good morning. bombshell. the wife of convicted swindler bernie madoff breaks her silence, claiming she and her husband attempted suicide together after his crimes were revealed. >> i don't know whose idea it was, but we decided to kill ourselves because it was so horrendous, what was happening. >> this morning ruth madoff is speaking out for the first time since her husband's arrest. the good doctor? conrad murray tears up in court as his former patients testify on his behalf with just two witnesses left has the defense done enough or will dr. murray have to take the stand? and back in the saddle. aero smith front man steven

tyler returned to the stage a day after a nasty fall at a hotel bathroom with the bumps and bruises to prove it. for the first time he'll tell us what happened and how he's feeling in a live interview today, thursday, october 27th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television welcome to today on this thursday morning. i'm ann curry. >> i'm matt lauer. this morning we are learning startling new details about what was happening inside the madoff home during bernie madoff's fall from grace, including this claim from his wife, ruth, that they actually tried to kill themselves. >> in a new interview ruth madoff says they took pills on christmas eve of 2008 with just two weeks after her husband was arrested and accused of operating a $65 billion ponzi scheme. we'll get the latest on this

straight ahead. also, a verdict could come today in the case of a shaken ohio community. a former teacher is on trial for allegedly having sex with several of her own students. she has pleaded not guilty. the reason? insanity. we'll have details as that woman faces her accusers in court. and also we have an extraordinary picture to show you. this is sharla nash the connecticut woman who was mauled by a chimpanzee. she received a ground breaking face transplant back in may and as you can see, look at this. the results are really remarkable. we'll have more on this, coming up. plus, he is a superstar who can do just about anything. we're talking about a singer, actor, dancer, now justin timberlake is starring in a brand new action thriller. he's going to join us live in our studio to talk about it all. we begin now with that bombshell interview with bernie madoff's wife, her first since his arrest. today legal correspondent savannah guthrie is joining us with details. >> good morning to you. of course it was one of the most

shocking cases of power, greed, and fraud in u.s. history. bernie madoff ripped off hundreds of investors and when his scheme was discovered his wife now claims they tried to take their own lives. in december, 2008, bernie madoff's make believe world was coming to an end. his $65 billion ponzi scheme discovered. his assets frozen, he was under house arrest in his $7 million home. on christmas eve he and his wife ruth had had enough. >> i don't know whose idea it was but we decided to kill ourselves because it was so horrendous. i said i just can't go on anymore. >> reporter: in a "60 minutes" interview to air this sunday ruth madoff describes the bleak depths her life had reached. >> it was christmas eve and that added to the whole depression.

we took pills and woke up the next day. >> reporter: though ruth says the suicide attempts were spontaneous the couple made what they thought would be a final gesture to their son, andy. >> i had some lovely antique things and things that i thought they might want. >> i tore open the envelope and dumped it out and it was absolutely heart breaking. these were pieces of jewelry that i recognized. things that i had seen my mother wearing. >> writer steve fishman has interviewed bernie madoff extensively and has a difficult time imagining a suicide attempt. >> bernie is not the kind of guy who is going to end his life. he's not. he's always been a guy who was able to cope and get by and get along and reinvent himself. and he's not a guy who lingers on the down side. >> reporter: now after three years ruth and andy are opening up about how their family was ripped apart. they've collaborated with author laurie sandell on a book "truth and consequences, life inside

the madoff family." >> probably there is some catharsis involved in this. i think for andrew, perhaps, in particular, he wants to move on with his life. >> sir, why did you do it? >> reporter: beyond the financial devastation of madoff's scheme, his family has suffered far greater injury. this past december madoff's eldest son, mark, haunted by his father's legacy, took his own life. he left behind four children and his wife. well, in that "60 minutes" interview ruth madoff claims she and her husband took a mixture of the sleep mixture ambien and an anti-anxiety drug and according to a report in the "new york times" today in an e-mail from prison madoff himself acknowledged suicide did cross his mind. >> thank you so much. sobering. >> by the way, a programming note that ruth madoff and her son andy as well as his fiance katherine hooper will be here for an exclusive live interview monday morning on "today." now let's check the morning's other top stories.

natalie morales is back at the news desk. good morning, everyone. in a marathon overnight summit european leaders hashed out a $100 billion solution for dealing with their debt crisis, a move that could provide relief to markets across the globe and here at home. for more on this we want to turn to cnbc's courtney reagan at the new york stock exchange. good morning, courtney. >> good morning, natalie. that's right. after much anticipation european leaders have reached an outline of a plan to possibly resolve the region's debt crisis. the agreement gives greece another bailout, putting some of the burden of those losses from greek bonds on european banks. it also expands the size of the eu's rescue fund. now, this could give a lift to markets not just here but around the world. investors have been worried that a greek debt default could trigger a recession around the world. hopefully those fears have now been at least somewhat quelled. back to you. >> we hope so. courtney reagan at the new york stock exchange, thank you. in oakland, california occupy wall street protesters took to the streets overnight

marching through part of the city following wednesday's clashes with police. tensions there are running high after an iraq war veteran was left in critical condition with a fractured skull. he was wounded while protesting. a veterans group says the injury was caused by a police projectile. oakland police say they will investigate the incident and allow protesters to return to the plaza that they cleared out earlier this week. yet another miracle rescue this morning in turkey. some 80 hours after that devastating earthquake that has now claimed more than 520 lives, injured more than 1600, and left thousands of others homeless. nbc's michelle franzen is in hard hit ercis, turkey with more. michelle, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, natalie. that's right. this disaster certainly playing out still with dramatic rescues as you mentioned. another one taking place. a teenager pulled out alive some 80 hours after the earthquake first struck. despite this rain and the cold weather, rescuers are not giving

up. meanwhile, the mother of baby azra who was rescued two days ago is describing in great detail the lengths she went to to keep her daughter alive. she is the tiniest victim of the devastating earthquake in southeast turkey, but baby azra has become the biggest source of hope. new pictures and video show azra being held by her mother with nurses tending to her fragile body just hours after she was pulled out alive from beneath her collapsed home in ercis. her mother was also trapped and rescued. both were reunited at the hospital and put on a flight to ankora to receive more medical care. her mother tells how in those desperate hours while pinned beneath mounds of rubble she fought to keep azra, just two weeks old, alive. after running out of breast milk she says she fed her hungry baby girl saliva. it is another extraordinary example of a mother's love for her child. on the day searchers found them

she lifted her baby up to rescuers and waited before being pulled out herself. azra's grandmother was rescued that day, too, from their crushed home more than 50 hours after the earthquake struck. three lives and three generations saved. their story of survival has become more rare in recent days. more than 500 have died and the death toll is expected to climb with hundreds still missing. and the big concern of course now is also shelter. many people standing in line for hours to receive tents and, still, the supply is not meeting the demand. these are the elements they're dealing with -- rain setting in all day and that rain in the coming days is expected to turn to snow. natalie? >> michelle franzen in ercis, turkey, thank you, michelle. what an amazing sight to see. charla nash's new face. take a look. there it is healing beautifully following her face transplant over the summer. as you know, we've been following charla's road to

recovery since she was attacked by her neighbor's chimp two years ago. next month meredith vieira will have an exclusive interview with her right here on "today." look forward to seeing how well she is healing. it's 7:10. let's turn it back over to matt and ann. she looks great. >> the pictures are beyond my expectations. >> unbelievable. >> i think it's fantastic. good for her. mr. roker has hit the road this morning and is out in chicago with first check of the weather, hey, al. >> thanks so much. as we go and look in themuch. as we go and look in the tropics, we are talking about hurricane rina. it's a category 1 storm. it's 150 miles south of cozumel, mexico. it looks like it will graze the y

yucatan peninsula. we have a front from new england into texas. we are expecting one to three inches of snow, and rainfall amounts half an inch to an inch from west virginia, all the way back on into parts of new england. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. >> we'll probably get half an inch of rain from time to time as the day progresses, and getting heavier rain in the mountains and that may move in perhaps by mid to late morning. right now scattered light showers around the metro area. temperatures in the 50s to around 60. a mild morning. later today, upper 60s, more showers, and then ending tonight and that's your latest weather. thanks very much. now to politics and the presidential race. president obama is back at the white house this morning after wrapping up his three-day trip out west. while one of his republican

rivals was forced to do a little damage control on wednesday. nbc's kristen welker has more on that. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. president obama is back to business at the white house today with a full schedule. in denver on wednesday he unveiled a student loan relief program and tried to re-energize one of his core constituencies, young voters. >> student loans, the whole four years. >> reporter: at the university of illinois at chicago, andrea watson is graduating in december burdened with $40,000 in student debt. >> very intimidating and scary to know that before i even get that first real career job i'm just going to have thousands and thousands of dollars over my head. >> hello, denver! >> reporter: president obama said he will use executive action to speed up a program already approved by congress that could help as many as seven million student loan holders. >> college isn't just one of the best investments you can make in your future but one of the best

investments america can make in our future, so we want you in school. >> reporter: the president's action will allow graduates to consolidate certain federal loans to get lower monthly interest rates and it will cap student loan payments at 10% of a graduate's salary. >> knowing that there is a limit on how much they have to repay in a given month that depends on how much they're earning in that month should relieve a lot of people's anxiety about whether they can afford higher education. >> reporter: meanwhile, on the gop campaign trail, texas governor rick perry, after earlier questioning president obama's birth place, did a little damage control saying he has no doubt that president obama is an american citizen. herman cain gave the keynote speech to a tea party rally in texas tuesday and was immediately followed by tea party member apostle claver. >> if anybody is a racist it's the democratic party that's the racist. >> reporter: in a statement to nbc news a spokesman for cain

said in part, our campaign is all about promoting civil dialogue. and responding to a published report that the u.s. state department has purchased over $70,000 worth of books president obama has written, white house spokesman jay carney. >> the white house didn't have anything to do with this, and i think it's an embassy by embassy based decision based on what they think is, in buying books, what makes sense for them in terms of advancing american foreign policy interests. >> reporter: and gop candidate michele bachmann mailed it in on wednesday, literally mailed in a filing fee and other forms to new hampshire officials so her name can appear on the primary ballot there. this after five of her paid staffers in new hampshire resigned citing lack of support and poor communication. matt? >> kristen welker at the white house this morning, thank you very much. robert gibbs served as president obama's white house press secretary and is now an advise tower the president's re-election campaign. good to see you. how are you?

>> good. how are you? >> let's talk about the young voters. they turned out en masse in 2008 to sweep barack obama into the white house in part because of the whole hope and change idea. here we are four years later. some of them are now second-time voters. they've graduated from college. they may be swimming in debt and they can't find a job. why should they support him? >> well, look. i think initiatives like the president announced yesterday are a good reason quite frankly for the american people to support barack obama, because it helps the middle class. matt, the average person comes out of college with a $22,000 debt. in most households it's the second largest debt that they have. and we know that the unemployment rate for somebody who graduates from college is half what it is for somebody who doesn't. so let's not wait for congress. let's get on the side of the middle class and give these guys a chance to pay back their student loans in a way that works best for them. >> some of these young people are the same young people who are occupying parks across the country and they're out there protesting wall street. they're also protesting the white house. in a new report from the congressional budget office this

week confirmed the rich are getting richer. between 2005 and 2007 the top 1/5 of earners in america earned more money than the bottom 4/5. what responsibility does president obama have in terms of dealing with income distribution in this country? >> well, look, matt. what you identified and what the cbo identified is a problem that has not just happened in two or three years. it's actually happened for 30 years. we've had income inequality and are seeing a lot of anxiety and frustration. what is the best way for somebody to get ahead into the middle class and get a better paying job? it's to go to college. we know that works. and that's why the president was so forceful in rolling out something that's going to help more and more people get to college. if people work hard and get the right to go to college, get accepted, we shouldn't make it -- shouldn't impede that by saying they can't afford it. >> you said a second ago what the president is proposing now are good reasons for people to re-elect him. do you see a scenario, robert, under which we've got something

like 9% unemployment in november of 2012, gas prices are about $3.40 to $3.50 a gallon. the housing market is still in the dumps. do you see a scenario where he gets re-elected? >> absolutely. because i think -- i think what's going on in this country with frustration around income and quite frankly frustration around wall street, look at what every one of the republican candidates wants to roll back wall street reform. right? wants to put wall street back in charge of writing the rules that quite frankly got us into a lot of this most current mess. barack obama on the other hand is out fighting for the middle class and making sure we can send our children to college. i think that's a pretty good contrast even in a bad economy. >> the president has got a new slogan, we can't wait while congress does nothing. a lot of republicans have coopted it saying we can't wait until november of 2012. while you've said barack obama has run against the perfect person so far, soon he will run against a republican nominee. clearly suggesting that no candidate is perfect. take them one at a time. mitt romney. what are your chances against

mitt romney if he is the nominee? >> well, look. i think mitt romney has had an extraordinarily difficult week, and he has very much defined exactly what i think most people think of mitt romney in the six years they've seen him on the national stage, and that is he takes a position one day and wait a couple days and he'll probably take a different one. >> do you think he'll have a field day against mitt romney? >> i think mitt romney is going to have a tough time explaining what mitt romney was for in the past hwan mitt romney is for now. >> what if the nominee is herman cain? >> well, you know, i think he is certainly the surprising entry right now into this field, but i think if you look at what he has had to offer and quite frankly what all the republicans have had to offer, they think a mix of more tax cuts for the wealthy and letting wall street write the rules is the way to get us back on track. i think many people in this country feel the frustration that those are the very things that got us into this mess and i think that's a recipe for how anybody is going to run against any of these republican candidates. >> robert gibbs joining us in the studio this morning.

