good morning, sleeping in seattle. amanda knox spends the night back home after speaking out for the first time since winning her freedom. >> what's important for me to say is just thank you to everyone who has believed in me, who has defended me, who has supported my family. >> what did she do on h first night home? how is she adjusting? what does her future hold? her attorney speaks out about the private meeting he had with amanda last night. tragedy in manhattan. one woman is killed after a helicopter crashes moments after

takeoff. the survivor is forced to hang on to the skids. an unlikely intruder. a pennsylvania couple attacked in their own living room by a black bear. they have the battle scars to prove it. their incredible story today, prove it. their incredible story today, wednesday, october 5th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television from nbc news, this is "today," with matt lauer, and ann curry. live, from studio 1-a in rockefeller plaza. >> and good morning, everyone, welcome to "today" be on a wednesday morning, i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm ann curry. certainly an emotional scene last night. you can just imagine amanda knox's emotions as she returned to the united states after all she has been through for the first time in four years. >> as you can see and as you heard, she was moved to tears as she thanked everyone who supported her throughout this ordeal. but she did manage to make one joke. she said she had to be reminded to speak english after being in

italy for so long. we're going to be hearing more from amanda straight ahead. also coming up this morning, michael jackson's doctor. was he too busy juggling several girlfriends to be properly caring for the singer? three women conrad murray was dating at the same time all testified on tuesday, and the prosecutors claim one was on the phone with murray when jackson stopped breathing. we'll have the latest from los angeles with that story. and later on, we'll ask the question, what are your young girls learning from television? some popular shows with being blasted by critics. coming up, why they say certain programs are teaching tweens and teens to become mean-spirited, vindictive and self-absorbed. but we begin with that emotional homecoming for amanda knox. nbc's stephanie gosk is in seattle. stephanie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. amanda knox spent 1,450 days in an italian jail cell. it took just 30 hours to get her back here to seattle. she sat next to her mother on the british airways flight that

landed just after 5:00 in the evening. the last time that amanda knox was in this city, she was just a kid with her bags packed, heading off for a school year abroad. walking out into a sea of cameras, after an unimaginable four years. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: cheers broke out for amanda knox, and the 24-year-old sobbed. finally, home. her family was at her side, now able to grab her hand whenever they wanted to. after several deep breaths, she spoke. >> they're reminding me to speak in english. because i'm having problems with that. i'm really overwhelmed right now. >> reporter: how could she not be? just over 24 hours before, she stood in front of an italian court, visibly shaking. her life in their hands. [ speaking in italian ] >> reporter: the murder verdict

overturned, she was whisked away in cars, through airports, on to planes. at times during the journey, moments of relief were clearly visible on her face. her family wasted no time getting her home. >> i was looking down from the airplane, and it seemed like everything wasn't real. what's important for me to say is just thank you to everyone who has believed in me, who has defended me, who has supported my family. >> reporter: her parents also thankful and emotional to finally have their daughter back. >> this has been a very long four years. but we couldn't have made it through it without all of you people out here that have supported us. and especially amanda. >> reporter: amanda knox has been given her life back. the prosecutor says he will appeal to italy's supreme court, leaving open a small possibility

that the italian government may try to extradite knox. but legal experts say the chances of that are slim. amanda's father described the moment just after they won the appeal when he first hugged his daughter. >> i mean, she pretty much squished the air out of us when we were hugging her. >> reporter: back at the family's home, his biggest concern now was trying to regain some of the normalcy they have lost. >> it's extremely surreal. it's something that we kind of feel like we're just regular people in a neighborhood, and then all of this happens. >> reporter: he would not say where amanda was going, only that she needed time to adjust. >> a lot of it is just going to be talking to friends, you know, being able to, you know, touch and hold your friends and, you know, to be able to just kind of reconnect. >> reporter: and spending time with her family. >> i just want -- my family is

the most important thing to me right now, and i just want to go and be with them. so thank you for being there for me. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: for the first time in four years, nothing is stopping her. amanda is in an undisclosed location with family and friends. a local paper says that the 24-year-old is now planning the 21st birthday party that she never had. and her father said she has another priority, matt. that is that after four years in a concrete prison, she is looking for some grass to lie down in. >> stephanie gosk, thank you very much. theodore simon is the american attorney for amanda knox. he had a private meeting with amanda after that press conference and was with her and her family last night. mr. simon, good to see you. good morning. >> good morning, matt. >> before we get to the emotional side of this, take me through the choreography, if you will, of the arrival at the airport, how the speech occurred, all of that sort of

thing. >> sure. this was very carefully planned, with great concern for amanda and her welfare, as well as her security. basically, everyone at british airways helped, and is all of the people at the airport helped. it was arranged for a private meeting, just myself and david mer, the family's press relations person. everyone came off the runway. amanda, her mom, chris, curt and the rest of the family. it was truly amazing. it was emotional. >> had she always planned to speak, mr. simon, or was that more spontaneous? >> no, this was a question that was going to be put to her. it was going to be her decision. she either was not going to say anything, say a few words, or as much as she wanted to. and she, despite the fact that she was very worn and tired, felt a great obligation to thank everyone and said she would do it. she did it spontaneously and of

her own accord. i can tell you, just before she spoke, she had a very emotional embrace with her father that was -- it was just tearful. and powerful. >> do you think -- she talked about the fact that as she flew in, she looked down from the plane and nothing seemed real to her. and then she landed, there was this huge outpouring of supporters and a crush of media. even though she has been somewhat kept aware of the interest level, do you think she fully grasped the level of interest in her story? >> i believe she has a great appreciation of how worldwide this story is. but when you know amanda, you really get to see what a sweet, kind, generous, charitable person she is. i mean, she's joyful, and incredibly thoughtful. she is just a sweet, nice person. and this is what i think dominates her character. she has indomable strength. she clearly gets that from her parents. >> right. >> and it's much more about everyone else and less about

her. the way she interacts with her family, the way she interacts with her cousins. i mean, after we left the airport, we left in two cars. and fortunately, we were able to manage a way in which to go in one direction and avoid the this wrongs of press. >> i'm glad you bring that up because there is this huge interest level. the press wants to see her, they want to hear from her. it would seem very unfair to keep her locked behind the door of her house. what kind of freedom is that after all these years? so how do you intend to get her the space she is going to need? >> well, you know, i would have to disagree with you, matt. this was anything but being locked away. >> no, i'm talking about in the near future. >> well, she is going to make these decisions as things go forward. but i can tell you, and i've been a criminal defense lawyer for more than 37 years, i am amazed how strong she is and how healthy she seems. >> as you know, ted, the prosecution in italy has already

said they will appeal this to the supreme court. so is there any trepidation on amanda's part that, in fact, it's not quite over? >> that was not discussed. but legally, we feel fairly strong. as you know, the first appellate process permits a review of the facts, a reopening of the facts, a redetermination of the facts. and that's what caused this case to be reversed, and a recognition that she was wrongly convicted. but on the further appeal to the supreme court of italy, they don't have the same broad scope of review. it's really just very narrow, simply was there an error of law? we don't think there was. so we remain pretty confident that this will hold. >> all right, ted simon, who spent time with amanda and her family over the last several hours. mr. simon, good to see you. thanks for your time. >> you're welcome. and now here's ann. >> matt, thanks. here in new york, in the somebody is trying to determine what caused a private helicopter to sdenly crash into the east river, leading to a dramatic rescue operation. one woman died, but four others

managed to survive. nbc's tom yamas has the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. one of the best ways to see the skyscrapers and landmarks of new york city is inside a helicopter. this week a family met up with a family friend her, he happens to be a pilot. they wanted to see the big apple up in the air. the goal was sight-seeing. they took off from this area, but 50 yards from this point over the east river behind me, the people inside of that helicopter and people here on the shore saw a sight nobody wanted to see. >> it's crazy what's going on. someone just straight sunk into the water. >> reporter: this amateur video shows rescuers swimming out to a sinking helicopter in new york city's east river. the chopper's white skids sticking out of the choppy, murky water, and holding on for dear life, a survivor. possibly people still trapped -- >> reporter: eye-witnesses say

they noticed trouble just after the helicopter took off late in the afternoon from this tiny held port on manhattan's tuesday. >> he looked like he went over the pier and into the water. >> reporter: the pilot, along with a family of tourists. >> i yelled over, where is everyone, where the hell are the people? and they said they're not out. >> reporter: with victims trapped and drowning, the nypd, coast guard and fdny launched a frantic rescue. >> they were like shipwrecked almost. >> reporter: rescuers located three of the four passengers, two of them in critical condition. one woman needed cpr the moment she was plucked from the water. the pilot, paul dudley, also survived the crash. >> he seemed to be pretty much almost in shock. but he was saying at the same time there was someone else left in the -- in the helicopter. >> reporter: more than an hour later, with the chopper now sitting on the river bottom, divers would find the body of australian resident, sonia ma a

marra. she turned 40 three days ago, in town to celebrate her birthday with her partner, mother and stepfather. >> they had the family come here to see and experience the best of our city, and end up in a tragic accident like this, just breaks your heart. >> reporter: aviation records show the helicopter, a bell 206 jet ranger, is more than 30 years old, and owned by dudley. in 2006, dudley had to make an emergency landing near coney island after the cessna plane he was flying had engine failure. in that case, no one was hurt, no damage to the aircraft. >> from what witnesses have described, the aircraft spun two to three times. that's indicative of a loss of tail rotor effectiveness. that type of failure can be recovered from if proper emergency procedures are followed. >> reporter: the ntsb is currently investigating the case. of but it could take months to find out exactly what happened. as for the pilot, paul dudley, he could not be reached for comment, but the nypd tells us he refused medical attention

after the accident. ann? >> all right. tom yamas this morning, thanks. it is now 7:13. here's matt. >> thank you very much. now to politics and where the republican party goes from here. now that new jersey governor chris christie has said for the last time that he is not entering the presidential race. today national correspondent jamie gangel has details on christie's decision. jamie, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. and he did it with his usual flair. the press conference was vintage chris christie, blunt, funny and plain-spoken. he said he gave the race a hard look, but in the end, his decision came down to one thing. >> now is not my time. >> reporter: christie admitted he had seriously reconsidered but would not rise to the bait of criticizing republicans when so many had pushed for him to run. >> i don't think it says anything particular about the field. i would like to think it says something about me. it wasn't my charm or good

looks, you know that. >> reporter: and in his trademark style, dismissed questions suggesting he didn't get into the race because of political attacks. >> that's when i knew that i could actually win. when they started -- when all these people started shooting at me before i even got in the race. >> reporter: or because of his family. >> mary pat and the kids were completely behind me running. >> reporter: in fact, he said they had been moved to reconsider by letters from regular voters. >> we got fedex over the weekend at home from a farmer in nebraska to my children asking my children to sit me down and tell me that it was okay to miss their games and their concerts and their events because our country needed me more. >> reporter: christie also addressed questions about his weight, laughing off late-night comedians. >> you talk about tons of fun, here we go. >> it's not a news flash to me that i'm overweight. their job is to be funny. and if one of the things they

want to make fun of is my weight, then, you know, it's fair game. >> reporter: but then took to task columnists who suggested he was too overweight to run for president. >> the people who wrote it are ignorant people. they further stigmatize people in a way that is really irrelevant to people's ability to do a particular job. >> reporter: for the moment, christie said he is not ready to endorse another candidate. and brushed off speculation about being vice president. >> i just don't think i have the personality to be asked. i mean, seriously. can you imagine? you know, the guy would probably want to get a food taster. >> reporter: and when he took the opportunity to take a swing at president obama -- >> he has failed the american people, because he has failed that absolute litmus test to be president of the united states. and that's to know how to lead and decide. >> reporter: in the end, christie said, 2012 just wasn't his race. >> so new jersey, whether you

like it or not, you're stuck with me. >> just the kind of authentic line that has made him so appealing. i spoke to the governor yesterday. he admitted he came very close to getting in, but in the end, all the reasons he had been given hadn't changed. that said, candidates are already lining up to try to get his endorsement. ann? >> all right. jamie gangel, thank you so much. chuck todd is nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent. hey, chuck, good morning. >> good morning. >> after all the hype about christie, it's interesting to note that romney, kerry, kane and huntsman sure had a lot of nice things to say about him. you could almost hear the relief. is this field set? >> it is basically set. look, is there a possibility sarah palin could make a last-minute entry? is yes. is there a possibility former new york city mayor rudy guiliani might decide to jump in, sure. but neither would have the impact chris christie would have had to be a co-front runner. so when you look at the top tier

of this field, it's set. it's romney, it's perry, a herman cain. >> so if that's the case, which candidate is likely to benefit from chris christie deciding not to run? who gets his endorsement and the political contribution that are waiting as a wave to crash ashore? >> mitt romney is the short term beneficiary, the biggest pusher of chris christie to get into this race has said he's signing up on team romney. so you're going to see some of this money around wall street, in the new york city area, that was holding off, pining for chris christie. they're more comfortable going to mitt romney. but this doesn't mean that rick perry is somehow hurt by this. the best thing that happened to rick perry over the last ten days has been the chris christie speculation. it froze the race at a time when perry was in a perilous position. and he got time to sort of get his sea legs a little bit. and potentially raise a ton --

be able to get this big money that he is likely going to report in the next 24 hours, and show that he can be a formidable front runner. >> meantime, i want to ask you something interesting that msnbc's joe scarborough said in the wake of christie saying he's not running. he was saying that republicans, independents and even democrats would have been well-served if christie had jumped in the race, because, quote, this silly campaign about hpv, ponzi schemes and tiffany credit lines will become a deadly serious debate about america's uncertain future. like romney, obama seemed to take pride in his efforts to be all things to all people. christie, on the other hand, just doesn't give a damn. given all the excitement that christie generated, wouldn't it be smart for the other candidates to perhaps take a look at his playbook? >> well, i think they have all been trying to replicate it in some form or another. yesterday mitt romney in a town hall an hour after christie's announcement tried to get aggressive, tried to be an in your face kind of guy, but

that's just not his personality. i think you're going to see rick perry trying to emulate that a little bit. you know, when he got hit for calling social security a ponzi scheme, he said, hey, you know, i'm going to tell it like it is. they're all trying to do that. they know that this idea of authenticity is what the american voter is looking for. now, of course, the idea of authenticity is a little bit subjective. but that is what they're looking for at this point. so we'll see. i think ultimately what we don't know about this race is we don't know what does mitt romney look like as a republican candidate after millions of dollars are spent attacking him, saying he's not a conservative? what does he look like after that happens? when we know that, then we'll know whether he can get this nomination. >> okay. a story, a great story that's still playing out. chuck todd, thanks so much. let us get a check of the morning's top stories. tamron hall is over at the news desk while natalie is on assignment. good morning to you. >>. the occupy wall street protests are gaining ground as the movement enters its third week. other demonstrations have popped

up in cities across the country, and thousands are expected to march today in lower manhattan as several labor unions have now joined in the anti corporate protests. another developing story on wall street, where a late surge brought the s&p back from the brink of failing or falling into bear market. cnbc's mandy drury is there with the latest. good morning. >> good morning, tamron. it's getting harder and harder to predict where the stock market will end up each day with such volatile and wild swings. you're right with the dramatic turn around yesterday, as stocks here were cheered by reports that european authorities are getting more serious about protecting their banks. why is that important to us? well, it lessens the risk to the global banking system which includes u.s. banks. apple unveiled its latest iphone, the 4s. and i believe that sprint/next telewill be somewhere where you can get that phone, ending months of speculation about whether or not it would be the third u.s. operator to offer the iphone. back to you. >> mandy, thank you so much. and one-third of u.s. veterans believe the wars in iraq and afghanistan were not

worth fighting. according to a pugh recertain opinion poll out today. the nonpartisan group surveyed veterans who served after 9/11 and also found 37% say they suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. but 96% say they're proud of their service. and those slam dunks have come out of the nba labor discussions as owners and players have left the table and not set another meeting yet. without an agreement by monday, the regular season cannot begin as scheduled, costing millions of dollars, and, of course, disappointing fans nationwide. preseason has already been cancelled. it is 7:22. back to matt, ann and al. at least we have baseball. texas rangers baseball, i should say. >> yank key baseball. >> all baseball. >> anyway. >> well, out west, they're already feeling a little wint >>. out west, they are feeling winter out there. we have hef yan rain to talk about in parts of southern and central california. and mountain snows in the sierra, nevada.

we're talking one to two inches of rain and wind gusts at 50 miles per hour, and wind advisories, and snowfall amounts up to a foot or more in the sierra, nevada. that's what is going on around the country and here is what is happening in your neck of the woods. >> the pattern has shifted, what was once on the west coast, and now here we have spectacular weather. we hit the weather jackpot finally. we will have pretty, pretty skies. 55 degrees, the temperature. feels good outside, too. not too chilly. we will see temperatures rise quickly going up to a high today of 75 degrees, just a little breezy, but and that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al, thank you very much. just ahead, a 10-month-old girl snatched allegedly from her own crib as she slept. we're live with the desperate search to find her. but first, this is "today" on nbc. look, every day we're using more and more energy.

the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years. what's it going to do to the planet? natural gas is the cleanest conventional fuel there is. we've got to be smart about this. it's a smart way to go. ♪

check the tag. made in france. wow. the price tag. double wow. up to 60% off. find what makes you happy at a price that makes you homegoods happy.

coming up, was conrad murray distracted by a telephone call when michael jackson stopped breathing? the doctor's three girlfriends take center stage at his trial. also ahead, how did a couple get attacked by a black bear in their own living room? they'll speak out about an unforget good morning. it it's7:26 on this wednesday morning. we have 63 degrees. >> a most excellent morning out there, joe. so excited about today's forecast. it has been so many not just days, but weeks, since we had weather like this. 55 the temperature. light wind out of the southwest. generally a west to northwesterly wind today going 50 and 55 to a high today to 75

degrees. degrees. it's 70 to 72 degrees, complete this merger, and present to the board, sink your teeth into some big n' toasty if you understand. good. you've got spunk. a big day calls for the big n' toasty. wrap your hands around fried eggs, cherrywood smoked bacon, and cheese on texas toast. america runs on dunkin'. in one day, i could have three auditions. and, it's really important that you go in looking like the role. i go straight to t.j.maxx. i find what i'm looking for. done. it's amazing to find so many gorgeous designer clothes. i'm like dut, dut, dut... yes, yes, yes. and, it also works with my somewhat unpredictable paycheck. fashion direct from designers. savings direct to you.

this fashionista... is a one-to-watch maxxinista. t.j.maxx. let us make a maxxinista out of you. ♪ oh, won't you be good to yourself? ♪ ♪ and don't you feel like coming home? ♪ ♪ ♪ it'll be like coming home [ male announcer ] some rooms feel like a fish bowl. but in our roomy suites, you can spread out and live a little. with breakfast, dinner, and drinks included, you'll feel right at home. ♪ la la-la-la-la la la la ♪ good morning. making the commute in maryland,

traveling at shady grove. i will circle it right here as you are making your commute. your delays start out of germantown and continue towards the sper. ♪ ♪ [ multiple sounds making melodic tune ] ♪ [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, every innovation, every solution, comes together for a single purpose -- to make the world a safer place. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman.

