good morning. did it have to happen in new question being raised about the las vegas racetrack where indycar champ dan wheldon was killed in a horrifying crash this morning, mario andretti speaks out. shifting story, the mother of missing baby lisa reveals more troubling information about the night her daughter vanished. are criminal charges next? and are you kidding. a father lets his 9-year-old daughter drive him to a gas

station and a surveillance camera catches his explanation on camera. >> 9 years old. 9! listen, we're leaving and she's driving. i'm drunk. >> he's be charged with child abuse and he may need a ride to court today, tuesday, october 18th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television welcome to today on this tuesday morning. >> we're starting to see the backlash growing this morning over the tragic death of indycar champ dan wheldon over the weekend. >> some drivers are saying it was a tragedy waiting to happen. a racetrack not suited for indycars. in a moment we'll hear a driver

who was in the middle of that fiery crash as well as mario an dret yao. we're going to live to aruba to find out about a new defense strategy of gary giordano. >> plus, when you bring your car to the dealership, for repairs are you paying too much money? you might be surprised when you see our hidden camera investigation. and susan boyle, who shocked the world with her stunning voice. she'll open about her new life as well as and her love. >> okay, but first a check of the morning's top stories with natalie morales. good morning, everyone. we have breaking news right now from the middle east overnight. a kidnappeded soldier was released after fiver years of captivity. we have the latest from the west bank. >> reporter: good morning to you. 64 months in captivity.

this morning, he's enjoying his first day of freedom. a long day already. very complex choreography between hamas and the israelis. but he was released into the custody -- he's being flown up to an israeli naval base where he'll be reunited with his parents for the first time in 5 1/2 years. he's said to be in good physical shape. at the same time, the israelis began to release the first of 477 prisoners. today i'm in ram maallah, joyou scenes of hugging. many tears in their eyes. the people being freed today are resistant fighters against israel. many israelis say these people are simply terrorists.

a reminder a wider conflict continues. 9 at one check point, there were clashes, tear gas and stone throwing. >> john ray reporting there from west bank on this breaking news. he's on the road again. this morning president obama waking up in greensboro, north carolina. a $35 billion aid package to help state and local governments avoid layoffs. and you have to see these pictures to believe them. you called them jaws dropping. an italian diver holds a 10-foot shark in her hands, literally, to lull the man eater to into a natural state of paralysis. she's been working with sharks for more than 15 years.

she still wears protective gear. 7:04 right now. back over to matt, ann and al. >> it looks fake. it looks like a stuffed shark. >> it does. not at all. >> you ought to try that on matt. >> momentarily paralysis. >> that could come in handing. >> mr. roker what's happening? >> lot of rain to talk about down in southern florida. that rain will make its way up to north. we have, first of all, out in texas, a tremendous storm, a haboob-like condition. knocking over trees, downing power lines. a time-laps of that system. just unbelievable stuff. now as we go down to florida, you can see the heavy rainmaking its way up the coast.

the time lapse shows 3 to 4 inches of rain over the next 24 hours. as this system makes its way up the coast, this rain spreads into the hid-atlantic states. bringing 1 to 3 >> good morning. we are off to a cool star. fairly quiet. with a slight chance for a rain shower. the best chance will be north of baltimore. >> and that's your latest weather. al, thanks very much. new questions being raised about the horrendous crash that

killed indy car champ dan wheldon. george lewis is at the las vegas racetrack. >> reporter: good morning, matt. dan was racing for a $5 million prize. to win it, he had to start last out of a field of 34 cars, work his way forward and finish first. now the questions, too many cars on the field and too much competitive pressure on wheldon? it's heartbreaking to look at the photo with wheldon with his wife and two young sons, now they'll have to manage without him. because of this. the horrendous crash sunday that took wheldon's life. his car flying through the air, crashing into the wall and bursting into flames. one of the cars to catch fire in the horrific 15-car pile-up. >> the saturday before the race, drivers were concerned with the high speeds on the track and

two, the congestion on the track. >> reporter: those fast cars were running on 1 1/2-mile oval track. in contrast the indianapolis 500 is run on a 1.5 racetrack. five-time defending nascar champ jimmie johnson called for an end. >> they get airborne frequently on oval, i wouldn't run them on oval. >> reporter: the man in charge of the las vegas track, he said before the race there were no complaints about safety. >> everybody seemed to be content that las vegas made a suitable racing conditions. >> reporter: some of dan wheldon's friends wonder if the $5 million prize made him push

more. >> we got to do anything in our power to win. >> looking for dan wheldon. he has moved up ten spots. >> ultimately it cold put dan in a precarious situation starting at the end of the race. where you're going to get caught up in somebody else's wreck. unfortunately it didn't work out well for anybody. >> reporter: certainly not for wheldon nor his wife and children he leaves behind. we asked indycar who put on sunday's race for a comment about safety concerns, they declined to answer. >> george lewis, thank you. mario andretti is an indycar racing legend. >> good morning. >> townsend, let me start with you the first time that the indycar race has been held at

that track since 2000. lots of banking. 34 cars. did you have concerns out of the ordinary going into that race? >> i'm always concerned before any of our races. because there's risks involved in anything we do. certainly las vegas, you know upper threshold of that concern. i have been in those races before. close-type racing. it's high risk. again, there's risk in any one of our races. this happened to be a higher level. >> your car was involved in the crash as well. your car flipped around, from what i understand, you got to see what happened. you described it as happening in slow motion. >> there was two cars in front of me that got into trouble. i went around the high side to avoid him. i got clipped as i tried to avoid the accident. i was spun 180 degrees.

