congressman todd akin say republicans are overreacting to his comments about republicans and rape. this after a phone call from vice president candidate paul ryan asking him to end his campaign. >> hurricane isaac expected to become a full-fledged hurricane as early as tomorrow. look where it could be headed, southern florida, in time for next week's republican national convention. photos surface of prince harry, third in line to the

throne, partying naked in a las vegas hotel room. the story behind his wild night today wednesday august 22nd, the story behind his wild night today wednesday august 22nd, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm savannah guthrie. it's the big political story again. todd akin sais saying he's in the missouri race for the long hall and intends on winning. >> the deck stacked against him. mitt romney and paul ryan think he should exit the race. senator john mccain say his comments astounded him. ahead senator akin speaks out for himself. >> the mysterious death of

natalie wood. her death certificate has been amend to say her drowning also involved undetermined factors. we'll have more on that coming up. we talked about it tuesday with the professionals, a high school value dick tore denied her diploma for saying the word hell. wel weigh the results later on. she will join us for an exclusive live interview. another story we're following closely, diana nyad. how does she feel after she was forced to abandon her record swim from cuba to florida. will she try it again. she's with us for a live interview, her first since ending that swim. >> the political storm surrounding missouri congressman todd akin and his senate bid. we'll talk to him in a moment but first nbc's capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell has the latest on all this.

kelly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt. this is all unfolding within days of the republican party's biggest stage, their national convention in tampa and the most prominent figures in the party have been twisting his arm but unable to get the missouri caidate to go, even though they have warned him control of the senate, maybe even white house is at stake if he stays. spotted tuesday after shooting new campaign commercials at a studio in ohio, the missouri congressman todd akin is sending a message. apologetic in his tv ad. >> for that i apologize. >> defiant on conservative radio. >> i'm in this race for the long haul and we're google to win it. >> reporter: he says he won't go. >> i look at the senate race and i'm worried for you. >> you're almost on a lung. >> reporter: he turned his back on the republican party's

biggest names. >> if you were in romney's position, don't you think he may have bid this thing up and made a bigger deal about it than he needed to? why couldn't he run his race and i run mine? >> reporter: akin defined his bruised candidacy as a cause and invoked his deep conventions. >> each of us has to look in our heart to see what, to the very best of our knowledge, is god gives us the light to see the truth. >> reporter: stunned by akin's resistance, a chorus of top republicans shifted from the traditional public nudge to a firm shove telling akin to step aside. conservative host john hannity then took their collective angst. >> all these prominent people, including the presidential candidate of your party is asking you to step aside and you won't listen. >> reporter: home state establishment to the top of the ticket, mitt romney says tuesday his fellow missourians urged him to step aside and i think he should accept their council and exit the senate race.

the senate leader mitch mcconnell even shamed him with this, when the future of our country is at stake, sorry is not sufficient. senator john mccain -- >> very seldom does anything a politician say surprise me. he astounded me. >> reporter: the outrage started sunday when akin talked about his opposition to abortion even in cases of what he provocatively called legitimate rape and his incorrect claim that rape rarely results in pregnancy. now that the party and outside groups have cut off funding, congressman akin says he needs small donors to help him out if he's going to stay in this campaign and finance his way through to november. he says he still has some grassroots support specifically with conservative and religious groups of it's getting harder and harder, matt, for him to keep this campaign going. matt. >> thank you very much. congressman akin is with us this morning. congressman akin, good morning. >> it's a pleasure to join you. >> thank you very much for being

here. before i get to the meat of this issue, let me ask you about a report that surfaced over the last 24 hours, congressman, that your friend and fellow congressman paul ryan, vice presidential candidate on the republican side called you personally to ask you to get out of this race. did that phone call take place? >> yes. paul ryan did give me a call. he felt that i had to make a decision. he advised me that it would be good for me to step down. >> what did you say to him? >> i told him that i was going to be looking at this very seriously, trying to weigh all of the different points on this and that i would make the decision. it's not about me. it's about trying to do the right thing and standing on principle. >> i've been listening to the leaders of the republican party and political pundits. one comment struck me. kelly o'donnell just featured it in her piece where she had someone who said you are almost alone out there on this. is that the way you feel? is that the political reality? if so, how can you possibly hope

to win this race? >> well, i don't believe that that's true. if you think back, it's been more than a year a number of us ran for the u.s. senate. we took our messages to the people of the state of missouri. they had an opportunity to hear us on repeated occasions. my message was one of stand ongoing principle not politics and also on the principles that made america such a great nation, in spite of the fact that we were outspent by an extreme margin, the people of the state of missouri elected me. so this was a decision made by the citizens of our state and not by party bosses. >> now that the people of missouri have had a chance to hear what you said over the last several days, and a lot of them are angered, and members of your own party, your own presidential candidate have said these remarks were offensive. you said you used one word incorrectly, the word legitimate, when you used the phrase, quote, legitimate rape.

explain to me exactly what you were trying to say. >> first of all, let me say legitimate does not -- should not be in the context of rape at all. that's completely wrong. what i understood that i had been offensive to people and that i had misspoken, then i first off apologized. i think that's appropriate. because that word just doesn't belong. there is no rape that is legitimate. it's a heinous crime, one of the most serious. i understand that the victims are harmed for a long time. i take that very seriously. while i apologize for the misuse of that word,t the same time i don't apologize for the fact that i'm strong in my belief of pro-life. >> but you misused a word, then you compounded the problem by getting the medical facts just plain wrong when you said that in the case of a forcible rape that a -- or a legitimate rape, a woman's body has theable to

shut down and avoid pregnancy. that's just not true. >> that's correct. that's not true. i was misinformed and i recognize that. >> if you find it hard to articulate your ideas on a sensitive issue like this, then you get the medical facts just plain wrong, why should you go to the senate and represent your state in debates over some of these very same issues? >> well, the fact of the matter is that i think anybody who is doing a lot of public speaking can make a mistake. the people of my state didn't elect somebody who was perfect. they knew i wasn't perfect. but the idea of standing on principle and trying to do the right thing, when you make a mistake, you say you're sorry. you put the politics aside and do the right thing. >> you've made some comments over the last 24 or 48 hours, congressman, to try to explain the comments you made over the

weekend. i want to ask you a pointed question. do you believe that many women, and i don't mean just a few, but many women lie about being raped to gain access to abortions? >> well, no, i don't believe that's the case. that was -- as i said, the comments were misspoken there, particularly on the word legitimate. i don't think that's the case. >> let's end on the political realities of this. as i mentioned, mitt romney has said that you should step aside, paul ryan, you've told us, said you should step aside. other members of the republican leadership have told you to do the same thing. they are worried about control of the senate. they are worried about their chances of winning the white house. why should your cause or your ego trump the greater goals of the republican party? >> well, let me say, this is not about me. this is not about my ego. but it is about the voters of the state of missouri.

