breaking news. a freight train derails and bursts into flames in columbus, ohio, injuring at least two people. homes and businesses within a mile of the crash site evacuated. hazmat crews on the scene. this morning the latest on a developing story. i feel guilty, the captain of the "costa concordia" speaks out in his first interview since that cruise ship crashed off the italian coast killing 32 people. what was he doing when the ship ran aground? why didn't he stay on board? and tragedy in hawaii. officials call off the search for a 15-year-old boy swept out to sea by a massive wave while on an adventure trip. his heart broken parents will

join us to open up about their son and ask questions about the tragedy today, wednesday, july 11th, twomp. tragedy today, wednesday, july 11th, twomp. 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning. welcome to "today" on wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie. we do have breaking news. that overnight train derailment and explosion in columbus. it happened to the southeast of the hawaii state university campus. >> it shook up a lot of people. witnesses say a huge fireball lit up the sky and a chemical smell filled the air. right now investigators aren't sure exactly what caused that crash. as we said, the area around the site has been evacuated as a precaution. we're going to have the latest on this story coming up just

ahead. also ahead this morning police released the frantic 911 call made after a florida teenager was attacked by an alligator. he lost one of his arms. it could have been much worse. coming up we're going to hear that call. the victim will explain why he has television to change for his survival. a little bit later on, we've all been looking forward to this story around here because savannah is going to go a little top gun on us. >> yes, top gun was the navy. this is my brother, a member of the international guard, a green mountain boy from vermont. i was lucky enough to ride in the f-16 for him and experience what he does firsthand. it is not for the faint of heart or stomach, but boy was i proud of my big brother. >> that's cool. you must have been really sure there was no leftover childhood animosity. >> there may have been but he was on his best behavior. >> good. looking forward to that story. let's get right to the other top stories of the morning. natalie over at the news desk with the headlines.

good morning, everyone. we have more on the fiery train derailment and explosion in north columbus, ohio this morning. hazmat crews are on the scene amid reports of a chemical odor and concernsette may be the fire. one witness saw flames 10 miles around. at least two injuries and residents within a mile of the blaze are being evacuated. trouble in the skies overnight. passengers say they thought they were going to die when severe turbulence slammed an american airlines flight from aruba to miami. two flight attendants and three passengers were taken to the hospital. several others were treated at the gate in miami. meantime another flight had to be diverted to philadelphia after crew members reported feeling ill due to an odor on the plane. twelve people aboard the flight from charlotte to rome were sickened. five were taken to the hospital. congressman jesse jackson, jr., facing mounting pressure to clarify the nature of his

medical leave from capitol hill. the democrat from illinois has been on leave since june 10th citing physical and emotional ailments. new reports say jackson might not return until september if at all. meantime more information will be released at a later date but his son's condition is worse than they initially thought. lance armstrong's legal team has filed a revised lawsuit to block the anti-doping agency's doping case against him. on monday armstrong's initial lawsuit was rejected. the cycling legend faces charges that could strip him of his seven tour de france titles. he has declared he's innocent. three of armstrong's former staff members banned from life after they were accused of doping violations related to the tour de france victory. a major victory for firefighters out west. the most destructive fire in colorado history has now been fully contained. the blaze claimed two lives and

destroyed hundreds of homes as it burned over the last three weeks. now let's head to wall street. mandy drury at the new york stock exchange this morning. hi, mandy. >> hi, natalie. we're hoping to snap four days of losses from the s&p 500 index today. it has been weighed down by global growth as well as earnings warnings at home. today, though, the main focus on the fmoc minutes, minutes of the federal reserve, which will hopefully provide more insight whether or not they are going to provide more stimulus to the economy and whether or not it is indeed needed. the gasoline prices, national average at $3.38 a gallon for regular, that is. that is a few cents higher than a week ago but is also lower than what we were sitting at this time last year, which was $3.63 a gallon. back to you. >> mandy drury at the new york stock exchange. thank you. a man is very lucky to be alive in england after he went flying out of his car's open sunroof when it crashed into a wall. incredibly he emerged without

injury. his girlfriend who was driving the car suffered only minor injuries. it is 7:06, you're up to date. let's turn it back to matt, savannah and al. >> thanks very much. just a quick note, you're gritting through it this morning. savannah has had bit of a migraine you've had a couple of hours now. you're going to be all right? >> is this part of the hazing. >> longer it takes longer than three days to give somebody a headache. >> i came out with my sunglasses and they were like, late night for savannah. >> "breakfast at tiffa and everybody thought late night for savannah. >> no headaches for you weatherwise unless you're in the southeast where we have a stationary front where it is laying there for the last week. from myrtle beach to birmingham. gusty winds and a flood threat for the central gulf coast of texas from galveston and we're looking for the threat of really heavy rain. look, you can see it now from corpus christi to houston and

heavy rain in southern florida, as well. anywhere from one to four inches of rain from southern texas to southern florida this morning. that's what's going on around the country this morning. >> good morning, tom kierein in storm center 4. beautiful morning under way. quite a bit of cloudiness and all those areas in green in the 60s and areas in yellow are low to mid-70s. and a little less humid by later this afternoon. partly sunny through the day. tomorrow highs mid-80s and then some occasional showe that's your latest weather, matt. now to presidential politics and the sharpened rhetoric between president obama and mitt romney over the state of the economy. nbc's peter alexander is in houston where romney will speak at the naacp convention a little later today. peter, good morning to you. >> matt, good morning to you. the naacp, of course, is the

nation's oldest civil rights organization. romney can expect to face a skeptical audience here. four years ago then candidate obama won 95% of the african-american vote but romney is hoping this community will take a listen to his policies today. meanwhile the president and romney have been going back and forth exchanging fire over everything from taxes to who is most to blame for shipping jobs overseas. >> we tried it their way through multiple last decades, and it didn't work. >> reporter: president obama campaigning in the battleground state of iowa. >> this old style liberalism of bigger and bigger government and bigger and bigger taxes has got to end and we will end it in november. >> reporter: mitt romney campaigning in the battleground state of colorado. new polls show the race is dead even. romney chose colorado where the unemployment rate is 9% to dismiss the president's call to

let the bush era tax rates expire. for americans making more than $250,000 a year. >> so at the very time the american people are seeing fewer jobs created than we need, the president announces he's going to make it harder for jobs to be created. >> reporter: the president shows iowa where the unemployment rate is well below the national average at 5.1% to defend his proposal. >> to give me another tax break, or to give warren buffett another tax break, or to give mitt romney another tax break, that would cost -- that would cost about a trillion dollars. >> reporter: president obama continued to raise questions about romney's business record at bain capital. >> governor romney has experienced owning companies called pioneers in the business of outsourcing. >> reporter: for the first time tuesday romney pushed back calling mr. obama's claims false and tried to shift attention to the president's record. >> this president has been

outsourcing a good deal of american jobs himself. if it's an outsourcer in chief, it's president of the united states, not the guy who is running to replace him. >> reporter: meanwhile the president's half brother, george obama, who lives in a poor neighborhood in kenya makes a film debut and soon to be released documentary by a harsh critic of the president. tries unsuccessfully to get george obama to talk critically about his half brother. >> the theme of the articles was that obama had not done anything to help you. >> i think as a family, a brother, i should help myself. he has other issues to deal with. >> taking care of the world but shouldn't you start at home. >> he's taking care of me. i'm part of the world. >> reporter: back to mitt romney now, there's heavy speculation he would announce a running mate as early as this month, well in

advance of the republican national convention. the thinking being he would use that running mate to help raise money now to compete with president obama in the general election. but yesterday he was asked that very question on the trail in colorado and he couldn't have been any more vague saying he will make that decision down the road. >> whatever that means. all right. peter alexander, thank you very much. it's now 11 after the hour. here is savannah. >> matt, thanks. a lack of cash led to drastic measures across the country. the latest extreme in scranton where city has cut pay to minimum wage. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, savannah. imagine suddenly and without warning losing half of your pay or more and getting paid $7.25 an hour. that's what happened to hundreds of city workers in scranton, police officers, firefighters, city hall staff. the union sued. a judge ordered the mayor to pay them their full wages, but the mayor says he just doesn't have the money.

firefighters insist they will answer every call but these days they feel betrayed by a city that has cut their pay as much as 75%, down to minimum wage, $7.25 an hour. >> i can go down the street and scoop ice cream that a high school kid is making $7.50 an hour doing. i have firefighters running into burning buildings at $7.25, police officers fighting with criminals in the street, absolutely ludicrous. >> scranton's 400 or so municipal employees all agree. all had their pay slashed friday. this employee used to take home about $900 every two weeks, now he gets $340, just about what his mortgage costs every month. >> i don't want to lose my house. >> reporter: scranton's statistics are grim, 9.2 unemployment, 42% poverty rate,

an old industrial railroad town, known in better times as a tv series where "the office" is set in a modern industrial park. it now faces red ink. the lawyer insists he had no choice but to slash employee pay, even though a judge ordered him not to. >> the state doesn't have any money. the federal government doesn't have any money. unfortunately those two governments are different than the cities. tomorrow i've got to pick up the garbage. tonight the police cars are out there. >> reporter: scranton is not the only city desperate for cash. chicago and boston are considering taxes tax exempt nonprofits like universities and hospitals, fees for city services. in san diego and san jose last month, voters approved cutting city workers pensions. baltimore may sell ad space on the side of its fire trucks. back here in scranton, the unions are hoping the judge holds the mayor in contempt of court and starts imposing fines and penalties if he doesn't pay

the full wages. it's money the mayor insists he simply did not have. so the standoff continues. the next payday is next friday the 20th. savannah. >> ron allen in scranton for us. it is now 7:14 and here is matt. >> savannah, thank you. it was one of the worst passenger ships wrecks in history. it killed 32 people. the infamous captain is explain his actions in his first interview since the crash. nbc's michelle kosinski has details on this this morning. michelle, good morning. >> reporter: hi, matt. you may have noticed the ship is still here. salvagers have been working carefully to eventually tow it away. the captain, remember him, just released from house arrest. he spoke last night to italy's channel 5 tv and apologized. and he said when the wreck happened, just as with so many car crashes, that he was

distracted on the phone. the captain faced his angry countrymen, the questions on channel 5 tough. do you not feel the need to say sorry to someone. he answered them. it is normal that i should say sorry, that i should apologize. he became emotional, reminded of 5-year-old diana, the youngest of the victims. this question definite states me, it's terrible. let's leave it, please. he does not accept full blame for the immense wreck. he does admit he was distracted by a phone call. the retired captain was in the process of saluting on the island when it happened, said the navigation at that moment was under another officer's control. it's as if the minds and instruments had a blackout. i feel guilty for having been distracted. that night of january 13th was terror for the people on board as the ship drew closer to the

island for a salute, which he claims his company told him to do the cruise liner struck rock. the divine intervention helped him realize at the last second they were about to crash, so turned the ship and saved lives. in the end i imagined to avoid a frontal impact. still the water poured in and the ship listed. the abandoned ship an hour later. he insists he wasn't told how bad the damage was and didn't want people to panic. and insists he did not intentionally abandon ship before everyone got off. it was like a tremor of an earthquake. the floor gives in and what do you do. the company owned by carnival blames the captain for going off course and badly mishandling of

the aftermath. 32 did not make it off the ship alive. do you think about them? of course. of course. the italian press reporting he was paid $50,000 for the interview, which the attorney denies. when nbc spoke to his attorney last week, he said he was looking to tell his story to the highest bidder. by the way, this ship will likely be here for another year. matt. >> michelle kosinski in italy. michelle, thank you very much. 17 after the hour. once again, here is savannah. >> thanks very much. now a warning to parents, alarming new figures how many children have drowned or nearly drowned this summer. nbc's tom costello at a pool in bethesda, maryland this morning. tom, good morning. >> hi, savannah, good morning. we've got the swim teamworking out behind us here. if you need another reason to make sure you teach your kids how to swim, 77 people have drowned since memorial day, most of them kids. 78 more involved in near

drownings. nearly every one, an example of how a great day at the pool can quickly turn into tragedy. watch closely the surveillance video from a pool in washington state. see if you can spot what the lifeguards and adults missed. a 10-year-old falls off a float and begins to drowned. he's there, head under water. precious minutes pass and no one notices he's on the bottom of the pool. finally after five long minutes, an adult swimmer finds him and pulls him out. it happened seven years ago. lifeguards, paramedics and doctors saved the child's life but he suffered permanent brain damage. >> drowning is quick and it's silent. it can happen before an adult even gets to the pool. it happened so quickly. >> reporter: the numbers are enough to scare any lifeguard. each year 390 kids under the age of 14 die in accidental drownings. 5200 kids require treatment in the er. drowning is the number one cause

of death for kids five and under. in reston, virginia where hundreds of kids crowd into more than a dozen municipal pools every day, 240 red cross certified lifeguards keep a constant vigil. >> i like to count how many people are in the pool so i know if anyone goes down. >> call 911. >> every day at one of reston's pools they conduct realistic drills to keep guards sharp. >> i dove in the pool to swim and hit my head on the bottom. >> one, two, three. >> lifeguarding at public pools has been serious business for decades. ronald reagan himself saved 77 lives at a summer guard starting when he was in high school. >> only takes a few seconds. a child or an adult, experienced swimmer or nonswimmer, anyone can get into trouble at any begin time. >> reporter: it's a message the

consumer product safe commission and red cross have tried to drive home. >> you can never know which pool safety step will save a life. until it does. >> reporter: experts say young children should never be more than an arm's length away from an adult. life rings and floats should be nearby. fence off private pools to keep kids out. use floating alarms to sound a warning should a child fall in. and in public pools, cpr trained lifeguards should never lose focus. the family in washington state was awarded more than $5 million for their child who suffered brain damage. it's just, yet again, yet another message to drive home, teach your kids to swim. savannah, back to you. >> can't say it enough. tom costello, thank you. just ahead the florida teen who lost his arm to an alligator

opens up about his harrowing encounter and why it could have been much worse, but first this is "today" on nbc.

