good morning. breaking news, a potential showdown between police and protesters on wall street averted this morning, after officials backed down from a plan to clear out the park. we're there live. rough month, the wife of gop presidential hopeful rick perry opens up about her husband's swift decline in the polls and the attacks she says her husband's campaign have endured. >> we have been brutalized, eaten up in the press. >> what does he have to say and what can he do to regain momentum? governor perry speaks out in a live interview.

and payback. hillary swank will donate everything she made at the appearance at the birthday party for check nia's controversial leader. one human rights group is saying it's too little too late. "today," friday, october 14th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning. welcome to "today" on a friday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm ann curry. happy friday, everybody. take a look at this, this is the scene in new york city, home of the occupy wall street movement. the protest inspired similar action in at least 190 other cities in the nation. >> at the request of the park's owners the city was prepared to order protesters to temporarily vacate that area so it could be cleared and then cleaned, an idea that immediately drew

resistance and sparked fears of a possible confrontation. this morning the company plans to try to work out a deal with protesters before it begins clearing that park. we'll get the latest in a live report. also ahead this morning we'll switch gears and talk about the desperation now for new leads for the family that missing baby in kansas city. the family is releasing new home videos of the little girl, this as police search a rock quarry near her home, a heartbreaking story. we'll get more details coming up. on a much lighter note her title may be duchz but kate middleton is fast becoming the queen of fashion. we'll look at the impact, her sister pipper -- i knew i'd have trouble with that. >> let's call the whole thing off. >> pippa, even her mom are heading style in the u.s. and how to get your hands on some of the looks they wear even for a little less. >> what's her name again? >> pippa.

>> okay. the showdown averted at the site of the occupy wall street movement here in new york, nbc's mara schiavocampo, good morning. >> reporter: you can hear the celebrations as protesters proclaim victory in their showdown with the parks owners. earlier this morning the deputy mayor's office released a statement saying the parks owners postponed the cleaning because they'd like to come to an arrangement with the park protesters, that means no one will be asked to leave this morning. before that news came out, up to 1,000 protesters gathered in the early hours of the morning to rally against what they called the pretext of an eviction and attempt to silence their voices. the occupy wall street protesters have been here for one month and the city indefinite -- said they could camp out in this private park indefinitely. earlier this week mayor michael bloomberg said they would have

to temporarily leave so it could be cleaned. the owners wanted to power wash it. the protesters said they believe they were trying to be swept out for good. they vow to engage in non-violent disobedience, said they would have to be removed which set up a potential showdown with the offices officers. they have postponed and people are celebrating because it looks like they will not have to leave for now. >> mara, thank you so much. it is 7:04. here's matt. let's turn to politics and the republican presidential race. less than two months ago texas governor rick perry was enjoying a comfortable 15-point lead in the polls, now he finds himself trailing mitt romney and herman cain by a substantial margin. first kelly o'donnell has more on how perry's wife is coming to his defense. >> we've seen the revolving top

spot in the republican field has been so volatile it shows us the nature of this race and no doubt that puts a strain on all of the candidates and their families. what is striking is that governor perry's wife, anita, is talking publicly about the hurt feelings and claims even their christian faith has been a political target. >> hello there. how are you? >> reporter: campaigning in south carolina thursday, anita perry let down her guard. >> it's been a rough month. i don't have to tell you. we have been brutalized and eaten up and chewed up in the press to where, i mean -- >> reporter: it was a gathering of devout christians. she joined in prayer and explained in new detail how god spoke to her first about governor perry getting in the race. >> there was a nagging, pulling at my heart for him to run for president. he didn't want to hear a thing about running for president. >> reporter: the perrys have known each other since childhood, married 29 years. anita says for months she

battled her husband's doubts about running. >> he felt like he needed to see the burning bush. i said, look, let me tell you something, you may not see that burning bush but there are people seeing that burning bush for you. >> reporter: governor perry, who has never lost an election, tumbled from hot front-runner status down 22 points since august in the latest nbc news poll. >> my husband may not be the best debater. we've got a debater-in-chief right now. i think our country needs a leader-in-chief. >> reporter: more than just defend her husband, anita pointed blame. >> i think the debates have been unfair. i think he's been the recipient of arrows. >> reporter: with perry's decline, former pizza executive, author and radio host herman cain is riding high. cain also brought faith and politics together. >> always leave room for the holy spirit. >> reporter: thursday night at ohio christian university he told the audience he's also an

associate baptist minister who prayed about running for president. >> i don't know if i'm the leader that this nation needs at this particular point in our history, but i believe that god almighty knows. >> reporter: another sign of cain's rise, during her south carolina tour, anita perry knocked cain's signature campaign proposal, his 999 tax reform plan. >> when i hear 999, i want to call 911, because it will raise the taxes. >> asked about some of her emotional comments and the things she had to say in the trail later, she said that she didn't expect that it was going to be quite this intense, even though they've been in public life for a very long time. and she says that she empathizes with some of the other candidates and understands that when her husband was on top they all wanted to take a shot at him. matt? >> kelly o'donnell, thank you very much. texas governor rick perry joins us now. governor perry, good morning. good to see you.

>> good morning, matt, how are you? >> doing fine, thanks. we have a lot to talk about. back in august youñi jumped int the race. immediately you had 38% of support from likely primary voters. today that support is at 16%, according to the latest nbc news/"wall street journal" poll. what happened? >> polls are going to go up and down. it's going to be a long race so i don't worry too much about polls. i know a lot of people obsess with them and watch with them and talk about them. i'm more worried about the people out there who don't have a job in america. that's why i'm in pittsburgh today laying out a jobs plan that clearly shows within 100 days when i'm the president of the united states, without having to deal with congress, opening up the federal lands and waters, pulling back those regulations that are killing jobs, and rebuilding the epa, we can do that and get 1.2 million people working. that's what americans are concerned about. >> i want to talk more about your plan, your economic plan in a second. you said polls go up and down

though but you have lost more than half of your support in about a seven-week period and i'm wondering if you think you can put your finger on any particular reason why that's happening. >> well, i've run for office now three times as the governor of the state of texas. my numbers have been up, they've been down and again, i don't worry about those. i go out every day and try to do my job, in this case, laying out a jobs plan so that someone sitting around the living room who doesn't have a job, doesn't have the dignity of a job, knows that there's somebody on that stage that's going to focus on creating the environment where they can get back to work. >> i want to talk about the comments your wife, anita, made on thursday. said you are being "brutalized by your opponents and your own party." do you feel you've been singled out by unfair criticism anything more than the other candidates endured during this primary process? >> family members always take

these campaigns a little more personally than the candidates do. i've been shot at and missed and shot at and hit for 20 years running for public office, and being the chief executive officer of the state of texas, we have our ups and downs, but the fact is those are just distraxs. americans want to hear a conversation who is going to get this country back working again and that's what i'm staying focused on. i hope at 10:00 eastern time this morning that you got cameras there covering a speech that is truly goinging to get america focused on the most important issue of this campaign and that is getting this country back working again. >> we will have cameras there. sorry to keep harping on this but when anita said "so much of it is because i think it's of his faith." i think it's ironic because the can of worms was opened while a

surrogate your campaign saying thaw are a genuine follower of jesus christ and then pastor jeffords went out and said the more man religion is a cult and mitt romney is not a true christian. isn't it a bit hypocritical to say you're being targeted for your faith when it was a surrogate in your campaign who introduced faith in the first place? >> i think it's a stretch to say he was a surrogate. he was picked and made his comments on his own. we have distanced himself from those comments. i clearly said i did not agree with his comments and that stands on its faith. but if we're going to spend the time in the campaign defending what someone who has endorsed us has said out there in the public, president obama is going to spend a lot of time talking about defending people who are saying things about him that he probably doesn't stand by. so again, these are all distractions, matt, and i understand the issue of

distractions. we got to get this country focused on getting back to work. and we're laying out a plan today that does that. >> one of the centerpieces of that plan is energy production, opening up federal lands and waters to energy exploration. that's going to take a long time. the lawsuits alone for that are going to go through courts for years. how is it going to help in the short term getting people back to work? >> well, i'm not sure that you have to have that type of legal system that locks down the opening up of our federal lands and waters. we passed some significant tort reform in texas, i think you need to do that at the federal level to stop that type of activities, shorten the permitting periods of time. what i would do is pull back all of these job killing regulations that that administration has sent forward and sent forward in conjunction with an activist environmental community, working hand in hand with this administration, and also rebuild the epa.

