good morning. new anger, new attacks. demonstrators set fire to cars and clashed with police in kabul, afghanistan, as further south four american servicemen are killed in another inside attack. royal defiance. an italian magazine publishes more photos this morning of the duchess of cambridge sunbathing topless as lawyers of the royal couple head to court in france to file a criminal complaint against the photographer who took them. and amazing or alarming, video of a toddler playing with a 300-pound gorilla just posted on youtube. it happened years ago, but it's sparking a big debate among parents today, monday, september 17th, 2012.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television this is "today" with matt lauer and f-guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lawer. >> good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie. that wave of anti-american violence keeps spreading this morning with protests now in at least 20 countries. >> the latest demonstrations overnight in afghanistan, pakistan and indonesia, these were all sparked by an internet movie that ridicules the islamic faith. this morning we're going to get some unique perspective on what's going on from salman rushdie who faced a similar backlash to his fictional book "the satanic verses" some 23 years ago. also, new details on a case that gripped the nation in the '70s. you'll probably remember it. a former green beret and doctor convicted of killing his pregnant wife and their two daughters.

jeffrey macdonald's story was made famous by the best selling book and tv movie "fatal vision." for 42 years he has maintained his innocence and is now hoping new dna evidence can clear his name. we'll have more on that story. on a much, much lighter note. it was a big weekend for korean pop sensation psy following his live performance on the plaza on friday. i leave for one day and look what happens out there. >> i was going to say. matt, you weren't here because you were worried your invisible horse dance wasn't up to snuff >> i was worriedhat i would have to do that and i watched some video of you guys doing that. meanwhile, he had a very big appearance. >> made a surprise appearance on "snl" and his single has climbed to number one on the itunes chart. this morning, as prompted, he will have a special message for his fans. >> get to that a little later on, take a breath and start with the very serious story of ongoing anti-american violence in the east.

richard angel is in kabul. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. these protests are continuing in pakistan, indonesia, here in kabul, but they do appear to be getting smaller. for u.s. troops in afghanistan there is a much bigger problem, insider attacks, and there were two more of them this weekend. almost like a storm, this cloud of anti-american rage is now moving to the fringes of the region. a few hundred afghans today expressed anger over the internet movie that lampooned the muslim prophet muhammad. some armed, they burned cars and clashed wit police near a u.s. logistics base on the outskirts of kabul, but this isn't what has u.s. officials really rried here. four american soldiers were killed sunday by the afghan police they were working with at a tiny outbust near the pakistani border. five policemen from the outpost escaped. afghan police on saturday killed two british soldiers who were in

the midst of treating a wounded man. more than 50 nato troops have been killed in these so-called insider attacks this year. u.s. policy is to train afghan forces so americans can leave here in 2014, but it's hard to train when the trainees are killing you. it's hard to draw down, too, leaving fewer americans to protect each other. >> this is a new phenomena. it's related to taliban activity, and it reflects a widespread belief among the afghans that the u.s. is coming out, and it's time to demonstrate your loyalty to the incoming power. >> reporter: the afghan government says it's now re-screening its security forces. >> i think we're going to continue to see this kind of violence, perhaps even escalating violence, up to and including the day we're all gone from there. >> reporter: on friday the taliban launched a bold raid on a tato base in southern afghanistan, the same one where

britain's prince harry is posted. the militants got deep inside, killed two u.s. marines and destroyed six marine harrier jets. the militants wore american uniforms. it's increasingly hard to know here who the enemy is. that attack caused about $200 million worth of damages. these insider attacks destroy trust between u.s. and afghan forces, and it's their ability to work together that is the basis for the u.s. exit strategy from this country. matt? >> richard angel in kabul this morning. richard, thank you very much. the washington bureau chief of al arabiya, the arab language satellite channel. good to see think morning. >> thank you. >> let me ask you about the protests that we've now been watching for the better part of a week in parts of the middle east, the horn of africa. what's behind these, in your opinion? is this about this small-time internet movie, or is this something much deeper, a long simmering distrust of the united

states? >> it's all the above. it's much long-simmering resentment of the united states. it has some legitimate reasons, but it's essentially a pretext, and it is not really about religion. it's about politics and world power. it's about what's taking place in these countries that are going through a tremendous complex, painful transition. take egypt, for instance, extremists and islamists with different interpretations of islam competing with the mainstream islamist group in egypt which is the muslim brotherhood. >> right. >> they whipped up frenzy against the movie initially, and then the president, who is very cynical, was looking to protect his flanks so he called for more monstrations instead of containing the demonstrations or condemning them so what you have is a competition in egypt as to who is going to shape the future of egypt, and using this movie as a pretext. >> which raised the question. is this about the united states really a all, or is this about

uncertainty in these people's own futures and their religious leaders and their political leaders simply finding a convenient target in the united states? >> it is about the united states only in a partial way. there are, as i said, legitimate grievances against u.s. policy, traditional support for the autocratic regimes, failure to solve the palestine problem, the way the war on terror was framed and conducted and the civilian casualties, all that's true. the problem is you have now more -- it has to do with what's taking place in those societies, especially in the arab world, in those societies going through this transition. >> right. >> you have competing forces using a pretext like the movie. you are going to see this taking place all over the arab world and the muslim world because these societies feel marginalized, feel aggrieved, and they are ruled by oppressive regimes, and the regimes are

very good at directing the wrath of their own people, not against the injustices in those societies, but against the american boogieman. >> when you look back at the speech that president obama gave in 2009 in cairo when he talked about his desire to recalibrate the relationship between the united states and the muslim world or the arab world, where does that re-calibration stand as we now watch the images coming from many of these cities? >> it must be extremely ironic for the president who went to cairo to call for a new beginning with the muslim world to see that his policies are in tatters right now, and not necessarily because of his actions, although he's blamed now because he failed to solve the arab-israeli conflict and all that. that tells you that this is not essentially about the united states policy or about president barack obama. it's about what's taking place in those societies, and i think the president and the secretary of state will make a mistake if they make it a religious issue. we are not engaged in

theological disputations with these people. this is role politics, and when the president talks about islam or judaism or christianity, we are playing their game. this should not be the game. the game should be that your societies have serious problems, economic, social, cultural, and have you to deal with those problems, and we are willing to help, but this is not about the united states. >> right. >> it's about role politics in the arab world and the muslim world. >> thank you so much for your time this morning. it's always good to see you. >> thank you. >> it's 7:09. here's savannah. >> matt, thanks. how are the attacks and protests abroad impacting the presidential race. chuck todd's is nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent. chuck, good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. >> of course, these events don't take place in a vacuum, take place in the middle of a presidential campaign, and all along the president's advisers have said they are worried about an outside event, something beyond their control that could impact the campaign. does -- do these protests in the middle east have the potential to have that kind of impact to the extent that they expose weakness in the president's

