the storm. the police officer who arrested a black scholar at that man's own home speaks out in-depth for the first time. >> i knew that it was going to bring a certain amount of attention. unwanted attention on me. nonetheless, that's how far professor gates pushed it. >> that exclusive interview as president obama defends his remarks that the police acted stupidly. the evidence. nbc news obtains the list of items confiscated during a raid on the office of michael jackson's personal doctor. now the specific target of a manslaughter investigation. this as jackson's mother tells the court she's out of cash and

needs financial help to raise michael's three children. and wild wedding. the bridal party getting raves on youtube, after one of the most creative trips to the altar we've ever seen "today," friday, most creative trips to the altar we've ever seen "today," friday, july 24th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a friday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm meredith vieira. and this morning we are hearing sargent james crowley's account of what happened on the night that he arrested har verdict professor henry louis gates jr. for the first time. >> he sat down thursday with the nbc station in boston, because he says he is tired of being labeled a racist. sergeant crowley also spoke out about president obama's comment that he acted stuply.

a remark the president is now defending. we're going to have more on this story coming up in just a couple of minutes. >> also ahead, an important milestone on wall street. the dow topped 9,000 on thursday for the first time since s isaja a m this as a major investment firm tells clients the recession is over. so is it? we're going to talk about that with dylan ratigen and suze orman, and suze also has advice on the best place to put your savings. >> did you peek out the window this morning? >> i have. >> we have a massive, massive crowd out on the plaza this morning. these people are here to see one of the biggest names in pop music these days. she is katy perry. we're going to hear from her live in concert in our 8:30 half hour. let us begin this morning with the police sergeant behind the controversial arrest of a black scholar. nbc's ron allen is in cambridge, massachusetts, with more on the story. ron, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. sergeant james crowley said he's speaking out because he's tired of being called a racist and

because he said he was offended when president obama said the cambridge police acted stupidly. setting the scene. remember crawly was assigned to a 911 call from a neighbor who thought she saw someone breaking into the home of professor henry louis gates jr. gates and crowley have very different versions of what happened. crowley said he first encountered gates at the front door. >> i asked him if he could step outside and speak with me. he said, no, i will not again. again, what's this all about? i said i'm sergeant crowley from the cambridge police department. i'm investigating a break-in progress. and he responded, why? because i'm a black man in america? in a very agitated tone. and again, i thought that was a little strange. his appearance did lead me to believe that maybe he isn't your typical breaking and entering type person. however, that response to me was pretty strange, and uncommon in my experience. i then asked him if there was anybody else in the residence, and my rsons for asking that is twofold. first of all, there was reports

that there was two individuals. i see one, and it could be him. so where's the second person? or, there's two people in the residence that he doesn't know are there. either way, i wasn't expecting his response which was, that's none of your business. to me, that's a strange response from somebody who has nothing to hide. just trying to cooperate with the police. >> reporter: crowley told whth 7 news in boston that he warned gates several times that he was acting disorderly and then arrested him. >> i was leaving. as i reached the porch, i could -- i was aware that now he was following me because he was still yelling about racism and black men in america, and that he wasn't somebody to be messing with. >> reporter: his story is at odds with gates' description of the first encounter. >> i said this is my house. i'm a hr vard profess per i said i live her. he said can you prove it? i walked into the kitchen to get my harvard i.d. and massachusetts driver's license. he followed me without my permission. i gave him the two i.d.s and i

demanded to know his name and his badge number. he wouldn't say anything. he was very upset. i said why are you not responding to me? are you not responding to me because you're a white police officer and i'm a black man? he turned, walked out, turned his back on me, walked out. i followed him onto my porch, looked like a police convention there were so many policemen outside. i stepped out on my porch and said i want to know your colleague's name and his badge number, and this officer said, thank you for accommodating my earlier request, you are under arrest. look how tumultuous i am. i'm 5'7", i weigh 150 pounds, and my tumultuous, outrageous action was to demand he give me his name andadge number. >> he was the one that was being provocative. this wasn't a back and forth exchange of banter or arguing. this was one-sided. i was continuously telling him to calm down during thi whole exchange because i really didn't want this either. although i didn't know at the time who professor gates was,

knowing he was an affiliate of harvard, i really didn't want to have to take such a drastic action, because i knew that it was going to bring a certain amount of attention, unwanted attention on me. nonetheless, that's how far professor gates pushed it and provoked and just wouldn't stop. >> reporter: with gates leveling angry accusations of racial profiling at sergeant crowley, the charges were dropped tuesday. but then wednesday, president obama, during a press conference about health care reform, answered a question about the incident. saying he understood why gates was angry. while criticizing the police. >> the cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting sebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. >> i was a little surprised and disappointed that the president, who didn't have all the facts by his own admission, then weighed in on the events of that night, and he made a comment that, you

know, really offended not just officers in the cambridge police department, but officers around the country. but that being said, i have tremendous amount of respect and support the president of the united states in everything he's trying to do in this day and age. so i think it's disappointing. >> reporter: even though his remarks have been a big distraction from one of his highest domestic priorities, health care, thursday the president insisted he did not regret what he said. >> you know, i have to say, i'm surprised by the controversy surrounding my statement, because i think it was a pretty straightforward commentary that you probably don't need to handcuff a guy, a middle-aged man who uses a cane, who's in his own home. >> reporter: the presint said he respects the difficulty police state, but coolers heads should have prevailed. >> i think that it doesn't make sense, with all the problems that we have out there, to arrest a guy in his own home if he's not causing a serious disturbance.

>> the story is over. >> reporter: gates has demanded an apology. crowley insists that will never happen. he only says he regrets the event. >> the amount of negative things that aren't true that he was saying about me at least warranted a response and allow people to see that i'm not a monster, or a bigot or racist that he has portrayed me to be. this is me. >> reporter: a couple of other items. the cambridge police revealed that there was,n fact, a break-in at gates' home while he was away on vacation. another reason the officer may have been cautious and suspicious. the police also say the sergeants for the past couple of years have been teaching a course to cadets and other officers about how to avoid racial profiling. gates on the other hand is one of the foremost authorities on race relations in this country. the police said they're going to set up an independent panel in the community to review what happened and see what can be learned from all this. >> all right, ron allen in cambridge this morning. thanks very much. let's bring in david gregory,

moderator of nbc's "meet the press." good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. >> the president says he doesn't understand all the controversy and attention this is getting. he says he stands by his comments, although he's gotten some negative criticism from a lot of police departments across the country. he said he doesn't regret what he said, but do you get a sense that top advisers in the white house would like a do-over on this one? >> well, they certainly went out of their way to soften some of that language a little built. and you heard the presidentn ron's piece saying during an interview he thought cooler heads should have prevailed. look, his reaction was consistent throughout the day yesterday. which is he thought it was stupid that they would handcuff him when they could establish that it was his home and he was inside his own home. and there was a level of irritation that you could sense, both from the president, and his top advisers, about why this had gotten as much attention as it did. perhaps not realizing when the president weighs in like this, it's going to get a great deal of attention. they went out of their way, matt, to soften that language a little bit, to be a little bit more inclusive of the other side by the end of the day. >> frustration also because of

the timing of this. here, this comes up and gets all these headlines. even as the president is trying -- he's up to his neck trying to pass this health care reform. so clearly this is not what he wants people to be talking about at this stage. >> absolutely not. and certainly not at the top of the progm, as it's been this morning. and that's the difficulty for an administration that wants to control the message, they want to only talk about health care. the president's doing a lot of interviews. he's really out there. but you know, if you think about the press conference the other night, it was a pretty dry affair. it was very clinical, talking about health care. and yet the only moment of some passion and shop candor and some kind of personal interest was the president talking about his friend, henry louis gates, professor gates. so that is going to get attention. he's also very careful about the way h speaks about things normally, and this was a case where he went a little bit farther because he thought, as you could tell, that it was kind of a logical matter, that this should have been a different response. the president, you can also tell, i think is irritated about the ways of the press sometimes.

and you could tell that he was genuinely surprised that this would rise to the top of the agenda in the way that it did. >> let me ask you a couple of things on health care specifically. why in the world did the president himself set an august deadline for passing this reform? shouldn't he have left that up to someone like harry reid to handle the scheduling on this issue, so if it didn't happen, it's a little bit of a hit to harry reid, it doesn't look like a big problem for president obama? >> well, inside the white house, top advisers maintain that the deadline was the right thing to do. they'll take the hit on missing the deadline. they think that putting one in there got a lot of work to be done when it may not have gotten done. so they're lowering their sights a little bit hoping to get the committee work done, in hopes of getting a bigger debate by the fall. >> whatever happened, remember when al franken was seated in the senate and it gave the democrats a 60-seat majority and a filibuster-proof majority, and of course dominant numbers in the house and everybody said well now, the white house can get everything in theirgenda they want, and here we are on

health care, the first major test, and the president can't rally the democrats. >> well, that's a problem. you've got conservative democrats who don like all this spending. remember back in 2006, the democrats really did something impressive. they got a lot of democrats from conservative areas to get elected. well, this is the downside of that. that you try to get a health care bill through with a lot of spending, a lot of controversy, some o those same conservative democrats are going to say, h sg on, not ge'v>> youeot y a bigt sunday on "meet the press." >> hillaryincln,to the secretary of state, our first live sunday morning interview for the full hour. we're going to talk about her trip around the world recently. all that she's done and some of the hot spots like iran and north korea. >> all right. have a good show, david. thanks very much. >> thanks, matt. >> and it is now 12 after the hour. here's meredith. >> matt, thank you. now to encouraging news on wall stn,et. the dow jones industrial average has dopped 9,000 for theirst time since january, after climbing nearly 1,000 points in nine trading days. and with 12 straight days of gains, the nasdaq is on its

longest winning streak since 1992. cnbc's melissa lee is at the new york stock exchange with good morning. >> good morning to you, meredith. it was a powerful combination of better than expected earnings and good news out of the housing market that sent stocks to their highest close since november. signs of life in corporate america, sending wall street higher thursday, with the dow crossing 9,000 for the first time since january. internet auction site ebay, auto manufacturer ford, and post-it maker 3m all reporting better than expected quarterly earnings. >> the market started out looking towards goldman sachs to knock the cover off the ball, starting off the earnings season. can the rest of the companies fulfill what goldman did? >> also boosting stocks, evidence that there may be a recovery under way in the housing market. sales of existing homes in june were up 3.6%, to the highest level since october of last year. as first-time home buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit expiring in the fall.

and traders say the senate's decision not to vote on health care until after the august recess added fuel to the rally. >> it's better to have a product that is one based on quality, and thoughtfulness, rather than trying to jam something through. >> reporter: still, some are skeptical about the rally's staying power, especially with new signs of weakness from the labor market. the number of workers filing for jobless benefits ticking up last week to 554,000. and thursday after the close, tech bellwether microsoft posted disappointing earnings and that really cast some doubt as to whether the rest of the earnings picture can support the stock market momentum. we've still got about two thirds of the s&p 500 set to post their results. meredith? >> all right, cnbc's melissa lee. thank you very much. dylan ratigen is the host of msnbc's "morning meeting" good morning to you. >> good morning. >> on the surface this all looks gray. merrill lynch telling its clients the recession is over. is it? >> it is and it isn't. it's sort of a good news/bad

news situation. remember, lastall we found ourselves on the verge of the financial apocalypse or so they say. that means a complete freezing of all the banking system, mass layoffs, no paychecks, runs on banks. that's the fear. last fall, ben bernanke, the treasury secretary, hank paulson and then tim geithner made the decision, understandably so, to take all of the debts created in the u.s. banking system, and across this country, away from the banks, and take them for the u.s. taxpayer. that's trillions of dollars. in potential debt that we all owe on our credit cards, our houses, et cetera. so it's like a surgery where basically the government went in and said we're going to take the debt that you guys all owe out and we're going to take it and the taxpayer is going to be responsible for it. >> they solved one problem and potentially created another one. >> that's exactly it. they about it as the cost to open the parachute to save us from the disastrous practices that were being exhibited on wall street. so the good news is, 9,000 on

the dow, evidence that, oh, thank goodness, this thing has stabilized. people are going to be able to work. we have a lower functioning economy that is still losing jobs at a lower speed. >> so what does it mean -- >> that's the good news. >> what does it mean long-term? >> long-term it means the american people have to reform the way our government makes rules for banks. the way our government makes rules for health. and other things. but specifically the banking rules allowed our banks to create trillions of dollars in risk, in order for the people running those banks to pay themselves billions of dollars. the american tax pay iris now responsible for the terrible decisions of those people, but, those decisions of those people created so much risk that the american people and the american government felt it had no choice but to take that risk. >> we also haven't created a system where that won't happen again? >> that's the thing that frustrates me the most. it's as if we just disinflated the air bag in the car that ran

into a ditch but no one wants to talk about why the car ran into the ditch. don't confuse the air bag with the solution. the solution is to fix 9 system, the air bag was there to prevent us from being eaten by a bad system. >> and we're still heading down a bad road? >> the number one thing is to create jobs. we've got warren buffett on at 9:00 this morning exexpoliceately to talk abo how to create jobs. if we can create jobs the risks go down. if we can't create jobs for our students, for our children, for people that need work in this country, we're going to have real problems. and that's what obama and the re.f our politicians are trying to wstle with. >> dyln,tiragenk thati you so much. you can catch morning meeting week days from 9:00 to 11:00 eastern time. as dylan said this morning his interview with warren buffett. now let's get the rest of the top stories from ann curry at the news desk. >> good morning, meredith. and good morning, everybody. also in the news this morning, a sobering prediction about swine flu. the world health organization's top flu expert said the pandemic

is still in its early stages and while there are now some 130,000 cases worldwe, he predicted as many as 2 billion people could be infected before the pandemic ends. the ntsb is now investigating a deadly helicopter crash during the night in maryland. all four people on board were killed when the commercial helicopter crashed onto a highway and burst into flames. there was rain and fog at the time, but officials don't know if weather was a factor in the crash. no vehicles on the highway were hit. police in indonesia said today that they found a third bomb in one of the two luxury hotels targeted by terrorists last week. they say they found it on the 18th floor of the marriott, set to explode first. but it failed to go off. two other bombs did explode, killing nine people and wounding more than 50 people. a massive investigation in new york city and new jersey has led to more than 40 arrests, including three mayors, two state assembly men and five rab rabbis. they are accused of laundering

money and/or accepting bribes. the federal minimum wage goes up to $7.25 as of today. at means a 07 cent an hour raise for as many as 5 million americans. as water cronkite's funeral in new york city on thursday, he was remembered as a kind and trusted friend, and a caring and thoughtful journalist. talked about his get it first and get it right motto. his intrinsic goodness and his love of the sea in what turned out to be a celebration of a life well lived. and white sox pitch mark buerhle is celebrating a perfect game. he didn't allow any hits or walks, retiring all 27 tampa bay batters he faced. and he has some spectacular refencive help from center fielder dwayne wise in the ninth inning to rob tampa bay of a home run and preserve only the 18th perfect game in major league history. it is now 7:19.

