good morning. carnage in ohio. disturbing new images from the roundup of dangerous animals, all of them now accounted for, most of them killed. why was a man convicted of cruelty to animals allowed to run a private zoo out of his own home? probation revoked. lindsay lohan led from the court in handcuffs, her mug shot taken once again, after receiving a tongue lashing from a judge for violating court-ordered community service. this morning she's out on bail but how long will her freedom last? and thanks for nothing.

the seattle waitress whose only tip from a customer was a note to lose a few pounds speaks out for the first time today, thursday, october 20th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. good morning. i'm ann curry. >> i'm matt lauer. it is disturbing to see these images of dead bears, lions, and tigers, but both police and animal ak vifctivists are sayin deadly force was necessary to protect human lives. >> what is being called into question is just how easy it is to own an exotic animal in certain states like ohio. could this tragedy have been avoided? should more be done to clamp down on the practice? we'll have the very latest on this straight ahead. also police carry out an exhaustive search at the home of

the missing baby in kansas city walking out with x-ray after x-ray. did investigators hit on something that could lead them to lisa irwin? we'll have details from the scene and talk to the private investigator who is now working with the family. also, just this morning french president nicolas sarkozy is confirming his wife carla brunei gave birth to a baby girl last night. he didn't want to announce the name. he said he wants to give his wife that pleasure. >> a smart idea. let's begin with the dangerous animal roundup out in ohio. stephanie gosk is in zanesville this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt. the numbers are shocking. 18 bengal tigers, 17 lions, six black bears. people in this community have been complaining about terry thompson's farm for years, but this issue of exotic pets, they are on the rise across the u.s. today because of this incident those laws are under very, very close scrutiny.

just a bit of a warning. as you mentioned, these images you are about to see are very disturbing. warnings went out early. big, wild animals that have no business roaming rural ohio were on the loose. >> that is a bear. >> reporter: the 911 dispatch in zanesville started getting some unusual calls. >> yeah, there's a lion on mount perry road. >> i'm pretty sure i just saw a wolf. >> we live next to terry thompson and there is a bear and a lion out. >> reporter: police say just before he took his own life terry thompson set more than 50 animals from his private zoo free. to protect the small town the sheriff and his deputies, armed with assault rifles, killed almost all of them, leaving behind disturbing images of carnage. >> lions, african lions and i think three bears. one of the bears charged a deputy and the deputy shot it. >> we don't go to the academy and get trained on how to deal with 300-pound bengal tigers. >> reporter: the dead animals are all being buried at the

farm. only six were tranquilized and brought to the local zoo. >> because it's a tragedy for the animal world. it could have been a bigger tragedy for the human world. that's what we tried to avoid here. >> reporter: bengal tigers, lions, bears, exotic animals like these are easier to get than ever before. most can be bought online for very little money. this website lists 600 different animals for sale. >> in the united states today there are thousands of people who keep exotic animals as pets. globally the market trade of creatures is a $20 billion a year industry. >> reporter: most states either ban or heavily regulate exotic pets, but the humane society says 12 states have almost no regulations at all, including ohio. a new documentary shot in ohio takes a look at the lure of exotic pets and the danger. >> to buy a tiger, but you can't buy common sense. >> reporter: the film profiles a

police officer whose friend was mauled by a pet bear and a lion owner struggling to handle his beloved cats. >> when you look at both of those, when it comes to raising exotic animals as pets, especially with people who have very limited experience, you get the overall feeling this isn't going to work out well. >> reporter: in zanesville it didn't. the police prevented a human tragedy but at a very high price. later on "today" ohio governor john casey is going to give a press conference. his office is under a lot of pressure to change the law. they are re-evaluating a proposed ban on exotic pets that would have prevented this incident. matt? >> stephanie gosk, canton, ohio for us this morning. thanks so much. scott schumacher owns a 10-acre preserve in nevada home to more than 30 animals including tigers, bob cats, and a lion. good morning to you, scott. >> good morning. >> you must have had a visceral reaction to what you saw

unfolding in danesville, ohio, on wednesday. what were your thoughts? >> i couldn't believe that somebody would actually do that to their animals. he just basically set them up to be killed. >> obviously the police in this case were trying to walk a fine line balancing public safety with the desire to try to protect these animals but as we know most of the animals had to be killed. did they have any other choice? >> from what i understand they really didn't. they're dealing with a lot of animals and a short time constraint due to daylight and the weather was a factor, also. i'm not going to try and second guess the guy on the scene. he made a decision and he basically did what he felt he had to do. >> you said a second ago you can't believe somebody would set his animals up to be killed. should this guy have been allowed to run this preserve in the first place, given his track record, given the fact that he was convicted of animal abuse

charges in the past? >> it sounds to me like they didn't enforce the animal abuse laws and, you know, they didn't shut him down. he just got out of prison. i don't understand how he was able to keep his animals staying in prison. >> you obviously run a private preserve. i'm looking at a tiger next to you. according to the humane society 12 states ban the possession of exotic animals. 28 states have restrictions. 12 states have almost none. the question a lot of people are asking, do these animals, exotic and dangerous animals, you know, should they be in private hands in private preserves? >> i don't see any reason why not. if you take into account the welfare of the animal and public safety, there should be no reason why you can't have them. we've gone through a

coordination with local merge cyr vices, have a plan in place, we've had animal control out here showing them how we're set up, training them on handling of the animals, what to do in case of emergency. and that's the way to be responsible. >> you talk about in case of an emergency. do people in the community have a right to say we don't want to bear the burden of the fallout if something goes terribly wrong at one of these facilities? >> well, that goes back to, if something goes terribly wrong, the person that is usually affected by it is the owner or handler. >> but in this case these animals went out into the wider community. schools had to be closed down. people were told to stay in their homes. >> well, i understand that, but i've never heard of an exotic animal owner deliberately setting all of his animals free. >> all right. scott schumacher out in nevada this morning, thank you very much for your time. i appreciate it. >> okay.

you're very welcome. >> such a tragedy that so many beautiful animals had to be killed. let's check the morning's other top stories from natalie at the news desk. good morning, everyone. secretary of state hillary clinton is taking a tough stance in kabul this morning as part of what she is calling a, quote, reality check. clinton met with afghan president hamid karzai this morning and urged him to strengthen counterterrorism ties with pakistan and to press forward with taliban talks. in an unusual exchange clinton told karzai about a gaffe from gop presidential hopeful herman cain. >> one of the republican candidates, i think it was herman cain, the former pizza company executive. >> is he that? >> yes. >> all right. >> he started something they call godfather's pizza. >> yes. i see. >> but the president was saying he saw this news clip about how mr. cain had said, i don't even know the names of all these presidents of all these countries, you know, like whatever -- >> the stans and whatever.