they have chosen me because of principles that i stand on. putting principle over politics. i believe they stand with me on a whole host of issues. >> congressman todd akin. i appreciate your time this morning. i know you're very busy, and i thank you for joining me. >> thank you for an opportunity to join you and your wonderful audience. >> thanks, congressman. now, here is savannah. >> matt, chuck todd is nbc's political director and white house correspondent. chuck, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> i know you've got a new poll to show us. let's start with congressman akin. romney went further than before calling for him to step down. it's clear he's staying put. how much damage do republicans fear is doing. >> the republican brand has been underwater. people have felt more negative against the republican party than positive. look at the numbers, 45% have a negative view of the republican party, just 36 of a positive. democrats are a little bit above water.

but look at this comparison between the president and mitt romney on concern over women's issues, who do you trust. it is nearly a 30-point lead for the president on women's issues. we did this poll before the akin controversy. >> real quickly on this, you don't hear democrats calling on congressman akin to step out of the race. they think it makes it easier to control. do prospects turn on this? >> it was already a 50-50 proposition. if he stays in the race, if there's another way for him to get off the ballot, somehow decides i can't win, step aside for the party. he has until september 25th. that's the final final deadline. right now democrats are favored to carry the senate. >> back to your poll, is there a ryan balance. you look at the national figures, you don't see it, president obama is still leading, look at the battleground. >> if you look at the battleground states there's a little bit of a ryan bounce. pollers say no more or less likely with the ryan pick.

you look at the battleground, down to three points, was eight for three straight polls. that's where you see some evidence. >> this is striking. 3 1% of american think they are better off since the president obama took over. >> the answer to this question he's beating ropz on all the gut check questions. the idea of who cares about average people. the president leads by 22 points. who is in the mainstream, out of step. the majority of people believe the president is in the mainstream. a majority of people believe mitt romney is out of step with american thinking. gut check questions. on the issue of economy, yes, romney leads. it's not by a lot. but on gut check, values, it's the president. >> you've got a documentary on mitt romney coming up. >> yes. >> you asked him how he felt about attacks on his mormon faith. here is what he has to say. >> i understand enough about politics to know the opposition

will in some cases do almost anything to hold onto power. you're seeing that now. you saw that back in 1994. >> mitt romney hasn't really emphasized this part until now. on sunday he let reporters come to church with him. there's word at the republican national convention there will be an emphasis. >> he is. that was one of the reasons he sat down with us. they didn't want to talk about it. i talk about gut check questions, people feel as if you don't know mitt romney. if you don't understand his faith, you don't know mitt romney. >> chuck todd, political director, documentarian. we want to remind everybody. mitt romney, the making of a candidate airs on nbc. here is matt. >> is still early. there's already concern tropical storm isaac could disrupt the republican national convention in tampa, this as the storm became more organized overnight. al is upstairs and tracking it.

>> we're watching the system, has time to strengthen, east of guadalupe, west. it's a minimal tropical storm. we expect as it continues to make its way to the west to gather strength. by wednesday, thursday, it makes its way to the south of puerto rico as a minimal category one storm. goes over santo domingo friday, early saturday. as we move on into sunday, it comes across cuba and makes a beeline for southern florida early monday morning. that's the official track of the storm from the national hurricane center. we also look at a number of computer models. a lot of these all kind of concur as we get on toward monday morng we're looking at southern florida or southeastern atlantic coast so we're watching that. again, the problem is we still have some time. we've got a lot of land masses for this to come across. right now the consensus is we will be dealing with something early, early monday morning and

we'll have to keep an eye. the good news for the republican national convention this will be out of here fairly early, monday on into tuesday. matt. >> al, rundown here. we'll get your local forecast in a couple minutes. coming up, nbc's kerry sanders steps into a new simulator. it's the wall of wind, capable of producing gusts over 150 miles per hour and it will show you just how dangerous big hurricanes can be. look forward to that. for now we want to get a check of the morning's other top stories. natalie morales at the news desk. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. some 50 buildings in northern california have now been decimated as wildfires there are raging. fire crews say many structures were likely homes as evacuated residents wait for the all clear to return to their property and assess the damage. a washington state man has been arrested by the secret service for allegedly threatening the president in an e-mail and saying he had explosives in his apartment. officials say the 31-year-old opened the door for agents with

a gun drawn. the suspect appears today in federal court. investigators are searching tuesday's train wreck in maryland to find out if the two 19-year-old girls killed in the derailment were the cause of the crash. it's still unclear why the train jumped the tracks of the bridge but investigators do know emergency brakes triggered automatically, meantime haunting tweets from the college students who died in the incident revealed their final moments as they snapped their feet dang ring over the railroad bridge and a shot of the street below. just a week before she was set to judge the u.s. open in new york, a 70-year-old tennis referee has been arrested and charged with murdering her husband. on tuesday lois goodman was served with a felony arrest warrant in los angeles where police say she beat her 80-year-old husband to death with a coffee mug in april. goodman had been a ref for decades judging matches for andre agassi.

she waived extradition to face charges. a get well wish from rosie o'donnell came from an unlikely source as long time sparring partner and frequently arch-nemesis, donald tweeted he's starting to miss her as shooefs she's recovering from a heart attack. rosie tweeted back, thank you, donned. i must admit your post is a bit of a shock. are you trying to kill me? and it continues. it's 7:18. back to matt, savannah and al. >> sense of humor. natalie, thanks. mr. roker, busy morning. >> let's show you quickly around the country, looking at a fairly decent day northwest, sunshine, temperatures in the low 70s. hit or miss showers and thunderstorms along the mid-atlantic coast and heavy rain through the southwest. ne'll take a look at that in >> good morning. there is a little bit of fog that may reduce the visibility

in some spots. a mixture of sun and clouds. >> and that's your latest weather. savannah. >> all right, al. thanks. just ahead the story behind these controversial photos of a naked prince harry partying in a hotel room in las vegas. first this is "today" on nbc.

coming up in our next half hour, we'll have more on this story about prince harry in las vegas partying in a hotel room when someone snaps a picture of him nude. apparently they were playing some kind of game. there's been a lot of discussion

around here this morning as to whether we should show these pictures. >> we've had a robust debate about even as a public figure he's entitled to some privacy. he's third in line to the throne. we debated whether we should show those photos at all. >> in the past we've shown photos of public figts figures, athletes, olympians, caught doing something in the privacy of a room. first of all, there could be a betrayal element here. >> circumstances. >> no question. so anyway, we've got a piece for you coming up. it does not come to you without great discussion and debate. >> we're back after this. hi parents, big year for spelling. here's what the kids will n-e-e-d. ♪ pens and markers, paper wide ruled. ♪ ♪ hoodies, sneakers, tape, sticks of glue.♪ ♪ large boxes pencils, highlighters. ♪ ♪ sneakers and t-shirts. ♪ notebooks and jeans, ♪ notebooks and jeans, ♪ notebooks and jeeeeans, yeah! ♪

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. the anne arundel county man who threatened to shoot co-workers has been released from hossein get it facility. he has been ordered to continue to take medication and counseling while he awaits arraignment. he faces just one charge of telephone misuse. he is now in the custody of his parents. here is kim dacey and traffic pulse 11.

