that's the power of german engineering. breaking news. a freight train derails and bursts into flames in columbus, ohio, injuring at least two people. homes and businesses within a mile of the crash site evacuated. hazmat crews on the scene. this morning the latest on a developing story. i feel guilty, the captain of the "costa concordia" speaks out in his first interview since that cruise ship crashed off the italian coast killing 32 people. what was he doing when the ship ran aground? why didn't he stay on board? and tragedy in hawaii. officials call off the search for a 15-year-old boy swept out to sea by a massive wave while on an adventure trip. his heart broken parents will join us to open up about their

son and ask questions about the tragedy today, wednesday, july 11th, twomp. tragedy today, wednesday, july 11th, twomp. 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning. welcome to "today" on wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie. we do have breaking news. that overnight train derailment and explosion in columbus. it happened to the southeast of the hawaii state university campus. >> it shook up a lot of people. witnesses say a huge fireball lit up the sky and a chemical smell filled the air. right now investigators aren't sure exactly what caused that crash. as we said, the area around the site has been evacuated as a precaution. we're going to have the latest on this story coming up just ahead. also ahead this morning

police released the frantic 911 call made after a florida teenager was attacked by an alligator. he lost one of his arms. it could have been much worse. coming up we're going to hear that call. the victim will explain why he has television to change for his survival. a little bit later on, we've all been looking forward to this story around here because savannah is going to go a little top gun on us. >> yes, top gun was the navy. this is my brother, a member of the international guard, a green mountain boy from vermont. i was lucky enough to ride in the f-16 for him and experience what he does firsthand. it is not for the faint of heart or stomach, but boy was i proud of my big brother. >> that's cool. you must have been really sure there was no leftover childhood animosity. >> there may have been but he was on his best behavior. >> good. looking forward to that story. let's get right to the other top stories of the morning. natalie over at the news desk with the headlines. good morning, everyone. we have more on the fiery train

derailment and explosion in north columbus, ohio this morning. hazmat crews are on the scene amid reports of a chemical odor and concernsette may be the fire. one witness saw flames 10 miles around. at least two injuries and residents within a mile of the blaze are being evacuated. trouble in the skies overnight. passengers say they thought they were going to die when severe turbulence slammed an american airlines flight from aruba to miami. two flight attendants and three passengers were taken to the hospital. several others were treated at the gate in miami. meantime another flight had to be diverted to philadelphia after crew members reported feeling ill due to an odor on the plane. twelve people aboard the flight from charlotte to rome were sickened. five were taken to the hospital. congressman jesse jackson, jr., facing mounting pressure to clarify the nature of his medical leave from capitol hill. the democrat from illinois has

been on leave since june 10th citing physical and emotional ailments. new reports say jackson might not return until september if at all. meantime more information will be released at a later date but his son's condition is worse than they initially thought. lance armstrong's legal team has filed a revised lawsuit to block the anti-doping agency's doping case against him. on monday armstrong's initial lawsuit was rejected. the cycling legend faces charges that could strip him of his seven tour de france titles. he has declared he's innocent. three of armstrong's former staff members banned from life after they were accused of doping violations related to the tour de france victory. a major victory for firefighters out west. the most destructive fire in colorado history has now been fully contained. the blaze claimed two lives and

destroyed hundreds of homes as it burned over the last three weeks. now let's head to wall street. mandy drury at the new york stock exchange this morning. hi, mandy. >> hi, natalie. we're hoping to snap four days of losses from the s&p 500 index today. it has been weighed down by global growth as well as earnings warnings at home. today, though, the main focus on the fmoc minutes, minutes of the federal reserve, which will hopefully provide more insight whether or not they are going to provide more stimulus to the economy and whether or not it is indeed needed. the gasoline prices, national average at $3.38 a gallon for regular, that is. that is a few cents higher than a week ago but is also lower than what we were sitting at this time last year, which was $3.63 a gallon. back to you. >> mandy drury at the new york stock exchange. thank you. a man is very lucky to be alive in england after he went flying out of his car's open sunroof when it crashed into a wall. incredibly he emerged without injury. his girlfriend who was driving

the car suffered only minor injuries. it is 7:06, you're up to date. let's turn it back to matt, savannah and al. >> thanks very much. just a quick note, you're gritting through it this morning. savannah has had bit of a migraine you've had a couple of hours now. you're going to be all right? >> is this part of the hazing. >> longer it takes longer than three days to give somebody a headache. >> i came out with my sunglasses and they were like, late night for savannah. >> "breakfast at tiffany's." >> thank you very much. >> hopefully no headaches for you weatherwise unless you're in the southeast. we've got a stationary front laying there for the last week. it's not doing anywhere fast. myrtle beach to birmingham, strong storms, torrential downpours, gusty winds. we have a flood threat for central gulf coast of texas from galveston. looking for a threat of heavy rain, corpus christi to houston, heavy rain in southern florida as well.

anywhere from one to four inches of rain from southern texas to southern florida this mo >> good morning. temperatures in the 70's spirit we expect upper 80's for highs. that's your latest weather, matt. now to presidential politics and the sharpened rhetoric between president obama and mitt romney over the state of the economy. nbc's peter alexander is in houston where romney will speak at the naacp convention a little later today. peter, good morning to you. >> matt, good morning to you. the naacp, of course, is the nation's oldest civil rights

organization. romney can expect to face a skeptical audience here. four years ago then candidate obama won 95% of the african-american vote but romney is hoping this community will take a listen to his policies today. meanwhile the president and romney have been going back and forth exchanging fire over everything from taxes to who is most to blame for shipping jobs overseas. >> we tried it their way through multiple last decades, and it didn't work. >> reporter: president obama campaigning in the battleground state of iowa. >> this old style liberalism of bigger and bigger government and bigger and bigger taxes has got to end and we will end it in november. >> reporter: mitt romney campaigning in the battleground state of colorado. new polls show the race is dead even. romney chose colorado where the unemployment rate is 9% to dismiss the president's call to let the bush era tax rates

expire. for americans making more than $250,000 a year. >> so at the very time the american people are seeing fewer jobs created than we need, the president announces he's going to make it harder for jobs to be created. >> reporter: the president shows iowa where the unemployment rate is well below the national average at 5.1% to defend his proposal. >> to give me another tax break, or to give warren buffett another tax break, or to give mitt romney another tax break, that would cost -- that would cost about a trillion dollars. >> reporter: president obama continued to raise questions about romney's business record at bain capital. >> governor romney has experienced owning companies called pioneers in the business of outsourcing. >> reporter: for the first time tuesday romney pushed back calling mr. obama's claims false and tried to shift attention to the president's record. >> this president has been outsourcing a good deal of

american jobs himself. if it's an outsourcer in chief, it's president of the united states, not the guy who is running to replace him. >> reporter: meanwhile the president's half brother, george obama, who lives in a poor neighborhood in kenya makes a film debut and soon to be released documentary by a harsh critic of the president. tries unsuccessfully to get george obama to talk critically about his half brother. >> the theme of the articles was that obama had not done anything to help you. >> i think as a family, a brother, i should help myself. he has other issues to deal with. >> taking care of the world but shouldn't you start at home. >> he's taking care of me. i'm part of the world. >> reporter: back to mitt romney now, there's heavy speculation he would announce a running mate as early as this month, well in advance of the republican national convention.

