good morning. breaking news. a deadly tsunami triggered by a powerful earthquake slams into the samoan islands. at least 99 are dead, many others missing. this morning a survivor tells us what it was like when the massive wave hit. the big push. michelle obama arrives in copenhagen overnight, a day ahead of her husband. can the first couple help bring the 2016 olympic games to their former hometown of chicago?

and "kate plus 8." jon gosselin bumped as a regular on his reality show, so why does jon now want to delay the divorce? we'll tell you today, wednesday, september 30th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm meredith vieira. and this morning, president obama is declaring the u.s. territory of american samoa a major disaster after that earthquake-generated tsunami leveled entire villages. >> dozens of people are missing, feared swept out to sea, and fema says its first emergency teams are now heading to that region. just ahead, we'll talk live with a man who lives in american samoa about the conditions there this morning. but first, let's go to al roker with the latest on the details of this story. al, good morning to you.

>> matt, meredith, good morning. and again, this was an earthquake of a magnitude 8.0, big by any standard, but not as large or as devastating as the 2004 tsunami that hit the indian ocean. waves about a half foot above normal in honolulu, up to 1.5 in haloiwa, hilo had about a half foot above normal waves. now, again, this is a disaster. and i'll tell you, like the one in 2004, it was both destructive and it was deadly. the aftermath of nature's fury, destruction in pongo pongo, the capital city of american samoa following a tsunami tuesday powered by an earthquake with a magnitude between 8.0 and 8.3. nearly 2,700 miles from australia, the epicenter of this earth was just off the coast of american samoa, and the effects could be felt for miles. >> it was long. it just kept going on and on and on. we were listening to the radio to get updates,nd there was a female announcer, started to get

very excited, as this wall of water came towards him. >> reporter: a tsunami starts as an underwater earthquake. the motion from the quake adds energy to the water, pushing it toward the surface and creating waves that can be devastating once they make landfall. >> you can see where the earthquake hpened right here. >> reporter: paul earl is a seismologist with the u.s. geological survey. >> this is a magnitude 8 earthquake. this is a very, vy large quake. you get about one of these a year. the magnitude 9 produced about twice as much energy as a magnitude 8. >> reporter: the world saw that kind of energy in 2004 when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake sparked a tsunami in the indian ocean, killing nearly 230,000 people, making it the deadliest in history. while tuesday's tsunami wasn't as strong or as deadly as in 2004, it did prompt tsunami warnings throughout the pacific, as far away as california. and this morning it leaves a community picking up the pieces,

serving as a reminder of how hard mother nature can strike, even in an island paradise. aftershocks are being reported throughout the region a we're being told that rescue efforts are hampered because the damage is so extensive, some parts of the island's inaccessible. and meredith, in 100 feet of water, a tsunami can move as fast as 40 miles per hour. so, these folks really had no chance of being warned. meredith? >> very frightening. al, thank you very much. alex is the chief of staff for american samoa's congressman felamavega and joins us from his home. alex, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> i understand thatou were getting ready for work on tuesday morning, early tuesday morning when the earthquake hit. can you tell us what happened? >> about 6:30 in the morning i was getting ready to work with my grandkids, supposed to drop them off at school, and then the earthquake hit us. it was an experience that i had

never experienced in my whole life. the whole house and everything was shaking, and we move outside and the whole ground, you know -- i was thinking this would never stop. and finally, when it stops, i ask my family to remain, because we stay in more like a high area, and it takes me about three minutes to head down to the main village. and when i got down to the village, the wave had gone back out, but it was devastating. it was a disaster. people, elders were trying to crawl all over the place, crawl up to higher place, higher areas. and it was shock because it was the first time we experienced this in my whole life. one good thing about it, and we thank god, this happened in

daytime. that panicwise, people were not that much panicked. they were just looking for some place to get to higher ground, but the aftermath, shock of this, south of this whole thing, it was unreal. >> and i'm sure, alex, that it's still sinking in. the village is not particularly large, the village of leone. do you have any counts of casualties or people that still may be missing? >> when i got down to the village, i know that we didn't depend on any heavy equipment from our local government because the roads coming into our village was all -- it was all broke in half, so they couldn't get access. and later on, they got access, but we were using our manpower. we got most of the youth together. we went out searched and searched and searched, and the young men and the young ladies,

we got together and we found, before dawn, there was about eight that lost their lives and we're still trying to locate at least four or five more. but right now in american samoa, it's about 12:00 midnight, so we called it off until tomorrow, because there's no electricity, no water. >> alex, looking at the images, you can tell it's going to take weeks, probably months for a full recovery there. we appreciate your time this morning and our thoughts and prayers are with you and the other folks in american samoa. thank you very much, alex godinet. >> thank you. >> it is 7:07, and now here's matt. all right, meredith, thank you very much. first lady mhelle obama touched down in copenhagen overnight, where she and her husband hope to help chicago land the 2016 olympic games. nbc's john yang is in chicago with more on that. john, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. this morning, some of the most powerful and influential figures, not just in chicago, but in all of america, are in copenhagen, helping this city go

for the gold. first lady michelle obama and oprah winfrey, the first lady of television talk, the superstars of chicago's olympic team in copenhagen. for the final portion, they'll be joined by the most prominent chicagoan of them all, president obama. given his busy schedule, he'll only be on danish soil for about four hours. >> i'll sleep on the plane, i'll land, i'll speak and then fly right back. >> reporter: leaving before the final vote. it's all part of a full-court press led by chicago mayor richard m. daly. he's enlisted famous chicagoans from hillary clinton to michael jordan, even residents of the shedd aquarium. events backing the bid have reached all the way to the white house south lawn. >> i cannot think of a better city to host the 2016 games than my hometown. >> chicago will make america proud and america will make the world proud. >> reporter: the president, the first lady and the others will be trying to sway the 105 voting members of the international

olympic committee. >> chicago's chances are significantly, and i mean significantly enhanced by the fact that the president of the united states is going to be on hand here. >> reporter: chicago's main competition comes from rio de janiero, vying to host the first olympics in south america. madrid and tokyo are also bidding. >> we don't want the olympic games! >> reporter: not everyone in chicago thinks hosting the games is such a great idea. a local ad man launched a website, chagoansforrio.com, even linking to the site for rio's bid. a poll earlier this month found chicagoans sharply divided, 47% favoring the games, 45% opposing them. john cass is a columnist for "the chicago tribune." >> if you go into the neighborhoods, talk to the people in their bungalow, single-family homes, are they going to have $1,500 to sit ringside for the boxing tournament? >> reporter: chicago and the other cities make their final pitch on friday, and the committee will make its

decision. here in chicago, hundreds of people will be gathered outside city hall downtown watching and waiting. matt? >> all right, john, thanks very much. john yang in chicago this morning. it's now nine minutes after the hour, and once again, here's meredith. matt, thank you. the u.s. delegation attending tomorrow's high-stakes showdown with iran over that country's nuclear ambitions arrived in geneva overnight. nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell traveled with them. andrea, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. when the u.n. delegation meets with the iranians tomorrow, they want to see concrete steps. they want to see access for u.n. inspectors to the people, to the documents, to the site itself. iran has said that it is willing to let u.n. inspectors , but they haven't said when and they haven't said how much they'll let those u.n. inspectors see. so, a senior official said to me re today in geneva, this is the real test of whether diplomatic engagement will work. the betting is that iran will do just enough to appear

conciliatory and try to divide the european coalition, particularly dividing the u.s. from russia, but not enough to really satisfy the u.s. that it's no longer cheating. iran may, in fact, even offer to commit access or release of those three american hikers, but u.s. officials here in geneva say they want to talk about one thing -- the nuclear program. meredith? >> and if iran were to stonewall, andrea, what leverage does the united states really have? >> reporter: well, it's a very tough situation because if iran stonewalls, probably, then, russia would stay on board and china would follow russia's lead, but if they take that middle course, that really could divide the coalition. then the u.s. and europe could tighten existing unilateral sanctions, not working through the u.n., assuming that russia would veto anything, and they could try to impose some other additional sanctions, but sanctions without the u.n. behind it are not as effective, and robert gates, the military has said there really is no military option. meredith? >> all right, andrea mitchell, thank you very much.

let us get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories, and for that, we'll head over to ann at the news desk. good morning to you. >> matt and meredith, good morning. good morning, everybody. in the news, even as samoa deals with tuesday's deadly earthquake and tsunami, another big earthquake hit this morning, this one in indonesia, with a magnitude of up to 7.9, collapsing buildings and bridges there. that is the same area devastated by a tsunami in 2004 and a tsunami warning has been issued. today the top u.s. commander in iraq is telling congress that about 4,000 u.s. troops will come home by the end of next month. general ray odierno says security in iraq is improving and that the u.s. is on track to have all combat troops out of iraq by september 2010. as for afghanistan, after meeting with nato secretary-general on tuesday, president obama meets with top u.s. commanders in that war today as he considers whether to send in more troops. in its largest u.s. recall ever, toyota's recalling almost 4 million cars because of floor mats that can come loose and cause the gas pedal to get

stuck. this recall was triggered by a deadly crash in california that killed four people in august. the recall includes the camry, prius and some lexus models. for more information, you can go to our website at todayshow.com. overseas markets are mostly higher this morning. cnbc's melissa francis is at the new york stock exchange with more on this. and melissa, we're at the end of what's been a pretty good month for the market. >> that's right, ann, and traditionally, september is not a good month for the market, but here we are on the last day of trading, all three major indices up roughly 15%. home prices rose for the third month in a row, but consumer sentiment fell, and that is something that walmart understands well. they're expanding their holiday toy program this year. last year they offered ten popular toys for $10. this year they're expanding it to 100. the purpose, to get you into the stor ann, back to you. >> all right, melissa francis, thank you so much. the founder of cirque du soleil is in orbit this morning. the canadian billionaire paid $35 million to go on to a soyuz rocket to the international

space station, and he's calling himself the first clown in space. well, i'm sure there will be a lot of clowning around up there. it is now 7:13. >> so, he beat you, matt, the first clown in space. >> i know. i'll be the second one, though. anyone that's seen cirque du soleil, though, that guy's been in orbit for a while. that is a wild show. really is. >> a good one, though. hello, al. hey, as we look at what's going on, we've got a potent system out west. behind it, temperatures 20 to 30 degrees colder. we've got mountain snows. it's going to be a real mess and windy. then for tomorrow, as this system moves to the east, we are tonight and tomorrow, we've got strong storms possible overnight from parts of iowa, down to kansas, up into nebraska. we could be looking at isolated tornadoes as well. so, this is aç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç## good morning. a cloudy start to this wednesday. live picture from our city camera showing the washington monument under the cloud cover. temperatures are in the cool. we are in the 50s from the

schenn an doe ah valley to the beach. high today near 70. maybe a little sunshine breaking out midday. then, clouds back in late afternoon with a slight chance of a spinkle. a plus stri wind as well. 40s around the metro >> that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al, thank you very much. and now to the arrest of oscar-winning director roman polanski. it could be weeks before a swiss court weighs in on whether to grant his request to be released from custody. this as some hollywood heavyweights are rallying behind him. we'll talk exclusively with the sister of roman polanski's late wife, sharyn tate, in just a little while, but first, nbc's stephanie gosk is in zurich with the latest. stephanie, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. well, the latest film from polanski was set to be released in just a matter of months. it was a thriller with pierce brosnan and ewen mcgregor, but

with the director sitting in a jail cell here in switzerland, both the movie and his life are on hold. as roman polanski faces possible extradition to the u.s. and years in prison, hollywood's biggest stars are circling the wagons in his defense. whoopi goldberg had this to say on "the view" yesterday. >> when an adult has sex with a child, it's called statutory rape. it's not called anything else. >> he was not charged. >> but rape. >> he was not charged -- >> it wasn't rape rape. >> i know it wasn't rape rape. it was something else, but i don't believe it area rape rape. >> reporter: in a statement to the los angeles "daily news," harvey weinstein wrote -- "we are calling every filmmaker we can to help fix this terrible situation." a petition is being signed by woody allen, martin scorsese and david lynch, but there are also those in hollywood who believe he needs to answer to his crimes. >> there's sort of a natural tendency to excuse bad conduct on the part of artistic people.

>> reporter: polanski is a hollywood darling, acclaimed as an oscar award-winning director and honored for escaping the horrors of world war ii as a child. but polanski is also a fugitive. more than 30 years ago in los angeles, the director brought a 13-year-old aspiring model to jack nicholson's home, where police say he gave her drugs and had sex with her. as part of a deal, polanski pled guilty to statutory rape but fled the u. before sentencing. this weekend in zurich, the 76-year-old was finally detained and now sits in a swiss jail, believed to be this one. >> i told them that he is doing quite well, but of course, the circumstances are very, very hard for him. >> reporter: the defense team is fighting to get polanski released under house arrest in his swiss chalet until the courts decide on the legality of the extradition. the director's home is in france, where his worried wife was caught briefly on camera yesterday. polanski's previous wife and unborn child were brutally murdered in 1969 by charles

manson's supporters. death and tragedy have been as regular in polanski's life as they are in his movies. but hollywood's most powerful elite are now hoping they can rewrite the script. soon after polanski's arrest, a number of french officials, including the president and the foreign minister, came out in support for him, but there are signs in the last 24 hours that political opinion in his native france is mixed. a number of conservative politicians have said, matt, that this crime is so serious, it doesn't matter who polanski is. he has to answer for what he's done. >> all right, stephanie gosk in zurich for us this morning. stephanie, thank you very much. debra tate is the sister of sharon tate, roman polanski's late wife, who was, as we just heard, murdered by the followers of charles manson back in 1969. she joins us exclusively. debra, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. >> as you just heard stephanie say and you've heard over the last several days, roman polanski is a polarizing figure. people feel one way or the

other. there is often not a gray area here. so, since you know him and you've kept in regular contact with him over the years, what can you tell us about him personally that might shed light on this situation? >> roman is a brilliant director. there is no disputing that. he's also a philanthropist. he helps many other people get a foothold in the business. he's quite a humanitarian. he's a good guy. he's brilliant as well. >> and yet, there is this other side, and that is the polarizing part of this story, that he committed a crime some 30 years ago and then fled this country to avoid punishment for that crime. and so, you know, how do you respond to people who s it doesn't matter that he's brilliant and a great director? he deserves to serve time for that crime? >> there was a deal made back in the '70s where roman would

undergo evaluation and spend four months in jail. he did that. he was evaluated not to be a pedophile, and there is, as i said, rape and then there is rape. it was determined that roman did not forcibly have sex with this young woman. it was a consensual matter. >> right, and -- >> i am a victims advocate, and i know the difference. >> and i uerstand that, and yes, there is a difference, but a lot of men in this country have served time in jail or in prison for committing the kind of rape that roman polanski committed, the statutory rape. and so, how do you respond to that? >> i do believe that our system is extremely broken on multi levels. i think at the moment, there is a lot of taxpayer dollars being spent to pursue cases that do not need to be pursued,

especially in the state of california. we have a broken system. it's a very multimillion dollar broken system. >> you, as i understand, tried to convince roman to come back to the united stat i think a few years ago, 2005. what was the purpose? what did you think would happen if he returned? >> i was under the impression that there was misconduct in the political genre itself and i thought based on that he could get a fair trial here. since then, speaking with the district attorney's office about this matter, i agree that roman could not necessarily be dealt with in a fair manner here in the united states. i think that this matter better be served in france. >> switching gears slightly, debra, susan atkins -- >> yes. >> -- who's the charles manson follower who murdered your sister and roman polanski's wife, sharon tate, died

recently, just a couple days before roman polanski was arrested. and i'm just curious, after all these years, did you ever imagine that these two people who played such different roles in your life would capture the headlines so close together? >> absolutely not. it's been a devastating few weeks for me. i also did susan atkins' last parole hearing about two weeks prior to her death. so, it's just been a whirlwind for me this last few weeks. >> well, debra tate, i thank you for joining us this morning. it's nice talking to you. >> very nice talking to you, matt. just head, an american father jailed in japan as he tried to bring his children home. he says they had been taken there illegally by his ex-wife. we'll talk with his

still ahead, jon gets the boot from "jon & kate plus 8." >> talk about that after your

local news and weather.

