good morning. getting bigger. hurricane bill iensifies to a category 2 storm overnight. as rising temperatures blanket much of the country. this morning the latest on the storm, and the heat. back to reality? wall street suffers its worst day in six weeks. the dow losing more than 186 points. was all that talk of recovery a little premature? and the naked truth. richard hatch, the first winner of "survivor" speaks out for the first time about his 3 1/2 years behind bars for tax evasion. the three possibilities are you are completely innocent.

you are absolutely guilty. or you'r guilty of great stupidity. our exclusive interview "today," stupidity. our exclusive interview "today," tuesday, august 18th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a tuesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and in for meredith this morning, i'm ann curry. good morning, everybody. you ready for some more hot and muggy weather? it was hot and muggy yesterday. supposed to be climbing into the mid 90s today. >> yesterday was nasty. we're complaining, but we're not alone. much of the country is dealing with some of the hottest weather of the summer, especially here on the east coast. al's going to have more on that as well as the latest on hurricane bill and its projected path coming up in just a couple of minutes. >> also ahead some disturbing new information on the murders of a florida couple inside their own home. we now know that byrd and

melanie billings were both shot multiple times and one of their 17 children witnessed the brutal crime. we're going to have more on what the boy saw and told investigators coming up. >> plus jenny san ford, the wife of south carolina's governor mark sanford, opens up for the first time in detail about her husband's affair with a woman in argentina and her plans for the future. we're going to tell you what she has to say. and it's being called the holy grail of michael jackson memorabilia. that sequinned glove he wore for this performance where he debuted his famous moonwalk that's part of the motown 25 special back in the early 1980s. well the glove is going on the auction block and we have it in our studio. gets its own lighting. look at that. >> but let's begin with the hurricane, and scorching heat. al roker has the latest on both of these. hello, al, good morning. >> good morning, ann and matt. as we take a look. the reason for the heat in the east, big area of the bermuda high pumping up warmer than normal temperatures. take a look at some of these

temperatures today. near record-setting heat. albany 92, new york city 93 with air quality alerts. portland, 90 degrees. bangor, maine, 89. we're not the only ones. much of the country blanketed with the heat. the other area that has a lot of high air, upper level highs building in the pacific northwest warmer than normal temperatures there. spokane, washington, checks in 86 degrees. and all eyes also out in the atlantic. bill, right now 810 miles east of the leeward islands. category 2 with 100-mile-per-hour winds. could become a category 3 today and we look at this track of bill by sometime early saturday morning, it builds into a 125-mile-per-hour storm, may come across bermuda. we're keeping an eye on it. a couple of miles keep it to the south. a big ridge of high pressure would keep it south. but there's a little bit of a break allowing it to head up to the north. right now we don't see it affecting the mainland u.s.ary

than some rip currents. but we have to keep an eye on it. matt? >> all right, al, thanks so much. we'll get you local forecast in just a couple of minutes. right now to wall street where the summer rally came to a screeching halt on monday. the dow losing more than 186 points. the market's worst day in six weeks. cnbc's erin burnett is at the new york stock exchange. erin, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. >> you know how this goes. the market gains like 1,000 points in the last month or so, or since march, people are feeling good. then we have one day like yesterday and people start saying the sky is falling. what did monday's numbers really tell us about the markets and the overall health of the economy? >> it's so hard to say whether this is a chicken little moment or something more significant. since july 10th, which was the beginning of the summer rally, we're up about 12%, 40% off the low in march. you could say, wow, that is too far, too fast. think about this number, for the year the dow is only up about 4%. that's it. only 4%. so really what happened is early this year the market priced in a

depression. most people believe that's off the table. so we might be able to add modestly onto the gains we've had. but any kind of a pullback really would just be seen as healthy. we have not yet seen earnings grow or revenue grow. they're still dropping about 20%. until that changes it's going to become more of a show-me situation. >> there has been some good news in the economy, kind of a drip-drip effect over the last several weeks. and yet we're hearing the consumer confidence is still a bit of a problem. is that all about jobs? >> it is all about jobs. we have started to see little glimmers of hope in housing and in manufacturing, which are both very important. but it does hit on this broader issue, which is we could have an economic recovery in this country that doesn't really impact a lot of americans. people need jobs and most important, they need income growth. last week the fed added into the all-important statement that america has seen sluggish income growth. real wages have not been going up for years. that is a broader issue. until that changes you're not going to see a real shift in consumer confidence.

as you know, consumer confidence is two-thirds of this economy. if people aren't feeling good, they're not going to be able to spend money at retailers and that filters all the way through. that could mean we have a longer, slower recovery. >> let's get a little international with you. we had a bad day on monday. china had a really bad day, their markets down about 6%. what was the problem there? >> you know what's amazing, china was down 6%. a few years ago it would have been a blip on the radar. yes, they're big, but we wouldn't pay that much attention. it is so important now for two reasons. one, china is the single biggest holder of american debt. we've all been talking about all these deficits. china is the single biggest holder. we found out yesterday they pulled back a little bit on that debt. and you look at china as the mirror of the united states. a lot of what they make they sell to us. there's been weakness in their exports. so we look in the mirror, what we see isn't so pretty, and you realize oh, i'm actually looking at myself. china really is an important barometer of what's happening here in our home. >> the mirror analogy from erin

burnett. thanks very much. >> good to see you. >> let's get a check of the top stories. natalie morales is in for me at the news desk. >> good morning to you. what prosecutors a calling the largest case yet of credit and debit card theft, three people are accused of stealing more than 130 million credit and debit card numbers by hacking into computer systems of five major companies from late 2006 to early 2008. one of the three men is already in custody. albert gonzalez is described as a one-time government informant who helped the secret service track down hackers. taliban mortars hit the capital of afghanistan this morning, including one that fell inside the presidential palace compound. there were no reports of injuries. also this morning, a suicide attack in kabul killed at least seven people, and wounded more than 50 others. presidential elections in afghanistan are now just two days away. federal health officials say the delivery of swine flu vaccine this fall will be slower than first estimated. they now expect about 45 million

doses will be ready by october 15th. then about 20 million a week after that. they stress that everyone, though, who wants to get the vaccine, should be able to get it. today, president obama meets with egypt's president mubarak in a bid to move the mideast peace process forward. the administration, meantime, is also hoping to get health care reform back on track. after an increasingly contentious fight. nbc's white house correspondent savannah guthrie now joins us. savannah, not much common ground there even among the democrats. >> you got it, natalie. in fact, the white house is trying to reassure liberal members of the democratic party today, after hinting over the weekend that it could perhaps live without the so-called public option in health insurance reform. the public option is the idea that you'd have a government-run insurance plan offered alongside private plans. supporters either say it would force insurers to keep the cost low but critics say it would lead to a government takeover of health care. over the weekend, at a town hall, the president suggested that that public option would

not a quote essential element of health care reform. on monday, democrats, particularly on the left side of the party, really pushed that card. some saying they won't even vote for health care reform without the public option. meanwhile, foreign policy, the president also has a full plate. you mentioned the president's meeting with egypt's president hosni mubarak. he'll also see former president bill clinton to debrief on his meeting with kim jong-il, the north korean leaders, a few weeks ago. >> savannah guthrie at the white house. a frightening scene monday in taiwan where a cameraman covering the recent typhoon was suddenly swept away by raging food waters. other people nearby were eventually able to pull him to safety. and take a look at this. you're not going to believe this picture. a driver in kiss tonz got stuck in a tough spot when a draw bridge went up to a 45 degree angle with her car still on it. her car seems to defy gravity until the bridge was lowered and she was able to drive off safely. thank goodness for that. back over to matt, ann and al.

great brakes. good car. i want to know what she was driving. >> my volkswagen i'd have been yanking -- >> in the blues brothers. >> going the other direction. >> all right, natalie, thanks. >> welcome back, mr. roker. have a nice day off? >> yes, i did. gorgeous weather. we're talking about some rough weather for our ilaramlo, o denver, util to tulsaam t sa and dodge city. storms some strong damaging winds, flooding rains. on the radar you can see these storms firing up right now. rainfall amounts generally about half an inch to two inches in ;;;;;;;;;;;

that's your latest weather. ann? >> ll, thanks. now to more on that deadly bomb blast overnight in kabul, afghanistan. it comes two days before millions of afghans go to the polls in a high-stakes election, especially for women there. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel just got back from the scene of the blast. richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. i returned from the scene of that suicide car bombing. it appears that british forces were the target. nato has confirmed to us that there were casualties. but the breakdown in security here is only one of many difficulties women face in this election. despite a record number of women running in thursday's election, including two for president, women here may already be victims of campaign politics. a newly enacted law makes it a

crime for many women to refuse sex to their husbands. and if they do, husbands can deny them food, legally starving their wives for sex. we are not protected by the government, or even in our homes, said one woman. critics say president hamid karzai quietly approved the law last month to win the endorsement of powerful shiite clerics. the law only applies to afghanistan's shiite minority. but across the country, the lives of most women havehanged little since the fall of the taliban. only 10% of girls go to primary school. only 13% of women can read. an afghan woman dies from childbirth every 27 minutes. but the greatest injustice to women may be hidden here. it looks like any school. children in uniform singing and studying. but the classroom is behind prison bars. and so the nursery for afghanistan's youngest inmates.

but the children at this prison didn't do anything wrong. they're locked up with their mothers. the 117 convicts at kabul's only jail for women. they're also learning to read. some hid their faces, perhaps fittingly, with victor hugo's "les miserables." under 24 hour guard, behind rows of razor wire. more than a third of the women here were convicted of the crimes of escaping their homes or adultery. each can carry up to a ten-year sentence. but many of the women tell us their adultery was really rape. and that they left their homes to run away from abusive husbands. in the prison's sewing shop, we found salvia and nezzanine. she was sentenced to five years for running away from her husband, who tried to force her into prostition. if i show you my back, she said, you'd see how badly i was beaten. anyone in my position would have left, too.

but now, nezzanine is shunned by her family. her brother won't visit. salvia showed me her prison cell, where women are allowed to play with the children. a rare moment of joy. you want to be picked up? okay. hello. but salvia has 2 1/2 years left on her sentence for abandoning her 71-year-old husband, who beat her with chains. of course it is unjust i'm here in prison, she said. i am a woman. i am powerless. i have no rights. i asked the warden how he justifies his job. many of these women were sentenced to prison for escaping their homes, when their husbands were beating them. does that seem fair to you? for a woman to leave her own home, according to 56 began law, he said, it is a crim this is an islamic country. a country where women's rights appear to have been sacrificed for a political campaign. in addition to punishing them if they refuse sex, the new law

says shiite women should only leave thei homes under extreme circumstances. ann? >> all right, richard engel this morning. richard, thank you for reporting. it is now 7:14. here's matt. >> all right, ann, thank you. the latest on the brutal murders of a florida couple who were the parents of 17 children. this morning we know at least one of those children actually witnessed the attack. kerry sanders is in pensacola, florida, with the latest on this. kerry, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. prosecutors just released 700 pages in the july 9th murder. they include pages which are detailed interviews with the eight suspects who are here at the jail, and one heartbreaking narrative with one of the special needs children who watched and listened as his parents were executed. melanie billings was shot five times. including three bullets to the face and head, according to autopsy reports. her husband byrd was shot six times. including two bullets to the back of his head.

but he didn't go down without a fight. he grabbed one of the gunmen by the neck. the witness who saw it all, according to documents, was 10-year-old jacob, who investigators say, has autism. he tells detectives his father was in the bedroom sleeping. and heard a knock at the door, and said that two bad men said, you're going to die, one, two, three. >> the people involved in this are without conscience, to commit such a crime in the presence of children. >> reporter: investigators say the extensive video system at the billings' estate helped them track down the suspects quickly. documents suggest those suspects had loose, if no connections to each other. almost by design. they allegedly rehearsed the robbery, dressed in black with face masks, planned to cart off a safe that sources say they believed was filled with $2 million. turns out, they took the wrong safe. this one contained only $68. former billings attorney crystal

spencer led detectives to another safe in the house. the one the robbers really wanted. how much money was in that second safe? >> it was $164,500. i believe. and that was an approximate. >> reporter: that's a lot of cash. >> it depends on -- it's not $2 million. not what was alleged. >> reporter: alleged gunman leonard patrick gonzalez jr. now claims byrd billings' business competitors tried to hire him because they wanted billings whacked. but they haven't been charged. and then there's this twist. ms13, a notorious and brutal central american gang may somehow be tied to these murders. or so says gonzalez. when gonzalez mentioned ms13, is he sending people on a wild goose chase or do you believe that somehow this gang was involved in what took ple here in these murders? >> we believe that they have an involvement. >> reporter: and that possible

ms13 gang dekz may explain why investigators believe there will be yet more arrests in this case. matt? >> all right, kerry, thank you very much. kerry sanders in pensacola for us this morning. once again, here's ann. >> matt, thanks. that's how jenny sanford describes her husband's affair. in her first in-depth interview since it was made public. nbc's norah o'donnell is in washington now with more on this story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. jenny sanford is opening up to "vogue" magazine. it is her first lengthy interview since deciding to move out of the govern's mansion with her four boys. you know, until now she has said very little about her husband's affair with this argentinean woman, whom he called his soul mate. well now jenny sanford is really revealing a lot. saying her husband was obsessed with going to see this woman, saying she learned affairs like this are like an addiction to alcohol or pornography. she also suggested in this interview that her husband was

suffering some kind of mid-life crisis that a lot of men have. telling "vogue" quote, my husband has got some issues that he needs to work on about happiness and what happiness means. you wish it wouldn't come to a crisis like this, but i think when a lot of men get to this midpoint in life, they start asking questions that they probably should have asked a long time ago. she goes on to say mid-life aging is different for men than for women. and mark is worried about what his next job is, he's worried about making money, running for office again, his legacy. w says, i know my legacy is my children. i don't worry about that. so it's pretty revealing, ann. >> she also talked about something that i think that might have political repercussions. she talked about this idea that male politicians don't seem to und stand how extramarital apairs can poison families. politicians become disconnected from the way everyone else lives in the world. they'll say that they need something and ten people want to give it to them. it's an ego boost and easy to drink your own kool-aid. as a wife you do your best to

keep them grounded but it's a real challenge she's making a correlation here and i wonder what the political fallout from at might be not only for mark sanford but also for other politicians who have been accused of these -- of this kind of behavior. >> governor sanford's political future are not clear. there are still calls for his resignation to be impeached in his home state. as for jenny sanford, she's gained a lot of praise as being someone different than the other political spouses out there. certainly the wronged wife who said, once she learned of his affair, get out of the house. now that they have yet to reconcile, says i'm moving out with the four boys and taking them to my home on sullivan's island. i think that's why she's different than some of the other political spouses out there. and then, you know, finally, ann, as for what's next in terms of their marriage, there's still a lot of speculation about whether they will divorce. jenny sanford tells vogue this, she says, quote, if you don't forgive you become angry and bitter. i don't want to become that. i put my heart and soul into being a good mother and wife. now it's up to my husband to do

the soul searching to see if he wants to say married. the ball is in his court. so she says she's open to reconciliation. but that the man that she's currently married to is not centered on the morals that she wants in a husband. ann? >> all right, norah o'donnell. thank you so much for reporting this morning. and still ahead, an exclusive interview with the original survivor champion richard hatch. his first sinceerving 3 1/2 years in prison for tax evasion. he talks about life behind bars and why he thinks the government was treating him unfairly.

still ahead this morning, how dirty are your flip-flops? you might be surprised. >> plus michael jackson's most famous glove up for auction.

it is 7:25. good morning. i'm pat lawson muse in the 4500 block of wisconsin avenue in northwest washington where we're collecting backpacks for kids. yo deonat i donate it at thecvs store orcvs store oro g nbcwashington.com and make a credit card donation or if you're in the neighborhood, stop by and see us here on wisconsin avenue northwest. all of the backpacks go to schools and nonprofits that have already been identified to receive them.

you can help us hp area youngsters get ready for learning byat doningli donatg

good morning. humid. lots of sunshine. temperatures in the 60s and low to mid 70s. highs reaching low 90s today and increased humidity tomorrow, thursday and friday. highs near 90 tomorrow and thursday and a good chance of passing showers both days. showers on friday and saturday possible. lower humidity as we dry out sunday and monday. should be cooler. jerry, good morning. how is tuesday traffic? >> outer loop of the beltway just after van dorn street right at the split accident there.

left shoulder. drawing a lot of attention leaving springfield on the outer loop. headed for downtown, accident inbound side of the 14th street bridge. police are on the scene. look for delays north from the pentagon.

