good morning. bombshell. the wife of convicted swindler bernie madoff breaks her silence, claiming she and her husband attempted suicide together after his crimes were revealed. >> i don't know whose idea it was, but we decided to kill ourselves because it was so horrendous, what was happening. >> this morning ruth madoff is speaking out for the first time since her husband's arrest. the good doctor? conrad murray tears up in court

as his former patients testify on his behalf with just two witnesses left has the defense done enough or will dr. murray have to take the stand? and back in the saddle. aero smith front man steven tyler returned to the stage a day after a nasty fall at a hotel bathroom with the bumps and bruises to prove it. for the first time he'll tell us what happened and how he's feeling in a live interview today, thursday, october 27th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television welcome to today on this thursday morning. i'm ann curry. >> i'm matt lauer. this morning we are learning startling new details about what was happening inside the madoff home during bernie madoff's fall from grace, including this claim from his wife, ruth, that they actually tried to kill

themselves. >> in a new interview ruth madoff says they took pills on christmas eve of 2008 with just two weeks after her husband was arrested and accused of operating a $65 billion ponzi scheme. we'll get the latest on this straight ahead. also, a verdict could come today in the case of a shaken ohio community. a former teacher is on trial for allegedly having sex with several of her own students. she has pleaded not guilty. the reason? insanity. we'll have details as that woman faces her accusers in court. and also we have an extraordinary picture to show you. this is sharla nash the connecticut woman who was mauled by a chimpanzee. she received a ground breaking face transplant back in may and as you can see, look at this. the results are really remarkable. we'll have more on this, coming up. plus, he is a superstar who can do just about anything. we're talking about a singer, actor, dancer, now justin timberlake is starring in a brand new action thriller. he's going to join us live in our studio to talk about it all.

we begin now with that bombshell interview with bernie madoff's wife, her first since his arrest. today legal correspondent savannah guthrie is joining us with details. >> good morning to you. of course it was one of the most shocking cases of power, greed, and fraud in u.s. history. bernie madoff ripped off hundreds of investors and when his scheme was discovered his wife now claims they tried to take their own lives. in december, 2008, bernie madoff's make believe world was coming to an end. his $65 billion ponzi scheme discovered. his assets frozen, he was under house arrest in his $7 million home. on christmas eve he and his wife ruth had had enough. >> i don't know whose idea it was but we decided to kill ourselves because it was so horrendous. i said i just can't go on

anymore. >> reporter: in a "60 minutes" interview to air this sunday ruth madoff describes the bleak depths her life had reached. >> it was christmas eve and that added to the whole depression. we took pills and woke up the next day. >> reporter: though ruth says the suicide attempts were spontaneous the couple made what they thought would be a final gesture to their son, andy. >> i had some lovely antique things and things that i thought they might want. >> i tore open the envelope and dumped it out and it was absolutely heart breaking. these were pieces of jewelry that i recognized. things that i had seen my mother wearing. >> writer steve fishman has interviewed bernie madoff extensively and has a difficult time imagining a suicide attempt. >> bernie is not the kind of guy who is going to end his life. he's not. he's always been a guy who was able to cope and get by and get along and reinvent himself. and he's not a guy who lingers

on the down side. >> reporter: now after three years ruth and andy are opening up about how their family was ripped apart. they've collaborated with author laurie sandell on a book "truth and consequences, life inside the madoff family." >> probably there is some catharsis involved in this. i think for andrew, perhaps, in particular, he wants to move on with his life. >> sir, why did you do it? >> reporter: beyond the financial devastation of madoff's scheme, his family has suffered far greater injury. this past december madoff's eldest son, mark, haunted by his father's legacy, took his own life. he left behind four children and his wife. well, in that "60 minutes" interview ruth madoff claims she and her husband took a mixture of the sleep mixture ambien and an anti-anxiety drug and according to a report in the "new york times" today in an e-mail from prison madoff himself acknowledged suicide did cross his mind. >> thank you so much. sobering. >> by the way, a programming

note that ruth madoff and her son andy as well as his fiance katherine hooper will be here for an exclusive live interview monday morning on "today." now let's check the morning's other top stories. natalie morales is back at the news desk. good morning, everyone. in a marathon overnight summit european leaders hashed out a $100 billion solution for dealing with their debt crisis, a move that could provide relief to markets across the globe and here at home. for more on this we want to turn to cnbc's courtney reagan at the new york stock exchange. good morning, courtney. >> good morning, natalie. that's right. after much anticipation european leaders have reached an outline of a plan to possibly resolve the region's debt crisis. the agreement gives greece another bailout, putting some of the burden of those losses from greek bonds on european banks. it also expands the size of the eu's rescue fund. now, this could give a lift to markets not just here but around the world. investors have been worried that a greek debt default could trigger a recession around the

world. hopefully those fears have now been at least somewhat quelled. back to you. >> we hope so. courtney reagan at the new york stock exchange, thank you. in oakland, california occupy wall street protesters took to the streets overnight marching through part of the city following wednesday's clashes with police. tensions there are running high after an iraq war veteran was left in critical condition with a fractured skull. he was wounded while protesting. a veterans group says the injury was caused by a police projectile. oakland police say they will investigate the incident and allow protesters to return to the plaza that they cleared out earlier this week. yet another miracle rescue this morning in turkey. some 80 hours after that devastating earthquake that has now claimed more than 520 lives, injured more than 1600, and left thousands of others homeless. nbc's michelle franzen is in hard hit ercis, turkey with more. michelle, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, natalie. that's right. this disaster certainly playing

out still with dramatic rescues as you mentioned. another one taking place. a teenager pulled out alive some 80 hours after the earthquake first struck. despite this rain and the cold weather, rescuers are not giving up. meanwhile, the mother of baby azra who was rescued two days ago is describing in great detail the lengths she went to to keep her daughter alive. she is the tiniest victim of the devastating earthquake in southeast turkey, but baby azra has become the biggest source of hope. new pictures and video show azra being held by her mother with nurses tending to her fragile body just hours after she was pulled out alive from beneath her collapsed home in ercis. her mother was also trapped and rescued. both were reunited at the hospital and put on a flight to ankora to receive more medical care. her mother tells how in those desperate hours while pinned beneath mounds of rubble she fought to keep azra, just two

weeks old, alive. after running out of breast milk she says she fed her hungry baby girl saliva. it is another extraordinary example of a mother's love for her child. on the day searchers found them she lifted her baby up to rescuers and waited before being pulled out herself. azra's grandmother was rescued that day, too, from their crushed home more than 50 hours after the earthquake struck. three lives and three generations saved. their story of survival has become more rare in recent days. more than 500 have died and the death toll is expected to climb with hundreds still missing. and the big concern of course now is also shelter. many people standing in line for hours to receive tents and, still, the supply is not meeting the demand. these are the elements they're dealing with -- rain setting in all day and that rain in the coming days is expected to turn to snow. natalie? >> michelle franzen in ercis,

turkey, thank you, michelle. what an amazing sight to see. charla nash's new face. take a look. there it is healing beautifully following her face transplant over the summer. as you know, we've been following charla's road to recovery since she was attacked by her neighbor's chimp two years ago. next month meredith vieira will have an exclusive interview with her right here on "today." look forward to seeing how well she is healing. it's 7:10. let's turn it back over to matt and ann. she looks great. >> the pictures are beyond my expectations. >> unbelievable. >> i think it's fantastic. good for her. mr. roker has hit the road this morning and is out in chicago with first check of the weather, hey, al. >> thanks so much. as we go and look in the tropics we've been talking about hurricane rina. the good news is it's weakening. right now a category 1 storm. it's 115 miles south of cozumel, mexico. 75-mile-per-hour winds moving northwest at 6. it looks like it will graze the yucatan peninsula as a tropical storm and then just kind of

meander there in the gulf, really just kind of hang out and probably just die out. now, as we move closer to home we've got a long front stretching from new england all the way back into texas. up into new england we're looking at snow mixing in today and generally expecting in the mountains from 1 to 3 inches of snow interior sections of new york and new england. rainfall amounts 0.5 inch to 1 inch from west virginia back into parts of new england. an >> good morning everyone, give yourself a couple of extra minutes. looks like the rain will be with us through the morning and the afternoon as well. otherwise cloudy skies and otherwise cloudy skies and temperatures in the low 60's.