jooirnlths. good morning. i'm barbara harrison. we forling a developing story. flames ripped through a home in the 5,000 block of bristow drive. firefighters were unable to get inside the home. there are conflicting reports from neighbors as to whether there are people inside the home or if it is vacant.

today, hundreds of experts will gather for a summit in the district to discuss what the transportation secretary is calling an epidemic of distracted driving. it is believe to be responsible for a quarter of all traffic accidents each year. lawmakers are working on ways to ban the use of cell phones and other mobile device frs behind the wheel. we'll be back with weather and take a lack at traffic too. st

ghood good morning. it is cloudy and cool. highs in the upper 60s. sunny, near 70 tomorrow. 395 northbound is a mess. two separate accidents. one at duke and the 1th street bridge. big delays. 395 is jammed. back to you. thank you, ashley. we will have more news at

♪ ♪ and i know you're shining down on me from heaven ♪ 7:30 now on this wednesday morning, september 30th, 2009. quite a few people are starting off their day in rockefeller plaza. and if they come back here on friday, they will enjoy a live concert by one of the biggest stars around. i am talking good mariah carey. inside studio 1a, i'm meredith vieira alongside matt lauer. and just ahead, a real eye-opener on the dangers of using a cell phone to talk or

text while driving. recently, we told you about research showing that it can be twice as dangerous as drunk driving. so, it is now time for a federal ban? we will get into that in just a moment. also ahead, some more unusual behavior from a florida man that's accused of murdering his own wife. just days after being arrested, he was recorded in jail laughing and joking with his daughter and sister-in-law. there's a lot more to that tape and we'll have that for you, coming up. but we're going to begin with a father from tennessee who was behi bars in japan for trying to bring his children back home after they were illegally taken from him by his ex-wife. we're going to talk with that man's attorney and his current wife in a moment, but first, nbc's miguel almaguer has the details. >> reporter: christopher savoie and his children, isaac and rebecca, call tennessee home. so did their japanese mother, noriko, until this summer, when she suddenly moved to japan and took the children. divorced, christopher savoie had custody in the u.s., so he flew 7,000 miles to bring his kids

home. but on monday, when he tried to walk the children into a u.s. consulate's office, he was arrested by japanese police, who charged him with abduction. scott sawyer also lost a son. >> it's difficult to think of him or look at his picture. >> reporter: when sawyer wife left him, she took 3-year-old wayne to japan. >> it reminds me of the loss, so it is, is that i try to dedicate myself to working really hard toward getting him back, and that is what keeps me focused. >> reporter: sawyer and savoie's children are not alone. according to congressman chris smith, 125 japanese american children are currently abducted by a parent who's fled to japan. the u.s. government is powerless to bring them home. >> japan is a modern civil rights oriented society, you know. it ought to join the rest of the industrialized nations and resolve all of these long-standing cases, including

christopher savoie. >> i'd just like to talk to you about the children. >> reporter: the documentary "from the shadows" follows several american parents as they fight to bring their kids home from japan. the filmmaker says japanese abductions have happened for decades, a culture that does not recognize split-child custody like the u.s. >> they don't understand why the other parent wants to see or visit the kid after divorce. the norm in japan is to not do that. >> reporter: that's of little comfort to parents who have lost their children. according to one u.s. lawmaker, of the thousands of american kids taken to japan, not a single child has ever been returned by their government, a statistic that includes 3-year-old wayne sawyer. >> he's a great little guy. >> reporter: and now also 6-year-old isaac and 8-year-old rebecca savoie, as their father still sits behind bars. for "today," miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. >> amy savoie is christopher savoie's current wife. good morning to you, amy. thanks for joining us.

good morning. >> i don't know if you've had a chance to talk to christopher since he's been arrested. have you had that opportunity and do you know h he's doing? >> i have not been able to speak to him since he told me they were coming with the handcuffs and they were telling him "turn off the phone, turn off the phone, turn off the phone." someone from the consulate told me he was taken to the hospital that night for low blood pressure concerns. >> he had had concerns for a while that his ex-wife was going to take the children back to japan, where she is from. he even tried to get a restraining order to stop her from doing that last march, and eventually, the judge overturned that, but did you have indications or warning signs at all along the way, amy, or did chris, that this was indeed going to happen? >> the warning signs were fair -- were extremely consistent, meredith. we were always treated as if our love for the children was valueless, was unimportant.

we have e-mails from her where christopher's saying, "can i see the kids for the fourth of july?" this was a while back, and she said, "of course not, it's a holiday. the children will be with me. i cannot accept that." and that was before their parenting plan was in place. it could have been more congenial and cooperative. she had always seemed to find christopher's love for them and their love for him tbe very threatening, very annoying. >> so, when she took the children in august, when he realized that they didn't show up for school and he realized that they were in japan, did she talk to him over the phone? did she say, you know what, we're not coming back? >> yeah, basically, yeah. she said, yeah, she abandoned her lease. she abandoned all of the children's belongings, things that were sentimental that he knew were sentimental to the children. he couldn't believe that she had left rebecca's little black

stuffed dog and all of isaac's little matchbox cars and she spent, i guess, a few weeks transferring money appropriately and she had it all planned out. she picked the kids up from my house saying -- she sent me a text message, "i'm going to take them back-to-school shopping," and then it was going to be her custodial time. she picked the children up -- >> and you snefer saw them again. >> and i never saw them again. >> when he told you that he was going to go to japan to try to get his kids back, obviously, that's a very drastic step to take. what did you think? >> i don't want to talk about that, meredith. i'm sorry. >> how are you holding up right now, amy? >> i'm notolding up well at all. i want my husband to be out of jail. i think my husband needs to be out of jail and i'm worried about isaac and rebecca.

and i'm worried about my children who miss their step siblings. and i know that isaac and rebecca love my children and they must miss them. one time i said to isaac when he was messing around with my son, i said "you guys behave just like brothers," and isaac looked at me and he smiled this huge smile and he goes, "we are brothers!" and you just can't rip them away from a loving relationship and think that it's not going to have an impact. >> amy, i know, i understand -- >> our lives are just devastated. we're crushed. >> amy, i understand what a difficult time this is for you and i appreciate you talking with us this morning. thank you very much, amy. >> thank you. >> we're going to bring in christopher savoie's attorney, jeremy morley. mr. morley, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> this for your client has to be a nightmare. first, his ex-wife abducts the children, which is a federal crime in this country. so, she's a fugitive.

>> yes. >> then he goes to get them back, and we can debate whether that was a smart move, but then he is arrested in japan and he's charged with abduction. and in japan, the ex-wife is considered the victim. how likely is it that he will serve jail time there? >> we don't know, but he's in jail right now. we've got lawyers that are flying down to this small town in southern japan to meet with him. we're trying to get the best counsel we can. and it would be outrageous if he spends any jail time there, but he is in a very serious situation. >> we've talked about this before. i know you talked to the producer about this, that the big hitch in this case is that japan has not signed the hague convention on international child abduction. it doesn't honor that. and in any case like this in the past, a child has never been returned from japan. so, the odds are stacked against him. >> he knew that, and that's why he went there and tried to exercise some self help. i have probably 100 clients, americans, who have lost their

kids to japan, and this is an untold story. it is a terrible problem, and it's not just that they haven't signed the hague convention. there's an utterly different concept about how to raise children and who should be in charge. >> what do you mean? >> well, in japan, there is no shared custody. it's not in their law, it's not in their society, it's not in their history, and the idea of a father participating in the life of a child when the mother has primary custody is alien. >> but do you think your client in retrospect was acting recklessly to do what he did, to grab the children as they're walking to school and race to the consulate? >> i think that the recklessness was we've known about this potential for a year. we've tried to get help. >> the potential that she would take the children. >> we kw she would take the children. i knew she would take the children. a year ago, we asked a court in tennessee to do whatever it could to stop this, and many judges don't take this seriously enough. it is an enormously dangerous situation. >> mr. morley, i sense the frustration in your own voice, having dealt with this with

other clients as well. >> yes. >> what recourse do you have right now? who is out there that could possibly help you? >> we've got great lawyers there, but their hands are tied by a legal system that doesn't work. we need diplomatic help. we need the united states government to workith our allies and to explain the position of americans and people around the world as to why this kind of conduct is reprehensible. >> but to date, our government has not intervened in cases like this? >> they have -- the american government has tried somewhat. there have been efforts to encourage japan to sign, at least sign the hague convention, and we've worked with other countries to try to do that. there's a long way to go. >> you have not talked to your client, i take it. >> we can't get through. we've sent lawyers down there. they will be speaking to him today, but it's a very serious situation. he needs to be out of jail and these kids need to be taken care of. >> m morley, i appreciate your time this morning. >> thank you very much. and now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> all right, thanks a lot, meredith. a quick look at our weather, show you what's happening for

today. well, we are looking at some cold weather. we've got this morning frost and freeze advisories from iowa all the way into minnesota. then for tomorrow, they stretch down asç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç## mostly cloudy and cool on this wednesday morning, final day of september. as weet into the afternoon, we will climb out of the 50s into the upper 60s with a few breaks in the clouds, a little sunshine in and out. blustery wind out of the northwest gusting to 25 miles an hour. highs, upper 60s. a small chance of spinkle later >> and that's your latest weather. for weather any time of the day or night, check out the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. matt? all right, al, thank you. on tuesday, we showed you the bizarre behavior recorded in a florida jail of a man accused of murdering his wife.

he was laughing, even dancing with his daughter and sister-in-law, the sister of the woman he was accused of murdering. and now there's even more to those tapes. nbc's kerry sanders has the latest. kerry, good morning to u. >> reporter: well, good morning, matt. tongues are definitely wagging. the millionaires who live behind these walls here have a view of what they've seen and just about everybody has an opinion of what these latest jailhouse videos mean. >> you know, we were really happy together. reporter: 61-year-old james bob ward charged with murdeng his wife diane, was meeting with his oldest daughter, mall erie -- >> we had our ups a downs like everybody did. we were really happy. >> reporter: when things turned weird. as ward talked with his sister-in-law, there in the background, daughter mall erie sticks her tongue out at her father. thenhe motions with her tongue and then she strikes a pose. now watch it again and glance at

wardwho waves, sticking his own tongue out and laughs, simply a lighthearted moment between a daughter trying to cheer up her father, a father charged with murdering her mother, his wife? >> is it inappropriate? absolutely. >> reporter: janine driver, a former federal law enforcement officer and an expert in the nonscientific study of body language, has watched the videotaped visits, all 90 minutes recorded so far, where ward dances, unbuttons his shirt -- >> no, i wouldn't do that. >> hey, handsome. >> reporter: where his daughter at other times sits her legs open, her arm drawn around the back of the chair. nonverbal cues that experts say are leads for investigators. >> her legs are spread eagle. she looks like britney spears coming out of a limousine, completely inappropriate for someone who just lost their mother. at one point, she takes her arms and wraps them behind the desk of the chair and holds herself back. what does that do?

protrudes her chest. that is extremely sexual. does it mean that they physically have done something? no. >> reporter: and experts say all of this becomes important to investigators as they search for a possible motive. >> despite being no norm on how people grieve, this is off the charts. 100% says perhaps this is a motive of why this murder took place. >> reporter: at one point in the conversation -- >> we were both looking forward to coming to the horse show and seeing you guys. >> reporter: -- ward talks about plans he and his now dead wife had for this coming weekend. remember, daughter mall erorie just lost her mother to what looks like murder. >>e were really excited, but there's been -- you know, there's a kink in our plans now. >> reporter: "a kink in our plans." experts say that language, because it appears so nonchalant and unemotional, draws attention. now, you'll remember that when

bob ward dialed 911, according to the police affidavit, he said "i just sho my wife. she's dead." now police say also they overheard, he said t somebody else "my wife committed suicide." so, there's a confusion there. his lawyer says, eventually the full story will get out. matt? >> i think the person in your piece said it best, kerry, this one is off the charts. thank you very much. kerry sanders in florida for us this morning. up next, the epidemic of distracted drivers. is it time for tough, new restrictions on what you can and can't do behind the wheel? we'll tell you what's being now considered.

back at 7:47 with a sobering, new finding. the government now says 16% of all fatal accidents involve some form of distracted driving. the obama administration is now holding a two-day summit to deal with what they call an epidemic. nbc's tom costello is in washington with more on this story. tom, good morning to you. >> reporter: meredith, good morning. and congress is considering a federal ban. in fact, if you think that somehow using a hands-free device makes it okay to use a cell phone while you're driving, all the research says that's absolutely not true, and at any given time, 11% of drivers, 11% are using some sort of a mobile device. and the research says that means 11% of drivers are perhaps more distracted than if they're legally drunk. from texting drivers who

rear-end other cars, take out a mailbox or nearly go off a bridge, pice report distracted driving is now a constant threat. horrific cases involving bus, truck and trolley drivers, even train engineers. and then there's the case of 19-year-old reggie shaw. >> when i left that morning, it was definitely not my intention to hurt or harm anyone. >> reporter: thr years ago on a utah highway, reggie crossed the center line while texting. the accident he started killed james ferferro and keith o'dell. they were rocket scientists, husbands and fathers. >> and i remembered being so shock shocked that someone could be so selfish and irresponsible and kill my husband. >> reporter: at the university of utah, researchers have spent years studying driving while on a cell phone or while texting.

