>> and my question to the senator from texas is does he want to shut down the government? >> reporter: ted cruz has been talking all night. got a little help from friends like marco rubio, mike lee and rand paul but he had no bathroom break and nothing to eat and will keep going as long as he can stand. not technically a filibuster because this won't stop today's vote. that is still expected to go on but he has made his point and outside conservatives and conservative groups have been cheering him on. savannah, matt. >> thank you very much. chuck todd is nbc's political director and chief white house correspondence. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> obviously a lot of people are talking about ted cruz this morning. he's getting the attention he wanted. a lot of people tuning in right now wondering how long he can keep his eyes open or stay on his feet. is there anything real behind this political theater? >> so far, no.

nothing but the world's longest ted-talk. but the issue is a real filibuster you are trying to disrupt the business of the senate or delay the business and what cruz decided to do was he was trying to walk this line of on one hand keep talk -- prove to house conservatives that there was some action behind his words. there's a lot of -- there's a lot of skepticism about cruz, even among some of his fellow conservatives that think ted cruz is only out for one thing, ted cruz and the advancement of ted cruz and the presidential campaign in 2016 of ted cruz. so he wanted to show, no, he was willing to do something but it's risk free. he's notisrupting a vote or delaying a vote so you look at this and you just wonder, all it is is maybe the longest speech ever before the iowa caucuses. >> where is this going? at what point are the sides

going to get to the point? with a government shut down a real possibility, what point is it going to happen? one side is going to have to blink. >> in this case, we're not going to have this clash, matt. there actually is some conversations going on behind the scenes. you have a bunch of senate republicans that are working and talking with chuck and harry reid, the two democratic senate leaders. they're not going to shut down short-term. there's not going to be a show down or anything like that. now debt ceiling or something at the end of the year, that's a whole other story. >> chuck todd in washington, thank you very much. meantime, the death toll is rising after the massive earthquake in pakistan. good morning to you. >> good morning, guys. a devastating toll from the major earthquake in pakistan. more than 200 people were killed when the 7.7 quake flattened villages and injured hundreds and left thousands homeless. that quake was felt 700 miles away. california has a new law

cracking down on paparazzi that try to photograph children of celebrities. the bill was signed into law tuesday. berry told lawmakers her daughter has been intimidated by photographers. paparazzi that take pictures of children without their parent's permission face a misdemeanor charge with up to a year of jail time and fine of $10,000. now to wall street and what is moving the markets. courtney reagan joins us again this morning. a lot driving the markets. >> that's right. investments are hyper focused on the economic data points. it includes new home sales. the better economic data the sooner that the fed will pull back on it's bond buying stimulus measures and when that happens, investors want to be ready. separately, samsung's galaxy gear smart watch is available for the first time today ichlts a smartphone for your wrist. you can make calls, surf the web, take photos but it doesn't

come cheap. the retail price is $299. thank you. a new crew heads to the international space station with a twist. they will receive the olympic torch and light it and send it back to earth so it can be used in the final relay of the winter olympics in sochi. oracle team usa hopes to complete the biggest come back ever in the history of the america's cup. they kept wning and came back from an 8-1 deficit to tie new zealand. today's race is winner take all. coverage is at 4:00 p.m. eastern time on the nbc sports network. this is a way not to finish a race. the brakes on his porch suddenly locks up. he hits the barrier. goes airborne, flips, lands upside down in a watery ditch. the driver was able to walk away

without any serious injuries. that is unbelievable. nice car, though, until that happened. >> yeah. >> thank you. mr. roker, what's happening weather-wise? >> well, we still have rain in florida and we're still looking at showers and wet weather and mountain snows to talk about up into the pacific northwest. we are going to be talking about winter coming. we've got winter storm watches, winter weather advisories anywhere from 6 to 12 inch of snow in some spots. some areas picking up more in the upper elevations and then as we get down into florida, that stationary front continues to cause big problems and then the other thing we're looking at, low pressure develops along this front. what that's going to mean is more rain but it's also got this low that's going to be tracking up the coast and we may see some coastal problems over the weekend. we'll keep an eye on that. we do have flood watches and flash flood watches in effect for central florida. rainfall amounts anywhere from about 1 to 3 inches.

♪ [ male announcer ] reveal light bulbs from ge. ♪ [ dog barks ] ♪ unlike ordinary incandescent bulbs, they filter out the dingy yellow tones... ♪ ...bringing the true beauty of your home to life. ♪ reveal light bulbs from ge. >> good morning. it should turn out to be a nice day today. we do not expect any precipitation. a mix of clouds and

and that's your latest weather, savannah. >> al, thank you so much. now to the situation in kenya where authorities began the gruesome task of recovering the bodies left behind after a four-day standoff at a shopping mall came to an end on tuesday. ron allen has the latest in nairobi. good morning. >> good morning to you, savannah. we now know that three four of the mall collapsed. it's unclear how many bodies are buried under the rubble. we're hearing occasional gunfire but we're told that is kenyan soldiers firing into the air before they enter blind areas of the mall as they begin piecing together how all of this could have happened. >> reporter: kenyan troops mopping up at the still smolderring westgate mall. this is some of the first horrifyi

horrifying moments after it began. here a family including a child plays dead until help arrives. a bloody operation reportedly planned for months. sources say the militants stashed weapons inside the mall in advance. during the attack, more than a dozen heavily armed militants stormed the building using at least two entrances, opening fire and barricading themselves in a super market. >> as a nation, our hand is bloodied but unbound. >> reporter: five mill tanlts from al shabaab were killed and 11 others were in custody. he said nothing about the fate of the hostages. it's unclear how many escaped or died. as the nation begins four days of official mourning, burying the dead, caring for the wounded, searching for the missing. forensic experts from the u.s., u.k. and israel are insisting in the investigation. it's still unclear whether any americans were involved in

carrying out this attack. >> ron allen, thank you. meanwhile, some of the americans that were in the mall have started to return home after the terrifying ordeal. tom costello caught up with one of them who is now back home in washington. tom, good morning to you. >> good morning. she is a 30-year-old harvard educated lawyer working for the world bank who went to the mall on saturday and is grateful to be home and alive. >> you're safe, baby. you're safe. >> reporter: overwhelmed we motion, back in her parent's arms. >> i love you too baby. >> reporter: for her mother, the last few days of waiting have been one never ending nightmare. >> i could have lost you. >> reporter: working for the world bank, she had only been in kenya since july. on saturday, she was meeting a business colleague at the westgate mall for lunch when teams of terrorists suddenly began attacking. >> people are screaming. lots of running.

you hear gunshots or explosions. it's complete chaos. >> reporter: desperate to get away, she and her friend crawled into a home furnishing store and hid with 15 other people in a back room. they could hear the terrorists just one floor above. >> i could hear more machine guns and shooting in the background. that's when i realized this was a serious situation. >> reporter: after more than five hours she says out of nowhere a security team showed up looking for her and her colleague. she is certain they were american. >> this american security forces guy came back and said if you want to get out, we understand it's dangerous but this is probably your best shot. >> reporter: as they ran from the mall, more gunshots and explosions. >> we were walking out of the store and all of a sudden all of this gunfire starts on the first floor and there's just bullets. we start walking about 20 feet and then, like, within like 30

feet of us two grenades are thrown. that part was the worst. we thought it was over. we're out of the woods. >> reporter: while hiding she texted her father. in an active shooter situation, please pray. back home, her mother terrified had written it all down. >> and i love you both very much. and i wrote it because if anything did end up happening to her at least i know that she was thinking about us, that she cared about us. >> are you okay? >> no. [ crying ] >> reporter: 72 hours after being rescued in nairobi, she was home in washington. >> we want you to be safe. >> yeah. >> we want you to be safe.

