local update. >> stay cool. coverage of the tour de france right here on nbc 4, then back for news 4 today. good morni. feeling the heat. that deadly heat wave keeping its grip on half the nation today with highs into the triple digits, but could relief soon be on the way? we have the forecast that just might put a smile on your face. truly a miracle. the family of the young man who was nearly killed by chimpanzees speaks out for the first time about his condition and his long road to recovery. and not so fast! justin bieber busted for reckless driving after yet another run-in with the paparazzi, this time on the freeways of southern california. and one politician says bieber should be arrested, today, saturday, july 7th, 2012.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a saturday morning. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm jenna wolfe. nice to have you back. you took a little time off. >> thank you. i took a little time off in a cool place. >> yeah, you know what you missed? >> yeah. >> you missed the stickiness and sweltering conditions here. i know we're starting to sound like a broken record, but this heat wave that's kept much of the united states sweltering for the past couple weeks isn't done welcoming lester back from vacation yet. embracing you completely. >> i was in seattle, it was the mid-70s and beautiful, and now i'm back on this. >> hold on, annoying! [ coughing ] sorry, there's something -- i need water. >> i will suffer with everyone else today. 24 states and washington, d.c., right now under heat advisories or warnings today, and that's nothing to cough about. it could even get up to 109 degrees in some places, and this heat has had deadly

consequences. but could it be over soon? we're going to get the latest forecast in just a moment. trying to find out when the relief will arrive. then, an arrest in the disappearance of missing louisiana college student mickey shunick. a registered sex offender is behind bars. this morning, why her family still hopes she'll be found alive, despite this new murder charge. also ahead, new information about the split between tom cruise and katie holmes. how she pulled off her exit and why cruise may be under enormous pressure to settle the case quickly. we're also going to tell you about a risque outfit that is turning some heads, not for women and not really for teens. this is a onesie for babies featuring the outline of a woman in a bikini. does it go too far or do its critics just need to find a sense of humor? we are going to get to that debate as well. all right, let's get started, though, with the nasty heat wave that's keeping a lot of the nation sweltering now. it's been going on for weeks. is there an end in sight? nbc's michelle franzen is in new york's central park this morning with the latest. michelle, good morning.

>> reporter: well, good morning, lester. no end in sight, at least today here in new york city and along the east coast. many people here in central park getting a jump-start on their exercise before triple-digit temperatures are expected to move in today. here in central park, the heat index will feel even hotter with all this pavement. and in washington, d.c., they could hit an all-time record today at 106. they're taking precautions there, too, closing down some of the parks and ball fields, but nearly half the country is dealing with excessive heat warnings or advisories today and all the dangers that come along with it. mother nature turned up the heat another notch with the midwest once again feeling the burn. not since the 1940s has the windy city sizzled like this, with temperatures above 100 degrees for three straight days and counting. >> free water! >> reporter: on chicago's south side, volunteers offered bottled water to help people battle the

blistering and life-threatening effects. >> getting a bottle to go. >> reporter: in hot areas, cities extended pool hours. >> feels like 115 degrees out here today! >> reporter: and opened cooling centers for senior cities. the killer heat wave is blamed already for at least 45 deaths nationwide in the past two weeks. at emergency rooms, visits are up along with the concerns of heat-related health problems. >> the added stress causes swelling, causes weakness, causes a lot of stress on the heart and lungs. >> reporter: in maryland, residents like carlton davis are still waiting for electricity to be restored one week after a storm knocked out power. >> it has been miserable, and that's the truth. >> reporter: in the past month alone, the torrid heat has left its mark in the books, setting 4,500 daily record highs, 781 monthly record highs and breaking 238 all-time record highs.

