good morning. breaking news. at least five people are dead after strong storms and powerful tornadoes ripped through the southeast. this morning rescue crews are searching for more possible victims. it was time. jerry sandusky's attorney defends his controversial decision to let the former penn state assistant coach speak out in the exclusive interview with nbc as new questions were raised over the actions of a key witness in the child sexual abuse case. and round three. ricky gervais set to return as host of the golden globes even after ruffling hollywood's feathers last time around. we're betting some big stars are already bracing for new punch

lines today, thursday, november already bracing for new punch lines today, thursday, november 17th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. i'm ann curry. >> i'm matt lauer. there was some wild weather in the southeast and south over the last 24 hours from louisiana to north carolina. lots of storms. lots of people waking up without power this morning. >> that's right. one of the hardest hit areas a neighborhood near rock hill, south carolina where a single tornado destroyed at least six homes. take a look and we'll have more details straight ahead. >> plus we'll tell you about a strange cyber twist to a divorce and custody case in connecticut. a couple has been ordered by the court to swap passwords to their social networking sites. is all fair in love and war or is that a breach of privacy?

we'll explain a little more of that. >> as parents we've all had the experience of our child throwing tantrums, right, and the question is what to do. well, now researchers are weighing in on what we should be doing and they'd say the answer is a lot simpler than you may think. >> prevent the tantrum before it even occurs. and never before seen images of a hollywood icon. we'll show you more of this home video of marilyn monroe taken on the set of her hit movie "some like it hot" and tell you how you could actually own that video. >> really charming images there. we begin however with those deadly storms in the southeast and al rokers upstairs with details. >> good morning, ann. as we look and show you, thomasville, north carolina, a hard hit area. you can see the damage. this is a live picture showing you what -- this was a family fun center. families normally in this enjoying themselves. we have six -- at least five people dead, possibly six. over six states in this destruction that started this

march of storms that started early yesterday morning and continued on into yesterday evening. as we go to the radar recap to show you exactly what happened, here's what we've got. basically the storms started firing up down in louisiana, mississippi, alabama, and georgia earlier in the day. starting up, then as we move into the afternoon hours the storm system regathers its strength and starts to push further to the east. we start to see the twisters start firing up in parts of northern georgia on into south carolina and then on into north carolina as well. the good news is the worst is over but we are looking at the potential of 19 actual tornadoes with another ten that may be added on top of that. matt? >> all right. al, thanks very much. we'll get your local forecast in a moment. now the latest on a story that's generated so many headlines over the last couple weeks. that child sexual abuse scandal at penn state university. nbc's peter alexander is on the state college campus again this

morning. peter, good morning to you. >> matt, good morning to you. according to multiple lawyers jerry sandusky's tv interview has led several potential alleged victims of child abuse to come forward and consider sharing their stories. sandusky's voice and refusal to admit any wrongdoing has triggered past memories some dating back reportedly to the 1970s. at jerry sandusky's home wednesday delivery of a new elliptical machine for the man o has been largely in seclusion since the child sexual abuse scandal broke. it comes as penn state officials told nbc news in a brief statement jerry sandusky has been barred from university facilities. on wednesday sandusky's attorney defended his heavily criticized decision to allow the alleged sex offender to be interviewed monday night by bob costas for "rock center." >> i say that i am innocent of those charges.

>> innocent? completely innocent and falsely accused in every aspect? >> well, i could say that, you know, i have done some of those things. >> well i thought it was time to hear from jerry. i've known jerry for a long time. we had to let people know that jerry has maintained his innocent. >> reporter: he also addressed sandusky's startling admission to activities that outraged many people listening to the interview. >> people said to me how could you let him say he was in the shower with the kids? how could we not let him say that? he was. >> i have horsed around with kids. i have showered after workouts. i have hugged them and i have touched their leg without intent sexual contact. >> but you guys have to understand these showers are large shower rooms. they're not the showers that you have at home at your house or apartment. >> sandusky's lawyer also conceded the identities of the alleged victims of the grand jury report have not been confirmed. >> we didn't get names.

so we're guessing who they are and it's tough because jerry says the sexual stuff didn't occur, but we're trying to guess who these individuals are but we still have not got names. >> sandusky's preliminary hearing is now scheduled for december 7th. the district court judge who set sandusky's bail, well below what prosecutors asked for, won't be presiding. according to campaign finance records, she received $1,000 in contributions in 2007 from the chairman of sandusky's children's charity the second mile. pennsylvania court officials have brought in a new judge from outside the county with no known connections to the university or to the second mile. late wednesday joe paterno was spotted publicly for the first time in days, leaving a building near campus. because of six decades of service to penn state, paterno is reportedly in line for a huge pension, in excess of $500,000 a

year. the university says the pension is run by the state. and this morning according to the associated press there are new details about how this case ended up in the hands of the state attorney general's office. the former county da here says that he reviewed the case and thought it should be investigated but because his brother-in-law is sandusky's adopted son, ann, he passed it on. >> peter alexander this morning, thank you for your reporting on this. both campus and local police in state college are now disputing a claim from the assistant coach mike mcqueary that he contacted authorities about the sexual abuse he says he witnessed back in 2002. nbc's national investigative correspondent has more on this part of the case. michael, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. today in a harrisburg courtroom we were supposed to learn more about what evidence prosecutors had against two top university officials in the penn state sex abuse case. but in a surprise development,

the state attorney general's office has asked for a delay in the preliminary hearing until next month amid new questions about the testimony of a key witness. sources tell nbc news that mike mcqueary was expected to testify about what he saw on march first, 2002, and who he told about it. the assistant coach and former graduate assistant is the government's only eyewitness to the most shocking allegation that jerry sandusky sexually assaulted a 10-year-old boy in the penn state locker room. but prosecutors asked for more time. >> it definitely seems to me unusual particularly in circumstances like this where as we know, we're talking about many months, even years in terms of getting to this point. >> the delay has outraged the lawyers for two university officials who lost their jobs. athletic director tim curley and senior vice president gary schultz. both are charged with lying to the grand jury about what mcqueary told them about the

incident and their failure to report it to police. both insist they are innocent. nbc spoke to mcqueary outside his house. >> do you feel like you're being given a fair shake or your reputation is being accurately portrayed? >> that'll all come out. i just don't have anything to say about that right now. >> reporter: but there appear to be discrepancies between mcqueary's account to the grand jury and what he has said since. in an e-mail to a friend last week, mcqueary says about the incident, i did stop it, not physically -- but made sure it was stopped when i left that locker room. but in the grand jury report, a different account. mcqueary left immediately, distraught. and another discrepancy. mcqueary says in the e-mail he had discussions with police about what happened. but both the university and local police say they have no record of that. and there's this. just weeks after the alleged assault, according to a local newspaper report at the time, mcqueary joined sandusky at an

easter seals charity football game. >> everything relative to the second mile has been passed. >> and mcqueary allegedly showed up at sandusky's charity golf tournament three months after the incident and the following year. mcqueary's lawyer did not respond to requests for comment but sandusky's lawyer had this to say. >> for people to think that mike mcqueary came to coach paterno and said, i saw jerry sandusky in the shower last night having anal sex with a child that looked to be about 10 is absolutely incredible to me. for anyone who knows those gentlemen, to think that they would have been told such graphic details about a horrific event and simply said to jerry, don't bring kids into the showers anymore, defies any type of reasoning i've ever had in my life. >> reporter: today's "new york times" reports that when investigators finally met with mcqueary in an out of the way