>> reporter: she isn't sure if she'll ever return to kenya. as for the security team that rescued her we checked with the pentagon, the state department, and the world bank, all of them say they didn't have any security teams on the ground. so it's not at all clear who rescued her and exactly how it all went down. guys, back to you. >> powerful interview. thank you very much. >> good to see that reunion. amazon's ceo is a billionaire that isn't known for doing a lot of interviews but he's been in the headlines recently. he used 1% of his personal fortune to purchase the washington post. kate snow sat down with him and caught up with him at amazon headquaters in seattle. >> good to see you. he had interesting things to say about the future of newspapers but the reason he invited us to seattle is because it's almost holiday shopping season and today amazon has a new line of kindle fire tablets to sell. >> this is our new top of the

line, $379 this is the kindle fire hdx 8.9 inch. it comes with a brand new feature we call mayday, the mayday button and it's on screen tech support. >> like mayday, mayday. >> and a tech support person will appear on your screen and can draw arrows to show you what to do. >> the man that's trying to hook us all on e-books spent 250 million of his own fortune to buy a throw back, a traditional newspaper. >> do you see a day when there is no more print version of the post. >> some day. i don't know how many years in the future. it could be decades. but i think printed newspapers on actual paper maybe a luxury item. sort of like people still have horses but it's not their primary way of commuting to the office. >> reporter: the washington post is just a small part of his growing empire. amazon fresh is how he wants us to buy our groceries. >> people want to know if you'll do to super market what is you

did to bookstores. >> we try to make the best service we can. something that we hope customers will love and then customers choose. >> reporter: between amazon and his own personal ventures he invested in everything from space travel to energy to a giant 10,000 year clock being built in a texas mountain. >> part of the reason that i do that is i think those things are important and i want to make sure that they happen. most of what i spend my time on is because i find it exciting. >> you don't have boring days, do you? >> i don't. i have four kids. >> right. >> no answer on when we can expect an amazon phone on the market. he did say they're working to get same day delivery service to more area of the country. watch out ups and fed ex this guy has big dreams. he told nbc one of his personal goals is to travel into space and by the year 2018 he wants all of us to be able to travel in sub orbital space.

>> and how soon can the amazon packages into space be far beyond that one. >> you know why he wants to travel into space? he has four kids. >> he has his own transporter. >> kate, thank you very much. >> we want to check in with carson in the orange room. he has more on the impersonation everybody is talking about. >> hit online late yesterday. bono from u 2 in town this week for the clinton global initiative. we know how talented he is as a singer but who knew he had such a spot on impression of former president bill clinton and everybody has been watching this, take a look. >> when i first met bono, he walked into the oval office and actually i thought it was a member of his own road crew. he wasn't really dressed right. actually i felt like the rock star on that occasion. >> spot on. the president was a good sport. he is a very easy target to make fun of. coming up at 8:00 while i have you here, should you argue in

front of your kids? one survey says you should. what do you think? go to today.com and let us know. tweet us your thoughts #orangeroom and we'll talk about that coming up in a bit. >> thank you so much. coming up, we have a story that's making a lot of headlines. a big change in army policy. some soldiers may not make the cut just because of their tattoos. it has some fuming. live to the pentagon for the story. >> and you know the blind spots on your car, well, the government was supposed to do something about them and they haven't. now some families are going to court after losing loved ones. jeff rossen has their story. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

wow, that's pretty. sunrises in philadelphia coming to us from the folks at wcau. share your morning pictures with us using the #sunrisetoday. >> we have a good one to compare it to. coming up, day 3 of our born

it to. coming up, day 3 of our born todathe toyota corolla.d gentle. ♪ le freak, c'est chic ♪ freak out ♪ aw ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] elevate your style. introducing the all-new corolla. ♪ [ bump ] ugh. i'm the horseless headsman. i think you mean the headless horseman? no. have a snickers®. why? because you get confused when you're hungry. better? better. [ male announcer ] you're not you when you're hungry®. snickers® is halloween satisfaction. for 4 days only starting friday get 10 dollars off 25 with your jcp cash coupon. plus, doorbusters friday 3pm to saturday 1pm. like 50% off all sheet sets and 40% off joe fresh kids.

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>> good morning. i am stan stovall. the i-team is learned that the formal anne arundel county employee who accused john leopold of harassment will receive a settlement. she sued for discrimination, saying she was not hired for a job but the police apartment after leaving her post at the county executive's office. for usings convicted his staffer for campaign parents. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> we have a few problems we are tracking this hour. let's bring you up-to-da at nursery road and hammonds ferry road. street,avenue and kane watch for accident activity. north side is heavy from 95 all

the way towards the towson region. tong to take you 25 minutes travel there. 21 minutes on the west side from 795 down to 95. from westi-70 friendship, tapping the brakes on the way towards the area of the beltway. i-70.s what it looks like here, on theaffic north side at harford, holding onto those delays towards dulaney valley road. over to you, tony. >> there is a little cloud cover out there this morning. it is going to be a nice day. more clouds than yesterday. 49 in columbia. this afternoon we will make it into the low to mid 70s. average high is 74. sunset this evening before 7:00 p.m. going into the weekend, the weather is not going to change much over the next few days. 74 for the high temperature tomorrow. ruler over the weekend.

-- cooler over the weekend. for

brush your gums, you don't want to get gingivitis.