good to see you. >> happy to be here. >> thanks. it is now 18 after the hour. once again, here's ann. >> thanks. the trial of michael jackson's doctor is slowly winding down in los angeles. on wednesday conrad murray's lawyers called his friends to the stand. nbc's jeff rossen is covering this trial. jeff, good morning. >> reporter: hey, ann. good morning you to. yeah, murray's lawyers are trying anything they can. now it's the nice guy defense. he is a good person. he is a good doctor to other people. so don't throw him in jail. now his former patients came here to los angeles to testify and murray, himself, got emotional. for the first time in five weeks dr. conrad murray broke down, wiping away tears, crying for a full minute as the jury watched. what made him cry? this. >> he made a commitment to the community that he would open a clinic in honor of his dad and continue to take care of the patients in that community where

his dad had been a physician for a number of years. >> one after another after another dr. murray's former patients took the stand, five in all, praising him. >> he's my best friend. >> he's a great guy. i mean, he follows up with everything. >> i'll be very honest with you. i have never had a doctor that was more caring. >> i take care of sick patients. why do you look so well? >> reporter: dr. murray works at this clinic in a poor section of houston where some patients don't even have the money to pay. >> god bless you. >> god bless you, too, sir. >> reporter: the defense team trying to counter the prosecution's theory that murray will do anything for cash, that he pumped michael jackson with propofol for a big pay day. $150,000 a month as michael's personal physician. >> do you think dr. murray's greedy? >> no. if this man had been greedy, excuse me, judge, if this man had been greedy, he never would

have come to an area, a communi community, 75% of them poor. >> reporter: but some legal experts say while heart warming, wednesday's testimony was irrelevant and, they say, that's only part of the problem. >> the defense case has been atrocious. they have proved nothing. they have poked holes in nothing. their only hope is to have the world's most amazing expert or hope that conrad murray can come up with something should he decide to testify. >> reporter: which we don't know if that's going to happen yet. >> we don't know and that is going to be a last-minute decision. >> reporter: murray's defense team is almost done. only two witnesses are left on their list assuming dr. murray doesn't testify himself. both of the witnesses are medical experts and that testimony will begin today. this could be the final day for the defense. as we come to a close here it's a good time to tell you a little about the jury. seven men, five women. the youngest is 32 years old. the oldest is 57 years old and

they're a diverse jury as well, mostly white, some hispanic, and one african-american. ann? >> all right. jeff rossen this morning, thanks so much. and coming up, blaming the victim. why lawyers for the university of virginia la crosse player accused of killing his college girlfriend are now asking for her medical records. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead would you want your kids to eat lunch at 9:30 in the morning? why that is happening in some schools in florida. >> plus, steven tyler returns to the stage a day after suffering a really bad fall in his hotel room. he'll tell us what happened after your local news. [ female announcer ] what makes jcpfastcash so exciting?

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♪ [ male announcer ] great days start with quaker oatmeal. energy. fiber. heart health. quaker oatmeal. a super grain breakfast. good morning. i am joe krebs on this thursday, the 27th day of october, and 7:26 is our time. we are 58 degrees outside. let's find out from tom kierein what kind of day we will have because we have had rain all night. >> yeah, heavier downpours in western virginia and those are off to the east to the shenandoah valley, and right now scattered light showers through the district and much of maryland, and temperatures are in the upper 50s to around 60 throughout much of the region. reagan national is at 60, and we have occasional showers throughout the day turning much colder tomorrow morning, the

30s, and afternoon highs only 50 and partly cloudy, and rain on saturday a

good morning. 395 north, still jammed at duke street. delays continue to the 14th street bridge.

i-66, delays are at nutley, and continue east inside the beltway, and your delays start in greenbelt and

7:30 now, thursday morning, october 27th, 2011 as we give everyone out in the plaza a little chance to say hi to their family members and friends back home on a soggy morning here in new york city. meanwhile, in studio 1-a i'm matt lauer alongside ann curry. just ahead a strange story. a former teacher in ohio on trial for allegedly having sex with at least five of her own students. she is using a rather unexpected defense strategy. she is claiming insanity. we'll have details on that. also, did you hear what happened to steven tyler? >> yeah. >> he is recovering now this morning after a small accident in his hotel bathroom and we just got some new photographs his manager sent us showing the extent of his injuries.

as you can see that big bruise over his eye. well, two teeth were also knocked out. what happened? well, steven tyler will be joining us live to explain this morning. >> that doesn't look like such a small accident. i mean, that is quite a fall. and another very talented musician turned actor justin timberlake is taking on his first starring role in a new action thriller. the movie is called "in time." he'll be here to talk about his movie, the direction that his career has taken, and perhaps even his upcoming date with a servicewoman who asked him to the marine corps ball. >> looking forward to hearing about all of that, matt. first let's begin this half hour with the latest on a crime that rocked the university of virginia campus. a star la crosse player murdered. now the defense is trying to build its case. nbc's mara schiavocampo is in campo with details. good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning. george hubie will have his day in court in february but the defense is trying to build their case asking a judge to release medical records they hope will disprove authorities' accounts that yardly love died at the

hands of her on again/off again boyfriend. the judge has said he won't make a decision until next month. lawyers for george huguely the man accused of killing star la crosse player yardly love were in court for a second time trying to gain access to love's medical records. huguely is accused of murdering his on again/off again girlfriend the popular and beautiful senior on the university of virginia women's la crosse team. police say huguely admitted he shook love and her head repeatedly hit the wall the night she died. the charlottesville medical examiner found that love died of blunt force trauma to the head after huguely allegedly attacked her in her apartment. but in court the defense has argued that love died from an irregular heart beat caused in part by the adhd drug aderall combined with alcohol. many in the college town view this defense as blaming the victim. >> i think it's pretty

transparent. the fact they can't rest their case on anything more substantial is telling it's kind of disrespectful to her memory. >> reporter: friends say love and huguely had a turbulent romantic relationship that had occasionally gotten physical in the weeks leading up to her death. >> 22-year-old yardly love was dead upon our arrival there. >> reporter: in may of last year charlottesville police found love's bloody body face down in bed at her apartment. though huguely admits he fought with love his lawyer says the day after she was found dead her client claimed there is nothing that i did to her last night that could have killed her. huguely's arrest for love's murder was not his first brush with the law. in 2008 he was charged with public swearing and intoxication and resisting arrest. now defense experts say that huguely's lawyers have no choice but to seek other answers as to how love may have died. >> i think the defense is looking at a murder charge both felony murder and intentional murder. and the defense must do the best

they can for their client. and if there is any question about the cause of death, they must pursue it and they're entitled to pursue it. >> reporter: love's family had no comment wednesday but in a statement released to nbc news in april the family said in part, we have faith in the justice system and trust that the truth will prevail. huguely's defense has called love's death, quote, a tragic accident. his trial is scheduled for february in charlottesville circuit court. ann? >> all right. mara schiavocampo, thank you for reporting on this. now here's matt. ann, thank you. there could be a verdict today at the trial of a former ohio teacher accused of having sex with a number of her students. nbc's kevin tibbles has the latest on this case. kevin, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. this ohio courthouse has been the venue for a scandalous trial in which five former high school students all claim they had sex with someone entrusted with

their care, a teacher. it is a case that has packed a small courtroom filled with salacious revelations that have horrified residents of suburban mason, ohio just outside cincinnati. >> we were already kissing and stuff in the kitchen and that just continued in the bedroom on the bed. >> reporter: the testimony comes from five former high school students, some who were football players who all say they had sex with a teacher, 33-year-old stacy shuler. >> she came up to us and basically got on top of us and we just started, like, making out. >> reporter: shuler resigned from her position as a physical education teacher at mason high school when she was arrested in february. she has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to 16 counts of sexual battery and three of providing alcohol to minors. >> this oil stuff, she said it would make it a lot better, and put it on us, and then gave us

massages. >> reporter: some of the students testified they visited shuler's home for sex on multiple occasions and that she often initiated it. >> they were making out and she pressed her body up against mine and i was towards the -- my back was towards the back of the wall and then, um, we started having sex. >> reporter: those testifying are now over the age of 18 and while we are hearing their voices the court permitted them not to have their faces shown. a former female student testified shuler told her she had a plan if she ever got caught. >> she told me that if anybody ever found out that she already had her defense planned out and she would try and say that she was insane. >> reporter: but several former students have come to court to defend their former teacher. shuler had been at the school for more than a decade and some said she was kind and helpful at

times when they needed her. >> she was open. she was positive. and she was honest. >> she made sure i knew it was okay. and that i was going to be okay. and that if i ever needed anything she was going to be there. >> reporter: the trial is expected to end later today. stacy shuler is not expected to testify in her own defense. and, matt, shuler could face decades in prison if found guilty. the presiding judge in this case could release a ruling as early as today. matt? >> all right. kevin tibbles in ohio for us this morning. kevin, thanks very much. let's get a check of the weather now from al in chicago this morning. al? thanks so much. we're seeing a big change in our temperatures depending on what side of this frontal system you are that stretches from texas all the waywhat side of the frontal system you are that stretches from texas to new england. we are talking anywhere from 30 to 25 degrees below normal in amarillo, and they have gotten

snow, but ahead of the front, charlotte, 10 degrees below normal, and new orleans, 82. and temperatures are rather moderate. 79 in l.a. and plenty of sunshine. we have showers in chicago right now. rain back through texas. morning snow in northern texas and mountain snows in interior sections of new york and new england. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. >> moderate rain in west virginia. we have scattered but light sprinkles around the metro area to lighter rain into maryland, and we will have a brief respite for another hour or two and then steady rain moving back in by later this morning and afternoon. and the rain should end by early this evening and then turning colder tonight with a blustery and that's your latest weather.

ann? okay. thank you so much. is 9:00 in the morning too early for a burger and fries? well, kids at some schools in florida are now being served lunch when a lot of people are just starting to think about breakfast. nbc's kerry sanders is in ft. myers, florida with more on this. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. consider right now there are lots of parents rushing around the kitchen trying to get their children some breakfast, get them off to school, while at some schools in florida the kids already are in the classroom and will be heading to the cafeteria for lunch in about an hour from now. florida ninth grader aden mullen is your typical teen dealing with the challenges of school. >> i have some makeup work actually. >> reporter: adding to his struggles this year is an unconventional early lunch. for mullen and other students of winter park ninth grade center his lunch on some days starts as early as 9:30 in the morning. >> i think they could, you know, definitely make it so that, you know, we have lunch later in the day and not at breakfast time.

>> when i was growing up we never heard of such a thing. a lunch hour that would start at 9:30 or even 10:30. >> reporter: school officials say the early lunch is needed because this generation of students starts its days so much earlier. classes begin just after 7:00 in the morning. >> our students start getting on the bus at 5:30 until about 6:40 so it's actually over two and a half hours, almost three hours before some of them eat. >> reporter: and winter park is not the only school serving lunch before some have eaten breakfast, even though there is a federal mandate that schools serve lunch between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., this year in florida alone at least 60 schools have been granted waivers to start lunch between 8:30 and 9:30 in the morning. while a penn state study from five years ago linked early school lunches to unhealthy eating, county nutritionists believe they have the students' best interests in mind. >> as a nutritionist you have to work around people's schedules,

so we know that they're up at 5:30, 6:00. they may or may not have breakfast. and so if they're eating at 10:00 that may be the first meal of the day. >> reporter: because he is a diabetic and takes medication on 12-hour intervals, aden is allowed to eat lunch in between classes closer to the noon hour. but he still joins his friends in the cafeteria as they eat their hamburgers and corn dogs at a time when most are still eating cereal. >> definitely all my friends are complaining about having to eat at breakfast time, you know. it shouldn't be like that. >> reporter: and so it's not only early lunches but it's also early breakfast. some of the schools begin serving those breakfasts at 6:30 in the morning. ann, i think you keep these hours. don't you have lunch pretty early in the day yourself? >> yes. the time works for me but i'm another story. kerry sanders, thank you so much for that report. and coming up next, he's black and blue and speaking out. steven tyler opens up in a live

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i tell you all a story about me and matt lauer ♪ >> that was aero smith front man steven tyler serenading me at his home in los angeles just a couple months ago. this morning he is nursing a few injuries after falling in a hotel bathroom in south america. steven is joining us now by phone from buenos aires. good morning to you. >> good morning, america! >> listen, steven. how bad was this fall? i'm looking at some photos we've been showing this morning. it looks like you were the wrong guy in a fight. tell me about this. >> well, you know, it was like the -- it was the second show in south america and it just so happened, you know, that i got that -- what's it called when you eat something? montezuma's revenge. i took a walk with the incas for 48 hours. went in looking like breshnakov

and walked out looking like lion sphinx. >> you lost a couple teeth. how many stitches did you get? >> i got four stitches in my eye and just quite frankly passed out. i was in the shower and, you know, i got nauseous and i started to get sick and i just fell on my face and just passed out and i woke up, you know, with the water running on me wondering where i was and the next thing you know my tour manager was calling the american he means a embassy and we found the best hospital. it was like one stop shopping. they stitched up my eye, did a little plastic surgery, and fixed my tooth all in one fell swoop. >> steven, you and i spent sometime together recently and we talked openly and honestly about your past including drugs and alcohol. and i know as some of your fans see these pictures this morning, they're going to have questions about whether this was a fall in

the shower or a fall off the wagon. would you address that for me? >> i love the way you put that. you know, being in the program that i'm in it's something we have to accept. i went public with my problems only to address them straight on, so, you know, people thinking that is natural and normal. you know, we flew last night from paraguay after that incident and where are we now? argentina for two hours. and if anybody knew anybody that knew anybody that used substances, they wouldn't be up the hour after having a talk with matt lauer and the rest of america. but, you know, it is nothing that i don't understand. i get that people think that. it still bothers me a little but it's something i have to deal with for the rest of my life. >> all right. but you're clean and sober. that's not the issue? >> no, it's not the issue. >> i heard from your manager that you even managed to play the harp with a busted lip in a concert last night and says you put on one of the best shows of

any recent tour. how is this going to affect the tour as it continues? >> well, you know, short of -- people are going to expect me on the stage. i look at myself in the mirror, and i thought, you know, i should just go on and do the show tomorrow night and we did. pulled myself up by my boot heels and went out on stage, wore my sunglasses through the first song. took them off and the crowd roared because they knew that i had fallen down and i just figured, you know, it's all about playing to the people. it never has been about anything else other than that. and we rocked. we broke the house record. not only did i break my face but the next night we broke the house record. so life is beautiful, matt. >> listen, most importantly, i hope you're okay. i really appreciate you calling in this morning and i know your fans are going to be very happy to hear that the show goes on and we wish you good health. thanks a lot. >> thanks, matt.

