good morning. breaking news. deadly terror bombings hit two hotels in indonesia, carried out within minutes of each other. at least eight dead, and several americans among the dozens injured. what happened? the fire chief backstage when michael jackson's hair caught fire during that pepsi commercial shoot speaks for the first time. this as jackson's children appear in public for the first time since the funeral, and a previously unreleased song by the king of pop surfaces. ♪ ♪ the place without no pain ♪ >> we'll take a listen. and ay, carumba, a chihuahua

spiked in the head by a barbecue fork, and amazingly smoky survived. he's here with us "today," survived. he's here with us "today," friday, july 17th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning, everyone. welcome to today on a friday morning, i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm erin burnett. meredith vieira on assignment today. she'll be back on monday. this morning investigators are quickly piecing together the first terror strike in indonesia in nearly four years. >> here's what we know. it happened in jakarta's business district in the early morning hours. twin explosions just minutes apart, at the marriott and the neighboring ritz-carlton. hotels popular among foreign visitors. police now say the suspects had purchased a room at the marriott and pretended to be normal guests. the very latest is just ahead. >> and also this morning, a

story that will have parents keeping a close eye on their children's cell phones. this one's disturbing. kids receiving life threatening, anonymous text messages. supposedly this is a growing trend. we're going to hear from some of the victims and two of them are as young as 10 years old. we'll also talk about what parents can do to prevent this. >> also ahead on a much lighter note, do you own a pair of crocs? >> i actually do. i do own a pair of crocs. >> you know they were all the rage, clearly you bought them. well, sadly for some, and happily for others, looks like one of the biggest fashion trends in recent years could be coming to an end. >> do you own a pair? >> i do not have a pair of crocs. we have them here, though. those are the ones. apparently that company is in serious trouble after making that shoe. some would say there's a reason for that. anyway, we'll get to that and a lot more. first the breaking news. deadly terror attacks on two western hotels in jakarta. nbc's ian williams has the latest on this. ian, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. well the death toll has now

risen to nine, and u.s. officials have confirmed that several americans are among the dozens injured. indonesia sources had defeated terrorism. it's been nearly four years since the last big attack. but this morning, terror returned to jakarta. the two blasts were just minutes apart. ripping through the j.w. marriott and ritz-carlton owe tells in the city's upscale business district. the injured spilled into streets littered with glass, as emergency services and anti-terror police rushed to the scene. witnesses described the horror of the marriott blast. >> it sounded like the earthquake that we had about a year or two ago. . >> a blast, you know, and a lot of smoke, and i woke up very quickly and everything was quite crazy. >> reporter: the hotels were popular with foreigners and indonesians. police said the ritz-carlton bomb went off in a hotel restaurant, as breakfast was

being served. the marriott bomb appeared to have been planted in the basement. most major hotels in jakarta now have tight security procedures. and the police say the bombers may have been guests who smuggled the devices in. indonesian thought it had turned its back on scenes like these. the j.w. marriott was previously badly damaged by a car bomb attack in 2003. that killed 12 people. it came a year after the bali bomb that killed more than 200 people. those attacks were blamed on jamma islamiyah, a regional terror group linked with al qaeda. but a massive crackdown by anti-terror police captured or killed most of its leaders. and the country's been praised for its apparent success against terrorism. indonesia's president said today that it's too early to know who's responsible for the latest attacks. but he vowed to track them down, matt. >> all right, ian, thank you very much. nbc's ian williams reporting from thailand this morning.

now let's get a check of the other top stories this morning. with ann on assignment, natalie morales is over at the news desk. >>ood morning, erin and matt. good morning to you. today, pope benedict broke his right wrist after slipping and falling in northern italy. the 82-year-old 30e7 has been vacationing at a shall lay near the french border since monday. despite the accident, the pope celebrated mass and had breakfast before going to the hospital, according to the vatican. during the night, the house weighs and means committee voted to increase taxes on higher income earners as part of a health care reform bill. president obama is ramping up his campaign to get a reform bill done. nbc's white house correspondent savannah guthrie joins us with more. good morning, savannah. >> reporter: hi, natalie. the health care battle is getting very intense. as you said the president is ratcheting up his involvement and his rhetoric. listen to him at a fund-raiser for new jersey's governor yesterday. he sounded a lot like the old candidate. >> we have talked and talked and talked about fixing health care for decades, a we have finally reached a point where inaction

is no longer an option. where the choice to defer reform is nothing more than a decision to defend the status quo, and i will not defend the status quo. we are going to change health care reform prp >> reporter: but reform efforts got a setback on the hill yesterday when the congressional budget office said that the health care proposals on the hill right now will not control health care costs and may actually increase them. aides here say it's too early to make that assessment, because the legislation isn'tcomplete. and house democrats picked up a big endorsement from the american medical association, which represents my of the nation's doctors. the president wants a version of health care to pass both houses of congress before the august recess. it's a tight deadline. some on the hill openly doubt they can meet. >> savannah guthrie at the white house. thank you. the military says three u.s. soldiers were killed thursday in iraq in an attack on their base outside of basra. overseas markets are higher this morning. as for u.s. markets, cnbc's melissa francis is at the new york stock exchange watching it

for us. what are we looking for there today? >> good morning, natalie. we have three major earnings reports out today, ge, bank of america and citigroup. the markets riding high after great reports yesterday out o jpmorgan, also ibm saying that the rest of the year looks even better than they expected. so we'll see if this sentiment continues through the day. we're also watching larry summers, who is the assistant to the president on economic policy. he is out later today with a report on how the administration is propping up the economy. we'll be listening for cues as to when the economy may be getting better. natalie, back to you. >> melissa francis at the new york stock exchange, thank you. tragedy in france, where the roof of a stage being built for a madonna concert collapsed. killing two people, and injuring eight others, including an american. madonna, who was in italy at the time, said she was devastated by the news, and offered her prayers to the families. and 17-year-old sailor jack sunderland arrived in southern california thursday, completing a grueling 13-month solo voyage around the world.

he became the youngest person ever to do that. congratulations to him. 7:07 right now. let's go back to matt, aaron and al. sure he's glad to be home. >> all those other boats go with him the whole way. >> solo. all by himself. >> at 17 i got lostn macy's. >> there's a big difference. >> yeah. >> yeah. >> all right. i was looking for sales. >> oh. >> you think the all-american rejects are popular? look at this crowd. unbelievable. >> nobody rejected them. >> let's show you what's going on. out west, huge a ountsf heat. i mean we're talking record-setting heat. medford, oregon 102. 115 palm springs. phoenix 112. then we've also got a risk of fro syracuse downto atlanta. interior northeast and soheast, possibity of a few isoled adrntooes. heavy rain falling. in fact, we'll be looking at some strong storms around dallas

hazy and humid on this friday morning. good morning. a live picture from our city camera showing the haze over the washington monument and the jefferson memorial. 76 in washington. the 70s and 60s to our west. not quite as humid there. later on this afternoon passing showers and thundershowers are likely, highs near 90. and rather humid. maybe strong storms, 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. which could produce damaging winds and hail. cooler for the weekend. that's your ratest weather. matt? >> all right, al, thank you very much. now to washington and what's been a very eventful week from the sometimes testy senate confirmation hearings for sonia sotomayor to president obama's full-court press to overhaul health care. david ggory is the moderator of nbc's "meet the press." david, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. >> let's start with health care. and the president's talking about it everywhere. he is really on the stuv, as

savannahsaid, sounds like a candidate again saying i will not accept the status quo. break down quickly for me, if you will, where republicans seem to stand on it right now and where democrats seem to stand. >> well, the very latest news, remember the central claim of this health care reform is by spending all this money for a massive overhaul, you contain these exploding health care costs for the government years down the road. when you have the umpire of the budget on the hill, a bipartisan figure who says not so fast. this cost is going to onl go up under these bills that are being proposed. so it's a major setback for this legislation at a time when republicans, and even some of the moderate democrats are saying this is simply too expensive, we don't have a way to pay for a trillion dollar-plus plan. >> well, david, though, how does the administration handle that news coming from that umpire, the way you just described it? >> well, twofold. one, they take issue with that saying there will be cost savings down the road. it's too early to make that kind of final determination. and secondly, they are trying to come up with alternative ways to

produce this revenue to pay for this plan. >> without watering down the plan? >> without watering down the plan. and that's a big point. because there's a lot of people on the left who say wait a minute, the central promise of this president was to come up with a big government plan to compete with private insurance to keep those overall costs down. if he retreats from that a lot of people on the house side, who are democrats, who are already out there on a limb, they don't want to see the white house retreat. >> this august deadline is looming and it's a tough one to meet but you think there could be what i think you called the ted kennedy factor here. what's that going to be? >> well, look, ted kennedy is the driving force behind this legislation. he's worked at the white house. he's talking to all sides in this debate. all sides in the debate say if he were here, perhaps it would be a better bill. we'd get it a little bit faster. so he's involved. and i think there is a factor here. he wants this. the president wants it. i think there's going to be certainly a sentimental favorite in terms of getting this legislation done. this is going to go down to the wire in terms of whether there are democratic votes. right now, the republicans are squarely against it.

maybe some of that opposition falls. it all depends on how close they get to making it look like it's inevitable. and this is really do or die time. the president understands it. >> you used the word inevidentable. inevitable that we're going to see a yes vote on sonia sotomayor in the senate? the hearings went on this week. there were some tough questions asked of the candidate, but seems like nothing really stuck. >> right. all but certain that she gets confirmed. the top republican on the panel saying it doesn't look like anybody would amount to serious plow test to her. they wouldn't launch a filibuster. so these hearings, which were largely boring, and that's how the white house is wanted it, didn't produce any major revelation that people aren't already been debating. it looks very difficult to see that she would not be confirmed. and then there's the question of how big the margin is in >> what do you got for sunday? >> we're going to stay on the health care debate. we've got the secretary of health and human services, kathleen sebelius and the top republican in the senate, mitch mcconnell, to debate where we're going. >> have a good weekend. it is now 12 after the hour.

>> matt, funeral services are being held today for byrd and melanie billings. those are the florida parents of 17 children. the parents were murdered during a deadly home invasion. this comes as investigators say they have recovered at least one of the guns that were used in the murders. nbc'mark potter has the very latest. good morning, mark. >> reporter: good morning to you, erin. that funeral service is being held here at liberty church in pensacola. as many as 1200 members much the publ public, the family, and their many adopted children will be here. this, as the murder investigation winds down. eight days after byrd and melanie billings were killed in their home, officials say all the primary suspects are now in jail. >> we believe that this concludes the major part of our investigation. >> reporter: authorities also say they have settled on a motive for the attack on the billings house. >> in our opinion, this was a home invasion rather where the

people stole a safe. >> reporter: that safe, officials say, was recovered wednesday night. but they will not say what was in it or if the robbers themselves opened it. investigators also found what they say was the second vehicle used in the robbery, along with the red van recovered earlier in the week. and there was another important discovery. >> we have located several guns in various locations, one of which we believe is the murder weapon. >> reporter: seven men have been arrested on murder charges and an eighth person, a realtor, is charged with accessory after the fact. authorities say other suspects claim her van was used to transport weapons and the safe. investigators also say those suspects knew each other from past dealings. >> either the combination of friendships, casual business relationships, that brought this group together. >> reporter: still to be answered is w the security cameras at the billings' home were not disabled by the alleged

robberses, despite careful planning of the crime. >> we have some people of interest that we are continuing to look at. >> reporter: the still unsolved mystery is why the billings were killed if this was just a robbery. and today, local reports say the safe was found buried in the realtor's backyard. as prosecutors prepare their case for the grand jury to formalize the charges. erin? >> mark potter, thank you very much. it's 7:15. now once again, here's matt. >> all right, erin, thank you. now to the latest on michael jackson's death. new images of his children have surfaced along with a previously unreleased song. this as the los angeles fire department captain speaks out about what really happened during jackson's pepsi commercial accident back in 1984. nbc's jeff rossen has the latest on all of this. jeff, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. lots to get to this morning. we'll begin with michael jackson's kids. they are old enough now to know exactly what's going on here. all the talk of who will get them, who wants them, and who doesn't want them. we're just days away from

monday's custody hearing and now we have exclusive details about what michael jackson really wanted for his children. this is our first look at the kids in more than a week. 11-year-old paris, 12-year-old prince, and 7-year-old blanket, all out and about in los angeles. they're at a jehovah's witness church. paris is holding a book called "sing praises to jehovah." the kids' former nancyrace is with the children, too. she was reportedly fired by michael jackson back in april. but since michael's death, the jackson family has brought her back to help. >> he loved his children and his children loved him. >> reporter: june gatlin was michael jackson's spiritual adviser. in an exclusive interview she told us just months before his death, michael was taking stock of his life. did he ever say to you, if something happens to me, i want my kids to go with -- >> april 13th we discussed it, ifnything happens, he would want his mother to have his children. his mother, who he loves dearly.

he cherishes his mother. and if anything happened with his mother, then he wanted janet to have his children. >> reporter: why janet? >> michael loves his sister. he trusts his sister. he trusts janet explicitly. >> reporter: in fact, it was janet jackson who comforted paris at the memorial service. also spotted with the kids this week, michael's oldest sister reas rebbie. sources close to the news say he's also being considered for partial custody. >> they're three kids who have to be kept together. whoever is taking paris and prince has to take blanket, also. >> reporter: katherine jackson and debbie rowe, biological moms of the two oldest kids, have been negotiating custody all week with the hearing set for monday, time is running out to reach a deal, and now there's another controversy brewing. ♪ around michael jackson's infamous accident, in video just obtained by"us weekly" you can see his hair catch fire while

filming a pepsi commercial in 1984. now that the video is out, this los angeles fire captain, who was backstage, is breaking his silence for the first time since the accident. >> the tape where he got his hair burned was a deviation from the other takes, because he stood under the shower of sparks. >> reporter: he says jackson was told to stand on a platform for a better shot. >> i was backstage, and i overheard a conversation for michael to stay there longer, he would look more majestic. when i got him off the floor, he was a little dazed, disoriented. as we walked him back, he was worried, he wanted to know how severe the burn was, and he also asked about his face. he said, did any of the sparks hit my face, or is my face burned? i told him, michael, no your face is fine. >> reporter: many say it was this accident that sparked an addiction to painkillers. an addiction that may have ultimately taken jackson's life. as police haul pill bottles from jackson's home, and medical records from his doctor's offices, n news has now

confirmed investigators are meeting with prosecutors, gearing up for possible criminal charges. robin sacks is a former l. prosecutor, and worked with the same people handling this case. >> you would want to have prosecutors involved at the very beginning so that they -- because they're going to have an eye for what's going to be provable in court. >> reporter: overnight the l.a. county coroner's office confirmed for nbc news the toxicology report that everyone has been waiting for has been delayed. it could be, in fact, another two weeks before we learn what was in michael jackson's system, and what killed him. matt? >> all right, jeff rossen in los angeles this morning. jeff, thank you very much. and now to that previously unreleased song by michael jackson that's been leaked online. the song is called "a place with no name." take a listen. ♪ take my hand i'll take it there ♪ ♪ oh, to a place without no pain ♪

