Transcripts For WBAL Today 20100722

they narrowly escaped. we'll hear from them exclusively "today," thursday, july 22nd, we'll hear from them exclusively "today," thursday, july 22nd, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning, i'm meredith vieira. >> and i'm matt lauer. it's been an interesting 48 hours for shirley sherrod. she's accepted apologies from the white house, and the secretary of agriculture. but, is she ready to take a new job within the same administration that demanded her resignation just three days ago? >> it is a decision that she is mulling over this morning after agriculture secretary tom vilsack admitted he should have done a better job of investigating the video that started the controversy. so is she ready to put it all behind her? does the president himself owe her a personal apology? well, she's sitting right over there. i'm going to talk with shirley sherrod right ahead. >> also a storm brewing in the caribbean has brought efforts to permanently plug the busted oil well in the gulf to a near standstill. we're going to get the latest on that story and a rare view of the disaster as crews use a submarine to search for oil beneath the surface. we're going to take you live to the gulf in just a couple of minutes. >> and plus-sized and proud. the model who is furious that recent pictures of her were altered to make her appear thinner than she actually is. >> but we begin on this thursday morning with the fallout over the premature firing of an agriculture department official named shirley sherrod. we'll talk to her in a moment. but first, nbc's savannah guthrie is at the white house with the latest on the story. savannah, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. well the white house is hoping to move past this chapter, now that the agriculture secretary has come forward to offer miss sherrod a new job with the agency, and to apologize. under fire for the firing of a usda worker, agriculture secretary tom vilsack faced the cameras. >> this is a good woman. she's been put through hell. and i could have done and should have done a better job. >> reporter: vilsack said he personally called sherrod to apologize. >> i asked for shirley's forgiveness and she was gracious enough to extend it to me. and for that i am thankful. >> reporter: at the white house wednesday, it was also all apologies. >> i think without a doubt miss sherrod is owed an apology. a disservice was done for which we apologize. and on behalf of the administration, i offer our apologies. >> reporter: after initially standing by the agriculture secretary's decision to fire sherrod, the white house now acknowledges it was a rush to judgment. a usda official called sherrod monday afternoon, in her car, asked her to pull over and resign by blackberry. this, after video surfaced online of sherrod making racially charged comments that turned out to be selectively edited. >> how did we not ask the right questions? how did you all not ask the right questions? how did other people not ask the right questions? >> reporter: watching the apologies as they were issued, live on cable tv, shirley sherrod herself later reacted. >> i'm just wondering how will my grandchildren look at this when they read about this in later years, and their grandmother being the first black person to be state director of rural development in georgia, was asked to resign by the first black president. >> reporter: as for andrew breitbart, the conservative blogger who posted the video, he acknowledged he put it online without seeing the full content of the remarks. but he didn't apologize for posting it. though he did say he has sympathy for sherrod. >> i feel bad that they made this about her and i feel sorry that they made this about her. i'm not sure if that was done because they rushed to judgment, or whether they wanted to make it about shirley versus me. because that's what it's become. >> well, there's one issue outstanding. senior aides here at the white house insist they did not push the agriculture secretary to fire ms. sherrod, that it was a decision made at agriculture and they were, frankly, looped in essentially after it had been done. on the other hand, miss sherrod has said repeatedly it was her impression, based on her conversation with an agriculture department official, that it was the white house who wanted her to resign. so that's one of those issues of fact that a lot of people will be talking about today, meredith. >> all right, savannah guthrie, thank you very much. shirley sherrod is with us again this morning. ms. sherrod, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> you have now received apologies from the usda, the white house and the naacp for their rush to judgment. you've accepted those apologies. you really are a woman, as the secretary put it, who has been through hell. how are you feeling right now? >> you know, i've gone from being at such a low on monday, as this was unfolding, and thinking, this is so unreal, to feeling so great about the support i've received from around the country. it's encouraging. it makes me feel that there are many others out there who think like i do, and so many who do not think like the individual who started this in the first place. >> let's talk about that. i want to talk about it in a minute. but first of all, do you think that you deserve a phone call from president obama? >> i think i do. >> you do? >> mm-hmm. >> an apology? >> well, you know, he is the president of the united states of america. i received the apologies that are important. i really would not want the president to apologize to me. i'd love to have a conversation with him, though. >> and what would you say to him? >> you know, i'd like to talk to him a little bit about the experience of people like me. people at the grassroots level. people who live out there in rural america, people who live in the south. i know he does not have that kind of experience. let me help him a little bit with how we think, how we live, and the things that are happening. >> what do you think he doesn't understand and a lot of the rest of the country doesn't understand about people like you and the way you live and what you're faced with? >> you know, we are people who struggle every day, who do the best we can in our community. who love this country. we love him. we want him to be successful, because we feel thinks, in some ways, like we do. and we think that's good for the country. yes, there are issues out there that we are faced with. issues of poverty. issues that i worked so hard on these last 11 months at rural development to try to really have an impact on, mainly because that's me. but the other thing, i want everything to reflect, i want a good reflection for him as the first black president. >> but why do you think when it comes to this topic of race, it just presses people's buttons? people are so quick to react without thinking. you're in the center of a storm here. why do you think that is? >> you know, this has gone on for years and years, and i thought we were getting to a place where we really could talk about it. but we can't deal with it until we can face each otr. that's the whole point i make when i talk. the things that are being done by the gentleman who started this, and i can't even think of his name -- >> andrew breitbart. >> yes. i didn't know of him before this happened. but the things he's doing, being done more to divide us so we can't move on. >> but i guess his point was that this is not him versus you. he was trying to point out racism within the membership of the naacp. that when you told that story about being reluctant to help a white farmer, before he realized this was about poverty, that there was acceptance within the crowd, people who are yeah, you're right, what he was trying to say was there's racism in the naacp, the same way they claim there might be racism within the tea party. is there room for debate, for discussion about that? >> you know, there's always room for debate and discussion. because that's what will get us to a point where we can tolerate each other. people were not laughing in that audience. and he knew that his actions would take shirley sherrod down. he didn't mind doing that. he thought, i think, he probably hoped, it would also deal with the naacp. but what he did was getting me. and that, i cannot -- well, he's never offered to apologize for what he's done. but that, you know, it would be hard for me to forgive him at this point. >> but at some point the white house could have checked and seen the whole video, the usda could have seen the whole video, the naacp could have seen the whole video before going on the attack with you. the white house has said they had nothing to do with your ouster. you have said that you had three phone calls on monday from your superiors saying that the white house was behind it, they wanted you to resign. do you stand by that? >> i stand by that. because i asked what has happened? you know, i just couldn't -- it was so -- you know, the first call i received said we're putting you on administrative leave. i had to explain to my leadership staff that we were quite a ways from the office, in a meeting, that i explained what happened, and i told them, i have to leave and go turn this government car in and get my car and go home. you know, i asked -- so first they were putting me on administrative leave. the next call was shirley, we're going to have to ask you to resign. and then the white house wants you to resign. because i'm asking them, what happened? this is just so unbelievable. it was one thing for them to put me an administrative leave and then look into it. but they went from administrative leave directly into asking me to resign. >> so obviously you still feel the white house has some explaining to do. meanwhile the usda, the secretary of agriculture has offered you a new job that you're thinking about. what can you tell us about this job? >> you know, it's -- it's discrimination happens in the usda. that's why there are lawsuits by black farmers, hispanic farmers, native american farmers, women farmers. and they're because the agency that never deals with the people who call it. no one lost their job because they're discriminated against a black farmer or a native american farmer or a hispanic farmer or a female farmer. those individuals, many of them, some have retired, but many of them are still there. i would not want to be that individual that the department and everyone is looking to to solve the issue of racism in usda. it