninsured. you have 1 million kids uninsured in texas, 1 million kids. >> reporter: he defended his private sector experience at a

venture capital firm from jon huntsman. >> some might see your employment at bain capital as a financial engineer, breaks down businesses, destroys jobs. >> my background is quite different than what you described, jon. we started stapleless and sports author. >> reporter: he defended his support of t.a.r.p., the bailout fund that's un. peculiar with tea party conservatives. >> we would have had a complete meltdown of the entire financial system. was it perfect, no? >> my top priority is nine, nine, nine, jobs, jobs, jobs. >> herman cain found out with the surging poll numbers comes more skrut my on the nine, nine, nine plan which eliminates the current tax code and replace it with a 9% income tax, 9% corporate tax and 9. >> when you take the 999 plan

and turn it upside down the devil is in the details. >> how many people are here for a sax tales in new hampshire. there you go, herman, that's how many votes you get in new hampshire. >> he went after romney's plan. >> can you name all 59 points in your 160-page plan? >> herman i've had the experience of taking on some tough problems and i must admit simple answers are always very helpful but oftentimes inadequate. >> reporter: rick perry struggled on stage when asked to explain his own plan, perry hedged. >> i'm not going to lay it out tonight. mitt's had six years to figure out a plan. i've been in this six weeks. >> he tried to name drop chris christie in the midst of dealing with the one issue which could derail his candidacy, health care. >> mitt romney got a big boost

when he picked up endorsement from new jersey governor chris christie. jamie gangel is in new hampshire. good morning to you. mitt romney may be the front-runner but this endorsement was critical. we asked chris christie why he picked romney. >> he's the best person for the job, simply on the merits. we need to make sure barack obama's a one-term president for america's future. there's no question in my mind governor romney gives us the best chance of winning back the white house in november 2012 and i want to do everything i can to help him. >> reporter: the love fest was saturday imitating art. here's "saturday night live's" imtooting spoof. >> he's a nice man in a clean suit that wants to be president. >> reporter: governor christie,

i guess this means you're really not running? >> i've meant it all along, jamie. i've meant it all along. they should put it to rest. i want to see mitt romney in the white house in january 2013. >> reporter: did he promise you anything? >> absolutely nothing. >> reporter: vice president christie? >> no. >> reporter: no? >> no, he didn't promise me anything. >> reporter: governor romney, would he on your short list? >> he'd be on anyone's short list. the truth is governor christie is one of the leading figures in the republican party and of course anyone who becomes our nominee is going to look at people like governor christie and say well that would be a terrific person to have on the ticket. >> reporter: would you think you'd be a good match? >> we're great friends. we agree on a host of issues. we spent time together over the last year getting to know each other better. i've asked for his counsel on policy matters so i think we're sympathetic on the issues that matter today. >> reporter: do you think you'd be a good match? >> i don't know i'd be anybody's

good match in that regard but that kind of thing is up to the person who is the presidential nominee to decide who they think is the best person for them and most importantly the best person for the country. >> reporter: the good news, governor romney, is you are the front-runner. the bad news is that there has been the feeling in this campaign that republicans were still looking for another candidate to get in the race. why do you think governor romney has faced such a challenge in this way? >> everybody faces that kind of challenge opinion the fact is governor romney is going to earn it and he wouldn't want it any other way to get in here and fight and battle and earn it. that's exactly what he's going to do and now i'm going to help him. >> reporter: one of the fights, romney's religion. both men criticized a supporter of texas governor rick perry who called the mormon religion a cult. >> i've heard worse during my life. i don't get real nervous about what people say and i think this pastor could say something like that in his church but in a political setting i think that's

a mistake and the founders felt that way crafting the constitution. there would not be a religious test. >> what do you think about governor perry? >> he would be wide to repudiate the words of the pastor in every way he possibly can. >> governor christie? >> has no business in deciding who would be the president of the united states. the folks should be judged on the batess of their record, character and integrity and that's what we're doing judging who should be president of the united states and who shouldn't, not what religion they practice and i don't think this has any business in political life for our country, and i think it's unsettling that anyone would associate themselves with those kind of comments. >> reporter: what do you give his chances against barack obama. >> he's going to win. >> reporter: no question about it in. >> i wouldn't be with him. he's going to win. >> reporter: i'll give it one

more shot. vice president christie? >> he's an extraordinary person and i'm delighted to have him on my team. >> reporter: they certainly did not knock down the speculation. the vice president's speculation is going to continue, and no doubt, matt, in the meantime, mitt romney is going to be very happy, having the outspoken chris christie as a tough surrogate out on the campaign trail. >> jamie gangel in new hampshire, thank you very much. it's now ten minutes past the hour. here's ann. >> matt, thanks. to the alleged plot to kill saudi arabia's ambassador to washington on u.s. soil, a plan the obama administration is accusing iran of backing. andrea mitchell has details on this story. andr andrea, good morning. >> this alleged plot was so brazen u.s. officials says it sounds like the plot of a cheap thriller but they insist it was real and they'vish sue issued a worldwide travel alert that this

marks a major response from the quds force. >> it reads like the pages of a hollywood script. the impact would have been very real and many lives would have been lost. >> reporter: the u.s. says it was an alleged $1.5 million plot to assassinate saudi arabia's ambassador, king abdullah's closer adviser, blowing him up at an undetermined washington restaurant and bombing the saudi embassy in washington. u.s. officials tell nbc news a secondary plot was to target israel's embassy as well. >> this kind of action which violates international norms must be ended. >> reporter: starting last spring, the suspect, mansou mansour albabazar tried to hire an assassin from a mexican drug cartel. his contact there turned out to be a u.s. undercover agent.

the complaint says he had $100,000 wired from iran as a downpayment and was willing to have the ambassador blown up at a washington restaurant. what if others, even senators were killed? "no big deal" he allegedly replied. iran's government tv claimed that was all a u.s. fabrication. >> if this is something that the revolutionary guards cooked up on their own, i think that tells us a lot about how the iranian state has come somewhat unglued and how different actors are now taking very aggressive and potentially far-reaching actions that perhaps other parts of the government might not know about. >> president obama called the saudi ambassador and also stopped by the situation room to congratulate his team on the arrest. another suspect is believed to be still in iran. the treasury has sanctioned five iranians but critics say in the past, sanctions have done very little to change iran's policy. in response iran has written to the u.n. secretary-general expressing outrage of what it calls baseless allegations.