♪ take me to a place without no pain ♪ >> it's a place by no name. obviously it sounds like a horse with no name that was recorded by america back in 1971, and apparently that group gave michael permission to record the song so there was no conflict, as a matter of fact, manager for america today says they hope it's actually released so -- >> they're honored he picked their song, right? >> exactly right. >> we don't know exactly who owns the rights and when we'll hear the whole thing. >> we don't know when he recorded it either. >> lots of questions. everyone wants to know are there more songs even out there? bu now to something matt mentioned at the top of the show that you either love, or you hate. i think you're in the hate camp. >> that's a strong word. >> that's a strong word, okay. >> wei dislike. >> it's not my favorite? >> right. >> we're talking about crocs. it was a sensation. but it looks like the crocs could be on their last legs.

nbc's janet shamlian has that story. >> reporter: they look like the accidental mating of cutoff galishes and a block of swiss cheese, rubber full of holes and the color of crayons, cushy crocs became an unlikely worldwide hit. >> they're the only shoe my kids are wearing now. >> we're big fans of the crocs. >> reporter: comfortable at about 30 bucks a pair, they were on everyone's feet from great grandmas to little kids. but it's never been a universal love affair. from the get-go, you either loved them or you hated them. >> we have a couple pairs. i don't love the way they look. >> reporter: despite the critics, crocs became a wall street darling, and sales soared. but the shoemaker, born during the boom, has tripped in recession. over-expanding and maybe a victim of its own success. the shoes so indestructible, who

really needs a second pair? >> ultimately, are they over as the must-have product of the moment? yeah. i don't see that returning. do i see crocs staying around? maybe as a comfort shoe. >> reporter: in new york this week, the store was busy. d the company insists it won't become a one-hit wonder. >> i don't think it's the end of crocs. i think it's a new beginning for crocs. we're selling now into more stylish models. where we had that ugly shoe mentality out there in the world and now we have a stylish shoe and we want people to discover that. >> reporter: high heels, wedges and flip-flops. those are among the newest croc offerings. but will customers buy in? fashion is fickle. and the marshmallow-like footwear could end up yet another phase. for "today," janet shamlian, nbc news. >> crocs with heels. >> they have evolved. there's no question about it. and the affordability of them i think is a great thing. but the style of this particular type --

>> maybe make a lower quality so people need to replace them? still ahead, terrifying texts. the growing trend of kids using cell phones to send other kids life-threatening, anonymous messages. the things every parent needs to =d

still to come, what's in a name? cemeainaorn fssoyou b cld nd i tmhen jail. >> all right. and the chihuahua impaled by a >> all right. and the chihuahua impaled by a fork resting comfortably. - ( ac blowing ) - ...to help keep us cool? ( women vocalizing ) solar-powered ventilation... to help cool you, available on the third-generation prius. it's harmony between man, nature and machine.

good morning. i'm eun yang. it's friday, july 17, 2009. it's 5:26. in the news this morning -- 7:26. a u.s. capitol police officer is at a hospital following a shooting t. off-duty officer got involved after he saw two people shooting at each other in a parking lot last night. a 12-year-old girl who was at the scene was also struck by a stray bullet. all three victims are expected to be okay. metro riders will have to deal with more closures this weekend so investigators can continue to look into last month's crash. 7:00 to 7 p.m. tomorrow, trains will run between glenmont and

silver spring and fort totten and shady grove. there will be shuttle buses to get people around the closures. we'll check your weather and

(female narrator) from jennifer: a microfiber sofa bed for just $299, only at jennifer. $299. jennifer: the only place to buy a sofa bed. a mild and muggy july morning. good morning. as we look at the forecast for today, highs reaching near 90. there is a likelihood of afternoon and evening thundershowers and a small chance an isolated storm could produce damaging winds 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. low humidity late tonight and in place for saturday and sunday. highs low to mid 80s each day with morning lows in the 60s. how's traffic? >> painfully slow. the outer loop is jammed leaving springfield to the lane divide, the split over at van dorn

street, extra time on your trip. >> thank you. tonight on "news 4 at 5:00," a ew way to get a helping han

♪ didn't i tell you >> we are back now at 7:30 on a friday morning. it's the 17th day of july, 2009. rockefeller plaza, full of rejects this morning. hold on, that is reject fans, actually. the all-americ rejects will take our summer concert series about one hour from now. they have attracted a huge crowd. meanwhile, inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer alongside erin burnett, who is filling in while meredith vieira is on assignment. good to have you here for the past couple of days. >> good to be here. >> why don't we tell peopl a little bit about meredith's assignment? in a worldwide exclusive

meredith sits down with susan boyle, the sensation from "britain's got talent" to talk about her unlikely rise to stardom, the toll its taken, and what is next. and, wow, susan -- >> she looks great. >> isn't she? looks like, clearly not the same appearance that she had the first time we interviewed her here on the show. so you can see susan boyle, daring to dream, part of a special edition of "america's got talent," that's next wednesday at 9:00, 8:00 central time. we'll have a preview of that interview next wednesday on "today." if you can't wait that long don't worry about it. you can head to our webse, todayshow.com for an exclusive clip. >> she really did lookk nice. >> really good. >> meanwhile, this half hour, can bill gates control the weather? he sort of can do a lot of things so maybe that's not beyond his capability. just ahead how he plans to stop hurricanes. and we're going to meet the lucky dog. matt has been waiting for. smoky the chihuahua who beat the odds in a bizarre accident. >> that picture is real, folks. that is not some sort of, you

know, photo shop thing. that is a fork sticking in that dog's head. >> and the dog is here. alive. >> he has lived to tell the story. >> a little pooped, but alive. exactly. we're going to get to that in a second. first to a very troubling story for parents. frightening text messages that are being sent to the ce phones of children. today's national correspondent amy robach has the details on that. amy, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you, matt. when a child receives a text they're told to forward it along, and if they don't, they'll be killed. the message, of course, is meant to scare kids, and it's working. >> he was petrified. petrified. >> reporter: for christian reel of suburban philadelphia, a single text message to her 10-year-old son's cell phone was enough to scare him. >> he hasn't slept by himself since -- for a few days now. he won't leave my side walking through the house. >> reporter: it's all because of what the text message side. >> it was a very graphic, violent message about a girl whose father had murdered her,

and that if he didn't help this girl locate her father, she would be waiting at his bedside to slice him in his neck and his parents would find him floating in his bathtub, overflowing with blood and water. >> reporter: christian's son isn't alone. 10-year-old alera received a similar message on her cell phone. >> it said hi, my name is jenny. i am a 7-year-old girl. if you don't text this to 15 people, then i'll come with a knife and kill you tonight. i told my grandmother, who was taking care of me that day. she said, oh, those are jt silly things to scare people. >> reporter: the parents of these children told their story to the nbc station in philadelphia, wcau. but experts say it's happening to children across the country. yet another example of the dangers, especially for kids, of living in an increasingly digital world, and once again it raises the question for parents, how safe are cell phones for your kids? >> parents need to be parents. and so whether your child has a

cell phone or they have access to the inrnet, they still need to be monitoring their children. we are moving in an unsafe direction because we are ging children things that they don't know what to do with. they are having too much access, too much power, too much openness to things that they don't know how to handle. >> reporter: and experts agree that even if you do allow your child to have a cell phone, you should be careful about the plan you pick. and you should think twice before giving them access to text messaging. matt? >> allright, amy robach, thank you very much. perry aftab is an internet safety expert. good to have you back. >> good morning, matt. >> makes you shake your head. this is someone's idea of a joke. >> it is. it's the old e-mail chain letters that we used to get. we used to get them in envelopes. >> but they didn't threaten to kill you back then. it seemed like send this or you lose a fortune or something like this. this is a much darker twist to that. >> it takes a lot to get the kids' attention these days. and it's everywhere. it is thirtd, fourth, fifth grade issue. >> one of the questions i have

is how are they sending these without it being traceable? >> you can go onto the internet. and most of the cell phone providers will allow you to send a text message right from their website. so although you could possibly track it back, it comes from the internet, not from another cell phone. >> so the question again, are we giving children at too young an age these tools, and that's a debate we can have for hours and hours, but, does this shed new light on it? >> it does. and you and i have had this debate. i think that we're putting a lot of technology into the hands of kids who aren't prepared for it. if you want your kids to have a cell phone because it's going to make them safer that's great. but then park it when they get home. you already know they're safe at home. >> and tell your kids to send only appropriate text and pictures. sign up for a call blocking program. that's easy, right? >> absolutely. >> don't give out your text or personal information to people you don't know or if others can hear you, and don't respond to a text from someone you don't know. >> but most of these are from people you do know. kids they're in class with who think it's a hoot. but when you get these and the

first case i saw was 1997, matt, and it was by e-mail. it terrifies the kids. so parents need to know what to do when it happens to their children. let them know that this is a prank, not real. there are no gsts and people out to kill them. >> except you want to say to your kids, this is a prank, and yet you want to take it seriously, as well. >> and you have to do them both. that's the balance we do as parents. so don't worry about it, this isn't going to hurt you, i love you, let's go do something else. at the same time, if there's a threat involved you call the police. it's their job to see if it's real and to find out who's behind it. >> and just don't let your ks respond to these. >> they can't. it only fuels the fire. >> all right, thanks very much. always good information. and now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> thank you very much, matt. we are out here with all the american rejects. we're having a good time. it is nice and toasty, and it looks like for the first time in 46 days here in new york, we will top 85 degrees. it's been only three summers where that hasn't happened. let's take a look, show you

what's going on. for the weekend, record highs out west. in the pacific northwest and the plains. heavy rain in new england. sizzling through the gulf coast, and thunderstorms. en sunday -- sunday! -- hot, sizzling weather in the western half of the country. mild in new england,un shine along the coast. good morning. a mild and muggy morning on this july morning, this friday starting off with summer haze over the monuments, a live picture from our city camera, now 76 in washington, highs today near 90 with quite a bit of humidity. 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. we could get strong storms that might produce damaging winds. then tomorrow and sunday both days low humidity return, morning lows in the 60s, afternoon highs in the low to mid 80s and lots of sunshine. that's your latest weather. any time you need to check your weather day or night, go to the weather channel on cable or

weather.com online. matt, erin? >> thank you, al. all right, parents listen up. we talked about this a little bit before. now we are going to deliver the names for boys that supposedly are linked to increased delinquency. or likelihood of eventually going to jail. >> yeah, that's right. a study says that boys who have very unusual names, or overly feminine-sounding names have a better chance of winding up behind bars. so why don't you give us the names on the list. >> the number one name is alec. a-l-e-c would be the spelling on this one. ernest and garland. though we couldn't find anyone with the name of garland. obviously ernest hemingway and alec baldwin, so there were a few people. >> alec baldwin is not in jail the last time i checked. >> no. >> kareem, luke and malcolm, also made the list. >> that's right, mm-hmm. walter, preston and tyrell are on the list, as well. matthew is not on the list.

>> no, thank goodness. shippingsburg university professor david callus, the man behind the study explains while unpopular names are likely not to cause a crime, the factors associated with the names can increase the tendency toward juvenile delinquency. >> right. and they said i guess basically if you're being teased mercilessly your entire childhood you become an angry, bitter person. and you lash out in a way that could be negative. quick quiz by the way, what was the most popular name in america last year. >> jack. >> close, it was jacob. which surprised me. but luke by the way, was on the list of potential delinquents and luke is a very popular na. so watch out. >> still to come, the chihuahua who survived a terrible accident, a barbecue. up next, can bill gates control the weather? don't laugh. we're serious about this. we'll explain right after this. (announcer) we speak car. we speak rpms so you can zip by other cars. but we also speak mpgs so you can fly by gas stations.

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back now at 7:43 with what might seem like a ridiculous question, can microsoft founder bill gates control the weather? well according to a patent application recently released to the public, gates and several other coinventors see to think that they can, at least when it comes to hurricanes. nbc's kerry sanders is in miami beach with the details. good morning, kerry. >> reporter: well, good morning, erin. residents who live here and across the hurricane zone have to deal with high insurance rates, chaotic evacuations,

catastrophic damage, sometimes even death. so, while the idea of controlling the weather might sound like science fiction, because billionaire bill gates is involved, it's a category 5 idea that some can only hope comes true. just about any hurricane that makes landfall these days is at least a billion dollar storm. because of the damage, the heartache, and perhaps just because of the sheer challenge, scientists have long tried to figure out a way to kill a hurricane. in the 1960s, one hopeful idea seemed promising. tow an iceberg into the hurricane's path. the ice would melt, cooling the ocean waters at the surface. it's those warm 80-degree-plus waters that fuel a hurricane's strength. now comes bill gates. like the comicbook character the weather wizard, gates and a team of scientists have an ingenious plan. hundreds of banchs almost like big bathtubs positioned in the path of an oncong hurricane. as the warm water slashes over,

it feeds down a pipe at least 700 feet to where ocean temperatures can be 40 degrees colder, up the other pipe that cold water is pumped to the surface, sapping the hurricane's strength. the director of noaa's hurricane research is skeptical. >> it's plausible, yes. it's possible, maybe. is it realistic? i can't answer that. i mean that's not my job. that's their job to demonstrate the attribution, the proof. >> reporter: with a few simple items, dr. steven leatherman -- >> go ahead and turn it on. >> reporter: filled an aquarium with water as if it were the ocean and then with a bucket and a tube demonstrated the physics involved. when the red water in the bucket is higher than sea level, even without a pump, gravity forces it down, just as would happen in those floating barges. >> the physics is right. and it would work, if we can deal with the scale factor. that's the big thing. and it's going to take an enormous amount of cold water brought up, many thousands of pumps, perhaps, to haveny

effect on hurricanes. remember how big hurricane systems are. >> reporter: still even those who have been through hurricanes have questions. what would you think if that existed, if we could kill a hurricane? >> that we're playing god. you can't do that. >> reporter: now scientists say if this works, it would actually disrupt the ocean currents, and so it would impact weather in other parts of the country. how to pay for all of this? we contacted bill gates. his spokesman said he had no comment. but there's one theory out there that ultimately insurance mpanies would pay for a project like this, so erin, i guess the policy holders in the end who will fund it if it ever goes forward. >> i guess that means you and me and people like that. kerry sanders, thank you very much. no matter what you think about it, at least we're lucky to have someone like bill gates trying things out and inventing things. up next, the chihuahua who survived for two days with a barbecue fork stuck in his head. it was then removed.

he'she.re he's a bit sleepy. but we're going to meet smoky right after this. this is a typical snack bar. but kellogg saw an opportunity to plus things up. we took out their peanuts... because adding almonds would be a plus. we'd be better off with less sugar. we traded milk chocolate... for the delicious taste of dark chocolate. also a plus. then we added 35% of your daily fiber... plus antioxidants, vitamin e, and zinc. ♪ fiberplus bars from kellogg. fiberplus so much more.

