good morning. big money. george zimmerman's attorney discloses that his client made more than $200,000 in donations from his website. now, that lawyer is headed back to court today, to explain why it was never mentioned during zimmerman's bond hearing. new photo. police release the last-known image of a missing ft. bragg soldier taken just hours before she vanished. will it help them figure out what happened? we're live in north carolina. and uproar. a 3-year-old boy brought to tears when he didn't catch a baseball tossed into the stands at a texas rangers game. the couple that ended up with it, vilified by the announcers. >> rubbing it in the kid's face. >> but it turns out the video didn't tell the whole story. the parents of that little boy

will explain in a live interview "today," friday, april 27th, will explain in a live interview "today," friday, april 27th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this friday morning. i'm ann curry. >> and i'm carl quintanilla in for matt this morning. george zimmerman's website has now been shut down. but there are some serious questions about the money it raised. >> that's right. zimmerman was released from jail earlier this week after posting 10% of his $150,000 bail. and legal experts say if the judge knew zimmerman's site made more than $200,000, that amount may have been higher. well, now the attorney for trayvon martin's family is calling for zimmerman's bond to be revoked. so we're going to have the latest on that straight ahead. >> also ahead a frightening scare for some passengers on a delta flight from fright to

chicago. the plane was quarantined on the chicago runway for hours, boarded by health officials wearing masks and hazmat suits. turns out it was all a big misunderstanding. coming up we will hear from the woman who triggered that incident. >> hmm. and also are you on the do not call list and you still get hounded by telemarketers? well, why does that happen? we tracked down one company that some consumers say is behind some of those calls. >> also on thursday, we showed you a video of a guy posing as a during lar to give her girl friend and her friends a big scare. did the girls find the joke as funny as he did? i don't think so. we're going to talk to everyone involved a little bit later on. >> and he's got some explaining to do. we begin with that court hearing in florida today. tied to george zimmerman's arrest and release on bail. nbc's kerry sanders has the latest. hey, kerry, good morning. >> well, good morning, ann. that george zimmerman had any money is sort of a big surprise. type in the web page

therealgeorgezimmerman.com and you get a message that it is currently not available. the 28-year-old had created this basic five-page site before he turned himself in and was arrested. it included pictures, quotes from historical leaders like thomas payne and a page for donations via paypal. zimmerman's attorney mark o'mara who did not represent him when the page was initially set up, said on cnn late thursday zimmerman raised more than $200,000 on his web page. a spokesman for trayvon martin's family tells nbc news the family is distressed to learn zimmerman claims he was indigent when he clearly has means. zimmerman's $150,000 bond was set by the judge based on his limited estimated wealth. he has about $205,000. now his defense attorney, mark o'mara revealed this amount of money on that interview on cnn and says that he will tell the court about the money. he said that the money has been placed in an account that can't be accessed by george zimmerman

or the family, and he will reveal to the judge at a hearing that was already planned today. that hearing, ann, is to discuss whether the public documents will be made public, or whether they will be held in some sort of gag order which at least we hear the state may request at a hearing today. >> it sounds like the judge is going to have a lot of questions that we're going to find out some answers later today. kerry sanders, thank you so much for this information on this breaking story. it is now 7:04. now here's carl. >> ann, thanks. now to what sounds like the plot of a hollywood thriller. a plane quarantined on a chicago runway, amid fears that a passenger had a mysterious virus. we're now hearing from people on that flight and the woman who triggered it all. nbc's kevin tibbles is at midway airport. kevin, good morning. >> carl, that delta jet was quarantined on the ground here at midway for more than two hours as the cdc investigated a passenger with a possible case of the monkey pox. fortunately it turned out to be a scare, and for the passengers

on board, what a scare it was. >> oh, my gosh. >> reporter: high anxiety aboard delta flight 31363 from detroit to chicago. >> a bit of panic. everybody was pulling their shirts up over their faces. >> reporter: all brought on by an apparent case of bed bugs and a mother's concern. the usually short 30-minute flight turned into anything but uneventful for passengers as the commuter jet was met by emergency personnel, boarded by health officials in surgical masks, and hazmat suits, and essentially quarantined for 2 1/2 hours. as is the norm in this age, passengers started shooting with their smartphones -- >> they're just bringing a guy on right now. >> reporter: -- and tweeting. at 4:59 p.m., quarantined at midway airport by the center for disease control. seriously? at 5:16, so the cdc is on board, the passenger is being examined and we are officially quarantined. >> two men came on with

protective gear, they spoke with the passenger in question, they took photographs. >> reporter: the passenger at the center of it all, lisa seavers who is returning to minnesota from a visit to africa where she was seeking to adopt a special needs boy and girl. she said she called her mother saying she had bug bites and that the boy was sick with lesions on his skin. the children were not on the flight. >> on my legs and arms and chest. but, they weren't like his. he had weeping sores. >> reporter: the mother somehow mixed up the story and called health officials, thinking her daughter might have monkey pox. a rare viral disease related to smallpox. but all lisa had were bites. >> but other than, you know, itching, i feel fine. >> reporter: the chicago department of public health and the centers for disease control examined her to find she was not contagious, and passengers were given the all-clear to go their separate ways. >> fire department, cdc, people

on the plane, everybody was so kind, compassionate, the passengers were there for two hours. and they didn't complain. >> reporter: although lisa seavers is still hoping those pesky bugs haven't followed her home. now, as for the monkey pox, the cdc says one of the ways that you can contract it is if you are bitten by a monkey. as for those bed bugs, i bet a lot of the passengers on board that plane today are washing their clothes very carefully. carl? >> thank you very much, kevin tibbles in chicago. >> all right. on that note let's get the rest of the morning's top stories from natalie morales who is at the news desk. >> good morning, ann and carl. and good morning, everyone. new allegations of its conduct overseas have the secret service investigating a trip to el salvador back in march of 2011. nbc's white house correspondent kristen welker has the latest. kristen, good morning. >> good morning to you, natalie.

well these new allegations certainly raise the specter of concern that the misconduct which we saw in colombia could be a part of a larger pattern. but u.s. officials emphasize there's no proof of that yet. investigators are looking into new allegations of misconduct by secret service and u.s. military personnel. >> well, i know the allegations first broke about two days ago, and the secret service is on it immediately. >> reporter: according to a television station in seattle, the reported misconduct occurred just before the president's 2011 trip to el salvador. the reporter quotes an unnamed government subcontractor who claimed he joined secret service agents and a few u.s. military specialists at a san salvador strip club for a night of heavy drinking and partying with escorts. the secret service says it takes issue with some of the basic facts of the report. but will assess and follow up in an appropriate manner. >> there's no trace at all, no indication that anything

occurred on that trip based on all the official records. >> reporter: the pentagon declined comment to nbc news. and state department spokesman victoria knewen tried to tread lightly when answering questions. >> and what a subject to be talking about on bring your kids to work day. >> we'll try to turn this down to a g-rating. >> if we could explain all of this later? >> reporter: now earlier this week the secretary of defense, who is traveling in brazil, was asked by reporters there about reports last year about three u.s. marines, and one embassy staffer who apparently pushed a prostitute out of a car after a dispute over money. the secretary of defense acknowledged the incident and said all of those involved have now been punished. in the meantime, there are reports this morning that woman is planning to sue. natalie? >> all right, kristen welker with the latest there at the white house. thanks, kristen. three american service members have been killed in a bomb attack in eastern afghanistan. this just days ahead of the one-year anniversary of osama

bin laden's death. meantime a federal judge has rejected a request to release photos and video of the terror leader taken during the raid that killed him last year. and this morning in copenhagen, danish intelligence arrested three men they say were armed and preparing to carry out a terrorist attack. former liberian president charles taylor has become the first head of state since world war ii to be convicted of war crimes by international tribunal. taylor was found guilty of crimes against humanity for his role in the blood diamond trade and mass atrocities during the civil war in sierra leone in the 1990s. taylor faces sentencing next month. the house votes today on a republican bill that would keep the interest rate on millions of student loans from doubling in july. to cover the nearly $6 billion cost, republicans would reduce a fund created by president obama's health care law. a california man lucky to be alive after a propane tank in the back of his bicup truck exploded while he was in line at mcdonald's drive-thru. four people, though, were injured in that blast. unbelievable.