>> andrea mitchell, thank you. joe biden, vice president of the united states, good morning. >> good morning. >> some members of congress including the head of the homeland security committee are calling this alleged iranian plot an act of war. mr. vice president, do you? >> no, what i call it is an incredibly serious attempt to do something that was really unheard of. it's violating all international norms. it's not just the assassination but the idea that you would assassinate a diplomat. that is something for the whole world, every nation in the world, when they learn the facts of this, will be outraged that they would violate such an international norm, in addition to obviously being a crime to assassinate anybody, and in the process probably have killed scores of americans. >> what should the u.s. do about it? >> well, what we're doing already is first of all we're

making the case. you'll find it a compelling case, we'll be able to substantiate. we're going to the rest of the world capitals to let them know exactly what happened and the whole attempt here is make sure that there is accountability for iran and further isolation of iran in terms of their ability to operate around the world. last night the president's jobs bill didn't get unanimous vote from senate democrats. why didn't the president roll up their sleeves months ago and line by line address the issue for the need for jobs to create a bill that both parties to support? >> hey, i not only -- he not only rolled up his sleeves, our pant legs, in our gym shorts working like the devil to make sure we could find some accommodation for the republicans.

working for hours and hours and hours. >> but you didn't finalize a bill, mr. vice president. >> no. hey, there's no way to finalize a bill. it's very clear these guys have no intention. when we put this bill together, we put together elements of a bill that they had always supported. when have republicans been against tax cuts for small businesses? when have they been against working on infrastructure? when have they been against giving veterans a break? we put this bill after hundreds of hours of negotiations on debt and many other things with the republicans the last two years. >> at the same time the level of suffering occurring all across america today, is there not a moral obligation for the president and the republican leadership to come to some kind of agreement on jobs, you know, before this election, before this election? >> absolutely positively ann. we have done everything. we bent over backwards. we had basically a deal on cutting the debt. they could not sell it to their

own members. they made it clear under no circumstances are they prepared to pay for anything that we need to do now, so we don't raise the debt further, in order to help people to have jobs. >> you've been in washington -- >> this is crazy. >> you've been in washington almost 40 years mr. vice president. it looks like from the outside that the politics is intractable and the economy is uncontrollable. >> we are proposing absolutely reasonable things, eight republican presidents that i am aware of and have supported it. we have proposed things that the very people in the congress have supported, who are republicans. we have gone out of our way to make sure that these are things that are mainstream proposals, and what'd you hear last night? you heard people say this is a temporary fix. these guys are willing to give long-term tax breaks to the wealthy but not temporary help to the poor and to the middle class. this is like saying when you show up on a scene and someone's bleeding because they've cut an

artery and also broken their back if that you stop the bleeding and put a tourniquet on, somehow that's only temporary. why would we do something temporary? people are hurting. people are in real trouble. they need jobs now. >> let me ask you about the democratic nominating process then, because some questions have been raised about whether you will be on the ticket running into this new re-election campaign. >> no real questions. >> are you, yes or no, are you on the ticket? >> absolutely, positively yes. there's never been a question about that. the president's made that clear and hardly anybody is raising it anymore. i against it's parlor game talk but the parlors are bearing down here now. >> vice president joe biden, never mincing words, thank you so much this morning. >> thanks. >> always such a pleasure. >> thanks, ann. i appreciate it. and now it is time for the rest of the morning's top stories and we've got natalie morales at the news desk. >> good morning to you ann and everyone. we begin with important health news this morning, middle aged men who take high doses of

vitamin e may increase their risk for prostate cancer. research published in "today's journal of the american medical association" found men who took 450 units of vitamin e each day raised their prostate risk by 17%. after five years of captivity on the gaza trip, guilad shalid may be returned to his family within days. a cabinet deal would free more than 1,000 palestinian prisoners in exchange for the 25-year-old shalid. militants convicted of the bloodest terror attacks against israel. an engineer in antarctica who may have suffered a stroke could be flying out as early as this florida. she was told the weather made it too dangerous to evacuate her despite her health concerns. tuesday she plans to leave on a

cargo plane during a small weather window friday. police in massachusetts were amazed when they got a call from a couple at a local farm who said they were lost in a corn maze and needed help getting out. >> hi, i just called. i'm still stuck at connors farms. i don't see anybody. i'm really scared. it's really dark and we've got a 3-week-old baby with us. >> just relax, calm down. your husband's with you, right? >> yes, but my baby. >> i understand and the police officer is on the way. >> certainly was. took police and the maze operators just about a minute to find them. everything turned out fine. look at the size of that maze, too. i would get lost. >> i've been stuck in these things. i just walk right through the walls seriously. sooner or later you're going to come out of that thing and i've done it, walked right out. frustrating. >> you heard it here. check of the weather from mr. roker. >> we've got rain to talk about here in the northeast where we don't really want to see it. we had a nice run, seven to

eight days of dry weather, the storm system making its way up the coast slowly, not a to tent weather maker but it will bring one to two inches of rain before it's all over and as that moves out we will see another front coming in back from the west that will cause more problems, risk of strong storms in the mid enlower mississippi river valley, clouds and showers in the pacific northwest. >> good morning. we have some rain in the forecast. take an umbrella with you and give yourself a couple of extra minutes. >> that's your latest weather. >> nice to have you back with

the little people after spending time ats white house tuesday. you caught up with the first lady? >> absolutely, helping her participate in her let's move event. we also talked to her about her recent shopping trip to target. check it out. we all saw the pictures of you at target. i mean, is that, do you sometimes miss the ability to do something like that on a regular basis? >> absolutely, but quiet as it's kept although not so quiet i do that more frequently than each realize, and it's amazing how people don't recognize you. they don't expect to see me at starbucks or chipotle. i took bo to petco and the cashier said what kind of dog is that? a portuguese waterdog. they didn't expect to mimi in petco. we try to sneak out as much as

possible. >> did the cashier look twice at the credit card? he recognized me. plenty of people, i've been in baskin and robins a few times, they don't know it's me. >> do you buy a lot of toilet tissue at times? >> we pretty much have our supply stocked, one of the advantages, one of the perks. >> can't get the toilet tissue with the presidential seal on costco. >> funny but she does it often. >> amazing. >> cool stuff. >> more of al's interview with the first lady later on. an emotional day at the trial of michael jackson's doctor. jurors hear more of conrad murray's police interrogation, and the medical examiner who conducted the singer's autopsy speaks as well. we'll have the latest, but this is "today" on nbc.

still ahead, police search an abandoned well for that missing 10-month-old baby in

kansas city. we'll have the latest. and former "dynasty" star linda evans, after your local news. ...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. it's the starbucks via® taste promise. your favorites, in pieces.

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning, everybody. i am stan stovall. here's a look at one of our top stories. the search is on for a new baltimore county school superintendent. the board has about nine months to fill dr. joe hairston's position. the school board says it has established a committee to begin the process.

hairston is expected to speak about his decision to leave this friday. there are conditions on the roadways that are causing backups. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> pick back up on southbound 95 for mountain road all the way to the beltway. part of that due to accident. southbound 95 approaching white marsh, heavy delays. delays at henry ave due to an accident. another one southbound on harrisburg expressway at timonium road. same goes for the j.f.x. from the beltway to its northern parkway 21 miles per hour on average from 795. accident at southwestern and wilkins. another one at northbound 97 and 100. for under 50 and crownsville road, watch for an accident. vehicle with entrapment. this is what it looks like on the west side.

switching over to a live view. abby or i-95 coming down from mountain road. that is where the delay begins from the beltway -- to the beltway. tony, over to you. >> light rain and sprinkles right now. the heaviest stuff is in harford and cecil county. it will get better the closer you get to baltimore city. and on rainshowers, "off and on" being the key phrase there. going into the weekend, we will jump into the 70's on thursday and friday, with a chance for a few showers.

