good morning. breaking news. the nation's third largest public school system in chaos this morning as chicago's teachers go out on strike. class is cancelled after talks break down overnight, leaving hundreds of thousands of parents now scrambling to figure out what to do with their children. royal threat. a spokesman for the taliban tells nbc news it plans to kidnap or kill prince harry during his four-month deployment in afghanistan. how are the british reacting? we're live in kabul. and buffalo chills. a bison charges a group of tourists and chases a young boy at yellowstone national park. luckily no one was hurt, but a lot of people are wondering why

they got so close today, monday, september 10th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television . live from studio 1 ak-in rockefeller, plaza. and welcome to "today" on monday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm esguthrie. following that breaking news. a massive teachers strike in chicago, the first there in 25 years, and at this point there's no telling how long it's going to last. >> this despite intense negotiations district officials and the union representing more than 29,000 teachers and support staff are very far apart on issues like health benefits and job security. chicago's mayor, rahm emanuel, calls the decision to strike a necessary and unfair to children. we're going to have the latest on that story straight ahead. all right. deadly new violence in syria this morning as hundreds of

thousands of people flee that war-torn country. ann curry has made her way to the syrian border and will join us live straight ahead. also ahead, what would you do if you got the chance to meet the president of the united states in person? well, one pizza shop owner in florida got a little excited when he met president obama, gave him a bear hug and then lifted him up. doesn't the secret service frown on things like that? by the way, he's a republican. we'll talk to him this morning about what he was thinking. >> i think he did clear it with secret service, which is probably a good thing. all this week, matt, natalie and al and i will take a turn choosing the music for this show, call it the soundtrack of our lives. >> right. >> put a lot of thoug into this. a lot of anxiety. >> today is yours. >> today it my day. >> good news for carpenters fans. >> but let's begin with that breaking news. public school teachers going out in strike or on strike in chicago. nbc's kevin tibbles is there. kevin, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt.

i'm outside the ray elementary school here in chicago where for the first time in 25 years chicago's teachers have gone on strike. this, after a frantic weekend of negotiations that went right down to the wire. after days of non-stop negotiating, the chicago teachers union made this late-night announcement. >> we have failed to reach an agreement that will prevent a labor strike. >> reporter: a strike by the city's 29,000 public school teachers and support staff means the third largest school district in the nation is effectively shut down. its 400,000-plus student population today will be without instruction, and perhaps more importantly many working families will be caught with no place to send their kids. >> this is totally unnecessary. it's avoidable, and our kids do not deserve this. >> reporter: the school board, which was sounding optimistic, maintains it can't go any

further. president david batali says more than 20 offers were made to the teachers. >> we've done everything we can. >> reporter: the core issues involving pay raises and health care, the teacher evaluation system and a recall policy for laid-off teachers. >> we demand a fair contract now, and until there's one in place that our members will accept, we will be on the line. >> reporter: this strike is seen by many as first real test for chicago mayor rahm emanuel and a challenge for president obama who has been relying on labor support in this fall's election. now, 140 schools will remain open for half a day to provide breakfast and lunch for those students in need, but for the families of some 400,000 chicago public schoolchildren this morning, many are scrambling to find alternative care for their kids. matt? >> kevin tibbles in chicago, thank you very much.

it's four minutes after the hour of the here's savannah. >> thank you. now to presidential politics and the election less than two months away. mitt romney heads to the battleground state of ohio today and president obama stays close to home. >> reporter: look, with both conventions now behind us, it's a 57-day sprint through nine states, and in this post-convention period, while both campaigns acknowledge the president is ahead, the question is how significant is that lead? >> and i have really two months to be able to convince people i can do a better job than the incumbent. >> reporter: on "meet the press," mitt romney shed new light on several of his positions, like the auto bailout where he tried to sound like he had the same stance as the obama/biden position. >> i said let them go into bankruptcy, help them come out but let them go in, and i don't think most americans know that gm went bankrupt. >> reporter: and romney clarified his opposition to

obama care saying he'd keep some of the laws most popular features. >> there are a number of things that i like in health care reform that i'm going to put in place. one is to make sure that those with pre-existing conditions can get coverage. two is to you a sure that the marketplace allows for individuals to have policies that cover their family, up to whatever age they might like. >> reporter: romney again tried to blame the president alone for a bipartisan debt deal that includes some potential deep cuts in defense spending, but when pressed criticized house republicans, too. >> i thought it was a mistake on the part of the republicans to propose it and a mistake for the republicans to go along with it. >> reporter: but to the issue of tax reform and how he would get to a balanced budget, he was not as specific on how he'd do that. >> people at the high end would have fewer exemptions and deductions. those numbers will come down. >> reporter: campaigning in florida president obama fired back on that because of lack of specifics. >> you've got to do the math

because when my opponents was asked about it today they couldn't. it was like two plus one equals five. >> reporter: over the weekend romney seemed like a candidate in a primary rather than a general election, endorsing representative steve king in iowa, best known for his anti-immigration rhetoric. as for the president as he surges for a bounce in his poll, he's found a bounce on his campaign step, on display at a florida sports bar and making a birther joke as he made a birther joke. >> you were born in hawaii, you have a birth certificate? >> reporter: later he got a very enthusiastic welcome from a florida pizza shop owner: overnight we got fund-raising numbers for both xaps and for the first time in five months the obama campaign has outraised the obama campaign in a monthly period, 114 million to 112 million. just a reminder, savannah, a lot of money is out there. money is not going to decide

this presidential election. >> all right, chuck todd, thank you. nbc's david gregory is moderator of "meese the press." good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. >> reporter: >> want to talk to you about the interview with mitt romney. state of the race, both conventions behind us. is there a sense in the romney campaign that they know they are behind at this point? >> i think they do. they understand, and i discussed it with governor romney, that beating an incumbent is very difficult, even when you've got economic troubles in your favor politically. they also look at some of the key swing states, ohio and virginia. that's where they are behind. that's arguably much more important than this national number. >> you mentioned the economy. we had another dismal jobs report, but i guess the question is that kind of baked into the poll numbers? do voters already know that they are in a terrible economy and it's already been factored in? >> they do. i think the question, savannah, is do voters, that narrow slice that will decide the election, blame the president for where they are? if they do, it's advantage romney. if they accept his argument from

the convention and former president clinton that nobody could have fixed this in four years, that that's part of the context, that he needs more time and that the economy is going in the right direction, look at how the stock market is performing, then it's advantage for the president, and that's the case he's making. >> you covered a lot of ground in your interview with mr. romney on "meet the press." some people viewed it in total as a signal that romney was moving towards the center, sounding a more general election tone. is that how you read it? >> also spending some time with governor romney, yes, is the answer. i got a sense of his pragmatism, that he knows he'll have to make tough choices if he becomes president. that he would indeed have to infuriate conservatives on some of these budget deals and a recognition that paul ryan is someone that can help him in that regard with his own caucus. flashes of bipartisanship talking about health care, talking about bill clinton, gives the president credit on foreign affairs and when it comes to the big issues, he's called the debt a moral crisis.

his proposal for fixing the deficit is still what critics say is a pretty hardline approach. he doesn't give you all the specifics of how the math will add up. he wants to increase defense spending and cut taxes, even beyond extending the bush tax cuts. all of that is really designed to motivate his base. >> and very quickly, ann romney, who you also interviewed, thought she her husband had been demonized. the biography of mitt romney, image of mitt romney was something this campaign was very focused on. >> there's a feeling that if you look at the polling, romney has an advantage over the president on the economy, who has better ideas on the economy, but are voters comfortable putting him in the white house? he says it and other republicans say that this is an area where he's got work to do to make people comfortable with making this choice. again, not easy to fire an incumbent halfway through two terms. >> david gregory, moderator of "meet the press." good interview, david. >> thank you.