it's not just the strength of this high pressure system that's been parked right over the middle of the country, it's the fact that we've had ongoing drought. so, when you have dry land, you basically heat that air up even more quickly and more efficiently, and that's why we're suffering so much in places like chicago and st. louis. >> reporter: according to government estimates, the drought now affects more than half the country, and farm experts say it is quickly burning up the nation's crops. >> we had a good start to the crop, and then in a matter of three weeks, this crop has just gone south. >> reporter: farmers, along with everyone else, trying to gauge and ride out this latest heat wave. and this is the third heat wave for new york city so far this year. cooling centers will be open today, but mostly, officials are warning people, stay hydrated and try to stay inside. jenna, lester? >> i like that waterslide idea. michelle franzen, thanks very

much. now we'll head upstairs to the weather channel's stephanie abrams, also keeping an eye on the heat wave for us. stephanie, good morning. >> good morning, jenna, and good morning to you at home. let's look at what we're talking about right now with heat advisories, extending from the plains to the midwest, to the mid-atlantic and into the northeast as well. so, just how hot is it going to get? well, we are currently seeing our temperatures into the 80s, our heat indices nearing 90 degrees into places like detroit. and then as we head into the afternoon hours, triple-digit readings yet again for many of you. kansas city, st. louis, down into chattanooga and also into columbus as well. but there's some relief in sight. we're going to get a dip in that jet stream. so, look at chicago. jenna, we've seen our temperatures there over 100 degrees. we're going to be in the 80s by sunday. >> all right, stephanie. thank you very much. and we're going to get the rest of your forecast in just a moment. but first, we want to talk about that chimp attack in south africa that nearly killed an american who was working at jane

goodeall sanctuary. for the first time, his family is speaking out about his recovery. nbc's roe rohit is in south johannesburg. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. there were words of hope and words of gratitude in this new statement from the parents of andrew oberle, a statement that really leaves us no doubt about the extent of his injuries. they say that the fact that he's alive today is a miracle. andrew oberle is hospitalized in critical condition this morning. his parents by his side. he was transferred to a better-equipped facility in johannesburg on thursday from where his mother and father just released their first public statement about the attack that nearly killed him nine days ago. they say "it is truly a miracle that he survived this brutal attack." an attack by two chimpanzees at a sanctuary where he was studying. andrew oberle stepped into a

restricted zone. he was dragged under a fence by one of the animals and savagely mauled. the sanctuary's director had to fire a handgun at one of the chimps to save andrew. the reserve is still locked down while investigators remain at the site. andrew's parents thanked his doctors and the many people who sent their best wishes. "we would like to thank all of the people in south africa, the united states and around the world for your prayers and well wishes for our son, andrew's, recovery." but they acknowledged the difficulty of that recovery, yet remain hopeful, saying "with each passing day, we have hope that his condition will continue to improve." and andrew's parents sign off this statement with an appeal to everyone. they say "please continue to keep andrew in your prayers." jenna? >> rohit kachroo, thank you very much. now let's get the rest of the morning's top stories from mandy drury at the news desk for us this morning. mandy, good morning.

>> good morning, lester and jenna. good morning to you at home. the obama administration just declared afghanistan the latest new non-nato ally. secretary of state hillary clinton announced the alliance today during a surprise visit to kabul. >> we see this as a powerful symbol of our commitment to afghanistan's future. >> this means the u.s. won't abandon afghanistan when it pulls out in 2014. libyans are all smiles as they vote today for their first parliament since the overthrow and death of moammar gadhafi last year. the election is likely to be dominated by islamist parties, similar to what happened in egypt and tunisia. and a serious political debate on jordanian tv could have turned deadly friday when a member of parliament pulled a gun on an activist. after trading insults, the parliamentarian first threw a shoe and then pointed a gun at his critics. fortunately, no shots were fired. one of his attorneys says

george zimmerman is very happy to be out of jail again. a florida judge has released the former neighborhood watch volunteer on $1 million bail. he also set stricter conditions after accusing zimmerman of making plans to flee prosecution. zimmerman is awaiting trial for fatally shooting trayvon martin. a catastrophe was narrowly averted friday in akron, ohio. this surveillance video shows the driver of a semi truck losing control and barely missing other drivers and the pumps at a gas station. the driver says the brakes just stopped working. no one was hurt. some of the thousands of people who took part today in spain's famous festival weren't as lucky. one man was gored and four other people were slightly injured as they raced six fighting bulls through the streets of pamplona. the adrenaline-filled event will take place daily until july 14th. less than a month after nik wallenda walked across niagara