and that's your latest weather. thanks very much. now to politics and the presidential race. president obama is back at the white house this morning after wrapping up his three-day trip out west. while one of his republican rivals was forced to do a little damage control on wednesday. nbc's kristen welker has more on that. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. president obama is back to business at the white house today with a full schedule. in denver on wednesday he unveiled a student loan relief program and tried to re-energize one of his core constituencies, young voters. >> student loans, the whole four years. >> reporter: at the university of illinois at chicago, andrea watson is graduating in december burdened with $40,000 in student debt. >> very intimidating and scary to know that before i even get that first real career job i'm just going to have thousands and thousands of dollars over my head. >> hello, denver! >> reporter: president obama said he will use executive

action to speed up a program already approved by congress that could help as many as seven million student loan holders. >> college isn't just one of the best investments you can make in your future but one of the best investments america can make in our future, so we want you in school. >> reporter: the president's action will allow graduates to consolidate certain federal loans to get lower monthly interest rates and it will cap student loan payments at 10% of a graduate's salary. >> knowing that there is a limit on how much they have to repay in a given month that depends on how much they're earning in that month should relieve a lot of people's anxiety about whether they can afford higher education. >> reporter: meanwhile, on the gop campaign trail, texas governor rick perry, after earlier questioning president obama's birth place, did a little damage control saying he has no doubt that president obama is an american citizen. herman cain gave the keynote speech to a tea party rally in

texas tuesday and was immediately followed by tea party member apostle claver. >> if anybody is a racist it's the democratic party that's the racist. >> reporter: in a statement to nbc news a spokesman for cain said in part, our campaign is all about promoting civil dialogue. and responding to a published report that the u.s. state department has purchased over $70,000 worth of books president obama has written, white house spokesman jay carney. >> the white house didn't have anything to do with this, and i think it's an embassy by embassy based decision based on what they think is, in buying books, what makes sense for them in terms of advancing american foreign policy interests. >> reporter: and gop candidate michele bachmann mailed it in on wednesday, literally mailed in a filing fee and other forms to new hampshire officials so her name can appear on the primary ballot there. this after five of her paid staffers in new hampshire resigned citing lack of support and poor communication.

matt? >> kristen welker at the white house this morning, thank you very much. robert gibbs served as president obama's white house press secretary and is now an advise tower the president's re-election campaign. good to see you. how are you? >> good. how are you? >> let's talk about the young voters. they turned out en masse in 2008 to sweep barack obama into the white house in part because of the whole hope and change idea. here we are four years later. some of them are now second-time voters. they've graduated from college. they may be swimming in debt and they can't find a job. why should they support him? >> well, look. i think initiatives like the president announced yesterday are a good reason quite frankly for the american people to support barack obama, because it helps the middle class. matt, the average person comes out of college with a $22,000 debt. in most households it's the second largest debt that they have. and we know that the unemployment rate for somebody who graduates from college is half what it is for somebody who doesn't. so let's not wait for congress. let's get on the side of the middle class and give these guys a chance to pay back their student loans in a way that

works best for them. >> some of these young people are the same young people who are occupying parks across the country and they're out there protesting wall street. they're also protesting the white house. in a new report from the congressional budget office this week confirmed the rich are getting richer. between 2005 and 2007 the top 1/5 of earners in america earned more money than the bottom 4/5. what responsibility does president obama have in terms of dealing with income distribution in this country? >> well, look, matt. what you identified and what the cbo identified is a problem that has not just happened in two or three years. it's actually happened for 30 years. we've had income inequality and are seeing a lot of anxiety and frustration. what is the best way for somebody to get ahead into the middle class and get a better paying job? it's to go to college. we know that works. and that's why the president was so forceful in rolling out something that's going to help more and more people get to college. if people work hard and get the right to go to college, get

accepted, we shouldn't make it -- shouldn't impede that by saying they can't afford it. >> you said a second ago what the president is proposing now are good reasons for people to re-elect him. do you see a scenario, robert, under which we've got something like 9% unemployment in november of 2012, gas prices are about $3.40 to $3.50 a gallon. the housing market is still in the dumps. do you see a scenario where he gets re-elected? >> absolutely. because i think -- i think what's going on in this country with frustration around income and quite frankly frustration around wall street, look at what every one of the republican candidates wants to roll back wall street reform. right? wants to put wall street back in charge of writing the rules that quite frankly got us into a lot of this most current mess. barack obama on the other hand is out fighting for the middle class and making sure we can send our children to college. i think that's a pretty good contrast even in a bad economy. >> the president has got a new slogan, we can't wait while congress does nothing. a lot of republicans have coopted it saying we can't wait until november of 2012.

while you've said barack obama has run against the perfect person so far, soon he will run against a republican nominee. clearly suggesting that no candidate is perfect. take them one at a time. mitt romney. what are your chances against mitt romney if he is the nominee? >> well, look. i think mitt romney has had an extraordinarily difficult week, and he has very much defined exactly what i think most people think of mitt romney in the six years they've seen him on the national stage, and that is he takes a position one day and wait a couple days and he'll probably take a different one. >> do you think he'll have a field day against mitt romney? >> i think mitt romney is going to have a tough time explaining what mitt romney was for in the past hwan mitt romney is for now. >> what if the nominee is herman cain? >> well, you know, i think he is certainly the surprising entry right now into this field, but i think if you look at what he has had to offer and quite frankly what all the republicans have had to offer, they think a mix of more tax cuts for the wealthy and letting wall street write the rules is the way to get us

back on track. i think many people in this country feel the frustration that those are the very things that got us into this mess and i think that's a recipe for how anybody is going to run against any of these republican candidates. >> robert gibbs joining us in the studio this morning. good to see you. >> happy to be here. >> thanks. it is now 18 after the hour. once again, here's ann. >> thanks. the trial of michael jackson's doctor is slowly winding down in los angeles. on wednesday conrad murray's lawyers called his friends to the stand. nbc's jeff rossen is covering this trial. jeff, good morning. >> reporter: hey, ann. good morning you to. yeah, murray's lawyers are trying anything they can. now it's the nice guy defense. he is a good person. he is a good doctor to other people. so don't throw him in jail. now his former patients came here to los angeles to testify and murray, himself, got emotional. for the first time in five weeks dr. conrad murray broke down, wiping away tears, crying for a full minute as the jury watched. what made him cry?

this. >> he made a commitment to the community that he would open a clinic in honor of his dad and continue to take care of the patients in that community where his dad had been a physician for a number of years. >> one after another after another dr. murray's former patients took the stand, five in all, praising him. >> he's my best friend. >> he's a great guy. i mean, he follows up with everything. >> i'll be very honest with you. i have never had a doctor that was more caring. >> i take care of sick patients. why do you look so well? >> reporter: dr. murray works at this clinic in a poor section of houston where some patients don't even have the money to pay. >> god bless you. >> god bless you, too, sir. >> reporter: the defense team trying to counter the prosecution's theory that murray will do anything for cash, that he pumped michael jackson with propofol for a big pay day.