>> ten minutes after the hour. hear he's matt. >> a dramatic uptick in violence in syria. at least 27 people killed in a weekend car bombing there as fighting between rebels and the syrian military has destroyed a vital pipeline that delivers water to hundreds of thousands of people. nbc's ann curry is near the syrian bordner jordan. ann, good morning. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you from a massive and very dusty refugee camp 15 miles from the syrian border. the war in syria has reached a stunning new intensity. in recent days the government has increased systematic air strikes on civilian targets, and now the flow of refugees has turned into a flood. more than 240,000 people have fled across syria's borders, including running here to jordan. just before sunset last night, a distant firefight highlighted syria's growing human tragedy. people struggle to escape government attacks by crossing this river valley into jordan.

most traveled on foot, but some had to be carried out in vehicles. including this 20-year-old, said to be a civilian who was seriously wounded in an attack on a building in his town, and it happened the day before he was to be married. the nightly drama has now more than 1,000 people crossing here every day, according to this jordan border commander. they are crossing along a 70-kilometer area. what are we hearing? >> they are shooting, the syrian army. >> reporter: how close to the border are they shelling? that's about a mile away. are they trying to stop the refugees from coming across? you think so. still, 69,000 people have been able to cross this stretch of

border in the last 16 months, many with family and children this. baby is four days old. arriving with what they could carry, they are vulnerable, in need of something to drink before they are loaded on to buses that will take them to a refugee camp. how difficult is it for you to leave syria? he says very difficult. the fear was overwhelming because the destruction was all around us. we were forced to leave. but perhaps nothing could really prepare them for where they are going, a refugee camp in a dust bowl run by jordan's government. there are tents sent by the united nations and a field hospital run by the moroccan army, but sudden rise in refugees has overwhelmed all donations so far. this man complains there isn't enough food. not far from the plussy playground set up by save the children, a bright 11-year-old

named mohammed draws to express his feelings. he tells us it was so sad to leave our country. i've seen my home attacked by government troops. i've seen bodies on the ground. i miss school. because of the human suffering he has seen in syria's war, this little boy dreams of becoming a doctor, and even more, he says, he dreams of peace. the attacks by syria's alowite-led government -- >> we covered the arab spring over the last year and a half, places like egypt and tunisia and libya, is this what's happening, a continuation of that, or is there a different dynamic there? >> it is a continuation of that, but we should also mention that it is the longest and one of the deadliest of these arab springs

so far. at least 20,000 people have been killed so far here, and the international community appears still to be at a loss on how to stop it, matt. >> ann curry on the syrian border this morning, ann, thank you very much. you can see more of ann's coverage from syria all week here on "today" and on the "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. >> the day's other top stories with natalie morales. >> good morning to you. the spokesman to the taliban tells nbc news that they have a plan to kidnap or kill prince harry who is currently deployed in afghanistan. for now from the latest from kab kabul. >> reporter: the taliban spokesman referred to the british prince as a precious bird. they said that their priority is to abduct them, but if that doesn't work they say they will kill him, stating that they will use their spies within the afghan security forces, referring to the infiltration to keep tabs on prince harry and

his whereabouts. they also say that they will continue to fire rocket-propelled grenades against the apache helicopter, the same helicopter harry will pilot. >> the navy s.e.a.l. book "no easy day" about the raid that killed osama bin laden spoke out for the first men. the s.e.a.l. calling himself mark owen appeared with his face and voice disguised and appeared moments after his team shot osama bin laden. >> after osama bin laden is wounded. he's still moving, you shot him twice? >> four times. >> did you recognize him? >> no. everybody thinks it's like, you know it's him? no. to us at that time it could be anybody. maybe this was another brother, a bodyguard. it doesn't matter. the point is to just continue clearing. >> the s.e.a.l. says his team was instructed to capture or kill the terror leader saying that they were not there to

carry out an assassination. he said that they had to fatally shoot bin laden because they could not see if he had a weapon in his hands. a police officer part of president obama's motorcade escort in a florida trip on sunday died after being struck by a pickup truck. the president did not see the accident but said their thoughts and prayers are with the officer's family. and silliam captured her 15th grand slam title overwell on sunday. number one seeded victoria azarenka won the second set but williams poured back to win it all. it's been a great summer for williams. she's won wimbledon and gold medals in both the singles and doubles at the olympics. a harrowing tourist video from yellowstone national park as a group of children had an encounter with the bison.

the bison snapped forward and chase that had young boy who as you see there narrowly escaped. luckily, no one was hurt. it's now 7:17. back over to matt, savannah and al. not sure how they got so close to the bison. >> why they got so close. >> a little too close. >> running in a tight sirkle, pretty smart thinking. >> i've -- i have some pictures would i not want to be showing that has me pretty close to a bison because i saw the stay away from the bison pictures or signs after i took the pictures. >> we can dig those up. >> if you really need a -- >> some might say it's common sense. >> exact ly. >> just have to run faster than you. >> mr. roker has a check of the weather. >> let's see what we have for you starting off. we'll be looking at more moisture down in the southwest, so we've got monsoonal moisture that will bring anywhere from 1 to 3 inches thanks to that flow,

upper level low, and we are talking about a possibility of some flash flooding over the next couple of days. then you go to the north, and we've got a lack of rain and a lot of humidity, and so we have red flag warnings and fire weather warnings, fire weather watches stretching from iowa all the way to the pacific northwest. the danger of fire very high over the next 48 hours. >> good morning.ing on aroth it is a beautiful start on this monday. we expect mostly sunny skies as we head into the afternoon. that's your latest weather. matt? >> thanks very much. just ahead, the rash of viruses

like west nile, hantavirus and bubonic plague popping up here in the united states. we'll talk about that with dr. mehmet oz, but first, this is "today" on nbc.

i'm drinking dunkin'. i'm just in love with the flavor. i get mine black. i don't want to take away from that pure taste. so smooth, no bitterness. it's awesome. there's no other taste like it. america runs on dunkin' coffee.

back now, 7:22. we're ticking off our special series of the go-to play list where we get to play deejay for the show for the entire show. >> look at that stuff come out of your head. >> what are we listening to, savannah? >> music by madonna. >> this is one of your favorite seasonings. >> i just thought it was a good way to start. i wanted to play the beginning of the song, you know how it goes? hey, mr. deejay, put a record on. i want to play with my baby. >> this is motivational? >> my little disco dancing going on. no. don't give it away. i'm not looking. really?

really. >> don't worry, when we listen to your old man music later in the week. >> whoa. >> you know what? you're right. some of them are old man songs. no question about it. >> meanwhile, back into the grammar program. >> my musical taste ended like in 1979. i don't know what happened. how was the u.s. open this week? >> great. watched the final match between serena williams and victoria azarenka. can i still hear that grunt in my head. >> oh, she was one of the underdogs. >> by the way, my son was laughing every time she did that. tonight our guest, thomas sargent. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years?