falls, david cochran, known as canada's prince of air" successfully walked a high-wire between a tower and hotel. he will be doing it every day until the end of the summer, of course weather-permitting. and that is the news now. it's back to lester, jenna and stephanie. >> you've got high-wire, you've got bulls, you've got fighting politicians -- >> don't forget about the 18-wheeler, right? >> you've got the heat. you've got the hot weather. i can't really top that. >> so, we sort of wince. >> stephanie abrams has the rest of the national forecast. good to see you, lester! >> thank you. >> it's been a while. let's talk about >> good to see you, lester. it's been a while. let's talk about today's forecast. it is going to be hot across the country. there is a threat for some of those stronger storms to pop up along the eastern lakes and on into the northeast, but again i think that the heat is going to steal those front headlines across the nation. now a look at what's happening outside your door. >> i'm chuck bell. temperatures already upper 70s

and low 80s at the 7:00 a.m. hour. it will be a hot one for sure today. temperatures climbing into the upper 90s to probably 100 plus in and around town. i'm forecasting 103 here in washington today. a slight chance for storms today, much better chance tomorrow. lester, over to you. >> stephanie, thanks. president obama is feeling the heat these days, but it has nothing to do with the weather. it's all about the new dismal jobs report. nbc's mike viqueira has more from the white house. mike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, lester. both candidates are out of sight today, the president with his family at camp david, mitt romney continues his family vacation lakeside in new hampshire. but after another lackluster jobs report came out early yesterday, both sides were quick to react, trying to find a political edge in the numbers. the new numbers were out four months to the day before the election, and mitt romney was quick to pounce.

>> america can do better, and this kick in the gut has got to end. >> reporter: after a rough week that saw him take fire from conservatives on the state of his campaign, romney was back on message, hitting the president on the economy. >> his policies have not worked, and that's just not a short period of time, that's over a four-year period of time, almost. >> reporter: the june numbers fell short of expectations. the jobless rate 8.2%, unchanged from may, with just 84,000 jobs created. it was the third straight month of slow job growth. >> the unemployment numbers were disappointing because they do suggest the economy is growing at a very slow pace and is generating only a modest amount of jobs in the economy. >> good to see you! >> reporter: on the second day of his bus tour, mr. obama assured supporters he's ready for a hard-fought campaign. >> i'm skinny, but i'm -- >> reporter: responding to the jobs numbers, the president focused on the economic positives. >> we learned this morning that our businesses created 84,000

new jobs last month, and that overall means that businesses have created 4.4 million new jobs over the past 28 months. that's a step in the right direction. >> reporter: and he again argued it will take more time to fully recover from the downturn that he inherited. >> but we can't be satisfied because our goal was never to just keep on working to get back to where we were back in 2007. >> reporter: with many forecasting slow growth and little change in the jobs picture for the rest of the year, experts see growing political peril for mr. obama. >> our president's never been able to win re-election since world war ii with the unemployment rate higher than 7.4%. it doesn't mean he can't do it, but president obama would have to make history to do so. >> reporter: lester, if there's any doubt the economy will be front and center for the next four months, take a look at this. a $24 million ad buy announced by the super pac affiliated with karl rove called crossroads gps. it's going to be airing in seven swing states over the course of

july, attacking the president on the economy and those jobless numbers that just came out yesterday. lester. >> mike viqueira, thanks. mark halperin is a senior political analyst for msnbc as well as "time" magazine. mark, good morning. good to see you. >> good morning, lester. >> the markets didn't like the new unemployment numbers. they were down yesterday. the dow lost about 120 points. this is affecting people's wallets. yet you look at the polls, the latest nbc news/"wall street journal" poll shows the president still maintaining a three-point lead. is me defying gravity here, and if so, why? >> well, he is, and it's interesting because there are two sides of the ledger, right? there's the presidential side. people like the president. they still think -- they recognize what he argues, he inherited a lot of problems. that's one set of possibilities, that people want the president to have more of a chance, despite the bad economic news in the short-term, the medium-term. the other side of the ledger is the romney side. governor romney is still introducing himself to the country. there's clearly amongst some voters a question -- is he the right direction to go? the president's arguing that

