good morning. firing back. ann romney takes a shot at fellow republicans critical of her husband and the way he's running his campaign. >> stop it. this is hard. you want to try it? get in the ring. >> as president obama is put on defense about some of the things he did not accomplish in his first term. waiting games. american airline passengers dealing with a surge in delays and cancelled flight is. are plililot deliberately slowi things down over a labor dispute? >> call me, maybe, you've heard

that. you've heard it like this and this. ♪ and here's my number so call me maybe ♪ >> an entire chorus and orchestra giving "call me, maybe" a musical mikeover live on the plaza today, friday, september 21st, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television 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 this friday morning. i'm savannah guthrie. >> and i'm willie geist in this morning for matt. savannah, i'm struck by the progression of "call me, maybe." from cookie monster to now a classical orchestra >> we've got al. doesn't it just put you in an elevated mood? >> he does. calling for more strings.

>> they can't see you, al, but that's okay. >> they can't? >> no. but later maybe we'll let you conduct. see that live. the whole performance. very exciting. beats the heavy metal version, that's for sure. meantime, we'll talk about politics at the top of our show. things getting pretty testy on the campaign trail. at a forum in miami president obama acknowledged he couldn't change washington from the inside and mitt romney was quick to pounce saying the president was throwing in the white flag of surrender on getting things done. we'll get reaction from a senior adviser to the president's campaign re-election team coming up. >> iphone fans flocking to apple stores across the country this morning to be among the very first to own the newest version. savannah, jealous, look what i have? >> is that it? >> didn't have to wait online. very light and cool, but there is one feature that people are already complaining about, not even out yet and they are complaining about it. >> what is it? >> we'll tell you in a second. wait and see. >> what a tease.

and this guy is standing 30 yards from the lava of an active volcano. the crazy daredevil, as willie calls me, tells us what it took to capture those amazing pictures. amazing to see. beginning with politics. president obama faces tough questions on the campaign trail as mitt romney comes to the defense of her husband. nbc's peter alexander is in west balm peach, florida this morning. peter, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you. it is a rainy morning here in west palm beach and florida is the biggest prize among battleground states, so it's no surprise that both the president and mitt romney held duelling appearances here yesterday. romney spoke a just short time after the president and when he heard an opening in the president's remarks quickly tried to take advantage trying to cast himself in the same language the president tried to use four years ago as the candidate of change. it wasn't exactly a dress rehearsal for next month's debate, but president obama was in the hot seat thursday at a spanish language tv forum for miami, taking a step back from

hope and change. >> obviously the fact that we haven't been able to change the tone in washington is disappointing. i've learned some lessons over the four years, and the most important lesson i've learned is that you can't change washington from the inside. you can only change it from the outside. >> reporter: across the state in sarasota, a fired up mitt romney tried to capitalize on the president's remarks. as a concession of failure and futility. >> the president today threw in the white flag of surrender again. he said he can't change washington from the inside. he can only change it from outside. well, we're going to give him that chance in november. he's going outside. >> reporter: for that to happen romney may have to make up significant ground in key swing states first. the latest nbc ow wurl/marist poll shows the president with a five-point lead in wisconsin and in iowa romney has fallen eight points behind with less than seven weeks to go.

still in florida, the president was on the defensive for not living up to a 2008 campaign pledge to tackle immigration reform in his first year in office. >> you promised that. >> sure. >> and a promise is a promise, and with all due respect you didn't keep that promise. >> i am happy to take responsibility for the fact that i didn't get it done but i did not make a promise that i would get things done 100% when i was elected president. >> later when asked who is the real mitt romney mr. obama took a swipe rat his challenger making reference to the video when romney the wrote off 47% of the population. >> when you express a sentiment that 47% of people are victims, that somehow they want to be dependant on government, my thinking is maybe you haven't gotten around a lot. >> late thursday during an interview with radio iowa, romney's wife ann fired back at her husband's critics within the gop. >> stop it. this is hard. you want to try it? get in the ring.

this is hard, and, you know, it's an important thing that we're doing right now, and it's an important election, and it is time for all americans to realize how significant this election is and how lucky we are to have someone with myth's qualifications and experience and know-how to be able to have the opportunity to run this country. >> reporter: of course, we also know that both the president and mitt romney had a v been preparing a lot of time for next month's debate and during that interview ann romney gave reference to one of her husband's tendencies during the debate in the primary saying he would find her in the audience and afterwards he would look at her and say did i do okay? how did that sound? she likes that because it shows he loves her so much. >> david axelrod joins us, adviser to president obama's re-election campaign. good to see you. >> good to see you, savannah. >> let's talk about the

president's remark you can't change washington from the inside. you can only change it from the outside recognizing, i think, he was saying it's good to get the american people involved in the process. at the same time, is this a president who is acknowledging the limits of his own political ability? >> well, savannah, you were in washing washington, and you covered the president so this is not a new statement. what he said is exactly what you said and said it in his remarks yesterday. he said in order to move washington and to move the congress, you have to enlist the american people, and that's a lesson that he's learned over these four years. you know, that was the lesson he learned from the standoff on the -- on the debt ceiling last summer, and he's been making that point consistently. the fact that governor romney picked up on it and attacked him on it is just one more example of how he's just cascading from one gratuitous attack to another, and instead of talking about solutions to the problems we face. >> let's talk about immigration, because at that forum yesterday the president was pressed pretty

toughly by one of the moderators. he said i did not make a promise that i would get everything done 100% when i was elected as president when asked why there wasn't immigration reform in the first term but here is president obama in 2008. take a listen. >> we can't wait 20 years from now to do it. we can't wait 10 years from now to do it. we need to do it by the end of my first term as president of the united states of america. and i will make it a top priority in my first year as president. >> so, david, when the president says he didn't promise immigration reform as a priority, is he rewriting history a little bit there in. >> i don't think he didn't say he didn't promise it as a priority. it was a priority, savannah. i was in a room in 2009 at the white house where he called together all of those members of congress who had supported immigration reform in the past, republicans and democrats, and he said let's lock arms and get this done. >> but he didn't put forward a bill. >> every single republican walked away because it became the policy of the republican

party to walk away from immigration reform, so, you know, hopefully with the votes in november, people will say, okay, let's come back to the table and get this done, but the president did pass out of the house and out of the senate a d.r.e.a.m. act that was blocked by a minority of republicans in the senate on procedural grounds. he did move on the status of the d.r.e.a.m. act kids, the kids who are here because their parents came here and through no fault of their own they got caught up on the immigration system. did move on that, so there's no doubt he's exercised leadership and now what we have to do, as he said, engage the american people and move the congress on as well. >> finally, dave, i just have to ask you something about things i noticed last week on the campaign trail. it is a hand-to-hand combat situation, and yet both campaigns really seem to be trying to outdo each other complimenting one another, a romney spokesperson said president obama is the most gifted speaker in modern

