good morning. the doctor surfaces. michael jackson's physician, conrad murray, seen for the first time since the singer's death, as federal agents raid his las vegas home and office. is an arrest imminent? two new medical warnings overnight on the cancer causing risk of tanni beds and the dangerous swine flu threat faced by pregnant women. this morning, important information on both. and saddle up. kathie lee and hoda have put down their chardonnay glasses to head deep into the heart of

texas. they're in san antonio heating up the city that's already hot, hot, hot today, wednesday, july up the city that's already hot, hot, hot today, wednesday, july 29th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television you know what they say. you can take the girls out of texas. please. and good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. we have trouble brewing, no question about it. >> i'm meredith vieira. dr. murray is nervous about this michael jackson investigation. doesn't appear to sw it? >> this is the first time since the pop star's death we've actually seen dr. murray on camera. he was seen casually walking outside his las vegas home shortly after police wrapped up a search of his properties that lasted for hours. all of this comes less than a week after a similar search on his clinic in houston. we're going to have much more on

all this and what investigators ofe inof. mesuth coming up in.us >> also ahead a senseless and tragic crime in los angeles that would terrify any parent. a 17-year-old girl, kidnapped in broad daylight and murdered just a few hours later. we're goingo hear from that girl's family spokesperson. >> on a much, much lighter note we're going to check out where the obama family is planning to spend some of their summer vacation this year. >> but we're going to begin with another critical step in the michael jackson case. more raids, this time in the las vegas home and office of jackson's personal doctor, conrad murray. nbc's jeff rossen is in las vegas this morning. jeff, good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, meredith. good morning to you. no question, this investigation is growing by the day. think about it, all began more than a month ago in los angeles when michael jackson died outside of his mansion. then, detectives went to houston. now, here we are in las vegas. they've come here to search dr. conrad murray's home. we can't get any closer than this, because he lives in this exclusive country club behind

me. but detectives did get in there and walked out with possible evidence. this is our first look at dr. conrad murray since michael jackson's death. in this new tmz video, he's casually walking around his las vegas country club, just after the raid. >> this is the residence of dr. conrad murray. >> reporter: the drug investigation literally landed on his doorstep when federal agents and the lapd showed up at dr. murray's upscale home, the doctor himself was there to greet them. armed with a search warrant, they went inside and just miles away, police were also rummaging through his medical office. according to the "l.a. times" they were looking for medical records and prescriptions in jackson's time, or any of the 19 aliases he used, including his own son, prince. >> they're looking for hard drives, notebooks, medical files to show notes that would indicate that dr. murray administered propofol to mr. jackson. >> reporter: court papers reveal dr. murray is the focus of a manslaughter investigation.

his lawyer wrote in a statement, dr. murray was present during the search of his home, and assisted the officers, seizing cell phones and the computer hard drive. he maintains dr. murray did nothing wrong. >> they know what happened the day that michael jackson died. they're pretty clear aut that. what they're looking for is other evidence. did dr. murray prescribe these drugs to other patients, other celebrities? >> reporter: law enforcement sources tell nbc news dr. murray administered propofol to jackson on the very day he died. officials involved in the case tell the ap they believe jackson had been using propofol for two years, and needed it to sleep. he used it like an alarm clock. a doctor would start the iv drip at night, knocking jackson out. he'd only wake up when the doctor stopped the drip in the morning. >> the drug is very quick acting. it's not just like taking a pill or getting a shot. you have to keep the drug constantly going into the vein the entire time while the person is asleep. a few drops of it and you're

asleep, a few more drops of it and you stop breathing. >> reporter: propofol is so strong it's only supposed to be used in hospitals, the patient monitored closely. but in jackson's home the ap reports there were oxygen tanks and iv drips but no sign of a heart monitor. just a stifling hot bedroom, because jackson was always cold. >> i would go past unusual. i would go outrageous. this is an outrageous abuse of this medication. to use it at home, and outside of an operating room, and intensive care unit, it's unthinkable. >> reporter: important to note here, we still don't know exactly what killed michael jackson. was it the propofol? was it a mix of drugs? was it something else entirely? the entire criminal case now depends on that. that's the next beat here, meredith, is the toxicology report due out this week. now we're hearing it may be delayed until next week. >> all right, jeff rossen, thank you very much. dr. nancy synderman is nbc's chief medical editor. good morning to you, nancy. >> hi, meredith. >> we know that propofol was found in michael jackson's home.

>> right. >> now there are these reports that he was given that sedative every evening through an iv drip and reports that may have been going on for as long as two years, and were his doctors, and we have to include more than just dr. murray, because he came on board in may, were the doctors essentially playing russian roulette with him? >> well, i think you can say that this is a collision course that was destined to happen if, in fact, there were a cocktail of drugs, that propofol was just one of them. at some point there's a drug interaction. there are reports that centermine was found, he had recently lost a lot of weight, he was exercising a lot. if you lose a lot of water during the day you can lose electric lites like sodium and potassium. but if you add a powerful sedative, that can decrease your respiration, decrease your heart, and at some point you're bound to have some kind of interaction. >> i mean this drug is not supposed to be used in this way to begin with. but is there a cumulative

effect? >> probably not cumulative. but at some point, depending on what you've done to your body that day, the margin of safety may be that much narrower, and this washes out of your body so fast, which is why when you go tohe hospital and have a procedure, you go to sleep and you immediately wake up. but it requires absolutely heart monitoring, lung monitoring, and checking the oxygen saturation in your body. >> how do you reach a point where you would need this kind of powerful sedative? >> you don't need this ever. that i think is the most outrageous part. this is meant to put people into an anesthetic mode so something can be done to them, like a procedure. it is never meant for anxiety reduction, never meant for sleep. that's an inappropriate use. >> also these reports that michael jackson was always feeling cold, maybe the reason why his bedroom was so hot. what would cause that? >> we know that he was struggling with an eating disorder. in fact, he had lost a significant amount of weight. what happens when you get this skinny, you've seen this with anorexic girls, they always have sweaters on because they can't regulate their body temperature. the fact that his bedroom was

kept really hot, the fact he lost weight and was quite skinny and dealt with the massive fluid loss every day as he was exercising, he was probably really cold. that can have an effec on the electrical conductivity of your heart. everything might have just been out of whack that day. but this was an absolute collision course waiting to happen. >> all right, dr. nancy, thank you very much. and dr. nancy will be back in a bit with important new warnings on swine flu and cancer risk of tanning beds. >> let's head or to ann standing at the news desk. good morning, ann. >> welcome back, matt. good morning, meredith and everybody. we've got some news this morning. a massive car bomb this morning rocked northern spain excloeding outside a police barracks wounding more than 40 people and blowing much of one side off a building. the attack is beg blamed on a bask separatist group. more than 100 people were rescued after crewmen speafter

clinging to reefs. president obama talked about his own family health care to senior citizens at an aarp town hall meeting on tuesday. polls show senior citizens are among the most skeptical about overhauling the health care system. new figures show that home prices are rising slightly in major u.s. cities for the first time in almost three years, and cnbc's erin burnett is at the new york stock exchange. erin, seems to be some good news. give us some perspective. >> ann, you're absolutely right. in 15 of the 20 biggest cities in this country prizes rose in may from april but as you said, context is everything. when you compare may to a year ago, prices in this country for homes are still falling at about 17%. and it is that number that is dominating the global market trade so far this morning. stocks around the world are down sharply. in china, which is the world's second biggest market, we've seen the biggest drop in stocks since all the way last fall when the crisis began. and in the u.s., there's going to be some attention on a key economic official who said that we are going to see a painfully slow economic recovery in this country. so we'll get the latest survey of economic growth in the u.s.

at 2:00 eastern, ann, and that will be the main focus. >> erin burnett, thanks so much. one of the greatest upsets, german swimmer paul biederman beat michael phelps in the 200 meter freestyle in the world championships. it was phelps' first loss in a major international meet in four years. biederman acknowledged he had an advantage in his body suit. those suits, and even one worn by phelps was banned next year. now let's turn to matt, meredith and al. he's already talking about the rematch. >> it's a controversial loss. we want to talk more about that right now with rowdy gains covering the world swimming championships for universal sports. he's in rome. rowdy good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. >> i'm not one of these people who thinks michael phelps doesn't win every race in the world, but this suit, the one worn by beaderman, this is a real problem for the sport, isn't it?

>> well, it is, matt. only because there have been a rash of world records here. there's been 16, in fact, i say 16, because one was broken in the prelims this morning already, there were five the entire time in 2005 in the world championships, the year after the olympics. sort of the barometer you want to use. we still have five days left in the meet. it's pretty chaotic. when you think polyurethane, think rubber. it's a flotation device, and the kind that biederman n is about 80% rubber, michael's is only about 30%. doesn't sound like much. >> what does it say of all these records being broken? they're kind of useless if it's the suit that's doing the winning? >> there's two ways to look at it. obviously i should be the purist, meredith, but i like it. hey, i'm on the "today" show at 7:15! you know, i wouldn't be on this show if we weren't talking about

swimming. i think it's great. it's talking about a sport. and for people who compare it to drugs and stuff, that's just crazy. >> no, but the problem, rowdy, isn't if you're going to ban the suit next year you're setting world records that will never be achieved. it's like giving major league baseball players one season to use aluminum bats. >> that's exactly right. and that's a great comparison matt. that's the problem is they already opened pandora's box last year with the lazr and all these other suits. so it's been going on for 18 months. my dilemma is i feel, you can't go back. it's impossible to go back now. and that's where i think they're making a mistake by going back. because these world records will last for a generation. you're going to see some of these records last for 15 or 20 years, which i think will hurt the sport in the long run. >> all right, rowdy, good luck. have fun covering the games. >> thanks, buddy. >> all right. and now let's get a first check of the weather from mr. roker. you wearing one of those suits? >> underneath right now. >> going to be a world record weather forecast. >> i tell you, i don't think i'm going to take it off.

let's take a look, see what's going on and show you. wee got severe storms today from virginia beach up to hort hartford, connecticut. isolated tornado possible. look at the radar firing up. these storms are going to start from washington and virginia, work their way up. some areas picking up three to four inches of rain in the northeast. as we head out west, there's a risk from colorado springs to little rock, they may see large hail, damaging winds, as well. the radar there shows a lot of rain and one to two inches. they already have severe aes wednesday good wednesda. i'm chuck bell. it's cloudy and extremely humid outside. first thing this morning, our look over downtown washington, here's a check of live doppler. lonely sprinkles along 270 in central montgomery county. that's about it for now but we'll have more rain this afternoon. temperatures in the mid 70s right now. highs today upper 70s, low 80s. rain likely. a possibility of a strong to severe thunderstorm later this afternoon. blazing hot tomorrow.

that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al, thanks very much. now to the latest fallout from the arrest of a prominent harvard scholar. on the eve of president obama's meeting with henry louis gates jr. and his arresting officer, we're learning more about the woman who placed the initial 911 call. nbc's ron allen is in cambridge, massachusetts. ron, good morning. >> good morning to you, matt. people close to the caller say that she has been threatened and her life has been miserable since it's become known that she made the 911 call. she's especially upset about police reports and a item in the media that suggest she was racially motivated and that she called police because she thought she saw two black men breaking into the home. today she wants to set the record straight. want to say anything, ma'am? >> no. >> reporter: unless now, she's tried to avoid the spotlight. >> hopefully soon we'll be able to have some exchange of words. >> reporter: on tuesday whelan's mother spoke for her.

>> it's been too much for her. she felt so -- so worried. >> reporter: lucia whalen worked at a harvard office down the street from professor gates' home. she was on her way to lunch when a woman directed her attention to gates' front door. concerned, whalen called 911. >> me had noticed two gentlemen trying to get in the house at that number 17 ware street and they kind of had to barge in and they broke the screen door and they finally got in. >> reporter: in a police report, sergnt james crowley writes whalen observed what appeared to be two black males with back packs on the front porch. however during the 911 call she only talks about race when asked. >> were they white, black or hispanic? >> one looked kind of hispanic, but i'm not really sure. >> she wasn't concerned because of their color. she was concerned because of their behavior. >> reporter: in fact, the attorney says whalen spoke to crowley only briefly, to identify herself as the 911 caller. and did not say anything more. >> the truth was, she never

reported seeing two black men. she did call 911. she reported seeing two men. but she never once used the word black. >> reporter: tomorrow, the cambridge community's effort to make peace takes on a bit of the aura of a summit between heads of state, when president obama meets with crowley and gates over that much talked about choice of beverage >> there's no formal -- there's no formal agenda other than a cold beer. >> reporter: the three men will sit at the picnic table on the south lawn, where the president was once pictured with secretary of state hillary clinton. it's near the swingset visible from the oval office. glenn beck of fox news appearing as a guest on the network's morning program had this reaction to president obama's decision to meet with crowley and gates. >> to have a beer fest is unbelievable. >> why? >> why? >> yeah, why? >> for a teaching lesson of some sort of a -- some sort of a -- who needs to learn what here? this president, i think, has exposed himself as a guy over and over and over again who has

a deep-seated hatred for white people, or the white culture. i don't know what it is. >> you can't say he doesn't like white people, david axelrod is white, rahm emanuel his chief of staff is white. 70% of the people we see every day is white. >> i'm not saying that he doesn't like white people. i'm saying he has a probm. he has a -- this guy is, i believe, a racist. >> reporter: a senior vice president for fox news said beck was expressing his own opinions and his own views, not those of the fox news channel. and the white house had no comment. matt? >> all right, n, thanks very much. ron allen in cambridge for us this morning. michelle malcolm is a conservative columnist, blogger and author of cultural core up corruption. what's the book about? judge a book by its cover, matt. >> in that particular case i'll get to that in a second. but president obama says the gates situation is a teaching moment. what has he learned, do you

think, from this situation and the way he's handled it? >> well, i think he's a racial opportunist. and i think that he has learned that he shouldn't shoot his mouth off when he explicitly admits that he didn't know what happened. >> a racial opportunist? he hasn't gotten to where he is today by being a racial opportunist? >> i think that he took that momentused a health care conference that was a debacle, basically, and took this story, which is really just a local parochial law enforcement story, to try and ensure some sort of moment of his racial authenticity. and it backfired because, he was wrong. and he should have admitted it. and i think for a president that has offered up hope and change and new politics, it's just another example. i wouldn't say that's an example of corruption, but i think it is -- it plays into this idea that a man who has hyped himself as something different and something new is nothing but -- >> you conclude all of that based on one mistake he made in terms of a comment he made?