policies? >> reporter: look, they do. i'm reminded by all politics is local, even overseas, and when you hear some of his descriptions of what's going on, but, yes, this qualifies as one of those events. it plays into this narrative of, okay, are things better, you know. the president made promises about an outreach to the muslim world. are things better? matt brought up the speech in cairo. i remember being at that speech. you and i were both traveling with the president at that time, and to think that this is what we're seeing almost four years later where america is being protested as if it didn't matter who was president again, so i think when it calls into question some of those promises, yes, this is the type of unexpected event that could end up looking back, could be one of those things that derails the re-election. >> meantime, mitt romney is obviously trying to seize the moment, but i guess the question is he smart to go with foreign policy to the extent that that distracts him from the economy which is his calling card for the election? >> reporter: savannah, there's an internal dispute in the

campaign about which direction to go, because on the one hand you could make the argument this plays into status quo versus change. are you better off? are you better off in the relationship in the middle east? are things better off here at home? on the other hand, at the same time is the economic message working? you know, that's what he had been focused on for seven months, and it hadn't made progress. it sort of hit a ceiling, so i think that's sort of the dispute internally in the campaign. on the one hand the romney folks don't want to look like they are off message. foreign policy crisis, as fast as they arise, they sometimes dissipate as quickly and the public may turn around and say, hey, wait a minute, what about the economy? >> real quickly, i want to ask you about an article in "politico" which details squabbling among romney advisers, a lot of blind quotes, anonymous quotes. is there an ominous sign for the campaign that they are blaming each other anonymously in print? >> reporter: this certainly doesn't happen in winning campaigns, right, savannah, the type of thing you read about losing campaigns.

it reads like a prebituary, if you will, people will see who is going to get the blame for the republican party's best chance of knocking off an incumbent president in 30 years. this sounds like over-panic, if you will. 50 days, still a ways to go. the first debates are still coming up, and i've got to tell you both campaigns are so concerned about the first debates, they both have taken a lot more time out of their schedules due to debate prep than maybe people realize. >> chuck todd in our washington newsroom, thank you. 7:12. once again here's matt. thank you. to an alleged terror plot thwarted right here in the united states. an 18-year-old is due in federal court today for allegedly planning to detonate a car bomb outside a chicago nightclub. nbc's katie tur has details on that. katie, good morning. >> reporter: and the 18-year-old, matt, is here -- from here in this chicago suburb. he is a u.s. citizen, and as you said is due back in federal court later today. he's facing charges that he planned and then tried to carry

out an act of terrorism just last friday. the fbi says adel daoud was intent on killing as many americans as possible. according to the criminal complaint, the 18-year-old from hillside illinois drove a green jeep cherokee full of what he thought was explosives to a downtown chicago nightclub and then attempted to detonate it. the teenager first came to the fbi's attention in 2011 when he sent e-mails sympathizing with bin laden, writing in one that osama wasn't crazy for wanting to destroy america. eventually court papers say daoud met with an undercover agent posing as an extremist. he picked the unnamed nightclub from google maps and allegedly told the agent he wanted the attack to be massive enough to make it in the news, like tonight. authorities say daoud was bent on terrorism, vowing repeatedly that it was in his heart.

>> we're going to see more and more examples of this type of self-radicalization. this is the new wave in the terrorist threat, but it doesn't mean it's a threat that we can't deal with. >> a kid that i know, adel is an angel. he helped me -- my husband was away, and he helped me start the lawn mower. >> reporter: surprise from neighbors and a denial from daoud eats family. in an interview with the "new york times" the teen's brother claimed daoud was always peaceful. that one time he got punched at school, and he didn't do anything. he's a very passive person. the complaint outlines a number of online discussions in which daoud used popular internet shorthand like lol or laughing out loud, a sign of just how assimilated into american culture the teenager is. federal authorities stress that at no time was there any danger that daoud would detonate a bomb. matt. >> katy tur in chicago, thanks

very much. >> now for the rest of the day's news with tamron hall over at the news desk. mayor rahm emanuel has raised the stakes as the teachers strike has entered its second week, seeking a court order forcing teachers back into the classrooms. on sunday the teachers said they were not comfortable with a tentative contract offer and wanted more time to go over it. fire fighters have contained the largest of the mountain wildfires that broke out during a weekend heat wave in southern california. four fire fighters were injured. meantime, several large fires are still raging in washington state, and canada is sending fire crews in to help out. in iraq this morning, a suicide car bomber killed at least seven iraqis and wounded more than ten others, including a member of parliament. that attack took place near the for the guide green zone where the u.s. and other western embassies are located. china pledged this morning to protect japanese citizens and property after china's worth

outbreak of anti-japan violence in decades. a dispute over a group of uninhabited islands is behind the friction that involved asia's two largest economies. major japanese firms have temporarily closed their factories in china and urge japanese workers to stay indoors. gasoline prices have jumped another five cents a gallon in the past week. aaa says the nationwide average now, $3.87 a gallon for regular. reasons for this latest increase are tensions in the middle east and u.s. refinery shutdowns due to hurricane isaac. wall street will try to build on last week's rally. more now from the new york stock exchange. >> reporter: good morning, tamron. that's right, occupy wall street protesters may try to blockade the new york stock exchange today, but investors aren't staying away. the stock market is close to levels it hasn't seen in nearly five years. that's after the federal reserve acted to boost the economy last week. now all eyes are turning to europe where leaders will meet this week to try and resolve the

crisis there. tamron. >> all right. kayla, thank you so much. here's a question. what happens when a zoo keeps lions and tigers in the same enclosure, and they happen to be a boy and a girl. you get a liger. you probably heard of ligers, a cross between a lion and tiger as mentioned. in russia one of the ligers made it with a lion to produce the world's only known laliger. the laliger cub has been named kiara after a character in "the lion king." it's 7:17, back to matt, savannah and al. what movie made the liger famous? >> a classic. >> "napoleon dynamite." >> i've never heard of a liger.

>> mr. roker. >> severe weather down to the south. an upper level low will be pushing its way into the southeast from new orleans southeast from new orleans all the way to charlotte. as you look on the radar, you can see, we've got firing u already, a lot of rain. as we go into the future, you can see that rain firing up. really making its way up into the southeast. later tomorrow, into the mid-atlantic states, we've got the risk of strong storms. maybe a tornado. rainfall anywhere from 4 to 5 inches rain from new orleans to lexington, i kentucky and ro ow knock, virginia. >> spectacular sunrise. good morning. i'm meteorologist tom kierein. gold and sunlight gleaming off the river. 59 now. temperatures generally in the low 50s and even 40s. later today, into the 70s. increasing clouds. rain arriving around midnight tonight and off and on tomorrow

that's your latest weather. savannah. >> al, thanks. now to the so-called "fatal vision" case, a former army doctor convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and two young daughters. jeffrey macdonald has maintained his innocence for 42 years, but now his supporters are hoping that a new hearing can clear his name. this report from wilmington, north carolina this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, savannah. the story of jeffrey macdonald and the murders of his wife and two daughters have been the subject of tv movies, documentaries and books. for 4 years he's maintained his innocence and now the ivy-league educate kated doctor is hoping a new hearing will clear his name or help determine if he's a cold-blooded killer. throughout the 1970s, america was gripped by the case of jeffrey macdonald, handsome, a doctor, a member of the elite green berets, accused of stabbing and bludgeoning to death his pregnant wife colette