parking lot last year he unburdened himself about what he had seen that day and was filled with regret that nothing had happened. when he had the opportunity to make it right he told the truth, one investigator was quoted as saying. meanwhile, another possible hitch for prosecutors. the grand jury report says they were unable to identify the young man -- the young boy who mcqueary says he allegedly saw sandusky attacking in that locker room. ann? >> all right. michael, thank you so much. very tough story. it is now 7:11. once again, here is matt. >> thank you. the man suspected of firing shots at the white house is now in custody and due in federal court today. this as agents try to figure out exactly how many rounds hit the building. nbc's justice correspondent pete williams has the latest on this. hi, pete. >> matt, good morning. this is where investigators believe the shots came from. constitution avenue, at least a third of a mile from the white house and fired they believe by the driver of a moving car. federal agents say it's

surprising any of those rounds actually hit their apparent target. the secret service says at least two rounds did hit the white house. one damaged the glass in a window on the truman balcony but was stopped by a bullet resistant layer beneath. another hit the building elsewhere. agents are waiting to discover if the other pock marks could mean more rounds shot. the shots came from a distance of about eight football fields away south of the white house about the limit of the range of the assault rifle federal agents believe was used in the shooting. the man suspected of firing the shots, oscar hernandez, was arrested wednesday about 200 miles away at a pennsylvania motel where investigators discovered he had stayed earlier. the secret service told motel employees he might return. >> and alerted them to the fact that this subject had been there in the past and may come back in the future and that if he did appear they were going to notify local law enforcement and the secret service. >> ortega, who is 21, has a long record of arrests for minor

crimes in three states -- idaho where he's from, utah, and texas. his father told nbc's spanish language network telemundo that ortega had recently become obsessed with the date 11-11-11 the day of last friday's shooting and worried that's when the world would end. investigators are also checking into reports that ortega made threatening and bizarre comments about president obama. the president was not in the white house last friday night when the shots rang out around 9:00. the car they came from was later found abandoned with an assault rifle in it believed to be the weapon that fired the shots. police say evidence in the car linked it to ortega and the man hunt was on. so far ortega has been charged only with carrying a dangerous weapon but prosecutors are considering the much more serious charge of attempted assassination. matt? >> all right. pete williams in washington this morning. pete, thank you very much. it's 13 after the hour. here's ann. matt, thanks. now to the presidential race. gop hopeful newt gingrich is surging in the polls, but with

that new support comes added scrutiny. nbc's andrea mitchell has details now. good morning. >> good morning, ann. newt gingrich is indeed rising in the polls but now facing tough questions about his long-time washington connection to mortgage giant freddie mac, which received one of those huge bailouts that conservative republicans love to hate. in iowa, newt gingrich was on the defensive for making a fortune playing an old washington game. >> i was approached for strategic advice. i was glad to offer strategic advice. and we did it for a number of companies. >> reporter: at each stop, gingrich was trying to explain what he did for mortgage giant freddie mac widely blamed with fannie mae for contributing to the housing debacle. the gingrich group was paid up to $1.8 million in two contracts starting only months after gingrich's party forced him to quit congress. >> i offered strategic advice to a lot of different companies. i did no lobbying of any kind. >> reporter: when pressed at last week's cnbc debate gingrich

said he offered historical advice. >> were you not trying to help them fend off the attack by the bush administration? >> no. i have never done any lobbying. >> a former gingrich colleague called that an outrageous deception and critics say gingrich did a lot more than he said. >> strategic advice is telling a client who they should talk to on capitol hill, what other lobbyists they should hire, and it's arranging the campaign to influence legislation. >> reporter: michele bachmann pounced. >> while he was taking that money, i was fighting against fannie and freddie. >> reporter: and there is the hypocrisy factor. while freddie mac was helping make gingrich rich he was attacking barack obama and other democrats for their ties to the mortgage giants. >> there is something profoundly wrong about the current system. >> reporter: attacks he escalated last month. >> if you want to put people in jail i want to second what michele said. you ought to start with barney frank and chris dodd. barney frank's case go back and look at the lobbyists he was

close to at freddie mac. >> reporter: barney frank, an adversary, says gingrich was clearly hired for his influence. >> oh, yes. he's a lobbyist. you talk about the "l" word with newt, the two "l" words with newt, lobbyist and liar. >> reporter: there could be more fallout to come. >> this is a kind of drip, drip, drip of politics we have come to see when a controversy gets started. there are going to be more of these down the road for the former speaker. >> reporter: gingrich surged in the polls only after his competitors stumbled in recent debates and despite his earlier lifestyle problems like that famous tiffany account. so this could be just another turn in the incredible saga that is this year's republican campaign. >> all right. you said it, andrea mitchell. thank you so much. it is now 7:16. here's matt. thank you. energy secretary steven chu will be in the hot seat today on capitol hill. he is expected to face very tough questions over a half billion dollar federal loan given to a solar energy company tied to one of president obama's donors. nbc's senior investigative

correspondent has the latest on this one. hi, lisa. >> reporter: good morning, matt. the latest embarrassment for the white house is a series of e-mails revealing that the administration knew the company was in big financial trouble last fall. the e-mail suggests the administration urged company executives to conceal the bad news until after mid-term elections in which democrats were fighting to hold control of congress. the company is called solyndra. it was the poster child for the president's effort to create green jobs. >> companies like solyndra are leading the way. >> reporter: but internal company e-mails reveal that only five months after the president heralded solyndra and its $500 million loan guarantee as a stimulus success story company officials warned they needed an emergency infusion of cash and were about to close the plant and announce layoffs. in one e-mail in october of last year a solyndra adviser wrote that while the department of energy is cooperative about

providing more money, they did push very hard for us to hold our announcement of the consolidation to employees and vendors to november 3rd. oddly, they didn't give a reason for that date. november 3rd was the day after the hotly contested 2010 election. solyndra did announce layoffs that day. >> it's pretty clear that they wanted the bad news to come after the election not before it. >> reporter: embattled secretary chu once boasted that he moved with unprecedented speed to approve loan guarantees to companies like solyndra. now investigators want to know why solyndra got $535 million taxpayer dollars despite numerous red flags, why the government provided more money even after the company defaulted, and why officials agreed that if the company failed some private investors would get repaid before taxpayers. which is highly unusual. even some democrats are troubled. >> i think it's embarrassing the

administration. it would be embarrassing to any administration that we have $500 million in american taxpayer money that is at risk and now we may -- we will lose it. >> chu insists all decisions were based on merit and had nothing to do with solyndra's ties to a big obama donor. >> certainly no decision we made in the loan program had anything to do with who is investing in this company. >> in his prepared testimony today chu takes full responsibility for what happened. he says all the final decisions were his and that none were based on political considerations. matt, e-mails circulated within the white house suggest obama staffers considered firing chu earlier this year but the secretary says he has the full support of the president. >> all right. lisa myers in washington this morning. lisa, thank you very much. now let's get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories. in for natalie this morning we've got savannah guthrie. >> good morning, everybody. president obama is in indonesia this morning on the tail end of

