bringing even more flooding and possible tornadoes today. it's not expected to make landfall until tomorrow night. today, exclusive conversation between police and jerry sandusky's adopted son matt how he described in detail how his father allegedly abused him. >> i know i really wanted to die at that point in time. >> this morning we'll hear from matt sandusky for the first time. he's back! michael phelps qualified for his fourth olympic games. a strong showing in london would make him the most decorated olympian of all time.

our in-depth with the superstar olympian of all time. our in-depth with the superstar tuesday june 26th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and ann curry, live from studio 1, a in rockefeller plaza. >> and welcome today on this tuesday morning. i'm ann curry. >> i'm matt lauer. you know the expression at a snail's pace when something is moving slowly. that is how tropical storm debby is moving as she wreaks havoc in northern florida. >> some areas have already been hit by a foot of rain. another foot expected over the next few days. florida's governor declared a state of emergency and al is going to have the latest in all of this coming up straight ahead this morning. >> also ahead the georgia woman fighting flesh eating bacteria has reached a major milestone in her recovery. this as we see the very first photo of her since this ordeal

started. we'll have more on that story coming up. >> nice to see her smiling in that photograph as well. the 13-year-old girl who remained calm in the face of a frightening situation. she was watching her younger brother when a group of teenagers broke into their home. what she did next helped police catch them in the act. we'll share her bravery. her story coming up. we'll begin with tropical storm debby hovering off the panhandle. al roker upstairs tracking this storm. what can you tell us? >> this thing is going nowhere fast, 85 miles west of cedar key, florida. if you remember yesterday it looked like it was going to move north, not the case. moving east now. tropical storm warnings from mexico beach to englewood, florida will the track of the system brings it late tomorrow night into early thursday morning on shore, becomes a tropical depression, back out

into the atlantic as a tropical storm and offshore. here is the problem, why it's moving so slowly and getting itself together. weak currents, upper level high. another high out over the caribbean. there's nothing really to kick this thing out. that's the big problem. the rain just keeps falling and falling and falling. we're going to be looking at another 15 inches of rain northern florida on into southeastern georgia, but anywhere from three to five inches all the way down to miami. that's why we have flash flood watches and warnings in effect from daytona beach up into jacksonville and southeastern georgia through tomorrow. this is going to be a slow mover. we'll be talking about this for at least another 48 hours. ann. >> all right, al. thank you so much for reporting on this story. now we want to turn to a "today" exclusive tied to the jerry sandusky case. nbc news has obtained an audio recording of a police interview with adopted son matt as he describes how he was alleged by abused by his father.

we should warn you this conversation is graphic at times. nbc national correspondent michael isikoff has more on this story. michael, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. for years jerry sandusky's adopted son matt publicly stood by his father. but four days into his trial matt sandusky secretly met with police and told a disturbing story on tape. jerry sandusky's adopted son matt, in his own words, describes for the first time how he says he was molested with the father. >> the showering, hugging, rubbing, talking to me, the way he spoke. >> reporter: nbc news has exclusively obtained a 29 minute tape recorded by police detectives the week before jerry sandusky's conviction. at the time they were preparing sandusky's son to testify as the surprise prosecution witness at his adopted father's trial. matt sandusky told police he was repeatedly molested and would

try to avoid being touched, sometimes hiding in a fetal position when his father entered his bedroom. >> if you were pretending you were asleep and you were touched or rubbed in some way you could just act like you were rolling over in your sleep so you could change positions. >> reporter: matt met jerry sandusky at second mile and told police he was off and on molested from 8 to 15. like many other second mile boys he began staying overnight at the sandusky household. jerry and dottie became his adopted parents and adopted him at age 18. >> and when you were staying at your house -- >> reporter: matt sandusky told police he would try to escape from the sandusky house, one night fleeing barefoot to hide in his grandfather's basement. he also said he tried to commit suicide. >> i know i really wanted to die at that point in time. >> reporter: sandusky told police he's been seeing the therapist and memories of the

abuse are just now coming back. >> and you said at the beginning of our interview last night that things happened to you but there was no -- that you can recall, there was no penetration or oral sex. is that correct? >> yes. as of this time, i don't recall that. >> reporter: after years of denying that he had been abused, including to a grand jury, matt sandusky told police he was coming forward now so his family would know what really happened. >> so they can really have closure and see what the truth actually is. and just to right the wrong, honestly, of going to the grand jury and lying. >> reporter: sandusky's offer to testify was a crucial turning point in his father's trial. when jerry learned his son had turned on himmish he was crushed and it kept him off the witness stand according to his lawyer. >> when jerry heard that initially, he was very upset. i can tell you that the next day when we were preparing, that was the most despondent i had seen him. >> reporter: defense lawyers told nbc news they were prepared to attack matt sandusky's

credibility. >> do we believe what matt sandusky had to say? absolutely not. >> reporter: he was the first to visit him in jail and described his client as defiant. >> he is not a beaten man. he's pacing his cell, held in solitary confinement, wanting to get out, get his story out and defend himself. i don't think jerry feels he has anything to feel sorry for. at this point he maintains his innocence adamantly. in a statement to nbc news, matt sandusky's lawyer said this tape indicates his tremendous courage and strength coming forward with police despite what they called extraordinary pressure to support his father. ann. >> michael is zoff with some important reporting this morning. thank you so much. it is 7:07. here is matt. >> both republicans and democrats are claiming victory this morning, the dispute over state crackdowns on illegal immigration, this after monday's split supreme court decision on a controversial law in arizona.

nbc's justice correspondent pete williams has details. good morning. >> matt, good morning to you. the supreme court declared three parts of the arizona law unconstitutional and it upheld a fourth. in doing that, it put the state on notice that enforcing that provision could cross the line if police are too aggressive. it's a narrow victory for arizona, a state that touched off local crackdowns around the country on illegal immigration. the court unanimously upheld the most controversial part of the law, one that requires police making arrests or traffic stops to check the immigration status of anyone they suspect of being here illegally. >> arizona and every other state's inherent authority to protect and defend its people has been upheld. >> reporter: but in a 5-3 ruling the court struck down other major parts of the law. justice elena keagan who worked on the issue before coming to the court say this out. it made it illegal to look for

work, would let police arrest anyone they suspected of being here illegally. the court had a warning for arizona about the part of the law it upheld, that if police detained people too long to check their immigration status or used the law as an excuse for rounding up suspected illegal immigrants, that might cross the line at what's constitutional. opponents of the law said even that limited ruling could encourage states to pick on people merely because of their race. >> this is not simply about undocumented immigrants. this is about every single person that looks foreign, it is about skin color, speaking with an accent, not speaking english. >> reporter: still to come the most widely anticipated issue of the term, the issue that set off intense protest. the court will say whether the obama administration's health care law is constitutional or goes too far by requiring that all americans get health insurance. >> this is probably going to be the most important supreme court