>> get out of there. it's almost dinner time. you'll spoil your appetite. >> i'm batdad, this is "today" on nbc. >> he's got a way with words. that's one way to teach your kids a lesson. the 29-year-old father of four calls himself batdad and we're going to meet him just ahead. 7:30 on this wednesday morning. it's the 25th of september, 2013. i'm savannah guthrie along side matt lauer, al roker, and natalie morales. do you think that wuould work. >> they would listen to batdad. >> he would be matdad. >> yeah. let's take a look at what's making news today. senator ted cruz of texas took to the senate floor on tuesday afternoon. you know what, nearly a day later, he is still there talking. this is his attempt to block funding for obamacare. >> a four-day standoff at aiken

ju -- a kenyan shopping mall is over. >> and the jackson's battle with concert promoters. >> and we have jeff rossen here with an eye opening report. why isn't the government doing more to prevent the devastating accidents where kids are caught in your blind spot with tragic consequences. there was supposed to be a fix required years ago. what's taking so long? jeff will look into it. >> plus, what you think about fighting in front of your kids. head to today.com and use the #orangeroom. you might be surprised by what the expert versus s have to say it. >> you may have gone to war with your kids over tattoos but now the army is drawing the line when it comes to body art. jim has the latest on this story. good morning. >> good morning. since world war i soilders and their tattoos have been skin tight but over the past decade

military tattoos exploded and the army said often good body art can mean bad discipline so they're preparing a crack down on over the top tattoos. >> at the l.a. cats tattoo party outside fort benning, georgia he says the soldiers tattoo is more than a piece of art, it's a personal statement. >> it's a badge of honor. >> reporter: for the past 12 years as the u.s. fought two wars the army was so desperate for recruits regulations on tattoos went largely ignored until now. to regain control over the widening world of military body art, the army is preparing to strictly enforce old rules and impose several new ones. in the name of good order and discipline, tattoos that are offensive or obscene will not be permitted that goes for any sexist or racist. soldiers can have no tattoos visible on their face or neck and for the first time none below their elbows or knees.

his tattoo commemorates his father and is above the elbow. >> it really, i don't think has anything to do with where you get it. it's just what the meaning of it is. >> reporter: fellow soldiers are up in arms, tattoos and all. in a virtual town hall meeting on facebook, soldiers needled the chief of staff. one warned you're going to run a lot of good soldiers out of the army. >> a tattoo doesn't make or break a soldier. if you're a good soldier, you're a good soldier. doesn't matter the tattoo you have on your body. >> reporter: he worries it will drag down the soldiers' morale. not to mention his business. the army is also about to crack down on female soldiers and a trend toward fashionable hairstyles, make up, and fingernails which may look

stylish on a fashion runway but not a military one. as one official put it, after all, this is the army. >> jim, thank you very much. let's get a check of the weather from mr. roker. >> let's show you what we've got happening today. in the mid-section of the country, nice big warm up. high pressure bringing up the clockwise flow of air so temperatures warming up nicely today. 60 degrees, above normal. dallas, 93 degrees, that's 7 degrees above normal. nature hates a vacuum, though, so low pressure bringing rain here. 59 in reno. that's 20 degrees below normal. rest of the country, you can see where we have got the rain and the snow. that's where temperatures are chillier. going to be windy in l.a. today. sunshine, 73 degrees. 92 in dallas. beautiful day in the northeast and new england with temperatures in the low to mid 70s. boston a high in the mid 60s and

look for more rain down in florida. tampa toda >> good morning. we will see more cloud cover today. we will be around 74. 70 in the mountains. don't forget. get that weather any time you need to. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com. thanks al, coming up next, danger in your blind spot. hundreds of people, mostly children are killed every year in back over accidents. some people say the government is dragging it's feet protecting your children. what's the hold up? we have an eye opening rossen

report. >> and an honest michael j. fox on his return to television. what he learned working on his new show. but first, these messages. [ phil ] when you have joint pain and stiffness...

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right there. it looks completely clear back there. my side view mirrors, turning around, don't see anything. i would go in reverse but look at what's really back there right now. actually a bunch of children. we have five kids right there all under four years old standing behind my car but you can't see it in any of the mirrors. i go in reverse and perhaps back into them. that's why years ago congress passed a law saying this problem needed to get fixed with things like reverse back up cameras in all cars but that still hasn't happened six years later. so this morning safety groups are suing the federal government to get action now. >> reporter: it happens this fast, 18 month old sky jordan ran out of the house one day to say one more bye to her daddy. he was already in the car. put it into reverse, checked the mirrors and didn't see her in

the drive way. he backed right into her. >> i remember just screaming and crying and saying there was no way that this could be happening. >> sky was rushed to the emergency room. >> when i got to see my little girl she was -- she had cruises all over her face. >> the doctors told you she's probably not going to make it. >> yeah. >> amazingly, sky survived, though, still undergoing surgery for her eye and she is not alone. on average, 18,000 people are injured each year in backover accidents. nearly 300 are killed. >> everything we need to fix this already exists. >> reporter: janette was president of the safety group kids and cars. >> we know if you put a rear view camera in these vehicles that you can see what's behind you. >> reporter: why don't all cars have them? back in 2007 congress passed a law requiring better rear

visibility and gave the department of transportation a 2011 deadline to get it done but the d.o.t. keeps delaying and delaying now saying they need until 2015. >> these delays are outrageous and unacceptable. >> senator richard bloomenthal says it's bureaucracy. >> what's to stop them from delaying this again and again? >> the president of the united states saying to his department of transportation you must act now and if there's no action now heads will roll. >> reporter: in a statement to nbc news the department of transportation says more research is needed to ensure the most protective and efficient rule possible. they acknowledge cameras may help save lives and encourage auto makers to install them but that's not good enough for victims families and safety groups. this morning, they're filing

this federal lawsuit demanding the d.o.t. finally require those cameras. before any more kids get hurt. >> i want to get this implemented so that we can prevent this from happening to any other family. >> reporter: we asked the auto makers what's the hold up here? they say they offer back up cameras on most cars but critics say they're usually bundled into expensive option packages. they want cameras to come standard in all cars. that's what the lawsuit is about. matt, really this lawsuit is being filed this morning in federal court. >> if you don't have one installed in your car can you e retro fit one. >> believe it or not, if your car doesn't have one, go to the store, they'll sell you one for a few hundred dollars. they'll give you a monitor for the front and install it for you too. >> let's make sure everyone understands these children were never in danger during any of this. >> the car was off and the key

out of the ignition. these children never in any danger. >> thank you. up next, the guy taking over the internet, batdad strikes again. >> if you don't chew with your mouth closed i'm going to take the nutrigrain bar away. >> no. >> we'll meet the man behind the mask and then shelton, one of the big stars behind the voice will stop by and reveal the big stars behind the voice will stop by and reveal something about himself which if yand you're talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab. this is humira working to help relieve my pain. this is humira helping me through the twists and turns. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for over ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms.

for many adults, humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira , your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your doctor if humira can work for you. this is humira at work. the instantly slimming dress. it shapes you up and shows you off in an instant. wear what works. the instantly slimming dress. only from white house -- black market.