>> one mistake? >> this particular comment sets that entire scenario for you? >> no. i think it's clear that that was a calculated mistake. everything that this president does is kabuki theater. >> you think it was a planned question and answer? >> absolutely do. >> the way he handled it and the fallout was something he was looking for? >> i think he overestimated the power of his authenticity in america. and it's just another example of a botched failure. and that's what i filled culture of corruption with. >> sonia sotomayor was cleared this week by the senate judiciary committee lindsay graham was the only republican voting in her favor. >> yes, no surprises. fait accompli. >> after the last election, it was said the republicans need to broaden the tent, they need to reach out to minorities, reach out to hispanics. are those six no votes going to hurt republicans down the road? >> no. because they were six principled votes against racial preferences and the idea that somehow identity politics has a place in a court of law. >> why do you think lindsay graham voted in favor? >> i think lindsay graham has a

history of pandering to this idea that somehow the party should broaden itself for the sake of pandering to diversity. >> let me ask you about your book. in it, i mean clearly we know by the title where it goes. you take on michelle obama. >> i certainly do. >> in this book. you call her the first crony. >> yes, i do. >> why? because she was deep in the politics of the daily machine. her father was a patronage appointee of daly. she's beholden to the type of hardball politics that barack obama says he is against. her entire professional career was based on nepotism. and now she has brought -- >> wait, wait, wait. that's a very broad comment. her entire professional career? >> that's right. read chapter two and you will find that despite her princeton thesis where she whined and moaned about the old boy network and how she couldn't get ahead because of her skin color in fact is a farce because it was one of those old white boys who put her in that position in the first place and now this team of

chicago cronies, susan scherr, valley garrett, davidxelrod and a lot of these bundlers that obama had condemned are now instulled in both the west wing and the east wing they're ruining our economy, and i think that the book shatters the entire era of hope and change. now he has -- >> gotta go, real quick. >> but we've documented it very clearly. every inch of his administration is rife with corruption and cronyism and it's about time they looked in the mirror and admitted it. >> a lot of comments there. this is "today" on nbc. we'll be back. if we don't act, medical bills will wipe out their savings. if we don't act, she'll be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. and he won't get

the chemotherapy he needs. if we don't act, health care costs will rise 70%. and he'll have to cut benefits for his employees. but we can act. the president and congress have a plan to lower your costs and stop denials for pre-existing conditions. it's time to act. really fresh. come into your local giant today for mouthwatering fruits and vegetables, all at prices you can handle. like northwest cherries, just $1.49 a pound.

this week only at giant. you know, it's not the grill that makes a delicious, tender, perfect piece of steak. [ crowd gasps ] it's the steak. enjoy quality selections from the butchers at giant, like top round london broil just $1.79 a pound. this week only at giant. it is 104 degrees in san antonio. >> talk about hot. that's where kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb have found themselves this morning. hey, guys, nice crowd. >> hello, how are you? >> hey, everybody!

okay, actually, it's 85 degrees at what time are we now? >> i don't know. >> after 7:00 eastern time. >> san antonio time. it's an hour earlier than it is in new york. but when the sun comes up, we can't imagine what it's going to be like. >> it was 110 last week. so we're hoping around 105. >> sounds like fun. lots of cool beverages, ladies. love your hats. and we look forward to seeing you in just a little while, okay? >> all right. >> thanks, matt. >> all right. >> we'll see you riding a bull, aren't we? oh, we lost them. >> yeah. >> oh, yes, yes, yes. i am known for my big mouth but i'm sorry, this is a texas jaw breaker. everything is bigger in texas. >> okay. on that note, kathie lee, thank you. hoda we'll see you in a little bit. we're going to have a lot more from san antonio. i like it. >> welcome. >> more from new york after your local news and weather.

>> "today takes a vacation" is brought to you by expedia.com.

good morning. i'm barbara harrison. it's wednesday, july 29, 2009. the time 7:26. breaking news, an overturned tanker has stopped traffic on the beltway. let's go to jerry edwards. >> that accident happened about 30 minutes, 35 minutes ago on the beltway at van dorn. this is what it looked like. tanker overturned. we found out it's a cement tanker, not a gasoline tanker so that's good news. nevertheless, the fire department is on the scene, they have pretty much knocked down the fire but on the beltway at van dorn street both inner loop and outer loop are closed while

authorities deal with that. soon the outer loop will be released. the inner loop expect to be closed for some time. all the corridors trying to get into northern virginia, but a mess over there on the beltway at van dorn. >> you know if the driver survived? >> we don't have word on the condition of the driver as of yet. >> thank you,'l> wel be back wi we'll be back with weather in a moment. we

off to a muggy start, temperatures now already in the mid 70s.

we'll reach the low 8 with an 80% chance of more shower, some possibly strong thunderstorms later. hot, humid tomorrow and more showers possible on friday. thank you very much, chuck. tonight at 5:00 a smart phone application that will save you money when you go shopping.

7:30 now on this wednesday morning, july 29th, 2009. a hot, steamy start to the day in san antonio, as a texas crowd welcomes kathie lee and hoda to the lone star state. we have got our fair share of happy faces, as well, lining rockefeller plaza. inside studio 1a i'm meredith vieira alongside matt lauer. we're going to catch up with kathie lee and hoda in just a moment. one thing's for sure, those two have fun wherever they go. >> big welcomes, lake george, key west and now san antonio, texas. ni crowds turning out. we appreciate that. also ahead this morning, two

important medical warnings. dr. nancy will join us again to talk about new evidence that tanning beds could increase your cancer risk by as much as 75%. and she'll talk about the specific threat swine flu poses to pregnant women. also ahead, president obama planning a fine getaway next month. we're going to show you where the obama family is headed for vacation. >> but we begin in los angeles, and a senseless crime. a 17-year-old girl, murdered after being abducted as she ran an errand for her mother in broad daylight. nbc's george lewis has the chilling details. >> reporter: lily burke was a pretty, intelligent, 17-year-old with a promising future. >> she was funny, warm, kind, and empathetic. she was deeply and widely loved. lily was looking forward to going to college, to being a writer, to what was ahead. she had a really bright future and it was cut short. >> reporter: last friday, at the law school where her mother teaches, lily had picked up some

paperwork for her mom. it was about 3:00 in the afternoon, lily was approaching her car, parked on this street, when a man apparently accosted her and forced her into the vehicle with him. driving into downtown los angeles, the man had lily try to withdraw money from an atm, but her card wouldn't work. >> as far as we know, he was not armed with any conventional weapon. we don't have any indication that he had a knife or a gun. >> reporter: lily called her mother and father, saying she needed money for shoes, askin for a p.i.n. number to make the atm work. her father told her the card wasn't set up to do that. this memorial marks the spot where lily's body was found inside the car the next morning. it wasbout three miles from the place where she was abducted. friday evening, police had arrested a man named charlie samuel on drug charges. they say they later discovered his fingerprints matched those found inside lily burke's car. now he is being held without bail on murder charges. as lily's family mourns.

>> if there's anything that people can take away from this marble tragedy it's that life is fragile and that they should live every minute of it. >> reporter: for "today," george lewis, nbc news, los angeles. >> nbc news analyst clinton van sant is a former fbi profiler. good morning to you clint. >> hi, meredith. >> lily apparently made two calls to her parents during this abduction. they said they didn't sense any fear or distress in her voice. we obviously are not privy to those conversations. but you believe something called a direct code word might have helped to save lily's life. what is a direct code word and how would it have helped? >> i think so. i think this is what parents should have anywhere from a time a child is 3 or 4 or 5 all the way up through college. when my kids were young it was the word fire truck. if they heard that word fire truck, or if they used it in a certain context, that meant something was wrong. in this particular scenario, the victim could have said, well, you know, tell my sister mary

that we'll go shopping when i get home. well, she doesn't have a sister mary, so that could have been a direct code to her parents that even though my voice sounds good, there is something going on, and that's something you can carry from childhood all the way to adulthood. >> do you run the risk, clint, of scaring kids if you tell a small child to develop this code word of scaring a child? >> no, i don't think so. i think it's all done in a learning context. this is something just like we teach our children to wear a helmet or knee pads when they ride a bike. we also teach them that, you know, the world is not perfect. and there are people, just like television shows, who are bad people but your mom and dadre here to help you. one of the ways we need to do this is to think in advance, this is what we're doing with you right now. >> from surveillance tape we know that lily was forced into that car by her abductor. you have said in the past if you're in that situation, whatever you do, don't get into the car, even if there's a weapon involved, scream, run, yell, hit. why is that so important? >> well, i firmly believe, meredith, if somebody wants to

take you some place, other than where they originally confront you, that's not a robbery, that's not a kidnapping, and that should be tuble for you. so, you know, the very first thing you ought to do is carry yourself like you belong in the area, like you know what you're dog, because bad guys like vulnerable victims. number two, if you're confronted, run, yell, scream, aw attention to yourself. number three, try to outsmart your kidnapper. throw your keys at him or throw your purse on the ground and run the opposite direction. make him choose what he's going to do. number four is fight like a wildcat. don't like that guy take you. and even if he does get you in the car, meredith, there's things you can do. you can jump out the passenger door. you can -- if he's driving your car you can take your foot and jam it on his foot on the accelerator. you can grab the wheel violently and rip it. go into the front of a 7-eleven if you have to. save your life. if he's got you in the front seat, meredith, jump over into the back seat. he can't drive the car and deal with you in the back seat, then

you can climb out that back door, and if you're put in the trunk, look for the glow in the dark handle that opens the trunk or start pulling out every wire you can, knock out the taillights and stoplights so a police officer may see it, stop that car to see what's going on. >> in that moment of fear, especially with an adult like this, charlie samuel, taking a young woman like lily burke, or a teenager, a child might not even be able to think that way, they'd be so scared. >> yeah. and this is where we have to work, meredith, all of us, we have to make sure our first reaction is based on training, based on conversations with our parents, based upon schooling as adults, and not panic. the last thing we want to be is that proverbial deer in the head lights. we want to say, okay, i thought about a situation like this. real quick, a young girl i knew who was going to be kidnapped from the street, bad guy goes up and grabs her by the backpack. her mother had said if that ever happens, slip the backpack off

your arms and run. that young girl left the bad guy standing there holding the backpack as she ran down the street screaming. she got away from a guy who had murdered three children before her. >> and i know, clint, very quickly, a lot of people are asking questions today about why charlie samuel was out on the streets to begin with. this was a career criminal, right after he allegedly killed lily burke he was arrested on an unrelated charge. >> sure. yeah, we've got two situations here. we've got the financial challenges for california, where they're trying to put lesser offenders back on the street again. but realize, what got this guy arrested within 30 minutes of this crime is an active program by the lapd where they're looking for people who look like they don't belong or doing something wrong. after this guy murdered this young woman, allegedly, he's sitting on the street drinking a beer. the police come up, who are you? let me say some i.d. they find a crack pipe in his pocket. they realize he's violating parole. they put him in jail. within the next day the victim

is found, they find his fingerprints inside of her car. two and two are put together, they identify him. just think, meredith, what if they would have found that guy in that same situation 30 minutes befo he encountered the victim? programs like that are good, where police officers are out on the streets and finding out people that don't belong. ask them who they are. that's not a violation of civil rights, as far as i'm concerned. that may save my daughter or my grand daughter. >> our hearts go out to lily burke's family. very tragic, tragic event. clint van zandt, thank you so much. >> thanks, meredith. >> and now let's get another check of the weather from al. >> all right, thank you very much, meredith. as we look outside, show you what's happening. the heat continues out west. tlorddato today, datemperatures again over 105. record, an all-time record temperatures are expected. rest of the country, cooler than normal. in parts of the great lakes. central plains, slight risk of strong storms today here in the northeast. also texas, oklahoma and

arkansas and parts of louisiana, the record highs in the pacific northwest. scattered showers and thunderstorms in the southeast down into florida. but generally sunny skies. and the heat wil a good wednesday morning. i'm meteorologist chuck bell. it's cloudy and very humid this morning. we have a few lonely sprinkles in upper montgomery county and frederick county, maryland and showers in the west virginia mountains as well. temperatures in the mid 70s. 76 in town. 74 in hagerstown. 73 in manassas. 80% chance of more rain with a possibility of a strong thunderstorm later on this afternoon. very hot and humid tomorrow. more showers on friday. and get weather all day long on the home of "wake up with al" the weather channel on cable or click on weather.com online. meredith? >> al, thank you. now to two health alerts you need to know about. one on the alarming cancer risk caused by tanning beds.

the other a serious new warning about swine flu. dr. nancy synderman is back with more on both. >> hi, meredith. we'll get to tanning beds in a second. but for right now you wouldn't think in the middle of july we'd still be talking about flu. but this particular strain has already hit more than 1 million americans, and now there's new evidence that pregnant women with h1n1 flu are more at risk. the swine flu shows no sign of letting up. and with seasonal flu just around the corner, officials are gearing up for a tough fall. >> we're expecting a dual flu season where we'll probably get a seasonal flu as well as the h1n1. >> reporter: one group in particular worries health officials. pregnant women. according to a report out today, expectant moms account for about 6% of swine flu deaths in the u.s. even though they represent just 1% of the general population. >> later in a pregncy, there's, you know, less movement of the lungs, and probably more prone to infection. additionally, your immunity to

some of the viruses like the influenza virus probably goes down. >> we had our little miracle baby. >> reporter: kelly was eight months pregnant when her complications from swine flu became so severe doctors had to induce a coma to se her life. they then had to perform a c-section in order to save her baby. >> i woke up to be told that i'd missed 30 days of my life. slept through it, and i was no longer pregnant, and had the baby delivered while i was in the coma. >> if there is a new version of the h1n1 flu that's available as a vaccine, you'd have to think that pregnant women were one of the groups we want to vaccate. >> reporter: although pregnant women seem to be at greater risk, experts say the h1n1 does not discriminate. >> they were very healthy. >> reporter: in deerborn, indiana, mark and katrina macintosh's 26-year-old daughter mindy died this week of h1n1. just three weeks after her 19-year-old brother matt also died from the infection. >> it doesn't make any sense. this whole thing doesn't make any sense. i hope they get a vaccine soon.