political history. it's hard to imagine anyone outscoring him in points and jim messina said of romney, he's quick, polished and ready with a polished attack again the president. what's going on here, david? >> here's what we know, savannah. we know governor romney has been practicing for months. i think the invasion of normandy took less preparation than he's putting into these debates so i expect he'll be prepared and red and will be strong in these debates and we have to be ready as well. >> sounds like you're trying to lower expectations for your guy. >> no, no, just telling you the facts. just rosting the facts like you do on the "today" show. >> david axelrod, thank you very much. >> thank you very much. >> here's willie. if you tried flying american airlines over the past week, you may be among the thousands of passengers who have experienced maddening delays. it all has to do with a labor dispute between american and its pilots union. nbc's tom costello is at reagan national airport in washington

for us. tom, good morning. >> reporter: hi, willie, good morning to you. you know, american airlines is in bankruptcy proceedings. it has imposed tough benefit cuts on its employees. pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, and now the airline says pilots' sick leave is up over 20 years ago and it says it appears the pilots are imposing really strict standards and running by the books, running up a minor technical issues like a broken coffee light and enforcing mechanical delays. >> reporter: the pilots who fly american say there's any organized effort to slow down the airlines but delays skyrocketed in the past weeks creating headaches for passengers. >> like i said, i'm getting married and they are not making it pleasant for me. >> i'm more concerned about my trip saturday to rome. that's got me a little freaked out. >> reporter: the numbers are telling. last september, 82% of american flights were on time.

this september, only 61% are on time, and even worse on-time numbers this week. from 45% on time sunday to 37% monday, 45% tuesday, 54% wednesday and more delays yesterday. american has already cancelled 300 flights and plans to cut more through october, going online to apologize to its customers. >> we understand how irritating and unfortunate this is in interrupting or delaying the travel plans. we appreciate their patience and hope for their understanding. >> reporter: but scott mccartney, who writes the "wall street journal's" middle seat column is now suggesting passengers should book away from american. >> the american operation right now just isn't reliable. there have been too many late flights, too many missed connections, too many cancelled flights and people left stranded. >> reporter: and there's something else that could mean bad news for passenger. with american airlines in bankruptcy, u.s. airways is

aggressively pushing for a merger to merge delta. >> this is good for consumers, it's good for employees for both companies. >> reporter: be a american merger with u.s. airways could resemble others. continental merged with northwest and air tran with delta and it's possible, say, experts, that ticket prices could rise again. now u.s. airways denies that saying a merger would create only more options and u.s. airways has always struck behind-the-scenes deals with american labor unions that are better than what american has. can you see now why american pilots may not be so happy. willie, back to you. >> tom costello back in washington for us. thanks so much. >> a check of the day's other top stories. natalie morales is over at the news desk. natalie, good morning. >> good morning, savannah and

willie. good morning, everyone. the u.s. troop surge in afghanistan is over as the last of the additional 33,000 soldiers sent over there in 2009 has now left the war zone. 68,000 u.s. troops remain in afghanistan. the white house is now classifying the deadly attack on the u.s. consulate in libya as a terrorist attack. president obama said extremists capitalized on outrage sparked by the anti-islam video to attack the diplomatic facility killing ambassador chris stevens and three others americans. the incident is now under investigation, but intelligence officials now believe it was a planned attack in the guise of a protest. a new mug shot of colorado movie theater shooting suspect james holmes shows he's shaved off the neon orange hair he had last month. the 24-year-old appeared in court thursday where prosecutors dropped their bid to access a notebook he sent to a psychiatrist before the shootings. the check is in the mail for victims of bernard madoff's ponzi scheme. on thursday a court-appointed

trustee sent out checks for $2.5 billion, fulfilling nearly half of all the claims from madoff's clients. one final flight for the space shuttle "endeavour" as it heads from edwards air force base to los angeles today. on thursday, a very special fly-over for the shuttle's final commander mark kelley who looked on in amazement with his wife, former congresswoman gabrielle giffords. sugar bear, chubz and chickadee taken by honey boo boo's father and sisters, so what's left for us. this is a new honey boo boo nickname generator online, and here's what they give us for essafe. savannah guthrie bakes sugar gooub goober and willie geist you're boo boo blitz and our producer will be known as

jiangxi boo bear. >> all right. sugar boo boo and boo boo bits. >> i've got this going, natalie. >> okay. your nickname is nanny mini bell. >> i like it. >> let's see. >> what's al roquener. >> hold on. let's put that in. i can't get it. >> i'm not so goober as a last name is complimentary. >> not coming up. yeah, i can't get to it. oh, that's too bad. >> give me that. >> i'll look it up. you do the weather. >> let me do the weather and show you what's going on. let's take a look, look. alaska, they got really hammered. a lot of rain as you can see there's a tropical plume of moisture that is firing up into seward and anchorage. massive flooding, more today and torrential rains and a lot of wind. the rest of the country, we are expecting to see plenty of

sunshine. wet weather down through southern florida. look for another warm day in the pacific northwest. not great news for the wild firefighters there. plenty of sunshine through the south. a good friday morning to you. i'm storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. it's cool. temperatures in the low 50s now in most of the western and northern suburbs. mid-50s across southern maryland. 60 in town and bayside. a beautiful day today. mostly sunny start to finish. high today around 82 degrees. there will be a risk of strong, perhaps one or two severe thunderstorms coming up saturday afternoon and saturday evening >> that's your latest weather. wrong again, bezzo. >> we'll make up our own. >> alli ro ro. >> i'll go with that.

>> i think you want to pull that goober thing. >> sugar goober. >> and boo boo blitz. >> i take no offense to that at all. >> goober out. al, thanks. coming up. the big day is here for apple fans actually. the much-hyped iphone 5 comes out this morning, and as you can see, can you believe, it people lined up at apple stores around the country. danya alvarez with some of them in pasadena, california. good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. this particular line stretches arou down the block and around the corner. you had to get here tuesday evening and i've told the iphone 5 is a game-changer, worth the wait. the ipod, the iphone, the ipad, anything from apple inspires worldwide frenzy, and now the

latest rock star, the iphone 5 that has apple addicts lining up from singapore to san francisco. >> good to be the first person to have something. >> reporter: a slimmer case, a bigger screen and cutting-edge apps, worth a seven-day wait outside this manhattan apple store for joseph cruz. >> i think it's a big leap actually, the upgrade, mostly everything on the phone, the camera, the length. the front camera is actually hd. >> when you measure what happened on the internet, 2 million phones sold within 24 hours. that's kind of crazy. that's double anything they have ever done before. >> reporter: and many of those waiting in line are hoping to turn those phones into cash cows as they are already popping up on ebay. then there are those who are being paid to wait. >> they are paying me $1,500, an i've been here since 10:00 a.m. monday morning. >> reporter: but for true believers you couldn't pay them enough to part with their new

product. >> i really do want the phone. i've gotten every upgrade of the phone that's ever come out since the beginning. >> every time something new from apple comes out, it's like are you going to do it? are you going to come out? it's going to become a tradition with the three of us. >> reporter: kind of a cult following most companies with only dream of, so what's the secret? tech experts say it's not what the products do, it's how they make you feel. >> you hold this phone in your hand. when you touch, it when you feel it, you feel like you're holding on to something that is the future, that is tomorrow. >> reporter: and for apple fans, it's never too early to enjoy the future. and it turns out that good things come to those who wait. store employees here are holding out water and could have tote folks waiting in line. other stores will be handing out umbrellas to shield them from the sun and the ultimate payoff, the iphone 5. >> diana, thanks.

