good morning. or else. the obama administration drawing up tough, new sanctions against iran if its leaders do not come clean about their nuclear program, but this morning, iranian officials are also talking tough just days before a key diplomatic showdown. should he be freed? roman polanski's legal team files a motion overnight seeking the director's release from a swiss prison. this morning his longtime agent

speaks out. and head case. conan o'brien shows off video of the nasty spill that forced him to cancel last friday's show. the cringe-worthy moment that had the comedian seeing stars and saying some funny things today, tuesday, september 39th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this tuesday morning. i'm meredith vieira. >> and i'm matt lauer, and this morning, president obama will meet with his national security team. they're planning on talking about the war in afghanistan, but you can bet the subject of iran will also come up. >> that is right. iran's newly uncovered nuclear facility and war games are fresh on the administration's mind, and both the u.s. and iran are hinting of what they plan to discuss during thursday's rare diplomatic meeting in geneva.

another subject that could be on the agenda, the fate of those three u.s. hikers detained in iran for nearly two months now. we will talk with their relatives in just a moment. also ahead, you've heard the expression no good deed goes unpunished? well, how about this story? a stay-at-home mom in michigan tries to help her working friends by watching their kids ee of charge for just a few minutes each morning as they wait for the school bus. now she's being told to stop or face possible fines, even jail time. she'll share her story in an exclusive, live interview, coming up. plus, a truly bizarre scene recorded in a florida jail. why is this man laughing, joking, even dancing with his daughter and sister-in-law just a couple of days after he was accused of murdering his wife? we're going to have much more on that ahead. but let's begin with this morning's top stories and head to the news desk and say hello to ann. >> good morning, everyone. also in news today, what to do in afghanistan is the focus at the white house where the president meets his national

security team and nato secretary-general. the top general in afghanistan has warned the war could end in failure without thousands of additional u.s. troops. the president is now weighing all the options. two u.s. soldiers were killed this morning by a land mine in the southern ilippines. officials say the attack was carried out by suspected al qaeda-linked militants. today the man said to be at the center of the most serious terror plot in the united states since 9/11 will be arraigned. nbc's justice correspondent pete williams has more now. pete, good morning. >> reporter: ann, this will be najibullah zazi's first appearance before a judge in new york. he'll be in a courtroom near where authorities say he began taking the steps that led to serious charges of terrorism. though he said earlier this month that he was no terrorist, this will be najibullah zazi's first opportunity to enter a formal plea in court. he was flown from denver late last week by heavily armed federal marshals. prosecutors say zazi and at least three others now under investigation were shopping at

denver area beauty shop suppliers in july and august, buying gallons of chemicals that could be combined to make a powerful explosive. in late august and early september, federal agents say zazi got a room at this suburban denver hotel and used the stove inside it to heat the chemicals and concentrate them. investigators say though he apparently never successfully made any explosive, he was earnestly trying. >> he was looking for accomplices. the next step was to get a safe house, build a very simple lab and construct a bomb, and he was within weeks, perhaps, of launching his operation. >> reporter: though president obama has said nothing publicly about the case, administration officials say he's continually briefed on what's widely considered the most serious terrorism cell to be discovered since 9/11. >> as far as this being an al qaeda plot, that this is as far along as we've seen in the united states since stember 11th. >> reporter: while the focus on zazi now shifts to federal

court, officials say investigators are questioning others they believe were helping him, hoping to build cases against them, too. ann? >> all right, pete williams this morning. pete, thanks. the death toll has risen to at least 240 people killed from the massive flooding in the philippines. overwhelmed, relief officials are calling for international help. the same storm killed more than 20 people today in vietnam. the pilot who landed his plane on the hudson river back in january will be back in the cockpit. us airways says that captain chesley sullenberger will pilot regular flights and be part of the airline's flight safety team. and conan o'brien was back on "the tonight show" for the first time since suffering a concussion during a taping of the show on friday. he showed a clip of the incident in which he fell during a stunt with actress teri hatcher. he joked that he hit his head so hard, for a second he understood

the plot of loss. back to you three. >> he's -- >> you look at that video there and he's kind of faking it -- >> he wasn't, though. >> i don't think he's faking it. >> they said he was actually slurring his words and was little disoriented. they brought in a nurse and then decided to stop the taping. >> oh! >> he really slams his head there. that makes your ice skating rink thing seem -- >> no don't take away from mine because of his. >> oh, you're saying yours is bigger than his? >> no, but i can relate to how bad it can be. >> he slammed his head. >> it was a concussion, so -- >> oh, we just happen to have -- >> i got stuck in between -- >> ooh! >> neither one is good. >> no. we should stop showing it now. just stop. >> okay. >> okay, then! >> mr. roker. let's take a a look. good news is, things are fairly quiet around much of the country right now. as you take a look, we have the low pressure over the great lakes, bringing a lot of rain into western new york. some showers coming into the pacific northwest. rain where they need it down in southern texas. this storm system is coming into the pacific northwest, going to be a potent storm-maker later on

this week as we get into tomorrow and thursday. windy conditions continue around the great lakes, sunshine s ç#ç# good morning. off to a chilly start around the region. clear skies and temperatures in the mid-50s in washington. but elsewhere it's only in the upper 40s. in montgomery, fairfax, prince georges county, as ands with get into the rest of the afternoon, 70 for a high. winds gusting near 40 miles per hour. breezy tomorrow with highs in the 60s. >> that's your latest weather. meredith? >> al, thank you. now to tough talk from both the u.s. and iran ahead of thursday's diplomatic talks in geneva. will the increased tension hurt the chances for the release of three u.s. hingers detained in

tehran? we'll talk with their relatives in just a moment, but first, nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell has the latest. andrea, good morning. >> good morning, medith. the u.s. is criticizing iran's decision to go ahead with the missile tests. a show of military might and defiance that could set back efforts to improve relations. and unfortunately, that could also hurt efforts to get tehran to release the hikers any time soon. for the second time this week, iran test-fired missiles, including medium-range missiles that can reach israel, a move the white house called provocative. >> they can, as i just said, agree to immediate, unfettered access. i think that would be the least that they can do. >> although previously scheduled, the war games indicate iran is likely to take a hard line in geneva. >> coming after the discovery of the nuclear clandestine facility, iran's act of defiance and confrontation and the rhetoric that accompany the test reflects the fact that it is not

prone to compromise. >> reporter: iran says the suspect plant is for peaceful purposes, but u.s. and allied intelligence say it is config e configured to produce fuel for nuclear weapons, a finding the white house hopes will solidify international opposition to iran's plans. >> it is critically important that we persuade not just britain and france, but russia and china, to be part of an international effort to deal effectively with iran. >> reporter: but as the president tries to get the allies to punish iran, critics are baffled. >> i'm still very skeptical that the russians and the chinese are going to come on board. if they were really serious about making sure that iran did not acquire a nuclear weapon, they would have come on board a long time ago. >> reporter: the escalating tensions with iran could affect other issues, including the fate of the three american hikers who strayed too close to the border between iran and kurdistan. iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad told ann curry two weeks ago -- >> translator: well, i'm not happy that they have been

arrested, but these individuals had violated our borders, and in accordance with the laws, they need to be punished. >> reporter: he later said he would like to see leniency for the three, but that could depend on whether he sees them as leverage in a diplomatic game of chess. >> i doubt that ahmadinejad is trying to turn this into a hostage situation. i think what he is trying to do is to figure out what the best move for iran is in terms of dealing with the external pressure that iran is under. >> reporter: today, iranian legislators warned the u.s. not to repeat "past mistakes" by pressuring iran at those geneva talks, suggesting that iran might stop offering any cooperation to the u.n. nuclear watchdog agency. the u.s. is insisting on focusing on the nuclear issue, but officials say that other subjects may come up, including the fate of the three american hikers. meredith? >> andrea mitchell, thank you. we are joined now by shane

bauer's mother, cindy hickey and his sister, nicole lind skrom and sarah shourd's cousin patrick sandies. good morning to you all. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> cindy, if i could ask you first, as you heard from andrea, tensions between the u.s. and iran have escalated. how concerned does that make you about your son being brought back home along with the other two hikers? >> i really feel like their situation is a humanitarian issue, and we've also been very heartened and been given hope by the iranian president stating that seek or try to push for maximum leniency. >> let me ask you about that heightened hope that you have. i'll ask you, nicole. this is a man -- ahmadinejad is a man who has proven himself untrustworthy, at least in the political and diplomatic arena, so why do you have confidence that when he says that he will push for leniency for the three hikers that he means ñoit? >> i think that because he's a father, he understands what we're going through.

>> and that will be enough, you think, for him to try to get the three home? >> absolutely. we've appealed to him as a father, and he said that he's going to seek the maximum leniency, so we believe that he'll come through his word. >> i know you pleaded your case with him in a letter prior to him coming to the u.n. you ask that he bring the three hikers home with him, your family members home with him to the u.s. he did not do so. how disappointed were you? >> you know, we really want our kids back. we really miss them, but again, we're hopeful because of what we've heard through, you know, like interviews with ann curry and we're hopeful and we've heard some positive things. >> do you feel that the u.s. government, patrick, is doing everything that it can do? i mean, obviously, anything that's being done is back-channeled. >> of course. the state department has been very helpful in keeping us informed of their diplomatic processes, and we're very happy with what they're doing and then

we take our own steps on the humanitarian front, and we think that's going well as well. >> and finally, at the end of the day, cindy, you are a mom. i know that sarah's mom says she constantly listens to an internet video that sarah made with shane just to hear the voice again. at the end of the day, it's a primal feeling that you get. how do you get through the day? >> i always end my day with "i love you, shane." you go onto the website, freethehikers.org and looking at petitions and comments is heartening for me. i also, you know, the phones are always close to me waiting for that call. >> and believing that it will come. >> believing that it will come, yes. >> thank you all so much for joining us. there will be candlelight vigils tomorrow -- >> yes. >> marking the two-month mark since they have been held in detention. >> yes. >> i appreciate you being here. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> it's 7:13. now to matt. ar

polanski 32 years after he was charged in a sex crime involving a 13-year-old girl. overnight, his lawyer filed a motion to have polanski freed. we'll have polanski's longtime agent with us in just a moment, but first, nbc's dawna friesen is in zurich, switzerland, wit the latest. dawna, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. roman polanski seems ready to defy american justice. his lawyers say he was dumbfounded by his arrest and today they filed a motion in federal court here to have him released from swiss custody. he spent 31 years as a fugitive from american justice. now, film director roman polanski behind bars in switzerland, is preparing to fight extradition to california. "he's a fighter," his lawyer says, "he's gone through a lot of hardships in his life." supporters are lining up to defend him. the french foreign minister described polanski's arrest as a bit sinister. and listen to the culture minister. "in the same way as there is a

generous america we love," he says, "there is a certain kind of american that is frightening, and this is the america which has shown us its face." the foreign ministers of france and poland say they will appeal to secretary of state hillary clinton to interview. actress deborah winger, head of the jury of the film festival, say they hope the case is dropped. >> it is based on a three decade-old case that is all but dead except for a minor technicali technicality. >> reporter: polanski fled the u.s. in 1978 after pleading guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl and since launched a legal battle to have the case thrown out. his victim has forgiven him and he's hardly spent his life in hiding. he's traveled widely in europe, had a holiday home in switzerland, and many in the film wld where he's widely respected can't understand why the u.s. is going after him now. >> there's a sense of humanity that just gone wacko. i mean, this is 32 years ago. everybody involved in the incident says basta, finished. let us move on. and to, you know, to bring this

thing up again is just absurd. >> reporter: b some u.s. legal experts say polanski is simply being treated like any other fugitive from justice. >> i think the d.a. is probably trying to demonstrate that just because the case is old doesn't mean it's over, and just because you run away doesn't mean we'll forget about you. >> reporter: most legal experts say it's shaping up to be a long and complex legal battle. and polanski's lawyers want him released immediately, arguing that his arrest was illegal, but the matter's now in the hands of the swiss justice system. we're told that it could take up to ten days for a decision, and frankly, no one knows how this is all going to play out. matt? >> dawna friesen, thank you very much. jeff berg is roman polanski's agent and creator of international management. how are you? >> good, how are you, matt? >> i'm fine. i know you haven't spoken to him since his arrest, but you have spoken to his wife and legal team. what's the indication as to how

he's doing? >> well, the reports i have from his defense counsel in zurich and his wife, emanuel, is he is strong, he's confident, he's looking rward to getting this resolved, and he's generally in a good frame of mind. i hope to speak with him directly within the next day or so. >> we're getting reports, jeff, that there are plans perhaps to fight extradition to the united states. a, can you confirm that, and what would it mean in terms of his legal standing in switzerland? >> well, i want to be clear that i look after his commercial interests, not his legal ones. >> i understand. >> my understanding is that they are going to contest extradition. i think the first order of business is to try to have him reased and get on bail so he could get out of custody. >> how hard an action would that be? i mean, how does a defense lawyer go to a court and say, for example, that he's not a flight risk, when you consider his history 30 years ago?