takes a lot more to get that job done. >> so i'm just asking very quickly, what is the job exactly that they'd like you to do? >> they talked about the office about me dealing with discrimination within the agency. >> and you're inclined to say no to that? >> at this moment, i would think i would be. >> so as far as you're concerned at this point you're out of the usda for good? >> yeah. i haven't seen the offer, you know. the secretary said he would e-mail it to me. i have not seen it yet. so before i say no totally, i would like to look at that to weigh in. >> ms. sherrod we appreciate very much you coming in. >> thank you. >> thank you for everything. >> thank you. >> best of luck to you. >> thanks. >> let's get a check of the rest of the top stories. ann curry is over at the news desk. >> hello, everybody. also in the news this morning there's a dramatic rescue operation still under way this morning in wyoming's grand teton national park. last night park rangers and a helicopter team removed 16 injured climbers from a mountainside after lightning struck the area. one climber was still missing, rescuers said that all of the victims suffered injuries related to the lightning strike, including burns and trauma. we've got now on the telephone a public affairs officer for grand teton national park. jackie, good morning. what can you tell us about how hopeful the rescuers might be about finding the climber who is still missing? >> good morning, ann. we are hopeful, but given the darkness, and the long hours overnight that this person was out on the mountain, we are uncertain as to his condition this morning. at first light, which will be about 6:30 our time, it's now just about 5:15, we'll start looking for this individual again. we have rangers who spent the night on the mountain at a rescue hut on the lower saddle at the 11,600 foot elevation. they will begin a ground search. we'll also get a ship in the air to start doing an aerial search for this person when we have enough light this morning. we are always hopeful that we will find someone who's been able to survive the night. but, we are uncertain what happened to him. he went out of sight of his climbing party yesterday during the crux of the storm he went over a cliff. so we are uncertain as to his condition this morning. >> and what can you tell us about the condition, jackie, that he might have been in overnight, as people were not able to look because of darkness? was it cold? what kind of conditions would he have had to face? >> yes, i know the rest of the country is hot, but here in grand teton national park, and especially up on the teton range, overnight temperatures generally dip into the 30s. so it was likely mid 30s, maybe upper 30s, last night on the mountain. it's a sheer mountain and some of you may know that it's a very impressive mountain. the grand teton has sheer walls. it's exposed territory. it's rugged territory. the fact that he went over a cliff or a rock, described by his climbing party, tells us that he might have taken a fall. we don't know how far he might have fallen, and so once again, his condition is unknown, and it's unfortunate, but with the darkness last night, one of the things we always considered is the safety of our rescuers. we wanted to get as many people off the mountain as we could, but keep our rescuers safe. >> okay. >> therefore we had to suspend operations with darkness last night. >> all right. jackie skaggs, thank you so much this morning for giving us this information on this developing story. thank you. also in the news this morning, the house is voting today on a bill that extends jobless benefits for millions of americans whose unemployment checks have run out. the senate passed the bill on wednesday and president obama has promised to sign it as soon as it reaches his desk. overseas markets are mostly lower following wednesday's 109-point drop for the dow. cnbc's erin burnett is at the new york stock exchange. erin, federal reserve chairman ben bernanke rattled investors with his assessment of the economy yesterday. >> he sure did, ann. ben bernanke confirmed some of america's fears. when he talked about the economy he called the outlook quote unquote, unusually uncertain. interesting choice of words. and some of the toughest words he had about the jobs market. he called it the worst jobs market since the great depression and said it would take a significant amount of time to get back the 8.5 million jobs lost over the past two years. those words cast a shadow over what has been some very good earnings news from corporate america. 80% of companies thus far have done much better than expected. the latest today, ebay and continental airlines. still those words from the fed chief adding to fears that it's going to take a lot longer to get out of this slowdown than anybody thought. >> erin burnett, thank you so much. and things are looking up for five americans while pelicans that were injured before the bp oil spill, but then were trapped by the oil. they had a checkup wednesday at their new home at a zoo in chicago. let's go back to meredith, matt and al. always go that direction. >> all right, ann, thanks very much. hey, connecticut, parts of lon >> things are pretty quiet here at home. we had some rain last night. don't expect to rain on your morning commute. 20% or 30% chance of a thunderstorm this aftern >> and that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al, thanks very much. as al just mentioned a storm churning in the tropics this morning has crews working on the disaster in the gulf preparing to temporarily evacuate. but there are some people still hard at work. nbc's kerry sanders is in the gulf on the deck of a ship that's about to launch a submarine that will be used to track oil beneath the surface. kerry, good morning to you. >> well, good morning, matt. i'm on the aft deck of the stuart johnson. it's a research vessel from florida atlantic university as well as from noaa. are here to actually deploy once again this submarine. that's a four-man submersible. it will go into the water, and what they're looking for is evidence of oil. for the past 12 days, scientists have submerged 20 times. two to three dives a day, to depths of 1800 feet, into an underwater geography known to few, like the sticky ground. here, deep in the gulf of mexico, were moray eels, rare glass sponges, and leatherback turtles, there is cautious optimism. so far, the marine biologists on this mission have found no visible signs of oil. you haven't seen a large underwater plume of oil? >> thankfully. >> what about those little microscopic pieces of oil floating in the gulf? >> we haven't seen those yet. and those are very hard to detect. >> to determine if specks of oil, too small to see without a mass spectrometer, have spread this far, the submersible and another unmanned collection container are gathering water samples at various depths. and they're harvesting sponges, because living sponges are filter feeders, pumping hundreds of gallons of water a day. >> so by taking some samples of many of the sponges at the sites, we may be able to determine if they're concentrating any small amounts of oil and/or dispersants. >> the reason oil may come here, the so-called loop current, which is an undersea highway. ocean experts say the leaking oil that never came to the surface caught in that current could wind up hundreds, even thousands of miles away. that's why the harbor branch oceaneographic team is working with the federal government to get what they believe is a "before" picture of the gulf. it's what scientists call a baseline. so if oil shows up, the government will be able to force bp to clean up the damage, even here, where few people have ever ventured. >> what we're doing is the before. we're finding out what this ecosystem is like right now, before any impact, so that if there is an impact later on, you can compare the before and the after so that these quote unquote offending parties can restore that ecosystem back to the way it was before the offense occurred. >> mission number 21 deploys shortly and i'm going to be sitting right in that seat right to the right there in the front of the submersible. we're going to go down to about 300 feet. at times this sub goes down to 3,000 feet. >> kerry, just a question, are you at all claustrophobic? >> i don't think i'm claustrophobic. i guess i'll find out. but i don't think so. >> i think that's something the other three people in the sub might want to know right now. kerry, good luck to you, all right? we'll check in with you. >> thank you. >> okay. coming up an emotional hearing tied to the murder of aspiring actress julianna redding. was a man she dated behind the alleged murder for hire plot? but first, this is "today" on nbc. just ahead, would you have liked to have been on this boat? a couple too close for comfort encounter with a 40-ton whale. >> the answer is no. we're going to talk with them exclusively. but first these messages and a check of your local news and weather. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. time to get it quick check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> we e tracking a few problems. northbound on 795, watch for a vehicle fire there. you might find some delays and lane closures. looking at delays around the area, all that volume coming into play now. this is backing up traffic on southbound 795. but of a delay on southbound j.f.x. just south of the beltway, 40 miles per hour. if you are going to travel on the northeast side in the out of it, slow down from belair towards providence. 16 minutes is your slow spot on the west side outer loop. it will take you that long to get through that stretch. not that bad on the north side or the inner loop. here is the correct life looked outside. things are backing a pretty heavily from the beltway towards west nursery road. we can switch to a live view of old court on the west side. heavy volume-related delays this morning. tony has a check on the forecast. >> we had rained around last night. things are quiet now. no precipitation for the morning commute. 77 at the airport. 74 degrees and cockeysville. a mixture of sunshine and a few clouds. it will be a little less humid than yesterday. still a slight chance for a storm in the forecast. high temperatures between 90 and 95. upper 90s to around 100 on saturday. 