let's go back to matt and meredith. >> congratulations to mark buehrle. but he should be b buying -- ev after that catch. it was an amazing game and an amazing play. >> the crowd is fantastic. >> huge. really huge. >> katy perry coming up in about half an hour. first a check of the weather. al, where are you? >> i'm rht next to you. hello! >> hello. >> how are you? >> i'm feeling good. and these young ladies. what time did you get here? >> 5:30. >> well, not so bad. where are you from? >> manhattan. >> oh, wow, and you came all the way down? y yeah. t >>'rou from wisconsin? >> ye. he go.>>re y >> big katy perryre fan? >> yeah. >> let's show you what's going ar a fs asou y fr weather is concerned. we've got that nor'easter moving up and away but still dumping one to two inches of rain throughout parts of new england and strong storms firing up through the upperr plains and te midwest, risk of strong storms

l the way to green bay until late this morning on into tonight.ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1 a good friday morning. we're off to a humid start in washington where our temperature is 69. 66 in fairfax county, 65 in beautiful loudoun county, virginia, 66 in gaithersburg and germantown, 66 in brandywine and clinton, maryland. forecast highs in the mid to upper 80s, a 60% chance of thunderstorms today. a little more numerous than yesterday. thunderstorms may be severe. keep a weather eye to the sky. and that's the latest weather. matt, meredith? >> it's getting loud up here, al. thank you very much. when we come back we'll ask the question -- engaged to his longtime girlfriend kate middleton? we'll try to find out.

if we don't act, medical bills will wipe out their savings. 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 c 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.

still ahead, the police find enough evidence to charge michael jackson's daughter with manslaughter? plus why katherine jackson said she needs money to raise her grandchildren. >> and a bridal party's dance down the aisle. [ elevator bell dings ] good night america. [ alarm buzzes ] [ elevator bell dings, telephone rings ] [ indistinct conversations, elevator bell dings ] good night amer-- [ alarm buzzes, elevator bell dings ] [ female announcer ] nutri-grain. mmmm. one good decision can lead to another. ♪ made with real fruit and now with more of the whole grains your body needs. nutri-grain can help you eat better all day. it's the chevy open house. and now, with the cash for clunkers program, a great deal gets even better. let us recycle your older vehicle, and you could qualify for an additional $3500 or $4500 cash back... on top of all other offers.. on, a newn more fuel efficient chevy.

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7:26 is your time. 68 degrees, we started off with lots of fog after storms yesterday. what will the forecast be like today? chuck will have answers coming up. it's friday, july 24, 2009. in the news today, we expect to learn more about a helicopter crash that killed four people near hagerstown, maryland. a news conference is scheduled for 10:30. the helicopter went down in i-70 around 10:30 last night. the crash closed the highway all night. it reopened afteras raining at t it was raining at the time of theimciac. dent prince george's county poooli lorce fkn f 8-year-old boy. heas w las s lnee around:30n ast night after tak

h ah his home in laurel. his family thinks he e usasca wciheis dted because he was disciplined earlier that day. dealer: during the autobahn for all event, you can get great deals. yeah it's great. i just really want to be sure. whoa, it's us from... ...the future. 11 days in the future. look, you love your new routan. you love the german tuned suspension. you love not having to pay for scheduled maintenance,you-

i love what you've done with your hair. we'll take it. good morning everyone. temperatures in the mid to upper 60s around the area now. highs today up near 87 degrees, 60% chance of thunderstorms later this afternoon, some could be severe, so keep a weather eye to the sky. sunny, hot and dry for saturday. >> things are pretty good as we can see. capital beltway doing fine. we have a problem out of the district, new york at florida, traffic signals are dark.

they have stop signs up at the intersection and police are attempting to get a generator working. >> thank you. we're going to head back to the "today" show.ñwr wñ7

♪ 7:30 now on this friday morning, july 24th, 2009. rain in the forecast a little later, but things are looking nice and dry for a live concert on the plaza, katy perry coming up in our:30 half hour. inside studio 1a, i'm meredith vieira inside along with matt lauer. we all remember the pain of last summer's record-high gas prices. >> they topped out about $4 a gaon. how would you like to imagine life in this country if gas prices were $8, $10, even $20 per gallon.

how would our lives change on a daily basis? we're goingo talk to a guy who actually says that that could be one of the greatest things to ever happen to this country. we'll find out more about that. >> really? >> that's what he says. >> hmm. plus, is prince william ready to pop the questi? he is now 27. he's dated kate middleton on and off for eight years. we're going to have the latest on their royal romance. >> and the couple, speaking of romance, behind this bridal party's creative trip to the altar. this video was posted on youtube. now hundreds of thousands of you have logged on to watch it. we're going to talk to the bride and groom who came up with the idea in ju a couple of minutes. but first in this half hour, let's begin with new information in the death of michael jackson. nbc news has obtained a list of items confiscated during a police raid on the offices of jackson's personal physician. nbc's jeff rossen is in los angeles with the latest on this. jeff, good morning. >> reporter: hey, matt, good morning to you. all the talk, all the speculation, all comes down to this, really.

for the first time, court papers reveal dr. conrad murray is the target of this criminal investigation. we saw detectives storm his office on wednesday. now, this morning, we're learning more about the manslaughter case they're building against him. we watched as federal drug agents rummaged through dr. conrad murray's office in houston. now, nbc news has obtained the search warrant, and the wording says it all. investigators were looking for evidence of the offense of manslaughter that tend to show that dr. conrad murray committed the said criminal offense. the warrant shows investigators confiscated 21 items, including a rolodex card, e-mails from a yahoo! account, a letter, a forensic image of a business computer and vials of the plugs phentermine. investigators also searched dr. murray's storage unit in houston. there they found incomplete

charts, notices from the irs, a suspension notice and two computer hard drives. >> they are looking at dr. murray. they are seriously investigating him for manslaughter and looking for any piece of evidee that will help them put a case together against him. >> reporter: dr. murray's lawyer wouldn't comment on this new information but maintains his client did nothing wrong. michael jackson's autopsy results could be released next week, and could decide whether or not criminal charges are filed. >> the coroner could decide that it's not a homicide, and the district attorney has the right to make his own independent decision that it was a homicide, and pursue the case as he thinks it's appropriate. >> reporter: and now there are new money problems inside the jackson family. katherine jackson went from grandmother to primary guardian literally overnight. she has temporary custody of michael's kids. paris, prince and blanket. but in new court papers just filed, katherine claims now that michael's gone, so is the cash. other than extremely modest social security benefits, mrs. jackson has no independent

means of support, the papers say. there is an urgent need to pay a family allowance for the benefit of the minor children. >> they use the word urgent. they went in for ex parte, which means right then and there, no hearing. and that kind of suggests that the till is dry. >> reporter: but the judge denied the motion. katherine jackson won't get a dime yet. pending a hearing. >> michael jackson owns a home that his parents lived in. several members of his family have been in his employ over the years, and it's certainly, you know, one would assume that financial relationships between michael and members of his family were pretty deep. >> reporter: to help, the executors of his estate are working on a new publishing deal to reprint jackson's 1988 au autobiography "moon walk." aeg, the concert promoters, are looking to make some money back, too. msnbc.com reports they justold the rights of michael's final rehearsals, and have scrapped next month's tribute concert in london.

as we go into the weekend, here's what you can watch for. the final autopsy results could be released next week, as we mentioned. of course, criminal charges could follow after that pretty fast. and looking further ahead, august 3rd is the big hearing date, matt, for custody and the estate. a lot going on. >> jeff, thank you very much. jeff rossen in los angeles. >> and now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> thanks, matt and meredith. and we've got all these katy perry fans back here. wow. pretty cool. let's check your weatr,ee s what's heading your way for the weekend. afternoon temperatures, though, out west it continues hot. boise, 98, colorado springs, s g dan ingsoi t gano get even hotter as we head on into the weekend. and on into the beginng of next week. 80s, 90s through the gulf coast on into the southeast. we're looking at 60s in new england. r07s here in the northeast. risk strong storm in the upper plains. looking at rip currents along the mid-atlantic states. high surf, high advisories along

southern california's southern coast. and, in fact, it's been so cool here in new york, looks like june and july,ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1 a good friday morning to you. i'm chuck bell. the sun is shining in washington right now. our temperatures in the mid to upper 60s, 69 at reagan national airport, 66 at dulles airport, 68 degrees in hagerstown, maryland. about 87 degrees. 60% chance of thunderstorms later today. some of them could be severe so keep a weather eye to the sky. hot and dry tomorrow. 85 years old today? >> yes, sir. >> happy birthday. >> god bless you. >> you, too, as well. 15 years to the smucker's jar. if you want to check your latest weather 24/7 go to the weather channel on cable, weather.com online. matt and meredith?

>> al, thank you. thanks to the internet we have seen a wealth of couples performing crazy dance routines at their wedding receptions. well, one couple has taken things a step further, getting down at the ceremony itself. >> that's right the ceremony itself. we're going to speak to the couple behind it all in just a moment. first take a look at their wedding party's wild walk down the aisle. ♪ ♪ ♪ it's a long way ♪

♪ snoufrd. 6 ♪ and here are the newlyweds, kevin hines and jill peterson. good morning. >> good morning. >> if that was a ceremony i don't know how you survived the honeymoon. all right, whose idea was it? >> i think it was mine. yeah. i danced grewing up and was a dancer through college and love dance as a way to express yourself, and show joy. it was something that i had always thought about doing. >> but kevin you really got into

it, somersaulting, that's quite an entrance. >> yeah, i'm just glad i didn't hurt myself. >> he jumped on board pretty quick. it was the first thing we really decided about our wedding. >> but this involved the entire wedding party. can you talk to me a little bit about the choreography. there were late-night rehearsals? how did you keep it a secret? >> we really only did one rehearsal the thursday before. >> we did it in about an hour and a half. a lot of that people were just sort of making up as they went. people got really into it and went with it. >> free form? >> yeah, we gave them a general layout. >> now when you told your folks because i know they knew. >> they knew. >> what was their reaction? >> they were really excited. >> yeah. i think a little nervous, bought she was on board. >> my parents were definitely apprehensive after they saw it. they knew, you know, that's jill and kevin. >> that's the kind of people you are? >> exactly. >> crazy.

>> did anyone perform cpr on the minister? was that person in on this? or was that a shock? >> she was. she's actually a relative of mine. she was in on it and was really excited about it. >> you didn't mean for this to be released unto the public at large, right? >> oh, no. >> you put it on youtube for friends and family. >> right, yeah. i put it up i think on sunday because her dad had been really harassing me to kind of get it out to some of his other family members, and -- >> and it exploded. >> then it exploded. it's wild. >> well, it's the rage. on the internet. and i think the nicest thing to say about this is if you can have that much fun at the wedding, that much fun will carry over also into your marriage. and that's what a great sign and what a great gift. >> thank you. >> nice to meet you both. >> why can't you do the show like that? >> if anybody wants to see that? kevin and jill, thanks. good luck and congratulations. >> thank you. >> the entire wedding party will be back tomorrow here on "today" to perform that dance routine

live. get ready. >> lester. >> just ahead this morning, how to make your money make you money. suze orman will tell us the best places to stash our cash these days. but up next, a reason to welcome paying higher gas prices. we're going to talk to an author who says it could actually make our lives better. th's right after this.ig

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in 14 days... call 1-800-for-avon to find a representative. it's not ready yet. (announcer) every smucker learns to wait for fruit to reach the peak of perfection to make extra delicious jam. with a look at the past 24 hours on royal caribbean's liberty of the sea. charles fuller enjoyed his first cup of the day on his morning swim. baby guitierrez and his dad jonathan pumped some iron. merle buckmire hung ten with a little help from a friend. and finally, erwin and edwin serenaded the ladies on deck 12. that's the news. i'm emily hill cruising with royal caribbean, why aren't you?

>>we're back now at > .7:43 could higher gas pris be a good thing? ngthis norheni tiolnana average for a gallon of regular unleaded is $2.47. that's considerably lower than the record high of $4.11 we were all paying last july. but imagine paying more. a lot more. "forbes" magazine writer christopher stinar is the offer of $20 per gallon, how the inevitable rise in the price of gasoline will change our lives for the better. christopher, good morning. nice to see you. >> thank you. >> people sitting at home right now saying wait a second, maybe we'll pay $20 a gallon and it's a good thing. what is he smoking? you understand that, right? >> absolutely. >> why do you come up with the fact that this could actually be a good thing for this country? >> well, it's important to understand that $20 per gallon, those types of figures, those are a couple decades away. but, what's important to understand is that we are running out of oil. over the next 30 years you're talking about another 2 billion people enting the globe living american-style lives. right now there's only a billion of those people in the globe. and those people are going to

want oil. so our supply is going to slowly go down and demand is going to go up. >> but as we start to go into six, eight, ten, whatever per gallon of gas, if you start to look at this as what then it could bring about positive changes, does it ignore the obvious pain that those prices will at least cause in the short-term? >> in the short-term there's going to be pain. for sure. there's no doubt about it. i mean people depend on gasoline to get where they're going, to live the lives that they've built with the assumption that they're going to get gas for one or two dollars. >> and they're going to make choices between getting in tir car or health care or food or clothing and education for their children, things like that? >> that's true. but i do think most of the pain is going to be in the short-term on the front end of this. >> let's talk about some price points. and you tell mehat you see happening in this country at these particular price points and let's start at $6 a gallon. you say it's the death of the suv. crumbling road infrastructure. healthier and safer americans. go ahead. >> there's a professor at the university of north carolina who

has linked the price of gasoline to america's obesity rate. for every dollar the price of gas goes up the obesity rate goes down 10% and saves $11 billion in health costs. >> we're riding bikes, walking more, cutting our weight a little bit. $8 a gallon you say that places like las vegas are going to suffer dramatically. disney world. people are going to start traveling less. >> right. because the airlines, most of them the way we know them now are going to go out of business. they're very unstable organizations as it is. $8 is really going to be the change for paradigm of american travel. >> here's one that is going to get a lot of attention at $14 a gallon, you say it could be the demize of the big box retailers like walmart. explain the reasoning behind that. >> walmart's got 6,000 suppliers, 80% of them are in china. they ship this stuff over, they disseminate it across the country with 7,000 trucks to 4,000 different stores. it's a network built on gasoline. without cheap oil, it doesn't work. >> and so getting back to your original high poll this that

some of these things are good for america, how is the demise of a chain like walmart and all the jobs that would go with it good for america? >> it's going to help out local economies. people are going to fill in small towns but they're not going to be captive customers to places like walmart. they're going to move back to main street, shop on main street, walk to work, walk to buy a gallon of milk. >> when you talk about them moving back to main street you say at $20 per ,gallon 90% of ericans will live in cities. 70of americans will never own a car. and nuclear reactors will power everything. >> not everything. but they're certainly going to play a bigger role. >> scale of one to ten, ten being certainty, what is it that we ever reach this $20 a gallon price? >> well, it's hard to say. but what i can say is that the changes in the book that we talk about will have to happen no matter how high gas goes because we have to mitigate how much we use oi and to do that these are the types of things we have to do. >> the book is $20 per gallon. christopher stein er, thanks

very much. interesting stuff. not fun to think about but interesting stuff. coming up next, a lady in waiting. prince william, will he ever pop the question to his longtime love kate middleton? we'll get into that right after this. all prescription nsaid pain relievers, like celebrex, ibuprofen and naproxen, help treat arthritis pain and have some of the same warnings. but since individual results may vary, having options is important. prescription celebrex has been the option for millions of patients for 10 straight years. just one 200-mg celebrex (once a day,) can provide dependable, 24-hour relief for many with arthritis pain, stiffness and inflammation. based on the available data, the fda stated that for certain patients celebrex's benefits outweigh the risks. if you are worried about stomach upset, you should know, in clinical studies, a lower percentage of patients taking celebrex reported stomach discomfort versus prescription ibuprofen and naproxen. and if you are taking low-dose aspirin for your heart and need an nsaid pain reliever,

celebrex can be used because it doesn't interfere with the effects of low-dose aspirin. but when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. the fda requires all prescription nsaids, including celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam, to have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors for it such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. all prescription nsaids, including celebrex, also increase the chance of serious skin reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you're allergic to aspirin or sulfonamides. ask your doctor if you could benefit from celebrex.