>> well, first of all, roman has had a house in switzerland for over 12 years. he travels there openly and freely and transparently. but my understanding is the defense counsel in zurich right now will be making their arguments against extradition. roman is going to contest this. >> there's a lot of questions as to why this happened now, jeff. and is it possible that in some ways, roman's defense team brought this on themselves? i know they filed appeal papers over the summer in his case, saying there was misconduct during the trial process and also saying that, hey, there's really no attempt to extradite this guy, so why not just let it go away? is it possible that that raised the anger level on the other side? >> well, first of all, roman has the right as do his attorneys to raise appellate issues, which in fact they've done in the state of california. as to the prior behavior, roman's lawyers were advised by the district attorney's office that extradition was not being

sought in the past, so it's unclear to us why this has presented itself today. that's -- >> i was just going to say, as you know, prosecutors on monday did release a rather detailed list of events over the course of the last several years where they say they did try to apprehend, or at least make the planning or plan apprehending roman polanski, including as recently as 2007 in israel. do you think that they're not being completely honest about that release? >> i think that's disingenuous. roman's travels throughout europe and actually throughout the world are very open, very transparent. he's a highly recognizable figure as well as a world-class director. it's inconceivable to me that anyone would have trouble finding roman. you could just go on the internet, go on romanpolanski.com. >> there's roman polanski's agent and chairman of icm, jeff berg. mr. berg, thanks for being with

us. >> thanks, matt. >> once again, here's meredith. >> matt, thank you. now to the anticipated memoir of sarah palin. she's finished it earlier than expected that her publisher has now expected to move up its releasedate. nbc's norah o'donnell is in washington with more on that. norah, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. sarah palin's memoir will be in book stores by thanksgiving to capitalize on the holiday book-buying season. she finished her book just four months after the deal was announced and sources tell nbc news she did it so quickly by writing furiously, full-time for months, something she could not have done if she were still governor of alaska, and she's chosen one intriguing title for the book, "going rogue," appropriating a term that was used to mock her during the campaign. it was just two months ago that sarah palin stepped down as governor. >> we are facing tough challenges in america with some seeming to just be hell bent,

maybe, on tearing down our nation. >> reporter: since then, she's been out of the spotlight, only seen last week in hong kong after a paid speech. she's still not saying if she wants to run for president. >> oh, you know, i wish i could predict the future. cannot, so can't answer that question right now, but look forward to more opportunities to send good messages from the u.s. >> reporter: now she's sending a message about her life and her future with her new book, and perhaps most surprising is palin's choice for the title, "going rogue," a phrase that was used in the campaign to mock palin and her apparent disagreements with john mccain. >> okay, listen up, everybody, i'm going rogue right now, so keep your voices down. available now, we've got a bunch of these palin in 2010 t-shirts. >> reporter: still, in an interview with matt just days after the election, palin denied she had been going rogue. >> have you listened to some of the leaks that have come out

since the election, where they're saying that t mccain people leaked anonymously, are saying we couldn't control her, she was a rogue, she didn't want our consultants around her and it became tense. where do stories like that come from? >> i honestly do not know, because it's not true, matt. >> reporter: well, now palin likes the phrase enough for the title of her own book, and sources say she got this book done by writing around the clock. in fact, she moved her whole family to san diego for the entire month of august so she could work with her collaborator, the author, lynn vincent, who's the editor of an evangelical magazine, and harper collins, the editor, has ordered a print of 1.5 million books. that's a lot, as many as were ordered for ted kennedy's posthumous memoirs. meredith? >> norah o'donnell, thank you very much. just ahead, a michigan mother in trouble with the law. her alleged crime? watching her friends' children as they wait for the school bus. she'll s

still ahead, a florida man accused of murdering his wife hams it up behind bars.

good morning, everyone and welcome. the time right now is 7:26. in the news at this hour, a health forum will be held in virginia for local businesses trying to prepare for a potential swine flu outbreak. local and national official also be on hand to help customized preparedness plans. the forum is at the marriott. preparations under way for where

u 2 will be performing tonight. there's an elaborate stage set up in the middle of the field. metro will keep fedex field opened one

there's a chill in the air and temperatures are in the 40s and 50s.

56 in washington and highs near 706789 gusty wind near 40 miles per hour with a few clouds around. how is traffic? outer loop is still pretty slow. lays begin towards george avenue where we had an earlier accident. barbara, back to you. >> thanks, ashley. tomorrow morning on news 4 today, easy as a,

7:30 now on a tuesday morning. it is the 29th day of september 2009. a "today" show related birthday today. >> who? >> it is bryant gumbel's birthday today. >> oh. >> former longtime host of the "today" show. pal, happy birthday, we love you. >> happy birthday. >> many happy returns.

meanwhile, fall has arrived. it's chilly out there. >> it has, it's cold. >> i'm matt lauer in studio 1a, alongside meredith vieira. still ahead, a stay-at-home mom told she's breaking the law because she watches her friends' children every morning for just a few minutes until the school bus arrives. we're going to hear from her exclusively. hopefully, she can explain that in just a couple minutes. also ahead, strange behavior from a man who days earlier was arrested and accused of murdering his wife. why would he laugh and even dance during a jailhouse visit with his daughter and sister-in-law? we'll have a lot more on that. plus, a rare interview with the one and only barbra streisand, who is out with a new album today. it is, wow, her 63rd album. >> that is right. she sat down with us following a special concert at the place in new york city where her career started. we're going to hear from her coming up. but let's begin with the unusual performance by a florida man suspected of killing his own wife. nbc's kerry sanders is in orlando with details. kerry, good morning to you.

>> reporter: well, good morning, meredith. this community here is one of the most exclusive communities in orlando. it's where the millionaires and the billionaires live. among those who have homes here, tiger woods, shaquille o'neal. so, when a woman was killed and her husband was charged in the murder, the expectation here was tears and sorrow and a stone wall of silence. it's been anything but. 61-year-old james bob ward was arrested the night his wife died. investigators say the wealthy land developer dialed 911 to report his 55-year-old wife diane had been shot. according to the arrest affidavit, ward said "i just shot my wife. she's dead." >> it's a very simple case. he pretty much in the call said he had shot his wife and left her -- and she could be found in the bedroom, and pretty much, that's what we found when we got on the scene. >> reporter: in this ritzy neighborhood that some say is orlando's real fantasy land, in a house once owned by baseball

grant worrell hirsch hizer and before that, golfing legend arnold palmer, a mother dead, one gunshot to the head. >> it's surreal. it's, you know, a fairy tale place, you know? and for something like that to happen is just -- it's like cinderella being shot. >> reporter: but then clues began to emerge. bob ward, the successful developer, had taken his $190 million business into bankruptcy. his mansion was in foreclosure. >> in this neighborhood, there's a lot of pressure to keep up your wealth, to be rich and stuff like that. >> mallory, would you speak at all on behalf of your family? >> reporter: then, the unexpected. the victim's own sister and the couple's daughter mallory, a student at georgetown, went to visit him in jail. >> hello. >> hey, handsome. >> reporter: their 45-minute-long conversation was surprisingly upbeat. >> what do you think the plan's going to be for thanksgiving? >> reporter: while experts say

victims respond to trauma in different ways, how to explain the playful antics, father and daughter goofing around. >> believe me, i'm right here in the ritz. >> reporter: dancing, talking about pajamas. >> i also want to let you know how good you look. i've been trying to get you to wear pajamas for years now. >> good morning, how are you? >> good morning, your honor. >> reporter: ward's lawyer says the 911 confession may not be what it seems. >> the arrest affidavit i think is very, very thin on probable cause as to whether or not this was a homicide or a suicide. it could be read either way. >> reporter: in that same arrest affidavit, there's this observation by a detective at the scene. ward was talking to an unknown person on the phone and told this unknown person diane killed herself. which raises more questions. did diane ward perhaps have a terminal disease, and is this an

assisted suicide or did she kill herself? was it a suicide despite what her husband told the 911 operators? but for the moment, bob ward remains in jail charged with murder. meredith? >> totally bizarre. kerry sanders, thank you. let us get another check -- >> excuse me! i'm sorry. >> i'm sorry about that. >> did you see what i did, though? i did that. >> you did exactly right. kathleen sebelius would be very happy for you. >> i think she's on the phone right now. >> there you go. let's get the weather from al. so much for the theory you can't sneeze while you're on the air. wow. wardrobe, pleas. we'll need a new sweater for misvieira. we have 80 years of marriage? that's incredible. how long have you known each other? >> almost 40. >> that's great. well, happyanniversaries. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> let's show you what's going today we're basically looking at chilly conditions. normal in marquette, traverse city, bualo's six degrees below

normal. it is a chilly start for traverse city, 54 degrees, detroit 59, pittsburgh 58. rerest of the country, you can e the temperatures warm up as you get into the southwest and southern florida with 90s, but 50s in the pacific northwest and 40s around the great lakes. and this young lady's 70 years old. you look fantastic! what is your name?ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç# good morning. bright sunshine and the sky is a vast expanse of vivid blue on this tuesday morning. the sun is pouring down in washington where the temperature is 56 and in the suburbs we're only in the 40s to 50s at this hour. highs today just near 70 with increasing clouds and gusty winds. near 40 miles per hour this afternoon. it will settle down and cooler than average. maybe a shower on saturday. >> and don't forget, whenever

you want your weather, day or night, go to the weather channel on cable or weathe online. >> al, thank you very much. now to the michigan mother whcould be punished for her good deed. what did she do wrong? she watched her friends' children as they waited for the school bus. we'll talk exclusively with that mom and some friends in a moment, but first, "today" national correspondent natalie morales has her story. natalie, good morning. >> good morning, matt. the school bus comes after lisa snyder's friends need to leave for work, and with before-school programs disappearing and choices being limited, they all thought they were doing the safest thing by having snyder keep an eye on things in the mornings. >> hi! >> reporter: lisa snyder is the friend all working moms wish they had. for less than an hour every morning, the michigan mother of two watches her neighbors' kids before they get on the school bus so their moms can get to work on time. >> to me, this is just a friend helping a friend, plain and simple. >> reporter: but this friendly gesture has landed her in trouble with the law. >> it was working wonderfully

untiwe got the letter from the state. >> reporter: the letter from the michigan department of human services notified snyder that if she has cared for unrelated children for more than four weeks, she's running an unlicensed daycare and could face jailtime and fines. >> in the interest of protecting children, we will investigate all allegations or complaints of unlicensed childcare. >> reporter: but snyder's friends are stunned. >> i'm kind of outraged that the state can override my decision on who can watch my child for an hour. >> nobody's paying anything. >> it's not a daycare, it's a bus stop. >> reporter: state representative brian cower is working on legislation to protect people like snyder who are simply helping out their friends as long as no money is changing hands. >> it takes a village, but in michigan, i guess we're saying it takes a licensed village. >> the spokesperson for michigan's department of human services stressed to us tt it was someone in snyder's counity who raised concern about possible unlicensed care, and when that happens, the state then is obligated to follow up.

matt? >> natalie, thank you very much. lisa snyder now joins us exclusively along with michigan state representative brian capitally and three of the friends that lisa baby sits for, francine, mindy and laurie. good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> lisa, no good deed goes unpunished. you think you're doing something good for your friends. you get this letter from the state. what did you do first when you got the letter? >> called my husband. i was a little bit freaked out. so, yeah. he was the first person i called and then i called all of the other mothers and my mom. >> had anyone complained to you, lisa, over the course of time that you had been watching these children? did you have people express concerns about this? >> no, never, nope. >> and so, when you -- >> not at all. >> when you called the department of human services after you received this letter and said -- walk me through this, why is this happening to me -- what was the reason they

actually gave you? >> at first, they said that they have to follow up, and i started asking questions and told them i thought it was ridiculous. and then the question -- some of the answers that they gave me, i just started getting angry and i said i don't agree with this. i said that the children should be able to come into my house if it's raining or there's a snowstorm, and the lady said to me plain and simple that, tell the parents to buy them an umbrella. and i'm like, are you serious? you want these children -- >> you basically thought about this idea, so what if my daughter had a friend of hers just come over to play for a little while each day, would that also be against the law? and what did they say to that? >> if their parents are at home, it's not, but if they decide to run to the store or go out to eat, it is considered daycare. >> what's the situation right now? is it cease and desist? have you stopped this? >> with one child i have, but

the other two still come. >> all right. so, you're actually doing something in violation of the order at the moment. representative cally, let me bring you into this. what was your reaction when you heard this? i know a friend of lisa's brought this to your attention, this good deed gone wrong. what was your reaction? >> i found it very difficult to believe when i read the letter and the account of what happened. i thought, surely, i must be missing something here. i called the department personally, and they did confirm that the letter and everything in it was true and that was the position of the department, that a daycare license was necessary for the kids to wait for the bus in this house. >> you say you might be missing something. let me play devil's advocate for a second, if you all don't mind. and i hate hypotheticals, but what would happen if this group of children is in lisa's house one morning and an accident occurs, a fire breaks out, or if one of the children has an

accident, eats something and has a bad health reaction? wouldn't lisa then be exposed to real legal jeopardy? for example, there are no exit signs in her house like you'll find at a licensed daycare center. wouldn't that be part of the problem? >> well, and i understand the idea of regulating a business in that way, but when friends are helping friends, i think parents are in a much better position to determine what's safe for their kids than the department of human services. there is no amount of testing or interviews or applications that somebody could fill out and send into the department of human services that would make them more capable of determining a safe environment for their kids than the parents themselves. >> and you're trying to pass legislation now, i understand, mr. calley, to kind of get around this or do away with that law? >> that's right. the law itself is taken way out of context. it's meant to regulate businesses, the business of

providing daycare services. it's not meant to apply to friends helping friends in this way. and so, what i'd like to do is clarify the law and take away the ability of the department to apply in this way. >> lisa, i guess the final question is, apparently, someone ratted you out, someone called the state about you. do you have any idea who that was? >> no. >> none whatsoever. all right. well, hopefully, hopefully we can -- >> it has to be someone -- i'm sorry, it has to be someone close by that can see what's going on. >> well, and i know the ladies around you certainly hope this gets sorted out real soon so that you continue to do them a good deed. and lisa, thanks for joining us. ladi, thanks forou being with us as well, and representative calley, it's nice to see you. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. >> thank you, matt. >> all right. up next, could that first-time home buyer's tax credit be extended past its fast-approaching deadline? we're going to talk about that with barbara corcoran, but

first, these messages.