$150,000 a month as michael's personal physician. >> do you think dr. murray's greedy? >> no. if this man had been greedy, excuse me, judge, if this man had been greedy, he never would have come to an area, a communi community, 75% of them poor. >> reporter: but some legal experts say while heart warming, wednesday's testimony was irrelevant and, they say, that's only part of the problem. >> the defense case has been atrocious. they have proved nothing. they have poked holes in nothing. their only hope is to have the world's most amazing expert or hope that conrad murray can come up with something should he decide to testify. >> reporter: which we don't know if that's going to happen yet. >> we don't know and that is going to be a last-minute decision. >> reporter: murray's defense team is almost done. only two witnesses are left on their list assuming dr. murray doesn't testify himself. both of the witnesses are medical experts and that

testimony will begin today. this could be the final day for the defense. as we come to a close here it's a good time to tell you a little about the jury. seven men, five women. the youngest is 32 years old. the oldest is 57 years old and they're a diverse jury as well, mostly white, some hispanic, and one african-american. ann? >> all right. jeff rossen this morning, thanks so much. and coming up, blaming the victim. why lawyers for the university of virginia la crosse player accused of killing his college girlfriend are now asking for her medical records. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead would you want your kids to eat lunch at 9:30 in the morning? why that is happening in some schools in florida. >> plus, steven tyler returns to the stage a day after suffering a really bad fall in his hotel room. he'll tell us what happened after your local news. [ female announcer ] what makes jcpfastcash so exciting?

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it gives me warmth. ♪ [ boy ] it gives me energy to help me be my best. quaker oatmeal has whole grains for heart health. and it has fiber that helps fill me up. ♪ [ male announcer ] great days start with quaker oatmeal. energy. fiber. heart health. quaker oatmeal. a super grain breakfast. >> good morning, everybody. i'm stan stovall. here is a look at one of the stories we're following this hour. epeiric crashed shut down route 1 at the conowingo dam, police believe the driver of a tractor- trailer might have fallen asleep

and caused it to crash and flip. authorities fear that fuel is leaking into the susquehanna river. as the police hope to reopen the road, we are told, in about an hour. let us get a check of your morning commute. here is kim dacey. >> route 1 still shut down right at the conowingo dam. you want to use an alternate route, southbound 95 approaching 155 on the alternate route we do have a crash unfortunately. southdown harris purchase price would between middletown and now caramel, crash. another one route 140 at 795 t atowson, charles and greenwood, and bellaire road ran to the beltway, and eastern and diamond point the road, another one. howard county, route 1 03 shut down right at kerger for a crash. in this city, dana and athol, and northbound 97 at the beltway. this is the jfx, southbound

traffic poured as. you are stuck in to see delays. epps -- switching to the live view of the west side, the outer loop is a parking lot of weight from 7952 edmundson. >> we do have some rain to contend with. for the most part, it is a light rain but we do have heavy stuff at carroll county run westminster but most of you will have light rain on the way to work. the forecast -- starting out in the 50's and will end up in a low 60's this afternoon and it looks like the rain will be with us off and on throughout the day. probably ending sometime early tonight. friday morning, thomas is in a 30's and son john in the afternoon and the mix of light afternoon and the mix of light

7:30 now, thursday morning, october 27th, 2011 as we give everyone out in the plaza a little chance to say hi to their family members and friends back home on a soggy morning here in new york city. meanwhile, in studio 1-a i'm matt lauer alongside ann curry. just ahead a strange story. a former teacher in ohio on trial for allegedly having sex with at least five of her own students. she is using a rather unexpected defense strategy. she is claiming insanity.

we'll have details on that. also, did you hear what happened to steven tyler? >> yeah. >> he is recovering now this morning after a small accident in his hotel bathroom and we just got some new photographs his manager sent us showing the extent of his injuries. as you can see that big bruise over his eye. well, two teeth were also knocked out. what happened? well, steven tyler will be joining us live to explain this morning. >> that doesn't look like such a small accident. i mean, that is quite a fall. and another very talented musician turned actor justin timberlake is taking on his first starring role in a new action thriller. the movie is called "in time." he'll be here to talk about his movie, the direction that his career has taken, and perhaps even his upcoming date with a servicewoman who asked him to the marine corps ball. >> looking forward to hearing about all of that, matt. first let's begin this half hour with the latest on a crime that rocked the university of virginia campus. a star la crosse player murdered. now the defense is trying to build its case. nbc's mara schiavocampo is in

campo with details. good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning. george hubie will have his day in court in february but the defense is trying to build their case asking a judge to release medical records they hope will disprove authorities' accounts that yardly love died at the hands of her on again/off again boyfriend. the judge has said he won't make a decision until next month. lawyers for george huguely the man accused of killing star la crosse player yardly love were in court for a second time trying to gain access to love's medical records. huguely is accused of murdering his on again/off again girlfriend the popular and beautiful senior on the university of virginia women's la crosse team. police say huguely admitted he shook love and her head repeatedly hit the wall the night she died. the charlottesville medical examiner found that love died of blunt force trauma to the head after huguely allegedly attacked her in her apartment. but in court the defense has argued that love died from an

irregular heart beat caused in part by the adhd drug aderall combined with alcohol. many in the college town view this defense as blaming the victim. >> i think it's pretty transparent. the fact they can't rest their case on anything more substantial is telling it's kind of disrespectful to her memory. >> reporter: friends say love and huguely had a turbulent romantic relationship that had occasionally gotten physical in the weeks leading up to her death. >> 22-year-old yardly love was dead upon our arrival there. >> reporter: in may of last year charlottesville police found love's bloody body face down in bed at her apartment. though huguely admits he fought with love his lawyer says the day after she was found dead her client claimed there is nothing that i did to her last night that could have killed her. huguely's arrest for love's murder was not his first brush with the law. in 2008 he was charged with public swearing and intoxication and resisting arrest. now defense experts say that

huguely's lawyers have no choice but to seek other answers as to how love may have died. >> i think the defense is looking at a murder charge both felony murder and intentional murder. and the defense must do the best they can for their client. and if there is any question about the cause of death, they must pursue it and they're entitled to pursue it. >> reporter: love's family had no comment wednesday but in a statement released to nbc news in april the family said in part, we have faith in the justice system and trust that the truth will prevail. huguely's defense has called love's death, quote, a tragic accident. his trial is scheduled for february in charlottesville circuit court. ann? >> all right. mara schiavocampo, thank you for reporting on this. now here's matt. ann, thank you. there could be a verdict today at the trial of a former ohio teacher accused of having sex with a number of her students. nbc's kevin tibbles has the latest on this case. kevin, good morning to you.

>> reporter: good morning, matt. this ohio courthouse has been the venue for a scandalous trial in which five former high school students all claim they had sex with someone entrusted with their care, a teacher. it is a case that has packed a small courtroom filled with salacious revelations that have horrified residents of suburban mason, ohio just outside cincinnati. >> we were already kissing and stuff in the kitchen and that just continued in the bedroom on the bed. >> reporter: the testimony comes from five former high school students, some who were football players who all say they had sex with a teacher, 33-year-old stacy shuler. >> she came up to us and basically got on top of us and we just started, like, making out. >> reporter: shuler resigned from her position as a physical education teacher at mason high school when she was arrested in

february. she has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to 16 counts of sexual battery and three of providing alcohol to minors. >> this oil stuff, she said it would make it a lot better, and put it on us, and then gave us massages. >> reporter: some of the students testified they visited shuler's home for sex on multiple occasions and that she often initiated it. >> they were making out and she pressed her body up against mine and i was towards the -- my back was towards the back of the wall and then, um, we started having sex. >> reporter: those testifying are now over the age of 18 and while we are hearing their voices the court permitted them not to have their faces shown. a former female student testified shuler told her she had a pn if she ever got caught. >> she told me that if anybody ever found out that she already had her defense planned out and