♪ 7:30 now on a tuesday morning. august 18th, 2009. you're looking at what is arguably michael jackson's most famous performance. on a tv special, 1983, to celebrate motown, 25th anniversary. that's where he debuted his famous moonwalk, and what would become one of his iconic fashion accessories, a single sequinned glove. that very glove, the one he's wearing in that performance, is now going on the auction block, and we have it right here in our

studio this morning. there'a great story behind it. we're going to tell you about it. >> you going to put it on? >> no. i don't think anybody's allowed to touch it. inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer alongside ann curry who is in for me death. i remember that motown 25 special. >> when dethat moonwalk. oh, my goodness. >> i tried it for a week straight. >> really >> >> sprained both my ankles. anyway, also ahead in this half hour, an exclusive interview with richard hatch. remember him, the first "survivor" champion. he's now speaking out for the first time since being released from prison, after serving 3 1/2 yearfor tax evasion. we'll hear from him in just a couple of minutes. >> plus, you like to wear flip-flops, don't you? >> not really a flip-flop person. >> i love to wear flip-flops. now there's a reason why not to wear flip-flops because like, you know, you would never probably imagine but have you ever stopped to consider all the germs they pick up and transfer to your skin? apparently, it is shocking, the revelation is coming up in just a few moments. >> yum, i can't wait for that. but let us begin with our exclusive interview with richard hatch. almost ten years after winning

the first "survivor," and later, being convicted of tax evasion, hatch is still struggling with the harsh reality of the law. richard hatch was one of television's first reality stars. >> they're not voting me off, because i am not letting them. >> the guy who won the first season of "survivor," people loved to hate. >> got the million dollar check written already. i mean, i'm the winner. and it's that kind of cocky attitude that makes people really hate your guts. >> reporter: cutting deals while competing naked. >> the winner of the first "survivor" competition is -- rich. congratulations, rich. >> reporter: over 50 million viewers, including some at the irs, watched hatch walk away with the million dollar prize. >> any comment today? >> reporter: but when the government said hatch failed to report the income, he was tried and convicted. and sentenced to more than four years in prison for tax evasion. >> this conviction reflects the

internal revenue service's commitment to enforce the tax laws of the united states. >> reporter: he spent 3 1/2 years behind bars and today wears an electronic tracking device while serving the remainder of his sentence under house arrest in newport, rhode island. playing the word association richard, prison changed me how. fill in the blank? >> i'd say reduced my arrogance. >> there's an admission of arrogance there in the first place? >> i know people perceived me as cocky and arrogant. and a big part of that, if not all of it, is my responsibility. i went on that show to win. and there was a persona developed. i've already won before i started the game. i grew up as a fat, gay kid in a community that doesn't appreciate fat, gay people. so you develop some insecurities and you cover those insecurities sometimes, i think, with an overreaction.

>> i remember hearing the news, richard, that you were sentenced to time in prison, and based on my experience with you, watching you on "survivor," i thought, i give him a week. he's going to have half the inmates working for him. he's going to have extra pillows, the best food. was that the prison life you experienced? >> i wasn't sent to a camp. i was sent to a federal correctional sfaslety, after six months in a high security facility. i was in a room with 50 people for the first six months of my sentence, because the prosecutor called me a flight risk. with rapists, child molesters, murderers. some of whom hadn't been convicted yet, but they were charged with those things. >> i don't think i can avoid the question, and i'll look you straight in the eye when i ask it, you know, as the gay man who liked to get naked, how does that go over when you're sent to a prison and you're locked up in a room with 50 guys? >> well, it didn't change, if that's what you're asking. i was treated fine. i was never assaulted. >> but hatch claims that during the trial, he was the victim of

prosecutorial misconduct, discriminated against because of his sexuality. and hurt by his arrogant persona on "survivor." the now 48-year-old has very strong feelings about how he was treated by the legal system. what do you think happened? >> well, i know without question that there are personal issues involved for the prosecutor. i don't know why. the prosecutorial misconduct has been egregious. he told the court i didn't pay my taxes in 2000. and he told the court i haven't been cooperative. the irs specifically contradicts that. i don't have a bill for 2000. i haven't even been assessed for 2000. and i've been fully cooperative. >> the former reality tv star also blames the judge, who he says refused to allow potential jurors to be questioned about their feelings toward homosexuality. the government calls all his claims baseless. let me ask you this, when the judge, from what you've told me, refused to question potential jurors in terms of their feelings on homosexuality, do

you think he felt he had a legal reason to do that? or do you think, in some way, he was trying to discriminate against you? >> my personal opinion, he was trying to discriminate against me. >> you alluded to me that you think because you are a homosexual, that in some ways that negatively impacted your trial and your case. are you saying to me that if you were heterosexual you would not have gone to prison? >> i didn't mean to allude to it. i meant to state that definitively. yeah, i do. i do believe that. i don't think you or anyone else could den that we as homosexuals face discrimination. >> take the homosexuality out of it, though, you still are a guy who failed to pay some taxes. in fairness, it's not just the "survivor" money. >> correct. >> there were other issues in your tax report. >> there were. >> there was income from a radio station you did not report. there was a car that you won, you didn't pay taxes on that. so, what's to stop joe and mary smith from sitting out there thinking, this is just a tax cheat? >> i've been asking since 2002

when we starte to do the 2000 return, when the accounts were working on it, i came back from "survivor," we've been working on the returns, i've been asking from that day for the irs to assess what's due, and that i -- so that i can pay it. whatever they assess i'm going to pay. whatever is owed, i would pay. i've to this day never had an assessment. there were other issues on those tax returns. as there would be on any american return that people would question. >> i think there are people out there, richard, who want to believe you're guilty? >> oh, sure. >> i think so. but is perhaps your very best defense this, that who would be so stupid? who would be so stupid to win a million dollars in front of 40 million or 50 million people, and then not claim it on their income taxes? >> i know people think i'm arrogant. but i don't think pple think i'm stupid. people watched me play that game, and they know that i'm relatively bright. >> the case is currently being reviewed by a judge in

providence, who hatch hopes will exonerate him. if judge smithecides with infinite wisdom that, in fact, you were wrong and exonerates you. what do you want? do you want money? do you want apology? do you want someone to stand up on national television and say we got it wrong? >> i want the opportunity to bring about change. we can make changes that will save us money and that will save people's lives. >> are you able to support yourself? you're still under house arrest. are you -- do you have enough of that money left or is it all gone to legal expenses? >> imagine the financial devastation. that money, that money was in 2000. today is 2009. and to have been removed from your family for the past four years. taken away from any opportunity to make a dime. no, i'm financially devastated. >> and to the cynics out there, who think, richard hatch is playing us one more time. you know, he's trying to work the system one more time to his advantage.

how do you respond? >> i'll let the facts speak for themselves. that's where i want to step out of it. and it's not me playing the system. i didn't think of life after "survivor" the game. i'm not out to play anything. >> richard cannot leave his property without scheduling it. he asked for special ter mission to do this interview in an effort to try to clear his name. the government, by the way, stands by its case and says any new claims are simply rehashing the same arguments that he unsuccesully made at trial. >> sounds pretty angry. >> well, he's -- you look in his eyes, he truly believes that he's innocent. that is for sure. that i'm convinced of. whether he is or not is going to be left up to a judge. >> all right, and maybe some public opinion, as well. well anyway coming upnext, now a check of the weather from mr. al roker. >> all right. thank you very much. you're having a baby? >> we're having a baby. >> cgratulations. >> this is my friend kim. this is the father of my child here. >> oh, there you go. >> and these are some new friends pushing in. >> yes. >> let's check your -- good luck

with that. we'll show you for today, we've got a risk of some strong storms in the midsection of the country. hazy conditions in the northeast. warm weather working its way into the pacific northwest, with temperatures in the 80s and 90s there. tomorrow, more record highs in the pacific northwest. the heat continues along the east. sizzling through the southwest. risk of strong storms from the mid-mississippi river valley. ;;;;;;;;; good morning. live view from our city camera showing a warm, summer haze surrounding the jefferson memorial. that's going to greet you as you step out the door on this tuesday morning. it's in the mid 70s in washington. southern maryland near the bay mid 70s. 60s to near 70 further west all around the region highs reaching low 90s today. and rather humid. even more humid tomorrow, thursday and friday. a greater chance of mainly afternoon showers and thundershowers.

that's your lest weather. any time you want your weather, check out the weather channel on cable, or weather.com. online. matt? >> all right, al, thank you very much. the dirt on flip-flops. literally. right after this.

back now at 7:43. this morning on "today's health," flip-flops. they may be comfortable and the mainstay of summer, but are they also putting your health at risk? here's nbc's michelle kosinski. >> reporter: ah, nothing says summer -- how old are they? >> a few years. >> reporter: like dangerous footwear. do your parents know where your flip-flops have been? >> not always. sometimes. >> reporter: got some secrets? >> a lot, ah. >> reporter: the flip-flop has become our go-anywhere, walk through anything mainstay. wear them in the city, wear them to the white house. but do you know what could be lurking inside them?

♪ >> reporter: the new york daily news made them seem not so fun anymore. they tested a few and found nasty staph infections. but we decided to investigate. brought out our university of miami emergency mobile flip-flop lab and went in. >> you think that's normal? >> if you had to guess what might be growing in some of those shoes? >> fungus. >> reporter: so if your shoe could speak to us -- >> it would probably say some pretty dirty things. i'd say the subway in philadelphia. it has seen cow manure. >> reporter: and the winner or loser was -- feet from philly. his 6-year-old leather specimens were positively covered with infectious germs. and the bacteria that cause yeast infections and diaper rash. >> i think that i will be throwing them away. >> reporter: well, all of the flip-floppers we tested were carrying some foul companions down there. some that live inside the intestines. even drug resistant bacteria.

>> if you got an infection with these, it could be very serious. >> reporter: but only really if you have a compromised immune system or a cut on your foot. >> as long as your skin is intact. as long as you use common sense and don't knowingly expose yourselfi think you shouldn't be alarmed. those nasty things have always been out there. we just haven't always been looking for them. >> reporter: you could always protect yourself or maybe clean those disease ridden shoes of pandemic doom. with soap. >> well, the story is don't lick your flip-flops. >> reporter: we know where you've been flopping. >> everyone has some in their closet. >> reporter: ain't so pretty as your fancy toenails would lead us to believe. michelle kosinski, nbc news, miami. >> also known as dr. germ, he's the director of the clinical microbiology and immunology at new york's university's magone medical center. good morning to you, doctor. >> good morning. >> my goodness. and i hear -- first, there's a type of fungus or type of germs,

but also the number at one point, what 18 -- >> 18,000 on one of the flip-flops tested. more important than that is the type of germs that you find there. actually, you find representation of fecal germs, of skin germs, staph, as well as germs from the west of the tree. while most of these germs are ubiquitous, they're around everywhere and they're not really going to make your sick unless you're compromised or you have a break in your skin, they are there, and people touch their flip-flops, and touch their skin. and then they can transmit those organisms to other parts of their body. so it's not just the feet that you worry about. >> okay, we just grab them. we grab them every -- and then we go run and have lunch. so there's a real term of ingesting his. but in term of, there are some -- there's one particular type of bacteria that's -- that's pretty bad called the staph aureus. what's wrong with this particular bacteria?

>> that particular organism gives you a serious infection like a boil, or more serious, it could possess toxins. many of the community strains of staph called mrsa are taxogenic or even kill you. though it's not likely a person will come down with that, that is a possibility. >> our children wear them all the time, flip-flops and -- >> well, the important message here is to take caution, and understand that when you're in an environment like new york city, where rats abound, and roaches and other rodents, and there's vomit and urine and feces, from animals and other such things in new york city, flip-flops can be a little more dangerous than somewhere in miami. >> but -- but actually any pair of shoes you would wear out in all of that would be also carrying all that material so it's just -- the only difference is with flip-flops your foot is

exposed and you're grabbing them and holding on to -- >> the surface is a conduit to other areas of the body. >> i wash my flip-flops, is that a good idea? >> it's a good idea, sure. >> and wash your hands, definitely, is what we should do. anything else we should do? >> 80% of all infectious disease is transmitted by contact, direct and indirect. so one of the most important things you can do is wash your hands. >> okay. >> and certainly be cautious. >> okay. dr. germ, thank you so much this morning. lly weer .>> and still to come, i don't know if i want to thank you, actually, or not. morning, one-ne-ohit w raitdneon pitt as he talks about his new movie and why he's learning french.

many of our nation's small businesses have been very hard-hit during the recession, and starting today, nbc universal has teamed up with american express to launch an online contest called "shine a light pirks" here to tell us more about it, j.j. ramberg, host of msnbc's "your business." what is shine a light all about? >> this is so exciting. this is a chance for people to recognize all businesses that have had a big impact on their lives. so nbc, and amex have put together this program. go to nbc.com/shinealight and you get to nominate a business. >> i've got a mom and pop store in my neighborhood. i like the way they do business, they make my life better and you nominate them? >> exactly. we expect to get so many

nominations. and then i will judge it along with ellen degeneres and diane von furstenberg. we'll narrow down the three businesses and the public gets to vote. >> as an example, tom, you did a commercial spot for the program about your favorite small business in new york a fishing store called urban anglers. what makes it so extraordinary? >> i fly flish and it's a boutique for fly flishing. everything is carefully selected. everybody in the store is passionate about fishing. the hour that you're there shopping, looking around, it's about fishing. and so it's really living in new york and working in new york, you need that getaway time. and that's my getaway time. >> real quickly, you are someone with a thriving business that started as a small business owner. >> i still consider myself a small business. >> it has some significance? >> definitely. i think small businesses are the backbone of our communities and our business communities. small business owners get up every day, put their passion and soul into what they do. >> it's going to be very

important for a small business to really rebound to help this economy thrive again. when the winner is chosen, what does the winner get? >> i wanted to get to the prize. because this is $100,000 in marketing support, and a grant from american express, and the people who pick the top three finalists get $1,000. >> go online. check it out.

looking alive picture of traffic there. good morning. i'm barbara harrison. in the news at this hour, crews are battling a series of hay fires. this is the scene from chopper 4 just moments ago. this is happening in the area surrounding woodfield school road and kings valley road. you can see the fire leaving a large plume of smoke in the area. not clear how the fires started. a 13-year-old girl is recovering after being shot while sitting inside her southeast washington home. it happened just before midnight in the 1800 block of frederi

douglass place. someone fired several shots into the house and the girl was hit in the back. she was treated and released from the hospital this morning. police do not have a suspect or motive in this case. we'll take a break and be back wi jtht er andraffic for you in jus.

good morning. summer haze over washington and surrounding region. live picture from our city camera this morning. temperatures as we approach the 8:00 hour are in the 70s. clouds rolling in tonight. increased humidity. small chance of a passing thundershower this evening. and then a greater chance wednesday, thursday and friday

with increased humidity. highs near 90 tomorrow and thursday. mid 80s on friday. here's a look at the weekend. saturday could get passing thundershowers. andle crooit wh d cler wh sunshin returning. now how is traffic? >> tough over on 395 just inside the beltway. the remnants of an accident just moved to the shoulder but for a long time it was in the left lane. a hefty backup out of springfield. wilson bridge not to worry. we're doing okay. beltway from green belt to the american legion bridge lanes remain open. nbc 4 making sure kids have school supplies they need. join us in our annual backpacks for kids drive. visit nbcwashington.com and make a on

back now on a tuesday morning. it is the 18th of august, 2009, already a little warm here in the northeast. although, later on, al is promising us temperatures in the mid 90s today. >> high humidity. steamy. >> sultry. >> close. >> you know what, though, it's really summer, and we've been sort of not having any. so we shouldn't whine too much. >> but we do anyway. out on the plaza i'm matt lauer along with ann curry. she's here while meredith is enjoying a little vacation.

al roker joins us, as well. when you think of michael jackson you probably think of the music, the videos, the moonwalk, what else comes to mind? >> that performance -- >> motown 25. and there's that glove. that famous sequinned glove that he debuted while singing "billie jean" in motown 25. that glove is now going up for auction, and there is that glove. >> oh! you got it on? >> no! >> i have it on! >> you have it ! >> i thought you said you couldn't put it on. >> does it give you magic power? >> i was given special permission to wear it. i have one of those film editing white gloves underneath it so my skin does not come in contact with it. >> can you get up on your ankles? >> oh, absolutely. how about that? >> oh, yes. >> anyway, this is going -- >> and -- >> we're going to tell you more about that. >> feel the power. >> there we go.