7:30 now on a wednesday morning, the 12th day of october, 2011, and we're happy to get everybody out on the plaza a chance to say hello to their family and friends back home. rain is coming later in the day. indecided studio 1a i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer. police search an abandoned home just blocks from lisa irwin's family home. we'll get the latest in morning. we'll check up with a young woman we have come to call the

bionic bride. she needed a heart pump just to walk down the aisle but earlier this year her pump or heart failed landing her in a coma. she's thriving once again thanks to a donor heart. coming up we'll talk to her for the first type since what really was life saving surgery. >> how great does she look? also looking great, linda evans a new memoir, details her reluctant stars in acting and famous loves, and what joan collins was really like on the set of "dynasty," here to tell us all about that, an icon of the '80s in our studiostudio, h is that? in the trial of michael jackson's doctor, more of the interview with police. jeff rossen, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. when you listen to those audio tapes it is heartbreaking to picture the scene at ucla medical center in california the moment michael jackson died, his kids all gathered around crying,

even asking to see their father's body just to say good bye. beyond the audiotapes more drama in court on tuesday, including bombshell testimony from the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy, you'll hear that in a moment plus a graphic new photo of michael jackson that was so disturbing one jackson fan in the courtroom ran out in tears. it was a shocker in open court, prosecutors showed the photo of michael jackson's skinny, lifeless body, perhaps the most private man in show business laid bare for the jury and the world to see. a final humiliation for the singer, who complained when police photographed him nude in 1993 after accusations of child,. >> it was the most humiliating ordeal of my life, one that no person should ever have to suffer. >> reporter: years later his children would suffer. the day michael died, dr. conrad

murray was at the hospital and in a taped police interview described the moment prince, paris and blanket learned their dad had died. >> after they cried and cried and cried, then his daughter uttered a lot of words of unhappiness and, you know, she will live alone without her dad and she didn't want to be an orphan, and she asked me, "dr. murray, you said you save a lot of patients, you know, you save people with heart attacks and you couldn't save my dad? you know, i will wake up in the morning and won't be able to see my daddy." jackson's mother was in shock, too >> and she said well he's not dead, is he? i said yes and she broke down. >> reporter: they found other drugs in the singer's mansion. >> surprise, surprise. >> reporter: murray blamed jackson for hiding drugs he got from other doctors.

>> how about valisone? >> no. >> we found a small portion of marijuana in his room. did you know him to be a smoker? >> no. but he used excessive cologne. >> reporter: when the tape ended prosecutors weren't done yet calling l.a.'s deputy medical  examiner to the stand. >> what was the manner of death? >> the manner was homicide. >> reporter: and the defense theory that michael injected himself with propofol he calls unreasonable. how damaging is that to murray's case? >> you can't get any more damaging than having the official medical exercise, the one who actually conducted the autopsy on michael jackson come back and say it is unreasonable that the propofol was self-administered. >> reporter: then prosecutors took it even further. >> let's assume self-administration of propofol. under those facts, where dr. murray leaves his patient with apparently the drugs accessible and no monitoring equipment, et

cetera, isn't it true you'd still deem it a homicide? >> yes. >> reporter: prosecutors could rest their case later this week, matt, and the defense takes center stage and lays out murray's case. the big question remains here, will conrad murray take the stand and testify himself? no one knows. still unclear. >> jeff rossen in l.a. for us or los angeles for us this morning, thank you. nbc's martin bashir spent eight months with michael in 2002-20 0 2002-2003. good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. >> i want to get back to the photo in court, it was shocking, meant to shock the jurors but in reality, martin, does it have anything to do with guilt or innocence in this case? >> not really but remember the medical examiner looking at this man said he had the body obviously he's 50 years old but as a 50-year-old he was pretty healthy. what he was trying to suggest was that there were no other

residual existing reasons for why this man would suddenly die. >> martin, you could go into any manslaughter case and no matter what, if you put a picture up on a screen of the deceased, you're going to get an emotional reaction from the jury but i'm not sure that's what the law is about. it's not about emotional reaction from juries, it's about presenting real hard evidence. >> the other question is mr. conrad murray's testimony or police interview has now become his courtroom testimony. people are saying what's that got to do with the law? is that a statement in court? no. it's not. >> i was going to get to that later but since you bring it up, so we hear conrad murray describing the children's reaction when they learn of their father's death, how they cried and cried. any parent dies, the children are going to be heartbroken. i'm not sure that connects him to the death. >> no, but what conrad murray was doing was revealing the proximity of his relationship to michael, his relationship to the children, and the fact that he tried to assure them that he tried to save the man.

and the reality is, what conrad murray was doing there was describing a personal relationship of friendship. the problem with that is michael jackson didn't need a friend. he didn't need a lover. he needed a doctor and this man didn't behave like a doctor. >> this is a dynamic we've seen not only in this case but other cases in the past that involved mega stars and doctors. doctors are supposed to be the adult in the room and oftentimes they are as swept away by the fame of their clients as anybody else would be. >> that's why the hippocratic oath and the commitments that they make as covenants to this profession are supposed to sustain them, and the problem is, they don't. i spent time with jackson in las vegas as you know and also in berlin, and when i was in berlin in that horrendous scene where he held young blanket over the balcony there was a doctor with him, a doctor called dr. alex farjian. i don't think i can remember an evening in berlin where dr. alex farjian who halz from florida and runs some unorthodox, he was

lost completely in the glaze of this man's glory and greatness, and of course it affects doctors. the point is, that isn't what dr. farjian or dr. conrad murray applied themselves to do. these people have the right to prescribe, they have the license to get and administer drugs and that's why they have an oath that's supposed to up seed some personal relationship or infatuation they may feel about the patient they're treating. >> martin bashir, interesting perspective. catch martin bashir weekdays at 3:00 p.m. on msnbc. let's get a check of the weather from al. >> announcer: today's weather is brought to you by massage envy, stress relief to help your skin, massage envy is here for you.

find nationwide locations at massageenvy.com. >> as we look in the midwest, we got a frontal system coming in, and that's bringing some heavy showers and thunderstorms from dallas all the way to minneapolis. we're talking about anywhere from a quarter to a half inch of rain. rest of the country we do look to see some windy conditions out in the plains. we've got a warm day in l.a., 94 degrees, afternoon showers move into the northeast. we've got plenty of >> good morning. we have some rain in the forecast. take an umbrella with you and give yourself a couple of extra minutes.

