good morning. breaking news. dozens of dangerous animals including tigers and lions and wolves on the loose near columbus, ohio after apparently being set free from a preserve. their owner found dead. this morning schools are closed. residents are being told to stay inside and the hunt is on. we'll go there live. sin city showdown. things get nasty between mitt romney and rick perry during the debate. >> i'm looking forward to finding your facts. rick, i'm speaking. i'm speaking.

i'm speaking. >> when the dust settles, which candidate has the best chance against president obama? donald trump weighs in and talks about the meetings he's had with the gop hopefuls. and dangerous dad. the father who used his 9-year-old daughter as his des significant nailed driver faces the judge and the little girl's mom speaks out in her husband's defense today. mom speaks out in her husband's defense today. wednesday, october 19th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning, welcome to "today." i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm ann curry. police armed with shotguns are patrolling parts of eastern ohio serving for those animals and already killed two dozen of the nearly 50 in all. >> it's unclear how those

animals got out. when list arrived on the scene they found all of the cages open and the park's owner dead. the surrounding communities are now on very high alert >> that's why we want to get to john yang in zanesville, ohio. >> reporter: officers are under orders to shoot to kill as they try to track down the remaining animals. the sheriff told us that overnight they estimate they've already shot between 30 and 35 of the animals. these are wild animals, wild animals that you would see on tv in africa. >> reporter: it's like a scene out of "wild kingdom." authorities attempting to contain animal situation of epic proportions. >> right now we're shooting to kill. >> reporter: lions, cheetah, grizzly and black bears, 48 animals in all escaped from a private preserve in zanesville,

tuesday night. authorities say they received at least four sightings miles away along interstate 70 as early as 5:30 p.m. >> we don't know how much of a head start these animals had on us. >> reporter: sheriff's deputies arrived at the private wildlife preserve and found the owner, terry thompson dead, all of the animal cages were open. they joined the search in an attempt to capture them live. this isn't the first time privately held exotics were left loose. they got a 280-pound alligator from a new york city apartment and the chimp attack on a woman raised awareness. >> there needs to be legislation to change on how these things are going in the state of ohio. >> reporter: authorities say thompson did have permits for all the animals on his ohio

property. >> it's a very dangerous situation and we're taking all the precautions we can. >> reporter: authorities say these animals are big, mature and aggressive. there are signs warning tdriver to stay in their vehicles and four schools in the area have canceled classes. >> thank you very much. the senior vice president of the columbus zoo is involved in the search. tom, good morning. >> good morning. >> with daybreak it should make it easier to find these animals. which are the most dangerous, the ones causing the greatest concern this morning? >> well, these are all adult carnivores so when we talk about the lions and tigers and bears they're all dangerous especially that they are now out of their area -- their enclosures they were normally in so they're panicking, as well. you are correct. we definitely need some daylight to assess the situation and work

with the sheriff, number one priority is public safety. we're wanting to make sure that the public is aware that we need to be careful as well as taking care of the emergency personnel out on grounds and then we'll move in to try to recapture the animal. >> when you say these animals may be panicked right now, what kind of behavior do you expect given these circumstances? >> well, they're definitely going to not be used to where they're at so they're going to be scared. they're panicking trying to figure out what is going on. so they're not going to be -- they're going to be searching for a place to settle down and trying to, you know, just to calm down a little bit and, unfortunately, though, in their situation that they're in, it's going to take our team once

everything is assessed for -- with the sheriff's department to come in and try to tranquilize the animal. >> it sounds as though the behavior you're talking about could make them even more dangerous. you know, you talk about using a tranquilizer but it soups as though also a lot of these animals have been killed. what is the possibility of actually taking more of these animals alive? >> well, until we can assess it and the only way we'll be able to assess is with daylight. when we tranquilize, it takes several minutes for the sedation to take an effect, especially with an animal that is moving around and very excited that sedation will take longer. so it all comes down to timing daylight and assessment of this situation to determine how many animals we'll be able to recapture. >> school districts are closed. people have been warned to stay

indoors. what's your warning for people who may see them in their neighborhood, what should people do? we >> well, the sheriff's department is recommending if you see something, call 911. they are following or try to track the animals. most animals that do escape from their facilities will tay near their facilities. they're not going to be running free. but as people push them, they will move farther away from their home. >> you know, ohio has some of the nation's weakest restrictions on exoticen malls and among the highest number of injuries and deaths caused by them. do you think it's time for greater restrictions, especially in light of the events overnight? >> yes. we work with the state right now. we're working the columbus zoo and the wild have been working with legislation to work on ways of defining what a dangerous animal is, who would govern,

regulate this law, where the animals would go if they are illegally owned by, you know, people without permits and, you know, what are we going to do with the animals? that's what we're doing, working with this team to develop legislation to have restrictions. >> all right, and this as the investigation continues into how this happened in the first place. tom stalf, thank you very much this morning for joining us. and it is now 7:08. now here's matt. >> to politics and the gop presidential race. things got very heated during last night's debate out in las vegas. nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent chuck todd has the blow byeby blow. chuck, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. well, look, apologies for the cliches but last night's republican debate, the gloves came off and it turned into a good old-fashioned fight night in vegas. >> because you hired illegals in your home and you knew for it -- about it for a year.

>> reporter: struggling to get back into the race, rick perry took an answer about his health care records to level a personal attack on front-runner mitt romney that caught everyone off guard. >> the idea you stand here before us and talk about that you're strong on immigration is on its face the height of hypocrisy. >> reporter: perry referring to this 2007 "boston globe" report that romney for a full year used a lawn service that used u undocumented workers. >> i don't think i've ever hired an illegal in my life -- i'm looking forward to finding your facts on that da. >> i'll tell you -- >> rick, you had the floor. i'm speaking. >> the newspaper -- >> i'm speaking. you get 30 seconds. this the way the rules work here and then you get 30 seconds to respond, right? >> they want -- >> anderson. >> you knew you had illegals. >> will you please work? >> are you going to keep

talking? >> reporter: the exchange was raw and personal. >> a tough couple of debates for rick and i understand that so you're going to get testy. [ cheers and applause ] but let's let -- i'll tell you what, let me take my time and then you can take your time, is that all right. >> have at it. >> we hired a lawn company to mow our lawn and they had illegal immigrants were working there. when that was pointed out to us, we let them go. -- do you have a problem with allowing someone to finish speaking and i suggest if you want to become president of the united states you got to let both people speak. >> reporter: the debate began with everyone taking shots at herman cain and his 9-9-9 plan. >> go to new hampshire where they don't have a sales tax and you fixing to give them one. >> this is an example of mixing apples and oranges. >> so then governor perry was

right -- >> no, he was not. he was mixing apples and oranges. >> and i'll get a bushel basket of both because i'm paying taxes. >> you don't have credibility when it comes to repealing obama care. your plan was the basis for it. >> this was crafted for massachusetts. it would be wrong to adopt this as a nation. you're shaking your head -- >> that's not what you said. you said you're speaking for everybody. took it out of your book. >> let me -- >> your last -- >> i tell you what -- >> rick, you had your chance. let me speak. rick, you had your chance, let me speak. >> you're out of time. >> he ate into my time. >> rick -- >> i'm sorry. >> i haven't had a chance to respond because you interrupted me the entire time i was trying to speak. >> well now you understand why these next poll results are about to debut are what they are and what happened at last night's debate. the new marist polls herman cain

is ahead. rick perry trailing badly at 11%, florida, another important primary state, it's mitt romney at 30%, herman cain at 29%. rick perry at 9%. you understand why rick perry felt he had to go after romney and why everybody felt they had to go after romney and cain. >> thanks very much. donald trump flirted with a white house run earlier. since then a steady parade of gop presidential hopefuls has made their trip to new york to meet with him. and on tuesday, 5 in an exclusive interview i asked trump to explain what happens at those sit-downs. when you sit down with these people, what do they want? do they want your upon? do they want your megaphone, your stamp of approval. >> they want an endorsement. the reason is i believe i bring a lot of people. when you look at what's going on i bring a lot of people. >> do you want to be the kingmaker of the republican

party. >> no, i don't. i want this country to be great again. this country is in such trouble. i want this country to be great again. >> i was surprised because recently you participated in a teleconference town hall for michele bachmann. now, this to museums to be a little bit crossing the line. no longer are you just meeting and greeting but as close as you've come to endorsing a candidate and participating in her campaign. are you endorsing. >> no, i'm not. she is a nice woman. she said it's not an endorsement. would you do a teleconference? i said, do i want to do it, no. will i do it, yes. >> let's do a little republican candidate word association or laundry listment so let's talk about michele bachmann. she started off with a lot of attention. >> right. >> fell to the bottom of the pack. can she win? >> very tough. i think it's going to be very tough. i even said it during her conference. she said what she believes but i think when rick perry came in, it was hot. he was hot as a pistol and he

really knocked her off the perch. >> since you bring up rick perry. he has lost more than half of his support in the last eight weeks. what happened to him. >> i think he did poorly in the debates and rick perry is a much different person in person than he is, in fact, he called me and was talking so forcefully and so strong and so good, i said why can't you do that during the debates? he said, debates aren't my thing. >> herman cain is now according to some the front-runner on the republican side and yet some call him as they called michele bachmann and rick perry, the flavor of the month. is herman cain the flavor of the month. >> no, i think he's got great substance. the fact is he's a really -- got a great personality. he's got a great way about him and people relate to him and 9-9-9, whether you like it or you don't -- >> a lot of people don't. a lot of conservative economic experts say it's a disaster. >> but it's something, okay. it's something. he's putting something out there. other people are putting out 97

pages -- >> do you agree with 9-9-9. >> no, i don't agree with it. >> so if he puts it out in and it's wrong just because it's something, does that make a difference. >> he's not just katering to me but katering to a lot of people and understand the simplicity of it. it's simple. it's concise. it's easy to understand. now, i will say this. i think the sales tax part of this is very tough. do i like being brought down to 9%? i love it. will sales tax affect me not too much. >> do you agree with a lot of experts who say this takes the burden completely off the wealthy and puts it squarely on the shoulders of the poor and middle class. >> i think he's going to amendment it. i don't think he's completed it. now, he says he has experts. i said -- i told him, by the way, you have to come through with these expert. >> could you vote for herman cain? >> i could vote for anybody, anybody that we've been talking about including governor romney who has made a great impression at the debates but i could vote for anybody over president obama. president obama has been a total and complete disaster. >> mitt romney is the everready

bunny. for the last seven year as we'v been talking about him, close to the top the pack. can he win the nomination and presidency. >> i think last time was different. i really do. i think this is a different age, a different time. i think the country is certainly in more turmoil than anybody has ever seen. >> there are people in the streets here in new york. >> we haven't seen that in a long time. >> in other cities around the country and around the world. does the republican party, if they ignore the occupy wall street group do they do so at their own peril. >> i think so. i think it's bad for obama and he's feeling it. i believe ultimately it's more dangerous for president obama. but the republican party sees what's going on. i see what's going on. there is -- this country, a friend of mine used an express today, this country is blowing up. we're blowing up. you are never shy in expressing an opinion. i want you to express a heartfelt opinion.

you talk about the country as not great and needs to return to its greatness. of the candidates you see on the republican side right now which one is most likely in your opinion to return this country to its great -- >> i will be saying that but i can't do it today. >> why not do it today and give somebody a leg. >> i would give somebody a big leg up. it's not fair to the candidates. i told some i will not be making a decision. sooner or later i'll do it and maybe i'll do it with you but i won't do it now. >> when? >> sometime prior to the primaries. >> how much impact will it have. mr. trump thinks a lot. >> meantime, a check of the morning's other top stories from savannah in for natalie. hello, savannah. >> good morning to you. in the news today another person has died in connection with that deadly listeria epidemic linked to cantaloupes from jensen farms. 25 people have died and some 123 others have been sickened. this is the debadliest outbreak

in 25 years. social security recipients are getting their first cost of living increases since 2009. for the average recipient the expected 3.5% hike will mean an extra $38 for them per month and will take effect in january. good news in the fight against heart disease. hospital stays for heart failure fell by 30% over the past decade saving medicare about $4.1 billion. medical experts credit better management of risk factors. now to wall street. cnbc's melissa francis is at the new york stock exchange. good morning. >> good morning to you. a stunning miss for apple on the earnings front. keep in mind revenue was still up 40% versus a year ago but the company only sold 17 million iphones, the street was looking for about 20 million. they said people were waiting for the new iphone, still that stock is getting hammered. at the same time we're watching the biggest protest in years over in greece as the eu tries to hammer out yet another rescue deal making markets nervous as

well, savannah, back to you. >> melissa, thank you. last day of the president's bus tour through north carolina and virginia but if hasn't been all business for the commander in chief. at a virginia high school he sparked a giggle fest and even managed to break some hearts. >> did you have a question for me? >> did you have a question for me? do you know justin bieber. >> i do know justin bieber. he's a very nice young man. >> did they have any other questions for him? they did not. crushing bieber fever one teenager at a time. >> threw him right under the bus. >> savannah, thanks very much. mr. roker, what's going on? a lot of rain. we are looking at the rain stretching up and down the eastern seaboard.

we have a stretch of strong from wilmington to harrisburg. we have three tornadoes down in florida last night. you can see the range stretching from miami into new york city. look at the rainfall amount from chicago, anywhere from two to five inches of rain. one to three inches possible in the next 48 hours. >> grab an umbrella because we have rain falling across northern virginia, and it's advancing from south to north and it will be with us a few more thousands. right now temperatures are in the 50s to low 60s. 63 at reagan national now, and later today climbing to near 70. we could get strong thunderstorms later this afternoon and this evening, >> and that's your latest weather. ann. >> all right, al, thanks. just ahead new developments in the disexperience of kansas city

baby lisa irwin. why police have locked down the family home. 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.