and on a much, much lighter note, live from new york, it's 30 rock. the sitcom performed a live show twice last night. once for the east coast, and again for the west coast. and in it brian williams and alec baldwin parodied the 1960s nbc anchor team of david brinkley and ted huntley, acting like they'd never seen a female correspondent before. >> look, honey, you have a dine mate shape but you're going to have to shut up and let a man tell us what's happening there. is your fair or a policeman nearby? >> now where did you find that microphone, sugar mouth? >> this just in to nbc male news reporter jamie garnet is missing. >> wow, how far we've come. for those of you on the east coast, though, you saw jon hamm sitting in for brian, and the star-studded cameo, paul mccartney appeared in the east coast version and kim kardashian for the west, along with a

gaggle of favorites "snl" alumni. big hit. really well. 7:11 right now. back to ann, carl and al. a night of good laughs. >> one day we're going to do this show live. >> don't get any big ideas. >> right. >> all right. mr. roker, tell us about the weather this weekend. >> i'm going to be played -- let's see what's going on. we had a risk of strong storms today firing up in the midwest. denver, north platte. we had tornado warnings earlier this morning in parts of eastern colorado. rainfall amounts, basically about an inch or so. stretching from just south of bismarck all the way into hastings, nebraska, omaha, as well. rest of the country expect windy conditions here in the northeast. may cause some air travel delays. beautiful weather through the gulf into southern california. look for some showers moving in to coastal pacific northwest. >> good morning. we expect dry weather. it will be kind of windy.

high temperature expected near 63. >> that's your latest weather. ann? >> al, thank you. police in tucson, arizona, are now checking lakes and ponds near the home of the 6-year-old girl who vanished from her own bedroom one week ago. nbc's miguel almaguer has the latest on this investigation. miguel, good morning. >> ann, good morning. police say every day in this case there are new leads. some have brought them here to the home of isabel. others have led to exhaustive searches. but through it all there remains plenty of hope. at the little league field where isabel celis played just hours before she vanished a week ago today, hope and optimism the

6-year-old everyone called isa will come home safely. >> they're worried and heartbroken. >> reporter: a few miles away, a sheriff's team on special boat equipped with sonar and underwater cameras searched a local lake for several hours, but found nothing. >> i think we'd be remiss if we didn't search all those areas that could possibly be a location that hides evidence. >> reporter: thursday, isa's father was in court, sergio celis pled not guilty to misdemeanor leash law charges after his dogs wandered away from the family home. celis did not speak to reporters, and was escorted out of court by police. >> if we didn't provide some type of escort and security to get him in and out quickly, that would have disrupted the court operations. >> reporter: a day before, isabel's parents broke their silence. >> we will never give up. we will never give up looking for you. >> reporter: police say her father and mother are fully cooperating. friends stand behind them.

>> there's a lot of questions, you know, more questions than answers, obviously. but i know they had nothing to do with this. >> reporter: isa was last seen by her father sleeping in bed friday night. saturday morning he told police, she was gone. the window open, the screen pushed aside. but police have never called the case a kidnapping. instead, a suspicious disappearance. the family home is surrounded by a five foot wall. daupgs are often in the yard or in the home. police have named no suspects. >> i understand people may get frustrated. they want to know what we know. but reality, we need to keep some of the things we know close to our vest, and under cover, because that may be what helps us break the case later on. >> reporter: the search for isa now nearly a week old. the little girl who vanished from her bedroom without a trace. police along with the fbi are poring through thousands of pages of questionnaires that have been filled out by local neighbors. they say it's one tip that could break this case wide open. ann? >> all right, miguel almaguer,

thank you so much. dr. casey jordan is a criminologist and justice and law professor at western connecticut state university. dr. jordan, good morning. >> good morning, ann. >> you study these kinds of cases. just how often does a stranger abduction like this actually happen? >> very difficult to actually put statistics on it, because so many of them remain unsolved. so we don't actually know if someone close to the family or an absolute stranger. but when we look at those cases, typically, fewer than 10% to 20% of these cases are an absolute stranger. most of them are going to be linked in some way to the family or someone in the inner circle. someone who has access to the home, a neighbor, but not an out of the blue stranger who just so happens to, for instance, go through a window and steal a little child. >> you talk about going through a window. there was a wall around this -- this house, a five foot wall, and there were dogs on the property. so, in addition, so what scenarios might explain what might have happened to this little girl? >> well, there are three obvious possibilities. one is that little isabel

climbed out the window herself, wandered away, ran away and perhaps that's why they are going and looking in lakes and ponds as a last-ditch effort to rule out the idea that she may have wandered off. the screen being removed from the window is the number two theory that it could be an abduction. the idea that somebody actually went in through the window. we know in the case, for instance polly klaas, it was a stranger went into the home. the third possibility is it someone in that circle, family, neighbor, someone who knows isabel, and her disappearance has been staged to look like an abduction by having that screen removed and the window wide open. neighborhood dogs barking at 6:30 in the morning and male voices. i think this is what the police are pursuing, right now that it's either an abduction or staged to look like one. >> on that last potential scenario, four days after her abduction we were able to hear from the parents as we just saw in the piece and the news conference, what was your impression of the parents? >> well, the mother appeared to be very genuine in her

hyperventilating when she spoke. but remember that both parents spoke from a prepared statement. the father extremely emotional, almost angry, but no tears. and the biggest key is that he is assuming that it is a kidnapping abduction. the police don't agree with that. he said tell us what you want, tell us your demands, when it seems illogical that anyone would kidnap a child and make demands on a family that has limited means. >> does it raise any red flags to you that in the middle of all of this the father was brought to court on dog leash charges? >> well, animal control, i don't know whether the citations were before or after isabel disappeared. but remember that an fbi behavioral analyst has been brought in. they're looking at the behavior of the family in this moment of crisis, and for mr. celis it's business as usual. he went to court to address that arraignment. and they're probably looking at wondering why didn't he ask for a continuance and say that he was so emotional he could not go to court at that time? he showed up. >> dr. casey jordan. thank you so much for your per intellective.