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just ahead a 15-year-old boy on a dream tour in hawaii swept away by a powerful wave. his parents want to know exactly what happened and who is to blame. we're going to talk to them. >> first these messages and a check of your local news and weather. ssert. i better skip breakfast. yep. this is all i need. [ stomach growls ] [ female announcer ] skipping breakfast to get ahead? research shows that women that eat breakfast like the special k breakfast actually weigh less. and, with honey kissed whole grains of oats & honey... you'll never want to skip breakfast again. [ woman ] victory is sweet. ♪ [ female announcer ] what will you gain when you lose?

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rapid wrinkle repair. neutrogena®. recommended most by dermatologists. good morning, it's 7:26 on this wednesday, july 11th. i'm aaron gilchrist. the rain has moved out, but how long will the sunny skies stick around? >> still quite cloudy around the region and off to a pleasant start temperature wise. 60s to low 70s around much of maryland, virginia. western maryland just near 60 and later today into the 80s to 90s. should be in the mid-80s in the rural regions and just a slight chance of shower or isolated thundershower and more of the same on friday, too. friday a greater chance of showers and storms around. hot and humid and could get afternoon storms saturday and sunday.

good morning. delays in our area right now. heavy volume at shady grove. slow to the lane divide as you

travel south. now, 395 northbound delays start at the beltway and slow over the 14th street bridge and driving over 25 miles per hour and 32 minutes to make the drive. >> thank you, leg.

what am i doing wrong. zippergate. getting dressed. i really wish that had been for show. i had a hard time getting into the flight suit as i got ready to fulfill a lifelong dream to fly in an f-16. get, this the pilot was my brother, a member of the air national guard. coming up, we'll show you an experience i will never forget. good thing is, it's a good thing i wasn't flying the plane. i could not get the zipper on

the flight suit up. >> they call them the green mountain boys from the air national guard. >> that's right. >> were you a little green at the end of the flight. >> i was. there's a happy ending. i did not throw up but i came very, very close. >> i know what's that's like. look forward to seeing this story. also it's happened again. another cheating scandal at an elite high school. this time students are accused of using smart phones to share information about a very important exam. we'll tell you more about that story. then a story that will interest anybody who has got a fear of the dentist. two scientists from yale university claim they have discovered a way to cavity proof your teeth. we'll have more on that coming up. some new questions surrounding the tragic death of a new york teen swept out to sea by a large wave in hawaii. he was on an adventure trip. this morning that boy's heart broken parents will join us to tell about their son, also share some important questions about what happened. >> we're going to begin with the florida teenager opening up about the terrifying alligator attack that cost him his right

arm. it's an attack that could have had a much different ending. nbc's kerry sanders is in palmdale, florida. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: i'm at an alligator farm. it was an alligator much like that one right there that took the 17-year-old victim's arm. language da-- langdale knew wha to do because of reality tv. he and his buddies were just cooling off. this dip in the caloosahatchee river turned ugly. from out of nowhere this 800 pound, 10-foot alligator chased fred as he tried to swim away. but losing ground, fred turned back to face the gator and mimicked what he'd seen professional gator trappers do on tv.

>> i grabbed the skin underneath him trying to control him. he kept going. i pulled his head up and wrapped my legs around him. he went and dove. he started pulling me down. i knew it's either i've got to lose this arm or i'm going to die. >> reporter: his arm trapped the gator went into a death roll. his arm off, bleeding, remarkably aware he swam to shore. >> i took my arm, put it between my legs to stop the bleeding. it stopped before the cops got there. i'm glad it happened to me. if it was one of my friends, i don't think they would have done the same thing and got out of it. >> reporter: his arm gone below the elbow but his humor intact. >> how are you? >> feel like i got my arm bit off. >> reporter: his mother said that's just what she would expect. >> he never has a bad outlook. he said it's okay it's my right arm, i drive my airboat with the

left arm. >> reporter: alligator attacks are rare since 1948 when wildlife officers began collecting statistic, "335 attacks, only two deaths. but experts say it's mating season and that's the worst time to encounter a gator. >> people don't understand it's not a controlled environment like disney land, something like that, not a theme park. this is wild florida. >> i feel good prrd fred langdale feels good right now, for good reason, he's alive. >> i'm glad i'm alive, my buddies are alive. i care less about my arm. >> reporter: the trapper was able to find and kill the alligator that attacked fred. his arm was found in his stomach but couldn't be reattached. if he wait add few hours it wouldn't have happened. the gator had already been tagged as a nuisance alligator and the trapper was scheduled to go out later in the day. the trapper showed up several hours later. so it was really a strange

timing event of this tragedy. but thankfully, savannah, survival. >> he's okay. remarkably good attitude. kerry sanders in palmdale, florida, thank you. now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> all right. thank you so much, savannah. i've heard about dance moms. i didn't know about dance grandmas. there you go. let's see what we've got as far as your weather is concerned for concerned today. hot out west. medford, oregon, 8 degrees above normal and palm springs 112 and bismarck 94 degrees. for today, a risk of strong storms down along the southeast and atlantic coast. beautiful day here in the northeast and little on the humid side and temperatures in the 80s. look at those temperatures. boise today 102 degrees and same in salt lake city. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the

woods. >> a mild morning and still rather muggy on this wednesday morning. right now that covers quite a bit of maryland and the eastern shore and still some pockets in the 60s farther north and west of washington as well as rural parts of virginia and into west virginia, a cool morning there. many locations 50s to 60s and later today the 80s to near 90 and not too humid tomorrow but could get storms friday, >> savannah. >> al, thank you. coming up next, the heart broken parents of a teenager swept out to sea by a large wave in hawaii open up about their son in an exclusive interview right after this. [ male announcer ] food you eat is a blt.

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questions about who might be to blame for the death of a 15-year-old teenager. he was sweat out to sea by a powerful wave while on an adventure trip to hawaii. we'll talk to his parents but first here is nbc's kristen dahlgren. >> reporter: 15-year-old tyler madoff was an avid athlete with a bright future. >> we love you from the bottom of our hearts. >> reporter: captain of his rowing team, madoff was paddling in paradise, kayaking and hiking around hawaii's big island when his tour stopped on this piece of rocky shoreline, the last place tyler was seen alive. >> all i heard was a boom, a hand-shaped wave came up and went clearly over us. we were being pulled, sucked through this little tube. >> reporter: a kayak guide, hired by the tour operator. >> i grabbed the girls right

here. >> reporter: tyler's family called them heroes. while they couldn't stop tyler from being swept away they saved other lives. >> i had one here and here, one on my shoulder and another in my grasp. i blocked the girl with my body. >> reporter: that's when reed noticed another teen, matthew, being swept away. >> i seen him being sucked into that right over here. i ran into the water and i dove off the cliff. he was lifeless. i proceeded to flip him over and do what i, to my knowledge, open water cpr. >> i'm a lot better than when i came in. from what i've heard, i was almost dead. >> reporter: matthew and the guide were reunited. >> good to see you. >> good to see you, buddy. >> reporter: the joyful reunion was marred by the fact tyler wasn't there, too. he said he told the tour leader

not to go to those rocks. in a statement bold earth called it a terrible natural event and said it was ola, pack and paddle, that specifically suggested a hike to that location where they were not permitted to operate and then misled officials and the teen's parents about what happened. for tyler's parents, the questions only lead to anger and sadness. a family that a week ago watched their 15-year-old leave on the adventure of a lifetime now facing a lifetime without him. >> we will carry you in our hearts always. >> reporter: for "today," kristen dahlgren, nbc news, los angeles. >> ola reed was asked about those allegations that he misled officials but said he could not answer questions about that claim. tyler's parents michael and marianne madoff are with us exclusively. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> i know these are the worst possible circumstances and i appreciate you being here. take me to the phone call, 2:00

in the morning last thursday. that's when you first heard. who was on the other end of the call and what did they tell you. >> the owner of bold earth called our house at 2:00 a.m. and told me, your son is lost. >> at sea. >> no. he just said your son is lost. when i asked him what that meant, he said there was an accident and he had been missing for two hours. eventually when we pieced it together we realized he had been missing for five and a half hours. when then he tried to explain what happened, that there was a freak wave that came, obviously we were just devastated and hopeful. >> michael, i just want to make sure we understand this. your son went on this bold earth teen adventure. they were organizing the trip. as we heard in that piece they often subcontract out to local guide and tour companies, in this case hawaii pack and paddle. >> yes. >> i know it's early, and i know it's only been a few days, do

you think -- who is responsible, in your opinion. >> in my opinion, andrew mork used poor judgment bringing these 12 teenagers to the shoreline. >> he's one of the guides from the bold earth team adventures who went on this trip. >> he's the lead guide, yes. it's ultimately his decision. this young fella ola told us after the backpacking part of the day he suggested to andy to make camp because the swells and surges were too high. as we understand it, there were high surf advisories and warnings and he decided to move on. >> when you look in the area and see the locations of where this happened, it looks like it's some 30, 40 yards in from from the sea. you can understand that's calm sea right there, what might have happened if the seas were rough.

>> that's correct. the height went from the james cook monument onto the lighthouse. had the kids stayed back by the lighthouse, most likely everything would have been all right. >> i know you're also very concerned. you got on a plane, flew to hawaii, arriving there a short time after you got this news a day or so later and were upset by the way you were treated, not greeted by anyone from bold earth. >> that's correct. >> they never came to usher you through this process and be by your side while the search was going on for your son. >> that's correct. in fact, if i may interrupt. >> sure. >> we drove up -- first of all, there was a wonderful woman named malia lewis who did help us in so many years. >> she was from a counseling organization. >> that helps families who suffer from tragedies. >> i know you were concerned you were told a couple of different stories by this lead guide.

let me read the statement from, the event was a tragic event. hawaii pack and paddle is a professional outfitter paid and permitted to be in full charge of the group. they specifically suggested a hike to that location. hpp's lead guide then led our kids and our staff into the area where the waves struck. what's your reaction to that? >> if i may, we had to drive up north one hour to find andrew mork. the tour continued, which we don't really understand. if it were to continue, i think perhaps they could have brought in other guides. when i found andy on the beach to look him in the eye and discuss what happened, he lied to me. i can tell you why he lied to me. i spoke to him july 5th, 2:30 because the coast guard commander gave me his phone

number and said he had given a statement that my boy was knocked unconscious and i wanted to speak to him. i called him and he told me he was five to six feet from my son and he saw him lifeless before he was taken out. >> when you saw him face-to-face what story did he tell you? >> when i saw him face-to-face, he told me he was 20 feet from my son, and this young man ola was the one close to my son. >> by the way i notice in the statement, i don't see they are sorry. >> they forgot to say they were sorry. they never expressed their condolences. >> tyler was, by all accounts, an exceptional young man. can you tell me a little about him, marianne. >> matt, tyler was amazing. he was an amazing friend. he was an amazing athlete. he was a junior lifeguard, a swimmer, football player. he was a captain of his crew team this year. we're here today because parents

need to be aware of where they are sending their children. teenagers go on these teen tours all the time. we trusted. what we discovered in hawaii, as we spoke to some of the locals, is that often the groups do not check in with local authorities to run their itineraries. this place is okay. this place is not good. this weather is not good. you shouldn't take 14 kids down there. we're just here really to make sure parents inform themselves better, make sure that the group leaders and counselors are better prepared, are qualified to lead teenagers through natural landscapes that can sometimes -- it's mother nature. you have to be better prepared. >> matt, if i may also, malia, who took us around, has five children. she said to us no way these kids should have been out there.

now, the fire department search and rescue people, who were fantastic, and we also came on your show to express our gratitude to them. they cried with us and they are good people. they said to us no way at that time of day with these high surf warnings should those teenagers be on the shoreline. >> i know there are a lot of questions unanswered. i want to tell you i thank you for coming on under these circumstances. thank you so much. it's 7:49. we're back right after this. ♪ [ male announcer ] the inspiring taste of mcdonald's new spicy chicken mcbites. ♪ poppable pieces of tender chicken breast seasoned with just the right amount of spice,

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it's go time. across america, we're all committed to team usa. >> imagine if you could put something on your teeth and never have a cavity again. could it be? two scientists say they have discovered a molecule that can do just that. >> they call it keep 32, the reference to the number of teeth in the human mouth. they say it targets strep streptococcus mutants. they say it can cut down on the number of cavities you have substantially. they are looking, perhaps, to sell the product or patent. >> they thought they could incorporate into mouth wash or toothpaste. >> scientist from yale and university of chile elaborated

on this. >> you know who should buy the patent? denises and destroy it. this will put a hurt on their business. >> destroyed a molecule 2 for flatulence. >> incorporate into products like candy. >> this was going in the direction of news you could use and you took it somewhere else. >> that's what i'm here for. >> they said 12 to 18 months away from a mouth wash. >> local news. simple pleasures can simply hurt. the sadness, anxiety, the loss of interest. the aches and pains and fatigue. depression hurts. cymbalta can help with many symptoms of depression. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens, you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta.