>> steven tyler. take care. still ahead, multi-talented actor, singer, and dancer justin timberlake live in our studio right after this. ing ] that's it, kyle. let's go home. [ busch ] all right, guys, let's get out of here. [ pneumatic drills whirring ] ♪ ♪ [ beep ] ♪ [ male announcer ] available 268 horsepower. class-leading mpg and intuitive mobile technology. ♪ workin' for the weekend [ male announcer ] introducing the reinvented 2012 toyota camry. it's ready. are you? [ busch ] ♪ ...second chance it's like extra cash you earn in an instant. earn 10, 20, or $30 jcpfastcash right at the register. then use it right now on anything you want, see, or love. we make style affordable. you make it yours. jcpenney. yeah, i toog nyguil bud i'm stild stubbed up.

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just ahead photos of kate middleton stepping into her husband at a big event. >> plus one of the biggest stars in the world justin timberlake will be here live. but first these messages and your local news and weather. ♪ yummy, yummy, yummy, i got love in my tummy ♪ [ female announcer ] kellogg wants to help make kids happy, one tummy at a time. because 9 out of 10 kids don't get the fiber they need. froot loops, apple jacks and frosted mini-wheats have good-for-you fiber in every yummy bowl. they're the cereals your kids love and the fiber their tummies love,

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good morning. i am joe krebs. it's 7:56 on this thursday morning. we have rain around the region. let's get the forecast from meteorologist, tom kierein. >> there's a live picture of the potomac, and a view from the city camera showing a few sprinkles in washington right now, and heavier rain in the mountains advancing off to the east and we have a light sprinkle in the district, and later some of the passing showers could be moderate at times. highs reaching -- right now we're in the 50s and climbing into the upper 60s later this afternoon. and then rain this evening. tomorrow

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good morning. a very slow commute in store for you as you travel on 270. heavy on the brake at father hurley. you will be jammed until you make your way to the spur. and in virginia, slow at fairfax county parkway. delays start at route 1 and continue on to 395.

8:00 now on a thursday morning. it's october 27th, 20011. not the nicest day to start the day here in the northeast. not the nicest weather rather. it's dark and rainy. we have some happy people standing here in the rain joining us this morning. and meantime outside on the plaza i'm ann curry with matt lauer. look who's just arrived inside studio 1-a? that's right. justin timberlake. that's right. you. [ cheer ] >> doesn't take much to get a cheer for him. >> this guy is doing it all. for years he was a standout in music and now is taking hollywood by storm with really interesting roles over the last couple years. now he has his first lead in an

action thriller. it is true. called "in time." we'll talk to justin about everything that's going on in just a couple of minutes. >> looks like a good movie, too. plus kate middleton is shining at a big event where she filled in for her father-in-law. we'll show you some new photographs this morning. >> and we want to remind you that monday is halloween and so we'll have our annual halloween costume contest out here on the plaza. if you've got a great idea, get dressed up. come on down. we're giving away great prizes. among the prizes for the best costumes, tickets to see another justin. justin bieber in concert here on "today" the day before thanksgiving. the winner of the best costume contest gets to actually meet justin bieber face to face. so come on down monday morning. take part. we'll be dressed up as well. and it should be a good time. >> you think? anyway, let's get inside and check on the morning's top stories. natalie is in. good morning, ann and matt. good morning, everyone. the wife of admitted ponzi schemer bernie madoff has revealed that she and her

husband attempted suicide two weeks after his arrest. in a 60 minutes interview that airs sunday ruth madoff says the couple swallowed handfuls of ambien and other pills on christmas eve of 2008, then they went to bed but woke up the next day. the madoffs' eldest son, mark, did take his own life last december. bernie madoff is serving a 150-year prison term for his $65 billion fraud. president obama is offering financial relief to a key group of supporters. the young and educated. speaking to college students in denver, colorado wednesday the president said he'll use his executive powers to speed up a program that could lower monthly student loan payments for millions of people. meanwhile, on the republican campaign trail, texas governor rick perry backed away from his earlier questioning of president obama's citizenship. michele bachmann filed papers to appear on the new hampshire primary ballot despite the resignation of her entire paid staff in that state. tourists are fleeing mexico's caribbean coast today

as hurricane rina draws near. cancun, cozumel, and other resort towns are being cleared out, but forecasts show the storm is expected to weaken as it hits the coast by this weekend. and as you saw, the duchess of cambridge kate middleton is winning raves after her first solo royal engagement. kate filled in for her father-in-law at a charity dinner last night. prince charles had to fly to saudi arabia to offer condolences on the death of the saudi crowned prince. kate dazzled guests, though, in that pale blue empress line gown, just absolutely gorgeous. now here is brian williams with a look at what's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." good morning. coming up tonight we don't know exactly who or where but soon the population is going to hit 7 billion of all of us on the planet. how are we going to feed ourselves in the future? food, water, energy. the strain on the globe. we'll have that report tonight. for now, natalie, back to you. >> thank you, brian. now for a look at what's trending today. our quick roundup of what has

you talking online. pulp fiction star samuel l. jackson is on twitter and fans are tweeting jackson is the highest grossing actor in hollywood history according to the guinness book of world records. his films have taken in more than $7 billion. no thanks to "snakes on a plane." jackson's occasional costar bruce willis is a hot search on yahoo as well this morning. willis and his wife emma have just announced they are expecting their first child together early next year. willis, who is 56, has three daughters with ex-wife demi moore. and this youtube video proves just how exciting babies can be. this poor pooch will need longer legs or maybe a lower bed there before he can snuggle with the new addition to the family. someone give the poor pup a little bit of attention there. he needs it. it's 8:04 right now. let's go back outside to matt and ann. i think he is still trying to get up on that bed. >> i know. i'm glad he's not making it though. that looks like a brand new baby. thanks, natalie.

mr. roker is out in chicago. al, i hope the weather is nicer there than it is here. >> not really. raining here too, matt. a little chilly. about 50 degrees. a brisk wind coming off the lake. let's see, our p and a brisk wind coming off the lake. the pick city of the day happens to be chicago, and our friends at nbc 5, scattered showers and 54 degrees for a high today. we have rain coming across the great lakes and we also have a funnel system tracking from new england back to texas. and amarillo seeing a little morning snow. and 54 in seattle. mountain snow in the inland sections of new england and new york state, and then we are expecting sprinkles through the lower mississippi and ohio river valley. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. >> we have some cool rain falling through much of the region this morning, and we have a few scattered light sprinkles, and a few light showers around

and we will have them with us off and on throughout the rest of the day. right now most of the area in the 50s. right now 58 at reagan national. later today, upper 60s, and then in the evening colder air moves in and 30s in the morning tomorr that's your latest weather. coming up next, justin timberlake live in our studio. matt is catching up with him right after this. >> still here.

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we're back at 8:09 with one of the biggest stars on the planet. justin timberlake added two emmys to his mantle this year and now is starring in a new thriller "in time" playing a guy that lives day to day in a society where time is literally money. it is the number one commodity, and he is running out of both. take a look. >> will salis, allow me to introduce my mother-in-law clara, my wife, michelle, and my daughter, sylvia. >> nice to meet you all. >> i'll come find you later. >> i look forward to it. >> having fun, mr. salis? >> please call me will. >> it's okay, constantine. >> do you always have a hired hand standing right next to you? >> no, i usually have two. >> justin timberlake, welcome

back. >> how's it going, matt? >> it's going really well. i want to talk about this movie in a second. i've been looking forward to you coming here for this reason and that is i don't think i've seen anyone in hollywood over the past two or three or four years who's grown as much and taken on as many interesting challenges so amazingly successfully as you. i mean that. i mean that. >> did i write this copy? >> no, i have wanted to talk to you for a long time because i'm just very impressed by the way you don't ever want to be -- you never want to be seen in one way. >> well, thank you. you know, my idols are sinatra and dean martin and gene kelly and people like that, and i -- i always admired that they could tell a joke and sing a song and, you know, make you laugh. make you cry. >> triple threats or maybe in your case quadruple threat. >> i always just aspired to, yeah, be able to do it all. >> but also i think you work really hard. i know you a little through

other ways. >> yes. >> for example on the golf course. >> yes. >> you and i took part in something not long ago that was a high profile golf thing. i think you tackled that in the same way it seems to me that you're tackling acting today. you have a laser like focus. >> that was probably the, physically the hardest thing we've ever done i think. >> but you took it very seriously. >> the last four holes i remember butch harmon was caddying for me. he said you're going to have to par out to break a hundred like we're supposed to do. i was like, then we need to break a hundred. >> generally speaking are you that kind of person that once you set your sites on something, what is it in your personality that doesn't allow you to kind of settle? >> i don't know. i think that -- i think that it's more a case of, i mean, i think we're all perfectionists in a way but i think it's more a case of, you know, you grow up young in the business and you get to try a lot of things so you naturally are interested in so many different things and,

you know, growing up on a television show we were taught to be kind of triple threats in that -- like you described -- and i don't know. i think that if you're going to do it obviously do it in a way that's authentic to you. >> you've had some great roles over the last couple years. this is the first time you're actually the lead in an action thriller. i love the premise of this because, you know, everybody kind of goes to the age of 25 and then this is futuristic. this clock they have on their arm lights up and they have a year. >> right. >> basically that clock starts to tick and they've got to do whatever they can to refresh it or they die. >> right. >> why did you like this idea? >> i read the script and for two or three days straight, i mean, it was, i found myself asking so many personal questions and when i actually sat down with andrew nicole, the writer/director of the film, wrote "the truman show", he definitely has a knack for these types of, you know, this type of hypothesis, you

know, that puts you, makes you look in the mirror and ask a lot of questions and, you know, as i continued to talk about the movie it just seemed like an amazing thrill ride as well. >> and the pressure builds because this clock is always ticking. you do a lot of running in new york running from here to there trying to beat the ticking clock. >> yes. >> you had to be in shape to do this movie. i did specific sprint training so that i would -- i wouldn't be winded in between takes. it didn't work. i was very winded in between takes. >> so in preparing to have you here we went back and we did a lot of research and found a lot of interesting little minutia about you and your career. >> this sounds terrible. >> we want to play a little justin timberlake trivial pursuit. since the theme of the movie is time we'll put a clock up. >> okay. >> i want to ask you a series of questions about yourself. >> okay. >> and see how many of these you get right in as short a time as possible. how many emmy awards do you have? >> four. >> good. one of in sync's biggest albums

was owe no strings attached. hoi how many weeks did it spend on billboard charts? >> no idea. >> 82. >> one of the big hits was the song "tearing up my heart." finish this lyric. >> oh, no. >> baby i don't understand just why we can't be lovers. >> i -- i -- i don't remember. >> sing it to me. ♪ things are getting out of hand trying too much but -- >> ♪ baby we can't win. >> i'll give you half credit. most people know you were a competitor on "star search" and lost. what year was that? >> '92. >> good. name two of your fellow all new mickey mouse club cast members. >> britney spears and christine aguilera. >> very good. how many times have you hosted snl? >> four. >> very good. what is your zip code? >> 90046. >> stop the clock. pretty good. you only got one wrong. not bad at all. >> wow. okay. well, you know, interestingly enough, i -- i have some questions that were given to me. i feel like we should -- i feel we should turn the clock back,

can we get that one minute back? because i have some questions for you, matt. we were able to dig up some interesting minutia on you. >> that's okay. >> can we start, what is your office room number at 30 rock? >> ah, 307. >> that's incorrect, sir. how many male anchors were here before you at the "today" show? >> five. >> i have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. that's also incorrect. what soap opera did you appear on in 1982? >> this is the soap opera i appear on every single day. i don't think i -- did i appear on a soap opera? >> i have here "another world." >> no, i don't think so. maybe i did. it was another life, too. >> how many olympic games have you hosted? >> hosted? four. >> i have five. wow. you're really screwing this up. how many where in the world destinations have you ever been to? >> 46. >> that's correct. >> thank you. >> wallahat is the zip code her 30 rock? >> 10012.

>> 10112 i have here. the judges say you're also incorrect. >> so who wins? >> what was the first halloween costume you wore here on the "today" show as host? >> j-lo. >> gilligan from gilligan's island. well, matt -- >> okay. did i get any right? >> not as good as i thought you were going to do. >> when are you going on a date with the woman from the marine corps? >> november 12th i think. i was just made aware that she is an mma expert. i am very glad that i accepted her offer. >> you're the best. >> good to see you, matt. >> i have to study harder next time. "in time" opens in theaters nationwide tomorrow. up next from the biggest mistakes to when to apply, help for parents and students dealing with the stressful college application process right after this. ♪ quaker oatmeal is a super grain. ♪ it gives me warmth.

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that students ask all the time. the number one asked question, how does one make the application stand out? who wants it first? >> let me just start. i think one of the first things students need to do is do well in school. take great courses. challenge the curriculum in your high school. and then, do as many things as you can outside of the school in terms of activities as long as they're meaningful. >> right. >> then write a great essay. tell us who you are. >> that's a lot. what is the thing that makes an application stand out? >> the most important thing is to stand out in a positive way. meet the deadlines. follow the directions. then also students need to be reflective. they need to think about themselves and they need to be genuine in their application. we want to hear their voices when they apply. >> okay. seth? >> i'll piggyback on barbara's comment. i think students need to think about a kind of focus for the application. they don't have to be all things to the school. they need to be the thing that really reflects best about them and that'll help them stand out in the process. >> does applying early help or

hurt? >> neither. applying early is a choice that some students may make. i think it's the wrong choice when students decide they're going to apply early. they just don't know where but they know they want to apply early. this needs to be a thoughtful process. it's an important one. if students take the time to really do the research then whether they apply early or they apply later on in regular decision that'll be the best choice for them. >> biggest mistake, barbara? >> students not using their own voice. not spending enough time going through the process. and not paying attention to their guidance counselor. >> okay. what's the part of the transcript that you give most of the attention to? >> quality of courses. yes. >> during their high school years? >> yes. >> quality of courses? agree? >> quality of courses. >> all of you? >> and trends. upward trends are always better. >> okay. so even if you have bad grades in your sophomore or freshman year? >> sure. >> upwards trends is a good thing. also standardized tests. what if you don't have a good set of scores right off the top? >> i think it's important students understand they have other opportunities to create a

better application. so rather than obsessing about standardized test scores which really should never take more than twice, once to get it over with, and figure out what it's all about. the second time really to do their best on the test. >> what if you get it wrong, horribly two times? you can do it a third time, right? >> you absolutely can do it a third time but you need to decide is your energy best spent on trying to improve scores or is it best spent on thinking about your essay, who to write recommendations for you, what you want to say about your activities outside of class. >> what do you want to look for in the essay, barbara? >> we want to hear their voices. we want to get a sense of who they are. we want them to dig deep and not necessarily try to tell us too much. i think that's one of the mistakes students make is they try to tell us too much. they ought to pick one topic which is themselves and try to dig deep into that topic so we get a better sense of who they are. >> tough age to ask that of kids. >> absolutely. >> can you tell when parents are helping? >> oh, yes. absolutely can tell. >> we think so.