the thinking being he would use that running mate to help raise money now to compete with president obama in the general election. but yesterday he was asked that very question on the trail in colorado and he couldn't have been any more vague saying he will make that decision down the road. >> whatever that means. all right. peter alexander, thank you very much. it's now 11 after the hour. here is savannah. >> matt, thanks. a lack of cash led to drastic measures across the country. the latest extreme in scranton where city has cut pay to minimum wage. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, savannah. imagine suddenly and without warning losing half of your pay or more and getting paid $7.25 an hour. that's what happened to hundreds of city workers in scranton, police officers, firefighters, city hall staff. the union sued. a judge ordered the mayor to pay them their full wages, but the mayor says he just doesn't have the money.

firefighters insist they will answer every call but these days they feel betrayed by a city that has cut their pay as much as 75%, down to minimum wage, $7.25 an hour. >> i can go down the street and scoop ice cream that a high school kid is making $7.50 an hour doing. i have firefighters running into burning buildings at $7.25, police officers fighting with criminals in the street, absolutely ludicrous. >> scranton's 400 or so municipal employees all agree. all had their pay slashed friday. this employee used to take home about $900 every two weeks, now he gets $340, just about what his mortgage costs every month. >> i don't want to lose my house. >> reporter: scranton's statistics are grim, 9.2 unemployment, 42% poverty rate, an old industrial railroad town,

known in better times as a tv series where "the office" is set in a modern industrial park. it now faces red ink. the lawyer insists he had no choice but to slash employee pay, even though a judge ordered him not to. >> the state doesn't have any money. the federal government doesn't have any money. unfortunately those two governments are different than the cities. tomorrow i've got to pick up the garbage. tonight the police cars are out there. >> reporter: scranton is not the only city desperate for cash. chicago and boston are considering taxes tax exempt nonprofits like universities and hospitals, fees for city services. in san diego and san jose last month, voters approved cutting city workers pensions. baltimore may sell ad space on the side of its fire trucks. back here in scranton, the unions are hoping the judge holds the mayor in contempt of court and starts imposing fines and penalties if he doesn't pay the full wages.

it's money the mayor insists he simply did not have. so the standoff continues. the next payday is next friday the 20th. savannah. >> ron allen in scranton for us. it is now 7:14 and here is matt. >> savannah, thank you. it was one of the worst passenger ships wrecks in history. it killed 32 people. the infamous captain is explain his actions in his first interview since the crash. nbc's michelle kosinski has details on this this morning. michelle, good morning. >> reporter: hi, matt. you may have noticed the ship is still here. salvagers have been working carefully to eventually tow it away. the captain, remember him, just released from house arrest. he spoke last night to italy's channel 5 tv and apologized. and he said when the wreck happened, just as with so many car crashes, that he was

distracted on the phone. the captain faced his angry countrymen, the questions on channel 5 tough. do you not feel the need to say sorry to someone. he answered them. it is normal that i should say sorry, that i should apologize. he became emotional, reminded of 5-year-old diana, the youngest of the victims. this question definite states me, it's terrible. let's leave it, please. he does not accept full blame for the immense wreck. he does admit he was distracted by a phone call. the retired captain was in the process of saluting on the island when it happened, said the navigation at that moment was under another officer's control. it's as if the minds and instruments had a blackout. i feel guilty for having been distracted. that night of january 13th was terror for the people on board as the ship drew closer to the

island for a salute, which he claims his company told him to do the cruise liner struck rock. the divine intervention helped him realize at the last second they were about to crash, so turned the ship and saved lives. in the end i imagined to avoid a frontal impact. still the water poured in and the ship listed. the abandoned ship an hour later. he insists he wasn't told how bad the damage was and didn't want people to panic. and insists he did not intentionally abandon ship before everyone got off. it was like a tremor of an earthquake. the floor gives in and what do you do. the company owned by carnival blames the captain for going off course and badly mishandling of the aftermath. 32 did not make it off the ship

alive. do you think about them? of course. of course. the italian press reporting he was paid $50,000 for the interview, which the attorney denies. when nbc spoke to his attorney last week, he said he was looking to tell his story to the highest bidder. by the way, this ship will likely be here for another year. matt. >> michelle kosinski in italy. michelle, thank you very much. 17 after the hour. once again, here is savannah. >> thanks very much. now a warning to parents, alarming new figures how many children have drowned or nearly drowned this summer. nbc's tom costello at a pool in bethesda, maryland this morning. tom, good morning. >> hi, savannah, good morning. we've got the swim teamworking out behind us here. if you need another reason to make sure you teach your kids how to swim, 77 people have drowned since memorial day, most of them kids. 78 more involved in near drownings. nearly every one, an example of

how a great day at the pool can quickly turn into tragedy. watch closely the surveillance video from a pool in washington state. see if you can spot what the lifeguards and adults missed. a 10-year-old falls off a float and begins to drowned. he's there, head under water. precious minutes pass and no one notices he's on the bottom of the pool. finally after five long minutes, an adult swimmer finds him and pulls him out. it happened seven years ago. lifeguards, paramedics and doctors saved the child's life but he suffered permanent brain damage. >> drowning is quick and it's silent. it can happen before an adult even gets to the pool. it happened so quickly. >> reporter: the numbers are enough to scare any lifeguard. each year 390 kids under the age of 14 die in accidental drownings. 5200 kids require treatment in the er. drowning is the number one cause

of death for kids five and under. in reston, virginia where hundreds of kids crowd into more than a dozen municipal pools every day, 240 red cross certified lifeguards keep a constant vigil. >> i like to count how many people are in the pool so i know if anyone goes down. >> call 911. >> every day at one of reston's pools they conduct realistic drills to keep guards sharp. >> i dove in the pool to swim and hit my head on the bottom. >> one, two, three. >> lifeguarding at public pools has been serious business for decades. ronald reagan himself saved 77 lives at a summer guard starting when he was in high school. >> only takes a few seconds. a child or an adult, experienced swimmer or nonswimmer, anyone can get into trouble at any begin time. >> reporter: it's a message the consumer product safe commission

and red cross have tried to drive home. >> you can never know which pool safety step will save a life. until it does. >> reporter: experts say young children should never be more than an arm's length away from an adult. life rings and floats should be nearby. fence off private pools to keep kids out. use floating alarms to sound a warning should a child fall in. and in public pools, cpr trained lifeguards should never lose focus. the family in washington state was awarded more than $5 million for their child who suffered brain damage. it's just, yet again, yet another message to drive home, teach your kids to swim. savannah, back to you. >> can't say it enough. tom costello, thank you. just ahead the florida teen who lost his arm to an alligator opens up about his harrowing

encounter and why it could have been much worse, but first this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead a 15-year-old boy on a dream tour in hawaii swept away by a powerful wave. his parents want to know exactly what happened and who is to blame. we're going to talk to them. >> first these messages and a check of your local news and weather. ssert. i better skip breakfast. yep. this is all i need. [ stomach growls ] [ female announcer ] skipping breakfast to get ahead? research shows that women that eat breakfast like the special k breakfast actually weigh less. and, with honey kissed whole grains of oats & honey... you'll never want to skip breakfast again. [ woman ] victory is sweet. ♪ [ female announcer ] what will you gain when you lose?