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7:56 is your time now on this wednesday, july 11th, 2012, good morning. i'm eun yang. some wild weather last night. downpours flooded streets stranding cars, but where you live, you may not even seen a drop. this morning, everyone is dry and your storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein with the latest for today. >> good morning, much better pattern setting up for today. humid by later this afternoon. climbing into the 70s much of the region and later near 90 and a few clouds in and out and only a slight chance of an isolated shower or thundershower. on friday, a greater chance of some showers and storms around and over the weekend, hot and humid saturday and sunday. might get some afternoon thunderstorms, hot and humid start to next week, too, eun. >>

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good morning. the crossing the 14th street bridge. crash blocking two left lanes and you're jammed as you cross the bridge. you have to stick to the right. cars are barely moving and delays start at the beltway. just about 13 miles per hour, 50

it's 8:00 on wednesday morning, the 11th day of july. it's pretty nice out here in new york. 77 degrees. a little humidity back in the air. a big crowd of people. some of them celebrating the date today, 7/11. got a lot of slurpees in the crowd, which is always a good thing. >> then some drinks. >> that's right. i'm matt lauer with savannah guthrie and al roker. coming up in the next half hour, savannah hitches a ride with her brother. >> i'm so proud of my brother, he's a pilot, f-16 pilot, international guard, green mountain buys as they are called. all my life i've kind of wanted

to slash been terrified to ride in an f-16. and we have this opportunity and we'll show it to you. i'm just so proud of him. >> so cool. can't wait for that. we all have ereaders, you use them. 40 million of them are in use right now. did you know, even though they are convenient, they can be used to track your habits. we'll tell you about that and what you can do to actually -- >> if you finished a book and that kind of thing. >> what parts you get board during. >> what you're reading. >> exactly. we'll talk more about that. before we get to that, let's go inside. natalie has a check of the headlines. good morning, natalie. >> good morning matt and al, savannah, everyone. a train wreck and explosion in columbus, ohio forced the evacuation of homes and businesses within a mile of the crash site. at least two people injured in the derailment. the burning cars contained ethanol and they plan to let it burn off over the next few hours

before reassessing the situation. now to a cheating scandal that rocked a prestigious high school in new york city. nbc's chief correspondent rehema ellis has details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the doors are closed here but an ongoing investigation reveals up to 70 students may have been involved in high-tech cheating. here is the school for some of the country's best. the 3300 students at the high school had to pass a difficult test to get into this prestigious school. now some are facing penalties based on charges they cheated last month on state exams given at the school. authorities say one student was caught with a cell phone in the building, a violation of new york city school policy. checking the phone, officials found a list of text messages to dozens of students that included photos of test pages. >> people have the ability to use new technology to try to

cheat, so people are always thinking of new ways to do things is unacceptable. we're not going to tolerate it. >> officials say 70 students will have to retake the exams. a 16-year-old junior who photographed the test and others also face suspension. the scandals have become more familiar. in december at a top school outside of houston, hundreds of students were suspected of cheating on an exam. several were arrested last year in an upscale long island community charged with using fake ids to take critical college entrance exams for other students in exchange for cash. experts in ethics say students have to learn how to look beyond the pressures to cheat. >> it hurts you above all, because it means that you've gotten something for nothing. cheating is a form of stealing, taking something for nothing. that's why it's unethical. >> reporter: authorities say technology makes it easier for students to cheat, but it also

makes it easier for them to get caug caught. natalie. >> thanks so much rehema. a quick roundup of what has you talking online. after days on speculation the mystery woman pictured with north korean leader has been identified. ones married pop star kim's father refused to let him see despite her hits, called excellent lady. ♪ and in case you wonder what passes for date night in pyongyang, with her forbidden lover, a live performance, mickey mouse and the game. the u.s. state department slamming north korea for the unauthorized use of the disney

character. word online that the final book "mocking jay" will be split into two films. the same winning box office strategy for "twilight" and harry potter series. and nothing left but the crews after sesame scoop "call me maybe" spoof exploded online. ♪ hey me just met you and this is crazy but you got cookie so share it baby ♪ >> cookie monster & company's share it maybe has more than 1.5 million youtube hits this morning. i love it. so cute. 8:05. let's go back outside to matt and savannah. let's go to al actually outside. >> why not? from picayune, mississippi.

all right. what's your name? >> i know a tony jones. keeping up with let's see what we've got as we jones for some weather. we show you today wilmington, north carolina, showers, thunderstorms, 86 degrees today. you can see we've got that stationary front laying right from the mid-atlantic states all the way back to texas and a lot of rain there. we have a risk of strong storms in the southeastern atlantic area and plenty of sunshine and warmer conditions pacific northwest. 82 seattle and 86 in portland today, nice day in l.a., 79 and sunshine. great lakes looking good. 85 in chi-town and 85 degrees and sunny in minneapolis and on 7-11, 50 years ago. >> it is my 50th birthday. >> all right, there is your present.

his parent must be so proud. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning, tom kierein in storm center 4 on this wednesday morning. mild, kind of muggy. reagan national now is at 75 and later today climb up to around 90 degrees but less humid by the afternoon, partly sunny, only a slight chance of an isolated shower or thundershower and more of the same on thursday, although a bit cooler than friday getting more humid, greater chance of storms from the morning into the afternoon and evening off and on. over the weekend, hot and humid. could get afternoon >> want to say hi to your grandma. >> yes. >> over to savvy g. >> al, thank you. coming up next, a lifelong dream fulfilled. a ride in f-16 with my big brother. that's coming up next. ...98, 99, 100! ready or not, here i come!

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it just wouldn't go away. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and for some people, it can work in as early as the first week of treatment. so now i can plan my days and accomplish more. lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior, or any swelling or affected breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. with less pain, i'm feeling better now that i've found lyrica. ask your doctor if lyrica is right for your fibromyalgia pain.

one of the great perks of this show is occasionally you get to do something you have always dreamed of doing. savannah got that chance recently. but enough about working with me. this one actually involves her brother. >> yes. it's a little bit better. of course, i am so proud of my family. i have a sibling i think our country can be proud of, too. my big brother cameron is a pilot for the air national guard in vermont. recently he helped me fulfill a lifelong dream and conquer a fear to see and experience what he does up close and personal. soaring the heavens at speeds over 1,000 miles an hour, conquering gravity at dizzying heights and heart stopping lows, if you want to read in an f-16 you need courage, a strong stomach, and in my case a blood relative. >> i'm savannah's big brother. >> that's right. my big brother cameron, as we

call him, the pride of our family and father to anabell and tallulah is an f-16 pilot. he flies fulltime for air national guard, also known as the green mountain boys. part of the unit's dual federal state mission is to provide air defense for the country. they have completed three tours in iraq and were among the first f-16s to arrive over new york city on 9/11. they patrol our nation every day to keep us safe. today they have one more mission, me. call it operation twisted sister. >> i'll be in the front. you'll be sitting in the back. you'll have to use a lot of discipline as far as your communication. >> what do you mean, don't talk so much. >> as cam attempted to brief on the acrobatic maneuver for the flight, my nieces helped prepare me for the inevitable motion sickness. did you ever think i'd have the

nerve to do this? >> no. i'm kind of surprised by it, you know. it's going to be really -- it's going to be good. >> do you think of me as kind of a fraidy cat? >> yes. >> the mandatory training video is not for fraidy cats. >> i'm here to discuss the stresses in flight. >> facial disorientation, phobia. >> a barf bag. >> nausea, claustrophobia, facial disorientation, when do we go. >> you are normal enough. >> normal enough. okay. i'll take it. >> the main job on the flight, other than have fun, what we experience when we go through, is trying to the to pass out. >> the intense gravity, g force that all pilots and passengers are trained to withstand.

g force breathing, check. flight suit, not check. >> you need to tie your shoe. that's not good. you look a little sloppy. >> i was trying to give myself a waist. >> there may be no room for this but accessorizing. >> your name. >> vinnie, family story. it's soon obvious it could have been much, much worse. with my call sign, time for the most grueling part of f-16 training, equipment familiarization. >> your harness, your ring, ejector snap, crew 94. >> z ring, crew 94 under control. but there was one more challenge. one so difficult it takes years of rigorous training to master, the zipper. >> i hope the enemy can wait to get dressed. for crying out loud, 20 minutes for one leg. what am i doing wrong with my

technique? getting dressed. all this stuff and ready to train for what else, the unthinkable. >> eject or bailout, bailout. i want you to immediately put your head back, elbows in and give it a quick jerk. okay? well done. perfect. >> finally a perfect score just in time to meet vermont air guards operational commander, colonel david smith. now is not the time to embarrass your brother, savannah. >> one is sayre defense. this troop is truly defending our borders. >> it's part of what we do, take it very seriously and we're good at it. >> it's the main reason i'm here to experience and show the world all the air national guard does for us every hour of every day. >> how many gs should i pull? >> i would try to nine gs. i would. >> you think i can handle it. >> i do. >> at least it was time to suit up. >> you already done?

>> i am. >> see you in 20 mince. >> but first the good people of the guard had a little gift of encouragement. >> this is my barf bag. >> try to get all you can. another one. >> two? i need two? >> well, this is just in case. >> barf bag tucked away, zipper zipped, finally it was go time. this was it. i felt confident, well trained, and dare i say grateful. >> another elegant arrival. there we go. >> buckled and belted, it was time for takeoff. >> all righty, let's go. >> love you. ♪ >> from the moment we left the ground, it was incredible. we flew high and low and upside

down. the skill of these pilots and my big brother took my breath away. it's amazing. so proud of you. it was awesome. it was awesome. overwhelming, overwhelming. it was only an hour in the air but a memory and a brother i will be proud of for a lifetime. >> we did it. >> we did it. >> all right. let the record reflect, i almost made it to the full 9 gs, 8.8 to be exact. >> round it off. >> it's almost 9. all right. we'll be honest. i didn't pass out. i came close, very close. i did not have to utilize either of my barf bags. i have photograph evidence to prove it. seriously, i want to thank the guard for giving me such a special opportunity. it wasn't just a joy ride. we really learn a lot about what

these guys do every day. >> the fact it's your brother at the controls. by the way, he's a big guy to be in the cockpit of a plane like that. >> he has the family height, 6'4". he barely fits in that jet. one of my favorite moments, you can turn the oxygen to 100% if you're feeling woozy, which i was. at one point i flipped the switch. i didn't feel any better. i was like oh, i flipped the wrong switch. i said to my brother, hey, i flipped some red switch. he said, does it say emergency. yeah. he said, just flip it back. >> at least you didn't pull the eject. >> i think they tell you keep your hands away from anything red. red is bad. >> i was feeling a little dizzy. i looked down. i thought, should i tell him, keep it to myself. >> vinnie? >> i grew up with my uncle, he had down's syndrome, he couldn't say savannah. he called me vinny.

>> or pooter. >> my brother. >> up next, is your ereader tracking you? what you need to know before enjoying your next digital read right after this. with being fed on. we demand k9 advantix ii. it not only kills fleas and ticks, it repels most ticks before they can attach and snack on us. frontline plus kills but doesn't repel. and a tick that isn't repelled or killed may attach and make a meal of us. so let's put our paws down in protest and raise our barks to rally till we all get k9 advantix ii. join us at poochprotest.com. [ male announcer ] ask your veterinarian about k9 advantix ii.