>> and that's your latest weather. matt? >> al thanks very much. up next the search for 10-month-old lisa irwin leads police to a well at an abandoned home blocks from the girl's home. the latest right after this. we all want our candy in october. our turkeys in november. and want to pick up our gifts in december. that's why sears layaway let's you reserve any item you want, whenever you want, and with no finance charges. that's real choices for real joy. sears. [ laughs ] [ laughs ] [ laughs ]

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back now at 7:4. is the latest for 10-month-old lisa irwin. her family has hired a private investigator. peter alexander is in kansas city with details on this. peter, good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning to you. the private investigator says his top priority is finding baby lisa. in this case there's been a new dramatic development almost every day, and now nbc news has obtained exclusive new surveillance video that shows

lisa irwin's mother shopping just hours before she says her baby daughter disappeared. this surveillance video obtained by nbc news, police confirm, reveals what lisa's mother, deborah bradley, was doing just hours before she says her baby van uished from her crib. on this tape from a grocery store bradley is seen shopping with an unidentified man, buying a box of wine, baby food and baby wipes. police say they've seen the tape and so far it's produced no significant leads. on tuesday, following a tip, investigators converged on this abandoned house just blocks from the irwin home. their focus, a cistern well, at least 30 feet deep and three feet wide. would the dark well hold clues to baby lisa's disappearance? we spoke to the owner of this vacant home who says he's not been back to the property in four to six months. you can't just see the well, you'd have to know it's beneath

the deck to find it. at first crews lowered firefighters down twice, nothing. then they pumped water out, before making a third trip, again a rescuer returned to the surface empty handed. >> it's been too long. something should have came up by now. if she is still alive, that's great, you know, but a parent, if something's happened, you want to know that, too, so you can have closure. >> reporter: demolition crews later tore down the vacant home. police say their exhaustive eight-day search has so far uncovered no signs of baby lisa. >> with a 10-month-old, somebody knows something, there's no doubt about it and here we are a week later and really not any closer. >> reporter: detectives also briefly returned to the irwin home tuesday following a tip from bradley herself suggesting police check fingerprints on cigarettes found on the ground near the family's car, after it was broken into last month.

late tuesday night the irwin family appeared at a news conference, announcing that it's bringing in its own private investigator, bill stanton, to work on the case. >> there is a bad guy out there or bad people with this child, and we want to get this child home safe and sound. >> reporter: that private investigator tells nbc news his investigation will begin in earnest today. ann? >> all right, peter alexander, thank you so much. still ahead, linda evans on her "dynasty" days, her co-stars and one true passion, but first, these messages.

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[ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. ♪ how do we sleep while our beds are burning ♪ something you never want to see at home, looking at a mattress on fire. in is a controlled safety burn at a consumer testing lab in maryland. tom costello, explain what's going on. >> reporter: good morning to you. in the last 20 seconds we lit this on fire. the flames represent a candle or matches that might have fallen on to a mattress that does not supply with the latest fire standards because each year 2,400 people die in all types of house fires. >> all right, goet out of the house. >> we can't. there's nothing open. if i open the door there's too much smoke. >> reporter: through years of reporting about house fires and getting out alive, we've learned

how to crawl through a smoke-filled home to rescue a child. >> find the crib, don't stand up, reach in, find your child, bring the child to the crib edge, tilt the crib over, bring the baby up, protect the airway and up on your chest and stay low and find your way out. >> reporter: we followed arson investigators looking for the cause of a fire that gutted an apartment building. >> fire started here at this electrical outlet where there was an electrical extension cord plugged in that went to a space heater in the middle of the room. >> reporter: we visited the insurance industry's fire research center. this is probably the least fire-resistant roof, a wood shake roof. with winter approaching the consumer products safety commission is emphasizing the everyday risk posed by house fires. of the 386,000 house fires each year majority are cooking fires,

costing 150 lives each year. cigarette fires, while fewer, are far more deadly. 600 people die often in bed. >> get new mattress. the new central standards require a barrier in the mattress preventing the fire from spreading if your mattress catches on fire. >> reporter: fire places, chimneys and space heaters cause nearly 57,000 fires and 220 deaths each other. safety experts remain concerned about tiki torch or fire pot gel fuel seen on an infrared cancer. the cpsc warns don't use it. all of it has been recalled. >> we're back live. this mattress in two minutes is fully involved. one important note, matt, often children sleep will you fire alarms so they say put fire alarms, smoke detectors in every single room and remember to start checking the batteries. back to you. >> it's eye-opening, scary

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. time for a check on your morning commute. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. how is it looking? >> not too good. accidents on the inner loop approaching providence. watch for delays developing there. southbound 95, they stretched back to mountain road towards the in hundred 95 split. accident is gone, but that contributed to those delays.

belair and henry ave, watch for crash. delays are still in place from middletown down to about carmel, and then you are tapping the brakes approaching the beltway. southbound j.f.x., from that point all the way to cold spring, looking at a snow-go. 450 and crownsville road, now clear. was cited baltimore national pike, every now and then seeing inner loop delays coming towards us. outer loop a lot happier. white marsh area, you can see what it looks like there. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. tony, over to you. >> most of the steady rain has proved to southern pennsylvania. we will get a little bit about because we had through the morning. -- a little bit of a break as we head through the morning. you will run into rent at one point or another, whether this morning or afternoon.

temperatures in the low 60s. we will make it to 67 this afternoon. 70's the next couple of days. chance for rain drops to 30% on a thursday. over the weekend. a little windy for the baltimore marathon, but it should be dry.

we're back now, 8:00 on a wednesday morning. it's the 12th day of october, 2011. we've been talking about the great weather we've been having here for the past couple of days. that seems to be on the end. we've got cloudy skies, rain moving into the new york area for later today but you know what? it doesn't matter. we have a great crowd outside and we're stopping to say hi to them. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry and mr. al roker, and it's very cool in the studio right now because we have one of the biggest television stars of the 1980s with us. >> that's right, linda evans best known for her role in the

hit show "dynasty" and written a memoir details her great loves, dramatic heartbreaks and why she never planned a career in hollywood. exciting to see her. she also has recipes in her book from very famous people. we'll get to that. also with us today is a young lady we've affectionately called for the last couple of years, the bionic bride. ali babineau had an electronic pump planted and shortly after the wedding she got very ill, fell into a coma and needed a miracle to survive. guess what, she got a miracle, she's here to talk about her life with a donor heart. >> we'll mention we've got some folks from donate life, a lot of folks whose lives have been saved by donations, very cool. i've got more of our interview with the first lady, michelle obama, she's going to be talking about her let's move initiative, and we're going to try to help