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that can take so much out of you. i feel like i have to wind myself up just to get out of bed. then...well...i have to keep winding myself up to deal with the sadness, the ss of interest, the trouble concentrating, the lack of energy. if depression is taking so much out of you, ask your doctor abo p no(anuniqr) psion is taking scioipth out of you, en teatr . pristiq is thought to work by affecting the levels of two chemicals in the brain, serotonin and norepinephrine. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens or you have unusual changes in mood, behavior, or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children, teens and young adults. pristiq is not approved for children under 18.

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>> too late. it's a little late. >> sorry. we tried to give you a warning. one of the prongs ended up in smoky's brain, but incredibly he survived. that picture is just pretty amazing. he is here along with his owner and his vet. good to have both of you with us. so what happened, huey? >> well, she was licking off a plate and smoky he came out of the house and was out there, and the big dogs were trying to eat and she was scaring the big dogs off. she'll often -- sheed the fork in her hand and it popped out of the handle and she looked around an hd itit smoky in t ihe head d he ran off. >> he actually ran in the woods for two days, right? >> yeah, he stayed gone for two days. >> you must have thought he was dead. >> yeah, they thought he was dead. and so we were out to look for smoke ki and just so happened we

walked on the porch and smoky come across the hill up the driveway. he t fork back with still stuck in h thead. >> yeah. and i got him and took him in the use, and they didn'tnow what to do with him, so i thought i'd take him to the animal hospital. so dr. smith -- >> so doctor, what happened when you saw smoky? >> well, when he came in, i about passed out. i was like, this is not real. you know, they come in a panic, as you can imagine, and we were closing down for the day, it was right at the close, and when they told me there was a dog with a fork in its head -- >> you almost euthanized the dog, right? >> we considered that, yeah. we didn't really know. but i said you know, he survived two days, take some x-rays anyway. we started there. >> and you really literally just gave him -- just pulled the fork out and he's not totly okay, though. bu h se' almost. >> well, he's not totally okay. and i don't believe tha he'll

be, you know, completely out of the woods with this for at least another month. but he is doing tremendous. i was very nervous for him the first 24 hours. he did wake up weird. >> well, again, right now he's got a little paralysis in one eye. >> he does. >> and sleeping now, probably a little effects of the surgery and the trauma. >> he is a precious little guy. >> he is a great-looking little dog. >> and he's also a puppy, and he is definitely a lap potato. >> a lap potato. >> call it like it is. >> take good caref smoky, all right? you've got a miracle dog on your hands. doctor, job well done. s>>hank you. >> nice to meet you, smoky. >> still ahead the all-american rejects in concert. for a second course, choose two entrees from over 15 chili's favorites, like our big mouth bites -- the mini burgers with giant layers of flavor. or a half-rack of our triple-basted baby back ribs.

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the 3rd generation prius. it's harmony between man, nature and machine. good morning. i'm eun yang. it's friday, july 17, 2009. it's 7:56. in the news, metro plans to shut down part of the redline this weekend t. takoma metro will be closed 7:00 to 7:00 tomorrow. trains will run between glenmont and silver spring and fort totten and shady grove. there willl be shuttle buses. monument realty bought the watergate hotel with hopes to restore it. but the watergate fell behind on mortgage payments and is now in foreclosure. the auction will take place on tuesday. historians hope the highest

bidder will keep the hotel as is and not tear it down. we'll check your weather and traffic when we come back. if we don't act, medical bills will wipe out their savings. if we don't act, she'll be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. and he won't get the chemotherapy he needs. if we don't act, health care costs will rise 70%. and he'll have to cut benefits for his employees.

but we can act. the president and congress have a plan to lower your costs and stop denials for pre-existing conditions. it's time to act. it's partly sunny, mild and rather humid around the washington metro area. to the south and west on radar getting a few showers crossing the blue ridge and heading near charlottesville. they may move near fredericksburg. then there is a greater chance of afternoon thundershowers into

this evening and a slight risk and isolated storm could produce damaging winds. lower humidity with cooler temperatures for the weekend. we'll have quite a bit of sunshine as well saturday and sunday. then on monday could get some thundershowers late in the day as well as into next week. how's traffic? >> not good morning to be on the beltway. good morning. the outer loop jammed, springfield to the lane split at van dorn, 395 carrying a lot of overflow. in maryland word of a serious crash, 95 southbound, overturned vehicle, several miles of backed-up traffic both ways on 95. >> thank you. tonight on "news 4 at 5:00" a new way to get a helping hand from yourñxxxxóxoxoçgñ1ñcñc

8:00 now on a friday morning, the 17th day of july, 2009. we have an enormous crowd out on the plaza today. getting ready for a concert from the popular group the all-american rejects. that's coming up in just about a half an hour. on the plaza i'm matt lauer along with erin burnett who is nice enough to fill in while meredith is on assignment. and we're joined by al roker, as well. >> huge crowd. no one rejecting this crowd. >> also coming up in thi half hour we're going to have the latest on what's been a heart-wrenching drama. a new jersey father's attempt to

win back custody of his son, who has been in brazil for about five years now. david goldman is going to join us with the latest on his efforts to get his son sean back in this country. including a trip to washington yesterday, where he actually testified in front of congress. we'll be talking to david about that. >> plus we're getting ready for the friday whip, which i know -- >> what is that? >> it's all about lazy summer days this time around. we've got a few angles on that. >> and a little bit later on, how to predict how much you will weigh in the coming years, and how to make changes if you don't like the results. >> okay. before we get to all that let's go in to the news desk. ann continues on assignment. natalie is there with the headlines. hi, natalie. >> good morning again, matt, erin and al. good morning to you. at least eight people are dead and 50 wounded after powerful explosions today rocked indonesia's capital city. nbc's ian williams is covering the story for us from bangkok. ian the bombs targeted luxury hotels? >> that's right, natalie. the marriott and the ritz-carlton. they went off shortly before

8:00. police think they went off in the coffee shops of the hotels. those guests were enjoying breakfast. now, they're also specific lating that both bombs were the work of suicide bombers. and that these bombers were staying as guests in the hotel. the reason for this is because in the marriott they found what looks like an unexploded bomb. also, there was incredibly tight security at all western hotels in jakarta. so this may have been the only way they could gain access. there's been a four-year lull in this sort of attack in jakarta. so this has come as a very big blow. suspicion is falling on jemaah islamiyah, a regional terror group linked to al qaeda. the president of indonesia said today he couldn't say who was responsible at this point, but he has vowed to tra them down, natalie. >> nbc's ian williams reporting from bangkok. thank you, ian. pope benedict underwent surgery today after falling at a chalet where he's been vacationing in the italian alps.

doctors say he fractured his right wrist, but aides say there is no cause for concern about the pontiff's health. a los angeles m goes to court today accused of murdering his wife on a luxury cruise to mexico. nbc's george lewis has more on the cruise ship turned crime scene. >> reporter: when the carnival cruise line ship "elation" docked in san diego, the passengers had quite a story to tell. >> someone was stabbed in their shower. >> reporter: on tuesday night as the ship was about three hours out of cabo san lucas, mexico, returning to san diego from a five-day cruise, a passenger alerted security officers about aisturbance in one of the lower cabins. >> i saw a security guard posted opposite the room, looking straight at the door. there was a sign on the door that this is a secure area. >> reporter: inside, security personnel found the body of 55-year-old shirley mcgill. her husband robert mcgill had left the cabin. >> after mrs. mcgill's body was discovered, mr. mcgill was

basically arrested on board the ship, and was kept in the brig, the jail of the ship. >> reporter: the couple lived here in the northwest part of los angeles. a neighbor says he can't believe bob mcgill is a suspected murderer. >> i don't think he did it. i think there has to be something else. some other explanation. i mean, this is -- it's wrong. >> reporter: mcgill, who was taken away from the ship in this suv, is in federal custody, awaiting his first court appearance. as other passengers try to come to terms with what happened on the high seas. george lewis, nbc news, los angeles. president obama was among those honoring the naacp during its 100th anniversary convention in new york city. last night, the nation's first african-american president paid tribute to the civil rights leaders who helped pave the way for his election. but he said there was still more to do on civil rights. it's 8:04 right now. you're up to date. let's go back outside again to matt and erin. a huge crowd.

>> a noisy crowd, natalie. al has gone to the cheap seats. >> that's right. >> these are the seats that i normally get. there are a whole bunch of fans. where are you guys from? >> from georgia. >> how many kids? >> about 60 of us. >> 60. all good looking. all good looking. let's check your weather, see what's happening. pick city of the day, happens to be beautiful detrt, michigan, local 4, mostly cloudy and cool. 75 degrees. and as you take a look at the jet stream, big upper level ridge out to the west, that means the heat continues. cooler weather over the great lakes. and the heat over the gulf coast, and as we head on into the midweek, sunday we are looking at that ridge continuing out there. storm track along the east. look at this crowd. it is huge!

good morning. it's partly sunny now, temperatures are in the upper 70s to near 80 already. it's humid. on radar we have showers crossing the blue ridge east of harrisonburg heading to the north and the east maybe toward fredericksburg. we'll stay dry between now and then. temperatures will climb to near 90 today. there's a likelihood of afternoon and evening thundershowers and slight risk of isolated storm could produce damaging winds. lower humidity for the weekend with sunshe returning. not only are these people fans of the all-american rejects, bought they're also fans of the friday whip. erin. >> it's almost time for that whip. al's only ten feet away but i can barely hear him with all the shouting. up next the new jersey father who's been locked in a custody battle to get his son back. he heading to capitol hill. but first he'll be here for an exclusive interview with matt. [ alarm buzzes ]

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back now at ten after 8:00 with the new jersey father's long-running battle to win back his son. on thursday david goldman went to capitol hill to lobby for legislation that would require more u.s. help to resolve international custody cases. we'll talk exclusively with him in just a couple of minutes. but first, here's's nbc's andrea mitchell. >> reporter: having traveled thousands of miles to get his son sean back from brazil, david goldman is now fighting for his rights closer to home. in the nation's capital. >> we are in a crisis with our children, our american children, being taken abroad, and not being returned. >> reporter: his cause, parents' rights in international child custody cases like his.

the proposed legislation, to punish countries that violate an international treaty on custody rights. and create an ambassador-at-large for international child abductions. >> no one can really know what it's like to walk in the shoes of a parent who's had their child abducted. >> reporter: goldman's struggle began five years ago when his wife took their son to her family home in brazil for a holiday. she then divorced david, married a brazilian, got pregnant, and died during childbirth. her brazilian husband, a lawyer, and his politically connected family, has been fighting david ever since. >> i want him to come home. >> reporter: there have been endless legal motions and appeals. in june there was a decision in david's favor, but the brazilian family appealed, putting the reunion on hold. last month, sean, now 9, appeared in a video prepared by the brazilian family, saying repeatedly he wants to stay in brazil.

coached, david says, by the brazilian husband and his family. new jersey congressman chris smith has been helping david. >> a 9-year-old does not come up with the idea of doing a 40-minute video repeating over and over again how he wants to stay in brazil. that's all the earmarks and markings of a hostage situation. >> reporter: just another detour on a path david still hopes will lead to his being reunited with his son. for "today," andrea mitchell, nbc ne, washington. >> and david goldman and his attorney patricia appey are with us exclusively. david and patricia, nice to see you again. >> good morning, matt. >> did you make yourself feel better yesterday by going to congress and going to washington? or you think you accomplished something? >> i think we accomplished something. >> yeah? you got in front of the right people? >> well, w did. and we had an opportunity to talk about this legislation, which is so important to remind everyone in the middle of the huge partisan fights that are going on that this is a bipartisan issue that everyone can get behind, and will affect countless american children

around the world. >> and you weren't just talking about your particular case. you were really talking about so many other cases out there. i just want to see if i can bring everybody up to date here, because while you live with the minutia of this it's a little confusing for us. the last time we all talked the brazilian courts had ruled that you could have six days a week of custody of sean, but that you could only do it if you were in brazil for those six days. >> go live in brazil, right. >> exactly. you said that clearly was not acceptable, and then, the brazilian family appealed that, correct? >> right. >> so where does it stand right now? >> well, it's exactly that. it's in an appeal, and it will be in the second level federal court, which is a tribunal of three judges, to rule on the final decision. if they're going to uphold the first order, that returns my son, or accept their appeal. >> do you have some kind of timetable for that? have they given you a timetable? because this just drags on and on. >> understand there have been 19 motions that have been filed since the return order was entered. >> since the return order of

sean this family has filed 19, habeas corpus, everything under the sun, hoping -- >> do you think they're hoping that you just simply give up and go away? >> i would think by now they know that's never going to happen. ever. so, i don't know what their goal is now, but just to keep it from probably a final order. because they know they must return sean. >> there is another development in the case and actually this one was stopped by you. sean was interviewed. >> right. >> by cnn. >> correct. >> and when you got wind of that, before that interview aired, you said wait a minute. >> right. >> that will not air. i believe brazilian courts and new jersey courts have said he should not be interviewed. so where does that stand now? that tape ever have the chance of seeinghe lht of day? >> well, cnn and their counsel are still reviewing the legal issues, and we gave them the opportunity to have the full file, and to look at those issues. they chose not to show the tape this week. which we were delighted with. because what it does is it emboldens -- whenever the case

of sean is shown it emboldens the family to continue to ask him this question, which psychologists said is harmful in and of itself, just asking the question. now imagine he's on camera. imagine there are other pressures. children already feel pressure in divorce cases. imagine the sort of pressure on this child. >> i just have a couple of seconds left. do you continue -- you have a very brave face about all this. do you continue to have the confidence, given the fact that everyone and up to the secretary of state and president are talking about this, that you'll prevail here? >> well, i hope the secretary of state and the president continues to push for progress in this case. i really do. i mean, he was in my backyard yesterday campaigning for our governor. but, i do hope, and i mean this is a case of right and wrong. and it's unequivocal that my son needs to be home. and that's justice and that's truth and that's human rights. >> we willontinue to follow it. david, good luck. and patricia, thank you very much. good to have you back here.

>> thanks, matt. >> pleasure. >> let's go outside to natalie. >> all right, huge crowd out here excited about the all-american rejects. let's see how big a fan you really are. all four all-american rejects have the same tattoo. so the question is, wha is it? is it a bunny? the all-american rejects logo? or the state of oklahoma? you know the answer. >> it's the all-american rtsecec logo. duh! >> we're going to see if you're right. this is america. we help each other out. and when you open a checking account, bank of america helps you with $100 when you use your new debit card and online bill pay. plus you get free services and products you can only get from bank of america. this offer's for a limited time so visit a banking center or log on soon. we'll give you a hand -- and $100. it all starts with a checking account at bank of america.

