i'm meredith vieira back in new york. matt lauer is at cowboys stadium. y, matt. >> hey, meredith, i am in the inner sanctum. check it out. this is the cowboys' players locker room. one of the most impressive places i've ever seen. i mean, it really is. they've done this place from soup to nuts. the shower room, which is just behind here, is as big as my whole apartment in new york. you've been in a lot of players' locker rooms, meredith. how does this one compare to you? >> oh, you're such a wise guy. it's very impressive, actually, matt. but i have to ask, when i hear all the figures, more than $1 billion, 3 million square feet, how in the world do they get that place ready for a game? >> well, it's not easy, as a matter of fact. you know, this is a huge, huge facility. on a game day, there will be 10,000 people working, working here at cowboys stadium. all the concession people, all the people, the electricians, the security people. 10,000 people on a game day just to get this place up and running, meredith. by the way, where i'm walking right now, this

out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira, ann curry and al roker.d confidante is sharing more of his intimate conversations with the late singer, including a portion in which michael talks about getting sick when he saw a picture of himself. we'll hear about that in just a moment. >>> carrie fisher is joining us as well. she's got a new one-woman show on broadway. she's back on broadway after a couple of decades. she is hilarious and her life has been nothing short of very interesting. we're going to talk to carrie about that in just a couple of minutes. don't look at me that way. >> you're in trouble, matt. but first, we've got a special guest. >> yes, we do. >> let's bring mariah carey in, who happens to be on our studio this morning for -- >> group hug. >> hello. we'll give you an hour to stop that. 12 studeth studio album out tod. >> congratulations. >> "perfect angel." and you're coming back friday. >> i will be back friday, yes, and i believe we're going to do a little concert thing. >> just a little concert thing? >> a little concert thing. >

i'm meredith vieira alongside lester holt who is in for matt today.att's taking a little time off. >> good to be here. >> nice to have you here. >> beautiful fall-like today. >> gorgeous. yesterday was as well. we're going to talk about something i can relate to, taking your kids off to college. you've done it twice. >> i'm done. still paying the check but i'm done. >> exactly. my second son heads off in two weeks. we'll have advice for parents usually filled with pride and sadness and the urge to feel like they need to get involved. word to the wise, don't. >> did you make the bed in the dorm? >> the first time? yeah. this time i think i won't. i don't think my son appreciated me doing that. >> i know. they look at you like you know what? >> go. >> go. time for you to leave. >> leave some money and go. >> exactly. >>> earlier we heard from the husband of the wife involved in that horrible one-way crash here in new york. the medical examiner came out and she said she was drunk and high on marijuana. the family, the husband questioning that right now.

i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira.cial report. >> and there is more of "today" just ahead. >>> still to come on a friday morning, a tip of the cap to our nation's national parks. and if you've ever spent any time in any of them, you know that they deserve a tip of the hat. ken burns, who is just an extraordinary filmmaker, who has focused his lens on everything from the civil war to jazz and baseball, is now focusing on those parks, and his journey will be something we'll be talking about a little later on this morning. >> beautiful images. when you were a little kid, did your parents pack you up to the car, did you go to the parks? >> you know, only local parks. i didn't get to see the national parks until i had this job. we did a show at yosemite one time, which is breath-taking. if you have a chance -- >> i've never been. >> there's a national park in rhode island. isn't there a teeny one in rhode island? >> providence? >> providence plantations, yes. >> i saw that guy with the hat walking around all the time. >> th

i'm meredith vieira. >> i'm carl quintanilla in for matt. that los angeles wildfire has more than doubled in size in the past 24 hours alone. >> that so-called station fire has grown to more than 105,000 acres. that's the equivalent of 164 square miles. at least 74 homes and buildings have been destroyed. more than 12,000 others are still threatened. they say it could be more than a week before they get a real handle on the blaze. >> and that's just one of the at least eight wildfires burning right now. take a look at this remarkable picture taken by a nasa satellite. you can actually see the plumes of thick smoke and scorched earth that surround los angeles right now. >> let's get right to al roker who has made his way to los angeles this morning. good morning to you. >> good morning, meredith and carl. it's been seven days since this one fire started. of course, you mentioned eight others burning around the state. and, unfortunately, firefighters say it's going to be a while before they even have an idea that they've got the upper hand on

i'm meredith vieira. >> and i'm matt lauer and we're keeping our fingers crossed out of this news out of thailand this morning. researchers carrying out the world's largest aids vaccine trial are hailing what they call a breakthrough in the fight against aids. >> it's an experimental drug that actually cut the risk of becoming infected with hiv by more than 31%. we're going to have much more on that promising discovery just ahead. >>> also ahead, we're going to talk about a high school hazing ritual that's going to make a lot of parents very angry. freshmen girls targeted by older students at one of the most prestigious schools in the country. and get this, administrators of that school had known about it for at least ten years. we're going to tell you more about that story. >>> plus, an emotional day at the extortion trial connected to the death of john travolta and kelly preston's son. travolta, who has stayed out of the public eye since jett's death in january, took the witness stand wednesday. and what he told the court brought his wife to tears. we're going to have more on that i