understand the risks. feel the benefits. kate middleton, longtime love of britain's prince william is off in the caribbean on a family holiday as the prince toughed it out in helicopter rescue training. but after eight years together is a wedding in the works? nbc's keith miller is at buckingham palace with the latest. good morning to you, keith. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. it's not just kate middleton, but all of england is asking when, and even if, prince william will pop the big question. ♪ some day my prince will come >> reporter: they have been the darling of the tabloids since meeting at university eight years ago. kate middleton, 27, has made all the right moves. she studied up on prince william's hobbies, including polo, even though she's allergic to horses.

and she's barely entered a word in public, leading one newspaper to complain that middleton has made a career out of saying nothing. the only example of her upper-crust british accent was revealed in a ief clip on youtube. >> it's something that's going on. >> reporter: what's not so flattering are the tabloid headlines about a wayward uncle. the middleton family may be middle-class, but the scrutiny has uncovered uncle gary goldsmith, leading a vast life allegedly fueled by drugs and women. >> it has bn suggested it might taint kate. but if you look at all of the coverage, she's remained unscathed in the entire thing. >> reporter: it appears that middleton's popularity with the british public is only increasing. an artist recently depicted her as a modern british icon. >> like diana before her, she has star quality. great looks, and ability to keep the public guessing is what really has made kate an icon.

>> reporter: and dating a future king for almost seven years clearly requires patience. >> it's a very long time to keep a girl waiting. but they've had at least three breaks in that time. i think if prince william didn't want to spend his future with kate middleton, he's had more than ample opportunity to end this relationship. >> reporter: meanwhile, william, also 27, is concentrating on his military career. next month he's being shipped out to wales for training as a helicopter search and rescue pilot. >> all the people i speak to believe that -- that his time is right. you have two octogenarians at the helm, in the queen and prince philip, and there's a sense that has to be passing of the baton to future generations. >> reporter: it may all come down to what happens at a royal palace this summer. middleton will be meeting prince william at balmoral which is the

queen's castle in scotland. and for the first time, middleton has been invited while the queen is in residence. and meredith, as any englishman can tell you, a lot can happen over a spot of tea and crumpets. >> keith miller, thank you. i think he better put down that board and get off the whatever. can i pour? you can help me pour. good. ( laughs ) ( gasps ) do you hear that sound? they're popping! - really?! listen. - ( laughs ) ahhhhh... mmm. where'd the sound go? even when they've stopped popping,

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real steamed milk, and decadent chocolate... in mcdonald's mccafé mochas. now come to mcdonald's any monday through august 3rd... and get a sample size free! 7:56 is your time, 68 degrees. cloudy skies overhead. could we get more rain? chuck will have the forecast. good morning. i'm eun yang. it's friday, july 24, 2009. metro is working to design a backup system for the train control system that is supposed to prevent crashes. investigators say a track circuit had been malfunctioning for a year and a half before that deadly metro crash. the problem surfaced after a piece of equipment was replaced in 2007. metro says the system never failed completely. investigators still haven't officially ruled onhat w caused last month's d weadly metro cra. p>>e >geriorouge's cncnty

police are looking forn's a a 8-year-oldboy, lamar ajones. he w s.jo was seen at0:3 l last night ut out t the trash on o teak a're going toake a break check weather and traffic when we come back.

♪ till now - ♪ i always got by on my own - ( audience cheering ) ♪ i never really cared ♪ until i met you... a1 makes the bger king steakhouse burger sing. good friday morning. i'm chuck bell. off to a nice start in the washington area, temperatures mid to upper 60s. a couple of showers across the west virginia mountains will be coming over the mountains into our area later on this afternoon. so, better know where your umbrella is. i suspect you're going to need it. 69 in washington, 72 in

annapolis, 73 in st. mary's county. 66 in quantico, virginia. the forecast, it's going to be 87 degrees with a 60% chance of rain. into the weekend, sunny and hot tomorrow with a high near 92. a chance for a shower late sunday. >> we still have a lot of volume on 95 as you can see here not too bad but the 95 corridor pretty slow. 395 doesn't get better until after king street and across the 14th in good shape. >> thank you. we'll have another update in 25 minutes. back to the "today" show after this break.

♪ 8:00 now on a friday morning. it's the 24th day of july, 2009. you can see the monitors here, because joe michaels can we get a jaw of how big a crowd that has gathered on the plaza here? 49th street to 50th street back behind us all the way to 48th street. most of these people, i would say the vast majority here to see katy perry. one of the hottest stars in the recording industry today. she'll put on a concert in our 8:30 half hour.

>> going to be fun. >> and this is a jimmy buett-size crowd, and these are fun-loving people. >> exactly. >> as opposed to our other crowds? >> in comparison, you're right. well they're blowing off a little more steam. >> yeah, they are. >> also coming up in this half hour, suze orman is here. she's going to be talking about what you talked about with dylan ratigen, that the stock market seems to be rebounding. some are saying the recession might be over. suze's going to talk about her advice for where to put your money, apparently a katy perry fan also. where to put your money in these specific times. >> she looks great in those. >> plus you all know how it goes. it's summertime, the kids want to play outdoors, and suddenly before you know it they've taken all their clothes off. it is kind of cute. it is very cute having had little kids at one point. but at what age does it stop being cute and start to cross the line? we're going to get into that

debate. >> 16. >> oh, stop it. >> i think at what, like 3? >> maybe 4. >> you're trying to make up now. >> i was thinking of going there, but thankfully you did. >> that's why i'm here for you. >> speaking of naked, are you ys packed up yet? >> huh, what? >> for our trip. we're hitting the road. >> yeah, i know. monday meredith and ann take in the new york adirondacks. matt and i are in the sun and sand in key west. we've got other great destinations, san antonio, and los angeles, nevada. yeah. it's going to be a great trip. road trip next week. >> okay. >> "today" takes a vacation. >> we could use a vacation. >> a working vacation. >> well, whatever. >> let's go inside. ann is standing by with the headlines. >> thanks a lot you guys. in the news, the cambridge police officer who arrested prominent harvard professor henry gates jr. is telling his

side of the story for the first time and sergeant james crowley to boston affiliate "w" "h" "t" "h" that he told gates he was investigating a break in and he asked if there was anyone else in the residence. crowley said gates responded that's none of your business in an agitated tone and he also said he warned gates several times that he was acking disorderly. crowley also said he's tired of being called a racist and he was offended by president obama's comments that the police acted stupidly. president obama will have to wait a little longer to get' health care reform bill passed. on thursday, senate democrats scrapped plans to vote on a bill by next month. the president said that's okay, as long as congress gets it passed before the end of the year. overseas markets are higher this morning. the dow closed above 9,000 thursday for the first time since january. investigators are trying to find out what caused a helicopter to come crashing down on a maryland highway last night. all four people on board were killed. oregon parents charged in the death of their 15-month-old daughter were found not guilty of manslaughter on thursday.

carl and rayleen worthington had relied on faith and prayer to treat her daughter's pneumonia before she died of the illness. carl was convicted of criminal mistreatment. courtroom drama in kentucky when the defendant began yelling at the prosecutor, knocking over a table. the deputy used a stun gun on the defendant, causing him to fall flat on the floor as a shocked judge looked on. and five people were seriously injured on thursday when two swedish passenger ferries collided in heavy fog south of stockholm. the impact ripped a hole in the side of one of the ships. those are the top stories at four minutes past 8:00. it's now time to go back outside to -- okay, okay. nice look, you two. >> i don't know what that's about. >> al, save us from ourselves. >> too late. anyway, big katy perry fab? >> yeah! >> she's got a picture of hello

katy perry. very nice. let's check your weather. see what's happening. pick city of the day happens to be flint, michigan. nbc 25. scattered afternoon thunderstorms. high of about 80 degrees. and as we take a look at the weekend, sizzling out west. we've got some strong storms back through the upper high river valley. we're also looking at sunshine along the eastern sea board. ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1 a good friday morning. the sun is shining oveow dntown washington as you look at the lincoln memorial in downtown. beautiful morning under way, temperatures climbing up into the low 70s in washington and also in fairfax county, near 70 in frederick, maryland and hagerstown, maryland. mid 60s across the mountains of west virginia. highs mid to upper 80s with a 60% chce of thunderstorms today. so keep your umbrellas ready to go.

that's your layest weather. you still feeling that urge, meredith? >> you stop it, al. i'm here with ashley who is a fan of katy perry. like everybody else here. take us to brea >> still to come, secrets for the health of your skin. up next, o ormanrm on where you should be stashing your savings. first we add the baking soda, then we put the vinegar. scientific explorations in the kitchen? bring it. it started bubbling.

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visit your ford or lincoln mercury dealer. i'm thinking now would be a great time. "today's money" is brought to you by lendingtree.com. when banks compete, you win. we are back now at 8:10 and this morning on "today's money," making the most out of your cash. the dow rose above 9,000 on thursday. merrill lynch is telling investors the recession is over. so where should you put your savings? suze orman is the host of cnbc's "suze orman show." good morning. nice to see you. can i just ask you about that comment from the analyst at merrill lynch who says the recession is over? you agree with that proclamation? >> listen, i think we're close to end of a recession. but that doesn't mean that we're not going to go back in. i think we're in an economy that we're in recession, we're out of recession. we're in recession, we're out of recession. personally, i'm always suspect

that when a firm that can gain because they're selling you stock and investments, they're saying we're out of recession, i'm always suspect of that. but then it's my nature. what can i do? >> because the times have been so hard, a lot of people have taken money out of the stock market. held it on the sidelines. is this the time to get it back into the market? >> i think now you have to be even more careful than you had to be when we were lower because we've gone up almost 40% in a very short period of time. in fact, i think this is the fastest increase we've ever had, you know, for maybe since 1975. therefore, if you're going in now, you better be going in with small amounts of money, because eventually here we have to have a pullback. that doesn't mean we're not going to go right back up after that pullback. >> couple of scenarios for you. here's the person who doesn't want to jump back into the stock market, they're looking for something to do with their extra money that they have at their disposal. they have no substantial other than a mortgage and you say lock at that mortgage. >> yeah. if -- you know, there's all kinds of things you can do with

money. however, let's say you're 45, 50 years of age. you're going to stay in your house for the rest of your life. you have a mortgage payment. i will forever say one of the best things to do with extra money is pay down your mortgage. why? you have to generate that income somehow later on in life to pay off a mortgage. and it's far easier to pay it off now. >> who is it a bad idea for? >> if you're ever thinking you're going to sell your house do not pay down your mortgage, it makes no sense whatsoever. >> another scenario. there are some risk adverse people out there, okay. for them, you say to look to certificates of deposit, you get a fixed rate over a fixed amount of time, but you want them to do something called laddering. >> well, here's the thing. interest rates obviously have no place to go other than up. i don't know when they're going to start to go up. but when interest rates go up, bonds happen to go down. the value of bond certificates of deposit, especially if they're insured by the fdic have a maturity date. you don't want to look up your

money for a long period of time if interest rates are going to go up. if you have $30,000 to invest, buy a one year cd, a two year cd. you're laddering. that way if interest rates go up, when your one-year matures you buy at a higher rate. and no matter what happens you'll be fine. >> you mention bonds. sometimes bonds you get into this whole subject, people hit the snooze button. they think this is boring stuff, and you say two things. first of all, don't buy bond funds, buy individual bonds, and don't forget, you can lose money here. >> yeah. especially if it's a bond fund. remember, a bond fund is a mutual fund made up ofonds. if interest rates go up, which we saw the other day, what happened with treasury, interest rates went up, the price goes down. when that happens, the value of your bond shares go down. so if you're investing for security, do not buy a long-term bond fund. because when interest rates go up again in the future, the value of your bond fund will go down. so either buy individual bonds if you can, or buy very short-term.

no longer than one, two or three-year maturities in bond funds. >> i was looking back at some of the interviews we've done over the past year or so. you are a big fan of municipal bonds. >> still am. >> except you say with a word of caution. >> yes. the caution is there. there are many municipals out there that are in trouble. california, not. california may be pulling itself out. however, in my opinion you never want to buy a municipal bond unless it's a general obligation bond, which is guaranteed by the taxing authority of that municipality. so if you're going to buy a municipal bond, which if you have it, you would have made a lot of money, that's decide the point. >> you're not one to say i told you so. >> oh, i seriously told you all so. but, again, again, general obligation bonds are the way to go. >> exchange traded funds. can you just -- you talked about this in the past as well. just explain real quickly what that means. >> diversification is here. it'sey here. so for people with small amounts of money, in exchange traded fund is like a mutual fund that trades like a stock on the stock

market. it usually follows an index. i think it is a wonderful way to go if you want diversification. there are many out there that give you a high dividend yield with diversification. might be something you want to look at. >> 30 seconds left. is there one major difference in a piece of advice you would give today as opposed to what you would have said to people one year ago as we were entering this slide? >> we arear more towards the end of this. a year ago, i have to tell you, we were like oh, my god are we going to make it or are we not? we're going to make it. things are looking up. that doesn't mean that the market isn't going to pull back. doesn't mean that the economy is going to g through rough spots. but you should all be breathing a lot easier today than a year ago. >> that's nice to hear on a friday. >> ay, yes. >> thanks, suze. >> does that girl really want to kiss a girl? is that what i heard her say? >> we're going to go to commercial here. if you want more finance advice you can catch the "suze orman show" saturdays 9:00 eastern and pacific time. of course, that's an cnbc.

up next, innocent or overexposed? the debate over how old is too old to let your kids run around naked. right after this. mystery to me.a complete my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia muscle pain and then he recommended lyrica. fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of over-active nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is fda-approved to help relieve the unique pain of fibromyalgia. and with less pain, i can do more during my day. how sweet is that? lyrica is not for everyone. tell you doctor about any serious allergic reaction that causes swelling or affects breathing or skin, or changes eyesight including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. lyrica may cause suicidal thoughts or actions in a very small number of people. some of the most common side effects of lyrica are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands and feet. do not drink alcohol while taking lyrica. you should never drive or operate machinery until you know how lyrica affects you.