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well, all week on born today we have been taking a look at all aspects of parenting but now a lighter side. a father in georgia has become a super star on social media with his take on parenting. what can you tell us about batdad. >> here he is. he is 29-year-old blake wilson from georgia. he bought the mask and started posting videos on vine and now he has 4 million views and counting. take a look. >> thank you. can i have some too. >> i'm just a normal dad with four kids and a wife having fun with them. >> he looks like a regular dad. but blake wilson has an alter ego. >> i'm batdad. >> it started as a family joke but batdad is now on a mission. >> you don't want to get gingivitis. >> reporter: sharing parenting

tips one vine video at a time. >> if u don't chew with your mouth closed i'm going to take the nutrigrain bar away. it's an interesting twist on parenting. >> hurry up, we're going to be late for the bus. >> we live a very normal life. >> congratulations, here's a potty pop. >> every day stuff that parents go through. >> benjamin, tables are for glasses not [ bleep ]. >> no daddy. >> i like to think that i can be a fun dad. it's not all fun and games all the time. this is the real batdad. >> kids, get out of the bushes, it's time for dinner. >> are those ribs good. >> uh-huh. >> would you like a wet nap?

>> reporter: sometimes he drives his wife, well, batty. >> i feel bad for her. >> make sure you watch my pajamas. >> i know i can be annoying. >> jen, but your seat belt on, you're breaking the law. >> she loves it. >> it's hilarious. >> jen, what's taking so long. you were supposed to be ready 20 minutes ago. >> while it's happening i feel -- >> makes people smile because it's so stupid. >> there's batdad. that could be a new sitcom on nbc. he struck a huge cord with parents. emily wrote i will only settle down and start a family if i can find someone like batdad. nathan adams writes this is

exactly the type of dad i want to be one day. you met batdad now officially. >> humor in the lessons learned. thank you. coming up, what would you do if you found a wallet on the street? people across the country put to the test. people across the country put to the test. whic the baby's in there? yep. how'd that happen? um... [ female announcer ] some things are hard for kids to digest. rice krispies are easy. because they're made of rice, which is gentle on tummies. it's simple as... ♪ snap! crackle! pop! ♪ rice krispies!

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>> good morning. i am mindy basara. morning a check of the

commute with sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> nothing like yesterday, but we have problems we are tracking this hour. south i-29 at old columbia road, watch for possible delays. another one with a bus at lemieux and snowden river parkway and the on snowden river parkway. crash clearing up at linthicum heights. delays in place on the north side. 31 minutes towards the towson region from i-95 area very heavy traffic in both directions at security. 26 minutes at the west side stretch. easing up on 795. looking better than last check at 83 and padonia. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> it should turn out to be another nice day. yesterday was a was completely sunny. today there are a few high, thin clouds. storm out of the gulf of mexico

will miss us in the south. i will be nice again today. nice weather will stick around into tomorrow. 47 in parkton, 46 in westminster. 53 in rock hall. a mixture of sunshine and clouds. average high is 74. right in that neighborhood this afternoon. for the first time this season 6:58.nsets at very little change tomorrow. friday, the weather should be dry. temperatures in the low to mid 70s. over the weekend, the winds shift to the northeast.

it's 8:00 on today. coming up, surprise, a good

samaritan is stashing cash in unexpected places. >> i opened it up and $100 bill fell out. just like that. in our special series born today, advice for exhausted parents. and the stars stop by as michael j. fox and blake shelton join us, today, wednesday, september 25th, 2013. hope you're being good for grandma back in alabama, mom and dad are having fun in new york city. >> i want to say hi to our grand children across wisconsin. love you guys. >> we love blake shelton. >> happy birthday silver fox, we love you. >> oh, wow, yeah. and welcome back to "today" on this wednesday morning.

i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie, al roker, and mr. carson daly. in the background you hear some music in the plaza but speaking of music, we have blake shelton coming in just a little while. he has a song honey bee. he'll be here talking about the voice, talking about music. talking about other things. we look forward to that. by the way, we're throwing a party on the plaza. >> which explains the music you're hearing. we have expectant moms and one-year-olds for their birthday. two of our expectant moms that were supposed to be here today went into labor last night. >> as part of our born today series. >> right on queue. congratulations to them. >> matt, willie, carson, myself going to open up about our experiences as dads. >> that's right. what we learned from our dads and who chosanged the diapers.

>> in your family it would be? >> 50/50 down the line. >> then you became a slacker, okay. natalie is inside. good morning again. >> good morning to you guys and good morning everyone. a long winded protest over president obama's healthcare law kept the senate open all night long. kelly o'donnell joins us live from capitol hill. >> good morning, he is still on his feet. ted cruz has been talking since about 2:00 in the afternoon yesterday protesting tobama healthcare law which is supposed to begin it's enrollment next week. he will not be able to prevent a vote to fund the healthcare law but he is trying. meanwhile in new york vpt obama was joined by president clinton to try to sell the law and push back against the protests. there is a deadline looming. possible government shut down is getting closer but this is a protest rallying conservatives here in the senate but it may

not change the ultimate outcome. ted cruz has been on his feet unable to take a bathroom break or eat anything. he's still going. >> that's what you call stamina. kelly o'donnell on capitol hill, thank you so much. kenyan army troops searched room to room overnight in the ruins of a nairobi shopping mall where a four-day terror siege came to an end. more than 60 civilians died during the attack along with at least 6 soldiers and five gunmen. forensic experts from the united states will help kenyan authorities with their investigation. a man whose blue skin made him a recluse and then viral sensation passed away. paul karason was on this program several time. he turned blue after using preparations that contained silver to treat a skin condition. he suffered a stroke and died on monday. he was 62 years old. an amazing feet on the water.

28-year-old british adventurer is the first woman to row solo from japan to alaska. he boat capsized five times. completing her journey she said she is exhausted and called her trip bril yanliant and brutal ae same time. >> finding money can make anyone's day. especially when the surprise n win -- wind fall was put there on purpose. >> somebody is taking a page from charlie and the chocolate factory. >> i opened it up and a $100 bill fel out. >> $100 bills are showing up in every day products. >> there were three boxes left and i turned them over and there was another $100 bill. >> and ice cream cones. >> when we got home, they were getting their ice cream and they

were like we found $100 and i was like this can't be real. >> and yes, even a chocolate bar. just who left the money repairs a mystery but the $2,000 that's found so far is helping every day people in need of luck like phil who is making daily visits to his sick girlfriend at a local hospital. >> it's come at an opportune time for me. >> as the sweet message of simple acts of kindness reaches beyond the candy aisle. >> my kids and i are going to do something with it so pay it forward. >> store managers say they don't know where the money came from but they confirm that the $100 bills are real. well, good news we all need. it's 8:05 right now. let's go back outside to al for a check of your weather. >> a good mystery. thanks so much. we have this born today birthday party going on. right now, the z brothers performing for a bunch of 1-year-olds. they're having a good time. we have cupcakes over here.

they are in the shape of a one here and we have moms who are expecting their children coming up. are you excited? >> yeah. >> you guys are just about due. >> any day now? >> pretty much any day. >> well, we have momtinis for you. what is this? >> a blueberry fauxito. enjoy. we have born today onesies. let's show you what's going on as far as your rain is concerned. they are getting hammered. flood watches and rainfall amounts up to 3 inches of rain in central florida. the rest of the country, look for rain, mountain snows in the pacific northwest. gorgeous day in the northeast. no >> good morning. it should turn out to be a nice day today.