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. a viewing will be held for the harford county sheriff's deputy killed in a traffic accident last week. please tell us that the corporal was at the end of his shift when his agency car left to the road off route one and struck two trees near the conowingo dam. friends can attend the viewing

from 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. funeral services will be held on monday in joppa beginning at 11 am let's begin the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> god is here on the west side. it is taking out all but the left lane on the outer loop of frederick road. you can see the delays are already in place due to volume. this backing up traffic as well on eastbound i-70. 795 in the red. monument street and wolfe street, watch for the closures in affect. once again on to the north side of the outer loop, 26 andrew 27 in westminster, and accident we are tracking. ate's a quick live look traffic. it is william s. there.

that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> beautiful start this monday morning, weather-wise. the winds will pick up a little bit this afternoon. mostly sunny skies. 75 and 80. if you are going to begin tonight, temperatures in the 70's and will fall back into the upper 50s by the fourth quarter. weather will not

back here at 7:30 on a monday morning, september 10th, 2012, with another selection from savannah's go-to play list. go ahead, savannah. tell us a little bit about that. >> it's "wanna be starting something" from michael jackson. >> i have to say this is probably my favorite song ever. >> is it really? >> i think it might be. let me put it this way, my favorite dance song ever. >> can we go back to the exterior shot. clearly has the crowd rocking out. >> go crazy. >> so far you've got this party started. >> i brought a disco ball but you guys said it wasn't appropriate.

>> by the way, find the play lists on today.com. we partnered with the streaming music service spotify to future the selections as well. >> does it distract you when i chair dance like this? >> just a little bit. >> all right. >> also ahead, a lot of scary sounding viruses in the news, west nile, hantavirus, and now a 7-year-old has contracted bubonic plague and is recovering. dr. oz is here this morning trying to fill us in on what's going on. >> we've got a great story. a remarkable man who is making the most of his second chance at life. a former professional race car driver who lost his legs in a crash. he's just won a gold medal at the paralympic games, and we're going to hear from him. >> that's inspirational, it really is. we want to begin this half hour with a look ahead at names on the ballot in the 2016 presidential race. nbc's andrea mitchell has more on that story. andr andrea, good morning to you. >> reporter: the conventions were barely over when both

parties started talking about likely contenders in 2016 and overshadowing all others was the woman who wasn't even there. with the 2012 conventions with both democrats and republicans now history, the traffic on the road to the 2016 presidential campaign is starting to build. secretary of state hillary clinton was halfway around the world when she watched her husband nominate president obama. >> this is the first convention i have missed in many, many years. >> reporter: but even though she was 10,000 miles away, her presence was felt. >> president obama appointed several members of his cabinet even though they supported hillary in the primary. heck, he even appointed hillary. >> reporter: hillary has been waiting a long time for her chance to be president after losing a bitter primary fight to then senator obama four years ago. >> well, this isn't exactly the party i planned, but i sure like the company. >> reporter: she says she has no plans to run, but if she did,

some say she would clear the feel. >> i think people know who the real hillary clinton, is like what they see, and obviously she would be the front-runner, no question about it. >> reporter: if she doesn't run and joe biden decides not to, the torch will quickly pass to a new generation of democrats, like new york governor andrew cuomo trying to stay under the radar by not coming to the convention floor in charlotte. those who did like maryland's martin o'malley is wooing iowa democrats. >> i want to focus on the presidential election because i know how critically interest interested -- important it is. >> reporter: amy klobuchar and devalue patrick. >> time for americans to grow a backbone and to stand up for what we believe. >> reporter: while in tampa republicans also seem to be trying out for 2016. just in case mitt romney doesn't make it to the white house.

>> tonight i say together let's make a much different choice. >> reporter: new jersey's governor chris christie seemed to spend a lot of time in his keynote talking about himself instead of romney, and florida senator marco rubio made a big splash. >> our problem is not that he's a bad person. our problem is that he's a bad president. >> reporter: if the romney/ryan ticket wins, paul ryan would also be high on a list of likely contenders. >> we can get this country working again. we can get this economy growing again. we can make the safety net safe again. >> reporter: still, hillary clinton is the most experienced of any of the candidates in either party. jon stewart made it clear who he hopes the future republican candidate would be. >> this is the republican national convention, the road to jeb bush 2016. >> reporter: as for hillary clinton, her longtime fund-raisers certainly think she will run, but those who know her best say she has made no decision yet and doesn't have to

for a while. but as one "new york times" columnist wrote on sunday hillary is the real comeback kid. savannah? >> all right. andrea mitchell in our washington newsroom, thank you. now let's get a check of the weather from mr. roker. >> thanks very much, savannah. nice friends hanging out here. where are you from? >> canada, new brunswick. >> similar haircuts, too, so it's very nice. worked out well. nice little spelling, crossword puzzle. we like that. let's go over to the weather wall and take a look at what we've got for the week ahead, and we're going to be looking at below normal temperatures in the northeast for the early part of the week. mid-section of the country nice and warm, below normal temperatures out in the pacific northwest. mid-week period, we expect to see above normal temperatures moving back into the northeast down to the central plains and below normal through the western plains, and then as we head to the latter part of the week it's going to stay warm in the northeast. also out west into the plains, but below normal temperatures. finally, they are getting a cooldown down through the central plains into

>> good morning. it is a beautiful start on this monday. you could see a few clouds and that's your latest weather. matt? >> al, thank you very much. now some new details on what led to a very frightling situation for passengers onu.s. airways flight from philadelphia to dallas. the plane was turned around after a man called airport police saying that a passenger on that plane was carrying liquid explosives. nbc's tom llamas is there with the details. >> reporter: good morning. kenneth smith took a prank call

way too far or in this case way too high and in a hoax he's confessed to a u.s. airways flight to make a mid-air u-turn and turn back here to philadelphia after takeoff. >> no comment, please. >> reporter: philadelphia resident kenneth smith didn't have much to say outside of federal court, but he did have a lot to say to federal agents. according to this court affidavit smith admits last thursday he walked to a pay phone and called philadelphia airport police, using a fake name he told police u.s. airways passenger christopher shell flying to dallas had liquid explosives on him and that he was going to attempt to get through tsa security. but when police looked into, it they realized shell was also airborne, so they ordered the plane back. >> they just come on and said that they were going to turn us around for technical difficulties, and then there's fire departments on the side and the s.w.a.t. team back here. it was a little weird. >> several fbi and atf agents

came in from the back of the plane and walked up to the middle of the plane and pointed guns at a particular passenger and told him to put his hands in front of the seat. >> reporter: they handcuffed shell and took him off the plane. >> and i could see him out the window. they were frisking him and had his hands down on the ground. >> reporter: as fbi agents questioned shell and frisked his bags they realized he was no terrorist or mad bomber. >> this was a hoax and a pretty nasty trick was played on a passenger, and it resulted in -- in really a threat to all of the passengers. >> reporter: according to the affidavit, shell told investigators he believed his ex-girlfriend ann mary and her boyfriend kenny were responsible for making the phone call tip to police, that he and kenny recently had hostile exchanges. >> i don't believe that my client had any ill will or meant any harm or any disruption of service. >> reporter: kenneth smith tells "today" he made the call because he was angry at shell for posting a naked photo of ann marie on facebook. >> it is the kind of photo that

could incense a boyfriend. >> reporter: it's unclear if the court will even care what prompted smith to make the call, a call that u.s. airways says cost them tens of thousands a dollars, a call, the feds say, put people's lives in danger. now, smith has been charged with knowingly phoning in a fake bomb threat against an aircraft. if convicted, he could face ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine. as for shell, well, he finally made it to dallas, but when he got off the airplane he was arrested for missing a court date on a prior drug charge. he spent some time in jail and has since bonded out. it's unclear if he'll ever want to travel again. >> tom, thanks so much in philadelphia this morning. coming up next, is it necessary? college-bound teams spending a lot of money to learn how to get into a sorority. that's right after this. ♪ to look at [ sighs ]