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the house or through a backyard sprinkler on a hot summer day seems innocent enough. but exactly how long can you let your kids enjoy the freedom of playing in the buff? here's nbc's janet shamlian. >> reporter: rachel sarah didn't think much about it at the time. the summers were hot, and her daughter mae liked hanging around the house wearing only a smile. >> when my daughter was young, she was definitely one of those kids who didn't like to wear clothes. i would pick her up at preschool, come home, all the clothes would go off. >> reporter: the family's bay area neighborhood was fairly relaxed, and rachel said mae's toddler and preschool friends were like minded. >> they would come over and i just noticed all the kids, boys and girls, just took their clothes off. >> reporter: but mae's birthday suit didn't suit her grandparents. for them, mae being undressed was unacceptable. >> i could see their faces. they would look uncomfortable. >> reporter: as a blogger, whose website is singingmomsseeking.com, rachel realizes it's not just her folks.

a bare babe, however innocent, is tough for some. >> this is just one of those topics that can create a lot of conflict. because i think it brings up a lot of fear for people, when you bring up nudity, naked kids. >> reporter: m is now 9, and grew more modest at 5 or 6 when she started school. her mom jokes there's been no apparent harm from time spent au naturel. >> being naked at 2 years old running around the house did not harm her for the rest of her life. no. >> reporter: in the buff. for some and idea that leaves young children overexposed. for "today," janet shamlian, nbc news. >> and "new york times" reporter julie shalpo recently wrote an article on the topic. ellie mandel is a school psychologist and mother of five. ellie, let me start with you as a psychologist. a lot of parents are dealing with this as toddlers. it is cute, but at that point is it no longer appropriate? >> i think that it's very important that t parents take the lead from the child. i mean, certainly a 6 or

7-year-old who is undressed in the front of the house may cause some eyebrows to be raised. but, as a toddler, it's very developmentally appropriate that a child is going to want to take off their clothes. they're exploring their bodies. they're doing some consolidation of their gender identity. >> so it's really about that? there's a psychological component behind it. >> oh, absolutely. and it's again, the developmental age of the child is something that's very important to keep in mind when we're having this conversation. >> you know, julie, the american academy of pediatrics says quite clearly on their website at over age 4 nudity and sexual play in public are not all right. but in doing your research, did you find that there's a lot of disagreement about that among parents? >> there's a ton of disagreement. the american academy of pediatrics says up until 4 it's absolutely fine for children to be naked. but parents have lot of different opinions. many of them feel like the body is a natural thing and if it's nice outside and the kids want to be naked, why not. >> it's the other person who has a hang-up.

>> sometimes. parents feel modesty is an important lesson and others worry about their kids' safety. they feel if their children are naked it might somehow attract pedophiles or something like that. that's where the conflict is. sometimes it's between a mom and a dad or between parents and grandparents. sometimes parents themselves are confused because they may want their kids to enjoy being naked and not necessarily feel shame about their bodies. but at the same time, maybe have safety concerns. the parents themselves are sometimes conflicted. >> ellie, you're a psychologist and also a parent. you dealt with this with your kids, and your parents. >> yes. >> and in-laws. tell me about that. >> yes, yes, yes. of my five children, two of them really enjoyed being naked. one of them is older now. she's almost 7, and you know, in her own time, she decided to cover up. but as a 2-year-old, she loved being naked. and we were rather permissive about it. we let it not only in the backyard but also on the front lawn. when she got to a certain age,

it definitely generated conversation between my parents and myself, my mother-in-law and myself. they felt they had certainly no problem with her being naked in the house. but on the front lawn was starting to get -- >> where other people could see her. >> was starting to get uncomfortable. >> you know, i spoke with ellie's mother-in-law, and it is so fascinating, because she said she had been very uncomfortable with it, but other the years, seeing your daughter naked and your other kids, it helped her realize there really was nothing wrong with it. and something she felt her attitude was changed. >> but you got more conservative. >> my attitude changed, as well. i just began to feel that, important as it is to teach children to be comfortable with their bodies and to love their bodies, it's also important to teach children to be respectful of other people's ideas and thoughts and feelings about their nudity. >> so if you're having for example somebody's coming over for dinner and you do have little ones running around, should you set a limit right there and say kids tonight we're going to be dressed? >> the psychologists i spoke to

all said it'sasically appropriate to teach your kids that there's a difference between how we act at home and in public. and also that it's very considerate to think about your guest's feelings. you don't need to teach your children they need to have any shame about their body, but at the same time you can teach your children that they can be considerate of other people. > we're going to have to leave it ther thank you so much. >> thank you. >> up ahead, katy perry. i think she has clothes on. after your local news.

our time now is 8:26, 68 degrees. i'm joe krebs on this friday, the 24th of july, 2009. following a developing story in maryland. in a few hours we expect to learn more about a helicopter crash that killed four pele. a news conference is scheduled for 10:30 this morning. that helicopter went down along i-70 around 10:30 last night. it closed the internate all night but it's reopened. heavyn rai and low visibility eereept te adweeth time of the as aso to prince george's county, eh srceaorrc a boy has ended, he has been found and is fi whe w last night lafast night after takingashesh tra t out ata ameit.ho it appears he had run away and hid in the woods overnight.

we'll take a break and look at our weather and traffic. (announcer) how can a single make summer more fun?

start with the rich and creamy melt of kraft singles and get the best cheeseburger of the summer. kraft singles. goodness. squared. good morning. chuck bell here with your friday forecast. temperatures to get you out the door and closer to the weekend. in the mid 60s in the western and southern suburbs. 70 downtown. highs today up in the mid to upper 80s but a good chance of thunderstorms later on this afternoon so don't stray too far from the umbrella. ashley. >> traveling the 95 corridor we're still in pretty good shape, we have a little bit of volume. the capital beltway, inner and outer loop are looking good. >> thanks. we'll have more coming up at

55. y"w back toafshr a brort k.ea " ter a afort break.

♪ 8:30 now on a friday morning, july 24th, 2009. katy perry is waking up in vegas, and katy is waking up in new york this morning to put on a live concert right her on the plaza. and you know what, guys? we have had absolutely amazing concerts all summer long.

it's been a great summer. >> no question about it. next friday, still to come this summer, natasha bedding field and mariah carey. you know sometimes you look out at a sign and it catches your eye. can i just see this sign for a second? >> oh, no. >> i don't remember that. >> oh, my goodness. >> i do not remember that. >> every man's nightmare. >> hit him up for support. that's all i have to say. call your lawyer. >> did you guys just see tommy hilfiger up there, by the way? >> go, tommy. go tommy. >> okay. >> okay. >> okay. that's enough. >> all righty.

>> it's road trip season. i don't know about you, everyone's growing up and fighting in the back seat. bickering. we're going to show you some ways you can kind of tamp that down and have a perfect road trip without all that fighting in t back. >> -- we've got some suggestions for you tñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ11 a good friday morning. i'm chuck bell. it's a nice start to our friday, temperatures now 70 downtown, 72 in annapolis, hagerstown, maryland 70 degrees, martinsburg, 67 degrees this morning. partly sunny is our forecast for today. warm and humid, highs in the mid to upper 80s. showers and thunderstorms are likely later on this afternoon, about a 60% chance. we have a beautiful hot day over the weekend saturday, a chance for showers late sunday.

and that's your latest weather. >> all right, al,hank you very much. when we come back, katy perry live in concert on the plaza. but, tommy hogan rocking and rolling. this vo: since 2006, walmart has sold over 260 million compact fluorescent light bulbs. saving our customers over 7 billion dollars on their electric bills. save money. live better. walmart. 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.

rof every eligible associate's salary to their 401(k) andtage profit sharing plan. ...even if the associate didn't contribute a dime... ...making good jobs even better. save money. live better. walmart. e we have three members of the new york yankees here on the plaza on monday to kick off their hope week. nbc's peter alexander is here to tell us how things have gone. >> reporter: meredith, good morning to you. nice to see you, as well. this is a side of pro athletes that you do not always see. five special visits in five consecutive days. it's part of an unprecedented effort by one of sports' most famous franchises to make a difference for fans and ultimately, they hope, to help create a movement of goodwill on and off the field. for the kids from camp sundown in upstate, new york, this was one memorable road trip.

they all have a rare genetic disease, where it's dangerous, even deadly, to be in the sun. making this nighttime visit to one of baseball's shrines unforgettable. after the game, yankee stadium was transformed into a carnival. food, music, and memories that won't fade. >> it means the world to me. >> reporter: the yankees called it hope week. and by hope, they mean helping others persevere and excel. >> how are you? >> reporter: like these new york city teenagers, who needed mentors to keep them off the streets and on top of their schoolwork. >> let's think about it for a second, right? >> reporter: marco and jennifer filled that void, hosting a unique leadership program at their small apartment. this past monday, some of their heroes stopped by with a surprise. >> stick togeer. really do it. stick together, because it will make you stronger. >> it's not just all about winning, right? it's coming to the. and whether winning or losing, you gave it all that you can have.

>> reporter: the next day the yankees met another special lineup, red by little leaguer todd. on his home field. >> how are you doing? >> reporter: cerebral palsy has confined this sixth grader to a wheelchair. but his teammates, the grenive village a's still go to him, mvp. >> fired up. >> words can't describe all the joy that he's bringing. ♪ swing batter swing ♪ >> reporter: every team gets flooded with requests for tickets and autographs and as often as they can they oblige. but this season jason zeileo, the yankees director of up. histy, wanted to do something more, getting every player involved. >> it's the coming to the of people when you break it down. it's people just giving and caring and showing love for each other. >> reporter: that includes george murray. at 38, this former army paratrooper, and yankees fanatic

from near cooperstown, of all places, has lou gehrig's disease or als and just a few more years to live. >> we want to balance it with a lot of strength. very proud. >> reporter: jason read the letter from george's wife. >> my husband is a great man who was dealt a difficult hand in life. i would love to see him have a day where he can laugh, smile and simply enjoy himself. >> reporter: smile and enjoy. on wednesday, with his wife kim and 4-year-old son tracen by his side, he did. is there any way to put this day into some perspective? 3rks now i'm living. i'm not dying. i'm living free. >> reporter: complete with a guided tour and a private trip into the clubhouse. >> to put a smile on their

faces, even if it's just for one day. their stories are remarkable and we're all happy that we're a part of it. >> reporter: now you see why they call them the boys of summer. >> the laundry card in the clubhouse is the trick. you get bored, put them in the laundry cart and run them around. they have the time of their lives. >> reporter: the special visit was punctuated by a yankees win, and waiting outside the dugout, a man, his son, and a shad sense of hope. ♪ time of my life ♪ time of my life >> reporter: george murray is one special guy. the yankees are already getting ready for 2010. they're hoping the rest of baseball will follow their lead. they were inspired by president obama's united we serve volunteer program and today several yankees will pay a surprise visit to two developmentally disabled men at

their office and invite them back to the game. >> thanks for introducing us. peter alexander. up next, katy perry live in concert. but first, this is "today"n nbc. the distance from the field to your table just got shorter.

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right now, get locally grown platinum sweet corn -- 8 ears for just $2 with your club card. safeway just lowered the price of summer. the "toyota concert series on today," brought to you by toyota. toyota, moving forward. >> it's time for a little music. she says her songs were taken 100% from experiences in her own life. don't laugh at me. ladies and gentlemen, katy perry. >> come on! ♪ you change your mind like a girl changes clothes ♪ yeah you

i would know ♪ ♪ and you are the thing cryptically ♪ ♪ i should know that you're no good for me ♪ ♪ because you're hot and your cold you're yes or your no ♪ ♪ you're in and you're out you're up and your down ♪ ♪ it's black and it's white ♪ we fight we break up we kiss we make up ♪ ♪ you don't really want to stay no you but you don't really want to go ♪ ♪ you're hot then you're cold you're yes then you're no ♪ ♪ you're in and our out ♪ you're up and you're down hi. ♪ we used to be just like twins so in sync ♪

♪ the same energy now a dead battery ♪ ♪ used to laugh about nothing ♪ ♪ now you're plain boring i should know ♪ ♪ that you're not gonna change ♪ come on, sing with me! ♪ cause you're hot then you're cold ♪ ♪ you're yes then you're no ♪ you're in then you're out ♪ you're up and you're down ♪ you're wrong when it's right it's black and it's white ♪ ♪ we fight we break up we kiss, we make up ♪ ♪ you, you don't really want to stay no ♪ ♪ you, but you don't really want to go oh, ♪ ♪ you're hot then you're cold you're yes then you're no ♪ ♪ you're in then you're out ♪ you're up and you're down ♪

♪ someone call the doctor got a case of a love bipolar ♪ ♪ stuck on a roller coaster can't get off this ride ♪ ready? ♪ ♪ you change your mind like a girl changes clothes ♪ ♪ you're hot then you're cold you're yes then you're no ♪ ♪ you're in then you're out you're up and you're down ♪ ♪ you're wrong when it's right it's black and it's white ♪ ♪ we fight, we break up we kiss, we make up ♪ ♪ cause you're hot then you're cold you're yes then you're no ♪ ♪ you're in then you're out you're up and you're down ♪ ♪ you're wrong when it's right it's black and it's white ♪ ♪ we fight, we break up we kiss, we make up ♪

♪ you, you don't really want to stay no ♪ ♪ but you don't really want to go oh, ♪ ♪ you're hot then you're cold you're yes then you're no ♪ ♪ you're in tn you're out you're up and you're down ♪ ♪ down thank you! >> katy perry's back with more music on a friday morning. but first, this is "today" on nbc. ( theme music plays ) ( feedback ) ( burger clears throat ) ♪ till now - ♪ i always got by on my own - ( audience cheering ) ♪ never really cared ♪ until i met you...

announcer: a1 makes the burger king steakhouse burger ng.

katy perry burst on the scene last year. she has not slowedown or stopped one bit. she's fresh off a world tour. actually she says she is still touring. >> i wouldn't say fresh. >> slightly fresh off a world tour? heading back out next month. her debut album, "one of the boys" i just want to mention, celebrating a year anniversary of going platinum, ladies and gentlemen, katy perry. welcome back. >> thank you. it's always lovely. i only get up in the morning for

you. >> i appreciate that. and what have you warn today? >> well, i wanted to be a lucky dice today. >> yeah. >> i have a song called waking up in vegas that i love singing. i'm a sucker for a theme. every day is halloween for me. >> you look the part. by the way, what's with the fruit? utbo watermelon on stage.t was we've got huge strawberries today. i've seen giant bananas. >> yes. >> what is the zeal? >> i don't know. it's just fun. it's just cute. it's really hard to explain sometimes to guys especially. but i think girls understand that strawberries are just like -- >> girls get it? >> they're sweet and cute and delicious and bananas, that's a whole other story. we can't talk about that on tv. >> it's a morning show, lady. >> i'm talking about potassium. what are you talking about? >> if you weren't doing what you're doing right now, what would you be doing? >> i would probably be a stylist. because i enjoy so much creating just something that will make someone smile when they see me

walk by, i guess. you can say so much without saying anything at all. >> it's true. you make a statement. you were on the cover of cosmo? >> ye sir. >> the hot issue? >> oh, s. >> and in reading the little interview you did for that magazine, you said you had set a goal for yourself that by 25 you would make it or stop. so you're 24. you've made it. have you set a goal for 30? >> whoo, 30. i don't know. i mean, i just really want to keep continuing to make great music that makes me happy and make y'all happy. and i'm going in to the studio to make my second record come october. and i have so much to say. i feel a bit like a bubbling volcano. i know that this next record is going to be more honest, and make people move more. >> and no nerves about that whole sophomore album thing? >> no. because, i mean, i'm just -- i love writing songs. it's kind of like a, you know, the therapy that i need to do to get whatever is, you know, troubling or upsetting or something unhappy about, to get

it out of me. so that's kind of how i work through issues or, you know, talk about experiences is writing better songs. >> you asked the audience a second ago who's taking a nap after this. are you taking a nap after getting up this early? >> sweetheart, i just put on eye cream. i have to work. >> you look great. i'm a working girl. >> i'm going to sing this little song called "waking up in vegas." >> ladies and gentlemen, katy perry. ♪ you gotta help me out it's all a blur last night ♪ ♪ we need a taxi 'cause you're hung over and i'm broke ♪ ♪ i lost my fake i.d. but you lost the motel key ♪ ♪ spare me your freaking dirty looks now don't blame me ♪ come on!