>> somebody goes matt hold it in the air. >> okay, anyway. we're going to have more about that. >> also coming up this morning. >> i know, i know. >> don't touch anybody with that. >> i'm not not. >> we're also going to be hearing from brad pitt. he's got a new movie called "inglourious basterds." we're going to be talking about that this morning. also the new kids movie that he's participating in. >> which is not to be confused with "inglourious basterds." >> no, no. one's for kids, one's not. >> i've got to see that move again. >> one more time. >> here we go. >> oh. >> wow. >> that's unbelievable. >> thank you. i'll be in ice packs for the rest of the day. >> that's right. >> you want to try the moonwalk? >> no, i don't. huh-uh. and by the way, we've got a little bit later on, do you hate when parents give you advice about your children, unsolicited? >> one of my pet peeves. >> just a smackdown. >> right. >> well we're going to have a way you can deal with that. >> give my sequinned glove to the side of the head. let's go inside, ann is with us

here, that means natalie's at the news desk. >> good morning to matt, the gloved one, al, and ann. good morning to you. new details in the murders of melanie and byrd billings. the beloved florida couple who were parents to 17 children, many with special needs and newly released dpok up thes from the july murders show the two were shot multiple times and byrd billings fought back, grabbing one of the gunmen by the neck. the documents also say one of their children, a 10-year-old, witnessed both murders. eight suspects have been arrested in connection with the case, and more arrests are expected. a california grand jury has indicted sunday school teacher melissa huckaby on charges she kidnapped, raped and killed 8-year-old sandra cantu last march. nbc's george lewis is outside the courthouse in stockton, california. george, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. the charge of first degree murder with special circumstances could put huckaby on death row if proven, and the district attorney says for the time being, his office is treating this as a death penalty case.

huckaby broke down in tears, as the judge ticked off the counts in the indictment. including murder in the first degree of 8-year-old sandra cantu, who lived down the street from huckaby. for ten days, the community of tracy, california, searched for san zra. until her body was found in a pond a couple of miles from her home. as she entered court tuesday, huckaby had scratch on her forehead and arm. and the judge spoke of some, quote, rigmarole getting huckaby to court. the sheriff's department said she was later transported without incident. >> we have a no-nonsense judge. when she says you're coming to court, mr. or ms. defendant, you're coming to court. >> reporter: it has been four months since huckaby's arrest. she has pleated not guilty to the original complaint. now the judge has ordered her to be present at every court session. a good idea, according to sandra cantu's grandmother. >> i'm glad the judge said she would have to be appear to every one of the court dates.

that should not keep her from -- she did a lot worse. don't you agree? so those few scratches shouldn't matter. >> reporter: the prosecution is adamant about moving the case along rapidly. hinting that a child involved in a separate drugging incident may be called as a witness. >> in any case with children as victims or as witnesses, it's important to move the case along. >> the prosecution has a real advantage in that they have their case together. they've already had a dry run of their case before the grand jury. they are ready to go to trial. >> reporter: huckaby's next appearance, september 10th. e prosecution pressing the judge to set an early date for her trial. natalie? >> all right, george lewis in stockton, california. thank you. well, with presidential elections just two days away in afghanistan, today a suicide bomber rammed his car into a convoy of western troops in kabul, killing at least seven people, including two u.n. workers. more than 50 others were wounded.

most overseas markets are recovering this morning after big losses on monday. stocks in tokyo, hong kong and south korea were all higher. city plies in chicago are back at work this morning after a forced day off without pay on monday. it was one of three furlough days to save the cash-strapped city more than $8 million. city hall, public libraries, health clinics and other offices closed their doors. but emergency services and police were still on duty. 8:06 right now. let's go back outside once again to ann. >> all right, thanks a lot, natalie. you know what? right over here to al. and al i've got to point somebody out to you. >> okay. >> those two people are eloping today. today. >> congratulations. >> ya yachlt! >> this is just a beautiful family right here. what's your name? >> madison. >> what is it? >> madison. >> taylor. >> bailey. >> sonya. >> rainy. >> where are you guys from? >> california. >> all right. they're not even a city. they're the whole state. i ke it. very nice.

let's check your weather. see what's going on. show you for today, memphis, tennessee, music city. wmc-tv 5. showers and thunderstorms today. temperature about 89 degrees. jet stream band of air, about 25,000 feet above the earth's surface. you can see a lot of that hot weather in the pacific northwest and the hot weather here in the east, we've got a big ridge on both ends of the country. as we get into thursday, record highs in t;;;;; good morning. it's a warm and humid summer morning under way on this tuesday. now 77 in washington. among, arlington, fairfax, prince george's counties mid 70s. further to our west near 70 near the bay and eastern shore. mid 70s now and more humid there. afternoon highs today climbing to low 90s with lots of sunshine and then tomorrow increasing humidity. sweltering humidity for wednesday, thursday and friday. highs near 90 tomorrow and thursday.

that's your latest weather. now let's go back over to ann. >> all right, al, thanks. by the way, we've got an announcement from kim to their family. they're having a baby! that's a big excitement. so, yay, good for you. also coming up this morning, michael jackson's most famous mm the king odf ms entofrom the king of pop. what they're doing in our studio. - ( women vocalizing )

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back now at 8:11. with historic memorabilia once owned by the king of pop, some of michael jackson's personal items, including his most famous sequinned glove worn in that performance you just saw, will be sold off as part of a music icon's auction in november. darren julian and martin nolan are from julian's auction house. nice to see you both. welcome back. there it is. >> it is. >> taken it off. i didn't damage it in any way. >> that's right. it's even more iconic because it's worn by matt lauer. >> that's right. that's going to boost the price. he had a lot of sequinned gloves. why is this one so special? >> the main thing is is that it was worn on the motown 25 special which is the most historic performance of michael jackson. and it's a left-handed glove. out of all the gloves it's a glove you can identify to a specific performance. so it's -- it's just a really great piece. >> for people who can't see it, it's like a regular leather glove with the strips of the

sequins kind of -- >> it's a golf glove. and michael as you remember, michael didn't know he was going to perform. he made the decision at the last minute. so this was put together very last-minute. >> give me a ballpark figure. what could that fetch at auction? >> we estimate $40,000 to $06,000. but it's going to sell for a lot more. we have interests in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. >> you got it in an interesting way. >> walter orange from the commodores. which wassed opening act for the jackson five. and walter would always ask michael for his autograph. and michael would say, walter, i'm never going to give you my autograph because you're more famous than me. they continued that joke all the way through for several years. and at the motown 25 special backstage, walter said now after that performance you have to give me your autograph. >> and instead. >> michael said no, you can have my glove. >> you said -- >> $40,000, to $60,000. >> fell me about the fedora. >> this was worn in 1995 on the mtv music awards. and what's great about this, it's got his name on the inside. so what's really great about this is it comes with a letter signedar mieie p peyrerearie pr

jackson. >> and the authenticity of that. >> tells where the hat was born by michael. >> give me an idea on this one. >> $6,000 to $8,000 the next two outfits were worn at the apollo theater. this was in 2002, we estimate it $1,000 to $2,000. this was michael's last performance -- >> in the united states? okay. and this one was also -- this was when he sang dangerous? >> yes, at the apollo theater. $3,000 to $5,000. very conservative estimates. >> now let's come over here. >> the jacket -- >> from the bad world >> >> 1987 to 1989, michael's first solo tour. designed and created, and we're going to turn the jacket around here. >> this is a little unusual. he signed the back of the jacket. he wrote 1998. >> with triple zero. we don't know for sure what that meant. >> because the tour was in the late 1980s. >> exactly. and donated to charity. sold at auction in 1989. but michael signed this, rumor

has it, supposedly, that this is michael believes this would be the year that he would die. and that's why -- we estimate this $8,000 to $10,000. but again this would be a $40,000 to $50,000 jacket. >> michael liked to sketch things. fascination with mickey mouse. >> loved mickey mouse. so mickey mouse wearing the bad jacket, signed by michael jackson. again, 1998 with the triple zeros. meaning that was the year he was expected to pass away. >> he was a pretty good artist, by the way. >> $2,000 to $3,000. we sold a painting of michael's recently for $24,000. >> this next one surprised me, mainly because, well he loved charlie chaplain. he said that was his hero. but he did this when he was only 9 years old? this is really good. >> this comes to us from michael's aunt and uncle signed by michael jackson age 9. and she tellss that michael was a very prolific artist, ages 8, 9 and 10, was constantly

doing paintings, and he gave this to his aunt. we estimat again, $2,000 to $3,000. fantastic. charlie chaplain. michael jackson. a young michael jackson signed this, and it could be $30,000, $40,000, $50,000. goes for auction on november 21st here in new york. >> finally. the zombie outfit. >> some similarity. this is one of the zombie costumes from the famous "thriller," video. which was done in 1983. we estimate that $600 to $800. again, michael, after they recording of the video, he donated this to the local police station, they raffled it off for charity. it was bought by a fireman. comes to us from the reman's wife. michael was great giver to charity always. >> you guys were here last when there was supposed to be a huge michael jackson auction in march, i think it was. that was canceled at the last minute. these items were not originally included in that auction. >> that's exactly right. these items come from family members or people that michael

gave them to. >> so what happened to all the items from that auction? >> they were returned. and we resolved everything on good terms with michael jackson. >> so they've been given back to the michael jackson estate. >> that's correct. >> might that return to neverland? >> we don't know. >> you're not in control of those. >> no. >> darren and martin, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> we appreciate it. good luck. again the auction will be here in new york in november. and by the way, a few weeks ago we had andy warhol's famous painting of michael jackson here in the studio. it is being auctioned off by a separate gallery. today is the last day you can bid on it. just wanted to fill you in on . up next, speaking french with brad pitt. more of ann's exclusive interview. - ( rock music playing ) - ♪ oh!

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now to more of our exclusive inster view with bad pitt in his latest film "inglourious basterds" he stored has a man leading a jewish vigilante squad as they hunt down nazis. >> once we're in enemy territory, as a bushwhacking guerrilla army we're going to be doing one thing and one thing only. killing nazis. sound good? >> yes, sir! >> let me ask you to describe what you think about this. yes or no, part war movie, part specialatety western. >> yeah. yeah, that's fire. it's all tarantino. i think that says it. >> a combo comedy, tragedy and farce. >> yeah. where even history gets

bastardized. >> a jewish revenge fantasy? >> there's some of that in there, sure. >> okay. well here's a quote from one of your fellow actors, eli roth, the idea of going back and killing natz zis, it's exhilarating, it's like kosher porn, it's organize as mick. your reaction to that? >> i remember the kosher porn. it's really good fun. and tarantino is such a good voice, it's him at his best. >> you know -- >> real pleasure to be a part of. >> that said there is some scalping involved. >> yeah, people lose a few hairs. >> in fact you're kind of in change of that. you -- you play aldo reign. >> from the tennessee mountains and i lead a renegade group who take scalps. >> this is very conflicting movie. i have to say i was very conflicted watching it. constantly, you know, torn. >> yeah. >> you want that to happen. >> a little bit, yeah. yes. >> and you have this tennessee accent. >> yep. >> oh, you still have it?

>> yep. >> so when you have accents, when you get these accents, do they stick around? >> no. i can forget it. this one i do pretty good. the dialogue, you don't mess with it, because if you wander off trail even one step you're just going to muck it up. it's just -- >> this means great? the french word for that -- i've been studying french. >> i haven't got to that lesson yet. that's how far along i am. >> tres bon. you speak french as well now. this is actually filmed at a time, supposed to be based early on during the occupation. by the germans of france. >> right. >> was that what inspired you -- >> no, no. just being in france inspires me to speak french. >> so when you are in a quentin tarantino movie, and by the way, he is fun. >> he's hilarious. >> word is you two are on the same level, on the same connection. >> i get on with him.

i sure do. >> and you are dealing with the topic that's very, maybe, slightly pushing against areas where people are still sensitive. >> absolutely. it's quite -- really, i don't know how you make another world war ii movie. this one just kind of puts a lid on it. >> hmm. you had to watch a bunch of movies. >> what quentin does is screens movies every week, most every week for his crew, kind of get in the spirit of next week's work. i'm a more tactile actor. >> i don't know what that means. but okay. >> it means i -- okay. >> i don't know what that means. i'm not an actor. >> i feel my way through it than i could burned alive, what i'm actually doing. >> more intuitive. you enjoy the collaboration. >> yeah, i do. i mean it is. it's quite an art form and we're really subject to the directors. because they're the storytellers. so it helps when you get on. >> the relationships -- which might explain why you do so many of the oceans movies? >> well, that's just good fun. >> with guys you like and with

people you enjoy. >> that's kind of my rule now. the company you keep. >> i think if you do a kids movie. >> actually i'm doing a voice for animation film with robert downey jr., tina fey, and superhero wants out. >> doesn't want to be a superhero? >> done. >> oh. is it autobiographical? >> it's really not. sounded good, didn't it? sounds like an angle. >> what happens is though a lot of people view these kind of movies because -- because they are parents, are you doing this -- are you inspired? >> yeah. >> you want your kids to see you as a superhero who wants out? >> no just something they'll enjoy and think dad's cool. >> you have said quote i think acting is a younger man's game. there are fewer interesting parts for older people and we all get older. but i feel like i've done it. i've kind of had my time, and that's quite freeing. >> i totally disagree with that. each generation kind of -- there are different themes and focus on what movies are. i think we're in a really

extreme time for films. >> and one of those films is "inglourious basterds," opening in theaters nationwide on friday.>> you >> you say that good morning. i'm pat lawson muse in the 4500 block of wisconsin avenue northwest where we're collecting backpacks for kids. backpacks for needy kids. backpacks stuffed with all of the supplies they need. we have pencils, glue, water. these are $12.99. you buy one at a participating cvs store and donate you find athise. l u yotfind a list tohicwm.ngn. co nbcwashington.com. you can also make youron dations online and your donations will buy a backpack. all of these backpacks will go to needy kids in the washington area. if you happen to be in the neighborhood, we're at 4555 wisconsin avenue northwest.

come on down and see us. buy a backpack or bring your own stuffed backpack for kids and we'll see you again in 25 minutes. nowe'lhalak a bre and haer

good morning. a warm and humid summer morning under way. temperatures mid to upper 70s. highs reaching low 90s with lots of sunshine. more humid on wednesday, thursday and friday. highs near 90 tomorrow and thursday. there's also an increased chance of afternoon thundershowers tomorrow and thursday and maybe some more friday and saturday. jerry, how is traffic? >> tough morning headed for downtown. packed it nightly along 395 to the 14th street bridge.

no incidents here. an accident held traffic down once that was released it was jammed. accident buoy 50 westbound at 197. scene. remainscene. more news in 25 minutes. back to the "today" show after this break.