here with an up close and personal look at the iphone 5 size. josh, is this the most exciting thing that's ever happened? >> in the world in history, yeah. >> you're the tech guy. >> would i say so. >> we're to the over-selling it. >> what's so great about it? it's lighter. >> it's thinner. >> got a larger screen. got a 4-inch screen instead of the 3.5-inch desplay from the last one. it's faster with faster data. >> hypeworthy. >> definitely hypeworthy. >> does it love you back? >> sirie does a little bit. >> getting much better. >> is she better than she was before? >> she is better than she was before and a lot is due to the ls data, faster cellular data so when you're on the move you get stuff down and up faster. >> a couple things people are complaining about, the plug in the bottom. apple calls it lightning, a lot of people call it a pain. >> i've got the 4s here with the last model, 30-pin adapter. called the lightning adaerpt, the lightning port, and it will have to make you get an adapter

for all your accessories or buy new accessories. >> people are upset about the maps. >> it used to be google map, and now they have their own mapping system, turn-by-turn directions. you lose a lot of information, transit directions, points of information >> i read an entire city is in the ocean on this map. is it atlantis in. >> there's some situations where you end up in decimated operations on the map. >> coming up, the man who dares to stand on the edge of an active volcano. we'll talk to him, but first this is "today" on nbc.

coming up the wife of a prison warden living with an escaped inmate who allegedly kidnapped her. was she a victim or in on it?

>> and a new hot spot where you might least expect it. that's after your local news. don't hide behind your lipstick. use it to show the world how you feel. and today, i feel daring. [announcer:] revlon super lustrous lipstick. mega moisturizing formula in 82 stay true colors.

7:26 is your time now on this friday, september 21, 2012. good morning, i'm eun yang. here is danella sealock. >> here is what we are looking like on arlington drive, a multivehicle block. red as you make your way from the beltway to seminary road. red on the outer loop of the beltway on i-95. jammed at 650 new hampshire avenue. back to you. >> thank you. we'll take a quick break and

good morning, i'm storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. temperatures are in the 50 z for most early on friday morning. 60 degrees downtown. 52 in winchester, virginia.

there's the forecast today. bright and sunny. high near 82 degrees. watching for a risk of strong, perhaps severe thunderstorms saturday afternoon. back to you. >> thank you.

am i close enough? i can't get any closer. >> that's pretty close. with you looking at remarcable video of a man standing on the edge of an active volcano just 30 yards from that 1,100-degree laugh ark. he'll join us to share more of those dramatic images and ask him that burning question, why do you do that straight ahead. 7:30 now on a friday morning. it's september 21st, 2012. good morning. i'm savannah guthrie alongside willie geist in for matt. >> you won't believe how long he stood beside that lava. >> a different kind of guest.

>> a different hot spot. would you spend the night on the town at your local applebee's. what the restaurant is doing some location, get out the glo sticks. time for a rave at applebees. >> see the flicker of a disco pal. >> they are having fun. and later the classical spin on "call me, maybe." a huge hit online. the entire chorus and orchestra are here, and they will perform it for us live on the plaza. and then are you the kind of person that strives for perfection? >> absolutely? >> really? not really. >> no, but it's the right thing to say. >> some people r.al is trying to draw the perfect circle. >> oh. >> it's not that easy as we're seeing there. some say it can't be done, but his teacher, the other al standing next to him begs to differ. coming up, we'll meet the self-proclaimed world freehand circle drawing champion. >> at least you're smiling about it. he'll give us a little lesson. >> not even close, al, but good try. we begin this half hour with a

story that's made worldwide headlines. the wife of a deputy prison warden found living with the escaped convict who allegedly abducted her more than ten years earlier. nbc's edie magnus is here with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: after what she said was more than a decade of abuse and a stint in prison herself, bobbi parker is back with her family and speaking for the first time trying to clear her name. >> for 11 years the woman's husband never gave up hope. >> reporter: in the spring of 2005 it was a sensational story. bobbi parker, the wife of a deputy prison warden, was found on a chicken farm in east texas with a convicted killer. the murder, randolph diald had escaped from the prison back in 1994 with bobbi parker in tow. >> he bound my wrists, he bound my ankles, and he beat me with his belt. it was a very severe beating, very severe. what i remember him saying is

this is nothing compared to what the people that i know can and will do to you. >> bobbi parker said she was ripped from her husband and two daughters and that convicted killer randolph diall held her hostage for more than a decade. what did he say he would do if you tried to get away? >> he would either find me or my family, and he would harm them, kill them. >> reporter: she says diall terrorized and abused her, physically, emotionally and sexually. >> it degrades you. it embarrasses you. humiliates you. it messes with you mentally. >> reporter: bobbi says she was overjoyed when authorities finally captured diall and reunited her with her husband. >> you took her back, no questions asked. >> there was no taking her back. it was to go get her and bring her back home where she belonged. >> reporter: not everyone

believed she was a kidnap victim. >> how could you be gone from your children for 11 years and never contact them? never make an attempt to get away. >> reporter: the d.a. believes bobbi fell in love with diall and ran off with him and charhe him escape from prison. you felt there was no law enforcement agent that would be able to help you out in >> i didn't feel that way. i knew the consequences of what would happen to me and my family, i just knew it. >> reporter: you're certain. >> i have no doubt and that's what people don't understand. i couldn't get past the fear within me, the voice within me >> reporter: case went to trial last summer, and a year ago today she was found guilty and sentenced to one year in prison. despite verdict bobbi's husband randy believes her completely. >> to her it was real, and i believe that to her it was real. >> reporter: bobbi is now out of prison, trying to clear her name, and overturn her

conviction. >> it's like a nightmare that just doesn't end. >> reporter: and on monday the u.s. supreme court is expected to decide whether or not to take up an issue in bobbi's appeal. there's so much more to this story you really have to hear bobbi tell it herself so can you make a judgment about whether you think she was in on it or not. >> you can do that on a special edition of "dateline," the devil and bobbi parker. that's 10:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m. central. edie magnus. thanks very much. >> now a check of the wet we are mr. roker. >> thank you very much. we told you last half hour with seward, alaska and how rough the weather has been there. take a will be at this video. pretty amazing stuff. see all this flooding, 5 inches of rain in a short period of time, turned roads into rivers making a r roads into rivers making a real mess. they have more coming over the next 48 hours into early next week. they are not out of the woods just yet.