governor romney's not the right way to bet on the country's future, but this is a real puzzle. is it more on the romney side or is it more on the obama side? we just don't know right now. >> well, romney's got a wide-open lane here on these unemployment numbers that he's trying to run with. at the same time, the president seems to be scoring points against romney about his record in the private sector -- bain capital not creating jobs in the vision, in the view of the obama administration. is that undermining what should be gains for romney right now? >> well, again, there's no question that the president, he did it on the stump quite explicitly. he wants to define governor romney as someone unacceptable based on his business background, and i think it's been clear for a long time, if the election's a referendum up or down, do you want four more years of the economy the way it's been, people aren't going to want that. so, the president's trying to focus on making governor romney seem dangerous and unacceptable. and some republicans are being critical of governor romney, sort of laying back, taking a week off, maybe not being as

aggressive in defining himself on the business background, as some republicans would like to see. the job situation, the unemployment situation front and center, no doubt, and clearly bad. it's the fight over defining romney versus making this about the economy that we're going to see play out as we have been over the next couple months. >> mark halperin, good to talk to you. thanks for coming on. >> thanks, lester. up next, jersey war. governor chris christie gets into a verbal altercation on the boardwalk. just the latest on his run-ins with the public. we're back in a moment. first, this is "today" on nbc.

say what you will about him, one thing's for certain, new jersey governor chris christie is not afraid of a little shouting match. his latest confrontation happened on the new jersey boardwalk.

[ no audio ] >> all right, we're going to try to get that to you in a little bit, but -- >> he was speaking very quietly. >> he was speaking none too quietly, is what got him in trouble. >> you probably have to get close to your tv to hear what he was saying. >> get closer next time. we'll get to that in a bit. first, we'll take another break. just ahead, another apparent run-in between justin bieber and the paparazzi and one los angeles politician says the pop star should be arrested as a result. we'll tell you why. hershey's drops. a lot of hershey's happiness in little drops of milk chocolate. and cookies n creme. pure hershey's.

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good morning. it's 7:27 on this saturday, july 7th, 2012, i'm angie goff. metro officials say the scorching temperatures are responsible for a train derailment on the green line. the three cars jumped the track outside the hyattsville station during rush hour. investigators say the high temperatures caused a heat peak. because of the heat, all metro trains will have to slow down to 35 miles per hour when traveling above ground. all weekend track work has been canceled so they can investigate the derailment. riders are able to bring water on board to deal with the heat

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good morning once again. temperatures already upper 7 and low 80s looking for a record breaking high of 103 today. slight chance of storms later this afternoon but a much better chance of strong to severe thunderstorms on your sunday. be ready and stay hydrateded.

angie? >> thanks. another news and weather update in 25 minutes. and we're back with more of "today" on this saturday morning, the seventh day of july already, 2012. a nice crowd out on the plaza this morning, what's shaping up to be another summer scorcher here in the big apple, and that is putting it mildly. we're going to get the forecast for your neck of the woods in just a moment. meantime, i'm jenna wolfe here with lester holt inside studio 1a. and coming up in this half hour, justin bieber's in the spotlight again. >> yeah, a los angeles city councilman says he thinks the pop star should be arrested. according to the politician, bieber was racing down the highway at more than 100 miles an hour. he was trying to escape the paparazzi. we're going to get the latest on that. plus, new information about the breakup between tom cruise and katie holmes. coming up, why holmes may have