>> all right. and what would you say about recommendations? because that's an interesting thing. >> it really is. i think that too often students forget about the whole principle of asking someone who really likes you to write a recommendation. and so i think that that's where you should start. >> all right. somebody who likes you. well, do me a favor next time and could you make the process any easier? thank you. we're back with much more after this.

8:26 is your time. 59 degrees out there. look at that. a gloomy day to start off on a thursday. good morning to you. i am eun yang. let's check in with tom kierein. >> we have had light rain from time to time over the last several hours and it will continue for the next several hours. right now getting pockets of light to moderate rain moving west to east across the region. it should taper off in the end this evening. and temperatures are in the 50s. 58 at reagan national. later today in the 60s. and then cold tomorrow as we go

down into the 30s, and then chilly rain likely for saturday and sunday.

good morning.

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run with it. i got my cholesterol down. i lost five pounds. [ female announcer ] see for yourself, aetna.com aetna. know more. get better. it's 8:30 on a thursday morning and also the 27th day of october, 2011. nice people braving some not so nice weather out on the plaza this morning. thanks to them for sticking it out and saying hi to people back home. meanwhile, inside studio 1-a i'm matt lauer alongside ann curry and natalie morales. just ahead a remarkable medical story. >> the parents of twins were told their children had cerebral

palsy and might never get out of their wheelchairs but on their own the family discovered another diagnosis. look at this. it changed everything. this is a pretty dramatic story. we'll have it for you coming up. also ahead we'll talk about what you can learn from the way celebrities and even companies brand and market themselves and how that can impact the way you live your life. all right. then today's professionals tackle everything from the surprising age group having office romances to kids as young as 11 having weight loss surgery. always weighing in. >> we mentioned it is a huge day around here. big stars. >> justin timberlake. >> we have danny devito sitting next to us here. >> yes. >> before we take a chance to talk to him let's look at the world premiere of the new trailer of his new movie "dr. seuss, the lorax." >> do you know where i could get a real tree?

>> did you chop down this tree? >> i think he did it. >> hum. >> who invited the giant furry canine? >> you wouldn't hit a woman. >> who? >> hi, danny. how are you? >> i'm good. >> how do you like being described as a giant furry peanut? >> all my life i've been described as a giant furry -- >> a real giant. >> big, giant, cuddly, furry peanut that you want to take home. >> okay. >> and crack. >> it was so much fun doing "the lorax." that line there, you know, that's a woman? i get to do all these crazy -- and i get to speak for the trees. because you know, he's a little bit -- a good guy like, you know, he is every man. >> he means well. >> but he doesn't, you know, look in the future that, you know, if you keep cutting down all the trees there's nothing

left. >> as opposed to him the lorax is grumpy, also charming -- >> type casting, grumpy. >> and he is trying to change the world so he is like louie depalma and superman all together into one. what a great combo. louie depalma, frank reynolds from "it's always sunny" and superman. >> done. perfect. >> that's it. why am i here? just go save the world. >> and you haven't done a lot of animated movies. you did "hercules" and "my little pony" the movie. >> i did the "my little pony" movie when my kid was like a teenie kid. i did "sesame street", too, so they could watch, you know, back in the days when the kids were watching that stuff so i did "my little pony" and it was amazing to see the little, you know, then "hercules" was a lot of fun. i played philip who was like very into the chicks in the bushes. it's a disney movie.

>> we're a family show. >> a morning program here. also, you got a star on the hollywood walk of fame. congratulations. was it cool? >> it was really cool. >> here's a picture. >> yeah. i usually take my shoe off and, yeah, i was laying on the star and there's a lot of photographers and, you know, if you have any ham around you just throw them in front. >> well, about time we all agree you got that star. >> it was a really great honor. >> is it true that you turned a night of debauchery with george clooney into a kind of notable kind of a -- >> well, what happens in life is that there are things that happen. okay? so you -- but you have to be zen about it and embrace them. you push them away it's no good and you don't experience it. what happened to me was i went out. we had a good time. i stayed up all night. i was -- i went on "the view." i was a little tipsy. i said the last seven lemon

cellos got me and i started importing lemon cello. so then i, you know, the thing is that my -- >> there is an opportunity in everything. >> yeah. but the thing is now as things go business was the way it was. people wanted it. there was some little snafus with getting it into the country and i kind of let it sit. now i still own the brand but i have about four or five bottles left and that's it. but i got a lot of publicity out of it. >> you did. >> dr. seuss by the way. "the lorax" from our sister company universal pictures opens march 2nd. >> tonight the trailer you -- >> you're taking my job. >> sorry. >> the entire trailer tonight starting at apple.com. >> we love you. thanks very much. >> thank you. can't wait to see the movie. we also love al. he is in chicago this morning. let's get the weather. >> hey, danny. good to see you. >> hey, al. how you doing? >> save me a bottle would you? >> look good, buddy.

>> thank you, sir. i wish our weather looked a little better here insir. i wish our weather looked better in the northeast and into the midwest, but what are you going to do? mountain snows in the inland sections of new york and new england, and rain back through texas, and temperatures from 30 degrees to the south and north, and for tomorrow, the sunshine returns but it will be much chillier in the northeast, and showers in the southeast and mid-atlantic states. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. >> a wet morning. we have had light showers off and on for the last several hours. it will continue into the afternoon and right now getting light sprinkles around washington and the nearby suburbs, and we will have that into the afternoon and maybe moderate at times. it's in the upper 50s throughout much of the region right

and don't forget you can check your weather any time day or night. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. up next a family miracle. twins who suffered from a rare disorder and could barely walk now living normal lives. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

today's health is brought to you by tums. fights heartburn fast. we're back at 8:39. this morning on today's health a miracle diagnosis. a set of twins were crippled by a neurological disorder, but their parents refused to accept that their children would spend the rest of their lives confined to wheelchairs. here's nbc's chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: no parent wants to

hear bad news about their child, especially when it's about a potentially devastating illness. >> when nolan and alexis were about 2 years old we had an mri done on noah and they actually found brain damage and so that was a definitive diagnosis of cerebral palsy. >> reporter: his twin sister alexis was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, too. >> it was very hard to hear that diagnosis, but it actually was somewhat of a relief because then we had the basis which we could build on what their future was going to be like. >> reporter: but for retta and joe there was something odd about what doctors were telling them. unlike typical cp patients alexis's symptoms were changing leading them to believe something else was going on. >> by 10:30, 11:00 in the morning she couldn't sit up, she couldn't swallow. she certainly couldn't walk. you literally couldn't reach her. >> reporter: despite countless doctor visits they had no answers, forcing them to take matters into their own hands. >> when you have cerebral palsy,

what you have is what you have. the brain damage that you have, the symptoms that you have, should only improve with therapy and alexis was clearly starting to regress. >> reporter: then they stumbled across an article that highlighted the research of a rare progressive mood disorder called dopa-responsive dystonia. everything in me knew this was what alexis had. >> individuals with this condition often can walk for a period of a couple hours in the morning but as the day progresses they become more impaired. this is very treatable by giving low doses of levadopa. this is converted in the body to dopamine and provides sustained and substantial benefit. >> reporter: alexis responded to the medicine immediately. within hours eating, talking, even walking on her own. >> that is one of those days that i will remember for the rest of my life, because we had a daughter who was really incapable of doing almost anything herself. and within 24 hours of the first

dose, it is almost like she was reborn. >> reporter: a few months later alexis's brother noah began showing the same symptoms. he, too, was given the medication with immediate results. next year will mark ten years since the twins have been symptom free, but they'll never forget the five years where they were trapped inside their own bodies. >> i would just be completely debilitated and just -- i wouldn't have any control over anything. >> alexis and noah are 14, and they're in school, going to be freshmen in high school. phenomenal athletes, running track, playing volleyball. >> i know that because of what i've gone through it's really changed my life and i'm getting more opportunities to change other people's lives. >> reporter: and that she did. the twins shared their story in a discovery channel show called "mystery diagnosis" and the young boy named travis was

watching. >> he called me over with his soft voice and said, mom, this sounds like me. this sounds like me. >> reporter: travis, now 16 years old, went from a childhood in a wheelchair to a member of his high school tennis team. >> i was able to walk and do stuff and run like all the other kids were. >> reporter: at an unusual reunion, the two families met. >> you gave us the life we have now and the future that we're going to have. >> reporter: a bright future that not so long ago these three children could never have imagined. >> dr. nancy is now joining us. nancy, good morning. this is very powerful stuff. there are people now listening who have got kids with cerebral palsy. >> right. >> who are wondering what they should do. >> most people are accurately diagnosed with cerebral palsy, but what made this case so unusual is that these kids got worse during the day because when you go to sleep at night

your brain restores the dopamine levels so when you wake up in the morning your brain is pretty good but as the neuro transmitters wean down, kids get stiffer and stiffer and stiffer. but it does underscore the power that when your gut says something is not right, reach out. the power of the web. these parents reaching to each other. and remembering for doctors when things don't quite fit, look for ulterior things. this is a genetic problem although rare. life technologies is the company that is mapping out the genome of this. i think it is an extraordinary reminder that not everything fits into the bucket that we sometimes as physicians think it has to go into. >> all right. well, hopefully your reporting helps some people this morning, dr. nancy. >> pretty cool stuff. >> very, very cool. thank you so much, dr. nancy snyderman. coming up next, how to get what you want by marketing yourself as a brand. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

from your business to your facebook page perception is key and branding can make or break your image. so how can you successfully market yourself in the right way? steve addubato is the author of "you are the brand." i get the branding idea when it comes to a celebrity or a politician who needs to have the image out in the public but you think branding is important for average people too. why? >> it is used. especially in this economy when people are losing their jobs. they're thinking if i do a good job and work hard it's good enough. it isn't. you should really become more confident and comfortable with self-promotion. does that mean bragging and boasting in an arrogant way? no. it means if there is a job opening here at nbc or today show and someone wants to get it and they think their plan is someone is going to pick them out, no. go ask for the job, push for the job, self-promoting in a constructive way is part of building your brand. >> you think that if somebody out there needs to get that

brand out there and promote it attitude is the key. but what you just talked about, self-promoting, sometimes that can rub people the wrong way. >> welsh branding is not a science. it's a craft meaning there is a fine line between someone who goes in and says i'm your guy or i'm your woman and puts out a -- builds a website and someone who says look at, self-promotional. the fact is i believe you should err on the side of being confident and without being boastful but at the same time don't just think because you have a facebook page that that's branding. >> actually by the way facebook, putting things on facebook can actually backfire when you're trying to create and protect a brand. >> how about it kills your brand? all you're thinking is i'm communicating to my friends. wait a minute. you're communicating to all sorts of people and all of a sudden it's out there and you say i don't want other people to see that. you have to ask yourself who is your audience, how do i want to connect with them? ultimately we have to brand ourselves because other people are branding us all the time. >> once you create a brand and a successful brand, tiger woods comes to mind, a guy who had a great brand out there and we all

know what happened after the scandal that he was involved with. how do you go about preserving a brand when it's teetering on the brink? >> you don't preserve it. you have to try to do something to try to get back -- listen, i was here on the "today" show a while back when we were talking about tiger woods with the masters when everything was happening, matt. i remember thinking, one of his biggest problems from a branding point of view is, a, he was put out there as a brand that was close to perfect. he actually had a game out there, an animated video game where he was walking on water meaning he actually implied his marketers implied he was perfect. so when the whole thing breaks, and he hides and doesn't talk about it, for months he wouldn't talk about it, it hurts your brand when it looks like you're hiding. it hurts your brand when you put yourself up there as perfect. no one can live up to that. if he doesn't win a tournament again forget it. even if he wins his brand can resurrect itself to some extent but forget the tiger woods we came to know as the greatest american sportsman of all time. >> one of the most popular brands we've ever seen. steve, thanks very much. the book is called "you are the

brand." and still ahead, should kids as young as 11 years old be getting stomach surgery to lose weight? we'll talk about that and other topics with today's professionals. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

have you heard?

the news magazine "rock center" with brian williams premieres on monday night. >> brian and some of the top reporters in the business will present the week's biggest stories in a smart and compelling way. harry smith and kate snow are part of the team as well as natalie. guys, good morning. nice to see you. >> good morning. >> the entire fate of network. riding on your shoulders. >> big shoulders. >> your broad shoulders and your not so broad shoulders. what is it going to be like? >> i think the best way you can describe it is a combination of "60 minutes" and "night line." every week if there is an important story that really needs to be covered brian and the team will drill down on it but there will also be traditional magazine pieces you might have seen, say, on -- late on sunday afternoon. >> for example, harry, perhaps one of the -- well, perhaps the major story of our time, the economy, you found -- you discovered something in north dakota that is really important. >> williston, north dakota.

little tiny town almost all the way out to montana. as i say in the piece it's where the big sky country really begins. there's a boom going on the likes of which people in america will not believe. the trucks rumble through like modern buffalo, a stampede that can't be stopped. starting salary for truck drivers? $80,000 a year. you can make $15 an hour at taco john's. in town or in the oil field if you're willing to work, the money is here. >> you know, there's opportunity here. that's what we all need is an opportunity. >> reporter: long-time mayor ward koezer says williston's fast becoming host to job seekers from all 50 states. in just five years, its population has nearly doubled to 23,000. >> we have 2,000 to 3,000 job openings here and more come on the scene every day. >> reporter: 2,000 to 3,000? >> yes. a lot of jobs get filled every day but it's like for every job you fill another job and a half opens up.