let it become an agency where you clearly have its appropriate role of making decisions between states, if there's conflicts, but allowing those decisions to flow back to the states. i'll promise you, men and women who are in the environmental decisions in the states know better how to take care of those communities, whether it's the air, the water. their kids are living there. it's their future, it's their generations that they're taking care of. >> governor rick perry, governor perry thank you for your time. i appreciate it. i know you're very busy. >> thank you, matt. >> republican presidential hopeful her main cain will be david gregory's guest on sunday on "meet the press." it's 13 after the hour. here's ann. now to california and the deadly shooting rampage at a beauty salon. we're learning more this morning about this alleged gunman and his victims. nbc's kristen dahlgren is in seal beach with more. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. 41-year-old scott decry is

expected to be charged in the massacre later today but here the focus remains on the nine people who were shot and the hundreds who have been coming here to share in their incredible loss. ♪ peace on earth and let it begin with me ♪ >> reporter: at the site of the massacre, residents of the small town held onto each other thursday night, but couldn't hold back their tears. >> this tragedy will not define this city. >> reporter: police say 41-year-old scott decry in full body armor and carrying three weapons opened fire in the crowded salon, killing eight victims but taking much more. >> they're not a number, because everybody's special to me. they were wonderful, wonderful people. >> like 64-year-old dave coquette, simply sitting in his car when he was shot as the gunman fled and randy fannin who owned the salon with his wife sandy, who escaped alive. >> she lost her soulmate, her

partner, her everyday companion. she lost her business partner and lost her employees and her work family, and she's devastated. her dreams are crushed. you know, they were ready to retire, and she's alone. >> reporter: several salon employees were among those killed, christie wilson, a new grandmother with a spunky streak and victoria buzzo whose car still sits in the parking lot. >> she was the life of the party. just inside and out was genuinely an amazing person. >> reporter: victim michelle fournier was a stylist here and also a mother and the ex-wife of the suspect. police say she was his intended target. >> he had threatened to do this a long time ago. >> reporter: those who knew fournier said she and decry were in a custody dispute over their 8-year-old son and had been in court just this week. >> she was frightful of him from the outset. >> reporter: john kate was fournier's attorney and claims a

custody evaluation called a 730 report revealed scott decry suffered from mental illness. >> the 730 confirmed he had been diagnosed previously as bipolar, and he was on medication for that as well. >> reporter: but neighbors of decry can't be believe he could be the suspect they knew, who went to high school in long beach and always went out of his way to help. >> always a nice guy, this say shock. >> reporter: an emotion felt by so many now. >> i have friends that are gone and there's no sense of why they're not here and why we are. ♪ peace on earth >> reporter: a community trying to cope with the senseless, coming together to find whatever comfort they can. now again, decry is expected in court laider toot. he hasn't entered a plea yet. we reached out to his attorney but didn't receive a response. the surviving shooting victim 73-year-old hattie strett but

even as her physical recovery if continues, her emotion aal wille difficult as she lost her daughter. the family of lisa irwin, the baby who vanished from her own crib in kansas city 11 days released new video of that little girl, hoping it sparks new leads in the case. peter alexander has details on that. good morning. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. as you note the irwin family released these home videos hoping they can generate new leads into the case. 11 days into it they show their baby daughter when she's just 2 and 3 months old, already appearing to develop a personality of her own this as investigators in the case appear to be stumped. >> hi, pumpkin pie. >> reporter: they are cherished home videos of little lisa irwin. >> drink your baba. >> reporter: cooing at her

mother, smiling, making precious baby talk. >> what are you doing? >> reporter: in this youtube clip seen with the words "daddy loves me" on her bib. these just released videos are all taken between january and march of this year show an adorable little girl who turned 11 months old this week. but is still the focus of an exhaustive 11-day search. teams of investigators once again hiked through a heavily wooded area, roughly a half mile from the irwin family home thursday. another painstaking hunt for clues in the increasingly mysterious disappearance of baby lisa. an fbi evidence truck was seen leaving the site of a nearby rock quarry, unclear if it contains anything significant. authorities admit heading into the second weekend they have no suspects and no strong leads. the latest searches come as kansas city, the nation's 37th largest city, swore in a new police chief.

to the people of kansas city that are worried right now someone is out there taking babies, what do you say to them? >> kansas city is a safe place to live. >> reporter: not to worry? >> don't worry at all. >> reporter: experts tell us authorities likely aren't sharing everything. >> whoever is responsible for the disappearance of this little girl is watching the media every day, so it's always incumbent upon the police and fbi to hold back information. >> reporter: lisa's parents, jeremy irwin deborah bradley were seen thursday picking up mail from their now empty home. they haven't spoken publicly in exactly one week. >> look at that messy baby. >> reporter: the irwin family hopes sharing the new video also return the spotlight to their infant daughter and help bring her home. investigators tell nbc news they have received now more than 500 useful tips. they have checked out almost all of them and matt still no strong leads. >> peter alexander in kansas city for us this morning, peter, thank you very much.

>> all right, now let's get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories from natalie morales. trouble in the sky as a government watchdog reports a sharp uptick in errors by air traffic controllers in recent years. mistakes at radar facilities within 30 miles of an airport have doubled. runway incursions increased about the same amount since 2008. the federal aviation administration chalked up the increases to better error reporting. it was a soggy night in our nation's capital but even theçó rain couldn't dampen the pomp of a white house state dinner in honor of south korea's president. they toasted the passage of a trade deal that could protect thousands of american jobs. today president owe ba in a and president li talk about the trade agreement. the accident was caught on camera as the plane took a nose

dive. luckily the pilot ejected and parachuted safely to the ground, no injuries reported and the pilot is doing fine. and the iphone 4s launches today. fans have been lining up at apple stores worldwide, first in line at an apple store in lo los gatos, california, steve wozniak. he and steve jobs started the company in a garage in 1976. he can have anything he wants from apple but weianted to get s along with the millions of fans. >> apparently he turned his back to the camera as soon as he got there. >> should have gotten me one as well. >> i'm sure he could hook you up. >> get the entire "today" show staff one steve. we have a lot of rain in the northeast, maybe some possible flash flooding in northern new england. we have that rain working its way up thanks to the low pressure area, frontal system

making its way up, western new york seeing windy conditions, the rain pinwheeling around the storm system. some will get heavy at times, rainfall amounts one to three inches over the next 24 hours back to the >> good morning, everyone. the further we go into the morning, the better the chance some of this rain will catch up to us. showers will go through the evening. temperatures will be mild. we expect >> and that's your latest weather. matt? >> al thank you very much. >> coming up the man arrested for hacking the phones and, mails of stars like scarlet joe

hanson and mila kuhnis, says once he starte

coming uppity latest on the florida bride convicted of trying to hire a hitman to kill her husband. we'll hear from him. plus how you can dress like kate -- >> pippa -- >> and their mom after the local news. >> or peepa. for 3 days, it's been 3 weeks. so, i used my citi simplicity card to pick up a few things. and i don't have to worry about a late fee. which is good... no! bigger! bigger! [ monica ] ...because i don't think we're going anywhere for a while. [ male announcer ] write your story with the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. get started at citisimplicity.com.