the upper hand in this very public battle. then, would you, not so much you, but would you let your baby wear this? it is a onesie -- you know, lester, if you wore this, this would also be big news. it is a onesie that's printed with the image of a woman in a bikini. does it go too far or do people just need to lighten up a little bit? we are going to talk about it and get to the bottom of that. >> i'm trying to decide. >> if you'd wear it or not? >> no, i know i won't wear it. i'm trying to decide if it's offending. >> personally, i think it's kind of cute, but personally, i'd have to see what it looks like and if it's more revealing. >> it's a onesie. >> you're right. back when i was in beijing, i had the chance to play ping pong against the locals there. it's a very popular sport in china. i picked up a few tricks. did you see that? did you check out that move? >> yeah, i see that. i also see you play ping pong the way george costanza played art vand lay on "seinfeld." >> oh, stop.

so today on summer saturday, i'm going to challenge everyone to a game of ping pong. >> they're warming up? that's not right! >> you know what? it's 100 gazillion degrees out there. >> so we'll be okay? anyway, let's begin with a serious story we've been following from the beginning, the disappearance of a louisiana college student. today, a suspect is behind bars. we get the latest now from nbc's mark potter. >> reporter: police allege the man responsible for the disappearance of college student mickey shunick is 33-year-old brandon scott laverne, a registered sex offender, former inmate and offshore worker who was arrested thursday after a traffic stop in lafayette, louisiana. police spent a day searching his house. >> lavernge requested an attorney and has refused to cooperate with our investigation. at that time, he was additionally charged with the aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder of mickey shunick. >> reporter: shunick, who was 21 at the time of her disappearance, was last seen may

19th, recorded by a traffic camera pedalling home on her bicycle after a night out with friends. also spotted in the area then was a white chevrolet pickup truck, which was later found burned in texas and linked by police to the suspect. >> based on information and surveillance, detectives were able to positively identify the truck that traveled directly behind mickey in the video as belonging to brandon lavergne. >> 10 to 20 feet in. >> reporter: shunick's disappearance prompted a search as volunteers passed out fliers and scoured the area and the family appealed for help. >> if you know anyone in arizona, california, just let them know what's going on. >> reporter: a week after shunick went missing, her bicycle was found in a river, showing signs it may have been struck by a vehicle. >> investigators were also able to place brandon lavernge in and around the location of where the bicycle was located beneath the whiskey bay bridge. >> reporter: brandon lavernge

public defender could not be reached for comment. shunick's family issued a statement, saying "all we care about is finding out what happened and getting our girl back. we are holding up fine and staying positive. the chances of her being alive today are the same as they were yesterday." police, who have filed a murder charge, would not reveal any details of what they think happened to mickey shunick and where she or her body might be found. for "today," mark potter, nbc news, miami. it's now 34 minutes past the hour. let's get another check of the weather forecast from stephanie abrams. stephanie? >> and lester, we're going to go straight to the maps a abrams. >> we'll go straight to the maps and show you the heat here across the country. it is still going to be hot from the south into the midwest. there is relief in the form of the front. though you have to deal with some storms there, cooler tomorrow in places like chicago. we're talking 80s and the slight risk of storms drops southbound. now here's a look at what's happening outside your door. >> good saturday morning, i'm

storm 4 meteorologist chuck bell. your weekend is off to a steamy start. temperatures upper 70s to low 80s already. high temperature today 103 in washington. that would be a new record for the day. the record of 102 was set just two years ago. dangerously hot today and tomorrow. only a slight chance for a few storms today, but a much better risk of strong to severe thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow evening. and a happy anniversary to you guys. 7/7/7, turned out lucky, huh? >> yes. >> first time away, two kids at home, so they're enjoying it. maybe it's your anniversary and you want to know the forecast. go to weather.com 24 hours a day, lester? stephanie, thanks. coming up next, new trouble for justin bieber. the fallout with the run-in with the ropp rotsie after this. ladies first. mmm. you know, pool's like mcdonald's spicy chicken mcbites. how so? first you gotta start off right. ♪ you gotta have some flavor... ♪