their findings are stunning. >> it's double the risk of someone who's driving at a 0.08 blood alcohol level. the texting driver is a dangerous person on the road. it's a ticking time bomb for an accident. >> i think there's an epidemic in america. >> reporter: now the obama administration is weighing in, out with new statistics this morning. more than 5,800 people were killed and 500,000 injured laste form of distracted driving. the under 20 distracted driving and 20 to 29-year-olds were the most involved in fatal accidents. nationwide, 18 states and d.c. have outlawed texting while driving. six also ban handheld cell phones, but the transportation secretary says every state must take distracted driving as seriously dru driving. >> the reason 0.08 works and the reason seatbelt laws work is because there are police on the street stopping people, issuing

tickets, hauling people into the lock-ups when they're above 0.08. >> reporter: reggie shaw was charged with negligent homicide. as part of his sentence, he takes his story to anyone who will listen. >> i thought it was safe. i thought it was something that i could do, that i could drive down the road and send a text message and be safe. >> reporter: that video produced by zero fatalities. reggie spent 30 days in jail but was the last to receive such a light sentence in utah. today he could get up to 15 years per death in prison. meredith, back to you. >> tom costello, thank you very much. and still ahead, why a growing number of professional women are smoking marijuana. but first, these messages.

just ahead, why jon gosselin has now suspended his divorce from kate for 90 days, at the same time they have announced it's now going to be "kate plus 8." the jon part's gone.

beautiful morning in washington. chilly 59 degrees. 7:56 is our time. firefighters are investigating an early morning house fire. the flames ripped through a home in the 5,000 block of bristow drive in annandale. firefighters are unable to get into the home because the structure is unstable. the district has put the brakes on a plan to cancel a popular circular bus route.

they announced the wisconsin route near georgetown would have to be eliminated. they blamed it on budget cuts. the mayor said after further review and an outpouring of demand, the wisconsin avenue stops will continue. we will be back with weather and traffic. stay with

good morning. it is still chilly. we will stay steady in the 50s. late this mornings into the afternoon, sunshine climbing out. we will see it climbing to near 70. clouding back up late this afternoon, early this evening. a small chance of a spinkle. 30s in the mountains, 40 around the metro area. friday, increasing clouds. highs, low 7 0s. could get some rain late friday night. how is the traffic? 270 southbound, this is the pace in it's intifrmt this is shady grove headed southbound. 95 northbound, you are on the brakes. 395, not looking much better. earlier accidents are gone. still, very slow to and across the 14th. barbara, back to you. thank you. a reminder

8:00 now on a wednesday morning. it's the 30th day of september 2009. you know what? mr. roker and i were just talking. the wind picked up yesterday. temperatures dropped and it is a chilly morning out here on the plaza. >> it is. >> is it going to get better? >> not really. >> not for the next couple of days? >> that's right. >> hmm, so you're saying chilly for friday's mariah carey concert? >> on the brisk side and a lot

of folks in the midwest will be seeing frost and freeze advisories tomorrow. >> wow. >> it's a bit of a sign this morning, it's snowing somewhere. >> in utah. >> right there it is. i knew i saw it somewhere. >> you're not crazy. >> i'm matt lauer on the plaza along with meredith vieira and al roker. and coming up this half hour, uh-uh,on gosselin, bye-bye. >> a little trouble for jon. the show was "jon & kate plus 8." now it's going to be as of november "kate plus 8." at the same time they make that announcement, jon says he regrets his womanizing and wants to delay the divorce by 90 days. is that a coincidence? 'll talk with a gosselin family insider, coming up. >> a question for the group. >> yes? >> yes. >> let's say a career woman goes home at end of a hard day, and instead of having that glass of wine, smokes little pot. >> i'm out of here. >> would you still g there? you still want to do that? is that okay? i mean, it's illegal. >> it's illegal, yeah. >> but there's apparently a growing trend in this. >> are you serious? >> what are they called, stiletto -- >> stiletto stoners? >> i think that's what we call

them. >> oh, that's what we call them. >> i heard it somewhere. >> i don't think they go around with t-shirts, but anyway, we're going to talk about what is apparently a trend. some 8 millone women in this country smoked pot last year. >> wow. >> we'll find out what's behind that. >> and behind us is a really cute baby. that's a cutie back there. oh, what a cutie. anyway, also, we've got our "money 911" panel. they're going to be joining us to answer our most pressing financial questions. >> all right. before we go any further, let's go inside. ann's got a check of the headlines. ann? >> all right, thanks a lot, matt. good morning again, everybody. in the news, officials on the samoan islands say they expect the death toll to rise arve a massive underwater quake triggered a tsunami on tuesday. the waves flattened home and swept people and cars into the ocean. at least 99 people have been killed and at least a dozen are missing. the president has declared american samoa a major disaster area. and the powerful earthquake struck off the coast of western indonesia this morning. that's the same area devastated by the 2004 tsunami. the magnitude 7.9 quake caused

hundre of houses to collapse. a tsunami warning issued for the region has now been lifted. today the top commander in iraq, general ray odierno, is telling congress that 4,000 more american troops will be sent home by the end of next month. with the second wave of the swine flu now moving across the country, a healthy teenager has contracted the virus and died. nbc's chief science correspondent robert bazell has one family's tragic story. >> i just can't fathom that this could happen to me. >> reporter: tammy osborne's 14-year-old daughter chloe lindsey of fort worth got swine flu last wednesday. friday mom took her to the doctor, and following cdc guidelines, the doctor gave her no antiviral drugs because she had been perfectly healthy. over the next few days, she had increasing difficulty breathing. sunday, her mother rushed her to the hospital, but doctors could not save her. >> before they could get her hooked up to the machine, she arrested. >> reporter: such cases are extremely rare, but they are why

officials worry so much about swine flu. >> you may be seated. >> reporter: in testimony tuesday, the cdc director repeated that most cases are moderate or mild. >> this is unchartered territory for an influenza season. we've had already many millions of cases, and we will have many millions of cases more. >> reporter: but it is because of cases like chloe lindsay that officials are rushing to get the vaccine out. and though there are no changes now, they may consider how often previously healthy children should get antiviral medication. for "today," robert bazell, nbc news, new york. early this morning, first lady michelle obama arrived in copenhagen to push for chicago's effort to land the 2016 olympic games. the president arrives on friday, the same day the olympic committee announces its decision. and now, here's brian williamsith what's coming up tonight on nbc "nightly news." hey, brian. >> hey, ann, good morning, and thanks. coming up tonight, she's back on the road campaigning, but this time for team usa.

how the first lady plans to land her presence and her voice to her husband's pitch for the hometown to get the olympics to chicago. we'll have that story for you tonight and the rest of the day's other news on nbc "nightly news." ann, for now, back to you. >> all right, thanks, brian. it is now 8:04. let's go back outside for a check of the weather with al. hey, thanks a lot, ann. we've got some folks here on a chilly mortganing in your jammi how come? >> we're jammin' in our jammies -- >> there you go. >> a comfort-thon. >> okay. >> we're raising money for the organization and we're -- >> what organization? okay, you guys need to get a better spokesperson. but it's for common ground. okay, thanks a lot. wow. helping the homeless, a good thing. all right. let's check your weather, see what's going on. catalina island, nbc 4. partly sunny and breezy, 75 degrees. rest of the country, you can see we've got snow in the rockies and up through utah, sunshine through the pacific northwest, a slight risk of strong storms

later today on into the plains.# mostly cloudy on this wednesday morning, the final day of september. temperatures around the region still in the 50s. will hold steady in the 50s for another hour or so. then, with some sunshine breaking out late this morning into the afternoon, we should warm into the upper 60s to near 70. a blustery northwest wind will keep it cool. a slight chance of a spinkle late afternoon into early evening. 40s around the metro area. highs near 70 and mostly >> and that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al, thanks very much. on the same day that jon gosselin gets cut out of his reality tv show, word comes that now he may want to delay his divorce. what's going on? we'll talk about that right after this. great. yea, mom you're the best.

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tlc's reality show "jon & kate plus 8" will soon be simply "kate plus 8." nbc's chris jansing has the details. >> reporter: when "jon & kate plus 8" debuted in april of 2007, it became a cable hit. eight adorable kids, twins and sex it uplets, and their hairied but loving mom and dad. soon, the family was a media sensati sensation, as the show chronicled their charming, often hilarious exploits. then, months ago, jon was seen out on the town with other woman. what followed was a constant barrage of tabloid stories, pictures of jon with a much joininger haley glassman. there were parties in vegas, vacations with his girlfriend in the south of france, his pronouncemt that he loved haley more than kate. and in june, the episode that would change everything. >> we can't be cordial with one another, then we decided to separate. >> reporter: ten years after their wedding, it was "john and

kate: the split." on the "today" show, an emotional kate told meredith she was still wearing her wedding ring because of the kids. >> sorry. >> that's okay. >> i don't want to upset them. >> reporter: the decision to divorce and all the tabloid drama have sold a lot of magazines, but it's hurt the show. this season's premiere drew a record 10 million plus viewers, but since then, ratings have been down nearly 80%. on tuesday, the learning channel issued a statement saying "the family has evolved and we're attempting to evolve with it. we feel that kate's journey really resonates with our viewers." the show will be renamed "kate plus 8" and will focus on the challenges of being a single mom. it's something kate said she's ready to face. >> in this new age of, if i've never grilled before, i'm going to grill. if i've never camped before, i'm going to camp. it might take me a while, but i can figure it out. >> reporter: the reality of tv and life. it doesn't always work out the way you had planned. for "today," chris jansing, nbc

news, los angeles. >> kate cohen, senior editor at "people" magazine, has covered jon and kate gosselin extensivy over the past few years. kate, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> so, given all the tabloid drama surrounding jon over the summer and the fact the ratings are down for this show, inevitable that this would happen? >> it was inevitable that something was going to have to happen, either the end of the show or a radical reformatting of it. i think it's very clear that given everything that jon in particular has been up to this past summer, showing happy domestic scenes with him and the kids -- >> it wasn't going to cut it. >> it wasn't going to cut it anymore. >> the fact that on the same day that announcement is being made, jon gosselin announces that he would like to suspend his divorce from kate for 90 days. coincidence? >> it's pretty interesting timing. you know, yesterday, i think a lot of people were looking for jon's statement reacting to the news that he was no longer going to be a significant part of the show that made him famous. and instead, this other thing

happens, and what i find particularly interesting is that this plan of his to suspend the divorce, to work things out with kate, to come to some understanding, was news to kate. she had never heard that, and she actually didn't know about it until she read about it. >> well, this idea about suspending the divorce. he's not talking about reconciliation, is he? >> it doesn't appear to be that. what he seems to be saying is he would like a 90-day period in which the pressure of the divorce is off and they can come together, come to terms and figure out a more amicable way to go forward. >> to be civil, blange. >> yes. >> was there any consideration given to the notion that they would cancel the show, that tlc would just cancel it? >> you know, from what i hear, that's not what kate wants. it's not what the kids have indicated they want, you know. both jon and kate have repeatedly said that when the kids don't want to do the show, they won't do the show, and my understanding is that the kids have yet to say, oh, well, we

don't want to do this anymore. they have built up pretty strong relationships with the cameramen, with the crew of that show. they're very close to those people. >> they also said that they remain -- a relationship with jon remains with the network, so, how do they plan to use him? >> well, if you remember the original plan before the activities of this summer happened was that on holidays, special occasions, that the family would come together. they celebrated fourth of july together. and so, i don't think it will be unusual if perhaps a christmas episode, a thanksgiving episode, if certain episodes in which you would expect or hope jon and kate to come together, those shows should feature jon. >> in a press release, the network said it is in development with kate for a kate project in 2010. do you know anything about that? >> no word what that project is, but it's interesting that it's a kate project, not kate and the kids. it's just something that's going to focus on kate, and it remains to be seen if that will happen alongside "kate plus 8" or in place of "kate plus 8."

>> to be continued. why do i feel i'm going to see you here some day very soon, kate coyne? you're never going to get away from us. >> i'll just move in backstage. >> nice to see you. >> thank you. >> the new issue of "people" featuring the latest on the gosselins hits newsstands this friday. up next, professional career-driven women who smoke marijuana. the surprising trend after these messages. ♪ to eat right at work...

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asked us to disguise her identity. >> i am a book editor. i have worked in publishing for several years now. i often smoke pot when i get home from work. >> reporter: the stereo typical pothead depicted by hollywood -- >> this is it, man. this is what your grandchildren are going to be smoking. >> reporter: the jobless, loveless slacker. >> this weed is fantastic! >> reporter: is not the only type of person getting stoned. educated, career-minded, successful women like this 30-something admitted pot-smoker are also lighting up. >> i look at it as a way to just unwind and just relax and sort of decompress. >> according to a recent study, 8 million women in america smoked marijuana in the past year. >> for me, it's the equivalent of having a glass of wine at the end of a long day. >> reporter: an illegal habit she's keeping private. >> at my current job, no one knows that i smoke. my family does know. it's obviously not something that they're super happy about.

i, on the other hand, i have a career. >> in one month, she'll spend roughly $200 or $300 for approximately half an ounce. and even though it's against the law, she's neither worried about getting caught nor becoming addicted. >> i don't walk down the sidewalk blazing joints. i don't sit in the park next to moms with kids and smoke. i'm not worried about addiction. i feel like i'm more addicted to coffee than anything else, and i'm sure millions of people can say the same. >> the changing fac of pot smokers. >> but you're so smart and so together and so organized and you're always on time and i'm like, yes, i am all of those things and i do smoke pot. it's not impossible. >> joanna coals is the editor in chief of "marie claire" and a psychologist of the university school of medicine and author of "weekends at bellevue." good morning, both of you. >> good morning.

>> how did this hit your radar? >> well, really, we were hearing from readers that they were feeling stressed. clearly, the economy is a great deal of stress for people and they wanted a way to unwind. and they found more and more of them were doing this and they found it had less impact on them when they were going to work the next morning. so, they didn't want to drink. it's cheap and they felt they could do it in the privacy of their own home and it was a very effective way to calm down. >> that 8 million number we quoted in the piece, that does not include teenagers who are experimenting with marijuana. you're talking about the 18 to 49-year-olds. we're talking about highly functioning women who, you know, these are not people who are lying on park benches, the typical picture of someone who's addicted to drugs. they're casual, recreational users who find it very effective. >> this comment that we just heard in the piece, where it's st -- i use it instead of having a glass of wine after work. how do you feel about that? is it the same thing? other than the fact that it's illegal? >> well, the fact that it's illegal is a very big deal, you know. people have to hide and they feel like criminals and there's a lot of shame and guilt, and it

ends up making, you know, it decreases self-esteem little bit and it makes it more adrenalized. the fact that you add adrenaline into it and you have to hide and you have shame can make it more addiive and more dangerous. >> i have to say, that's not what we are hearing from readers. first of all, it's dedrinlized in 15 states, and i don't think this is a generation of people who get excited about the fact that it's illegal. i think they tried it in college and they're going back to something because these are times of real stress, and i don't think they're excited about the fact it's illegal. and honestly, it's not very difficult to get. that's the other thing. we talked to people who had dealers in their offices. >> one woman in your piece said it's like her bubble bath. >> right. >> but when you make comments like that, and i think what i was getting at with you, doctor, when you say equate it to a glass of wine, are you ignoring a darker side of this issue? >> well, it is a drug like alcohol is a drug or like coffee, caffeine, cigarettes. so, it's just -- it's very different than alcohol. it's more of a mind drug.

i feel alcohol's sort of a deadening, numbing, maybe more like a body drug. so, people are unwinding and they're relaxing, but they're also able to think and maybe analyze or think clearly, pull back and see the macro, maybe make some changes in your lives. i think cannabis is more of a psycho therapeutic drug that can be more functional than alcohol certainly in terms of anxiety. it can be a treatment or a medicine. >> and post-publication of this article, is the feedback from viewers changing at all? >> well, feedback from our readers is really that they're very pleased that they recognize themselves. i mean, it's not a piece condoning it. it's a piece saying, look, this is going on, how do we feel about it? and a lot of people have written in saying you know what, i do this too and i'm really glad you've shone a light on it because i need to hear other people are doing it. >> that's also what i'm hearing. i think the behavior needs to be normalized. the countries that are regulated have got less use, not more. >> doctor, joanna, thanks very much. appreciate it. just ahead, our "money 911."