let's show you what's going on as far as your weekend is concerned. as we look ahead toward saturday, the northeast, a risk of strong storms. wet weather into the eastern great lakes. sizzling in the southwest. sunday! sunday! expect showers in northern new england. the heat continues in the southwest. looking at mild conditions into the pacific northwest. it doesn't help the firefighters out there. that's what's going on around the country here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> i'm storm team 4 meet yomgs chuck bell. a bright and sunny start. temperatures in the low to mid-50s now to near 60 in town. chilly weather in southern maryland where the river is up to 55 degrees this morning. temperatures, as we go through the rest of the day should reach into the mid to upper 70s by noontime. the high expected to reach 82 degrees. 86 tomorrow with the risk of that's your latest weather. tomorrow marks the start of

fall, but we know fall's already started because it's time for another edition of sunday night "football night in america." this is a big one. we've got the patriots going out to the m & t bank stadium taking on the ravens. a replay of the afc championship last year. clear, cool, 58 to 62 degrees on sunday night "football night in america." >> thanks, al. i got the echo, too. that was exciting. when you think of late-night hot spots a restaurant that caters to the high chair set is preble low on your list but one chain is hoping to change that. janet shamlian is in texas to explain. got to hear that. >> reporter: no surprise in a tough economy that companies are looking for ways to keep the cash coming in, but is this too much of a stretch? a national chain of family

restaurants on a big push to become your favorite late-night hot spot. ♪ >> reporter: music is loud. the tap is open, and the dance floor is packed. ♪ >> reporter: it's almost midnight on a thursday in tampa, and the party is in full swing. but this is not your hard to get into just open nightclub of the moment. >> a pretty good vibe, i'm not going to lie. >> reporter: roll back a few hours and its alter ego is revealed. >> hi, how are you. welcome to applebee's. this is the statele of suburban dinners out. it's an applebee's. >> reporter: call it an extreme makeover. best known for a quick business lunch or family dinner with crayons and high chairs, it now tries to pass itself off as the hottest nightclub in your neighborhood. the chain's almost 2,000 locations are open to at least

midnight, some to 2:00 a.m. hoping to lure late-nighters with food and drink specials and a party vibe. some even hosting theme night, ladies, luau and karaoke. what spurred the move into turning the restaurant into a club scene? >> well, we know that consumer behavior is changing, and in order for us to continue to thrive and be the successful brand that we are, we have to change with the times. ♪ >> reporter: chain won't release sales figures, but calls the rebranding profitable. >> your apps will be right out. >> reporter: this woman is a regular at dinner with her brother. she came back after hours to give the late night a try. >> came here after 10:00 on wednesday for a girls night. pretty good, i must say. i enjoy it >> reporter: transformation comes as the stroller-pushing crowd goes home. the crowd goes home, the lights

kick up and a restaurant is reimagined. >> i would definitely come again. this is my second thursday in a row. >> reporter: they have been doing the late-night scene in florida for a while, but this is now the national rollout, and this will be the real test. savannah, back to you. >> all right, janet shamlian, thank you. coming up next, incredible video of a man standing on the edge of a spewing volcano. we're going to talk to him right after this. ♪ i'm on the edge of glory 100% juice blends are y with no added sugar. just one glass equals two servings of fruit. very "fruit-ritious." or try ocean spray light 50, with just 50 calories, a full serving of fruit, and no added sugar. with tasty flavors like cranberry pomegranate and cranberry concord grape, it's like a fruit stand in every bottle. [ splashing ] just, you know, demonstrating how we blend the fruits. ahem. try all our tasty ocean spray 100% and light 50 juices.

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genuine, true. the simple grains cereals from kellogg's. start simple. start right. back now with a man who truly lived on the edge. geoff mackley is a news cameraman with a passion for extreme adventure and recently put both of his talents on display when he climbed into the middle of an active volcano, at one point standing just 30 yards

above the bubbling, boiling lava. geoff is with us this morning. geoff, good morning. >> good morning, how are you? >> i'm doing well. let me ask you the obvious question right out of the gate. why? why do you put yourself so close to the lava? >> well, you know, in this day and age there are very few places you can go and things you can do where you can truly say wow, and i -- i've always had the catch phrase the greatest show on earth, and whether it's a volcano or being in a category 5 hurricane or chasing tornadoes, mother nature just puts on the most amazing show. there's very few places on earth that you can actually truly go and stand and say i am the only human to have ever stood here, and such was the case with this place, so it's just a first for adventure, to do something no one else has ever done. >> we know you got about 30 yards away from that bubbling, boiling lava. how do you get down there to

begin with? >> well, getting to the side is incredibly dangerous. you're talking 1,200 feet vertical. if you stacked two chrysler buildings on top of each other, that was the commute to work each morning, and had you to dodge rocks gig enough to kill you that are moving at like, you know, terminal velocity past you every few minutes, hitting the road, damaging the road. it was dangerous. standing on top of the lava wasn't standing on top of the edge of that lava pit, was not actually that dangerous. getting to that point was just incredibly dangerous. >> we see in some of these pictures you look like you're in some sort of a heat suit. can you describe what it describes like physically to be that close. >> absolutely incredible. the first day that i got to the bottom, i didn't have the heat suit, and i just simply walked to the edge and managed to stand

the heat for roughly six seconds before i had to cover my face and run back, but that special heat suit was designed by someone in the fire brigade in new zealand. we also teamed that up with a breathing apparatus, exactly the same as any fire brigade would use to enter a burning building, and that is so that you're breathing fresh air. if you took one gulp of the super heated air coming off that lava, it would kill you instantly. so i was able to stand there breathing, cool, fresh air from the breathing tanks and in that heat seat you felt like you were in an oven, but it was kind of a surreal experience. you could feel the waves blasting at you, and you felt totally protected. i was able to stay there for 40 minutes in the air on the breathing apparatus ran out and as any fireman knows, scream at me, and i stood there until it ran completely out of air.

such was the amazing sight i was looking at and ran clear of the lava lake and took the breathing mask off. >> real quick, geoff. >> unforgettable. >> described your fascination with volcano hunting as something like a drug. i say this with the utmost respect. are you a little bit crazy, geoff? >> no, not a little bit crazy. i take calculated risks. i've been doing this for a long, long time. it's been a 15-year quest to get to the bottom of that pit, but no one else has ever achieved, it getting that close. i'm amazed no one has, but the pictures are exactly what i had in my mind. all along i knew that's what i would come away, and i'm totally blown away. and you're right. it is like a drug. you just keep coming back because it, to be standing there looking at moulten rock boiling like water, that close. nothing -- it's indescribable. >> the pictures are just stunning. geoff mackley, a man with very high insurance premiums, thank

you very much gemp we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> up next, we'll try to match this man's unique skills, drawing perfect circles freehand. that's right after this. almay primer the first step to a beautiful look a swirl of green correcting your color a twirl of lavender "...brightening your glow" together, these two colors create the perfect canvas

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do you have a hidden state, reciting the state capitals in alphabet call order or tying a cherry stem into a knot. our next guest has a talent all his own. this math teacher can draw a perfect circle freehand. al, good morning to you. >> good morning. thanks for having me. >> when did you discover this amazing talent? >> so like 20 years ago i was doing a unit on circles and drew a circle on a board and some kid said that's really good and i backed up and said, of course, that's good. i'm the world freehand circle drawing champion. >> you are the champion. >> tell me about the competition. are you the only entrant? >> check it out on youtube, a video of it. i happened to win the championship and the guy i was

against in the final was a ring-maker so he made me a world freehand circle drawing champion. >> also drew a perfect circle. >> and your students call you big al. if you don't mind us calling us big al. do you get it perfect every time? are you consistent with it? >> most of the time. >> when the pressure is on hopefully. >> like right now. >> and there is some technique involved, right? >> there is technique. three techniques. got to pick a pivot point. if the board is really big, use yore shoulder or face it and do it that way. >> like a human protractor or compass. >> you got it. >> let's see it. >> performing under pressure. >> so performing under pressure. >> no pressure. >> the perfect circle. here we go. >> how do you know it's perfect? >> i don't know. the ends didn't quite tell. >> there's a circlometer that measures it. >> all right. >> can this still be taught.