7:30 now on a wednesday morning. the fifth day of october, 2011. couldn't ask for a nicer start to the day. it's supposed to be a beautiful day today in manhattan. we have a wonderful crowd enjoying the fall weather out on the plaza. meantime, inside studio 1-a, i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer. and just ahead, the desperate search for a baby missing in kansas city, missouri. 10-month-old lisa irwin was last seen monday night in her crib. and police believe she was abducted. we'll get the latest in a live report on that story. also, another i guess you

could call a home intrusion. a pennsylvania couple is lucky to be alive after being attacked by a black bear. this didn't happen in the woods near their home. it happened in their own living room. coming up, they'll describe the chaotic scene and what they did to fight off their house guest. >> oh moorks my goodness. plus, take a look on our plaza. we're having items gathered from our offices, doing it for charity, including a rather handsome beaded face of matt lauer. we'll explain more later. but we're talking essentially about this really i think increasing fascination. >> yeah, a lot of people love those things. let's begin this half hour with the latest of the trial from michael jackson's doctor. tuesday, prosecutors tried to paint conrad murray as a womanizer too busy to care for the singer. jeff rossen is live with details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. up until now, this trial has

been about the propofol, the science of the day michael jackson died. but now prosecutors are going right after conrad murray's personal life. this is a man who is twice divorced, he has seven kids, six of them out of wedlock. and now his former lovers, his mistresses, all called to the stand. just months before the trial, that's dr. conrad murray, enjoying a day at the beach with his girlfriend, nicole alvarez, and that's their son, born while murray was married to someone else. >> i am an actress with a screen actor's guild since 1998. >> reporter: prosecutors say dr. murray was dating two other woman, sade anding, whom he met at a texas steak house. and michelle bella, a dancer at a club in las vegas. >> did he give you his telephone number? >> yes. >> reporter: prosecutors insinuated murray tried to

impress the women -- ♪ >> reporter: -- by bragging about his work with michael jackson. >> were you interested in that information? >> absolutely. >> reporter: and why is that? >> it's michael jackson. >> must have been pretty exciting? >> definitely. i was speechless when i met him. >> reporter: murray lived with alvarez, still does, and paid her rent. murray even had the propofol delivered to her apartment, four gallons worth, telling the pharmacy, it was the address of his medical office. all the while, alvarez was working on her career as an actress. >> as a professional actress, my daily duties consist of maintaining my instrument, going on several castings. >> when you refer to an instrument, what are you referring to? >> as an actor, your instrument is your self. >> reporter: the morning of michael jackson's death, prosecutors say murray was on the phone with one of his other girlfriends, sade. >> i heard mumbling of voices. it sounded like the phone was

maybe in his pocket or something. it was -- and i heard coughing. and nobody answered. >> reporter: prosecutors say this is the moment murray realized michael stopped breathing. but on cross-examination, the defense said, not so fast. >> you said you heard mumbling? >> yes. >> and you said that -- what you just said is i didn't recognize voices at all. >> yes. >> so it could have been any voice, frankly. >> correct. >> the doctor, prosecutors say, was living a double life, juggling a parade of women, and the famous patient, until it all came crashing down. >> prosecution's goal was to attack conrad murray's character and they did that by showing he was too busy talking to his girlfriends while he should have been watching michael jackson. >> reporter: shaping up to be another big day here at the l.a. courthouse behind me, matt. prosecutors are going to try to

use dr. conrad murray's own words against him. they want to play a two-hour-plus audiotape of his police interrogation. that could happen as early as today. >> jeff rossen in los angeles. jeff, thank you very much. martin bashir is the host of msn msnbc's martin bashir show, and star jones, good to see you. what do you think of this tactic, previous to this, we have seen the prosecution talk about conrad murray's abilities as a doctor. whether or not he adhered to medical practices. now we're attacking his character as a womanizer. is it strong? do you think it's going to work? >> i think it is. because what you have now is a man who is being painted as a man under financial pressure. most doctors work in communities, in localities, in hospitals. they have an accountability system. this guy is a medical mersonry. he is the father of children, six out of wedlock, maintaining

four separate recommends. this is a man who needs money. and they have done a brilliant job. >> star, you always say you need to keep an open mind as you're hearing testimony. >> yes. >> but the prosecution is methodically painting a picture here. >> they are painting a picture of conrad murray in his own little version of the seven dwarfs. we've got greedy, we've got sneaky, we've got dopey, dizzy and now we've got sleazy. yesterday with all of the women being paraded around, we looked at the sleazy conrad murray. and that was on purpose. >> so you think it's effective from the jury's point of view. they're sitting in this room, they're hearing this. you think this is effective testimony. >> incredibly effective. this man is suffering a conflict of interest, all of the time. there is his medical practice on the one hand, and his hippocratic oath to do no harm. and simultaneously, he's worried about multiple girlfriends, and the financial pressure that he's under. >> and also remember, though, the jury does not know a lot of the personal items that we know. we know that they performed in

social clubs. we know that he has seven children, six out of wedlock. the jury has not been given that information yet. so as we analyze this, be cautious of the jury still seeing it in the box. >> right. >> of the jury box. >> let me go at something else the prosecution seems to be wanting to get out there. they want to paint conrad murray as a guy who used michael jackson, this mega star, as a chip, if you will, to gain entry to these women's lives, to impress them. >> it's pinching. >> but take it from the other side. if michael jackson was so important to conrad murray's social life, wouldn't the doctor do everything in his power to keep him healthy, so that he continued to have that chip? >> which is what makes me know that he was desperate in that emergency room, listening to those doctors. conrad murray really wanted michael jackson to pull through. there's no question he was not trying to kill michael jackson. he was just not skilled enough to keep him alive. >> all right. you feel the same way? >> i think so. i think when you look at the

doctor's practice, nobody -- the defense is trying to suggest by bringing on this former colleague of his that he was a very attentive doctor, he was very concerned. but you've just had a litany of examples where this man is conflicted all of the time. >> and we should keep in mind that while the prosecution is now painting this personal picture of conrad murray, when the defense gets its turn, they're going to paint a personal picture of the victim here. of michael jackson. >> i guess they are. and again, that's another reason why this direct financial relationship between the patient and the doctor is so significant. because it places the patient in a powerful position. he can start deciding whether he's going to withhold money and the doctor himself feels vulnerable in those circumstances. it's an awful situation. it's a situation that, frankly, shouldn't be allowed to materialize in this way. and that's why this is, i think, deeply damaging for the image of this doctor. >> martin bashir and star jones.

folks, thanks for your perspective. appreciate it. let's get a check of the weather now from al. >> thanks a lot, matt. we've got a lot of weather to talk about out west. not just snow, dust was a big problem. this was in central arizona, portions of i-10 were closed for a long time thanks to this situation. 23 people injured. one person was killed. a 30-plus car pileup. there was another one a couple hours later where about 20 cars were a hours later where about 20 cars were all piled up. really, really dangerous. as we check and show you what is happening today. look at the temperatures. anywhere from 10 to 25 degrees above normal, and high in bismarck getting up to 89 degrees. minneapolis will see a high of 93. and the temperatures in the 50s and 60s, and the 70s in the mid-atlantic states, and 50s and 60s out west. that's what is going on around the country and here is what is happening in your neck of the

woods. >> finally our weather pattern has dhachanged. we are in the mid-50s right now and we have sunshine across the area. today, 75 degrees. so from the 50s to the 70s, about a 20-degree rise. breezy in the afternoon, too. in the evening we will drop off to the 60s. and that's your latest weather. ann? >> al, thanks. now to a frantic search under way in kansas city, missouri for a 10-month-old girl believed to have been abducted from her crib in the middle of the night. peter alexander has the latest on this investigation. peter, good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning to you. investigators are expected here again early this morning to begin again their search to try to find that 10-month-old baby girl, lisa irwin. her parents say she was snatched in the middle of the night from her home inside the crib. that's the home there, still blocked off by police tape. overnight, investigators once

again searched the home. they searched two of the cars in the family's driveway. but so far, no suspects, and no solid leads. late tuesday night, detectives reexamined this kansas city home, where authorities say 10-month-old lisa irwin disappeared from her crib less than 24 hours earlier. police and fbi agents spent much of tuesday dusting for fingerprints, combing the neighborhood, even rappelling off a nearby cliff, searching for any clue that might lead to the adorable little girl. police say lisa's father called to report her missing after checking her room around 4:00 tuesday morning. >> we believe the mother was home at the time, probably asleep, and the father had come home from what we believe work at the time, noticed that the baby was gone and called 911 right away. >> reporter: initial police reports said a window at the home appeared to have been tampered with. investigators interviewed lisa's distraught parents, hoping for any information that might help them find the missing baby girl. >> we have been with them all day and they have been cooperating with our detectives all day.

and as you probably can assume, they have the most intimate knowledge of what's going on in the house, so they're a very important part of this investigation. >> reporter: more than 100 investigators are now involved in this search that's covered neighbors' homes and these nearby woods. >> i just think about the little child, you know. what's really happening to her. >> reporter: one neighbor reported that her husband saw a suspicious man holding a baby at about the time baby lisa went missing. >> he was carrying a baby, and he kind of was pushing it against his chest. and my husband kept looking at him. and then the gentleman just kind of kept walking. >> reporter: police said they were pursuing that lead, as well as others. but so far, no sign of the missing 10-month-old. >> i hope they find that baby alive. >> reporter: we're hoping to hear from the parents yesterday, but they were questioned by police until late last evening. there's a chance they returned to the home today to put out a public plea for helping finding their young baby girl. ann? >> all right. may that plea be heard. peter alexander, thank you this

morning. coming up next, the pennsylvania couple attacked by a black bear inside their own living room. the remarkable story of survival in their own words, right after this. [ female announcer ] starbucks via® is planted the same... ♪ ...harvested the same... ♪ ...and roasted the same as our other premium coffees. ♪ it only makes sense it would taste the same. so, try it for yourself. buy a pack of 100% natural starbucks via® ready brew. we promise you'll love it or we'll send you a bag of starbucks coffee. it's the starbucks via® taste promise. look for it at starbucks stores and where you buy groceries.

[ female announcer ] kellogg wants to help make kids happy, one tummy at a time. because 9 out of 10 kids don't get the fiber they need. froot loops, apple jacks and frosted mini-wheats have good-for-you fiber in every yummy bowl. they're the cereals your kids love and the fiber their tummies love, which makes for a whole lotta happy. froot loops, apple jacks and frosted mini-wheats... a good source of fiber and made with whole grain. kellogg's makes fiber...fun!

we're back now at 7:45 with a life and death struggle between a pennsylvania couple and a bear. and it happened inside the family's own living room. today national correspondent amy robach is at the home where it all unfolded. amy, good morning. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. it was early monday morning when a black bear came right through this back door. it was in hot pursuit of the moyer family dog, brindy. hi, brindy. there she goes. hello! that's when the bear barrelled right into rich moyer and turned his living room into what looked like a bloody crime scene, a wrestling match between man and bear. and things turned from bad to worse when his wife angie came downstairs. one day after the vicious attack, the horrific battle wounds are still fresh and painful, and very visible. >> i have 37 sutures on the back and top of my head. i have about 20 puncture wounds, scratches all over my back and arms. >> he actually bit me quite well

on might left breast and torso. i have a huge chunk of tissue missing from my left buttock. >> reporter: and there are mental scars for angie and rich moyer. >> this morning, i wouldn't come down when it was dark by myself because i was too freaked out. >> reporter: it all happened as rich got up for work and let their dog britain deout, leaving the door open. in a matter of minutes, rich was on the floor of his living room, fighting for his life, wrestling with a bear. >> i just saw a bunch of black hair. >> reporter: when angie heard the commotion upstairs, she ran down, but unfortunately, right into the bear's clutches. >> it knocked me down. i was down on the ground wrestling with it, in front of the door, actually. at one point, that's where it bit me. and then ended up wrestling it outside yet again until my husband -- my hero came and jumped and knocked the bear off of me. >> reporter: rich then suffered his worst head injuries. >> it kept my head down the whole time so the bear wouldn't rip my face up. and it literally ripped the back

of my head open. i started feeling the hair pull and thought it was the end. >> reporter: but he saved his wife's life. >> part of me thinks we saved each other. part of me wishes she never got involved. if you love each other, you're just going to jump in. >> he's more my hero than i'm his. >> reporter: all of this was going on while their 10-year-old son josh was sleeping upstairs. and while josh saw the gory aftermath, angie is relieved he didn't wake up any sooner and will now change the way josh plays outside. >> i looked at him and said, "oh, by the way, josh, you're not going outside ever again." but that's not a reality that can exist. he loves to play outside. so now it's just going to be a matter of i think one of us go outside with him, keep a closer eye on him. >> reporter: wildlife officials in the area believe this may have been a female bear protecting her cubs from the moyer's dog. and add even though they have set up a trap complete with jello doughnuts, it's a rare situation.

>> >> i've been at this 23 years, never had one go in a house. >> reporter: in the end, the moyers are just grateful they had each other at the most frightening, unexpected moment of their lives. >> a lot of times, men aren't as caring, especially over the years. i think that's going to change some. >> and i do have to admit, i sort of take him for granted sometimes. i have to change a little bit in light of this. it made me see the light, too. >> reporter: there is a financial toll to all of this, as well. as you might imagine, rich and angie have mounting medical bills, and as they have found out the hard way, homeowners insurance doesn't cover bear attacks inside the home. matt, back to you. >> wow. that's a wild story. amy robach, thank you very much. just ahead, why today's most popular tv shows could be teaching your girls to be mean and competitive back-stabbers. we'll explain that. but first, these messages. do w. aflac... and major medical? major medical, boyyyy! [ beatboxing ]

♪ i help pay the doctor ♪ ain't that enough for you? ♪ there are things major medical doesn't do. aflac! pays cash so we don't have to fret. [ together ] ♪ something families should get ♪ ♪ like a safety net ♪ even helps pay deductibles, so cover your back, get... ♪ a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aflac! [ male announcer ] help protect your family at aflac.com. [ beatboxing ] [ sighs ] can't wait 'til morning. wait, it's morning in china... [ male announcer ] it's sweet. it's nutty. it's absolutely delicious. kellogg's® crunchy nut™. it's morning somewhere™. i can't believe any pizza hut pizza is now just ten bucks! it's like we're both having a fantasy!