his asia pacific tour. before leaving australia earlier today, he addressed u.s. and australian troops in the town of darwin about his decision to step up the u.s. military presence in the pacific, a move designed to counter china's growing influence in the region. meantime, secretary of state hillary clinton is in thailand to visit victims of the historic flooding there and announced a $10 million aid package for them. police in new york city are bracing for a day of action from the occupy wall street movement. protesters are planning to rally near the new york stock exchange before fanning out across the city. and nationwide protests are heating up as well. in dallas about 20 demonstrators were arrested as they were evicted from their encampment near city hall. in san francisco, more than a hundred demonstrators stormed a bank of america sitting down in the bank and chanting. several were arrested when they refused to leave. but a rare victory came for occupy boston protesters wednesday. a judge has stripped the city of its authority to evict the

demonstrators from their encampment for at least the next two weeks. now for a check of the markets cnbc's melissa francis is at the new york stock exchange this morning. good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. we're watching crude oil prices up about a hundred dollars a barrel and reversal of a pipeline that goes between cushing, oklahoma and the gulf coast. in the long run this is good for the prices at the pump and makes the system more efficient. in the short term it could mean higher prices for drivers. they had been on the decline since a high in june around $4 a gallon. but right now they could be trending back up. 54 cents higher right now than a year ago. back to you. >> thank you. and a new ad campaign from the united colors of benaton has the vatican threatening legal action. the unhate campaign features photo shopped pictures of world leaders kissing some of their rivals. it features president obama kissing the chinese president hu

jintao. it was an image of pope benedict kissing a prominent muslim cleric that has the vatican furious. the pitch haurs been pulled but the vatican condemned the ad as a grave act of disrespect. it is now 7:22. back to matt, ann, and al. >> how do you feel about the picture of you two kissing? >> it's all right. >> which one? >> you do that all the time. >> exactly. savannah, thank you very much. mr. roker, busy down south? >> absolutely. we're talking about some strong storms that moved through. we told you about those earlier. we also have a very vigorous storm system making its way into the pacific northwest and we've got a lot of rain along the coast. heavy mountain snows all the way back into jackson, wyoming, up to a foot of snow in some areas good morning. temperatures will be falling into the afternoon. the warmest part of the day will be in the morning.

that's your latest weather. just want to brag a little bit. i am now the proud owner of a brand newly minted 13-year-old. >> congratulations. >> her birthday. >> congratulations. that's great. happy birthday. >> brian's birthday too. my husband. >> happy birthday, brian. >> yay. >> i don't know anybody born today. not so fast. the paternity suit against justin bieber may have been dropped so why has his accuser hired a new lawyer? we'll talk about that but first this is "today" on lela and brian's birthday.

baton down the hatches because ricky gervais is coming back as host of the golden globes. >> plus never before seen images of marilyn monroe on a beach in san diego as she filmed the classic "some like it hot." you can own that fo >> couple shots around town. things pretty calm right now. i am stan stovall brit hume is a look at one of our top story this hour. -- i am stan stovall. here is a look at one of our top story this hour. nation's center on trotter road that was robbed last night was the target of robbery on friday. baltimore county police want to hear from anyone with information on the crimes.

let's get a check on the track with sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> we have delays we are still dealing with on the harrisburg expressway. if you are going to head southbound on york road down to prior to mount carmel, dealing with a jam packed ride to do to an accident. you can see the speed center and mount carmel indicating that speeds are normal there. we have if you coming into us, one at kane and lombard, another at north point and willow. speed at 12 miles per hour out of the white marsh area. north side is not bad. west side around 13 miles per hour. that is creeping back up on southbound 795 out of owings mills. 95 from white marsh, that is stop and go. let's switch over to a live view of traffic in the j.f.x. and ruxton road.

southbound traffic backing up and ruxton all the way down toward the northern parkway. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. tony has a check on your forecast. >> big change in temperatures today. we will see a little precipitation as well. light rain shower activity right now. you can see snow developing in the mountains. as the temperatures drop, you might see a few snow flakes mixed in with light rain. temperatures in the 30's by the time you drive home from work this afternoon.

7:30 on a thursday morning the 17th day of november, 2011. overcast here in the northeast. we had a day of rain yesterday. hopefully that clears out of here in the near future. about 47 degrees for the folks on the plaza. we appreciate them stopping by. meanwhile, inside studio 1-a matt lauer alongside ann curry. could your online posts come back to haunt you? we'll explain why a connecticut couple going through a bitter divorce has been ordered to share their social networking pass words with each other. we'll talk more about that in just a couple minutes. it's interesting. >> no kidding. also what's interesting is that ricky gervais has been picked to

host the golden globes once again despite being heavily criticized for the piercing nature of his jokes during this year's show. well, apparently he's already starting to outline some of his materials. so just be glad that you're not a hollywood a-lister because i think he is going after them once again. >> i think he was heavily criticized by some people with thin skins. i think a lot of other people, myself included, we loved it. thought it was wildly entertaining. >> yes. >> also ahead, marilyn monroe like you've never seen her before having fun on the beach back in 1959 as she filmed one of her most iconic roles. we'll get the story behind those images and tell you how you could actually own some of them. >> that's right. we begin this half hour with the paternity case against justin bieber. his accuser withdrew her lawsuit but apparently she still wants the pop star to take a dna test. nbc's kristen dahlgren has details on the story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. the attorneys who first filed that paternity suit in court confirmed they are no longer representing maria yeder but her

new attorney says that doesn't mean she is giving up on her claim that justin bieber is her baby's father or her efforts to get the pop star to pay child support. >> justin bieber! >> reporter: as justin bieber wrapped his trip to europe the baby daddy drama showed no signs of going away. days after 20-year-old mariah geder withdrew her paternity suit in a california court her new attorney says they are now negotiating with bieber's people in private. >> well i wouldn't consider it back door. i would consider this a safe means to protect my client because since the filing of this paternity action she has received many death threats. >> reporter: she claims she and bieber conceived the baby during a quick encounter after a concert at the los angeles staples center. the singer insists he has never even met her. bieber's reps say they've had no conversations with her attorney and won't negotiate, writing in a statement, as we've said from the beginning it's sad that someone would fabricate such a

malicious, defamatory, and demonstrably false claim. we'll continue to consider all of our options to protect justin. the star's camp has said he is willing to take a paternity test and that they may pursue a lawsuit against her. on the "today" show bieber told matt -- >> i'm going to be a target but i'm never going to be a victim. >> reporter: like girlfriend selena gomez, bieber's fans seem to be sticking by the pop icon. >> they are going to stand by him no matter what. but the fact is he needs to protect his image. if these allegations are false, he needs to do what he's doing right now -- pursue legal action. >> reporter: on wednesday bieber tweeted, i'm back. posting a link to jay-z's empire state of mind. ♪ new york ♪ >> reporter: could we soon see dna test results? the attorney claims he is asking any paternity tests stay confidential no matter what the results show insisting it's about the baby not bieber's superstar status. >> any single mom in her

situation would probably want child support from the dad. she's not looking to become a zillionaire. >> this morning tmz.com is reporting they've obtained e-mails between mariah geder and a friend in which they claim she told a friend that another man not justin bieber is the baby's father and also allegedly asked the friend to keep the whole thing a secret saying she would give him a cut when she gets paid. we reached out to her attorney and so far have not heard anything back this morning. >> all right. kristen dahlgren, thank you so much. now let's get a check of the weather from mr. al roker. >> all right. thank you, ann. we've got some kids from harbor springs high school. that's great. thanks for coming down. just hanging out? >> yeah. >> just took a school bus and drove on down here. very nice. i like that. let's check your weather to see what we've got going on for today. we're looking at some lake effect snow. lake superior, michigan, huron,

lake erie, we got the winds coming across around that low pressure system so we've got lake effect snow warnings and advisories of houghton, michigan all the way to pulaski, new york. some areas may pick up to 9 inches of snow. we may see up to a foot in some spots. a lot of wet weather in the pacific northwest. windy, rainy, snowy in the mountains and cascades. look for showers along the mid-atlantic coast later today. maybe even a few showers here in the northeast. sunshine continues from texas into the southwest with cooler >> good morning. temperatures will fall into the 30's. it will be a breezy and chilly day.