♪ our house in the middle of our street ♪ back at 7:46. this morning on "today's real estate," the federal tax credit for first-time home buyers. the december 1st deadline fast approaching, but should you race out to take advantage of it? "today's" real estate contributor barbara corcoran is here with the answer. barbara, good morning to you. >> good morning, meredith. >> first, remind us what the federal tax credit is and who qualifies for it. >> it's a $8,000 tax credit intended for first-time home buyers. it really covers anyone who hasn't owned a home in the last three years, but it's an actual credit, money you get back at the year end when you file your taxes. >> and it was designed to boost the housing market to encourage first-time homeowners to buy their first home and those who already had a house to sell it and purchase something even more expensive. has it been successful and is the housing market coming back? >> well, there's a lot of questions rolled into one the.

yes to the first part in that it has kick-started the housing market, because last month -- or i should say, the month of july, the latest numbers, one-third of all home buyers were first-time buyers. so, it's done its job there. where it's did nbeen disappoints people expected a domino effect on the housing market. it has not. the reason being is the housing market is just like a triangle with the greatest number of houses at the base, and they had hoped with the buyers at the bottom of the wrung being able to sell their houses, they'd move up and buy another house. but what happened instead is they bought foreclosures and short sales and desperate owners and all of those homeowners have simply moved into the rental market. so it's laid low at the bottom. >> so, now we're talking about a deadline of december 1st. is there enough time for new homeowners to still go out and get a house? >> well,f you believe in miracles and you can find a really good foreclosure where the bank has sweaty palms, yes, it's not too late, but for the most part, it's impractical. most homes today take 60 to 0i9 days to close, the banks don't loan the money so readily, so the process has slowed down.

if you found a house this weekend, the chances are very good that you wouldn't get the tax credit. >> although there is talk about it being extended like the cash for clunkers program was extended. how likely is that to happen? >> well, no one knows the answer, but i myself, i definitely believe in good old politics, and right now, there are 12 bills on the floor to extend the deadline. i think it will happen because every congress guy out there or gal wants to tie their name onto this very popular bill. so, i fully expect that this is going to be extended. >> okay, so, if you are a first-time buyer, it's all right to continue looking, because probably you're going to get the extension. >> yeah. and more importantly, it's ridiculous to try to rush it because you end up being a bad negotiator and don't find the right house. find the right house first. >> once this program ends, and at some point it will, what do you expect will happen to the housing market, because it has provided some boost. >> it's created the first big kick in the bu, and that's great, but the horse is already out of that barn. that guy is galloping away. even though we're going to have some bumps in the road, the

housing market has turned the corner and people expect it to maintain the momentum even without this bill. >> is it likely, people are talking about standing the credit line from $8,000 to $15,000 and to all home buyers, not just first-time. >> there's lots of talk out there, do this and that and the other thing. truth is, anything that's going to stir up the housing market is going to be popular and probably passed by congress. >> all right, barbara corcoran. >> my pleasure. >> thank you so much. still to come, kerry fisher's eventful life in hollywood. she's going to join us, talk about the highs and the lows.

still ahead, what did michael jackson see in the myrrhor? we'll hear his answer in his own words. plus, barbra streisand.

beautiful morning out there. feeling like fall. 56 degrees under clear skies right now. we'll talk to tom about the weather. let's take a look at the traffic oit there as well. it looks like there are a few clouds above us. the time right now is 7:56. in the news at this hour, metro riders will soon be und a watchful eye. there are going to be surveillance cameras, as part of more than $78 million in a grant. it will pay for more training for metro workers. d.c. already bans smoking

inside bars and restaurants. now you may not be able to light up outside of those places as well. it's part of a new bill before the council. it will restrict smoking outside where smoking inside is already banned. let's take a look at weather and traffic when we come back. stay with us.

good morning. dressed for a cool morning and afternoon. highs in the upper 50s and 60s. a blustery wind gusting to 40 miles per hour with a few clouds racing through. tomorrow, breezy and cool. 30s and 40s in the afternoon. less wind on thursday and friday. how is the tuts traffic? >> it's a mess. outer loop very slow earlier the activity has been cleared it. big problem us on the of springfield. and then from springfield, back on the brakes. it's going to be slow. barbara, back to you. >>

♪ don't tell me not to live it's 8:00 on this tuesday morning, september 29th, 2009. a cool morning here in midtown manhattan. as we say hello to everyone in rockefeller plaza, i'm meredith vieira along with matt lauer and al roker. just ahead, iconic singer, actress, director, barbra streisand sat down with us over

the weekend following an intimate performance in new york. we're going to have our conversation in just a minute. >> look forward to that. >> i've been mispronouncing her name, it's barbra streisand, the sand, not barbra streisand. i don't want to do that. >> it's actually barbara. >> no, it's barbra. everybody knows it's barbra. >> and he's here with us to share things about his sister. this is part of an exhibit traveling around the world and it's back here in the united states and we'll talk to charles spencer in just a little while. >> would you get me that dress? >> i think it's part of the traveling exhibit. >> oh, never mind. >> i don't think it's for your own personal use. >> but it's here now. >> okay, and then carrie fisher is stopping by. always colorful, always fun. she's going talking more about her remarkable life in hollywood. >> but first, let's go inside to ann curry at the news desk. good morning, ann. >> good morning, meredith.

good morning, everybody. a bus hit a roadside bomb today in afghistan, killing 30 and wounding about 80 others. president obama holds a strategy session today on whether to send tens of thousands more u.s. troops to afghanistan as requested the top military commander on the ground. nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd is in washington now with more on this. chuck, how soon do we expect the president's decision? >> reporter: well, we're still probably weeks away from a presidential decision or even receiving a request for more troops, because first they want to do an entire strategic overview. in fact, half of the presidents' day is going to be focused on afghanistan. he meets with the nato secretary-general. the topic of that conversation is going to be afghanistan and the training of the afghans to build a bigger civilian force. then he's going to have a private meeting with the vice president, who actually is skeptic about sending more troops, and the defense secretary robert gates. and then there is that big

meeting with gates, biden, secretary clinton, joint chiefs of staff mullen. you're going to see general petraeus there, and they're going to be having a serious debate about what should the strategy be going forward. what's not clear is whether there is actually going to be a troop request today for the president. that's unlikely, ann. >> still a lot rests on this meeting. all right, chuck todd this morning. chuck, thanks. also this morning, iran's parliament warned the u.s. and other world powers against repeating past mistakes in forcing iran to scrap its nuclear program. this as negotiators from iran and five member nations of the security council and germany gear up for a key meeting thursday in geneva. health officials say the predicted second wave of swine flu is now hitting the united states. according to the centers for disease control, at least 26 states are now reporting widespread flu activity with 99 % of the cases confirmed as swine flu. officials hope to vaccinate more than half the u.s. population in just a few months. a woman just released from

jail after serving time for robbing banks is behind bars this morning after allegedly robbing six banks in six days. nbc's mike taibbi is outside one of those banks in windsor, connecticut. hey, mike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. you know, there are people who see heather brown of connecticut as an emerging folk hero, but one man who knows her well and also knows her long drug history is guessing she just couldn't handle life outside the walls. heather brown covered her head after her arrest in hartford yesterday, but last week she allegedly robbed six banks in six days in three states -- connecticut, rhode island, massachusetts -- without so much as a pair of sunglasses, let alone a disguise. claiming she had a bomb or a gun, she allegedly demanded modest amounts of cash, $1,000 in several of the robberies, in which she was ultimately arrested, had neither a weapon nor any of the cash. >> do you have nothing to say, heather? >> she was taken into custody without incident. wasn't any problem. >> reporter: lawyer and family friend larry bates says the smart, sweet girl who used to

baby sit his young children was destroyed by drug addiction to pot and then crack-cocaine that pointed her toward jail as a teenager. >> everything that's happened to her happened really after she hit 16, i think. >> reporter: in the blogosphere, some have been cheering her on. "you go girl!" "good luck and have fun," "keep going," "wow!" seeing her as an icon in the tradition of bonnie and clyde collide. >> we b banks. >> or babyface nelson. >> three banks in two hours! >> reporter: but brown herself had lamented in prison, the only place since childhood where she had long stretches of sobriety, that "whenever i pick up crack, i pick up handcuffs." and thus made sure she'd be caught, her ex-lawyer says. >> that's the biggest cry for help you can have, i think. >> reporter: brown's arraignment today is only on charges stemming from the first of last week's six bank robberies. police say charges in the other five will soon follow. she remains in jail on $250,000 bail. ann? >> all right, mike taibbi this

morning, thanks. it is now 8:05. let's go back outside for a check of the weather from al. hey, al. >> thanks a lot, ann. we're here with these cute, awfully cute kids. this young lady went, so we're over here. what's your name? >> aubrey. >> and yours? >> max. >> and? >> sabrina. >> where are you from? >> utah. >> salt lake city. >> salt lake city, nice to see you. let's check your weather and see what's going on. pick city of the day happens to be burlington, vermont. showery, windy, a high of 64, wptz there. we are checking out the rest of your day, though. jet stream right now dips over the pacific northwest, bringing that storm system in. then as you see the storm track really starts to push itself into the plain states, and that's going to mean some strong ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç# sunny and chilly on this tuesday morning. in montgomery county, it's in the mid-50s. fairfax and arlington county,

farther to the west, still in the upper 40s and 50s. winds increase as well with clouds developing. clouds racing through with winds gusting to 40 miles per hour this afternoon. still blustery >> that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al, thanks very much. still to come, you know who's stopping by? mariah carey is stopping by, and that lady right there will sit down with meredith for an interview. that's the one and only barbra streisand. talk to her after these messages. what about the strength of the steel, the integrity of it's design? or how it responds in extreme situations. the deeper you look, the more you see the real differences. and the more you understand what it means to own a mercedes-benz. the c-class. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for special fers through

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back at 8:10 and now to our rare interview with barbra streisand, who is out with her 63rd album today, "love is the answer." it's an album of jazz standards inspired by her early days as a performer in new york's greenwich village. and as she looks back, we thought we would, too. icon, superstar, or self-styled show business goddess. as one "the new york times" critic describes her. he perhaps captures her best in his review of her classic tv specials broadcast between 1965 and 1973. he writes, "miss streisand wields her star power with a

concentrated intensity that is magnetic, intimidating and ahead of its time," turning her famous bump in the nose profile to the camera, she challenges you to say she isn't beautiful and dares you to look away, and we never give." ♪ >> in 1961, the brooklyn-born 18-year-old streisand auditions at the village vanguard to open for jazz legend miles davis. she didn't get the job. only a small bump in an otherwise dazzling career. ♪ don't tell me not to live ♪ wow, wow, wow >> what's up, doc? ♪ ♪

>> 48 years later, she finally played the village vanguard here in new york on saturday. it was an emotional night for some lucky die-hard fans, and afterwards, she sat down with us. ♪ but if you stay, i'll make you a day like no day has been ♪ >> you said something to me right before this interview started. i thought it was so interesting. i was talking about, you know, having this experience. you said, yeah, what was it like? as if you hadn't been there. >> yeah, well, i don't know what it's -- you know, the perception of it is different than doing it. ♪ ♪ leave me just enough to hold in my hand ♪ >> it's like, i could hear when

i was doing it people sniffling, but i don't know what really gets them. >> it was very emotional. did it bring back memories? >> i wasn't scared then. i didn't have stage fright. i never felt quite seen as a child, so, it was my way of wanting to have some attention, i guess. but tonight -- i mean, can you imagine, that stage was literally about six feet wide. i couldn't move. i could barely move. >> you said how can you get stage fright when there's no stage? >> right. ♪ no complaints and no regrets, i still believe in chasing dreams and placing bets ♪ >> did you know when you were auditioning and not getting the gig at the vanguard, i can do this, i am going to make it? >> yeah, yeah. i remember my first broadway

play was "the diary of ann frank." sat in the top of the balcony. the seats were dull , and the illusion is different. i remember thinking she's a 14-year-old, i'm 14 years old, i could do that. ♪ here's to life and dreamers and their dreams ♪ >> but you know, nobody gave me the chance right away, but that's why singing really got me a chance to be an actress. >> you know, you tell that story tonight about singing in front of some friends, you had to literally turn and face the wall? >> face the wall, mm-hmm. >> why? >> i just was shy, you know, embarrassed. i could never get up and sing in a living room. >> so, you had to overcome a lot of fear then. >> one day i was -- we were skiing and we were at donna karan's house, my friend, and

liza minnelli got up to sing. and i thought, how could she do that, get up in the living room and sing? really. this was very conscious and very challenging. i thought, why can't i do that? and so, i really set about not trying to sing in the living room, because that i don't think i ever could do, but it started me thinking that i should go back to performing on the stage again in concert. >> what did it mean to have those fans there tonight, barbra? >> you know, i'm there hoping i don't disappoint. >> yeah. you still feel that way. >> yes, i do. i haven't sung since last january, and i never vocalize. it's just, i find it just so boring. so, i kind of pray a lot that my voice will still be there. so, this is something i kind of take for granted and i

appreciate the gift, you know. it's wonderful. i thank her every day. >> first line of your bio -- this is your official bio -- it reads, "actress, singer, director, writer, composer, producer, designer, activist." so, fill in the blank -- first and foremost, i am -- >> oh, gosh. i'm trying, i'm trying. i'm a work in progress. i mean, i'm trying to be a better person all the time, to be kinder. it's hard sometimes because i do -- i have flaws, you know? like mt of us. so, i'm not finished. >> you said tonight you came full circle, this was full circle. >> uh huh, yeah. where i was and where i am, back to the beginning. but second time around. >> see, i noticed you all

responded to her saying she doesn't vocalize, but she doesn't. she doesn't -- >> that's amazing. >> tony bennett once sent her a tape with some vocal exercises on it and i think she said she listened to it once. no formal training at all and she cannot read music at all. >> i thought it was that story about liza minnelli was fascinating, that she was stunned that liza minnelli could stand up in lafg room and sing and she can't. >> she can't do that. even this was a stretch for her to come back and perform, but really coming back full circle because greenwich village is where she got her start. >> that's cool. i get a kick out of that, huh? it's fun to sit down -- >> oh, my gosh, and that concert. >> the concert was unbelievable itself. >> it was unbelievable. i don't think i had ever been in the village van guard. i was trying to think that many years ago. not that i have blackouts or anything. but people in the front row, there was sarah jessica parker, but most of the fans got the tickets from a lottery. thousands applied and less than 100 got in that room. so it was pretty cool.

okay, again, barbra streisand's "love is the answer" is out today and it really is a fabulous album. up next, princess diana's brother shares some of his sister's most treasured items. introducing blueprint. blueprint is free and only for chase customers. it lets you choose what purchases you want to pay and those you split... interest...with full pay. you decide how to pay over time. if having a plan matters. chase what matters. eate your own blueprint at chase.com/blueprint. it's not the new lexus. it's not the new bmw. it's not the new audi. what it is... is impossible to resist. the new twenty-ten lacrosse from buick.