♪ want to cash out and get the hell out of town ♪ ♪ don't be a baby remember what you told me ♪ ♪ shut up and put your money where your mouth is ♪ ♪ that's what you get for waking up in vegas ♪ ♪ get up and shake the glitter off your clothes now ♪ ♪ that's what you get for waking up in vegas ♪ ♪ why these lights so bright oh, did we get hitched last night ♪ ♪ dressed up like elvis why am i wearing your class ring ♪ ♪ don't call your mother 'cause now we're partners in crime ♪ ♪ don't be a baby remember what you told me ♪ ♪ shut up and put your money where your mouth is ♪ ♪ that's what you get for waking up in vegas ♪

♪ get up and shake the glitter off your cloes now ♪ ♪ that's what you get for waking up in vegas ♪ ♪ you got me into this information overload situation lost control ♪ ♪ send out an sos and get some cash out ♪ ♪ we're gonna tear the town ♪ don't be a baby remember what you told me ♪ ♪ remember what you told me remember what you told me ♪ ♪ you told me you told me ♪ ♪ shut up and put your money where your mouth is ♪ ♪ that's what you get for waking up in vegas ♪ ♪ get up and shake the glitter off your clothes now ♪ ♪ that's what you get for waking up in vegas ♪

♪ vegas ♪ oh, whoa ♪ shake the glitter shake shake shake the glitter ♪ ♪ get me some cash out baby get me some cash out baby ♪ ♪ whoa yeah thank you! >> katy, thank you. we're going to have one more song from katy perry a little later on.

our time now is 8:55. 70 degrees out there, bright sunshine but a lot of humidity as well. summer day on the way.

we'll get the forecast coming up. good morning. i'm joe krebs on this friday, the 24th of july. in a couple hours we'll probably learn more about that helicopter crash that killed four people near hagerstown. the news conference is scheduled for about 10:30 this morning. the helicopter went down around 10:30 last night. the crash closedhe interstate all night, it has been reopened, though. heavy rain and low visibility were reporteat the time. federal investigators say a track circuit that had been malfunctioning for a year and a half before the deadly metro crash, they say the problems surfaced after a piece of equipment was replaced back in 2007. metro says there were blips in the circuit but the system never failed completely. we'll take a break and look at weather and traffic. stay with us. xxxxxóxoxoçgñ1ñcñc  

a good friday morning. i'm chuck bell. we have a cloudy sky over washington right now as you can see from our sky watcher camera looking off to downtown washington. temperatures are in the upper 60s to near 70 in most locations. 66 in franconia and springfield, 68 degrees in clinton, maryland, 67 in quantico, virginia. our forecast for today a mix of clouds and sunshine, warm and humid, thunderstorms are likely this afternoon and this evening. pretty good chance some of these thunderstorms could reach severe limits so we'll keep you weather

advised as we go throughout the afternoon. today's high 87. tomorrow sunny and dry with a high of 92. a chance of afternoon storms on sunday. ashley, how about traffic? >> things are starting to slow down on the outer loop of the beltway at university boulevard. in toward silver spring, nothing in the roadway, though, beyond this the pace improves as you make your way to the american legion bridge. >> thanks very much. more news at 9:25. now we'll go back to the "today" show after we take a short break. thinking of you ♪

♪ thinking of you what you would do if ♪ ♪ you were the one who was spending the night ♪ ♪ oh, i wish that i was looking into your eyes ♪ ♪ >> we're back now with more of "today" on a friday morning. july 24th, 2009. our crowd in awe of the one and

only katy perry who's just put on a wonderful show out here on the plaza. it is too bad that you have no fun. >> it's such a shame, really. >> it really is. you've got to come out of your shell a little bit, young lady. >> i'm working on it. >> you act like this. you've got to come out of your shell. they all scream no, no more. >> oversaturated. >> how do you feel about the fact that all these people got up in the wee hours of the morning? >> i think it's absolutely adorable. and i'm so flattered, and you know, i never expect this. i felt such a wonderful feeling when i showed up and i was like oh, you're here for sound check, too? wow you guys really did it. >> thank you to the band, also. >> thank you, guys. >> fabulous. great to have you here. >> you want to say hi to a couple of people as we go about our business here? >> hi, mom and dad. look, i'm on tv! hi, yeah. let's go say hi to the crowd. >> anyway, back on the plaza on

this friday. katy's into the mosh pit. that could get dangerous. i'm matt lauer along with natalie morales and al roker. >> coming up, if you haven't chosen what your plans are for your family vacation we're going to show you the top ten healthiest beaches in the country to go to. we're not talking just the coastlines. we're going to talk more about some of the health, safety and things you should be looking for in a vacation destination. >> and if you are driving there with the kids in the back seat. >> uh-oh. >> and you don't want to say, don't make me stop this car, which just happens to be the title of a best-selling "new york times" book. >> i was going to say. >> we're going to tell you -- we're going to tell you what you want to do to avoid all that trouble in the back. >> before we get -- she'd be fun on a road trip. >> before we get to all that. >> hi, ann curry where are you? >> i'm in here.

thank you for the music, and good morning once again, everybody. in the news a sobering prediction about swine flu. today the world health organization's top flu expert said the pandemic is still in its early stages and while there are now some 130,000 cases worldwide, he predicted as many as 2 billion people could be infected before the pandemic ends. the white police officer who arrested a black harvard professor for disorderly conduct is defending his reputation agnst those who have labeled him a racist. sergeant james crowley tells nbc's boston affiliate whbh that he is surprised and disappointed by president obama's statements to a national audience at cambridge, massachusetts, police acted stupidly. the president is refusing to retract his comments. the sergeant cruelly, who taught a police course in racial profiling said he will speak more about this in a news conference today. two american service members were killed today in a bb attack in southern afghanistan, bringing the american death toll to 37 for july.

that makes it the deadliest month ever for u.s. troops in afghanistan since the war began and the month has not ended. today president obama and education secretary arnie duncan are announcing a new initiative to let states and school districts compete for billions of dollars in economic stimulus money. the goal is to raise academic standards and find better ways to recruit and keep teachers. the federal minimum wage went up by 70 cents today to $7.20 an hour. the labor department says the increase will affect between 3 million and 5 million workers. three mayors and five rabbis were among more than four dozen people arrested in a federal crime sweep in new jersey and new york yesterday. they're accused of money laundering or accepting bribes. and salvage experts will need a month to decide if a world war ii era bomber can be raised from a san diego reservoir. the plane's crew survived after engine failure ended their 1945 training flight. divers confirmed this week that the aircraft is in one piece but

deep in sediment. it was discovered by a fisherman. it is now four minutes past the hour. let's go back outside to matt. >> all right, ann, thank you very much. mr. roker is standing right inside. he's got his next forecast. >> you had a good time at the concert? wow. she's wild, isn't she? >> she's beautiful. >> she's fun? >>he makes her own heclots. >> she does? >> i'm just joking. i t d'tonhihe't s does. let's check your weather she wh.'s going on. but she should. we're looking at heavy rain working its way up through new england. classic nor'easter, except in the summer. we've got a lot of wet weather through the southwest. moo monsoonal moisture. strong risk strong storms from parts of the upper u.p. of michigan all the way into northern missouri. look for clouds in the pacific northwesñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1i1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1ñ1 a good friday morning. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell taking a check of doppler.

no rain around the washington area yet but there are a couple of lonely sprinkles in the mountains of west virginia as those showers come over the mountains they will intensify into thunderstorms later on this afternoon. so, don't stray too far from your umbrella. temperatures in the low and mid 70s pretty much area wide. highs later this afternoon in the upper 80s with a 60% chance of storms. and that's your latest weather. natalie? >> al, thank you. now to new information in the death of michael jackson. nbc news has obtained a list of items confiscated during a police raid on the offices of jackson's personal physician. nbc's jeff rossen is in los angeles with more. jeff, good morning. >> hi, natalie, good morning to you. for the first time, court documents reveal that dr. conrad murray is the target of this criminal investigation. we saw detectives storm his office on wednesday. now we're getting an inside look at the manslaughter case they're

building against him. we watched as federal drug agents rummaged through dr. conrad murray's office in houston. now, nbc news has obtained the search warrant, and the wording says it all. investigators were looking for evidence of the offense of manslaughter that tend to show that dr. conramurray committed the said criminal offense. the warrant shows investigators confiscated 21 itemsincluding a rolodex card, e-mails from a yahoo! account, a letter, a forensic image of a business computer and vials of phentehmine. nbc news has learned investigators also searched dr. murray's storage unit in houston. there they found incomplete charts, notices from the irs, a suspension notice and two computer hard drives. >> they are looking at dr. murray. they are seriously investigating him for manslaughter and looking for any piece of evidence that

will help them put a case together against him. >> reporter: dr. murray's lawyer wouldn't comment on this new information but maintains his client did nothing wrong. michael jackson's autopsy results could be released next week, and could decide whether or not criminal charges are filed. >> the coroner could decide that it's not a homicide, and the district attorney has the right to make his own independent decision that it was a homicide, and pursue the case as he thinks it's appropriate. >> reporter: and now there are new money problems inside the jackson family. katherine jackson went from grandmother to primary guardian literally overnight. she has temporary custody of michael's kids. paris, prince and blanket. but in new court papers just filed, katherine claims now that michael's gone, so is the cash. other than extremely modest social security benefits, mrs. jackson has no independent means of support, the papers say. there is an urgent need to pay a family allowance for the benefit of the minor children. >> they use the word urgent. they went in for ex parte, which

means right then and there, no hearing. and that kind of suggests that the till is dry. >> reporter: but the judge denied the motion. katherine jackson won't get a dime yet. pending a hearing. >> michael jackson owns a home that his parents lived in. several members of his family have been in his employ over the years, and it's certainly, you know, one would assume that financial relationships between michael and members of his family were pretty deep. >> reporter: to help, the executors of his estate are working on a new publishing deal to reprint jackson's 1988 autobiography "moon walk." aeg, the concert promoters, are looking to make some money back, too. msnbc.com reports they just sold the rights of michael's final rehearsals, and have scrapped next month's tribute concert in london. as we go into the weekend, here's what you can watch for. the final autopsy results could be released next week. that's critical.

as we look way ahead to august 3rd. that's the big hearing date for custody and the estate. we're told that court hearing, there's so much to get to, it could last all day. >> jeff rossen, we'll be keeping our eye on that date. thank you very much. and now for more on this, courtney hazlett covers pop culture for msnbc.com. it's officially out there now. michael jackson's personal physician, dr. murray conrad now the apparently the subject of a manslaughter investigation. any surprise here following, of course, what we saw with, you know, the search to his clinic wednesday? >> it's good to have this language cleared up, because prior to this, there's lots of speculation. is it going to be manslaughter. why are they looking into it? when you ally for a search warrant you need good reason. you can't just say i'd like to go into this office and have a look around and see if there's anything that suits my case. you have to specifically indicate what crime you could be investigating. and so the fact that they said homicide, now you have something we can focus on. interestingly -- i'm sorry, manslaughter. interestingly, it can be accidental, too.

so there's a lot of wiggle room there for the doctor, in saying, hey, i did everything by the book. if that's what happened. but this is an accidental death. so in some sense, it's kind of the less charge you can get. >> meanwhile, where is he during all of this? >> he's laying a little bit low. >> a little bit low? >> which is probably a good thing to do. this is wise. it's been so interesting trying to get information throughout this entire story. the people who tend to talk the most ironically seem to know the least very often. the people closest to jackson are the ones who are kind of keeping things closer to the cuff, and then also, you could be implicated in this cause of death or any of the other tangled webs situations we have here financially or whatnot. they know to stay quiet. >> the other big news we learned late yesterday was that aeg, the london tribute tour that was planned by aeg was actually canceled. this was for the tribute four for jackson in august, around his birthday. >> correct. >> how significant is that forj? lch jackson? his estate s family members?

