i'm ann curry. and for all of us here at nbc i'm ann curry.at nbc news, good night. -- captions by i have clies say to me, "all you insurance companies are... "you know, all you do is you take my money. "and then, when i have an accident there's a problem." jackie walker, nationwide insurance nationwide does offer what's called

. >> i'm ann curry in for meredith vieira who has the morning off. this morning, the sad story you're talking about about two men being held on murder charges. the case rocked a quiet florida community. >> byrd and melanie billings had 16 children, many of those adopted with special needs. one of the men being held by police posted a chilling update on his myspace page on the day of the murder to say he was "making a move for humanity." we'll have more on that and talk to one of the couple's daughters speaking out for the first time. >>> also this morning, there's some interesting allegations being made involving the death of michael jackson. his sister la toya is furious about what happened and is now claiming her brother was murdered and says the autopsy report contains information that quill will be a bombshell to his fans. >>> we'll show you never before seen photos of john f. kennedy jr. as we approach the anniversary of his death. >>> let's begin with the arrest of the men in florida in connection with the murder of that couple that dedicated t

i'm hoda kotb in for ann curry. as the city of los angeles braces for the memorial service and fans wonder what they will see there, questions and controversy continue to swirl around the circumstances of michael jackson's death. police are reportedly investigating those who may have helped jackson obtain dangerous medications, trying to determine just what killed the man who will be e you logiized tomorrow in a frenzy that helped make him the king of pop. here's josh makowitz. >> the city of angels is preparing for the biggest and most expensive send-off it has ever seen. >> we've never seen anything quite like this. you have the potential of a billion people watching. >> and the star of the show as he did so many times has left us to only guess at the spectacle we'll see. who's coming? what exactly will happen? and in a city that's out of money, in a state that's writing ious, who's going to pay for all of this? >> it is our obligation to protect people and to make sure they are safe. what isn't included are the i

i'm meredith vieira, along with my buddy ann curry here. matt lauer, about a four-hour drive south of us in studio 1a. >> ladies, we miss you. it's only been a minute and a half. you guys were learning to fly fish. ann, i'm happy you see you're out of surgery. >> no, see, i'm okay. others may not be. >> listen, we did catch something -- but that's a little different. as you can see, matt, we're in beautiful lake george nestled in the adirondacks. about a two-hour drive from new york city. >> this lake is about 32 miles long. we're inside adirondack state park. it is roughly the same size as the state of vermont. >> we are standing on the morgan, a steamboat and paddle wheel boat. it goes all around the 109 miles of coastline that make of lake george. behind us is our final destination, the historic saginaw hotel. look at the crowd here, one of the largest crowds we've ever had on a remote. >> it is amazing. you can't see it but folks are alongside this boat as well. you can hear them whistling and cheering. how much do they pay these people?

right now we're going to get to ann curry at the news desk. rning. >> good morning to all of you this morning. the news in the news this morning, this morning seven people are under arrest in raleigh, north carolina, facing terrorism charges. prosecutors say that american daniel boyd led the group and trained in terrorist camps in pakistan and afghanistan. and they're accused of plotting violent jihad overseas although prosecutors do not say where or against whom. there is nothing in the charges to suggest that the men were planning to attack americans or target in the united states. >>> defense secretary robert gates is in iraq this morning. he is speaking with u.s. troops at a town hall meeting and with iraqi officials. >>> president obama is keeping up the pressure on congress to keep health care legislation to get it rather passed. he holds another town hall meeting today. this one sponsored by the aarp, and it is expected to focus on how a new plan would affect seniors. >>> today, the house begins work on legislation to rein in huge corpor

i'm ann curry in for matt lauer this morning. on another topic, looks like this cash for clunkers program is becoming a victim of its own success, and perhaps even the economy. it only started four days ago. >> already the government has set aside a billion dollars to encourage the drivers of old cars and trucks to buy new, more fuel-efficient vehicles. apparently so many drivers have raced out to take advantage of it, dealerships have a backlog of applications. we're going to have more on that and what's being done to keep the program up and running in just a moment. >> also this morning, the latest in the michael jackson case. a high profile meeting took place on thursday between police, prosecutors and the coroner's office. just ahead what they talked about that could further delay the autopsy results. >> plus the latest on that dramatic rescue of a family trapped inside a burning suv that was captured on home video. it happened about two weeks ago in milwaukee. a mother and her two young children pulled to safety by complete