>> all these places. >> that wasn't right. but anyway. >> well, secretary of state clinton heads to pakistan later tonight. meantime many americans who plan on voting republican in 2012 have not yet found a candidate they prefer over our current president. this is according to a new poll from the associated press. but even without a clear preference for an opponent about half of all voters surveyed say president obama does not deserve to be re-elected next year. and now let's head to wall street. cnbc's melissa francis at the new york stock exchange for us this morning. melissa, good morning. >> good morning to you. protesters in greece making european markets nervous. mean while the measure of inflation rising to a 28-year high, also a measure of employment. the median level has fallen to the lowest level this century. more than half of americans make less than $27,000 a year, $507 a week. back to you. it's rough out there, natalie. >> it certainly is. melissa francis, thank you. it was a chilly night at the

old ball game as the st. louis cardinals won on their home turf beating the texas rangers, 3-2 in an exciting world series opener. american idol winner scotty mccreary sang "the national anthem" and first lady michelle obama was there and said she was making her husband jealous by getting to attend the game. as you heard, it is a girl for french president nicolas sarkozy and wife carla bruni. sarkozy was seen entering the private clinic where the first lady of france gave birth on wednesday. he says his wife and child are doing well and they feel a very profound happiness but he will not reveal the baby's name just yet. it is the first time by the way in modern french history a child has been born to a sitting president. congratulations to them. back to matt and ann. with parents like that she'll be a gorgeous little girl. you just know. >> no question. you know, natalie, it is hard to sit next to these

germ-a-phobes when i am clearly a germ factory. you're being so nice. >> you know, it's not a treat for us to sit next to you. >> that's what i meant. >> we hope you feel better. >> wow. >> he touched me. >> i think you're all right. >> thank you. we've been talking about all that wind out in chicago. going to get windy here, too. why? we got two areas of low pressure. the bands you see are the isobars. the more tightly packed the intense pressure gradient you get and that's where we see the winds. you can actually see that spin and the winds are pretty strong out there around chicago, 29 miles per hour, 18 in peoria. 13 in cleveland. the good news is we'll start to see this die down as the low pressure pulls away. we'll still pick up about a quarter to half inch of rain >> good morning. it is going to be a windy day. there is a 20% chance for rain shower this morning.

a mixture of sun and clouds. and that is your latest weather. lindsay lohan is out on bail this morning after being led from court in handcuffs on wednesday. she was taken into custody after a judge revoked her probation. nbc's miguel almaguer is in los angeles. >> reporter: she was able to post bail set at $100,000 and later this morning is expected here at the l.a. county coroner's office to perform community service. her appearance here would follow a testy one in court on wednesday. lindsay lohan led away in handcuffs yet again, another mug

shot to accompany a growing portfolio. >> probation is a gift. it's a gift. it's not a right. >> reporter: but before the starlet was carted away a tongue lashing that lasted nearly an hour. >> she failed to show for nine scheduled appointments. >> reporter: lindsay lohan blasted by the judge for being terminated from community service in a los angeles women's center because of excessive absences. >> she needed to get off the stick, start doing that community service. >> reporter: prosecutors wanted lohan behind bars. >> we are requesting jail time be imposed for her actions. >> reporter: after the judge revoked lohan's probation she was led away by bailiffs but the actress posted bail before she could be taken to county jail. her bail bondsman waiting at the courthouse. the judge's reaction? what a surprise. in april lohan was given one year to complete 480 hours of community service, probation for a 2007 drunk driving case, and

misdemeanor theft case from earlier this year. but the judge said the actress has been a no show at the women's center. in court the judge read from lohan's probation report. >> ms. lohan indicates that at the women's center she wasn't interacting with anyone so the service was not fulfilling. her words. the service -- is that what a sentence is about? >> reporter: the judge pointed out lohan somehow found time to go to europe where she was seen partying in paris and modeled for a photo shoot in italy. >> her opportunities are not in this country. >> reporter: lohan's lawyer fired back saying lindsay cleared her time away from the women's center first. >> and her traveling to europe was not to have fun. it was to make money, to support herself and support her family. >> reporter: known for making a fashion statement in court, on wednesday lohan was also hammered online for her makeup choice. >> she sort of had clown red circles on her cheeks that made her face look puffy and misshapen. >> reporter: while the starlet

has been cuffed and avoided jail her next stop is the county morgue. out on bail lohan is expected to start her second round of community service here at the county wornor's office by 8:00 a.m. today. she'll be back in court in two weeks for her probation violation hearing and, ann, they say the judge even admits there is little time she'll have any jail time because of over crowding. >> all right. miguel almaguer, thanks so much. it is now 7:16. here's matt. thank you very much. now another high profile case in los angeles. the prosecution expected to rest today at the trial of michael jackson's doctor. nbc's kristen dahlgren is outside the courthouse with the latest. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. the jury in this case has now heard from 33 witnesses along with reportings of michael jackson's own voice and dr. conrad murray giving his version of the singer's final moments. so with the prosecution about to rest the question becomes can the defense counter all that to create reasonable doubt? as they have every day, members

of michael jackson's famous family were at the courthouse. >> how are you holding up? what do you think so far? >> i'm mad. >> reporter: watching as the prosecution called its last witness, propofol expert dr. steven shaffer. >> in 25 years giving anesthesia i have never walked out of an operating room with the patient receiving an anesthetic drug. doctors don't do that. >> reporter: shaffer used a video to show how he says propofol is correctly used in an operating room and attacked murray for delivering the anesthetic in jackson's home without proper equipment then delaying a call to 911. >> that is so egregious that i actually find it difficult to even comprehend. >> reporter: the doctor held nothing back as he criticized murray for what he called 17 medical and ethical violations that he says led to jackson's death. >> we are in never never land

here. something that's only been done to michael jackson, no one else to the best of my knowledge. >> reporter: shaffer's testimony caps the prosecution's case and many experts say it leaves the defense with a tough task ahead. >> the prosecution case is unbelievably strong. they have proven gross negligence and a deviation from the standard of care in so many different ways that if it was handed to the jury as is, there should be a guilty conviction. >> reporter: but the defense will soon get its say. in opening statements murray's attorney previewed their plans to paint michael jackson as a desperate drug addict who self-administered the fatal dose. >> he did an act without his doctor's knowledge, without his doctor's permission, against his orders. he did an act that caused his own death. >> reporter: and with the burden of proof on the prosecution, the defense needs just one juror who doubts that murray is to blame. >> the defense's goal is going

to be to muddy up the waters to try to raise issues and raise doubt with anything and everything the prosecution has said. >> reporter: the defense plans to call 15 witnesses including its own experts, also character witnesses for dr. murray. again, the prosecution is expected to wrap up today and, matt, that means the defense would start on friday. >> all right. kristen dahlgren in los angeles. thank you very much. it's 18 after the hour. once again, here is ann. >> thanks. she is one of the most watched women in the world but kate middleton's hectic schedule didn't keep her from delivering a very personal message to one young fan. we're at buckingham palace this morning to explain this. hey, michelle. good morning. >> reporter: hi, ann. good morning. recently we saw the duke and duchess of cambridge visit a cancer hospital for children literally following in the foot steps of princess diana. they really seem to try to make it more than an appearance, spending a lot of time. kate told one child if you ever need anything, contact us personally, which made the little boy laugh.

well, now in what may be her first personal act of public kindness as princess, she's written a heart felt letter to a 9-year-old boy there. if you ever thought william and kate simply show up and do their duty at these packed events this visit to a children's cancer hospital last month showed something else. >> make sure you get it, all right? >> reporter: talking to each child at length. the look on kate's face seemed to say what words could not. here with 9-year-old fabian diagnosed with leukemia at age 5 and just relapsed. >> encouraging that they had that focus and just took our eyes off everything else. interesting that week we had just heard about his need for a bone marrow transplant. >> i gave her one of these.