8:30 now on a tuesday morning. 18th of august, 2009. we guarantee there will be a hot time in the old town today, because we've got some sizzling temperatures. we've got baked big apple in store for these people. but nobody's complaining. >> it's not so bad yet. >> it's not brutal yet. >> what time is it going to get brutal? in a half hour.

>> i don't want to be out here in a half hour. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry who is in while meredith is on vacation. al roker and natalie morales join us, as well. coming up, something that gets a lot of people steamed. >> that's right. we're talking about when parents tell other parents how to parent. you don't like that. you get -- you get crazy. >> shut up. >> so what do we do? and -- and sometimes maybe we should pay attention. maybe sometimes they might have -- it does take a village. >> more open-minded. >> yway, we're going to find out how to handle the situation if you've been through -- actually i had a situation once people actually thought i was the nanny. because my son was blond and they were telling me what to do. i was calm. i didn't get angry. anyway, let's move on. anyway, what else? >> we're also going to head over to the grill with giada de laurentiis. we're going to cook up great summer vegetables and make a salad out of it. >> anything that she makes is not -- i have never been disappointed by what she makes,

ever. >> she wouldn't be here if you were disappointed. >> earlier on we showed you michael jackson's famous sequinned glove. well, we're going to take a look at the progression of michael jackson's look, his face. we're going to take an interesting look back in photos. fascinating stuff. >> okay. and then also coming up, want to let you know if you have any questions or concerns about what the summer sun is doing to your skin, very appropriate on a day like today, be sure to check out a new online only series that's dedicated to this topic. to find out check out the website skincarescience.msnbc.com. >> okay. >> all right. >> before we go any further, what's the weather doing to us today? >> that's right. well you know, here it's already pretty toasty. going to get steamy, as well. we're looking at hazy, hot conditions. air quality advisories. we've got also, heat advisories out in the pacific northwest, risk of strong storms back through the central plains. tomorrow, that risk moves to the

east. the upper is mississippi river valley, record highs in the pacific northwest. hot along the eastern seaboard. and one of my biggest fans. we're looking;;;;; good morning. we have a summer haze filling our sky around the washington region on this tuesday morning. live picture from our city camera hazy sunshine. now 77 in washington. we're in the 70s just about throughout the entire region now in the mid 70s. we'll reach the low 90s later on today. hazy sunshine. and moderate humidity and then mo humid tomorrow, thursday and friday. highs near 90 wednesday and thursday and a good chance of afternoon thundershowers both days. maybe a morning or afternoon thundershower iday and again that's your latest weather. now let's head on down to washington, d.c. and say hello to my willie. how are you, sir? >> you got to love those lazy, hazy, crazy says of summer.

what a wonderful hit. it is nice summertime. we love it. take a look as the jar spins. ayhdrt ay fm odudroes faym ke uc sms,llr'viorme, smucker's, orville, re fr' argeudreisndbi ae, a she is fromorangevale, california, 101. loves eating out with her friends,frnown as thend sweetes am cpich pdonlayer t he business. birthd. naples, idnafles, esidt tow ins tnplheic nt towne liabrepl na,be ly, naples, unbelievable. 5. rjoysng enjoys reading about celebrities in the tabloids. ooh, ooh. ws t's s out o those. fifth tm finally made it. she likes rbec.ueochsochsdall, . advocate for the boy scouts of america. attributes longety to never iving up and exercisingis h i had a mind.if

rena haste, chevy chase, maryland. move center but says tomaso center but says too many old op. loh,r her. gi orgea.ofl anav h, georgia. mavofa ts terin.owten. he awh atwh town. anyway, local church member for ver 80 years. lvionstyge iev nv sm inin drindr..ngki and fiey,s thi ngik ls thi one, rynkba ts, los les,geanles, , rnli veianiry outgoing with a great see roecarerndpp a ashroecppernd a for many, many years. longevity, she says, is putting god first. number one. number one. that's it, that's all from your friends in washington, d.c. where you always get the straight truth from the heart. trust me, i'm a politician. >> all right, willard, thank you

very much. when we come back, how to deal with other parents who push their brand of parenting on you. we'll talk about it. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

this morning on "today's family," other parents raising children is hard enough but having to deal with unsolicited advice and comments from other parents can make it even more difficult. >> people will let you know what they're thinking at every moment. and it's very uncomfortable, especially on a play ground. >> i should not be a part-time working mother, i should be a ll-time mother at home raising my children, because that's what good mothers do. they don't work outside the home. >> it's almost like an accusing way, s wanted to know, while my son was playing on the play ground, why i was feeding my child at the same time. >> he accidentally ran into her 2-year-old, and she gave me all tense, dirty looks, whisked her

child away and said, we don't want to play near those rough boys anymore, or that rough boy anymore and took him away. >> in her new book "hell is other parents" andther tales of maternal could be busten deborah takes on on the journey through the ups and downs of modern-day parenting. she's along with us along with clinical psychologist dr. ruth peters. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> okay so this had to come from experience. >> of course it did. well, i wrote a bunch of different essays. even just last week i was on the subway, and i was with my toddler and my husband, and we had, you know, tadler had a toy and he's playing with the toy and i'm reading "the new york times" and it's a long journey and this woman is staring at us very angrily and she gets up and walks over and she says, i hope whatever you're reading was interesting enough to warrant ignoring your child. >> ooh-kay. so that was an intervention. that was a combustible moment. what did you do, by the way? >> i just smiled. >> yeah? so what's -- what's going on here? what's happening? what's causing this to happen, i

mean what -- what is the message you're trying to say to other parents? >> i let her figure out the causes. i just know that as a parent living through this kind of day-to-day conflt with other parents, you wonder, you know, i covered wars for a living. and sometimes you feel like the play ground is the worse battle zone than afghanistan. what is it about other parenting styles that make people say, if another child steals a shovel, your child's being a bully. children are 2 years old. they're going to steal shovels. i just don't understand where it's coming from. >> where is it coming from? >> it really is more than a war. it's internal and emotional. i think people feel if your child is annoying them, or if your child is possibly being unsafe with their child, they have the right to do something. it's a very fine line, and you have to figure out how to tactfully handle that when somebody says something to you. >> i think the question is sort of what's the -- the difference is judging another parent. and the other idea is protecting or helping trying to help another parent. in other words sometimes i've

seen children crying and nobody's doing anything about it and i don't talk to the parents, i just kind of go and help take care of the kids, even if i don't even know them. that i think is an okay thing. where is it not a good thing. if you were to say to the parent, you need to do a better job of doing this, does that cross the line if they're doing something really wrong? >> what i think is, it's safety. it's all about safety. if thether person's child is doing something unsafe to yourself or their kid or their clotheslining kids in the park, that you have to stop. i like talking to the child a little bit and talking to the parent if you have to. but you have to use tact. one of the things i like to say is when somebody says something to you about your child, you know, about your parenting, you could say, you know, maybe you have a point. i'll consider that. i think that's wonderful. not saying you're wrong. but for example you're talking about the crying child. again, a few weeks ago, my toddler's having a tantrum. and you know sometimes when they have tantrums, there's nothing you can do. so we're giving them a time-out against the wall of the building. keep giving him time-out. if you can calm down, talking to

him very gently. and the doorman of the building comes out and said, i'm sorry but one of the parents who's a resident here wants you to take your child away, it's scaring his child. >> oh. >> you know. you can't win. you just can't win. >> really i think that's a fact of becoming a mother you realize you can't really win. you're oftentimes, even with your child. so you say stop and say do they have a point? you might want to consider changing your behavior if, in fact, that might make things better. >> don't be defensive. they may have a point. >> okay. you say also prepare your response. well that's kind of hard to do when you're doing this -- >> that was the rponse of, you know, you may have a point. or that's an idea, i'll think about it. that in no way is admitting they're right, you're wrong. you're just being very tactful and very smart and getting out of the situation. >> or thank you for your input. >> thank you. >> use common sense. be poll light. and also, see if there's a teachable moment. is there anything wrong with her suggestions here, in your view? >> no, not at all. not at all. but i also talk about in my book, for example, a mother who poached our baby-sitter, paid

her twice what we were paying her, and then had the nerve to call me for a reference. and i was on the phone going, really, you're calling me for a reference. you're stealing my baby-sitter and calling for a reference. i just kind of feel like sometimes we're living in this crazy world as parents these days and that our parents' generation didn't get as involved as we do. and maybe there's a happy balance between the two. between our parents' generation and our generation of, you know, live and let live a little bit. your children need to work on conflicts by themselves, too. that's really important. i mean i have a 14-year-old, a 12-year-old, a 3-year-old. and i've learned over the years, there's a point where you say, i'm stepping out of this. i'm not going to get involved. especially when the kids enter middle school. they have to work things out. >> that's a very, very good point. are we too high-strung as parents? >> yes! but i think the way to think about it is you have the right to raise your child any way you want in your home. but when the child is out in public you have a responsibility

to deal with community starpds. you know, like we don't clothesline. we don't push off rocks. we don't do this. so i think you have the right to do what you want with your kid. but when it involves other kids' safety and your child's safety, you have the responsibility to do what is appropriate and use common sense. >> all right. okay. we're going to leave it there. the book is called "hell is other parents." deborah, thank you so much. dr. ruth peters, thank you so much. it's very interesting conversation. we could go on. but we don't have time. up next, grilling with giada. first, this is "today" on nbc.

and this morning on "cooking with giada" we're cooking a summer salad. we're talking about italian chef and "today" contributor giada de laurentiis and she joins us on the plaza. giada, good morning. >> good morning. >> grilling up a summer salad.

some people are going to say, what are we talking about. before we get to it, let's talk about the great vegetables in season right now. >> these are some of my favorites. what happens i think a lot of times you get an abundance of all sorts of things, tomatoes and zucchi and corn, especially corn. corn on the cob, you need to do something more interesting with it. if you grill all the stuff it gives it more flavor and tenderizes it so you don't have to eat raw vegetables all the time. >> you're going to do this together in kind of a chopped salad. >> it is. which is one of my favorite ways. we have green beans which are, i think a lot of people think of green beans, they think of them in the fall. but actually, they're the best in the summertime. and you just want to make sure they snap. everything should look really green and vibrant. there shouldn't be -- the skin should be really smooth like an eggplant. cucumbers should feel nice and heavy. lots of water, crisp. >> people at home don't have someone to come around and mist their vegetables right before the segment. >> you guys are special. yes, i agree. and then the trick with corn. a lot of times just pull on it,

don't feel weird about pulling this back and i like to just kind of pierce it. this one is a little dry. >> okay. >> you want it to pop? >> i never have done that before. >> with your nail and it kind of squirts. >> okay. >> it's dry. so you want to make sure it does. >> let's some cover to the grill here. >> we've got some shrimp already on here. so i take the vegetables, the romaine lettuce. >> you grill lettuce? >> yeah. >> ann les hers medium rare. >> so i can take care of that. >> you're putting the olive oil on even the lettuce? >> yes. >> some salt. >> and some pepper. >> you needo make sure your grill is pretty clean. >> so clean the grill, number one. number two, ht it up, so turn the grill on high. for about ten minutes, get it nice and hot. then when you put the vegetables and olive, whatever you're going to grill, turn down the heat to medium. if you leave it on high you will char your vegetables. >> we don't want to overdock vegetables. >> so then you just set them down. the other thing is people think they can put stuff on the grill and walk away.

go get a beer, go do something. hang out, stay here. watch it, because it happens very quickly. >> yes? >> and with the zucchini, keep in mind, when you cut them. nice and thick. the thinner you cut them, they fall apart. >> and the corn almost wants that roasted, that little blackened -- >> exactly. >> do you roast maybe with the skins on? >> can you do that, as well. can you do that, as well. then you just have to wait till it cools down completely. >> you're going to go down here. so now we've got the grilled vegetables done. we've got some zucchini. i've got the corn. you've got the romaine lettuce. chop it up and we're all going to put it in this bowl together. so chopping like big chop? >> you know what? that actually depends on how you like it. some people like the vegetables very small. very small pieces. i like it chunky. i like people to be able to taste the vegetables. with the corn, you just kind of set it like this and cut down. make sure you have a nice, sharp knife. >> and a big space. >> this is all going to go in

the bowl together? >> this is all going in the bowl together? >> use my hands? >> if they're clean. >> they're cleaned. >> there you go. >> i had a sequinned glove on. how dirty can they be? >> i had to purell. >> then you put everything in there. there we go. and lots of color. which is, i think, a really nice thing. and the great thing about these salads is, if you grill all the vegetables and put them together. don't dress it, and leave it in the french, you can eat it whenever you want. >> summer salads shoul be a very light dressing. you've got simple ingredients. >> lehman juice. olively oil. >> and you just dump it a together. 3 tables spoons of lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of olive oil. equal parts. you can either use agave or honey. just dump that in there. pass me the salt and pepper. >> there we go. >> i love agave, by the way. >> do you? >> ftastic thing. >> very sweet and it doesn't give you that up and down that sugar makes you. >> correct. honey can sometimes be very sweet. >> and it's just a great flavor.

>> drizzle that over and keep it light? >> right. >> about the tomatoes? >> we're going to throw the tomatoes on top. i'm going to finish it. avocado, shrimp. look at that. that's beautiful. >> it's a meal all in one. >> there you go. >> roasted corn on top. >> and a little crunch, because i love that. i take some of the restaurant style tortilla chips and put them right on top. >> you know what else would be good on that? peanuts. >> oh, you could do peanuts, too. >> change your recipe. >> i'm not going to change the recipe. add the value. >> thank you. >> good job. >> happy summer. >> back with much more of "today" on a tuesday morning.

this morning on "today's" pets, the hero pet of the year. we told you about reader's digest's search for the animal heroic owed the most skills, where readers were given the chance to vote for one of five finalists, two dogs, a parr parrot, a cat and a horse. >> the winner is chi chi t dog. a 13 pound chihuahua mix. mary and rick lane are chi-chi's owners. good morning, congratulations to you. >> thank you. >> how did chi chi become heroic in your opinion? >> well, he saved two ladies' lives at the beach. >> this is in north carolina on the outer banks? >> out on the outer banks down in indian beach.

