Transcripts For WBAL Today 20100615

down at her sentencing. >> not a day, not an hour goes by that i don't think about the harm that i caused. >> did her words give cantu's mother any comfort? she'll tell us in an exclusive live interview today, tuesday, june 15th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a tuesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm ann curry in for meredith. matt, presidents have typically used the oval office in times of crisis. the president feels this situation has risen to that level. >> he certainly does. he returns to the white house this afternoon after wrapping up a two-day visit to the gulf region. we're now in day 57 of this disaster. as you can see thick, black oil is still spewing out of that blown-out oil pipe at the bottom of the gulf. and now a house committee looking into the disaster has released evidence that bp made questionable time and money saving decisions before the crisis began. that increased the risk of a blow-out. press secretary robert gibbs will give us a preview of what the president is expected to say from the oval office tonight. also ahead, matt, investigators both in peru and aruba plan to speak today for the first time about the arrest of joran van der sloot and any potential connections to the natalee holloway case. we'll have a live report on this story from peru coming up this morning. on a much lighter note, what has actor tony danza been up to? you might be surprised to hear that he's been teaching tenth grade english. why is he doing that? we'll spend some time with him in the classroom to find out. but let's begin with president obama's overnight stay in the gulf and tonight's prime time address on the oil disas r disaster. nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd is in pensacola, florida. chuck, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt. dogged by criticism that he's been a step behind responding to this massive oil spill, the president is set tonight to address the nation on the topic in his first ever oval office address. before heading back to washington, he wakes up here in pensacola wrapping up a two-day visit to the region. for the first time monday night president obama got out on the water to get an upclose look at the disaster off the gulf coast. the president making a case for why this disaster is even more complicated than hurricane katrina. >> there's not simply one catastrophic event. it's an ongoing assault. >> reporter: tonight the battle moves to the oval office where the president will try again to show his administration is in charge and has command and control of this crisis. first, he'll outline the government's response trying to put the best face on what's been the worst environmental disaster in the nation's history. second, he'll try and show he's holding bp accountable, not just for the cleanup but for financial damages. on wednesday he'll have his first face-to-face meeting with tony hayward hoping to announce a deal with bp setting up a claim fund that would be administered by the government. >> my hope is that by the time the chairman and i meet on wednesday that we've made sufficient progress that we can start actually seeing a structure that would be in place. >> reporter: the president is also expected to discuss ongoing strategies for containing the leak, decreasing american dependence on fossil fuels, and beginning the process of restoring the gulf's ecosystem. monday he made a bold claim. >> i am confident we're going to be able to leave the gulf coast in better shape than it was before. >> reporter: on his trip here the president is spending a lot of his time as cheerleader dining on gulf coast seafood and earlier downing a lunch of mini crab cakes and fried shrimp with mississippi governor haley bar wour. >> let me be clear, seafood from the gulf today is safe to eat but we need to make sure that it stays that way. >> reporter: and he's also trying to convince the american public not to give up on the gulf. >> there's still a lot of opportunity for visitors to come down here. a lot of beaches that are not yet affected or will not be affected. >> reporter: meanwhile back in washington congress began to gear up with its show down with bp officials later this week releasing evidence of bp negligence. >> we found pattern where every time they had a decision to make, they decided to cut corners, to do things faster than otherwise should have been done, to do it less expensively, and the consequence of this is one industry expert told us was horribly negligent. >> reporter: now the president hasn't seen much oil during this tr trip. again, it was mostly about boosting tourism in mississippi, looking at sort of the disaster preparations. he did get to see some dirty oil boom. but other than that, he hasn't seen much oil. he hasn't walked any beaches. he does have some meetings this morning with local florida officials before heading back to washington, matt. >> chuck todd in pensacola this morning. chuck, thanks very much. robert gibbs is the white house press secretary. robert, good to see you. >> good morning, matt. how are you? >> i'm fine, thank you. when i sat down with the president and talked about some of the criticism being leveled in his administration for a cool, aloof, even slow response to this crisis, he said this is not theater. and he went on to say, i don't always have time to perform for the benefit of the cable shows. what i do have is dedication and commitment to make sure the people who are actually being affect ld by this are going to get the best possible service from me. yet, robert, in the days following that interview he's made not one but two trips to the gulf. this last one a two-day visit, and tonight he's addressing the nation from the oval office. so is this now a little bit of theater, or is he admitting that perhaps it's important to have a little aspective theater in this response? >> no, matt, i don't think this is theater. when he sits down with fishermen affected because they can't fish and make money, when he sits down with the mayor of grand isle and goes through maps about the response plan so that oil doesn't get into the marshes, that's what they want him to do. they want a response that's worthy of our federal government and worthy of the beauty in the people of the gulf. they don't want him to pound on a table. they want to see results. they want to see a claims process that's fast, efficient, and transparent. they want to see a containment strategy from bp that captures all the oil. we want to restore the gulf, as chuck said, to a place it was, better than it was, before this accident. >> but, robert, in the last few days, though, there's no denying that at least his public posture on this has changed. would you agree to that? >> well, matt, again, this isn't a school play. we're not down in the gulf today just to get pretty pictures. we're down there to meet with local officials, to talk with small business owners and hotel owners and find out what can we do to make this response even better. that's been the focus of the president for the entirety of this accident. when he gathered the team as the rig fell into the ocean almost 57 days ago. that's what we've been focused on. not method acting. >> let me ask you to comment on something else that i spoke to the president about last week. i asked him if he had spoken direct directly to tony hayward, the ceo of bp, and let me play you what he said to me. >> i have not spoken to him directly, and here's the reason, because my experience is when you talk to a guy like a bp ceo, he's going to say all the right things to me. i'm not interested in words. i'm interested in action. >> yet in the days following that interview, a meeting was set up. tomorrow he'll meet with tony hayward. what changed? >> well, tomorrow he's going to meet with the chairman of the board. that's the controlling entity in bp. the president is going to direct bp to set up an independent claims process that makes the people of the gulf whole for the economic losses that have resulted from this disaster. we continue to hold bp accountable whether it's ensuring that we have a containment strategy that captures all this oil, whether it's holding them responsible for the economic damages, or holding them responsible for the long-term virm disasters that they have caused. >> and i understand that and everybody wants them held accountable, but why wait 57 days to meet with the executives of this company after this disaster started? >> matt, there have been people involved in this response that have been in touch and been directing bp to take action each and every step of this way. they're drilling two relief wells not because they wanted to spend an extra $100 million drilling a well but because the federal government compelled them to do that. we've been in touch with bp throughout this process. we're going to hold them accountable and make sure they live up to their responsibilities. >> this account you talked about, this escrow account, billions of dollars to pay damages to people affected by this crisis and to help with the cleanup, do you have any idea, "a," will they agree to it and, "b," when will it be operational? >> that's one of the main things on the agenda tomorrow to discuss with the chairman of the board. we have to get an independent claims process. i think everybody agrees that we need to get bp out of the claims process and, as i said, make sure that fishermen, hotel owners have a fast, efficient, and transparent