>> pick a pivot point. >> okay. >> rotate your arm around the pivot point and stay the same distance from the center so that's one technique or go with -- >> i got my eye on you. >> al's pretty good. >> i'm going to get you in thely. >> mine is awful. >> al's is pretty good. what about mine? >> are we declaring a champion? >> looks like an egg. >> what are you talking about? >> crying, sadness. >> all right, will. thank you so much. >> check it out. we should measure that. >> congratulations. >> from one al to another. >> lady gaga, what is she saying about her recent weight gain? [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day

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good morning. it's 7:56 on this friday, september 21st. i'm aaron gilchrist. breaking news on the roads. here is danella sealock. >> right now, the situation looks a little better. moments ago, as you were traveling 395 southbound at duke, all the southbound lanes were blocked. police are still on the scene of the earlier crash. now, just the right lane is blocked. you are getting by, but seeing significant delays. southbound was blocked for some time. let's head to the inner loop of the beltway. no accidents. no acci[ male announcer ] for the dreamers...

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good friday morning, i'm chuck bell. temperatures are climbing into the mid-50z to low and mid 60s in town and bay side. a beautiful day. temperatures mid to upper 70s by noontime. high today, 82. tomorrow, 86 with a chance of thunderstorms on your saturday. back to you, aaron. >> thank you. another update in 25 minutes. the "today" show continues after a short break.

8:00 new on a beautiful friday morning. it's 91st day of september, 2012, and our crowd is enjoying what is the last official day of summer. >> yes. >> out in rockefeller plaza. feels a little like fall already. >> it does. >> good morning. i'm savannah guthrie with willie geist in for matt and al roker. coming up, everything you immediate to know for the weekend. >> got it covered. the big movie openings, the emmys this weekend. get you ready for that, and got the hottest trends in beauty and fashion, al roker. >> if you really, really want to impress your guests, you want to tailgate, not any kind of

tailgating, you want high-tech tailgating, including a remote-controlled cooler that plays music. >> >> that is the height of laziness. i love it >> you know whales they have, a gas-powered blender, kid you not. wait until you see this stuff. >> and a high-tech camera. also ahead, "call me, maybe." all love the song. not heard it like this. maybe you have. gotten millions of hits on youtube. a chorus and orchestra will be here to play the beautiful rendition of "call me, maybe" live. al's been conducting it. >> that's it, and then they will do "gangnam style" which will be really amazing. ♪ and here's my number so call me maybe ♪ >> makes me so serene, i don't know if i can go on with this. ♪ so here's my number, call me maybe ♪ >> oh, but we must. >> i know. everyone is so peaceful and serene. we want to tell but something

el else. >> carly rae jepsen. >> right up there. >> "ask away today." send us in your questions about anything. >> wow. >> and we are going to reach into the grab bag and answer them next week. i mean, ask whatever you want. >> this has a real high potential for disaster. >> high potential for disaster. i've read some of the letters. you guys are really weird, okay, we'll answer. >> so are we. >> so are we. looking forward to it. >> not so sure it's a pandora's box you want to open. >> most of this is reading them, pulling it out of the hat. >> let's send it inside to natalie at news desk. >> good morning again, willie, savannah and al. good morning, everyone. mitt romney is pouncing on a chance to use president obama's words against him. during a forum on spanish language tv on thursday the president said he's learned you can't change washington from the

inside. you can only change it from the outside. romney called that the white flag of surrender. american airlines customers are dealing with an increase in cancelled and delayed flights. the nation's third largest carrier blames the problems on pilots calling in sick and crew members filing maintenance requests. the pilots union blames company mismanagement and old aircraft. mesh has cut jobs and benefits as it reorganization under bankruptcy protection. singer/songwriter fiona apple is free on bail after spending wednesday night in jail on drug charges. apple's tour bus was stopped and searched at a border patrol checkpoint in west texas. police say they found small amounts of marijuana and hashish and that apple admitted they were hers. hashish possession is a felony in texas. now let's head to wall street and cnbc's mary thompson at the new york stock exchange. mary, how is it looking like it will close out the week? >> reporter: have to wait and see. a lot of news coming out. people on walling street focused on a different apple this morning, natalie, that being apple stores.

crowds lining up around apple stores around the world, the reason being, of course, the iphone 5 goes on sale today. it is expected to be apple's top-selling phone to date. some analysts say by the end of the weekend apple may have sold 10 million of those fans. back to you. >> all right. mary thompson, back to you. for a look at what's trending today, our quick roundup of what has you talking online. lady gaga is talking about her new curvier figure. gaga says she's put on 25 pounds because of her dad's delicious cooking. he owns a new york city restaurant. gaga says i love eating pasta and pizza. i'm a new york italian girl. just a day after its release, one direction's new video for "live while you're young" is closing in on 2 million youtube views. check it out. ♪ and never, never, never stop for anyone ♪ ♪ and now let's live while we're young ♪ >> new single off their new

album "take me home." sounds like a good one and political high seas means the return of "saturday night live's" weekend update thursday, and it opened last night with a spoof of secret mitt romney tapes, including one where he's a contestant on "cash cab." take a look. >> four seasons, please. >> are you in the cash cab. tv game show takes place right here in my taxi cab. all have you to do is answer questions. first question is worth $25. >> that's okay. we're not going to answer questions for a quarter. >> $25. >> right, which is a quarter of $100. any other type of quarter, don't understand? >> catch more of "snl"'s political standups next thursday and more on "saturday night live," of course, right here hon nbc. it is 8:05. let's go back outside to savannah and willie. >> all right, natalie, thanks. let's get a check of the weather with mr. roker from across the plaza. >> a lot of friends down here. where are you guys from? >> oklahoma. >> having a good time?

>> yeah. >> your first trip. >> welcome to new york. nice to see you. ? >> our first trip to new york. >> let's see what we have for you today. pick city of the day happens to be honolulu, hawaii. partly sunny, warm, 86 degrees. as we look at today's weather, we are expecting to see lots of heat. texas into oklahoma for our young friend there. 80s and 90s up into the pacific northwest. 60s and 70s here in the east. look for wet weather through the ohio river valley. still pesky showers and thunderstorms down through southern florida. miami gets dumped on. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> i'm storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. we are off to a bright and sunny start. temperatures upper 50s and low 60s now. you can see on the four-day forecast, a hint of late summer warmth is going to last two more days. today, mostly sunny and 82.

saturday, breezy, very warm, humid and a risk of showers and thunderstorms, some of which could be strong to severe saturday afternoon and evening before we and that's your late est weather. savannah. >> thanks, al. coming up next, the friday whiff on the hottest trends in movies and entertainment. all you need to get ready for the weekend right after this. ♪ well, he's not very handsome ♪ to look at [ sighs ] ♪ oh, he's shaggy ♪ and he eats like a hog [ male announcer ] the volkswagen jetta. available with advanced keyless technology. control everything from your pocket, purse, or wherever. that's the power of german engineering. ♪ that dirty, old egg-suckin' dog ♪ that's the power of german engineering. it 's time to get real about egg-suckin' dog ♪ and start talking about whawhat you really wanthroom. from your toilet paper. it's time to talk about clean. feeling clean is so important.