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so i was really aggressive with my parents about joining facebook. my parents are up to 19 friends now? so sad. ♪ i have 687 friends. this is living. what!? that is not a real puppy. that's too small to be a real puppy. [ male announcer ] venza. from toyota. never beat around the bush. you'll just squash the berries. new triple berry newtons. ♪ made with real fruit, 100% whole grain, and fiber. it's one unique cookie. but what about your wrinkles. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. it has the fastest retinol formula available. it's clinically proven to visibly reduce wrinkles in just one week. "why wait if you don't have to."

rapid wrinkle repair. neutrogena®. recommended most by dermatologists. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. residents in baltimore city, and, of county, and howard county are being asked to conserve water. regular water use can lead to a potentially disastrous water main break in baltimore. crews at work to replace three 18-foot sections of pipe. they were using new technology

called a pipe diver. here is sarah caldwell. >> a few things we are tracking this hour. let's get you up-to-date on the accident at bel air, route 23 and conowingo wrote. be careful there. 26 miles per hour on northbound 895. maple run boulevard on 216, getting word of an accident there. 20 mi. per hour on the west side. nothing major on the north side. everything running smoothly out of the northeast. live look at you in the area of potee street. here is what it looks like on the west side. typical delays there. over to you, john. >> partly cloudy skies over us.

to the south, there is rain. that will be the trend during the day today. 73 degrees at the airport. are these winds at 7 miles an hour -- northeast winds at 7 miles an hour. isolated shower, very slim chance for that. it will probably be from frederick last word. southeast winds at 5 to 10 leg.

what am i doing wrong. zippergate. getting dressed. i really wish that had been for show. i had a hard time getting into the flight suit as i got ready to fulfill a lifelong dream to fly in an f-16. get, this the pilot was my brother, a member of the air national guard. coming up, we'll show you an experience i will never forget. good thing is, it's a good thing i wasn't flying the plane. i could not get the zipper on the flight suit up.

>> they call them the green mountain boys from the air national guard. >> that's right. >> were you a little green at the end of the flight. >> i was. there's a happy ending. i did not throw up but i came very, very close. >> i know what's that's like. look forward to seeing this story. also it's happened again. another cheating scandal at an elite high school. this time students are accused of using smart phones to share information about a very important exam. we'll tell you more about that story. then a story that will interest anybody who has got a fear of the dentist. two scientists from yale university claim they have discovered a way to cavity proof your teeth. we'll have more on that coming up. some new questions surrounding the tragic death of a new york teen swept out to sea by a large wave in hawaii. he was on an adventure trip. this morning that boy's heart broken parents will join us to tell about their son, also share some important questions about what happened. >> we're going to begin with the florida teenager opening up about the terrifying alligator attack that cost him his right arm. it's an attack that could have

had a much different ending. nbc's kerry sanders is in palmdale, florida. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: i'm at an alligator farm. it was an alligator much like that one right there that took the 17-year-old victim's arm. language da-- langdale knew wha to do because of reality tv. he and his buddies were just cooling off. this dip in the caloosahatchee river turned ugly. from out of nowhere this 800 pound, 10-foot alligator chased fred as he tried to swim away. but losing ground, fred turned back to face the gator and mimicked what he'd seen professional gator trappers do on tv. >> i grabbed the skin underneath

him trying to control him. he kept going. i pulled his head up and wrapped my legs around him. he went and dove. he started pulling me down. i knew it's either i've got to lose this arm or i'm going to die. >> reporter: his arm trapped the gator went into a death roll. his arm off, bleeding, remarkably aware he swam to shore. >> i took my arm, put it between my legs to stop the bleeding. it stopped before the cops got there. i'm glad it happened to me. if it was one of my friends, i don't think they would have done the same thing and got out of it. >> reporter: his arm gone below the elbow but his humor intact. >> how are you? >> feel like i got my arm bit off. >> reporter: his mother said that's just what she would expect. >> he never has a bad outlook. he said it's okay it's my right arm, i drive my airboat with the left arm.

>> reporter: alligator attacks are rare since 1948 when wildlife officers began collecting statistic, "335 attacks, only two deaths. but experts say it's mating season and that's the worst time to encounter a gator. >> people don't understand it's not a controlled environment like disney land, something like that, not a theme park. this is wild florida. >> i feel good prrd fred langdale feels good right now, for good reason, he's alive. >> i'm glad i'm alive, my buddies are alive. i care less about my arm. >> reporter: the trapper was able to find and kill the alligator that attacked fred. his arm was found in his stomach but couldn't be reattached. if he wait add few hours it wouldn't have happened. the gator had already been tagged as a nuisance alligator and the trapper was scheduled to go out later in the day. the trapper showed up several hours later. so it was really a strange

timing event of this tragedy. but thankfully, savannah, survival. >> he's okay. remarkably good attitude. kerry sanders in palmdale, florida, thank you. now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> all right. thank you so much, savannah. i've heard about dance moms. i didn't know about dance grandmas. there you go. let's see what we've got as far as your weather is concerned for today. it is hot out west. medford, oregon, 99 degrees, 8 degrees above normal. palm springs 112. 98 in rapid city, bismarck, 10 degrees above normal. for today a risk of strong storms down along the southeast and atlantic coast. this stationary front won't go anywhere. a little on the humid side, temperatures in the 80s. look at those temperatures. boise, 102 degrees, same in salt lake city. >> beautiful morning on tv hill.

a beautiful start today. into the 80's once >> savannah. >> al, thank you. coming up next, the heart broken parents of a teenager swept out to sea by a large wave in hawaii open up about their son in an exclusive interview right after this. [ male announcer ] food you eat is a blt.