8:26 is the time. 59 degrees. a lot of sunshine. some clouds above us right now. we will get the forecast from meteorologist, tom kierein. good morning. i'm joe krebs. in the news today, a new law that takes effect tomorrow banning drivers in texting and driving in maryland. if they are caught, they will faes a $500 fine. drivers cannot write or send text messages, they are allowed

to receive them a read them. also, starting tomorrow, speed cameras will be turned on along highway work zones. those caught going more than 12 miles per hour over the speed limit, will face a $40 fine. we'll come back to look at

mostly cloudy. still in the 50s. afternoon, near 70. clouding up late afternoon with a slight chance of a sprinkle

and blustery wind. highs tomorrow near 70. how is the traffic, ashley? tlin things are starting to look better. springfield to and across the 14th down to 70, it will be slow if you leave falls road down towards the beltway. joe, back to you. more news at 8:55. a reminder, news 4 is always

♪ 8:30 now on this wednesday morning, september 30th, 2009. you're looking at all the good people visiting us this morning as you listen to the music of

mariah carey. and this friday she'll be right here on the plaza for a very special live concert. she was here yesterday talking a little bit about it. it's very exciting. just ahead, something to warm us up on this chilly morning out here. >> it is chilly. >> it's cold. >> you know what's going to warm us up? >> what? >> meatballs. >> ah, spicy meatballs! >> but not just any meatballs. we are going to help to make the most famous meatballs in new york city, courtesy of that gentleman right there, mr. pellegrino. >> those are big meatballs. >> those are reyos 6-ounce meatballs and we're going to be fixing them up in a few minutes. >> i guess the forecast would be "cloudy with a chance of meatballs." >> that has done so well. coming up also this morning, what should your monthly household budget look like? is it ever okay to borrow against your retirement or renovate your home? our "money 911" panelists are standing by to answer your questions this morning. >> go ahead. >> bread and butter. and a reminder, we are searching for "today's kid reporter." if you know a child between 8

and 12, have them shoot a story and send it to us. it should be no longer that be a minute. mail it by october 7th to 30 rockefeller plaza, new york, new york, 10112. official rules posted on todayshow.com. >> now -- >> yes? >> could we please bring in michelle tractenberg, who plays nurse chloe payne on nbc medical drama "mercy." great having you here. >> hi. thank you. >> there's going to be a lot of act recesses around the country right now hating you because you weren't even looking to do another recess. >> no. >> you were shooting another serious, "gossip girl" -- >> i was. >> and this kind of fell into your lap. >> it did, in the most loveliest way. the women in charge that make things happened just thought i would be a great match. it's incredibly flattering and completely different from "gossip girl," so it's a good mix. >> tell us about chloe payne. >> well, she's a nurse and her

last name is pain. that really gives confidence to the patient when i put the needle in there. >> she's very naive, too. >> yeah. she's very naive. she's new in the hospital and basically all she wants to do is save lives. and you know, we're trying as actresses to honor the men and women who really are nurses and do extraordinary things every day. >> and that's why they changed her name to chloe payne from chloe not practiced for the first week -- >> that's for the doctors. we don't need that. >> your outfits sometimes are crazy, and that's what's crazy, thinking you'd be a perfect match because she's wearing like hello kitty outfits. >> there's a lot of color. i don't think i've ever worn so many bright colors in my life. it's like the easter bunny designed my clothes, but we're good. it's much more comfortable than stilettos. >> you've had so many wonderful movies and now television. for such a young lady to have your kind of success. >> you know, it's all a credit to my mom. she's an extraordinary woman and i grew up here in new york. i grew up in brooklyn and -- >> is she watching?

>> she is. >> we have to say hello. >> she's in l.a. -- oh, thank you. she's been behind me and believed in me in every step and any time i'm worried or scared, she's right there. and she's really proud of "mercy," so we're happy. >> if she were here, she would remind people to watch "mercy" tonight at 8:00/7:00 central time here on nbc. good luck with it. great to have you here. >> thank you, guys. >> nice to have somebody appreciate their mom. >> i know your three appreciate -- >> yes, they do. don't you! >> you'd better. this mom over here. anyway, let's take a look, show you what's going on as far as your weather is concerned and we'll show you for the weekend, wet weather here in the northeast, mid-atlantic down in florida. mountain snows in the pacific northwest. showers around the great lakes. everywhere else looking pretty nice. then sunday, sunday! heavy rain in new england, more mountain snows from the pacific northwest down into the rockies. wet weather through texas, mild ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç7

gray, overcast sky over capitol hill. a live view from our city camera. final day of september. cool start to the day with temperatures in the 50s all around the region. we will get sunshine breaking out from time to time. a blustery, northwest wind. slight chance of a sprinkle late afternoon. maybe some frost out on the mountains. >> and that's your latest weather. now let's all say hello to my willie scott! how are you,sir? >> octoberfest. >> yes! oom-pa-pa. >> little sause, some pretzels and some beer. >> oh, yeah. >> fix you a beer. good for you. healthy. liquid bread. happy octoberfest. it will be tomorrow, i know. happy days. take a look at our birthday

buddies. today, pleasant this morning, not cold, but just pleasant. typical end of september. lerda. she is 100 years old today. plays piano weekly for the alzheimer's group. we wish her the best. she likes to sing, too. her. musical lady. ruth dingman of saginaw, michigan, one of the great towns in america. 101. second try to get on the show. glad we were paying attention. enjoys playing scrabble, attributes her longevity to having a quality family life. can't beat that. you can't beat that. jose rivero, zavalla, texas, 103. avid çdi÷ñreader. spanish and in english. has great faith and believes that's his secret. and i'm sur it is. theresa illos of buffalo, new york, 100 years old today. never misses her morning coffee with her friend mr. daniels.

still drives her siblings wherever they want to go, after the jack. good heavens. dixie, dixie taylor is from linden, alabama, 101. retired grocery store operator. right, live right and stay away from the doctor and you'll live forever. tell president obama about that, part of the new health plan. no doctor. pearl sanchez of moorehead, north carolina, 100 years old. lived in cuba untilhe was 19, has traveled all over the world and loves her afternoon scotch. how about that? we've got a drinking crowd. we've got to have a party. meredith, do you like a little wine occasionally for dinner? >> well, meredith has actually gone to have a drink, willard, and so i'm here, but i'm sure -- >> the sauce, right? >> exactly right. willard, good seeing you, pal. thanks. when we come back, the secret to making the world's most famous meatballs, courtesy of chef pellegrino.

jñ meatballs, meatballs, meatballs, meatballs, meatballs ♪ this morning on "today's kitchen," back to basics. october is italian heritage month, and we are getting a jump on things with some of the most famous italian meatballs in the world. pellegrino is the owner of reyos here in new york and the owner of the "rao's cookbook." sorry about my side kick here. we love meatballs, but we're desperate to get a table at rao's. it's very hard. >> we're going to try to keep it that way. >> good try, though. all right, fine. >> we've got raw meat here, frank, be careful. >> you've got raw meat and i want to get you started. >> what's the raw meat? >> this is two pounds of half beat, quarter pork, quarter veal. >> have your butcher mix it up for you? >> have your butcher or they even sell it in supermarkets

like that. >> this will make how much meatballs for a family? >> 14 to 16 meatballs. about that size, about two inch in diameter. we've got to get you started. first of all, spread out the chopped meat like it is now. >> with our hands? >> no, it's already spread out. if you want to put your hands in there -- >> now this is like a large clove of garlic that's been minced. >> okay. >> now i want you to spread that around on the meat. spread it around. >> with my hands? >> fantastic. >> get your fingers dirty. good, good, good, that's enough. that's enough. now we're going to do little salt and pepper. >> want to do that, matt? >> go ahead. >> how much? >> it's a half a teaspoon to a whole teaspoon of salt. >> pepper? >> good. >> yes, we're going to do about half a teaspoon of black pepper in there. >> excellent. >> that's the best part. >> we're going to do the parsley. this is about a tablespoon of chopped parsley. >> where does this recipe come from? >> italy. >> this comes from my aunt, my mother. this is a real neopolitan way of

making meatballs. no, not yet. not yet. >> oh, what'd i do? >> frank, i'll handle this. okay. >> put those two eggs -- >> yeah? >> i use one egg per pound. okay, we've got that. >> now you put your hand in it. >> no, not yet. now what we're going to do is put the water. about half a cup -- >> how much is that? wow. >> we're going to put all of that. now we're going to put the cheese. >> just let frank tell you what to do. >> this is two cups. >> two cups, i see it. >> all of it? >> just put it in. >> yes. >> now what? >> now a cup of breadcrumbs. >> give me -- i can't cook thout a hat! >> you can't cook with a hat. >> now put it in? >> now put your hands in there and mix it all up. mix it good. >> i'm thinking about that -- >> but frank, you don't want to go too crazy handling this, especially in the packing time, right? >> exactly. you don't want to overhandle

it -- >> why? >> because it makes it dense. >> you want the chuck meat to be a little loose, but moist. >> you're really a perfectionist. >> you're doing really good. >> that looks great. >> all right. >> very nice. >> good. >> all right, matt, your turn. >> you want to mix it a little bit? >> no, i want to start to form some meatballs. >> it needs little bit more mixing. >> more mixing? >> all right, get it evenly distributed. now you can make the meatballs. >> we want these two inch in diameter meatballs, you say. but again, we're not handling them too much. >> no, you don't want to handle them too much. >> a lot of people like to bake their meatballs. we're going to fry them, right? >> frying them gives them more flavor, more taste. >> but it's worse for you, isn't it? >> you mean worse for you healthwise? no, olive oil is good for you. >> how do you know if the oil's ready? >> in the olive oil, this is two cups of olive oil. that's a ten-inch frying pan. and what we do is we put the garlic in. and you wait to see that the garlic starts to bubble and starts to move.

>> and that means the oil's ready? >> then you know that the oil's about ready. >> can we throw them right in? >> yeah, this one has been heating up for a while, so -- >> it's starting to bubble. >> throw them in. >> don't throw them in. it's oil. >> he said throw them in. >> gently place them in. >> you said throw. i heard a throw. all right, water. >> is there osha around here or something like that? >> osha -- all right, is that enough? >> that's good. >> how my minutes on each side there? >> about five minutes on each side. >> then you flip them over? >> with a thing, though, not with your hands. >> and wait until the bottom browns because -- >> fool. >> did you ever bob for meatballs? >> go ahead, you can continue. >> okay. >> then the meatballs are going to look like this. >> they absorb a lot -- >> you know what, some people put an ice cube in the middle of the meatball an say it makes it moister. adventu have you ever done that? >> i don't believe in that, no. i've never done that and i don't

know who would. >> that was a ridiculous question. ridiculous. i apologize. >> did that hurt my chances of getting a table at rao's? >> no. >> okay, good. >> then we add the meatballs to the sauce. >> the marinara sauce. >> you like special tomatoes, though. what kind? >> samozana tomatoes. >> are you still acting, by any chance? >> i'm still acting. >> you were in "the sopranos." >> yes, i was. >> and where are you acting right now? >> i'm not acting anything right now. i think i'm washed up. >> no, not at all. >> it's over for me. >> this hasn't helped your career, i can tell you that. >> then we let them cook about a half hour in the sauce and they're ready. they absorb some sauce. then we'll give you a sample -- >> for people who aren't familiar with rao's, if you're in a different part of e country, it's an incredible restaurant, tough to get into. there is only 35 seats, right? >> no, no, ten tables and 50 seats. and then we have the restaurant in las vegas. serve a year?

>> believe it or not, we count thaemd last year. we did over 13,000 meatballs at little rao's. at big rao's in caesars, we did over 100,000 meatballs. >> wow. that's a lot of meatballs. >> that's pretty good. >> that's a lot of meatballs. how many do you serve per plate? >> two. >> can you ask for three? >> sure, you can. >> her last night at rao's. >> no. >> are you still singing? >> not at 8:30 in the morning. >> oh, come on, come on. ♪ >> in fact, i don't know how you eat meatballs at 8:30 in the morning. what are we doing? >> we're singing. >> we're listening to "it's amour." ♪ >> you can sing at 8:30. you can sing at any time. still ahead, what you should know if you know you're going to be laid off. but first, this is "today." >> i'm getting a table. i know that.

we're back now at 8:48, and now to our special series "today's call to action." this morning, nbc's peter alexander introduces us to one young american who is trying desperately to save thousands of lives in iraq. >> reporter: this is what kirk johnson calls the saddest list in the world, the names of more than 3,000 iraqis, brave men and women who assisted the americans as translators, office workers and drivers, now desperate to emigrate to the u.s. at home, they've been branded as collaborators and fear for their lives. >> the people on my list, they've had their children kidnapped, they've had family members killed, and in the end, their decision to work for the americans has cost them their country. they have no future in iraq. >> reporter: those stories haunt this 28-year-old who says we owe

it to those iraqis to give them a new home. >> our goal is to help them get here, find a place of refuge and safety in the united states. we have that obligation to them. >> reporter: for johnson, that sense of obligation comes from personal experience. in 2005, the young arabic scholar arrived in iraq as an aid worker for the u.s. agency for international development, quickly befriending many iraqis helping americans rebuild their country. johnson admired their commitment and their courage. >> one colleague of mine had kept his work with us a secret for several years, and one day he was getting a haircut in the red zone, as the americans call it, and when he reached into his pocket to take out some money, he accidentally dropped his u.s. government bge on the ground, and the next day he was killed. >> reporter: johnson witnessed the war's violence firsthand during his year in iraq, and those images took their toll.5 while vacationing with his family that christmas, johnson,

unaware he had post-traumatic stress syndrome, experienced a freak accident, sleepwalking out a second story window. he was severely injured and his dream of helping rebuild iraq was shattered. johnson returned to the u.s. and spent nearly a year recovering from his injuries, suffering from depression and struggling to figure out what to do next, until one day he received an e-mail from a former iraqi colleague, an e-mail that would change his life. >> he got identified by a militia member as a collaborator working for the americans and the very next day he came home and found a dog's head on his front steps with a note pinned to it saying his head would be next. >> they were targeting him for assassination. >> yeah, because he had been working for us. >> reporter: johnson, who knew nothing about the refugee resettlement process or its obstacles, wrote an op ed piece, hoping it might expedite his friend's admission to the u.s. almost immediately, johnson's inbox was flooded with requests

from other iraqis who had worked for the u.s., all begging for help. >> are you doing okay? >> reporter: two years ago, johnson created what he calls the list project, with more than 200 lawyers donating their time, the foundation has helped nearly 500 iraqis resettle here in the u.s. among them, 26-year-old halla, who worked as a translato the u.s. army, a job that nearly cost her her life. >> the threats were, you either stop working or we're going to cut your throat. >> reporter: she escaped to egypt where she first learned about kirk johnson. >> kirk was the only person who cared, and i don't know how he did it but he succeeded to bring us here, and this is amazing. he saved my life. >> reporter: halla now lives in virginia, an analyst for a defense contractor. >> hey! >> reporter: basma and feraz also received death threats for their work with the u.s. thanks to johnson, they now live

outside washington, d.c., no longer in constant fear. >> i am safe and my children are safe. i can send them to school, i can let them play in the playground and with no fear like they can get shot. >> reporter: johnson says it's urgent that the obama administration act now. on a recent trip to he met th dozensjiyóñ of iraqis st waiting to get to the u.s., all terrified of what will happen when the americans withdraw. >> in another year or so, our combat troops are going to be out, and as our footprint shrinks, so will our ability to help these people. >> reporter: johnson says we as a nation have a moral imperative to stand up for those who stood by us in iraq. for "today," peter alexander, nbc news, boston. >> and there is much more to come on this wednesday morning, but first, this is "today"

way to track your family's monthly expenses. >> i still can't believe you threw a meatball -- >> i didn't throw a -- >> -- into boiling oil. >> i didn't. i considered throwing you into boiling oil. >> all right, blanch. >> but you wouldn't fit into the pan. >> what's wrong with you? >> where do we start? >> i know. >> anyway. >> we'll talk about things you may not know you can order at fast-food chains.

a live look outside. beautiful picture of the white house on this wednesday morning. 8:56 is our time. 59 degrees. the final day of september. good morning. i'm joe krebs. in the "news 4 today," firefighters say no one was inside a home that went up in flames in annandale this morning. that fire ripped through this house on bristow drive. the fire was so damaged it became unstable. neighbors initially gave conflicting reports about whether the home was vacant. firefighters have since said it was unoccupied.