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on fridays, i have hockey before school, so i take two eggo hestyle waffles and put peanut butter inside. i add a couple chocolate chips when dad's starting the car. there's only one way to eat an eggo -- your way. l'eggo my eggo.

announcer: it gives the world fewer smog-forming emissions. it gives you a 50 mile per gallon rating. the 3rd generation prius. it's harmony between man, nature and machine. we're back gearing up for this morning's huge concert by the all-american rejects. and before the break, we asked what tattoo all four members of the band have. the question was, was it a bunny, the band's logo or the state of oklahoma? so i brought the band members up to ask them. and you're going to reveal. tyson? >> it is actually our logo, and

it's in the chest area. >> there you go. there you have it. it is the logo and they all have it on the right chest. tyson ritter mike kennerty, nick wheeler, chris gaor, al aml-ican rejects. the concert coming up just ahead. but for now backaminside to mat. >> "today's" friday whip is brought to you by mcdold.'s >> and this morning on "today's friday whip" we're keeping summer simple. if you feel like your summer's flying by and you haven't found a minute to enjoy it, we're here to help. >> from gardens, fashion and food our fou experts know just how to do it right. we're going to start in the garden. the host of diy network's yard crafters, good morning to you. halfway through the summer your plants start to lk a little faded, a he will leggy. >> they're looking kind of tired. the cool thing about summer is summertime is not the time to do

a lot of work. time to chill and relax. all you want to do is go in there and remove dead or spent flowers which we call deadheading. and also removing anything or brown. if it's yellow, it's not going to turn green. let your plants grow until the hard pruning the beginning of the springtime. >> what about when you want to use chemicals? you want to do something to make them better? you've got tea bags but on the inside is not tea, it's worm poop. >> it's worm castings. the worm has processed the come post through its bodynd we get to collect the worm castings. that's a whole other story and take these tea bags, put that in water, let it sit overnight. >> i was thinking that was tea. >> don't confuse that with your sun tea, okay? take that, put it into your pitcher and you can pour this worm casting juice, this tea solution, right over your plants. that's going to water your plants and give it the fertilizer. you're also going to get beneficial micrmsrgisan in this water. if you put it in the isesavle, will help pests and stuff like that.

>> thank you very much. a little bit of a sense of what's going on. matt, from worm tea to you. >> all right. thank you very much, erin. now to easy and inexpensive summer entertaining ideas. amy goodman is from all you magazine. good to see you. >> yes, good morning. >> you want to invite people over to your house, this is just a scam and actually to have them do some work. >> this is called the do it yourself party. it's all the rage. because it'sike painting the baby room for helping your friends clean out the closet and then you feed them well as a reward. >> some other ideas, you've got this paint and you can redo upholstery? >> it's amazing stuff. you can do an instant update. whether you want to update the existing color or totally change the color altogether. >> you put them to work. now you've got to feed them. you have to reward them. >> bite size food that's easy to grab and go. you want them to keep working. then you have the frozen watermelon with the delicious fruits. keep things low key with a burlap tablecloth which we bought for eleven bucks. and the takeaway for your guests, stocks of photos you've

been meaning to give to them. also for the really dirty job you make yourself homemade scrub with three ingredients. this is a wonderful scrub for them to take home. >> a little parting gift as well. you like theme nights. one of your favorites is movie night. isn't it expensive to rent a projector? >> you can rent one for 50 bucks. you do this outdoors. water proof blanket from j.j. cole. you create a popcorn bar so everyone can add their favorite seasonings. >> and you keep the insects away. >> this is from thermocell, an amazing insectav repellent. 225 feet of protected, bug-free entertaining. >> let's go out side to natalie with other summer style tips. >> all right, thank you, matt. that's right. isabelle gonzalez whitaker from in style magazine knows how to stay stylishly cool all season long. good morning. >> good morning. >> one of the ways to stay stylish is toake your look from the pool to the party. >> exactly. it's super simple. just make sure that you use a tote bag like this one that has a little bit of structure. this is from ann taylor, only

$25. >> great deal. >> you want to look for something that's got some interesting beading, some interesting accents. basically it will elevate your look. >> and even the nice shoes there that really you can walk off the pool. >> that's ght. don't even consider your plastic flip-flops. there are so many beautiful sandals out there inexpensive, that have embellishments that can elete what you're wearing. >> lighten up the makeup. good time to get rid of that dpoundation you wear year around? >> you want to do a foundation but look for a minimum cal based foundation like predescriptives. you want to use a blush instead of powder or cream that's liquid, stays on all day. also works as a lip tint. >> other things is things that go double duty. >> we've got great scarves that basically when you're traveling in the summer, it's cold on the airplane so you need a scarf. but this has enough material you can also use it as a sarong. >> and you have this other piece here. >> this is a great dress from american apparel that is only $41, and you can wear it 12, at

least 12 different ways. so you can do halter top. >> and you can become a pterodactyl. thank you so much. into the kitchen with al. >> nice airplane reference. annie cox is the food editor for yankee magazine. she's got three ways to help us spend less time in the kitchen, more time with your guest. >> good morning. >> you've got a marinade you say works with chicken, fish. >> absolutely. you want to buy a protein chicken thighs, steak tips, lamb, stew meat, inexpensive, pop it into a bag. >> right. >> like so. put some teriyaki sauce in there. >> okay. >> a little bit of garlic. a little bit of -- flying all over the place. ginger, some cilantro. some onion. >> and then how long will that stay? >> pop it in the freezer. label it. pop it in the freezer, and then when you're ready to grill, roast, grill, you're ready to go. >> i love this idea. >> the salad on a stick? >> that's right. your kids will eat it. it's nutritious. it's fun. >> and of course you've got

melon balls. >> yes, exactly. time now is 8:26 on this friday, the 17th day of ju. taking a live look outside this morning, going to be warm and humid today. good morning. i'm joe krebs. a look at the forecast coming up. the news, metro plans to shut down part of the red line this weekend. the takoma metro will be closed 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. tomorrow. trains will run between glenmont and silver spring and fort totten and shady grove. there will be a shuttle bus to get people around the station. we should expect delays on the red, orange, blue and yellow lines this weendec bseau ofse k tracmaintenance on those lines. we'll look at our weather and

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well, this is new... i'm working on my digestive health. whatcha eatin'? yoplus. it's a yogurt for digestive health. it's delicious. here... blackberry pomegranate. honey, i can't find my hand. (announcer) yoplus has the special combination of... fiber plus... special cultures... plus the delicious taste of yoplait. sky watcher camera showing sunshine but looking toward virginia there are clouds beginning to move in. under the clouds a few sprinkles, southern falk county in the shenandoah valley will have a greater chance of showers and thundershowers. highs in the upper 80s to near 90. a risk of a strong storm this afternoon and evening. drier for the wchbltd >> accident on the beltway inner loop after telegraph road. delays begin in maryland before the wilson bridge. i-95 in maryland, route 100,

authorities dealing with an accident, overturned vehicle. expect delays. >> thanks. tonight on "news 4 at 5:00" a new way to get a helping hand

♪ 8:30 now on a friday morning, july 17th, 2009. our crowd is very pumped up, and with good reason, because in just a couple of minutes they're going to be hearing from t all-american rejects. the boys from oklahoma set to take the stage in about 10, 15 minutes. and then -- one of the bigger crowds i can remember in the

last couple of months. i'm matt lauer along with erin burnett, who is filling in for meredith. al roker is here, natalie morales joining us, as well. coming up is a question of fat and weight. >> we want to know how much we're going to weigh in 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, and is there anything you can do to change your fat fate. we're going to find out that in just a couple of moments. >> way more than him. >> we already met one amazing animal this morning, a chihuahua that survived a fork in his head. but coming up, readers digest will introduce you to five amazing animals in the august issue, pets that literally have saved people's lives, two dogs, a cat and a horse. >> and you'll be able to read about them on our website at todayshow.com. while you're there, vote for your favorite, and we're going to have the winning hero pet right here on the plaza. >> but fir first can we bring i some very special people? saturday will mark the very first global celebration of

mandela day, honoring nelson mandela. tim and josh groben are here to tell us more about that. till, you're the director of 46664. tell me about it. i know it's nelson mandela's, or was, prison number. >> exactly. it was his prison number when he was incourse rated on robben island. and he gave this number for the campaign. and he wanted people like josh and musicians from all over the world to basically take this message out to the world. >> and you're going to be singing, performing to raise money this weekend? >> it's saturday night. and i'm thrilled to be part of it. it was a birthday celebration, major turnout. new york is not going to let us down. i'm singing with aretha franklin that i'm excited about. >> and you actually met nelson mandela a few years ago and he brought you in to become an

ambassador. >> one of the most inspiring moments of my life was meeting the man in person. seeing the work that he's done and inspiring me to start my own foundation. one thing that he's brought us, one person can make a difference and i think we're all here to show by his example that that can happen. >> how did he get involved with the effort? >> well, basically we saw this wonderful concert josh did. and we got a volunteer program going. and mr. mandela, who spent 67 years of his life fighting for social justice, basically the campaign is making a difference, is asking individuals to give 67 minutes of their time to doing good. we're getting over 4,000 volunteers signing a day. it's fantastic. >> it is. the first global celebration of mandela. tim, good luck with you. josh, good to see you again. >> thank you. >> let us now get a check of the weather rom. merokr.

>> "today's uv index" is brought to you by the american cancer society. the official sponsor of birthdays. >> and a warm one out here. the sun is out. going to need sunscreen here in manhattan. let's see, you can see a slight risk today, stretching from interior new york all the way down into the mid-atlantic states and the southeast. also a slight risk from texas into parts of colorado. record highs will continue again in the pacific northwest, except for right along the it's a mild and humid friday morning around our region. sunshine here around washington, north and east. south and west mostly cloudy across much of virginia and the shenandoah valley. the areas of blue, sprinkles now in southern fauquier county and culpepper county as well as the central shenandoah valley. there is a greater chance of showers into this evening. a slight risk of isolated storm that might produce wind damage 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. the lower humidity with cooler temperatures and sunshine ck for saturday and sunday.

and that's your latest weather. >> all right, al, thanks very much. when we come back, how to change your weight fate, and the all-american rejects inco ncert. rsbut fit.t on a fri t

back now at 8:37. this morning on "take it off "today,"" your weight fate. how will your lifestyle today affect your weight down the road. the editor in chief of self magazine and madeline is a contributor to ivillage dotcom. some key questions here. we're going to go through the entire day. let's start first with the self-quiz where you can find out whether you have a weight problem or not. the body mass index. >> body mass index is a

standardized way, instead of just weight, it's a weight-to-height ratio. are you healthy, do you need to lose a few pounds for health reasons? so it's a starting point. but it doesn't mean that you can't make a lot of progress no matter what your starting weight is going to be. >> does your family history come into play? is there something there you can't do anything about? >> yes, in fact you really want to have the crystal ball, 14 easy questions. you can look at your mom and say, okay, maybe he's a little overweight, my chance of being overweight goes up 40%. but you can change that with a simple strategy. >> okay. >> let's see the strategy. can we start with this breakfast, because i tried to steal some of matt's cereal yesterday because i don't always have breakfast. but you're saying that's the most important meal. >> eating breakfast is important for a couple of reasons. one it sets you in a good mind-set saying i have structure for the day. it also helps you not overeat later in the day. we often think i'll skip breakfast and just eat lunch. and you're going to overeat because you get over hungry.

it also doesn't mean you have to be bleary eyed making an omelette at 6:00 in the morning. you can cereal and milk or a breakfast bar on the run or even a skim milk latte. anything with some lean protein is great. what self found is the more calories you eat in the morning, the less likely you are to gain weight over time. >> yes. what is this? >> that's a great little nutrition bar. >> people like peanut butter and chocolate. no bad food, just bad portions. about 200 or 300 calories is going to work for you. >> now my mouth is full. i don't usually talk while that is happening. >> we tell women, if you get less than six hours, your chance of gaining weight goes up 35%. >> how many people really sleep more than six hours? that's the issue. >> you've got to try. it can be as much as eleven pounds in six years. that's a lot. >> the main thing is people don't sleep for two reasons. one is, they're just multitasking. not enough time to do things. probably like you and most of

us. the other is stress. >> we wake up and start thinking about your to-do list or whatever it is. >> if you're multitasking try to simplify and allow some down time for sleep or take a power nap. >> naps are good? >> naps are going to be good for most people. if you're not sleeping from stress you've got to identify that and not pretend it's going to go away. you're also going to eat more. when you don't sleep you eat for energy. you eat for comfort. you eat to soothe yourself. >> you eat the wrong things. >> you don't want to fall asleep with the television blaring. you want to have a nice, calm environment. if you need one of these sound machines. we have this set on the ocean. i don't know if we can hear this but it's something that can give you some background noise. ear plugs if you need them. because you've got to get yourself settled, not energized before you're going to go to sleep. >> also don't try to watch tv while you're going to sleep because that might rev you up. and a harvard study found out for every two hours of extra tv you're watching, your obesity chances go up 23%. >> that's amazing.

>> so let's turn off that tv watching. >> turn off that tv. and now snacks, we all like to snack. is snacking in the afternoon a bad thing? >> you don't want to not snack at all but you don't want to eat all day. you often hear you have to fuel yourself. we're not farmers. we're not out in the field. we don't have to eat every two hours. but you have to be a smart snacker. there are times, the late afrnoon or the evening when you're thinking i need something. 100 or 200 calories, an apple. fruit, smart carbohydrates of nuts in a limited amount. yogurt. you can mix and match and do these things because that's a good thing. >> before we go, beverages. basically go to diet and that saves calories? >> turns out women also are taking in almost 500 calories a day they don't even register because they're drinking those calories. if you were to cut that out you could lose 20 pounds in the next few years. >> when it comes to liquids stick with water, seltzer, low calorie sings, diet soda. no calories in your liquids. >> these simple strategies you

can change your weight fate. we want people to feel empowered. you can make a difference with these little tweaks. >> they seem manageable. and that thing actually tasted good. >> you can take that in your car. so it's great. >> thank you so much. appreciate it. and for the full change your weight fate quiz that i mentioned at the beginning of the segment, head to todayshow.com. and when we come back, the inl-american rejects you've been on it to erae ceivhe l t plaza.

the toyota concert series on "today," brought to you by toyota. toyota, moving forward. >> so you've waited patiently all morning long. are you ready for some music? here they are performing one of their hit singles off their third album, when the world comes down. ladies and gentlemen, the all-american rejects.