claims process so that they're getting their live livelihoods replaced. this is taking their ability to make a living away from them. we have to do this quickly. we have to make sure whatever money goes into that, that in no way caps what bp is responsible for. whatever money they owe to anybody in the gulf, they're going to have to pay regardless of the amount. >> and as i let you go, let me ask you to clarify something. you keep saying he's going to meet with the chairman of the board of bp. will tony hayward, the ceo of bp, be at that meeting tomorrow? >> the chairman of the board has said he will bring the ceo but, again, the corporate structure makes the board in charge of had. the board has to approve whatever bp does. that's why we're meeting with the chairman of the board. >> he'll be there tomorrow, mr. hayward? >> he certainly will be there. >> robert gibbs, thank you very much. >> thanks, matt. nbc news will have live coverage of president obama's prime time address from the oval office tonight at 8:00 eastern time right here on nbc. it's 11 after the hour. here's ann. matt, thanks. at least one death is being blamed on the worst flooding in oklahoma in a quarter century. the weather channel's mike seidel is in oklahoma city with the latest on this story. mike, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, ann. the homeowners here in this subdid subdivision in oklahoma trying to save anything they can follow yesterday's flash flood. back here you can see how high the water got, nearly four feet from this debris line and the homeowners told me they had just enough time to get up into this attic as the waters came rushing in. a dramatic rescue caught on tape as residents of oklahoma city deal with the worst flooding to hit the area in 25 years. swift moving floodwaters stranded motorists and left neighborhoods submerged. dozens of people had to be rescued from their homes. >> i got out of bed and my feet were ankle deep in water and it just kept coming up. >> reporter: the area was slammed with up to 11 inches of unrelenting rain in a matter of hours, leaving sections of the city and the surrounding region a muddy mess. >> my car is gone, my house is gone. >> reporter: it will be days if not weeks before trish cooper can clean up her home. torn apart by the rushing water. authorities warn motorists to avoid unnecessary travel. >> my car died and i was stuck and the water just started rising. >> reporter: sections of interstate along with roadways and bridges were closed throughout the area. many drivers were forced to abandon vehicles and walk through the muddy water. and people weren't the only ones trying to find dry land. flash flooding also threatened to overrun the dam and send water rushing like rapids through a nearby lake. >> i wish we had flood insurance, but other than that, we're just glad we got out okay. >> reporter: and they had some wild weather here in oklahoma ci city. yesterday the wettest day on record, 7 2/3 inches. christmas eve they dug out of their largest snowstorm on record, over 13 inches. and now i think they're ready for some normal weather, temperatures to get back into the 90s, and the rain chances go down close to zero starting tomorrow as all of this has to be cleaned up and maybe saved and dried out. ann, back to you. >> i'm sure that good weather forecast is good news for those people. thanks so much, mike seidel, this morning. let he is get a check of the rest of the morning's stories. natalie, good morning to you. good morning, matt and ann. good morning, everyone. an american is being detained in pakistan after police say he claimed he was on a mission to kill osama bin laden. police say the man had a pistol, a 40-inch sword and night vision equipment. a security scare during the night at florida's macdill air force base, the home of u.s. central command. officials say two people with weapons and military-style gear tried to get onto the base and were taken into custody. no one was injured. newly released fbi files show the late senator ted kennedy was repeatedly the target of death threats for decades. some of the threats prompted investigations. some prompted warnings even to the senator. there was no indication any attempts were ever made on his life. overseas markets are mostly higher this morning as cnbc's melissa lee is at the new york stock exchange watching it all for us. what's the focus there, melissa? >> reporter: bp is in focus this morning. one of the major credit rating agencies has downgraded bp's credit rating citing the extent of the liabilities from the oil spill. a credit downgrade makes it more expensive and more difficult for bp to tap the capital markets in order to raise money. staggeringly since the disaster in the gulf, bp has lost about 48% of its market value, that's about $100 billion. natalie? >> melissa lee at the new york stock exchange, thank you. princes william and harry are starting their first joint overseas trip. they're visiting charities in butswana and they got up close with a python. they'll be cheering on england, of course, in the world cup. and a moderate earthquake hit southern california during the night with a magnitude of 5.7. it rattled nerves in san diego at a blue jays/padres game. >> we just had an earthquake, boys. feel it? >> mm-hmm. >> we're shaking. oh, there it goes. oh, yeah. you bet you. >> i don't really quite know what to make of that, but suffice it to say no reports of serious damage or injuries. just checking out everything, make sure everything was still there, matt. >> you see those players screaming for their lives. >> maybe it was more dramatic >> a little relief today from the blazing heat of the past few days. 79 to 82 degrees. northeast winds at 10 miles an hour and that's your latest weather. ann? al, thanks. what led joran van der sloot to allegedly murder a young woman in peru, the country's chief homicide investigator is now opening up about the case. and the evidence against van der sloot. nbc's michelle kosinski is in lima with the latest on the story. michelle, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. we expect today for the first time aruban and peruvian authorities to talk by phone to try to coordinate. we know joran van der sloot also told different stories about what happened here in this case. well, now the chief investigator tells us in no uncertain terms he thinks the motive here was robbery, planned and targeted, not this sudden fit of extreme emotion over an e-mail. joran van der sloot is now on the inside of peruvian justice. here he is in video edited by lima tv station getting acquainted with castro castro prison. well known for its discomfort, a first taste of how maximum security will feel. he gets a medical exam, then he's questioned by police. are you married? single, he answers. occupation? i have my own business, he says. any illnesses? i only have a headache, he replies. he gets a private cell where he can be watched but will like ly spend months here awaiting trial for murder. this is how the chief homicide investigator describes him. >> translator: he has personality problems. he's a cold, calculating liar without morals. >> reporter: when van der sloot was caught in chile, he told police two armed robbers suddenly appeared in his hotel room and killed stephany flores. now back in peru, even his confession has discrepancies and his whole story about her seeing a threatening message on his computer about the natalee holloway case and then explaining it to stephany, then suddenly beating her until her they can broke, doesn't really make a lot of sense to police either. such violence for so little reason. >> translator: the lesioms on the victim's body in the head, the face, the neck, the bruise uz suggest a great deal of violence. >> reporter: the colonel says van der sloot targeted stephany after she won money playing poker, she took her credit cards and cash and his motive was simply money. there were no drugs found in stephany's system or her car. but the colonel would not reveal whether the notorious 22-year-old offered information on natalee holloway saying only we do not negotiate with criminals. and that there is no reason joran van der sloot would be going anywhere. in the foreseeable future. he rejected his first two appointed attorneys here, and now the third one has rejected him. his attorney has quit saying that he and his family were getting death threats both here in peru and in the united states. ann? >> all right, michelle kosinski this morning, thanks. it is now 7:20. once again, here's matt. thank you. could a california teenager's ait tempt to sail solo around the world have been nothing more than a publicity stunt? is as abby sunderland makes her way home after being rescued from the indian ocean, her family was filming a reality tv show. kristen welker has the details. it's absolutely preposterous. >> reporter: on the defensive after it was revealed he was in collaboration with a reality tv show producer for a series about his family. >> there would have been a lot more i would have engaged in if i wanted to make money than sending my two children around the world. >> reporter: the sunderland family gained attention when daughter abby's boat sent out distress significaals last thur. the 16-year-old was rescued from the indian ocean after a harrowing 20-hour search. but reality tv producer claims sunderland mismanaged abby's fateful attempt to sail around the world. >> yeah, i think he's just trying to save face right now. >> reporter: sunderland