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. here's a look at one of our top stories. a missing maryland boy's stepfather is behind bars, charged in the death of william mcquain's mother. jane mcquain was found dead in her germantown home, and william has not been seen in the past

two weeks. if you have information on his whereabouts, call montgomery county police. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> we are still dealing with an accident on the ramp from outer loop to northbound 83 taking up the right lane. left lane squeezing by only. delays since then from harvard road to the outer loop north side. 18 miles per hour on the west side. in westminster, route 97 and old hanover road, watch for an accident. westbound route 40, patapsco river bridge, causing problems. two accidents coming into us on northbound 97, one from the ramp on westbound 50 on june 97. another one for the north at benfield boulevard. on the ramp to northbound 83 from the outer loop, coming towards us is out of traffic. the right lane is closed. here is what it looks like

tanyard road. inner loop accident. -- york road, inner loop accident. >> we have been at dry through the morning commute, but that is about to change. showers in d.c., a frederick county, parts of carroll county. this is moving to the north, northeast. once it arrives at your house, it bostick around off and on today. -- it will stick it around off and on today. things were clear up over the weekend. when the day tomorrow. high near 68. reagan'

7:30 now on a friday morning. it's the 14th of october, 2011. the weekend almost here, and despite some rain overnight we have a terrific crowd lining rockefeller plaza and in just a little bit we'll go out there and give them all bear hugs, right? >> we have major lightning and thunder last night, it was crazy. >> i know, yet they're exuberant out there. i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer. just ahead a tough subject, a story that's made headlines across the country, a woman married for six months caught on

tape paying an undercover police officer we're told that she thought was a hitman to kill her husband. the latest on this case coming up straight ahead. also did you know americans are now eating about twice as much salt as we actually need? one of the main culprits happens to be restaurant food, coming up healthier alternatives to some of the biggest defenders, including one breakfast meal that's equal to nearly three dozen strips of bacon. what's your point? also we'll be talking about the middletons. a lot of people are wanting to look like them. they are the big, hottest thing going on in the fashion world, the duchess of cambridge and also pippa. we'll be checking out their influence on designers why and how we can maybe buy some of their looks for less this morning. >> by the way a programming note, coming up on monday on the show we have a big announcement.

♪ da, da, da >> what's all we're going to say? >> that's it. a new story about this half hour a man accused of hacking into the e-mail accounts and cell phones of hollywood celebrates and now he is speaking out. nbc's lilia luciano is in jacksonville, florida. >> reporter: 35-year-old christopher cheney says his fascination for hollywood celebrities is what led to his downfall. once he caught a glimpse of the lives of the stars he couldn't stop but now wants to apologize for his actions. christopher cheney's under house arrest at his mother's home. federal investigators say he hacked into computers and cell phones of more than 50 people, including celebrities like scarlet johansson, mila kunis, christina aguilera, spying on their most intimate moments.

now cheney is talking about the alleged hack attack, explaining his actions to the local fox affiliate waws in jacksonville thursday. >> it started as curiosity and turned into being addicted to seeing behind the scenes what was going on behind the people you see on the big screen every day. >> reporter: cheney said it was such a thrill he couldn't stop. he told waws "i know what i did was one of the deepest invasions of privacy anyone can experience. i'm not trying to escape what i did. i have to face that and deal with it and go forward." investigators say cheney hacked into the accounts by scanning magazines, websites, twitter and facebook for information about celebrities and used it to figure out their passwords. johansen spoke about the hacking last month on cnn. >> just because you're in the spotlight or actor or make films doesn't mean you're not entitle

to your own personal privacy. >> reporter: cheney never intended to sell any of the information or photos to anyone. he just wanted a glimpse into the super secret world of celebrities. >> no matter how rich or how famous who uses a computer can be a potential victim. >> reporter: at the home of cheney's family thursday night an apology note from cheney himself asking for privacy from the media. he wrote in part "i understand you're only doing your jobs. i do not resent this or blame the media for trying to get the "hot" story. i deserve this. my family and neighbors do not." asking for privacy, something investigators say the suspect had no problem taking away from others. if convicted on all 26 counts, cheney could face up to 121 years in prison. he has a court hearing later today which means at any point he could walk out of this house this morning. ann? >> thank you so much, lilia

luciano. another case that has drawn nationwide attention. a new bride in florida accused of hiring a hitman to kill her husband but her accomplice was actually an undercover agent and the entire sting was caught on videotape. dennis murphy has the latest on this. dennis, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. for people following in this notoriously not so happy couple the news is they finally had gotten a divorce in the last few days. by the time this case went to a jury it wasn't clear whether this was an attempted murder or botched attempt to get on a reality tv show. dahlia depolito plead the not guilty to attempted murder. dalia sitting in a car rigged for pictures and sound passing over a downpayment to a man she thinks would gun down her husband, mike. the hitman was actually an undercover officer with the boynton beach police department.

dalia had walked into a scheme. a few days later officers delivered bad news to dalia outside her home. >> sorry to tell you ma'am he's been killed. >> reporter: the husband michael was very much alive and already down at the police station when they brought in dalia for questioning. >> i didn't do anything. >> reporter: a bewildered michael was watching a video feed from another woman. >> i'm thinking in my head i'm lucky but i'm so screwed. the worst day in the world. >> you're going to jail for the first-degree solicitation of the murder of your husband. >> reporter: she was hand cuffed, placed under arrest and walked a ghost but not at all dead michael in the doorway. >> oh my god. >> they say you know this guy? i'm standing there probably from twice the distance of us. >> i didn't do anything to you.

mike, come here, please. come here. >> and that's when she says "come here, i love you, i love you." i told her look i can't. you can't fix this. >> reporter: the videos of dalia trying to arrange a hit were long out on youtube before a jury ever got the case. that's when her defense lawyer mounted the snooki defense, this was all a rous, so lame brain that someone would put them on a reality show. the prosecutor in closing told the jury there was only one reality show here and that was dalia in the car paying for what she thought would be the murder of her husband. >> she's shameless about the way that she uses her sexual power to get what she wants. >> reporter: the jury funound h guilty as charged. the judge called her pure evil and sentenced her to 20 years. were you ever able to step out

and look at the situation and say i can't believe this is happening to me. >> i do it every day. i still do it. >> reporter: dalia's lawyers intend to file an appeal of that conviction and in a move that surprised some people the judge allowed her to post a $500,000 bond, that means she's out of jail and under house arrest at her mother's place which is only a few blocks away from her ex-husband. >> that doesn't sound like the best idea. dennis murphy, thank you very much. dennis coming to us from florida this morning. you can see more of his report on a special "dateline" tonight at 9:00, 8:00 central on nbc. let's get a check of the weather from al. >> thanks so much, matt. cloudy skies, looking at rain later. nothing like the wild weather in louisa, virginia. they had a tornado come through, rip the roof off some buildings. folks stuck on i-95 had to deal with rough traffic to talk about. louisa last month having that earthquake so they've had some rough weather over the last month or so.