and their two young daughters, ages 2 and 5. it was horrifically similar to the manson murders. the word pig scrawled in blood in the family's apartment in ft. bragg, not carol. macdonald claimed hippies chanting acid is groovy broke into the home, killed his family and left him injured and enough. the army found there wasn't enough evidence to pursue the case, but in 1979 a federal jury found macdonald guilty. >> he argued that a gang of crazies broke into her apartment and did the killing, but jury found he did it. >> reporter: macdonald maintained his innocence, refusing to even seek parole. >> i'm not going to tell two or three bureaucrats that i am sorry for something i didn't do. i did not murder my family >> reporter: case led to a best-selling vision." then an nbc miniseries by the same name. which depicted macdonald as killer. >> i'm innocent of the charges, and i've always been innocent. >> reporter: case went all the

way to the supreme court which upheld macdonald's conviction, but today in yet another court a judge will begin to determine whether new dna evidence and a defense claim that federal prosecutor intimidated a witness to lie are enough to reopen the case. jim blackburn, who prosecuted macdonald, has since been found guilty of unrelated ethical violations and has been disbarred, but he says he still believes the verdict was correct. colette macdonald's brother bob stevenson says, quote, there is nothing new out there, but jeffrey macdonald hopes that's not the case as he continues to fight, as he has, for 42 years. >> they can't take away the rest of my life and brand me as a murderer. i'm not, and i'm not going to let it happen. >> reporter: macdonald is now remarried. he

she is expected to be at the hearing later this weak. >> will legal action by the riley couple keep others from doing the same but first, this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead, salman rushdie on years of hiding and the echos he sees now of what's happening in the middle east. we'll be talking to him. >> an amazing perspective to offer. but first your local news and weather. mornings are a special time for the two of you... and now you can make them even more special... with new fancy feast mornings. mornings are delicious protein rich entrées... with garden veggies and egg. each one perfectly designed... to start her day with a little love. new fancy feast mornings gourmet cat food. the best ingredient is love. will: [ inner voice ] the only place i can afford. i'm so glad you're home. yeah.

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it's like another chapter. good morning. it's 7:26 on this monday, september 17th. i'm aaron gilchrist. you're looking live at the panda house at the national zoo where she gave birth last night. veterinarians say they heard the cub making noise last night. all night long, they've been glued to this feed hoping to get a glimpse. they've gotten one short glimpse of the new panda. now, your forecast. >> big changes on the way but not yet. another morning similar to what we've seen for the last week. cool, clear, down to near 50. clouds closing in from the south throughout the day. and will climb to the upper 70s. then rain likely moving in late

tonight. off and on showers tomorrow. strong storms tomorrow afternoon and evening might produce some wind damage. and evening might produce some wind da[ male announcer ] for the dreamers... and those well grounded. for what's around this corner... and the next. there's cash flow options from pnc. solutions to help businesses like yours accelerate receivables, manage payments, and help ensure access to credit. because we know how important cash flow is to reaching your goals. pnc bank. for the achiever in you.

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♪ >> let me see you jumping. >> 7:30 now on this new england morning, september 17th, 2012. psy had has dancing "gangnam style" on friday and popped up on "snl" over the weekend and can lay claim to the hottest single in the country, number one on itunes. we'll hear from him on that big accomplishment coming up inside studio 1a. i'm savannah guthrie alongside matt lauer. >> looked like a lot of fun. watched your moves. looked like a lot of fun. >> i'm sorry you weren't there because if you had been you

would have been the one with the least rhythm instead of me. >> exactly, and tape of that forever. also, an interesting take on the current unrest in the middle east. coming up, we're going to talk to salman rushdie whose novel more than 20 years ago made him the target of similar anger and death threats, and we're going to get his perspective on this situation in just a couple of minutes. >> and an update on the story we told you about before. a 19-year-old turned internet sensation for the way she's dealt with her severe acne. now she has a starring role at new york's fashion week, and we'll talk to her about that. >> and the programming note. tomorrow on "today" katie lee will catch up with justin bieber's mom. she's written a new memoir about some past struggles in her life, the outlook today and the justin the rest of us don't know. that's an exclusive interview with justin's mom only here on "today," and she will be here live on wednesday. >> look forward to that. we'll begin this half hour with an italian magazine publishing more images of the duchess of cambridge sunbathing topless in france.

michelle kusinski joins us live. >> reporter: while william and kate are trying to enjoy a trip to the south pacific, an italian magazine published more of the photos, more than 20 of them and lawyers will be in court today beginning a battle against these publications. colorful, exuberant trip it's been for william and kate in asia. continuing their say in the solomon islands embraced by the people. kate even wore a dress given to her as a gift and a nearly constant smile. details and moment the world would be focusing on if it weren't for the images snapped earlier this month in france when the couple believed they were in no one's company by their own. they were here on the terrace of a royal relative's chateau. the photographer reportedly several hundred yards away with a long lens and a clear view.

today lawyers for the couple will appear in a french court seeking criminal charges, arguing that privacy was breached, her image damaged by the circulation of these photos of kate sunbathing topless. so far accessible in france, ireland, italy and certain u.s. websites. no publisher in the uk has touched them and british companies with a joint venture with the irish newspaper that ran them is now considering cutting ties. >> we're frankly horfive-day their decision to do it. we're frankly furious with it. >> reporter: a sentiment echoed by many, including princess diana's best friend rosa monkton who witnessed press intrusion in her life until the night she died. >> my first reaction was disbelief followed by anger because it showed me that nothing has changed since 15 years ago when diana died. >> reporter: but the publications that ran the photos have staunchly defended themselves. >> just a beautiful couple, an in-love couple. >> she's not our future queen,

and she won't, you know, and they are very good pics. >> reporter: today an italian magazine plashd out with 42 pages, who apparent with 200 pickages and said a call from the queen herself would not stop them y.go to court over this? if will and kate are successful, fines could be levied, future publications could be stopped, current ones pulled. however, the publications have arguments, too, not in the privacy of their home, outdoors in the view of the road. whose image was harmed by these or perhaps was it just the opposite? once again, the question comes up why didn't their security see this coming? savannah? >> all right. thank you. an attorney with field, fisher, waterhouse in france joins us this morning. sir, good morning to you.