it's signed and has a website on the back. she said she promised that she'd go. >> reporter: and then another surprise. >> the royal postmark so we knew it was a genuine thing. and this is the letter. >> reporter: addressed to fabian on the duchess's stationary. >> i very much enjoyed meeting you. i was so touched by your strength. i will keep my fingers crossed. i will keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers. >> reporter: signed simply catherine. >> she really is beautiful but it was really her character and it showed through her eyes. i think, you know, she genuinely

was moved. >> reporter: kate is making charity her hallmark. this past weekend at st. james palace in glowing red she and william helped raise a million dollars for a child bereavement fund and fabian got some more good news recently. both of his sisters are bone marrow match for him. they say they have kate's thoughtful words of hope to hold on to. >> reporter: william and catherine are described as genuine, compassionate, approachable, which is a dream come true for the royal family moving forward. right now kate is working on choosing the charities she will personally endorse which will do wonders for their funding. tough choice but a good one to be able to make. ann? >> all right. our best wishes to fabian, michelle kosinski, thank you so much. just ahead, why did police take x-rays during extensive, day long search at the home of missing kansas city baby lisa irwin? and the private investigator working with the family is speaking out on this, coming up.

first, this is "today" on nbc.

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coming up a mother chooses to save her unborn child rather than undergo life saving chemotherapy. we'll have a touching story and meet that woman's daughter. plus this morning the waitress who went online to shame a customer whose tip was for her to lose weight. after your local news. of bad breathdid you s are hidden in the contours of your teeth & tongue. introducing a breakthrough for aquafresh. new extreme clean pure breath action. its micro active foam penetrates those hard to reach places. and it now contains a mineral compound that captures and neutralizes bad breath odors giving you 80% cleaner, purer breath. for all the confidence of pure breath try new extreme clean pure breath action from aquafresh. y. try new extreme clean pure breath action hurry in for the lowest prices of the season. save on all the top brands and names you love.

it's sears' biggest sale and lowest prices of the season, so don't miss out. that's real deals for real savings. sears. summertime is now a happy time. when we can eat what we want and sleep soundly through the night. prevacid®24hr prevents the acid that causes frequent heartburn, all day, all night. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. time to get a check on your morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> dealing with yet another accident on southbound 95 in the area of 175. the earlier accident cleared at

32. the delays were starting to filter out. now you will find them again approaching 100 to 175. 295 is looking at a slow go southbound from 100 down towards 98. accident in the city at argonne drive. speed is pretty slow around the area. 95 southbound dryaround white marsh. 19 miles per hour down to edmondson. southbound 795 backed up to owings mills. a bit of a delay on the inner loop approaching the northeast corner. here is what it looks like at white marsh going away from us. that is the pace of things as we get into the 7:00 hour. we will switch to aip of traffic at old court. coming towards us from the rams of 795. those continue down to edmondson. tony, over to you. >> clearly quiet start weather-

wise. a couple sprinkles, nothing of any consequence. but it is picking up the win it. 55 in parkton. we should rebound back into the sixties this afternoon. it is going to be a windy day. winds it should cost up to 30 miles per hour this afternoon. 20% chance for a shot with this morning. 61 tomorrow. low 60's on saturday and sunday. overnight though temperatures over the weekend it could dip into the 30's and we could get our first frost of the season saturday morning. next chance for rain on monday of next week.

7:30 on a thursday morning, october 20th, 2011. a bit of an overcast start to the day here in the northeast. al says, here's the good news though. it should clear up nicely just in time for a big concert on the plaza tomorrow morning. one of the hottest acts in music, cold play, taking over our 8:30 half hour tomorrow. look forward to that. if you're in the area come on down and get a seat early or standing place early. inside the studio i'm matt lauer

alongside ann curry. if you've ever waited tables you know it can be a very difficult job and you also know how aggravating it can be to get a bad tip. well, someone in a seattle restaurant gave a waitress nothing more than a note. on the note it said, "lose a few pounds." she didn't find that funny at all. we'll hear from her coming up. >> she's got a lot to say. also coming up this morning a pregnant woman diagnosed with terminal cancer was faced with an agonizing choice -- chemo to save her own life or forego treatment so her unborn child could survive. coming up that woman's family speaks out. very emotional decision, matt. on a much, much different note could you imagine visiting a real life jurrasaic park? wait until you hear just how close scientists think they are to cloning the long extinct woolly mammoth. that would be cool. >> no kidding. we begin now with the search warrant executed at the home of missing kansas city baby lisa irwin. in a moment we'll talk to the private investigator now working with the irwin family, but first

nbc's peter alexander is in kansas city with the details. peter, good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning to you. investigators came right back where they started. this was an exhaustive search. they were here until 1:00 in the morning, nearly 16 hours on site, to execute that search warrant. they would not reveal exactly what they found but it's obvious the question they're still trying to answer is where is baby lisa? their marathon search lasted late into the night. crime scene investigators dressed in sterile white suits testing, analyzing, combing every inch the irwin family home for any sign of baby lisa. technicians carried away what appeared to be x-ray film to be examined inside bomb and arson trucks on site. all day long with shovels and rakes crews scoured the property at times seen digging and prodding behind a shed in the back yard. nearby, detectives searched the roof and gutters, even the bird

feeder for hidden clues. investigators collected bags of potential evidence. they've been here before at least seven separate times, to the house where lisa's parents say their baby daughter disappeared october 4th. so why now and why this time armed with a search warrant? >> law enforcement is responding i think in part to the fact that the family now is represented by counsel. so i think that they're matching strategies with the family. >> reporter: neither the fbi nor kansas city police would reveal exactly what they were looking for. still, it seems clear authorities suspect the irwin family home holds secrets to this baffling mystery. now more than two and a half weeks old. >> these investigators have developed new information, new leads that tell them there is evidence inside that home that they had not looked for or found on prior searches. >> reporter: baby lisa's parents

deborah bradley and jeremy irwin insist their child was abducted and told nbc news on sunday they fear someone was scouting out their home. what do you guys think happened to lisa? >> somebody watched us. somebody waited. i don't know for how long. >> reporter: for now deborah and jeremy are staying with relatives and say they're praying for their daughter's safe return. will you ever move back into the home? >> i don't want to be back unless i have her. it's not the same. >> reporter: we reached out to the attorney for lisa's parents, in new york, who released this statement specifically about the search warrant saying i don't know why a warrant is needed. they can go in and out any time. they have had unfettered access because we want answers. ann? >> peter alexander, thank you. bill stanceon is a private investigator hired by a friend of lisa's family. good morning. >> good morning. >> why the x-rays? are they possibly not just

looking for evidence but possibly for baby lisa herself? >> absolutely. they are probably looking for multiple things -- dna, potentially if she was buried under the house, etcetera. >> and this idea that a bomb and arson truck were brought in even though there is no evidence of explosives in the house, what is your response to that? what is your assessment of that? >> i'll just take a guess. maybe there is a component of that bomb truck where they could search for vapors maybe of a deceased body. >> are they show boating, the police? >> i would never say that against a police department. >> are they doing a good job? >> from my optic, yes, they are. >> so if they're doing such a good job why are your services required? >> because i'm putting a different set of eyes on it. i'm not going over their homework. i'm doing a parallel but different course. >> you're saying you're an independent investigator and as i just mentioned you're hired by a friend of lisa's family. can you tell us something about who hired you so we understand whether you are in fact truly independent? >> absolutely. it is important to note, and an important distinction to make. while i'm working with the

family i'm not working for the family. this benefactor, the directive we spoke of was find the baby and take the truth wherever it goes. if that truth leads me to their guilt, so be it. >> okay. so then this person who is paying your bills, does that person have power over when and whether you release information? >> oh, no. absolutely not. any and all information that i get is a one way street. i give it directly to the kansas city police department. i don't ask for anything in return. i give it over good, bad, or ugly. remember, i do have access to the family. when i went to them and i told them if you're guilty i will look to have you arrested, they said, no problem. they said, whatever you need. that did impress me. >> if you do have information, that they are either guilty or if you have information that a kidnapper took this baby, then you have a -- do you feel you have a moral obligation not to talk to -- not to wait but rather go directly to the police? >> we're not waiting at all.