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coming up, the latest on the search for dozens of dangerous animals. >> we'll talk to the sheriff after your local news. [ female announcer ] at jcpenney we're giving you a big thank you this friday & saturday. get an extra 20% off when you use your jcpenney rewards credit card. don't have a card, you still get an extra 15% off. no exclusions.

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good morning. i am meteorologist, tom kierein. we have late rain across

virginia and the district of columbia and maryland. the rain may stop in another couple of hours temporarily. right now temperatures in the 50s and low 60s. 63 at reagan national. and then we could get showers and thunderstorms, and some thunderstorms could produce damaging w

7:30 on this wednesday morning. it's the 19th day of okay, 2011. you're looking at some umbrellas up but yet the crowd is happy as they join us this morning in the plaza. rainy weather didn't keep them away. meanwhile, inside studio 1a i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer. the michigan father who used his 9-year-old daughter as a designated driver has had his day in court. what a judge ordered him to do and what the girl's mother is now saying about this arrest. hidden camera investigation on car repairs as we put some

very popular national chain stores to the test. but we begin this half hour as we began the last half hour with more on that search for dozens of dangerous animals including bears and lions and wolfs that escaped from an animal preserve in columbus, ohio. matt luce and, sheriff, good morning. >> good morning, ann. >> your deputies found the owner terry thompson dead and all of the outdoor cages open. were there any markings on his body that indicate whether he was killed by the animals or by another human being? >> well, ann, that's still under investigation right now. we're waiting on some preliminary autopsy reports and as soon as we have those reports back and get some of those reports done we'll be able to release that information. >> but don't you want to warn people who are already worrying about animals on the loose as to whether or not there may also be a killer on the loose, sheriff? >> well, ann, the type of

animals we're dealing with, all of them were considered at this point. we started emergency broadcasting as soon as this thing happened. these are not your normal pets. these animals have been caged for a long time and, you know, we wouldn't take any chance with them last night and we certainly wouldn't have our citizens take any chance with them today. >> are you going to try to qu k quickly assess whether there may be a killer involved so people can be adequately warned about that? >> obviously once daybreak hits here, we're going back in to get an accountability of how many animals have been put down, how many animals are still penned up and once we get that number we have what we think is a pretty credible working number of how many animals were here at this scene and once we get that number, we can be able to brief our citizens on a little bit more. >> is it possible that the preserve's owner may have opened the cages himself, sheriff? >> very possible.

very possible. >> and is there any indication as to whether the preserve's owner may have done -- may have killed himself actually? is that a possibility? >> anything is a possibility at this point. >> mr. thompson was -- just got out of prison, i understand, three weeks ago after serving a one-year sentence on firearms charges and he had a prior conviction of cruelty to animals. was he on your radar and if not, should he have been? >> i didn't catch all of that, ann, at the end, but we are aware of mr. thompson's criminal record. you know, that's one of the issues that is being debated here, that has been debated as far as having these compound-type places for animals in the state of ohio. >> all right, well, sheriff matt lutz, i know you have a big job. thank you very much for joining us this morning. >> thank you. all right, now 7:33. here's matt. >> ann, thank you. now let's turn to the search for

lisa irwin, the kansas city baby who disappeared two weeks ago. police obtained a search warrant for the baby's home. peter alexander has details on that. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. police tell nbc news they will execute that later today. this is the home where the parents say their baby daughter disappeared now more than two weeks ago. the parents have been staying elsewhere but police have been standing guard overnight. that means lisa's parents are no longer allowed to freely enter that home. this as the hunt for clues continues elsewhere too. investigators is swarmed this wooded area tuesday even temporarily setting up a no-fly zone above for their fourth search at this site just blocks from the irwin family home. >> we developed it and unfortunately didn't pan out. >> reporter: the site is near this dumpster where firefighters tell nbc news they responded to a fire an hour and a half before lisa's parents reported the baby missing from her crib. lisa's mother, deborah bradley

says police showed her burned clothing during questioning. the tense relationship between the two shows little side of cooling. the police say the parents have not agreed to an unrestricted interview for 11 days after deborah became uncomfortable with the questions and ended their conversation. >> deborah, do you think you'll be arrested. >> i don't know. i hope not. i had absolutely nothing to do with it. it's a waste of time, money, energy and focus and people should be looking for her. >> reporter: returning to a relative's home tuesday lisa's parents ignored reporters' questions. still, new scrutiny is focused on apparent inconsistencies related to deborah's time line from that night. the couple's attorney tuesday on "today." >> obviously she wasn't marking the time down when putting the baby to bed. >> reporter: two days earlier she said she was. when was the last time you saw her. >> 6:40. i looked at the clock and she had been in bed. >> reporter: we watched home

videos of lisa from earlier this year. it's hard to watch that, isn't it? she's adorable. >> it makes me feel good but it makes me overwhelmed at the same time because i don't know if i'll ever have more than those videos. it's a scary thought. >> yeah, it's hard. that's her. there she is. that's how she always was, happy and talking to everybody. >> reporter: police tell nbc news that they have in their custody evidence that is the computer hard drives on those hard drives lisa's parents say is some other video of their baby daughter that they were hoping to release to help bring more public interest to the case. matt. >> all right, pete alexander in kansas city this morning. thank you very much. a check of the weather now from al. "today's weather." brought to you by party city. this halloween party city wants to know, who are you going to

be? party city, nobody has more halloween for less. >> as we take a look show you what's happening for today, we've got frost and freeze warnings from today into tomorrow morning. stretching from northern texas all the way into nebraska. we are looking at temperatures anywhere from 10 to 15 degrees below normal for highs today, 40s into the plains and 50s and 60s out west. we're looking at 90s in the paciwest. we are looking at 90s in the pacific southwest, and during the day today, heavy rain, and mid-atlantic states heavy rain that sketch from chicago into the northeast. the western half of the country will be gorgeous with plenty of sunshine and a few scattered showers in the pacific northwest region. light rain across northern virginia, here in washington and throughout most of maryland moving south to north and there's a break in the rain near richmond, and it does look like we will get a temporary stoppage

to the rain in a couple hours, and then more coming in later. right now we're in the 50s to the low 60s throughout most of the region. 63 at reagan national, and highs up around 70. we could get thunderstorms this afternoon into this evening and weather. >> al, thanks very much. ann and al, i want to mention sad news. for the better part of 0 years jack sturm was the guy who picked us up for work each morning and got our day off. he was the first person some of us saw every day as we dragged yourselves out of bed in the wee hours of the morning which i always thought was great for us. not such a treat for jack. jack passed away tuesday morning after a battle with cancer. he was a great guy and we want to pass along our condolences to his wife dawna, his children and his grandchildren and mornings will not be the same without jack. >> one of the motion dependable humble nice guys and good guys. anyway, we're right back. trying to stay on track?

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no exclusions. go to jcp.com to see everything on sale. jcpenney. 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. this morning on "today" we investigate automobile repairs. what's the truth behind pricey bills. we have an eye-opening investigation. hey, jeff. >> always coming back for more.

eye opening for a lot of reasons. these result also surprise you for maybe not the reason you expect. on tuesday here on "today" we showed you what our hidden cameras uncovered at auto dealerships. most build for repairs we didn't need. we're taking the same car to national chain store, pepboys, midas, meineke. how would they do? our hidden cameras are rolling again. name brand mechanics under our hood charging us big money for repairs. what do you make of this? >> it's terrible. >> reporter: we set up service appointments at top national chains, some of the most trusted names in the business. our car, this 2007 jeep grand cherokee. under 40,000 miles and out of warranty. first we took it to a mechanic certified by two top auto repair groups. he inspected every system of our jeep and gave it a clean score. >> everything looks fine. everything is good.

>> then we asked him to rig a simple problem. he used this small part in the air conditioner. it's called the relay switch. so what are you doing here. >> i'll take your ac relay out and i'm going to replace it with a defective one. >> reporter: and that makes the air conditioner blow warm air. >> yes. >> reporter: quick and easy fix. he says he'd charge only $100 to fix our problem. so what would these name brand shops do? to find out, we installed hidden cameras inside our car and under the hood. >> so almost $2,000 to fix it. >> reporter: on tuesday here on "today" we showed you what our hidden cameras uncovered when we took our car to auto dealerships. four out of five tried to charge us hundreds, up to $2,000 in what experts say were unnecessary repairs. so would these chain shops be any better? once again, we sent this female nbc producer with this same jeep

to five stores, a random mix of city and suburban locations. >> yes. warm air it's blowing. >> reporter: our hidden cameras were rolling as she drops it off at this midas at new york. within minutes the mechanic diagnoses our bad relay as the only problem. >> so this was the part that was bad in my car. >> yep. >> pretty simple. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: and pretty cheap. the charge, only $91. same great result at this meineke in new jersey. the bill only $90 to fix our ac. and if you think that's impressive, this pepboys in new york is even more helpful. they find our bad relay. then the manager confides, we don't need them to fix it. we can go buy the relay and do it ourselves. for just 25 bucks. >> that's something i can buy. >> yes. >> in an auto parts store. >> yes. ask for an ac clutch relay.

>> ac clutch relay. >> reporter: but our good results are about to take a turn. at this midas in long island, they quickly find our bad relay, but then say fixing our ac requires some extra services an a/c recharge package. >> the charging of the system is 189. >> reporter: and a brand-new air filter. >> your cabin air filter is dirty. it would be $59.9. >> reporter: but our hiding cameras show they never checked the old one and the charge we needed. our mechanic checked our a/c pressure before every shop and it was always fine. total charge at this midas, $464, up to five times as expensive as the previous shops. the franchise owner later told us though his technician didn't follow company standards in dock metropolitaning the inspection process, he believes the tech correctly diagnosed and fixed the problem. based on our car's mileage and

his knowledge and experience. >> it looks to me like what he's doing right there is using the little bit of knowledge he has to try to convince you need some things you don't need. >> reporter: we showed our undercover video to two experts. paul di giuseppe, one of the top a/c mechanics and phil reed, senior editor with a leading auto site. while they can't comment on these practice, many may push cheap fixes like new floyds and filters even when you don't need them. >> this is easiest go-to place. >> reporter: when i think $50, but that adds up. >> the lifetime of a car adds up to thousands of dollars. >> reporter: but it was at this meineke in new york where we got the biggest surprise of all. our hidden cameras show the mechanic never even checks our relay. instead he comes up with a much more serious problem. >> this valve is leaking.

this mr[ bleep ] been leaking f awhile. >> i have a leak. >> reporter: how would you rate his work? >> horrible. terrible. i'm sorry to see this. >> reporter: that mechanic isn't done yet. >> we have to replace the part then we recharge the system again. >> how much is this going to cost me. >> the total down here is 393. >> $393 to fix my air-conditioning. >> reporter: nearly $400 for repairs that experts say were completely unnecessary. >> people like in this give us all a bad name. there really are a lot of good people out there. >> reporter: the franchise owner later told us this mechanic misdiagnosed our problem and his shop won't tolerate bad practices. in fact, he told us he's received other customer complaints about his shop and as a result has now hired all new managers and mechanics. in the end good practices seem to prevail. experts say three out of five

shops charged us to fix the real problem. nothing more. as for the others -- >> they're abusing our trust because in many cases they appeal to us as the trusted adviser and yet they're actually picking our pockets. >> reporter: this a statement midas corporate told us it does not tolerate what happened at the store that charged us too much and our investigation is already getting results. midas will now require additional training at that specific store. both midas and meineke said most of their stores do a great job but each store is independently owned and makes it own employment decisions and the best advice get a second opinion. most of these shops charge you to check the shops. call around and try to compare. >> be careful about that. thank you very much this morning. coming up next, the father arrested for having his nine-year-old daughter act as a designated driver face ss a jud as the girl's mother speaks out right after this.

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and tea to choose from. keurig is the way to brew fresh, delicious coffee in under a minute. way to brew. so with keurig, every cup tastes like it's brewed just for you. because it is. we're back at 7:51 with a court appearance for the michigan father arrested for using his daughter as a designated driver allegedly. stephanie gosk has the latest. stephanie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt. the gas station is open 24 hour, the qwi compa ichliqwikmart is stocked. the man says he's a good guy but made a big mistake.

shawn wiemer looked tired and emotional accused of drinking too much and making his 9-year-old daughter drive him around town. anyone watching the scene must have done a serious double take. all caught on surveillance video, a very large van pulled up at the gas station at 3:00 in the morning and a very small driver popped out. how could that little girl possibly have driven there? but inside the diminutive driver's dad was eager to brag. >> 9 years old. 9. listen, we're leaving and she's driving. i'm drunk. >> 9 years old in the truck thee drove all the way here. i got a 9-year-old chauffeur. >> reporter: and the 9-year-olds chauffeur, she got a candy apple before getting back behind the wheel. wiemer's free on $25,000 bail but for now the single father is not allowed any contact with his daughter.