[ male announcer ] our ten dollar any deal is back! delivery, carryout or dine-in. only 10 bucks! add pepsi and breadsticks for five bucks more. only at your pizza hut. new splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart new ways to sweeten. same great taste. new splenda® essentials™. same great taste. new revlon age defying with dna advantage makeup. its powerful skincare ingredients and spf 20 help protect skin's dna and reduce the visible signs of aging. 96% of women saw flawless, in just 2 weeks. age. defy it!

of the elegance lifestyle. fulfill your dream today with savings on all accessories and select furnishings or 36-month financing. the drawer closes on these offers october 31st. ♪ ooh baby, (what) can i do for you today? ♪ [ female announcer ] need help keeping your digestive balance? align can help. only align has bifantis, a patented probiotic that naturally helps maintain your digestive balance. try align to help retain a balanced digestive system. try the #1 gastroenterologist recommended probiotic. align. just ahead, martin sheen and

ameal o-estevez. i really want dessert.rls . i better skip breakfast. yep, this is all i need. [ stomach growls ] [ female announcer ] why skip breakfast when you can start your morning with special k multigrain oats and honey, a wholesome blend of rolled oats and honey kissed multigrain flakes. it's a delicious way to get your whole grains and make your breakfast beautiful. ♪ [ male announcer ] we've always made it right. and now we ship it right. announcing shipped for free, guaranteed to last. no minimum order. no end date. from l.l. bean. [ male announcer ] each of these photos was taken by someone on the first morning of their retirement. it's the first of more than 6,000 sunrises

the average retiree will see. ♪ as we're living longer than ever before, prudential's challenge is to help everyone have the retirement income they'll need to enjoy every one of their days. ♪ prudential. bring your challenges. are hidden in the contours of your teeth & tongue. introducing a breakthrough for aquafresh. new extreme clean pure breath action. its micro active foam penetrates those hard to reach places.

and it now contains a mineral compound that captures and neutralizes bad breath odors giving you 80% cleaner, purer breath. for all the confidence of pure breath try new extreme clean pure breath action from aquafresh.

good morning. i am joe krebs. it's 7:56. nice day starting for us. let's get the forecast from meteorologist, veronica johnson. >> we will be basking in more and more sunshine. we are at 57 degrees right now but will be rising high in the mid-70s today. oh, it's going to seem like a special day with all the sunshine, and a special wrap to the week, too, because tomorrow, 72 and 70 on friday and that comes with more sunshine. the weekend, believe it or not, sunny and dry. joe?

good morning. traveling bw parkway, an accident at i-195 blocking the left lane. and it's a slow commute on the outer loop of the beltway as you head towards the mormon

8:00 now on a wednesday morning. it's the 5th day of october, 2011. starting out to be a beautiful day here in new york city. we're starting to get some of the warmer temperatures that al roker talked about. it will last right through the weekend, and that's great news for these people who are visiting new york. hopefully from other nice parts of the country, as well. we hope the weather is good everywhere. i'm matt lauer, along with ann curry and al roker. it's nice to be out here today. >> it is really nice. >> 57 degrees. coming up, we've got a really interesting topic, especially for the parents of young girls. >> that's right. because, you know, we have all

been hearing about this idea of back-stabbing and cat fights. they're pretty common these days on television. but a crop of shows aimed at teenage girls are really focusing on that kind of behavior. so critics are wondering whether these programs are actually teaching our girls to hate each other. we're going to get into the bottom of that, because i think it's a cause for a lot of concern for parents. we'll see if it's true. >> all right. also ahead, take a look inside our studio, martin sheen and emilio estevez. obviously most people know they are father and son. they're teaming up on a new movie that really is about a bond, an unusual bond between a father and son. they're going to talk about the importance of making that film, and we'll chat with them about a lot of things happening in their lives. they're two very talented people. >> no question about it. >> absolutely. and later on, how would you like to own some of our personal treasures? yes, we cleaned out our offices and dressing rooms for a very special tag sale with proceeds going to a great cause. and we're going to show you how you can get -- >> not sure maria is going to be

all that happy -- >> i don't know. >> a tag sale -- >> what's going on? it wasn't me. somebody is going to -- let's get inside and get a check of the news from tamron in for natalie this morning. >> hey there, ann, matt and al. good morning, everyone. freed american student amanda knox is enjoying private time with her family today after landing in seattle last night. knox thanked supporters who fought to have her sexual assault and murder conviction in italy overturned on monday. she had spent four years in prison. new jersey governor chris christie says now is not his time to run for president. he announced tuesday that he would not seek the republican nomination for 2012, despite the appeals of some party leaders. christie told new jersey residents, like it or not, you're stuck with me. and federal crash experts will examine the wreckage of a helicopter that went down tuesday in new york's east river near the united nations. a tourist from australia celebrating her 40th birthday was killed. police and divers rescued three of her loved ones. the pilot also survived. today could be the biggest

day yet for the occupy wall street protests in lower manhattan. nbc's mara schiavocampo is there with more. mara, good morning. >> reporter: tamron, good morning. protest organizers say they are expecting thousands today for a rally and march here in lower manhattan. the occupy wall street coalition is growing quickly, as several labor unions have now vowed to join demonstrators in their protests against corporate interests. three weeks in, and no signs of slowing. the occupy wall street protest growing in size and scope. hundreds gathering to vent their frustration at big banks and corporations, demonstrations spreading to more than 50 cities from boston to los angeles. protesters joined by very influential allies. >> we are powerful, thank you! >> reporter: tuesday, transit workers and teachers joined activists for a march to wall street. today they plan to join protesters in what could be their largest event yet, a rally

in march in lower manhattan. the grass roots movement has no official leaders. >> we the people are here to take the power back. >> reporter: while their frustration is clear, their goals are not. >> occupy wall street, if it wants to be successful, they're going to have to zero in on specific pieces of legislation. >> reporter: a movement still taking shape as it continues to grow. organizers are also hoping students will join them in today's events. they're asking college students across the country to walk out of class at 2:00 this afternoon in a show of solidarity. tamron? >> thank you. china and russia last night vetoed a u.n. security council resolution that would condemn syria's bloody crackdown on nonviolent protesters, prompting outrage from the u.s. ambassador to the u.n., susan rice. rice said the countries would rather sell arms to the syrian regime than protect the syrian people. now here is brian williams with what's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." brian. >> tamron, good morning. coming up tonight on "nightly

news" we'll have the cost of good intentions, a life-saving breast cancer drug, though it has a big drawback. we'll tell you about it tonight. that's "nightly news" this evening. now back to you. for a look at what's trending today, what's got you talking online this morning. say it ain't duh! i didn't say that right. threats to cancel the longest running comedy unless the actors take a pay cut. they reportedly earn an $8 million each per season. and griping on twitter today about the long-awaited iphone that was unveiled tuesday. critics say it's just an upgraded iphone 4, not the iphone 5 many had been waiting for. preordering starts friday. and movie buffs are buzzing about newt gingriches unlikely favorite movie. the republican presidential hopeful revealed he and his wife have seen "the hangover" seven times. newt says they just can't help themselves.

and added, quote, i watch almost anything that moves. all right. it is 8:05. back to al with a check of the weather. how many times have you seen "the hangover?" >> well, only twice. of but tamron you've got to work on your "doh!" >> doh! that's why they get $8 million an episode to do it. we've got the foundation for physical therapy. maybe you could work on tamron and get her doh correct. thanks. always love the physicaisphysic. thanks. pick city today, wilkes-barre, pennsylvania. sunny, breezy, 65 degrees. a gorgeous day ity today, sunny and 65 degrees. and as you can see, we have a fabulous weather, thanks to a big area of high pressure for a big eastern half of the country, and out west a system moving its way to the east and bringing heavy mountain snows and heavy rain in central and northern california, and record highs on the backside of that high pressure system in the plains

today. that's what is going on around the country and here is what is happening in your neck of the woods. >> around here we are about to get stuck in another weather pattern, but this is one i don't think we will mind getting stuck in, because it means dry and sunny. 57 with sunshine right now. and northwest wind at times, and 72 to 75 degrees is what the high temperature will be today. warmer than yesterday. all week long we will be in the low 70s, and all week long we will have hmmm, doughnuts. matt? >> all right, al, thanks very much. coming up, are certain tv shows teaching your young girls to behave badly? we'll talk about that right after this. ♪ d walmart have teamed up to bring you a low-priced medicare prescription drug plan. ♪ with the lowest national plan premium... ♪ ...and copays as low as one dollar...

♪ ...saving on medicare prescriptions is easy. ♪ so you're free to focus on the things that really matter. call humana at 1-800-808-4003. or go to walmart.com for details. call humana at 1-800-808-4003. you feel it working, so you know it's working. and that means you're ready for whatever the day brings. unlike ordinary toothpaste, you feel a deeper clean. you're also protected. with new crest complete, you know you're covered. it's real milk full of calcium and vitamin d. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk.

[ female announcer ] kleenex brand tissues are america's softest... no wonder people want to share them with the ones they love. ♪ ♪ start your own chain of sharing. ♪ send a kleenex brand share package for free today at kleenex.com. kleenex. softness worth sharing.

check this out... boo-yah! shazam! h2...o! hydrolicious! magic bananas! it's our first one-click faucet filter that removes 99% of lead and microbial cysts. adios contaminos! that removes 99% of lead and microbial cysts. ♪ that removes 99% of lead and microbial cysts. ♪ introducing hershey's air delight. experience new light and airy, melty bubbles. made from pure, delicious hershey's milk chocolate. new hershey's air delight.

[ female announcer ] starbucks via® is planted the same... ♪ ...harvested the same... ♪ ...and roasted the same as our other premium coffees. ♪ it only makes sense it would taste the same. so, try it for yourself. buy a pack of 100% natural starbucks via® ready brew. we promise you'll love it or we'll send you a bag of starbucks coffee. it's the starbucks via® taste promise. look for it at starbucks stores and where you buy groceries. back now at 8:11. for young women, the tween and teen years are critical for building friendships with other girls. but with so much on television focusing on females who can't get along, are we sending our girls a dangerous message? here is nbc's janet shamlian. >> reporter: if you have a television and a teenage daughter, you've probably seen it. >> shut up! >> you shut up!

>> reporter: cat fights, back-stabbing, lying and cheating. they used to be the signature moves of middle-aged women on daytime soap operas and evening reality shows. >> i was arrested! >> reporter: but now, mean girls are all over television. >> those kind of shows do not portray women in a very good light. and then parents have to battle against that, constantly. >> reporter: lynn's daughter abbey and her high school friends in california like the shows, but don't always love the behavior. >> i think they show women being like kind of bitchy and fighting and never getting along when women can get along really well and be best friends. >> reporter: on programs like "the bad girls club" on oxygen, a network owned by nbc universal, young women are often their own worst enemy. >> a lot of these girls you see, they parlay 15 minutes of fame and making tons of money off of it. and i think it does send a message that if you act in a ram panty narcissistic way, you can

move forward in the world. >> reporter: experts say the programs reinforce a stereotype that women can't get along. an unsettling message at a time when girls and young women are still trying to figure it all out. for their part, the networks wouldn't comment on the criticism. and while the shows are clearly labeled entertainment, some fear it's a misguided moral compass. >> we need to raise our girls to be powerful and independent and wonderful women that get along. >> reporter: there are exceptions, with no outrageous behavior. tia and tamara are a style network hit, proving female friendship doesn't have to be a twisted sister hood. for today, janet shamlian, nbc news, los angeles. >> carol lynn nor is with common sense parent hood. good morning. >> good morning. >> boy, am i yearning for the days of ethel and lucy and laverne and shirley, right? >> yes.

>> the days seem to be gone. >> yeah, i think over the past couple years, we have really seen an explosion in these types of shows that kind of amp up this drama. you know, all these shows are competinging for your kids eyeballs. >> that said, i did find some research in the "new york times" from last year from two researchers who say that girl violence is actually plummeting. that the serious crimes committed by girls has gone down significantly, really significantly, compared to what happened decades before. so how should we be thinking about the full impact of this kind of programming? >> well, also, there's relation aggression, which is common amongst girls, gossip and being nasty to one another. >> so you're saying there is a difference between violence and relational -- >> physical violence and relational aggression, which is more prominent amongst young girls. and that's what we see a lot on television. and the truth is, if kids are watching these kinds of interactions, and the message is, you're popular if you're

nasty and mean, girls who identify with that will certainly make that a part of their mental script. >> so you're concerned about how this will play out in the future. i mean, but this is really anecdotal evidence. is there any kind of clinical evidence that would support this idea? >> yes. i mean, they are doing studies, but they're newer studies. so, of course, the longer we study it, the more information we'll have. >> so carolyn, you know, your job is to think about this and what media is doing and how it's influencing our kids. so what is the best advice that you have for parents, especially moms who are concerned about their daughters? >> yeah. i really think that now kids are watching tv on the internet, it's -- tv is mobile. and i just think that if parents really get involved and take a look at the tv guide and make a conscious decision about what tv shows they really want to watch that reinforce their own values, then they will be showing shows that, you know, really show better behavior. >> are you saying that we should talk to the networks, are you saying we should watch tv or ban certain programs with -- from our girls? >> well, i think that, you know, we all love outrageous tv.

it's fun to watch and it's entertaining. so i think that, you know, if -- you know, not everyone is going to watch, you know, the ozzy and harriet style shows. so talk about some of these issues that come up and talk to your daughters about, do you think this is realistic? how would these women, you know, work together and support each other, how could this friendship, you know, be more positive? >> okay. so you're using it as a learning lesson. >> absolutely. >> to watch together and talk about. i'm wondering if -- some of this stuff is so shocking that i wonder if it's having kind of an opposite effect because some of the girls are saying there's no way i would do something like that. >> that can happen. certainly girls who say i know what real friendships are like, it doesn't look like what we see on tv, can differentiate. although young boys who are looking at this really are mischaracterizing or stereotyping what female relationships are all about. so it does have an impact. but, again, if parents train their kids to think critically, that makes all the difference in the world. if you train your child to say, how do you think the victim feels in this situation? then you're really teaching

empathy, and you're using what's part of this it media diet in an effective way. >> so much of this violence also seems to be connected to this idea of judgment. girls judging each other. women judging daughters. i mean, it almost seems that if you could have a home where you have less judgment -- >> we have judgment tv. that's what reality television is all about. we like to be in judgment, and we like to feel superior. and that's all part of the appeal right now. >> all right. well, robby ludwig and carolyn moore, thank you so much. helping our daughters. and coming up next, martin sheen and emilio estevez talk about their new movie. that's coming up right after this.

i know you're worried about making your savings last and having enough income when you retire. that's why i'm here. to help come up with a plan and get you on the right path. i have more than a thousand fidelity experts working with me so that i can work one-on-one with you. it's your green line. but i'll be there, every step of the way. call or come in for a free portfolio review today.

i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. it's backed by over 19 years of research. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications,

or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. [ man ] still love that wind in my face! talk to your doctor. don't kid yourself about the risk of heart attack and stroke. if lipitor's been working for you, stay with it. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month with the lipitor co-pay card. terms and conditions apply. learn more at lipitorforyou.com. hold on... ♪ it's morning in iceland... [ male announcer ] it's sweet. it's nutty. it's absolutelyelicious. kellogg's® crunchy nut™. it's morning somewhere™. ♪ hush, little baby ♪ don't you cry ♪ soon the sun ♪ is going to shine ♪ [ male announcer ] toyota presents the prius family. ♪ walk if i want, talk if i want ♪ [ male announcer ] there's the original one... the bigger one... the smaller one... and the one that plugs in.

they're all a little different, just like us. real-life father and son, martin sheen and emilio estevez have teamed up for a new movie about a father and son. the "the way" centers on a personal crisis that sends one of them on a life-changing journey, walking 500 miles along the ancient european pilgrimage route known as the carmen de santiago. he is the boss on the set. but it was your idea, based on a trip you took. >> well, that's how the whole story started. i was in spain with his son, my grandson, taylor, who was 19 at the time, and working for me as an assistant on the west wing. we had a few weeks off in the summer. and so i was trying to do the camino with him in two weeks. and -- >> 100 miles, by the way, yeah. >> so we did the practical

thing. we rented a car along with my friend, matt clark, who played the rabbi/priest you just saw in that segment there. and we drove across, and we got to burgos, one of the major cities along the way and taylor met his future wife at a supper. >> so there has to be something to this. there is a reason we did this and maybe a reason to go further. a lot of challenges, though, in bringing this to the screen. we just saw a little snippet. out you're out there in rustic areas, you tried to trim down your crew, 50 people traveling. what were your biggest challenges? >> just the days. we had had a small crew, shot the crew on super 16, the sound guy had a backpack. we were very nimble. and we moved. we could never go back to a location. so we were always moving forward. and we shot the film in about 40 days. >> we shot in sequence across the actual camino. >> you are known as a guy who doesn't shy away from a challenge when it comes to making a movie. you've got some epic stories and

epic roles in the past. and the stories from this one are coming out where you're carrying a backpack, which is what people do along this route. and it weighs a ton. and you basically come to him and say let's lighten this load. >> well, i didn't talk to him about it at first. i just took things out. i said we're going to take this out, you don't need this, you don't need that. and he picked up the bag and he said what the heck is this? it's the only time he ever got mad on the set was when we lightened his load. >> had all my money in there. >> that's why it's so heavy, right? so you wanted the reality of it. >> i did. you know, the guy in the story is not prepared for this trip. he -- he makes an impromptu decision to carry his son's ashes and finish the journey for him. so he doesn't have a clue what he's in store for. and i really wanted to experience it. i knew the weight of the bag would make a difference in the way i breathed and talked and walked. and the journey itself. so whatever happened actually happened on camera. >> i read something, emilio, that struck me onset. you're the director. you never called him dad.