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justin bieber's had yet another run-in with the paparazzi, this time on the highways of southern california, and one local politician who saw it all unfold said he thinks the pop star should be arrested. the story now from nbc's kristen dahlgren. ♪ if i was your boyfriend >> reporter: justin bieber is no stranger to being in the spotlight or in fast cars. this is the star in his latest

music video. ♪ >> reporter: but in real life, the california highway patrol told the singer, not so fast, on friday, issuing a ticket for reckless driving after the biebs allegedly tried to out-run the paparazzi. >> he's going to get arrest -- oh, okay, sorry about that. >> reporter: bieber was in his $100,000 hybrid sports car. >> this is a very fast car. it's a very flashy, chrome car. it's a car that's going to stand out, not only to the paparazzi, but to the police. >> reporter: an l.a. city councilman who saw it all unfold says bieber was lucky to just get a ticket. >> i would have arrested him for reckless driving, without a doubt, and impounded his car, because it was that serious. >> reporter: dennis used to be in law enforcement and says bieber was doing 100, weaving in and out of traffic as the paparazzi tailed him. >> total disregard for everyone's safety, total disregard for their own safety, and then even driving on the right shoulder passing cars. it was totally chaotic. >> reporter: authorities say they're still investigating to

determine who else was involved and whether more charges should be filed. it's not bieber's first run-in with the paparazzi. in may, the superstar scuffled with a photographer as he and girlfriend selena gomez were leaving the movies. >> now we have him supposedly being chased by the paparazzi, speeding, being reckless, and this comes while he's still under investigation for battery against the paparazzo from may. ♪ >> reporter: bieber's manager told tmz the singer was only cited for going 80 and called zine a councilman looking for a headline. >> i told justin bieber, maybe he needs to obey the law and respect the law so he doesn't end up hurting himself or killing someone else. >> reporter: a stern warning for a superstar who's making headlines for a lot more than singing these days. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, los angeles. >> melanie bromley is a senior correspondent for the "e!" network. she joins us. hey, melanie, good morning.

>> good morning. >> this is justin bieber's second little run-in or brush with the law. are we starting to see the beginnings of maybe a bad boy image coming out here? >> maybe justin's always kind of had that bad boy image. that's been one of the things he's been marketed on, but we have to bear in mind, this is a guy who became famous when he was 15 years old and he's growing up in front of the spotlight. we're watching him as he's kind of getting his expensive cars and going through that period that people go through in those ages. so, i don't think he's necessarily becoming too much of a bad boy. it's just like him naturally growing up. >> sure. do we know if this has anything to do with his possible breakup with selena gomez? i know there are reports of that this week. >> well, actually, justin and celi selen rank doing just fine. there are some reports that are not true at the moment, but i think that's the problem, is that he's got himself into a very high-profile relationship and that they are targeting him as somebody they really do want

a picture of, and that's obviously putting pressure on him and is one of the reasons that these incidents keep occurring. >> i want to switch gears real quick and talk about tom cruise and katie holmes. we haven't heard much from tom's camp. this week, tom cruise's lawyer accused katie's team of playing the media, saying "when they wear everyone out, that's when cruise will finally have something to say." are these two on speaking terms at this point? >> i really don't think so. you know, this divorce has come out of the blue. while tom knew that she wasn't happy, the divorce really has been a shocker and her going for sole custody also has been a slap in the face to tom. there have been reports here, obviously speaking to suri, but i think it will be quite a long time, if ever, that we see tom and katie video or pictures of them in the same frame looking happy. >> how much of this will hurt or help either of their careers? >> actually, i don't think it will hurt their careers. tom has been through this before with nicole kidman. there has been a lot of negative press, obviously, over the past week, which happens when a story

like this breaks. but i think he'll get over it. everything will be fine. he's an enduring movie star who's been famous for over three decades. people have a short memory. i think he's going to be just fine. >> all right, melanie bromley, melanie, thank you so much for your insight this morning. >> thank you. coming up next, new jersey governor chris christie gets into a heated confrontation on the jersey shore. plus, fine or offensive? the outfit for babies that's raising eyebrows, after this. also, get a free flight. you know that comes with a private island? really? no. it comes with a hat. see, airline credit cards promise flights for 25,000 miles, but... [ man ] there's never any seats for 25,000 miles. frustrating, isn't it? but that won't happen with the capital one venture card. you can book any airline, anytime. hey, i just said that. after all, isn't traveling hard enough? ow! [ male announcer ] to get the flights you want, sign up for a venture card at capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? uh, it's ok. i've played a pilot before.