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we're spreading the word about new honey bunches of oats fruit blends and their unique taste combinations. like peach/raspberry... and banana/blueberry. we're telling everyone. with one flavor in the granola bunch and one on the flake. try some. mmm! two flavors. in harmony. yummy. four nutritious grains and two big fruit flavors to make your day bunches better. back now at 7:42. as college students settle into campus life all across the country, a lot of youngs women will be looking to join sororities, and some are actually preparing well in advance, taking courses and getting coaching months before heading off to school. >> reporter: it's the rite of

passage played out on college campuses across the nation, sorority rush week, the time of year when young women are on a mission to get in the sisterhood of their choice. it's even been glamorized on the big screen. >> as president of my sore try it's come to our attention that the maintenance staff is switching our toilet paper from charmin to generic. >> reporter: now hundreds of studentses are spending thousands of dollars to make sure they get in, hiring coaches, taking classes and perfecting their image months before rush even begins. >> if you're not prepared for it, you'll be a little blown away. >> reporter: katherine cantwell and meg an tomack hired a coach before they rushed to the university of illini. >> went in a little more level headed and not freaked out by it at all. >> it opens your eyes a little bit and shows you what you'll be getting yourself into instead of throwing yourself into something blind. >> reporter: their coach, founder of gogreekgirl.com.

>> that is our goal is to be able to help women become the best versions of themselves so that they are the most confident that they can be and they can put their best foot forward and have a successful recruitment experience. >> reporter: and the coaching industry is booming with blogs, books and websites offering advice on how to be perceived as likable, damage control techniques, just in case you say the wrong thing, and hair and makeup consultation. the cost of all this, anywhere from $50 a session to $8,000 for a two-week course. >> these are skills for life. we're teaching them skills they can use through recruitment will help you get into organizations on campus. they will help you get that internship. they will help you get that job. >> reporter: and there's battling amongst sore try houses, too. at the university of kentucky sorority sisters are practicing their pitches to make sure they attract the very best candidates. it may be part of college life, but critics say young women should be focused on their education, not their social

lives. >> the young woman is spending tons of time and money to rush, then she has lost her mind, and so have her patients who are paying for it, and also what the parents are doing is they are telling their daughter is what's more important to them is that she's pretty and cute and superficial instead of going to school to come into her own and learn. >> coming up next, the thrill of victory from a former race car driver competing at the paralympics. his remarkable story right after this. bacon?! gotta get that bacon!

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the 2012 paralympics game to a close last night, and one of its lasting images, a gold medal for one remarkable athlete. nbc's ian williams is in london

with details on this. ian, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. they have even dressed up tower bridge here with the symbol of the paralympic games. these were by far the biggest ever, more than 2.5 million tickets sold. this morning everybody is talking about last night's closing ceremonies where jay-z, rihanna and coldplay performed. ♪ >> reporter: a spectacular london tribute to athletes who captured the hearts of millions, from the royal box to every corner of the world, these remarkable games have taken us to the edge of belief. >> and it's a brilliant, brilliant performance. >> reporter: thrill of victory for former race car driver alex zanardi, yet it's nothing short of extraordinary that he's alive, let alone the winner of two golds and one silver. this horrific crash nearly killed him in 2001. he had to be resuscitated seven times. >> i don't know why it happened, but i don't complain because i'm here. everything else was up to me to

change an adversity into an opportunity, and i think you can do that with everything in life. >> reporter: zanardi took up the sport of handcycling two years ago. now competing on a track he used to race cars on. these days he says it's not about standing on the podium, it's about enduring the long ride to it. >> i'm a happy man, and i know that happiness does not come from a medal. a med al makes the taste of the steak a little bit better, a little more salt if i like to, or a little extra virgin olive oil, an italian one. >> reporter: though he's happy with his life now, he sometimes imagines what could have been had he kept his legs. for the past 11 days these athletes have shown the world that it's not about what they can't do, it's about what they can do. >> saw a woman swimming with no

arms, and i got chicken pox, tears in my eyes, but not because of pity but admiration. >> reporter: zanardi is proud of how far he'll come and will never forget the person who inspired him to ride there. >> i admire my dad, and i miss him so much, and i know -- i know that in these days -- sorry. he was just getting pat in the back from god up there because i'm sure he's very excited for what his son did. >> reporter: less than an hour from now a big parade of olympic and paralympic athletes will bring the city to a standstill. the key game's organizers have summed it all up and said we'll never think of sport or disability the same way.

matt? >> ian williams in london this hour, all those athletes are inspiring. >> amazing. >> when you think about what happened to him and nearly happened, nearly got killed, but losing his legs and then saying, okay, wait. this isn't the end of something. this is the beginning of something else and then going on and excelling. won two golds and a silver. >> amazing. >> what a personality. >> i love how -- >> i love him. >> classic italian describing everything in terms of food, extra virgin olive oil, the happiness of life. >> our kind of guy. >> a little red win to that extra virgin olive oil. >> still ahead, we've got blake shelton. a guy who knows music. what he thinks of savannah's play list. >> "september," from earth, wind-and-fire. >> love that. [ male announcer ] this is anna, her long day teaching the perfect swing

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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. >> not sure what is going on on the west side. this one is a little further up on reisterstown road. southbound 795 out of the owings mills area, 24 miles per hour on average. those delays stretch from greenspring to the west side. all lanes are open. inner loop is where we have two

accidents. 26 on southbound 95 out of the northeast. street, watchnell for an accident. one more problem of note in westminster. if you head out on route 26. 27, watch for crash. right lane is squeezing by. it is treating a backup on the balkans ave on-ramp. -- on the wilkens avenue on- ramp. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> traffic is busy but the weather is quiet. 61 at the airport. a little breeze out of the northwest. nice as it gets for this time of year. mostly sunny skies. sun said this evening at 7:22. things will not change much to the end of the week.

capt. and high temperatures in the upper 70's and low 80s. a chance for rain this weekend. just a slight chance for

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[ 8:00 ] [ 8:00 ] [ 8:00 ] [ 8:00 ] 8:00 now on a monday morning. it's the 10th day of september, 2012. there's a chill in the air here in new york city, but this song from savannah's play list is helping warm people up a little bit. we are being deejays for a day, and is this "night fever" from the bee gees? >> yes. you guys are hating the '70s. >> you were born in -- >> 1971. >> so were you 6 years old. >> i didn't go to the disco. don't you love it? the crowd is going crazy. >> need a disco ball on the street. >> either this or "how deep is

your love." i went back and forth. >> just to remind people or just in case you're tuning in all morning long we're getting to play some songs off our personal play list, deejay for the day. today is savannah guthrie day today on the show. >> and friday, doesn't the audience get to vote. >> go to today.com and the best songs will be played. this is like a big era for many people on our -- jimmy, he loves it. doing the disco moves. anyway, what's coming up? >> blake shelton is here, and i just saw him and i said if i had known you were here i'd put you on my play list. he's on my play list at home. the new season of "the voice" kicks off. a new twist and a good competition. we'll talk about that. >> blake shelton is on your play list? >> he's on my play list, too. kill his mike. >> you know who else is here, dr. mehmet oz is here.