unfortunately, had a pretty dramatic view of everything that was happening behind me. it was certainly the most violent crash that i have been involved in with the highest number of cars. it was -- i jumped out right away and clearly there was way more need than we could accommodate at that time and was trying to go to my other drivers that were in need and see if there was anything i could do to help. a great helplessness. >> mario, your grandson marco was in the race, you had a lot of thoughts about this track and even that $5 million bonus that was being offered to dan wheldon, were you more concerned than normal about this race at this venue? >> well, there was concern for sure to some degree, because as

was mentioned, the high banking pretty much makes things a lot easier for these cars because they have tremendous grip and they don't, to go fast around the corner, they don't need really a lot of help. as i said, this was encouraging three abreast, rather than two abreast situation. through the corners, constantly and the pack was -- the cars were so evenly matched. lap after lap, they're like inches apart. so, the slightest miscue can create what we have seen. >> so, mario, has it reached critical mass then, these cars go so much faster than when you started racing, has it simply gott gotten too fast for the racer's own good? >> absolutely not. the fact that the speeds were higher back in the '90s when i was still racing, some of the problem is, the cars are

actually underpowered and they're all the same. they're just running against the governor. they're all at a terminal speed. at the same time, they can't get away from each other. the biggest problem that that we were facing with these cars, they had a tendency, when they would touch wheels to launch and then fly, because, you know, the flat bottom part and in that situation, itself, what's ironic has been dealt with the new car. dan wheldon was actually the designated test driver of this new car. if you look back and everything that happened in this accident, is when the cars were being launched, because, you know, many cars had tremendous impact against the wall which is a safe barrier, then the unlucky one to fly that much higher where

created the damage. >> i know this is a tragedy for everyone involved in racing. to townsend, i know that you and dan were good friends. even though we examine the accidents, we offer our condolences and our thoughts are with you guys. >> thank you. matt, thanks, now to developments of an american woman missing in aruba. the man being held in her disappear won't be going free any time soon. janet, good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning. gary giordano was outside the walls of the prison monday long enough to hear a judge deny his request to be set free. in an exclusive interview with giordano's new legal team.

a major change in defense strategy for gary giordano who's spent 75 days locked up in this prison in aruba, considered prosecutors the only suspect in the disappearance of robyn gardner. a well-known criminal defense attorney in aruba is now lead counsel and he's blowing holes in the money the is a motive. searchers were still looking for her to check on $1.5 million travel insurance policy that he had taken out on robyn, naming himself as beneficiary. why he made a call like that? >> his attorney told him to do so. >> reporter: he said that giordano's first attorney, who's still on the case, promptd that call. was going to be expensive.

giordano has denied any wrong doing. with monday's release denied both are gearing for a critical hearing next week. to hold giordano for the next 30 days. in preparation for a trial. the new evidence that they hope to present. >> there's a blood sample being checked and some electronic equipment that's being checked and of course the handwriting test that's being done on some of the documents that were seized. >> reporter: cadaver dogs have been brought in to search for gardner's body. >> gary, over here. >> reporter: with an important court date looming, conflicts reports on just how much gary giordano is assisting the investigation. >> at this moment, he's not

cooperating, period. >> reporter: a claim that his defense disputes. >> he's been cooperating. he's told them the complete story from the start to the end. >> that attorney will represent gary giordano at that important hearing next week. prosecutors will ask for another 30 days ahead of a trial. it's possible, ann, that gary giordano could walk free. >> janet, thank you so much. once again here's matt. if you have had too much drink, getting someone else to drive you around is good, designated driver. it's a good idea unless you pick the wrong person. natalie morales is back to explain. >> a michigan man is under arrest for a stunning episode caught on tape. he said that he had too much to drink. he got a designated driver the only problem it was his 9-year-old daughter. at first glance, it doesn't look

like anything out of the ordinary. take a look at the driver when she steps out of the vehicle, she's a child only 4 feet tall. inside the gas station, police say that the father showed off his designated driver, his 9-year-old daughter. >> she drives us here. 9 years old in the truck. she drove all of the way here. >> reporter: father and daughter left the gas station. >> 9 years old. 9. listen, we're leaving and she's driving. i'm drunk. >> reporter: when the doctor drove out of the gas station with the father, they were spotted by a good samaritan who followed them and called 911. >> is the vehicle staying on the road? >> yes, she's driving pretty good, i'm telling you, i can't believe it. >> reporter: police were shocked when they pulled the van over

finding the girl sitting in the booster seat. >> police have identified the father as 39-year-old shawn womener russell. he's due back in court today. he's separated from his wife and had the daughter for visitation, she's been returned to her mother. police credit the 911 caller to making the difference in this case. saying quote, it was a terrible accident waiting to happen. we're all just shaking our heads. how can anybody do that? >> if you're still casting your votes for father of the year, i think it's over. ridiculous. >> lot of pressure on that little girl. coming up -- new details about what baby lisa's mother did on the night she's vanished. why she's hired one of the nation's top criminal defense attorneys. we'll talk to him. but first this is "today" on

nbc.

coming up, after the car breaks down, you take it to the dealership to get fix, are you being charged for services that you don't need? some surprising results of our hidden camera investigation. also coming up -- we'll be talking with susan boyle and matt, she has two homes, actually, one with her family and one that she bought to entertain people with, anyway, we got her hopes and dreams in an exclusive interview coming up with amy robach. but first, your local news. getting grime from deep inside grout takes the right tools,