her break a world record right here on the plaza. it was a lot of fun yesterday. >> reporter: let . let's go inside. natalie is standing by with a look at the headlines. >> good morning, everyone. mitt romney defended two popular positions during last night's republican presidential debate. he stood behind his record as massachusetts governor and before the debate romney won the endorsement of popular new jersey governor chris christie who spoke exclusively to nbc about his position. >> he's the best person for the job. it's simply on the merits, and the fact is that we need to make sure that barack obama is a one-term president for america's future. >> when asked if christie would be romney's running mate both seemed to dodge the question. president obama says he will try to pick and pass smaller pieces of the jobs bill that failed a test vote in the senate

last night. republicans blocked the $450 billion package because of its stimulus style spending and tax surcharge on the wealthy. the u.s. has issued a terror alert for americans worldwide, after uncovering an alleged iranian plot to assassinate the saudi ambassador to the u.s. in our nation's capital. iran is calling the allegations propaganda. two men were indicted on conspiracy charges tuesday in connection with the plot and iranian-american used car salesman from texas and member of iran's special operations unit. and today marks one year since 33 chilean miners were brought back to the surface after 69 days trapped nearly a half mile underground. their instant celebrity brought free trips, gifts and public appearances but now, sadly, many are unemployed, even poorer than before, and still coping with trauma and psychological problems from their ordeal. now let's head to wall street, cnbc's mandy drury is at the new york stock exchange for us again this morning.

good morning. >> good morning. there are opposing forces in the stock market. on the downside the corporate earnings season kicked off with disappointing results from aluminum maker alcoa with the ceo warning of weak economic conditions but the upside we've got positive developments out of europe, with regards to strengthening their vulnerable banks and that is a relief for traders here in the you iunited states. do you own a blackberry? fellow blackberry users on almost every continent except this one experienced a third day of service outages. over to you. >> mandy drury thanks so much. for what is trending today our quick roundup of what has you talking online, carbus is search yahoo! for the antique auto that sold for $4.6 million, billed as the oldest car that still runs, the 1884 french built marquee was fueled by coal, woods and bits of paper to are a top speed of 38 miles an hour. budget travelers are googling a plan by japan's

tourism industry to offer 10,000 free flights to japan next summer. tourism has suffered since the march earthquake and nuclear disaster. if the deal is approved by japan's parliament, travelers would have to apply for tickets and agree to write a report about their experiences. and the blogosphere is all steamed up, after paula deen got handy with matt tuesday. >> i know where this is going. i know all about keeping my potatoes hot. >> i make you nervous, don't i? >> yes you do. look there's chocolate cake with this. >> you're not changing the subject. >> not surprisingly paula was recently named tv's sexiest chef by "maxim" magazine. matt i think you were blushing. >> i was surprised she really did. i've invited her back every day for the next six months also. linda evans in the studio, known for some of the wild catfights she used to have with

joan collins. >> yes. >> here we go, watch this, she goes after her. take that and that! oh! but you no he what? every once in a while it happens here as well. >> does it? >> yes, it does. >> oh, yeah. that's right. well, that's the harmony we have here on our family show, the "today" show. i don't know what does that. >> we love savannah, you know. >> she's not here today, i want to mention. anyway -- a check of the weather. >> i'm surprised you can move your neck after paula. wham! you need a chiropractor. who is this young man? >> eli. >> where are you from? >> nashville, ittence tense. >> how old is eli? >> 19 months. >> how are you doing? he's, woo, woo. let's check your weather and see what's happening. for today our pick city today, just happens to be beautiful

amarillo, texas, kamr, 4 on your side. tu sunny, 78 degrees. in the northeast 50s and 60s, 70s and 80s into the plains. risk of strong storms mid to lower mississippi valley, >> good morning.ould be off and on a light rain showers are expected. you may hear a rumble of thunder. temperatures will hold steady. >> and that's your latest

weather. matt? al, thank you very much. when we come back we'll sit down with linda evans live in our studio, right after these messages. [ laughs ] [ laughs ] [ laughs ] [ laughs ] that's awesome. you can read that? ♪ [ female announcer ] the accufit digital system, exclusively at lenscrafters... is about 5 times more precise than manual measurement techniques. lenscrafters. but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms,

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back now at 8:11, with golden globe winning actress linda evans. she starred as crystal ca carrington in the 1980s. she had her millionaire husband, blake, hook, line and sinker. >> heads we get married, tails we don't. >> you're joking? >> i want you more than anything i've ever wanted. >> this is a decision that will affect the rest of our lives. you can't make it on the flip of a coin. >> i don't need a quarter to tell me that i love you. >> mmm, i like that. linda left the show after nine years.

rededicating herself to life out of the spotlight and now out with a new book called "recipes for life, my memories." linda evans good morning to you. >> good morning. >> so fun to see you and in many ways this book is really fun and it has recipes from so many surprising people. >> well, it's not that they were cooks. it's just i went to their house for dinner and loved the food and said can i have the recipe. >> for example you have john wayne's favorite green chili and cheese casserole recipe in here. >> yes because his crab dip is the first recipe i ever asked anybody for and got. i was so excited, and the chili cheese recipe you're talking about, his wife pilar said he used to take it when he would go on location and put the recipe in his pocket so the caters could make it for him, he loved it so much. >> so many recipes and speaks to the breadth of people this job allowed you to meet. it's a book about your life and

memories, including memories about barbara stanwick, rock hudson, the queen of england, pope john paul ii. when you realize the breadth of your life and yet also realize that this was actually something that you fell into this acting thing. what was your original plan? >> my original plan was to get married and have kids and, and i was so shy, i wouldn't get up in class and give a book report so they made me take drama, which made me horrified. i used to throw up before i had to get up, i hated it. i was with a girlfriend on a commercial and she was up and the director wanted me to do the commercial. i said i can't do the commercial. he said why not? you can't drink ginger ale and sit on a merry-go-round? i said my girlfriend would kill me. he gave me the part an my girlfriend gave me her agent and he said can you walk, talk and say lines. i said i don't know. he set me up for a show "bachelor father" with john

forsyth and gave me my first speaking part. >> and there you went. >> and there i went. >> many of us remember you as crystal to joan collins' alexis and that hair pulling scene which is so memorable. i mean was it hard to be so hateful to joan collins? i mean you're pulling her hair. i think she's got -- >> i loved to do stunts. when you say that, i loved to do stunts. barbara stanwick got me involved in doing stunts when i did "big valley" so this had a lot to do with fun, there was nothing to do with hate, just chore row graphed, fun to do. >> looks like you might have gotten some bruises. >> i'm telling ul i love to fight physically, joan loved to fight verbally so we each had our own little place. when i got to do a fight i loved it. i don't do that in life. i never beat anybody up. >> thank goodness, i like my hair. i am starting to lose it already but i didn't want to lose any