30% chance for a thunderstorm each day. best chance for rain on sunday. this will break the heat. high temperatures in the 80's. >> check the bottom of your >> check the bottom of your screen for updated he inherited a $1.7 billion budget deficit... then an economic crisis. but martin o'malley went to work. cutting $5 billion in waste and government spending, while also making opportunities for middle class families a priority. freezing college tuition four years in a row, record investments in our schools, and tax credits for small businesses to create jobs. while other states are still struggling, martin o'malley is making the tough choices... to move maryland forward. 7:30 now on a thursday morning. 22nd day of july, 2010. nice morning to be lined up out on the plaza. temperatures a little more on the mild side. humidity down a little bit. just temporary, though. going back up again tomorrow. tomorrow john mayer comes to our plaza as part of our summer concert series in our 8:30 half hour. grammy award winner will light it up. a lot of people in the area, these folks, they should stick around for the show tomorrow morning. meanwhile, inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira. just ahead an incredible photo that's making headlines around the world. a whale watcher captured this image of the whale leaping from the water next to a sailboat. now it leapt out of the water next to the sailboat but eventually landed on that sailboat. it crushed parts of the boat. luckily the couple on board escaped unharmed. i look at this photo here and i think why didn't the whale, if we can put the photo back up, why didn't the whale pick on the big boat in the background? we're going to talk to the couple that was on board exclusively. >> it knew it could take the sailboat. also some other images getting a lot of attention. plus size model crystal wren say recent photos of her were retouched to make her appear much thinner than she actually is and she is fighting mad about it. this morning she's here to speak out about the controversy. >> and it now has a remarkable 500 million users but who actually owns the rights to the multibillion dollar empire that is facebook? we'll tell you about a new fight brewing over that. >> but we're going to begin this half hour with new details in the murder of aspiring actress and model julianna redding who prosecutors claim was the victim of a murder for hire plot. nbc's kristen welker is in los angeles with the latest. good morning to you. >> good morning to you, meredith. prosecutors weighed out some of their case in a los angeles courtroom to try to keep their prime suspect, kelly sue park, behind bars. they say she was part of a california doctor's plot to have his ex-girlfriend killed. >> was a crime of passion, in fact it was a crime of dispassion. it was cold, it was calculated -- >> reporter: during a heated hearing, prosecutors tried to increase the bail of 44-year-old kelly sue park. they say she is dangerous, and responsible for killing 21-year-old julianna redding two years ago. park has already been charged with murder for the crime. >> kelly park's dna was on julianna redding's coat. her dna was on julianna redding's clothing. >> reporter: in 2008, redding, an aspiring actress was starting to make her mark in hollywood. she landed a small role in an independent movie. showed up in a music video. and was named one of maxim magazine's hometown hotties. things were looking up for redding, until the night a murderer knocked on the door of her apartment. >> julianna redding's body was badly beaten, there was a terrible cut on her foot, and she had been strangled so fiercely that a bone in her neck was crushed. >> reporter: according to prosecutors, it was all a part of a murder-for-hire plot. they say the person behind it was this man, dr. uweda, who had been called a person of interest, but who recently left the country for business, according to his attorney, who will not disclose his location. the doctor is a spinal surgeon who specializes in workman's comp injury cases at clinics like this one in the san fernando valley. prosecutors say uweda had paid park more than $300,000, including a $113,000 payment just last month. an attorney for park says she was acting as his real estate broker and earning big commissions on her sales. >> -- that he had a quote female james bond, a woman that he could rely on to take care of business. >> reporter: so what was his motive? investigators believe dr. uweda dated julianna redding for a short time, and also had a business deal with redding's father, but her father backed out of the deal days before the murder. lawyers for the accused hit woman say park is not involved in. >> this is a defendant who has no prior record of any crime. >> reporter: park's lawyer also says the murder of a beautiful model just doesn't fit the profile of a professional hit. >> this homicide, from what i've seen, far from bearing the earmarks of being some sort of contract killing or assassination killing or sending a message killing, looks to me like a rage killing. >> reporter: now, after hearing arguments, the judge agreed to raise park's bail from $1 million to $3.5 million. she has already pleaded not guilty, but prosecutors are still concerned that dr. uweda will try to pay for park's freedom and find a way to get her out of the country. all after what prosecutors say was a late-night meeting between two strangers that ended with a promising young actress dead. meredith? >> all right, kristen welker thank you, very much. and now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> thanks, meredith. and the heat wave continues throughout a good portion of the country. you take a look from missouri, iowa, all the way down to parts of the carolinas and louisiana. we've got heat warnings and heat advisories. temperatures anywhere from 5 to 10 degrees above normal. afternoon highs today will reach up into the upper 90s all the way down to dallas to tallahassee up to washington, d.c. and new york city, and the rest of the country, the really only cool spot the northern plains, the pacific northwest and northern new england. >> we are off to a nice, quiet start after rain last night. it will be dry for the morning commute. chance for a thunderstorm this afternoon >> that's your latest weather. you want to check your weather any time of the day or night go to the weather channel on cable or go to the new weather.com. matt? >> all right, al, thanks very much. now to a couple in south africa with a whale of a story to tell. literally. take a look at this photo. ralph and paloma westerner were on their sailboat when a whale crash landed on the deck of their sailboat. they're with us exclusively. paloma is in cape town, south africa, ralph is joining us by phone. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> good morning, america. >> almost. paloma, let me start with you. i just want to go over something that we are hearing a lot of questions about. is this photo legitimate? there's been no photo shopping of this image or anything like that? >> it is definitely legitimate. we were on the boat and we saw the whale coming out, and we saw it. it's legitimate. it hasn't been photo shopped. >> all right, you guys were doing a little whale watching. i understand you had been following one whale for about an hour or so. you cut your engines so that you could be more quiet. did you follow all protocol? i mean, was there any fear on your part, paloma, that perhaps you were getting too close to this whale? first of all, we didn't cut the engines, we actually were sailing, so we didn't have the engine on, and we were not following the whale. we saw it about 400 meters away from us, and it was slipping its tail into the water, so we just watched it, and, no. we were not following it. we were just watching it. >> ralph, the image that is breathtaking is the one that we're looking at right now. i don't know if you can see it but it's the image of the whale actually coming out of the water, i mean right next to the sailboat, and what always gets me when i see that image, i go back to it, is look how close you were to this whale. i mean you were at the whole wheel of this boat. what were your thoughts when you saw this thing coming out of the water? >> well, you must remember that that was the third and final breach of this particular whale. the first time it breached about 400, 500 meters away from us. and a few seconds later it came up again halving that distance. and it seemed as though it would not be -- we would not be on a collision course. you must remember, we were not under power, we were under sail and we were at right angles to this whale. and i never for a minute thought this thing would hit the boat at all. i thought, if anything, our previous experience had been that whales actually dive under and, you know, come up on the other side of the boat at some stage. because we have a lot of whales. and blow me down, suddenly i saw this huge monster shape come up out of the water on my port side and yeah, that's it. i mean, it just happened in an instant. it was quite frightening. i had barnacles because they have lots of barnacles on them. and there was lots of skin, about a centimeter thick, but no blood and no blubber. so clearly it just had -- it was bruised and so on, and then slipped back. >> well, i just am amazed that the boat did not sink, which is very fortunate for the two of you. obviously this photo taken by a whale watcher a short distance away. it is certainly getting an awful lot of play all around the world. we're happy the two of you are okay this morning. >> yeah, no. we were very fortunate. >> it was an awesome experience. we wouldn't want to repeat it, but >> i can imagine, nobody would want to go through it again. ralph morrison and pal ohm yeah werner, thank you very much. first of all, it's a little difficult. we had people in different parts of the country there. but, i mean, if you're the guy standing at the wheel -- >> because -- >> you're probably not going to wear that outfit. that is a tough experience. >> yeah. >> it's one angry whale. i don't know what -- >> i don't think so. curious. apparently the whale had surfaced, he thought it would go underneath and sure enough, no. >> well, they're both lucky, that's for sure. >> up next, the most unlikely candidate for u.s. senator we've ever come across. we're going to hear from him. we are back at 7:43 with south carolina's surprising democratic candidate for u.s. senate. al vin greene won his primary without campaigning. nbc's ron mott is in south carolina with more on that. ron, good morning to you. >> reporter: meredith, good morning to you. alvin greene literally