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but this summer, we used our thank youpoints to just hang out with a few friends in london. [ male announcer ] the citi thankyou visa card. redeem the points you've earned to travel with no restrictions. rewarding you, every step of the way. ♪ >> back at 8:22. this morning on "today's" tech, is your ereader watching you. the next time you enjoy a digital book you could be reading messages more than what you're reading. mario armstrong. >> good morning. >> lots of things in this country. >> 40 million of these things out there. that's just ereaders, matt. you start looking at tablets, 65 million. a lot of people are reading ebooks. >> before invented, publishers didn't know what happened to a book once they sold it. they knew somebody bought it. didn't know how many were reading it. >> a copy of your book you

picked up recently, "50 shades of grey." no one knew what you did with it. now all electronic, digital. the same technology that can download a book can track and follow what we do with a book. >> what kind of information? what are companies and publishers learning from my ereader. >> highlighting. i highlighted a couple of notes in here. if i highlight things, you can track that over time. if i put a note, like an annotation, that can be tracked, pages turned. >> in other words, i now know what people like in a book based on what they are highlighting, what they are curious about. >> they have never had this type of data or information before. now they can do things like what they get in future books. >> they know if i don't finish the book. >> absolutely they know it. barnes and nobles came up with nook snacks because people weren't completing nonfiction books. >> everyone talks about not wanting to share information,

not wanting big brother to know too much. is there a setting that i can put on on these ereaders that didn't allow information to travel back in the other direction. >> it's tough. they don't want you to not do that. what i did find was this. for instance, on the kindle, i'm holding upsetings pages. can you turn off public notes or annotations you would back up. these are the notes you would write or highlighting. i can go back a page as well. i can turn off popular highlights. the thing is, this already turned on by default, not turned off. >> are you suggesting at some point based on where we might get board in a particular book that publishers and all the way down to authors are going to start to change the way they write stuff. >> that's part of the concern, too. authors don't want to be dictated by technology. they want to be creative. if this information can give them value that will happen. start to put interactive video where people fall off or games and challenges or other things they can ask the reader to change the way they read or

experience the book. >> quickly, california issued a reader privacy act. what does that involve? >> first day january this year came into effect. basically what this says is you cannot find out information about customers buying ebooks without getting a government court order. >> by the way, a real quick feature you think they should look for on ereader. >> go light. 42% of people are sleeping on the sofa because their partners wanting to read a book at night. glow light great for reading in the evening on the nook device. i checked it out myself. really good. >> mario, always good to see you. >> what are you grog to do with "50 shades of grey"? >> give it to savannah. just ahead the perfect beach body after your local news.

good morning, 8:26 on this wednesday, july 11th. a crash on the 14th street bridge causing big delays. danella sealock has details. >> some good news. it was blocking two of your left lanes and now just the left lane is blocked you are able to squeeze by, but the delays are serious on 395. jammed from the beltway and all the way across the 14th street bridge. max 9 miles per hour taking over an hour to make your way into d.c. aaron, back over to you. >> thank you,

meteorologist tom kierein, storm center 4. beautiful morning under way. a little bit of humidity under way. we're in the 70s later near 90 by mid-afternoon and turning less humid and also a few clouds in and out. only a slight chance of an isolated shower or storm today. again, tomorrow, highs mid-80s on thursday and then on friday a

greater chance of showers and thundershowers and highs mid-80s and hot and hume frud the weekend into the first part of next week. >> more weather and traffic

8:30 now on this wednesday morning, the 11th day of july, 2012. 7/11. drop by the plaza on a beautiful morning. good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie alongside matt lauer, natalie morales and al roker. just ahead an advertisement in a magazine that encourages you to gain weight before going to the beach. >> actually that used to happen,

believe it or not. why has the image or perception of the perfect beach body changed so much over the years? we're going to take a look at that and try to explain. >> of course, savannah has dunk her share of cooking segments on the program that haven't always gone so well. >> could have happened to anyone. >> that's getting a little too much fiber in your cooking. anyway, we decided to call in an expert, martha stewart, to give savannah a little lesson this morning. >> aka, an intervention. >> i think this is more like the hazing continues, right? >> also coming up, jill martin is here. she's got some more fabulous fun finds. look at those great shoes. those are fantastic. show you how to personalize some great gifts. first we want to say hello to beautiful and talented actress from "slumdog millionaire." you have a new movie. for the firstou are the female lead.

how does that feel? >> it feels great. i've wait add long time for this. i got the opportunity and grabbed it with both hands and went for it. >> based on a thomas hardy novel. >> roman polanski's version with the amazing actor. a classic novel and appreciated movie as well. it was daunting. >> what was the shoot like? most of it was in india. >> it was in india, northwest india. a bit of it in hawaii. it was very challenging, nothing like what i experienced growing up, a whole different like. >> didn't have you to learn a new dialect? >> i did, a new language every 100 kilometers changing. i had to adapt myself to that one particular place where my character grew up. >> we all remember and love you from "slumdog millionaire."

we like to take a little credit for how well it did. >> cheerleaders. >> you pick these roles. is that still going to be the role, the one that's hard to beat? >> i think exposure, no film like that, so loved. people remember it, even though i'm done wit. it's dear film to everybody and a dear film to me. the way i look at it, this is my stepping stone. i have other places to go from here. >> thank you so much. we want to remind everybody, opens in select theaters friday. >> yes. >> mr. roker. >> let's see we've got weather wise for you. beautiful day in the northeast. we do continue to see rough weather for our friends in the southeastern atlantic states and gorgeous day in the pacific northwest with temperatures mid to upper 80s and the heat continues through the southwest. tomorrow, slight risk of strong storms in the upper mississippi

river valley and still wet in the southeast and sizzling in the southwest and hot into texas and little more humidity in the northeast and new england. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> very pleasant morning under way. good morning. tom kierein in storm center 4. right now it's climbing into the 70s. most of the region. areas in green include along the blue ridge and later today should be in the 80s and most of the region and maybe near 90 near the metro areas and then on thursday a little bit cooler, highs mid-80s and clouds in and out and tomorrow only a slight chance of isolated shower or storm. maybe some afternoon storms on >> don't forget any time you need your weather, check out the weather channel on cable, weather.com online. now, let's head on down to nah and say hello to big willie scott. >> once again from the nation's capital, one of the most beautiful cities in the whole world and it's all yours and

mine. it belongs to all of us. i was born here. how about that. esther battey from california, 100 years old today. enjoys doing crossword puzzles and spending time with her grandkids. a nice combination all the way around. virginia kennedy, sweet virginia from crocket, texas, 100 years old. she has a secret to longevity. you know what that is? lots of cake, pie, and ice cream. is that my kind of person. i love her. and here is sam darcy. he is from port orange, florida, 104 years old today. always smiling and loves to dance with all the ladies and all of his friends. oh, boy. how sweet it is. the lovely janet vance from mystic, connecticut, one of the truly charming towns in america. she's 100 years old today. taught latin for more than 30 years.

she could help me with my latin for sure. a birthday buddy manuel panlillio. loves to watch sports and is the life of the party. people love to have him come by and visit. can't beat that. now here is frances crowdus, louisville, kentucky, home of the kentucky derby. 109. says she owes her longevity to her faith in the good lord. that's it from our nation's capital. come see us. >> thank you. up next, martha stewart gives savannah a much needed cooking lesson. we'll get to that but first this lesson. we'll get to that but first this is "today" on nbc.

homicide of young people in america has an impact on all of us. lesson. we'll get to that but first this is "today" on nbc. how can we save these young people's lives? as a police chief i have an opportunity to affect what happens in a major city. i learned early on if you want to make a difference you have to have the right education. university of phoenix opened the door. my name is james craig, i'm committed to making a difference and i am a phoenix.

back now at 8:38 with martha on "today." if you're looking for a simple way to entertain this summer, martha says all you need really is a few old jelly jars. martha, what you can do with a few old jelly jars, the rest of us may not. >> there's jelly jars, ball jars, kerr, with tight fighting lids so they won't leak. it's a nice way to package up a picnic. a nice way to have portion control in your refrigerator for all these things. we have a drink of sangria jar. such a cute thing. a self-contained dish. >> all starts with the drink. why not? >> i got this idea from a place in sag harbor, long island. a wonderful gourmet takeout shop. i saw them packed in a jar and thought i'm going to do that.

we have elaborated on the idea. drinks very important on the picnic. if you don't want it spilling all over the place. a bottle of white wine. >> i would think of sangria with red wine. >> it's totally refreshing with white wine. lots of fruit. we have pineapple cut up, apricots. apricots are in season. peaches. can you put citrus fruit. ginger adds a zip. >> mint. >> you can throw the mint in. >> the mango. >> papaya, honey. >> let it sit? >> at least an hour. you have to have half a cup of cuantro, gives it that citrusy flavor. put it in the refrigerator. >> or let it sit out? >> no, refrigerator, lit it sit,

macerate. the bean salad is nice, too. this is easy. in a little safflower oil. two cans of pinto beans, red beans, whatever you want. black beans you can do. you mash these as they cook, warm up and start layering in the jar. >> seven-layer dip. >> mashed beans, cheddar cheese, green peppers. can you put a little bit of cucumber, tomato, onion. of course delicious avocado mash. >> how do you make it look nice. >> keep layering it. there's a special funnel i use with jelly. i forgot it today, of course. it's a wide mouth funnel, drop things in the jar. mash avocados with jalapeno peppers. you're making kind of a guacamole, sour cream.

>> i'm stirring here. how am i doing. >> you're doing fine. as they cook, they will get softer. lemon juice. mash this all up and you get this delicious kind of guacamole. you can keep it in a bag like that but squeeze it right out of the bag into the jar. this is another -- i think you cut off. >> almost like a pastry bag. >> a funnel. this is another neat way to do things if you want to. put ite this. a little sour cream on top of that. >> some chips and you're good to go. >> tightly refrigerated. >> keep it in the cooler. >> i serve this a lot. so start in a jar like this. a wide mouth jar you can eat right out of. or a narrow jar, dump it out on a plate and looks really good.

lettuce, hard boiled egg, tomato. season as you're layering with salt and pepper. you have some olives you want to add to the jar. >> the oil packed? >> i love the oil packed tuna. mix in a jar of vinegarette with shallot, mustard, vinegar and shake this up and make a very tasty vinegarette. >> do you put that into the jar? >> put a little bit in the tuna just to make it moist. this is that wonderful wine caught tuna packed. it's expensive but certainly worth it for a salad like this. then you add a little bit of this to your salad. make it as large as you think the appetites will be. see how pretty and cover that. >> 30 seconds for desert. >> okay. this is an espresso mousse which you make ahead of time, pack it in the jars very neatly like that. then when you get to your

destination, you can carry some whipped cream in a jar, a little bit of cocoa like that on top and a dollop of whipped cream served like that. it's so pretty, don't you think? >> yeah. you make it look beautiful. >> it's so easy. >> so a good thermos, some sort of cooler, lots of ice packs and you can enjoy your picnic all in jars. >> all in jars. just putting things in jars. >> yes. >> this i can handle. >> a present for you. i brought you a dozen jelly jars. those are for you to start practicing. >> i'll eat for a month. maybe not. thank you. coming up next, putting on weight to get that perfect swimsuit body? the ads that may change the way you think. first this is "today" on nbc.

it's the perfect match for the perfect moment -- oreo the dunkin' way. introducing the new oreo coffee coolatta and new oreo vanilla bean coolatta. taste the fun today. america runs on dunkin'. hurry in to dunkin' and try the new oreo coolatta and donuts today. we're back now at 8:46.

for a lot of women bathing suit season means slimming down to get that perfect bikini body but it hasn't always been that way. mara schiavocampo is here to explain that. good morning, mara. >> good morning. imagine ads saying to pack on the pounds for the beach. there was a time when bigger is better. the bikini body flaunted by celebs, celebrated by magazines, immortalized on screen. when it comes to fun in the sun, fit is fab. there are no shortage of products to get you there. from diets to supplements. >> you can change the way you look. >> to a bikini boot camp. >> want that bang. they want nicely toned arms, lines in their abs. they want to get rid of the sell light on their legs, nice round

booty. ladies want to be in shape and they want to be toned in their bikini. >> reporter: but it hasn't always been that way. once upon a time advertisers urged women to gain weight before hitting the beach. yup, gain weight. these decades old prynne ads that appear to go as far back as the '30s are for weight gain products promising to put on extra pounds and inches of healthy flesh. why be skinny under a picture of a buxom pin-up girl. asks left out of seaside fun because you're skinny? this one from 1943 promises by using their product, girls with naturally skinny figures can add five pounds of solid flesh in one week. >> 100 years ago being a bigger girl, being a bigger woman meant you had vitality, that you were healthy, that you were wealthy and that you were free of disease. but things have changed dramatically from then until

now. >> reporter: the ideal beach body has evolved through the years. look at stars like bridget bardo, halle berry. in these ads one thing is clear, thin is definitely not in. one woman proclaimed, there is no excuse for being skinny. another ad features a man telling his dancing date, you sure are popular since you put on that curvy weight. >> i think women will look at these ads and think, i should have been born at a different time. >> a different time with very different standards. >> now, the women in those ads look much more like the typical woman of today. today the average woman is bigger than that but models we see in magazines and newspapers are smaller. >> like a world upside down. >> those were the good old days. >> mara, thank you very much. still ahead technology, gadgets and apps for toddlers, tweens and teens. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

this morning on leonard's look, mike leonard catches up with a familiar face. a man who could have been down for the count but instead made an epic cross-country journey. >> reporter: from the san diego coastline, he headed east to the mountains and the valleys, the forests and the deserts.

on noisy city streets and quiet country roads. sometimes by himself, but more often surrounded by an ever changing roster of friends and supporters. the destination, st. augustine, florida. the distance, 3,129 miles. >> close to home. >> a suburban chicago resident and married father of four is a quadriplegic. after fracturing his spinal cord in a bicycle accident five years ago, he wasn't supposed to walk, let alone ride again. but sheer will power. >> if you think you're done, you're done. >> coupled with treatments at institute of chicago put mark back on his feet. a few weeks ago i chronicled his ascent to the top of the tower. a tough uphill going, weathering all kinds of adversity including

an accident that caused minor injuries and time consuming equipment repair. yet he pressed on through the challenges, the setbacks and the constant reminders of how life used to be. but he's here smiling. >> mike, considering where i came from, you look at this. i'm out on a bike ride on a tuesday afternoon with a bunch of my buddies. yeah. i mean, that's not all bad. >> reporter: an amazingly positive outlook that astounded katie, hired to document the journey on video. >> i say to people not just what he's doing but how he does it. >> he maps the route, preps bike and first aid was equally inspired. >> i can't think of one morning he hasn't gotten up and said it's a beautiful morning. >> reporter: and then there were people they met along the way. in louisiana, cajun country, a

long time acquaintance of mine recruited his cousin and other family members to treat mark and his fellow riders to a taste of their culture. the rich french infused culture set in stone by their ancestors exiled to the louisiana swamps two centuries ago from what is now the canadian maritimes. live in the swamps. >> you can sit and feel sorry for yourself, what good would that do? nothing. >> any personal tragedy or anything of that nature, you have a choice. you either take what you have and make the best out of it or you just give up and surrender. >> after riding the last mile of the journey with some members of his family, he reached the st. augustine, florida finish line after 76 days on the road. his story didn't make a denton the national news front, which is too bad, because it's a classic american tale of courage in the face of adversity, of

people helping each other. and in the end -- >> makes you feel good about the state of the union. >> reporter: for today, mike leonard, nbc news. >> wow, beautiful story. >> so important when you hear him say -- the guy said he never saw him wake up a single day and not say it's a beautiful day. >> a reminder. >> absolutely. just ahead, what is your guilty pleasure? we are going to reveal ours. keep it clean, too, everybody, i'm just saying. >> first your local news and weather.