♪ ♪ i wake up every evenin' with a big smile on my face and it never ♪ ♪ feels out of place you're still probably workin' at a nine to five pace ♪ ♪ i wonder how bad that tastes when you see my face ♪ ♪ hope it gives you hell hope it gives you hell when you walk my way ♪ ♪ hope it gives you hell hope it gives you hell now where's your ♪ ♪ picket fence love and where's that shiny car did it ever get you far ♪ ♪ you never seemed so tense love i've never seen ♪ ♪ you fall so hard do you know where you are

truth be told i miss you ♪ ♪ truth be told i miss you truth be told ♪ ♪ i'm lying when you see my face ♪ ♪ hope it gives you hell hope it gives you hell when you walk my way ♪ ♪ hope it gives you hell hope it gives you hell if you find a man ♪ ♪ that's worth a damn and treats you well then he's a fool ♪ ♪ you're just as well hope it gives you hell hope it gives you hell ♪ ♪ ♪ tomorrow you'll be thinking to yourself ooh where did i go wrong ♪ but the list goes on and on and on ♪ ♪ truth be told i miss you truth be told ♪ i'm lying ♪ when you see my face hope it gives you hell ♪

♪ hope it gives you hell when you walk my way hope it gives you hell ♪ ♪ hope it gives you hell if you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well ♪ ♪ then he's a fool you're just as well hope it gives you hell ♪ ♪ now you'll never see what you've done to me you can take your memories ♪ ♪ they're no good to me ♪ your lies ooh you can't look me in the eyes ooh ♪ ♪ with that sad sad look that you wear so well sing it ♪ ooh when you see my face ♪ ♪ hope it gives you hell hope it gives you hell when you walk my way ♪ ♪ hope it gives you hell hope it gives you hell i can't hear y'all if you find a man ♪ ♪ that's worth a damn and treats you well then he's a fool ♪ ♪ you're just as well hope it gives you hell when you see my face ♪ ♪ hope it gives you hell hope it gives you hell

hope it gives you hell ♪ ♪ when you walk my way hope it gives you hell hope it gives you hell ♪ ♪ hope it gives you hell when you hear this song and you sing along ♪ ♪ you'll never tell you'll never tell ♪ ♪ then you're the fool ♪ i'm just as well hope it gives you hell hope it gives you hell ♪ ♪ when you hear this song i hope that it will give you hell ♪ ♪ hope it gives you hell you can sing along i hope that it would shoot you well ♪ >> the all-american rejects will be back with more music on a friday morning. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

if we don't act, medical bills will wipe out their savings. if we don't act, she'll be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. and he won't get the chemotherapy he needs. if we don't act, health care costs will rise 70%. and he'll have to cut benefits for his employees. but we can act. the prident and congress have a plan to lower your costs and stop denials for pre-existing conditions. it's time to act.

success has come very quickly to these guys from oklahoma since they first formed their band back in 2001. in the eight years since they've got three hitalbums. the latest one is called "when the world comes down." tyson ritter, nick wheeler, mike kennerty and chris gaylor, welcome back. great to have you here. i want to take you back several months. you guys were here before this latest album came out and it was my impression you were a little nervous about how it would be received. >> yeah. i mean, when you start of put two years of your life into 13 things you sort of lose perspective. if it's not good, when we got in

the studio with them it was magic. we're still riding on the magic. >> when you think about it, one of the songs "give you hell" has been on the charts for 40 weeks. you can take a deep breath now, right? >> there's nothing to complain about right now. >> so -- >> now we've got a new single. we got to worry about that. a new baby out there. >> the way it's always portrayed is you two guys lock yourselves in a room sometimes and do the writing. that either works out very creatively or there's one man standing at the end of that. why does it work for you? >> you know, we sort of get lost in the moment. we go to a cabin in the woods and sort of made ourselves insane on coffee and bottles of wine and magic happened. >> natalie talked about the tattoos. whose idea was that? >> it was mine. the week our first record came out and debuted on the billboard chart. we never thought we'd be there. >> we called it the job killer. now we can't work a noal job

because we have these breast tattoos. >> can i get one? >> yeah, please. >> after the show. >> what are you going to sing now? >> now we're going to sing our new song called i want it. about being locked away from someone you love. ♪ ♪ i never thought that i was so blind ♪ ♪ i can finally see the truth ♪ it's me for new ♪ tonight you can't imagine that i'm by your side ♪ ♪ cause it's never gonna be the truth too far for you ♪ ♪ but can you hear me say

don't throw me away ♪ ♪ and there's no way out i gotta hold you somehow ♪ ♪ i wanna i wanna i wanna touch you ♪ you wanna touch me too ♪ every day >> but all i have is time ♪ ♪ o love's the perfect crime ♪ i wanna i wanna i wanna touch you ♪ ♪ you wanna touch me too ♪ every way and when they set me free just put your hands on me ♪ ♪ take everything that i know you'll break ♪ ♪ and i give my life away so far for you ♪ ♪ut don't throw me away there's no way out ♪ ♪ i gotta hold you somehow ♪ i wanna i wanna i wanna touch

you ♪ ♪ you wanna touch me too ♪ everyday but all i have is time our love's the perfect crime ♪ ♪ i wanna i wanna i wanna touch you ♪ ♪ you wanna touch me too ♪ ♪ every way and when they set me free ♪ ♪ just put your hands on me ♪ ♪ tonight i'm weak it's just another day without you ♪ ♪ that i can't sleep i gave away the world for you too ♪ ♪ hear me say don't throw me away ♪ ♪ there's no way out i gotta hold you mehow ♪ ♪ all i wanna do is touch you ♪ i wanna i wanna touch you

♪ you wanna touch me too ♪ every day but all i have is time our love's the perfect crime ♪ ♪ i wanna i wanna i wanna touch you you wanna touch me too ♪ ♪ every way and when they set me free ♪ ♪ just put your hands on me ♪ i wanna i wanna i wanna touch you ♪ ♪ you wanna touch me too ♪ every day but all i have is time our love's the perfect crime ♪ ♪ i wanna i wanna i wanna i wanna ♪ ♪ i wanna our time is 8:55. 79 degrees out there at ronald reagan washington national airport where the aircraft is coming in for a landing right

now on this friday morning, the 17th day of july. welcome to our nation's capital. good morning, i'm joe krebs. in the news, a u.s. capital police officer is in the hospital this morning following a shoot-out at an apartment complex in greenbelt. the officer got involved when he saw someone shooting at a person in a parking lot. a 12-year-old girl was also hit by a stray bullet. all three people hit by gunfire are expected to be okay. metro plans to shut down part of the red line this weekend. the takoma metro will be closed 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. tomorrow. trains will run between glenmont and silver spring and fort totten and shady grove. there will be shuttle buses to get people around the closure. you should expect more delays on the red, orange, the blue and yellow lines this weekend because of track maintenance on those lines. we'll take a break and come back and look at weather and trafc. oçoyñowrwrñ=ñ

partly sunny around washington. it's humid on radar t. blue to the sleft rain now coming out of the highlands of west virginia into the shenandoah valley heading to the north and the east.

temperatures ahead are in the upper 70s to near 80. and we might get a passing shower or thundershower this afternoon. there's a slight risk of an isolated strong storm 3:00 to 8:00 that might produce wind damage. tomorrow and sunday, should be cooler and less humid with sunshine both days. now the traffic. how's it looking in >> southeast washington is work on a bus accident, pennsylvania and la plata, route 301 is closed both ways near route 225, hazardous materials situation. joe. >> thanks very much. tonight on "news 4 at 5:00 could someone toss me an eleven sixteenths wrench over here? here you go. eleven sixteenths... (announcer) from designing some of the world's cleanest and most fuel-efficient jet engines... to building more wind turbines than anyone in the country... the people of ge are working together... creating innovation today for america's morrow. thanks!

no problem! from the tangles of my heart is crushed by a former love ♪ ♪ can you help me find a way to carry on again ♪ ♪ swing swing swing from the tangles of my heart is crushed by a former love ♪ ♪ can you help me find a way ♪ we are back with more of "today" on a friday morning. the 17th day of july, 2009. the all-american rejects playing a few songs for a very hyped up crowd out here on the plaza. the guys from oklahoma with

their third album out, "when the world comes down." we're going to get another song from them a little later on. meanwhile out on the plaza i'm matt lauer along with erin burnett and al roker. it's been a nice morning. >> yeah, it's getting a little steamier. >> it is. very hot, no question about it. what we're going to talk about in this half hour, more on the michael jackson story. we're going to have an exclusive interview with his spiritual adviser. she says that michael and she sat down and talked not long ago and michael told her what he wanted to have happen to his children if anything happened to him. we're going to hear more about that in just a little while. >> and turng to the help files, mathering your metabolism. we're going to be taking questions about how you can get energy when the truth is you want to go home and take a nap. the biggest loser jillian michaels is here. >> she is always fun. and a little bit later, choosing the cream of the crop, p. allen smith is along. summer vegetables are in

abundance right now. he's going to share his secrets to picking the best. >> all right lots to get to. a lot of news this morning. ann's on assignment. natalie's at the news desk. >> good morning to you. some dramatic footage from a security camera shows one of today's hotel terror bombings in indonesia. at least eight people died when bombs went off at the marriott and the ritz-carlton in downtown jakarta. several americans are among the dozens injured. pop benedict underwent surgery today after breaking his right wrist. officials say the operation was a success. the 82-year-old pope slipped and fell inside a chalet while vacationing in the italian alps. tragedy in france wherewo workers died when the roof of a stage being built for a madonna show collapsed. five others are in critical condition. madonna said she is devastated. new developments in the michael jackson case and the issue of custody of his children. nbc's jeff rossen has more. good morning to you, jeff.

>> good morning. we'll begin with michael jackson's kids. this morning we have exclusive new details about what michael really wanted for his children. this is our first look at the kids in more than a week. 11-year-old paris, 12-year-old prince, and 7-year-old blanket, all out and about in los angeles. they're at a jehovah's witness church. paris is holding a book called "sing praises to jehovah." the kids' former nancy grace is with the children, too. she was reportedly fired by michael jackson back in april. but since michael's death, the jackson family has brought her back to help. >> he loved his children and his children loved him. >> reporter: june gatlin was michael jackson's spiritual adviser. in an exclusive interview she told us just months before his death, michael was taking stock of his life. did he ever say to you, if something happens to me, i want my kids to go with --

>> april 13th we discussed it, if anything happens, he would want his mother to have his children. his mother, who he loves dearly. he cherishes his mother. and if anything happened with his mother, then he wanted janet to have his children. >> reporter: why janet? >> michael loves his sister. he trusts his sister. he trusts janet explicitly. >> reporter: in fact, it was janet jackson who comforted paris at the memorial service. also spotted with the kids this week, michael's oldest sister rebbie. sources close to the case tell nbc news she's also being considered for ptial custody. kathd win jackson and debbie rowe, biological moms of the two oldest kids have been negotiating custody all week, with the hearing set for monday, time is running out to reach a deal. and now there's another controversy brewing. around michael jackson's infamous accident, in video just obtained by "us weekly" you can see his hair catch fire while filming a pepsi commercial in 1984. now that the video is out, this los angeles fire captain, who was backstage, is breaking his

silence for the first time since the accident. >> the tape where he got his hair burned was a deviation from the other takes, because he stood under the shower of sparks. >> reporter: he says jackson was told to stand on a platform for a better shot. >> i was backstage, and i overheard a conversation for michael to stay there longer, he would look more majestic. when i got him off the floor, he was a little dazed, disoriented. as we walked him back, he was worried, he wanted to know how severe the burn was, and he also asked about s face. he said, did any of the sparks hit my face, or is my face burned? i told him, michael, no your fa is fine. >> reporter: many say it was this accident that sparked an addiction to painkillers. an addiction that may have ultimately taken jackson's life. the l.a. county coroner's office now confirms for nbc news toxicology reports are now delayed and may not be released for up to two weeks. natalie? >> jeff rossen reporting from los angeles. it is now five minutes past the

hour. let's go back outside once again to matt, erin and al. >> all right, natalie, thank you very much. >> it is toasty. the good news is all these people are minty fsh. nice and cool, aren't you? >> oh, yeah. >> definitely. >> let's check your weather, see what's going on. show you for today, we've got, if you think it's warm here, portland 94. boise, 101. temperatures anywhere from six to 12 degrees above normal. here in the east we've got the risk of strong storms from lv,nnsyiaan york, pe ia down into atlanta, and also out stwero tstasex on t iasntohe southern rockies. you can see heavy showers and thunderstorms firing up right partly cloudy in washington now, and it's rather humid as we look to the west, we have showers here in the highlands of west virginia as well as along the blue ridge south of harrison burg heading to the northeast and may be moving up toward

winchester and front royal in the next couple of hours, around washington near 80 degrees with the humidity in place. highs in the upper 80s, perhaps near 90. there is a likelihood of afternoon thundershowers here. that's your latest weather. natalie? >> al, thank you. now for the latest in the murders of byrd and melanie billings in pensacola, florida. as the couple is laid to rest today, the police investigation enters its final stages. but there are still some big questions unanswered. dmbs's mark potter has more. good morning to you, mark. >> reporter: good morning to you, natalie. that funeral is being held at liberty church in pensacola. as many as 1200 members of the public and the family, along with those adopted children will be here. this as the murder investigation winds down. eight days after byrd and melanie billings were killed in their home, officials say all the primarsuspects are now in

jail. >> we believe that this concludes the major part of our investigation. >> reporter: authorities also say they have settled on a motive for the attack on the billings house. >> in our opinion, this was a home invasion robbery, where the people stole a safe. >> reporter: that safe, officials say, was recovered wednesday night. but they will not say what was in it or if the roers themselves opened it. investigators also found what they say was the second vehicle used in the robbery, along with the red van recovered earlier in the week. and there was another important discovery. >> we have located severaluns in various locations, one of which we believe is the murder weapon. >> reporter: seven men have been arrested on murder charges and an eighth person, a realtor, is charged with accessory after the fact. authorities say other suspects claim her van was used to transport weapons and the safe.

investigators also say those suspects knew each other from past dealings. >> either the combination of friendships, casual business relationships, that brought this group together. >> reporter: still to be answered is why the curity cameras at the billings' home were not disabled by the alleged robbers, despite careful planning of the crime. >> we have some people of interest that we are continuing to look at. >> reporter: the still unsolved mystery is why the billings were killed if this was just a robbery. now today, local newspaper reports say that safe was found buried in the backyard of the realtor. as prosecutors prepare their case for the grand jury to formalize those charges. natalie? >> mark potter in pensacola, florida. thank you, mark. and for more now we turn to nbc news analyst and former fbi criminal profiler clint van zandt. good morning to you. >> hi, natalie. >> help us make a little bit of sense out of all o this. a senseless act, of course can't make sense out of this. a group this size and as mark

potter was reporting, who had carefully planned this, it sounds like, for over a month, but yet they sort of all worked together in this auto shop. how does a group come to this idea to commit a crime of this nature? >> well, it's interesting. you look at the group, and you showed the pictures earlier. we've got both african-americans and whites who came together to make this. there's always going to be one leader. perhaps somebody with some military background. and i think what this is going to turn out to be is kind of a fantasy crime, natalie. that one person said, hey, look at this large house. these people own multiple car agencies. and then somebody else says yeah, i heard they keep a lot of money in the house. i think these stories kind of came together, and all of a sudden, these six, seven or eight men, these budding sociopaths decided they'd come together and pull off this crime. >> yeah, we know that the robbers were in masks. some appeared to be wearing what has been described as ninja outfits and it appeared to be a stealth operation. but you say they weren't really, in your mind, planning on

killing anyone. where did you reach that conclusion? was it from the disguises they were wearing? >> yeah, i think so. if you're going to kill someone, there's no need to go in in a black costume with a mask on or anything else. i think what may have happened, once they got inside, is that they demanded from the billings the combination to the safe. i mean, why go in and carry a safe away if you can ask the owners, give me the combination. what we may find out is that either they weren't able to open it, or the billings may have refused to give them the combination, and these murders may be based upon that. just because of the family's unwillingness to cooperate. >> we see all this surveillance video. we know that apparently it was somebody's job to make sure that the security cameras were turned off. but clearly that person did not carry that part through. but that surveillance video is going to be so key to investigators putting this all together, right? >> yeah, it really is. and any home surveillance system is who answers the alarm if it

