matt lauer joins us now with more on his exclusive interview. guess my first question is, is captain phillips back in the high seas? is he doing more runs? is he a captain again? >> he's going to go back to sea a little bit later this year. it's funny about that deal. oftentimes we ask people in government, if you had a do over, what would you like to do over. he concedes if he had a do over, he would have made that trade work where he got off the lifeboat first and then the pirate leader was put on the lifeboat. it doesn't work out that way. when you stop to think about this story, what happened over the next 96 hours, the conditions under which he was held on that boat, temperatures going up over 100 degrees, incredible humidity, the mental stress. they conducted mock executions where they put an ak-47 to his head and pulled the trigger. he said by the end of this ordeal, by the time the rescue came with those navy sharpshooters he just wanted it to end any way possible. thetings on that boat was unbearable. >> it's so fascinateding in this sp

. >> i'm matt lauer. this morning there has been a major break-through at that west virginia coal mine where at least 25 workers were killed in monday's explosion. >> that's right. after spending more than a day drilling ventilation holes overnight, officials determined the air was safe enough for rescuers to enter that mine. they are now in there searching for those four missing miners. we'll get the latest from the scene in just a moment. >>> also ahead, the latest on that situation aboard united airlines flight 663. it happened last night and led to some extremely tense moments. the flight was about 30 minutes outside of denver when a flight attendant smelled smoke as a passenger left the bathroom, when the man was confronted, he apparently made a joke about setting his shoes on fire. that's when authorities were put on high alert. fighter jets were raced to intercept the flight. we'll have more on what was a tense situation coming up in a couple of minutes. >>> plus, today is the day tiger woods makes

she gave matt lauer a lesson and fair and balanced. i love george lewis i think he does a great job. how do you go from sarah palin giving a speech to saying did she rile up the people too much and then talk about death threats? i think that kind of reporting really is what drives people crazy about the dinosaur media. >> well, there have been some people who say that some of her comments and some of her graphics that she's used over the last couple of weeks have perhaps incited some people and maybe. >> yeah, i know they say that. >> and maybe misrepresented her thoughts and she cleared it up herself why wouldn't you connect the two. >> for the same reason that the media didn't connect the film the aassassination of george bush to any threats against the president. look, free speech is supposed to be alive and well in the united states of america, condemning violence-- >> it is. >> condemning vandalism we all do, but to say that sarah palin and the tea party movement is responsible for vandalism or threats is just a way to dismiss the

. >> people are still worried about the bailouts, and this is what tim geithner had to say to matt lauer today. take a listen. >> people look to what had happened, and they saw people in the financial community having made terrible of mistakes, and many lost jobs and homes, but to help them and protect them from the damage, we had to come in and do things that were going to help those banks, and help those companies. >> savannah, that still is overhanging all of the president's efforts as he tries to refocus on the economy and get people to understand what he and the administration feels they have really accomplished here? >> reporter: yeah, it's so striking when we just had the health care reform discusstion, and now moving to this issue, and they are still trying to explain and sell a couple huge policies. why the bailout of wall street was necessary? trying to explain, sure, it benefitted wall street but benefitted the rest of the country because wall street did not collapse and unleash all kinds of forces that would have been devastating to main street as well. and then it was intere

here he is with matt lauer. >> i haven't noticed that at all. >> it gets spun up with the way the media covers politics, the 24/7 news cycle and the cable chart and the talk radio and the internet and the blogs. all of which tend to feed the most extreme sides of any issue. >> now, this amuses me, because you guys play the game. you put people out on the shows, you talk to bloggers, you have anchors and correspondents in for off the record lunches, so you're a willing participant in that news cycle. >> well, you either have to participate in it or you're at the mercy of it. i will say, i'm always amused when i turn on the television and two people are at the same location, but in boxes that make it appear as if somehow they don't just not subscribe to what the other one believes, but they're physically separated from any common viewpoint. >> the hollywood squares. >> i think the president believes, having traveled around this country for so long now, that there's far more that unites us than divides us. that the truth is, what makes really good television are not two people that are at

i'm matt lauer, alongside ann curry. ng in while meredith is off today. >>> just ahead, a grieving family speaks out. >> really sad story, matt. that's right. monica beresford redman was murdered two weeks ago in c cancun. her husband, a former produce forefor "survivor" is the only suspect. her mother and sisters will be joining us for an exclusive interview, matt. >>> also, jenna bush hager sits down with president bill clinton, the man her father replaced in the white house, to talk about everything from the unique bond their families share to chelsea's upcoming wedding and president clinton's global initiative. that should be an interesting discussion. >>> speaking of the white house, what was our nation's current first lady like as a child? michelle obama's older brother, craig robinson, will be here to tell us all about that. >>> let's begin with new details of the murder of a tv reality producer's wife in cancun. we'll talk to her family exclusively in a moment. first, miguel almaguer is in cancun. >> reporter: pol