she would try and say that she was insane. >> reporter: but several former students have come to court to defend their former teacher. shuler had been at the school for more than a decade and some said she was kind and helpful at times when they needed her. >> she was open. she was positive. and she was honest. >> she made sure i knew it was okay. and that i was going to be okay. and that if i ever needed anything she was going to be there. >> reporter: the trial is expected to end later today. stacy shuler is not expected to testify in her own defense. and, matt, shuler could face decades in prison if found guilty. the presiding judge in this case could release a ruling as early as today. matt? >> all right. kevin tibbles in ohio for us this morning. kevin, thanks very much. let's get a check of the weather now from al in chicago this morning. al? thanks so much. we're seeing a big change in our temperatures depending on what side of this frontal system you are that stretches from texas

all the way into new england. amarillo, midland. we're talking anywhere from 30 to 25 degrees below normal. they've gotten snow in amarillo. but ahead of the front, charlotte 10 degrees above normal. 14 degrees above normal where it's going to get up to 80 in norfolk, 82 albany, georgia, 82 in new orleans. the rest of the country today we are looking for sunshine in the pacific northwest. temperatures rather moderate. 79 in l.a. plenty of sunshine. we have showers in chicago right now. rain back through texas. morning snow in northern texas and some mountain snows in interior sections of new york and new engl

and that's your latest weather. ann? okay. thank you so much. is 9:00 in the morning too early for a burger and fries? well, kids at some schools in florida are now being served lunch when a lot of people are just starting to think about breakfast. nbc's kerry sanders is in ft. myers, florida with more on this. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. consider right now there are lots of parents rushing around the kitchen trying to get their children some breakfast, get them off to school, while at some schools in florida the kids already are in the classroom and will be heading to the cafeteria for lunch in about an hour from now. florida ninth grader aden mullen is your typical teen dealing with the challenges of school. >> i have some makeup work actually. >> reporter: adding to his struggles this year is an unconventional early lunch.

for mullen and other students of winter park ninth grade center his lunch on some days starts as early as 9:30 in the morning. >> i think they could, you know, definitely make it so that, you know, we have lunch later in the day and not at breakfast time. >> when i was growing up we never heard of such a thing. a lunch hour that would start at 9:30 or even 10:30. >> reporter: school officials say the early lunch is needed because this generation of students starts its days so much earlier. classes begin just after 7:00 in the morning. >> our students start getting on the bus at 5:30 until about 6:40 so it's actually over two and a half hours, almost three hours before some of them eat. >> reporter: and winter park is not the only school serving lunch before some have eaten breakfast, even though there is a federal mandate that schools serve lunch between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., this year in florida alone at least 60 schools have been granted waivers to start lunch between 8:30 and 9:30 in the morning.

while a penn state study from five years ago linked early school lunches to unhealthy eating, county nutritionists believe they have the students' best interests in mind. >> as a nutritionist you have to work around people's schedules, so we know that they're up at 5:30, 6:00. they may or may not have breakfast. and so if they're eating at 10:00 that may be the first meal of the day. >> reporter: because he is a diabetic and takes medication on 12-hour intervals, aden is allowed to eat lunch in between classes closer to the noon hour. but he still joins his friends in the cafeteria as they eat their hamburgers and corn dogs at a time when most are still eating cereal. >> definitely all my friends are complaining about having to eat at breakfast time, you know. it shouldn't be like that. >> reporter: and so it's not only early lunches but it's also early breakfast. some of the schools begin serving those breakfasts at 6:30 in the morning. ann, i think you keep these hours. don't you have lunch pretty

early in the day yourself? >> yes. the time works for me but i'm another story. kerry sanders, thank you so much for that report. and coming up next, he's black and blue and speaking out. steven tyler opens up in a live interview about the bad fall he took in his hotel bathroom right after this. i'm not a number. i'm not a line item on a budget. and i'm definitely not a pushover. but i am a voter. so washington... before you even think about cutting my medicare and social security benefits... here's a number you should remember. 50 million. we are 50 million seniors who earned our benefits... and you will be hearing from us... today and on election day. ♪ is saturday. election day. hurry in for your last chance to get the lowest prices of the season. with the biggest savings on apparel to appliances, the top brands of tools to the newest electronics and more. that's real deals for real savings.

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♪ it'll take about an hour i tell you all a story about me and matt lauer ♪ >> that was aero smith front man steven tyler serenading me at his home in los angeles just a couple months ago. this morning he is nursing a few injuries after falling in a hotel bathroom in south america. steven is joining us now by phone from buenos aires. good morning to you. >> good morning, america! >> listen, steven. how bad was this fall? i'm looking at some photos we've been showing this morning. it looks like you were the wrong guy in a fight. tell me about this. >> well, you know, it was like the -- it was the second show in south america and it just so happened, you know, that i got

that -- what's it called when you eat something? montezuma's revenge. i took a walk with the incas for 48 hours. went in looking like breshnakov and walked out looking like lion sphinx. >> you lost a couple teeth. how many stitches did you get? >> i got four stitches in my eye and just quite frankly passed out. i was in the shower and, you know, i got nauseous and i started to get sick and i just fell on my face and just passed out and i woke up, you know, with the water running on me wondering where i was and the next thing you know my tour manager was calling the american he means a embassy and we found the best hospital. it was like one stop shopping. they stitched up my eye, did a little plastic surgery, and fixed my tooth all in one fell swoop. >> steven, you and i spent

sometime together recently and we talked openly and honestly about your past including drugs and alcohol. and i know as some of your fans see these pictures this morning, they're going to have questions about whether this was a fall in the shower or a fall off the wagon. would you address that for me? >> i love the way you put that. you know, being in the program that i'm in it's something we have to accept. i went public with my problems only to address them straight on, so, you know, people thinking that is natural and normal. you know, we flew last night from paraguay after that incident and where are we now? argentina for two hours. and if anybody knew anybody that knew anybody that used substances, they wouldn't be up the hour after having a talk with matt lauer and the rest of america. but, you know, it is nothing that i don't understand. i get that people think that. it still bothers me a little but it's something i have to deal with for the rest of my life. >> all right. but you're clean and sober.

that's not the issue? >> no, it's not the issue. >> i heard from your manager that you even managed to play the harp with a busted lip in a concert last night and says you put on one of the best shows of any recent tour. how is this going to affect the tour as it continues? >> well, you know, short of -- people are going to expect me on the stage. i look at myself in the mirror, and i thought, you know, i should just go on and do the show tomorrow night and we did. pulled myself up by my boot heels and went out on stage, wore my sunglasses through the first song. took them off and the crowd roared because they knew that i had fallen down and i just figured, you know, it's all about playing to the people. it never has been about anything else other than that. and we rocked. we broke the house record. not only did i break my face but the next night we broke the house record. so life is beautiful, matt. >> listen, most importantly, i hope you're okay.

i really appreciate you calling in this morning and i know your fans are going to be very happy to hear that the show goes on and we wish you good health. thanks a lot. >> thanks, matt. >> steven tyler. take care. still ahead, multi-talented actor, singer, and dancer justin timberlake live in our studio right after this. ing ] that's it, kyle. let's go home. [ busch ] all right, guys, let's get out of here. [ pneumatic drills whirring ] ♪ ♪ [ beep ] ♪ [ male announcer ] available 268 horsepower. class-leading mpg and intuitive mobile technology. ♪ workin' for the weekend [ male announcer ] introducing the reinvented 2012 toyota camry. it's ready. are you? [ busch ] ♪ ...second chance it's like extra cash you earn in an instant. earn 10, 20, or $30 jcpfastcash right at the register.