who are you going to go to? the police or the person who pays your salary? >> yes. we have a pipeline. there is a contact number. i have news for you. we are giving all the information -- we're not even necessarily giving the family the information that we get. >> so meantime what is your current theory? >> my current theory is at this time i am looking outside the home because everybody is saying the family did it and i am absolutely looking at them but then you tell me how they did it. did she drive? did he do it? did she do it? did she walk and take the baby and dispose of the baby? that's the tough question. so when you eliminate those, then you have to entertain the idea that someone came from outside the home. look at the phone records. get blood hounds to follow her scent in case she took that baby and hid it somewhere by foot. go over all of those variables. look at that real hard. then if it's not coming up, that is they did it, then you have to look outside the home. >> right. exactly. you seem to be indicating that they would have to be very good criminals if the parents actual

di it. >> you make a good point. they would have to be master criminals. >> why? >> because it's virtually a perfect crime. there is nothing leading you. look at the timeline. you look at what happened. she was sleeping in the bed with her boy. so now you can't wake up the kids. you have to i would assume this was done by accident if she did, let's say she shook the baby or over medicated the baby. she had the timeline between let's say 10:30 and 3:45. how did she do all this not knowing if her husband was going to come home at any minute? it's just very hard to wrap my hands around. so when i talk over with my team and we go over this and, understand, for hours and hours, it keeps coming back to the potentialality that someone from outside the home. >> but you have no evidence of that either. >> no, nobody does. and it's important. anything, all our findings, even theories we hand over because what we may think is innocent or innocuous the p.d. may think is

their key. so they're getting it all. >> all right. bill stanton, thank you so much for bringing a little bit of clarity to this. >> if i could just make a note there is a $100,000 reward, so hopefully someone will look to collect on that. >> all right. thank you so much, bill. it is now time to get a check of the weather from al. today's weather is brought to you by advil. make the switch to advil now. and good morning everybody. cloudy skies, showers just about on the end here in the northeast. there is more activity moving up to the north but as we look at those temperatures we've got some cold air coming in. today right now it's only 46 in atlanta, 66 here in new york. move into friday, cooler air making its way to the east starts to moderate out west and as we move on into saturday the cooler temperatures move into the northeast with some 40s hanging out but 90s down through the desert southwest.

>> good morning. it will be a windy day today. you could see a rain shower this morning. we got the original sister act here. where are you from? >> arkansas. >> nice to see you. >> massachusetts. >> okay. very nice. all right. ann? >> all right, al. thank you. coming up next the waitress received a tip to lose weight and lashed out at her customer online and speaks out. [ female announcer ] starbucks via® is planted the same... ♪ ...harvested the same... ♪ ...and roasted the same as our other premium coffees. ♪

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hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your rheumatologist how you can defend against... ...and help stop further joint damage with humira. back at 7:42 with the waitress understandably upset over a customer's tip. someone left her not money but unwanted advice to, quote, lose a few pounds. now that woman is speaking out. nbc's amy robach is in seattle with the details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning you to. when i caught up with victoria liss she was on a day off from her waitressing and bartending job at a popular seattle restaurant and with all the furor the story has created over the past few days that day off couldn't have come soon enough. the late night crowd at biomedical bowbimbo's

can sometimes be demanding but according to victoria liss the couple sitting at her table on a bus fredi night was downright rude. >> him and his girlfriend were eating their food and they picked up this taco they ordered and it had an extra layer of beans on it and they were just pointing and waving in my face like this taco is carb hell. >> you were considering kicking them out of the bar. >> yeah, i was. >> reporter: after the couple closed their tab with a credit card, victoria looked at the receipt. the man had left a terrible tip, no money, just some handwritten advice about losing weight. >> reporter: what did it say? >> it said, "you could stand to lose a few pounds" and "lose" was spelled incorrectly just to prove how intelligent they were. >> reporter: and to prove how angry she was over being insulted and stiffed victoria went on facebook and tried to give the male customer a piece of her mind. >> as a feminist i think it's completely uncalled for for a man to, when he's mad at a woman just pick her apart physically. >> reporter: bloggers picked up

on the incident and the story went viral. they're even talking about it in taiwan. >> it is never appropriate to write something unkind on the bottom of the credit card slip. >> reporter: days after all the attention about victoria's terrible tip an online review from an unidentified person certainly seemed to describe the night in question. he wrote in part, "my girlfriend and i had without question the worst restaurant/bar experience of our lives. the woman who was supposed to be serving us seemingly ignored us for 25 minutes." according to the reviewer they were served double decker tacos which they didn't order. when they asked for regular tacos, the reviewer says the waitress countered with some snarky comment about, you could use a little weight. for her part, victoria claims that's not what happened. >> i didn't do anything to offend this person and i don't know why they had to pick apart my physical appearance for it.

>> reporter: now, victoria goes back to work tonight. in fact, she's been back to work since this all unfolded and she says it's created some tension among her co-workers, some who believe she should have not have taken this to facebook. that, unfortunately, rude behavior from customers is all in a day's work. matt, back to you. >> amy robach out in seattle for us this morning, thank you very much. coming up next, how would you like to walk alongside a woolly mammoth? you'll be surprised at just how close scientists say they are to bringing the creatures back to life. that's right after this. ♪

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deep within siberia, so remote you need a hovercraft to get there, we traveled back in time to a frozen place called windy cliffs where woolly mammoths roamed tens of thousands of years ago. so many bones that russian scientists and mammoth expert sergei zimov had a good collection within minutes. >> leg. >> that's heavy. >> yes. >> reporter: but the real treasure lies in the permafrost below where scientists have found the most preserved mammoth remains in recent years, whose dna offers the best hope for cloning the species. hendrick poinar in ontario is excited and says he has almost cracked the entire genetic code. >> within the next year we should have the complete genome. >> reporter: he's come a long way since appearing on the "today" show in 1993 with his

reality check about steven spielberg's new film "jurrasaic park." >> cloning a dinosaur is not a feasible project. >> reporter: okay. maybe not dinosaurs but cloning extinct species like the mammoth he now says is do-able. >> obviously spielberg was thinking further ahead than we were. >> reporter: meanwhile this professor and his japanese team are trying to clone a mammoth by injecting mammoth dna into an elephant egg creating a mammoth embryo. despite initial setbacks he's optimistic. real life woolly mammoths actually walking the earth for the first time in 10,000 years, so what do you do with them? where do you raise a mammoth in today's warmer world which many scientists believe actually killed off its ice-age ancestors? the answer could lie here in the far reaches of northeastern