hoped the reality show would be inspirational and that instead coleroso turned it into something sensational. >> he wanted to make it about me being an irresponsible parent and abigail dying. >> reporter: but coleroso says that's not true. >> the fact lawrence went and talked to news agencies and saying that we hoped for her death and it would be great for the reality show is completely ridiculous. i think abby was pushed too soon to leave on her voyage. >> how can he pass judgment on something that he has no expertise in whatsoever? >> reporter: despite all of the debate and misadventure surrounding abby sunderland's voyage, the teen sailor expected home in the next few weeks, hasn't given up on her dream. >> i'm definitely going to sail around the world again. >> reporter: as for the reality show, it was dropped after filming began and after abby set sail because no network would buy it. the sunderlands haven't ruled out the idea of another show but for now they say they only have one concern -- getting their daughter back home safely. for "today," kristen welker, thousand oakes, california. still to come on a tuesday morning, an emotional courtroom scene as the sunday schoolteacher who admitted killing 8-year-old sandra can true speaks out at her sentencing. what she had to say and exclusive reaction from the litt how would you like your kid to be taught by tony danza? his year working at a philadelphia high school. you can feed a family of four. book now at choicehotels.com to start earning your $50 restaurant gift card. one on, kiddo, let's go. hold on a second... come on up here, where your brothers sit. wow! chevy traverse. a consumers digest best buy, with a 100,000 mile, powertrain warranty. it seats eight comfortably - not that it always has to. ow, get 0% apr for 60 months on a 2010 traverse with an average finance savings of around fifty four hundred dollars. see yo local chevy dealer. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> we have west side delays on the outer loop we may begin to see them on the inner loop approaching security boulevard. watch for delays on frederick road at ingleside ave and catonsville. all lanes closed in both directions. the water main break continues to be repaired. left on winters lane and right on edmondson and get on to the beltway that way. looking at delays on southbound 795 and southbound i-95 out of the white marsh area. downed tree blocking lanes in fallston. slow spots in the usual spots. 19 minutes through the stretch on the outer loop west side, 13 on out of north side. here is a quick live look outside. white marsh, standard delays just beyond the beltway northeast. if we could switch to a live view of traffic at old court, pretty back up there. >> there is a little bit of sunshine out there. it is allowing the temperatures to rise of it. city.'s and around the we are expecting things to cloud up as the afternoon progresses. that should in the temperatures should stay only in the upper 70's to the low 80s. when speaking up out of the northeast. higher gusts arps possible -- higher gusts are possible as well. low eighties for tomorrow. potentially heavy downpours tomorrow evening. 88 on friday. saturday and sunday, hazy, hot, and humid. >> back in 25 minutes with another live update. it is 7:30 now on a tuesday morning, the 15th day of june, 2010. it is a beauty here in new york. take a look at central park. clear sky and the skyline of the city. down on the plaza lots of nice people gathered around. a good start to the day. it's going to get up into the 70s or 80s today. right now about 66 degrees. we'll head outside in just a couple of minutes. inside studio 1a i'm matt lauer along with ann curry. meredith is taking a little time out. an emotional apology from the sunday schoolteacher who kidnapped and murdered 8-year-old sandra cantu. melissa huckaby spoke in court on monday as she was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for that crime. we'll get reaction to what she has to say from sandra cantu's mother in an exclusive interview just ahead. and also ahead, matt, the new way banks are getting their hands on your money. coming up, the hidden fees that you could now be saddled with and how to avoid them. plus, he has been a famous taxi driver and a housekeeper on the show "who's the boss." now you can call tony danza teach. an exclusive look at his year as a real-life tenth grade english teacher. but let's begin this half hour with some serious news. that sentencing handed down on monday for the california woman who pleaded guilty to the brutal murder of 8-year-old sandra cantu. in just a moment we'll talk exclusively to cantu's mother, aunt and uncle. first nbc's george lewis is in tracy, california, with the latest on this story. george, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. the big question that hangs over this tragedy, more than a year after the discovery of sandra cantu's body, is why would melissa huckaby want to kill her? huckaby still has no explanation for that. >> not a day, not an hour goes by that i don't think about the harm that i caused. i loved sandra a great deal. she was a sweet, innocent little girl who did not deserve to have such a short life. i am responsible for sandra's death. >> reporter: in her statement melissa huckaby herself still could not explain the reason for sandra cantu's death. >> i wish i could give you an explanation for what happened. i owe you an explanation. you still cannot understand why i did what i did. every day i try to discover the motivation, but i still do not have an answer. that's a question i will struggle with for the rest of my life. ♪ in my heart you live on ♪ >> reporter: sandra's family played a video documenting the little girl's short life as huckaby wept. the presentation ended with is your veilance video, the last pictures of sandra alive. >> the video of her skipping down the street will forever be etched in our minds, and the pain knowing she was so close to home and we couldn't protect her from miss huckaby is unimaginable, a pain that she caused. >> it took the life of an innocent little girl and she didn't do nothing. >> reporter: sandra's body was found in this pond inside a suitcase owned by huckaby. and last year when huckaby, thinner and with longer hair, confess confessed, police now reveal her first explanation was that she did not intend to kill sandra. >> she claimed that she played a game of hide and seek with sandra cantu in the suitcase that was recovered in the pond. >> reporter: and police say huckaby told them sandra accidentally smothered inside the suitcase. >> in her mind, a horrific accident where she panicked and didn't know what to do so she dumped the body. >> reporter: the prosecution says autopsy results tell a different story, that sandra had been drugged, smothered with a cloth dipped in rubbing alcohol and sexually molested. addressing sandra's parents, huckaby denied that last part. >> i would like to apologize directly to you, maria, for all the pain i have caused you. i should not have taken sandra from you and i want you to know she did not suffer and i did not sexually molest your daughter. >> i found that statement strange and i don't think the jury would have accepted it. >> reporter: but a jury never got to hear the case when huckaby changed her plea to guilty so that she could avoid the death penalty. in a separate incident, huckaby was accused of drugging another little girl and a man. charges dropped as part of the plea agreement. now police theorize huckaby may have been rehearsing the killing of sandra cantu but still no explanation as to why. ann? >> george lewis this morning. george, thanks. maria chavez is joining us along with angie and joe chavez, sandra's aunt and uncle. good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> maria, when you heard melissa huckaby was being sentenced to life behind bars, did you feel the punishment was enough? >> yes, i did. >> so you're satisfied with that? when you heard her apology, when you heard her say that she believed that god had forgiven her and she asked you to forgive her as well, did you think that you could? can you forgive her, maria? >> no. no, i can't. i can't forgive somebody that took my little girl from me. >> has this verdict -- has her apology given you any comfort? >> no. >> she said, i still cannot understand why i did this. so when you try to think about all you know about your neighbor and why she would have done this, i mean, as any mother would, do you have any answers? >> no, i don't. i don't know why she did this to my little girl. >> so how are you making sense this morning about all of this? i mean, this is so soon after the verdict. what is in your mind now as you replay all the events since the disappearance of your daughter? >> very difficult. it's very difficult to understand. >> angie, you asked in court for the court to play a video of sandra as she was growing up. it was a very emotional moment leaving a lot of people in tears. we're looking at some images now of sandra including melissa huckaby who also was in tears. i'm guessing that you wanted people to understand who this little girl was and how important she was. >> yes. yeah, i wanted to show her growing up and i wanted to show melissa what she took away from us. >> and, maria, you had asked the judge to keep the details of this case private. there was some concern, as i understand, that you didn't want your family traumatized, knowing specifically what had happened to sandra. but the judge