>> good morning, everyone. debris in the roadway on southbound harrisburg expressway and padonia road. watch for that traveling south towards the city and the beltway. in the city, a couple of accidents. caton and and wilkens avenue, crash there as well. closing the southbound lanes at route one. one lane gets by in each direction there. in ellicott city, paine street is shut down between old columbia pike and oella avenue because of the train derailment. we will give you a look outside the major roadways. switching over to a live view of the anna burger expressway and padonia road in the area of the debris, things are moving just fine. tony, over to you. >> you can see a little bit of light fog and some of those cameras there.

62 at the airport. 65 in cockeysville. it is at dry at the present time. there is a 20% chance we could see no strong pop up. -- a thunderstorm pop up. seven-day forecast into the weekend, it's a good one. mixture of sunshine and a few clouds all the way through monday of next week. overnight lows in the 60's. exchange for

that's nbc kerry sanders there in the rain about to brave the most powerful hurricane simulator. right there he's facing winds of 30 miles an hour. this simulator can reach a wall of wind at 50 miles an hour and more. kerry will tell us why it works and how researchers will use this. >> he will not be facing 150-mile-an-hour winds or else we'd pick him up in georgia. we'll keep him safe. >> why it will be helpful for saving lives. good morning, i'm savannah guthrie. >> i'm matt lauer. will diana nyad try her record

swim from cuba to florida for a fifth time? that's one of the question she faces at storms, jellyfish made her abandon her last swim. she'll speak out after the effort. she looks pretty good for the wear and tear she's been through. >> absolutely. then we'll talk to the high school value dick toedictorian hell in her graduation speech. >> let's begin with controversial story about prince harry partying naked in a las vegas hotel room. stephanie gosk with more. good morning. >> reporter: it's been a summer packed with royal responsibilities for prince harry. not surprisingly the 27-year-old looking for a break from it all. so he went to the city of sin, girls, parties, even a race with ryan lochte in a hotel pool. he's also found some trouble.

>> his royal highness. >> he stood in for the queen, highest ranking royal to mark the end of the most important event this country has staged in a generation. less than a week later these naked images of prince harry and a woman were secretly taken in his hotel suite in las vegas after a night of partying. there appears to be one other person in the room. in the statement the palace confirmed the pictures are of harry but would not comment any further saying the 27-year-old is taking some private time off in the u.s. so soon after his high-profile role in the olympic games, some royal insiders are questioning the prince's judgment. >> there's no question harry should have been more wary of the people around him. he is, after all, a prince, the grandson of the queen. what he does is news. i think he has been a bit irresponsible with the people he's actually been partying with. >> the images come after a year

of the prince taking on more and more responsibility for the palace, including a high-profile overseas trip to the caribbean in honor of the queen's diamond jubilee. harry does there a not or reduce and well documented wild side but lately it's been hidden from view. >> he's been doing public service for the queen, everyone thinks he's turned a corner. but just as harry he's, he's partying and at it again. >> harry could be on the frontline in afghanistan soon. this was supposed to be a chance to unwind before being deployed. it's turned into an embarrassing reminder that third in line to the throne means always being in the public eye. >> stephanie gosk in london with this story. stephanie, thank you very much. >> we want to get a check of the weather with al. >> today's weather is brought to you by coffee mate natural blend. add your flavor naturally.

>> and good morning, everybody. are you a little tired this morning? what's your name? where are you from? >> peoria, illinois. >> you look like i feel. let's see as far as the weather is concerned. down through florida, stationary front laying right across this thing. more rain. we're talking some areas, central and southern florida, one to three inches of rain. out to the west in the southwest we've got monsoonal moisture coming up out of mexico bringing in heavy showers and thunderstorms. rainfall amounts again, southern nevada on into arizona, one to three inches of rain. >> good morning. we're off to a quiet start. some patchy fog. we expect a mixture of sun and clouds.

>> you can get your weather any time of the day or not by going to the weather channel on cable or weather.com. isn't that a good birthday present? >> now, new details on what led diana nyad to end her record swim from cuba to florida. she'll speak out in her first live interview since being pulled from the water in just a moment. first the story from nbc's mark potter. mark, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. diana nyad is disappointed about not completing her swim obviously but also says she's very proud about what her team learned and accomplished along

the way. it was a very difficult swim with some obstacles she could not overcome. arriving in florida in a flotilla boat after halting her attempted 103 mile swim without a shark cage from cuba to key west, diana nyad still insisted on swimming ashore to celebrate her try at conquering the sea. >> all the mountains have been climbed, all the deserts have been crossed, but this piece of ocean has neff been done by a swimmer. >> from the start her trip was plagued by problems. nyad said she was mostly in survival mode, then it wasn't much fun. everything came to a head in the wee hours of tease morning when she was pulled from the water for her safety during a fierce thunderstorm, suffering from exhaustion, hypothermia, swollen lips and jellyfish stings. >> i'm not a quitter, but the sport and this particular ocean are different than it used to be. >> reporter: after the storm

passed, she and her crew had a heart to heart talk and decided continuing on for another day was too dangerous and the voyage was called off. she was highly praised by her operations chief. >> there aren't a lot of things like this to be done in the world anymore. this is one of the people -- very few people, a handful of people on the planet that would step up and try it. >> despite her disappointment in not finishing the swim, nyad was treated as a conquering champion. her crew sang happy birthday to a swimming legend who is 63 years old today. diana nyad has attempted that cuba to florida swim four times. when asked if she would try again she firmly and effectively dodged the question. >> we'll see if we can ask it another way. diana nyad is with us for her first live interview since ending her swim.

good morning to you and happy birthday to you. >> savannah, thank you so much. please give a personal hello to matt for me, would you? >> i absolutely would. if matt were sitting here, he'd ask the question i'm about to ask you, do you have it in you? would you try it for a fifth time to make this swim? >> you know, the savannah, the question isn't do i have it in me. all the litany of potential crisis out there that you guys just went through, there is hypothermia, there are the sharks. that second night i was out there, evidently my shark guys in the water every minute were seeing pairs of eyes, of large predators all around. the thunderstorms were hellatious, came over with huge lightning and thunder, came up to 35-mile-an-hour winds. the gulf stream moving at a trick y and powerful way. they turned out boats around, that stream sometimes. literally took our large boat and turned them off their corners.