let's check your weather and see what's happening for the weekend. you got rain around the great lakes, also in the northern plains, southern two-thirds of the country, sunny and warm, then sunday, sunday! we're looking at more sunshine in new england. heavy rain down in southern florida, the heat continues from the gulf and southwest, more showers through the inner mountain region looking at maybe some snow by sunday. >> good morning, everyone. rain showers will be likely today as we head into the afternoon hours, some of the rain could be on the heavy side. good idea to take an umbrella. high temperatures between >> if it's friday it's the weekend and if it's the weekend, that means only one thing, the

best night in the week, it's sunday night football night in america! this is a good one, we've got the vikings coming in to soldier field, partly cloudy, cool, temperatures mid to upper 50s as they take on the bears on sunday night football night in america! matt? >> all right, al, thank you very much. up next, the restaurant dish loaded with the same amount of salt as five, count 'em, full sized bags of potato chips. we'll help you make some healthier choices, right after this. one. two. and, three. [ male announcer ] with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, earn more cash back for the things you buy most. 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% cash back on groceries. 3% back on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. it's as easy as one. -two. -three.

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quilted northern soft & strong. protection for a confident clean or your money back. why don't we make a pumpkin? what do pumpkins look like? like this. you're my pumpkin. i made a bat! i made a sword. [ laughs ] ♪ you're going to love those. [ female announcer ] carve out some time with your little pumpkins. boo! boo! boo! [ female announcer ] rice krispies. happy halloween. back now at 7:43, this morning on "eat this, not that" avoiding restaurant meals loaded with salt, a high sodium diet can wreak havoc on your blood pressure and the more salty foods you eat the more you crave. dave zenko is the author of "eat

this, not that 2012: the no diet weight loss solution" and here to give us advice. good morning. >> good morning, ann. >> you are the salt of the earth, a man worth his salt. now you'll tell us what's wrong with salt. >> the problem, your high blood pressure is not your fault. only 10% of the salt ir'consuming is coming from your salt shaker. 80% is coming from food processors with the biggest culprit being restaurants. we only need 1200 to 1400 a day. we're averaging 3,400 milligrams of sodium a day. >> we're going to start with the restaurants the major culprit, the first is the chili cheese nachos at applebee's a sodium calamity. >> the appetizer that helps your cardiology afford his house in aruba. the problem here is that we've got 1,680 calories. it's got 4,270 milligrams of

sodium. this would be in, are you ready, the sodium equivalent of these 18 1/2 orders of taco bell's cheesy nachos. right here. the problem is that's a perfect storm. everything is salty there, the tortilla chips, salsa, the cheese. >> 1,680 calories. >> you're better off with the southern barbecue wings, neither salty nor sweet which means you are going to be adding 1,000 fewer calories to your waistline and 3,000 fewer milligrams of sodium straining your heart. >> who would have thunk it, this is better for you salt wise than this one. >> here's the thing i'd rather eat the wings. >> okay, so that's at least finally some good news for you. it's about time. at ihop you take a look at the thick cut bone and ham eggs. >> yes, arteries are getting nervous just looking at it. this is -- >> tell me why that is bad. >> 3,000 milligrams of sodium,

two to three days' worth for breakfast, this would be the sodium equivalent of these 32 strips nearly three dozen strips of bacon. this is just the stuff that you should know. this is why we have eat this, not that so you know the stuff going into the restaurants. >> so we can eat this instead of this. >> well no, not all 32. you can have a couple but you can eat this here. this right here is the fit turkey bacon omelet with fresh fruit so it's 400 calories, so you're saving 700 and you're saving almost 4,000 milligrams of sodium and the fruit is providing sodium neutralizing potassium. >> very good. i'm apparently loving talking to you too much because i'm going too slowly. we only have a minute net. p.j. chang's noodles. >> pack your ace inhibitioorinhe equivalent to 600 ruffles. get the garlic noodles, 700

calories, you'll save 1,000 and also saving 6,500 milligrams of sodium. that is like a week's worth of sodium. the fact that a restaurant could do that is amazing to me. >> finally at chilies, looking at the jalapeno smokehouse bacon burger. >> it's 6,600 milligrams of sodium, the equivalent of six and a half big macs. if you want a burger go to chili, on your way stop at mcdonald's, eat a big mac, then go to chili's and order the caribbean salad with chicken. you're still saving thousands of milligrams of sodium and a bunch of calories. >> dave -- >> did it in a minute. >> no more salty snacks for us. you did a great job. alarming new video of the dangerous distractions teenage drivers face behind the wheel, right after this. doorbusters this friday and saturday. save 60% off coats for her and him.

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car crashes are the leading cause of deaths for teenagers. new research is providing real insight into how and when teens are most likely to be involved in an accident. nbc's tom costello has the details on this. good morning. >> reporter: hey, matt. this is kind of interesting, the statistics say that within the first month of driving, teenagers are at a greatly increased risk of having an accident. that's what happened to me, 16 years old, two weeks after i got my license, i had an accident. a week later i had another accident. it's a wonder my parents didn't take my license away. from the aaa foundation, new teenage drive cam video of a teen blowing through a stop and into a left-hand turn. >> the shoe boxes -- >> reporter: another teen blowing through a stop sign into a right-hand turn. ♪ speeding through a school zone. >> whoa, don't hit me car. >> reporter: even texting with mom in the car. >> don't text while you're driving. >> reporter: whether it's loud

music, conversation, texting or phone calls, researchers say distraction is the biggest problem for teen drivers, who all too often act completely differently once parents are no longer along for the ride. >> but as soon as that parent leaves the car and the child starts driving by themselves, the risks jump up dramatically. >> reporter: add another teen to the car and things can get dicey. parents, look at this. teen drivers are 50% more likely to crash in the first month of having a license than after a full year of experience. and 57% of crashes in which a teen was at least partially responsible involved three common mistakes, failure to reduce speed, inattention and failure to yield. this nighttime video shows a teen so distracted he drives down the middle of the road. the same teen later takes off his seatbelt to grab something out of his bag and listen to the passenger in this car. >> stop. >> reporter: no stopping in light rain she keeps going.

>> teenagers have this feeling that nothing is going to happen to them. >> reporter: veteran miami-dade police sergeant david greenwald see it is everything day. >> there's nothing more difficult than having to handle a fatal crash and then going to the house and telling a parent that their teenager was killed in a car crash. >> reporter: there is good news, after a sharp two-year learning curve, teen drivers do tend to become much better drivers, but as in everything else, practice, especially with an adult, makes perfect. speeding and drinking remain very big factors in the number of people who do die. matt, back to you. >> tom costello thanks. we're back after your local news. like this. you're my pumpkin. i made a bat! i made a sword. [ laughs ] ♪ you're going to love those. [ female announcer ] carve out some time with your little pumpkins. boo! boo! boo!