>> not see her -- >> reporter: the judge may not give him a break but his friends are willing to. >> the way they post his picture on the news looks like he's a criminal. he's not. he's a good dad. >> reporter: his daughter is staying with his mother and tells the detroit news that the 39-year-old is a good father who made a bad choice. she also wants to know how her daughter learned to drive. i have no clue how she reached the pedals. well however she did it it seemed to work. notice the smooth parking job. slightly off center but many licensed drivers do worse. still a 9-year-old driving a van raises some red flags. a concerned citizen phoned 911. >> is the vehicle staying on the road? >> yes, she's driving pretty good. i'm telling you, i can't believe it. >> reporter: the only thing that shocked the girl was that she got pulled over. when the officer came to the window she simply asked, why did you stop me? i'm a good driver.

that may sound kind of cute but this is a very serious situation for shawn wiemer. he faces potentially 15 years in prison for counts that include child abuse. he made no meant and his lawyer needs to investigate before they enter a plea. >> just ahead, a link between fertility treatments and breast cancer. >> after this. so smooth and creamy,a che you don't just taste it, you feel it. ♪ do you believe in magic? ♪ ♪ it's magic ♪ [ male announcer ] it's a comfort that comes from the only caramel worthy of being wrapped in gold. ♪ do you believe in magic? [ male announcer ] werther's original caramel chocolate. what comfort tastes like. a big thank you this friday & saturday. get an extra 20% off when you use your jcpenney rewards credit card. don't have a card, you still get an extra 15% off.

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no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. get started at citisimplicity.com. good morning, everybody. the time is 7:56 on this wet wednesday, october 19th. it's an ugly morning out there, folks. >> this early morning rain is now tapering off and we will likely see it end temporarily in another hour. it's advancing to the north, and then later today we will likely have some other showers and thundershowers redeveloping. right now it's in the upper 50s to 60 degrees throughout most of the region, and 63 at reagan national. and then later today up near 70 and could get storms that could produce tornadoes and wind

hey, what are you drinkin'? i'm drinkin' dunkin'. coffee -- black, straight up. extra cream, three sugars. iced coffee french vanilla. for me. iced coffee with a turbo shot. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. drinkin' dunkin'. america runs on dunkin' coffee. good morning. traveling 395 south at edsall, have an accident on two lanes to the right. fire truck is on the scene. and taking 270, this accident is in the left shoulder lane, but

greetings on this wednesday morning. 19th day of october, 2011. outside of new york city, the umbrellas are up. we thank those people for hanging in there sticking it out and i'm getting a little wet with us on this wednesday morning. hopefully will clear up when one of the biggest bands on the planet coldplay stops by the concert for a live concert. by the way, you don't have to wait until then for great music. it's coming up in our next half

hour. "today," we've got sting live in our studio. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry. more on the hunt for those dangerous animals in ohio. how hard will it be ba track down. we'll talk about that with jeff corwin. >> e!'s giuliana rancic was here to talk about her breast cancer. could there be a possible connection between that and fertility drugs. >> we want to begin in ohio where those escaped and dangerous animals have police warning residents to stay inside. nbc's john yang is in zanesville. john, good morning again. >> reporter: good morning, matt. investigators tell nbc news that preliminary indications are that terry thompson, the man who owned this rescue operation killed himself. that he committed suicide and that they're working under the

theory that he himself opened the pens and released the animals before he took his own life. investigators say that they have always been worried and prepared for animals to escape from this rescue operation, this exotic animal operation he runs here in zanesville, ohio. thompson himself just earlier this month finished a federal prison sentence on federal weapons charges. now that the sun is up investigators feel they'll be able to get out, get a better sense of how many animals still may be around. they think that they've killed overnight that they've killed star between 30 and 35 animals and that only a handful remain at large. matt? >> all right, john yang in zanesville, ohio, john, thanks as always. msnbc sign and environmental expert john corwin the host of "ocean mysteries" and the author

of "100 heartbeats." good morning to you. how dangerous a situation to you think this really is. >> matt, this could be incredibly dangerous. carnivores ranging from bears to lions and that's why it's so important that this situation needs to be managed immediately. if not for the protection of the public, for the protection for the animals themselves and as you can see, really the worst case scenario has happened here. >> you know what, you're right. public safety is the number one concern but i can't help but think this is just such a tragedy for these animals that did nothing to deserve this. >> incredible tragedy, matt. this brings up the point about private people keeping exotic animals as pets especially powerful creatures like these large cats and bears and wolves. these are animals that in normal situations in states like massachusetts and other parts of the country, there are strict

state regulations when it comes to keeping these animals in captivity. that is not the case for ohio and now we see what's happening. >> it seems ironic, jeff, in ohio you do need a permit to house a native animal like a bear. you do not need a permit to house a nonnative animal like a lion or a tiger. it just doesn't seem to make sense. >> it does seem a little ironic but basically, matt, how this law was put into place it really wasn't put in place to manage exotic animals but managing the natural resources of the state. so if there are species of special concern in the state of ohio, they're pro-tukted. unfortunately, the loophole here it doesn't recognize the need to protect people and wildlife when it comes to exotic creatures and in places like texas and in places like ohio where these regulations are incredibly loose. in fact, ohio has no laws in the book to -- when it comes to

keeping these animals in captivity this is what can happen. >> jeff corwin joining us on this subject, thanks very much for your perspective. >> a check of the rest of the morning's top stories from savannah guthrie. >> in politics the latest republican debate last night in las vegas was a no-holds barred slugfest. all the candidates ripped herman cain's 9-9-9 flat tax plan as a stealth tax increase for everyone but the wealthy and mitt romney and rick perry engaged in a heated and also sometimes personal exchange over leadership and immigration. lindsay lohan once again faces the possibility of being sent to jail. she is due in court today in los angeles. nbc's miguel almagere is there. >> reporter: it's been scheduled for quite some time but prosecutors plan to drop the hammer and argue lindsay lohan should spend more times behind bars.

walk into court has been familiar for lindsay lohan. but it's the los angeles city attorney's office gets his way lohan will walk out in handcuffs. prosecutors plan to tell a judge she was terminated from a woman's center where she was supposed to serve community service. it's been reported the hollywood st starlet rarely showed up. a violation of her probation. the judge gave her one year to complete 480 hours of community service. >> she's not going to get five minutes more than the one year to do it. >> reporter: from a 2007 drunk driving case and misdemeanor theft case from this year. mark geragos doesn't represent her but knows she still has six months to complete her court-ordered service. >> the odds of her serving time in jail in none. >> reporter: she tweeted i'm working hard in fulfilling my obligations every single day. while she has been spotted doing

some community service in recent weeks she's made headlines while working and playing in europe. but earlier this month, some of her pictures raised eyebrows and questions. what experts are saying that she probably is living an unhealthy lifestyle. just not taking care of herself. >> reporter: but in court the question will be did lindsay lohan take care of her community service. today she'll be in front of a in nonsense judge and more calls for her to return to job. >> miguel, thank you. what's trending, our roundup of what has you talking online. susan sarandon under fire from catholic and jewish groups for calling pope benedict a nazi. the actress made that comment over the weekend during an interview at the hampton film fest cal. unclear whether she was talking about the pope's policies or the fact he was a member of the hitler youth movement in 1941. speculation has gone wild

over what exactly is being built on the white house north lawn. construction crews have been digging a massive mystery hole right by the west wing for at least a year and a half. white house officials saying they can't reveal what it is because of national security. many people are left to guess perhaps a new underground bunker, giant swimming pool or outdoor bowling alley or perhaps a presidential man cave. check out this video from boulder, colorado. a house cat came nose to nose with a slightly larger variety. a mountain lion. only sprayed by the glass door. the mountain lion left not but before getting the stare-down from the cat named zeus. >> not in ohio. look like the big cat wanted to play with the little one. >> didn't seem too upset. check of the weather from al. >> a little on the wet side. got a lot of pharmacists here. pharmacists week. let's check your weather.

oh, doctor, it hurts here. atlantic city, new jersey, your. atlantic city, new jersey, nbc 40, rain and wind, 70 degrees. and you can see where that rain is coming from, making it's way up from the south. we have another big system back to the west of the ohio river valley. two will merge and that means a couple wet days here in the northeast. we have a slight risk of strong storms in the mid-atlantic coast. and then temperatures in the 40s through the plains, and 60s back through the rockies, and some slow 60-degree readings in the pacific northwest. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. >> good morning, after a wet early commute, the rain thankfully beginning to taper off across the district, and still raining across most of maryland and the eastern shore, but as the morning progresses we will have the rain stopping temporarily. right now we're near 60 degrees throughout much of the area, and 63 at reagan national.

and later today near 70, but we could get storms developing this afternoon, some of which could produce damage winds or a tornado. >> and that's your latest weather. thanks so much. up next is there a link between fertility treatments and breast cancer? dr. nancy snyderman weighs in after giuliana rancic's diagnosis. right after this. ou need ♪ ♪ for the big race. daughter: morning mom! are you excited? ♪ as you finish every mile... ♪ how rewarding are those smiles... ♪ [ cheers from the crowd ] ♪ the best part of wakin' up... ♪ mommy, you did it! ♪ is folgers in your cup. two. three. one. two. two. and, three.

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than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. good morning, students. today we're gonna continue... 37-year-old giuliana rancic was here to talk about her battle with infertility and announce she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. news that is concern for some whether there could be a link between the two. >> giuliana -- >> reporter: television viewers have come to know skrooul giuliana for her work on the e! network dishing the latest celebrity news. >> they say their biggest secrets for us. >> reporter: but giuliana was the one making news monday when she appeared on "today." >> we sadly found out i have early stages of breast cancer so and it's been a shock. >> reporter: her news spread quickly and questions were raised among some about whether

her illness is related in any way to the treatment she shas undergone. >> start thinking about having a kid again. >> reporter: on their style network reality show "giuliana & bill." they have watched them struggle to conceive including one miscarriage. >> you know, why are we being punished in a way. >> reporter: they saw them embarking on their last ivf attempt at a well-known clinic in colorado. >> bye. >> reporter: it was a doctor there who asked giuliana to get a mammogram before he would go ahead with the procedure. >> i said, why, i'm 36 years old? i'm too young. he said i don't care if you're 26, 36, but i will not get you pregnant if possibly the small risk you have cancer. if you get pregnant it can accelerate the cancer. >> reporter: on tuesday she under went a lumpectomy in both breasts and now recovering. we wish her the best and are bringing in dr. nancy snyderman. good morning.

is there any known link between fertility treatments and cancer specifically breast cancer, nancy? >> no. >> at all? >> no. in vitro fertilization and birth control pills both forms of hormones that women take have been studied and there's no known cause and effect. what we do know is that women who are older usually ask for ivf because they're having a harder time getting pregnant and women who are holdolder have a higher chance of getting breast cancer so there is an age relation but not a hormonal relationship with cause and effect with ivf. >> what about the treatments, the pills and injection that is women take regarding boosting their hormone levels given we know estrogen fuels 80% of breast cancer. >> in some tumors. so let's assume you're diagnosed with a tomb their feeds off some hormone. doctors say let's put your hormones to the side whether it's hormone replacement therapy

until we treat the tumor then we can talk about individualizing whether you get pregnant. interestingly, we do know that moms that that are pregnant can get chemotherapy because the chemotherapy doesn't cross over to the fetus and moms usually do very, we very, very well. you take this case and we have to be careful to recognize this is one case. and we cannot extrapolate and say, okay, now everybody should get mammography. the screening guidelines for mammography are no different than those women who are not undergoing ivf so starting at 40 for some women, starting at 50 for other women but there must have been something either in her family history or a gut feeling with this doctor to want her to get a mammogram at the age of 37. >> her aunt had breast cancer yet when i asked her is it part of your family history she said, no, no.

family history is not just your mother to you or your grandmother to you, it's also the extended family. >> own by about 8% of cancers have a true known genetic link. those of these are just accidental or familial. your aunt may have it and you may get it but that doesn't necessarily mean your daughter will get it. we don't know the root cause of breast cancer. whether it's a certain environmental trigger that turns something on but for women who want to go have ivf they should be very comforted by the fact this is very safe and trusted and known. i have a bigger concern for the college girls who are going out there and i'm getting a lot of drugs or harvesting eggs. we don't know how to follow them 30 or 40 years out. for the average woman take this case as a standalone and don't necessarily apply it to yourself. >> all right, dr. nancy snyderman, thank you very much. coming up next, what indy car driver dan wheldon and his

wife did to honor each other the night before he was killed in that fiery crash. that's right after this. ♪ [ 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. you kids almost ready? i've got breakfast waiting for you. whoo! uh-oh. what? mom's doing her exercise video again. when mom's on a health kick, all of us are. and now she's made us breakfast. uh-oh. ♪ [ male announcer ] eggo nutri-grain waffles. you know it's made with 8 grams of whole grain

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the reinvented 2012 toyota camry. it's ready. are you? ♪ we are back now at 8 ooch:2 the tributes pouring in for dan wheldon. savannah has the latest. >> good morning, matt. wheldon leaves behind a wife and two small children. now we're learning about something special he shared with his wife the day before his fatal crash. a family grieving quietly in

private following a very public and shocking death. >> oh, multiple cars involved. oh, my. it looks like dan wheldon may be involved. >> reporter: dan wheldon died doing what he loved but the very night before his final race he went out with the woman he loved and got matching tattoos at that las vegas parlor. >> i met him for an hour or so and he was just a really good-hearted really nice, nice guy. he said, he definitely would rather be racing than getting tattooed. more squared to get tattooed. >> it shows the new ink, susie's initials inside his left wrist. >> two people very happy, very sad. >> reporter: susie has not made any public statements but wheldon's father clive thanks fans and friends for their support. >> he was a true champion and

gentleman on and off the track. the world is a better place because of dan. thank you for allowing us to grieve in private. all our thoughts and prayers means so much to our family. >> reporter: he grew up in england where he first made a name for himself racing go-carts. >> just come off, stay on, get as many points as possible and go for it in the final. >> reporter: wheldon moved to the united states in 1999 and quickly made an impact on the di car circumstan indy car circuit and married his personal assistant. they reached victory lane this year at the indianapolis 500 celebrating together with their two young son, sebastian and oliver. wheldon's father said he was born to be a racer. his fellow drivers say he wouldn't have wanted to go out any other way. but that doesn't make it easier for the loved ones he left behind. >> my wish for now is for his

family, for his kids, for everyone around him because certainly the ones that suffer most of it will the ones that stay here. >> reporter: his number 77 car was owned by sam schmitt a former indy car driver partially paralyzed in an accident 11 years ago. >> his wife susie and then having the kids subsequently, it changed him dramatically the last five or six years grown up quite a bit and turned into a real class act. >> reporter: among his final acts leaving a lasting mark on the woman he loved. and a public memorial to remember dan wheldon will be held sunday at conseco fieldhouse in indianapolis. matt? >> all right, savannah, thanks very much. up next the stunning work of art and literature, the first illuminated handwritten bible in some 500 years. after these messages from your local news.