ical 56 is your time now on this july 11th, 2012. i'm eun yang. let's go right to danella sealock with more on that. >> eun, earlier a crash blocking two of the left lanes. you're still seeing delays. just about nine miles per hour. from the beltway to the 14th

street bridge. let's head over westbound at route 28. crash there, blocks the right side of the roadway. was blocking two of your right lanes and looks like now just one right lane is blocked. one right lane is blocked. eun, over to

oreo and dunkin' are the perfect match for the perfect moment. enjoy the new oreo coolatta and donut today. america runs on dunkin'.

good morning, almost 9:00. most of the region now into the 70s and we'll continue to climb all the way to near 90 by later this afternoon. right now 77 at reagan national and may turn a little less humid later this afternoon and then tomorrow, still not very humid, highs reaching the mid-80s. just a slight chance of an isolated thundershower today and tomorrow and then a greater chance on friday and could get some storms but the heat and humidity over the weekend,

we're back with more of "today" wednesday morning the 11th of july, 2012. nice day in new york, get up into the mid-80s a couple of clouds overhead but nothing too serious. >> a little human will creep up. >> all right. they can handle it. i'm matt lauer with savannah guthrie and al roker. coming up we see teens and tweens with cell phones and smart phones and ereaders, but what is the appropriate age for kids to get those devices. how much time should they be spending on them? we'll take a look at that. also mom-approved apps and gadgets courtesy of aka.

>> punky brewster. >> also ahead giving a gift is wonderful. giving a personalized gift even better. jill martin here with fun finds. she has everything from wedding presents to bubbles. iphone cases all can be tailored to the individual. going to do a little christmas shopping right now. >> and then can't be regifted. >> exactly. also we kicked off a couple weeks ago "today's" pleasures, "today's" hashtag. we wanted to find out what your guilty pleasure was. twitter verse has a lot to say about it. we want you to tweet us your guilty pleasure. >> we do. if you're not familiar with twitter, sign up for twitter, then give your guilty pleasure to #guiltypleasure. we'll some of your responses on the air. >> good morning, natalie. >> good morning, everyone. a fiery train wreck explosion in ohio forced the evacuation of

homes and businesses within a mile of the crash site. at least two people were injured in the derailment. officials say the burning cars contain ethanol and they plan to let it burn off over the next several hours before reassessing this situation. the jetblue pilot who disrupted his own flight by ranting about religion and terrorists suffered a brief psychotic disorder due to a lack of sleep, according to psychologists who testified at his trial this monday. a judge found clayton osbon not guilty by reason of insanity. he's currently at a mental health facility awaiting another court hearing. the flight from new york to las vegas was safely diverted to texas after passengers subdued the pilot. officials in san bernardino voted last night to file for bankruptcy protection making theirs the second largest city to do so after stockton, california. san bernardino has already stopped paying some bills and may not be able to make payroll over the next few weeks.

meanwhile january don't mayor defied a judge's order and slashed wages to minimum wage. the police, firefighters and mayor will lose 75% of their paychecks. scranton has a $16 million budget gap. republican mitt romney presents his case to black voters today at the annual meeting of the naacp of houston. he'll pick up where he left off tuesday in colorado hammering away at president obama's record on job creation. president obama was in the battleground state of iowa tuday pushing his plan to extend tax cuts for lower and middle coin americans. lance armstrong's legal team filed a revised lawsuit to block anti-doping agency's doping case against him. on monday armstrong's initial lawsuit was rejected. the cycling legend faces charges that could strip him of his seven tour de france titles. he has declared he's innocent. meantime three of armstrong's former staff members have been

banned for life from competitive sports after the u.s. ada accused them of doping violations related to armstrong's tour de france victory. our young pal, max page, got to meet one of his biggest supporters as he recovers from surgery to correct a congenital heart problem. he spent some private time with james earl jones, the voice of darth vader in the original "star wars" trilogy. max gained fame playing the pint-sized darth vader in a volkswagen commercial. a florida teen is recovering today after losing part of his arm in a vicious encounter with an alligator on monday. this morning officials released the call to 911. his friend placed just moments after that attack. >> 911, what's your emergency? >> hello? >> yes, this is 911. do you have an emergency? >> yes, ma'am. a gator just got my friend in the water. >> are you all right, fred? i'm calling.

fred, just get out of the water! >> fred langdale said he was just cooling off with some friends by taking a dip in the river when he was attacked. doctors say his arm cannot be reattached. hours after the attack the alligator was captured and killed. a bouncing baby girl in china beats the odds as this chimp is born to a 40-year-old mother. in the wild it's rare that chimps make it to the age of 40. the little female is hand fed by keepers for now. she's cute. you think the president has millions of problems, but according to this spoof by youtube, he's only got 99. >> i don't know what you take me as or understand intelligence be had i've got 99 problems but men ain't one 99 problems but men ain't one campaign problems i've got 99 problems but mitt

ain't one. >> it's a parody of jay-z's hit song "99 problems." let's turn it over to al roker with a check of your weather. >> a pretty good imitation. >> thanke have for today. a risk of strong storms. look at this from corpus christi to key west. some areas may pick up anywhere from three to five inches of rain. flash flood warnings for parts of southern texas and just outside of houston. rainfall amounts, again, three to five inches in the next 24 hours. and the heat continues out west where temperatures are anywhere from 5 to 15 degrees above normal. boise getting up to 102 degrees today, same in salt lake city. good morning, tom kierein in storm center 4. right now it's partly sunny, mild. kind of muggy. mid and upper 70s and 77 at reagan national and later today may turn less humid with afternoon highs climbing to near

90 and tomorrow into the 80s and still not terribly humid and just a small chance of an isolated shower or thundershower today or tomorrow. greater chance on friday, highs mid-80s saturday and sunday hot and humid both days. could get some afternoon storms and remaining hot and humid first part of next week. just a slight chance of this morning our get started today, technology for toddlers, tweens, and teens. so what are the must have approved gadgets and apps for the kids. mommy blogger and actress soleil moon frye, happy chaos. a loveable kid actress punky brewster. >> good to see you. i love being here. >> you're not only a mom of two gorgeous little girls bah blogger, 1.4 million twitter followers, 500,000 friends on facebook. so you know about this stuff. in a sense, some people think, especially for toddlers, maybe

we're pushing technology a little too soon. >> it's incredible. i really truly believe they are born with this dna. my 4-year-old can operate an ipad better than i can. the truth is technology is here to stay. so instead of running away from it, how can we embrace it and embrace educational apps and make sure it's safe and monitor it. human interaction is key. >> 50% said they felt kids between 8 and 12 should be interacting with technology for two to four hours. >> i think that can be on the long side actually. i think it's really important that we're monitoring what they are doing and that we still talk to our kids and communicate with them. >> don't use it as a babysitter. >> don't use it as a babysitter, don't sit them in front of something, make sure it's educational, something they are learning from. >> let's start off with toddlers. some of your favorite tech apps for toddlers and gadgets. >> my girls love this.

they were playing with it on the plane. it's fantastic. they are reading with it. remember when we had simon says. it goes over the words with them. it's fun, interactive. they take this gadget, put it over the words. it's a great reading tool. >> reading frog has been around a while. >> absolutely, love it. >> an app. >> color in smart. this is so fun. my girls absolutely love it. you match the colors. match it here. make these incredible designs. it's also showing them classic, engaging, number games. the girls are loving to learn math on this and drawing all these beautiful pieces at the same time. >> that's cute. let's move onto tweens. what is the good age you think, at least, for a cell phone. we didn't give our daughter, who is 13 now. she finally got hers last year. >> i am so literally taking my time with when is the right time to get a cell phone. i really think it's important to

monitor their cell phone use. this is great because it allows you the opportunity to really monitor what they are doing, the calls coming in, going out. this is a great device where you can be aware of what they are doing. my social community was adamant that being a teenager was important, really monitoring it. i don't want my kids texting all the time. how do we monitor and make sure they are using it for good. the other thing, using your old cell phone, making sure you're aware of what's on there, features on there. my niece uses it for photos, taking pictures, educational app. >> for tweens you like fantastic books. >> this one of the coolest apps. animation was incredible. it was inspired after katrina, wizard of oz. a great reading app, interactive. the graphics of mind blowing. >> another app you like, stack the country. >> geography is a big issue in

this country and around the world. absolutely. it's also good for us parents. i was doing this with my girls and my girls were better at the geography than i was. stack the country is a really fun app. it allows you to stack the different places and also learn about geography at the same time, which is great. >> that's pretty cool. i like for teens, the resource. especially a teen entering college, a company called cheg. >> it's amazing. the opportunity to rent textbook, buy used and save so much money. at a time when we're already stressed with our kids going off to college and how it could break the bank, a fantastic as far as, chegg.com. i highly recommend it. >> words with friends. >> i love it. all ages. words with friends is so much fun. it's like scrabble in an app. it's so much fun. i have a blast playing with it. we have a great time. >> can you play it on a plane, the runway?

>> all day long. also helps vocabulary. >> always good to see you. >> so good to see you. >> for more information on this topic and the survey head to today.com. still to come, organic, what's behind labels of beauty products to tell you what they really mean. up next, our pal jill has the fun finds. this time, it's personal. first, these messages. [ feedback ] attention, well, everyone. you can now try snapshot from progressive free for 30 days. just plug this into your car, and your good driving can save you up to 30%. you could even try it without switching your insurance. why not give it a shot? carry on. now you can test-drive snapshot before you switch. visit progressive.com today. sfx: can opening

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ahhhh! ahhhh! no it's mommy! [ female announcer ] swiffer. better clean in half the time. or your money back. ♪ we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. and the cravings begin... again. for nights like these

there's special k chocolatey delight cereal. an unguilty pleasure. what will you gain when you lose? ♪ ♪ >> this morning on jill's fun finds, a very personal addition from house warming presents.

jill, good morning. >> good morning. >> i know you've got a special personalized gift and that's what got you started thinking about all this. >> i did. no regifting. these are from nike. my friend john got me these because he said what do i get you. jm. all the different colors and pat earnings. if i like them or didn't like them, i have to keep them. and i happen to like them, so it worked out. >> can't miss you from a mile away. >> over to the belts, some great ideas. >> this is all from sea wonder. you buy just the belt buckle. put it on your belt or buy the band. they reversible, which i love. this is a great gift to give somebody. the cutting board comes with the knife, $10 to $88. everything here is under $100. mugs. also these trace i gave as a gift. put your jewelry or junk, you need something to throw things in. beautiful house warming gift. >> perfect. next, shoes for the summer. good pair of flip flops,

personalize them. >> havianas for the kids and adults, too, skulls, peace signs, only $2.50. a little gift. great to send to camp. we can't send candy or pretend we can't send candy. >> next, name plates. we're going to talk about jewelry and name plates and tringette trace. >> look how different, acrylic from knickknacks. i love this in the bright colors. again, beautiful trace to put it in. it's a unique gift and below $50. for kids and adults, these bright colors, if you want to wear something to the beach, i love these. >> that's nice. >> i love this idea of picnicking and giving a personal gift. >> for the family that loves to picnic like -- >> al roker. >> the rokers. comes with a blanket, red envelope.com. >> perfect. >> for the family my family loves to drink wine. my dad's initials.

i don't know if you can see it. >> belated father's day gift. >> stick it in the sand, grass, comes with the wine. we love this. red envelope.com. it's great. anybody who loves sangria, see my initials, i happen to love sangria, back from vacation, still thain mode. a beautiful gift not to only give your family but if you're going to someone's home. >> fantastic. next we have these beautiful personalized vases as well. >> cargo, $62 to 70. look how beautiful even if you buy flowers at the local supermarket and give it to someone. a lot less expensive than flowers to send to somebody. >> i love this. i have a lot of kids who have done this, personalize it with kids pictures. >> inexpensive, $35. lower than that if you're doing pictures. the olympics, if you're going.

my subway.com. our producer had a baby. what a beautiful gift. name, when he was born. over here, they made this for me. give somebody my entire resume. >> that's why it's so big. >> hopefully it stays and doesn't get longer. >> keep adding onto it. >> what a beautiful gift starting at $75. >> games. >> a place to sit, little beach. >> starting at $10, bubbles. anything you think you couldn't have personalized you can. >> water balloons. >> people who play this. send kids to camp, frisbees, what a nice gift brf we love it. jill martin, lots of fun finds as always. for more fun finds, pick up the issue of "us weekly."

pra up next our guilty pleasures and yours. start with all the fresh salad and warm breadsticks you want. choose 2 appetizers made for sharing. then 2 entrées from 6 of our favorites. classics like eggplant parmigiana and new favorites like smoked mozzarella chicken and spaghetti with four cheese meat sauce & meatballs. 3 courses, 2 people, just $25. but only for a limited time, at olive garden. nice'n easy colorblend foam is winning top beauty awards hands down! with beautiful tones and highlights... no other foam lasts longer. and no other foam is product of the year. check out colorblend foam. only from nice'n easy. fiber one. uh, forgot jack's cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? um... try the number one! [ jack ] yeah, this is pretty good. [ male announcer ] half a day's worth of fiber. fiber one.