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blame for the death of a 15-year-old teenager. he was sweat out to sea by a powerful wave while on an adventure trip to hawaii. we'll talk to his parents but first here is nbc's kristen dahlgren. >> reporter: 15-year-old tyler madoff was an avid athlete with a bright future. >> we love you from the bottom of our hearts. >> reporter: captain of his rowing team, madoff was paddling in paradise, kayaking and hiking around hawaii's big island when his tour stopped on this piece of rocky shoreline, the last place tyler was seen alive. >> all i heard was a boom, a hand-shaped wave came up and went clearly over us. we were being pulled, sucked through this little tube. >> reporter: a kayak guide, hired by the tour operator. >> i grabbed the girls right

here. >> reporter: tyler's family called them heroes. while they couldn't stop tyler from being swept away they saved other lives. >> i had one here and here, one on my shoulder and another in my grasp. i blocked the girl with my body. >> reporter: that's when reed noticed another teen, matthew, being swept away. >> i seen him being sucked into that right over here. i ran into the water and i dove off the cliff. he was lifeless. i proceeded to flip him over and do what i, to my knowledge, open water cpr. >> i'm a lot better than when i came in. from what i've heard, i was almost dead. >> reporter: matthew and the guide were reunited. >> good to see you. >> good to see you, buddy. >> reporter: the joyful reunion was marred by the fact tyler wasn't there, too. he said he told the tour leader

not to go to those rocks. in a statement bold earth called it a terrible natural event and said it was ola, pack and paddle, that specifically suggested a hike to that location where they were not permitted to operate and then misled officials and the teen's parents about what happened. for tyler's parents, the questions only lead to anger and sadness. a family that a week ago watched their 15-year-old leave on the adventure of a lifetime now facing a lifetime without him. >> we will carry you in our hearts always. >> reporter: for "today," kristen dahlgren, nbc news, los angeles. >> ola reed was asked about those allegations that he misled officials but said he could not answer questions about that claim. tyler's parents michael and marianne madoff are with us exclusively. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> i know these are the worst possible circumstances and i appreciate you being here. take me to the phone call, 2:00 in the morning last thursday.

that's when you first heard. who was on the other end of the call and what did they tell you. >> the owner of bold earth called our house at 2:00 a.m. and told me, your son is lost. >> at sea. >> no. he just said your son is lost. when i asked him what that meant, he said there was an accident and he had been missing for two hours. eventually when we pieced it together we realized he had been missing for five and a half hours. when then he tried to explain what happened, that there was a freak wave that came, obviously we were just devastated and hopeful. >> michael, i just want to make sure we understand this. your son went on this bold earth teen adventure. they were organizing the trip. as we heard in that piece they often subcontract out to local guide and tour companies, in this case hawaii pack and paddle. >> yes. >> i know it's early, and i know it's only been a few days, do

you think -- who is responsible, in your opinion. >> in my opinion, andrew mork used poor judgment bringing these 12 teenagers to the shoreline. >> he's one of the guides from the bold earth team adventures who went on this trip. >> he's the lead guide, yes. it's ultimately his decision. this young fella ola told us after the backpacking part of the day he suggested to andy to make camp because the swells and surges were too high. as we understand it, there were high surf advisories and warnings and he decided to move on. >> when you look in the area and see the locations of where this happened, it looks like it's some 30, 40 yards in from from the sea. you can understand that's calm sea right there, what might have happened if the seas were rough. >> that's correct.

the height went from the james cook monument onto the lighthouse. had the kids stayed back by the lighthouse, most likely everything would have been all right. >> i know you're also very concerned. you got on a plane, flew to hawaii, arriving there a short time after you got this news a day or so later and were upset by the way you were treated, not greeted by anyone from bold earth. >> that's correct. >> they never came to usher you through this process and be by your side while the search was going on for your son. >> that's correct. in fact, if i may interrupt. >> sure. >> we drove up -- first of all, there was a wonderful woman named malia lewis who did help us in so many years. >> she was from a counseling organization. >> that helps families who suffer from tragedies. >> i know you were concerned you were told a coupl of different stories by this lead guide.

let me read the statement from, the event was a tragic event. hawaii pack and paddle is a professional outfitter paid and permitted to be in full charge of the group. they specifically suggested a hike to that location. hpp's lead guide then led our kids and our staff into the area where the waves struck. what's your reaction to that? >> if i may, we had to drive up north one hour to find andrew mork. the tour continued, which we don't really understand. if it were to continue, i think perhaps they could have brought in other guides. when i found andy on the beach to look him in the eye and discuss what happened, he lied to me. i can tell you why he lied to me. i spoke to him july 5th, 2:30 because the coast guard commander gave me his phone number and said he had given a

statement that my boy was knocked unconscious and i wanted to speak to him. i called him and he told me he was five to six feet from my son and he saw him lifeless before he was taken out. >> when you saw him face-to-face what story did he tell you? >> when i saw him face-to-face, he told me he was 20 feet from my son, and this young man ola was the one close to my son. >> by the way i notice in the statement, i don't see they are sorry. >> they forgot to say they were sorry. they never expressed their condolences. >> tyler was, by all accounts, an exceptional young man. can you tell me a little about him, marianne. >> matt, tyler was amazing. he was an amazing friend. he was an amazing athlete. he was a junior lifeguard, a swimmer, football player. he was a captain of his crew team this year. we're here today because parents

need to be aware of where they are sending their children. teenagers go on these teen tours all the time. we trusted. what we discovered in hawaii, as we spoke to some of the locals, is that often the groups do not check in with local authorities to run their itineraries. this place is okay. this place is not good. this weather is not good. you shouldn't take 14 kids down there. we're just here really to make sure parents inform themselves better, make sure that the group leaders and counselors are better prepared, are qualified to lead teenagers through natural landscapes that can sometimes -- it's mother nature. you have to be better prepared. >> matt, if i may also, malia, who took us around, has five children. she said to us no way these kids should have been out there.

now, the fire department search and rescue people, who were fantastic, and we also came on your show to express our gratitude to them. they cried with us and they are good people. they said to us no way at that time of day with these high surf warnings should those teenagers be on the shoreline. >> i know there are a lot of questions unanswered. i want to tell you i thank you for coming on under these circumstances. thank you so much. it's 7:49. we're back right after this. ♪ [ male announcer ] the inspiring taste of mcdonald's new spicy chicken mcbites. ♪ poppable pieces of tender chicken breast seasoned with just the right amount of spice,

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it's go time. across america, we're all committed to team usa. >> imagine if you could put something on your teeth and never have a cavity again. could it be? two scientists say they have discovered a molecule that can do just that. >> they call it keep 32, the reference to the number of teeth in the human mouth. they say it targets strep streptococcus mutants. they say it can cut down on the number of cavities you have substantially. they are looking, perhaps, to sell the product or patent. >> they thought they could incorporate into mouth wash or toothpaste. >> scientist from yale and university of chile elaborated

on this. >> you know who should buy the patent? denises and destroy it. this will put a hurt on their business. >> destroyed a molecule 2 for flatulence. >> incorporate into products like candy. >> this was going in the direction of news you could use and you took it somewhere else. >> that's what i'm here for. >> they said 12 to 18 months away from a mouth wash. >> local news. simple pleasures can simply hurt. the sadness, anxiety, the loss of interest. the aches and pains and fatigue. depression hurts. cymbalta can help with many symptoms of depression. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens, you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin,