local news. 8:26 is your time now on this wednesday, october 19th, 2011. good morning, i am eun yang. let's go to our meteorologist, tom kierein, for a look at the forecast. >> we will have a temporary reprieve from the rain in the next couple of hours and then it will be moving back in by later this afternoon, and there could be thunder and lightning associated with that and maybe damaging hail. an isolated tornado possible as well late this afternoon, and

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good morning. you are jammed in both direction on 395. we have an accident on 395 south further down towards edsall. stick to the right to get by the accident. 395 north, you are jammed all [ agent ] so your policy looks good, is there anything else? 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 ]

8:30 on this wednesday morning, october 19th, 2011. right now as you can see everyone is gathered in rockefeller plaza for one of sting's many hits. he's now celebrating 25 years as

a solo artist and here to perform live in our studio in just a moment. the crowd is very excited. makes them happy. >> i have to figure out what this guy eats for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 60 years old. he looks like 40. >> i'm telling you. lighting a fire this morning. this morning talking about that, why not light the fire for our kids on this halloween. >> martha stewart is in the house. great treats to make for kids of all ands. we'll check with martha in a couple of minute. >> also ahead something that hasn't been done in 500 year, the queen's ka lig grapher completed an illuminated handwritten bible that took 12 years to finish. we'll see it up close coming up. also, another exciting thing, the world series begins tonight and the rangers are taking on the cardinals and look what we have, the world series trophy right here in our house and it's here along with the

hall of famer and former cardinal lou brock and mlb network analyst and former ranger mitch williams. good morning, guys. you both played for the -- in a world series game. what does this trophy mean to players? >> well, actually it means bragging rights in my hometown, really better than your hometown. that's what happens in world series. >> you got to brag twice, lou, didn't you? >> i bragged a few times, a couple of times i got caught bragging. >> mitch, talk about the intensity in a game, world series game versus a regular series game. >> for me they were all the same, matt. i treated every game i played in the same way and the world series to me, it was inside just another game. it was a game i happened to lose on the biggest stage, obviously, in the world. it was a more painful game but they're intense. >> texas has had some up and down times and got to the series last year and didn't win it.

there was a tragedy with the father who fell out of the stands trying to catch a ball. that son, by the way, 6-year-old cooper threw out the first pitch. what would it mean for them to bring it home. >> me having broke in the rangers in 1986 and knowing what that organization has gone through and i'm getting nolan ryan involved in the ownership group, the tragedy that happened there earlier this summer, i think this would really be an awesome culmination of a great ball club full of a great bunch of guys getting together and kind of rallying around what was honestly a tragic situation. >> what would it mean to get this? >> st. louis is perhaps the foremost team in the flat league winning championship other than the yankees in baseball, so certainly to be another feather in our cap. we would love to be inspired to catch the yankees.

so i know that the texas rangers stand before us. good ball club, going to be a good series. we got some hitters in both clubs, outstanding particularly hammerton and pujols. >> may the best team win. okay, guys. enjoy the world series, thanks for coming by this morning. what a pleasure to see you guys. >> thanks for having us. >> now a check of the weather with al. >> all right. thanks so much. ann, as we show everybodyal. >> all right. thank you so much. ann, as we show everybody here, the nice fleeces. let's check your weather. it's a mess in the east back into illinois and chicago and parts of illinois. we have high wind watches all around the central great lakes. beautiful out west and the western two thirds of the country, although on the cool side. tomorrow the heavy rain continues around the great lakes, and the upper ohio river valley into the northeast, and a

few showers in the interior pacific northwest. mild along the gulf coast, with plenty of sunshine. that's what is going on around the country, and here's what is happening in your neck of the woods. >> the rain lightened up and it has come to an end across virginia now. still raining across most of maryland and here in the district of columbia, and it should taper off and end here in those areas in the next hour or so and we're in the 50s to low 60s, 63 at reagan national. later today climbing to near 70. we will likely have more showers and maybe thunderstorms that could day like today check your weather any time of the day or not with the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. savannah? >> al, thank you. coming up next martha stewart shows you how to add a homemade touch to your house for halloween. homemade touch to your house for hallowe[ female announcer ] we understand that today

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martha on today brought to you by macy's. ♪ werewolves of london >> back now at 8:37 and "martha on today." halloween treats for all ages. martha stewart has been doing up some devilishly good ones in "food" magazine. good morning. >> fun things for halloween. >> what is the most fun at your house? i can't think of anybody else's house i'd rather be. >> halloween is fun because it's a night where you can get dressed up and be somebody else. >> and you can be a kid again which is great. >> gore and blood. >> all kinds of gait stuff. >> this first thing you'll make, you've got broken glass cupcakes. >> oh, they look kind of scary when you put -- you make caramel, melt sugar to the hard

ball stage and put it on a buttered baking sheet and break -- >> why doesn't it get darker. >> you can make it darker. >> it looks great clear. >> looks more like glass. >> stick it in the top of cupcakes like that. you can eat this. totally edible and delicious. cherry jam melted to look like blood dripping down the glass. >> cute. >> borderline growtesfue. >> how cute these scaredy cat brownies. >> you bake these mint patties right in the brownie mix so you see we have one layer of brownie batter and then put your little mint -- >> girl scout cookies. >> oh, they are. >> are you kidding?

>> do you know when i buy them i put them in the freezer, just the chocolate mints because -- >> you like them cold. >> no, they keep for a year. >> yeah, delish, right. you're not using a mix for the brownie. >> no, you make your own brownies. >> stupid question. >> you could use a mix. bake 375 for 35 minutes. when they come out put more mint chocolate cookies on top. they get soft and deck indicate. buy these candy eyes. >> where do you get them. >> at the craft store. they're edible too. >> you can make your own, little white frosting if you want and then you use a pastry tip for the little teeth. makes them a little scary. >> they're actually more cute than scary. little red mouth and chocolate chips for the ears. >> make it good. she'll criticize you. >> this is fun.

>> a punch made out of ginger beer and apple cider and it's very delicious, fresh cranberries floating in it. >> can you make a pg-version of this and adult version. >> of course. >> how would you make it adult? >> we just made a great one on my show. we made apple cider, best bourbon, lemon juice. >> sounds good. >> delicious. delicious. so here you hold the rubber glove. >> okay. >> i don't want to get anything on your beautiful dress. >> thank you or on you. >> is that food coloring. >> and water. we'll just make -- >> on your hands. >> just fill that up. secure the top either with bulldog clips or rubber bigs. you know those big black clips you can old together. >> that would be easier. >> look at that. >> then rubber brands, okay. >> don't drop it. freeze them like this. right out of the freezer.

cut this off and release the rubber glove. >> seriously, you're going to spill on yourself. >> all on white. >> i know. >> you could -- can't you leave the glove on. >> i know but for now. >> i would take it off. then float them and look like hands floating in your punch. >> you have a warped -- >> and then look at this. this is a warming plate. in the magazine, "martha stewart living" a whole page of phobia is. do you know what the phobia is beads is -- >> do you have any? >> i have a phobia of everything. of -- no, i don't. i don't want to be afraid of anything but there's triskaphobia of the number three all the phobias. these are coffin boxes filled with candy corn as treats. that's out of my new entertaining book. >> happy halloween.

>> all kinds of gait stuff. >> cute. very cute. martha stewart, thank you so much. the queen's calligrapher shows off the first illuminated bible in 500 years. this is "today" on nbc.

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500 years ago newton's printing press gave the first mass produced bible. illuminated version a work of art as much as a religious text. but st. john's university in minnesota and donald jackson, the queen's calligrapher are bringing back the tradition with a bible 12 years in the making. donald, good morning, great to see you again. i saw you about 12 years ago. >> yeah. >> you described this as your life's dream and you've been doing it ever since. was the experience what you thought it would be. >> no. >> how was it different. >> it was a lot harder, a lot longer, a lot more stressful and

actually i find it far more like myself than i ever needed to know. >> was this an everyday eight-hour a day day ordeal or did you put it down for awhile, pick it back up? how did you work on this. >> first of all it was a team effort and i had to train people to work -- they were experts but just like musicians they have to work together on this and they have to agree that the text was, you know, what like to do and so the text was all written out and then the spaces were illuminated and illustrated to bring out the meanings of the word. >> this is a reproduction of your masterpiece. we look over here. this is one of the first pages you d it's done on skin with 130-year-old chinese ink, the pens were made of quills from burs and reeds. did you use any modern technology. >> modern technology, a computer to lay out all the text that we knew where every line was going to start and where every line

was going to finish. didn't stop us making mistakes, of course, but we did try. >> tell us about this, one of the first pages you did. >> well, the techniques are ancient. i mean the gold on here which you might catch is raised and burnished gold leaf on it but the ideas come from that. they come from everyday -- >> you muttput a modern twist o this ancient work? >> yes. so when i want to create an idea of one space and time i'm using images from the hubble telescope which weren't available to the monks in the old days but they were trying to do the same thing. they were trying to make these words look important. feel important. and your experience of it. >> as we move over to one of the later pages that you did over here, we're talking about a generation these days where people have kindle. they have an ipad and push a

button, everything they want pops up instantly. do you think people will even be able to grasp what you went through to create it. >> i do believe that because i think, you see, when you use a quill, because it is a delicate instrument and it picks up you. i mean as you write, every breath you take, heartbeat, just like a musical instrument, it guess into that and i just do believe that on one level people pick up on that energy. seven volumes over 1,100 pages. >> when finished it's 165 pounds, something like that you've called it your sistine chapel. how do you top that? >> well, my wife thinks retirement would be a good idea. but i'm kidding. i have no idea. i just don't know. there is no -- i don't feel relief. i just still feel the cage door has been opened but i'm not quite sure how or where i'm going to go when i go through there. working still on this wonderful

series of printed interpretations of this which is -- >> it's spectacular. it's a masterpiece. donald jackson, what a pleasure to see you again. coming up next a live performance by sting but first this is "today" on nbc.

♪ if i ever lose my faith in you ♪ >> the toyota concert series

brought to you by toyota. back now at 8:50 with musical ledge scend sting, a career that earned him a pile of multiplatinum albums and 16 grammy awards and to commemorate the occasion he's releasing "sting: the best of 25 years" and just celebrated his 60th birthday. sting, happy belated birthday. >> thank you. >> boy, you make 60 look great. how do you do it? is there a special thing besides yoga or all that. >> 50% vanity, 50% discipline. >> well, i think all the rest of us need some of that and by the way i just noticed your guitar. this has been something you've had for about as long. >> this is from 1955 or '57 so it's slightly younger than me but it looks in worse shape. >> well loved. you say going back through your years of work, for this new box set was a bit like archaeology. did you find the excavating fun?

did it teach you something about yourself? >> well, i rarely listen to my own music. i hear it by accident but for this project i had to go back and listen to stuff i did 25 years ago. i was pleasantly surprised by decisions i made as a younger man. it was pretty good. so it was worth bringing out. >> you're also right now still very busy with that as well as the new tour that you've got, yet another one as well as a play with music that you're writing. do you sometimes allow yourself to fully take in how happy your music has made us over all this time. >> i'm sort of happily taking in my own life and tasting it and it tastes really good at this point in time. so if other people like that i'm even more happy. >> i think other people love that, sting. i know the song you're singing for us is "all this time" appropriate. thank you so much for being here. ladies and gentlemen, sting.

>> one, two. ♪ ♪ yeah yeah yeah ♪ yeah yeah yeah ♪ i looked out across the river today ♪ ♪ i saw a city in the fog and an old church tower ♪ ♪ where the seagulls play ♪ i saw the sad shire horses walking home in ♪ ♪ the sodium light ♪ two priests on the ferry october geese ♪ ♪ on a cold winter's night ♪ all this time the river flowed ♪ ♪ endlessly to the sea

♪ blessed are the poor for they shall inherit ♪ ♪ the earth ♪ better to be poor than a fat man in the ♪ ♪ eye of a needle ♪ and as these words were spoken i swear i hear ♪ ♪ the old man laughing ♪ what good is a used-up world and how could it be ♪ ♪ worth having ♪ all this time the river flowed ♪ ♪ endlessly like a silent tear ♪ ♪ if i had my way i'd take a boat ♪ ♪ from the river

♪ yeah yeah yeah ♪ yeah yeah yeah ♪ all this space ♪ they built a wall and a temple ♪ ♪ an edge of the empire garrison town ♪ ♪ they lived and they died they prayed to their gods ♪ ♪ but the stone gods did not make a sound ♪ ♪ and their empire crumbled till all that was left ♪ ♪ were the stones the workmen found ♪ ♪ all this time the river flowed ♪ ♪ in the falling light of a northern sun ♪ ♪ if i had my way i'd take a boat ♪ ♪ from the river

♪ men go crazy in congregations ♪ ♪ but they only get better ♪ one by one yeah yeah yeah ♪ ♪ yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah ♪ [ applause ] >> lucky to have sting this morning in our studio. much more of "today" on a wednesday morning. but first your local news. 8:56 is your time on this wednesday, october 19th, 2011. good morning. i am eun yang. let's go to our meteorologist, tom kierein, for a look at the

forecast. it has been raining out there and is it going to rain all day? >> no, it will taper off and send temporarily, but it's advancing north and we will get a temporary reprieve, but by early afternoon we should have more developing. temperatures are in the 50s now and low to mid-60s, 65 at reagan national. later today, up around 70. we could likely get showers and thunderstorms in the early evening, and some could be severe. ♪ [ 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.