>> they were struggling in the water. >> there was a storm surge. waves were pounding and there was a wall of sand, and the beach was slanted down, and one of these -- and there were two elderly ladies and one that fallen on her back head first into the surf. the other lady, the little bitty lady was about 90 pounds trying to hold her head up. >> and before we say, chi chi ran in and saved them in the water. chi chi salerted you guys that there was a problem. >> that's what he di he leapt out of the beach chair, he has a beach chair, he leapt out of his beach chair, still attached, dragging the beach chair and he was making a sound we never heard before, and rick said, mary, what's the matter with the dog? and i didn't even look at the dog, i said what's going on? and 100 yards down the beach we saw the two ladies in the surf. >> so how were they pulled out of the water? >> we pulled them out. >> so you're the heroes! >> but that's the point is that, you know, it wasn't like chi chi

responded to the commotion. you said the tenor of his bark made you know. >> absolutely. it was an alarm. >> i understand he's now a big celebrities in greensberg where you all live? >> oh, he is. in the vet's office they put him up in the news letter. his picture's been everywhere. everyone recognizes him. >> and people at home are wondering why we're not reaching and petting chi chi. chi chi gets a little territorial. >> oh, yeah. >> that's okay. you pet him for us. >> congratulations. >> chi chi. >> whoa! >> we'll be back after this. our time right now is 8:55. we have 77 degrees out there.

good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. we have the forecast coming up. a 13-year-old girl is expected to recover after being shot inside her home. this happened on frederick douglass place in southeast washington. police say the girl was about to take a shower last night and just about midnight several shots came through the wall of the home hitting the girl in the back. she's out of the hospital this morng. police have no suspects and e whether theirlthas w targeted. in virginia, cooling on the idea of adding hot lanes to interstates 395 and 95. hot lanes stand for high occupancy toll lanes. they would have run from the pentagon all of the way out. the state leaders are pumping the brakes fearing there may not be enough money for the construction. the construction of the hot lanes on the beltway will not be affected. we'll take a break and come back and look at our weather and traffic. stay with us.

m..gogoni> > or ngng good mning. arm andum summer rning.g. here's a live camera on tillman island looking west across the chesapeake bay. temperature there near 80 degrees and dew point is steamy 75. we'll have humidity in place today with highs reaching the low 90s. even more humid tomorrow. after hazy sunshine today it will be partly sunny.

tomorrow, thursday and friday. a chance of passing mainly afternoon thundershowers each day. highs near 90 wednesday and thursday. now, how is traffic? >> time to look at the capital beltway. just volume and nothing to worry about. inner loop traveling from springfield on up toward the interchange at 66 outer loop not bad elsewhere. we'll look at the remnants of the accident moved to the shoulder 50 westbound at 197. a >> i4c ss ha het w t ssidee ny have what the is.year this year. t siasvicwtonbngmhico mn. toake aioon o dn gr toon orn go to

we are back with more of "today" on a tuesday morning. the 18th day of august, 2009. it is officially a heat wave here in new york. what makes it official? -- we have reached that. weave our crowd outside looking for shelter and enjoying the morning temperatures and a little face time out on the plaza with ann curry hanging out there. meanwhile, the mayor has suggested visiting a movie theater or shopping mall, where the ac is on full blast so you can keep it low at home. and reduce the risk of a pouter outage. >> and spend money at the same

time. >> bingo. >> inside studio 1a i'm matt lauer along with natalie morales and al roker. >> and ann. >> scoot out early this morning. she's out on the plaza. >> nobody scoots like ann. >> she's going on assignment >> she will be scooting in just a couple of minutes. >> coming up, jenny sanford -- >> she's scooting. >> what are you talking about? >> they said you were scooting out early, ann. so start scooting already. no, no, the other way. scoot the other way. >> there's no way out there. >> coming up in this half hour, jenny sanford, the first lady of south carolina and the wife of governor mark sanford is candiddy speaking out about her husband's infidelity. we're going to hear what she had to tell vogue magazine about her husband and where she thinks their marriage may be headed. >> also tributes to the king of pop, michael jackson, have been everywhere over the last two months but the changes to his face over the years kind of inescapeal. no one knows exactly what he did but today we're going to reveal one magazine's educated guess coiled with the help of one of

his plastic surgeons. >> you may think of shopping as retail therapy but it can only add to your anxiety. we're going to tell you the six questions you should be asking yourself before youwipe your credit card or take out more cash from the atm. >> all right. and a little later on how to keep the peace in your family as you handle your aging parents. and this is some really good advice. before we get to that you've got the morning headlines. >> that's right. new violence today in afghanistan where a roadside bomb has killed two u.s. troops, and wounded three others. earlier today, seven people were killed, including two u.n. workers, when a suicide bomber targeted a convoy of british troops and two mortar rounds stuck near the presidential palace as the taliban tries to disrupt thursday's elections. disturbing new details in the murders of byrd and melanie billings, the florida couple who adopted special needs children. newly released documents reveal their 10-year-old son was sleeping with his parents when masked gunmen burst in. in the boy's words, two bad men said, you are going to die, one,

two and three. and a 9-year-old who was asleep in another room said he heard seven booms and a scream. eight suspects have been arrested in connection with the case. a california grand jury has indicted sunday school teacher melissa huckaby for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 8-year-old sandra cantu, who disappeared in march. she could face the death penalty. huckaby's also charged with drugging a 7-year-old girl, and a 37-year-old man. a computer program is accused of masterminding the biggest i.d. theft in u.s. history. cross vr prosecutors say 28-year-old albert vonz less of miami and two russian partners hacked into corporate computers and stole data for 130 million debit and credit card accounts. gonzalez is already facing trial in a separate case. the theft of 40 million credit card numbers that cost at least $200 million. the wife of south carolina governor mark sanford is speaking out in-depth for the

first time about her husband's affair with a woman in argentina. jenny sanford tells "vogue" magazine that she googled the other woman to find out what she looked like. and that she -- that her husband was obsessed with this other woman. mrs. sanford calls his affair an addiction and describes learning of the philandering and quote punches to the gut. she also says it's up to him to save their marriage. a cameraman covering taiwan's worst worst flooding in half century nearly became a victim himself when he was swept away by a strong current. he was fortunately rescued downteam. today, taiwan's president apologized for the government's slow response to last week's typhoon, which has claimed at least -- as many as 500 lives. and tropical depression ana left ankle deep flooding in parts of puerto rico on monday and today could dump heavy rains on parts of haiti and cuba. you're up to date right now. four minutes past the hour. matt and al, busy time in the tropics right now. >> you've got your eye on a lot of that.

>> first of all, talk about the heat here in the east and the pacific northwest where we're looking at a big area of high pressure. bermuda high pumping up the heat along the eastern seaboard as we have our third day in a row of temperatures above 90. low 90s from washington, d.c. up to bangor, maine. out in the pacific northwest, more of that. more high pressure building in, and causing warmer than normal temperatur a, ean ws god out into the atlantic and show you the latest on tropical storm bill, category 2 storm, 100-mile-per-hour winds, moving west/northwest at 17. track of the storm will bring it early saturday morning, sometime out into the atlantic. and bermuda, we've got to keep an eye on. this could become at one point at least a category 3 hurricane. right now not threatening the mainland u.s., but we still keep an eye on it because some of the ;;;;;;; good morning. it's a g sultry summer morning under way. temperatures near 80 mid morning around the region. hazy sunshine with us the rest of the day as temperatures climb

into the low 90s. more humid tomorrow, thursday and friday sweltering humidity in place and partly sunny each day. hazy sunshine near 90. and a good chance of passing afternoon thundershowers each day. maybe a morning or afternoon thundershower friday and saturday. highs in the 80s. lower humidity and that's your latest weather. natalie? >> al, thank you. if you're about to head out the door with the mall as your mission, stand by. before you purchase that designer dress there are six questions you need to ask yourself to make sure it all looks good on you, and on your bottom line. adam glassman is the creative director for oprah magazine, which breaks it all down for us. >> good morning. >> these six questions. i know "o" magazine created this list, this go-to list before you go out and purchase. before you run that credit card again. what are you hoping that people think of, and they ask themselves? >> well, i'm hoping that people really think about great buys. and shopping, with some smarts,

really. you don't want to -- you want to avoid impulse shopping, ultimately. >> tough economic times. tough market right now. >> very tough. and i think it's also very important to shop with a debit card or cash, not just a credit card. >> you're not telling women not to shop? >> oh, no, no, no. shopping is really fun and enjoyable. >> it's retail therapy for a lot of women. >> it is. but there are needs that we have and there are wants. so we really have to think about the two things. >> first question that you say you should be asking yourself is have i covered my basic monthly expenses? so, we're talking about your mortgage, your rent, whatever it may be. >> all of that. the most important. >> okay. >> that's the most important question. if you have any left over money, then you can think about shopping. >> but you do have to set aside, of course, your money for your savings and all of that. >> of course. >> you're talking about discretionary money. >> correct. you don't want to buy a new burr beurrely trench before you pay your electric bill? >> cash or credit card? >> cash or debit card. i think so. go with the amount of money that you want to spend. if you want to spend $100. just bring $100 with you. >> next you say to look at the

price, obviously, looking for the lowest price possible. but you say there's a formula that you can follow to figure out if you're really getting your money's worth. >> i love this formula. you think about -- you look at the price of the garment. and you think about theumber of times you're going to wear it over a lifetime. divide the two, and if it works out to about $3 or less per wear, it's a great buy. buy it. hold onto it. wear it. >> getting a lot of wear for your bucks then. >> correct. >> you also say before hitting the stores ask yourself, do i really need this? i mean this is a mistake that all of us fall into. do we ask ourselves that question? a lot of us don't. what is the easiest way to determine what you really need versus what you want? >> well, you want to make a list, really. you want to take stock of your closet. and you need to look and think about all the basics first. if you're missing a white shirt, add that to the list. if you're missing a black pant, add that to the list before you start buying a trendy item that will go out of style quicker than you could even probably wear it. >> i think the mistake a lot of us make is we buy on impulse and

we tend to buy things that we already have something very similar, right? >> correct. >> do we even know what we have in our closet half the time? >> i think about 20%. most women really only wear 20% of what they have in their closet. and you really want to buy stuff that works with other things you have. we've all made that mistake. what do i do with it? >> okay next thing you really want to make sure that you ask the question, does this purchase, this dress or whatever i'm buying, suit my body? so important the fit, right? >> the most important thing. you want it to flatter your body. you want clothes that sort of play up your assets, and downplay parts of your body that you want to perhaps camouflage. you also want clothes that make you feel alive and happy. so befriend your tailor. the most important thing. because everything needs a little nip and tuck. >> so it should look like it was made to fit you. >> correct. >> next you say, that the other important question is, is it comfortable? and is it low maintenance? i mean, so there are certain fabrics that are going to allow that a little bit better than others? >> correct. and you know, i have this test.

you don't want fabrics that are going to wrinkle every time you square it. >> right. >> which means you have to go to the dry cleaner every time you wear it, because that adds to the cost of the garment. just scrunch the clothing when you're in the store. crunch it. if it gets very wringly, avoid that piece of clothing. >> when it does say dry cleaner only. does that mean you always have to take it to the dry cleaner? >> i really supg it. some things can be hand suggested. but you really want to find things you don't have to dry clean all the time. >> another thing to consider is the longevity of the piece that you're buying. you really, if you want to get your money's worth, buy something that you think you're going to look good in maybe ten years from now. are we really buying purchases that are going to last us a lifetime? >> i think we should think like that. because it is an investment. no matter what you spend, it is an investment. so great classics really last a lifetime. if you like it now, when you're 40, are you going to like it on yourself when you're 50 or even 60? >> all right. so words to live by. things for us to consider before we impul buy. adam glassman thanks very much.

i feel very guilty this morning. still to come, if you're worried about fitting into that perfect outfit you decided that you can afford, and since we talked about fit being so perfect, we're going to get some secrets from the flat belly diet cookbook. but up next the many faces of michael. medical insight into the evolution of the king of p and his many faces. right after this. announcer: there's a place called hidden valley. where kids not only t their vegetables, they can't get enough. hidden valley ranch, makes vegetables delectable. now rediscover the delectable taste that can only come from hidden valley, the original ranch. the sparkly flakes. the honey-baked bunches! the magic's in the mix. my favorite part? eating it. honey bunches of oats.

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no, no, no. i've actually lost weight... i just have a high metabolism or something... ...lucky. babe... umm, i gotta go. (announcer) 28 delicious flavors at around 100 calories each. eiyoait the evolution of michaelle jackson's face over the years continues to fascinate fans. and while the reasons behind many of those changes may never fully be revealed the september issue of "alou" magazine has some theories. kristen is the magazine's editor. a lot of people point to 1981 as the beginning of this transformation of michael

jackson. what happened in 1981? >> well, 1979, michael jackson suffered a huge fall during a concert and broke his nose. and this was the beginning of the plastic surgery. and what we wanted to look at as a magazine was a lot's been talked about with his appearance. his appearance was as important to his performance as his music. >> sure. >> yet, people always sort of dismissed the oddities in his appearance to body dismorphic disorder and we found there were a series of medical issues that influenced his style, the way he dressed, the way he looked. from 1981 he gets his first ne job but when you go to 1983, he has a revegs of his nose job. which is very common. >> and when you say revision, what did they do? >> they basically narrowed his nose a bit more. and this is something that is 20% of all patients have this. now when we spoke with his doctors, and people in the offices, you know, a lot of speculation has been made about how many nose jobs, nose

surgeries did he have? >> he only admits to two. >> correct. now we had some doctors who look at pictures who say it looks like he has 20. no one knows for sure. but the doctors had an interesting -- an interesting theory as to what may have caused his nose to continue to change. we will get to that picture. >> but in 1984, there was another change. this te it was his hair. and it was pretty publicized reason for that. >> right. when michael jackson was filming the pepsi commercial in 1984 his hair caught on fire. what people don't realize is he did lose a lot of hair in this. he suffered major scarring on his scalp. he had to -- he scarred wearing wigs and hats, so this is where you see his looks start to change. and he also had to undergo a number of very painful surgeries. scar revision for years to come. >> could this have been really in a sense the most transfortive issue that happened to him? because it sounds like this was extremely painful. and when we recently saw that video from behind when it happened, it was probably

extremely traumatic. >> right. the sources we spoke with, they definitely indicated this would have been very traumatic for anyone to go through. never mind someone who is in the spotlight. >> and when you're talking about scalp revisions, that's got to be pretty painful. >> it is painful and it's a number of surgeries over a series of years. >> 1986, there's a really dramatic change here. >> yes. in 1986, you start to see that he has tattooed his eyebrows, his lash line, his hairline, and what's happening, the doctors explained to us, is that michael was not only had he suffered the burns, but he is now diagnosed with lupus, which is cause hair loss. and also vitiligo, which causes uneven -- >> splotchiness. >> yes, exactly. so one of the treatments is to, of course, disguise the hair loss with tattooing, and then also to start using

hydroquinone, which is a cleeching. >> the pailness could be the result of this drug and pale makeup? >> right. it could be a combination of both. there's a lot of possibilities. but these are things that, you know, you and i don't have to deal with. >> when you're talking about you've talked with doctors. are these actually michael jackson's doctors? >> yes, we spoke with his longtime plastic surgeon, arnold klein, nurses and staff from their office and a number of other doctors who had worked with theseeams. >> 1987, again, another difference here. >> okay. 1987 is where you really start to see his nose changing. it's a lot thinner. the tip is raised. and where some people might say he had more surgery, what the doctors did say to us is that they suspect he was actually getting injections of a steroid, and what kelog does, it's a steroid sometimes used in the nose to decrease star tissue. >> is this a very painful procedure. >> it's incredibly painful and patients are typically put under using diprivan, which of course

has been implicated in michael jackson's death. but it's a very, very painful injection. and if you get it over a series of years, which most people would not do, it can really cause yourose to shrink and also can thin the skin. >> the controversy, of course, is that the color of his skin. we really start to see him lightening from 1990 on into 1996. >> yes. and this is the doctor, our sources said could be a combination of makeup, but also the fact there could be bleaching agents used because of the vitiligo. if you do notice, we spoke with a friend of his who did say, if you notice, michael is always wearing long-sleeved shirts. >> high collars. >> and high collars. could be because with vitiligo you have a speckled appearance. >> there's a picture of him from 2002. a lot of people think the word you've always heard, his nose was falling off, that he had a prosthetic nose. >> our sources say his nose was not falling off. in this picture what he has on his nose is actually paper tape which is used, patients wear it

for a week after rhinoplasty. so he could have had a revision of his nose. >> so sad to look at. and then in 2009, his -- i mean, almost skeletal. >> yes. and now this is something, michael has -- he's very gaunt, and it could be a result of weight loss, which we do know he did lose a considerable amount of weight. of course we also lose a lot of fat in our faces as we age. what dr. klein admits is he was giving michael jackson filler injections to help fill out the face. it looks a little uneven. that could be because of a thinning of the skin from the kenalog, he had a lot to deal with, such a public figure. and having all of these medical problems that would be challenging for anything. >> kristen per at to, thanks so much. >> still to come, mark mcgrath explains why starget iinsg targeting cougars. really? but first, these messages. i want my students to have something that they could apply the next day at work if they have to. for my students, they need to know that i'm there for them;

- it's a passion of mine. - for them to say, 'you've helped me develop, uh, ideas, you've helped me grow and become a better person,' those are the reasons why i like to teach. my name is dr. maureen steinwall. - dr. tom schmidt. - dr. jillian skelton and i am a phoenix.