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> still some problems we are tracking. howard county. scaggsville road and fulton, watch for an accident. we have a vehicle fire being cleared at until ford ave. heavier on the north side. we are approaching her ford towards dulaney valley. backs down towards liberty and edmondson. in a little yellow on eastbound i-70. here is a live view of traffic.

update on harford road. that is the pace of things words dulaney valley. we will switch over to traffic on the west side, where we are holding on to those delays towards edmondson. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> we saw the partly cloudy skies on our traffic cameras this morning. starting out nice. at the airport, 76 degrees. barometric pressure has been rising. that is a good trend. east winds at 7 miles an hour. we will keep this a partly cloudy skies. isolated shower. it happens more than likely and will be west. a high-upper-80's for bu speed we look at our seven-day forecast. tomorrow, a similar forecast to today. but the end of the week, friday,

88, 89. humidity goes up for the weekend, and also, storm chance is go up for the weekend, too. is go up for the weekend, too.

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it's 8:00 on wednesday morning, the 11th day of july. it's pretty nice out here in new york. 77 degrees. a little humidity back in the air. a big crowd of people. some of them celebrating the date today, 7/11. got a lot of slurpees in the crowd, which is always a good thing. >> then some drinks. >> that's right. i'm matt lauer with savannah guthrie and al roker. coming up in the next half hour, savannah hitches a ride with her brother. >> i'm so proud of my brother, he's a pilot, f-16 pilot, international guard, green mountain buys as they are called. all my life i've kind of wanted

to slash been terrified to ride in an f-16. and we have this opportunity and we'll show it to you. i'm just so proud of him. >> so cool. can't wait for that. we all have ereaders, you use them. 40 million of them are in use right now. did you know, even though they are convenient, they can be used to track your habits. we'll tell you about that and what you can do to actually -- >> if you finished a book and that kind of thing. >> what parts you get board during. >> what you're reading. >> exactly. we'll talk more about that. before we get to that, let's go inside. natalie has a check of the headlines. good morning, natalie. >> good morning matt and al, savannah, everyone. a train wreck and explosion in columbus, ohio forced the evacuation of homes and businesses within a mile of the crash site. at least two people injured in the derailment. the burning cars contained ethanol and they plan to let it burn off over the next few hours before reassessing the

situation. now to a cheating scandal that rocked a prestigious high school in new york city. nbc's chief correspondent rehema ellis has details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the doors are closed here but an ongoing investigation reveals up to 70 students may have been involved in high-tech cheating. here is the school for some of the country's best. the 3300 students at the high school had to pass a difficult test to get into this prestigious school. now some are facing penalties based on charges they cheated last month on state exams given at the school. authorities say one student was caught with a cell phone in the building, a violation of new york city school policy. checking the phone, officials found a list of text messages to dozens of students that included photos of test pages. >> people have the ability to use new technology to try to

cheat, so people are always thinking of new ways to do things is unacceptable. we're not going to tolerate it. >> officials say 70 students will have to retake the exams. a 16-year-old junior who photographed the test and others also face suspension. the scandals have become more familiar. in december at a top school outside of houston, hundreds of students were suspected of cheating on an exam. several were arrested last year in an upscale long island community charged with using fake ids to take critical college entrance exams for other students in exchange for cash. experts in ethics say students have to learn how to look beyond the pressures to cheat. >> it hurts you above all, because it means that you've gotten something for nothing. cheating is a form of stealing, taking something for nothing. that's why it's unethical. >> reporter: authorities say technology makes it easier for students to cheat, but it also

makes it easier for them to get caug caught. natalie. >> thanks so much rehema. a quick roundup of what has you talking online. after days on speculation the mystery woman pictured with north korean leader has been identified. ones married pop star kim's father refused to let him see despite her hits, called excellent lady. ♪ and in case you wonder what passes for date night in pyongyang, with her forbidden lover, a live performance, mickey mouse and the game. the u.s. state department slamming north korea for the unauthorized use of the disney

character. word online that the final book "mocking jay" will be split into two films. the same winning box office strategy for "twilight" and harry potter series. and nothing left but the crews after sesame scoop "call me maybe" spoof exploded online. ♪ hey me just met you and this is crazy but you got cookie so share it baby ♪ >> cookie monster & company's share it maybe has more than 1.5 million youtube hits this morning. i love it. so cute. 8:05. let's go back outside to matt and savannah. let's go to al actually outside. >> why not? from picayune, mississippi. all right.

what's your name? >> i know a tony jones. keeping up with the joneses. let's see what we've got as we jones for some weather. we'll show you our today's pick city, wilmington, north carolina, showers, thunderstorms, 86 degrees today. you can see we've got that stationary front laying right to the mid-atlantic states all the way back to texas. a lot of rain there. a risk of strong storms in the southeastern atlantic area. plenty of sunshine and warmer conditions, pacific northwest, 82 seattle, 86 portland, nice day in l.a. sunshine. great lakes looking good. 85 in chi-town, 89 and sunny in minneapolis. on 7/11, 50 years ago -- whose birthday today? >> my birthday. 50th birthday. >> happy birthday. >> thank you. >> there's your present. >> his parents must be so proud.

that's what going on a >> good morning. temperatures in the 70's spirit we expect upper 80's for highs. >> want to say hi to your grandma. >> yes. >> over to savvy g. >> al, thank you. coming up next, a lifelong dream fulfilled. a ride in f-16 with my big brother. that's coming up next. ...98, 99, 100! ready or not, here i come!

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one of the great perks of this show is occasionally you get to do something you have always dreamed of doing. savannah got that chance recently. but enough about working with me. this one actually involves her brother. >> yes. it's a little bit better. of course, i am so proud of my family. i have a sibling i think our country can be proud of, too. my big brother cameron is a pilot for the air national guard in vermont. recently he helped me fulfill a lifelong dream and conquer a fear to see and experience what he does up close and personal. soaring the heavens at speeds over 1,000 miles an hour, conquering gravity at dizzying heights and heart stopping lows, if you want to read in an f-16 you need courage, a strong stomach, and in my case a blood relative. >> i'm savannah's big brother. >> that's right. my big brother cameron, as we

call him, the pride of our family and father to anabell and tallulah is an f-16 pilot. he flies fulltime for air national guard, also known as the green mountain boys. part of the unit's dual federal state mission is to provide air defense for the country. they have completed three tours in iraq and were among the first f-16s to arrive over new york city on 9/11. they patrol our nation every day to keep us safe. today they have one more mission, me. call it operation twisted sister. >> i'll be in the front. you'll be sitting in the back. you'll have to use a lot of discipline as far as your communication. >> what do you mean, don't talk so much. >> as cam attempted to brief on the acrobatic maneuver for the flight, my nieces helped prepare me for the inevitable motion sickness. did you ever think i'd have the nerve to do this?