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all right, we're going to try this one more time. new jersey's governor chris christie is not afraid of a little shouting match. it happened again, this time on the jersey shore. >> you're a real big-shot. you're a real big-shot, shooting your mouth off. you're a big-shot. >> walking away. keep walking! keep walking! >> it looked like a scene from mtv's "jersey shore." in fact, it took place at the actual jersey shore, and believe it or not, that's new jersey governor chris christie. an aide close to governor christie says "the instigator was swearing at the governor, who was with his children on the boardwalk. he is a father first, and it's hard to find fault with his spontaneous reaction."

christie's straight-talk approach has made him a rising star in the republican party. ♪ born to run >> and on many political short lists of potential running mates. >> i love being governor of new jersey, you can tell, but the fact is, if governor romney picked up the phone and called, you have to pick up the call and listen at least. >> but would mr. romney be okay with a vice president who said this? >> your rear end's going to get thrown in jail, idiot! >> or this? >> first off, it's none of your business. >> weighing in as a vice presidential candidate, you cannot do things that will either take away attention or embarrass, or worse, damage a presidential-level candidate. >> governor christie doesn't shy away from his well-known outbursts. in fact, he uploads them to youtube. >> you must be the thinnest guy in america. >> reporter: on thursday, he tweeted an announcement, saying he's reached 5 million hits and offering up some of his most memorable moments. >> i'm a nice guy. ask anybody. >> christie's message seems to be he's not changing his style,

so you'd better get used to it. >> you're a real big-shot, shooting your mouth off. >> he definitely speaks his mind. >> stands up for what he believes. >> yes, he does. anyway, are you looking for an outfit for your friend with a new bundle of joy? wait until you see the latest babywear that has some people talking. nbc's janet shamlian gives us a look. >> reporter: ah, the onesie, a staple of most baby wardrobes. it's an infant t-shirt that snaps at the bottom, often with a cute picture or clever saying. what could be more innocent? >> they're selling well. people enjoy them. it makes a fun little gift. >> reporter: and yet, some parents are up in arms over the baby body suit. >> oh, my goodness. that is horrible! >> reporter: or at least, this version of it, printed with a curvy woman's figure wearing a teeny-weeny bikini. the onesie is sold at both departments and speciality stores and is part of the perhaps amply named wild child brand, which didn't respond to a request for comment. but others are talking, both

online and off. some convinced it's simply cute kids' clothing, others shaking their heads in disgust. >> the bikini on a baby is just not appropriate. >> i personally wouldn't put my daughter in it, but i mean, i wouldn't be offended if somebody did. >> it's cute. >> reporter: in a "today" show poll, viewers were split on whether the onesie was funny or infuriating. "it's a joke, nothing more. get over yourselves!" said one responder. from another, "babies should not be made to look sexy. it sets off alarm bells in my head." and it's reigniting the debate on the sexualization of children at ever younger ages. there's "toddlers & tiaras," the show where preschoolers compete in full makeup and ball gowns. last year, a seductively dressed 10-year-old graced the pages of that fashion bible, "paris vogue." then there's a lingerie for children who shouldn't even know what lingerie is.

bras and panties marketed by a french company in styles more appropriate for their mothers. >> we have gone too far in terms of oversexualization of girls, in terms of oversensationalism of everything and all things being about being voyeurs. >> reporter: but bikini onesies stirring debate on what's too much or too little for little girls. for "today," janet shamlian, nbc news, houston. >> i don't know. i don't see all -- >> i wouldn't put it on my kid. >> but you're not offended by it. yeah, i agree. up next, a true racket. i'm going to teach everyone -- i'm going to teach them, not really. but i'm going to play ping pong, one of my favorite sports, with the gang. but first, this is "today" on nbc. [ obama ] i'm barack obama, and i approve this message. [ female announcer ] every woman who believes decisions about our bodies and our health care should be our own is troubled mitt romney supports overturning roe versus wade.