>> good to be here, ann. >> it is now 7:18. once again here's carl. >> ann, thanks. on a lighter note sunday marks the one year anniversary of the duke and duchess of cambridge and what a year it's been for the young couple, especially for kate middleton. michelle kosinski is at buckingham palace. good morning, michelle. >> for kate it's hard to imagine life changing more virtually overnight. she's now the future queen of england. royal watchers say their popularity has surprised even will and kate themselves, in their first flawless year since that kiss here on the balcony. days away from the first anniversary, cameras always sneaking at kate's middle and trying to, and what she's drinking. water again. she and william dote all over. a baby. they both love children. >> he likes me. >> reporter: and while not parents yet, the hands-on pair has come a long way since that

sweet nervous walk. almost immediately kate wowed the world. uncommonly laidly-like, understatedly glamorous. she sparkled in canada. and america. then her solo appearances. much more confident. and personal touch. >> celebrity obsessed red carpet fever it's quite nice to have a rising star who isn't a showoff and isn't too extroverted, who just goes about her business being quietly confident. >> reporter: a decade older than princess diana when she married, kate is more independent. after diana's first year, she was pregnant. but some strain was also starting to show. kate has a queen herself as a mentor. and with william, a power couple, but also a love match. >> a member of the royal family

the other day was staying they have allowed the queen to see over the rainbow. she can see that when the crown passes on through the generations, it is in safe hands. >> william and kate may walk the red carpets, but still have a cottage in wales. kate does the shopping. cooks dinner. >> their chemistry is an absolute delight. >> reporter: bringing an unexpectedly infectious mix of energy and normalcy to quite possibly the most extraordinary life imaginable. they will celebrate this first year of marriage in private. and what first anniversary would be complete without barbies in one's own image and likeness. although some of the guys in our office were a little disappointed it didn't come with that cool convertible they drove in right after the wedding. carl? >> you can send that to me at 30 rock, michelle. thank you very much. michelle kosinski.

just ahead, a couple blasted for not giving a 3-year-old boy a baseball that was tossed into the stands. but his parents say there's more to the story. we'll talk with them. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead, why some telemarketers are still calling if you're on the do not call list. ♪ [ female announcer ] irresistibly touchable skin hour after hour. ♪ it all starts with new 48-hour nivea extended moisture nivea. touch and be touched. now bring the world a touch closer. join our million moments of touch movement and be entered in nivea's daily date night sweepstakes. what are you lookin' at? i wasn't... not looking at anything...

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just, you know, demonstrating how we blend the fruits. ahem. try all our tasty ocean spray 100% and light 50 juices. >> nice shot of a football stadium this morning. ravens will finally be making their first pick in the nfl draft. good morning. i am stan stovall. michael johnson will get to court today. he faces murder charges in the death of phylicia barnes. the attorney has given few details about the indictment, but we're told that the cause of

death was asphyxiation, and he ainerarrying a rubber conte around the time phylicia barnes disappeared. let's get to sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> peter run road, accident. southbound 83 any york road, accident still wrapping up. no delays to report on 83 itself. north side outer loop, past greenspring, debris in the road. use caution. we're looking at slow spots in the j.f.x. here is what it looks like on the west side of security. north side checks out ok. tapping the brakes around greenspring. tony has a check on your forecast.

>> a few high, thin clouds. it's a little breezy, west winds at 9. touch cooler than that. 45 degrees in rising sun. mix of sunshine and a few clouds. high temperatures between 60 and 65. chance for rain in the afternoon. in the saturday night.

oh, my god, they can't give it to the kid? >> that was the scene at a texas rangers baseball game on wednesday night when a 3-year-old boy had his heart broken when he didn't catch a ball tossed into the stands. well, the couple that did catch it was ripped by the announcers for not handing it over. but this morning, the boy's parents say the video doesn't tell the entire story. we're going to talk to all of them coming up in a live interview this morning. it is now 7:30 on a friday morning. the 27th of april, 2012. i'm ann curry with carl quintanilla. thank you for joining us. >> nice to be here. it's happened to all of us, during family time, dinner time, you get an annoying call from a

telemarketer, so you sign up for the do not call list but the calls keep coming. this morning we're going to track down one company some consumers say is behind some of those calls. >> uh-huh. and the plot thickens. and then, the ohio mother who's been under fire for the way she's dealt with her 13-year-old daughter's bad behavior. we've been reporting she changed her daughter's facebook page using this picture, but some people say this public humiliation crossed the line. what does she have to say for it? she's joining us this morning for an exclusive live interview. later we're going to talk to the people involved in this prank that's gone viral when a guy dressed up like a burglar to scare his girlfriend and her friends. and you know, we've been talking about this. i mean ient dough what -- some people think it's hilarious. some people think it's just dangerous. anyway we're all going to be in our studios to talk about this. he's got some explaining to do. >> we begin this half hour with new details in the search for a missing ft. bragg soldier. police have released the last known picture of the 23-year-old

woman, nbc's thanh truong is in fayetteville, north carolina. good morning. >> carl, good morning to you. that photo, which you'll see in just a moment, shows exactly what the 22-year-old army private was wearing the night she disappeared. it's the latest development in a case that shocked and baffled this entire community. it's the last known image of kelli bordeaux just hours before she simply vanished. wearing black shorts and a pink tube top, kelli took the photo of herself before she went to froggy bottoms bar for a night of drinking and karaoke. >> this photo is a true and accurate depiction of how she was dressed and what she would have looked like. >> reporter: police won't reveal how they got the photo, or whether kelli sent the picture to anyone after she snapped it on her iphone. they're searching for that iphone and any trace of the 23-year-old army medic who disappeared after leaving the fayetteville bar. >> the pink top, the black shorts, the flip-flops, the iphone, if you live in these neighborhoods around here and

you find something like that, call the police department. >> reporter: on thursday, more than 500 volunteers joined police in the largest search yet for kelli. nicolas holbert, a registered sex offender who lived in a tent behind the bar, told investigators he gave kelli a ride home and that she insisted he drop her off at the apartment complex's entrance. place say it's unclear if she ever made it home. >> to be honest with you, i don't know. and it's very emotional to go through something like this. >> reporter: kelli's husband says he was visiting his parents in florida the night she disappeared. >> we loved each other and cared about each other. you know, she would do anything for me. and i'll do anything for her. just give her back. i mean, i want my wife back safe. i want her back. >> reporter: he, and kelli's family, have their doubts about nicolas holbert's account. he is now in jail, charged with

failing to report his address. a requirement for sex offenders. >> i don't think she ever made it back to the apartment. i don't want to speculate but obviously i don't -- you know, i wouldn't take him at his word. >> reporter: holbert is not a suspect in this case, which so far doesn't even have a person of interest. but there is a dogged determination to find kelli. >> if she can hear me, we will find you. your family loves you, your friends love you, your battle buddies love you, and to those who are responsible for this, we're going to find you, too. >> reporter: police haven't released much about their investigation, but they do say that most of their detective work leads them back to searching that heavily wooded area just north of the bar. yesterday's search turned up nothing new. tomorrow marks exactly two weeks since kelli bordeaux disappeared. carl? >> nbc's thanh truong in fayetteville, north carolina. thanks. now let's get a check of the weather from al.

>> all right. good morning carl. and wow, we've got -- we've got the haywood high school. where is that? >> in tennessee. >> you guys are performing here? >> yes. >> terrific. congratulations. that's great. let's find out where you will be after your weather. the jet stream now getting a trough developing out west, and also we've got a strengthening trough in the northeast. that means chillier weather there. but, in the midsection of the country, in between, we've got a big ridge so it's going to be hot. dallas, san angelo, oklahoma, anywhere from 5 to 10 degrees above normal. laredo, 102. then you get in the northeast, look at these temperatures. man, windy in burlington, 43 degrees, buffalo, 46. hartford, 55, 10 degrees below normal. pittsburgh 4 be 52, 13 degrees beau normal.

>> good morning. it will be a little on the breezy time. we should be able to get into the lower end of the 60's. don't forget you can only get your weather any time of the day or night go to the weather channel on cable, or weather.com online. ann? >> all right, al, thank you. this morning on rossen reports, telemarketer tactics. a growing number of people are complaining about receiving calls even when they say, stop calling me. "today" national investigative correspondent jeff rossen did some digging about this. good morning. >> you said this happens to you. >> totally. >> ann has stopped answering her home phone. don't even try it. it is annoying to all of us, you're eating dinner, the phone

rings, it's a telemarketer trying to sell you, i don't know, an alarm system, a credit card, anything. so you sign up for the federal do not call list, and they are supposed to stop calling. it's the law. but officials say more and more telemarketers just aren't listening. this morning we tracked down one of the companies, that may have called you. inside this unmarked office in dallas, texas -- >> this is an amazing opportunity. >> reporter: -- telemarketers are hard at work. >> this is matthew j. calling you back. >> reporter: it's big business with apparently a big payoff. that's the boss' bright yellow ferrari parked out front with the license plate "earned." we caught up with him outside. jeff rossen from nbc news. just have a couple questions for you. his operation, not the only one making telemarketing calls. companies from texas to the philippines dial millions of numbers every day. trying to get you on the line. >> don't miss the boat. press 1 now. >> they're irritating.