that's your latest weather. don't forget you can check your weather any time of the day or night. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. thank you. he ruffled more than a few feathers at this year's golden globes but the hollywood foreign press association is now confirming ricky gervais will be back as the show's host. nbc's jeff rossen has the details on this. jeff, good morning. >> hey, matt. good morning. look, if you ever wanted to host the golden globes here is what you need to do. insult angelina jolie, hugh heffner, mel gibson, god, and tom cruise. ricky gervais did it last time at the globes and they invited him back. oh, he insulted nbc too. apparently that's okay, as well. >> hello. welcome to the 68th annual golden globes awards. >> reporter: hollywood has a good sense of humor. >> it is going to be a night of partying and heavy drinking. or as charlie sheen calls it, breakfast. >> reporter: but ricky gervais sure pushed it at the 2011 golden globes.

>> jim carrey and two heterosexual actors pretending to be gay so the complete opposite of some famous scientologists then. >> reporter: he took some heat but heat works when you want buzz. the hollywood foreign press association just announced ricky is back again in 2012. by the way, gervais geared them too. >> eva longeria has the daunting task of introducing the president of the press. that is nothing. i had to help him off the toilet and pop his teeth in. >> reporter: he tweeted wednesday, just told billy crystal he better not use any of my holocaust or pedophile material at the oscars. >> he's going to do what they want him to do which is cause controversy and stir things up and give people a reason to tune in. >> reporter: at last year's globes ricky taunted everyone from a-list celebrities. >> please welcome ashton kutcher's dad bruce willis. >> reporter: and robert downey jr. >> many of you in this room

probably know him best from such facilities as the betty ford clinic and los angeles county jail. >> to the nominees. >> seems like everything this year was three dimensional except the characters and the tourists. >> reporter: not everyone was amused. >> aside from the fact that it's been hugely mean spirited with mildly sinister undertones i'd say the vibe of the show is pretty good so far wouldn't you? >> reporter: the producers were reportedly divided whether to bring ricky back but this is tv and the ratings talk. the most recent show brought in nearly 17 million viewers but what will he do this time? >> these award shows tend to be kind of boring, a little bit of the same old same old. if you can have someone on there that is like, wow, i wonder what he'll do next, that's gold for ratings. >> i wonder. >> reporter: everyone here in the studio is howling. just to show you how quickly things change in hollywood, just after the last show one of the organizers said, quote, ricky will not be invited back to host the show next year for sure. now they say the vote to bring him back was overwhelming.

the golden globes with ricky gervais will air on sunday, january 15th, right here on nbc. matt, i know you'll be watching. >> i am looking forward to it, jeff. thank you very much. up next, an unusual twist in a couple's divorce. why they have now been ordered to swap their social networking passwords. we'll explain right after this. [ male announcer ] now at subway, get a free 6-inch sandwich of your choice

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facebook, apps, magazines, and more. back now at 7:42 with the online postings that could play a key role on a connecticut couple's divorce proceedings. nbc's craig melvin is here to explain. good morning. >> good morning, ann. many suspicious spouses ditched private investigators for the internet a while ago. now this case could set a new precedent. the judge has ordered a couple getting a divorce to swap passwords to facebook and dating sites. in courtney galleon's profile picture on twitter she brags about her husband calling him amazing. she posted this adoring message on his my space page about a year ago. but steven galleon says his wife wasn't just online leaving love notes. >> stuff i seen on facebook and stuff her friends were telling me, it was just -- finally i was just done with it. >> reporter: using the home computer they shared he says he

also found his wife on two dating sites. >> then i started seeing stuff public and private about in between her and a couple other people about stuff that you shouldn't be doing while you're married. >> reporter: in a divorce battle that followed he hoped that information he gathered online might help him win full custody of the couple's two daughters, but to get more information, he needed her passwords. >> what we did was we scheduled the deposition and during the deposition i asked her the question about retrieving her facebook passwords, etcetera. >> courtney's lawyer wasn't expecting that. >> giving the password we didn't anticipate that question coming but when she gave the password, she gave the password and then after that i told her to clang it. >> steven's lawyer worried potential evidence might be deleted so he filed an emergency motion in court. a connecticut judge ordered steven and courtney to exchange facebook and dating website passwords. he also banned the galleons from

posting messages pretending to be the other. >> it's hard to keep stuff secret when you're posting online t's all public. >> courtney did not want to be interviewed for our story but through her attorney told us, quote, it's embarrassing to have someone read messages that you thought were private and confidential. i think it's just a way to try and intimidate me by bringing in information not relevant. it scares me to think what is next. while the judge's decision may be unusual, legal experts expect we'll start seeing more like it. >> it's an old trick to hire private investigators to go get the scoop on the other person. why get a private investigator when all you need to do is sign on with a password? the same sleuthing that a private investigator can do a lawyer can do in the comfort of their own office. >> the judge still has to decide if information from those social media sites will actually be used during the divorce proceedings. meanwhile, courtney says right now her main focus is her children and she does not want to bash her soon-to-be ex-husband in public. the case goes to trial in early

december, ann. >> all right. thank you so much this morning. and still ahead, yale researchers say it is time to toss aside everything you've ever read and heard about dealing with your child's temper tantrums. dealing with your child's temper tantrums. but first these messages. a refrigerator has never been hacked. an online virus has never attacked a corkboard. ♪ give your customers the added feeling of security a printed statement or receipt provides... ...with mail. it's good for your business. ♪ and even better for your customers. ♪ for safe and secure ways to stay connected, visit usps.com/mail i was the first-born... i got married first... i had children first... and i'm the first to get this haircut. i was the first to get a flu shot. you didn't make an appointment yet. don't need one at walgreens. strolled right in and got my flu shot early from my walgreens pharmacist.