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with what's new, what's up, what's in? a whiff of the latest trends in hollywood, beauty and fashion to get you ready for the weekend. >> let's go. as always, three experts to help us out starting with what's new in entertainment news. the senior writer for "newsweek" and "the daily beast" joins us. hi. >> good morning. >> so we're going to the movies, what's coming out is. >> a good week to go to the movies. a lot of new movies. "end of wake." jake gyllenhaal's best performance since "bockback mountain." plays an l.a. cop who investigates a lot of grisly crimes. jake gyllenhaal spent five months preparing for this. he rode along with actual police officers and says he was even tased so he really prepared and totally pays off. a great movie. >> a clint eastwood movie, one he didn't direct. >> first time in almost 20 years he's in a movie he didn't direct. plays an aging baseball recruiter, a very classic family film. >> and if you're into scary movies, i'm not, too scared. >> you are?

>> no. >> i went to "the house at the end of the street," jennifer lawrence, first movie since "hunger games." kind of like "silence of the lambs" for middle school schools. >> that sounds scary. >> intrigued but terrifying. >> tv, big weekend, the emmys. >> i think a lot of close categories. the one to watch is best drama. really close. if "mad men" wins, breaks the record. no tv drama has won five years in a rowe. they have won four times. it will have to compete against "breaking bad," "homeland" and your favorite "downtown abbey." i think that can pull off a price. >> it's fantastic. first images of the lifetime movie with lindsay lohan as elizabeth taylor. >> the images and trailers went this up week. looks kind of strange. a lot of sex and booze. she's a brunet. >> damn them with your faint praise. >> haven't seen it yet. comes out in november. people can watch for themselves.

>> lindsay as liz taylor, i don't know. >> kind of looks the part, well, i don't know. music, the new judges on "american idol," talking about new judges potentially on "the voice." >> right. the new judges panel on "american idol" was announced, mariah carey, nicki minaj, keith urban and randy jackson is back. >> and speaking of a new judge from "the voice," christina aguilera. >> a new single out. >> going old christina. >> "your body," a great song, download it on your ipad. >> one tough customer. >> sometimes. >> we'll head over to willie now. >> savannah, do the best leg of this relay. what's up in entertaining planning a weekend get together? sarah gore is the house of nbc's "open house." good to see you. >> good to see you, too. >> i'm a fan of any food on a stick. what's here? >> everything that is old is new again, on a stick with bacon and

booze. let's go. remember the push pops? this is cake. who needs a fork. so last season. red velvet cupcake things, actually cake and a gold edible star. >> just make the cake and push down and mold it in and pipe your frosting in and layer. do it with different colors, different kind of cakes. pie pops, the new things. >> pie on a stick. >> you can make them homemade. don't have the skills to make it homemade, little machines for everything, makes it in under four minutes. >> wow. >> these are the ones done in four minutes, a little less fancy, but how great are they. sweet or savory. >> these are under $20. >> what is this? what am i looking at? >> pizza in a cone. how fantastically tacky is this. tacky in the best way possible. roll the pizza up, get drippings

all over yourself, nobody wants to do this especially when you're wearing a nice suit like you are, willie. pizza topping, you can do it more healthy, fill it with salad and pizza topping. >> looks beautiful, too. >> beautiful and take it on the go. >> if i'm watching the emmys this weekend, got to have popcorn. >> this is one of the best things, different price ranges, different sizes. this is about $50 on sale. glitteratti popcorn, nuts, cranberries, white chocolate and a little edible gold again. how pretty is that? >> eat the glitter, love it. >> glitter dust. >> and real quick on theen. make your own doughnuts. >> don't have to fry them. four minutes, under $30. bacon and booze, remember i talked about that before, apple cider doughnuts with bourbon maple glaze and bacon on top. >> bacon and booze, words to live by. >> right. >> thank you so much.

here's natalie. >> and now what's in with beauty. jen fallic is an expert and beauty expert and you're rocking the bangs which is the trend. >> i'm rocking the trends, yours are real, mine are not. hot on the runway. don't have to make the commitment. >> it is a big commitment. >> daisy fuentes has lux hair wow. you can blend this with your hair. >> yours is identical and these are great and easy to use and bang stylers, so, for example, this manny little iron, you can charge it in your car and fix your bangs on the go. >> reworking some classic products. >> yeah. >> tell us what's new in beauty. >> beauty brands are getting smart. women have certain products they love so ysl, a foundation. laura mercier's best selling moisturize

moisturizer and elizabeth arden, eight-hour cream, a distinct smell. >> great. >> a whole bunch of stuff. vasoline and in a mini for lips and now they have this for the whole face. >> fantastic. >> over here. beauty products that are new brands and some are going a little bit retro. >> big new launches this season. erin, so chic. want to throw everything out. >> such a beautiful palette. >> everything is amazing, rose-fragranced lotion, everything, and mack is coming out two weeks. >> i love it. >> oscar de la renta. >> andy warhol. >> give yourself a pop of color for the fall. >> and illuminators are the big thing as well. >> a big thing, after ski sort of blush. it's a silver icy eliminator,

great on the inner corners of the eyes, cheek bones and just above the lips to make your lips look huge and beautiful. all available at sephora, all sizes, whatever you need. >> you rock the bangs. look good up on you coming up next, the must-have gadgets you need for your next tailgating party, right after this. [ mother ] you can't leave the table till you finish your vegetables. [ clock ticking ] [ male announcer ] there's a better way... v8 v-fusion.

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let's solve this. living with moderate to semeans living with pain.is it could also mean living with joint damage. help relieve the pain and stop the damage with humira, adalimumab. for many adults with moderate to severe ra, humira is clinically proven to help relieve pain and stop joint damage. so you can treat more than just the pain. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your rheumatologist about humira, to help relieve pain

and stop further joint damage before they stop you. pack now with "today's tech." football season in high gear, and this morning we're taking your tailgate to the next level. mario armstrong is the digital lifestyle contributor. >> i'm doing great. >> i went to school in the s.e.c. so none of this is fake. >> the remote-controlled coolers, can carry up to 22 pounds, at hammacher sclemer. >> how lazy do we need to be? >> that's the closest we can get to r-22d2 bringing you a beer. >> this has an a.m./fm radio on it, listen to the game while you're out.