>> it is urgent that you contact us concerning your eligibility for lowering your there rates. >> they just won't stop calling. >> hello. >> reporter: and jim just wants to screen getting calls like this almost daily. and he says even more out rage krous. >> we are on the do not call list. >> reporter: how's that working? >> not working very well. >> reporter: and it's getting worse. federal officials say telemarketer complaints were up by 600,000 last year alone. >> i've told these folks i'm not interested. my numbers are on the do not call list. i don't want you to call me again. >> reporter: here's the bottom line. if you sign up for the federal do not call list, it is illegal for telemarketers to call you. if they still want to call, they need your written consent. >> the ftc has seen an uptick in the number of do not call complaints. and we are doing everything we can to put an end to those illegal telemarketing operations. >> reporter: which brings us back to this anonymous office in dallas, where a company called vms does business, a growing

operation that does telemarketing and sells alarm systems. they now have locations in rhode island, and texas, as a history of consumer complaints. vms says if someone asks them to stop calling think apologize and stop calling. but -- >> they have all of my numbers. they're calling every possible combination of numbers that i have. >> reporter: this woman, a consumer advocate says, vms called her so many times she sued them. then what happened? they called her again, and she taped it. >> and you're calling with vms alarms in warwick, rhode island? >> right. >> okay. why are you calling me? i have a class action lawsuit pending against your company for these unwanted calls because my number's on the national do not call registry. can you explain that to me? >> i'm not exactly sure how that works. >> reporter: not sure how it works? by law, vms should know. they've been investigated for do not call list violations in two states. so we went to the president of

vms. i'm jeff rossen from nbc news. just have a couple questions for you. there are a lot of complaints about your company, people who are on the do not call list keep getting called by your company and your telemarketers, they even tell your operators to stop calling and yet they still call. how do you explain that? >> i have no comment. >> you've actually settled with the attorney general of two different states, you pay penalties, yet it keeps happening it seems like. why is that? >> that's wrong information and i would like you to correct that through the attorney general themselves. if you really checked. >> reporter: we did. and here's the paperwork straight from the ags themselves. in pennsylvania, his company admitted to violations of the state telemarketer act, and paid $28,000 to settle. in kentucky, vms denied any willful wrongdoing, but paid $20,000 in penalty. do your telemarketers ever call people who are on the do not call list? >> nope. >> reporter: it doesn't happen? >> unless they opt in for the information. by law, if you opt in in

writing, you can call me. >> reporter: vms says look, we don't call people, unless they ask us to call them. >> i did not give them my information. >> reporter: those people tell us that they've never given out their personal information. >> well, if you give me names of those people, i'd be more than happy to provide the information. but until then i have no comment. thank you for your time. >> reporter: so we provided vms with names, but jay gotra drove off in his ferrari and declined to give us the information, citing ongoing litigation. the federal government is cracking down on telemarketers who break the law. they've now sued 85 companies, and collected 68 million dollars in penalties since 2004. today, there are 209 million phone numbers on the national do not call list. it's really easy to sign up. full disclosure, i actually wasn't on the list until doing this story. took me about 30 seconds to do it which means it'll take you about half that time. we have more information on our website, today.com. you can also click on rossen reports and give us a story you

want investigated. >> i think i'm going to sign up today. jeff rossen, thank you. coming up next, a couple vilified for not giving a crying 3-year-old boy a baseball that was thrown into the stands at a rangers game. we're going to talk to that boy's parents right after this. there he is! pull on those gardening gloves. and let's see how colorful an afternoon can be. with certified advice to help us expand our palette... ...and prices that give us more spring per dollar... ...we can mix the right soil with the right ideas. ...and bring even more color to any garden. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. it's grow time. get one-quart perennials, four for just $10. with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, we earn more cash back for the things we buy most. 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. no annual fee.

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back now at 7:45, with the uproar over an incident at a texas rangers baseball game involving a 3-year-old and the couple sitting next to him. we're going to meet that boy and his parents in a moment. but first, their story. this video went viral thursday after a texas rangers baseball player tossed a foul ball into the stands at the rangers/yankee game. the ball fell to the ground, and a couple got it, as the little boy sitting next to them, glove in hand -- >> my god, they can't give it to the kid? >> reporter: -- burst into tears in his father's arms. >> that's awful. >> reporter: new york yankees announcer michael kay cried foul, as the proud couple posed with their ball. >> actually like rubbing it in the kid's face.

>> reporter: in less than 24 hours the video was everywhere. >> there was controversy at last night's texas rangers/new york yankees game. but it wasn't on the field. >> reporter: but down in texas, 3-year-old cameron didn't seem too upset thursday. his parents, shocked the story had become national news. >> we didn't think it was going to be a big deal. but then when i was driving to work i heard on the radio, and then all day we've been getting texts and phone calls from people saying they've seen it from -- we have friends in north carolina, washington, and they're telling us that cameron is on tv. >> reporter: cameron's parents don't blame the other couple at all. >> i felt sorry for cameron and for the other couple. because they were made out to be such horrible, cold-hearted people. and i just don't -- i didn't get that impression there them at all. they were very sweet. they talked to cameron a lot. >> reporter: in fact crystal shore said the other couple offered to give cameron the ball when they realized he was upset. his mom said no, seeing it as a life lesson for cameron. >> i never once thought oh, they should have gave him the ball.

we're trying to teach him that he doesn't get everything every time. >> reporter: in the end, cameron did get his own ball when someone from the rangers team heard what happened and threw him another one. turning his frown upside down. and that 3-year-old cameron shores with us now along with his parents kyle and crystal. good morning to all of you. he's got a mean swing, we can see that. crystal, walk us through what happened. because a lot of people have seen the video, and obviously are upset at that couple. you're not too upset, why? >> everybody at the game is a rangers fan. we understand you catch a ball, you want to keep the ball and that makes sense. so, i don't -- i didn't think they were being mean or doing it on purpose. like i said, they were fans, and so they were just trying to enjoy the game, as well as we were. >> and kyle you say the couple actually talked to cameron throughout the whole game, eventually they offered the ball to him, once they realized he was upset. do you think all of the negative

reaction aimed at them is fair? >> no. i think -- i tried to shield when cameron got upset there for about a batter or so we tried to calm him down, quiet him down. i turned my back to them. i really don't know if they knew what was going on. some of the other fans behind us did. but beside us for some reason, i think the noise didn't carry that direction. so he didn't -- so i think it was a little unfair to these guys. >> and crystal, you're not that upset that he didn't get that particular ball. why not? >> no, he's 3. so we're kind of at that stage where he thinks he gets everything and anything. and so we're trying to teach him, you know, sometimes you don't get what you want and you just move on and learn from it and keep going. so you know, we were just trying to use that as an opportunity to talk to him about, you know, maybe next time, and there's still time in the game and stuff like that. >> kyle, that couple, shannon

moore and sean leonard. it was their first ranger game together, they're going to get married tomorrow, if they're watching right now, what do you say to them? >> well, i hope it's the start of a great marriage, and sorry that his reaction, he's very animated, and i think the camera seemed to catch that and omit some of the other stuff. hope this is a 24-hour deal and it goes away for them. >> crystal, did he really sleep with that ball last night? >> oh, yeah. he slept with that ball, and he's always slept with his glove at night, but now he sleeps with the ball and the glove all night, yeah. >> well, the rangers scout from watching, i think they've got a phone call to make. kyle, crystal and camera shores, thanks so much. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> and still ahead, the guy who pranked his girlfriend and her friends by pretending to be a masked intruder. we're going to talk to all of them. today, we stand against the tyranny of single mile credit cards.