♪ that's bano and u 2. it was part of the north american 360 tour. a gigantic stage to see the performance from all sides. let's take a break and come back

good morning. sunshine breaking out around the region. our temperatures are around 60, will peek near 70 late afternoon. a blustery northwest wind. chilly tomorrow morning. afternoon highs near 70 and mostly sunny. could get rain on saturday. how is the traffic, ashley? traveling around the capital beltway, outer loop, very slow. new accident jus before georgia avenue. elsewhere, we do have some big problems. if you are traveling along the inner loop of the beltway, it will be slow along springfield at 76. from pots and

we are back now with more of "today" on a wednesday morning, 30th day of september, 30th and final day of september 2009. 92 days left in the year. ansome nice people sticking around on the plaza this morning to say hi to the people back home. >> a little brisk. >> it is a little brisk. >> already feels like october. >> sure. >> good thing. >> yes. gee, just in time. >> a few hours away. how does it know?

>> unbelievable! >> i know, right? >> out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer along with the future predictor, natalie morales, and al roker. coming up this half hour, we're going to talk about this serious story. there was a huge earthquake out in the south pacific. it triggered a massive tsunami that affected samoa and parts of american samoa. the president has declared that u.s. territory a major disaster area. we're going to get the latest on that situation coming up in just a little while. and then from our financial files, of course, it's wednesday, so that means it's "today's money 911." it means our team of experts getting ready to answer your money questions. among them -- should you borrow against your retirement savings plan? and how do you prepare for an impending job loss? we're going to get the answers to these and a lot of other questions. also, an empowering guide for the working mom. studies show that a happy mom usually makes for a happy family, which makes a lot of sense. we're going to find out the secret to balancing a career and kids. can it really be done? can you have it all? and we are going to tell you about the secret menu items that

are on your favorite fast-food restaurant. they're there, but they don't tell you they're there. >> really? so you have to askor it. >> that's right. >> then it's not a secret anymore. >> well, it's to the folks who don't watch this segment. >> right. >> dun, dun, dun. >> let's get the headlines. ann's at the news desk with that. >> good morning. an intense search is under way for survivors on the south pacific islands of samoa and america samoa. a massive tsunami was triggered tuesday by a powerful magnitude 8 offshore earthquake, and it flattened entirely villages. officials report at least 99 people have died with many others still missing. president obama has declared a major disaster area in american samoa, expediting aid to the u.s. territory. this morning, meredith spoke with alex godinet in american samoa and he described what happened in his village. >> was released from school and kids, 7-year-olds, was just

running home and he got hit right in the middle of the street by the wave, the surprise. because downstairs, speaking to my sister, she owns a business down in the village. when the quake was shaking, they would ran outside, stand outside, and after when it stopped, they just walked back inside, and when they turned around, there was this huge wave, about 20 feet. it was right there. so, they didn't have nowhere. they just grabbed anything they can to try to survive. >> meantime, a tsunami warning has been lifted for western indonesia after a strong earthquake there today collapsed buildings and sent residents running interest their homes. the magnitude 7.9 quake there took place along the same fault line that triggered the asian tsunami of 2004. this morning, iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad said tomorrow's talks in geneva with the united states and five other nations will be a test of their respect for iran's rights. the u.s. is trying to persuade

iran to scrap its nuclear ambitions or face tougher sanctions. after meeting with nato's secretary-general on tuesday, president obama meets with top u.s. commanders in the war in afghanistan today, where he considers whether or not to send more troops there. today the senate finance committee keeps working on its version of its health care reform bill, but it will apparently not include the so-called public option. two separate efforts to include a government-run insurance option failed on tuesday. in its largest u.s. recall ever, toyota is recalling almost 4 million cars. this is because of floor mats that can come loose and cause the gas pedal to get stuck. the recall was triggered by a deadly crash in california that killed four people in august. the recall includes the camry, the prius and some lexus models. for more information on this, go to our website at todayshow.com. and a south african diamond mine has given the world a new rock star. this diamond in the rough weighs 507 karats.

it's the size of a chicken egg. experts say in terms of size and quality, it is one of the top 20 gemstones ever unearthed. it is now four minutes past the hour. let's get another check of the weather from al. >> that's a nice piece of ice. all right, thanks a lot, ann. let's check your weather, see what's happening for today. well, we've got a big storm out west. temperatures are going to be 20 to 30 degrees colder than normal. heavy snow above 8,000 feet back through the central rockies and on into the mountains of utah. that's today. now, for tonight, ahead of that system, we've got a risk of strong storms with maybe some hail, high winds and isolated tornadoes possible from wichita, ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç# cloudy in washington. a little sun breaking out elsewhere. live pictures from our city camera. there is capitol hill in the distance. highs today near 70. a blustery northwest wind will increase by the afternoon. a small chance of a sprinkle by late afternoon. tomorrow morning, frost in the

mountains. 40s around the metro ar. bright and sunny during the day. highs near 70. ♪ 911 and now onto our wednesday special, "today's money 911," solutions to your financial problems. our team of experts is back to answer your questions. we have "today's" financial editor jean chatzky, the founder of finishrich.c, david bach, and cnbc -- i like that move, david, very nice -- and cnbc's personal finance expert karim everyone wong ullrich. natalie is outside taking questions from the crowd. everybody ready? >> let's go! >> ready. >> all right, here we go. we've got a video question here. this one is from abbi, who lives in rhode island. >> as new parents, my husband and i are coming to realize the importance of a formal household budget. do you have any suggestions for a basic software program that would help us to track and

manage our family's expenses? >> jean, how about this one? >> well, there are a number of software programs out there. there's quicken, there is ace money. there are a bunch of them, but i would encourage you to look beyond software and look to the internet, because the software programs are about $40. you can get free services on the internet from mint, jezio, again, quicken has an option online. and these will allow you to actually dump your credit card statements and your bank statements right into the website so that you can see how you're doing in terms of expenses in realtime. they're sort of leading the way as far as things go. the slide that you saw earlier was actually a breakdown of what you need to know as far as budgeting in general. you need to understand that you have to divide up your money in terms of the categories of your life -- housing, transportation, other debts, that' your stunt loan and your credit card debts, your savings, 10%. you cannot steal from that category. and everything else in your life. and that will help you work together with one of these budgeting programs in order to

get it right. >> and what's great about some of the programs, though, is that also, too, there's a community of folks out there like jezio, where you have a community around you that can help you manage your money with them. >> yeah. >> so it's a great team behind you, too. >> all righty. now we've got a phone call coming in. we've got tricia from california. tricia, good morning. what's your question? >> good morning. thank you for taking my question. >> you bet. >> so, my husband's employer just a few weeks ago announced a plant closure in march of '10, and with the current situation regarding the economy and finding new jobs, especially with everyone doing the same job-hunting, what should we be doing right now in planning for -- you know, we own our home. unfortunately, a few years ago, things were looking better when we owned more than our home was worth. so, at this point, should we be short sealialing, should we foreclose, should we pay everything off? should we not pay everything off

and save. >> and tricia, do you have kids? >> we do. we have four. >> carmen? >> i hear you rattling off all the responsibilities. first, be very calm about what's going on. you have until march. this is a really good thing. it's an advantage that a lotf people don't have right now. >> right. >> so, you've got six months, tricia, okay. so, here's wha i you need to d. put the family on lockdown. >> okay. >> real lockdown. no non-essential spending. act as if that income was not there for the next six months. cut all your expenses that you can, whether it's bills or movie channels, all of that. also, too, look now for a part-time job, if you can find one, which i know in this economy is hard, but if it's walking a dog, babysitting, whatever you can put so that you can save money. you've got six months. your husband has to act as if he's unemployed now and look for a job. if it takes six to eight months to find a new one, this is going to give you the time and cushion to be ahead of the game. and hopefully, he'll get the job before you need to go into this emergency money,ydas÷ but pallu mortgage, absolutely. do not foreclose on your home. >> and those budgeting tools we

were talking about before for tricia, they could be really useful right now, because a lot of people lose track of where their money's actually going. >> so they know where the money's coming in and going out. now let's go to a skype question from jennifer, who lives in new jersey. good morning, jennifer. >> hi. >> hey there. pardon? >> and a friend. >> and a friend. your husband. >> so, we wanted to do some home improvements on our house, which includes putting solar panels on, and we need to upgrade the electric and put a new roof and probably cut back a tree. so, my husband suggests borrowing against his 403b to do this. it's 2% interest over five years to pay it off. is this a good idea? >> david's here. i can already tell you, i know what the answer to that is, jennifer. and what's your husband's name, jennifer? >> german. >> german, okay, guys. >> before i say no to you, plate start with the solar panels, because this is good for you to

hear and all of america to hear now. green is green. the truth of the matter is, putting in energy-efficient appliances into your home will ultimately save you money long-term. it's good for the planet. it will be good for your pocketbook. government will absolutely help you right now pay for those solar panels and anything you do r your home that's energy-efficient. so write this website down. go to energystar.gov. in the search window, energystar.gov, i want you to put "tax credits." up will pop all the new tax credits that are available. now, you don't have to do them right now. you have until 2016. but al, here's the interesting thing on those solar panels. the government will pay for 30% of them right now -- >> wow. >> -- with the tax credit. >> that's good news,d;áwñ but w about borrowing against the 403b. >> i don't want you to do that. just start saving money and putting money aside. >> what is a 403b? >> it's like a 401(k) or in your case, it's a non-profit or for teachers. you have the same features. you can borrow money from it but you have the same problem, if you lose your job, you have to pay back that loan, and if you don't pay it back, you'll get hit with a 10% penalty and taxes

on all the money they take out. so, i don't want you borrowing money from your plan. i also want to say this, i don't want them to get sucked into some of these deals that you'll see when you go get appliances or solar panels, where they'll say, it's 0% interest for a year, because what they're really going to do is jack up your interest on that loan to 20%, 25% or 30%. so i want you to save money. if you borrow any money, i recommend a home equity loan with a low rate that's ideally fixed below 6% right now. >> jennifer and german, good luck with that renovation. now there's been a lot of fallout with the continuing bank credit card policies. we have an e-mail from carol in alabama about this. she writes -- "i received a letter from the bank stating they would discontinue my credit card program as of october 31st. my account will be closed. will this affect my fico score? i know that if i close a credit card account, it will affect my fico score, but this closure is not being done by me." carmen? >> this is the thing, it will affect your score, and here's

how. first of all, you'll get a ding from credit history, especially if you have a long history with this card, but the big cut on your credit score is debt utilization. what happened is let's say she had a line of $10,000 of credit on that that is being taken away, so that means that her utilization ratio is going to go up. what she can do, if you need your credit score now, she needs it, she can apply for another card to replace that line of credit. if you don't necessarily need your credit score in the next year or so, time will heal this wound. you can get some more credit, but the best way is to place what you've lost in terms of that credit line. >> or to pay down debt. >> of course, right. >> the other thing you can do is work on paying down the outstanding debt you have to bring the ratio back in line, because it is a ratio. >> definitely. >> we're going to take a break, but next, when to dip into your 401(k) and more answers to your questions. then later, some advice for working moms so that at the end of the day, everybody's happy, including mom. but first, these messages. meet sam, he's a born athlete.