came out of nowhere to win this nomination last month and he did so without making a single stump speech. over the weekend, though, he broke his silence at this school behind me and now says he's ready to tell the people of south carolina why he should be their next senator. he's running as the quintessential outsider. yet suddenly, if not remarkably, finds himself very much part of the "in" crowd. fielding calls from media outlets around the country, all trying to find out who in the world isal vin greene? an unemployed and unlikely 32-year-old who is now the democratic candidate for the u.s. senate in south carolina. >> i really want to just make sure that i get my message across to folks. and i'm the best candidate in this united states senate race in south carolina, and that i have real plans for jobs, education and justice. >> reporter: all this follows greene's stunning democratic primary victory in june. >> hard work. >> reporter: but you did no work. stunning because greene held no rallies, ran no ads, and gave no speeches until his first this past weekend. >> my campaign is about getting south carolina and america back to work. >> reporter: greene put up the $10,000 filing fee to run himself and somehow beat an established politician, winning name recognition that most newcomers like him can only dream about. despite his unlikely success, the democratic party here has largely shunned him. >> they're coming around. they are supporting me. they just slowly coming around. >> reporter: but republican jim dementhe has little to fear says one analyst. >>al vin greene has absolutely no chance of winning this seat and there are very few democrats in the state of south carolina that would have any chance of winning this seat. >> reporter: don't tell that to greene, whose political aspirations have been building for years. >> this is a president collect from washington to nixon. >> reporter: presidential figurines have lined the book shelf in the family den ever since he was a boy. his political science degree a decade ago lines a nearby wall. >> i thought about this for awhile now as a soldier in the army. >> reporter: but for as much of a novice as he is, greene is adept at staying on message, no matter the question. the murky reason behind his military discharge after 13 years? >> we need justice in the army, and the united states and the air force, too. >> reporter: his pending felony obscenity charge? >> it goes back to my issues of jobs, education and justice. >> reporter: then there's the matter of his ideas. a minor league baseball team had hand shaking and a little fun about greene's proposal to create green jobs by making alvin greene action figures. >> we have to reclaim my country from the terrorists and communists. >> reporter: look at everything happening in the world, he adds to that one. >> we can't let my opponent keep this country hostage, and i have real plans for jobs, education, and justice, and my opponent has nothing. >> reporter: if nothing else, his opponent and the voters in south carolina, are ready for a most unusual race. >> you got my vote. >> i don't feel like he's really, really qualified. >> reporter: well, republican jim deminute is well out in front in the polls and in the money, but alvin greene remains undeterred saying this race will be about the issues and not about money. >> all right, ron mott, thank you very much. up next, could the founder of facebook be forced to give up 84% of the world's most popular social networking site? that brewing battle right after this. @p@p@0@pjú facebook has now reached a major milestone. the social networking site now has more than 500 million members worldwide. that's more than the population of the u.s., mexico and france combined. but a big battle is now brewing over who actually owns it. here's cnbc's scott cohen. >> reporter: half a billion friends. >> it's an exciting milestone for the facebook community. >> reporter: but facebook founder mark zuckerberg also has enemies. the social networking site is one of the most popular destinations on the web, turning zuckerberg into a bona fide media mogul. but two weeks ago while zuckerberg attended a meeting of fellow media moguls in sun valley idaho, he was hit by a lawsuit by upstate new york businessman paul seglia who claims he is the rightful owner of 84% of facebook, a business, that by one estimate, is worth as much as $35 billion. paul arjenierrri is his attorney. >> i can offer to mr. zuckerberg himself personally or any of his attorneys, i'd be happy to show him the original contract. >> reporter: according to the lawsuit, zuckerberg signed this contract in 2003, when he was a freshman at harvard, calling for seglia to pay zuckerberg $1,000 for some computer programming and another $1,000 for controlling interest in a new website zuckerberg was working on called the facebook. but on abz zuckerberg disputed the document. >> we're quite sure that we did not sign a contract that says that they have any right to ownership over facebook. >> reporter: a facebook spokesman says the contract may have been forged, which seglia's attorney denies. last year the new york attorney general sued seglia for fraud involving a wood fuel business. it's not the first time someone's tried to get a piece of mark zuckerberg, who is just 26 years old. three former harvard classmates sued him in 2007, claiming he stole their idea. the case settled out of court last month, for a reported $65 million. >> you guys invented the facebook? >> reporter: this fall a movie about facebook is unlikely to paint a flattering picture. >> he stole our website. >> they're saying we stole the facebook -- >> i know what it says. >> so did we? >> reporter: those who follow the company say it goes with the territory. >> it is the social network right now. there is no viable competitor. really, i guess the only way to break into the chain is to either work with facebook or try and get a piece of it somehow. >> reporter: even with more than 500 million friends, it can be lonely at the top. for "today," scott cohn, cnbc, new york. >> just ahead, the plus-size model who's furious over her pictures being retouched. >> we're going to talk to her after your local news and a look at your weather. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. time for another check of the morning commute with sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> we are dealing with normal volume-related delays now. northbound 795 dealing with of the local fire past owings mills. watch for that possibly blocking the land there. another one at crescent street at route 40. 30 miles per hour on southbound 795. once you get on to the beltway on the north side, 26 miles per hour. 22 on the west side outer loop. that begins approaching 795 and that is backing up traffic on southbound 795. so far so good on eastbound i- 70. 17 minutes on the west side. a six-minute ride once you get to the first leg. looksr tunnel good, too. southbound 295 is backed up from the beltway out to west nursery road. typical volume-related delays there. since situation on the west side outer loop. taney as a check on the weather. >> things are quiet on this thursday morning. rained last night has dissipated. we expect a dry morning commute. it is 81 at the airport, 71 in parkton. forecast for today is a mixture of sunshine and a few clouds. a little less humid than yesterday. still a slight chance for a thunderstorm for this afternoon. high temperatures between 90 and 95. the real heat over the next couple of days. upper 90s to around 100 on saturday. it should cool off early next week. >> check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information. we're back at 8:25 with another live update. he inherited a $1.7 billion budget deficit... then an economic crisis. but martin o'malley went to work. cutting $5 billion in waste and government spending, while also making opportunities for middle class families a priority. freezing college tuition four years in a row, record investments in our schools, and tax credits for small businesses to create jobs. while other states are still struggling, martin o'malley is making the tough choices... to move maryland forward. eight clock now on this thursday morning, july 22nd, 2010. we have a fabulous crowd in rockefeller plaza. waving at loved ones back home. tomorrow they should come back because john mayer will be here, live on the plaza. i'm meredith vieira along with matt lauer and al roker. coming up, a plus-size model. take a look at this picture. it looks okay, right? well, not to her. she says the photo was doctored, it is retouched and she's furious about it because she is a plus-size model. she doesn't like that that was done. we're going to talk to her about it. >> okay. also ahead, between lessons and practices, and then games, how much is too much time for kids to be involved in sports? and how do you know if it's actually starting to interfere with time with the family? we're going to different into that and talk to one family who finally said enough is enough. >> and they're not your daughter's jeans but they're not quite mom jeans either. how to find the right pair of denim for the mature woman. >> that would be me we're talking about. >> i aspire to wear mom jeans. >> by the way, you're not that mature. >> stop it. don't you laugh. >> he just means that you're youthful. >> that's exactly what he meant. let's get a check of the hour's top stories from ann curry at the news desk. >> all right, meredith, thank you so much. good morning once again, everybody. on this broadcast this morning, the agriculture department employee forced to resign by the obama administration this week said that she would like to speak to the president about what happened. shirley sherrod was accused of racism after a conservative website posted an ed itted video of her comments on race relations, which allowed them to be taken out of context. sherrod has now received apologies from the white house and the agriculture secretary tom vilsack. speaking to meredith earlier this morning sherrod was asked if she feels she deserves an apology from president obama? >> i think i do. >> you do? >> mm-hmm. >> an apology? >> well, you know, he is the president of the united states of america. i've received the apologies that are important. i really would not want the president to apologize to me. i would love to have a conversation with him, though. >> sherrod also said at this point she doesn't think she will accept the new job offer from the agriculture department, but she has yet to see the offer. 