heard a lot of news about some pretty nasty viruses in this country. we've got hantavirus and wet nile and bubonic plague. dr. oz is going to be here to put this into mer spective to tell us what we need to know about that. >> from your wardrobe to decorating for fall, five things you need to know coming up for fall. >> before we get to that, let's go over to enmorales with the day's top story. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. republican mitt romney is campaigning today in the battleground state of ohio. sunday on "meet the press," romney said high income taxpayers would have fewer deductions and exemptions under his administration. he also said he would keep some of president obama's health care reform. the president, meanwhile, was in florida on sunday raising questions about romney's budget math. meantime, the obama campaign reversed a three-month trend in august by topping romney in fund-raising. faa investigators are trying to determine how a landing gear

door fell from a boeing 747 over suburban seattle this weekend. nbc's tom costello has more. >> reporter: even folks who live near an airport don't expect to make this kind of discovery. it happened right in front of john hanson's house. >> came back to turn in my driveway, and there was a -- part of an airplane sitting here. >> reporter: no doubt about it. it's a landing gear door. the i.d. tag even says boeing 767. the big question is which boeing 767, which landing gear door and where was the plane headed. >> reporter: boeing field is nearby, and witnesses in this kent, washington neighborhood say the plane appeared to be flying low, maybe taking off or preparing to land. >> it was a big flap of metal. >> reporter: exactly how it came off is what the faa will investigate. was it corrosion or loose bolts? nbc aviation analyst john cox. >> they are going to look closely at the maintenance of it, and then also whether the airport, whether the gear was extended at the proper speeds.

>> reporter: given the thousands of flights every day, it's rare for a plane to drop parts, but it does happen occasionally. last may in toronto, an air canada -- >> all right. now for a look at what's trending today, a quick round of what has you talking online. wild scenes from the campaign trail are winning support online. as we showed you earlier president obama was swept off his feet by a florida pizza shop owner. the big guy cleared the bear hug though apparently with the secret service ahead of time, and vice president joe biden met up with a group of motorcycle riders at a diner in ohio. one female biker didn't have a place to sit, so biden pulled up a chair and offered her a cozy spot right in front of him. "gossip girl" star blake lively is a top google search following her reported weekend marriage to sexiest man alive ryan reynolds. "peop "people" magazine say they tied the not in south carolina. and what does a new jersey

comedian do when his mom walks, dances and talks in her sleep? well, he puts it on youtube, of course, and attraction more than a million views in a couple of days. >> the tomato cage. >> tomato cage? >> yeah, i was doing a special thing with the tomato cage and it wouldn't open. >> where is this tomato cage? >> some place. >> come on. >> reporter: even more viral is this nick's posting, showing his mother watching and reacting to the original sleepwalking video. pretty funny stuff. we're going to see more of that coming up in the 9:00 hour. but let's turn it back now to matt and samantha. tomato cage, meanwhile, the new term. >> it's funny, but it's a little scary, too, that she can stay asleep that long during that. >> she has a pretty good sense of humor. >> lucky she doesn't get into a car, literally. it's crazy. i can find the dark in almost anything. >> okay, debby downer. let's go over to al.

he's cheery. >> like the new rosebud, tomato cage. there's a birthday girl, begin the of spifty. >> 50 today. >> got the crown and everything. >> let's see what we have for you as far as today is concerned. pick city today, evansville, indiana. going to be gorgeous today. sunny, 79 degrees. and as we go and show you what's going on satellite radar-wise, not much. showers down to southern florida. wet weather through the southwest where we may see some flash flooding over the next 24 hours. a few showers moving into the pacific northwest. breezy into the northern plains. nice and cool in chicago. 78 and sunny. beautiful weather here in the northeast with cooler conditions. plenty of sunshine. really only serious wet weather is going to be in the central hawaiian islands and also looking at wet weather down >> good morning.

it is a beautiful start on this monday. we expect mostly sunny skies as we head into the afternoon. and you're only here because your daughter made you come for your birthday. very nice. >> exactly. >> you feel better that you're here now? >> yes. i kind of like it. >> i kind of like it. i love you. >> well, there you go. it's all right then. happy birthday. >> thank you. >> savannah. >> she came for her daughter but stayed for the good music that we've been playing all morning. >> your play list. >> absolutely. if i do say so myself. coming up next, a serious story. how did a 7-year-old girl turn up with a case of bubonic

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janet, good morning to you. >> reporter: yes. the case here in texas is an unusual one. the house behind me has been sealed off and quarantined after a woman who was helping clean it as part of a reality series on hoarding tested positive for the hantavirus, and it comes as cases of the hantavirus, west nile, even bubonic plague are turning up all over the country. the owners of this texas house featured on the tlc show "hoarding: buried alive" collected more than years of clutter when a woman cleaning the house became ill. doctors apparently learned she had contracted the hantavirus. a deadly airborne disease spread by rodent droppings. friday night health officials descended on the home in woodlands and placed it under quarantine. >> at that point we asked the fire department and hazardous materials team to come out, don their protective gear, enter the home and close the windows to prevent any further spread of

potential pathogens outside the house. >> reporter: the deadly hantavirus is threatening thousands of visitors to yosemite national park. one has died after vacationing in the park bringing the total number of people to eight and prompting warnings to all who enter. >> information about the hantavirus in here. >> reporter: rangers believe mice got into the inner walls of some of the area's tent cabins. park officials are concerned for some 29,000 people who visited the infected areas. >> the letter and e-mail that we're sending them is basically a health alert saying that we have had these cases. >> reporter: early symptoms of hantavirus mimic the flu, headaches, fever and body aches. and in colorado 7-year-old sierra jane downing is recovering from a disease also spread by rodents, bubonic plague. >> we found some flea bites around her torso. >> reporter: doctors say she contracted a rare disease after coming into contact with a dead squirrel during a camping trip. while cases of bubonic plague

are rare, reported cases of the west nile virus are not, and they have increased. as of last week 48 states have reported west nile infections in nearly 2,000 people. that's the highest number of cases since 1999. according to the centers for disease control, texas has seen the worst outbreak. with nearly half of the nationwide cases coming from the lone star state. and the woman who contracted the hantavirus here has been released from the hospital, but there was something like 30 people involved in the massive cleanout of this house. officials are now reaching out to all of them to see if any of them are showing signs of the disease, matt, back to you. >> janet, thank you very much. dr. mehmet oz is host of "the dr. oz show." great to see you. >> good morning. >> seen a temporary rise in isolated incidents, or is this something more like a trend? >> this is here to stay for sure. >> why? >> and it's coming about -- i think part of it is the environmental changes we're seeing. the unnaturally warm winters, and then you have weird weather

in the summer and some of these differing investigators start to survive, like mosquito and disease and the big part is we're global. the west nile virus came from a mosquito cargo in a plane from the west nile. >> things move around. hantavirus and janet talked about the case in texas. a lot of the cases or several cases we've seen have come from people who traveled to yosemite national park. is the good news here that there's only been three deaths considering some 29,000 people may have been exposed? >> the good news is that only a few people have died. the bad news is a lot of folks have been infected. that's probably the big story today is that these infections are how much more common than we appreciate, and if you don't know what they can be, you won't pick up on them. take the hantavirus, for example. typically has gotten into your lungs, walk into an old shed or cabin, inheal the spores from dust droppings from mice and poop from mice and if you have the regular flow, coughing and