>> good morning to you. let's talk about this lawsuit. do you think the royal family will be successful in this effort in france to get money damages assessed? >> they should actually have no trouble demonstrating that there was a severe invasion of privacy while the royal couple was on vacation in the south of france, so, yes, i think the chances are very much on their side. >> in some sense, of course, the damage has been done. the pictures are out. they have been published. so what is the remedy? is it just about money? >> well, there are several remedies possible in france. one would be damages, money, but i don't think that's what's at stake here. what the royal couple is looking for is an injunction which will prevent the magazine in question from publishing these photos on its internet website or from the magazine selling them to other magazines outside of france, and, again, the royal couple

should be able to win on these requests. >> as you mentioned, it's the injunction that's really the heart of this legal action, but in terms of the fines, do these publications look at it rather cynically and think, hey, it's worth it to pay that money and publish these photos that give us such notoriety. >> very much so. it's a very cynical and business-oriented calculation. money damages in france tend to be a fraction of what they would be in the united states, so any magazine, which is doing a cost-benefit analysis, is going to tell itself we're better off publishing these photographs, selling a maximum number of issues, and then going to court and paying whatever damages we're going to have to pay. >> what about criminal action against the photographer who shot the foeto, i suppose, for invasion of privacy? >> yeah. if they could identify who the paparazzi is, they could go after him on criminal grounds,

in other words, invasion of privacy, reaching into the private abody of the royal couple when they were on vacation, but we'll have to first figure out who the photographer was, and that's not necessarily going to be such an easy thing to do. >> this italian publication that has published these photos this morning, how feasible is for the royal family to go publication, by publication, trying to get these photos from being published? >> in europe there are at least 27 member states of the european union and if you have one magazine that wants to publish these photos they will have to go through 27 legal systems to get an injunction in each one. a french court would not be able to prohibit the publication in mag seines outside of france. >> it's a complicated legal mess. thank you for your perspective this morning. we appreciate it.

>> my pleasure. >> it is 7:37. now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> all right. thanks so much. savannah, and we've got elizabeth and is this your birthday. >> yes. >> what's your name? >> alexis. >> it's your birthday. >> yes. >> how old are you? >> 10. >> double digits. >> above-normal temperatures in the northeast, above-normal temperatures out west where it stays dry and could use the rain. rain along the southeastern atlantic coast. latter part of the week, we warm up here in the east. some showers around the great around the great lakes. above normal temperatures out west. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> another fresh and cool morning under way with a partly cloudy to clear sky. our temperatures are chilly, in the 40s to low 50s.

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we're back now at 7:43 with a man who has a unique perspective on the current anti-american violence in the muslim world. 23 years ago salman rushdie watched as protesters raged against his novel "the satanic verses" in the middle east. he was marked to death and forced to hide for nearly a decade. now he writes about his life as a marked man using an alias while living underground in the new member roy "joseph anton." it's a pleasure to have you here. >> good to be here. >> this is a story that captured headlines 23 years ago. >> yes, yes. >> deeply personal story for you, and you haven't told it until now. why? >> partly because it was so personal, and i wanted to feel emotionally in a better place to

tell it, but i always knew that i would tell it. and actually it's that personal story that i think needs to be told, you know. how did a writer and his family and his publishers face off against this extraordinary act of terrorism. >> and so many connections to what we're seeing now, but let's try to remind people of the heat that was surrounding you. theit t thei the atiyah khamenei marked you, you were told by death squads that they had, quote, unquote, frustrated credible plots. what kind of fear were you living in? >> it was a aim of incredible stress. a lot of people who knew me then and afterwards said ten years afterwar afterwards, i was worried about my publishers, book sellers, translators, a lot to worry about. >> i remember my coverage at the

time. i'm old enough to refreshes and i remember some story line that kept coming up that during this you were living this life, enjoying the money and enjoying the fame, living a combination of a life of like james bond and david beckham, the international man of mystery and being whisked away by limbo and things. what was the reality? >> well, that was for me one of the strangest things that people should attempt to so dramatically distort what was going on. yes, i think sometimes it did look glamourous, if you arrive in a bulletproof jag and police leave out of the door, people think who the hell does he think he is? and for my side of it it felt like jail >> you write a lot about your friend and say throughout this entire ordeal not one friend ever said to you i can't be your friend anymore because you're too much of a hot potato. >> yeah. >> these people risked a lot to protect. >> you one of the things i really take away from that experience is the fact that i survived this because of the love of friends who did

extraordinary things for me. >> so fast forward, 23 years, okay, and we're got a situation in the middle east right now, and you look at protests going on in some of these cities, and do you see a connection? >> yes, i mean, one of the reasons why in the book i used this metaphor of the hitchcock movie "the birds" is to real say what happened to me was like the first bird, and now we're in the middle of the storm. >> but what is -- i mean, if you remember, the itollia had never seen the movie. >> the reaction is a much more larger outrage. we still live in a rage of outrage and people are defined by their outrage and feels that it justifies itself.

>> but is it legitimate outrage in your opinion or is it manufactured outrage? think were you talking to one of our producers over the weekend. you said it's kind of the outrage machine? >> there's an autorage industry, people who look for things to provoke their audiences, and it is, it's to a large extent manufactured. the fact that you can unleash these violent mobs like this is obviously completely unacceptable. >> and consider the fact that when you wrote "the satanic verses" 23 years ago it was not the age of social media. >> no. >> where a message can spread like wildfire. >> absolutely. it's much easier to do that now. >> when you look at this creator of this film in question, this internet film in, some ways do you have sympathy for that person, or do you feel that that person has done something horribly wrong? >> well, i mean, i think he's done something malicious, and that's a very different thing from writing a serious novel, you know. he's clearly set out to provoke, and he's obviously unleashed a much bigger reaction than he

hoped for. i mean, one of the problems with defending free speech is you often have to defend people that you find to be outrageous and unpleasant and disgusting. >> when you saw that man taken in for questioning over the weekend slightly shrouded to mask his appearance, any level of sympathy there? >> not really. >> why not? >> well, because he did it on purpose. i mean, he set out to create a response, and he got it in spades. >> salman rushdie, interesting, interesting perspective and i can't wait to read more of this book. it's called "joseph anton." >> thank you. >> pleasure to have you here. >> and we're back right after this. ♪

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though she's 23 that you mentioned, he may actually do this with other children in the future are and it's created quite a debate. >> we upload it had to youtube. a lot of comments. a lot of people saying this is an example, an exhibit of irresponsible parenting. >> yeah. >> because these gorillas are gentle and loving until they are not. >> and then it's too late. >> wild animal. >> people think of the lion video, the man goes back and hugs, a beautiful video. >> you're making a choice for that baby. that's a bad choice. i think many people might say. >> we should do something online here. should send people to our website and say whether you think this is something that shows a wonderful side of nature, or do you think it's an example of very irresponsible parenting. >> or both. >> go to today.com. perhaps you can weigh in and we'll give the results of our less-than-scientific poll tomorrow. i can tell you myself my children will not be in the enclosure of the gorilla. >> dad, come on. >> and we'll also have news on

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7:56 is your time. good morning to you. i'm eun yang. the panda gave birth to a cub last night. the staff spent the night monitoring the panda. they tweet some behind the scene pictures. stay with us for some updates.

good morning. here's your forecast. gorgeous after a chilly start. increasing clouds. showers by midnight tonightnto the metro area, earlier out of the mountains today. then tomorrow, showers in the morning. maybe some afternoon storms into the early evening, could produce some damaging winds. settle the after that. traffic. >> checking out i-270 southbound at west montgomery avenue. an accident in the left shoulder lane. you are slow in rock village as you make your way to the beltway it inner loop slow. robinson terminal as you head towards braddic, about 40 miles an hour. 19 minutes from the

♪ 8:00 now on monday morning. it's the 17th day of september, 2012. right now our crowd is screaming, and they are jamming to the music of pink, and i've got good news. if they come back tomorrow just about this time, they will get to jam to the real thing because pink will be joining us live in our 8:30 half hour. i'm telling you. she always puts on a great show so come on down and check it out. out on the plaza i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie and al roker, and some more news coming up. >> if you were here on friday you missed one heck of a show

here on the plaza. all went "gangnam style." >> oh, my goodness, burn the tape. >> look at david gregory. he did that on "meet the press." >> that was a combination of "gangnam style" from david and an irish folk dance, i'm not exactly sure, but good for him for getting out there and trying it. >> because of his breakout performance out on the "today" show psy went to number one on itunes. a huge moment for him, and he actually recorded a little message from us. >> from last friday, "today" show, singing twice, it's climbing like crazy, and now first time in history, can i cry? maybe a little bit? what can i say? unbelievable only because of the "today" show, i'm on it, and i'm in it. thank you so much.