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actually, it's cleaner. and, it provides jobs. and it helps our economy. okay, i'm listening. [announcer] at conoco phillips we're helping power america's economy with cleaner affordable natural gas... more jobs, less emissions, a good answer for everyone. so, by reducing the impact of production... and protecting our land and water... i might get a job once we graduate. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. here is a look at one of our top stories. the state senate is expected to vote on gov. martin o'malley's redistricting plans deep. the state gop supports the proposal that would leave the republican-leaning sixth

district in tact, and would also create three minority districts. when political action committee has threatened to file a grievance with the u.s. justice department if the general assembly passes the plan in its current state. let's check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> it is a mess out there. southbound i-95, take pulaski highway is dead, because i want to be too, mountain road, you -- 152, mcenroe, you have an accident taking up the right lane. once you get to the white marsh area on southbound 95, that continues down the 895 split. delays in both directions on the inner and outer loop on the northeast side. southbound 795 at the owings mills boulevard exit, accident. also looking at a crash at rolling road and windsor boulevard. eastbound i-70, approaching 32,

delays in that area as well. going to want to consider 95 as your alternate. not looking good on the bw parkway. quick look outside shows you it looks like on 295 and 32. 95 just starting to look a little better. prior to that, watch for delays southbound. tony, over to you. >> so far so good, at least weather-wise. no precipitation out of those clouds except for a couple of sprinkles. 52 at the airport, to 50 in parkton. forecast for today, a mixture of clouds and

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royal caribbean international. why not cruise from baltimore? visit royalcaribbean.com today. 7:30 now on a tuesday morning. object 18th, 2011. great morning here in the big apple. nice people out on the plaza. meanwhile, inside studio 1a i'm matt lauer alongside ann curry. coming up, a hidden camera investigation, are you being charged too much when you go to a car dealership for repairs. plus, this morning, we'll catch up with susan boyle, who's finally living like a star, well, kind of. we'll explain.

but first -- something else. >> is 11-year-old too young to go to college. we'll talk to "today" professionals about that. we turn now to the search for baby lisa irwin. now her parents have a top attorney and private investigator working for them. but first, peter alexander have the latest. >> reporter: police tell nbc news they have received hundreds of tips across this country and overseas. biggest twist just came here yesterday when we heard for the first time from a new criminal defense attorney joe tacopina who insists baby lisa's parents are innocent. two full weeks into the baffling disappearance of baby lisa

irwin. the spotlight is on the shifting public statements of her mother deborah bradley. she first revealed to nbc that she was drinking at home with her neighbor in the hours before baby lisa vanished from her crib. >> were you drinking that night. >> yes. >> how much. >> enough to be drunk. >> reporter: as seen on this surveillance tape, deborah bought groceries with her brother. she can't remember if she turned off the lights or if she checked on her daughter before going to bed. >> lot of people are going to say, deborah you were drunk that night, is there any chance that you did anything to hurt your daughter? >> no, no, no. if i thought that there was a chance, i would say, no, no. >> reporter: meanwhile the hunt for clues monday, included four separate searches at the irwin

home, outside the home where lisa's parents have been staying with relatives. at a neighbor's homes where detectives were seen removing bags of evidence. >> i'm optimistic and confident at the end of the day that the truth will come out. >> reporter: on monday, baby lisa's parents introduced their new attorney, joe tacopina. tacopina said his heart broken clients have nothing to hide. >> if her recollection sometimes isn't what it should be regarding certain time of events i can't think we can't be too m harsh of the inconsistencies. >> i can't change what people think. it's so easy to judge and point

the finger. it's so easy to make assumptions that you don't know me as a person or a mother. >> reporter: authorities say they still don't have any suspects. we spoke to police late yesterday who released this statement, clearly the parents' level of cooperation hasn't been what it needs to be to help find this child. should they change their minds, our door is always open. ann? >> peter alexander, thank you. joe tacopina is a top criminal defense attorney recently hired by baby loisa's parents and bill stanton why hasn't this family cooperated fully? >> they have cooperated as recently yesterday, they

consented to a search of their car, these sniff dogs coming to their property. >> they didn't want their two young boys the step brothers of baby lisa to be reinterviewed. >> here's the deal, they have been interviewed totally 13 hours each. they want to cooperate. when you're cooperating, and you're being interviewed and detective within an hour or two of the baby's disappearance, starts accusing you of murder, it doesn't do much of the cooperative spirit. i had a conversation with the police yesterday, tell us what you need from us we'll give it to you. it's a standoff mentality. they have to understand, these people are victims. >> it doesn't help that argument to discover then that the

information about when baby the baby was last seen has now changed. it was once 10:30 at night. it's now 6:40 at night. why did she change her story? >> people are making more than it is. she described putting the baby to bed at a certain time at night. when she was reinterviewed, she had her recollection on a few things and move the time. this woman is missing, is under grief and trauma every day, she's missing her 11-month-old baby. not only is she being interviewed, but she's been accused by rumor, directly and indirectly of having a hand in the disa appearance of her child. >> what are you doing to pursue this idea that somebody else is at fault for the dispeerns of

baby lisa, bill? >> first, you have to eliminate neighbors and parents. the investigation that me and my team is doing, is doing a systemic investigation. >> are you trying to find information on your own? >> reexamine wag wahat was ther. i do believe that this baby is alive and in the hands of someone else. the fact that they haven't found this child just reinforces my belief -- >> why do you believe that is the question? >> who steals a puppy to do away with a puppy? you steal that puppy because you want it. i think it's either trafficking or either emotionally disturb person that took this baby.

>> the home was missed. things were wrong. regarding the window, certain lights were on than on before. when jeremy woke deborah up, there was something wrong. instantously, they called 911. >> there's a $100,000 reward for information. you have a t-shirt that the family made up. >> lisa needs to be found. there's a call-in number, a facebook page the family set up. all they want more than anything, they'll deal with this stuff regarding any allegations or accusations, all they want is for their baby lisa to come home. >> in the meantime, do you exhibit that baby lisa's mother will be arrested? >> absolutely not. let's get a check of the weather from al.