>> no. i'm kind of surprised by it, you know. it's going to be really -- it's going to be good. >> do you think of me as kind of a fraidy cat? >> yes. >> the mandatory training video is not for fraidy cats. >> i'm here to discuss the stresses in flight. >> facial disorientation, phobia. >> a barf bag. >> nausea, claustrophobia, facial disorientation, when do we go. >> you are normal enough. >> normal enough. okay. i'll take it. >> the main job on the flight, other than have fun, what we experience when we go through, is trying to the to pass out. >> the intense gravity, g force that all pilots and passengers are trained to withstand.

g force breathing, check. flight suit, not check. >> you need to tie your shoe. that's not good. you look a little sloppy. >> i was trying to give myself a waist. >> there may be no room for this but accessorizing. >> your name. >> vinnie, family story. it's soon obvious it could have been much, much worse. with my call sign, time for the most grueling part of f-16 training, equipment familiarization. >> your harness, your ring, ejector snap, crew 94. >> z ring, crew 94 under control. but there was one more challenge. one so difficult it takes years of rigorous training to master, the zipper. >> i hope the enemy can wait to get dressed. for crying out loud, 20 minutes for one leg. what am i doing wrong with my technique?

getting dressed. all this stuff and ready to train for what else, the unthinkable. >> eject or bailout, bailout. i want you to immediately put your head back, elbows in and give it a quick jerk. okay? well done. perfect. >> finally a perfect score just in time to meet vermont air guards operational commander, colonel david smith. now is not the time to embarrass your brother, savannah. >> one is sayre defense. this troop is truly defending our borders. >> it's part of what we do, take it very seriously and we're good at it. >> it's the main reason i'm here to experience and show the world all the air national guard does for us every hour of every day. >> how many gs should i pull? >> i would try to nine gs. i would. >> you think i can handle it. >> i do. >> at least it was time to suit up. >> you already done?

>> i am. >> see you in 20 mince. >> but first the good people of the guard had a little gift of encouragement. >> this is my barf bag. >> try to get all you can. another one. >> two? i need two? >> well, this is just in case. >> barf bag tucked away, zipper zipped, finally it was go time. this was it. i felt confident, well trained, and dare i say grateful. >> another elegant arrival. there we go. >> buckled and belted, it was time for takeoff. >> all righty, let's go. >> love you. ♪ >> from the moment we left the ground, it was incredible. we flew high and low and upside

down. the skill of these pilots and my big brother took my breath away. it's amazing. so proud of you. it was awesome. it was awesome. overwhelming, overwhelming. it was only an hour in the air but a memory and a brother i will be proud of for a lifetime. >> we did it. >> we did it. >> all right. let the record reflect, i almost made it to the full 9 gs, 8.8 to be exact. >> round it off. >> it's almost 9. all right. we'll be honest. i didn't pass out. i came close, very close. i did not have to utilize either of my barf bags. i have photograph evidence to prove it. seriously, i want to thank the guard for giving me such a special opportunity. it wasn't just a joy ride. we really learn a lot about what

these guys do every day. >> the fact it's your brother at the controls. by the way, he's a big guy to be in the cockpit of a plane like that. >> he has the family height, 6'4". he barely fits in that jet. one of my favorite moments, you can turn the oxygen to 100% if you're feeling woozy, which i was. at one point i flipped the switch. i didn't feel any better. i was like oh, i flipped the wrong switch. i said to my brother, hey, i flipped some red switch. he said, does it say emergency. yeah. he said, just flip it back. >> at least you didn't pull the eject. >> i think they tell you keep your hands away from anything red. red is bad. >> i was feeling a little dizzy. i looked down. i thought, should i tell him, keep it to myself. >> vinnie? >> i grew up with my uncle, he had down's syndrome, he couldn't say savannah. he called me vinny.

>> or pooter. >> my brother. >> up next, is your ereader tracking you? what you need to know before enjoying your next digital read right after this. with being fed on. we demand k9 advantix ii. it not only kills fleas and ticks, it repels most ticks before they can attach and snack on us. frontline plus kills but doesn't repel. and a tick that isn't repelled or killed may attach and make a meal of us. so let's put our paws down in protest and raise our barks to rally till we all get k9 advantix ii. join us at poochprotest.com. [ male announcer ] ask your veterinarian about k9 advantix ii. [ stomach growls ]

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but this summer, we used our thank youpoints to just hang out with a few friends in london. [ male announcer ] the citi thankyou visa card. redeem the points you've earned to travel with no restrictions. rewarding you, every step of the way. ♪ >> back at 8:22. this morning on "today's" tech, is your ereader watching you. the next time you enjoy a digital book you could be reading messages more than what you're reading. mario armstrong. >> good morning. >> lots of things in this country. >> 40 million of these things out there. that's just ereaders, matt. you start looking at tablets, 65 million. a lot of people are reading ebooks. >> before invented, publishers didn't know what happened to a book once they sold it. they knew somebody bought it. didn't know how many were reading it. >> a copy of your book you picked up recently, "50 shades

of grey." no one knew what you did with it. now all electronic, digital. the same technology that can download a book can track and follow what we do with a book. >> what kind of information? what are companies and publishers learning from my ereader. >> highlighting. i highlighted a couple of notes in here. if i highlight things, you can track that over time. if i put a note, like an annotation, that can be tracked, pages turned. >> in other words, i now know what people like in a book based on what they are highlighting, what they are curious about. >> they have never had this type of data or information before. now they can do things like what they get in future books. >> they know if i don't finish the book. >> absolutely they know it. barnes and nobles came up with nook snacks because people weren't completing nonfiction books. >> everyone talks about not wanting to share information,

not wanting big brother to know too much. is there a setting that i can put on on these ereaders that didn't allow information to travel back in the other direction. >> it's tough. they don't want you to not do that. what i did find was this. for instance, on the kindle, i'm holding upsetings pages. can you turn off public notes or annotations you would back up. these are the notes you would write or highlighting. i can go back a page as well. i can turn off popular highlights. the thing is, this already turned on by default, not turned off. >> are you suggesting at some point based on where we might get board in a particular book that publishers and all the way down to authors are going to start to change the way they write stuff. >> that's part of the concern, too. authors don't want to be dictated by technology. they want to be creative. if this information can give them value that will happen. start to put interactive video where people fall off or games and challenges or other things they can ask the reader to change the way they read or