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saturdays," our chance to have a little fun, or as i like to say, goof off on the plaza at the end of the broadcast. >> yeah, i don't know about that. the last couple weeks we've had some fun. you played a little tether ball, then you guys played a little bit of tennis as well. there is the tetherball. i can see it went smooth. then there was the attention. did you school or get schooled? >> i pretty much got schooled. then there was a water fight. >> there was a wer fight while you were on vacation. then last week look what you missed out on. >> now we know why i was on vacation. >> and dennis rossen took a week off. absolutely. >> anyway, what are we doing? oh, one of my favorite sports! i like to play ping pong, and i'm not really -- i can't really teach it. >> i was told you would be teaching all of us. >> no, i'm not going to teach it, but do you guys want to play a little ping pong? >> yeah! >> i've never played doubles before. >> that's okay. it's big enough for us and our personalities. we'll be together. >> going to hand the ping pongz -- >> get one of these. >> come on! be with us here! what do we need to know, lester? >> nothing, you just hit the

ball back. nice! >> nice start, jenna. >> oh, your turn. i'm sorry. >> did you see that? >> okay, here we go. >> can i get in on the action? >> i don't know. okay, your turn. >> okay. >> my turn. oh! >> sorry. sorry about that. >> there's a lot of rage going on there. >> picked a very inappropriate spot. >> there we go. >> whoa! >> how many bounces do i get, does it matter? >> whoa! you've got a spin on that, jenna. >> only because, you know -- >> this has become quite the game. there's a big ping pong club here in new york. a lot of big cities have them now. >> susan sarandon! >> yeah. i've been known to go there. >> you've been known to frequent that club, huh? >> i have been known to frequent that club. >> why do you love this so much, lester? >> well, you know -- >> because you're so good at it, obviously. >> because i'm so good. you know, when i was in beijing covering the olympics four years ago, we went where the teams were practicing. it's a whole different game.

>> they go faster. >> i'm sorry. >> that was yours, by the way. i didn't miss that. mandy missed that. >> we're going to take a little break. we're going to be back after this. >> need some water. >> okay. [ male announcer ] with ultra-filtered water from the first ever hands-free dispenser, and micro-climate controls powered by twinchill™ technology, the new ge french door refrigerator is engineered to push the limits of fresh. so to prove it, we're taking one from the factory in kentucky and delivering it full of fresh food to a place fresh can't be found. ♪ easy. [ male announcer ] watch the adventure at freshpedition.com

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and then, the heat wave is finally going to break, we hope, which is good news for all of our hair. all that and more coming up tomorrow. perfect! this is a news 4 newsbreak. >> good morning. i'm angie goff. it is 7:57 on this saturday, july 7th, 2012. the heat is going to be brutal today, but i like the way that chuck bell describes it. chuck, you say it will be stupid hot. >> stupid hot today. basically that means you're stupid if you are going to spend a lot of time in the great outdoors today. it is almost unuseably hot. temperature 86 in washington already and it's not even 8:00 in the morning yet. expect high temperatures today way up into the upper 90s to just over 100 degrees. heat index of 105 or higher. today's record high is 102 set two years ago. i'm forecasting 103 for today.

tomorrow more of the same. very hot and humid. strong to severe thunderstorms likely tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow night, ahead of some cooler weather which moves in on monday and stays for the week. >> thank you, chuck. the heat will have a big impact on metro. it's already being blamed for a train derailment on the green line. the scorching temps may have caused a heat kink. because of the record heat all metro trains will have to slow down to 35 miles per hour when traveling above ground. all weekend trok work has been canceled to vet the derailment. riders can bring water on board to deal with the heat. coming up n