case of the last 80 years. the constitutional issue is the very basic one of how much power does congress have to pass laws. >> reporter: there's no way to predict how the court will rule on the health care law. we can say one thing for certain, we'll get that ruling thursday morning. >> all right. pete williams, thank you very much. noah feldman, professor, and columnist. chuck todd political director at the white house. let me start with you, in the 20 hours since this ruling came down at the supreme court, both sides claimed some victory. a lot of political spin here. who won? you've been following the case from the very beginning. >> reporter: the obama administration won a victory in that most of the law was, in fact, struck down. but arizona won a victory, too, in that the supreme court said

they can require police officers to check immigration status once you've already been arrested provided they don't hold you for any longer than they would hold you for arrest in the first place. it's a kind of compromised verdict for the court. >> it's confusing to a lot of people. because this idea that a police officer can actually ask someone for papers if they believe that person is here i will laically after they arrest them or stop them sounds like the victory. but then they said, wait a minute, this is something that could be unconstitutional if it's taken too far. >> the president-elect more or less gave a road map indirectly to the police. they said when you pick somebody up for jaywalking, you can't really hold them any longer than you ordinarily would on jaywalking charge just to check immigration status. on the other hand if they arrest you for drunk driving and hold you, then they can check your immigration status or could do it after released. then the court reached out further and said this does not mean if there's racial discrimination in the future

they can't be -- a law can't be attacked on those grounds. they said the law hadn't been tried yet. they are going to take arizona's word for it, that they can do it without profiling. >> i asked to take politics out of it. you can place it back in. what affect will this ruling this in terms of the upcoming election. >> in short, look at the body language of the campaign. any day the romney campaign isn't talking about the economy, it's a lost day. under those circumstances, it was a lost day. a continuation of what's been a rough ten days of romney trying to walk the fine line on immigration. meanwhile look at the obama campaign. to be completely crass about this, in talking to some democrats they would argue politically, when it comes to fire up hispanics for the president, they couldn't have designed a better supreme court ruling, because they got to win the larger argument that states when it comes to immigration, the federal government, you can't have 50 different

immigration laws being put together in some sort of patchwork. but the part that angers hispanics the most was left into place. now they get to use that as a way to fire up hispanics. if you can't get hispanics turnout on a positive on hope, maybe you get it up on anger. now they have anger to sort of fuel them getting the hispanic vote. >> professor in the 30 seconds i have left, is a la carte handling of this case by the supreme court, is that something you would expect to see when we get the decision on thursday on obama care or health care? >> it's possible. the court could very easily say that they are going to keep certain parts of the health care bill and strike down other parts of it at the same time. but there is a call for clarity in the most important and high-profile cases. i think the justices know that. i don't think we should rule out the possibility that the court will either clearly say they are striking down the mandatory coverage part of the bill, the individual mandate or

alternative they will clearly uphold it. what i think we can be almost sure of, it's going to be a very close decision. i expect it to be 5-4. >> all right. professor feldman. chuck todd, thank you as well. >> a lot of other stories making news this morning. for that turn to natalie morales at the news desk. hey, good morning. >> good morning, matt and ann. good morning, everyone. out west a series of out of control wildfires have charred more than 100,000 acres now, decimated hundreds of home. nbc's miguel almaguer is in hard hit colorado springs. miguel, good morning. >> reporter: natalie, good morning. the waldo canyon fire here in colorado springs has charred 4500 acres. today is the nation's top priority fire as it threatens 1600 homes. more than 3,000 people still evacuated. there is some good news here. overnight crews made progress on the fire lines. this blaze is roughly 5 per contained. they hope that number goes up over the next 24 hours. it's been a mean and wicked fire season all across colorado, what

one official describes as the worst fire season here in more than a decade. since march some 13 -- excuse me, 16 major wildfires have broken out across the state. today more than 70 aircraft are going to be crisscrossing the state trying to put out fires all across this region. as you know, there are major wildfires burning also in the state of new mexico, utah, and, of course, all up and down colorado. it's going to be a busy day for crews on the frontline. they are expecting to face gusty winds and triple digit heat. natalie, back to you. >> miguel in colorado springs, thank you. in ontario, canada, rescuers reviewing efforts at a partially collapsed mall roof. rescuers called off rescue after another collapse but they reversed the decision. one person found dead in the collapse. the city of stanford will face two new lawsuits in connection with the deadly

christmas morning fire that killed the family of madonna badger, her three young daughters and elderly parents. the johnses estate meanwhile filed intent to sue for property damage, personal injury and civil rights violations. stanford has denied liability for the incident. an e-mail address switcheroo on facebook has users grumbling. without any notification the company changed how it displays contact information, replacing e-mail with facebook.com address. you can change it. but the move led to outcry when bloggers first notice the change monday. check it out, he was playing with his lighter as he pumped gas. not a smart thing to do, sparking a fire. he panicked and ran off leaving

the fire to burn. a fellow motorist saved the day heroically putting out the flames with a bucket of water. showing where his loyalties lie at least in baseball got the president an unexpected reaction at a boston fund-raiser at his re-election campaign last night. president obama's chicago roots showing when he mentioned a trade that sent boston red sox third baseman to white sox. >> finally i want to say thank you for euclid. i shouldn't have brought up baseball. my mistake. >> one woman yelled out we still love you. the crowd was willing to pay, tickets ranged from $250 to

$2500. it is 7:17 right now. you're up to date. let's send it back over to matt, ann and al. >> were they booing? >> mr. roker here with the forecast. >> a lot of heat not helping our friends fight the wildfires. pushing the jet stream way up to the north mid sesection of the country, texas to high plains, canada, temperatures anywhere from 7 to 22 degrees above normal. look at the highs, 104, 97 new >> good morning.miles cit we had a cold front go through last night that dropped the temperatures into the 50's. we expect mostly sunny skies.