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♪ ( ding ) ♪ [ air whooshes ] ♪ ♪ i promise to think of myself as a beautiful person. [ applause ] ♪ it has been more than 12 years now since the tragic dth of princess dina. her life and humanitarian work is being honored in an international traveling exhibit called "diana: a celebration," and it's about to make its east

coast debut. her brother charles spencer is here to tell us all about that. charles, good to see you. >> thank you. >> welcome back. >> thank you. >> i was thinking last night, in the immediate time following diana's death, there was so much fascination about the glamorous part of her life and her fashion and romances and things like that. do you think the public's interest has evolved in some ways over the last several years to a more well-rounded picture? >> well, i think that that's definitely the case, but also, what's so sobering to me is when this exhibit's open in england in our ancestral house, there are so many people who don't even have a memory of her, people who were too young then. so there's a whole generation to whom she's really a historical figure, but i think the idea behind this exhibit was to celebrate diana's life, not to deal with any so-called scandal or whatever, but to celebrate what she did in a very short time. >> and there are different galleries within the exhibit that focus on different aspects of her life, and i know one of them is dedicated to her childhood, so let's talk about

that -- >> yes. >> because it was your childhood as well. >> absolutely. >> how would you describe her as a child? >> well, we grew up very close. we were the closest of the four children, and she was a busy little girl, and my mother left home when we were very young and she sort of took on a mothering role to me as her little brother, and so, i remember her very, very clearly as a sort of warm and reassuring presence, and she used to look out for me, you know? my first day of school, she had been there a couple years and the head myth recess told me a time later that diana couldn't settle all day and the head mistress said just go and see how he is, and she went, charles is all right, and she was good like that. >> there's a letter here that diana wrote to dad. >> yes. >> it says "dear daddy." that's when she was 7 years old? >> yes. she was always a great letter writer. actually, it was quite formal. she always had a phrase, i hope you're well and we're having great weather. i hear from all sorts of people,

she was always thanking people for anything they did throughout their life. >> it always makes a difference when someone writes a note, much more than the e-mail generation we live in now. she loved dance and that's in the exhibit as well. >> absolutely. that was her real childhood passion that was her aim was to become a ballet dancer, but she grew to just over 5'9", and it was made clear to her that ballet was out. but one of my abiding memories of our childhood was we had this sort of marble hallway, and just hearing her practicing her tap dancing the whole time. she was very, very keen on it. >> i'm curious if here we are 13 12 years after her death, and are you even surprised -- we've talked many times over the years, charles, and at each passage of time, are you still surprised by just how much interest there is in your sister? >> yes. i mean, to me, i've had to a long time ago divide her into two people. one is the sister i knew and grew up with and loved and the other was the international celebrity, and that's something i've tried to bring into this exhibit is the fact that she was

very much a person. you know, one of the things people remembers the childhood footage from this exhibit, which my father shot, and people can identify with that. that could be anyone's childhood. >> we're going to put information as to where the exhibit is traveling on our website. it's always good to see you, though. >> thank you very much. a beautiful morning in washington. the time is 8:26. good morning. i'm barbara harrison. in the news at this hour, metro drivers will be under a watchful eye. it's part of more than $78 million grants from the department of homeland security. the money will also improve gates at the end of the station platforms and pay for more

training for metro workers. we will take a break and come back with weather and traffic in a moment. stay with

a chilly end to september. a blustery wind and gusting to 40 miles per hour. 40s tomorrow morning and 50s in the afternoon. partly cloudynd the winds will dim anyone nish a bit. highs 60s on thursday and fry into the low 70s. a shower on saturday as we get into the weekend. sunday into monday, drying out again. now for traffic, how is it looking. >> headed southbound from

route 80 and then 121 pretty much all the way down to the inner loop, this is what you're looking at. also, big delays from the outer loop to college park and silver springs. inner loop not doing too well in addition to but towards silver springs due to volume. barbara, back to you. >> thank you.

♪ ♪ boy, why youo obsessed with me ♪ 8:30 now on a tuesday morning, 29th day of september

2009. right now people on our plaza getting a thrill, because they're hanging out with the one and only mariah carey. she's out with a new album today. we're going to talk about that with mariah herself in just a couple of minutes and find out from mariah what we can expect this coming friday morning when she performs live in concert right here on the plaza. >> that will be terrific. >> that's going to be fun. that really is. out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira, ann curry and al roker. and what's coming up? >> another superstar, michael jackson, his friend and confidante is sharing more of his intimate conversations with the late singer, including a portion in which michael talks about getting sick when he saw a picture of himself. we'll hear about that in just a moment. >>carrie fisher is joining us as well. she's got a new one-woman show on broadway. she's back on broadway after a couple of decades. she is hilarious and her life has been nothing short of very interesting. we're going to talk to carrie

about that in just a couple of minutes. don't look at me that way. >> you're in trouble, matt. but first, we've got a special guest. >> yes, we do. >> let's bring mariah carey in, who happens to be on our studio this morning for -- >> group hug. >> hello. we'll give you an hour to stop that. 12 studeth studio album out tod. >> congratulations. >> "perfect angel." and you're coming back friday. >> i will be back friday, yes, and i believe we're going to do a little concert thing. >> just a little concert thing? >> a littleoncert thing. >> yes. >> let me ask you about the album. do you like the process, the recording process, the behind-the-scenes work or would you rather go to the performing part? >> no, they call me a studio rat. i live in the studio. i've been writing songs since i was 12 years old, writing preeyt since i was 6. >> it's home. >> a lot of people still don't know i write and produce my own

stuff. i collaborate a lot, but i'm like, how many years do i have to do this until they realize? >> what's your inspiratio what makes you inspired when you write these things? >> you know what, it comes from all different places. for me, it's a spiritual thing and something that we get as a gift and that's how i look at it. i have a lot of faith. my mom actually said to me, don't say if i make it, say when i make it. so i felt like those were words to live by. >> they are. >> and this album is about the different stages of love, from the first-time love to maybe the love that you lose and finally getting it back. what stage of love are you in right now? >> i'm in the best stage of love there ever could be, except that my husband had to go do something in l.a. today, so -- >> nick cannon? >> yes. i don't get to be with him today on this day, because we really like, you know, were so involved together when i was making this album. we would listen to it over and over and decide on different eas. like, "i want to know what love is," we talked about that.

>> foreigner song. >> i love that song. >> what made you do that one? >> nick and i were talking, and he -- well, to hear him tell it, it was his idea, but i know that it was my idea kind of. it was both. it was both. >> what people may not guess about you is in shaking your hands, you have a tough handshake, girl. you shake hands to hurt somebody. >> well, i was known as kind of a thug princess -- >> funny, so is meredith! >> and you've got a great group hug, too. >> thank you. great people like you, i need to feel the love. feel the love. >> you're going to be at macy's today, right? >> yes, at macy's today. i have a new fragrance called forever, and some people got a gift. sign their shirts and stuff, and it really is nice. i worked on it vy hard. i actually do work on my own fragrances, so it's going to be a fun day. >> well, you smell good today. is that forever? >> except your own clothes -- >> did you really smell that? >> yeah. >> well, thank you.

>> well, i hugged you, too. >> meredith smells a lot of our guests, so that's not unusual. >> we want to mention, make sure people know, friday morning out here on the plaza, 8:30 half hour, this young lady right here live in concert, and that should be a lot of fun. >> a lot of fun. we look forward to seeing you. >> thank you. >> mariah, good to see you. >> congratulations on the album. >> thank you so much. >> good to see you. >> always great to see you. ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç# and an autumn chill in the air. temperatures are still in the 50s and 58 in washington. it should make it just to near 70 for a brief time accompanied by a blustery wind out of the northwest and clouds rasing through. midafternoon and then winds should settle down for tonight's u2 concertt the fedex field. more sun on thursday and friday.

>> and for your weather any time of the day or night, check out the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. meredith? >> all right, al, thank you very mu. coming up next, the always colorful carrie fisher. but first, this is

for the first time in 26 years, carrie fisher is returning to broadway. she, of course, is best known for her role as princess leia in the "star wars" films, and she recounts that experience in her one-woman show called "wishful drking," based on her life as the daughter of singer fisher and actress debbie reynolds. a paperback by that title has just been released as well. carrie, you're one of our favorite people. welcome back. >> oh, thank you so much. >> how does it feel to be back on broadway? >> well, back on broadway -- i

was here in the chorus of my mother's show "irene" when i was 15 or 16 years old, so, in high school that's what i did. >> so this seems like all new again to you. >> sure. and then i played in "agnus," so it's going to be different from that, too. >> you talk about the fact that you try in this show to take siations that most people in their lives will say aren't funny, there's nothing funny about this, and you try to mine a little comic gold in it. do most people understand that right off the bat or does it make them uncomfortable? >> i don't know if most people do, but my feeling is, if you can claim something, you have more power over it, you know? the more -- you're only as sick as your secrets, i've heard someone say once, but i say my weak things in a strong voice. >> yeah. i just want to say before we go any further, last time you were here, you sat like you're sitting right now -- >> and i looked like i had no legs. >> we had all kinds of people write and say did she have her legs amputated -- >> but it's bad enough that i'm overweight --

>> no, you start the show with a little primmer about your parents. >> right. >> you call it hollywood inbreeding 101. let's take a look at the clip. >> oh, don't make me. >> all right, welcome, class, to hollywood 101. thank you so much for enrolling. all right, so, over here we have debbie and eddie. in the '50s, they were known as america's sweethearts. forhose of you that are younger, all three of you, and you know, you can't relate to any of this, try to think of it this way. think of eddie as brad pitt, debbie as jennifer aniston and elizabeth as angelina jolie. does that help? >> what was up with the fact you couldn't even look at yourself on the monitor? that's strange. it's your show. >> here's my thing. i invite people to my show not to look at my house, but to listen to my furniture, because i'm a little on the mansion side rit now and struggling with it. >> are you insecure about that? i mean -- >> but you know, that's a minor thing in a way.

if that's my biggest oblem, it's a nose bleed high-class problem, but it makes you vulnerable. >> you talk about everything in this show and in the book, obviously. and i mean, marriages and paul simon and brian, and who the latter, obviously, famously left you for another man. it's something that you do that's very funny about that subject. you talk about how he blamed your drug use for him -- >> told me i turned him gay by taking codeine again, and i said i never read that warning on the label. i thought it said heavy machinery, not homosexuality. i could have been driving those tractors. >> you talk about your parents, and there's great warmth and great sarcasm at the same time. were you always amused by them or were you hrified by them for much of your life? >> i was a teenager. when you're a teenager, you're horrified by everyone, i mean, everyone seems ridiculous but you. no, i -- my parents -- look, everything that's in the show, i went to everyone i talk about and said here's what i'm going

to say. if you don't like it, take it out, but i really -- >> did you really give people that editing license? >> of course. i don't want to make anyone uncomfortable. it's a show about me, but as it happens, i interact with people in my life, so some of the stories -- >> your parents have seen it. >> oh, yeah. >> and they like the show? they're comfortable with it? >> absolutely. i don't know that anyone in our family's comfortable -- >> that's just not a state of being? >> i wouldn't claim that, yeah. >> you talk about mental illness and you talk about dealing with bipolar disorder. and i think one of the things you say there, and it's very empowering, actually, is you shouldn't be criticized for having a mental illness. it's hard. it's a tough act. it makes you pretty tough. >> well, yes, and actually, i think you can only show real courage or strength once it's tested, and boy, do you get tested being bipolar. so, you know, we have to develop character to combat it. >> and i'm also reading where you talk about the fact that there was a stage in your life where you just wanted to win an award. you wanted to get an award for anything. >> no --

>> for acting, and it turns out -- >> i now get awards for being mentally ill. i think it's because there's no swimsuit portion of the competition. well, it's better than being bad at being mentally ill, right? >> to be runner-up? >> i'm gat at it. i am fant stick at being mentally ill. >> want to be runner-up in the competition? >> i don't want to be that. wouldn't that be sad? >> you bring an audience member up on stage during your show. i hope i'm not giving anything away. >> no, no, no. >> that's okay. >> you seem, from what i've heard, and i haven't seen the show, but people have told me, you're very comfortable with the people. there's a real connection between you and the people who come to see your show. >> well, they're my scene partners. you know, i mean, if i don't connect with them -- you do it to sort of establish a kind of comradery. it's one of the thousands of reasons you might do it. and i love the audiences. they're very vocal. i ask them questions, you know, we interact a lot. otherwise, i'm all alone. >> you know, actually, i mentioned the subject of mental illness, and you think there are

some people who come to see your show who are struggling with many of the same issues -- >> well, i ask people. i say, it's an exclusive -- you know, i say i was invited to a mental hospital, you know, and you don't want to be rude, right? so you go. and then you say, it's -- well, you know, it's a very exclusive invitation, obviously. >> right. >> i say, how many of you have been invited to a mental hospital? well, one night we had nine. that was awesome. most of the time you'll see this happen and then it will go away. >> you've hit your target audience? >> that's my target audience, gay, mentally ill, sci-fi alcoholics, if -- you know, that's a big crew. >> how long can a show survive with that target audience? >> a long time. >> changing subjects, did you -- >> spilled that -- >> -- spill that in your cleavage? >> there's so much cleavage. i'd like to get something off my chest. go ahead. >> i want to ask you about -- i guess it's kind of a serious

subject in addition to what we've been talking about, michael jackson. you were close friends with michael jackson. >> i wasn't that close, but to not be close friends with michael in his sort of context or world is to be close, you know, with michael. michael mostly, i think, was close with children. i mean, because you could trust them. he could trust me in a way because i was not -- celebrity really affects the people around you, especially his kind. it's radioactive. and so, really, he couldn't -- everybody looked at him with like an extra, you know, brightness in their eyes, and it wasn't, you know -- >> so you never sat down, not like we're doing in front of millions of people -- >> oh, yeah, on the phone -- >> did you sit down and have heart-to-heart talks with him and learn about him? >> mostly on the phone. and i don't have to learn a lot. you know, i come from a show business family. i was famous, not as young as he was, but young. so i'm imperterbible about celebrity, so he could relax with that.

but he was most comfortable with children because they don't understand the distraction of celebrity. they don't get pulled up in it. they just want to play. >> did you identify with him and what he was going through, being a star at such a young age? >> well, being a star at any age. but i also greup around it, so i knew celebrity was just obscurity biding its time. >> right. >> i mean, you know, it's all going to run into a wall. so, i never had any illusions about it. >> were you shocked by his death or did you think -- >> yes, i was. >> you were? >> yeah. i an, but he's not even -- a proper drug addict, not that i would know, takes drugs to feel altered. he was just wanted out of the game. that's not a drug addict in my, you know, definition, my encyclopedia of terms. >> carrie fisher, always fun to have you here. always interesting. >> nice to be here. >> "wishful drinking" officially opens on broadway sunday night. and you can read an excerpt from carrie's book on todayshow.com. come back and see us soon.

>> i will. i'll be right back. >> we'll be back in a moment.