the major for -- and while he did not nail it down he spoke highly of west virginia and i believe matt lauer said i find it interesting that the only state you did not carry -- thinking if they get past due, they would go all the way. host: you looked at the final eight? guest: i looked at the final eight and three of the four games, the team that had the most republican fan base in their local market won the games. so, based on that -- don't upset the caller from west virginia -- based on that, the final will be butler against west virginia. and it the most republican team wins, that would be butler. host: what should people take from this? is there anything we can extrapolate knowledge-wise? guest: this kind of polling is more interesting than most of the political polling that gets done. and i think one of the key things to remember is that most americans who votes don't spend a lot of time thinking about politics. they probably spend more time thinking about lose. host: tom, pennsylvania, republican line. i had to call again referring back to the bigoted democrat who suggested that all d

. >> speaking of that, your colleague treasury secretary tim geithner spoke to matt lauer on the "today show." he said something striking. let's show it. >> the unemployment rate is still terribly high. it's going to stay unacceptably high for a long period of time. >> people will ask why and wonder whether we're dealing with a 21st century economy where significant job creation is not possible. >> i think that's certainly not true. obviously i absolutely think we will be creating a lot of jobs. the fact that the unemployment rate stayed constant this month at some level is pretty amazing. >> 9.7%. >> 9.7%, which as secretary geithner said, absolutely unacceptable. behind that there's been a tremendous increase in the labor force. over the last three months we've added more than a million people to the labor force. that's a great sign. that's a sign that people that might have been discouraged dropped out because of the terrible recession, have started to have hope again and are looking for work again. >> why will it be so high for so long? >> i think part of it is we still face a lot o

i'm matt lauer. >> i'm ann curry in for meredith this morning. boy, this is really shaping up to be a rough day for people in the central part of the united states because there have been dozens of tornadoes, they're moving east. >> the good news is we're only getting reports of minor damage but the threat of more severe weather is far, far from over. we'll get the latest from al on that in a couple of minutes. >>> also ahead, are police any closer to learning the fate of baby gabriel, the arizona infant who disappeared the day after christmas. his mother is charged with kidnapping. she first gave conflicting accounts of what happened to him and is now no longer cooperating with police. coming up, we'll get the latest thon investigation and an exclusive live interview with gabriel's father. >>> also ahead, over a little more than three months into office, massachusetts senator scott brown has become one of the biggest stars in the republican party. some are already talking about a possible run for the presidency. are they getting ahead of themsel

i'm matt lauer, along with al roker and natalie morales. >>> up next, the latest on that icelandic volcano that's stranded flights all over the world. some flights are flying again in europe, but in the uk planes are grounded by a second cloud of volcanic ash. we'll get details on that in a couple of minutes. this story just keeps going and going. >>> also ahead, joy's diet s.o.s. with all sorts of product claims and advertisements, joy bauer is here to answer your question, this morning she'll take on what water does to you, does it have to be carbonated, not carbonated, and the truth about calcium supplements. >>> plus coping with chronic pain. 43 million americans suffer with pain. it is the dismal reality from stiff legs to bad backs. whether you choose to tough it out or go from specialist to specialist, we'll give you suggestions that could provide much-needed relief. >>> but first let's get a check of the top stories from ann standing by at news desk. >>> good morning, everybody. in the news, volcanic ash from iceland is causing more travel chaos in europe. even as some flights are

. >>> down on the plaza, i'm matt lauer, along with al roker and msnbc's tamron hall. ann's on assignment today. good to have you back. >>> coming up, boy, this unauthorized biography of the queen of talk, oprah winfrey, is getting a lot of attention. penned by kitty kelly, what is she saying about oprah? kitty kelly is back today to talk more about this headline-making new book. >> big buzz on that. lot of people talking about it. >>> another woman who seems to spark controversy wherever she goes, kate gosselin. interesting reviews of her dancing on "dancing with the stars." of course. but she's got a new book, a new reality show and what is also very sad, she's in a battle for custody of her children with her ex-jon. we'll hear from her about how she's coping with this. >> her ex, jon. not her ex-john. >> that would create another controversy. >>> this morning joy bauer will take a look at calories versus fact. whi versus fat. which one is better for weight loss. on our "diet s.o.s." >>> natalie has a check of the headlines inside. >>> good morning, everyone. officia