>> that's right. >> you made a conscious decision to call him martin or ramon. why? >> keep it professional. i didn't want the crew to be so familiar with him that they would call him "dad" as well. >> they probably wouldn't call him "dad." but you wanted him to be treated as the icon he is. >> right, right. and the crew had a great respect for him. but i wanted them to keep that. i wanted to keep that going. >> i think -- you approve of that or did you ever look at him and say, hey, i'm your father? >> he didn't always call me ramon or martin. there are a few other things that shall remain private he called me. >> maybe. >> let me ask you something we have been talking about a lot here. charlie paid us a visit a while ago. i was struck by the fact that he seems to be on a much better path now than he was six months prior to that. bring me up to date. >> yes, indeed. in fact, we juskreebd the film r the aarp convention two weeks ago and he showed up unexpectantly on the red carpet

and it was great. and we were delighted to see him. he is a big supporter of the film and we're grateful to you for that interview. it made all of the difference. >> i see the smile on your face. it had to be hard during a certain period this yasser arafat leer in watching what seemed to be a slow-motion disaster. >> you're a father. you know what that's like. >> and is as a brother. >> of course. >> but thank god something really important has happened and he has turned a corner. so we're grateful and we give thanks and praise every day. >> that is good news. martin sheen, always good to see you. it's been too long. emilio, we've got to get out skiing sometime. >> snowboarding. >> snowboarding for you, skiing for me. "the way" opens in select cities this friday. and just ahead, we're going to throw a tag sale. how you can own a piece of personal treasure. i don't know if they're treasures. right after your local news. se

disaster. 8:26 is your time now on this wednesday, october 5th, 2011. good morning to you. i am eun yang. let's go to veronica johnson for the forecast today. >> the sun is shining. in fact, beautiful blue sky right now. it will help us warm up. and a westerly wind at 5 miles per hour. the temperatures rise to the mid-70s today, and warmer than yesterday. and then tomorrow and friday, we

good morning. still seeing a lot of congestion

in the area, especially at university boulevard, a very small commute. from

♪ 8:30 now on this wednesday morning. it's the 5th of october, 2011. and those screams you hear are for joe jonas, one-third of the super successful jonas brothers greeting our crowd this morning. he is coming out with his first solo album and will be performing for us live in just a

moment. if he can pull himself away from his adoring fans on the plaza. >> he has talked about writing a blog about food, so that tells you something. i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer and tamron hall and al roker. also today, we'll be talking about a tag sale for charity. >> here's what we did. we scoured our offices and our dressing rooms for any knickknacks or collectibles we could find, anything from clothing items to shoes, stuffed animals. even, and we're shocked about this, even the olympic torch that ann ran with in salt lake city. >> on this very broadcast, in fact. well, anglo mcgrek, the producer, said i had to give up something valuable. that's very valuable. >> no. >> i have to take it back? so you have a tag sale and you say i'm going to give it up and -- now i'm going to take it back? anyway. >> we're going to tell you how you can get in on the tag sale phenomenon in just a little while. >> it's for charity! >> i'm going to buy it and run around the plaza with it.

and pretend it's mine. also coming up, healthy foods for the autumn months. in fact, delicious recipes from the barefoot contessa. we'll show her fall favorites to warm our tummies. >> yes we do. and have you ever wondered what it's like to raise kardashians? chris jenner is upstairs with hoda, getting ready to co host the fourth hour. hoda is just doing a lot of double duty this week. >> that would be an air brush right there. you don't actually touch it. it's like air guitar. >> exactly. >> work with me here. >> never touch the do. >> are you going to do the weather? >> a great day in the east. a big areat day today here in the east. we have big area of high pressure taking care of things. showers left over in northern new england. record highs in the plains. it's a mess out west along the coast. for tomorrow rain and snow moves

into the rockies in the northern plains. it will be sunny and cool in new england. nice and warm in the gulf coast and into the mississippi river valley. that's what is going on around the country and here is what is happening in your neck of the woods. >> we will be smiling a while soaking up the rays today. it's sunny. we stay with the sunshine all through the day today. breezy and we get to a high of 75 degrees, and then overnight, 45 to 51 degrees, not too bad, and then thursday and friday in the low 70s, but the weekend, a and don't forget, you can get your weather at any time of the day or night. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com. coming up, ann says no to the olympic spirit by selling -- selling the torch from the 2002 games. now we've got our tag sale coming up. but first, this is "today" on nbc. i'm a curious seeker.

i am a chemistry aficionado. diphenhydramine. magnesium hydroxide. atheletes foot. yes. i'm a people pleaser. if elected, i promise flu shots for all.

i am a walking medical dictionary. congratulations virginia. inflamed uvula. i'm virginia. i'm a target pharmacist and i'm here to answer your questions.

♪ this morning, kicking off today's tag sale, everyone loves a bargain. so we're throwing a tag sale this morning for charity. and in a moment, we're going to give you some pointers on how you can set up your own tag sale. but first, a look at this american tradition. ♪ what you gonna do with all that junk ♪ >> from furniture to clothing to music, books, antiques and one of a kind items, more and more americans turning their driveways, garages and front lawns into shopping mechanicas on the weekends. >> it's hard work. you've got to get up early in the morning and i love it. >> might be $350 for this. and it's going for $50. no one is even looking at it. ♪ from the spring season to the fall, whether you call it a garage sale, a yard sale or simply a tag sale, all signs point to a potential treasure

for the buyer. >> how about $1? >> your dollar is worth $100 in a yard sale. that's why this is so important. that's why so many people want to do it. >> it's the thrill of the hunt. >> these days, it seems everyone is tag saling it. >> see you at the next sale. >> from people looking to downsize and unload their belongings to make extra cash, to professionals who liquidate estates and sell your collectibles for you. >> we tell everyone not to throw anything out, because anything and everything is fair game for a tag sale. >> we'll bargain. we'll make it happen. >> $3. and i'm sure i could bargain. that would be $1.50. we will never know. >> even celebrities like the entertainer liza mow nellie sold off personal items. >> these are all liza's dance shoes. look at these. they're beautiful. >> and here at the "today" show, we came up with our own "today's" tag sale donation. >> 2002 salt lake city olympics.

i ran with this. but you know, what i think it now needs to go to someone who really will donate for a good cause. >> we valued the items, but would anyone else? >> this is something that was given to me in cape town, south africa years ago on a where in the world trip. a beaded version of me. so get top dollar. have fun. >> golf shoes, anyone? could be a bargain. >> our choices were certainly personal. ♪ >> there you go. true nbc base. >> this is hard to part with. >> this is a find. >> i like it. >> this can be yours. beautiful. >> i rode up and down the pacific coast highway on the back of a motorcycle with this

outfit on. if you don't think this is valuable enough, i'll throw in al roker. >> it was al who reminded us that one person's junk is apparently another person's treasure. >> okay. now we've got elizabeth mayhu, the editor in chief of "women's day" magazine. good morning. >> good morning. >> we've got to get the words out. best ways. >> you've got to advertise in the paper. you want to use your social media. you want to tweet about it, you want to make signs, use really stiff cardboard with waterproof markers. make sure you list anything that's important. the address. put these up the friday before your sale. the other thing that you might want to do is check with city hall, because it's possible that you need a permit. >> okay. >> so you want to do that. list, again, like things have big arrows, make them bright. you want to be able to see them as you go 40 miles per hour

past. >> meantime, what you have chosen. how do you display them for the sale? >> you want to display so that it looks good. but you really need to choose and sort. so all clothes, hang them together. have something like a mirror so that people can try them on, see themselves. you want to put it in bins, make it clear. have things like tape measures, so somebody is measuring a piece of furniture, an extension cord. if you've got something electrical, the whole thing, though, is you're pricing to sell. >> i know. how do you make a decision about how much things are worth? >> you have to figure that things are going to sell 10 to maybe 20% of retail value. so you're really -- again, this is about getting rid of stuff. anything that you make is found money. now, another thing you want to do is you want to display it nicely. think like a store owner. so group like items together. go ahead and set a table if you've got leftover flowers in your garden, stick them in a vase. anything that you can do to make it look better. it will sell better. >> tagging. >> tagging. so things that you want to have on hand. tags, markers, bags.

keep prices at, like, $1, $5, clean. you need to have money on hand. you want to collect plastic bags from the grocery store, newspaper to wrap-up things. things to make it easy to get rid. >> and at the end of the day, end of the sale, time to open up your mind to negotiate. >> the whole idea is to get it out the door. >> let's talk about some of the items we put together. i'm getting a lot of grief -- in fact, i'm getting so much grief, i thought this was for charity, i'm thinking -- now i'm thinking, how could i possibly give up something -- >> it's the olympic spirit. >> you have to be careful about what you choose. you don't want to have regrets. >> obviously, you guys are doing this for charity, so it's a whole different ball game. you want to raise money and raise the stakes. but yes, you need to know the value. go to ebay, other places, find out how much stuff costs and what the value is. >> how could you place a value on the olympic dreams of so much athletes all around the world? >> i'm going to take it back. i really am, angela. no, really. how do you price it?

priceless? >> you would say priceless. >> all right. then you would negotiate or something. but something like this little item -- >> some of the stuff, toys do really well, guys. like, al, you hit the jackpot, probably, because things like that. anything for kids, you have a short usage time on this. that usually sells. matt, ties are good. you want them to be in good condition. >> right. >> but, elizabeth, talk to me. really, how could you put a price on this? >> wait. >> i think -- >> oh, oh! now! >> as i said, it's all about merchandising. it's all -- and then you just add a few shoes and you're good to go. >> yeah. >> so, again, though it's about getting the stuff out of your house, out of your office. as you and i have said before, al, one person's treasure can be someone else's junk. or vice versa. >> these mark mcewen bobbleheads are very impressive. >> we want to mention, by the way, all if not most of the material on this desk is going to go up on our website, today.com. and remember, all of the proceeds are going to a great cause, the salvation army.

so try to be generous. coming up next, barefoot contessa in the garden. and this is "today" on nbc.

style like a fashionista. save like a maxxinista. fashion direct from designers. savings direct to you. t.j.maxx. let us make a maxxinista out of you. [ female announcer ] have you ever seen a glacier while sunbathing? why not? have you ever climbed a rock wall in the middle of the ocean? or tried something really wild? why not? it's all possible in the n. royal caribbean's floating nation. where you are free to do anything you want. which may be nothing at all. royal caribbean international. why not cruise from baltimore? visit royalcaribbean.com today.

this morning on "today's" kitchen, what's for dinner? roast loin park with fennel. takes advantage of the best flifrs. flavors. here is ina garten. we love easy. your business is like being in the fashion business, because the seasons change, and you have to get new inspiration. and what are you inspired by in fall? >> i think in the summer, you want fresh, light and sort of quick things. in winter, you want things that are comforting. so your body really tells you want to go towards potatoes, apples, fennel, things that are warm and comforting. >> you like loin pork. why do you choose this? >> it's so easy to make.

you just throw everything in the oven. what i'm going to do is a loin of pork with fennel and potatoes and carrots all in one pan, you into the oven, you set a timer, you're good to go. >> we joked about the fact, people are going to go to the supermarket and see this and say what am i going to do with that? fennel is not something people are comfortable making. >> what it is, it has a strong annis flavor. so what you do is you cut it like this, and you cut it in big, thick wedges. and when you cook it, it gets very sweet. so you throw this away. nobody wants to eat that. and you just cut the whole thing in wedges. and it goes into a pan. and what i've done, actually, is i've cooked for about a half hour, potatoes, carrots, fennel, all of this together and onions with olive, oil, salt and pepper into the often. >> softens it enough. >> starts to cook it and then the loin of pork, which i'm going to put a mustard glaze on, mustard, thyme, glaze, the whole thing on top of these vegetables. into the oven for another 30 to 50 minutes.

>> all right. now let's get you in trouble here, okay? the usda says when you're cooking pork, i think they say you want to have it to 142, 143 degrees. you disagree slightly. >> because when you take it out and you put it under foil, it's going to keep cooking. >> so you can take it out at 138 degrees? >> about 138 degrees. and it keeps going. so what i do is, i'll show you how -- this is how it comes out when it's done. and what i do -- >> crust. >> from the mustard. instead of doing it this way, which is hard to measure, you do it this way, right in the middle. and you always get the middle every time. >> let it rest after it comes out of the oven anyway, always a good idea. i'll meet you over here. one of my favorite comfort foods for fall and winter, polenta. >> it cooks for five or ten minutes, and you add a cup of parmesan cheese, which gives it real spiciness. dump it right in. creme fresh for richness. a little bit of butter right in. and you've got polenta. >> what's that song my kids

sing? somebody call 911? shorty fire burning on the dance floor? >> i'm not saying to eat the whole thing. but a little bit is really delicious. >> and you can't mess that up? >> you can't mess it up. you really can't. and i'll show you how this tastes. it's just fantastic. so this is the loin of pork. >> thank you. i'm a lefty sorry. >> loin of pork, slice it thickly. and is for dessert -- >> is that good. >> is that good? >> really good. >> and it's autumn. that's what you feel like. >> cranberries. >> cranberries, apples, orange juice, brown sugar. and i take a batter that's like a pancake -- >> i thought that was more polenta -- put the polenta right in there. >> and pour it right over the top, just like that. easiest thing in the world. i call this easy cranberry and apple cake. and put that in the oven. and what comes out is this. and this you have to taste. it's going to say. >> because it's really unbelievable. and the apples and the cranberries are right there. whoops. >> got it. >> and you've got a great meal. >> it's hot!

>> oh, it's hot. sorry. >> right out of the oven. >> are you okay? >> that's delicious. but it's very hot. very good. ina, thank you very much. now someone truly call 911. up next -- it's really great. good to see you. a live performance from joe jonas. but first, this is "today" on nbc. [ male announcer ] at the safeway pharmacy you can get a flu shot with no hassle at all. i don't even need an appointment. [ male announcer ] it's about as easy as flu shots get. get your groceries and a flu shot, all in one trip. at safeway.

and you'll get a bonus. you get 10% off your groceries. [ male announcer ] save 10% on your groceries when you get a flu shot. that should make you feel better already. safeway. ingredients for life.

joe jonas is the middle child of the hit group, the jonas brothers. the music apparently just stopped suddenly. but now he's taking a break from his famous sibling -- there we go -- with his first solo album coming out next week called "fast life" we want to welcome joe jonas. you're the music we want, because in just a few days from now, you're going to release your first solo album. what are your emotions? >> very excited. you know, i think having my brothers' support going into this project means everything to me. and the fans seem to like the new music. and i'm just ready four it to be out there. ready to show the world what i've been working on the past year. i'm looking forward to it. of. >> were you nervous asking your brothers about this? >> i think so. we were trying to figure out what to do for 2011, a year-and-a-half ago, sat down with them and said guys i would love to work on a project, not

sure for myself or somebody else. and fell into it. started working with different producers and writers and here we are today. >> one of the songs, in fact, the one you're about to sing is called "just in love." and apparently the video that goes with this is -- raised some more than one eyebrow. you're -- you're frolicking in paris with a french model. are there some times where you just think my job is just too hard? can't keep doing this job. >> yeah, that was a difficult day, for sure. >> anyway. so that gives us a little heads up on the song. and you're about to sing it. i want to thank all of you for getting up so early to do this for us. ladies and gentlemen, joe jonas. >> thank you very much. ♪

♪ i love a girl in a whole another language people look at us strange ♪ ♪ don't understand us they try to change it i try to tell her to change it ♪ ♪ ♪ girl listen to me ♪ girl i'm just in love with you girl i'm just in love with you ♪ ♪ no other words to use i'm just in love with you ♪ ♪ maybe you're just confused ♪ girl i'm just in love with you girl i'm just in love with you no other words to use i'm just in love with you ♪ ♪

♪ i'm just in love with you ♪ oh yeah ♪ when i tell you i would never leave you do you hear what i say ♪ ♪ don't understand you you say you need time ♪ ♪ but you've been calling all day ♪ ♪ take love and they say it sounds crazy ♪ ♪ love's even more wild when you're angry i don't understand why you want to change it ♪ ♪ you're just running from the truth and i'm scared of losing you ♪ ♪ you are worth too much to lose ♪ ♪ girl you still are confused ♪ i'm just in love with you do you hear what i say ♪ ♪ i'm just in love with you ♪ can't nobody change it ♪ there is just too much to lose

i'm just in love with you just in love with you ♪ ♪ ♪ i'm just in love ♪ never knew what we have they don't understand noout that is waste of time ♪ ♪ we know this is real i know how you feel when you put your happened in mine ♪ ♪ because i'm just in love with you girl i'm just in love with you ♪ ♪ ♪ there are no words to use ♪ i'm just in love with you let me say it again ♪ ♪ no ♪ just in love baby

♪ oh baby the song is called "just in love." joe jonas, thank you so much. album comes out next tuesday, october 11th. we'll be back after your local news. 8:56 is your time now on this wednesday, october 5th, 2011. i am eun yang. let's check in with veronica johnson with a look at the forecast.

