our thoughts are with marie burns, the elderly lady who has been severely injured and is in hospital,nd with the other people in hospital. some 200 families have had to be evacuated from their homes and i wish to pay tribute to all of the emergency services and the city council, but most of all to the ordinary men and women of that community who have stepped forward. a grandfather rescued a child from the rubble, and neighbors opened the local pub and the leisure centre to give people comfort and shelter. they have done a fabulous job. the costs of this event will be enormous and, like every other service, our council is facing significant reductions in its budget. will the prime minister seriously consider what extra help he can give to those families to ensure that they are supported? my hon. friend the member for worsley and eccles south my hon. friend, in whose constituency this took place, is with the community now- >> we get the essence of it. >> i think that the house is being unfair to the right hon. lady. she is speaking powerfully on behalf of her constituents on an importan

happy birthday to marie burns of ridge, new york.f chocolate. 100-year-old irene martin directed a senior talent competition at 96. we want to see her on "dancing with the stars." and from atlanta, georgia, aaron kline escaped in nazis in the 30s. opened up a general store and still runs it. that's incredible. that's what america is all about. janet garfield, sherman oaks, california. 100, plays bridge but refuses to challenge amateurs. she doesn't want to make them feel insecure. me neither. arthur huggins of nanuet, new york. one of the first african-american building inspectors in new york city. how about that? that was a while back. idessa martin of englewood, new jersey. loves gardening and is a fact keeper up with current events. that's all from your nation's capital. >> thank you very much, willard. >>> still ahead the add-on fees worth paying for on the next flight. are they? we'll tell you but first, this is "today" on nbc. [ dog barking ] mom! breakfast? in this house? in the morning i can use all the help i can get. that's

mari marine. they took it in turns to run. the cross country run in the movie forest gump. >> we are raising money for wounded soldiers. >> this sargent had to use a hand bike. you burn 6,000 calories in a day. living like that, not a chance. >> what do you think kept you together? >> the odyssey spanned four time zones, here they are in the grand canyon. each landscape brought new area. >> can you always wish for more but you have to be thankful for what you got. later, they were thankful. at 11:00 pacific time they lead the crowd. an unusual setting after a unique achievement. >> it took 26 years to restore. reopening the temple of venus in rome. a one-day strike will cause the doors of the temple shut. angry about the government's plans to cut funding of the arts. >> nearly 2,000 years after it was built, rome's coliseum has lost no power to impress. >> now another treasure has reopened. much of its roof has been missing. still hints of the still of a lost age. >> this is an intriguing monument. not just because it was the biggest temple but it was a double one. the half dedicated to venus faces east and the half dedicated to roam faces west. it still draws millio

burning questions. where will prince william mary and when?e went on a scouting mission over at westminster abbey last night. >>> flier rebellion is growing against the security measures against tsa. we're just six days from the holiday. politicians are now fighting against the groin touching, breast grazing patdowns and the refeeling full-body scans. republican congressman ron paul of texas is introducing the american traveller dignity act to protect americans from physical and emotional abuse from federal employees. john mica wrote a letter to the nation's 100 busiest airports urging them to ditch the tsa and use private screeners instead. the tsa insists the scans and patdowns are for our safety. congressman mike ka joining us from capitol hill. 16 airports already use private contractors, and according to our research, congressman, you have accepted more than $80,000 in campaign contributions from groups and execs tied to some of the contractors that you are advocating for. so, just, first of all, do you believe in any way, shape or form,

burned and bobby over 40% of his body. battling courageously to overcome the physical and mental challenges he faced, bobby earned his bachelor's degree in psychology at st. mary'srsity and later earned a master of education degree in guidance and counseling. in addition to teaching high school, his career has included positions of leadership and management as a juvenile probation counselor and as the director of the family support center at laughlin air force center in texas. he has received enormous awards and honors, among them the dav outstanding disabled veteran of the year and the unsung hero award. bobby is a leader of his humility and his compassion have touched the lives of fellow disabled veterans and their families as few others have done. ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor to present to you bobby barrera. [applause] >> thank you so much, mr. secretary. good morning to everyone. this is truly a remarkable day. we are here to mark a major milestone in the quest to create the first national memorial honoring the service and a sacrifice of our nation's disabled veterans. i want to thank each one of you for being here with us this morning. the american

burn. i mean, she had a great memory. we talked about how things have changed in 100 years of her lifetime. by the way, i stopped at that nursing home to see marybecause i wasn't able to be there some months before when i was invited to go to her birthday party. i was invited by her niece who showed up that saturday when i went to visit march rhode island her niece put on the birthday party and was in 103 years old and was in even better shape than mary. moving around and fussing and making sure this visit with mary was going well. but mary and i talked about the big changes in her lievment i thought, here's a person who's now lived over a century. she's seen everything. so let me think about her life. in 1909 -- and she'd have been nearly 10 years old then -- in 1909, president howard taft, 5'11 "tall and 300 pounds, decided to get rid of the horse and buggy as the mode of transportation. the first president to decide that he was going to buy an automobile. bought a bicker electric car. -- bought a baker electric car. now, president taft might not have fit into a mine knee cooper if they had them back then. but he bought an electric car. an el