>> reporter: now the big question, how to hdle this pandemic as we head into fall. and that's the question that will be on everyone's mind today, when the centers for disease control holds their meeting to update us on the status of h1n1. and obviously, meredith, everyone's questioning will there be vaccine? will it be on time? >> i'm asking you. do you think it will be available in the fall as they first suggested it would? >> i think it will be available in the fall. there are two hurdles. the october deadline may be tough and the saturation for americans to take it seriously will be an issue. because we will be talking about two different, separate vaccination programs. >> this controversy about tanning beds. cancer experts have moved tanning beds into the top cancer risk category. so how serious is this? >> this was a big move yesterday, and published in the journal lancet oncology linking tanning beds with the same cancer risk as plutonium and ray dan and basically saying they are not safe, and if you use them under the age of 30 as a young woman, your chance of

malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, goes up 75%. so for yaeb one who thinks oh, well, better than a suntan outside i'll go to a tanning bed, experts are saying not so fast. >> use makeup instead? >> exactly. >> dr. nancy, thank you so much. still to come, kathie lee and hoda take san antonio by storm. but up next where the obamas are headed on their vacation. right after this.

we're back at 7:46. as you know, all this week, "today" is taking a vacation. but where do you go to relax if you're the leaderf the free world? today national correspondent amy robach is here with that answer.

amy, good morning to you. >> matt, good morning to you. you don' wt to be known as a flip-flopper in shington. but, president obama and the first family will need flip-flops when they take a vacation next month. as president of the united states, you get to vacation pretty much wherever you want. but when you grew up in hawaii, not exactly a shabby vacation destination, where do you go to get away from all this? >> it's time to scrap this bill. >> this president has no one else to blame. >> reporter: the white house says the obamas will be spending the last week of august on martha's vineyard. >> i think it's going to be one of the most exciting things to hit the island in a long time. >> reporter: carl and his family have been vacationing on martha's vineyard for generations. >> i'm thrilled, as i think a lot of folks here on the island are. and excited. >> reporter: presidents have vacationed on the island off the coast of massachusetts before. bill and hillary clinton spent time there.

so did, that's right, ulysses s. grant. now it's the obamas who will be tapping into an island which also has a rich history as a summer haven for african-americans. for centuries the town of oak bluff has been considered a center of black culture. martin luther king wrote and swam there. >> would it cuff nice to say that the oprah winfreys of the world or spike lees, the levar burtons, branten mar mar s&l otherwise us off the wld have good sense? >> reporter: but the obamas may not be staying in oak bluffs. vineyard veterans are reporting the obamas will stay at the 28 acre blue heron farm. similar places ran for between $35,000 and $50,000 a week. reportedly, the obamas are treating this as a standard vineyard summer rental from payment terms down to questions about bringing the family dog. of course, that's assuming your standard summer rental includes

dozens of staff and secret service going along with you. but after six months of this -- who could blame the president if he's looking forward to just a little bit of this? and in case you're wondering, the first dog bo is expected to head to martha's vineyard, as well. >> he better be on his best behavior. >> he better. >> all right, amy, thanks very much. still ahead, why more women are ildrch inen afvodi rcildren in a divorce. and how harshly they're being judged because of that. but first these messages. n

still ahead, kathie lee and hoda's vacation in san antonio. guys, what's coming up? >> oh, well we're here in texas

because of our intellectual curiosity. >> yeah. we have to try this in the morning. >> we want to snow why it's called the lone star state. >> and we took a trip on a dude ranch, saddled up, got on horses. we did lassoing. it was frightening. >> for a lot of people. okay. we look forward to it, ladies. we'll see you in a couple of minutes.

good morning everyone. i'm barbara harrison. it's wednesday, july 29, 2009. the time right now is 7:56. we have breaking news. on the beltway at this hour an huerturned tanker is causing uts m o huge mess out there. let's go straight to jerry edwards for news on this. what's happenin >> good morning. let me show you live pictures, this occurred about one hour ago now on the beltway, this is the inner loop of the beltway between telegraph and van dorn street. it is a tanker carrying a load of cement. not a gasoline tanker, fortunately. it did catch fire. authorities are holding up inner

loop traffic. they are taking folks off the inner loop onto telegraph road. that's backing up traffic coming over the wilson bridge. outer loop, couple of lanes are getting by but we're seeing significant delays. this is going to be a project that's going to take time to get cleaned up and get the lanes reopened so you want to, if you can, avoid that stretch of the capital beltway. >> it is a mess out there. thank you, jerry.

not a lot of activity. you read the news. and yet, some people need to sell and other people want to buy. this is a moment of challenge and opportunity. fortunately, re/max agents have the experience to help you meet the one and recognize the other. thanks. because the future's counting on us. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. ♪ ♪ mmm! ♪ and i would do anything for love ♪ a.1.akt es mealoaf sing. m a good wednesday morning to you.

i'm meteorologist chuck bell. we're off to a cloudy start in the washington area. live over ronald reagan washington national airport, folks saying we can't take the humidity for one more day. we have sprinkles moving across portions of montgomery county and howard county and a few more showers out in the shenandoah valley. more rain is in the forecast for later on in the afternoon. temperatures in the mid 70s now, will climb into the low 80s but more rain showers with embedded thunderstorms e coming later on today. some of those could be strong to severe so we'll keep you posted. steamy one tomorrow and more showers on friday. barbara? >> thank you. tonight on "news 4 at 5:00" a smart phone application that will save you money when you go shopping.

good to see you. >> how are you? >> we are back now, just decided to cross in front of the camera. 8:00 on a wednesday morning. it's the 29th day of july, 2009. we've got a very nice, very warm and sticky crowd gathered outside on the plaza. this is one of those real damp days. >> and then we've got big storms moving into the northeast later today. >> we're going to be careful about that. in the background, you hear the

music? that is our way of reminding you friday morning right here on the plaza, we've got them live in concert in our 8:30 half hour. great show, come on down and check it out. i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira, al roker. coming up in this half hour you're going to be talking about what boils down to be a very difficult decision for divorcing parents. >> who gets custody of the kids. and more and more you're seeing women are choosing to give up primary custody. when a man does it, that's considered okay. when a woman does it, many people think it's abandonment. we'll get into that whole debate. >> also ahead. >> of course our good pals, kathie lee and hoda, they have two-stepped down to texas, san antonio. and i understand part of their vacation is a visit to a dude ranch. kathie lee and dudes. look at her. >> i think she's running for office! >> okay. there you go. well, we'll see how it all turns

out, along with the river walk there in san antonio. nice crowd. >> a pretty place. >> it's very, very nice. >> first we're going to take a look at the top stories. ann curry is standing by at the news desk. >> thanks a lot, meredith. in the news, a new warning this morning about the effects of the swine flu on pregnant women. researchers at the centers for disease control say that pregnant women who catch swine flu are at least four times as likely to be hospitalized and have a higher risk of complications, including death, as others with the virus. this research indicates pregnant women suspected of having swine flu should be treated with tamiflu as soon as possible. president obama pitched his health care reform again today at town hall meetings in north carolina and virginia. congressional lawmakers worked through the night in washington trying to hammer out some of the details of a health care compromise. today defense secretary robert gates visited northern iraq and said there is a chance of what he called a lot of acceleration of the pace of withdrawing u.s. troops from iraq. all u.s. troops are scheduled to

be out of iraq by the end of 2011. a land slide forced a passenger train off the tracks in southern china, killing at least four people and injuring some 50 others. officials in texas are trying to figure out why balls of sticky tar are washing along shore along a 15 mile stretch of beaches. a massive cleanup is now under way and is expected to take several days. meanwhile, a new report out today on the nation's beaches finds that many of them are polluted. the study finds that 7% of water samples taken last year violated health standards. the most polluted beaches were in louisiana, ohio, and indiana. and if you want details on how 200 of the nation's most popular beaches fared in the steady, you should go to our website at todayshow.com. and a celebration honoring peru's independence turned frightening on tuesday when a cannon misfired during a military gun salute outside the presidential palace. the cannon blew out windows of a nearby building and seriously injured a young guard.

now here's brianan williams with what's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." hey, brian. >> hey, ann, good morning. and thanks. a lot going on right now. where do the people stand on everything? the president, health care, congress, and more. well, tonight on "nightly news," we debut our newest poll, the nbc news poll right here when we see you tonight. ann, for now, back to you. >> okay, brian, thanks. it is now 8:03. let's go back outside to meredith and al. >> you're from south carolina. you're used to this weather. >> yeah. >> her first trip to new york. >> congratulations. good to have you here. mr. roker, how long is the heat and humidity going to lavps? >> at least a day. the guy behind you in a cowboy hat, lenny, today is his birthday? >> happy birthday! ♪ happy birthday to you ♪ happy birthday you >> come on! ♪ happy birthday dear lenny happy birthday to you ♪

>> all right. yeah! very nice. happy birthday, lenny. okay. your first wedding anniversary. where are you from? >> cincinnati, ohio. >> and your names? >> brian and denise. >> happy anniversary. let's check your weather, see what's happening. pick city today just happens to be las vegas, nevada. nbc 3, of course, with amy robach and natalie morales will be tomorrow, for "today takes a vacation." 107 there today. looking ahead to the weekend, western half of the country sizzling, hot. saturday, showers and thunderstorms through the gulf coast. sunny and mild in the northeast. then on sunday -- sunday! -- warm weather in the northeast and new england. risk of strong storms up in the ohio river valley. gulf coast looking a good wednesday morning. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. off to a steamy start. here's your check of radar over the last hour. you can see areas of light rain

showers and sprinkles lifting from southwest to northeast across the area. lonely raindrops in frederick, maryland and portions of montgomery and howard counties, and raindrops in the district as well. temperatures in the middle and upper 70s already even with the cloud cover out there. highs today in the low 80s. more organized rain showers and thunderstorms possible later on this afternoon. what's your name? >> morgan. >> morgan, you're 16 today? >> yes, i am. >> happy birthday. >> you said you've never been kissed. you want matt to be your first? mr. lauer? >> that has lawsuit written all over it, al. all right? but thank you for setting me up. happy birthday to morgan. >> thank you. >> happy sweet 16. coming up next, as we change the subject, deep in the heart of texas, kathie lee and hoda down there. they're going to be joined by leon womack for a performance. but up next, women who give up primary custody of their

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divorce is dive cut, especially when children are involved. ordinarily the woman would get primary custody and the man would get a few weekends a month. but that trend is changing. "today" national correspondent natalie morales has more. >> meredith, that's right. lately, more and more moms are giving up custody of their kids. but unlike men, they're being judged harshly for that decision. like many young girls, maria houston had dreamed of growing up to be a mom. >> my idea of what that looked like was very much what my parents lived, which was the stay-at-home mom and the go-to-work dad. i think that was the only image i had of what a family looked like. >> reporter: at age 20, she married the first boy she ever dated and started a family soon after, having four children. severa years later, maria's childhood dream began to unravel when her oldest daughter became ill. >> hannah was diagnosed with cancer a month before her 3rd

birthday and she died almostological a year later, a month before her 4th birthday. >> reporter: the tragedy, combined with years of a marriage that was already struggling, led to divorce and the painful custody discussion wasn't what maria expected. >> when claude first suggested to me that he would like to be the parent that stayed in the home and provided the kind of stability and routine that our children were familiar with, my first reaction was, i was horrified. >> reporter: horrified until she woke up one night with a realization. >> the thing i was afraid of is what other people would think. what kind of mother leaves her kids? >> reporter: so maria did what she thought was absolutely best for her children, and she moved out of the family home. her kids would live with her every other weekend, and summers. and she was right. her unconventional decision was judged. harshly. she remembers her first night visiting her kids' school. >> i walked through the crowd of

people, the conversation stopped. and then i could hear, you know, as i passed, it would pick up again. it was like this zone of silence. as i walked into the room and found my seat. >> reporter: cld and family sigh kogs dr. charles sophie feels this double standard for women is uncalled for. >> i think it's a wonderful thing for wen toay my partner or my husband may be better at this than me. and there's nothing wrong with that. >> reporter: now, 11 years later, maria is every bit a part of her children's lives. and she still feels her difficult choice was the right one for her family. >> i do think that our children have blossomed and grown beautifully into the lives that they're living now. i hope that the decisions we made were a part of that. >> reporter: and one thing is for certain, it's a difficult and painful decision for either sex. and while fathers are making inroads, mothers still win custody in roughly 70% of divorce cases.