2.5 million americans whose unemployment checks have run out could start receiving them again as early as next week. that's because the senate passed the bill wednesday restoring benefits to people who've been out of work for at least six months. president obama is ready to sign this bill after a final vote by the house today. republicans are already talking about repealing that sweeping financial reform bill signed into law by president obama on wednesday. while the president says the law will further watch practices on wall street, republicans say it will hurt small banks and the businesses that rely on them. after saying for 18 months that he would clear his name on the witness stand, former illinois governor rod blagojevich did not take the stand at his federal corruption trial, and the defense rested wednesday without calling a single witness. nbc's john yang is at the white house in chicago with more on this story. john, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. that was supposed to be the big moment, rod blagojevich on the stand in his own defense. but this morning, this trial is essentially over, not with a bang, but with a whimper. for 18 months, it was rod blagojevich's mantra. >> i expect to be fully vindicated and clear my name. i can't wait to take the stand and testify and get the truth out. every day goes by i get closer to taking that stand myself. i will prove my innocence and i will testify. >> reporter: but when the time came for his highly anticipated testimony, he decided it wasn't such a good idea after all. >> i've learned a lot of lessons from this whole experience and perhaps maybe the biggest lesson i've learned is that i talk too much. >> reporter: defense lawyers didn't call any witnesses at all. they say prosecutors didn't prove their case that blagojevich tried to trade president obama's senate seat for personal gain. that means the only thing jurors will hear from the former illinois governor is from secret fbi wiretaps. >> i've got this thing, and if [ bleep ] golden, and i'm just not giving it up [ bleep ]. >> out of his own mouth came these damning words, with no explanation from him in court. that's devastating. >> reporter: blagojevich said he wanted to take the stand, but was convinced not to by his father's own defense team, which itself was split. it simply came down to an argument between an old bull and a young toad and the old bull won. >> reporter: jurors will be back here at the federal courthouse on monday for closing arguments, and then they'll retire to decide the fate of rod blagojevich. ann? >> all right, john yang this morning. john, thanks. opponents of arizona's new immigration law get their day in court today. a federal judge in phoenix will hear two lawsuits seeking to block the law from taking into effect next week. one says the law are promote racial profiling. the judge hasn't said when she will make her ruling. forecasters say a storm in the caribbean will likely move into the gulf of mexico over the weekend. teams working on the ruptured oil well in the gulf are taking precautions, bringing their efforts to a near standstill until the storm passes. it's the first for latin america. argentina's president cristina fernandez signed a new law on wednesday legalizing same-sex marriage. the first ceremony is set for august 13th. and now here's britain williams with what's coming up on "nbc nightly news." hey, brian. >> hey, ann, good morning. a month ago you may recall we reported on a big oyster processing plant that shut down because of the oil in the gulf. the employees who've lost their livelihoods, a lot of our viewers responded, and we have some good news in our "making a difference" segment for folks tonight. that's tonight on "nightly news." we'll look for you then. ann, for now, back to you. >> all right, brian, that's terrific news. it is now 8:06. let's go get a check of the weather from al. >> thanks, ann. we got a big family reunion. what's the family reunion? >> 150 of us. >> 150 of you? >> yes. >> where are all the guys? the men are at the hotel! probably getting some peace and quiet. let's check your weather, see what's going on. no dummies there. san antonio, texas, news 4, scattered showers and thunderstorms. 92 degrees. as you take a look, we've got some showers along the gulf coast of texas. keeping an eye on that disturbance. that's going to mean some rain coming in for florida. with the strong storms from northern indiana all the way back to the dakotas. some clouds in the pacific northwest. high surf in southern california. showers through the southwest and showers in northern new >> we are off to a nice, quiet start this thursday. a little less humid than yesterday. 20% or 30% chance of a 20% or 30% chance of a thunderstorm this >> and we've got some cuties out here. what's happening? >> well, today is the farmer's insurance be a hero for babies day which supports the march of dimes mission. give all families, healthy full-term babies. so basically everyone text 0222, donate $5 so we can all have healthy babies. >> mr. roker, thank you very much. when we come back the plus-size model who was upset because some of her photos were doctored to make her look thinner. we'll talk to her right after these messages. get flawless skin, even in harsh, unflattering light. revlon photoready™ makeup. revlon's photoready™ formula bends and reflects light to help diffuse every flaw. revlon photoready™ makeup. find your perfect light. that makes everything taste better. maybe it's cooking over an open flame. or the juicy beef franks on a delicious bun fixed up just the way you like them. well, whatever it is, you can enjoy more of it with walmart's guaranteed unbeatable prices on all your cookout favorites. ♪ save money. live better. walmart. ♪ with fries, starting at just $5.99. like the rojo burger. for a little more, enjoy the new avocado burger. the perfect burger with fries, starting at just $5.99. and now get chili's to-go with new online ordering. have you tried honey bunches of oats yet? every spoonful is a little different. mmm. they got three kinds of flakes. this is delicious. it's the perfect combination of sweet and crispy. i love it. this is so good. this is great. the magic's in the mix. you took my eggs ! it's an "egg management fee." what does that even mean ? egg management fee. even kids know it's wrong to take other people's stuff. that's why at ally bank we offer rates among the most competitive in the country that won't get eaten away by fees. it's just the right thing to do. that won't get eaten away by fees. fancy feast created a wayhat to celebrate any moment. fancy feast appetizers. simple high quality ingredients like wild alaskan salmon, white meat chicken, or seabass and shrimp in a delicate broth, prepared without by-products or fillers. fancy feast appetizers. celebrate the moment. model chrisal renn has always celebrated her full-figured curves so when she realized that recent photos of her had been retouched to make her look thinner she was less than thrilled. we're going to talk to her in a moment, but first msnbc's tamron hall has the details. >> good morning, meredith. the second those photos of crystal were altered to transfer her from a size 10 to a size 2, a plus-size controversy was ignited. at a size 10, model crystal renn has a full-sized career, posing for top designers, appearing on magazine covers. a poster model for real women everywhere. in may, she spoke about it on "today." >> i've never let my size define me. i came into this, and i said, i'm going to be a model. i'm never going to let my size stop me. i just am. and i think that's the most important thing. and i think that's a really positive message. >> reporter: but in these new photos the proud plus-size model appears surprisingly thin. turns out the pictures, taken for an ad campaign, had been retouched. here's a videotape of crystal from the set, looking full-figured. but in the public photos, she's super skinny. >> the retouching issue has always been around in the fashion industry. it's always a matter of how extreme certain places take it. >> reporter: in the new issue of "people" crystal says she's had enough. the plus-size beauty opens up about her own battle with anorexia and bulimia and says retouched photos like these send the wrong message to young women. >> she's known as a full-figured model and she also suffers from an eating disorder. she overcame that seven years ago and the last thing she wanted to do was have anybody think that either she had relapsed or she's falling under industry pressure. >> reporter: as for the photographer, nicolas ralston, he makes no apologies, saying on his blog, the minimal retouching that i did do, it's nothing you wouldn't see in any magazine today. there's nothing hidden about this. >> of course crystal is not the only celebrity who's been given a digital diet on magazine covers, it's happened to singer kelly clarkson and academy award winning actress kate winslet. >> tamron hall, thank you very much. crystal is with us. ladies, good morning to you. >> thank you. >> crystal, just to be honest, when you walked into the studio, people looked at you and said, she's not a plus-size model. you have lost some weight, right? >> yes, i absolutely have. i basically started an exercise routine after seven years of being in recovery, i thought it was a great time as ever to start taking care of myself. and by introducing exercise back into my life. it was a time where eight hours in a day of hard, grueling exercise, you know, was normal. and i think that i'm in a place now where i think i can do it in a healthy way and i think that's really important. >> so but you do consider yourself still at this point a plus-size model? >> yes. because the thing is, is what the industry thinks is plus, and what the public thinks is plus is, you know, different things. and that's why we get all the confusion. and oftentimes anger. because i am plus what the norm is. you know, what i do is basically, you know, you can be a size 8 all the way up to a 20. and that offers a lot of freedom because i'm finding, you know, in my personal life even but even through other girls who have told me their stories, women fluctuate. and with what i do i can fluctuate as opposed to what i had to be before. >> so, let's look at these photos. they were taken for a charity that funds art, fashion to fashion. when you first saw them, what did you think? >> well, when i first saw the pictures i have to