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we're back with more help with your financial problems. financial editor. david bach -- give us that move again. the founder of finishrich.com. and carmen wong ulrich is cnbc's personal finance expert. natalie morales is outside with questions. natalie, what's the question? >> that's right, i have jean here from ohio, and jean, you have a very good question for our panel. >> yes, i do. as a retired widow who sold her own business and has all of her money invested and trusted with a financial adviser, it's depleting. how do i know for sure that i can trust that gentleman, that

financial adviser to do what's best for me? >> that's a good question. >> great question. >> and here's the thing, you have to look at how your assets are doing compared to everybody else's assets. the markets have been depleting, so, just the fact that your accounts are going down or have been going down, although they should have been going up more recently, doesn't necessarily mean -- >> a lot. >> a lot, yeah. it doesn't necessarily mean that your financial adviser is doing a bad job, but something is telling me that you don't feel comfortable with this person, and that's worrisome. you need to be able to have a conversation with this person like you would have with your doctor, where you spill out everything that is bothering you and everything that's wrong. and if you can't have that conversation, it doesn't necessarily mean they're a bad adviser. it means they're a bad adviser for you. >> also, the most important thing is you really need to know what you own. we get this question on the street every day. well, i'm not doing well. what do you own? so i would go back and meet with that adviser and have them lay out for you, what do you own? are you in stocks, mutual funds? do you have one money manager?

is your adviser outsourcing it out to another money manager? my guess is you don't know what you own, and that's where to start. if you don't know what you own, it's impossible for you fog comfortable, and the way to start is to have that meeting. >> and if you're really suspicious and you haven't checked them out, go to sec.gov and do a background check. any time you bring someby on to manage your money, do a background check first. >> there's a follow-up question, right, natalie? >> i think the question she's asking, too -- i mean, she has all of her money tied up with this adviser. should she diversify a little bit? >> absolutely. that's one of the things we learned from the madoff scandal is it's not enough just to diversify your assets between different categories. you may want to have different pools of money with different people and it gives you incentive to say the adviser over here is doing better than you are and you need to pick up your game a little bit. >> let me ask you, who do you clear through? find out who the adviser clears through. are you with a major brokerage firm? >> yes, i am, and i'm also very comfortable with that brokerage firm and what they're doing for me right now, but my question, i

think, is trying to understand better is, is it better, like you just said, to diversify with more than one group or stay with one and then diversify those funds? >> i think that it is a good idea to diversify in both ways these days, and particularly if you're feeling as if you've got all your eggs in one basket because you're notgq sure how they're performing, then it is a good idea to split it up. just make sure that as you then go he did and y go ahead and look at your assets as a whole, that you're not repeating things, layering on top of each other. >> we have to get one more in from skype. this is robin and it concerns insurance. robin, good morning. >> good morning. >> all right, what's your question? >> my husband and i purchased a used 2006 vehicle, and with that, we purchased an extended warranty, and we have approximately $58,000 in debt,

which includes student loans, the vehicle and remainder is credit cards, and when we purchased the extended warranty, we put that on our credit card. we're making monthly payments on that. my question is, would it be beneficial for us to cancel that extended warranty and pay off the credit card and set the money aside for needed repairs if it arises or should we keep that extended warranty and go from there? >> jean? >> robin, have you used the extended warranty yet? >> no, we have not. >> okay. >> we were in a vehicle accident and hadxtensive front end work done and the mechanic assured us that the vehicle is in better than new condition. >> good shape? >> yeah, generally, if you use them, you can't then go ahead and cancel them. in this case, it's not a bad idea to cancel them, although if you've got $58,000 in debt and you're paying, what, $100 a month on this warranty, it's going to be a drop in the bucket and you need to make bigger changes in your life to get

yourself outf this debt. if you couldn't afford to repair your car and you would end up putting it on the credit card, i might hang with the warranty. >> yeah. >> and also, the way they works in the real world is the moment you cancel that -- >> of course. >> the car will break down tomorrow. >> $1,000 here -- >> then you'll call us back up and say, oh, my god, smack with us $5,000 apiece. i agree with jean, you keep -- >> there are other places to find -- >> cut back. >> cut back. jean chatzky, david bach, carmen wong ulrich, thank you as always for the advice. still to come, the secret foods you can order from your drive-through. i feel like i have to wind myself up just to get out of bed. then...well... i have to keep winding myself up to deal with the sadness, the loss of interest, the trouble concentrating, the lack of energy. if depression is taking so much out of you, ask your doctor about pristiq®. (announcer) pristiq is a prescription medicine proven to treat depression. pristiq is thought to work by affecting the levels of two chemicals in the brain,

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so, we're having a pajama party out here for a good cause. a number of companies have teamed up to basically create a pajama drive that would give laundered p.j.s to homeless men and women to help them transition back into life. brooke barrett with co-ceo of afinia hotels, and they're involved. brooke, good morning. >> good morning. >> you have a number of companies, yours, land's end and ben and jerry's, and basically, you're asking people to donate their pajamas? >> correct. >> and any used pajamas for people of what ages? >> for men and women. our hotels, afinia hotels are all about comfort, and to me, there's nothing more comfortable than ice cream and pajamas, so we're partnering with ben & jerry's and land's end. >> so you're going to launder

the pajamas and give them to an organization who's going to give them out to people. >> that's correct. >> how will the organization be helped? >> the organization is common ground, and common ground is a pioneer in their approach to homelessness. so, they will be givinghese pajamas to homeless men and women that are transitioning off the street into permanent housing. >> and so, people can find out more about this on our website if you want some more information. >> correct. >> and so, thank you so much, all of you, for being here in your pajamas this morning. we've got much more coming up after this. big deal. you're delicious. so what. i've got news for you. there's no such thing... ...as a bear sheriff. you think i'm afraid of you? hey what? you don't have to be mean to the cake. i do. you don't. i do. just eat yoplait light. they have great flavors like... boston cream pie, raspberry cheesecake. even though i work here, i've lost weight. wow. yeah. carry on. (announcer) 28 delicious flavors at around 100 calories each.

hotels. we have a cloudy sky above us on this last day of the month of september, 2009. good morning. 9:26 is our time right now. i'm barbara harrison. in the news right now, starting tomorrow, drivers will be banned from texting behind the wheel in maryland. if they are caught, they will face a $500 fine. the law might be hard to enforce, though. drivers can't write or send text messages. they are allowed to read them. also, starting tomorrow, speed

cameras will be turned on along highway work zones. those caught going more than 12 miles per hour over the speed limit will face the $40 fine. we will be back and take a look at tra

sunshine breaking out. temperatures climb to near 70 this afternoon. a small chance of a passing afternoon sprinkle. tomorrow, sunny. a chilly start in the morning. maybe frost in the mountains. afternoon highs near 70. lots of sun shichblt increasing clouds on friday. might get a shower late friday night. off and on showers are likely on saturday it appears. drying out on sunday. should be good weather for the skins and bucks in fedex fields. monday, sunny and warmer. steve, how is our traffic? heavy and slowing on

southbound 270 in germantown. this is the delay down to the work zone near route 118 that's blocking the right lane. things much better as you head north on i-95. from pots to pans, mugs to measuring

♪ ♪ touch my body ♪ that is pop superstar mariah carey singing "touch my body," and she's just out with her 12th album, "memoirs of an imperfect angel," and she will be here live to perform on our plaza friday. so, if you're in town, along

with the thousands of others who will be stopping by, come on down and join us here for a fantastic concert. >> good ludy from "30 ro." >> that's right, oh, yeah. jack, the page. >> that's right. very nice. wow. >> nice. >> lucky jack. there's a new book out, you guys, that we'll talk about this half hour about the do's and dont's when you have a baby and you come back to work. what you should talk about, you know, what you should be doing. in fact, it even talks about what you should be doing before you go on your maternity leave. so, anyway, we'll be talking about that this morning because a lot of women who want to become mothers really struggle with this. >> absolutely. >> okay. >> then we'll head up to "today's kitchen," where our chef is preparing a delicate -- thank you for helping me with the french. wild mushroom spinach salad and a brown butter vinaigrette. >> ooh. >> brown butter vinaigrette. >> sous pretty perfect.

>> now, we've got some food here that eric might not approve of, but did you know that there are secret foods available at many fast-food chains that are not on the menu? you have to know to ask for them. there's a new list that's been compiled by "mental floss" magazine. >> "mental floss" magazine. >> interesting, okay. >> there is one that's interesting here, because a lot of people, because they're trying to save money, don't realize that the starbucks can actually come in a smaller version that's not on the menu, but you can actually ask for this. i'm not sure what it's called. >> it's called the short. >> and it costs less money. so, if you only have change in your pocket and you're not sure you can -- >> and it's only for the hot beverage. >> exactly. >> eight ounces, though. >> that's good to know. >> if you don't want as much of a caffeine kick. >> this is from subway. this is a pizza sub with pepperoni, marinara sauce and cheese. they had this in the '90s, but they rebanded it as a healthy menu. but if you ask for the pizza sub -- >> they'll make it special for you. from popeyes, this is the naked

chicken option, for those of you that are healthier, don't want the breading on the chicken. so it comes without that. a little bit healthier there. >> and then mcdonald's has the neopolitan shake. >> that looks good. >> so, these are not necessarily healthy for you, they're just not on the menu. >> no, these are secret. >> these are special-order options. >> why don't they put them on the menu? >> well, some of them were on the menu, but they took them off and they still make it. this is like neopolitan ice cream. >> i've got to try that. sorry. >> and last but not least -- >> can't even get this in the straw. >> from wendy's, the meat cube! you know, you can get the grand slam, when you just have three patties isn't just enough, they add a fourth. >> there's no lettuce and tomato on that. >> no, just a huge -- >> that's a heart attack on a plate, actually. >> in full disclosure, we had to make this here because they don't make it in manhattan. >> serve it in manhattan. >> but if you want four slabs of meat with a bun, there you go. >> select wendy's. >> that's right. >> that comes with a defibrillator.

>> what i love, there are apparently other things you can ask for, for example, fat burger. you can order the hypocrite. a veggie patty topped with strips of bacon. >> that's pretty funny. >> that's nice. i like that. all right. >> so, just ask. >> that's right. >> that's the message there. also, a reminder still for you all as well, because we are still on the hunt for "today's kid reporter." so, if you know a young person between the ages of 8 and 12, and maybe they'll sample this food for us, with a big permit who may want a day job or just be here with us for the day, we want to see him or her in action. >> send us a tape show÷yz casin his or her talent, on-camera charisma, and we'll be taking the entries all through october 7th. >> that's right. video's submitted should be no longer than a minute, mailed to 30 rockefeller plaza, new york, new york, 10112. official rules posted on todayshow.com. meantime, let's get another check of the weather. >> all righty. let's see what's going on for you. for today, we are looking at

some strong storms later today through the midplains. we've got wet weather and snowy weather back through the rockies, windy down through southern california. for tomorrow, we've got a risk of strong storms in the lower and mid-mississippi river valley, rain up through the plains, clouds and showers in the midwest, sunny in the mid-atlantic states through the northeast. did you get a brain freeze? ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç# good morning. considerable cloudiness still over washington at this hour. live picture from the city camera. a few breaks in the clouds. a little sunshine breaking out around the region. now, right near 60 deees. it will hit near 70 by mid afternoon with sun in and out. maybe a passing sprinkle late this afterdmoon and early this evening. frosty cold in the mountains tomorrow morning. sunny tomorrow.

>> announcer: "tomorrow on today" is brought to you by palm pre. thinking ahead, it's a beautiful thing. >> al, thank you. now for a special look at what's coming up tomorrow on "today." a mother's emotional journey from the joy of adopting a little boy to the agonizing decision to then give him back. heartbreakingbd#,bnk7ññ jó[tsto. also tomorrow, with halloween just a month away, martha stewart is going to be stopping by to whip up some pumpkin treats to celebrate the season. and talking about whipping, drew barrymore drops in to talk about directing her first feature film called "whip it." that's all coming up tomorrow on "today." but still up next, as everyone knows, a happy mother means a happy family, so we've got some great advice. the irresistible "cinnabon" aroma

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47xñlá(q synonymous with er ringmasters, a juggling act between professional, parental and personal responsibilities. so, can women be happy at work while finding harmony at home? kaitl thez women have written "happy at work, happy at home, the girl's guide to being a working mom. caitlin and kim, good morning. >> hi. >> good morning. >> i'm reading through your notes here, and basically, part of your reporting is there is a lot of discrimination against

women when they choose to have babies, and it's financial discrimination as well. >> yeah, there are, because a lot of people assume that once you have a baby, you would rather be at home than at work, and that's something you always have to prove. at a corporate retreat, at a new business meeting, you always have to prove that, you know what, i had a kid, i love being a mother, but i still love my job. >> the stats are scary. 79% are less likely to be hired than equally qualified non-mothers, that while women without children make 90 cents to a man's dollar, mothers make just 73 cents? >> well, and the funnier thing is, too, that men with stay at home wives make even more than anyone. >> let's talk about what women need to do -- >> that's not funny. >> that's not funny, it's sad. >> no, it's scary. >> because so many people are single mothers. >> right. >> let's talk aut what we need to do. you have a do andon't list, and part of the list is at work you say don't share your ultrasounds at work, don't shop for baby furniture, plan for your shower, interview nannies at work. there's a lot -- there's a message you're tking about you don't want to send at work.

what is that? >> right, because again, it's that stereotype. people are assuming that you want to be a stay-at-home mom, and you have to show that you don't, especially when you first come back from maternity leave. people think, oh, she lost her professional mojo, but that's not true for a lot of us. especially if you have a child later in life, we work really hard for our profession and our career and we're not ready to give it up. >> what's the do list at work? >> the do list is be focused at work when you're at work. when you come back from maternity leave, how are you? i'm great, the baby's great, but i'm so excited to be back at work. mp right back in. set a meeting with management and say i've been out, this is what i want to do. >> one of the things i think you have to do when you come back from a baby, people always say, hi, how are your children? and after a while, you realize when you're talking a lot about your children that their eyes glass over -- >> right, they glaze over. >> our own eyes glaze over. >> so, what i say is my kids are fine, how are yours? and i say that to men in management positions to make them understand that this is not

just about women -- >> right. >> having kids. not just working moms. >> so, there, so let's talk about your personal advice. you also talk about how, you know, people at home -- -- beca it is really overwhelming. you say ask for help, not necessarily your friends at iends and of your family. >> yeah. women don't ask for things. this is our fourth book in the series to encourage women to go anjf[y ask for the help professionally, help personally. we can't do it all. >> it's really important to have flexibility. so, at home and at work. and a lot of times you just had this idea, oh, they'll never go for that. they'll never go for that. my husband will never do x, y or z. my bus will never go for i want to take fridays off. so, unless you ask, you're never going to get. so it's about making a business or a personal case to get what you need to be flexible and successful at work. >> and in this book you give the mothers the flexibility to not be perfect. >> right. >> you really sort of say, hey, take down that stuff that is pretty intense when you first look at this. >> yeah, and also, if you have

that level of expectations for yourself, then you're applying that to the people who are trying to help you and micromanaging them, and that doesn't get you anywhere. >> that's a very tense environment to raise a child. >> and if you personally fl like you're never living up, then you start to get depressed, you start to mess up because you're so worried about this idea of perfection. >> so, you have mantras. i can't control everything. >> right. >> i am doing my best. i love my family and i love myself. what else? >> i love my job. >> i love my job and i love my career. >> i love my job, yeah. you know what? i think with your advice, you can be 100% at work and be 100% at home. just do one thing at a time. >> exactly. >> one thing at a time. >> thank you so much this morning, kim and caitlin. and the book is called -- let me get this right -- "happy at work, happy at home." coming up next, we've got tonight's healthy dinner recipe after these messages. announcer: toyota is rated the highest in dependability among all automakers...

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the scene in the kitchen and i explain the way the kitchen functions and the role of a chef. >> it's a little bit of reality in that sense. >> for sure. then i travel for inspiration. therefore, i go to beautiful destination and talk to very interesting people -- beekeepers, growers, wine makers and so on. then i come back to my own kitchen and i cook something for the viewer from the inspiration that i got through the travelin >> wow. so, you're learning a lot traveling to other cultures. i mean, hunting wild boar. >> hunting wild boar was an experience, i can tell you. >> i was going to say. did you catch something? >> i didn't catch the wild boar, but i ran a lot. >> as i can imagine. you're goingo cook something really delicious for us today. it is our red snapper. >> red snapper. >> but with a brown butter vinaigrette? >> a brown butter with mushrooms and spinach. so, the brown butter you can see is melting right now. >> what is brown -- so, you just brown the butter like this, that's qnkysit? >> you just brown the butter -- >> what's the difference between regular butter and browning the

tter? >> you see what's happening is it is going to color and the butter is going to caramelize. >> how do you keep it from burning, though? >> well, you take it off before it burns. >> you'll tell me when that happens, right? >> i'm with you. >> okay. >> so, i don't know if on camera you can see -- >> the color, yes. >> but the color is getting there. so, now we're going to -- now it's really brown. >> okay, so, we condon't want io burn, so i'm going to take it off. >> you can throw it right -- >> right into the food processor. now, it's not going to seep through -- >> no, we're not going to -- then we'll put some white balsamic. >> you can smell that. you describe the taste as more nutty. >> you can smell it. it's a very nutty flavor. then we put in some olive oil. >> i was reading in my magazine, someone made pound cake with brown butter and it was supposed to be amazing. >> which is fantastic in terms of flavor. and we are going to look -- >> back here.