and that's your latest weather. ann. >> al, thank you. could you remain calm if you were home and someone broke into your home? that happened to a 13-year-old girl in florida who grabbed her younger brother, hid in the closet and dialed 911. mark potter in fort laud, florida with details on this story. good morning. >> reporter: it came into 911 where a dispatcher helped the 13-year-old girl who she would later call a hero. home alone in pompano beach, 13-year-old alexis and her 10-year-old darren saw some older boys trying to break into their house. >> i could see their shadows

through this curtain but i couldn't picture their face. so i get freaked out and run towards my room with my brother. >> reporter: in the bedroom they locked the door and got in the closet. >> we got here and stood here and i immediately closed the door. >> reporter: from there alexis called 911. >> 911, what is your emergency? >> me and my brother are home alone an these two guys are in our backyard trying to get in. >> reporter: the dispatcher could hear the fear when alexis described the burglars were in the house. >> she did a great, great job, remained calm, when most people, kids and adults, would be hysterical. >> reporter: with sheriff's deputies racing to the scene alexis whispered how close they were. >> they are in my brother's room which is right next door. >> okay. >> please come right now. >> okay, alexis, trust me. the police are on the way. >> reporter: when the deputies arrived they arrested three teenager boys hiding in another

closet. >> we were safe because when a cop comes around you're safe around them. >> you can hang up the phone, okay alexis? >> okay. >> okay, all right. good job. >> reporter: the sheriff gave alexis and darren excellence awards for their bravery. her mom was proud. >> it's hard listening to the tape, the 911 call. they really did a good job. >> reporter: their case is similar to another one in hollywood, florida where 11-year-old luis gutierrez, also home alone, hid in his room and told a 911 operator he heard burglars in his house. >> he says he hears him. that's what he said. i don't know if it's real or not. >> it's real! it's real! >> reporter: waiting for police luis became more afraid. >> are the cops here yet? >> be quite, okay? talk very softly, all right? >> okay. >> reporter: now, that story also had a good ending, the

police arrived. they arrested three more teenager boys there. young luis was found to be safe and now he, too, is being called a 911 hero. ann. >> all right. mark potter, thank you so much for those stories. coming up just ahead, our first look at the young georgia woman fighting a flesh eating bacteria since her ordeal began and good news about her recovery but first this is "today" on nbc.

still to come, how much does kate middleton spend on her clothing and who foots the bill? you may be surprised. >> after local news. and stiffnes from psoriatic arthritis hit, even the smallest things became difficult. i finally understood what serious joint pain is like. i talked to my rheumatologist and he prescribed enbrel. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness, and stop joint damage. because enbrel, etanercept, suppresses your immune system,

it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. [ phil ] get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ doctor ] enbrel, the number one biolog medicine prescribed by rheumatologists.

>> good morning, everybody. i'm stan stovall. here's a look at our top story this morning. dozens of national guards in maryland will sleep in their own homes today. they're running nearly 90-day deployment to afghanistan where they supported ongoing combat operations by maintaining and -- maintaining a combat ready to

air crew and force for the u.s. >> there is an accident on the west side of the beltway, on the outer loop just passed baltimore pike. only the left lane is squeezing by. a big slowdown on northbound 895 at the steel bridge. they're just reopened the lane. >> better news in the weather department. it is a beautiful start for us on this tuesday morning.

clear skies, upper 60's and it is 56 in parkton. 57 in westminster. the dewpoint is in a 40's. the relative humidity is only 58%. that is pretty low for this time of day. it will get breezy this afternoon and highs in the 70 cozy up to around 80. it will step up into the 50's -- it will dip into the

>> he's going to win, one, two, first olympians of 2012. >> that was the scene last night as michael phelps took on his rival ryan lochte at the u.s. olympic swimming trials. their one-two finish means both are headed to london and the summer olympic games. just ahead we'll talk to phelps, the 14-time gold medal winner about his goals for the upcoming games and some of the lows he said he experienced after that record haul of eight gold medals in beijing. tuesday morning, 26th day of june. i'm matt lauer alongside ann curry. >> also coming up she's an

international fashion icon known for recycling her outfits. what does the duchess spend on her wardrobe and who fits the bill. the answer is something of a surprise. we'll go to buckingham palace for the answers. also dads are supposed to be fearless but one father didn't have a problem showing his daughter just how scared he was when she made him go on an amusement ride. we're going to keep talking because he wants to not watch this. she's having a great time. she isn't cared at all. >> eight minutes past there. >> the recording was the best thing. >> will a case in utah getting a lot of attention. a 13-year-old girl got in trouble for giving a 3-year-old a haircut. the judge said he would reduce her detention if the girl's mother cut off her daughter's pony tail right there in court. she did. now that mom filed a complaint.

we'll talk about whether that was an appropriate decision from the judge with "today's" professionals and get to other topics as well. >> all right. let's begin this half hour with an important milestone for a young georgia woman battling a rare flesh eating bacteria, this as we see our first picture of her since the ordeal began. thanh truong, good morning. >> doctors have upgraded her condition from serious to good. for a patient with multiple amputations that decision is huge. it comes after she was finally able to get outside of her hospital room for the first time. this new picture gives us a window into her recovery. >> there's aimee copeland in a wheelchair, bandages on her arms owned a smile on her face. it's the first public picture of the 24-year-old georgia grad student after flesh eating bacteria dramatically changed her body and her life.

>> the hospital photographer heard she was going outside. she came running out and said, let me get a picture. >> flanked by her mother and father, the photo captures a major milestone which her father described in his blog. >> for the first time in 49 days, aimee got up in a wheelchair and rolled out of her hospital room. >> i strolled her around the perimeter of the parking lot. the first thing i showed her was the helipad. i said, you know, this is the area where you came in first, the helicopter landed here. >> reporter: since falling off a zip line and cutting her leg in may, aimee has been confined to a room in the intensive care unit. she's endured amputations to her left leg, right foot and hands. she struggled with pain from those amputations and the skin grafts that followed. >> she was critical for a long time, then upgraded her to serious. >> reporter: aimee's father said last weekend she was ae to temporarily put the pain aside and soak up sunshine. >> she enjoyed sunshine on her

face and the breeze blowing through her hair. the smell of pine trees was really close by. she just sat there and took it all in. >> aimee's ordeal has captured the attention of so many. >> i don't believe she would be where she is today if it weren't for the prayer, love and support of millions of people across this country. >> reporter: countless people have wondered, how is she holding up. now they finally get a glimpse. >> we've seen a miracle performed right before our very eyes. >> reporter: a while back aimee's father told us her recovery is exceeding doctor's expectations. now he's telling us she could be out of the hospital early next week. ann, i'm sure there will be a lot of pictures when that day comes. >> great news for this family that's been through so much. thanh truong, thank you so much. now a check of the weather. >> spectacular day, sunny, cool, humidity. where are you guys from? >> california. >> california.

the whole state or one city. >> san jose. >> san jose. a good city to be from. let's see what we've got for you today. starting off we've gotten a lot of rain in the pacific northwest, strong storms in the northern plains of again, debby causing problems. heavy rain, risk of tornadoes down there in central florida, record highs, texas all the way up into the rockies. that will continue tomorrow with more showers in the pacific northwest. now we're looking at some showers also in norther i >> good morning. it will be a beautiful day today. low humidity.