meredith? >> natalie, thank you. rebecca sagullia is a mother who gave up custody for her son. judith sills is a clinical psychologist, and editor in chief of marie claire magazine covers this topic in its current issue. rebecca, if i can start with you. listening to maria that must ring a lot of bells with you, too. i know you had some similar experiences. you gave up custody of your son during the divorce. he's now 11 years old. what convinced you, given everything we know about the way women are judged, what convinced you that was the right thing for you to do? >> well, i think that the important thing to remember is that child custody decisions are very complex. and every family situation is different. and for me, i made the best decision that i cld in the best interest of my son. and as parents that's what we have to do. it makes parenting the hardest job possible. >> so was it hard to deal with it, not only privately, but also when peers or colleagues had

asked you about the whole issue? >> absolutely. i mean, i agree with maria. i found telling people that i was a noncustodial mom, i found it to be a conversation stopper. for a long time i didn't really feel comfortable talking about it. but, now the more i talk about it, the more i find that people's eyes are open to the reality, which is that over 2 million noncustodial moms are in america right now, and it's definitely increasing. primarily because people are recognizing that fathers can be amazing primary caregivers and that we shouldn't sell them short. >> judith, i think so many people, and i would bet the majority, more women than men, look at somebody like rebecca and are quick to judge and say, how can you leave your kids? there is a double standard. >> well, for sure. and women are quick toudge other women, as mothers, even if they go to the office. so you can imagine giving up custody. but it comes from a very serious emotional place. we have deeply held social feeling, the mother/child bond is sacred, and good moms protect

and nurture their children. therefore, something must be wrong with you. the fact is some good moms can protect their children best by recognizing someone else is the better parent. maybe at this moment. maybe they're emotionally overwhelmed. maybe to get financially on their feet. maybe because in a divorce, mom is desperate to leave the house but she knows the kids need stability. that is the ability to make a rational, individual decision against a social prize. >> i imagine evenhough you can make that rational decision there must have been moments that tugged at your heartstrings here. >> absolutely. i remember one incident in particular, where i was trying to be listed on my son's emergency card at school. i just wanted to be able to be notified in the case of an emergency. and even though i'm legally entitled to it because i have legal custody of my son, and even thoug it was supported by his father and the principal of

the school, i actually experienced a great deal of hostility from the vice principal. >> a what about your relationship with your own son? you live 3,000 miles apart. different coastlines. >> well, we have a great relationship. he has been school vacations with me. he's here during the summer and on christmas break. and we also communicate all the time. we call, we text. we have a very active communication. >>o you feel the whole family is comfortable with the decision that was made? >> absolutely. i mean, our story is not a sad one. it's a story of a happy family that makes it work. >> joanna, what kind of response have you gotten to this article? >> we've got a phenomenal response, actually. for the most part everybody being very pleased to finally read these stories. i think this is a story that has been gradually creeping up. it'sincreasingly a trend, especially as society becomes less judgmental of men, want to step into that role. we've had a few people who are just like, i'll never understand it. it's insane. what kind of mother is doing

this? but i think it was very important to lift the taboo on it. and to say these are real stories, they happen to real people, and the children are just fine. >> but, this issue ofhe children are just fine, sometimes makes the question of divorce a small one, or a soft one. there is an issue whether the father leaves, or the mother leaves, the issue is what is the relationship between these kids and the parent they're living with, and the parent who's apart? from the social point of view, women are judged harshly. from a kid's point of view, if dad's gone or mom's gone, i react to that. >> all right, thank you very much. rebecca, thank you so much for joining us. and up next, it's back to texas where hoda and kathie lee get to play cowgirls on a real dude ranch. wow, sweet minivan! ( revs engine ) ha ha! whoo! ( thunderclap ) that's a minivané to you!

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yep, you got it, we're back on day three of "today takes a vacation." kathie lee and hoda are taking in the sights, the sounds, and the cowboy culture of texas. hi, ladies. how you doing? >> howdy, howdy, matt. >> you've all heard of what a dude is, right? well apparently it's cowboys gave out that term to visitors who visited their ranches. and that's what we did. >> so officially that makes us dudes. don't ask. we spent some time on a dude ranch. so let's take a look. ♪ >> so hot.

>> welcome to the dixie dude ranch. now that you're here, it's time to go to work. >> work? >> kathie i'd like for you to meet your designated cowboy, mr. joe henderson. >> name that tune. >> thank you so much. that was just a few years o. >> and miss hoda, i'd like for you to meet d.c. >> you are a mighty fancy lady. >> oh, thank you. >> but i've got news for you. >> what? >> we're going to work the fancy right out of you. >> uh-oh. oh, no. >> let's go to work. ♪ our first chore this morning is to get your horses saddled. >> okay. >> you going to show us how to saddle up? >> well, if tornado will behave

for you. hold, son. set up there. come on -- >> oh, i got it, i got it. one, two, three. >> there you go. there you go. >> whoo! >> all right! >> tell you what, kathie, let me carry this over there for you. >> oh, thank you so much. >> what? >> why aren't you carrying your own stuff? >> i've got joe. and you don't. >> don't want to break out into a sweat or anything. >> that's right. i like the little purse on the side. that is adorable. >> i'll get that for you, kathie. >> you're going to have to rename this dude ranch. to dude ranch and spa. watch this, hoda and see how it's done. >> okay. >> put your left foot. that was easy, wasn't it? >> yee-haw! that was so easy. >> it was a cinch. >> there you go! >> i'm sorry, tornado. i'm sorry. >> yee-haw!

♪ oh, what a beautiful morning how you doing, hoda woman? >> i'm okay. >> just okay. >> just okay. you're not on tornado. you're on -- ♪ i've got a beautiful feeling >> fine city slickers. >> slow down, d.c. >> a little closer, yeah. >> not that close. not that close. >> okay. >> whip it. >> hold on a sec. >> good girl. good girl. >> yeah, hoda! >> whoo! >> good job. >> i got an ear. >> that's a horn. >> that's what i said. ♪ ♪

>> oh. this reminds me of cody. >> come and get it! >> what's for lunch? >> what do you think? beans is for lunch. but y'all are here to help me fix it. >> what? >> yeah. >> no, we're here to eat. >> no, no, no, you're going to serve beans and you're going to help me wash up those pots. >> it's soapy water. whatever will i do? >> i don't know. jump on in there. >> how am i doing? >> oh, man, you're doing great. >> have we worked hard enough? can we eat now? >> yes, ma'am. >> bring on the beans. >> oh. look at it! >> you know what, hoda woman? >> hmm? >> we could get used to a life like this. >> mm-hmm. >> beautiful place. great people. awesome food. yeah, we could. >> mm-hmm. >> y'all come back, you hear?

you get all the boys in town running after you. >> you may get your stud yet. >> oh. >> and 8:26 we're following breaking news on the beltway. an over turned tanker is making for a long and rough commute. jerry, what's the status? >> the accident overturned truck carrying cement, so it wasn't a gasoline tanker, occurred on the beltway near van dorn street. as it stands authorities pretty much blocked after the inner loop. some traffic is getting by on the outer loop but the bottom line, if you can avoid this stretch of the capital beltway for the timing it would be to your advantage. we're looking at delays back in prince george's county at the woodrow wilson bridge. tracy is live on the scene with

details of how ts is going. trac >> reporter: good morning, jerry. we're on the northbound side of 495, the accident happened in the southbound side. here on the scene i can tell you they are trying to get the tanker on the pickup and move it off the road so once in a while they are closing down the southbound lanes completely. by and large they are letting one lane get by and about two lanes are getting by on the northbound side of the scene. live in alexandria, back to you all in the studio. tracy,tracy, thank you. weather is up next. stay with us. w7?ó nk

a good wednesday morning.

temperatures in the mid to upper 70s now, high today 83 but more rain and strong thunderstorms possible this afternoon. barbara? >> i'll take it from here, chuck. tonight at 5:00 a smart phone application that will save you money when you go shopping. back to the "today" show. 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.

of every eligible associate's salary to their 401(k) andge profit sharing plan. ...even if the associate didn't contribute a dime... ...making good jobs even better. save money. live etr.tewalmart. ♪ 8:30 now on this wednesday morning, you'll 29th, 2009. we're enjoying the music of the bells of america mariachi band and traditional mexican band

from the dance company from san antonio, texas. okay let's see, ann and i were dazzled, you just returned from key west. >> you were dazzled. we just returned? >> now kathie lee and hoda are two-stepping in texas, where everything is bier. we're going to check in with them in a moment. >> and it's not over. tomorrow, natalie and amy are going to broadcast live from vegas, baby, vegas. as "today takes a vacation" continues. that should be a lot of fun. >> lots of fun. >> meanwhile coming up here, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, or pasta, or cheesecake. we're going to show you how easy it is coming up in just little bit. >> and we've got our money 911, because sometimes life has been giving a lot of people lemons. we're going to help some people out with some advice. >> i love these shoes. >> they're ridiculous. >> they are fantastic shoes. >> they e ridiculous. >> they're kind of like the shoes jessica rabbit would wear. i'm not bad, i'm just drawn that

way. i like them. >> see what else is going on? >> and we've just got to show this -- >> luna. >> she is beautiful. a good wednesday morning to you. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. it's a steamy morning in washington. cloudy skies overhead, light rain as well. here idoppler. over the last hour sprinkles moving into northern maryland and the panhandle of west virginia. 77 degrees here downtown. 77 also in annapolis and in hagerstown. 75 in fairfax county. rain and possibly a strong thunderstorm this afternoon. hot and steamy tomorrow. that's your latest weather. now let's head on down to washington, d.c. and say hello to willie scott. how are you, dude? >> you're truly a san antonio rose.

one of my favorite songs. that's fun. we did the "today" show there years ago. my god, what fun we had. what good food. happy birthday from fngead os, g r' speaking of good food. yo slfgeseur a couple of somed nho strawberry jomnam strawberry jam on them and g veu've a .meal thruk,arcl oridfla, orfla,id 110! getting older every day here. former housewife, enjoys singing in the church choir. a, and we love her. happbi.rtayhd suilo nouis pleasant, p anas garden, cart.na way up in a nthar a fthors ive . ratths far aorth as i ever wanto ar.be 100 years old today. retired farmer, entertained eom h once.m a.eorge bevereom hh god everomeo peod everearth.hi h.eart eaand leonard obermeyer, kalamazoo, michigan. world war ii vet, worked on b-25 planes where he found a bagf o over 200yne l oy one of the rosie tethe iv rs.

re mau yomember her.u hat rtha baak, akn,ro ohio. home of the balloon. 104 years old. at o h tgin aav hgin an-awinso.-l aw-lwh. what a lovely th , -l.nt atis, a fnnkli dan franklin s an san yefod olia, rn0 10s , ar today.d o say can you see. secret to longevity i his loving wife, helena. i thin that's n aice e,ons too.. er theswh s.bls. where's the music? rehecu te peta. we have rc sojack jackson. ouul all hum around here? i'm missings music. newport, arkansas. 100. known by all as nani. that's it, that's all. now back to meredith in san antonio. >> thank you very much, willard. i'm actually here in new york. coming up next, how to turn lemons into lemonade.

we're back at 8:36. this morning on "today's kitchen," we're back to basics. we're talking about lemons. they provide one of the great flavors, used in all kinds of cooking, and donatella knows the secret of this colorful citrus. donatella, good morning. >> you make it sound so exciting. >> it is exciting. they really can add to a recipe. >> i know. d they're gorgeous. and there are 100 different things you can do with them. you don't have to just make lemonade. >> most people think there are lemons and lemons. you've got a meyer lemon. >> yeah, these are the best. these are regular lemons. there's nothing wrong with them. but these are from china. they're gorgeous. they're a combination of mandarin orange and a lemon. they have a thin skin. >> taste it? >> it's sweeter. it's less acid and the skin is actually edible. >> you've got some great little gadgets to get the most out of

lemons. walk me throug the. >> juicing your lemon, all you have to know is keep it at room temperature, give it a little roll and then squeeze. i don't like all these fancy things. i don't know what's going on. i like this. i like this. that's it. >> and thenesting a lemon. when you're making a recipe, what does the zest of a lemon add that lemon juice does not add? >> lemon juice is acid. the zest brings on a sweetness, all these other flavors and it actually acts as like a flavor enhancer. brings out other flavors in the food. >> you have to be careful to use only the yellow part of the zest, because the white is bitter? >> that's right. go for smaller lemons. if you have meyer. go for meyer. less bitter. >> we're going to make a pasta recipe with some ricotta cheese and lemon zest. how do we get started? >> you have really good, fine quality ricotta cheese. a half a cup of parmesan. this is such an easy recipe. we have our lemon zest. >> how much is too much? because it does add a lot of flavor. >> it is. but it's finely grated and it's

a little subtle. you can always add in more later. salt and pepper. >> okay. >> a little salt? >> yes, please. >> obviously we already have the water boiling, a lot of salt, a lot of water. you've got to make the pasta dance a little. >> okay, fine. >> you mix this up. >> get that going. you're going to take this and take the pasta out of here a add it with still some of the liquid from the pot into the pan? >> exactly. it's one of my tricks. now it is such good quality ricotta. >> that it's really sticky and gooey. >> there's not a lot of water in it. but you can always add just a little lemon juice to the mixture >> we're going to move this along. put that in the pan first? >> no, the pasta. you ready? >> sure. out like this? >> yeah. >> right in. we didn't even saute. >> i'm just going to start to put a lot in here. i promise i won't burn you, promise. >> i'm getting a facial. >> there you go. >> that's pretty good. >> let's pretend we have it all in there. >> let's pretend.

you have the perfect cream sauce. that's it. this is like a no-cook sauce. >> you just toss it around? and it coats the pasta evenly? >> yep. >> can we plate that -- it's not really platable right now. let's just pretend that is completely finish it. we garnish it with a little herbs, some parmesan. i want to get to something else. turn it off so we don't burn it. you're making lemonade now, my problem always either too sweet or too tart. >> absolutely. the big secret to lemonade is simple syrup. otherwise sugar goes to the bottom. simple syrup, sugar, hot water, dissolve. and if the lemonade is too sweet, add a little straight lemon juice into it. the great thing about acid. >> you also made a cheese cake? >> this is my ricotta cheese cake. the beauty about this cheese cake is you make it in a pot. we have an american classic. we have an italian classic. all from lemons. isn't it good? >> this needs to be baked, though. >> how long? >> about an hour. but you really make it in a pot.