decided to lift the gag order. is there anything, maria, you want to say about that? >> no. i'm happy that she kept the autopsy photos sealed. i don't want to see those. >> there is -- the judge has also agreed to unseal the search warrants and also the grand jury transcripts and including more details and my understanding is that there is a possibility that those photographs could be revealed. would you fight this? would you appeal any movement to reveal more details including those photographs? maria? >> we would have to refer to our lawyer. we can't answer that question. >> i see. let me just ask you about this because i know all this material is tough and i'm sorry to ask these questions of you, but i do know that you've gotten a lot of support from the community. joe, maybe you can speak to that. how important has the support been from the community to help your family during this time and what kind of support have you gotten? >> i think the support we got from the city of tracy has been phenomenal. i think that if every city and every state -- if every citizen acted to murder the way the citizens of tracy acted and with outrage, i think there probably would be a lot less murders. >> and i understand they've been delivering food every night, and there's been a lot of show of support and that's something tracy has a lot to be proud of. maria, angie and joe, we wish you -- i know everyone listening wishes you comfort as you move forward. thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. and now let's switch gears and get a check of the weather now from al. ann, thank you very much. and the heat continues throughout the southeast as we see temperatures anywhere from five to ten degrees above normal. atlanta today nine degrees above normal. high of 96. jackson, mississippi, same temperature. the same in charlotte. >> we are going to see mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies today. 79 to 82. winds northeasterly at 10 miles that's your latest weather. if you want to keep track of your weather check out the weather channel on cable or weather.com. coming up next, how to avoid hidden new bank fees that you could be paying and not know about. thanks to the new venture card from capital one, we get double miles with every purchase. so we earned a tropical vacation in half the time. we earn double miles every time we use our card. 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"today" financial editor jean chatzky. people are basically not happy with their banks he especially bigger banks. so this news is not going to make them any happier. >> that's right. c consumers can put themselves in the driver's seat by paying attention to their mail, understanding what the new fees let's get specific here. overdraft protection. we've heard about this for years but now you have a choice to opt in or opt out. what do you suggest people do? >> nobody should be opt iing ino overdraft protection and yet about half of the country says that's exactly what they're going to do. if you opt in, your bank can charge you $39 for each overdraft. that's insane. instead, what i want you to do is not opt in but sign up to have your checking account and a savings account linked. that way if you come to the point of purchase and you don't have enough money you don't have to get embarrassed. by the way, i don't think this embarrassment is any sort of a big deal but they'll take the money out of your savings and it will cost less. >> we've been hearing for years about free checking. banks have lured customers by offering free checking. is it going the way of the edsa edsall? >> a lot of overdraft fees paid for free checking. now that they don't have that u can maintain it by is starting maintaining a minimum balance in your checking account at most banks. you want to set up account balance alerts with your bank so they'll send you an e-mail or a text message if you're going to go below that or you can bundle your business, give your business account and personal accounts the same day. >> a swipe fee, if i use a debit card, the minute i swipe it, the business gets charged about 1% of the purchase price as a fee. they pass that onto the consumer. is that fee going to stay the same or go up? >> this is really controversial. right now in the senate version of the financial reform bill there's legislation that says the government would be allowed to take those to legislate those fees to say this is what you're allowed to charge. the merchants want this. the banks don't want it. pay attention because if it goes the way of the merchants, you'll start getting a discount for actually paying in cash, but you'll pay higher fees for using your debit card so we'll be back here in a year talking about how to avoid those. >> and there are a lot of other fees to talk about. if you have a question for jean, e-mail it to us. she'll be back a little later with some answers. jean, thanks very much. >> sure. up next, a remarkable find buried away for thousands of years. what scientists have just unearthed. i got a wake up call. a heart attack at 57. that was a rough time. my doctor told me i should've been doing more for my high cholesterol. ♪ you should've listened. you're right. now i'm eating healthier and i trust my heart to lipitor. 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[ children laughing ] this summer put your family in an exceptionally engineered mercedes-benz now for an exceptional price during the summer event. like the 2010 c-class, an iihs top safety pick. the plan we worked on for your retirement makes sense. just stay on track. what is... that's the guidance you get from fidelity. thanks. stay on the line! whatever your destination, fidelity will help you get there. because when it comes to investing, you should never settle. fidelity investments. they were the ultimate fighters, roman glad yators who fought and died in the ring two years ago but no complete skeleton of a gladiator has ever been found until now. dawna friesen has details. dawna, good morning. >> reporter: the city of york is built on roman ruins. there are archaeological treasures all around here. but when an entire cemetery was unearthed with skeletons that had unique injuries experts knew they had stumbled on something special. for almost 2,000 years they lay undisturbed in their grave. now 80 human skeletons discovered beneath the english city of york are revealing their secrets. some have deep cut marks and fractures to their bones, others are decapitated. at first archaeologists were baffled. was it a mass execution? >> it's one of the most interesting things i've seen as an archaeologist. >> reporter: examination revealed the bodies were taller and more muscular than the average roman, most had died in the prime of life and they were buried with respect, often with personal possessions. could it be they were fighters? gladiators like the ones depicted by russell crowe expected to fight to the death? experts think yes. >> they were dying or maybe already dead. we have a few cases where the skull had been smashed in with some kind of a sledgehammer. >> reporter: it's estimated 1 million gladiators died in roman arenas. many were thought to be slaves or condemned prisoners and york was at the heart of roman britain for hundreds of years. it's the first burial site of its kind ever unearthed if they are gladiators. though highly skilled and seriously strong, gladiators weren't always well protected. will you give me a sword? >> absolutely. most of the body is exposed. if you got a lucky shot in, that's it. the audience goes wild. >> reporter: one skeleton even showed bite marks. >> you see indentations into the pelvis. >> reporter: bites so big and deep they could be from a tiger. a forgotten graveyard historians hope will reveal more about how real gladiators lived and died. and analysis of the bones show the men came from the far corners of the roman empire including africa and the mediterranean and a lot of them had cracked teeth. experts think it may be because they clenched their teeth so tightly during battle. still a lot of forensic work on at is a fascinating find. ann, matt? >> dawna friesen, thank you. >> i have decided i don't want to be a gladiator. the crunch of almonds,, plus 35% of your daily fiber... plus antioxidants in a kellogg's fiber plus bar. mmmm. right then. two more wishes? i'm good. oh. back to the lamp then. see ya! [ female announcer ] kellogg's fiber plus bars. you couldn't wish for more. at ideical prices, from very unidentical stores. let's see what happens. employee: all ready to go. husband #1: thank you. wife #2: electnics? competitor employee: that way. wife #2: happy father's day! husband #2: i got this... wife #2: l's go to your brother's house. husbd #2: but i can do this! wi #2: let's go! husband #1: watch and learn. vo: with delivy and hook-up includ oall lg internet connectable tv's, dad's happy and you're happy. they're fishermen, they're shrimpers, they're laborers, they're deckhands, they're people who work in restaurants... these are the people of the gulf coast who need our help. i'm darryl willis. i oversee bp's claims process on the gulf coast. bp has got to make things right and that's why we're here. part of that responsibility is letting you know what we're doing to make it right. we're replacing the lost income for fishermen, small businessmen and others who aren't able to work until the spill is cleaned up. our claims line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. people can call or go