siberia. welcome to 60 square miles of grass land, reindeer, wild horses, and bison, a whole ice age ecosystem, part hobby and part science experiment where zimov has recreated a slice of the past. what's missing of course are the packs of huge woolly mammoths. now the stuff of fantasy but if cloned mammoths do become fact -- >> i know mammoths will survive here in this place. >> reporter: there is a good chance this man made park could feel like home. but don't hold your breath. we could well see a baby mammoth in five to ten years according to some scientists we spoke to but a herd of mammoths roaming around their ancient grasslands is something that our grandchildren might see but thanks to those amazing computer generated images from discovery

channel at least we can dream. that's pretty cool. >> great story, jim. thank you so much. >> you just blew day three of where in the world -- ] if you have rheumatoid arthritis, can you start the day the way you want? can orencia help? [ woman ] i wanted to get up when i was ready, not my joints. [ man ] i wanted to button my shirt, myself. [ female announcer ] could your "i want" become "i can"? talk to your doctor. orencia reduces many ra symptoms, like pain, morning stiffness and progression of joint damage. it's helped new ra patients and those not helped enough by other treatments. do not take orencia with another biologic medicine for ra due to an increased risk of serious infection. serious side effects can occur including rare but fatal infections. cases of lymphoma and lung cancer have been reported. tell your doctor if you are prone to or have any infection like an open sore or the flu or a history of copd, a chronic lung disease. orencia may worsen your copd. doctors have prescribed orencia for thousands of patients.

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. time for a check on your morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> dealing with problems in carroll county as you make your way, shut down at willow street over to high-heeled, due to an accident in that area. southbound route 22 also blocked in the belair region due to accident. tracking one at towson and york

road and fairmount ave. jammed right at 795. and miles per hour -- 10 miles per hour. outer loop traffic on the west side, also delayed. 18 miles per hour on average. southbound 795 looking at at back up out of owings mills. further south, accident clearing. southbound 175. southbound 295, also look for a slow go. the idea of traffic at 95 out of the white marsh area, -- live view of traffic at 95 out of the white marsh area, still backed up. in a lot of volume from folks trying to get off 95. >> we are off to a fairly quiet start. a little bit up sprinkle activity in some neighborhoods. 56 at the airport, 55 in

randallstown. was will be gusting over 30 mi. per hour is that it -- winds will be gusting over 30 miles per hour this afternoon. going into the weekend, chilly but try. overnight lows made it into the 30's. next chance for rain will, on monday of next week.

8:00 now on a thursday morning, the 20th day of october, 2011. as we say hello to our friends here in rockefeller plaza. guess what? if you all come back tomorrow, you'll be able to see the grammy winning band cold play live and in concert. we'll see if they bring along all of these great elephants you can see in their newest video. pretty darned cute. i love these guys.

they're so much fun and their music makes you happy. >> we were waiting for the woolly mammoths. >> there you. there's a theme in our broadcast this morning. i'm ann curry with matt lauer and al roker. coming up, a story that will touch the heart of any parent. >> stacy krim was diagnosed with terminal cancer a couple weeks into her pregnancy and given a heart breaking choice. treat the cancer or maintain the pregnancy. she chose her unborn daughter and lived just long enough to hold that baby girl. stacy's family members are going to join us this morning and share a touching story of sacrifice. >> what a sacrifice. my gosh. then earlier this week in a related subject, juliana ransek underwent a double lumpectomy after revealing she had breast cancer here on "today." how did it go and how is she feeling? her husband bill will be here. >> fingers crossed for juliana. meantime let's get the news stories of the morning from

natalie at the news desk. the state department and pentagon say they cannot confirm reports out of libya this morning that moammar gadhafi has been captured or killed. nbc's chief pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski joins us now with more. mick, what are you hearing there? >> reporter: natalie, pentagon military and intelligence officials are as you said saying that they cannot absolutely confirm that moammar gadhafi has been killed or captured. according to one senior u.s. official who again said it cannot be confirmed, this official said, however, it is looking good that perhaps gadhafi has in fact been captured in his hometown of cert. the town was the scene of joyous jubilation today as the libyan rebels finally drove out the last of moammar gadhafi's forces as we see here in this video. but, again, the reports that gadhafi himself has been killed

or captured cannot be confirmed but officials are saying it is looking good. now, even though gadhafi was not really in command of any kind of military force that could offer the kind of resistance that was required against nato air strikes and the rebel forces, his killing or capture of course would be a huge psychological victory for this new transitional government there in libya and, finally, after decades of brutal regime end the gadhafi rule in libya for good. natalie? >> all right. jim miklaszewski at the pentagon, of course, monitoring the developments there. we'll be checking back with you throughout the morning. for the latest on the ground we'll turn to cert, libya, for the very latest. what are you hearing there? >> reporter: well, good morning, natalie. we were on our way to cert when we first heard the news that cert has fallen to the rebels. and on this lonely stretch of

highway between misrad and certe you have jubilant cheers. they all say gadhafi has been captured and is possibly on his way to misvarada and they are basically celebrating. it's ban long slog for these men who have been fighting for basically eight months when the fighting first started and it's been two months since the capital tripoli fell. there's a lot of jubilation though there has been no confirmation of these reports. >> we'll be checking back with you as well. thank you. in other news this morning, officials in zanesville, ohio say all of the exotic pets set free from a private farm tuesday night have now been accounted for. deputies were forced to shoot 50 animals including lions, bears, and rare bengal tigers released by their owner before he apparently committed suicide. drivers began calling police after spotting the animals along interstate 70 east of columbus. now for a look at what is trending, our quick-roundup of what has you talking online.

tmz reports the kardashian girls were taken by surprise when they heard that president obama doesn't like his daughters watching "keeping up with the kardashians." first lady michelle obama spilled the beans in an interview. khloe kardashian says the president told her it was a great show when she met him at a white house event last year. call it a stroke of sheen-ius. charlie sheen took to twitter to reveal he'll be dressing up of course as charlie sheen for halloween. actually costume shops say the sheen masks are hot this year because they bring out the tiger blood in anyone. and musician jonathan mann has a hit on youtube. he posted this duet with the voice activated virtual assistant on his new iphone 4-s ♪ okay will you marry me let's just be friends will you marry me we hardly know one another will you please marry me i'm not capable of love and your licensing agreement does not

cover marriage ♪ >> that's pretty genius. mann says he took creative liberty and prerecorded siri's responses because siri can be unpredictable. 8:05 right now. back to al with a check of the weather. >> pretty good. thanks. and a tip of the hat to these folks who have my name on their hat. where are you guys from? >> chicago. >> who do you want to wish happy birthday to? all right. happy birthday, sir. thanks so much. li like the hats. let's check your weather. austin, texas, kxan 36, sunny, mild, 76 degrees. as we check things out you got that big spin of low pressure over the great lakes. that's going to be making its way up the coast and as it does the rain will be ending. the winds will also start dying down from chicago. we'll pick up a little here in the northeast. showers in the pacific northwest, rainy around the great lakes. beautiful weather from texas into the southwest. 97 in phoenix today. look for 78.