his sister spoke with matt lauer this morning on the "today" show. >> my hope is that my brother is still safely tucked away in that safety tent and that he will come out when the three booms go off above, that's signal to the miners the air is clear and they can safely come out. >> i want to mention dean, your brother, has a 13-year-old son who has cystic fibrosis. is it true, you have not informed that young man as to the situation yet? >> we have not informed him, because we believe that his dad is coming out. so we're not going to give him any information until we conclusively know his dad is going to be there for his may 1st, 14th birthday, for which he was unable to have a birthday last year because he was so ill from his cystic fibrosis. so my brother is coming out to blow out the candles on the birthday cake this year. >> we'll talk more about the safety of this mine in particular with one of the best names in the business as far as investigating these situations. and there are some real and disturbing questions about whether the obama administration can work with afghanistan's le

david spoke exclusively to matt lauer on the "today" show just this morning and described the momenthave a conversation in the water. >> right. >> but i looked over and i was immediately going over, and there he was. he had her up, had her head up. she was crying. and i just went right in. and he handed her to me. and luckily there was some wire hanging down the pier. we were able to grab on to it and hold her. >> how cute is she? no one has been able to identify that good samaritan. the mysterious frenchman jumped into the cab after the rescue. the toddler's mother said she'd like to offer him her best wishes and talk to him personally. >>> shocking allegations of abuse on the set of desperate housewives. former cast mate nicolette sheridan is suing a producer. >> she's suing for assault and wrongful termination, according to the associated press. we've seen this lawsuit specifically. sheridan says when she had an issue with a line in the script, she approached mark cherry. this is in september 2008 just to give you a time line. she approached him about it. he took her aside and the

question number two, during this holy week the president told matt lauer his family hasn't picked a permanentrch in washington yet. >> you know, what we have decided for now is not to join a single church. and the reason is is because michelle and i have realized we are very disruptive to services. now, there are a whole bunch of churches who would say it's okay but when every other member of the congregation has to be imagined that you attenned. what we have done is we have occasionally go across the street to saint john's. >> bill: four times the president has attended services in his term in office so far. which church did the clintons attend during their white house years? >> bill: cards up, please. the clintons attended which church in the answer is, c? casone scores found dry united methodist church for the clintons. here is question number three, vice president biden admits he is fine with income redistribution. >> search entitled to adequate medical health care. if you call that a redistribution of income, well, so be it. i don'ti don't call it that. i call it being fair, giving the m

. >> i'm matt lauer. when it comes to the economy, nothing is ever cut and dried.ut there are a lot of investors scratching their heads out there today over the different news coming from wall street. >> on the one hand you have the bi big milestone with the dow opening at 11,000, and some suggest the current slump is not over. what does cnbc's jim cramer think of it all and what should you do with your money? we'll talk to him in a minute. >>> plus, more on a massive search in florida to find 11-year-old nadia bloom who disappeared without a trace four days ago in an area infested with alligators. a lot of people are concerned about that little girl. >>> plus new details on the tennessee mother who sent her adopted son back to russia. she says the boy was a danger to her family, but an adoption agency she worked with now claims they were never told of any problems. more on that coming up. >>> let's begin at the news desk, natalie morales is in for ann with a check of the morning's top stories. >>> good morning, everyone. a landmark nuclear summit wraps up today in

. >> you told matt lauer on the "today show" that the unemployment rate will be unacceptablebly high for a period of timt. these are the projections for urn employment out to the fourth quarter of 2012 at 7.9% which is still pretty high. i assume you think that would be unacceptably high. what would incentivize companies to build a new factory, to have workers improve on that outlook? >> we're working to improve on those numbers, we're trying to get congress to move to put in place a series of new tax incentiv incentives for hiring, business investment. trying toake sure states can keep teachers in the classrooms, fix schools, fix roads and bridges, improve infrastructure. there are a range of things we can do to help make the recovery stronger. and as we grow again, we'll see more job creation and not less. >> i want to ask you about housing, critical in the overall rebound of the economy. the administration had a big program to modify mortgages to be able to keep people in their homes. you had a congressional oversight committee this week say that the treasury department has lagged

let's go live now to matt lauer in new york to see what they are working on. g on up there this morning, matt? >> a lot, pat. we got a very busy friday morning. good morning. nice to see you. coming up the government is announcing new airline security measures this morning. of course that's in the wake of the christmas day attempted bombing. we'll have the details on that plan. also ahead the latest on the search for a 12-year-old colorado girl who vanished without a trace five days ago on a way to a birthday party. this morning we'll talk to a woman who risked getting herwn moert into big trouble by exposing a multimillion dollar ponzi scheme. we have that and much more ahead on a friday morning, good friday here on "the today show." back to you. >>> if you get a minute come on down to d.c. and check out the blossoms at the basin. >> i was actually there on monday. >> were you? >> it is stunning down there. i was there -- i was doing an interview with president obama and we flew in and looked around and said man, this is the time the year to get here. >> good