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coming up the secrets to losing that belly weight in j 96 hours. >> wow! stop your clocks. plus jeff lewis on how to remodel on a dime. great. yea, mom you're the best. i thought you would like it. so, how are your classes, are you enjoying them? (announcer) it's more than just that great peanut taste, choosing jif is a simple way to show someone how much you care. we can't wait to get you home. i love you mom. i love you too. we'll see you soon. choosey moms, choose jif.

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tuesday, august 18th, 2009. i'm barbara harrison. let's see what kind of day we have here in washington. we'll check the weather now. here's tom. >> great day for beaches and pools. outdoor recreation for now. later this afternoon it will be uncomfortably hot and humid. highs today in the low 90s with hazy sunshine. and then tonight clouds rolling in. increased humidity. it will be steamy sweltering humidity tomorrow into the first part of the weekend. highs near 90 wednesday and thursday. afternoon thundershowers are likely. and that's the way it looks right now. >> all right. thank you. we'll check in with jerry in

>> good morning. inner loop. of the beltway slow. nbc 4 making seur kids have. join us ineyheedne. join us in ourac borac f for kir

♪ he only knows one note. >> oh, no. >> more. >> think your pet's got talent? check out nora, the piano cat. come on, let's do chopstic or something. if you think this is the magic of editing? guess what, seize going to be tickling the ivory live, tomorrow, right here on "today." >> masterpiece. very nice. anyway, i'm al roker along with natalie morales.

and on to a more serious topic coming up in this half hour, taking care of your aging parents. it can raise old tensions as wellsat c aewere n ones. this morning we've got some advice on avoiding family feuds during what can be a very difficult time. and sensitive. >> very important advice. also, we're going to catch up with the stars of the real estate reality show called "flipping out" and just like everyone else, jeff lewis himself is a real estate slump but he's going to show us how to reinvent a room in your home on a shoestring budget. and he's still got that same old personality. >> how is he? >> also coming up a little bit later, how to dump the spare tire around your waist with recipes from the flat belly cookbook. important information to get to. but first, the weather. >> that's right. a little on the toasty side in the northeast. for today, we do have ha, hot, humid conditions with air quality advisories in the northeast. warm in the pacific northwest. risk of some strong storms in the central plains. for tomorrow, that risk moves into the upper ohio river valley. wet weather in the northern

plains. record highs in the pacific northwest. and the heat continues; smer mngorni a wmarr morning under way. here's the view of our sky overwatching virginia in the distance. a lkluye with summer haze. 80 degrees in washington. near 80 around the region now. moderate humidity in place. increasing clouds tonight. slight chance of an evening thundershowers. then a greater chance of afternoon thundershowers with increased humidity wednesday and thursday. highs near 90 tomorrow and thursday. thank u, al. coming up next, advice on keeping peace in the family when you come together to care for an elderly relative. ♪ daisy, daisy sour cream

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we traded milk chocolate... for the delicious taste of dark chocolate. also a plus. then we added 35% of your daily fiber... plus antioxidants, vitamin e, and zinc. ♪ fiberplus bars from kellogg. fiberplus so much more. this morning on "today's family," who's going to take care of mom and dad? for a lot of us it's a family decision. but when you start disagreeing with one another, it can lead to major problems and broken relationships. eleanor ginsburg is with aarp and dr. jane taylor is a psychiatrist and contributor to momlogic.com. this is a big problem. all of a sudden you wake up and

your mom and dad are old. and you're not expecting it. when -- when you're dealing with your folks, eleanor, what are some of the -- the signs that you see that maybe it's time for you to start stepping in and -- and maybe taking a little more control? such an important issue. for aarp, this is all about what we call assessing the situation. so that means when you are visiting, whether it's a holiday or just a weekend visit, if you live near or if you live far, you're checking up on them. you're looking at how they are looking. how they're walking. you're checking out the condition of the house. you're looking at such things as are they -- do they seem to be engaged the way they used to be with their friends and community around them? or have some things changed? and you're looking for those changes, as indicators that maybe things need to happen. >> and if you see that there are these changes, and things have to happen, it's got to be a pretty fine line to walk, because these are adults. they raised you. they're not used to it being the other way around. >> absolutely. and they're always going to be your mom and dad, aren't they?

absolutely. and you know, at aarp we think that family conversations about what's going to happen as mom and dad get older are a great idea and they should happen early, happen often, start when things are okay. >> right. and, in fact, it's kind of like fixing the roof when it's not raining. and, janet, when you talk about siblings who have to, you know, kind of come to some sort of consensus about taking care of mom and dad, is now the time to have those discussions, before things get worse? >> well, absolutely. communication is key. because if you think about with your sibling. there are always going to be conflicts, tensions, old sibling rivalries that you haven't resolved that come up. the fact that you can talk about the commitment to your parents and at the same time talk about the commitment to yourselves, as siblings, is important, especially before a time of crisis. before a change has to happen. >> what do you do, though, if there are really divergent opinions about what to do about your parents among your siblings? >> well, the first thing you want to do is clearly hear the message that your parents are giving you. and that's why it's so important

that if you can witness something firsthand, when you're talking to your parents about making a change and say i notice this. but certainly, communication is key. if there are old issues, resolve those old sibling conflicts. grow up, so to speak. and really think about what -- how you communicate the best, and so that you're doing it in a way that is not antagonistic, but really meant to help your family. >> can some of this go back to other, older issues? you're dealing with a younger brother, older brother, sister, something like that? >> oh, sure. >> and now you're trying to take care of mom and dad. maybe it's not about mom and dad. maybe it's about your relationship. >> absolutely. and the point of view of making this a family issue, if the siblings can come together and decide who's the best one to carry this message. it might not be the professional. it could be the oldest adult male child whether he is the smashtest and most well versed. prep him, if he's the one listened to by mom and dad, he'ses one you want carrying the

message. >> you want to aim for understanding, but also be open. the one who used to be the decision maker, the oldest child may not be the most organized. you have to give room for maybe the youngest to ste in if they're the best communicator, the most organized, and really get the opportunity for some role changes there. >> if there have been fractured relationships, you say there's some ways to fix this. you say first of all, identify the root of the problem. >> identify the root of the problem, if it is old feelings like mom always trusted you, resolve those issues. >> and then recreate most successful ways of communications. >> if you notice that outside of the crisis you can communicate best by e-mail, and then face-to-face or a phone call. think about a time not related to mom and dad whe you were able to communicate and get your point across and use those same techniques. >> talk about what needs to happen. >> exactly, stay focused on the problem at hand. not the fact that at the last barbecue you made some dish that they didn't like. really stay focused. >> and try t listen, support. listening is so important. >> listen and support, not judgment. again, that will help with

communication. the key is to really get what mom and dad need. >> quickly, what if you're the spouse of all this, your husband or wife is going through this. what do you do? >> you're part of that picture, too. i think it's so important for the family to remember who is in this family and recognize all of the members of that family, including that spouse, as well. >> it's important for sibling ties. your sister or brother knows you better than your spouse ever would because they have that context, they have that history. so as a spouse, really be supportive of what's happening, and it's an opportunity for the spouse not to be judgmental, either. all right. well thank you so much. eleanor ginsburg and janet taylor. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> and up next, advice for surviving the real estate crunch from "flipping out's" real estate maven jeff lewis. when i was seventeen i was not good to my skin.

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to last through breakfast lunch and dinner. more choices, more shades, more outlast. ♪ covergirl this morning on "today's home," the mad house flipper is back. jeff lewis, the star of bravo's "flipping out" returns for a new season. and boy do things heat up. take a look. >> i need an assistant that's prepared. >> and i'm not prepared? >> no, you're not prepared. you don't have the numbers. today you're not prepared. >> one day. i made a mistake. >> you're not prepared today. >> and you need an assistant that's prepared? >> yes, i do! what is so hard to understand about this? every not. every day i need you prepared. every day. >> whoo. jeff lewis, good morning. >> good morning. >> you are tough as a boss. >> i wish they wouldn't show you that clip. because, it's -- >> but there are a lot of scenes like that throughout the last two seasons that i've seen. >> right.

but this season in particular, it's faster, and it's funnier and i wish they would show you that. and not just the jeff lewis losing it. >> don't worry. we'll see a lot more of you. this season of "flipping out," a lot of fireworks still, as we said, though, right? >> kwrap >> that is jenny, you assistant. >> yes, of course. i mean, hopefully jenny will never leave. and i'll do whatever i can to stop her from leaving. >> we've got jeb jenny over here in our kitchen. >> she's in the kitchen. >> follows you everywhere you go? >> absolutely. we are completely codependent. me more so than jenny. i wouldn't know what to do if she wasn't within eight feet of me. >> this season of "flipping out" you're actually not flipping homes anymore. which is different. you know, you're actually, you've changed your focus to moling and designing homes because that is what you started out doing. but like with the real estate market it doesn't, as everywhere else and everyone else is feeling the effects. so are you. how has it been for you because you're used to being the boss and now you have to be, now he, you have to listen to what

everybody else wants. you have to do what they want you to do. >> well i've learned, i'm really honing in on the communicaon skills. i've learned to be nice to people, which is really difficult. the flipping business dried up and i was very depressed for a few months and i got through it without medication, natalie. because i know that was your next question. and i'm doing okay. i restructured my business. i've formed jeff lewis designs. it's doing really well. in this economy. and i have a lot to be grateful for. and i've been able to keep all my employees and hire a few new ones. granted we've had some turnover. because not everybody fits into our eccentric, quir family. >> you do a lot of hiring and firing and retiring. >> not by choice, natalie. we -- you know we -- i do. i skew the personal/professional boundaries. and it's not for everybody. >> meanwhile, jenny speaking of which, she's gone through a big personal change in her life. >> yeah. >> last seine she got divorced. this time, i mean, you really are trying to help her out, get back out there in the dating

world because she just divorced her husband. so you've really crossed the lines between your personal and professional life there, right? >> i care about -- >> how important is that to you to care about the people. >> it is important. i care about every one of my employees. i want jenny to be happy. i want her to find somebody who appreciates her and respects her and wants to provide for her. she tends to pick the wrong person. the wrong man. so i'm stepping in. i'm going to set her up with somebody who i think -- >> go jenny. >> -- deserves her. it's turning around for her. you wouldn't believe the kind of guys that are asking her out. doctors, lawyers, actors, working actors. so i'm really, really pleased with the progress. >> i've got a viewer e-mail i've got to get to because a lot of people asking for your advice to remodel their homes. and from our viewer amanda from new hampshire, she writes -- can you please give me a few suggestions on how i can remake

my kitchen? >> okay. >> you have any tips for her? >> good news. whatever you do is going to be an improvement over that kitchen because it's pretty bad. now i would love to reconfigure that whole kitchen, give her more counter space. >> more light, more open. >> but that may not be in the budget. so in the meantime, to fluff it, to freshen it up, i would suggest certainly painting right off the bat. get rid of that self-adhesive border. i don't know who sells those. in regard to the countertops. you can get a really well-priced lamb that countertop at lowe's. i think they start six feet, start at about $6. butcher block countertop from perfectplank.com. you can order them. have them delivered to your home and have a handyman install them. cabinet pulls. that is one of the biggest things -- >> that's such a little thing to do and it's not that expensive, right? >> these particular -- i happen to love restoration hardware. they have beautiful cabinet pulls. you can get these, they start at $6 for a knob, $8 for a pull.

bare paints from home depot have a great color palette. i use that all the time. amanda needs lighting. and i notice that if you -- i thought about under cabinet lighting. thesare l.e.d. under cabinet lighting from home depot. they start at $18 for a three-light set. i prefer l.e.d. over fluorescent. not -- people just don't look good in fluorescent. i do and you do. but most people don't. >> maybe you do. >> i look good in any light. >> glad we have that out there. and very cle. >> only black lighting. >> we're glad you're back. thanks for being here. "flipping out" season three premieres tonight at 10:00, 9:00 central time on bravo. coming up next, the secrets to the flat belly diet.

this morning on "take it off today," getting rid of belly fat. prevention magazine recently polled its readers and 67% said their stomach is the number one body parthey would love to change. now prevention is releasing the flat belly diet cookbook and they claim they have found the key to conquering those pounds around your waist. liz vaccariello, editor in chief of prevention, good morning. >> good morning. >> we're talking about the moofas. but it's good for your diet? >> moofa is the secret sauce. it's sounds for monounsaturated fatty acids. and these are the healthy oils found in many plant foods. and there's groundbreaking science out of australia and europe that shows eating a cali controlled diet rich in moofa, specific small portion makes weight loss easier and targets belly fat. >> how does the monounsaturated fat? >> the research is so new they don't know exactly what is

happening metabolically inside the body but they do know this is the most dangerous fat that you can have on your body. so it's very important and exciting that they found a way to target it. >> right. i mean, those love handles can increase your chances of heart disease, breast cancer, diabetes, i mean a lot of things that can be really bad for you. >> even small excess amounts of it. even if you don't have that much weight to lose, if it's all in the belly, it can be very, very dangerous. which is why we were very excited. we tested the diet and found the health markets. we tested it at yale and found blood pressure, cholesterol, inflammation, all the important health markers improved, as well as the belly shrinking. >> yeah, it's great information. so let's get to some of the diet food that you want to add into your diet. these are things that you should be eating? >> yes, these are the five categories of mootoos. we're going to start with oil. so olive oil, our sauteing chicken breasts in collive oil. >> vegetable o is okay, too? >> flax seed oil, safflower oil. all the oils are good except for the tropical oils.