online and we'll help them figure out what information they need to file a claim. we've got about 900 people handling claims and 25 walk-in offices in 4 states. so far we've paid eighteen thousand claims, at no cost to taxpayers. more than fifty one million dollars. i was born and raised in louisiana. i volunteered for this assignment because this is my home. i'll be here in the gulf as long as it takes to make this right. ♪ hey. thanks, mom. you're welcome. ♪ ba da ba ba ba >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. time to get another check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> dealing with a new crash on the outer loop north side causing heavy delays. six miles per hour. the left lane is closed. it will be awhile before the delays start to filter out. watch for the left lane closure on the north side outer loop. another problem spot, and accident here with nine miles per hour approaching that scene. frederick road is shut down at ingleside ave. if you are going to be heading out in fallston, reckord road closed at belair road due to a downed tree. inner loop of the accident, west side, 28 minutes to get through that stretch. it will take you 21 minutes because of the northeast side accident at dulaney valley. white marsh back up heavily towards the 895 split. as we switch over, we will see the accident scene at dulaney valley. heavy delays leading up to it. sandra has a look at the forecast. >> spotty clouds. we're seeing a good dose of sunshine but we expect the clouds to thicken up this afternoon. we have a good chance of being a little bit cooler today than yesterday. 79 to 82. good chance of scattered showers and storms tomorrow. it will drive us out for thursday and friday. >> we are back at 8:25 with another live update. p.a.: it's a four-bedroom traditional home on an acre-and-a-half landscaped yard. there's a totally renovated chef's kitchen, with granite countertops and a butler's pantry. it's got a screened-in back porch, plenty of storage and a large backyard. it's the perfect home, in excellent condition, and ready to move in. anytime, anywhere. no one connects you with the home of your dreams like coldwell banker real estate. we never stop moving. 8:00 now on a tuesday morning, the 15th day of june, 2010. cooler, less humid than we've been having over the past couple of days. it's a really, really pretty one for all these people gathered here in rockefeller plaza. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry here while meredith is taking a little time off. and mr. roker is joining us as well. just ahead, some new developments in the disappearance of kyron horman 11 days after that 7-year-old disappeared from inside his school. police have now scaled back their certificasearch but they'g it a criminal investigation. we're going to get the latest on this story and talk to john walsh, the host of "america's most wanted" about it as well. on a much lighter note, a teacher who maybe might surprise most of you. we're talking about tony danza who taught a class for a year in philadelphia. and the question is how did that happen and would he ever consider doing it again? he's going to talk about his experience coming up in just a moment. >> i bet he was a great teacher. >> i bet he was. and we have a look at hot summer outfits head to toe that will cost you under 100 bucks. >> that's a good deal. great. a lot to get to. let's go inside. natalie is standing by at the news desk with all of the headlines. good morning, natalie. good morning to you. and president obama is preparing to address the nation tonight on the worst oil disaster in american history and outline his plans on how to deal with the cleanup and compensate the victims. the president is wrapping up his two-day gulf coast visit today in pensacola, florida. this as oil executives from bp and four other major companies get a tough grilling on capitol hill. meantime, a house panel is accusing bp of cutting corners and making questionable safety decisions to save money and time. and nbc news, of course, will have complete coverage of the president's oval office address. that's tonight beginning at 8:00 eastern time. the worst flooding in a quarter century has claimed at least one life in oklahoma. fast moving floodwaters stranded drivers and left neighborhoods submerged. dozens of people had to be rescued from their homes. monday's storm dropped as much as 10 inches of rain in parts of oklahoma in just a matter of hours. a california man in custody in northwest pakistan this morning. he was on a mission, he says, to kill bosama bin laden according to police. officials say he was armed with a pistol, dagger, sword and night vision equipment and was trying to cross into afghanistan. this morning the military's investigating a security scare at macdill air force base just outside of tampa. a man and woman were arrested there after they couldn't produce proper id and officers found military style gear and weapons inside their suv. north carolina democratic congressman bob etheridge is apologizing after video was posted online showing a confrontation with two men asking him questions. after repeatedly asking who they were, they said they were students doing a project. etheridge said he regrets his reaction. and most brides have maybe three, four, even five bridesmaids but imagine having 110 bridesmaids in your wedding. over the weekend an ohio woman who owns a dance studio asked all of her young students to be her attendants on her special day and they've actually broke a guinness world record. the previous record was 90 bridesmaids. all gorgeous little girls. 8:03 right now. let's get another check of the weather with mr. roker outside on the plaza. well, thank you so much. we have some nice hats here. where are you from? >> mississippi. >> all right. a hat party. we like it very much. let's check your weather, shall we? show you what's happening. the pick city happens to be orlando, florida, wush. partly sunny, hot and 96. we're going to be down there for the wizarding world of harry potter. and the jet stream is pretty cool air over the northwest. we've got a big bubble over the eastern two-thirds of the country. that makes for some hot conditions to the south. warm all the way up to the great >> we are going to be 79 to 82 degrees, with partly sunny to mostly cloudy conditions. 70's with a shot of showers on the lower eastern shore. that's your latest weather. ann? al, thank you so much. coming up next, the mysterious disappearance of kyron horman. how can a child simply vanish at school? we get the latest on the criminal investigation. ♪ [ female announcer ] ah, the coffee house. the lines. the cost. the hassle. ♪ express yourself [ female announcer ] why not try a better way? coffee-mate has over 25 delicious flavors, all at a fraction of the cost of the coffee house. ♪ hey [ female announcer ] so add your flavor with coffee-mate, from nestle. ♪ express yourself ♪ express yourself to travel in comfort and style... presenting the new toyota avalon. for a ride that's jet-smooth! it's got reclining rear seats! and such a quiet cabin! ♪ bluetooth wireless audio makes every trip a delight! ♪ the new toyota avalon... comfort is back. ♪ scotts researchers tested our songbird selections wild bird food and discovered something amazing -- scotts attracted twice as many colorful birds as ordinary blends. our exclusive formula attracted twice the cardinals, twice the goldfinches, twice the indigo buntings. songbird selections from scotts. ♪ toi switched to a complete0, multivitamin with more. only one a day women's 50+ advantage has gingko for memory and concentration plus support for bone and breast health. a great addition to my routine. [ female announcer ] one a day women's. we're back at 8:08 with new developments in the mysterious disappearance of 7-year-old kyron horman. police are not releasing a lot of details except to say the case is now a criminal investigation. c's janet shamlian is in portland with the latest on this. janet, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning. it's the last day of school here at skyline elementary. usually a happy time for kids. kyron's disappearance has cast a shadow over what should be a day of celebration. where is this boy and what happened to him? this morning we still have no answers. detectives say they're going back to the beginning in the case of missing 7-year-old kyron horman last seen june 4th in his csi t-shirt after this picture was taken by his stepmother at a science fair. he reportedly disappeared during the school day. authorities will reinterview every parent and staff member for what they call a criminal investigation. >> this will not become a cold case for us. we will continue to investigate this case until we have it solved. >> reporter: yet the search of forest and fields near kyron's school has been scaled back and hundreds who have been helping with the effort to find the second grader have gone home. connor attends kyron's school and plays soccer with him. so what's this like for you as a mom right now? >> well, it's definitely -- it feels odd to not really know what's going on up here. it feels very -- there's definitely a mystery. >> reporter: like many parents she said it's hard to make sense to what might have happened. detectives called the disappearance an isolated case and insists no other children are in danger. no description of a suspect has been released and authorities won't use the word abduction. but detectives also think kyron's family who