>> thank you so much lot of folks here from claxton, georgia, it's the fruit cake capital of the world, but yet no fruitcake. how do we know? we'll show you today a cold front, you can see it right there. stroeching from arkansas and mississippi all of the way up into indiana. it's going to be bring quite a bit of rain and cooler temperatures. rest of the country, we're expecting to see a little clo y cloudiness and some showers making their way up into the mid-atlantic states. we got a risk of strong storms from florida all of the way along the southea >> good morning. there is a chance for it ranchero. the best chance will be north of

baltimore. that's your latest weather. coming up next -- auto repairs, feel like you're being overcharged when you take your car to the dealership, we'll show you what our hidden camera investigation reveals, right after this. gs we buy most. it's 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. that's 1% cash back on oscar. ...tony. oscar! 2% back on whatever she'll eat. 3% back on filling up this baby. [ male announcer ] now get 1-2-3 percent cash back. it's that simple. [ male announcer ] apply online or at a bank of america near you.

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we're back at 7:42. this morning on "today" investiga investigates. when you take your car to the dealers, are those services are legitimate. we sent jeff rossen with

cameras. >> reporter: your car breaks down, you take it to the local garage. and you feel taken advantage of, that's why we only trust the droips to fix our cars. this morning, we go undercovered putting dealers to the test. one suv. six hidden cameras. and five different dealerships about to get a visit. what would we find? when we dropped our car for service. >> $2,000 to fix it. >> we set up the experiment using this 2007 cherokee. we took it to a mechanic, certified by two autotoy repair groups. he inspected anything. >> everything looks good. >> he use this small part in the

air conditioning called the relay switch. what are you doing here? >> i'm going to take your ac relay out and i'm going to replace it with a defective one. quick and easy fix? >> reporter: this independent mechanic said that he would charge $100 to fix our relay. at least one dealer lied right to our face. >> so the a/c compressor kind of -- >> my compressor exploded. >> reporter: we sent this female nbc producer into five jeep dealers. a random mix of city and sue bush. we're at manhattan jeep of new

york. great news, they found our problem, but fixing it here would cost $325. ramsey jeep in new jersey also found the bad relay, to fix our problem, they wanted to give our system a recharge for an extra fee, of course, total bill at ramsey jeep, $270. >> they recommend charging it. >> but this mechanic said, we didn't need that. we had him check our pressure before every dealer and it was always fine. the dealer said it was based on the mileage of our car. how would you rate this dealer from what you see on their level of service? >> poor, poor. >> reporter: we showed our undercovered video to two detectives.

while reid can't speak to these dealers' practices, he says many advisers may be pushing services for wrong reason. >> the dealers, when they're not selling cars, they need to make it up somewhere else. they may go to the service department and say, guys, you need to turn it up. >> to keep it afloat? >> definitely. >> reporter: experts say they could be profiting from it personally. >> is there a personal stake they have. >> sn. >> they're paid on commission. when they recommend a part or a service for you, they'll get a percentage of that. >> at west sunbury jeep in lon long island, they gave our car to a free whirl wind vehicle inspecti inspection. brake flush, fuel induction and

emissions services. and transmission service. total cost, $792. but were those services really necessary? we bought the actual dealer service manual for our car, and found no specific recommendations for them from jeep at our mileage. >> i think they were trying to sell you things that you didn't need. >> reporter: in a statement, they strongly disagreed, we advise, our customers choose to use our advice as they see fit. designed to find problems before they cause systems to fail. but experts who reviewed our case say our car showed no signs of malfunction. >> the service adviser, say, pay

a couple of hundreds dollars now save you thousands later. sounds like a good deal. >> in some cases you may be doubling the service that's actually required. >> reporter: but all of the dealers that we visited, no one charged as much as this one. bayside jeep in new york. our hidden cameras showed they do find our relay. but then -- >> you need a valve for that and a compressor and a drier. >> what a bunch of lies? >> reporter: then the service advisers spelled it out for our producer. >> so the a/c compressor kind of, almost i want to say -- >> my compressor exploded? how much is this going to cost total to fix? >> with everything, we're talking $1990 plus tax. >> reporter: with tax over

$2100. when experts say the real problem could be fixed for just 100 bucks. bayside jeep told us that their service department is honest. in the end, four out of five dealers charged us for repairs experts say we did not need. >> i'm always sorry to see that things like this give all of us in the auto repair business a bad name. >> in response to our story, jeep said that it's investigating those four dealers. the company made changes two years ago that improved dealers' services. the best advice f the bill seems too high, get a second opinion. the dealers that we went to, charged double what the independent mechanic did, mostly because the labor rates are higher at most dealerships.

check your manual to see what's needed to be done. >> part two of our series tomorrow. tomorrow morning, the national chain stores, meineke. coming up, he's 11 years old, too young to go to college? professionals jump into the debate right after these messages. [ laughs ]

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♪ prudential. bring your challenges. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> looking at delays on 795 southbound due to an accident on owings mills. creating a back up there. west side outer loop, this begins at reisterstown all the way down to edmondson. delays on eastbound i-70 down to 32, these stretch back to 97.

and 40 miles per hour on southbound j.f.x. if things start to back out heading towards 28th street. delays on the northeast corner. 14 miles per hour, according to our speed sensor. here is a live view of traffic. we will update you first at putty hill ave. that is your outer loop delay. pretty heavy on the inner loop as well. live view of traffic on i-70 at 29. at the b-2 in the eastbound direction, leading up to it, watch for that accident. >> so far so good. it looks a littler be out there but not much in the way of precipitation 48 in taneytown. mixture of clouds and some sunshine. 20% chance of a shower. we will make it into the upper

60s and low 70's. good chance for rain at tomorrow. that is going to dry off, and high temperatures will be in the upper 50's 2 around 68 overnight lows will drop into the 30's. he might wind up with the first frost of the season. at this point, it looks like we are setting up for a nice weekend.