>> what is the lesson that's fueling this, harry? >> it's the oil field that's underneath there. it's oil that is very difficult to get out until new drilling techniques have been perfected. almost every single well they put down comes out with -- is profitable. it's phenomenal. thousands, not just a few, thousands and thousands of jobs. >> williston, north dakota. kate, you also have a story airing monday night. it has to do with immigration. we're not talking about people sneaking across the border. >> we're actually talking about something that is completely legal. we're talking about wealthy chinese women coming here just to have babies. the wealthy chinese parents of these babies have no intention of staying in the united states. they're here just to get american citizenship for their baby. as soon as they secure a u.s. birth certificate and passport for their newborn, they'll fly home to china, having spent as much as $30,000 on air fare,

lodging, and medical expenses. so where is his mom right now? >> shopping. >> reporter: it is instant american citizenship, sold by an industry called birth tourism. >> so, kate, this is going to cause a lot of anger. >> it's controversial and we got access inside of that home. ann, you were just asking, it's not just chinese women. there are websites we found for women all over the world to come here. no idea how many women we're talking about. nobody keeps track of how many people come here, have a baby, and then leave. but it is controversial. we talked to a member of congress who wants this to stop. he thinks this is a loophole that has to go away. >> the first time i ever heard about it. >> the show is not all entirely serious. there will be a lighter side as well. every night natalie is going to do standup. >> yes. >> there you go. >> brian is going to get a chance to kind of show the funnier side of his personality which as we all know is very funny. >> fantastic. >> natalie, you'll be contributing stories as well. >> i have a couple stories already that we're working on.

look forward to being part of it and getting more in depth. >> good luck. we're rooting for you. >> the entire fate of the network. >> that's right. >> don't let the music confuse you. "rock center with brian williams" premieres monday night at 10:00, 9:00 central here on nbc. confuse you. 8:56 is your time now. it's 59 degrees on this thursday, october 27th, 2011. you may want to grab your umbrella on the way out the door today. let's check with tom kierein to see how long the rain will stick around. >> light rain now, and it continues throughout much of the region, moving west to east and

it's right along a cool front coming through right now, and the areas of light green are light rain showers, and we will have them off and on into the afternoon and ending this evening. right now in the upper 50s to near 60s, and then later in the day upper 60s, and then chilly rain on saturday.

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good morning. an accident involving a jackknifed track eer trailer. we will take a live look at the beltway in montgomery county. you look here it's slow, and travel time is if you are making your way from i-95 to 270, you are traveling at 21 miles per hour and it will take you 27 minutes to do so. it's a tough, tough commute. give

back now with more of "today" on a wet thursday morning, 27th of october, 2011. a little cold rain as we put a damper on out in the plaza. it's been raining steadily so thanks for them for stopping by. >> everyingle one of you will be on television when you come in on a rainy day. >> no doubt. six or seven times. i'm matt lauer with ann curry and savannah guthrie. coming up in this half hour are today's professionals taking on a host of hot button issues. >> they're here ready to offer their opinions. one of the questions we're debating today is weight loss surgery okay for overweight kids? one group of researchers is considering this option for children as young as 11 years

old. we'll get into that debate. and a new survey finds one in three people have had an affair with someone in their office. fishing off the company pier is what they call it. >> not me. >> star jones, donny deutsch, and dr. nancy snyderman will tackle that and more in today's professionals. okay. also ahead when some major banks recently announced they'll be charging for debit card transactions a lot of people got angry and are now thinking about taking their business somewhere else. we'll help you get some advice on how to ask the right questions and switch to a better bank to suit your needs. then a little bit later on we'll have bobbi thomas here to help us save money with affordable jewelry items pulling double, sometimes triple duty, can be mixed and matched. >> what is that? >> i think it's a belt. >> i thought it was a skirt. >> hopefully not. >> very short. >> that would be rather revealing. >> anyway, some of the jewelry pieces are pretty lovely. >> good ideas. let's check the top stories with natalie morales over at the news desk. >> good morning, matt, ann, and

savannah. good morning, everyone. a stunning revelation from the wife of admitted swindler bernie madoff. rug madoff tells "60 minutes" she and her husband tried to take their own lives by taking pills after he admitted stealing billions of dollars in a huge ponzi scheme. she later said she's glad they didn't die. bernie madoff is serving a 150-year prison term. according to a report in the "new york times" in an e-mail from prison madoff, himself, acknowledged that suicide did cross his mind. leaders in europe agreed during the night on a plan to reduce greece's massive debt. a plan that requires banks to take bigger losses. french president nicolas sarkozy says the results will be a huge relief worldwide. a new study may reassure anyone who has lost weight then gained it back. blame it on your hormones. researchers studied people who had lost at least 10% of their body weight but one year later they found that hormones that urged the body to eat were even higher than when the study began. queen elizabeth must prefer

her local british fare. she is currently on a tour of australia where this morning in perth she visited a school for aborigines and they offered her a bowl of piping hot kangaroo stew but her majesty took one whif, remarked that it smelled tasty, and then passed on the dish. probably a good move. and a remarkable ending to a two-month search for a family pet that escaped from his cage at jfk airport here in new york. jack the cat is now back. good morning, tom. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. the legend of jack the cat starts here at the airport and it stretches all over the world. largely because of social media but also how unlikely it's turned out. veterinarians we spoke to say most domestic cats wouldn't survive two weeks lost and trapped in the ceiling of an airport. jack the cat's done it for two months. behind this sheet a cat with a remarkable story fights for his

life. no photographs allowed. doctors' orders. >> he is critical right now so we're trying to stabilize him. i'd say it's 50/50 right now. >> reporter: the veterinarians treating jack the cat don't know how he is alive. jack spent 61 days lost inside of this terminal at new york's jfk airport. tuesday night, jack the cat slipped out of a ceiling tile and into a customs and border patrol room. >> they've been looking for, continuously, every day, they've been committed. this is a beautiful day. >> reporter: but it's been an emotional two months for jack's owner, karen. on august 25th karen was flying cross country out of jfk. she secured her cats jack and barry in carriers to be put in cargo on her flight to california. >> i was shocked in the most negative way where i couldn't believe that american airlines had lost my cat. >> reporter: jack disappeared without a trace. the search and story led to a facebook page and 17,000

supporters to keep pressure on the airline. when jack emerged this week he was noticeably thinner and dehydrated. jack now needs a feeding tube but karen is confident he'll make it back to her. this time likely in first class. >> the very last thing i want to do is fly him under the plane. i want him in a sherpa in a seat in front of me between new york and california. >> reporter: as of this morning, jack the cat remains in critical condition. his owner karen was told not to fly back to new york because jack will need several days to recover. american airlines says from the get-go they were committed to finding jack the cat and they've offered to fly him home but it's likely the last thing that cat wants to see is another airport. natalie? >> unless it is first class as karen said. all right. tom llamas at jfk international airport thanks so much. we look forward to having jack some day here in our studio. here is al in chicago with a special guest. >> hey.

we are really honored to have the mayor, rahm emanuel, joining us today. >> thank you. >> mr. mayor, you know, chicago's known for a lot of things -- architecture, its culture, and good eating. but, you know, you have really set about addressing a problem called food deserts. tell me about that. >> well, first of all it came out of -- i read the report university of chicago 2006, understood it. i was campaigning and i ran into a young couple, could have been neighbors for amy and myself, and she was a doctor, an emergency room, two kids in the car and they had driven five miles to get to a basic grocery store which is, within a mile of our house amy and i have five options. they had to go five miles for one option. and it just stuck with me that what i take for granted is wrong. hounchts >> how do you change that? >> the bottom line for corporations, making money, we

align with the bottom line for the city which is job creation and economic development with healthy eating. brought all the ceos together of walgreens, walmart, aldis, save a lot, jewel, dominic's. brought them together, gave them all the data, that exists in the food deserts on income basis, population density, etcetera, and i said come back in two months and if you show me you're willing to invest in the food deserts i will treat all your stores as one zoning request so i used my regulatory capacity to speed their process. i don't have money but i have regulatory authority. they came back the other day. we announced three dozen stores will now go into the food desert area. walgreens and aldi have agreed with a memo of understanding they're going to buy urban agricultural products grown here in the city of chicago, moving it through the distribution -- >> so coming into the urban section. >> yes. urban agriculture, 50 plus people employed. we got 2,000 people that are going to be employed in our

neighborhood giving healthy options to families that never had it except forre either as michelle obama said the other day, a gas station or a fast food or a liquor store. now they'll have real grocery stores, fresh fruits and vegetables. now that's an opportunity. parents have to show responsibility and make sure their kids eat right. >> all right. good job. mayor rahm emanuel, thanks so much. >> good job. thank you so much. we appreciate you stopping by. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. >> it's a wet morning around the washington metro area and through virginia and west virginia and maryland this morning. these showers are advancing along a cool front and will be with us off and on all the way through the afternoon. right now getting scattered light showers, and east and west virginia. and temperatures are in the 50s. much of the region, most of the areas upper and that's your latest weather. savannah?

>> all right, al. thanks. this morning on today's professionals, our opinionated power players are breaking down the latest headlines and stories important you to. star jones is an attorney and author. donny deutsch chairman of the advertising agency deutsch incorporated and dr. nancy snyderman nbc's chief medical editor. good morning to all of you. nancy, we'll start with the medical issue. some researchers in england are experimenting with the idea of giving obese children as young as 11 this weight loss surgery and it's very controversial. what's your take on it? >> what's interesting is there is some science to show if these children are morbidly obese that they have high blood pressure, kidney disease, heart disease, and they're going to die, that a gastric band, some way of minimizing the amount of food they can get in their stomachs works. now, is it a cure-all for not pushing yourself away from the table? no one is saying that. these are the kids who are at high risk of premature death. >> donny, you said if you think it is controversial then kids shouldn't get it period. >> no. i think you have to distinguish.

obviously if it is going to save a life or there is a real health issue that's one thing. we have to be careful parents don't start using it for they're taking the kids to mcdonald's every night, the kids are stuffing their face and not doing the hard work of losing weight versus an end all surgery at a very young age. >> there have been cases where kids or adults haven't quite met the weight maximum to get it and so they eat up in order to get the surgery. that is a no-no. >> there are serious side effects. star? >> honestly, l arethere are emol effects to weight loss surgery. when i had gastric bypass in 2003 emotionally i couldn't handle what was happening to my body. i was devastated. i could not emotionally wrap myself around it. >> what do you mean? >> i couldn't wrap myself around how somebody so smart was so dumb and was so fat and could not handle herself in an eating situation and became obsessive. and so my mind, i was 300 pounds in here for a lot longer than i

was 300 pounds here. it's too bad thaw don't get emotionally healthy on a pr schedule. >> based on your experience does that make you more or less inclined to think children are ready for that? >> emotionally no child is ready for what i went through or adults go through but physically if it's going to save their lives, i'd have to go along with nancy. >> but i don't want to see these spoiled kids who just are, parents are not disciplining them as far as food. oh, yeah. let's get a surgery just like a nose job when they're 16. >> it's not an easy answer. office affairs. one-third of all those surveyed recently admitted to having an intimate relationship in the work place. i want to be clear. this is not meaning married people. these are single people who meet someone at work. i call it fishing off the company pier. >> you know what? >> that's good. >> one of the things i'm most proud of is the families that started at my agency. the most natural way for people to meet if you think that's what you do with most of your working hours and you have a shared

interest with someone is the work place versus a bar or party. as long as they're not married it is a wonderful way to meet. >> it's all wonderful and swell until it all falls apart and then you've got this toxic situation at the work place. >> but you're working next to the person that you used to be doing on monday night and it's friday night. >> as a man i'm insulted you have to reduce it these sexual terms. how about love? how about intimacy? >> it becomes, it can also lead to a sexual harassment issue. >> yes. >> because it's an uncomfortable -- and also it becomes an uncomfortable work environment, which is an element of harassment. >> can i add one more fact? apparently 35 to 44-year-old range those folks were more than five times more likely to have had one of these relationships than the 18 to 24-year-olds were. >> yes. >> my biological clock is ticking and you think why not? and you wonder if life has passed you by. you've already had multiple partners. i'm not surprised by it all. i wonder if one-third is a little off.

>> once again, it is a very controversial thing but as long as it's not -- boss supports it is very natural. >> i feel like there is a love affair going on between the three of you but it is platonic and professional. >> there is an affair. it could be star and nancy, me and star, me and nancy. what is your guess? >> i'd say donny and donny. let's get to our next one. sorry. it's a good one. friends over husbands. this one didn't shock me either. millions of married women said they'd rather spend time with their girlfriends than husbands. researchers find women think their girlfriends are much better company. >> imagine you talk to a woman and you get a noun, a verb and sometimes pronouns and adverbs. it is quite stunning. >> oh, that's not fair. >> you have whole thoughts. >> i mean, i'm not married but i've been with my guy now for almost five years. and i'd much rather have a date with him than go out with a girlfriend. i'd rather talk to my girlfriend, gossip with my girlfriend, share with my girlfriend but i want to spend time with my man. >> a woman or a man who wants to

spend time with their friends even more than their spouse doesn't mean they don't love their spouse. they may have shared interests. >> i agree. >> women friends have -- >> i tell you one thing you guys are not there yet, when children start going through school, you start as a married couple arguing about their grades, what was packed for lunch, schedules. the reality is it's easier to get a break and talk about things outside of your family with a girlfriend. it's always kids, kids, kids when you're married. >> in this study women said they preferred to go shopping with their girlfriends because they trust their friends' advice more and they don't have to pretend everything is cheap. >> it's true with men also. nine of ten i know, doesn't mean they don't love their wives and have a great marriage, on a given night or afternoon would rather be with their friends. >> this is the popper scooper lawsuit. this happened in fairfax county, virginia. a lawsuit or excuse me a criminal case misdemeanor against a woman for failing to clean up the dog's poop. >> they found her not guilty. >> not guilty. is this the highest use of our

judicial resources? >> it is really what makes people hate lawyers. somebody would actually take this case to court and then we'd have to waste resources and then the court would have to make a decision. and we have, you know, a man on trial for killing michael jackson. so you have these two cases and that are in the news right now and we have to focus on the pooper scooper. >> i'm always amazed human beings are willing to follow an animal and clean up its excrement. that stunned me. it's just amazing. >> i have somebody who built a big business on that. >> you know what's fun bit thny the lawsuit? they were considering bringing in some of the dog's poop as an exhibit. >> that is one reason we have a deficit. >> there is nothing wrong with poop. >> okay. then finally, from the ridiculous to the absurd, are arm pits the new sexy? apparently if you look at some of the covers on the top magazines lately it's like armpits all over the place. we can show you some.