experience the book. >> quickly, california issued a reader privacy act. what does that involve? >> first day january this year came into effect. basically what this says is you cannot find out information about customers buying ebooks without getting a government court order. >> by the way, a real quick feature you think they should look for on ereader. >> go light. 42% of people are sleeping on the sofa because their partners wanting to read a book at night. glow light great for reading in the evening on the nook device. i checked it out myself. really good. >> mario, always good to see you. >> what are you grog to do with "50 shades of grey"? >> give it to savannah. just ahead the perfect beach body after your local news.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. here is traffic pulse 11 and sarah caldwell. >> we have accident in howard county. fulton, maple what boulevard, 216. that one is still cropping up. guilford avenue, vehicle fire. accident at putty hill ave at loch raven boulevard delays on the north side, heaviest at our ford. we have fire department activity to avoid. harrisburg expressway in great

shape all the way down from the parkton region to the beltway. speaking of the beltway, the pace of things towards dulaney valley. at 63, this is baltimore national pike. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> partly cloudy skies. all the rain is well to our south. something might happen today, but i.t. has a very small chance. temperature-wise, very pleasant, normal range. b.w.i. marshall, 82% humidity. our metric pressure is higher than yesterday, so that is a good trend. partly cloudy skies. an isolated shower, if it occurs, probably from frederick westward. we will see a bit of a warming trend by the weekend. a bit more humid. dry for the next couple of days.

by the time we hit the weekend, we have a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms. >> another update at 8:56. oreo and dunkin' are the perfect match for the perfect moment. enjoy the new oreo coolatta and donut today. america runs on dunkin'.

8:30 now on this wednesday morning, the 11th day of july, 2012. 7/11. drop by the plaza on a beautiful morning. good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie alongside matt lauer, natalie morales and al roker. just ahead an advertisement in a magazine that encourages you to gain weight before going to the beach. >> actually that used to happen,

believe it or not. why has the image or perception of the perfect beach body changed so much over the years? we're going to take a look at that and try to explain. >> of course, savannah has dunk her share of cooking segments on the program that haven't always gone so well. >> could have happened to anyone. >> that's getting a little too much fiber in your cooking. anyway, we decided to call in an expert, martha stewart, to give savannah a little lesson this morning. >> aka, an intervention. >> i think this is more like the hazing continues, right? >> also coming up, jill martin is here. she's got some more fabulous fun finds. look at those great shoes. those are fantastic. show you how to personalize some great gifts. first we want to say hello to beautiful and talented actress from "slumdog millionaire." you have a new movie. for the first time you are the female lead. how does that feel?

>> it feels great. i've wait add long time for this. i got the opportunity and grabbed it with both hands and went for it. >> based on a thomas hardy novel. >> roman polanski's version with the amazing actor. a classic novel and appreciated movie as well. it was daunting. >> what was the shoot like? most of it was in india. >> it was in india, northwest india. a bit of it in hawaii. it was very challenging, nothing like what i experienced growing up, a whole different like. >> didn't have you to learn a new dialect? >> i did, a new language every 100 kilometers changing. i had to adapt myself to that one particular place where my character grew up. >> we all remember and love you from "slumdog millionaire."

we like to take a little credit for how well it did. >> cheerleaders. >> you pick these roles. is that still going to be the role, the one that's hard to beat? >> i think exposure, no film like that, so loved. people remember it, even though i'm done wit. it's dear film to everybody and a dear film to me. the way i look at it, this is my stepping stone. i have other places to go from here. >> thank you so much. we want to remind everybody, opens in select theaters friday. >> yes. >> mr. roker. >> let's see what we've got weather wise for you, a beautiful day in the northeast. we do continue to see rough weather for our friends in the southeastern atlantic states, gorgeous day pacific northwest. temperatures mid to upper 80s. the heat continues through the southwest. tomorrow slight risk of storms in the upper mississippi river valley, still wet in the

southeast, sizzling in the southwest, hot into texas. warm conditions and a little more humidity here in the >> beautiful morning on tv hill. a beautiful start today. into the 80's once >> don't forget any time you need your weather, check out the weather channel on cable, weather.com online. now, let's head on down to nah and say hello to big willie scott. >> once again from the nation's capital, one of the most beautiful cities in the whole world and it's all yours and

mine. it belongs to all of us. i was born here. how about that. esther battey from california, 100 years old today. enjoys doing crossword puzzles and spending time with her grandkids. a nice combination all the way around. virginia kennedy, sweet virginia from crocket, texas, 100 years old. she has a secret to longevity. you know what that is? lots of cake, pie, and ice cream. is that my kind of person. i love her. and here is sam darcy. he is from port orange, florida, 104 years old today. always smiling and loves to dance with all the ladies and all of his friends. oh, boy. how sweet it is. the lovely janet vance from mystic, connecticut, one of the truly charming towns in america. she's 100 years old today. taught latin for more than 30 years.

she could help me with my latin for sure. a birthday buddy manuel panlillio. loves to watch sports and is the life of the party. people love to have him come by and visit. can't beat that. now here is frances crowdus, louisville, kentucky, home of the kentucky derby. 109. says she owes her longevity to her faith in the good lord. that's it from our nation's capital. come see us. >> thank you. up next, martha stewart gives savannah a much needed cooking lesson. we'll get to that but first this lesson. we'll get to that but first this is "today" on nbc.

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on "today." if you're looking for a simple way to entertain this summer, martha says all you need really is a few old jelly jars. martha, what you can do with a few old jelly jars, the rest of us may not. >> there's jelly jars, ball jars, kerr, with tight fighting lids so they won't leak. it's a nice way to package up a picnic. a nice way to have portion control in your refrigerator for all these things. we have a drink of sangria jar. such a cute thing. a self-contained dish. >> all starts with the drink. why not? >> i got this idea from a place in sag harbor, long island. a wonderful gourmet takeout shop. i saw them packed in a jar and thought i'm going to do that. we have elaborated on the idea.

drinks very important on the picnic. if you don't want it spilling all over the place. a bottle of white wine. >> i would think of sangria with red wine. >> it's totally refreshing with white wine. lots of fruit. we have pineapple cut up, apricots. apricots are in season. peaches. can you put citrus fruit. ginger adds a zip. >> mint. >> you can throw the mint in. >> the mango. >> papaya, honey. >> let it sit? >> at least an hour. you have to have half a cup of cuantro, gives it that citrusy flavor. put it in the refrigerator. >> or let it sit out? >> no, refrigerator, lit it sit,

macerate. the bean salad is nice, too. this is easy. in a little safflower oil. two cans of pinto beans, red beans, whatever you want. black beans you can do. you mash these as they cook, warm up and start layering in the jar. >> seven-layer dip. >> mashed beans, cheddar cheese, green peppers. can you put a little bit of cucumber, tomato, onion. of course delicious avocado mash. >> how do you make it look nice. >> keep layering it. there's a special funnel i use with jelly. i forgot it today, of course. it's a wide mouth funnel, drop things in the jar. mash avocados with jalapeno peppers. you're making kind of a guacamole, sour cream. >> i'm stirring here.