>> a nice day with sunshine today. we are at 62 degrees already, and mercury rising fast. a lot of sunshine across the area. it's going to be one of those days where you want to get out and stay out. we are going up to a high today of 75 degrees. a little breezy for the afternoon. and for thursday, friday, the high around 70 to 72. and all weekend long, sunshine h us.

good morning. the fire department on the scene of an accident at carol avenue. traveling on the outer loop of the beltway you are still jammed, delays from i-95 as you make your way to the mormon temple. it's a slow commute for you this morning. here is university boulevard, and you can see the outer loop is slowly moving at about 18

we're back now with more of "today" on a wednesday morning. it is the 5th day of october, 2011. it's a stunning day here in new york city. temperatures are going to be almost spring-like, even though we are in the first couple of weeks of fall. bright, sunny skies and a nice crowd gathered in rockefeller plaza. some of these people are still getting to say hi to joe jonas who came out. what a nice young man. >> very nice, yes. sweetheart. >> really, really good guy. anyway, i'm matt lauer along with ann curry and al roker. coming up, big night last night for amanda knox.

she returned to seattle for the first time in four years after having that murder conviction overturned. she got to the airport there, she made a brief statement, than thanking the people who believed in her, supported her and her family. we're going to find out more about what the future holds for amanda in just a little while. >> that's right. and is also how is she adjusting? a lot of people are asking, how do you adjust after four years? >> you can't just flip a switch from captivity to freedom and say okay, everything is normal. >> so we've got an expert in the house who is going to weigh in on that. and he's also going to have some thoughts about the trial of michael jackson's doctor, conrad murray, so he goes behind the headlines with us. and also behind the headlines, the unemployment rate at 9.1%. the fed chairman recently saying the economic recovery is, quote, close to faltering. millions of americans are worried about their savings, how they're going to support their families, whether they'll have enough money to retire. coming up, we're going to get you through your financial emergencies in today's "money 911.

o of". >> all right. >> good. ann sold the olympic torch and now prayer beads given to her personally by the dalai lama. >> you know, she asked me to be generous and it's for charity. >> let's go inside to the news desk. >> giving me a hard time for donating -- how about a beaded head? >> thank you, matt, ann and al. good morning, everybody. amanda knox is back in the u.s. this morning after four years in an italian prison. nbc's stephanie gosk is in seattle with more. stephanie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, tamron. she spent 1,450 days in that prison. but it only took 30 hours to get her back here to seattle. she sat next to her mother on that british airways flight that landed here just after 5:00. the last time she was in seattle, she was just a young student with her bags packed, ready for a school year abroad. walking out into a sea of cameras, after an unimaginable four years. [ cheers and applause ]

cheers broke out for amanda knox, and the 24-year-old sobbed. after several deep breaths -- she spoke. >> they're reminding me to speak in english. because i'm having problems with that. i'm really overwhelmed right now. >> reporter: how could she not be? just over 24 hours before, she stood in front of an italian court, visibly shaking. her life in their hands. [ speaking in italian ] >> reporter: the murder verdict overturned, she was whisked away in cars, through airports, on to planes. at times during the journey, moments of relief were clearly visible on her face. her family wasted no time getting her home. >> i was looking down from the airplane, and it seemed like everything wasn't real. what's important for me to say is just thank you to everyone

who has believed in me, who has defended me, who has supported my family. >> reporter: amanda knox has been given her life back. the prosecutor says he will appeal to italy's supreme court, leaving open a small possibility that the italian government may try to extradite knox. but legal experts say the chances of that are slim. amanda's father described the moment just after they won the appeal when he first hugged his daughter. >> i mean, she pretty much squished the air out of us when we were hugging her. >> reporter: he would not say where amanda was going, only that she needed time to adjust. >> i just want -- my family is the most important thing to me right now and i just want to go and be with them. so -- thank you for being there for me. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: for the first time in four years, nothing is stopping her.

knox is in an undisclosed location with her family and friends. a local paper says that the 24-year-old is planning the 21st birthday party that she never had, and her father says that after four years in a concrete prison, what she really wants to do is lie on the grass. tamron? >> all right, stephanie, thank you. investigators are trying to find out what caused a deadly helicopter crash tuesday in new york. the helicopter went down in the east river shortly after it took off, killing one passenger and injuring three others. emergency crews were at the scene within seconds. this morning, i spoke with nypd detective, keith conley, one of the rescuers. >> seeing the people in the water struggling, and they just, you know, experienced the helicopter crash, and they're struggling in the water. so without hesitation, we just jumped in. >> and a british woman celebrating her 40th birthday was killed in the crash. the pilot survived. a new pugh research poll finds one out of three veterans survived believes the wars in

iraq and afghanistan were not worth fighting. almost half of post 9/11 veterans say their deployments strained their relationships with their spouses. 96% say they were proud of their military service. and a difficult rescue tuesday in chile after a young bull squeezed through the opening of a water pit and got trapped for almost two days. the bull even had fans on twitter, urging rescuers to save it. finally, engineers opened up a larger hole, and used a crane to hoist the bull -- there you see it there -- to safety. it is now 6 past the hour. quite the sight there. now here is al with a check of the weather. >> okey-dokeynow, here is al wik of the weather. >> okeydokey. thank you, cameron. we show you what is happening today. out west, we have a system bringing rain to northern and central california. we have wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour. winter storm warnings and watches and advisories in effect all the way into the plains.

we are looking up to a foot or more in the upper elvisions of the sierra. and then heavier rain in northern central california on into parts of the pacific northwest. record highs in the plains, plenty of sunshine in the southeast. here is what is happening in your neck of the woods. >> happy to say, no showers around here for while. nothing but sunshine as high pressure moves in and it will be sticking around for a while. today warmer than we were yesterday. got up to 70 degrees yesterday, and today we'll probably hit a high of 75 degrees. cooler tomorrow and friday. you know what? that's okay, because it stays sunny around the area, and around the weekend, more sunshi ♪ somebody call 911 shorty fire on the dance floor ♪ now our panel of experts answers your financial

questions. gene chatzky is the author of "money 911." david backe is author of "debt free for life" and sharon epperson is a personal correspondent for cnbc and nbc.com. let's get started. we go to the phones. roger is on the phone calling from bryceville, florida. good morning, roger. >> caller: good morning. >> what's your question? >> caller: i have a conventional i.r.a. that i have to start taking distributions from in about a year. now, i won't need the money for current living expenses, so i've got to find a place to reinvest the distribution. and so i'm curious as to what your thoughts are on converting to a roth now. >> jean? >> do you have the money to pay the taxes on the roth outside of that account? >> caller: no, i don't. >> then don't do it. >> doctor, it hurts when i do that. >> it will cost you 30 to 40% of that money to pay the taxes to just eat into your principle. you're better off pulling the money out and investing it in a

taxable account, or if you're thinking about this as money for your kids down the road, because you don't need it to live on, you may want to look at buying a life insurance policy with some of the money, if you are thinking that you want to do it to leave an inheritance. >> all right. roger, thank you so much for calling in. now we're going to go to a viewer video. this one is from michelle in birmingham, alabama. let's take a look. >> caller: in 2008, i had a 401(k) that was 100% invested in the stock market. after the crash, everyone said to ride it out. in six months, i had lost a third of its value. so i moved everything into 60% stocks and 40% bonds. >> it's taken me all this time just to get back to where i was. in this volatile market, i'm really afraid. should i be more conservative in my mix? i'm 15 years from retirement, and i've recently lost my job. thanks. >> okay, david. a lot of folks in that position. >> yeah. >> here's -- there's so much good news. first of all, she has been paying herself first, so she has over $300,000 in retirement account at 47, which is three times the average for retirees. so she is doing everything right in that regard. the fact that she didn't panic

out of the market, that was a really good thing. that's why she is back up to where she was. people who didn't panic saw their accounts get right back to where they were before the crash. so 47 years old, 60% stock, 40% bonds. if she is nervous, pull it back a little bit. i would go to about a 50% stock, 40% bonds, 10% cash. and then rebalance that every six months. so the market dips a little bit, take from that cash, put it in the stock market. if the market goes up, take it off and put it in the bonds. >> but be active about it. >> and diversify a lot. maybe add alternative investments, real estate or commodities or something like that. because just stocks and bonds these days may not be the asset mix that you really want to get the true diversification that you need to see the up side. >> all right. we're going to go to an e-mail from scott in springfield, missouri. his e-mail says, what are the potential repercussions of opting out on a rate increase from a lender? the letter i received stated that by opting out, the account would be closed to further advances, overdraft protection

would be discontinued and access checks would no longer be honored. i can live with this, but what about my credit rating? >> that's a valid concern. the thing we talk about on money 911, what to do that could raise your credit ratio. that could be a negative thing for your credit score. also, you know, if you get another credit inquiry that, could also be a ding on your report. the thing he wants to do, actually, is look for a new car before opting out, before perhaps having that account closed. make sure that that card has the credit limit that is the same amount, if not higher, than what's on the existing card. and that way, he won't see that drop in his credit ratio. and if it's a higher credit limit, he may see it decrease. that would be a great thing that would improve his score. >> he doesn't have to opt out. just keep the card. >> but you don't want the higher rate. >> but he may just pay the debt down and not worry about the interest rate. >> right. >> don't have to do anything. >> couple ideas. now let's go to eileen coming in

via twitter. reads, i have a 401(k) account from two previous jobs and an unrelated regular and roth i.r.a. account. should i merge into one? >> we have been getting this question a lot. the thing people need to understand about moving the money out of their 401(k)s is when you've got a 401(k) with a smaller company, generally the fees tend to be higher and the options for investments tend to be smaller. the reverse is true of larger companies. the fees tend to be lower, the options tend to be better. so look at what you're paying. and see if it makes sense on that basis to move the money. and then if it does, again, the same rules apply for the roth. if you have to pull money out of the account to pay the taxes, don't do it. >> okay. we've got one more call coming in. this is from brenda from can k a kenosha, which was on the line. good morning. >> caller: good morning. my husband has a traditional i.r.a. and i have a roth i.r.a. we have self-employed so we can take a tax break on my husband's i.r.a. because of this, his is a will the larger than mine. should we keep adding to his

first and then mine or split it 50/50 in each account yearly? >> if he's putting money in his account, it's still half yours. if you were to get separated, half the money is yours at the time of divorce. so don't worry about that. tax deduction stand point, it's the same. i would make sure you're using a accept i.r.a. or solo plan. if do you that for him or both of you, you can get up to $15,000 put away. >> that's a great way. >> so make sure you're maxing out on a retirement account. >> brenda, thank you so much and jean chatzky, david backe and sharon epperson, thank you so much. sharon is hanging around, answering more of your questions during a live web chat. that starts at 9:30 a.m. eastern. coming up next, dr. drew pinsky takes on the amanda knox verdict and the trial of michael jackson's doctor. later, too much of a good thing? we'll tell you why may be wasting your money when it comes to your beauty routine. that's after these messages. [ female announcer ] starbucks via® is planted the same... ♪ ...harvested the same...

♪ ...and roasted the same as our other premium coffees. ♪ it only makes sense it would taste the same. so, try it for yourself. buy a pack of 100% natural starbucks via® ready brew. we promise you'll love it or we'll send you a bag of starbucks coffee. it's the starbucks via® taste promise. look for it at starbucks stores and where you buy groceries. [ regis ] we love to play tennis. and with it comes some aches and pains. and one way to relieve them all is to go right to the advil®. tennis is our game and advil® has become part of our game! [ male announcer ] take action. take advil®. gives you a 50% annual bonus! so you earn 50% more cash. according to research, everybody likes more cash. well, almost everybody... ♪ would you like 50% more cash? no! but it's more money. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash.

what's in your wallet? woah! [ giggles ] woah! [lady whispers] stay.. ... stay... ...okay! [female announcer] somethings are worth the wait! like the petsmart 'treat your pet' sale. save up to 50% on hundreds of toys, treats, apparel & more. don't miss these great deals, friday through monday only. at petsmart®. being sent to the back of a freezer. and it's all because someone said "tacos." old el paso. when you gotta have mexican. of the elegance lifestyle. fulfill your dream today with savings on all accessories and select furnishings or 36-month financing. the drawer closes on these offers october 31st. ♪ ♪ vegetables picked at their peak ♪ ♪ so fresh my knees grow weak ♪

♪ inspired by fine chefs in rome ♪ ♪ gourmet soups you make at home ♪ [ male announcer ] introducing new bertolli frozen meal soup for two. like chicken minestrone with crisp vegetables, white meat chicken, al dente pasta. [ chef ] ♪ fresh tasting restaurant style ♪ [ both ] ♪ bertolli soup's in the freezer aisle ♪ [ male announcer ] new bertolli meal soup. dr. drew pinsky is best known for helping celebrities with their addictions on ""celebrity rehab"" but now the busy doctor has two shows, "life changers" where he takes on the headlines, trying to understand why people do what they do. a heck of a job. and dr. drew pinsky is with me. good morning. >> good morning, tamron. >> i want to talk about "life changers." i know it's very important to you. but i want to get your thoughts first on amanda knox. we saw that video. >> yeah. >> she spoke out. her father says she needs time to adjust. but how do you adjust after four years in prison, and still have

unsettled feeling. >> right. i've been watching the story very carefully. and i was convinced she would speak. >> why were you convinced? >> this girl is going to be angry, no doubt in my mind. and is she has a story to tell. and i think she wants people to hear it. so what i expect is, one of the ways she is going to deal with this trauma is by being of service to other people, by telling her story. she was a naive young girl that went into an environment without really understanding that she wasn't under the protection of the american system, she got involved with people she shouldn't have been involved with. and it's a cautionary tale for other parents, sending their kids overseas. but she needs to make this experience a cohesive narrative. she needs to incorporate who she is in her life. and i think when she does that, she'll start to be of service to others by telling her story in a way that may help other young people. >> matt spoke with one of the attorneys and asked is it a good idea to hide her from the press? you can pretty much make her a prisoner within her own home. >> that's right. and her dad said she just wants to lie on the grass. she needs to be left alone for a

while. but no, i don't think this is someone that can avoid the press. i don't think it's someone -- as i said, when she got off that plane, i knew she was going to speak. >> so she needs that. >> it's going to help her get there. not everyone would do that. but i've watched this story very carefully. and i tell that's who this young woman is. and the whole story is -- listen, i get angry when i hear the story, because the way the prosecutor painted her is not the way anybody behaves who doesn't have a preexisting history of all kinds of funny stuff. >> she still has to deal with the loss of her friend. >> absolutely. that was her roommateho was murdered and her boyfriend incarcerated. and the horrible things this girl has been through. she looks to me as a strong girl, family behind her. family was divorced, got together on her behalf. she'll get through this. >> let's transition to conrad murray. a lot coming up from his personal life to some of the questionable behaviors, a doctor. first, you've got conrad murray sending propofol, the drug that killed michael jackson, to his girlfriend's home. >> right. i think i heard you say an astroid just landed in the ice

rink. that's about as normal as an astroid landing here at 30 rock. it's biz sgharrbizarre. >> bizarre or negligent? >> bizarre to the point where physicians haven't heard of such a thing, propofol being used outside a hospital. then to do it without nursing, without a team, without the proper monitoring equipment. you're getting negligence. and what they're showing with the young ladies -- >> his series of girlfriends. he had a girlfriend and a mistre mistress. >> seven babies with six women. assaulting his character. but on the other hand, establishing a time line, so they can show that he really was absent for quite a period of time. and that's where they're going to establish the negligence. >> is this assault as you referred to of his character fair game, and the jury is trying to know who this guy is? >> it is -- it's the stuff that normally probably would not have been admitted that into the court of law, but because there is a time line, it got in. there is a lot of smoke and mirrors by the prosecution where they assail this man. what they're doing is tearing down his character and showing

consciousness of guilt. that's going to cause -- the jury to think, hey, this guy is maybe not just a good guy and could be negligent. >> you don't hold back on your thoughts so far from what you've heard. >> yeah. >> is it this a case of negligence? >> i think he's in big, big trouble. >> let me talk to you about your show "life changers." >> please, fantastic. >> it's so inspiring, taking on perm stories. >> it's a great show, 3:00 on the cw, where we take people, sometimes we do small changes like today you can see a young girl -- you'll see in a minute, she is going to lose her vision, we restore her eyesight. we have found a new surgery. >> and we have a clip. >> it's airing right there. >> it makes me feel scared that i'm going to go blind and i'm not even going to be able to see anything. >> when i heard your story, i mean, it's obviously deeply moving. and i really felt like me and this program could make a difference for you. and i want to tell you, we're going to do this. we're going to fix her eyes. restore her vision, and she has

no progression. and people at home can understand if they have this problem, there is a restorative procedure. not only is there a change -- we follow up on people. >> i know you're a doctor, but you're a dad, to see that girl. >> it was a big deal. there is more of me than -- my kids get involved, my wife is involved. it's all about things you can use to change your life by showing the stories of change that we follow in this program. >> congratulations on the new show. >> appreciate it. >> can't wait to see it. thank you very much, dr. drew pinsky. and you can catch "life changers" weekdays. check your local listings. coming up, how to look younger in ten minutes, in how you dress. before and afters. but first, these messages. [ male announcer ] 20,000 btus produce a delicate sear. double-oven range makes dinner and dessert -- at the same time. turbo-charged advantium oven cooks more than twice as fast, in this culinary powerhouse.

dan. yes? molé sauce. [ male announcer ] with ge's most advanced cooking technology, the café line takes food further. i'd like a decaf 360 calories please. i'll have a triple iced 410 calories please. you know what... i'll have this instead. [ female announcer ] swap one thing a day for a yoplait light at around 100 calories. it will add up to amazing. pasta bowl is almost over. for just $8.95 try new sauces like roasted mushroom parmesan and hearty pizzaiola meat. choose all the sauce and pasta combinations you want just $8.95, with unlimited salad and breadsticks. so hurry in to olive garden. flavored with real honey. powerful cold medicine that leaves out artificial flavors and dyes and instead uses something more natural, honey. new vicks nature fusion cold & flu. ♪

new splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart new ways to sweeten. same great taste. new splenda® essentials™. helping strengthen our bones. caltrate delivers 1200 milligrams of calcium and 800 iu of vitamin d plus minerals. women need caltrate. caltrate helps women keep moving because women move the world.