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good morning. still jammed outer loop of the beltway from i-95 making your way towards georgia avenue. inner loop at georgia avenue, you have a car fire on the left side. and you are jammed on the enter loop as you make your way towards georgia avenue. and the

we're back now with more "today" on a wednesday morning. it's the 19th day of october, 2011. not the nicest morning weatherwise in the northeast. we've had rain on and off all morning long and we've got a little letup right now. still some umbrellas out. matt lawyeruer and ann curry an roker. we've neglected you. >> some of us have been outside. >> we, me and ann have neglected you. coming up, more on that dangerous story out of zanesville, ohio, a lot of

animals. some 48 or 50 out of a wild or exotic animal preserve were apparently let go and they have now escaped into the surrounding community. police have hunted down some of them, killed dozens but there's still some on the loose talking lions and tigers and wolves and things like that. it's still an ongoing story. >> also, remember the man who -- a video camera showed us allowed his 9-year-old drive the van he was in because he said he was drunk. he's now appeared before a judge so we'll have the latest on his case and also what the young girl's mother had to say about all this and also coming up this morning, this as we all know is breast cancer awareness month and so as a result we'll talk about what every woman needs to know. >> it's wednesday, so that means it's time for "today's money 911" and our team of experts will answer your questions on everything from when to buy a new home. if you've been through a

foreclosure, where to look for your children looking for more money for college. >> let's talk about the news. >> inside and savannah guthrie is filling in while natalie is on assignment. >> under way in eastern ohio for exotic and dangerous animals that escaped from a wildlife preserve and john yang is in zanesville, ohio, with the latest. john, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. this is one of the most bizarre hunts that have been going on in this central ohio or eastern ohio area. investigators tell nbc news that they believe that terry thompson, the man that owned this exotic wildlife reserve killed himself, took his own life and they believe that he may have himself released these animals before he took his own life. these are exotic wild animals that thompson rescued and kept at this farm. lion, tigers, primates, black

bear, grizzly bears now sort of hunting them down and think overnight they were able to take out maybe 30 or 35 of the animals. there are still some at large. and there are still some on the farm itself that they are -- the columbus zoo officials are planning to try to take alive and take to the columbus zoo. meanwhile, now that the sun is up officials are being able to get out into the area to see just what they're dealing with. how many animals still at large as they -- this hunt continues in eastern ohio. savannah? >> all right, john yang in ohio for us, thank you. politic, republican presidential candidates took the gloves off and let each other have it last night in the latest campaign debate. rick perry accused mitt romney of hiring illegal immigrants to do landscaping for him a few years ago. romney responded that he fired them as soon as he found out. and the candidates all took turns ripping herman cain's

9-9-9 tax plan. social security recipients are getting their first cost of living increase since 2009 for the average recipient the 3.6% hike will mean almost $40 extra per month and that increase takes effect in january. good news in the fight against heart disease. hospital stays for heart failure fell by 30% over the past decade saving medicare about $4.1 billion. medical experts credit better management of risk factors. tensions are high today in britain. police in riot gear used sledge hammers to evict dozens of people known as the irish traveler from an area 30 miles outside london, a site where they've lived illegally for ten years. protesters set fires and clashed with police. two protesters were tasered. about to cost more to mail a letter. deep in debt the u.s. postal service is raising the cost of mailing a first class letter by a penny in january. to 45 cents. those forever stamps will remain

good even after that increase. the postal service lost $8 billion last year. and it's a viral video that fights cancer. scientists, students and lab techs rocked out in their white coats at mcgill university cancer research center. you can help too. they're making a donation to cancer research for every kihit that video gets online. check it out. it is 9:05 with a check of the weather. >> what a great video. with a c the weather. >> what a great video. >> we have a lot of wet weather to talk about along the east coast. we have severe storms possible from harrisburg and back into the central appellations, stretching from miami into boston and heavy rain from chicago into the midwest. we are talking from one to three inches and as much as five locally from chicago to michigan and along the coast to long

island and new england, heavy rain there as well, two to three inches of rain in the next 48 hours. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods.. >> a few scattered sprinkles and showers there, and light rain in maryland. but that's going to advance north pulling away out of the metro area now. we will get a reprieve from the rain for another few hours. right now it's in the low to mid-60s throughout much of the region, and 50s further west and north. and then later we should climb to 70, but we have a likelihood of afternoon thunderstorms some of which could produce shorty ♪ time now for "today's 911 money." jean chatzky, "today's" financial editor. david bach is getting a little inappropriate. she's also the author of "debt free for life."

sharon epperson, a personal financial correspondent for cnbc and cnbc.com. >> fleiss to see you. >> okay. before we get into any more trouble. to skype. we've got deb calling in checking from from bristol, connecticut. what's your question? >> good morning. we recently found out that fha has decreased the maximum loan limits effective october 1st and have been planning on purchasing a home in winter. we live in aiir airea where the decreased by $119,000. how long will it take for them to adjust? we don't want to pay current market prices. >> it's a really, really good question but you have it backwards. the fha has adjusted because prices have already gone down so as long as you pick a home where you think the block is good, the schools are good, the value is good, it's fairly priced, and you're planning to live there

for at least five years because we know that you don't want to be moving sooner than that in case prices do go down just a little bit you should be just fine but the fha is adjusting because prices have fallen, not the other way around. >> an e-mail question. this one from lauren. she writes "my daughter is in college and needs more money for school which we don't have. she's been working several jobs but with her apartment and car she often doesn't have enough money. she has tried getting loans but needs a cosigner which we can't do. >> how do you get free money. the federal pell grant program. that is -- you can get a grant from the government for up to $5500 per student needs. you have to qualify. the website to go to is fosa.ed.gov. a true grant. the perkins loan is low interest. she has to qualify for it but she probably can and should go to that website again to check

out both of those options but the best one is the grant because you don't have to pay it back. >> even better is the scholarship, right? look for tons of scripts and start early. figure out what they have in there that you may qualify for and figure out how to get your resume up to speed to qualify. >> we'll put those on today.com. another e-mail question from jennifer writing my husband and i pay all of our bills in full each month and have some money in stocks and mutual funds. what we don't do is save. i'm looking for budgeting and software online. >> a great place to start. the importance is having a goal. you have to know what you're going to save for and what it sounds like they already have long-term savings because they have stocks and bonds but don't have anything short term so i think that's where you start. where will you put the short-term savings. 10% per month put that in an

online savings account automated. go to bankrate.com. moneyrate.com to figure out what may have the best rate and then look at some of that budgeting software or online tools out there. i like mint.com. bundle.com is another one to go for but the real point is to save for something and that's what you need. >> rainy day is a good way to start the emergency fund is the first place to start. >> the deal with saving and the reason 401(k)s work the money comes out first. if you can't see it and touch it, you won't spend it so move it first. >> use their 401(k) plan. if they don't know what to do go max out the 401(k) plan. >> now to the phones and kristen is calling in from tucson, arizona. good morning, kristen. >> good morning. >> what's your question. >> caller: my husband and i have debt on five different credit cards with interest ranging from about 8% to 19%. as we pay them off, which option is best? on all five cards increase our

payment as indicated on our statement to pay them off in three years, making sure to maintain that same payment for the 36 months or make the men payment on all the cards and put the additional funds just towards one card at a time and then once that card is paid off use that amount. >> let's get to jean. >> you want to put all your additional money towards not just one card but the highest interest rate card and once that's paid off, move the additional money towards the next card with the highest interest rate while making the minimum payments on the rest so that you're never late. i love that they now have these guidelines on credit cards that say if you want to get out of debt in three years, pay this much. it's a great -- >> credit card company is actually doing something good. >> but you want to make sure you pay off your highest rate card first. >> we want to get to another viewer on the phone. marie calling in from virginia. good morning, marie.

what's your question. >> caller: good morning, hi. in 2008 due to the economy my husband's family business which he was the vice president, had to close and subsequently he was unemployed then, underemployed for quite some time. obviously we suffered huge financial losses but we were fortunate enough to have obtained a home loan modification under the making home affordable program. we're working hard to get all of our debts current however we right now have a bad credit score and would like to improve it enough to relocate and buy another house and maybe three years. >> okay, marie, let's see what david thinks. >> yeah, well, here's the thing, there's two primary things you need to do to get a credit score up. the number one thing, guess what it is, pay your bills on time and represents 35% of your credit score. the second thing is reduce yr debt. those two things make up 65% of improving your credit score. the last -- the third thing is length of credit history. leaving those old accounts open once you pay them off. if you focus on those three

things we've got five of them there but you can see again paying on time, paying it down and leaving those old cards open once you pay up. it'll go up 50 to 100 points in less than a year. >> thank you very much. good question and we of course want to thank jean chatzky, david bach and david epperson. sharon will answer your questions up at 9:30 on today.com. up next, breast health 101. what every woman needs to know. later on in "today's home." a high-priced look at low-cost items. first these messages. my recipe for french toast.

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try them with grilled chicken in a roasted garlic alfredo. or for just $9.95 try them with sausage in tomato alfredo. at olive garden. [ 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™. ♪ my hump my hump >> all about breasts, from thighs to surgery and cancer screening we have all your questions covered. dr. carrie peterson is here. good morning. >> good morning. >> half the population has

breasts but people still have questions so let's get right to it. we know breasts are made of fatty tissue. a lot of people ask, wait a minute, just because it's made of fatty tissue we saw small women with big boobs explain. >> they're made of milk ducts and glands and connective tissue but skinny girls can have big boobs. if you gain weight they'll get bigger and if you lose weight they'll get smaller but baseline it's genetic. >> a lot notice one breast appears to be larger s this common. >> it's common. it happens -- starts in puberty, breast asymmetry and when you hit puberty girls start to make estrogen and each breast responds to it differently so may grow at different sizes. now generally they'll even out but in about 25% of women, there's a visible difference in size as an adult. that's perfectly fine. >> what determines breast size. one imagines it's hereditary but

moms and daughters do not share that feature. >> that can be frustrating if your mom has big boobe bchbes a don't. it doesn't always reflect just your mom. >> pregnancy, what happens to a lot of women while their pregnant. the breasts get larger. what happens afterwards. >> after pregnancy they deflate as many women know. once you finish breast-feeding they can be soft and droopy because the skin around them is still so loose but in time if you have good skin eelasticity, it should get down to prepregnancy state. >> a lot have breast implants or reduction and augmentation. many wonder if it affects breast-feeding. >> possibly. it depends on what was done in the surgery. if you've had nerve damage to

the nerves around the nipple or the areola, it's possible it can limit your milk flow but if the nipple and areola are intact attached to the underlying breast tissue you should be fine. >> okay, let's talk about breast cancer screening because this is breast cancer awareness month. what are the signs to look for? >> risk factors, let's start with age. so the older you get. the greater likelihood of your risk. one in eight women under 45 will have invasive breast cancer but two in three women over 55 will have invasive breast cancer. >> you mention some of the risk factors. you have cole use, childbirth. i think i read if you delay childbirth that can increase your risk. >> that's correct. if you've never given birth or have children after 30 that also increases your risk of breast cancer. >> it's the second most common cancer diagnosed in women in the u.s. >> yes, it is. >> let's talk about the various ways you can try to prevent it. the first is self-exams. i mean every time you go to the

doctor, they're harping on you to do self-exams. has this been effective in catching breast cancer. >> what is recommended has shifted slightly. first up you should have a doctor do a breast exam on you in your 20s and 30s every three years and after 40, every year. but breast self-exams are considered optional now. because they're not completely proven to be a benefit as a screening tool but at women's health we do feel if you're comfortable with it, go ahead. that way you learn what's normal for your breast. >> a lot have lumpy breast, right, isn't it hard to determine there is something wrong there. >> it is. that's why it's important to know what your baseline is and if it's changed. that's the key. >> the bottom line on mammograms, so much conflicting advice the last few years. >> there has because the united states did make changes but still the general consensus from the american cancer society, get one every year after age 40. unless you have a family

history, in that case discuss it with your doctor. >> all right, dr. carrie peterson, a lot of questions and answers, thanks so much. the michigan father who allegedly let his 9-year-old daughter be his designated driver. he will get his day in court. what he said to police right after these messages. ♪ baby i love you ys. guys... [ female announcer ] pillsbury cinnamon rolls with cinnabon cinnamon are an irresistible sunday morning idea. nothing calls them to the table faster. sunday morning ideas made easy.

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how long have we known each other. >> years. >> explain this. >> great video. thanks so much, savannah. samantha -- >> all the way up to harrisburg. >> i knew -- >> i didn't want to disappoint you. >> all right. i was going to go with susquehanna. >> behind the scenes al always teases me about my name. i knew it would catch up with you. >> see the difference between high and low-cost items. >> the results of the ambush

makeover. look we're all racing with the guys from cars ! dad: look at 'em ! here's your guy benny ! younger boy: i got lightning mcqueen ! i got mater ! dad: hi honey ! ready ? now ! older boy: i got 'em ! dad: here comes lightning mcqueen! boys: woah! oh did you see that ? ♪ we sing along younger boy: yeah ! ♪ to all our favorite songs look how far he is ! ♪ we can make 'em up younger boy: watch out lightning ♪ 'cause we were made for each other ♪ toy sfx: go go go ! older boy: lightning wins ! ♪ for always boys: woo hoo ! toy sfx: see you soon amigos ! those five food groups sound a whole lot better when you put them in a taco shell instead of a pyramid. old el paso. when you gotta have mexican.