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>> good morning. i'm mindy basara. it's time now for a check on your morning commute. here is kim dacey. >> pretty messy. leave extra time. route 1 remains closed down between shuresville and rte. 222 at the conowingo dam for cleanup, take southbound 95. harrisburg expressway, sell, but

-- southbound a crash between middletown and count -- now,. then charles and greenwood. southbound 95 approaching the beltway move that to the shoulder. eastern and diamond point in this city a crash. also locked down 97 at the beltway. a live look outside at some of the delays. it was decided beltway at dogwood road, outer loop crawling down the west side from 795 down to edmondson and it looks like the inner loop might be slowing as well. 95 areas of joppa rd., back in all the way down to 895. big delays. >> it looks like light rain will stay with us at least for the morning. it may taper off a touch this afternoon dead and little badge of the heavier stuff going through the city. but most of you, it will just be light rain on your way to work or school.

forecast, right now in the 50's and will not move much. rainshowers likely off and on all the way through this evening. skies will clear overnight. a chilly start friday. could be frost. a mix of light rain or snow showers on saturday to start a weekend with high temperatures only in the 40's. it should clear up on sunda

8:00 now on a thursday morning. it's october 27th, 20011. not the nicest day to start the day here in the northeast. not the nicest weather rather. it's dark and rainy. we have some happy people standing here in the rain joining us this morning. and meantime outside on the plaza i'm ann curry with matt lauer. look who's just arrived inside studio 1-a? that's right. justin timberlake. that's right.

you. [ cheer ] >> doesn't take much to get a cheer for him. >> this guy is doing it all. for years he was a standout in music and now is taking hollywood by storm with really interesting roles over the last couple years. now he has his first lead in an action thriller. it is true. called "in time." we'll talk to justin about everything that's going on in just a couple of minutes. >> looks like a good movie, too. plus kate middleton is shining at a big event where she filled in for her father-in-law. we'll show you some new photographs this morning. >> and we want to remind you that monday is halloween and so we'll have our annual halloween costume contest out here on the plaza. if you've got a great idea, get dressed up. come on down. we're giving away great prizes. among the prizes for the best costumes, tickets to see another justin. justin bieber in concert here on "today" the day before thanksgiving. the winner of the best costume contest gets to actually meet justin bieber face to face. so come on down monday morning. take part. we'll be dressed up as well.

and it should be a good time. >> you think? anyway, let's get inside and check on the morning's top stories. natalie is in. good morning, ann and matt. good morning, everyone. the wife of admitted ponzi schemer bernie madoff has revealed that she and her husband attempted suicide two weeks after his arrest. in a 60 minutes interview that airs sunday ruth madoff says the couple swallowed handfuls of ambien and other pills on christmas eve of 2008, then they went to bed but woke up the next day. the madoffs' eldest son, mark, did take his own life last december. bernie madoff is serving a 150-year prison term for his $65 billion fraud. president obama is offering financial relief to a key group of supporters. the young and educated. speaking to college students in denver, colorado wednesday the president said he'll use his executive powers to speed up a program that could lower monthly student loan payments for millions of people. meanwhile, on the republican campaign trail, texas governor rick perry backed away from his

earlier questioning of president obama's citizenship. michele bachmann filed papers to appear on the new hampshire primary ballot despite the resignation of her entire paid staff in that state. tourists are fleeing mexico's caribbean coast today as hurricane rina draws near. cancun, cozumel, and other resort towns are being cleared out, but forecasts show the storm is expected to weaken as it hits the coast by this weekend. and as you saw, the duchess of cambridge kate middleton is winning raves after her first solo royal engagement. kate filled in for her father-in-law at a charity dinner last night. prince charles had to fly to saudi arabia to offer condolences on the death of the saudi crowned prince. kate dazzled guests, though, in that pale blue empress line gown, just absolutely gorgeous. now here is brian williams with a look at what's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." good morning. coming up tonight we don't know exactly who or where but soon the population is going to hit 7 billion of all of us on the

planet. how are we going to feed ourselves in the future? food, water, energy. the strain on the globe. we'll have that report tonight. for now, natalie, back to you. >> thank you, brian. now for a look at what's trending today. our quick roundup of what has you talking online. pulp fiction star samuel l. jackson is on twitter and fans are tweeting jackson is the highest grossing actor in hollywood history according to the guinness book of world records. his films have taken in more than $7 billion. no thanks to "snakes on a plane." jackson's occasional costar bruce willis is a hot search on yahoo as well this morning. willis and his wife emma have just announced they are expecting their first child together early next year. willis, who is 56, has three daughters with ex-wife demi moore. and this youtube video proves just how exciting babies can be. this poor pooch will need longer legs or maybe a lower bed there before he can snuggle with the new addition to the family. someone give the poor pup a little bit of attention there. he needs it.

it's 8:04 right now. let's go back outside to matt and ann. i think he is still trying to get up on that bed. >> i know. i'm glad he's not making it though. that looks like a brand new baby. thanks, natalie. mr. roker is out in chicago. al, i hope the weather is nicer there than it is here. >> not really. raining here too, matt. a little chilly. about 50 degrees. a brisk wind coming off the lake. let's see, our pick city today just happens to be chicago. our friends at nbc 5, scattered showers, 54 degrees for a high today. we've got rain coming across the great lakes and we've also got a frontal system stretching from new england all the way back to texas. amarillo is seeing a little morning snow. rain throughout eastern texas. sunny skies, beautiful day in the pacific northwest. 54 in seattle. mountain snow inland sections of new england and new york state. we've got hit or miss showers and thunderstorms down through southern florida, southeast looking pretty good. we are expecting though some sprinkles through the lower mississippi and ohio river

>> good morning everyone, give yourself a couple of extra minutes. looks like the rain will be with us through the morning and the afternoon as well. otherwise cloudy skies and temperatures in the low 60's. that's your latest weather. coming up next, justin timberlake live in our studio. matt is catching up with him right after this. >> still here.

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we're back at 8:09 with one of the biggest stars on the planet. justin timberlake added two emmys to his mantle this year and now is starring in a new thriller "in time" playing a guy that lives day to day in a society where time is literally money. it is the number one commodity, and he is running out of both. take a look. >> will salis, allow me to introduce my mother-in-law clara, my wife, michelle, and my daughter, sylvia. >> nice to meet you all. >> i'll come find you later. >> i look forward to it. >> having fun, mr. salis?

>> please call me will. >> it's okay, constantine. >> do you always have a hired hand standing right next to you? >> no, i usually have two. >> justin timberlake, welcome back. >> how's it going, matt? >> it's going really well. i want to talk about this movie in a second. i've been looking forward to you coming here for this reason and that is i don't think i've seen anyone in hollywood over the past two or three or four years who's grown as much and taken on as many interesting challenges so amazingly successfully as you. i mean that. i mean that. >> did i write this copy? >> no, i have wanted to talk to you for a long time because i'm just very impressed by the way you don't ever want to be -- you never want to be seen in one way. >> well, thank you. you know, my idols are sinatra and dean martin and gene kelly and people like that, and i -- i always admired that they could tell a joke and sing a song and, you know, make you laugh.