>> got that "bucket list" of all these things to do and go to the "today" show. you can check that off now. ler. don't forget any time you need weather, go to weather channel on cable or weather.com online. ann. >> al, thank you. coming up next, matt goes one-on-one with michael phelps as he gears up for london and the chance to be the most decorated olympian ever right after this. ♪ [ male announcer ] food you eat [ sizzling ] is a blt. but food you love ♪ is a blt with hellmann's. nothing tastes like it. made with real ingredients like cage-free eggs and exceptional oils and vinegar ♪ for the unmistakable taste that can only be hellmann's. bring out the best.

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male swimmer to qualify for the olympics. i recently caught up with the 16-time medal winner who has his sights set on even more in london. >> michael phelps, new world record! >> for michael phelps his journey to the london olympic, it's the beginning of the end of an epic career. >> he'll stand alone in olympic history. yes! >> at the age of 26, michael is preparing for his fourth and what he says will be his last olympic games. a culmination of over 15 years of competitive swimming. it all began here. what you've done didn't come without a lot of blood, sweat, tears. a lot of tears were spilled right in this pool. >> there's been a lot of yelling, a lot of screaming in this pool.

there have been a lot of great moments to come out of here to help me do the things i've done in my career. >> a virtual unknown heading into the sidney games in 2000, michael was just getting his feet wet as an olympian. but by 2004, he was already a headliner and linked to another famous olympian, mark spitz whose 36-year record and seven gold medals in single games seemed impossible to beat. but it was in beijing where michael's career exploded as he won an unprecedented eight gold medals, shattering spitz's record. coming down from the biggest hive his career wasn't easy. michael admits the last four years have been the toughest for him, both personally and professionally. >> you see a lot of athletes go through ups and downs, a lot of olympic athletes do, post

olympic depression. you're so up on this big competitive level. then after that you just fall off. you have four years to build up and you're at this peak. then you just kind of roll down the hill. >> you say you let yourself go, and you admit it. >> yeah. i literally didn't come for six months. i would come for a week or two straight and then take two weeks off. >> during the time you were going to practice, not going to practice, not taking it seriously, why didn't you quit. >> i had made the commitment to not quit. at that point i was more than halfway there. there was no turning back. >> it was about that time that that picture surfaced. that was a picture i would imagine shook your family up, shook you up. what was the immediate impact of that picture where you're sitting there with the bong. >> embarrassment. i think the worst thing is i hurt so many people around me. i'll be the first to admit i made a lot of mistakes in my life. it's a huge learning experience,

i've made a lot in my career. they all lead up to be a better person. >> when you're done with london, which you say are going to be the last olympic games, are you worried here we go again. there's going to be this enormous crash and letdown and how are you going to handle that? >> i don't want to say there's no shot, but i don't think it's going to be anywhere on the level that i've gone through. being able to come to a closure in my career, i just don't see it happening. >> for now michael says he's more relaxed than he's ever been heading into olympic games. and physically much stronger. >> leading into 2000, '04 and '08 we were focused on a lot of volume. it's not about going out and swimming 15 events. it's about going out and capping off a career. i think if you him today, is he prepared to be as good a swimmer as he was in beijing, i would have to say no, because we

haven't done the volume of swimming. you ask me has he prepared to be a person than in beijing? without question. he's at a better place in his life and more grown up. >> michael credits his other coach, his mother debby, to getting him where he is today. >> we have to talk about your mom, kind of a quiet hero in all this, but sometimes not so quiet. what has she meant? >> the world. you know, she has been there every step of the way. good times, bad times. she always puts in her two cents. she has the right to. she's my mother. i love her to death. she's the most important person in my life. >> i was talking to mike and said, tell me about mom. what does she mean to you? he used two words. he said the world. >> he's given me the world. in so many ways.

not only his successes, but what he brings to people. he's a kind soul that has, i think, captured the world, that has made a mark in history. >> if michael wins three medals, that mark in history will be as the most decorated olympian of all time. have you been keeping a journal? >> i have. >> that's unusual for you, right? >> i don't really like to write that much. but you know, being able to look back at all the memories i've had, i think it's better if i write them down. >> what do you want the last entry in that journal to say. >> i've done everything i ever wanted to. i don't care what anyone else does. if i can say my career has been a success, that's all that matters. >> by the way, michael phelps and ryan lochte will be back in the pool in omaha, nebraska, tonight. you can catch the u.s. swimming trials 8:00, 7:00 central time right here on nbc with

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right? get. out. exactly! really?! [ mom ] what? shut the front door. right? woop-woop! franklin delano! [ male announcer ] hey! there's oreo creme under that fudge! oreo fudge cremes. indescribably good. the duchess of cambridge has become a fashion icon worldwide known for making frugal choices when it comes to her word robbery. now look at how much eye catching outfits cost.

michelle kosinski is at buckingham palace with more. good morning. >> ahead of royal financial information released public, the british press released estimates of how much kate's gorgeous clothes have been costing. but more surprisingly, who has been paying for them. from day one, a delicate line between commoner and future queen shopping in regular stores, bargains, using discount cards. her dress cost $80. she got this secondhand even borrowed one for mom. studded with big events, this one, this one, this, too, each worth more than $1500. these shoes $800. pretty in pink came at a price of around $10,000. kate did interestingly wear it twice in less than two weeks. the top british fashion house,

alexander mcqueen. who is paying for it? not kate or will but prince charles. nice of kate to teach him to iron earlier this year but he's funding her sartorial career. detailed expenses being made public this week made their own calculations that kate's clothes for this year alone came up to around $56,000. is it really possible? >> princess diana in her official duties in the first year of her official time as a princess would have spent even more money. i actually think kate has been quite frugal. though it sounds like an awful lot of money, in terms of what she's got to do, it's not. >> reporter: but kate is not exactly at the top of the royal pecking order. there she is courtesying to priscilla. the queen made changes to royal order. she outranks sophie but not

so-called princesses of the blood, they of the creative hats. unless with william, kate would precede them, which would all change down the road, of course, when kate becomes queen. royal experts say kate refuses to take freebies from designers and insists on paying what everybody else has to pay and declined the palace's offer to provide her with a stylist or dresser. looks like she doesn't need much help. ann. >> thanks. just ahead "today's" professional tackle hot topics, should your city sell space on manhole covers. jimmy walker on his new book called ". >> dynamite. >> coming up after your local news and weather. good to have you back. not financially. so we switched to the bargain detergent but i found myself using three times more than you're supposed to

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8:00 on tuesday morning, 25th, 2012. we say hello to a lot of really nice people. even though it's 74 degrees, balmy outside this morning. we have a lot of warm smiles. i'm here with matt lauer and al roker, i'm ann curry. >> you don't often see a coat on june 26th. >> a little nip. we've got to hug people as we go. meantime, it is also a tuesday, which means we have "today's" special. >> one of the topics we discuss

with star dr. nancy and donny this morning, the school bus monitor so brutally abused by boys on her bus. supporters have now donated over $650,000 to her. talked about that with her yesterday on the program. so what should she do with that money? well, they are going to weigh in, see what you think. >> also coming up, we have the luminous emma stone in the next half hour. she's the star in the new movie of the amazing adventures of spider-man. the thing about this movie, spider-man is a story we know really well. this movie is revelatory, in part because of the relationship between peter parker and gwenn stacy. she's played by emma stone. >> luminous and revelatory.