none of that matters. if all of those things were all i had to face besides the will and the body to get across, i would still go out and do it again. i'd go to my grave still trying. you know what, savannah, it's not about all that stuff, it's about the jellyfish. i don't know what to do. i don't know what to do. i did the most intelligent moves i could. got the world expert, made a suit, wore pantyhose over my face and still was stung so badly on the lips that i went into the heart and lungs being taken down and shivers all over. i had nine stings on the first night. i just don't know how to conquer them. i really don't. >> it is incredible what you went through, how much pain you withstood. it sounds to me you're saying in light of that, those being the conditions, this is an

impossible swim. >> well, you know, maybe somebody else is going to get lucky, excuse me, and get in there and one of those jellyfish won't touch them. all i know is, what are the mathematical chances i've gone three times in the last calendar year, okay, last august, last september and just now, and each time i was stung by this very tiny little animal. it's only about this big. it's tentacles are literally no bigger than a strand of your hair. what are the chances i'm in that gigantic, vast ocean and the only part of my body that's open is my lips and they come across -- the tentacles come whipping across. savannah, you have no idea what the pain is, searing pain. if it was just the pain even, i would be willing to suffer through that, but it's not. you start trembling and you start going into paroxysms of

inner systemic difficulties. how are you supposed to do something that's already so difficult with your body debilitated like that. to me it's a mystery. i feel i threw the kitchen sink at it and i do not know how to combat them. i'm at a loss. >> you have poured so much into this effort and so many people around the country were and are cheering for you. how hard was it to say, okay, i'm going to get out of the water? >> you know, very hard. there's a bigger word than hard, i'm sure. it was devastating. on the other hand it's like life, isn't it? we don't always get what we want. all our dreams don't come true. and if we dream big -- and this is a big, big, larger than life dream. we call this the extreme dream. maybe it can't be done. i don't know. i just know that i can't look back with any regrets. that team i had. the shark experts, the jellyfish

experts, my personal handlers, bonnie, my best friend at my side for three years, how can i look back with any regrets. so when you get done with your day and your work and people who go through devastating losses, when they look back and they say, i've got no regrets, though. honestly, savannah, this experience, this journey over the last three years has been magnificent. what i've learned and the spirit that came of it, i don't have any regrets. i really don't. >> it's been magnificent to watch as well. diana, somebody has come down and wants to say hello to you. matt is here. >> i was in my dressing room. i heard you say hi, diana, i just want to say i'm proud of you and happy birthday. >> matt, my old friend, i'm also very proud of you. you did great work at the olympics my friend. >> thank you. hope to see you up here soon. >> you got it. >> diana, thanks. coming up next, the wall of wind. a live demonstration of what it's like to be in a monster category five hurricane. coming up right after this.

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we're back at 7:44 with a firsthand look at the intensity and impact of a hurricane. before katrina in 2005, hurricane andrew was the standard bearer, category five storm with wind gusts in excess of 200 miles per hour. well, now engineers can replicate its power with a just completed wall of wind. nbc's kerry sanders is there. kerry, good morning. what can you tell us? >> good morning. i'm in about 30-mile-an-hour winds here right now. that's less than isaac which has somewhere between 45 and 47 miles an hour. but the engineers here at florida international university have created this wall of wind because they want a controlled setting where they take a look at what happens to structures. perhaps the best way to build structures, so we never see the sort of destruction we saw during hurricane andrew again.

>> these winds are definitely picking up. >> reporter: twenty years ago this week, andrew slammed south florida. >> you can see the waters whipping up, the wind is whipping up. >> reporter: wind gauges broke at 200 miles per hour. the measure by which hurricanes are judged change forever. back then i was a reporter at the nbc station in miami on the floorboards of a car. >> the winds are gusting outside our car up to 165 miles per hour. the car is shaking a bit. there are 10 people on either fender bouncing up and down. can you see the camera bouncing here. i've got myself in this position in case debris were to fly through and hit a window, my head will be out of the way. >> reporter: when the sun came up most of homestead were gone, survivors in desperation. what andrew didn't steal -- >> people looting left and

right. >> reporter: looters tried to take. >> all looters will be shot. >> reporter: that's a real gun in your hand. >> this is real bullets. >> reporter: michael remembers that day. he was in his bed when he heard a loud boom. >> the entire roof just lifts up over the bedroom. we look up and all we can see was the stars and rain and wind. it was just unbelievable. >> reporter: to try to build structures to withstand a category five hurricane, municipal building codes in the last 20 years in the east and gulf coast have changed. putting new products to a test has been a problem until now. >> wall of wind. >> reporter: here at the wall of wind at the international hurricane research center, products like new roofing materials and nails can be placed in winds exceeding 150 miles per hour. some tests were more dramatic than others. 60 to 70% of homes in the hurricane zone today are built to this old standard, which means what? >> which means you better

prepared for a hurricane. if another hurricane like andrew made landfall, you're going to see a lot of destruction similar or worse than andrew. >> so i'm in 30-mile-an-hour winds. i'm going to step out of the way here and now. the engineers inside, the scientists at fiy are going to crank it up to about 150 miles an hour. it takes about 30 seconds to watch these 12 fans, these fans that were initially designed to work in mine shafts, they crank it up. let's listen for a mom as you hear the power of those fans creating and simulating a controlled hurricane-force wind. now, we don't know what's going to happen here. this is, as the scientists say, not hollywood. this is real science. we're looking at 70 miles an hour, now up to 80. now well in the category one, moving to category two. they are going to crank it up to category five storm. what we don't know is you're looking at the two structures

here. if you look at the one on the right, that was built to standards prehurricane andrew, 20 years ago, which means they used different nails. some of the things they have learned, you see some wood there and you don't see the wood sort of showing here on the post andrew home. one of the biggest problems is after you've experienced a hurricane, you survive it, there's all that water that migrated into your house and creates tremendous amounts of damage. one of the things they have learned here, we're now at 158, 159 miles per hour. one of things they have learned is that if you spend after the hurricane the dollars for repairs and insurance company which once again at the end of the day, if you spent $1 on the front end, you could mitigate some of the damage. we're going to look at this a couple of minutes and see 150 miles an hour whether the roof lifts off and it does not. so it's science not hollywood but that's sort of a look at what they are doing here at fiy to determine how best to handle and how best for those who build

in hurricane zones. matt, savannah. >> wild stuff, kerry. it really is. their neighbors must just hate them. >> the wall of wind is on again. >> unless you want to go fly a kite. >> all right. kerry sanders in florida. kerry as always, thank you very much. we appreciate it. >> the sacrifice as always. still ahead, what to do when your pet misbehaves. new trend of dog shaming. first these messages. man, i'm glad aflac pays cash.