high surf advisories along the >> good morning. it is going to be a windy day. there is a 20% chance for rain shower this morning. a mixture of sun and clouds. and that's your latest weather. ann? >> al, thank you so much. coming up we'll tell you really a very touching story about a woman who was diagnosed with terminal cancer and refused chemotherapy to save the life of her unborn child. her family shares their story right after this. [ laughs ]

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it's called hope. hope? 'cause every time you get a happy meal or a mighty kids meal some of the money goes to ronald mcdonald house charities. happy meals. the simple joy of helping. we're back with one mother's ultimate sacrifice for her child. we'll meet that woman's baby girl in a moment. but first, the emotional story. >> reporter: it was the happiest news she'd ever had. after being told it wasn't

possible, stacy krim at 41 had become pregnant. she could barely contain herself when she broke the news to her brother ray and his wife, jennifer. >> it took her by total surprise. she was petrified and happy and just -- she was just beside herself with it. >> reporter: but even as she was getting ready for the baby she would name dottie mae, stacy, suffering crippling headaches, tunnel vision, and tremors, knew something was very wrong. >> she'd call me crying. she would say that i'm not going to live long enough to have this baby. >> reporter: a devestating diagnosis for the single mom-to-be. terminal head and neck cancer. and a heart breaking decision. treat the cancer with chemotherapy or maintain the pregnancy. it was one or the other. stacy chose the life of her unborn daughter dottie mae. >> she said, you know, if i have to make a decision you know what that's going to be. don't even ask. she said, i've lived my life.

>> reporter: in august as stacy's body was shutting down doctors performed an emergency c-section. dottie mae was born ten weeks premature, weighing just two pounds. she was rushed to a neo natal intensive care unit in a different building before stacy could even see her. >> just one of those things that you know you have to do. >> reporter: nurses caring for dottie mae knew stacy didn't have much longer to live. even though both mother and baby were separate intensive care units and both critical these women, moms themselves, were insistent stacy hold her baby. they raced to get the necessary precautions in place then put dottie mae in an incubator and wheeled her over to meet her mother. >> sister just watched and they laid dottie on her chest and sister had all these gowns and towels and rubber gloves and masks on and she lifted up her hands under the covers and jufs held her and just looked at her and smiled. it was beautiful.

>> she had never seen her. she'd seen pictures of her, you know, we'd talk about her but she hadn't actually, you know, got to hold her. and, you know, that's what every parent dreams of is holding their baby. >> reporter: stacy asked ray and jennifer to take care of dottie before falling into a coma. she died three days later. >> your mother would be proud. >> reporter: dottie mae is now home with her new family after the ultimate sacrifice from a mother for her child. nbc news, houston. >> stacy's brother ray phillips and his wife jennifer are now along with us along with stacy's baby dottie mae. good morning to you and my condolences on your loss first of all. >> thank you. >> good morning. >> it's an overwhelming story. it is so emotional. if there is one silver lining it is lying in your lap right there. how is dottie mae doing? >> she's doing very well.

she still has to wake up every three hours to eat but she is doing very well. >> we mentioned she was born ten weeks' premature at just two pounds. what long-term challenges do the doctors say she faces? >> none as of yet. >> that's great news. >> she is on a -- >> this is a personal story obviously, ray. this is the loss of your sister and i'm sure it was overwhelming for you. why did you decide to share the story? >> i did it for dottie mae, you know, it's not really about us. my sister was a beautiful woman and i think dottie mae should know it. >> this decision that your sister stacy made, ray, did she discuss it with you or was there no discussing it? was it simply that her mind was

made up? >> her mind was made up. it was pretty cut and dry. >> did you agree with the decision? >> i told her i'd support her either way is exactly what i told her. >> that moment when stacy actually got to hold her baby, i believe you were there. just tell me more about it. what was it like for you to watch? >> i felt like it was probably the most beautiful thing i'd ever seen in my life and immediately afterward i told my wife, i said, i don't think i'll ever see anything that beautiful again. >> you are now caring, both of you, for dottie mae. i understand the father is not a part of her life. did stacy discuss with you at all how she wanted her daughter raised, things like that? >> yeah.

stacy, she didn't have a dream childhood. she didn't have a bad childhood. but one of the things she discussed with me was beauty pageants. i hope this little girl grows up beautiful. so we can put her in pageants. >> and, jennifer, you have from what i understand six children between you and ray, four of them living at home with you. are you worried about the challenges of adding another? >> you know, i love children. i love being a mom. i am excited. i think dottie will fit right in. >> and, ray, as dottie mae gets a little bit older what are you going to tell her about her mom? >> i don't think i'll have to tell her anything. i think she'll kind of figure it out on her own. >> well, take care of that beautiful little girl and we thank you very much for sharing her story and your sister's story as well, ray and jennifer. >> thank you.

>> we'll be back right after these messages. i kept feeling this radiating ache everywhere. the pain was so frustrating. i found out that connected to our muscles are nerves that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia -- thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and less pain means i can feel better and do more of what i love. [ female announcer ] lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior, or any swelling or affected breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision, or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. i found answers about fibromyalgia.

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battle with breast cancer. the e news host made the announcement monday on the "today" show and tuesday underwent a double lumpectomy. her husband bill joins us. hey, bill. good morning. >> how are you? >> how are you and juliana doing? >> we are doing well and very grateful to the "today" show family and all the viewers who have been sending e-mails and tweets and letters of support. it's definitely helped juliana get through this and certainly she expresses her gratitude to everyone out there for showing their support. >> we're looking at some photographs of the two of you and another family member just before the double lumpectomy. what do you want to tell us about what she had to go through? >> well, it was kind of a long day believe it or not. there are many steps in the process when you go through this because it was on both breasts. the morning started out with a long, two-hour mri where they had to put a guide wire in so the surgeon knew exactly what area to remove.

then from the mri went to a mammogram where they did the other breast and put a guide wire in there and from there we went into the surgery and the surgery lasted about two hours. she's a trooper and pulled through it and was kind of relieved to get it over with and get the cancer out and she's doing well at home recovering and i'm adding a nurse to my resume now. she's having a lot of fun with that. >> i bet she is. i'm sure you're very busy tending to her. she described you as her rock. but it's really hard to watch someone you love go through cancer. and there is a toll on you even though you're the one trying to take care of the person who's suffering. the emotions must be pretty tough here for you. >> well, you know, juliana has had a tough year and a half. i just, between the ibf attempts and now with this. for me i wish i could carry some of the load, take some of the pain away and watching the ivs

go in her arm and getting, watching her being wheeled into that operating room was heart breaking for me. so i'm just doing everything i can to support her and make sure she's comfortable and try to make her laugh as often as possible. >> the doctors, what are they saying was the prognosis? you did catch it early. >> yeah. we're viewing this as a gift. it was caught accidently, very, very early. and we're going back tomorrow to the doctor to make sure that the lymph nodes, they had to remove a couple lymph nodes and we hope we get a good report tomorrow, god willing, and then it's radiation and then we kick off 2012 with a new outlook on life and we're ready to take on the world. she's excited. she's going to go back to work next week, god willing, and she's really viewing life a little bit differently. it's funny when you go through a situation like this it kind of turns the volume down on the things that aren't really that important. >> that's absolutely right. i know that you mentioned earlier the response online on