virus associated with it, the back of your mind, could that be hantavirus? >> i remember over the last 15, 20 years covering stories about west nile virus. every single year we're dealing with this here. are we seeing more of it this year? >> more than it's been in the last decade. came to new york city initially, but it's been reported everywhere, and the big story with west nile virus is there's a pretty good chance if you're hearing my voice, probably had it and didn't even know it. >> the symptoms are not that severe. >> for 4/5 of people they are completely benign. typically a classic flu virus, a lot of headache and malaise. my wife had it last week. you know, for the first couple days -- >> treated how, because it gets better by itself. >> virus from mosquitos, vast majority of people it can be fine but sometimes it becomes meningitis so be attuned. >> talk about a disease with a bad past, bubonic plague and look back to the 14th century and a third of europe's population was wiped out. that's the 14th century, right? we've come a long way, baby, as

they say, but what do we need to know about it? >> the best part of the bubonic plague it's not a virus but a bacteria so you can easily kill it off with antibiotics. it will typically give you big swollen lymph nodes. don't play with dead animal carcasses. put flea collars on your pets, that's how you get it from a flea biting you after it bit a rodent. >> the 7-year-old girl recovering. do most people recover naturally? >> our immune systems are so strong that unless we're immunocompromises, very young, very old, be attuned to what they are signaling you. because it's a weird virus or weird syndrome with a headache or a cough, don't let it off. find out what you've got. >> got a new season of your show starting this week and restarting your life is the theme. tell me about it. >> digging deeper. getting those folks stuck in a rut who can't seem to get rid of the paggage in their life, repack the baggage, take the audience across the country into

a desert and these transformations are unbelievable. the biggest experiment we've ever done, a new herb that people are talking about, we'll break it open. >> give me a hint, good or bad. >> intriguing. if you use it right, people want to know about this. >> dr. mehmet oz, good luck with the new season of the show. appreciate it. up next, we'll catch up with country star and "the voice" coach blake shelton, right after this. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or 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.

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the acidic levels in some foods can cause acid erosion. the enamel starts to wear down. and you can't grow your enamel back. i was quite surprised, as only few as four exposures a day what that can do to you. it's quite a lesson learned. my dentist recommended that i use pronamel. because it helps to strengthen the enamel. he recommended that i use it every time i brush. you feel like there is something that you're doing to help safeguard against the acid erosion. and i believe it's doing a good job. . back now at 8:20. make shelton's career is now soaring. tonight he returns as one of coaches on nbc's "the voice." ♪ ♪ a whole lot of medication

>> man, you know how i know that you're the real deal, we've heard so many different singers come out here and they sound like different singers when they go for different parts of the song. they change their tone. you sound like the same guy from the time you start singing. >> signature. >> exactly, christina. >> blake shelton, good morning to you. >> that wasn't very -- >> you don't like that clip? >> no. >> why? >> because i don't like it when christina and i agree ever on anything. it's not entertaining. >> to be fair, it doesn't happen that often. >> i guess that's why they threw that in there. such a rare moment. >> that's why we have to show that we do get along. >> you are the reigning champion right now, your guy, jermaine paul won -- >> that's right. >> i figured you were going in there gloating. >> i did, i did. >> you just rub it in a little bit? >> i think it's actually irritating not only the other coaches but like the production staff, network people, everybody, like, oh, yeah, really, you won?

really. haven't mention that had. >> you have a t-shirt that says i won last year. >> i've found ways to bring it up now and then. >> yeah, how? >> you'll just have to watch. it comes on tonight. mostly i don't remember. >> all right. it's blake shelton won, adam lavigne won, christina and cee lo. >> a long time ago that adam won. >> the heat is on. they got to prove themselves? >> you know, they are just probably -- i'm sure they feel pretty crappy about it. they have let not only themselves down but all of their teammates. >> and america. >> yeah. >> america, their families, their friends. i mean, it's got to be embarrassing to be cee lo or christina, don't you think, savannah? >> i don't know how they get up in the morning. >> i don't either. >> how competitive is this group? i think i got my answer. >> what's funny is the only time we really trash talk is if i'm sitting here doing something like this or one of the other three are doing an interview then i'll hear them mouth off about me. i saw adam making fun of me on

jay leno the other night, and it's just like, he never does that to my face. >> no. >> what a wuss, yeah. >> anything else you would like to say right here and now to adam? >> no. i just -- i've got a box of old ripped up crappy looking t-shirts i'll give him because that seems like that's all he wears. >> size extra small. >> with the collar all stretched out, yeah. >> talking about the competition, i assume you've got some good contestants this year. has the quality of contestants gotten better every year now that the show is more and more well known? >> seems like we say that every season, but it's the truth. i mean, i honestly believe it's better than ever this year, and i think -- i just think that the show overall, you know, it was hard for me to, on season two to compare it to season one because it was all brand new and so exciting, and so those two are like how do you compare it, but i think season three, it really does trump both the first two seasons. i mean, for so many different --

so many different reasons. there's been a lot of rule changes, and the coaches, we've all kind of, you know, had our fights and got back together again and fights and got back together again. >> like a country song. >> it is, but it seems like it's made us as a group that much tighter, and, you know, we all have each other's backs, when it's time to, and we're stabbing each other in the back when it's time to also. >> when it's appropriate. >> yeah. >> who is the easiest to get the red button pushed? is that you? the one who turns around most quickly and most often? >> cee lo has -- i think he has the record this year. there was one day where i -- i think he filled up half his team in one day, it seemed like. i don't know how they will edit the show, but i remember the three of us were going, man, i wish i was trying out for the show today because i know i could get picked if cee lo is in one of those moods. >> do you ever press that button and then regret, it like you wish there was another button you could turn back around? >> times, for lots of different

reasons. sometimes you'll turn around and you'll realize off the bat when somebody starts talking that they have an ego or, you know, a lot of different reasons, or you'll hit your button and they still have 30 seconds left of the song and they start sucking really bad at that point. oh, my god, turn me back around. but that's just -- that's part of the fun of the show. you know, you never know. you just never know. >> so real quick, what's your approach to coaching? are you like the tough love guy or encouragement, you a softy? >> i don't know. i don't know. >> all right. well, it's working, whatever it is. >> i think you just treat each individual differently, you know, based on where they are at in their career. >> we'll be watching. "the voice" kicks off tonight 8:00, 7:00 central time. sing it again. ♪ ♪ this is the voice >> okay. i wouldn't hit my button for you. >> i wouldn't hit my button for me either. another song from my play list. adel. he likes it. your local news is next.