how am i doing. >> you're doing fine. as they cook, they will get softer. lemon juice. mash this all up and you get this delicious kind of guacamole. you can keep it in a bag like that but squeeze it right out of the bag into the jar. this is another -- i think you cut off. >> almost like a pastry bag. >> a funnel. this is another neat way to do things if you want to. put it like this. a little sour cream on top of that. >> some chips and you're good to go. >> tightly covered but refrigerated. >> keep it in the cooler. >> i serve this a lot. so start in a jar like this. a wide mouth jar you can eat right out of. or a narrow jar, dump it out on a plate and looks really good.

lettuce, hard boiled egg, tomato. season as you're layering with salt and pepper. you have some olives you want to add to the jar. >> the oil packed? >> i love the oil packed tuna. mix in a jar of vinegarette with shallot, mustard, vinegar and shake this up and make a very tasty vinegarette. >> do you put that into the jar? >> put a little bit in the tuna just to make it moist. this is that wonderful wine caught tuna packed. it's expensive but certainly worth it for a salad like this. then you add a little bit of this to your salad. make it as large as you think the appetites will be. see how pretty and cover that. >> 30 seconds for desert. >> okay. this is an espresso mousse which you make ahead of time, pack it in the jars very neatly like that. then when you get to your

destination, you can carry some whipped cream in a jar, a little bit of cocoa like that on top and a dollop of whipped cream served like that. it's so pretty, don't you think? >> yeah. you make it look beautiful. >> it's so easy. >> so a good thermos, some sort of cooler, lots of ice packs and you can enjoy your picnic all in jars. >> all in jars. just putting things in jars. >> yes. >> this i can handle. >> a present for you. i brought you a dozen jelly jars. those are for you to start practicing. >> i'll eat for a month. maybe not. thank you. coming up next, putting on weight to get that perfect swimsuit body? the ads that may change the way you think. first this is "today" on nbc. [ male announcer ] now at your neighborhood subway:

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season means slimming down to get that perfect bikini body but it hasn't always been that way. mara schiavocampo is here to explain that. good morning, mara. >> good morning. imagine ads saying to pack on the pounds for the beach. there was a time when bigger is better. the bikini body flaunted by celebs, celebrated by magazines, immortalized on screen. when it comes to fun in the sun, fit is fab. there are no shortage of products to get you there. from diets to supplements. >> you can change the way you look. >> to a bikini boot camp. >> want that bang. they want nicely toned arms, lines in their abs. they want to get rid of the sell light on their legs, nice round

booty. ladies want to be in shape and they want to be toned in their bikini. >> reporter: but it hasn't always been that way. once upon a time advertisers urged women to gain weight before hitting the beach. yup, gain weight. these decades old prynne ads that appear to go as far back as the '30s are for weight gain products promising to put on extra pounds and inches of healthy flesh. why be skinny under a picture of a buxom pin-up girl. asks left out of seaside fun because you're skinny? this one from 1943 promises by using their product, girls with naturally skinny figures can add five pounds of solid flesh in one week. >> 100 years ago being a bigger girl, being a bigger woman meant you had vitality, that you were healthy, that you were wealthy and that you were free of disease. but things have changed dramatically from then until

now. >> reporter: the ideal beach body has evolved through the years. look at stars like bridget bardo, halle berry. in these ads one thing is clear, thin is definitely not in. one woman proclaimed, there is no excuse for being skinny. another ad features a man telling his dancing date, you sure are popular since you put on that curvy weight. >> i think women will look at these ads and think, i should have been born at a different time. >> a different time with very different standards. >> now, the women in those ads look much more like the typical woman of today. today the average woman is bigger than that but models we see in magazines and newspapers are smaller. >> like a world upside down. >> those were the good old days. >> mara, thank you very much. still ahead technology, gadgets and apps for toddlers, tweens and teens. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

this morning on leonard's look, mike leonard catches up with a familiar face. a man who could have been down for the count but instead made an epic cross-country journey. >> reporter: from the san diego coastline, he headed east to the mountains and the valleys, the forests and the deserts. on noisy city streets and quiet

country roads. sometimes by himself, but more often surrounded by an ever changing roster of friends and supporters. the destination, st. augustine, florida. the distance, 3,129 miles. >> close to home. >> a suburban chicago resident and married father of four is a quadriplegic. after fracturing his spinal cord in a bicycle accident five years ago, he wasn't supposed to walk, let alone ride again. but sheer will power. >> if you think you're done, you're done. >> coupled with treatments at institute of chicago put mark back on his feet. a few weeks ago i chronicled his ascent to the top of the tower. a tough uphill going, weathering all kinds of adversity including an accident that caused minor

injuries and time consuming equipment repair. yet he pressed on through the challenges, the setbacks and the constant reminders of how life used to be. but he's here smiling. >> mike, considering where i came from, you look at this. i'm out on a bike ride on a tuesday afternoon with a bunch of my buddies. yeah. i mean, that's not all bad. >> reporter: an amazingly positive outlook that astounded katie, hired to document the journey on video. >> i say to people not just what he's doing but how he does it. >> he maps the route, preps bike and first aid was equally inspired. >> i can't think of one morning he hasn't gotten up and said it's a beautiful morning. >> reporter: and then there were people they met along the way. in louisiana, cajun country, a

long time acquaintance of mine recruited his cousin and other family members to treat mark and his fellow riders to a taste of their culture. the rich french infused culture set in stone by their ancestors exiled to the louisiana swamps two centuries ago from what is now the canadian maritimes. live in the swamps. >> you can sit and feel sorry for yourself, what good would that do? nothing. >> any personal tragedy or anything of that nature, you have a choice. you either take what you have and make the best out of it or you just give up and surrender. >> after riding the last mile of the journey with some members of his family, he reached the st. augustine, florida finish line after 76 days on the road. his story didn't make a denton the national news front, which is too bad, because it's a classic american tale of courage in the face of adversity, of

people helping each other. and in the end -- >> makes you feel good about the state of the union. >> reporter: for today, mike leonard, nbc news. >> wow, beautiful story. >> so important when you hear him say -- the guy said he never saw him wake up a single day and not say it's a beautiful day. >> a reminder. >> absolutely. just ahead, what is your guilty pleasure? we are going to reveal ours. keep it clean, too, everybody, i'm just saying. >> first your local news and weather.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. baltimore police are trying to find out what caused cut runs in baltimore paid the person was

treated for non-life-

>> we have been in the 70's this morning. isolated shower. if that happens, probably out west of us. >> we will have another weather update at 9:25. oreo and dunkin' are the perfect match for the perfect moment. enjoy the new oreo coolatta and donut today. america runs on dunkin'.