make you cry. >> triple threats or maybe in your case quadruple threat. >> i always just aspired to, yeah, be able to do it all. >> but also i think you work really hard. i know you a little through other ways. >> yes. >> for example on the golf course. >> yes. >> you and i took part in something not long ago that was a high profile golf thing. i think you tackled that in the same way it seems to me that you're tackling acting today. you have a laser like focus. >> that was probably the, physically the hardest thing we've ever done i think. >> but you took it very seriously. >> the last four holes i remember butch harmon was caddying for me. he said you're going to have to par out to break a hundred like we're supposed to do. i was like, then we need to break a hundred. >> generally speaking are you that kind of person that once you set your sites on something, what is it in your personality that doesn't allow you to kind of settle? >> i don't know. i think that -- i think that it's more a case of, i mean, i think we're all perfectionists

in a way but i think it's more a case of, you know, you grow up young in the business and you get to try a lot of things so you naturally are interested in so many different things and, you know, growing up on a television show we were taught to be kind of triple threats in that -- like you described -- and i don't know. i think that if you're going to do it obviously do it in a way that's authentic to you. >> you've had some great roles over the last couple years. this is the first time you're actually the lead in an action thriller. i love the premise of this because, you know, everybody kind of goes to the age of 25 and then this is futuristic. this clock they have on their arm lights up and they have a year. >> right. >> basically that clock starts to tick and they've got to do whatever they can to refresh it or they die. >> right. >> why did you like this idea? >> i read the script and for two or three days straight, i mean, it was, i found myself asking so many personal questions and when

i actually sat down with andrew nicole, the writer/director of the film, wrote "the truman show", he definitely has a knack for these types of, you know, this type of hypothesis, you know, that puts you, makes you look in the mirror and ask a lot of questions and, you know, as i continued to talk about the movie it just seemed like an amazing thrill ride as well. >> and the pressure builds because this clock is always ticking. you do a lot of running in new york running from here to there trying to beat the ticking clock. >> yes. >> you had to be in shape to do this movie. i did specific sprint training so that i would -- i wouldn't be winded in between takes. it didn't work. i was very winded in between takes. >> so in preparing to have you here we went back and we did a lot of research and found a lot of interesting little minutia about you and your career. >> this sounds terrible. >> we want to play a little justin timberlake trivial

pursuit. since the theme of the movie is time we'll put a clock up. >> okay. >> i want to ask you a series of questions about yourself. >> okay. >> and see how many of these you get right in as short a time as possible. how many emmy awards do you have? >> four. >> good. one of in sync's biggest albums was owe no strings attached. hoi how many weeks did it spend on billboard charts? >> no idea. >> 82. >> one of the big hits was the song "tearing up my heart." finish this lyric. >> oh, no. >> baby i don't understand just why we can't be lovers. >> i -- i -- i don't remember. >> sing it to me. ♪ things are getting out of hand trying too much but -- >> ♪ baby we can't win. >> i'll give you half credit. most people know you were a competitor on "star search" and lost. what year was that? >> '92. >> good. name two of your fellow all new mickey mouse club cast members. >> britney spears and christine aguilera. >> very good. how many times have you hosted snl? >> four. >> very good. what is your zip code? >> 90046. >> stop the clock. pretty good.

you only got one wrong. not bad at all. >> wow. okay. well, you know, interestingly enough, i -- i have some questions that were given to me. i feel like we should -- i feel we should turn the clock back, can we get that one minute back? because i have some questions for you, matt. we were able to dig up some interesting minutia on you. >> that's okay. >> can we start, what is your office room number at 30 rock? >> ah, 307. >> that's incorrect, sir. how many male anchors were here before you at the "today" show? >> five. >> i have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. that's also incorrect. what soap opera did you appear on in 1982? >> this is the soap opera i appear on every single day. i don't think i -- did i appear on a soap opera? >> i have here "another world." >> no, i don't think so. maybe i did. it was another life, too. >> how many olympic games have you hosted? >> hosted? four. >> i have five. wow.

you're really screwing this up. how many where in the world destinations have you ever been to? >> 46. >> that's correct. >> thank you. >> wallahat is the zip code her 30 rock? >> 10012. >> 10112 i have here. the judges say you're also incorrect. >> so who wins? >> what was the first halloween costume you wore here on the "today" show as host? >> j-lo. >> gilligan from gilligan's island. well, matt -- >> okay. did i get any right? >> not as good as i thought you were going to do. >> when are you going on a date with the woman from the marine corps? >> november 12th i think. i was just made aware that she is an mma expert. i am very glad that i accepted her offer. >> you're the best. >> good to see you, matt. >> i have to study harder next time. "in time" opens in theaters nationwide tomorrow. up next from the biggest mistakes to when to apply, help for parents and students dealing

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for admissions and enrollment planning at the university of maryland and seth allen is the vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid at pomona college in pomona, california. good morning to ye of big titles. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> let me ask you the question that students ask all the time. the number one asked question, how does one make the application stand out? who wants it first? >> let me just start. i think one of the first things students need to do is do well in school. take great courses. challenge the curriculum in your high school. and then, do as many things as you can outside of the school in terms of activities as long as they're meaningful. >> right. >> then write a great essay. tell us who you are. >> that's a lot. what is the thing that makes an application stand out? >> the most important thing is to stand out in a positive way. meet the deadlines. follow the directions. then also students need to be reflective. they need to think about themselves and they need to be genuine in their application. we want to hear their voices when they apply. >> okay. seth? >> i'll piggyback on barbara's comment. i think students need to think about a kind of focus for the

application. they don't have to be all things to the school. they need to be the thing that really reflects best about them and that'll help them stand out in the process. >> does applying early help or hurt? >> neither. applying early is a choice that some students may make. i think it's the wrong choice when students decide they're going to apply early. they just don't know where but they know they want to apply early. this needs to be a thoughtful process. it's an important one. if students take the time to really do the research then whether they apply early or they apply later on in regular decision that'll be the best choice for them. >> biggest mistake, barbara? >> students not using their own voice. not spending enough time going through the process. and not paying attention to their guidance counselor. >> okay. what's the part of the transcript that you give most of the attention to? >> quality of courses. yes. >> during their high school years? >> yes. >> quality of courses? agree? >> quality of courses. >> all of you? >> and trends. upward trends are always better. >> okay. so even if you have bad grades in your sophomore or freshman year?

>> sure. >> upwards trends is a good thing. also standardized tests. what if you don't have a good set of scores right off the top? >> i think it's important students understand they have other opportunities to create a better application. so rather than obsessing about standardized test scores which really should never take more than twice, once to get it over with, and figure out what it's all about. the second time really to do their best on the test. >> what if you get it wrong, horribly two times? you can do it a third time, right? >> you absolutely can do it a third time but you need to decide is your energy best spent on trying to improve scores or is it best spent on thinking about your essay, who to write recommendations for you, what you want to say about your activities outside of class. >> what do you want to look for in the essay, barbara? >> we want to hear their voices. we want to get a sense of who they are. we want them to dig deep and not necessarily try to tell us too much. i think that's one of the mistakes students make is they try to tell us too much.

they ought to pick one topic which is themselves and try to dig deep into that topic so we get a better sense of who they are. >> tough age to ask that of kids. >> absolutely. >> can you tell when parents are helping? >> oh, yes. absolutely can tell. >> we think so. >> all right. and what would you say about recommendations? because that's an interesting thing. >> it really is. i think that too often students forget about the whole principle of asking someone who really likes you to write a recommendation. and so i think that that's where you should start. >> all right. somebody who likes you. well, do me a favor next time and could you make the process any easier? thank you. we're back with much more after this.