those are dangerous. avoca avocado. >> often gets a bad rap. >> but again these are healthy fats. these are not the unhealthy trans saturated fats. >> nuts. now important these kinds of nuts. >> yes. you're going to have almonds -- >> peanuts? >> peanuts and by extension peanut butter. so there's peanut butter on the flat belly diet. olives. black olives, green olives. olive tapenade. and the fifth moofa is dark chocolate. you're going to love this diet because you can eat really great food. you start off first with the water. >> okay. >> tell us what's in it. this is something you should be drinking liberally from. >> this is part of the four-day jump-start. which is the start. >> -- people lose up to seven pounds and five inches in four days. i just got a call from a reader the other day who lost 11 pounds. in four days. keep in mound this is water weight. you're getting rid of the puff, the bloat. >> lifestyle changes. >> the ingredients in water are

meant to soothe the g.i. tract, cucumber, ginger, lemon and spear minute. tastes like spa water. >> on a hot day that's perfect. >> we don't have much time. breakfast. >> this is a granola parfait. the granola, there's a recipe in the book and it contains walnuts. the turkey sandwich. you have a couple olives. >> hello. >> avocado and tortilla chips. a snack. >> we love that snack. >> there's 26 chicken recipes in the flat belly diet cookbook. chicken piccata is easy, made with olive oil. >> and then the dark chocolate mo

good morning. it's 9:55 in the nation's capital. i'm pat lawson muse. the bin is filling up and donations are coming in for backpacks for kids. these backpacks are filled with school supplies headed to schools and nonprofits that serve underprivileged children. we need you to go to a cvs store. you pay and donate the backpack there. a young woman just dropped off a whole truck load. you are with the national community center of help centers. tell me what you brought. >> we have over 50 backs.

over 200 reams of paper. over 100 pens and pencils and raincoats and umbrellas because we know kids don't have that. we have hand sanitizer. a bit of everhing. >> you did all of that because you're committed tthe campaign. >> exactly. this was an internal project with my colleagues and i and we're so proud of what we were able to do. >> thank you. it is generosity like that that will help us meet our goal. this is nbc 4's fourth annual backpack campaign. we'll be here all day in the e avenu northwt. n goneli andis ndat deon donate with awi. you'll also fi a list of the participating cvs stores online. go online. help us. 12.99. you set the school year for some underprivileged child here in the washington area. tom has a look at the weather. >> great weather for getting out and doing that. good morning. at this hour still pleasant. we're in the 70s and low 80s now with moderate humidity but getting hot this afternoon into the low 90s with hazy sunshine.

sweltering humidity moving in tonight into tomorrow and thursday into friday. a passing thundershower tonight and then greater chance of an afternoon thundershower tomorrow and again on thursday afternoon. and maybe a passing or morning afternoon thundershower friday or saturday. lower humidity and cooler sunday and monday. jerry, how is traffic? >> things settling down nicely along interstate 66 eastbound on the approach to the capital beltway. cleared out for the morning drive so that's good news. elsewhere no late issues at the woodrow wilson bridge. top side of the beltway lanes open and cleared out along i-270. i-270. we'll be b

captions paid for by nbc-universal television hi, everybody, it's tuesday, august 18th. we're delighted that you're with us today. >> hello. >> hello miss hoda woman. you're still fighting your cold a little bit? >> i got a case of the creeping crud. >> i hate that. what can you do, nothing? just let it go. >> i just talked to my doctor. she's going to put me on the z-pack. >> it's miracle. >> i love it because you're done. i don't believe in going on

antibiotics. your body has to learn to fight stuff like a real woman. >> i'm glad your came in. >> i'm ineffective to nbc. i'm hacking around here. >> one of the big stories today is jenny sanford who you know is the wife of the governor of south carolina. she decided she was going to speak out. and there's probably always a question with women who have been wronged like that, do they say something or not. she chose to speak out and she chose to speak out to "vogue" magazine. >> which was a very long lag time. you know what i'm saying? >> yeah. >> especially for the september issue. which is a huge fashion issue. she had to have spoken with them, i would think -- >> awhile ago. >> very quickly. i don't know how they rush those things. but i know most magazines have four months -- >> think it's interesting she chose "vogue." i know that there are some women who look at jenny sanford and say, well, you know, good for you. you're standing up and you're saying something. you're not, whatever. and some people are saying why didn't you just keep it quiet. >> and other people think it's none of their business. which should be the majority.

but usually isn't. >> some of the quotes. this one says, this is from her, it never occurred to me that he would do something like that. the person i married was centered on core morals. the person who did this was not centered on those morals. and she says over the course of both marriage and counseling it became clear to me that he was just obsessed with going to see this woman. i have learned that these affairs are almost like an addiction to pornography or alcohol. you just can't break away from them. she also talked about how politicians get yessed to death. >> that's what i found very, very telling. and it's so true. you start to drink your own kool-aid. >> right. >> you ask for something, it comes to you. ten people are instantly there with, you get ten glasses of water when you want onend you just start to feel very entitled. >> what do you think about -- >> out of touch with the very people who elected you, you know, into office. i think that's the biggest problem with politics. anyway, without term limits. i'm not saying i believe in them or not but that is the problem today, real comfortable in that chair. >> i'm sort of, i know some people think she shouldn't have

spoken out but i'm sort of glad that she did. >> why is it their business? >> i think everybody is that way -- >> you mean rude? >> i think -- remember people questioned about elizabeth edwards. >> she question about. the truth is you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't. if you stay with your hband you look like this weak thing that's just pathetc. >> right. >> if you get rid of him, they say, see, she never loved him to begin with. it's nobody's business. >> but she talks about they're trying to reconcile. i would think it would be much more difficult to reconcile after you've publicly spoken about it to a magazine. i think it would be harder to make -- >> the fact that he has called this woman his soul mate. and the love of his life. >> i know. i know. >> i mean, don't pour salt on the wound like that. >> there's just too much talking. maybe there is too much talking about this. >> and we're contributing to it. >> well, that's what we do. okay, now -- >> better than anything, dag gone it. >> i'm medicated, can you tell? > okay.t .th ishink about a this. i don't think it's anything. just my opinion. but here are some pictures.

michelle obama wore shorts, woo-woo and so what. >> it's so hot where they are. >> going to phoenix, arizona. they'd just come from the grand canyon. >> okay. >> i think she should have been wearing a thong. you know how hot it is there? >> you know what's funny. think about the number of first ladies that you can recall being seen in shorts. >> jacqueline kennedy. >> laura bush, no. barbara bush no. who was -- >> maybe. >> hillary clinton, i don't remember. >> maybe that's because they're getting off the plane. >> no, but i -- >> mother of two young gieas tg. shk oklos great. i'm saying, but theres was on e of the websites, they were like, do you think it's good, do you think it's not good. people were really weighing in about she's the first lady maybe she shouldn't. some people like, she's got great legs. who cares. i don't know. i think it looks fine. i like it. >> i just -- i thought we had a ton of problems in our country. maybe i'm wrong. we would rather spend our time. let's get out of her wardrobe

closet, and go -- >> you know what, because there's too much going on. you need -- you need to have a diversion. >> well then let's talk about you. >> no! >> we don't need that diversion. >> let's talk about breakfast flops. >> this is crazy. >> all right. >> this is interesting sfuf. >> there are dental flosses -- >> you can pick. >> this is little stuff that the prisoners made. >> these are dental floss in the flavor of coffee, bacon or waffles. >> so i think the reason, the real reason, i think if you skip breakfast you'd want to floss with this, because you didn't get a chance to eat. >> young girls with eating disorders could use it and say ma, i did have breakfast. >> i can't floss on tv. >> i don't think this is a good idea. >> i don't like flossing on the air. i'm against it. >> compared to the stuff we've done on the air you've got a problem with -- >> there's something about flossing -- >> i don't know what's wrong with you. >> there's something about flossing people who use a

toothpick. i can't take that. >> would you rather they stick their finger in their mouth? >> no! ew. >> i'm asking you. >> i'm saying have you been in a restaurant when someone has a toothpick and is going at it? it's not pretty. >> i prefer that over them picking their nose. >> but seriously, that doesn't bother you? >> talk about having dinner. >> anyway. sorry, there's some grossness in this world. >> okay, what's it taste like? >> i don't know. i ate that -- you just made a very ba mistake. of trying the -- >> the hot sauce from the guys down in texas. >> florida. >> they're making this hot sauce. they're using their time to make hot sauce and they're selling it and they're actually putting the money back into making the sauce. >> i think this is so great. talk about rehabilitation. and it helps them to buy all kinds of products and different things so they can have their organic gardens in the middle of their penitentiary. and they're learning a skill which i think is great. >> we should point out. this is not maximum security.

this is medium and low, minimum security. >> i don't know why that would matter. nothing like digging your hands into the soil, having the -- the -- the self-esteem that comes with watching something grow. >> mm-hmm. you're really into this. we've been wanting to do this story for three days. >> i love it. otherwise they're working out. you know. >> right. it's a release, too, working out. >> that's important, too, but not 24 hours a day. let's learn to grow a little food. >> do you like the floss? >> i don't know. i was trying -- >> it was a waffle. >> hilarious. >> it smells horrible. >> oh, it does. >> let's talk about fecal palates on flip-flops. >> okay. there's a story did that says if you walk around new york with flip-flops on, okay, they did this in the new york daily news. they had reporters hit the streets wearing flip-flops around new york. walking just normal places. anyway, they did lab tests on them and it was some nasty sf. something called staph -- what

is that? >> staphylococcus. >> anyway. >> snuffleupagus. anyway that stuff gets in your somehows. >> the bottom line is it's very bad. >> it stibs to the rubber. >> it's bad. >> it gets in your -- if you have a cut on your foot. it's bad news. >> can't you see a lady saying to her kids, don't wear those flip-flops in the bronx you're going to get some snuffleupagus on the flip-flops because it sticks to the rubber. >> it's nasty. they said 90%. there's actually -- fecal matter. >> i said that. i was not kidding. >> you did say fecal? i thought you said e. coli. >> what? >> 20% had e. coli. it's different. apparently. >> i thought they were -- came from the same source. >> well you're supposed to wash your shoes and your feet. because you know what people do? they wear flip-flops. they have their heels in the purse, take the flip-flops out,

put them in their bag with their stuff. it gets all icked out. >> the other thing that came out is that so many women, especially are embarrassed by their feet. not you, because you have goddess feet. but the rest of the world, 60% of women say that they are always or frequently or sometimes embarrassed by their feet, according to like 500 women by the research firm american podiatry -- >> podiatric. >> is it podiatric or podiatric. >> podiatric. >> feet. okay? feet. feet association. >> okay. >> so why would you show them off if you're embarrassed and walking around with that rubber. >> i think we're embarrassed of a lot of things that we -- whenever you go to get a pedicure in new york. you can get a manicure/pedicure in new york for $19 oin 39. best bargain in new york. you always hear people apologizing, i'm really sorry i haven't been able to come here for awhile. as women i think we apologize for everything. i've gone to the hairdresser and felt like my hair was dirty. oh, my gosh, i'm so sorry. i know that it's kind of dirty,

i didn't have a chance to wash it from yesterday. so you find yourself apologizing. >> i don't think men do that at all. >> men don't apologize for anything. >> are you kidding? get over here and do my feet. they're happy. >> all right. so, what do you think about this thing -- >> you guys better run my apology this morning. get the apology ready. >> or if you want to do an oh, hucks, wha mo image e moment right now. >> you are. >> you have beautiful hair. >> oh, lord. >> there are zookeepers in tampa and there's this unlikely pair. look at this, a giraffe, and an ostrich. >> you didn't let me set it up. >> what -- >> you and i just had our, we just had our photos taken for the new season. and that's hoda on the left and me on the right, the tall one is hoda. but it's not funny now, because you went straight to the picture. >> well, nobody told me there was a gag. >> isn't that sweet? >> there it is. >> we became -- these unlikely

pair became best friends. metaphor for life, don't you think? >> that is adorable though. i'm sorry i blew it. >> i shouldn't touch you. >> don't touch me. >> we have tons of business we have to do. we were happy to do it three days ago but we're tired of it now. but the truth -- >> all right. >> but we need your help. >> we want you to name the baby dolphin. okay. discovery orlando, florida, has a dolphin baby boom this summer. okay. they want you to pick the name. of the baby. >> yes. >> all right hsoe are the choices for the mother. the mother's name is cor. >> so here are your royces. rokas ain al roka. maybe we should go with that heon >> let's all vote for eroka. >> then there's kallan, reef, amelia, and lanikai. >> the reason i like reef is because the mother's name is coral. >> so which shun -- >> unless it's going to be al roka, should be coral reef. >> and also, guess who's back? curtis stone.

>> curtis. >> okay you guys, curt wants 20 come to your house and cook for you. it is everyone who's had it has had so much fun. >> he doesn't want to. he's going to get paid. >> very exciting. and he had a wonderful time. and you guys have even more fun. look at him with the melons. he is so unbelievable. >> anyway, so go on our website, klgandhoda.com and curtis will come to your house and cook for you and some friends of yours. so, you know. >> who is that he had on yesterday? ryan and he gave us a tee shirt. the i love curtis, slashed out, said ryan. i think there's a war beginning here. >> ryan is jealous of curtis. >> i think there's something going on. >> that's what we're doing. >> sometimes you gotta. >> hi, sara. >> hello. >> well, thank you for loaning these to us. >> no problem. i haven't worn those in the shower. you guys did get your new promo shot and i just wanted to show you real quickly. wendy was able to help you make this look extra special.

they have to see it. look who's in the picture. >> love that little guy. >> that squirrel. that was true, though. was that yesterday? >> ours wasn't, but theirs was true. >> a squirrel. >> the squirrel with the promo shoot. >> oh, my gosh. >> you know what happened, did you ever see even your own dog or something when they see a sound they go, that's the look. and they just happened to catch it perfectly. >> because they set the camera up and ran in front of it, and there popped the squirrel. >> see, i have a new motto. let life happen. >> right? >> what did i say today. but be ready when it does. >> oh. >> huh. >> see what happens when you can't sleep? all right, up next, is mark mcthra putting sugar back into sugar ray? >> what's the new motto?

how many times can you hear that song on the radio back in its day. >> pretty hard to believe it was released ten years ago.

well now after a long break, the guys from sugar ray are making music again with their first studio album in six years. and it is called, get ready, it's for us, "music for cougars." >> mark mcgrath is here with us. should we be impressed? >> you're two of the loveliest cougars i've ever seen in my life. >> cougars? >> coming from orange county, where i'm from, a cougar there is an empowerment word. people are -- >> in orange county. >> every day the hotness. just like you guys do, every day. >> how did you come up with the title? >> we were playing at this outdoor rock 'n' roll venue called the grove, the mall in hollywood. sunday, 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon, people pushing strollers. my buddy goes, man, all your fans are cougars. genus i am, bing. it's a working title. we never got rid of it. we stuck with it. >> but then one woman particularly inspired it, the woo-hoo lady. >> vicky. >> from orange county. >> exactly. in the studio we have the tvs on at all time and we're watching

the housewives, half-heartedly. and we see her going woo-hoo all the time. we literally placed that in the song. >> does she know -- >> this is her. >> the one on the right. >> woo-hoo! >> the call right there. >> does she know? she knows about the song? >> you know me, i'm an irish guy. romance is our specialty. but she does, no, i read on the blog she was honored that we had a song that was inspired by her. the cougar thing for us, it's a fun thing. i mean, people take it so seriously. if you're looking at the title of a sugar ray record and you're mad at it, you need to take it to women like you. >> you're 41 years old. >> 41 years old. >> you're back on the road. >> i love that story. you were doing extra, you felt compelled, because that's a world full of perfect people, to -- >> i did my top ones and i looked like i had ben franklin's teeth. and i got the bottom ones done. >> you did the highlights and

the whole hair? >> i'm back to seacrest. i'm 41, trying to stay in the game. you guys stop the process. you guys look so beautiful. i'm trying to get some of these aura. >> oh, please. >> you guys know every day. >> what's it like being 41 and on the road? >> my liver is like, wow. it's difficult. we haven't toured in six years. >> you never broke up. >> we never broke up. the misconception is we broke up. we still did about 30, 40 gigs a year. about a year ago, we weren't even trying to, said still, let's do it. still together after 21 years. let's do it. >> most marriages can't stay that long. >> and there's no sex in ours. >> i'm distracted a little bit by your tattoo on your chest. what does that say? >> can we take a look? >> you sure can. >> can we take a big look? >> you can take like the whole look. i'm a new york giants football fan. >> why do you have a spider --

>> spider lockhart's number, 43. >> you did the whole thing? >> a cartoon in downtown los angeles. >> don't you think that's a little bizarre? >> you know, he's the reason why i became -- tackled by number 43, spider lockhart. there's a guy named spider in the world? i'm 6 years old. >> you don't have a single hair on your chest. >> the nair works good. a little painful around the nipples. >> i told you he'd be a good guest guest. >> you said no. >> he will be terrific. >> you did a four-year deal with extra. >> i thought i'd do it for six months. do something different. set the world on fire. and i really made a call on friday and they said come down, let's take a look. two weeks later i'm hosting extra. i had no idea what i'm doing. i still don't. it was fun. and in 7-eleven six months after i started, people are like dude, you stunk when you started.