say i was absolutely shocked. i think i sat in silence for a good five minutes because i knew nothing of the pictures. so when i was looking at the computer screen, that's not what i saw. so i was absolutely shocked and i don't think it's an accurate portrayal of my body in any way. i'm a size 10, and that is more like a size 2. >> and that's a picture of you after the fact sflp >> question yes. >> the photographer said he had some retouching done but that's normal. he also says it was minimal, and that he used a wide lens and he shot, i guess it was from above that makes you look slimmer. that's just the nature of the business. >> absolutely. i think that, you know, you can have all of those things and you would get an image like that. i think that i'm known for my body, i'm proud of my body. and i absolutely understand a reasonable amount of retouching, if you want to smooth things out. but to change my body completely, and i think that that's not me. that's not what i'm about, that's not my message. >> so it's about the message, really? >> yes. >> you're concerned about what young girls looking at that picture, maybe even some of those who might be dealing with anorexia right now might think? >> yes, because i don't want them to think that my message isn'ted same. that i think only being thin is the only way to be beautiful. beauty is not a pants size. and that's what i'm about. and i think that it's about what i have to say. and how i live my life. which is in a healthy way, i believe, for me. and i think that's the most important thing. and i want them to know i'm healthy. >> this caused quite a controversy on the blogs. in your own blog you said it's mass hysteria. what were people saying? why were they so hysterical about this? >> i would hope there was at least some legitimate concern for crystal's health. but i think mostly people felt maybe a sense of betrayal before they knew that the pictures had been retouched. i think that women have so few role models to look up to, public, widely accepted role models who portray beauty outside of something like this very narrow norm, they felt if now she clearly thinks that she needs to be skinny to be beautiful, i'm going to have to do that, too. that said, if crystal decides to lose weight in a healthy way, that's her prerogative, she doesn't deserve to have people jumping all over her because of it. >> except she's become the poster child for plus size. >> which i'm proud of. i'm super proud of this. i want to inform people that this is an option for models and for people to find role models to look up to. you know, there's freedom in what i do. and i'm -- it's something i'm very proud of. plus size, some people scoff at the name but i think, you know, it's amazing to even be a part of the whole thing. what i think would end the confusion if we just call each other, all the models just models. no more straight size. no more plus size. because i think it's like us grens them. them against us. and that is absolutely not the way that women should look at each other. and i think if we did something like that, and that's where i'm going. that's where my message is going. i want to get rid of titles. because they demean women and there's no need for them. >> so just to wrap this up you are not losing weight because you're feeling pressure from the industry now to -- >> oh, absolutely not. no. it's funny, because people -- i either keep running into for work, don't you lose any weight. you know, that's carl lagger field and cindy levi, who is fantastic. it's great that you know you have these wonderful people supporting you. >> crystal, nice to see you again. >> nice to see you. >> thank you. nice to see you. and up next, what you should do when your kid's sport times cut into family times. we're going to tell you right after this. on monday, mary likes yellow. tuesday mary likes red. on wednesday mary likes orange. on thursday, pink. on friday mary likes green. on saturday mary likes blue. and on sunday, mary wonders what she'll like next. [ male announcer ] anything mayo can do we can do bolder. ♪ the choice is yours. are you up for some sandwich kicking flavor? are you miracle whip? ♪ cone 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. now, get 0% apr for 60 months on a 2010 traverse with an average finance savings of around fifty seven hundred. see your local chevy dealer. where? it's really good. do you see it? it's called hope. hope? yeah. hope. i don't see any hope. i don't see any hope in here. you can't see it there, but you can see it here... 'cause every time you get a happy meal or a mighty kids meal some of the money goes to ronald mcdonald house charities. to help lots of kids and families. hope's good! happy meals. the simple joy of helping. ♪ [ female announcer ] kids who don't eat breakfast may not be getting the nutrition they need to keep their bodies strong. a nutritious start to the day is essential. that's why carnation instant breakfast essentials supplies the nutrients of a balanced breakfast. so kids get the protein and calcium they need to help build strong muscles and healthy bones. ♪ carnation instant breakfast essentials. good nutrition from the start. they used to spend hours on the couch, carnation instant breakfast essentials. watching t.v., playing video games. and with all you hear about childhood obesity, i was concerned. now i take a more active role in their health like insisting on lots of play time and making sure they eat right. like when i make burgers i use lean jennie-o ground turkey. i'm proud i got them off the couch. well, sort of. anncr: be well... with all the great tasting ways to eat lighter. only from jennie-o. this morning on parenting "today," family people between soccer, baseball, swim team, kids are busier than ever. so one california family featured in "the wall street journal" decided to do something about it. >> we have three boys, ages 18, 16 and 8, and they're active in all kinds of sports. water polo, lacrosse, basketball, soccer, you name it. >> travis started playing on a basketball team, which is his primary love. by the time he hit 10th grade this past year it was just all-consuming. in addition to playing on the school basketball team he wanted to keep going after the season was over and playing on an aa club team. pretty much lasts for six, nine months. i can't even remember. and you travel all over the place. when we realized the incredible commitment that would go way past the basketball season, way outside of our own town, much less area code, it just didn't seem like a fit for us. we didn't want to sacrifice the other two kids for the sake of one kid. you're missing dinner together. you're missing what the other kids are doing. it really got to be out of balance, and balance is really what we would like. >> my concern is you're in school for academics, and your health is important and your family's important. you've got to be doing academics, personal health and family first. >> linda pierce is the editor in chief of "family circle" magazine. michelle borba is an educational psychologist and parenting expert and the author of "the big book of parenting solutions." good morning. >> good morning. >> this is balance that a lot of families are trying to keep but if your kids love sports, my kids love sports, what do you do, just take them away from them? >> no, you don't. and that was my family. that family mirrored my family. and it is very individual to families. if your kids are having fun, that's all that matters. if you decide that they're not having fun, if they start getting stressed about it, then you know it's too much. >> but what if one child is having fun excelling and traveling all over and it's detracting from the other kids and the family time they have. >> there you go. and that becomes the test in life. you've got three tests. one of them is the family test. is it interacting and really, the siblings, is it causing rivalry? the wallet test? is it too much of a drain? and most importantly the kid test. you've got to keep looking at that kid and making sure that there's still that glorious thing called passion. he loves it, and then keep going. >> what about skill level? okay? do you let your child get carried away, traveling all around the region, to play a sport, unless you take in real stock of whether that child has talent to go further in that sport? or does that not even matter? >> its shouldn't matter. first of all, you know how drastically different kids' growth rates are. so if you have a kid who is amazing at 12, chances are everyone else is going to catch up by the time they're 15 and 16. so that kind of doesn't matter. and also, keep in mind that less than 1% of kids make it to the pros, so that should never be the goal. >> matt, think about as a rubber band. what your whole goal is to stretch the kid from where they are, stretch, stretch, stretch without snapping. and the real goal as a parent is to make sure that the expectations are there. they're realistic, but that passion and that love is still there. >> the problem is, of course, that a lot of parents live vicariously through their kids and they want this more than the kids. >> exactly. that's why you've got to keep checking your feet. are you standing behind your kid pushing or is your kid in front of you pulling? >> and the other thing real quickly is there are some great benefits to kids participating in individual and team sports. >> here's what you want. you want your kid to develop a lifelong love of fitness and health. okay? and that should be the ultimate goal. but here's the scary part is 70% of kids drop out of organized sports by the time they're 13. this is bad. and a lot of it has to do with overexcited parents. >> it's balance. it's all about balance. thanks very much, ladies. appreciate it. and just ahead, jeans that work with any body type. we're going to have that. but first, your local news and a look at your local forecast. >> 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. >>? some good news to report on at 795 towards owings mills. the local fire has been put out and cleared. once you get on to the beltway, inner loop and outer loop delays on the northwest corner there. perring parkway, watch for accident. heavy delays on the outer loop from belair road towards providence. cresson street at route 40, pulaski highway, watch for an accident clean-up. website checking in at 23 -- west side checking in at 23 miles per hour. 16 minutes is your drive time on the upper lip northeast side. 17 on the west side. harbor tunnel traffic looks good. we will switch to a live view of traffic and see what is going on if you are going to travel in the area of the bw parkway. heavy delays towards the west nursery road. live view of traffic in the area. west side looks pretty good. those delays are still in place. tony has a check on the forecast. >> we had ran aground last night, but most of the storms are gone. -- rain or around last night but most storms are gone. it should be smooth sailing this morning. so before any parkton. less humid than yesterday. 