♪ ♪ the man in the mirror back at 8:48 with more never-before-heard recordings of michael jackson, made with the late singer's permission during more than 30 hours of conversation with his friend, rabbi shmuley boteach. now it's in "the michael jackson tapes." rabbi shmuley, welcome back. >> thank you, meredith. >> you were on the show friday with us and we had a "dateline" special that night talking about your book and those 30 hours of tape. some of the recordings were played both during our piece and "dateline." we want to play more this morning, but before that, address the criticism by some viewers about the timing of this book. those recordings were made in 2000-2001, when you said you were michael's friend and

spiritual adviser, but they're just coming out now. why? a lot of people saying why not before the man died? why not after the fact? >> you know, all these famous people on the show today all know what it's like to have an image portrayed to the public, but their real soul is not known. michael wanted to be known to the public because they were very suspicious of him. and the book was supposed to come out in three-2004. he was arrested on child molestation allegations, although he was exonerated in 2005. it was impossible for his voice to be taken seriously, and really, the book was dead. it was going to just be shelved. when he died, there was such an outpouring of sympathy. i think for the first time people said maybe we judged him too harshly. maybe there's more that come out. this book has created sympathy for people because now they understand the pain he lived with. >> but after 2004, which obviously at that point he'd want to regain his reputation even more so. why didn't he push them offensive this book published? >> think about it, he was arrested for the second time on child molestation.

he was so eloquent, especially on the subject of children, i thought this would be seen as an attempt to rationalize child molestation. i think it would have made his image far worse. it was a dead project. michael's death changed everything, because it really opened up the heart of the public to him, and i think he's being seen in a totally different light, and i wish he could have seen the reaction to the book because i received thousands of e-mails of people saying i never knew how broken he felt. he's honest in this book. >> and you get a sense of a man who was broken, a man who says he sought attention because he equated it with the love he didn't get as a child, but he also is defined in some of the tapes, particularly when he talks about the way the press vilified him and why he believes they did. let's listen to a portion of the tape where he talks about that. >> i was the first one to break the ice, break the mold, where white girls, scottish girls, irish girls screaming, "i'm in love with you! i want to --" and that gave a lot of the white press, they didn't like that. and that's why they started the story, he's weird, he's gay, he

sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber. he wants to buy the elephant man bones. anything to turn people against me, they tried their hardest. and i took -- anybody else would probably be dead by now or a junkie or something with what i've been through, shmuley. >> "anybody else would probably be dead by now or a junkie or something with what i've been through." >> imagine how painful those words are in light of his tragic death, but i would always say to michael, all the king's men can't put humpty back together again, but you can put yourself back together. ultimately, you can't find scapegoats for your issues. there may indeed have been elements of racism in his attacks, but michael gave his enemies the worst weapons -- because he thought some of the rules that applied to you and me didn't apply to him, especially when it came to sharing a bed with children. i personally don't think michael did anything that bordered on child molestation, but when you admit that you secluded yourself with someone else's child, not only do you open yourself to the charges that were later brought

against him, but you ultimately think this guy is just very different and you lose sympathy for him. >> he talks to you in the tape recordings about the way he sees himself as a man. now, this is a man who had a lot of plastic surgery, who was repulsed by himself. let's listen to that excerpt. >> i don't want to be seen now, shmuley. like i said, when my picture came up, i went, "uckk." when i saw it on the computer, it made me sick when i saw it. >> why? >> i look like a lizard. i look like, it's horrible. i don't like it. i never like. it that's why i wish i could never be photographed or seen. i push myself to go to the things that we go to, i really do. >> so, why did he keep doing all of that to himself if he couldn't stand the way he looked? he was contributing to it with plastic surgery after surgery after surgery. >> i think as a culture we want to visit so much of our self loathing onto michael. michael just took our self hatred to an extreme. who in america likes what they look like? every magazine says you should be looking like this and we undergo many procedures. he just had the money to have a

crazy number, but i actually believe that michael is a tragic american icon for that same reason. he sort of exhibited an extreme form of american disfunction, but are we really surprised with the fact that he didn't like how he looked given that we experience the same thing? >> rabbi shmuley, thank you for your insight. again, the book is called "the michael jackson tapes." we'll be right back.

still to come, how to make new friends a little later in life. >> plus, a healthier lifestyle courtesy of "the biggest loser." >> washington, d.c., on a tuesday morning a. beautiful morning here in the nation's capital. 58 degrees right now. it's 8:56 in the morning. and welcome. i'm barbara harrison. in the news for today, right now in northern virginia, representatives are attending a swine flu forum to learn about the disease. this comes one day after changes are made to the visitation policy to protect patients. virginia is one of 26 states dealing with widespread cases of swine flu. there's a new campaign to crack down on distracted

drivers. it's called orange cones, no phones. more than half of the drivers admitted to using their cell phones to read ofr write text messages while driving. the texters made no change to their behavior even when driving on the capital highway construction zones. later this week a ban goes into effect in mare lands. we'll take a look at weather and traffic in j

good morning. you can see the flag on top of the white house and the flags are there in front of the white house, the wind is beginning to pick up a bit. temperatures are near 06 degrees and later today the winds will increase with intensity near 35 with clouds building and breezy and cool tomorrow. how ishe traffic, ashley? >> not too bad but before this we have delays, and then slow again from knewing ton on to 395. off and on the breaks until the bridge. a new accident on the ramp to new york avenue. slow from the green to the wreck. andre

we're back with more of "today" on a tuesday morning, 29th day of september 2009, and you know, it is fall officially, so why not have some fall-like temperatures here in the northeast? and we've got just that this morning and some nice people stopping by to share those temperatures with us. i'm matt lauer along with al roker and natalie morales out on the plaza. and coming up, we're going to talk about something that every

american has to be interested in. >> that's right. a report just out yesterday said that the social security service will be in the red for the next two years. well, aside from it going broke, most americans don't fully understand the system. we'll tell you when you should start collecting depending on your circumstance, how it affects your taxes and what the odds are that social security will finally just run dry and just go away. >> not good news. >> something we all have to think about. also, jobs, kids, partners. you know, life gets really busy. seems like your circle of friends actually starts to dwindle as you get older. you focus more on career and family, but -- ♪ you've got to have friends as the song goes. >> you should commit to it natalie, if you're going to sing. >> go ahead, al. >> no, no, i don't sing. >> needless to say, you have to commit to making friends and we'll show you how to make friends, especially in your 40s and older. you're going to need that group of women. also ahead, we have been looking forward to this, the

oscars -- >> yes! >> -- in the cosmetic world. "allure" magazine has come out with i list of the best beauty products from your hair to your nails. some of them cost less than $5. we're going to fill you in on that. and don't forget, we are looking for the next great young reporter. that's right. if you know a young person, a young person between the ages of 8 and 12 with a big personality capable one day of being a matt or a natalie, we want to know abt him or her. >> or an al. >> if they want to be an al, please don't have them apply. >> don't. first have them shave their head and gain 100 pounds. have them send a tape show casing their on-camera talent. we'll be taking entries through october 7th. >> you know that joke doesn't work anymore. not even close. not even close. >> the video submissions should be no longer than a minute and should be mailed to -- >> 30 rockefeller plaza, new york, new york, 10012. the official rules posted on todayshow.com. >> like a well-oiled machine. let's go inside.

ann's got a look at the headlines. >> okay, matt, thanks so much. good morning, once again, everybody. in the news, president obama begins high-level meetings today about whether to deepen u.s. involvement in afghanistan. he is meeting with defense secretary robert gates and the nato secretary-general who said monday that things have to change for the u.s. and its allies to win the war. the president's top commander in afghanistan has warned of failure being likely unless thousands more troops are deployed. meantime, this morning amid the rising violence in afghanistan, a bus packed with civilians hit a roadside bomb near kandahar, killing at least 30 people and wounding nearly 40 others. this morning, a senior official in iran said his country will not abandon its nuclear activities, even for a second. the official also said iran will not discuss its newly disclosed enrichment plant at talks with the united states and other world powers on thursday in gene geneva. there is a court appearance today for the terror suspect charged with plotting a chemical bomb attack on new york city.

najibullah zazi, an airport shuttle bus driver from denver, was denied -- has denied, rather, any wrong doing. officials reportedly have the names of three other people involved in the alleged plot. health care reform goes back before the senate finance committee today. the panel is expected to debate a government insurance option for the middle clas two u.s. troops were killed this morning by a land mine in the southern philippines. local officials say the attack was carried out by suspected al qaeda linked militants. disaster officials in the philippines are appealing for international aid to help survivors of this week's record flooding there. the death toll has soared to at least 246 people. more than 300,000 people are living in evacuation centers. chaos monday in southern india, where an elephant went on a rampage during a ceremonial procession. the animal apparently became frightened when loud bells began to ring. at least six people were hurt. now here's brian williams with

what's coming up tonight on nbc "nightly news." hey, brian. >> hey, ann, thanks. coming up tonight, talking on cell phones at the wheel is almost nothing anymore. how about using laptops or texting while behind the wheel? the number of accidents is on the rise, so a lot of steps are coming to stop distracted drivers. we'll have that tonight on nbc "nightly news." we'll look for you then, ann. for now, back to you. >> all right, brian, thanks so much. four minutes past the hour. let's get another check of the weather from al. >> all right, thanks a lot, ann. as we check out what's going on on the satellite, you can see not much happening. we've got showers moving into the pacific northwest, wet weather moving in through new england and some rain where it's needed down in texas. but otherwise,e have got windy conditions around the great lakes, showers move into the pacific northwest. that storm system is going to be a potent storm-maker as itç#ç#ç# autumn chill and sunshine and clouds beginning to come on through. temperatures are in the mid- and upper 50s. now near 60 near the bay. and for the rest of the day,

highs near 70s with clouds racing through and winds gusting to 30 to 35 miles per hour. near 40 near the peaks. temperatures down into the 40s by tomorrow. still blustery tomorrow but not as bad and now, "today's money." social security. it's a concern so many americans have. well, latest issue of "money" magazine tackles everything from the best time to collect social security to when it really runs out. janice rovell is "money's" senior write. janice, great to see you. >> good to be here. >> so, we just had a report out the other day that at least for the next two years, social security's going to be in the red. what does that mean going forward? >> it's going to be in the red for the next couple of years, but i think the important thing to keep in mind is the longer term perspective. there's a tremendous amount of fear out there that social

security will not be there in 10 years, 20 years. the name for it now is social insecurity. >> right. >> and the problem is, of course, you've got 70 million boomers, all retiring, and the fear is that they're going to drain the system. there will be nothing left for any of us. the truth of the matter is, the social security system is not going broke. it is in far better shape, really, than you probably expect. >> then why do we have this -- why are we so concerned? i know you're talking about the baby boomers and you've got huge job losses, so there are fewer people putting into the social security system. >> right. >> so, what makes it so safe? >> i think -- well, what makes it safe is if you look at the numbers, the actual numbers -- if the government did absolutely nothing and just said you're on your own, people, for the next 30 years there would be enough money inhe system to pay full benefits. even after that, there would be enough money for decades and decades to pay a very high level of benefits. so, the first thing is that the government has a lot of time to fix this problem. the problem -- the fix will probably involve some kind of

minor payroll increase and some kind of taxation of benefits, nothing draconian, though, and the important thing, al, is that we've been down this road before. when ronald reagan was president, there was a huge crisis similar to what we have now. it was fixed. it's not the disaster -- i mean, medicare, if we want to talk about medicare, that's a different -- >> a different deal. >> and i think what happens is people combine medicare with social security and they think, oh, medicare is in horrible shape, people should be worried about it, and they kind of transfer that anxiety over to social security. >> all right. so, you're talking about benefits. so, how is it determined, you know, how much you're going to get every month? >> right. it's determined on how much money you made while you were working and how long you worked. and so, basically, the more you made while you were working, the more you'll clect because the more you paid into the system. a general rule of thumb is that if you are an average income worker, you can expect social security to pay you about 50% -- >> as we see on this graphic, the longer you wait, the more you're going to collect. >> right. it will pay you about 50% of what you were making when you

were working. the way it works is when you hit your mid-60s, you're entitled to get a full benefit. and if you want to, you can start collecting as early as age 62, but if you do that, there's a huge catch -- the government is going to penalize you. >> how? >> they're going to reduce your benefit by about 25% from what it would otherwise be. and you have to take that reduced benefit for the rest of your life. >> so, if you do it -- >> it's a big hit. so, yeah. >> what about married couples? >> married couples, the rules are a little bit different. there is a nice feature in there. if you have one spouse who makes a lot more than the other spou, the lower paying spouse can collect either her full social security benefit or half of the higher paying spouse, which in many cases makes it worth her while to switch over. if one spouse passes away, the surviving spouse can collect his or her benefit if it's higher, again. >> can you collect early and keep working? >> yes, absolutely, you can, and i think this is one of the areas that probably has the most misinformation out there, and

it's a very dangerous area to -- if you're making decisions based on it. if you start collecting social security at age 62 and you keep working, the government is going to basically ding you on your social security benefits while you're working, okay? they're going to reduce them. if your income's over a certain level, and that's $14,000. but you don't lose those benefits forever. once you hit age 66 or 67, the government's going to give you back what you lost. >> oh. >> and what people think is, oh, i'm losing those benefits forever. therefore, i'm not going to work -- >> so, they're just delayed. >> they're just delaying it. so, you're no worse off continuing to work. in fact, in many cases, you're better off continuing to work. so, the bottom line is, if you're 62, you want to keep working. just don't even think about social security and how that might affect you, because it's really not something that should factor into your decision. >> then what about taxes? how does that affect your benefits? >> yeah, taxes. well, going back to the reagan administration, the social

security trust fund was in trouble when they decided, okay, well, let's start taxing benefits on the wealthy. and that over the years has kind of morphed into taxing more and more and more people, and it is one of the reasons why the system is actually not in bad shape these days. and so, essentially, if you're making, rule of thumb, about $20,000 a year in other income outside of social security, your benefits are going to get taxed. >> got you. >> and as time goes by, taxation will be more and more of an issue. >> any way to avoid those taxes? >> you can put money into a roth i.r.a. so if you have a regular i.r.a. or a 401(k) at work and you can switch over to the roth, that's a good way to do because you'll never be taxed. >> thank you very much. a lot of good advice. appreciate it. still to come, how to lose weight "biggest loser" style with healthy food swaps. you'll be surprised at what you can eat. but up next, howo develop new friendships and why it's so important to connect with old ones, right after these messages. fact: your child could pick up the flu virus,

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we all try to get by with a little help from our friends, but as we get older, it becomes more difficult to keep the ones we've had and even harder to make new friends. so, we took to the streets of new york to find out why. >> i find it harder to have that deep connection nowadays. >> you're so focused on family and work and all the other things in life. >> everyone has different lifestyle choices and going in different directions. >> you're right, my husband is my best friend. >> they are always with their kids o they are working on something else. you know, we all have our own separate lives. >> and "redbook" magazine also has taken a look at this issue. stacy morrison is the editor and chief and robi ludwig is a psychotherapist.