it's about blending in a pot. you bake it. you dust it with sugar. >> it's really light and delicious. donatel donatella, thanks. good recipes for lemons. we appreciate it. up next, more with kathie lee and hoda, live from san antonio, texas. "today" continues to take a vacation. first, this is "today" on nbc. if we don't act, medical bills will wipe out their savings. if we don't act, she'll be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. and he won'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. connie loves target for its incredible deals. and with her daughter starting middle school tomorrow, connie's got some high expectations. she expects look 11 might be the one.

she expects look 17 might be the one. so she shops target. where they've always got her back for back to school. target. expect more. pay less.

it's day three of "today takes a vacation" and kathie lee and hoda have taken over san antonio, texas. hey, guys. >> hey, meredith. with the cowboy influence in music history, some people consider texas part of the south, others think it's part of the southwest. considering its mexican influence. >> but ask the locals and they will tell you the culture here is so unique, just consider it texas. ♪ >> reporter: where the old west meets glitz and glam, that's where you'll find texas.

in a state large enough to hold all of new england, new york, pennsylvania, ohio, and illinois, bigger is definitely better. this state holds three of the country's top ten largest cities. dallas' motto, live large, think big. and they mean it. >> look at my hat. >> reporter: big homes, big bank accounts, -- ♪ they've got big hair dowin texas ♪ >> reporter: b hair. >> it matters, you know, for people to look at it. >> reporter: texas is the biggest producer of oil, cattle, and cotton. it's a state with a big bravado. some think folks here have a certain swagger, a mind-set all their own. >> what always strikes me is that every generation produces another set of texans who have a love for the grand gesture. who have a love of drawing attention to themselves. and who have this weird lust for life.

willie nelson, lbj, ann richards, who are full of wit and love to bask in the attention. and you can't help but find these people addictive. >> reporter: it's a state big enough to hold two ranch-loving ex-presidents, 41 and 43. if you want a taste of what really sets texas apart -- >> got to be the western way of life. >> reporter: you might hit up billy bob's texas in fort worth. it is the world's biggest honky tank. >> we welcome people with open arms. >> reporter: texas even has a language all its own. >> howdy, how y'all doing? smile for the camera. >> reporter: if you seek a higher calling you might spend your sundays at the preston woods baptist mega church in dallas. it houses 28,000 congregants and is home to the biggest choir in texas. >> we like to say it's not a big church, it's a small town. >> reporter: in fact some texans

think their state is so unique it could be its own country. in a recent poll 30% feel they have the right to secede. something governor rick perry himself said was an option. some believe it was nothing more than a political stunt. >> laugh at that if you wish, but it resonates. >> reporter: today, texas is more than its own big cliche. most of the 24 million texans have long since traded their ranches for suburbs and cities. and the state's most famous billionaire oil mn t. boone pickens has a plan for people to use wind, not oil. but in this larger than life state, while some things change, others remain the same. >> the fact is those country western bars are still packed. ople flock in to eat barby, ots. you want to get attached in some way to this ideal of being a texan. >> and we got you guys some nice little gifts.

>> yeah? >> yes, we did. >> we are going to start with matt, okay. >> who is hotter than matt? >> thank you. >> thank you. >> a lot of people. >> we got you these habanero hot peppers. we saw you with al and saw how al defeated you handily in key west. >> so this is to practice with. >> i could use them. thank you very much. >> then we didn't forget al. >> we got something for al. >>l loves to cook. and i think this is -- >> a pepper grinder. >> they do everything big in texas. >> and meredith, meredith we found something delicate for you. it's a little tiny charm bracelet, and the charm on the bottom is an armadillo. with an "a" on the end, armadilla. >> which happens to be the state mammal. >> and for ann, for ann we have something called a charo, lame, right? >> oh, wow.

>> and we didn't forget one other person. hold on, we didn't forget jim bill because we are kissing -- >> oh, you know. >> this is "today" in texas. it was -- >> our friend melissa who has been outfitting us for all of this, she's got a great store called the gunslinger and she had this made up for us. we're going to bring it home to jim bell our producer. >> that's nice of you guys. thanks so much. >> even though you didn't think of us and didn't send us anything. >> we have stuff. we've got a shell. we've got a shell treasure chest and an extra flatulence pen. >> they have big autographs in texas. big autographs. >> okay. >> this is a very pleasant experience. >> it was. >> still is. >> all right, thank you guys very much. >> see you in a little while. >> very nice of them to think of us. >> much more ahead from san antonio and new york. first, this is "today" on nbc.

the toyota concert series on today, brought to you by toyota. toyota, moving forward. >> it simply would not be a trip to texas without some great country music.

hoda and kathie lee have a special guest lined up to thrill the crowd down there. ladies? >> hey, matt. >> hey, matt. >> we're so excited toe with leann womack. >> she was just in new york recently when your new album came out. she is hotter than -- >> how have we been doing in texas so far? we're trying to get our texas on. >> you're doing great. i love the look. >> you're born and raised here, right? >> yeah. in east texas. >> this new album. would kill for these kinds of reviews. somebody said you sing with the purity ofolly parton and the emotional heft 6 tommy wynette. come on. >> is that because you took the time with this thing? you disappear for three years, you didn't like what was coming out of you in the studio and said i'm going to start all over again and wait until it's right? >> yeah. you know what? just growing up listening to all that stuff, it just became such a big part of me and everything i do, musically i think about that sort of thing. >> are we going to have to wait another three years? >> probably not.

>> child or tv? >> you won't have to wait three more years. >> we're going to do san antonio rose. >> okay. >> special for the people here in san antonio. here she is, leann womack. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ >> lee ann womack. and we will be back after your local news.

8:56 now. we're following breaking news on the beltway. a fiery accident ivinvolng an overturned tanker on the inner loop near van dorn street is creating a nightmare commute fov drivers. nly one person was ied the multivehicle accident. that person is expected to be okay. but this mess is not expected to get cleared up for quite a while. let's go to jerry for more. >> yeah, it was quite the mess and still is. progress is being made but show you some live pictures right now at the capital beltway on the outer and inner loop it's a nightmare. the inner loop some traffic is getting by. outer loop a couple of lanes getting by but we're strongly recommending certainly you want to stay away from both directions around van dorn street, telegraph road. the alternates to the south, franconia road and that combination is jammed. route 1, telegraph road, everything is crawling so if you can stay away, good idea.

>> jerry, weather is a sticky situation, too that's up next.

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the clouds and on the radar we have light showers and sprinkles now moving mainly in northern maryland and in the panhandle of west virginia. sprinkles getting ready to move into winchester and front royal and martinsburg, hagerstown you're next. sprinkles across howard and baltimore counties in maryland as well. temperatures are steamy and muggy, 77 downtown, 77 at annapolis, our highs only up in the low 80s. 80% of more rain, maybe a strong thunderstorm later on today. then super hot and sticky tomorrow. back down to the studio. >> tonight at 5:00 a smart phone application that will save you money when you go shopping. another news update coming up in 25 minutes. see you then. the distance from the field to your table just got shorter. because at safeway, there's always... freshly picked produce at great prices. it's 100% guaranteed to be fresh and ripe, every time. so hurry in for delicious goodness, all right down the street. that's ingredients for life.

that's safeway. right now, get sweet blueberries -- just 99¢ a pint with your club card. safeway just lowered the price of summer. we're back with more of "today" on a wednesday morning, 29th day of july, 2009, and no, that's not the crowd at rockefeller plaza. that's what it looks like down in san antonio, texas, this morning. hoda and kathie lee are there for day three of "today takes a vacation." they've been having all kinds of fun. with members of the military and folks from san antonio. first of all, report out on the plaza i'm matt lauer along with natalie morales and al roker.

remember earlier in the show, hoda and kathie lee were saying it was about 85 degrees there in the dark. >> right. >> so let's find out how it's cooking there now. ladies, what's the temperature like? >> we're so blessed today. >> we have an overcast sky. >> overcast. it's only in the high 80s. >> we've got the air force going by us. >> they say it could get up in the 100s later this afternoon when we're on the plane home. >> the air force is in a boat. i like that. >> yes. >> it's really nice. >> they're confused. >> what do you have there in front of you? >> oh, we're going to show you, like these really upscale boots. these are $12,000 a pair. >> what? >> luccheses. we didn't buy them, we're just showing them. >> and can i tell you something? they only make 125 pairs of these. so they have coveted. >> what number is that? >> they come in their own carrying case. >> this is made out of crock

dale or something? >> rattlesnake i think. no, i don't know! they are beautiful things. they are. and there's also a -- the store here is all mexican products and stuff, and we're going to talk to you about that in a little bit. we're going to take a tour of san antonio. >> i love these boats that keep going by us in the background. just another day in san antonio, texas. >> oh, look, colonel sanders. >> all right, ladies. we'll see you in a second. >> all right. and talking about investing. some peopl invest in those boots, others may look at more conventional investments. it's "today's money 911." we've got our panel of experts answering your questions about credit card limits. how to cope with post-divorce problems, and how to stop bad 13e7bding habits. all that coming up. >> plus also the new website that promises to bring you only the truth about celebrities. >> ah. >> see if they can live up to that promise. before we go any further, let's go inside, only the truth in the headlines and ann curry standing by at the news desk. >> you bet. that's our aim. thanks so much, matt.

good morning once again, everybody. in the news federal health officials confirm that pregnant women with swine flu have a much higher risk of serious complications and death. they say that pregnant women who think they are infected should seek immediate treatment with antiviral drugs. today officials at the centers for disease control are assessing who should be first in line for any new swine flu vaccines. a warning this morning for tanning bed users. the world health organization has put tanning beds into the top category for cancer risk saying the ultraviolet radiation is as deadly as arsenic and mustard gas. and researchers found that people who start using tanning beds before the age of 30 increase their chances of getting cancer by 75%. president obama takes his push for health care reform to a town hall meetings in north carolina and virginia today. one day after fielding questions from seniors at aarp headquarters in washington. the coast guard is holding out little hope of finding more survivors from a boat full of haitian migrants that sank near the turks and caicos islands.

118 people were rescued and 15 bodies have been recovered, and as many as 70 people are still missing. more than 40 people were wounded today when a car bomb damaged a police barracks in northern spain. authorities blame a basque separatist movement. this morning, defense secretary robert gates said that some american troops in iraq may be able to come home ahead of schedule. all u.s. troops are scheduled to be out of iraq by the end of 2011. microsoft and yahoo! are joining forces in an internet search partnership, a direct challenge to online search leader google. the ten-year deal announced today allows microsoft to use its upgraded bing search engine to take over yahoo!'s search responsibilities. extreme heat will keep a scorching grip on much of the pacific northwest today. triple digit temperatures set records today on -- rather on tuesday in portland, oregon, and sent people to pools to beat the heat. in japan on tuesday, two elephants from a zoo near tokyo

stayed cool with a day at the beach. they enjoyed the sand, and snacked on carrots and bananas, and came with their swimming trunks ready to go. there they go. it is now four minutes past the hour. let's go back outside to matt. >> all right, ann, thank you very much. get a check on the summer heat from mr. roker down the other side of the plaza. >> we don't want to talk too loud. >> this is matthew. >> where are you from? >> denver. >> and how old is he? >> 3 months. >> i feel like i'm johnny miller doing the golf. only i know what i'm talking about. let's take a look, show you on as far as your weather is concerned. severe storms from g hartford, connecticut down to virginia beach. damaging winds, isolated tornadoes possible. look at the radar. things already firing up. rainfall amounts out of this system just to the north oouweeg rk t ceould b looking at three to four inches of rain in some spots. ansthld men ae wove inar tdsow xas, from dallas up to colorado springs, out toe l fit rock, they've got large, damaging winds, as well. look at that stuff. it's heading towards san antonio. uh-oh.

i think kathie lee and hoda will get out before it's over. but, we're looking at a lot of heavy rain, especially from arkansas on into northern miss good morning. i'm chuck bell. it is a cloudy and humid start here in the nation's capital. here is a check of live doppler. sprinkles in upper montgomery county, also showers now in the panhandle of west virginia and northern parts of the shenandoah valley. temperatures are in the muggy 70s now to near 80 degrees in southern maryland. 79 at annapolis. our forecast today, highs only in the low 80s but a pretty good risk of strong thunderstorms later on this afternoon, some of those could be severe. hot and steamy tomorrow. and a cutie back there. all right, hi there. ant'nole iw s gonside to matt.s "today takes a vacation" is brought to you by expedia.com.