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>> this wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i'm jennifer franciotti. time for a check on your morning commute. >> good morning, everyone. bad situation coming in to us. we have some debris blocking all lanes of 895. we have a crash coming in to us on the outer loop of the beltway. seeing ingestion in the area. -- congestion in the area. ongoing cleanup from the train derailment, and emergency

construction. route 1 itself, a northbound traffic is in a two-way traffic pattern. havre de grace, another one at ohio and ontario street. it will give you at the northwest corner of the beltway. outer loop is all jammed up going away from us. we might be starting to see some delays on the inner loop as well. it may be a bit sluggish eyespots -- in spots. >> good morning, everyone -- ñi

>> 8:00 on wednesday morning, the 22nd day of august, 2012. a nice start to the day in midtown manhattan. having a good time on the plaza. going to heat things up considerably tomorrow when that young lady right there, carly rae jepsen takes to the plaza to sing that smash hit of hers, savannah, i just met you, this is crazy. here's al's number, call me crazy. she's going to team up with owl city on the plaza.

>> i'm matt lauer with savannah guthrie and al roker. coming up in this half hour more on that oklahoma valedictorian denied her diploma for using hell in her graduation speech. >> that's right. the school wants an apology before giving the dip lomb a. she's refusing. there's a little important to this story. we'll talk to her live coming up. >> speaking of school. a lot of kids in school or getting ready to go back. there can be a lot of anxiety, new teachers, classmates, the workload. coming up, how you can help ease the anxiety on your students starting this school year. >> lots to get to. natalie standing by with headlines for the morning. good morning, natalie. >> good morning, matt and al, good morning, everyone. republican candidate todd akin remains defiant vowing to stay in the race despite calls from his own party to step out. while he apologizes for the misuse of the word legitimate when describing a race, he does not apologize for his pro-life

belief. akin confirmed vice presidential candidate paul ryan called him to urge him to get out of the race. a storm may be brewing as the republican national convention gets under way in tampa with tropical storm isaac on a path that could take it near southern florida early next week. right now isaac is moving west towards the caribbean with tropical storm watches and warnings from martinique. thirty years after she died, authorities have changed home run death certificate amid questions surrounding her death. kristen dahlgren with details. >> reporter: one of the enduring mysteries in hollywood, how did natalie wood drown. while her death certificate doesn't give us definitive answers, it does reflect authorities aren't sure this was an accidental drowning. when natalie wood died off

catalina island, the death of one of hollywood's famous actresses was shocking, to fans who couldn't believe the star was gone at 43. to friends who knew the three-time academy award winner was scared of the water. >> always been terrified, still am, of water, dark water, seawater. >> reporter: and to investigators who for years heard conflicting stories about what happened on the yacht that night with her husband robert wagner and fellow actor christopher walken. now a change in the death certificates reflects those lingers questions, the cause of death for an accidental drowning. the death certificate first obtained by the associated press now says drowning and other undetermined factors stating the circumstances that put wood in the water are not clearly established. the change in wording comes some nine months after homicide detectives renewed their inquiry into the star's death. earlier wagner has said through his spokesperson he expected a fair investigation.

investigators have revealed little about what they found, only saying the change in wording doesn't mean a shift in blame and there is still work to be done. >> reporter: now, authorities have said neither wagner nor walken are considered suspects. nbc news reached out to both and no comment. >> the six-year marriage between tom cruise and katie holmes is now officially over. the divorce papers were signed and approved by a judge earlier this week. now for a look at what is trending today. our quick roundup of what has you talking online. you may need a king's ransom to walk in the shoes. they are calling on nike to drop the new lebron sneakers over out cy "the wall street journal" report that the shoes will cost upwards of $300. the shoes come in with built-in electronics to see how high you jump. nike says it has not yet set a

price. outrageous music video for his song. it's going mega viral channeling his inner beyonce. ♪ certainly has the moves. taking the u.s. by storm showing up at a dodgers-giants game monday night. the crowd went wild when he danced to one of his songs glaring over the speakers. the video has already racked up more than a million hits. our own al roker has twitter users wondering what's up after this freeze frame so to speak live on our air last week. >> leave room for the holy ghost. a lot of memories today, this day in music history. >> 35 years ago today, elvis presley passed away. the king of rock 'n' roll, he says in the great song in

memphis, "there's a pretty little thing waiting for the king in the jungle room." the 17-second stare down going viral online. let's go to al roker and ask him, what were you thinking. >> we have to turn him on. >> i don't know. >> i know. >> i kind of -- i don't know. it happens all the time. >> once he started he couldn't stop. >> our director was like egging me on. how long could i hold this pose. >> you know what i like about it, we didn't even notice. we're going on with business. whatever, al. >> used to me being wacky. >> you could have a second career in a wax museum. you hold that pose. >> we are in a wax museum. whole other deal. all right. let's check your weather, see what we've got for you. isaac, 10 miles east guadalupe, 45-mile-an-hour winds, moving west at 19, picking up forward speed. you can see the path of isaac brings it across puerto rico late thursday on into friday, to

the south of there, cuts across santo domingo and then makes its way into cuba and makes its way towards southern florida by early monday morning, at least according to that path as a minimal hurricane category one storm. still, we're going to be tracking this for the next several days. th >> good morning. there is a little bit of fog that may reduce the visibility in some spots. a mixture of sun and clouds. and that's your latest weather. >> oh, am i -- thank you, al. very contagious. coming up next, the high school valedictorian denied her diploma because she used the word "hell"

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willpower. what will you gain when you lose? back now at 8:10 what story we tackled with the professionals. a high school valedictorian denied her diploma because she used a four-letter word in her graduation speech. we'll talk to her exclusively in a moment but first her story. in may kaitlin nootbaar graduated as the valedictorian from prague high school. as the 18-year-old is about to start her freshman career at southwestern university on a full scholarship, she's doing so without her actual high school diploma. why? all because she used the word hell in her graduation speech. >> i did not think it would get that big at all. they are going to ask us what we're doing to be. who the hell knows.

>> kaitlin said she made the comment mimicking a scene between "twilight" graduation speech. after dlifg the speech the principal decided to withhold the diploma. >> went to the office and asked for the diploma. your dip lomb arks here but you ain't getting it. close the door. >> ms. nootbaar prepared an appropriate speech, which was approved by the high school principal. unforth neal she did not use the speech as written and used language that was inappropriate for a graduation exercise. the school would like a private apology before releasing her diploma. >> i don't want to because i'm not sorry, so writing an apology letter, that's just going to be a lie. which if sher saying my cursing was sinning, that would be another sin. i don't want to have two sins on my hands. >> in a town where the school's mascot happens to be red devils, many of her neighbors agree.