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's get a final check of the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> still very busy out there. another problem on westbound 100. let's look at that. if you are heading out prior to 170, that is where the crash is. delays stretch back to route 10. an accident is off to the shoulder on the inner loop. it is creating a backup in that

area. inner loop at reisterstown road, left lane closure with a crash. outer loop delays begin at the j.f.x. all the way down to the outer loop. it is backing up traffic on southbound 795. 28 on the northeast outer loop beginning at 95 towards the 83's. if you put out on some under 95, to thees per hour split. let's look at these delays. live look at wilkens ave. inner loop traffic, that is where things open up. watch for the backup at 95. tony, over to you. >> traffic is busy but weather is quiet. forecast for today, mostly sunny

skies. a little breezy but nice. weather is not going to change much for the next few days. >> we will have another update at 8:55.

imagine not being blinded by sight, just sit back and listen. >> i have to have you on my team. three nights of blind auditions begin tonight. ♪ take me to your girlfriend's house ♪ >> 8:30 now on this monday morning, it's september 10th, 2012. we say hello to our happy crowd at rockefeller plaza as they enjoy and rock out to another song on my play list. how am i doing, people? it's a good one, right? i didn't know who it was by. when i wrote it down i said "tongue tied" by whoever. >> grouplove.

>> not to be confused with questlove. >> an educational play list. >> everyone has a chance to do their play list. we'll get to hear your choice and friday is viewer's choice. go to today.com and some will be picked and played right here on the "today" show. another one that's a huge sensation, "gang man style," white hot here and he's red hot and he'll perform live. >> oh, boy. >> i cannot wait to see you do this. this is going to be so good. >> that will be great. >> also, you know who is in the studio right now? tony danza is here. the star of sitcoms like "taxi" and "who's the boss?" . he tried a bunch of different things and he became a teacher in the philadelphia high school.

the hardest he's ever worked. he's written a book about his experience, and he's going to apologize to every teacher he ever had when we talk to him in just a couple of minutes. we like tony danza. >> i bet he was a trouble-maker back in school. the five must haves from food to fashion and even simple projects around the house that you can tackle on your own. >> and then jenna bush hager is here with a real ground breaker. she will introduce us to a model who just happens to be 81 years old and still working. >> unbelievably striking and gorgeous. >> beautiful. >> let's get a check of the weather. >> starting off with today, gorgeous weather here in the eastern half of the country. a little on the wet side down through the southwest. monsoonal moisture there. could be flash floods. showers in the pacific northwest. then for tomorrow, another gorgeous day here in the east. still showers down in florida. more heavy rain southwest into the central rockies. beautiful in the pacific

northwest with plenty of sunshine. breezy conditions through the northern plains, but, again, that sunshine will be in abundance. that's what's going o >> good morning. it is a beautiful start on this monday. you could see a few clouds don't forget to check that weather any time you need it. go to the weather channel on cable, weather.com online. >> coming up next, tony danza on what it's like to a high schoolteacher for the year. we'll get the story, but first, this is "today" on nbc. "t

8:35 now and we're back with "education nation," actor and author tony danza. he's written a new book about his experience in the classroom called "i'd like to apologize to every teacher i've ever had, my year as a rookie teacher at northeast high." tony danza, welcome back. good to see you. >> you, too, man. >> i remember you coming on the show and deciding to do this, to go into a classroom and teach for a year. just remind our viewers why you wanted to do it. >> it also has to do with the title about apologizing to every teacher because i wasn't -- i was like most kids. i didn't take advantage of it to -- i didn't -- i didn't really get it. i didn't see how it was going to relate to my life, and i didn't put my mind to it. i didn't take it seriously, and i wonder, like a lot of guys, what it would have been like now, neglect now what you know to get as. >> this wasn't some stunt. let's say you went and you taught tenth grade english in a huge high school. what was your experience like? was it different than you

thought it would be? >> oh, it was -- it's so much harder than you think. you know, we have all these -- these conceptions about teachers, you know. we hear about bad teachers, and there are bad teachers, just like there are bad actors, but there's a lot more discouraged teachers, and the statistics bear it out, you know. 30% after three years. almost 50% after five. >> a lot of the kids were too young to know you from television. how do they treat you because they know you're a celebrity? >> we had cameras in there for the first half of the year, so i didn't play to the cameras, so they didn't play to the cameras. i really -- i felt this tremendous responsibility which is another thing teachers feel. these kids have won tenth grade, how to make it count. wasn't like given another chance because you have a celebrity for a teacher, so i really felt like i had to do a job. >> i liked what the principal said. you don't get a badge that says, poof, you're a teacher. it's a title you have to earn. do you think you earned it in

that one year? >> i don't think you can earn it in one year. i think i tried real hard, but i don't think you can. i think it takes time. like anything else, there's a learning curve, you know. just ask the president, but, you know -- >> wow. wow. >> put a blinker on there. >> sorry, i think it's a very difficult job, aside from -- here's something you never hear with that the teach verse to deal with is the emotional grind. >> you got emotional a couple of times in front of the class. why? >> first i was scared i would afraid and something comes that they either make your heart soar or they break your heart totally. you go in there and give everything you have and they could give a damn. you hear this mantra, you have to engage the kids. and i'm saying okay, here engage me. it's real -- and then have you to show them that you care.

you show them that you care. now they open up to you. >> now you're responsible. >> and you hear things that you can't believe. >> right. >> and teachers aren't even trained for that. >> you wanted to apologize to every teacher you will ever. i want to bring out a treat. i want to bring in doug dye, one of your former high school teachers from the 11th grade, all right, and this is long island. hello. >> i'm here for my apology. >> i'm so sorry. >> how are you? nice to see you. it's a pleasure. do you remember having him in your class? >> very difficult to forget. >> why, why stood out about tony danza in 11th grade? >> first of all, it was my first year teaching. >> you were a rook? >> i was definitely a rookie. tony was a challenge, let's put it that way. when i first met him, the first week or so, i said to myself, this kid must be taking the train from brooklyn every morning because it was like he's got to be from brooklyn.

i can't be -- >> that's true. you are from brooklyn >> i just moved into the school district from brooklyn, from east new york, and it was a different, very different place from where i had been going to school. i was at ps-171 and then, boom, at malvern high school. >> my best story, on my hall of fame stories. i was there about three months. it was my birthday, and i learned a lesson, you don't tell kids it's your birthday, so i said, my birthday is tomorrow. oh, fine. following day, i see him come walking into class. got a paper bag, and i said, okay, he's got a paper bag. at some point during the class he said mr. dye, mr. dye, we're going a celebrate your birthday. he pulls out a six pack of beer, all right. takes one off, pops it open. thank god he didn't drink it. >> might want to apologize for that. i'm not sure the first apology was enough. >> i'm sorry.

>> that's -- listen, i just -- this book -- first of all, i wrote a book, i want my mother and father to be here so bad, but it really is just what i saw. i just saw a very tough -- a very tough day. it's like teachers are proud, exhausted, overworked and overjoyed, and so it's like a very, very -- >> most of them will tell you it's a calling. they can't imagine life any other way. you went on after surviving the rookie year with him 36 more years. >> taught 37 years. >> so hats off to you. >> i had a teacher there, mr. carr, coming back for his 37th year and i said to him, what are you doing? people said you did a whole year there, a whole year, big deal. how come you're coming back? and he said maybe this year i'll get it right. >> they keep trying. >> have to keep learning. you have to -- you have to keep learning. >> and matt, until we can get the kids to understand that it is up to them, we can't want it more for them than they want it for themselves, we're never going to turn it around.