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we're back at 7:49 with the death of someone who played a role in one of the most popular movies of all time. you may not know his name but almost everyone knows his work. today national correspondent amy robach has more on this. >> good morning to you. carl sloever passed away on tuesday in a hospital in georgia. he was 93 years old and was one of the last surviving munchkins from the classic film "the wizard of oz." you might say he was a little guy with a big heart. he was playing the role of the lead trumpeter in munchkin land heralding the mayor of munchkin land. and slover helped send dorothy and her dog toto off to see the wizard when he and his fellow munchkins sang -- ♪ follow the yellow brick road follow the yellow brick road ♪

>> reporter: at 4'5", slover was an unlikely hollywood hero but the film's success was a defining moment in his life. he went on to travel the country, appearing at festivals and events honoring "the wizard of oz." >> carl was amazingly upbeat. he never stopped enjoying the chance to meet fans. there is an immortality that has come to everybody who had anything to do with "the wizard of oz." >> reporter: in 2007 he was part of a group of former munchkins receiving a star on the hollywood walk of fame at the chinese theater. it was the site of the film's premiere in 1939. the munchkins were part of hollywood history, and while some developed a reputation as hard partiers behind the scenes, historians point out that for most, it was about the work. >> it was just hard work for everybody. it was a six-day schedule. they had to be there at 6:00 in the morning for two hours of makeup. they worked until 6:00 at night. and by the time makeup and all the rest of it was done, they

were beat. >> reporter: those who new slover say people who met him were never disappointed. during this visit with sirius xm radio he treated his audience to one of his signature a capella performances. ♪ because of the wonderful things he does ♪ ♪ we're off to see the wizard the wonderful wizard of oz ♪ >> yay! >> reporter: the classic movie will live on for generations to come and so will slover's legacy as he and the munchkins continue to enchant the young and cold. out of 124 people who played munchkins in "the wizard of oz" only three are alive today. all of the major actors have also passed away of course including judy garland who died tragically young at the age of 47. >> what a legacy to actually still today make so many of us smile. >> we're just sitting here in the studio smiling watching the footage. >> watch it again. >> we're back after your local

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara pettitte here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> we are trying to wrap up the morning rush. we have an accident to watch for in timonium. we have an accident catonsville and harlan lane and edmondson ave. a couple of accidents, one at north point and willow. looking at a jammed right from approaching white marsh to the beltway northeast. north side looking at a slow go.

heavier on the west side as you make your way past 795. inner loop from greenspring over to the j.f.x. now congested because of the j.f.x. delays. we will start in the white marsh area, going away from us, southbound traffic stop and go from this point down to the split. live view of traffic on the j.f.x. from the beltway at all the way down to 28. those delays definitely in place. tony has a check on your forecast. >> the big story today will be the change in temperatures. upper 40's right now. upper 30's by later on this afternoon. rainshowers around baltimore right now, but you can see what is happening in the mountains. some of it is changing to snow. this is not going to stick. is going to be a breezy day with temperatures falling from the upper 40's into the 30's. seven-day forecast going into the weekend, sunshine on friday. high temperatures around 50

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8:00 now on a thursday morning. it is the 17th day of november, 2011 as we're outside now saying hello to the hearty people here on our plaza. 47 degrees. not too cold but cold enough if you're out here for any length of time. in the meantime everyone is swaying to the sound of rascal flatts because they're going to be live on our concert stage with a special guest on monday on "today" just a number of the wonderful acts lined up. we've also got singer/songwriter and rock 'n roll hall of famer inductee carol king here on tuesday.

that's going to be really fun. then on wednesday of course justin bieber live on our plaza. weave we expect a huge crowd for him. i'm ann curry on the plaza with matt lauer and al roker and all of our guests this morning. thanks so much for being here carole king is a legend. speaking of legends how about marilyn monroe? >> yes. >> everybody loves marilyn. we'll take you behind the scenes of her shoot for "some like it hot" footage taken on a beach in san diego. the footage is now actually up for sale, part of an auction of some of her personal items including some clothing and costumes in our studio right now. we are going to be talking more about that in just a couple minutes. >> do you think she wore something under that? >> that looks like one of al's halloween costumes. >> there you go. that's a saturday night costume for me. the screams, the kicking, the tears, the crying. enough about brian williams. yale researchers say they've found new ways for parents to deal with those tantrums. we'll walk you through what you

need to know. >> all right. >> before we go inside can i just show this? jimmy, can you get this shot? matt, i've purreled a cheek for you to kiss. >> wrong cheek! it was the other cheek? >> was that the cheek? let's go inside. savannah guthrie has all the headlines. she is filling in while natalie is on assignment. good morning, guys. thanks. in the news today rescue teams are searching for more victims of violent storms and tornadoes that claimed at least six lives in the south and southeast on wednesday. dozens of people were injured and thousands of homes lost electricity. officials said there were nearly 20 reports of tornadoes from louisiana to north carolina. the man suspected in last week's white house shooting is due in federal court today. 21-year-old oscar ortega hernandez was arrested wednesday in pennsylvania. the secret service says at least two bullets fired from a car hit the white house but the president and his family were not there at the time and no one was injured. there are new questions this

morning about claims by penn state assistant coach mike mcqueary that he did contact police after allegedly witnessing jerry sandusky sexually attacking a child. mcqueary told a friend in an e-mail last week that he stopped a 2002 child sex assault by the former defensive coordinator and that he talked to police but campus and city police said wednesday they have no record of any reports from mcqueary. in the meantime, sandusky, who is charged with abusing eight boys, has been barred from all penn state facilities. well, imagine being asked to pay for jet fuel when your plane stops to gas up. for 180 passengers flying from india to britain it was pay up or stay grounded. during a refueling stop in vienna the flight crew told passengers they've run out of money and that they would need to hand over $30,000 to pay for the fuel. >> we need some money to pay the fuel to pay the airport, to pay everything we need. so if you want to go to

birmingham, you have to pay. we can't do anything else. >> after a six-hour standoff on the tarmac, passengers did fork over the cash. those who had none were escorted off the plane to get the money from an atm. authorities in britain are now trying to recoup the money and return it to the passengers. now for a look at what's trending today. our quick roundup of what has you talking online. the google music store is open for business. direct competition for apple's i-tunes dynasty. music downloads cost about the same but google lets its customers share entire songs or albums with friends one time so they can try it before they buy. just one day after "people" magazine named bradley cooper its sexiest man alive ryan gosling fans are demanding a recount. they are running an online petition with all the reasons why cooper is the wrong choice. one blog says gosling should have won because only he could sweep al roke over his feet. we all remember that.

and william shatner has battled steep space cling ons, airplane gremlins, and now careless cooks. he's gone viral with eat, fry, love. a video for an insurance company showing the safe way to deep fry a turkey. >> i love you. but you only brought me pain. my fryer took so much from me. mostly arm hair, a little skin. >> guess he's gone from captain kirk to captain turk. it is now 8:05. back to ann. that is an oscar winning performance. >> a little over the top. that's okay. >> of course, you know. >> william shatner. >> i just am a trekky. i got to tell you that was the only show my parents let me watch was "star trek" when i was growing up. i loved it. had a crush on spock. anyway. >> mr. roker is over here with a check of the weather. >> i know. bring it. come on. say it. say it. >> no, no. >> don't hold back. >> no, no. hey, whose birthday is it?

you guys. of course you are. >> we're all cousins. >> that's fantastic. happy birthday to both of you. >> hello, cleveland. wkyz. snow showers, 41 degrees. you can see we've got lake effect snow around the great lakes today because it is awfully chilly, winds coming across the great lakes. 20s back through the eastern, make that the western great lakes. we've got a big storm system coming into the pacific northwest bringing wind, rain, and snow. the sunshine down in southern california into southern texas. temperatures a little chilly and we've got showers along the eastern seaboard from new england all the way down into good morning.ern atlantic coast. temperatures will be falling into the afternoon. the warmest part of the day will

be in the morning. and we gotd a birthday girl. what's your name? >> sammy. >> how old are you today? >> 10. >> double digits. all right. cool! happy birthday. very nice. mr. lauer? >> mr. roker, thank you. when we come back how you can own some never before seen footage of marilyn monroe and some of the icon's other personal items. but first, these messages. ♪