>> i think that's absurd. a lot of people say hell. i'm sorry, but she's graduating. give her her diploma, let her go on her way. >> there's other things in the world more important. she's valedictorian. she should get it without an apology. >> kaitlin nootbaar and her father david are with us exclusively. good morning to both of you. >> good. >> how are you handling all this attention? >> it's kind of gotten crazy. >> has it? >> yes. you know, i'm trying to also focus on college will dealing with both of those things kind of a little bit stressful. >> let me get right to the heart of the matter. this was a speech they asked you to submit in writing before you delivered it at graduation. when you submitted the speech in writing, you did not put the word "hell" in, you used the word heck in that pass achblgt when you turned it in did you know you were going to use the word hell when you turned in the speech. >> at the time i turned it in, i didn't. we discussed it, me and the partner who gave the speech we discussed it before. originally i was going to use

the word hell, then we decided to change it. then right before i got on stage is when i talked it over with my classmates. the ones i talked to were like, no, go ahead and say it. >> so it wasn't a slip of the tongue. it was something you thought about before and you said, pardon the expression, what the hell, i'm going to do this. did you know immediately that the reaction from the principal was bad? >> not immediately just because i wasn't focused on that. i was focused on the reactions of my classmates because that's who i was giving the speech to. >> they all liked it. >> yes. >> when did you find out mr. smith, the school principal, had a problem? >> afterwards over the summer, i had heard he had reacted to it during the speech. it kind of looked like he had been angry about it. i was never actually notified by him or any school officials. i didn't actually know for sure. >> you go into this meeting and he says, we have a problem. >> yes. >> there's your diploma, but unless you issue a dip lomb ark,

privately or in writing, you're not getting it. you have now decided not to issue that apology. any second thoughts, kaitlin? >> i'm still not going to issue an apology just because i'm not sorry for that. i'm sorry for other things. i'm sorry for the problems it caused the school, especially the teachers. i've heard they have been getting calls from numerous people. it would be nice if it stopped. >> harassing the teachers that had nothing to do wit. >> yes. >> dad, when i heard this story, i'm a parent, i tried to think, how would i want to deal with this with my own child. would i want them to give in to the school and learn the lesson that perhaps that word may have offended some people, or would i want to teach my child the lesson of standing his or her ground. how do you feel about it? >> i wanted her to stand her ground. i'm a veteran. i feel she has freedom of speech. that's in her first amendment

rights. why should she bow down to this man and give her rights away when so many young men are laying this life on the line to protect those rights. >> the school superintendent says he hopes you'll come to home. he thinks a request for an apology on the part of the principal is reasonable. is there any chance you'll reconsider this? >> possibly. really, the fact is the diploma, all it really signifies is my achievements. i know what i've achieved. the fact i don't want to give an apology, maybe i'll never get my diploma and that's fine. i have other things to work towards in life like my college diploma, becoming a marine biologist, my career, that's more important to me. >> so the lesson in this for you is what? what's the one thing you'll take away from this whether you get your diploma or not? >> i think the main lesson i'll talk away from this will be to always stand your ground, no matter who is on your side, who

is not on your side, whatever you believe in your heart is true, you should stand up for that. >> kaitlin we conduct add poll online with our viewers and we asked them what they thought about this, should you apologize or should you stand your ground. do you want to hear the results? >> sure. >> 88% said you should stand your ground and only 12% think you should apologize. how does that make you feel? >> that makes me feel pretty good. >> dad, you, too. >> i believe the numbers speak for themselves. >> kaitlin, mr. nootbaar, thank you for coming. good luck in college. >> thank you. >> thank you for having us. >> our pleasure. coming up, the right ways to help your child manage that back to school anxiety right after this. a quick pit stop for gas.make [ engine turns over ] but it looks like she'll have to find another station to fill 'er up. no! are you kidding me?!

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back now at 8:21 with more of our special series, anxiety in america. today we're focusing on on how our children manage stress especially as they are heading back to school. for many kids the anxiety of school can start at an early age. in kindergarten many kids are leaving their parents for the first time and starting to learn social skills. >> you might see kids crying, protesting. i don't want to go. i want to stay home. even you might see behavioral outbursts, more defiance than usual. >> by middle school, enter adolescence, kids need to adapt to teen issues, physical changes, increasing social and academic world around them. >> the transition to middle school can be anxiety. academic pressure of more homework, a locker, added classes, the on set of puberty

and trying to negotiate more nuanced social relationships. >> in high school the focus turns to the work and goal of getting into college. that coupled with peer pressure adds to increase anxiety as students face the prospect of more prevalent and social issues. >> you definitely see more of the problems in high school, peer pressure is a piece of it. you see kids dabbling into dangerous behaviors, smoking or drinking. that certainly doesn't happen for every high schooler but vulnerable teenagers certainly can go down those paths especially when trying to manage stress. >> heading to college brings with it all new anxieties as most students are living away from home for the first time. >> going to college can be a very exciting time for a lot of kids, also create a lot of anxiety. living on your own, managing your meals, finances. parents should be aware all children experience normal amount of anxiety during these transition times but should be

on the lookout for anxiety that exists and interfering with daily functioning. >> so what is a parent to do, robin goodman is a child psychologist and dr. nancy snyderman, nbc's chief medical editor. good morning to both of you. we've been talking about this off camera. how can you tell normal kidnd growing pains. >> what you heard, when anxiety interferes with normal life, sleeping, eating, not being able to cope with school, crying. the fear of entering a daily routine, then have you a problem. >> let's walk through stages of life. kindergarten, elementary school, talking separation anxiety. >> who is going to take care of me, what am i going to do, what's it going to be like. who is going to be there when we get home? are you going to pick me up? what is it going to be like leaving the place. >> middle school and high school, how can parents tell when the child is feeling anxiety. >> then about the separation and

ambivalence about that. am i in? am i going to be rejected, academic anxiety. you're looking at how are they managing before a test? are they concerned by it, avoiding friends. >> look at what's happening in their social world and how they are handling that, academic world. >> as a parent of children now launched there are two opportune times to zoom in on this. tucking a kid in at bedtime. i don't care how old a child in, they love to be tucked in. when you're sitting and they are laying down there's a power shift. sit down, family dinner where you can make eye contact and say how was the day. >> what do you think about medications for teens. let's say they have been diagnosed with anxiety, i think you have a little disagreement here. >> last resort. talking talking talking. most are normal transitional ways. the more you teach your kids to cope as teenagers, the more they cope as adults. >> what do you think, robin. >> you have to understand where the anxiety is coming from, you're addressing the problem,

what's needed, how big a problem, quite a range. also some skills kids can learn, mild anxiety, i'm afraid of my book report and how to handle that versus somebody is bullying me. that's a different kind of anxiety. there's different skills and strategies you have to move in and help with. >> quickly, skills for parents and how to cope. >> the number one thing is monitor your own anxiety. takes two to tango. when you're not handling well, communicate this is a scary situation, number one. number two, communicating i don't have confidence you can handle it. >> parents of kids in college, they are going to be fine. so destress. >> you think parents have nerves of their own. >> yes. >> interesting discussion. robin goodman, dr. nancy snyderman, good information. speaking of making back to school easier, how to organize the tiny dorm room after your local news.