>> al, thank you. now more of our third stop on "today takes a vacation." as you saw, hoda and kathie lee are in san antonio, texas, where they've been kicking up their heels all morning long. hey, guys. >> yee-haw, natalie! when most people think of this wonderful city they think of the famous alamo. but -- or also maybe chili concarne. >> but this is actually the seventh largest in the u.s., draws more than 26 million tourists every single year. dallas and houston are generally considered hot spots of texas. but the city of san antonio holds many of the lone star ate's most enjoyed treasures. ♪ ♪ oh, my my snoend. cowboys and girls flock here to chow down on mexican fare and kick back a few margaritas while two-stepping the night away.

but it's not just the food and the fun drawing in the crowds. san antonio is immersed in history. it's a city built on seven missions. ♪ hallelujah and sundays are still sacred here among the locals. >> san antonio is a pretty religious town. we were founded with these wonderful missions. they have been here as part of the cultural heritage of san antonio, the religious heritage of the united states. since the 1700s. >> san antonio is very bilingual, li cultural city. we celebrate that. we really have embraced it. >> reporter: the most famous mission in the heart of san antonio is the alamo. it began as a christian outreach to the native americans in 1718, but was never completed. over a century later, 200 texans courageously faced off against a mexican army ten times larger. >> the alamo represents a certain type of battle where

you're facing odds that are overwhelming. >> reporter: on march the 6th, 1836, the alamo was finally defeated, and all of its defenders were killed. >> it's known all over the world as a symbol of freedom for a people who are willing to sacrifice their own lives for freedom. >> reporter: the cry, remember the alamo, is still heard today, and is a reminder of the heroic struggle and sacrifice made against impossible odds. two blocks from the alamo is the riverwalk. the epicenter of san antonio tourism. hotels, restaurants, and shops line the 2 1/2 mile san antonio river. >> you've got a melting pot of cultures that have come to the river. >> reporter: so what really makes this city of blended cultures so unique? >> what you're going to find here is hospitality, more than anything. i think you're going to find people that are very sincere, very honest, you know, want to

help out anybody that comes through. there's a real authenticity about san antonio that i don't find anywhere else. it's the type of city that embraces you. it's real. and it makes you feel at home. a lot of people come and they don't leave. i've lived here for 42 years. i can't imagine living anywhere else. >> reporter: but if you're going to come here, you better like the heat. from the extreme temperatures, to the spicy cuisine, this is one hot place to visit. >> we can attest to that. >> it sure is. >> natali we did not forget you in the gift department. >> oh. >> we've been thinking and thinking about you. >> yes, and we love you because you're so pretty and you always smell so good. so there's this stuff called botanica that's all things good and delicious and good smelling and good luck. >> it's all good luck stuff. this is a good luck bar of soap and some good luck candles and a good luck money spray. >> yes, because you're on "today." >> we all need that. >> and just in case that doesn't work we've got a lucky horseshoe

for you. >> can you fedex all the good luck stuff to vegas so i have it when i get there. >> oh, that's right. absolutely. >> hoda said in her little walk that riverwalk is 2 1/2 miles long. since she said that it's now 4 miles long. >> it just keeps growing. >> it's 4 miles long. when they finish, it will be 13 miles? >> yes. >> let's hear it for the air force again, going down the river. >> it really is a fabulous place, and the people are so nice! >> you guys should get back. that's amazing. so my hat, my ten gallon hat off to all of those who showed up this morning. >> your charo. >> yes, my charo. >> have fun in vegas. >> coming up you're going to be chowing on some barbecue for us. we're going to check in with them in a little bit. but coming up next from here, "today's money 911" panel, our panel of experts return to answer some of your finance questions. here i am!

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ann is upstairs. our first question is a phoner. he has a questionbout credit card limits. rich, good morning. >> good morning to you. i've been paying down my credit card bills, and suddenly they've all begun to reduce my credit limits. i've been making the payments well over the minimum now, and i have less cret available, and now less cash in the bank than before. what should i do? should i cancel these cards, just make the minimum payments, and keep the money in the bank? >> jean, sounds like a financial catch-22. >> it's called chasing the balance, rich. you're not the only person that this is happening to. what you should do is not cancel those cards, because canceling the cards is going to hurt your credit score and that's not good for anybody. but you should make sure that you've got a substantial emergency cushion in the bank and sort of try to do bot at once. pay off those credit cards, because it's not good for you to be paying the interest, no matter how low that interest is, but make sure you have enough money to protect you in case they continue to reduce those balances, because they very well might.

>> good luck, rich, with that. now let's head upstairs to ann with a viewer on skype. >> that's right, matt -- or al. we've got karen in cincinnati, ohio. she's got a question. karen, what's your question? >> good morning. my question is, i've received a couple letters from our credit card companies lately saying that since we haven't been using the cards, they have canceled them, and we've deliberately made the choice to stop putting things on credit, saving our money. when you contact the credit card companies and say, we really don't want the card canceled, they say tough, it's canceled, you have to reapply. we have excellent credit rating, we've paid on time. i'm kind of confused as far as what's going to happen? is this going to affect our credit rating? and what steps should we be taking? >> david, good question. >> well, you deserve to be confused. it's crazy what the credit card companies are doing to us. this is called the use it or lose it clause, basically. the credit card companies don't want your business if you're not doing business. so what everybody who's watching

needs to know, you need to be using your credit card, unfortunately every single month now. putting a bill like a utility bill or phone bill or cable bill on your credit card, a small amount of money. >> a grocery bill. >> something simple that you can pay it off every month, $50, $100. so the next card you apply for you need to use it in small amounts every month, otherwise they will close it down. i would go back to that credit card company and see if they actually recorded the account closed yet. if they have not roared the account closed yet i would get to a supervisor and say i really want the card opened back up. they'll let you do that, tell them you'll use theard this week. quite frankly, they really don't want to lose your business, they ju want you to use your card. >> hope that answers the question. now we have dawn in new port, virginia and she's got a question for us. >> good morning. my question is, my husband and i filed bankruptcy in 2004, and we got ourselves right back into debt with a new car loan and credit card. although we've paid on our

credit note regularly, last year we stopped paying on the credit cards due to a wage decrease and they've all gone into collections and i don't know how to get it back into control. i'm currently an mba student. i have $75,000 worth of student loans and i can't find full-time work, so my husband is the only income we have. he wants to take out a loan against his 401(k) to pay off the collections but we don't want to pay the extra charges they want us to pay. can you offer me any advice? and how would you fix this? >> carmen, how can you help? >> dawn, don't take out a loan from a 401(k) to pay off this. you got me in a bad spot here because you're a repeat offender. you've got a problem with credit. i want you to manage that problem. but here's the thing, once something goes into collections, understand this when you have a credit card bill and you go into collections the collection agency has bought your debt for ten cents on the dollar. so the original debt is gone. anything you pay over 10% of what you originally owe is just pure profit for them. so you can negotiate what you owe down.

way down. to as little as 30% or 40% of what you owe. but dawn, it's up to you to get a handle of this, to make sure to call the collection agencies, work this out with them and go to a nonprofit credit counselor to get you on a budget, because you have to manage your credit issues, because as you said, you filed bankruptcy, you got into debt again, this is a problem. so you really -- this is a marble hazard here, you've got to pay attention to the debt you have on. >> one of the things that people don't understand about credit counseling and one of the silver linings is that they have the ability to waive those fees and over limit charges. they can actually get rid of them, so it's just something you should know before you head in that direction. >> let's head back upstairs. ann has another skype. >> from orlando, florida, we've got paige standing by. what's your question, dear? >> hi. good morning. i'm getting divorced, and as part of my divorce settlement i need to refinance my mortgage. i'm going to be keeping my home for another four years so i've been shopping around for mortgages and i found one based on a 30-year term, five years

interest free with a really good rate. but i'm wondering, number one, is this mortgage too good to be true? and number two, is it wise and safe for me to be looking for this type of a mortgage? >> jean, she needs some good advice? >> yes, absolutely. here's what you have, paige. you have a one-year window of time in order to make this work for you. on the surface it sounds great. because you're buying yourself a cheap mortgage for five years, and you're saying you're going to be out of that house four years from now. but you've got to be really, really sure about that. because five years ter, the rate on that mortgage could shoot sky high. it could be very difficult for you to make the payments. so if you're going to do this, and i don't think it's a bad idea, i want you to make sure you've got substantial cash in the bank so that if the mortgage goes up, you can actually make those payments until you can get out of that house. >> all right. >> okay great. >> good advice. guys, thanks so 67. jaep chatzky, david bach, and ladies, you've got to see these socks david has on. those are happening socks. i like them. >> and carmen wong ulrich.

you can catch carmen on n the money" on cnbc saturday at 8:00 eastern. and if you have financial questions -- she's striking it right now. if you've got a financial question go to todayshow.com and let us know about it. still ahead, country star lee ann womack sings her heart out live from the heat, ohe tseex. m but first, these messages. edit? perfect 10 -- the 10 minute phenomenon from nice 'n easy. rich color, stunning high gloss, and flawless gray coverage all in just 10 minutes. a breakthrough so big, it won the most awards from beauty editors they even say... "perfect 10 has forever changed our opinion of at-home color." has it changed yours yet? perfect 10. the 10 minute, high gloss color that changes everything. from clairol. wi technology of the future. it's liquid-plumr foaming pipe snake. clears slow drains, cleans pipe walls.

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recipe maybe handed down by one of your family members? grandma's german chocolate indicate or blueberry pie? rir voamfa ftew ilout your .yoorite family dessert cipe ee' w startinger ssiee' seriesg fo for deliciciou dsrtessse catsed with love. go to todayshow.com, fill out the form, and you could be chosen to make your dessert live right here on "today." >> wow. >> okay. also still coming up this morning on "today," we have much more from hoda and kathie lee in san antonio. also, the scoop on a new website policing celebrity gossip sites fact. bleach doesn't get rid of stains. it just whitens them. with this stain-revealing dye, you can see the stains bleach leaves behind. lysol power toilet bowl cleaner removes stains better than bleach, while killing 99.9% of germs. to give you a toilet that's completely clean.

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we have breaking news at 9:26 on that beltway accident. a fiery accident involving a tanker on the inner loop near van dorn street is causing a huge problem. let's find out what's going on. >> good morning everyone. we're lookingt pictures earlier this morning, this is what it looks like at this hour. crews have extinguished the flames, we have two lanes of the inner loop getting by at van dorn street but the tanker portion of the tanker which was carrying cement is in the process of being uprighted. you see the tow trucks. on the inner loop jammed back into maryland beginning at the woodrow wilson bridge, outer loop also very, very slow. if you can avoid the area, best thing to do. >> good advice. thank you, jerry. weather is next.

good morning. i'm chuck bell. temperatures in the upper 70s

now, we'll be in the low 80s with rain showers and possibly strong thunderstorms comingur way today. a scorcher for tomorro and more showers possible on friday. barbara? >> thank you. tonight at 5:00, a smart phone application that will save you money when you go ñgpgg

♪ viva las vegas ♪ viva las vegas >> woo-hoo! >> the lights, the glamour, the gambling, the music, the strip. las vegas has it all. and tomorrow on "today," amy robach and i will take it all in in sin city on the fourth and final day of "today takes a vacation." i can't wait to get in on the action. you guys had so much fun this week. so my turn. >> all right. look out. i mean you guys look a little sinister, actually.

>> that's that poker face. you could tell amy kind of won that hand. >> i guess so. >> she has the poker face. >> but we're not done with "today." kathie lee and hoda are still having a good sometime in san antonio. guys, how is it going? what's coming up? >> way have a lot coming up. >> it's been a lot of fun. >> we actually have another song by lee ann womack who sang a great song in the earlier hour. she's going to come back again in the 9:00 and again in the 10:00. >> and we're going to visit our dude ranch. >> yes, we are. >> what is a trip to texas without a little barbecue, y'all. >> all right. >> are you guys doing beef barbecue down there? >> we haven't even gotten over to the table yet. we've been doing pizza. >> i wish i brought a taole because we're salivating. >> and by the way, you two look terrific. >> really? are you being facetious? >> no, i'm giving you a

complime compliment. >> we don't trust people who give us compliments. >> most of the people in the crowd are looking at us like, why are they dressed like that? everyone else looks like they're from new york. >> meantime a shout out to your crowd, guys. do you have any idea how many people came out to see you? i think that's one of the largest responses, crowd responses we've had in a live shot. >> well, it's standing room only for sure. there's room for one horse over there, though. >> and that's not counting the liver boats that are going by every few minutes. >> that's great. >> a lot of these people have been here since 1:00 in the morning. >> have fun. we're going to be checking in with you a little bit later. also coming up from here. apparently there's something new. there's a lot of material on the web that is true and there's a lot of material that isn't true. the gossip websites may or may not be true. and now there's a new thing, a truth squad that's available to try to step in and, you know, figure out what's true and not

true for us. but first before we get to all of that you've got a final check of the weather? >> that's right. let'let's see what's happening you as you step out the door for today. risk of some strong storms later today in the northeast. strong storms down in texas, oklahoma, arkansas and mississippi. record highs continue in the pacific northwest. tomorrow, we're expecting warm weather, sunny skies in the northeast. thundershowers in the mid-ohio river valley down into a good wednesday morning to you. hopefully your day is getting off to a smooth start. temperatures in the upper 70s to near 80 across the region now. here's a check of doppler. there are more showers across the central parts of west virginia and southwestern virginia. that's all moving in our direction, so rain is in the forecast for the rest of the afternoon. could see an isolated strong to severe thunderstorm as well, tomorrow highs in the mid 90s, heat index near 100. a chance for afternoon storms on friday.

and that's your latest weather. >> al, thanks. coming up next, the law takes on celebrity gossip. it's coming up after this. ♪ mmm... hot fudge sundae. ♪ ooh! frosted blueberry?!? ♪ over 25 flavors of kellogg's pop-tarts®. and they're all for fun and fun for all. pop-tarts®. made for fun. it's what doctors recommendn and fun for all. most for headaches. for arthritis pain... in your hands... knees... and back. for little bodies with fevers.. and big bodies on high blood pressure medicine. tylenol works with your body... in a way other pain relievers don't... so you feel better... knowing doctors recommend tylenol...