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it burns! it's singeing me. it's the sun. get out of the office more often, with chili's $6 lunch break combos, featuring texas toast half sandwiches. chili's lunch break combos. back now at 8:11, marilyn monroe was one of the most iconic and glamorous actresses of all time and next month some of her personal items including a never before seen film will be up for sale at the icons and idols auctions at julian's auction house in los angeles and darren julian and martin nolen are from julian's and we're welcoming them back. good morning, you guys. >> good morning, ann. >> let's get right to this never

before seen film on the set of marilyn's set of "some like it hot" the 1958 wilder film starring tony curtis and jam lemon along with marilyn monroe. describe the film and just who shot this. >> it was taken by richard stover who was in the navy and stationed near the hotel in san diego where "some like it hot" was filmed so he took his 8 millimeter camera, went down to the set, and just captured these amazing images of marilyn monroe. >> marilyn of course was playing a character named sugar. she was alongside two struggling musicians who disguise themselves as women and one of them who pretends to be, i think that was tony curtis, pretends to be a millionaire. so a really fun film. this really shows this kind of light, free moment for her. it's evock tiff of kind of the joy she sort of had internally. >> you can tell she had a lot of fun with making the film. you see a lot of rare, behind-the-scene clips of her. we estimated 4,000 to 6,000. it is being sold with the

copyright but we've sold similar films of marilyn as much as $60,000. >> marilyn's costume from "river of no return" is already sold at your last auction for over half a million. why are people willing to spend so much for things that she once wore? >> well, it's also two reasons. number one, the investment factor. people are starting to invest in these items as they would fine art. also, asia has really opened up for us. we do exhibitions and auctions in asia so the market has exploded and especially marilyn monroe who is a global icon. >> meantime another major movie "the seven year itch" gave us this iconic image of marilyn monroe standing over a subway grate with her dress blowing up but this particular item was also from that movie. >> yeah. it is a pink capris outfit. we estimate $80,000 to $100,000. >> really. it's made of silk. >> but it was worn by marilyn monroe. anything associated with her life or career is highly collectible. >> goodness gracious. it is lovely. she was a very small girl. >> she was very small. >> now, this is the thing i think a lot of people don't

realize, martin, is that marilyn monroe actually campaigned to be in the movie"cleopatra" and she sort of hung out in this for a bit. >> she did a photo shoot in 1958 and you can see in the poster we're also sending, this is marilyn in that outfit and she was campaigning to be cleopatra which elizabeth taylor won the part. >> it is obvious she wasn't wearing anything under that. that doesn't hide very much. >> you can go from hollywood royalty to royalty for the next halloween party. >> good lord, that is revealing. >> we estimate this one for $200,000 to $300,000. it is a beautiful outfit. >> this is my most favorite area of what you've brought in today. one is a letter written by marilyn when she was just norma jean. >> 1945. she was at the factory in los angeles. she was 19 years of age just after her birthday. she wrote back to her family in

west virginia, her foster mother and a beautiful letter talking about being discovered by richard conover the photographer and him encouraging her to pursue a career as a model. as we know, she did then join the blue book model agency and we are selling those photographs as well from the first photo shoot. >> the thing that makes me, just gives me chills is this piece here. it's a triptic. >> it's three dimensional. >> a really beautiful letter written to marilyn by cecil, a famous photographer. it is his photograph in the middle. he writes this beautiful description of how he saw her including, quote, the puzzling truth is that miss monroe is a make believe siren, unsophisticated, innocent as a sleep walker. she is an urchin pretending to be a grownup. this goes on in this way in this really beautiful way and she had this in her living room? >> yes. the photograph taken here is her favorite photograph ever.

it's signed by cecil. he wrote this about her when she was doing the movie "bus stop." she was transitioning from being a humorous actress to being a serious actress in the movie "bus stop" which is more of a drama than a comedy. and it's cartier, limited edition, and comes to marilyn monroe from the director of "bus stop." >> you really get a sense. thank you so much for showing us these wonderful items. the icons and idols auction takes place in los angeles on december 1st and 2nd. coming up next, why yale researchers say taming your child's temper tantrums is much easier than you might think. that's right after this.

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today's moms is brought to you by have you tried this yet from bmg. >> this morning on today's moms temper tantrums. at some point every parent has seen the tears and heard the screams so what can you do to stop or even prevent the breakdown? scientific research is showing that it may be easier than you actually think. most parents have been there. the crying, the kicking, and the

screaming. the essence of a temper tantrum. as parents have wrestled with the most effective ways to handle meltdowns a team of child psychologists says they have the first step?olution. think about tossing aside everything you've heard and read before. >> most of the parenting methods, most of the parenting books, most of the advice is not based on research and very much of it violates what we actually know. so many recommendations tell parents to do things that we know do not work. >> instead these researchers use a technique known as parent management training based on over 30 years of scientific research. >> he would get so bad that he would sometimes hit his -- hit himself against the wall. he would cry so much that he would vomit. >> reporter: 3-year-old gabriel morales was having daily temper tantrums and doctors told his parents it was simply a behavioral problem. exhausted and desperate they

signed up for training sessions with a counselor at the yale parenting center. >> we're going to practice. >> reporter: told to abandon what they were doing like punishing and yelling. >> first tip is cut back on the punishment. okay? if you're using punishment use very mild punishment. >> reporter: unlike many other approaches to behavioral therapy the emphasis here is on teaching the parents to praise good behavior. >> a second tip. the most important point is getting this behavior to occur and praising it. >> reporter: they say parents need to use an enthusiastic tone of voice and be specific about what they're praising. >> thank you, gabriel. >> reporter: and offer a touch of encouragement. >> you touched him and you were immediate and very enthusiastic. awesome. perfect. love it. >> it was a little difficult for us to change the way we were addressing the problems. because we were so used to it from our own upbringing and then learning the new techniques at times we did forget and that's when we would kind of remind

each other. >> reporter: within two weeks this family has seen a difference. >> praising the positive and ignoring the negative there's definitely more patience. he has a better understanding and he is willing to wait until we're ready. so he has learned that. so it's been a huge turn-around for us. >> reporter: a turnover so many families long for and experts say it's easily accomplished with a simple change of thought. michelle is a "today" contributor and author of "parenting solutions." good morning you to. >> good morning. >> i always try it when it's happening to dig a big hole in the floor and crawl in it. is that not the way to go about this? >> that must be page 304. no, matt. that's not the right way. >> why is the parent's response to the tantrum in some ways as important as the cause of the tantrum? >> because your child doesn't have this little internal stop system so he very often is watching you. if you aren't calm or you yell or you grab it's a guarantee that you'll escalate it as well. >> it seems to me the yale

study, what's basically behind it is praise the positive, ignore the negative. but that's before the tantrum starts. >> exactly. or after. and that's replacing the behavior because one part of this is teaching the child what to do instead of what he's currently doing. so any time he does use that nice voice and doesn't flail and yell, oh, nice job. >> but is that really going to cut it when the 4-year-old is tired or hungry which we all know is when they have these tantrums? >> exactly. first of all you realize what your child's hot spots are so you're a little calmer during those times yourself. but the second thing we've got to keep in mind is that practice, practice, practice in a calm moment is what's going to finally help the kid kick in so when that temper tantrum is about to start, he can stop and do a different way. >> let's talk about the tantrum like the one in that videotape. the child is on the floor, kicking, screaming, to the point of being completely out of control. i'm a parent. i completely ignore that.