>> good morning. i am jennifer franciotti. let's check on the morning commute with kim dacey. >> we have a situation northbound on the harrisburg expressway. the ramp to padonia road is closed because of to greet there. -- debris there. crash reported at hanover pike and old hanover road. westchester road remains closed. emergency road work all morning in held for. -- in halethorpe. two-way traffic pattern there.

one lane gets by and each direction there. in havre de grace, another one in ohio and ontario street. a few incidents to watch for. west side of the beltway, we'll see most of the delays this morning. old court road, jammed from 795 to edmondson ave. if you extra minutes. switching over to an live view of 895 and potee street. backing and little bit because of construction on the steel bridge. tony has a check of the forecast. >> so far so good, weather-wise. 6 to 2 in parkton. 63 degrees and a westminster. 20% chance for a thunderstorm this afternoon. most of you will not see rain. high temperatures between 80 and 85. dry conditions thursday, friday, saturday, and sunday.

>> thanks for joining us. another update at 8:55.

august 22nd, 2012. we are gearing up for a good time on the plaza. tomorrow carly rae jepsen is going to be here. owl city will be here playing that song "good times." that song will be in their heads all day long. >> friday fraem winning band train will be here. this is one of those occasions where you'll actually get to choose one of the songs.

the choices are "drive by," "if it's love," "save me san francisco." go to today.com for the results on the stage friday morning. >> the hem line, i know you guys are constantly worrying about it. coming up, the right hem line, age propose, style appropriate, skirt and pants. some good advice ahead. >> all right. then if you have a college bound student heading off, what you should get to help them jazz up their tiny little dorm room a little bit to keep them in style t also make for ideal study and living area. >> one of our faves, mr. mark bittman is here. the best time of the year for corn on the cob. he's going to show us how to make it on and off, including with bacon. >> back to school, too, learning how to do this. >> before that a check of the weather. >> in fact, we've even got a

university dedicated to corn, alcorn university. where is alcorn. >> mississippi. >> there you go. >> alcorn. >> let's check your weather, see what we've got for you. for today strong storms making their way through the southwest with monsoonal moisture, beautiful day in the pacific northwest, look for a few hit or miss thunderstorms through central california -- make that central florida, heavy rain. tomorrow continues in the southwest, sunny and hot through the southern california region, sunny and warm along the eastern >> good morning.ather from them we're off to a quiet start. some patchy fog. we expect a mixture of sun and clouds.

>> don't forget you can check that weather any time you need it, go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. now let's say hello to big willie scott. >> hey, i love those norwegians, good people in minnesota. elizabeth barnes of walstonburg, north carolina. loves going to church and spending time on facebook. facebook and twitter, all those things, my goodness. frank ucolano from san jose, california. 100-year-old today. frank, we love you. a big jokester, always making people laugh. lamp shades, whatever it takes, he'll do it. now lucienne cloutier, old town,

maine, 103. loves taking long walks. i bet she'd love to take a long walk. rusty rusconi from tolland, connecticut. 100 years old. fantastic bowler, loves being with his family. didn't he win more tournaments than anybody else in the world. an incredible voter. hattie ash. love miss hattie, so pretty. columbus, georgia, 102. loves being in her yard and enjoys her flowers. that's it. i like flowers. speaking of flowers, now back to some of the most beautiful people in the bouquet in the world. >> you must be mistaken. coming up hem lines, how to pick the right length for your skirt, pants and age.

back now at 8:37 with "today's" style school. how low should you go or perhaps how high should you go when it comes to hem lines and pants. it can be hard to decide what's right for you and your body type. style expert lloyd is here to school us. >> style school is back in session. good morning. >> let's talk about pants to start with. we've got three examples. the first is what you call the classic length. >> this will never go out of style. ladies, if you're wondering how long your pants should be, the hem should cut your heel in half. can you go a little higher but no lower point than half the heal. >> you find them at a bargain, get a second player, flats, one

inch from the floor. >> cocktail length. >> cheeky, nighttime length, retro feeling, grazes the ankle. if you're a tall gal like yourself, even higher so it looks intentional, not like you shrunk your pants. take it all the way to the floor, works best with wider leg pants f you're petite, put a high heel under it. don't clean the floor with your papts. >> they will get dirty. four factors to keep in mind, age, workplace environment, condition of legs, i hate that one. i always have bruiseses, and skin revealing balance of overall outfit. >> what means if you're showing a lot of leg or a lot of gam as they said in the '40s, show less up top, more up top, less leg. balance it out. >> for somebody in the 20s. >> they are trying to figure

their style out. on the top joe fresh, really affordable. skirt on the bottom, zappos, for 20 something, one to two inches above the knee. that's a acceptable social length for a 20 something gal. safe and respectable, take it into nighttime. >> fit it on the hips and then the waist. >> that's what i do. start at the waist, can always tailor the hips. >> 30s, what's the rule of thumb. >> think about 30 something gals going from day to night, desk to dinner. think about these pieces here, a flouncy skirt on the bottom. the bottom skirt is pleated. so think about the length splitting the knee in half. easy thing to remember, day to night, think about splitting. that's the rule. >> you say avoid the mid calf skirt at all length -- at all

costs. it just looks terrible. >> what happens, it cuts your leg in half. this skirt is the perfect length, i love it. from lord and taylor. >> here is my mannequin, heading into 40s, 40s. >> how are you comparing in terms of leg. >> i don't know. maybe i'm short. >> i think it looks great on you today. >> top from talbot's, the bottom, the skirt, again, we're taking it above the knee at the 40s. a lot of people go over, start aging themself, a little higher, above the kneecap. add tights if it makes you comfortable. >> shorter the skirt, opaque tights cure that, not showing too much skin. >> balance it out or textured tights work as well. >> lady in the 50s, what do you recommend here. >> 50 and up. this woman knows her body, has worn skirts for decades. love the combination from macy's. the top from lord & taylor,

bottom in macy's. when you're in your 50s you want to think about standing and being seated. you can split the kneecap once again. make sure when you're seated you're only seeing knees, nothing more. >> long skirt, the very long skirt, is there a point at which you shouldn't wear it if you're older. >> the pilgrim length we call it. hopefully they are not watching, sorry, pilgrim. not ankle grazers, ladies 50 and up start hiding and it works against them. >> appreciate it. coming up next, four tasty ways to enjoy corn off the cob. first "today" on nbc

>> wow, back at 8:43 this morning on how to cook everything today, corn off the cob. one pleasure of the summer months involve fresh corn that's available. the other pleasure is this man

here. "new york times" columnist, author of "how to cook everything." >> first of all, take the corn off the cob. you're going to do it while the corn is raw? >> yes. >> why? >> some of these recipes use raw corn. >> that would be a good reason. there you go. >> you don't need to cook corn before you take it off the cob. you shuck it as we demonstrated so ably in the tease. a spoon or knife, usually do it in a bowl for obvious reasons. cut as close to the cob as you can and cut those kernels off. >> some corn meal in a bowl, flour, baking powder, salt. >> okay. >> mix those dry ingredients. why don't you whisk that egg with the milk.