goes off and who puts the alarm in. every so often you hear these stories of an alarm company person being involved in a crime like this, because he or she has the ability to shut that alarm off from a remote location. whoever that person was, whoever that eighth or ninth conspirator was, it looks like didn't do their job. and that gave us these videos that really helped us solve the crime. >> had they not had this video do you think they would have gotten away with murder? >> no, i don't think so. you've got a gang of eight misfits who are going to go out and tell their girlfriends, their wives, their husbands, people in bar. somebody would have talked within a week. i mean the only way to keep a secret is to do it yourself and tell no one. when you get this wanna-be a-team gang, you know, they think they're mr. t. or something, and they're going to go out and pull the perfect crime, these eight guys who came together for 30 days would never be capable of it. and it just shows here, their whole crime broke down, and at least one individual probably

using a 9 millimeter pisto shot and killed these two wonderful people who did nothing more in life than to try to help these emotionally and physically challenged children. it's a terrible crime. >> by the way, the children were in the home, as i understand, during the murder and one of the children actually discovered the couple. so i can only imagine how horrifying that must have been for that young child. >> absolutely. >> but do you think investigators would actually question the children in something like this, clint? >> yeah, yeah, you have to. i mean they're going to tie up all the loose ends, natalie. they've got the surveillance pictures. but they're going to want to know, you know, can they place the gun in the hand of the shooter? what was said? did at least the three children who allegedly witnessed these robbers come in to the home, what did they say? did they say anything to the children. you know, this takes us back like to 1959, the murder of the clutter family in kansas that eventually became truman capote's book "in cold blood" and that one, once again, two sociopaths went in, thinking

there was money in the home of this farmer, and wound up killing him and his wife, and their two children in a home invasion. so here we fast-forward, half a century. we have the same type of crime, the same type of outcome. >> right. >> and the criminals are once again going to jail. >> all right. well clint van zandt, still so many unanswered questions. again, thanks for sharing your perspective with us this morning. >> thanks, natalie. >> coming up next, how to keep healthy when the last thing you have time or energy for is workout. we're going to have the answer for that and more of your health questions from celebrity trainer jillian michaels. [ rooster crow ] it affects your entire day. to get a good night's sleep, try 2-layer ambien cr. the first layer dissolves quickly... to help you fall asleep. and unlike other sleep aids, a second dissolves slowly to help you stay asleep. when taking ambien cr, don't drive or operate machinery. sleepwalking, and eating or driving... while not fully awake with memory loss for the event... as well as abnormal behaviors...

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this morning on today's woman, one-on-one advice from jillian michaels. she's the best selling author of mastering your metabolism as well as a strength coach on "the biggest loser." now she wants to help you with answers to your questions on how to live a healthier life inside and out. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> we've got our in box pouring in. first of all we've got a video question from donna fm columbus, ohio. donna? >> hi, jillian. my husband and i are over-the-road truck drivers and we're finding it very challenging to eat healthy out there. we live in our truck 24 hours a day, and very little time for exercise. we need some advice, help. >> donna, you've got a sedentary lifestyle, you're moving around.

what do you do for donna and her husband? >> what you can do when you're traveling or working in a sedentary job is control the way that you eat. so bring your own food. when you're on the road, pick the healthier restaurant. be high maintenance with the foods that you're ordering. ask for things grilled. >> and probably stop at a lot of fast food places, you can still eat well. >> absolutely. you can get the grilled chicken sandwich. you get the dressing on the side. there's absolutely choices you can make that are healthy when traveling. >> and you don't have to go to a gym to work out. you can use your own body weight. >> sh,pups-u lungs, squats, sit-ups. it's about getting creative. thinking outside the box. >> let's go to skype. we've got melanie along with her adorable baby gracen from raleigh, north carolina. what's your question for jillian? >> i'm a new mother and i often have low energy and have a hard time getting workouts in. what are some energy boosting foods i can incorporate into my diet and how much exercise do you recommend i make time for? >> this is a common question

we've been getting. >> absolutely. here's the thing, when it comes to eating healthy, all right, and having energy, it's about partly what not to eat. stay away from pcessed foods, sugars, refined grains, all that stuff is garbage. make sure that you're hydrated. >> you say drink at least 80 ounces of water a day? >> dehydration can really sap your energy. >> so you'll be working out going back and forth to the bathroom. >> um, we won't talk about that part of it. and also, of course, you can have a cup of coffee. up to 200 milligrams of caffeine a day is equivalent to 75 minutes of sleep and it's actually good for your cognitive function, your energy level. so it's not a bad thing to have a cup of coffee. >> melanie looks like she gets a good workout with gracen there. >> she's definitely got her hands full, without question. >> how so much, melanie, have a nice weekend. next we're going to go to the phone lines. we've got linda from topsushon, texas, on the line. what's your question? >> hi,us jillian. i am 62 years young. i play tennis twice a week.

and do moderate other exercises i know they say when you age your metabolism slows down but i think mine has died. i am 5'7", i weigh in at 178, i love to eat but don't feel like i overindulge that much. can you give me some tips on some foods and maybe some at-home exercises that would help speed up my metabolism to enable me to lose that 30 pounds i need to lose. >> good question, linda. >> she said something interest. i love to eat but i don't think i overindulge. really, linda? okay. the first part is looking at how many calories you're eetding, linda. because you love to eat and it can get away from you if you're not keeping track. first and foremost watch what you're eating. when it comes to metabolism, sleeping really helps. >> seven hours a day? >> seven to eight, preferably. that's when your body is releasing most of its anti-aging, fat burning hormones. >> what about training? >> lower body exercise is the best for metabolic function. when you do lungs or squads or

dead lifts with weight, you release more testosterone, dhea, all the hormones that help the body shed fat. >> and avoid alcohol. >> alcohol kills your metabolism. really, i'm like avoid alcohol whenever possible. it kills your metabolic function. bad for your body. bad for your weight. >> jillian michaels, thank you so much. and still to come we've got much more, plus how to get the whole family looking good when they get ready for that big swim. but first these messages.

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when you demand the very best... oh, yeah. it's a dog's life. you have to try cottonelle ultra toilet paper. come to papa. it's the ultimate way to be kind to your behind. i'm in the lap of luxury. has progress taken us to a better place? i'd say it's taken us for a ride. honestly, what thanks do we owe progress? we're up to our necks in landfill, and down to the wire in resources and climate change is out to get us. that's why progress plays no role inside post shredded wheat. here, we put the "no" in innovation. post original shredded wheat is still just the one simple, honest ingredient which naturally comes with vitamins, minerals and fiber. all we did was make it spoon size. 9:26 is your time now. 79 degrees already out there. hazy sky, tom will have your forecast after the news. good morning. it's july 17, 2009.

we have breaking news out of charles county. police have arrived on the scene of an overturned ups truck on crane highway. there is no information about injuries. let's go to jerry for the latest. >> we'll show you live pictures from chopper 4 t. overturned tractor-trailer, a ups truck, a double, and another vehicle involved, this is is route 301 at 228, very close to la plata, maryland. authorities have should the roadway down northbound and southbound. hazmat drews are called out so there is a fuel spill presumably. this 301 at 228 is closed and there are substantial delays. >> thank you, jerry. we'll check in with tom for a r fokheas tecteorafist th short break. átu?ñ?ñççç?ñ?ñçç?ñç?ñ?ñç

good morning. hot and humid today, highs in the upper 80s to near 90. a likelihood of afternoon

thundershowers, a slight risk of an afternoon severe storm with damaging winds. less humid and cooler over the weekend with sunshine. eun. >> thank you,

♪ ♪ that's what you get for waking up in vegas ♪ ♪ get up and take the train t that's caty perry singing her ngsohi waking up in vegas. e'shgoing to beake' wping u the plaza when she performs live on our stage next friday. meantime, this is the fourth hit off her album called "one ofhe boys." she's been doing pretty good. every one of them good. remember that katy perry in concert next friday on today. >> we're going to keep the music playing today on the plaza. you saw the plaza came down here this morning to see the all-american rejects, were huge.

we have one more song from that band yet to come. we're going to get to that a little bit later on. >> i thought that kind of jacket -- >> all right. >> look who's here amy robach. what's going on? >> all right. we're going to be talking about what's coming up this weekend. we are going to meet a first time home buyer who is just getting started and tell you everything you need to know before you make that leap. plus have you ever been dumped by a text message or even by facebook? >> geez. >> i guess it's happening more and more these days. we're going to look at breaking up 21st century style. >> all right. >> then, lester and i try out some summer jobs. mine is hell on wheels. >> oh, that looks good. that's good. >> now aren't you supposed to be serving food while you do that? >> would you like to be the recipient of that when i dump the shake in your lap. >> how would you like a shake

with those fries. >> oh, oh! >> do you see that i have a helmet? >> i know. >> it was all about safety. because i was going to hurt myself. >> ate all something to look forward to. >> that's a tivo moment. >> we'll look forward to it. >> still to come this morning, whether you're headed to the beach or the pool we're going to show you the hottest new swim wear that's going to keep the whole family cool. >> there you go. and then we're going to learn how to select the best produce from garden expert p. allen smith who will show you how to enjoy summer's freshest produce all winter long. >> all right. and then later, ll cool j stops by. so cool. but now for the moment we've all been waiting for, the weekend forecast. >> all right. let's check it out. show you what's going on for the weekend. saturday we've got your heavy rain in northern new england, wet weather around the great lakes, record highs out in the pacific northwest and into the rockies. sizzling through the gulf coast. and then on sunday -- sunday! -- mild conditions throughout new england. hot weather in the pacific northwest. more hit or miss showers and

a warm and muggy friday morning. good morning. our temperatures near 80 degrees and looking off to the southwest from our vantage point in northwest washington we have clouds on the increase. under clouds getting some rain now in the highlands of west virginia, the central shenandoah valley heading off to the northeast. temperatures that are hovering upper 70s to near 80 will climb into the upper 80s. there is a greater chance of afternoon thundershowers into this evening. a slight risk an isolated storm could produce wind damag and that's your latest weather. >>atly? u.yo ankha when we come back, everybody in the pool! swimsuits for everyone from mom to grandma. swimsuits for everyone from mom to grandma. right after this. for your skin. only aveeno positively radiant moisturizer has total soy, combining the best of nature with the proof of science for a whole new level of radiance. it's clinically proven to visibly reduce blotchiness, brown spots and other past damage while breakthrough spf 30 helps prevent future damage.

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♪ i want a manwich, please... ♪ make tonight a manwich night. - ♪ i want a manwich, please ♪ - ♪ ahh-ahh-ahh. this morning on "today's style," swimsuits for the entire family. still haven't gotten it together for summer? celebrity stylest has some best bets for everyone from the kids

to grandma. good morning, sarah. >> good morning, natalie. >> we're talking about everything from ages 6 to 60. you've got everybody covered. what are some things to look for when it comes to lifestyle, fit and whatever else you should think about. >> you want to think, what are you going to be doing in this swimsuit? are you going to be surfing, sailing or merely chasing around kids or lounging by the pool. second you want to incorporate black and white, color blocking, neon, floral prints, and then finally, price point. you have to find something that works for your budget. and the great thing about fashion and style today is there's everything out there for your price point. so if you want to spend a little or a lot there's something out there. >> especially with bathing suits, definitely. let's get started with our mom here. we have yelisa, mom of two. beautiful twins. and she's wearing a mix and match swim mini. this looks fantastic on her. >> it looks great on her. it's perfect for her lifestyle. she's a mother of two twin girls who are extremely active. so this suit is perfect. it's from land's end, two pieces, a halter top from the

beach living separates at land's end. you can buy the top and bottom separately in your size. a lot of people are two different sizes. >> you can use different colors, even. >> different colors on bottom and top. so you can mix and match. this is a v-neck halter top which is great because it shows off some of her body but not all of it. after she had the twins she wasn't comfortable showing off all of her body. provides her with a lot of coverage but the swim mini is great because it shows off some of her leg but not all of her leg. >> i know what you say about her not feeling comfortable after having twins. she looks amazing. now we have her husband peter here with us along with the twin daughters oriana and mia. you see a lot of twins dress matchy matchy. and here you did a little bit of the opposite of that. >> we swapped it out. these suits are both from old navy, $17.50 apiece. we took the bottom from one and matched it with the top from the other and vice versa, so they can kind of mix and match and play a little bit. >> look how cute they are. and the hair.

>> the hair makes the outfit. >> absoluly. forget the suit. it's all about the hair. and those flip-flops, too. >> again from old navy. 's all about color and texture and mixing and matching prints. we've got a striped flip-flop and a polka dotted flip-flop. >> great idea you can do that. they can just watch back and forth. >> exactly. with the big trends started by surfers. female surfers do thi a lot. they're incorporating. >> very trending and cool. now let's talk about dad peter wearing the surfer shorts. >> okay, nothing makes a dad look more hip than wearing board insures. these are from vineyard vine. what i mean is they don't have the elastic waistband. a lot of times men wear old swim trunks from the season before, they're baggy and sag and worn out. this makes him look really trim around the center. he's also a sailor. he'll be the talk of the yacht club because he incorporates a little bit of colo they're still really sporty with a navy side panel. paired it with the chambray

shirt from tommy hilfiger and sperry topsider deck shoes. >> they belong in a land's end catalog. thank you, guys. looking glamorous over 60 and we have here, terry who is a grandmother. >> terry is a grandmother. she looks great in one of the seasonal trends which is black and white. it's all about poolside glamour. her suit is from lane bryant. in fact, it's a tankini. i love the black and white detail around her neck and also at the waistline. i like her kind of 1950s style brief which gives her a pinup quality. very glamorous and very sexy. >> you gave her coverage but you're also showing skin, too. >> exactly. a lot of times you see grandmothers in the swim dress. terry still is youthful and active and glamorous. she doesn't have toover up her body. i love the calf skin as well and the sandals from aero soles. >> next to models are cousins. ivan is in board shorts, as well, and they've gone a little bit shorter than some of the longer board shorts. come on in, guys.

>> we're seeing a lot of retro style from board shorts from quicksilver. we've seen t long, sloppy, over the knee shorts in the past few seasons. this season it's getting cleaned up. a little more 1980s ret roh, but with a more classic kind of fit. >> and tell us about caitlin, she's got the retro boy short bottom going. >> exactly. this seuss is from pakaloha backennys. i love this look from caitlin. youthful, kind of gidget. she's not wearing the string bikini. she looks cute in the orange, floral set. and i pair it with a hoodie from boy meets girl. >> a little more coverage, too. moms like to see their girls covered up a little bit more. thank you all to our models. you all look great. thanks for being very courageous and showing some skin here today. >> thank you. >> good job. >> thanks to you, as well. hope everybody has a good summer. we'll be back in a moment. kellogg's has always made...