[ sighs ] can't wait 'til morning. wait, it's morning in china... [ male announcer ] it's sweet. it's nutty. it's absolutely delicious. kellogg's® crunchy nut™. it's morning somewhere™.

coming up, from moisturizer to styling wax, why portion control is poshts in your beauty products. >> but no portion control in today's kitchen. we're talking classic desserts after your local news and weather. play with some trucks ? younger boy: yeah. yeah ? okay. show mommy how to do it. ♪ you are exactly one of a kind ♪ mom: nice driving, very good ! mom: yaaay ! older boy: see that ? mommy, watch- he's gonna get some gas. mom: okay. dad: hi bud ! hi ! mom: nice ! ♪ we were made for each other ♪ more... ♪ for always more... stop ! like many chefs today, i feel the best approach to food is to keep it whole for better nutrition. and that's what they do with great grains cereal. see the seam on the wheat grain? same as on the flake. because great grains steams and bakes the actual whole grain. now check out the other guy's flake. hello, no seam.

because it's more processed. now, which do you suppose has better nutrition for you? mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal. 9:26 is your time now on this wednesday, october 5th, 2011. good morning. i am eun yang. let's go to veronica johnson with your forecast. i think you will like it. >> that's right. it has been a morning with the sun in our eyes, but no complaints here. we like that. 62 is the temperature right now. glorious sunshine throughout the area and a light wind right now. the wind, a little on the breezy side for the afternoon. not as strong as yesterday but you will feel it out of the

northwest. 75 your high temperature for today. so from snooif today to 72 tomorrow and look at all the sunny days we have coming up including the

check traffic when we come back. stay with us. . >> morning, earlier accidents in our area look to be cleared. let's start with 395 at duke street. you can see a slow commute from duke as you make your way from

the 14th street bridge. and we have seen some crowding here, delays from the 95 interchange to the dulles toll road, traveling at 26 miles per hour. and outer loop of the beltway, those delays c

never a dull moment in the makeup room. actually, that does look like a dull moment. >> listen -- >> but not so much -- wow, what the heck? >> i came here. she asked me to come. she said there would be wine and alcohol. and i am left with an empty glass. >> she needs to wait until 10:00. >> you promised me the wine. you promised me the wine. okay? there better be wine. >> hey, now -- >> what is going on? >> chris jenner -- >> yes, indeed. >> doing the show with hoda. chris filling in for kathie lee today. are you showing her the ropes? >> i'm trying. i'm getting a real similar vibe from kathie lee, feeling

something very similar if you know what i mean. >> we haven't been friends for 30 years for nothing. you know what i'm saying? >> i gotcha. drink up. >> fill this up. >> you got it, sister. you got it. >> spectacular. and they're still going. i don't want to go home. i just want to watch them. from that to the makeup room, to makeup and moisturizers, we're going to tell you why portion control is important to your beauty routine. so if you like to use too little of the product, it may not work. use too much, you're probably wasting money. i love this. so we're going to tell you what types of products and the amount to use. so like shampoo, for example. >> yeah. >> you probably use a lot. >> sure, i use a lot of shampoo. what was that. >> it was a -- it was a joke. it was mean, but it was funny. >> why would you hurt me like that? beautiful dessert's in today's kitchen. from a classic upside down cake to a berry crumble, we're going to satisfy your sweet tooth with some traditional american treats. >> very nice. but first, my friend, my beloved friend, al is here with a check of the forecast.ts and .

first, my friend, my beloved friend, al is here with the check of the forecast. >> the eastern half of the country will be gorgeous. a lot of wet weather out west with heavy mountain snows in the wasatch and the sierra nevada. and then for tomorrow, the mess moves into the central and northern rockies. we have beautiful weather in the eastern third of the country. mild to warm conditions. sunny and cool in northern new england. that's what is going on around the country. here's what is happening in your neck of the woods. >> we will be stuck with sunshine the next couple of days. that's the pattern. 62 is the temperature right now. the very light wind, and it's so nice out there. mid-70s by the afternoon, warming up very nicely today. we will be in the low and mid-70s for the rest of the week, thursday and friday, and right now saturday we should hit 75 and sunday, upper 70s,

and that's your latest weather. >> up next, portion distortion. when it comes to beauty products, we're going to show you what you can -- you can be wasting your money. right after this i'm tired of shopping around. [ sigh ] too bad you're not buying car insurance. like that's easy. oh, it is. progressive direct showed me their rates and the rates of their competitors. i saved hundreds when switching. we could use hundreds. yeah. wake up and smell the savings. out there with a better way. now, that's progressive. but think about your heart.

2% has over half the saturated fat of whole milk. want to cut back on fat and not compromise on taste? try smart balance fat free milk. it's what you'd expect from the folks at smart balance. try smart balance fat free milk. fresher less processed foods introducing freshpet recipes so fresh the only preservative we use is the fridge freshpet fresh food for fido announcing shipped for free, guaranteed to last. ♪ no minimum order. no end date. from l.l. bean. [ door buzzes, unlocks ] [ male announcer ] scrubbologists know ...from cleaning.vacation... [ male announcer ] the extended family of scrubbing bubbles extend-a-clean. designed to keep your bathroom cleaner...longer. try it in new active scrub cream cleanser or in foamer. simply remove dirt and soap scum, then watch as the water-activated formula

continues to clean for up to 4 days. the full line of extend-a-clean products from scrubbing bubbles. we work longer so you don't have to. [ female announcer ] s.c. johnson, a family company. happy birthday to you. happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to you.

hold on... ♪ it's morning in iceland... [ male announcer ] it's sweet. it's nutty. it's absolutelyelicious. kellogg's® crunchy nut™. it's morning somewhere™. thanks, skyler. let's go to last night's highlights. look what sometimes happens with the ordinary bag. it slips. bingo, falls in. mom was mad. mom should have used glad forceflex with the stretchable drawstring that grips the can and stays in place. plus, it has the stretchable strength of forceflex. that's all today for glad tv. [ both ] don't get mad -- get glad! [ male announcer ] and try glad black bags -- strong for tough jobs. ♪ i'm gonna be a beauty ♪ this morning on "today's" beauty, portion control. how much should you be using to get the desired effect? executive editor of "simple"

magazine is here. good to see you. i love this, because we believe or we're trained to believe more is better, especially when it comes to creams and things like that. but certainly that's not the case. >> yeah. you can have too much of a good thing when it comes to skin and hair products and too little of a good thing. so you want to use the right amount to ensure they do the right job for you. >> how did you come up with this formula? >> we talked to dermatologists mostly to see -- and hairstylists to see how much you really need to use. and then we have used some guidelines, some eyes guidelines to help you along. >> let's get to it. first up, the moisturizer. this with spf. how much should we use? >> a quarter size. moisturizers with spf, about a quarter size, because you want to make sure you're covering your face, ears and neck. >> so this about the area you're covering. >> absolutely. but here's another tip, tamron. go straight from fingertips to face. >> most people rub it in -- >> if you rub it into your palms, you're using half the product on your palms. so fingertips to face is the way to go. >> very nice. and end up saving more of the product.

>> absolutely. >> so now to the eye cream, which can be expensive. you don't want to use too much. >> a little goes a long way here. a half a pea per eye. >> oh. >> okay? >> and what you want to do is use your ring finger, because that is one of your weakest fingers, you won't stretch the delicate skin. work from the outer edges in. >> out in. and what does that do for your under eye? >> if you have got the right amount, it's not going to settle into your fine lines and won't irritate your eyes. sometimes if you use too much, it goes into your eye. >> is that enough to cover the whole eye area? >> absolutely. a little goes a long way. >> okay. because i've been slathering it on. okay, next is night cream. >> speaking of slathering on, you want to be generous with this. at night your skin is receptive to the active ingredients like retinol and sal sillic acid. so you can be generous and cover your face. >> at night is when your skin really soaks it up. now to the foaming cleanser. this is the largest portion we have seen so far. >> you're combining cleansers with water. so if you're using a foaming

cleanser, you want to use a golf ball size amount. >> okay. >> if you do a milky cleanser, a quarter amount. the key is not how much, but how long you use it. you need to use it for 30 seconds. that will get the impurities out. i'm usually a ten second girl. 30 seconds. >> okay. moving on to our hair and shampoo and conditioner. starting out with these. >> these are the two most overused products. talking about the old rinse and repeat. >> they used to tell us you need to shampoo twice. >> right. in fact, you only need a quarter size amount of each. if you use too much shampoo your hair gets dull and dry and too much conditioner, greasy. a quarter size is all you need. >> and moving on to mouse. which again, this is a nice economize portion. >> this is a golf ball size. you want to work it through your hands to liquify it and make sure it can go through your hair. >> gives you a nice spiky look there. okay. this is again very popular. the hair serums, give yourself a

little bit of gloss. that's a lot, i think. how much is that? >> that's two peas. for medium length hair, especially if it's thick -- if you have fine hair, be careful. this is great for defrizzing and shine but can backfire and you need to go back to the shower. two pea sizes for medium length hair. >> the last product, very popular we know from watching "jersey shore" people can use too much wax. >> might use too much. a pea size amount of styling wax, liquify in your palm. it spreads better that way. and that's just for the ends. and, again, you know, use judgment. but about a pea size. >> this is what i use. i like that. now i look like pauly d. great tips there. can save money and use the right amount. this smells delicious, too. thank you, sarah. great list of things. up next, helping inner city kids spark their potential with help from the pros. and later, this week, a taste of americana in today's kitchen. you know what, this looks just like

the tree house i built with my dad. (girl) really? yeah.

there you go. okay, i'm gonna work on the roof. dad, i'll be right back! (announcer) it's more than just that great peanut taste, choosing jif is a simple way to show someone how much you care. you made that for me? well you're making this for me. (announcer) choosey moms, and dads, choose jif. it's your fault. naturally blame the mucus. try advil congestion relief. it treats the real problem, reducing swelling due to nasal inflammation. [ male announcer ] advil congestion relief. new natureluxe mousse mascara! we took out a heavy synthetic and put in a light touch of beeswax. up with the volume, down with the weight. new natureluxe mousse mascara. easy breezy beautiful covergirl. usa prime credit... this peggy... hi, i'm cashing in my points... peggy?

no more points - coupons now. coupons? coupons. coupons? next, you convert coupons to tokens. tokens? then you trade tokens for credits. and then i get the cash? then you call back. bye bye. peggy? hello? what just happened? want rewards that make sense? switch to discover. america's #1 cash rewards program. it pays to discover. it's pro-cool technology releases armies of snowmen masseuse who cuddle up with your soreness and give out polar bear hugs. technology. [ male announcer ] new bengay cold therapy. the same technology used by physical therapists. go to bengay.com for a $3 coupon. thanks, skyler. let's go to last night's highlights. look what sometimes happens with the ordinary bag. it slips. bingo, falls in. mom was mad. mom should have used glad forceflex with the stretchable drawstring that grips the can and stays in place. plus, it has the stretchable strength of forceflex. that's all today for glad tv.

[ both ] don't get mad -- get glad! [ male announcer ] and try glad black bags -- strong for tough jobs. yep...doh. [ boy ] slurpably fun and a good source of calcium. dads who get it, get go-gurt. this morning on education nation today, helping students dream big. nearly 30% of teenagers in this country drop out of high school. but one volunteer program is hoping to change all that. more now from "today" contributing correspondent, jenna bush hager.

>> reporter: each day they board the train, head into the city, show up at their offices, prepared ready to work. just like millions of americans do every day. but these workers are different. they're in the seventh and eighth grades. >> architect. >> they are apprentices with big plans, dreamers of the next generation. these middle schoolers at chicago's dodge renaissance academy are part of a ground-breaking program called spark. it links up volunteer professionals with inner city students and apprenticeships to spark their potential. >> great idea. >> reporter: jamari shadows once a week at chicago's school of the arts institute. she is helping this future architect design his first masterpiece. he calls it launch. >> it's an object that can hold football, water bottles and that can keep your hands warm and first aid. >> reporter: do you feel like it's more rewarding for you than -- >> actually, it is.

you know, any time you are working with students and you're helping them and you're seeing the light bulb go off in their head, that's the reward. >> reporter: educator chris bomb started spark eight years ago, hoping to inspire kids to stay in school. >> i was training to be a teacher and kids were asking me, why are we learning this? i realized that for so many kids, they don't see the connection between school and the real world. and for a lot of kids, that relevance gap is the difference between staying in school or dropping out. >> reporter: carolyn colter is an apprentice chef at chicago's atwood cafe. tell me what you thought about this restaurant the first time you walked in. >> fancy. very fancy. >> fingers back. knife down. >> reporter: executive chef derek teaches carolyn how to work magic in the kitchen. >> there you go. >> reporter: today's lesson? tomato soup. >> yeah, that's good? >> yep. >> reporter: she also learns how to run a restaurant and device a marketing strategy. carolyn says she was surprised to learn one of her favorite

subjects plays a role. tell me how you use path here in the workplace. >> marketing and estimating the amount of ingredients you put in the food. so, yeah, it was a lot, actually. >> reporter: and the mentors say it's a chance for them to give back. why do you think this is so important? >> people like us need to step in and give back and be there for them to show them, like, stick through it, the outcome will be there. >> reporter: and spark's strategy works. 98% of their apprentices have gone on to college. including 20-year-old shown sonia, who was inspired by social work years ago and is studying that very thing at stanford university. >> the best part of the spark program was just that i could have the opportunity to experience a certain job that i wanted to do. but in a hands-on way. and it wasn't learning through a class or it wasn't through a book, but it was learning with someone who was doing it. and i felt like that was the only real way for me to learn whether or not i wanted to do that type of job. >> reporter: beyond mentors,

these pairs have become friends. a spark ignited. >> you can line up next. >> a chance to see past school walls, into futures filled with possibility. has this shown you that when you have a job you really want, it's actually a lot of fun? >> yes. it's -- he says -- like he tells us every day, that we actually have become a family as you work with someone. so, yeah. >> reporter: so do you feel like you have become a family? >> yeah. so far, yeah. >> so far. >> yeah. >> reporter: so far, yes. you never know what could happen. >> are you disowning me? >> or, we can become closer. >> reporter: more of a family. >> right. >> what a terrific program. that was jenna bush hager reporting. coming up next, a quick lesson on some classic american desserts. somebody is going to mentor us. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

this morning in "today's kitchen," hot chef, executive chef and owner of bayou bakery in washington, d.c. >> that's right. this is national dessert month and he is showing us an all-american dessert. good to see you. >> thank you for having me. good to see you. >> everybody is going apple picking. >> we've got to know what tooed to do with them. we're going to talk about this bunt cake. we have ground pecans in our flour. throw these ingredients in, butter the last. we have unique spices, salt, black pepper and a pinch of cinnamon. >> salt and pepper. >> why not? just enough to get you questioning, like, what is that? a hint of heat? but without using cayenne or hot sauce or anything like that. >> nice. >> and then beautiful apples, using honey crisp, sort of the first varieties you see in the fall. >> can you use more than one

apple? >> you can. if you like the tart of the granny smith and want the sweetness, you can blend. >> the ying and yang. >> i like that, the ying and yang. >> we have our diced apples ready to go. and we'll add our spices. spices again are something you can swap out if you're more of a cinnamon girl or if you like a nutmeg guy. so i'm a big fan of nutmeg. we're going to add corn starch. toss that in there for me. mix it up with our apples, a nice hot pan with melted butter. we now render down, made a pie filling here. an apple pie filling. >> that looks good enough to eat by itself. >> the smell alone. >> forget about the batter. we are going to make this bunt cake. we add the apples into this, very unique. and we make an upside down bunt cake, okay? so we're adding these beautiful fall apples to this already pre-floured and pre-buttered okay? then our batter goes into here. we go right into the oven with it. when it comes out of the oven, very unique. remember the stuff we were making over there, the crumble? this goes right on top while it's still hot.

>> is it easy to transition over? >> it is very easy. you've got to use the teflon. if your teflon is beat up and you have pockets because you used the scrub brush too much, might want to get a new one. this is fall. this screams fall. >> fall! >> come over here, we're going to do the lemon icebox pie. again, a classic item you can store in the ice -- literally, the refrigerator. our egg yolks here, adding our zest. we can add this beautiful condensed milk to this. at any speed. oh, yeah, come on now. >> don't you insult us. >> so we're going to make this filling. it literally is this quick and easy. al, hit me with that lemon juice right there, please. >> all of it? >> yes, all of it. >> is this fresh lemon juice? >> are yes, don't use the lemon hand grenade. >> the lemon an hand grenade? >> we're not doing that. it doesn't take that long. let me help you out there. we're going to end that. the batter comes in here, we put that into a pre-made filling

crust, spring form to make it easy to come out. we're going to put that in the oven for 15, 20 minutes, just until it sets lightly. and then we've got actually a finish right here. in our freezer. >> oh, you've got it? >> we've got it here. >> assist at least that part of it. >> it takes a few hours to set. this is the beautiful thing about this. you store it in the freezer. >> fantastic. >> you come home from work, school, the kids, get a hot knife, slice a wedge. you can see we have done that right here and it's that easy, okay? take a sliver, put it back in the icebox, in the freezer, and you can put as much or as little as you want. the condensed milk does not allow it to freeze rock-hard. >> oh, nice. >> sugar being an anti freeze, the perfect amount to pull the wedge out. crisps, this is all-american. fruit crisps are very popular. you don't have to struggle with the dough. it's put it in the pan, toss it with sugar. we've got -- >> what are you using here? >> these are our bid to farewell to summer. this is blueberries and back builder res black we are re. hello to the apples. >> hello, apple! >> wants to say hi to something

new. hurry, david. >> look how beautiful this is right here. >> did you make that? >> you are ready to go right here. >> what is the point in doing it if i can't eat it? thank you. >> we have -- this is the bunt cake, apple crumble, happen >> we have -- this is the bunt cake, apple crumble, happen apple on top. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

and more... and more? stop paying so much for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for our best price -- just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years with no annual contract required. go to verizon.com/greatprice and save $600 in your first two years with our best price online. fios is a 100% fiber-optic network that delivers superior picture quality, more hd, plus america's fastest, most consistent and most reliable internet. why keep paying so much for cable? get fios tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- $89.99 a month with a two-year price guarantee and the option of no annual contract. ordering online is easy. you can even chat live with a fios agent. visit verizon.com/greatprice. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's verizon.com/greatprice. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead.

good morning, everybody. i am barbara harrison. 9:57 is the time. we will go to our meteorologist, veronica johnson for the forecast. >> what a lovely day it is. a lot of folks thinking and wondering, come on, is this going to be sticking around?

it is, in the mid-70s across the area with wind picking up. and we will rise another ten degrees today, a breezy 75 for your afternoon. it will be very nice. we will continue the trend for the rest of the week with a high of 70 to 72. let's check on traffic. good morning. still seeing the drive slow. outer loop of the beltway, traveling from i-95 to i-270, you are at 34 miles per hour, and 66 east slow from nuttily to inside the beltway and right now you are traveling at about 32 miles per hour. barbara, back to you. barbara, back to you. >> thank you.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> hey, everybody. it's winesday, wednesday, october 5th, 2011. we've got nothing to complain about. we've got the kardashian matriarch. kris jenner. >> i know there's going to be a lot of great talk and friends and a lot of good win.