twitter, so many people wishing her well and i know that you're going to have a lot to say to this baby that you're going to have eventually. >> well, indeed. that baby not only will have saved juliana's life but the amount of tweets we've been getting from women and men saying they've scheduled their first mammogram or their wife has scheduled her first mammogram is really remarkable. that was the goal of this. >> all right. bill, thank you so much. our best wishes.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am sarah caldwell. still holding onto delays around the area. accident in hampstead. close at willow street. use extra caution and there. for eight to your alternate. -- 482 your alternate. holding on to the west side delays, 16 miles per hour on the

out of all the way down to edmondson. backing up traffic and on southbound 795. thankfully, no significant delays on j.f.x. southbound. delays on the northeast at 95. 20 miles per hour there. outer loop north side, slow go from harford toward the harrisburg expressway. live view of traffic. we start in the white marsh area. southbound heading towards the beltway. idea of traffic in 295, southbound traffic starting to improve. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> we had a cold front go through a couple of hours ago. it is starting to kick up the win, but little precipitation. temperatures have dropped into the 50s. we started out this morning in the 60's. 54 in parkton. for today, a mixture of sunshine and clouds. it is going to be windy, winds

gusting over 30 miles per hour. it is going to be a dry weekend. sunshine, high temperatures in the low-to-mid-60's. we could wind up with our first frost of the season saturday or sunday morning. we are back at 8:55 with another update.

8:30 now on a thursday morning, the 20th day of october, 2011. we've talked about the rains early this morning. al promised us it was going to clear off and he's a man of his

word is mr. roker because now it's breezy and beautiful here in new york city. temperature of about 65 or 66 degrees. >> so why are we wearing coats? >> i know. >> we're crazy. >> it's a fashion statement. why do we wear heels? >> you're getting sick. >> okay. >> you have to take care of yourself. >> thank you. >> i'm matt lauer with ann curry, natalie morales, and al roker. coming up, hoda and kathie lee do the pacific northwest. the question is what did the pacific northwest ever do to deserve this? there they are out there getting ready for the fourth hour of "today" from seattle, washington. >> all right. >> fish mongers. nice. >> okay. >> i don't know why but i get lucille ball all over this. >> they must be down at pike's place, one of the great places to go. normally people don't behave like that. >> looking for scale.

>> speaking of that, we are going to be talking about food coming up and that's the fall's hottest food trends. apparently there is such a thing. i'll show you how to work them into your next meal. after you make that meal have you noticed it's harder these days to get your dishes clean, harder to get the grime and grease off them? coming up we'll tell you why that's happening and reveal a new list of the best dish washing detergents on the market. but first, let's say hello to orlando bloom. great to have you. i'd give you a big hug and kiss but i'd get you sick. we love you. you play england's duke of buckingham in the new movie called "the three musketeers" and the bottom line is this appears to be a modern, high tech take on a 400-year-old story. >> yeah. >> and with you choosing not to be a musketeer but a duke, the question is, which did you love most, the big hair or the high heels? >> yeah, exactly.

i didn't want to wear a wig so we went with this kind of crazy hair-do. you guys probably every morning the last thing you want to do is sit in the chair for an hour and a half. >> they do wear the pompadour, though. >> it was hilarious. >> he is not a particularly good guy right? >> he is a little bit of a baddy. not all bad. >> you as a baddy. >> that was kind of the appeal because i think perhaps people might have expected me to play one of the musketeers but i got to sort of swing around as the duke of buckingham. >> this is 3d right? so really cool. >> so the pompadour goes right into your -- >> that is actually my lethal weapon in this movie. i don't even have to draw a sword. just use my hair. >> did you like the sword part? >> yes. in this movie quite literally i don't have to pull a sword so i'm literally using my hair. my tongue is my sword. >> the director of this, his name is paul anderson.

>> that's right. >> he is known for his action packed -- he doesn't allow any stunt doubles. this is a bruising kind of effort. >> really tried hard to make the sequences good and they've taken this classic novel and revamped it and rebooted it and made a great film for 2012 pop culture audience. >> and good for the family. >> yes. >> you have a new son right? >> i do. >> congratulations on flynn. that's fantastic. >> congratulations. and also the prequel to "the lord of the rings" movies. can't wait for that. >> nice to have you. congratulations. >> mr. roker, how aon >> good morning. it will be a windy day today. you could see a rain shower this morning.

that's your latest weather. you can always check your weather conditions. weather channel on cable or weather.com. now hello to uncle willard scott. hey, uncle willie. >> the leaves are brown and falling down. it is a wonderful time of the year. isn't it beautiful? and now from smucker's hall of fame, a birthday treat if you'll take a look, please. lorenavolz, like the car. thousand oaks, california, 106. loves to do crossword puzzles every day and plays cribbage and gin rumi. ho and we have george waggoner from

louisville, kentucky 100 years old today. loves to bowl and dance at the same time. quite an act he's got there. and he also, get this, in his career he sold muhammed ali his first set of boxing gloves. how about that? and we have grace mura of west palm beach, florida, 105. former designer. loves fashion and still keeps up with it all the time at 105. how about that? and dale chatfield, aurora, illinois, 100 years old today. a horseshoe enthusiast. the kind you throw out and pitch. i was pretty good at that at one time. fwood for you. mary walls, st. louis, missouri. she is 100. lives independently and just loves to garden and still is in good shape. how about that? thanks to, she says, her faith

in the good record. i guess she's bless wed good health. who blesses? the good lord. we have luther, love that name, luther gray, richmond, virginia, 100 years old. proud ww ii veteran and attends church every single sunday and loves all kind of sports especially baseball. that's it. that's all. back to you. >> thank you, willard. up next, from the tablets to the dish washer what should you use? we'll put them to the test. >> first this is "today" on nbc. drinkin'? i'm drinkin' dunkin'. coffee -- black, straight up. extra cream, three sugars. iced coffee french vanilla. for me. iced coffee with a turbo shot. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. drinkin' dunkin'. america runs on dunkin' coffee.

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. bge's instant discounts got our homeowner to switch to energy star® cfl bulbs.

3-way cfls really click with my style. learn to speak the language of energy efficiency at bgesmartenergy.com. we're back at 8:39. this morning on today's consumer how good is your dish washing detergent? consumer correspondent janice lieberman is here with details. >> good morning. if you've noticed your dishes

are dull and your glasses cloudy it may not be the fault of your dish washer because about a year ago detergent makers removed phosphates from their products to help save the environment. so the ingredients changed and so may have their performance. good housekeeping magazine is out with their top picks of soaps that sparkle. we decided to see how they tackle that dirty job. who doesn't want their dishes to sparkle? finding the best soap to do the job isn't all that easy since phosphates have been removed from dish detergents some experts say cleaning dishes has not been the same. caroline forte home director of the cleaning lab at the good house keeping institute took us behind the scenes as they tested 35 dish washer detergents. >> yes. >> you have some really nasty looking stuff here. >> we do. >> reporter: they came up with their top five picks. but before we reveal them, you need to see how tough it is to