have appeared at two of the news conferences are cooperating fully. neighbors like vickie who live across the street from kyron's school are deeply worried. >> everyone has pulled together and but then again everyone is just confused, we're baffled. we just don't know what's become of our little guy, you know. >> reporter: at skyline elementary it's the last day of class. the school year ends with more questions than answers and without a little boy who seems to have simply vanished. a dive team searched a body of water about six miles from here yesterday. there have been searches on horseback, using dogs, from the air. all of it has turned up nothing. matt? >> janet shamlian in portland for us this morning. janet, thank you very much. john walsh is the host of "america's most wanted" and worked on numerous missing children cases. good to see you. >> morning, matt. >> here's what baffles a lot of olated case and they don't feel that other children in that neighborhood are in danger. that can only mean one thing, that they know something that we don't know. they're not telling us. wouldn't you agree with that? >> well, that certainly is a possibility but, you know, it's an active search and sometimes law enforcement can't share details with the media for various reasons. they're probably doing a continuous parallel search of everybody that knows kyron. family members have to be cleared. that's normal. it could be a sexual predator. they're probably interviewing convicted sex offenders in the area. this is oftentimes a crime of opportunity. they can't rule anybody out. >> but, john, here's what bothers me about this. if they even suspect that this could be a sexual predator, then why would they take the step of saying they don't believe any other children are in danger? why would they alleviate the fears of parents if they have a predator on their hands? >> well, law enforcement always tries to not create widespread panic. i think people are aware that something bad happened to this boy, but they probably are looking very closely at somebody they can't share that information. it might be someone that the boy knows very well. it may be somebody related to him. but they're keeping it close to their vests. but the case goes on, matt. it has to go on. >> there is no textbook or manual for how a family is supposed to react during a trying situation like this. i know your family found that out firsthand, but i think the public has come to expect a certain level of involvement from a family. is that unfair of us? >> i think it's very unfair. parents react differently. i know this family is cooperating. sometimes there is a family member who is more vocal who can handle the media, who can handle the stress. i don't think anybody should judge. parents handle it differently. some parents say i just can't deal with the nightmare of not having my little boy. this is a boy that was 7 years old that vanished in plain sight. i never judge. i've walked in the shoes of those parents. it's their business of how they react to this but, again, having said that, matt, the media is crucial in this. the media is what solves these cases 99% of the time. >> yeah, and hopefully something will come up, some information that could lead to the safe return of kyron horman. john walsh, as always, it's great to see you, john. >> thank you, matt. if you have any information on kyron horman's disappearance you're asked to call this number here, 503-261-2847. that's the sheriff's office handling this case. ] look in the glove box. 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[ female announcer ] when the more options you have,ght, the more likely you are to stay on track. that's why there are 9 delicious kinds of special k® cereal. ♪ ♪ because every girl could use a little variety. ♪ special k®, now in 9 delicious flavors. we learned something about our dad. wow, i gave him this one last father's day. i didn't even think he read them. how many times did he try to get us to go fishing? [ both laugh ] so "daddy," right? that was when we were little-little. he kept them. ...all of them. [ male announcer ] give dad a card... it's the biggest little thing you can do. girls, we're just moving across town. back now at 8:18 with actor tony danza's year in the classroom, not as a student but as a teacher at northeast high school in philadelphia. today jamie gendel went back to school for the interview. >> reporter: of course most of us know him as the star of "taxi" and "who's the boss." tony danza will tell you he always wanted to be a teacher and this year he got a shot teaching tenth grade english on a&e called "teach." >> before graduating from college i always planned on becoming a high school teacher. life had a different plan for me. first i was a boxer and an actor. they say you don't get many second chances in life but i've been given mine. that's why i came to philadelphfil philadelphia to teach. >> reporter: when the actor came calling, everyone was skeptical. the students were not impressed. the teachers thought it was a gimmick and principal linda carroll was watching his every move. >> you have to know, mr. danza, that if this doesn't work, you're out of here. >> reporter: but danza was determined to prove himself. day one did not go well. >> welcome. welcome to the first day of school. i'm here to be your teacher, your english teacher. >> reporter: when you walked into this class the first day and you stood up here -- >> yeah. >> reporter: how scared -- >> i wrote mr. danza, the scariest thing i've ever seen. scary because you're afraid they're going to unmassing being you, you know. they're just going to know that you don't know anything. they're going to know. >> reporter: and you didn't though anything. >> i didn't know. english, talk about the irony. >> reporter: the first week you cried three times. >> i'm emotional about it. i just want everybody to know this responsibility. >> reporter: for weeks it doesn't get much better. >> i want to ask if anybody saw the president's speech last night. >> reporter: for the record, the school did not leave danza alone with the students. you were a mess. >> a mess and so anything threw me. >> reporter: throughout the year he had a teaching coach, david cohn. >> there was a lot of crying. >> reporter: the good news is he was a quick study. >> yes. when you're flustered, your tendency is to talk more. >> reporter: he learned to listen. >> change from what am i going to do to what are the kids going to do. >> reporter: learn to motivate and went from performer -- to teacher. >> tomorrow i'm giving my first quiz. >> reporter: not every day was perfect. are the students always testing you? >> yes. >> reporter: one day he lost it because a bored student was playing with origami. >> while you're doing all that, eric is doing origami. >> the hardest thing in the world when you're up there and you look and you see kids yawn, i'm tired or he's born, or the origami. this kid had made this very intry cat little origami. it said all my doubts that i had myself were reaffirmed and -- >> reporter: they're not paying attention to you. >> and i was flipping out. >> reporter: a year later his students respect him. >> mr. danza. let's go. >> reporter: so do his fellow teachers. >> come on, girls. let's go to school. 20 minutes late forschool. >> he's made a difference, a huge impact in their lives. >> reporter: did they have a good teacher this year? >> they did. >> reporter: no question about it? >> no question about it. >> reporter: and principal carroll is his biggest fan. would you hire him back? >> yes. you can't teach that. you have to come with that. and he has that. i would definitely hire him. >> see, i'm really proud of that, most of all. eighth period. not only were there skeptics and cynics but people who said, how dare you? it really thrills me to hear miss carroll say she would have me back. >> reporter: as for danza he thought tenth grade english was the toughest audience he's ever had but no question the most rewarding. >> you get up every morning to come to school and have a little moment with the kids. and i just want you to know i appreciate you. just the little things really get you. it does. >> reporter: he hopes, of course, this will be a responsible reality show and will inspire other people to be teachers and he is struggling because he'd like to come back and teach again next year. ann? is. >> sounds like he would be very good at it especially with all that heart. jamie, thanks so much. >> if more parents will the experience of being in the cl s classroom, i think the dynamic would change. let's get a check from our good friend mr. willard scott. hey, willard. hey, i hope you like my tie. the breast cancer people sent it over and i get to use it and show you on the air. they're making progress. happy birthday, how sweet it is, to our friends out there in tv land from the world of sm smucker's. marjorie kemp 100 years old. known as the love of everybody's life in the family. she started with a smucker's jelly jar campaign and she has on facebook 500 smucker lovers. thelma plesant, 100 years old, lives independently. became blind at 92 and memorized all the books in the bible. here comes charlie, charlie wyatt of berea, kentucky. 100 years old. opened a skating rink 50 years ago and he still skates. and here is edna. do we like her. she is so pretty. edna riepshoff of highland, illinois. 