>> why don't you two show us? >> no. i knew you'd say that. >> here it is. >> i hesitated to wear this dress because i thought if they put my arm up -- >> i almost changed. i don't want to show my armpit. donny does want to show his armpit. >> is there no limit to to you? is there no limit? >> what do you think? are armpits sexy? >> whatever works for you. elbows, armpits, breasts. who is to say what is sexy? >> magazines are all photo shopped. >> if somebody thinks an armpit is sexy god bless. whatever works for you. >> all right. star jones, donny deutsch, and dr. nancy good to talk to you. >> solving world problems. >> thank you. from poop to armpits. a new low. >> after that affair i just don't like you anymore. >> no, donny. take it back. coming up next, making a withdrawal. what you need to know if you want to leave your bank. later on, it's all about the bling. we have the latest trends in jewelry and all under a hundred

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. this morning on today's money how to switch banks. many people don't want to go through the hassle of closing accounts and changing banks but with monthly debit card fees on the way it may be time to start thinking about it. today we have our guest here with some tips to make smooth tips. good morning. a lot of people don't want to be hassled about this but a lot of people thought about it differently because they heard their banks are going to start charging fees for using a debit card. >> it doesn't make sense for everybody. if you really feel like you need to have an atm on every corner that works for you the fees can add up to be more than the debit card fees. look at that first. if you decide you are going to switch, we'll step by step it for you. >> first step you say is to find a good bank to transition to. >> right. there is a website called find a better bank.com that will walk you through step by step, give you some names of banks that might work for you. but find the bank first before you close the old account.

really important. >> before you close the bank account you say, take a look at your last three or four bank statements. what are we looking for? >> we're looking for transactions where you didn't physically do anything to make it happen. so any sort of automatic transaction, so many people are banking online these days the risk in switching banks is that some of these auto transactions get lost. so you want to isolate every single one of them and understand how that happened. were they on your debit card? did you ask your bank to reach in and swipe out or your biller to reach in and swipe out the money? make a list. >> your bill pay. and one of those you say then is once you go through the statements then you want to make sure to cancel recurring payments that you may have already signed up for. >> this you can do just through your online bank. you go through and you just cancel all of the ones that are happening every single month or every single quarter. it's the quarterly payments that mess people up. >> okay. this one is tricky. the auto payments. a lot of people are getting direct deposit into their bank accounts so something to really consider and again don't close that other account until you

have got this settled. >> leave some money in it just in case things get mixed up. but these are the transactions where you've said to your health club or somebody else, go ahead. reach into my bank. pull out the money. in order to move those, they are going to -- the new bank may want -- the biller may want a canceled check. they may want a routing number. they may want your signature. so pick up the phone. call them. ask them what they need in order to make this happen. it's a little more labor but it's not difficult. it's just tedious. >> how long should you keep your old bank account open as well? >> well, it is as i said these quarterly payments that mess people up so i would keep it open at least three months to make sure that you go through one of those quarterly cycles. >> i know there's a lot of help out there, these switch kits now and also online sites you can take a part of as well. >> banks are offering switch kits. there is a website out there called bank switcher.com that for $14.95 will give you a list of every step that you need to take. none of these things do it for you. but they help you get organized so that you can do it yourself

without missing things. >> all right. important to think of all of those. great information. thank you. all right. still to come this morning, how about a trick or a treat for halloween? we'll show you some spooky getaways. but first, these messages. toothpaste is not formulated for cleaning dentures,

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enjoy the sausage, egg and cheese croissan'wich today. only at burger king. a soggy start to this thursday. do we see blue getting through? we will ask tom about it in just a second. it's thursday, and it's the 27th day of october, 2011. let's see what tom has to say. >> still gray and rain falling throughout northern virginia and much of maryland. heavier downpours in central west virginia. these light showers that we have locally will continue off and on in the afternoon hours and end this evening. later today we will be in the 60s and colder weather moves in tomorrow morning as we clear into the 30s.

afternoon highs near 50 tomorrow. 40s on

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♪ he did the monster mash >> that is us, ann, al, matt, myself, the whole gang, savannah getting into the halloween spirit over the past few years. and this year it's not going to be any different except savannah is joining us. we're going all out. we want you to join in as well. >> yes. >> a little hazing going on i think. >> exactly. >> so we want you to get into it as well. put on your best and most unique getup. come out to the plaza monday for our annual halloween costume contest. you could also win a chance to meet justin bieber. and get some v.i.p. tickets. >> right. >> an extra reason to come out

on monday. meantime, coming up in this half hour we'll switch gears. versatile jewelry putting in some overtime. bobbi thomas hears with all kinds of great accessories that can mix and match any outfit, mood, or style and even better they are all at very affordable prices too. >> very good stuff. then ahead a very serious topic. kids exploited by the sex trade right here in america. it actually is a growing problem that's even spreading to the suburbs. it is the focus of a special fbi task force and they gave us unprecedented access to join the undercover stings that have saved hundreds of these kids. we'll have a preview coming up. >> all right. first let's head out to chicago where al is and get a check of the weather. good to see you. good to see you guys. wish the weather was a little bit better. but we're having that problem all along a front a little better, but we're having that problem, a frontal system causing problems as we show you a map. we have got from new england interior section, mountain snows and sprinkles around the great

lakes, and rain in the eastern half of texas. beautiful in the pacific northwest. and showers through the southeast and atlantic states, and some afternoon showers move into 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. scattered showers in west virginia, virginia, the district and maryland this morning advancing west to east along that front and locally we are getting light rain mainly to the north of washington and northwest and northeast. temperatures are still hovering from the upper 50s near 60 in the metro area. and later today in the upper 60s through that is your latest weather. i'll see you ladies tomorrow back in new york. >> safe travels, al. coming up next going under cover with the fbi to save young girls caught in the sex trade.

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in 2003 the fbi started a special initiative to protect children from being taken into the sex trade. since then, they've recovered or identified more than 1800 kids, some as young as 9 years old. in a new msnbc documentary we went under cover with the fbi to see their work first hand. on the streets of detroit the fbi is taking a hard line against those who sell under age girls. >> i'm kind of interested in young girls. >> how old are you? >> hands over your head. >> reporter: investigators are scooping up more and more teens. >> so is she under age? she's 17? >> reporter: from rural michigan to the suburbs, romeo pimps sell dreams to the naive. >> you're a victim in all this. >> reporter: and even the girl next door. >> just because i live it in a nice house doesn't mean i live a nice life. >> reporter: msnbc goes under

cover with the fbi in michigan rescuing the young and the lost caught in the grip of sex slavery in the motor city. >> thanks everybody for coming out. as you guys know today is the kick off for operation cross count country. >> reporter: today much of the underground sex trade has moved off the street corners and on to the internet. >> is this kim? >> reporter: investigators begin the operation by browsing the online ads and setting up dates. >> calling to see if i can get some company. >> these are run aways that we'll make the team aware of tonight. >> reporter: this fbi special agent is the victims' specialist. >> they end up running away maybe at the bus stop. the pimp looks at the bus stop, says oh, she looks like she needs to eat, needs some food. offers that. less than 24 hours they're working for the pimp. >> put your hands on top your your head. >> reporter: the male suspect is quickly cuffed in the parking lot but inside the room the

investigators make a troubling find. do you have anything with your name to know here? >> no. >> reporter: a very young looking girl with no identification. >> how old are you? >> i'm 19. >> reporter: the suspect outside is a little more willing to talk. he provides police with a first name for the girl. >> who is she? what's her name? >> the [ bleep ] told me alicia. >> alicia. what's her last name? >> she didn't say. hey, man, hey, she told me she was 19, so, you know, like i said. >> how old are you? >> i'm 34. >> what's your connection with the guy out here? >> i don't know who that is. >> reporter: for now, alicia will admit to nothing, not even after detectives point out that the room she's in has been paid for by the male suspect under arrest in the parking lot. >> so you don't know the fwi outside, right? >> no. >> then how come this is in his name? >> i don't know. >> you're protecting what, the pimp or what? >> i'm not protecting nobody. i just don't know. >> you're protecting that guy right there? >> i'm not protecting nobody.

i'm protecting myself. >> do these girls consider themselves victims when they come in? >> many times they don't. that's your initial hurdle when you're asking them to tell you about what's happened to them they don't want to. they want to protect the pimp, whoever is exploiting them. they have nowhere else to go. for us to say to them we want to get you out of this life, i don't know that they necessarily believe us at that point in time so it's going to take some trust and gain that trust from them to say we're really here to try to help. >> joining me now are edward price detective sergeant for the michigan state police and kevin perkins fbi's chief of the criminal division. good morning to both of you. good to have you here. >> good morning. >> let me start with you, detective. we saw in that weekend you guys actually were able to get four girls back off the streets and very important, great work that you all are doing there. but yet we see over and over again they defend the guys who put them in that situation, the pimps. why is that? >> yes they do, all the time. a lot of times it's because the pimps threaten the girls. i've seen it where girls have

been burned with cigarettes, tied up in basements. they've been beaten with whips, rubbing alcohol poured in their sores. a lot of times girls also feel that they're in love with the pimp and they don't want to turn him in sort of like you're in a domestic violence situation. >> you peel back the layers as you get to hear the stories of these girls. some of them are the girls next door it turns out. right? i mean, these are some girls from the suburbs who are ending up in this lifestyle. how is it happening? >> quite a few now are from the suburbs. it's not just an inner city problem. like you say, once you do peel back the layers, what you find inside is a child who is scared, who's been hurt in the past. most of the girls -- abused a lot. >> most of the girls we deal with at some point when you sit down and talk to them, you realize they've had some kind of sexual abuse back in their life when they were younger. >> so it leads them down this inevitable cycle of abuse once again. and, kevin, you oversee the crimes against children with the innocence lost initiative. and there are 26 bureaus who are doing exactly, or task forces

doing exactly what we saw in detroit. is the threat to children increasing now because we are seeing exploitation increase online? >> you know, i think the internet is there to make our lives easier across the board for everything we do. unfortunately, this is one of the darker sides of it where it makes it more accessible and easier for individuals to exploit. and for our point it's all about saving these kids and getting them back into shelters and off the streets. >> what is it that parents need to take away from this? what is the growing threat to children across america? >> the growing threat, particularly as it has to do with the internet, is for the children to be monitored. you have kids at home. i have kids at home. you have to know what they're doing, who they're talking to, and what activities they're conducting online. >> what is the message then for the men who are buying or selling these kids online? >> the message is we're not stopping. we're coming after you. we've been doing this since 2003. we've convicted 850 of these folks, seven have gotten life

without parole. these are stiff sentences and the cross country six stay tuned. it's on its way. >> all right. i hopefully will be joining you for that as well. thanks so much, gentlemen, again, for being here. we appreciate it very much. edward price and kevin perkins. meanwhile to let you know "sex slaves motor city" airs this sunday on msnbc. switching gears, innovative jewelry for under a hundred dollars right after this. 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.

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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! this morning on bobbie's style buzz it is all about the bling. you can start thinking outside the jewelry box. today's style editor bobbie thomas is here to show us how. good morning. >> good morning. >> well, how do they do that is a factor in this segment. these jewelry options are really cute and very practical. >> versatile and all about getting more bang for your buck. i really love finding things and

we can start off with unique earrings. i loved these from leah sophia. these earrings are actually four earrings in one. >> so you buy them like this but you have all these different options. >> they come like this with the additional stud so you can wear the sparkly stud or the flat stud and then the jacket, this little thing that hangs comes off. you can separate that and you get four different looks. if you're traveling or a girl on the go at the office and you wear the stud to work you have something for your dinner right in your purse. >> very practical. this is cute. you can change out the colors. >> these enamel charm hoops are by hidalgo. you can have four different styles, white, black, turquoise, decide to do just the simple hoop at work or even a little change of a set. i love those options. you get more bang for your buck. >> these are my favorite on the table. >> i think these are so great. every woman loves a stud in more ways than one. >> well, bobbie. >> these studs are great because they have little jackets and you can put either the white gold jacket or the yellow gold and as you can see these on air the rose gold.