>> welcome to the party. >> can we talk about the proportion. it needs to be up to here. when i see kathie's glass, it's always up to here. >> by the way, i know you were nervous last night. >> on another level. >> "dancing with the stars" was on. your son is on. tell me the moment when they're revealing who's getting bounced and who gets to stay. >> your heart is in your throat. first of all, it was "moon river." i'm going to get emotional talking about it. >> look at you guys crying. >> we're all crying. trying not to cry. we're thinking he did such a good job and he dedicated the dance to his dad. >> he did? >> yeah. it was emotionally challenging for everyone. the whole audience was in tears for all of the dancers. it was such a great story. but then last night we were here. i thought, if he gets voted off tonight and i'm not there to support him i'll never forgive myself. >> you guys are crazy tweeters. >> i know. >> i was looking on my twitter thing. every kardashian is freaking for

rob. >> it blew up. >> who ended up getting cut? >> kristin cavallari. she went home last night. which was a big shock to everybody. because she's a great dancer. oh, my gosh, my son's on another night! >> he gets one more go. >> another week. so he officially is a better dancer than kim kardashian. because she left at three weeks and he left in four. >> this is his fourth week? >> yes. >> what does kim think of her brother outdoing her. >> she's so proud. let's face it. kim is not a dancer. she can't take a step to save her life. >> let me ask you, does she not want to mess up or does she not have it in her. i feel like sometimes she wants to be perfect. >> it's both. but she has no rhythm. absolutely no rhythm. >> ouch. all right. we're waiting for the wedding, for god's sake, it's finally coming. i know you've lived it. but we're going to. look at jerry! >> thank you. i was feeling a little slighted here. okay? because i came ready to party. >> yes, you did.

jerry -- >> oh, my god! whoa. i'm going to be in rehab by monday. >> join us. >> you come here. there's garter belts. there's wine. i don't know what to do. woo! >> the wedding is going to be on the air this weekend. sunday and monday. >> it's four hours. two hours each night. it is so beautiful. >> it's a big night. >> you go from the stress and the drama. you know my families can have a little drama. >> yes, you guys can have that. >> it's just a stunning visual of the most beautiful wedding i've ever seen in my entire life. >> there's a lot of pregame to this. in one of the incidents you guys are just tasting the wedding cake. this is a piece of video some people may not have seen. so let's take a peek at this. >> let's all sit down here. do we have forks? >> look at this chocolate chip cookie dough one! >> khloe? >> i'm not eating it. i don't eat sweets. >> you have to try to wedding cake. it's traditional for you to have a taste of the wedding cake. >> i don't eat sweets. >> he doesn't eat sweets? >> isn't that weird.

who doesn't eat sugar? like a little. just have a bite. >> do we like him? >> i don't -- how do you like someone who doesn't eat sugar? no. i'm kidding. of course we like him. >> we do? >> yes. that was a fun scene because we've been eating the same cake in our family for our entire lives. that was the same cake served at kim's first birthday. that meant a lot to her to bring -- it was so sentimental. >> your girls get engaged quickly. >> we do. >> and married right away. >> don't mess around. >> khloe -- how long did she know lamar? >> 30 days by the time they got married. she got engaged -- 0 to 165 miles an hour in two seconds. she told me nine days before she wanted to have a wedding. i almost killed myself. >> what about kim? >> kim, it was fast and furious. but i married bruce after five months. >> oh, you did? i didn't know it was that quick. >> it runs in the family. >> what's wrong with scott over here? >> scott is my support for the day. he's the only family member i could find at 5:00 in the morning that would come here with me today. >> that would support her.

>> why are you not married? how come you're the only one. >> you have to ask kourtney that. >> scott, that's what i want to know. how come you're not marry zbld scott wants to get married but kourtney doesn't? >> i don't think it's about that. >> it's the scott disick show. >> i just don't need to have a 60 day wedding or whatever everybody else is doing. >> if you guys got married you would probably go to cabo. >> take it easy. cabo. let's spice it up a little bit. give me a little glamour here. >> can i plan? can i start now? nine days? >> yeah. put it on the schedule. >> there was a great scene where you were learning about kim's proposal. it kind of came as a shock to you. i want to show people that. >> how was golf? >> good. >> yes. i -- >> are you going to talk to her? >> what? what do you mean, talk to her? >> what's going on?

>> i know nothing. >> i asked bruce if i could marry kim. >> mm-hmm. should have kept it a secret from her for much longer. >> no! >> he's going to ask. >> really? oh, my god! oh, my god! that is such -- >> how come i'm the only one in the room getting excited? right? somebody have a little enthusiasm. it's like, hello? thank you, scott. >> we came across some other video that we liked. i don't know if you're going to like it. a long time ago you were -- you did some music video. >> "i love my friends"? >> i don't know. i haven't seen it. apparently you're driving in the car in your 30s. >> novemb >>. ♪ november 5th and now i'm 30, my life without them wouldn't be complete, they are my joy and pride ♪ >> it's friday. ♪ i've learned a lot from all my good friends about turning 30 ♪ >> i could have had another career. >> this reminds me of that

friday song exactly. it's friday. who's in the front seat. >> i should get 10%. >> was kathie lee in the front seat? ♪ i love my friends >> how is that? >> is that kathie lee on the right or another friend of yours? >> that's sheila. i think kath thoie was on the e coast. my husband at the time robert kardashian was in the music business. he said as a treat for your 30th birthday we're going to do a music video. who knew it would eventually be released on the internet. there wasn't an internet at the time. that's how old i am. >> don't you hate that every single thing you did or do -- >> it's wrong. put the video away. walk away from the computer. >> a quiz on kris humphries. so far khloe didn't know anything and bruce knew everything. kris is listed as weighing 226,

235, 238, or 242 pounds? how much does he weigh? >> 242. >> i'm sorry. 235. kris was born on what day? february 6th, april 23rd, june 14th or today? >> if it's today, i'm screwed. april what? >> april 23rd. >> okay. i'll take that. >> okay. i'm sorry. february 6th. which nba team drafted kris in 2004? the milwaukee bucs, utah jazz, minnesota timberwolves or miami heat? >> miami heat. >> you did worse than khloe! khloe got one right. you missed every single one. >> this is bad. sorry, kris. >> we're going to play a game. this is kim's garter. >> do i need to wear this? can i wear this? i'm feeling sexy. >> you know what? by the way, before we go any further, i should point out usually kathie lee dominates in the cleavage department.

today kris jenner is winning. you were a little worried. >> we had to sow thew this up. i came to the studio apparently dressed to go to a club. i knew it was you and wine and garters. i was clubbing. i can never take this dress off. i will be wearing this for a week. >> let's see if you can hit it. hit one and we'll give you an extra point. >> there's a wine bottle involved. i'm in. >> you got it! did you? no, you don't. i have bad eyes. consistent s i can't see. just put one on. >> thank you. >> here's a question. we're going to do this whole thing on jealousy coming up. how jealous should you be -- first of all, are you and your husband -- do you guys get jealous of one another when there's a guy talking to you? does bruce get upset? >> if i was making out with a guy in front of bruce, he would go, honey, what's for dinner? he would not notice.

he just doesn't -- he doesn't hear. and apparently he doesn't see. no. i'm kidding. he's not jealous. but i am kookoo crazy jealous. >> if there's a woman talking to your husband at a party and she's flirting, what would you do? >> it's bad. i'll go over and go honey, sweetie, and give her one of these. no. i don't know what i would do. it would be ugly. >> do you talk to him afterwards and say i didn't like that? >> bruce is the kind of guy -- we yooused to go to these events. there would be models standing around. they'd want to be on both sides and take a photo. he would go, oh, no, no, no. i'm sorry. i don't want to take that. he would make other guys get in the photo. that's how respectful he is. >> you've got a good one. this is what caught our eye. something called runner's face. according to a new jersey plastic surgeon when you exercise too much over 40 your face starts sagging down and you have to worry about losing the elasticity. >> this is why i don't exercise.

or run. you just have a few glasses of wine and hope the alcohol will burn it off. right? >> i know you're public about this. but you did a whole pull. >> i had this little thing. i'll never get runner's neck. that's for sure. >> you got your neck pulmoed back? >> yeah. neck pulled back. >> was that painful? >> not at all. no. >> let's good. you don't see any -- sfwl nada. a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do. they didn't touch anything else. you've got to have the eyes, the nose, the mouth everything's has to be -- i want that where it's going to be always. you never say never. my goal is to just be -- have everything look like that. kim would walk around going goobl, gobble, and it wasn't thanksgiving. it could be very ugly around my house. and mean spirited. >> we're excited about the wedding this weekend. we're also excited about our next segment. it is, are your husband's e-mails to a sexy co-worker good for your marriage? that sounds ridiculous.

>> i don't know. i don't know. a little advice never hurts anybody. >> we'll find out from kate white right after this. lights. look what sometimes happens with the ordinary bag. it slips. bingo, falls in. mom was mad. mom should have used glad forceflex with the stretchable drawstring that grips the can and stays in place. plus, it has the stretchable strength of forceflex. that's all today for glad tv. [ both ] don't get mad -- get glad! [ male announcer ] and try glad black bags -- strong for tough jobs. take toast. spread with i can't believe it's not butter! add jacques. he's french. oui. ♪ oui like. [ male announcer ] fresh butter taste with 70% less saturated fat than butter. [ kim ] you can have it all. it's the kmart home sale. with 70% less saturated fat than butter. bedding and bath. all storage. bedding 40% off.

attention! ♪ hershey's drops. a lot of hershey's happiness in a little drop of chocolate. pure hershey's. 102? [ dog whimpers ] 102? no! [ female announcer ] try triaminic fever reducer. with the number one doctor recommended ingredient, proven to reduce fever. triaminic will have him feeling better before you know it. [ barks ] [ female announcer ] pillsbury chocolate chip cookies with hershey's chocolate chips. for a moment of warm, gooey, togetherness. chocolate chip cookies...

from pillsbury. chocolate chip cookies... if you think occasional irregularity is no big deal, think twice. it may be a sign that your digestive system could be working better. listen to this with occasional irregularity, things your body doesn't use could be lingering in your system, causing discomfort. but activia has been shown in clinical studies to help with slow intestinal transit when consumed 3 times per day. 7 out of 10 doctors recommend activia. and the great taste is recommended by me! time for "today's relationships" and a very touchy topic. we're talking about jealousy. >> every once in a while that little green monster might rear its ugly little head. is that a bad thing? >> kate white is editor in chief of cosmo magazine and she's here to give us a little jealousy quiz. we have these little jealousy

meters. we're going to talk about whether we should be kind of jealous, a little jealous, totally freaking out. >> i'm going to give you scenarios. your man's new work buddy is a flirt and dead ringer for gisele. using the ringer, how jealous should you be? >> freaking the hell out. >> i'm saying kinda. >> she looks like gisele? >> kris has got it. >> thank you. i know these things. >> in our poll most readers said they'd only be kind of jealous. look, he's spending more time with her than he's spending with you. workplace is a breeding ground for this sort of thing. >> breeding ground. and what if she can cook? then we're really dead. >> it's okay to tell him, look, i'm uncomfortable. >> next one. >> he's meeting his significant ex for drinks to catch up. using the meter, how jealous? >> freaking the hell out. >> freaking the hell out. i'm the same on that one.

>> most women told us that's the way they'd feel. experts tell us, look, if he's got a history of being trustworthy and he's over here, you should let it go. be a little jealous. maybe say to him you'd prefer they did it over coffee. you really don't have a big reason to be concerned. >> why don't you go, too? >> actually -- >> why can't we all go. >> that's a nice idea. definitely. >> we're ready. >> your guy is going to a strip club for his best friend's -- >> stop right there. >> freaking the hell out. >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> most women actually said they'd be cool with it. >> with the strip club? >> it's a right of passage for a lot of guys. it's okay to be jealous. it's skivy. you can say to him, i'm okay if you go. don't get a lap dance. i'd feel uncomfortable. >> that's like saying go to the bar and don't have a glass of wine. >> that's exactly what that's saying. i agree with kris. >> he's going to go regardless. last one.

he consistently won't tell you who he's texting. use the meter and tell me how jealous would you be. >> the problem is now -- i wasn't even a jealous person until this. >> you're really jealous. i'm going to teach you. be a jealous person. >> if he's not telling you who he's texting, something's wrong. >> that's right. >> most women in the poll said they'd only be kind of jealous. you're right. if he's not telling you, he's got a secret, it's a red flag. you've got to tell him, look, i hate this but i need to see who you're texting. >> you have to talk to them, then you become insecure. you start looking for things. it's a self-fulfilling prophesy sometimes. >> that's why you have to sometimes let it go so when it's legitimate you can sit there and tell him and he realizes you're not crying wolf. >> do you ever look at bruce's text messages? >> never in 20 years. >> ever? >> ever. don't want to see it. don't want to know. >> you have to look for the red flags, too. >> thank you so much. coming up next, do you want to turn back the clock? >> who doesn't? to show you how to lose ten years -- look ten years younger just by changing the way we

dress. >> i like it. i love this song. beyonce. right after this. you've been there. you pick out a makeup thinking it's your shade... until you actually try it out. now, i have a makeup that always gets it right. smart shade makeup instantly adjusts to match perfectly to your skin. almay smart shade makeup. only from almay. only for me. [ male announcer ] hey, have you heard? it's bring your happiness to work day. ♪ campbell's microwavable soups,

right where you work. in three minutes, the deliciousness that brings a smile to any monday. and soup has what you need at work, to work. make any place, your happy place. ♪ campbell's -- it's amazing what soup can do. and the chocolate cravings begin... again. ♪ for nights like these, there's special k chocolatey delight cereal. ♪ so you can get your chocolatey fix... ♪ ...without undoing your whole day. ♪ [ barks ] ♪

add listerine® total care for more complete oral care. ♪ it works in six different ways to restore enamel... strengthen teeth... freshen breath... help prevent cavities... and kill bad breath germs for a whole mouth clean. so go beyond the brush with listerine® total care, the most complete mouthwash. now get all the benefits... without the alcohol. new listerine® total care zero. we are back with "today's

style" and how to take ten years off your age in just five minutes. >> no shots or needles required. just a wardrobe change. >> style expert amy teracach is here to show you what to wear to shave off a decade but still dress age appropriately. how you doing? >> hi. >> it's as easy as that? throw on some clothes? >> i'm the queen of five minute fixes. i love vintage. not when it's to describe my person. >> exactly. >> yeah. basically, it's all about styling tips. it's about elongating. when you're ageing, elegance is all about simplicity. making everything more simple. taking away the overtrendy "gossip girls" -- >> i got to watch out so i don't dress like my girls. >> we're going to go 30s, 40s and 50s and shave ten years off. our first model, this represents women in their 30s. let's take a look at our person. alyssa. this is her before picture. >> this is her before. alyssa works at an ad agency. she's also a blogger.

she kind of was worried about getting the dumpification. she needed to go for a silhouette. here she comes. >> i'm sorry. fancy. >> that's so cute! >> she started out with a basic neutral. black is slimming. she believe it or not is wearing sophia vergara. she's chaneling her inner sophia. k smart. >> i love the pop of color. >> i do, too. >> i love asymmetric knit. it elongates her figure. create a focal point with a necklace. never go for chokers. chokers cut off your body. >> that's good to know. >> she's 5'2". right now you think she's 5'9". >> such a difference in the before and after. the leggings cut you off. >> that looks like that would work even for 40s. could it? >> absolutely. we have to pay attention to hem

lines. there are a lot of things on the runway with a calf length hem line. it is frumpification 101. we added the pops of color with the bracelet and with her -- and with her purse. and also we want to think about earrings. just like you're doing, kris, a neck raising earring. hoda, also. that elongates. women never gain weight in their neck. we always want to highlight the neck. >> see? >> it's all about the neck. >> our next stop, women in their 40s. here's linda's before picture. let's see what we have going on here. >> linda grant works for american express. she's also a blogger for new york city mom. before she had problems with proportion and silhouette. now i've turned her into a long, lean, 40-something machine. >> come on out, honey. >> come on, linda. >> let's see how we did it. >> look at this! >> look at you. >> so the trick -- >> i like that.