more of it. >> we didn't hurt each other. >> 40 isn't fatal, what would you say about the age you are now? >> well i'm 68. i'll be 69 next month. >> no. >> i love it. i love it. i am the happiest i've ever been in my life. there's a certain amount of wisdom that comes with getting older that i wouldn't trade being young and tight bodied and everything because there's something about the wisdom that we gain that really serves us in life. >> and you, if you could say one thing to the young women who are listening, women who are younger than you are, about this search for wisdom, what would it be? >> as you get older -- you're meant to be young and you're meant to be exciting and have adventures, but when you get older, if you understand not to discount now people that are older, and i want to say to everyone, let's just create something where we all get to say we respect people that are older and we have a lot to contribute, and they're going to

have a lot. don't think of just living 30, 40, 50 years with your kids and everything. think of what you'll do until you're 80 or 90. >> linda evans you keep living that life. thank you so much this morning. >> thank you. >> the book is called "recipes for life" and the excerpts are on our website. linda will be back later in the morning with kathie lee and hoda. for now, here's matt. >> all right ann, thank you very much. an update on a remarkable young lady we dubbed the bionic bride. we first met alley smith babineau after a revolutionary device saved her heart months before her wedding. earlier this year she suffered a setback that left her fighting for her life all over again. ali smith first warmed other hearts sharing the story of hers. >> one thing that -- sorry -- he told me was even if i was on my death bed that he was still going to marry me.

>> reporter: ali had cardio cardiomyopathy and without a heart transplant was not expected to survive. >> we expected her life expectancy was a year without more aggressive therapy and her chance of living one year was 50%. >> reporter: ali chose to have a radical surgery, a bionic heart powered by batteries. >> this is battery and controller of my heartmate two. it connects through here, and right here goes through my abdomen and goes right through here into this part that goes to my pump, so it's all connected. >> mike, you asked ali to marry you right when you found out she was gravely, gravely ill. >> yeah, it was just a lot of commitment on our relationship. we've been through some hard times but definitely have a lot of good times and i wanted to see it through the end. >> reporter: ali was doing so well with her bionic heart she came to see us this past december with her parents to tell us about her wedding.

can you describe the emotions were feeling on that day? >> one of the most emotional days i've probably had, giving her away at that dance. >> a year to the day that she almost died was the day she got married. >> reporter: but weeks after this interview, ali's parents called with devastating news, ali had fallen into a coma and was not expected to survive. >> we just want to reach out and say ali, we are thinking of you and our family and send you our prayers and our very best wishes. >> we're pulling for you. >> reporter: doctors told the family to prepare for the worst but then three weeks later a miracle. there's a new development in the story even as we're speaking right now, ali is being taken into an operating room, getting a heart transplant this morning. >> wow. and now, eight months after her heart transplant, this is ali

today. >> hey, beautiful. >> good to see you. >> how are you feeling? >> good, good. >> you look good. >> reporter: ali is thriving with her new heart. >> you look good. and this day she wanted to return to the texas heart institute to say thank you to her doctors and nurses. >> it was it was truly miraculous because she turned around. >> reporter: when ali left the hospital she was asked to ring a transplant bell to encourage other patients to continue their battles as well. >> it was kind of like a doorbell for me, you know, rang it three times, and went through the doors and entered the next chapter of my life. i hope i never have to ring it again, though. >> reporter: and ali is with us this morning, along with her parents, christa and ronny and cardiologist roberta bogave. you're crying. this is a good time to be back. >> it is. >> to start with we sat on the

couch when you were really ill and sent our best wishes out to you on the morning of your surgery. you heard it on the tv but you were all drugged up, right? >> yes, highly drugged, very. >> and you actually thought i was in the hospital room with you? >> yeah, i remember i could hear you talking and i just, i don't know if i was awake, i don't know what i was doing and i thought we're all there and you had all flown in and standing next to me talking and the newscasting at the same time. >> we were there in spirit. how are you feeling? >> amazing. better than i actually thought i would feel. >> you're not bionic anymore, no more pumps, no more batteries no, more wires, things like that. >> right. >> you are living what would be described as a normal life? >> probably beyond a normal life. i think i push things further than most people probably would, just knowing that life could be too short, and so i might as well do the things i never thought i'd be able to do.

>> doctor, the prognosis, will she be able to return to completely normal activity or has she already? >> she's already normal, matt. she can do anything you can do. >> it's amazing, she needed a miracle, mom and dad said she needs a miracle and needs it quickly. her system improved enough for a short period of time so the surgery was possible, and at that very time, a donor heart became available. how do you explain that? >> miracles. god does miracles. >> you know just an amazing thing, you know. god willed it and it happened, and we were just blessed. >> i know you must spend a lot of time thinking about the donor. >> um-hum. >> and that person's family. what are your thoughts? >> i hope to meet them one day. i want to tell them, you know, of course we don't know who each other are yet but i'd like to tell them that their family member is still here.

they're just a little bit part of, in me and several other people, so that saying that can you be there in two places at once, that person's probably there seven places and they're allowing moo he to do the things that i wasn't able to do. so i'm taking them now to do the things that they might not have ever done. >> it is great to have you all back here. last time i said good-bye i thought everything was fine and then you scared us. don't scare us anymore. >> i think we all thought that, too. >> ali wonderful treat to have you back here. congratulations, continued good health. thank you for being here. >> thank you, matt. >> here's ann. >> thanks, such a nice story. let's head to washington, d.c., and check in with mr. willard scott. hey, willard. >> hey, it's wirbirthday time a over the nation and you may be next. if you live to be 100, if i don't do it i'll tape it for you. chances are i'll have to tape it

for you. we have for instance myrtle harris, st. louis, missouri, is 105. lived forever in st. louis. lives independently and attributes her longevity to her faith and the good lord. can't beat that. almost everybody says that. evelyn dickinson, woo, lovely, warwick, new york, is 104, loves to swim and she has a horsey and she likes to ride the horsey. birthday number three, marie puh of livermore, california, 108 years old, loves to work in her vegetable garden, for a long time, and play bridge, working in the garden is one of the blessings of life. i've always thought i'd like to go that way. ann roberts of yucaipa, california, 105. likes to stay in touch with all of her friends, guess what, with e-mail and facebook. more and more older people are doing that and they love it.

dorothy polk of savoy, illinois, oh, boy, hoy-ti-toy lives independently and loves to play bridge with her pals. good activity. good activity. we have eunice. i like that name, eunice greene of goldsboro, north carolina, is 109, extremely family oriented and loves god very much, and remains active in her church and that's it, that's all from your nation's capital at this time. >> all right, willard, thank you so much. coming up, more of al's interview with the first lady, michelle obama. plus we'll help her set a world record live on the plaza but first a look at your local news and weather.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's get a final check of the morning commute with sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> 95 is looking better. we are looking at problems on the topside inner loop approaching providence. we had an accident moving off to the site. delays stretch all the way back to reisterstown road on the inner loop. still dealing with delays mike around white marsh towards the 895 split. j.f.x. from the pulpit down towards coldspring. inner loop delays from

reisterstown. outer loop delays from reisterstown to edmondson. southbound 795 backed up out of a owings mills. further south, a mountain road shutdown in pasadena and what's road to an accident. delays are still in place along with delays on southbound 295. here is a quick live look outside. providence and inner loop delays holding on to those after an earlier accident at providence. live view of traffic at white marsh, still very crowded there in the white marsh area. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. tony has a check on your forecast. >> did little break from the rain, with the steadier stop this morning drifting out into pennsylvania. not a whole lot on the radar in baltimore. still a good idea to take the umbrella with you. coverage will pick up again as

we head into the afternoon rainshowers still likely. even a slight chance for a thunderstorm. we will sneak into the 70's for the next few days and keep a chance for rain and a forecast. it should clear up on saturday and sunday. >> another update at 8:55.