>> oh, we're so happy for him. >> that's nice. >> and when people saw us dancing, they wanted to cry. >> he completed "saturday night live" there because it was only the "today" show that put him over the top. >> do the forensics on the timing, did he hit number one before "saturday night live" or after? >> also a teenager remet earlier this year. cassandra bankson suffers from something a lot of teens suffer from, severe acne. her makeup tips that she sent out over youtube became a sensation, and now she has made it all the way to fashion week in new york city, and she's going to be here, and we'll check in with her in just a couple of minutes. >> terrific story. and another icon in the house. penny marshall, comedy legend, that's right, where she's got a new memoir about her life in front of and behind the camera entitled "my mother is nuts." >> we'll talk with penny marshall in just a little bit.

>> hi, penny. >> love her. >> want to see that "l" on her shirt. >> let's go inside. tamron hall has the headlines. good morning. >> hey, everyone. violent protests in afghanistan, pakistan and indonesia against the anti-islam film that ridicules the prophet muhammad. hundreds of people in northwest pakistan set fire to a press club and government office sparking clashes with police that killed one demonstrator. in afghanistan hundreds of people have been throwing rocks and burning cars on the main road leading to a u.s. military base in kabul. the protest comes one day after four american soldiers were killed in another insider attack. the 18-year-old suburban chicago man accused of trying to use a weapons of mass destruction is due in federal court today. prosecutors say an undercover agent gave adel daoud a phony car bomb and watched him press

the trigger outside a chicago bar. the chicago teachers strike enters its second week. rehema ellis is in chicago with new developments with us. raheema, good morning. >> reporter: chicago mayor rahm emanuel plans to bring the strike to an end by going to court. city lawyers will be seeking an injunction to force the teachers back into the classroom. the mayor says this is a strike of choice and students are being used as pawns. teachers met sunday and failed to vote on a tentative agreement. issues still remain over job security. there will be no negotiations today because of a jewish holiday so the earliest school can resume is wednesday unless, of course, the court does give the city that injunction and forces the teachers back to school sooner. tamron. >> all right, raheema, thank you. an italian gossip magazine published a 26-page spread of topless photos of william's wife kate today despite legal actions

in france against the magazine that published them first. the royal couple's lawyers are in court seeking criminal charges for invasion of privacy against the photographer who took those pictures. now for a look at what's trending today. a quick roundup of what has you talking online. fans are going online to comment on "saturday night live's" new president obama, jay pharaoh who took to the podium in place of outgoing impersonator fred armisen. >> sasha, malia, go to bed. i do that to remind you that i have two you a doshl young daughters and not five creepy adult sons. >> he wanted to shake things up as the show enters a new season. and fans of "cool science" are helping this new video from the department of energy go viral. it's using sound waves to levitate to drops of

pharmaceutical solutions. amazing. the goal is to produce better drugs with fewer side effects. interesting. and lady gaga made headlines over the weekend when she wore a fur-adorned outfit at london's fashion week. the syringe who won't say if it's real or faux fur defends her right to say it saying, quote, you say a carcass, i see a museum priest de-- piece du resistance. >> you never know with the gaga. another fashion statement. she's head of the seascheesehea. very nice. is that cheddar? >> i don't know. >> looks good. i like a nice camembert. greenville, south carolina, showers and storms today. 78 degrees, and as we show you our afternoon highs, 50s in the plains, 80s down to the

southeast. hundreds make your way into the southwest. 60s in new england. we do have a risk strong storms down to the southeast. wet weather all the way up into the tennessee river vale and up into the mississippi river valley thanks to a front. more warm weather in the pacific northwest. portland today getting up to 87 degrees. in fact, it's in fact, it's almost warm enough to be a devil. that's what's going on around the country. now, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> another chilly morning. good morning. i'm storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein under a partly cloudy sky. temperatures still chilly, in the low to mid-50s around the metro area. still in the 40s, partses of the shannenandoah valley. increasing clouds, some rain in the mountains later today, but into the metro area by midnight tonight and off and on tomorrow morning. could get some str first member of a prison break ever to bring his mommy

with him. who's this? >> it's flynn. >> all right, flynn what. a cutie. matt? >> hey, pal, what are you in for? all right, al. thank you very much. still to come, the acne-plagued teenager who became a sensation on youtube had her makeup kit has made it all the way to fashion week. she will stop by, and we'll chat with her, but first these messages. [ female announcer ] wake up

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racking thing i can do, probably my biggest insecurity. this is my face. >> over 12 million people have seen the inspiring youtube video of teen model cassandra bankson revealing her secret under all the makeup, a struggle with severe cystic acne. >> i always carry everything that i do down my neck just because, well, i have acne there. >> what started as a tutorial in makeup soon became a lesson in grace and courage as we learned cassandra had been a victim of high school bullying because of that acne. >> having the feedback from other peers and students at my school was really kind of self-traumatizing and put me into kind of a reclused isolated state. hey, everyone. >> but as support for kazcassan grew, so did her confidence. >> well, confidence is beauty essentially. you can't have one without the other. >> in the last two years cassandra has posted hundreds of videos in an effort to help other teens find their definition of beauty. >> today i wanted to bring you an acne update. pleased with my skin.

the best it's been in a long time. as you can see, i still have some issues down here. >> and now besides being be a inspiration, she can add cat walk model to her resume. just last week cassandra was asked to walk in new york fashion week's for boy meets girl. designer stacy iger was not even aware of her story when she was cast. >> i did not know her. i was looking for confident women. for meekah sandra stood out because of her vibe, because of her look. >> and now thanks to cassandra we know what's in fashion this week, confidence. cassandra bankson is with us this morning. >> good morning. >> nice to see you vut your stuff. >> it was unbelievable. like this is happening to me and it's like wow. >> did you feel nervous? >> expecting a little bit of nervousness but i think it was more like i wanted to dance or

bear hug somebody. >> and i know you've modelled before but this had to be special. >> this really was. you know, my preferred medium is probably print. this was, you know, cast through an online search for modeling but this is new york fashion week. >> is it right that the designer didn't even know your struggle with acne, hire had had you based on your beauty and poise along. >> if you want to call it that, thank you very much. >> that must have made it particularly special. >> since it was an online casting i didn't have to fly out for the auditions so it made it much easier. >> last time you were here your youtube, the video had 6 million hits. now you have how many? >> 12. >> 12 million hits. are you surprised how much it has resonated? >> i really am. i filmed this thinking that maybe i could speak to one or two people and that i would get the same hate and commentary that i got in high school, and first off, a million views is ridiculous but 12. >> and you have a youtube