let's go live now to matt lauer to see what they are working on. matt. >> good morning to you. nice to see you. coming. up the black box, have now been recovered from saturday's deadly plane crash in russia. the crash that killed the president of poland and his wife and other top officials. also ahead in an exclusive live interview of the florida mother teenager accused in a beating. and oprah winfrey, a book written by kitty kelly will join us for a live interview when we get started on a monday morning right here on "the today show." >> oprah winfrey, that's rough territory to delve into. we'll see. >> tackling a big fish there. >> absolutely. >> take care. >> 6:38 is your time. coming up the hunt for a man who killed a 27-year-old woman and 3-year-old daughter in northern virginia. >> it's caused international outrage. why an american family sent their adopted child back to russia. >> it's already 59 degrees outside. find out just how much warmer it will get today. ♪ hey bets, can i borrow a quarter? sure, still not dry? i'm trying to shrink the

let's go to matt lauer to see what they're working on for today. >> coming up on "today," we're liveith the latest on this major disruption to global air travel caused by that volcanic ash cloud right there. some airlines conducted test flights over the weekend. when might things get back to normal? we'll talk about it. >>> are police closer to charging a reality tv produce we are his wife's brutal murder in cancun? this morning her family speaks out in a live interview. >>> jenna bush's candid conversation with former president bill clinton about his work in haiti with jenna's father, george w. bush. >>> and jennifer lopez will be live in our studio talking about her brand new movie when we get started on a monday here on "today." back to you. >> looks good. we'll see you soon, matt. thank you. >>> 22 minutes until 7:00 this morning. 46 degrees. the promise from the nation's biggest airlines. what they say they will never charge you for. >>> the battle over gun rights is coming to d.c. and northern virginia today. >> we have 46 degrees right now at 6:38. meteorologist tom kierein wi

let's check in with matt lauer in new york. >>> coming up on a friday morning on "today," severe storms on tap from texas to kentucky today following reports of as many as 50 tornadoes on thursday. we'll get al's forecast. >>> there are fears that the rig may be leaking into the gulf. >>> also ahead, the search for missing ohio man tiffany tian has ended. it turns out she just ran away. what she reportedly told police about why she left her family and fled to miami. >>> and the hero dog that led police to a raging fire. we'll talk about that and much more as we get started on a friday morning right here on "today." eun, back to you. >> thanks, matt, have a great weekend. >> you, too. >>> it seems that no one really likes construction, especially when it seems to last longer than expected. what could hold up highw waway construction of the lanes through northern virginia. >>> the scandal rocking a government agency this morning. workers accused of downloading porn in the midst of a national crisis. >> 54 degrees out there. traffic and weather on the ones, next. >>> we're loving our new d

let's in with matt lauer to see what they're working on. >> good morning, joe. nice to see you.ming up on monday here on "today," the latest on the deadly tornadoes that ripped through the south killing at least 12 people. we'll talk to a man who was inside a mississippi church when that building was destroyed. >>> ahead, disturbing video of a good samaritan left to die after he was stabbed while stopping a mugging. for over an hour, no one tried to help. one man took a photo and kept on going. we'll have much more on that disturbing story. >>> also 11-year-old nadia bloom speaks out for the first time about her four-day ordeal lost in a florida swamp. she'll join us when we start on a monday morning right here on "today." back to you. >> thanks very much. have a great day. >> all right, you got it. you, too. >>> taking a live look outside at 5:40. 54 degrees. very cloudily out there. did more clouds move in or is that just my imagination? tom will know. >> they came in yesterday and haven't gone. in fact, produced storms yesterday afternoon and evening that unloaded a lot of ha

that's pretty much i would imagine why the president told matt lauer on friday that he really was not marginalizing the tea party movement at all and he understands their frustration. >> even though they dislike obama more than republicans. what are the two things that bring independent democrats and republicans together in the tea party movement? number one, the economy and jobs. number two, reducing the deficit. so those are the two big things that, apparently, democrats, independents and republicans can at least agree upon and form this tea party movement. >> all right. go ahead, steve. >> and 82% of the tea party members, movement members are completely against this health care reform thing. >> 97% of those in the control room want us to do a break right now. let's do it. big development about susan powell, missing woman from utah. what her son told police that have them planning a new search and -- >> one doctor wants nothing to do with president obama's health care plan. look at what he put up on his door. he's letting patients know by telling them to go elsewhere for care if th