ann curry is standing by at the news desk. ann, good morning to you. >> good morning to both of you. in the news this morning a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit deep underwater off southern new zealand. it triggered a potential destructive tsunami. but so far no reports of serious damage in new zealand. >>> the president is making another push health care reform. on tuesday house democrats unveiled their version of health care reform that would cost $1.5 trillion over ten years and includes higher taxes on people with higher incomes. cnbc's melissa francis is at the new york stock exchange this morning for us. melissa, with a budget deficit already topping a trillion dollars, we've got three times what it was a year ago, how would health care reform bill impact this economy? >> well, ann, small businesses either have to provide health care or pay a haefty penalty. also as you mentioned it would raise the taxes on high income households to pay for it. so a lot of small business owners would pay twice. that's no doubt going

i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira, al roker and ann curry. curry, by the way, hot stage this week. we had the fray here yesterday. we've got daughtry performing in just a couple of minutes out here on the plaza this morning. then coming up on friday, all-american rejects right here on the plaza. >> coming up tomorrow, not a concert, we've got a wedding tomorrow. >> that's right. >> nick and leigh are going to say their i dos on the spot. "today throws a wedding," it's the tenth anniversary. >> isn't that amazing? >> they're going to completely take all of this out and make a vineyard. >> very nice. >> there's a planting that starts tonight. >> and, we're going to get a last-minute check with them, how they're feeling. stuff like that. >> then later on, this is something they'll have to deal with down the road, we're going to find out when it's best to repair an old appliance or just get rid of it and get a new one. >> okay. >> we really cannot call a hot, because even though the temperature will be in the mid- 80's, we are scared the moisture

for that we'll go over to ann curry at the news desk. >> good morning, everybody. also in the news this morning, the pentagon says it needs more troops in afghanistan, because of the worsening violence there. on monday, defense secretary robert gates said he will temporarily increase the size of the army by 22,000 soldiers. and many of them are expected to go to afghanistan, where 68,000 u.s. troops are likely to be serving by the end of this year. >>> militants attacked government buildings in eastern afghanistan today, and 14 taliban militants and security forces were killed. meantime, four more u.s. troops died in afghanistan on monday, raising the number of u.s. deaths to at least 30 so far this month. that makes this the deadliest month for u.s. troops in afghanistan since the war began. >>> in california, there is a deal to close the massive budget deficit. governor schwarzenegger said that getting an agreement was like quote, a suspense more very. the deal calls for deep cuts in spending, but no new taxes and should permit the state to stop issuing ious to p

he told the "today" show's ann curry that political fame went to her head. >> being up there and runningor vice president, i mean, it's totally different than governor. cameras every day. she had secret service. you name it. just seeing how she acted after it was all gone, i just think that it definitely got to her head. >> johnston also called gornor palin an incredible lady but if she she were to run for office again, he wouldn't vote for her. >> jill biden had surgery to relieve shoulder pain. the outpatient procedure will be performed at a hospital in philadelphia. the vice president will accompany his wife and the pair will spend today and tuesday at their home in delaware before mr. biden returns to washington tomorrow evening. meanwhile, former senator and presidential candidate bob dole had surgery on his leg. dole has been hospitalized since last week. the law firm says that his heart is fine but doctors at walter reed operated on dole's left leg which has open sores. they planned a skin graph for today. dole was the gop presidential nominee in 1996. he says he hopes to leave th