>> so the big trick is a bra. she needed a bra that fit. >> girl, you did not have that. i know. >> the spanx brallaleuia. new spanx leggings have compression built into them. they left the legs, lift the rump. go for an all black uniform and bump it up. a tunic from macy's. show your bling. >> it's all about the bracelets. >> looking good. women in their 50s. let's take a look. >> my decade! >> linda's before picture. >> linda before. linda was in a fashion rut to say the least. >> come on out, linda. >> she was doing my fashion don't which is the long skirt. she's only 5'2", but we have jazzed her up. scarves are one of my favorite elongating tools. add the scarf for a pop of

color. the neutral uniform. show your bracelet. add the personality with pops of gold in the bling. add a heel. >> you look good, girl. >> you do. beautiful. coming up next, guess who's coming up? sugar ray leonard. your pal. >> one of my best friends in the house. >> plus drinking, after this. so what are you doing at a gas station? well it still takes gas to go farther. but you're not getting gas. true. not this time. uh, don't have to gas up very often. so you have to go to the bathroom? no. yes you do. thought these were electric? yes, it's a uh, a chevy volt. so what are you doing at a gas station? [ slurp! ] [ female announcer ] hey, ladies, here's a little something [ chomp! ] you'll find irresistible, cinnamon toast crunch, with a delicious cinnamon and sugar taste that's amazing. crave those crazy squares. [ slurp! ]

live garden. with a delicious cinnamon and sugar taste that's amazing. now for just $6.95 enjoy a half pressed panini with unlimited salad or a half pressed panini with unlimited soup. choose from three great varieties like grilled chicken caprese. it's our new half panini lunch. just $6.95. only at olive garden. mary? what are you doing here? it's megan. i'm getting new insurance. marjorie, you've had a policy with us for three years. it's been five years. five years. well, progressive gives megan discounts that you guys didn't. paperless, safe driver, and i get great service. meredith, what's shakin', bacon? they'll figure it out. getting you the discounts you deserve. now, that's progressive. call or click today. a deserving virginia woman

is getting a special home makeover. we will talk to tv host who helped to make that happen and see the results, too. good morning, i am barbara harrison. harrison. and also c

just got her flu shot, like a champ -- mom! taking on the master of disaster, the flu! it's the fight of the season! your flu shot's next, champ. let's do this. flu shots. every day. no appointment needed. most insurance accepted. get a $5 cvs gift card if you're not covered. find us at minuteclinic.com. i'm jack, and i took the flu down. why did you buy my husband a falcon? thanks for the falcon. i didn't buy anyone a falcon. sure, you did. you saved us a lot of money on auto insurance. i used that money to buy a falcon. ergo, you bought me a falcon. i should've got a falcon. most people who switch to state farm

save on average about $480. what they do with it, well, that's their business. oh, that explains a lot, actually. [ chuckles ] [ male announcer ] another reason people switch to state farm. aw, i could've gotten a falcon. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. [ falcon screeches ] we're back on this winesday wednesday with more of "today." time to play our "who knew?" weekly traif ya game. this week is all things kardashian. kris jenner is across the street at the nbc experience store red i do to hand out 100 bucks to those who answer the questions correctly. to those who don't they get a copy of kathie lee's cd. what a great gift. to help me out one of the kardashi kardashian's closest friends and star of "the spin crowd" on "e!" jonathan chabin.

>> if you can guess the name of my five daughters oldest to longest. >> khloe, kim, court kourtney. i know there's twins. i don't know the names. >> they're not twins. you get kathie lee's cds. >> the two youngest ones are. kendall and kiy, of course. the oldest is kourtney, then kh >> what's the age of the two youngest? >> i don't even know. how about that? >> kris, tell us how old kendall and kiley are? >> kendall is 16 in a month. so 15. kiley's 14. what's your name? >> susie. >> where are you from? >> new orleans. >> true or false. kathie lee gifford is the godmother to two of my children, kendall and kiley. >> true. >> yeah! you are amazing. and you win a $100 american express gift card. >> look how good kris is out there. >> frank gifford is the

godfather. it's a whole family package. >> why kathie lee? >> kris and kathie have been friends for a very long time. we went to kathie's house. cassidy is the most nice, amazing girl. gave us a tour of connecticut. >> back across to kris. >> what's your name? >> karen. >> where you from? >> spokane, washington. >> which team is my new son-in-law, kris humphries, which team did he play in for the 2010-2011 season? the new jersey nets, l.a. lakers, new york knicks or miami heat? ten seconds. >> b. >> b is the -- oh, l.a. lakers. wrong one. you get the cd. >> lucky girl. all right. he actually played for the new jersey nets. >> he did. but now he's actually a free agent because of this lockout and his contract ended. so he needs to get a job. >> these guys aren't playing? >> nobody's playing.

there's no basketball at all right now. everybody's on standby including kris humphries. >> he needs a paycheck. back across to kris? >> what's your name. where you from? >> linda from washington. >> we'll make this quick. can kourtney kardashian, my oldest daughter, married to "keeping up with the kardashians" star scott disick? >> no. >> very good. she should be. >> scott's cringing. i just want you to know. we have a cutaway of the cringing scott. >> suck it up, scott. >> why aren't they getting married? >> if it's not broke, don't fix it. i hang out with them all the time. scott is here. they're great. they have more fun than married people. it's a great relationship. >> one more. >> that jonathan is so smart. what's your name and where you from? >> tracy from north carolina. >> in which of the following olympic events did bruce jenner, my husband, win his gold medal? rowing, water polo, decathlon or

synchronized swimming? >> decathlon? >> she's right? >> in 1976. >> shehe's still going, that fw >> look at his legs. >> an athlete for sure. >> let's squeeze one more in. >> okay. what's your name? >> donna from columbus, ohio. >> beautiful. khloe kardashian is married to which of the following l.a. lakers player. ron artest, kobe bryant, lamar odom -- >> lamar. >> very good. my baby. >> married to lamar for almost two years. >> and those two are so in love. it's really wonderful to see them. lamb lamb. she loves that guy. >> what? is that what she calls him? >> yes. >> does he like that? >> i don't know. i can't tell. he's very suave. kris and i are going to take the box versus bottled wine taste test. this show is astonishing. right after this.

twizzlers. the twist you can't resist. thanks, skyler. let's go to last night's highlights. look what sometimes happens with the ordinary bag. it slips. bingo, falls in. mom was mad. mom should have used glad forceflex with the stretchable drawstring that grips the can and stays in place.

plus, it has the stretchable strength of forceflex. that's all today for glad tv. [ both ] don't get mad -- get glad! [ male announcer ] and try glad black bags -- strong for tough jobs. [ female announcer ] kleenex brand tissues are america's softest... no wonder people want to share them with the ones they love. ♪ ♪ start your own chain of sharing. ♪ send a kleenex brand share package for free today at kleenex.com. kleenex. softness worth sharing. all she wants to wear is hoodies. hoodies and cargo shorts. getting dirty. then she left some crayons in her pocket and they went through the wash. i thought all her clothes were ruined. enter tide and tide booster. the stains are gone. it's kind of too bad.

[ laughs ] another car garage honey? it's beautiful. that's my tide. what's yours? [ female announcer ] find the tide that's right for you at tide.com. ♪ vegetables picked at their peak ♪ ♪ so fresh my knees grow weak [ male announcer ] new hearty bertolli meal soup for two, with crisp vegetables and tender chicken. [ chef ] ♪ fresh tasting restaurant style ♪ ♪ bertolli soup's in the freezer aisle ♪

yeah ? okay. show mommy how to do it. ♪ you are exactly one of a kind ♪ mom: nice driving, very good ! mom: yaaay ! older boy: see that ? mommy, watch- he's gonna get some gas. mom: okay. dad: hi bud ! hi ! mom: nice ! ♪ we were made for each other ♪ more... ♪ for always more... stop ! baht. bottle ver suggestion boxed wines. >> the executive win editor of "food & wine" magazine is here to give us a blind taste test. >> that's right. got to get tasting here. box versus bottle. all mixed up. each of you taste one of these. then each of you taste one of those. tell me which one you think is

the box wine. we've got two wines. one is a classic new zealand sauvignon blanc. the other is from target. the difference, the box holds the equivalent of four bottles. >> i'm going to guess. you go first. >> i do wine shots. is that wrong? i like this one. >> the box or the bottle. i think this is the box. >> you are correct. >> do i get a kathie lee gifford cd? >> wait. the boxed one tastes better? to me it did. >> this is the box. this is the bottle. >> wow. >> here was my thinking. >> what was your thinking? >> that i liked better. so i thought because this one was more subtle that that -- i was trying to do it in my head. i should drink and go for the moment like i do every night. >> got to do another one. black box chardonnay.

both are from the central coast of california. monterey area. black box chardonnay. classic box wine. you can actually say that now. boxes have been around for a while. the another j.lohr river chardonnay. popular brand. >> this one i'm going to say is the box. >> i have to agree with you. >> so that is actually not correct. >> are you sure? >> oh, my gosh. >> oh, my gosh. we're wrong. >> stop. >> this is the box. this is the bottle. it's a fair fight as well between those wines. >> i like the way this looks. i would have this in my house. >> these guys started the whole premium box wine movement. >> can i take this? i'm going to put this in my car. >> can we get a cart or something? >> can we shop? >> we've got two italian wines. in this case the box holds four bottles. the bottle holds one bottle. and the box and bottle are the same price. give or take a dollar. >> it's more thrifty to get the box. >> totally more thrifty. >> we want to be thrifty. >> which do you think is the box and which do you think is the bottle? >> you go first. >> i think this is the bottle.

>> i think the other one's the bottle. >> i think that you are correct. >> what? you've missed every single one, kris. >> i've got four kathie lee gifford cds. >> this is the box. this one is the bottle. >> i'm more thrifty than you. i'm going to get this all day long at my house. all of my dinner guests, get ready. >> if you miss this one, kris, it's over. please get it right. >> two malbec's. both from argentina. a hugely popular grape right now. rich, plummy wine. delicious. i actually get to taste this one, too. i'm very excited about this. in this case the box is pretty expensive. 26 bucks. when you break that down, four bottles, it's $6.50 a bottle. >> we've got to wrap it up. >> i think it's this one. >> you're correct! that's the boxed wine! >> i got it right. >> kris got one. she gets a $100 gift certificate. coming up next, a very good friend of kris's is with us.

sugar ray leonard. he's going to show us some moves, right after this. [ sniffing ] ...something wonderful is as near as your nose. ♪ ♪ just pop up pop tarts. sprinkled with joy and frosted with fun... [ laughs ] ...they make ordinary extraordinary. [ cheering ] so you can make any day joylicious! should we order panda blossom, panda moon... how about chinese at home with wanchai ferry? you can make it in just 14 minutes. mmmh, orange chicken. great. i didn't feel like going out anyway. [ male announcer ] wanchai ferry. restaurant quality chinese in your grocer's freezer.

102? [ dog whimpers ] 102? no! [ female announcer ] try triaminic fever reducer. with the number one doctor recommended ingredient, proven to reduce fever. triaminic will have him feeling better before you know it. [ barks ] it's the kmart home sale. bedding and bath. all storage. bedding 40% off. attention! if you think occasional irregularity is no big deal, think twice. it may be a sign that your digestive system could be working better. listen to this with occasional irregularity, things your body doesn't use could be lingering in your system, causing discomfort. but activia has been shown in clinical studies to help with slow intestinal transit when consumed 3 times per day. 7 out of 10 doctors recommend activia. and the great taste is recommended by me!

okay. here's a question. what does actor hugh jackman have in common with boxer sugar ray leonard? >> they like to take jabs at each other? >> maybe. that's just because the world champion boxer is taking some time out of his busy schedule to teach the actor new key moves for the new movie "real steel." welcome. >> yay! you look the same -- i mean, i've known you for 20 years. 20 years. and you look the same all the time. my husband's known him a lot longer. >> you're khloe's godfather? >> yes, i am. >> yes, he is. >> look at all this homecooking going on today. >> a lot of love in this room. >> a lot of love, baby. >> we've been trying to have dinner for two weeks. this does not count. >> three weeks. >> look at the old days. >> oh, my god, hawaii! >> you look like a couple. >> that was hawaii. >> we have spent every holiday together. we go on vacations together.

giving birth together. we've done it all. i haven't given birth to any of your babies that i know of. >> she almost deliveredmy son, daniel. she was in there. she was telling the doctor to get out. >> get out of the way. i got this handled. you get out of the room. i'm going to take over. >> watching you in that movie with hugh jackman looked like a lot of fun. you were actually teaching him boxing moves for this movie, "real steel"? >> i was. it was such a pleasure. hugh is a great athlete. an incredible actor without question. i wanted him to get the feel, the expression of throwing a punch. the execution. the proper execution of punches. >> look at that. he looks like a fighter. >> he's fantastic. >> you're also teaching db i guess your moves were actually used on the cg robots that were out there? >> i kind of choreographed the robot boxers and gave each one their own distinct style. >> this is crazy. >> he gave them their personalities. how crazy, right? >> each robot is big and strong. so, like, george foreman.

marvin haggler? >> would people recognize any of your moves when they're watching? if they're real sugar ray fans? >> i think they may come across. this movie is so wonderful for families. for kids. for adults. >> it's cool. >> could he be a boxer in real life? could hugh be -- could he get into the ring with a -- like, with someone today? >> if i can choreograph it, yes, he could. >> just stick him in there with a robot. that's a whole new business for you, ray. i got it all figured out. 10%. 10%. >> you get 10% of everything! >> why not? i want 10% of you. >> a money machine. >> we're going for it. >> they asked us to have ratio us some moves. i'm worried about the flabby arms. should we do it? >> no, no, no. pe want to learn. >> the key is all about looking good. it's not a contest. here, here, here. but smile when you're doing it. >> okay. >> a real smile. >> a real smile. come on.

come on. >> oh. >> the ring is important. the ring is important. you do this. >> and you got to be -- okay. all right. >> and smile. >> and just keep doing that. >> we got it. coming up next, you guys. a great singer. one of my favorites. richard marks is here. he's waiting for you. you know what that means. with a great performance. first, this is "today" on nbc.

where were you when you first heard that song? >> i'm feeling sexy. >> grammy winner and singer/songwriter richard marks has been spinning out hit tunes for more than 20 years. 13 number one hits to his name. some of them may surprise you. >> richard is out with a new cd calmed "stories to tell." a compilation of his greatest

hits including a brand-new single called "when you loved me." >> look at your hair. it's a whole new you. >> i'm not only the hair club president -- just kidding. >> it's so fun. a comeback is terrific. we've been dying to hear new music from you. what made you decide to come back and right some new stuff? >> i was doing shows, solo acoustic shows i've been doing over the last year. having so much fun being just you and a guitar and audience. little by little people would say where can i hear the music this way? i did it backwards. made this record. >> what is this song called? it's climbing up the charts. >> "when you loved me." >> take it away, richard. >> thank you. ♪ i'm back at the corner where we said good-bye, i turn it, i see you, but don't trust my eyes ♪ ♪ you look at me and i can't

breathe, i waited for this day to come, standing now i can't find even one ♪ ♪ all i want to say is written on my face ♪ ♪ i close my eyes every time i wake up, 'cause every little thing makes me think of ♪ ♪ when you loved me, when you loved me ♪ ♪ and i don't really want to talk about the weather, the truth is that i was better ♪ ♪ when you loved me, when you loved me ♪ ♪ i'm sure that there's somewhere that you've got to go,

give me one more minute, one more memory to hold ♪ ♪ wherever you're going to, take this with you ♪ ♪ i close my eyes every time i wake up,' cause every little thing makes me think of when you loved me, when you loved me ♪ ♪ and i don't really want to talk about the weather, the truth is that i was better ♪ ♪ when you loved me, when you loved me ♪ ♪ i try to wish you away, you're gone today but you'll be back tomorrow ♪ ♪ this lie that i call good-bye,

won't let me go, won't let me go ♪ ♪ i close my eyes every time i wake up, 'cause every little thing makes me think of ♪ ♪ when you loved me, when you loved me ♪ ♪ and i don't really want to talk about the weather, the truth is i'll never be better than ♪ ♪ when you loved me, when you loved me ♪ note i'm back at the corner where we said good-bye ♪ >> that was amazing. >> wow. thank you, thank you, thank you. >> thank you. >> i'm willing to give a big,

big thank you to kris jenner for joining me today. you were terrific. >> you better watch out, kathie lee gifford, because she's my new bff! just kidding. >> who's tomorrow? >> kourtney's tomorrow. kim's on friday. don't make me look bad, girls. >> have a good one. see you later. richard, thanks again. terrific. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

hey, jessica, jerry neumann with a policy question. jerry, how are you doing? fine, i just got a little fender bender. oh, jerry, i'm so sorry. i would love to help but remember, you dropped us last month. yeah, you know it's funny. it only took 15 minutes to sign up for that new auto insurance company but it's taken a lot longer to hear back. is your car up a pole again? [ crying ] i miss you, jessica! jerry, are you crying? no, i just, i bit my tongue. [ male announcer ] get to a better state.

state farm. i'm a curious seeker. get to a better state. i am a chemistry aficionado. diphenhydramine. magnesium hydroxide. atheletes foot. yes. i'm a people pleaser. if elected, i promise flu shots for all. i am a walking medical dictionary. congratulations virginia. inflamed uvula. i'm virginia. i'm a target pharmacist and i'm here to answer your questions.