20% chance for a thunderstorm. most of you will have a dry day. high temperatures between 90 and 95. close to 100 degrees towards the beginning of the weekend. .> another update at 8:55 b 8:30 now on a thursday morning. it's the 22nd day of july, 2010. got a nice group of people here on the plaza. it's a pretty day. temperatures a little more manageable. humidity is down, and hopefully this kind of weather will last until tomorrow when we've got another great summer concert out here on the plaza. john mayer taking to our concert stage in our 8:30 half hour. come on down, check it out. check it out. out on the plaza i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira, al roker and ann curry. coming up in this half hour, one of our favorite segments from bow to wow. another group of dogs, some eclectic. they're in need of a new look and most importantly, new homes. and we're going to show you those dogs in just a little while and hopefully you'll pick up the phone and make them very happy courtesy of jill rappaport. >> are you going to call them? >> well, you don't call them directly. you call us and we put you in contact with the dogs. >> and every dog has been adopted so far. >> also coming up -- >> it is amazing. and jill does a great job. also, a woman may age going to look for jeans, to fit in, you just can't find ones that are right for you. >> what are you looking for? >> well, you're looking for -- you don't want the mom jeans but you can't wear your daughter's jeans anymore. but there are jeans that designers are designing for women my age, 50 and over, because we are the number one buyers of jeans in the country, believe it or not. >> and they're -- >> they are, great jeans for the older woman. >> you have a road trip this summer. are you doing that? >> oh, great. >> i'm taking a road trip. not with the kids, though. >> that's the best. >> are you? >> we are going to be doing it, and -- and -- and we've got some advice on, are we there yet? i'm bored. all that -- >> don't make me stop this car. >> anyway, we've got some advice on how to survive the family road trip. >> that's a great thing to do. also just really quickly, just say the science of spending is also coming up. but first we want to get a check of the weather. >> yes, we do. let's take a check ahead for the weekend. for saturday a risk of strong storms for the great lakes. sunny and hot out west, sizzling through the gulf coast. showers in new england. sunday -- sunday! -- more showers in morning. hit or miss showers and thunderstorms, hot in the pacific northwest through the great lakes, and some rain through the southwest. >> we are off to a nice, quiet start after rain last night. it will be dry for the morning commute. chance for a thunderstorm this afternoo >> and don't forget, check your weather any time of the day or night and find the right jeans for you, weather.com online or the weather channel on cable. >> okay. >> i'm itching, i think i have fleas. we have dogs here. from bow to wow coming up right after this. we're back now with our series "from bow to wow". this is a great idea where we take dogs from a shelter, clean them up and hopefully find them great new homes. our resident animal lover jill rappaport is here with this month's batch of dogs. >> you can only use one board for this batch, perfection. it's a potpourri, matt. we have all sorts from big to small, from puppies to adults, but they all have one thing in common, they are all magnificent. july animal care control of new york city brought us a spectacular array of canines. starting with ice. who is anything but. this warm-loving boy is a young, husky mix with his breed trademark, the incredible eyes. unbelievable to find this beautiful guy in a shelter. >> 2 1/2 years old, another stray. we rescued. >> look at these eyes. >> he'll do well outside a lot, you know, because he has a really thick coat. so, somebody that spends a lot of time outdoors, he'll be perfect for them. >> beautiful boy. ice, ice baby. from husky to petite. meet isabelle. a little jack russell, a little chihuahua, a lot of spunk. look at this little bundle of love. oh. >> 5-month-old chihuahua/jack russell mix. she was found in a park. >> reporter: even though she's little she's very energetic. she loves to kiss. there you go. and from miniature to major. meet beautiful bo. a puppy and a purebred to boot. unbelievable. 5-month-old purebred yellow lab. >> yep. >> reporter: and this is one of the most popular breezes. the sweetest dogs. great with kids. >> yep. >> reporter: why in the world would someone abandon this dog? >> i don't know. they actually bought him from the pet store and the owner said they had personal problems and couldn't care for him anymore. he's absolutely beautiful. >> reporter: yes, you do. look at the size of these paws. this is going to be a big boy. and last up, an irresistible schnauzer, who loves to snooze and schmooze. now this love bug's name is hampton. 4-year-old schnauzer. very sweet and playful and schnauzers are extremely intelligent. >> yep, they're intelligent. we don't get a lot of schnauzers in. >> reporter: considering he was abandoned you think he'd be much more timid. >> oh, no. >> reporter: actually, considering his name, i think he's meant for life on the beach. for dogs, all longing for a loving home. >> really cute. >> richard from animal care and control of new york city. hi, richard, good to see you. >> hi. >> i know you've got a lot of dogs in shelters at this time of year. but also you want families who are thinking of adopting to realize that while they have a lot of free time right now, they're going to get busy again in the fall. >> yep. you're on vacation, kids are home from school. when their schedules change come september they've got to remember they have their pet and their pet needs to be taken care of, walked and fed and everything, and make sure that they continue to be part of that family. >> all right. we've got four great dogs that we just mentioned. our first dog is eyes. let's take a look at ice's before picture and now meredith is going to bring ice out. now richard, this dog, does it have needs in terms of shouldn't be indoors? >> well, because of the breed he's really good in the cold weather, obviously. the cooler weather, but he needs a lot of exercise. he would be good in a home by himself. >> got the beautiful blue eyes. >> isn't he gorgeous? >> beautiful. >> how old again? >> he's 3 years old. >> 3 years old. beautiful. >> and meredith, thank you very much. nice job. way to control ice. our next door is hampton. of all the dogs, this dog probably needed the most trimming. so there's the before picture. and tamron hall is here to bring hampton out now. what do we need to know. >> hampton is a little rambunctious. going to need a little house training. it's interesting when you get into the home he likes to curl up on your lap and relax and becomes a lap dog. he's very excitable, very rambunctious. he's going to need a little bit of leash training. >> you don't see these all that often. >> no, you don't see these all that often. >> but very affectionate. you literally, when you pick him up, he's a great baby. >> tamron, thank you very much. all right next we have bo. let's put bo's picture up. purebred yellow lab. >> puppy. >> and now our page brittany, who by the way, got all gussied up for the occasion. brittany, hi, bo. >> bo is only 5 months old. you can see how big he is. he's going to need to be trained. he's losing his teeth now, so he needs a lot of chew toys for that teething. a lot of exercise, obviously. loves water like most labs. >> i'm actually surprised, richard, for a 5-month-old puppy, he's really -- >> lays down right on cue, huh matt? >> he's really good. sits on command now. >> he's so beautiful. >> oh, look at that. this is a great dog. >> oh. this is a great dog. >> obviously a lot of stage fright here. >> but again, can you believe the dogs that you can find at your shelter? incredible. >> brittany, nice job. thank you very much. appreciate it. and finally we've got little isabelle. let's take a look at isabelle at the shelter. she didn't need that much cleaning up, and we've got ann bringing isabelle out. richard, tell me about her. >> isabelle was also 5 months old. she is a terrier mix. she's a little timid at first but warms up really quickly. you'll find once you get to know her she'll follow you around a little bit. the other thing is she's very agile. a lot of terriers are. >> she's adorable. >> and not yappy. not yappy. all. >> quiet. >> not yappy at all. >> what are you doing? >> let's bring all the dogs back out. brittany come out, meredith, tamron, bring them all out and again, richard, we can adopt these dogs, find out more. meredith, control your dog. contact us. all right, richard, thank you very much. jill, thank you very much. ladies and gentlemen, always nice to see isabelle. we're going to have much more ahead on a thursday morning right after these messages. back at 8:44. this morning on our special series, 50, living it, loving it. not your daughter's jeans. along with bathing suits, bra shopping, the search for the perfect pair of denim is among the top three most hated retail experiences for women. today's style editor bobbie thomas has solutions for finding a compromise between those dreaded mom jeans and the teeny look. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> truth is, my age group are the number one purchasers of jeans. >> absolutely. >> we still love them but we can't find the right fit. finally designers are noticing us. >> yes, and i want to thank all the baby boomers out there for helping us feel more comfortable not only in our skin but in our denim. you can have style and stretch together because there has been this big gap and i do think that retailers are noticing, beyond somebody who is going to buy a rigid, slim, low-waisted pair in your 20s, no one wants to step out in an ugly mom jean, either. >> exactly. what are the body issues that we have to deal with, older women? >> after 30 your muscle mass decreases, your metabolism slows, and if you have children, you know, face it your hips expand, literally and won't move back. so there are biological issues that we have to just realize this is who we are. what i do love about the modern woman, especially the mature woman who is comfortable in her own skin, she is just demanding the comfort or she's not going to buy the jean. that's what's great. >> that's what's driving these new designs. >> absolutely. >> let's bring out our first look called the feel-good fit. our model is loreate. >> lorette looks like a supermodel to me. she has three children. one thing, she can't wear her daughter's jeans. her daughter is sheer with her today. she was saying the rise and especially the waistline for her. >> because it's so low. >> first the lowness but this has a very respectable rise. but inside the waist band is a hidden elastic waist band and this is the perfect waist by levi. it's pulling on it but it's smooth and comfortable. i always said muffin top existed because it had to. anyone who's going to put on a pair of nonstretch waist band, i don't care if you're 25, it's going to go somewhere. this is a really great option, you can have lunch and you're fine. >> so this is a great look. >> laura, thank you, that's adorable. >> next category is cut for curves. women with a lot of those, obviously, and our model is danielle. what is she wearing and what body parts to these jeans address? >> first danielle, she was just fantastic. she said i want everyone to know i'm a proud size 12, i'm wearing white denim. >> and she's got beautiful curves. >> and her backside, she really wanted to make sure she could bend over. this is c.j. by cookie johnson, magic johnson's wife. she's a beautiful woman and had real curves and wanted to design a collection that she felt fit and flattered a woman. >> how does it work? >> it has -- it's still a stylish cut but she added enough fabric to cover your rear and hips but it's still really great. pocket placement and all the designer details you would expect. >> thank you. that looks fantastic. now built-in support. that category. come on out, kathy. this is our model. >> again, gorgeous, what i love about these jeans they're $29.99 at macy's. this is style and co. . i have other friends who have pulled their jeans on over a foundation garment. that's uncomfortable. this has a built-in tummy control panel. and what's great is that it's the two in one and for under $30 i love this option at macy's. it's a fantastic, clean, basic boot cut that's going to be flattering on anyone. >> it looks fantastic. thank you very much, kathy. okay and our last category is called 360 stretch. our model is gloria. please come out. explain that name 360 stretch. >> gloria just celebrated her birthday. she is our top mama over 60. what's great is accent lycra is the buzz word. this brand new line henry and bell wanted to go after women with more realistic body shapes. a lot of demographics are turning to the extra lycra because it moves in four directions and recovers nice so it doesn't bag out. gloria loves this. i think she's a supermodel as well. but she has very small legs and a waistline she always had a hard time matching. this jean is going to stretch in just the right places for her. >> it looks fantastic. why bother to go into a jean, your daughter's jeans when you have these options? all the models come on out. >> absolutely. >> it's fantastic. all these jeans can we find them in normal retail stores? >> normal stores. levis are $40. i wanted to range from premium down to the basic. >> the days of 300 plus jeans are over? >> it's tough for this economy. >> yeah, it's ridiculous, too. for $29 you can't beat that. thank you so much, bobbi. thank you, ladies. we're back in a moment. this morning on "today's family," the summer reading slide. studies show that even a little reading over the summer break helps kids retain what they learned during the school year. so we asked some familiar faces for advice. on returning to school stronger than ever. school may be out but the focus on summer reading is in. who better than our resident al's book club kid critics sabrina, ava, spencer and miles, to tackle the issue of the summer reading slide. first stop, the new york public library. >> why do you think that it's important that kids should read overed summer? >> because it's a nine some none called summer slide. for every month that you don't read in the summer you lose most of the reading skills you just acquired at the end of your school year. >> reporter: many public libraries have summer reading programs which are great ways to keep up the good work. >> the library has a lot of things going on and i just wanted to know if things like this are going around the state and the country? >> yes. everybody should go to his or her public library to find out about their summer reading program. >> reporter: 5-year-old emma hook has become a master at reading. tackling 270 books last summer. winning tickets to a yankee game. >> what did your teacher think when you told her that you read 270 books last summer? >> she was impressed. >> did she give you a thumb's up? >> yes. >> i'm going to give you a thumb's up, too. >> how many books are goug read this summer? >> 100 million. >> whoa that's a big, big number. you really want to read that much? >> yeah. >> reporter: speaking of millions, there are tons of ways to keep reading a priority over the summer. >> they're never too old for you to read aloud. >> reporter: sarah piccard taylor is with the teacher's college reading and writing project at columbia university and tours schools around the country talking to parents like this one at p.s. 29 in brooklyn. >> my number one piece of advice is to create a ritual around reading in your own home. magazines like "highlights" or "cricket," those are fun magazines for them to get in the mail. getting kids into a series that they love will make them want to read one book after another after another. >> three options -- >> reporter: audio stories are also a great option. like "tales to go" created by william and tracy wyle. >> this is a way to get more literature in their life. you're on the go. >> it can be a family event in the car. moms and dads can listen too, and it can spark discussion. >> reporter: which is a great way to incorporate reading into your summer travel. >> bring along some things for the kids to read to help you almost plan the vacation. they could be reading museum maps, they could be reading the guide book. all that will keep them engaged in reading for a few minutes each day. >> hard sometimes to get your kids to read in the summer. >> yeah. what about that kid that ran -- read? >> 200 -- >> you're doing a little reading right now. >> what about this story about the british prime minister, david cameron, here in the united states, came to washington, then to new york, and flew business class commercial to get to the united states as opposed to a private plane, chartering a 747. >> i love it. >> i do, too. >> -- tighten to their belts so he's going to walk the walk here and do the same thing. saved what, $300,000? >> something like that. obviously had security issues. i mean they have to fly with security and that might pose a problem for some u.s. lawmakers, for example, the president. >> i don't think we're going to end up seeing that. >> i don't know if i want the president doing it. >> but he is the equivalent, though. he's britain's prime minister. >> what are you saying? >> i'm saying it would probably screw up the airport. >> i was talking about this yesterday on some other network and they were saying some people don't like the idea because these people are targets and they don't want -- >> you don't want to be on the plane with the prime minister of great britain? >> right. especially now when people are mad. >> just trying to make a polite cool statement because he's really -- he's considered to be a slash and burn prime minister in terms of what he's going to do with the budget. anyway, so we'll see what happens. >> all right. >> fly coach. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. i suspect is dead after a shootout with police at a pikesville hotel. baltimore county officials said the police were investigating a suspected counterfeit operation in the ramada inn. the three suspects fled the room just around midnight last night, opening fire on the officer. investigators said the police returned fire, killing one of the suspects and the other two were taken into custody. baltimore fire officials are trying to determine what caused two vehicles to go up in flames yesterday. they found the vehicles and a wooded area in the baltimore city county line around 6:15 wednesday morning. officials say it was so difficult to access the area because the vehicles that almost burned completely. no word of the cars were stolen or if it was a case of arson. >> now let's take a look at the forecast tony pann. >> we had rained last night that things are quiet at the present time. a smooth thursday morning commute going forward. 20% chance for a thunderstorm. high-temperature is between 90 and 95. real heat over the next couple of days. upper 90s to around 100 on saturday. it should cool off by the time we get to next week. >> we will have another update at 9:25.

Related Keywords

Louisiana ,United States ,Brooklyn ,New York ,Alaska ,Turkey ,Cape Town ,Western Cape ,South Africa ,California ,Washington ,District Of Columbia ,Reunion ,Connecticut ,Carolinas ,Chihuahua ,Mexico ,Arizona ,South Carolina ,Wyoming ,Iowa ,Hollywood ,Chicago ,Illinois ,Argentina ,Ronald Mcdonald House ,Florida ,Texas ,Indiana ,San Fernando Valley ,Georgia ,Columbia University ,San Antonio ,United Kingdom ,Idaho ,Phoenix ,Kelly Park ,Maryland ,Dallas ,France ,Americans ,America ,Alaskan ,Britain ,British ,American ,Cnbc Scott Cohen ,Stuart Johnson ,Ralph Morrison ,Scott Cohn ,David Cameron ,Cindy Levi ,Jack Russell ,Ben Bernanke ,John Mayer ,Jackie Skaggs ,Savannah Guthrie ,John Yang ,Cnbc Erin Burnett ,Meredith Vieira ,Sarah Caldwell ,Kristen Welker ,Erin Burnett ,Tracy Wyle ,Meredith Vieira Al Roker ,Matt Lauer ,Andrew Breitbart ,Chihuahua Jack Russell ,Kerry Sanders ,Tom Vilsack ,Cristina Fernandez ,Los Angeles ,Al Roker ,Nicolas Ralston ,Bobbie Thomas ,Kelly Clarkson ,Sarah Piccard Taylor ,Alvin Greene ,Jill Rappaport ,Julianna Redding ,Shirley Sherrod ,Rockefeller Plaza ,Kate Winslet ,Ron Mott ,Stan Stovall ,