♪ 8:00 now on a tuesday morning. the 18th day of october, 2011. and boy, the rain has come down, but the folks are still smiling here at rockefeller center. 65 degrees. we're hoping that they'll come back friday morning, because coldplay will be here for a special falcon sert. a whole half-hour of music.

coldplay ofriday only on "today" we got susan boyle coming up. an exclusive visit with her. the woman with the golden voice who shot to fame two years ago, this morning, she'll give us a peek into her new life, and share her hopes and dreams. "today" professionals are back in the house, controversy erupting slightly over the treatment that steve jobs chose for his cancer, was it right or wrong? appropriate or inappropriate? also about this story about an 11-year-old boy, gifted, entering college classes, university of minnesota. is that too young? we'll find out. then, a daunting question, you have been home, taking care of the kids, out of the work force, now they're kind of up and out, how do you join the

work force again? before we get to all of that, let's get to the news with natalie morales. president obama is trying to increase pressure on republicans to pass at least parts of the $450 billion jobs bill they blocked last week, this as his three-day bus tour moves today from north carolina to virginia. senate democrats plan to force a vote this week on one of the proposals. israeli soldier freed in an overnight prison swap is back with his family. 25-year-old sergeant gilad schalit was captured by hamas militants five years ago. israel is now freeing 1,000 palestinian prisoners in exchange for schalit. a little boy who survived a

three-story fall is talking about the firefighter who made the save. >> all's well that end well. when you plunge three stories and are caught by a firefighter, what do you say? >> i said thank you. >> reporter: 6-year-old xavier lamb owes his life to this firefighter whose waiting arms just happened to be place when his grandmother dropped him from three stories. >> i just happened to be at the right place at the right time. >> reporter: xr xavier's relieved grandmother it's a night that she won't soon forget. >> i don't know what i would have done. i thought that was the end.

>> reporter: everyone made it out of the apartment building safely, more than a dozen in all. those survivors said there were plenty of screams >> i can take it. >> reporter: little xavier said his wasn't among them. >> i didn't no screaming. >> reporter: no matter, he survived. thanks to a hero waiting. >> thankfully, he landed in miss arms and that's a good feeling. >> reporter: 75 people were left homeless, 15 of them had to be rescued in this fire, all of them firefighters got here to save them. >> ron mott, what an incredible story, thanks. for a look at what's trending today, a quick round-up of what has you talking. reality star julianna rancic has become a top search on google. fans are tweeting their best wishes as she faces surgery and

radiation treatment. some of the occupy wall street protesters are feeling the love, check it out. >> so, deb, will you occupy my life? >> yes. >> he said that he hopes the occupy wall street will be half as successful as their future marriage. republican presidential h e hopeful herman cain has gone viral with this video while he was still the head of god father's pizza. ♪ i could if i tried ♪ eating only tacos or kentucky fried ♪ >> he has a really good voice. cain said one of the greatest

freedoms we have the freedom to laugh at ourselves. let's go back outside to al and get the weather. >> wow. we got a new buddy here. what is your name, sir? >> joe. >> today's your birthday? >> yes. >> you want to share how old you are? >> 90. >> you look fantastic. happy birthday. matt, joe's a volunteer at palm beach hospice. so -- >> that's great. happy birthday. >> let's check your weather. see what's going on. we'll show you, atlanta, georgia, our pick city of the day. showers and thunderstorms, 79 degrees today. as we look on the radar, temperatures a little on the chilly side. 40s in the northern plains. 50s new england. heavy rain a roifk strong storms, florida along the southeast atlantic coast.

could be an isolated tornado. western half of the country, spectacular, little windy through texas, hopefully nowhere near as bad as that gus >> good morning. we are off to a cool star. fairly quiet. with a slight chance for a rain shower. the best chance will be north of baltimore. >> and that's your latest weather matt? >> thank you very much. when we come back -- an exclusive interview with susan boyle, her life and her loves and her fancy new digs. we'll talk about that after

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it's the sun. get out of the office more often, with chili's $6 lunch break combos, featuring texas toast half sandwiches. chili's lunch break combos. back now at 8:10 with an exclusive interview with singer susan boyle, she became an overnight sensation after auditioning on britain's got talent in 2009. tonight, amy robach traveled across the pond to catch up with her. hi, amy. >> reporter: despite her international fame and success, she still lives a relatively normal life in scotland. for a can id conversation for life, love and donny osmond. hi, susan. this is for you. i'm amy. >> hi, amy nice to meet you.

>> reporter: stepping into susan boyle's home, which she refers to the posh house, it's easy to see the great contrast her life has become. here in a quaint and picturesque of scotland countryside, susan's life seems pretty ordinary. >> thanks. >> reporter: except for the fact that everywhere she goes, almost everyone knows who she is. >> hi, susan. >> hello, there. where are you from? >> reporter: her international fame coming overnight following an audition two years ago on britain's got talent. that wowed the audience and judges alike. ♪ i dreamed a dream >> have you gone back and watched that original audition? >> i have seen it once or twice. i said, what the heck are you wearing? i walked on, i thought, what the

heck were you thinking about? >> reporter: then you see yourself now in the mirror? >> it's nice -- it was obvious that i lacked confidence. now there's a complete contrast. >> reporter: so, how would you describe how your life has changed from 2009 to today? >> it's changed because i'm more confident within myself. it's changed because i have met a lot of nice people. >> reporter: any of them male? >> you mean donny osmond. come this way. >> reporter: are you open to meeting someone? >> i think i probably i would say -- >> reporter: you're not online dating right now? >> no.