>> good morning. i'm mindy basara. let's get a final check on the morning commute. kim dacey. >> good morning. busy morning commute. a very wet. route 1 remains closed between shuresville and our roots 222 at the conowingo dam for cleanup. 895 as an alternate. looks like accident at routes 22

is clear. blocking all lanes of rte. 23 in harford county right at route one, so another alternate route is needed as well. thompson, charles and greenwood. another ad belair road and done field. southdown 95 of the beltway. another one white marsh and eastin. westbound 70, at 29, crash and the shoulder. crash eastbound 40 at st. john's. in the city, edmondson, and the other one at m. l. k. and saratoga. northbound to 95 at 100, crash, a guilford and mission. a live look at the harrisburg expressway, back up to the beltway. live view of the west side, a mess on the inner and outer loop all the way down. >> good morning. rain shower activity in the area, all the way back to western maryland. we will tend -- continue to see all of this all day long. 58 at the airport.

humidity up, barometer down. at the moments, winds are calm with rain activity falling. tonight -- should not really call it a cold front -- should really call it a cold front because temperatures will drop significantly over night. freezing tonight. >> thank you for joining us. another update at 8:56.

it's 8:30 on a thursday morning and also the 27th day of october, 2011. nice people braving some not so nice weather out on the plaza this morning. thanks to them for sticking it out and saying hi to people back

home. meanwhile, inside studio 1-a i'm matt lauer alongside ann curry and natalie morales. just ahead a remarkable medical story. >> the parents of twins were told their children had cerebral palsy and might never get out of their wheelchairs but on their own the family discovered another diagnosis. look at this. it changed everything. this is a pretty dramatic story. we'll have it for you coming up. also ahead we'll talk about what you can learn from the way celebrities and even companies brand and market themselves and how that can impact the way you live your life. all right. then today's professionals tackle everything from the surprising age group having office romances to kids as young as 11 having weight loss surgery. always weighing in. >> we mentioned it is a huge day around here. big stars. >> justin timberlake. >> we have danny devito sitting next to us here. >> yes. >> before we take a chance to talk to him let's look at the world premiere of the new trailer of his new movie "dr.

seuss, the lorax." >> do you know where i could get a real tree? >> did you chop down this tree? >> i think he did it. >> hum. >> who invited the giant furry canine? >> you wouldn't hit a woman. >> who? >> hi, danny. how are you? >> i'm good. >> how do you like being described as a giant furry peanut? >> all my life i've been described as a giant furry -- >> a real giant. >> big, giant, cuddly, furry peanut that you want to take home. >> okay. >> and crack. >> it was so much fun doing "the lorax." that line there, you know, that's a woman? i get to do all these crazy -- and i get to speak for the

trees. because you know, he's a little bit -- a good guy like, you know, he is every man. >> he means well. >> but he doesn't, you know, look in the future that, you know, if you keep cutting down all the trees there's nothing left. >> as opposed to him the lorax is grumpy, also charming -- >> type casting, grumpy. >> and he is trying to change the world so he is like louie depalma and superman all together into one. what a great combo. louie depalma, frank reynolds from "it's always sunny" and superman. >> done. perfect. >> that's it. why am i here? just go save the world. >> and you haven't done a lot of animated movies. you did "hercules" and "my little pony" the movie. >> i did the "my little pony" movie when my kid was like a teenie kid. i did "sesame street", too, so they could watch, you know, back in the days when the kids were watching that stuff so i did "my

little pony" and it was amazing to see the little, you know, then "hercules" was a lot of fun. i played philip who was like very into the chicks in the bushes. it's a disney movie. >> we're a family show. >> a morning program here. also, you got a star on the hollywood walk of fame. congratulations. was it cool? >> it was really cool. >> here's a picture. >> yeah. i usually take my shoe off and, yeah, i was laying on the star and there's a lot of photographers and, you know, if you have any ham around you just throw them in front. >> well, about time we all agree you got that star. >> it was a really great honor. >> is it true that you turned a night of debauchery with george clooney into a kind of notable kind of a -- >> well, what happens in life is that there are things that happen. okay? so you -- but you have to be zen about it and embrace them.

you push them away it's no good and you don't experience it. what happened to me was i went out. we had a good time. i stayed up all night. i was -- i went on "the view." i was a little tipsy. i said the last seven lemon cellos got me and i started importing lemon cello. so then i, you know, the thing is that my -- >> there is an opportunity in everything. >> yeah. but the thing is now as things go business was the way it was. people wanted it. there was some little snafus with getting it into the country and i kind of let it sit. now i still own the brand but i have about four or five bottles left and that's it. but i got a lot of publicity out of it. >> you did. >> dr. seuss by the way. "the lorax" from our sister company universal pictures opens march 2nd. >> tonight the trailer you -- >> you're taking my job. >> sorry. >> the entire trailer tonight starting at apple.com. >> we love you. thanks very much.

>> thank you. can't wait to see the movie. we also love al. he is in chicago this morning. let's get the weather. >> hey, danny. good to see you. >> hey, al. how you doing? >> save me a bottle would you? >> look good, buddy. >> thank you, sir. i wish our weather looked a little better here in the northeast and into the midwest. but what are you going to do? we got today, mountain snows in the inland sections of new york and new england. rain back through texas although some mountain snows in northern texas. temperatures spreading 30 degrees from the south to the north. mid 50s in the pacific northwest. for tomorrow, the sunshine returns but it's going to be much chillier in the northeast. showers through the southeast and mid-atlantic states and some rain moves into the pacific northwest by late tomorrow

and don't forget you can check your weather any time day or night. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. up next a family miracle. twins who suffered from a rare disorder and could barely walk now living normal lives. but first, this is "today" on nbc. [ female announcer ] this is steve and lynn, and they have a good question.

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today's health is brought to you by tums. fights heartburn fast. we're back at 8:39. this morning on today's health a miracle diagnosis. a set of twins were crippled by a neurological disorder, but

their parents refused to accept that their children would spend the rest of their lives confined to wheelchairs. here's nbc's chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: no parent wants to hear bad news about their child, especially when it's about a potentially devastating illness. >> when nolan and alexis were about 2 years old we had an mri done on noah and they actually found brain damage and so that was a definitive diagnosis of cerebral palsy. >> reporter: his twin sister alexis was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, too. >> it was very hard to hear that diagnosis, but it actually was somewhat of a relief because then we had the basis which we could build on what their future was going to be like. >> reporter: but for retta and joe there was something odd about what doctors were telling them. unlike typical cp patients alexis's symptoms were changing leading them to believe something else was going on. >> by 10:30, 11:00 in the morning she couldn't sit up, she

couldn't swallow. she certainly couldn't walk. you literally couldn't reach her. >> reporter: despite countless doctor visits they had no answers, forcing them to take matters into their own hands. >> when you have cerebral palsy, what you have is what you have. the brain damage that you have, the symptoms that you have, should only improve with therapy and alexis was clearly starting to regress. >> reporter: then they stumbled across an article that highlighted the research of a rare progressive mood disorder called dopa-responsive dystonia. everything in me knew this was what alexis had. >> individuals with this condition often can walk for a period of a couple hours in the morning but as the day progresses they become more impaired. this is very treatable by giving low doses of levadopa. this is converted in the body to dopamine and provides sustained and substantial benefit. >> reporter: alexis responded to the medicine immediately. within hours eating, talking,

even walking on her own. >> that is one of those days that i will remember for the rest of my life, because we had a daughter who was really incapable of doing almost anything herself. and within 24 hours of the first dose, it is almost like she was reborn. >> reporter: a few months later alexis's brother noah began showing the same symptoms. he, too, was given the medication with immediate results. next year will mark ten years since the twins have been symptom free, but they'll never forget the five years where they were trapped inside their own bodies. >> i would just be completely debilitated and just -- i wouldn't have any control over anything. >> alexis and noah are 14, and they're in school, going to be freshmen in high school. phenomenal athletes, running track, playing volleyball. >> i know that because of what i've gone through it's really changed my life and i'm getting