again, it lets you mix your metals, change it up. >> really changes the look. this is for those who have clip ons but sometimes people don't have the pierced ear and the clip on can hurt the lobe. >> a lot of women e-mail about their situation saying i don't have pierced ears and i hate clip ons. this is an alternative from lisa dora. these slip on which is so great. you just take the hoop if you look really closely and then you slip it on to your ear and it's meant to hang just inside. >> if you have your hair down in particular you wouldn't even notice. it looks kind of cool. >> it kind of is cool and a really smart idea for women who don't have pierced ears. i love that. they're all affordable. >> next is reversible jewelry. this is great. >> i was excited about this. this is steel by designs reversible omega necklace. you see this is gold right now. if you flip it over you have a silver option. so these are, you know, really great again so you can mix metals. these pendants are from max and chloe. if you're someone who gets in the rut of wearing the same pendant every day if you look closely at this bead it is gold

plated on one side but you flip it over and it's silver. >> and we can mix metal colors. >> you can mix metals but if you want the versatility is really great. i love this idea from goody. find this at the drug store. how many of your girlfriends wear their hair down around their wrist? so this is actually an elastic for your hair but if you wear it around your wrist it's now decorative and it's meant to be sort of a jewelry and hair band. >> looks like little bangles. >> andpensive at $5 and they make the head band version that if you slip it down it can be your necklace. makes your function fashionable this is cute. you pop up different colors into these? >> i loved looking for interchangeable collections. these are by chameleon called jewel pops. you'll notice in this compact they're little pops so you can collect these and you invest in just one base like the earring or the ring and these actually will pop right out of the earring base. >> so you buy the big base and

then you can kind of collect the charms as you go. >> this is a really cool company called switch gear so if you buy just this, this is a whole kit and you can break it down into all of these styles. >> wow. >> so you can pick different types of kits but you can have your diy to your heart's content all day long. this was a great find. unique crecreations. they sell the earring hoop which you can wear plain or purchase any color gem or stone and collect them over the years to have your only personalized kit. >> this is great for those who travel because you have all the different options. >> and such a great gift for the holidays coming up. you can personalize things for people as well. >> collars is your next category. >> this is really making a comeback. we're seeing the lady like trend so all different kinds of collars. this stiffer collar and embellished peter pan collars are back. it's a great way to change the neck line of blouses you already own. there are so many blouses in stores right now too that are embellished that instead of investing that you can just buy

the interchangeable color. i love these. h & m, top shop. >> if you want to not buy a whole new blouse you can do this. >> if you have a white blouse at home and you just add a scarf you might already own or you could go to american apparel and get a twisty type scarf but you'll see it makes the chic bow. i even love these. just hair barret bows. >> in the '80s we'd put this in our hair. >> i think they're still selling them for hair. i love this western inspired trend. >> i saw this in tucson, arizona. never went out of style. >> but tips for your collars. this is actually on the shirt. >> about 30 seconds left. we have to show off some of this. you are wearing this idea. >> i love overlay pieces and so this belt happens to be from bcbg and what is great is that it can completely transform my dress i have on. >> i thought that was part of the dress. really cute. >> you can wear this over a little black pencil skirt. i love these body chains. they're only $24.

it totally changes the look of the blouse. it can be worn as a vest like you see it or just a statement necklace. >> you are saying you can put it on or put a jacket over it. >> put it on with a blazer or t-shirt. everything here is on our today show.com website. >> great ideas. bobbie thomas, thank you so much. as bobbie said if you want more information check out her style buzz on today.com. just ahead spook-tacular getaways for halloween. first this is "today" on nbc.

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coming up with kathie lee and hoda answers to all your relationships questions. >> and the neiman marcus christmas book. christmas already. after your local news and weather.

the rain continues to fallout there on this thursday morning. 60 degrees, the temperature right now. it's thursday, october 27th, 2011. let's check on the forecast now. >> we have had light rain off and on through the morning and it will continue swinto the afternoon. and it will take a while to get

out of here, and still light scattered and we will have it with us throughout the afternoon, and rain ending early evening and cooler weather moving in tomorrow. saturday maybe chilly rain. a jackknifed tractor trailer is taking away all the lanes at route 32. route 32. and outer loop of the beltway in

captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, everybody. welcome to thirsty thursday, october 27th. we are so happy you'r with us today. >> hi, how are you? >> how you doing? >> we are both doing better than stephen tyler. >> we are. >> i met him once in a hotel lobby. he was the friendliest, sweetest guy. >> i interviewed him several years ago and he was drinking wheat grass and broccoli. he was in the shower. he's on tour. he said he had horrible food poisoning and he passed out, fell down in the shower.

hit his face, i guess, as you can tell -- >> oh, my lord. that's not halloween. >> that's his real bruise. there is one that shows him missing the front tooth. >> they look like they are made up. >> it's real. anyway, he got a capped tooth and other stuff and went and performed that night in argentina. matt asked him if it wasn't a drug or alcohol-related thing. he said he had food poisoning and was dehydrated. >> i think he would say, yeah, i drank too much. >> we are glad he's okay. >> have you ever fainted from dehydration. >> once. i had a ton of nyquil and i didn't drink enough fluids. i was literally in line. it's such an odd feeling. did it happen to you? >> i've been dehydrated and fainted, yes, one time.

fell backwards. got up in the middle of the night thirsty. wanted iced tea so badly. next thing i know, i'm in a pool of blood in our kitchen because i hit my head. the worst is when you have food poisoning. i was filming a movie about a young girl, true story of a girl who died when she was 17. i had to do my death scene the next day. it was the best death scene you've seen in your life. you cannot sit up you're so cramped and so awful. important guy. hope he's all right. >> i made a health decision. >> oh, oh, and it couldn't have happened at the worst time. she decided to go off sweets right before halloween this morning. >> i was grossing myself out. i am eating all kinds of sweets. wait. i see a bowl of jelly bellies. i'm at the restaurant. no one eats those mints with the spoon. >> hodi does. >> i'm cold turkey.

>> obviously, your body is desiring it. it's craving it. >> mike seidel from the weather channel came in. he had two bags of cookies his wife baked right after i said i was out. those looked so good. it's my new thing. >> all righty. remember we talked the other day about this unfortunate incident where a young woman traveling to ireland had checked her luggage. inside her luggage was what we like to call around here a pmi, a personal massage item. use your imagination. >> you know what we are talking about. one of the screeners, tsa screeners, they put a tag in it. in the tag on the tag he wrote, "get your freak on girl." she opened her luggage and saw it and was horrified, then blogged some it so everyone would no. then the tsa did an investigation. >> right. they outed the guy. >> they found out who it was and he was removed from the

screening operations and they saidhey took appropriate disciplinary action. >> should he have been fired? >> no i think it was stupid, but i don't think it was a fireable thing, do you? >> no. if he's teachable about it. i don't want to know anything else they do with things, you know what i'm saying? >> here was an unfortunate incident that happened. >> this was tragic. >> we should have led "nightly news news" with this. look what happened. >> almost 1,000 bottles of wine and champagne collapsed. >> i guess it was too much weight on the shelves. a river of red wine. >> look at us. >> that is just sick. oh, my god, why am i on my knees? that's gross. >> some were up to $189 a bottle. no one was hurt, that's the good news. we might get hurt if we stay there. and insurance covered most of it. took one day to clean up that

whole thing. takes longer to clean up our house after a party. no one gets less sleep than you. no one i know. you go to bed -- what's the sleep pattern? >> get about three solid hours. >> that would make me crazy. >> some time i can fall back. martha stewart, same thing. she is using it creatively. i'm just hanging out. >> here's the deal. they found the five or ten cities with the worst problem with sleep. number five -- we'll do the top five. new york. which makes sense. there's a lot of noise. >> a lot going on. a lot of sirens. >> new orleans. i know it's a sleep-deprived city. people are enjoying themselves. oklahoma city. >> that surprises me. i've been to oklahoma city many times. it's a lovely city. law-abiding, bible belt folks. what are they doing? why aren't they sleeping? >> birmingham, alabama, is number two. >> and number one?

detroit. a lot of people out of work in detroit. a lot of problems as a result of that. maybe a whole lot of worry. you ever watch those commercials? it's for a bank and the dog, worry, worry, worry about the bone. he's got the bone? it's travelers. he takes the bone and digs it up and takes it to the bank. that's frank gifford. that dog is frank gifford. worry, worry, worry. what do you have to worry about? you've got the best life in the world. >> most of the stuff we worry about never, ever happens. i've been wringing my hands about things. here is what's weird. when i have way, way, way too much on my mind in overload, i fall dead asleep. when i have two things to sleep about, i'll let them roll around 2 forever. if it's too much for me to handle, it's overload, i conk out and go to sleep. >> you know what makes me mad when we are traveling together. i get on a plane and i can't do

anything. hoda puts on her little hodi. hodi's hoodie. >> i go under. >> out until we arrive. i love her dearly. but i want to take you and shake you. >> you read many books and other things. i'm like look at her still reading. >> what you got for me, baby? >> you're going to like this. this is a little niki manaj tune. let's watch. ♪ my heart beat keeps running away ♪ beating like a drum ♪ and it's coming your way ♪ can't you hear that ♪ boom baboom baby ♪ boom boom boom boom boom boom ♪ >> great lyrics.

>> i want to see the little girl. that's my favorite. >> these little girls made it famous. i think they are better than i was. ♪ beating like a drum and it's coming your way ♪ ♪ did you hear that baboom boom boom boom baby ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ well you got my heart beat

running away ♪ >> i love when she does, the other little girl, she gives me dance. >> niki manaj is one of the top four costumes. she dresses in those crazy wigs. >> which costume are you going to wear? she wears something different all the time. >> i think you'll know it's her. halloween is coming. we have not revealed what our halloween costumes are going to be, but we want you guys to come to the plaza, especially at 10:00. we are going to meet lots of people at 10:00. >> you get a chance to win a great prize. >> tickets to justin bieber's concert on november 23rd. we've done costumes over the years. we did "star wars" one year. >> i was big bad wolf and you were little red riding ho. >> then we did lucy and ethel.

>> that was my favorite. >> this is my favorite. i put lipstick on because i hated how ugly. >> and that really helped. it really did. >> we will be equally as interesting this year, if you know what i'm saying. >> we hope. we also want you to know we have nothing to say about it. we just do what we are told. >> and we want to apologize. >> we have a facebook fan photo of a guy with a pumpkin with junk in the trunk. someone posed their pumpkin that way. is that a person? >> whatever they did, it was to wish us a happy halloween. or it's an editorial comment. i don't know. >> what are we giving away, miss sara? >> artwork signed by kathie lee, six lucky recipients picked at random. >> that is the new little book

that just came out that all the profits go to child up. there it is. >> we are going to pick them random at the end of the day. let me show you. >> posters. yeah. i signed them back at the book fair back in june or may. terrific. thank you very much. and michael signed it, as well. >> is it okay or not okay to brag about your weight loss? kathie lee says bragging about anything is unattractive to anyone. just be grateful. >> hoda said, of course it's okay. when you work that hard to peel away the pounds, yell it from the mountain tops, you earned it. >> yell it. people love weight loss stories. >> it's the bragging that threw me. i don't like the bragging. you can say it's wonderful. bragging. don't brag. >> come with us. come with us to orlando. we are going to do some fun at the universal studios. it's that harry potter deal. >> big weekend for them. >> a lot of people are

registering in our contest. go to our website or facebook page. >> website. klgandhoda.com. >> air travel, hotel, five days, four nights at universal resort. winner and three guests. >> you get one-on-one time with the stars from the film. >> and the gala event. we have a big show. we are talking relationships. if you're looking for love, should you play by the rules? apparently we have ladies in the house who might be able to help us. >> what some relationship experts have to say when they answer your questions. hoda and i are so blissfully happy. ssive, but don't just listen to me. listen to these happy progressive customers. i plugged in snapshot, and 30 days later, i was saving big on car insurance. i was worried it would be hard to install. but it's really easy. the better i drive, the more i save. i wish our company had something this cool. yeah. you're not... filming this, are you?

aw! camera shy. snapshot from progressive. plug into the savings you deserve with snapshot from progressive. you want that? you want a warm, super-delicious strawberry toaster strudel yeah but now i have nothing to eat sure you do. hey! you can have the pop tart! pillsbury toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat [ female announcer ] find yourself sometimes cleaning up after your dishcloth? bounty extra soft can help. it's super durable, and in this lab test bounty extra soft leaves this surface three times cleaner than a dishcloth.

even with just one sheet. super clean. super soft. bounty extra soft. in the pink pack. and try bounty napkins. vo: a breakfast worth waking up for. enjoy the sausage, egg and cheese croissan'wich today. only at burger king. you are exactly one of a kind... ( baby giggling ) we were made for each other for always... 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! if you're looking for love but having trouble, you've come to the right place. we have three relationship experts to answer your questions and steer you in the right direction. >> emily morris, host of "s"sex with emily. in. "amy lawrence matchmaker. and julia allison. >> are you all in perfect relationships? >> no. >> we are too busy helping everyone else. >> is that what it is? let's take our first question. lots of tv and movies set up dating rules like never calling a guy first or not being too available. is it best to play the game or if he is responsive, should i

throw all the rules out of the window and do what feels right? >> there are reasons for the rules. the rules exist because they work. >> for everybody? >> here is the thing. you need to know the rules before you start breaking them. i feel like they are training wheels. when you're ready, take off the training wheels. >> what if your guy is crazy about you? >> never call a guy. if you're a woman, you don't initiate. >> be yourself, be confident, be who you are and bring yourself to every relationship. >> what if yourself is a stalker though? >> i don't want stalkers. i'm saying just be yourself. you should not play the rules. >> guys like to be the hunter. >> i'm not saying call obsessively or text obsessively when you meet them. i wouldn't say you have to go by every rule. >> let's go across the street to

the nintendo world. >> we like to keep you guessing, where in the world is sara? i'm with mindy from utah. she has a question about emotions. >> how do i help my husband who is going through a hard time right now? >> emotional time. >> i would say men are not as comfortable as women talking about emotions. typically, that's what we do from the time we are born. i would say that you should just ask them, men don't like to be asked their feelings either. i would say, let's talk. start slowly and say, hey, what's going on. >> i think you should say, i'm here if you need to talk about it. let him know. >> you don't want it to be an interrogation. asking a ton of questions makes guys uncomfortable. >> he obviously is in a lot of pain. >> just being there saying, i'm here. >> sometimes people just want to be held. just the wordlessness. >> the hug.