i know ann curry is really big into tweeting.r because they have wi-fi in the whole cabin. you're kind of rolling your eyes. >> as long as the cell phones aren't ringing. >> exactly. >> jetblue second, midwest third, west jet fourth and southwest fifth. those all did well. our last category that we're going to talk about this morning, the best car rental agencies and the winner on your list is once i've never even heard of. >> can i tell you that i had never heard of it either, the winner is sixt. 1679 i-x-t. and i'm upset i never heard of it. because i went to europe last week. >> they don't operate in the united states? >> they have 95 countries, not including the u.s. if you're traveling an abroad, i use an american car rental. and i have to say, i got really, really, really taken advantage of. >> what company was that? >> i'm not telling you. but i will tell you that if i'd known about sixt i would have used them. they have mercedes, audis and at affordable prices. >> we're talking about the readers of "travel & leisure" and

i'm matt lauer along with ann curry, al roker and the fray. guys, welcome. nice to have you. >> thank you. >> let's talk about this idea that the first album comes out and it's a huge hit. then there's this thing in the music industry everyone talks about the sophomore slump. did you get together and ever talk about how you could avoid that? >> through e-mails. we had some e-mails and phone calls and we decided we had a good team around us that kept us going back to the songs and kept writing. >> we had eight good ones and four bad ones. we kept working. >> the bad ones i'm assuming did not make the album. >> you have not heard those. >> some songs have made venues that people may be surprised to know about. have you seen the new "transformer" movie. i understand also in "lost" and so what drives you to that? what's your interest in having your songs mixed with film and tv? >> it's interesting that the music translates over to the visual in the movies. we never write an intention for the movies. it picks up. >> do they come and grab you? >> they end us an e-

i'm ann curry. it was a case that went unsolved for years. with no apparent eyewitnesses and little solid evidence. it involved a devoted husband and father who was shot to death in his own home. it seemed his wife had narrowly escaped the gunman herself. then shortly after the funeral, the questions started. was this widow grieving or celebrating? here's keith morrison. >> she is couning, the black widow. deceitful, as she weaves her deadly web. only the sharpet eye could spot the fault, the clue, the dangling thread. though if that thread were ever pulled, what a frightful unraveling might ensue. los angeles 1998. march 18th, the evening. the home, a comfortable tract house in north ridge san fernando valley. the tv was on. there was a man on the couch in the living room. a door opened. the spider's sticky track was sprung. >> 911 emergency. operator 682. >> yes, there's a murder here. i don't know what happened. >> okay, ma'am. what happened? >> i don't know. it's my son-in-law. >> the call was from the mother-in-law back from a night at t

. >> yes, it is, ann curry. yes, it is. >> reporter: out great fishing adventure ends with a perfect bike ride. >> there we go, annie. >> reporter: down a perfect lane and the chance to appreciate the beauty of life's simple pleasures. >> this is a great day. what did we do? fly fishing. we went out on the lake. went to a river. drove a jeep. rode a bike. >> very relaxed. >> cheers. >> to girl time. >> to girl time. >> okay. we didn't catch any fish but we did catch two more cute guys, steve and john representing fort william henry, the american soldiers who actually tried to defend it from the french and indians in 1737. why should tourists go there? >> we have a motto -- history done fun. we fire cannons, muskets, grenades. we'll even sign the kids up for the army if they're brave enough. every night there is a ghost tour, takes you around haunted lake george. >> it is haunted and there is a lake george monster. >> yes. >> very good. guys, thank you very much. >>> we'll have a lot more of "today takes a vacati

. >>> the spotlight got to sarah palin is what levi johnston told the "today" show's ann curry this mornings the father of sarah palin's grandson. the marriage broke off and johnston and the palin family have exchanged harsh words since. johnston was not surprised that palin resigned as alaska's governor and after she lost the vice presidential race, she didn't seem the same. >> being up there running for vice president, it's totally different than governor. cameras every day. she had secret service. you name it. you know, just seeing how she acted after it was gone, it was just -- i just think that she definitely got to her head. >> johnston says palin was offered a lucrative book deal worth between $7 million and $9 million and trying to cra iningn her fame. johnston says he doesn't think palin could handle the stress of president. johnston himself is looking at book deals and movie deals and publicity. doesn't hurt him either. >> 15 minutes isn't enough for some people. >>> up next in o next half hour, a new zero tolerance policy goes into effect on metro. are drivers being more careful