>> that's how much you liked the movie. >> i did like the movie. >> we've got a star of the '70s, jimmy "j.j." walker, dynamite guy. >> that cap, i wear that today. >> i think you have that hat. believe it or not he's never seen an episode of "good times." >> why? >> he'll explain it. >> natalie at the news desk what a check of the headlines. >> good morning matt and al. good morning, everyone. debby is barely a tropical storm this morning but it threatens to dump another 15 inches of rain in central and northern florida over the next few days. that's on top of the more than one foot of rain that's already fallen flooding homes and highways. the governor has declared a state of emergency there. nbc news has exclusively obtained an audiotape in this the adopted son of convicted child molester jerry sandusky speaks to police.

matt sandusky describes in graphic detail how he says he was sexually abused by the former penn state assistant football coach. >> withlike the showering, the you hugging, the rubbing, talking to me, the way he spoke. >> after years of denying abuse matt sandusky said he was coming forward now so his family would know what really happened. once considered a cold case, a reopened police investigation in connecticut determined actor dylan mcdermott's mother was killed in 1967 by her then boyfriend, a gangster, now dead. the case was reopened after mcdermott recently raised questions about her death to officials. police say they have enough evidence to prove he killed her. here is what's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." brian. >> hey, natalie, good morning. coming up tonight we'll update you on a story we brought awe few weeks ago.

a mother's fight for her daughter. she took on the government to save her dying daughter and she won. a big breakthrough especially where bone marrow transports are concerned. we'll have the story tonight. for now, natalie, back to you. >> thank you, brian. now for a look at what's trending today. a quick roundup of what has you talking online. another video by barak, makes the president sing and rap. in this spoof, a spoof of justin bieber's "boyfriend." ♪ >> the clippard racked up more than 100,000 hits on youtube. just call them the real life wedding crasher. they were posing with their wedding party on a small dock in michigan when, you guessed it, the dock collapsed. everyone fell into the lake. no one was hurt.

it was nice of the whole wedding party to take the plunge with the bride and groom. some memorable photos. hot on youtube, this terrified dad can't go along for the ride as his daughter drags him onto a roller coaster in dollywood, tennessee. >> oh, my god! >> you heard the dad vow, never again, grace elizabeth. you know it's bad when he uses the full name. he may be brave. when she wants to go again, he gamely agrees. anything for his little girl. maybe not that ride at dollywood. it's 8:05. let's go back out to matt and al. >> not everybody wants to go on a ride like that. i give him credit for being willing to go back again. >> what a great father. >> what he's better, he's actually showing his daughter how to scream like a little

girl. that's the best part. >> we should take him to all the big roller coasters in the country and film him on every one. >> our roller coaster correspondent. >> all right, great. natalie, thank you very much. mr. rourke, it's turning into a nice day. >> i can't take it. >> here in the city. >> that's love. anyway, let's show you what we've got as far as today is concerned. again, tracking tropical storm debby 85 miles west of cedar key, crawling. 45-mile-an-hour wind. the big problem is slow track, doesn't make landfall late wednesday into early thursday. rainfall amounts locally in northern florida, we could be looking at 15 inches more on top of what they have already gotten in rain. that's going to cause massive >> good morning. we had a cold front go through last night that dropped the temperatures into the 50's.

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♪ we're back now at 8:10 with "today's" professional. star jones, dr. nancy snyder, donny deutsch. they are here to tackle the topics of the day. good morning. let's start with the subject a lot of people talking about, karen klein, the 68-year-old bus monitor who was brutally verbally abused by middle school students on the bus. she was on the program yesterday. there has been an outpouring of support to the tune of $650,000 raised on her behalf. so what should she do with this money? star? >> i say pay off whatever she owes on her house, take care of her grandchildren and retire. she's earned it. give a little bit back to

charity. >> a little bit? how much is a little bit. >> tithe something to the church. i think she says she wants to do that. give something back to charity for older women. i think it's a good idea. >> you're handling the brand that is now karen klein. what do you suggest she do? >> here is my question, what was the intention of the money. were most people sending it to her because she needs a vacation? to me, she should do at the end of the day what she wants. i would hope she would take care of herself and give the majority of it to an anti-bullying charity. i think that was the intention. >> maybe $15,000 a year, pay off bills, become financially solvent. then wouldn't it be wonderful to turn some over to the school to start an enduring program. frankly i'd like for her to call for a private conversation with those young people so they can talk. >> is there more to these donations? is this all about feeling sorry for her, sympathy for her, or is there some guilt attached to it.

haven't we all done things we wish we hadn't done to other people? might some people be donating money to assuage guilt? >> i think there is guilt. i think people felt like they saw themselves in the eyes and mouth -- >> i think more pity and outrage. >> i think people -- i have a new word instead of bullying, it's crueling. >> no matter how many times i see that tape, it is so unbearingly painful. those boys should be trotted forward for a press conference. >> don't you sit down and say to yourself, have you ever said or done something that made somebody feel that way. >> let's move on here. a lot of cities across the country are strapped for cash. we all know that. some cities are proposing they actually accept advertising and put it on things like the sides of a firetruck, a police car, a manhole cover to avoid having to raise taxes on people in their city. how do we feel about it? >> it's a very simple answer. if it keeps one more policeman,

firemen, teacher in their job, let's do it. that simple. >> i'm absolutely with them. >> agreed. >> a firetruck goes down the street on the geico on the side, viagra. >> i don't think it will be on the side, butcher stickers. the reality is baltimore had to close two or three fire stations last year. this is putting people in harm's way. if there's no help from the feds and city and state governments can't do and you have to turn to the private sect or, so be it. >> even with a viagra sign, i'd rather have an extra truck with a viagra sign. >> you think cities will sign up. >> if you're helping fellow citizens, that's great. >> we don't have to debate. let's move on. this takes a while to set up. 13-year-old girl in utah. she sees a 3-year-old, total stranger with really long hair. i think the girl had never gotten a haircut. the 13-year-old for some reason doesn't like this concept and she decides she is going to cut off the hair of this 3-year-old. as a prank or out of anger,