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> still tracking a handful problems around de area. the one that has been there all morning is northbound 83. jackknifed tractor-trailer and fuel spill. left lane and squeezing by only. you can see the impact it is having. southbound 95 approaching

moravia road. this one is clear on westbound 40. patapsco river bridge. hanover. -- ridge road remains closed at hanover. also won at benfield boulevard. we will get you up-to-date on what is going on on this route to northbound 88. take york road as your alternate. this is the top side. this is the delay in the outer loop going away from us. tony, over to you. >> we got through most of the morning commute without any rain. showers are moving from the south and west. a few sprinkles in the city. howard and carroll counties, that is moving to the east. in harford county on the eastern shore, at not winning yet, but it will be in the next hour or so. rainshowers likely for the rest of the day. high temperatures 78, 75.

through the weekend, not bad. windy tomorrow for the baltimore running festival. some of you may have to run against the wind, but at least it will be dry. ravens game on sunday, looks good in the afternoon. next chance for rain tuesd

8:00 now on a friday morning. it's the 14th day of october, 2011. kind of a nasty day here in new york city. it's overcast, it looks like about 7:00 at night, a little rain in the air but we have a huge crowd gathered at rockefeller plaza. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry, and al roker and the music in the background reminding you that a week from today we've got coldplay performing in concert out on our plaza, that should be a great

show. if you're in the area come on down and check that out. speaking of hits from the uk, coming up in this half hour we'll talk about the middletons. >> no kidding, kate and -- >> pippa. >> pippa and their mom. apparently their looks are affordable if you know where to look. we have an expert who has found a way to buy it for less. later on a radical way to educate your kids. it's called unschooling, because it involves no structured education, kids learn at home what they want, when they want, no test, no homework. why wasn't this around when we were going to school. we're going to look at the pros and cons. >> is it controversial, though? it's got to be, right? we'll find out. a lot to get to. natalie is standing by at the news desk with all of the headlines. >> good morning matt, ann and al. occupy wall street protesters won a reprieve this morning. demonstrators have been told they would have to temporarily

leave their camp and a private park so it could be cleaned. many feared it was a pretext to evict them and vowed to hold their ground. this morning the park's owners postponed the cleanup and some protesters staged a small victory march down wall street and gathered under the stock exchange. several arrests were made. the suspect in wednesday's hair salon massacre in southern california has a court appearance today. 41-year-old scott decry shot eight people to death including his ex-wife, and left one woman critically wounded. the wife's former attorney claims decry was diagnosed as bipolar and had been on medication. a connecticut jury will have to decide if a pa pa roled burglar should be executed for murdering a woman and her two daughters during a 2007 home invasion. joshua komisarjevsky was convicted of all charges thursday. the victims had been tied up and molested before their house was set on fire. the lone survivor, dr. william petit, called thursday's verdict

a relief. the pentagon denies that defense secretary leanne panetta wants to keep extra surge troops in afghanistan beyond next summer as president obama planned. panetta told a house committee thursday the initial 10,000 surge troops will leave by the end of this year as scheduled but the remaining 23,000 will depart by the end of the fighting season next year, which some say could extend into next fall. now let's head to wall street, cnbc's courtney reagan is at the stock exchange. >> downgrade is the unfortunate theme of today. standard and poor's is downgrading its rating an spain's ability to pay its long-term debt amid uncertainty and sluggish growth and separately rating agency fitch downgraded its credit rating on ubs and puts seven other banks on credit watch negative including morgan stanley, bank of america and goldman sachs. meantime internet darling google reported strong earnings that could help give tech a little

bit of a boost in today's trading. >> hope for a good day. courtney reagan at the new york stock exchange thank you. let's look at "what's trending today" what has you talking online. tmz reports that singer whitney houston got her diva on and almost got kicked off a flight wednesday when she refused to fasten her seat belt. she eventually gave in letting a crew member do it for her. kim kardashian is in dubai shopping for burqas. she and her mother chris jenner have been tweeting about the beautiful women in dubai. kids these days to them a magazine is nothing but a broken ipad. this 1-year-old has gone viral on youtube, a whiz with her dad's ipad, swiping and tapping the screen to navigate as you see there. the problem is her techniques don't quite work on the old-fashioned paper magazine. darned thing must need a reboot. she's a cutie. 8:04, straight to al with a

check of your weather. >> you're going to be walking the avon walk for breast cancer this weekend? >> yes, we are walking saturday morning, 26.2 miles and on sunday 13.1. >> reporter: that's great. >> all for breast cancer. >> the weather should be good for you. and we've got girl scouts over here from middle, tennessee. what was the chant you guys were just doing? ♪ we got cookies >> they've got cookies, we'll check those out. let's check your weather, see what's happening. anchorage alaska, nbc 2, rain, cool, 48 degrees. we've got chilly weather in northern new england and across the plains, 40s and 50s. 90s down in the southwest, looking pretty good there during the day today, lots of heavy rain in the northeast. showers back through the plains, we got sunny skies through the southern tier states. that's what's ie >> good morning, everyone. the further we go into the

morning, the better the chance some of this rain will catch up to us. showers will go through the evening. temperatures will be mild. we expect >> joplin strong, our friends in missouri, all right. mr. lauer? >> al, thank you very much. when we come back, kate and pippa and their impact on fashion right after this. get your cash back! oh, hi. which cash back booth looks better to you, chase freedom or the largest cashback card? oh, i'll try the largest. oh, that is too bad. apparently you don't know chase freedom guarantees you 1% cash back. 4 times more than the largest cash back card, which only gives you a quarter percent until you spend $3,000 every year.

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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. back now at 8:09 with the middleton effect. it seems that everything kate, her sister and her mother wear, everyone wants. here's nbc's michelle kosinski. >> reporter: you might call it the middleton effect and it goes something like this. if you made it and the duchess of cambridge wears it, you will likely soon be inundated if not everywhelmed by orders. that engagement dress, bam, sold out in a flash everywhere. this basic top crashed the maker's website with women clamoring to have it. a simple dress by reese languishing on racks before but the minute it met kate and the obamas it disappeared.

catherine is single handedly with sparking a craze for nude panty hose and the new lk benity pumps soon you couldn't find them in stock anywhere. amazing for the fashion industry. >> all of the sudden all the girls are wearing newt pumps on the feet. you see them still in the middle of winter with black tights which doesn't necessarily works so time to drop the nude pumps. >> reporter: none of these are expensive items but what she touches turns to retail cold. look at this wolford ad not showing ad in wolford clothes, it's just her style, their advertising. now that is fashion power. in fact, now all of the middleton women, whether it's kate's hair, pippa's curves or mom carol's elegance, are becoming real role models of conservative, regal, albeit safe beauty.