[ 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™. 9:26 is your time now on this wednesday, october 19th, 2011. good morning. i am eun yang. let's go to our meteorologist, tom kierein, for a look at the forecast. are we going to be soggy all day, tom? it's cloudy out there and we have had rain around the region, and meteorologist, tom kierein, said earlier we should get a break before it rains once again, and then things will cool down for us. tom, what is the latest? >> the rain temporarily stopped. we will get more storms by later

this afternoon, and some could produce damaging winds and even

good morning. a tough commute. route 450, northbound lanes at 85th avenue are all blocked due to the accident there. also if you are making your commute on 270 south, we have an

accident and only the two left lanes get by and the main lanes. 395, there was an accident at edsall, and you do have relief, and you are jammed from edsall as you make your way across the 14th street bridge. more

♪ >> seven-time grammy winners coldplay dominated the charts to 50 million albums worldwide. a new album coming out. if you want to hear some of their hits tune this friday when coldplay performs live on the plaza for an entire half hour. cannot wait. >> so excited for that. >> that's right but meanwhile, coming up in this half hour a

story that has a lot of folks shaking their heads. the michigan man accused of using his 9-year-old daughter as his chauffeur. his designated driver. made his first court appearance tuesday on child abuse charges. he was caught on surveillance tape actually admitting he was too drunk to drive and got his daughter to do the driving for him. unbelievable. >> amazing story. also ahead it's that time of year again where we like to do some holiday entertaining so may want to spruce up your home decor. how you can do it but on a budget and we'll put all of you to the test to see if you can tell the difference between the high cost items here and the low cost ones. and then later -- what are you doing over there, guys? i mean -- >> wow. >> what's going on. >> improve your decor, get rid of brian. >> no. >> aw. >> aw! >> later in "today's kitchen." we got some delicious -- spit it out. that's what i get for making fun of you for calling me samantha. seasonal recipes that will

impress your guests. first, how about a check of the weather? >> man, that looked good. first, al, how about a check of the weather. >> man, that looked good. let's see what is happening first today. we have the wet weather in the northeast. a slight risk of storms along the mid-atlantic coast. and make beautiful weather in the western half of the country. the rain moves into the northeast and new england, and few showers in interior sections in the northwest, and then sunshine and nice and mild include the gulf coast. beautiful weather through the southwest with sunny skies and a lot of heat. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. >> rain ended temporarily, and rainbows show up about a half hour ago. we will have clouds closing back in with rain likely. we are in the low to mid-60s in the suburbs. and later today, near 70, and

likely afternoon and evening storms, some of which could produce damaging winds or a tornado. this all ending by midnight >> and that's your latest weather. >> all right, al. we want to say hello to elizabeth olsen star of a new film. good morning to you. so that is quite a title. i saw the trailer for the movie last night. it looks really spooky. that's about that title refers to all four character, all of you, right? >> and a larger metaphor of this young woman's story. >> basically she's part of a cult. >> yes. >> escapes and then ends up living with her estranged sister. >> yes, and she takes place over the couple weeks she is reis simulating posttraumatic stress of this cult. >> scary looking film. looks like a real thriller. complicated part to play and you're a relatively new actress. was that intimidating to take

on. >> it was more exciting because you don't get to seize those opportunities too much as a young new actress so i got very lucky that the director wanted an unknown actress for the part. >> and for those who may not know you've got two sister, people may have heard of, mary-kate and ashley. >> maybe. >> have they imparted any advice to you, given you any tips. >> not really. it's just they lead by example. they have really strong work ethics and never stopped working their entire lives so just knowing it's all about the work and following your passions. >> wow. >> have you adjusted to the fact that you're on magazine covers now and you're kind of the "it" girl in hollywood. >> you know, what's funny, it hasn't really changed much. i still am in college at nyu and still taking classes and not one person turns a head. so -- >> your chances to use the magazine -- hey, professor, i couldn't study last night, hook what i was doing. hook at this. >> no, they have been kind in

giving me extensions when i need them. >> i hope they give you some credit, school of arts for your movie. >> i get no credit. if i went to gallitan, i would. except for experience. >> great to meet you. >> thanks for having me. >> we we mind "marcy may marlene" coming up. the dad accused of using his 9-year-old daughter as a designated driver goes before a judge. getting a high private priced for your home but on a low budget. but first these messages. starbucks via® is planted the same...cer ] ♪ ...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

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now to the latest on the manager father arrested for allegedly use his 9-year-old daughter as a designated driver. on tuesday he faced a judge for the first time and stephanie gosk is in browntown township with the details. stephanie, good morning. >> reporter: at this gas station it's open 24 hours a day and the

quickmart is pretty well stocked. at one point is it just not worth it to take a trip to the store? shawn weimer's friends say he is a good guy. he's just made a very big mistake. in court he looked tired and emotional. accused of drinking too much and making his 9-year-old daughter drive him around town. anyone watching the scene must have done a series double take. all caught on surveillance video, a very large van pulled up at the gas station at 3:00 in the morning and a very small driver popped out. how could that little girl possibly have driven there? but inside the diminutive driver's dad was eager to brag. >> 9 years old. 9. listen, we're leaving and she's driving. i'm drunk. i swear to you, 9 years old, in the truck. she drove me all the way here. >> and i parked. >> i got a 9-year-old chauffeur.

>> reporter: and the 9-year-old chauffeur, she got a candy apple before getting back behind the wheel. weimer's free on $25,000 bail, but for now the single father is not allowed any contact with his daughter. >> you cannot see her. >> reporter: the judge may not give him a break but his friends are willing to. >> the way they post his picture on the news, i mean just makes him look like he's a criminal. he's not. he's a good dad. >> reporter: weimer's daughter is staying with her mother who tells the detroit news that the 39-year-old is a good father who made a bad choice. she also wants to know how her daughter learned to drive. i have no clue how she reached the pedals. well, however she did it, it seemed to work. notice the smooth parking job. slightly off center but many licensed drivers do worse. still a 9-year-old driving a van raises some red flags, a concerned citizen phoned 911. >> is the vehicle staying on the road? >> yes, she's driving pretty

good. i'm telling you, i can't believe it. >> reporter: the only tinge that shocked the girl was that she got pulled over. when the officer came to the window she simply asked, why did you stop me? i'm a good driver. that may sound kind of cute but this is a serious situation for weimer. he is charged with two counts of child abuse, second degree and fourth degree and also a charge of habitual -- ha birth whalley -- habitual oweffender d could face up to 15 years. his lawyer said they'll investigate before he makes his plea in early november. >> all right, stephanie, thanks so much. coming up next decking out your home with the season's hottest trends without breaking the bank. but first these messages. sweetie i think you need a little extra fiber in your diet.

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come in for olive garden's new stuffed rigatonis, hearty pasta stuffed with a blend of five italian cheeses. for just $11.95 try the rigatoni with grilled chicken in a roasted garlic alfredo. or for just $9.95 try the rigatoni with sausage in tomato alfredo. both served with our unlimited fresh salad or homemade soup and warm breadsticks. so grab a table tonight at olive garden. when you're here you're family. ban ca jun raw seafood pizza parlor french fondue tex-mex fro-yo tapas puck chinese takeout taco truck free range chicken pancake stack baked alaska 5% cash back. right now, get 5% cash back at restaurants. it pays to discover. as a researcher, i refer to her as "that woman with the great gums." because great gums are a foundation of a healthy smile. so she uses crest pro-health clinical gum protection toothpaste. it helps eliminate plaque at the gum line, helping prevent gingivitis. it's even clinically proven to help reverse it in just 4 weeks.

and it protects these other areas dentists check most. crest pro-health clinical gum protection. because healthy smiles are built on healthy gums. life opens up when you do. ♪ i thi nk i'll grab me ♪ i a bowl and spoon now ♪ ♪ crispy flakes calling my name ♪ ♪ yaaaaaaay! honey bunches of oats. four grains come together for nutrition in perfect harmony with great taste. honey bunches of oats. so i wasn't playing much of a role in my own life, but with advair, i'm breathing better so now i can take the lead on a science adventure. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have

a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, take the lead. ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. this morning on "today's home" the high/low game. everything you need to get ready for holiday entertaining but some items cost four, five, six times than a cheaper look-alike. can you tell the difference? can i. sabrina is here, the host of "the high/low project." let's start with this. i've been inspecting. mirrored furniture is a big trend. i'll take a look.

i'm going to say this is the higher priced one. >> you would think because it's a lot bigger but this one is. >> really? >> yes. it's hand painted. the front's mirror is thicker. if you still want that look, you can get it lower this. is bigger for a fraction. >> what's the difference in price. >> this is 800 and this is 300. >> table lamps are big. these look almost identical. this will be tough. i'll say this is the more expensive one. >> no. >> i'm terrible at this game. >> this is lower. handcut crystal. this is crystal and acrylic but you can get the look. this is a little heavier. >> does this mean i have cheap tastes? >> no. you can get the look. >> even up close. let's talk about acrylic chairs. what's the -- what do people like about them. >> what's great about them is the modern take and doesn't visually take up space. you can get seating and a nice

modern updated look. >> i would think this would be more expensive because it's more complicated. >> this is authentic and this is way more expensive, $410. if you want the acrylic look -- >> can you tell the difference. >> i still you can get the look. great for indoor and outdoor use. >> bold pillows. tell us about these. these look absolutely identical. >> this will be tough. trend, ethnic prints all throughout 2011. >> these are two different pillows. >> yes. >> this is a toughie. this is more expensive. >> this is $180, this is only $50. bought online. this is just somebody at home making pillows. this is a diner pillow. this doesn't have the same color. >> i don't believe it. this pattern is identical and the quality feels the same too. >> this is bigger but exact same fabric in the front. this comes with an insert.

the low doesn't have one. >> another big fad in decorating is mini bars. why are people getting into these? they must change up a room. >> you could close it up. doesn't take up a lot of room in your dining area. >> all right. so guessing which is which, i have to really inspect here. how am i doing? -- >> you're doing really well. i'm going to say this one on the left is the more expensive one. >> the one on the right -- >> i should do the opposite of my instincts. >> you have to look up close. better hardware. the front has the insets where this doesn't. this comes assembled. with the low you have to assemble itself. >> we're talking over a thousand dollars and this is just a few hundred. >> room dividers, decorative but can be functional. tell us why do people like to use these. >> you could divide a room and use it for a big wall but which one -- i mean this is a little bit -- this is -- >> i mean this one is bigger

so -- >> okay. >> i know. sherlock holmes with the high/low project. this one is low. then we have here the wall decorations which can really snap up a room. >> you don't have to do the entire room just an accent wall but it's still a huge trend going into 2012. >> this is wallpaper. >> a wall covering. >> okay. >> i'm going to say that's more expensive. >> stenciling project is a do it yourself which is low and you got it half right. >> the big part is it's a bargain. >> you're saving thousands of dollars. sometimes you should splurge if you want the look you don't have to spend a lot of money. >> $3300 between our high and low. a big difference. >> i may be the biggest loser. sabrina, thank you very much. it's on hdtv 8:30 p.m. starting next week "the high low project." easy and tasteny meal coming

up but first this is "today" on nbc.

♪ this morning on "today's kitchen." what's for dinner? easy seasonal recipes. andrew carmellini. his new cookbook is "american flavor." a big old rack of pork here. >> it's autumn. getting cold so i'm thinking roast and apples. >> man, you're brining this. >> because i put the cider glaze i don't put sugar on it. just salt and water. cracked pepper on it. we can put a little bit of salt on there, again, it's been in the brine. doesn't feed a lot, just a little bit and damp it to get some of that brine off. >> puts it in a rack in a roasting pan that will go in the

oven 50 or 60 minutes. >> you have apples in there with it. >> we put it in there because we want roast apples. apples, cider, pork, kind of the idea for fall time. after about 50 minutes you got the rack coming out of the oven and we are going to make this glaze to go with the pork. >> what goes in the glaze. >> cider, autumn falltime and really sat down to a sticky syrup. >> cook it down until it loses a lot of the liquid. >> get the apple concentrated and apple cider vinegar, sweet and the sour. >> cut ss it a bit. >> sweet and sour and bring it together and take that and we're going to paint the pork up. >> ooh. >> just kind of like -- >> glazy like that. >> that's nice. >> nice and shiny. >> do we put this back in the oven once you get the glaze on. >> put a little glaze on, put it back in the oven for five minutes, take it up and mop the whole thing up again. >> you put a rub on afterwards.

>> kind of like if you get the barbecue, they put the spices on when it comes out. kind of like the idea, you get the sweet and smokey. >> oh, man. >> cumin in there and paprika. >> why do you like doing it with the bone in as opposed to boneless roast. >> sunday, you'll make a big supper for everyone, makes like a nice presentation in the middle of the table. >> i like that bone in. you saw gnawing on that bone. >> it just tastes better. >> cranberry -- >> kind of like pilaf, quinoa and wild rice and fix them all together, toasted pecans inside there. i got some green onions inside there. >> the thing that kicks this up, cranberries but do something special to them. >> i know, dried cranberries but earl grey tea inside it. put the tea bag inside. this is my favorite part. i put a little whiskey inside.