good morning. >> good morning. >> good to have you here. so, we all get pulled in different directions, we heard that woman say. is that the reason, stacy, why we're not making more of an effort to reach out to our friends? >> life gets in the way and it's easy to stay on your to-do list and that's what friends help you do, stay attached to that part of yourself that's just for you. >> why is it important, robi, to have a group of women that we can turn to? >> we find, first of all, that when women are connected, it stimulates the feel-good part of their brain. we need somebody that we can really share and be ourselves with, someone to share the highs, the lows. it's a wonderful way to connect to the community and to share information. and as women, we handle stress by being -- by tending to our children and depending on our friends. so, there are a whole host of reasons why it's just healthy for us. >> and having a spouse or a partner, you're not -- >> it's wonderful. >> --fully going to have the same connection with your friends. >> but you need the same convention because you're in

life in a similar way, so it feels different. >> stacy, if you've lost touch with friends over the years, do you recommend then reaching out,ing back on facebook, trying to make contact once again? >> absolutely. you need both kinds of friends. friends in the day-to-day life, but friends from the past keep you connected to the larger story line of your life. makes you feel grounded, like your life has aning. there are people who knew who you were when you were just starting out. >> sometimes you've moved on beyond that life, though -- >> it's true. >> and it may be harder to get that connection back, right? >> but there's always a handful of people who you always have a spark with. i know for me on facebook, i've made great connections. >> and to be friends, not everybody has to be an intimate in your daily life. you can have the childhood friends who maybe you wouldn't choose today, but they keep a certain part of your past alive and you keep them there in that category. i think if we put friends in different categories, we can have lots of different friends, and also, i think when you're a busy working woman and you have a family, understanding that time gets experienced differently. >> right. >> so, you may not see friends

as often, but it doesn't mean that it's not a good friendship. >> i think what many of us struggle with is, of course, having that balance. >> right. >> you want to spend the family time, spend the time you need to with your kids. so it's hard to carve out extra time for friends. so, how do you do that? >> you just have to. because at "redbook," we say time for you is the holy grail. time for you makes you a better wife, a better mom and yes, a better friend. and your friends feed that sense that you have to take a break, you have to laugh. you have to have a space where you're not somebody else -- >> it's healthy. >> and joyful. >> there is no balance, so you just have to do it. and i completely agree with you, stacy, that whe you connect with the right friends, it helps you to be a better wife, a better mother. because you're kind of hearing at you're not in the world alone. >> right. >> that what you're going through is somewhat universal, and that's really nice. >> so, for women over 40, or younger or even a little bit older, how do you start making that connection? you had some tips, and first, you all say is to join

hobby-related groups, which is a great thing, right? >> right. >> women who have common interests. >> and it's good for you both as an individual and for making new connections to people. whether it's suddenly that you decide you want to run a 5k or you want to get back and brush up your college french. >> right. >> those are great ways to make new friends. >> i've been doing that, biking with a girlfriend of mine -- >> absolutely. >> and running. and it's a way to stay in great shape. >> very efficient. many things at once. >> we motivate each other. and next, get involved with neighborhood activities. my neighbors are my best friends. our kids play together, and -- >> you can join the pta. you can start sort of a block party association. >> right. >> it's such a fun thing in the summer. have everyone come out. there are ways -- >> volunteer in sports. and also, you keep abreast of what's going on in the community. you can contribute and be a part of things in a completely different way while meeting like-minded people. >> right. >> but i also think the internet, this is where the internet and social net working is terrific. >> you can find everyone these days. >> you can find everyone. you can feel that sense of connection and you can find

common interest groups if you're looking for it. >> also, you say make the first move, stacy. >> well, there are people in the flow of your life, whether the moms you see at the playground every single saturday or people who are on your train commute or your bus commute. it's pretty easy just to reach out and say hi and start a conversation. you might find a spark of friendship there. you might not. >> or your kids are playing together and you find that connection right there. >> i think kids can really open up your world. >> it breaks the ice. >> it is the hook. >> exactly. >> and finally, don't come on too strong. >> right. >> don't be the person who is doing the solicitatn too much so, right? >> right. and you don't want to be just, oh, my gosh, you love pat conroy novels? so do i. let's get together saturday. let it grow overtime. >> but sometimes that works for people, so be yourself and let people know that you have a space and you're looking for new people in your life. and i think people tend to be flattered by that. >> absolutely. >> absolutely. >> well, great talking to my friends here, stacy morrison and robi ludwig. thank you very much. appreciate it. >> thank you. from friendships to

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still to come, some ideas for decorating your home for halloween, courtesy of "southern living." plus, the best, new nail color for fall, which i think you need. >> oh, yes, true. >> yes. >> and if you're trying to watch your waistline and wondering, can i eat that bacon? bacon, mm-mmm! >> bacon! >> we'll tell you about some tasty food swaps.

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back with weather in a

we have temperatures around the region and blue skies with us. highs near 70 degrees and then the winds will be gusting up to 40 miles per hour and tomorrow better south of that. springfield and much better north and southbound on i-95.

barbara? >> thank you, steve. coming up tonight, washington wizards forward. lunch with lindsey. meeting expectations and getting a fresh start in a new season. that's tonight on news 4 at 5:00.

♪ ♪ why you so obsessed with me, boy i wanna know ♪ ♪ lying that you're sexing me with everybody knows it's plain that you're upset with me ♪ >> that is none other than pop singer mariah carey, and apparently, fans are obsessed with "obsessed" and with mariah. the song has been downloaded more than a million times already, making it the first big

hit off her 12th album "memoirs of an imperfect angel," which dropped in stores today. >> i love when you talk with that talk. >> the billboard talk. >> it drops. >> the best part is she's going to be back on friday to perform for us on the plaza. so, you can imagine the crowd that we're going to have. >> going to be big. >> unbelievable, yeah. still to come, if u want to lose weight, but you're still not clear on how to do it, "biggest loser" dietician and award winning chef sheryl thorberg will be here with some smart food choices. i think you'll like her ggestions. >> simple changes. you can swap this out for that without losing the satisfaction. also, from your head to your nails, we're going to look at "allure" magazine's best in beauty award winners. the coveted title goes to products that make you look and feel your best. some of them are under $5, so you can't beat the price tag. plus, decorating with pumpkins courtesy of "southern living" and elizabeth mayhew. first of all -- >> pumpkins. pumpkin pie! >> love pumpkins.

you're a pumpkin pie. you got a check of the weather for us? >> i'm not sure how to take that. >> it's a compliment. it's my favorite dessert. >> oh, well. >> there you go. >> anyway, we'll talk later. let's check your weather, see what's going on. the mind boggles. showers in the pacific northwest, windy in the southwest. windy also in the mid-mississippi river valley. for tomorrow, some rain moves into western new york, risk of strong storms in the central plains, wet weather in the western plains, hots ç#ç#ç#ç#ç## > good morning. we have bright sunshine. a few clouds are beginning to move in and the winds are grad ally increasing. it's still only 60 degrees and hit 70 by noon. winds increasing to 30 to 35. higher points up to 40 miles per hour. the clouds will break up tonight for the u2

>> and that's your latest weather. >> thank you, pumpkin. all right, coming up next, the winner is -- the best in buteauty awards for 2009. sharing, it's what kids do. but every year an average of four million kids get the flu and miss out on sharing. that's why we created goodtoshare.com. here you'll learn how to protect your family from influenza, get facts on the latest vaccination options available from your doctor, and hear what experts have to say on the value of sharing. flu protection has never been more important-- so discover your options at goodtoshare.com.

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♪ this morning on "today's beauty," a list you're goi to want to listen to. you know, of course, movies have the oscars, music has the grammys, television has the emmys, and the beauy industry has the annual "allure" magazine best of awards. and kristen prada is the editorial products director of "allure" magazine. good to have you here, good morning. >> good morning. thank you. >> this is the 14th annual beauty awards list, and i know your editor spent the last six months reviewing and sampling 2,500 different products. so, what goes into the process? >> this is an exhaustive process, because what we're trying to do is both save you money -- it's -- you can waste so much money on dud products, and then also save you the frustration of getting something home and being disappointed in it. but what goes into it are people like me basically using products all over my body. i feel like i'm divided into

quadrants just to test enough. >> and dermatologists and researchers, you check in, you sample -- >> independent chemists, dermatologists. we want to know that the science is legit, it's not just us deciding what's great. >> starting with the head working down the body. pantene pro v conditioner gets the breakthrough award. what makes this a breakthrough when it comes to your hair? >> these have been shown to improve your hair strength ten times in two weeks. the experts we spoke with have never seen a product that would work that way. >> wow. >> what it does is forms -- your hair is most vulnerable to breakage and damage when it's wet. so, this forms a cast over your hair while it's wet, and then that cast dissipates when it's dry so when your hair's dry, it feels fine. so, it's ten times the strength in two weeks. >> so a major breakthrough for $3.99 and up. not a bad deal. onto now our nails, and you selected sally hanson's inst ady

nails. you're going to try it on here and see if at the end of the segment it's dried. >> the deal with st-dry nail polish was it was always a trade-off. if you wanted the fast-dry nail polish -- >> nice fall color. >> -- it's fast to chip. they borrowed things from plastic and glass to create a formula that dries in 60 seconds, but also has shock absorbers in it, so if you ding your nail, it moves a little so that it absorbs -- >> really? that sounds so scientific. that's crazy. >> we tried it out, dug through our purses, everything you're not supposed to do with a manicure, and it held up for a week. so this product is fantastic. >> we'll check that at the end of the segment and see if it's dry and you can dig through your purse after. this is the new lotion that claims to rejuvenate your skin. does it really work? >> yes, look, what happens is for a lot of women -- men, too -- your skin gets to a point of dryness where you just can't seem to get it back, no matter how much lotion you blob on. it's still flaking, it's still dry and cracked.

this product actually does help to reinstate the -- >> the elasticity and the -- >> well, no, the protective layer of the skin. >> okay. >> it ha amino acids in it -- >> it's very shiny. >> i know, it goes on like crisco, but it does absorb. >> it does absorb. >> and we found after one use -- >> it's very sparkly. >> -- it stopped our skin from flaking. dermatologists said they had never seen anything with this technology. >> wow. >> so, if you have dry skin, even psoriasis, eczema, you should try it. it's great. >> next, and i hear this, when you talk to makeup artists, they swear by the georgio armani foundation. the texture is really smooth, silky, almost. >> it does, and it actually has silk particles in it. what's amazing about this silk foundation is, number one, it's 50% water. other water-based foundations are typically 30% to 40%. it also has silk fibers that form a netting over your skin that keeps the foundation in place, even if you're sweating or outside running around.

finally, it's got -- i blobbed it on, but it's got light-reflective particles, so it's going to make you look for radiant, because you know, who couldn't use more help in that department? >> we all need that. here you selected a covergirl lip stain. >> yes. the great thing about the lip stain is they are typically very dry on your lips. you find your lips flake. this outlast lip stain, we lo, number one, that it comes in this form, so it's easy to use. >> do you have any more hands? >> i know. i need more body parts. >> you can test on my hand. here you go. >> it's packed with moisturizers and glycerine, so it's not going to dry out your lips. it feels wonderful, actually. >> and it will last you. over here, a lot of body washes, but dove is the best, you say. >> right. basically, body washes wash too well. they remove the -- >> they strip your skin. >> they strip your skin of the fatty acids that keep it moist. what dove did was take what's in their beauty bar and put it in a liquid form. this will keep you moist and the dermatologists said they

couldn't believe how moisturized the skin was after it. >> dermatologists love dove. and for your legs, continuing on to keep our legs silky and smooth, the gillette razor. >> the gillette venus razor. this has five blades. finally, a company has realized that women, too, would like to get a close shave. it has a pivoting head, will not cut you, but will get to every last hair. >> okay. >> then we love aveeno's positively smooth shaving gel because it actually contains a soy extract. what happens when you use it is the soy extract gets left behind on your skin and slowly things out your hair. so as the hair gws back, it's not as noticeable, so you don't get that stubble. >> wow. >> so, this is something that will reduce the frequency of shaving. >> real quick, is the nail dry? oh, wow, it's dry! >> and i blobbed it on. i was a little nerve. >> i'm hitting it, banging it. pretty good. very nice. kristen peratta, thank you very much. >> thank you. the key to cutting calories, how to make smart food choices.

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this morning on "eat smart today," simple swaps for a healthier lifestyle. in last tuesday's episode of nbc's reality weight loss show "the biggest loser," there were no eliminations, at least not on the program. instead, everyone learned how to cook and eat healthy. cheryl forberg is the show diet and nutrition expert. her book "the biggest loser simple swaps" is a guide to healthy weight loss through easy lifestyle choices. cheryl, good to see you. >> good to see you, al. >> now, what are some of the obstacles that prevent most people from doing what the contestants do on "biggest loser," making these kind of swaps, making these healthy choices? >> i think initially, they're overwhelmed. they don't know where to begin, and that's the preface of the book, to talk about really simple changes that you can make every day to make a really big difference. >> and it's the little changes that added up. >> exactly.