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coldplay, the grammy winners have a new album coming out and next friday they'll treat us to a live concert on the plaza. if you're in the area october 21st, come on down. i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer and natalie morales and al roker. i'm so excited about that. just ahead we'll help set a world record. >> the goal, most people doing jumping jacks in a 24-hour period. i helped kick things off at the white house an an event hosted by first lady michelle obama. we talked to her about her fitness and personal exercise routine and the first family and what do they do and talk about around the dining room table. we'll hear more from the first lady in a little bit. >> anyone can participate in making this world record happen. >> that's right. >> we can all do it. >> we can all do it, yes. >> something to shoot for. halloween just around the

corner. martha stewart is here this morning and always puts us to shame. uh-oh, she has a drill in her hand, she's going to show us how to spruce up her pumpkin. some of the things on the table are amazing. >> she has c-4. >> that's how the pros do it. >> exploding pumpkins. the nation's best meatball recipes, yes that's right, if you think you have the best meatball recipe, submit yours on the website along with a video or photo of your dish. the deadline is next wednesday, october 19th and chef bobby flay will crown our champion november 3rd. >> who will eat the meatballs to make the choice? >> bobby flay. >> let's participate. let's try. >> i don't think we're qualified. >> oh. how about a check of the weather? >> okay, i can do >> good morning.

we have some rain in the forecast. take an umbrella with you and give yourself a couple of extra minutes. and don't forget to check your weather any time of the day or night, go to the weather channel on cable or online weather tot com. michelle obama and al helps weather tot com. michelle obama and al helps to break a world w

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most people doing jumping jacks in a 24-hour period and al you got things started off at the white house on tuesday. >> that's right, the attempt is in support of mrs. obama's let's move initiative. we had a chance to talk about that, and the importance of families getting fit together. >> all right! keep it up! ♪ you look pretty excited being the jumper in chief. >> i love it. anything, my motto is anything i can do to get kids and families enthusiastic about movement and nutrition, i will do. i have no shame when it comes to exercise. >> are jumping jacks your exercise of choice? >> you know i do everything. jumping jacks, squats, lunges, you know, jump lunges, you name it, i have a trainer who is a little crazy so we did a little bit of everything, a little boxing so we miktx it up becaus if you get bored you don't stick to it. >> does the president have to worry about the boxing parts?

>> sometimes when he sees me punching he thinks hmm i hope i don't make her too mad. no, of course not. >> since you launched let's move, what effects have but seen? what's been happening since you launched this initiative? >> one of the things i'm most proud about is seeing so many different sectors coming together on this issue. i mean what we know in our country is that we do care about our kids. parents care about their kids. we want our kids to be healthy and everyone has stepped up. >> we just had a story about in denmark they're planning on instituting like a "fat" tax, foods high in sugar, high in fat. do you think something like that is needed here? >> i think folks need information, you know, knowledge is power, and you know we're lacking that. people eat what they eat because they think it's okay. they don't need government telling them what to do. they need good information and access. >> what about people say oh i don't have the time, my family doesn't have the time. you guys got a campaign coming

up, you got to hit the trail, how do you work those things in when you're traveling like that? >> you know it's prioritization. i work-out as much as i can when i can. when you're on the road you can't always count on it. the thing i tell families you don't have to make whole scale changes. little changes, putting more water into your kids' diet, eliminating sugar and sugary drinks, putting more fruits and vegetables on, exercise is ju jumping out on the line. i got a workout with the kids. >> do you have to get in shape to go out and campaign? >> it helps if you're healthy because it takes a lot of stamina. that's one of the reasons why we try to stay healthy. you don't get breaks and you have to sort of have your diet in control and sometimes we go for 12, 14-hour days on the campaign trail and it helps to have the energy. >> do you have to motivate the president and the girls? are they fairly self-motivated when it comes to this? >> no, no, no, barack has been

an exercise fanatic all his life. he uses it to destress, so he works out every single day. our girls, we make it fun. it's their sports, it's their activities, so no, they're not getting up going to the gym every day but we do encourage them to play a team sport, and individual sport, and we support them in that. we try to go to their games and make it fun. >> how important is the family getting together, not your family but everybody's family, getting together around the table? >> that is critical and something that we do, 6:30, as much as possible, we sit down for dinner, the president's schedule stops, he comes up for dinner, he may have to go back to the office but we eat dinner together and what it does is number one forces families to cook, which is another way to be healthy is preparing food at home, and i think what we find is as you're sitting around the table having a conversation you're not focused on how much you can eat, and you slow down and eat less.

>> is the dinner table in the obama household a politics free, poll numbers free zone? >> it is because the girls could care less about what their father does so what his day was like is usually the last thing we talked about. he's sort of an afterthought, oh, by the way dad, how was your day. >> time for us to help "national geographic's kids" magazine break the record. >> we've taken some of our plaza viewers, gotten t-shirts on them and getting ready to start jumping. we have stuart claxton with the official guinness world records and mona bello from "national geographic." >> we have a clock. they have to jump for one minute so here we go, everybody ready? three, two, one, jump! ♪ >> all right, while we're jumping, i want you to talk about why this has been such a

passion for you.. >> "national geographic kids" is about getting kids up and out into the world and fitness is so important, so we figure how to get kids involved, get guinness world records and michelle obama and it's a win, win, win. >> the clock started at 3:00 yesterday afternoon and ends at 3:00 this afternoon. how can everyone including our cameramen get involved? >> if you want to participate in the guinness world record go to "national geographic kids" magazine website. do one minute of jumping jacks before 3:00 today. >> what's the record, stuart? >> 20,425 is the record to beat. >> we have to break it. >> how many do you want to break it by? >> i want to double it. 40,000. ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one! woo! >> we're on our way, stuart?