>> savannah is just here in time. >> whiskey, pork, apples. what fall is all about. put the whole thing inside, the water and the whiskey and mix it up. >> wow. >> then we'll go ahead and eat that over here. >> yum. >> with some plates already. i have the pork with the glaze and the rubs, the post apples in the bottom pan and then wild rice pilaf inside. >> that looks great. >> get some whiskey. >> i meaay not need to eat for week. >> get everyone around the table. a little sunday supper. >> fantastic. andrew, thank you very much. >> thanks for having me. >> that fells fantastic. >> do you think i can do the tease with food in my mouth. >> let's find out. >> you got it good. >> oh, my god. what a nice day.

let's ring you up. 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. we have breaking news at 9:57. john beck will start as quarterback for the washington redskins this sunday.

a source within the redskins tells espn coach, mike shhas sa. let's look at the forecast now and let's go to tom kierein. >> the rain has tapered off and ended, but we will get more coming back this afternoon with thunderstorms that could produce damaging winds and maybe an isolated tornado, that would be late afternoon or early this evening, and the storms ending by midnight. sunny and chilly into the weekend. traffic, still seeing problems this morning. beltway at georgia avenue we had a car fire and only the right lane gets you by, and your delays start as you make your way from the spur and continue

from nbc news, this is today with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb. from studio 1a in rockefeller kotb. from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. captions paid for by nbc-universal television guess what, herb? it is wines day, wednesday, october 19th. we're excited. >> we're hopping on a plane and coming out west. >> pike place market. 7:00 a.m. we'll do another show after that around 8:30, okay? >> come and stick around.

>> where the first starbucks is right down near there. >> good. >> it's going to be fun. >> if you're youtube fans you may have heard of justin and jeremy. they're 5 years old. they have the wii game. their dad put the video up online and it got a million hits. this is what it looked like. ♪ >> this is the new one. this is the new one ♪ today i don't feel like doing anything, i just want to lay in my bed ♪ >> they're so cute. ♪ don't feel like picking up my phone, leave a message at the tone ♪ >> oh, my god. his hands are in the pants like in the video! ♪ i ain't gonna brush my hair,

cause i ain't going anywhere ♪ >> by the way, his hands are in his pants just like bruno mars in the video. like the lazy guy sitting on the couch. not gross like you're thinking. >> you think i sit around and watch videos, hoda woman? i wouldn't know what he had his hands in his pants for. i could imagine. i didn't know. you learn something new every day. >> yes, indeed, you do. >> do you ever get a song in your head? who am i talking to. of course you do. there are certain songs. i don't know what it is about them. they stick in your brain and they will not leave you. >> apparently there's even some kind of scientific sort of -- i don't know. there's something that every single catchy song has in common. >> it must be intervals or something. >> here are the ones that they are saying are the catchiest. ♪ we are the champions, my friend ♪ >> by queen. "we are the champions."

that one gets stuck. a little droney. ♪ y-m-c-a >> village people. ♪ living on a prayer >> before we play mine. it's like a worm song. it gets in your head. it never gets out. i'm even afraid to play it. i want to apologize. you're going to be thinking about it all day. here it is. i'm sorry. it's a britney spears song. keep it going. ♪ >> there's something about it. every time i hear it i regret it because i think about it. i want to tell you so we regret it together. yours is a little different. >> i win the most -- it's not toxic by any means. it's a sweet little song when

you're actually on the ride. when you're riding home and you can't stop listening to this. ♪ it's a world of laughter, a world of tears, it's a world of hope and a world of fears ♪ ♪ it's a small world after all >> oh, my gosh. ♪ it's a small world after all, it's a small world after all ♪ >> who do i dance for? >> vito! >> come on, vito! sing it at home, baby! ♪ it's a small, small world >> all right. >> they have everything you can imagine on craigslist. everything you can imagine. they even have this thing. it's called the $5 website. it will tell you -- if you want anything for five bucks, go on there. it'll tell you, like, i can get a gift for $5. i can clean up your twitter account for $5. here are some of the examples that you can find on craigslist if you have five bucks.

>> fiver. fiver.com. >> whatever. >> it's not craigslist at all. >> f-i-v-e-r.com. >> i heard about some of the things you can get on craigslist. some of those things don't turn out so well if you've been reading the headlines recently. >> so on fiver.com, you can get -- >> who's the one who's jet lagged? me or you? >> sounds like me. someone will proofread your resume for five bucks to make sure no typos. those things can get in the way. what's the next one? >> someone will create a fan page for your business. >> for five bucks. >> make you a cosmetic case. write your message in the sand on a tropical beach. >> for $5. i will give you instant relief from sadness or stress for $5. >> yeah. >> all right. anyway. >> that one would probably be worth it, you know? >> go to fiver, f-i-v-v. so it's -- >> or go to craigslist and have

a ball. >> anyway. this freaks me out. it's called holy smoke. it's a company that loads human ashes into ammunition. so if you're undecided on how you want to spend your afterlife, you could do this. my holy smoke has come up with a new use for your ashes. >> anyway, you put them in, like, a shotgun shell, i guess. if your loved one wants to be -- his ashes spread over maybe a mountain, i don't know, maybe you just shoot the shotgun up there. i don't know. it seems a little weird. >> you had another idea for it before we got on the air. >> you don't love your loved one, you might want to go hunting with it. okay? that's all i was saying. >> i just think that's bizarre. it's supposed to be the best way to go out of this world. >> a lot of men are watching -- and women, too, of course, are watching football and enjoying it. >> yes. but if you tend to lose your guy to a football game, they've come wup a great, great, great idea. the nfl now has team apparel but for ladieladies. >> first we'll show our cute little things we got.

they're cut right. they've got a little cleavage. the whole thing is happening. >> if you don't wear any pants with it you'll get a little -- you'll get some -- he might actually look at you. >> all right. cafe mom is offering some advice for women who are at home and feeling bored when their husband is watching the game. they say tip number one, when the team scores a touchdown, you get 15 minutes of your own time with your husband after that touchdown. >> okay. >> something sexy, apparently. tip two, after a change of position that happens as a result of a fumble, you get to wrestle. you know, this is never, ever happening at anyone's house at all. okay? after every fight -- >> let's move on to wine nerd. more our style. the wine tasting game. here's the first question. >> do them from here. >> i can't read them. it comes with these little cards. >> it's a drinking game.

when you get the question wrong, you drink. >> or right. >> or right. depending on whatever. >> okay. how might a foxy wine be described? very attractive? beautiful flavor? or musty. or red and furry. >> i'm going to go with red and furry. >> musty. >> i hardly even said the word. you win. >> is it musty? it is. imagine that. >> i get to drink when i lose. >> it's not complementary. >> wine is believed to have originated in one country? iran, france or romania. >> iran. >> i'm going to say -- iran. this is a great game. you're winning. and so am i. >> jerry said i'd get every one of these. >> the largest wine bottle size is, a, a magnum, b, a what? it's a magnum. >> it's a magnum. it's a -- >> you mean there's something bigger i don't know about?

>> it's the second one. >> nevakanezer. it is huge. holds the equivalent of 20 bottles of wine. >> maybe it's what we saw when we were in aspen. that big huge that. >> you're right. if a wine is described as hot it most likely means it has too high an alcohol content -- that's not possible. is spicy flavored or is served at warmer than room temperature. >> i'm going with spicy. >> spicy flavored. what? drink anyway. too much alcohol content. this is a negative trait. says who? okay. all right. >> there's some more. let's continue drinking. typically, about how many classes can you get from a standard-sized bottle? eight to ten? five to six? two to three? >> i always thought it was four classes. so i'm going to go to five to six. >> i'll go two to three. the kind of glasses we have. >> that's true. i use a fish bowl at home.

>> at academic wine tasting why do the tasters sometimes spit the win out. they don't like the wine. they can pick up flavor. they spit out the wine to avoid becoming drink. >> it's b. no? what? is that true? no. how do you know, sara? >> lastly. here's the last one. the tie breaker. >> what? >> doesn't matter. when the cork is presented to you at a restaurant, you should look at it and touch it, bite it to determine the cork's subtle flavors or smell it. >> smell it. >> what? i'm against this entire quiz. >> what's the answer? look at it and touch it? >> lick it. up next, they're done with hair and makeup. >> the amazing results of today's ambush makeovers, right after this. lick it. let's do it. ♪ ♪

♪ hey! it says just take one! i can't read. ♪ [ male announcer ] walmart has low prices, every day for halloween. from bags of candy to bigger bags of candy. backed by our ad match guarantee. save money. live better. walmart. just having some tender chicken and some tasty noodles. let's see...south western vegetables...60 calories. ya' know those jeans look nice. they do? yup. so you were checking me out? yup. [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. new intense shadowblast from covergirl. [ drew ] what's the latest in eye couture? the news? it's eye shadow with primer built-in so it lasts! rich color that's fadeproof, waterproof, totally ignore-proof! oh yes! with new intense shadowblast eye couture is ready to wear for hours! and here's a tip: to make an even bigger statement

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we're back on this winesday, wednesday, a special edition of today's plaza pam bush makeovers where we pluck two ladies from the ground and surprise them with a brand-new look. >> here is our crack makeover team, "today" contributor and stylist to the stars, luis licari and "today" and "us weekly" contributor and -- >> author. mother. >> jill martin. we'll explain this adorable baby. tell us about the baby. >> not mine. >> babies don't need makeovers, do they? perfect the way they are. >> perfection. >> our first lucky lady happens to be her daughter. jennifer dice, 38 years old from heartland, michigan. gave birth to the baby girl annika you just saw 10 months ago. she doesn't have a lot of time to focus on herself. >> i think annika is taking over

my job here which i'm more than happy to give her. we couldn't help but spot you in the crowd because of her. why does jennifer deserve this? >> jennifer is a single mom by choice. she works full time. she has this beautiful baby girl. and she just definitely deserves a mommy makeover. >> mommy makeover. we're on the hunt, right? we're looking for the handsome, fabulous man out there? >> yes, yes, i am. definitely. >> ready to go? >> i'm ready. >> ready, annika? >> she lit up when she saw her mommy on the screen. >> jennifer is friends with lisa. we're going to first just show jennifer. here is jennifer's before picture. are you ready, annika? come on out. let's see the new you. oh! >> oh, yeah. okay. i think it might be time. mommy, spin around and take a

look. >> i love it. >> amazing. >> spin around here. >> i don't think your daughter recognizes you. >> tell us about this. >> jennifer, new mom. and one of the basic problems, what happens when you have a baby, you have all those little baby hairs that start to grow in within the first four to six months. when her hair was long they looked like broken hairs. jennifer lawrence gave her this great haircut that incorporated those little baby hairs that will soon grow in within the next year or so. of course, i made her hair color a little brighter. >> of course you did. red. which you love. >> just a little warm. >> annika, what do you think of mommy? >> tell us about the outfit. >> the worst thing you could give a new mother is a white shirt. but she is looking for a new man, isn't she? what a great button-down shirt. >> i love the lace at the top. >> so pretty. >> white house, black market. statement jewelry from kohl's. under $25. >> the bracelet is fantastic.

>> jennifer, stand over here and turn your back if you wouldn't mind so you don't see your friend coming out. our next lucky lady. >> her friend is lisa porter. she's 40 from south lyon, michigan. her two children keep her so busy all she has time to do is throw her hair up in a pony tail in the morning. she begged us to give her a brand-new glam look. let's listen to her story. >> victim number two. now it's lisa's turn. why does lisa deserve this? >> lisa deserves this because she is a mom of two children. she's a stay-at-home mom. she just really deserves it. >> i need it. >> she needs it. she wants it really bad. >> are you ready for a sexy new look? because you tell me your hubby is. >> yes, he is. i'm sure he is. eight years of marriage. >> okay. so let's take one last look at lisa before. >> don't turn around. >> no, no. don't try it, jennifer. wait a second. let's bring lisa porter out

brand-new! >> lisa! >> oh, my gosh. >> should we do the double reveal? >> should we let her see herself first? >> you've got to see yourself. >> lisa, look at yourself. >> wow. >> is that a good wow. >> it's a good wow, yeah. >> face that door for a second. on three you guys are going to turn around. hold on. you guys ready? all the cameras ready? all right. one, two, three, turn around. >> oh, my god. >> wow. you look great. >> yeah. you do, too. >> what did you do, luis? >> okay. again, she just wanted to look, you know, a little sassy. 40, sexy, perky, all the things you want to look when you're turning 40. she has great hair. we didn't want to cut it off. made it fluffy and sexy. of course a little bit of makeup. >> tell us about that outfit. >> gorgeous dress.

this is a color blocking story. look at the green earrings and green bracelet. i love that for fall. purple and green. people don't think you can wear those together. another example. >> you've proven you can. >> what do you guys think of your new look? >> i love it. >> you do? that baby, by the way. that baby! >> thanks, everybody. up next, i can't see it, but it must be something about a picture worth 1,000 words. >> a what the what, after this. my name's jeff.