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hey, becky. hey....uncle steve. for life's bleachable moments.

well, a few minutes ago we asked to you tweet telling us your guilty pleasures and clearly tweeting is one of them because the responses have been rolling in. >> of course we, as always, like to play along as well. al, what was your guilty pleasure. >> it was an ice cold glass of milk and a packet of lorna dunes, vanilla wafers or honey maid graham crackers. >> get all mushy. >> yours. >> fresh bread, cheese and wine. needy say any more. beats a chocolate cake any day. >> all of ours are food related. brownie sund, ae with hot fudge and nuts. >> i love this by justin. screaming pop music in my car when nobody is around. i've done that love it. >> you see people driving.

>> or the shower for that matter. eating whole pizzas. >> after my long heart, a long hot bubble bath in the middle of the day with a lush bath bomb, face mask and hair treatment. >> i like that. our own studio 1a, erica, speaks for all of us. sleep without an alarm. that's for all of us. >> i'm impressed most people kept it clean or we've blocked all the perverts now. >> we -- it's not too late, tweet us on the the "today" show, your guilty pleasures. what labels like all natural mean when it comes to your

makeup. >> the school scotto family helping us beat the heat in the kitchen. >> first your local news and weather. here you go little man. [ humming ] [ babbling ] the cheerios bandit got you again? [ both laugh ] ♪ the one and only, cheerios

good morning, 9:26 on this wednesday, july 11th. i'm aaron gilchrist. let's go to tom kierein for a look at the forecast. >> live view from our hd city camera. showing a few clouds around and partly sunny and temperatures beginning to climb up to near 80 and else where we're in the 70s much of the region. later today, going to hit near 90 by mid-afternoon. and then on friday, could get some showers and storms around and turning more humid and hot and humid weekend to follow. maybe afternoon storms on saturday and sunday. aaron? >> thank you, tom. a look at the roads for y

[ 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. romney backed a law that outlaws all abortion -- even in cases of rape and incest. and that's not all. i'll cut off funding to planned parenthood. [ female announcer ] for women, planned parenthood means life-saving cancer screenings and family-planning services. but, for mitt romney... planned parenthood. we're going to get rid of that.

good morning. 66 westbound at 28 had a crash blocking the right lane.

it's still in your shoulder lane, travel lanes are now open. crossing the 14th street bridge. slow from the

>> you and your friends better batten down the hatches because when it hits, you're going to wonder how you ever thought you could leave with the large and leave so little with the rest of us. >> that is anne hathaway in the new chapter of the batman saga, ""the dark knight rises."" what is she hiding behind the mask. she's the elusive "catwoman." she's so bad she's good. we're going to talk to the new oscar nominated star about her feline role. she was awesome in that role. >> she was amazing.

girl crushes all around. >> girl crushes. >> you like the catsuit we know. good morning, i'm savannah guthrie alongside al roker and savannah guthrie. coming up, the truth behind the labels. >> that's right. we're not talking about food products but beauty products with catchphrases like cruelty-free, all natural, hypoallergy lrallergeni hypoallergenic. what do those mean? we'll break it down. >> 911, tackle refinancing or consolidate loans. refinance can be confusing. our expert will give you straight answers. we'll cool off with the coolest crew in the kitchen, scottos, easy summer recipes that will cut down your time. cooking over a hot stove so you don't have to spend it with family. >> hot peppers, too. first usa series "political animals" takes you into the high-stakes world of sex, greed,

politics. a pulitzer prize winning journalist made her name with scathing articles about the family and develops an interesting relationship with the first lady played by sigourney weaver. carla is here. good morning. >> good morning. >> we are very excited about this new series. lots of twists and turns. >> yeah. >> you've done a lot of tv. how is this different? how does it compare? >> this really felt like we were making a movie interestingly enough, in terms of the fact we were all in philadelphia together for three months. you do feel like you're in summer camp together. also it was like 119 or whatever it was. also you get to create this world separate from your life. it's amazing, doesn't happen with series. what was great on the level of a tv show, we have these six episodes to explore our characters. it's a lot. you get juicy and deep. you have more time to do it. >> working opposite sigourney

weaver who plays elaine. talk about developing an interesting relationship. what was the basis of that relationship? >> well, i play a journalist who works for the washington globe, a "washington post" like paper. i won a pulitzer early on writing about thethe escapades husband. from my perspective telling the truth. they were two women birds of a feather more than they like to admit. because of their positions, they are on the opposite side of the tracks. they start to get to know each other in the first episode. it remains equally complicated but there's an appreciation that starts to build that's unusual. you don't see in film or television. it's been really fun to play. >> you got to do a little writing on the series. >> what kind of writing. >> you had a little input.

>> definitely. what's really nice is greg berlanti, the creator, has a vision for us. as he see things filmed he'll start to adjust what we're doing. it does become a collaborative environment. he does the writing. definitely he'll take from what we give and ends up this great back and forth, which, again, you don't get to do in a movie, a defined piece of material. >> we're on the edge of our seat. >> thank you so much. "political animals" begins on our sister network at 10:00 all check of our weather now. >> let's show you what we got. hot, again, today as we head up into the pacific northwest. temperatures in the 80s there and salt lake city today going to get up to 102 degrees and risk of strong storms through the southeast today with heavy rain and that will continue tomorrow. the sizzling west will continue, unfortunately. more heat through the great lakes and starts getting warmer

and more humid here in the northeast. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning, warm and rather muggy now. temperatures around the region beginning to climb into the upper 70s near 80 and later today all the way into the upper 80s to near 90 and may turn less humid this afternoon, tomorrow and then gets steamy on friday and into the weekend. increasing chance of storms around on friday, as well as maybe saturday and sunday afternoons, both days near 90 saturday and near 90 sunday and remaining hot and humid n and that's your latest weather. >> all right, al. thank you. coming up next, your financial questions answered by our money 911 team. they are here right after this. i've discovered gold.

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>> back with money 911 where we answer financial questions. our panel of experts, jean

chatzky, david bach, death free for life." good morning, everybody. let's get started and go to skype and say hi to tiffany from nevada. what's your question? tiffany? >> would you recommend -- [ inaudible ] >> we're having a little technical difficulty. >> i think, tiffany, what you're asking is whether you should consolidate your credit card debt on a debt consolidation loan, an unsecured personal line. the question is having that short sale in your background whether or not you or your husband will actually qualify for that. if you do qualify, it's a great thing to do because you will lower all of your interest rates whether you do it under your name or his name.

just be really careful that you don't go and charge those credit cards right back up again. because about 40% of people do. i want them in the freezer or with your mother or someplace you cannot touch them. >> cut them up. >> cut them up. don't close them but cut them up. >> tiffany, thank you so much. going to phones, melissa from stewartsville, new jersey on the line. hi, melissa. >> caller: good morning. >> what's your question? >> caller: my husband and i would like to take advantage of the low interest mortgage rates currently being offered. our credit scores are great and our home is worth more than we owe. we are having a difficult time finding a bank to refinance with because there's presently a lawsuit against our condo association. can you tell us what our options are? >> you're bonged. that's a technical term. it's not that your bank is being mean. the situation is this, due to fannie mae guidelines, your loan

is eligible for a refinance. first you need to do the following. what the details of the lawsuit, who is the point person, have they hired an attorney. once you know the facts, go to a mortgage broker, go to the mortgage broker and say here is the situation with a lawsuit, shop this to a community bank, private lender. you'll have a difficult time refinancing until the lawsuit is settled. get on the board and figure out how to settle that lawsuit. that will help you, then you can refinance. good job on the high credit and the fact your property is up in value. >> two out of three. good luck. now let's go back to skype, give that another shot. laura from new jersey. good morning, laura. >> good morning. >> what's your question? >> my 15-year-old daughter would like to earn some extra cash by filling out online surveys. how do i find out which websites are safe and reputable. >> all right, sharon. >> of course, this is a time a lot of kids haven't been able to find summer jobs and are looking for them.

i would be wary about online survey firms. there are some out there to offer cash and awards. you're not going to make a lot of money. i'd be careful. i'd go back to the tried and true go around the neighborhood and see what jobs are available, baby-sitting, pet sitting, doing chores for neighbors. a lot will end july and august. maybe your daughter can create a camp in your backyard and do that. if you're looking at a traditional company, there are going to be age requirements to look into, fast-food or retailer, between 14 and 18 is the minimum age. you really want to be careful and verify that before applying. again, snag a job.com is a great website to go to for hourly jobs to find information. the best place to start is right at home. >> thank you. >> good luck. jean, david, sharon, thanks so much. appreciate it. coming up next, what buzzwords like organic and natural really mean on your

beauty products right after these messages. be kidding me. sweetie, help us settle this. i say this and this is called southern hospitality. well, i call it the clean getaway. [ scoffs ] you're both wrong. it's the freshy fresh. everyone knows that. i didn't know that. oh yeah, that's what they're saying now. [ female announcer ] nothing leaves you feeling cleaner and fresher than the cottonelle care routine. try them together. then name it on facebook. try them together. i feel likeo having that's normal. if you are not feeling like trying this on, that's not normal. activia helps with occasional irregularity when eaten 3 times a day. feeling regular to me was a new feeling... activia

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this morning on "today's" beauty, behind the labels. we've all seen the makeup bottles that use catchphrases like all natural and fragrance-free but what do they mean. good morning, debra. i'm confused. can't figure out if it's better for me or not. let's break it down. first start with the labor organic. what does it mean when it says organic. >> should mean living matter, products or ingredients without pesticides, genetic manipulation. unfortunately the cosmetic companies can take advantage of using that word because the certification levels are so different. even if only one or two ingredients are certified organic, they can right with organic ingredients and that's misleading. >> next, all natural, along the same lines.

tons of products say all natural. >> it's not defined by any agency. companies can yit for whatever they want to mean. it should mean no man made products, derived from plants or algae or mineral but unfortunately doesn't mean that. >> any benefit to using all natural or wholly organic product. >> the perception is organic is better and people looking for those types of products. there's really no science behind it to say synthetic is worse or better than anything natural or organic. what's important products do what they are supposed to do. efficacy behind it, they are done in the lab. the research shows done what it's supposed to do. >> next label, hypoallergenic. what does that mean? >> should mean less allergealle less likely to cause an allergy, but doesn't mean you won't be allergy to it.

make sure you test the product. don't use on your whole face and have an allergy reaction, a small place, wrist, ears a good spot, user for a few days. only start one product at a time as opposed to multiple at the same time. >> next fragrance-free, also misleading in some cases. >> fragrance-free doesn't mean the product has no scent. that's confusing. they can have masking scents in the product. what it means is the manufacturer didn't put an ingredient in acting as a fragrance but they put in other products that have a smell to them. have you to be careful about that. >> more and more you see the label cruelty-free. does that mean it's not tested on animals? >> often cruelty-free means not tested on animal but doesn't mean active ingredients aren't tested on animals. many cosmetic companies buy it from companies testing on animals and write cruelty-free

on labels. >> collagen boosting. >> also a casual phrase. it doesn't mean anything. collagen is the main part of the skin. collagen boosting product can do anything from making your skin look less dry, an acid in collagen like retin a or retinol, vitamin c, vitamin e can do collagen boosting. but the word collagen boosting is something the agencies will use to sell the product, not necessarily something working to make the product better. >> nothing that can really cure wrinkles. >> no sure things. you need to be smart. if a product says 100% guaranteed, going to get rid of dark circles overnight, eliminate cellulite immediately. >> too good to be true. thank you so much, appreciate it. >> thank you. coming up next, if you can't stand the heat, well, get out of the kitchen. the scottos keeping it cool for summer. first "today" on nbc. to you by .

enjoy the new kfc original recipe bites. this morning on keeping it cool, cooking with the scotto family with the help of marion, anthony and elaina of new york's restaurant. with these recipes, less time in the kitchen and less time on the stove. >> true, al. >> tomatoes, really great right now. >> this is the season right now. so here on a platter to begin your dinner, there's the small tomatoes, cherry toemts roasted. beef steak tomatoes and tomatoes stuffed. a wonderful way. >> an italian chicken. >> you know what makes it italian, pasta. >> that's right.

>> but al, with our chicken cob, we pull it off the bone. >> you could get a rotisserie chicken, save time. >> yes. but it's not cut so it's juicier. let's start. this is precooked. then we start with the chicken, grilled chicken. >> i notice you grilled corn on the cob. >> you don't have to if you don't want to be bothered with the heat. >> don't want to lose any bacon. >> and al, string beans. >> have you cooked them already? >> yes, they are precooked. then we're going to surround it with some avocado and gorgonzola cheese. this is a red wine vinegarette. pour it all on. i like dressing. mix it and this is -- >> very nice. >> you can't ask for anything better. >> i could. >> that would be better right here, seared tuna.