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mmmm. i do. (announcer) pillsbury toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat. you spend your lunch hour reading all the celebrity news you can find, wondering how much of it can be true, gossipcop.com may be the answer. the website launched today will police the gossip industry. nbc's chief legal analyst dan abrams is the co-creator of the site. good morning. >> good morning. >> why create a website like this? >> why the legal guy? right? what am i doing involved in this? >> exactly. >> the bottom line is what i discovered is as a legal matter there's almost no remedy for public figures. they can complain, they can't really do anything legally in almost all cases. so the goal here was to create a sort of a home, a venue, where celebrities could go, where others can go to credit the record. that doesn't mean that every time a celebrity or one of their

representatives come to gossipcop and say, this is the fact, that we're going to accept it. but, when my partner came to me with this idea about six months ago, he said you know, this idea of gossip cop, sort of policing the gossip sites, i thought to myself, wow, that's a fantastic idea. >> how much of a need is there for that? >> there's an absolute need. and the time is now. and why? because, even today, when we were doing some research on some of the stories, one of the producers called up some of the sites involved and the site said we got it from a different site and the site says we got it from another site. there's this chain where a somewhat reputable source will pick up a somewhat un -- disreputable source and it just goes on this chain and the goal of gossip cop is to stop that chain and say, look, this story is either true or not true. >> like the old game of telephone. let's talk about some of the false reports that are out there right now and you're reporting on your website. katie holmes for example, you have on your headline today, she barely escaped an exploding car

on the set of a movie she's filming in australia. not true. >> michael and the team did some research and actually reporting on this. because they saw on this website, katie holmes nearly escaped this explosion. and what they found is that actually, she wasn't even there when the explosion occurred. that she'd been off the set for a significant amount of time already. is this the most important story in the world? is it so important that they get this one right? you know, no. but you know what? it is part of sort of the ongoing problem, and i would argue, that this extends to the mainstream media, as well. that people's faith in the mainstream media is undermined by this kind of false reporting. >> here's another one. angelina jolie eyeing a run for the white house. >> so they quote these friends, right, this friend of brad pitt's and a friend of angelina jolie's and the headline is that she's eyeing, a british tabloid says she's eyeing a run for the white house. but, of course, all they're doing is using people who are saying, yeah, she would think that that would be terrific. i'm sure she would love that.

and the headline is totally misleading. >> okay. good one. next one is the twilight co-star kristen stewart and robert pattinson are expecting a baby. i mean last i heard they weren't even together although there's this whole love triangle. i've been reading my tabloids. >> the goes up cop found an australian magazine that reported that she informed them she's pregnant. and she said to him, i'm pregnant. the problem, again, is that this stuff gets picked up and someone else sources them, and someone else sends sources that other source, and so again theoal here was to say, this is total nonsense. michael actually went and did the reporting, made the calls, and found out, of course, this one is not that surprising that this one is not true. >> and finally michael jackson. what's the latest rumor you uncovered there? >> this one specifically with regard to one magazine that on the one hand reported we've got exclusive new details that michael jackson was guy, and then five pages later reported that they have information about michael jackson's secret girlfriend.

>> the nanny, right? >> but the point is that on the one hand you've got the same publication, on the same day, in the same issue, and the goal is to have a little bit of accountability here. in the end i do this really as a media watchdog site. >> dan abrams, gossipcop.com. good luck to you with that. appreciate it. >> thanks a lot. >> coming up next, we'll take yockbau tobaan antio for some true texas barbecue. this is the real deal. guaranteed. right after this. stay healthy - and get on with my life. it comes from liberty medical. and now, it's not only where i get my diabetes testing supplies - but it's where i get my prescription drugs as well. see if youe on medicare, the cost of your diabetes testing supplies as well as your prescription drugs may be covered. liberty takes care of all the paperwork with medicare and sends the prescription forms directly to your doctor for approval. then, on your schedule, packs up this box and sends it right to your door with no charge for shipping.

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♪ answer that texas cooking something ♪ >> this morning in "today's kitchen," texas barbecue. now, i like to think i know my way around a grill a little bit, but kathie lee and hoda have the texas advantage. hey, guys. >> hey, how you doing? >> hey, everybody. >> there's actually a little secret added ingredient that a gentleman with us is going to tell us all about. jason beatty, you're the well-known owner -- >> co-owner. >> a strant called. >> two rose. >> if hoda married either one of you guys, she'd be hoda dave dady? >> that would be wonderful. >> are you available? >> stop it. >> beautiful wife and children are here. >> we're so happy to have them. >> all right. so your barbecue is unique because you add a little cherry to it, right? >> it's all about the rub. >> really, texas barbecue, and here in san antonio we like to spice it up a little bit. we're going to do our rub first.

smoked paprika. >> of course you are. >> a little bit of garlic powder, cayenne. >> throw it in there. >> coriander, a secret ingredie ingredient. cumin. sugar, pepper, salt. you have all this in your cupboard i promise you, you just don't know how to use it yet. we're just going to mix that up. that's as easy, as awesome as a san antonio texas rub is. we've got our baby back ribs. just put it in there. texas and san antonio are known for our dry rub. you don't have to push it in or anything. >> nothing? >> nothing. >> you didn't do that side? >> we don't want to do that side. so we're going to put it right in the smoker. 2, 2 1/2 hours about 180 degrees. >> that's what the key. the slow cooking. >> it's all about slow cooking. if you look at this. >> ooh. this is one that's finished. >> these things are unbelievable. >> you don't put a glaze on until what point? >> i like to do the glaze about the last 30 minutes. just enough to kind of give it that nice, sweet glaze.

something not too sticky. but something that imparts raw flavor. >> what kind of glaze here? >> our secret thing. a little bit of cherry syrup, a pure cane syrup so there's no -- >> look at that. >> i've never heard of cherry syrup. that is beautiful. >> this is something that we kind of came up with here in san antonio. >> ooh. >> we're very, very passionate about our food here. >> yeah. >> and you know, to be honest with you, we're doing this expectation thing, you've got to get to san antonio and check it out. >> can we try these ribs? >> oh, it's time. it's time. >> you had margaritas already. it's definitely time for ribs, right? >> a little food, thank you. >> okay. >> you know that al's just salivating. >> al is -- >> these are the best ribs in america right here. >> then we're going to share a little of this with our crowd out there. >> yeah, okay. >> stop it. >> hmm. >> oh, my gosh. >> i want this for breakfast every day. >> oh.

>> you guys should have sent these up yesterday. >> in san antonio you're not allowed to use napkins. you've got to get it all over the place. >> al, there's a special member of our audience who's been so nice. come here, special member. come here. come here, please. he's a special member of our audience, he's just been hanging around. what's your name? >> mr. u. >> all right, here's a rib for you. >> the truth is he was going to leave. we said hang in there, we'll give you a rib. >> all right, honey. we're glad you're with us. thank you so much. >> coming up on our show we've got another song with lee ann womack. >> yes, we do. >> we're going to visit a dude ranch. >> we've got a lot coming up. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

who are better drivers, men or women?

men don't merge. the woman will sit there and wait. this is what men do. you see where i am over here? and, ka-blam, and then we're all an hour late. depend brand. for women and men. ♪ >> san antonio this morning on

day three of "today takes a vacation." we've got kathie lee and hoda with a lot more coming up. >> what's going on, guys? >> well, first of all, we can't stop eating the ribs. >> we're going to dig into the deep fried strawberry pie and we're going to do all of this to the melodic voice of lee ann womack. how much -- i mean it can't get better than that. >> take it away. >> lee ann wants this so bad. >> thank you. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪

the view out there is pretty, it's murky, it's better than anywhere on the beltway. we'll tell you about that. the anytime is 9:55 on this wednesday, july 29, 2009. breaking news, on the a an y accident involving overturned tanker near van dorn street is causing a miserable mmute. only one person was injured in that lti-vehicle accident happened before 7:00 a.m. that person is expected to be okay. crews have p out the fire but this mess is not expected to get cleared up for a while. let's go to jerry and see how traffic is moving now. >> good morning everyone. the pictures as you saw, that

was videotape from shortly after the accident occurred. let me give you a perspective. the accident occurred near the van dorn street interchange on the inner loop. delays over from maryland beginning on the woodrow wilson bridge, two left lanes get by. outer loop all lanes are open but that's very slow as folks scramble. we're seeing delays on 295 and the major roadways into southeast washington. progress is being made but they have cleanup to do. elsewhere, making the trip around town we'll head over, pictures of what it looks like. outer loop of the beltway near river road an accident, left side of the roadway. look for delsown from near the i-270 spur. >> let's hope today's weather forecast is better than today's traffic. i'm not sure it is. >> it's not a bad day because we do actually need rainfall across the area. only had a little over 1.25.

nonetheless it's steamy outside, 78 degrees in town but our dew points in the low 70s. here is regional doppler. showers across northwest virginia is marching in our direction. rain is a big part of our forecast this afternoon. super hot tomorrow, heat index near 100 degrees on your thursday afternoon. another chance for rain showers coming up on friday afternoon but right now the weekend still looking good. >> chuck, thank you. tonight at 5:00 a smart phone application that will save you money when you go shopping. another update in 30 minutes. we'll join you at 11:00 o (announcer) when verizon brings 100% fiber optics straight to your home it also brings first-class entertainment,

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captions paid for by nbc-universal television hi, everybody! >> whoo!

>> thank you. >> hello! >> hello. >> how are you? >> how are you? >> good to see you. >> hello, everybody! >> come on, hoda. >> my gosh. >> love san antonio. >> you've got to get to my mike. >> you are so beautiful. >> thank you. >> t-shirts. >> here we are. >> thank you, everybody. >> boy. you are so nice. >> we've got to say, i know they've had a terrific crowd in key west, and i know they had great crowds in lake george. but -- >> no. >> it's incredible. >> some of them have been here

since 1:00 this morning. >> yes. >> and hey, everybody, say howdy to hody. >>! >> we've got margaritas. we've got -- everything. >> we've got it all. we've got maracas. >> we've learned a lot. >> we should tell you guys if you've never, ever been to san antonio, this is a beautiful, beautiful spot on the planet. we're actually sitting alone the riverwalk. and the riverwalk -- >> it is four miles long now. >> it's a four mile long river that just kind of snakes around. it has beautiful restaurants. >> we get really lucky today, too, because it's about 80-some degrees. >> last time we were here shooting some pieces it was 110. so this is like cool. i feel like i'm sizzling. >> i do feel like that. >> but it's just a big old

party. and everybody here has been just amazing to us. some of the nicest people we've ever, ever met. >> and you know what? we've got to calm down. >> i think we have to. >> we have different margaritas. >> best margaritas in town. >> these are delicious. a woman named bianca has been making them. >> cheers, everybody. >> cheers. >> i don't know if that's the prickly pear or what kind that is? >> oh, mine's good. >> what kind are they? one is a prickly pear, one is a cucumb cucumber. here comes an avocado one. >> oh, avocado? >> hold on. >> let's see. >> refried beans. don't get too close to hoda. >> no, no, no! you should try this. try this. it's so -- it's avocado. that is crazy good. >> unbelievable.

>> okay, everything is bigger in texas. >> everything. >> so much bigger. >> guess what this is? take a look at this. >> that oks like a weird -- >> this is a texas size jelly bean. >> to go with a texas size jaw breaker. >> oh, my gosh. how would you like to try to digest this. i don't think so. >> and you could throw back some nice cups of if i in your texas -- >> this is a cup of joe. >> that's a big old texas mug. >> there you go. >> and what's this? >> anything you're eating. you're going to need these. >> yes. you've got to. >> i had a burrito last night the likes of which -- and of course the big old hat. the sun does come out of here, most of the time you're going to need these hats. >> this one is for ann. these are terrific mats. >> what else? >> i think what you're doing here is so unbelievable. 26 million people visit san antonio every year.

>> right. this is a real hot spot. >> and if you're looking for a construction job i would think that you should come to san antonio. because in the next 13 years, until th're going to make river walk is going to be 13 miles, right? is that right? by the time you're finished? >> awesome. >> and this is a place, of course, the alamo is not far from here and that's one of the other really hot spots, tourist destinations. >> of the 10 top in the country, san antonio, you have two of them. hi. . >> this is very, very hot. and we had so much fun. we actually got to take two trips down here a little later in the show, kathie lee ani got on a mechanical bull. >> no bull. we did it. >> okay, now, i just want you to think about who stayed on the bull longer. i'm not giving anything away. >> let me give you a little hint. >> don't give it away.

>> no, wait till you see it. >> this is a preview. >> this is a preview. >> it's a little creepy. >> don't get cocky. this ain't over. don't get cocky. >> we're not going to really reveal -- >> look is that, is that a jalapeno? >> it's a jalapeno. >> they have all -- >> eat it? >> eat it, hoda. >> no, no. >> she volunteered? come on down here. >> oh, no, no, no. >> i forgot, it's got alcohol on it, honey. >> have a jelly bean. >> have two jelly beans. >> story sorry, sorry, sorry. >> so we're going to play, you guys know every week on the show we play a game called who knew? kathie lee is going to test your knowledge of your own city. >> if kathie lee finds her cards. >> here they are. >> and i am going to give you the right answers. kathie, the mike.

>> it's coming. >> all righty. talk right into my microphone, then. all righty. thank you. okay. the recipe for which of these chips originates in san antonio? is it door itos, cheetos or fritos? >> door itos. >> no! >> no? >> hoda tell the truth. >> the answer is fritos. and here's why. okay you ready? in 1932, elmer doolen had a bag of corn chips that came with his lunch and he started the frito corporation. who knew? >> okay. remember the alamo is a rallying cry after a siege by mexicans, general santa ana that lasted how many days, 7, 13 or 15? >> 13. >> yes! yes, yes. i think that's right. >> what did she say? >> she said the right answer, 13. >> 13! >> the answer is it took 13

days. and that's all i'm saying. okay, what's next? >> right here, okay. more jars of salsa than ketchup are sold in the united states today, true or false? >> that is true. >> that is so true. you are cleaning up. >> you got it. more salsa. >> all right, i'm sorry. i've got so many things. have you heard that good night angel album i did once? okay. all righty, what's next? you want to be next? where? over here. sorry, sorry, sorry. which former president was married in san antonio's saint mark's episcopal church? lyndon b. johnson, george herbert walker bush or george walker bush? >> i think lyndon johnson. >> the answer is lyndon johnson. he married claudia alter taylor also known as lady bird in 1934. if you don't get the answer right, you get one of kathie lee's cds.

>> all right. the san antonio spurs have won four nba championships. i've got a feeling you know this. that's more than any nba franchise. true or false? >> false. >> well, help him out a little. yes, way to go, amigo. >> tony! >> there you go, darling. >> the answer is only three teams have done better, boston, los angeles, and chicago bulls. okay. >> thank you, everybody. >> that was an excellent game of "who knew?" . kath, did you see up there there's a san antonio -- is that a spur up there? >> that's a horse. >> you don't know what you're going to find in our crowd. okay, you guys, we've got a lot coming up on this show. we are going to do our bit on the bull. all right we're going to try that. and we're also going to take you to a texas dude ranch. so buckle up, we got a lot

happening from san antonio, texas, after these messages.