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this morning on "today's" garden preserving summer produce. you spend your weekends nurt youring your summer garden. garden designer and expert p. allen smith has some tips from his book bringing the garden indoors. good to see you again. so even if you don't grow your own vegetables, right now the farmer's markets -- >> full of locally grown produce. support your local farmers. a lot of it is organic and delicious. >> you say tomatoes. >> like tomatoes. you want to go for the freshest you can get. if you're going to buy tomatoes, try to buy those with the cap on, they're going to last longer. >> don't squeeze the tomatoes? >> don't buy any that have bruises on them. different kind of squashes. i tend to like them a little younger than this. i like to be able to snap them like that when they're really tender. these are some zucchini varieties. when it comes to sweet corn. this is the time for sweet corn. just taste that. >> okay. >> isn't it sweet? >> that is sweet. >> isn't that amazing?

you want to buy corn that has no sort of wrinkles in the kernels, this is really fresh. >> when you buy corn should you pull it back? >> you want to make sure it's not shrivelling. the best is as soon as it comes off the stock. you want to preserve some of this. >> drying? >> drying is one of the great ways to do it. i love to dry tomatoes. use some of the post tomatoes like a roma. look how juicy this is. go with a plum tomato and you can put them in a dehydrator like this, and isn't that great? >> how long do you leave them in there? >> you can put them in in the evening, and the next morning they're dry. >> wow. >> and then you can take the dried tomatoes and pack them in oil and look at that. >> sun-dried tomatoes. >> yeah. >> now freezing is a thing that a lot of people don't think about. >> i love to just blanche things like green beans, brocco. you don't want to try to freeze lettuce or anything like that.

>> what about corn? >> perfect? >> take it off the cob? >> depends on how you're going to use it. if you're going to use it in a soup mix, take it off the cob. i keep it in the shuck, put it in these freezer bags with a food saver like this. takes all the air out. >> right. >> you seal it. put it in the freezer and good for six months. >> you've got to get the air out. >> you want the air out to prevent freezer burn. >> and canning. >> i love to can. this is a pressure cooker. if you don't have this thing in the bottom of yours put a towel in the bottom. you can cook -- well, this will hold about three quarts. >> right. >> and then one of the great things about canning is that you can do these wonderful recipes like salsas and chow chows and things that you can give at christmas. and this is a recipe that my aunt virginia in warren county, tennessee put together. try it and see what you think. >> i should use my right hand. hmm. >> pretty good, huh? >> your auntie knows what she's doing.

>> she does. makes a full gallon. add herbs and spices, whatever you like. >> that is fantastic. p. allen smith, we're going to the farmer's market. >> let's do it, man. >> more from the all-american rejects coming up. ñ?eoyçg           <

♪ tile for us to get the heck out of here for the weekend. but don't go away, because we've still got hoda and kathie lee coming up. >> and ll cool j coming up. >> that is cool. >> speaking of call, one more song from the american rejects. it's called swing swing. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ days swiftly come and go i'm dreaming of her ♪ ♪ she's seeing other guys emotions they stir ♪ ♪ the sun is gone the nights are long and i am left while the tears fall ♪ ♪ do you think that i would cry on the phone ♪ ♪ do you know what it feels like being alone ♪ ♪ i'll find someone new ♪ swing swing swing

from the tangles of my heart is crushed by a former love ♪ ♪ can you help me find a way to carry on again ♪ ♪ wish cast into the sky i'm moving on sweet beginnings do arise she knows i was wrong ♪ ♪ the notes are old they're five years old ♪ ♪ and so do i to a new love ♪ ♪ did you think that i would cry ♪ do you know what it feels like playing the "today" show ♪ ♪ i'll find someone new ♪ swing swing swing from the tangles of my heart is crushed by a former love ♪ ♪ can you help me find a way to carry on again ♪

♪ ♪ bury me you thought your problems were gone ♪ carry me away away away ♪ ♪ swing swing swing from the tangles of my heart is crushed by a former love ♪ ♪ can you help me find a way to carry on again ♪ ♪ swing swing swing from the tangles of my heart is crushed by a former love ♪ ♪ can you help me find a way ♪ wqwúoc

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wisk®. powerfully clean. perfectly priced. our time now is 9:56. hazy sunshine this morning. we'll get the forecast coming up on this friday, the 17th day of july. i'm joe krebs. we have breaking news out of charleston county. police are on the scene of an overturned ups double tractor-trailer truck. it appears a truck and car collided causing the truck to go out of control and flip onto its side. no information about injuries. let's go to jerry edwards for the latest on the traffic effects. >> good morning. approximately where this accident occurred on 301, near route 225 in la plata. right now 301 is closed northbound and southbound. again it's going to take a while for this tractor-trailer to get uprighted. we don't know the contents. it's a hazmat situation. 301 remains closed, not a

massive backup but another couple hours could be very troublesome. joe. >> thanks, jerry. let's go to tom kierein to find out whether kind of a day we're going to have. heat and humidity today >> a mild and muggy morning. we had sunshine but now we have clouds on the increase. we're looking forward the southwest over virginia in the distance in upper northwest washington. on radar in the distance, out on the highlands of west virginia and here in the central shenandoah valley getting some downpours there. some light rain heading off to the north and east. we'll likely be coming toward the metro area but not until two, three, four hours. we'll see temperatures that are now near 80 degrees climb into the upper 80s. then 3:00 p.m. to as late as 8 or 9:00 p.m. we could get thundershowers, some could produce damaging winds. and then tomorrow and sunday low humidity returns. as we get into saturday, highs

in the mid 80s, morning lows sunday near 60. afternoon highs near 80. >> thanks, tom. u.s. capital police officer sin the hospital after a shoot-out at a greenbelt apartment complex t. off-duty officer got involved when he saw someone shooting at someone in a parking lot. a 12-year-old girl at the scene was hit by a stray bullet. all three people hit by gunfire are expected to be okay. tonight on "news 4 at 5:00" a new way to get a helping hand from your neighbor online. now back to the "today" show after we take this short break.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, everybody. it is friday, this summer is going too fast for me, i'm telling you that. >> it's flying. it's like a week went by that we missed. >> i know it. but in the meantime all these surveys come out. i'm a little surprised by this one, "more" magazine has a survey, 1,000 readers, over 40. they reveal their inner thoughts about their outer selves. >> and? >> and it surprised me. 57% say they are satisfied with their bodies. >> t, 78% said they have given

up bikinis. they're done. >> but maybe they're happy to be done with it. >> maybe. >> yeah. >> but here's one that surprised me. the question was asked, would you gain 30 pounds for a quarter of a million dollars? would you gain 30 pounds? would you? >> no. >> okay. >> i might. all right so anyway, 75% said no. they would not. 22% said they would consider gaining ten pounds for $25,000. >> oh, that i'd do. that i'd do. i don't know that this is true either. they say that body acceptance grows with each candle on the birthday cake. >> maybe you just get more used to the way it is. >> i don't know. maybe i'm hanging out withthe wrong people. everybody i faulk to moaning and groaning about getting older. i said well look, do you want to get older? the alternative is not to get older, you're dead. or the other thing, are you going todie young and look good in your casket? that doesn't make sense either. embrace. >> but people fight it all the way. >> i grow up kicking and screaming.

but i like the concept of embracing. you know what i like hoda woman? >> is this one of your favorite things? >> mm-hmm. >> we've been doing this every friday. >> one of my favorite things especially in the summer, something called clean and clear. again we are not paid spokespeople. oil absorbing sheets. you press down like that. it lifts up a sheet. you don't keep putting powder all over you all summer long, and just dab it. then you dab it and it just -- >> oil comes off. >> so you don't swallow it like i'm about to do. it soaks up the natural oil. >> that is some nasty -- it's disgusting. >> look at that. but it works. >> it works. >> clean and clear. >> and it doesn't take off whatever makeup you have. that's the key. >> just soaks up the oil. >> so there's one more. that is monavi. which is stuff i take every morning. you take it out of the refrigerator. just slap it back. my gosh, it's 6:00 in the morning. it has 15 berries in it. >> oh. >> that are amazing.

including the acai berry from the rain forest. >> acai. >> that's what i said. >> is it good? >> that's my second one today. it's really good when it's cold. it's really good when it's cold. you have to trust me on that. you know what else -- >> i have a favorite thing, too. would you just wait a second! okay. one of the things -- >> no, i'm not going to do it. go ahead. >> so i have hair issues. i have weather sensitive hair. it's a big pain. as is something else. but i finally found something that helps. now my favorite thing isot the round brush on the table. >> although you do like them. >> and it's not the hair product that is called hair rules which i love. but my most favorite things and one of yours too, is laura who actually does our hair. laura, come out here and show us how, these brushes are unique. they look like to me every other round brush. what kind of brushes are these

again? >> they're called the marilyn brushes. they have a little bit of a dip. >> what's so great about that? >> so when you place the hair in, and you wrap it up, tuck your ends under and put a little tension to straighten the hair that helps give so it doesn't put so much stress in the center of your hair. >> see what she's saying? >> and then you pull it. and then look what you do. >> make it straight. >> i can't do it myself, though. you can do your own hair by yourself. but i can't reach and do it. >> that's why this is -- >> a big round of applause for our favorite hair person, laura. thank you, laura. >> now our producers, of course, tammy filler and i don't know if this has anything to do with the fact that her name is filler and it's on this. >> careful, careful. >> yeah. >> apparently you don't -- you can go and pump gas, or you can pump >> it works. vino.

it's called the filler up. >> open up. >> i do not think so. you are not doing it. >> oh, god. >> wouldn't work. >> because it knows, it said that's enough, kathie lee. it won't work. >> wait a minute. >> that's very funny, miss sara haines. i guess it has something to do with the angle again. and here you go. >> thank you. >> here you go. i don't know why, that's available at after five catalog for $39.9. that's pretty cute. >> do you want to try it? >> no! >> you like the wine. yes, you do. >> what are they called? >> smencils. they're pencils that smell like things. this one smells like cotton candy. this always makes for good tv, smelling things. >> kids would love this. watermelon. it smells just like watermelon. these are the things you love. sephora has this scent for him and for her. >> here's lavender martini. >> that's not your favorite.

you know what your favorite is. >> oh, fresh laundry? >> no. sex on the beach. here you go. >> good lord. is this it? >> i don't know. >> i don't know. >> this one is called laundromat. you would love laundromat because you're always about the clean clothes. >> squirt it. >> yeah, that does smell good. >> dirt. my favorite. who wants to smell like dirt? >> this one is snow. what does snow smell like? >> the trouble is you start using all of these. does that not smell like dirt? >> ew. why would you want that? >> as a gag gift, i know. >> yeah. >> for the guy you're dating that you don't like. >> gin and tonic? >> no, there is one called sex on the beach. >> i don't think so, because i don't see it. >> there it is. >> there you go. >> okay, lit me. >> okay. >> thank you. >> smells good. smells very good. >> could be the hot dogs. >> it is national hot dog month.

i don't know if everyone is aware of that. >> also national butt month and national ice cream month. >> it is. >> all those things. >> so you're going to have a big butt if you eat all the ice cream and all the hot dogs. >> these are some unique ones. there's a macaroni and cheese one. a wrap one like an egg roll. >> that's a chinese hot dog. you want to try one of those? >> i'll try one of those. >> that looks good. >> the hot dogs with that baby, it's in like an egg roll thing. >> uh-huh. >> and then you wanted the ones, hoda, that has all the guacamole, right? >> yeah. >> you want that one. >> okay. >> i don't even want to know the calorie content of these. >> give it to me zpp >> what do we have over there the haagen-dazs things? >> there's way too much food. >> i know. >> take that first. do you want it? >> i want it with soy sauce. >> okay. now where are these hot dogs from? >> a few different places. >> eden walk. >> needs to be hot.

>> so anyway, they're different hot dogs all over. hot dog month and just, you know, have one. >> so take somebody you love, go get them a hot dog. go get them smencils, filler up. have a little mona vi for your liver. and what else? >> here's a good idea. >> hold on. >> this is such bad tv. i feel bad. i really do. >> one of these things -- >> i don't know. >> if you want to give friends a gift, and you don't know what to give, talk about giving someone perfume and you're not sure what to give, this is a brilliant idea. sephora has come out with this thing, it's called a scent book. so what they have is they put in all these little scents so you can pick the one that you like the most, and then they include a gift certificate, so that you can go and pick the one you like. so instead of giving someone a scent they're not ever going to use, they get a choice. they've done the same thing, if

you look over here, with spices. this is from that steak place, what is omaha steaks? >> mm-hmm. >> they give you three different choices, you pick the one you like and there's an included -- it's such a cute idea. and they do the same thing with teas. they include teas and you decide what you like and use a gift certificate. what do you think about that? >> you get this entire thing and the gift certificate for the one you like? >> mm-hmm. >> i think that's a good idea. we need to go over to miss sara. >> you want a hot dog? >> i like the chinese one. i'll come down. allison asked if you could retire and live anywhere in the world, where would you want to go. >> i'd have to say like a caribbean island, i think. >> really? >> i would love that. >> either italy or israel. >> interesting. >> interesting. >> we don't have time to discuss why. >> we don't. >> coming up next, we have the great ll cool j in the house. >> and he smells sweet. >> oh, my gosh. >> we like him so much. >> there's a lot to like about him. >> he's got -- he's got a lot of

integrity. and he's a thinker and he's a planner and a really good daddy. we like all those things in our men. >> he does smell good. [ indistinct conrsations ] ♪ ♪ [ female aouncer ] for underarms that are sexy smooth, get secret flawless touch with olay. it even reduces irritation caused by shaving. oooooo-lay... [ female announcer ] secret. because you're hot. time to deploy the chex mix boring potato chip decoy bag.