101. and she loves watching soap operas. that's something else. aren't they incredible? pauline sander, st. louis, missouri. retired vice president of a bank back in the '70s. loves the red cross. and take a look, we have al and betty rose. maumee in ohio. 79th anniversary. both are 100. the secret to marriage, longevity, having fun with the good things. that's a good combination. and sweet mary santarpia from the bronx, new york, 100 years old today. came to the united states from italy as a child and her secret to longevity is eating tons of italian food. that's it. now who likes new york better than i do? nobody. >> nobody is right. willard, thank you very much. just ahead the summer's hottest fashions for under $100. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's get a final check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> still dealing with problems on the northeast side of the beltway. let's take a look. outer loop of dulaney valley, accident clearing from the left lane. new crash on the inner loop around belair road. you can see heavy delays. down to eight miles per hour in that area. west side still recovering from an accident at security. still some delays from 95 towards i-70. delays and a slow go on southbound 795 to owings mills. if you want to access the beltway on eastbound frederick road, take a left on winters lane and then a right on edmondson to get right back on the beltway. downed tree in fallston. as far as closures, 18 minutes on the inner loop from 95 towards 795 on the west side, 19 minutes on the outer loop west side, at 21 on the outer loop northeast side. let's give you a live view of traffic. 95 at caton avenue, northbound delays there. we will switch to a live view of the accident in dulaney valley. one of the vehicles has been cleared. still very slow going in that area. >> we are going to see some clouds this afternoon. there is sunshine there right now. a little wave will rotate through the frontal boundary. 79 to 82 degrees. we remain cool tomorrow. good chance of scattered showers and storms as the front gets through here. it will try us out for thursday and friday. >> we will have another update at 8:55. an nbc news special -- a presidential address to the nation. barack obama's strategy for the disaster in the gulf. lester holt anchors with david gregory in washington. it's 8:30 now on a tuesday morning, the 15th day of june, 2010. we've said it before, we'll say it again, it is a great morning here in the northeast weatherwise and great includes the crowd as well. out on the plaza, matt lauer along with ann curry in while meredith is taking a little time off. we're joined by natalie morales and al roker as well. we have a lot coming up. shion and how to shop at these fast fashion stores where there's a lot of stuff on the racks, how to find the trend you want very quickly. the best tips for that and how to save money because all the outfits in our little fashion show are under $100, matt. all right. on a serious note we're going to talk about one man's personal crusade. he's fighting a condition that is 100% fatal. it kills just as many people as t most of us have never heard r of it. he's going to share his story coming up. >> and then on a much lighter note, kathy griffin, you know she is on the b-list allegedly. she has her show. but she is here and she is going to tell us how life hit has cha her life. also later how to chain your mane and fight the frizz in these hot days of summer. before we go any further, hi to jillian michaels, one of the great stars of "biggest loser" and now with a new show. hi, jillian. good to see you. so you're used to helping people lose weight on the ranch and then they go home and now you're moving in with them. >> yes. somebody at nbc apparently had the tremendous sense of humor and thought it would be very interesting to see me moving in with families who need a little bit of help. >> how long do you move in with these people? >> i move in for a week and then i come back six weeks later. >> if you're only in there for a week, can you really change people's behavior in just a week? >> what you can do is give them a wake-up call, help them identify the tools to make change and hopefully enough to use those tools to rebuild their lives. >> has anybody said, you know what -- >> get out of here. >> thrown me out? i almost got knocked down, i got thrown out twice. >> really? >> yes, it's a little bit intense. >> at the end of the week they're wanting you to leave -- are you wanting to leave more than they want you to leave? >> at the end of the week it's usually a lovefest. the first couple of days are a little bit rough. am i a tremendous houseguest? no. i win them over. >> and you've been following up. >> well, you know, we've gone back and already shot four of the eight families and we're seeing that the women are losing about 30 or 40 pounds and the men about 50 to 60. we're having a lot of families getting off their medications. >> that's great. >> and the show is a little bit broader so people who have lost their jobs are going back to work, marriage is improving and there are one or two families that are not successful and we're just going to show everything as truthful as it is. sometimes it works. sometimes it doesn't. it's a process. >> jillian, doing a lot of work, physical work and psychology as well. thank you very much. >> you have a big fan right here. >> by the way, "losing it with jillian" airs tonight at 8:00, 7:00 central time here on nbc. mr. roker, how about a check of the weather? let's see if you'll be losing your sunshine or gaining some. today we have strong storms in the upper ohio river valley. wet weather in the pacific northwest. a slight risk of storms, storms in texas, oklahoma panhandle. sunny here in the east. then for tomorrow we're looking t weather in the pacific s back northwest. a slight risk along the mid-atlantic coast. rainy weather in the >> we are going to see mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies today. 79 to 82. winds northeasterly at 10 miles and don't forget you can check your weather any time of the day or night weather channel on cable or weather.com online. and coming up next, al, we have some hot summer deals for under $100. but first this is "today" on nbc. 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[sigh] ah... the efficient life is the good life. back at 8:37. this morning on "today's health" one man's urgent and touching mission after receiving a heartwrenching medical diagnosis. here is robert bazell. >> reporter: two things stand out about bob o'rourke. >> you have a winner. >> reporter: he is an optimist. >> hello. >> reporter: and though he has been the head spokesman for cal tech in pasadena for 23 years -- >> i'm looking for the celtics. >> reporter: he never lost his boston roots. >> we used to spend time in a summer home in martha's vineyard. >> reporter: now o'rourke has a big problem and he wants the world to know about it. >> it's a very frightening thing for me. 3 1/2 years ago we were up in yellow stone and i noticed i was having a difficult time breathing, but i kind of attributed that to the altitude. >> reporter: o'rourke soon learned he had a condition called ideopath i can fibrosis which clogs the lungs making breathing difficult. >> mortality is approximately 50% of the patients will die within two to five years. >> reporter: it sounds like a horm diagnosis. >> 100,000 americans have it in the united states and of course 20,000 will die per year with this disease. >> reporter: and it is worse. the numbers are increasing partly because the population is aging, partly because doctors are getting better at diagnosing it. >> you have a slow progression. >> reporter: but mostly for reasons they don't know that's why they call it ideopathic. it's a fancy word for you don't know what caused it. >> there's research going on and there continues to be aggressive research for this disease but we don't know the actual cause of it. >> reporter: o'rourke is now on the waiting list for a lung transplant. his best shot at survival. you spent your whole career among some of the top scientists in the world. can you believe there's so much ignorance about a disease? >> no. that's the reason my wife and i before i take my last breath i'm going to make this a household word the best way i know how. i'm going to go out and tell everybody i can talk to and say are you familiar with pulmonary fibrosis? what i'm doing now is probably the biggest challenge i've ever had in my career. >> reporter: for "today" robert bazell, nbc news, pasadena. dr. nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical editor. good morning to you. ideopathic pulmonary fibrosis. ideopathic means we don't know. >> unknown cause. >> do they have suspicions as to what causes it? >> we know there are some people who are more susceptible. we certainly know some people exposed to agent orange, first responders in the 9/11 crisis, people in mining, farmers who were exposed to dust like in corn silos. those particles can get in the lung and for some reason start this chain of event that causes inflammation and scarring. fibrosis is just a medical word for scarring. and that's what leads to the symptoms most people complain about which are usually shortness of breath, a dry cough, fatigue. the problem is that laundry list you're looking at -- >> there's a lot of other conditions. >> people may not think of it right away. >> we watched -- he was using oxygen obviously to help him with his breathing. short of a lung transplant, which is a very difficult operation -- >> right. >> -- any other way to treat