>> 37 more, absolutely. >> let's do it. >> i want to show you this ladies, this is what jumping jacks does for you. what is your name, robin? >> robin. >> robin is 75 years old. >> i want to have what you have. look at you. how do we make sure you sign up, go to the website and sign up. you have until 3:00 today. >> i am thrilled to be here. >> thank you so much. >> i used to be a page here. >> oh, my gosh! an nbc page? >> 55 years ago! >> that's fantastic. >> we, too, can look like you at 75. thank you so much for helping us. thanks to everyone. >> thank you. >> and so wish you luck. >> thank you, thank you. >> thank you so much. much more coming up, including martha stuart helping us decorate for halloween with creative ways to make our

♪ it's pumpkin time, pumpkin time ♪ we're back at 8:44 this morning on "martha on today" throwing a pumpkin party. martha is here with exciting ways to decorate your jack-o'-lantern this halloween. martha, good morning nice to see you. >> good morning. >> i'm 53 years old you're teaching me new things about halloween. pumpkin carving 101. don't cut the top of the pumpkin? >> you don't have to. if you want to illuminate with the candle you it cake the top off but because so many people are using christmas lights you cut the bottom over that and put it over a jar. >> makes so much sense. >> you don't have to worry about

the candle blowing out. >> when it starts to decay you don't have to worry about this shrinking and falling in. >> these are templates we have on the website. >> you always start with the paper. >> so you have a good face, and then you can just make little holes with a pin around the whole design and take this off. we just use masking tape and all here on the pumpkin, use your pumpkin carving tools. >> is this a special carving tool? >> it is, don't give that to the kids and scoop out your pumpkin with a pumpkin scoop. >> that thing looks like it's out of "silence of the lambs.

xw ". >> what kind of mind do you have? this is artificial and the kids can take out candy corn. how do you preserve the cut edges of your pumpkins, a little bit of petroleum jelly, vaseline. >> stops what i talked about before? >> it helps. i like the way this looks before you've dressed it up and yet you're going to access rise. >> you can get these evil eyes and stick them in there. >> where did you find the eyes? >> craft stores, halloween stores. we shop everywhere. >> typical vampire teeth. >> that can go in the mouth, i can stick that in a little bit, yeah. that's not the right hole but there, but cut appropriate sized hole like that one. and these matte pins are perfecting for crazy eyes and it's just simple, fun things. >> talk to me about the mummy. >> instead of throwing the

toilet paper in the trees. >> i never did that. >> oh yes you did, matt admitted can he eggs, toilet paper, shaving cream. >> a neighbor of mine did that. >> or crepe paper to wrap odd sized squashes and matte pin for goonie eyes. >> extreme carving. you better take that from me. >> be careful. this is the wonderful blade on the drill and you can -- >> woe! >> are you all right there? yes. >> you didn't have to core it. >> you don't core it and just insert your mice that you find again at the halloween store. >> a little mouse hotel. >> it's so evil and kreeby and so just use the rear end even creepier. i love the mouse hotel. you don't have to use the drill.

you cans will use a little piercer like this which works very well. i want to show you that you can do it. see pull this out. matt, you want to pull that out for me? use that brute strength. >> pop that in there and tout comes. >> and it makes a nice noise. >> these are so cute, they really want to live here. >> hard to find these little guys? >> no, easy. >> for the truly lazy, this is actually a great idea because you don't have to carve anything. >> no, and these beautiful images come, martha stewart crafts, and these are spiderreb webs and arachnids. pull off the plastic and stick it on the plump kin and put a piece of wet cloth over it. it's the way they make beautiful designs on china. pull that off and pull the white

piece off. look what happens. >> there we go. >> and every detail is transferred onto the skin of the pumpkin. >> kids can get involved which is so great. >> so easy. pat that an and look at the beauties. some are transferred, some are painted, we painted this with a black enamel, glittered this. i can't stop pi want to keep going. >> good stuff. happy halloween. >> yes. still ahead, guilt free finds at the grocery store. first this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:51 and your "get fit today" always hearing about a new fitness phenomenon or exercise gadget sweeping the nation. as "today" national correspondent jenna wolfe discovered the most reliable secret may be the one you're already doing. >> it is indeed. we live in this society which wants more results in less time but maybe getting back to basics is the key here. instead of a new gym membership, why not just partner up with somebody else? sunrise is still a cup of coffee away, but kim peerson's exercise class is more than ready to break a sweat. sprints, squat jumps, mountain climbers and not even 6:00 a.m.

the women are greeting their day with a healthy dose of suffering. well, kind of. their physical pain is offset by the emotional lift they get from each other. how many empowerment would that give you if you were just working out by yourself? >> we always say to each other we would never do this alone. >> reporter: it's a question not often asked when setting up a fitness plan, who do you want to train with. as it turns out it does matter. how important is accountability when you're in a group type session and working out like this? >> literally, 4:45, they're like are you up, in the car? are you coming? >> reporter: here's the deal, if i was by myself i'd quit or at least break for six hours but i've got 16 other people here cheering me on. i got to go all the way. while the women in the class keep each other coming time after time, they all got here in the first place for one single reason. >> it's kim.

>> she's a great motivator. >> her energy. >> reporter: kim peerson the 2011 miss bikini universe and also 39 years old. think about that for a second, 39 years old. >> my personality, i've always told people perfectly matches a young child. i have a lot of energy. i can see who needs a push. i can see who needs to dance, who needs to shake it a little bit. >> reporter: away from the gym kim is a kindergarten teacher. she gave me a quick lesson on a few exercises anyone can do anywhere but even better when done with a friend. >> the first is the pushup. you got a partner and a little kid at home, play patty cake, separate your feet, reach out, patty cake, patty cake, we can more. one more time. >> okay. >> very nice. my favorite part of my body to train is my glutes, quads.

>> these are burning, are they supposed to burn. >> this is when i can tell you you can keep going. another one is the lunge. squeeze your shoulderblades together, lifts the chest. >> great for posture. >> engages the core. arms out straight, hence the superman and lift them both. >> i feel that in the lower back. >> challenge yourself. keep going until you can't get anymore, squeeze out one more and press yourself, write it down, try to hit that number the next day. >> reporter: kim's group has lost hundreds of pounds together in the past few years. the key has been extending the class lessons beyond the gym walls. >> she's motivated us in and out of the gym, not just here but our whole lifestyle when we go back home, the way we eat, motivating us to go to the gym in groups and we've all become friends so you'll text someone or e-mail them so it's a way of life. it's a whole new way of life. >> reporter: that new way of life embraced together and baptized in sweat, these women

are reaching individual goals together as a workout community. >> great way to start with kim in the morning, it's off my checklist, i'm done. i can nap. >> so here's the deal with this. this is nothing new, this is just going to the gym, it's about accountability. if you know you have 20 other people waiting for you or one other person or someone else, you're going to go so don't just get a gym membership, get someone else to get you psychologically to go there. >> it's so smart, just to give women this connection. i think for men as well it's a great idea. thanks so much, jenna. just ahead, we're fighting hidden germs in your home, after your local news. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara road. baltimore county has nine months to find a replacement for school superintendent joe hairston.

hairston made the board over his decision not to return after his contract ends in june 2012. a national search firm

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