just ahead we've got ann curry and natalie morales back in new york telling us what's going on there. >> hey, guys. you're looking like you're having so much fun. we're kind of worried you might not come back home. >> well, no, we have to to shower. >> you can leave the shirts there, though. >> yeah. >> you can leave the shirts behind. it's so loud the colors are so loud our ears are starting to bleed, matt. >> well, by the way, i've done some sunken -- duncan. >> dunkin doughnuts, some sunken treasure, we've sampled the local fare, and it's amazing. that's why 2 million people come to key west every year. >> that's right. we're going to show you our shopping excursion. also if you're thinking flipper? think again, these are dolphins, working as predators and working in cooperation with one another. we're going to show you that coming up as well. >> we're looking forward to that. also from here we're going to introduce you to a woman who went after the cash. an incredible story. two weeks ago she was on the verge of foreclosure. but now she's become a national sensation. we're going t

. >> hi, ann curry where are you? >> i'm in here.ou for the music, and good morning once again, everybody. in the news a sobering prediction about swine flu. today the world health organization's top flu expert said the pandemic is still in its early stages and while there are now some 130,000 cases worldwide, he predicted as many as 2 billion people could be infected before the pandemic ends. >>> the white police officer who arrested a black harvard professor for disorderly conduct is defending his reputation against those who have labeled him a racist. sergeant james crowley tells nbc's boston affiliate whbh that he is surprised and disappointed by president obama's statements to a national audience at cambridge, massachusetts, police acted stupidly. the president is refusing to retract his comments. the sergeant cruelly, who taught a police course in racial profiling said he will speak more about this in a news conference today. >>> two american service members were killed today in a bomb attack in southern afghanistan, bringing t

ann curry is off this morning but hoda kotb is filling in. >> president obama is in moscow for a two-day summit hoping to warm what has become cool relations. talks are focusing on a new treaty. the u.s. is trying to persuade russia in developing a missile defense system. >>> robert macnamara died this morning. >>> five murders in gaffney, south carolina. funerals were held for two victims and officials believe it's a serial killer. a sketch of the suspect was released believed to be in his 40s. >>> police in los angeles are bracing for huge crowds expected to gather tomorrow for the public memorial service for michael jackson. nbc's jeff rossen is at the staples center. good morning to you, jeff. >> reporter: good morning to you. and really when you hear about the plans for this memorial service it's sounding more like a rock concert. fans flying in from all around the world. celebrities flying in to rehearse and perform ahead of the service and here we are one full day out and this entire area is already on lockdown. it is the hottest ticket in the world. the michael jackson memorial s

before we get to all of that, let's get a check of the top stories from ann curry over at the news desk. >> good morning once again, everybody. in the news, the pentagon says it is sparing no effort to find army private first class bowe bergdahl kidnapped by the taliban in afghanistan three weeks ago today. president obama is also weighing in on the kidnap and smoke with meredith on monday about his reaction to seeing the videotape released by bergdahl's captors. >> it's always heartbreaking. our young men and women who are serving inned armed forces do such an extraordinary job. put themselves in harm's way each and every day. especially those who are depl deployed in afghanistan and in iraq. and so, things like this, it makes you think about families. it makes you think about the young man. we are hopeful that it will have a good ending. >>> the president also said he is holding to his august deadline for congress to pass a health care reform bill. a deadline critics have called too ambitious. he meets with house democrats on health care reform today. >>> continental airlines is cutti

before we go any further, let's go inside, only the truth in the headlines and ann curry standing by at the news desk. >> you bet. that's our aim. thanks so much, matt. good morning once again, everybody. in the news federal health officials confirm that pregnant women with swine flu have a much higher risk of serious complications and death. they say that pregnant women who think they are infected should seek immediate treatment with antiviral drugs. today officials at the centers for disease control are assessing who should be first in line for any new swine flu vaccines. >>> a warning this morning for tanning bed users. the world health organization has put tanning beds into the top category for cancer risk saying the ultraviolet radiation is as deadly as arsenic and mustard gas. and researchers found that people who start using tanning beds before the age of 30 increase their chances of getting cancer by 75%. >>> president obama takes his push for health care reform to a town hall meetings in north carolina and virginia today. one day after fielding questions from seniors at aarp