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>> good morning. i am mindy basara. time for a check of your morning commute. here is sarah caldwell. >> delays on the j.f.x. accident coming in. 28 street on the part of the construction zone. pimlico road, coldspring lane, there is an accident coming in. 26 miles per hour, those delays stretch towards edmondson. falls road, chestnut ridge drive, crash coming in bearded closures to report to to a water main break.

one lane in each direction. we will update you on 41st street. this is the pace of things from coldspring down through to the construction zone. topside of the beltway, a bit of the delay farming at york road. overall, it has been a pretty smooth ride. tony, over to you. >> greasy in cool, but we don't expect rain. west winds at 13, gusting up to 22. it feels cooler than 50. 43 in taneytown. 45 degrees in rising sun. mixture of sunshine and a few clouds. breezy and unseasonably cool. are only going to hit 57 to moderate chance for rain in the afternoon.

should be dry in the morning. same thing on sunday, only in reverse. it should clear up into the afternoon.

8:00 now on a friday morning, the 27th of april, 2012. a chilly and windy start to the day in the northeast. but our crowd does not seem to mind. we're very glad that they're with us this morning. a very large crowd if i may say so. i'm ann curry alongside carl quintanilla, al roker. and matt has got the morning off. coming up we're going to talk about the ohio mom who created a firestorm with the public way that she punished her 13-year-old daughter. >> she changed her daughter's picture on facebook and she used this picture to do it, putting an "x" over her mouth. some parents say that mom made too far.

would she do anything differently? this morning she's here for an exclusive interview. >> we've been showing you videotape of some coaches of a -- of a boyfriend dressed up like a burglar to scare his girlfriend, her sister and another friend, and as you can see, he pulled it off. well this morning, they're all in our studio. we're going to find out if they think it is as hilarious as he does. >> and, you know, we always tell our kids it's not okay to cheat. cheating is wrong. but what happens when natalie puts a group of teens to the test. we'll find out, and more importantly, their parents will find out. >> let's go inside to the news desk and check in with natalie. good morning, natalie. >> good morning, carl, ann and al. good morning, everyone. the attorney for trayvon martin's family is demanding that george zimmerman's $150,000 bail be revoked. the attorney said zimmerman misled the court at his bail

hearing last week by failing to disclose that a website had raised more than $200,000 for his defense. zimmerman's own attorney acknowledges that bail may have been set higher if the judge had known about the money. zimmerman's attorney plans to inform the court at a previously scheduled hearing today. passengers were quarantined for more than two hours thursday because of a health care aboard their delta flight from detroit to chicago. health officials in surgical masks boarded the plane to investigate a possible case of monkey pox. a rare viral disease. well, they gave the all-clear after determining that the passenger at the center of the scare, a minnesota woman returning from africa, had bug bites, not monkey pox. the mother of murdered university of virginia lacrosse player yeardley love has filed a $30 million civil suit against her doctor's convicted killer. love was found dead in her off-campus apartment in 2010. her one-time boyfriend george huguely faces sentencing for the crime in august.

a crime caught on tape was so horrible the suspect's own father turned him in after seeing surveillance pictures. a teenager snatched an elderly woman's purse with such force, as you see there, it toppled the wheelchair of her 96-year-old friend, breaking her ribs. 19-year-old is charged with strong arm robbery and aggravated battery. and now for a look at what's trending today, our quick roundup of what has you talking online. thursday's first round of the nfl draft is dominating google searches. among the hot topics, stanford quarterback andrew luck, the number one overall pick. the indiana colts drafted him to replace four-time mvp peyton manning. and this video trending on youtube shows one father's fun way to keep his kids occupied on the way to school each morning. ♪ they all know the words. well dad says the family starts

singing bohemian rhapsody as they pull out of the driveway and arrive at school just as the song ends. ellen degeneres pokes fun at one of the biggest trending books of the year with her own audiobook version of "fifty shades of grey." >> he grabs me suddenly and yanks me up against him one hand at my back holding me to him and the other hand -- oh, my god. i'm not going to say that. i'm just going to add some sound effects if that's okay. i think. [ bleep ] i don't think you should use a spatula for that. >> ellen eventually admitted that maybe she's not the best person to be reading that kind of book aloud. this shouldn't be read out loud in general. 8:04 right now. let's go back out to ann and carl. >> that was funny, natalie. thank you. >> it's going to be a big movie. >> so we hear. the sound effects, i'm sure. anyway, let's go to al for a check of the weather. >> with sound effects? >> yes, that's what ellen was talking about with that whip.

>> i'm sorry. >> well, one of the great sounds, when i was growing up, betty boop and the voice of betty boop is betty perrin and she's 80 today? >> she's 80 tomorrow. >> happy birthday to her. nice to see you. happy birthday to debbie. let's see what we've got for you for today. pick city of the day, midland, texas. news west 9, sunny, hot, 93 degrees today. we're looking at a lot of wet weather making its way out of new england. we've got some severe weather making its way out of eastern colorado in to central missouri. we've got a lot of wet weather to talk about up through the plains. showers, coastal pacific northwest sunny and hot, on into the gulf. got some friends here. a parkinson's unity walk? when is it? >> you'll have good weather. that's what's going on around >> good morning. we expect dry weather.

it will be kind of windy. high temperature expected near 63. >> that's your latest weather. ann? >> all right, al, thank you so much. coming up next, the mother who's taking heat for posting this photograph on her 13-year-old daughter's facebook page to punish her. we're going to talk to that mom coming up exclusively. [ male announcer ] we imagined a vehicle that could adapt to changing road conditions. one that continually monitors and corrects for wheel slip. we imagined a vehicle that can increase emergency braking power when you need it most. and we imagined it looking like nothing else on the road today. then...we built it.

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is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. back now at 8:10 with the ohio mother who faced criticism for the way she publicly disciplines her 13-year-old daughter on facebook. we're going to talk to her exclusively in a moment. but first, "today" national correspondent amy robach has her story. amy? >> carl, good morning. denise abbott says she'd had enough of her daughter ava's back talk and when traditional punishment failed, she decided to try a more modern method. denise abbott describes her daughter ava as a very outgoing, social and self-confident girl. but like most teens, ava has her moments of acting out. >> she was actually rude and disrespectful to me in front of three of her friends. >> reporter: when the back talk continued, denise decided she needed a punishment with a little more punch. she created a new profile

picture on ava's facebook page and under it wrote, "i do not know how to keep my -- the red "x" is meant to finish that sentence. i am no longer allowed on facebook or my phone. please ask why. my mom says i have to everyone that asks. >> i think you do have to mix -- definitely mix the old and the new types of discipline. >> reporter: but just as ava's behavior was put to public scrutiny, so, too, was denise' disciplinary tactic. >> i have received a lot of criticism. but, still i don't think that i would have changed what i did at all. i think that she definitely learned a lesson from it. >> an ohio mom has raised eyebrows for the way she dealt with her daughter's disrespectful behavior. >> reporter: and after denise's story aired on "today," more than 7,000 viewers voiced their opinions in our online survey. an overwhelming 77% supported denise's creative punishment. even so, parenting expert dr. janet taylor thinks a