>> instead of chicken, ton ark, all these things you can use from your garden or in your refrigerator. the tuna what we're doing, taking the center cut, coriander, paprika, black pepper. we're going to sear it. the pan has to be burning hot. sear it all the way around. satellite slice it. do that for me. >> the plate, tomatoes. >> do thin slices. >> thin slices. avocado. then tomatoes, corn. >> i'm slow with my slicing. >> no problem. heirloom cherry vinegarette, which i think is terrific. that's on the website. >> serve it up. see it on the platter there. >> that's what it's going to look like and you're done. >> back here, granitea. >> what better way to cool off. espresso, sugar, make sure it

dissolves. add water. put it in the pan, every two hours break off and scrape. >> chunky. >> put it in a dish. we top it off with marscapone cream and chocolate. >> nicely done. >> she brings it home, baby. brings it home. today.com. >> happy summer. thank you. hoda and kathie lee after your local weather. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

9:57 is your time now on this wednesday, july 11th. i'm eun yang. let's check in with tom kierein for a check on the forecast. >> a beautiful morning under way although it's a little bit muggy. temperatures are in the upper 70s and most of the region and reagan national now at 78 and may climb another 10, 12 degrees with a high near 90 by mid-afternoon and may turn less humid this afternoon and tonight and tomorrow. on friday, getting more humid

could get some showers and storms in the afternoon and off and on during the afternoon. danella, how is that morning traffic? >> downed trees in the district slowing you down. this is northwest and closed between military road and moreland plac also if you're traveling along waterside drive at massachusetts avenue, all your lanes are blocked because of the downed tree in that area. let's talk about congestion. outer loop of the beltway still slow in montgomery county and eun they're driving at 31 mile perz hour. back over to you. >> thanks so much. >> thanks so much. don't forget to tune into news 4

captions paid for by nbc-universal television from nbc news. this is a special guy edition of "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb and a bunch of guys. >> is that you, hoda? >> that wasn't me. >> what are you reading? are we really on nbc news? >> they couldn't even see your magazi magazine. >> it's wine day wednesday. i can't believe jenny mccarthy is naked in this thing again. >> did you see her? >> i think she still looks darn good at 40. >> and what else are you learning from your "playboy" magazine. >> other people read the

stories, but i haven't got my glasses on. apparently there are good stories, too. >> but what else? >> what did i learn? >> everyone downstairs is -- >> oh, i can't believe that everybody is like, clean as a whistle. when did that happen? >> people started doing that downstairs. >> that's disgusting. >> anyway, this is our special guy edition. this is going to be a fun show. you know why? because we get to drink beer like guys do. by the way, can we just show our cute mugs? look. this is coors light. >> yeah, we're just hanging out in our man cave. [ belching ] >> we're going to talk about dating. we're going to talk about the battle of the sexes. >> this is cool. there are a lot of guys looking for work. >> they're looking for chicks like us. >> yeah. anyway, they're getting a makeover. so we're going to have a

complete makeover. >> we love our guys tell-all panel. ryan serhan, chuck knight. rig r rick younger. and remember this guy is here? >> he got married. >> but it didn't work out. >> that's a shame. welcome, bob. we're so glad. >> we're glad to be here. half of them don't, bob. >> one out of two, bob. we're all in this together, all right. >> are you comfy? by the way, i get why guys sit in these chairs and eat onions. >> i don't understand how you get in them. these things are unbelievable. they're also ugly as sin. >> cozy. you got your frank gifford shirt on? >> i wouldn't show up in anything else. we had a big reaction yesterday from our question. who -- i guess everybody in the

world except for myself has read the ""fifty shades of grey" t l trilogy. who do you think should play this in the movie? you picked kevin costner in "no way out." >> not as the hatfields and mccoys. and you also picked the one and only frank gifford. >> when he was about 27. which is how old christian grey is supposed to be. >> i picked gordon gekko. sexy in charge. a lot of women thought ryan gosling. he's an awfully good actor, too. he's cute on the eyes. great actor. a lot of people because of magic mike thought of chaning tatum. >> no, no. matt boemer first. he's adorable. absolutely hot.

and channing tatum. he is the sweetest guy. he was here last week for "magic mike." he's from alabama. southern boys, they have manners. and i didn't mind being called mam. >> have you ever had a funun? seriously, get involved. fununs are so good. >> christian bale, a lot of you also thought. which is kind of surprising to me. because he's not anywhere near 27. >> bite into it. tell me how bad your breath is right now. they are awesome. you have to sit alone and eat a bag of these. funyuns. they fit right on it. they fit right on it. it's unbelievable. boy, do i need a pedicure. >> so here's the question. if your friend's husband hit on you, what would you do? what would you do?

would you tell your friend? would you not tell? how would you address it? well, frisky.com. there's a dot-com for everything. they talked about ways to handle the situation. >> first of all, don't blame yourself. you can't help it that you're gorgeous and hot. >> and your cleavage is out. >> and your friend isn't, apparently. >> they say no one is perfect. also they say, this is i guess one of the solutions. should you never be alone with your friend's spouse? >> after that? no. >> would you tell your friend or not? >> it did happen to me one time. >> it did? >> yeah. it's such a creepy feeling. it just really, really is. they weren't close friends. but it was a friend's husband. >> so what did you do? >> i acted like i didn't hear him and moved to the other room. >> the question is -- they also say, too, i would say away from the person and i would -- but i don't think i would say anything. because -- >> the guys have some things about that.

>> what do you have to say? >> i just want to say, if my friend's husband hit on me, i would tell him i am very flattered, but it's not that kind of party. >> well, the thing is that it's a slippery slope. if you say something to her, she may take his side. and now you're -- >> your femme fatal brought it on. >> but you need to stay away from him. there's a lot of women in the world. don't do it. >> do not tell her that her husband hit on you. you will be the enemy from that point on. >> she'll think you brought it on. what did you do? or you misread it. he didn't hit on you. what were you thinking? >> it's a no win. >> his response will be, honey, she's a whore. that will be his response. >> i'm okay with that, actually. >> what does the divorced bachelor think? >> thank you so much for the wonderful introduction, kathie. i say -- i say run.

that's all you got to do. run away and then lie about it. >> and send the wives and the mothers to me. >> that's why my relationship worked so well. >> that was fascinating. not. are you all still talking? >> that's my favorite line of all time. all right. so you guys are wondering where the manliest city in the united states is -- >> it isn't here. sorry, guys. it ain't new york. >> the way they narrowed it down is the places with most gyms and steakhouses and home depots and stuff like that. they also found the ones with the least number of manicure and pedicure places. stuff like that. number one is birmingham, alabama. number four is nashville, tennessee. number three is memphis, which is a lot like nashville. number two is columbia, south

carolina. >> are you noticing a southern trend? >> yes. >> and number one, the manliest city in the country is oklahoma city, oklahoma. wow. okay. there you go. anything? >> my wife is from there. >> thank you for that. no i did not. i said my wife is from there. i was about to say, she knows manly men. that's why she chose me. >> why did she leave the manliest city in america. >> the manliest man but in the most cultured city. >> there you go. that was nice. this next story is going to upset a lot of people, we think. in germany, this mayor decided that women are not good parkers, and they can't park their cars well. so this mayor decided that the trickiest spots he was giving just to men. there's actually a symbol, a

male symbol, male only parking lot. >> look at him smiling and pointing. >> i say taze him and then vote him out. >> he says it's too complicated for women to park in the spots. >> too many angles. >> they say the spaces for women are wider, well lit and closer to the exit. >> we're just so pathetic. >> what is wrong with that? >> you guys think that's funny? >> we did research on the topic. >> you know, the whole women can't drive thing comes from, you know where that came from? >> where? >> science. when y'all get mad, make sure you get the right black guy. >> it's all scientific. >> and what does the science say, professor? >> it says that i am a dummy.

i can't believe i just said that. >> we can't believe it either. now they have these cars that will do it for you. you just push a button and it parallel parks for you. >> have you ever had, not that i have, i see people have such a hard time that you start to panic. you sweat like crazy. and you pretend like something is wrong with the car. >> i do have trouble parallel parking. i will admit. i'm not great at it. what? i'm not very good at it. i'm not. can you parallel park well? >> i learned -- the problem is people don't pull up close enough. there's a spot. you got to pull up on your own car. >> i don't like to get that close to the other car. >> my gosh, hoda, if you can't do that how can you host a magnificent television show like this every day? >> i can't get my chair down. try to get your chair down.

>> the trouble is we have rear ends. that's why we women cannot get out of the chairs. are you sunk in there? >> i couldn't breathe. i was getting swallowed. your good buddy cheyenne. >> he let us know that he started writing songs, and so, you know him from tv's "30 rock" and a terrific star of broadway. today he's releasing a brand new single which he wrote. i love this title "before you." sounds a little michael buble-ish and jason mraz. the entire video is available today. i just want you to see a little bit of his video. ♪ there has to be a way for me to find a sunny day ♪ ♪ and you make me want to say ♪ i was lost in my head, trying to forget ♪

♪ before you i never really had a chance ♪ >> isn't that great? cute. >> he is cute. >> he said we could show it only if we promise to let him come back and sing it in the studio for us live. >> maybe he would play christian grey. >> cheyenne wouldn't be so bad as christian grey. we're so happy for him. you know, most talented people you meet also do something else very, very well. you know. so he's a doll. so we're very, very happy. >> how is your fourth life? >> i have to have maryland crabs to go with this or it's just not the same. got me those back there? all righty. let's face it, everybody. men and women are different. will we ever truly understand each other? >> and our all-guys panel is going to chime in on everything. as you've already heard. first, these messages. [ female announcer ] can your body wash nourish this deeply?

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about women. one of them is that i think men are more romantic than women are. they fall in love faster than women do. >> you say they're visual. is that falling in love? >> it's falling in love. because we put them in a brain scanner and study the brain circuits, and it is falling in love. >> really? >> how long does that last? >> overnight. >> men are two and a half more times more likely to kill themselves when a relationship is over. not only when they fall in love, they also want to do more kissing in public. it's called mate guarding. they want to show everybody they're there. they want to move in sooner. they want to introduce the person to their relatives, and they have more intimate conversations with their wives and lovers. and women have more intimate conversations with their girlfriends. we don't share as much with our men. >> let's talk about surprising stuff. >> it is. >> let's look at photos. this depicts what you're talking about. first pictures of two women talks face to face.

i guess this is how women discuss. they look at each other in the eye. they're close. >> we do it face-to-face. and we talk. and it comes from millions of years of holding a baby in front of your face, educating with words. >> let's look at two men. this is how two men discuss things. okay. maybe not. there they are. the guy on the right looks up. the guy on the left will look away. >> i think it comes from millions of years from sitting behind the bush on the grass sides of africa trying to hit the buffalo in the head with a rock. can't be talking to your neighbor while you do it. >> look at the third picture. >> it's funny when you're talking to a man. sometimes when they're walking they reveal more because they're not looking at you. >> ah. >> if you want a really good conversation with a man, do it while he's driving a car. he can't go. you're side by side. you're not looking at him. >> i love it. our third picture is a man and a woman. let's check this one out. she's all wrapped up in him, and

he's totally not. wouldn't you say she's more romantic? >> no, no, no. she's trying to reach him, and he's feeling invaded, because he's trying to reach her. he's talking as if she's sitting next to him. they're looking forward together, and that's the way men can talk. >> we took a quiz that was going to tell us about our personalities. and we don't know the answers at all. >> it's a questionnaire that i did. 10 million people have taken it in 40 countries. i'm measuring the trait linked with four brain systems. >> what did you learn about us? >> you're very high estrogen and very low testosterone. but the brain is building the world. it's building more connections between the front and the back, between the two sides, giving you -- giving you both your verbal skills.

>> it asks about empathy. it asks about mechanical skills. >> you have a tremendous amount of empathy. you wouldn't be able to do your job. i'm not surprised you can't park your car. both of you were very low on the testosterone scale. >> then why do i have so much facial hair? >> you're a girl, face it. >> thank you so much. >> that was lots of fun. thank you for coming to see us. all right. we're going to find out if our guys agree with this. >> do they? >> i don't know. they're going to give us some advice or whatever they call it for all the ladies out there. oh my. he's strangling his child. ♪ [ male announcer ] what's in your energy drink?