>> well, number one is safety first. what you have to make sure is that your child is not going to hurt themself. but number two is all of the research is saying the more attention you give a temper tantrum during the moment of the exorcism the longer it's going to last. so what you must do is start to ignore it the moment it starts. don't give any attention. turn and probably the most important thing being calm is downright tough. give yourself a little bit of a time-out as well. and what you'll discover, it actually starts to decrease. >> the cardinal sin here on a parent's part is rising to the level of emotion that the child is displaying. >> yes, yes. very often, matt, that's the harder part is not just changing the child's behavior, changing ours. >> so you walk away in the midst of the tantrum if you can. most of these tantrums occur in kids between the ages of 3 1/2 and 4 1/2. >> yes. >> if they extend much beyond that age should parents worry? >> exactly. what you then do is get help. you're looking for intensity or frequency. if it doesn't start waning down,

which it should, if you're consistent with it, every single time, you'll get the change you want. >> thank you very much. >> you're welcome. >> we appreciate it. helping a lot of parents. coming up affordable ideas to prepare your home for thanksgiving. but first on a thursday morning, your local news. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's get a check of your morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> improvement in a lot of spots, but we are getting reports of an accident southbound 95 approaching white marsh. southbound 95 beyond that point, holding on to those delays towards the beltway northeast. speeds around 39 towards providence. southbound j.f.x., looking at delays from the beltway down to 28. in a lot of volume from 795 down to edmondson.

southlawn 795 back up from owings mills. we will start with the white marsh area. no sign of delays as a result of the accident. suppose to be taking up the left lane. beyond that, delays towards the beltway. accident westbound on 50 partially blocking the right lane. latest on is the traffic pulse 11. tony, over to you -- rather, john. >> there are a few sprinkles and showers showing up, especially along the i-95 corridor bit south of annapolis, there is a little rain shower. maybe farther west, a few snowflakes. that is about eight. no accumulations or anything. only 47 degrees at the airport. 52% humidity. 2wins are northerly, bringing in the colder air.

shower, perhaps a few sprinkles. some of to the northwest may seek a snowflake or two. most of the day in the 40's. >> thank you for joining us. another update at 8:56.

we're back now. 8:30 on a thursday morning, the 17th day of november, 2011. kind of comfortable out here though a little chilly. lots of people joining us on the plaza. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry, al roker, and savannah guthrie. coming up we've got some important safety advice for your home. >> right in the wake of massive

power outages in the last few weeks, time for that october senator mcca snow storm a lot of folks are thinking about getting generators but there are a lot of problems. if you don't know how to use them they can be very dangerous. coming up our buddy lou will show us how to keep the lights on and how to keep your family safe. >> can you guys believe thanksgiving is just a week away? >> yes. >> my gosh. the last thing a lot of us think about because we're maybing that thanksgiving turkey, i know you'll be doing that. >> exactly. >> is really how to decorate. how to really create that center piece. it's a thing i always forget especially because you have so much time you need to spend in the kitchen. what do you do? here is something that -- look at that cute idea. some of these ideas apparently very easy and also not expensive and also things your children can help you with. there you go. >> also ahead, have you ever been on vacation and thought what the heck? what if i chuck had ed it all a just move here. we'll introduce you to a texas couple who found their life calling in the gorgeous rolling hills of italy.

jane pauley will be here to tell us their story. >> oh, jane pauley got to go to italy to do that story. >> boondoggle. >> i should know about boondoggling. before we get any further let us introduce you to a guy who is truly one of a kind. charlie, come on over here, all right? >> whoa. >> charlie! charlie! [ chanting ] >> luckily, it's a three-hour show. >> hi. he's waving at us. >> hey, charlie. >> how are you? nice to see you. charlie? can you shake? >> charlie needs to learn some manners. nice to see you. how about that? this is charlie. charlie is america's first two-legged, walking, talking hum humanoid robot. charlie, can i call you chuck? >> no. >> charlie says, no. >> i don't think he's very happy

about that. >> charlie normally acts autonomously but today is being controlled by remote control. dennis hung is his creator and the guy with the remote over there. charlie is going to be featured in this week's "time" magazine that's all about the greatest inventions of 2011. charlie, what do you think about what we've got coming up in this half hour? >> he's a shy robot. >> charlie, a man of few words. >> charlie apparently doesn't think much about what we've got coming up in this half hour. >> exactly. how cool is he though? that's so cool. >> can you imagine what's happened in terms of technology? that they can create something like this? i mean, he is extraordinary. again, featured in "time" magazine this week and, charlie, is it possible charlie takes us to a commercial break? >> i think so. >> all right. >> we don't want to do weather? >> oh, we want to do weather first. okay. charlie, don't take us -- oh! charlie, take us to weather. mr. roker.

>> charlie --. man. a robot three stooges. what will we think of next? let's show you what's happening as far as your forecast is concerned. looking ahead to the weekend we've got snow showers in the cascades. snow across the western great lakes. sunny and mild through the mid-atlantic states and southeast some showers down in florida. then on sunday, sunday we're looking at showers and thunderstorms down through the gulf coast into the mid mississippi river valley. some rain and snow in northern california and a few showers and snow showers in the mountains of the pacific northwest. run away! run away! danger, danger, will robinson. >> good morning. temperatures will fall into the 30's. it will be a breezy and chilly day.

that's your latest weather. >> we've got the audio situations ironed out. charlie, you want to take us to commercial? go ahead. >> oh, yes. this is "today" on nbc. >> you sound so familiar. >> i'm going to power down now.

back now with "today's home" improperly used generators and other appliances were sadly responsible for a number of deaths during our freak october snowstorm here in the northeast. lou is the host of the syndicated show "house smarts" and he is here with a critical safety lesson before winter really sets in. this is really an important message. >> well, the thing is, what i

want people to understand is these are terrific tools. these are great things to have when the power goes out. but what seems to happen is people get so desperate when the power is out that they lose all sight of common sense when it comes to using portable generators and we'll talk a little bit about whole house. a couple things, al. never, ever, ever under any circumstances should any of these be used indoors. >> right. >> in a garage, even with the door open. never. and also we've got these -- >> why? for folks who don't know why? >> it's a combustion engine. there's a lot coming out of this exhaust besides carbon monoxide. but these deaths that we've heard about are the fact that carbon monoxide is what kills. now, it's all about parts per million and what not. if you get close to a house, if this exhaust is turned toward the home, it can infiltrate a closed space. we did a great job of building homes and making them more efficient which means if carbon monoxide gets inside it doesn't get out. now i want these units if you're going to use them to be at least ten feet away from the front of

your home. the exhaust, which this one is kicking out right now needs to be pointed away from the home. now, i want to make an example of -- give you an example. >> how much does it take -- 400 people a year die in this country due to carbon monoxide poisoning. >> the number is 400 parts per million. that means nothing to anyone. how much does that mean? >> what toss it mean? >> 400 parts per million is in 70 minutes if that's inside your home that can kill you. this is about four gallons of water. this is about a quarter of an ounce of dye. that's how much. >> that's it? >> in relationship to your home. if your home is this jug of water, that much carbon monoxide inside your home can kill you. >> okay. so you want to keep it ten feet away from the front of your house, pointed away from the house. you said never fill the unit while it's running. >> no. these particular units, this honda, generac, gas powered yunlt, if you're going to fill them up, these are both running.