>> okay. >> get that in here. >> not soup. >> trying not to. >> this is ready. >> go ahead. >> that goes in there. >> with the corn. >> you put the raw kernels in now? >> yeah. >> does it matter how big you make the cakes? >> no, like pancakes. look, worked. >> right into a hot pan. how long do they cook? >> three minutes per side or so. >> i'll continue to do this while you move on. >> this is incredible. >> i know nothing and i know those need to be flipped. >> beautiful work. >> let's make our soup. we're making green chile corn soup. why is it so hard to flip. >> you did a great job. >> thank you. >> corn stock. >> we made it with cobbs, you strip all the kernels and have all the cobbs. we made stock simmering corn cobbs in water. >> that's easy. >> saute's scallions and green chiles. we're going to use corn meal as

a thickener for the soup. stir that in there. >> how long does that go? >> until it's mixed up. >> any oil or anything? >> there was some oil when we sauteed scallions and chile. that and potatoes and corn kbo in. >> should i do that. >> go ahead. >> the corn meal in that gives this a nice thickening texture. so you get a little creamyness. if you want you can also add cream. >> a healthy recipe. >> great recipe, really good. >> mr. roker. >> this is what we call something heaven. >> hog heaven. >> hog heaven, right. corn and bacon, do we need to say anything else. cook some bacon in the pan with a little oil until it's rendered. leave the fat in the pan. >> yes. yes. >> then brown the corn in the fat. then we're going to toss in some

parsley and some chopped scallions and -- >> go ahead. >> bacon. >> that's it. pretty simple. >> beautiful. >> that's what everybody. >> bacon. i'd get it myself but i don't have thumbs. >> you're holding back on the corny jokes, too. >> for you we saved the most difficult possible recipe. >> could it be any harder? corn salad, raw corn. >> raw corn. don't cook it. you can. but there's some things crisp, starchy, pure flavor of that is really great. corn. >> basil. >> tomatoes. >> some lemon juice, salt and a little olive oil. >> we've got a fire. >> we don't, i'm kidding. >> those are yours. >> thank you. >> that's it.

>> you're getting good at this. >> you know. you've been around here quite a bit. i'm learning from the best. >> fabulous. >> one kind of caught fire here but that's okay. how long does fresh corn season generally last? >> we have until mid september, maybe even a little bit longer. >> mark, always good. up next, how you can help your college kids organize their cramped dorm rooms. first this is "today" on nbc.

praef this morning on "today's" classroom, dorm room basics. college students are heading back to campus trying to squeeze their belongings into 200 feet of living space. yes, it can be done. here to show us how, host of the syndicated show "house smarts." good morning. >> good morning. >> remember your dorm room? >> i do. they are smaller than we remember, even now. >> they are tiny. often they not only have one but two. >> a single. we've got one heading off to college ourself. the average size. you said 200 square feet. the average is actually a 10 x 12 room with two people. >> so you've got to learn to make parts of the room multi-task and things in the

room. >> colleges have gotten really smart about this. the furniture is very modular now than it was when i went to school. so there are bunk beds, you can stack things. you still need stuff and room to store things. >> talk to me about some of the things you've got. these have been around forever. >> forever but they make a ton of sense. this drawer unit stacks and comes apart. put stuff together, make it as tall and short. >> one thing you want to accomplish is get it out of sight. if you take a tiny space and have things cluttering the counters it looks smaller. >> we have to talk about the budget. a lot of money to spend on this. these storage totes, by sterilite. so affordable, $5 for some of the smaller $12 for larger, put nem in the closet, stack them in the corner, keep things dry and organized. one of the best things about them, matt, they are clear and you can see inside them.

>> is that a laundry hamper. >> a rolling laundry hamper. >> doesn't stay under the bed. >> when i do the laundry i can take it with me. >> let's talk about the closets. generally the closets in these dorm rooms are tiny. >> all this stuff. pick up the multi-hanger. if you're going to do several pairs of pants, this will hold up to five pairs of pants, slacks, whatever it may be. lingerie holders, these are pockets. >> i thought these were shoe holders. >> can be shoes as well. shoe holders as well. this is essentially a hanging dresser, from a company called whitmore. this is a shoe rack you can use inside as well. >> on a budget, affordable. >> very affordable, talking $14.99. they are not going to last one year. these if you take care of them will last four years. if you want style, woven baskets inside the room to store books, laptop in it, scarves, whatever it may be. >> let's talk about the bed now. the space under the bed is

valuable storage space. you've got a simple way to increase that. >> this if you look down here, these are bed risers that go right down inside to raise up this bed to put it just a little bit higher, to put stuff underneath there to add more storage space of again, colleges have gotten smarter of these beds, most turn into bunk beds. they can ratchet up a little taller. these are very afford ab, $20 for four. >> if it is a bunk bed and you put risers, your roommate -- >> you definitely want the lower bunk. as the parent, you know nothing is happening up there. no room whatsoever. >> you are thinking like a father. >> right. >> these are like the old-fashioned milk crates. >> when is the last time you saw a milk crate? they don't have them anymore? >> in college. >> they don't have them anymore. this was invented by a college student on this website called quirky.com. these crates are modular. they come with all these

accessories. they are $19.99 apiece plus the accessories. really knead neat, innovative idea to use as a stacked area, put off to one side of the dorm room or apartment. you can make it as tall or as wide as you want. they are modular and work great. >> against the wall. again, it's important to use the walls as storage space as well. >> absolutely. >> cleaning. keeping this tiny room clean. what tips do you have. >> hanging on the walls, too. this is something important as well. most of them are cinder block walls. you can't put nails on there. 3m command strips. >> do they work? >> they do. some up to five pounds. put the sticker the right way, on the wall, let that set. you can hang robes, picture hangers on there. when you go to leave, stretch it out new york city marks on the wall. >> cleaning. >> shark makes this portable vacuum they will have all four years. you carry the whole counter with you. it's a little tough.

you need two people. >> some extra space there. >> i've got to go. that's the perfect way to end. thank you. still ahead, the hottest news in hollywood including michael j. fox's return to tv after your local news.

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am jennifer franciotti. police in prince george's county have a man and a custody said to be involved in a crash that killed a police officer monday afternoon. 23-year-old adrian morris was pursuing a suspected stolen vehicle when his cruiser went off the road and into a ditch in beltsville. beltsville. police have

chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for motorcycle insurance. geico, see how much you could save.

>> looks like it will be a nice day overall. fog will be burning off quick. as we head into the afternoon, 20% chance for a thunderstorm. smooth sailing all the way into the weekend. >> we have another live update at 9