>> reporter: do you see yourself possibly dating and getting married? >> when i meet the right person i will know and so hwill he. >> hi neighbor. >> reporter: just down the streets from susan boyle's new home is the house that she grew up, she still owns it and in fact, stays here most of the time. you sleep here? even though you got that big house down the street? >> the big house down the street -- i still feel close to them. this is my comfort zone. >> reporter: that's why you keep your donny osmond blanket here? >> there's no answer to that. >> reporter: yes, the donny osmond blanket. ♪

>> reporter: given to susan by one of her fans. i gist love the texture, too. it's just so cozy. >> it's the next best thing to cuddle. >> reporter: a donny cuddle. i like it. >> reporter: even before she was famous, music played a big part in susan boyle's life. but now, she has a much bigger audience. ♪ >> reporter: she's sold over 15 million albums worldwide since her debut release in 2009 an her new album "someone to watch over me" will be released on november 1st, the title song, "someone to watch over me" is beautiful. it begs the question, do you have a personal kenconnection t that song? >> my mother watches over me. i think that's really a nice thought that she's still there with me.

>> reporter: you wanted you to get on britain's got talent. >> not only that, but she wanted me to be a professional singer. >> reporter: you have done that just slightly? i bet you never could have predicted this? >> five years ago, i wasn't in a good place. i'm in a good place now. >> reporter: if you could name your top three goals for the next phase of this, what would they be? >> to keep going, to keep getting better with what i'm doing and keep making people happy. ♪ >> we want to thank susan boyle for opening the doors to both of her homes for us. we want to mention that susan will be live on "today" november 2nd to sing a song from "someone to watch over me."

she's never slept in her new home. because she said that she always feel at home in her old home. >> some people get great wishes come true and you're glad of it and she's definitely one of them. >> she's grounded, too. coming up next -- show and tell, would you give your child a tattooed barbie like this one, li it's one of topics right after this. ♪ home is where you are ♪ home is where i want to be ♪ where [ male announcer ] now you can know your home inside and out. introducing mylowes, a revolutionary new way to keep track of, organize, and manage your entire home. go to lowes.com to register and learn more. lowe's. never stop improving.

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is to keep it whole for better nutrition. that's what they do with great grains cereal. they steam and bake the actual whole grain while the other guy's flake is more processed. mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal. ocean spray cranberry juice versus vegetable juice. first the cranberry. mm. tasty. now the vegetable juice, with more than 10 times the sodium of cranberry juice. we have a winner. it's real fruit juice; crisp, sparkling water; and no added sugar. and they come in these really cool cans. you want one? i'll wait a bit. all right. mm. refreshing.

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opting for less conventional methods of treatments. nancy, go after this one. >> we don't know. none of us know steve jobs' medical documents. even though a lot of -- some of us know his physicians. it wouldn't surprise me, precisely, because he's well educated, he's in california, i think it's very interesting to be a monday morning quarterback on this. >> the type of cancer that he was first diagnosed with is not normally fatal. >> yes and no. every person has a right to decide his or her treatment. >> here's the good news and bad news. the bad news for steve jobs, when you're a well-known person like that, doctors often treat you differently. you think that you can direct traffic and doctors are

intimidated -- steve jobs coming in. >> we're in the middle of the whole michael jackson death trial. sometimes high-profile people are treated differently. >> like a ceo of a company like apple, do you have a responsibility to share? >> my concern he had responsibility to shareholders to not come forth earlier. >> his medical responsibility was his own. donny, i'll start with you here, you were a gifted child. you grew out of it. but you were a gifted child. there's an 11-year-old boy in minnesota now enrolled in college classes at the university of minnesota. clearly gifted, is that a good thing or a bad thing? >> two things in college, social part and academic part.

hopefully his mom is driving him to college every day. >> is that kind of an intelligence a blessing or a curse? it's both. little kids to still be able to have kids. this kid sounds like somebody who prefers to be in his books. >> as long as it's a day situation, where mom drops him off, there's no other appropriate place in society for kids like this. >> let's talk about this tragic accident over the weekend involving dan wheldon. there's a long history of motorsports in this country. we love speed and risks. when technology allows guys to go around a track at 250 miles per hour on a crowded track, is it too much? >> unfortunately we're in a free society that celebrates -- look at boxing, we got some very violent sports.

where do you draw the line? >> don't you think the players themselves, similar in football, have to police their own sport. if you start to say, i want to have helmets that aren't going to cause concussions -- >> racing industry has gotten much, much safer, they have gone through technology. >> i think there are people who go to these events because they love the speed and they're adrenaline junkies. we don't expect somebody to die. a couple here in new york is suing a fertility clinic after their baby conceived turned out to have developmental problems? >> if you have a child with a.d.d. get real. you can have a baby the old fashioned way or you can adopt. >> they're saying there was a

failure to detect genetics. >> this is a sad story. >> it is a sad story. if in fact, the procedures of the clinic weren't followed -- >> the underlying problem is unregulated and not self-regulated, big-money industry. >> those are the children in high school. >> moving on to barbie, okay there's a barbie now that's hitting stores with -- this is more of an adult -- tattoos all over. >> i have a tattooed ken at home. >> is this a mattel barbie? >> i believe it's a collaboration. >> this is so ridiculous. >> i can't imagine. obviously it's for a collector.

>> it's for adults who collect these silly things. >> i think we just found our collector. >> i don't think we want to encourage our girls to think that's appropriate. >> that will do it, folks. coming >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. time for a check of the morning commute with traffic pulse 11 and sarah caldwell. >> still a lot of delays around the area. 12 miles per hour, holding on to those delays in the outer loop. southbound 795, backed up by improving. inner loop delayed from greenspring to the j.f.x. once you get onto j.f.x.,

looking at delays from the beltway down. eastbound 32, watch for slow due to an accident clearing trades 29 miles per hour on southbound. tapping the brakes from white marsh to the 895 split. you are also looking at a slow go on southbound 83, harrisburg expressway from padonia to the beltway. live view of traffic. starting at old court. holding out to the west side delays. live view of traffic in the area of 95 at 395. so far so good on 95 in this area. 395 experiencing delays in down as you make your way towards conaway. >> we are off to a fairly quiet start, weather-wyser-pratte not a whole lot of precipitation. there is a cute -- weather-why is it. not a whole lot precipitation.

forecast for today, a mixture of clouds and some sunshine. slight chance for rain shower. seven-day forecast, a good chance for rain tomorrow. breezy and chilly on thursday and friday with highs in the upper 50s to around 60. >> we will have another update at 8:55.