more opportunities to change other people's lives. >> reporter: and that she did. the twins shared their story in a discovery channel show called "mystery diagnosis" and the young boy named travis was watching. >> he called me over with his soft voice and said, mom, this sounds like me. this sounds like me. >> reporter: travis, now 16 years old, went from a childhood in a wheelchair to a member of his high school tennis team. >> i was able to walk and do stuff and run like all the other kids were. >> reporter: at an unusual reunion, the two families met. >> you gave us the life we have now and the future that we're going to have. >> reporter: a bright future that not so long ago these three children could never have imagined. >> dr. nancy is now joining us. nancy, good morning. this is very powerful stuff. there are people now listening

who have got kids with cerebral palsy. >> right. >> who are wondering what they should do. >> most people are accurately diagnosed with cerebral palsy, but what made this case so unusual is that these kids got worse during the day because when you go to sleep at night your brain restores the dopamine levels so when you wake up in the morning your brain is pretty good but as the neuro transmitters wean down, kids get stiffer and stiffer and stiffer. but it does underscore the power that when your gut says something is not right, reach out. the power of the web. these parents reaching to each other. and remembering for doctors when things don't quite fit, look for ulterior things. this is a genetic problem although rare. life technologies is the company that is mapping out the genome of this. i think it is an extraordinary reminder that not everything fits into the bucket that we sometimes as physicians think it has to go into. >> all right. well, hopefully your reporting helps some people this morning, dr. nancy. >> pretty cool stuff. >> very, very cool. thank you so much, dr. nancy snyderman. coming up next, how to get what you want by marketing

yourself as a brand. but first, this is "today" on nbc. 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.

from your business to your facebook page perception is key and branding can make or break your image. so how can you successfully market yourself in the right way? steve addubato is the author of "you are the brand." i get the branding idea when it comes to a celebrity or a politician who needs to have the image out in the public but you think branding is important for average people too. why? >> it is used. especially in this economy when people are losing their jobs. they're thinking if i do a good job and work hard it's good enough. it isn't. you should really become more confident and comfortable with self-promotion. does that mean bragging and boasting in an arrogant way? no. it means if there is a job

opening here at nbc or today show and someone wants to get it and they think their plan is someone is going to pick them out, no. go ask for the job, push for the job, self-promoting in a constructive way is part of building your brand. >> you think that if somebody out there needs to get that brand out there and promote it attitude is the key. but what you just talked about, self-promoting, sometimes that can rub people the wrong way. >> welsh branding is not a science. it's a craft meaning there is a fine line between someone who goes in and says i'm your guy or i'm your woman and puts out a -- builds a website and someone who says look at, self-promotional. the fact is i believe you should err on the side of being confident and without being boastful but at the same time don't just think because you have a facebook page that that's branding. >> actually by the way facebook, putting things on facebook can actually backfire when you're trying to create and protect a brand. >> how about it kills your brand? all you're thinking is i'm communicating to my friends. wait a minute. you're communicating to all sorts of people and all of a sudden it's out there and you say i don't want other people to see that. you have to ask yourself who is

your audience, how do i want to connect with them? ultimately we have to brand ourselves because other people are branding us all the time. >> once you create a brand and a successful brand, tiger woods comes to mind, a guy who had a great brand out there and we all know what happened after the scandal that he was involved with. how do you go about preserving a brand when it's teetering on the brink? >> you don't preserve it. you have to try to do something to try to get back -- listen, i was here on the "today" show a while back when we were talking about tiger woods with the masters when everything was happening, matt. i remember thinking, one of his biggest problems from a branding point of view is, a, he was put out there as a brand that was close to perfect. he actually had a game out there, an animated video game where he was walking on water meaning he actually implied his marketers implied he was perfect. so when the whole thing breaks, and he his and doesn't talk about it, for months he wouldn't talk about it, it hurts your brand when it looks like you're hiding. it hurts your brand when you put yourself up there as perfect. no one can live up to that. if he doesn't win a tournament again forget it. even if he wins his brand can

resurrect itself to some extent but forget the tiger woods we came to know as the greatest american sportsman of all time. >> one of the most popular brands we've ever seen. steve, thanks very much. the book is called "you are the brand." and still ahead, should kids as young as 11 years old be getting stomach surgery to lose weight? we'll talk about that and other topics with today's professionals. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

have you heard? the news magazine "rock center" with brian williams premieres on monday night. >> brian and some of the top reporters in the business will present the week's biggest stories in a smart and compelling way. harry smith and kate snow are part of the team as well as natalie. guys, good morning. nice to see you. >> good morning. >> the entire fate of network. riding on your shoulders. >> big shoulders. >> your broad shoulders and your not so broad shoulders. what is it going to be like? >> i think the best way you can describe it is a combination of "60 minutes" and "night line." every week if there is an important story that really needs to be covered brian and the team will drill down on it but there will also be traditional magazine pieces you might have seen, say, on -- late

on sunday afternoon. >> for example, harry, perhaps one of the -- well, perhaps the major story of our time, the economy, you found -- you discovered something in north dakota that is really important. >> williston, north dakota. little tiny town almost all the way out to montana. as i say in the piece it's where the big sky country really begins. there's a boom going on the likes of which people in america will not believe. the trucks rumble through like modern buffalo, a stampede that can't be stopped. starting salary for truck drivers? $80,000 a year. you can make $15 an hour at taco john's. in town or in the oil field if you're willing to work, the money is here. >> you know, there's opportunity here. that's what we all need is an opportunity. >> reporter: long-time mayor ward koezer says williston's fast becoming host to job seekers from all 50 states. in just five years, its population has nearly doubled to

23,000. >> we have 2,000 to 3,000 job openings here and more come on the scene every day. >> reporter: 2,000 to 3,000? >> yes. a lot of jobs get filled every day but it's like for every job you fill another job and a half opens up. >> what is the lesson that's fueling this, harry? >> it's the oil field that's underneath there. it's oil that is very difficult to get out until new drilling techniques have been perfected. almost every single well they put down comes out with -- is profitable. it's phenomenal. thousands, not just a few, thousands and thousands of jobs. >> williston, north dakota. kate, you also have a story airing monday night. it has to do with immigration. we're not talking about people sneaking across the border. >> we're actually talking about something that is completely legal. we're talking about wealthy chinese women coming here just to have babies. the wealthy chinese parents of these babies have no intention of staying in the united states.

they're here just to get american citizenship for their baby. as soon as they secure a u.s. birth certificate and passport for their newborn, they'll fly home to china, having spent as much as $30,000 on air fare, lodging, and medical expenses. so where is his mom right now? >> shopping. >> reporter: it is instant american citizenship, sold by an industry called birth tourism. >> so, kate, this is going to cause a lot of anger. >> it's controversial and we got access inside of that home. ann, you were just asking, it's not just chinese women. there are websites we found for women all over the world to come here. no idea how many women we're talking about. nobody keeps track of how many people come here, have a baby, and then leave. but it is controversial. we talked to a member of congress who wants this to stop. he thinks this is a loophole that has to go away. >> the first time i ever heard about it. >> the show is not all entirely serious. there will be a lighter side as well. every night natalie is going to do standup. >> yes. >> there you go.

>> brian is going to get a chance to kind of show the funnier side of his personality which as we all know is very funny. >> fantastic. >> natalie, you'll be contributing stories as well. >> i have a couple stories already that we're working on. look forward to being part of it and getting more in depth. >> good luck. we're rooting for you. >> the entire fate of the network. >> that's right. >> don't let the music confuse you. "rock center with brian williams" premieres monday night at 10:00, 9:00 central here on nbc. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. here is a look at one of our top

stories. baltimore city police searching for the driver of a conversion- style van used in the alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl who was walking on leslie street sunday afternoon when she was offered a ride. witnesses recall seeing multiple people near the van.

>> good morning. it is raining. a cold front approaching from the west. once it goes through we start to dry out but it will not be until tonight. showers, on-again off-again, mostly cloudy, variable winds and 59-64 for the high. and 59-64 for the high.