you have to shut them down. if you're plugging things in, you can't plug a series of things in because electric power, there is a startup surge. you have to do them one at a time or the generators can't have the capacity. and never modify these. >> even if you follow these rules you should still have a co2 detector in your home. >> carbon monoxide is that deadly killer inside your home that you can't smell, you can't taste. it's odorless. you'll start to feel as if you have the flu, the symptoms right away. you need to make sure you have working detectors. th these detectors last about five years. if you're at all using a generator the very first thing to do is say are these things working inside my home? even if i'm ten feet from the home if the wind is blowing at your home, the fumes can still go in. now, these whole house generators, which is really my preferred method, this is a professionally installed product. these larger units like this run off of natural gas.

>> this is basically like a small car engine. >> well, it's a larger version of what those engines are there. but now because we're in a studio setting, look how close i am to the window. you cannot be this close to a window in an installation. this is actually -- has to be at least five feet away from a window. >> right. >> because even though it uses natural gas and burns quite cleanly, if the wind changes direction, that's critical. >> and unlike these portable generators, where you have to physically plug stuff in and throw a switch, these if done professionally and correctly will switch over automatically. >> within 30 seconds you'll be back up to power. with this there is -- you need to be home. you need to understand you never can back feed your home. sometimes people try to plug in and go in reverse. that can injure people in particular utility workers. you need to follow the instructions and use common sense. never, never, never inside a home. >> this is so very important. we'll have this on our website. lou, thank you so very much. >> absolutely. >> all right. we've got a lot more including

affordable ways to decorate your home and your table for the holidays. but 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.

instructions and use common sense. never, never, never inside a home. >> this is so very important. we'll have this on our website. lou, thank you so very much. >> absolutely. >> all right. we've got a lot more including affordable ways to decorate your home and your table for the holidays. but first, this is "today" on nbc. oingo

>> tie it on this little bit here and make a little bow. all you have to do. >> you can use rafia. anything you have.

i think these are super chic. use seasonal, small veggies tt go with your color pattern fo the table. >> you can use pears, gourds. tie it around the outside. i like using these little corns. >> right. >> that's beautiful. okay. let's take a look at the other center piece i was alluding to. >> okay. so we're heading to, you know, center pieces are the star of your table. >> right. but you don't have to spend a lot. >> go to your back yard and u leaves. ann, here is the secret. >> okay. >> if the leaves have fallen -- >> i'm tying this bow. >> if the leaves have fallen from your natural branches it is okay to use fake ones. which we did here. in new york there are no branches left. >> okay. just make a bunch of branches and may want to dust them off. you don't want that on your table. >> hose them down before you that. >> all right. put them in here. okay. that's nice.

now, one last thought. you know, with the place settings, a lot of us have a lot of people over, elaine. we don't have enough place settings for all the people that we have. how do we make it okay to have many different kinds of plates? >> you know, nobody has service for 20 unless you're queen  elizabeth. >> right. >> what you want to do is use what you have. mix and match and just lay it out strategically so it looks like you're being creative an did it on purpose. whatever works for you and yo combination. a, b, a, b, or put everything in the center and the odd ones on the ends. it looks like you did it on purpose. unify with your napkins. that's what people notice. >> unify with your napkins. you heard it here. elaine griffin, thank you so much. great ideas. you're reminding us it can be easy. coming up next, the one and the only jane pauley introduces us to a couple that found their life calling in the italian country side. but first, this is "today" on nbc. 

we're back at 8:51 with "your life calling today" and jane pauley has been working with aarp which has produced and sponsored a series of reports for us. this morning she takes us to the italian countryside. not bad. >> indeed. ever go on vacation to a beautiful place and dream about not going home? bill and patty sutherland are living the dream. here is their life calling.

♪ >> reporter: do you ever get tired of those bells? >> never. >> no. >> never. >> reporter: the eternal beauty of tuscany, vineyards, olive groves, the hills called repeatedly to bill and patty sutherland. >> i love food. i wanted to be able to make my own olive oil and have a garden. >> we wanted to explore something new. we wanted to get out of our comfort zone. we had too much wine one day at lunch around the corner from here and the rest is history. >> reporter: she was 53. he was 54. they sold their house and bill's real estate business in dallas. >> we sold 90% of what we had. >> was it a retirement idea? >> no. we made the decision that we wanted to live here permanently and in order to do that, we would have to downsize and have to come up with a concept for a

business. >> reporter: they came, they saw, they started a cooking school. >> this is all from the garden. we're going to go out in the garden in a few minutes. >> reporter: five months a year a dozen students a week come to tuscan women cook to learn traditional cooking from local cooks. >> easy, easy. >> there's no celebrity chef involved. we don't do that. we just use the locals. >> they're real tuscan women? >> the real stuff. >> reporter: who can cook. >> they can cook. trust me. >> is this exactly the way anna's mother did it and her mother and her mother? >> very good. >> reporter: in any language, running a business in a foreign country is not easy. >> they're coming in by rental car. some of these others have drivers. >> oh, i see.

>> reporter: paying taxes and regulations and different cultures. >> it was just something that we would have to figure out as we went along. >> reporter: were you ever tempted to pack it in? >> yeah. that happens to a lot of ex-pats after about two years. the honeymoon is over. i went through a period of time that was very difficult. we are very isolated in the winter up here on this hill. we had six grandchildren who are growing up. we were missing a lot of the holidays. >> reporter: now they spend the off-season with their family back in dallas. but for 11 years, tuscany has been home. >> what are these called? patty and i were childhood sweethearts and got back together later in life. >> we both were married very young. we had kids very young. we just never had the adventure. >> reporter: but now there is a new challenge. at 65, bill has a serious heart

problem. it's not certain they'll be back next spring. >> but you make the best of it. every day i wake up the same comes up. i'm just as happy as i can be. >> reporter: but stay or go, bill and patty sutherland will always have tuscany. >> we won't be able to say, gosh. we wish we had done that. i want my children and grandchildren and great grandchildren to look at this and say that was my crazy grandmother who really had an adventure. >> there is at least one woman in tuscany who does not cook -- patty. she loves history and culture. food and wine is bill's passion. patty was an art teacher. he was a businessman. bill's the romantic. she's the realist. that's the reality check. their different temperaments and skill sets made the adventure possible and the business a success. hope you'll join me at noon eastern on my internet radio call-in show at aarp.org/jane. >> let me get this right. you got to go to tuscany to do this story? >> yeah, i did. >> scam.

all right. jane, thank you. we're back after your local news.  >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. a terrifying ordeal as a 15- year-old girl is allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted by four men. she says she was forced into a

tilsit -- teal sedan at woodlawn drives. one suspect had diamonds and rhinestones on his gold teeth. back

>> kind of a gray morning. a few sprinkles, a brief shot or or two. the address will only be in the 40's today. another update at 9:25.