whatever. she did it, by the way. what should her punishment be. >> she's already serving some kind of detention. this is a child who seems to have a trouble past. i think the concern now is that the judge said to the mom, if you will cut off her hair, is that right? >> you're getting ahead of me. i was going to ask you what the punishment should be. here is what happened. she goes to court. the judge says to the mother of this 13-year-old, if you'll take this pair of scissors right here and cut your daughter's hair off right here in court, i'll lessen her detention by 150 hours. did the judge do the right thing, an eye for an eye type punishment? >> it's referred to as the shame punishment. in our country it's happening across states a lot right now. what you're trying to do is you're exercising the guidance and control of the court to impact on the kids in the future. in theory. in reality i'm not sure he had the authority to instruct the mother to do it. >> the mother felt powerless.

>> she felt intimidated. >> in the moment the mother did it, cut the girl's hair off to lower the detention, now angry about it in hindsight and filing a complaint. >> she had time to think about it. >> first of all, put the kid in 150 hours of work. another example of this crueling. you can't give into this eye for an eye because where does it stop. does that mean if somebody is murdered under the circumstances to murder the other person. cutting that kid's hair wasn't enough punishment. >> it wasn't just that. let's be clear. this young girl had been part of harassment. she was actually being sentenced for multiple things. >> let me tell you how far she went also. she asked an employee of mcdonald's to give her a pair of scissors. the employee refused. she went across the street to the floor, bought a pair of scissors. >> totally premeditated. >> did she learn anything by having her haircut off, i think not. >> let's stop holding parents accountable. >> sign of the times, in 2016 or

by 2016, the male cosmetics industry will reach $3.2 billion, men being things, not shaving cream and deodorant, talking about tinted moisturizers, anti-aging creams, concealers, powders. how do we feel like this. >> the metrosexual. >> first of all, matt is 5% of that market. i beat you to the punch. >> i want to call it -- metrosexual is a bad term. it's acceptable to groom. >> would you buy these things. >> i don't need much help. >> would you ladies date someone or be attracted. >> no, i would not. >> in terms of creams, fine. >> creams and concealers. >> a turnoff for me. >> creams and moisturizers. >> it depends, a tint line?

>> made me nervous there, didn't know where you were going. >> i didn't realize i was putting it on. >> that's your story, didn't realize you were putting it on. >> you were putting on brown face, baby. >> emma stone is across the studio. would you date someone -- would you date someone who used tinted moisturizer and face cream. >> resounding yes. 100%. >> does that mean spider-man has tinted moisturizer. >> you have to wear tinted moisturizer on camera for men. >> we're talking off camera, weekends here. >> weekend wear, i don't know. i'll think about it. >> thank you. up next, that young lady right there. emma stone, we'll talk about her new movie. always good to have her here. right after this. pain. and two pills. afternoon's overhaul starts with more pain. more pills. triple checking hydraulics. the evening brings more pain. so, back to more pills.

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oreo fudge cremes. indescribably good. back now at 8:20. emma stone has earned a spot on

hollywood's a list with "the help" and ""crazy, stupid love"" now she stars as gwenn stacy in "the amazing spider-man." she first gets his attention after standing up to a bully at school. >> you should go to the nurse. you could have a concussion. >> what's your name? >> i know your name. i just want to know if you know your name. >> peter parker. >> okay. good. >> emma stone, good morning. >> good morning. >> it's sweet to watch that. the relationship between peter parker and gwen stacy is really what helps set this movie, this spider-man movie apart. how would you describe it? >> well, gwen was peter's first love in the comic books. her whole story arc is really wonderful and ultimately kind of tragic.

there's a really deep story to work with, from comic book history. they are first confidantes, wonderful. it was wonderful to get to go back to your first love again. >> also the interesting thing in watching this movie is that as much as we already know about peter parker and about spider-man, we've seen these movies for years, this movie is revelatory. we see something else. how would you describe what we're seeing? >> i think the goal of everybody behind this movie was to really get into the humanity of peter parker and his origins and how being orphaned affects a boy growing up into a teenager and what qualities come out in him. in peter she obviously sees a heroic quality in him before he even becomes spider-man. so there's all these different complicated parts to him that are affected by what happened in his childhood.

that's kind of our way of getting into this. >> peter played by andrew garfield, aka spider-man, proofs again in this movie he has some serious chops as an actor. he says about you, working with emma was like diving into a thrilling twisting river and never holding onto the sides from the start to the end, spontaneous, in the moment, terrifying, violation. the only way acting with someone should be. what was it like acting with him. >> ditto. i can't quite put it as eloquently as he did. it's incredibly kind of him to say. he is someone i have learned so, so much from. as an actor, he's so incredibly present and fluid. yeah, it was an honor to act with him. >> you both were under tremendous pressure for this movie. you sometimes to deal with the

pressure, panic attacks that can sometimes come, you've turned to baking. >> yes. >> i wonder if this is frozen cookie dough baking or kneading the dough, letting it rise. >> i haven't worked with yeast yet. that kind of scares me. no, i actually haven't been baking that much this year. while we were shooting spider-man i was baking a lot. the control factors was very therapeutic, the scientific element to baking. >> things people don't know about you. real name is emily. >> it was taken at the screen actor's guild. i love the name emily. >> if you had not become an actress, you would have been emily and maybe a journalist. >> i realize as i get older, i would love to be an editor. i think i would be better at editing than writing the stories. yeah, that's really fascinating. >> that's a controlling job like the baking. >> controlling. but acting is so different than

that. i guess i kind of like both sides of it. >> one of the things i haven't figured out about you is whether you choose strong women roles, or whether they become strong women because you're doing them as an actress. >> really? >> i don't know. in either case, it's a pleasure. i'm really glad you chose acting. >> thank you. >> if you ever give it up, come on over. >> thank you. >> i want to tell everybody "the amazing spider-man" hits theaters next tuesday july 3rd. just ahead this morning, jimmy walker opens up about his iconic role as j.j. evans on "good times." that's coming up after your local news.