>> it's like anything. you've got to learn the craft and be comfortable in it. but it was never your passion? >> i felt fortunate to have the job. you guys here make miracles happen every day. you put a news show on every day. some of the smartest hardest working people. and when you see al pacino on the red carpet and you've got to ask him a question about britney spears. >> we wish you great luck, mark. >> you are adorable. >> thank you so much. >> i'd kiss you if i weren't sick. great to see you. >> well, i'm not sick. >> oh, hoda. >> still to come, whether you call her mother-in-law or sonmer in law, we've got some advice for your relationship. doing great. on

still to come the dos and don'ts when it comes to your mother-in-law and how to repair the relationship when you do, or don't. >> and what do guys really think about the outfit you're wearing?

hi. i'm pat lawson muse at 4555 wisconsin avenue northwest where we're collecting backpacks for kids. the bin is there. it's filling up. go to participating cvs store and buy a backpack for $12. and donate and donate there.

♪ one thing's certained about married life you get one mother-in-law with every wife ♪ >> we're back with "today's family" and for better or worse, advice when it comes to your mother-in-law. >> you may love her but hate when she l fa bettizes the bab food or drops by without noce. our online correspondent sara haines hit the streets to see what you really think. ♪ mother-in-law mother-in-law ♪ >> i love my mother-in-law, but -- >> she rearranges my furniture every time she comes over to visit. >>oes that create any tension with you and your husband? >> yes. because then he comes in and

says, where's that beep, beep, beep. >> the day before we got married, it's the letting go. my husband was the first-born, and it's all about the control. >> they think that they are the parents of our children. >> so the mother-in-law steps in occasionally to give you parental advice about raising your kids? >> not advice, they just do. >> okay. if you had to pick one thing that was slightly annoying about each of your mother-in-laws, what would it -- slightly. don't make sara princess best mother-in-law. >> she wants us to start having children right away. >> the grandkid speech. >> she says my name with three syllables. >> what's your name? >> my name's laurie. and she pronounces it laur-i-e. >> i love my mother-in-law, but? >> i wish i could cook like her. she's the best cook ever. >> do you love your

mother-in-law? >> as long as it's outside of my house. we have a little shed in the back. >> you're going to stick mom in the shed? >> yeah. she's already in one. >> sara. >> oh, you know what, i have a solution. frank says i killed my mother-in-law. because she died a month after we got married. we've never had a problem. she was an old, very sweet lady. it's just a joke. we're here with robi lud bug and ian kerr, a therapist. love in the time of colic. good to see you all. it is potentially huge problem, isn't it? >> there was a british study done suggesting that maybe daughter-in-laws are wired to dislike their mothers in law. and then there was an australian study saying that it's really the husband who exacerbates the situation. >> in what way? >> well i think if wives are complaining, and saying that the mother-in-law is somehow being intrusive, or not recognizing the importance of the wife, you know, the husband has to step in and do something about it. >> a lot of men do have problems

speaking up to their mothers. and defending the relationship. especially when they're married. and you know, their mothers make them feel like they're still little ys. so i agree with robi. it's really important for guys to defend the relationship. >> well, when a mother-in-law comes in and brings up the issue that that woman brought up, kids, when are you going to have kids, what's the right thing to say without -- because you don't want to blow up the relationship, obviously, but you want to let your mother-in-law know where you stand. what should you say? >> i think you should say we're working on it. we're getting ready. we're thinking about it. >> eventually. >> you know >> what if you don't want children? >> what if they don't want children? >> it's a private decision and we've decided to go in a different direction. >> when couples are trying to have kids, and if they're not having kids, one mother-in-law would be like, so are you having sex? >> oh, my goodness. >> really? >> ian. >> that is off the charts. >> i do think that women need to learn how to speak up to their

mother and say, listen, i love you, you are important. keep them in the loop. because if they feel that they're not important -- >> not just for guys to earn, too. wives can like learn some things, too. about standing up to their mothers. >> it is true. that's true. and i work with a lot of women who just complain to their husbands. and what women need to do in this situation, is instruct their husbands on what they would like them to do. >> okay. >> so don't just complain and say i hate your mother, i can't stand her. would really like when your mother asks to come over, that you check with me first. or give him some instructional guide, otherwise, you know, really nobody knows what to do. >> and what about from a man's perspective? what do you hear a lot of. >> i love my mother-in-law but she's always putting me to work whenever i come visit. it's one thing to have to change some light bulbs, when you're mowing the lawn, painting the living room. i love my mother-in-law, but she gives us too much parenting advice. >> they're control freaks.

>> today we parent in different ways. we have different ideas about health, and diet. i know a lot of parents who want to raise their children as vegetarians. and you know, mom comes in -- >> she doesn't like at. >> why isn't my baby eating my meatballs. >> that's right. >> and they're from a different generation. >> it's called respect, as usual. thanks you guys. thank you. >> coming up next, what to wear if you care what your guy thinks. now we've got some surprising suggestions. >> plus the gadgets that wi rntunto a better cook than you, hoda. in your kitchen.

we're back with "today's style," and women's fashions in a guy's eye. >> if you've ever sat in front of your closet for what seemed like an eternity trying to figure out exactly what to wear on a certain relationship occasi then the segment is for you. according to joe z., elle magazine's creative director, there's a difference between what men want to see men wear and what women think they should wear. >> welcome. >> thank you. >> so this is complicated. i think women, we have a feeling we know what our guy wants. but you're saying we have it all wrong? >> i think the biggest discrepancy that we found in our research was that most women have two ways of dressing. they dress for other women, and they dress for men. >> right. >> and i think when you come down to it, they think they know what men want. they don't really. >> we're going to show you a picture of what we think we should be wearing and you're going to show us a live model of what we should be wearing. >> just to make you feel absolutely even worse about .elf >> this is on a first date. s ithis what sasha is wearing on iaiatrs date. >> that's what shet thinks she should wear. h ic iswhjeans, cute, and a top.

is>> and a little top. the thing to remember here is that women tend to gravitate toward something that is a little bit more fashion oriented. something a little bit more trend oriented. where men tend to want to see you in something a bit more polished and dressed up. >> skin. >> this is what men want you to wear. tell us. >> lady-like. >> the men -- men like conservative. but at the same time they're keeping the dress business intact. they really want to see women in dresses. >> it's not that they want to see your arms and your legs and your body? >> no. i also think they like to see you a little bit more polished. a little bit more put together. it ses minimal and not fussy. >> all right, sasha. thank you. >> all right next, what should we wearn he theweekend? all right, hereer h before h picture ofjana. this is what jana thinks that a.e should be wearing. adorable. she loo >> and you think men would like the little shorts. >> michelle obama. >> show us what she should be wearing. >> again, the men really opted for the dress. >> more legs. >> from the gap with a little

belt. a little sandal. again, super easy. but this is what men are gravitating towards. >> it's ten ninety. >> but it's also a little bit more conservative than what you would think. >> are you sure about this? you're positive? >> this is what -- >> this is a poll. i didn't make up the results. >> in terms of pricing, joe z., how does this -- >> $37 for the dress from the gap. >> what about the belt and shoes? >> the whole thing is under $100. all our looks are under $100. >> okay, excellent. thank you, jana. >> all r,ht next we're tabou it's texe about it's time to meet the .arimtsen >> yes. >> this is a very ri ckytsone. >> oh. >> sy -- >> this rehe w everyone always siets over and very stressful tuation. >> here's tracy. okay. tell me what tracy thought was right for her. tell us about this look. s wanted to wear aimple dress. definitely wear flat shoes and t pua simple cardigan over it. she went for something a little bit more fashiony. there's a sparkle in the cardigan. it may not be exactly

conservative in meeting a parent. >> i think that this might surprise people because you think you want to dress up a little bit, which is what she's done. >> showing some respect. >> now this is what the guys want you to wear to meet the parents. >> surprisingly or not surprisingly this is the one situation where the guy actually wanted her to dress down. >> with the high heels with the jeans? >> but with the jeans and the casual wrap sweater. you don't want it to be too overtly sexy. >> or to anxious to impress. >> or to fashion. i think you don't want a statement where someone is going to initiate a reaction. >> is that showing enough respect to someone's parents? >> i think it also really depentzs on the specific situation where you're going for dinner or you're going to meet them during the day. jeans are a stay casual, neutral clothing. >> you know what the problem is with all of this? i'm trying to raise my children to be totally comfortable being themselves. why isn't it okay for my daughter to put on what she feels is right for her, and because otherwise she's already trying to please a man instead of being truthful to herself. >> one more. we've got one more model.

>> oh. 30 seconds. hold on. here we go, eveni out. this is evening out. a,ylthis is the evening out. thhas a, wist kayla's chosen to wear on the evening out. adorable. >> because my question was great. >> we're going to get the answer. >> here she's doing the skinny jeans and a comfortable top. >> okay. >> and again, the men opted for a sexy dress. they wanted something that was easy, slip-on and just also dynamite. >> all right. now the models come out. why don't you answer the question. kathie lee's point is a good one. >> i am a big advocate of personal style. we really do advocate that and what someone is comfortable in. this is not to say you need to dress for him. it's more an indication of what is what he thinks -- >> okay, thank you so much, joe z. in our kitchen next with louis scotto. w

we're back with "today's kitchen," and new small appliances for the everyday cook. >> weather. we're getting saucy with chris

kimball. we actually like him very much. the host of "america's test kitchen" and publisher and editor of "co's illustrated" magazine. >> is actually really like him better than like him f >> you we like. >> all right, so this is a juicer. >> juicer. i was here a few months ago i showed you the breville juicer. this is 20 bucks, black and decker. and it does -- >> hand tools and things? >> but does a great job. and it has -- you can do this for limes or lemons or put that on for oranges. does a nice job. doesn't make a mess. it goes both ways. >> why does it do that? >> you know. >> it goes both ways. what can i tell you? 20 bucks. you still with me here? >> i'm with you. >> all right. >> all right. >> so you're allergic to it. >> immersion blender's been around for about 20 years. you don't have to take saucesor put them in a food processor.

>> it looks painful. >> it's like a little blender. >> i'm only doing it to the sauce. it's a little blender. just a little marinara sauce so it will take that and make it smooth. easy to clean up. >> easy to clean up. >> we tried the cordless one but didn't have enough power. >> that smells great. >> coffee. >> we tested two things. grinding coffee beans and by the way, if you buy preground coffee only lasts about two days once you open the package. >> i like the hole beans. >> what if you put it in the freezer. >> once you open the package for ground coffee, game over. so you want to buy beans. this is a compresso cool grind, again about 20 bucks. shake it. like that. >> that looks very complicated. >> what you can also do. we tested this for whole spices. preground spices when you bake a cake or make a salsa, they don't have as much flavor as grinding your own whole spices.

>> it releases the flavor. >> we did this with a cake, made a big difference. >> but again, just put it in. >> spices will take about a minute. okay. >> very good. >> all right. >> forget the coffee. >> ice cream. >> this is three ways to do this. can you buy one of those white mountain ice cream makers with the salt and the ice. makes a lot of noise, makes a huge mess. you can also do it with a $400 machine from italy, which for a new york apartment isn't great because it's big and heavy. cuisinart, $55, makes a great machine. 1 1/2 quarts. this is kind of interesting. we turn it on, you know that the container moves. >> oh. >> and the paddle inside doesn' >> oh. >> this is unusual. so you take this canister, put it in the freezer overnight. make sure it gets down to zero. this makes ice cream that's not quite as fluffy as the models that have the paddles that turn. after a day or two in the freezer, it's much better. >> oh, that's good to know. >> much creamier. >> and a couple seconds for this one.

>> rice cooker costs up to $800. this is sanyo, it's about $55. makes great rice. it also keeps it warm for two hours. so that's the great thing about this. >> chris, great. >> all great ideas. >> thanks. >> actually like me, too. >> coming up next, a workout for your push.

we're back with "toy's" fitness and a boost for your caboose. >> msn celebrity fitness trainer and the author of the butt book david kirsch is here with some moves to get your rear in gear. kathie lee is not reeling great so she's just sitting there. the good news about this is you don't need weights, you don't need anything. >> anywhere, any time, living room, on the chair. kathie lee, you're going to work. >> oh. >> uncross your legs. >> be careful.

>> you're going to put your brain in your butt. >> that's where it usually is. >> squeeze your butt. retract it. we're going to first. good morning, right out to bed. stretch it out, come up and bring it right back down. stretching out the hamstrings, gluts, lower back. first thing in the morning. >> this is excellent. >> good. >> let's get down. second move. >> oh, i don't like this. >> you've seen this one before, remember. >> i'm not looking it. >> take it out. >> oh, you love that one. >> inner thighs and lower part of your butt. look at you. i got you going. you look better already. >> you couldn't stop! >> okay. second move, heidi klum's favorite. the sumo lunge. right up, out to the side and right up. no can't. >> what do you do? >> lift your leg up, squat down, kick it out to the side. take it right up. next move. next move. you want to break down into

different parts. >> goo. >> reverse and ride here, side. reverdict. >> reverse. >> and come right out to the side. >> right here. working inner thighs and the butt. >> oh, the inner thighs. that's the problem area. >> i know. >> okay, one more. one more. >> okay good. right back here. everybody. >> hold on. >> i'm in heels. >> and kick it up. let's hold hands. let's do it again. okay. go. kick! >> slow down, poppy. >> come on. >> this is your way to a perfect butt. >> does it really work? >> it does. >> i'm going to go have a cough drop. >> okay. good job. >> okay, we've got a great show tomorrow. you know why? >> we have one moreeal quick? >> yeah, let's go. >> real quick.

up on those toes. take it up high. >> you're a ballerina. open those legs up, wider. >> my skirt is tight. >> the butt. >> okay. >> and the top chef masters. >> david, thank you so much. >> thank you, david. >> see you tomorrow, everybody.