we do not expect any precipitation. a mix of clouds and and that's your latest weather. >> you did well with the bubbles on your face there. didn't bother you one bit. >> just a regular saturday night at my house. >> coming up, text stops. one state's unconventional rule to curb texting while driving. >> and if you are going to fight, do you do it in front of the kids? surprising new advice from experts. >> and michael j. fox on what changed his mind after thinking >> and michael j. fox on what change[ woman ] if you haveking the audacity to believe your financial advisor should focus on your long-term goals,

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>> we are back at 8:12 with what's trending today. >> it's an emotional victory for halle berry and jennifer garner. they have been the most outspoken supporters of a california bill meant to stop the paparazzi from getting too close to their kids. >> i love my kids. they're beautiful and sweet and innocent and i don't want a gang of shouting, arguing, law breaking photographers who camp out everywhere we are all day every day to continue traumatizing my kids. >> well, the legislature agreed and the governor, california's governor jerry brown just signed that bill into law. it imposes harsher punishments on photographers convicted of harassing celebrities children. media critics say the law is into broad and worry it might get in the way of legitimate

news gathering. >> i live near jennifer garner in california and i have witnessed what happens. i bring my family to the same park and until you see these guys in action, this is going to be a good law. because they're all over the children. >> and if you see the -- if you see the video tape of halle berry, i think it's in an airport trying to get her kid into the car and the crush of media around it, it can't be good for the kids. >> i wonder if it's going to happen in new york. >> we'll see. meanwhile, one state's unconventional approach to stop texting while driving. the dangers of sending text messages behind the wheel, if you're driving in new york state you can pull into a text stop. they're rest areas designated for drivers that can't wait to send a message. they'll also put up bright blue signs to let you know how many miles stand between you and your next tweet. probably good ideas. good reminders if nothing else.

>> a lot of the electronic signs, the huge ones that say do not text while you drive. >> more need to get on with that as well. trending from reader's digest t world's most honest city. the folks at the magazine decided to conduct a little experiment. they had their reporters drop wallets in 16 cities around the world. there was a name, a cell phone number, family photo and $50. the wallets were dropped all over the city. which cities do you think had the highest return rate? any guesses guys? you know the answer. >> we do know. >> most honest, finland. 11 of the 12 wallets were returned there. least honest was portugal. just one wallet was given by, and given back by a tourist once again. you know new yorkers get a bad wrap but our fair city actually returned 8 of 12 wallets. >> all right. not bad. >> my husband left his wallet in a cab in new york city and twice

it's been returned. pretty good. >> i dropped my wallet when i was biking and somebody mailed it to me. >> wow. >> no money taken. >> everything in it. >> intact. >> very nice. >> all right. >> what else do we have? >> all right. well, talk about no hard feelings, steven colbert is celebrating a big win. not only did he get the emmy for best variety show but he snapped the ten year winning streak in that category by john stewart from the daily show. so like the true gentleman he is, he called his old friend to gloat. >> well, the only thing left to do right now is to give john a call and wish him a sincere bite me. okay. there we go. >> hello, steven.

you guys are awesome. i just stopped by to congratulate you. >> john, why can't you just be upset, okay? it's really important to me that i have crushed you. >> i would, but i can't because i'm an executive producer on your show, so i won again, [ bleep ]. >> that's great. >> they deserve it clearly. >> thanks to our audio editing people. >> that was close. >> we know what he said. >> meantime, trending from the wall street journal this morning, the family that fights together stays together. this was an interesting article. it was about parents that bicker in front of the kids. some experts say in certain situations with certain limits it can help with a child's development so i guess that begs the question, did your parents argue in front of you when you were kids? >> yeah, they did. >> yeah. >> loudly. >> are they going to break up, i don't know? >> i remember that myself.

a lot of fights but the ones that there were, i remember. carson you asked viewers what they said about this. >> pretty split. i'll show you the result in our poll that we put up. you think that it's -- let me show you the numbers here. one of the interesting things that people said that you have to be careful if you're going to fight in front of your kids is if you want the schools to know your family business because kids talk. that's interesting take on it. also it really depends on what you consider to be arguing. if it's healthy and fair and balanced then it's okay. here's what we asked. do you argue in front of your kids. 63% said yes and 37% said no but it feels from reading your tweets that it's 50/50 and depends on how you define arguing. some people thought it was healthy because it's good to let kids know that you can agree and agree to disagree but it's all in how it's done. that's the result. thank you guys. back to you. >> thank you, carson. >> we want to continue the conversation with a child

psychologist at nyu's child study center. good to see you. >> thank you. >> do you buy that there can be constructive fighting that takes place in front of the kids. >> yes, i think they can teach problem solving skills and conflict resolution skills. one of the things we want them thinking about is where to cut themselves off. there's certain skills they can use with their kids and they can use in their own relationships down the line. >> it's important for the parents not to fight in front of their children and go into the silent treatment for days on end afterwards. >> nonverbal communication can be just as powerful and verbal communication. if you're slamming the door and throwing your hands up in the air you can send important and negative messages to your children. >> is part of the argument that being silent or having this thick tension in the air that never gets resolved also has a bad effect potentially on children. >> yeah. right, exactly. when we're talking about the

power of verbal communication and nonverbal communication and the effect that that has on children we really want, in place of that, we want children to learn important problem solving skills. >> so here are the tips for parents. set an anger cutoff point which is self-explanatory. avoid triangulation which means? >> so what that means is sometimes parents include children in their arguments. say a mom and dad are having a fight and a mom says didn't you hear your dad say that earlier this morning and they try to pull the child into the argument and that takes the child out of their role and almost puts that child at the parent level and that can be really confusing and that can cause a lot of problems between the child and the parent down the line if the child models those skills. >> we also talked about skip the silent treatment. there's some issues that are off limits. you should never fight about certain things with the kids, right? >> yes, those types of things are personal to the marriage and to the relationship. some parents feel like it's very difficult to talk about financial issues in front of the

children and then i think discipline strategies are critical to think about a head of time and not decide those things in front of the children. >> thank you so much. good to get your perspective and we want to thank our friend tat the wall street journal for the topic. >> coming up, blake shelton will stop by but now to michael j. fox. >> willie geist got to spend time with him on the set. >> the show titled the michael j. fox show, fox plays a guy going back to work after taking time off to focus on his parkinson's disease. for fox it's a familiar story line and familiar to me. my father also has parkinsons. >> reporter: he burst on to our tv sets as alex keaton on family ties. and then road to movie super stardom in back to the movie. >> i'm looking at it. >> reporter: now, michael j. fox is making a full time return to