>> at the end of the day, it probably benefits his estate the most. and then by extension, katherine jackson, who stands to make a huge percentage, about 40% of the estate was left to her. the people it really hts are those who were involved in the original tour. they signed on for 50 dates. 50 dates of work, costumes, sets, cast, crew who thought they were going to be employed. and i got a phone call late last night from one of the top tour organizers who said guess what, i'm out of a job now, and i haven't been paid for any of my work since michael jackson died. so, they don't know who to look for to get any sort of compensation, either. so it definitely benefits the estate. because then when that unreleased footage comes out in october, it's all new and it's fresh. a tribute concert, they argue, could have taken away from that. >> and speaking of katherine jackn erand h access to the estate. as we heard the judge has denied her request for an allowance to take care of the three children until, of course, next month's hearing. as we heard in jeff's report, though, michael provided his

mother, hi siblings, with a lot of financial support that they needed. who is taking care of that now, if anyone? and what is -- >> it's a little troubling. you can say, listen, i think the judge is trying to set a precedent that he's not going to make emergency decisions. he's going to do things by the book. when he says it, he's going to do them. however michael jackson had liquidity problems when he was alive. it's not a stretch to say the people who were getting their day-to-day spending money, we're talking real dollars, not just the estate is worth all this cash and we don't see it, but their real dollars, if they don't have michael jackson there to hand it over, how can jackson pay -- >> and now i guess until a decision is made by the judge. >> that's right. so it's really important for katherine jackson to have a great advocate and her attorneys are definitely doing that. but at the end of the day, she needs living expenses paid for. >> courtney hazlett, thanks for the new information. appreciate it. >> any time. >> and still to come this morning, beauty is skin deep. what you should know before you

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the all new chevy equinox. > "to "today's health" is brought to you by tums dual action. goes to work in seconds and lasts for hours. >> this morning on "day's health," which way to the beach? if you're hoping to take in the sea and feel the sand this summer we've got a list for you. "health" magazine has come up with the top ten healthiest beaches. dr. raj is health editor. >> hi, al. >> what was the criteria for "health" magazine to make this list? >> we took the 50 most popular beach and lake destinations and judged them in five categories. air, water and sand quality. the amount of fitness options that are available in that area. how many healthy food restaurants are there. and affordability of accommodations. you've got to be healthy on your wallet as well as your body.

and also the safety. presence of lifeguards, how close it is to a major medical center. >> first, number 10 on the list, provincetown, massachusetts. >> it's located on the outermost tip of cape cod. it has wonderful water quality. really, pristine, clean beaches. tons of activities, kayaking, sailing. you can go hiking on the sand dunes. a great way to burn some calories. an a wide variety of hotel options. a little bit pricier than some of the options on the list, but overall a great place. >> kelly's island, ohio. this is -- i know of this place. >> really? you do? >> yeah. i used to live in cleveland. >> it's a great place if you're looking for seclusion. a lot of people don't know about it. there are only about 360 full-time residents there. you can imagine. great place to get away from it all. you can only get there through a ferry. there's not a lot of air pollution. a lot of water sports. a loda biking there. and a lot of the restaurants serve the local fish from lake

erie, so it's very healthy. >> and they clean the beaches daily? >> absolutely. >> and costwise how is kelley's island? >> it's great. most options are under $200. >> now skip to number five on the list, hilton head island in south, carolina. now everybody knows this one. what makes it healthy? >> it's well-known as a golfer's paradise. and golfing can be good exercise if you don't spend the whole time in the cart and get out there. but, you know, there are a lot of great things for nongolfers. >> this would mak a great golf cart. >> it looks great. but there's plenty of tennis courts, bike paths, hiking, sailing as well. and you know, hilton head is wonderful because it has a lot of wonderful healthy food options. a lot of fish. many local farms which serve their fresh produce to the restaurants. it's a great place. and there's a wide range of options in terms of accommodations. high-end swky resorts but also some very affordable charming little inns and bed and breakfasts. >> a lot of people when they think beach they think the coast but we're going to give you another example.

osage beach in missouri, most popular vacation spot in the midwest. >> a lot of the east coasters don't even know about it. very well known in the midwest. located on the lake of the ozarks. huge lake, 1100 miles of shoreline. of course you can imagine every kind of water sport you would want there. kayaking, sailing, jet skiing. all these different things. but it's a beautiful spot, as well. the beach is actually nestled in some rolling hills with limestone bluffs. really gorgeous. some roadside stands thaterve fresh fruit and vegetable great place to get some healthy snacks. >> and branson, missouri not too far. monterey, california, very high on the list. >> very little pollution and smog. they actually banned smoking on the beach which i think is fabulous. last thing you want when you're laying out and enjoying the fresh air is a cloud of smoke in your face. it's located in a natural marine reserve. when you're doing your kayaking you might pass by a blue or humpback whale. >> and number one on the list. drum roll, please -- tie bee island, georgia.

>> tybee island, georgia, exactly. all-around healthiest. great air quality, water quality. great food options. it's kind of a low-key spot. very simple accommodations which are very beautiful and affordable. they have inns which have your own kitchen which is a great way to be healthy. you can make your own meals. >> and save some money. >> dr. raj, good to see you again. still to come, the new trend in dating that makes a good night kiss impossible. but first, tse messages. you keep the good memories... and forget the carpet stain. it removes even the toughest dried-in stains. thformula penetrates deep to break down stubborn stains lifting them to the surface, right before your eyes leaving nothing behind. erase your carpet's history with resolve triple action.

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overhead after storms last night. will we get more rain? good morning. it's friday, july 24, 2009. let's get a check on the forecast with chuck bell. good morning, chuck. >> hey there. happy friday. almost the weekend now. temperatures are climbing up into the low and mid 70s. no rain on the radar yet but we have a threat for thunderstorms coming later this afternoon. highs today mid to upper 80s, 60% chance of rain today and a chance for showers and thunderstorms late sunday afternoon and sunday evenin tomorrow looks dry. >> thank you, chuck. we'll take a breakenmee cok. ba#

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bridge with nothing in the way. eun, back to you. >> thank you. coming up on "news 4 midday" the latest on the deadly helicopter crash in maryland. now back to the today show after this short break.

♪ vacation all i ever wanted >> in case you didn't hear, "today" is taking a vacation. matt, meredith, ann, hoda, kathie lee, natalie, amy and i are fanning out across the country next week to visit the most popular vacation destinations in america. we're going to show you some amazing things. up first -- >> lots going on. >> we had poker faces on. >> we don't have poker faces. >> oh, you needed disguises. first, you and meredith are going to be heading up to lake george? >> we did some cliff diving. >> oh, wow

>> meredith? she has a fear of heights. >> but we're talking about it. >> tell her you're going to go fishing. oh. >> anyway -- >> the whole point of that for next week is to talk about vacations people can take that are not going to cost too much money because we all with all the stress we've got going on, want a little break. we've got some ideas coming up for you next week. also this morning still to come, five secretsf skin care revealed. which is worse for your skin, genetics or the sun? most people may get that one wrong. we're going to get the right answer to that and a number of other questions, as well. >> all right. and also ahead if you have kids something you know all too well. the back-seat bickering that goes on. the tuesdaying, the poking -- >> he's touching me. >> you've got to put the dividing line between the seats. so is there a solution? we've got some advice from parenting magazine coming up. >> all right. and one more song to rock you into your weekend from pop sensation katy perry. oh, man she rocked the plaza. >> she did. >> and speaking about the

weekend, somebody else is going to rock your plaza. amy robach and jenna wolfe here with a preview. what's happening? >> al, coming up on weekend "today," with reports of swine flu outbreaks at summer camps should you be concerned as a parent? we're going to find out what camps are doing to keep your childr safe. >> also, are you falling off your diet when you reach for a snack? eat this, not that author will stop by with a full snack makeover. >> all right. >> this is our series on summer jobs, as i look at this camera, last week i was a car hop and i was so good on the skates, can i say? look at this, it's jenna's turn. >> oh. >> a la baywatch. >> wow. >> and a one piece. >> i was a lifeguard, and let me tell you -- >> it was no day at the beach. i ran, i rode, i jet skied. i actually did some swimming. they madee take them off. and i saved one life. >> all right. >> so -- i survived.

i'm not sure -- >> but i'm here, so really everything is fantastic. >> are we going to learn? >> we're going to learn important information. >> anyway. >> normally you tell us about the weather. but now you've got a weather related fact to tell us? or story to tell us? >> something to tell us. an epic story is just around the corner in the form of a two-part mi mini series. man against nature appropriately called "the storm." the weather altering experiment goes horribly awry. and can it do anything but do that? the changeable forces of nature combine. treat williams, luke perry are the stars. part one of "the storm" premieres this sunday at 9:00, 8:00 central right here on nbc.1 a goofriday morning. i'm chuck bell. off to a sunny start in washington, temperatures are warming up fast. already 73 here in town.

75 degrees in frederick, maryland. martinsburg, 72. winchester down toront royal and manassas in the low 70s. our forecast for today, highs in the mid to upper 80s but a 60% chance of thunderstorms today. some could be severe so we'll keep you posd on that. 92 tomorrow. a chance for a shower late sunday. and another feature we forgot about on the "today" show, let's embarrass don nash. and there he is. don nash, ladies and gentlemen. senior producer, don nash. in the studio, with many family >> oh, there they membs. >> oh, there they are. >> there's don. >> there he is. >> and you know, the thing about don -- >> okay. >> always right. i don't know what it is that really kind of -- >> all right. >> okay, don, i'll put you out of your misery. up next can an orange a day keep the dermatologist away.

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these thin, these ideas, secrets that you want to reveal to american public watching this morning. first of all, fact or fiction, facials are a waste of money? >> that's actually not true. facials do have some benefits. they have benefits both for the body and the soul. they make you feel good. when you feel good your cortisol levels are lower and you look more relaxed because your hormone levels will calm down and you won't have the ruddy, stressed-out complexion. they also have medical benefits, if you do pore extraction and exfoliation, you're going to get rid of blackheads and whiteheads which are precauser to bigger lumps and bumps down the road. you just want to be careful the person knows what they're doing and you're not over-picking and over destroying your skin when you're having the procedures done. >> a chocolate sundae makes me feel good. are there other things we can do if we can't afford facials that might make us look better? >> absolutely. there are home products that you can use. there are topical ingredients that you can look for.

microdermabrasion or home exfoliation is very helpful for your skin, as well. putting on moisturizers and sunscreens is really helpful. >> okay, fact or fiction, waxing leads to finer hair regrowth? >> so waxing actually does cause finer regrowth in certain areas. when you wax the hair follicle you're pulling it out by the root and when you remove it from the root you're causing destruction or inflammation at the hair follicle level. when you shave the hair, it actually cuts or clips the hair and it just grows back like it does on your head. >> so you want to be careful not to wax where you may want to have the hair be good again some day. so that's what you're saying, it can damage it. and is there a down side to waxing? >> waxing is associated with lots of problems. you can get ingrown hairs from waxing. you can burn the skin. you can irritate the skin, because the wax is often hot and irritating and it can strip off the top layers of the skin.

often people who are using products that are so available now, the retin-as, glycolic acids. those will make your skin much more sensitive to waxing. be very careful and inform the person who's doing the procedure that you're using these products so you don't end up having more problems after. >> and aka, it can hurt. >> it can hurt. >> let's move on to fact or fiction. genetics are a bigger ager than the sun? >> both are really important. but our lifestyle definitely has a very important factor here. the genetics, the dna that you're born with will give you sort of a time line to which your skin is going to change and you can't do anything about that. but the environment, and what you do with your lifestyle, is key. how much sun exposure you get. how much drinking you do. exposure to smoke in the environment. all those thing also age you more rapidly. and can make your skin look significantly older than it would have just by the natural aging process. >> so cellulite is a sign that you're out of shape. true or false?

>> that's false. and cellulite is something that occurs universally. much more common in women. and it's a result of the bands that attach between the skin and muscle and causes the honey comb aparance. not something that you really can avoid just by being in good shape. >> we're almost out of time. very quickly, eating oranges prevents wrinkles? >> oranges are high in vitamin "c," anything high in vitamin "c" or in any antioxidant is good for you. you want to use products that contain vitamin "c" in your diet, and you also want to apply them onto your skin. >> so put the orange on your face? >> well, not necessarily. but the vitamin "c" you can buy in so many different products now. they have lots of antioxidants and antioxidants destroy free radicals which are causing aging. >> dr. deborah wattenburg thank you so much for your advice. up next, the secrets to ending the back-seat bickering. oh, what's this? breakfast. it's kind of early, buddy. you've got to need to take some cholesterol off you.

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get there on new fuel max tires. >> this morning on "today's travel" on the road managing your kids in the car. many parents know when you put two or more ks in the back seat it can certainly be a recipe for disaster. parenting expert betsy braun brown is here with some timing tips. good morning. >> good morning. >> i can remember the fights i had with my sisters in the back seat of the car and how my parents would get involved. you're going to get some tips for us this morning. the first one, ignore the fight, not the kids. >> that is, of course, unless you bought the car that had the chauffeur screen that you were supposed to have bought, yeah. the idea is that fighting in the car is going to happen. if you ignore it, you're going to be much better f. pay attention to the kids, though. and will distract that way. >> ignoring, though, obviously can sometime become a safety hazard in the back seat, too. if the kids are really fighting and going at each other. >> most parents tend to turn up the radio or turn up the music.

>> trying to zroun it out. >> that's a safety hazard. you don't want a model that's okay for anybody. we're trying to keep our kids safe and if you're fighting in the back seat, you can't concentrate on the road. >> don't accept tattling. why not? doesn't it matter if the 8-year-old is yanking the hair of your 3-year-old? shouldn't you get involved there? >> i can promise you if your 8-year-old is yanking the hair of your 3-year-old, your 3-year-old probably started it. but when parents ignore fighting it's going to go away much more quickly than when they don't because most kids fight for their parents' benefit. so we're trying to get you out of it. >> but the tattling, then, you say, that's behavior you don't want to encourage. >> exactly. >> okay. and you say then next tip is pull the car over and wait. this is self-explanatory. let them calm down? >> this is one of my favorites my favorite tips, because you pull over to the side of the road, you kind of look in the back seat and you say very firmly, i'll wait till this is done. it's not safe for me to drive

with all this bickering. >> or al's favorite piece of advice, don't make me turn this car around. the title of his best-selling book. plug that one more time. >> great. >> and you tell the kids to sit on their hands. how is that taking care of the problem? >> actually it's kind of an old-fashioned remedy. but when both kids are no longer in booster or car seats if you say to them sit on your hands, it really distracts them. they start paying attention to their hands and not the fighting so much. >> i'm going to try that one with my son. what i like to do is the quiet game which i find, he really likes to be the winner in the quiet game, so it works. >> one of the other things that i remind parents to do is to pull out of their gunny sacks things they used to do when they were little. remember the games you used to play in the car. a spy and i'm thinking of a word or how many things you see >> license plate games. >> because you're paying attention to the child and not the fight. >> that's the important advice, you say start by preventing the

back seat bickering in the first place. those are things that you can do? >> and one of the things you can do, by the way, if you have a particular fighter, rearrange your car seats. if you have three benches in the car, put some kids somewhere else. or you could even have certain -- >> a right. >> there are lots of things you can think about in advance, including admonishing your kids. i need it to be quieter in the car while i drive. >> we're not going anywhere. betsy braun brown thank you very much. up next, one more song from rocker katy perry. first this is "today" on nbc. ñ#

good morning. it's happy friday, tgif. steve spir up ra is here again this morning to help kathie lee out. >> that's right. they're going to talk about dating online.

first one more song from our summer concert star. ♪ comparisons are easily done once you've had a taste of perfection ♪ ♪ like an apple hanging from a tree i picked the ripest one i still got the seed ♪ ♪ you said move on where do i go i guess second best is all i will know ♪ ♪ 'cause when i'm with him i am thinking of you thinking of you ♪ ♪ what you uld do if you were the one who was spending the night ♪