teaching moment might have been missed. >> just like we don't want our kids to embarrass other kids, as parents we don't want to embarrass our children. >> reporter: although ava is still grounded, she seems to be taking her punishment all in stride. in a letter addressed to hoever is reading this she wrote, it's not embarrassing to me at all, i don't think a lot of people should be as judging as they are being towards the whole situation. it was my mom's way of grounding me and it's like any other grounding. i don't see why it's this big of a deal. now ava's facebook privileges are still revoked but her profile page has been changed back, showing a smiling ava, and no "x," with the message, forever young. carl? >> amy robach. thank you very much for that. denise abbott is here for an exclusive interview this morning. denise, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> so a week ago you're a suburban mom, and then a few days later you're watching ann curry read headlines about you on national television. did you think you were going to spark this kind of reaction

around the country? >> absolutely not. you know, never in a million years. >> walk us through what happened. you were driving her around. >> right. >> on a friday night. >> right. >> and she was giving you a hard time. >> right, exactly. >> about what? >> she wanted to go see where some of her friends lived, she had three friends over and, i was not going to the right place. i was not going the right direction. i was driving too fast. i was driving too slow. i shouldn't have slowed down in front of this house, one instruction after the other and i told her three times, you need to stop. stop, i'm going to take your friends home. you need to stop. and she didn't. and we got home, and i told her, you're in trouble. might not be right this second but you're in trouble. >> so, you got sent over the edge. when did you get the idea to do this? were you mad? were you trying to get even? what was your -- >> i was trying to think of something that would impact her. so that she would know what it felt like to be embarrassed in front of people, and to be treated like that. i think you need to have empathy to understand a situation. >> what was her reaction when she first heard about it.

you told her. she didn't see it first. >> i told her about it. >> you said why don't you go on facebook and look to your page. >> i said you have to respond to everybody who asks what happened. you have to tell them what you learned from it. you can't copy and paste. they all have to have a complete answer addressed to that individual person. >> did she break down? >> she was mom, are you serious? no, i can't. i can't do all that typing. but she did. she willingly did it, and gave everybody the answer. she still has a few more to go. but i think she's up to about 35 right now. >> you saw the reaction online. 77% basically backed you up. >> mm-hmm. >> but there are those who say, look, punishing is one thing, humiliating them is another. >> right. >> you don't see this as humiliation at all? >> i don't know. you know, when we were growing up in school, if you got in trouble in school, you know, you go to the board, you have to write 100 times, i will not pass notes in front of your class mates. it's the same -- you were not humiliated then. in gym class if you couldn't run, they would still make you run in front of all your friends. and it puts you in a position

that if you do feel that humiliation or you are embarrassed you're more likely to be empathetic and not put somebody else in that position. >> a couple months ago tommy jordan shot up his daughter's laptop. posted that on youtube. that was also a big story. he actually got in contact with you. >> he did, yes. >> what did he say? >> he said if that's how you want to parent, be strong, and stick with what you think is right for your child. and that's what i agree with. i don't think it's for every child by any means, i don't everybody should do it. but you just have to know your kid, and know what gets through to them. >> you think she's learned her lesson. >> oh, definitely. >> you've taken the picture down because you were getting to get some strange friend requests. >> right, right. or it would have still been up. >> and she's 13. so you're not done. >> she's going to be more. right. >> you think you'll try something as creative as this next time? >> probably not. >> denise abbott. thank you for coming in. >> thank you very much for having me. >> important parenting story. up next a harmless prank or did he go too far? we'll talk to the guy behind this video, and the girl he scared right after this.

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back now with a video that's gone viral of a guy who decided to play a prank on his girlfriend and her friends by dressing up like a masked burglar. when they walked into their apartment he came out of the bedroom and gave them the scare of their lives. his name is george, he's joining us this morning along with his victims, girlfriend, ducana, her sister camellia and their friend. good morning to all of you. >> good morning. how are you? >> how are you, george? on behalf of women everywhere, what were you thinking? >> i'm not sure what i was thinking. i just needed to get a good prank on my girlfriend. i know they're kind of scared of a burglary. >> so you knew that they were scared of having a burglar in -- anywhere in their home. >> yes. >> so you did purposely decided this because of that? >> yes, i did. unfortunately for them. i'm sorry. >> i'm glad somebody here is laughing.

but you know, you know, but first of all i should probably ask you, because you are a prankster. i mean, this is not a prank. you didn't set this whole thing up, you know, the videotape itself. you're not pranking us by having taped this and you -- you were not in on this? >> no. >> you're not at all in on this? >> no. >> what was your reaction then, when you discovered this masked man, who apparently has come along with this mask this morning, jumping out of this room in your apartment? >> well, i was really scared. so like seen in the video, i was running, everyone was running, and we were wearing heels or whatever. but afterwards when we came out i seen him and i'm like oh, it's george. i died laughing at that moment. >> you started laughing? >> right afterward when i seen him come towards us. >> really? >> yes, just outside. >> because you knew george was a prankster. >> yes. >> he's done pranks before. >> you weren't laughing so much. >> no, i was crying. >> you were crying.

>> it was particularly upsetting to you, why? >> at first i was not frightened. i was like everything like i was not aware of what is happening. i, if you ask me now, i will probably not be able to. but once he was saying that was george, that was george, and that's the moment that i -- i was crying like -- >> i cried for ten minutes. >> you were angry? you were frightened. what was the emotion? >> i was basically just scared. i just -- i was like probably happy that i am still alive. >> uh-huh. you really terrified. why are you laughing? sorry. i'm going to hit you. what do you think? you were there. >> yes. i was there. and it was so scared, and like i was so angry. and like i had said mixed feelings. >> you started hitting him? >> yes. >> with violence? oh, my god! >> and you're telling me that -- like one of my questions was how long was he in the dog house? but -- this --

>> right afterwards when i see my sister crying she got really like sad, whatever, i thought maybe that was really mean and then i got really upset with him. >> oh, i see. so then after he stopped laughing -- oh, my god, this is serious. she's crying. >> i heard some of them wouldn't talk to you for two hours. so now are there any ground rules they've got for you now that you can't -- >> so far they didn't set any ground rules. i don't know why. >> what are the ground rules? >> i did some ground rules with him. like watching scary movies, and i was just like paranoia and i was like oh, my god. please don't do anything bad. >> are you repentant? >> i will say maybe. >> an apology? oh, man, why i ought to. you're a very lucky man that you've got a girlfriend who's going to put up with you, i'm going to tell you that right now.

thank you so much, all of you. and now, here's carl. >> ann, thanks. according to research, 85% of high school graduates admit to cheating on a test. but would your kid do it if they thought no one was watching? natalie's here with more from her eye-opening "dateline" series "my kid would never do that." >> good morning to you, carl. with the help of some willing and very brave parents once again, we put some kids up to our hidden camera test, and what we saw is a lesson for all parents. >> with the click of a button you can get the answer that you want. >> everyone cheats at one time or another. >> reporter: "dateline" found some parents who agreed to put their kids to a cheating test. >> we need your help, trying to develop this new show. >> reporter: these kids think they're trying out for a pop culture quiz show. we planted two actors to cheat. will the real kids join in, or speak up? >> number 6, i think it's "b." i think it's "b."