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he has been making music for more than two decades. >> he's authored a few books, starred on the big screen, and the small one, and best of all is a happily married father of four. >> we're talking ladies about ll cool j. whose newest role takes him to the streets of l.a. in ncis: l.a. ll, welcome. >> we have lots of initials. >> lots of initials. >> we're just glad you're here. >> i'm glad to be here. >> we're thrilled that you're here. now you're going back on tv

again. >> yes. >> are you looking forward to that? >> i really am. it's a great opportunity to join a winning franchise that's already successful that a lot of people are excited about. and i have a great co-star in chris o'donnell. hopefully we can be that bonus that just makes the show, you know, as good as the original and we can continue to give the fans, the people, the fans of the original show what they love. >> and you're an ex-navy s.e.a.l. in this deal? >> i am a former navy s.e.a.l. i slide on under the water. it feels good. a little more technology in the show, a little more action. you know, we still have the same show runner, same executive producer. >> so you're in good hands. >> great team. >> you have so much on your plate. i think part of the joy of your life is that you love a lot of different things. and you get to do all of them. i'm not going to ask you which one is your favorite. but you have other things going on, as well. you know what, it all is my favorite. i'll tell you why. it's kind of like playing the piano. you treat your life like a

piano. you don't have to have a favorite note. you play the song. you use both hands, you work. >> i like that analogy. elton john does it, too. >> okay. >> and i just enjoy business. i think that allowing myself to be creative in different areas, and channeling my artistic inspirations into other areas is good for me. so the same creativity that i used to use in making an album, i'll do it in business. >> i like that you started rapping when you were just a little boy, 9 years old, and you were raised by your grandparents. >> yes. >> they must have had a huge influence on your life. >> huge influence. my grandfather came over from barbados. he was a world war ii vet. in the med corps. and my grandmother is from the south. i kind of had that caribbean, southern upbringing in new york. >> i like that. >> i'm a big mix. >> and they encouraged you to go into singing, didn't they? >> my grandmother was always in the choir. so i was raided in the choir. >> in the church. >> in the church. and my granather was a jazz

musician. had a lot of bands and stuff. so he played tenor sax. >> so did my daddy! >> so you grew up with not just the musicality but also the integrity, and what your life should be like. not just what you do, but what you should be. >> yeah, but my grandfather was a guy who believed in washing his hands up to his elbows. he fixed his own car. he went back to school at 70 years old. >> did he really? >> yeah. >> he was an inspiration. a family of people who believe in education andngoirk w hard. >> i guess you have how many children? >> i have four. 19-year-old, 18-year-old, 13-year-old and an 8-year-old. >> is it stuff for you raising kids in this environment? >> i mean, yeah, it's tough. you know, it's my first time. i'm not a grand dad. so i haven't been through the process. >> same wife, too. >> all four quarters. >> we can't let you go without asking you about, guess he must have been a friend of yours, michael jackson. >> yeah. >> memory of his you want to share? >> mike was an amazing guy. helped me get a grand on my song hey lover, so that was a, you

know, it was a tremendous loss, i think, for the whole world. actually. >> really was. >> do you have other things you're working on? >> right now i have a promotion i'm doing with mastercard called breaking your jeans promotion. any mastercard holder will get a free pair of jeans like my ll cool j jeans. whatever jeans you want. >> brand-new by the way. >> but then even cooler than that, they get four tickets to go anywhere in the world they want to go on vacation. >> oh. >> see, so, yeah. >> anywhere? >> anywhere. that's to another level. i started off slow and then i took it to another level. >> you always do. >> that's right. >> that's right. >> so great to see you. >> good to see you, as well. >> you're such a doll. ll cool j, thank you so much for coming by. >> still to come on "today," we're going to show you how to wrap yourself up in style, right after this. ( top cracks open ) introducing new special k protein shakes. ♪

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this morning on "today's style," it's a wrap. if you are headed to the beach or on a long vacation, less is always more. >> yes, it is. >> it's important to fit all of your outfits into a beach bag or a carry-on. especially with how much they're charging these days to check baggage at the airport. >> jill martin is here to show us how you can take your outfit from day to night without missing a beat. look at jill. >> we like jill. >> we like when you're here. >> these are outfits that we can wear all the time. >> all the time. all of these pieces are versatile and they're all affordable. i want to start with your look. >> okay. >> all right. >> with the bangs. >> okay. look at sara and kathie lee. this is the same wrap from jennifer miller jewelry and it comes in silk and also in a less expensive version and you can wear it from the beach, out to dinner. >> do a spin. >> and it's just in the way you tie it. it's called the barcelona.

it was inspired -- >> so that's the first look. >> okay. >> and so versatile. and then we >> all four of us. >> all four of us are in the same outfit by dna m. dotcom. this was a huge hit in the version we did last time. the whole thing fits in here. all six pieces and it's all how you wrap it. >> how many pieces do we have on? >> altogether we have six pieces. it's called the six-piece wardrobe. it's $36 for each piece. you wear it as a dress, wear it to t beach >> it's so comfortable. >> and most men appreciate headless women, anyway. you know. >> i mean, men like the bodies. >> let's move on down. >> come on. >> for $12.95 you can go from the beach out to dinner. $1.95 from h&m. all you do is tie the top around your neck, and then around your back, and this is the same sarong.

>> h&m? >> yes. >> i think people think it's complicated. it looks cute and easy here. >> it's just like this. you tie two ends aroundour neck and one around your waist. you just scrunch it up if you want to show a little belly. if you want it longer -- >> you have a bathing suit on under here? >> or you could wear a strapless bra. or those -- >> those chicken cutlets. >> i can't wear those. >> okay. and then, this american apparel, this is so great. i just found this. $28. >> oh, that fabric is fantastic. >> oh. >> this is -- >> oh, my gosh. >> it's just a whole situation here. so you make it a shrug. you make it a one oulder dress. >> what is it? >> list just a tube. you can tie it like ten different ways. >> i wish everybody could feel how soft -- >> this becomes this. and then as a shrug. i just wanted to show what the

material is. $28. and it comes with instructions. and it's just great. >> it's such -- >> wow. >> pay attention. >> i watched them told it. >> we have to wrap up. >> all right. still to come on today, if you are looking for a bargain this summer she'll show you where to go, what to drink in the sun. after your local news. >> i'd be happy to help.

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what better way to cool off in the summertime than to try out some of the best drinks served at the best beach bars across the whole country? >> travel and leisure international editor mark orwell is here to tell us about some must-visit beaches and the cocktails to taste along with. what a great idea for a segment. >> hello, mark. >> what says summer more than beach bars? we've got a few all across the country, including some places you might not expect to find a beach bar. >> but there's no beach? >> we're on to you. >> this is watermelon sangria. >> from the joledo beach club at the ritz-carlton in south beach, miami. this has a sparkling rose, a little bit of a zing to it. cubes of watermelon in there.

>> cheers, mark. >> cheers, indeed. the reason we like this place, oh, that's good, right on the beach in miami beach. beautiful people come there. >> great. >> sunday afternoons it's a hangout. full moon parties. where you can have a little bit of the sangria. >> and howl at the moon. >> howl at the moon. >> this is a beautiful presentation. this you're going to find for $2.50. this is the summer -- oh, cheers. this is the summer delight. you're going to find us at the sand bar at the red rock casino and resort in las vegas. >> we know there's no beach. but they've created one, right? >> right. this one has a malibu pineapple rum, it's got liqueur, a little bit of sierra mist in there. >> i like sierra mist. >> you're a romantic type, aren't you, honey? >> the sand bar has a three acre pool complex. an island in the middle of the main pool. you're going to kick off your

shoes. >> it's also exercise because that thing is heavy. i'm serious that thing weighs a lot. >> it's heavy. >> that's a beautiful drink. >> you could be drinking this on the sandt the water taxi beach in new york city. it's called the blue gin. >> where is that? >> they trucked in 300 tons of sand to south street seaport. >> oh, right, right. >> a great idea. >> and during the daytime it's great for the family. at night, the over 21 crowd comes in there, try out the blue gin. >> what is this? >> the blue gin. it's with bulldog gin in it, a little bit of blue perlies and some come granite juice. >> these are all a little sweet for me. i understand why people like them. >> our last one might be a bit hoar. but the next one we're going to go to hawaii. and taste a mai tai. trader vick developed these things. and the surf rider and the beach bar. >> just look at this.

just look for one -- >> check out the bannian tree, 100 year banyan tree. >> i've never been to hawaii. >> stop it. >> no, i've never been. >> we're going to go. >> if you go to diamond head and drink a couple of these things. >> tell us about the drink, what goes into it? >> this is rum, a little bit of -- if you want it to be perfect, put in a little bit of hawaiian light rum, as well. that's the classic trader vick. at the beach bar at the mauana surf rider. >> oh, my gosh. that's very strong. >> that is like -- >> yeah. >> the only place you're not going to expect to find a beach but they have a good one is chicago. you're going to try a frozen lemonade at the oak street beach strobe in chicago. >> let's take a look at this for a second. >> we've got this beautiful chicago skyline. of course the beach at lake michigan. and they have built this sort of

caribbean-looking restaurant and bar right on the sand. palm trees. they trucked them up from flflorida. >> wow. >> just to have them. >> i bet that place is so popular. >> can you imagine hanging out there on a sunday afternoon? >> yes, i can, mark, because i have a really good imagination. >> these are frozen lemonade? >> you run it through a frozen drink machine. it's fresh lemonade. >> i like it best. >> and the salt around the side. >> and you can sip a glass of wine at a beach bar anyway. you don't have to have the fancy drinks. there's something for everybody. >> beer, glass of white wine or maybe a little bit of frozen lemonade. >> bring your i.d. we hope you enjoy your summer. >> cheers. >> ladies. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> and up next, one of our favorite ladies, lucy buffet is cooking up ato srm of southern shrimp. pickpick the windows... - anything but the windows. - deal. oh! new windex outdoor all-in-one -- cleans outdoor glass fast.

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"today's kitchen" is brought to you by pulse bury toaster strudels. the way kids want to eat. >> and this morning on "today's kitchen," crazy cooking. lucy buffet is the crazy sister to singing sensation jimmy buffett. >> we love here.

>> she's here to prepare for some crazy, screaming, easy wild shrimp wasabi great from the pages of crazy sista cooking. >> it's great to be here. the first thing we're doing is alabama breeze. >> did you tell her we don't usually drink on the show. >> but it's fine. it's friday. >> hoda do you want to put a little bit of vodka in each one of these? >> how much is a little? >> about two fingers. >> she's good. >> that's long fingers. >> this is a lemon butter, coconut rum. half as much. >> okay, half as much. >> just a little bit. >> because i don't like it real sweet. that's a sweet rum. >> that's a little. >> yeah. >> okay and then we're each going to take one of these and squeeze one of these. >> to make it healthy. >> yeah, with vegetables. very important to get your daily allowance of fruit and

vegetables. >> that's right. >> and just drop it on in there. >> drop it in. >> smack that down. >> and then we're going to put a little cranberry, top it off with some cranberry. >> that also is very good, especially if you have some sort of an intestinal thing -- >> don't -- >> or you have, what do they call it? urinary tract problem. >> right. >> now you can put simple syrup in it. i don't like it so sweet. >> oh, yeah. that's the problem with mark. i told him that sweet stuff. >> so you stip it subpoena >> that's great liquor. >> no, it's not. >> it was a -- >> i don't know about you but i feel very healthy. >> is yours good? >> it is. just needs a little more coconut. >> that's not coconut. that is rum. >> coconut rum. that's what it's called. don't you pay attention. >> the bmam breeze is a jimmy song. he let me use it. i stole it from him. >> do you guys get along? >> very well.

very well. okay y'all, this is screamin' easy wasabi shrimp. this shrimp came from alabama, the gulf of mexico. >> swam the whole way. >> it is so easy. basically put a little bit of the salsa in here. this is hot, hot, hot, hot, hot. get it very, very hot. >> popping and screaming already. >> there we go. >> okay. >> did you devein them? >> darling, they are deveined. we want to turn just a little bit pink. and people are going to -- >> people are going to say oh, my gosh, there's no liquid in there. >> yeah. >> but, we're going to put the top on it. so here we've got some beer, a little land shark beer, you know -- it's a bubba plug. all right this is wasabi powder. it's going to -- >> in the beer. >> that's going to have a kick that. >> how many times did you have to work on this recipe until you got it right? >> horseradish. >> horseradish? >> that's going to give it a kick. >> that's right. >> everything has horseradish in

it. >> uh-huh. >> get ready. this goes in. and as it starts. see, come on. >> yeah, come on. that looks good. >> wait a second. >> they're shrimping. >> then, we really just two stable spoons, that's all. i'm only putting two in. >> come on sista. >> it's the induction. this is really what you do. >> how long? >> you got to make sure you don't overcook it. >> you just turn it off. >> you can turn it off? >> and you leave it in this hot pan for three mutes. you should never cook shrimp more than three minutes, ever. >> we learned something today. >> okay. >> so then, it comes and it looks like this. >> ooh. >> that looks good. >> and when you take it off, more of the fruit. top it. >> mm-hmm. >> yeah, honey, here we go. a little bit of hot sauce. >> now do you eat them this way? or you can serve them -- i'm not going to wait. >> of course you do, you do

serve them that way. and that's why you have this bowl for the tails. >> is it awesome? >> mm-mmm. >> it's quick, it's easy. >> oh, lucy, that is so -- >> it's not slathered. >> is that liquid? >> mm-mmm. >> oh, my gosh. >> we love you. >> sweet tomato pie. >> oh, you've got to try that. >> succotash, tomatoes came from alabama. they're all home grown. >> that's all we care about. >> butter beans, silver queen corn and okra. >> oh, i love okra. they don't have okra here in new york. >> it's healthy and it's low in fat. >> fabulous. >> we love you, thank you so much. >> oh, look. >> and also to your sister, the one that everybody forgets. what's her name? she's the cowgirl. >> who cares. >> that is peaches that are from alabama and that is quick and

easy cobbler with a little bit of vanilla ice cream. >> thank you. >> any summer day, that's what we're going to be eating. >> you can go to the website. lucy, thank you so much. come back with us any time. we've got another great treat ahead. a performance from a sensational electric string quartet. they're called escala. (mom) soon, we'll be doing homework, getting up early, packing lunches and running for the bus. and we're ready for it. because we took all our lists and we went to walmart. since walmart checks other store's prices... i didn't have to. that means we got home in time... for just a little more summer -- and for one last night of lightning bugs. back to school costs less at walmart. save money. live better. walmart. (female narrator) which cheese slices do you prer... pasteurized processed cheese product? (lou gentine) or natural cheese slices? at sargento, our deli style slices

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the art of getting clean. new powerfully formulated wisk®... is better on tough mud stains than tide total care. wisk®. powerfully clean. perfectly priced. "the toyota concert series on today," brought to you by toyota. toyota, moving forward. >> the electric string quartet escala made an imprecious back in two thought eight on "britain's got talent." the four classically trained musicians may not have come in first place but they did make it all the way to the finals and they have not stopped since. just a couple of months ago they're debut album first hit stores and now the world is hearing the music that you woulded british audiences, and even simon cowell. let's meet victoria lyons, chantal leverton, tasia hodges

and izzy johnson also known as escala. hello, ladies. >> thank you for crossing the pond to visit us. >> thank you for having us. >> whose idea was it to enter this contest. raise your hand if it was your idea. nobody's? >> a very smart manager, right? >> it was actually, we were playing for a big, and it was sort of the "x" factor. and the producers approached us and gave us the idea. so that's how it happened. >> they must have seen you in those dresses. >> yeah. >> what's interesting, the instruments are kind of funky looking. tell us about those. >> well, they're electric instruments. and the same setup as like an electric guitar and they're just great for performing and people always seem really fascinated by them. >> does anybody wonder if you're actually really making the music out of them because of the way they look? >> yeah, in between pieces we just make really loud noises. >> and we were classically trained. so we spent quite a long time adapting to the electric instruments. >> classically trained. how much training did you guys have to put in?

>> we started when we were 5 or 6. and years of music school, hours of practice every day. and music college. >> yeah. >> you're going to hear why in a moment, too. >> what are you going to play for us? >> we're going to play "live and let die". >> ladies, take it away. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ >> yes! >> whoo! >> escala! wow. excellent. >> thank you, ladies. >> awesome. and great shoes, too, by the way. great shoes. >> we'll be back with more. but first, this is "

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that does it for us on this friday, as usual. >> we're going to sign off now th a look back at the week at was. we hope you guys have a rtefic, terrific weekend. >> have a great weekend. see you on monday. ♪ >> i learned that from mariah carey. >> you can see the passion. >> no one's going to want you. >> never going down the snake river with a guy you love? you can hear them snoring, they can hear you. >> would you rather have a saggy butt or saggy boobs? >> wow, wow, wow. >> there you go, baby.

>> there you go. ♪ r b@ ñ 3l%