♪ oh, i wish that i was looking into your eyes ♪ ♪ you're like an indian summer in the middle of winter ♪ ♪ like a hard candy with a surprise center ♪ ♪ how do i get better once i've had the best ♪ ♪ you said there's tons of fish in the water so the waters i will test ♪ ♪ he kissed my lips i taste your mouth he pulled me in

i was disgusted with myself ♪ ♪ 'cause when i'm with him i am thinking of you thinking of you ♪ ♪ what you would do if you were the one who was spending the night ♪ ♪ oh, i wish that i was lookininto ♪ ♪ you're the best and yes i do regret how i could let myself let you go ♪ ♪ now the lesson's learned i touched it i was burned oh i think you should know ♪ ♪ cause when i'm with him i am thinking of you

thinking of you ♪ ♪ what you would do if yowere the o who was spending the night ♪ ♪ oh, i wish that i was looking into your eyes eyes ♪ ñ

our time right now is 9:56. we have a hazy sun shiny warm muggy day. summer here in the nation's capital. we'll get the forecast coming up. i'm joe krebs on this friday. in the news today, federal investigators say a track circuit had been malfunctioning for a year and a half before that deadly metro crash. they say the problem surfaced after a piece of equipment was replaced in 2007. metro says there were blips with the circuit but the system never failed completely. cnbc is without a list of top states for business. virginia took the top spot for the second time in three years. the commonwealth given top marks for the quality of work force, the cost of doing business and support for innovation.

cnbc cited reasonable tax rates. the federal minimum wage increases by 70 cents that makes it $7.25 an hour in maryland and virginia. in the district it goes up to $8.25 an hour. let's get a check on our forecast. chuck bell is in storm center 4. >> hey there, joe. lots of sunshine out there right now, no rain showers at the moment but we are under the threat for showers and thunderstorms later on this afternoon. most of the action now is moving off the virginia into the ocean. 73 in town, 74 in fairfax county, frederick, maryland up to 79 degrees, winchester, virginia at 75. the forecast for today and through the all important weekend. 87 for our high, a 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms, some of which are likely to be severe later on this afternoon. keep a weather eye to the sky. hot and dry tomorrow, 92. 90 on sunday but a 50% chance of primarily afternoon and late afternoon showers and thunderstorms on sunday and

monday. a passing shower or two in the offing. on the whole, more dry hours than wet ones as we get into the weekend. >> thanks very much. a check on traffic from steve. >> joe, we're going to start with springfield. delays building southbound 95 leaving springfield. good news, though, they picked up the road work at lorton that started that backup so not too bad there. connecticut avenue, beltway slowing down. so far nothing in the roadway. a little volume there to slow you down. >> thanks very much. coming up at 11 clon clock a.m. what will the markets do? oewúocgc

nbc-universal television thank god it's friday. it's july 24th. steve schirripa is back with me. wow, you made it yesterday. >> i'm well rested last night. i went right to bed. >> how was the reaction? >> people loved it. i'm not hoda, of course. >> well, yeah. >> but, you know, we did okay. >> hoda will be back on monday. >> i'm not regis. but who is. >> yeah, exactly. did you hear from reege? >> hear from regis? come on.

can't even pick up the phone. >> regis has a good sense of humor. he'll be fine about that. anyway, you're back on a plane today? >> yes, i'm going back to california. >> going to see your family. have you missed them a little? >> i'm only gone a couple of days. i'm always in and out. but they're having a good time. they're at the beach. >> and you' needed on the set. >> back at "secret life." i'm shooting that. we're in the middle of our second season. >> a great friend of brenda hampton, i love her. >> she's great. >> i want to do that show. i'm going to help you her. i want to do that show with my daughter cass. because it's such a great show. >> it's a good show and about kids and about what's happening today. >> about real life. >> it's good stuff. >> i'm very lucky, seriously, to be on the sopranos. and right fro the sopranos i went right into this show. you don't get many one-shots. and this second shy that's really good. >> but you know, ste, you're a natural. you're just a natural. we don't see you acting. >> thank you. >> and you're a natural at this, too. would you ever want to do your

own talk show? >> i would love to. >> because it's not easy to do. tori saw that. >> let me tell you something, seriously. putting this whole show together. >> yes. >> i mean it's unbelievable. what you do, seriously. people think it's so easy. you're running upstairs, downstairs. there's so many -- >> high heels. >> so many segment producers coming with things, throwing them at you. they work so hard. everything's got to work or this whole thing will fall right apart. >> you know what you've learned? >> did i kiss everybody's butt enough? >> yes! >> all right. >> but what you learn to do is go -- you've done your work. they've done your work. now you're ready and just talk to people. >> you spend all night writing questions for me to say and we don't say then. >> this is one of the questions they wanted us to talk about. how much sharing is too much? they say that women, we -- i can't imagine why anybody would think this, but we talk too much. we should zip it a bit. that's not the word i want to use. >> what do you mean, like in a relationship? >> in a relationship.

in conversations, do you think your wife shares too much with you? >> no, well, i've been married a long time. and you know, we're kind of got all that together. >> yeah. >> the balance. but, guys i think are afraid to let it all hack out because i think they're afraid the girl is going to look, you know, the wife or your girlfriend is going to look at you like -- >> you're a wimp? >> you're a wimp. start with that sensitive thing. don't tell me too much. don't expose what's behind the mask too much. >> you don't want to be the sensitive, vulnerable type? >> i don't know. do you want that? do you want that? >> yeah, from you, yeah. i really do. >> but seriously. do girls really want to hear every little whiny thing about? >> they don't want to hear that they look fat in those jeans. >> oh, no. but for guys. if your husband or a guy is going to talk like that to yo you, -- >> yeah. >> leave the schmo, because you don't do that. >> but say your wife had put on a little weight or something like that. is there a nice way to say it? >> look. i put on -- since i've been married i put on a lot of

weight. my wife has never said one word to me. she's tried to help me lose weight, when i decideto lose, which i have, she's always been supportive. she cooks for me, blah, blah, blah. but never has she -- >> she loves you. >> absolutely. >> and you love her, too. >> but she's the same way as when we got married. don't put no weight on, now. >> okay. >> don't pull none of that. >> okay. there's something call ed sweatakins. are you aware of this? from fitness magazine. question, my cube mate -- >> so if you're working with someone. >> right. >> they work out. they smell. >> they go out, they go out on their lunch hour, my cube mate goes out, works out and comes back wreaking after lunch time workout. how do i tell her to freshen up? answer. >> there's a couple ofthings. some people don't use deodorant. there are also people that are like that au naturel. >> yeah. >> and they just don't care. that's the way they sml. >> but, what's the nice thing to do? i can't imagine going up to the

person and going, you know, you really, really are offending me right now with the way you smell. >> if you're good friends with them, i think if you're good friends with them, you tell them, can i tell you something? >> i love you. >> but i'm going to tell you something now. you have something in your teeth. >> but i don't! have anything in my teeth. >> this is a terrible -- this is a terrible thing they gave us. >> i think somebody would like to know that. they'd like to know they're smiling. >> i would love to know, you know, your breath, do you smell a little. i'm telling you as a buddy, go freshen up. >> why not go to your supervisor? >> no, then you're a stupid. what are you going to do, snitch? >> what are you a soprano? >> are you going to say wait a minute, listen to me. the girl next to me smells i want her to clean up. >> when you put it like that. i don't know. it's all in fitness magazine. can we have those chips, please? sean, thank you so much. we're supposed to try, first o all we're going to look at the insulated beer belt that

leslie -- leslie's been on the diet but she's ready for the weekend, boy. look at that thing. available afterfivecatalog.com. >> she's every guy's dream. >> yeah, yeah. >> i woman with a six pack. s. there you go. >> i tell you what, a lot of guys right now would love to marry up. >> she's looking so that's good. thank you, sweetie. the other thing we're going to do here. >> go out with that belt this weekend, you'll get a guy. >> whatever works. >> we're going boozing again. >> hoda and i are going to san antonio next week. >> i've got to check in. >> i think this is -- this is -- >> los caminos. very good recent. >> there's one on park avenue. there's one down on allison street. they have the best guacamole. >> we're going to be talking all things texas. we're going to be down there next wednesday on the riverwalk, which is so beautiful. >> it's going to be hot down there. >> i was just there last week, it was 110 degrees. >> yeah. >> okay and now we've got some

new hot sauces to try. i'm not sure, if you're sweating now. >> i don't know. >> does hot sauce affect you? >> everything affects me. david ortiz -- >> you're a yankee fan, huh? >> you know what, i like yaees. but i was a baltimore oriole fan all those years because i grew up in bat hoar. >> really i don't like him because he's a red sox guy but we'll try. >> all right. this is call big papi. >> they say a portion of this goes to charity. which portion? >> when they don't say, i think it should be suspect. >> they should say how much. the thing costs $2. i want to know how much. >> wow. >> drink the margarita. >> now does my breath stink? oh, my gosh. all right we're going to go to -- it's his children's. >> okay. well then it's a good cause. >> for children in need of critical care. that's a good thing. we wish him all the best. it's good but it's hot. >> very hot.

very hot. >> i don't know. go over to miss sara. wait a minute, what is this for? >> everything's bigger in texas. this giant martini glass. 38.5 inches tall with a 22 inch diameter is available at wowcoolstuff.com. that's my idea of a martini glass. >> would you have a martparty a your house and fill that up and everyone could have a big straw? >> my friends, that would be toppled over real quickly. we'd need about ten. i hang out with very, very serious people that way. one of whom is miss sara sage. sara, what's up, babe? >> her friends drink? cheryl wrote in with a jewish mother and an italian father, what food makes you raid the fridge at midnight? >> oh. you know what? you know what i like at midnight, there's nothing better than cold pizza. at midnight. the middle of the night. sometimes it's calling me. i'm not lying to you. i'm in bed sleeping.

laying down, and all of a sudden, from the refrigerator i have to get up and eat that. it's insane. >> do you have it just laying around all the time? >> not all the time. but sometimes. or one night we went out to eat, my wife brought home a lobster tail. it's in the refrigerator. 4:00 in the morning, i'm telling you i wake up out of a dead sleep i've got to have that lobster tail. and i go, and i get two pieces of whole wheat bread and a little mayonnaise and i eat a lobster tail. >> a lobster roll at 4:00 a.m. >> i had to do it. >> was she saving it for herself for the next day? >> well, who knows. whatever. >> yeah, you get to the point where you go back for that. >> but whatever is around is really what i crave. >> still everything. you're not really going to discriminate? >> no, meatballs good at 4:00 in the morning. >> and cold? >> i don't heat it up. >> this is a real man. >> i've got to get back to bed!

start heating things up? come on, kathie. i've got to work in the morning. >> you have your priorities straight. >> anything else? has ve wants toho has been your favorite female actress to work with and who is your favorite director to work with? >> well, first of all, all the soprano girls, lorraine bracco and edie falco. i'm working with jennifer coolidge now on "the secret life." >> oh, do i love that woman. is she in that show? >> yes. and we have a little relationship. i get engaged to her. >> she's one of the finest comedic actresses in the world. >> she's great. and she's a hooker. >> all the better. >> and my cracter may or may not know. and we're getting -- we got engaged. >> does she have a fellow hooker friend? >> oh, i like it. you could play a hooker. maybe a madam. >> you could play a hooker? >> you're right. i could play the madam. all right, up next -- >> play the madam. >> why not? >> you could be a bossy hooker. a bossy hooker. all right, come on. i ain't got all day. come on, take that off, let's get moving. >> okay.

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okay i know hoda is kicking herself right now because she's not here to interview one of her all-time favorite artists, flo ride today. he broke onto the music scene in 2007 with his debut album mail on sunday feet youring low, the multiplatinum hit. >> he's released a new album called "roots." >> and flo rida is here with us. recomto you. >> pleasure. >> it's a pleasure to have you. congratulations. this is not a fluke thing going on with you. you are a solid, solid hit. >> most definitely. >> did you ever think it would come to this, growing up in

florida, in a tough world, right? a tough situation? >> most definitely. growing up in miami, florida, dade county, i always dreamed of being an artist. i mean to this magnitude, it's like unbelievable. >> yeah. what does your mom say? because she was a single mom raising you and your seven sisters? >> seven sisters. >> wow. >> so there's eight women and you in the house? >> seven girls and my, the youngest boy and i have a twin sister. >> oh, okay. and now were they just -- were you like the littleprince? or did they treat you terribly? most of the time, the one boy with all those girls around is just loved on all the time. >> they looked aer me a lot, you know. always supported me when it came to my music. like about four of them, five of them had a gospel group early on growing up. >> so you had a little background? >> my dad played instruments. he sings a little bit. so i definitely grew up around music. >> but what kind of message did your mom, because what i read about you is that you stayed on the straight and narrow and didn't get involved in some much of the problems that young men growing up in a world like that do. >> i mean, most definitely.

she always inspired -- she inspired me and at the same time she always was like, you can be in a place but you don't have to be of it. she always instilled to me, dream big, and the sky's the limit. >> let me ask you now that you're a big star, there's a lot of -- >> very big. >> there's a lot of convictions, how do you handle that? you married? >> definitely single. >> hoda is really gonna be upset. >> oh, now. >> oh, my gosh. i didn't know that. can you come back next week? >> what's that like? you're on the road. you got thousands of girls screaming. >> millions. >> what is -- at one place, is there a million people in one place? you're doing a concert, they're at the back door, hat do you do? >> you know, sign some autographs. >> put them on the bus, what do you do? >> come on. >> we've got to keep that on the low, low, low, low. >> you're not even dating a special lady right now? >> no. >> is this just a matter of no time for it. >> definitely we don't have

time. but if i find the significant other, that's what intrigues me, i'll definitely look for it. >> sounds like you might find her in church. >> oh, yeah, that's a good place. >> what does your mom say to you now, flo? what are the messages she gives you now? >> i mean she always reminds me, you've been blessed. really don't take advantage of it. you know, don't take it for granted, and you know, continue to what i do when it comes to my music, give it 200%. on stage, off the stage. >> do you write your own stuff? >> yeah. >> it's all your own stuff. and who do you like? i know you collaborate with a lot of different artists >> nelly. >> nelly fur toddo. >> i think we have a little bit of that from the new disney film. >> is there anybody you want to work with and you haven't yet? >> oh, big fan of outcast. you know, actually going forward with beyonce, in australia. i'd love to do a record with her. >> and you went to africa, really changed your life? >> oh, yeah. definitely inspired my new album

"roots," and going there, it was just like, i read about it in textbooks and everything, but to actually be there, you know, -- >> what affected you the most about it, flo? >> the fact that just even getting there, being able to touch the soil, i really visit some of the art culture there, and everything. and it was actually i opened up for mtv at the mtv awards event. opened the show, closed the show, presented and received an awa award. so the fans went crazy. i was definitely surprised to see how many fans i had over that walk on the red carpet. >> that has got to be so strange. >> flo rida, how did you come up with that name? >> being born in florida. the flo represent my more melodic style. rida represent my gift of speed. >> did you get that? >> i got it. >> with the rhyme pattern? >> i understand what he's thinking. >> we talk the same thing, you know. >> any thoughts on michael jackson's passing? >> oh, man, i was actually in dublin getting off stage and they told me about it and i was like, this must be a hoax or

something. you know, he's a legend. and i followed him ever since i was a little kid. my condolences go out to his family and big fan of him, you know. he maeved the way for a lot of artists, you know. the fact that i travel internationally, which he traveled the world, and he gave a lot of love. i really love him for that. >> your mother, your mother did an amazing, amazing job with you. god bless her. and you're a sweetheart. >> lovely. >> the best is yet to come for you. >> i think there could be something with him and hoda. you've got to come back next week. she's tall, she's gorgeous. beautiful. >> thank you so much. >> up next -- >> it's me. >> up next, schirripa, that's what it says. i hit the streets to find out what people have to say about this fourth hour of "today." >> stop it. >> and the two gals whoo hst t. >> stop it. >> kathie lee. we'll be right back.