. >> and i'm meredith vieira. eight days after annie le was last seen alive, police in connecticut have now interviewed and taken hair samples from the suspect in that case. >> raymond clark worked in the building where le's body was found on sunday. there are reports clark is engaged and lives with his fiancee and she also works for the school in that same building. we'll get the latest in a live report in a couple of minutes. >>> also ahead, remember this terrifying scene caught on tape over the summer in a family trapped inside a burning van in milwaukee? well, the 5-year-old boy who was badly burned has just been released from the hospital. >>> and just ahead, you'll be touched when we show you the very first thing that he did. >>> a little later on, news you may not want to hear if you just took your morning shower. new research is revealing that a dangerous bacteria could be lurking in many shower heads. we'll tell you about that and what possibly you can do about it. >>> but let's begin with those late-brea

inside studio 1a, i'm meredith vieira alongside matt lauer.ahead, the great white sharks that have led to the indefinite closure of some beaches on cape cod. at least 12 shotted offshore, five tagged by scientists. we'll talk to one of those shark hunters in a moment. i'm having trouble with those words because i'm a new englander. >> you've been calling them shocks all morning. >>> also ahead, a decision by some marnparents to have their at home. they say it's more intimate, but is it the safest choice for mother and child? we'll look at the pros and cons of that coming up. >>> and on thursday we told you about that special bond between 11-year-old heather miller who is battling cancer and the pittsburgh steelers. well, she received the vip treatment last night at the nfl season opener. and her favorite team went on to win in overtime, 13-10. thrilled for her. >> unfortunately, though, heather's favorite player, troy polamalu, sprained his knee, could be out a couple weeks, but at least it looks like she had a good time. >>> 12 great white sh

matt lauer alongside meredith vieira. wee happy to welcome jenna busch. you mow her as former first daughter and students know her as miss jenna. now she's new contributing correspondent. >> we're going to embarrass jenna by showing you, a side of her you've never seen before. >> very cute. she likes a costume. >> she does. wednesday we show you the cute scene at a phillies baseball. the girl throws away the only foul ball her dad ever caught. there it goes. we're here for an exclusive live interview coming up. >> a reminder, al and i along with aforementioned jenna bush hager. will be live at the new billion dollar cowboys stadium. we'll take you on a tour, see if owner jerry jones will let us have fun with the world's largest high definition tv. plus famous dallas cowboy cheerleaders join us and a lot more. today at cowboys stadium calling it eighth wonder of the world tomorrow morning on "today." let us begin with something that sounds a little like science fiction. a blind woman regains her sight thanks to one of her death. we have more. good morning.

i'm meredith vieira. >> and i'm matt lauer. all summer long we witnessed outbursts as lawmakers held foru on health care reform across the country, so we're used to that. but you do not often see emotions boil over when a president of the united states is addressing a joint session of congress. >> and you saw it last night, that outburst came from joe wilson, a republican from south carolina, who shouted "you lie" as the president spoke. he has since apologized but now some lawmakers want to see him punished. much more on that just ahead. >>> and importantly, we'll get into the specifics of president obama's message, was he telling the truth, and where is the money to cover t $900 billion price tag for health care reform going to come from? we'll ask vice president joe biden and senator john mccain to talk about that. >>> al ahead, a warning that every parent of a young driver will want tosee. there's something that a third of teen drivers admit to doing on a regular basis. experts say it is more deadly than drunk driving. we'l

matt lauer and meredith vieira are shrinking. no he's 8'1". one of only ten confirmed cases of a man growing more than eight feet. he was here to publicize the new guinness book of world records. >>> in north carolina, we get an overturned poultry truck carrying chickens. some of the birds made it some made a run for it. most chickens were fine. nothing human trous add about this chicken story but let's go over to the news desk and ernie. >> all right. >> ernie is still 9,000 times the journalist this fox news cheerleader. this while wrong way wilson gets caught in another lie about a colleague's daughter. number three best surprise for a newspaper from the group the yes men. environmentalists who today hand out new york post with a screaming headline "we're screwed." the editors wanted to know what the environmentalists found interesting enough about the post that they bothered to parity it. >>> someone put a report out the first state coming out of the recession will be the state of texas. i said we're in one? unemployment in texas just at 8