television in the nbc comedy the michael j. fox show. >> the kitchen in family ties was so iconic and where so much of the action happened. do you think about the circle of your sitcom career. >> yeah. i do all the time. i was a kid on that and then i was a young adult on spin city and now i'm a middle aged father. >> reporter: more than a decade after spin city and 22 years after his parkinson's diagnosis he play ace family man and tv anchor returning to work five years after parkinson's put his career on hold. >> we love you. >> thanks man. thanks for man. >> people are saying this is michael j. fox's big come back. are you ready to be back in the public eye like this? >> it's flattering that people give it the attention and on some level people are excited about it. it is weird to have low key for a few years and -- but i was

always around doing something. >> but when you walked off the set from the final episode of spin city given your medical condition i think some people thought maybe we've seen the last of michael j. fox on tv. >> i thought it was the last. >> you did? >> fox began to dip his toe back in the water with a number of guest starring appearances. now he is diving in as a headliner. >> can i have a personal victory right now? we're starving. >> what has it been like to have a 14 or 16 hour day? is it more than you thought it would be or less? >> it's more than i thought it would be but i handled it better than what i thought i would. it's what i do and what i've done for years and what i enjoy doing. >> reporter: it wasn't always so easy to laugh at his condition. >> you got your diagnosis when you were 30 years old. young on set parkinsons. you were flying high. family ties, three back to the

future movies. it must have flattened you. >> it came with a prognosis that i would have maybe ten years left to work. that's what was said to me. i was just married and my son was just born and my father just passed away and there was all kinds of stuff going on. it flattened me. >> for people living with parkinson's the status quo isn't good enough. >> reporter: but he picked himself up and became the defiant face of parkinson's giving strength to the 1 million americans living with the disease. my own father among them. >> the greatest compliment i can pay you is that when my dad was going through this decision of whether or not to be public with it i could point to you. i could point to miebchael j. f and say look what he has done with it. he is on television all the time and working every day. this isn't something to shrink from, it's something to walk into. do you even have a sense for the way you have inspired people? >> well, i don't look at myself as a leader. i took at myself as part of the

community. i'm a visible member of the community and if i can let them know you don't have to with draw or pull in. it doesn't have to be life shattering or life ending. just be a new thing that pushes you to a new place. and so like doing this show, it's like why not? why can't i? why can't i? >> aside from the show, fox is very active working with the michael j. fox foundation for parkins parkinson's disease. i've been on the board since my dad announced he had parkinson's a year ago. it will premiere at 9:00 eastern time here on nbc. >> at his age, he's already a legend but i also -- i think he should be a little bit more embracing of the fact that he has inspired a lot of people. >> he has inspired an entire community. a million people in america with

parkins parkinson's all inspired by that. >> thank you very much. coming up, the voice coach blake shelton talks music and tattoos. but first your local news. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning terry i am mindy basara. here is sarah caldwell.

>> still some problems out there. for those of you heading out the door, eastbound i-70, getting word of a medical call in the west friendship area. near old columbia road, watch for delays due to annex in clearing in howard county. when 08 in snowden river parkway, this one involves a bus. as far as traffic elsewhere, this one is gone. nursery road and hammonds ferry road. we have a new accident at millville river road -- middle river road. half an hour to get you from 95 towards the towson region. ,f you travel on the west side 28 minutes from 795 all the way down. delays from 70 from 29 all the way to the beltway. heavy traffic in both doctrines at security. -- both directions at security. a bit of a delay from middletown to mount carmel. that is the latest on traffic

pulse 11. >> another nice day today. you notice the high, thin cloud cover. there is a storm passing south of us. it will be close enough to give us the high, thin cloud cover. even with that, temperatures dip into the upper 40s and low 50s. 48 in parkton, 51 at the airport. high temperatures climb into the low to mid 70s. going into the weekend, little change tomorrow and on friday. the winds shift to the northeast over the weekend. it will turn cooler with highs in the upper 60s and low 70s. >> back with another update at 8:56.

8:30 on a wednesday morning. it's the 25th of september. we've got a lot of smiling faces starting the day with us. we're happy to see them. good morning, i'm savannah guthrie along side matt lauer, natalie morales, al roker, carson daly. we'll introduce this guy in a moment. >> we're going to get to you. >> do you know who else is here? blake sheldton is here. he's the winningest coach in the history of the voice. so the big question, can he make it four out of five? we'll talk to blake in a few minutes. >> also ahead, what sleep deprivation does to new parents. makes us batty. >> and willie and i will be talking about what it's like to be a dad today and the biggest lesson we learned from our dads.

>> first to be super -- what's going on over there? >> what's happening? >> it's all about him, right? >> robert frank is here. he has a new show, the life of the super rich -- the 1% is the -- >> we all dream of being rich. many of us wonder what goes on so we take you where no cameras have gone before inside of the biggest mansions, private jets, cars, and this is amazing. it's not to make you feel bad. we have a lot of fun. there's crazy moments. >> you're channelling your inner robin leach in this but you take us inside the much talked about mansion built by the people that then lost everything. >> that's right. they have now gotten back

everything. versailles, 90,000 square feet. that's one and a halftimes the white house. it's 11 kitchens, 13 bathrooms -- i'm sorry, 30 bathrooms. you can use a different bathroom every day of the week. when jackie was showing me the house she got lost and couldn't remember what certain rooms were for. i tried to run the length of the house and ran out of breath. >> a lot to look forward to. secret lives of the super rich >> good morning.00 on o we will see more cloud cover today. we will be around 74. 70 in the mountains.

that's your latest weather. what's up uncle willie? >> have a good time. bring your friends and laugh and sing, happy birthday to you. catherine is from new orleans louisiana, 100 years old today. loves ice cream. has it every day. carl schumm from convoy, ohio. a happy man at 100. he takes care of a fruit orchard. that's where johnny appleseed used to have his sources. we have louise senna, 112 years old today. a beautiful lady and i mean she gives incredible advice. people come to her from all over. morris goodman from west

heartforheart hartford, connecticut. 100 yea old today. happy man and his favorite thing in life is turner classic movies. tcm. we have elva webster. 100 years old today. milk with every meal. put a little mustache like that commercial. i believe in milk. pure butter. real, 2%. milk. whole milk from the cow. naples, florida. it's the home of henry and sarah kaufman and they have been married for 75 years. they love each other very much and love to watch games on tv and like to play games, too. that's it. that's all. we have been playing games here for 50 years on the "today" show, or is it 60? i lose track of time.

back to you. >> thanks. still to come on born today. the changing role of dads too. our dads weigh in. >> also blake shelton and you've seen, a new season of "the voice" and he might reveal new body art. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

in season five of the hit nbc reality competition "the voice," the original coaches are reunited. that's one of my favorite songs. especially when blake shelton and adam levine compete for contestants. >> i think he's a great artist adam. that's why i hit my button because i believe in him. not because i was curious of what he looked like or what the noise was he was making or how he configured his bow tie to make weird sounds out of it. i believe in this guy. >> good morning to you.