channel. you have 45 million hits on that. >> around, yes. >> but even more everything that you've received from this which has been so overwhelmingly positive, i understand that there were negative comments leading you to want to shut it all down. >> the first experience i had was in school, i basically decided to run away from my problems, and i overcame kind of that issue, but i found some other things online and just that negativity and for a moment i did take a step back and said i can't do this anymore. i'm not going to deal with this. >> people can be incredibly mean on the internet. >> i think so. it's kind of like that shield, you know, being anonymous, but that was kind of a step. i've run away from my problems before, can't do that again but i'll have to continue what i'm doing, because even if everyone doesn't enjoy it i think someone does, and that's what matters. >> as we mentioned in the piece this, started out as a lesson this makeup but it's something a lot deeper. it's more than skin deep >> i hope sfloe what is your

message? >> i think there's a lot of message and the first one is beauty is confidence. again, you cannot have inner beauty or confidence without having -- i'm sorry, you can't have outer beauty without having inner beauty, and i also think strength is basically knowledge essentially. you can't be strong unless you understand not only yourself but other people. >> and where are you in this journey? i mean, have you gotten to the point where you're okay going outside without all your makeup on, or is that still something you're working towards? >> i definitely am. if you would have asked me a year ago, never something i could do. i go out without makeup all the time, and i feel just as free and liberated as if i was wearing a full coverage foundation. >> you're the definition of beautiful, inside and out. >> thank you. >> cassandra bankson, great to see your success. thanks for being here. >> thanks so much, savannah. >> coming up, penny marshall on her career, and on her biggest regret, right after this. one m: [ beep ] 15 seconds and counting. serve the world's best-tasting chicken. t-minus 10... that's why our whole chicken

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of the funniest and most respected women in hollywood. penny marshall is south with a new memoir called "my mother was nuts." we'll talk to her in a moment, but first a quick look at her remarkable career. >> oh, my. >> two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. >> penny marshall became a household name in 1976 playing laverne defazio in the country's top-rated sitcom "laverne & shirley" about two friends who worked in the milwaukee brewery. after seven years of performing mad cat catches with her co-star cindy williams, marshall turned to directing, earning her place among the hollywood elite with her second feature film "big" which starred tom hanks and grossed over $100 million, as did the 1992 film "a league of their own," about an all-american girls professional baseball league in the 1940s. high-profile marriage to actor and director rob reiner, a romance with singer/songwriter

art garfunkel and stories about her life both in hollywood and as a child growing up in the bronx are part of her newly released memoir "my mother was nuts." penny marshall, good morning, good to see you. >> good morning, matt. it's an ungodly hour to be up. >> you get used to it. >> love the title. half of hall wood is scrambling to find new titles for their memoirs. >> well, wasn't your mother nuts, i don't know. >> my mother is still living, and i can honestly say my mom is not nuts. your mom is not with us. how would she feel about that title? >> she thinks she was nuts. >> so it's just honesty. >> yeah. >> i've known you for a while. >> yes. >> always thought of you being someone who was kind of private, and yet you share some really personal stories in this book. >> well, when you're writing a book, what are you going to say, what people already write? >> were you at all nervous about sharing some of these things about pregnancies and decisions to have an abortion and drugs and -- >> well, that was the '70s. come on, did you not do it?

come on, matt, let's be honest now. i bet you did. now i don't do it. now i'm allergic to everything. >> when you stop to think about in the drug section in particular you write about, we're not talking about just pot, by the way, talking about quaaludes and acid. >> loved quaaludes, why did you they take it off the market? they are not available, so they can't get it. no one hurt anyone on quaaludes. >> when you talk about doing these things with great friends like carrie fischer and the late john belushi, do editors when writing a book like this say penny, you've got to have a few good drug stories in there? >> no. that's what i did. i'm being honest. when i did it, i'm not blaming anyone else, you know, i did it >> you tell another story in this book that's a lot more serious about challenges you faced in your life. 2009 you were diagnosed with cancer. >> yes. >> it was lung cancer and a

brain tumor? >> well, the doctor in l.a. noticed something, and said we've got to keep our eye on that. he didn't and i was in new york at a giant game. >> right. >> and it was hot, and the security guys knew me from the nets game. i know every security person in the world from the nba, so he worked the giants game and i was hot, go home. my friend said you're working funny. i've got no support. i went home and felt no pain, no anything, and then my friends convinced me i should go get checked, and ronald perlman, bless him had a call waiting, went, to you know, the hospital, and i was diagnosed. it had me -- >> what's the word, metastasized. >> that was done here. >> you got the diagnosis, and from what i understand was to? >> is the driver still here. can he get my white castle

>> i love hamburgers. >> if things are bad, then i calm down. >> you write in the book about your brother, obviously a well-known director, gary marshall who gave you your first break really when he cast you on "the odd couple" and you say he would open doors for you, very honest about the fact he opened doors in hollywood for you, but us a walked through those doors you made it your point to shine. >> he said i'm not going to risk my career for yours, but i'll open the door, but you've got to do it from then on in. >> that's a lot of pressure. >> well, i didn't know what was going on. it was new to me. fear makes you do strange things, like ask for white castle. >> exactly. >> so i do things, and they laughed. >> when you signed on for "laverne & shirley," this sitcom quickly went to number one, one of the funny episodes, they are all funny, when you guys go on mexico to mexico. >> not quite south of the

border. we couldn't say mexico. >> exactly. you wrote ron howard, henry winkler and steven spielberg all came to watch the taping of that show. what was it like to be caught up in the middle of that? >> well, ron and henry were on the next stage so they came over. we shot on different nights, we split a crew, and we were in front of an audience. we were more worried about that than worried about who was standing in the wings, but it was something, steven said you did that in ten minutes, we would have taken weeks to do that scene. >> you went on to become an extremely successful and well-known director, and i was going to ask you what is it about your personality that makes you so good, and i think it might be this quote from the book about still having fun in your life. i've never wanted to grow up and stop playing. i still try to maintain a connection to the sense of play that i remember from my childho childhood. those experiences taught me the lessons that came in handy later in my life. try hard, help your friends, don't get too crazy and have

fun. >> yeah. >> good words to live by. >> i think so. >> i think people are going to find this fascinating. penny marshall, always good to have you here. >> thank you, matt. get some sleep. >> i will get some sleep. >> okay. l get some sleep. >> okay. >> just ahead, "snl"'s bill hater. >> good morn, it's 8:26 on this monday, september 17th. i'm aaron gilchrist. here is the video everybody is watching this morning. some live images from the panda cam at the national zoo where mei xiang is caring for her new panda cub. veterinarians say they heard the cub making noise last late night just before 11:00. sleeping now obviously. now your forecast. >> another chilly start. still in the 50s. much of the region. as we approach 8:30. 62 at reagan national. milder on the warmer waters of the potomac and the bay. later today, the 70s, with increasing clouds. some light rain into the metro

area late tonight. perhaps around midnight. and maybe strong storms tomorrow afternoon and evening could produce damaging winds and hemi rain. after that, drying out and sett

good morning. expect delays on the green line. metro train made contact with a deer at sutlan metro station. so single station betwe