>> live, local, late breaking, this is wbal tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. let's get a final check on the morning commute. >> still recovering from the accident on the west side on the outer loop in the area of baltimore national bike. down to 10 miles per hour approaching reisterstown. all lanes are open, but it is affecting traffic on southbound 795. if you're heading out on southbound 95, just past white marsh, a crash clearing from the shoulder. north out -- northbound -- in

the northeast, route 40 at the laskey is shut down. diddy 95 as your alternate appeared -- take 95 as your alternate. here's what it looks like on a northbound 895. at least these delays are no longer there. we have them heavily due to an accident. but now that is gone. that is the latest on traffic. >> a beautiful start weather- wise on this tuesday. temperatures started out in the 50's in any location. -- many locations. relative humidity is only 54%. the breeze is starting to pick up, northwest at 9. an outstanding day on tap. high temperatures between 76-81.

84 tomorrow, 90 on thursday. mid 90's on friday. >> thank you for joining us. we will have another update

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26th day of june, 2012. a pedestrian. >> i didn't see that. >> wow. >> that was reminiscent of the

revolving door incident. >> i broke my nose. >> there we go. boom. >> i actually broke my nose. >> i'm matt lauer with natalie morales, al roker and old flat nose ann curry. coming up we have a lot to get to. >> that's right. we have jimmy walker. he, of course, was the breakout star of the hit 'n' good times." now he's opening up a new memoir about his iconic role as j.j. evans and his rise as a standup comic. the crowd outside of stay away from the cameramen. they are dangerous drivers. >> also ahead famed chef is here. he'll be showing us recipes from his new book, a collection of his life journey. >> he has had some journey, too. >> he does. an amazing story. >> speaking of an amazing

journey, young man who has been in a wheelchair since he was 2 years old. nobody thought he would walk again. he recently walked across the stage at his high school graduation. it is such an inspirational story and we're going to bring that to you. >> we have a lot to get to. a funny lady, lisa kudrow. coming back for a second season, correct? >> yes. >> just for people who don't know. you are an online psychotherapist. >> well, yes. >> and you give people therapy in three minute sessions. >> she's too board to sit there for 50 minutes and care about other people. >> would she at all qualify for this? >> no. i think she did an online something but she doesn't think you need to be qualified. she's on the web, so who is checking. >> you've got some amazing names

who are participating in this. meryl streep. you analyze meryl streep's character. >> she plays a gay conversion therapist. >> every show needs one. >> we do. >> husband running for office and he's gay but not officially. so he needs to get straightened out. >> plot development. >> turns. >> my mind is spinning. >> ross geller and friends, david schwimmer. you came back to work together. what was that like? >> it was so fun. i had ten seconds before we start up, i don't know what phoebe sees to ross here. >> that's because you do a lot of ad-libbing. >> you don't write. >> we write the outline so we know where the story is supposed to go.

everything meryl streep said, she made up. >> wow. >> same for me, everything i say is made up. >> fun just talking about it. we want to remind people they can catch "web therapy" on showtime and it is the second season. >> come by more often. >> thank you. >> mr. roker. >> let's see what we've got for you weather wise. starting off with today, we're looking at, of course, debby down in the gulf, storms through florida, rain midwest, record highs in the plains. mississippi river, warms up with plenty of sunshine, showers northern new england. more heavy rain through central florida and southeastern georgia. sizzling texas into the southwest, central rockies. more record setting heat. a beautiful day in the pacific northwest with plenty of le >> good morning. it will be a beautiful day today. low humidity.

don't forget you can get that weather any time you need it. head to the weather channel on cable, weather.com online. want to run over again? >> coming up we'll be talking about jimmy j.j. walker and is iconic roll on "good times" and why he never watched a single episode of the show. this is "today" on nbc.

back at 8:37 with the star of one of the most beloved sitcoms of the 1970s.

jimmy walker earned two golden globe nominations for his portrayal of jj. first we'll look back first at the show. in 1974, television audiences across the country were introduced to the evans family on the ground breaking show "good times." james and florida were the hardworking parents, always trying to keep their heads above water in a chicago housing project. there was daughter thelma, son michael and we can't forget their firstborn and his enthusiastic catchphrase. >> dynamite. >> dynamite. >> dynamite! >> pure dynamite! >> dynamite! >> jl j. played by up and coming comedian jimmy walker was the sitcom's breakout star. >> j.j., you're a genius.

>> goofy, loveable, self-described van gogh of the ghetto. j.j. was a high school student always trying to do the right thing. >> they are so sexy, they almost turn me on. >> while the show forced viewers to witness some harsh realities of urban life, j.j. always kept a healthy dose of human or. out with dnn-o-mite. >> good to be on the big show. >> great to have you on the big show. you never sat down and watched an episode of "good times." >> i was always doing something else. aid writing staff as many may know, jay len okay, david letterman, louis anderson. what we did was met all the time. during the time the show was on -- >> what about now? you still haven't? >> never watched it. the people in the street, they

will tell you what you're doing. they will tell you very much. >> most people think of the show, they think of the laughs. the fact of the matter is when it was on in the '70s, there was controversy around this show. some people felt it sent the wrong message. how do you feel about that, even though you never watched it. >> i always felt norman leer, who was our producer did such a good job with it. he wrote, did the thing and was funny. my thing was to be as funny as possible during my time out there. >> your take on j.j., what kind of guy was he? >> funny guy. >> other funny. >> strange to say but that was my only thing. norman would say, don't you see a wider -- no, i come out to do damage. >> you write, someone has to a the pie in the face, on "good times" j.j. took the pie. for some, i was taking too much

of the pie. >> that happens sometimes. what happens, nobody wants to take the pie. when somebody takes the pie, things get bigger, why did he get a chance to take the pie when we could have done it another way. >> with so much attention focused on the show and people looking for some kind of message, did you get caught up in the controversy that the show was, perhaps, portraying this character in particular in the wrong light. >> not at all. i was not involved in that. being a hard core standup working clubs, i never even thought about that. never thought about controversy. i worked with controversial people at the comedy places like richard pryor robin williams. >> there was issues, hypertension and its prevalence in african-american men was tackled. there was another where the lack of education commitment for kids in the ghetto was tackled. in make ways that particular

subject was your own personal story. >> i was never a highly educated person. i went to school right here at clinton. what happened was they did it in a bad way. they passed you through until you get to your senior year. then you went to the guidance counselor to find out how many credits you really had. i went in my senior year and the guidance counselor says, you are way behind. i decided to relieve myself out of duty. >> did the show come for you out of luck? were you in the right place at the right time? >> i always thought i was very good. what i thought happened was i was in the right place at the right time and i took advantage of that. all my guys i started with from david brenner to bette midler, all those guys had gone ahead of me. klein, woody allen, all those people. i figured why not me. so finally it happened. >> has the show always been a blessing for you, or the 487,000th time someone on the

street comes up and says, say. yn-o-mite. >> not a burden. so many people dislike you. when somebody likes anything you do, you go, yes, finally. i have that on my app. a new app, 99 cent, jimmy walker, the original app. get that app, 99 cents, you can't miss it. >> that way futures the app you don't have to ask jimmy on the street. >> this weekend at the mohican sun. thank you for having me. appreciate it. >> the book is called "dyn-o-mite." >> i'm ready, my wayne tasting, ready to go. >> the chef shares some of his favorite recipes. but first this is "today" on nbc.