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couple? >> williams welcome abroad. >> harry. seth myers fake news anchor. >> not one of ours. >> rock center with brian williams coming october 3 1st on nbc. we're back now with more of "today" at 8:30 on this tuesday morning. it's the 18th day of october. 2011. and yes, the rains have begun here in new york city.

kind of knew it was coming because we have al roker on hand. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry and natalie morales and the aforementioned al roker. >> coming up, we're going to be talking about women who spent their lives raising their children and once their children go off to school, they return to work, how do you do that? especially in this economy. we have some advice coming up. in this computer texting environment, is it worth for our children to learn how to write in cursive. >> yes. >> i think so. jenna wolfe is here. >> some states are saying it's okay to do away with that. >> horrible. >> yeah, and then jill martin is back, she's got some great and exclusive steals and deals just for you, our "today" show viewers. look who's in our studios right now, one of the most

talented actors anywhere, kevin spacey, he has a new movie out. by the way a quick reminder, coming time for halloween again, monday, october 31st, we'll have our annual halloween contest. if you have a great costume in mind, come on down to our plaza, it's not too early to start preparing, monday, october 3 1st here on "today". we're giving out great prizes. setting the bar high. let's talk about the weather. >> we're getting some rain in the northeast. let's take a look at the next couple of days. showers and thunderstorms along the southeastern coast. little breezy, cooler than normal conditions. tomorrow, lot of rain, thunderstorms here in the mid-atlantic states. few showers moving into the pacific northwest. sunny and mild from the gulf coast off into the southwest. sunny and cool up into a

>> good morning. there is a chance for it ranchero. the best chance will be north of baltimore. >> and that's your latest weather. don't forget, you can check any time of day or night, online or cable, weather.com. >> have fun there. coming -- we've got a great actor in the house, kevin spacey is here. that's right. he has a new movie coming out. but first this is "today" on

when the financial world started to collapse back in 20 ol 08s lot of people pointed their finger at wall street, now in margin call, kevin spacey plays an executive at a too big to fail firm. >> john, if you do this, you'll kill the markets for years, it's over. you're selling something that you know has no value. >> we're selling to willing buyers at the current market price so that we may survive. >> you'll never sell anything to any of those people ever again? >> i understand. >> do you? >> hey, kevin, welcome back. good to see you. my understanding, there were some people in the industry, there was concern going back to the well on the financial meltdown and yet you thought that there was something in this

script that hadn't been on chewed so to speak in this movie. >> this is first featured film to deal with what happened in 2008. i think, given what's happening down on wall street as we speak, this isn't a history lesson, this is currently, still happening. i think maybe what feeds the anger that people are feeling, they realized in 2008, kind of a band-aid was put on a sere warehouse wound and it's still bleeding. >> the movie basically takes place in 24 hours. as an actor, do you like all of that action condensed into that period of time? >> it's more like doing a play. we worked in 1 ten plaza. you get a chance to rehearse. >> just for people, we heard a lot about it over the last three, fours years, for people

who don't understand what a margin call is -- >> i'm not the person to ask that question. simon baker knows the answer. essentially what happened to many firms is that, they realized that the money they thought they had, they simply didn't have. while people say people on wall street aren't creative. i think that's remarkably creative to create money that isn't there. >> you get to work with a great cast, stanley tucci, simon baker, according to a lot of reports, a lot of these cast members signed on to this film with the opportunity to work with you d you make that up? is that coming from you? >> you got my facts. >> you know, i was the first actor join after zachary, because zachary also produced it. you know, it's incredible when you have a small film like this

and actors recognize the material. it's a pleasure to go to work every day with a group of great actors. >> do you have that kind of bucket list to work on a project just to say i worked with that actor. >> yes, woody allen, mr. scorsese, i know you're up. maybe martin isn't. woody, yes. >> this is a clip, you did this bit for funny or die. basically, it's a bunch of actors, celebrities sitting around a table, pitching ideas to the clinton global initiative and you actually do the impersonation of bill clinton until you're surprised. let's take a look and you can comment. >> i'll check on you guys.

you're my little celebrity army. >> oh, kevin. >> what did i tell you about making crank calls in my office? >> not to do it. >> not to do without me. >> that's got to be fun. >> yes, it's great fun. we also did, when he left the white house, we did a video of his last days of the white house. where he stole my oscar from me and i had to retrieve it. this was a comedy thing. but this was to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the clinton global initiative. i can do a little bill for you. >> go ahead. >> ask me a question, matt. >> how is the tour for richard iii? >> i love going to hong kong, it's good. >> it's always good to see you.

>> you, too. >> "margin call" is the movie. up next, easing the transition from mom at home to mom in the work place.

man: my employer had been putting together a program for executive education, grooming the leadership abilities of their top 5%. a requirement to be accepted in the program was an undergraduate degree, which i did not have. that was the wake-up call i needed. ♪ don't want to miss a thing strayer university has afforded me the opportunity to progress to the level that i am now, which is chief information officer at the largest teaching hospital in southern new jersey. i'm michael sinno, and i earned my bachelor of science degree from strayer university.

today's mom is brought to you by have you tried this yet be p and g. this morning on today's moms, getting back into the workforce after taking years away taking care of the kids. we asked sarah brokaw, to talk to some women who are giving it a shot. >> reporter: the face of the business world is changing. and today, more women are in the driver's seat. so after staying home for 14 years to raise her sons, karen phillips returned to the

workforce. >> i had been working 40 hours week, volunteering, it was time to try something differently. >> reporter: she had her fair share of challenges what was an obstacle that you weren't necessarily prepared for? >> handling the children during the summer. during the school year it was much more structured. >> reporter: she was not alone. idea of going back to work can be daunting. >> concerned about their age. and how long they have been out of the workforce. in some cases they're worried about technology. >> reporter: for many women, getting a job is a choice. but the economy and type of lifestyle have put career-minded women in a position of necessity. zwli was definitely longing for more interaction with adults. but it was also a financial decision as well.