there, he comes into your picture, towering over the show host, meredith vieira and matt lauer. he says heose his 8'1" stature to a problem with his pituitary grand that caused to grow uncontrollably. is from turkey he's so tall he wears a size 22 shoe and his hand can devour a coke can. >> a colorado man caught up particularly sly thief. one that swiped about 80 golf balls from his putting green so he grab aides camera expecting to catch kids in the act, no kids. he caught this a hairless fox in the act. the fox takes one ball, then comes back for another ball and sometimes tries to grab two at a time. wildlife experts say foxes are very playful animals. think that fox is just collecting toys to pass the time away. sports bloggers are buzzing about a football game incident that has nothing to do with football. some last night's cowboys/giants game. after a new york player picked off tony romo, the pass that is, the camera cuts to cowboys' owner jerry jones doing what you just saw him doing there. the night only got worse for jones. the giants spoiled the opening of his state-of

sticks out like a sore -- matt lauer and meredith vieira are shrinking. no the guy is huge. he's sultan kosen of turkey, 8'1". one of only ten confirmed cases of a man growing more than eight feet. he was here to publicize the new guinness book of world records. he plans to take in lots of american landmarks including possibly the dallas cowboys stadium where he will bang his head on the video board. >>> in north carolina, we get an overturned poultry truck carrying more than 5,000 chickens. the driver was unhurt but lost control. some of the birds made it some made a run for it. most chickens were fine. nothing humorous to add about this chicken story but let's go over to the news desk and ernie. >> all right. >> ernie is still 9,000 times the journalist this fox news cheerleader caught trying to tell the crowd to protest louder at the 9-12 protests is. this while wrong way wilson gets caught in another lie about a colleague's daughter. top three best persons in the world, best surprise from a newspaper from the group yes men. environmentalists who today hand out parodies w

back inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer alongside meredith vieira.see you in person. >> thank you. nice to see you. >> thanks. >> nice job with president clinton. >> had a tough commute back, three blocks. >>> still ahead this half hour, what all parents need to know about kids and the new flu vaccines. >> yeah, that's right. there are some new government recommendations this morning, and the number of shots a child needs, a small child, will depend on how old they are. we're going to tell you about that just ahead. and the little kids aren't going to like what we have to say. >>> all right, also ahead,he ugly side of the struggling real estate market. foreclosed homes gutted by criminals. it's happening so often, the fbi is now involved. and wait until you hear who's doing much of the damage. we'll get to that in just a couple of minutes. >>> and a quick programming note. on monday, we talked with a woman who was implanted with the wrong embryo during an ivf treatment. now she's carrying someone else's baby, and when she gives birth in just a few we

i'm meredith vieira along with al roker and ann curry.ignment. coming up, david goldman, the dad fighting to get his son back from brazil for five long years. so is he any closer? he'll be here with the latest on his battle. >> what a tough battle that is. my gosh. >>> and still ahead, our good buddy mark bitman is here. bitman. we love bitman. he's here to teach us some simple steps for creating a prepackaged meal. kind of like fancy hobo packs which i always loved. mr. tman will be by in just a bit. >>> and also coming up, is this the right or wrong time to invest in real estate? we've got some expert advice coming up and also talking about what does it mean if your mortgage is not reaffirmed. our "money 911" panel will be weighing in on those financial questions and more coming up. >> you always learn something when the panel is in the house. >> that's right. >> yes. >>> and speaking of learning something, the weather, mr. roker. >> let me go check -- yes, you're right. speaking of learning, let's show you what's happening as far as sa

. >> i'm meredith vieira.ç >>> this morning we are learning more about that ongoing terrorism probe that's already led to arrests in both new york and denver. >> so far, three men are in custody accused of lying to the fbi, but additional charges are expected. so are more arrests. one of the men apparently admitted that he received training from al qaeda. investigators found a laptop that contained a copy of a handwritten note about explosives. we'll have much more on this story in a little while. >>> also ahead, questions surrounding a case out of baltimore that has a lot of people talking. should a student at johns hopkins university face charges for killing a suspected burglar whom he confronted with a samurai sword in his own backyard? we'll get into that. >>> a strange and sad story for. you a pregnant ohio woman finds out she is actually carrying another couple's baby. her doctors accidentally implanted the wrong embryo during an in-vitro fertilization procedure. this morning, she and her husband will s

. >> and i'm meredith vieira. you know, matt, people around the world are going to be listening very closely today to what the president says in that major speech at the u.n. >> they certainly will be. the president plans to say that the size and the scope of the world's challenges are not being met. this a day after he delivered a stern message to israel and palestinian leaders, telling them it is past time to talk about starting negotiations when it comes to the mideast peace process. we're going to talk about that in a live interview with israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, in just a couple of minutes. >>> and also ahead, the other side to that emotional embryo mix-up. on monday, we met an ohio couple, the wife pregnant with someone else's baby, after doctors accidentally implanted her with another couple's embryo. well, this morning, that other couple, the genetic parents of that unborn child, are with us for an exclusive, live interview. >>> but we want t begin this morning with the president's first