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>> i'm well aware. in fact i took to the streets to find out exactly what people are saying about you and what's her name. >> hoda. >> hoda. >> do you know who these two girls are? >> two beautiful ladies. >> they're not on the "today" show, are they? >> you recognize these two girls? >> no, not really. >> i think her name's kathie, right? >> the lady that used to be with the guy from millionaire show. >> take a look. take a good look. >> kathie lee griffin. >> which one is kathie lee? >> that one. >> look at that. there you go. this is the 2002 playboy play mates of the year. >> really? >> which one do you like? >> i like my wife. >> how about kathie lee, you like that girl? >> oh, yeah. >> you like her? >> oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, but my wife is here. >> this is for late night tv. under no circumstances do you want to be with hoda or kathie lee?

>> they look pretty good. >> yeah. >> which one you think does more drinks in the morning? >> hoda. >> no kathie lee. >> does she drink in the morning? >> oh, yeah, do they ever. >> no. >> you never heard of them? >> no. >> kathie lee cd for sale. >> do they have this cd in italy? >> no. >> who wants a kathie lee cd? >> have you ever heard of them? >> no. >> it's regular. >> 75 cents. do i have any takers? you give me $2 for kathie lee's cd? >> i'll give you a dollar. >> she was on tv before they had remote controls here. >> oh, well she looks good for it. she had some botox >> still to come, how to make pizza. >> why would she think that? i really want dessert tonight. i better skip breakfast. yep, this is all i need. ( stomach growls ) skipping breakfast to get ahead? research shows that women that eat breakfast,

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mom vo: she has everything she needs. and then some. anncr vo: get them everything they need to succeed at an unbeatable walmart price. vo: back to school costs less at walmart. vo: save money. live better. walmart. >> we're following breaking news this morning. a chopper crashes in maryland killing all four people on board. we're live with the latest from a news conference that's supposed to start soon. also ahead, what will happen on wall street after it hit 9000 for the first time in months. should we expect more storms for the weekend? "news 4 midday" starts at 11:00 a.m. fios guy! where ya headed?

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just pay shipping, handling and taxes. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v today before time runs out on this astonishing offer. we're back on this friday with more of "today." and some of the summer's whackiest gadgets. >> whether you're looking for a new way to work out or simply want to remove that unsightly hair from your chest -- >> what unsightly hair? >> steve greenburg is the guy. maybe he's your guy. >> he's my guy. he's the author of "gadget nation" and steve, good to have you. what am i doing? >> i'm sweating just watching you. >> she is working with the hottest thing in exercise. we'll take them out for a little spin. they're great on your knees, your back, and because there's a bounce feature it works the core muscles inside. how do you feel? >> how long would you use this

for? >> for a jag. >> it's easier to keep -- >> i used them for about 45 minutes yesterday and i felt really tired out. >> you do feel tred out. they weigh a lot. >> and my knees have been giving me trouble and it really is good on your knees. >> yeah, it's great. okay, let's go. >> that's what i want. >> this is a remote control -- >> kathie, you can do it. you can get it. >> go, go, go! >> i know you can do it! >> bend down. come on! come on, kathie. it's going right to you, baby. >> if it were wine i would bend down. >> isn't that great? stupidit yotic.com. >> that's right, it's stupid idiotic. >> this is a stair master combined with a scooter. i don't know how far i can go here. >> now that i could do. >> that's not bad. >> gives you aa lot of workout. a lot of fun. >> if you wear these things on the bike you're really moving. >> if you can pull that off it's

really impressive. >> this is from hammacher schlemmer, it's a digital camera swim mask. it's got camera built right into it. i've actually used this. it's amazing. you can get it wet. go down there and get some pictures when it's wet. >> if you're out in the bahamas -- >> not in the hudson. take a picture of dead bodies. >> some of your old friends. >> that's right. >> also summer, guys, hand scaping is very in right now. your chest, your back -- >> he's not a manscape kind of guy. >> he said he was. >> let hair go where god put it. >> rit here. you turn around and try it out. >> i got hairy legs. >> can he shave his leg without hurting? >> i think the other way. other way. >> it's tickling me. >> like this. >> oh. >> i'm shaving steve's legs. i'll have to blog about that. >> i'm thinking bruno, right? >> yeah. >> this is a first and last time

you'll ever see that. >> this is like a nightmare. i broke out in a cold sweat. >> i'm a little embarrassed. i feel like i should leave you two alone. >> there's no hair there. >> all right. >> this is a portable pizza oven for your car. oh, here. off is here. >> this -- i don't know if it's the most sanitary thing to combine. this goes into the cigarette lighter. you can make a pizza or warm it up in your car. why do you want to do it? because it's also from stupididiotic.com. >> because you're not supposed to be eating things like that when you're driving. >> you have it on the passenger seat. if you take a long drive -- >> you're not going to be running it or op raying it. >> your lobster sandwich, you could have warmed its up. >> this i like. >> all right. >> my birthday's coming up. >> all right, that's for you. i'll get brenda hampton to get it for you. >> this is the knife and fork lift. >> oh, my gosh. >> this is designed to remind you that when you're eating

you're going to have to work out afterwards. they're about a pound and a half each. >> i've got to get these for richard simmons. >> this is really fun. >> do you love these? >> and they have their own little company. >> that's not -- >> it's a pound and a half. >> is this edible? >> i don't know. >> is this edible? am i going to die if i eat this? >> that's too funny. >> it's worth a shot. >> would you pass me the pizza, please? >> and work out after. i love you're bouncing around here. this is kind of melting on us right now. >> oh. >> all right. these are ice draws and ice glasses. you can put them in a regular glass. you freeze them up before, kind of adds a little -- want to try a drink here. >> what's in it? >> anybody know? i didn't make the drink. i don't know. >> you do this the night before. >> oh, my gosh. >> it's a little slippery. this is maybe a concept -- it's from urbantrend.com. >> you can't hold the glass. >> i'm sorry. my fingers. excuse my fingers there. there you go. >> oh, my god. >> these are wacky summer

gadgets. this falls into wacky summer gadgets. >> i like the straw. >> this is from urban trends. >> okay. >> steve greenburg, thank you so much. >> up next the latest trends in dating that requires no shoes. or pants for that matter. right after this. looking into your eyes - hey susan. - hey spence. uh, i was thinking that these third quarter numbers... ( pop, pop, pop ) it's 3 o' clock and all you can think about... is grabbing a snack. time to reach for something you can feel good about.

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we're back with "today's relationships" and the new types of dating for time crunch and cash-strapped singles. >> that's right. say good-bye to long, awkward dinner dates that could cost you a pretty penny and hello to fast and free video dates. >> "today's" online correspondent, sara haines has mor >> what's your name? >> i'm justin. how's it going? >> justin, nice to meet you. >> you're looking at what could be the new frontier of dating. skype dating. >> you look great even without the head set. >> skype is a popular software program that enages people to talk through their computers via a video conference hookup. erin and ryan both write for glamour.com's dating blog called singleish. they say skype dating provides a way to meet people without having to sit through awkward dinners.

reckless speed dates or online dating website mishaps. >> they didn't totally get a sense of the person's personality. you really don't need to be in front of them. and you can tell if you would want to see them live. >> i definitely think the problem with online dating is, you exchange all these messages with people, takes a lot of time, you spend like an hour writing the cleverest message ever and you don't really get a sense of how you interact. >> so we wondered, could dating via skype be the next big thing? we hit the streets to find out. would you ever consider skype dating on a blind date? >> not really. i think to be able to talk to each other >> how would you get off the phone or skype if it wasn't working? >> i would just be, like i'm not interesting in you and exit out. >> would you have that same boldness in person? >> not really. >> skype is like a video chat with them. >> are you referencing the fact that some people put their

picture from ten years and 20 pounds ago? >> sometimes. >> that's the whole point. erin and ryan are the writers of the single itch blog for glamour.com. it's so good to have you both here. >> thank you. >> we are sort of old school. we've both been married for a long time. not to each other, thank god. >> in the old days you go to a bar and you pick up somebody. >> you found yours at a bar in las vegas. >> that's right. >> there you go. >> but it's so complicated now. and so what was your initial reaction when your bosses at glamour asked you to do this? >> i jumped right in. i said let's do it. you could do it from home. >> you still have to do your makeup. >> i definitely did. >> what happened to you? >> i was all over it. they set me up with three beautiful women in an hour. what's not to like about that? >> beautiful from the neck up. >> well -- >> they didn't have three necks. >> not really a leg guy, so it was okay. >> now, is this really the new frontier for dating? do you really think this is it? >> yes.

>> you know, buying the groceries online. i do my shopping online. why shouldn't i do my dating online. >> you're going to find your wife online? >> maybe. >> it's like a mail order bride. >> this is a generational thing. you and i are not -- and i'm older than you are, i think. yes, i am. >> not much, a little bit. >> it's just a first date. you can see if you want in three hours leaving your house. >> you're saving time, you're saving money and you're saving embarrassment. potential -- >> as opposed to some of the online dating services, where people lie about the profile, and how old they are and what they weigh and all of this stuff. >> yeah. >> this really, if it's really them. maybe you're going to talk to them on skype and somebody else is going to ow up. >> well, i mean, aside from an identical twin -- >> you were on the sopranos too long. >> you have the good-looking roommate and then the fat guy shows up. >> that can happen. >> that can happen. life is full of surprises.

>> i know. what i don't understand, honestly you guys, is that you're both young, you're both beautiful. you're both single. why the heck don't you just date each other? >> yeah. >> well -- >> we make better friends. >> you're in relationships? >> i'm not. >> are you? >> yeah, we're singleish. >> really? >> ish. >> are you married? >> marriedish. >> we're single. the belong is singleish. >> so you're going to lose your job if you find this man of your dreams? >> i will >> so you've got security your job. all right. >> that's like a romantic comedy. that would be a good movie. choose between the job and the man. >> that's right. that's their idea. they're already working on it. it was great to meet you both. >> thank you. >> thank you for explaining it to us. >> there's so much -- >> are you literate on a computer and all that good stuff? >> i can get my e-mails. ki do some stuff. >> yeah? >> not great. i can do -- i don't know about

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okay, summer. you're invited to your umpteenth barbecue and you're in charge of the wine. >> you could bring your own standbies. but when you have to, when you've got oldo sommelier advice. >> he's a what? >> sommelier at one of the world's greatest restaurants. and it really is. aldo. >> you lost last year? there was a competition? >> i was. >> so you, okay, so you're in competition to repeat your claim. >> no i retired. >> well, yeah. >> ten years is enough. >> the pressure must be unbelievable. what makes you the greatest in the world. >> i taste a lot. >> and what is your favorite wine in the whole world? if you could have any wine what would it be?

>> lately, i admire very much rieslings lately. >> really? >> butt's changing. it's a mood swing for me. when it's so hot like today i like crisp, fresh wines. like today, i brought. >> he's a vulnerable, sensitive man. >> let me ask you, how did you get into the wine? were you always into wines when you, you know -- >> no. i hated wines in my early childhood days and even when i went through high school i didn't like it. >> you're not supposed to be drinking wine in your early childhood days. >> in europe we're allowed to do that. >> he's austrian. >> when you're in the restaurant with the little cup, you drink all night, do you get drunk? >> no. that's a taboo. >> but you're tasting, in the course of the night you might taste how much wine? >> a couple. but we drink a lot of water. that's the key. >> me, too. that's the way. >> that's what you should start doing. >> okay. >> she walks around with a cup in the daytime. >> what are we going to start with, aldo? >> we should start here. in the far right. >> keep your hands free for this. >> all right.

>> picture something really crisp, very, very fresh. it's from france. it's for me the perfect oyster wine. >> what if you don't like oysters. >> beg your pardon? you said oisten wine? >> crisp, fresh. >> it's a little tart. >> it's very citrus. >> don't like oysters, eat clams. >> hmm. i see what you mean. that would go nicely with seafood. >> very clean, very pure. >> or if you want to taste a little bit. keen your palate fresh. >> now? >> i pick the wine from austria. based on gren adin. wine is from vienna. >> what does this wine cost? >> this is $12.99. >> is there pear in this? >> a little bit. apple, lime, and typical part of austrian wine generally speaking, that's why people love austrian wines, that little fizz on the end. >> it does. it has a little bit of sweet at the very end. you like that? >> i like this better. what is this cost? >> it's $13.99.

>> we're not going to hold you to it now. >> give or take where you live. all right we have -- >> hey, i saw it for 15. don't worry! i just want to let them know. come on. off a little. >> okay. you're frightening the man. >> i know. >> not at all. >> what is this? >> this is louis michel and fils. >> so different from american chablis. very different. >> well, actually got a lot of good image from that. this is the original chablis from the area. crisp, again, very straightforward. really middle group. >> chablis was big in the early '80s. >> that's right. >> chablis was the name of my little dog who died. little chardonnay. >> hanging out at friday's on the east side. my name is chablis. >> i remember really well. i'm not that old. >> okay. many american kids grew up with that. >> oh, this is a -- this is sauvignon blanc. >> that's from argentina.

>> that's the one we were just drinking, right? >> it's a little oaky. that indicates sweetness. >> i'm not crazy about that one. >> you can't drink a lot of this. >> that's why i'm not crazy about it. >> what about this one? >> we need a wine that just goes down. >> what's the name of this one? >> this is a riesling, leitz, alys known for fruit and sweet. it's not sweet at all. crisp, aromatic, fresh. >> we've got to go, what is that one? >> my favorite wine. >> thank you so very, very much. we'll be right back. more of "today" on nbc. fios guy! where ya headed? uh, just installed fios in the whole building. now everyone has the fastest upload speeds,

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steve, i want to thank you so much for being here yesterday, today. you're awesome. i don't care what anybody says. >> thank you. >> i think you're a great guy. >> what do you mean by that? >> next week, hoda returns and

we're going to take you to san antonio when "today" takes a vacation. all right? god bless you, thanks. >> august 1st, "face the ace," nbc, 9:00 p.m. >> on nbc? >> "face the ace." >> there you go, thank you. here's a look at the week that was. thanks, everybody. have a great weekend. and thank you, again. >> this is not hoda kotb. it's tori spelling. welcome. >> a toast. >> a toast to you. >> so. >> yeah. ♪ >> hoda can stay on vacation. i'm here. >> not you, tori. you want to go into that? >> every problem that's been solved. terrific. >> that's fantastic. because you can't go without underwear. >> do you have any problems with some difficult people? >> just you. just laughed. >> you are -- >> you are a famous wino, kathie

lee. ♪ ♪ >> i have bra goo today. >> you make me excited. >> there you go. >> hold on, kathie lee. it's taking off, baby. it's taking off, baby.g >> there you go. >> there you go. >> now you have to learn. >> okay. oy