>> i put "d." >> sasha joins the conversation with the cheaters. they keep chatting. >> hold on. >> and watch what sasha does now. >> oh, my gosh. >> like he was the one only. >> then our actress pretends to discover the cheat sheet we planted. >> oh, these are all the answers. >> and instead of protesting, sasha appears to be celebrating the group's good fortune. >> oh. >> i'm very uncomfortable about it. but, he'll learn from this experiment, that's for sure. >> as the teacher comes in to say what they did is typical for kids their age. >> you are not in trouble. okay? so everyone take a deep breath. >> well, sasha and all the other kids we tested obviously good kids, and they just got caught up in the moment. what we saw from our testing, what research shows us, it's not

that the kids are more dishonest these days, rather they are feeling more pressure than ever to get good grades. this say tall order for parents, when schools and parents relax about grades and they focus more on the learning and less about the grades, carl, then studies show the cheating goes down. >> it's a great series, natalie. and it's not done. discrimination coming up next week. >> discrime nation next week. such a powerful hour and really, really important to sit down with your kids and watch. >> thank you so much. you can see more of natalie's report sunday night on "dateline," 7:00, 6:00 central time right here on nbc. just ahead, a couple married for 72 years dispensing marriage advice online. we'll meet them after your local news.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. that's get a final check of the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> not over with yet. we are dealing with a problem on southbound j.f.x. right in the construction zone. we have an accident. we're seeing added delays due to that. pimlico and coldspring, watch for an accident. reisterstown road, mcdonnell road, there is a crash coming in. another one at falls road and chestnut ridge drive to watch for. water main break being repaired.

live view of traffic on the j.f.x. at 41st street. southbound traffic almost at a standstill. we will switch to a live view of 95 at white marsh. much better ride there in contrast, saw out, away from us, moving very well. john collins joins us with a look at the forecast. >> you saw those pictures. there is sunshine coming through. temperatures at the airport is 50, winds westerly. there will be a bit of a breeze during the day when the storm is pulling out of the picture. out west, there is another storm and that will affect part of the weekend. breezy and cool. winds gusting to 25 miles an hour. rain, t comes into the picture. on-again, off-again scattered showers.

50 on saturday. sunday, 50's. >> we will have another update at 8:56.

8:30 now on a friday morning. the 27th of april, 2012. and take a look at a beautiful picture from downtown manhattan. you're looking at the statue of liberty there in the distance. as our cameraman does a beautiful pullout. and as our happy crowd is gathered here in rockefeller plaza on really what's turning into a pretty day. the sun is now made an

appearance. so all this good news. coming up this morning, three secrets to a great marriage from a couple that really should know. because they've been married for a long time. >> 72 years. >> wow. >> can you believe that? now they're an internet sensation because of these videos they posted online by their grandson. we're going to hear some of their marriage advice. >> they were giving advice to their grandson as he was about to get married because they couldn't go to the wedding. >> oh. >> and it's really cute. >> that's so sweet. >> also, it started off with the cosby show, and then we had shows like friends, and seinfeld, and many others. well, the stars of those shows are sharing their story and their secrets by the man -- in a book by the man who master minded all. we're going to talk about warren littlefield and a longtime staple of thursday nights, star of will and grace, debra messing.

>> and then a little bit later on sean goldman, he was the boy at the sender of the international custody battle for five long years, he was in brazil. he is now speaking out for the first time since he was reunited with his father. now 2 1/2 years that they're back together. we're going to hear more from sean and david goldman. >> pretty good to see him. although we want to mention that we've got a pretty big week coming up next week, because next week matt has an exclusive interview with bobby brown, the first since the death of his ex-wife whitney houston and some people really might be very surprised about what bobby brown has to say. and also coming up next week we've got ryan o'neal, who's recently announced that he has been battling prostate cancer. he's going to be live in our studio monday to talk about just how he's doing. we also have a new memoir about his troubled relationship with his children, and also his longtime love affair with farrah fawcett. so also coming up. >> can't wait for that. >> right now a check of the weather from al. >> all righty, let's see what you got for your weekend.

saturday, windy and cool in the northeast, rain from the mid-atlantic states right on into the mid-mississippi river valley, where there's a slight risk of strong storms. wet weather in the pacific northwest. sunny and hot in texas and into the southwest. sunday, sunday, morning showers along the mid-atlantic states. heavy rain, mid-mississippi river valley. beautiful weather out west. four corners, southwest, up into -- pacific northwest. plenty of sunshine and going to be nice and mild there as well. >> good morning. it will be a little on the breezy time. we should be able to get into the lower end of the 60's. >> that's your latest weather. now let's head on down to

orlando, florida, and say hello to the big pie man himself, uncle willie scott. uncle willie, i like pie. >> hi know you do. and if you were here, just the smell drives you crazy. it is so beautiful. and we have almost 1,000 contestants competing in this crisco american pie council contest. first of all, a birthday for our birthday buddies. lizzie ackerman, dodge city kansas. she's right there where all the big old westerns were. 10 3 years old today. she loves to cook. bake. uses crisco i'll bet. father stephen adrian from sun lakes, arizona. 100 years old today. been with the order for 70 years. and do we love him. and we have a pie friend here. michelle stewart if you would come forward. >> hi. >> i believe we met last year. >> we did. >> and when i met you last year,

i gotou married. is there anything i can help you with this time? is something happening? >> just promoting the book and we're here today to celebrate pie and that, you know, great pie crust starts with crisco. we're here to celebrate crisco today. >> crisco is so mild that women used to put it on their faces. >> yes. >> i've always asked for a lemon pie. i hate to confess this is the first time i've been to his contest in 100 years, never had a piece of pie. >> oh, come on. >> no, i'm serious. >> lemon meringue pie. >> mm-hmm. my goodness. hallelujah. >> a little more? >> i'd like more. and you've got a book coming out. >> it's out called "perfect pies." >> and you're in norwalk, connecticut. >> yes. >> we love you so much. >> we love being here. >> you've been so good. and we've had more fun, and as i say, lemon does that. anyway, we've had more fun with good old crisco. 101 years old.

>> back to you. >> willard, thanks. up next, marriage advice from an adorable couple married for 72 years, who've become a big hit online. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:38. this morning on "today's marriage council" one couple's secret to a great marriage. kenny and thelma have been married for get this, 72 years. so when their grandson recently tied the knot, they wanted to record a video to share some advice with him, and it was posted on walk wardfamilyphotos.com and has become very popular. here to discuss it is the author of "the self-centered marriage" and dr. judith sills is a clinical psychologist. good morning to both of you.

we're going to listen to some clips in just a moment. overall you get the impression that this couple keeps things very basic. is this a secret to being married for 72 years? >> oh, they also seem to be very playful, as well. it is very basic. you know, if you have this basic understanding of commitment and love for each other then it's easy, right, to have fights occasionally. it's easy to, you know, do things like this, and be playful about it. old couples are like old trees. you know. they're like a vanishing species. >> right. i love that old couples are like old trees. >> let's use them as a resource and get to their, one of their tips, there, there are three that they're going to talk about today and they have five on this tape. the first one has to do with arguing and this is how thelma and kenny handle it. take a listen. >> you don't argue with each other. if your wife -- >> i don't argue with you. >> no, you do argue with me. >> no, you always pick on me. but we never -- >> if i didn't argue with you,

and if i didn't fight you, we wouldn't be there together for how many years? >> 72 years. gonna be. >> but here we are. the two of us together. >> we went to bed happy. after our fights. >> that's because we were tired of fighting. >> okay. so there's a lot of lessons in that. >> there's one big lesson, two strong people make emotional space for each other. it's not what they're saying. she speaks. he speaks. and they laugh about it. she says, you didn't need me to pick on you. >> and he said, you know you do, and we go to bed happy. >> i love that they are talking about not fighting and they're arguing the whole time. i think it's a hallmark of great couples, they are able to represent themselves. he's like, no, actually you do pick on me. all right. even though they've been married this long time they're able to represent themselves but in a

loving, playful way. >> that's exactly right. and forgiving. all right, let's take a look at what thelma says is another trip, to recommend spending time together. let's take another look. >> travel. go to as many places that you can to be together. and you got to watch your husband, though, because on one of the trips -- >> what? >> in italy, i remember -- >> oh, yes. >> kenny was flirting with a -- one of the ladies at the-ish >> at the pool. i was surprised she had -- >> she didn't have a top on. and there he was standing over her like she died. >> i together somebody take a picture of me. >> oh, my lord. >> now this is -- this is the most important thing they have to teach. which is, you know what? there's a little juice between them when your guy notices someone you react. but you don't have to go crazy. you can get in on the act.