"today takes a vacation" is brought to you by expedia.com. >> it's beginning to heat up here in san antonio. >>it is. we had some fun two days ago. we went to a dude ranch. >> we did. it's about an hour and 15 minutes or so outside of san antonio, a place called bandera. the cowboy capital of the world. met the nicest people. diane and clay own the dixie dude ranch. >> you have to see what we went through on that ranch. >> well, we really didn't know what to expect. take a look. ♪

>> so hot. >> welcome to the dixie dude ranch. now that you're here, it's time to go to work. >> work? >> kathie i'd like for you to meet your designated cowboy, mr. joe henderson. >> name that tune. >> thank you so much. that was just a few years ago. >> and miss hoda, i'd like for you to meet d.c. >> you are a mighty fancy lady. >> oh, thank you. >> but i've got news for you. >> what? >> we're going to work the fancy right out of you. >> uh-oh. oh, no.

>> let's go to work. ♪ our first chore this morning is to get your horses saddled. >> okay. >> you going to show us how to saddle up? is it gonna be easy? >> well, if tornado will behave for you. hold, son. set up there. come on -- >> oh, i got it, i got it. one, two, three. >> there you go. there you go. >> whoo! >> all right! >> tell you what, kathie, let me carry this over there for you. >> oh, thank you so much. >> what? >> why aren't you carrying your own stuff? >> i've got joe. and you don't. >> don't want to break out into a sweat or anything. >> that's right. i like the little purse on the side. that is adorable. >> i'll get that for you, kathie. >> you're going to have to rename this dude ranch. to dude ranch and spa. watch this, hoda and see how it's done. >> okay.

>> put your left foot. that was easy, wasn't it? >> yee-haw! that was so easy. >> it was a cinch. >> there you go! >> i'm sorry, tornado. i'm sorry. >> yee-haw! ♪ oh, what a beautiful morning how you dng, hoda woman? >> i'm okay. >> just okay. >> just okay. you're not on tornado. you're on -- ♪ i've got a beautiful feeling >> fine city slickers. >> slow down, d.c. >> a little closer, yeah. >> not that close. not that close. >> okay. >> whip it. >> hold on a sec. >> good girl. good girl. >> yeah, hoda! >> whoo! >> good job.

>> i got an ear. >> that's a horn. >> that's what i said. ♪ ♪ >> oh. this remds me of cody. >> come and get it! >> what's for lunch? >> what do you think? beans is f lunch. but y'all are here to help me fix it. >> what? >> yeah. >> no, we're here to eat. >> no, no, no, you're going to serve beans and you're going to help me wash up those pots. >> it's soapy water. whatever will i do? >> i don't know. jump on in there. >> how am i doing? >> oh, man, you're doing great. >> have we worked hard enough? can we eat now? >> yes, ma'am. >> bring on the beans. >> oh. look at it! >> you know what, hoda woman? >> hmm? >> we could get used to a life

like this. >> mm-hmm. >> beautiful place. great people. awesome food. yeah, we could. >> mm-hmm. >> y'all come back, you hear? that's it. you get all the boys in town running after you. >> you may get your stud yet. >> oh. >> everybody at the dude ranch. >> we've got a nice spread from texas. these are little chicken roll ups. >> and blanca makes a mean cake. >> to go with her margaritas. >> no, these beautiful, delicious dishes. >> shooflies, don't bother me. >> coming up, guess what? >> what? >> we're on the mechanical bucking bronco.

>> you? >> uh-huh. >> first you're adorable.

i don't know what happened to you, hoda, but here in san antonio, all of a sudden our inner urban cowgirl was set free. >> yes, it was. earlier we met up with a mechanical bull instructor named

oliver jones for a private lesson in mastering the bronco. well, at least that was our plan. >> all right, bubba, so you've got to give us the abcs. what do we need to know to get on the bull? >> you just need to hold on tight with our right or left, whatever you are. keep one hand up for your balance. >> and hold on for dear life? >> that's not just for show? >> that's for balance. >> tell us about the dangerous part. >> it's not dangerous. >> that would be called falling. >> that's what i want to know about. >> that's why we're on the inflatable bed. >> weigh koontz even stand on this thing. >> i'm going to help you. >> first show us. >> we'll be back here in case you fall. >> all right. >> see, it's not that bad. >> oh, no. >> see that.

>> oh, i don't think the tilting thing -- it's the tilting thing. >> all right. >> okay. >> all right. >> good. >> all right bubba. >> okay. good. >> hoda woman you want to go first? >> i'll go first. >> whatever you want to do. >> hear it for hoda! >> oh. >> all right, ready hoda? >> hold on, baby! >> i'm scared. >> okay, do it. >> hand up, hoda! don't get cocky. >> i got it. >> oh. >> okay. >> go, kath, go! get on. >> go, go kath! >> come on.

>> all righty. >> hold on. >> squeeze your knees. >> keep your hand up. >> yee-haw! >> whoo! >> hold on, girl. hold on. >> oh, thank you. >> i'm so sorry. >> thank you, thank you. >> thank you. >> you couldn't stay up -- >> no, i guess not. >> nice try, though. >> bubba was sweet to an old lady. >> that's a nice fall. what do we have coming up? >> we're going to see the night s.maanlians. san antonio. l going to meet some animals and lee ann womack is going to sing.

all right. we are back live on this wednesday from san antonio, texas. it is the third stop in our "today takes a vacation." >> and every part of the country has its own look, and texas is no different from boots to buckles, texans have what you might call a distinct style. >> very unique, i would say. >> so here with us today is christina welch a local fashionista expert and she's going to show us how to dress as if we were locals. >> welcome to you. >> thank you. >> thank you for welcoming us to san antonio. >> welcome to san antonio. you may or may not know, but the cowboy was actually originated

here in san antonio with the zaccaros out at the spanish mission. it's only fitting that the cowboy is something we can show here and take great pride here. >> you're wearing tory birch wedgies. >> it's a little hot. >> we noticed right when we got here, boots, boots, boots. >> boots are big. when you think about the western look that really is the cornerstone of the look. so first we've got embellished bots. they have the traditional style of the cowboy boot but are designed for the fashionista. hand stitched patterns makeate feminine. silver hardware adds a contemporary touch. it's perfect for a girls night out. those are casual. made to look worn. >> oh, they're made that way? >> exactly, yes. >> it would look cute with a sundress and the boots? >> exactly. it's kind of like the little bit of the unexpected. you wear your great worn cowboy boots, toss it with a sundress and you've got a casual look you

can wear all summer long. it's a beautiful look because it's very effortless. and not intended to be a western look, but it looks that way. >> the third model looks like she's going out for the evening. >> sure does. hello! >> you take a traditional western boot, add a stiletto heel to it and you've got a perfect boot for a great night out on the town. >> you like those? >> i can't wear them but i like to look at them. >> next up we're talking hats and buckles. right? and do we look at firefighters? >> we do. we have firefighters. well, hats and buckles are the quintessential accessory for the guys. and whether they're made of palm, felt or straw, if they're simple and embellished with great details, there are hats available in every style and at every price range. the ones we're showing today start at $70 and they come from paris hatters which is a local san antonio institution that's

outfitted ranchers, locals, tourists, presidents, teens, celebrities and even the late pope john paul ii. >> these guys are not real comfortable modeling. >> they look awesome. they look so great. >> you guys don't have to do anything but stand there. you're doing just great. >> tell us about the buckles. >> just like we women have jewelry, guys with the western look have buckles which are interchangeable and they go from 17.50 all the way up to the thousands of dollars. the first buckle pays homage to the spirit of the cowboy. a great everyday belt. as we like to say, everything is bigger in texas. we've got a great buckle that is often showcases the state, something that can be seen from far away. and then in the middle, we have the basically the collector's item. it was actually designed for john wayne. and it is a reproduction and it's a limited edition piece, made out of 14 karat gold and

sterling silver. >> how much does that cost? >> it's just about $3,000. >> all right. thank you, guys. >> thank you. >> all right. let's go, christina. >> well, western shirts. they have gone mainstream. not just here. but, you know, first up, not all western shirts need to be yolked or cinched to have the influence. you think of all the peasant blouses in the western movies. >> you can wear that anywhere. >> it's got that modern edge with the color and the style. >> look at the boots. >> it gives a complete and great look. >> the next traditional shirt is for the guys but this is something that really has gone mainstream. you can look it up in any department store. they're contemporary fashions, features diagonal plaid that sets apart the curves. a subtle and modern update to the traditional western shirt. and he's also with the san antonio fire department. >> hello. >> thank you much. >> firefighter. >> finally we're going to showcase what is really known as

the quintessential traditional western shirt look. the vivid, fiesta color here. gorgeous with the beautiful detail and hand embroidered. >> christina, thank you. >> thank you so much. >> coming up, animals. >> it's so much fun. >> frightening. >> there's an armadillo. >> yd>>he t all bite. >> stop it, stop it. stop it.

>> my heart is pounding. >> we're back in san antonio

with "today takes a vacation." we just have been attacked by a buzzard. t hey it happens. you've got to go with the flow. >> we're doing this animal segment. ralph fisher, known as the buzzard whisperer had this buzzard on his head right before it came back. my heart -- someone call the medics, 911, get on it. >> today we're taking a walk on the wild side, aren't we? >> that's it. >> he's very friendly. >> her name oscar. she's 41 years old. i've had her in captivity the whole time. the longest living buzzard in captivity. she does educational exhibits at schools, and other events like that, special events. she's been all over the united states, canada and hexco. >> ralph, will she just sit here nicely? >> if you behave yourself? >> you all like it? >> the biggest misunderstanding about a buzzard? >> buzzards do a lot of good. they eat carrion along the road so they're called the garbage men of the highway. they really do a lot of good. although people think they're nasty.

but they bathe every day in a lake or river, and they preen themselves like an owl or a hawk. >> really? because it doesn't smell like that, i'll be honest. >> they do have -- they still have a distinct smell. every animal does. we do. >> you have it on a leash? >> yes, i do. >> would you like to hold it? >> i'd like you to hold it. >> put it on my head. i don't care. >> if you bend down and get lower than her. you sit up straight. >> what do i do? >> come over here closer, just go down. >> get close. >> see? >> i love it! >> you do? >> now i would like to say, oscar is just recuperating from cancer surgery. >> oh. >> really? >> her tail was removed. she had a tumor. so you see, animals catch some of the same diseases we do. >> wow. how is she feeling now, good? >> oh, she's doing fine. >> what's the armadillo? >> it's a female. >> this is -- >> no. >> this is phyllis dillo.

and she's 3 years old. and she was rescued. all these animals have been rescued except that one over there. >> what does this one eat? >> they eat mostly earthworms and grub worms and insect larva. they do a lot of good. they eat about 350 pounds of insect larva every year. >> bring it. >> stand up high. >> you stand up high. >> they go to higher places. >> kneel down, do it. do it. >> whoo! >> okay. >> you'll just be fine. >> okay. >> we've got -- >> the rattlesnake. >> let's see, can you hold this? don't turn her loose. >> don't let go of that. >> we just have a minute. >> we had a babe armadillo here. all right? and they look exactly like the big ones except they usually have more body parts because the varmints eat them off. >> we've got to get to the rattlesnakes. >> oh, wait, there's a wolf. >> of course there is.

>> edward -- >> okay. >> there's a western -- >> don't take it out. >> western diamondback rattlesnake. and this is a small one. >> get it, oscar. >> no, no, no. >> he's real nice. >> okay. >> be careful. >> they are ready, right? >> oh, yes. this one is what we call hot. in otherwords, he's dangerous. >> okay. >> evening he's viable. >> and real quick a shout out to your wolf. >> this is -- take this. >> oh, oscar is being playful. >> okay. we gotta go. >> okay. thank you. >> welcome to texas. >> thank you. >> welcome to san antonio! (announcer) when verizon brings 100% fiber optics straight to your home

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our fastest internet ever, and phone at this incredible low price, call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v today. ♪ oh, yes, we are back in san antonio, texas. we've shown you how much fun we've had during the day. but we also had some fun at night time.

>> we had a great time at night. there's so many wonderful prices to eat, dance, and maybe pick up a cowboy or two. ♪ >> well -- ♪ ♪ ♪

>> do these guys ever go on a break? >> so the guys says ay, caramba, that's one hot tamale. ♪ >> that's what we were saying. ♪ ♪ ♪ i was looking for love in all the wrong places ♪

♪ looking for love in too many faces ♪ ♪ searching their eyes looking for traces ♪ ♪ of what i'm dreaming of ♪ hoping to find a friend and a lover ♪ ♪ god bless >> we had a ball. >> all right, coming up next, we have one more song from lee ann womack. but first, this is "today" on nbc. ññññññññññññ

all right, we are joined again by miss lee ann womack. you have been you wouwowing our for the past several hours. >> we're so glad you're here with us. how many kids now? >> kids are great, of course. they're out of school. we've gone on a couple of trips.

>> they tour with you? >> yep. how old are they now? >> abery is 18 and ann is 10. >> 18 and 10. >> so the album is called "call me crazy." it went crazy when people saw the snakes. >> that was your husband's idea, right? >> it was my husband's idea. it wasn't his idea to shoot it but when he saw the picture he said this is going toe t bhe cover. >> you were kicking back, relaxing in between photos when that was taken? >> it was a little bit of a mistake. but a good one. >> where are you going to be this summer? >> all the dates are at leeannwomack.com. >> what are you going to sing? >> solitary thinking. >> lee ann womack. ♪

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

you were wonderful. >> thank you. >> love you guys. >> we want to give a big, big thank you to some of the people but we want to start off with our crew here worked so hard. >> beautiful. we love thumb. thank you to melissa from gunslinger and bandera for putting this all to the. and mostly thanks tof o b allf for coming out and joining us. we'll see you tomorrow in new york! >> thank you, everybody.