>> they're dressing in a very tame, elegant way they're covered up, they look good. >> reporter: what fashion truths are the sudden style goddesses teaching us? that simple can be fabulous. conservative is sexy. taking care of yourself shows. yes, they are millionaires but you know what? they don't like to spend a fortune on their wardrobes, they wear the same things over again and like to shop in some of the least expensive stores like this one. there are dresses in there for 30 bucks. the future queen herself has been known to hit the dressing rooms with everyone else, even use discount cards. hey if the result is looking like this, these ladies are emerging as icons of class, but doesn't shout or brag, but speaks to women of all ages. ♪ you can leave your hat on >> reporter: and you don't need a red maple leaf fascinator to pull it off. for "today," michelle kosinski,

nbc news, london. >> zana roberts is the senior editor for "marie claire." >> good morning. >> thank goodness we've drawn the line at fascinators. >> oh my goodness but we are on the nude panty hose. >> i've been around so long maybe this is a sign of how old i am i'm still wearing them from the first trend. >> it's an elegant sophisticated way. sales are up 85% in the uk. >> fingernail polish even? come on, who is looking at kate's fingernails when she was getting married? >> this color by esse and called allure. it's the full basic elegance sophisticated kate >> kate was wearing a red laced dress that was such a big hit, and now that there are a lots and lots of mock-ups. >> a couple of weeks ago she wore it to a friend's wedding. this is a french connection version $168.

kate wore a beautiful dress, but this is also a great option. >> a lot of the ideas they're wearing are cool enough or at least you can find them for a lot less money including these kind of ankle boots that what pippa wears? >> pippa wears. pippa is more adventurous with her fashion, she wears these with the cute dress answer gives her an edge, aldo, 130. >> also using a more conservative basic bag. >> more conservative basic bag. pippa has three jobs, she's a busy working woman, sheed needs big bag moving forward for fall. >> pippa made a lot of headlines with the red dress she weerecen wore and it inspired this version. >> absolutely. she wore a temli dress, but we have this fabulous fabiano dress and the sickle down is insane. >> that also you would think a red dress, a black tie kind of

dress would be a lot of money. you can get this for under $300. >> $240, faviana. pippa can wear things tighter, skimpy, shorter, pushes it more than kate. >> you can't tell in the back, it actually has a big jut kout. i'm sure the props people are going crazy. >> they are sweating. >> they are sweating. also mom carol is making a splash with the little coats which seem smart. >> she's owning the dress coat. she's 56 years old, extremely elegant and frump free. this is a great fall trend. wearing it as a dress make sure it hits the thigh the right way. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. coming up next the radical form of education, where kids decide what they learn and when they learn it, but is it for your family? that's right after this. at the jcpenney...big as it gets sale, save big... ...with night and day doorbusters this friday and saturday.

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smooth and icy caramel or mocha blended just for you and topped with a decadent drizzle. "me time"! [ male announcer ] the simple joy of a frappé. ♪ this morning on education nation today a radical form of learning, called unschooling where kids receive no structured education at all. here's nbc's mara schiavocampo. >> i like this neighborhood. >> reporter: the bentleys are getting settled in milpitamilpi california. good schools are steps from their home. >> i like it at home because it's a safe environment. >> reporter: the closest they come to schools is walking past them. >> i get to learn whatever i want whenever i want. >> reporter: parents lisa and greg bentley believe in something called unschooling. even though they graduated at the top of their high school

class their daughters, zeoe and teagan have never stepped foot in a traditional school. the girls are their own teachers. >> i consider myself a facilitator of my children's education, facilitating our children's learning bringing the world to them and them to the world without the constraints of a school building. >> reporter: zoe and teagan are among the estimated 2 million children considered homeschooled in this country, but unlike traditional home schooling with unschooling, there are no lesson plans, no tests, no rules, and it's all legal. >> the premise of unschooling is that parents have the right to determine how their children should be educated. the degree to which unschooling is regulated will vary state to state in general there is less rather than more regulation. >> reporter: while kids across america are inside learning the fundamentals -- >> this mountain range overlooks the city of milpitas,

california. >> reporter: the bentleys are out, exploring the geography around them, traveling is considered a big part of the learning process. >> really big. >> reporter: back at the house, no homework pressure, instead of a book report, 15-year-old zoe an aspiring nasa scientist is working on her website about the geology of planets. 11-year-old teagan is mastering puzzles and multitasking. >> so 15. >> reporter: and later, me measurements instead of multiplication for the fashion enthusiast. >> because you're not in school learning doesn't mean you're not learning at all. learning means is that you pick up new skills, i find out more information. you can talk to people, search for things on the internet. anything at all. >> we're trying to show them how to learn for themselves and how to actually find their own goals and accomplish those goals. >> reporter: experts estimate that kids numbering in the tens of thousands are setting their own unschooling curriculum, full of discovery and research, but

free of regimented report cards and grade point averages, and they say that could be a troubling equation. >> there's any number of concerns you might have about unschooling. we don't have metrics, the children don't get assessed regularly so we don't know the kids are learning what they need to master. parents may not necessarily be effective educators. >> reporter: the bentleys say they don't need tests to see results. for their family, unschooling is never less, always more. >> unschooling is about doing as much as possible, you never stop learning. you can learn from anything, anyone, anywhere. >> reporter: for "today," mara schia schiavocampo, nbc, new york. >> robin silverman, an expert in child schooling, good morning to you. unschooling in my house would go as as well as unbathing. what do parents need to consider? >> you need to know their child, are they self-motivated,

self-propelled individual learners that get up in the morning and go for it and also know yourself. that parent needs to be involved, just because you're doing unschooling doesn't mean hands off. it means you get more involved. >> as i was watching that piece, two things kept jumping into my mind. one is if these kids aren't assessed, in other words, there are no tests. >> right. >> how do we ever judge them and compare them to students their own age? >> well, we know these children. the parents know these children, how are they learning? are they getting into the mix of things. but we don't know, are there going to be gaps in their education in the fundamentals? we don't know. if there's going to be a socialization issue, unless you get them into into scouts, into martial arts >> that's with homeschooling in general. i'm talking about the lack of structure in unschooling and what happens, do these kids not want to attend college or what happens when it becomes time to apply to college, what do they use as a record?

>> um-hum. they are using their resume, their life and learning resume, rather than a transcript. what have they been doing while their peers have been in school, and many of these kids will go on to college. they will go on to higher learning, and they will have to jump through the same hoops, the s.a.t.s, the placement tests as everybody else. >> and having never taken tests during their high school and junior high school careers is that going to be harder for them. >> it's not always the case they haven't taken tests. some supplement their learning with structured classes but some will have to learn to take tests. >> the idea that travel is often a very big part of this learning well that means to me that this is for wealthier people, because a lot of people who are of a lower economic status cannot afford to travel and take time off work to tour their kids around. >> it's an interesting thing, because parents do need to have somebody who is going to be home and going to be involved in this child's learning. you can't just put a child in front of a computer and say go

for it. you need to be out, ready to get your hands dirty and take that path less traveled. >> what do parents need to know about state by state regulations that might govern this? >> there's future state regulations that say you have to do this. you have to be tested and that's one of the problems here. so they need to know what is required of them at the end of the day, but many of them are, many of the states aren't requiring specific things. >> people are going to be talking about this, a lot opposed to it but others who say if it motivates my child and makes them more interested in the world around them, then maybe it's a good thing. >> the passions are fostered here and that's something we can all learn then, can't we? >> robyn silverman thank you very much. i appreciate it. >> thank you. just ahead the best hotels, cities and airlines in the world voted on by the experts. that's you, after your local news.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's get a final check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> still dealing with a lot of delays out there. 95, southbound objection, approaching moravia road. down to 21 miles per hour behind it. north side jammed up. that delay begins from belair to the harrisburg expressway. bucktown incident on i-83 --

northbound incident on i-83. pedestrian-and off accident at reisterstown. further south, watch for a crash at 95 and 100. ridge road remains closed in and over at stone castle drive. here is the ramp to 93 with the right lane closure on the outer loop. white marsh area, off ramp to westbound white marsh, accident on the right shoulder. tony has a check on a forecast. >> so far we have been lucky as far as the rainbows. even if it is not raining at your house right now, you can expected to be shortly. showers in carroll county, howard county, frederick county, all moving to the east. off and on rainshowers. there could be an embedded thunderstorms in there. temperatures will be mild, at least. we will make it into the low seventies this afternoon. looking pretty good for the

weekend. when the day tomorrow, but sunny. upper 6 sar around 70. if you are going to the ravens game, it will be a good one. >> another update at 8:55. [ female announcer ] this is trish.