>> just mixing that through. >> okay, that's good? >> and the mushrooms -- yeah. >> all set. >> and you see it's getting immerseified, which means it's going to have the consistency of a sauce. >> great. >> so we'll leave that there. >> so we'll leave that here. and we have wild mushrooms, just different kinds? >> yes, we have red because they're in season and also mushrooms, and they are really in season right now. >> great. mm-hmm? >> i sauteed some spinach already, and then we can just bring -- >> so, this is a very fast, easy thing you can do in the morning. >> very, very fast. and while you do that, the fish is cooking,ake sure that the brown -- >> i'll take that off. >> and if you want to come around here. >> then you have the fish in the oven, right? it just came out of the oven. >> just came out. you can see -- >> it's red snapper. an you just baste that. >> it was boiled broiled. >> broiled. >> i thank you for the butter -- soft butter, just a very little, just to keep the fish from being dried. >> amazing.

>> then i'm giving nice shape to the spinach with the ring. of course, remove the ring mold. >> that's the trick at home. you just have to get a ring mold and everything looks good. >> yes, absoluty. >> right? >> then we're going to pick one of the snapper, put it -- >> right on top. >> -- on top like that. and then with that spoon i'm going to spread some of the mushrooms around. >> uh huh. >> so, it's very easy. you see in three minutes, we are almost -- the entire dish -- >> and it's gorgeous. and this is cold. this is a cold version of our vinaigrette, right? >> well, it's not really cold. >> it's not really cold? >> it's kind of warm. because if it was cold, it would become solid again. >> okay. >> and then just -- >> just right on top? >> just like that around on the mushrooms. >> well, eric ripert, it looks delicious. i cannot wait to dig my fork into it. and your show on pbs? >> on pbs. >> we're going to be right back. eric's going to stick around for a little bit.

nothing like a cute eric ripert to bring hoda kotb and kathie lee gifford. >> hello. [ speaking french ] >> hello. >> i love it when you speak french. >> we have some fun coming up today. we're going to talk about breaking up with a female friend. >> hoda a i have some moves. >> that doesn't sound like fun. >> it's an important part of life. >> and closet makeovers.

our time now is 9:56. 61 degrees. we look at a live picture of an airliner coming in for a landing at ronald reagan national airport on this wednesday, the 30th of september. good morning. i'm joe krebs. in the news for today, breaking news. out of cochran middle school, the school has been evac watd. the evacuation, they report, is because of fumes in the building. we will bring you the latest on nude 4 midday. the district has put the brakes on it's plans to cancel the wisconsin avenue near geo e

georgetown. the mayor said, after further review and an outpouring of demand, the wisconsin avenue stops will continue. now, let's get a check of our forecast. here is meteorologist, tom kierein. come? temperatures near 60 degrees. we will hit near 70 by mid afternoon. partly to mostly cloudy at times. maybe a passing sprinkle late afternoon with a blustery wind. maybe some frost in the eewhere. bright sunshine and maybe rain on saturday. steve, how is the traffic? ? >> southbound 270 right before the work zone near route 118 in germantown, the sign tell you go to move to the left you are doing that very slowly. tonight at 5:00, pots and pan, mugs to measuring cups, if you are looking for ways to

hi, everybody. so glad you're here with us today. it is wednesday, it's september 30th. whether you know it or not, it's the last day of september. >> and it's matinee wednesday, though. >> it's matinee wednesday. >> we're going to see a great

show. >> we're going to go see carrie fischer in "wishful drinking." >> it's going to be great. at this time we start with our chat. which we love. we love to talk about topics. >> you love to talk about yourself. >> stop it. we wanted to do a little pop today. a little song. a little tune. >> a little musical overture. >> our good friend, great producer, angela, came up with a little -- >> a little ditty. come on in, baby. >> we want to produce it well. ready? ♪ it's the talk of the day, so much to say, it's hip, it's where it's at ♪ ♪ with kathie lee and hoda, grab a wine, grab a soda, and settle in for the chat, yapty yapty yapty yap ♪ >> facebook should spend the money to come to the studio and record that like the andrews sisters. >> or have angela come every morning. ♪ it's the talk of the day, so much to say, it's hip, it's where it's at ♪ >> with kathie lee and hoda grab

a wine grab a soda and settle in for the chat ♪ . >> you're a genius. genius. love you. >> thank you, angela. >> love angela. oh, can i tell you yesterday, real quick, i went to a book party. okay? byron pitts is a "60 minutes" correspondent. his wife used to be a vice president here. he wrote this book called "stepping out on nothing." i didn't understand the title. >> look at him as a little boy. >> he said he was in church one day. and he was listening to the pastor. and she said something about sometimes you got to step out on nothing. and it's like on faith. so you don't see it, but you just have to step out. he got to thinking about all the people who had stepped out on nothing for him. he was illiterate at 12. >> stuttered, too, ight? >> stuttered till he was in his 20s and is a "60 minutes" correspondent. i started reading the book this morning. i didn't want to put it down. it's a great book.

>> when hoda falls in love, hoda falls in love. >> it's so inspiring. >> next week i think we're starting this whole series on the "today" show, all four hours of the different people in our lives who have really inspired us or stepped out on nothing and given us a chance. and it's a great idea. >> i love that. >> it's a wonderful way to thank the people. >> his mom was there. she was all dressed up in her outfit. >> she's from north carolina where they dress up. >> it was so sweet. he looked over at her. he said, you know, every -- once a month we go to picadilly. they'd save up the money. one day his mom said to him, they all get dressed up, one day you're not going to have to look at prices on the menu and people are going to know your name. look what happened to byron. >> these days again we do have to start looking at prices on the menu. everything's changed. congratulations to him. what a wonderful success. when you're finished may i have it, please? >> absolutely. you know what else has changed? jon and kate plus 8.

hello. >> instead of kate plus 8 it should be jon hates kate plus 8. think angela is the only one that can rhyme something around here? >> basically jon is off the show. >> not really. he's going to make appearances. hoda, don't give me the face. >> let's go back. i want to read the statement. what does the statement say? given the recent changes in family dynamics it only makes sense for us to refresh and recalibrate the program to keep pace with the family. >> i love that. >> they should say what it is. >> yeah. i guess he has also released a statement basically saying he regrets his recent behavior. >> yeah. >> there it is. i regret my conduct since kate and i separated. i used poor judgment in publicly socializing with other women so soon. the other thing is, what was the other thing about them? >> the ratings boost? how you think they can help the ratings? >> i really do believe. >> i don't know.

>> if we got to this. >> we havthe solution. because the ratings have been plummeting. >> it worked for us. >> it worked for us. the ratings have been down. kathie lee came out with a genius idea on how to save the ratings on "kate plus 8." here it is. bangs. bangs can change everything. >> a little longer, though. come on! >> those are your bangs. >> that looks like a half-moon over the bayou. i don't know what that is. >> if you have a whole new look -- i think those really were your bangs. >> those better not be. how germy are we getting? >> that's just mean. >> how germy are we getting? most of us around here are germaphobes to an extent. there are so many people that come through. after most interviews we're not trying to be rude but we do go and we have the purel little machines. we're trying to be smart. >> "the wall street journal" was saying you have to clean your hands or wash them at least ten times a day. the funny thing is they say if you get germs on your hands, if

you will, you have to careful even if they're on your hands it doesn't jump up into your face. >> it's how you use your hands afterwards. >> if you don't touch your yeye. some people can't help it. if you keep your hands away from your fac you will not get sick. it will not jump from your fingertips up to your face. >> or you can wear these, hoda woman. >> what are thos >> these look like -- you know. >> they look like gardening gloves. >> donna reid? >> do you know what they are? >> like little gardening gloves. they're used for other purposes. that would be -- >> they're used to pump gasoline. if you pump your own gas, they sell these. they're called pump gloves. >> verycute. >> they come in different colors. you wear them so you don't get gas resiue -- can you picture yourself pumping with these on? that would be ridiculous. >> i think you should wear them on the subway, too, though. come on. >> that's not a bad idea. okay. other germy things you don't -- okay. what do you do to stay germ free? you purel. >> i do the purel thing. i do try to wash my hands.

it's not just a quick thing. it's supposed to be 30 seconds. >> some of the things -- >> you're supposed to sneeze into material. >> into your shoulder. i mean into your elbow. like that. >> that can be confused with trying to make sure you don't have body odor. you know how some people do. you know who you are. >> here's the thing that surprised me about all of this. most people have their toothbrush in cup by the sink. >> most people, meaning you? >> yes. yeah. >> you admitted it. >> yeah. your toothbrush is here. they say that's such a bad place to have it. when you flush the toilet, there are particles, i guess. >> there's residue. >> residue. and it gets on your truoothbrus and then you get sick. >> how about leave the seat down? or better yet, never flush. you'll never ve the problem. >> disgusting. the atms are danger zones. >> yes. use your little gloves. >> i think everyone's getting a little -- the swine flu is

terrifying and frightening. i understand. i do think there is a point, don't you think, where people -- >> getting a little too -- >> yes. crazy about it. no one wants to touch the escalator thing. don't touch the elevator. >> why not be more concerned about ourselves? there's somebody bucking the trend. >> who is that? >> she's only thinking about going out there and getting germy. getting dirty. living a life. she's a 92-year-old grandmother who sky dives. her name is jane bachstrak from new hampshire. sheumpedearly 13,000 feet from a plane. >> oh, no she didn't. >> sky diving. she's a regular grandmother. goes to bingo. on her days off she likes to sky dive. six knee surgeries. but look at her. >> yay! congratulations! >> she's 92. okay. >> this is the best part, hoda. >> you did it! >> she goes, what, i can't hear

you? we cut off the best part. >> huh? how cool is she? >> she's awesome. >> you know what, there are some people who do and some people who sit on the couch. >> some people have decided their life is over and they just live out their days. other people say, i'm going to learn something on the day i die. you know? >> what's the scariest thing you've ever done. >> probably when my sister and i went into the san luis obispo penal colony. it's a maximum security prison for 420 inmates. we went to do a concert. and the power went out. >> the power went out? >> see, you haven't read my book. busted. busted! you read the part about you! >> listen, listen. i'm just trying to include the viewers. >> oh, you are so full of it! >> i'm trying to include the viewers. otherwise i would be like, oh, i've heard that story. that's boring. >> busted!

busted! and, hoda, tell me the story that i write about in the book about -- >> i don't want to be quizzed on your book. >> let's see. you said it was the best book you've ever read. >> i think we should move on from this topic. >> what about the story with my mother and the breakfast bar. >> it was so good. it was so great. you know me, i can't remember from yesterday. please go on with more stories. >> no. let's talk about, you know, this coming friday. i'm going to let you off the hook. >> let me here about your scariest moment. you go into the prison. >> 114 degrees. my sister and i are in outfits up to here and down to here and all the way down to here. heaven forbid we look good to any of these inmates. and our bodyguard -- we love our prisoners. please. >> they're all viewers now. >> we do! they are a captive audience. come on. so, anyway, we're singing. and our bodyguard, this is the weird part.

our bodyguard at this maximum security prison is tex watson who had been involved in all eight of the manson murders. he's our bodyguard! all of a sudden, all of the power goes out. the warden and his wife are sitting there. and you can see the terror in their eyes. it's all of a sudden it's going to be a -- >> that's awful. >> it's going to be a riot. >> what happened? >> there i am with tex watson, pat boone and my sister and i singing what a friend we have in jesus. 24 maximum security guys going sing helter-skelter! i'm going nothing in life prepares you for this. >> that is scary. >> i wanted a career in show business. that's not exactly what i had in mind. obviously, i lived to tell e story. but it is really one of the most terrifying things i've ever done. >> really? >> oh, yeah. >> one of my most terrifying -- it wasn't really that terrifying. it was one of these -- we were doing a shoot in uganda. they asked us -- we had to land this puddle jumpern a dirt landing strip. i didn't see the landle strip at

all. they said we're going to land here for a minute. it's dangerous. there's a lot of rebel fighting. we have to pick up one person. they were careful about the weight limit. you have to leave these bags behind. we're cramped on a tiny plane. i'm scared. we're landing one second, picking somebody up, taking off again. the weight limit, big issue. we land the plane. it's bouncing on the dirt. never done that before. i see this woman running for the plane. got love her. she must have been 350. i looked at her. i was like, wow. this isn't going to be -- she got on that plne. i was just watching, like, the plane tried to take off. you know when your heart's in your throat. no offense. it's like one of those things, i was ready to throw luggage out the window. >> you were singing the same song. come on. >> life, huh? >> she needs to meet joy bauer. >> yes, she does. she was a sweet woman. okay. we have some very cute jeans, you guys. >>riday is jeans day. we're going to be wearing -- to raise awareness, of course, for

breast cancer. awareness month which starts tomorrow. >> yes, it does. >> we will be wearing our jeans on friday. ut if you want to wear jeans, we have new -- everybody wants the newest and the latest. >> these are hot. these are called -- these are jeans that wink when you walk. >> you know people are looking at you. they wink at you. >> oh, look at the eyes. oh, no! >> you can get these at winkerdesign.com. >> that is creepy. oh! >> that is so bad. >> no, indeed. >> prices vary, i guess, apparently, which animal you want. >> i like the owl. i think i might do the owl. we actually have some live models in our studio. let's see. those are cute. >> janine. i can't tell who the other lady is. >> those are cute. >> yeah. i don't want to draw attention to that part of my anatomy. >> no. i would not be -- do not. should we go and check with sara see what's going on. what's happening on facebook? >> they wouldn't let me model the jeans because the whole eye was closed. >> come on, sara!

>> sara weighs 100 pounds. >> just one. the little bulkier side. that's all, honey. >> we're talking about angela's singing. patricia said love angela. keep her singing. jamie, the song is a must-do. latisha, nice little ditty. ambush is hitting the road. go to klgandhoda.com. >> they'll come to your house and give you a total makeover in the comfort and privacy of your own abide. >> yr own what? abode. she's got two jobs. we're going to sit down with michelle tractingburg. >> after these messages. look how cute and young and thin. not sure i like her. >> not at all.

michelle tractenburg is no newcomer to tinseltown. >> at three years old she debuted in her television commercial debut, making her way into several movies and tv shows. now all grown up she's double dipping starring in two series, including "gossip girl" and nbc's hospital drama "mercy" which just premiered last week. she plays nurse chloe paine on this new series. >> it's going to take a minute. you don't understand. >> i do understand. i understand i have patients. i understand i don't have any time for this. >> i just need your expert opinion. dr. harris, is that a new shirt?