back at 8:45, what's for dinner. one chef's journey. he writes about his life and passion for cooking in his new book called "yes, chef, a memoir." good morning to you. >> i'm excited to be here. today is a big day for me. the book is coming out and i get to cook for you. >> one of the things about the book, it talks about your life. it starts in the book with you walking 75 miles with your mom and sister, all three of you with tuberculosis. you lose her. you become an orphan, become adopted. you move to sweden by a swedish couple. now you became a world famous chef. >> yes. >> how did you in all of this discover your love for cooking? >> well, you know, that walk, my mother taking me and my sister to the hospital. we got lucky enough to be adopted in sweden. it was in sweden my grandmother

taught me how to cook. my mother, wonderful mother, but she did not like to cook. but when she did cook, one of her favorite recipes, cabbage rolls. do you like cabbage rolls? >> i've never had them the way you're doing them. >> lamb, veal, pork mixed up. could be rice. use a thickener. >> you want to soften them. >> how long do you keep them in the water. >> cook them two or three minutes, then put the mixture in the middle, add a little bit of spice. we talk about spices. >> garlic. >> garlic and cumin, marjoram and mint. >> that's interesting. >> just nice and refreshing. >> once you've mixed that up. you put that inside of the cabbage roll pieces and roll them up. >> roll them up. >> and use toothpicks to keep them together. >> look like this. >> this is the way your adopted mom used to make them. >> she had a fas version as

well. it's funny when you say my adopted mom. we just said mom. me and my sister just said mom. our family was so mixed. i have cousins that were korean, my parents were white. me and my sister were black. we're just a mixed family. >> how did that inform your cooking, do you think? >> i think i'm lucky enough to have three things, africa, ethiopia, sweden, canadian, new york and harlem. i just feel like add red rooster right now, the scene is really an image of all of those three countries, you know. >> informed you food as well. >> yes. >> your use of spices which i envy because you really know what you're doing with spices. now you put these on the -- you're going to cook them in here. >> put them on a tray, bake them in oven, put syrup on top. they come out wonderful, beautiful like this. then drizzle sauce on top of this. you know what, we have some already lined up we can take here in the back. back here we've got my grandma

helga's meatballs. >> helga was the one that got you into cooking. >> she definitely is the one that got me into cooking. in the book i talk about my first rituals of cooking in helga's kitchen. could be simple dishes like making meatballs or ginger snap cookies, things like that. that's what helped me to go to kitchens in france, all over europe, switzerland. "yes, chef" talks about the journey. a kitchen can be highly emotional workplaces. for nonchefs it sounds crazy what's going on in the kitchen. for us chefs, all you say back is yes, chef. >> the name of your memoir. a fascinating look at a life well lived that brought you to such greatness. thank you so much for being with us this morning. i can't wait to attack your food. coming up next, a high schooler who defies the odds by walking across the stage at his

graduation. but first this is "today" on nbc.

we are back at 8:51. a teen against tough okay stack else accomplished a goal. jenna has the story. how are you?

>> good morning, matt. a high schooler who became a celebrated surfer. when we first met him three and a half years ago he was 14 at the time. patrick, who has been in a wheelchair since he was two, said his dream was to walk across the stage at a high school graduation. it's been one remarkable journey every since. catching a wave with patrick on top of the world. >> feels like i'm flying. >> a sensation especially meaningful for a 17-year-old who struggles to move at all. >> the board, my friends and the water. >> what is your exact injury. >> i'm technically a quadriplegic but just means basically i have impairment in all four limbs. >> it's a miracle he's even alive says his mom jennifer. >> i think back to when the accident happened and how close i came to losing him. >> a parent's worst nightmare. in 1995 when patrick was just a toddler, a car backing out of a

parking space didn't see the young boy. >> i saw the car back directly over patrick. >> patrick, critically injured, was airlifted to the closest trauma center. >> i just remember sitting in the emergency room and praying that i would be able to see him alive again. >> incredibly patrick survived, but his spinal cord was crushed, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. but patrick refused to give up. soccer, tennis, skateboarding, kayaking, patrick tried it. and to top it all, this california kid had one dream that surpassed every other, to ride the perfect wave. >> i went and saw a movie, a surf documentary. >> he was inspired by a star surfer with a similar injury. >> i was like, if he can do it, i can do it. >> by age nine little patrick

was in the water thanks to life rolls on, an organization that helps those with spinal cord injuries participate in action sports. >> can you explain to me how you surf? >> i have a specially adapted board. a team of people, we all go out in the water. >> and with his wheelchair far off on the shore, from the water his team pitches him. for a few incredible seconds, patrick is free. sister sam and mom jennifer help make it all possible. >> he's given 100% every day of his life. >> when we first met patrick in 2009, he was a fearless high school freshman. >> is there anything that scares you? >> nothing really full out scares me. >> and here on "today," patrick told us of his future goal. >> i would like to walk across

the stage at graduation. >> no easy feat. combine unyielding determination with intensive rehab and three and a half years later -- >> you made a promise to us a couple years ago you were going to walk across stage on graduation. how do you feel about that now? >> i feel good. >> an arena filled. >> patrick. >> as patrick stood, so did the audience. a standing ovation of support. >> i'm so grateful wet to this point and we got to reach this huge milestone. >> patrick proving to his family, friends, teachers, and perhaps most importantly to

himself with guts and dreams almost anything is possible. [ applause ] >> as you might imagine, this is not where patrick's story ends, it's actually just the beginning. he's just been accepted to the university of southern california's film program. you guessed it, matt, that was his dream school since he was a toddler. >> he keeps checking the dreams off. i think what's nicest about this as we continue to f >> live, local, late breaking, this is wbal tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. here's a look at one of our top stories. opponents of maryland's same-sex marriage law have submitted more signatures to the secretary of state for the referendum this november. 49,000 signatures were delivered monday as an exclamation point

of overwhelming support. of overwhelming support.

>> welcome back. a beautiful day on tap for us. the dewpoint is inn the 40's. we will make it up to 79 or 80 this afternoon with sunshine and a little breezy. 95 by friday. >> thank you for joining us. we will have another weather