these are college coolers which igloo, 15 different universities this. >> and people like to party at the tailgate. you need good quality sound. >> need good quality sound. this is from brookstone, really good for outdoors because it's water resistant, weather proof, really, really sturdy and different style jam boxes, small one you can do in your school colors which is really cool. you can kind of customize those and then the big jam box that i'm actually going to play. i want you to hear the quality of this sound. >> and you sync these up to your ipod. >> this is jim bell's -- the e.p. told me this is his favorite song to play for you. >> gang n"gangnam style." you guys know how to do it. >> that was last week. >> that's how you do tailgate. >> this is my favorite one, a gas-powered blender. how much power do we need to make a margarita? >> this is by tailgater zone. 22 cs, crank this up just like

you're mowing your lawn and pour and blend the margaritas. >> what's happening here? >> a blacktop grill, affordable and collapsible, called blacktop 360. it can do warming and has an infrared grill, a whole lot of stuff already built in into one portable grill. >> cool. >> really easy unit. >> tailgater by dish. now we're getting serious. >> if you want to step up, this is a dish satellite that's actually portable. carry this satellite, put it on to your truck, a connector here in the back that just goes right to your dvr so all you have to do is get power to your dvr while you're out and about. 220 watt inverter, connected to the tv, and you are watching football outside. now this isn't any regular tv. this is a sunbright television so this guy is totally weather proof. never do this at home. we'll take you water and so you the tv, 32 inch, made in

america. >> what are you doing? >> what are you doing? >> oh. >> right, exactly! you would never do that. >> sunbrite is made in the usa, awesome. goes up to a 65-inch screen >> you need to do a late-night infomercial, very impressive. >> and over here. >> this is a quickgoal person. collapse it and then have six of your friends grab a seat and great food and watch the game, and to plan the event, one of the favorite websites i like is tgator.com, a website to plan your event and invite people to it, upload photos and have people come to your tailgate and hang out. >> the truth is, with all this stuff why go out in the stadium. >> amazing.

good morning. it's 8:26 on this friday, september 21st. i'm aaron gilchrist. in headlines, president obama heads to northern virginia today and will hold a campaign event in wood bridge. thousands are expected to fill the stadium. it begins at 12:456789 he was supposed to speak in manassas. they announced the change on monday. let's look at the forecast. chuck bell is in storm center 4. >> good morning to you and good morning to everybody. the sun is shining brightly. temperatures in the upper 50s and low 60s to get friday started. looking for highs near 82 degrees here in town with a slight increase in cloud cover

by late in the day. still looks dry for high school football and for friday night baseball as well. your weekend, warm and stormy saturday. cool and breezy sunday.

good morning. traveling i-66 westbound a crash blocking the roadway. two left lanes get by. this is 66 westbound. aaron b

♪ ♪ where you think you going ♪ hey, i just met you ♪ and this is crazy ♪ and here's my number ♪ so call me, maybe >> 8:30 now on this friday

morning, the 21st of september, 2012, and as we say good morning to everyone on the plaza. you may recognize that song a little bit. a class ic. >> practiced on "morning joe." >> we're heard a lot of tributes and knockoffs to "call me, maybe." but we think we have the best one for you this morning. just ahead the entire chorus out of connecticut is going to perform for us live. >> all right. it's beautiful. >> good morning, everyone, again. i'm savannah guthrie alongside willie geist in for matt and natalie morales and al. what else is coming up? >> when you think of cheerleading, do you think of science? maybe not necessarily, but actually one group is out to show that there is some science involved, and there's a lot more in their pom-poms and pyramids, and they are using their sport to hopefully teach kids across the country about it. >> classic music and

cheerleading. only on "today." >> what else? >> and we'll show you and help you break some of the not-so-great habits your kids may have picked up over the summer. >> all right. but first we want to say hello to the oscar-nominated movie "maggie gyllenhaal" about "won't back down" who wants to do something about her kids' failing public school. i read you really wanted to convey a real mom, not a perfect mom. tell me about that. >> well, the person that i play in the movie ends up being kind of a hero, you know. she really does, you know, risk everything for her daughter's education, and i wanted -- i guess i wanted people who saw it to feel like they could make that kind of change, too. if you make her like this perfect mom which is, you know, as far as i can tell, not something that's possible to be, then, you know, people feel like i can't do this, but, yeah, i wanted her to be flawed in the way, that you know, we are all

flawed. >> yeah. >> and still be able to, you know, do something incredible. >> you have two kids, all of us who have children know that feeling of fighting, wanting the very best for your children. how much your own motherhood did you bring to the role? >> well, i think once you're a mom, there's little secret things that you know, like you know how -- you know that in your pocket you'll find like a bag of cheerios or things like. >> always. >> little secrets that you just wouldn't know otherwise, so those kind of things go in, and i'm sure all of those things are in there, and also, yeah, this kind of way that you can fight for something that i think you just otherwise wouldn't have known and also like a whole spectrum of feelings that i just didn't have until i had my girls, you know. >> in fact, your character says, you hear about those moms who lift one-ton trucks off their babies, they are nothing compared to me. they are nothing compared to me. >> the woman i play in the movie is almost a child herself. she's like a kid who, like she's

unstoppable in the way that a child is. as we get older we say i don't know if i can do that. i don't know if it's worth it. she has a naivety that only a child has. in a way, i was playing a kid who is a mother of a kid. >> it opens friday. we are going to have a special screening at the new york public library in conjunction with nbcs education nation. thanks for stopping by. congratulations. >> thank you. >> let's get a check of the weather. >> let's see what we have. fall foliage, we are going to start to see color in the northeast. new england and the upper mississippi river valley and peak conditions in the rockies. tomorrow, risk of strong storms. sizzling weather in the southwest. sunday! sunday! showers in northern new england. mild weather in the pacific northwest. the heat continues to the southeast. mild along the southeast and

atlantic states. plenty of sunshine and heat in the southwest. a good friday morning. i'm storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. sun is shining brightly outside this morning. that's the way it's going to stay. current temperatures are climbing into the upper 50s. leesburg, 57. gaithersburg, 57. 62 in washington. 64 in annapolis. the forecast high today, up near 82 degrees. plenty of sunshine early. picking up extra clouds late in the day. tomorrow, highs in the mid-80 and a first for our program, we have willie geist, but first let's say hello to willie scott. [ no audio ] . >> it is so pretty. you've got to come visit. many people do. take a look at our birthday buddies today. nice birthday party and a nice place. this is alice simpson of mt. dora, florida, 100 years old

today. always had a great attitude and had ronald reagan for lunch one day, on the grill, not ronald but lunch. all right. louise ricks, atlanta, georgia, 100 years old. loves aerobic classes and happy birthday. lionel ferbos from new orleans, louisiana. a jazz musician, and he's 101 and works every week. loves to play that horn. clara shen, san francisco, california 1, 100 years old, a model for mass magazines back in the 1940s and still loves to play the piano. love her and vincent topper, harrisburg, pennsylvania, 100 years old today. a catholic priest for more than 70 years. beatrice, lovely beatrice

ramirez of la verkin, utah, loves to sew and has many beautiful dresses. 104 years old. that's it. all from your nation's capital and now back to the hudson and east river, my two favorites. >> thanks, willard. coming up next, live from the plaza, a new take on the hit "call me, maybe" like you've never heard it before. but

well, carly rae jepsen's hit "call me, maybe" was the breakout sensation of the summer with many tributes and parodies to count, everyone from the u.s. olympic team to cookie monster and kathie lee and hoda and all of us, too. this is a classical version from the three penny orchestra. welcome. >> thank you. >> colin, this was your big idea what. about this song made you any it has to be done in classical

form? >> such an infectious form. we couldn't get away from it on the airwaves, but it's such a song that makes you so happy. >> you put out call for musicians and really got high-caliber musicians. >> most of the people here are affiliated with the yale university and hart school and a bunch of other colleges and churches in concoverage all volunteered their time and came out to record it. >> how hard is this to pull off? >> actually only took us about an hour and a half to do total. it was labor day and we said let's do something fun and a little bit different from our professional lives as musicians. >> this isn't bach, in other words? >> it isn't bach but love bach as much as jepsen. way to get together with friends on labor day. >> trying to get people interested in classical music in. >> if it makes people listen that doesn't usually, that's great and wonderful. >> do more for charity. >> maybe "gangnam style." >> of course.