>> actually, it is. oh, my god. no, not again. >> no, no, no. just wait. >> wow. >> yes. that was hello kitty on my smock. don't be jealous. >> hello. you were doing "gossip girl." you weren't looking for another series. poof. this thing "mercy" came up. >> it sort of fell into my lap. i'm a big believer in everything happens for a reason. i'm honored to be a part of a show that honors real men and women doing extraordinary things, saving lives, making a patient's day. chloe paine, the nurse i play, it centers around the life of three nurses. >> how can you possibly do both? have you left "gossip girl." >> i actually have a twin sister. she goes and does "gossip girl." she's evil. no. but that would be awesome. it would save me sleep time. >> they're legendary 16-hour

days. >> we work six-day weeks, too. we want to make sure everything is perfect. we have medical experts onset. on "gossip girl" we have still let toe experts. >> you must get kind of schizophrenic. one is so heavy and soulful. the other isn't. >> it's a lot. it's fun. it's a good mix of things. it makes sure i never take myself too seriously. i get the chance to do a few other side projects. i actually just designed a bag and a large portion of the p proceeds will be going to a charity very close to my heart. this is my leather baby. i'm very proud of her. >> it's a her? >> yes. her name is michelle. i didn't name it, though. i was like let's call it something fancy. >> can i see it? >> yes, please. it's a sapphire leather. so it's sparkly. >> pretty! >> it's kind of fun. >> tell us about oxfam. >> it's a wonderful charity. it deals with women in third-world countries and helps give them money for climate

control is a huge problem ther we take so many things for granted like shoes andw9%y everything. it helps raise money so that women can take care of their families and everything. so between nursing and all that stuff, i'm trying to do a lot of good. >> a little good in the world. >> you're young. >> i'm just short of 24. >> you are?8,$÷ i can't believe you've accomplished all that. >> when you start at 3, you do have a big advantage. you do have one little toe in the business. what was the ad for? >> it was a whisk detergent commercial. i spilled cranberry use on my dad. i was so upset. my mommy told me to never directly spill things on people. >> now you're getting paid for it. >> we talked earlier in the show about germaphobes. are you one of those? >> a little bit. it's great now being a nurse, or even a faux nurse. we get to wear gloves. people come in and we feed them needles in their arms. prosthetic arms. i get to wear the gloves. it makes me happy. >> how much did you have to learn? there's a lot of training that

goes into being a nurse. >> there you go. there is a lot of training. i mostly just read, like, blogs that nurses had about just their -- i wanted their heart and soul to come out. because we have medical experts onset that can tell us what to do. at the end of the day you have to remember, a nurse is someone that loves you and cares for you and is there to hold your hand when the doctor gives you the bad news. >> nurse ratchet. there was her. >> we don't have a nurse ratchet yet. >> you know she's coming. >> you're both welcome to come and -- >> did you hear that? we can do a cameo. >> you can watch michelle in "mercy" wednesday nights right here on nbc 8:00/7:00 central time. still to come, when you know your friendship is over.

still to come, something i need to do, organize my closet for fall. >> all right. so you can find the things that you didn't know you had. it's all in there after your local news and weather. >> with beautiful jill.

we're following breaking news. nearly a dozen students were taken to the hospital after a marynd school was evacuated because of fumes. we will have the very latest. good morning. i'm joe krebs. coming up on "news 4 midday," she stars in the popular series, mad man. now, she is using her star power to protect sharks. january jones joins us live right here in the

we're back on this wednesday with today's relationships. talking about when one of your best friendships comes to an end. >> breaking up with your best friend can be just as if not more devastating than breaking up with a partner. how knowing how to deal with it can be even more difficult. psychologist irene la veen is the author of "best friends forever." i think we all in our lifetimes have been through this. we've had a good friend.

there's some sort of falling out. what are the most common reasons friendships sort of fall apart. >> well, the most common reason why friendships fall apart really is benign neglect. two people really don't care enough about their relationship to keep it going. that's the most common story. >> it sort of dies on the vine, sort of thing. >> a natural death. no malice involved. everybody gets busy and goes their own way. >> right. >> sometimes people's lives are just different. a friend, they get married and have a baby. that life is different than your life. >> there's two studies of social exclusion. when you've been rejected or dumped. apparently parts of the brain associate it with real physical pain and social pain become active. you know, in fact, i and my colleague study romantic love. when you're rejected in love, and a think a lot of girlfriends are sort of in love with each other, not a sexual love, you know, but it's a feeling of possessiveness and need to be with the person, et cetera. and need to share. >> they get jealous sometimes

when you go out with someone else or go to the movies with someone else. >> it's a brain system. when it's rejected you really can suffer. >> to me i always feel like you're in a boat. you'll have a couple of good friends who are wth you for the long haul. most people just sort of come and go. >> day trips. >> aren't some people just there for a finite period of time? >> that's the case. unfortunately, women feel so guilty about losing their friends. there's so much social stigma and taboo involved. and when you lose a friend, you can't even tell anybody. you can't tell your mother. because she'll say, what did you do? you can't tell your boyfriend or your husband. because he'll say, oh, they're cat fighting again. and you can't tell your friends because you're embarrassed. >> if there's a real reason for it, say all of a sudden a friendship becomes toxic in a way. maybe one of your friends is involved in behavior that is just toxic. and you don't want to be around it. >> but, you know, there's really no social rules. there's social rules of how you get rid of a husband.

or a boyfriend. >> it's so much easier. >> or a boss. >> community property issue and children. >> if you have an issue be a friend and you pursue the friendship because you're saying, gosh, i can't figure out what's going on, where's the part where you should say enough already? >> every friendship has its ups and down. you're bound to have misunderstandings. but if something is consistently emotionally draining, if you feel tired, bored, you don't want to be with this person -- >> ignore their calls. >> look at your caller id, oh, my god, it's her again, then you know there's something wrong. it's really the idea that it's consistently. >> how do we break up nicely? >> it's not easy. you want to do it very carefully. because there's no going back when you start. and you really want to be gentle and respectful. i believe you can tell white lies. that's okay. >> right. >> you want to let your girlfriend down gently. because, after all, she was your best friend. and the main thing to keep in mind is that friendships aren't

forever. they have beginnings. they have endings. >> i actually think that there's something in the female mind that thinks it should be forever. i think that comes from millions of years of living in these little hunting and gathering groups where you needed this female support system to help you raise your baby. >> you couldn't get away. you didn't have options. you lived in that same cave together. >> you always expected the men to come and go in your life but you didn't expect the women to. i think that's why this is so important, this research. >> the book is interesting. the topic is really interesting. >> hoda and i are doing fine, though, folks. we just don't want you to worry. we have our ups and downs. but trust me. >> we came to do a check. >> it's sara that's the probl. >> i rethank you both so much. if you've ever wanted to become more organized, and who doesn't, now's your chance. jill martin's got some suggestions for us right after this.

♪ time for "today's style" and tips to get you organized for the fall. >> if you've looked in your closet and thought i've got nothing to wear, maybe it's because you can't find it. expert to the stars jill martin has some help. we love you, jill. hey, that's my old -- >> this is what we swapped in the swap part. just want to add it in for comedic value. >> what happened to my purse? >> okay.

here's the situation. if you can't see it, you're not going to wear it. that's my rule. we actually -- th is alpha for the container store. for as little as $200 you can have them come into your home and build it. which i didn't know. >> they build it in your own space? >> in your own space in what fits. >> you pay for each of the things you buy, for the containers. >> you pay for the space. i also have alternatives you can sort of do at home to make your closet better. first of all, these are great new hangers. i don't know if you've seen them. they're available 50 of them at bed, bath & beyond. >> they're like velvet. >> no slip. they also take up less space. >> big wooden hangers are -- >>this i had a problem with. this is do it yourself. i have this dress. it skconantly falls off when i

take it out of the closet. a great alternative if you have this problem is to take two rubber bands and just put it around the ends of the hanger. >> that's smart. >> let me see if i can get that on here. put it on. then it'll be a no slip. >> look at how smart that is! >> if you don't want to invest in hangers. >> clever girl. >> if you travel a lot, when you live in a different climate and it's not cold to hot, and you want to be able to see all your things, it's nice to have a pretty closet. you always want to look in and see pretty. these are garment bags by space savers. feel them. it's great to put your winter stuff in if you're transitions. they also have if you don't have a dresser but you have a lot of hanging space these hanging items. which have drawers in them. so if you need extra drawer space. >> drawers. you mean drawers? >> speaking of drawers, we got this from hoda's dressing room. >> that's not true! those are extra large. those are not mine. >> moving on to kathie lee's item, this is a purse holder, which i love. because i think you should be

able to see everything. what you do is there's a front and a back. >> how did we live before velcro? honestly. how did we do it? >> i love velcro. >> what's that thing that is hanging? >> that's my purse. one of my evening purses. >> that's so cute. adorable. >> i do wear kathie lee's purse from the swap party. moving on, this is a shoe holder available at target. you know those tights you throw in your drawer. >> you never see them again. >> i have this in my closet. >> you can put shoes in here. but just to be able to see what tights and stockings you have. >> or j&+gspanx. >> moving on, a laundry sorter available at target. whites, colors and dry cleaning. i know you could use it. >> i just throw it all in one place. it does make sense. >> under $20. also booties very in for the fall. they've made this where the booties will actually fit on a

shoe tree. holds 18 pairs of shoes. this we all have a problem with. organizing your jewelry. >> especially the long necklaces and things. >> they get tangled up. >> statement jewelry really big for fall. these are all available at the container store, bed, bath & beyond, target all have versions. everybody has a space. >> everything has its space. >> you can see it. it's just so important. then these are for aeearrings. which you can put in any drawer. then everybody's bathroom is a mess. they've now made these where you can put -- yeah. yours sn't. i see. >> hers isn't. >> i'm a little anal retentive that way. i admit it. i'm anal. >> for people who want this option, you can either leave it out or put it underneath. >> at least it still looks organized. >> everything has a place. >> excellent. genius. >> jill, you're a genius. coming up next, "who knew?"

kathie lee's going across the street. >> all about football movies.

it is time to play "who knew?" and today's trivia turns to football mu vis. we will ow contestants a clip from a famous football film before we show the title. kathie lee is across the street at dean & deluca, ready to hand out $100 to winners and to the people we call nonwinners they get your cd. >> i don't like your tone. >> how well do you think our folks are going to do on the football movies. >> there is a couple tough ones. we've got the clips coming up. i'm hopeful. everyone's a winner. if you don't get money, what do you get? kathie lee singing. fantastic. >> this gentleman's from kansas city. this 1993 tear jerker about a little guy with a big heart launched the career of the actor who recently played a hobbit in

the "lord of the rings" trilogy. >> one out of that tunnel to prove to everyone that i worked -- >> prove what? >> that i was somebody. >> oh, you are so full of crap. you're 5 feet nothing. 100 and nothing. and you got hardly a speck of athletic ability. >> wow. do you know that one? >> that would be "rudy." >> yeah, yeah. all right. >> that is the movie that makes every man cry. >> well, that and "field of dreams." rudy. it's shawn austin who later went on to be in "lord of the rings." he may be 5 foot nothing but he's got a ton of heart. ends up playing for the fighting irish. interesting, the first movie notre dame let be filmed on their campus since 1940. >> here from australia with her

family, you all can help her out. this 2004 football movie based on a book about an o december is a, texas, football team inspired the current nbc tv show with the roll the clip. keep in mind, they're from australia. >> you ain't got to worry about holding on to the ball, man. >> why is that? >> because you ain't going to get the ball. your job is to be blocking. i don't care if your daddy is over there crying. >> you never shut up, do you? >> the team's been playing with each other for a long time. we got the brotherhood part of it down pretty much. >> what's your answer? >> "friday night lights." >> i love the way you talk! >> wow. i can't believe they knew that. incredible. >> apparently "friday night lights" a big hit in australia. who knew. billy bob thornton and tim mcdraw making hisszt dramatic debut. he was a dad in th%hf movie basd on the 1988 football season of the odessa, texas, panthers.

>> this family is from toronto, canada. we know this 1986 football movie for its star, goldie haun. also the film debut for both wesley snipes and woody harrelson. >> nick martin went in for a double hernia pip don't think he's going to be able to coach jv football this year. i -- well, i'd like to job. >> i tell you what. run it by dan darwell. if he doesn't have any objections, it's fine with me. >> do you know it? >> i know lots of movies. but not this one. i don't, kathie lee. >> me either. here you go, sweetie. what is that one? >> wildcats starring goldie hawn. on that team are wesley snipes and woody harrelson who, of course, went on to star in "while men can't jump." >> hoda, this gentleman's from

lebanon. she's from egypt. they live in dubai. cast of this 1999 oliver stone film included two recording artist and a comedian on top of veteran actors. roll the clip. >> zig. 22 tom cat. >> what's the snap count? what's the snap count? >> would you make the call already? >> that's a first. >> frank gifford helped on that movie. >> "any given sunday." >> good for you. >> all international hits. >> what we want to see in the morning is jamie fox throwing up before the big game. he's the backup quarterback there. he's in on his first big game. he just can't take the pressure. that part, sean p. diddy combs was alreadily cast. he couldn't do it. who knows what the conflict was.

jamie fox got the role. >> back across to kathie. >> this 2006 football movie about a college football team pulling together after a tragic event not only used hundreds of local extras in the large stadium scenes but also filled the stands with thousands of blow-up dummies. see if you know it. >> show dr. devon how it's done here. run hard. knees high. play till the whistle blows. 17 razor on three. hut, hut, hut! go, go, go! there you go! there you go! oh, first down! you see that? >> is he all right? >> oh, yeah. 32, are you all right? go kill your brother. >> you look like you know it. what is it? >> "we are marshall." >> is that right? wow, i'm impressed. >> they filled the stadium with blow-up dummies? >> it's a big stadium. sometimes you don't really see those people up close. there's matthew mcconaughey,

matthew fox is in that movie. based on this 1970 tragedy, huntington, west virginia, the university football team goes ;c football crash. mcconaughey plays the coach, together. >> a really emotional movie. i did see that one. joe, thank you so much. i think we're out of time. >> that's too bad. this family from indiana is really upset. >> give them your cd. they'll feel better. >> i'll give them the cd. we'll be back with more of "today" on nbc.

what is going on, ms. sara. >> the trendy topics on the wall are your hair, hoda. and also the scary butt jeans. excuse me. the winker jeans. corey wrote in, dotty, amy, latisha. they're all talking about the

same things. >> that is freaky. >> what have we got to give the folks at home? >> we've got the wii game and ma tina's cd. if you write in on matinee wednesday and where you're from, we'll pick at random at the end of the day. >> thank you, sara. >> come back tomorrow. because harry conic jr. stop thinking you are nagging him when you know you're not. you're just, like, suggesting. and the best fall boots. that's all tomorrow. have a great day, everybody. >> see you. take care.