he's human. i think i'll be part of that and get a cute picture. i love that. but she remembered 50 years later. >> they're still talking about it. >> what i love about it is great couples are not afraid of the fact that you're sexual beings and you're attracted to other people. they're not afraid of it. in fact if my wife comes to me and says hey this guy hit on me. i feel privileged that she's sharing that with me. if she doesn't share that she's keeping a secret. >> she knows kenny was not going back to the bar with that woman. that's what makes it work for 72 years. >> one more tip, we've got time for just one more, that's on how to keep a clean house. >> always keep a clean house. make sure that your laundry is done, that your kitchen is clean, and this, too, would help you in -- >> wait a minute. why don't you tell him that i throw things on the floor because -- it falls on the floor and you yell at me very much.

everything. you dropped something. pick it up. don't do this. don't do that. >> but you have to wait for me to tell you to pick it up, kenny. >> i don't know i drop it. >> the take away from this is, it seems to be, they're really communicating directly, and very honestly with each other. >> and they're not afraid to be uncomfortable. right? they're making this video that they know is going to be shown at their grandson's wedding. and he says but wait a minute, you need to tell them that you yell at me. >> the truth. and indirectly, too. they're also saying she's saying i make the rules, i set the standards. and he says i let you do that but every so often i drop something. she says okay, that's okay by me. >> you know, it's such a pleasure to hear from people who've been married a long time. i think that's -- especially the way that this video ends, which is a toast, and a kiss. >> they kiss. passionately. and it's beautiful to see.

>> that's something to see online. thank you so much. it's been fun to watch this with you. coming up next, the stars of nbc's must-see tv open up about one of the greatest eras in tv history. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:46 with an inside look at what was once the night to watch tv. "friends," "cheers," "er" and "seinfeld" were just some of the iconic shows that made up nbc's thursday night must-see tv lineup. warren littlefield was in charge of nbc entertainment at the time. now he's out with a new book called "top of the rock: inside the rise and fall of must see tv." and also with us this morning, one of nbc stars debra messing. good morning to you both. >> good morning. >> it's a fantastic read, warren. and you've got stories from 55

people, 55 interviews, but i don't think a lot of people know about. how did you get people to get over maybe their hesitation to participate? >> i have to tell you, carl, it's really pretty easy. the era of must-see tv was a pretty great ride for everyone. so we had the good fortune to discover debra and when i went back and said, debra, let's talk about "will & grace," let's talk about what we went through with a bottle of vodka, a rainy night, and i'm begging you to come to do "will & grace." somehow debra was willing to relive that. so it was -- it was a pretty phenomenal period of discovery for so much talent to go back and read that in "top of the rock" everyone was up for it. >> there is clearly a special place in your heart for "will & grace" and you almost didn't take the role, debra. can you talk us through your

decision at that point? >> that's true. i had just wrapped a very popular abc drama called "pray." of course nobody has any idea what i'm talking about. but i was exhausted. so at first it was just, i can't get out of bed. then my agent said, we are messengering a script to you. as soon as i read the script i said okay, i have never read anything like this before. but i was really hesitant because the thing that made it so exciting, which was this has never been done on tv. we have never seen a lead character, a gay lead character on television and we have never seen that relationship before. and i -- i was concerned that it was not going to be portrayed in a way that i would feel comfortable with. up until that point in television, all the gay characters were supporting characters. >> sure. >> and were funny. they were the clowns. and i wanted, you know, to be a part of something that was -- was going to embrace him as a

leading character, and i didn't want to be the pretty girl. i wanted to be funny, as well. >> it must have been an amazing time. "friends," another interesting story. you run into jennifer aniston at a gas station. she's had a series of failed pilots. she asks you, is it ever going to happen for me? and we all know it did. >> you know, it will never happen for her. it was -- it was quite a night. we put jennifer aniston on the air playing ferris bueller's sister. and we thought, oh, my gosh, she's delicious. she is wonderful. did a couple of really bad pilots with her. and i looked at her that night on sunset boulevard and said, god, i hope it happens. please, hang in there, it will. and when we had "friends" just a few months later, we had a little difficulty. she had actually signed on to do a series at cbs, and we had to take her in second position. we did the pilot that way.

and she still wasn't available. we had to go in to series production, throwing millions of dollars at risk, and we still did not have the rights to go forward with jennifer. >> i want to ask you about "cheers," "seinfeld," miserable first seasons. >> yes. >> they were given second chances and they flourished. is that possible today? could those shows take root today? or has tv changed? has the world changed? >> it's a more competitive environment than ever before. but, you know, i think this administration now, at nbc, respects the viewer. and that's what it really comes down to. >> "smash" is a good exam in >> "smash" is a great example. there's a show that is wildly entertaining, got debra. pretty important. and -- and i think that bob green blat is really saying, this ask something i believe in. that's what we did. we asked ourselves with "cheers" do we have anything better?

and the answer was, we didn't. "seinfeld"? disastrous. disastrous research. so we picked up other things first. but ultimately, we couldn't let it get away. those shows became signature shows for nbc. and lasted for a decade. >> debra, warren, thank you so much. it's a great read. congratulations. >> thank you so much. >> the book is "top of the rock" warren littlefield and debra messing. thank you so much. we're back in a moment, this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8: with technology that's allowing people to share music all around the world without ever leaving home. here's nbc's miguel almaguer. ♪ >> reporter: the rhythm of teacher and student, playing in perfect harmony -- ♪ >> reporter: 1300 miles apart. ♪ >> awesome. definitely a lot better. >> reporter: this is how jerry and anna work with half a country between them. >> this is a completely different paradigm shift as far as online education, online learning and music lessons in general. >> reporter: the duo is

connected through computer software. skype allows them to see and hear one another. >> hey, that was a lot better. >> reporter: while a small cable connects their piano to their computer. with broadband their instruments communicate. when jared plays a few bars in california -- ♪ >> reporter: -- the keys on anna's piano in south dakota move on their own. >> it is like him sitting right there next to me. this was the best experience i could have possibly had. >> reporter: anna, a miss america contestant, found jared after hearing a song he composed. she reached out for permission to play the piece at the beauty competition and he offered to work with her as she prepared. >> she took a situation where she needed to find education that was beyond what she was able to find in her geographic area. so we started working to the one-on-one. >> the fact that we would be able to train together, over the internet, when he's in

california, and i'm in south dakota, was amazing. >> reporter: jared was an early pioneer to internet. you used the technology to perform for thousands who have literally never seen him play. >> playing in front of an audience has a certain dynamic to it. but there is something nice about doing long-distance performances. >> reporter: sold for about $70, internet mini can exhibit most computers and key boards anywhere. anyone can use it. even people who have never played the piano before. ♪ that may not be beethoven. but for other musicians, the technology is music to their ears. for "today," miguel almaguer, nbc news, yucca valley, california. >> and as for ann and her

teacher they finally met in person when she performed at the miss america pageant back in january. coming up, just ahead, a tour of some great homes all across the country for under $250,000. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. here's a look at one of our top stories this morning. 11 news has learned that the victim of a stabbing in baltimore has died. officers were called to saratoga street just after 5:00 yesterday afternoon, when they discovered

an unidentified man suffering at

>> much nicer morning this morning. temperatures mostly in the 50's. it a bit of a breeze from the northwest. high temperatures today, 60 to 65 degrees.