>> there you go. >> are guys scared of women who are too independent? sometimes i worry that i give off an impression of being a strong woman who can take care of herself, but at the same time i don't want to compromise my personality for a guy. >> i think that is a good question. if you're strong, smart, independent woman, you need to find a guy who is okay with that, who respects that. who is down with the fact you work all the time and you're independent and strong. you shouldn't try to change yourself. >> i disagree. there have been times in my life, in act, amy, you know about this, when i've been so busy and obsessed with my career, men came to me and said i don't think you have room in your life for a relationship. so it's fine to be independent, but what's it for? >> men like to be needed. >> not all the time. >> i think it's two different things. if you're too busy for them, that's one thing.

if they're threatened by you and your strength, that's not the guy you want to be. with. >> i'm here with karen from wisconsin. she's got a question about wardrobe. >> is it prept to dress your man for an event? >> dress your man? >> my husband would never allow me to dress him. >> you don't want to become his mother. >> i always dress my man. >> what is he your son? isn't he a grown man? >> i feel they should coordinate with you and you do it in a respectful way, that tie is hideous. >> that's respectful. >> wait until somebody says, do you like this, honey? it's a little like they're a trophy as opposed to a treasure. a little bit, ladies. >> ladies, thank you so much. >> thank you. coming up next, photos that [ male announcer ] from the soups you know and love

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carol. fiber makes me sad. oh common. and how can you talk to me about fiber while you are eating a candy bar? you enjoy that. i am. [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. ♪ one of a kind ( kids giggling )

( older kid giggling ) younger kid: vroom ! older kid: faster ! ♪ we were made for each other ♪ ♪ for always ( kids giggle ) mom: say hi mommy ! look at that silly face ! hi, i'm zig ! let's get racing ! whoa ! mom: wooooah ! thanks for the push ! dad/child: woahhhhh! mom: put 'em in ! dad: he put him in ! beep, beep ! mom: whoaaa ! ♪ for always good job ! woahh ! it is that time of the week when sara shows up with all those photos that make you say, what? that's right. sara has been hard at work giggling over your submissions.

wait until you see what she's come up with? >> today we've got good ones. take a look at our first photo. rosemarie writes, i was house hunting with my daughter and didn't feel comfortable letting her live here. stay out of harms way or off harms way. good parenting. photo number two by nicky spencer. that always depends on what's creepy about it. >> creepy massage? >> they put it in the title? issues. the next one is from ken from liberty, missouri. nice enough to send in, i feel like we would learn a thing or two from the australians. they put aged people, they have kids crossing, the elderly. >> that's sweet. >> it's lovely. this was a feel good. the next one from our fan laura who lived in reno, nevada.

who would want to be in that club? look at that, the club specials more than the regular price. $6.99. save $7.99 only when you use your club card. people are signing up for that club just to give back. >> i love california kitchen pizza. >> our next photo is from boca raton, florida. is it free? normally they pair it up with the meat you're eating. wine and drugs. >> next one up is from michigan. does the water have to be from the same place as the car? i only wash my car with bottled water. >> wonder what it costs. >> can you imagine? seriously. keep those photos coming though. >> still to come, inside the

coveted neiman-marcus christmas catalog. >> we might have a surprise for you. losing your chex mix too easily? time to deploy the chex mix boring potato chip decoy bag. now no one will want to steal the deliciousness. with a variety of tastes and textures, only chex mix is a bag of interesting.

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. 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 thirsty thursday with style. take you shopping for the sweater to fit your body type. >> hello, kay. >> how are you? you've got it all laid out for us. i like how you've broken it down. >> we are giving you trends, too. we wanted to address what works for what body types. >> pear-shaped women, you think this is the right fit? >> i do. a sweater that stops more at your waist that might have more volume up top. it's going to balance out your hips. this is a great sweater from top shop, $76. cables are big, too. remember, keep it simple. this is not your layering sweater.

this is all by itself. >> this pink one in the middle looks good on just about everybody. >> it does. this is a universally flattering outfit. this is a tunic from express for $50. again, this is such a go-to outfit. it goes anywhere, too. it's weekend, it's work. again, you kind of want a slim shape on the bottom. this is a cardigan from new york and company for $30. >> that's a bargain. >> we work hard for you. this is such a great transitional piece. this is what you put over maybe a slightly more springy dress and you've got a fall look. for a curvy figure we would add a belt to emphasize the waist. if you're more straight up and down and boyish, i would wear it loose. let it fly. >> that's cute with jeans, too. >> interesting ponchos. can anybody pull off a poncho? >> poncho via.

he owned it. >> i think the trick is to wear something slim on the bottom. ponchos are going to add volume to your look. you need a slim pant or something that is more narrow on the bottom. this is from lot of for $90. what's great is it's really an outerwear piece. you could put it on over a jacket. >> and cardigans are always a classic. >> exactly. this is from banana republic. if you don't have it, you should add it to your wardrobe. it's super flattering. anything with a v-neck looks good on any body type. great neutral color, soft, a classic every woman should have. >> i love the tone of this table. >> this is what's so interesting about knits. it's not that i don't love my black and white, but these neutrals are what really looks good in a knit. think about grays and tans and beige. these neutrals really translate in knits and look rich and they

look generally more expensive than they are. >> they do. how are these in terms of price? >> everything you're looking at is under $100 on this table. >> all from the same place? >> no. these sweaters are from buffalo. they are great options with a little bit of pattern. if you've already got your basic gray or beige sweater, this is the one to go. with. >> all righty. the last one? >> lastly. >> v-neck. >> we are going to make it easy. if you just want to pick up a sweater, you want one knit, this is from old navy. $ 33. it's that perfect v-neck sweater. it's got the right v. >> they probably have it in every color. >> they have nine different colors. if you have a neutral get a bright. if you need a neutral, grab that. more elongated shape that works with a belt or not. it's that great crowd-pleaser option. if you've got all the classic sweaters you need, this is from forever 21. $19.80.

>> what a great deal. >> talk about style, bang for your buck, it's color block, a modern shape. it's a soft angora fabric. >> these are all great. thank you very much. >> up next, do vitamins work and what about so-called nutrition bars? [ alarm beeping ] [ male announcer ] take the fixodent 12 hour hold challenge. fixodent denture adhesive challenges you to a 12 hour hold test. ♪ thanks to its time-released formula, you apply fixodent once, and it holds all day. ♪ take the fixodent 12 hour hold challenge. guaranteed, or your money back. ♪ and for guaranteed freshness, try fixodent cleanser plus scope ingredients. actually... that way i could split my payments up into, like, little bite-size chunks. yeah, i mean you feel me right? i mean... yeah. uh, sir... ah...

[ male announcer ] layaway's back for christmas in our electronics, toys, and jewelry departments. yeah, maybe not. v8 v-fusion juice gives them a full serving of vegetables plus a full serving of fruit. but it just tastes like fruit. v8. what's your number? 102? [ dog whimpers ] 102? no! [ female announcer ] try triaminic fever reducer. with the number one doctor recommended ingredient, proven to reduce fever. triaminic will have him feeling better before you know it. [ barks ] ( boy giggles ) ♪ when we sing along ( boy giggles ) ♪ to all our favorite songs 10! r! s! g!

♪ we can make 'em up ♪ 'cause we were made for each other ♪ ( boy giggles ) ♪ for always. yeah! 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.

[ sniffing ] ...something wonderful is as near as your nose. ♪ ♪ just pop up pop tarts. sprinkled with joy and frosted with fun... [ laughs ] ...they make ordinary extraordinary. [ cheering ] so you can make any day joylicious!

look at madeline. >> time for today weighs in. before you grab that power bar, you might want to hear what madeline has to say. >> she is today's diet and nutrition expert. before we get to all that, there was a poll that said when people lose weight they tend to quickly gain it back. >> there is hard wiring of our body. when you lose weight your body jumps into preservation mode.

hormones get secreted to make you eat and makes it harder over the short term to keep that weight off. once you get over that hump, you'll really be okay. it takes a lot of mindful eating, self-control. nature is kicking in a little bit so it makes it harder that first year. >> you're not going to ask her about your çót-3n'$sweets. >> here it is, holly says, should i cut sugar out of my diet completely? i want to cut candy out. >> what do you mean by sugar and completely? it's not all right to cut anything out completely. when you talk about white shuga, processings, cakes, candies, it's good to downsize. don't confuse brown sugar, molasses and honey. that if you get it in fruit, that's good. fruit is nature's candy. hoda, you said -- >> i eat a lot of fruit, but i eat a lot of sweets and candy. >> how are you cutting that down? >> i just started today, an hour ago.

i'm 39 minutes in. i feel really good. >> what about you, kathie lee? >> i'm more of a salty girl. there is a lot of sugar in wine, too. >> yes, there is. be mindful of that. don't cut it out all together. be mindful. cut down, but don't eliminate. >> easy for you to say. >> no. it's hard. >> here is from beth in flat lick, kentucky. with all the controversy about vitamins, which vitamins should we be taking on daily basis for a healthy life? >> this has been a lead story. >> we are not supposed to take our multivitamin? >> in a perfect world we get all our vitamins and minerals from food. we eat on the run, we eat processed foods. with vitamins and minerals, less is more. for most people you want a multivitamin, 100% of the recommended daily intake. for women if you're over 50 you want a 50 plus vitamins. you need the calcium and vitamin d. less is more.

never take super amounts of vitamins that are available for you to buy unless you talk to your doctor. if you take medicines, have certain illnesses, you might need more supplements. more is not better. when vitamins start acting like medicines, it's a big problem. >> one doctor i went to said i want you to go off the fish oil. >> people are taking a little bit, eat fish taking one supplement to 10, 50 times the dose. that is not a good thing. >> weep skip to the last one. what kind of nutrition bars are good for women 60 and over to have? you're in the drug store and you see those bars. >> whether you're 6, 16 or 60, don't look at the front of the package, you see fruits and nuts. many of these are candy bars in disguise and you feel better thinking it's a nutrition bar. look for a reasonable amount of protein, maybe in a snack or meal. for a snack you want to look at about 5 grams of protein, a couple of grams of fat.

it's 100, 150 calories. if you're looking for a meal replacement you need substantial protein, 50 grams or 20. you want a little fat and about 200, 250 calories. that is the issue. don't look at these as glorified candy bars, read the label. >> and don't sneak a sweet thinking it's a glorified candy bar. >> it's got soy. it's not better or worse. the kind of protein doesn't make it better. >> if you have a diet or nutrition question go to klg&hoda.com. >> some gifts straight off the pages of the catalogs. 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! [ female announcer ] pillsbury chocolate chip cookies with hershey's chocolate chips. for a moment of warm, gooey, togetherness. chocolate chip cookies... from pillsbury. hey, becky. hey...uncle steve. [ male announcer ] for life's bleachable moments

we know you're not ready to go there yet, but the reality is we have to face it, people. are you ready? christmas is just under two

months away. here is the good part. the 2011 neiman-marcus christmas catalog is out. >> from luxury gifts to fantasy gifts to make your dreams come true. >> i didn't realize half the things in your catalog are under $250. >> they are. in the christmas book, that is right. there is a gift for everybody. >> you cannot have bambino. >> bambino is modeling. >> mckenzie collar and leash. we have accessories and they are all under $50. >> there is a little ditch for him, too. >> exactly. it's in that classic check they are known for. >> come here. >> aren't they beautiful? set of six for $125. very pretty and festive. >> aren't those beautiful?

>> plenty of champagne. >> we like that. >> we've got a set of books of cocktails for him or her along with tapas. the pair of books is $50. >> this i love. >> it's beautiful, the layout. jewelry box full of beautiful candy from dylan's candy. these are gold and silver covered oreos. >> cruel! >> $150 for the whole thing. >> that is a great gift. beautiful. >> blinged-out tablet holder for your laptop, $100. if you have a tablet, a kindle, this is $90, felt, comes in assorted different colors. >> protects it. >> exactly. it's nice looking. different from other things. a great gift -- >> what is that? >> we used to play with these as kids.

it's $100. you can rearrange these elements into different shapes. >> you can create it. >> it's like a fancy legos. >> light bright. >> we are not dating ourselves at all. >> i don't remember, but thank you. >> i need to get this for my mother. >> mirror and stand for the tweezers, all covered in crystals. a lot of fun. this is a great gift. this is a pair of ballet slippers with a sole on them. you can walk around. you're not really flat. >> fantastic. need that for the plane. >> for the boys, we've got a money clip. $125. and a little jewelry, some bracelets if they are into that. >> tomorrow you're going to show the pricey stuff. we have a pricey thing here today.

>> this is a ping pong table. it's $45,000. it's by an artist. it is aluminum that's been covered in black rubber. this is an artist named tom byrd who is known for those sorts of pieces. it may not be for regulation play. >> can you go down and play with us. >> anybody can do well on this. >> oh, my gosh. >> it looks good even if you're not playing ping pong. >> how much is this again? >> $45,000. >> you're not going to sell a lot of these. >> thanks, ginger. we'll see you guys tomorrow. fantasy gifts from neiman-marcus. the expensive ones will be here tomorrow. >> i'm going off to seattle today for the last weekend of "saving aimee." you'll be here with kelly clarkson. >> coming up, halloween getaways. 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.

♪ >> if you want to have a happy halloween today, think about traveling tomorrow. >> that's right. if trick-or-treating isn't enough for you, sara for "travel and leisure" magazine has spooky haunts to head for. >> good to see you. >> there are so many spook-tacular events happening now. >> let's talk about san diego. take us there. >> san diego is definitely the number one city for weather in "travel and leisure" survey. halloween a high of 72. what better place to go? the rancho bernardo inn is a

beautiful hotel and they have a stay and spook package for $179 a night. perfect for kids because they have a not-so-scary haunted house, pumpkin decorating, costume contests. and for adults they have specially cocktails even for you. >> salem, massachusetts. >> halloween central because of the salem witch trials in the 1600s. all the shops and restaurants get into it. you can do halloween-themed tours. tour the old jail and cemetery. >> can't beat a good cemetery. >> they are 17 miles north of boston and great place to go for halloween. >> denver, colorado. the brown palace hotel. >> i love the brown palace. they just had ten inches of snow. >> they have snow and ghosts. it's said to be haunted. you can meet the ghost

housekeeper who fell from her death in the seventh floor and miss hill in room 904. >> next we are going to north carolina. >> glowing rock. they have the ghost train halloween festival. this is the 22nd year. they have amusement park rides. 50-foot freefall drop. they have michael jackson performers doing the "thriller" dance. they have pumpkins, all sorts of great performers, a great place to go. an hour and 45 minutes out of charlotte. >> what is your last trap? >> napa valley. the silverado resort and spa. a trip of a lifetime. it's beautiful in many season. the hotel is the largest hotel in napa valley is doing a great fright night package for $199 a nig night. stay in a fireplace suite. they'll take you to the napa valley wine train that is having a big bash saturday night with a

three-course meal. mustard-rubbed lamb chop with napa valley sauvignon. >> we'll have kelly clarkson hosting with me tomorrow. >> i'll see you all on halloween. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com