>> see, because i think a lot of people are overwhelmed by changing everything all at once. >> that's right. >> they think they have to do all or nothing. >> that's right. >> so it's the little changes. >> simple swaps. >> for example, you say mayo. now, of course, everybody likes creamy mayo. but there's something you can swap for that. >> absolutely, three slices of avocado or an ounce has fewer calories without the mayonnaise, but you get the creamy richness, so you don't feel deprived. but the avocado has nutrients and vitamins. >> how do you use this in place? >> lay this on a sandwich with whole wheat bread or smush it down little bit. >> you say bacon in and of itself in moderation is not a bad thing. >> it's not a bad thing. most of us are carb-heavy on our breakfast. we have cereal, toast, we have jam, we have fruit, we have juice. we forget about protein in the morning. >> right. >> we're exercising. we need to feed our muscles. we need protein. but regular bacon has three times the calories of canadian

bacon and more than twice the sodium. this is a great choice. >> and in fact, it's more like a ham than a bacon in a sense. >> but you still get that satisfaction of having some meat and good protein. >> pork. you get some pork. that's what we like. >> you get some pork. >> peas, these are your average, everyday type of peas, but this is ad mommie. why is that better? >> peach are a vegetable. at mommie is actually a legume, in the same categories as lentils and black beans. edamame has twice as much protein andfiber. it's satisfying and you stay full longer. >> now pasta. people say pasta is bad, but there are some pastas that are better than others. >> that's right. white pasta's made from white flour. basilly, very few nutrients and just calories, whereas the whole grain pasta still has the nutrients and the fiber in tact. it's more filling. you don't need to eat nearly as much of it. >> then this is a pasta

preparation that's little hea h healthier than most. >> this is one of my favorites, the greek-style penny with artichokes and feta cheese. this serving has less than 300 calories. it's made with loads of vegetables, so you don't have quite as much pasta. >> right. >> artichokes and still room for cheese. everyone loves cheese. >> so, you bulk up the plate with vegetables -- >> exactly. >> so you've got a good serving, but it's not mostly pasta. >> exactly. it's a double simple swap. >> i love this idea, your individual pizza. >> this is fabulous. >> but this is a mushroom pizza. >> portabella mushroom cap has 27 calories. you put a little -- spoon a little marinara sauce in there, lean turkey sausage, cheese on the top. bake it. two of these has less than half the calories of this one. >> wow. then you've got frozen yogurt, one a little better than the other. >> they both look really healthy. contestants last season made up this dessert for cherry crunch. they look about the same. theirs has greek-style yogurt

and a high fiber, high protein kashi cereal on here and fresh cherries. this is fat-free frozen yogurt, but sometimes when you take out the fat, you add sugar. this has more than twice as many calories. >> wow. cheryl toberg, thank you so much. i love that pizza idea. >> thank you. it's delicious. >> the book is "the biggest loser simple swaps," and "the biggest loser" airs tonight at 8:00/7:00 central here on nbc. next, let's head to the pumpkin patch for festive ideas to decorate your home and celebrate the season.

♪ >> where do we find this music? this morning on "today's home," it is pumpkin picking season, and because kids love to run around the fields and pick as many as they can, we have the editor of "southern living" magazine here with us for great ideas.

hi, elizabeth. great way to decorate and inexpensive. >> inexpensive, fun and kids can do it. >> kids love this. this is something you did with your kids, right? >> so easy. all you do is take your pumpkin, cut your top off like normally. cut it a little lower and look for a wide pumpkin for this. scoop out all the inside. then what you're going to do is go to the hardware store and buy copper wire. cut eight equal lengths and you can be like superman. you bend it and buy a copper cutter. it's $10. then have your kids push the legs into the pumpkin like that. you've got the legs. then you're going to fill it with ice. >> ice? >> you can put sodas, whatever. it just makes -- it's fun. you can do a few of them. >> a pumpkin cooler. >> it's a spooky pumpkin cooler. >> very cute. >> next, when serving, it's so easy to hollow out a pumpkin and use it for dip or any kind of serving. >> soups are great. >> the great thing is you do it ahe ahead. you can put this in the refrigerator, take it out, put your chips. couldn't be easier. >> yeah. that looks really cute. i love this idea here. you've actually lit up this

pumpkin. >> this is very pretty as the alternative to the carving. also so easy. this is actually with a fake pumpkin. if you're going to do the work, you can do it and store it year to year. all you do is take painter's tape. the only reason you do this is so that you know you can cut in a straight line. >> right. >> then take a 5/16 drill, you drill the hole and then just take your christmas lights out early -- >> not hard to do at all. >> make sure they work. stuff them in the bottom. by the way, you've carved out the whole bottom. stick it in there, then thread the lights in through the hole like that, and then just plug it in and put it at your door. >> and it's safer than i would imagine the candles, which are not extremely safe. >> and you can use it year after year. >> great. >> super easy. >> this is beautiful. this is a wreath made of pumpkins? >> go to the florist store, any craft store. you can buy a wreath wire. you take the small pumpkins. these are so cute. take the florist wire -- >> be careful when you're pushing them through.

>> you attach them to the form and then just buy moss, which you can buy at a florist shop or a craft shop. >> so it's actually a round wreath form. >> it's a wreat form and you wrap them around. it's so easy. you can make them more three-dimensional, add more pumpkins to it twist it, hide it and then add a black ribbon for a festive look to your door for trick-or-treaters. >> then you decorate it with the moss around it, too. >> you cover the wire form like this, cover the wire with the moss with the glue gun or you could actually just stick it on there and it will stay. >> now, look at this gorgeous centerpiece, right? this would be perfect for a dining room table. >> well, it's actually a little high for a dining room table -- >> might be. >> unless you don't want to see -- >> you don't want to talk to your friends. >> but for a pumpkin, this is great for a housewarming gift for somebody's house. you know in the south we love to bring house warming gift. >> two southern living girls. >> you just c out the center, but you have to really put a glass vase in. so measure your vase to your pumpkin beforehand. fill it with water and it will

last for months at a time. >> gorgeous idea. okay. >> now, for your dining room table, it's nicer to do something flat. just take a platter, take pumpkins, put it together with peppers and tomatoes. just stay within a color palette. assemble it -- >> then you get a beagle and then you stay in the patch all night and you wait -- >> i love charlie brown. and then a copper pot. >> that is pretty cool. >> put it -- >> if you don't cut it, how long do they last? >> they last quite a long time. when you buy it, make sure the stem is stiff and there's no blemishing. >> all right. just like the way i like my co-ancho

good morning, everyone. the time right now is 9:55 on this tuesday morning. i'm barbara harrison. in the news at this hour, representatives from local businesses are learning about the disease. the event comes one day after the hospital system to protect patients. dealing with widespread cases dealing with swine flu, preparations are under way for fedex field where u2 is playing tonight at 7:00. to accommodate the large crowd, metro will keep the metro one hour later until 1:00 a.m.

let's get a check on the weather right now with tom. good weather for tonight with u2 as we look around the region, wind is picking up a bit. gusting up to 30 to 40 miles per hour. already gusting to 30 out of the mountains. but not quite too windy yet. this afternoon, blustery and highs near 70. and now steve is here with the traffic. still very slow with southbound 270 and down to route 28 there was a broken down vehicle drawing a lot of attention. barbara? >> thanks, steve. tomorrow morning on news 4 today, easies as abc, what every parents needs

captions paid for by nbc-universal televisi hi, everybody. it's tuesday, september 29th. so happy you're here with us today. >> thrilled beyond belief. thrilled. >> we really are because we know

you have a choice and you are here with us. >> and you made the right one, don't you think? >> we're alternative programming. i have big news in our family. >> what do we have? >> my son, cody, has been dating a beautiful girl for the last seven months or so and sunday night she was named miss wyoming usa. i know it. claire shriner. >> look how calm she looks. >> she is a really, really lovely girl. she is a senior at the university of las vegas, nevada. >> she looks very composed for someone who has just won that big award. >> she was in it before and was second runner up a couple years ago. we are very proud of her. i got a little text from him that said claire won, i am very proud of her. >> he's like 64' and she's like

58, claire, god bless you, sweetie. congratulations. >> bobby thomas has a segment coming up. what you have on, people are actually wearing on the red carpet. this is not just for fun in the studio, this is what, look, madonna has the ears. look at her. okay. mary kate and ashley have the ears. >> it's just not working for me. >> it is silly. >> everybody is doing it. >> it's silly. like you're half a bunny. half. >> look at the pictures. >> they're very sill then it looks like a little bow and then a little stash. it doesn't work for me. >> i like it. so there was a mom in michigan. this story gets everybody upset.

>> i get more upset. >> a woman who is a stay at home mom volunteered to watch some of the neighborhood kids with working moms. >> their children are left home without supervision. >> she agreed, look, i'll watch the kids 30 minutes until the bus comes. >> no money, no transaction. this is called love your neighbor as you love yourself. >> there is a problem with this good deed. >> the problem is called the neighbor. >> apparently someone tattled on her from the neighborhood to the department of health. >> i wonder if this person did a kind thing for anybody in life. >> according to the law, she's breaking it. she has an > illegal day care. it's a daily gathering of more than, i can't remember how many kids, she has six or seven, but if you have over a certain amount of kids, it's called a day care because it's daily. some neighbor tattled and now the woman is in trouble.

>> and i think the wrong woman is in trouble. we stop taking care of our neighbors and our neighbors' children we are doomed as a civilization. that is called legalism and that, the letter of the law should be to support what we feel as a society ethically and morally and what person has a problem with somebody being kind to children whom something terrible could happen to them if they're left unsupervised. >> one of the lawmakers stood up today and said this law is ridiculous, basically, and we should change the law. if something happened to one of those children, let's pretend. something happened to one of those children, a parent was upset my daughter or son got hurt and i guess if you were very, very, very upset you could say, this was actually illegal what she was doing. >> here is what you do. you drop a simple little agreement. plus, at the bottom say thank you so much for helping me out with an incredibly difficult

situation. in economic times that are so difficult for so many people. you know what, i say adopt a neighbor's kid right now and just do it. as americans we can stand up against this ridiculousness. >> there are so many people who are afraid to do nice things because of what might happen after. if you help someone out and you harm them accidentally. >> that's why we need tort reform. big time, big time. >> it seems this is ludicrous. >> i'm glad it is getting this much outrage. to me, it goes against everything that should be as a human being. you should be helpful and you should be kind. >> do you think everybody knows who the neighbor is? >> i hope so. a lot of neighborhoods have someone like that. >> we practically know. >> a lot of neighborhood have a neighbor who hasn't had a good day until they ruined yours. conan o'brien is back on his feet.

he took a spill. >> come on, he's a wimp. come on, the guy's a wimp. i have a fractured wrist, you don't see me coming in and complaining. come on, conan, suck it up. >> but, here's -- >> not to america. >> here's what happened with conan. he w with teri hatcher and they were doing a stunt and close your eyes if you don't like this kind of thing. it bounced. >> he took a bad spill. when he got up he looked woozy and pretending that he wasn't -- >> i'm not making fun of him being hurt. >> he had a concussion. he really hurt himself. >> i'm sorry. trying to have fun here. he is a grown man, he can take jokes. >> remember when meredith knocked -- >> meredith got right up. >> no, i think it was bad.

this was worse don't look. she got right up. >> so did he. >> i wish i had a tape of me the other day in beverly hills. >> that's enough head knocking. >> i feel bad now. i feel like i should take him into my house -- >> is your wrist okay? >> actually, i think i have fractured a bone. >> you really did. you fell down and it hurt. >> we were out in california shooting an episode for disney and staying at a nice hotel in beverly hills and my daughter, whom i love, ver much took a shower at the end of the day and did not, you know, mop up the moisture, all right, the flood outside. exactly right. she comes in, i go in to brush

my teeth or something, i don't know, and i do one of those cartoon things. >> you can't get your balance. >> you can't get your balance. she said it was quite graceful. >> was it? >> for an elephant. >> at least i was in the privacy of my own bathroom. i went up and fell on my right hip and my right wrist. that's all right. i am a professional, i am not complaining. >> not at all. >> i'll go get an x-ray some day. >> i think we should get to miss sara. >> we have to talk about -- >> there is a ban at toughs university. this is what they say. it is now written in the tuffs university policy. you may not engage in sexual activity while your roommate is present in your room. >> no kidding! >> it is written in the policy.

everyone was apparently doing it and students filed many, many c complaints and the university took action. they made a policy that you can't do that. >> none of that happened at the university i went to. all right, sara, what is up? >> they are making rules about that and talking about woman having kids at her house. people are spending a lot of time -- betty jo writes in, no good deed goes unpunished. ridiculous, this is neighbors helping neighbors. when did the government start legislating personal kindness. >> there you go, personal kindness. i like that one. send them a brownie or something. or maybe a signed copy of my book. coming up next, actor richard kind, he gets serious with us. it is serious. >> very serious.

you can't help but smile, maybe giggle a little when you see richard kind's face. >> talk to my wife about that. >> being the funny guy on "mad about you" and "curb your enthusiasm" and now starring in cohen brothers film where he plays uncle arthur in a seriously dysfunctional family. let's take a look. >> danny said he could use it. >> that is so unfair. >> i'll tell you what is unfair. what is unfair is them not letting me play in their card game. >> i know about the records. >> you think he buys records. >> saving up for a nose job. >> what? >> what a brat. >> nobody in this house is getting a nose job, you got that? >> erious, but not that serious. >> it's very funny and very not funny. these guys, people who made this movie are geniuses, but you wouldn't know it to talk to them. >> what do you mean to talk to them?

they're regular guys. >> when you do a movie and lunch is called. everybody lines up and you have the cameramen and everything like that and the actors and the directors go right to the front of the line because they're the big guys, right? not the cohen brothers. you look very fetching in that photo. >> that is an unfortunate photo. >> let me tell you something. >> tell us about those shorts. >> they asked me. i will say this, they asked me not to go to the gym and not to lose any weight. >> important for your character. >> that's your way of saying, please, gain weight. which i was more than willing to do. the thing is, you know when you're on a diet and you have a picture on your refrigerator. >> motivation. >> they're now going to have my picture up there and go, nah. >> look at all the 30 pounds that matt damon just gained for the informant. >> you become a much better actor if you're heavier. you get oscars sometimes. that's how hard it is.