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8:350 on a friday morning, the 14th of october, 2011. it is not the prettiest morning weather wise here in the northeast, but look at all these pretty people waving at their families and friends back home and meantime we hope the weekend will clear up the weather looks

great for the people here. i'm ann curry with matt lauer and al roker and natalie morales. i have to say hello to this baby. we need to do this. this is your morning moment of zen. there you go. okay, now, we're going to be talking about travel -- zhow is she doing well? >> she's doing well. she's starting on her next round of treatment. >> i love this segment every year, the reader's choice awards for comcast traveler magazine, going to be talking about the top city in the country around the world, the top hotels, top airlines, things like that. we'll get the results coming up in a couple of minutes. >> we'll have some foul weather coming in, in the next seven days or so. we're going to show you how to put some new twist on some classic fall comfort foods. >> all right. speaking of comfort foods who here makes a mean meatball? >> i do. >> al does. you do? >> i bet you do, natalie you're

a good cook. >> i'm a classic meat ball kind of girl. i don't mix the meats. if you think you make a mean me meatba meatball, enter our website and submit your recipe with a photo of your dish and you could have a chance to make it for us live here on "today." >> all right, awesome. switching gears, al did you happen to notice jay leno caught up with your interview with the first lady and apparently he thought it was a total knockout. take a look. >> al was talking to her about her whole exercise workout program. i don't think she liked some of al's questions. take a look. >> are jumping jacks your exercise of choice? >> you know i do everything, i mean jumping jacks, squats, lunges, a little bit of boxing. >> does the president have to worry about the boxing part? >> sometimes when he sees me punches of kind of it shall -- >> ugh! >> how is your jaw by the way?

>> and she did not pull that either. >> that was good. >> and you don't swing back on the first lady. >> you don't. you know she's got secret service backup. wow. >> i like the look on her face after, like uh-oh. >> i don't know how they do that. >> amazing. meantime -- >> see if you can write yourself and give us a weather forecast. >> check it out. i thought she liked me. anyway for the weekend, for tomorrow we got rain in new england, the great lakes, also inland and the pacific northwest, southern two-thirds of the country looking sunny and warm. sunday, sunday! we're looking at sunshine in northern new england, heavy rain down in central and southern florida, more rain through the inner mountain regions, otherwise nice weather through the southern tth >> good morning, everyone. rain showers will be likely today as we head into the afternoon hours, some of the

rain could be on the heavy side. good idea to take an umbrella. high temperatures between >> as you get into the weekend, check your weather on the weather channel or weather.com online. now let's head on down to d.c. and say hello to uncle willie. hello. >> how sweet it is. a little birthday cake, a little ice cream. i used to love breyer's. i think they sell that all over the country, here in this area, good old homemade ice cream. look at edna. edna landis of mannheim, pennsylvania. like the mannheim band.

i like that. 107. enjoys taking good care of her crafts, activity and loves to play cards and she is a champion, i mean a champion at cribbage. we have joseph klein, sarasota, florida, 100 years old, loves, i mean enjoys growing all kinds of orchards. he is a big orchard. secret to longevity is loving everybody and loving his beautiful wife. how sweet. how fortunate the man is. and so is she. edith pearson, albert city, iowa, 103 years old. still has all kinds of wonderful memory and her memory is so incredible it amazes her family, and loves to bake cinnamon rolls. my favorite in the whole world, hot cinnamon rolls and cold milk. william stearns, towson, maryland, just up the road from

us, baltimore, 100 years old, proud ww ii veteran and loves to go out and enjoy his garden and life. chesapeake bay i'll be over tomorrow morning. i love the name bennie and here is bennie, not jack but genie wa watanabe from wheat ridge, colorado, a former, i believe successful christian missionary all over the world and loves to teach the bible. good old charlie, charles krenzer from fremont, nebraska, 100 years old today loves to play cards and eat fresh veggies, and he is a fine man of class. how about that. that's it. that's all from washington at this time. >> all right, thanks so much, willard. coming up next, the best of the best when it comes to

travel. conde nast reader's travel rewards right here on "today" on nbc. ♪ [ female announcer ] have you ever seen a glacier while sunbathing? why not? have you ever climbed a rock wall in the middle of the ocean? or tried something really wild? why not? it's all possible in the nation of why not.

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♪ roll if you want to it's 8:38, this morning on "today's travel" this morning conde nast traveler asks to rate thousands of cities and much more. lisa gill, good to see you. good morning. >> good morning. >> year to year do you find readers change their opinions much or do we see a lot of the same properties at the top? >> this is the 24th year of the reader's choice awards and the cream of the crop always rises to the top but we have a lot of newcomers to the list, means our readers are really going out there. >> look at the top city in the world as voted on by your readers, number one choice takes us down under, sydney,

australia. >> sydney has been the top city in the world for 16 years and there's a really good reason. what's there not to like? it's sophisticated, international, even edgy. beach lovers have 37 beaches to choose from, a thriving arts community, architects have stuff, diet, unparalleled. >> people want to book their trip to sydney, the seasons are reverse in australia. >> the seasons are reversed our winter months are their summer months. there's no bad time to go. it's a temperate climate, winter temperatures rarely go below 50 degrees. >> sop city in the united states, the last couple of years san francisco, different this year. >> charleston, south carolina, always hovered in the top ten. we think friendliness is the key. southern hospitality goes a long way. >> there's an old world charm. >> it balances the old world and modern. it has a thriving dining scene.

high end dining to dockside oyster roasts. the entertaining is wonderful, at night beautiful strunts with live performances on the weekends. you have a lot to do. >> san francisco didn't disappear, they came in at number two, santa fe, new mexico number three. top hotel in the world this one in shanghai, it's the ritz-carlton and this property almost had a perfect show. >> ritz-carlton shanghai pudong scored perfectly for rooms, locations and decor. you can't be beat. pudong fantastic part, it's very commercial and financial center, and also the rooms themselves have fantastic views looking over the river into the historic land. >> let's look at hotels in the united states, what was tops here? >> chicago, illinois, the elysian is only 2 years old,

fantastically located on the gold coast. >> food is a big part of its appeal. >> it has a two michelin star restaurant. >> something unusual in terms of its tipping policy. >> they have a no tipping policy. you get great service regardless. it's really great. >> let's move on to the best resorts in the world, and for this one we have a tie. the first one is in the middle east your readers like the four seasons at sharm el sheikh. >> it's a great resort town, great for divers. the four seasons is the best of the best perfectly situated on a beach. >> no the that big a property, 109 rooms. >> very small especially for the area and great for families, it's designed like an arabian village, has a lot of ambience. >> the second one in this tie is south africa. >> the safari lodge is a private game reserve, on a private game reserve you see cheetah and lion and antelope, black rhino, six

lodges scattered around the reserve, really set well in their habitat and you go out for game drives, see the great animals, come back to the lap of luxury and fine dining. >> beautiful rooms. top resort in the united states in california, pelican hill. >> this is in orange county south of newport beach. this place is relatively new but it epitomizes elegance and class, almost like an italianville annual. you have a sense of style there. >> and every year when we look at your magazine one of the categories people are most interested in is the airlines. how they get to some of these destinations. in the united states the top pick, virgin america. >> we love to celebrate anything that brings fun back to flying. virgin america does that in spades. it's four years old and every year hit the top marks. it's been described as an ipod in the sky. wifi on board, touch of a button order food, snacks and has mood

lighting. >> number two, jetblue, number three hawaiian air so congratulations to all the winners. lisa thanks so much. we appreciate the results. >> thanks for having me. coming up next the secrets to cooking classic fall comfort foods but first this is "today" on nbc.