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we're back with one of our favorite segments called "what the what?" >> ms. sara has sifted through all the fphotos you sent in. >> michelle holloway from essex, ohio. check out lucky number seven?

thou shalt commit adultery. the pastor noticed it. they changed it very quickly. >> that is funny. unless you know it in your sleep like kathie lee, really, that's on the list of things to do? our next photo was sent in by lori mcmahon from rockaway, new jersey. ugh. i wish it was wednesday. my husband could have saved me 10%. no joke. this is at a doughnut shop. if you have issues with your hair, you might now have issues with your weight. >> hysterical. >> this one was sent in from diana wogoodwin from kentucky. this photo. just the way i like them. i think it was supposed to be "menu." >> try our deep fried men. >> i would have taken them grilled or roasted.

fried sounds good, too. our next one was sent in from michelle flanagan from georgia. who's hungry? >> roadkill cafe, baby. >> there's a raccoon in there! >> mcdonald's or roadkill cafe. we have a photo from linda kelly from glenview, illinois. is there at least a life guard on duty? the beach is open. it might kill you. but the beach is open for swimming if you'd like to take that chance. >> it's so beautiful, lake michigan. it's worth it. >> finally from washington, is this a subliminal message? >> please see our other location. incontinence! >> that is not nice. all right. thank you, sara. still ahead, a monster mash.

a who knew quiz about halloween movies and songs. handling problems with your babysitter. singer/songwriter chris isaak sings us a new classic. >> when? >> whenever he wants to. after your local news and your local weather. hey, check it out. she's using the mr. clean magic eraser bath scrubber. i've heard of it, but i haven't seen one up close. what's the word around the sink? that it removes 3 times more soap scum per swipe, and it came from outer space. it is not from outer space! no, man, it's from outer space. they're aliens on an intergalactic cleanliness mission. they're here to clean up the universe. oh, the kitchen scrubbers are aliens, too? yeah, look at that greasy kitchen mess. everybody's in on the cleanspiracy, man. i can't even trust myself. [ male announcer ] mr. clean magic eraser kitchen and bath scrubbers. the clean is out of this world. that make kids happy. and even fewer that make moms happy too. with wholesome noodles and bite sized chicken, nothing brings you together like chicken noodle soup from campbell's.

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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.

we are back on this winesday, wednesday, ready to play our weekly trivia game, "who knew?" today is about halloween movies and songs. kathie lee is across the street at the nbc experience store ready to hand out 100 bucks to those who get the question right. to those who don't, you know what they get. her cd. billboard magazine's ed toir director, bill wordy. are you ready? >> i'm ready. >> lovely sisters, one from oregon, one from idaho. in which film did johnny depp have his first major role? edward scissorhands, donnie

brasco, nightmare on elm street or sleepy hollow. >> scissorhands. >> what are we going to do? they'll have to live together so they can listen to my cd. >> the correct answer here is, "c" a nightmare on elm street. >> he got his big star playing glenn, trying to keep his clueless girlfriend from getting sliced up by johnny krueger. >> back to kath. >> which halloween song has sold over 4 million copies and made it on to the billboard charts three times. purple people eater, the monster mash, this is halloween or witchy woman. >> i'm going to go with monster mash. >> good girl! >> that's one of the songs that gets me. monster mash. tell me. >> one big, big hit.

famously played frankenstein in all the movies. the mashed potato dance. you remember the mashed potato. >> who doesn't remember it? do you know how to do it? >> i do. but you're going to put me on the spot. >> i would not do that to you. back across. >> lovely ladies from south carolina. true or false. the origin of the superstitions about friday the 13th came from the movie "friday the 13th." >> false. >> you're a smart one. >> she's a smart cookie. the answer is false. it did not come from the movie. it was there before the movie. >> there's a lot of theories about where this actually came from dating back thousands of years b.c. there was the 13 people at the dinner of the last supper. it seems like it may have come from friday the 13th, a book in the early part of the 1900s about wall street crashing. that really seemed -- it was a best seller. it really seemed to set the tone for this. >> didn't know that. back across to kath. >> another lady from south carolina. what is the chorus to this song.

listen. ♪ you start to breathe and someone looks you right between the eyes, you're paralyzed ♪ >> thriller. >> give her the money. >> all right, all right, all right. >> that's all anyone knows from that. >> when you do it you've got to do the thriller dance. >> yeah. >> one of seven top ten hits from the album "thriller" for michael jackson. the greatest selling album of all time. >> of all time? >> that's right. >> wow. good info. back across. >> from indiana. what is the highest grossing horror movie of all time? jaws, the exorcist, the mummy, or the blair witch project? >> i would say the exorcist. >> wrong. but it was a lot scarier than the winner, i think. >> i agree, the winner, which is surprising, is jaws. >> i was terrified.

i was a kid when jaws came out. all my friends were scared to go in the bathtub because of jaws. >> isn't it weird watching it now? it looks so dumb now. >> so fake. jaws was the first movie that did this massive, massive, simultaneous release. it became a cultural phenomenon. grossed almost half a billion dollars. >> ms. indiana's mother. here we go. what movie is the following theme song from? we're going to listen to this. ♪ >> is it nightmare on elm street, halloween, poltergeist or hoe kus powe kus? >> i would guess halloween. >> wow. ms. indiana. >> that lady's playing it cool like she doesn't watch all the horror films all the tile. john carpenter wrote not only that song but the movie. one of the most terrifying sounds you can ever hear. my hair on my neck is up. >> bill, thank you. you do have hair on your neck.

>> hey, easy. that's my halloween costume. coming up next, the best ways to handle a sticky situation with your child care provider. we're going to have all that and more right after this. 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! well... 'cause i could pay a little at a time... that would work. actually we do -- the kids would just be like, "no way, awesome!" we -- we do! all that! layaway baby! [ male announcer ] layaway's back for christmas in our toys, electronics, and jewelry departments. but i learned that i don't have to use a vial and syringe

as part of my daily routine anymore. my doctor showed me the novolog mix 70/30 flexpen. flexpen is discreet and comes pre-filled with my insulin. flexpen goes with me and doesn't need refrigeration. and it's covered by most insurance. if you're still using a vial and syringe, ask your healthcare provider about the benefits of flexpen. flexpen is a discreet, pre-filled, dial-a-dose insulin pen. you can dial the exact dose of insulin you need. and inject insulin by pressing a button. novolog mix 70/30 is an insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. do not inject if you do not plan to eat within 15 minutes to avoid low blood sugar. tell your healthcare provider about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions, including if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. most common side effects include reactions at the injection site, weight gain, swelling of your hands and feet, and vision changes. other serious side effects include low blood sugar and low potassium in your blood. get medical help right away if you experience serious allergic reactions including body rash, trouble with breathing, fast heartbeat,

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now on "parenting today" child care etiquette. what should you do if your sitter or day care won't follow your instructions. or what if your friend asks for your babysitter's phone number? >> here to help with the sticky situations with your child care provider are debra shidly, author of "the go-getter girls guide". >> and chandra turner. >> executive editor of "parents" magazine. there are sticky situations when it comes to babysitters or nannies or whatnot. an e-mail from a friend. she's been looking for a full-time nanny. she wanted to, quote, borrow your part-time nanny. do you give her the secret phone

number or not, debra, what do you think? >> no. because good people have been known to still babysitters. it happens to the best of us. this actually happened to me. i didn't give out the information because i was afraid she was going to maybe like her more. all of a sudden, you know, i'd be without my great sitter who i love very much. >> you say no. >> you say no. >> all right. here's one for chandra. this is the question. what if your nanny who you love asks for a raise and you guys really can't afford it. there are tough economic times. people can't afford to give raises. >> a lot of people aren't getting raises these days. you can't afford to give one to your nanny. your nanny probably knows. be very clear and honest. tell her, you know what? we can't afford it right now. maybe we can give you a couple hours off here and there. maybe you can take a vacation day. something else.

make her feel appreciated. >> what is the going rate anyway these days hourly for a babysitter? i wouldn't know. >> it depends. you can type in where you live and it can show you actually what the going rate is in your neighborhood. usually at least $15 an hour. >> i would say between $10 to $18 an hour, depending on how many kids you've got, how experienced the babysitter is. the 15-year-old town the street is probably going to be a lit bit cheaper than having, you know, 50-something, very experienced nanny. >> what do you do if you don't have a sitter but you have in-laws or family members who are watching your kids and you don't like what they're doing. you feel like, well, they're helping out. you don't want to go, hey, don't do this, do this. you had should you give the dos and don'ts? >> if it's an in-law let it go for the most part. usually that's a temporary situation. if you're not paying, then you kind of, you know -- >> you get what you get. >> yeah. >> as long as the kids are safe.

>> i can't keep my mouth shut. i'm trying to put myself -- no, that would not work. thanks for asking. >> sometimes the babysitters -- you have instructions. you want your child in bed by "x" time and you want to have this kind of food. it doesn't work out the way you have asked. >> yeah. >> how do you deal with that kind of a situation? >> i think 99% of nanny or babysitter issues can be solved with a written agreement. whether it's a contract -- >> what? >> yes. this is what i expect out of you. >> written agreement? >> yes. >> you do? >> yes. it works. there's no disagreement. we know exactly what we need. >> they know what the expectations are. >> is that common to have a written agreement? >> it is. and some have actually a contract with their nanny in a lot of these situations. let's say it's a temporary sitter. when you have to find someone you can trust to follow your instructions, 80%, if you're not there, you can't have expectations of being perfect. moms, we're not perfect, right? you can't expect -- >> some of us are. >> i do think a lot of times

because you're not there, you have this added kind of guilt that goes along with it. >> you're overcompensating, sometimes. >> all right, ladies. thanks very much. >> thank you for all that. >> i'll never need a babysitter again. that's why i got a puppy. up next, so-called naughty foods making a waist whittling comeback. >> what? >> ask kerry. she knows. >> right after this. jenna shared her recipe with sharon, who emailed it to emily, who sent it to cindy, who wondered why her soup wasn't quite the same. the recipe's not the recipe... ohhh.

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yes, you can actually love breakfast. woohoo! yes! ♪ it was the best day ♪ it was the best day yeah! ♪ it was the best day ♪ because of you [echoing] we make a great pair. huh? progressive and the great outdoors. we make a great pair. right, totally. uh... that's what i was thinking. hmm. covering the things that make the outdoors great. now that's progressive. call or click today.

good news. some of your old favorite foods may be just what you need to help trim your waistline. >> keri glassman is a registered dietitian and contributor to "women's health" magazine. you're here with good news for us. >> i am. a lot of these foods have gotten many dirty looks over the years. i am here to tell you that they all have a place in your diet in moderation, of course. >> all right. egg yolks. people always say high cholesterol. be careful. you say what? >> exactly. an egg. 70 calories, 6 grams of protein.

people turn their nose to them because of the cholesterol found in the yolk. the yolk is also aside from having the cholesterol packed with nutrients. iron. zinc. vitamins a and d. and choline, associated with a reduced risk for breast cancer and associated with brain health. i love eggs. >> bananas. you think of those as sort of high sugar. good for you. >> but full of potassium. >> there are full of potassium, full of nutrients. people say they're higher in calories and carbs than other fruits. a tiny bit higher than a medium apple. they have something called resistant starch. it's a type of fiber, like other fibers, is not absorbed. we don't get the calories but we get full. a by-product of that resistant starch may help burn fat. you need to eat bananas that are slightly green. firmer. >> oh. >> just make sure they haven't

turned brown. >> not going to happen. >> okay. coconut oil also got dirty looks because of it being high in saturated fat. but it's a specific type of saturated fat called mcts. that type of fat is more readily used as fuel and less likely to be stored as fat. coconut oil is still a little controversial. however, research has also shown that when supplementing your diet with you, you may reduce abdominal obesity. i actually keep a jar of this coconut oil in my shower. i add it to moisturizer. i put it on my body. >> red meat. >> a lot of people won't eat it at all. >> if you don't eat red meat, you don't necessarily need to start adding it into your diet. if you do, there are lean options. top round. we know that. two grams of saturated fat for a small blackberry or iphone portion. grass-fed beef has something called cla. cla has also been associated

with reduced risk of cancer and heart disease. and new research, so we have to keep our eyes open here on this, but new research also has associated with a reduced risk of -- reduced storage of fat. >> okay. >> that's really a problem. >> that really is. >> again, portion control. >> peanut butter. please. tell me it's good. >> you said you love your peanut butter. for overall health and for dieting, peanut butter is your best friend. loaded with -- just throw that back there. monosaturated fats. mono and saturated fatsy acids have also been associated with less belly fat. but it's so satisfying. two teaspoons with some celery for a snack or small apple or a banana. a green one. >> thank you very much, keri. up next, a performance by singer/songwriter chris isaak. first this is today on nbc. state farm. this is jessica.

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.

singer/songwriter chris isaak first fell in love with rock 'n' roll while listens to his parents' 45s. >> memphis home to the likes of elvis, johnny cash, and the place where chris and his band recorded his tenth studio album, "beyond the sun." >> good to be back. >> this is the album you say you've been wanting to make your whole life, right? >> whenever you're playing the show, before the show you do a sound check or something. this was always the music we would always play at sound checks. if we'd keep playing late and throw in more songs, through in a few of these. it's still amazing. i'll play "wicked game." i'll look out, there'll be some guy sitting in the audience with his date looking at me, yeah, "wicked game." kick into johnny cash, "ring of fire." i see, it's like, hey, this guy's pretty good, you know.

>> you're going to sing a song for us. what song are you going to sing for us? >> a tour deforce by the man not named on this record. we made a mistake and left his name out. >> say his name. >> scott plunket. >> i know scott plunket. >> "great balls of fire." >> take it away, chris. thank you. ♪ you shake my nerves and you rattle my brain, too much love drives a man insane ♪ ♪ you broke my will, what a thrill, goodness gracious, great balls of fire ♪ ♪ i you came along and moved me honey, you're all mine, goodness, gracious, great balls of fire ♪ ♪ kiss me baby, it feels good, hold me baby, i want to love you

like a lover should ♪ ♪ you're fine, so kind, got to tell this world that you're mine, mine, mine, mine ♪ ♪ i cut my nails quiver my thumb, i'm really nervous but it sure is fun ♪ ♪ come on baby, you drive me crazy, goodness gracious great balls of fire ♪ ♪ ♪ kiss me baby, that feels good, hold me baby, i want to love you like a lover should ♪

♪ you're fine, so kind, got to tell this world that you're mine, mine, mine, mine ♪ ♪ i cut my nails and i quiver my thumb, i'm really nervous but it sure is fun, goodness gracious great balls of fire ♪ -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com