. >> and i'm meredith vieira. and this morning, president obama is declaring the u.s. territory of american samoa a major disaster after that earthquake-generated tsunami leveled entire villages. >> dozens of people are missing, feared swept out to sea, and fema says its first emergency teams are now heading to that region. just ahead, we'll talk live with a man who lives in american samoa about the conditions there this morning. but first, let's go to al roker with the latest on the details of this story. al, good morning to you. >> matt, meredith, good morning. and again, this was an earthquake of a magnitude 8.0, big by any standard, but not as large or as devastating as the 2004 tsunami that hit the indian ocean. waves about a half foot above normal in honolulu, up to 1.5 in haloiwa, hilo had about a half foot above normal waves. now, again, this is a disaster. and i'll tell you, like the one in 2004, it was both destructive and it was deadly. the aftermath of nature's fury, destruction in pongo pongo, the capital city of american samoa following a tsunami tuesday

i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira in studio 1a. >>> coming up, sexually charged zing rituals new jersey's top high school. what's even more shocking, school administrators say they've known about this for 10 or 15 years. we're going to have more on that story coming u in just a couple of minutes. >>> also ahead, actress mackenzie phillips is here. she has written a memoir about r life and the details are, frankly, sturbing. she was doing cocaine in her fifth grade class. she was kidnapped, raped, arrested, but the most shockin of all, phills wtes about a long-standing sexual relationship that she says she had with her late father, john phillips, lead singer of the ma'am ys and the papas. we'll talk to her later on. >>> and nancy snyrman will be back to answer youruestions about heart health and heart disease. >>> but we begin with that hazing incident at a new jersey high school. amrobach has the latest. amy, good morning to you. >> reporter: meredith, good morning. milburne higschool has a bizarre hazing ritual. millbu is wt som people call a dream hool listed among the t 20

. >> i'm meredith vieira. we'll get to that major news tied to the windy city's olympic bid in just a moment. >>> as pressure builds for iran to come clean on its nuclear ambitions, that country's defiance once again on full display. >> overnight iran's powerfu revolutionary guard fired at least three missiles, including one missile said to have the longest range in that country's arsenal. it is now the third round of missile tests since president obama announced on friday the discovery of that once-secret nuclear site. and it all comes just days before a rare face-to-face meeting between iran and u.s. officials. we'll have the latest on what's becoming an increasingly tense situation in a couple of minutes. >>> also ahead, important information for parents of teenaged drivers. two new studies are out this morning that highlight what adults need to do to keep those young drivers safe. one step researchers say, don't buy your teen his or her own car. we'll have more on that coming up. >>> also ahead, is it a me

reminds me of meredith vieira hitting her head on the ice during the "today." that's very dangerous. >>> michael moore's latest film hits theaters soon and this week he's promoting it around the washington region. today he'll speak at public citizen, a nonprofit agency in northwest d.c. last night he attended a screening at the american film institute in silver spring. he also answered questions about why he decided to make this latest film. >> this is the 21st century. aren't we smart enough to come up with an economic system that we need in this new century? one that has, as its basic underpinnings, democratic principles and a moral and ethical code. >> "capitalism, a love story" opens nationwide on friday. >> 5:26 is the time right now. 54 degrees in the nation's capital. >>> traffic alert. the major road closures in prince george's county and how it will impact your commute. >> why there's a new push for more surveillance along our transportation system. >> new guidelines out for parents about what they can do to make they are teenagers safer drivers. >> re

nbc's meredith vieira asked vice president joe biden about that earlier on "today." >> he is willinge a public option in it. >> he is willing to stein a bill, any bill, whatever mechanism you call it, that, in fact, guarantees that there is a choice for people that's affordable. if they have a better idea how to accomplish that principle, we're prepared to listen to it. >> wow. >> where was he? >> that was an interesting sound bite. >> look, by the way. >> joe is the greatest. >> the best there is. >> we're going to go to rick stengel. first a very quick -- the speech. did the president bring people more democrats over to his side? >> i think he brought more people over to his side. i don't know about party affiliation. i'm always -- >> not bringing in republicans with the speech. >> i'm interested in -- i don't know about that. i'm interested in the cosmetics. i'm thinking about people watching the speech, partially paying attention, kids come in to tell them who they got for home room teacher this year and they are looking at these two packs of people sitting on their hands, jumpin