♪ food, glorious food this morning on requesting today's kitchen, back to basics" redefining classic fall comfort foods. here to help us is chris campbell, host of "america's test kitchen" and one of the authors of the new "cook's illustrated" cookbook. chris great always to have you. >> pleasure to be here. >> you'll tell us how we can take some of our favorite comfort foods and make them better, including french fries, chicken and chocolate chip cookies. >> you look nervous like i'm not going to do it. >> no, because i thought they were pretty good as they were. >> you can fry a chicken and roast a chicken and bake a

chicken. you look a little nervous this is poule en coucot. >> it's a french chicken. you're saying the french chicken is better than the other chicken? >> it's better. throw it in the pot, cook it in the oven for an hour and a half. we started with browning the chicken first. >> the whole chicken? >> the whole thing. >> put a small onion in with it. this is stupidly simple. even i can do it. cloves of garlic, rosemary and bay leaf. >> some pepper. you didn't put any oil in there. >> a little bit of oil in the pan to start? >> olive oil? okay, that's it. >> then take some aluminum foil, put this on top. >> so none of the steam escapes. >> low it in the oven, even heat. when the dark meat is down it gets cooked at the same time the white meat and this is incredibly healthy and delicious

and makes its own sauce. >> that's it. >> you're done. >> the vegetables cook down. and healthy and delicious. >> how long in the offen? >> an hour and 50 minutes. >> easy for the mother who is running after her kids and there you go. >> or the father. >> or the father, good for you. i like the way you think. >> yes. >> we call that again? >> poule en concot. >> okay, we'll slice a little bit. >> the best way to carve a chicken, i took the leg off and the thigh, take the breast like this and use a flexible knife and take the breast off in one piece like this. >> okay. so basically boom. >> so what you have is the breast like this and you can slice it into pieces, easy to serve. >> you can make chicken sandwiches and have this nice slice. you'll improve the french fry. how are you going to do that?

>> you can take some of those out. >> they look like we were getting overdone because we were talking about the chicken. >> they need double frying. in paris they used to double fry to get them come out perfectly. this recipe, two and a half pounds of potatoes and put them into cold oil. >> why wouldn't they get soggy? >> because when they're cold there's a lot of water in the fries and until the water comes out in terms of steam the oil can't get in. the fries have one third less oil in them and you use less oil for frying. >> you let it heat up then. >> cook for 20, 25 minutes and stir it around the last five minutes and get incredibly crispy french fries and you only need six cups. >> does it matter what oil you use? >> peanut oil is what we like. russets turn out tough. these are yukon gold. >> such great flavor. these are darned tasty. they are. >> that's a french method.

>> the french always take credit. >> not chocolate chip cookies. >> that's a good old american cookie. what's in this good old american cookie? >> you feel better again. >> i do. >> let's sing "oklahoma" everybody. ♪ red, white and blue >> how'd you make this in. >> tollhouse cookie, 1939, they put it on the back of the bag. there's a trick. we melt the butter and with the sugar gives it a nice caramel, chewy texture. we browned the butter. one day we stepped aside the butter got overcooked braun so you get this caramel flavor to it and a nice chewiness on the inside. >> i'll be the judge of that. >> i guess you -- tough. and? >> it's chewier. it's got kind of a -- mmm. >> this is like "american idol." >> i would say. i would say absolutely. give it to me. come on, give me five. >> all right. >> fantastic. can i talk with my mouth full? wonderful. by the way the book is called "cook's illustrated" just come

out. well done. coming up next, tricks of the trade, how retailers get you to spend more money than you planned, but first this is "today" on nbc. you could save a bundle with geico's multi-policy discount. geico, saving people money on more than just car insurance. ♪ geico, saving people money on more than just car insurance. i need a home performance with energy star audit.

this sensor will show why my living room gets too hot and too cold! get up to $2,450 dollars in rebates and keep saving with home performance with energy star. get started at bgesmartenergy.com. this morning on "today's extra yard," a football player ran afterschool programs for kids and still believes life's

biggest plays don't come on the field but in the classroom. here's nbc's peter alexander. ♪ ♪ this city is god's city and i love it ♪ >> reporter: 13 miles south of chicago's soldier field in one of the city's toughest neighborhoods is alex hayley academy, a public middle school where a chicago veteran israel adonoje spends his time. he chooses to inspire his biggest fans. >> you guys hold a special place in my heart. everyone in this room no exceptions is going to have opportunities throughout their lives. everybody. i just want to encourage you to keep being great students and great examples in our community. >> a lot of the kids lack someone to say to them good job. you're sort of that guy for them? >> i'm one of the voices. i was fortunate as a kid. i used to get a slurpee when i did well academically and not

everyone has that. some of the kids if they do well or don't there's no one there to say keep up the good work, keep working hard. >> reporter: born into a family of african-american citizens he's followed his parent's footsteps, motivating these students who call themselves i izzy's kids. >> they had education second on their list of priorities and there was an opportunity for me to come in and say hey your education is that thing that can get you on the right track. >> reporter: alex hayley's principal, theta williams was at first skeptical of the 6'6" 275 pound athlete. what was your first reaction then? >> yeah, sure, right and how long are you going to stay? you're going to come in here, say hi, get a picture for publicity and disappear. >> you're paying attention, all right? >> reporter: adonaje hasn't lift, visiting the school once a month for the last four years, encouraging students to attend class. tony goodrich was stunned. >> it's not every day you get to

see a big time nfl player. he just gave us that good spirit. >> reporter: he rewards students with high attendance with perks like roller skating parties and bowling trips and for perfect attendance, a chance to see the bears in action. >> this is such a heartwarming feeling to point up to the kids and they laugh and hold their signs up you made, you want to be with them play harder. >> reporter: he surprised students with a visit to the white house to meet a former south side neighbor, president obama. what was that moment like? >> i didn't believe it. it was like, a lot of people securing the president. >> reporter: since 2007 when idonaje arrived, alex hayley's attendance has soared almost to 96%. >> if you have a big guy like izzy coming to check on you every month and motivating you to come to school of course you're going to come. >> reporter: his new focus

making this neighborhood safer encouraging chicago police officers to mentor students. >> are you ready? >> yeah! >> are you ready? >> yeah! >> that's my message. you're going to get an opportunity to move in the right direction to achieve your goals and when that opportunity comes will you be ready to seize that moment? >> reporter: the answer is typically yes. thanks to someone who cares. for "today," peter alexander, nbc news, chicago. >> and some of izzy's kids will be in the stands sunday night when they play. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. police say a 21-year-old inmate is armed, dangerous, and on the

loose. he managed to escape from police custody yesterday while being transported. he was initially arrested for armed robbery. if you know his whereabouts,

>> rain is going to be with us off and on through the day. there could be a rumble of thunder. it will clear up over the weekend, breezy tomorrow, not bad. >> we will have another weather update at 9:25.