ann curry's at the news desk. >>> good morning, everybody. in the news this morning, the u.s. military's condemning as propaganda a taliban video of a captured american soldier. 23-year-old private 1st class bowe bergdahl from idaho is seen saying he is afraid he won't be able to go home. he disappeared from his base in eastern afghanistan almost three weeks ago. the u.s. military says it is doing all it can to secure bergdahl's release. >>> there has been a sudden guilty plea in last year's mumbai terror attacks. today the lone surviving gunman in the attacks that killed 166 people admitted his role in the attack telling the judge, "sir i plead guilty to my crime." the pakistani dicitizen had earlier claimed innocence. >>> secretary of state hillary clinton tried to smooth ties with neighboring pakistan today as she held talks with india's prime minister. she's pushing prospects for giving u.s. companies more access to india's expanding markets. >>> a british fighter jet crashed this morning at a military base in southern afghanistan. the two crew members ejected safely. on s

links from there to lk ann curry the peninsula, re-established itself in south yemen and certainly iraqs in the center of all of this. it's very, very important to us strategically. >> reporter: mainly because of its location, but also because control of iraq's natural resources. oil and gas, so strategically important. the general, who served nearly four years as a commander in iraq was one of the main orchestrators of america's surge strategy there saying there are lessons to apply to afghanistan. >> some of the lessons are very obvious. again, you shouldn't start clearing until you've had your plan to hold and build. it wasn't just the surge. it wasn't just 30,000 nor forces. it was the employment in a manner that focused on security of the people and did it by living with the people and then also sought to help the process of reconciliation, because you cannot kill or capture your way out of this kind of endeavor. >> reporter: that realizization is why america implemented another strategy in iraq. it wants to carry over. reaching out to bemys. in afghanistan, the taliban. >> there h

. >> ann curry, director. >> and even a little further, what you'll see is all those are salts.ed with different kinds of spices so that you can really flavor your meats and your seafoods. to be delectable. now let's take a check of the weather. >> okay. what video source should we go to? >> i think we should go to the map. >> okay, joe. >> thank you. for the weekend, sizzling conditions for the western half of the country. rain through the ohio river valley. rip currents along the northeast. then sunday -- sunday! -- more rain in the northeast. sizzling in the west. and hot weather from oklahomama >> basically partly cloudy skies today. slight chance of an isolated or scattered variety of showers and storms this afternoon. other than that, i is warmer, and that's your latest weather. >> all right, al, thanks so much. coming up next, lessons on keeping your family on a budget for a family with 12 kids. what do you see? what do you feel? sadness. loss of interest. what do they see? what do they feel? depression hurts. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is a prescription medication that

. >> i'm ann curry. it's a scam that won't go away.those e-mails arriving from exotic places pleading for help and promising millions. americans keep biting and losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year to these crooks. trouble is, they're not easy to catch. >> but in a hidden camera investigation chris hansen takes on a different kind of predator to beat these cons at their own game. >> ever get an e-mail like this -- >> my name is mrs. maryam ibrahim. i am suffering from long-time cancer of the breast.

al roker and ann curry, katy perry out here tomorrow morning in the 8:30 half hour. that out. coming up in this half hour, we have a warning for debit card users. >> yes, you do. criminals have found a way to actually steal your information after you use your card to make purchases, and even if the atm is called skimming. more on how to protect yourself. >> also we've got a lot of special guests because hoda's taken the time off. so along with kathie lee this morning we've got -- >> mr. steve sherippa. host of a new show called face the ace on nbc. tell us about this. >> this is the show that, it's a little bit of everything. it's reality. it's entertainment. it's a game show. people qualify online. they play online poker. they get to play against the best players in the world. >> how can they possibly beat them? >> because when you play online poker, they play hundreds thousands of hands of poker. sometimes more than people that play live. they're sitting in their house, in their underwear, playing poker. >> hold on, let's just pause and take that in for a second. >