♪ 8:30 now on this monday morning. it's the 17th of september, 2012. happy new year to all of those celebrating rosh hashana today. pink will be here tomorrow on our concert stage. looking forward it that. good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie alongside matt lauer and al roker.

a celebrity mom, one who looked fabulous, but did you wonder how the celebrity mothers pull it off? great tips from regular moms to how to get that celebrity look, and we're going to give a makeover to two ladies so we'll show you the results of that coming up. jane paul y ey is here with another inspiring story. when you find your passion and things don't go exactly as planned. she'll introduce us to a man who proves perseverance does and really can pay off. >> sorry, sorry. okay, okay. >> says my name. >> plus, who couldn't use some extra cash? he paid me for that. we're going to show you legal and moral ways to get cash in your pocket these days. >> hadn't thought about that, but, okay. blind auditions are under way on "the voice." this morning we've got a first look at a four-chair turning

performance that we'll see later tonight. the artist is just 16 years old. never had a singing lesson. you can see it all tonight at 8:00, 7:00 central right here on nbc. >> just make sure we understand you did not pay to get kissed. that's a whole different problem. >> all right, all right. >> well, singing of nbc hits, "snl" had its premiere on saturday night. we want to say hello to bill hader. >> good morning. >> great to see you. >> hello, hello, hello. >> political skit and the debut of the new president obama skit. you as clint eastwood with with the chair, when you saw that at the rnc, was it like i can't wait? >> seth myers e-mailed this and said are you watching this, and i immediately went to it and said oh, yay. >> how many times did you watch that speech at the convention? >> i only watched it a couple of times. i got it pretty fast. >> he didn't do that, i don't

think. >> i love when you eat the rotisserie chicken. >> so the other thing, he with psy on our show on friday. >> yes. >> i know you were here in the crowd, they we didn't see you, and psy made a little surprise appearance on your program. are you a fan? >> i am now, now that i've met him. i had to do the guy -- yeah, that guy. i didn't have to do -- i didn't have to figure out the dance. >> you had your own dance. >> i had my own dance, and i went is that all right, and he went, yes. >> and congratulations on your emmy nomination. >> oh, thank you very much, yeah, yeah, that was crazy. that was really interesting, yeah. like i got nominated, and i'm like the guy that no one says oh, congratulations. they are like, oh, you got nominated? for stevan. >> how is that going to week? >> we do the show, i hop on a flight and go to l.a. so you'll

see me asleep in the audience. >> good luck with that. >> thank you very much. >> hill habill hader,watching. >> thank you very much. >> there's going to be a special "saturday night live" weekend update this thursday, 8:00. and on saturday, all new. >> yes. mumford and sons. going to be good. >> nice to see you. now the weather. >> let's start off with today, looking for a risk of very strong storms through the northeast. rain into the appalachians. also the central great lakes. sunny and warm in the pacific northwest. warmer in portland then it will be in l.a. today. then for tomorrow, the strong storm risk stretches along the eastern sea woboard with rain i new england. a lot of sunshine and heat from texas into the southwest. sunny and mild into the pacific northwest. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> still a chill in the air this monday morning.

right now, into the 50s. later today, into the 70s, with increasing clouds. could get light rain into the metro area around midnight tonight. earlier today, out of the mountains, you'll get some rain. tomorrow, we could get some strong storms during the afternoon. some of them could produce some damaging winds and very heavy thunder and lightning. then the weather turns tranquil ag and get that weather any time you need it. go to the weather channel on cable, weather.com online. >> all right, mr. roker, thanks. when we come back, some real makeovers for real moms who want to get back in shape after having a baby. that's coming up, but first this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:38. in this age celebrity mom where it seems women bounce back to their pre-baby svelteness in

just a faw weeks, what's a mom to do in the real world. author of the new book "how to look hot in a minivan" is here with celebrity hairstylist ted gibbson. ted and i were saying we love the title. >> thank you. >> if you were the editor of "us weekly" when this celebrity mom thing boom and you became a mom and said this isn't as easy as it looks. >> sort of fun to watch all the celebrity moms then. angelina jolie who ted does her hair, and -- and, you know, all sorts of a-list in hollywood was having a baby. i got pregnant at the same time and watching these women, objection they look pretty incredible. >> my results may vary? my results definitely varied. heidi klum andbury pregnant at the same time and back on a victoria secret's runway before i gave birth so that was crazy. in doing this book i thought listen, these women are not doing it by themselves and have pros who help them look great and bounce back and said why don't we share that with the

rest of the moms in america. >> you're unlocking the celebrity mom. >> absolutely. >> what is the common things moms do with their hair that is a mistake? >> more than a mistake, what happens after a woman has a baby is her hair tends to thin and she has issues with that, so i think as a hairdresser, what my role is to really help them feel really great about themselves, give them those best-kept secrets that are in hollywood that are ready for real women at home to make sure they can have the best hair ever. >> a couple of real moms to show. first we want to hear from jennifer and what she wanted to do with her hair. >> my name is jennifer and i'm a mom to 7-month-old sydney. being a mom is a 24/7 job and it's hard to find time for myself. i want to be a sexy mom and look like carrie underwood. >> i think jennifer is pretty cute. what do you think she needs to do that? >> needs a little bit of brightness.

need to change your hair at least twice a year so if you're blond, change your blond for the fall and winter, a little darker. if you're in the summer and you're blond, make sure it's a little bit lighter so you can see it. >> the before picture of jennifer one more time, and then we'll bring jennifer out so we can compare and see her complete makeover. jennifer, come on out. tell us what you did to change up her look. >> we actually made a lot of brightness in her hair and brought the length up. i think what happens, traditionally what women have happen, have a tendency to get stuck in a rut so by getting the length up and giving her a soft bang and making her very, very bright so she looked like carrie underwood. >> how do you feel? >> like my pre-pregnancy self which is great. >> you look gorgeous. great raw material to work with. look fantastic. >> thank you. >> our next mom and what she had to say. >> since i had my son seven months ago i feel like i've shifted my focus from myself to

him and i would like to reclaim my style and great to start with my hair. i'd like to get volume like penelope cruz. >> what was the prescription for swahti? >> women have a tendency to be afraid of hair color so when she spoke to her about changing her hair color she was a little nervous about it, changing the tone and bringing more warmth to her hair color would transform the color of her skin, as you'll see in a second. we brought the length up but she's had issues a little bit with thinness so one of the best kept secrets is hair extensions. >> let's bring her out and reveal her new do to the world. >> that's great. >> those are hair extensions. looks very natural. >> i brought her hair up above the shoulder, but what i wanted to do, she looks so magnificent, and the whole idea of changing the color of her skin and actually with her hair color, it brightened it up and made her