>> and get parents involved. >> and get parents involved. >> great to have you here. >> thank you very much. >> tony danza, always good to see you. >> good to see you. >> absolute pleasure. >> mr. dye. >> by the way, tony will stick around and help us out in our next hour as well, and nbc news will shine the spotlight on the big issues impacting our teachers and students and schools when our "education nation" series gets under way on september 23rd. up next, from fashion to food, top five must haves for

back now at 8:45 with five must haves for fall, and this morning we've got you covered with the latest in everything from style to decorating. emily shuman is the author of the new book "cupcakes and cashmere." emily, like the sound of that. >> thank you so much. >> five kind of fun things to do with fall and we'll start with the pencil skirt which i think of the black classic pencil

skirt but you've got a new twist on it. >> exactly. the pencil skirt has always been a wardrobe staple, but this season it's really been updated so it feels kind of current and fashion forward so we have three main trends here. first, a bright. >> yeah. >> what i love about this skirt is that the shape is modest, it's professional so it's great for an office setting, but it's the punchy pink color that keeps it fresh. >> and you match it with a white top. >> exactly. secondly this, skirt combines two really great trends for fall. it's the possibly and scattered detailing. keep the rest of the outfit really simple, pared down, ideal for date night. >> and this one seems to have texture on it. >> that's what i love and burgundy is a huge color for fall. i would pair with this with a cozy sweater. >> and the clutch is a classic item. you've got a do-it-yourself way to update it. >> color blocking is really trendy and be can a bit

intimidating for those not comfortable combining bold-colored clothing. we have a lut they are clutch, under $50 from american apparel. some acrylic painter's tape and a ruler and paintbrushes. right here i have one started and what you do is just paint directly on to the letter so we've text it had off with the paint, and you want to paint right on. >> and you're painting over the tape. >> tainting over the tape because we've section it had off so it won't bleed through and you get it started like this, and two between two and three coats. finished, we have one right here and you want to wait between 30 and 45 minutes before it sets and use a blow dryer. >> here's a finished one. >> how to update the clutch. caramel apples, a good treat. why do you like this? >> one of my favorite treats year round but especially during the fall when apples are in their peak season. these are really simple to make at home. just have granny smith apples. these are great because they are

tart, crunchy, caramel squares and some sticks, so you don't even need to make homemade caramel. heat it up over the stove. >> yeah. >> get an a. we have some here that are already done, and you just want to take it and roll it in whatever topping you like. that's kind of the fun part. roll it right in. >> cute. >> and then we have some that are done over here. they are great for a party favor or if you line them up, it makes a really cute centerpiece as well. >> very nice. >> this one i'm going to be honest, intimidates me. the floating vase but how do you do it. >> i swear it's very simple. >> you need a piece of wood, a jar. just make sure that it has a little lip on it like these ones here, a drill, wire and wire cutter. >> okay. >> here we have one. cover this, paint it whatever you like. drill four holes, two at the top and two right below, and then you're going to get one piece of wire and want to secure it around one of the jars and do it a few times to make sure it's really secure and once you have that in place you're going to

push the pieces of wire through the bottom holes and make sure that it's secure in the back and this one would be here, skur ec it in the back and then put it through the top. here we'll finish this one and once it's done, you get the flowers and add the flash flowers, put it on the wall and it's all set. >> completely adorable. i don't know if i can pull it off but i love how it works and spray paint things around the house. >> spray paint is one of my favorite tricks for sprucing things up. convenient and foolproof and with a couple coats of paint you can really transform an item. we so v some old tarnished candlesticks, a couple of glossy coats of paint, looks completely different. >> a vase i spray painted this vase with black matte and gives it a whole new sheen. and we have a before shot of a side table that really didn't

have much personality. it was wood, didn't really have much going for it. >> kind of boring. >> spray paint it had a glossy white and here we have the finished product and it looks good as new. >> and look at the book right on top, emily shuman's "cupcakes and cashmere." coming up, a woman who is still modeling and turning heads coming up, a woman who is still modeling and turning heads at now sink your teeth into that big n' toasted if you're ready to soar. good. exits are here, here, and here. a big day calls for the big n' toasted breakfast sandwich. grab yours at dunkin' donuts.

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you've heard that fashion week is under way here in new york city. one model is really making waves. today contributing correspondent jenna bush hager has her story. >> that's right. she's amazing, and she's spent her entire life in front of the cameras. at 81 years old, she's still turning heads. fashion week in new york city, hundreds of models posing, strutting the catwalk, but 20 years before the days of the supermodel in 1947, model carmen delovici was on the cover of "vogue." >> it meant nothing to me. stepping off the bus and going to ballet class and there was a stack of them with a rope around them, and i looked down at this

cover, and i thought that i looked like a little boy. i looked at the cover underneath, because i was hoping it was different and better. that's how square i was, or how disappointed, and i looked at the next one and i thought, oh, god, they are all the same. >> reporter: but life was not picture perfect. carmen was born in the wake of the depression, the child of immigrants. when you were asked what you wanted to be, you said you wanted to be happy, not hungry and free. >> yeah, that's true, because i was not living the life that i depict in those photographs. i lived alone with my mother who brought me up alone. i was a latchkey child. in those days we didn't even have locks and keys, you know. it was open door policy. there was nothing to steal. >> reporter: at 13 she was discovered serendipitously while riding a bus. modeling helped open new doors

but didn't change the way she felt about herself. did you feel 13? >> no. i felt exactly as a 13-year-old who weighed 90 pounds and was 5'9" would feel. >> reporter: her early career remarkable. she was photographed by avadon, pin, sketched by daly. more than a century later at 81 she's the oldest working model. >> i don't know if it's good or silly. it's what i enjoy doing, and i'm able to do it. >> reporter: you said earlier that when you saw this cover, you didn't love it. now when you see pictures of yourself at 80 and you look at yourself, do you like what you see? >> i can identify more with what i'm looking at today than looking back, yet i can remember that little person. i love that little person, and i keep her alive because she's earned the right to live a long time. >> reporter: carmen's lifetime

of work has helped make her one of the world's most recognizable faces, and those who work with her share in her legacy. >> it's amazing, like photographing history, like fashion history. >> reporter: with her incredible history carmen is redefining beauty. >> she is a glamorous woman, a beautiful woman, and she's been able to transcend time. >> reporter: lifetime of creating iconic images, proving dedication is timeless. when you look at these images, what goes through your mind? >> how lucky i am and how lucky i continue to be. >> reporter: and some day women may wonder what carmen's secret is and if she's had work done. she admits, she says, this is her response, if your ceiling was falling down, wouldn't you fix it? which i have to say, so she's admitted to using fillers. she actually swears by them. i have to say i met her.

there was no ceiling that was falling down. she's absolutely lovely, and her iconic white hair is because her husband pulled a hair out and she -- one of her husbands, she's had several, said -- said, no, if you don't like me like this, i'm going to go all the way, and here she is. all white. >> beautiful. >> i see her from time to time in our neighborhood, live in the same neighborhood, walking down the street and she turns your head. she's lovely. we stop and talk. she's a lovely, lovely -- >> next time you see her ask her what her night cream is? >> i've got a list, i've got a list. >> okay. still ahead, the best package food for women as we listen to another fantastic song. >> i like it. >> "take it to the limit." >> sell, it baby. >> back after this. >> ryan seacrest with justin bieber, this week. >> is there stuff off-limits? >> and matthew perry here talking about his new friends

and he's got the world dancing. cy is live only on "today." >> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. the speed was most likely the factor between -- find out deadly crash on sunday night. the driver crossed the center line on grant avenue and glen

burnie and hit the bus . the bus driver and a

>> beautiful star this monday morning. nice afternoon. mostly sunny skies, high temperatures between 75 and 80. temperatures between 75 and 80.