. >> now let's get a check of the rest of the top stories from ann curry at the news desk. good morning, ann. >> good morning, meredith and matt. good morning, everybody. also in the news this morning, secretary of state hillary clinton is sending what she hopes is a clear message to iran. speaking in thailand this morning she said iran should think carefully about its nuclear ambitions, and she said, if iran develops a nuclear weapon, the u.s. has a plan to prevent iranian domination in the middle east. >>> president obama meets with iraq's prime minister nuri al maliki today to talk about the road ahead for iraq. at the same time more violence rocked iraq on tuesday. at least three bombings there killed more than 20 people. >>> prominent harvard scholar henry louis gates jr. says that he wants an apology from a white police officer who arrested him last week, after gates, an african-american, forced his way into his own home after having trouble with the lock in cambridge, massachusetts. police arrested him after they say gates yelled at an officer and accused him of racia

ann curry is standing by at the news desk. >> thanks a lot, meredith.news, a new warning this morning about the effects of the swine flu on pregnant women. researchers at the centers for disease control say that pregnant women who catch swine flu are at least four times as likely to be hospitalized and have a higher risk of complications, including death, as others with the virus. this research indicates pregnant women suspected of having swine flu should be treated with tamiflu as soon as possible. >>> president obama pitched his health care reform again today at town hall meetings in north carolina and virginia. congressional lawmakers worked through the night in washington trying to hammer out some of the details of a health care compromise. >>> today defense secretary robert gates visited northern iraq and said there is a chance of what he called a lot of acceleration of the pace of withdrawing u.s. troops from iraq. all u.s. troops are scheduled to be out of iraq by the end of 2011. >>> a land slide forced a passenger train off the tracks in southe

ann curry's at the news desk. >>> good morning, everybody. we begin with the dramatic guilty plea in last year's mumbai terror attack today in india, the lone surviving gunman in the attacks admitted his role in the deadly rampage that killed 166 people. after months of denials, there were gasps in the courtroom when pakistani citizen told the judge, "sir, i plead guilty to my crime." >>> a british fighter jet crashed this morning at a military base in southern afghanistan. the two-crew members ejected safely on sunday. a helicopter crash at the same base killed 16 civilians. >>> investigators looking into a weekend train crash in san francisco are trying to find out why the operator turned off the automatic controls moments before the accident. at least 48 people were injured when that train struck another. >>> crew members of the apollo 1 11 meet with the president day 40 years after the first walk on the moon. the astronauts had a rare joint appearance at the smithsonian's national air and space museum. they say the next giant leap for man

. >> first let's get a check of the top headlines from ann curry at the news desk. >> hey, guys, good morning once again, everybody. in the news, the swine flu priority list released on wednesday is recommending that pregnant women, health care workers and children be among the first to get a vaccine. the list from a government panel of experts anticipates the vaccine to become available as early as september to stem the pandemic. they are especially concerned about the spread of the flu when school starts in the fall, as swine flu is affecting young people disproportionately. the government estimates that about 120 million doses of vaccine will be made available in the fall. >>> in massachusetts, tales of a terrible crime are emerging. darlene haynes was found dead on monday in her apartment. her fetus taken from her womb. the baby was found alive last night, 130 miles away in new hampshire. and police have arrested an acquaintance of haynes', 35-year-old julie corey. last night, neighbors and friends of haynes lit candles outside her home. >>> tonight, president obama will be sharin

now let's get the rest of the top stories from ann curry at the news desk. >> good morning, meredith. and good morning, everybody. also in the news this morning, a sobering prediction about swine flu. the world health organization's top flu expert said the pandemic is still in its early stages and while there are now some 130,000 cases worldwide, he predicted as many as 2 billion people could be infected before the pandemic ends. >>> the ntsb is now investigating a deadly helicopter crash during the night in maryland. all four people on board were killed when the commercial helicopter crashed onto a highway and burst into flames. there was rain and fog at the time, but officials don't know if weather was a factor in the crash. no vehicles on the highway were hit. >>> police in indonesia said today that they found a third bomb in one of the two luxury hotels targeted by terrorists last week. they say they found it on the 18th floor of the marriott, set to explode first. but it failed to go off. two other bombs did explode, killing nine people and wounding more than 50 people. >>> a mas