really very sexy because that's what she wanted to be is a sexy mom. who doesn't want to be a section mom? >> do you feel like a sexy mom because you look like one? >> i do, i feel a little bit sexy. >> thanks to ted. >> let's bring both of them out so we can have another week. what's your message, they don't all get to have ted gibson? >> listen, it's okay to spend some time on yourself. we martyr ourselves for our kids all the time, do a lot for our kids. i have a 5-month-old, they have young babies, too. okay to feel good about yourself and have fun once in a while. >> great to see the results here. thanks for being our models. you look great. >> thank you. >> ted and janice, thank you. >> and the book is "how to look hot in a minivan," and we'll be back with the story of a man who proves little changes can make

we are back at 8:44 with "your life calling today." jane pauley has sponsored the stories for us. a man who has had swinging success and we should clear that up. not that swinging, right? >> this is a dream most men would dream of, a golf scholarship at college, pro at 25, scottish open winner at 30, but when michael allen finally heard his life calling, he was better known as michael who? so who is this? at 53, michael allen is suddenly who's who. success has been a long time coming. there are worse ways to earn a living than playing golf, but

year after year on the pga tour he was barely earning a living. >> my career was never very good, you know, on the pga tour. i mean, one year i think i made $16,000. >> tell the folks about cue school. >> i'm the king. >> q school is where many try to qualify for the pga tournament. >> it's the most difficult, grueling tournament many men will play in their life. it gives you access to your dream and takes it away. >> michael allen has been through q school eight times which says a heck of a lot about michael allen. >> it says that i'm very desperate. >> it says a lot about resilience and perseverance, too. >> i've always believed in myself. that's probably my greatest talent because i'm not blessed with any phenomenal skill. >> but with a young family to support and after 334 pga starts

without a win he called it quits. >> i mean, we couldn't even buy health insurance. i tried to get into medical sales, and i started building homes. i was actually going to lose money at that, too. >> one season he worked at a golf club teaching when he wasn't hosing down range mats. >> a humiliating experience, but nothing that wasn't beneath me. i could do it. >> how did you get back here? >> these friends came along and said we believe in you, and we're going to help you get started again and we know you can do it. >> they offered to stake his comeback try for a year. >> what did your wife say? >> well, she said, michael, if you're going to do this again, must do something different. can't go about it the same old way. >> so he focused on fitness. >> and everything i do, every morning when i get up, in the evening when i stretch, it has to do with my fitness to be a better golfer. >> he saw a sport psychologist, still carries his book in a bag. >> helped me with goals, like

one would be to get what you want, you need to let go of the need to have it. >> what else did he tell you? >> better to be decisive than right. >> and he got a new swing coach. >> excellent. take the club back from there. >> he changed my game. >> three years ago allen took his new game to the senior pga championship, the most prestigious prize in senior golf. >> get up on 18 and hit a most tremendous tee shot i can right down the middle, and now i'm walking through the green. the camera right there, one of the first times in my life, and i said it's about friggin' time. 20 years later i went from michael who to actually winning the senior pga. >> what a champion tour debut for michael allen, the senior pga champion. >> it wasn't a fluke. last april he won tournaments back to back. he's been a leader and a leading money winner all season long.'s

>> good times and bad years. >> this is michael allen's winning season, playing the best golf of his life in his 50s. >> you are truly an inspiration. >> that's what i do. thank you. >> and michael remains the leading money winner on the champion's tour. the reality check, most people don't have angels like he did, and he couldn't have done it without the financial help from his friends, which he's repaid, but michael's success on secures the main takeaway here. it goes back to what his wife cynthia told him. just change something. who wouldn't be happier or better if you just changed something. i hope you'll join me at 10:00 a.m. eastern time today for my live internet radio call-in show

at aarp.org/jane. >> if you were to ask him, jane, do you think he'll say the fitness side or the mental side of what he changed, which is most important? >> the mental part, because the conviction when he talked about, you know, to let go of the need to have that thing you feel you need the most and the idea that, you know, it is better to be decisive than right, which, by the way, i have carved somewhere, jane, better be decisive than right. it works in life. >> and does his story give a young lady who likes to swing a golf club or two the dream of getting out there on the tour one day? >> on the tour? he gave me a club, a driver, with a big nbc peacock and aarp on it. it's not magic. >> you keep swinging though. >> i do. >> jane pauley, thank you. still ahead, quirky ways for you to earn some extra cash, but first this is "today" on nbc. heavy load in america. but mitt romney plan, a middle class to $2,000 more a year in taxes. multi-millionaires like himself hits the middle class harder... bigger break. forward for america? this message.

you may know him best as the man who helps jimmy fallon slow jam the news but there's more to know about questlove. mara schiavocampo joins us now to tell us more. >> he's more like a front man

and become a more mainstream pop culture figure thanks to "late night" and what people don't realize is that he's been a major force in music for decades. >> give it up for the roots. >> though he's become known for the most recognizable member of the house band for jimmy fallon the roots, drummer questlove never planned on bringing his beat to late night. >> you weren't sfld. >> i mean, at the time, no. we were riding a wave, a crest of credibility. who would trade all that in for -- >> before fallion launched in 2009 quest and the roots had spent almost 20 years touring and recording, released 14 albums, won four grammys and became known as one of the greatest live acts in the world. born amir thompson, the philly native grew up around music. his father was lee andrews of the successful '50s group lee andrews and the harts. quest started playing the drums at 2 and spent much of his

childhood backstage but it wasn't long before dad brought him up front. >> my very first performance was at radio city music hall. i was my father's band leader at age of 12. >> quest has always been much more than a performer. 494-year-old is one of the most popular musicians on twit we are more than 2 million followers. ♪ he deejays events regularly. and has produced albums for everyone from jay-z, to john legend. he was a musical director for comedy central's "chapelle" show and a prow dees dueser and a hit broadway musical. >> made some of the most innovative hip-hop in the history of the genre. an incredibly respected person. he's survive the test of time. >> the band practices up to five

hours a day at "late night" studios and is a force behind some of the she's most popular segments. ♪ scared of you ♪ that's scary >> it's still fun for us. i see no reason to stop if we're still having fun. >> reporter: a new lighter chapter for one of the music's heavyweights. the roots are now working on their 15th album and these days they do all of their recordings in the rehearsal room at "late night." as you can see from the childhood photos, that afro has been with him a long time. >> mara schiavocampo, thanks for joining us. >> thanks, guys. >> still ahead, the hottest gadgets and apps that make your life easier. i just turn to al. >> love to be your app. >> but first we turn to your local news and weather.

>> there's an pp for that. this is a news 4 news break. 8:56 is your time on this monday september 17, 2012. new overnight, giant panda mei xiang gave birth to a cub at the national zoo. a live look at the panda house at the zoo. we can hear the cub make noises but we haven't heard the cub yet. zoo officials say they've seen

ape slight glimpse of the cub. then tweeted so many behind the scene pictures. the birth happened late

good morning. your storm team 4 outlook. beautiful up in the upper 0s this afternoon. upper 70s this afternoon. strong storms tomorrow afternoon might produce some wind damage. beautiful after that into the weekend. >> watching a crash affecting the westbound rains of arlington boulevard near prosperity avenue. right lane blocked there. it's slow on the outer loop at colesville road. back over to you.