♪ >> reporter: in 2010, 66 million women were employed in the united states. that's almost 49% of the current workforce. unfortunately, many returning professionals let their own insecurities get in the way. >> they'll say, i'm a hard worker, i'm a team player, but those attributes don't tell employers what gap you're going to fill in an organization. ♪ >> reporter: but a happy mom means happy kids. >> it's great. both are happy for me that i'm finding a new life for myself but i still have at least one, maybe 1 1/2 feet at home in the door. >> sarah brokwaw is joining us along with pamela mitchem as well as the author of ten laws

of career reinventioreinvention. >> you want to go out to everybody you know, talk to other moms, get everybody on your side. >> identify your most marketable skills. >> you have to tell employers how you're going to contribute to their bottom line. >> mothers are great at multitasking, they're great at organization, they're highly efficient coming ine back into workforce. >> you need to be specific. hey, maybe you're the fund-raiser or the project developer, or you're the one that brings everyone together. >> you also say, refresh your resume, revamp your look and also go online. >> you know, you have to have your linkedin profile and you should be on twitter as well. >> this is going to take a lot of confidence, where do we get the confidence if we haven't

been in the workforce for 15 years. >> so true. the number of clients that i see in my own practice, women come in and say, i don't know exactly what i have to offer. i say to them, there are always going to be trehree key strengt, how do you hone them in your house yourself. when you go into the interview, remind yourself that you have those three key strength and when you enter the workforce after 15 years or so much away, you're probably going to enter in an entry-level position, true or false. >> i think you should be willing to be in an entry-level position or step up. you got to be willing to take something to get in. >> if you need to get a job right away, if you want a career, not too late?

>> get it done. get aer is er is tcertificate. >> but this is the interesting point, i saw a statistic yesterday, 57 .of men negotiated their salary than women. women have to readdress our sense of self-worth. >> absolutely. a lot of has to do women don't want to take on the masculine approach when they're amrpplyin for a job. feminine self but assert themselves. >> right. it sounds like to me we need to encourage ourselves. sarah brokaw and pamela mitchell, thank you. coming up -- is learning how

to write cursive a waste of time. we'll

♪ this morning on back to school "today," do your kids really need to learn cursive handwriting anymore? a lot of state educational officials are taking notice. today's jenna wolfe is here with

this. as school started incorporating computers at much younger grade levels, some fear learning to type is taking time away from other subjects, so what's on the chopping block, cursive handwriting when you were a kid, it used to be on the urge to write. not just for speed, but also for style. the curls of the "s". the flow of "l." the fluidity of the letters married together on paper. cursive was an art form, until its nemesis came along -- the computer. are computers really phasing out penmanship? handwriting specialist steve graham said, if they're not, they should. >> there's no reason we have

this tool for kids to use. we need to start earlier with this. >> reporter: steve's not saying that cursive should be go away completely. why take time away from our subjects to teach cursive? one has to go. likely choice, you got it, cursive. >> some really good handwriting. >> reporter: and educators are listening. in 44 states, teaching cursive in the classroom is optional. of those, two of them, indiana and hawaii have taken cursive out completely. in mrs. ward's third grade class, the typed word is easier but the written word is ever lasting. >> it's hard to be an author when you can't write. >> reporter: when she stepped out, i stepped in.

i had a few questions of my own. does everybody here know how to type on a computer? >> yes. >> reporter: how old were you? >> 7, 67. >> what if i told you i was 16 before i learned how to type on a computer? >> as someone who likes to write like to see people continue to write. >> reporter: signature, after signature after signature. >> become victims of my lack of time. i go to "l" "a." >> i wanted it to look like it was a cartoonist signature. >> reporter: who wins best handwriting overall? lot of people have said, very nice things about -- >> that's not true. >> reporter: it's like catholic

school handwriting >> i would say girlish. >> i am orderly. i am a bit of a neat freak, a germ phone, as you know, i think my handwriting perhaps indicates that a little bit. germ need orderly. >> reporter: cursive may be on its way out, but it won't go out without kicking or screaming. not only distinguishable but legible as well. we consulted a handwriting analyst, we gave her two cards, one that had an autograph and the sentence written out "i do not need a vacation." matt, we're going to start with you. she said that your handwriting shows that you're disciplined,

honest and there's something wrong, it says your sexy. >> what is the thing? >> what about the rest of them? >> you can go online about them. it's not exactly scientific. it's something about the art form, that al is playful. you see how he has something fun. ann is very deliberate, neat and clean. natalie, they had a hard time. they couldn't even read. >> wow. >> they did say i'm heart centered. i'm warm and generous. >> i asked all of you guys this, what do you think about cursive. most of you don't write cursive anymore? >> i do a combination of block letters. >> it's fun to write in cursive and to use the cursive and the block letter and you all have children? can you imagine your children not learning cursive. >> we make them write a written

thank you note, handwritten. >> you know that was sort of interesting. >> not having cursive would be like ann not being able to curse. >> you know, i wouldn't have anything to say. i would be mute. >> jenna, thank you. more on the cursive controversy on today.com. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara .

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>> good morning, everyone. the weather should stay quiet today. a mixture of clouds and a little bit of sunshine. high temperatures around 70. good chance for rain tomorrow. good chance for rain tomorrow.