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it's time for the answers to your burning questions about your man. first up is ryan serhant from the show "million dollar listing", and ladies, he's never been married. just so you know. anyway, next is our resident stand up comic chuck knight. star of "world's dumbest." he's been married for years and has four children. >> our next guy is actor and weight watchers blogger. >> what? and last but not least, is former bachelor star bob ginny. now the bob of hgtv's show house showdown. bob has been married but is sadly no longer. but he's with us today.

his fortunes may change. we're going to turn the beat around, baby. >> he's never been married, ladi ladies. and he's been married a lot. >> let's go to sarah for the first question. >> hi, guys. i'm with alison from rhode island. she has a dating question. >> hello, gentleman. i would like to know why when you ask me out on a date, i have to plan said date. >> i'm working. >> said date. >> she may be working, too. >> because you know what, here's the thing, that is me being very considerate of you i'm going to do what you want me to do as opposed to what i want to do, which is probably not go anywhere and spend money on you. guys do not like to be wrong. we took enough of a chance to ask you out. let's not mess this up anymore. >> i will say this to you. i will eat anything, clearly,

anywhere. and women tend to have a more particular diet. maybe they only like a particular type of food. >> let's go back to sarah. >> next up i have ginette from florida. >> hi, gentlemen. i would like to know why do guys walk like a mile in front of you instead of right beside you? >> where are you at? >> that guy might be trying to get away. >> and he's got a good lead on you. you better pick up the pace. >> we have places to go. we're doing things. you want to go here, let's get it done, let's get it done. >> honestly, if you notice, we do the same thing with our children. if you ever see women walk with their kids. they're like come on, come on. guys are like, where is your kid? i don't care. >> also because i'm texting my other girlfriend at the time. >> oh! >> those kind of jokes don't go over well. >> i'm sorry. i'm sorry. >> good for you to know. >> maybe it's not a joke. >> all right, we are going to come back with more of the guy's

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as anything you've ever seen. fios gives me way more for my money. [ male announcer ] switching to fios has never been easier with our whole home solution. get what you need in one easy package -- a $359 value. call 1-877-827-fios. that's 1-877-827-3467. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. say goodbye to your old technology. welcome to life on fios. ♪ welcome to life on fios. you're on timeout leo! some things won't last 25 years. ah! woof. some things will. save up to 20% on an ikea kitchen. [ female announcer ] every day, there seems to be a new reason not to make a home-cooked meal. work... errands... ♪ ...a greasy bag of deep-fried easy. ♪ but you have hamburger helper on your side.

with 40 varieties that are all fast and easy to make, nothing stands in your way of a home-cooked meal. hamburger helper. help is on the way. ♪ and we're back on this wines day wednesday with this special edition of "today." you can't do a guy show without getting the tell-all panel. we ha hi, guys. i'm here with jenny from florida. she's got a mom question. >> hi, gentlemen. why do men compare the women in their lives to their mothers? >> because she's the first woman we ever meet. >> it's like, even when you're not trying to, there are things about your mother that, you know, i find myself -- there's so much that my wife and my mother have in common.

>> but you love your mother. >> i love my mother. >> your mother is your first, love, i think, as a woman. so you're always compares and do you do thing like her that are good or things like her that are bad. >> that's why i love myself. because i am just like my mother. >> that was just weird. >> katie says, what if a guy asks you out, but you're actually interested in his friend. >> and i have a thought on that. chuck and i have been friends for a long time. >> and that's why his wife left him. >> that's right. and she left me for chuck. it works on who the friend is. if it's chuck and i, let's say, chuck asks a girl out and she's more interested in me, then go for it. if i ask you out and you're interested in chuck, then don't do that. >> that happened to me where a girl has come up to me at the bar and she got me drunk, and she gave me a lot of drink and got me to give her my friend's number. that's how she did it. >> were you brokenhearted?

>> sort of. >> did you feel used and abused? >> no. >> and you got free drinks. >> run. don't go for the guy that you don't want. especially if he's going to be hanging around with the guy you like all the time. >> let's go back across to sarah. >> hi guys, elena from texas has a question about vacation. >> okay, so we're on vacation. girls are on vacation, wives are on vacation, and we left you in charge. why do you feel the need to micro manage or have us micro manage, texting and calling and asking us to schedule, when we're on vacation? it's your job. >> hmm? >> i didn't understand that a word of that? >> i didn't get that. >> what the heck are you talking about? >> they're on vacation and the husbands are calling back to find out how to do stuff. >> yeah. >> you understood that? >> when and where and what to talk and where is the valet bag?

>> i'm actually glad when my wife goes and leaves me with my son. now we're going to do things my way. hey, now is your chance to do things your way and leave me alone. >> it should make you feel good. she likes being told what to do. she listens to you. even on vacation you got to tell him, make sure you text whoever. >> why aren't they vacationing as a family? >> that was my first thing. >> all right. all right. i'm concerned about the breakdown of the american home. >> from blair. should i ever approach a guy, or should i wait for him to approach me? >> approach for sure. yeah. >> you all say that. wow. >> sarah? >> i'm here with kathleen from oregon with a question about fashion. >> i'm wondering where most men get their fashion sense from. >> or lack of. >> i think that it comes for your father. >> i do not dress like my dad.

>> i don't dress like my father because he eventually became a cowboy. he looked like a black johnny cash. but he was stylish for what he liked. so it's like, i kind of got a -- >> you got the black vest thing happening. >> i'm urban cowboy. i'm taking it to the next level. >> i think you get it from your friends. you are kind of what your associations are. >> i have always enjoyed dressing up in men's, women's, it's all kinds of clothing for me. as long as it looks good. >> i think you get it from women you like, too. >> that's a big thing. i'll tell you when i really first started trying to be fashionable, i had a girlfriend who said, you need to be more fashionable. and that did it. >> thanks so much. you're going to stay with us the rest of the show. >> of course you are. >> things are going to get messy coming up because sarah is going to show us how guys live.

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and we're back with more dirt on the other sex. we sent sarah out on a mission to get guys to come clean on how they live. >> we did encounter some neat men. if your guy's mess and clutter is driving you nuts, you are not alone. >> would you mind telling me please what all these clothes are doing here in the living room? >> oh, that's where i took them off. would you put them away for me, dear? >> from "i love lucy" to "the breakup." >> i want you to want to do the dishes. >> men are often portrayed as messy. how do guys stack up in real life? >> when he comes home from work, he takes his shoes off and leaves his socks and everything there. >> the laundry basket is right there. the clothes stay next to it. >> the bathroom.

>> leaves the toilet seat up. >> hello. amanda, who owns a public relations firm in new york city invited us into her home to give us the dirt on her husband andre. we start with the kitchen. >> i don't understand we have to recycle paper towels. we wash our hands. we take a paper towel and leave them on the counter because apparently we're going to use them again at some point. he loves to pour coffee and only drinks this much of. five glasses of coffee. each one just a little higher than the last. >> and he leaves glasses out. >> and the the list of complaints continues. >> he's not good at towel hanging. when we remove water from the refrigerator, we don't know how to put it back. >> i can tell this by the positioning of the pillow. empty paper roll. >> we won't go there. >> then it's time to explore uncharted territories.

andre's man cave. we need to see the mess. clothing. we predicted this. >> oh, sorry. oh, oh my gosh. >> we have one, two, three, cups of coffee. >> apparently one is not enough. >> what else did we predict? a possible food item. >> ew. clothing, coffee, and food item. >> yep. >> his side of the story. >> i suffer from pst. >> post -- stress. it's almost like living in a museum. it's a by-product of living in the house. a little bit of mess. >> for the record, just so you know, samantha and andre have been happily married for seven years despite his messiness. >> i like him. >> they are darling. you know, you learn to just expect it and see it as part of

them. >> he said before he can finish things she's grabbing them out of the hands. >> my sister is like that. >> can andre clean up his act for samantha? >> we're going to find out how we can all live together peacefully. right after this. [ sound fades ] at a moment like this, i don't care if my tampons come in a little black box. tampax pearl protects better than u by kotex. [ cheers and applause ] [ angie ] outsmart mother nature

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as you probably know, there are certain guy issues that can drive every woman crazy, especially when you live with them and you love them. and we're not just talking socks on the floor. >> interior designer and the host of hgtv's house hunters on vacation, tonya is here with solutions for happily cohabitating. and she's brought along messy andre. >> andre is back. >> these are all things that are correctable, you say, right? >> i think so. i think it's all about compromise. some women like to go over the top with their fancy pillows and

things like that. what i'm here to do is help people like andre and samantha figure out what we can do, particularly here in the bedroom. >> let's talk about dirty clothes on the floor. that was a big thing. >> are you aware you're doing that when you do it? >> no. totally unconscious. >> not that part of the brain. >> so how do we unring that bell? >> what we have to do is not the nagging. nagging does not work. >> obviously does not work. we have to find ways where things are landing and make it easier. i know, why do we have to make it easier for them? >> we do. here's a perfect example. keep baskets in a place where he's typically dropping his towels, let's see if he can just get them in there. >> plus, it will look nice in your home, baskets everywhere. >> okay. so this is for -- >> andre can play games. >> this is for the guy that's still a kid at heart. if you want to make it a little easier. >> get it, andre.

let's see if she can get it in. >> you turn it into a game. that might not be the most appealing thing. >> not unless you love basketball things in your home. >> well, this would be plan "b." take a hutch. this one i got from wayfair.com. it was under $200. you can get it at a thrift shop. get a hand me down. cut a hole right out of the top, and let that become your hamper. >> that i like. that's smart. so now you don't really have anything showing. it looks like a bookshelf. and the clothes are tucked away. >> i really like that one. >> bob was leaving coffee all over the place. he also has a thing with water bottl bottles. if we want to fix up that issue, what's the deal with that? >> what's with the coffee? >> it's easier to bring another one down. >> than to bring one up. >> it's easier when you got to bring them all up at one time. >> i do once in a while. >> what do we do with this? >> i have a method to the

madness. instead of too in water bottles, get a carafe. fill it up with water but keep it on a tray. that way when all is said and done, you load up the tray and take everything together. >> all right. >> great idea. but i wouldn't bank on it. >> yeah. you don't think it's going to happen. >> i like the idea. >> you like the idea? >> yeah, i do. much better. >> this is going to make it easier. >> and you do the same with the coffee cup? >> same with the coffee cup. exactly. >> we only have like a minute left. but you say this carpeting is great because it doesn't show stains or anything. >> yeah. i. do you like the way this looks? >> no! i love it. >> i have a suggestion for hook. if he can hang a hook. hang shirts on. hang it up. look at him. he's smiling. i need the chair to put the clothes on.

>> so hooks. >> find a chair with a hole in it and let that be the hamper. we have to do our makeovers. >> house hunters on vacation this sunday on hgtv. >> coming up, this is great. we're doing man makeovers. ♪ the first time i saw fios it was absolutely amazing.

for years and years we had to put up with cable. once we got fios it was like somebody like took our computer and shook all the junk out of it. [ male announcer ] don't settle for the same old cable technology. switch to a verizon fios triple play and upgrade your entertainment equipment with our 100% fiber-optic network and whole home solution, including a high-speed wireless router plus a new multi-room dvr and new hd set top box free for 12 months. everything has to be fast now, and that's what fios provides us right now when we want it. [ male announcer ] and now, with new fios quantum speeds,

you can enjoy internet more than twice as fast as anything you've ever seen. fios gives me way more for my money. [ male announcer ] switching to fios has never been easier with our whole home solution. get what you need in one easy package -- a $359 value. call 1-877-827-fios. that's 1-877-827-3467. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. say goodbye to your old technology. welcome to life on fios. ♪

and we're back with our special show dedicated to all men everywhere. it's time to turn the spotlight on three special guys who deserved a little primping and pampering. >> we searched high and low to find men to makeover with eve michael. >> so funny, by the way. so what is your philophy behind these makeovers? >> my philosophy is that every person in this country deserves to know how to look their best.

we've kind of fallen asleep at the wheel. so i really want make over america by teaching everyone my method on how to look good. i wrote about it in my book. >> of course, you did. >> what else would you be doing? >> dress code. >> look at you rgs fancy. >> our first guy is george. now george has been married for two and a half years. but he feels he let himself go a bit. he asked for your help to make him look great for his wife. and this is his before picture. good. good. but let's see what you did to him. . i'm sorry. dude! dude! tell us what you did. tell us. >> as i work internationally, i work internationally. i really want americans to compete on a global level. and i want us to see ourselves as more. so george came to me. he said, i look like a pasty janitor.

and he's in the maintenance business. i said, but i see you as so much more than that. yeah. and so i dressed him up so he could look great for his wife who is on a meditation retreat. what do you think? do you like? >> i do. i bought all the stuff. >> you bought it? >> yeah. >> you look amazing, right? the best part is his wife went on a meditation retreat. she's been silent. he's going to have her screaming now. next up we have tim. tim recently lost his job and is looking to get back in the market. his idea of business attire is golf clothing. this is his before picture. ♪ it's raining men >> oh my! wow. whoo!

hey. >> all right. >> whoa, whoa. making my heartthrob. i wanted him to get up there with the fortune 300 and 500 companies, as he deserves. he's a brain yiac. he was making himself too humble. >> he already has a job. >> oh, yeah. >> that suit is so nice. do you feel different? >> i feel fantastic. >> with the haircut and the o outfit? >> no more helmet hair. don draper. move over. >> i would do you in a second! >> careful. his wife is here. >> big round of applause. >> tim, thank you, honey. >> oh my gosh. we're falling apart. finally we have matt. he is a building contractor. but he dresses like he still works in construction. which he now no longer does. he wanted to amp up his look.

okay. i also think it's the angle of the camera. >> we hope. this is the before picture. all right. next. oh, yeah! [ applause ] # ♪ >> thank you. i clean up well. >> look at the hair. >> tell us what you did. >> i'll tell you something. first of all, we lightened his hair. got the sun kissed look. and we put him in a great relaxed casual so he can go meet his multi-million dollar clients with and they can relate to him. we also put him in spanx. >> oh! all of the guys, come on out. come on out. i want to say something. women are not the only ones who have figure issues. >> that's true. guys have tummies and thighs, too. they were terrific.

>> john is going to be here with us tomorrow. how about a big thanks? >> have a great day. whoo!