>> your role, you play the uncle but you have a noticeable big cyst on your neck, subasis cyst and a machine that cleans it. >> are we trying to sell the movie? >> it adds humor. >> he has a cyst. >> we call it an evacuator. i don know if there is one in real life. >> it is a cyst sucker. >> in fact, i am wearing a cyst sucker suit right now. that's exactly what i'm wearing. yeah, he vacuums out the back of his neck. >> just like it's nothing. like everybody does it. >> just like everybody does, but you said, if you are going to talk about mine -- >> my husband has one, it's not the size of yours -- >> but you've never seen mine. his is on the front of his face. >> that's smart. >> but that's like radio. you're always imagining, what kind of creature lives in the back of my neck. here's something interesting,

whenever you're seen without having a bandage on it, i have a wash cloth over it. people ask what are they like and do they argue? they never, ever argue. they really film with one eye except there was one argument, should it be a floral towel or regular towel on the back of my neck. >> floral is always funnier. >> i don't remember. i think so. it's a year ago, i don't even remember. >> tell us the funny story you said -- >> it's such. well, this is old tv. >> sucking it up and going and doing your job. >> i worked with carol burnett who would always, when we're just sitting around she would tell us stories. she was on the jack benny show back in the '50s when she was young. jack benny in an old and very famous episode where he's playing tarzan tripped and he cut his hand and there's blood tripping down and she saw it the entire sketch and he's like this, never stopped for a beat.

if you go back and look, he's holding his hand. conan o'brien, sure, a¢car concussion. very interesting clip when you see it. >> richard, we wish you the best of luck. >> great to see you. >> great movie, thank you. up next, if you're closing in on 40, i wish, we've got mething you need to know and if you're over 40 and don't know it, you should be ashamed of yourself.

prevention magazine just released its list of the 40 things you should know about se by the time you hit 40. >> we wanted to see what you think you should know so we sent ms. sara haynes to find out. >> what do you need to know about sex by the time you're 40? >> it's good for you. it's very healthy. >> what does everyone need to know about sex by the time they're 40? come on. are you getting any better? >> yeah. >> than what's changing? >> experience. keep doing it. >> you should have a lot of it before you're 40 because after you're 40 it's definitely down. >> should know where everything is at by the time you're 40. you should find out everything by that time you would think. >> is this a good friend? >> this is a good friend. >> ask him to weigh in, it's like a lifeline. what does someone need to know about sex by the time they're

40? >> she's talking to you. >> if you don't know it by 40, forget it. >> the reason why it gets better, when you find that right person and you get to know each other, it just, i don't know, you just grow together with it. it gets better. >> that is a beautiful answer. >> are we done? >> good afternoon for you guys. >> here with us is jenny, special projects editor for " e "preventionu@+1ñ magazine." fun subject or depressing? >> fun, fun, fun. everything is fun after 40. >> i haven't found everything better after 40. >> is sex better? >> new research from indiana university that shows as women age it gets easier to have an orgasm and we did a survey of thousands of women and the majority said they love sex more than they did ten years ago. >> even though their bodies aren't what they once were. a man doesn't really care if you

shave your legs or take a bath. >> he doesn't care if you're wearing that flannel nighty, he loves you. >> i found that an interesting part of your survey. they care how we smell, if we shaved our ls, if we showered. are you positive? >> that will save us a lot of time. >> you also found out married people have more sex than single people but are the single people in relationships or just dating? >> the study showed married people have sex 69 times a year and singles about 60 times. >> stop it. >> it's more than once a week. >> and men like to cuddle as much as women do. >> when we have sex our bodies produce the cuddle hormones the ones new moms get when they bond with their baby, all it leads to increased feelings of trust and closeness. >> once you start getting warm, shall we say, it's just, you don't even want the covers on

you, much less a big, hairy ape. >> i don't have any ruesearch o that. >> women going through menopause. men go through their own sort of menopau menopause? >> we talk about menopause and perry menopause. her emotions and hormones and men have a similar thing, their testosterone starts to drop around 40. he may not be in the mood either. >> shouldn't take it personally. >> no. >> this one is interesting. you say, your magazine says sex is always better with your sock on. why? >> socks are sexy. a study in the nethlerlands, couples who had cold feet had trouble reaching orgasm. when they put socks on, 80% of the time. >> that might make sense. >> blood flow. >> that is the first thing you do when you get on a plane.

>> i always put socks on. >> anyway -- >> if the blood can't flow to the right place, you're not ing to have very good sex life. >> what else, jen? >> what about money? we talked about people, people who make more money have better sex, is that the story? >> fascinating story. a research from the university of new castle in england that showed a direct correlation between the number of orgasms a woman has and the amount of money her partner makes. >> what is that saying? >> the more the merier. i'm not sure. >> that's interesting. maybe we'll talk about that during our six-minute break until we me back. and you could listen in if you know what i'm talking about. >> your brain completely shuts down during sex, is that true? >> for women they did research where they scanned their brains during orgasm. no activity in the center that is responsible for stress, anxiety. >> much to munch on.

wide spretd spread flew activity being reported in 40 states and now businesses are mapping out a plan. we'll have a live report. good morning. i' barbara harrison. also coming up a. homeless doll. it's the latest release from the american doll collection.

we're back on this tuesday with more of"today" and we're here with rabue shmuley and his intimate conversations with michael jackson. you probably know rabbi shmuley as a frequent guest here and we're not used to seeing him without the hot chicks. >> today he is here to tell us about something everyone is talking about, his talks with michael jackson.

his new book is called "the michael jackson tapes a tragic icon reveals his soul in intimate conversation." good to see you. >> good to see you, too. >> when i first hearing these tapes i felt incredibly uncomfortable and part of me wondered when michael jackson had these discussions with you if he thought those private, intimate thoughts would wind up in a very public book. >> he held the microphone to his mouth for the most of it and if the air conditioning wascj on loudly he would turn it up. i think part of the discomfort you're feeling and others are feeling is that we don't want michael to be human. we want to dismiss him as some broken, weird icon who may or may not have been guilty of things, but the idea related to him as a human tragedy and something that we're not

prepared to do. look at the staples center thing. this guy died of a drug overdose and they made his memorial into a concert. time to mourn him as a man and that's why he did these conversations. >> he seems so private, though. he spends his life being private and these discussions came out early in 2000, 2001. the way he veiled his kids and didn't say anything about his dad. that's weird. >> the part that michael himself. he thought that the more mysterious he'd be and the more people would talk about him. i said, no, they would think you're weirder and weirder. when we discover in this book just how broken and how much he suffered and the kind of isolation, pain and loneliness that he endured we see him as a person and our heart goes out to him and we miss him. >> hoda's ia when you're writing a book or intention to write the book. you always want to get all of it out and see it on paper and see

little bit more and michael didn't have the opportunity to edit this. is that your concern? not that he is writing. nobody wants to think that a friend in some way might have betrayed our trust. >> i didn't betray anything on the contrary. let me make something clear, michael did these conversations for no other purpose but to have it published. he send me to interview his mother, catherine jackson. he wanted me to go to elizabeth taylor and comprehensive view of who he was specifically in intimate conversation. this book has opened a ground swell of public support of him. it was a martin besheer documentary where michael thought he could manipulate what was shown. >> michael talked about why he sought fame and success. let's hear this in michael's own words. let's play that tape. >> i'll never forget one day he

said, i hate to repeat it, but i'll never forget it. god bless my father because he did some wonderful things and he was brilliant, he was a genius but one day he said, he said if you ever stop singing, i'll drop you like a hot potato. that's what he said. it hurt me. >> nobody wants to feel like their parents love them because they do something. >> that's all he ever knew. whatbout the fans? the fact is that michael tried to replace the absense of unconditional love from family with the very conditional love of fans. fans love you when you do well. >> he was talking about his dad in that quote and we did reach out to the jackson family and their spokesperson's response was, we will not dignify that with comment. >> michael's words. >> michael in his own words. look, it's sad that michael's reputation needs to be rehabilitated at anyone's expense, but this man, at least in his own mind, endured unspeakable suffering.

and that explains a lot of why he was such a broken adult. and he wanted parent to learn from his broken example so that they would never neglect their children. >> you told me privately and i think it's okay to say it, not only michael addicted to pain pills and prescription drugs, he was addicted to fame. >> i think fame was his drug of choice. he was center of attention. he thought it was a replacement for loss of love. fame is specifically for what you do and not who you are and michael wanted to be love for who he was. >> this is one quick tape and this is the tape of how he wanted to be buried. i found that very intriguing and interesting. he talked about, again, w he wanted to be buried after he died. let's listen. >> i always said if i had to die, i want to be buried right where there's children. wherever there's -- i want them next to me. i would feel safer that way. i want them next to me. i need their spirit protecting

me. >> i thought that was interesting. he said he wanted to be buried with children. >> it's devastating to hear this. michael was very suspicious of the adult world. he had experienced vulgar sexuality as a child when he was performing already at 5 at strip tease clubs and made a toxic impact on him. he felt adults exploited him and wanted something from him and the only people he felt comfortable around were children. >> you talk about the exploitation of his father. where was katherine during those times when the boys were in the strip shops? but one has to ask the question, where was she? where was the outcry from her? >>ichael always said his mother was a saint but maybe resentment that he wasn't protected more. i won't judge the jackson family al. let us recall, this was a veer poor family with nine children he saw an escape of his kids from this life of -- supporting

a family is a challenge. i'm not going to judge. the actions of the jackson family, i am here to say that now that we lost michael, let's redeem his life by not just talking about his album and dance and let's talk about the human tragedy. michael is trying to tell us from the grave that fame and fortune is not everything and if you have children, make them first and if you have people who love you, you need to make them back in your life. one of the things that is most ; amazing about this book is the brutality of some of the things that michael describes, how he yearns for his father's affection. >> thank you. >> good to see you again. >> the book is "the michael jackson tapes." bobby thomas here with her must-have list right after this.

bob bae

we're back with bobbie's style buzz which is time for the

latest in beauty trends. bobbie thomas has everything you need to know if you're a total fashionista. she is. we love our bobbie. >> how are you? >> i'm so excited. >> let's start with this first one. >> this whole cat dwoir. these are items i came across and i said i wish i thought of that. how many times when you're washing your face in the morning you get your annoying drip down your bbns÷elbows. these are sponge bracelets. you put them on to catch the water. >> the wrist. >> you catch the water. they're called on the cuff, they are great. they ce with a drying stand you can buy. these right here, shadow shields. this was a genius invention by a makeup artist michelle vilanuva. >> so you don't get it on your cheek when you're doing your eyes. >> if you look close, you can try to experiment with the smoky eyes this call and pop it right off. >> that's a good idea. >> this is for you, too.

>> yes. >> what is this? >> when you sleep on your side and you have some girlfriends, you wake up in the morning with this v and you sort of get wrinkles on your chest. if you smush this on. >> so there's no wrinkles right here. chest wrinkles. >> it keeps you wrinkle free. it's called chest appeal. >> if you sleep on your side, that's for you. >> basically a pillow for the cleavage pillow. >> these are just eyelashes but the lash guru to the stars. a placement tool and it helps you pick up the lashes. >> and puts it right where it is supposed to put the glue. >> do you have them on? >> we all do. >> kathie lee uses that stuff. >> rapid lash. >> this is a mirror with a suction cup that you can put on to help you. make sure that you're sort of grooming in your private areas. >> stop, let's move on. >> are you serious?

>> let us do what nature intended. >> oh, yeah, wright. >> don't touch the wrist! >> she loves that wrist thing. >> nail news, everyone has been green with envy this summer because starlettes were running around with green nails. i love the shade color. really subtle and pretty. leslie tried them on. >> it looks like halloween to me. i'm sorry. >> she is our floor director, we have to see her fingers. >> if you wear it with gray or black, it's chic. textured nails. this is the matt color from opi. no shine and the other color in front, suede. >> i like that it's matte. take some getting used to for me. >> you will love this one. >> this is lancolms out this month, oscillation power

foundation. >> it's a vibrating -- >> it feels like she's taking my makeup off is what it feels like. >> we can't hear the vibrating, but vibrating mineral power. >> is that if you're lazy? >> it breaks up the mickcrmicro crystals. intuitive products that help to blend in with your own skin and actually change to your natural base color. it takes the guess work out of matching. listen, ladies, for years, when i come home i always say i have evolve under to a butterfly. this may be time for us to worry about the guys we meet. some of the guys out there have some style secrets. tom cruise and some of the entourage men are using lift kits in their shoes. >> like heels. >> yes, basically, you stick these into your shoe. two different levels and they now started making them for us. lift kits for chicks. >> stop it. >> flat boots and guys are

getting their own sort of support systems. this is actually y have to say, calvin klein has a by boost underwear that has an elastic in the right place to give you a profile enhancement. >> what? >> go software -- >> who -- >> don't ask. >> and go software has butt pads for men. >> for men? are they seriously buying those? >> this is a girdle fo guys. so, guys are getting help, too. i'm just the messenger. >> what do you think? >> i just would love to see an "snl" skit of a girl wearing unbelievable spanks and a guy having their first encounter and neither one can get anything off because it's so tight. >> if you want more of bobbie's info go to our website. up next, the star of the naughty kitchen brings her

talents to our kitchen right after this.

time for today's kitchen and today we're getting really saucy with really naughty chef blithe beck. >> blithe is the star of the new reality show called "the naughty kitchen." look at you little hot shot. how is that show? >> it's pretty fabulous. i love it. >> are you tough, are you mean? >> i'm not mean, i'm more naughty. >> you are? >> i came to show you my naughty cooking and my naughty cuisine. >> we're making southern food. >> i call my food sexy new american. food you ate growing up, but naughty. the first thing we'll make are some grits. there are different kinds of grits, but we kind of like the thick, course grits. you can add a bunch of stuff to

it. right now they're kind of naked and they need some love on them. you want to come over here. you want to add the cheese. >> all the cheese, i can do that. >> you want to start stirring. you have to have a little bit of butter in the naughty kitchen. >> we need to show this. >> what a hunk of butter. >> you have to. >> joy boher will kill us. you want to grab those jalapenos. >> i really can't do this because of my wrist. i'm sorry. i honestly can't. >> i got it. >> i'll do anything i can do. >> you want to season? >> sure. >> a little bit of salt. there, you got it. i think she was mocking you a little bit. >> i'm used to it. >> cream, too? >> yeah, that's how you make it naughty. keep going. >> it's already coagulating. now, if that's not enough we'll

add -- >> we have to add bacon and onions and jalapenos and that's what we call loving on it. you want to add it in there. >> okay. is bad. >> dump it all in there. you're doing really well. >> unbelievable. >> i love it. you're doing great. >> oh, my gosh. >> that is just disgusting. >> no, it's naughty, kathie, come back here and we can eat. come this way, a finished product of them. >> what is that? >> those are fried ocher with a spicy jalapeno dipping sauce and that is the sexy strawberry short cake. >> we have to try your grits. >> how do you serve them? >> a little bit of grits. >> well, you know, everything is bigger and better in texas. that's how we do it. shrimp. >> those things are on steroids, look at them. >> they're jinorms. >> they are.

>> there you go. >> here you go, miss hoda woman. >> would you like a little okra? >> yeah. >> just dip it. >> no, no. never mind. >> it's the ughty kitchen, not the lady-like kitchen. >> little spicy, little sweet. there you go. >> how are the grits? >> oh, gosh. >> they're fabulous. >> oh, my gosh. delicious. okay, we have 30 seconds. what is the dessert here? >> this is my sexy strawberry shortcake. little sugar, whip cream, biscuits. it's naughty. >> this is a biscuit. >> biscuit with sugar on top. >> i'm so into the grits and shrimp. i'm sorry. >> thank you so much. >> so much fun. you are naughty. >> you're not nasty, you're naughty. your show is on tonight. >> tonight 10:00. >> 10:00, 9 central on oxygen. don't forget to watch blithe.

hoda and i are fighting over these. >> would you date someone who wear man spanks? >> no, but i would buy them from them. >> could you imagine getting intimate and in the process of clothing removal finding butt pads. dennis hopper is coming tomorrow. >> oh, no. oh, my.