become a clean winner. >> we want to make sure our tests are really tough so we can discriminate between the different brands we're testing. >> reporter: most of us wouldn't dream of loading our dish washers covered with food, baked on egg, milk and cheese, burnt milk, caked on oatmeal, fried burger residue, and greasy margerine. what's on this? >> this is our, what we call our spinach smear. it is a combination of spinach, green beans, krisco, and mayonnaise. when we finish soilg everything we let it sit or bacon for two hours. after that two-hour period we load up the dish washer and run the cycle. >> she asked me to plant a wet one. >> most of the detergents really struggled with the lip stick. >> okay. >> fill the cups with coffee to put the stain on and then blot each rim with a paper towel. that's how we get it on and make it very precise. >> here is how i would do it. there you go. >> give us a hand. >> the kiss test. >> reporter: they used hard water which contains minerals to up the ante for the test. and surprisingly did not rinse

any dishes at all. before long, we were ready to start. caroline chose the pots and pans cycle. >> generally a longer cycle. the water temperature gets up to a higher temperature and also you get a much stronger wash action. >> so you want to make sure you choose the right cycle. >> it really does make a difference. >> after a fewer hours of washing and a heat and dry we were ready for the results. >> reporter: look. >> very clean. lip stick gone. >> reporter: did a great job. >> just two items had minimal soil on them. >> none of the 35 detergents we tested got everything absolutely clean. >> reporter: really impressive. and finally the winners. among the best in tablets? finish quantum. cascade's complete pack. and mrs. meyer's clean day packs. lovely. >> they have lavendar, even lemon. >> reporter: cascade complete gel was a glass and flatware favorite and the best bargain for your buck at ten cents a

wash, walmart's great value powder. and here are some other tips that may help get your load cleaner. make sure your tap water is hot before you turn on your dish washer. use more soap if you have hard water and the key is to loading the dish washer correctly. >> okay. how do you load it correctly? >> let me show you. first of all, don't overload. >> and also no -- open the dish washer. >> and have everything face the jets, the water jets coming in which i didn't know which makes a lot of sense. if you're not sure where that is read the manual. >> also a simple trick if you have film on your dishes which i always think is some of that chemical that you're washing the dish washing materials. >> i don't know where it's from but to clean it all out use a little vinegar in the cycle with water. it'll clean them and make your glasses sparkly clean. if you have hard water use a little borax to help clean it out. these are great tips. >> thank you so much. i think we now want to turn to matt for a special report on some breaking news.

hey, matt? and now this nbc news special report. there are reports out of libya today that former leader moammar gadhafi has been killed. it comes just hours after interim government forces launched an offensive in gadhafi's hometown of serte and two months after the fall of tripoli. let's bring in jim miklaszewski at the pentagon this morning. mick, what can you tell us? >> reporter: pentagon military state department intelligence officials here in washington still cannot positively confirm that moammar gadhafi has either been captured or killed, but evidence appears to be mounting inside libya that that is in fact what happened this morning outside gadhafi's hometown of sirte. according to one u.s. official while still not officially being able to confirm that gadhafi was captured or killed told nbc news that it's looking good and it

does appear at this hour that decades of his brutal rule there in libya have come to an end. >> mick, i want to mention to our viewers, i'll put an image up in a second that is graphic. this comes from a leader of rebel forces who claims it is a picture of moammar gadhafi after he was killed. again, it is a graphic image and we have no independent confirmation on this photo but it does appear to show the former libyan leader after being killed. mick, when do we expect that we might get more concrete information on this? how long will it take to filter out of libya? >> you know, there are u.s. officials on the ground including many cia who are embedded with the transitional national council, the new government or soon-to-be government of libya and so we expect within hours some firm confirmation from those u.s. officials on the ground in libya that moammar gadhafi is --

>> as the forces surrounded sirte and began to take it down, mick, there were some thoughts that it would be two -- of course being the hometown of moammar good halfy -- that it would be too obvious a place for him to be hiding. we had early reports this morning that the leader, the former leader was actually found hiding in a hole and had just been wounded but this just kind of shows us how difficult it is to get credible information out of that part of the world given the circumstances. >> reporter: that's right. latest reports indicate he may have been struck by nato air strikes in a convoy that was fleeing sirte just as the rebels took over power and drove out all the gadhafi loyalists in an intense, 90-minute gun battle this morning. u.s. intelligence for sometime at least the last six to eight weeks has believed that in fact gadhafi was either there in sirte, his hometown, or another town filled with gadhafi loyalists but today's air strikes perhaps on a convoy and

that photo which clearly does appear to be moammar gadhafi is mounting evidence that he is at least seriously injured if not dead. >> all right. again, the headline here that the one-time leader of libya for some 42 years before being ousted from power back in august, moammar gadhafi according to some sources out of libya has been killed. jim miklaszewski at the pentagon, thank you very much. we'll have much more throughout the day on msnbc and msnbc.com. some of you will now return to your regularly scheduled programming. for others, there is more of "today." i'm matt lauer. this is an nbc news special report.

back at 8:49 with our friend len burrman here to take us on a wild ride once again with the wonderfully whacky world of sports. len, good morning. >> good morning, guys. how are you? >> the last couple months featured the baseball playoffs and the nba lockout but what were truly the top sports stories? let's go spanning the world. >> unbelievable! >> on your mark, get set! play ball, our play of the month in germany. this is a bicycle kick over his end goal. how about that? >> nice. >> remember basketball? >> yeah. >> not a bad alley-oop pass wouldn't you say? rajon rondo. nice defense, guys. our oops of the month on the

penalty kick in egypt. >> the quarterback from clemson. there he goes. oh, my goodness. a gift touchdown for florida state. in kansas city, the tarp guy goes over. >> ouch! >> run for your lives! oh, my goodness. behind the plate. sparks fly. >> literally. >> heads up. our heads up plays of the month. the goalie kicks it and he kicks it off the head of the guy in front of him. back into his own goal. >> oh, no. >> embarrassing. corey banks for the bc lions runs a post pattern. my goodness. >> oh, no. >> did he make that sound? >> nobody got hurt. not even corey. our team of the month, the crew from great britain practicing on the moving walkway at the munich airport. and a guy going the wrong way. >> that's great. >> our animals of the month.

the rally squirrel scampers across the batter's box in st. louis. but you know what? upon further review, the squirrel misses home plate. our coach of the month at coastal carolina, no cats are wanted on his team. >> i told our players, we need to be like a dog. we don't need a bunch of cats in here, meow, looking good, i got my extra bands on. i got my shoes on. be a dog. >> be a dog. in washington did teddy roosevelt finally win his first ever president's race? the leprechaun got him. finally, he he komgs. at last he is going to do it. once and for all. it's a win except for the guy in the monkey suit. hate that. our fans of the month. in arena football the kickoff return. >> oh! >> hey, is that legal? >> and in taiwan to catch a foul ball he drops his daughter in front of him. >> oh, no. >> what?

>> his wife is real pleased. >> oh, yeah. >> you're a moron. >> very strong. >> thanks. >> probably the best yet. thank you. still ahead would your child benefit from a single sex school? today's professionals star, don donny, and nancy weigh in on that. first this is "today" on nbc. here they are.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am sarah caldwell. the montgomery county states

attorney says he may consider pushing the death penalty against curtis lopez, who was arrested last week for allegedly murdering jane mcquain. he is also the prime suspect in the death of her son, william mcquain. investigators discovered

>> it is going to be a windy day to day. the weather should be quiet. at slight chance you might run into besprinkled -- into a sprinkle. it is going to be a dry and chilly weekend temperatures in the low 60s. >> we will have another weather update at 9:25. update at 9:25.