>> i was really getting on to him there, wasn't i? >> you were. >> makes me happy. i live to make him feel bad about himself. >> you're encourageable. >> i don't know what that means but okay. >> let me ask you a question, have you ever won the show? >> it seems like the last three times or something. >> yeah, you have three out of four seasons you've won? isn't it boring if you win again? >> no it's not. it maybe to you but it's very exciting to me. >> not so exciting for your fellow coaches. >> screw them. screw them. that's my competition. i don't care if they like it or not. >> is it getting to the point where now -- you guys are supposed to be fighting over the contestants but are the contestants wanting to choose you because you have a good record? >> i had a hard time getting people to come with me this year on my team and adam had good points about -- he threw out stuff about the nba and about how nobody ever won four of anything in a row. i can't remember what the stats were but he actually got in some of these people's heads and,

man, stole a lot of people. i had a hard time putting my team together this year. >> you and adam, you do seem to have a special relationship. a little bit of tension there. >> tension? >> i don't know what kind -- >> like a little -- >> i don't know. what would you say? >> i would say where there's smoke, there's fire. we're very attracted to each other. but i'm already married. so it's never going to work. >> in another life perhaps. >> right. right. >> you got cher as one of your mentors. i don't think anyone would naturally put you two together but she said she had a great time. >> i love her. she is exactly -- looking back on all the movies and things she has been in, she's just playing herself. because being around her she's that person. she is very -- she doesn't take herself that seriously but she doesn't take any crap off of anybody either. she reminds me -- actually reminds mef my wife a lot as

far as she is just a very strong woman and a lot of fun to be around. >> miranda is a very patient woman isn't she? i hear you pester her all the time. >> why would you say that. >> it's just the word on the street, from miranda. now tell me about this tattoo you have. cee lo has a big head tattoo now. >> it's on the back, like, lower back area. >> really? >> no, it's just -- i just have it right here. >> can you show it to us. >> i don't know if i can get my sleeve up that far. >> i'm sure you can. it's a lady bug. >> no it's not. >> what is it? >> it is supposed to be deer tracks. but there's a chance that i had been drinking somewhere in the vicinity of that time and i had to draw the guy what i thought a deer track looked like so he gave me the tattoo that i drew for him but it sucks. >> maybe he was drinking too. >> yeah.

>> every time i see you, i always look and smell just to make sure. >> what is wrong with you. carson just won the emmy. he's still celebrating over there. >> tell me about it. we call him emmy winner carson daly now. >> do you really? >> yeah. >> he likes that i'm sure. he was showing me the trophy. >> three time winner of the voice, blake shelton. thank you very much. it airs tuesday evening at 8:00, 7:00 central here on nbc. up ne, the daddy panel talks sleep deprivation and what every parent needs to know. but first, this is "today" on fi

and now to our special series born today. the first few days after giving birth can be a whirlwind for first time parents.

especially without any sleep. 65% of moms and 37% of dads wish you had gotten more sleep during your baby's first year, even beating out getting more sex. so what is a sleepless mom or dad to do? one young family opened up their home to our cameras day and night. here's peter alexander with the story. >> reporter: for new parents in texas, these first 48 hours have been both exhilarating and exhausting. >> how did you guys sleep last night? >> terrible. >> not enough. >> get ready. it's going to be a lot of fun at home. >> i'm excited. i'm not going to get any sleep but i'm used to that. >> reporter: just back from an 8 month tour in afghanistan, for donnie today is a different homecoming with two day old lucas in tow. my wife allison and i were in their shoes just two months ago with our little girl ava.

it's a juggling act with new gadgets. >> how do we put him in? >> reporter: new outfits and new experiences. >> first time i've been peed on by an infant. >> that did wear a family out. >> maybe we can relax a little bit. >> reporter: by nighttime lucas has his own plans. it's impossible to sleep like a baby. more than 70% of moms say their newborn's sleep effects their own and while adult sleep is linked to the overnight hours, for infants, it's spread throughout the day. surprisingly for new parents the problem isn't sleep deprivation. they actually get an average of nearly 6 hours a night. it's sleep fragmentation, extreme fatigue caused by constant interruptions. in a first of it's kind experiment researchers are studying the impact of sleep

fragmentation. they showed us how it works. young women, not yet moms themselves sleep at the lab but every few hours researchers wake them up with a recorded crying baby and then each woman has to care for the baby doll. for the study subjects it was an eye opener. >> what did it feel like? >> the first time it wasn't too bad. but by the time i got to the third time it was almost like do i really have to. >> reporter: she even admitted getting anger. >> it was almost like trying to counter it was anger and wanting to go back to sleep. >> reporter: their study is still going on with the goal of helping them. >> what can we do to help the sleep they are getting and what can we tell them to improve their sleep hygiene. >> i don't know how many times i was up and down. >> reporter: by sunrise, lucas is finally out. >> our first night up all night. >> reporter: and mom and dad can finally enjoy their new little man peacefully. >> love, joy, happiness. >> yeah, just a whole new

purpose in life. >> reporter: for today, peter alexander, nbc news, morgantown, west virginia. >> well, let's give dads their due. we have assembled four fabulous dads, carson, willie, matt, and al. we have even giving your loungers. >> like a psychiatrist. >> i like that. 73% said they as dads were more hands on than their own fathers had been. show of hands, are you more involved. >> definitely. >> my dad was very involved but expectations have risen. people expect fathers to get in there and get on the ground and have hands on more than they did when my dad was -- >> people were like are you changing diapers? of course i am. what do you think people's impressions that dad doesn't go near the kids. >> it's almost an insulting question. >> it goes to the fact when you come to work somebody will say baby sitting today? they would never say that to the mom? >> do you think there's the

expectation now that it's 50/50 with moms? >> it's probably not quite 50/50 but there's the expectation. you have so many more women working now so you have dads at home and the idea of moms at home with the baby and dad is at work is not true anymore. it's close to 50/50. i like to think and hope we're pretty even. one thing my wife always says is no keeping score. just respect each other. when she needs a hand help her out and when i need a hand she does the same for me. >> you all talked about what a great example your fathers were. >> keep in mind and we're a little older than these two but my dad was a 1950s dad. it was mad men. it was career driven. it was guys that showed their masculine side not as much their touchy feely side. i took the responsibility side. he was the most responsible guy i ever met but now we're able to show our caring, emotional side. >> my dad was a hugger.