>> without further adieu, we'll let you take it away. ♪ you talk your tame with the call ♪ ♪ i tack my call with the fall and you gave me nothing at all ♪ ♪ i big, borrowed and steal ♪ i didn't know i was dealing ♪ but it's in my way ♪ your stare was hold be ♪ ripped jeans, skin was showing ♪ ♪ hot night, wind was blowing ♪ where you think you're going, baby ♪ ♪ hey, i just met you ♪ and this is crazy ♪ but here's my number, so call me, maybe ♪ ♪ it's hard to look right at you baby ♪ ♪ but here's my number, so call me maybe ♪

♪ hey, i just met you and this is crazy ♪ but here's my number so call me, maybe ♪ ♪ and all the other boys try to chase me ♪ ♪ but here's my number, so call me, maybe ♪ ♪ and this is so bad, and this is so bad ♪ snoetd bad, bad, bad ♪ ♪ it's hard to look right at you, baby ♪ but here's my number, so call me maybe ♪ ♪ hey, i just met you, and this is crazy ♪ ♪ but here's my number, so call me, maybe ♪ ♪ and all the other base try to chase me ♪ ♪ but here's my number, so call me, maybe ♪ ♪ before you came into my life i missed you so bad ♪ ♪ i missed you so bad ♪ i missed you so, so bad

♪ before you came into my life i missed you so bad ♪ ♪ i missed you so bad snoed ♪ i missed you so, so bad ♪ so call me, maybe >> way to go. the orchestra with a little help from your friends. a lot of lipstick on this little trumpet. thank you so much. and we're back with some exciting fall geth aways right after this. >> great job, guys.

we are back at 8:45. this morning we're taking off a new series celebrating l.a. vida latina. natalie is here with us. >> spent any time watching commercials recently, you

probably noticed a striking trend. sophia. >> been looking for you all night. >> thank you. >> salma and eva. madison avenue advertisers have fallen for these latina ladies. their faces are everywhere selling all-american products. >> thank you. >> from milk, to makeup. >> get gorgeous lips, not once, but twice. >> to shampoo. >> tried me to try this pantene. >> why with reseeing so much of sophia, salma hayek and j. lo in ads these days? >> seeing gorgeous women in ads because they follow the dollars. they follow the audience. >> and that hispanic audience in america, made up of more than 50 million, is watching and spending. >> the latino consumer has a buying power of $1 trillion.

that's a trillion with a "t" so the u.s. spanish population was its own country, it would be one of the top richest economies in the world. >> that says it right there. when you talk about the upscale hispanic households, the numbers have more than doubled. roughly 3 million households are making upwards of $75,000 a year >> i think that latinos are the new baby boomers, and what i mean by that is that they are the ones who are striving for the american dream. >> they are the ones who want to sent their kids to college, buying cars and homes because it's the american dream reborn. >> women like jennifer lopez, the puerto rican bronx-born beaute set ultimate example of latinos living the american dream. >> these are women who are setting new standards when it comes to beauty. these are new role models. women want to be like them. men love looking at them. the perfect combination for any company going out there to sell

a product. >> the word is crossover. these women are the equivalent of bill cosby in the early '80s. first crossover, yes, an african-american, but had a tremendous appeal to a white audience. >> pretty good. >> breakfast. come drink your meal. >> so salma hayek and the got milk ad, that not only has crossover appeal and you're hitting the target. so there's bang for a buck. >> if she wasn't right for the broad audience, she wouldn't be in there. what else do you know about sophia vagera in a super bowl ad. if you talk to young people in their 20s and 30s, they are going i love her. if you are a latino and you're looking and go, wow, that's one of us. if you're white you go that's

one of us also, and that's the great thing. >> and for much more on hispanic heritage month including pionee pioneers, change in the klatina country, head to the website. >> i hear that there's an incredible gazpacho recipe on the site. >> yeah, my recipe, very easy. >> thanks very much. up next, a group of cheerleaders getting kids excited about science, but first this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:51. a recent federal report found one-third of eighth graders lack basic science skills, and girls lag behind boys. "today's" jenna wolf found a group using a popular group to change somewhat. >> you don't need an advanced degree in rocket science or do you? here rocket science is not encouraged but also required. >> by night she's a dancer for the sacramento kings. by day this professional

cheerleader surrounds herself by science science. >> who cares if i'm a cheerleader. it's fun. >> wendy belongs to a rapidly growing number of women inhe country known as science cheerleader. they perform during nba, nfl and other pro sports teams while also pursuing a career in the advanced sciences. here at the usa science and engineering festival in washington, d.c., wendy and a team of former and current pro cheerleaders are out of their lab coats and in their dancewear to promote, well, science. among this group, there's a clinical psychologist, a dentist and a phlebotomist. this co-captain is with the washington redskins cheerleader and she just got her degree in cellular molecular management.

>> sounds more difficult than it is. >> reporter: several science cheerleaders dance for the washington wizards. suzan is an engineer at exxon mobile and devin is an i.t. specialist and lauren is a financial anly. what's the financial analyst? better let her explain >> i work on, you know, base platform programs and advanced concepting technology. >> reporter: darlene, a former cheerleader for the 76ers, founded the group to get the general public rethinking the image of scientists. >> we know from the national science foundation, an overwhelming majority drew the woman scientist as sad and lonely, and they are anything but sad and lonely looking female scientists, so i think that's part of the draw is just the surprise factor. >> reporter: women make up almost half of the u.s. work force, but a whole less than a quarter of all science, technology and engineering and math jobs. that's why cheerleaders want to put the kibosh on the idea of

nerdy, lonely female scientists. >> it doesn't make me feel good that kids that young are buying into that stereotype because it's definitely not true. >> reporter: when we caught up with these cheerleaders they were working on a record-breaking project, leading schools across the country in a cheer strong enough for the u.s. geological survey to measure. >> give me a "t." >> reporter: so it didn't quite measure on the richter scale did enroll almost 75 schools in a long-term government project to monitor earthquakes. while they all clearly have passion for science, they also have a little patience with me. give me one formula. >> any of those. >> reporter: what she said. i trust you. right now -- still don't know what she said. right now there's 200 former and current professional cheerleaders registered with the

science cheerleaders site. to find out with some science research you don't need a degree to help out, head to today.com. exponentially smarter than i will. >> big cheer for intelligence. >> big-time degrees. >> a new way to help kids break their habits, but first this is "today" on nbc.

8:56 is the time now on this friday, september 21, 2012. i'm eun yang. two lines on the red line. buses will replace trains. that means the bethesda medical

station will be closed. trains -- work starts at 10:00 tonight and should be done by the morning. let's check the weekend forecast. here is chuck bell. >> good morning. it is a beautiful day outside. bright and sunny for now. we'll pick up a few extra clouds later on. no chance for rain on your friday. that is welcome news. current temperatures now into the upper 50s and low and mid-60s in the area. upper 70s by noontime. looking for a high of 82. 86 with

good morning. if you are traveling on i-66, an accident is blocking the