these people? >> therein lies the tough part about this. i think we're talking in this case not about how well to treat it because this is an end stage problem and obviously the chance of getting a lung transplant for most people is not very high. we need to look at what causes it, how to avoid it. ideopathic, of course, there are going to be cases we just can't put our finger on it. but for a lot of us, i think we improve the things in our environment, the dust, thinking it's no big deal. the impact our lungs take as young people may have a price to pay later in life and that's the big message here. >> i want to make people understand this is not only an older person's disease. this affects young people as well. >> we used to think this was an old, middle-aged white guy disease but now we see it in younger people. i think if you have those signs or symptoms at least see your physician because a lot of people -- a little bit of oxygen can at least make things better but the particulates we have in our environment, and this goes a lot for our vets, we have to be cognizant of the fact those triggers may have an important ramification later in life. >> all right, nancy. as always, thanks. appreciate it. it is 8:42. up next on a much lighter note, we'll talk about some summer looks. these are complete looks for under $100. this morning on "today's style" stylish ways to save money and add to your wardrobe all at the same time. we tagged along with editor at large to learn her favorite secrets in sorting through the racks. >> one of lucky's favorite top fashion stores like this runway trends change so fast that every time you come there's going to be a wealth of new, affordable options. it can be so much fun. before you start shopping these stores, there are a few things to keep in mind. one, go to the store as soon as it's open. it's tieditidier and the signs where they're supposed to be. second, every trend is represented here which can be a little distracting. keep the realities in life in mind. while everything is going to work for you, something definitely will. finally, the trend of clothing always gets the most attention. don't skip over the t-shirts, the jeans and ak sellries. some of the best things are in those departments. >> and now joining us elize. you are actually wearing something that's under $100. >> $39.95. >> one of the fashion stores you talked about. >> it's a big trend and i'm test driving it in a very affordable way. >> you're doing a good job. >> thank you. which is really what we're about at "lucky." our july issue every item is under $100. >> we are going to see three other looks this morning. let's start with the first one from zarra and this is something you say is great for the week d weekend. you have a model. her name is jess. hi. looks very comfortable. yes, exactly, and this is the big trend denim on denim. slightly different shades and you're coordinated. she is wearing a striped tank which is another big trend and so simple and fresh. the great thing about these pieces is they're all basic. you can work them into everything else in your wardrobe and you'll get a lot of mileage out of these items. >> right, you can wear them separately, however you like. you write her look is $99.60. really good. that's terrific. >> exactly. and, again, she is is going to wear this all season and that a-line skirt is flattering on all women. >> jess, thank you so much this morning. so now our next look forever 21 and this one is for evening and our model this morning is liz. good morning, liz. pretty. >> so the great thing about this jess is it's $14.90. >> no. >> yes. >> with pockets. >> which is my favorite thing to look for. >> like a jersey dress. >> it's comfortable. she can wear it to the beach. she can wear it around the house. she's going to get so much mileage out of this particular e item. and we just added a bunch of ak sellries. all those necklaces are $5.80 apiece and great shoes from payless. >> what is this going to cost? totaling it up, $79.89. >> exactly. >> amazing. that's terrific. thank you so much. liz, thanks so much for that. and our last look this morning is from h&m. you say this would be great for the office and carrie is your model today. good morning, carrie. >> so she is wearing a cobalt blue skirt which is another huge color we're seeing this spring but it can be a little terrifying. test drive it in a skirt so it's not right up to your face, you don't have to worry whether it's a flattering color for your skin tone and paired it with other really basic essentials and the thing about h&m they have work basics. that blazer which fits extremely well $24.95. and the other great thing about this, she can take it out at night. >> and you just saw it, the total $99.79 for the entire outfit. >> yep. >> that's amazing. that's not including the shoes. >> including the shoes. >> it's phenomenal. let's bring in all of your models. thanks so much for joining us and talking about all of this. when you go to the store, any tips on what to look for, what not to look for? >> the biggest thing, keep the realities of your life in mind. you're buying things that are affordable but you want to wear them all the time so make sure they fit your lifestyle. >> okay. thank you so much. great advice this morning. thanks so much to our models for joining us. and giving us some good ideas. we have much more coming up this morning including kathy griffin on her life on the b-list. kathy griffin is here. season six of her emmy winning reality show -- >> double emmy. >> double emmy winning reality show "my life on the b-list" appears tonight on bravo. >> what you like to tell america what you just told me? >> i said i've been a fan of your show for a long time. >> al, how can i put up with this? >> for a short period of time. >> my show is on tonight at 10:00 on bravo. >> it's a coincidence for you. yesterday i'm watching tv, the promo for your show comes on and all of a sudden you're naked. >> what? >> in this promo covering your breasts. >> that's right. i had the first public televised pap smear on "my life on the d-list." >> oh, my lord. i've never done that. >> how far will you go? >> as far as they'll pixelate me and i did it in more spray tan than kate gosselin who i believe is an actual staff member on this show. gotcha! tuesdays and bravo. >> she came to play, ladies and gentlemen. >> that's right. so i'm in the stirrups where i belong, natalie, in the stirrups in shoes getting a pap smear. >> it's my fault for taking us down the road. i had no idea. >> every time, all these years. and tonight is the premiere and we have liza minnelli. perhaps you're heard of her. and we go behind the scenes on "law and order" and we go to a toddler pageant next week which is really wrong for all the right reasons. i'm a naughty cowgirl. >> in the pageant? >> i'm the mature lady category. >> did you win? >> they let me in. >> what did the kids think of you? >> just another night. wait a minute, guess who might have a little pressure -- what's his face. >> you want to say this out loud? >> he sent me a letter. >> who? >> levi johnston. >> granderson of the yankees apparently asked kathy on a date and the first question was, is he single? >> well, that's a good question to ask. >> but levi johnston will be very jealous. >> you go to wasilla. >> we go to wasilla. we go to sarah palin's door and i knock on sarah palin's door with levi johnston. we did not get in. >> what a shock. >> i know. it was a shock. >> were you nervous? >> levi had a bodyguard, but he did say we shoot people here, ma'am. >> okay. >> so he had a bodyguard. i did not. well, that didn't stop me, is is what i'm saying. >> your mom is a big part of the show. >> she is a big hit. she turned 90 years young and is still giving me a lot of guff. she is naturally funny. we try to tell her what to say, to not be a reality show like "the hills." unfortunately, it is a reality show. >> what is this about? >> sailor girl. ink i'm a naughty sailor -- i nurse. i'm happy to give you a pap smear, al. i got one -- i took one myself. >> thank you. >> and there's your mother. >> possibly under the influence of a little box of wine. a nice box of wine, yes. >> listen, all of the grammies -- >> the emmys. >> also liza minnelli showing up, are you still on the d-list? aren't you on the a-list? >> your producer just said you have three minutes. three minutes to sell my wares. >> but it's been more than three minutes. >> what? wait, wait, are we still on? >> we're still on. >> i have eight episodes. it'sike a miniseries. >> now eight seconds left. >> tuesdays bravo. >> tonight at 9:00. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. baltimore city police are investigating the murder of a u.s. census worker in southeast baltimore. investigators say that spencer williams was shot several times inside his car near new hope circle last week. authorities say he had dropped off a co-worker when he was shot. he died friday. police have no suspects and did not determine what provoked the shooting, but they don't believe the shooter is someone he >> now let's look at the forecast with a meteorologist sandra shaw. >> we will be a lot cooler today than yesterday today, 79 to 82 degrees. partly sunny conditions right now. winds northeasterly at 10 miles an hour. a little bit cooler air to get in here the cold part of the system will not get through until tomorrow. it will generate showers and storms. keep the umbrella handy. mid-80's on thursday. >> we will have another update at 9:25.