he was a big hugging guy. you met him. i would go to visit my other male relatives and i'd go to give them a hug and they'd like be like a handshake here. and i've been able to build on that. >> any of you keep more traditional daddy roles thinking i like that about the traditional dad role? >> i was blessed with two dads. i lost my dad when i was five. my son is at the age when my dad passed away and then i got a great step dad and i remember my stepdad i could hear his feet every day on the hardwood floor and he lived by example. i got my work ethic from my step dad. he never said a word but provided for us. and living by example is something i try to do. >> my dad wasn't a big talker, let's sit down and have this talk about the birds and the bees. he lead by example and i watched his humility and work ethic. >> you all had exciting lives

with fatherhood, does anything else compare? >> i just think of the word priorities. it changes them. >> people say it changes your life and you're scared by the idea of your life changing or being tired but it's for the better. >> we know you'll continue this conversation on twitter. if you have a question for our dads submit the questions and use the #orangeroom. coming up next, paula deen's son jamie takes over t

this morning, what's for dinner, we're making pasta three ways. growing up in georgia jamie deen's mother paula cooked dinner for her family every single night. he shares it in his new book called jamie deen's good food. good to see you. >> good to have you. >> let me ask you, how is your mom doing. so much we had on this show. an interview with her. the situation she has been through over the summer. how is she doing? >> she is doing fantastic and we have tremendous love and support and we would do anything for mom. it's been an interesting summer but we've been through challenges before and it will be fine. >> what has it been like as a son watching this. what's it been like watching this as someone that loves her? >> it's tough. we're in, you know as well as anyone you're in this business and people will take shots at you and you accept that with the opportunities that it allows you

but personal attacks on your mom is never an easy thing but we know who mom is and people that know us and love us know. >> mom wrote the forward for this book. >> of course she did. she's proud of her boys. this is a fun week to be here. >> you have two. 7 and 2. >> yes. i'm at both ends of aggravation. >> my kids love pasta. >> all kids do. we're going to sneak in a little bit. this is a roasted eggplant. if you want to drizzle this with oil. we peeled it and cubed it. a little bit of olive oil. >> a lot of people might fry it. you like to roast it instead? >> i don't fry much and it's also a good meat substitute. we'll get this into our pan and cover it with a simple tomato sauce. so this has the meaty quality and texture without the fat and all of that. >> nice hot skillet. >> of course and we'll put fresh

basil in here. you can put it together quickly and it makes really nice left overs. >> that's as easy as it gets right there. >> still got the homemade flavor. the roasted eggplant gives it a lot. >> do you also like it because it holds a lot of sauce? >> yeah, it's big. boys like it. my son when he was a baby would put it on the end of his fingers because he would put it on his finger and eat it. >> you undercook it in there so you can cook it the rest of the way in the pot. >> don't break it down too much. i don't mind a little bit of the water coming in so it will break the sauce down. let me get the rest of these in here. my son jack is on the back cover and my mom gave me a cookbook when i was seven or eight so i'm so proud to get the kids in the kitchen. >> does he care about how the food is prepared? or does she just like eating it. >> we spend so much time in the kitchen that matthew and jack want to know what's going on in there.

they love to stir and put things together. it's being there as a family. >> so start to finish, this is a 15 minute dish? >> there's some things in this book where you can spend a couple of hours but for the most part this is for busy families that have to eat every night. >> you got it in a baking dish and you'll add four different cheeses. >> we have fresh mozzarella that the boys and brooke and i love a lot. we're going to fold this in and we have ricotta cheese we'll dial up in. >> can i add this one here. >> yes, please. >> what is that? >> that is fontina and we'll finish with parmesan. >> when you put the cheese on, we came running. >> and then this goes in the oven for 15 or 20 minutes just to melt all the cheese. this is a healthy serving. we'll pass it down the line. >> while you're serving that tell me about this dish here. >> this is a pasta salad. we do this a lot at our house. jack loves wagon wheels. >> wagon wheels. >> oh, yeah. >> you can get in vegetables and

protein and your dairy. >> thank you. >> we love this. it's something we do a good bit at the house. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. no orange october for the birds, but there is good news for the baltimore orioles. the injury to manny machado's knee is not as bad as first thought. ordid not tear his acl m.c.l..

>> is going to be another nice day. plenty of sunshine through the cloud deck. high temperatures this afternoon to 71 and 76.

for a little will change for the rest of the week. cooler over the weekend.

>> announcer: from nbc news, this is today's take with al roker, natalie morales, and willie geist, live from studio 1-a in rockefeller plaza.

welcome to today on this wednesday morning, september 25th, 2013. i'm willie geist along with al roker, natalie morales and america's got talent judge and spice girl mel b. hanging out with us all week. >> yes i am. >> we're going to talk spice girls in a minute. we'll get to the bottom of one of the lyrics. >> i heard about this. >> america and the world at large have been waiting. >> dying to know. >> oh my god. >> we're going to talk about that in just a second. first, we want to point you to an interview that bill clinton did yesterday. he was asked which role his wife hilary would prefer, president or grandmother and president clinton said if you ask her i think she would say grandmother but i found it best not to discuss that issue. the rest of it is out of his hands. chelsea is 33 years old and been married for three years. some people including one of the newspapers here in new york say the heat is on.

get busy. >> get busy. >> natalie you flagged this one. >> yeah, because i mean as a woman there's a lot of pressure on us already but when you get married and if you go a couple of years -- we were married five years without children. i was getting started in my career and people start asking questions and it starts getting personal. what's wrong? why aren't you guys having kids and the pressure is on. >> people don't take into consideration, we had trouble conceiving. >> so did i. took us four and a half years. >> yeah and there maybe other reasons why people aren't having kids. >> and people can be very insensitive and it's cruel when you think about it. >> i think there's always a bit of pressure, when you're engaged everybody is when are you going to get married. when you get married, everybody says when are you going to have kids. when i got married to my husband i already had two kids. i waited five years on purpose to enjoy my kids i already had and my marriage. >> yeah. >> so there's nothing wrong with

having a kid right away but we waited four years as well and those were four great years for us where we lived together and got to know each other better and decided to have kids. >> and people make the decision they're not going to have kids and we look at them like what's wrong with them? why don't they want children? >> is something wrong in their relationships. >> and sometimes in the middle of a diaper or sick kid you think those people are amazing. >> you wouldn't give them back. >> i wouldn't give them back, because you can't. no, seriously, seriously i wouldn't. >> did you get the heat from your own family did you feel like? or was it your circle of friends? >> it was more exterior. the friends, the circle. my family knew we would get to it when we get to it plus my career was starting to take off and there's timing issues to think about, contracts and all that. >> you had to have a contract to have a kid.

>> yeah. >> agent brokered it. it was romantic. >> tough negotiation. let me tell you. no but with luke we did have problems as well and then medical intervention was necessary and people ask really personal questions. >> they sure do. >> and nowadays you get tweets all the time are you pregnant? and you're like no. even if i was, would i tell you on twitter. >> i like when somebody says are you pregnant and you're not. >> no, men know never to ask. >> i did that once outside. >> that was bad. >> if you have to ask, the answer is no. >> don't ask. >> plus i wouldn't even tell you. >> nine months pregnant and i don't say anything. >> no, exactly. >> just in case. >> had a burrito dinner that didn't go down well. >> i'm bloated and people are like she must be pregnant. >> i never got pressure from my parents about having kids but my wife and i did find once, my parents were putting an addition on their house and we found a